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

FIRST PARAGRAPHS: JACK KEROUAC “THE SUBTERRANEANS”

first edition on Zebra Books

“ONCE I was young and had so much orientation and could talk with nervous intelligence about everything and with clarity and without as much literary preambling as this: in other words this is the story of an unself-confident man, at the same time of an egomaniac, naturally, facetious won’t do-just to start at the beginning and let the truth seep out, thats what I’ll do-. I’ll begin on a warm summer night-, ah, she was sitting on the fender with Julien Alexander who is…..let me begin with the history of the subterraneans of San Francisco….”

Ryan McGinley: Somewhere Place - Exhibition in Amsterdam

Ryan McGinley, illustrious darling of the New York downtown arts scene, who is now seemingly more serious in the direction and cohesiveness of his photography, is having a solo show in Amsterdam. Over the last decade McGinley's photography has earned him a strong reputation with his images that capture youth culture in a certain cinematic rawness,  mostly in the nude, save for maybe a pair of dirty tennis shoes. From the gallery, "Youth, liberation and the joy of losing yourself in the moment are elements that feature throughout Ryan McGinley’s work, from his early roots in documenting the urban adventures of his downtown Manhattan friends to his subsequent cross-country travels in utopian environments throughout America to his most recent studio portraits. McGinley’s elaborate and rigorous process of photo-making creates moments of breathtaking beauty: naked feral kids poised in ecstatic abandon. The lack of clothing and other contemporary signifiers along with the archetypical landscapes give the photos a sense of timelessness in which the viewer can project his or her own story."

Galerie Gabriel Rolt Gallery in Amsterdam will be presenting a new series of works by McGinley entitled Somewhere Place.  April 9 to May 14. www.ryanmcginley.com

 

German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse

"From E. L. Kirchner to Max Beckmann, artists associated with German Expressionism in the early decades of the twentieth century took up printmaking with a collective dedication and fervor virtually unparalleled in the history of art. The woodcut, with its coarse gouges and jagged lines, is known as the preeminent Expressionist medium, but the Expressionists also revolutionized the mediums of etching and lithography to alternately vibrant and stark effect."  A, exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse, explores this incredible epoch in German art history with holdings from the museum's own holdings of expressionist prints. "The graphic impulse is traced from the formation of the Brücke artists group in 1905, through the war years of the 1910s, and extending into the 1920s, when individual artists continued to produce compelling work even as the movement was winding down." The exhibit runs from March 27 to June 11. www.moma.org

On the Verge: Stand & Deliver

Jennifer Mulhare, the brilliant, sartorially talented fashion editor of Pas Un Autre, called last night practically panting with excitement about a new line called Stand & Deliver. Designers of Stand and Deliver, Corey Parks, former basist of the band Nashville Pussy, and Johanna Logan, mix a rock n' roll ethos with an entirely earnest originality that will undoubtably make fashionistas all over the world wet with excitement. Its virtually impossible to find any mention of Stand & Deliver online, save for the behind the scenes video and some photos of the recently shot lookbook.

www.standanddeliverla.com

Film: Beautiful Darling

Andy Warhol Super Star

Candy Darling

Beautiful Darling, a documentary film, pays tribute to the short but influential life of an extraordinary person -- the actress Candy Darling, born James Slattery in a Long Island suburb in 1944. Drawn to the feminine from childhood, by the mid-Sixties James had become Candy, a gorgeous, blonde actress and well-known downtown New York figure. Candy's career took her through the raucous and revolutionary Off-off-Broadway theater scene and into Andy Warhol's legendary Factory. There she became close to Warhol and starred in two Factory movies that still shock and amuse today: Flesh and Women in Revolt. Candy used her Warhol fame to land further film roles, and her admirer Tennessee Williams cast her in his play Small Craft Warnings. She dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star, but tragically died of lymphoma in the early Seventies, at only twenty-nine.
Andy Warhol and Candy Darling
Candy_on_her_death_bed

Candy Darling on her deathbed

The film will be released this April. www.beautifuldarling.com

Balenciaga and Spain

Balenciaga and Spain examines the profound and enduring influence of Spain on the work of haute couture master Cristóbal Balenciaga. The impact of Spanish culture, history, and traditions is explored through the recurring themes in Balenciaga’s oeuvre and organized in the exhibition in six sections: Spanish Art, Regional Dress, the Spanish Court, Religious Life and Ceremony, the Bullfight, and Dance. Hamish Bowles, the European editor at large for Vogue, is guest curator. Balenciaga and Spain runs from March 26, 2011 to July 4, 2011. www.deyoung.famsf.org

Helmut Newton Solo Show, Selected Works

Helmut Newton was born Helmut Neustädter in Berlin in 1920 to a German-Jewish button-factory owner and an American mother.  He started his photographic career at sixteen working for renowned Berlin photographer Iva. From there, after immigrating too and traveling back from Australia, he photographed fashion for Vogue and other  magazines developing a style that is both instantly recognizable and imitable. An exhibition in London, at the Hamiltons Gallery, includes a selection of rare prints, polaroids from famous photoshoots from Newtons oeuvre, many rare or never seen before.  Helmut Newton 'Selected Works' run until May 15. www.hamiltonsgallery.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

Warpaint Live in San Francisco, California

photo by Oliver Kupper

Warpaint played at the Independent last night in San Francisco. I was hooked a few years back with the below demo - hooked since they were merely just another LA garage band - albeit with John Frusciante (formerly of the Red Hot Chile Peppers) as a their record producer and the actress Shannon Sossaman as their drummer (by the way, they're new drummer Stella Mozgawa is simply incredible). It also worth it to mention that all members of Warpaint are all stunningly gorgeous, but with a certain sensuality that makes you take them seriously - their tremendous musical talent demands notice.  A  little bit Black Sabbath meets The Virgin Suicides, Warpaint closed the show with a 15 minute long encore that had most of the band in a trance they couldn't figure out how to get out of - which was awkward, but entertaining, because did anyone really want them to stop?  Warpaint has released two official albums, the most recent, The Fool, came out on Rough Trade Records last October. Visit their site to see all tour dates: www.warpaintwarpaint.com