[ot-caption title=”Singer-actress Miley Cyrus, left, joins fashion designer Jeremy Scott for a walk on the runway after he showed his Spring 2015 collection during Fashion Week on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014 in New York. (via AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/miley-fixed.jpg”]

Last week was New York Fashion Week – a hectic time for New York fashion people, and an even more hectic time for I-can’t-go-to-fashion-week fashion people. Nights are spent with eyes glued to the computer screen, manically flipping through images and livestreams of each show, trying to absorb each piece with the reverence of a monk studying scripture. Highlights include Rodarte’s magical mermaids, Jonah Hill and Spike Jonze’s fashion “skit” for Opening Ceremony, 90’s cowboys at Maison Martin Margiela, and, of course, Miley Cyrus’ collaboration with Jeremy Scott for his rave-themed show.

For those who are not fashion people, Jeremy Scott is an American designer known for his crazy and subversive designs referencing pop culture. Like the modern-day readymade, Scott’s designs utilizing recognizable imagery from mainstream society force the audience to contemplate the power of advertising and the media to turn an image into a symbol. Scott’s designs for the high-end line Moschino, Adidas Originals, and his self-titled collection Jeremy Scott play with a sense of humor that is refreshing in the world of “serious” fashion, and his designs are favorites of models like Cara Delevingne and celebrities like Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus.

For her collaboration with Scott, Cyrus created a series of headpieces and necklaces adorned with everything from air fresheners to bejeweled bananas to acid-hued pompoms. The collection, entitled “Dirty Hippie,” is unquestionably “now,” and discusses the spoiled nostalgia and DIY mentality integral to youth culture. However, the question remains as to whether or not Cyrus’s foray into the world of art should actually be considered art.

In the world of contemporary art, the line between what is art and what is not is constantly being distorted. The work of contemporary art superstars Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons is constantly being criticized as being overly simplified and distasteful, and yet both artists sell for millions at auctions. As contemporary art moves in the direction of the conceptual and embraces the readymade made famous by Marcel Duchamp, the important factors to judge whether or not a piece is art have come down to branding and shock value. In this sense, Cyrus fits right in with other art world darlings.

Her art does a similar thing as Scott’s designs. Playing again with the idea of the readymade, Cyrus glues together things she gets from fans, the Dollar Store, airports – everywhere. The end product is strangely unsettling; although the objects on the pieces are recognizable, they are taken completely out of context and combined in a way that gives new insight into the purpose of each. While Miley does not have any art education background, it is clear that she puts thought and purpose into the placement of each synthetic, junky addition. The pieces are at once childish and mature in a grotesque way. Cyrus’s use of radioactive color and contrasting textures suggest youth, while the forms and content suggest something more.

In an interview with V Magazine, Cyrus reflects on her persona as a sort of “adult baby” and draws a poignant metaphor by stating that in life, as in her art, one can wait and let the junk accumulate, or one can take the junk and turn it into something happy. As she continues to develop in the public eye, her self and her work have become almost impossible to extricate from each other. Through her art, Cyrus is able to tell her story from her perspective, and to me, she has a right to be taken seriously.

Sources: Vogue, Dazed and Confused Magazine, Oyster Magazine, artnet, V Magazine