John Baldessari: " The Giacometti Variations "

" The Giacometti Variations " is an original project of Californian artist John Baldessari and conceived specifically for the exhibition spaces of the Prada Foundation in Milan. The installation consists of nine sculptures made of resin and steel and sprayed with bronze. Inspired by the Swiss sculptor, the oversized and slender female figures are dressed in garments and objects designed by Baldessari himself. Arranged in a row, the huge mannequins recall a snapshot of a fashion show. Their look is inspired by a range of characters, from the Degas ballerina " La petite danseuse de quatorze ans," a cloth bodice and a white tutu, to the hot-pink bow in duchess satin - an ironic revisiting of the 1950s Hollywood glamour of Marilyn Monroe; from the nineteenth-century crinoline of "Gone with the Wind" to Humphrey Bogart's trench coat in "Casablanca," and more.....

The burning pyre of St. Joan of Arc

Rapunzel's long blond tresses

Dorothy's ruby slippers in "The Wizard of Oz"

Courtesy of the Fondazione Prada
John Baldessari
Photos by Roberto Marossi
" The Giacometti Variations " is currently on view Fondazione Prada, Milan from October 29 to December 26, 2010.