a visual collective outlet of inspirationafter the che, frida, johnny cash and so on, it’s now serge gainsbourg’s life to be on screen. it’s been a while since i first heard of this movie, and it eventually hit the screens these days. as you can guess, every serge fan can be skeptical about such a thing, and i recently heard an interview of jane birkin saying she was uncomfortable about it, so i really don’t know what to think of it. i’ll check it for sure with my repetto’s on! by pp’
Month: November 2009
solstråler
winter is coming fast in norway…midday sun. by kv
lady gaga Dissected: why this bad romance with art sucks
first i have to ask myself this: why even bother with a post on lady gaga? well the answer must be the same as george mallory’s when asked why he climbed mount everest, “because it’s there.” well maybe i’m giving her too much credit, but lady gaga is indeed hard to miss. i suppose that’s an achievement by itself these days, to be famous for no particular reason… at least gaga is doing something. even paris hilton ‘respects’ her (now THAT… means something). but what is this “something”? for me, it’s the holy and unholy mixture in this calculated cocktail that is scary. the mixture of things i love and the things i passionately hate all mangled into one. almost impossible to decipher. a hot dog made out of culture. it sure has fooled a lot of people but here’s why…
calculated bottom-rack pop–candy coated with a shiny facade of top-shop art:
active ingredients: tear off a page from a matthew barney catalog (it’s ok to be weird, just soften barney a bit so it’s digestible) + chop some vito acconci (be sure to wash and disinfect all grit) + a dash of warhol (the bit everyone knows about will do fine) + artificially colored dark lyrics (just dark enough, but not too dark) blend with inactive ingredients: blatant commercialism (feel free to put madonna to shame, get four brands to sponsor the same video, why just one) + perfect USDA supermarket approved pop vocals (so middle management and cab drivers alike can get into the groove) + emulate michael jackson’s moves, again (as best as you can. no need to try hard, no one will know) + grate five crates of marketing spin-masters + top with colorless, tasteless, water soluble shiny gelatin. enjoy. by dd
Barely private: by sante D’Orazio – ed ruscha
was never a ‘huge’ fan of sante’s work, but that said, this book looks rather promising. hand written notes and outtakes fill the 300 pages of this new release. a second volume of photo-diary-scrapbook, covering 1997 to 2008 with an author credit by ed ruscha, including subjects such as: kate moss, naomi campbell, claudia schiffer, diane kruger, tricia helfer, stephanie seymour, liz hurley, jay-z, mickey rourke, angelina jolie, christina aguilera, pam anderson, keith richards, axl rose, damien hirst, julian schnabel and many more. a bargain at $39.99 available at taschen. by kl
french vogue: calendar
looking forward to the 2010 french vogue calendar. meow! photo: terry richardson by xy
Waris Ahluwalia’s love letter of a book: to india with love
waris at the pierre hotel in new york for his new book “to india with love”
natalie portman, waris whluwalia
james ivory page from the book to india with love
photographer karen collins, kimberley norcott
aslaug magnusdottir, president of house of waris with ucef hanjani 
my favorite room at the pierre where salvador dali spend days chasing the mocked up clouds
author tina bhojwani, president and CEO of louis vuitton daniel lalonde, designer/author waris ahluwalia and author mortimer signersince the crash of the economy it seems like we are all attending more parties rather than pulling late nighters. that, i assume, is the silver lining in all of this. the good news is that not all parties are just to wine-and-dine new yorks newest most-needy-class. this was waris’ week. this shindig, at the newly re-opened pierre hotel (owned previously by the 4 seasons group) had something substantial behind it, an effort to remind us of not only the beauty of india, but to support the victims of mumbai’s 2008 terrorist attack.
the book is filled with memories and photographs of contributors like silvia fendi, elizabeth hurley, natalie portman, owen wilson and the like from their past visits to india. owen wilsons photo taken by his mom was one that stood out for me. unfortunately the book, published by respected publisher assouline, was rather disappointing for its lack of attention to detail and their hack-saw compositions. the love put in by waris and the gang somehow did not translate into the assouline’s team. that said, i personally bought 2 books and highly recommend a copy as the proceeds will go directly to the victims of the attack. hard cover $49.95
contributors include: Adrien Brody, Kenneth Cole, Silvia Fendi, Diane von Furstenberg, Elizabeth Hurley, Evelyn Lauder, Natalie Portman, Rachel Roy, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Williamson, among others. to learn more mumbai: we got your back. by dd
Nike: easy-breezy tennis V’s
white and gery nike velcro tennis classic V
i don’t know why but im really into easy-breezy cover-girl mode (sorry j, i’m stealing your line here) and loving these nike tennis-classic Vs in white and grey. the lack of color, and the simple shape accented by the velcro is the easy look i need with comfy jeans and a thick sweater. i know they look like the ones i already have and posted earlier this year, but against everyone’s wishes, i still like them new and white. available at mita sneakers ¥ 7,870 (approx $90 USD). by dd
joey roth Semi-audiophile ceramic speakers: for your ipod or computer
made from porcelain, cork, and baltic birch
standard banana plugs (fine- but the pink cables are questionable. surely you can plug some kimber PBG’s and hotwire it on your own)
tripath amplifier made of stainless steel sheet metal, with a cast iron base and paulownia volume slider, toggle switch. beautiful!!
no word on the quality of sound since this has not hit the market as of yet, but just from its construction and material it will surely sound better than any consumer end product and it obviously looks great. once we audit this we will post another. in the meantime here’s a few specs from the designer/manufacturer joey roth:
“the ceramic speakers are made from porcelain, cork, and baltic birch. each material is minimally finished, left to add its natural beauty to the design. the included amplifier is made from stainless steel sheet metal, with a cast iron base and paulownia volume slider. aside from the electronic components, plastic is completely avoided in the system’s construction. typical speakers are designed to play even the most compressed or poorly recorded track. they gloss over the details that give high-resolution music its depth. the ceramic speakers’ custom-made drivers, porcelain and cork enclosures, and tripath amplifier reveal every nuance. they will show the difference between lossless and mp3 files, and will unlock vinyl’s richness.” available december 2009 priced under $500 by pp+dd
james chance and the contortions: crazy mother
missed that one! james brown meets steve lacy meets mick jagger. james chance live: i can’t stand myself. archives. by xy
Nike Stages private reception at Deitch gallery new york
edward kim and our sweet richard chai
zac posen christopher niquet
david selig cecilia dean brian malloy
my favorite piece in the show, tom sachs
tom sachs demonstrating the piece to lance
jose parla and jeffrey deitch
this past friday’s opening at the deitch projects was rather involved. it was the follow up to the paris mash-up openning at the galerie emmanuel perrotin that I missed and have been cursing myself ever since. the mixture of sports stars like lance armstrong and fashion gurus like richard chai and the girls from threeasfour made it a fun evening. even mr. andre saraiva poped in for a fag or two.
the work was quite nice but rather oddly curated. i was under the impression that one could get arrested in new york for putting kenny sharf and ed ruscha in one room. but apparently not. aside from that there were some impressive mixture of streeters and heavy hitters. raymond pettibon next to gursky, shepard fairey next to gai guo-qiang… tom sach’s bicycle titled “lances tequila bike for girls” was quite an amusement piece and perhaps my favorite. funny and cool. my second favorite piece was eric whites “foyer”… i couldn’t help but think of john baldessari’s balls!!
it was a good evening which was eventually topped off by sushi, plenty of sake and my favorite… sesame ice cream…
show is on display through november 21. don’t miss it. other works included pieces by: jules de balincourt, KAWS, richard prince, christopher wool, aaron young, futura, and others. all artwork on display, available for purchase, with proceeds directly benefiting the lance armstrong foundation for cancer. by dd
house of waris spring/summer 2010 collection exhibit at phillips de pury
love conquers all at phillips de pury
the gentle, and extremely soft bearded, waris ahluwalia founder of house of waris
the marvelous aslaug magnusdottir, president of house of waris with james laforce on the left.(next to rem koolhaas, james wins the best lastname of the decade)
fashion photographer karen collins and ceft and company‘s creative director ucef hanjani with kimberly norcott at house of waris event at phillips de pury
the beautifully exotic diamond encrusted claw-ring by house of waris
display book and inspirations by photographer andrew zuckerman
diamond, gold and onyx earrings by house of waris
last wednesday evening we walked passed the sam haskins show and the new yorker magazines guest-list to enter an intimate showing of house of waris‘ ss-2010 collection at phillips de pury auction house. the event was an antithesis to the jane hotel fashion week dance-in. this time the gathering was ubber exlusive and the pieces guarded by more security than guests. the location of course added to the aura of waris and his exclusive collection, each piece handmade and magically blessed. waris’ signature orange-and-gold tent was set up and champagne was conveniently at hand. by uh
serene infinity : photos by Baron George Hoyningen-Huene
you can sense that he had the title ‘baron’ in the subdued confidence of these compositions by Baron George Hoyningen-Huene. i may take on the title myself. by kl
