bag it

Somewhere in Central Park, a giant spaceship with gleaming blue lights and snow white shell landed several weeks ago packed with contemporary art and an army of attendants dressed in Chanel nylon jackets to patrol its site. On a rather blah, rainy day last week I visited this space oddity or as Chanel creative director, Karl Largerfeld and architect Zaha Hadid would refer to it, the Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion. Its primary function is to embody the spirit of the Chanel 2.55 bag--nomadic as its curious wearer, spacious and yet contained in its ability to carry various contents, and pleasing to the eye--as envisioned through a traveling space (it was only here for three weeks and now will move on to London, Moscow, and Paris) that contains the works of several contemporary artists doing their own idiosyncratic riffs on the classic bag. Lead through the guided tour by the tough as concrete voice of Jeanne Moreau, it's definitely an interesting way to spend an afternoon, but I'm not sure what I was supposed to make it of it all. Most of the art did incite some thought, but was it art, advertising, an out of place celebration of wealth and high culture for those that can afford it and are a part of the cultured cognoscenti that will surely understand its supposed point, or a simple creative whim on part of Mr. Lagerfeld? Whatever it's supposed to be, it was a welcomed spectacle on such a day when Central Park was lined with dreary-looking, wet trees and post-rain city sludge on the walking paths.
For more on the Pavilion click here.