Lee Bonticou - Sculpture in 2D

MoMA is currently running a Lee Bontecou exhibition through August 30.

I first experienced Bontecou's work at MoMA Queens in 2004. I was initially struck by the tactility of the work and her use of materials - felt, metal, clear wire, canvas. Bontecou's compositions range from kinetic whimsy to Star Wars inspired wall art (in a good way), but each piece, for all its tactility and three dimensional qualities, works remarkably in two dimensions. Take the press image that the Museum chose for the exhibition:

At first glance, this could be the work of a (very) talented graphic artist. It is actually a photograph of one of Bontecou's kinetic sculptures (Untitled. 1980-98), which also happens to be the centerpiece of the exhibition. Don't get me wrong - seeing this piece in the flesh is breathtaking, but I wouldn't mind hanging this print on my wall either. 

Some might say that all great sculpture works in 2D - art in the round means it should present well from any angle, however flat, right? Fact is that few sculptors cross the graphic divide so easily. Let's just say that Bontecou's sculpture exceeds the qualification of photographing well.

As has been my fate recently, writing about these events takes the place of actually attending them. If you're in NYC this summer, check it out and tell me what you think.

Lee Bontecou: All Freedom in Every Sense

Canned Beer

Call me a snob, but I refuse to let the metallic taste of aluminum interfere with a good beer experience. I understand there are advantages to cans - lightweight, more easily crushed against the average frat boy's skull, etc., but food and drink is one area in which I fail to see how the utilitarian argument prevails.

Then comes along Oskar Blues Brewery out of Colorado, and, you guessed it, their line of specialty brews are available in cans only.

Why?! Our local beer guy (here's the plug for Brawley's in Charlotte) told my boyfriend that it's designed for campers (the lightweight factor coming into play), but we all really know that the cans raise the beer's hipster quotient. That alone made me want to dislike the beer, but... erg... it's actually good beer.

Oskar Blues started with Dale's Pale Ale, the "first hand-canned craft beer,"  but the label has now grown to seven brews. We tried the foundational Dale's Pale Ale as well as their Gordon Ale, which the company describes as an Imperial Red/ Double IPA. Being an IPA fan myself, you can guess which I prefer, but I'm not cool enough to say I didn't notice the metallic tinge.

So while I'll admit this is worth trying, my advice to all those hip campers: carry a glass or, er, enameled tin cup for pouring.

Ode to Ovation

A simple ode to Ovation, the cable channel that exists for the pleasure of the nerdy few. It is no Bravo - no omnipresent, handsome gay man or beautiful rich bitch. How it stays on air, I don't know. There can't be that many people interested in things like a honky-tonk singer turned opera performer or the design origin of greeting cards, but I don't mind minimal company. So here's to a few favorite Ovation moments:

Designer People - Ovation, why didn't you come to me before Amy Devers? I'm so much cooler (though I'll admit my wardrobe isn't).

Later with Jools Holland - Here's to musical talent and small venues but why 4AM?! Another reason to have TiVo.

Bathroom Divas - That honky tonk singer I was talking about? Episode 3.

Reality TV - About up and coming photographers, dancers, musicians, artists, and designers. Sure Project Runway started it all, but Ovation took into disciplines other channels wouldn't dare.

Documentaries -  On every artist, architect, musician, and designer worth mentioning and beyond. I celebrate a channel whose core content is built on these sorts of productions.

Tar and Feathers

Despite nearly a quarter century of involvement in the dance world, I had never seen the work of Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian. So when a friend who formerly danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater was raving about his work yesterday, I did what any educated person would do - I found him on youtube. I was not disappointed. 

There are a number of clips from his long works online. "Falling Angels" demands noting, but I prefer "Tar and Feathers," which is absolutely stunning from the dancers' movement (formalism meets the womb) to the music (ambient sound overlaid with notes from Mozart's "Jeunehomme") to the set design. And yes, that piano! For those not into dance but interested in Surrealism, watch the first clip below just for the piano. It's less than two minutes and worth your time, trust me. The second clip is a 1 minute section from the same piece.

For those with time and money to spare, take a field trip to see the Boston Ballet perform "Black and White," a five-ballet program of Kylian's work scheduled for the third and fourth weekends in May.

Tar and Feathers by Jiri Kylian
Tar and Feathers by Jiri Kylian (Clip #2)
Photo: Netherlands Dans Theater

The Musical With Something Extra

Part of my job is to read. I know, it's terrible but someone's got to do it. One genre that I follow on a daily basis is criticism. Literature, art, theater, architecture, film, typography, you name it: criticism speaks directly to its subject and attempts to engage the reader - novice and expert alike - in evaluating that subject, not as being good or bad per se but, instead, relevant or no, influential, tangible, topical, etc. Criticism puts creative work into perspective. It provides informative reviews of a given object, play, or building's place in the historical/cultural/socio-political spectrum and how it may exceed or fall short in comparison. Information equally prepares every creative professional to jump the quality divide - thus how good criticism can alter the course of careers and professions.

Architects hate criticism, but I think that stems from years of brow beating in school by smug professors who have never learned how to be good (read: constructive) critics. So I will not list an architectural review today. Instead, let's talk theater posters.


Yesterday the New York Times reviewed the new production of "La Cage aux Folles," the French musical production that became in the 1996 English movie translation, "The Birdcage" starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. It is a well-written piece by Ben Brantley (click here for the theatre review), but more interesting is the interactive feature on the design development for the production's poster art, "Ad Evolution: La Cage aux Folles." The interactive feature reveals a number of proposals for the ad campaign by NY creative agency SpotCo with voice overs by agency founder Drew Hodges. Click on an individual poster, and you get a closer look with Mr. Hodges relaying the inspiration for each design and the reason why it was (in the case of the final version) or was not chosen for the campaign.

There are some fantastic ideas here. I love the yellow show "girl" with the big red lips, but Mr. Hodges is right - that text is too small for Times Square. The simplicity of the pink poster with falsies, mustache, and the show's name in lights is another favorite as is the neon option near the end. The final version is excellent of course, but forgive me if I feel like I've seen it before - someone please help me remember where. Yes, I get the playful notion of the sex objects in heels and feathers being men instead of women, and this ad is so New York City.  I guess I just go for whimsy or Studio 54. When this show hits Miami, one of these other posters should travel with it.

I Heart Millinery

I have an undying love for all things hats, especially those which refer to that beautiful time in history when gloves, hats, and stockings with perfectly vertical back seams (or the wearer risked a tarnished reputation) were the rule rather than the exception. Okay, okay. I know there are many aspects of that time that I would never tolerate as a contemporary woman, but forget all that for now because we're talking about hats.  

I have a collection, which I know I should photograph at some point – little portraits, my children since I have neither spawn nor a pet – and each one is chosen for both its unique, individual character and its place in the collection. 

One item that is still missing from the collection is a top hat. Whether rooted in a recent affinity for the Victorian or my love of the burlesque, I have searched high and low for that perfect top hat for three years now to no avail. More easily found are the ultra traditional (refer to your local equestrian shop) and the tiny, whimsical versions (hello, hair clips), but I’ve not gotten as close to satisfying my mind’s eye as I have with topsyturvydesign’s millinery on, where else, Etsy.com. 

Below are a couple of my favorites - and yes, I realize they're all black, but top hats are traditionally formal wear. Topsyturvydesign does other colors, but, call me traditional, I dig the black.

What I think these clearly show, besides beautiful objects for the human body, is that quality millinery never strayed far from careful hand craft. It’s not just the details that require the hand’s attention, but the shaping and care with the fabrics and stitching as well. 

One of these will be meeting the other kids soon.

On Top of Spaghetti...

Last night I satisfied my boyfriend’s cravings for – you got it – meatballs. Don’t ask me why this is funny to me (and it’s not just their name), but I find meatballs to be one of those hangovers from mid-century housewifery, complete with vinyl tablecloth and Technicolor food photography. I nearly donned an apron for it but have yet to find one cute enough but not so precious as to prevent me from wearing it while working with tomato sauce.

The Ravenous Boy, 1954. Image Source: Plan 59 Prints

Don’t get me wrong – I dig a nice, polished modern kitchen in the fifties mode. But meatballs? After the mental image of that kitchen, the next words that came to mind were bad, duo-chrome man food. Being the amazing girlfriend I am, however, I cracked open Cook’s Illustrated Best Recipes and turned to that entry you never would have thought you’d turn to in a Cook’s Illustrated: Spaghetti and Meatballs.

What I learned from making meatballs:

1. Meatballs are easy to make. Really! Perhaps that’s why they became a fifties staple. They’re something the ole wife-y can pull off with more or less ease and still satisfy her family. And, yes, my boyfriend was very, very happy. I was actually nearly offended by how happy he was considering the many exotic recipes from Food & Wine I’ve made for him over the years that registered modest applause by compare.

2. Meatballs are NOT heavy, dense, fried balls o’ meat. No, these meatballs prepared per CI’s directions, were light, almost fluffy (if you can call meat fluffy). As the cookbook called it, if I’d rolled the balls too tightly or over-compressed them before frying, they may have turned out according to my preconceived notions. It turns out that a light hand is just the trick.

3. Now this wasn’t a surprise really but still a bit of a revelation. Eating meatballs over spaghetti with the sauce prepared in the same sauté pan as the meatballs – how to say this – well, it did induce an uncanny sensation of déjà vu. I don’t know if it was the texture or the color or the taste (probably a combination of all three), but the dish channeled the spirit of June Cleaver into our living room. Maybe this is the true definition of comfort food.

So there you have it. I apologize for prejudging this long-loved dish and encourage you to try it out on your nearest manly appetite.