Persona is a great series from Atlanta based photographer Jason Travis. A bit voyeuristic, and very fashion forward, the series is a project that juxtaposes a head shot and contents of the subject’s bag, determining “what they deem important in their lives” and filling out their character in a deeper way than just looking at their picture. Perhaps what is most interesting to me is how many diptychs make up this prolific series; they seem almost countless, and show another side of life in Atlanta that outsiders wouldn’t know exists here: a fresh, young, creative side, cool with a warm soulfulness to it - and makes me very happy to be where I am, and where I am from.
www.jasontravisphoto.com
Someone asked me the other day what it’s like to design a bridesmaid’s dress. I guess they were curious because of the level of detail that goes into planning a wedding, especially when one of the most important details is what everyone is going to wear! I recently designed Susanna Inman’s bridesmaid dress for her sister’s wedding. I met Susanna, her mother Suzanne and Caroline, the bride, a few months ago and it was clear from the beginning that each one of them has their own personal style and is very knowledgeable about fashion. It seemed like they all had slightly different ideas of what they wanted to go into Susanna’s dress. 3 ladies with strong ideas plus a designer; perhaps you’d think it would be a daunting task, but it couldn’t have been more of a pleasure… All of the Inman ladies were delightful to work with. We looked at the shape of the bride’s dress, color schemes, thought about the atmosphere and mood of the event, and discussed what shapes were most flattering on Susanna. I did 4 sketches, which incorporated everyone’s ideas, and proposed 4 silks, all hand picked from Italy for this project. It seemed obvious which was the most outstanding combination and we went for it. Susanna’s dress fit like a dream the first time she tried it on and the only left to do was to pick out her jewelery and discuss hair options. It turned out to be great fun and I am absolutely thrilled that everyone got what they wanted on such a memorable occasion. What beautiful and stylish ladies!
Photos by Denis Reggie
Julia has a smooshy faced cat named Tuna and a French Bulldog named Puma. She stays up until 2 am painting her bathroom a dove-shade of gray. She has Sally Jesse red reading glasses (also in black featured in the photo) and she annually throws mysterious and decadent theme parties in the woods with her sister. When you see her it’s almost as if there’s an imaginary spotlight that follows her around, which she is completely unaware of. Her look is quite unforgettable, so she seems like she could even be almost famous, yet when you talk to her she completely devotes her sincere attention directly to you, as if you’re the only person in the world.
Kirstin Mitchell, one of my perennial inspirations for creativity, feminine prowess and style, will present a new piece, Contestant #12, coming up on November 12th at the Studio Courtyard of the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. The performance art of Kirstin Mitchell (Kiki Blood) employs a vulnerability and inflexible honesty disguised through aggression. Mitchell’s audiences are immediately positioned in a state of suspense, as the artist challenges expectations of cinema, sexuality, and the implications of voyeurism. Mitchell combines environment, choreographed movements, sound, voice and danger to create compelling performative works intended to be confrontational. For Contestant #12, Mitchell mines her personal history – specifically, her participation as a contestant in the 1996 Miss Jacksonville State University Beauty Pageant, held during her senior year. Utilizing archival VHS footage of the event, as well as simultaneous live-action performance, Contestant #12 is at once bizarre, empathetic, embarrassing, captivating. It is an exploration into what was perhaps her first performance art piece and presented through a timeless reflection of her own public and private pageantry. This is anticipated to be one of her most sentimental and playful pieces to date.
kikiblood.com
lovelikeadevil.com
Magic dresses? Come and see for yourself. Fashion’s Night Out comes to Atlanta next weekend, and part of the event will be a pop-up shop including Megan Huntz Dresses as well as some other local independent designers and boutiques. I’ll be above ZGallerie in Atlantic Station.
Thursday, Sept. 8: 6PM – 9PM
Friday & Saturday, Sept. 9 & 10: 12PM – 8PM
Sunday, Sept. 11: 12PM – 6PM
Yesterday I did a shoot with Caroline Petters on the Chattahoochee River. These are a couple of my snapshots from the sidelines. Real photos coming soon! Thanks so much to Laura and Colby. Ansley Brown modeled for me - big surprise! - but perhaps what you didn’t know is that she has also interned with me for the summer and she helped art direct this shoot. Ansley is tremendously talented and she has taken her experience on set, in front of the camera and used it to bring this photo shoot together. A big thanks to her, for all of her hard work, creativity and friendship, as she goes off to UNC Chapel Hill starting this Fall. Tear… but what a swan’s song!
carolinepetters.com
These are paintings done by my late Grandmother, June Wells, a self taught artist. A widow from the early age of about 53, she was soft spoken, kind, had many friends, enjoyed tea parties, was a fabulous cook and most of all was fiercely independent and extremely resilient. She was most well known for her beach scenes and seascapes, of the Gulf of Mexico in Destin, Florida where she lived most of her life. I chose these 3 paintings to keep for myself for different reasons, but most of all, I love that I have her non-traditional works. The still life is very sweet, but her use of color, depth and brushstrokes make it really uniquely her own. The nude, which vaguely resembles my mother, is kind of a mystery. As a faithful church-goer and someone who never had a bad thing to say about anything, not even a curse word my entire life, I love imaging my art-loving Grandmother in the 60’s, looking through an art history book and deciding to paint a nude. I believe it’s the only nude she ever painted. The abstract is probably my favorite. She didn’t paint in the abstract, and this was hung in her bedroom. I imagine it was one of her personal favorites. Perhaps she even wanted to paint more in this genre but found the results of her other works pleasing so much to others, that she did more of them. As an artist and designer myself, this is a common internal conflict that I struggle with often. It brings me a lot of joy to be surrounded by these paintings, because they remind me everyday of my Grandmommy who loved me unconditionally and was always so proud of my artistic capacity and all of my accomplishments.
If you have been interested in the dresses I’m selling online you can now go check them out in the Sabot boutique in Buckhead! http://sabotshoes.com/index.htm
