PHILADELPHIA, PA.- InSights: Devon Dikeou - Marilyn Monroe Wanted to be Buried in Pucci is a mixed-media installation by New York-based artist, Devon Dikeou opens January 30, 2009 and runs through March 14, 2009 at the Galleries at Moore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The artist will be present for an opening reception will be held Thursday, January 29 from 6 to 8 pm. Tiffany & Co. will provide a version of the DiMaggio-Monroe platinum eternity band for viewers to touch or try on during the reception. The Galleries at Moore are free and open to the public.
In this solo exhibition, Dikeou uses Marilyn Monroe’s living request to be buried in a dress designed by renown Italian designer Emilio Pucci as the lens through which to reconsider various developments in art and design since the 1960s, particularly as they relate to the social, urban and popular cultural contexts. The exhibition presents a loose biographical narrative described through various components that refer to Pop Art, abstract painting, Minimalism, Performance and Conceptual art. Shown together, the works converge into a historical tableau of a romantic and turbulent era in American culture.
The installation at Moore will be comprised of various objects of art, artifacts and design including 36 abstract paintings created by the artist based on a Pucci design. The number 36 is significant as it represents how old Monroe was when she died. Five color photographs documenting the American flag hanging at half-mast in New York’s Union Square to commemorate the death of the great baseball hero Joe DiMaggio will be mounted on aluminum and hung sequentially showing the change of light on this mournful day in American popular culture (five was DiMaggio’s Yankee baseball jersey number).
An American Romance DiMaggio’s adoration of Monroe is evident not only in her lifetime, when he took her as his bride and even after their divorce, but also in her death as he proclaimed his ongoing love for her with six red roses that he arranged to send weekly to her burial site. During the run of the exhibition, The Parisian, the Beverly Hills florist who upheld DiMaggio’s weekly request, will deliver a funerary urn with six red roses to the installation at Moore. Dikeou has also commissioned a replica of the DiMaggio-Monroe platinum eternity band and it will be displayed as part of the exhibition. On special days and times, viewers will be invited to touch or try on the replica of the ring affecting the spirit of this iconic American romance.
About the Artist Devon Dikeou has exhibited widely throughout the United States and Europe including: Hohenthal und Bergen - Statements: Basel Art Fair 29, Basel, Switzerland; MAMCO, Geneva in collaboration with Outcasts Incorporated; Postmasters Gallery, New York; and more recently at artMovingProjects, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Dikeou is the publisher/editor of Zingmagazine, a curatorial crossing, an award-winning publication that recently celebrated its 12th anniversary.
Devon Dikeou – Marilyn Monroe Wanted to Burried in Pucci runs January 30 to March 14, 2009 at the Galleries at Moore in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Galleries at Moore, Moore College of Art & Design are located at 20th Street and The Parkway. The Galleries are FREE and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 11 am to 7 pm and Saturday 11 am to 5 pm. For information, call 215.965.4027 or www.thegalleriesatmoore.org.
The exhibition is organized by The Galleries at Moore and curated by Lorie Mertes, Rochelle F. Levy Director and Chief Curator as part of the InSights series of exhibitions presented in the Window on Race on view 24/7 from Race Street in front of Moore. Moore’s 2008-09 exhibition season is presented with support from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Gallery Sponsor’s of Moore’s 160th Anniversary Year.
Lorie Mertes has more than fifteen years of curatorial and museum experience with a focus on international art of the 20th and 21st centuries. Mertes has curated numerous solo and group exhibitions featuring such artists as: Janine Antoni, Russell Crotty, Dara Friedman, Anna Gaskell, Jim Hodges, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Ann Hamilton, Alfredo Jaar, Sarah McEneaney, Vik Muniz, Oscar Munoz, Paul Pfeiffer, Miguel Angel Rios, James Rosenquist, George Segal, Shahzia Sikander, Lorna Simpson, and Bill Viola.
Moore’s 160th Anniversary Sponors: Moore is grateful to the following sponsors of its 160th anniversary: Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest (160th Anniversary Presenting Sponsor); The Philadelphia Inquirer (160th Anniversary Galleries’ Presenting Sponsor); Fran Graham ’66 and Bill Graham (Moore Footsteps Alumnae Exhibition Sponsor); Charming Shoppes (160th Anniversary Fashion Show Patron); Wilmington Trust Company (160th Anniversary Lecture Series Sponsor); Comcast (160th Anniversary Senior Show Sponsor); Blank Rome LLP (WHYY 160th Anniversary Video Sponsor); Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust B as recommended by David Haas; Michael Fell and M&M Displays; Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust A as recommended by Carol Haas Gravagno; David’s Bridal; Frances and Bayard Storey; and The Four Seasons Hotel.
