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Entries tagged with 'So80s'
Posted Apr. 2, 2008,
Tseng Kwong Chi Opening at Paul Kasmin in NYC Tonight!
By Ann Magnuson
If I were in NYC I'd be at Paul Kasmin Gallery tonight when the resurrection of the late, great photographer Tseng Kwong Chi begins! (If you have PAPER's March issue laying around read my L.A. Woman column for the inside scoop!) Kwong was a dear friend of mine during the glory days of Downtown NYC and we shared a lot of laughs (and tears) from 1979 until his untimely death from AIDS in 1990. According to the gallery's press release, the show will be "a comprehensive survey of Tseng’s pioneering series of self-portraits featuring 100 large-scale, black-and-white photographs, some of which will be on view for the first time."
Kwong Chi had a magnificent eye and an equally magnificent sense of humor. Dressed in a vintage Communist Mao suit he would insinuate himself into iconic American (and worldwide) landscapes creating arresting tableaux that are simultaneously ironic and beautiful. Check 'em out! (And try to make the opening which I'm told will be a scene reminiscent of the good ole daze. I'm so bummed I can't be there! But I'll just commune with Kwong's delightful spirit here on the left coast, somewhere under the Hollywood sign!) FYI to those of you across the pond: the show will also be in London from April 15-May 31 at Ben Brown Fine Arts!
More about the show (which runs until May 3) from the Paul Kasmin Gallery:
Posted Jan. 2, 2008,
May The Muses of Xanadu Visit You in '08!
By Ann Magnuson
Gotta love those long-limbed dancers! (Leg warmers notwithstanding.) I remember seeing this movie when it played at the legendary St. Mark's Cinema ( closed to make way for, you guessed it, The Gap.) It was a midnight show and packed. We laughed our ironic butts off -- just like folks are supposedly doing at the camp revival on Broadway now. Irony aside, there is something very life-affirming about this clip. Good for beginning the New Year! May you all be inspired by your favorite muse all during 2008! (I just hope my muse can dance better than Olivia Newton-John, fetching though she may be... especially on those roller skates.)
Posted Dec. 21, 2007,
New York City Still Kooky After All These Years!
By Ann Magnuson
I'm happy to report my trip to NYC included one of those old-fashioned blow-out parties like the kind they used to throw in the '80s. With Johnny Dynell spnning the platters! (Except this time we were stone cold sober. Therefore we had to leave early. If you're not drinking, druggin' or hookin' up there's just so much standing around you can do -- even if there's plenty of eye candy in the room). Thankfully other participants weren't so staid. At Susanne Bartsch and David Barton's Toy Drive soirée last week the fun and the fabulous donned their gay (and gay-friendly) apparel and shook their collective groove thing until the wee hours. In photo at right is the always bubbly Dirty Martini with one of the Barton go-go dancers. As you can see, a good time was had by all... even if the place turned into a Great White-sized fire trap. First thing to ignite would have been all the make-up. Or Janice Dickinson's lips.