BEAUTY: Sculpture--Barry X. Ball

Sculptor Barry X. Ball creates unsettling busts and portraits that reference classical sculpture. They are unsettling because he chooses materials (Mexican onyx, lapis lazuli, Italian marble, calcite) with cracks, fissures, and irregularities which give the impression of disfigured faces, skin conditions, or medical anomalies.

http://www.barryxball.com/

Currently listening to...

...the historically important "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat, from their groundbreaking album "Age of Consent." It's fascinating sometimes what pops up on my playlist... this is a song I have not heard in a very long time (I guess my iTunes just passes on certain songs, playing them only once in a long while).

Released in 1984, "Smalltown Boy" became an anthem for LGBT rights during that time. It addresses issues of homophobia, societal and familial rejection, bullying, and physical and emotional abuse. Although I was not rejected by my own family, thankfully, I was the target of years of bullying and physical assaults, so this song occupied and still occupies a special place in my heart. I remember the first time I heard it: I was at the Greek Theater in Berkeley waiting for Simple Minds to perform. It really struck me, since I had never really heard a song about me or my own experiences. It was a powerful moment. Bronski Beat recognized me, and validated the pain and confusion.

Thematically, it reminds me so much of the song "Flawless (Go To The City)" by George Michael in which he urges gay men and women to get out of their small towns and go to the city where a better life awaits (previously here). Or at least a more tolerant life, one that is not filled with daily hatred and attacks. There is a very long history indeed of gay men and women leaving small towns and small-minded areas for metropolitan areas where they are accepted. Gay ghettoes arose in cities precisely because of their proximity to centers of culture, literature, and the arts. It's a sad, heartbreaking reality for many men and women but often one must leave one's place of creation because it has turned into a place of destruction. For one's own safety, both mentally and physically, sometimes the best option is to escape.

Musically, the song is from a 1980s genre known as "synthpop," a term meaning music that was created solely or primarily by synthesizers or electronic keyboards, which in turn grew out of a 1970s electronic sound from Europe and groups like Kraftwerk. Groups like Depeche Mode, A Flock of Seagulls, and The Human League were part of this 80s sound. But despite the fact that "disco" had died a painful death just a few years earlier, Bronski Beat combined the synthpop sound with serious dance beats and a male falsetto, which was a direct and deliberate tribute to gay disco acts singing in falsetto, particularly the legendary Sylvester.

The video for the song offers a tiny ray of hope in that it paints a picture not quite as bleak as the lyrics. Our narrator, lead singer Jimmy Sommerville, has friends (fellow band members Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek), and his mom is upset to see him leave home. At least that is more than what some terrified gay youth have when they are kicked out of their homes with nothing, thanks to fearful, ignorant, often self-righteous "Christian" families.

You leave in the morning
With everything you own
In a little black case
Alone on a platform
The wind and the rain
On a sad and lonely face

Mother will never understand
Why you had to leave
But the answers you seek
Will never be found at home
The love that you need
Will never be found at home

Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.
Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.

Pushed around and kicked around
Always a lonely boy
You were the one
That they'd talk about around town
As they put you down

And as hard as they would try
They'd hurt to make you cry
But you never cried to them
Just to your soul
No you never cried to them
Just to your soul

Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.
Run away, turn away, run away, turn away, run away.

Cry, boy, cry...

You leave in the morning
With everything you own
In a little black case
Alone on a platform
The wind and the rain
On a sad and lonely face

The Universal Web

I was very excited to see this story in the news today about how astronomers have, for the first time ever, obtained actual photographic proof of dark matter and have presented their findings in Nature.com, an international weekly journal of science. They have seen, thanks to the intense glow of a quasar, the underlying structure of the universe itself! And that structure is, of course, a web. The photographic evidence looks like neurons in the human brain. We are all part of a web, a net. This could end up explaining a lot, and perhaps proving some ideas that are considered "metaphysical." They even have proof of "dark galaxies!" Th implications are staggering.

Cosmic 'web' seen for first time
By Simon Redfern Reporter, BBC News

The hidden tendrils of dark matter that underlie the visible Universe may have been traced out for the first time.

Cosmology theory predicts that galaxies are embedded in a cosmic web of "stuff", most of which is dark matter.

Astronomers obtained the first direct images of a part of this network, by exploiting the fact that a luminous object called a quasar can act as a natural "cosmic flashlight".

Details of the work appear in the journal Nature.

The quasar illuminates a nearby gas cloud measuring two million light-years across.

And the glowing gas appears to trace out filaments of underlying dark matter.

The quasar, which lies 10 billion light-years away, shines light in just the right direction to reveal the cold gas cloud.

For some years, cosmologists have been running computer simulations of the structure of the universe to build the "standard model of cosmology".

They use the cosmic microwave background, corresponding to observations of the very earliest Universe that can be seen, and recorded by instruments such as the Planck space observatory, as a starting point.

Their calculations suggest that as the Universe grows and forms, matter becomes clustered in filaments and nodes under the force of gravity, like a giant cosmic web.

The new results from the 10-metre Keck telescope in Hawaii, are reported by scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg.

They are the first direct observations of cold gas decorating such cosmic web filaments.

The cosmic web suggested by the standard model is mainly made up of mysterious "dark matter". Invisible in itself, dark matter still exerts gravitational forces on visible light and ordinary matter nearby.

Massive clumps of dark matter bend light that passes close by through a process called gravitational lensing, and this had allowed previous measurements of its distribution.

But it is difficult to use this method to see very distant dark matter, and cold ordinary matter remains tricky to detect as well.

The glowing hydrogen illuminated by the distant quasar in these new observations traces out an underlying filament of dark matter that it is attracted to it by gravity, according to the researchers' analysis.

BBC News/ Science article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25809967

Original article:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12898.html

MLK 2014

BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Paris Fashion Week

Now that Paris Fashion Week has ended, here is a wrap-up of notable moments, elements, and details that could have otherwise slipped by...

But before I move on, I want to say that Ann Demeulemeester was conspicuously and sadly absent from Paris Fashion Week. She announced in November that she would be leaving her eponymous label she started in 1985. No word yet on who might replace her at the house. Word is that her men's collection for Fall-winter '14-'15 will be shown with the women's collection at the end of this month, January '14.
Also conspicuously absent was Jean Paul Gaultier. Hmmm...

Onward:

Carven showed a collection straight out of "The Wild Ones," "On The Waterfront," and "Rebel Without A Cause." Dock worker pea coats, ski caps, and jackets that are a cross between a motorcycle jacket and a 1950s car coat were shown in a shady, highly atmospheric pool hall!

Alexander Wang's ode to petroleum products nearly fetishized rubber--but not in that way (nudge nudge wink wink). He was thinking of rubber tires on motorcycles, race cars...and he showed his lookbook in front of a heap of smashed, totaled cars. Pants that looked like oil slicks on asphalt, and jackets that could be recycled tires...

At Louis Vuitton, it was a stripe story... in luxuriously draped scarves and cashmere sweaters. It feels cool, and jet-setty, and Old World all at once.

Jackets on top of coats...on top of trenches... at Cerutti.

Several designers showed their Fall-Winter '14-'15 collections with models draped with or carrying blankets, quilts, or afghans. And here, Sacai has a few blankets inspired by Navajo prints.

Miharayasuhiro has some great shoes to offer for Fall-Winter '14-'15. I love the paint droppings on the boots which bring to mind McQueen's wonderful paint-splattered collection of SS '10, here. Also of note is the shoe with toes dipped into flocking! I also like how Miharayasuhiro showed shoes pre-distressed in metallic leather.

And for a finale, I want to point out a collection at Berluti that was perfectly pleasant and supremely wearable, but looked even better on a variety of models that included mature men. It is always nice to see the tyranny of youth breaking down bit by bit. I mean, just look at these men. Some silver, some lines, some mileage... grrr...
Thanks, Berluti!

http://carven.com/
http://www.alexanderwang.com/
http://www.louisvuitton.com
http://cerruti.com/fr/
http://www.miharayasuhiro.jp
http://www.berluti.com/en/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Thom Browne

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT; ALICE IN WONDERLAND; THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS: all stories which take place in an enchanted, animal-filled, bucolic England... an idea that spoke to Thom Browne for his '14-'15 Fall-Winter collection.

Browne is an absolutely fascinating designer, and a man of seeming contradictions. His mild manner and always dapper appearance in grey flannel suits of his own styling do not betray the wild fireworks and pinball-like thoughts that must explode and careen in his imagination. His collections are always provocative and unexpected, but like Rick Owens, he works within a blueprint, a paradigm. Like modern multidisciplinary artist Matthew Barney's "Drawing Restraint" series in which he deliberately restricts his ability to move before starting to create a work of art that requires complete and total freedom of movement, Browne comes up with the most unusual inspirations, but restricts himself to the vernacular of the suit, and to the grey, black, white, or navy color palette of traditional men's wear. It seems like a fun exercise to see what one can accomplish with such limitations. And Browne must have a ball because he clears the self-imposed hurdles by leaps and bounds. This animal-themed fantasia--so simple yet so effective--is both ferocious with its elephant and bear headpieces created by celebrated milliner Stephen Jones OBE, with the tattered and frayed exposed seaming, and dressed down with exquisite tailoring in elements like classic double breasted suits. Who needs color with this much texture, pattern, and silhouette? It is spectacularly imaginative. In fact, the runway scene was a fabric woodland idyll complete with lazing animals that took three months to sew! And we see a little bit of the feminizing aspect that Browne has been working into his men's collections with what appear to be a few skirts... but all in all, the silhouette was surprisingly straight-forward and classic.

But never one to disappoint, he broke out in the second half of the collection with his own wild, implausible version of puffy, ballooned, camouflaged hunting gear: large florals and autumn leaves of varying scales are unified with a color scheme of cool grey, black, and white. The same "camouflage" pattern was painted onto the faces of the models as if they were on their way to the forest to hunt. What started out as man melding with nature ends up being man against nature. Run, Peter! But the show's finale, according to Tim Blanks at Style.com, had a surprise ending. "A more poignant subtext was the one suggested by the finale, where the 'hunter' models stood in front of the 'hunted' models, obscuring them. Then the 'hunted' models moved up front. 'The animals prevail,' said Browne." And I say good for them!

http://www.thombrowne.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Lanvin

There was a fun 1980s "New Wave" vibe at Lanvin for their Fall-Winter '14-'15 collection at Paris Fashion Week, as evidenced by neon pinks, leopard prints, and skinny ties. Lanvin men's wear director Lucas Ossendrijver created some really great shoes, too...

http://www.lanvin.com

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dior Homme

Belgian designer Kris van Assche has been helming the male side of Dior since Hedi Slimane's departure in 2007, and with this '14-'15 Fall-Winter collection, he channeled Dior himself. Looking back at Dior's own wardrobe of Savile Row pinstripes and polka dot ties, and symbols (lily of the valley, a stylized rose, a coin, a heart, etc.) with which the highly superstitious Dior surrounded himself, Van Assche came up with a luxurious, interesting, wearable, and unique collection. I like how the pinstripes and polka dots are both revered and deconstructed.

http://www.dior.com/couture/en_us/mens-fashion

BEAUTY: Clothing--Rick Owens

I have said it before. I'll say it again: I am so glad there is a Rick Owens in this world. He is like an artist who creates art that cannot be defined... a Mapplethorpe or a Hirst. I am glad there are people who create things that annoy, chafe, or don't make sense to the status quo. Someone has to do it. And Owens, season after season, sends his own particular brand of futuristic, ecclesiastical minimalism down the runway for all of us to ogle. His collections always transport me to another place or time, and that place is often another planet and the time is one that probably has not happened yet. I love it.

For his '14-'15 Fall-Winter collection at Paris Fashion Week, he obviously looked to the desert for inspiration. His usual black and white palette is toned down here in favor of tan, brown, rust, and ecru. But his dedication to the Owens silhouette, a sort of sci-fi spartanism, is unflappable. We see the simplistic tunic, the asymmetrical shift, the odd loose boots that rise past the knee (I adore every boot Owens has ever made), and the wimple-like head gear (here made out of knit cashmere!).

I have also said before, and will say again here, that Owens might possibly have seen David Lynch's highly stylized 1984 film version of Frank Herbert's DUNE and that he might possibly be working out the costume ideas from that film, here, here, and here. I have never heard a fashion journalist make this connection before, but I imagine that when Owens saw "Dune" lo those years ago, he was either so inspired or traumatized by it, he has been trying to work it out ever since. To me, it seems obvious. Season after season, we have seen similar silhouettes and ideas that could have come from Bob Ringwood, the brilliant costume designer for "Dune." We have seen many an Owens collection that looked eerily like saint Alia of the Knife (for those who have not seen Lynch's "Dune," please do), complete with Bene Gesserit nun head coverings, or collections that looked like Guild Navigators! And here we are, back to Bene Gesserit habits. But this time it seems to be tempered with the idea of the Fremen, the desert dwellers on the sand-covered planet of Arakis Prime. There is even what looks like a safari vest (or Still Suit?) in the last look below...

Thank you Rick for your unwavering dedication to expressing your unique, singular aesthetic!

http://www.rickowens.eu/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dries Van Noten

There is always a captivating density to a Dries Van Noten collection--a density of pattern, of color, of texture, of detail. And for his Fall-Winter '14-'15 collection at Paris Fashion Week, the density was all about layers of tie-dye and batik (a technique of dying fabric native to Southeast Asia), in dark jewel tones. Peeking out from under the the restrained psychedelic swirls of coats, jackets, and suits were poet shirts, with a single large pearl button high at the frilled collar. Another mash up of a native style with a traditional European idea, like we just saw with Van Beirendonck? Again, is it Colonialism or a blending of elements from the global village? Taking Van Noten's output as a whole (we will get a chance to do just that this March when his retrospective opens up at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris), one can see that he is dedicated to blending.

http://www.driesvannoten.be/