a visual collective outlet of inspiration
this is a picture that was widely talk about in europe in the last few weeks but never heard of or read a line on it on this side of the atlantic. well, the story is pretty nice, until very recently there were very few known photos of poet arthur rimbaud. basically, only one real, from when he was a late teen (see attached) and four others on his death bed but they are so dark and out of focus that it’s almost abstract… whatever, two parisian booksellers found a picture and had an intuition when the checked the dating and place where the shot was taken. after verification, double checking with biographers and all sorts of people, it seems it is then the second real picture of arthur rimbaud… nice. makes me wonder how many shots of rimbaud or people alike are sleeping in some people’s drawers. the photo, dated to the 1880ies, shows arthur rimbaud surrounded by seven people on the terrace of the hotel univers in Aden, Yemen. by pp
hell x wool
painter christopher wool and poet/writer/singer richard hell teamed up together on a serie of drawings and a book called psychopts and presented at john mcwhinnie gallery a couple a years ago.
what is interesting there is that beside the visuals, the collaboration is about coming back to a roots for wool. the paintings that made him famous where based on hell’s words. there is this nice story about wool asking courteously to hell about permission to use his words when hell in a punkish way was assuming the words were not his own. just words together.
this one is for dd’
richard hell: i went over to christopher’s and saw his painting. on the original album cover i’m standing there holding my jacket open, and i don’t have a shirt on underneath. and in magic marker i have across my chest, in all caps: YOU MAKE ME ____. it was just a blank. an underscore. anyway, when i saw the painting, christopher had filled up its entire surface with “YOU” on top of “MAKE” on top of “ME.” and i said, “wait a minute. where’s the ‘blank’?” and he said, “well, how about i just leave a space at the bottom?” which is what he did. there’s an empty line below the last word. so it worked out great. i was impressed by how casually he was willing to make what seemed like a major change. it seemed gallant. and like . . . self-confident, and suave. the guy was a gentleman and an artist. by pp’
edward weston first nude
is it possible that a first of a kind outdo the followings? well to me this nude which is supposed to be the first edward weston took is my favorite. not that i don’t like the others but there is something more here. maybe what we call a “supplement d’ame” in french (a little extra soul) by pp
story within the story
serious material here! by pp
villa malaparte x le mepris x francois halard
really into the french 60’s things these days, but totally obsessed with the villa malaparte which is definitely a character on its own in godard’s “le mepris”. saw the gigantic and amazing “fresson prints” photographer francois halard did of the pictures he took there few years ago. grand! hope he will show them at the “rencontres d’arles” where he’s feature this year. (not positive but i remember reading somewhere that the blue couch on the bottom picture of halard’s own house is the actual couch from the movie… it was green last time i was at his place though) by pp
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
the anarchy of silence: john cage, museu d’art contemporani de barcelona
with bionce crashing our party i thought why not talk about some music. like “the anarchy of silence” by john cage. now, for the record, can we please beg lady gaga here to not appropriate?
ok, so this is one of the most beautiful books i have come across in recent years. the book published by henie onstad art center is a pricey soft cover book with a lot of inspiration hidden inside it (used copies can be found on amazon for $130). i picked up my new untouched copy at st. marks bookstore in new york for under a $100 but no idea if they have any left. not much unlike his music, beautiful unobtrusive designs of text create a lovely pace between photographs and sketches of cage. the hand drawn notes are truly amazing and the book as a whole shows a lot of confidence on behalf of its creators. another franklin well spent. by dd
Lid Magazine Number 10-SS 2010: more of a book worth coming back to
spring summer issue of lid #10
the amazing diane lane (see our other post)
bob fantastic train ride
halstone at his olympic tower atelier, nyc 1979 by dustin pittman
poet, roach killer, artist extraordinaire: mr. jim carroll
i came across this gen of a magazine the other day and i have to say it made me think about all the crappy self service issues i’ve bought. $50 for 500 pages of disposable snaps disguised in a hard cover, foil stamped, shrink wrapped gift pack, just to make you feel “you’re sooo worth it”. at least olivier zahm goes the extra mile to provide some kitty porn to compensate for the poetry hes lost. on the other hand the fellows at lid didn’t make much of a fuss. soft cover, solid black and white printing for a fraction of the cost and a mag you’d want to keep and use. the issue simply made me happy and coming back to it over and over again. well done! by dd
why don’t you love me – beyoncé
this is the only beyoncé video i’m allowed to post on tomorrow started. love the makeup, love the hair, love the moves, love matching fingernails to turquoise rotary phone. i much prefer this girl to the one attempting to win in the try-hard edgy fashion competition. sometimes you have to allow yourself some mass pop indulgence, especially when they’re using some of your favorite references. by kl
hinoki: scent one – monocle’s first fragrance
ok i know this is nothing new, but i smelled this a few months ago and i still regret for not picking it up right there and then… there is a number 2 but nothing is as good as the first time… anyhow i was looking for a treat tonight as the sushi dinner out just wasn’t enough… after a month of gruesome work you can indulge a bit. well there’s always tomorrow. by uh
Einstein speaks again… well actually that was back in 1950
maybe the man knew too much? another great one from our pals at letters of note ! by dd
kyoku: shave baby shave
hot sake may be the cure for a winter evening but cold sake is now the cure for a close shave. kyoku is a line of mens care that uses sake as its main magic ingredient. 25 years of research may seem meaningless but the simple packaging is rather convincing. sake infused shaving cream around $35… could be a nice summer treat! by dd
