The Best of the Music & Art Scene In New York From A to G. Daily!
Posted by The G on May 18, 2012 under Street Art | 
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Photos by G. Art by Alec Monopoly.
Alec Monopoly
After traveling the world, Alec Monopoly stopped by New York (Bowery and Spring to be specific) to go HUGE! The words Emm Group and Fall 2012 appear atop this gigantic mural. Sandwiched in between, a lot of art from Alec.
Alec Monopoly - Spring and Bowery
See some more photos after the jump.
Posted by The G on March 13, 2012 under Artsy Fartsy | Be the First to Comment
Photos by G. Art by David LaChapelle.
Michael Jackson by David LaChapelle
Artist and photographer David LaChapelle gave a fascinating talk (accompanied by an equally amazing slide show of his work) at the School of Visual Arts Theater in Chelsea in Manhattan on March 12, 2012. The talk was a look through LaChapelle’s life and career that lasted two hours. LaChapelle covered it all from working for Andy Warhol to his current home in Maui. I found LaChapelle to be extremely spiritual instead of religious as one would expect from the imagery that is seen throughout his work. He even said that he doesn’t know what the word “religion” means because (and I am paraphrasing here) once you start to define the infinite, the meaning is lost.
David LaChapelle
He also shared stories of some of his infamous celebrity photo shoots and without naming names, he said he has rarely come across someone famous that he’s photographed that he thought was truly happy. He also spoke of what it was like working with the likes of Britney Spears (though being in the position that so many people would die to be in, she wanted to be anywhere but in her own skin), Hilary Clinton (politicians are some of the most difficult people he’s worked with), Michael Jackson (who knew exactly what he wanted), 2Pac (who was down to earth and trusted LaChapelle’s artistic vision), Whitney Houston (who appeared to be controlled by Bobby Brown) and Michael Jordan (who had so many people in his entourage, his people ultimately put the kibosh on the photo shoot).
The last photograph of Andy Warhol
LaChapelle also talked about his stint in the fashion world, saying that he had to get out of that business because it was destroying everyone around him due to the pressures and control. As the free talk was primarily for the benefit of students, LaChapelle was sure to give advice he would have liked to have heard when he was at an impressionable age. He mentioned picking and choosing your battles, but to definitely stand up for yourself when you believe in something very strongly. LaChapelle also gave the advice to not give up and to pay attention to the subtle signs the universe provides you with constantly. He also talked about his inspirations to push the boundaries out further by trying to create images that he would want to look at.
From the exhibit "Earth Laughs in Flowers" at Fred Torres Collaborations in NYC
The discussion concluded with work from LaChapelle’s latest exhibit “Earth Laughs In Flowers” which is showing at Fred Torres Collaborations in NYC through March 23, 2012.
Posted by The G on November 7, 2011 under The G Spot | Be the First to Comment
Photo by G.
Michael Jackson - In The Closet
Conrad Murray was found guilty today of involuntary manslaughter in the death of singer Michael Jackson. Everyone around seems to be rejoicing! Not me! I am getting more disillusioned with people.
In the last two decades of Michael’s life, what was the first thing people thought about? Paedophilia. People did not separate the man from the music and it was almost a joke to enjoy his music. Whether or not he did any of the things he was accused of is besides the point. There is plenty of evidence to show that his love of children was creepy to say the least. When MJ died, suddenly, he became a saint in the public eye and everyone did a 180 on all the harshness that definitely played a role in his death. It was as if the world had a selective memory. Why didn’t people come to his rescue and celebrate his life when he was alive? It did not happen.
Michael Jackson was a drug addict. Plain and simple. Sure he went through a ton of really bad shit, both physical and verbal, that led to his addiction to drugs, but in the selective memory of the general public, people think his death was an accident! Anyone that’s experimented with drugs knows the following before they get high: every hit could be the last. The more you do drugs, the greater your chances of dying. You don’t have to be a mathematician to realize this. They in fact teach this in schools along side Economics. Heroin and/or cocaine use is often a common drug related cause of death. Have you ever heard of someone dying because they took too much Propofol, a drug so strong that it’s only given out at hospitals? That’s not an “accident,” that’s a deliberate game of Russian Roulette. By comparison, it makes the drugs that Kurt Cobain took seem like aspirin!
Conrad Murray is an unfortunate victim in the world’s need to place the blame somewhere. Convicting him will not bring Michael Jackson back. It will not make MJ less of a drug addict. It does not solve anything. It gives his family and the media and the world at large some weird since of vindication so they can continue to live in a reality tunnel that is very narrow. This is not to say that Conrad Murray was not involved in shady activities, because he was. Any doctor on MJ’s staff was paid to do as they were told, regardless of the consequences. If you buy cocaine off a drug dealer and you take it all and die, why place all of the blame on the drug dealer?! It takes two to tango, as they say. The only thing Conrad Murray is guilty of is being at the wrong place at the wrong time. If it wasn’t him, it would have been another doctor. This type of overdose was inevitable as evidenced by the fact that Jackson was taking this stuff not for a buzz but just to go to bed at night!
It makes me really nervous how the public at large seemingly forgets logic when it comes to these matters. They also forget the staunch stance they initially took and suddenly are changing their tune for no apparent reason. When George Bush dies, I really hope people realize what a fucking bastard he was and don’t sing his praises. It doesn’t matter in the case of Michael Jackson, because his life and death were way too insane not to be surrounded in chaos. What worries me is that great change is taking place in the world right now in the form of #OccupyWallStreet and the fact that the masses are starting to wake up from a deep sleep that has lasted for many generations. I hope people will remember what they stand for and not change their stance willy nilly as they have done here. Our safety is at stake and with this kind of wishy washy attitude, many people are going to die for nothing.
Please think about that while you are rejoicing tonight.
Posted by The G on August 29, 2011 under Street Art | Be the First to Comment
Photo by G.
I Wanna Rock With You
The Chair Factory in the Lower East Side of Manhattan is off the wall. Wow, even for me that was a bad one!
Happy birthday, Michael!
Posted by The G on August 16, 2011 under G Interviews | Be the First to Comment
Photos by G. Video courtesy of Penguin Prison.
Chris Glover of Penguin Prison
I’m giving you fair warning: Penguin Prison is a group you are going to be hearing a lot about in the coming years. The band, whose music can be described as an electro hybrid of Prince and Michael Jackson, is the brainchild of New York’s Chris Glover. In under 2 years, Chris Glover has remixed artists as from Kylie Minogue to Jamiroquai and he’s about to release his debut album in the US on October 18, 2011. The album will be released in the UK & Ireland, most of Europe (aside from France, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg), and Australia on September 5, 2011! There’ll also be an exclusive, limited edition HMV double CD, plus exclusive bonus content with the album download from iTunes and Amazon. Penguin Prison is notorious for giving their fans free remixes, so you should definitely stay connected to them on Facebook or Twitter. Before you read an interview I conducted with lead singer Chris Glover, get to know their music with their latest single, the infectious “Fair Warning.”
