Style Imitating Art: “At the Risk of the Sun”

Style Imitating Art comes from Salazar, Terri, and Shelbee. You can think of it as fashion meets art museum! Style Imitating Art challenges people to find inspiration in different art works, create looks based upon that art work, and share them with the curator for that piece. Every other Monday one of the three selects an inspiration piece of art and posts the image on their blog. They then invite others to interpret that art work through their style. The following Monday, they share their outfits. The curator shares submissions the following Wednesday on her blog. Terri chose this week’s art work. If you’d like, you can read why she chose it here. I always enjoy this fashion challenge as it makes me really look at my clothing to see how it meets that challenge. You can see a few of my looks here, here, here, and here.

Inspiration Art Work…

About the Artist…

Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy was born at the Ministry of Naval Affairs on Place de la Concorde in Paris, France on January 5, 1900. His father died in 1908, and his mother returned to Locronan, Finistère. I’m not sure why, but Tanguy spent his youth living with various relatives. Before being drafted into the Army, Tanguy joined the merchant navy. It was while in the Army, he met Jacques Prévert who would eventually introduce him to André Robert Breton. Breton was the co-founder, leader, and chief theorist behind surrealism.

A little more…

Tanguy had no formal artistic training; however, he came across a painting by Giorgio de Chirico in 1922 and was hooked. Self-taught, Tanguy was soon under contract to Breton for 12 paintings a year. Instead of inspiring him, it appeared to have the opposite impact as he only produced eight paintings for Breton. It was during this time Tanguy married Jeannette Ducrocq in 1927. Since his studio was so small, Tanguy would work on only one piece at a time. Some say this was because he had no room for more than one wet work!

Still more…

During the 1930s, Tanguy adopted the bohemian lifestyle as well as that of the struggling artist. In 1938, he and Jeannette traveled to Paris for his first retrospective exhibition at the Guggenheim Jeune. While there, he engaged in an affair with Peggy Guggenheim, the owner of the gallery. His first marriage ended in divorce. That same year (1938), Tanguy met Kay Sage, another surrealist artist. The two began a relationship which ended in marriage. With World War II looming, Sage went back to New York, and Tanguy followed after being declared unfit for service. The two married in 1940 in Reno, Nevada. Theirs was a tumultuous marriage though Sage never responded to Tanguy’s abusive actions. Moving to Woodbury, Connecticut, the couple converted an old farmhouse into an artist’s studio. Tanguy became a naturalized citizen of the US in 1948. He died on January 15, 1955 after a massive stroke. His ashes, along with those of Sage, were scattered on the beach at Douarnenez in Brittany (source).

About the art work…

Painted with oil on canvas, “At the Risk of the Sun” measures (unframed) 28 x 16 inches (71.12 x 40.64 cm) and (framed) 32 x 20 1/16 inches (81.28 x 50.96 cm). Tanguy painted finished this in 1947 and sold it to the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York. On November 7, 1958, it was purchased by the Friends of Art in Kansas City, MO and was gifted to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art where it is currently on display

“Strange, organic forms appear in this dramatically illuminated, desolate landscape. A heart form can be seen on the right. To the left is an imaginative array of stacked shapes, referencing parts of human and animal bodies. Yves Tanguy and other Surrealist artists sought to reveal the contents of the unconscious mind. Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theories, they depicted images from their dreams, nightmares, and memories. Tanguy based this image on the prehistoric stone monuments he saw as a child in Brittany, France (source).”

My interpretation…

As soon as I saw this painting, I knew I would go with something grey and pull out an accent color. That accent color happened to be brown. As usual, I totally missed the green on the small “figure” in the lower right corner. My dress appeared on the blog here. I had worn it open as a duster then. Today, I’m wearing this April Cornell dress as a dress! Surprise! I think I wore this when I was teaching, but I’m not 100% certain of that. In any case, it’s more than a decade old!

The Lewk!

These beautiful Born boots are so old and frequently appear on the blog. The smokey topaz earrings and bracelets are old and were purchased on eBay during my teaching days.

Wrap it up, Marsha!

Given my usual posts, this one is rather short, right? I was gone most of the weekend so that’s why you’re reading this on Wednesday rather than Tuesday. I have to admit surrealism kind of discombobulates my mind. I like it, but I sure don’t get it. So, can we talk? Are you into surrealism? Did you notice the little figure at the bottom right? How would you have interpreted this look? Please leave a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise I do respond within a few days.

Thank you!

Thank you so very much for reading today’s post. I hope you enjoyed it. I also very much appreciate those of you who comment, email and/or subscribe. It’s what keeps me going! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.

Affiliate links and such:

Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. As of right now, I also have an affiliate code for Kantha Bae! Use MarshaintheMiddle in the promo code box for $5 off any order (excluding Bestie restocks)! I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA2098, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. I am an April Cornell Brand Ambassador for another season. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off any order over $75. For the Zuvi Halo Hair Dryer, use Marsha12 to get 12% off your order at this link: https://www.zuvilife.com/products/buy-zuvi-halo-hair-dryer?sca_ref=4039595.v4RNNsWxxF. If items are on sale, you can use Marsha5 for an extra 5% off sale prices. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post.

Where you can find me:

Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style,  Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, and Style Splash. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!

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