Forty years ago, architect Ricardo Bofill found a disused cement factory, an industrial complex from the turn of the century consisting of over 30 silos, subterranean galleries and huge machine rooms. He decided to transform it into the head office of his firm, Taller de Arquitectura. The factory was partially in ruins and was a laundry list of surrealist elements: stairs that climbed up to nowhere, mighty reinforced concrete structures that sustained nothing, pieces of iron hanging in the air, huge empty spaces filled up with magic. THe torn down many of the silos and once the spaces had been redefined the process began of adaptation began. Eight of the silos remained. They became offices, a models laboratory, archives, a library, a projections room and a gigantic space known as “The Cathedral”, used for exhibitions, concerts and a whole range of cultural functions. The complex stands in the midst of gardens with eucalyptus, palms, olive trees and cypresses, like the set of fantastic movie that is difficult to tell if it is set in the past or in the future. I love reclaimed spaces. My ex and I adapted a turn-of-the-century gothic revival church into a home and eight years ago I bought a converted barn that I now live in, when I'm not in the city. I spend as much time as I can there (was just there for three weeks!) But I have to say, if I had my choice of all of the spaces on earth I could live, I think this might just be at the top of my list. I think could live here 1000 years and never tire of it. (Photos, Ricardo Bofill)
PRESERVED IN 40 YEARS OF DUST
I’m not a car nut, but when a find like this turns up it’s more archeology than automotive, really. A 1969 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 428 Cobra Jet – that is a mouthful – but say it and it’ll drop any car collector’s jaw. The now-deceased automotive connoisseur that owned this beauty never washed it for fear of scratching the paintjob or causing the slightest bit of rust. It’s been estimated that the only time the car was ever washed was before delivery. Accordingly, the car is in absolute MINT, showroom condition. The spark plugs, belts, fan, and hoses are all original. The only items that are not from 1969 are the tires. Considering this highly collectable GT500 has sat since 1973, it’s an extreme rarity. It was originally purchased for just $5,245, which was twice what a Mustang would sell for at the time. Now it should sell at auction for $100,000+ on April 25th. Three well-known names that will be bidding, I’ll bet; Seinfeld, Leno and Lauren.
TONGUE LOGO DESIGNER STICKS HIS OUT AT MICK
Artist Ruby Mazur, who created the Rolling Stones’ famous tongue logo, says Mick Jagger is a “very bad guy,” who left him so depressed that he considered suicide. Mazur has a decades-long feud with Mick. He reacted to the suicide of L’Wren Scott with a scathing post on his Facebook page. (which he has since deleted) He described Jagger as a “very egotistical, self centered, ‘Mick Mick Mick’ kind of person. I feel for [L’wren],” Mazur says, even though he’s never met her. “Had I not been as strong, with great friends, I might have hung myself too.” To me, this gets the prize for inappropriate and tacky – even if you do have a beef.
Mazur met Jagger in the 1970s in London. Mick paid him $10,000 for the artwork for the cover of the Stones album “Tumbling Dice”. It was the original “mouth and tongue” logo. I have designed many logos myself and I’m here to tell you that $10,000, in the early 70s, was an absolute FORTUNE for artwork – it’s a decent amount today. As you know, since then, that logo has been used on Stones merchandise and become one of the most recognizable logos in pop culture. Mazur says he asked Jagger repeatedly to give him trademark rights in order to reap fair earnings for his work, but says Jagger brushed him off and the artist then grew depressed. Mazur tried to sue Jagger for trademark infringement in the ’90s, but too much time had elapsed. Mick is rich and probably should have thrown him some money, but how can you know the REAL story. Jagger’s rep has said, “This person made a business deal decades ago. How sad and contemptible that they would use this time of personal loss to gain attention.” I'm usually on the side of the artist, but in this case have to agree. Hey, I designed Andy Warhol’s gravestone myself and never saw a dime. All kidding aside, time to move on, Ruby. Ever think of doing something for Miley Cyrus?
REAL ESTATE PORN: MID-CENTURY EDITION
It was designed by architects Harold Bissner & Harold Zook in the late 1940s, although the vibe is decidedly 50s. This, to me, is LA living. A beautiful mid-century modern home, secluded high above the street on a large wooded lot with a private driveway, sheltered by a giant 170 year old oak. The house has an amazing indoor-outdoor flow with walls of floor-to-ceiling glass and views of the lagoon-like swimming pool, woods and gardens. The interior spaces have high ceilings, and lots of natural light pouring in. Many of the original features of the house are intact like dramatic serpentine stone staircase, desert-stone fireplace and oak floors. The price is nice too, at $1.295 million – the one drawback? Just one bedroom – and the house needs further restoration. I could see how to get another bedroom in, as it is, but there are architectural plans and space for an addition on a flat lot above house. (That's where I'd build a painting studio) I would buy this in a heart-beat, if I had the means. For more details, go here.
MOVE OVER GAGA: SCARY FUTURE POP STAR IN THE MAKING
By now you’ve probably seen Lady Gaga’s latest video extravaganza G.U.Y. I love the look of it – the song isn’t my favorite, and the presence of the Real Housewives, really threw me – but it’s a gorgeous video. The location was San Simeon otherwise known as Hearst Castle, the former home of William Randolph Hearst the publishing tycoon who was the inspiration for one of the greatest films ever made, Citizen Kane. It is now a museum and they have not allowed a film shoot there in nearly 50 years, so they story goes, so this was a big deal before they shot a frame. No doubt the concept was a bit inspired by the Venus section and intro to G.U.Y. in the video, as it centers around the Castle’s two famous bathing areas, the Neptune & Roman pools which feature statues of the gods. (Although God himself is Andy Cohen. Who knew?) But seriously, locations aside, Gaga’s next video shouldn’t star herself at all, but rather this vixen in the video below.
Artist Jordan Wolfson is currently exhibiting this animatronic figure at David Zwirner Gallery in New York. He has brought this new star to life, with some help from his friends at Spectral Motion. The figure is entirely animatronic and incorporates facial recognition technology, allowing her to focus on, and unnervingly, follow visitors in the room. Can’t you just see her doing Applause (she starts to as the video ends!) Better get on this Stefani before Madge or Miley beat you to it! (go full screen so you can see her facial expressions. Eerie!)
A CORNER OF NEW YORK HISTORY: 61 FIFTH AVENUE
In April 1946 there were 34 Schrafft’s in the New York metropolitan area. At the swanky, five-story outpost at Fifth & 46th St. the hostesses wore long gowns. But gentility in the first half of the 20th century had its dark side. Schrafft’s discouraged African-American patrons, who would be seated politely without comment and then ignored by the wait staff, so it’s hard to idealize this time too much – not everyone was having fun. But Schrafft’s was one of the first restaurant chains to hire women managers and most of the cooks were women. The restaurant at 61 Fifth Avenue, which opened in 1938, had a curved facade with windows and a two-level interior decorated with murals. Scrafft’s continued to flourish through the 60s and but steadily declined through the 70s and eventually disappeared.
In that same building, The Lone Star Cafe opened a club that operated from 1976 to 1989. I came to New York in 1980 and I remember it but being from Texas and having just escaped, I wasn’t interested in a Texas-themed café. But it was popular for a time and everyone played there; Willie Nelson, Kinky Friedman, Roy Orbison, The Blues Brothers, Clifton Chenier and James Brown, who recorded a live album there in 1985. Words from a Billy Joe Shaver song hung on a banner out front: “Too Much Ain’t Enough.” The roof sported a huge 40-foot iguana which made it hard to miss, but neighboring businesses did not appreciate the sculpture and after a court battle, it was removed.
After The Lone Star closed, for years, a deli operated out of that space and Schrafft’s beautiful interior and the sound of twangy country music was a distant echo of the past. The lot was eventually sold, in the 21st century and that beautiful building, which should have been landmarked, was torn down to make way for just 4 luxury condos. Million Dollar Listing reality star, Elliman broker, Fredrik Eklund eventually sold the units that ranged from $28.5 million for the penthouse to $12.975 million for one of the duplexes, making the total “sellout value” around $70 million. (That’s a lot of milk shakes and grilled cheese sandwiches!)
This seems to be the history of New York of late – but it’s been going on for a hundred + years. I didn’t go back before Schrafft’s but something was there before and people probably bitched when they built Schrafft’s as some “ugly, modern monstrosity”. Everyone seems to constantly complain about “old New York disappearing” – but does anyone REALLY expect real estate owners to ignore insane profits or for the city to be frozen in time by some sympathetic mayor? Let’s hope for every sad loss of a great landmark, there are more happy newcomers like The Highline park, Hudson Yards and new performance venues coming out of long-neglected spaces. New York City is renewing itself constantly and will continue to do so long after we’re gone. (And if predictions come true and the sea level rises 20 feet, it’ll be Venice, anyway) However, I DO wish Penn Station was still around.
SUPERIOR INTERIORS: GOOGLE IN AMSTERDAM
Maybe it’s best to post this on the weekend, when hopefully you aren’t reading this at work. I don’t know where you work (how could I?) but as an artist I work at home, which is where I like to be, as much as possible. I was once the art director of Us Weekly, which had offices on the second floor on 6th & 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, where I had my own (windowless) office. It was furnished and decorated by me, and was referred to as “Café Trey”, I guess, due to the low lighting, lounge area, free candy and relaxing water feature. The rest of the offices were another matter. Only three offices – the Creative Director, the Executive Editor and Editor in Chief – even had windows. Everyone else worked in a grey, windowless TOTALLY non-creative environment. The job itself was creative (along with editors, Bonnie Fuller and Janice Min, it’s no exaggeration to say we all REINVENTED the celebrity mag that you see everywhere today.) I liked the people and I was paid very well – but we spent 12-hour days there and we very often ate three meals a day in the office. After nearly three years, honestly, I couldn’t stand being in that environment anymore, so I left to pursue my art career and be in my self-designed space.
That’s a long intro to get to some pictures, but these shots got me to thinking about how important creative environments are. If you imagine that Amsterdam must be one of THE coolest places to live, besides being beautiful – and Google would be one of the coolest companies to work for, then Google in Amsterdam must totally ROCK! Yep, you’re right. Look at these pics. The interiors are by Dutch architects, D/Dock. I like the idea of getting paid to hang out here.
My favorite New Yorker cartoon ever illustrates how far we’ve come – and need to go. Two males executives are walking by a row of desks and one says to the other, “Each employee can have a plant, or a poster – but not both.” (Photos; Alan Jensen)
ANDY & HALSTON TOGETHER AT THE WARHOL
“Halston and Warhol: Silver and Suede” at The Warhol in Pittsburgh chronicles the enduring relationship between the two good friends and their effect on American popular culture. Forty original pieces of Halston’s, including a 1961 pillbox hat he designed for Jackie Kennedy, juxtaposed with Warhol’s paintings, photos, and videos will be on view. Halston collected Warhol’s work, rented a Montauk retreat from him, and was a frequent subject of Andy’s work. In turn, Warhol dedicated a chapter of his book, Andy Warhol’s Exposures, to his pal. This exhibit was organized by Warhol Museum and Leslie Frowick, Halston’s niece. (Halston’s real name is Roy Halston Frowick. No wonder he went with his middle name – no one wants to wear a Frowick.) “What a privilege it was to have seen Andy and my uncle together – Andy’s birthday weekend at Montauk, nights out on the town – quiet dinners at home.” Frowick said. All that’s missing is Liza, Truman, Bianca, some blow and “Le Freak” to get the party started. If the museum was in New York (where it should be) and not in Pittsburgh, this would be SOME opening night. The exhibit runs from May 18 – August 24, 2014 at the Andy Warhol Museum.
UNDER THE INFLUENCE @ PHILLIPS LONDON
I feel like it’s limiting when I’m having a conversation with people who are not informed about the internet.”-Parker Ito
Parker Ito’s "The Agony and The Ecstasy" is an exploration of our experience of art through mobile devices and the internet. A self-described professional web-surfer, Ito’s practice is completely immersed with internet culture. From digital projects on his website, Tumblr or Twitter, even Ito’s canvases are inherently based in technology. Other paintings in this London auction, like flavors-of-the-moment Oscar Murillo and Lucien Smith, will test the market to see if their meteoric rise is still ascending. The late Dash Snow, the very-much-alive Mark Flood and Vik Muniz are looking like the elder statesmen in this fresh paint auction-land – but we’ll leave that post to Uncle Andy, th Godfather of this type of emerging work. As to where the roulette wheels stops, as auctions always go – We. Shall. See. Phillips de Pury, London auction, April 8, 2014
JEWELRY AS ART @ GAGOSIAN
My jewels are propositions. From the outset, this involves making an object that constructs itself out of many different things, and that sometimes ends up surpassing even what I had imagined for it. It is no longer primarily an accessory; it becomes something larger. It speaks about concept and form as opposed to objective value. It becomes sculpture. –Victoire de Castellane
Victoire de Castellane is exhibiting these glittering new artworks at the Gagosian outpost on Madison Avenue in New York. In 2007, she embarked on this independent practice as a sculptor of unique precious objects. Thinking through the paradox of wearable jewels, which when not worn are hidden away from view, de Castellane has conceived rings, bracelets, and necklaces as components of small tabletop sculptures for perpetual contemplation –needless to say, by very rich individuals. She uses materials like no one else with a kind of wacky irreverence. These beautiful baubles, for people with the means to appreciate them at home, are on par with the Russian Czars trinkets (think Fabergé eggs). Essentially self-taught, de Castellane lives and works in Paris. She attempted to make her first piece of jewelry at the age of five — she designed (costume) jewelry for Chanel for fourteen years. In 1998, she joined Dior as the first Creative Director of their new jewelry department, where she continues to this day. One wonders, who is backing this very expensive sculptural enterprise (rich husband/ boyfriend? Dior?) that she is no-doubt a master of. The exhibit runs through April 5, 2014.