It’s parodied on Portlandia and if you live in certain parts of Brooklyn, it’s seen on every street corner. Some of these shots must have been taken in Portland and Williamsburg, but you also might get a glimpse of your neighborhood in Austin, the East Village or Silverlake. Dude, which is your fave? I think it’s a toss-up between a typewriter (manual or electric) and spinning vinyl with headphones at a coffee shop for the Hipster Extreme Hall of Fame. (via Sad and Useless)
HIPSTER EXTREME
GEORGIA O'KEEFE SETS AN AUCTION RECORD – BUT IS IT OK TO MENTION SHE'S A WOMAN?
Georgia O’Keeffe‘s “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1” 1932 oil on canvas, just sold at auction for $44,405,000, which is a record for a female artist. (I look at this painting a LOT as it is the cover of a huge book of O’Keeffe’s work that sits next to my bed.) I saw this posted first on a friend’s Facebook wall. My friend is a female artist herself and was dismayed, to say the least, that the fact the this was reported as a record for a “female” artist. She felt the gender distinction was unnecessary. I get that on one level, I do. But I posted something to the effect that O’Keefe IS a “female” artist, as well as “dead” one, and these were merely attributes of the artist. I was chastised and told that I shouldn’t decide what offends someone else. True that.
Nevertheless, you can’t have it both ways. Female artists, as well as critics like Jerry Saltz and others of both genders, often complain that female artists are given second-class citizenship in the art world (it’s often true in the “real” world, so it’s not really surprising…) Art advisor, Todd Levin, also posted this pic and was excited about the record. (He also speculated that it MIGHT have been won by Alice Walton, of the Walmart billions and if so, the public will end up seeing it at her Crystal Bridges Museum.) Personally, I love O’Keeffe, and it has nothing to do with gender, so this was exciting news to me to see such a great artist be recognized at auction. Cindy Sherman, Joan Mitchell, Louise Bourgeois, Cady Noland, Marlene Dumas, Bridgette Riley, Yayoi Kusama, Barbara Kruger, Freda Kahlo, Julie Mehretu, Jenny Holzer, Jenny Saville... the list goes on of the top female artists who have hit high marks at auction. There are MANY great artists, who also happen to be female, but I can see the point of not dwelling on the gender, any more than if they were black, gay or Chinese. The work should speak for itself. But for the purposes of an auction report, it IS a milestone that is worth reporting. Wouldn't it be worse NOT to mention it? Post this yourself, if you like, and see what others think about this topic. Discuss.
THE SURREAL LIFE: TILDA SWINTON STRIKES A POSE AT THE MENIL
Tilda Swinton is photographed here at the Menil Collection, the museum Dominique de Menil founded in Houston, for W by photographer Tim Walker.
This shoot is the third collaboration between Swinton, Walker, art director Jerry Stafford, and stylist Jacob K. They have all traveled together to Iceland (“Planet Tilda,” W, August 2011) and to Las Pozas, the Surrealist sculpture garden built by the British poet and art patron Edward James in a Mexican jungle (“Stranger Than Paradise,” W, May 2013).
“The majority of my life as a photographer is about persuading people to do things on account of my imagination. Working on these projects is much more of a creative commune —I’ve been led up pathways I wouldn’t necessarily have approached.”
Art director Jerry Stafford, who initiated the series, explains what attracted him to this subject;
“The de Menils were true visionaries whose influence remains fascinating and far-reaching. There is one common goal and desire of this series: to challenge and seduce the eye.”
So true. And Swinton’s visual allure and natural ability to make clothes look amazing doesn’t hurt. The Menil is one of my favorites places to visit on earth and I always make a stop when I go back to my hometown of Houston. I started my professional life there working for Houston City Magazine just out of high school. The magazine at one point was owned by Dominque and John’s son, Francois and he hired the married team of Kezia Keeble and Paul Cavaco to do the fashion for the magazine. I was designing layouts with Bruce Weber and Bill King photos at age 19 because of it. They both told me that I HAD to move to NYC if I wanted to work in magazines. (Kezia had worked at Vogue for Diana Vreeland. Paul is Creative Director of Allure today) Paul alerted me to a job at GQ back then and I dropped everything to interview for the job which I didn’t get… but it got me to New York. Excuse the long explanation but this story, somehow represents all areas of my life coming together; art, fashion, publishing, Houston, New York, and Dominque de Menil’s incredible eye which still continues to influence and inspire. It is surreal and I kind of owe my life to it.
Go to W to see inside the Menil's house and the rest of the portfolio.
ARLENE GOTTFRIED: SOMETIMES OVERWHELMING
As a girl, Arlene Gottfried went to Woodstock armed with a small 35mm camera that once belonged to her uncle and afterward, her Brooklyn neighborhood offered her plenty to shoot in her in her own neck of the woods. Gottfried spent a lot of time in Coney Island and Brighton Beach, as well as the Manhattan’s burgeoning nightclub scene. She says about the era;
“It was very diverse. It still is in some respects, you see a lot of different people, but it’s not the same. It’s almost impossible to describe how it was and the new New York City, how it evolved to what it is now, we’ve lost so many little businesses that gave it color. You used to know the people who ran the shops and there was a lot more grit and interesting textural backgrounds for all the different kinds of people you saw on the street.”
Gottfried considered herself reserved, but once the camera was in her hand, it acted like a shield against the world, as well as an excuse and she felt comfortable asking strangers if she could shoot them;
“If I wanted to take a picture, I would just ask the people. I don’t do it as much now; now I just shoot and don’t ask people, but back then they were looking right at me and they were close to me so they were in agreement obviously!”
Note, the next to the last image is of actress/ writer/ musician (and my old pal) Ann Magnuson who used to live across from me on Tompkins park, back in the day. An edit of another 30+ images, many from her book Sometimes Overwhelming, is now on view at Daniel Cooney Gallery through December 20. (Photos, Arlene Gottfried; via Slate)
BILLY NAME'S ICONIC PHOTOS OF THE SILVER AGE AT MILK
Billy Name was the in-house archivist at Warhol’s Factory and his photographs from this period (1964-68) are one of the most important photographic documents of any single artist, ever. Milk Gallery’s current exhibit, Billy Name: The Silver Age, coincides with next month’s release of a book the same title. It’s filled with Warhol’s “superstars” at The Factory, which Name famously covered in tin foil.
Billy Name arrived in New York City as William Linich. He met Warhol while working at Serendipity 3 and the two struck up a friendship –as well as a brief romance– which led to Name’s attraction to photography. The images included in both the show and the book were mostly taken with Name’s now-lost Honeywell Pentax, which was a gift from Andy. Billy started to distance himself from Warhol not long after the Factory relocated to Union Square. After Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanis, Billy was the first to get to Warhol and he held him crying. Andy said, “Don’t make me laugh Billy, it hurts too much.” After Andy had recovered, Billy left a note on his door in the Factory;
“Dear Andy, I am not here anymore, but I am fine. Really.
With love, Billy.”
Billy Name: Silver Age is at the Milk Gallery in New York City through December 7.
DIANA'S DRESSES, SINATRA'S GUN PERMIT & MARILYN'S CHEST X-RAY
I’m always amazed at what comes up for auction at Julien’s. The New York art auctions just happened and in one night, Sotheby’s brought in close to a billion dollars but at Julien’s, it’s not about the big bucks and in fact, most items are extremely affordable. And the best stuff is always the weirdest stuff, to me. (I have collected some oddities of my own, including Warhol signed tennis shoes and bounced check from Courtney Love. Don’t ask.)
Anyway, Julien’s 2014 Icons & Idols Auction is being held on December 5th and 6th in Beverly Hills and there are mutiple collections offered in this sale including a group of dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, property from the estate of Gypsy Rose Lee, items from the James Bond film franchise, property featured on Pawn Stars and much more. Other items in this auction include personal and film related property from Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Loni Anderson, Stella Stevens, Bruce Lee, Greta Garbo,Lucille Ball and Queen Elizabeth II. But with everything here, if I was going to go for something, I would seriously bid on the chest x-ray of Marilyn Monroe. THAT’S a conversation starter. Take a look at the nearly 1000 lots here.
THESE AMAZING VINTAGE IMAGES WERE RESCUED FROM HISTORY'S TRASH HEAP
50 years from now, I wonder what will happen to the billions of images we create weekly with our smartphones and then post on Twitter & Instagram. Will they all just disappear when our hard drives crash? In the past, when negatives and prints were made by the millions, many were lost and thrown away but as physical things, they got saved too. Vivian Maier was a nanny that also took amazing photos that no one ever saw and after her death, when her images were unearthed, she’s now considered one of the best photographers of the 20th century.
Matthew Salacuse is successful photographer and when not shooting his own jobs, he spends his hours editing through thousands anonymous vintage negatives and slides that have been lost or abandoned over the years. He’s edited the best of the best to offer as editioned prints on his site The Negative Collection. He’s got a great eye and every one of these are rare gems. Here are a few of my faves around the theme of cars and travel. The prints start at $65 and would make GREAT gifts. Btw, anyone shopping for me, I LOVE the black and white hamburger shot.
NEW YORK IS GETTING THIS FLOATING $130 MILLION PARK
I live in the Meatpacking District, the Times Square of downtown, that has seen The Standard Hotel, The High Line elevated park and soon the new Whitney Museum, as exiting neighborhood additions in the last decade. Looks like we might be getting another. An old pier on the Hudson –once used by ocean liners like the Lusitania– will be demolished and replaced with this 2.7 acre park on the water with landscaped hills and an outdoor amphitheater, all financed by billionaire New Yorkers, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg. DVF said in a statement;
“New York has always reminded me of Venice, so I am happy the time has come to properly honor its waterways. What better than a park on the city’s western bank to rest, watch a sunset or a performance?”
Diller has committed to funding cultural events there for the next 20 years along with donating $130 million to build it. The city will chip in another $17 million with another $18 million from New York State to build an esplanade to the pier park. The NY Times says;
* The park’s parallelogram-shaped platform would sit atop 300 mushroom-shaped concrete columns that are to range in height from 70 feet above the water to 15 feet above, roughly the minimum required post-Hurricane Sandy.
* The undulating form is not merely a design feature, but an attempt to address environmental issues in an area of the Hudson designated as a marine sanctuary and spawning ground for striped bass. The platform’s height would allow sunlight below and would also guard against storms.
*The biggest performance space planned for the park could accommodate up to 1,000 people in seats and another 2,500 on a lawn. Other sections would hold an 800-seat amphitheater and a small stage with 250 seats.
The design is the work of Heatherwick Studio, along with landscape architect Mathews Nielsen. According to Hudson River Park;
“The pier will be a place of discovery, where visitors can wander and wonder, finding something new around every corner: places to lounge, eat lunch, or just lie in the grass. The park’s undulating topography – replete with lush lawns and pathways – will offer sweeping views of the Manhattan and northern New Jersey skylines for all park-goers and provide a natural viewing area for the new performance space, which will be designed to immediately serve as one of New York City’s premier venues for music, dance, theater and public art, along with community events. The majority of Pier55’s programming will be free and low cost, with prices set in accordance with nonprofit programming in New York City.”
If the project is approved, construction could begin next year with an expected completion date of 2018 or 2019.
WHAT $40 MILLION GETS YOU AT CHRISTIE'S...
Let’s say you have $40 million to spend at Christies, just for fun. Last Tuesday, they set a record for the auction house when they sold $857 million worth of art in one evening. Among the big winners that night were these three record-setting graphic works by Ed Rusha ($30,405,000), Roy Lichtenstein ($2,741,000) and Christopher Wool ($6,997,000) which add up to roughly $40 million. But, if you’d rather have a sweet apartment (another good place to plop $40 mill) this penthouse in the West Village, one of Richard Meier’s masterful designs, is being offered by Christie's Real Estate for the first time since its completion. The duplex is 4,550-square-feet, with four-bedrooms, four-baths and dramatic 21-foot ceilings with an 1,800 square foot terrace and spectacular views of the Hudson River (and my own front door a few blocks away.) You don’t have a LOT of wall space but there’s enough for these three works, so if you’ve got another $40 mill, you can have it all. And If You Don't Like It You Can Get The Fuck Out Of My House.
AI WEIWEI MAKES A SPLASH AT DOVER STREET MARKET
The latest project from Chinese conceptual artist Ai Weiwei involves pieces from emerging designers from the Dover Street Market in NY. Wei Wei was given free reign to shoot for V Magazine, “in whatever manner he chose.” So, new brands like Hood By Air and Gosha Rubchinskiy had their clothes splattered by buckets of paint. Taken mid-pour, the splashes were frozen making an otherworldly picture out of what normally would be considered movie slap-stick or a terrible disaster. Here’s a full range without a laughing model in the bunch –they had to be told not to– it’s too comical not to at least grin. Needless to say, these mostly unknown designers just got put on the map by having their clothes turned into conceptual art.