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Even Carine Roitfeld F*cks Up On Instagram

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Even fashion's chicest, most seemingly impenetrable doyennes are human. Case in point, Anna Wintour's ALS Bucket Challenge Video and, last night, this charming, now-deleted Instagram typo from Carine Roitfeld backstage at Tom Ford's London Fashion Week show. We all make mistakes, so have some heart "@gregorydarling." We should embrace the faults of our 21st-century style luminaries. Plus, we have the perfect fix below. Stay real, Carine!

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Kanye West Proclaims: "I'm a married, Christian man!"

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Late last week, during his show in Sydney, Kanye West stopped in the middle of his performance because two people -- who dared to cross the almighty Yeezus -- refused to standup. As it turned out, the two contrarians were actually physically unable to stand, which they awkwardly had to prove before Mr. West agreed to finish singing "Good Life." 

To continue the saga, in a classic #KanyeMove, the rapper verbally blogged his feelings about wheelchairgate at his concert in Brisbane, Australia last night. The packed venue served as the perfect platform for Kanye's favorite and most passionate hobby: complaining about "The Media."

Well, it just so happens that the hobby we're most passionate about is listening to Kanye's media rants. They're just so good. Here's some of the Kanye-ist quotes from the video, above:

1. "I'm not judging but I'm just going to tell you who I am. I'm a married, Christian man." *The crowd goes crazy.*

2. "On 'Runaway' I said, 'I sent this bitch a picture of my dick.' What did y'all think when you heard that?"

3. "An artist's career doesn't happen in the cycle of one week of news. An artist's career happens in the cycle of a lifetime. And if you're a true artist you're willing to DIE for what you believe in."

4. With the saltiest, rhetorical sarcasm: "Does it seem like, in any way, that I might just slightly be a true artist?"

5. "I'm not one of these dumbass artists that you're used to." 

5. Then he proceeded to call out the talking heads who he perceives to be conspiratorially running the media: "I don't keep up with the news but if Michael Strahan is still at the Today Show -- no, Good Morning America -- Matt Lauer, the hosts of the view -- Whoopi Goldberg, Barbra Walters -- if y'all run this, look at me for a second. Take a step back and look at this: I'm a married, Christian man with a family."

We know, Kanye. We know.



[Thumbnail Photo via Julian Mackler/BFAnyc.com]

Melissa Auf der Maur's Film Festival Is Better Than Your Film Festival

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MAdM-press-photo.jpg Since 2008, former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist, Melissa Auf der Maur, has been living in Hudson, New York with her husband, filmmaker Tony Stone. In 2010, the couple bought Basilica Hudson, a 19th century railroad foundry, which was later converted into a glue factory. Auf der Maur calls the cavernous space her "stack of steel and bricks"--her church and "beast of burden," both. But with the help of friends and collaborators, Auf der Maur and Stone established an annual music and film festival called Basilica Soundscape and Basilica Scope. While the music portion wrapped this past weekend, BasilicaScope's two-day retrospective of radical Bristish director and cult-classic enfant terrible, Alex Cox, begins on September 19th and features screenings of Straight to Hell Returns, Walker, and Repo Man. "We're committed to bringing independent, alternative, and experimental films to Hudson," Auf der Maur explained over the phone, adding that in October, Basilica will welcome iconoclast filmmaker John Waters, for a benefit performance of his one-man show, "This Filthy World, Volume 2."

Hi! How are you?


I'm good, thank you! What nationality is the name the Durga?

Indian but I was actually born in Montreal so I got excited when I read that you'd described Basilica like "Montreal in 1991." Although I was a kid at the time, I understand the connotation. It's so singular.


Totally, totally. I give it all the time because I was quoting my friend from Montreal. It's pretty much one the best cities in the world. I actually did move back right before I ended up finding Hudson. I tried out Montreal for the first time since I had left in '90s, but then I fell in love with a New Yorker and found Hudson and moved here.

Do you hope that it remains as it is now? Is there a felt worry that Hudson too, as it's happened say in New York, might soon be unaffordable to live in?


Yeah. Well I think there are a couple things when gentrification or development comes to an area. I have no problem with development and progress but it's the intent or the nature of it that makes it or breaks it. For example, like New York City, it was one of the most violent places in the country, in the '90s it had all the violence but it also had all the character. It's one thing if a mayor cleans up the violence in New York City, but they also basically sold the waterfront to Trump. Of course money can always screw things up, but what I've seen from living in Hudson for the past six years, most of the people that come and start a new chapter here, are pretty conscientious. Its certainly a magnet to freakish sort of tendencies. Hudson has enough of an edge -- it would take a lot to take the character out of it because everyone is conscious of the local reality.

Basilica wasn't simply a If you build it they will come, scenario. So much continued effort and instinctive vision goes into a project as big as this, and while I don't how you feel about the word pioneer, do you ever get the sense that that's been your path ever since you started playing music or doing photography? That you've always been ahead of the curve, reinventing what it means to be an artist?

First of all I take that as a massive compliment, so thank you. I do absolutely see the continuation of what I was doing in art school through to here in Hudson, in fact, more of a return to where I come from which has a lot to do with my roots. Montreal as you know, is such an incredibly unique place and culturally the French Canadians are such a big part of that city and the fight to be heard, even though I am English Montrealer I grew up with a profound respect for them. And both of my parents, were both devoted to similar causes, they were both writers -- my parents were pioneers. Even outside of her professionalism, my mother was like the first wave of radical feminism and chose to have me as a single mother. She wanted to be a single mother in 1972. So that in itself is the first wave of women saying, "I will not be a wife. I want a child and a career, and I want to travel the world, and I'm going to do it." I come literally from the womb of a feminist pioneer, so that's what one element that would be pretty hard not to follow. And my father was a politician as well as a writer and basically, he made the city of Montreal his mission, his muse -- his mission was to be a man of people and let their voices be heard, and he was one of the first English Montrealer politicians who really bridged the gap between the French and the English. He always fought for the underdog.

Do you feel like your investment in Hudson is your version of that, of fighting for the underdog?

Boy do I ever. Especially when I meet local politicians and journalists. My relationship with Hudson, is yes, a mirror of I guess what I watched my father do. My passion is to bring people together.

It's almost as if you inherited it from both your parents, and now you're parent and your daughter is experiencing something similar to what you experienced as a child.

I'd obviously like to believe that River, my daughter, will find what resonates with her regardless of what I love and do, and she will be her own person. But the Basilica has already played such a big part in her life. She's got her own tricycle to move around the Basilica. She's been to almost every Soundscape, and sometimes when we're working we'll put a movie on on a huge screen in the theater and she'll watch Bringing Up Baby.

There's something fantastical about a little girl growing up in an empty factory that her mother owns -- like a children's story.

I know, that's true. I love children's stories.

In terms of the film aspect of Basilica, I was wondering since you've worked in so many different mediums, have you ever thought about directing?

When I fell in love with Tony and before the Basilica, before our daughter, the first collaboration we did was [album] Out of Our Minds and we pretty much started our relationship on collaborating on a project together. I occasionally have a flash of a scene or a story I would like to tell in that medium. 

The original trailer for Cox's Straight to Hell.

You've programmed an Alex Cox retrospective and in October, John Waters is coming to Hudson -- both are rule-breaking norm-dissenters so to speak.

It's a recurring theme, absolutely and the concept of what we're trying to bring here. As far as John Waters is concerned, he was on short list of our dream directors but we felt he was out of our league, and then a complete heavenly accident happened. October 18th is our daughter's 3rd birthday and I had held that weekend as our goal that on October 18th we're going to have our first major fundraiser and then about a month ago, I still didn't have content for this fundraiser. And out of nowhere we got contacted by one of John Waters' friends saying, "You know John would love to come to Hudson and this is the one date that's available, and we'd love for it to be a fundraiser for you." And I was like, "WHAT?! Really?" This was what I was wishing and hoping for, and I hoped that my daughter's birthday would be a special day. It's really magical.

What great timing! The way everything aligned in this instance, have you noticed in your life, both artistic and personal, that that kind of kismet happens often? That you can almost count on it at this point?

It's all I've ever known. I'm the product of a one night stand, so that's a pretty timing-related thing too so maybe I just came into the world like that. [Laughs] It's definitely been a huge, huge part of every major step in my life, yes.

As a result, are more stressful times alleviated simply from having the lived experience of recurring kismet.

Absolutely. Put it this way, even in my most burnt-out times of exhaustion and doubtful moments, I'm blessed with not getting depressed. I get tired, sure. I get stressed, but there is not one day when I don't wake up and know why I'm here. In my years of mingling with all walks of life and having at one point in the '90s when heroin was very very popular -- which I hear it is again, which is fucking terrible -- but there was this very wise heroin addict who once told me that the difference between me and him is that I wake up in the morning and I'm connected to the universe and I believe it, and I believe in my role in it, and he wakes up and he doesn't have that connection and works to make that connection whether it's through drugs or through a drug rehabilitation program. Because I believe in a world that's much bigger than the tiny little human life that we have, I think that's what gets the stars aligned.

For young women who are creating art, be it in film, or as writers, or musicians, what would you say is important to keep in mind when struggling to keep the momentum going beyond those initial moments of inspiration?

What's kept me going is that I've really felt no other choice but to do it. In my case, there's a profound, burning furnace inside me; I guess it's called my heart. That's why I always say, "Follow your fucking heart." Primarily I always say to trust one's instincts and one's relationships. I really go the personal, intuitive, and spiritual route of things. Meanwhile you need to be a really hard worker. No offense to men but I do know this: women tend to work a little harder. In fact, even in Hudson right now, some of the most incredible talents I see are women.

Can you elaborate on the relationship aspect of creating work?

Building relationships is so key. For example, all my girlfriends who I came up with in my 20s, we're all young mothers now and it's really hard to see each other but, did we ever invest some major time in our friendships when we were in our 20s. And now those friendships, even if I only see them once or twice a year, they saw me coming of age and they knew my down moments and my up moments. Women friendships in their 20s is really, really important. Finding your community of women is key.

Which you've continued doing in Hudson...

You just have to...I mean it's not even risk-taking. Risk-taking makes it sound much harder than it is. You just have to ask. Ask for things. Ask.

Asking is tricky.

Yeah, especially because we're raised to be independent women. But it really does work. And I'm lucky coming from a music-obsessed background where I think music fans are some of the most accepting. I'm a fan before I'm a musician. Everything I've gotten in life starting from my front-row tickets to Cyndi Lauper when I was 12, because I was in a Cyndi Lauper lookalike contest in a mall! I worship this music and I'm going to put myself out there to be a part of it. And that's how I got into Hole. After writing a letter to The Smashing Pumpkins, because I wanted to open for them, and when I opened for them I was recommended to Courtney. It's not even really asking, it's just telling people, "I love this." If you declare what you love, often it comes back to you.

Scope_smaller-FINAL.jpgFor tickets, go to Basilicahudson.com.

photo by Melissa Auf der Maur by George Folk
.

The Triumphant Return of Snoop's White Alter Ego, Todd

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Snoop is BAAAAACk with his terrifying White Guys Connect character, Todd. "So says Todd." [SnoopDogg]
  AND THIS:
 SnoopTodd.pngNever stop, Snoop.
 

Shove it up your ass with this "Shove it up your ass:" supercut. Ass. Shove. It. Yours. Up. [Uproxx]
 10MBW.jpgThe majesty of the ass biscuit is rarely recognized. Thank you for this gift, manager. [Mlkshk]


Amelia knows that she is the best dog in the world. Scream forever.
 



Vine is doing fabulously weird stuff with OG Maco's equally weird anthem, "Bitch U Guessed It". [DailyDot]
 10M8O.jpgIt was an honest mistake, Lisa. [Mlkshk]

10LYU.jpg
Bono was carrying you the entire time. [Mlkshk]


Heart-melting Hot-Dog-Eating-Contest Alert: Watch this hamster faces off against Kobayashi and have the best Wednesday. 

Interpol's "Twice As Hard" Video Will Make You Want to Get Off Your Lazy Ass

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Sorry, no band appearances here. There are, however, boxers (male and female) working out in a gym -- an appropriate accompaniment to Interpol's new clip for "Twice As Hard." And frontman Paul Banks is back as director for the second video for the band's El Pintor album. The dapper trio will be at Terminal 5 in NYC on November 24, 25 & 26. Break out the skinny ties!

Fran Lebowitz to Tourists: "Stay Home"

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Fran_Guru.jpgFran Lebowitz loves to talk -- so much so that when Martin Scorsese made a documentary about her he called it Public Speaking. But before she was one of the world's greatest talkers, she made her name as a writer; first at Andy Warhol's Interview and then with two collections of acerbic essays, Metropolitan Life and Social Studies. While a long-running writer's block limited her to an occasional magazine piece and two children's books, it liberated her voice to keep talking and developing into the type of personality that could only exist in NewYork City, specifically Manhattan, the only place she will consider living. An original gangster by any standard, she's completely self-invented and did it her way -- sardonic, entertain- ing, insightful -- inspiring a generation of humorists who followed. Even though Lebowitz is back to writing again (working on a novel she's been incubating), that doesn't mean she's stopped talking. On a recent summer day she sounded off on everything from Lena Dunham to gay marriage, and we did the only thing you really can do when Fran starts talking -- we listened.

New York, Mike Bloomberg and Rich People In Politics
I would say that the changes in New York that I most object to came under Michael Bloomberg, and I would have objected to these if I was 20 or if I was 12. The second that Bloomberg appeared on the political scene, I objected to him. Most people didn't know who he was so they didn't object to him, but I did know who he was, and I did object to him. I object to people who are rich in politics. I don't think they should be allowed to be in politics. It is bad that rich people are in politics, it is bad for everybody but rich people, and rich people don't need any more help. Whenever people say, "Oh he earned his money himself," I always say the same thing: "No one earns a billion dollars. People earn $10 an hour, people steal a billion dollars."

Tourists
Tourism as a number-one industry is a terrible, terrible idea for any city, especially New York. If you were going to turn a city, which is a place where people live, into a tourist attraction, you're going to have to make it a place that people who don't live here, like. So I object to living in a place for people who don't live here. As it became more and more intense, it became more and more a place where the actual citizens are pushed out to the edges. A friend of mine always says this: "I don't care what kind of aesthetic people have; the second they have a kid, their house becomes hor- rible." The second you have a kid, whether you think it's going to or not, your house becomes full of plastic junk. So this is the same with tourists. The city will sink to that level of having a house of three- year-old children, so they like certain things, they don't like certain things. And they like things that you don't like, or that I don't like. I do object to it. And I would like to see fewer and fewer tourists and I'm tired of hearing about how much money they bring to the city because the kind of jobs the tourists bring to the city are the worst jobs. They're hotel maid jobs, they're jobs that have no future to them.

Hotels
Everywhere that they put up a hotel, they did not put up an apartment building. Hence the housing shortage. Hotels are like anti-housing. To me, they're not only the opposite of housing; they are opposed to housing. They displace housing, and no one ever says this. Block after block, hotel after hotel after hotel. I remember Bloomberg, in one of his last acts that I recall as mayor, announcing at some opening of some hotel in Queens: "Who would've thought there'd be one million hotels in Queens?" No one, and you know what? There shouldn't be any.

Airbnb and Migrants
I object to Airbnb. I don't want these people to come here; I frankly do not care where they are staying. Stay home. Sometimes I walk around and go, "Go home." Doesn't anyone have a home? I think that at the same moment the country is at one of its high points of concern about migration, it is at a very low concern about tourists, and I would do the opposite. I would like to stand at the border -- I would volunteer -- and say, "You can come here, but you have to live here. If you're coming here for four days, you can't come. Sorry, let me give you a list of other boring places to go that you might enjoy."

Moving With 10,000 Books
I have made one bad real estate decision after another my entire life. Knowing this, I made a lot of effort to consult people who I believe to be intelligent in real estate. It made no difference. I made the worst decision of my life. Even if you're moving to an apartment that turns out being OK, like last time, which was only four years ago, if you have 10,000 books, it's a difficult undertaking. The more that you mention this to people, even if people know about it, the more you are criticized for having 10,000 books. I finally said to somebody the other day, "You know what? They are books. It's not like I am running an opium den for children. There's nothing wrong with that -- you may not want to have that, you may think that's crazy, but you cannot have a moral objection to this." Even real estate agents would say to me, "If you got rid of the books, you wouldn't need such a big apartment." And I would say, "Yes that's true, but what if I had four children? Would you say, 'Why don't you put them in storage, because you can't really afford an apartment for them?'" Basically my whole life, I've paid for these books. Buying them is nothing, but housing them is hard because they need a giant apartment. People say, "Why do you need such a big apartment -- do you throw a lot of parties?" No. It's for the books. I believe books to be the perfect companion. They're very good-looking, they're there when you need them, but it's not just the books. It's where they live, which is in bookcases with glass doors. I only put them in cases with glass doors because dust is very bad for books.

Moving to Brooklyn
I would never. Even though of course every time I have to hear, "You should move to Brooklyn." There are townhouses and brownstones in Brooklyn that cost millions of dollars, which is shocking, but that same house in a similar neighborhood in Manhattan-- twice the price. Why? Because it's closer. To where? New York. To where? Manhattan. Even though now, of course, I find myself in Brooklyn frequently because many people have moved to Brooklyn, still I come out of these places and I'm like, "Where am I? Is this east, is this west?" For someone such as myself with no sense of direction, I need New York.

The East Village
There are parts of the East Village that have something peculiarly New York: they've gotten expensive, but not safe. For this much money, I don't want to feel this unsafe. For this much money, I want to relax a little bit. This winter, I was walking over in the East Village one night in a snowstorm, and twice during my walk I was offered heroin by drug dealers. I thought, "Really? Are you blind?" Because at a certain age, drug dealers don't stop you on the street, just how construction workers don't whistle at you at a certain age anymore. The drug dealers hang on a bit longer than the construction workers do. So you forget about it, you don't think about it. And I thought, "Wow, there must really be some sort of recession among drug dealers."

Technology and Email
Everyone thinks I hate modern technology, and that is not true. I don't like machines, even older machines. I didn't have a typewriter. I never had any machines you didn't absolutely have to have, because I don't have any sympathy with them. I have a television, but I was forced to buy one of these new ones. I had a big television that was the size of a refrigerator, and no one could move it. They told me I had to buy one of those new flat-screen TVs. I told them I didn't want to, but I lost the fight. Then I was stunned because no one would take this perfectly fine, working TV, including the people who worked in my building.

Lena Dunham and TV
No, I don't watch Girls, but I went to the opening where they showed the first three episodes. I think [Lena Dunham] is talented. I'm for her, which means I'm for Girls in general. I don't know Lena Dunham. I always defend her when people say she's not that great. I tell them, "I don't know, I don't care, but let me assure you: the world is full of mediocre men who are stunning successes." She may well not be the most brilliant person that ever lived -- let's say she's not -- but these rejections are misogynistic, pure and simple. When I was that age, I did not watch television. We had sex. We were so promiscuous, we didn't have time to watch television. We didn't think of any consequences; we actually thought it was good for you. We thought drugs were good for you.

I don't sleep, so at four in the morning, I flip around on the TV. That's how I watch television. I used to always read before bed, but I couldn't sleep. It's too stimulating, so I thought I would watch TV since it's boring. I'm not knowledgeable about these shows; they're not on at three in the morning.

Movies
People don't like to go to the movies anymore, including me. I don't like to go to the movie theater because I cannot bear my fellow man. It's not that movies are bad; there are some great movies. I just can't stand the way people behave at the movies: they act like they're at home. I don't want them eating three-course meals, or talking. People used to be quiet at the movies. To me, the experience of being at the movies was that there was a giant screen.

I really go to very few screenings because you can't leave. If you do leave, people are so insulted. I don't want to sit there to avoid insulting someone. Even if you think you're slithering out the back, someone will see you. They will think you're criticizing the movie, which of course you are, if you're leaving. A long time ago, I decided: if you don't like the movie, leave. This is not a jail sentence.

Gay Marriage
The idea that those words are together is so hilarious to me. As I've said numerous times, I know that people wanted it, now they can do it in New York. I say "they" not because I'm not gay, but because I'm not getting married. In a million years I never would have thought of this. People always say, "You were always fighting for this, right?" No, I wasn't. I wasn't that kind of political activist. I never even imagined that anyone was even thinking about this, which I don't think they were in 1971. To me, this goes more along with the other ways in which this culture is how it was in the 1950s. For me, if you want to get married, get married, I don't care. I frankly don't understand why people get married. When I was young, nobody did. It seems to me so confined.

Legalization of Marijuana
I don't take any drugs, and I haven't taken any since I was 19; from 15 to 19 I took my lifetime supply. Everyone has an amount of time that they can consume drugs and alcohol, and you can either do it over 60 years or in a span of four years, which is what I did. I'm for the legalization of all drugs, not because they're all good for you, because they certainly give you the impression now that marijuana is good for you, like whole wheat. I don't really think they're good for you. I don't see them having a good effect on anyone I know and they didn't have one on me, although they work. They absolutely make people feel happier. My reason for them being legal is to take the crime out of it and to control it. I certainly know people who have been smoking the marijuana plant nonstop since the late '60s, and let me assure you, it definitely has an effect on your mind. These are not the sharpest people. It definitely has a softening effect on your mind. I'm even in favor of the legalization of heroin, which I know is a very destructive drug, mainly because I think people can do what they want.

Modern Times
This is an era of immense originality and innovation in machinery. Which is very sad to a person like me, because I don't care. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's not interesting to me. These things weren't imaginable when I was young. It's almost as if all of humanity is concentrated on this, and we're being used for the transmission of these things; that's what bothers me. You're 25. Do something that angers me, or surprises me. Don't keep rediscovering things. Now the culture is made of old things, it's a collage. Art made out of art is not art. You're supposed to make art out of life. You go into studios and you see these mood boards or whatever? You think you saw that at Saint Laurent's studio? It's other people's art. I call that stealing.


Artists Jayson Musson and Alex da Corte Play Easternsports

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2014_easternsports-still_010.jpgWhen asked what was the inspiration behind Easternsports -- Jayson Musson and Alex da Corte's first collaborative piece that opens September 19th at ICA Philadelphia -- the contemporary artists listed off references ranging from Ja Rule, Missy Elliot, MC Hammer, and "the club" to Jim Henson, Oskar Schlemmer's Das Triadische Ballet, and Don Quixote. From a collage of reference points, the resulting film is an absurdist's update of Thornton Wilder's Our Town for a pop culture saturated world.

Like his art-pundit alter ego, Hennessy Youngman or Plastic Little -- Musson's rap group that plays on hip-hop's tropes -- Easternsports showcases Musson's instantly recognizable brand of hyper-observational humor. Combining forces with Alex da Corte's fantastically colorful, pop art visuals -- and an original score by Blood Orange's Dev Hynes -- the two artists welcome you to the world of Easternsports.
 

First question: what exactly is an "eastern sport"?

Jayson Musson: Ha, a very important question. The title for this project comes from a poem I wrote many sun cycles ago when I was in my early twenties. In the poem, I make reference to a westerner's knowledge of Buddhism as "easternsports." It's a comment on the notion that, as Westerners, our identities are not fixed. From our position of privilege we're able to explore or dabble with cultural exports from other parts of the world, religion being one of them. Westerners are encouraged to "find themselves" and in that process we try on, then discard many ideologies, thus reducing them to trite intellectual garments, or a light pastime much akin to sports.

Can you take me through the process of figuring out how the video project was going to take shape after you two decided you wanted to work together?

Alex da Corte: We have been talking about working together for years and years. At some point, after the ICA approached us about doing the show and we settled on the format: I supplied the video/visuals and Jayson supplied the script. We decided that the video play would focus on archetypes in popular culture -- and poking holes in the symbols associated with them. In both of our works, we have explored these arenas before -- in Jayson's Hennessy videos and in my True Life project, which revolved around Eminem -- so it seemed fitting to start there and go further down that rabbit hole.

When ICA commissioned you to work on a project did they have a specific idea of what they wanted to see from you?

AC: Kate Kraczon approached us with the idea that this collaboration would highlight parts of our practice that were not as well known. So for Jayson, that would be his use of language and text -- which had largely been part of his earlier Plastic Little/Too Black for B.E.T. work. And for me, that meant video, which -- although I studied and employ as part of my process -- I had never focused on video as the centerpiece for a show.

JM: That being said, they had no real idea what to expect from us and for some time we didn't know what to expect from this collaboration either. Video and writing are very amorphous concepts. For me, all my art actually comes out of writing and language -- even my paintings -- so when approached with the idea of writing for this project, the question for me was, really, What kind of writing?

2014_easternsports-still_007.jpg 2014_easternsports-still_006.jpgHow did you decide to base the script around Thorton Wilder's Our Town?

AC:
Our Town does a great job of painting a picture of a microcosm that can be endlessly analyzed and reanalyzed. Our concerns were similar, but the microcosm has changed slightly. It is focused more on the queer sci-fi periphery rather than the traditional hetero-normative white center.

JM: Shout out to heroic white men, though -- you Jack Sparrow-ass, swashbuckling, self-anointed-saviors of the world.

When did you meet Dev Hynes? How did he come to collaborate with you on the score for Easternsports?

AC:
I met Dev through mutual friends. He had come to a show of mine in London at White Cube and soon after we discussed the easternsports. He generously scored the entire two and half hours of video in Philadelphia this summer. Since Dev is also a synesthese, he scored the work based on the colors in the videos. We are still in awe of him and his contribution.

JM: Very much so. He's incredibly humble and was so truly happy to contribute that I'm honestly still flabbergasted that someone of his immense talent is even involved. I'm a bum, and as much as I love and respect Alex as an artist, I've known him for too long so he's a bum. But Dev is a fucking rock star.

Jayson, most of your work has been critical or a parody of the art world. Your latest show, Exhibit of Abstract Art brought to life the Modern art from the world of the comic strip, Nancy. Easternsports doesn't look like it takes itself too seriously either. Is it another critique of the art world or something else? I have this image in mind:

unnamed2.jpgAC: I think it is a critique of something else, but life imitates art and vice versa -- that something else is maybe what all of the characters in Easternsports are trying to define, us included.

JM: It's a mixture I think; throughout Easternsports, there is in fact much humor, as is my tonal tendency, and Alex's beer pong from Scene 3 is hilarious, but the humor is situated in relation to questions about life, love, identity, death, ritual and God, or, as a young viewer commented on our dual dispositions, the humor is situated in close proximity to a lot of "darkness." But in terms of it being a critique, I'd have to say it's more of an exploration than a critique.

Alex, you've said that your work is preoccupied with modern allegory and how music and film both shape and obscure our experiences. Did you have that in mind when filming Easternsports?

AC: Yes for sure. The allegories I was referring to could be substituted with Jungian archetypes. This is how Easternsports started, and these archetypes are formed, or proliferated through platforms like cinema, or theater, television and the internet, and printed matter. In Easternsports, Jayson and I are trying to understand how this constant dance, between what we desire and what we are, defines our actions and what relics result from this. If life is a stage, what is the dressing room like?

I'm laughing so much at this image and caption. Can you explain what is going on here:

unnamed.jpgAC: This image is part of the four-channel projection from Scene 3 in Easternsports. During this scene, several individuals perform rituals -- for meditation, for heroism, for transcendence, or for occupational necessity. These men perform and reveal the absurdity of one particular ancient ritual -- beer pong. Which raises the question, "What is winning if losing is drinking?" and how do we win at masculinity?

JM: And the narration in that scene addresses the practitioners of these performative archetypes. That particular caption is a segue into a sequence where I ask the viewer what they consider to be the hallmarks of being an artist.

How would you describe Easternsports in a tweet?

AC: I don't tweet but I imagine Jayson would use the words "had me like..."

JM: Alex doesn't tweet, so I guess I'll answer this: Easternsports had me like
 JAYSONTWEET.png How would Hennessy Youngman describe Easternsports?

JM: Hmm... probably like: SON, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT? YOU SAID EASTERNSPORTS BUT WHERE THE FUCK THIS KARATE AT, B? WHEN IP MAN GON' SHOW UP?   


Easternsports opens September 19th and runs until December 28th at ICA Philadelphia. Opening ceremony, 6:30 - 9pm. 

18 Must-See NYC Art Shows

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city_as_canvas_hero.jpgFans of street art, graffiti and calligraffiti have a lot to see this week starting with your last chance to check out the incredible Martin Wong collection at the Museum of the City of New York before it closes on September 21.  Over 300 works including paintings, drawings and artists' black books collected by the late painter during the '80s are on view; plus there's a roundtable discussion, "The Rap About Graffiti," on Wednesday, September 17, 6:30 p.m., with Sacha Jenkins, Ket One, Wendy Feuer. Stephen Eide and others.  Tickets are HERE.

Speaking of the 80s, if you're heading down to Texas in the next few months, be sure to check out "Urban Theater: New York Art in the 1980's."  The group show -- filling over 25,000 square feet of exhibition space -- opens this weekend at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Leila Heller Gallery opens a cool new show called "Pop Sculpture/Pop Culture" on Thursday, September 18, 6 to 9 p.m at their 57th Street location. Over 40 artists are represented with objects from early 60s, pop-art pioneers like Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg; plus newer pieces from KAWS, Tom Sachs, Tony Tasset and more.  The exhibition runs until November 15

extracts_front-1.fw.pngNew Romance Galleries opens a new show called "Extracts" featuring "graffiti-inspired" works by Greg Lamarche, Jurne and Max Rippon on Friday, September 19, 7 to 10 p.m.  The exhibition was curated by Tim Strazza who says it "highlights the idea that elements removed from an artwork are equally as important as the elements added."  While both Lamarche and Max Rippon (aka Ripo) are native New Yorkers, Jurne was raised in Portland, Maine, and currently lives in San Francisco. It's up until October 4.

597El_Centro_Habana.jpgJose Parla's El Centro Habana

Also on the calligraffiti tip, Brooklyn's Jose Parla has a great new show, "In Medias Res," over at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery that's up until October 18.  Parla was recently commissioned by Andre Balazs to do a mural at London's red-hot Chiltern Firehouse hotel.

FIRE-website-27-1280x1011.jpgVenus Over Manhattan opens a group show of contemporary ceramics called "FIRE!" on Wednesday, September 17, 6 to 9 p.m.  The exhibition was curated by de Pury de Pury -- aka Simon de Pury and his wife Michaela -- and includes works by Ai Weiwei, Sterling Ruby, Rosemarie Trockel, Takuro Kuwata and more.  The is de Pury's first show since leaving Phillips de Pury & Co. in 2012.

Art of Plumbing.jpgAlexander Melamid opens a solo exhibition called "The Art of Plumbing" on Wednesday, September 17, 6 to 8 p.m. at the new pop-up Vohn Gallery. The artist was one-half of the legendary art duo Komar & Melamid and, with this show, he continues his "critique of the art world and our luxury-obsessed society...by dissecting the concept of the urinal/toilet in art history."

Koons___52782.jpgJeff Koons, Stacked, 1988, polychrome wood, 61 x 53 x 31 inches (154.9 x 13.4 x 78.7 cm). Edition of 3 + 1 AP. © Jeff Koons

Skarstedt Gallery presents a new group show of contemporary sculpture, "Cast For Life,"  featuring works by George Condo, Jeff Koons, Mike Kelly, Robert Gober, Rebecca Warren and many more.  The opening is September 18th, 6 to 8 p.m. and it's up until October 25th.

BMB_LOGO-web.jpg

If you don't mind a little walking, be sure to check out "Broadway Morey Boogie," a public art exhibition that includes works by 10 American artists placed along Broadway from Columbus Circle up to 166th Street.  Look for works by Dan Colen (137th Street), Tony Matelli 73rd Street), Joanna Malinowska (Columbus Circle, Lars Fisk (79th Street) and six others artists, all on view starting this week.  The exhibition was curated by Max Levai and Pascal Spengemann of Marlborough Chelsea.  If you can't make it in person, follow all the action on Instagram.

The first BRIC Biennial celebrates 27 artists who are based in-and-around downtown Brooklyn.  It opens on September 19, 7 to 9 p.m., and will be up until December 14.  The show was curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, Jenny Gerow, Leslie Kerby and Fawz Kabra.

10614124_10152520500724597_4419268684951114384_n.pngRemember the artist Reza Aramesh's sculpture installation during FRIEZE New York 2013 at 5 NYC nightclubs?  Well, now there's a book called "12Midnight"  that documents the whole shebang with over 150 pages of images, collages, cutouts and inserts; and a book launch on Friday, September 19, 6 to 8 p.m. at Printed Matter.

Because I've been away for the summer, here's a few of the current shows worth checking out (with a shout-out to Carlo McCormick for his input):

Roxy_Paine_Checkpoint_30.jpgRoxy Paine at Marianne Boesky featuring several new wood sculptures including a life-size, airport security installation called "Checkpoint."  On view until October 18.  The Wall Street Journal called the piece "amazing" and we couldn't have said it better.

CACD-620.jpgJacob Hashimoto's 30-foot tall installation called "Skyfarm Fortress" made of thousands of kites at Mary Boone Gallery (541 West 24th Street).  It's up until October 25th.

Screen Shot 2014-09-17 at 3.49.52 PM.pngDALeast at Jonathan LeVine through October 4th.

CA-14-On-Compression_Lakes-(5182)-web_675_450.jpg"tl;dr" by Cory Arcangel.

Team Gallery has Ryan McGinley's "Yearbook" at 83 Grand Street until October 12th and Cory Arcangel's "tl;dr" at 47 Wooster Street until October 26th.

FREEMANS_INSTALL-01_1.jpgSalon 94 features a group show called "Satan Ceramics" with works by Tom Sachs, Mary Frey, JJ Peet and Pat McCarthy up until October 25th.  As the gallery says: "The four New York-based artists, friends and collaborators shape clay with a sense of irreverence, rites and ritual."

Screen Shot 2014-09-17 at 3.55.12 PM.png
We love robots, so what's not to like about Nam June Paik's "Becoming Robot" up at the Asia Society (725 Park Avenue) until January 4. 


LC_Blog.jpgWe also love FriendsWithYou, and their new inflatable installation, "Light Cave," is worth checking out the next time you walk past the Standard High Line. It's up until the end of the  month.  

















Michael Musto's Definitive Ranking of the Top 10 Broadway Divas Onstage Today

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I love a Broadway star, especially one that's female and in musicals. And so, without an overture or any other further ado, here's my rundown of the 10 best we have going today. Hopefully this will quell those persistent claims of "They don't make 'em like they did in the old days!"

audramcdonaldmusto.JPG(Photo by Andrew Toth/PatrickMcMullan.com)

1) Audra McDonald
She reads the phone book, she wins the Tony. She sings the phone book, and she deserves a Nobel. Audra is the most superb specimen we have on that musical stage, and after Porgy and Bess and Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, her handful of naysayers seem to be gloriously silenced. Oh, and she's a great dramatic actress too. It's just plain shocking already.

suttonfostermusto.JPG(Photo by Jimi Celeste/PatrickMcMullan.com)

2) Sutton Foster
With six nominations and two Tonys to her credit, Sutton oozes range, polish, and professionalism. Her name might not incite riots of ticket buyers, but she's a talented, dependable Broadway diva (and TV star, too) who has shone from Thoroughly Modern Millie to Violet, and she is the second best we have. I'd pay to see her Hedwig.

kellioharamusto.JPG(Photo by Jimi Celeste/PatrickMcMullan.com)

3) Kelli O'Hara

Boasting only five Tony nominations (lol) Kelli's a tad behind Sutton, but she'll probably nab another one for The King and I, and maybe she can finally win one, too. I didn't thrill to her toned-down Nellie Forbush, but mainly she's been full-throttle wonderful in shows like The Light in the Piazza, Pajama Game, and so on. Without becoming a superstar, she's definitely emerged as a reliable musical diva -- a performer of extraordinary skill and dedication.

kristenchenowethmust.JPG(Photo by Clint Spaulding/PatrickMcMullan.com)

4) Kristen Chenoweth

An icon of all media, Kristen is returning to Broadway in a revival of On The Twentieth Century, playing a lacquered, diva-esque role that seems perfect for her talents. The woman's a real Broadway star.

idinamenzelmusto.JPG(Photo by Jimi Celeste/PatrickMcMullan.com)

5) Idina Menzel

From Rent to If/Then, Idina specializes in quirky urban musicals -- and she actually sells tickets, too. Who says there are no stars on Broadway anymore? Those viewpoints are officially, uh, "frozen" in time.

pattiluponemusto.JPG(Photo by Nicholas Hunt/PatrickMcMullan.com)

6) Patti LuPone
She shouldn't have to audition for shows. She shouldn't have to be rejected for anything either. In fact, people should be stepping up to write shows for her, then begging other people not to do them. That's my two cents.

bernadettepetersmusto.jpg(Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/PatrickMcMullan.com)

7) Bernadette Peters

Ditto.

donnamurphymusto.jpg(Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/PatrickMcMullan.com)

8) Donna Murphy

The woman can do virtually anything, from a witch to a woman who only looks like one. She deserves a star in front of Joe Allen.

jessiemuellermusto.JPG(Photo by J Grassi/PatrickMcMullan.com)

9) Jessie Mueller

A breakout hit from her first Broadway show, the gay On A Clear Day... revival, Jessie has gone on to triumph in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Beautiful (Tony award), and other musicals, working nonstop and proving she's got spunk, chops, and diversity. Her future will be lots of fun for us to watch.

lauraosnes_musto.jpg(Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/PatrickMcMullan.com)

10) Laura Osnes
She's done Grease!, Anything Goes, Bonnie and Clyde, and Cinderella, always delivering crisp, engaging performances. She was edged out for a Tony by Patina Miller, so let me now give special shout-out status to Patina, along with Tonya Pinkins, Marin Mazzie, Christine Ebersole, Kerry Butler, Andrea Martin, Bebe Neuwirth, Carolee Carmello, Victoria Clark. Charlotte d'Amboise, Katie Finneran, Rebecca Luker, Jan Maxwell, and Laura Benanti. Brava, divas.

10 Must-See Art Shows Opening This Week

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city_as_canvas2.jpgLee Quiñones • Howard the Duck, 1988 • Oil on canvas • Museum of the City of New York, gift of Martin Wong, 94.114.1

Fans of street art, graffiti and calligraffiti have a lot to see this week starting with your last chance to check out the incredible Martin Wong collection at the Museum of the City of New York before it closes on September 21.  Over 300 works including paintings, drawings and artists' black books collected by the late painter during the '80s are on view; plus there's a roundtable discussion, "The Rap About Graffiti," on Wednesday, September 17, 6:30 p.m., with Sacha Jenkins, Ket One, Wendy Feuer. Stephen Eide and others.  Tickets are HERE.

Speaking of the 80s, if you're heading down to Texas in the next few months, be sure to check out "Urban Theater: New York Art in the 1980's."  The group show -- filling over 25,000 square feet of exhibition space -- opens this weekend at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Leila Heller Gallery opens a cool new show called "Pop Sculpture/Pop Culture" on Thursday, September 18, 6 to 9 p.m at their 57th Street location. Over 40 artists are represented with objects from early 60s, pop-art pioneers like Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg; plus newer pieces from KAWS, Tom Sachs, Tony Tasset and more.  The exhibition runs until November 15

extracts_front-1.fw.pngNo Romance Galleries opens a new show called "Extracts" featuring "graffiti-inspired" works by Greg Lamarche, Jurne and Max Rippon on Friday, September 19, 7 to 10 p.m.  The exhibition was curated by Tim Strazza who says it "highlights the idea that elements removed from an artwork are equally as important as the elements added."  While both Lamarche and Max Rippon (aka Ripo) are native New Yorkers, Jurne was raised in Portland, Maine, and currently lives in San Francisco. It's up until October 4.

597El_Centro_Habana.jpgJose Parla's El Centro Habana

Also on the calligraffiti tip, Brooklyn's Jose Parla has a great new show, "In Medias Res," over at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery that's up until October 18.  Parla was recently commissioned by Andre Balazs to do a mural at London's red-hot Chiltern Firehouse hotel.

FIRE-website-27-1280x1011.jpgVenus Over Manhattan opens a group show of contemporary ceramics called "FIRE!" on Wednesday, September 17, 6 to 9 p.m.  The exhibition was curated by de Pury de Pury -- aka Simon de Pury and his wife Michaela -- and includes works by Ai Weiwei, Sterling Ruby, Rosemarie Trockel, Takuro Kuwata and more.  The is de Pury's first show since leaving Phillips de Pury & Co. in 2012.

Art of Plumbing.jpgAlexander Melamid opens a solo exhibition called "The Art of Plumbing" on Wednesday, September 17, 6 to 8 p.m. at the new pop-up Vohn Gallery. The artist was one-half of the legendary art duo Komar & Melamid and, with this show, he continues his "critique of the art world and our luxury-obsessed society...by dissecting the concept of the urinal/toilet in art history."

Koons___52782.jpgJeff Koons, Stacked, 1988, polychrome wood, 61 x 53 x 31 inches (154.9 x 13.4 x 78.7 cm). Edition of 3 + 1 AP. © Jeff Koons

Skarstedt Gallery presents a new group show of contemporary sculpture, "Cast For Life,"  featuring works by George Condo, Jeff Koons, Mike Kelly, Robert Gober, Rebecca Warren and many more.  The opening is September 18th, 6 to 8 p.m. and it's up until October 25th.

BMB_LOGO-web.jpg

If you don't mind a little walking, be sure to check out "Broadway Morey Boogie," a public art exhibition that includes works by 10 American artists placed along Broadway from Columbus Circle up to 166th Street.  Look for works by Dan Colen (137th Street), Tony Matelli 73rd Street), Joanna Malinowska (Columbus Circle, Lars Fisk (79th Street) and six others artists, all on view starting this week.  The exhibition was curated by Max Levai and Pascal Spengemann of Marlborough Chelsea.  If you can't make it in person, follow all the action on Instagram.

The first BRIC Biennial celebrates 27 artists who are based in-and-around downtown Brooklyn.  It opens on September 19, 7 to 9 p.m., and will be up until December 14.  The show was curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, Jenny Gerow, Leslie Kerby and Fawz Kabra.

Screen Shot 2014-09-17 at 5.27.16 PM.png
Swing by the House of Vans (25 Franklin Street, Brooklyn) on September 20th and 21st and check out the Green Label Gallery pop-up exhibition of "crowd-sourced, urban art" curated by Brooklyn designer/illustrator Kevin Lyons. Over a thousand people submitted works via Instagram for this global happening that's a part of Mountain Dew's "Dew Tour Brooklyn."
 
10614124_10152520500724597_4419268684951114384_n.pngRemember the artist Reza Aramesh's sculpture installation during FRIEZE New York 2013 at 5 NYC nightclubs?  Well, now there's a book called "12Midnight"  that documents the whole shebang with over 150 pages of images, collages, cutouts and inserts; and a book launch on Friday, September 19, 6 to 8 p.m. at Printed Matter.

Because I've been away for the summer, here's a few of the current shows worth checking out (with a shout-out to Carlo McCormick for his input):

Roxy_Paine_Checkpoint_30.jpgRoxy Paine at Marianne Boesky featuring several new wood sculptures including a life-size, airport security installation called "Checkpoint."  On view until October 18.  The Wall Street Journal called the piece "amazing" and we couldn't have said it better.

CACD-620.jpgJacob Hashimoto's 30-foot tall installation called "Skyfarm Fortress" made of thousands of kites at Mary Boone Gallery (541 West 24th Street).  It's up until October 25th.

Screen Shot 2014-09-17 at 3.49.52 PM.pngDALeast at Jonathan LeVine through October 4th.

CA-14-On-Compression_Lakes-(5182)-web_675_450.jpg"tl;dr" by Cory Arcangel.

Team Gallery has Ryan McGinley's "Yearbook" at 83 Grand Street until October 12th and Cory Arcangel's "tl;dr" at 47 Wooster Street until October 26th.

FREEMANS_INSTALL-01_1.jpgSalon 94 features a group show called "Satan Ceramics" with works by Tom Sachs, Mary Frey, JJ Peet and Pat McCarthy up until October 25th.  As the gallery says: "The four New York-based artists, friends and collaborators shape clay with a sense of irreverence, rites and ritual."

Screen Shot 2014-09-17 at 3.55.12 PM.png
We love robots, so what's not to like about Nam June Paik's "Becoming Robot" up at the Asia Society (725 Park Avenue) until January 4. 


LC_Blog.jpgWe also love FriendsWithYou, and their new inflatable installation, "Light Cave," is worth checking out the next time you walk past the Standard High Line. It's up until the end of the  month.  


Morning Funnies: The World's Worst DJ is a Bro's Worst Nightmare

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You might know Kevin Wang's switch-and-bait dub step beats as "Best Drops Ever" on SoundCloud. But watching unsuspecting bros disappointedly dance to Justin Bieber is so much more fun. [via The Daily Dot
 

This hair metal parakeet does Taylor Swift better than Taylor Swift.



Paired with ska dance moves, Gwen Stefani's lip sync rendition of "Call Me Maybe" is A+.


Imagine a world where your iPhone "actually fucking works." We just want a battery that won't die at 11%. [via CollegeHumor]



Let's face it, as soon as a cute animal puts something on its head, it becomes the only thing we care about. These two cats are not the exception. [via TastefullyOffensive]


tumblr_n1xxrqdjU51r4u912o1_500.jpg
Drake's most iconic moment. [via RappersDoingNormalShit]

Leikeli47, Rap's Most Mysterious MC, Is Back With a New Video

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Our favorite balaclava-clad mystery rapper, Leikeli47, is back with a new video, "Two Times a Charm," which we're excited to be premiering on PAPER. We still don't know much about her -- nor whether this video & track will be part of a larger release -- but that doesn't mean we can't get behind the clap-heavy beats, A+ fashion (a special s/o to that poncho look), and the rapper's take no shit lady mob who chant, "we stompin' on your lungs/you can't keep up." At about the 1:32 mark, the song and video abruptly changes course with Leikeli's tough talk being replaced by woozy, soulful instrumentals and what could pass for spoken word poetry. (The visuals go similarly soft -- we see the rapper strumming a guitar next to an adorable little kid chilling out in a shiny black love seat.)

You can download "Two Times A Charm," HERE.

Comedy Duo Tim & Eric Are Tired of Making You Laugh

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Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim specialize in the grossly absurd. And while you might be used to the lo-fi, public access aesthetics of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! their newest Adult Swim series is brings in an element of high drama.

Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories
-- also featuring funny men, John C. Rilley, Zach Galifianakis, and Jason Schwartzman -- is what happens when comedy is bored of itself. Influenced by existential comedies like Louie, the show features short sketches and vignettes that are more like surreal nightmares.

"Most of life is a nightmare," Warehiem said in a recent interview. "This show kind of embraces those moments of, I cannot believe that this is actually happening." Tim Heidecker added, "We're tired of making people laugh with our humor. We want to make people cry." But judging from the trailer, you're more likely to be crying from laughing so hard.

Tim and Eric Bedtime Stories premieres tonight at 12:15am on Adult Swim.


Jessie Ware and Miguel's Extra-Sultry New Jam Will Give You Shivers

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While we wait for Jessie Ware's sophomore album, Tough Love, to come out in the states on October 21, the former PAPER cover girl's released another track off the record: "Kind Of...Sometimes...Maybe," featuring another PAPER cover star, Miguel. The song, which the duo also co-wrote with BenZel (Benny Blanco and Two Inch Punch), features Ware's cooing, restrained R&B and Miguel whispering sweet nothings. Bottom line? When two hot R&B stars collides, it's all

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 12.54.49 PM.png

Video of Brooke Candy's Debut Performance at Our 30th Anniversary Party

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PAPER cover girl Brooke Candy gave her debut performance last week at our 30th anniversary shindig, held at Space Ibiza New York. Filmmaker Lina Plioplyte was on hand to capture the action and get shots of the fabulous crowd dancing and drinking Cointreau cocktails. Guests included Samantha Ronson, Bethann Hardison, Danny Masterson, André Balazs, Nicola Formichetti, Lady Bunny, Ashley Smith, PAPER's Kim Hastreiter, David Hershkovits and Mr. Mickey and countless other bejewled, bewigged, and bedazzled party people. Re-live the night, above.

And a big thanks to our friends at Cointreau for the yummy cocktails!

Danny Brown's "Smokin & Drinkin" Video Is the Definition of Turnt Up

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Like Danny Brown, we've often wondered whether it's better to smoke a blunt before drinking a 40 or after? Too bad we couldn't get some friends together for a nice house party like the one seen here in the video for "Smokin & Drinkin." But, hey, Danny can afford a big-time director like Alan Del Rio Ortiz and we had zero funds in our blunt budget. After some home experimentation, we agree with Danny: "'Til it's over, never stop." One more thing: We'd also like to give a big shout-out to A-Trak!

Rapper Lil B Released A Completely Useless Line of Emojis

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1090924.jpg
It's slightly disappointing that the first rapper to have his own set of emojis is Lil B. We could think of about a million other rappers that we would love to see emojis from -- Drake being on the top of that list. (Just think of the profoundly un-self-aware sadness that you'd be able to express.)  

The #basedgod's success is largely due to his social media savvy and his history as a confusing cultural enigma, so emojis from Lil B makes sense -- in that it doesn't make sense at all. Beating Apple to the punch, with the Internet rapper's Basedemoji app you can express a wide range of emotions from "Kool" to "Yes!" through Lil B's neck tattoo. 

Or, in the rapper's own words, "This Is A Very Rare App Designed And Developed By Lil B himself!!! COLLECT THIS APP AND SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD! This app was created by Lil B to have fun with your friends and family and celebrate the life of Lil B! I LOVE YOU! - Lil B." 

The First iPhone 6 Owner Drops It On Live TV

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Here's a video of the first dude to own an iPhone 6 in Perth, Australia dropping it on live television. All together now: HAHAHAHAH. [Uproxx]

alfonsoribeiro.pngAll the details on what happened here.
 tumblr_nbb3i7LIyC1twks11o1_500.jpgEven the quails are like, "wut." [AfternoonSnoozeButton]

tumblr_na4j1zCKPs1qcow79o1_1280.jpgNext Paper movie night! [LaughterKey]

10MXG.jpg
Classic. [Mlkshk]

 

Some dudes get bikini waxes. It does not go well.



Have a great weekend, y'all. [LaughterKey]

Watch Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Izalea Shake Their Butts

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#FreeTheNipple was an admirable campaign but from twerk-mania to Nicki Minaj, 2014 has been all about the butt. Better luck next year, nipples.

Jumping on the butt train, Jennifer Lopez teamed up with former Paper cover girl, Iggy Azelea for her new -- creatively titled -- track, "Booty." The video treatment for J. Lo's ode to the butt is exactly what you'd expect -- bikinis, lots of weirdly thick oil (possibly J. Lo's youth serum?), and plenty of big booty shaking. Watch the video for "Booty," above.

10 Art Instagram Feeds That Aren't Totally Insufferable

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While there are several major contemporary artists sharing -- and, in some cases, selling -- work on Instagram, it is the unsung up-and-comers in the field who are producing some of the most interesting content through their everyday lives and inspirations. From all over the world these artists, curators, writers, and designers are steering trends in art, design and style with a quick post on their 'grams. We've selected 10 talented folks that if you aren't already following, you should be.

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 5.30.10 PM.pngBobby Solomon / Founder of The Fox Is Black / LA
@thefoxisblack

Bobby Solomon, the founder of  art and design blog The Fox is Black, has a knack for spotting art in unusual places and posts his findings online for the world to see. While his blog spotlights artists and designers' creative projects from around the globe, Solomon uses his Instagram to document his life in La La Land. His feed shows us that art can be found in everything from a wallpaper pattern in the bathroom of his favorite restaurant to vintage marquee signs found downtown. "The idea of art can be so precious these days," Solomon says. "it needs a little shaking up."

Jason Polan _ Happy Banana.jpgJason Polan / Artist / NYC
@jasonpolan

The New York-based artist is best known for his black and white illustrations, which have been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and many other publications but he's also made a name for himself by leading the Taco Bell Drawing Club, a group of artists that congregate and draw in Taco Bells all over the country. But it's his Insta-feed, which has attracted over 63,000 followers, that catches our attention. Whether it's the occasional photo of his own work or, more often, inspiration from other artists, people, places, and things, his feed is always entertaining. Polan has the rare ability to photograph just about anything beautifully, like a curiously shaped shadow or precariously placed peppers.

JiaJia Fei - Dan Flavin's Untitled Marfa Projects in Marfa, Texas.jpgJiaJia Fei / Digital Marketing Manager at Guggenheim Musuem / NYC
@vajiajia

A veteran Instagrammer, JiaJia Fei is the self-described "Peggy Guggenheim of the Internet." Not only is she the Digital Marketing Manager for The Guggenheim, but she is also a tireless supporter of the broader NYC arts scene. Keeping her feed separate from that of her employer, Fei's account serves as a visual diary for documenting art, travels, and her life in the city. Her photos are often 50% art, 50% art-selfies, and the occasional cat 'gram. Cat pics aside, Fei jokes that by following her, people can earn an honorary art history degree. She says, "[My feed] is sort of like taking your non-art friend to a museum for their first time and explaining why a work of art is meaningful to you -- no PhDs required."

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 5.36.00 PM.pngMae Elvis Kaufman / Artist / NYC
@maeelvis


Don't be surprised if you soon see Mae Elvis Kaufman as a nominee (nay, winner) for best Art Instagrammer at the Shorty Awards. Her work, reminiscent of Cindy Sherman's, examines identity manipulation. Whether photos of herself dressed up as an overly tan Jersey housewife sporting a leopard leotard or a trippy '60s chick rocking mod makeup, Kaufman's images, created exclusively for Instagram, are simultaneously evocative, erotic and grotesque.

Kalen Hollomon _ 01.JPGKalen Hollomon / Artist / NYC
@kalen_hollomon


He's provocative, he's funny as hell, and he's the type of artist that makes you say, "why didn't I think of that?" Hollomon creates off-beat collages (or, more accurately, paper cut-out photobombs) by holding fashion ad clippings and vintage porn mags in front of unassuming pedestrians or oblivious subway riders and snapping a pic on his phone of the result. These unusual combinations examine themes of commerce, fashion, and gender, molding everyday moments into realistic, romantic and taboo scenarios.

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 5.39.42 PM.pngKimberly Drew / Communications at Lehmann Maupin Gallery / NYC
@museummammy

Originally rising to internet stardom for her role as founder of Tumblr Black Contemporary Art (a self-described "safe place for art about and by artists of African descent"), Kimberly Drew is committed to discovering work from black artists and putting it online. Beyond the BCA agenda, she uses Instagram as a supplement for her "terrible memory," documenting her life in the arts. "I'm hoping to pursue a career as a digital archivist in the future, so I'm prepping to be the coolest [one] on the world wide web," Drew says. She successfully balances these posts with those taken on behalf of the popular Chelsea gallery Lehmann Maupin, where she manages all of their social media platforms.

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 5.42.14 PM.pngElizabeth Huey / Artist / NYC
@elizabeth_huey

NYC-based painter Elizabeth Huey treats her feed like one big excavation site, posting images from her ever-expanding collection of found photos along with pics of her own work. "I started using Instagram as a way to sort through my image archive," she says. "The visual material that informs my paintings is comprised of photos I've taken and old prints I collect from flea markets and thrift stores. I had an impulse to see them together in the grid because it reflects the way I see them in my studio." Together, her feed reflects a broad spectrum of scenarios surrounding humanity and relationships, as well as nature, architecture and memory.

Ben Sanders _ Instagram _ 04.jpgBan Sanders / Artist / LA
@bensandersstudio


A double threat, Ben Sanders is an artist and founder of the creative studio, Those People. His paintings, illustrations, and prints have graced the walls of galleries along the West Coast, and internationally in the UK and Canada. But it's on his feed that his followers and fans get a firsthand peek at his works in progress. He's also begun using his Instagram as a sales platform, hawking his latest work-- a selection of cactus pots. Equal parts pottery and play, these images peppered throughout his feed pair the pots with hilariously simplistic cactus illustrations.

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 5.44.25 PM.pngPari Ehsan / Founder of Pari Dust / NYC
@paridust


Pari Dust, the brain-child of interior designer Pari Ehsan, has quickly gained steam as 105k folks eagerly await her polished posts, where fashion, art, and social media collide. Ehsan's account, launched less than a year ago, matches photos of clothing with complementary works of art. The project was even recently nominated by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for a Fashion Instagrammer of the Year Award.

Screen Shot 2014-09-18 at 5.47.29 PM.pngXavier Aaronson / Founder of Babes at the Museum / NYC
@museumbabes


Babes at the Museum trumps the notion that being culturally curious and universally attractive are mutually exclusive. An entire feed devoted to style mavens spotted wandering around NYC's museums -- along with other famed institutions around the world -- the account, like its owner, Xavier Aaronson, is interested in the idea of turning museum-goers into art. And while he thinks his account can serve a higher purpose -- getting someone enthusiastic about attending a show, for instance -- he's generally light-hearted about his feed. "I make sure to keep the content varied and loosen up the concept interpretations but I'm not trying to create anything bigger than it has to be," he says. "I mean, it's called 'Babes At The Museum', who am I kidding?"


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