Parallel Practices
Exquisite Corpse
Fall/Winter 2019
Prada
Fall/Winter 2019
The creative technique known as Exquisite Corpse – or exquisite cadaver – refers to a method by which words or images are collectively assembled by a group of collaborators; each participant adding to a composition in sequence until the work is complete.
Posted March 11th, 2019
By
Colby Mugrabi
André Breton, a French writer and principal founder of the Surrealist movement, reported that this playful and enriching game was developed around 1925 at a friend’s residence on the outskirts of Paris. Similar to an old parlor game known as Consequences, in which players take turns writing on a piece of paper, concealing their text and passing the sheet along to the next player for further contribution, exquisite corpse evolved from this concept and was adapted to include drawing and collage. This creative pastime became a favorite amongst artists such as Yves Tanguy, Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miró and Man Ray, often partaking in this group activity during surrealist gatherings at French cafés throughout the 1920s and 30s.
Max Morise, Man Ray, Yves Tanguy, and Joan Miró
Exquisite Corpse, 1927
Man Ray, André Breton, Yves Tanguy, and Max Morise
Exquisite Corpse, 1928
Man Ray, Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy, and Max Morise
Exquisite Corpse, 1928
André Breton, Yves Tanguy, and Jacqueline Lamba
Exquisite Corpse, 1938
Victor Brauner, Jacques Hérold, Violette Hérold, Yves Tanguy, and Raoul Ubac
Exquisite Corpse, 1938
While the exquisite corpse technique famously evolved into ‘mix and match’ games played by children – often seen in books in which pages are cut into thirds or fourths, allowing for the playful mixing of images and objects - elements of this creative methodology permeated the art world throughout the 20th century. Similar examples of this concept are seen in Andy Warhol’s Female Movie Star Composite drawings from the 1960s, as well as through the work photographer Jean-Paul Goude, whose post-modern images of exaggerated scale and proportion seek influence from the exquisite corpse methodology.
Andy Warhol
Female Movie Star Composite, 1962
Jean-Paul Goude
Album cover for Grace Jones, Slave to the Rhythm, 1985
Jean-Paul Goude
Bjork, 2007
With the fall/winter 2019 fashion show season having just come to a close, Minnie Muse is employing the exquisite corpse technique to re-imagine some of our favorite collections of the season. From the powerful girl gangs seen at Prada and Louis Vuitton, to the exaggerated silhouettes of Marc Jacobs and Comme des Garçons; as well as the mixed-gender runways of Gucci and Balenciaga, and JW Anderson and Paco Rabanne's unqiue take on fall/winter wear, the collections had us excited for the forthcoming season. Take a look below and see how we re-styled some of our favorite shows.
Balenciaga - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 6, Look 90, Look 53, Look 71
Balenciaga - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 68, Look 6, Look 25, Look 95
Balenciaga - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 109, Look 105, Look 108, Look 49
Balenciaga - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 83, Look 86, Look 85, Look 25
Balenciaga - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 55, Look 80, Look 94, Look 8
Comme des Garçons - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 3, Look 27, Look 20, Look 17
Comme des Garçons - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 1, Look 30, Look 8, Look 17
Comme des Garçons - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 19, Look 8, Look 1, Look 24
Comme des Garçons - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 9, Look 18, Look 3, Look 32
Comme des Garçons - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 13, Look 7, Look 10, Look 2
Gucci - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 84, Look 65, Look 52, Look 7
Gucci - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 58, Look 34, Look 38, Look 78
Gucci - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 45, Look 3, Look 15, Look 65
Gucci - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 23, Look 21, Look 1, Look 14
Gucci - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 73, Look 29, Look 80, Look 40
JW Anderson - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 12, Look 29, Look 18, Look 33
JW Anderson - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 10, Look 31, Look 11, Look 22
JW Anderson - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 20, Look 22, Look 7, Look 24
JW Anderson - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 29, Look 4, Look 8, Look 15
JW Anderson - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 16, Look 32, Look 6, Look 20
Louis Vuitton - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 11, Look 6, Look 8, Look 3
Louis Vuitton - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 6, Look 1, Look 18, Look 31
Louis Vuitton - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 2, Look 32, Look 13, Look 29
Louis Vuitton - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 27, Look 53, Look 55, Look 14
Louis Vuitton - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 10, Look 46, Look 30, Look 22
Marc Jacobs - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 1, Look 34, Look 17, Look 5
Marc Jacobs - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 20, Look 2, Look 10, Look 11
Marc Jacobs - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 29, Look 40, Look 32, Look 34
Marc Jacobs - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 40, Look 1, Look 38, Look 19
Marc Jacobs - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 39, Look 35, Look 33, Look 26
Paco Rabanne - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 12, Look 25, Look 1, Look 11
Paco Rabanne - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 19, Look 4, Look 6, Look 14
Paco Rabanne - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 13, Look 17, Look 8, Look 4
Paco Rabanne - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 14, Look 27, Look 31, Look 10
Paco Rabanne - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 22, Look 29, Look 2, Look 25
Prada - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 38, Look 13, Look 50, Look 12
Prada - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 50, Look 16, Look 24, Look 13
Prada - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 1, Look 49, Look 8, Look 39
Prada - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 31, Look 11, Look 47, Look 28
Prada - Fall/Winter 2019
From Top: Look 6, Look 44, Look 43, Look 36