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My Juicy Posse: Sex and the City

 

Finally I have posted some pix from the Juicy event. Crack open some fresh mascara and get ready to blush! And below is the brilliant flyer for the Juicy event.

MadameBonjour JohnJ: Impresario, Provocateur

Today I have been photo editing pix shot at JUICY in Tokyo - actually from both trips to Japan last fall. Above is the provocateur MadameBonjour JohnJ. I know this is obvious, but I love that surprising feeling when you dig out pix and they rush you back a moment, a day, a month from something that seemed like a lifetime ago. Suddenly I am back in Tokyo and it is 3am. Sigh.

Baby Got Bite

There were so many things I could write about my first trip to Disneyland - or as caption for this pic. Like many things lately, it was a place I never wanted to end up and it was smaller than I imagined it would be. Tellingly, I ended up loving the Haunted Mansion. And I discovered my new favorite 80's video installation - the totally inane Star Tours. I am stuggling to understand why people travel from all over the world to partake in over-branded fun, but I guess once bitten... 

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Westwood Ugly

Maybe it's because of those images of a newly sprouted neighborhood from the 1920's, I always think of Westwood Village as somewhat charming or refined. But in reality it is a rather ugly collection of overpriced crap, extortion deli's, and - wether it be a bank or a cafe - typically bad service. Westwood Village is caught in a downward spiral of lousy property maintenance and ill-conceived development. So I am starting a new photo album of all the ugly crap I see everyday in Westwood. So now you can laugh and cry along with me.

It Ain't Over Till It's Over

UCLA's Hammer Museum continues its emergence as a cultural center - this time going all out social/political for World Aids Day. The neon Silence=Death makes an impact day or night at the busy corner of Westwood & Wilshire Blvds. While I applaud the effort and the message, the tasteful institutional beauty seems to soften the edge and anger of original the message. Wheatpasted polemics still do what neon cannot.

Buddha's Got Back

Kotori and I met in Fujisawa, and took the the Enoden Train to Kamakura to see the stunning Daibutsu (Great Buddha). It was an amazing day trip.

Japanese Television Cameo

Yes, it was only a matter of time before I had a guest appearance on Japanese TV. Here is a still from a documentary about Tomio Koyama Gallery, and the international status of Japanese Art. I was interviewed back in September at an opening at the gallery. So, can I add this to my CV?

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Roppongi (Holidays Squared)

Kosaku san and I hit the streets today working our way through several galleries, obscure fashion and handmade house-ware shops. For the record I must state Kosaku has impeccable taste. This pic is in Roppongi - as the last light of day disappeared we headed for tea. There were photographers, journalists and news crews crawling all over the area as a major press event was playing out across the street from us. Oh, and I sure hope they decorate this street for the holidays.

Gossip at the Getty

My lovely friend and playwright Rodney Hom is finally back in town for a much anticipated vacation. So of course we headed to the Getty Center for the Edward Weston: Enduring Vision exhibition?! We enjoyed the gossip on all the photographer's former lovers. Rodney complains it is too cold here - clearly desert dwelling has finally gotten to him.

More Getty Pix

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Waking Up in LA

After a few days on the ground in LA, fighting jetlag and sudden pangs for sleep, I remain in culture shock at the rudeness of people here.

Tonight during Karen Finley's provoking performance "Wake Up" at the Kim Light Gallery, the selfishness on display by local scenesters continued unabated - the smoking, talking on cell phones, getting up in the middle of the audience to get more wine from inside the gallery, and taking pictures after she stopped during the show to ask people not to. (btw, mine is from before the show began) It seemed like they were cultural tourists; safely snug in some idea that the show did not pertain to them, or anxiously wondering when was she going to cover herself in honey? Or maybe they were unable to maintain focus as the performance played on outside between the busy La Cienega Blvd. and the dark alley behind? Noneless, the ideas that flowed from the stage continue to linger in my head as I continue my adjustment to life back in LA.

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TKG Daikanyama opens featuring Bohnchang Koo

Tomio Koyama Gallery continues to expand, this time with a highly-public space at Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama. The opening show features lovely minimalists works by Bohnchang Koo, who has a warm and serene demeanor, befitting his works. The new gallery space has a great corner spot at street level, with lots of glass - a radical departure from the main gallery spaces in Kiyosumi. The gallery dinner afterwards was a great mix of artists and gallery peeps.

Here are a few additional pix from the opening night.