Shooting at a John Lautner House in Los Angeles

Adarsha Benjamin shoots an editorial for the first issue of Pas Un Autre Quarterly at a John Lautner house in Los Angeles.  Stay tuned for more...first issue of Autre Quarterly will be out this summer. (Click on thumnails for larger photos)

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[Music] Back to the Halcyon Days, of Punk

The Jeff & Jane Hudson story goes back to halcyon days of Punk and New Wave with The Rentals, who released two singles of lo-fi DiY Art Punk in between '77 and '80. In 1981, they started performing as a duo and began releasing post-nuclear electronic pop songs under their own names. 1981 saw the release of the "World Trade" EP as well as the "No Clubs" 7", followed in '82 by "Attack Under Attack" which featured the first appearance of "Los Alamos," which would reappear on their debut LP. The duo reached their pinnacle with 1983's seminal "Flesh." Perhaps one of the United States biggest achievements in the entire "synth" movement of the era. Completely self produced by the band, the record has since been oft-cited as a groundbreaking and pivotal LP of the post-punk era, who's original copies are now heavily coveted by collectors. This is the first time since the original issue that "Flesh" is reappearing on the vinyl format as a co-release with Dark Entries record. This edition features remastering culled from the original master tapes and expanded with an extra LP of singles and EP material. It's also the first wide-scale digital and CD release these recordings have yet to see. Due out this April. www.officialjeffandjane.com

Jeff/Jane Hudon -  Los Alamos

[audio:http://www.solidgoldrags.com/music/Jeff__Jane_-_Los_Alamos.mp3|titles=Los Alamos ]

WestLicht, Impossible Project Acquire Polaroid Collection

Mark Morrisroe 'Nyph-o-maniac' 1983 WestLicht Collection

Between 1972 and 1990 the Polaroid company, working in collaboration with over 800 artists around the world, amassed a collection of about 4,400 prints. Artists such as Ansel Adams, Robert Mapplethorpe, Mary Ellen Mark, Robert Rauschenberg, William Wegman, Stephen Shore, Sally Mann, David Levinthal and Andy Warhol.  For 20 years the collection was lost in the archives of Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne in Switzerland. After the Polaroid company dissolved, liquidators sent their hounds to look for assets. The fate of the polaroids was uncertain, sitting on the auction block piecemeal, until the last moment when Peter Coeln, owner of the museum WestLicht, in conjunction with the Impossible Project acquire the collection. The collection will be on view this summer from June 17 to August 21 2011. www.westlicht.at

Helmut Newton '1976' WestLicht Collection

Mary Ellen Mark '1990' WestLicht Collection

Minor White '1960' WestLicht Collection

Robert Mapplethorpe '1979' WestLicht Collection

Ansel Adams "Yosemite Falls Flowers" 1979 WestLicht Collection

Gottfried Helnwein 'Child With Clasps in Mouth Radiator' 1987 WestLicht Collection

Oliviero Toscani 'Andy Warhol' 1975 WestLicht Collection

Today in History: Triangle Fire, 100 Years

Police Officer, Bodies of Triangle fire victims at feet looking up at workers poised to jump from the upper floors of the burning Asch Building

Tonight, I peer up ten stories and 100 years back into the wind and see flaming skirts billowing as they come crashing down to the pavement where I stand. At this very moment, 100 years ago, my great-grandfather Max Blanck was probably making sure his six children were all safely in bed. Tomorrow, as we gather on Green Street in New York City, someone will inevitably, angrily, say something about the cruel-hearted men that sent 146 people to their deaths. Tomorrow, 100 years ago, a fire will have raged through The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, women will have flung themselves out of a burning building, fingers will have started to point, history will forever be changed.

"Not guilty" was the verdict for Max Blanck. Not guilty, and yet, forever guilty. Three generations later, and we all still feel confused. How was his character? Was he a cold-blooded killer who didn't learn from his mistakes, or a business minded Russian immigrant who lost his luck in a tragedy of capitalist proportions? The firemen's ladders couldn't reach past the 5th floor. The fire escapes crumbled under the heat of the flames. The rooms were too narrow with too many tables stacked together. There was nothing except a few small buckets of water to extinguish the flames. The telephone operator forgot to alert the 9th floor. The nets were too weak to hold the weight of the women as they jumped two and three at a time, hand-in-hand out of the windows. The door was locked. The door was locked? Max Blanck, who along with Isaac Harris was the owner of Triangle, was accused of keeping the doors locked from the outside in order to keep the women in. It was said he locked them in to prevent theft; locked them in to prevent unionization. He said he didn't know they were locked, and the jury couldn't prove that he knew. No one can tell me of his character: any relatives who knew him are long gone, but I think I can safely assume that my great-grandfather wouldn't have offered his brother-in-law and three other relatives jobs in the factory knowing it would inevitably cost them their lives. Not even the snakiest of snakes would have... could have. My grandfather was shunned out of New York after the fire. He moved to California. With tragedy, rebirth. Generations came afterwards. My grandfather met my grandmother. My mother met my father. Without the fire, I would not be. More importantly however, without the fire, building safety codes would not be. Garment workers unions would not be. Society as we know it, would not be. With tragedy, rebirth.

When I was six years old, I had a dream that a young girl was burning in a fire. The fiercer her screams became, the more my arms stuck to my sides like heavy, useless weights. No matter how much I cried and pushed, I couldn't free myself from the paralysis that exists in that kind of dream state. I watched in horror as her hair caught, her face melted, her screaming stopped. Now that I'm grown and have learned about how this very real fire has marked my life, I wonder if my great-grandfather didn't have the same dream. I wonder if he woke up gasping for air as if he had been in that smokey room, with the same ash on his pillow, crying out "I couldn't save her!" I sometimes believe that dreams must travel like stories from one generation to the next, and I will wait to see if my children will one day call out for me in pain and confusion in their sleep, as the flames swallow their friends, cousins, future brides. I hope in that moment I remember to recount to them what it was like to stand on the streets of New York with generations of people who's own lives were affected somehow 100 years before, in ways big and small, by one of the biggest events in American history... and I hope I can tell them to rest assured: we've learned so much since then.

Text by Lily Harris, great granddaughter of Max Blanck, co-owner of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, reporting from New York City for Pas Un Autre

HBO documentary Triangle: Remembering the Fire (check listings, available on HBO onDemand through April 17th, and also airing on CNN Saturday March 26, 11pm PST)

If you're in New York City tomorrow, Friday March 25th, come participate in the commemoration ceremony at Washington Place and Green Street from 11am-1pm.

Also, stop by the New York City Fire Museum from March 26th- April 23rd 2011 to see the show Remembering Their Prayers by artist and fellow Blanck relative, Susan Harris

 

Buzz: Voxhaul Broadcast

Photography by Adarsha Benjamin Hailing from Orange County, California, Voxhaul Broadcast has been on the radar for a few years now - ever since their breakout EP, Rotten Apples, released in 2008.  Rotten Apples was recorded live in a single day;  brimful of heart shattering melodies, vocal acrobatics, and the angsty, love-lorn poetic lyricism of lead singer David Dennis, the album cemented Voxhaul as the "band to watch."  Their new album, Timing is Everything, is due out March 22. Voxhaul Broadcast is also incredible live, visit their site to pick up their new album and find upcoming tour dates. www.voxhaulbroadcast.com

Voxhaul Broadcast - Fact or Fiction

[audio:http://www.pasunautre.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/voxhaul-broadcast-fact-or-fiction-1.mp3|titles=voxhaul-broadcast-fact-or-fiction-1]

Voxhaul Broadcast - Needs a Little Time (previously unrelease - didn't make the cut)

[audio:http://www.solidgoldrags.com/music/06 Needs A Little Time.mp3|titles=voxhaul-broadcast-fact-or-fiction-1]

 

Soundtrack to Your Life: Brahms Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77

2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, and solo violin.  It is not known when Brahms began work on his Violin Concerto, but we do know that he finished his first draft during the summer of 1878 at Portschach in southern Austria. He then sent the solo violin part to his long time friend, the composer, conductor, virtuoso violinist, and dedicatee of the concerto, Joseph Joachim. Brahms had for years consulted with him on various compositions, seeking his criticisms and learned opinions. In the note accompanying the violin part, Brahms sought that Joachim should “…correct it, not sparing the quality of the composition and that if you thought it not worth scoring, that you should say so. I shall be satisfied if you will mark those parts which are difficult, awkward, or impossible to play”.  Joachim found the solo to contain “…a lot of really good violin music”. He premiered the work on New Year’s Day, 1879 in Leipzig.

Johannes Brahms - Brahms Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77 - 3rd Movement - Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace

[audio:http://www.solidgoldrags.com/music/03IIIAllegro giocosomanontroppo vivace.mp3|titles=Brahms - Violin]

Cartier: The Power of Style

María Félix wearing her Serpent Clip earrings, 1971

The Cartier Collection reflects the evolution of Cartier's artistic and stylistic creation. Cartier: The Power of Style traces 160 years in the jeweler's glorious history. Three hundred and sixty-two pieces from the Cartier Collection--accessories, masterpieces of jewelry and watchmaking from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day--and four exceptional pieces from the Prince's Palace of Monaco are featured. These exceptional items offer insight into the royal jeweler's treasures and the sources of inspiration that lead to their creation. Commissioned photographs of these rare pieces, exclusive archival images, and biographical stories about their prestigious owners comprise this handsome volume.

Pair of Tiger ear clips, Cartier Paris, special order, 1961

Daisy Fellowes wearing the Tuttie Frutti necklace made of emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds, made in 1936 Cigarette case, Cartier Paris, 1931, Platinum, modified baguette-cut diamond, The back of the lid is engraved with twenty signatures such as “Coco” for Coco Chanel, “Misia” for Misia Sert, “Fellowes” for Daisy Fellowes, “Vera” for Vera de Bosset, “Peggy” for Peggy Guggenheim, “Etienne” for Etienne de Beaumont, inside the case “Cécile” for Cécile Sorel, “Elsie” for Elsie de Wolfe, “Johnnie” for Prince Jean-Louis de Faucigny- Lucinge, and other friends unfortunately impossible to identify today. Sold to the Baron de Meyer, photographer Snake necklace, Cartier Paris, special order, 1968, Platinum, white gold and yellow gold, 2,473 brilliant- and baguette-cut diamonds weighing 178.21 carats in total, two pear-shaped emeralds (eyes), green, red, and black enamel, Made as a special order for María Félix

Sir Yadavindra Singh, wearing a ceremonial necklace, Cartier, created in 1936

You can find Cartier: The Power of Style here.

Modesty Blaise: Terry O'Neill 50 Years at the Top

Brigitte Bardot, Spain, 1971

Terry O'Neill: 50 Years at the Top opened yesterday at the esteemed Chris Beetles Gallery in London.  The exhibit celebrates  a half a century of Terry O'Neill's iconic photographs. Including new and unseen prints from the 1960s. It was 50 years ago that Terry O'Neill first picked up a camera, andbegan an astonishing career. First becoming a key photographer in London's heady 1960s cultural milieu, he went on to capture most major stars of stage and screen, and has helped to define our very notion of celebrity'. His famous photographs of Brigitte Bardot smoking a cigar, Frank Sinatra with his bodyguards sauntering down the Miami boardwalk and Faye Dunaway the morning after her Oscar win have become iconic images that have made Terry one of the world's most popular and collectible photographers.

Faye Dunaway, Los Angeles, 1976

Jean Shrimpton and Terence Stamp, London, 1963

David Bowie and Elizabeth Taylor, Los Angeles, 1975

Monica Vitti on the Set of 'Modesty Blaise' - Shepperton Studios, 1966

Audrey Hepburn Takes a Break During the Filming of  'Two For the Road,' 1967

Terry O'Neill: Fifty Years at the Top will run until April 23, 2011. www.chrisbeetlesfinephotographs.com

 

Man: Woman and Child

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There's something about women and girls dressed in fashion designed for the opposite sex: you can spot them from a mile away. It's a powerhouse 'i can do anything better than you can' attitude strutting down the street in biker boots, at an afternoon symphony in loafers with tassels, or at a cocktail party in black and white wingtips. Some of the most influential, inspiring women throughout creative history have been known to frequently don a more masculine ensemble: Marlene Dietrich, Patti Smith, Lou Doillon, Chloe Sevigny and even Shiloh Jolie Pitt have at times been partial to men's wear. A sense of allure and mystery has and will always accompany these women in their style. Although menswear for women will forever be in, the style is coming to a peak this year. Fall/Winter 2011 collections are promising layered blazers, silk slacks, and men's wool coats galore. Need a go-to shop to outfit yourself in androgyny? A safe and successful bet you'll always find at Opening Ceremony and for those of you helping the littlest of the style hungry, don't forget to check out the "borrowed from my brother" section of Jenna Lyons' ingenious kid's line Crewcuts at J-Crew.

Text by Lily Harris for Pas Un Autre

Soundtrack to Your Life: "That Summer Feeling"

 

That "summer feeling" will haunt you for the rest of your life. Jonathan Richman is an underrated genius and one of the many mad scientists of proto-punk - punk before punk - nevermind.   Anyways, Richman's music has a timeless aura - one that crackles with the magnificent dust of celluloid and crooners of yore, as well as the crisp post modernism of today's new digital era - and beyond too.  The song below could fit in anywhere,  it could have been left accidentally on the live reels of Ritchie Vallens or experimental solo demo of a deranged, lonesome hipster in his basement in Rhode Island.  But, alas, the below gem comes from Jonathan Ritchman's 1992 album 'I, Richmond." If you are lucky enough to be in Boston, run over to catch Jonathan Richman live at the Somerville Theater.

Text by Oliver Maxwell Kupper for Pas Un Autre

Jonathan Richmond - "That Summer Feeling"

[audio:http://www.solidgoldrags.com/music/That_Summer_Feeling.mp3|titles=That Summer Feeling by Jonathan Richmond]

I've Got a Bad Bad Love...for Alexander Ebert

Alexander Ebert photographed by Adarsha Benjamin © 2010

Alexander Ebert can't stop reinventing himself.  This time Ebert has reinvented himself....as himself. Thank god.  Ebert's new album has some incredible songs. I've always loved Ebert's songwriting and musical delivery; akin to the virtuosity of  David Byrne, with the work ethic of Arthur Russel. After a stint as the lead singer and founder of the hippie-big-band-orchestra Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, who enjoyed a seemingly flash point meteoric rise, Alexander Ebert has gotten back together with himself.  His album, titled Alexander, is more self exploratory, somewhat somber, and purely honest.

Text by Oliver Maxwell Kupper for Pas Un Autre

Alexander Ebert - Bad Bad Love

[audio:http://www.pasunautre.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/alexanderbadbadlove.mp3|titles=alexanderbadbadlove]

Alexander Ebert - Glimpses

[audio:http://www.solidgoldrags.com/music/09-Glimpses.mp3|titles=alexanderglimpses]

Lake Rudolf, Eastern Equatorial Africa

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Crown Prince Rudolf  of Austria (21 August 1858 - 30 January 1889) clashed with his father Emperor Franz Joseph I.  Amongst his many gripes, the Prince felt as though he were born at the at the wrong time. In a typically royal way, The Prince was repulsed by any sort of foul laundry that his father dished to the country.  Prince Rudolf found refuge from his father in a loveless marriage to Princess Stéphanie and also by taking a mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera.  The two lovers, The Prince and the Baroness', untimely deaths at the imperial family's hunting lodge was ruled a combined suicide, yet some are still convinced of foul play.  One year prior to this, in March of 1888, Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék of Hungary, whilst on a safari across East Africa, discovered a lake and named it Lake Rudolf, in honor of the Crown Prince. Years later in 1972, Richard Leakey, during an anthropological dig around the lake discovered a two-million-year-old hominid skull.  In 1986 a nearly complete skeleton of a homo erectus boy was discovered.   And more recently, another skull was discovered and estimated at being 3.5 million years dead.  These fossil findings coined the nickname for the area "Cradle of Mankind" or "Cradle of Humankind," as it has now be called for the sake, no doubt, of political correctness.

After my return from a once in a lifetime safari to Lake Rudolf (now referred to as Lake Turkana or The Jade Sea) in 2005 with fellow artist Fernando Apodaca, I met with Peter Beard at Bungalow in New York City.  Before and after the safari  to Lake Turkana I  stayed on Peter Beard's Hog Ranch in the 'knuckle hills' outside of Nairobi.  At that time Peter had I think been banned from Kenya for five years due to numerous, miscellaneous arrests and spats with neighbors - mostly concerning the malnutrition of their animals or his partying.  Back in New York with Peter Beard I described the safari, yelling over the club music,  "WE CAMPED AT LAKE TURKANA FOR OVER A WEEK!" Peter forcefully yells back,  "RUDOLF! ITS LAKE RUDOLF!" As if to say, "HOW DARE YOU!?"

Text and photography (excluding the post-mortem image of the Crown Prince) by Dustin Lynn

Soundtrack to Your Life: The Cannanes "We Drink Bitter" 1986

One of the coolest bands to emerge from the pop/shoe gaze scene in 1980s Sydney, Australia, The Cannanes have all the right angsty ingredients in their their 1986/87 album Witchetty Pole - which is more of a mish mash diary/collage of soul searching ballads and love tender absurdity.

The Cannanes - "We Drink Bitter"

[audio:http://www.pasunautre.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/19-We-Drink-Bitter.mp3|titles=19 We Drink Bitter]