A Grand Day Out: All Is Full of Björk

Hooray! I am at the Björk "Mid-Career Retrospective" exhibit here at the Museum of Modern Arts (we savvy New Yorkers call it "MoMa") in beautiful midtown Manhattan. I've been waiting to go to this exhibit all spring, and at last I'm here! Sadly, you cannot go. Because it closed yesterday. But I'm willing to share my photos with you! I hope that's a fair compromise in the face of an otherwise-Björkless lament by you.


Björk-tinued after the jump!



Here's a doll of Björk dressed as she appeared on her (second) solo album, the aptly named Debut. (Because she made her first LP when she was hardly no older than me!) I was hoping they had these on sale in the gift shop because I really, really wanted a Björk action figure. Just think of all the outfits and accessories they could sell for her! You really need to consult me next time on merchandising, MoMA.



There are on display many of her original notebooks filled with lyrics they eventually developed into her songs. Here's just two of them! I peered at them carefully and none of them had "I♥BULLY" written in the margins, but I'm sure it's on one of the other pages.



Here's those kissin' robots from the music video of "All Is Full of Love." Somebody stole that one's left foot! IT WASN'T ME.




This is Björk's costume from the "Jóga" music video. She's wearing her snowsuit and sleeping! DO NOT FALL ASLEEP IN THE SNOW, MISS BJÖRK! I have arrived with a small keg of hot chocolate that we can share!




The Alexander McQueen-designed dress (plus shoes and music box designed by Matthew Barney) for Björk's video "Pagan Poetry." This one was a little racy so I got pushed past it pretty quick.



(WARNING: explicit imagery in music video)

Slightly more little stuffed bull-safe: that (in)famous Swan Dress that Björk wore to the 2001 Academy Awards. I was trying to get a photo of myself with her here but none of them turned out very well. I guess I really laid an egg doing that.



Help! Help! Miss Björk has been swallowed by LSD Pac-Man! Oh wait, no, it's just the body sculpture designed by Bernhard Willhelm for the cover of her 2007 album Volta. Whew!



Sherpa Björk (designed by Sean Hellfritsch and Isaiah Saxon), from her video "Wanderlust" (2007). I am guiding her through the mountains to Shangri-La, the place where you can get Lost Horizontally.




Another Alexander McQueen-designed outfit, the "Bell Dress" from "Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)." It's made from thousands of little bells and every time she moves she jingles. I keep running in to see what she wants.




And a Biophilia tour dress, designed by Iris Van Herpen. I'm not quite certain how it works. I think Björk has to get in it first and then you blow it up. I hereby volunteer for that job.



Well, thank you for inviting me to your MoMA exhibit, Miss Björk! I know it was savaged by the art critics but what do they know — stupid, stupid art critics! I had a wonderful time! Now get home to Iceland and write and record more weird and wonderful songs, okay?



(If you want to see more photos of my visit to Björk, or see the ones I've posted here in a larger format, why, just swan-dance over to my Flickr page for more Björky goodness than you can possibly stand!)