I photographed my friend Philip Seymour Hoffman during happier times in my Brooklyn studio a good 12+ years ago…
Philip Seymour Hoffman 1967 – 2014
May you finally find the peace you were always chasing…
February 2014
Happy Groundhog Day!
I was looking for a copy of the original movie poster or something, but I found this gif by Chris Piascik instead. Not vintage, but awesome, regardless.
Groundhog day always reminds me of 2 things. First, the seminal 1993 comedy starring Bill Murray in which a man is forced to live one day of his life over and over again till he gets it right. The other is the fact that it is my wedding anniversary– 11 years today. 11 years and still standing strong. A moment of silence please.
Thing is, they kind of go together in a way. Because in a marriage, at least in ours, I feel like each day is an opportunity to start over again. To remember why it was that we decided, against all odds, to promise to stay together in front of all of those people. To figure out little ways to be more understanding, more generous, to make each other laugh, to actually hang our coats up where they belong when we come home at night… I am looking forward to an endless stream of these do-over opportunities, because the more we practice at anything, including relationships, the better we get.
Also there’s the part about choosing the right person in the first place, but that doesn’t fit in with the theme of this post, so I’ll just leave it as a sidebar, despite it’s potentially being the crucial and most central issue when it comes to being married.
But on an entirely different note, I give you this hilarious video mash-up of Louis CK on both marriage and divorce. He clearly has a different opinion about these things than I do. But that didn’t stop me from laughing my a** off when I saw this.
Mike Kelley’s last weekend in Queens
These are two pieces (a video and a sculpture) from a series the late artist Mike Kelley made about Superman and Kandor, his birthplace that was miniaturized and kept on life support by the evil Lex Luthor
Ok first off, a word of advice. Don’t wait till the last weekend to see a wildly popular art exhibit. It makes the whole experience slightly annoying and fraught with waiting in lines, from the coat check, to some of the galleries, to the cafe.
That said, if you haven’t yet seen the Mike Kelley retrospective at MOMA’s PS1 (which closes after this weekend), you should by all means ignore my advice and go check it out. And bring your kids, too. This is the kind of work that speaks to all ages.
What kid won’t be into giant hanging balls of fused stuffed animals?
Generally considered one of the most influential artists of our time, Kelley’s work spans many media, and is at times funny, sarcastic, sad, meditative, playful, jarring and beautiful. There is work about Superman, Plato, and serial killers, meticulously constructed architectural models of every school Kelley attended, giant floating balls made of color coordinated stuffed animals, and films of a painted satyr frolicking through a psychedelic wood. ANd that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Kelley was a busy man.
This piece is called Pay For Your Pleasure. There’s a donation box outside, a long hall lined with portraits of various luminaries commenting on the close relationship between creativity and being an outlaw, and, at the end, a painting by convicted murderer Arthur Shawcross, known as the Genesee River Killer, who murdered 14 people in his lifetime.
The work takes over the entire building, which is itself a bit of a labyrinth, and each new gallery or hallway or open space is a distinct experience. A person could easily spend all day wandering around and not even take in the half of what is on hand to view. But even just a sip of this strange and beautiful brew is well worth the subway ride to Long Island City.
More work about Superman’s hometown of Kandor
A crazy patchwork of found items, with ears of dried corn on the borders, of course.
I am not a critic, so I won’t try to get all technical with anybody here. But I can say that this is the largest exhibition of Kelley’s work to date, and that the people who have ordained Kelley a high priest of the contemporary art scene have good reason to keep him in that pedestal.
A tribute to John Glenn, complete with tons of broken cups and saucers.
Try to get over there to see the show this weekend, if you haven’t already. They’ve even extended the Saturday hours till 9 pm. And then have lunch or a snack at M.Wells Dinette, the eaterie that serves as the museum cafe. A bit overpriced, perhaps, but really delicious nonetheless. They charge 3 bucks for bread and “salted” butter, which drives me crazy, but that’s another post for another time.
Mike Kelley at PS1
Through Sunday, Feb. 2, 12 to 6 pm.
Extended hours on Saturday, Feb 1, till 9 pm.
22-25 Jackson Ave., LIC
$10 suggested donation
PS: Now that this show is closed, you can get some nice Mike Kelley quality time online at Artsy.net, which has a whole Kelley online universe, complete with links to various works, articles and other exhibits. Well worth checking out.