Glass Ghost: Like A Diamond Video

by Doug Black

The first video from Brooklyn's piano-drum duo Glass Ghost looks like it could have a copyright two decades old. Produced by Peking (the outfit behind numerous CH videos), the "Like a Diamond" video cobbles together a seemingly random collection of home videos, some with singer Eliot Krimsky superimposed over it, others left in all their retro glory. The edit intersperses shots of Krimsky posturing like a mystic or low-rent magician through hazy, colored filters that give the effect of an old VHS after one too many re-tapings.

The song itself pairs a plaintive keyboard wash and spare drums, with Krimsky's falsetto taking center stage. The song's brooding pace and repeated cantations of the title provide a fitting counterpoint the video's non-linear structure.

"Like A Diamond" will be on Glass Ghost's debut LP, Idol Omen, due out next month on Western Vinyl. You can see more of Peking's work on their site. Check out the video below.

Hula-Hooper Marawa Ibrahim

by CH Contributor

by Fiona Killackey

A born performer, Marawa Ibrahim has been exciting audiences from Poland to Portugal since 2004 as a trapeze artist and hoola-hooper, who not only can keep a remarkable 50 hoops spinning but, as a "rubber-faced goof with impeccable timing," according to Hooping.org, brings a theatrical element to the stage as well.

With glowing reviews of her work surfacing across the globe, including a New York Times mention of her Josephine Baker send-up that compares her to Betty Boop, Ibrahim’s popularity is gaining as much speed as the hoops around her waist. Raised in Melbourne (with a brief stint in Kuwait), the 27-year-old now calls both London and New York her homes when she's not on the road with her brand of neo-burlesque slapstick.

CH caught up with the dynamic artist to talk hoops, road food and Sonic Youth.

How would you define what you do?
I'm a professional hoola-hooper.

You've had some adventures in the last 12 months, which would be the best memory?
Oh, too many! I had a gig in Portugal this year, which was super crazy with The Broken Hearts (the two loveliest DJs in the world). We got there and went to the beach, followed by a restaurant where we ate a croissant with roast beef, cheese, mustard and banana. Then we did the show and I flew back on no sleep to do a double show in La Clique in London the next day. Not really an adventure, but it felt like one.

You have met some amazing people, including Spike Lee and Jean-Claude Baker (Josephine's adopted son). How do these encounters come about and who has been the most fun to hang out with?
Performing shows regularly means ending up in crazy places, meeting a lot of other artists and like-minded people, but I've also meet some really interesting people in airports and visa queues and late at night in fancy restaurants. I don’t know anything about their music really, but [Sonic Youth drummer] Steve Shelley and I like to discuss food and music a lot. He knows lots of amazing things.

What does the next 24-hours hold for you?
I've just got back from the Dublin Fringe Festival, so I am hoping all my costumes are going to be dry enough so I can repack my bags for Poland, send a lot of emails, eat some nice lunch with my friend [and my costume designer] Alice at Cafe Evin (spinach pancakes yum!), have a nice look around Ridley Road Market because its been a while, get my nails done, then have dinner a lovely bunch of peeps at Viet Grill! After dinner, I have two gigs; the later one is the Girlcore Glitter Ball at the Bath House, which is going to be huge. Then it's off to Poland in the morning, hurrah!

Dennis Hopper: Photographs 1961-1967

by CH Contributor

by Anna Carnick

Inspired by his friend James Dean, Dennis Hopper explains his new monograph this way, “I was doing something that I thought could have some impact someday. In many ways, it’s really these photographs that kept me going creatively."

In 1955, an 18-year-old Hopper met 24-year-old Dean on the set of Rebel Without a Cause and the two became immediately inseparable. Prior to his death, in fact, it was Dean who advised Hopper to start taking photographs. Who knows if Dean had any idea where his suggestion might lead, but on the eve of the book's release, it’s clear the art world is better for it.

In recent years, Hopper the photographer has even eclipsed Hopper as a film star at times and the publication shows that photography has been a pillar of Hopper’s creative world for decades. Featuring several previously unpublished photographs, the 400 images (culled from thousands) make for a dramatic visual treatment of the 1960s, reflecting a world in flux—politically, socially and artistically. From the civil rights march at Selma to the art world’s electricity to grittier, urban street scenes, from politicians to writers to artists to complete strangers, Hopper’s camera captured an era. His photos also reveal the circles in which he himself moved, with intimate portraits of personalities like Andy Warhol, James Dean, Tina Turner, Paul Newman and Jane Fonda. Insightful essays plus interviews with Hopper, his famous subjects, friends and family add another layer of indulgence to the experience.

Pictured at left, Bruce Conner (in tub), Toni Basil, Teri Garr and Ann Marshall, 1965.

Hopper’s photographs unarguably share the same intensity and intelligence that marked his film career for over five decades. It makes it difficult to completely separate his cinematic career from his photographic career—but really, why should we? As Walter Hopps writes in the book, “His good pictures seem in the best sense like films, as these evocative recordings of his experiences and his travels.”

Each of the 1,500 limited-edition copies comes signed and numbered by Hopper. The Art Edition, limited to just 100 copies, includes a signed, original print.

A collection of Hopper’s never-before-seen “billboard paintings,” pre-'67 photos of twentieth century art world icons and select video excerpts from Hopper’s film and television career are currently showing in NYC. See details below.

Pre-order the book Amazon.

“Signs of the Times”
Through 24 October 2009
Shafrazi Gallery
544 W 26th Street
New York, NY 10001 map
+ 1 212 274 9300

See more images after the jump.

Brimfield Antiques Market Fall 2009: The Finds

by Ami Kealoha

Visiting Massachusets' tri-annual antiques fair earlier this month brings out the inner collector in everyone, including myself and my trip mates photographer James "the eye" Ryang (who took all of these awesome photos for us) and illustrator Keren Richter, whose art director ways help out big time in an overwhelming market like the miles of booths at Brimfield. While browsing, Keren and I realized that while we kept overhearing older women call things pretty, our tendency was to look for the more unusual objects—say, giant fiberglass pencils or vintage brass coronets. And, so we present our finds from Brimfield.

In addition to being my top purchase, the Ticonderoga pencil made for the best comments from passersby as I carried it around. I had three suggestions that I sharpen it with a chainsaw and a few dealers explained that stores used the props in window displays. Not only does it make for a great pop accent leaned against my apartment wall, I know I'm not alone in my nostalgia for the pleasing colors, wood smell and simple design of the classic number two. (To contact Ed, seller of the pencil and "anything weird," email him at subs [at] gte [dot] net.)

James' early-1900s fishing net, with its metal-tipped bamboo handle and intricately hand-tied net (repaired in a few places with black string), has the kind of rich details of age that put it in a class of its own. (Click image for detail.) We also found other boy-friendly antiques in the form of vintage tops from Tokyo. (See another image that shows off the bumpers after the jump.) The woman who sold us these told us that she visits Japan yearly for a fair where she sells her hand-crocheted teddy bears and makes sure to scoop up as many vintage Japanese treasures as possible.

We also found this balancing folk art sculpture at the same booth. It reminds Keren of Calder's circus series and I have to agree. I also like that he stands on a simple but sturdy three-legged platform.

This antique coronet was the first purchase of Brimfield. We managed to get a few notes out of it, but it will probably be more beautiful hung on Keren's wall as decor.

See more after the jump.

Le Blob Jewelry

by Phuong-Cac Nguyen

Formless most accurately describes the new Le Blob jewelry line by São Paulo's Fernando Akasaka, which recentlydebuted with a collection of an ambitious 200 pieces.

Akasaka, if you recognize the name, produces furniture and other conceptual pieces under his F. Akasaka Design brand. After earlier this year sharing with me his desire to realize his ideas in metal on a smaller scale, it's apparent that the versatile designer has fully given into the jewelry design itch.

The rings, pendants and earrings of Le Blob boast high-quality metals—18K gold and sterling 95% silver)— that take on a variety of shapes, from elongated blobs to blobs pierced all over with holes. A few recognizable shapes too, like claw and bone rings, still feel organic and fierce-looking like their abstract counterparts. Akasaka describes his pieces as "exciting, provocative" and "wild," an aesthetic that's so peculiar and visually interesting that they immediately work as easy conversation ice-breakers.

Until retailers start carrying Le Blob, email leblob [at] leblob [dot] com for more information.

Also on Cool Hunting: Frankie Table lamp, FA Designs, Cowboy Junkie Stool

See more images after the jump.