A Day at the Met

Yesterday I convinced my nephew to go with me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to catch the last day of Superheros: Fashion and Fantasy. The special exhibit is an exploration of the relationship between costumes designed for the movies and high-fashion and sports apparel. Designers in the exhibition include Atair, Giorgio Armani, Balenciaga, Pierre Cardin, Dolce & Gabbana, Jean Paul Gaultier, Eiko Ishioka, Alexander McQueen, Julien Macdonald, Moschino, Thierry Mugler, Nike, Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh, Speedo, Spyder, As Four, Walter van Beirendonck, Versace, and Bernhard Willhelm.

Superman and Spider-Man costumes address the subject of The Graphic Body, relating Superman's 'S' chevron to designer logos and branding. Catwoman represents The Paradoxical Body, which explores the character's vacillating manifestations of good and bad. The stars and stripes of Wonder Woman's uniform, a composite of the American flag, epitomize The Patriotic Body and designs that appropriate patriotic emotions implicit in the character. The Hulk, a metaphor for male potency, introduces a section on The Virile Body, which includes inflatable clothing that swells to exaggerate the male physique.

The Flash – a character who possesses superhuman speed - addresses the Aerodynamic Body as manifest in high-tech sportswear including Speedo's "Fastskin LZR Racer" designed by Rei Kawakubo for Michael Phelps and the 2008 United States Olympic swim team, Nike's "Swift Suit" for running, and Descente's "Muscle Suit" for speed skating. Batman and Iron Man represent The Armored Body, and examine avant-garde fashion that merges flesh and metal, skin and chromium. The Mutant Body, denoted by the X-Men, highlights clothing that morphs men into beasts. Ghost Rider (the biker-demon with flaming skull) and The Punisher (the vigilante who sports a giant death-skull emblem on his T-shirt) symbolize The Postmodern Body that suggests an anti-hero identity through the eclectic mixing of street styles.

I love that they were able to get suits wore in the movies. My favorite section was Catwoman-The Paradoxical Body. But the most interesting section was the Ghost Rider and The Punisher Postmodern Body section; very creative stuff. My nephew loved the superheros and I loved the fashion. We thought the museum wasn't that packed until we arrived at that exhibit. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures of the exhibit.

We toured the 1st floor of the Met and left the 2nd for another day. My nephew loved the Egyptian art and the Arms and Armour section. He was a little disturbed when we got to the Greek sculptures. He thought the people were a little too naked. I told him that it was art and he firmly disagreed.

All in all I had a wonderful time at the Met (as usual). Nothing out of the ordinary, but it's nice to take a trip to the past every so often. The big plus is that my nephew loved our trip and was really excited about the history behind the exhibits. Maybe I have a future historian!

More info on the Superheros exhibit check out Special Exhibitions - Past Exhibitions on the Metropolitan Museum of art website http://www.metmuseum.org/

Since I can't figure out how to upload videos, if you missed the Superheros you should go to YouTube to check out video of the exhibit.