Rose Jang: Korean American Diva

That's my friend, Rose Jang!
;)

Studio Film Club: GOOD HAIR (Jeff Stilson/USA/2009/96')

If you're into art this is one of the most fun things to do in Trinidad! Hosted by Chae Lovelace and Peter Doig, there's a little party before and after the film that's, as they say here in America, "priceless" :)



studiofilmclub
Building 7
Fernandes Industrial Centre
Eastern Main Road
Laventille
Port of Spain

Thursday April 1st

Free for all!

GOOD HAIR (Jeff Stilson/USA/2009/96')

I was raised in hair. Or, to put it more specifically, my mother was a hairdresser. In Brooklyn. In the mid-to-late nineteen-sixties. She never worked in what many hairdressers now refer to as their "salon"; she saw customers in what she called "the shop." Location: the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. Every day after school, I went to the shop to do my homework, and to escort her home. (My mother never understood the New York subway system.) There was something deeply cozy, feminine, and conspiratorial about hanging out at the shop; one not only heard gossip about neighbors; one heard hope being aired. About children, and job possibilities, and boyfriends, and dreams. The air smelled of Bergamont and relaxed or appeased egos. My mother had so many customers, she could never remember their names, she called them all Honey, and they melted under her attention. Eudora Welty brings this atmosphere to life in her great short story, "The Petrified Man," and the director Jeff Stilson reflects the humorous side of it in "Good Hair" (2009), starring the Mark Twain of urban lore, Chris Rock. "Good Hair," exams black women and their social and emotional preoccupation with the concept let alone the reality of...good hair, which is always Indian straight (when not actually a weave comprised of female hair imported from India), because it's been "relaxed." The cameras follow Rock as he makes his way to a barbershop in Harlem, and a hair college in the deep South, all in an attempt to understand black female self-image. Along the way, he and his crew come across a number of characters who add pathos to the enterprise, such as a white man who lives to service black hair, and a black man who prefers to wear women's boots, especially when he's styling a number of women at a hair competition held every year in Atlanta. In the film, Rock also interviews Maya Angelou, who says that a woman's hair is her crowning glory--and her family's. What not many people knew until "Good Hair," hit the screen are the ways in which, among some women and their admirers, hair is not only a crown, but, with the right stylist, it can also be made to resemble a bridge, a house, and a motorway, combined. Hilton Als 2010

The Sharjah Art Foundation Prize

Open call for submissions starts now for the Sharjah Art Foundation Prize! Grants up to $100,000 for projects "that will transform our understanding of what art isand how it can be experienced."

Philipp Jung in Tribeca NYC

My friend Philipp Jung djed last night in Tribeca. This wasn't what it was last night, but gives a good idea. Same rolling up of T-shirt sleeves and dancing dancing dancing ;)
You can see the artists Philipp and his partner Patrick represent on their site http://physical-music.com/
He'll be performing this weekend at the Winter Music Conference in Miami

Tom Wesselmann

There are some artists that passed and you just wish you had had the chance to meet them. Delacroix is one of them. Tom Wesselmann is another. I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the artist's estate yesterday with Rick Librizzi, a long time friend of the artist. Mind-blowing the body of work he left behind; the shaped canvases, the art historical references (art works within art works), the sculpture, the drawings. What ecstasy! I love that he loved women. It shows in his work. Surely undervalued by the market, this may change in the next few years as his work is shared with the world through big museum exhibitions like the one Christie's Haunch of Venison gallery put up last year. Thanks to Rick, Claire and Monica who made me feel so comfortable there!
Image Courtesy: http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/20000/6539/114241/yvon-lambert-new-york/exhibition/tom-wesselman-drop-out/

12 the Band Performing in NYC

Sheldon Holder of 12 is in NYC performing again. His band 12 from Trinidad has made some inroads in crossover music, singing songs that appeal to an audience that is international while still maintaining their roots in the Caribbean.

Tuesday March 23rd Arlene's Grocery 95 Stanton St NYC 11pm

Wednesday March 24th 169 Bar 169 East Broadway NYC

Saturday March 27th L'Orange Bleue- 430 Broome St (corner of Crosby St.) NYC

Friday April 2nd Zebulon 258 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NYC

Saturday April 3rd L'Orange Bleue- 430 Broome St (corner of Crosby St.) NYC

Monday April 5th Nublu-62 Ave C btwn 4th and 5th Sts, NYC

For more information email 12theband@gmail.com

Art for a Cause at the French Consulate

The Consul General of France hosted a charity gala to benefit Edeyo Foundation and Harlem Academy. In addition to a silent and live auction organized by Sotheby's there were live musical performances by a range of brilliant artists. One of them, Francis Jocky, had the crowd dancing. Here are some pictures from that performance and a video of the artist.

Image Credit: Koko Entertainment

A Good - Honest - Interview with Photography Dealer Deborah Bell

Lots of fodder here for thought from Deborah Bell, not only about photography, but the contemporary art world and the art world in general. Great job Brian Appel!

Photo of Esther Bubly by Gordon Parks,
[Esther Bubley at Bayway Oil Refinery],
December 1944
Courtesy of Esther Bubley and
Kathleen Ewing Gallery (33)
LC-USZ62-121073
from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/wcf/wcf0012.html

Urban Girl Squad: Fun things to do in NYC with Girls

Urban Girl Squad threw a fun party at the Hudson Hotel and though strange at first it was fun to be in the company of ONLY women for a change. There were fabulous gift bags and a wonderful host in Amanda Hofman. You can read more about UGS on their blog.

The Joan Quinn Profiles

Joan Agajanian Quinn of The Joan Quinn Profiles took these wonderful photos of the exhibition. You can watch her program which features artists, musicians, film and fashion personalities as well as various travel destinations on cable or online.

Armory After Party At MoMA

I'm a docent at the Armory and spent the whole day at the fair. Though tired I still made it to the after party at MoMA, and was one of the last to leave, the dj Justin Miller was so good! My friend Mary Ann Strandell took a pic of Chuck Close and me.

Empire State of Mind Exhibition Film by Derrick B Harden

ESOM: Photos by Kristin Anderson

Success is sunshine and happy artists! Like children, if they're happy, I'm happy! Thanks to everyone who came out last night to support Empire State of Mind at the Chelsea Hotel. It goes till March 7, Sunday, so if you missed it, come!
Thanks to our generous sponsors Bud Select and Select 55. We enjoyed it!

Empire State of Mind: The Exhibition's Inspiration

Check out the OFFICIAL VIDEO for "Empire State of Mind" Jay-Z | Alicia Keys! Visit www.Jay-Z.com for all Jay-Z News and Updates!

TONIGHT! 6-9 pm opening
The Chelsea Hotel
218 West 23rd Street Entrance (ground level)
Between 7 and 8 Aves