A diverse glimpse into the worlds and personalities of fashion, beauty, culture, philanthropy, and art.
Category: Events
RICHARD BERNSTEIN: STARMAKER
Kicking off New York Fashion Week, the Richard Bernstein: STARMAKER book launch party was celebrated at PUBLIC ARTS at Public in New York City earlier this month.
The venue walls were plastered with enlarged artwork of and cut outs of Interview Magazine covers spanning from 1972 to 1989. Legendary cover stars came to life on stage in a Studio 54 VIP Room setting while being catered to by a bevy of hunky bus boys. Performers who resembled Divine, Liza Minelli, Halston, Pat Ast, Jerry Hall and Grace Jones danced and partied the night away.
Celebrities in attendance were the creative director of the new Interview Magazine Mel Ottenberg, Pat Cleveland, Halstonette Karen Bjornson, famed Studio 54 publicist Carmen D’Alessio, Gaultier muse Stella Ellis, Angie Everhart, Amanda Lepore, Miss Jay Alexander, Dianne Brill, artist David Croland, Michael Musto, head of Warhol Enterprises Vincent Fremont and Jeffrey Deitch.
The private event was hosted by authors Mauricio and Roger Padilha whose book Richard Bernstein: STARMAKER Andy Warhol’s Cover Artist is now available in all major bookstores worldwide and is published by Rizzoli International Publications Inc. and presented by Alcone Company with FHI-Heat, Oralgen, Svedka and PUBLIC ARTS at Public.
Performers as Liza Minelli and Halston
Performers as Divine, Pat Ast, and Grace Jones
Stella Rose St. Claire
Mel Ottenberg, Stylist and Creative Director of Interview Magazine
John, Ellen, and Rory Trifon, family of Richard Bernstein
Jeffrey Deitch, art dealer and curator, and Mauricio Padilha, co-founder of MAO Public Relations
Amanda Lepore.
Journalist Michael Musto
Angie Everheart, model and actress
Jonte Moaning, performer, dressed as Grace Jones
Dianne Brill, Queen of New York nightlife
Stylist Wouri Vice
(left) Chris Makos, famed photographer, (center) Shelly Fremont, film director and producer, (right) Vincent Fremont, film producer and head of Warhol Enterprises
Legendary models Karen Bjornson (left) and Pat Cleveland (right)
D’USSE RE-MIXER AT THE MCINTOSH TOWNHOUSE NYC
Drawing fascinating parallels between remixing a classic cocktail and remixing a classic song, the interactive series will travel to select destinations across the country, offering bartenders, influencers and journalists an intimate taste of D’USSE, the cognac category, and its role in both cocktail and music culture. You’ve never tasted Cognac like this before.
Three iconic Masters of their Craft lead the NYC launch sessions: • Cellar master Michel Casavecchia – fresh from the brand’s home at the historic Chateau de Cognac, the legendary creator of D’USSE XO and D’USSE VSOP will reveal his inspirations behind each expression while offering tailored one-on-one tastings. • 9TH WONDER – the Grammy Award-winning producer responsible for hits by Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J Blige will unveil the fascinating parallels between remixing classic cocktails and tracks through an interactive DJ Masterclass utilizing The World of McIntosh’s renowned sound system • Legendary Cocktail Expert DEREK BROWN and his team from D.C.’s award-winning Columbia Room, will provide guests with a sonic wave cocktail demonstration showcasing how using a singing bowl to stir cocktails with sound vibrations allows an interpretation of sound through drinks and impacts its flavor. Each of these artistic elements play off the core concept of how altering one simple ingredient – sound, tone, or even spirit base – can change the way something tastes or is perceived.
MICHEL CASAVECCHIA
Monsieur Michel Casavecchia is the Cellar Master of the prestigious Château de Cognac and the creator of both D’USSÉ VSOP and D’USSÉ XO. He is proud to be part of the privileged line of heirs of the Baron Otard, charged with perpetuating the tradition of the knowledge of blending ‘eau-de-vie’ (water of life) into Cognac.
Michel was born in Lorraine, in the eastern part of France to a father with a passion for collecting and enjoying fine Cognac. This passion, which Michel inherited at a young age, has driven him throughout his career. Though he has not followed the traditional path to becoming an elite Cellar Master, Michel’s relentless dedication to Cognac had led him to the Château de Cognac where he has spent more than a decade overseeing the Cognac making process of some of the world’s finest Cognacs.
After ten years as an apprentice at the Château de Cognac learning from his predecessor and refining his craft, Michel received the opportunity to move into the role he has wanted to achieve most of his life. After nearly 20 years as the curator for some of the most prestigious Cognacs in the world, Michel was tasked with developing a new Cognac for Bacardi, D’USSÉ VSOP.
9th WONDER
Patrick Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, is a Grammy award-winning hip hop record producer, record executive, DJ, lecturer, and rapper from Durham, North Carolina, U.S. He began his career as the main producer for the group Little Brother, and has worked with notable musicians including Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Drake, Destiny’s Child, and Kendrick Lamar.
As a college professor, 9th is an adjacent hip-hop history professor at Duke University and has held several Artist-In-Residence positions at top universities across the country including University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, and Harvard University. Through his positions in academic, 9th seeks to educate students on the history of hip-hop as well as advocate for its future.
Derek Brown
Derek Brown is a leading spirits and cocktail expert and president of Drink Company, which owns and operates 2017 Spirited Award winning “Best American Cocktail Bar” Columbia Room as well as PUB, a rotating pop-up bar that’s housed the wildly-popular Miracle on 7th Street, Cherry Blossom PUB and Game of Thrones PUB. Playboy magazine named him as one of “The 10 Entertainers, Thought Leaders and Heroes Who’ll Save Us in 2017.”
A native Washingtonian with deep ties to the city — his great-grandfather was once D.C.’s police chief — Derek admits that Washington provides a unique vantage point as the capital city, having mixed drinks for everyone from royalty, ambassadors and senators to fellow Washingtonians, interns and students. He’s concocted cocktails at the White House, clinked glasses with Martha Stewart and was even appointed Chief Spirits Advisor at the National Archives. Derek’s philosophy for crafting memorable drinks goes beyond what’s shaken, stirred and served in a glass. “When I think about cocktails, I think about how they connect to nature, I think about how they connect to history,” he explained to Imbibe magazine, which named him 2015’s Bartender of the Year. “I think about how they connect to the people who made them and the time they were living in.”
Derek’s passion for spirits has taken him across the globe, where he’s learned about the integral role food and drink play in the culture, customs and values of communities worldwide. He’s also written about drinks and drinking for The Atlantic, The Washington Post and Bon Appetit magazine, among other publications.
ABOUT D’USSE: D’USSE [dew-say] launched in 2012, D’USSÉ is an ultra-premium cognac that blends over 200 years of tradition with the modern inspiration of Cellar /Master Michel Casavecchia. D’USSÉ is a uniquely powerful, authentic cognac that starts off with distinguished intensity, giving way to a pleasantly smooth, balanced finish. With exceptionally blended expressions including D’USSÉ VSOP and D’USSÉ XO (launched in 2014), D’USSE lends itself to a variety of elegantly crafted rich, and complex cognac-based cocktails.
Guests enjoyed Derek Brown and Columbia Room’s sonic wave cocktail demonstration using a singing bowl.
Georgia Fowler enjoying the classic Sidecar at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER
Ron Hill crafting his own re-mixed cocktail with D’USSE VSOP
Jamal Jackson at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER at McIntosh Townhouse
TK Wonder with DJ Millie, in between her sets of the evening at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER
Martin Salomon enjoying the Side Chick cocktail – a riff off the Side Car – at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER
Quiana Parks and her friend at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER
Elijah Dominique and friends at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER at the McIntosh Townhouse
DJ Millie entertained guests with sets throughout the evening at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER
Grammy Award-winning producer 9th Wonder led guests through a DJ Masterclass using the World of McIntosh’s renowned sound system
Amrit at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER at the McIntosh Townhouse
Vashtie enjoying the Side Car at the NYC D’USSE RE-MIXER
John Cameron Mitchell rose in the world of cult-entertainment after directing, writing, and starring in the award-winning film Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001). His Broadway production of Hedwig garnered him a 2014 Tony Award for Best Revival of Musical and a Special Tony Award for his return to the role in 2015. His seriously impressive depth of work includes the improv-based film Shortbus (2006), and 2010’s Rabbit Hole starring Nicole Kidman which scored an Academy Award nomination for her role. He executive produced Jonathan Caouette’s Tarnation (2004) and has played recurring roles in HBO’s Girls, Martin Scorsese’s HBO series Vinyl, The Good Fight and current season of Mozart in the Jungle. Mitchell has also been busy behind the camera directing and co-writing the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s punk-era How to Talk to Girls at Parties starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.
“At last! My journey to Oz, long-deferred by silly obstacles like unemployment and air fare, is a reality! I shall strap on a Cubist corsette and chromium wig, regale you with haphazard stories from 55 years of fake rock stardom and wail your favorite Hedwig songs like some kind of wonder woman within. Please prepare for my eminent arrival”, Mitchell said.
Producer David M Hawkins said, “John Cameron Mitchell is one of the great artists of our generation – a multi-award winning writer, actor and director. I first saw him on Broadway as Dickon in ‘The Secret Garden’ in the early 90’s and next in his Tony winning rock star turn in ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’. Since producing Hedwig in Australia in 2006 I have become good friends with John, our connection means the world to me. We have talked since 2008 about a concert tour to Australia and at last the stars have aligned. We intend to bring a decent hit of the Greenwich Village vibe to Oz. I am so very excited to share this incredible artist with my country. You are in the best hands for one hell of a ride meeting the original Hedwig, and the man behind her!”
We had the chance to interview the artist behind the transformational costumes, Erik Bergrin, and discuss Hedwig, lucid dreaming, and finding inspiration as a bored teen at Blockbuster.
Photo by Eva Mueller at the artist’s studio
What was your inspiration behind the costumes for the tour?
John came to me and said he was thinking about a costume that had this cubist, geometric, Trompe-l’œil, black and white thing happening that wasn’t Hedwig but Meta-Hedwig. As in, it has some reference to Hedwig in the costume and there should be panels that are removed during the show to become more boy in the end. He mentioned there was not going to be a built set, but that the costume should act somehow like a set–which was the sentence that made me convulse with excitement. I love doing huge wearable things, which I think is one of the reasons he came to me.
Initially I made tons of drawings of huge pieces on wheels that would drag behind him. All of these outfits packed with tricks such as a gigantic overcoat that would slowly come apart and piece by piece be thrown onto a giant magnet board behind him to reveal a story on the inside. Or this huge mirrored contraption that would come out backstage and be placed around John, and he would spin in a circle and the drawings on the costume would come to life in an animation reflected through the mirrors of the contraption. But I had to edit it down after every meeting and not let my imagination get carried away. I knew he was going to the Sydney Opera House, so I thought it would be fun to play with multiple overlapping triangle shapes. Basically my inspiration was working in these parameters, but still making it my own.
How did you get involved with the project?
I met John years ago as an extra on one of his films, “Shortbus.” We stayed in touch and I guess he thought of me after seeing the pictures from my latest art exhibition, Shadowwork. It is a series of 9 large figurative fiber sculptures, each about 7 feet tall. I have a background in costuming and I work as a costume tailor for Broadway shows, so I think it was the combination of my large costume work and the fact that I know how to create for the stage. I was working on the costumes at the same time as preparing for Shaddowwork. At a meeting with John, I met Mike Potter who did the wigs, hair, and makeup for Hedwig since the very beginning and we became very close. He was helping me with both shows and I was helping him with sewing the wigs. We worked closely, bouncing ideas off each other, so the wig and costume were from the same world. It made the whole process such a blast!
How did the idea of the gender binary and Hedwig’s transformation from female fantasy to undressed man come about?
I always felt that the film is more about finding yourself and less about gender or another person that can define you.
And speaking of Mike Potter who has been with the show since the beginning, the film and original show, I will quote him as a more qualified source…, “It’s like she gradually sheds her armor. Her costume and hair are almost a defense mechanism. But she comes to realize she doesn’t need any of the things that she think she needs. i.e. all her artifice, in order to be whole. She’s only whole when she’s stripped bare. It’s like being reborn.”
How does the idea of Hedwig’s iconic character come into the costume construction?
Hedwig was always famous for her brilliant handmade-style clothes and is now busting out on an international stage. Enjoying the spoils of her riches, she is debuting a next-level, more mature, steel-hued Meta-Hedwig look. Shining like the brightest star. The tour is called The Origin of Love, and when the show opens John comes out singing the titular song. The sleeves open up to reveal the faces from the origin of love animation, and when closed the front of the sleeves form Hedwig’s tattoo. Mike Potter’s wig and makeup are classic Hedwig, but aged to show her impending mortality, as he says in the show.
When you began your artistic career making costumes for the clubs in NYC while in school, did you ever think it would become a career in fine art/ performance?
I don’t think so? But I’m not sure because I never really had any goals. Which I know is unusual to say, but I never really did anything with a goal in the end. I started sewing when I started making costumes. Eventually, I put a book together of the things I made and got hired at a costume shop my friend was working in. Then I hopped to other shops and spent a long time working with really brilliant tailors. Every day I used to leave feeling terrible because I was working with super talented and experienced people and I wasn’t able to do anything properly. That kind of experience really humbles you when trying to learn. It taught me to put severe focus into everything, because I never wanted to have that feeling of a broken spirit when I left the shop. I soon realized that the fear of not wanting to feel like that caused a snowball effect that grew until it was impossible to do anything right. As soon as the tiny seed of fear was planted, I kept at it and at some point something shifted, and I can’t at all tell you when, but things seem to work like that with me.
Some of Erik’s early sketches of Hedwig’s transforming costume
Can you elaborate on how your background/education in psychology influenced your work on Hedwig?
I would say everything in my life up until I made this costume are causes and conditions for the way I designed it. All of the experiences in my past have subtle effects on how I design, so its difficult to distinguish how each particular experience directly influences me. I can, however, tell you that my psychology education brought me to my study of eastern philosophy and meditation, and lucid dreaming. One instance where lucid dreaming directly influenced the costume happened a couple of weeks into the project..
I was hitting a block when I was sketching. When I get stuck sometimes I’ll turn to my dream practice for advice. I do several exercises during the day that help me become aware of the fact I am dreaming when I am asleep. When you’re in a dream you’re in a subtle part of your subconscious, so there are all of these practices you can do to explore the darkness or shadows you have lurking in there. I was in the middle of a dream that had my best friend in it, who I have a deep and long history with, and I became lucid and turned to him to ask for help.
I turned to my friend and said, ”What should I do with my project?,” In a quick and desperate manner, because I wanted the answer before I woke up. Every time I leaned in close to ask him this question, his face morphed into wolf features. He wasn’t answering so I asked again, “WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY PROJECT?” The wolf morph happened again, and again he didn’t answer, so I asked a third time and this time we fell together off of a balcony to the ground floor. We were looking at each other and he said to me,”This is all I ever wanted. For you to be nice to me…” I completely froze and remained still for a minute, just staring, and it generated this incredibly raw feeling of tenderness. I immediately had my heart broken open. I woke up after a minute or so and even when recalling this now I get choked-up. It left me in a sensitive and vulnerable state. I woke up a minute later and the strong feeling was still there. I knew what I had to do was stop working from a mass of thoughts and references and just hold this feeling to guide my mind to make the decisions. I made some drawings from this place of vulnerability and it all came together that day. I trust any design that comes from that place. I had so many moments like that when I was making, “Shaddowwork.” These experiences have taught me my creativity is best accessed from a place of vulnerability and tenderness.
What was it like working with John Cameron Mitchell?
Magical. He’s the perfect mixture of professionalism and fun. He is super sharp, always coming up with new puns. Working with someone who can bring a costume to life so magically is so valuable. I had my idea of what the costume would look like on him, and then he would try it on and animate it in a whole new way. You just have to surrender to the magic because it’s so much greater than anything you could have come up with in your head. It forces you to detach yourself from your original ideas. Something like that can only come from someone who has the magic.
When did you first watch Hedwig and the Angry Inch (the movie or the Broadway adaptation) and what did you feel from that experience?
I think I was 18 on a really boring vacation in Florida with family, and I rented it from Blockbuster video. VHS. My sister fell asleep and I watched it alone, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it the next day. I don’t think I fully understood all of it, but was so mesmerized by the way it looked and sounded, that I watched it a couple of times in the 2 days. The songs stayed with me. I got the soundtrack and the more I listened to the soundtrack the more I wanted to watch the film, and the more I watched the film the more I wanted to listen to it.
What was it like working with the legendary rock ‘n’ roll photographer Mick Rock?
It feels like you’re working with a legend. Reading about his background and everyone he’s been on tour with and the iconic shots he has photographed, it’s all in him as soon as he walks in the room. He had amazing stories; I could listen to them all day.
What was the inspiration behind the photoshoot and video?
The goal was to really capture this next interpretation of Hedwig in an amazing way. This is a whole new direction for the character, which was truly born for The stage. Mick Rock, who already shot one of the penultimate Hedwig photos as well as so many other iconic rock photographs, was the perfect photographer to capture it.
As an artist and costume designer, what is your goal with each piece? What do you want the viewer to take away from your work’s message?
I definitely made Shadowwork as a way to get something out of me. I know there are ways to merge the dream state and the conscious state. I’ve read a lot of about it and have experienced glimpses where the lines were almost blurred. It’s like lucid dreaming. When you become lucid in the dream state you can call out to different shadows in your subconscious. Shadowwork was one of my ways of doing this in the waking state. Building this series of my own mental hell in order to get it out and confront it. So one of the larger goals is to merge the dream state and the waking state.
For this costume, I think I just wanted to live up to the legacy of Hedwig and make the fans excited and proud.
What can we expect next from you? Are you going to collaborate further with John Cameron Mitchell on any other projects? Or Mick Rock?
I am currently doing a book called WORDS AND PICTURES about my Shaddowwork series consisting of stories, drawings, and photos… and about John and Mick: I HOPE SO!!!!!!!!
SOCIAL WORK – THE NYC FASHION BRAND FUSING EASTERN REVOLUTION AND WESTERN REBELLION
The SS19 presentation of Social Work, the brainchild of Qi Wang and Chenghui Zhang, was presented this past June on the sewing room floor of a factory in the New York City garment district. The Spring/Summer collection was modeled on the actual workers of the factory as well as traditional models, blurring the lines between manufacturer and consumer, proletariat and bourgeoisie.
Both Wang and Zhang met at Parsons, where they graduated in 2017 from the fashion design program, after interning for such brands as Ralph Lauren and 3.1 Phillip Lim. During their time at Parsons, Zhang was awarded the Hugo Boss Scholarship and went on to be featured in the likes of Vogue Italia & High Snobiety.
Much of Social Work’s designs involve the inventive manipulation of textiles and silhouettes. In their S/S 19 collection, their inspiration comes from 60s youth-oriented counterculture in the western world and the concurrent Great Cultural Revolution that happened in China, and the distinct contrast of sociopolitical changes presented by these two sides.
In the Western world, new cultures, lifestyles, and anti-authoritarian movements were booming. The influence of government was undermined. While in China, the whole country was enveloped by the political terrorism pursuing the “true communist ideology.” Many of the silhouettes in this collection combine the western 60s mod styles with Chinese workwear uniforms, and designed for both genders, incorporating slogans from George Orwell’s 1984.
The resulting collection is a mash-up of the muted tones and unique prints of 1960’s home decor and the symbolic bright red and austere, traditional clothing of the working communist. The Social Work lookbook images offer a clear artistic representation of the tension between rebel and revolutionary.
Photography by Chris Shoonover and Jonathan Schoonover | Makeup by Agnes Shen | Hair by Akira Nagano
FASHION’S BIGGEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR: THE 2018 MET GALA
By: Sarah Conboy
From Left to Right: Bella Hadid, Kim Kardashian, and Kendall Jenner
On Monday, May 7th, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City hosted its annual gala in conjunction with the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Sponsored by Versace, Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman, and Condé Nast, the exhibition’s theme is “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” The show traces fashion’s connection to Catholicism, including pieces from designers such as Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian LaCroix, and more. As a special addition, the show presents a number of garments and accessories loaned from the Vatican’s collection at the Sistine Chapel sacristy.
Spanning not only the Costume Center, but the Byzantine and medieval galleries at The Met 5th Avenue and The Met Cloisters uptown, “Heavenly Bodies” was organized by Andrew Bolton, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute. This year’s co-chairs included Rihanna (who dressed for the Gala in a papal-inspired look by Maison Margiela), Amal Clooney (dressed in a Richard Quinn, recent recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design), Donatella Versace (dressed in a beaded Atelier Versace number), and of course, Anna Wintour (dressed in a glittering Chanel Haute Couture gown).
Rihanna in custom Maison Martin Margiela
Frances McDormand in Valentino Haute Couture
Guests included a number of A-List celebrities and public figures. Kate Moss attended for the first time since 2009, showcasing her supermodel figure in a short, black Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress. Other models making a cameo at the Gala were the likes of Kendall Jenner, the Hadid sisters, Ashley Graham, and Joan Smalls. Virgins to The Met Gala—pun intended—included debuts from Cardi B (guest of Moschino’s Jeremy Scott), and SZA. Other musicians at the Gala were man-of-the-moment Donald Glover, Solange Knowles, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry. A number of award-winning actors came, from George Clooney (supporting wife and co-chair Amal) to Blake Lively, Frances McDormand, and Chadwick Boseman amongst many more. On the designer front, the Olsen twins, of The Row, attended, as well as Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, and Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, accompanied by muses Jared Leto and Lana Del Rey. Couples Hailey Baldwin and Shawn Mendes, and Elon Musk and Grimes, made their first public appearances at the event.
Once inside, guests were treated to a seated dinner, and a preview of the exhibition before it officially opens to the public. As we imagined, the night closed with an on-theme performance by Madonna, who aptly sang “Like a Prayer” and “Hallelujah.” A number of after-parties were thrown to continue the festivities, most notably a post-Gala party hosted by Donatella Versace at the Mark Hotel.
“Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” officially opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 10th, and will run through October 8th.
Madonna in custom Jean Paul Gaultier
Lana Del Rey in custom Gucci
Jennifer Lopez in custom Balmain accompanied by Alex Rodriguez
A FLAWLESS NIGHT: LONG LIVE THE QUEEN
The Town Hall presents: A FLAWLESS NIGHT: LONG LIVE THE QUEEN A Tribute to Flawless Mother Sabrina on Thursday May 10, 2018 at 8pm Featuring A 50th Anniversary Screening of the Landmark Documentary The Queen, The Pioneering Producer’s Drag Show Beauty Pageant, Filmed at The Town Hall in 1968 For more information and to purchase tickets please go here
The Queen 1968 film poster
In 1967, Jack Doroshow, aka Flawless Sabrina, produced and hosted a legendary drag pageant at The Town Hall in New York. It was documented in the film, The Queen, and selected for the Cannes Film Festival. The film came to be regarded as a landmark of queer culture.
The Queen captures the groundbreaking (and law-breaking) spirit of Flawless Sabrina, who began producing drag shows in 1959 and continued on for a decade afterward. Crisscrossing the country, Flawless mounted dozens of local shows each year where many queens – including Divine – performed in drag for the first time. Andy Warhol saw a performance in Pittsburgh and helped locate a benefactor to fund a film of the “Miss All America Beauty Pageant” at the Town Hall, and The Queen was released in 1968.
Fifty years after the release of The Queen, the Town Hall and the children of Flawless Mother Sabrina celebrate their legacy. This special event, hosted by Linda Simpson, will feature a rare theatrical screening of The Queen plus performances by Taylor Mac, Justin Vivian Bond with Nath Ann Carrera, The House of LaBeija, Julie Atlas Muz, Tigger!, Brandon Olson, Poison Eve, DJ Sammy Jo, and more, joined for one special night to pay homage to a New York City icon, mentor and mother.
Zackary Drucker, transgender artist and producer of the TV series Transparent will be on stage to introduce the film. Says Drucker: “The Queen is an invaluable relic of a bygone era that is sparsely documented.The history of drag queens and trans people is largely an oral history, but The Queen is a rare window into our community pre-Stonewall, when it was still illegal to cross dress.”
Over the years, Flawless Sabrina served as mother and mentor to hundreds of artists and musicians like Drucker, and as an inspiration to countless more people who visited her salon/home on the Upper East Side. Flawless Sabrina’s activism and compassion for others created reverberations that can be felt and observed to this day, from the continued tradition of drag performativity on RuPaul’s Drag Race, to having influenced the U.S. government to ensure trans people could change the gender marker on their passports.
On November 18, 2017, Flawless Sabrina, one of the loudest and proudest voices for the LGBTQ community, passed away at age 78. The Town Hall event honors Sabrina’s fearless commitment to art and individuality, reflected in the motto: “If it doesn’t make you nervous, it ain’t worth doing.”
For more information and to purchase tickets please go here
A portion of the proceeds from A Flawless Night: Long Live The Queen benefits Ali Forney Center in its mission to protect LGBTQ youths from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently. Since AFC’s launch with just six beds in a church basement in New York City, the organization has grown to become the largest agency dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youths in the country – assisting nearly 1,400 youths per year through a 24-hour Drop-In Center which provides 70,000 meals annually, medical and mental health services through an on-site clinic, and a scattered site housing program.
Bulgari x KNOWAutism – Houston Charity Event
Iris Covet Book had the privilege of attending a Bulgari-hosted charity event in their beautiful Houston Galleria boutique. The event was in support of the Houston-based organization ‘KNOWAutism,’ where a portion of sales proceeds was donated to the charity. Dr Sippi Khurana, Stephanie von Stein, and Meghan Bailey (Director of Luxury for Simon Malls) curated the “Bulgari’s Favorite Things” jewelry chosen to showcase that evening. Up-and-coming opera singer Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen performed, and it was clear why he has been inducted as the first ever countertenor to the Houston Grand Opera Studio. The 23-year-old gave a stunning performance of two arias that left the audience on the brink of tears. KNOWAutism used the opportunity to spread awareness of their work and ongoing mission.
Above: Opera singer Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen
The organization was founded in 2013 with the goal of helping families of children with autism better navigate the process of diagnosis, treatment, intervention, and education. Efforts were initially focused on creating an online library of resources, connecting families with support and services, and raising awareness about autism, especially in communities with language barriers.
In the past 4 years, KNOWAutism has funded numerous projects in the community, both large and small. Early on, KNOWAutism recognized the need for a specialized center in Houston that could provide comprehensive assessments, diagnosis, and early intervention for children with autism. To meet this need, the Foundation provided funding to help launch The Stewart Center at The Westview School in 2013. A few years later, KA provided a small grant to Centro De Autismo Cozumel in Mexico for their autism diagnostic program. In partnership with the Pasadena Rotary Foundation, the grant covered diagnostic testing for 400 children at the center.
Above: Dr. Sippi Khurana
As the organization became more established, they shifted their focus to providing direct financial assistance to families and supporting community efforts to serve special needs children. In the past three years, KNOWAutism has also created community partnerships that serve autistic children and their families. The largest of these partnerships is with TUTS/The River, through which they helped create the Community Arts Residencies, which has brought inclusive fine arts education into elementary school campuses. KNOWAutism also stepped up to serve the Houston community in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. In addition to coordinating donations to the community, KNOWAutism also partnered with special education teachers whose homes and/or classrooms were damaged by the storm to help them replace needed supplies for their public-school students. With a grant from the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, KNOWAutism was able to provide additional financial assistance for therapeutic treatments and care related to autism for families impacted by the disaster.
KNOWAutism is adapting to meet the evolving needs of the autism community, as well as the Houston community as a whole. Their commitment to continuing to serve the ASD community today, tomorrow, and every day to come is truly inspiring and will greatly benefit Houston for years to come.
For more information, including how to donate, please visit www.know-autism.org.
New York—Pace Gallery and Pace/MacGill Gallery are honored to announce their representation of The Richard Avedon Foundation with an exhibition of Richard Avedon’s photographs and extensive archival materials drawn from Nothing Personal, Avedon’s 1964 collaboration with James Baldwin. This will be the first comprehensive presentation of this period of Avedon’s work and will be on view at 537 West 24th Street from November 17, 2017 through January 13, 2018. To coincide with the occasion, TASCHEN will republish a facsimile edition of Nothing Personal with an accompanying booklet containing a new introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Hilton Als and rare and unpublished Avedon photographs.Native New Yorkers Richard Avedon (1923-2004) and James Baldwin (1924-1987) met as students at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx in the late 1930s. They became friends while writing for and editing The Magpie, the school’s literary magazine. Even as teenagers, they, in their writing, dealt with profound issues of race, mortality, and, as Avedon wrote, “the future of humanity” as World War II closed in on them.
In January of 1963, Avedon photographed Baldwin for a magazine assignment and suggested that they work on a book about life in America. Baldwin readily agreed. “This book,” said Baldwin at the time, “examines some national and contemporary phenomena in an attempt to discover why we live the way we do. We are afflicted by an ignorance of our natures vaster and more dangerous than our ignorance of life on Mars.”
Corresponding frequently with Baldwin, Avedon traveled extensively in 1963 and 1964 photographing portraits for the book while Baldwin wrote the essay. They met up periodically to share and discuss their progress. The collaboration resulted in some of Avedon’s most pivotal portraiture of his middle career, from civil rights icons (Malcolm X) to staunch segregationists (George Wallace); to aging stars (Joe Louis) and young fame seekers (Fabian); to powerful politicians (Adam Clayton Powell) and ordinary citizens; to young idealists (Julian Bond) and elderly pacifists (Norman Thomas); to patients committed to a mental institution who seek love, comfort, and some semblance of consideration.
At the core of the photographs – almost all of which will be on view at Pace Gallery – is the question of how Americans understand race relations and their own identities, and, by extension, the identities and civil rights of others.
“Both Avedon and Baldwin cared deeply about what was (or was not) going on in America in the early 1960s. It was an explosive time, not unlike the one we live in today. The events enveloping our country provoked Avedon’s careful reflection and examination of the place and its people. There is a lot to learn from looking at this prophetic work and considering the very profound statement it makes.”—Peter MacGill
Nothing Personal was originally designed by Marvin Israel and published by Atheneum in November of 1964 under the aegis of legendary editor Simon Michael Bessie. Though denounced at the time of publication, Nothing Personal is now recognized as a masterwork whose powerful message of a confused and often compromised society seeking fleeting moments of joy, grace and occasional redemption remains equally relevant more than a half-century later.
Richard Avedon (1932–was born in New York City in 1923 and joined the Young Men’s Hebrew Association camera club at the age of 12. After serving as a Photographer’s Mate Second Class in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, he began working as a freelance photographer, primarily for Harper’s Bazaar, in 1944. Under the tutelage of Alexey Brodovitch, Avedon quickly became the magazine’s lead photographer, while also creating formal portraits for many other sources, including his own portfolio.
First showcased in Edward Steichen’s Family of Man exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in 1955, Avedon’s work has appeared in numerous exhibitions worldwide. His first retrospective was held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,
D.C. in 1962 and was followed by solo exhibitions at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (1970), The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1974), the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (1985), and the Whitney Museum of American Art (1994), among others. Avedon was the first living photographer to receive two shows at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1978 and 2002).
Avedon died while working on an assignment called “Democracy” for The New Yorker during the 2004 presidential election. During his lifetime, he established The Richard Avedon Foundation in New York City, which now houses his archive and works with curators and collectors around the world.
Pace/MacGill, one of the world’s leading photography galleries has been dedicated to advancing fine art photography for over 30 years. Known for discovering artists, representinv masters, and placing important collections and archives into major public institutions, Pace/MacGill has presented some 200 exhibitions and published numerous catalogues on modern and contemporary photography. Founded in 1983 by Peter MacGill, in collaboration with Arne Glimcher of Pace and Richard Solomon of Pace Editions, Pace/MacGill is located at 32 East 57th Street in New York City.
Pace is a leading contemporary art gallery representing many of the most significant international artists and estates of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Founded by Arne Glimcher in Boston in 1960 and currently led by Marc Glimcher, Pace has been a constant, vital force in the art world and has introduced many renowned artists’ work to the public for the first time. Pace has mounted more than 900 exhibitions, including scholarly shows that have subsequently traveled to museums, and published over 450 exhibition catalogues. Today, Pace has nine locations worldwide: three galleries in New York; one in London; one in Palo Alto, California; one in Beijing; and spaces in Hong Kong, Paris, and Seoul. In 2016, the gallery launched Pace Art + Technology, a new program dedicated to showcasing interdisciplinary art groups, collectives and studios whose works explore the confluence of art and technology.
For nearly 60 years, David Hockney (British, born 1937) has pursued a singular career with a love for painting and its intrinsic challenges. A major retrospective at The Metropolitan Museum of Art—the show’s only North American venue, opening November 27, 2017—honors the artist in the year of his 80th birthday by presenting his most iconic works and key moments of his career from 1960 to the present. Working in a wide range of media with equal measures of wit and intelligence, Hockney, has examined, probed, and questioned how to capture the perceived world of movement, space, and time in two dimensions. The exhibition David Hockney will offer a grand overview of the artist’s achievements across all media, including painting, drawing, photography, and video. From his early engagement with modernist abstraction and mid-career experiments with illusion and realism, to his most recent, jewel-toned landscapes, Hockney has consistently explored the nature of perception and representation with both intellectual rigor and sheer delight in the act of looking.
Born in West Yorkshire, where he attended the local Bradford School of Art, Hockney moved to London in 1959 to study at the Royal College of Art. His career is distinguished as much by early successes as by his willingness to flaunt conventions both societal and artistic. Hockney’s works from the 1960s brazenly reference homoerotic subject matter, from Walt Whitman to Physique Pictorial muscle magazines, while his dedication to figuration throughout his career runs against the grain of predominant art world trends on both sides of the Atlantic.
Many fine examples of Hockney’s work from California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as his double portraits from New York, London, and Los Angeles, show the artist’s interest in the tension that exists in social relationships and the difficulty of depicting transparent material such as glass and water. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hockney turned to a brightly hued palette and fractured, cubistic perspective that mirrors both his interest in Pablo Picasso and his own experiments with Polaroid photography. In recent decades, Hockney has ventured outdoors to paint the changeable landscapes of his native Yorkshire across the seasons, while simultaneously returning to the study of figures in social groupings. Keenly interested in scientific innovations in the aid of art, Hockney recently experimented with an old technology: he created a series of portrait drawings using a camera lucida, first employed by artists in the Renaissance to render one-point perspective. He has also always embraced new technologies, including the possibilities for colorful composition offered by applications on the iPhone and iPad. Examples of the artist’s experiments in that medium will be included in the galleries. The exhibition ends with his most recent, near neon-toned landscapes, painted in the last three years in Southern California, where he returned to live in 2013. The Met presentation marks the first time the series will be exhibited publicly in the United States. Even to the most committed follower of Hockney’s art, the unprecedented unification of his renowned early works with the newest, will be revelatory.
Exhibition Dates:
November 27, 2017– February 25, 2018 Exhibition Location:
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Galleries,
Gallery 999
At The Met, David Hockney is curated by Ian Alteveer, Curator, with assistance from Meredith Brown, Research Associate, both in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art.
The exhibition is made possible in part by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Jay Pritzker Foundation, the Jane and Robert Carroll Fund, and the Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed Fund. It is supported by an Indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. It is organized collaboratively by Tate Britain, London; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated, scholarly catalogue published by Tate
