Modern Assembly

Marcel Dzama, Behind Every Curtain, March 5th, 2011

2011-04-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Marcel Dzama, signing books and drawing monsters at David Zwirner.

Diamond Ace, Ace Hotel NYC, A Cold Winter Night, 2011

2011-02-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

Diamond Ace: a story of love, embezzlement, grand larceny, aiding and abetting, racketeering, aggravated assault, DUI, mail fraud, identity theft, probation violation, tampering with evidence, perjury, prowling, Fentanyl analogue trafficking with intent to distribute, intent to use trademark, petty theft, public nuisance, solicitation, hope and corporate manslaughter.

There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.

-- The Naked City, 1948

The Lansdowne Theater, Lansdowne PA

2010-12-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

Walking around The Lansdowne Theater was a bit how I imagine it might be diving into the Mary Rose or the Atocha, parts that are fragile and coming apart and other parts still reflecting the same elegance it had when it opened in 1927. After its sixty-year run, the movie theater would close in 1987 due to an electrical fire and remain closed, losing financial backing for repair and renovation. Matt Schultz, President of The Lansdowne Theater Corporation has made his devotion to reviving the theater his full time occupation.

Restoring the theater has less to do with nostalgia than it has to do with generating business and reinventing the theater itself. Matt Schultz's vision is to turn the space into a multifaceted performance venue, whether it be for cinema, live music or live theater, making the Lansdowne Theater a valuable piece of property both culturally and monetarily.

Matt asked if NYC would let an abandoned movie theater sit around, locked up for decades. I did a little digging. The answer is no. It'd become a Duane Reade. City Cinema RKO, built in 1926 on Lexington & 86th is now a Duane Reade. The Meserole in Greenpoint Brooklyn, built in 1928 is now a Rite Aide. The Forest Hills Theater in Queens, built in 1921 was closed and bought out by Duane Reade and Bleecker Street Cinema at 144 Bleecker has most recently been taken over by Duane Reade, the Captain Ahab of retail, steadfastly waging some perverse vendetta against cinema. Jesus! What did cinema ever do to you?

Thanks for the wonderful tour Matt.

Undoing Giants: Vinicio Capossela, Empassioned Music Man

2010-11-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Vinicio Capossela, born in Hanover, Germany in 1965, raised in Reggio Emilia, Italy, inventing his own musical genres I call Italian hardcore cabaret, the gritty love song and the psychedelic ballad.

With his latest album release, The Story-Faced Man (Warner Music Group, 2010), Capossela has nine studio albums and three live albums to his name. Perhaps only more recently building a larger following in the United States, Capossela is one of the most original and influential living artists in Italy today.

His verses, often rooted in the mythological, fantastical, philosophical and of course, in love, could never be mistaken for anyone else's, for they are uniquely Vinicio.

"On a dark ship someone's trembling like a swan, the shadows create and undo giants in the sky after a rainfall, and men have turned the lone dragon into a god..."

                                                                                           --Vinicio Capossela, Lanterne Rosse
                        (my translation)



                                                                                             Le Poisson Rouge, NYC

Official Website: www.viniciocapossela.it/
Hear his songs on Myspace: www.myspace.com/viniciocapossela

Johnny Rozsa, Untouched, Christopher Henry Gallery, Oct. 22nd, 2010

2010-10-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Johnny Rozsa channels an old kind of romance: Prohibition parties, Oscar Wilde,
Fellini's 8 1/2, Gang of Four.

Johnny's photos are a winding narrative of someone who reaches into in. It's his factory.

He touched my head and twirled my hair. I felt loved.

Johnny Rozsa, Krys Fox

Jean-Philippe Boucicaut, Marco Testa

Olek

Temple de Mexico

2009-11-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

November 16th, 2009

Marisol Mercado Covarrubias presents her jewelry line, Temple, at Tribal Arts Gallery, NYC.
www.templedemexico.com

Marisol Mercado Covarrubias

Chat et Mois

Gimme my Munny, Nov. 12th, 2009

2009-11-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Kid Robot launched its new do-it-yourself toy line, Munnyworld, with a custom, designer toy exhibition at Eloquent Delinquents Gallery.

The artists were great, friendly, lots of toy signing. At some point, I got spritzed with Corona, New Year's Eve style by a pair of San Tropez vacationites who were bar hopping when suddenly, a tight gallery space with exposed, limited edition artwork obstructed their path. I brushed off some foam, along with the gentleman standing next to me, also sprayed. I'm pretty sure we made peace. You know, "desole," it was just "pour s'amuser," "passer un bon moment." Gallery? What gallery? Art shmart. Just a little beer. No hard feelings, but be forewarned, I believe security is heavily armed over at Larry Gagosian. Continuer a maintenir la paix!

Wobots in Munnyworld:

Tim

Tim Dubitsky and Tobias Wong

Travis

Munny's Travis

Tony: Il Miglior Fabbro

2009-11-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Tony Beno Holden: Chef, Blackbird Cafe, Brooklyn, New York

I see Tony just about every day at Blackbird where I get my coffee. Tony and I once debated the popularity of a certain beet dressing on a hamburger. Was it too experimental? Did people want a plain old burger? We mulled over the issue for a few minutes. I don't think we ever concluded anything and promptly moved onto a conversation about Italian political corruption.

What do beet dressing and Italian politics have in common? Nothing. They're just the kinds of things Tony and I talk about and of course, we reminisce about some of Italy's finer points.

Ciao Tony!

Kinemacolor

2009-11-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

"She's letting me stay here while she's working on a movie that's being made in Canada. But I guess you already know that. Well, I couldn't afford a place like this in a million years... unless, of course, I'm discovered and become a movie star. Of course, I'd rather be known as a great actress than a movie star. But, you know, sometimes people end up being both. So that is, I guess you'd say, sort of why I came here.
[pause]
I'm sorry. I'm just so excited to be here. I mean I just came here from Deep River, Ontario, and now I'm in this dream place. Well, you can imagine how I feel."

-- Betty Elms, Mulholland Drive

Nail Polish in Dovima by NARS

Brave New World-Testers by NARS

Touche Eclat skin highlighter by Yves San Laurent

Gloss Pur by Yves San Laurent

Lip Gloss Quad in South Beach by Cargo

Lip Lacquer in Eros by NARS

Lip Lacquer in Chelsea Girls by NARS

Lip Lacquer in F***ed With by NARS (o.k., I made that one up)

Lip Lacquer in Hot Wired by NARS

Wild and Untamed Things

2009-10-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

So, hair. Why is Issac Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation, what goes up must come down, accepted unequivocally? Ok, fine. Gravity. But has anyone sought to challenge that theory?

More than 2oo years later, Albert Einstein would find flaws in Newton's theory on a couple of fronts, but my question is, could Einstein's hair have proven Newton wrong altogether?

Did Einstein's hair challenge some basic laws of gravity?

Would Newton have been threatened by Einstein's hair?

Has anyone ever seen a photo of Einstein with a slick do?

I'm tackling my platitudes one theory at a time, people.

To wild and untamed things:

Shaun, Artist, Union Square

Paid Laugher, SOHO

Greg, Artist and Bartender, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Gangstershitmod

2009-10-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

...she was a bad influence

Cat Fight

Bad Influence

Good Head

Randy James & Famous

2009-10-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

I told Randy he has good posture. He thought that was strange. People tell him different. Either I'm a bad judge of posture or Randy has good posture. I think it's the latter.

Randy is a poet from Los Angeles, with good posture and on occasion can be found near Prince Street, standing in partial sunlight.

Randy James: Poet. Denim: Naked & Famous

Analogue Lunch

2009-10-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Horizontal in Brooklyn

Endgame

2009-10-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Kehinde Wiley's Closing Party for Black Light,
Deitch Projects, September 26th:

Ok. I realize I'm late in posting this one...let's say... for reasons having to do with a counterintuitive, insular time construct, primarily non-linear in nature. Look, I never said it had to be October.

Here is a consoling thought to keep in mind when running late: beginnings and endings are one and the same, with exceptions being the gallery world and chess perhaps.

If there's no beginning, then there's no end, in which case, you've never been late for anything, nor will you ever be again. Or you can always hop a cab; this is New York City.

Women. Legs, The Creator

Elizabeth Lynn Edwards, student, University of Pittsburgh.
Dress: Alice + Olivia

Benu, jazz and soul singer. Jeans: 192 Doves, Ruben Chapelle

Marisol Mercado Covarrubias, Copper necklace: her own design
from her jewelry line, Temple de Mexico.
www.templedemexico.com

Later at Malcolm's

Kareem D. Anglin, publisher of his blog, Male Style Review
malestylereview.blogspot.com

This is Larry Ossei-Mensah, photographer, skilled small-talk bypasser,
thought-provoker and editor of his blog, My Global Hustle.
www.myglobalhustle.com

"Totin' techs..."

2009-10-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

Totin' techs...in the project hallways...
-- Christopher Wallace (1972-1997)

Texting in the corridor of Deitch Projects:

Is it a fashion statement?

If you look good while doing it, then...maybe.

If you wear a fur-lined collar while doing it, you're an installation piece...and also fashionable.

If you walk into a wall while doing it, it'd very likely be more embarrassing than painful and perhaps also an installation piece.

Pop-up Shop

2009-10-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Pop-up Shop

Broome & West Broadway

Eddie and The Quiet Type

2009-10-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

In a previous post I hypothesized that Louis XIV's shoes had to have matched his furniture and you thought I was crazy. Or let's assume you thought I was crazy. Now, entertain the theory for a moment and imagine another world. A parallel universe, the West Coast or Uptown. Now imagine that within this world there are people, a countless number of people, wearing things that match things they're not wearing.

Mr. Eddie Scott on Spring Street

Quiet Type at K&M

Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark

2009-10-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Women and their toys:

Andy

Girl humoring my musings at K&M Bar.

"A light is a light is a light."

Selma

K&M Bar, Roebling and N.8th St., Brooklyn, NY.

Jean Shop

2009-10-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

Jean Shop: W. 14th St. btwn. 8th & 9th Aves., NYC

Japanese selvedge denim, the finest in the world:

Custom fitted

Custom dyed

Custom rinsed

Custom bleached

Custom beat-up

Custom worn

Custom repaired
Custom patched up
Custom cut-off
Custom torn
Custom crinkled
Custom creased
Custom stiffness
And a lovely staff

What else do you want? A pig statue? They have that too.

Thank you, Jean Shop, for letting me play.

All my best,

Edna

Hall of Fame

Selvedge

Stacked

Swatch

Coloring hooks

Vortexy

Tag it

Cascade

Impression

To keep from falling down

Cuffed with love

Out of focus and reconvening

Plan B

Showing some flex

2009-09-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Based on no evidence, I'm willing to bet against myself that Louis XIV's shoes matched his furniture.

Feel free to agree, argue or judge me.

Patrik and The Mannerists

2009-09-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is Patrik.

There is no C in Patrik.

This is Patrik's Siouxsie shirt,

these are Patrik's black jeans,

and I suspect,

these are Patrik's white Doc. Martens.

This is Patrik on art.

This is a portrait of Patrik.

And these are The Mannerists

Longchamp: I'm theirs.

2009-09-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

I said to the saleswoman, "You don't understand. This is too much fun. I gotta get outta here." I wouldn't call it a problem, but more like a deeply rooted fanaticism, a sordid kind of love. Bags: they make me feel whole. It is love, a rare and perfect kind. And Longchamp is mixed up within that, along with numerous others.

Longchamp let me photograph. It was the Thomas Heatherwick one on Spring Street. The more exotic skins were on the ground floor: leopard, snake, embossed animals. And they let me walk right up to the grizzly bear. They let me get close.

It's sadomasochistic in a way, getting that close to what I can't have, and yet I did it. I do it to myself.

I reached, picked it up, looked at it with my head cocked to one side like I could see through it. I put it back on the shelf, stepped away, collected myself and shot. A multi-tiered process and I did it again and again. Out of compulsion? For the thrill of it, I guess. The adrenaline. The smell, it sticks to the skin so that I remember.

Photos now, bags later. I'll be back. They know I will. I'm theirs.

The It Bag Tote

The Veau Foulonne' Laptop Case

The Veau Foulonne' Spider Bracelet

The Parade Bag in Brass

The Veau Foulonne' Accessory Strap

Longchamp Ready To Wear Fall 2009 Coat Line

Downtown and Primary Colors

2009-09-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

Primary colors, primarily exquisite. Magdalena and Annet, different locations, both rustling through their bags. I caught them mid-rustle. Thank you ladies.

Magdalena Creujeiras, Lower East Side

Annet Ko, SOHO

Bryant Park: A bit of color

2009-09-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Bryant Park was pretty much what I expected it to be on a Sunday afternoon during fashion week: the security, papparazzi, the starstruck and curious passersby spilling out of the entrances and onto the streets. I overheard someone ask one woman who everyone was waiting for and she answered, "I don't know. Anybody." I suppose if you don't know who you're waiting for, you can't be disappointed for not getting to see them, in which case, maybe that woman was onto something. I bypassed the papparazzi, walked opposite the models, away from the Caddy Escalades and into the park, my personal runway. This Sunday, a bit of color.

Mark Connolly,

Style Director, Conde Nast Traveler

Beatrice Panerai,

Journalist, Classeditori, Milano

Fashion Week Production Assistant

Fashion's Night Out

2009-09-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

No photos allowed at Prada. Hmmm. What are they afraid of? Getting knocked off? I snuck one in. What the hell? It was just one. Ok, two, promptly provoking unnerving glares from a few paranoid Pradi and I left shortly thereafter. Anyway, Fashion's Night Out: lots of lines, lots of free alcohol, lots of refills, lots of shopping, lots of fine-looking people and lots of fun. I don't think I got any of my margherita on that really nice cardigan sweater at John Varvatos. Oh, I think it was around $500. Actually $498 if we want to get petty. But I'm pretty sure I didn't. It's not important. The point is, the nice people at John Varvatos didn't mind my taking portraits. But then of course, Mick Rock was also there taking portraits for anyone who spent $300 or more. The folks at Tommy Hil actually thanked me for taking photos. But don't worry, Miuccia. I still like you and if I had an extra two-grand I was itching to unload, I'd buy the Vitello Diano tote tomorrow, despite my mildly derisive commentary.

Prada, Bd'way and Prince St., NYC

Darrin Blake, bringing it at Intermix

Laila Miroku at John Varvatos

A Fine Bunch

Joana Marquez and Demetrius Blocker at Tommy Hilfiger

Zane Lewis, "Watch Me Slowly Death," Mixed Greens Gallery, Chelsea, NYC, Sept. 8th, 2009

2009-09-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

The good news. Jesus Christ endorses Chanel. Or Chanel debris dispersed about the body of Christ. Artist, Zane Lewis, marries the two at his exhibition, "Watch Me Slowly Death," at Mixed Greens Gallery in Chelsea, where an 8' x 8' head of the Passion of Christ (Jesus with the crown of thorns for those of you not up on your bible studies) is composed of layers and strips of Chanel and Dior ads, and painted over in rich swirls and drips of pink, red and gold. I've come to the conclusion that it's nearly a faux pas to talk about the art at an opening so the Jesus connotations to be discussed at the after after after-party. I'll just say, art for my sake: photos.

Artist, Zane Lewis, Watch Me Slowly Death, Mixed Greens, NYC, Sept. 8th, 2009

Close-up 1

Close-up 2

The Glamorous Sophia Lamar, "Just google me."

Andrew Tatreau, Aaron Lyle Gelbman and Lazaro Diaz, extraordinary jewelry designer of his line, Lazaro, sold at Lazaro Soho. www.lazarosoho.com

2 Misshapes, 1 Missing

Mal Sirrah, Doing It Well at Deitch

2009-09-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

Malcolm Harris, whose fashion line goes by the label Mal Sirrah, does the smokey eye thing too. Upon walking into Deitch, I made what I'm hoping was a subtle B line for Malcolm Harris' eyes. I wonder if he could tell. The smokey eye look. Wait a minute. I thought that was my M.O. No. He did it too, religiously. The thick black liner with a bit of intentional smudge. Our smudging styles were a bit different, though. His lines were more defined, mine more blurred. He confessed that he doesn't leave the house without it and if he doesn't wear it, he feels naked and I stood there for a minute, dumbfounded. Yes...can't leave the house... It was like having one of those simple truths confirmed. Yes. Malcolm Harris, a lovely encounter, doing his thing and doing it well.

Malcolm Harris, Designer/Activist, Sept. 2009

Pool Party, East River State Park, Williamsburg, Bklyn

2009-09-07T08:39:00.000-07:00

Jason's Aviators

Santiago and John

Kehinde Wiley and Tauba Auerbach, Sept. 3rd, Deitch Projects, Wooster St., NYC

2009-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Black Light, Kehinde Wiley, Deitch Projects, Sept. 3rd, 2009

HERE AND NOW/AND NOWHERE, Tauba Auerbach, Deitch Projects, Sept. 3rd, 2009

Me and A Charming Mr. Wiley, Deitch Projects

Rolled-up Khakis and Brown Paper Bags

Acid Wash and Tongue-tied

Ankles: The Little-Known Pleasure Center

2009-09-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Studs and Stockings

2009-08-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Jillian Lorbes, Student at Parsons

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Could Miss Jillian run amok? I think so: the burgundy felt beret with a bow, the grandma stockings, the studded belt. Not a look for the quotidian hip. Love it.

Camo in SOHO

2009-08-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

Gary White, outside of Roxy, SOHO, NYC

a.ok legends of pop party @ OAK, Bond Street, Friday August 21st

2009-08-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Andrew Harmon, Fashion Designer

Jabari Shelton, Fashion Admirer

Adam Hendricks, Dancer, Edward Fong, Designer

Bear Smith, Buyer for Oak, Keith Edwards, Sales. Rep. at OAK

Kimberly Christenson, Buyer for Oak NYC

www.OAKNYC.com

Welcome to Modern Assembly

2009-08-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Modern Assembly, a platform for individual looks and innovative fashion design, featuring extraordinary people every day.

Please get impassioned and please look around.

The future is exceptionally well-dressed.

Have fun,

Edna Leshowitz