ODD BITS: Pantone announces 2017 Color of the Year

This coming year, optimism and the desire to live in greater harmony with our environment will supersede chic and drama in Pantone's Color of the Year. And the 2017 winner is ...

GREENERY (color #15-0343) 

GREENERY opened to mixed reviews in the Twitterverse.
"Pea soup for 2017?" read one tweet, while another asked "Have we gone back to the 1970's?" But other commenters were more positive, saying that the tinge of yellow
in the color makes it hopeful and festive, and that the chosen color was
not a variant of blue or red, which they had 
had quite enough of during election season.  




“We know what kind of world we are living in: one that is very stressful and very tense,” Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute’s executive director, said in an interview. 
“This is the color of our connection to nature. It speaks to what we call the ‘re’ words: regenerate, refresh, revitalize, renew. Every spring, we enter a new cycle, and new shoots come from the ground. It is something life affirming to look forward to.”

GREENERY lends itself to use in room interiors (the indoor garden look),
 textiles and fashion (it goes with nearly everything), car design (the new 
Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster comes in a particularly
eye-catching shade of leaf green), and furniture. 

Left:
Haute House Tiffany Damask Chair.






Below:
 
Dior’s new makeup colors include a lip shade called “clover", which should
match up nicely with that green-colored juice (kale smoothies?) that everyone
seems to be drinking these days.

 "Green Monster" smoothie
It's a health drink, it's a lotion, it's a floor polish


“There’s a Japanese concept called ‘forest bathing,’ which says that when you are feeling stressed, one of the best things to do is go walk in the forest,” Ms. Eiseman said. “But if you can’t do that, what can you do? Bring green into your environment. Put in on your body, or in your house or near your desk. That symbolic message is very important.”

Or, in the immortal words  of Kermit the Frog ...

... green is the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like. And green can be big like the ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder? 

Why wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.

~oOo~

ODD BITS: The passing of high-spirited beehive creator Margaret Vinci Heldt

From Audrey Hepburn to Ronnie Spector, Brigitte Bardot to Elizabeth Taylor,

Amy Winehouse to Adele, many celebrities and creative women owe 

their signature looks to celebrated Chicago hairdresser Margaret Vinci Heldt, 

who passed away recently at the age of 98.

Heldt designed the unforgettable "beehive" hairdo in 1959 when

trade magazine Modern Beauty Shop asked her to come up

with something unique to feature in its February 1960 issue.

 "Ratted, sprayed and shellacked, able to jump half a foot in height in a single salon 

appointment, her conical creation meant that Chicago, for a time, 

stole away the title John Waters gave to Baltimore: 

Hairdo Capitol of the World.”

                                                                                                ... Chicago Sun-Times 6/13/16 

 °     °     °     °     °     °     °     °     °

 Ronnie Spector (above left), lead singer of  superstar girl group The Ronettes, 

was perhaps the most celebrated beehive-wearer of her era.

 Elvis was quite a fan of the style, so his wife Priscilla -- already known 

for her big hair -- adopted it for a while.

°     °     °     °     °     °     °     °     ° 

 Great ladies of the silver screen loved the beehive:

 

                          Audrey Hepburn

 Brigitte Bardot

                                                                                                                      Elizabeth Taylor

°     °     °     °     °     °     °     °     °

   Beloved late singer Amy Winehouse brought the beehive 

   back into style in the 21st century.

And Adele keeps it going, in a more gentle manner ...

°     °     °     °     °     °     °     °     ° 
And of course the ladies of Mad Men wore the "do" to maximum effect ...

  Feisty office manager/ eventual partner

   Joan Holloway 

                                        Betty Draper went all out trying to get a little more attention from  

                                                                       her wandering husband Don in this get-up.   

~ oOo ~

 But the award for the tallest beehive of them all goes to ...

 Marge Simpson!

°     °     °     °     °     °     °     °     °

Margaret Vinci Heldt remained high-spirited and effervescent through her entire life.

She marveled at the fact that she had created an iconic hairdo, and become so

widely recognized in her profession. The Chicago History Museum proudly displays

a model of the beehive hairdo (complete with appropriate hairpin) in its collection. 

She loved performing, which she often did at cosmetology conventions. 

In the photo below, she's wearing a “Hello, Dolly!” costume 

lent to her by her client, Carol Channing.

 “I have love in my heart for hairdressers,” Ms. Vinci Heldt told the Chicago Sun-Times 
in 2002. “I was privileged to give something to our profession that became a classic.”
But, she added, “I don’t know how we could have done it without hairspray.”

Link here for a more complete bio of

Ms. Vinci Heldt, from the Chicago Sun Times


originally published 6/14/16

EXHIBITIONS: Neue Galerie NY presents must-see show: "Klimt and the Women of Vienna’s Golden Age, 1900-1918"

There's no doubt that artist Gustav Klimt was enchanted by the ladies,
especially those of Vienna’s Golden Age. There he held court over the city's 
art world and its society matrons, like a sovereign over his personal dominion.

Photo c. 1917

Neue Galerie NY is currently showcasing numerous works from

the period of Klimt's ascendancy in an exhibition that includes approximately
12 paintings, 40 drawings, 40 works of decorative art (jewelry and furniture,
some designed by other Wiener Werkstätte artists such as 
Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser), and vintage photographs of the artist, 
drawn from public and private collections worldwide.

These works "cover the gamut of Klimt’s portrait style, from his early ethereal works influenced by Symbolism and the Pre-Raphaelite movement, to his 
so-called 'golden style,' as well as his almost Fauvist depictions."
                                                                         ...  Curator's note

Portrait of Ria Munk III, 1917 (unfinished)

See Christie's website for a detailed
description of this fascinating woman and the
story of her radiant portrait.

°     °     °     °     °     °     °      °

The paintings in the current Neue Galerie NY show, according to art historian 
Jill Lloyd, represent "chic, modern women who belong to a world of 
elegance and luxury, they also have the effect of exoticizing and 
etherealizing their subjects." As Lloyd observes in her catalog essay, 
"They seem both women of their time and timeless symbols of 

femininity, at once contemporary and archaic."

Below: Portrait of Szerena Lederer, 1899

Szerena Pulitzer Lederer was known in her youth as a great beauty,

and later in life as a fine art collector and Grande Dame of Viennese society. 

She was born into a wealthy Jewish family, much like many of the 

patrons of Klimt's art. Klimt and Szerena were rumored to be lovers, 

with a daughter Elizabeth who was the product of their union.

The Lederer collection was confiscated from Szerena in 1940 and she fled to Budapest, 
where she died three years later. The Gestapo transferred the collection to 
Immerdorf Castle, subsequently setting it on fire in May, 1945 
so that it would not fall into the hands of the Allies. 
The collection was destroyed.

°     °     °     °     °     °     °     °
 

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907

Ah, the glorious Golden Adele. She is probably the best known

and most loved of Klimt's portraits. Ronald Lauder,

founder of the Neue Galerie, was instrumental in the

return of this painting from the government

of Austria to Adele's niece Maria Altmann, its rightful owner.

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II, 1912

This portrait of Adele was done five years later than #1.
It appears that by this time, their love affair had cooled,
but their friendship endured.

 She was the only model to be painted twice by Klimt.

°     °     °      °      °      °      °      °

Portrait of Mäda Primavesi, 1912

Miss Primavesi, an assertive, spirited girl, is depicted here at the age of nine.
Klimt did numerous preliminary sktches for the portrait, wanting to perfect 
his subject's attitudinal pose and the delightful background motifs.
Mäda's parents, Otto and Eugenia, were sophisticated
members of fin-de-siecle Vienna society, and ardent supporters of 
progressive Viennese art and design.

Above: Portrait of Gertha Loew, 1902

"The beautiful girl swathed in white gossamer was Gertrud Loew, the 
19-year-old daughter of Anton Loew, a celebrated physician who ran a
 private sanatorium beside his palatial home in Vienna, 
where his patients included composer Gustav Mahler 
and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein."

                                                                                                 ... The Guardian, June 2015 

When first exhibited in 1903, the portrait was described by one critic as 
"the most sweet scented poetry the palette is able to create.”

Like nearly all of these singular Klimt portraits, this one was
looted by the Nazis and only recently returned to its rightful owners. 

Above: Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, 1914


"The influence of fashion design among society women in fin-de-siècle Vienna also plays a key role in the installation. Shanghai-based artist and designer Han Feng has been commissioned to create three one-of-a-kind fashion ensembles inspired by prevailing styles of artistic reform dress and the designs of Emilie Flöge, an important Viennese fashion designer and Klimt’s muse. Special hats and style accessories by paper artist Brett McCormack also adorn full-scale mannequins located throughout the show."

                                                                                                                    ... Curator's note

Visit the Neue Galerie NY's website for more information.This show runs through January 16, 2017.

~oOo~

EXHIBITION: "The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection" at Tate Modern/London

 A young Sir Elton (c. 1970)

We all know Elton John through his prolific music, not to mention
his flamboyant costumery and abundant collection of zany eyeglasses. But not 
too many people are aware that he is considered to be one of the most important
collectors of Modernist photography on the planet. 

Below: a rare print of Man Ray’s Glass Tears (1930), from Sir Elton's collection.
Glass Tears is the picture that "changed everything" for him.
“It was a huge leap,” he said about acquiring it. 
“It was like a Cape Canaveral leap.” 

The tears in this photo are strategically placed, and clearly don't look real.
There is some dispute as to whether the model is a living person or a mannequin.
 

Nearly 200 twentieth century photographs from Sir Elton's collection are currently 
on display at the Tate Modern in London. The exhibition will run through
through May 7, 2017, and includes works by such notables as
Edward Weston, Man Ray, Dorothea Lange, Irving Penn, 
 Imogen Cunningham, André Kertész  and Ilse Bing.

Underwater Swimmer, Esztergom, Hungary (1917) 

by André Kertész 

Kertész's fascination with capturing a singular moment in time,
and playing with unusual natural lighting are evident in this photo.

°     °     °     °     °     °     °

Migrant Mother (1936) by Dorothea Lange

About this photograph, Sir Elton said, “It’s a bit like Mona Lisa, I think -- 
her face. The sorrow, the anxiety. This is like, ‘Am I going to be able to feed 
my child the next day?’ ... I love the fact that the photograph is so beautiful 
and yet the situation is so awful."

“It’s incredible not just that he [Elton] has a print of such and such, but he has the print.”

                                                                                                                           NY Times

Some of my favorites from the collection:

        Salvador Dali, New York (1947) by Irving Penn 

Nusch Eluard (1928), by Man Ray 
 Gelatin silver print on paper

 Nude by Edward Weston, c. 1930

Leaping Into the Weekend

Dancer, Willem van Loon, Paris (1932) by Ilse Bing

To watch a video of Elton John talking about his collection,     

link here. 

~oOo~ 

EXHIBITION: "WOMEN: New Portraits: by Annie Leibowitz now in NYC

“The imagery of women has to catch up with the imagery of men,” Annie Leibovitz told 

the NY Times regarding WOMEN: New Portraits, her 2016 traveling photography exhibit. 

The images continue her 1999 project, Women, a book she published 

with her late partner Susan Sontag 

 

“Women are a work in progress,” she said. “To my dying day, 

I’ll be doing these photographs.”

Misty Copeland, dancer, NYC, 2015

© Annie Leibovitz  

Gloria Steinem, writer and activist, NYC, 2015 © Annie Leibovitz 

from WOMEN: New Portraits

There couldn't be a better time to celebrate the

spirits and accomplishments of women than right now, when the
forces of misogyny seem to have been unleashed all over the world.
WOMEN: New Portraits opens today November 18, at the 
Bayview Correctional Facility, a former women's prison in Manhattan 
that was closed after Hurricane Sandy. 

 The show's opening launches the Art Deco building’s restoration and 
transformation into a Women’s Building, which will reopen as a center for 
women’s groups and services in 2020.

The show has already been exhibited in
London, Tokyo, San Francisco, Mexico City and Milan.
It will head to Zurich after New York, rounding out a year-long world tour.

For her new photography exhibit  Annie Leibovitz shot portraits of 

female luminaries at work: Malala Yousafzai, Serena and Venus Williams, 

Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Warren, Shonda Rhimes on set, Jane Goodall, 

Misty Copeland on pointe, Adele at her piano, 

Katie Ledecky in the pool, and Lena Dunham, among many others.

"Why do a project on women? There have not been representations of women that show them as whole human beings. So this is remedial. Each of these photographs, each one is a novel."

Gloria Steinem

WOMEN: New Portraits will be on view in New York from November 18 through December 11. For the November 18 opening, formerly incarcerated women will lead a discussion 
about female imprisonment and women’s rights. Speak-outs and "talking circles" have been an integral part of the exhibition since its outset.

~oOo~