~ANTONY
the WALL STREET JOURNAL also likes .. ANTONY HEGARTY .. of ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS.
ANDY BETA mentions him in that recent DEVENDRA BANHART interview, writing . . .
re DEVENDRA: “In 2002, around the time his debut album was released, he moved to New York and became a figurehead in the ‘freak-folk’ movement, along with other outre musicians like harpist JOANNA NEWSOM and cabaret vocalist ANTONY HEGARTY.”
and a few weeks back – ANTONY got a huge shout-out on the WSJ FALL FASHION WEEK 2013 OVER-VIEW – at the top of the HIGHLIGHTS.
under ‘BEST SHOW’, and a most magical runway image, from PARIS, the caption reads:
“It seemed to be THOM BROWNE’s corpse-in-the-snowy-woods scene in New York — until GIVENCHY stole Paris fashion Week with a poetic collection that came with a passionate performance by New York band Antony and the Johnsons and a full orchestra. Was it the music and the scene ? Possibly. But Mr. TISCHI’S romantic clothing (and the torrid look shared by model NATALIA VODIANOVA on the runway and her LVMH scion boyfriend ANTOINE ARNAULT in the front row) cinched the deal.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL – ‘Fall Fashion, If You Dare’, March 7, 2013.
SIMON CERIGO’S VERY first music review for this site, back in MAY 2005 – was .. ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS’ second album, I AM A BIRD, of which Simon wrote: this CD . . . “is a wonder to behold.”
see: SIMON CERIGO REVIEWS .. ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS – I AM A BIRD.
ANTONY HEGARTY, of ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – NYC. DEC 10, 2004.
PHOTO BY & COPYRIGHT OF: NANCY SMITH
I always thought it was funny, as in poignant/hard … that Antony recorded for a small indie record label called, SECRETLY CANADIAN, as I was .. secretly Canadian, for real !!
until my kids were able to sponsor me just recently.
I got here in the early 80s, when there were few issues, and then the immigration laws, just got harder and harder. esp for artists.
ANTONY would often pop up at downtown art openings back in the early 2000’s. so would DEVENDRA. in fact it was a banner few years for artists and musicians .. to mix and match. usually it was the (folk) musicians who were equally talented artists, and who were showing their art in small indie venues in the Lower East Side. and if not the musicians themselves, it was their small circle of friends, the people who did the unique art work for their highly individual CDs.
one big hub/small storefront space .. for this kind of activity was the long gone AFF / ART FIEND FOUNDATION run by a moveable collective headed by LEIF RITCHEY and TOOYA. located at 123 Ludlow St, just north of Delancey – it was to give rise to the fast-shooting-star emergence .. of the now famous, Paris-based sister artist/musicians .. CocoRosie. if you ever heard the soundtrack to THE FIFTH ELEMENT … well this the real deal.
(in a nutshell.)
in fact, the photo of ANTONY, above .. was taken at an opening of drawings by MATTEAH BAIM and LEIF RITCHEY, at AFF. it was very organic. very revelatory, and very grounded, all at the same time.
‘sound fragments’ .. at the opening were provided by RED BONE SLIM and HONEY CHILE.
RED BONE SLIM being .. BIANCA ‘COCO’ of CocoRosie.
this was the slim paper invite to the show, it measures 4-1/2 x 4 in:
GREEN . New, works, drawings & Sculptures
Matteah Baim & Leif Ritchey
Friday, December 10 / 7-10 pm
ART FIEND FOUNDATION
123 LUDLOW STREET
212.420.1033
Sound Fragments by Red Bone Slim & Honey Chile
that’s . . December 2004.
and yes . . that’s a phone no. (!!) landline, too – on the card. just even a few short years ago, ok .. 8 !! there were .. NO, NONE !! – gallery ‘websites’ !!
card courtesy: ARCHIVAL COLLECTION NANCY SMITH, NYC.
see: ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS – OFFICIAL WEBSITE
WATCH/LISTEN: ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – ‘Cut The World’ . . . with WILLEM DAFOE, MARINA ABRAMOVIC & CARICE VAN HOUTEN