Road Trip: Fashioning Art From Paper -- the Ballet Russes

A few posts back, we visited the Isabelle De Borchgrave "Fashioning Art from Paper" exhibit at Flint Institute of Arts and focused on the gowns and historical interpretations she designed and fashioned out of paper that she had painted.

But the exhibit also includes a large room with her interpretations of costumes from Les Ballet Russes.

Most of the costumes were suspended in mid-air by an almost invisible wire. Consequently, they gently turned with passing movement or the gentle movement of air from the air conditioning. It made for a magical effect.

The Ballets Russes costumes were inspired by the Russian impressario Serge Diaghilev's ballet company that ran from 1909 to 1929.  The company was based in Paris but toured worldwide and was considered by many as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century because of its artistic collaborations which were sometimes controversial and a step beyond the traditional ballets like "Swan Lake." (Although the company did indeed perform classics including "Swan Lake.") Other popular ballets were based on Russian folktales.

The piece below is a costume from "The Blue Gold," after a costume by Leon Baskt in 1912. Baskt had been inspired by Cambodian motifs for the costumes and the ballet was considered a failure.

Composers working with Les Ballets Russes included Debussy, Stravinsky and Prokofiev. The scene and costume designs were "modern" and Diaghliev worked with artists such as Picasso and Matisse, along with Coco Chanel.

Other names of renown that were integral to the company's success over the years include Nijinsky, George Balanchine, Michael Fokine and Anna Pavlova. Productions included "Afternoon of a Fawn" and "The Firebird." The costume below is the Sea Horse from "Sadko" (1911) with music by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Many of you had questions included in your comments from last month's post that featured de Borchgrave's amazing work and I'll answer as best as I can. (I should mention that the photos shown below of Isabelle creating in her studio are from the fabulous show catalogue -- actually a gorgeous coffee table book -- by Dennita Sewell.

Source: Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper by Dennita Sewell

Where Can I see the Show? There is only one more showing of this exhibit in the U.S. on this tour and it is in Atlanta, beginning October 4 and going till early January. For those of you in the south, I am thinking the words "road trip." Even if you have seen earlier exhibits of her work, there are items in this show that haven't toured with others. She has done several collections (the historical collections, the Fortuny gowns of the 20th century, Les Ballets Russes, etc.) and pieces from many of all the collections are part of the current tour.

How do they ship these from site to site? I was curious about that, too. They are packed in crates specially designed for each specific gown and made to fit fairly closely. The gowns are packed on their stands or mannequins, set in the crate and some materials are placed around them that prevent them from damage if they slide a bit in the crate. (Below, one of the paper gowns called "Delphos Dress and Coat" based on designs by Mariano Fortuny.

The museum director said that the Ballets Russes section of the exhibit, about one third the size of the gowns, took at least twice as long to set up as the gowns did because most of the costumes are suspended and not on stands, making them harder to ship, set up or move.

Does Isabelle have assistants? Yes. She has at least 10, according to the show catalogue, which is actually a lovely book. She originally worked with Shaw Theatre Festival designer Rita Brown, who, as a costume historian, knew how to create accurate patterns for the gowns. Isabelle paints the patterns onto each outfit. Assistants help assemble them.

Where is her atelier located? It is located in Brussels. As the of the writing of the catalogue, it is open to the public.

Does Isabelle only do the paper costuming installations? No, she also has done work for Caspari, Villeroy and Boch, and party items for Target. She also has costume installations in museums, including one of Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding gown in the JFK Library.

Were there many people there and what do you do about food and drink? There were quite a few people there on a Sunday afternoon. Busy but not so crowded you couldn't see or get close. As for food and drink, while I didn't see a sign, I suspect they would have snatched food away or asked you to eat at the tables outside the cafe.

Is her work available for sale? The museum gift shop and her online site has some of her jewelry available. I believe the website might have other items as well.

 I have to admit, I was overwhelmed by this exhibit, as you can probably tell. Even if costume isn't your thing, or paper work or painting, one has to admire the dedication to work from an inspiration piece and create something in a completely different media, perhaps matching identically and in other cases, using it as inspiration with some unique changes.

Source: Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper by Dennita Sewell

And, to do it, from top to bottom, jewelry, shoes, hats, purses, all accessories and the garment itself really demonstrates the commitment de Borchgrave has to authenticity and her dedication to her art.

Source: Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper by Dennita Sewell

It is safe to say my head was spinning!

Maybe as much as a spinning ballerina!

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