Inspiring Women: Ariel Adkins: Wearing Art

I love fashion. When I was in college, a friend remarked to me that fashion is “art that people are wearing around.” I had no idea what he meant. Ariel taught me differently.

There are many wonderful fashion blogs; however, what Ariel accomplishes with her art-inspired outfits, her juxtaposition of paintings and photographs that show a range and flow of movements, is something quite extraordinary.

Ariel’s knowledge and appreciation of art enables her to draw out particular colors, styles and poses for her compositions. See the results of her influence from Paul Klee here and here. The paintings complement the photographs wonderfully, clearly demonstrating her inspiration. She shows a range of works from the artist to illustrate the significance of the works for her.

With work from the period typically called Abstract Expressionism and the artists influenced by it, Ariel’s outfits and motions really reflect the dynamics of the artworks. See her piece on Twombly with her fantastic paint-splattered trousers. She draws out some heart-burning colors from Rothko in this series. And Ariel makes a wonderful primary-color outfit reflecting Barnett Newman’s images.

Ariel does great things with early 20^th century painters such as Kirchner and Marc, the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists (see especially her umbrella, shoes and movements and poses by the sea in the former.) Some explore particular themes or subjects of one artist, like Degas’ dancers, Picasso’s guitars, or globes and maps in Joyce Kozloff’s work. It’s a delight to be introduced to previously unknown artists (to me) such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Rufino Tamayo and Ariel’s results are equally stunning.

She’s not limited to painting, as this exceptional series inspired by medieval unicorn tapestries reveals.

At any rate, I’ll leave you with two posts that sum up how inspiring Ariel is. In one, she says, “An important lesson I've learned from art is how to discern color where, at first glance, there appears to be none,” and then goes on to transform the landscape suggested by this particular artist. In another, which may be my current favorite, she quotes Matisse "There are always flowers for those who want to see them," and the flower that is Ariel makes a bold color and texture statement enlivening a grey day.

I also like this short video of Ariel talking about her style inspiration; her voice is sweet and her enjoyment is enchanting.