XXL Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If you’ve never heard of Maripol, you will definitely have seen her work. The stylist, who also counts herself as a photographer, designer and film producer, was responsible for creating Madonna’s look during her bangle-tastic bridesmaid Like a Virgin era. She also influenced the style of Grace Jones, Debbie Harry and Cher, as well as being art director for the Italian fashion brand Fiorucci in the early 1980s. Now, Dundee Contemporary Arts is showing the first major UK exhibition of her work, from a selection of the thousands of Polaroids that document her life to her fashion designs, including her rubber bracelets and jumpsuits. “It’s a very small-scale retrospective,” the 60-year-old says from her home in New York, where she moved from her native France in the 1970s. After moving downtown with her boyfriend, the photographer Edo Bertoglio (whom she had moved from Paris to be with), the pair found a run-down loft space and started to throw parties and photograph friends there. Maripol would style them with jewellery she had designed herself because she was unable to find anything she liked. These friends included Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and, of course, Madonna, whom she met on a night out at Roxy – Madonna had admired her bra. It sounds blissful, a too-good-to-be-true time when a creative couple could have a studio in the centre of a city and hang out with art stars. How does it make her feel that New York and London, once the creative capitals of the world, are now too expensive for young artists? “I am so glad you’ve brought this up. It makes me mad. Kids today are being pushed further and further from the city – artists are being made to move out of areas they’ve regenerated.” As someone who has influenced popular culture immensely, but without their own name becoming mainstream, it is clearly a topic close to her heart. So how does she feel now that underground ideas can turn mainstream in a matter of moments? She laughs. “Andy Warhol said that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, but with social media, everyone is famous all of the time. Especially on Instagram!” Is she on it? “I resisted for many years,” she sighs, “but my son convinced me to go on it. Then he shouts at me for putting up too many pictures and says that’s for Facebook. But I am not going to let anyone dictate what my life is about.” Maripol practically invented the selfie, using her Polaroid camera. “I would take Polaroid selfies to express myself: my sorrows, my joys, my sexiness, my love. I didn’t scan them for 30 years. No one ever saw them for that long.” Most recently, her Polaroids have been referenced on the cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album, released last year – although Swift used a modern photograph edited to look like a Polaroid. Polaroid film can be hard to find, and although Maripol has her own source, “the colours and the emulsions aren’t the same”. Does she still take photographs as actively as ever? “In 2000, I did a series of portraits, maybe 160. They have never been shown. All black and white – I called in my address book. Debbie Harry came back, 20 years after the first time I shot her. People gathered in my studio, people who hadn’t seen each other for years. No hair, no makeup, there was just a pile of clothes in case someone needed something.” She is probably best known for working with Madonna, and some say she discovered her. “She wouldn’t like that! Let’s put it like this: she discovered me,” she laughs. “She would come over when she was doing Desperately Seeking Susan and say she didn’t like the costumes. I would say: ‘You’re a singer! You have to look like you.’ I insisted she keep her jewellery, the crosses and stuff. That’s what she was projecting as an image at that moment.” They stopped working together after her Like A Virgin look. After a brief bankruptcy spell, she started to work with Cher, who had come to her loft to buy some jewellery. She was the art director on the video for Cher’s 1995 hit, Walking In Memphis. So which discipline does she prefer – jewellery, styling or photography? “That’s such an existential question. I went back to jewellery a few years ago – I like doing things where my intellect meets my hand, something manual. But I love taking Polaroids and I like making films. I made one a few years ago called The Message about Keith Haring – I love going back and interviewing people.” In the 1980s she produced Downtown 81, documenting the downtown scene, and particularly focusing on Basquiat. It was written by Warhol Factory member and founding editor of Interview magazine Glenn O’Brien, and, due to money issues, was only released in 2001. “It’s becoming a cult film, you know, so many kids want to know about the generations before them. When I was growing up in the 1970s, I wanted to know about the 1960s. The 1960s were important; they brought the TV into everyone’s homes. You had the first music videos, and all these amazing women: Cher, Tina Turner and Diana Ross.” As someone who has inspired and shaped the creative identity of so many women over the past 30 years, how does she feel about today’s identikit pop stars? “Everything is homogenised,” she complains. “Neighbourhoods, music, styling. Everything is sterilised. That’s not what we had. We didn’t have fancy fashion houses, Chanel didn’t have Karl Lagerfeld, Gucci and Chanel were for rich old women on Madison Avenue. We did with what we had.” http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/mar/20/maripol-madonna-photographer-stylist-polaroids-exhibition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXL Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 1991 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXL Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 1983 Madonna shot by Maripol's boyfriend Edo Bertoglio in London (her good friend Martin Burgoyne pictured too here) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSD Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 After moving downtown with her boyfriend, the photographer Edo Bertoglio (whom she had moved from Paris to be with), the pair found a run-down loft space and started to throw parties and photograph friends there. Maripol would style them with jewellery she had designed herself because she was unable to find anything she liked. These friends included Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and, of course, Madonna, whom she met on a night out at Roxy – Madonna had admired her bra. I get chills just thinking of this whole era Poor pathetic Joanne Just like sometimes Picasso was Matisse’s Mondrian, and vice versa. Bowie is often my Mondrian, as are Michael Jackson, Prince, Lita Ford, and Madonna. Mugler is my silhouette’s Mondrian, Cindy Crawford is my sexuality’s, Kermit is my whimsy’s, and, in my “Born This Way” video, two of my Mondrians were Francis Bacon and Salvador Dalí. In a lot of ways the “idea” of being obsessed with art is my Mondrian. Just like Campbell’s Tomato Soup was Warhol’s Mondrian, and Marilyn Monroe and Maripol were Madonna’s. I am obsessed with all the authors in the library of pop culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip The Switch Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I get chills just thinking of this whole era Poor pathetic Joanne Just like sometimes Picasso was Matisses Mondrian, and vice versa. Bowie is often my Mondrian, as are Michael Jackson, Prince, Lita Ford, and Madonna. Mugler is my silhouettes Mondrian, Cindy Crawford is my sexualitys, Kermit is my whimsys, and, in my Born This Way video, two of my Mondrians were Francis Bacon and Salvador Dalí. In a lot of ways the idea of being obsessed with art is my Mondrian. Just like Campbells Tomato Soup was Warhols Mondrian, and Marilyn Monroe and Maripol were Madonnas. I am obsessed with all the authors in the library of pop culture. Of course she didn't miss that when she studied M. Poor thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rachelle of London Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I agree I get chills thinking about that time too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensch Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Wow, fascinating. Never saw many of these shots and also my three icons debbie, grace and M all in those iconic Polaroid pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Just so so amazing. Look how far they have come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacket Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I get chills just thinking of this whole era Poor pathetic Joanne Just like sometimes Picasso was Matisse’s Mondrian, and vice versa. Bowie is often my Mondrian, as are Michael Jackson, Prince, Lita Ford, and Madonna. Mugler is my silhouette’s Mondrian, Cindy Crawford is my sexuality’s, Kermit is my whimsy’s, and, in my “Born This Way” video, two of my Mondrians were Francis Bacon and Salvador Dalí. In a lot of ways the “idea” of being obsessed with art is my Mondrian. Just like Campbell’s Tomato Soup was Warhol’s Mondrian, and Marilyn Monroe and Maripol were Madonna’s. I am obsessed with all the authors in the library of pop culture. Proof positive with the Maripol name drop that CunGa intentionally set out to rip off Madonna's career . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXL Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 I get chills just thinking of this whole era Poor pathetic Joanne Just like sometimes Picasso was Matisse’s Mondrian, and vice versa. Bowie is often my Mondrian, as are Michael Jackson, Prince, Lita Ford, and Madonna. Mugler is my silhouette’s Mondrian, Cindy Crawford is my sexuality’s, Kermit is my whimsy’s, and, in my “Born This Way” video, two of my Mondrians were Francis Bacon and Salvador Dalí. In a lot of ways the “idea” of being obsessed with art is my Mondrian. Just like Campbell’s Tomato Soup was Warhol’s Mondrian, and Marilyn Monroe and Maripol were Madonna’s. I am obsessed with all the authors in the library of pop culture. This is what drugs and not having actually worked a single day of your life for your time in the spotlight will do Clueless rambling spoilt twat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXL Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWAD Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 OMG the Maripol exhibition is in the town where I live Dundee!!!! I didn't even know! Bad Madonna fan bad bad! I saw a poster today but didn't have time to go in, will go sometime this week!!! DCA here I come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts