so, NO . . . it’s NOT just us !! everybody be on life support !!
they are sending out an S.O.S. – in Paris, too.
in fact you could even call it, kinda ‘quick’ sound bite-wise, the summer of:
life support vs. the ghosts. ha.
the dead walking vs. the walking dead !!
and a little cruel if you include Batman.
see: ROBERTA SMITH/LA MOCA on Life-Support
see: BREAKING NEWS – JUST POSTED 5 MINS AGO !! – LA TIMES: DEMANDING LA MOCA DIRECTOR’S REMOVAL
the director in question, that be JEFFREY DEITCH.
my take, thanks for asking !!
1. it’s ok, for directors to curate – esp contemporary art museums that have to downscale, and most importantly be light on their feet. BUT, you are only as good as your last show, esp in LA !!!!!!
and you should have some social skills, no ?
2. maybe, the holy trinity of artist, dealer, collector – where the said dealer becomes a museum director in an institution mostly funded by the same collector – is maybe NOT, ok.
3. JEFFREY would be ok, if ELI hadn’t pulled the $ plug.
4. and the other trustees don’t want to pay up anymore – now that Eli’s completely taken over and booted their side of the camp, i.e. the ousted curator Paul Schimmel and all the other resigned-from-the-board artists, like John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha.
hey, they liked having Ed over for dinner.
BRUNO SERRALONGUE, ‘SOS #1, Serie Florange’, October 2011, Ilfochrome print mounted on aluminium. 126 x 157 cm. Photo DR courtesy Air de Paris, Paris.
from the press release:
BRUNO SERRALONGUE’s new solo show at Air de Paris presents a selection of photographs from his recent series: South Sudan 2011, on the official commemoration of the country’s independence; Kosovo 2009, still in preparation, on the construction of a new country in Europe; and Florange 2012, the working title for a series on the industrial dispute at Arcelor Mittal in France . . . .
Bruno Serralongue was born in Chatellerault in 1968. He lives and works in Paris, and since 2004 has been teaching at the Geneva University of Art and Design . . . .
BIENVENUE/Welcome – check out: AIR DE PARIS, PARIS-FRANCE
AIR DE PARIS – 32, rue LOUIS WEISS, PARIS-FRANCE.
TROIS EXPOSITIONS DU 14 SEPTEMBRE AU 21 OCTOBRE 2012
VERNISSAGE VENDREDI 14 SEPTEMBRE 2012 de 18 h a 21 h.
BRUNO SERRALONGUE – ‘Histoire des avant-dernieres luttes.’
AARON FLINT JAMISON
and, JEAN-MARIE APPRIOU – ‘Ginger Succubes’ – dans la vintrine/in the window
~S.O.S . . . in Paris ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 26th, 2012, 5:50pm
as in . . . literally. event: past !! history. over. it was last week.
as in . . . these flowers, be they the ghosts of Washington Square . . . past ?
or present.
continues . . .
The Flowers of Washington Square Park
A Play in Five Acts
by: Nik Gelormino
. . . “Animals. Animals. They’re Different.”
~the ghost . . . in Gowanus |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 26th, 2012, 5:34pm
UP-DATE: 7:36 PM
omg, whatever is wrong with me !! – DEDICATED TO ELI BROAD !!
TRANSPARENT STUDIO at BOSE PACIA in BROOKLYN is pleased to announce that their current artist-in-residence – PRIYANKA DASGUPTA – will create a life-size, mechanical puppet inspired by her grandmother (!!), which clutches objects to maintain control (!!) over her physical environment and “manage the frustrations of fading memories.” (!!)
in other words: she speaks to . . . how hard it is for old people – to give up their belongings. (!!)
PRIYANKA DASGUPTA, born in KOLKATA, INDIA in 1979 – has an MA in Studio Art – NYU/ICP (2003) and a BA in Literature from St. Stephen’s College, DELHI (2000). Among other honors, she is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts award (2004). Her video installations have been presented internationally at many prestigious venues – she currently lives and works in New York.
TRANSPARENT STUDIO at BOSE PACIA, NY . . . is an artist residency program launched this past January 2012 by BOSE PACIA.
“Emerging and mid career artists are chosen for the studio program through a submission process based on project proposal and artistic merit. Residents are provided with a studio in the main gallery space for a 1-3 month period. By turning the transitional gallery space into temporary artist studios on the street-level in an active arts neighborhood, we are hoping to allow for an atmosphere of engagement and conversation around the creative process. During the residency, the public is invited to interact with the artist throughout their creative process allowing exchanges and collaborative relationships.”
BOSE PACIA – 163 PLYMOUTH ST – BROOKLYN, NY
the show runs JULY 10 – OCTOBER 6, 2012
with some scheduled events on the 1st THURSDAY of every month / 6-9 PM.
THURS AUG 2: a sharing of work in progress.
THURS SEPT 6: an exhibition of the work in progress and panel discussions.
THURS OCT 4: an interdisciplinary installation and literary event with Billy & CO
& ALL DAY FRIDAY-SUNDAY, SEPT 28-30, is the DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL – events at the gallery will include a live performance and the completed shadow puppet installation – by PRIYANKA DASGUPTA.
otherwise note: gallery hours, MON – FRI are by APPOINTMENT ONLY.
contact: mail@bosepacia.com
PRIYANKA DASGUPTA – ‘Dreams of Inconvenience’ (detail), 2011. acrylic and wire.
image: screengrab from the gallery website.
PRIYANKA DUSGUPTA at work. you can find several more images of the artist – and her work on the gallery website: here !!
image: screen grab from gallery website
~the ghost . . . in DUMBO |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 24th, 2012, 2:06pm
OUTEAST GALLERY PRESENTS:
‘GORILLA MONSON’
a solo exhibition of recent work on wood and paper by BROOKLYN based artist – MASON SALTARRELLI.
MASON originally hails from NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – where they know a lot about dreams, visions, and ghosts !!
He currently lives and works in BROOKLYN.
the show runs JULY 19 thru AUGUST 13, 2012.
OUTEAST GALLERY – 65 TUTHILL RD, MONTAUK, NY
see more of MASON’S WORK: MASON SALTARRELLI
ARTWORK BY – MASON SALTARRELLI . . . . ghostly !!
MASON SALTARRELLI – at the opening of ‘The Old Stone House – New Histories’, Brooklyn, N.Y. – a group show which featured a good number of his artworks.
the super edgey & interesting show ran FEB 1 – 27, 2012.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, NYC, FEB 1, 2012.
see: more PIX – from the OLD STONE HOUSE, BROOKLYN OPENING / artlovers archive
~the ghost in the Hamptons |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 24th, 2012, 1:14pm
re: the BATMAN THEATER MASSACRE – SUMMER of 2012.
FILE UNDER: I’m for life & sci fi. the true power of creativity.
YODA: the ghost in the culture machine – OR – the GHOST OF MOVIES PAST !!
JOY. CELEBRATION. LIFE I FEEL.
IMAGE COURTESY HALLMARK CARDS & LUCASFILMS
~the ghost in the culture machine |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 24th, 2012, 1:04pm
meanwhile back home – so, just what do you do . . . in a disaster ?
apparently you tag: HELP ME !! . . . Jerry ???!!!!
ok, when you were stunned enough by the THOMAS DEMAND ‘disaster’ show – at MATTHEW MARKS on W 22 in Chelsea, last Spring 2012 . . . you might have looked around, when you returned to the street to . . . to find your current bearings. am I safe ?
what the F ?
HELP ME JERRY ?
as in Jerry Saltz ? the art critic / truck driver ?
now that’s what I call – one salty . . . mother of an S.O.S. !!
I didn’t know whether . . . to laugh, or cry.
and yes. I WAS jealous . . .
but on the other hand, mine would prob say: FUCK YOU NANCY.
life is SO unfair.
I mean I’m into ‘skills’ – and Jerry is NOT.
I called alot of artists when they were completely off the charts, or just on the nano nancy charts !! – and it took years for the lightbulb to go off in Jerry’s head – if ever, to catch up. give an example: JOE BRADLEY.
I mean I did coin the phrase: pass the saltz – as in SKIP !!
but ok, if he got this – he must have done something to deserve it.
though I (obviously) still haven’t (ala NORA EPHRON) forgiven him for trashing, and derailing bye the way !! that great psychedelic MIKE PARE show – at ATM years ago.
but I did get close enough to check out the materials.
looks like some kind of super heavy ‘lego’ toy building blocks . . . like the size they might make for the pre-K / kindergarten set ?
nice. really well glued down too. neon.
damn, I’m jealous. S.O.S. JERRY – YOU’RE IMMORTAL !!
in fact – he was in great company too. the whole was was great. damn. damn. damn. the future !!
and ha.
kudos to DAN ASHER and ALEXANDER McQUEEN – future cops gonna be underwater (!!) Japanese babies riding . . . sea ‘horses’ !!
Hushpuppy meets Hello kitty ?
all the street graff & lego & wheat paste and making Jerry famous action – is taking place around the Chelsea landmark COMME DES GARCONS store. designed in 1998-1999 by FUTURE SYSTEMS – it’s still one of the most beautiful and mysterious and future-looking sites in the whole god damn city, more than 10 years later !!
more pix: NEW YORK ARCHITECTURE
and check out: COMME DES GARCONS – their website, this is VISUAL !! though it’s hard to actually get any INFO !! hey FUCK the info !!
so just how do you say …. oy vey in Japanese ?
in American it’s: Help me. Help me Rhonda yeah, get a piece of her heart !! NOT !!
and whatever did happen, to the summer of love ?
the New York Post is calling it, 2012 – the summer of blood !!?
what is it about (record) heat & the city . . . that spikes the stats.
meanwhile the New York Times is playing it on the low ball: ‘Drought Takes a Toll Across the U.S. – The drought is expected to worsen’ . . ‘Weather takes Toll on Food Prices as Crisis spreads across the Nation’.
help me, Jerry !!
and heads up !! all you graphic designers – and ‘info’ font specialists !!
they give a great map on Page A11: Drought’s Footprint !!
hey, at least we’re not gonna be – underwater, yet !!
of course New York City . . . being the global artist mecca that it is – there was also a Frenchie weighing in on the DIRE state of affairs, too . . .
wow. talk about your tortured artist !!
melanger/mix tout les ingredients . . . and what do you have: ONE BIG MESS !!
the poster child of the future – a wolf / boy – hybrid ?
in rainbow – no less.
oy vey – in hipster ? . . . just saying.
(just joking – calm down, Brooklyn. if Alfredo can take it, so can you !!)
here’s lookin’ at ya kid.
don’t say nobody warned ya.
and yeah, someone buy Jerry a drink. and tell him – it’s on me !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
UPDATE: FRI JULY 20, 2012 at 1:08 PM – & now, you can FILE THIS UNDER: HOLY BATMAN !!
BREAKING NEWS !! HOLY BATMAN !! NO JOKE – SUMMER Of 2012 – SUMMER OF BLOOD.
as we speak: NEWS ABOUT the BATMAN MASSACRE in COLORADO – is just hitting the web – it’s termed: the biggest mass shooting in the US (!!) since . . . . 2007
and the first in a theater ?
where’s the joke in that.
for real: where’s the joker . . . better check your back.
damn.
the bad news is coming in so fast – you can’t keep up with it.
UP-DATE: TUES JULY 24, 2012
well maybe that was the break – in the bad news dept ?
the final catharsis ?
it’s interesting to note from an art world & comic book world point of view – the use of popular culture – as a platform from which to act out on violence. I wonder if this has historical precedent. I’m sure, yes. the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln does come to mind, immediately.
the biggest shock was for the movie goers to process that this was not 3D – advanced special effects . . . BUT the ultimate culture war.
~sending out an S.O.S. |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 20th, 2012, 9:50am
ok, maybe just exaggerate, a little bit. tell a little white lie here and there, go to jail for art forgery, you know the regular stuff !!
JOCKO WEYLAND – who has also been following Alfredo’s colorful exploits forever – wrote in to say that ALFREDO was really only in Chinese jail for about 3 weeks, tops.
ok. Alfredo and Josh did tell me 3 months – but knowing Alfie – I’ll take Jocko’s timeframe – under serious consideration – as the bonafide version.
BUT the main point is: he was TRULY in SECRET CHINESE DETENTION, he was terrified to the point of being scared for his life – and he did get deported, sent home on a one way plane ticket, only after the intervention of JOSH HARRIS and BYRON HAYES, and his legs are truly purple, from the knees down – on his first day back.
Photos DON’T lie.
ALFREDO MARTINEZ, happy to be back in the USA !!
he has just landed in Williamsburg – after being unceremoniously sent back home on a one-way ticket by CHINA.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH. Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. AUG 19, 2010.
JOCKO WEYLAND actually went to China – while Alfredo was there and wrote up the experience for VICE !!
hey, it’s a rainy day – what else do you have to do: ‘RAW CHINA – A Day With ALFREDO MARTINEZ at the Military Museum’ – by JOCKO WEYLAND – in VICE, “published 3 years ago” – that would be ca. 2009 !!
just btw: we were all amazed that ALFREDO even got to go to China in the first place.
esp after he had done gone and got busted . . . and sent away to the big house for about 2 years (2002 -2004) for his notorious BASQUIAT caper – he tried to pass one off on a convicted drug dealer !! turned art dealer !!
that’ll do it to ya – every time.
and SO: he was a convicted felon, was he not ??!!!!
do felons get visas to China ? even as resident guest artists, like they say . . . just asking.
~ALFREDO MARTINEZ: what me, embellish . . . ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 20th, 2012, 9:29am
FILE UNDER: “KILL THE CHICKEN TO SCARE THE MONKEY”.
p.s. remember the MONKEY in the recent DUKE RILEY CHINESE ZODIAC RIVER RACE: historically the monkey cheated & he won !!
apparently he also traumatized a whole nation. and not without reason, dude.
apparently the Chinese never got over that – and NEITHER SHOULD you !! there’s wisdom in dem old tales, for sure !!
but still – tossing a young (GERMAN !!) art handler in jail, and throwing away the keys, it’s making major global ripples, here’s the story.
see: CHINA ARRESTS UNNERVE ART WORLD – NEW YORK TIMES, TUES, JULY 17, 2012
so, TELL ME, MY CREW – !! ISN’T ALWAYS ahead of the curve !!
(DAN ASHER, included.)
JOSH HARRIS of ‘WE LIVE IN PUBLIC’ fame – and ALFREDO MARTINEZ !!
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN. AUGUST 19, 2010.
American Brooklyn-born artist ALFREDO MARTINEZ had just been released from months of SECRET DETENTION in CHINA – on behalf of Josh’s INTENSE efforts – in conjunction with the most important help from the well-connected, Brit blue-blood diplo family scion: art collector & art writer – BYRON HAWES !!
look at Alfredo’s legs. they are purple from the ankle up. that’s what about 3 months of detention in China will do to ya. esp if you weren’t too well from the get-go.
I’m told it’s a form of a diabetes and it’s taken a bad turn recently – with Alfredo having to be hospitalized in Connecticut where his family can look out for him. next step, if he is not careful: they amputate the legs, from the knee down – so it’s no friggin joke.
detention in China is no joke – esp because they often tend to throw away the keys.
read that article in the TIMES again . . . !!
and you don’t have to read between the lines, either. it’s all there – in black & white.
and then, read: the background story on ALFREDO’S CHINESE DETENTION/artlovers . . . ALFREDO: LOST & FOUND !!
okay, don’t tell the big guy: but the inside circle of winners’ joke ?
does ALFREDO still need shoes ?
sorry – but I can’t pass on .. on passing that on.
blame it on NORA !! just don’t tell Alfie !! or I’m dead. as usual.
ELI BROAD, ALFIE MARTINEZ – no diff. if you don’t see me at the next big opening – call the cops.
and if you were really lucky !!
you were in the JOSH HARRIS address book – and received a few months back, an email draft of Josh’s proposal to tell Alfredo’s Chinese detention story – on the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TV series: ‘Locked Up Abroad’.
I kid you not, as NORA EPHRON would say, you can’t make this stuff up.
Josh’s working title, for the project: “TORTURED ARTIST” – !!
apparently brilliant title, and colorful character aside – the project didn’t make it past the first round.
too bad – !!
what’s wrong with Nat Geo !!
come on, red rover, red rover – let someone else come aboard – and help ALFREDO get over !!
you guys in the mainstream artworld, are not only SO slow – but friggin lame, as well.
you only, ONLY back the guys like JEFF KOONS and CINDY SHERMAN, that you can safely bring home, back to dinner with the wife and kids, and ain’t that the truth. the artist as business-head pros.
and you know it.
but you know – it’s always the outlaws and the overlooked – who sneak up from behind, and win – the race !!
JEAN MICHEL, anybody ?
now, remind me.
how did DISASTER get to rhyme with artist, anyway ? oh yeah, JEFFREY DEITCH !!
LA MOCA – what do you know – ahead of the curve, FINALLY. disco balls and all.
~CHINA: breaking news – a major disaster, what else ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 18th, 2012, 11:51am
ok, moving on from one disaster to the next, you know: annoying emails, LA MOCA, and DEAD authors !!
with so much DRAMA, CHAOS and ENTROPY !! at hand – I think it’s fitting to look back at the art show that jumpstarted, ‘called it’, ok . . . caught the trend/wave – of it all, and that would be:
‘THOMAS DEMAND’ – which ran MAY 5, 2012 – JUNE 23, 2012 at MATTHEW MARKS GALLERY in CHELSEA, NYC.
or as artlovers called it at the time: “FREIZE NOT, DEMAND HOT !!!”
from COMMES DES GARCONS . . . to THOMAS DEMAND – without skipping a heartbeat !!
oh, what our ‘bags’ tell – all about us !!
THOMAS DEMAND, ‘Kontrollraum / Control Room’, 2011.
C-print mounted on plexiglas, 78-3/4 x 118-1/8 in.
(I bet Matthew Marks made out like a bandit – on this one !! – the prices & edition numbers – were not posted, btw.)
it’s not just the loneliness of the installation, very sparse in a big white room, or the loneliness of the photos, huge and empty of humans, in human situations – NOR the actual historical disasters they speak to – but that the scenarios are meticulously, well broadly meticulously !! re-created from PAPER. and paint.
and I think – in real life scale. look again !!
p.s. I’m just guessing the paper was painted, or otherwise custom-colored in some places. there are NO visual brush strokes – a very important visual factor – contributing to the over-all modernity and coolness of the piece. hyper psychedelic collage party – NOT !!
I mean, do they have such a great range of ready-to-use construction paper in Germany. who knows, maybe ?
I’ll have to ask him, Thomas Demand, that is – the next time I see him.
plus it’s great that the paper paint job is NOT shaded !! it totally adds to the ‘irony’ & sweet ‘desire’ of the overall work. great color tonality, too.
so, disaster is re-constructed – and you can think on that – for YOURSELF !!
YES. this is the scenario for the that big tsunami and nuclear reactor meltdown, hello Kitty – in Japan.
you can google the situation & the THOMAS DEMAND recreation situation, and find out all about both – by YOURSELF, too.
tons of words – were written on the background stories, of the actual event & the art – duh.
in the back room – was a big looped ‘recreation’ animated video/film and sound installation. very striking for the visuals, the eerie soundtrack, and of course – the screening being ENDLESSLY looped – all alone in that big otherwise empty, and super professional – exhibition room.
THOMAS DEMAND, ‘Pacific Sun’, 2012. Film and Sound Installation. 147-1/2 x 197 in.
again, the scale, color tonality and paper folding (!!) – was super: sweet and moving. a tragedy in motion – now put into stripped-down replay – forever !!
note: the computer was the first to go – !!
the gallery press release was the most generous with the details, history & behind-the-scenes production – on this piece:
“Based on a video of a cruise ship caught in a storm between the Republic of VANUATU and AUCKLAND, New Zealand which the artist found on Youtube (!!), ‘Pacific Sun’ follows the full narrative arc (!!) . . . . (love how that echoes the ‘arc’ of the wooden serving bar in – the ship’s cafe, above !!) . . . . of the ship’s violent encounter (!!) in the Tasman Sea. Seen from the point of view of a security camera in the boat’s cafe, the film begins with the subtle movement of small items and escalates to full emergency.
‘Pacific Sun’ was filmed over 15 months, and is the most ambitious undertaking of the artist’s career. The film was made on a full scale set and, like Demand’s models for his photographs, was completely constructed of paper and then destroyed. It comprises a total of 2,400 frames, filmed one at a time, as animators meticulously retraces the movements of each item in the room, shifting the paper models of plates, lemons, pendant lamps, chairs, an upright piano, and a refrigerator by several millimeters at a time.”
again, composition-wise & sculpture-wise: dig that wooden ‘bar’ arc !!
what a nice sweep of ‘rich’ – non-color !! and paper construction !!
BIG QUESTION: so, where were the human passengers ?
were they already rounded up in an emergency holding area ?
so, obviously the BIG PUNCH – to the whole gig – is the very COOLNESS with which the narrative of disaster – was re-created, and filmed.
everybody was talking about the show when it opened – and not just because it was NOT a $40 shlep to Randalls’ Island !!
everybody got, that this coolly x 1,000 transitioned piece – was ALL about the living . . . la vie loca !! – of the fast sinking world as we knew it – that we live in – that runs a new anxiety vibe under everybody’s life force – in human year 2012.
not to mention: FAMINE ? SEVERE DROUGHT – widespread across the (former) bread basket of the USA this summer.
case in point. global warming. item: this summer – hot enough for ya ?
yep, I’m telling ya – DAN ASHER gonna be bigger than JEFF KOONS. mark my words.
it’s gross footprint vs. tiny fingerprint. aka – the BIO / ECO WARS !!
even 5 yr old Hushpuppy is having nightmares about the crashing, melting icebergs ala ALEXANDER McQUEEN, in that g-r-e-a-t Louisiana bathtub ode – ‘BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD’ – did you see it, yet ?
AGAIN: take two.
that’s what’s so nice about film & looping – in general. you can start to pick up the details.
so, note: the computer – was among the first – to go !!
just think on the IMMENSITY of that – in a digital age. iCloud and extra hard drive storage, be damned !!
it isn’t just the stop of commerce, and the silence of the digital cash registers that this speaks to – BUT, all our knowledge will evaporate, too. it’s all digital. I got NO hard copies of this site, that’s for sure.
and the hoarders, of all people – the obsessive collectors of all things crusty & real time, old newspapers, vinyl (!!) etc – – – will become the new STARS !!
yep, picture that.
of course the other project in the room – was the re-creation of WHITNEY HOUSTON’S – last meal.
all I want to say, is how GORGEOUS that deep olive green of the (re-created) hotel tablecloth is – the metaphors you can work for yourself !!
THOMAS DEMAND, ‘Junior Suite’, 2012. C-print mounted on plexiglas. 55 x 45-1/4 in.
LAST THOUGHTS: of course you know, right ? that GERMANY has a long and very illustrious folk art tradition of paper cutting. like the Japanese have origami, the art of paper folding – the old time Germans had paper cutting. it was sometimes very fussy and ornate – but always full of symbols . . . as in METAPHORS (!!) check !! – lots of hearts and flowers.
so you can trace the origins of the work of THOMAS DEMAND back to a folk craft !!
the old European paper cutting arts – also came down to us – in the form of the pioneering Pennsylvania DUTCH, i.e. German – hex signs, etc. or in other words:
I PUT A SPELL ON YOU !!
and so too – did: German-born artist THOMAS DEMAND.
yep, NEW YORK CIY – SPRING 2012.
FREIZE, not so.
but, THOMAS DEMAND was – hot !!
re: FREIZE.
show me ONE single image of NEW work that came out of that fair / show and blew NYC away – besides the actual aerial photos – of the fair tent – itself !! you cannot.
NOT !!
period. end of story.
and, don’t send me any annoying emails, either. as NORA EPHRON would surely say, the proof is in the pudding.
and she liked hers, with LOTS of raisins !!
PHOTOS OF THE THOMAS DEMAND INSTALLATION: NANCY SMITH, NYC. MAY 9, 2012.
~THOMAS DEMAND: a look back at his DISASTER SCENARIOS . . . |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 18th, 2012, 7:42am
NORA EPHRON was 71, and had to die . . . for me to take her seriously.
ya gotta believe in ghosts.
forget WHEN HARRY MET SALLY – WHEN NORA MEET NANCY – was long overdue. and the sparks. there are no words.
I’m reading every book of hers, I can get my hands on.
and that’s no mean accomplishment – the city’s stock of NORA EPHRON pretty sold out within 24 hrs of her death.
no joke.
speaking about OLD PEOPLE having fun: NORA EPHRON’s book of short essays – ‘I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK and other thoughts on being a woman’ – was a WONDERFUL READ !! super NEW YORK, super fun, and super ahead of the curve.
plus you could learn a few things, too.
like: always tell lies, because you don’t want to be the friend that is NEVER FORGIVEN !!
as she says: “I have never forgiven one of my friends for telling me not to buy a perfectly good apartment on East Seventy-fifth Street in 1976.” (!!)
I know what she’s talking about – because I have never forgiven a friend who told me not to sleep with so and so in year . . . well, you get the picture. just don’t be that idiot.
“Everything is copy” – as in life stories, but also – as in CONTENT. which turns out to be THE most important ‘issue’ on the brave new world of the internet WEB – so there !!
“I can’t believe how real life NEVER lets you down.” that’s NORA.
“On the other hand, perhaps you CAN make this stuff up.” and that’s NORA, too.
anything she says, and everything that she says – that even touches on JOURNALISM – is a lightbulb going off . . . inside my head !! and that’s NORA, too.
all I can say is: lucky for NORA her FM radio wasn’t playing . . . bogus ‘vocals’ on the biggest rock classics, back in her day, like it is now. for sure she’d have something to say – about that.
you know: some two bit singer singing ‘UNCHAINED MELODY’ – along to the stripped-down authentic musical background tracks, ala karaoke I guess, getting passed off as the real deal. and NO, it’s not !! NO !! that is NOT the RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS !! and if they do that to JIM MORRISON and the DOORS – I will freak – and I’m pretty sure, so would Nora.
how the hell, will the young kids coming up – ever know the diff. how will they ever respect our roots, our revolution, if not ourselves – if they don’t hear the original vocals ?
how will they ever know the power of the real music that fueled us. how do radio stations get away with this. doesn’t everybody just turn the dial ? they should.
no wonder VINYL rules !! it’s the real deal. that’s what’s so scary about the the digital world – it can be photo-shopped.
so, yeah. her writing, just like her mind – was all over the place.
kinda just like mine, or so I like to think (!!) – a singular logic that has no beginning, and lucky for us, no end.
NORA’S autobiographical novel ‘HEARTBURN’ was slightly less compelling, but hey, I read it in 2 days I could not put it down, so maybe revise that. it was really really interesting as social commentary, and the issues are probably timeless, esp re: marriage – but the book is also interesting to read as an academic tool/companion to the 1986 same-named movie, which was kind of a flop. they should re-make it. the movie.
but the book – it had heart, and the best line ever:
“Show me a woman who cries when the trees lose their leaves in autumn and I’ll show you a real asshole.” – love it.
plus, how’s this for – a cheesecake recipe !!
“Here’s Amelia’s cheesecake recipe; she always said she got it from the back of the Philadelphia cream cheese package. Make a nice graham cracker crust and pack it into a 9-inch pie pan. Then mix 12 ounces cream cheese with 4 well-beaten eggs, 1 cup sugar and a teaspoon vanilla. Pour into the pie shell and bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove and cool 15 minutes.Then spread gently with 2 cups sour cream (!!) mixed with 1/2 cup sugar and bake 10 minutes more. Cool and refrigerate several hours before serving.” – NORA EPHRON, ‘HEARTBURN’.
and oh yeah, NORA had to self-publish her food recipes. can you believe that.
she had to slip them into – her novels and essays.
and . . . I ?
I have to self-publish my own photos. so I guess that makes us: soul sisters ?
except that I, I have to self-publish my essays, and art criticisms, as well. oh well, she one up on me.
plus my husband didn’t screw the Ambassador to Britain’s wife. he kinda went the other route. down and dirty. ha.
ok, enough about me !!
hey, forget when HARRY MEET SALLY – when NORA MEET NANCY – sparks flew, and it’s always amazing to find something new, even if it’s old, or maybe esp so – that can rock your world.
that’s the thing about NEW YORK.
there’s ALWAYS something NEW around the corner – and it’s still – all about the art.
and then there is LA. LA was gonna beat NYC at bat ?
dream on. I don’t think so. not in this lifetime, anyways.
NORA EPHRON, ‘HEARTBURN’, VINTAGE BOOKS, A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE INC. 1996.
ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT: 1983. I scored this secondhand copy for $6 the day after she died. in a tiny obscure secondhand book store. otherwise it’s sold out.
it’s way funny – cause it has food stains on the cover !! NORA would love that.
CARL BERNSTEIN and NORA EPHRON, FEB 22, 1978. FILE PHOTO: AP PHOTO BY RICHARD DREW – c/o ABIGAIL POGREBIN/LITCHFIELD COUNTRY NEWS.
‘HEARTBURN’ was a thinly disguised account of their failed marriage. I just had to post this photo again – because omg – this is what a ‘lady killer’ looked like in the late 70’s. that’s so funny, I’m sorry. but NOT !!
the great thing is supposedly she did move on to find love – and a happy ever after ending with NICHOLAS PILEGGI.
and she was said to be both: GENEROUS and HAPPY as well as smart, funny and witty.
I know some old people, and some young ones who – could take a clue.
that’s the other nice thing about dead people. they can’t bully you, in their desperate quest to stay on top, or at least alive !! if they are old . . . never mind outright rip you off, ever hear the one about the charms stripped off the 18 K gold band for starters. hey Nora, do I have a story for you. and you thought your jewelry story was funny. talk about the old folk. ha. heh. heh. hey, everything is COPY. everything is fair game, in love and war.
and they can’t send you annoying emails !! – if they are young.
that go: hey we just want you to come to our opening on a hot and stifling night, with no pay. to drink some beer and party – we don’t want you to come and work, take pix and take notes and then spend a couple of days to write it up.
dudes. seriously you gonna miss me – when I’m gone.
yeah someone just called me “unethical” to-nite – because I wanted to get paid. I wanted $50 ea. per artist in an 11 person group show ?!! hint. hint. 3 of whom I have posted about for over 4 years, and 2 of those 3 I have followed for more than 10 years, no charge. ever. starting from when they were just Copper Union students.
and I don’t see anybody else writing them up – either. btw.
but somehow ARTFORUM, which you have pay just to reproduce your own god damn ad – is not ?
obviously the ELI BROAD genes skipped me – when I landed.
talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.
no wonder all I wanna do – is read NORA EPHRON.
and eat cheesecake. with sour cream.
~NORA EPHRON . . . yeah, I FEEL BAD & does my HEART BURN !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 13th, 2012, 8:05pm
