a visual collective outlet of inspiration
the most famous house in brooklyn is for sale! located at 70 willow street, it’s the place where truman capote wrote “breakfast at tiffany’s” in 1958. the infamous writer lived in this victorian house overlooking manhattan from 1955 to 1965. the yellow house with it’s spectacular 38 windows, 11 fireplaces, a fresco copied on the white house one and a gigantic garden as only the houses in the south have is on the market at sotheby’s for $18 millions. not exactly a brooklyn hipster house. truman capote rented the basement from broadway art director oliver smith who is remembered for the sets of “west side story”. in his book “house in the heights”, capote wrote that he made smith drink way too much in order to convince the art director to let him rent the basement. friend george plimpton, wrote that capote was waiting for smith to leave and organized fancy parties while acting as if the house was his. giving guests tours of the house, talking how he had it entirely redecorated.
he only left the house to move permanently to the plaza.
anybody? i’m interested in renting the basement by pp’
ny places
ACE hotel New york: munny exhibit this saturday may 15
looks like the event below (april 13) was rather timely and dead-on the pulse. but what’s all this fuss with the munny… how cute can cute get! this is gotta be great, especially given contributors like tobias wong are involved. this saturday may 15th from 9PM to 2AM at the ace hotel. more info here. by pp
ryan mcginley – everybody knows…
on top of being nyc star last week with the most crowded opening ever, ryan mcginley released this beautiful book, published in association with the great dashwood books store on bond street to celebrate “everybody knows this is nowhere”.
haven’t seen it for real (as the exhibition, see photo…) but looks really nice. by pp
new york fashion week 2010: no model will compare: d’aquisto, d’angelico and gibson vintage guitars
fashion week is around the corner, hipsters are getting ready, magazines, luxury brands and model agents are throwing their parties… and hell, we will probably dread to a few, but i strongly doubt if we’ll find anything this beautiful and tempting at any one place in new york this season…
let me tell you… 12 years ago i bought a hand made classical/acoustic guitar from the legendary rudy’s music on 48th street (NYC) built by a small unknown guitar maker from spain for a little over a 1000. this guitar has become my love ever since, and the soft warm sound and the cedar smell has been my sole source of inspiration in unsuccessfully mastering eric satie triads… fast-forward to last friday, a cold sunny new york day, when i was strolling past the window of a music store in soho (who ever knew there was one?) where i saw a vintage gretsch. i walked in… past the gretschs, and simply fell in love again. upstairs were 12-16 pieces of craftsmanship to die for. it was only then, that i realized that this was in fact the newly opened rudy’s music downtown… and of course… (i mean who else?) now all i need is enough practice to earn and more importantly deserve one, and a lot more money to ever afford one. here are just 3 of my new loves. all totally acoustic, and all beautifully crafted…
item # 1: the 1998 d’aquisto prototype – $140,000 +plus“james d’aquisto became an apprentice to acclaimed archtop builder john d’angelico when he was 17 and started making guitars under his own name when d’angelico died in 1964. in the opinion of many collectors, d’aquisto’s archtops were actually superior to d’angelico’s legendary instruments. the model above (avant garde) is considered one of d’aquisto’s finest achievements. he made this prototype in 1988 for vintage guitar dealer/collector hank risan who supplied the luthier with many ideas about its construction. risan sold the guitar to a private collector for $140,000. that said perhaps the most valuable d’aquisto is a one-of-a-kind advance model (not pictured) that was made for renowned vintage guitar collector, scott chinery. the estimated value of that guitar is $250,000, but, according to chinery collection curator, mike carey, it is not for sale”.
these are not electric guitars, but fully acoustic ones
item #2: gibson (1939) super-400C
you cant ever compare any two but here’s a more affordable masterpiece that still beckons a certain mastery. a beautifully crafted acoustic gem. (1939 gibson super 400C – S/N EA5384) “with original sunburst finish and spruce top, maple back/sides, 2 piece maple neck, ebony fingerboard and chrome hardware.”
item #3: gibson (1929) L-5 “snakehead”and yet another rare dream… closer in reach than the first, but still a handful of responsibilities. “…a 1929 Gibson L-5 “snakehead” in original vintage sunburst finish. the guitar had the fretboard professionally replaced years ago. a little bit of binding repair has been done on the body, but very minimal. otherwise in fantastic original condition! plays beautifully, and sounds gorgeous!”
so if you are here, for what ever reason, and if you care for such things, don’t miss the chance to visit rudy’s. conveniently located near cipriani downtown. please park all cheesy italian sports cars in the back. by dd
smile, it’s wednesday
what terry has for breakfast…
in the basement below oak is where you find hipster heaven, in the cafe and store the smile. the cafe was started by matt kliegman and former earnest sewn trend hunter carlos quirarte. in addition to serving up some decent coffee and sandwiches the menu also include a terry approved bowl of granola. the list of merchandise include wool products by wool and the gang and a section of candles. but I guess the real reason you’d go there is to see, be seen and feel part of the cool crowd… by sv
opera for the people
the norwegain company snøhetta prides itself on being an innovative, award-winning, and environmentally conscious architectural firm. a lot of labels to live up to… they are the firm behind the planned national september 11 memorial museum pavilion in new york and the celebrated bibliotheca alexandrina in alexandria, egypt. the oslo opera house is the only one of their works I myself have experienced. and experience is the right word. in true socialist spiri the operahouse is for the people and you can actually walk all over it, sit on it and picnic on it. the exhibition of their work is on view from february 4 to april 3, 2010 at scandinavia house in new york. by sv
wagyu in new york
this post is for mr.uh. if you do care for meat, like mr.uh does, check out japan premium beef on great jones street in new york. the butchers are smartly dressed, the shop is very minimal, with stark white walls and a glowing glass case full of ruby-red beef, neatly and tidily presented. stylish beef for all your marbled meat needs. by kt
chelsea girls
i recently heard the chelsea hotel was to become a luxury condo or something, after being bought by some city gentrifying corp. what’s this all about? anyone knows anything about this? whatever, let’s watch one more time this great piece of new york that is andy’s chelsea girls. by pp
Openining tomorrow night: danese gallery nyc
work on paper by richard serrra: stratum g, 2006 paintstick on handmade paper
21 x 30-1/4 inches (click on image to enlarge)
danese gallery : 535 west 24th street, new york city
work on paper by hadi tabatabai: thread painting #27, 2009 wood,
thread and acrylic paint on wood 13-3/6 x 12-1/2 x 1 inches (click on image to enlarge)
talking about richard serra, here is some of his work seldom seen. “works on paper” is a group show consisting of blue-chip artists, such as richard serra, and larry poons, as well up-and-coming artists such as hadi tabatabai, and theresa chong. the opening reception is tomorrow, thursday, january 7th, between 6-8pm, and the show will continue till february 6, 2010. dont miss it! by dd
The Wooly: New yorks latest down-and-out hot spot
the somewhat hit-and-miss decor of the wooly. nice vintage wallpaper mixed with a feeling of drywalls and quick cheap construction. its unfinished as eric himself admits…
grrrowl!!
the wretched financial district has finally gotten its break… right in front of city hall park! after smith & mills (technically tribeca) and the Warren 77 bar comes the wooly to save the poor soles that live there. the space itself, located in the wollworth building, is very haphazardly done by the very man that has just recently done the windows at colette for the house of waris. the space aside, as with all places, it’s the people that make the joint… not the place itself. some trigger happy editors have already compared it to the jane hotel bar, but i must say the place itself is no where near as cozy and atmospheric as the jane.
what is nice is that there is a small stage for performances. it’s quite intimate and the crowd is cool and easy. we once saw mark borthwick perform his agit-atmospheric music there. last night the wooly was the hosting grounds to the lovely fashion designer (and better half of photographer barnaby roper) camilla staerk’s christmas party. the ruffian christmas party was also there, and others who have strolled through the joint include: charlotte ronson, sean lennon, PP lepou, derek blasberg, milla jovovich, kimberley norcott, rebecca guiness, waris ahluwalia, and dd from tomorrow started. by dd
electric avenue
you missed out on a true new york evening. after multiple drinks at the bowery hotel we landed at avenue. i was warned about the place, but i never envisioned a place where bottles of crystal arrived with waitresses holding fireworks! beyond imagination. it was like the end of time. i was waiting for jesus to descend and put us all out of our miseries especially the fireworks… yet right there, next to us, was ms. kirsten dunst sitting on my fuckin’ jacket and vincent gallo at the bar (not ordering belvedere)! never before had i seen such a mix of dorksters and hipsters in one place. what is this world coming to? by uh
Jorge pardo + george porcari: brooklyn exhibit
george porcari, photographic print
jorge pardo, sculpture from a previous exhibit
jorge prado, geroge porcari (who is one of my favorite artist, inspirations) and naomi fisher will be exhibiting their work at the momenta gallery in brooklyn openning reception friday october 30th 7:00-9:00 pm. curated by chris kraus, catalog essays by veronica gonzalez, mark von schlegell and sylvere lautringer. 359 bedford avenue, brooklyn new york. don’t miss it. by dd
