Sleeping Dogs

OK, it has been a while since I've spoken about Big Brother here on my blog, but I have to state this... I feel very sad that the producers keep trying to force the Dani & Nick relationship on America. Yes, they had chemistry in the house. Yes, Nick is beautiful. Yes, Dani was/is cheating on the man she lives with. Hence, my problem with this whole show-mance.

The BF, who producers were so eager to interview when it made for good television has basically been thrown under the bus, first by the letter from Nick to Danielle on her second HOH win and now the Power of 10 appearance. Sad, how the show has no regards for this man - he does live with her (or at least she did live there prior to walking through the door of reality TV.)

Enough with trying to make Nick & Dani a couple - let sleeping dogs lie.

Spotting the Finish Line

Again, I have to apologize for my sporadic postings, however I am in the final stretches of Click Chic - meeting with each photographer for them to sign off on the final printer proofs, sending catalogs and invites, and making sure everything at the gallery is ready for installation - that it doesn't leave me a lot of time to do much else... I promise to be back to a regular schedule shortly. Stay tuned.

Artist of the Week: Grant Barnhart

Continuing with my Artist of the Week segment (until I can come up with a better title - any suggestions, readers?) I would like to introduce you to the work of a talented Seattle based artist by the name of Grant Barnhart. What I love about Grant's work is his use of painting and drawing, something I personally love playing with. Also, I love that he creating screenprints of his work as well, which due to their complete nature are very reasonably priced.

So once again, I hope you take the time out today and jump on over to his site and explore.

Blindsighted or Blind Move?

So, since I don't subscribe to the live feeds (I would never leave home) or get Showtime (I would never get any sleep) I rely on BB8Dish for my Big Brother 8 scoop. And while I promise to not reveal any spoilers about the show, I will say some of the houseguests are making a huge mistake by taking out a "so-called" target while leaving three more viable nominees safe for another week. So if my boy Dustin does what I think he will, I think there were be big ramifications in the house and I sense that life in the house will take a weird turn. So boys and girls, think three weeks ahead, before you plot your next move... it could mean remaining safe for the next few weeks, as oppose to the possibility of one of your own going home before they are scheduled to, by playing this risky game.

More from the Curator

So with my show almost less then a month away and all the last minute details, I have not had a lot of time to blog about the important things (Lindsay's arrest, TomKat's party for Posh & Becks, or whether or not Lisa Rinna injects silicone into her lips.) But I promise you this, I have some strong opinions on all of those topics.

This show has been a real creative challenge and I love it. Selecting work by six really talented photographers was the easy part. Now comes the fun challenge of making sure the work fits properly on the wall, preparing a kick-ass guest list and looking over the printer proofs of the catalog. So again dear readers (and not to beat this to death) but if you are in New York City on September 10, please come join me and have a glass of prosecco - would love to see you there.

(above: detail from photograph by Roderick Angle)

Artist of the Week: Matt Lipps

So I decided to add a new feature to my blog, a look at artists that inspire and delight me. The first person I decided to highlight is photographer and sculptor Matt Lipps. I'm not 100% sure where I first spotted his work, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately (an idea is brewing in my mind which I would like Matt to be involved with, I just cannot discuss it right now.) I love anyone who takes a medium we all know and spins it on its head and I love Matt's photographic sculptures. So dear readers, take the time out today and look over his work, you'll be happy you did. Enjoy... and stay tuned for next week's artist.

above: Matt Lips, Untitled (detail), 2006

Bring on the Crazy

OK, try as I might there is no escaping the pull of Big Brother and season 8 so far has not disappointed. How friggin' brilliant is it that Jen won Head of Household this week, the girl is insane (and I love it) and mayhem and madness is going to be all over the house this week. So, everyone was so ready to boot the girl out of the house and now there will be a week of them kissing her ass, big time. She's such a wild card, I have no idea who's going on the block - but safe to say, the girl will be trying to eliminate her female competition, so most likely Danielle is going on the block.

Now I just need to stay off those spoiler blogs before Sunday, so that I can generally be surprised at who she places on the block. So thanks to a kick-ass season so far, bring on the crazy!

Fall Must-See

I just wanted to share some pretty exciting news with you all (and this is just the begining). Thanks to the kick-ass PR department at SVA, the fashion photograph show I'm curating "Click Chic: The Fine Art of Fashion Photography" was just named "fall's must-see show" by Elle Magazine. Elle friggin' magazine. I honestly think I'm glowing.

So mark your calendars, the opening reception is September 10th (6-8pm) and don't forget to pick up the August issue of Elle.

Truly Visionary

As of yesterday, the world lost a visionary and a gentleman. He was 91. Silas H. Rhodes, founder and chairman of the School of Visual Arts passed peacefully in his sleep.

I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing the man personally for the past 17 years and marvelled numerous times at the institution he created. There would be no SVA without Silas and for that I am truly grateful. He also was the driving force behind the decision to allow me to curate my fashion photography show at the College and I hope to make him proud. He will be missed.

In the Name of Fashion

So I promised that I would finally announce some major news in my life. This September, I will be curating a show entitled Click Chic: The Fine Art of Fashion Photography at the Visual Arts Museum at the School of Visual Arts. Six great photographers (all SVA alumni) will be highlighted - Roderick Angle, Guy Aroch, Maki Kawakita, Ryan Michael Kelly, Chiun-Kai Shih and Sarah Silver.

The exhibition opens on Monday, September 10th at 6pm and runs through October 6, 2007. A catalog with my curatorial statement and a new essay by Brain Paul Clamp, director of ClampArt will be available. So I would love it if you all could attend, dear readers - mark your calendars now... a fall must.

(above: image detail by Sarah Silver)

Snap Desicion

So I know I promised to reveal some big exciting news about something that will happen in September, but you are just going to have to wait a few more days. Tonight, if your in town, there is a photography show opening at the Jen Bekman Gallery entitled "New American Portrait" and the show highlights one of my favorite photographers right now Amy Elkins. (Above is an example of her work, not in the show, but I don't want to ruin the images that appear - you have to see them in the flesh - it's worth it, trust me.) Head down to the space early, as the gallery isn't large and the expected crowd is... don't say I didn't warn you if you get stuck on the street.

(detail above: Amy Elkin, Charles, Brooklyn, NY, 2006)

I'm Back... And With a New Layout

After an extended disappearing act, I have finally returned (hopefully) to blogging on a more regular basis. With the show at ClampArt closing this Saturday (you still have time to see the piece in the flesh) and my return from the Affordable Art Fair where SVA has a booth I curated, I can start telling you about the next big project on my horizon. But I will save that for a next post... besides I have to keep you guys in a bit of suspense. Dum..dum...dah!

Well Hung

So dear readers, I told you some exciting things were brewing and here's the first piece of news. My drawing of John Arsenault ( a very talented photographer) will be on display in the back sales room of ClampArt gallery (521-531 West 25 Street.) I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to see the framed drawing hanging in Chelsea. The drawing is on display in conjunction with John's self portrait show, which will be amazing. The opening reception is tomorrow from 6 to 8pm, if you are in New York, please come check it out. More news to follow shortly.

Slacker

Sorry dear readers, I have been way too behind on this whole blogging thing and for that I'm truly sorry. tons of good news has been keeping me busy, busy, busy. I promise in the next few entries to fill you in on all the juicy details. Stay tuned!

An Open Letter to LaKisha

It must be hard coming from being the front-runner in the competition to being blasted weekly by the judges - somewhere along the way Randy, Paula and Simon turned their backs on you. Perhaps it has something to do with your song choices the past two weeks - stay away from songs sung by former contestants of the show. The judges do not approve. While I'm not familiar with Fantasia's version of the song you sung last night, which in my opinion you sang the shit out of, the judges blasted you on it. Perhaps you are being out diva-ed by Melinda and Jordis; or maybe the judges have become so focused on the two of them that you unfortunately have been pushed aside, a causality of the cruel fate of a singing competition.

If you go home tonight, it is not because you don't have talent in spades - it's because teenage girls have voted to keep a Justin Timberlake clone around cause they think he's cute. It has nothing to do with real vocal talent - you have it; he doesn't. As Randy would say, "Just keeping it real, dog!" Hopefully this note will all be for naught, and you'll be around another week. But if not, keep your head-up girl, you have made your daughter immensely proud.

Let the Fur Fly

So we are down to our final three Pussycat Dolls hopefuls (Melissa R., Chelsea and Asia) and I for one am excited to watch them claw, scratch and strut for the one open slot in the PCD. This show has been my guilt pleasure for weeks and all three women bring interesting strengths and talents to the show. My favorite part of this weeks episode was watching the other Melissa, who makes a great TV villain, loose the final slot to the girl she constantly put-down; way to handle yourself like a lady Chelsea.

And while I think Melissa R. will ultimately walk away the winner, the other two are equally deserving for different reasons. So work it out ladies, I expect nothing less then a fight to the finish.

Brothers?

Hugh Jackman in gay porn? A fantasy for millions of gay men everywhere. I'm not sure if others have noticed or not, but seems that porn god Joey Russo looks an awful lot like our sexy Hollywood brother. If you look above, it's almost impossible to tell the two apart. Trust me, this makes me very happy - just wondered why Raging Stallion has not capitalized on this by making a film entitled HUGE JACKMEN! Just a thought and idea. Discuss. And Chris Ward & Michael Brandon, feel free to use this title, as long as I get a copy of the film and a story idea credit.

Stroke of Genius

So, I almost didn't have anything to blog about today, until I came across this little gem from Alanis Morrisette. I thought her cover of Seal's Crazy was the shit. This tops that easily.

Brilliant. Me likey.

Sweet Jesus

So it appears more fine art has angered a group of Christians to demand that it not be shown at a New York art gallery starting next week. Cosimo Cavallaro's "My Sweet Lord" which depicts a crusified Jesus nude and made entirely out of chocolate was to be shown street-level at the Roger Smith Lab Gallery in midtown Manhattan.

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights called for a boycott of the exhibiton and the accompanying Roger Smith Hotel. "This is an assault on Christians during Holy Week," said Kiera McCaffrey, director of communications for the league, which describes itself the largest U.S. Catholic civil rights group. "They would never dare do something similar with a chocolate statue of the prophet Mohammad naked with his genitals exposed during Ramadan," she said.

While I personally may not find Cavallaro's work interesting; by protesting this piece, the organization drew more attention and importance than it needed to be - landing the gallery space and the artist in the national news. It also opens the whole dialog of the power that art has to challenge, engage and in some cases enrage its viewers. While the news states that the gallery is weighting its options to whether or not the piece will be shown, something tells me with all the media coverage the artwork will be displayed as scheduled on Monday as orginally planned.

Lambs to Slaughter

300 continued to slaughter the competition this weekend and remained the number one movie for the second week in a row. While I have spoken about my obsession with Gerard Butler on this site before and it continues now after seeing him run around for over 2 hours in just a pair of speedos. I would like to point out another man who spurs all kind of excitment as the movie barrelled on. The character of Daxos, played by the British actor Andrew Pleavin - got me all hot and bothered. The bald head, the huge chest, the beard and of course playing a sensative artistic countryman helps. And you have to love the fact that Andrew and Gerard stared in the TV movie version of Attila together (note to self, place film on Netflix queue.)