chris ware on his new yorker mother’s day cover…
As a kid, my grandparents, and millions of other viewers rarely missed an episode of the television program “All in the Family.” For those too young to know, Norman Lear’s aboriginal must-see TV hilariously highlighted the friction between the nineteen-sixties’ “progressive” generation and their parents via the bigoted, but strangely lovable, character of Archie Bunker. I suspect most of its viewers shared more in common with Archie’s prejudices than they wanted to admit, but laughing at him allowed one to take the first step towards changing one’s own biases, whether one knew it or not.
I like to imagine that my grandparents were always progressive, tolerant people in favor of things we now take for granted, but I know that’s probably wishful thinking. I’m not even sure about myself in this regard. Fortunately, we humans are incessant editors, never happy with the first draft of anything. This tendency towards revision can cause problems, though. For example, most memories I have of my daughter as a baby have been systematically and irrationally replaced by a mental image of how she appears now—an eight-year-old—because I simply can’t believe she was ever so small. In fact, when she was born, one of my friends, while cradling her fragile seven pounds, couldn’t believe it then, saying, “God, why don’t we just die the second we’re born? We’re so delicate and vulnerable!” My wife’s mother, who was visiting, didn’t miss a beat: “It’s mothers, honey. It’s our job to make sure that never happens.” Well, score one for Moms, I thought.
Now that the numbers are in on same-sex marriage, many Republicans are falling like dominos all over themselves to express their support for something that only a few months ago they steadfastly claimed to stand against. They’ll probably soon claim that this is how they felt all along, and they were simply too hamstrung by politics to be able to say what they really meant. Well, okay. In the spirit of openheartedness and what life is really all about, I’ll go so far as to say that the fear of others may mask some deep-seated desire to understand, and maybe even to love. Because really, what is there to be afraid of? Few people today don’t know—or have in their families—at least one loving couple who are raising children, same-sex or not. And it’s really just the loving part that matters. That same-sex marriage could go from its preliminary draft of “diagnosable” to the final edit of “so what?” must indicate some positive evolution on the part of the larger human consciousness. My wife, being a biology teacher, puts it even more succinctly: “Why are all these people so worried about who everybody else is sleeping with, anyway?” (Score two for Moms.)
So, a final draft: happy Mothers’ Day, moms. We are grateful to, and love, you all.
it’s art smith, bitches! (via vintage black glamour)
A model wears Art Smith’s “Modern Cuff” Bracelet, circa 1948. Art Smith (1917-1982) was a modernist jeweler born in Cuba to Jamaican parents who eventually emigrated to Brooklyn. He opened his first shop on Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village in 1946 – no small feat. According to the Brooklyn Museum (host of a 2008 exhibit of his work) he was one of the leading modernist jewelers of the mid-twentieth century. Along with being covered by magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, Smith, an avid jazz lover, once made cufflinks for Duke Ellington which included some notes from Mr. Ellington’s “Mood Indigo.” Mr. Smith was also a supporter of early Black modern dance groups and an active supporter of Black and gay rights. Art Smith was quoted in the 1969 catalog for his one man exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Craft as saying, “A piece of jewelry is in a sense an object that is not complete in itself. Jewelry is a ‘what is it?’ until you relate it to the body. The body is a component in design just as air and space are. Like line, form, and color, the body is a material to work with. It is one of the basic inspirations in creating form.”
SISSYDUDE LOVES: scooter laforge for patricia field modeled by jonathan “best hairy chest EVAH” federico (photos by reiko lauper)
Directors :: Jonathan Federico and Nathan Lee Bush
Producer/Stylist/Casting :: Jonathan Federico
Cinematographer/Editor/Sound Effects :: Nathan Lee Bush
Production Design :: Scooter LaForge
Production Assistant:: Remy Cucui
Acclaimed NYC-based artist, Scooter LaForge creates a self- entitled fashion line that’s nothing short of a masterpiece which Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Lil’ Wayne, and Nicki Minaj enjoy wearing. In celebration of his successful commercial relationship with the Patricia Field boutique, we created this short art film to showcase his brand. This film is from the 2011 collection.
CHECK OUT THE FULL SCOOTER LAFORGE/ PATRICIA FIELD COLLECTION HERE!!!
More Jonathan videos HERE!
Seriously… look at that pelt!!!
!!!(((JOHN SEX)))!!!
John Sex: Rock Your Body from DANGEROUS MINDS on Vimeo.
John Sex was a New York City-based performance artist, male stripper and disco singer who was a stand-out personality of the East Village art scene of the 1980s. He’d sing schmaltzy Vegas numbers in glittery smoking jackets, shiny Ziggy Stadust-esque zip-up jumpsuits, 10-inch platform heels, and assless leather pants. His trademark was his bleached blond hair which stood straight up on his head in an exaggerated pompadour which he said was held aloft by “a combination of Dippity-do, Aqua Net, egg whites, beer, and semen.” He also had a pet python, named “Delilah,” and a suit made of 500 light bulbs. In his X-rated version of the Sinatra standard “That’s Life,” he’d sing “I’ve been a hustler, a hooker, a honcho, a hero, a dyke and a queen.”
READ THE FULL STORY @ DANGEROUS MINDS
mike d’s brooklyn toile
Concept
Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys decided he wanted a Brooklyn inspired toile wallpaper that would line the walls of his Brooklyn brownstone. The vision was to pay tribute to all things Brooklyn in a way that would appear to be a traditional French Country Toile, but when you step to it the pattern reveals elements and vignettes that make up the truth about Brooklyn. Mike approached Vincent J. Ficarra of Revolver New York to help execute his vision artistically and Flavor Paper to produce the design as wallpaper.
Due to the level of detail and shading in Vincent’s design we decided to produce the Brooklyn Toile as a digital print, but stay tuned as it may be revised into a hand screened print soon! Brooklyn Toile captures many angles of life in the King’s borough from Coney Island to Hasidic Jews to Notorious B.I.G., the design covers many of the aspects of daily life dealing with subways and pigeons in a poetic way. Go on and get some!!! REVOLVER
the opposite sex (1956)
WIKI: It is a remake of the 1939 classic comedy The Women. Both films are based on Claire Boothe Luce’s original play. The 1956 musical was directed by David Miller and stars June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan, Ann Miller, Leslie Nielsen, Jeff Richards, Agnes Moorehead, Charlotte Greenwood, Joan Blondell, Sam Levene, Dick Shawn, Jim Backus, Bill Goodwin and Harry James.
The story concerns Kay Hilliard (June Allyson), a former nightclub singer who discovers her husband Steven (Leslie Nielsen) is having an affair with showgirl Crystal Allen (Joan Collins). Kay is the last to find out among her circle of gossiping girlfriends. Kay travels to Reno to divorce from Steve who then marries Crystal, but when Kay finds out that Crystal isn’t true to Steve she starts fighting to win her ex-husband back.
Unlike its predecessor, the cast includes male actors to play husbands and boyfriends, whose characters were only referred to in the previous film and stage versions. This alters the structure and tone of the base storyline significantly.
Slaves of New York – A Supremes Morning… and other things!
Slaves Of New York DVD Extra from Katy Skjerping on Vimeo.
After working for Merchant Ivory on “Heights” as the assistant editor, I was hired to make a short documentary about the making of “Slaves of New York” for the Merchant-Ivory Criterion Collection. Interviews from James Ivory, Ismail Merchant, Tama Janowitz & Bernadette Peters. KATY SKJERPING
IT’S DIANE BRILL, BITCHES! (and be sure to watch a full episode of NEW YORK DANCE STAND from 1983)
Complete 1983 episode of public access cable television show New York Dance Stand. Features footage shot at Danceteria (30 West 21st) Street in New York. Brill @ 5:10
Video demonstration of Dianne Brill, personally, talking about the Dianne Brill Cosmetic Products. Tips and tricks about the entire product range.
On this occasion the Celebutants joined with the Club Kids to record the song about where they lived to benefit AIDS research. Among the singers: Diane Brill, RuPaul, Marcus Leatherdale, Michael Alig, James St. James, Larry Tee & Lahoma, Tish & Snooky, Michael Musto and many more. Fron the DVD “Nelson Sullivan, Mad About Manhattan” Video by Nelson Sullivan
casey legler… she’s a male model… and ADORABLY AWESOME!
TIME.com profiled Casey Legler — an “art maker” in Manhattan and also a male model at Ford. “As far as I know, there are no other women exclusively modeling as male models,” Legler tells the camera. Her photographer friend Cass Bird asked her to pose as a guy for a Muse spread over the summer, “and I wasn’t doing anything on that particular Friday, and so I said yes,” which led to the Ford contract. But “is it a stretch for me to get styled wearing men’s clothes?” Legler wonders aloud.
“I mean, anyone can look at me for two seconds and see that that part is actually not so complicated. I think the part that can feel complicated sometimes is that I also look really fierce in a dress, you know. I’ve been taught by the best queens about how to rock some heels … and I think that’s where it gets exciting.” As Time’s text points out, “Androgyny has long been celebrated in the fashion world,” and, of course, the mag forces her to speak about the Patron Saint of Present Day Androgyny Andrej Pejic — she says, “Andrej is gorgeous … In many ways I come ushered in by that.” We like you for you, girl.
