We are sad to learn of the passing of the great Jewish writer Jakov Lind, who, according to his obituary in the New York Sun (March 9, 07) lived at the Chelsea for 40 years, though he wisely spent part of his time in London and Spain. There are photos of Lind in both the Claudio Edinger book, Chelsea Hotel and the Rita Barros book, Chelsea Hotel: Fifteen Years. Lind is best known for his novels, Soul of Wood and Landscape in Concrete, although, as we learn from the Edinger book, he was also a painter and an anarchist. — Ed Hamilton
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Here’s live footage of The Velvet Code from Susanne Bartsch and Kenny Kenny’s weekly Kino 41 Party. Kino 41 happens every Thursday night at 10:30 p.m.
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Laid back rock band Big Head Todd & The Monsters stopped by the Chelsea and the result is this hauntingly moody video for their song "It’s Alright" from the Sister Sweetly album. They’ve used some rather absurdist artistic license to come up with a valet who shines guest’s shoes and efficient housekeepers. That’s really stretching it. They’ve also got some angst ridden residents who compose their Great American Novels on Underwood typewriters and dance through the halls when they’re finished. Hey, we have computers and blogs around here.
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Some people think the new Carlos Zapata building on 23rd St. looks like a cockroach, and I can kind of see that: those look sort of like wing casings folded down on top. But what it really reminds me of is the
Pope’s hat. I know there must be a word for that, and I should probably look it up, but even if I used it nobody would know what I was talking about. I should also probably voice my opposition to this wildly dis-contextual project, but I can’t help feeling that anybody who has the balls to throw up a damn Pope’s hat in the middle of a block of beautiful 19th century buildings deserves some respect.And after all, it looks a hell of a lot better than Gehry’s “Luminous Toadstool” over on Eleventh Avenue.
On the other hand, the pictures may not reflect the finished product: developers have a way of turning almost any design into a pile of shit once they get their hands on in and start cutting corners. But hey, maybe they can get it up by Easter! — Ed Hamilton
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Patti came walking down 23rd Street and entered the Chelsea Hotel unnoticed because legendary
Stonewall activist and drag king Stormé DeLarverié and Vogue fashion news directorr/model Sally Singer were posing for the cameras and all eyes were on them. Patti ran into Warhol superstar Rene Ricard coming out of the hotel and they stood in front of the door and had a nice long chat. Out of respect to Rene, I did not take their picture because I know that Rene does not like his photo taken. (Later he said it would have been OK to take his picture with Patti!) I did however snap a picture of Patti entering the Star Lounge in the hotel basement. (That’s her in the hat)I didn’t have an invitation but I hung around with painter Michelle Zalopany and her friends and they graciously allowed me to
slip in with their party. It was so dark that I couldn’t really see the décor, so I don’t know to what extent it changed from when Serena’s was down there. It was hot and crowded, plus some awful red lights kept blinding me so I left before Patti performed. However, Michelle and her friends said Patti played an awesome acoustic set with her band.At 9:30 Patti came out of the club and I took her picture again. On her way to the cab, Michael Maher from Australian Broadcasting Company asked her what the Chelsea meant to her, since she had lived there for so many years. Patti looked right through him and kept on walking to the cab.
Oh well. With that kind of attitude, I don’t suppose we’re ever going to get our interview with Patti. Maybe Chelsea historian Sherill Tippins will have better luck.
Debbie (Photos: Michelle Zalopany & Friend, The guys from El Quixote who offered us free drinks if we couldn’t get into the basement; Patti Smith with her eyes closed)
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UPDATE: We hear that there’s a party for Patti Smith tonight at the STAR LOUNGE. Our invitation must have gotten lost in the mail. How much more heartbreak can we take? Good thing we know about the VIP elevator!
First, there was all that business with Patti Smith’s publisher when they announced that Just Kids: From Brooklyn to the Chelsea, a book about the time she spent with friend and fellow artist Robert Mapplethorpe, was going to be released in October 2006. We wrote to ask for a review copy and were told, we don’t know when that book is going to be released.
Now, a publicist e-mails to tell us about Patti’s new album, Twelve, a collection of studio recordings which is due out later this month. They sent us an mp3 of Gimme Shelter and offered us a review copy of the cd. Big deal, it’s on Patti’s myspace page. And anyway, how many times are you going to want to listen to Patti Smith sing Gimme Shelter. I’d say approximately once and then it’s back to good ole Mick’s version. More significiantly the publicist wrote, “ let me know if you are interested in setting up an interview with Patti Smith.” Well, we weren’t going to let that invitation pass us by. Sure, we replied, we’ll interview Patti. Surprise, surprise, now they write back and say she’s not available. Can’t they get their stories straight around there!
So, we still have a lot of unanswered questions about that book. Guess she’s been in the studio recording instead of writing her book. Well, I hope the book doesn’t fall victim to the "Factory Girl" syndrome where you have to wait so long that you’re sick of it by the time it sees the light of day.
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Monday, April 2, 1:50, 6:05, 8:00
Based on true events, "Colour Me Kubrick," is the story is of Alan Conway, a man who bluffed his way into London’s high society by pretending to be legendary director Stanley Kubrick in 1998 and 1999. Too bad he didn’t come here and pretend to be Kubrick. We would have warmly embraced him and pretended along with him that he was Kubrick. Afterall, what’s one more con artist among his fellow artists. Kubrick of course, was the filmmaker responsible for 2001: A Space Odessy, which was written by Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke has a bronze plaque on the front of the hotel.
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue, NY NYTuesday, April 3, 10:00 – 6:00 p.m.
An exhibit of work by Nam June Paik, the founder of video art, is now on display at the James Cohan Gallery. Paik, was friends with artist May Wilson who lived at the Chelsea for a while.
James Cohan Gallery, 533 West 26th St., NY NYWednesday, April 4, 10:00 – 10:00
Our readers in Paris have a great opportunity to view the work of former Chealseaites Arman, Christo,Yves Klein, Daniel Spoerri and many more at the recently opened "New Realism," show. (Photo: Arman, Life with Full Teeth)
Thanks to Judith Childs for the tip. Maybe Sparkle Hayter will send us a review.
Grand Palais/National Galleries of the Large Palate, 3 avenue of the Eisenhower General
Open everyday from 10AM-8PM, Wed. till 10PMThrusday, April 5, 10:30 p.m.
Susanne Bartsch and Kenny Kenny say goodbye to Tuesday and hello to Thursday with Kino 41. Kino 41 starlets: Amanda Leopore, Lady Fag, Moondust, Furey and Andre J. Cine Sounds & Show: TBD . Life is Like a Movie. Stop by every Thursday for your close up.
135 West 41st, NY NYSaturday, April 7, 2:00 p.m.
Don’t miss this chance to view Rene Ricard’s first movie, Kitchen. The Warhol flick also stars Edie Sedgwick. Sedgwick applies make-up, exercises her legs, is seduced by Mickey Trudeau, and discusses coffee. Written as a showcase for Sedgwick, Ronald Tavel’s situational and episodic script was described by Warhol as "illogical, without motivation or character-completely ridiculous." The curator, David Schwartz tells us that Kitchen is "… a hilarious work,
sort of like a deadpan parody of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, as conceived by Samuel Beckett. Most of Edie’s films were unscripted. This one uses a script by Ronald Tavel, the playwright, to make fun of the very idea of scripts. And Edie was instructed to sneeze whenever she forgot her dialogue. She sneezes constantly throughout the film."
Preceded by Restaurant 1965, 34 mins. Edie Sedgwick and friends drink and talk as they await a meal. (Photo: Rene in a still from Kitchen)
Museum of the Moving Image, 35 Avenue at 36th St., Astoria, Queens -
Finally, a tourist with a video camera shows up and provides a tour of the art in the stair well. We only have one suggestion, how about a little narration next time. We’d like to hear your art criticism. On view are works by: Hiroya, Vali Myers, Hawk Alfredson, Donato (the guy who let the white mice loose in the Chelsea), and Arthur Weinstein, just to mention a few.
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For those of you who just can’t get enough of Edie, you may want to check out The Museum of Moving Image‘s line-up of Edie movies. Beginning this weekend, "The Real Edie," which is curated by David Schwartz offers a unique chance to brush up on your Warholiana. We asked David a few questions about the festival. 1. Why, in your opinion, has there been such renewed interest in Edie?
Of course, the release of FACTORY GIRL, with Sienna Miller as Edie helped to renew interest. But there seems to always be interest in anything related to Andy Warhol. And in a way, Edie’s self-consciousness, the way she allowed her daily life to be filmed constantly by Warhol, seems very modern. She also had an inimatable sense of style that remains incredibly fresh.
2. Which Edie movie is your favorite, and why?
BEAUTY #2 is not just one of my favorite Edie Sedgwick movies, but one of my all-time favorite movies. Edie sits on a bed flirting with one man while verbally sparring with her ex-boyfriend, who taunts her from offscreen. And during all this, she’s always aware of, and playing for, the camera. It’s simple but complex, and sexy and funny.
3. Was Edie your favorite Warhol Superstar?
Yes. She had a fascinating blend of beauty, charisma, and distance. She seemed to always be both present and absent, like Warhol himself.Here’s today’s schedule:
Poor Little Rich Girl
Saturday, March 31, 2:00 p.m.
1965, 67 mins. A two-reel documentary portrait; in the first reel, out of focus, Edie does her morning routine, applying make-up and exercising. The second reel, in focus, feels like a revelation: Edie smokes pot, tries on clothes, and talks with an off-screen Chuck Wein.Restaurant
Saturday, March 31, 3:30 p.m.
1965, 34 mins. Edie Sedgwick and friends drink and talk as they await a meal.
Followed by Screen Test Reel #10 1964-6, 40 mins. This reel of Warhol’s Factory screen tests includes Edie Sedgwick, Jane Holzer, Lou Reed, John Ashbery, Jonas Mekas, and Paul Morrissey.Vinyl
Saturday, March 31, 5:00 p.m.
1965, 70 mins. Warhol’s adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, filmed in a corner of the Factory, stars Gerard Malanga as Alex. But Edie Sedgwick, a non-speaking extra, steals the show.Space
Saturday, March 31, 6:30 p.m.
1965, 70 mins. Warhol’s constantly moving camera roams around its characters, in a mélange of talking, food fights, and folk singing.
Preceded by Match Girl 1966, 25 mins. Directed by Andrew Meyer. Sedgwick is mythologized by Vivian Kurz, who plays the self-destructive "Match Girl" in this allegorical film, narrated by Warhol. -
So, for those of you who’ve been dying to get a drink in the basement, The New York Post lets us in on the secret.
A room key isn’t a guarantee, however. At Hotel Chelsea, a VIP elevator brings special guests through Star Lounge’s employee entrance. But not every tenant gets the royal treatment. “We want to keep the hotel’s mystique,” claims Star Lounge owner Charles Ferri, whose tabletops see plenty of stiletto heels once the poppy DJ starts spinning. “But residents getting in, it depends.”
In other words, just take the service elevator through the laundry room. It’s really no surprise that they want the artistic cache of the hotel without the artists. That’s the way the whole city is going. They want to be cool and hip and creative, but without the creative people around.
