Toccata and Fugue
J.S. Bach
Joan of Arc:
Dress: $6 (Goodwill, Cleveland)
Vintage Blazer: $8 (Goodwill, Boston)
Gold/silver belts: thrifted (Goodwill- Boston, Boomerangs-JP, Savers- Boston)
Chainmail: DIY $3 bra (Boomerangs, JP)
Gloves: $3 (Savers, Boston)
Boots: $25 (Buffalo Exchange, Brookline)
Headpiece: Marie Galvin Fine Millinery
Virgin Mary:
Dress: DIY $6 (Savers, Framingham)
Jacket: $8 (Goodwill, Boston)
Tights: $2 (Savers, Boston)
Gloves: $3 (Savers, Boston)
Jewelry: secondhand
Headpiece: Marie Galvin Fine Millinery
Photographer: Alyssa Wang
Makeup: Tiffany Cataldo
Model/Stylist: Mary O'Keefe
Headpiece: Marie Galvin Fine Millinery
Location: Old South Church
A Johann Sebastian Bach tribute is incomplete without acknowledging his connections to religious life. Shot in Boston's Old South Church, this Notes on a Thread honors the heavenly inspiration that gave life to Bach's music. His work was influenced by spiritual and religious themes and often centered around the organ--the main instrument used in church services. His Toccata and Fugue is an organ masterpiece, defined and structured, with heavy embellishments and ornamentations that were characteristic of the Baroque era.
Inspired by the 2018 gala theme, "Heavenly Bodies", we explored the world of fashion through the lens of religious allegories and celestial influences. With two icons in mind, Joan of Arc and the Virgin Mary, Mary created two embellished looks. Joan of Arc's tribute embodies a powerful warrior; DIY chainmail, layered jewelry, silver and gold tones and riches throughout. The Virgin Mary contrasts as a softer character with sheer, sparkling layers and celestial undertones.
The photographic style took influence from Baroque oil paintings with religious themes. By playing with contrasting light from the Old South Church's stained glass, the photos play with dark and light themes, good versus evil, and the hard and soft qualities that comprise the soul of a woman. The subject is prayerful, but strong. Vulnerable, but powerful.
Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet
György Ligeti
Skirt: Poshmark
White Dress/Shirt: $10 (Global Thrift, Waltham, MA)
Shoes: $5 (Boomerangs, JP, MA)
Jewelry: secondhand
Green Blazer: $4 (Savers, Framingham, MA)
Pink Blazer: $6 (Goodwill, Bangor, ME)
Yellow Blazer: $6 (Goodwill, JP, MA)
Blue Blazer: $10 (Urban Renewals, Roslindale, MA)
Ligeti breathes life into his Six Bagatelles with not a note wasted. This economical, texturally sparse bopper is a perfect metaphor for this thrifted fashion look which uses the same skirt and top with a different colored blazer for each shot. Using the quirky color combination of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, Ligeti jumps quickly from movement to movement. While there are moments of dissonance and a heavy utilization of sharp accented notes, these six movements whiz by in little bursts of color. The use of mutes for the instruments create subtle color changes throughout.
The rainbow skirt represents the contrasting movements wrapped up into one complete work. The added rotation of colored blazers highlights the individuality and character shifts in each movement- one for each color in the skirt. The skirt is layered over a white dress which remains a constant fixture in each picture, as well as the gaudy gold jewelry. The boots match the tan, sheer lining of the bodice and add a modern layer of drama to this modern piece of music.
This photoshoot took place on several playgrounds where the natural curious architecture and bright orange poles gave an automatic layer of dynamism, nostalgia, and playfulness to each shot.
Let Me Tell You
Hans Abrahamsen
Blouse: $5.5 (Goodwill, Boston)
Beaded Bodice: $10 (online secondhand shop)
Skirt and Lace Fabric: $7 (Goodwill, Boston)
Petticoat: $6 (online secondhand shop)
Boots: $3 (Value World)
Necklace: $1.5 (Urban Renewals, Boston)
“Let me tell you how it was. I know I can do this. I have the powers: I take them here. I have the right.”
With these words, Hans Abrahamsen’s Let Me Tell You begins. The soprano, suspended tenuously above the orchestra, sings the voice of Ophelia, restricted by the 480 words spoken by this character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Fantastical sounds emerge from the orchestra that speak to Ophelia’s doom, fragility, and allure: paper against a timpani, celestial violin harmonics, dangerously unstable winds. Paired with a near constant pulsing technique utilized by the soprano, Abrahamson unveils an achingly beautiful and wintry landscape. Ophelia’s spirit lives in this music through imperfect harmonies, astounding sound effects, and perilously high vocals. The final line of text is both hopeful and tragic: “I will go out now. I will let go the door and not look to see my hand as I take it away...The snow flowers are all like each other and I cannot keep my eyes on one. I will give up this and go on. I will go on.”
The outfit in this collection is inspired by the text, “You have made me like glass.” Its use of icy blue tones represents the sparkling qualities of the piece while alluding to Ophelia’s death by drowning. The skirt is a deconstructed children’s dress with an added petticoat underneath for dramatic volume, evoking Ophelia’s naivety and innocence. Fabric from the top of the dress was repurposed into floral socks and a neck piece. Finally, the wide-collared shirt with vintage blue beaded bodice overlay is a nod to the Shakespearean origin of this story. Hair and makeup reflects Ophelia's youth and innocence in a natural look. Each photograph tells a moment in Ophelia’s story, with the creeping presence of water in nearly every shot. Desolate and snowy landscapes represent Ophelia’s loneliness, vulnerability, and complicated mental state.
Symphony No. 5
Dmitri Shostakovich
Blazer: $6.5 (Goodwill, Boston)
Cardigan: $4 (Savers, Boston)
Fur-lined tank top: $3 (Savers, Boston)
Gold buckle belt: $2 (Goodwill, Boston)
Pants: $3 (Salvation army, Cleveland)
Hat: secondhand
Gold brooch: secondhand
Pearl chain brooch: $2 (Savers, Boston)
Pearls: $1.5 (Urban Renewals, Boston)
Coat: $20 (Garment District, Boston)
Gloves: secondhand
How do you know that you are free? At the turn of the new year, America experienced impeachment, insurrection, and then an inauguration. False narratives of voter fraud, burgeoning acceptance of conspiracy theories, and the arrest of over ten thousand Americans protesting police brutality in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement have defined modern America. Concurrently, thousands of Russian protestors were arrested while demanding the release of the jailed opposition leader to the president. In the 1930’s, under the gaze of the dictator, Stalin, Shostakovich penned his Fifth Symphony: a secret homage to the strength and pain of the Russian citizens amidst their persecution, through the guise of patriotic brass, sardonic humor, and Russian folk tunes. This collection invites you to explore the definition of freedom, to compare how it has been sought throughout history, and to consider how far we will go to have it.
The styling in this collection reflects the change in culture experienced under Stalin’s reign in Soviet Russia. Buoyed by Stalin himself, womenswear swung towards the extravagant, a style previously accessible only to the bourgeoisie. This included suit dresses with Russian floral patterns, tassels, fur, and most importantly, the color red. The hair, makeup, and clothing in these photos reflects this excessive decadence, but through the lens of the discomfort, desolation, and loss reflected in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. By placing the model in a frigid climate in uncomfortable landscapes, each photograph contains a veiled sense of vulnerability, unease, and tension.
Two Pages
Philip Glass
Dress: $7 (Outfitters, NH)
Shoes: $5.5 (Savers, MA)
Curtain: $6 (Savers, MA)
Jewelry: secondhand
What qualities do you associate with “minimalism”? Moderation, smallness, simplicity. Less. But minimalism is much more than subtraction. Through the stripping down of fundamentals, minimalism actually acts as a magnifier for our senses. Philip Glass’ Two Pages exemplifies this phenomenon by removing traditional musical variables: there is no melody, no harmony, no changes in dynamic, and no changes in rhythm. What is left are five repeated pitches, their order, and the length of the piece--two pages long, of course. As you listen to Two Pages, notice the changes in your awareness of those five notes. You might find that, without traditional musical variables, those fives notes and their order become everything. In this way, minimalism is actually a process of maximalizing.
Here, Two Pages is expressed through several mediums. Each photo explores the minimalizing and maximalizing qualities of Two Pages using fragments, bold monochrome, repetition, and sharp architecture. The blue dress, being the focal point of the collection, appears deep blue at first glance, but illuminates a natural iridescent red color woven throughout when exposed to light. Much like Two Pages, the simple nature of the dress implodes on second, third, and fourth glance. Playing with optical illusions in the accessories, mixed metals for both the layered necklaces and earrings allow the eye to settle on each individual piece to differentiate; the collective appears to amalgamate. A diaphanous blue curtain plays with contrasting texture. Makeup is presented simply, with a fun neon pop of color on the eyes. Hairstyling focuses on contrast and juxtaposed styles, using the model’s own hair texture to play up the shape and assist in creating different effects from different angles.
Danse Macabre
Camille Saint-Saens
Black/white outfit
shirt: $5 (Goodwill, Boston)
corset: secondhand (free)
skirt: $5.5 (Goodwill, Boston)
boots: $5 (church thrift shop, Boston)
long strand of pearls: $1.5 (Urban Renewals, Boston)
White outfit
shirt: $2.5 (Urban Renewals, Boston)
pants: $3 (Salvation Army, Cleveland)
corset: secondhand (free)
boots: $7 (Boomerangs, Boston)
gold cuffs: $2 (Out of the Closet, Dallas).
The twang of a devilish violin. The taunting staccato passagework. Imagine a ballroom full of skeletons, a whirling circle of the dead, pulling you along in a provocative waltz. They are grinning at the living as they escort them to their graves. Mortality is inescapable. The Dance of Death has begun.
Danse Macabre, written by Camille Saint-Saens, serves as the inspiration for this ominous collection. Shot mostly at night, the hair, makeup, and thrifted clothing come together to evoke the spooky and alluring essence of Saint-Saens’ music. The hair is inspired by traditional Edwardian and Victorian styles, created to be undone and loosely defined in order to showcase the model’s natural hair texture. The porcelain doll makeup, including the boldly painted bottom lashes, enhances the Victorian style and eerie quality of the look. Stark contrasts between dark backdrops and harsh, direct light throw the model into dramatic and uncomfortably revealing environments.
The two outfits pay homage to 19th century French extravagance through ruffles, silk, and Victorian-esque lingerie. The first look (black and white) exposes the "bare bones" of womens' fashion during this period, a skeletal conception of an outfit exposed through harsh lighting and the decomposing layers. The second look (all white) captures the essence of two opposing forces, depending on the viewer's perspective. At first, it presents strength and power, a glowing personification of the devil distinctly marked in all-white, a variance from the orthodox red or black. However, the climax of the dance presents a youthful soul, adorned in white finery, tortured by the inevitability of their fate.