Marina

I have been a rubbish blog updater. My apologies if you still actually read this.
I guess I have learned there is a time to be quiet. The past two months
have been that time. There have been ideas and things to share, but they have
been more personal and things that simply need a bit of muddling over.

I have found that posting less yields producing more.
Something in that is private and personal. I've started to log and keep my
thoughts in different ways and it has been more beneficial to me. I'm not sure
if I am going to be continuing this but I'm not going to decide that this moment.
It comes with time and peace.

Since March, I have been attending the Marina Abramovic retrospective at MOMA.
Tomorrow is the final day of Marina's performance.
If you have yet to see this incredible show, do yourself a huge favor and postpone
your bbq for a couple hours and head over to MOMA.
I'll certainly be there basking in the light of Marina's glow.

love,
a.

dos candelas

Le Futur Possible is two years old today.
Thanks for reading.

melon bon bon dance steps

I have been thinking about these since I saw them over the weekend.
I have another pair of Dieppa Restrepo elephant gray ones that are so
ripped up I only use them for dancing and that is a little nod to my favourite
dance floor friend. The melon colour is so bright and sweet, it'd be a nice pop
with the other summer fruit inspired gypsy colours I want to wear now.
(I'm searching for a mint coloured pair as well, give a tip if you spot them.)

i can whistle some sweet romance for you

Major love to E for turning me on to this cats.

sometimes it only takes one

It has been a whirlwind two months and I have been seeking
inspiration in so many places and at times searching for more
than that, maybe something in the form of answers as well.
I saw these Lizzie Fortunato bracelets when visiting
Maryam Nassir Zadeh a couple weeks ago with a friend.
Something about these got me thinking. In grand and aspiring
ways and it was just what I needed and it was beautifully and
completely unexpected. Ideas and explanations to follow.
And so it goes. It flows.

without them

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the Iranian artist, Shirin Neshat.
Her debut feature film, Women Without Men, will be playing next week.
From the preview and if her previous body of work is any indication, I am
confident it will be visually stunning and emotionally striking. The trailer
honestly brought me to tears.

Women Without Men
March 30. 615pm@MOMA
March 31. 915pm@Film Society/Lincoln Center

amulet amore

I cannot exactly recall how I came across the design collective,
A Peace Treaty but after a look through their offerings, I was holding
back from ordering every bronze jangly item of adornment on the website.
In addition to jewels this season, Farah Malik and Dana Arbib have a line
of scarves and throws made by women artisans in the Himalayas. Each
season, they seek out artisans with a gift for handiwork and collaborate
with them, reinventing traditional crafts. I am determined to get them
to discover the talent coming out of the womens' hands in Armenia.

pictured clockwise from top left:
necklaces: talogan, lashkar, khost
earrings: nahrin, konduz

monsoon saturdays

I missed Holi celebrations by a couple of weeks. So, this stunning pair
is in honor of that. Welcome spring and colours converge in the universe!

chiaroscuro

The fall 2010 Chris Wijnants collection truly captures the minimal spirit
that is so prevalent this season. With a welcome contrast, it captures a
thoughtful and quiet air in its simplicity. It feels more refreshed than many
of the minimal takes that are just slapping on camel coats and calling it clean.
Frankly, I'm totally disappointed by the print development this season and
so appreciate what Wijnants has done here. The dresses printed with soft,
fleshy bodies have a Tuscan feel about them and are inspiring me to plan
an autumn olive picking excursion. His work reminds me of a young
Dries Van Noten and that is a serious compliment.

saffron sound

I had no idea I had heard this band before when I was waiting in line
to see them play at BAM a couple weeks ago. But, after some remembering
yes it is true. I was working backstage at the Ports 1961 show when they
were jamming and they are damn fun.
Red Baraat is playing a residency at Nublu this month. I, sadly cannot
make it this evening due to an overwhelming amount of overdue work
but I plan to be there the next couple of Sundays.
Nublu
62 Avenue C at Fifth Street

italiana pazzissma

Anna Dello Russo, probably has to be my favourite editor to watch in terms
of her wearable selections. I think she appeals to my own sensibilities of
mixing colours and textures. Also the fact, that she sports pieces like that
Miu Miu heavily embellished, bordering on ice skater dress makes me
extremely envious.

awesome optik

It has been a couple seasons since I've had a true feeling and excitement
for Balenciaga. However, this collection truly marks a rekindling of my interest.
The colours reminded me of Japanese washi tape and the textiles of bubble
wrap. I love how the tops look like they are made of foam when cinched in
at the waist. It will be really a thrill to feel all of these materials when they are
in the shop.

found the purple bottle, found your heart

The purple bottle, live

punch drunk

Marni Autumn 2010

please stay, don't go away

I am declaring it Animal Collective week, as there are so many
events involving them in the next couple days.
(Ok. Two, but that is two enough for me.)
In anticipation and celebration, there will be daily picks.
Cuckoo Cuckoo felt appropriate on this edge of Spring day.

a dance like clockwork honey

It is an interesting experience to watch a performance

and be continually flooded throughout the viewing with other

images and thoughts it conjures in ones mind. I felt that way

this evening, watching the Mark Morris Dance Group at BAM.

Accompanied by a few stragglers running from the train though

the slush coming out of the sky, I was temporarily seated in the

back of the orchestra for the first piece, Behemoth. Being level

with the dancers for this part was ideal, to see the patterns, the

repeats, the prints in the space made with their bodies and

limbs. On all of their costumes, marigold and kelly greens,

each one had a little piece of mirror on their chest and they

would twist and one would hit the light and make little shadows

and sparks all over the room. It was clever and at first you think,

is that someone’s watch reflecting, what is going on? But, when

you realize it is the dancers and its part of their movements, it

brings a quiet smile.

I was thinking about Atomic City, a beautiful, thoughtful show with

acrobats that my brilliantly talented previous roommate, Aidan

performed in. It reminded me of the movements in that show. I

loved that about Behemoth, the repetitions of their playful, silly

movements, flopping feet like fish, the zigzag twisting with fingers

and to witness the reverb of these motions. The silence and space

in between become motions in another thought, in itself.

A scene started with five bodies, lying slightly to the side, feet facing

us. I immediately thought of one of my favourite passages in Albert

Camus' A Happy Death, where Patrice and his companions are at

the house on the top of the world in Algiers, sunning themselves until

they melt with pleasure. The cats are mentioned in this section of the

book, being lazy, carnal creatures and then some of the dancers were

stretching long and crawling across the stage, seemingly worshiping

the warmth of something and slowly scampering to reach it.

I started to think about those old wristwatches where you can see all

the springs and gears and everything is turning and it has its place but

there does appear to be a randomness about it. The dance felt like this,

but as if there was honey between the gears, making some motions in

between a flux.

I loved the tenderness when one of the male dancers picked up his lady

counterpart and held her up, displayed to the world and then laid her

back down, sliding her on to his back. It was quiet. I liked that.

The second piece ‘Looky’ was hilarious and fun. The backdrop was

like a Rothko painting and a Bill Viola art video to start and then the

dancers were running around in what I deemed to be Dolce and

Gabbana pajamas (but there was one star printed Miu Miu bodysuit,

I swear!) and making a tableau vivant turned barnyard hoe down.

But, don’t get me wrong, it felt so entirely Italian. This transformed

into a drippy gossip heavy formal ball a la Jane Austen. From there,

we turn to the jazz age, straight out of the chapter in The Great Gatsby

where Fitzgerald is writing about the citrus fruit for the lawn party.

It was drunken and erratic, with saltwater taffy melting soft Bob Fosse
struts and then wrapped with a slight resemblance to a Greek tragedy,

which is not too far off because the final dance was exactly that,

the death of Socrates.

I got all referential in this entry and that is not my intention, but I wanted

to stay true to everything that passed my mind and all the scribbles in

my notebook. Nonetheless, see this show at BAM if you can. Its worth it

for all your own set of inspirations and images.

Mark Morris Dance Group

@ BAM

February 26, 27 7:30pm

a grand greek revolution

Mary Katrantzou Fall 2010 offerings really floored me. I have been
watching her evolve since Central Saint Martins graduation and
am consistently pleased with the results ever season, being the
print fiend that I am. These particular ones seem like spontaneous
meetings of fractured chandeliers, bloody french revolution flags,
rococo swirls and rare gem box tops. I love how they are blended
together so you can't pick out the seams.

claudia

Claudia has been my daily cooking inspiration as of late. Slowly, her
masterpiece, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food is becoming my bible.
I just love those simple peasant recipes that are a nice break to create during
a day of work at home. Major shout out to Amy G for kindly giving me the book.

missing a year of this could break my heart

May I just ask, where has the New York Times been? Did they really
just discover Motorino? This article will result in me only frequenting
the Brooklyn location.

food dates, in clean well-lighted places

Two of my lovely pals treated me to a couple of fantastic food outings.
I have been to Chika-Licious a couple of times and this time, again
being a lovely experience. I adore all of the staff and their utter
excitement when telling you about the earl gray tea pudding and meyer
lemon sorbet and their love for it is totally contagious. My favourite thing
about this place is watching Chika prepare desserts and her silent little
smile as she does things like torch a creme brulee or perfectly round out
an ice cream scoop.


Hai totally surprised me with the suggestion of going to Minetta Tavern
to sample the infamous burger and the cote de boeuf. It was indulgent
and I loved every minute of it. Here is my day after reactions:

it was fantastic.
we had cocktails- excellent- hai had one with rosemary, delicious-
we shared the black label burger-
perfectly cooked- onion relish on top amazing-
brioche bun was a bit lacking- tasty and wonderful surely- but lost its form and edge
when soaked with the meats juice-just became a mechanism to hold the burger
was good- but wish it held its shape
very tasty- worth 26 bones
not sure but you gotta try it once

and then we had the cote de boeuf
superb
this is the best meat i have ever eaten-
sublime almost and there was tons of it-
and the bone marrow, completely indulgent
soaking it up with the bread- fat becomes fantasy-

when we were making our order, the waitress was like 'i recommend a vegetable,
that is a lot of meat' hai looked at me and i was like hai, we are not here to eat vegetables

i love you david and hai. thank you for eating with me.

el corazón roto y sangriento

Reading the news that Ferran is closing El Bulli totally broke my heart.
I should have gone when I was on the Costa Brava in July. I'm seriously
kicking myself, even though it would have resulted in some major credit
damage. But, it probably would have been worth it.
There is still time.
Maybe?

mark

One of my favourite Saturday morning activities is catching up on
Mark Bittman New York Times Minimalist videos. Mark always has
the ability to make me laugh and hungry. How perfect is that?

sac à dos des fleurs

Top photo taken a Milk Studios during fashion week
Bottom photo Menswear in London

the lady artist of allah

It has been a couple years since I have held such fascination
with a video artist. Bill Viola, being my introduction to the medium
and really a founding father. I recently discovered Shirin Neshat,
an Iranian artist working today in New York. I have yet to see any
of her work in person, but was struck by the still from the piece,
'Games of Desire'. A meditation on oral histories and courtship
rituals in Laos.

This exhibit is up in Madrid at the La Fábrica Galería through March.

do you float up up up

oddsac, the animal collective film, coming soon.

piece of my heart

I think receiving this would floor anyone.

this wilderness up in my head

When the design is good, I will get behind whatever it is.
Alexander Wang
Spring 2010
Sunnies Alexander Wang by Linda Farrow

my bed is a pool and the walls are on fire

i want to walk around with you in summertime clothes.
nina ricci/spring 2010

candybar is the new crack

I finally went to the momofuku milk bar a couple weeks ago and since
tasting the candy bar pie on my second visit, I have been crushing on it.
And it is major. i cannot stop thinking about it. Its salty, caramel perfection.
Texturally and tastefully ideal. I don't know how they did it, but now I am
completely obsessed and must find a way to replicate.

monofuku milk bar
207 second avenue at 13th street
nyc

long gone

queste storie d'inchiostro stessi

quando ho amore per te, c'è un sacco di esso

centre of the centre

back in december, Scout asked me to give them some ideas for my
trend predictions for the next ten years. the origins trend is something i
started to think about during my trip to Armenia this past july. they included
the top bit in their newsletter and i was super excited to see these looks from
the Alexandre Herchcovitch show in São Paulo just this week. i really love
how he mixes references and creates something that is refreshed and seemingly
possible to sport oneself quite easily. so the hair accessorizing begins... oh and
the makeup is quite lovely as well.

if love was like this, it would be better

animal collective continues to amaze me, shatter my heart and make
it melt like glossy wax. i prefer the EP version of this but it still retains
its lush charms. they have this unparalleled ability to make music
that when you hear it and close your eyes it somehow becomes an
all consuming experience. i want to dress in candy floss and float on
lurex carpets and kiss fishes and dance like i'm upside down and eat
luscious leaves like how this song sounds. there is sense in that to me.

sing a siren song, because i am evil

nearly every evening at 11pm, John Schafer on New Sounds has his way
with me. this lonely sunday evening full of work is no exception.
i was slain the moment i dialed in, which was a couple minutes late.
maybe i'm feeling melancholic but the new sounds immediately sparked
my interest. here is the podcast of the show i listened to. it is all about music
inspired by Homer's Odyssey and the Isle of the Sirens. i mean, simply brilliant.
i'm searching for a mp3 or video of the Laurel MacDonald Sirenaria piece
i fancied. this particular song reminds me of when i was quite young and
my family and i would drive back home to Iowa after visiting St. Louis in our
old school blue Mercades and we would listen to Hearts of Space. learning
to chill with music at such a ripe age. it also seems fitting because i put a
mermaid sticker up by my night light in the car. i recall being quite upset
when the wheels were sold because i was so fond of the sticker.
i had quite a kinship with it and used to talk to it and the moon as
we would drive along through the night. little kids are the coolest weirdos.

true form

I do not recall how I happened upon these musicians, but now I am
totally obsessed with them and their wild, whirling performances.
The Jaipur Kawa Brass Band hails from Rajasthan and like all things
Indian on this blog, they are mind blowing and heart shatteringly brilliant,
spilling with colour and life. As if I needed another reason to run away to
my Indian gypsy life.

ethnic girls are cooler than you

clouds stop and move above me

i was thrilled to see the fruits of this collaboration between unearthen
and alexandra cassaniti because i have a wild fascination with the indian
celebration, holi and in the glass of this pendant is just that...some pink
holi powder! this definitely addresses the space i have been looking to
fill with a new piece that is a bit off beat and the shock of pink provides
the perfect pop.

wavy gravy, save a lady!

i am big time crushing on some of the opening ceremony
spring pieces from their new look book. the washed out tie dye
suede was a smooth move on those triple bow kicks.

the good luck fruit

on every occasion i have to visit my family on the west coast, they somehow
end up introducing me to a new fruit or vegetable. its become some strange
ritual that i now anticipate. last year, it was the romanesco broccoli. somehow
we all became a bit enamored with it and that yielded some photographs of
some people putting in on our heads like a hat. this year it was the pomelo.
the pomelo is from south east asia and is very similar to a grapefruit. the pith
is very thick and there is not much of the translucent gems inside, but the few
that you do get are sweet and subtly spicy. when you peel the pomelo it offers
a delicious aroma and i really liked the way the skin of it felt, i would go as far
as to describe it as soft. i'm experimenting with giving the skin an alternative
function. you have to touch it to believe it! now, i am on the constant watch for
other weird hybrid produce.

apris apris

shnorhavor surp ts'nund!
happy armenian little christmas!

high, high seas

i have been following the 'adventures' of Paul Watson
and the rest of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for
a couple years now. around this time in the year, the crew
heads down to Antarctic waters to trail the Japanese whaling
ships that are supposedly doing research by poaching hundreds
of minke whales, but seem to go beyond the necessary number of
dead whales needed to perform research.
Sea Shepherd is known for their extreme tactics and are considered
pirates and/or terrorists among many, but they seem to be the only
organization taking an active approach in stopping Japanese Whaling.
The New York Times just ran a story. click here. and get informed.
photo: new york times

the wounds from red shoes

john waller was on wnyc yesterday morning talking about the
dancing plagues. i am utterly fascinated by this piece of history.
hoping to pick this up real soon.

eating is the only real legitamate reason for travel

books about good eats. i mean, does it get better?
here is to another year of fantastic food.

smells like jaisalmer and smokes like oran

heard this in a shop in san francisco last week and
its been making me swoon ever since. perfect for sultry
dancing around whilst slowly packing for a new brooklyn life.

heaven from tattoo you, the rolling stones

ginger and chocolate covered

been absent for a couple of posts and as usual i am
attempting to play catch up with the last few days.

i spent a lovely couple of days in san francisco as part of my
annual holiday trip to the left coast and discovered some
real gems with the help of my long time friend, erika.
as a result, i am now full on a burmese food obsession and
have been reinspired to make things, including food, drink and
bits to drape around oneself in various forms.

i will be back to new york in a couple days and moving into my
new, drenched with sunlight, brooklyn apartment. very much
anticipating this and i have lots of interior ideas that will pass
through here.

meanwhile, i will be chilling with my dog, eating my fathers
fantastic persian/armenian food and my mums biscotti and taking
in some sunshine on my birthday.
enjoy the holidays.

high spirits and overflowing

since i was absent stateside this summer, i am still
playing catch up with music that i missed.
(save for the russian and armenian pop and techno music.)
i heard real estate this morning on sound check
and totally fell in love with their laid back, surf rock.
the last bit of this tune slays me.
it is totally summer and surf in a sound.
what i would give to be tan with my soles on a long board right now!

ola

albert elbaz art directed this shoot for vogue brazil.
i rarely put up editorials here but really loved this one.
its nice to see a great set idea like this one work so well.