It’s so cold today, finally! I’ve had my eye on these two beauties for a while now from NEEMIC and The Row. If you don’t already know about NEEMIC, do take a closer look. A leader in the sustainability movement in China since its inception in 2011, NEEMIC sources both certified organic fabrics and also remainder materials from the high-end fashion industry, AND is a co-founder of the Hong Kong organic textile association and AgraChina, an organization that promotes organic agriculture. I’m sold.
I was immediately pulled into Daisy Goodwin’s new novel, The Fortune Hunter, simply by the fact that the young protagonist, Charlotte Baird, is a photographer and photocollagist. But of course its merits extend far beyond this. Set in Victorian England, The Fortune Hunter employs a number of historical figures from the era such as the Queen herself, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) who was also the Queen of Hungary and Captain Bay Middleton, among many others. Goodwin’s historical research for this work is impressive and her storytelling quite captivating. I essentially didn’t want it to end. And if you’ve not read her other novel, The American Heiress (St. Martin’s Press, 2012), you really should.
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| My grandfather with fellow fishermen, 1920s |
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| Photograph: Breton Tyner-Bryan |
YOU HAVE HAD A REMARKABLE CAREER AS A PERFORMER, CHOREOGRAPHER AND TEACHER. WHAT LED YOU TO CREATE THE FRANCESCA HARPER PROJECT?
I was lucky to have examples growing up. My mother directed the Alvin Ailey School for 26 years so I got to grow up close to Alvin Ailey himself. I was always inspired by his story and the story of Martha Graham. They both started their Companies when they were in Broadway shows to help finance their endeavors. I was performing in my second Broadway show, All Shook Up, when I started my Company. I used my salary to lay down the foundation for the Company.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST REWARDING PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?
Receiving my Living History Award for Black History Month.
WHICH ARTISTS INSPIRE AND INFLUENCE YOU MOST?
I would say my mother Denise Jefferson and my Aunt, Pulitzer Prize winning writer Margo Jefferson first, William Forsythe, Alvin Ailey, Pina Bausch, Arthur Mitchell, Virginia Johnson, Sarita Allen, Carmen De Lavallade, Debbie Allen, Paula Kelly, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, LaChanze, Angela Robinson, George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Cyd Charisse, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Dinah Washington and the List goes on…
WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY?
My family and love.
COMB OR BRUSH?
Brush.
DO YOU LIKE YOUR NAME?
I love it, however it was a little intimidating as a child. I think I am growing into it now.
FINISH THIS SENTENCE. MY AGE IS…………….
Between 18 and death.
WHAT’S FOR DINNER TONIGHT?
Probably ordering in Thai or leftovers from my husband’s delectable, slow cooked chicken.
The much-anticipated, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographic Masters, opens tomorrow at Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago. A collaboration between American photographer Sandro Miller and longtime friend John Malkovich, this exhibition celebrates thirty-five iconic portraits that have influenced Miller’s prolific career. It really is astounding how Malkovich embodies each of the subjects, resembling quite closely and at once, individuals such as Jack Nicholson, Andy Warhol, Bette Davis and Salvador Dalí. And Miller’s recreation of each of these images is simply tremendous. A very good reason to head to Chicago.
Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographic Masters is on view through January 31, 2015
www.sandrofilm.com www.edelmangallery.com
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Marina Abramović, Generator, Sean Kelly Gallery, 475 Tenth Avenue, New York City
October 24 – December 6, 2014. Photograph: Jason Wyche
www.skny.com www.immaterial.org |
I just discovered that John Patrick, one of my favorite designers both stylistically and ethically, now has a home collection. Not surprising, this beautifully curated assemblage is a perfect extension of Organic by John Patrick’s sensibility and integrity. What am I craving right now? These gorgeous Italian linen and cotton napkins.
www.organicbyjohnpatrick.com
The Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris’s newest museum of contemporary art, finally opened yesterday to the public. Designed by Frank Gehry and over 12 years in the making, the Fondation Louis Vuitton resides at the edge of the Jardin d’Acclimation in the Bois de Boulogne. Assuming the form of a massive vessel, the structure is made of 3,600 glass panels creating 12 sails. And although the design is fully of this century, the tremendous use of glass is a very intentional nod to late 19th-century garden architecture (think Grand Palais). The glass is also, quite clearly, in reverence for the natural beauty that surrounds it. Its inaugural event was rightly Nicolas Ghesquière’s presentation of the Louis Vuitton Spring 2015 collection during Paris Fashion Week. Opening programs include an exhibition of Gehry’s designs (sketches, models) for the Fondation and the construction of the building itself, a selection of works from the FLV collection, and a stellar series of concerts and live performance. Fingers crossed I’ll get there in 2015…
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| Aunt Ellen and Uncle Al, Halloween circa 1930 |
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| Joan Didion photographed by Irving Penn, Vogue, September 1996. www.vogue.com |
A promising and well-deserved documentary, We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, is underway about the life and career of the great Joan Didion. Directed by her nephew, actor and filmmaker Griffin Dunne, and notable documentarian Susanne Rostock, We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live is right now in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds in order to complete the film. This momentous documentary is for sure one I know I want to see. You can take a look at the trailer here.
