Deconstructing Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow Up

Blow Up

Want to see a naked, nubile Jane Birkin in a threesome? Antonioni's film 1966 film Blow Up captured the zeitgeist of 1960s London with a bear trap. Its famous cover, with the lead character, a fashion photographer played by the venerable David Hemmings, lurching over the rail thin, German model Veruschka, is emblematic of an entire decade of cinema.  Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, Blow Up, inspired by a book written by the Argentinian novelist Julio Cortázar, as well as the real life of iconic fashion photographer David Bailey, tells the the story of a fashion photographer who inadvertently stumbles into a murder.

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The film, which stars David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, and Sarah Miles, is a real-time paced glimpse into an otherwise drab London at the apex of the Swinging Sixties.  It was time when photographers were considered rock stars; groupies and all, doing whatever it takes to get their picture taken.  Using film stills and actual photographs in the film, a new book has come out this month on Steidl that re-examines Blow Up in a retrospective, socio-cultural context. Antonioni's Blow-Up, as the book is called, by Philippe Garner and David Alan, promises a "fresh and stimulating study of Antonioni’s masterpiece."

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You can find the book on Colette's e-shop. www.colette.fr

My Blue Love: Edith Piaf's Love Letters to Louis Gérardin

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"My blue love, our first separation ... darling, I think I can say that never has a man taken me as much, and I believe I'm making love for the first time." Edith Piaf's "blue love" was a 13-time French speed racing champion bicyclist named Louis Gérardin. The letters were written in 1951 and 1952 during a feaverish, little known, love affair – shortly after her true love, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, died tragically in a plane crash. The letters are intimate, full of sexual ravings and pleas for Gérardin to leave his wife. Before Gérardin could leave his wife Piaf had already married another man. In 2009, 54 of the letters were sold at Christies in Paris for 59,000 euros.  The letters will now will be published in the book entitled My Blue Love – out on April 30 in France.

Icon of 1940s Fashion: Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman is stunning when when she appears on the silver screen in the 1942 classic Casablanca, and the same in Hitchcock's 1946 masterpiece Notorious. Bergman was not only an icon of the silver screen, but an icon of fashion in a decade when the world was at war. In the 1940s the fashion houses of an occupied France were struggling with limited resources, a fabric shortage, and the rise of competing American fashion houses. In 1940s style was an experiment in sartorial renunciation - an "expression of circumstances" as opposed to frivolity. In 1947 Christian Dior introduced the New Look collection - a ‘make do and mend’ approach to fashion that didn't comprise "ideals of beauty, femininity and luxury." Ingrid Bergman was a life long fan of Dior - her fitted suits,  pencil skirts, subtle accessories, and a slightly androgynous charm helped define the era.

A new book, Forties Fashion:From Siren Suits to the New Look, Jonathan Walford, founder of the Fashion History Museum of Canada, "is an essential sourcebook" of 1940s fashion; "a glorious celebration of everything from practical attire for air raids to street and anti-fashion."  Around 250 illustrations reveal the wide range of fashions and styles that emerged throughout the Second World War, in Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan. Including period advertisements, images of real clothes, and first-hand accounts from contemporary publications.

www.thamesandhudson.com

[INFLUENCERS] The Psychomagic of Alejandro Jodorowsky

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Film still from El Topo

With gallons of blood, dwarves, and maimed circus performers, weirdness is almost always guaranteed. Your money's worth? Not so much if you're not ready for the holy mountain that is Alejandro Jodorowsky.  A gunfighter on a violent quest for enlightenment, a feverish search for a mythical holy mountain, and a man serving as his armless mother's arms, carrying out vengeful murders on her behalf, all summarize, albeit briefly, the trifecta of Chilean filmmaker and artist Alejandro Jodorowsky's surreal and mystical cinematic masterpieces: El Topo, Holy Mountain and Santa Sangre. Or maybe they're a summary of all the alter-egos of the man himself, the cult legend, the auteur of weird.

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Film still from El Topo

Most people have probably never heard his name before - much less seen his films, but Jodoorsky has had a massive influence on the avant garde, as well as impact on mainstream culture, for almost 30 years.  And thankfully, these days his name has been rising to the surface a lot more. With a high definition version of El Topo, slated for release on April 26, and various premiers of his films, lectures, and collaborations Jodoworsky seems to be getting his rightly due.

In March, Jodowosky started production on a film version of his autobiography The Dance of Reality. To date he has published over 23 novels in the field of psychomagic - which aims to heal wounds of the soul using the Tarot and various forms of holistic mysticism.  He has even spent fifteen years recreating the Tarot of Marseilles - cards that have been de rigueur to the practice of Tarot reading since the 15th century; the cards most are familiar with.  In the end it seems as though Alejandro Jodorowsky is satisfied in the role as shaman and he professes that his main goal is mainly "to spread consciousness." But no matter the course of the artist's multiple identities, Jodorowsky will always be an artist and whatever the medium may be he will continue to have a tremendous influence and voice each time culture sheds its fickle skin.

Visit Alejandro Jodorowsky's official site

Text by Oliver Maxwell Kupper for Pas Un Autre

Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics & Devotion

Reliquary With the Man of Sorrows

Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics & Devotion in Medieval Europe, on view this June at the British Museum, brings together for the first time some of the finest sacred treasures of the medieval age. It features over 150 objects from more than 40 institutions including the Vatican, European church treasuries, museums from the USA and Europe and the British Museum’s own pre-eminent collection. It was during the medieval period that the use of relics in devotional practice first developed and became a central part of Christian worship. For many, the relics of Christ and the saints – objects associated with them, such as body parts or possessions – continue to provide a bridge between heaven and earth today. Relics were usually set into ornate containers of silver and gold known as reliquaries, opulently decorated by the finest craftsmen of the age. They had spiritual and symbolic value that reflected the importance of their sacred contents. The earliest items date from the late Roman period and trace the evolution of the cult of the saints from the 4th century to the peak of relic veneration in late medieval Europe. Relics featured in the exhibition include three thorns thought to be from the Crown of Thorns, fragments of the True Cross, the foot of St Blaise, the breast milk of the Virgin Mary, the hair of St John the Evangelist, and the Mandylion of Edessa (one of the earliest known likenesses of Jesus). Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics & Devotion in Medieval Europe - June 23 – October 9 2011 - www.britishmuseum.org

Rimbaud, Symbolism's Pretty Young Thing

"The paths are rough. The knolls are covered with broom. The air is motionless. How far away are the birds and the springs! It can only be the end of the world, ahead."

It is true that Arthur Rimbaud was a rabble-rouser and a libertine with louse infested hair, but he was a genius, on par with Mozart, whose provocative, symbolic lyricism was seemingly divined.  At only the tender age of 17 and 18 Rimbaud composed some of the most transcendent poetry the world had ever seen - Victor Hugo described him as "an infant Shakespeare."   A bright star indeed - whose comburent creativity seemed to burn out like a magnesium flash: at 21 the fire was out completely and Rimbaud quit poetry for good - at 37 he was dead. Rimbaud, who was raised on a farm in Charleville-Mézières, believed in some way that poetry was mysticism - that the poet was a "seer" by the practice of a "systematic derangement of all the senses." This derangement meant total abandonment of morality, judgement, and all things that make a modern man refined, and refined Rimbaud was not.  In the early 1870s he developed a relationship, that some debate was homosexual in nature, with the much older poet Paul Verlaine. The two poets would visit London in 1873 where Verlaine would attempt to assassinate his young lover, but it was by Verlaine's side that Rimbaud would write his masterpiece Illuminations, an "intense and rapid dream." A long awaited new translation of Rimbaud's Illuminations, translated by John Ashbery, considered a "major literary event," is due out this May by W.W. Norton and Company. books.wwnorton.com

Duelling Pistols at Bonhams: Objects of Beauty and Death

A Very Fine Pair Of 30-Bore Flintlock Duelling Pistols By Robert Wogdon, London, Circa 1785 made for the Duke of Bedford.

It was indeed a dueling pistol made by the Robert Wogdon of London gunsmith company that killed Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1804 in Weehawken, New Jersey.  Usually the goal of the honorable duel was often not so much to kill the opponent as to restore one's honour by demonstrating a willingness to risk one's life for it. Even though it was illegal after the 17th century, one was rarely persecuted. This late April a dozen pairs of dueling pistols, including a set made by Robert Wogdon of London - by far the most synonymous manufacturer of dueling pistols, will go on the auction block at Bonhams. The set of pistols are expecting to fetch between £2,500 to £60,000 as "items of historical interest and fine workmanship, not death and destruction." And o' how glorious these pistols are in their intricate perfection - objets d'art that were once symbols of masculinity, honor, and inevitable permanence. Dueling Pistols at Bonhams: Objects of Beauty and Death will go on sale Wednesday 20 April 20 in Knightsbridge. www.bonhams.com

[LEGENDS] Nomad, Poet, 20th Century Prophet of the Wild West

Everette Reuss by Dorothea Lang

In 1934, at the age of 20, poet and nomadic wanderer Everette Reuss travelled into the red rock canyon lands of Southern Utah with two burros and vanished without a trace. In 2009 his apparent remains were found, but upon further analysis were called into question as to their authenticity. What happened to Everette Reuss? Some say he was murdered by natives for his burros, some say he simply drowned or fell off one of the many jagged cliffs, and some legends recount that Everette Reuss fell in love with a Navajo woman and ran away with her tribe. The life, disappearance  and legend of Everette Reuss has been an enduring mystery, an American saga exemplar to our own imaginings of the great adventure.  A new book, Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Mysterious Death, and Astonishing Afterlife, due out this summer on University of California Press examines the life and legend; going "...beyond the myth to reveal a troubled, idealistic adolescent who flirted with death and lost." www.ucpress.edu

[Lost Generation] Voyager avec Annemarie Scharzenbach

An overview of the work of traveler, journalist, writer, photographer, Annemarie Scharzenbach, is set to be released as a collaboration publication with the French journal La Quinzaine Littéraire and Louis Vuitton. Annemarie, born in Switzerland in 1908, was an icon of the Lost Generation and the live fast die young ethos of the Weimar Republic, an interwar era of morphine and fast cars. Voyager avec Annemarie Scharzenbach - La Quête du réel is the first in depth look at her work, accompanied by about forty photographs taken by Annemarie herself. The book is set to be released in May. www.quintzaine-litteraire.presse.fr

[PRESS] DNA interview with Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Designers and Artists recently conducted an interview with Oliver Maxwell Kupper - publisher of Pas Un Autre. From DNA: "We recently caught up with artist, Oliver Maxwell Kupper, to discuss his online journal, Pas Un Autre, which covers an interesting mix of art, fashion, music, photography and more from the perspective of artists and contributors from around the world." Read full interview HERE.

[PARFUM D'UNE FEMME] Petite Mort / The Scent of an Orgasm

La petite mort, French for "the little death", is a decidedly poetic metaphor for an orgasm. The question of capturing "the elusive substance" in a bottle, much less a scent, seem's daunting.  With his first foray into perfume, such was the task for Marc Atlan, an art director for clients such as Comme des Garçons, Yves Saint Laurent, and Tom Ford. So how do you capture that moment of climax? You don't really.  You create a conceptual representation, which in and of itself, if you have ever had an orgasm is a pretty intense.  With the rise of artfume, a term I just coined,  more and more perfumers are exploring and inventing wholly new, post modern twists on the classic eau de toilette. Think M/Mink, a line of perfume with the scent of Korean calligraphy ink. According to Petite Mort: "...its a scent based on the paradox of impossible ephemerality." Only 100 bottles of Petite Mort (Parfum D'Une Femme) is available in bottles designed specifically designed and numbered.  www.petitemortparfum.com

[Nouvelle Vague] Jean-Paul Belmondo Canonized at Cannes

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Belmondo in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless 1960

With his rough and tumble good looks and eternally dangling cigarette, Jean-Paul Belmondo has been a fixture in French cinema for nearly six decades. Belmondo, the actor who defined "New Wave" cinema with his debut roll in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless will be canonized at this years Cannes Film Festival with a grand fête apropos for the celluloid icon; as well as the premier of Vincent Perrot and Jeff Domenech’s documentary Belmondo, The Career. The Cannes Film Festival runs May 11 – 22.

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Jean-Paul Belmondo in Philippe de Broca's That Man From Rio 1964

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Claudia Cardinale and Jean-Paul Belmondo in Mauro Bolognini's The Lovermakers, 1961

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Jean-Paul Belmondo in Jean-Pierre Melville's Léon Morin, Priest, 1961

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Belmondo as Belmondo

[BOOKS] Frank Lloyd Wright, Complete Works

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is widely considered to be the greatest American architect of all time; indeed, his work virtually ushered in the modern era and remains highly influential today. His wide-ranging and paradigm-shifting oeuvre is the subject of Taschen's three-volume monograph that covers all of his designs (numbering approximately 1100), both realized and unrealized. Part 1, Wright's more residential period that covers the early Chicago years and the Prairie Houses, the period which provoked a profound influence on European architects, can be purchased here.

A Century of Racing at Isle of Man

J. Guthrie, Norton Racing, Isle of White, 1937 Well, its that time again, The Quail Motorcycling Gathering is upon us. A rather classic day in the sun this gathering should hold out to be, lest I get a sunburn or some kind of dizzy spell from the quail salad, like last year. Held at the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California, the resort is graciously offering the "pristine lawn" of its driving range on May 14th for a display of a tremendous smorgasbord of classic sports and racing bikes. This year's event theme will feature "A Century of Racing at Isle of Man", while also showcasing the finest motorcycles from the past, present and future. And you can bet your bottom dollar there'll be music and barbecue.  If they let us in this year we'll promise to behave.  www.quaillodgeevents.com

On The Press: Pablo Neruda's Odes, New Translation

The atom, a tuna, laziness, love—the everyday elements and essences of human experience glow in the translucent language of Neruda's odes. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) wrote three books of odes during his lifetime.Odas elementales was published in 1954, followed in subsequent years by Nuevas odas elementales and Tercer libro de las odas. Margaret Sayers Peden's selection of odes from all three volumes, printed with the Spanish originals on facing pages, is by far the most extensive yet to appear in English. She vividly conveys the poet's vision of the realities of day-to-day life in her translations, while her brief introduction describes the genesis of the poems.  To write simply of simple things was a task the poet undertook consciously, following his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, the "social conversion" that resulted from a visit to Macchu Picchu, and the writing of his epic Canto general(California, forthcoming). The odes are arranged in brief, sinuous lines that flow down the page and connect the poet to the animal, mineral, and vegetable world, to people and objects, and to the landscape of history. "Chile," Neruda once said in reference to the work of sixteenth-century poet Alonso de Ercilla, "was invented by a poet." In accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, he declared that "We [writers from the vast expanse of America] are called upon to fill with words the confines of a mute continent, and we become drunk with the task of telling and naming." The odes reflect what Neruda saw as both an obligation and a privilege—the naming and defining of his world. Selected Odes of Pablo Neruda of Pablo Neruda will be released in May on University of California Press.

LAST WEEK: WILLIAM E. JONES SHOW IN LOS ANGELES

From Ooga Booga in Los Angeles, where tonight William E. Jones will be signing some of his books: “William E. Jones is an artist and filmmaker who grew up in Ohio and now lives and works in Los Angeles. He has made several amazing films including the feature length documentary Is It Really So Strange? (2004, about L.A.’s Latino Morrissey fans); and many video installations. The blog Amber Waves of Brain is a collection of his writings. He has worked in the adult video industry under the name Hudson Wilcox, and he currently teaches film history at Art Center College of Design under his own name.” This is also the final week of his exhibition in culver city: www.davidkordanskigallery.com

Sad Lover's Eyes

William S. Burroughs looking serious, sad lover’s eyes, afternoon light in window, cover of just-published Junkie propped in shadow above right shoulder, Japanese kite against Lower East Side hot water flat’s old wallpaper. He’d come up from South America & Mexico to stay with me editing Yage Letters and Queer manuscripts. New York Fall 1953. ~ Allen Ginsburg

Openings: Artist, Syd Barret, Man of Letters, Acid Casualty?

Despite what you've heard about Syd Barret if you bet against your life it was all true you would certainly lose. If you asked Syd Barret why he was famous he probably couldn't answer you - despite the fact that he was the founding member of the legendary band Pink Floyd. But who is the real Syd Barret? If you asked Syd, who is now dead, he would certainly say artist before musician. A new show opens today at the Idea Gallery in London that explores the enigmatic inner life of Syd Barret. For the first time, the largest collection of unseen photographs, personal love letters and original artworks will go on display offering an unprecedented insight into the inspired life of this rock legend. gallery.ideageneration.co.uk