Artspace is a great resource for both emerging and established artists work. These rugs by contemporary artists unite fine art with luxe textiles. Yes, call them tapestries for your toes. Each one is a limited edition hand knotted rug made of 100% Himalayan wool and silk, numbered and made to order taking anywhere from 5 to 7 months to complete. They aren’t cheap but you can be pretty sure you’ll be the only one on your block that has one. And unlike your run-of-the-mill floor covering, they will likely be worth more than you paid in the future, not less.
JO ANN CALLIS'S HIDDEN FETISH
Jo Ann Callis was one of the first female photographers to work extensively with constructed sets, arranging models and objects in ambiguous, sometimes unsettling tableaux. She’s best known for her interiors and still lives but these photos, taken between ’74 and ’77, are some of her earliest work — which she’s largely kept a under wraps until now.
“I put them away for a very long time. I started working at CalArts in 1976, which was a very conceptually oriented school, so I thought these pictures didn’t fit what they might be looking for — and I really needed the teaching job. I remember Judith Keller asking me, ‘Are there any other pictures we haven’t seen?’ I just pretended they didn’t exist, because even at that time I just didn’t think this was appropriate to show.”
They're a bit Guy Bourdin, a little Outerbridge and right in sync with 70s Cindy Sherman – and they look totally today. At the suggestion of some her collectors, recently Callis brought theses shots to the Rose Gallery, where they are now on view in a Santa Monica through the end of the summer.
THE JULIE KLAUSNER CABARET SITUATION
A month or so ago (actually, Mother’s Day) I wrote about a brunch performance with Rufus Wainwright during the Vulture Festival and the mediator/ instigator of that afternoon was none other than Julie Klausner. Having lunch with my old pal Jodi Lennon the other day, I learned she was directing Ms. Klausner’s new show, The Julie Klausner Cabaret Situation which premieres tonight and this Tuesday – Friday, June 24-27 at 7:30PM at Joe’s Pub (with musical director Jon Spurney.) Julie is the headwriter of the very funny Billy on the Street, with Billy Eichner. Klausner has put together a new night of music and comedy that will feature her saying funny things, singing medleys of songs arranged to make a point (or just to be pretty) plus some powerful visuals that will leave your eyes stimulated AND lubricated. Klausner will perform a potpourri of songs from artists like Hole, Nancy Sinatra, Bobbie Gentry, Alice Cooper and MORE. The centerpiece promises to be a Stephen Schwartz/Ben Folds mash-up. This clip below I’m sure has nothing to do with this new show or any of that, but for a Klauser sampler medley, it works for me. (I watched SMASH for as long as I could, but gave up and this medley is a perfect musical send-up.) Tickets are $20-25 and are available here.
RIP: WARHOL SUPERSTAR, ULTRA VIOLET
Isabelle Collin Dufresne, aka Ultra Violet, who was one of Warhol’s superstars, died early Saturday at a Manhattan hospital. She later condemned her former Factory drug use, free sex and became a Morman. She worked as an artist up until her death, and just had an exhibit at the Dillon Gallery in Manhattan this spring, “Ultra Violet: The Studio Recreated,” that closed just three weeks ago. Collin Dufresne was in her late 20s when she met Andy Warhol while having tea at the St. Regis Hotel with Salvador Dalí, who was a lover and an early mentor. She made her debut in Warhol’s “The Life of Juanita Castro,” an improvised black-and-white political comedy. As Ultra Violet, she appeared in seventeen films, not counting numerous documentaries made later about the the Factory. In Famous for 15 Minutes: My Years With Andy Warhol, Ultra Violet’s 1988 memoir, she wrote about her return to religion after a nervous and physical breakdown. And she denounced the person she had been during the Warhol years as an “unleashed exhibitionist chasing headlines.” In a 2011 interview with USA Today, she said;
“I mean, it was an exciting era in that there was a cultural revolution going on. I think we are constantly in some kind of a flux.”
She could be a serious interview subject, as when in David Henry Gerson’s 2011 documentary, Ultra Violet for Sixteen Minutes, she announced,
“As you come closer to your true nature, you are more fulfilled.”
But she could also jab back. At an arts festival in Bridgehampton in 2010, she and her longtime Factory friend, the late Taylor Mead, were confronted by a young interviewer who had no idea who they were and asked them, “Whose work do you like?” and “Why are you here?” Ultra Violet said, as though she were back in the Factory days;
“I like my own work. We are here because we are world-famous.”
VINTAGE POP: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads! We all have one, whether we ever knew them, they’re still in our lives or they’ve left the planet. Dad’s like lots of different things, some of them are here. And then there are Daddies that like different things – we love them too. Now, call your Pop.
NEW YORK STORIES; WE ARE FAM–I–LY
So, Thursday night was the second installment of Nora Burn’s New York Stories at the Stonewall Inn. I was lucky enough to be in attendance, as well as tell of my own little slice of Big Apple pie. The lineup (other than yours truly) was pretty legendary, as was the audience, who likely had stories that were just as good. We learned that:
Nora Burns – “toured” with Tiny Tim in strip malls and had the good sense to keep track of funny folks she met along the way…
Paul Alexander – grew up in New York City, among the fabulous freaks and recounted a student fashion show crashed by a drag queen bride…
Brenda Bergman – the (hilarious) victim of multiple robberies, married a Pakistani man for money ($1500, which she was immediately robbed of) and SO much more, God love her… (I was so enthralled by her stories, I forgot to take a picture)
Tom Eubanks – described the personal loss of St. Vincent’s hospital and the hole that it’s left downtown
David Ilku – regaled us with crack smoking parties in Kiss’s manager’s penthouse and the simple 80s pleasure of “just snorting some lines” with the boys…
Bob Russell – entertained –and bummed us out– with the sadness and syncronicity of murders & suicides in the 70s
Anita Sarko – brought back her memories of the Mudd Club and a loaded Chrissie Hynde, withKeith Haring at the coat check…
David Schweizer – had a LOT of sex in the 70s and was haunted by a phantom Peter Berlin on the streets of the empty city
Lucy Sexton – spoke of the magic of making vomit disappear at Florent and police who arrive to collect a dead body, only to pretend it’s all about the plumbing
Linda Simpson – read her vintage column from “My Comrade” about Lady Bunny, Wigstock and Guiliani’s futile persecution of transsexuals
And me. I told the following story, along with a couple of others…
“When I was a young gay boy, growing up in Houston, I dreamt of what New York City was like and I LOVED Andy Warhol – and I always wanted to work at Vogue. I moved here for six months in the summer of '80 and then moved back to Houston, briefly. While back home, I went to a museum event that New York performance artist, Colette was at. You know Colette right? – “Colette is Dead” – performance artist, right? – no she’s not dead, that’s just what she was called. Anyway, she performed at the Contemporary Arts Museum and there was a party at a club called The Island, which was like Houston’s Pyramid. I met her there and we were drinking champagne and getting pretty drunk, and she asked me what I did. I said, ‘Oh, I work for Vogue and I go back and forth from Houston to New York?’ I didn’t work at Vogue. Who does that? goes back and forth from New York to Houston… so, 6 months later I come back to New York and it was coming up to my 21st birthday, my ex-boyfriend Haoui Montaug, offered to give me a birthday party at the Peppermint Lounge in Times Square. So, I went to check it out and who was performing there…? Benjamin Liu as Miss Ming Vauze (THE worst lipsync but THE best outfits ever…) That night I met a guy, Philip Monghan, and fell in love. I went back to Houston to get myself together to move back to New York and in with Philip and his roommate, Roberta Wagner>. One of Roberta’s best friends friends was Mickey Soutendijk, who was the Art Editor at Vogue. Mickey needed an assistant. She interviewed me and then hired me! (Applause. Thank you. I got a job at Vogue at 21!) About 6 months or so later, I run into Colette at a some nightclub downtown and she says to me, “So, what are you doing now?” And I say, “Oh, I’m still working at Vogue.”
So, as the old adage goes, “Fake it ’til you make it.” It was such a fun night hearing everyone’s stories. It brought home another old cliché – we all choose our real family. Corny as it is, I kinda felt like these were my brothers, sisters, cousins and uncles – half of which I had never met. It was a lovely family reunion. Thanks, Nora.
RIP: THE GREAT JIMMY SCOTT
Jimmy Scott, a singer whose unique, high-pitched voice had a haunting effect on listeners for decades, died Thursday in Las Vegas. He was 88. Mr. Scott began singing in the 40s and had one minor hit during his career, with “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” in 1950. (His name was not on the record. Credit was given to his bandleader at the time, Lionel Hampton) Yet, he was a major influence on generations of singers, like Nancy Wilson, Dinah Washington, Frankie Valli, and Marvin Gaye.
“Jimmy Scott is the only singer who makes me cry.” – Madonna
(I have to admit when I learned of the news of his death, I inexplicably burst into tears. Silly. I didn’t know him and the man was 88 – so it’s not a big shock – but I truly loved his music, as many did.)
He disappeared in the 1960s, when the album long considered his masterpiece, “Falling in Love Is Wonderful,” was pulled from the shelves in a legal dispute between record labels. It wasn’t until the 1990s that his career revived, with a series of new recordings and performances that continued into his 80s. Arts writer Joseph Hooper said of Mr. Scott in the New York Times that he was “perhaps the most unjustly ignored American singer of the 20th century.” His music was an acquired taste and his records sold in small numbers but Mr. Scott became something of a cultural touchstone. Documentary films were made about his life, a biography was written, and critics praised his idiosyncratic singing and his resilience after a life of adversity.
People hearing Mr. Scott for the first time were invariably startled by his striking and preternaturally high singing voice, which was the range of a high alto but with a masculine strength. Because of a hereditary condition called Kallmann syndrome, Mr. Scott never went through puberty, and his voice didn't change when he reached adolescence. He was slight, had no facial hair and stood just 4' 11" (He inexplicably grew several inches in his mid-30s.) He was billed as “Little Jimmy Scott” for years. He was married 5 times and had a number of girlfriends, but he projected an androgynousness that led to some painful encounters. He told David Ritz in his biography, Faith in Time: The Life of Jimmy Scott:
“In my adult life, people have looked at me as an oddity. I’ve been called a queer, a little girl, an old woman, a freak, and a fag. As a singer, I’ve been criticized for sounding feminine. They say I don’t belong in any category, male or female, pop or jazz. But early on, I saw my suffering as my salvation.”
He sang at very slow tempos bringing fresh meaning to oft-heard standards, with his eyes closed, his arms and hands danced, as if giving the music shape. His singing seemed to be the expression of a broken heart. Music producer Quincy Jones, in a 1988 interview, recalled seeing Mr. Scott perform in the 1950s:
“He’d just stand there with his shoulders hunched and his eyes closed and his head tilted to one side. He sang like a horn — he sang with the melodic concept of an instrument. It’s a very emotional, soul-penetrating style. He’d put me on my knees, give me goose bumps. Jimmy used to tear my heart out every night.”
Mr. Scott spent his final years in Las Vegas and continued to perform, sometimes in a wheelchair, until his mid-80s. Even then, the one-of-a-kind voice was still there, penetrating and clear, filled with pain and grace.
“All I needed was the courage to be me. That courage took a lifetime to develop.”
LEGENDARY DIVA: JOEY ARIAS, A–Z
Another night, another legendary New York treasure. Tuesday night Lady Bunny, last night the one and only Joey Arias. Does he need any introduction? Well, for the uninitiated, “Joey Arias A-Z” was really a mini-retrospective. Sponsored by MAC Cosmetics at Irving Plaza, there were Joey’s “makeup wipe” face drawings, artwork, photos, posters and memorabilia, costumes (with video monitor heads) a GIGANTIC Joey head on the stage and then, there was Joey himself with a live band, of course.
The crowd was chock-a-block with downtown divas and celebs like Penny Arcade, Susanne Bartsch, Roxanne Lowitt, Drena Deniro, Johnny Rozsa, Scooter LaForge, Flotilla deBarge, Adriana Kaegi, Maripol, Montgomery Frazier and Johnny Dynell who was spinning some vintage gold. Halfway through the night I was talking with art dealer Brian Clamp and his boyfriend James Eastman next to a low platform in the middle of the club and the next thing we knew, there was Joey again to recreate a little Bar d’O magic. Bar d’O was the scene of many a fun night in NYC about 15 (or more) years ago and after a little number he intro’d the fab Sherry Vine, who did a “moving” cover of Lenard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah” reworked into “How I Blew Ya” – there was not a dry crotch in the first three rows. Then, sure enough after we had just invoked his name, there was Raven O looking amazing and sounding even better. The sistas finished with a rousing “Sisters” (which I managed to video, see below) and Jean Marc who ran Bar d’O came up for a big round of applause.
Later, Joey went onstage again to do a few numbers as Z Chromosome his new character in theMugler Follies, which looks incredible. The show is the mastermind of Manfred Mugler. (That’s the new moniker of former fashion genius, Thierry Mugler) Joey’s first outfit was by Mugler and a new film of Joey by Manfred was screened as well. There was more, but suffice to say, it was an amazing night centered around a major talent. Joey always brings such good vibes, wherever he performs, and you could really feel the love everyone has for him. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy – gal – man… person. He’s in Rehoboth Beach at The Blue Moon June 30 with Sherry Vine. Go see him. Joey NEVER disappoints. (You can follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyAriasNYC)
FANTASY GETWAY: THE BRANDO
Let’s escape for a few minutes, shall we? The legendary Marlon Brando first came to Tetiaroa while filming Mutiny on the Bounty over 50 years ago. He was taken by the island’s unspoiled beauty and the sense of peace it gave him. He fell in love with Polynesian way of life – and his leading lady Tarita – and wanting to escape Hollywood, he resolved to find a way to own this piece of paradise. He bought the whole island in 1967 for about $270,000 and he was convinced that this place could bring good to the whole planet. It became his life’s mission. In 1999 he asked Richard Bailey, a long-time resident of Tahiti who had created some of the region’s finest resorts, to help him come up with a plan that would help him achieve his dream. Together they pursued a vision of creating the world’s first post-carbon resort — an island where new technologies would enable a self-sustaining luxury environment for hotel guests and invited scientists to do research. (Like pumping cold seawater through pipes to cool the entire resort) The Brando was born. In the current issue ofDepatures magazine, Ned Zeman writes an fascinating cover story that goes in depth about the history of the project and Brando’s love of Tetiaroa. Film exec Mike Medavoy met Brando while collaborating on Apocalypse Now and The Missouri Breaks, was friends with the actor until his death;
“Tetiaroa was Marlon’s way to get away from all the things you and I do every single day in Hollywood—talking to people, constantly moving. I always remember the e-mail he sent when I was given a star on Hollywood Boulevard. I called him up, and I said, ‘Marlon, they’ve asked me to get a couple of my friends to write a nice letter about me.’ And he wrote me a letter that read: ‘I’m going to be laying on a beach in Tetiaroa. I’m going to be looking at the stars and thinking about all the birds shitting on your star. You don’t need a star to tell you who you are.’”
That quote pretty much sums up Brando’s attitude about Hollywood and fame and his love for this island. And beyond that, 10 years after his passing, this destination looks to be THE honeymoon hotspot on the planet – that is, if you have $2500 a night. Whether you have the dough or not, you can fantasize here, anyway…
NYC SUMMER READING LIST
I haven’t read these yet but out of a slew of summer releases, these look the most promising to me. Most are available on Amazon, for the hardcover or Kindle version or the easiest to me, just search iBook and download and you can be reading one of these books in 5 minutes. Modern life has its perks sometimes. -TS
The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, out now) The Pulitzer Prize winner’s new novel begins with a vision and follows the Meeks brothers as each travels down a different path in his search for transcendence. Barrett, a gay man haunted by the vision, turns to religion as Tyler grows increasingly convinced that only drugs can release his creative powers, while his dying wife, Beth, tries to face mortality with as much courage as she can. Cunningham shows profound empathy for these conflicted characters and seems to get at what lies at the core of the human soul.
Lucky Us by Amy Bloom (Random House, July 29) More sprawling and ambitious, Bloom’s latest is a ’40s road trip with the works — jazz and starlets, riches and poverty, solid characters and memorable writing.
Adam by Ariel Schrag (Mariner, June 10) Written by a lesbian graphic memoirist, this is a more conventional novel where a Cali boy crashes with his sis in Bushwick and falls in love. The twist is Adam is often mistaken for transgender, and decides to play along in pursuit of his soul mate – a gay woman.
The Fever by Megan Abbott (Little Brown, June 17) A story loosely based on a recent case of mass hysterical illness in upstate New York. Kinda Twin Peaks or to update the reference, Top of the Lake.
J.D. Salinger: The Escape Artist by Thomas Beller (New Harvest, June 3)
My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff (Knopf, June 3) A full year after the release of Shane Salerno and David Shields’s scandalous biography, two more personal and sympathetic takes appear simultaneously. Beller’s book is a traditional biography, relying on interviews and artifacts while Rakoff’s book is much more a memoir. It’s the story of how the young grad-school dropout found her footing among the New York literati in long-ago Williamsburg while working for the literary agency that represented Salinger. Rakoff creates the more personal portrait of the two books, by her contact with Salinger himself.