NY Fashion Week: RTW Fall 2011 ...minus the collections

A gathering of some images from NY Fashion Week; many elements that go into the tremendous undertaking and buzz of attention and not a stitch of the clothing presented.

THE TENTS
power...................................................


e.t. phone home...............models out back

OFFSITE

DKNY
japanese tv............................exiled press











lingering shutterbugs................................

PICTURES PLEASE
blue suit vs. random fur man......................












.....at least five hours later, fur man owning lincoln ctr plaza.....

DIESEL BLACK GOLD
studded boots...........restrooms for fancybitches only











standing room corral...............love+security

BACK IN THE TENTS

LOBBY
diligent press nook.....interesting design choice


BETSY JOHNSON











THE RISERS

Sketchbook: february

Sketchbook Project: in Brooklyn!

Opening Reception.............Barnaby Whitfield with my book

The Sketchbook Project 2011 has begun. Thousands of books are on hand for perusal along a number of themes from artists around the world!

They will be in Brooklyn until the 27th and will then be on their way on an eight city tour over the spring and summer.

It's an interesting experience; you walk in, get a library card, then check out sketchbooks by artist or theme or just randomly. You get two at a time then return them and get more. I think half the experience is just walking around glancing over people's shoulders at the books being leafed through.

I've got some scans up for those who are geographically challenged.

For those in NYC, get out and see. It's free. And I get an email on my phone every time someone looks at my book!

"Imitation"? Aptly named

Tara Subkoff's collection 'Imitation' (formerly "of Christ" (now "of Zea")) in New York's Fall Ready to Wear 2011 certainly had some imitation alright. Those belts? I've got stuff published back in December of 2009 with that idea. This aggression will not stand *hairflip*

Judge for yourself:

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

eh? whaaaat? alriiiight.

The Sketchbook Project: Opening Reception!

The Sketchbook Project 2011 is about to begin!

The opening reception is February 19th noon to at the Brooklyn Art Library! They will be there on display through the 27th. The Library is located on 103A N 3rd in Williamsburg Brooklyn.

There will be thousands of sketchbooks available for leaf-through.

Mine can be found under the theme: It Will Be Fun, I Swear. I gold-leafed the cover for easy spotting.

The national tour will begin soon after. Check the side bar for more details.

xx

Sketchbook: cusp of february

Sketchbook: dec-jan

december 11................................................december 16


january 20.....................................................january 27

NY Downtown Clown Revue

As Lady Luck would have it, the entire line-up this month was women at the NY Downtown Clown Revue! We couldn't quite convince Christopher Lueck to don a dress for the occasion.
Brenn Swanson, Butt Kapinski, Amanda Crockett and the lovely stagehand Aquarium (and, of course, Bony Lil) brought the house down.

Jim Moore at vaudevisuals.com posted a blog with a bunch of fine pictures of the evening.

These are from that.

Sketchbook: Submitted!

I sent off my completed sketchbook to be a part of the Sketchbook Project 2011!
It will be making an eight city national tour with thousands of others like it beginning in February through mid-year.
More info on the project and tour here
More samples of the book and the burgeoning social scene here.

Map of Tasmania Pubic ... I mean, Music Video

Map of Tasmania is a new single from Amanda Palmer's Album for Australia. It refers to what some fellas might yell out a car window at some ladies. or rather. it is something they would request to see. Tasmania is shaped like this. So are female nether regions, in their 'nature state'. Thus the dance track you see before you.

This was my first time back working with Michael Pope and Amanda Palmer on a video since the days of Coin Op, Girl Anachronism, Sing and the Paradise DVD. I ended up shopping for twinkly things, consulting on merkin logistics, dressing an evolving cast of dancers and extras, pulling some scenic painting out of my bum the day of and doing some set dressing.

The video has an exclusive on Spin Magazine. Go check it out.

Here is the amazing crew:

Sketchbook Project 2011: Deadline Approaches

About a week and oh so many pages to go til the deadline for the Sketchbook Project 2011. I am working feverishly to finish and have also posted a few more scans to the site!

Sketchbook Project 2011 - Preview Pages Online

We are still a few weeks out from sending the filled sketchbook in, but I've uploaded a few pages to the Art House Coop site for public preview. Go see.

Bony Lil January - NYC

Two performance this month in New York City!

BINDLESTIFF OPEN STAGE
January 3rd
Galapagos Art Space
DUMBO Brooklyn
8pm

+

NY DOWNTOWN CLOWN REVUE
January 17th
Dixon Place
LES Manhattan
7:30pm

Come on out! xx

Like Water

So this is how best I can trace the unfolding of this realization today:

This morning Emily White tweeted about David Lynch talking about transcendental meditation. This is the first thing I saw, still toasty in bed. The idea that we can expand ourselves over time. The twinkle and excitement in him as he speaks about it.

This evening I read the yewknee.com blog and was caught by Michael Eades' response to this article on James Franco. Not usually something I would pay attention to but describing someone's life as having "fluidity" rather than "fixed identity" smacked me upside the head the way the man in The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill struck me years ago when he said he was not a careerist. Never heard of the concept. Before that was just being a bum or indecisive or developmentally stunted.

The resulting idea:

I have studied improvisation in every art form I use for decades, but I tend to beat myself about the head about the rest of my life. The transparency of the career/marriage/kids or the loopycareerartist never seem to line up properly with my life as is.

Although I am extraordinarily good at, I do not really enjoy beating the crap out of myself. I wrote a play [How to Give Up on Your Dreams, By Not Really Trying] about how goals ruin everything but didn't really have a solution at the end because I still want the things I don't have, so am still disappointed.

But what if I allowed my life to be fluid like i allow my art to be. What if I entertained the notion that tickling certain parts of yourself can enlarge your enjoyment of what IS in your life. What if I let it flow, as Bruce Lee said, like water. Control is different from Responsibility. You can be responsible. You cannot be in control.

Some magical combination of David Lynch and James Franco are freeing my fucking mind.

I am cool with this.

Thank you internet and mostly, thank you friends who pass things along.


<3

Here is a photo of a Mongolian marmot hunter. They dress in all white and a hat with ears and carry a tassle-y something. It mesmerizes the marmots so they can get closer to get a better shot.

Sketchbook: octovember

Blockprint Holiday Cards!

I've made blockprint cards for the holidays!

Squirrels are the best.

Here, we see, the extraordinary Blue Squirrels of Happiness in a birch tree generally supporting peace and love and beauty, printed in antiqued metallic ink and handcolored.

I've got about 30 at the moment, with envelopes.
5 cards - $25
10 cards - $40
shipping included inside the US
{if inside NYC cheaper still}

contact me at vaganthead at gmail dot com.
first come first serve. paypal.

To hell with virtual and digitally printed cards. Send them ones made digit-ally (x10).

Sketchbook: fHour + GangBurgs

...the plot thickens...
I'm finding it's best if you read them aloud. Like you mean it.
......click to see bigger......

T-Shirts for the Gene Wilder lovers

It began in March of 2008 as a rant about the too too many Gene Wilder movies that were being remade, then a graphic, then a guerilla campaign that saw my inbox filling with t-shirt requests from strangers around the world by word of mouth alone.

It has been just about exactly two years since the folks over at wireandtwine.com have been hand-printing and selling the shirts.
They are still available! Send along your Gene Wilder lovers!

Look at all the happy customers! You'll notice by the preponderance of navy on yellow, these were largely early-adopters.



Happy Holidays and Stop the Remakes!

The have finally begun my submission to The Sketchbook Project 2011. It's coming along nicely and I'm considering it a kind of test run for a honest-to-goodness book I want to make. A sort of part sketchbook, part abstract/stream-o-conscious art book maybe with some recurring characters.

As you might notice, I am using a similar technique that i used for my fine art pieces in the Sink series onaccounta the thin paper in the sketchbook.

The submissions up on the site are Pa-RETTY intimidating. Good to know the bar is set high! The tour will be fun!

Bony Lil's Recital

This is from the 2008 NY Clown Theater Festival. This piece has been around in various forms since about 2003. It started with canned music and then the wonderfully talented Valerie Thompson {who composed an original score to the short film/animation Bony Lil's Creation} came aboard to compose and perform an original piece.

This was a cabaret night at the clown festival and you will see a nice introduction by Joel Jeske at the top of the clip.

Bony Lil's Recital from Zea on Vimeo.

Bony Lil in the Loop- Chicago

Bony Lil - How To Give Up On Your Dreams - Lesson #14 from Zea on Vimeo.

An offshoot from the show I created for the NY Clown Theater Festival, "How to Give Up on Your Dreams, By Not Really Trying"

Spent an afternoon running around downtown Chicago with a camera.

Original music by Zebulun Barnow of B1g T1me. Chris Gummert on camera.

Sketchbook: Antleert Beefts

*slow headshake*