Rococo is perhaps the artistic movement most associated with romance. Images of flirtatious Fragonard’s, playful paintings, and a few-too-many frills come to mind, along with the aftertaste of a powdery pastel candy heart. We may “remember Rococo by its trifles,” but Nathalie Agussol (aka PAN) and Julie Wolfe present a slightly different vision of the movement in PAN & THE DREAM’s latest publication, The Beholder, framing it in the context of modern society. The publication features some of the visual artists, photographers and writers of our time embracing an edgier side to the “sickly-sweet” Rococo. The coupled images of the publication’s lift-out, full page spreads are not just visually striking—they are also glittering reminders of how history repeats itself.
PAN’s publications have been collected institutionally by the likes of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY), MoMA (New York, NY), The Courtauld Institute of Art (London), The Art Institute of Chicago (IL) and The Royal Library (Copenhagen). The New York Public Library has acquired every PAN publication to date, including The Beholder—a copy of which has also been collected by the National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC). To mark this moment, we sat down with PAN and Julie to discuss the inspiration for the book and the relevance of Rococo today.
What is Rococo to you, in your own words?
PAN: Excessive. Dreamlike.
JW: Decadence and over indulgence as a form of self escape.
What do you think it is about Rococo that holds so much staying power? Why are people still so attracted to this aesthetic in the 21st century?
PAN: Put simply, I think it has an irresistible magpie effect.
JW: Irresistible seduction and a need for self escape. The perfect example of history repeating itself.
Beyond the aesthetic, the book positions the Rococo movement as relevant to modern societal issues. What was the jumping off point for the publication and what inspired it?
PAN: For me, Politics. We can pretty much liken 18th century France with current America. So many parallels. It’s obvious we do not learn from history.
JW: I think we both have an irreverent curiosity for art and art history, politics as Nathalie mentioned.
Can we touch on the title of this publication, The Beholder? Is it addressing or subverting the idea that women are often being gazed upon? In her essay, Ruby Redstone writes that Marie Antoinette’s life “was made for looking”.
PAN: Julie proposed this title, which I instantly liked.
JW: The book’s title is based on the quote, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This phrase highlights that people’s perceptions of things are subjective and vary from person to person often in reference to beauty. In this way, it could be said that truth, perfection and beauty is “the eye of the beholder”. In making this book we aimed to show many interpretations of these attributes by featuring artists working in a variety of mediums and from different geographic locations and backgrounds.
You’ve included such a strong group of artists. What did the selection process look like?
PAN: All were known for having created work that was inspired by Rococo in some way or another, or used elements that related to the visual codes of the period, intentional or not.
Anne von Freyburg practically devotes her whole oeuvre to subverting the Rococo. Vesna Vrdoljak was in the midst of working on joint Rococo pieces with Julie Wolfe for an exhibition with their gallery (Galerie Amélie du Chalard). Ebony Russell was a chance encounter on Instagram, a total discovery and revelation and could not have been more perfect for the subject matter of this book.
JW: Choosing the featured artists seemed to be an organic process as we moved through the early planning and image-making stages.
You have also chosen to leave the book unbound and opted instead for folded full page spreads. The images are coupled really uniquely and even cross mediums. Do you have a favorite moment or pairing? I have some of my own, like the smashed chocolate cake.
PAN: Definitely! I have a few and they are probably very subjective. I think different pairings may speak to different people. Pairing up the images in sequence was one of the most satisfying parts of creating this book. Anne von Freyburg’s “Oops I Made You Lose Your Head (After Fragonard, The Swing), 2023” paired with Julie Wolfe’s “Elegantly Appointed I, 2023” and my photograph of the model Sara Hiromi wearing a black train (a Marc Jacobs’ look from spring 2023) paired with Vesna Vrdoljak’s “leg, 2023” are favorite moments.
Lauren Kalman’s “But if The Crime is Beautiful… Monstance, 2014” with my photo of Delilah in a Fall ‘22 bustier by Marc Jacobs speaks directly of the very heady sexually charged times during the Rococo period. There are really so many more…I could list half the book!
Flipping through the pages is almost anticipatory—each spread is such a feast for the eyes. What do you think people will find most interesting about the publication and the image pairings?
JW: Hopefully viewers are able to enjoy the experience of interpreting the pairings on their own terms and within their own frame of reference. Human perception and how we each view the world is central to experiencing The Beholder.
If you could give us advice as to how we could harness a bit of Rococo flair in our everyday lives, what would you suggest?
PAN: Mixing it with something very basic, modern and minimal. Taking its codes and subverting them into something contemporary. Whether that be for fashion or interiors, and art!
The Beholder, Julie Wolfe & PAN, Independently Published, 2024, 33 x 43 cm, 124 pages, PB
BUY HERE
