books

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Lonneke Engel Versus Campaign by Bruce Weber

Long before the no face-touching rule, I was a habitual face-toucher. Not so much eyes, nose, mouth but forehead, jaw, and the area between the brows called the ‘glabella’ (home to two vertical grooves known as the ‘elevens’).

These are all popular face massage spots and giving them a good knead with clean hands is a valued end-of-day bathroom ritual for me. Or in fact, any time of day when I can feel my jaw clenching or brow furrowing. (more…)



Things to see and do: spring 2020



Harold Feinstein 125th Street From Elevated Train, 1950. David Hill Gallery

HAROLD FEINSTEIN. I’ve loved street photography and street photographers ever since seeing an unforgettable Garry Winogrand exhibition at The Hayward as a student. (Some other faves: Tony Ray Jones, Weegee, Jamel Shabazz, Saul Leiter.) I always want to know what happens immediately after the moment of capture. (more…)



The culture of fashion: Georgia O’Keeffe’s wardrobe for sale



Georgia O'Keeffe - Todd Webb

I have tons of Georgia O’Keeeffe pictures on my Pinterest board as research for a project. Her personal style was just fantastic – those shirts! The hats! The kimonos! The hair!

Sotheby’s
has a sale of a number of her personal artefacts coming up, including dresses, jewellery, coats and a fabulous velvet hood. What’s remarkable to me is that apparently some of these pieces were hand-sewn by Georgia O’Keeffe herself. (more…)



The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren



The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren book by Paul Gorman

This Malcolm McLaren biography is likely to get a lot of attention from McLaren-heads when it comes out. Written by Paul Gorman, author of The Story of The Face, Mr Freedom and The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion, he knows his fashion onions and you can trust he will have done thorough research. (I didn’t realise he was still writing his most excellent blog, Paul Gorman Is… Oops, maybe not.)

Back to Malcolm, The Life and Times of Malcolm McLaren promises to be the definitive biography of the cross-cultural visionary whose influence looms larger than ever. (more…)