PS1 Warm Up!

Every summer PS 1 MoMA hosts Warm Up on Saturdays. Let me tell you about a good time. If you want to have one I think you should head over before it comes to an end. There are two things that make Warm Up better than just visiting the museum.
The first is there is always live music and people dancing. Usually its DJ stuff, but every once and while you get a band too. And its super fun to be dancing with all these people in the middle of the day with our devil may care attitude.
The second best part is the outdoor installation, usually interactive, done in collaboration by the Young Architects Program. This "gives emerging architects the opportunity to build projects conceived for P.S.1’s facility in Long Island City, Queens," according to the website.
This year the installation was so simple and subtle, that it really was just right, perfection. Like a reflection of a great summer day- one that involves both sun and shade, relaxation and activity. Streching over the expanse of the yard was a great trapeze-like net held up by several poles. The great net hosted plenty of brightly colored exercise balls which created nice patches of shade to hide from the sun. There were also strategically placed hoops through which you could bounce the balls out from the net and let them careen down to the ground (or attempt to throw back into the net... which I failed at spectacularly) to sit yer ass upon. Or bounce around. Or throw at your friend's face. The whole installation encouraged interaction, and not only did I see people trying to get the balls out, but every once and a while I spotted intrepid people climbing the poles:In the side room, the poles made different sounds as you wobbled them. They were connected to the internet, and if you had a iPhone you could control the volume of the poles with it.
Also there were a few hammocks scattered around, but it was almost impossible to snag one. They did look comfortable though.
The art inside I have to say was the worst collection thus far. I guess when you don't have Olafur Eliasson everywhere everything else just pales in comparison. There was this neat tree, cement dust installation- a comment of the de-rainforestation going on in Brazil.
I've heard that one before...
And of course the basement is always cool, both in temperature (zing!) and if you like old relics. Someone had been gold leafing bits and pieces everywhere, but all we saw of his/her presence was bits of gold scattered on the ground and smatterings of leaf on the vintage machinery.

We headed back outside to get some dance party in:

And from somewhere balloons floated out into the crowd. Those balloon combined with bubbles from a bubble gun added to the fun! I took a picture but BARBARA PHOTO BOMBED THAT SHIT!
Take two-
Also- this guy was there...
And these guys. They are art.

Jeanne Claude

February 2005, then a sophomore in college, living in Chicago, I had decided to purchase a plane ticket back to New York to witness the unveiling of The Gates, the newest work from Christo and Jeanne Claude. It was the only time in the entire history of me going to school that I came home for a reason other than winter break, but I figured this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This inspirational and ethically bound artistic duo could do no wrong in my eyes. I was always flabbergasted, awe struck by their previous endeavors. Their massive scale installations always appealed to me on a primitive and purely aesthetic level, which as I delved into researching them, I found that's really all that they were striving to archive anyway.

I also found that they never sell their work, they recycle it when each project is done. It is for no one to own, just to experience. And they accept no money from the cities in which the pieces exist in. The pieces are all financed from the sale of their preliminary sketches (which I had the privilege to see at Art Chicago) independent from anyone else's money. They chose never to accept outside funding, because it may alter thier work if they have to appease other finacers. I know that The Gates took over 20 years to be realized, talks with the city, logositcs and fund raising, yet they never gave up.
So one very cold morning in Feburary I grabbed the 6 and took it into Manhattan, to the very North part of Central Park, and witnessed the unvieling of the Gates. The staff used long poles with hooks on the end to pull the curtians of safron colored fabric out of the shells, to hang draped between two poles along many of the paths in Central Park. Bystanders like myself were handed small squares of the fabric, samples which we could keep and touch, put in scrap books or throw away.
It hurts my heart to say that last night one half of this amazing duo passed away. Jeanne Claude has died at 74 due to a brain annuerism. I have been truly touched by the work her and her husband did, and the way in which they did it. Always an inspiration, forever in my heart, bonne travaile Jeanne Claude!

Party party party!

Monday night was Marc's party! No I didn't go! We were helping our client throw their own party (which was fabulous and well attended, thankyouverymuch) and also Marc just didn't invite me this year. I can't imagine why...
I was decidedly sober and after our fantastically successful event I ate at my fav, the Corner Shop- and had their bread pudding, which makes you want to cry its so good- sped on home and passed out completely and entirely at the early hour of 11:30. I am a party animal, let me tell you.
All that extra rest turned out to be fourtuitous as last morning my boss was all casual like "Hey, I can't go to this event, do you want to?" and its at the MoMA being hosted by Linda Evangelsta and Ron Arad. So basically I snatched out of her hand, called her a saucy minx and ran home to be a total girl about what I was going to wear. I had only planned on attending the Sartorialist's party and was not at all appropriately dressed at all for a gala at the MoMA-jeeze! Six outfits later, I left to holler at Trace-face for a hot minute at the Sart's party. Garance was there too! And I saw the loverly Simon Doonan, again. He's totally stalking me. I helped Tracy choose some Kanye West jams (I guess Scott only likes Kanye, no love for the Taylor Swift! Good Riddance!) for the fete, and then dashed off to the MoMA.
In attendance, in no particular order was-
Ron Arad (wearing the same "bonnet"(he loves a hat) and crocs as the night before- a fashion faux pas on so many levels, but when you're Ron Arad, I suppose you can get away with it)

Linda Evangelista
















Kate Lanphear






















Terry Richardson













Josh Hartnett (okay so I didn't actually see him but a friend of mine who I was hanging with got a text from across the party that he was there)





















Waris Ahluwalia























Bar Refaeli




















And aparently Mary J Blige was there, but I only read that online. No one I knew saw her.
Judy and I wandered around trying to find vegetarian food, but I believe the cheif was French, so it was practically impossible. There were some steamed veggies, but that is only water and cellulose which doesn't really absorb alchol that well. Speaking of alchol, they had these amazing cotton candy lemonade drinks, making it the second time this fashion week that I have had cotton candy. The drink was strong, but let me just say- MMmmmm. I was decidedly not sober this time around. I ran into some of my favorite (and well dressed) editors from Surface and Interior Design.
Mid party I got a text from Eddie inviting me to the Purple Magazine party at Avenue. (note: turns out it was the MCM and Coco Rocha party after all)
He was all-"Do you wanna come?" and I was all-"Do you even have to ask!?" At the Standard, I met up with him and a few of his friends. One looked oddly familiar, but I couldn't place him. Lo and behold, later Eddie tells me its Yvan, the facehunter himself! I fangirled a little bit, but only on the inside because that is not cute.
I met some amazing people, talked with Waris, and had my photo taken by the Corba Snake, again. Mark Hunter's hair is really big right now. Like woah. Corry Kennedy nearly mauled Eddie to the ground with a very enthusastic hug. And near the end of the night I spotted Leigh Lezark was bopping around the bar getting a drink. I danced with this fantastic girl, a crazy guy, my neighbor kept giving me sipps of his drinks, because he was a friendly neighbor. All in all, I can say I'm still high from the super fun. And exhausted. Damn I need a nap.