Party like it’s 2012. Musts for Doomsday, 12. 21.12
DO NOT BE SAD! As we barrel towards “Doomsday,” December 22, 2012, “Life is a Cabaret” is the mood du jour. Let’s face it. Frankenstorms. Elections. Drones. Body Politics. Everyday life. Doomsday could be anyday, anywhere. No doubt, there will always be a “Next Day of The Life,” n’est-ce pas?
With some humor, some play, some artful “Day of The Dead” partying, we carry on and on. Getting in touch with our soul’s deep desires is very anti-Apocalypse strategy. Don’t front, every death has a birth on the other side. The big shift of the most serious planet, Saturn, now for the next three years in Scorpio, is where deeper dive, boundary-blurring issues of birth, death, wealth and sexuality come to the forefront. How we make creative boundaries, very black and white, relating to ourselves and others, and then present our renewed identity outwards can already be seen, as trends and signs of new masquerades and facades in art, design, environment and fashion percolate. The old folk riddle with “the newspaper” as the punchline to: “What is black and white and red/read all over?,” is like a metaphor for our duality-focused, mental plane. Red is the life force, the meaning behind the words. If we want more meaning in life, we must get very black and white with our desires and the power of life, and the power of red, the shocking pink of our pounding hearts will become obvious. Not so sure how to express and de-lineate the invisible?
Good News! You can buy it!
Here are our top ten favorite 2012 party tips. All purchasable! Ten very high to very low, very black and white ways to Purchase Instant Happiness, Invest for Infinity and Express Your Ephemerals. Come Doomsday, Hell or High Water:
ONE FLAUNT THOSE BODY PARTS. For 600 years the Buddha had no face. He was the story told by traveling monks who took up with trading routes, on the silk road, the spice trail or the circus caravan, entertaining a “captive audience” of “folkloric” folks traipsing for miles. Evening stories in exchange for filled bowls of food turned traveling salesmen artisan hands from idle to busy which, in turn, begot statues, paintings, yantras and knick-knacks, forever putting a face to the abstract ideas of the Buddha’s teachings. Today, our caravan may be more jet set, yet, placing spiritual desires front and center for manifest destiny is how we live. Making one’s home or body a temple with reverent statues or wearing our heart on our sleeves, with a frock such as this Spring 2013 trompe-l’oiel Lanvin dress, above, is a very good place to start. Puts one’s punim, one’s bella face, right above the perfection of a Venus marble statue.
Flaunting, Fronting, Done!
TWO NAME ME, PROCESS ME. “Use a name card without a name. Put an address and a smell instead.” said the artful Yoko Ono the other day on Twitter.
Trompe L’oeil. Tricks and Treats of the Eyes and The Naming of Things. Who Are You? Like a modern-day Buddah, you could be just a scent and a trail, as Yoko teases. No surprise, I am a big fan of process, the discovery of self through ephemerals, scent, journals and stream of consciousness writing, much like artist/explorer, Francis Picabia, and his Dadaist scribbled search for self, above. Claim your fame by filling classic drugstore black and white composition books for pennies or drop your identity and dollars at people’s feet with drop-dead, personalized calling cards, perhaps while wearing “boy’s T-shirts from Walmart” and million-dollar pearls as does Nancy Sharon Collins, the outre-chic stationer. Personal Stationary is one unforgettable smart investment.
photo Jeff McCay
Recently, I met the elegant Yves, brand ambassador for Mrs. John L. Strong, famed namesake of the strong and tiny powerful statement stationary of Madison Avenue. Letterpress. Hand-engraving. Signs and Seals. The Art of the Very Personal. Yves, who lived in Paris for many years knows of such things. We need lotsa jewel-box preciousness to appreciate the deeper places we restore our souls, touches beyond Twitter and Tech. Take time, invite others in to that realm, I predict the return of gentleness, appreciation of touch, time and together. (or at the very least, more touch time with your biz card)
THREE POKE HOLES IN THE OLD SELF. Opening, (albeit delayed in true Dada-style, apres Sandy) with a black and white gala party inspired by Francis Picabia‘s Relâche, the 1924 ballet, Performa is the highly anticipated and inspired biannual November New York treat. This full roster of performances and experiences throws permanent to the wind and melts open new ideas of Self. Experiences make good gift. Not in NYC? Music could take you anywhere. The ballet score of Relâche, composed by Erik Satie, was on repeat for me growing up. Good soundtrack to osmosis the surreal.
FOUR CLONE THYSELF ANEW. With Anna Dello Russo’s clones for her H&M launch and Jean Paul Gaultier’s runway clones of pop stars, the moment of the make-believe masquerade to make FUN is here. Why spend millions on chasing fame or cloning yourself, as Michael Jackson and other Hollywood-ites may be doing, when you can buy infinite amounts of instant fun at H&M? (hint: Anna’s garb is already 8-times its worth on eBay)
FIVE MESMERIZING LIQUID ASSETS. Move your world. Static art begets contemplation, yet video art on repeat, like the endless ocean waves, just might inspire Transcendance. I was transfixed this past month by this morphing orb video by Ori Gersht, called “Liquid Assets,” in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. An alchemical swish of an ancient coin/bella face/mask/womb. Drop lots of coinage of the realm to collect Gersht or travel to Art Basel Miami Beach in December for the second year of video art, for your own fascinator video art. An up and coming video artist to buy now? Robert Pearre, “a video artist living and dying in Brooklyn” makes meditations of strangely soothing, desolate landscapes and racy wordage. Curator, Kianga Ellis is now adding his Twitter feed to exhibition schedules. Really! Add your spirit of choice.
Robert Pearre One twitter feed
Invest and conserve the ocean, here at the Ocean Conservancy.
Invest at once in mesmerizing liquid assets of art, perception-busting and beauty with this still photograph to meditate upon for world peace. Photo by Sebastian Farmborough.
Nature knows. Even bottlenose dolphins filter. They have been found to wear masks, sponges they powder their nose with to filter out the best food.
We absorb so much suffering and pain, we must filter and release. Performance artist, Marina Abramovic responded to the tidal wave Tsunami by leading a performance of beating the waves. “The Worst is the Best.” Post Frankenstorm, everyone needs a bath. Engendering strength, healing.
Huile sur toile by Frances Picabia 1942-43
SEVEN BE A WARM, WRAP STAR IN BED. Naps are free and one of the best re-vitalizers around. If you are afraid to sleep and miss the party, you have two choices. A well stocked bed-tray or a bed-buddy. Either way, the best sheets are linen. The Belgian linen sheets EVER to emerge from a bath, take to the beach or wrap in bed with a friend.
EIGHT NIGHTS OUT BEFORE LIGHTS OUT. Not yet ready for bed? Truman Capote’s famous first Black and White Ball was November 28, 1966, at the Plaza in New York. Everything in black and white silvery, wintery and glittering…with red tablecloths mind you. The soft buzz of a party is best felt behind the buzz of libations or as a libertine behind a mask. For libertines or wallflowers, original masks commissioned by artist, and our good friend, Katarina Wong, are a way to connect with the illusion of the world.
For masking a hangover? Johnston’s of Elgin’s cashmere hot water bottle cover may take the place of a lover.
Old-fashioned goodness. Hangovers and hearts will love a red hot-water bottle and its 100% cashmere sweater made in Scotland for a cool $159. It’s a forever memorable gift no one buys for themselves. Practice being the lovely, thrifty friend, handy folks might make this double as a onsie for Baby. Adults needing a larger size can find cashmere slanket blankets here too.
NINE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION COCOONING. If we are to go deep, really deep, co-coo-ing and dreaming on the cradle of civilization, Africa, is healing to the soul and thankfully, this sleepy, powerful land is waking up. For connecting with The Source Within, Bonpoint is the onsie cocoon of choice for those fresh out the womb and for bigger kids, discovering and investing in art, commerce, music and fashion emerging from Africa is a powerful force re-birthing.
Gazelle and The Ambassadors are a rollicking band from South Africa, who played for a very packed and enthusiastic crowd at the White Box gallery last month. Gazelle himself has buckets of style and we suggest you also take a look at our friend, Zandile Blay’s Africa Style Daily, as she is the African Queen. She is a bountiful source for what designers are doing what and who is making the most beautiful music from the Motherland continent.
Photographs in the White Box Gallery portrayed the people of District Six, the South African suburb of Cape Town, that was demolished during the years of Apartheid in the 70’s. This marked photographer Cloete Breytenbach’s first solo exhibition in New York City. Touching African music on the land itself, of recent note, one of the world’s best music fests, Festival au Desert, held every February in the home of the Tuaregs, seemed challenged by recent uprisings. However, proving that culture is a show that must go on, the festival states, “in proud nomadic tradition, we will embark on a 2013 caravan of artists, fans and festivals uniting for Peace, Tolerance and Human Dignity.”
take a deeper look here.
show some love to the Motherland, book your trip here.
TEN ARISE, MAKE ART IN BLACK OUTS . While the dark envelops, the water rises and the clock ticks, the best way to prepare for Doomsday is to make art. Where to start? Get inspired by Netflix’s cache of stellar documentary dive-ins to the souls of artists. Some favorites catch-ups lately include, Ciara Clemente’s Our City Dreams, for a look at women artists at all ages; The Woodmans, on artist, Francesca Woodman, and her family of artists; and for fun fashion romps, Valentino, The Last Emperor and Ultrasuede, In Search of Halston. Discover your full-on spectrum and relationship with art, creativity and sexuality vicariously through the lives of Art Stars.
Life is Awake. If all these movies inspire investment, another emerging Art Star to collect now, while he is being discovered, is my new friend, former Serbian pro-basketball player turned photographer, Milos Duma. His garishly lit, isolated urban night scenes of Vienna, Belgrade and New York City, in his recent show entitled, Sleepwalk, are a wake-up and see art siren call. This image, above, of pink legs emerging from a subway staircase, is just the beginning of his deep dive into light upon urban and body interior landscapes. Inner realms of birth, life and death await you.
Life is Simple. Art Star #2. A focus on the simple and everyday can bring joy, such as my pal, photographer, Peter Emerick’s ongoing study of traffic cones. His latest exhibit this month at NYC’s Chashama gallery, is called “Koans.” A koan is a Buddhist tool for enlightenment, a story, dialog, question, or statement whose meaning cannot be accessed by national thinking, yet it may be accessible by intuition. The Buddhist nature of these everyday, non-natural sculptures in our midst can be mesmerizing puzzles.
Life is short. Francesca Woodman’s prolific art burn and early suicide may have been foretold by her images. This one, The Tree Has Entered my Hands, is a birch tree, symbolizing re-birth as snakes use the twinning towers of birch trees to move between and aid their essential moulting of dead skin for the new. For a very cheap thrill giving back monumental millenial thrills, watch this very short film of a cicada trading old skin for new.
Making Art is a Moulting, yes?
Life is Alive. Ori Gerscht, he also likes to blow up things. His Blow Up:Untitled lightjet print at Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on until January 13 also mesmerized me. His gallery, CRG, is a good one to support, as they sustained damages during Sandy.
Life is Re-forming. Ghada Amer, in Our City Dreams, spoke about her Middle Eastern Motherland’s habit of blacking out of women in advertisements, mirroring a recent catalog Ikea apologized for, in which they disappeared the mother in the Saudi Arabian version. The scene with Ghada leafing through a catalogue with similar blacked-out lady parts, was touching, given her provocative images of women and all the recent “women, body” issues in the news. Here is one abstract from her as a “cover’ for her more “bare all” art. Behind the masquerades of our “different” bodies, genders and faces,
go see her site ghadaamer.com or Artsy.
ELEVEN COUPLING, CONNECTING AND RE-DECORATING FOR INNER WINTER SPORTS.
Inspiring art-partnered and New York City legendary couples this month went from screen to real life.
Coupling is Connecting. It began for me with Francesca Woodman’s parents and then to Nancy Spero and Leon Golub, she of New York’s deep-dive Lincoln Center subway mosaic murals and both art activists. The lineage continues with two vibrant and generous New Yorkers, Richard Perry and Lisa Perry, he of finance and she of pop-art frocks and both of Jeff Koons-caliber art collecting. As hosts of an event this month and ongoing supporters of Publicolor, where kids create murals in their schools for community building, the wealth of heart of this couple goes way beyond their flashy art-filled life. Just peek at their lush life in W mag! ( most important, they are sincere, friendly and earnest.) I knew it would be a lively party, as I followed an old collector of my own art, stylist, Barbara Flood, across the street, into the space where the gathered included Art Stars such as Hannah Bronfman,Ruth Lande Shuman, Fern Mallis and my party-pal, Souleo. Simon Doonan, entranced by Souleo’s gold sequin top, showed us precious (((happy school kids making art))) photos on his mobile, from his recent art fest with Publicolor. Buy a Lisa Perry Jeff Koons rabbit leather here for investment or a set of splatter placemats for a small but generous investment to bring some light into NYC schools.
killer jeff koons leather bomber
deeper. “I think that the more people push the boundaries, the more people are going to respond and want to do the same for themselves.” Hannah Bronfman
deeper. still. Chiara Clemente awed with the scene in Our City Dreams, of artist, Kiki Smith taking a wax cast of her mother’s fingers after she died, a tiny mask…to keep, to access, the power of connection.
More Art Stars and parties. Jordan and Sun Bae Betten are one happy, inspiring couple. I met artist and designer, Jordan and crew a few years ago and have happily followed their Lost Art Art Clan, making shamanistic costumes for the famous and those who treat every day as a stage for their ritualistic tendancies. In another good coupling, Jordan partnered with McGuire furniture, they of self-described art detailing “…like the exquisite stitching of a French seam, or running your finger over finely engraved stationery,” for a redecorating collaboration good for “inner winter sports.” McGuire itself was founded by another passionate couple, John and Elinor McGuire and their bold idea: “to explore the relationship between outside and inside; between elegance and raw nature.”
The chairs were magnificent and thoughtful. Process and what’s behind any scene is always just as important. Kudos to Jordan and his PR person, Abe Gurko, for the invite. Peek at Gurko’s side gig, “I mean…What?” for a behind the scenes, snarky view of the news and the famous.
City Caves for Couplings and Travel. My other fave PR person, Alexandra Polier, of Dwell magazine, concepted and hosted a soiree at the D&D building called, City Modern, a co-starred vision by Dwell’s Editor in Chief, Amanda Dameron and President, Michela O’Connor Abrams, joined with New York Magazine Publisher, Larry Burstein and Design Editor, Wendy Goodman. Four precious room vignettes were playful time-travel capsules of various eras sporting decor by designers, Francis D’Haene, Ghislaine Vinas, Nate Berkus and Thom Felicia. Below, Nate Berkus waved a deco-dancing wand to craft a nest where golden stars of Studio 54-era might after-party crash, blurred into relax by his fiercely furry animal cave. Huggie-bearish, buttery yellow chairs and turtles warmed the black and white sleekness, courtesy of Nate’s rugs for Target and glossy bits by 1stdibs. Dream upon such digs for wintry cocooning or travel far and wide with a subscription to Dwell or New York Magazine. Ventures beyond these tiny designer caves were recommended by the event sponsor, Audi, as their latest model sat parked and ready outside.
Open Relationships. My other PR Art Star, Courtney Lukitsch, of Gotham PR, hosted a post-Sandy, warm-cell opening uptown at Valerie Goodman for sensuous sculptor, Jaques Jarrige. Collected by museums and well known in Europe, his organic, playful and poking-holes forms are now popping up in design magazines and we are wholly intrigued. One of his greatest inspirations is the woodworking class he has taught for 30 years to hospital patients whose wavy line inclinations inspired him. “It is why I work so well with the patients. They are in the moment, like me, finding solutions and expanding as we go. It was like a present to discover the beauty of this nonintellectual approach, and the innocence of their work.”
Imagine the Swiss Family Robinson, Avatar journal writing you might do at this sculptural desk.
Back in the bunker, tete-a-tete, knees knocking, deep winter convos with a friend in front of a fire. Yes.
A shiny red-all-over, strip-tease screen to adjust ideas of boundaries, softer, un-divided hearts. Yes.
TWELVE FINALES. DOOMSDAY DO’S AND DON’TS?
DO CREATE. TRANSCEND RUINS AND WOUNDS.WE ARE EPIC WARRIORS THROUGH AND THROUGH. Floating blue earthy orbs and very long gowned gals made for the epic finale of Valentino’s massive anniversary extravaganza party in front of Rome’s Coliseum. I snapped pics on my Ipad entranced and later realized how the imagery portrayed the angel-like creatures about to leap past the ruins, past the constraints into freedom.
If Scorpio’s influence gives us boundaries to explore and life gives us situations to mash up, leave for ruins and recreate them anew, then perhaps, #life really is a party, a cocktail of Everything you Imagine, and much more you have not, shaken and stirred. Drink deep.
Another “collect now,” young and prolific artist is Sanjay Patel, a Pixar artist who has exhibited in major museums. With his words upon diving deep into his Hindu culture, he captures the timeless spirit with which to party here on Earth:
“…there’s a time to be both. A time to follow the rules, and a time to let go, explore your own happiness, and be playful. That you can win devotion that way, as well. I think that’s really neat, actually. It’s not just black and white.”
Buy this guy’s gleeful,big ideas of fun. The poster book of Sanjay’s warriors, with twelve removable 12 X 16 prints,is just $25.
ELEVEN NEVER, EVER FINALE, FINALE. This just in. Saturn, ruler of Scorpio and taskmaster planet, has its own “Black and White Ball” in the form of a sponge-like moon? Must contemplate THAT.
And symbolic of our true, passionate, eternal,never-ending and red-hot rambling towards the light …Doomsday-Be-Damned…in dreamy blur style, is this image of a woman in the Valentino movie. Massive red all over, heavy silk-satin dress, she is desire itself, as she dashes out last minute through throngs of party-goers, to catch the fireworks in front of the Coliseum. A priceless capture of Earth-seeking Heaven. May you enjoy all the invented “Doomsdays”…and find endless ways to spend the rest of your days as “Desiredays.”
DO NOT BE SAD! Tomorrow is…Forever.
All images by Jade Dressler unless otherwise noted, (or claimed…please do, we credit)
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Filed under: ART, NEW YORK, NEW YORK Art | 3 Comments
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Great post supported by exceptionally curated pictures! Will be back to this reading!
Hello Natalie! Thank you…your friend Masha is still reading, it takes time, we understand. She hopes to complete before Doomsday!