Everyone who knows me knows that Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, is one of my favorite obsessions and that Oscar Niemeyer is my favorite architect. So I'm very excited to hear about the Brasilia photo exhibit at 1500 Gallery which runs from September 9 through November 27, 2010.
Photo: Gervasio Batista
Photo: Nicolau Drey
Here is some info on the exhibit:
Brasilia, a group exhibition of vintage photographs celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the capital of Brazil, will be on view at 1500 Gallery September 9-November 27, 2010. Curated by Brazilian photographer Murillo Meirelles, the exhibition will include images that show Brasilia being planned,
constructed and inaugurated from 1958-1960. There will be an opening reception on Wednesday, September 15 from 6-8 pm. 1500 Gallery is located at 511 W 25th St. #607, New York, NY.
A city planned and built from scratch in the very center of the country, Brasilia replaced Rio de Janeiro as the capital of Brazil in 1960. The architectural, figurative and photojournalistic images in the Brasilia exhibition highlight the idealism of Juscelino Kubitschek’s socialist government and its team of visionary urban planners, architects and landscape designers including Lucio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx. The nine images in the exhibition include a portrait of Oscar Niemeyer, pictures of workers cutting steel and laying beams, an aerial view of the Esplanade under construction, and several images of the National Congress.
The oil may still be gushing into the Gulf and making its way up to the north-east coast (and England!) but at least we had picture-perfect weather on Saturday for my favorite summer event, The Mermaid Parade. I've been attending this Coney Island parade on-and-off since the late '80s and am happy to report that it hasn't changed all that much. It's still wonderfully rag-tag and eccentric with a refreshing absence of any kind of corporate branding or advertising. (It's also the largest art parade in the US.)
The big changes in Coney Island that we bohemian types have been fretting about for five years were not all that bad so far: The old Astroland was torn down last year and has been replaced by a sparkling new Luna Park (the name comes from an early-1900s incarnation of Coney Island's amusement park). Thankfully it's no glossy, corporate Disney production but I think it's nice the kids have brand-new rides. (And of course, the Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel, both historical landmarks, remain, as does the disused but refurbished Parachute Jump.) I was dismayed to hear that the Shore Hotel/Theater, where Tod Browning's "Freaks" premiered in 1932, has been earmarked for demolition as are a few other landmark buildings.
But onto happier thoughts: Here are my highlights from this year's parade...
Of course our first stop was Ruby's Bar & Grill on the boardwalk (the space was a speakeasy & underground cabaret in the '20s. After a long stint as a Hebrew National Deli starting in 1934, it became Ruby's in 1975. Without it, Coney Island would have no soul.) We loved this trio of bathing beauties.
Raw clams & beer at Ruby's is a long-standing Mermaid tradition for me.
Another not-so-great change in Coney is the old boardwalk being torn up and replaced with concrete. (Update: I received this message from Ruby's: "The boardwalk is not being replaced with Concret. They are reinforcing with concret then the natural Honduras wood goes on top. The area from Keyspan to Cyclone will always be the natural wood.") The parade ran along the old boardwalk side, with a fenced-off construction area cutting the width of area for parade watchers in half. Feeling claustrophobic, we fled to the parking lot where many of the marchers were being siphoned off....
...and I ran smack dab into this year's Queen Mermaid & King Neptune: Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed. Lou eschewed the traditional crown for a cap from Totonno's pizza parlour. (More on that later.)
One of the main themes at the parade this year was--surprise!--the BP oil spill disaster. Oil-covered mermaids were legion, as were agit-prop placards (BP = Boycott Pollution).
There were even oil-covered Somalian pirates....
This was my favorite: a zombie mermaid whose flesh had been dissolved by the oil spill.
The protest slogans were a bit....I don't know....it is just me, or are they a bit pointless? Would BP care if a mermaid swam in their toilet? Would a mermaid fit inside a toilet? And if they could, what would that achieve?
Meanwhile, back at Ruby's.....
....a spontaneous mermaid mosh pit broke out.
No, I didn't travel back to 1940 to take this photo of the Cyclone...but wouldn't that be grand if I could?
I talked everyone into riding the Cyclone (Corey & I stayed on for a second ride.) Here's Christine on her post-ride high!
Exhausted and starving, we made a pilgrimage to Totonno's Pizza on Neptune Avenue. It's considered the best pizza in the US. Opened in 1924, it is the oldest continuously operating pizzeria in the country.
On our way there, we were told by a local: "They have a LOT of attitude there....so make sure you give it right back to them!" When we arrived there was a long line of Brooklyn hipsters waiting to get in. Inside people were lingering over cups of melted ice, couples hogging tables that could seat six, a lone woman waiting over a half hour for a take-out pizza taking up a table that seated four. The staff could have cared less about the people waiting outside. I didn't mind waiting (we bought some cans of Foster's at a nearby gas station and sipped away in line); I just thought the restaurant's laid-back, almost passive-aggressive attitude was hilarious.
Of course, not everyone is as mellow as I am. One outraged guy went inside and started loudly complaining about the seating arrangements and the long wait. He was swiftly kicked to the curb by a tough-as-nails waitress who looked like she had seen it ALL.
Next was a bleached-blonde, leathery junkie woman who, despite the fact that she lived in Coney Island most of her life, was flabbergasted by everything that was happening around her. "Did you see the shit that's going on up on that damn boardwalk?! There are a bunch of fucking MERMAIDS running around up there!" And she wasn't trying to be funny. Then she was appalled by the wait to get into the pizzeria and went in and complained. She nearly escaped being turned into sausage by the chef.
The pizza , cooked in a coal-burning brick oven, was definitely worth the wait. The thin crust was heavenly, with a smoky taste, and the pie was delightfully grease-free. All the ingredients tasted very fresh. We wolfed down two pies.
Corey digs into his slice.
Nancy contemplates the beauty and simplicity of a plain slice.
I of course wanted sausage and mushrooms on mine and as you can see, I look like a maniac eating it.
We burned off some calories by walking back to the entrance of the new Luna Park. It's designed to look like the original Luna Park entrance.
A postcard image of Luna Park in 1913.
This 105-year-old film clip starts off slow but it has many rewards...including a live camel ride and a woman mysteriously collapsing on the beach.
Above: Diane at the SCOPE cocktail at Quality Meats
Dear Readers,
My friend Diane Pernet was in town last week for SCOPE and we had a very Warholian afternoon at Kelly Cutrone's loft where MTV interviewed Diane & Kelly about the Oscars and Lady Gaga's new "Telephone" video.
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! Diane & I ready ourselves for our next victim.
At the cocktail, I was delighted to meet fellow Shaded View contributor Dustin Pittman. We chatted for a long time and of course he had the best stories about photographing Mick Jagger at a show in the early '70s and really that was just the tip of the Chanel iceberg. After the cocktail he took me to a party for Michael Musto...it was just like the old days again.
Joan Rivers hosted Michael Musto's 125th anniversary as a scribe at the Village Voice. By the way, did you hear about Joan's date dropping dead in front of her during dinner at Le Cirque recently? Seriously. She made a joke about how it was the first time he saw her in the light so it was too much of a shock for his heart. But really, having a date drop dead at Le Cirque? That is SO glamorous. I am jalouse.
Dirty Martini came out to do a little dance to commemorate Musto's 225 years in the nightlife biz. At one point during the night I rested my champagne flute on what I thought was a nifty end table made out of faux-petrified wood. I later learned that it was Cindy Adams.
Earlier on the evening Diane & I had tea with our friend Pierrot Carrilero at the Tribeca Grand Hotel
On Monday, I had breakfast with Diane at Pain Quotidien before popping in at Kelly Cutrone's. We thought it would be a short visit but we ended up staying for 4 hours.
Kelly relaxing in her loft
Kelly & Diane in Kelly's bed being prepped for their MTV interview
I was in Rio again last month at the invitation of ABIT (The Brazilian Textile & Apparel Industry Association) to attend the Carnaval parades at the Sambadrome. My full reports can be read here on A Shaded View on Fashion:
