Chanel’s Mobile Art Exhibit Finds a New York Home@Art

It even glows purple!Photo: Getty Images

We were wondering where Chanel's Mobile Art Exhibit, designed by none other than Zaha Hadid, would touch down when it stops by New York in October. See it's not as small or easy to transport as its name would imply: As Racked noted, it takes up 2,297 square meters and requires three weeks to assemble. But, rest easy — it's found a home in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, where it will be open from October 20 to November 9. How much does it cost to rent that space for three weeks? Chanel paid the Central Park Conservancy in the low seven figures plus a $400,000 usage fee. A steal, really.

We're glad they laid out the cash, though, because the exhibit inside the structure sounds delightful (and it's free!). Chanel recruited world-renowned artists to contribute works that "[explore] the notion of the handbag as a cultural symbol, often with a dash of irreverence." For example:

Blue Noses created “Fifty Years After Our Common Era or Handbags Revolt,” an installation of packing boxes in which videos show satirical moments in the life of a handbag. [Sylvie] Fleury created a giant Pop Art-style quilted handbag lined with pink fur; inside is a makeup compact in which you can view a video of women shooting handbags with guns.

It's about time we devoted Manhattan's largest park to an exhibit about purses and the whimsy derived thereof. We mean, we bet we're not the only ones who still feel cheated by The Gates. Or those dribbly waterfalls.

@Source:http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/07/chanels_mobile_art_exhibit_fin_1.html