Charlotte Gainsbourg

Tonight I watched Charlotte Gainsbourg in Yvan Attal's "My Wife is an Actress." She's up there with Catherine Keener as one of my favorite actresses, plus her impeccable, signature style constantly makes me wish I could just run out and learn French and move to Paris and start acting and smoke cigs at dinner while wearing a trenchcoat.





RP

Post-It Notes

I love Post-It notes. They are efficient, accessible, and never come in ugly colors. I keep pads of them near my bed, computer, and in my handbag so I never have to go without writing something down quickly. The array on my wall right now read as so, in no particular order:

"I think, secretly, it's what every artist wants to do, just to sit and paint and smoke and think" - Ragnar Kjartansson (Iceland's rep @ the Venice Biennale)

"Eligible for upgrade w/o discount. NOW, pay full retail price. iPhone $150.00. DROID by Motorola, $599.00."

"DO FINANCES MONDAY!!!!"

"Milton Resnick (1917 - 2004), Hydrogen, 1961, Oil on Canvas"

"Helen Frankenthaler, Springscape"

"Cecily Brown"

"Hurry Up and Choose by Mozella"

"The Dirty Projectors. Bishop Allen."


RP

Los Libros

I like to keep the books I'm reading straight in front of me on my desk so I can turn to them at any point to find that certain quote I underlined in black pen or pink highlighter. All my books are marked this way and I have a habit of marking books with little notes, or "ha", or stars which mark a point of resonance. I too read multiple books at the same time, which proves to be an interesting if not eccentric way of combining ideas. I am now reading "After Dark" by Haruki Murakami; the Taschen book on "Expressionism" by Norbert World; The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art by Don Thompson; "About Looking" by John Berger; the latest Art Issue of W magazine; Brian Greene's "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality; and finally:

Painters on Painting
Selected and Edited with An Introduction by Eric Protter

Here is what I underlined today:

"The work of art is always based on these two poles of the maker and the onlooker; and the spark that comes from this bi-polar action gives birth to something, like electricity" - Marcel Duchamp

"A PAINTING MUST MAKE HUMAN CONTACT. If a painting does not make a human contact, it is nothing. But the audience is also responsible . . . Through pictures, our passions touch." - Robert Motherwell

Next on the plate: Thomas Pynchon's "Inherent Vice" and Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking."


RP

Saul Leiter at Knoedler & Company

I often find that when a work of art strikes me, it strikes me hard. I felt the same way when I first saw those of Joan Mitchell, Francesca Woodman, and Milton Resnick. The images linger after walking away and nuzzle up inside of me against that part of my brain that feels awe at such magnificence.

I forgot to mention this earlier but I felt this way the other day. I went to Knoedler Project Space with my fellow Visual Arts Administrators and I was blown away by Saul Leiter's work there. I have been trying to work small as of late, in little notebooks with vellum and watercolors. He does it so effortlessly and with such brilliance; I left feeling rigorously inspired and yet so inept.

The works seem to breathe iridescent colors, spellbinding in their suggestive weight. "Flower" in particular struck me:


I find myself using the same palette now, copy-cat (I know), but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.


RP

Lily from Across the Pond

Though her music ain't that great, Lily is starting to work it girlfriend. I stumbled across the new Chanel Cocoon Handbag ads in like, oh, every magazine of late and I must say she hides her outspoken, cynical self well in black and white.





Let's not forget though that she did come up with the lyrics "So your daughter's depressed, well, get her straight on the Prozac, but little do you know she already takes crack." Whhaaaa?

Imagine that conversation between mother and daughter:

Mom (pointing her finger): Are you depressed?
Daughter (biting her fingernails): Yes.
Mom: You're going to start taking Prozac.
Daughter: But MOM! I already take crack.
Mom: Oh, I didn't know.
Daughter: Um, yeah . . .

Pause for reaction. I found it amusing.



RP

Bona Drag

I found out about Bona Drag from Daily Candy. I was perusing their glorious collection with a 60's vibe, I picked out the following must-haves:






I think only a certain kind of gal can pull off the lace pants, I saw similar ones in a Calypso window the other day.






As far as the earrings, well, Edie Sedgwick - my style icon - would have worn these most definitely. Sassafrass, a blog I've been reading lately, has a great post on Edie.







I can't pull off the whole jumpsuit thing, not tall enough, but this one is gorgeous even to look at just for the contrast between the tight top and loose bottom.







Love shoes. Love them. This funky yet sophisticated pair caught my eye.

Check out Bona Drag's blog.



RP

Practically Free

Just hit up a Free People sale at the Free People Upper West Side Store (1319 3rd Avenue). Got a black romper for $29.95, a charcoal silky blazer thing for $49.95, and amazing fancy-sweats for $19.95. OH YEAH.

Black Romper

Silky Blazer

Fancy-Sweats


RP