Animalistic, millions of lines, organic symmetry, sweet and savage, and static cannibals are the words I scribbled on a napkin as I stood in front of the current Barneys New York windows with my mouth half open in awe. This is a one-of-a-kind creation by artist Dennis McNett, in collaboration with Barneys' legendary creative director Simon Doonan: a feast of hectic colors, convoluted lines and wild creatures up now, but just until July 12^th, 2010, on Madison and 61^st St.

Dennis McNett and Simon Doonan go wild on the Upper East Side. Barneys New York windows, photos courtesy Dennis McNett.

McNett is a Virginian artist based in New York, best known for his hand-carved, sculptural woodwork installations, including his Viking ship parades in Philadelphia, his Nordic giants on West Broadway in Manhattan, and his dragon slayings in Oklahoma.  His work has also been featured in the annual fall Deitch Artparade, in Soho, on Vans shoes and Anti-Hero skateboards among many other projects in both the fine arts and the design fields.

Doonan is best known for his over-the-top work at Barneys since 1986, including his lumpy caricatures of celebrities like Madonna and Margaret Tatcher in Barneys' holiday windows in 1989. His career has been thoroughly documented in the publications Confessions of a Window Dresser, Wacky Chicks, Eccentric Glamour and book-tuned-BBC TV-show Beautiful People.

Their collaboration happened really by chance, thanks to a friend of McNett's who happened to be part of the design team at Barneys and showed McNett's work to Doonan; it was love at first site.
I caught up with Dennis and Simon via email this week to find out more juicy details about the project. Here is how our Q&A went:

Fernanda: How do you think Dennis's work complements the way that Barneys showcases its clothes?
Simon: It doesn't. That's what's so great. His anarchic heavy metal hallucinations are the total opposite of the Barneys aesthetic. It provides a great juxtaposition. Like putting a girl wearing a couture dress in a bombsite.

Fernanda: How was the artistic direction?
Dennis: Some of Barneys window designers came to the studio and selected a lot of pieces to take back to their workspace. From what they took they basically edited down what they could use and for which sections of the windows. Barneys window designers are some of the very best so I had full confidence in allowing them to do what they do professionally.

F: How often does Barneys showcase outside artists in its windows?
S: If I see something great I don't care whether it's inside or outside, I am happy to put it in the window.  Most of the art I see would not work in the windows. The problem is that most artwork is too small, or too heavy, or too fragile. Paintings or works on paper do not really mean anything in the window. Bold sculptural stuff is best. Found objects are great. Nothing too slick otherwise it looks like a display prop. Multi-media installations are great.

F: What did you use for the Barneys' installation?
D: There are some masks, wall panels, tapestries and sculptures from several different shows, like the Deitch Artparade, my traveling show Year of Wolfbat, my Nordic mythology series and my Lower East Side Old Horned Deity show. A lot of the imagery comes from mythology, folklore and storytelling. Some of the prints and tapestries are from my obsession with snow leopards, wolves, eagles and such.

Dennis McNett's window displays are on view through July 12^th, 2010 at Barneys New York, located at 660 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10065. Mon - Fri: 10am - 8pm; Sat: 10am - 7pm; Sun: 11am - 6pm.

New York-based artist and illustrator Fernanda Cohen is a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts, Vice President of ICON6, and lecture coordinator at the Society of Illustrators of New York. She recently designed a line of T-shirts for The Gap's Product (RED) campaign, and is one of 10 New York faces for Carolina Herrera's latest perfume 212 VIP's campaign. She is also a regular contributor to DART.

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