Adelle Lutz (born November 13, 1948) is an American artist, designer and actress, most known for work using unconventional materials and strategies to explore clothing as a communicative medium.
[Koda, Harold. "View: ReView, Introduction," ''Adelle Lutz: View: Re: View'', Catalogue, London: Judith Clark Costume Gallery, 2002.][McCormick, Carlo. "Hidden Dreams Exposed," ''Paper'', September 2002, p. 120–1.][James, Caryn]
''The New York Times'', August 25, 1995. Retrieved February 25, 2019. She first gained attention for the surreal "Urban Camouflage" costumes featured in
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads.
Byrne has ...
's film ''
True Stories'' (1986).
[Conant, Jennet. "A Hat Is a Rose Is a Chicken," ''Newsweek'', November 30, 1987.][Newman, Lenore and Jan L. Spak. "Flights of Fantasy," i]
''Designed for Delight: Alternative aspects of twentieth-century decorative arts''
Martin Eidelberg (ed.), Montreal: Flammarion, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1997, p. 238–247. Retrieved February 25, 2019.[Poynor, Rick. "True Stories: A Film about People Like Us," i]
''Postmodernism: Style and Subversion, 1970-1990''
Glenn Adamson and Jane Pavitt (ed.), V & A Publishing, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2019.[Newark, Tim]
''Camouflage''
London: Thames & Hudson, 2007, p. 8. Retrieved February 22, 2019.[Stewart, Jude]
''Patternalia: An Unconventional History of Polka Dots, Stripes, Plaid, Camouflage, & Other Graphic Patterns''
Bloomsbury USA, 2015, p. 115. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
She has designed costumes for film director
Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman (; born December 11, 1952) is an American film director, producer, and writer. She is known for mixing comedy with drama and blending genres in her feature-film work. She is also notable for her art direction and pop-cultural refe ...
,
[Maslin, Janet]
"Film: John Malkovich in 'Making Mr. Right'"
''The New York Times'', April 10, 1987. Retrieved February 25, 2019. theater directors
Robert Wilson and
JoAnne Akalaitis
JoAnne Akalaitis (born June 29, 1937, in Cicero, Illinois) is an avant-garde American theatre director and writer. She has won five Obie Awards for direction (and sustained achievement) and was a co-founder of the New York theater company Mabou ...
, and musicians including Byrne,
Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
and
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.
Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...
.
[Judith Clark Costume Gallery. ''Adelle Lutz: View: ReView'', Catalogue, London: Judith Clark Costume Gallery, 2002.] In the 1990s, she began to shift from costume to
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
,
installation art
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...
and eventually, performance. Lutz's art and design have been exhibited at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
and
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...
(FIT)
[Dailey, Martha Sherrill and ]Nina Hyde
Nina Hyde (; 1932 – May 4, 1990) was an American fashion editor. Following a stint for ''Women's Wear Daily'', she moved to Washington, D.C. in 1961 and established the fashion page for ''The Washington Daily News'', which became the "Hyde & ...
. "It's Surreal Thing: Scenes from an Exhibition," ''The Washington Post'', December 13, 1987. (New York), the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
and
Barbican Art Centre (London), the
Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts and the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
(Cleveland), among many venues.
[Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art. "Adelle Lutz," ''The Invisible Thread: Buddhist Spirit in Contemporary Art,'' Catalogue, Staten Island, NY: Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor on Staten Island, 2003.][Åman, Jan. Catalogue essay, ''Adelle Lutz, Under/Covered'', Stockholm: Färgfabriken, 2002.][Färgfabriken. "Adelle Lutz, Under/Covered," Exhibition materials, Stockholm: Färgfabriken, 2002.] In 2002, the Judith Clark Costume Gallery in London presented a career survey.
[Clark, Judith. "View: ReView, Preview," ''Adelle Lutz: View: ReView'', Catalogue, London: Judith Clark Costume Gallery, 2002.]
Her work has also been featured in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
[Smith, Roberta]
"Art Review; Caution: Angry Artists at Work,"
''The New York Times'', August 27, 2004. Retrieved February 22, 2019. ''
Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'',
[Harper's Magazine. "He's Back!!! Packaging Christ's Second Coming," ''Harper's'', April 1989.] ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'',
''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...
'',
[LaRocca, Amy. "Divine Work," ''The Village Voice'', July 14, 2003.] ''
Vanity Fair''
and ''
Paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...
''
[Hastreiter, Kim. "Outlaw Fashion," ''Paper'', September 2002.] and in books on
fashion
Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
,
costume
Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture.
The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...
and
public art
Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
, including ''Fashion and
Surrealism
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
'' (1987),
[Martin, Richard. ''Fashion and Surrealism,'' New York: Rizzoli, 1987.] ''Designed for Delight'' (1997),
[Eidelberg, Martin (ed)]
''Designed for Delight: Alternative aspects of twentieth-century decorative arts''
Montreal: Flammarion, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1997. Retrieved February 25, 2019. ''Twenty Years of Style: The World According to Paper'' (2004),
[Hastreiter, Kim and David Hershkovits (eds)]
''20 Years of Style: The World According to Paper''
New York: Harper Design, 2004. Retrieved February 25, 2019. and ''Because Dreaming is Best Done in Public:
Creative Time in Public Spaces'' (2012). Her work ''Ponytail Boot'' (2002) is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.
[Metropolitan Museum of Art]
''Ponytail Boot'', Adelle Lutz
Collection. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
Life
Lutz was born in
Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...
, in 1948. Her parents were Mona Miwako Furuki, a native of Japan who studied couture, and Walter Lutz, an American businessman in international trade; they met in
occupied Japan
Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...
on Christmas Day 1945, while Walter served with the United States Army.
[Lambert, Bruce]
"Bettina L. Chow, 41, Acclaimed as a Model and Jewelry Designer"
''The New York Times'', January 27, 1992. Retrieved February 25, 2019.[Spindler, Amy M]
''The New York Times'', September 21, 1993. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Their collection of over 4,000 Asian bamboo works and objects is part of the
Denver Art Museum
The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With an encyclopedic collection of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums betwe ...
's collection and was exhibited in the museum's Walter + Mona Lutz Gallery, which Adelle co-designed.
[Denver Art Museum]
"Depth & Detail: Carved Bamboo from China, Japan & Korea,"
August 25, 2013–Nov 19, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
As a teenager, Lutz moved with her family to
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, where she attended
International Christian University
is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and Bank of Japan, BOJ Governor Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first liberal arts coll ...
and with her sister, jewelry designer
Tina Chow, modeled for the cosmetics company
Shiseido
is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world an ...
, among other firms, between 1967 and 1972.
[Mok, Laramie]
"Who was Tina Chow, and how this style icon still shapes the fashion scene,"
''South China Morning Post'', January 24, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
Lutz was working with theater director
Robert Wilson, when she met David Byrne in 1982; the three collaborated on ''
The Knee Plays'' section of Wilson's opera, ''
the CIVIL warS''.
[Hoban, Phoebe. "Head Trip," ''New York Magazine'', September 8, 1986, p. 40.] She and Byrne married in 1987 and their daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Lutz Byrne, was born in 1989.
[Pener, Degen]
"Egos & Ids; At Barneys, There's Arising Such a Clatter,"
''The New York Times'', November 15, 1992. Retrieved February 25, 2019.[Sella, Marshall]
''The New York Times Magazine'', April 29, 2001. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Byrne's former bandmate Chris Frantz claims that Byrne left Lutz in 2002 immediately following the ceremony inducting his band
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.[Talking Heads](_blank) ' into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
.
Lutz has lived in Los Angeles since 2008. Her first grandchild, Bo Wyly Ford Squibb, was born in August 2018.
Work
Writers and critics have sometimes struggled with Lutz's creative identity, situating her, in Met curator
Harold Koda's words, "in a netherworld of fashion and art."
Carlo McCormick summed up Lutz's eclectic, collaborative output as "uncannily eccentric work" that "has danced along the periphery of fashion, theater, performance art, music and film for decades" before shifting to individual art in the late 1990s.
Writers generally note her affinities to the unexpected juxtapositions and deadpan humor of
Dada
Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
and
Surrealism
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
, a
Pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
-like appreciation of everyday, consumerist objects and culture, and a consistent engagement with concepts and materials related to the body and dress.
In the catalogue to her 2002 retrospective, Koda concluded, "despite her apparent whimsy and good humor, like the Dadaists, Lutz is consistently, if subtly, subversive."
Costume design
Lutz has created costuming for film, performance, theater, display, and as artwork. Between 1983 and 1986, she designed costumes for the
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.[Talking Heads](_blank) videos "
Burning Down the House", "
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)", "
Road to Nowhere
"Road to Nowhere" is a song by the American band Talking Heads from their 1985 album '' Little Creatures''. The song was written by David Byrne and released as a single in 1985. It reached on the US '' Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart and ...
", and "Love For Sale",
before attracting widespread attention for the "Urban Camouflage" clothing featured in the fashion show segment of David Byrne's ''True Stories'' (1986).
[The Criterion Collection]
"The 'Very Unusual' Fashion Show at the Heart of ''True Stories'',"
The Criterion Collection, November 28, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2019. The surreal garments (e.g., ''Astroturf Family'' or ''Fir Coat'') mimicked conventional, often low-brow materials (wood paneling, brick, plastic greenery) and explored the idea of camouflage as a metaphor for conformity to manicured, middle-class suburban life.
Curator Judith Clark described them as "dead-pan jokes" that viewers get immediately without being disturbed by their "strangeness";
other writers suggest that the pieces reflect on the obliteration of self in contemporary society.
Subsequent to the film, the costumes were featured in an
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American Portrait photography, portrait photographer best known for her portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid ...
photo shoot in ''Vanity Fair''
[Leibovitz, Annie. Photo feature,''Vanity Fair'', October 1986.] and shows at FIT ("Fashion and Surrealism", 1987), the
Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, Lusanne (2002),
[Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains. ''Cache-Cache Camouflage'', Lusanne: Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains, 2002.] and
Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...
, London (2007);
[Erickson, Mark St. John]
"Modern Art Pokes Fun at Modernism,"
''Daily Press'', January 17, 1999. Retrieved February 22, 2019.[''Culture24'']
" Camouflage Explored at the Imperial War Museum London,"
''Culture 24'', March 22, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2019. they also appear in books, such as ''Paternalia'' (2015)
and ''Disruptive Pattern Material'' (2004),
[Blechman, Hardy]
''DPM - Disruptive Pattern Material''
London: Francis Lincoln, 2004. Retrieved February 25, 2019. among others.
In the decade that followed, Lutz worked on diverse projects. She designed a contemporary wardrobe for
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
for a tongue-in-cheek, 1987 ''Harper's Magazine'' feature that commissioned professionals in various fields to create components for a fictional, second-coming of Jesus of Nazareth "American Tour".
Her Christmas 1992 window design for
Barneys
Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks ...
displaying unconventionally dressed reindeer women (e.g., a four-armed "Deliah Donner", playing a trumpet, tambourine, cymbals and drum and sporting a
Women's Action Coalition
The Women's Action Coalition (WAC) was a feminist open-alliance that sought to address issues of women's rights through direct action. WAC was founded in New York City in 1992 and inspired the formation of subsequent chapters in various other US ci ...
button) were twice written up in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''.
[Pener, Degen. "Egos & Ids; At Barneys, There's Arising Such a Clatter," ''The New York Times'', November 15, 1992. Retrieved February 25, 201]
/ref> In 1997, Lutz created ''Muscle Suit'' (1997) for David Byrne's " Feelings (David Byrne album), Feelings" concert tour, a costume whose entire surface displayed an anatomical illustration of human musculature. She also produced concert costumes for Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.
Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...
for the R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
"Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
" tour (1997).
Lutz has frequently created costume designs for experimental theater directors. She worked on ''The Knee Plays'' segment of Robert Wilson's opera, '' the CIVIL warS'' (1984),[American Repertory Theater]
"Adelle Lutz,"
Biography. Retrieved February 25, 2019. JoAnne Akalaitis's productions of ''Leon Lena (and Lenz)'' (Guthrie Theatre
The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Gut ...
, 1988) and ''Dream Play'' (Juilliard School Theatre, 1996), and David Gordon's '' The Firebugs'' (Guthrie Theatre, 1995) and ''Punch and Judy Get Divorced'' ( American Music Theatre Festival, 1996).[Guthrie Theater]
''Leon, Lena (and Lenz)''
Credits, Videorecording of performance, Minneapolis, MN: The New York Public Library's Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the Guthrie Theater, 1987. Retrieved February 27, 2019.[American Repertory Theater]
"Punch and Judy Get Divorced,"
Program, 1996. Retrieved February 25, 2019. Her film costuming credits include '' Checking Out'' (dir. David Leland
David Leland (20 April 1941 – 24 December 2023) was a British film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987.
Life and career
Leland initially trained as an ac ...
, 1989) and the Paul Auster
Paul Benjamin Auster (February 3, 1947 – April 30, 2024) was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ' ...
-directed films '' Lulu on the Bridge'' (1997) and '' The Inner Life of Martin Frost'' (2007).[American Film Institute]
''Checking Out''
AFI Catalogue of Feature Films. Retrieved February 25, 2019.[Levy, Emanuel]
''Lulu on the Bridge''
''Variety'', May 14, 1998. Retrieved February 22, 2019.[Titze, Anne-Katrin]
"Meant to be: Interview with Paul Auster,"
''Eye on Film''. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Her wedding costumes for Susan Seidelman's '' Making Mr. Right'' (1987) were praised in Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
's ''New York Times'' review of the film.
Costume art and sculpture
In the late 1990s, Lutz turned to garment and furniture-related artworks that critics suggest use simple perceptual changes to create unexpected, sometimes disquieting readings and associations regarding identity, gender and culture. She collaborated with David Byrne on the "Dressed Objects" series (1998–9), which outfitted furniture and household items in ruffled skirts, chinos, slip, and more, imbuing mundane objects with idiosyncratic character and unexpected humanity. In ''The Wedding Party'' (2000–2) they staged the dressed objects as a surreal, imaginary wedding party to create what critics called curious and mysterious relationships between the anthropomorphized "figures".[Turchetto, Francesca. "David Byrne," ''Tema Celeste'', January/February 2002.][Undo.net. "David Byrne & Adelle Lutz," ''Undo.net'', November 23, 2002.] In her costume work, Lutz extended the strategy of ''Muscle Suit'' to create pieces such as ''Velvet Pelvis'' (2001)—a magenta velvet cocktail dress with a ghostly, correctly positioned illustration of a woman's pelvic bones—and ''Velvet Spine'' (2001), a black men's suit with spinal vertebrae depicted on the back.
That work led to a series exhibited at in Stockholm, Centraal Museum
The Centraal Museum is the main museum in Utrecht (city), Utrecht, Netherlands, founded in 1838. The museum has a wide-ranging collection, mainly of works produced locally. The collection of the paintings by the Northern Mannerist Joachim Wte ...
in Utrecht,[Lawrence, Anya]
"Hair! Human Hair in Fashion and Art,"
''Disegno'', February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2019. and New York,[Johnson, Ken]
''The New York Times'', May 10, 2002. Retrieved February 22, 2019. which used human hair as the expressive element in clothing and furnishings that explore ideas around the body, concealment, propriety, desire and disgust.[de Clercq, Emma]
"Exploring an exhibition containing over three tonnes of human hair,"
''Infringe'', April 11, 2016, Retrieved February 22, 2019. ''Corporate Adam and Eve'' (2001) featured male and female mannequins wearing a flesh-toned suit and dress, both with gender appropriate body hair on the outside of the clothing; ''New York Times'' critic Ken Johnson described two related works—an elegant beige chair whose upholstered seat featured a triangle of soft wavy hair and a prim, short-sleeved sweater with long tresses added to the armpits—as capturing "a high-low tension" that "is demure yet oddly sexy." Curator Jan Åman described the series as work within the traditionally defined "female sphere" that was "meticulously crafted ndat once elegant, perverse, and unabashedly strong."
Public art and installations
In 1993, Lutz created the site-specific installation ''One Size Fits All'', commissioned in New York by the 42nd Street Development Project and Creative Time for the "42nd St. Art Project".[Pasternak, Ann (ed). ''Who Cares'', New York: Creative Time, 2006.][Smith, Roberta]
"Review/Art; A 24-Hour-a-Day Show, on Gaudy, Bawdy 42d Street,"
''The New York Times'', July 30, 1993. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Combining her interests in clothing, unconventional materials and sociopolitical commentary, she created an "American Shemale" window (in an American Male store) displaying bright yellow mannequins in tailored coats and boots fashioned from draped and quilted condoms, among other materials.[Wallach, Amei. "Sizzling on 42nd," ''New York Newsday'', July 8, 1993.][Tallmer, Jerry. "Dada on 42nd Street," ''New York Post'', July 30, 1993.][Vogel, Carol]
''The New York Times'', July 7, 1993. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Critic Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith (born 1948) is co-chief art critic of ''The New York Times'' and a lecturer on contemporary art. She is the first woman to hold that position at the Times.
Education and early life
Born in 1948 in New York City and raised in Lawre ...
noted its discreetly subversive aesthetic matching "the street's tacky visual style" and playful safe-sex messaging; ''New York Newsday'' called it "deadpan preaching so outrageously glitzy it looks as if it was always there."
In 2003, Lutz staged the anti-war public performance ''The Peace Piece'', a 12-hour procession through the streets of Manhattan by six women wearing black burkhas hand-painted with U.N. statistics about war (e.g., "90% of war casualties are civilians." or "23 million people live in Iraq. Half are children.") or the image of a full-term baby on the belly.[Creative Time]
Adelle Lutz, ''The Peace Piece'', New York City, 2003
Creative Time. Retrieved February 22, 2019.[Taylor, Tess. "The Walk of Grief," ''The Village Voice'', March 24, 2003.] It took place on March 21, 2003 (the first day of spring and the Persian New Year), with the participants walking while engaged in Buddhist ''metta'' ("well-wishing") meditation from the Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a fare-free passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the Boroughs of New York City, New York City boroughs of Manh ...
war memorial, past the Stock Exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...
, into Grand Central Station and Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
, and, finally, to Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
. Lucy Lippard
Lucy Rowland Lippard (born April 14, 1937) is an American writer, art critic, activist, and curator. Lippard was among the first writers to argue for the " dematerialization" at work in conceptual art and was an early champion of feminist art. ...
described the performance's use of surprise as a tactic to publicly present moral, political and social dilemmas as "democracy in action."[Lippard, Lucy. "Pilot Lights," i]
''Who Cares''
Ann Pasternak (ed.), New York: Creative Time Books, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2019. The project was also presented in earlier incarnations—as a single work and as the installation ''Burkha/Womb'' (2003), which featured a single burkha printed with the baby image[Cotter, Holland]
''The New York Times'', November 7, 2003. Retrieved February 22, 2019.—and as a storefront window installation documenting the performance with six of the burkhas and video and sound (by Courtney Harmel and Sara Driver).
Acting and additional film work
In addition to her costume design, Lutz worked as an actress between 1986 and 1995. Her first role was a supporting one as a spirit haunting her former lover's wife in an episode of ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' ("The Canary Sedan").[TV Guide]
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', ("The Canary Sedan")
Retrieved February 27, 2019. She also had supporting roles in Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...
's ''Beetlejuice
''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...
'' (1988), Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...
's '' Until the End of the World'' (1991), and '' Dead Funny'' (1994) with Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Maria Peña (September 23, 1959 – October 14, 2014) was an American actress. Her film credits include '' Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (1986), '' Batteries Not Included'', '' La Bamba'' (both 1987), ''Jacob's Ladder'' (1990) ...
and Andrew McCarthy.[American Film Institute]
''Beetlejuice''
AFI Catalogue of Feature Films. Retrieved February 25, 2019. Writer Pico Iyer
Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is an English-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathman ...
wrote that she brought a "swan-necked grace" to her portrayal of Aung Sun Suu Kyi in the John Boorman film '' Beyond Rangoon'' (1995); ''New York Times'' critic Caryn James wrote that her "ethereal" presence hovered over the film.[Iyer, Pico]
"Beyond Rangoon,"
''tricycle'', Winter 1995. Retrieved February 25, 2019. Lutz also appeared in Jonathan Demme's '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and '' Something Wild'' (1986), Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
's ''Wall Street
Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
'' (1987), and '' Checking Out'' (1989).[American Film Institute]
''The Silence of the Lambs''
AFI Catalogue of Feature Films. Retrieved February 25, 2019.[American Film Institute]
''Something Wild''
AFI Catalogue of Feature Films. Retrieved February 25, 2019.[American Film Institute]
''Wall Street''
AFI Catalogue of Feature Films. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
In 1990, Lutz and Sandy McLeod co-directed the music video " Too Darn Hot", performed by Erasure
Erasure may refer to:
Arts and media
* Erasure (duo), an English pop group
* ''Erasure'' (album), 1995, by the British group Erasure
* Erasure poetry, a form of found poetry created by erasing words from an existing text
* ''Erasure'' (novel), ...
for Red Hot + Blue
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
, an ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
special seen in 35 countries that was created to raise public awareness about AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
and to benefit AIDS organizations.[Rosenberg, Howard. "ABC Takes Strides With 'Red, Hot'—and Bold—Special," ''Los Angeles Times'', November 30, 1990.][Sherwood, Rick. "'Red, Hot & Blue," ''The Hollywood Reporter'', November 30, 1990, p. 16, 76.][Hardy, Ernest. "Against All Odds," ''Village View'', November 23–29, 1990.] The video mixed TV news images, critique and safe-sex messages, but was censored by the network (aired with cuts), which cited concerns about the "balance" of its criticisms of the health care system and Reagan and Bush administrations; ''The Hollywood Reporter'' nonetheless called it one of the program's "strongest moments".[''Variety''. "Television Review: Red, Hot and Blue," ''Variety'', November 30, 1990.] In 1995, Lutz also created the production design for the Bono segment of the documentary '' Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye'', directed by Earle Sebastian (1995).
References
External links
''Adelle Lutz: View: ReView''
Catalogue, London: Judith Clark Costume Gallery, 2002.
Adelle Lutz
Fargfabriken exhibition.
Video on ''True Stories'' fashion show
discussion with Adelle Lutz and David Byrne.
Shiseido television commercial
1970, featuring Adelle Lutz.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutz, Adelle
1948 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American women
Actresses from New York City
American actresses of Japanese descent
American costume designers
American installation artists
American people of German descent
American performance artists
American women artists
American women costume designers
Living people