Just found my new fall wardrobe for next year courtesy of Balenciaga's Pre-Fall Collection. Now all I have to do is find some cash.
Side note: I might have mentioned that what owls were to 2010 foxes will be to 2011, but could this actually be the year of the German Shepherd?
I love you and your hair, Françoise Hardy. We all do.
Everyone's puttin' in their two pesos on what their favorite _______s were in 2010. I've resisted because I'm not big on lists, but I've since caved. This was an interesting year in movies--or better yet, a polarizing year. There have been strong love-it/hate-it reactions to most of the films released during the holiday season (hi, Black Swan, True Grit, and Somewhere) and not too many standouts from the summer blockbuster extravaganza. I've had many a holiday party conversation about what cinema meant in 2010, and I found that few films actually touched people emotionally this year. The conversations often gravitated towards the subject of television instead, specifically long-form series' like Mad Men, Breaking Bad (my fave), and the now defunct The Wire, which has become a sensation in its DVD/download afterlife. Basically, TV shows that feel like a novel and movie combined are where it's at.
I have faith in the film industry, though. I'm hoping there's a zeitgeist around the corner. How long has it been since we've had a film movement? The internet puts opportunity in the hands of anyone who's audacious and hungry enough to seek an audience. Maybe this means the best is yet to come (or has yet to be discovered). We're living in a newer, faster, digital age, but I believe what we all continually crave is a really good story. Great stories never get old and stand alone regardless of whatever medium in which they're told.
Thus, here's a brief list of what touched (or tickled) me this year across the story spectrum. These are picture shows that appeared on film, on TV, on canvas, or on paper...
A Viennese trained ballerina
Chief dancer to Balanchine
Ethereal elegance
On stage and on screen
A life lived in London
Then to Broadway with Astaire
She enraptured audiences
Including Ginger Rogers in full glare
Tilly took to Hollywood
A supporting player in flux
She retreated back to Broadway
Where creativity remained luxe
A bout with depression
Made her incredibly ill
So she took to painting portraits
With undeniable skill
Two swans, black and white.A Haiku for BLACK SWAN
One sexy, the other tight.
Ballet is crazy.
I saw Black Swan a few nights ago in a dark and heaving screening room. No one moved, no one breathed, and no one got up when the credits rolled. That should tell you everything. Also, Ms. Portman gives one of the most exciting performances of the year (if not in a very long time). Bold, brave, astonishing, and exact ... I can't stop talking/thinking about it.
Stumped on what to get your favorite cinephile this holiday season? How about one of these modern movie posters...
"Work to me isn't hard; it's who I am. I think what's hard is going against a current, trying to be something else."
Artist and Etsy seller YOKOO is known for both her hand-knitted products and the uniquely stylish way she photographs herself wearing them. I peruse her shop regularly just to see what outfits she's concocted around her gigantic knitted scarves or pom-pom hats. Yokoo spends over 15 hours a day knitting her wares describing herself as a perfectionist who truly enjoys the process of creating and completing her work. She does all of this while watching old movies on her iMac, too, which might seem like a dream job until you realize how fast her hands must be working.
All of the hard work appears to be paying off as evidenced by a NY Times article that listed Yokoo's earnings as more than that of most law associates. She has singlehandedly proven that Etsy can turn a hardworking artist or craftsperson into a bonafide industry. Recently, The Storque (Etsy's handmade blog) did a fantastic film portrait of Yokoo capturing her thoughts, work process, and picturesque environment in Atlanta, Georgia. It's an inspiring and moving piece on the importance of staying true to yourself by doing what you love. Also, that hard work pays off in more ways than just your wallet.
I'm obsessed with the new Svpply website. Not only does it help you locate cool and interesting products from around the globe, it allows you to create and share your ultimate wish list. Just in time for the holiday season!
Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture is my cuppa tea, but I'll warn you that it's not for everyone. If you like ferociously understated (and hilarious) dialogue, brooding twenty-somethings who are generally too clever for their own good, and moments of uncomfortable beauty, then please grab a date (or just yourself) and see this movie. I can't stop thinking about it nor my own post-collegiate life, which was just as uncomfortable and oddly wonderful.
Other critics might have stated this already, but I truly believe that Lena Dunham is one to watch. No one is taking risks like these onscreen anymore, especially as a writer, director, and actor. It's impressive. Her character, Aura, though stalled and journey-less is compelling and real. Also compelling? Actress Jemima Kirke who plays Lena's deadpan, eye-rolly sidekick. Together they seem like girls I know or used to know--fearless, frightened, flawed, and fantastic.
Need a new favorite workout album? Then download the amped up psychedelic electro stylings of Melbourne's Miami Horror. If you like your New Order with a touch of MGMT and Neon Indian, you won't be disappointed. I'm lovin' it.
