Even performance artists blog.

Owen G Parry

London-based performance artist and collaborator, Owen G Parry, has taken the plunge and committed himself to cyberspace.

We're all doin' it these days!



Photograph from artist Johanna Linsley's piece, I'd rather die than die alone, courtesy of Christa Holka.

Viktor & Rolf

Today I was lucky enough to go to the media view of the Barbican's amazing new exhibition, The House of Viktor & Rolf.

It was not at all what I expected, but I was not disappointed. The Barbican Art Gallery has been transformed, literally, into the House of Viktor & Rolf. It is full of life-size dolls, each wearing an iconic V&R piece. The centre-piece is a two-storey white doll's house, complete with furniture, and housing dolls wearing miniature versions of the duo's iconic work.

The lighting is dim and as you walk around you feel the immensity of Viktor & Rolf's contribution to fashion and, indeed, art. The precise execution of this exhbition is testimony to Viktor & Rolf's own meticulous craftsmanship and the strong messages which their clothes always send. Videos of their ground-breaking shows are on repeated play behind key pieces from that collection and, with this seemingly simple format, the genius behind each collection is revealed.

I was particularly moved by the brooding, neo-apocalyptic Black Hole AW01, the inspirational Flowerbomb SS05, the spooky, tongue-in-cheek Black Light SS99 and the haunting Bells AW00 collections.

The exhibition is arranged simply and is very balanced, with only subtle variations of structure. It is easy to navigate and, crucially, lets the clothes and shows speak for themselves. How very V&R. A truly beautiful and inspirational exhibition.

Who said fashion didn't belong in a gallery?

For more on the exhibition, visit:
The House of Viktor & Rolf

P.S. There has also been a beautiful book, The House of Viktor & Rolf, published by Merrell and Barbican. It is beautifully put together, goes into a lot of detail and has some previously unseen images, illustrations and sketches. I highly recommend it if your after both a great reference and a beautiful object.

REALIGN YOUR THINKING

Today oil hit a record high - $140/barrel.

It is not going to get any cheaper.



I believe it is really important that we think about this fact.




I'm still in the very early stages of understanding, but reading really helps you to grasp the magnitude of this problem and others. As much as some want to push these issues under the carpet or ignore them completely, they are issues which must be grasped, and grasped now.

Active Resistance

James Lovelock

Al Gore

James Martin

Harriet Green, The Guardian

New York / Paris / London

The three pillars of civilisation!

Just kidding, folks! But they are pretty great, that's for sure. I have had the fortune, in recent months, to do a lot of travelling. A luxury I am sorely aware may not be possible for the rest of my life (read: peak oil). Nevertheless, I appreciate the fact it's possible now.

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for cities. Big, small, famous, infamous, rich, poor: living and breathing cities. I'm a total romantic when it comes to them: Paris, London, New York, Berlin, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Stockholm, Sao Paolo, Munich, Helsinki, Melbourne, Venice, Brussels, Montreal, Zurich, Madrid, New Delhi, Barcelona, Prague, Moscow, Warsaw, Reykjavik, Athens, Mexico City ... the list goes on ... I want to see them all.

I spent a week in New York City from April 4 to 12, my first visit to the Big Apple. It was an experience which I cannot properly put in words. I found New York invigorating, inspiring, energetic, beautiful, friendly, coarse, commercial, free, sophisticated, gentrified, pulsing ... the list goes on ... but it was absolutely amazing. I feel excited just thinking about New York. The people there seem so motivated, they are in New York to make it happen. I love that. The fact it's a 24/7 city is a big plus, too. New York really is the city that doesn't sleep. I love eating out every night at restaurants with amazing and cheap food (Angelica Kitchen, Tsampa, Hampton Chutney), I love that everyone is in New York for the same reason. Your heart beats faster in NYC.





I spent three days in Paris from May 2 to 5, my third visit to the city. You can feel the beauty, elegance, class and, yes, romance in Paris. It really is a stunning city, the perfect city to be in love. I stayed in Montmartre which is incredibly charming, with multitudes of cafes and cobbled streets. The first night I climbed up to Sacre Coeur and looked out over Paris in lights, saw the Tour Eiffel, smoked a cigarette and trod in dog poo - a quintessential Parisian evening, I felt. Life's pleasures are truly valued in Paris: good food, wine, coffee, company (and, bien sur, clothes!) are life's essentials. Time is really valued in Paris; you never feel forced to down your coffee or pressured to buy something from a store because you looked. Paris is about pleasure in the doing, seeing and being, rather than the buying, flying and striving. Paris is a pleasure in itself.





I live in London, and have done for over a year. It is thus unfair to compare it with Paris and New York as one's experiences living somewhere differ fundamentally from those of visiting. However, I will say that London makes you feel like you could do anything, if you really wanted, like London has everything. Anything is possible and attemptable, if you're willing to give it a go. Londoners, whether they're here to make money or to realise their dreams, all understand this. No-one scoffs when you tell them what you're doing or trying to do, however absurd it may be. Londoners are tolerant, but London can be a very cold, unfriendly city - no eye-contact. The city is not beautiful like Paris, nor is it magnificent like New York. It is sprawled and flat. Due to it's Victorian town-planning, it is complicated to navigate. London was not built to function in a modern world, and yet somehow it does. Somehow, it's alive with inspiring people who have forged past it's complexities and created something beautiful.




Undergrounds in cities are essential. Whether it be the Subway, Metro or Tube, each city has created it's own system, each with pros and cons. Here are mine:

New York Subway
Pro - open 24 hours (how New York-esque!)
- very practical carriages

Con - line-links could be more intuitive
- directions somewhat confusing

Paris Metro
Pro - the Metropolitan signs on the street (so beautiful)
- clear and easy signage

Con - last station rather than direction used to represent end of line
- have to open doors yourself

London Tube
Pro - very easy to navigate (unlike London itself)
- massive red and blue 'Underground' signs (they're fun and kooky)

Con - closes way too early, some before midnight which is ridiculous in a city like London
- slightly inhuman; silent, awkward, self-conscious

I really love Lomography and have a SuperSampler. It's very unpredictable but I love the fact that getting a good shot is basically down to complete chance. There is a grainy, soft, quality to the pictures which appeals to me. Slightly surreal, like a dream. I'd love to hear what you think, and your thoughts on each city, too. Please click on the images to see them properly.

The world is a beautiful place, we need to keep it that way.

Yves Saint Laurent, 1936-2008

Yves Saint Laurent, who breathed new life into the house of Christian Dior as a 21 year old and then created his own eponymous label which pushed the boundaries of fashion and is now one of the true power Houses, died in Paris early this morning.

Saint Laurent is a fashion luminary and will be remembered always. His effortlessly chic creations and faultless lines created a new aesthetic for women. For him, "dressing is a way of life.”

When his (in)famous Le Smoking (pantsuit) was introduced it revolutionised the way women could s'habille, challenging the idea that dresses were women's only option for evening attire. Think Lauren Bacall, Loulou de la Falaise, Nan Kempner. “It pains me physically to see a woman victimized, rendered pathetic, by fashion," Saint Laurent once said. He wanted to liberate women, change the perceptions of style and create something beautiful.

Other iconic Saint Laurent designs include his famous colour-blocked Piet Mondrian-inspired shifts, which became symbolic of the 1960's mod look. He was heavily influenced by other art forms, his friends included Andy Warhol, Rudolf Nureyev and the Jaggers.

"Fashion isn't just to decorate women, but to reassure them, give them confidence", he said in 2002 when he retired from the helm of YSL. Since then Stefano Pilati has been designing for YSL and continuing the inspirational, expressive, beautiful, modest, sexy, smart, simple, sophisticated aesthetic which is Yves Saint Laurent, whilst infusing his own individuality into the brand. I have no doubt that the label will continue to thrive despite the sad loss of Monsieur Saint Laurent himself.

Famously, Saint Laurent once said, “fashions fade, style is eternal." Quoted and quoted again, these five words sum up what YSL means today and what the man has always been about: beauty. Beauty for both men and women, the pure beauty of design in a garment, beauty for the sake of beauty and, above all, an individual beauty which he allowed to be revealed through his clothes, never overpowering the wearer, simply enhancing what was already there. Beauty is something we'll never stop needing in our lives.

Yves Saint Laurent (curatedobjects.us)

"Mondrian" day dress (metmuseum.org)

Yves Saint Laurent by Stefano Pilati Autumn/Winter 08/09 (style.com)