As sweet as it gets

I was blown away by Belgium's very own Mr Michael Borremans whose work is currently exhibited at Bozar. Rarely has a contemporary painter made such a strong impression on me! At first glance you see a realistic representation of beauty yet Mr Borremans subtly burns little holes into logic, whilst ensuring that  an underlying sense of menace is present in every canvas. The sarcasm with which he represents the telekinetic powers of The German, the jet black face of the otherwise romantic and breathtaking in size Angel and the playful, red, one-size-fits-all Devil's Dress are examples of how emptiness invites manipulation. Simplicity is deceptive and a touch of humour inserts some lightness in to characters that appear to be at the mercy of their creator. 

"My work has to be very lavish, very charged and, at the same time, light, nothing."

"I like being sharply dressed while I am working. Like when  you're going out or, in the past, going to mass. Out of respect for the work. I have noticed that my attitude and concentration improved as a result...You don't want to get dirty, so you paint a bit like a peintre seigneur. It has really brought about a change pf style in my work and technique. Suddenly, you feel like an aristocrat who is doing some painting, whereas previously you rooted around in the paint like a Jackson Pollock."

"I realise that my work both attracts and repels, but no, I don't do that deliberately...Lovely but peculiar. That is my character. I subscribe to the idea that the painter depicts nature and in doing so shows his own soul; but I don't depict nature, I just paint culture. So, actually I'm a bit of a no-romantic as well. I paint in the way that is the right way for me to present a particular image. Why, I don't know. Intuition, instinct, necessity...Why does a dog piss against a wall? An instinct, that's all it is."

Lovely people of Brussels and visiting friends this is definitely not to be missed! Enjoy a selection of my favourite pieces (out of the 100 pieces that are currently on display!).

The Angel

The Ear

 

The Devil's Dress 

 

The Wind  

 

Eating the beard 
 

We have art in order not to die from the truth

NIETZSCHE  

And a taste of the best gigs I've been to lately!

Blown Away by Planningtorock

 

Summertime in New York or How to be a hot child in the city

"September: it was the most beautiful of words, he’d always felt, evoking orange-flowers, swallows, and regret."

— Albert Camus

Welcome Back! 

As reality takes hold and the summer holidays seem like a distant dream that may never even have occurred I decided to share a belated post I started writting about a month ago and  just managed to finish  (I blame being lost in a summer haze and the rough return to reality). A guide to New York (mostly) in the summertime enjoy...hope it makes dream, pack a bag with a bikini and a toothbrush and book a ticket to anywhere where the sun is still shinning!

I just came back from 10 gloriously fun days in The Big City, the city of my dreams, New York. Though I missed a day and a nights' sleep getting back to Europa and hence feel all jet laggy and dazed my head is still in the clouds from all that fun and frolic we had and all the beautiful people I met. My bestest friend now lives in New York and though it was my third visit in the past year and a half, the city always seems new and never ceases to take my breath away. Enjoy some tips on what to do and see and of course some photos from our fantabulous journey, oh yes and a song or two. Big summer love to you all, hope you are dancing somewhere under the sun...

Warming Up at PS1 MoMA 

I can't think of a better way to start our summer tour than the MoMA PS1Warm Up Party, which has become somewhat of a summer tradition for us. EverySaturday, during the summer, MoMA PS1, conveniently (!) located in Queensthrows a daytime party which includes gigs, DJ sets, exhibitions, a largeoutdoor installation (this year it was a fully recyclable, air purifying andvery refreshing meteorite called Wendy!) and last but not least James Turrell's Meeting, a site-specific installation that has been at PS1 since 1986 and consists of a very relaxing room with a subtle orange glow that has a rectangular window/ceiling to the sky,  which is by definition a completely new place every time I visit it and makes me feel want to lie in the middle of the room and let time slip away. Another definite highlight was the projection of Jack Smith's 1963 film "Normal Love" a riotous combination of Dionysian debauchery and horror kitsch to be cherished! 

Yayoi Kusama Exhibition at the Whitney 

A lady that was born to be artist and defied all conventions and stereotypes to be one, a Japanese woman emerging in the Western, male dominated art world of the late 50s early 60s to become Japan's most celebrated living artist. Whether its her signature polka dots, her psychedelic octopus trees, her obsessively phallic furniture pieces, her self-obliteration photos, her intimate mourning collages, or her Body Festivals organized in the fluorescent free love spirit of the late 60s, this lady has left her mark on art and on our public consciousness. Battling with metal problems she voluntary lives in a psychiatric clinic in Japan and continuous working at a manic pace. It was such a real treat to get to see this retrospective exhibition. A useful tip: In case you want to visit "Fireflies on the water" go to the Whitney at opening time as tickets get sold out within the hour. Enjoy some of my favorite pieces. 

Lincoln Center The Clock   

Few things in life are worth over 2 hours of waiting on the sidewalks of New York, "The Clock"by Christian Marclay might just be one of them, a truly hypnotic 24 hour (only during the weekend) video montage of clips taken from thousands of movies, of all genres and periods, that take place in real time, a cinematic memento monti where art and life are fully synchronized I got to enjoy an hour and a half between 1 and 2:30 am, and as we know nighttime is the right time when all the monsters go out and play and when magic happens so my advice is go as late as possible and BE PATIENT, admission is free and you can stay in for as long as you like! 

As you might be more patient than me you might also want to check out Shakespeare in the Park, one of New York's favorite summer traditions, admission is free and people start queuing in Central Park from 8 in the morning to get the precious tickets. 

Definitely visit the Williamsburg flea market, on every Sunday with ample hidden vintage treasures, records, Victorian mourning jewelry and food, pick a sunny day as the river is near and the grass is green! 

La Bonbonniere for lunch

A West Village dinner favored by the likes of Ethan Hawke, the spaghetti with broccoli comes highly recommended. 

P.J. Clarke's for Oyster Happy Hour 

A New York classic. Tip: add a dash of Tabasco to your oysters, it will cause a miniature gastronomic explosion! 

David Burke's Townhouse for a gastronomic real treat on the Upper East Side

American elegance at its best, if you're on a budget they have a pretty awesome set lunch menu. 

Drinks on the rooftop of the Standard Hotel, especially on a Thursday for Le Bain, the view is breathtaking, the people are beautiful and be warned there is a serious chance that some young stranger or some good friend might end up dragging you in the hot tub after-hours. 

The Beauty Bar

Cause for 10 dollars you get a cocktail and a manicure, also the music is fine and you might catch a stand up comedy show.

The Back Room 

A real blast from the past located in the Lower East Side. A speakeasy tucked away behind the faux facade of a toy store. The music is rocking and booze is served in teacups as a reference to clandestine drinking during the Prohibition era. 

St. Jerome's 

A Lower East Side divebar, the music is good and the beer is 2 dollars before  midnight! Random useless piece of information: the bars owner is Lady Gaga's ex-lover!

Home Sweet Home Totally awesome smoky basement bar with goth barmen, different parties every night and live music, beware of dancing all night, drinking 16 beers and starting up a fight, things can get messy in there! Tip: every Wednesday Weird Records throw a party with 5 dollar entrance and guaranteed fun! 

PRAVDA 

A Russian speakeasy located on the edge of Soho, for its over 70 different tastes of vodka and its delicious borscht.

Bergdorf and Goodman 

Definitely worth passing by if only to admire the gorgeously opulent store windows. 

Big Gay Ice Cream Shop

For a real treat, I definitely recommend trying a "Salty Pimp" delish! 

A summer must: Get HIGH on The High Line, a perfect specimen of organized urban gardening (preferably during sunset as the view is breathtaking!) 

Patricia Field

All things camp, glam and fabulous hand picked by the Patricia Field, the lady that styled Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw and Meryl Streep in the Devil Wears Prada in her store at NoHo. Warning: you might have to dig a bit under all the studs to find a real gem!

Beacon's Closet for vintage shopping

You can find some really under priced  gems!

 Reunited 

Pedo Glasses
 

 MoMA PS1 and a bit of Wendy

Wendy

 Loved this movie, a riotous combination of Dionysian debauchery and horror kitsch, a must see for any self-respecting cinephile

Club Kids

Warming Up at PS1

Park Life 

Giant Bubble Snake at Central Park

 The High Line Zoo

Highline

Guggenheim

Love

Loving Yves Kleins' International Blue

HEAT aka Melting Salty Pimp 

ACE Hotel 

When in doubt spray paint it gold!

At PS1

How at the Standard Hotel the night ended in here!

Sexy pool table

Colours in Brooklyn 

The art of coffee making in Brooklyn

Surf Bar

Surf Bar 2

Bergdorf and Goodman

Dressing Up Guess Who?

Kusama for LV

Kusama 2

Kusama's Body Festival

At the Whitney

POSTMODERNISM: THE FUTURE'S BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST

Protect Me From What I Want, From Survival, Jenny Holzer 1983-1985 Times Square 

Last time I was in London I visited the Victoria&Albert Museum Exhibition on POSTMODERNISM: Style and Subversion, 1970-1990. As I was exiting through the gift shop I was surprised to find that the book I was currently reading "White Noise" by Don DeLillo was included in the so-call postmodernist literature section. I have since been somewhat obsessed with the notion of postmodernism.

So what is postmodernism? 

"If postmodernism was a territory it would be contested, if it was a style than that style would be an agglomeration of all other styles. And by the time most people had heard of it its demise had already been declared. Even at its peak in the mid-1980's postmodernism was hard to identify though there was no shortage of eveidence of its forms and effects in architecture, graphic and product design, fashion, film, photography and music. Modernism had its manifestos and schools and had been authoritatively claimed as a movement. Postmodernism was a collection of wry looks and ironic gestures. Modernists devised new windows on the world, postmodernists offered a shattered mirror, modernists affirmed the power of humans to improve and reshape the world with the aid of practical experimentation, scientific knowledge and technology, postmodernists threw together a new look for a night on the town. For postmodernism style was everything, istead of authenticity postmodernism celebrated hybridity, in place of truth postmodernism had attitude. Postmodernism was a debate on the role of style in the world, its power, its function. Style had been the glue that held the Western visual tradition together and by destabilizing the established idea of style postmodernism has been associated with a sense of revolt."

Identities, whether political or sexual were broken down, challenged and subrmerged, art was all about copying and pasting, architecture made sarcastic references to the past whilst teaming the classic with the lowly and kitch, sampling was increasingly used in music, whether pop or techno, fashion photography became increasingly assertive with its exploration of decadent consumerism and sado-masochistic sensuality and heroes such as Patrick Bateman, from Breat Easton Ellis American Psycho, emerged in post-apocalyptic futurescapes as portrayed by Blade Runner or Brazil. Was postmodernism a subversive movement that affected all major art forms for 20 years or merely a stylistic statement that withered away and lost its sarcastic edge by being fully immersed and embracing the ultra-consumerist culture which it was initially criticising? Either way the architecture is breathtaking, the music makes you shake your ass, teapots have never looked that good and the movies are spectacular so next time  you happen to be in London do pay a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the exhibition is on until January 15 2012. I particularly enjoyed the second part of the exhibition which focuses on performance art and includes oustunning outfits from Blade Runner (weird to think that this Chinese-run fluorescent futurescape is meant to be LA in 2019, which now seems so close), music videos by the Talking Heads, covers from Joy Division and New Order LPs and outfits by Vivienne Westwood and Yohji Yamamoto. ENJOY!

"AFTER ALL, SINCE IT IS FAIRLY DEAD, WE MIGHT AS WELL ENJOY PICKING OVER THE CORPSE"

"You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here? Letting the days go by..."

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle par aquanote

"Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday
I'm not sure what this could mean
I don't think you're what you seem"