The Moldy Doily

BEADmania: ART TO WEAR

(amazing neck piece by artist Joyce Scott)

KRUGER, Daniel

envy

So we are headed for a heat wave this week and obviously I am bordering on delusion. I live on the fourth floor of an old 1930's building in an apt that could use a nice overhaul.

As of today I wish I were in this room, and it was mine to decorate (for the record my apt looks nothing like this, I only wish)

wearing this matching ensemble:

wouldn't hurt to have a body like this as well, I suppose:

maybe wearing this on my head? Ok, have I taken this too far yet?

(hair photos from Jennifer's blog http://moments-of-grace.blogspot.com)

Testing the new Duvet cover

Last night while in line for the restroom at a local bar, a cute girl approached me and said, "Are you the girl from the MOLDY DOILY?" After I said yes, she said she is a regular reader and a fan of Georgie Boy. She even admitted that she once looked at his whole thread on my blog. I swear he has a lot of darling groupies, maybe I should get him a headshot? The girl in front of me in line then turned and said, "I read your blog too." I was so flattered. Made my night.

Georgie has been having a slight love affair with Fran. Whenever she comes over, he has to monopolize all of her attention. She was trying to read a nice article, but Georgie wasn't having any of that. He made himself into a flat cat and covered the entire spread. We thought he looked like tasty burrito.

MUSE

Bought this new magazine MUSE the other day. It's cover says Return to Innocence and focuses on FASHIONART. There are stories on artists David HAmilton, Louise Bourgeois, and more. Too bad it's mostly presented in non-English. Anyway, liked some of these shots and thought I'd share

R.I.P. Rauschenberg

Oh no, another one of my favorite prolific artists has passed! A mastermind of all mediums, Robert Rauschenberg transcended all boundaries of art. He was known to be a printmaker and set designer, a painter, a photographer as well as compose and choreograph. According to the news, Rauschenberg suffered from heart failure at his home in Florida on Monday, he was 82.

I was always fascinated mostly by his unusual object installation sculptures, with overlapping paint and prints. My favorite when I was a student was BED. When I moved to California, my friend Kutmah and I went to see some contemp art show, and it was one of the pieces. I got very close to it, and my heart was pounding. I was excited to see it up close in all it's tattered glory. There was this energy being put out by being so close to his work. I can't explain it. It made me aware of reckless abandon and to not dismiss common objects as less beautiful. (very similar to Duchamp) Don't tell anyone, but I reached out for the first time in a museum and touched it. I know, I know, very classless of me.

How can you forget "Monogram" the piece with the stuffed GOAT!?

In the New York Times article by Michael Kimmelman there is this quote by the artist:

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“I really feel sorry for people who think things like soap dishes or mirrors or Coke bottles are ugly,” he once said, “because they’re surrounded by things like that all day long, and it must make them miserable.”

The remark reflected the optimism and generosity of spirit that Mr. Rauschenberg became known for. His work was likened to a St. Bernard: uninhibited and mostly good-natured. He could be the same way in person. When he became rich, he gave millions of dollars to charities for women, children, medical research, other artists and Democratic politicians.

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He also stated “Screwing things up is a virtue,” when he was 74. “Being correct is never the point. I have an almost fanatically correct assistant, and by the time she re-spells my words and corrects my punctuation, I can’t read what I wrote. Being right can stop all the momentum of a very interesting idea.”

bad girl and cat queen

Even though the Italian Vogue has been on the shelves for a little bit, the Meisel photo spread (literally spread) has been stirring up some controversial comments. The cover features actress Eva Mendes, and the inside has Steven Meisel's fashion shoot with her in bondage Sophia Loren get ups straight outta Madonna's SEX book. I have to admit I thought some of them were pretty shocking considering Mendes is the model. (I didn't include the one of her swallowing her own foot)

I personally thought they were pretty interesting and sexy to boot. I mean, what's a girl to do straight out of rehab? Of course, EMBRACE your bad girl persona and go for broke. Maybe it's my voyeuristic quality (I in fact am quite shy, therefore like witnessing the car crash of other people's overt sexual come-hither stance)

Anyway, I find it most funny that Kutmah went to high school with her. He said she was a popular cheerleader who everyone called "cindy crawford" because she was not only gorgeous but had the mole.
She recently was quoted in a tabloid story with other actresses saying that she was a geeky teen and very awkward. Not according to the yearbook Kutmah has. She looks saucy.

the next one it perhaps the most strangely erotic, wedged in a lawn chair.

my favorite editorial in the new Italian Vogue has to be the crazy CAT lady. So Grey Gardens with a hint of LSD

missed again

I am seriously bummed to the max about forgetting to bid on this fab silk flapper dress on ebay. It ended up selling for a mere $17 bucks. How did I forget to check ebay you may ask? Blame Georgie and his distracting cuteness.

remember my post a few month back on that incredible estate sale in Pasadena? Well the same crew recently sold off the estate of darling hairdresser Lily Dirigo, who worked on all the famous silent movie heads.

Some of the stuff in her estate sold yesterday for next to nothing- WHY WHY WHY did I forget to bid on these lovely things: they are old carved brooches and the pair sold for $9.99 You know how I love cluster pins!

she also had tons of cool pictures of the celebs she worked on back then, often with personal autographs on the back. I wanted to win Viv the Vint. 1932 Marlene Dietrich 'Shanghai Express' Photo. But it sold for a whopping $332!

This is a great set of two antique movie promo photos. They feature June Collyer and Mary Astor and they are standing in front of a two way mirror, miming each others actions. They were photographed by Max Mun Autrey. Their hair was done by Lily Dirigo, Carmen's mother.

This is a wonderful find, an antique movie still photo of Ms. Jetta Goudal. She was a silent film star in the 1920s and one of Cecil B. DeMille's stars. She is featured in this promo still, and the original owner has written her name on the back of the photo in pencil.

here's the info listed on their website for her:
Carmen was a Hollywood hair stylist who worked on many of the top stars during the
Golden Age of Hollywood, including Gary Cooper, Fredric March, Orson Welles, Gracie
Allen, Frances Dee, Ronald Colman, W.C. Fields, Mae West, Gary Grant, Merle Oberon(Wuthering
Heights), Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, and Joan Bennett (Carmen's maid of
honor in 1940)etc.

She began as a dancer and showgirl in the Hollywood Box Revue in the 1920s. Carmen
performed in numerous theatrical productions including "No, No Nanette"
for Carter DeHaven and Oliver Morosco, theatrical producer, in "The Morning
After". She also performed at the Pantages and Egyptian Theatres in Hollywood.
Carmen became a hair dresser in the 1930s doing men's wigs and went from there
doing hundreds of films, two including two Oscar winning movies, Stagecoach and
Wuthering Heights. She ended up her career in television in the early 1960's.

Her mother, Lily, worked at the Carl Laemmle Studios (Universal) in the early 20's.
After convincing Carl Laemmle Sr. of the need for touch up and hair 'adjusting'
and styling, Lily became the first 'on studio lot', full-time hairdresser
in the motion picture business. She worked on Greta Garbo, Loretta Young, Priscilla
Dean, Una Merkel and many others in the silents and on into the talkies until 1957
with 'Around the World in 80 Days'.

Carmen started painting the 1980s and passed away at the age of 99 last year, 2007.
Watch for our other auctions featuring more paintings, movie stills, Carmen and
Lily at work photos, jewelry, Hollywood history, postcards, sheet music, Equestrian
paper, and other historical ephemera.

some can be found here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsyes
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I also couldn't afford this stuff on ebay either...
from other random sellers- alas the auctions are kaput

hey, you win some you lose some, right?
and as we all know the last thing I need is more stuff. But of course sharing it with you folks makes it seem more comforting