Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Issue No. 170: Diamanda on Whitney. Part 1.
Diamanda Galás' Statement on Whitney Houston's Death
by Diamanda Galás on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 2:16pm
I mourn the death of Whitney Houston, whom I adored. Her incomparable voice, which influenced almost every R&B and pop singer worldwide, her stage presence, which no one can touch, and her beauty, tough and sweet, moved me. Whitney ... Whitney ... was put back onstage before she was ready to perform - by the colossal pig Clive Davis - who continued his party in the same hotel where she died and where her body still lay. Heresy.
Whitney should have been allowed to study for a minimum of two years with a voice therapist/teacher before even rehearsing, let alone performing, onstage. It is a gigantic jump to go from not performing to performing - and a much larger one to go from not performing and living a life without discipline, the leisure life, in particular, to performing.
What was she put onstage as? A lesson that "drugs kill"? "Hey wanna see a crack ho sing?" Courtesy of Clive Davis.
"Wow, man, that will be some freaky shit, right?" "You bet, man."
Great. Now Mr. Davis will be able to package her death in frills and sell it big time - even during the nadir of record sales. (Sony and iTunes have already begun selling the back catalogue at exceedingly high prices, hours after her death, possibly minutes). And Clive and Sony will say, "Even though we do not hope to even break even with this uncompromising tribute to Whitney Houston, we feel, personally, that it is her due, as the foremost singer ever on our labels, and as lovely girl she always was to us." Etc, etc, puke puke puke.
Mr. Davis thought nothing of keeping her up onstage while she received humiliating reviews and she represented DOPEFIEND LOSER of THE WAR ON DRUGS. He probably said, "Ignore those jealous fools, dear; the more you sing, the more you'll begin to really sing." Pure entertainment for the folks that know better.
And the press will make more correlations between death days and birthdays and dead dopefiend performers and pour more gasoline on her body. Another party where she was close by but unreachable.
I feel deep sorrow for Whitney. I feel no sorrow for anyone else other than her family and those who still loved her.
And a deep loathing for those who ran her into the ground. Sure, one was Bobby Brown, but he is a common idiot.
The bigger picture?
Think a minute.
DIAMANDA GALÁS
by Diamanda Galás on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 2:16pm
I mourn the death of Whitney Houston, whom I adored. Her incomparable voice, which influenced almost every R&B and pop singer worldwide, her stage presence, which no one can touch, and her beauty, tough and sweet, moved me. Whitney ... Whitney ... was put back onstage before she was ready to perform - by the colossal pig Clive Davis - who continued his party in the same hotel where she died and where her body still lay. Heresy.
Whitney should have been allowed to study for a minimum of two years with a voice therapist/teacher before even rehearsing, let alone performing, onstage. It is a gigantic jump to go from not performing to performing - and a much larger one to go from not performing and living a life without discipline, the leisure life, in particular, to performing.
What was she put onstage as? A lesson that "drugs kill"? "Hey wanna see a crack ho sing?" Courtesy of Clive Davis.
"Wow, man, that will be some freaky shit, right?" "You bet, man."
Great. Now Mr. Davis will be able to package her death in frills and sell it big time - even during the nadir of record sales. (Sony and iTunes have already begun selling the back catalogue at exceedingly high prices, hours after her death, possibly minutes). And Clive and Sony will say, "Even though we do not hope to even break even with this uncompromising tribute to Whitney Houston, we feel, personally, that it is her due, as the foremost singer ever on our labels, and as lovely girl she always was to us." Etc, etc, puke puke puke.
Mr. Davis thought nothing of keeping her up onstage while she received humiliating reviews and she represented DOPEFIEND LOSER of THE WAR ON DRUGS. He probably said, "Ignore those jealous fools, dear; the more you sing, the more you'll begin to really sing." Pure entertainment for the folks that know better.
And the press will make more correlations between death days and birthdays and dead dopefiend performers and pour more gasoline on her body. Another party where she was close by but unreachable.
I feel deep sorrow for Whitney. I feel no sorrow for anyone else other than her family and those who still loved her.
And a deep loathing for those who ran her into the ground. Sure, one was Bobby Brown, but he is a common idiot.
The bigger picture?
Think a minute.
DIAMANDA GALÁS
Issue No. 169: Diamanda on Whitney. Part 2.
Response to the Tears of Clive and The Hired Help
RE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER article of February 16 2012
La respuesta de Clive Davis me hace reir. Bingo. Like of course "I really loved you," Whitney. Um hm. Chaka Kahn didn't go to the party, did she? Now why is that? Because as Whitney's dear friend she felt it was out of order to celebrate. Let's not forget that a party is a party, and if you put on black for five minutes and then go back to your silver lame,that is still a party, not a funeral. So we are not played by this stinking rhetoric. Got me?
Let's now get clinical. Clinical Depression often leads to congestive heart failure. This means: laying in bed depressed like Amy Winehouse for days on end, tortured hours on end, and finally deciding that she could be immortal if she took a real vacation and left the world of users who thought her "illness" was a sham and "get on stage,girl...you can do it..."
leads to death by congestive heart failure which is also medically defined as "a broken heart." Broken by whom. Oh Daddy, it is not nice to be fundmentally incapable of being honest with yourself: that means you are a DOPEFIEND, and we don't like that, do we?
Valium? Ativan? PLEASE. An overdose of these drugs is a plea to be left alone. Permanently. "Please, I cannot sing now. Please leave me alone. I can no longer disgrace myself for a dime. Yes: THAT dime. The one that says,"I owe you, Daddy." Your dime.
Let's discuss clinical depression. It is a disease, just like congestive heart failure, or diabetes. It is a disease that is not discussed enough, and its medical treatment is often not taken seriously by those not affected. Old friends disappear and call a clinically depressed person a LOSER and WASHED-UP. And that certainly HELPS the clinically depressed person, doesn't it?
What friends now step up to the plate? FANS. Now we have reached the beginning of the end.
When you are laying in bed and cannot move, only a fan will get you food from the store. And other things.
And let's discuss the vocal cords and what might have happened to Whitney Houston and so many other singers. How about this scenario? Nervous breakdown from overwork on both recordings and live tours, tv appearances, radio appearances, interviews, and only your record company liason to comfort you --of course she is in bed with the big man
so her mercy is "okay,honey, we can drop the South Dakota interviews." Now lots of cortisone. Too much cortisone. Can't sleep with that, so lots of sleeping pills.
Then something real bad happens. One can be vocal cord damage, but just as bad is the following: The arytenoid cartilage (there are two) pull the vocal cords apart so the singer cannot phonate (make a sound). Healing can require vocal rest and sedatives for complete relaxation of this cartilage, which is currently out of alignment. In this way the vocal cords can come back together. Gentle vocal exercises are required, which systematically bring back the phonation. Slowly, methodically, and without stress and especially without GUILT.
The arytenoids are the glands in the aryepiglottic fold of the larynx. Singing is a science, and anyone in a gospel church or on an operatic stage will tell you that being a medium for the gods or a God, requires a supremely healthy instrument. And that if the god is only Clive Davis, you will not be able to sing. Because you will feel like a whore and the door will be closed to the Spirit.
Voice therapy is not the same as a show at Madison Square Garden or a venue like it, to "celebrate the return of the VOICE." That is called SADISM.
Voice therapy is called "believing in the artist, or love."
Pimping out the artist to big shows when she is shaking with terror--" Welcome back,Sucker...you owe me, bitch." is called EXPLOITATION.. Call it what it is,Daddy. This is Hollywood, so don't suddenly play all lovey-dovey. That's an oxymoron, moron.
Diamanda Galas
2/16/2012
RE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER article of February 16 2012
La respuesta de Clive Davis me hace reir. Bingo. Like of course "I really loved you," Whitney. Um hm. Chaka Kahn didn't go to the party, did she? Now why is that? Because as Whitney's dear friend she felt it was out of order to celebrate. Let's not forget that a party is a party, and if you put on black for five minutes and then go back to your silver lame,that is still a party, not a funeral. So we are not played by this stinking rhetoric. Got me?
Let's now get clinical. Clinical Depression often leads to congestive heart failure. This means: laying in bed depressed like Amy Winehouse for days on end, tortured hours on end, and finally deciding that she could be immortal if she took a real vacation and left the world of users who thought her "illness" was a sham and "get on stage,girl...you can do it..."
leads to death by congestive heart failure which is also medically defined as "a broken heart." Broken by whom. Oh Daddy, it is not nice to be fundmentally incapable of being honest with yourself: that means you are a DOPEFIEND, and we don't like that, do we?
Valium? Ativan? PLEASE. An overdose of these drugs is a plea to be left alone. Permanently. "Please, I cannot sing now. Please leave me alone. I can no longer disgrace myself for a dime. Yes: THAT dime. The one that says,"I owe you, Daddy." Your dime.
Let's discuss clinical depression. It is a disease, just like congestive heart failure, or diabetes. It is a disease that is not discussed enough, and its medical treatment is often not taken seriously by those not affected. Old friends disappear and call a clinically depressed person a LOSER and WASHED-UP. And that certainly HELPS the clinically depressed person, doesn't it?
What friends now step up to the plate? FANS. Now we have reached the beginning of the end.
When you are laying in bed and cannot move, only a fan will get you food from the store. And other things.
And let's discuss the vocal cords and what might have happened to Whitney Houston and so many other singers. How about this scenario? Nervous breakdown from overwork on both recordings and live tours, tv appearances, radio appearances, interviews, and only your record company liason to comfort you --of course she is in bed with the big man
so her mercy is "okay,honey, we can drop the South Dakota interviews." Now lots of cortisone. Too much cortisone. Can't sleep with that, so lots of sleeping pills.
Then something real bad happens. One can be vocal cord damage, but just as bad is the following: The arytenoid cartilage (there are two) pull the vocal cords apart so the singer cannot phonate (make a sound). Healing can require vocal rest and sedatives for complete relaxation of this cartilage, which is currently out of alignment. In this way the vocal cords can come back together. Gentle vocal exercises are required, which systematically bring back the phonation. Slowly, methodically, and without stress and especially without GUILT.
The arytenoids are the glands in the aryepiglottic fold of the larynx. Singing is a science, and anyone in a gospel church or on an operatic stage will tell you that being a medium for the gods or a God, requires a supremely healthy instrument. And that if the god is only Clive Davis, you will not be able to sing. Because you will feel like a whore and the door will be closed to the Spirit.
Voice therapy is not the same as a show at Madison Square Garden or a venue like it, to "celebrate the return of the VOICE." That is called SADISM.
Voice therapy is called "believing in the artist, or love."
Pimping out the artist to big shows when she is shaking with terror--" Welcome back,Sucker...you owe me, bitch." is called EXPLOITATION.. Call it what it is,Daddy. This is Hollywood, so don't suddenly play all lovey-dovey. That's an oxymoron, moron.
Diamanda Galas
2/16/2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Issue No. 168: Maison Martin Margiela Meets The Pearlies
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| "The Pearlies in Covent Garden" - Daniel Teafoe |
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| Maison Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 2012 |
The practice of wearing clothes decorated with pearl buttons originated in the 19th century.[1] It is first associated with Henry Croft, an orphan street sweeper who collected money for charity. At the time, London costermongers (apple sellers) were in the habit of wearing pearl buttons along the seams of their trousers. Croft adapted this to create a pearly suit to draw attention to himself and aid his fund-raising activities.[2][3] In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in Finchley, north London.[1] Croft died in January 1930 and his funeral was attended by 400 followers from all over London,[1] receiving national media coverage.[4] In 1934 a memorial was unveiled to him in St Pancras Cemetery and at a speech to mark the occasion he was said to have raised £5,000 for those suffering in London's hospitals.[5] The statue was later moved to the crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. The inscription reads:
In memory of Henry Croft who died January 1st 1930 aged 68 years. The original Pearly King.
The pearly organisation is now known as the Original London Pearly Kings and Queens Association.[1][2] Following disagreements, a rival London Pearly Kings and Queens Society[3] has also been set up and another called the Pearly Guild.[1][6] Each group is associated with a church in central London and works to raise money for London-based charities.[1]
References:
^ a b c d e f g Jo Swinnerton (2004). The London Companion. Think Publishing. p. 18.
^ a b "Original London Pearly Kings and Queens Association". Retrieved 2009-09-24.
^ a b "London Pearly Kings and Queens Society". Retrieved 2009-09-24.
^ "The Passing of the King of Pearly Kings". British Pathe Archive. British Pathe. 09/01/1930. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
^ "Memorial to "Pearly King"". British Pathe Archive. British Pathe. 04/06/1934. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
^ "Pearly Guild". Retrieved 2009-09-24.
 | |
| Maison Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 2012 |
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Issue No. 167: Mike Kelley: 1954 - 2012
> Education
1976–78
M.F.A., California Institute of Arts, Valencia
1972–76
B.F.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1975
Forms artists' collective Poetics with Tony Oursler and Don Krieger
1974
Forms artists' collective and band Destroy All Monsters with Jim Shaw, Carey Loren, and Niagara
> Selected Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
1998
"Strange Früt: Detroit Culture," Centrum Beeldende Kunst/Villa Alkmaer, Rotterdam
"Destroy All Monsters Archive," Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
1997
"The Poetics Project: 1977–1997 (Documenta version)," The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; catalogue
"Mike Kelley: 1985–1996," Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona; Rooseum, Malmö, Sweden; and Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands; catalogue
1996
"Land O’ Lakes," Wako Works of Art, Tokyo; catalogue
1995
"Toward a Utopian Arts Complex," Metro Pictures, New York
"Mike Kelley: Recent Work," Susanne Hilberry Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan
"The Thirteen Seasons (Heavy on the Winter)," Jablonka Galerie, Cologne; catalogue
1993
"Mike Kelley: Catholic Tastes," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Los Angeles Museum of Art; and Haus der Kunst, Munich; catalogue
1992
"The Riddle of the Sphinx" and "Pansy Metal/Clovered Hoof," Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia
"Mike Kelley," Kunsthalle, Basel; Institute of Contemporary Art, London; and CAPC Musée d’art contemporain, Bordeaux, France; catalogue
1991
"Mike Kelley: Half a Man," Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; catalogue
"Lumpenrole," Galerie Peter Pakesch, Vienna; Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, Ghent
1990
Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris
Metro Pictures, New York
1989
"Mike Kelley," Jablonka Galerie, Cologne; catalogue
"Pansy Metal/Clovered Hoof," Metro Pictures, New York
1985
"Plato’s Cave, Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile," Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles; Artists Space and Metro Pictures, New York; published as artist’s book, New City Editions, Venice, California
1984
Performance "The Sublime," Museum of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles; Metro Pictures, New York; and Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles
1982–1983
"Monkey Island/Confusion," Metro Pictures, New York, 1982; performance, Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center, Venice, California, 1983; Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles
1981
"Meditation on a Can of Vernors," Riko Muzuno Gallery, Los Angeles; performance, Los Angeles
1979
"The Poltergeist: A Work between David Askevold and Mike Kelley," Foundation for Art Resources, Los Angeles
Group Exhibitions
1997
"Documenta X," Kassel, Germany; catalogue
"Art at the End of the 20th Century," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; catalogue
1996
"Distemper: Dissonant Themes in the Art of the 1990s," Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; catalogue
1985, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995
"Whitney Biennial," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; catalogues
1994
"Hors limites: L’art est la vie," Centre national d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou, Paris; catalogue
1992
"Doubletake: Collective Memory and Current Art," Haywood Gallery, London; and Kunsthalle, Vienna; catalogue
"Post Human," FAE Musée d’art contemporain, Pully/Lausanne, Switzerland; Castello di Rivoli, Turin; Deste Foundation, Athens; Edelman, Lausanne; Deichtorhallen, Hamburg; and Israel Museum, Jerusalem; catalogue
"Désordres: Nan Goldin, Mike Kelley, Kiki Smith, Jana Sterbak, Tunga," Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris; catalogue
"LAX," Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna; catalogue
1991
"Metropolis: International Art Exhibition, Berlin 1991," Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin; catalogue
"Lieux communs, figures singulières," Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris; catalogue
1990
"Le désenchantement du monde," Villa Arson, Nice; catalogue
"Just Pathetic," Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Los Angeles; catalogue
1988
"The 43rd Biennale of Venice, Aperto ’88," Venice; catalogue
1987
"Avant-Garde in the Eighties," Los Angeles County Museum of Art; catalogue
1984
"Fifth Biennale of Sydney—Private Symbol: Social Metaphor," The Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; catalogue
1980
"The Parasite Lilly," Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, California Institute of Arts, Valencia; University of California, San Diego; The Kitchen, New York; and Slusser Gallery, Ann Arbor, Michigan
> Selected References
1996
Rosalind Krauss, "Inform without Conclusion," October 78 (fall): 86–105
1995
Michael Kimmelman, "Mike Kelley," The New York Times, November 24
1994
Michael Duncan, "Kelley’s Junk Shop Pop," Art in America 82, no. 6: 84–89
1993
Nancy Princethal, "Mike Kelley at Metro Pictures," Art in America, April: 127
Roberta Smith, "Mike Kelley’s Messages: Mixed and Mystical," The New York Times, November 5
1992
Alain-Henri François, "Lieux communs, figures singulières banal," Voir (February): 16f
1991
Michael Kimmelman, "Mike Kelley’s Toys Play Nasty Games," The New York Times, April 7
1988
Eleanor Heartney, "Mike Kelley, Metro Pictures," Artnews 87, no. 9 (November): 174–75
1987
Holland Cotter, "Eight Artists Interviewed," Art in America 75, no. 5: 162–97
1986
Dan Cameron, "Mike Kelley’s Art of Violation," Arts Magazine (June): 4–17
1979
Richard Armstrong, "Mike Kelley," Artforum (November): 75–78
> Selected Awards
1992
Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Michigan School of Art and Design, Ann Arbor
1991
Skowhegan Medal for mixed media
1990
Museum Program Exhibition Grant for a retrospective exhibition at ICA, Boston, National Endowment for the Arts; grant rescinded by then-NEA chairman John Frohnmeyer
1987
Award in the Visual Arts, North Carolina
1985
Fellowship, National Endowment for the Visual Arts, Washington, D.C.
1984
Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant, New York
> Selected Collections
Art Institute of Chicago
Baltimore Museum of Art
The Detroit Institute of Arts
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Commits suicide in his home, Los Angeles, Ca.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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