I think the Marc Jacobs Fall 09 Collection Looks inspired by Jeremy Scott....

Jeremy Scott Spring 07

Mark Jacobs Fall 09

Jeremy Scott Spring 07

Jeremy Scott Spring 09

Marc Jacobs Fall 09

Jeremy Scott....several seasons ago....
Marc Jacobs Fall 09

Marc Jacobs Fall 09

What do you think? Am I reaching? It just seems very much in the vein of Jeremy Scott....

Ralph Ginzburg

In one of those lives I have lived, I was supposed to be a graphic designer or art director of some sort. I still have a very particular adoration for design and typography. I feel the choice of a font is one of the most important elements in visual communication. A particular font really "speaks," sends a feeling, emotion, state of mind...... And it is also important to take delicate care of a font, each letter, ala the craft of kerning in typography which seems a bit of a lost art these days.

Ginzburg's partner in crime was Herbert F. Lubalin who created one of my very favorite typefaces, Avant Garde, the same name given to one of their amazing, short-lived publications in the late 60s.

"It is characterized by geometrically perfect round strokes; short, straight lines; and an extremely large number of ligatures and negative kerning."


I love a rebel, and that was indeed Ginzburg. A very brilliant rebel who cared about the details... His writings and bold statements (many of which brought him serious trouble with the law) were perfectly visually communicated. If I could wriggle my nose ala Bewitched to magically dive into his magazines to live , I would be incredibly happy.

LECTURE CANCELLED! MARY KELLY @ The Hammer Museum on Thursday

It was cancelled. Not sure why.... :(We live and participate in this age of over-achievers striving for the "ultimate" in career and personal trajectories. There are the pedigrees of education, one's "title" in the workplace, an idealistic love life, family, and capitalist status symbols. We make ourselves crazy. That is my rant for the moment. Segueing to:

Without a doubt Mary Kelly is one of the most important (female) artists of our time. Her Post-Partum Document was a bit of a scandal in the 1970s. A book of the work was later published in the 1980s which has images of her artwork along with often daily writings from a set period of time after giving birth. Her insights are as valuable today as they were 30 years ago. Her writing of the balance in being a nurturing woman in the traditional sense juxtaposed with the mixed bag of guilt vs. fulfillment she receives from her art and work are what most of us can truly understand, both male and female. Of course there is even more than PPD to consider.

As artist Dan Graham said in his MoCA conversation last week, "Every artist should also be a writer," Mary Kelly is indeed that and more. Her work is art, analysis, and essential.

You have the opportunity to hear her speak (for free) in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum this THURSDAY.

FEB 26 THU 7:00pm
Hammer Lectures

UCLA Department of Art: Mary Kelly

Mary Kelly has contributed extensively to the discourse of feminism and postmodernism through her large-scale narrative installations and theoretical writings. Her recent exhibitions include the 2008 Biennale of Sydney; Documenta XII, Kassel, 2007; WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2007; and the 2004 Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. She is the author of Post-Partum Document (1983) and Imaging Desire (1996). She is a professor in the Department of Art at UCLA.

Free Food For Your Brain This Week in LA

Feed your mind and get out there to show support of some great ladies (and men). While I cannot fathom going back to school, I do miss the regular experience of learning and feeding of the mind. Why not get up off your sofa or leave work in time in order to take advantage of the amazing and free benefits of living in the big city.

FEB 23 MON 7:00pm
Hammer Lectures

Sally Singer

Conscientious Consumption: Sustainability and the Future of Luxury

Los Angeles has always been the fashion world's barometer of lifestyle shifts. Sally Singer, the fashion news and features director of Vogue, asks four leading Los Angeles designers about their strategies, aesthetics, and philosophies in response to extraordinary environmental and economic changes. What is the modern relationship between the ethical and the luxurious (for designer and consumer)? Singer will be joined by renowned jewelry designer Tom Binns; the "Godfather of Denim" and Goldsign designer, Adriano Goldschmied; Dosa founder and designer, Christina Kim; and Kate Mulleavy, one of the design duo behind Rodarte. The discussion will be followed by a Q & A session.

Inpired by Kittens

Dan Graham: Beyond at MOCA

The MOCA conversation with Dan Graham last Sunday was a rare experience--an intimate and lively two hours with the artist and his friends/collaborators Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth as they discussed and answered questions on a variety of subjects such as mutual inspirations, contemporary art and its evolution, feminism, higher education in the arts, rock and roll, their admiration of the Los Angeles art community, and many subjects....beyond. Over 3,000 people!!!! came out on Saturday for the opening and were treated to a performance by Kim Gordon & Thurston Moore.

Go see the exhibition with a friend and support MOCA...

The last sitting

Gray's Anatomy

(click it to see it bigger)

True

“Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.”--Carl Jung

Appalachia: this land is your land

"Isolated pockets in Central Appalachia have three times the national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, the shortest life span in the nation, toothlessness, cancer, and chronic depression."

The topic is in my mind often and this Diane Sawyer piece coming up Friday night hits my heart.

The Appalachian mountains are a land of such beauty, heart, and song.

Maybe I "feel" it being a Southern person, but wherever you are from, these are "our" people and this is "our" land.

If you've ever been in the Appalachian mountains, you know what I mean. The scenery is quite stunning. Stopping in some tiny town along your way, you'll never find nicer and more hospitable folks. But somehow our country has turned a blind eye to these people for years and years--making them a cliche joke. They are ignored and disrespected as people. There land is continuously raped. Appalachian mountaintops are literally removed and thousands of miles of streams are poisoned due to blasting for coal instead of the more tedious process of mining.

Yes, many of the people eat junk food, but it is because sadly it is cheaper to feed your family soda than it is to buy milk. Its "smarter" and cheaper economically to buy processed or canned foods than fresh. If you've ever road-tripped or camped off the beaten path and gone into some little grocery store, you would find a lot of the vegetables and fruit are on the verge of being spoiled, if not already ridden with spots and mold. I am NOT exaggerating (aside from the South, I found this to be the case in small towns in the Mid-West--try visiting a reservation not linked to a casino). Obviously the markets are not throwing out bad food and replacing it with the spotless, shiny choices as we are so accustomed.

Many folks in Appalachia and other poorer parts of this country are addicted to Mtn. Dew. Its cheap and its basically an inexpensive anti-depressant with all that sugar and caffeine. If you are tired and hungry and barely have food of substance in your system, your body can keep going a bit on soda before the bad crash. But then you need it again, and there we have the addictive cycle which starts often with toddlers.

Why are they toothless? Not because they are ignorant. It is because of their diet and economics. The soda acid and sugar eats away at their teeth. If you have only a few dollars, you are going to put clothes on your kids and a roof over their head instead of going to an expensive dentist. It is basic survival my friends.

"With no car and no public transportation, Angel walks 16 miles, roundtrip, four hours total, to her GED class."

Sure, in this economy we are all hunkering down a bit. We contemplate dining at home (on say, organic baby greens and gourmet cheese) to save money instead of going out for dinner. Most of us just don't have to make these very real choices.

How has this region been ignored for so long? Maybe it is because it is off the beaten track, not some impoverished block of streets within a major city. I don't know the reasons, I just wonder how much longer they will be ignored.....

Thanks to fellow steel magnolia Diane Sawyer for working on this piece for the past 2 years.

A Hidden America: Children of Appalachia: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=6845770&page=1

The bad process of mountain top removal: http://www.ilovemountains.org/resources/#whatismtr

Sonia Rykiel Sweets

So cute....Marie Antionette meets cupcake icing meets dolly eyelashes meets lovely. A little sweetness to cover your peepers.

SYMPTOMS OF LOVE, by Robert Graves

"Love is universal migraine, / A bright stain on the vision / Blotting out reason.
Symptoms of true love / Are leanness, jealousy, / Laggard dawns;
Are omens and nightmares - / Listening for a knock, / Waiting for a sign:
For a touch of her fingers / In a darkened room, / For a searching look.
Take courage, lover! / Could you endure such pain / At any hand but hers"

Bisous

Putin denies dancing to Abba hits

An Abba tribute band says it has performed a private concert for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Bjorn Again says it was paid £20,000 to play the gig 200 miles (320km) north of Moscow on 22 January.

Bjorn Again's manager Rod Stephen and other band members said Mr Putin danced to Abba hits and shouted "Bravo!"

The PM's spokesman denied the claim. Mr Putin - a former KGB spy who has a black belt in judo - is known in Russia and the West for his macho image.

The Silver Fox in North America and Europe....

The Silver Fox is considered a handsome animal. During the autumn and winter, the Silver Fox may grow more fur. This so-called "winter fur" keeps the animal warm in the colder environment. The Silver Fox sheds this fur at the onset of spring, reverting back to the short fur for the duration of the summer.

Silver Foxes are largely carnivorous. They do also eat some plant material, especially blackberries, apples, plums, figs, and other fruit.

Socially, the Silver Fox is a kind and highly intelligent creature who communicates with body language and a variety of vocalizations. Its vocal range is quite large and its noises vary.

The Silver Fox has been considered a heterosexual and monogamous species. The Silver Fox breeding period varies widely due to its broad distribution; southern populations breed from December to January, central populations from January to February and northern populations from February to April.