The Legendary auction on Paddle 8 has a lot of lots of legends memorabilia. This used to be Julien’s Auction‘s territory but Paddle 8 is now getting in on the act. I was surprised to see the (very famous) photograph of Madonna above listed online as “Artist Unknown.” Hello!? That’s by Herb Ritts – for SURE. If you can Google, you’ll find this out in less than one second. These sorts of obvious mistakes always make me a little skeptical that, A. auctions sell things they aren’t sure of ALL THE TIME, B. people buy things that are falsely attributed or not authentic ALL THE TIME. Having said that, everything else in this online auction is such fun to look at. I love pop star ephemera, it’s really just the junk of everyday life but with scribbling of a famous person’s pen or it came out of their junk drawer. These things, to me, are the real artifacts of popular culture. I have several such things in my “display case of life” like a bounced check from Courtney Love and the pajamas of Ray Bolger, the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. But right now, the credit card of Kurt Cobain is up to $22,600so I’m staring to think …. hmmm. Maybe I’ll make a copy of that check and sell the original. I know, she was married to him, but Courtney ISN’T Kurt. I guess I’ll hang onto it for a while longer…
Yoko Ono
ART-TEE: VISIONAIRE & THE GAP TEAM UP AT FRIEZE
Yes, yet another artist collaboration. I’ve done them myself and I’m getting a bit bored of the idea – but this one is affordable and looks cool. The Gap (yes, THAT Gap) and Visionaire magazine are reuniting again, after last December’s Art Basel Miami Beach, for Frieze Art Fair which opens on Randall’s Island this week. The collection includes Richard Phillips, Yoko Ono, Marc Quinn and more — and will be available May 9 at a few Gap locations and on Randall’s Island, as well. Which is your fave? The gold Yoko is very nice but I think the Marc Quinn would look equally good at the pool or peeking out from a blazer. And to be honest the paint by number Alex Katz is slightly derivative of SOMEONE but the guy is 86, so I’ll cut him some slack and assume the idea was probably suggested by an assistant.