Marina

I have been a rubbish blog updater. My apologies if you still actually read this.
I guess I have learned there is a time to be quiet. The past two months
have been that time. There have been ideas and things to share, but they have
been more personal and things that simply need a bit of muddling over.

I have found that posting less yields producing more.
Something in that is private and personal. I've started to log and keep my
thoughts in different ways and it has been more beneficial to me. I'm not sure
if I am going to be continuing this but I'm not going to decide that this moment.
It comes with time and peace.

Since March, I have been attending the Marina Abramovic retrospective at MOMA.
Tomorrow is the final day of Marina's performance.
If you have yet to see this incredible show, do yourself a huge favor and postpone
your bbq for a couple hours and head over to MOMA.
I'll certainly be there basking in the light of Marina's glow.

love,
a.

without them

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the Iranian artist, Shirin Neshat.
Her debut feature film, Women Without Men, will be playing next week.
From the preview and if her previous body of work is any indication, I am
confident it will be visually stunning and emotionally striking. The trailer
honestly brought me to tears.

Women Without Men
March 30. 615pm@MOMA
March 31. 915pm@Film Society/Lincoln Center

the lady artist of allah

It has been a couple years since I have held such fascination
with a video artist. Bill Viola, being my introduction to the medium
and really a founding father. I recently discovered Shirin Neshat,
an Iranian artist working today in New York. I have yet to see any
of her work in person, but was struck by the still from the piece,
'Games of Desire'. A meditation on oral histories and courtship
rituals in Laos.

This exhibit is up in Madrid at the La Fábrica Galería through March.

a painting to make you cry and feel still

i had been at the MOMA for more than two hours without realizing it today-
strange how when you are on an inspired trip, time is of no essence.
my last stop was the room dedicated to the return, well until april
of some of Monet's water lillies.
they stunned me into stillness on another countless occasion.
if you have yet to see these works in their basking light, please go.
they will break your heart. as they should.
MOMA
Monet's Water Lillies
through april 12, 2010
oh and i'm a member, so hit me up, you get a discount when you go with me.
water lillies 1914-1926

chelsea girl

it has taken me about two months to finally start to love my
chelsea neighbourhood. when i returned, i was really overwhelmed
with the idea of being back and not in a place as i remembered it.
a number of my favourite haunts prior to my trip had closed up shop
and i was dwelling on this idea of new york not being what i wanted.
and honestly contemplating the idea of getting right back on the jet plane.
but, alas, the gems have been found, or they found me...
+a knowledgeable photographer told me that jeff koons has his massive
studio a block away from me. b barr and i are planning to go dumpster
diving there soon.
+just found out there was a cafe grumpy on 20th street
+le bergamonte is the utmost amazing french cafe, so much so its dangerous
and i am attempting to avoid the place, but that didn't work today, i had to go
order a pecan pie for tomorrow and i could help but get a croissant, which are unreal.
+i'm really fascinated by this spot, bombay talkie and i'm hoping to try it shortly
grumpy cafe
224 west 20th street, between 7th/8th
le bergamonte
169 ninth ave at 20th street
bombay talkie
189 ninth ave

colours flood my mind and seep through my eyes

t and i volunteered all day for the Armenia Fund USA, making nonstop
phone calls in hopes of donations for karabagh. (check it out, link above.)
so, after hours of this, we were mildly exhausted. we happened upon this
show at deitch projects and its colours forced new found energy right
through my veins!
splitting twilight, kristen baker
at first, i was mildly unimpressed, but after a few minutes of standing in the
stark white gallery room with these slices of radiant light and stunning colour
stories, i was totally seduced. you really must see this work in person,
it has so much depth and is produced in such a raw way, that you can almost
dissect it, the longer you observe it. i love it. and its so inspiring to see a young
and totally strong female painter.
deitch projects
18 wooster street
tuesday-sunday, 12-6
on view til december 19
'splitting twilight', 2009
'stilly tempest', 2009
'oculatie der boomen', 2009

see your shoes and spirits rise

this is long overdue, i wanted to post this over summer holiday...
i just want to gush about my dear letter writing friend, erika pahk
and the unbelievable and creative work she has been doing as of late.
i so, intensely love these wearable art pieces she has developed.
the chatelaine pieces are so ideal for a nomadic traveling lady-
on my trip i found myself taking little things with me, so i could have
a reminder of all my loves back home, like jewelry and feathers and
they became so essential to me.
this device is a perfect means for their travel.

1. nesting, photo by rush jagoe
2. nesting, 2009
3. scarlet, 2009
4. chatelaine for worrier, 2009
5. chatelaine for a vagabond, 2009
all from erikapahk.com

as she talks, her lips breath spring roses

during my trip, i became fascinated with religious painting.
from madrid to armenia to italy and my last days in barcelona,
i was seeking them out in museums.
i finally made it to the Uffizi gallery in Florence with my lovely guide,
Caterina, my favourite Fiorentina and among the gems on the walls
we viewed that day, this painting, Primavera by Botticelli really struck me.
i especially loved this detail, where Zephyrus, the god of winds, is in
pursuit of the nymph Chloris and she has vines and flowers coming out
of her mouth toward her Roman counterpart, Flora, the goddess of spring.
i remembered this Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2007 Couture show and
pulled a few images to get me thinking about halloween.
jean paul gaultier spring 2007 couture
botticelli, primavera

shoot my feathers oh so high. break that sky.

fredricks and mae is a design and creative collective based
in brooklyn and they are doing some great work with all
natural materials like creating these feather hair pieces,
pins and arrows
i spotted some of their pieces at maryam nassir zadeh
over the winter when i was selling my valentines
i recovered the memory of their work the other day
when i found some old arrows in a garbage bin in williamsburg

the frame over running water

i rediscovered this album and have been listening to it on my windy walks
downtown from west chelsea along tenth avenue,
it seems completely suited for these pre-cold fall days
if you do not own this, i highly suggest you become enlightened
you will never hear or listen to sounds and music the same way

death in this afternoon

(caution sign. this is an intense and descriptive depiction of what goes down during

a bullfight-so i would skip this one if you are uneasy or simply uninterested, i won't take offense)

because it was feria, the opening of bullfighting season and i was in Sevilla, where the substance

of the corrida was developed, my desire to witness a spanish bullfight had reached max capacity.

saturday morning in the centre, i found a taquilla and had a word with the hombre aqui.

he convinced me that evening there were tickets for prime viewing and i secured my seat.

on my way to La Maestranza, Sevillanos were gearing up for the rounds with with alcohol in

all the little bars in El Arenal. i picked up a striped seat cushion and made my way in.

of course, chaos spanish style. yo penso que they love acting a bit mad here.

the plaza de torreos was beautiful and the scene was unreal-ladies in their flamenco,

many and most in straw hats and nearly everyone with swatting fans.

at 18:30, we are introduced to the cast. tres matadors, their cuadrillas (helpers),

the picadores (on horseback) and banderillos parade in.

after a bit of paparazzi and fanfare, the saffron ring is cleared and things get under way.

the first bull, fiercely runs into the ring and is agitated by the banderillos with pink capes.

toro is getting pissed off and its obvious because he is chasing after the banderillos

and slamming his horns against the wooden barricades they hide behind.

a horn sounds and next up are the picadores and things get intense.

dos hombres on horses have long spear like sticks, known as picadores and their goal

is to stab the bull in the back of the neck to weaken him.

the banderillos coax the bull over and the picador takes his stab. the bull is bleeding

from the next and now trying to slam the horse into the wall. its hardcore and at one point

one of the horses has been knocked down and the picadore pulled out of the ring.

after a bit of this, another horn.

and its the banderillos go. each of three dudes have dos banderillas,

(little poles with barbed ends and colourful streamers)

they do a bit of preening, tip toeing and dancing around and then swiftly waltz up to

the toro and festoon him in the neck with these daggers. i imagine this must be a truly

courageous act, running up to an angry bull in your fantastic traje de luces,

(i quite fancied the naranja one!) and not much else.

another horn and its the real deal.

the matador with his pink cape comes into the ring. its just him and the toro and

things get quite mesmerizing.

the dance between the bull and matador is in slow motion and almost romantic.

each matador has a different approach-one quietly coaxes the toro to venga (come)

and lets the pink fabric fall over the bulls back, another lets the spanish machissmo

fly and juts his pelvis in the toros face and plum around for the spanish audience, who

are totally loving it. this matador did have the moves though, he literally jumped up in

the air and did this wild spin move.

so the matador has his flirt with the bull and then when he decides enough is enough,

he gets the sword. he has got to get the bulls head down and be directly in front of him

to make a smooth kill. matador in verde does just this, takes his cut and the bull staggers

and falls. i think he was deemed the winner, after his first round, the crowd was waving

little white kerchiefs in a sign of approval. (noone else got this, Sevillanos are notorious

for being hard to please in the corrida)

the bull is now tied to a band of horses and pulled out of the ring.

the whole scene happens five more times.

i found it to be fascinating and like nothing i have ever seen.

the spanish love it and are so visibly proud of this art.

swedish fox

in my search for a proper yet nicely coloured backpack, during a ride on the L train, I spotted

one of these babies, the kanken, sported effectively by a swede. produced by fjallraven 

(forgive the lack of proper swedish accents) and made in a variety of colours and a

few different sizes, i think they are brilliant and i plan to pick up the maxi kanken for an 

upcoming trip. i spotted a few in opening ceremony over the weekend and they are also

sold at a few outdoor outfitting outlets online in europe. 

EDIT- i recommend purchasing your kanken at mountain fox

with the pound dollar exchange at the moment, its a deal and they have heaps of colours

opening ceremony is charging well over the recommended and 

even creatures of comfort raised their prices

kankens and a video still from going forth by day, the path by bill viola

born cool

the barkley l hendricks painting exhibit, the birth of cool

totally and unexpectedly blew my mind.

the sheer skill in this work is stunning.

hendricks rendering of fabrics, especially denim

are completely lifelike. working with limited palette,

his iconic portraits each hold and grant the subject

a confident swagger. he references antiquity back 

to byzantine religious icons and old masters like

jan van eyck and greek mythology. 

on view until march 15

the harlem studio museum 

144 west 125th street

from top to bottom

'sweet thang (lynn jenkins)' 1975-76

'bahsir (robert gowens)' 1975

'what's going on?'

'brown sugar vine' 1970

'steve' 1976

'sir charles, alias willie harris' 1972

'north philly niggah (william corbett)' 1975

'lawdy mama' 1969

i make your heart shake, these memories can't wait

dearest human hearts,

i hope this finds you with a happy heart, full and pumping.

after many requests and a cosmic collision with an iranian dream of a lady...

it is my greatest pleasure and a dream awake to say that this year

my valentines are for sale at a beautiful museum like shop...

Maryam Nassir Zadeh.

a journey, a comfort and an inspiration-a display in impeccable, creative taste

the valentines are inspired by iranian lottery tickets, indian currency, ancient mysticism,

pomegranates and hieroglyphics and each one i have painted, printed, assembled and

dyed with my hands and the envelopes too.

i hope them to be the perfect gift. i am immensely proud of this happening and 

hope you'll check it.

and i promise you, you will hold a piece of my heart in your hands. intended pun.

MARYAM NASSIR ZADEH

123 Norfolk Street at Rivington Street (across from Schiller's Liquor Bar)

Lower East Side 

NYC

please check out the amazing space maryam and uday have assembled and 

support them and tell them you do.

+

i donated a bunch of my valentines, though not quite as elaborate but lovely

nonetheless, to Fred Flare, the online shop and store-

mine and heaps of others are for sale and all proceeds are being given to

Elder Craftsmen, a rad charity that brings craft workshops to local old people.

so please support their shop front or make an online purchase

Fred Flare

131 Meserole Ave at Leonard Street

Greenpoint Brooklyn

with all the love that can possibly pour out of me,

a and le futur possible

the rarest of rare

for what may be the third time this year, i have fallen in love

at first sight. again. a long time coming, i finally made my

way to maryam nassir zadeh, the lovely shop kept by

maryam and uday. evoking an invitation to explore everything

in sight upon entrance, the specially curated locale provides you

a dream and a journey. this place is a rare gem, possibly the only

one quite like it stateside.

maryam nassir zadeh

123 norfolk street at rivington street

lower east side

nyc