By now, you probably know that, in addition to being a vintage clothing fiend, I am an art fanatic. This morning, I was flipping through the pages of a Vogue magazine from 1962, and came across this image. I love it when two of my favorite things mesh so beautifully. In the photo above, taken by Helmut Newton, the model wears an evening gown made from Vogue pattern 1153, designed by Jean Patou and sewn in a gorgeous floral silk.
Love that open back. And the fact that it has a little jacket to match? Perfect for day-to-date in the shorter version.That wooden structure the model is draped across? It's a sculpture by European artist Martha Pan. It was shown at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris as part of the 1962 exhibit "Antagonismes", which was devoted to objects for the new "art of living". The floating sculpture was designed as a diving board for a lake in the Kröller-Muller Museum's sculpture garden in Otterlo, Netherlands.
I can't find much information in English about Martha Pan, but there are several images of her sculpture if you Google her. Most seems to be for outdoor spaces, including this one in Paris.
The Kröller-Muller sculpture garden underwent renovation in the early 1990's. This Martha Pan sculpture is now the one that floats in the lake. Perhaps the wooden one needed to be replaced? Wouldn't that Patou gown also look great draped on this one?
