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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.