Story Time

My bookshelves are overflowing, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to hoard more.  The newest titles to make it to my wish list: Henry Darger by Klaus Biesenbach; Maison Martin Margiela published by Rizzoli; The Marchesa Casati – Portraits of a Muse written by the directors of The Casati Archives; The Velvet Underground – New York Art from Rizzoli; Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress, Frida’s Wardrobe published by Chronicle Books; and Prada, conceived and edited by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli.  Henry Darger is one of my favorite artists.  I’ve written about him here and am always interested in finding out more about his life and his artwork.  I recommend watching the documentary In the Realms of the Unreal – it sheds some light on his fascinating, although somewhat sad background.  Both the Margiela and Prada books rank high on my list due to the fact that I have a deep appreciation for the aesthetics of both designers and their ability to always design what they want and not cater to the masses, yet somehow manage to drive every fashion follower into a frenzy with their smart and highly conceptual clothing and accessories.  Marchesa Casati wasn’t your everyday heiress. Although she did serve as muse to many including Cecil Beaton and Jack Kerouac, she was very creative and held lavish parties, always dressing in elaborate, statement making attire.  She was also the hostess of the Ballets Russes and her influence can still be felt and seen today, most specifically in John Galliano’s creations and in the evening wear line, Marchesa.  Alice Ritter turned me onto the Frida Kahlo book (thanks, Alice!) and being that I regard her as one of the most prominent, feminist artists with amazing style to have ever lived, I am so interested to find out more about her wardrobe.  And I actually kind of wish I had a unibrow – something about hers was so sexy.  Lastly, The Velvet Underground – clearly one of the greatest bands of all time.  They are so fascinating to me and I can’t wait to devour that book.

Happy Birthday, Baby

Today is my husband’s birthday and I’d like to dedicate some Altered Images to him. Happy Birthday, D.  I love love love you.  I’ll meet you in the living room for a dance party.

Beams of Light

Wednesday night was one of the highlights of my year.  I still have a buzz from seeing the legendary 70s folk singer Linda Perhacs perform for the very first time.  I was completely blown away by her positive message about sharing and connecting with others to create magic in this world and her encouragement of creativity.  Her psychedelic folk album, Parallelograms, extends far above and beyond its time, continuing to influence past and present generations with its meditative and exploratory sounds and lyrics.  The Los Angeles web-radio collective known as dublab partnered with REDCAT to celebrate and pay tribute to Perhacs by inviting musicians to perform songs from Parallelograms. I had no idea what to expect and I was completely blown away by the creative forces that joined together to make the evening so incredibly special.  Hecuba, LA Ladies’ Choir, Mia Doi Todd, and Crystal Antlers were just some of the musicians that took to the stage as they performed alongside some trippy visuals by Maximilla Lukacs, Daft Punk, and other visual artists.  There was so much beauty to behold that I’m pretty sure a little piece of me melted inside.  Thank you to my sweet friend, Mitzi, for the invitation.  To hear one of Linda’s gems, Chimacum Rain, check out Vanessa Bruno’s short film featuring Lou Doillon.

Linda and her band

I really loved this visual.  I wasn’t able to catch the artist’s name, unfortunately.

This was part of a short film by Maximilla Lukacs.  It featured a girl climbing rocks on a beach in nothing but a sheer dress in the most beautiful colors.  It actually reminded me of an old Chloè ad.

The oh-so-lovely LA Ladies’ Choir.  A gorgeous rainbow of beauty.

The cover of Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms

“I Carried a Watermelon”

Ok, so this is where the blog gets a little cheesy, but in a good way.  I’m not a huge celebrity loving lady, but man have there been a lot of losses this year.  Don’t act like Dirty Dancing isn’t one of the greatest movies ever.  Are you with me here?  And PLEASE join me in celebrating the greatest scene out of this awesome movie.  My friend Alexis and I fantasize that one day we’ll walk into some hot and sweaty basement and The Contours will be blasting through the speakers and we’ll start to get down asap.  R.I.P., Patrick Swayze.  Gone too soon.  You Tube won’t allow me to embed this video, so after clicking play please follow the link that says “Watch on You Tube.”

Last Days of Summer

I can’t think of a better song or video to wrap up summer.  It’s been a good one, and even though I’m ready for fall, I’m going to make the most of the last days of summer.

Nostalgia

I just got home from my friend Matthew’s house where we watched 120 Minutes on VHI Classic.  Soooo good.  Then we got into a discussion about the euphoric, nostalgic feelings that ’80s music gives us and about how the ’90s were the peak of great music videos.  We freaked out when the video for Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” came on because we both realized we hadn’t seen it since it first came out.  I don’t even like Radiohead – I’m probably the only person on the planet to admit that, but I must say that’s a great song.  If television consisted only of 120 Minutes, the Travel Channel, Animal Planet and the Food Network, I might consider getting cable, or television reception for that matter.  Here, a bad video for one of my favorite songs that brings back a lot of memories.  No one has a voice like Elizabeth Fraser.