Christmas Eve as Seen by Richard Haines

My friend Richard Haines came over for Christmas Eve dinner and drew it, check out his blog "What I saw Today" here.....

Ian's Best of 2010

My friend Ian MacMillan put together his favorites from 2010 you can download it here

JOHN BOY Brad Mehldau

WE WANT WAR These New Puritans

BUILDING IN L.O.V.E. The Hundred In the Hands

ODE TO BEAR Mount Kimbie

LET’S WRITE A BOOK Field Music

RETURNAL Oneohtrix Point Never

GAY ANGELS Perfume Genius

LOVESICK TEENAGERS Bear In Heaven

FOR THE RABBITS Caitlin Rose

CREDIT CARD BABIE$ - M.E.N.

THE WAVE Wildbirds + Peacedrums

SICK Salem

THE WIND + THE LEAVES Dan Berglund’s Tonbrucket

MONTH OF MAY Arcade Fire

MEXICO WAX SOLVENT The Fall

WHERE DREAMS GO TO DIE John Grant

OH MY GOD Cults

I’LL TAKE CARE OF YOU Gil Scott-Heron

ONE Yeasayer

READY FOR THE WORLD How To Dress Well

PIECES Villagers

REST OF OUR LIVES Dum Dum Girls

Let It Snow

This is my subway station yesterday morning

Marshmallow World

OK I admit I love Dean Martin! The Blizzard of 2010 was the perfect capper to a perfect holiday weekend. I had a small relaxed, stress free dinner party on Friday with new and old friends, then went to my friend Vince's annual Christmas day party on Saturday and Sunday just walked around enjoying the good feelings in the air. Today I walked around in the snow drifts and it was amazing how friendly and chatty people were and I saw some sights that are pretty rare in NYC...namely, traffic free streets and a snow man in Chinatown. One really cool effect the snow had was it got people talking and brought strangers together, I love when that happens.

Subway Ride From The Past

This weekend I went into my subway station and there was a world war 2 era subway train there waiting for me

Top Ten New York Photography Shows in 2010

Top Ten New York Photography Shows in 2010

My Friend Vince came up with his top ten photography shows from 2010, check it out!

Jerry Saltz Takes Us on a Tour of Some of His favorite Paintings In NYC

This guy is one of a kind, I love his enthusiasm! Catch what he says about Pollock at the end, genius!

Senate Ends Military Ban on Gays Serving Openly

Another issue which I didn't think really mattered much was the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military. Encouraging people to lie about who they are can have some pretty bad consequences. I wonder now if my friend who received a dishonorable discharge from the military will have that changed. Government sanctioned policies that treat gay people like second class citizens just leads to more homophobia from within and without. Hopefully lifting this ban will lead to a more tolerant society where gay people can be themselves without fear of being shunned by their friends & families and people like Carl Paladino will be shunned for saying gay people should be ashamed of themselves.

I look forward to the day when we can love who we want without fear.

At The Wojarnowicz Protest

I used to think these kinds of things didn't matter or they wern't for me so I never really participated in events where I voiced an opinion. But I've realized that if you act like your feelings don't matter, people won't pay much attention to them.

Protest The Smithsoian's Removal of David Wojnarpwizc' Video Today! Met Museum 1:00 PM

Holiday Conditions

Holiday Conditions

Its nice to here in NYC this time of year and just enjoying the awesome weather. The visitors, the lights, skating and the good feelings in the air and avoiding some of of the frenzied holiday scenarios I've gotten caught up in in the past.

I'm lucky to have friends inviting me to parties and friends to have over to cook for. I'm not keeping my life on hold for people who might be able to squeeze me in somewhere when they can get away from their other commitments. I've bought and made gifts for a few friends who always show up for me. Basically I'm prioritizing the people who prioritize me and avoiding those situations where I'm kind of kept around as an option.

It seems like from the time when I was a little kid Christmas was the time when hopes were built up to gargantuan expectations and plans where constantly changing. The holiday season seemed to be more about fulfilling obligations rather then spending quality time with the people you really cared about. Tempers flared and small irritations turned into major blow-ups. Doors slammed, tears were cried and I didn't dare think of myself. It was mostly a big drama to be endured with the hopes that I would get out of it unscathed.

My favorite memory of Christmas was when I was when I was a little kid and my parents gave me a big box of art supplies. Colored paper, pencils, glue, crayons, scissors, glitter...just great stuff that I could do anything that I wanted to with. I know it was my Mom's idea and it was probably the best present I've ever received. It was simple and it was perfect for me. It implied that my mom knew who I was, she had given some thought to what my abilities were, how to encourage them and what made me happy. There was so much of everything in that box that I could take chances and try out new ideas with no fear that I was wasting things or that the supply was gonna run out. It was a perfect example of a really thoughtful gift.

At this point most of the non-committal carrot danglers have drifted out of my life and I'm surrounded by others who are not afraid to commit and express their unconditional love, just by following through and showing up and giving more of themselves then they promised. That's the best gift of all and I hope you all have bucket loads of unconditional love in your life too!


That's me and Ernie at a holiday party in Brooklyn 12-18-10. if you are looking for a great gift for the gay who has everything check out the Butt Magazine/American Apparel beach towel featuring a full size naked Ernie on it here

Nature Noir One Day Exhibition

I have a few pieces in a one day exhibition at a friend's studio in Chelsea this saturday, if you are around, check it out! It's a great group of artists and Im really excited to be a part of it there will be a performance by Black Lake among others....cool!

David Wojnarowicz Video Pulled from National Portrait Gallery Exhibition

Having just watched this video for the first time, I gotta say, it's a pretty powerful work of art and as a christian, I don't feel offended at all by the image of ants crawling over a crucifix. It was part of a show at the smithsonian called “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture", and pulled because of opposition from some representatives and the director of the Catholic League. "Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, an advocacy group, said A Fire in My Belly was “hate speech.” Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia said it was an “outrageous use of taxpayer money and an obvious attempt to offend Christians during the Christmas season”.

Seeing an image of ants crawling over a crucifix is gonna ruin your christmas season? Take a look for yourself, my Christmas season wasn't hurt in the least..

Christmas Shopping In The Village

I went out Christmas shopping after work yesterday with my friend Sean. I had always avoided the Marc Jacobs store but he had to look for some gifts there, to my delight they were taking holiday pictures, so they did this of me and Brandy the ice queen, gorgeous huh?

Thanks Dad For Teaching Me How To Skate

When you grow up in Minnesota you learn how to skate before you can even walk, it's really just second nature to me.Since I got new skates for my birthday I've been going skating in Bryant park 3 times a week, I usually get there first thing in the morning and it's free...another reason to love winter

Thanks For THIS, the Best Pixar Movie Ever Made!

Thanksgiving

I certainly have a lot to be thankful for, today and always. I appreciate that more and more every day. Last year at this time my thoughts were on a place far away from here and a time in the future. I had a solo show up at a great gallery here in NYC and lots of great friends to be with, it was a really good time for me but I wasn't really focused on where my feet were.

A lot of the worthless things and noncommittal people that took up so much space in my life a year ago just aren't there anymore. I'm focusing more on the present and being happy with what I have. It's like I was a cat that was being taunted with a toy and I was constantly reaching for the vague indifferent promises that were being dangled in front of me. Some of the people that I placed so much value on had all kinds of vague commitments somewhere else so they were unable to just show up and be present. I had a lot of people in my life who were sort of keeping me around as an option, but then I stopped reaching for these vague promises of somewhere, sometime and looked at where I was and what was around me and realized, I had enough, I had MORE than enough. There were tons of opportunities and options right there in front of me. I was surrounded by so many people who cared about me and were only too willing to commit to a place and time and show up and be present and engaged, to open up and share everything they had inside, thoughts, feelings and insecurities....and to listen to mine and really care, all that was there all along .....right there in front of me but I didn't see it. I'm thankful for the lessons I've been taught and I hope to keep learning for a very long time.

Hide/Seek @ The National Gallery

There's a new show at the National Portrait gallery in washington that sounds fascinating, called hide/seek


You can read the washington post review here

AB EX @ MoMA

There is a great show up at Moma right now called Abstract Expressionist New York. It's culled entirely from MoMA's collection and it gives them the opportunity to show many of the so called Minor works from the leser known artists of this school, such as William Baziotes (above). Highly recommended!

Suze Orman "It Get's better"

I love this series, there's something so great about hearing people just say what used to have to be a secret, it becomes much less of an issue, it shouldn't really be one at all and the more people who just come out and say it, the less of an issue it becomes.

I've seen some pretty great changes in my lifetime and this is definatly one of them.

Peter Saul @ Haunch of Venison

I spent saturday up in midtown enjoying the 60 degree weather, first skating for a couple of hours at Bryant park which was awesome then off to Haunch of Venison in Rockefeller center for their Peter Saul show "Firty Years of Painting". A huge rambling show that felt a lot like a museum survey. I have to admit I was really only familiar with the cartoony surrealist paintings he did in the 70's and 80's and didn't exactly love them but could see how they were influential to the current generation of painters, and I loved seeing the sketches that he does in the sign in books when he and his wife go around to see gallery shows in NYC.

The works that really blew me away in this show though were his paintings from the early sixties, they seemed to be coming out of the same cauldron as Guston and Johns and even reminded me of some of Warhol's earlier canvases when he was still keeping the drips in.

There is a ton of work in this show and the views from the windows are amazing palate cleansers for the punch of these amazing paintings.

More info can be found here

Cop's Wife's Son Is Gay

I loved reading this post from a blogger called "Cop's Wife" called "My Son Is Gay"


......Or he’s not. I don’t care. He is still my son. And he is 5. And I am his mother. And if you have a problem with anything mentioned above, I don’t want to know you.

I have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to post something more in-depth about my sweet boy and his choice of Halloween costume. Or more specifically, the reactions to it. I figure if I’m still irked by it a few days later, I may as well go ahead and post my thoughts.

Here are the facts that lead up to my rant:

1. My son is 5 and goes to a church preschool.
2. He has loved Scooby Doo since developing the ability and attention span to sit still long enough to watch it.
3. Halloween is a holiday and its main focus is wearing a costume.
4. My son’s school had the kids dress up, do a little parade, and then change out of costumes for the rest of the party.
5. Boo’s best friend is a little girl
6. Boo has an older sister
7. Boo spends most of his time with me.
8. I am a woman.
9. I am Boo’s mother, not you.

So a few weeks before Halloween, Boo decides he wants to be Daphne from Scooby Doo, along with his best friend E. He had dressed as Scooby a couple of years ago. I was hesitant to make the purchase, not because it was a cross gendered situation, but because 5 year olds have a tendency to change their minds. After requesting a couple of more times, I said sure and placed the order. He flipped out when it arrived. It was perfect.

Then as we got closer to the actual day, he stared to hem and haw about it. After some discussion it comes out that he is afraid people will laugh at him. I pointed out that some people will because it is a cute and clever costume. He insists their laughter would be of the ‘making fun’ kind. I blow it off. Seriously, who would make fun of a child in costume?

And then the big day arrives. We get dressed up. We drop Squirt at his preschool and head over to his. Boo doesn’t want to get out of the car. He’s afraid of what people will say and do to him. I convince him to go inside. He halts at the door. He’s visibly nervous. I chalk it up to him being a bit of a worrier in general. Seriously, WHO WOULD MAKE FUN OF A CHILD IN A COSTUME ON HALLOWEEN? So he walks in. And there were several friends of mine that knew what he was wearing that smiled and waved and gave him high-fives. We walk down the hall to where his classroom is.

And that’s where things went wrong. Two mothers went wide-eyed and made faces as if they smelled decomp. And I realize that my son is seeing the same thing I am. So I say, “Doesn’t he look great?” And Mom A says in disgust, “Did he ask to be that?!” I say that he sure did as Halloween is the time of year that you can be whatever it is that you want to be. They continue with their nosy, probing questions as to how that was an option and didn’t I try to talk him out of it. Mom B mostly just stood there in shock and dismay.

And then Mom C approaches. She had been in the main room, saw us walk in, and followed us down the hall to let me know her thoughts. And they were that I should never have ‘allowed’ this and thank God it wasn’t next year when he was in Kindergarten since I would have had to put my foot down and ‘forbidden’ it. To which I calmly replied that I would do no such thing and couldn’t imagine what she was talking about. She continued on and on about how mean children could be and how he would be ridiculed.

My response to that: The only people that seem to have a problem with it is their mothers.

Another mom pointed out that high schools often have Spirit Days where girls dress like boys and vice versa. I mentioned Powderpuff Games where football players dress like cheerleaders and vice versa. Or every frat boy ever in college (Mom A said that her husband was a frat boy and NEVER dressed like a woman.)

But here’s the point, it is none of your damn business.

If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off.

If my daughter had dressed as Batman, no one would have thought twice about it. No one.

But it also was heartbreaking to me that my sweet, kind-hearted five year old was right to be worried. He knew that there were people like A, B, and C. And he, at 5, was concerned about how they would perceive him and what would happen to him.

Just as it was heartbreaking to those parents that have lost their children recently due to bullying. IT IS NOT OK TO BULLY. Even if you wrap it up in a bow and call it ‘concern.’ Those women were trying to bully me. And my son. MY son.

It is obvious that I neither abuse nor neglect my children. They are not perfect, but they are learning how to navigate this big, and sometimes cruel, world. I hate that my son had to learn this lesson while standing in front of allegedly Christian women. I hate that those women thought those thoughts, and worse felt comfortable saying them out loud. I hate that ‘pink’ is still called a girl color and that my baby has to be so brave if he wants to be Daphne for Halloween.

And all I hope for my kids, and yours, and those of Moms ABC, are that they are happy. If a set of purple sparkly tights and a velvety dress is what makes my baby happy one night, then so be it. If he wants to carry a purse, or marry a man, or paint fingernails with his best girlfriend, then ok. My job as his mother is not to stifle that man that he will be, but to help him along his way. Mine is not to dictate what is ‘normal’ and what is not, but to help him become a good person.

I hope I am doing that.

And my little man worked that costume like no other. He rocked that wig, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

..at a time when gay kids are comitting suicide because people like Carl Paladino are publicly saying that "They should be ashamed for who they are" it's nice to read a blog post from a Mom who says she dosn't care if her son is or isn't.

I know a big barrier for a lot of kids is that they are worried that their family might shun them or worse if they come out to them so they feel they have to choose between their family and their own sense of self fullfillment. It's nice to know this kid won't feel he has to make that choice.

You can check out her blog here

Brian Wilson Wins it for the Giants!

Go Brian, this guy is so sexy and quirky, read more about him in this article from the NY Times....

Hi, I'm A Tea Partier!

Matt Connors at Canada

The title of Matt Connors' latest show of paintings "You Don't Know" made me immediately think of the Kirsty MacColl Song "They Don't Know About Us" and the show, which opened last night at Canada on Chrystie street in Chinatown felt to me to be about relationships, the relationships that all artists have to what came before them. Matt's paintings have always displayed their parentage quite blatantly, like the best artists, Matt's work is about what it's like to be a painter of his time.

The Canvases are all the product of one unique artist's vision but they speak of what came before him, painting's immediate history, there's the Albers, the Malevich, The Noland, there even seems to be a ray-o-gram painting and for me, oddest of all there is a tie-dye painting in an elegant, red tray frame that is both raw, emotional, abstract expressionism and cheerful hippie peace and love, but for some reason the frame, which is clearly an integral part of the piece seems to imply a border around a movement and in this case a border which is broken down as the piece straddles two disparate schools from the two decades of the last century that couldn't have been more different, the '50's and the '60's. But as any viewer of Mad Men is seeing, the early sixties still feel a lot like the fifties so where does one end and the other begin? The frame, like words, names, schools and other arbitrary borders clearly says "This is where the painting stops" but does it really need to be cherry red ? ...isn't that going a little too far? ..maybe...just like maybe our desire to categorize and give names to different schools of paintings is maybe a convenient way to learn art history but at a certain point these boundaries just get in the way. Warhol's "Orange Car crash 14 times" is just at home in MoMA's pop galleries as it's minimalist galleries and I think we are seeing, more and more that the unrelenting march of the last century to "Make it New" left a lot of fertile territory un-mined and left behind.

What Matt's works seem to do, for me, is to examine these movements that we have all been subjected to, those with any awareness of the recent past and instead of "Make it New" the impetus seems to be "Make it Mine". There is the Albers' square within a square painting that has, at it's core, a circle. There is the Malevich white on white painting that has instead of a square in a square, a rectangle in a rectangle and even a few extra rectangles. These are not dry lifeless copies a la' Mike Bidlo, rather, Mr. Connors is making highly personal works about who he is and what he is composed of, what his history is.

As all great artists do, Mr. Connors makes the personal, universal.

More information Can be found here...

Belle & Sebastian Write about love

The multinauts

THE MULTINAUTS- Episode One "Flashback" from Multinauts on Vimeo.

this is currently my favorite thisng on the web, episode 1 of the multinauts. Episode 2 contains a cameo by Francois Sagat

Horace Wimp

I love ELO and I've only now just heard this song, Kelly Groucutt has never looked hotter

Cleaning house....

Do You Realize? Oil on Canvas 30 x 24 inches 2010


Today is my Birthday, but it dosn't feel like any other birthday I've had. I had a great breakfast, then ended up spending $50 on the kinds of things I usually deny myselft, that was facilitated by a gift card from a friend. I came home and lit some incense and started cleaning, something I should do a little more often since my favorite cooking style is from the Fred Flintstone school, ie: a juicy steak in a cast iron skillet. So I wiped away a couple of month's worth of airborne steak fat and my mind started to wander and I got to thinking about making my own happiness and how that comes into being. I guess the first step is thinking of yourself and others as equals, and paying special attention to your own needs and wants and either take care of them for yourself or verbalize them to others and if you can't talk about your most important wants and desires with your intimates, maybe it's time to find some new intimates.

I know that there are no guarantees but that dosn't mean I should lose faith. That everything lasts as long as it's meant to and when it dosn't feel that way that's because I havn't fully learned the lessons I was supposed to be learning.

I know I'll have more trials and hopefully I can accept them as a confirmation that my happiness comes from within.

AA Bronson on Art & Social Justice

Shelley Aarons & Terence Koh at AA Bronson's Lecture

I went to the AA Bronson Lecture last night at Union Theological Seminary> AA delivered a paper that he had written for a talk he had given in Montreal earlier this year on the convergence of Art and Religion. In his usual, fascinating way Bronson talked around the subject, drawing no conclusions except maybe that some religions are more fashionable than others and that the impetus to be an artist is more a calling than anything else, much like that those who go into the seminary. Bronson described the way he was drawn to the seminary by using the metaphor of the cane that draws a performer off the stage in a vaudeville skit, seemed logical to me. Many of the questions were on the order of "Why did an artist decide to enter the seminary". Bronson's answer was the same one he used often throughout the night"I don't know" and I think that's a great answer!

Often, we artists find we are compelled to things that "Don't make any sense" yet we feel compelled to do them. When I started making portraits a few years ago I had no idea why, it may have had something to do with thinking about someone who was far away but that only vaguely explained it, so when people asked me why I was doing it, I usually said" I don't know, but it will all make sense in my retrospective" ...and maybe it will, I don't know...

Sarah Silverman's Message To America, On Gay Suicide

Homeless Man Performs Under Pressure with Kermit The Frog Puppets

This brought me to tears, there are a lot of frustrated people out there. It's tough times all around.

Jean Prouve's Ferembal House

This video from wallpaper magazine shows the restoration of this amazing prefab building.

In 1991, the Parisian design gallerist Patrick Seguin – the man who really put the heat in the market for Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand – went to see a discarded Prouvé treasure. The Ferembal House had been built as the offices for a can factory in Nancy in 1948. The factory was demolished 30 years later and the Prouvé pre fab nearly ended up in the dumpster. Luckily, a local who understood what could be lost, packed it away until Seguin came to investigate and took it off his hands. It took him another 10 years to stockpile the funds to renovate the house and another nine – working with Prouvé experts in Nancy, the designer-engineer-architect’s town, and Seguin’s long-term pal, the architect Jean Nouvel – to actually complete the renovation.

The remarkable story of the rescue and Nouvel’s work on the project as well as exclusive first pictures of the Ferembal House appear in our July issue. Seguin estimates that the building – all one storey and 180 square metres of it – is now worth €8m. But as our story and this video shows, the restored Ferembal House is important not because of its price tag but because it is more evidence of the genius in Prouvé’s radical utilitarian design.

Autumn in Paris

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood

These two made some of the greatest, well crafted psychedlic pop of the '60's

Christina Hendricks

Christina Hendricks may star in one of the most stylish television shows of all time, grace countless covers of magazines, be celebrated in the media for her curves, and be contemporary the champion of body acceptance, but that doesn't mean that the fashion industry will help her out.

"People have been saying some nice, wonderful things about me. Yet not one designer in town will loan me a dress," Hendricks said. "They only lend out a size 0 or 2. So I’m still struggling for someone to give me a darn dress. This has always been my size. I’ve worked on other shows with this same size but Mad Men celebrates it and that is nice."

At the Emmys on Sunday night, Hendricks wore a revealing lavender Zac Posen gown. According to costume measurements, Hendricks is a curvaceous 39" x 30" x 39", which would peg her as somewhere around a size 12.

Jay-Z Young Forever

I gotta say I am more in awe of Jay-Z's genius everyday. Bill and I were on an airplane with him for a flight to London in 1999 and there were all these screaming girls at the gate , I had no idea who he was, and now 11 years later, this guy has made 2 of my favorite singles of the last year. The video is pretty great too

Salvador Dali For Lanvin Chocolate

Even dali was crazy for Lanvin

The Wisdom of Marilyn Monroe

I came across these statements while looking at profiles on the internet and I gotta admit I'm kind of blown away, I mean I had always heard that MM was smart, but here she seems so together, it's kind of hard to believe that a person who was so patient and wise would take her own life....I guess that's another one of life's mysteries..

"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

"The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space."

"We are all born sexual creatures,thank God, but it's a pity so many people despise and crush this natural gift."

"We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets."

"We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle."

"You never know what life is like, until you have lived it."

"Ever notice how 'What the hell' is always the right answer?"

When Madmen Get Their Way

My friend Mark McCray just sent me a link to images from John Galliano's Dior Haute Couture S/S collection and I have to say I'm blown away, the sheer creativity is mind-blowing. I wonder how many of these creations ever get made? You can see the entire collection here.....

The Arcade Fire Ready To Start

Neon Bible was dreadful, but their new cd I can not get enough of, I love this song!

Skate Something

Matisse Radical Invention at MoMA

This exhibition did exactly what the curators wanted it to do, helped me see Matisse for the inventive genius that he is. I've gone through periods of loving Matisse but lately had kind of thought of him as a bourgeois maker of pretty pictures. This exhibition casts Matisse as a brainy genius who listened to his own voice. I couldn't help but wonder, when looking at the portrait commissions how the sitters must have felt with parts scratched out, features replaced by blocks of color and lines emanating from the neck out into space, suggesting an aura. He was similarly inventive in his depictions of space and form...all in all, this show was a winner.

A friend recommended the audio guide and I'm glad I listened, the curators are chatty and just kind of riff on their favorite elements of each painting, but mostly it forced me to slow down and really spend some time with these works

Elmgreen & Dragset's 4th Plinth Proposal In London

A monument to a life not yet lived. This is smart and hopeful. A stunning example of the accessible genius of Elmgreen and Dragset's work. A feather in London's cap....

You can hear an interview with the artists and vote for their proposal here...

The Firts Danger

Jack Pierson

The Flaming Lips Do you Realize?

I gotta say this song brings me to tears just about everytime I hear it

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are" e.e. cummings

I've seen so many people, myself included, try and get through life keeping their true nature hidden. Afraid maybe that their dreams are unattainable, or that their family and friends won't accept them for who they really are. It took me a long time to realize that being the you that you really are, the unique individual that we are maybe keeping hidden inside us, is infinitly more interesting than conforming to some idea of what we think our friends and family want us to be. This isn't necessarily about your career choice or sexuality but about the way we conduct all of our affairs.

Get Happy

There is an article in today's New York Times about what makes us happy. In general, it's not the things we buy (or stopped buying) that make us happy, but it's our experiences and interactions with others that do that.

In the '90's when I lost my high-paying job in advertising and took that as a sign to finally go after what I came to New York to do, be an artist. I was terrified, my safety net was gone. Now I had to face my fears and go for it, what if it didn't work out, then what? I'd have nothing else to dream about. My fears were entirely unjustified. It literally turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me, it was challenging and thrilling and it worked! My social circle expanded tenfold and now, if I'm lucky, I'm making about one third of what I made then but easily ten times happier.

you can read the article here

I Love Drake!

There, I said it! I've been singing this song in my head all day long, great lyrics here and let's face it, he's pretty cute!

Ragnar Kjartansson at Luhring Augustine

I loved this show, This is from the press release....

In 2009, Kjartansson became the youngest artist to represent Iceland at the Venice Biennale and it was there that he created The End (Venice). Merging his continued interest in durational performance with the classical practice of portraiture, he set out to create a painting on each day of the Biennale. The exhibition at Luhring Augustine will display all 144 paintings created during the Biennale, and the installation will follow an approximate chronological order corresponding to the six months of artistic production. Vitrines in the exhibition space will include archival notes and correspondence related to the project. Kjartansson viewed this long durational performance as an opportunity to surrender to his own romantic ideals and to elaborate on the performative, almost theatrical aspect of painting.

I's conceptual and romantic at the same time....perfect, more information here

Chris Bogia in Butt Online

my friend Chris Bogia is featured in a Butt magazine spread, you can see it here

Oscar Cahén and Gershon Iskowitz at Horton Gallery

There is a very cool show up now at Horton Gallery on Eldridge street in the lower east side, I was really taken by the works of Oscar Cahen, more info here

Steamy Summer In New York

One of the great Joys in NYC is just walking around with no particular destination in mind, it's fun to do it with someone you like but also a lot of fun to do it alone, this city is full of surprises, the ICA building designed by Frank Gehry is on the left in this view from the Highline

So Long Desi

Today I helped my friend Desi pack for his immenent move to the midwest, good luck Desi, it's been a fun summer!

The Golden Girls on Marriage Equality

Megvilágosodás

here

My friend Eduardo is preparing to go back to Sau Paulo after spending 2 1/2 years in Budapest and has some thoughts on what a transformative experience this has been for him. He is one of the wisest men I know, I say that because he is open minded, accepting of himself and others, quick to admit when he is wrong and feels that mistakes are learning experiences. He has a degree of self knowledge that I have rarely come across, I've learned a lot from him. Check out an english translation of his blog here

Nothing That's Happening Will Make Much Sense Until It Has Finished Happening, Whereupon It Will Yield a Burst of Insight about the Big Picture of You

These words of wisdom came from Rob Brezny, check out his horoscopes here

The Undertones Here Comes The Summer

Is it possible to love a record more than I love this?.....no!

My Feet are in the Right Place

I've had a really enjoyable summer just enjoying where I'm at. It's pretty cool being single gay man in NYC witha little bit of experience under my belt. I suppose this has a lot to do with being way more comfortable and accepting of myself than I've ever been, all hard stuff to learn and God Know's I wish I had learned it earlier.

My friend Allen was here visiting from sweden for a month and I had the best time with him. I got to hang out at MoMA with my friend Richard and his amazing daughter Ji-tan one steamy afternoon. My friends Mark and AA had me out for a weekend in fire Island and let me stay there through the week by myself.

I've had flings and romances and a great job with the census where I was madly in love with my boss.

I've faced the biggest problem of my life and learned I had the resources to solve it.

All in all, I gotta say, I am happy being me!

Butt Magazine Beach Towel

Butt magazine and American Apparel have come out with limited edition beach towels featuring some of the hunkiest guys to have appeared in their pages. There's my neighbor Arpad Miklos on one. He's a very sweet guy who has the same addiction to roast pork buns that I do. Another features the hunky Ernie who I had the pleasure of meeting last week at David Robinson's No Pant's party. While everyone was dancing around in kilts and saris Ernie was wearing, nothing and he looked pretty much the way he does here on the towel with a great, infectious smile. More info on the beach towels can be found here

No More Shopping at Target For Me

Well, Target is currently being boycotted due to the fact that the retail chain gave $150,000 to support Tom Emmer, Minnesota and anti-gay gubernatorial candidate.

Many know the department store as a gay friendly establishment but after Emmer's support knowing he has been making marriage inequality a large part of his campaign strategy, GLBT members have turned away from Target.

Many question: if they are progressive enough to offer domestic partnership benefits to gay employees, what is the store's rebuttal for Tom's support? According to them, they support candidates who will "directly affect the company's retail agenda", positively.


I can't believe they would do this, yuck. Tom Emmer is one of the most hateful tea party members out there and target is supporting him? Sounds like a bad idea to me.

Patti & Robert 1968

I was on my fire escape yesterday with a friend visiting from europe because he was saying how cool and american fire escapes are so we went out there and took some pics, then I came across this picture on Scott Hug's blog The k-48 Bullet, Thanks Scott and check out his T-shirt sale today, more info on The k-48 bullet here

The Appeal of Messy Lives

There is a great piece in today's NY Times about the appeal of Mad Men. I've read a lot of articles on the subject but I feel Katie Roiphe really hit's the mark on this one. She feels we are so busy trying to lead these perfect lives and "working out" problems either with ourselves (see blog entry below) or with our partners that we are watching the show with a kind of smug superiority combined with a longing for just being able to let go and have fun without worrying about the consequences.

You can read her piece here....

Fire Island

My friends Mark and AA invited me out to their house for a few days.Niiice!

Robert Buck at Lehman Maupin

This piece by Robert Buck, part of the multi gallery exhibition "Lush Life" looks great now that it has acquired a little wabi sabi

Artforum 1981 vs Artforum 2010

Comparing these two summer issues, first from 1981 when I came to NYC for a break in the summer and this years summer issue..

General Idea at Moma

I'm really loving this new installation of the contemporary galleries in Moma overseen by the new associate director Kathy Hallbreich formerly of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. One room features 3 pieces by Canadien Art Collective "General Idea" relating to their fictious "Miss General Idea Pageant" which for them was a kind of metaphor for the art world, you can hear surviving General Idea member AA Bronson speak about it Here on the Moma website. The next room, "The '80's room" has two walls covered in General Idea's Aids wallpaper, with other artist's work hung on top of it. LOVE begat AIDS and AIDS dominated the artworld in the '80s and '90s. Warhol's gold Rorschack painting and Mapplethorpe's photo of a marble face along with Bruce Nauman's drawing of neon piece of sex turning to violence and Guerrilla Girl's posters are hung on top of the wallpaper making a representation of the far off '80s that feels very familiar to me but has never been told in quite this way since then. The room also holds on of Kady Noland's Aluminum "Patty Hearst" pieces and on the floor is a video moniter playing Laurie Anderson's "Oh Superman"...is this a pop music video? Is this an artists piece? I love the way it conflates those two genres.