Margo Fortuny

sparse/beautiful: meet photographer rasha kahil

2012-02-16T17:21:00.007-08:00

I’ve been a fan of Rasha Kahil’s photography ever since she published ‘XI and La Guele du Monde’, a tender collection of portraits that accompany stories of sexual encounters.

Kahil studied at the Royal College of Art in London. She's exhibited at GSK Contemporary at the Royal Academy of Arts, the British Film Institute, The Running Horse (Beirut) and the Empire Project Gallery (Istanbul), among other places. She always shoots on film.

Last week we discussed taking off your clothes in people's houses, personal space, Roger Ballen, and Marina Abramovic:

I love your hand-numbered publication ‘XI and La Gueule de Monde’. Do you have plans to make a sequel or another publication on a different theme?

I wouldn't do a sequel to ‘XI and la Gueule du Monde.’ It was a one-off publication, though I continue to work with the same themes in other work. But I do love producing books, so it is always an option if I feel that a particular project would work well in that format. My photo series ‘In Your Home’ is also a limited-edition book I developed recently because I felt it important that the whole series be presented as one package -only a small selection from the 36 images is usually exhibited in galleries.

For your self-portraits in various houses,’ In Your Home,’ how did you pick the houses? Are they all your friends’ places? Is it something you planned or do you spontaneously wander into a room and take off your sweater and things?

For ‘In Your Home’, I could never pick the houses in advance, it was just a matter of luck, being left alone for long enough for me to be able to disrobe and take the self-portraits without the host's knowledge. That's why the project took so long to develop (2008 to 2011). Sometimes I wouldn't get the opportunity for a few months, then suddenly I’d get shots done in 3 different homes in a week.

How much does a space inform your work? Is your work more about the person in the space or does the space act as its own character?

I've always been interested in the relationship between a person and the space that they create for themselves, particularly a domestic setting, which is where a lot of my portrait work takes place. The space itself becomes an extension of the sitter themselves. Or in the case of ‘In Your Home’ it is the clash between my body and that of another's personal space that becomes the focus and the point of tension in the image.

Recently you shot Antonio Banderas for Harrods. Any other exciting or high-profile projects coming up?

Shooting Antonio Banderas was a chance commission that I thoroughly enjoyed! I was commissioned by the production company of his new movie Black Gold. It thought it would be tricky to connect with such a high-profile persona who is so used to being photographed, and having them interact and collaborate somehow in such a short period of time. But he was such a great guy to shoot, very down-to-earth, participative and willing to try out things for the lens. I really enjoyed the whole session!
Do you have a favourite photographer?

I really admire the work of South African photographer Roger Ballen. Each single image he produces is imbued with such emotion and depth. I also really love the work of Viviane Sassen and Katy Grannan.

Who would you like to collaborate with?

I'd love to participate in one of Marina Abramovic's pieces. It would probably be one of the scariest most challenging things ever, she's such a legend, but I'd completely immerse myself in whatever project she'd have up her sleeve.

Rasha Kahil’s work is currently on show at Maddox Arts in London (9^th February-31^st March.)

http://www.rashakahil.com/ http://maddoxarts.com/

AU/PALAIS: dark synthed electro talent

2011-10-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about Sonic Youth, Bruce Springsteen, minimal techno, and London...

Meet AU/PALAIS: Paramedic/ Techno DJ David and Designer/ Songbird Elise Commathe. They make music you can dance or cry to. Pitchfork calls their music “throbbing.” This Canadian sibling duo is going to be massive. Here, have a listen (or do it after the interview)

http://aupalais.bandcamp.com/track/pathos

http://aupalais.bandcamp.com/

Last week, I invited them round the boat cabin for their very first interview, veggie hotdogs and Ting soda pop. (An offer impossible to refuse, obvs.)

M: What is the ideal situation to have Au/Palais as a soundtrack?

D: Wandering through a city, alone, after dark, with your headphones on.

E: It’s definitely night music. Dusk until dawn.

M: What are your musical influences?

D: I grew up listening to a lot of post-punk, particularly when I was in high school. My biggest band was Sonic Youth. I was obsessed with them. When I first heard ‘Androgynous Mind’ I didn’t even know music could do that. It opened up a universe places music could go.

E: He has a guitar signed by Thurston Moore.

D: Then when I was in my early 20s I had another re-awakening, with dance music, particularly with minimal techno.

M: That’s a mystery to me. Why do people like minimal techno?

D: (laughs)

E: We went to a minimal techno night and David was like, “This is amazing!” and I was like “Is it?”

M: I’m not saying it’s not, because I love a lot of electronic music, I’m just trying to understand why people like minimal.

D: You have to understand it’s dance music. It’s not like people are going to sit around listening and say, “Oh, this is a good melody.”

M: I love dance music. I love electroclash.

D: But this is specifically to dance to, like house or techno, it’s supposed to be part of an hour-long mix. It’s part of a composition. You have to go to an event to experience it. You’ll never see people so enthusiastic and in love with the music. The whole experience of it was so much more total than anything I’d heard before.

With minimal techno there is a very specific feeling. House music and techno focuses on the ecstasy of dance, joy, raising your hands in the air and feeling the moment. The atmosphere is joy and release. With minimal techno the atmosphere is anxiety and discomfort. It doesn’t sound positive but…it’s like the difference between Roxy Music and The Talking Heads. Roxy Music is really sexy. Talking Heads is really anxious, nervous. People love the Talking Heads because they’re really anxious. For me the tension in minimal techno, that feeling in your chest, is really exciting. That’s what drew me to it. Lately we’ve both been really into…

E: This Mortal Coil. That’s a big influence right now. Other than that, I’ve got morestraight-up pop sensibilities than David. Kate Bush is an obvious influence. And Patti Smith, from her personal style to her lyrics. Everything about her. And Bruce Springsteen.

M: If you could do a duet with anyone, who would it be?

D: Elise will go on record to say that her ultimate goal for the band is to have Bruce Springsteen invite her onstage to -

E: (laughing, interrupting) sing Nebraska.

D: Nebraska!

E: I didn’t tell you about my Bruce Springsteen time machine, did I? It’s basically a time machine built specifically to go back to 1985 to be with Bruce Springsteen.

M: Maybe you should make a song about that.

E: I would f-ing die. Or the ultimate- I can’t even fathom this- would be Bruce and Patti and all of us singing ‘Because the Night.’

M: David, if you could have a duet?

E: It’s probably Ricardo Villabos.

D: My other favourite band is Wire so maybe with them.

Is there vaseline on the lens?

M: What do you like about living in London?

E: I really like the moodiness of London, the dark side of it. I’m such a history nerd. I like how it’s old and dirty. I love this city.

M: I like the weeping willows by the canal.

D: Mmm.

E: I love how the sky gets this colour every ten days or so when it looks like it’s gonna rain but it’s not gonna rain. It’s gray with a tinge of yellow. I get excited about that kind of weather. It makes me feel nostalgic. And I love cobblestone alleys.

D: I’ve always loved cities. I have no interest in the country. I love the overpasses in East London. There’s something distinct about those that I find romantic. It reminds me of Tokyo. You can figure out where you are when you see the train go overhead. The arch beneath…

E: There’s something romantic-

D: Darkly romantic-

E: There is an underlying romance, and -

D: There’s a bit of dirt there.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Come to their first U.K. gig at the Shacklewell Arms in London on October 10th, 2011.

The Kneeling

2011-09-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

Photograph by Rasha Kahil

http://rashakahilblog.blogspot.com

The piano was playing. She bowed to her leg, almost touching the barre. An arch, a gesture. The muscles kept repeating a rhythmic prayer. Pointed toes orbited over the floorboards. An hour passed. The piano stopped. She passed through rooms, picking up her bag, changing into tennis shoes, brushing loose strands off her damp forehead.

Outside the sky was a canvas. Clouds dissolved into swathes of bleeding violets. Her bicycle was waiting, locked up chastely. She hopped on the red frame and pedaled home, enjoying the wind singing around her face. The road ahead dimmed during the long ride and the hair stood up on her arms. The trees hid in the dark waiting for the moon. Turning left, she was home.

The house was quiet. A mound of grey fur napped in the corner of the kitchen. She reached for an apple and a knife. The apple was peeled and sliced at the table, devoured and finished.

Tomorrow’s our last morning, she thought in the shower, adjusting the faucets. She traced a picture of his face in the steamed glass. One night, they had sat in the green tub with the shower running, pretending they were in the rain, kissing between mouthfuls of cheap champagne. When he complained about the drink she poured the rest over his head. He tried to fold her like origami but there wasn’t room so she leaned back and leapt out and ran laughing to the next room, leaving a trail of wet footprints…

Washed, rinsed, dried, wrapped in a big coarse towel, she retreated to bed. Alarm set, she curled up in sheets like peach skin.

It was still dark when she slipped on the white cotton dress, clean tights, a holey blue sweater (the one she never washed), and boots. Her reflection was pleasing. She went out to her bicycle in habitual steps. The pedaling woke her up.

This day had happened so many times. They liked to meet early. At first it was under the pretence of having company whilst running. Then they ended up walking in the bluish light, exploring the woods, and eventually pressing each other against the bark under the trellis of branches. Her mind roamed down familiar paths.

Hopping off the bike, she led it to the clearing where they met. The air smelled of wet dirt. Faint from excitement and a hunger that hummed in her belly she advanced. He was there. He looked fitting among the trees, shadowy in dawn, a Pan with dark locks brushing against explicit cheekbones. His lips were crimson and his eyes shone as if he had been enjoying wine. Smiling, speaking, their hands melded together.

He took a kiss and they began to walk over crisp leaves. The day was emerging. This was where she wanted to be and yet she couldn’t savor it. Already she felt his absence weighing on her, carving up their embraces. Anticipating the loss, she was distant. A small nausea and a swallow in her throat distracted from his words and warm hands. Some fingers were adorned with cuts: gifts from his guitar strings. His music had inspired first her admiration and then resentment.

They paused, looked at each other, cheeks flushed, lips biting. Faces close like blades of grass; they sunk down to become entangled one more time. Cottony arms surrounded her, pulling her near. His heart was beating against her chest. Forgetting the futility of nostalgia, she tried to memorize the kisses. He smelled like clean laundry and maybe he had frosted flakes for breakfast. These details were silently collected. They rolled over and she wandered into his eyes. Touches silenced the thoughts.

Soundless they lay there, waiting for the sun to warm them. Giving up, the couple stood, adjusted themselves and returned to the clearing. Shivering a little, there was not much to say now. They wheeled their bicycles to the road. She held him for some time, drowning in the minutes, breathing him. She drew away, said goodbye. One last fever on the lips. Dazed by the parting, she climbed over the metal and rode away. A song played in her head.

-M. Fortuny

Photograph by Ryan McGinley

http://ryanmcginley.com/moonmilk

FALLING OUT OF TREES

2011-05-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

Is this what the Beach Boys were talking about?

2011-01-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

I’ve been gone for a while.

A window in San Francisco

First stop was New York, snow city. After spending time with my mother- who has a dry comment for everything I put on ("Where are you going? Lunch in Corsica? In August?"), my father- pusher of carta de musica and host of exhausting seven-hour dinner parties, my brother- jovial and recently sleeved in Chinese gang tattoos, and my sister- who bluntly and correctly told me the internet was making me less intellectual, I packed up all the books and cardigans I received for Christmas and flew to California.

The dreamland. Welcome to lazy afternoons conducted by the sun, people drunk with foliage and space, and delicious hideaways from another era. There are no piazzas here, historic refers to midcentury, and blue skies are taken for granted. Everyone is floating.

Griffith Park on January 6, 2011

When I arrive the warmth hits me like a song unheard in years. I step onto the street and peel off my black leather jacket. Palm trees and faded pastel bungalows, hand-painted signs, and the scent of a Salvadorian lunch greets me. There are things I have to do: climb trees in Pasadena, wander in canyons, hunt for the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, gather material for articles, pick up some 1970s dresses, see all the people I love…

Miss Native Fauna's house in Echo Park

On New Year’s eve, my friends Larissa and Liza and I went to Ryan Trecartin’s party. There were many rooms including dark dens of dancing, a long hall filled with rows of identical green-blanketed beds, (soon covered with more kissers than a Roman fountain) and a wide porch where smokers convened and alternated the endless vodka with Margaritas.

In the basement, skinny naked creatures hopped in and out of a Jacuzzi while a man played piano two feet away. Was he wearing a top hat? I expected Ryan McGinley to be there, documenting the grinning undressed, but he was relaxing upstairs. Eventually the police, suspecting fracas, tossed everyone into the night. The wet, the confused, the laughing, and the rest stumbled to cars.

A few days later I got a ride to San Francisco in a truck with a man I had never met before. Giotto was a friendly character who taught me about dharma and told me of his travels. He was like a character in a black and white movie that looks at you whilst driving and gesticulates instead of steering. To compensate I watched the empty road ahead. “Fear is fiction,” he divulged. The machine chortled at the pace. We passed snowy hillsides. The sky darkened. We pulled over for strawberry milkshakes and “animal style” French fries.

What would happen in San Francisco? Would it be like a Blondie song? Parking and necking? Would the beach call, the bridge beckon with vertigo, or would I be content to walk and walk and walk?

Driving north

A sign outside a restaurant in San Francisco

You're Looking Very Concave This Evening

2010-11-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

Jarvis Cocker in Q Magazine, '95

In honour of the thrilling news that Pulp is reforming I’ve scoured the earth for a few classic pictures and videos of my favourite frontman, Jarvis Cocker. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jarvis twice. Someday I hope to hold a conversation with him that lasts more than 73 seconds.

Morrissey called. He wants to know what kind of conditioner you use.

The face of a legend… The chest of E.T.

Is there room for one more?

Countdown

Hit Single Pulp: Disco 2000

Pulp- Disco 2000

simsy | Myspace Music Videos

Acrylic Afternoons (Different from album version)

Love Is Blind (Fan video)

Something Changed

Here’s a little BBC Documentary on Pulp (1995.) http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6611246860193371775#

And here’s my favourite Pulp website: http://www.acrylicafternoons.com/band.html

WORK WORK WORK

2010-10-20T04:12:00.000-07:00

Below are links to a few of my articles:

FASHION:

SHOWstudio on Beards: http://showstudio.com/project/fashionbody/essay/the_bearded_man

LFW Diary: http://revistametal.com/2009/03/london-fashion-week-2/

Jeremy Scott Interview: http://finemagazine.co.uk/2010/04/jeremy-scott/

Markus Lupfer Interview: http://revistametal.com/media/i11-7-markus-lupffer.html http://revistametal.com/media/s11.html

Che Blomfield Interview: http://magazine.motilo.com/fortunyverse-meet-curatordesigner-che-blomfield/

FILM:

Brian Butler Interview: http://www.viceland.com/blogs/fr/2010/02/24/films-vincent-gallo-et-kenneth-anger-jouent-dans-un-film-magick/

MUSIC:

DMX Krew Interview: http://finemagazine.co.uk/2010/05/dmx-interview/

Fiction Interview: http://finemagazine.co.uk/2010/06/fiction-interview/

ART & ARCHITECTURE:

Interview with Samantha Sweeting: http://magazine.motilo.com/2010/meet-artist-samantha-sweeting/

Interview with Venetia: http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/5479/1/the-romance-of-the-building

EXIT:

http://bamnblog.com/2009/12/04/exit-21-flip-through/

http://bamnblog.com/2009/04/03/exit-20-flip-through/

http://bamnblog.com/2008/10/11/exit-19-flip-through/

Print editions of most of these articles can be found at the Central Saint Martins Library. Or at my house.

Frieze Furniture

2010-10-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

Every year thousands of art collectors swoop into London to attend Frieze Art Fair. I usually go to check out the hits, drool over the Nan Goldin photographs and Raymond Pettibon drawings, and sketch the chairs. Every gallery brings their own chairs. Sometimes they surpass the pieces on the wall. If you're a modernist lover they are the art.

2009

Frieze 2010

Photos by Kirsty Buchanan

party in the living room!

2010-10-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

We used to drive up to San Francisco sometimes, even just for a day or two. We went to some amazing parties, usually in a living room with crusty sofas and spontaneous dancing and people making out up against the fridge with most of the lights off…

Here are a few of the records that were playing:

On danse...

When I See A Train I Want To Take It in My Arms

2010-10-03T17:19:00.001-07:00

I love traveling: trains are romantic, cars are pensive, planes are speedy, and bicycles are liberating. Walking is my favourite mode of transportation.

Photo by Burk Uzzle, 1970.

Over time, I’ve gotten quite organized about the process and intricacies of travel. Here is my advice:

*If you travel with fewer people, you’ll be more in tune with the environment and locals, and thus get into more fun/crazy situations.

*If you like to be prepared go to the library before you leave and photocopy pages of places, important numbers and maps from Let’s Go travel guides. Have a think about what you want to do when you get there (but don’t stick to a schedule or it’ll feel like a school trip. Save some time and flexibility for adventure.)

*Bring a notebook (or laptop.) Flying or riding heightens emotions and provides a quiet time to think about your life.

*Pack a few books you want to catch up on. Toss nuts, water, and chewing gum in your bag, and for epically long journeys rye crackers and sliced cheese like Edam.

*If you get restless or have a lengthly journey ahead, bring Kalms Forte tablets (light homeopathic downers) or chamomile tea bags.

*Pack a cardigan or an enormous scarf in your carry-on to use as a blanket. Make a Sleep playlist on your ipod. I have Air’s Moon Safari album and Spiritualized’s Pure Phase on mine.

*Wear something comfortable yet dapper; you might get unexpectedly upgraded to first class or meet someone interesting. This has happened to me randomly a couple times. Don’t forget a comb and chapstick.

Photo by Ralph Gibson, 1970

Mosquito Advice:

An important thing to remember is mosquitoes, like lovers (or vampires) adore your scent, your sweat, your blood…so the aim is to hide your delicious human smell. Shower before bed and wear long, loose clothes tucked into each other. I suggest thin cotton pajamas in hot climates. For a non-toxic homemade alternative to the sprays, mix a little baby oil with tea tree oil (If you’re not wrapped up in rare sheets.) Citronella oil is another natural repellent. Some say drinking tonic water in the evening makes you less tasty to the mosquitoes but that might be a rumor.

If you’re too busy or broke to go anywhere right now, read about trips instead. Try:

· As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee

· The Places In Between by Rory Stewart

· Rosie Darling by Rosie Swale

· On the Road by Jack Kerouac (that’s a bit obvious, I know.)

· Go Ask Alice (just kidding.)

Feel free to contribute your travel suggestions in the comments section…

This song always makes me think of driving around the city...

Dreamy

2010-09-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

I don’t DJ much these days or record enough old-fashioned mixtapes but I still make mix CDs for my friends’ birthdays and spend too much time creating obsessively detailed playlists. Here’s what I’m listening to this week:

Summer Camp’s Round the Moon. The video samples the classic film A Swedish Love Story.

So does this video by Au Revoir Simone & Neon Indian…I guess that movie was bigger than I thought…

Look here’s Neon Indian again…This makes me want to find a swimming pool to jump in. Oh wait, I don’t live in California anymore.

I like a lot of songs with “dreams” in the title (Roy Orbison’s In Dreams, Weezer’s Only in Dreams, Ariel Pink’s Among Dreams, et cetera…) here’s another one by Wild Nothing…

Tones on Tail: after Bauhaus and before Love & Rockets this is what Daniel Ash was doing…

Can someone please make a video for this song? HEALTH’s Disco2 is packed with gems like this. (The USA Boys video is pretty frisky but the fact that the first couple minutes look like a cheesy ad made me not want to post it…so I put up Before Tigers instead.)

Just look at the wolf and think happy thoughts.

ariel pink, so many songs to pick from…

What’s the inspiration here? Kraftwerk boy band? I can’t decide if this video is terrible or brilliant, but The Drums' album is quite tasty…

EAST LONDON THREE YEARS AGO

2010-08-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Photos by Alistair Allan.

I just came across this list I scribbled a few years ago when I moved to Hackney…

You know you live in East London when…

The 55 bus is a great place to meet people.

Every good electro night is described as ‘polysexual.’

Consequently you haven’t met a straight guy in six weeks.

You forget fringe-less girls exist.

Everyone has at least one Pete Doherty story.

Your boyfriend is so thin he’s now two-dimensional.

You see Faris Rotter so often you think he’s part of the wallpaper.

Your passport photo was taken by Alistair Allan.

Every Sunday night (in a secret location) there’s a guestlist-only candlelight memorial mourning Boombox. All tears shed must glitter.

At least half your friends go to Saint Martins.

You haven’t seen flared jeans in years, and consider them a symptom of blindness.

You thought Santa was the mayor of Shoreditch.

Photos by Larissa James.

BERLIN: A Metropolis Guide

2010-06-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

EXPERIENCES

After you’ve bought your day pass or parked your bike, pick up a copy of Zitty magazine at a newsstand or record store, it’s similar to Time Out. It’s all in German but you can figure out what exhibitions are on in the Kunst (Art) section and what gigs are on.

See what's new at the Hamburger Bahnhof modern art museum and the small Guggenheim museum Unter den Linden 13, Train: Französische Straße. It’s fun to wander around the contemporary art galleries in Mitte. Also Sprueth Magers Gallery usually has excellent exhibitions on. Gallery Oranienburger Strasse 18. Train: Oranienburger Strasse. The Helmut Newton Museum is also worth a look if you love photographs of beautiful statuesque women. Jebensstrasse 2. Train: Zoologischer Garten.

The best time to visit Berlin is in the summertime, though any season will be interesting, as long as you bundle up. If you do go in warmer months hang out at the Badeschiff- an outdoor bar complete with sand underfoot, iron beds, hammocks, a bar, free gigs, and an open air swimming pool. The view is amazing, the vibe is relaxed, and it’s open late. Eichenstraße 4. Train: Treptower Park.

My favourite hairdresser in the world, Persona Non Grata, is based in Berlin. Or fly him out if you can afford it. He’s known for hair sculpture: avant-garde cuts and colours with the obsessive precision of early Vidal Sassoon. He also specializes in going platinum and asymmetric fringes, though he can do understated styles upon request. If you want a real Berlin souvenir book Persona Non Grata to cut your hair.

Oh, look who we found in the hall...

Hair by Persona Non Grata. Photo by Jeffreyvanhoutte.be

NIGHTLIFE

Young indie rockers and hipsters: go to White Trash Fast Food on Saturday night for dancing or Monday night for screenings, Schönhauser Allee 6/7.

For tasty cocktails and a lesbian/ mixed scene go to Barbie Deinhoff’s in Kreuzberg Schlesische Straße 16.

Feeling experimental? If you’re a fan of massive nightclubs and minimal techno you might want to check out the infamous Berghain/ Panorama bar, preferably around 6 am Sunday morning. Public sex (gay and straight welcome) at this club is allowed, cameras are not. Some people say it’s hard to get into but I’ve never had a problem, just look bizarre and not too wasted and be prepared to queue. Am Wriezener Bahnhof. Train: Ostbahnhof.

Also keep your eyes peeled for club night flyers in record shops. (Leave any other nightlife recommendations or funny stories in the comments box...)

Josephine in Treptow. She likes behrensen saurer apfel and dead beat poets.

EAT

For vegetarians on a budget: order the hot halloumi sandwich from the falafel place near Barbie Deinhoff’s on Schlesische Straße; the nearest train stop is Schlesisches Tor. Expect warm cheese on a bed of lettuce and onions and salad with a creamy garlic sauce and a dab of spicy chili. It’s about 3 Euros and fills you up for hours.

Delores. This inexpensive California/ Mexican café offers delicious quesadillas, burritos, and salads filled with vegetarian, vegan, or meat ingredients. Try the lime marinated tofu quesadilla with fresh guacamole (5.50 with a side of fresh salsa), or the spicy mole burrito with peanut salsa if you’re feeling adventurous. Delores plays cool music and has a selection of new fashion magazines in English and German for you to peruse. Rosa-Luxemburg Strasse 7. Train: Alexanderplatz.

Room 77. As you walk in it looks like a cross between a dive bar and a living room. There’s a random old man playing the guitar, numerous sunken velvety sofas, maybe a floppy eared dog wandering around. Everyone was really friendly when we went, including the waiter and the people whose booth we squeezed into because every table was occupied. Room 77 specializes in juicy cheeseburgers with crispy potato wedges that come with a sour cream dip. 77 Graefestraße. Train: Schönleinstraße.

If you’re a candy freak and a fan of Germany’s famous square chocolates visit the Ritter Sport Chocoworld Store. They have every type of Ritter chocolate including limited edition flavours, (such as vanilla bourbon and creamy cashew) bite size, giant size, and melted praline hot chocolate as well as a build-your-own bar, where you pick the fillings and they make the chocolate fresh for you that day. Upstairs there’s a café and an exhibit explaining the manufacturing process. Französische Strasse 24 Train: Französische Straße.

Have you ever tried honey-hazelnut-yogurt milk chocolate? What are you waiting for?

SHOP

Close to the Ritter Sport Chocoworld is the French department store Galleries Lafayette. The food hall stocks an impressive assortment of French mustards in a plethora of tastes and sizes, from caramelized onion to cognac. Upstairs, the beauty department sells unusual products such as expensive cologne that is meant to reek of the four body excretions and perfume that is marketed to smell like the blood of a virgin on clean sheets. Französische Straße 23.

Glasses aficionados: rush to the vintage specs shop Lunettes Brillenagentur. They sell beautiful frames and quirky one of a kind designs from about 20-200 Euros, most priced around 120. (You can get the prescription put in cheaply in Berlin or at Mott Street Optical in Chinatown, NYC or at Arckiv in London.) Marienburger Straße 11. Train: Senefelderplatz

If it’s the weekend, check out Treptow flea market on Saturday for knick knacks, vinyl, random electronics, and inexpensive china or better yet, Mauerpark on Sunday for sheepskin rugs, 60s lamps, and vintage treasures. Train: Treptower Park. Mauerpark: Bernauer Strasse 63-64. Train: Eberswalder Straße.

Do You Read Me? is a phenomonal magazine store. They have hundreds of international contemporary magazines (specializing in fashion and culture) plus zines and books. They don’t mind if you browse for a while either. Auguststraße 28. Train: Rosenthaler Platz.

Reach for the scent of virgins.

Cologne scented like blood, sweat, tears, and sperm. About 50 Euros. Or you could mix that up at home.

A fox stole in a vintage shop near U2 Eberswalderstrasse.

A Constructivist zine at the Guggenheim.

Artwork at a train station.

Berlin: A Metropolis Guide by Margo Fortuny originally appeared in Fine Magazine: http://finemagazine.co.uk/author/margo-fortuny/

Yves Klein in my mind

2010-05-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

Yves Klein was a prolific painter, composer, and conceptual artist in the 1950s and 60s – until he died in 1962, aged 34. He’s famous for using women as paintbrushes (called anthropometries.) Klein also invented his own shade of ultramarine blue (IKB), painted with fire, and exhibited emptiness in 1958- an opening that attracted 3000 people.

Klein was fascinated with the colour blue. It represented the abstract elements in visible nature. In the 60s, using his trademark blue shade, he found a way to show the body’s energy by using nudes as living paintbrushes. Their forms pressed against papered floors and walls became records of the experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr2AT0GFfKI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPZ_thtE4kk&feature=related

In the years following his death, major art institutions have honoured him with exhibitions, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, and many other national art galleries.

The Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C. is exhibiting a Yves Klein retrospective from May 20-September 12, 2010.

This winter, Mitchell Bridges (conceptual artist and young gallerist) and I reenacted an anthropometrie twice, in front of large audiences, as an ode to Yves Klein. We reversed the gender roles to open up a discussion about the fluidity of masculine/feminine identity. Instead of an instrumental ensemble, an old record of violin concertos accompanied the happenings. We used white paint for the first performance and red paint for the second performance.

Here are some of the photographs by Laura Jung:

Advice for meeting my mother

2010-03-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

Bring a gift. Not something crummy. Something fine: loose assam tea from Harrods, macarons from Ladurée, Charbonnel et Walker hot chocolate, a Diptyque candle, Neal's Yard bath oil, an art book on a hot artist, the latest exhibition catalogue from a hyped show, a handmade drawing (preferably framed)...if you're broke go to a second hand bookstore (e.g. the Strand in New York or the little shops on Charing Cross Road in London) and pick out an old photography book.

Dress up and groom yourself: something tasteful, e.g. trousers, unwrinkled shirt, sweater, tidy shoes. No holes or stains. Above all look clean. Check your fingernails. Disguise bite marks if relevant.

Be as polite as possible. Sit up straight. Smile. Say thank you/ please/ I appreciate that. Offer to carry her bags (not her purse.) Hold the door open. Ask her questions about herself, her life, her projects. Complement her and her dogs. Things my mother likes to talk about: New York, Greece, travel, languages, art, architecture, style... I suggest you read the New York Times and the Guardian (or the online editions) so you have a few things to talk about. Most importantly, at the dinner table, put your fork down when not using it to eat. Whatever you do, do not wave it around to punctuate your thoughts in conversation. She might stab you with it if you do.

If you go out to dinner with her, offer to pay the whole bill. Insist upon it at least once, or be sneaky towards the end of the meal and pretend to go to the loo and discreetly arrange with the waiter to pay the bill.

To make a good first impression, don't talk about yourself too much but present yourself in the best possible light. Show her you're motivated, a hard worker. Before you meet her be prepared to answer questions like: Describe your educational background. Where do you see yourself in ten years? What are your professional goals? What has been your biggest achievement to date? (e.g. winning awards, learning languages, exhibiting, opening your own gallery...) It sounds like a job interview but it'll be worth it, because if she likes you she might introduce you to Larry Gagosian or invite you to a Pucci hotpants party on a yacht.

Obviously, don't mention previous experimentation with drugs and /or unconventional sexual practices, even though she seems really bohemian.

If you stay in her house, be a thoughtful guest. Be tidy. Ask if she needs help with anything around the house.

After you meet her, send her a letter or email saying how lovely it was to meet her. If it was a visit, send a thank you letter.

LONDON FASHION WEEK: ON THE STREET

2010-02-25T09:29:00.000-08:00

London Fashion Week just ended. My friend Martin, Dalston-based co-head of Purlstitch Knit Club, and I were photographed several times as we left fashion shows and parties… Since you’ve probably seen what was on the catwalk, here's what we wore this week:

I wore this vintage (1970s) dress to the Liberty’s party.

I wore this vintage suede skirt and Shu-Ba top (feathers added) to the METAL/Lina Osterman party.

I wore this satin kimono and leather obi sash to the PPQ show.

I wore this Burberry’s trench (with added feathers) to the fantastical Topshop Unique show.

Martin wore this to the METAL/Lina Osterman party. Check out the miniature birdcage necklace.

Martin wore this to the Roisin Murphy / Linda Farrow party. Cape, shirt, hat vintage.

Martin wore this to the PPQ afterparty. Couture trousers by Sara Loi. Coat by W.S. Wilkenson & Sons.

Fellini & Le Donne

2010-01-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

Oggi, vorrei discutere Fellini e la sua visione delle donne e il ruolo delle donne nei film di questo regista. Dopo discutero' lo stereotipo delle donne in Italia, insieme ai film di Fellini. Nel mille-novecento-ottantanta Fellini ha detto:

‘Penso che il cinema sia una donna a causa della sua natura rituale. Questo utero e' il teatro, il buio fetale, le apparizioni- tutti creano un rapporto, noi ci proiettiamo sul rapporto...noi forziamo lo schermo ad assumere la personalita' che noi esigiamo, come facciamo con le donne, su cui ci abusiamo. Le donne sono le diapositive che sono inventate dagli uomini. Nella storia, lei e diventata la nostra fantasia.’

Viceversa, c’e un paradosso. I film di Fellini sono attraenti alle emozioni a causa dell' impatto delle protagoniste femminili al pubblico. I personaggi femminili ottengono piu comprensione di Fellini, dei loro equivalenti maschili. Le donne di Fellini sono le vittime o le prostitute, i personaggi umani nel mondo crudele che e' dominato dai valori maschili e insensibili. I protagonisti maschili sono di emozioni inferiore; sono superficiali o brutali.

D’altre parte, i personaggi femminili sono descritti come le fantasie sessuali e il desiderio delle donne di essere la proprieta' degli uomini. Le critiche femministe dicono che i film di Fellini danno il messagio al pubblico che dice che queste fantasie rappresentono le donne vere. Questo messagio limita il potenziale delle donne e rinforza lo stereotipo femminile in Italia.

Negli anni cinquanta in Italia, c’erano due gruppi stereoptipi di donne. Ci sono la madre e la vergine nel primo gruppo. La madre e il capo potente che controlla la famiglia e unifica gli Italiani (che sono decentrati in Italia.) Ci sono le prostitute/ amanti nell' altro gruppo. L’idea di una donna professionale era impossibile o comica.

Come Italiano, Federico Fellino ha questa opinione riguardono alle donne. In aggiunta, la filosofia di Jung ha influenzato Fellini. Questa filosofia dice che c’e una anima (l' elemento feminile nell'uomo: l'anima e' erotica e emotiva) e un animus (l'elemento maschile nella donna: l'animus e razionale o logico.) Fellini crede che gli uomini e le donne non siano opposti polari, sono le forze complementari. Come direttore, lui ha sperimentato con l’idea della anima e l’animus.

In aggiunta, le sue visioni dell' infanzia hanno influenzato i film di Fellini. C’era sua madre, che era una donna distante. Un altra donna bizarra nella vita di Fellini: quando Federico aveva sette o otto anni, una domestica della famiglia lo ha molestato. Era un poco traumatico. C’era anche la visione italiana delle donne: la vergine e la prostituta. Fellini si aggrappa a queste visioni, il suo cinema e' dipendente dalla sua fantasia soggettiva.

I personaggi femminili di Fellini sono le sue fantasie sessuali, ma l’aspetto della fantasia e' l'essenza dei film di Fellini. I sogni, la poesia, la fantasia, e l’immaginazione sono gli elementi piu importanti delle creazioni di Fellini. Io sono una femminista ma mi piaciono i film di Fellini perche lui e' un maestro di questi elementi. Il suo cinema 'e surreale, un sogno che e' bello e difettoso.

WALKS IN THE DARKEST FOREST

2009-11-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

Young British Photographer Stuart Bailes explores woods and glaciers to capture heightened experiences on film.

24 year-old Stuart Bailes likes to walk in a straight line, armed with a large format camera and flash lighting. He transforms familiar spaces into eerie experiences by working at night, often exploring new locations on foot. Bailes has been awarded the Fujifilm Distinction Awards, 2008, the Reginald Salisbury Travel Scholarship, 2007, and MPD Graduate Future Partnership Award, Portfolio Award, 2007. He has exhibited at numerous spaces including the Photographer’s Gallery, London, and at the PhotoEspana, Descubrimientos PHE08, Madrid, Spain. I met with him in London Fields to talk about the land and the image.

Come to the show, up now, through November 22, if you’re in London. http://www.halsilver.com/

Fortuny: What photographers/artists are you inspired by and why?

Bailes: Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko…Abstract Expressionism was one of the coolest things to happen in painting. Bas Jan Ader: he managed to gel aspects of Romanticism with Conceptualism. This is an almost impossible task but he did it well. James Turrell, Anthony McCall: These guys harness light in the best possible ways making light and maths the material of their work. I love lights and I love numbers. Werner Herzog. Herzog uses the lens to present what is true and what is not true and somehow manages to retain Herzog's style in every film he produces. He is often softly Romantic but always aware of this.

Fortuny: Can you discuss the Romantic versus conceptual in your work?

Bailes: I love being on the land, walking on it, thinking about it and learning about it. I want to photograph those incredible moments where the light hits the right place or you see something phenomenal but in making that picture and presenting it something is lost, or left behind in the transaction. I search for alternative means of presenting the unattainable thing that potentially has romantic connotations, for example in the lighting and colours I work with. I enjoy the imagined possibilities of landscape.

Fortuny: What equipment do you use?

Bailes: I use a 5x4 large format camera. I like the historical context of using the 5x4 camera to make 'landscape' photographs.

Fortuny: Do you have any other talents?

Bailes: In 2008, I went on a month long European tour with an Icelandic musician called Olafur Arnalds (www.olafurarnalds.com). I worked as the lighting designer/operator for the tour. We did shows in many different venues with a whole range of specs from tiny clubs in basements to the Barbican and also to a couple of 5,000 capacity outdoor festivals.

Fortuny: How do you pick the landscapes you shoot?

Bailes: I do have a preference for cold places. I have traveled to Iceland a number of times because I love the blue-coloured sky of their dark winters.

Stuart Bailes is exhibiting in Flashforward 2009 at the Lenox Contemporary in Toronto, Canada October 8-25^th, 2009 and in the Hal Silver show, which opens 18th November, and runs from 19th -22nd Nov @ The Russian Club, Kingsland Road, London, UK. Check out http://www.stuartbailes.com for more details.

The full interview will appear on Dazed Digital.

A Master of Ambiguity

2009-10-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday touched me. First I went to the Ed Ruscha retrospective at the Hayward Gallery. I overheard him say, “I’ve been doing the same thing for so long I don’t even though why I do it. It’s compulsive. It’s my vocation.”

Then I introduced myself to seminal multi-media artist and asked him where his favourite place in L.A. is. (Mr Ruscha has lived in Los Angeles since the 1950s.) He replied, “Lucy’s El Adobe on Melrose in Hollywood.”

Ed Ruscha, I Was Gasping for Contact, Pastel on Paper, 1976.

Around 7 o’clock, I went to the Robert Mapplethorpe opening at the Alison Jacques Gallery. The sidewalk was crowded with art aficioados rapturously waiting for Patti Smith to play an intimate set in honour of her close friend Robert Mapplethorpe. She began to sing in the doorway of the gallery: When we were young, we had imagination, we had each other… In between songs Patti spoke about walking around New York with Robert.

Standing quite close I sketched her and wrote down her words. On the topic of AIDS awareness, she said, “It doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. It doesn’t mean we can’t be free. It just means we have to love our life and take care of it.” She also advised, “All of you in the next week or two, read Rimbaud, read Jim Carroll and look at Robert.” When Patti sang acapella Because the Night, everyone went silent before tentatively beginning to sing along. She sounded amazing and sincere.

Robert Mapplethorpe,  Lisa Lyon, 1982, Silver gelatin print, at Alison Jacques Gallery

“I’m glad that you’re able to breathe

I’m glad that you’re able to distinguish me

from the lights along the thruway.

I mean don’t both of us illuminate

the direction which you are taking?

and don’t both weep nervously above

the moist pavement where you move”

-a verse from The Narrows by Jim Carroll

Jim Carroll died a few weeks ago. Here is his obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/books/14carroll.html

After the opening, Mitchell Bridges (Director of Friendly Street Gallery) and I went to Red Veg, the vegan Marxist fast food joint on Dean Street. I ordered a Mexican burger, with guacamole, jalapeno peppers, onions and tomatoes. He ordered a hickory smoked veggie burger with tomatoes, pickle slices, and mayo. Delicious. We walked through Soho to Madame Jojo’s to see Wild Palms play. Yacht was playing too but we were pretty gigged out so instead we bought some a.c.e. juice and walked around Hackney, looking at abandoned storefronts, wondering how to get one of the spaces to open a new gallery…any ideas?

O f f s e t F e s t i v a l

2009-09-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

I illustrated some of the styles going on last weekend...Click on the image for the close-up details.

Offset Festival takes place in September in Hainault Forest, about 40 minutes from East London to the ticket booth...

Offset is fantastic. It showcases newer bands like Fiction, Wild Palms, and the Horrors, alongside the groups that have influenced them. The vibe is relaxed, (except when Kap Bambino played and everyone went crazy), the music is good, and both years the weather has been perfect- none of the downpour of Field Day or the My-face-is-surely-melting-off-under-this-infernal-desert-sun of Coachella. Everyone meandered over the grass, watched bands, danced around, and cast their eyeballs about. Boys wore short haircuts, black, brogues or Docs, and either high-waisted 1940s style trousers or the old skinny jeans and wayfarers combo. Girls sported black eyeliner, red lipstick, kneesocks, cotton carrier bags, mismatched thrift store gear or neo-gothic frocks and boots. There were plenty of glossy black bobs freckling the grassy fields. S.C.U.M. and Romance seemed to have the most hype. The Slits were mobbed and audience members shook hips on stage. I heard Wild Beasts were amazing, though alas, at this point in the evening I had been whisked back to London by an Italian pixie.

Nice safety pin, Nikola.

You can't go wrong with Chucks.

Check out my interviews with Fiction and Wild Palms on www.exitmagazine.co.uk next week...

The Ecstasy of Saint/the Reece.

SUBCULTURE WITH LOVE

2009-09-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

THE BED'S TOO BIG WITHOUT YOU

This is about an artist that started out D.I.Y, as in punk style, drag style, taking snapshots of her friends, documenting their lives: getting dressed up, listening to Lou Reed, getting wasted, fucking, being love-seared, dying, hanging out in New York/ London/ Berlin… The subject matter is often relatable (everyone has glanced longingly across a room, eaten birthday cake, peered in the mirror) and even when you haven’t done what’s depicted, you can FEEL it. The sting of youth, the excitement of experimentation, the disillusion of failed love, the aesthetics of a new city, self-transformation…Nan Goldin archived the feeling.

Snapshot-style photography is something anyone can do, from famous artists like Larry Clark and Wolfgang Tillmans to younger sparks like Ryan McGinley... yet Goldin’s work features a unique pathos. Nan Goldin is a snapshot pioneer, a staggering witness to love stories, addictions, nightlife, death, and the quiet minutes that happen every day. She is a historian to her best beloveds. Frank without being sensational, beautiful without being obvious, and cool without effort, Goldin’s photography touches a nerve. What sets her apart is the striking intimacy portrayed, exemplified in her work “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency.”

After studying at the Museum School in Boston, and surviving the suicide of her sister, a young Nan Goldin came to New York in 1978. She was a fan of Caravaggio, Faulkner, Tulsa, Dietrich, Antonioni, and Fassbinder… Back then NYC was punk/ dangerous/ electric with creative fire. In the late 70’s/ early 80’s, Goldin hosted Bowery loft parties popular for the characters in attendance…and the inevitable board games, rolled-up dollar bills, cake, cocktails, and tail-feather shaking. She worked as a waitress at Tin Pan Alley, while pursuing her vocation as a photographer. Goldin was part of the New Wave Life. The era’s parties, pleasures, and achievements were not important. The personal interactions were what mattered. She preserved them. She took pictures at work, out and about, at home, in bed, everywhere.

Goldin was inside the NYC downtown scene, and she documented it. On the topic of Goldin’s contemporaries, Darryl Pickney wrote “This was not the first generation to fall under the spell of the ruinous message that a wild life indicated a fertile imagination, that art was intrinsically progressive, a form of dissent, and that you would have to spend some time in the wilderness because of your daring aesthetic choices…” Goldin captured this 80s New York mood of heady recklessness and creative rebellion, before it burnt out. Many of the people shown in her early slideshows were dead by the 1990s.

As the years passed, Goldin maintained her intimate photography style while getting clean. She expanded her visual repertoire to include daylight, new characters, and more landscapes. The artist continues to create striking portraits and memorialize friends with AIDS. She exhibits internationally, from London’s Tate Gallery to Paris’s Centre George Pompidou to New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Rewind a couple decades. In the beginning Goldin was presenting slideshows, usually accompanied by live bands, or homemade mixtapes. She worked the projector at bars and nightclubs, in front of an audience of friends. Her first NYC slide show happened at Frank Zappa’s birthday party at the Mudd Club. These slides, which became the seminal “Ballad of Sexual Dependency,” depicted a portrait of the Lower East Side collective experience, and the human practice of feeling and living and looking into oneself.

“The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” created between 1981 and 1996, is a series of 690 slides, shown over a period of forty-five minutes. The slides form a narrative, dealing with identity formed by gender politics, love, and sexuality. The subjects were her close friends assuming various aspects of themselves: lover, mourner, and social self/private self. Each photograph is taken as a tender glance, presenting imperfect people with such honesty and lack of judgment, thus rendering the subjects loveable and beautiful. At the time, the slideshow was radical. Now it is recognized as fine art. Her work is still relevant, as a window to a specific time and place, as a tool for awareness, and as a candid visual language.

Nan Goldin captures the energy between people.

Her work is currently showing at Les Rencontres d'Arles festival in France until September 13, 2009.

http://www.rencontres-arles.com/A09/C.aspx?VP3=CMS&ID=A09P770

-M. Fortuny

The Arch

2009-07-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

AN ATTEMPT TO LIVE THROUGH A TONGUE-LINED TUNNEL FILLED WITH RED CLOUDS

& CONCRETE FORESTS

A wet collision against the wall!

O the splattering of kisses…

We trade tongues by the bricks.

In the city romance is on concrete,

And the streetlight is our moon.

In between the skinny streets

And dirty sidewalks our footsteps

Leave a trace of happiness…

I hold your hand, rough

Skin stretched over the bones and

Blood of love; in the background

I hear an orchestra of sirens,

Honking and shouts…

In front of me I watch the

Beautiful movie of your eyes, curtained

By damp, black shadows.

Our soundlessness overcomes

The neon noise, and

Inside I sense

Your pulse flickering.

photo credit: weegee

I can't.

2009-05-27T18:04:00.001-07:00

In high school I made a mixtape of all the most depressing songs I could think of. I called it I CAN’T… The tape dissapeared. A few years later I made another one. It’s around here somewhere. I’m trying to remember what songs are on it- I haven’t listened to it in a while. The concept was a collection of songs to really emphasize my subterranean feeling until I couldn’t feel any worse and I got sick of hearing sad melodies. The mix included Sigur Ros, Squarepusher’s cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart, the Cedar Room by Doves, Radiohead’s High and Dry, a few others and this song from this one time I fell in love. It was the night before I was moving to Italy and he was going back to California and we knew we wouldn’t see each other for at least a year and he wanted to tattoo a drawing I did on his arm but instead we lay in bed, under a duvet, even though it was August in New York City, and listened to Boards of Canada…

Here are some things I do when I can’t find that mixtape:

+Spread (non-toxic) white school glue on my hands and peel it off after it’s dried. (Not recommended if you’re extremely hairy.)

+Take a walk. Cry.

+Take a hot bath.

+Forget myself with a movie. (example: Wet Hot American Summer.)

+Climb a tree.

+Draw on my arms.

+Write. Paint.

+Hang out with someone funny.

+Wait.

THE RAIN

2009-05-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

walking in the rain.

crying in the rain.

kissing in the rain.

Rain by Tones on Tail is an epic song. This video is not my cup of tea so open your ears and look away.

Haiku (The taste...)

The taste
of rain
—Why kneel?

-Kerouac

Tenderness and Restraint

2009-05-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

++++

photo credits: M.M., fortuny, fortuny, sabine lynn.

i thought of you.

Looking for a new place to live

2009-05-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

photosource: culturemaker archive

So I'm moving out of my flat early summer. I'm looking for a place to live in East London (London Fields, Broadway Market, Shoreditch...)

Do you know anyone creative, quiet, and tidy who needs a flatmate? If so, please find me on facebook and send me a message. A few things I like in a flat: high ceilings, wood floors, old buildings, lots of light, 50s/60s furnishings, books and records...

On the 2 bus down sunset...

2009-04-26T16:31:00.000-07:00

I was going down Sunset Boulevard a couple years ago and I saw this spelled out on a marquee:

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL AND SO ARE YOU NOW BELIEVE IT.

painting by ed ruscha.

Meander Milk

2009-04-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

I study him. He wears no shirt, just cut-off faded jeans, a white flower behind his ear. A hand-rolled cigarette resides in one hand. His bony frame leans forward to look at a calico cat hopping like a rabbit across a garden. The air is silent and moist. Mopeds sputter periodically. The sky darkens, the ocean joins it, and the moon finds a place in the folds of blue. With salted hair and feverish eyes and burnt shoulders and moles polka-dotting his back he is the most astounding creature I have ever seen. I won’t let him know, he wouldn’t believe me anyway. So I look away and ask him what we should do about dinner.

After dinner we share a bottle of the second-cheapest whiskey we can find. Bantering, hopeful, we sit on the whitewashed stairs and observe people trotting by. Goat roasts somewhere and cigarettes are smoked. The beach extends itself into my mind. We hasten.

The sun rises revealing a beach full of people intertwined. Kicked off sandals sleep next to green beer bottles in the sand. The waves seem hesitant in their approach. Everyone is silenced by immense concentration. We look at each other, aware of our ongoing solitudes. He shrugs. We walk to a bus stop. Kissless times last longer.

New York je m'en fous?

2009-04-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

photo by Weegee

I've got mixed feelings about my hometown.

I was born and raised in New York City. I've fed my head with Frank O'Hara and my eyes with Nan Goldin and my ears with the Ramones since i first acquired a walkman. My favorite thing to do used to be walking through the streets at all hours. The sidewalk kept me company. The trees were rare. The city was a symphony.

I used to think New York was the greatest metropolis on earth. When I was 16 with my French library card as a fake i.d. i snuck into Sound Factory and the Tunnel and some long gone bar run by the irish mafia. I was uprocking and exploring until the morning trailed in ruefully...

photo source:newyorkisafriendlytown blog

Last summer in nyc I was lying on my bed, deep in equal parts solitude and procrastination, when a friend from L.A. called to say he was in town for a few days and staying on the lower east side. I threw on a half-buttoned silk man's shirt, tight trousers, heels, and my grandest spectacles, and headed downtown.

We went by bars I had frequented just a few months before. It was ghost town all around. Even pianos was slim pickings. Curse of Monday night or part of the exodus of the avant garde? And when did all these wine bars pop up? I called my sister. She informed she hadn't hung out on the l.e.s. in three years. 90% of my friends here moved away- with good reason it seems. Ok, so I've been out of town for a few years. Has everyone interesting fled to brooklyn? Is there a heartbeat left in this city? A dancefloor worth sticking to? If so, fill me in. Or it'll be me and my mixtapes and Gary Snyder every night i'm back home.

So that's what I was thinking in September. After my last trip to nyc, in January, I decided it's not so bad. The sidewalk still glittered (ground-up crack pipes from the early 80s? erosion? city magic, who knows?) Best food in the world. Pedestrian. Sky not as grey as London town. (Though you forget about it with the 'scrapers hiding it.) The subway for 24 hours, though you better bring a paperback out if you're taking the 4 o'clock in the morning train...and still a few interesting people kicking around.

Still, nyc has lost the urgency and excitement I remember growing up there. The sleaze (which encouraged hedonism and creative freedom) has been replaced with conformist/mass market establishments. Saint Marks Place, once the haunt of Sid Vicious, is now an extended branch of Hot Topic. Everywhere cards. does anyone else remember Coney Island High? Berliniamsberg at Luxxx? Filthmart around 13th st?

Despite its changes, New York is an amazing city with a crazy past. You'll have a good time there. If you're planning a trip there soon, read on past the video clips for a few recommendations:

Some good old-skool NYC Movies: The Warriors, Wild Style, Krush Groove, Downtown 81, Afterhours. NY has changed a lot but they’re fun to get in the city mood.

Downtown 81 a.k.a. New York Beat is a fantastic movie. Basquiat's a teenager, playing himself...

"Meet me at the turnstyle?" fuck yeah. I love Blondie!

Rakim is legendary too...

Some amazing beats and style...

Once I went to a house party in L.A. and this was on in the living room...

And some classics:

MARGO'S GUIDE TO NY

SHOP
The best places to buy stuff is in SoHo, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn.

One of my favorite stores is The Strand: on 12th St & Broadway, take any train to Union Sq, the best and sometimes cheapest bookstore in the world. Check out the pulp fiction, vintage books, and art books.

FOOD
NYC has some of the best food in the world, especially when it comes to Indian and Italian food. Stay away from any touristy place, in Little Italy, etc.

Chennai Garden: 129 East 27th St, between Park and Lex, fantastic Indian Food.
Dim Sum a Go Go: Order the vegetarian Dim Sum Platter. It’s beautiful.
Café Habana: 17 Prince St, by Elizabeth St. If you go to the Take Out Café, next to the restaurant, it’s cheaper and faster and you can sit there too. Order the Tlacoyo con tres Maria and Tostones and Corn. Or split that with someone.
H&H Bagels: on the Upper West Side, best bagels in the world. Order with cream cheese. londoners, if you think those places on brick lane are good, this will blow your mind.
Pommes Frites: 123 2nd Ave, between 7th & 8th st. Amazing frites. Try the rosemary sauce.
Katz’s Deli: if you eat meat, they have a famous pastrami sandwich you should try.
Serendipity: just go here if you love sweets. Famous fot the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate and the ice cream sundaes. Andy Warhol used to come here and trade his work for food.
Zabars: More of a fancy market, but they have great pain au chocolate, and David Glass Chocolate Cake.
Two Boots Pizza: downtown, best pizza.

Google the addresses. Check Time Out and Paper magazine for listings.

OTHER FUN STUFF TO DO IN NYC:
See the life-size blue whale in the Natural History Museum. I’m serious.
Go to art galleries in Chelsea. Or visit the MOMA, the Whitney, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Walk through Central Park.

N.B. Cops in nyc are assholes so don’t get caught pissing in an alley/ jumping a turnstyle in the subway (metro), smoking a joint in public, or even drinking outside. My friends and my brother have gotten tickets or arrested for all of the above.

Also, read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. and Catcher in the Rye, if you haven't already. Feel free to add to this reading list...

epic.

The Libertine

2009-04-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

I painted this portrait on linen for the upcoming exhibition Art Against Knives, (though the subject matter is not specifically related to the event.) Vivienne Westwood and Jeurgen Teller, as well as numerous other talents are contributing to this exhibition, which will raise awareness, and money for Oliver Hemsley who was attacked last August in East London. The show and auction take place May 4th and 5th, 2009.

Check out http://www.artagainstknives.com.

some poems i dig...

2009-04-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

"it is hard to believe
when i'm with you
that there can be anything as still as solemn
as unpleasantly definitive as statuary
when right in front of it
in the warm new york 4 o'clock light we are
drifting back and forth
between eachother
like a tree breathing
through its spectacles"

-frank o'hara 1960

++++

ECSTASY OF CHAOS

"when the immense drugged universe explodes
in a cascade of unendurable colour
and leaves us gasping naked,
this is no more than the ecstasy of chaos:
hold fast, with both hands, to that royal love
which alone, as we know certainly, restores
fragmentation into true being."

-robert graves, 1960's

+++++

"You cannot describe it, you cannot picture it,
You cannot admire it, you cannot sense it.
It is your true self, it has nowhere to hide.
When the world is destroyed, it will not be destroyed."

- probably wumen huikai, around 13th century

+++++

DEVOTION PROCESS

"It was a crinkled feeling
-a recognition of stiff joy pleating:
a gentle iron stifling discoveries
and nudging calm into the folds.

Hot disquietude burned holes in me
like scorching cloves bearing your name.
Your invisible flames broke my stride
and forced me to decompose in shudders.

Everyday presented that familiar alley,
Where I would wander lost but certain
of my eventual collapse...
I could only turn my head to hide
my pupils screening
the humility of love. "

-margo fortuny

photo by scott payne

+++++

"it isn't gentleness
that you and i are looking for
in the hills and valleys,
it is the cliff, the gorge,
the scraped ocher on the knees
of the slopes
and the red crevice in which the land
shows too, the brilliance of its wound."

-francisco segovia

+++++

"Etoile qui brille
regard humide
fil de la vierge
pitie
flotte au vent
cette compresse sur mon coeur
trop vite trop vite et quel delire
quelque chose vient de se casser
dans la mecanique
de ma vie."

-paul dermee, dadaist

+++++

SENSATION

"Par les soirs bleus d'été, j'irai dans les sentiers,
Picoté par les blés, fouler l'herbe menue :
Rêveur, j'en sentirai la fraîcheur à mes pieds.
Je laisserai le vent baigner ma tête nue.

Je ne parlerai pas, je ne penserai rien :
Mais l'amour infini me montera dans l'âme,
Et j'irai loin, bien loin, comme un bohémien,
Par la Nature, -- heureux comme avec une femme."

-arthur rimbaud, 1870

“Are there any elf nightclubs in Stockholm?”

2009-04-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Stockholm:
we basked in the bright bluish light/
bought shiny old records in perfect condition/
walked around a massive, splintery 17th century ship/
watched wolves run through the forest/
bought design magazines and Finnish vodka/
befriended cordial Swedish boys who cooked us a fantastic dinner that ended with mango sorbet and inky lingonberries/
drank spicy mulled wine on curved orange metal chairs in front of Victorian style wallpaper as 1950s rock & roll played/
walked in the midnight silence and heard the snow crunch beneath our feet/
threw snowballs... my aim is true. but terrible.
stayed with a sleepy eyed friend with elfin locks who cooked us scrambled eggs and flatbread in the morning/
meandered in the clean quiet snowy streets.

It’s not the intensity of London, or the restrained chic of Paris, or the energy of New York, or the beautiful madness of Naples, or the Shangri-la of Los Angeles…Stockholm is politeness, fresh air, efficiency, and tranquility.

I went to Stockholm last week with my friend Mike. We stayed with his aunt and uncle, who were pretty wonderful. Surprisingly, everyone thought I was Swedish.

One afternoon we met up with Eli, a friend of a friend, at Copacabana filmkafe. The three of us sat around a cozy table, sipping steaming fragrant drinks. I warmed up by telling a story about an action-packed night outside a warehouse party in Dalston. Then I asked the local about elves in Sweden. He looked at me like I was nuts.
“Maybe that’s a Norwegian thing,” he replied.
“Cos I had this friend who was quite into them…” I trailed off.
“Though they say if you’re in the country, in the summer, before dawn, if you look in the grass, in the dew, you can see fairies. And, at Christmastime we leave food out for the gnomes,” he mentioned casually.
Ok, so no elves in town, but we have got gnomes running around somewhere?
I buttered a soft slice of bread. Then the conversation moved to morphine and 80s bands. Afterwards, we went outside, past the water glinting in the 4 o’clock light, up a narrow street, to an ace record store.

Here are my suggestions.

TO DO:
Stockholm rivals Paris for the number of museums. Paris has the classic Greatest Hits of Art History whereas Stockholm wins the quirky points. In addition to a fantastic Modern Art Museum and various contemporary art and design venues, the Swedish city has a museum of spirits, a museum of the history of drunkenness, a museum of matches, postal stamps, miniatures, customs (as in the airport kind) the list goes on and on…

Take the ferry to Djurgarden and visit Skansen. Skansen is an amazing open air museum that houses traditional Scandinavian architecture, live reindeer, a pack of wolves, and other exciting beasts. There are loads of other cool stuff to see, including the Vasamuseet, which is walking distance from Skansen. Vasamuseet houses an enormous 17th century ship if you’re into that sort of thing.

If you like holding hands in narrow alleyways and old houses, walk around Gamla Stan.

Go vintage shopping. There are several second-hand stores around Sodermam:
Modern Retro Vintage Store, Wollmar Yxkullsgata 9, Södermalm, +4686407292, Mon - Fri 12:00 - 18:00, Sat 12:00 - 16:00

Beyond Retro, Åsögatan 144, Södermalm +4686413642 Mon - Sat 10:00 - 18:00, Sun 11:00 - 17:00

Judits, Hornsgatan 75, metro stop (a.k.a. T-bana) is Zinkensdamm.

Other cool stores are bookstore Bokmagasinet, Hornsgatan 80- near Judits- and there is a fantastic, cheap, vegetarian place next door, and design store Designtorget, Gotgatan 31, metro stop: Slussen.

GOING OUT
Drinks are really expensive in bars so if you’re on a budget I recommend buying some raspberry juice and vodka (try Koskenkorva Finnish vodka-it’s less expensive than Absolut and tastier) and having a few cocktails before you go out.
Instead of liquor stores/off licenses, they have Systembolaget, which close quite early on Saturdays (there’s one near the Central Train Station at Klarabergsgatan 62.)

I got carded at some places so bring your i.d.

Södermalm is the coolest area in Stockholm, especially for nightlife.

Bars/ Clubs:
Pet Sounds-a bar that’s run by the nearby record store. Order the apple/cocoa cocktail and go downstairs. The music was excellent, though no Beach Boys. Skanegatan 80, metro stop: Medborgarpatsen.

Nada- a cozy but boisterous bar, Åsögatan 140, Skanegatan 80, metro stop: Medborgarpatsen.

Indigo- one of my favourites, modernist décor, obscure music, try the vin chaud (mulled wine), Götgatan 19, metro stop: Slussen. Monday to Friday 5pm-1am, Saturdays 3pm-1am.

Carmen-a lively joint, Tjarhovsgatan 14, closes at 1 am Mon-Sat and 11 pm on Sundays.

The subterranean, kitchy Vampire Lounge has excellent cocktails and drink deals on Mondays. Östgötagatan 41 metro: Medborgarpatsen. Closes at 1 am.

My flatmate informed me that Stockholm has quite a sharp minimal techno scene too.

TO EAT:
Let’s talk about the numerous vegetarian options in Stockholm. Check out: the Copacabana café at Rio Cinema. I ate the lightest, most favourful falafal of my entire life with crisp roasted potatoes, and a tasty yogurt sauce that was a cross between sadziki and raita. Mike had a rich hot cocoa with a dash of chili. There’s also a fantastic record shop nearbye but I can’t remember what it’s called so just explore the area. (Hornstulls Strand 3 , Södermalm Mon - Thu 09:00 - 20:00, Fri 09:00 - 19:00, Sat - Sun 10:00 - 19:00, metro: Hornstull.)

Check out the low-key vegetarian place next to Bokmagasinet, Hornsgatan 80.

Go to a bakery and buy the short, bright green marzipan roll and the small sugary hear shaped cookie. The cookie is paper thin and tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. You might also want to try the soft, twisty cardamom bread.

Across from Zinkensdamm metro stop, there is an unusual supermarket. When you get to the dairy section, you start hearing cow sounds and goats muttering. Are there creatures lingering behind the freezer doors? In the nuts and seeds section, birds tweet. Basically, they have a soundtrack for varying sections. It has a huge selection, especially in the organic/health food department.

All the food I tried in Stockholm was delicious.

ADVICE FOR PRACTICAL CATS
+Before you go, check out the Lonely Planet Stockholm guide from your library.
+Sometimes SAS has better deals than the easyjet style airlines.
+Most things (clothes, alcohol, shampoo, etc…) are surprisingly expensive so pack whatever you need instead of buying them once you arrive.
+Buy a three day bus/metro pass or longer, it’s cheaper. Also, it works for the ferry to Djurgarten.
+Shops and attractions close quite early, between 4-7 pm, though the hours differ in the summertime.
+Check the internet at a 7-11 convenience store. They’re open all night and you buy a voucher for an hour. If you don’t use the whole time, save the voucher and use it at another 7-11.
+Take off your shoes as soon as you get inside someone’s front door. You probably knew that if you have Swedish friends.

http://kafecopacabana.com/
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/stockholm/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_rock

SWEDISH MIXTAPE (spread some cheese on your flatbread): Peter, Bjorn & John “The Chills”, Lo-Fi Fnk “City”, Slagsmålsklubben, “Sponsered by Destiny”
The Ark “Calleth You, Cometh I”, The Shout Out Louds “Impossible”, Abba “S.O.S.”...I know there are cooler bands out there, so please make me a mix/ tell me about them.

Hej då.

The Quotidian Adventures of Rory McKee

2009-03-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Rory and I have joked around about making a comic book about his life. So, for his birthday, I put together a little comic about Rory loosely based on conversations we've had. Here it is. There is no back cover because it is TO BE CONTINUED...

INTERVIEW WITH JEREMY SCOTT

2009-03-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

So I went to Paris in March for Paris Fashion Week and interviewed Jeremy Scott...

Margo: So what do you like to eat for breakfast in bed?

Jeremy: Blueberry Pancakes.

Well, that's all you really need to know about a person.

***

Just kidding, the rest of the interview is in the next issue of Exit magazine:

London Fashion Week: The Parties & a Few Shows

2009-02-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

London Fashion Week
--
Ok, here’s my report on London Fashion Week…the inside story. You’ve probably read about all the major designers so I’ll tell you about some of the semi-underground characters-and the parties of course. Sections of this report appeared in Metal magazine.

www.revistametal.com

Ashish Show & Matt Irwin Opening & Chloe Sevigny’s Party
Friday 20 February 2009

The Ashish show at the enormous Hippodrome theatre begins with a gymnast repeatedly easing through a hoop suspended from the ceiling. Then a bluesy band starts playing. The lead singer croons like Amy Winehouse as models stomp down the runway in massive zebra-print tranny platforms. The collection features Norwegian knitwear reinterpreted in fluorescents, sweaters in black and white with snowflakes made untraditional via the copious application of sequins, and outfits infested with multicolour puffballs. The look is Jeremy Scott in Las Vegas goes Nordic on Acid. Other outrageous items include baggy sequined American flag patterned MC Hammer trousers and a low-cut sweater with a zebra head attached to one sleeve. My eyeballs need a rest after this show.

That evening we (the photographer Tania Leshkina and I) go to the Matt Irwin photography opening in Shoreditch. Irwin is a photographer for Dazed & Confused magazine, so the images are predictably vivid and full of beautiful and semi-famous people, including Pixie Geldof and Alice Dellal. Dellal herself is milling about the crowded space, along with other models. Geri Halliwell (of Spice Girls fame) and avant-garde performer No Bra are also in attendance. Erol Alkan spins a mix of popular hipster fare by Grauzone, Metro Area, and Glass Candy.

Around midnight, we foxtrot to Chloe Sevigny’s Opening Ceremony party at the Double Club. Henry Holland, Gareth Pugh, Bobby Gillespie, and Anouck Lepere meander around the glittery club while numerous Central Saint Martins MA students and fashion people dance up a storm. Italian photographer Lele Saveri DJs a crowd-pleasing array of tunes that remind me of the soundtrack at Sway in New York, including hits by the Smiths, and M.I.A. Chloe looks stunning as always.

Armand Basi & Ann-Sophie Back Saturday 21 February

Markus Lupfer for Armand Basi One presents his Fall/Winter 09 Collection in the crisp confines of the Saatchi Gallery. The show is perfect: the models saunter to rock & roll, wearing covetable designs and creepers by George Cox at British Boot Company. The cloths are rockabilly inspired: motorcycle jackets in wool instead of leather, pencil skirts with sequins sewn on, and skinny trousers that flaunted the ankle. The overall shape is voluminous on top, and narrow in the legs. It is an audacious departure from Lupfer’s past collections, which marks his progress as a Womenswear designer.

Topshop presents Ann-Sophie Back

A flock of alabaster-faced corpse-like models, long wavy hair flouncing behind them, float down the catwalk as Goblin’s soundtrack to Suspiria accompanies them. They wear ethereal dresses over pale tights, shredded sweaters, white lace, and numerous dreamcatchers and feathers tied to their hair and threaded through the hems of skirts. The effect is dreamy and spooky, like fairies after a zombie fight in the woods.

Romina Karamanea Sunday 22 February 2009

Karamanea is a young Greek designer who graduated from-you guessed it- Central Saint Martins. Her architectural designs are known for structure and craftsmanship. Continuing along these lines, her new futuristic-themed collection features lean silhouettes with cutouts to reveal the flesh beneath. The colours are muted taupes, soft grays, and earth tones. Necklines and hemlines are high.

Marios Schwab & London Fashion Week International Party &
Giles Afterparty at Bungalow 8 Monday 23 February 2009

The invitations to the Marios Schwab show double as 3-D glasses. Scattered members of the front rows hold them up to view the catwalk show, giving the appearance of a vintage cinema photograph in action. The clothes emphasize a nipped-in waist. The lines of the garments are severe, structured, and narrow. In addition to high-necked mini-dresses in bold colours, Schwab’s collection includes long, shaggy, Muppet-like coats.

That evening, I go to the London Fashion Week International Party at The Collection in South Kensington. The crowd is dressed up, often boring, and quite subdued as they lounge in the club’s posh surroundings. Downstairs, an older group mingles and nibbles on canapés. Upstairs, the younger set socializes politely, stretching out on the sofas and cushions. A massive white hammock is suspended from the ceiling; it symbolizes the mood: laid back.

Seeking a more rambunctious scene I hop in a cab to the Giles afterparty at Bungalow 8. Upon arrival, my friends and I find this crowd to be much younger, drunker, and more lively. Apparently there’s exodus from the all-you-can-drink Mulberry party. Central Saint Martins students rub against posh West End girls. The Buck magazine crew chats while lanky scenesters dance by them on the banquettes. People shake their jutting hipbones to Daft Punk, Inner City, and Robin S. Outside, chic young things suck on cigarettes by enormous potted plants. Sober and sleepy, I hoof it back east.

Storm Models, House of Blue Eyes, House of Holland Afterparty, & Mahiki Tuesday 23 February 2009

On Tuesday, the Bora Aksu show is so mobbed I can’t even get in. So I decide to save some energy for the evening’s festivities. I was invited to the House of Blue Eyes catwalk show-and I want to go-but it takes place at the same time as the House of Holland afterparty. Photos of the show revealed that it was quite a theatrical event: semi-naked blood-crusted models in daring ensembles cavorting down the catwalk. Luckily I see a few of them in the flesh later in the evening…

My first stop is a party at the Azzaro shop in Mayfair. The champagne is running out but luckily attendees are distracted by the heavenly tower of Ladureé macarons: pale green pistachio next to cocoa praline, patterned with dark raspberry and salted butterscotch rounds…I sample a mango macaron and a chocolate one too-they melt on my tongue-before walking to a party hosted by Storm Models at Whisky Mist. Surrounded by stabby cheekbones and male models, I regret my sugary pillage and join my friends in a booth.

We consume free drinks and leave for the House of Holland after party. A female Cerberus growls at the door, ferociously wielding her clipboard. With my powers of persuasion and proof of an r.s.v.p. in the form of an email, we make it inside Quaglino’s, past the photographers, the random stars (Agyness Deyn, Pixie Geldof, Alexa Chung, Nicola Roberts…) the bartenders serving thousands of glasses of champagne and cocktails, to the dancefloor. Drinks in hand we talk and run around and check everyone out and drink and drink more and flirt and kiss and dance.

“You look like a book I read,” I tell one fellow, thinking of a novel by S.E. Hinton. His friend kisses me. He’s got dried blood (fake- I hope) on his face, which he transfers to mine. I don’t notice until I go to the loo a couple hours later and notice I look suspiciously Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. I wash off the theatrical goo and return to the revelers. At one point, the song ‘American Boy’ comes on and I look up and realize Kanye West is up at the front, rapping along to the song. Henry Holland DJs with Agyness by his side. After intense socializing, my friends and I appear outside with a mixed entourage of emmaciated teenagers, frisky journalists, and friendly models. Hand in hand, we frolic down the street, and somehow end up at Mahiki. There are open treasure chests of tropical cocktails and Mojitos on every other table. For the most part, the music is forgettable and the crowd is square, so I talk to local muse/musician Rory McKee and his friend who looks like Harry Potter. The morning hours are approaching so a few of us share a cab back to Hackney.

B Store & Tim Soar Wednesday 24 February

The B Store catwalk is comprised of two parades of models: first girls, then boys. The Womenswear outfits include military capes, high-waisted trousers, interpretations of French schoolgirl uniforms, and thick woolen tights. The boys, donning square rucksacks, lace-up boots, nautical stripes, and roll neck sweaters, either fit in the category of vintage preppy or young Breton fisherman.

The Tim Soar Menswear collection treads a wilder path. Serious young men with gelled-back hair march down the catwalk to German techno in trench coats with ruched belts, straightjacket style coats, rubber suits, loose leather trousers, and spurs on the heels of loafers. In contrast to these fetishistic designs, Soar also shows cream-coloured quilted outerwear, boxy wool jackets, and voluminous ensembles in red, khaki, charcoal, and olive green. The show ends and the crowds stream outside in photogenic herds.

I’m excited about getting home, writing, and, at some point, after reviewing a gig, catching up on sleep. Time to put on some Leonard Cohen and lie down…

--

Most of the photographs here are taken by the talented teenage photographer Tania Leshkina. In addition to being an art photographer and having a solo show opening in Paris, soon she shoots for several magazines. One of her pictures, a self-portrait, is the cover on this month’s Italian Vice. Check out her website: www.leshkina.com.

The photographs from the House of Holland afterparty were taken by the dreamer/photographer Diego Marin.

J O U R N E Y S: P A R I S

2009-01-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

So my best friend Diego and I went to Paris recently…

Paris is all about getting your culture and romance in. So the best things to do are checking out art exhibitions, going to the movies, eating delicious food, strolling through the skinny streets, and chasing Jarvis Cocker down train platforms. (Just kidding, I only did that ONCE.) If you’re all alone, you should read some melancholy French literature and cross bridges in the moonlight without throwing yourself into the Seine.

Another fantastic Parisian activities is le picnic. First, buy a baguette, some Brie, fresh fruit, a bottle of wine, and whatever else you fancy. Then head to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery (the first place I ever got drunk, how Romantic) or a grassy knoll, or if the weather is wet, enjoy your meal on the bed in your hotel room. If you’ve packed your ipod and speakers, put on some Serge Gainsbourg (Histoire de Melody Nelson) or Bridgitte Bardot (B.B.) to enhance your dining experience.

OUI
SLEEP: Good inexpensive hotels: Style Hotel, very cheap and cozy and quiet, though not the best location. 8, Rue Ganneron 75018 , 33 (0) 1 45 22 37 59. Or Hotel Tiquetonne, ace location near les Halles. 6, Rue Tiquetonne, 75002, 33 (0) 1 42 36 94 58

ART: Check out the view from the Centre Pompidou, the Delacroix paintings in the Louvre, the 60s floor of the Musée des Art Décoratifs (the design museum near the Louvre) and whatever looks good in Pariscope.

EAT: Go to Ladurée on the Champs Elysées (metro stop is Georges V) or in Saint Germaine. Buy a delicious pastry called La Religieuse and some macarons. If there’s someone you adore buy him or her a box of macarons-just make sure your love receives the gift within 2 or 3 days. Have French Onion soup at Le Pied au Couchon. Enjoy a croque monsieur if you’re not a vegetarian. Try a gallette. And Le Frommage! The Marais is full of tasty little restaurants too. Obviously, there are a million scrumptious places to go in Paris but I couldn’t afford to go on a gourmet tour on my most recent trip….

SHOP: You’ve surely heard it before, but check out Colette, and the vintage store on Rue Tiquetonne, around the corner from Rue Montmartre, by the Les Halles metro. The flea markets (Marché aux Puces) are hit or miss but I bought an old, faintly rusted dagger for two euros. Perfect for nestling between the antlers on my windowsill!

READ: Trax is a techno/electro magazine that also has listings of club nights in the back, so pick it up if you plan on going out, even if you can’t read French. Paris Vogue of course…Pariscope is like a low-budget Time Out, it has most listings for art exhibits and movies. Feeling moody? Bring some Camus or Sartre. (p.s. Les Jeux Sont Faits was the book that made me decide to learn French.)

NON
EAT: Worst café I’ve ever been to: Café Habana in Place de Cliché (not to be confused with my favourite Cuban joint in New York.)

GOING OUT: Le Night Life in Paris is expensive and not as cool as London or New York or Berlin. Here are your options: private party at some amazing flat (hard to find), major DJ at a club like the Rex , get glam at PONYSTEP, go to the movies (Paris has the best selection of films from every era all the time), or go out for a drink. Have a mulled wine at a café in Abbesses.

+++++

A few things to pack; a bottle opener, a scarf, ipod and speakers or a violin (one time, when I was seventeen, I went to Paris with two fantastic people named Aaron and Dyresha, and they both played the violin and we had a magical time lounging on the balcony of our ancient hotel room with martinis and songs…) or a guitar, a sketchbook and charcoals, a camera, an umbrella, earplugs if you’re a light sleeper, and some chic warm clothes. Read The Beat Hotel by Barry Miles before you go, and the poem 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' by Jacques Brel.

And a few youtube links for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za_6A0XnMyw&feature=related

(montage isn’t accurate-how did kylie get in there?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99OzdwLoBcc

And a few movies you can rent-feel free to add to this list: Jules et Jim, Amelie, The Dreamers and Paris Je T’aime and Les Amants Reguliers.

NE ME QUITTE PAS
by Jacques Brel, 1959

Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le coeur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Moi je t'offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu'après ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Où l'amour sera roi
Où l'amour sera loi
Où tu seras reine
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je t'inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants là
Qui ont vu deux fois
Leurs coeurs s'embraser
Je te raconterai
L'histoire de ce roi
Mort de n'avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
D'un ancien volcan
Qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est paraît-il
Des terres brûlées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
A te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Here’s the translation with Monsieur Brel singing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcvebWp8GtU

au revoir...

Coming soon...

2009-01-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

Thank you Che.