Some people might wonder why I am sending out news concerning Clara Feder, a talented artist to be watched, in a Blog dedicated to Brand Management. Some might think it’s a bit farfetched, or even strange.
Well, thinking about it, it might be the right spot to do so. Here is why.
Take the Dior show at the UCCA (Ullens Contemporary Center for Art) in Beijing in November 2008/January 2009 where Dior commissioned 20 Chinese artists to create works freely inspired by Christian Dior. The result was amazing : from reinterpretations of the emblematic symbols of the brand to paintings with astonishing strength and modernity such as The Last Supper by Wang Quingsong.
Take also the ongoing relationship between artist Haruki Murakami and Vuitton, which helped position the brand not only as a sponsor of the Arts, but as a trendy artsy brand in tune with the growing artistic awareness of the wealthiest. Initiated in 2003, this relationship gave birth to several new Vuitton bags as well as shows at the Museum of Modern Art of Los Angeles (2007) and the Brooklyn Museum (2008) where exhibition of paintings by Murakami and sale of products by Vuitton were intermingled. Not to mention the artist’s video work, among which the extraordinary "Superflat First Love" where, in a Manga universe, a young Japanese girl meets Gaston Vuitton through a magical chest that allows one to travel through time (2009).
Examples of these collaborations and mutual enlightments are plenty, of course. Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, Chanel Mobile Art, Prada Foundation, Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation…
Moreover, a significant number of major art exhibitions worldwide have the biggest names in luxury as sponsors, as we all have in mind. (LVMH has thus been a patron of "Picasso et les Maîtres" ("Picasso and the Masters") / "Le grand monde d'Andy Warhol" (The Great World of Andy Warhol") / "Yves Klein", etc., and "sponsored" the creation of the stage curtain of the Grand Shanghai Theatre by Olivier Debré), their owners are often themselves distinguished collectors (François Pinault who installed his collections in Venice, in the Palazzo Grassi and the Dogana del Mare).
In our book “Luxury Talent Management” Gilles and myself demonstrate that creation is the critical dimension of luxury and that management of creative persons is a major issue for the brands. Luxury wouldn’t exist without creation, without crafstmanship and without its common roots with art.
The elites of the world at all times have sought the very finest pieces of luxury craftsmenship and the most beautiful art pieces to ornate their homes and show their strength. There is indeed a "genetic" relationship between Art and Luxury.
“Luxury and art are both expressions of emotion and passion; therefore, the idea of integrating art work in a store is a question of affinity” says Yves Carcelle, former President and CEO of Louis Vuitton.
This is exactly what I want to do in presenting here the work of Clara Feder, a talented artist who in Paul & Virginie Remix (Musée Grobet-Labadié, Marseille, October 4 to November 3) mingles the Old Master’s paintings and the museum's collection with the fictional world of “Paul and Virginie”, the 1788 best seller by Bernardin de Saint Pierre,
who with The Wall of Temptation (Lift France Conference, October 15 & 16) creates a worldwide participative performance event, both on line and Live, in order to tackle the contemporary issue of Resistantce to Temptation and its complement, Desire
and who will introduce her new photographic series Light Travelers in Paris (Corpus Itineris, November 6 to 24, Galerie Edifor-Jean Briance, month of Photography in Saint Germain des Prés).
