Madonna’s Art Collection is Estimated at 160 million

via The Times Online

She flagged herself in her 1985 hit as a material girl, and what a prophetic hook that turned out to be. After last year’s box-office receipts had all been added up, it was revealed that the highest-earning pop star on the planet in 2008 was, yet again, Madonna. She grossed more than £185m, nearly all of it on her Sticky & Sweet world tour — more than twice what Coldplay, the hottest rock band on the road at the time, made from theirs.

This remarkable result went almost unnoticed outside the entertainment trade press. We seem to have got used to the phenomenon that is Madonna Ciccone, now a 50-year-old mother of three who, defying all pop’s laws of obsolescence, is still at the top of the greasy pole after 26 years in the game. We don’t seem to mind paying the eye-watering prices that she charges to watch her perform these days either. The average price of tickets for the next leg of her Sticky & Sweet tour, which kicks off in London’s O2 arena in July, now on sale with Seatwave, is around the £200 mark, and some can fetch up to £500.

If the second leg of Sticky & Sweet repeats the success of the first, it will overtake the Rolling Stones’s Bigger Bang outings to become the biggest-earning concert tour ever.

Anyone hoping to have a word with Madonna about her ticketing policy meets a wall of silence. Not talking money in public is one of the few taboos this canny iconoclast respects. There’s an incident in the fly-on-the-wall documentary movie In Bed with Madonna that memorably makes the point. It’s when the director Alek Keshishian — who’s previously filmed Madonna everywhere bar the bathroom, and called the experience “like being in psychoanalysis and letting the whole world watch” — tries to follow her into the trailer where she is about to have a meeting. “Get out, this is business,” she snaps, and shuts the door in Keshishian’s face.

The viewer is left marvelling at Madonna’s priorities. Here is a woman who, elsewhere in the movie, rolls around on her mother’s grave, fellates a water bottle for the amusement of various gay members of her entourage, strips on stage and generally affects an air of devil-may-care candour — then balks at allowing a micro-glimpse of a business meeting.

There have been a lot of such meetings in these past 26 years. In the manner of a successful corporate brand, Madonna has spread herself far and wide. Aside from her creative output — the 14 albums, eight world tours, 19 feature films, myriad videos and the recent series of children’s books, The English Roses — Madonna has been an indefatigable dealmaker.

In 1992 she set up Maverick, a record label with video, film and publishing interests, which she jointly owned with Time Warner until 2004.

Since 1989, when she accepted $5m from Pepsi for a TV commercial (which got pulled after one showing for its presumed blasphemy), she has been involved in ad campaigns for BMW, Max Factor, Versace and Gap. Last year she put her name to a clothing line for the high-street retailer H&M; this year she’s collaborated with Ed Hardy on a tattoo-inspired range for Christian Audigier.

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Earth Day 2009: Dramatic Polar Photos

A gray day, and the sad sight of a fast-melting glacier, from our boat. Ground zero for global warming studies.

Greenlandic dogs on endless ice fields. I sledge along the white, empty scape. This time see the unpolluted sky is in the northern polar area.

We must heed the warnings: This bay used to freeze over every winter. For the past years only a small part is walkable. And this year's long-awaited polar climate studies were more dire than expected.

Antarctica
An island at tip of the Antarctic peninsula.

First major iceberg. But look at the world's most unpolluted sky!

To realize the size of this massive berg, it helps to know that the "dirt" is a penguin colony.


The color of glacial ice; 9/10ths is submerged.

The Andes chain reemerges in Antarctica -- a surprise.



By Lea Lane
via Open Salon

Earth Day, April 22, is a time to celebrate gains and accelerate environmental progress. But every day is a time to act to protect our planet.

Writing about travel for more than 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting over 100 countries. I’ve breathed air thick with noxious gases, seen mountainsides denuded of trees, beaches eroded by removal of dunes, rivers sluggish with refuse.

I’ve also experienced crystal skies thick with sparkling stars, rivulets of drinkable water, hills blooming with wildflowers and spattered with bees and butterflies.

Cities have both cleaned their air and fouled it. People have both rescued and ravaged the land. We have choices. We make them every day.

As some of you know, last year around this time, in the span of six weeks, I traveled “bipolar” -- from 70 degrees latitude south in Antarctica to 70 degrees latitude north in Greenland. I wrote about witnessing the ends of our precious earth, melting away.

In honor of Earth Day, I offer here some dramatic photos I took of Antarctica and Greenland not included in the previous post. They show the beauty and fragility of our polar world, and I hope that they help remind us to treat our vulnerable planet with respect and love.

Political beliefs are irrelevant. All of us-- throughout the world -- must strive to to protect our precious, magnificent earth – on Earth Day and every day.

This American Frame

Ira Glass-es: Over?

Mens Style.com latest ongoing series of posts dedicated to otherwise worthy phenomena in grave danger of being ruined by ubiquity.

It started with Elvis Costello aping Buddy Holly. Then came the late-nineties literati (including the aforementioned This American Life host) aping Elvis Costello. Now, with seemingly every 23-year-old from Williamsburg to Silver Lake (plus Jay-Z!) sporting big black frames (sometimes even with an actual prescription), we have to ask: Time to see the world through a new lens?

Quoddy for South Willard

Brown Blucher

Quoddy for South Willard, brown chromexal leather, antique eyelets, white hand sewing, brown laces, brown bottom.

More Here...

Record Store Day - By Ian C. Rodgers

Via FISTFULAYEN

My first albums came from my (nine years) older brother, KISS Rock N Roll Over and AC/DC High Voltage to be specific. I was 5 when he switched me on and I remember clearly my mom bought me a “Mickey’s 50th” album for Christmas and I was bummed. I was hoping for KISS Alive. I was visibly disappointed and felt guilty for hurting my mom’s feelings, but I wanted some rock, not kids’ music. I don’t remember buying them but I had an 8-track player at my dad’s house and a few tapes.

Mostly I remember KISS’ Dressed To Kill and Double Platinum, but also the Harry Nilsson album with “Lime In The Coconut” on it. I remember fucking around forever trying to re-cue that song on the 8-track, it wasn’t easy and I didn’t like any of the other ones. My parents had great records. My dad had every Dylan and Willie Nelson record, plus tons of great stuff that shaped my tastes like Sam & Dave, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stevie Wonder, and Jimmy Reed. My mom was all about Emmylou but I do remember conning her into giving me her copy of Bat Out Of Hell when I was six; she was asleep and I told her I’d let her nap if she let me have it.

I also remember falling asleep in my mom’s bed listening to Billy Joel’s The Stranger many many nights. My step-dad had a serious collection, well curated and cared-for since the mid to late 60s including Velvet Underground, Moby Grape, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Blue Cheer (blew my mind) plus all the staples like The Stones and Beatles, etc. He kept buying records through the 80s (Husker Du, REM, Talking Heads, etc) and had all the gear (dual cassette deck, CD player very early, etc). Then in the 90s he decided he was getting rid of most of the vinyl and I got my pick.

I still have all those records. My hometown (Goshen, Indiana, pop: 20K at the time) didn’t have a record store, except for a couple of years there was a place called World Records which had like 25 records for sale (and drugs, according to my brother).

I only remember buying two things there: a Lucifer’s Friend cassette (sucked balls) and Judas Priest’s British Steel (ruled). World Records was right next door to the movie theater, which had a couple of live rock shows for a short time when the movie theater went out of business. I saw Blue Oyster Cult, Robin Trower, and Armored Saint there before that fun ended and it became a church.

Continue Reading Here (it's a whoppin 3k words long!)...

Trovata Battles Forever 21

via WWD

"After two years of legal wrangling, Trovata’s lawsuit alleging that cheap-chic retailer Forever 21 copied its designs is headed to trial next month, and the outcome could have implications for both vendors and retailers in this age of fast fashion.

Barring a last-minute settlement, lawyers familiar with Forever 21’s extensive litigation history said this would be the first time the rapidly expanding retailer faces a jury that will determine whether it illegally clones other companies’ designs. The result could be a clarification of intellectual property rights in an era when facsimiles of runway looks often appear in multinational specialty chains before a designer’s original version has a chance to hit stores.

The federal court case involves seven garments Forever 21 sold in its stores in 2007, said to look identical, or almost identical, to garments designed by Trovata and publicized on the runway or in magazines. One Forever 21 garment also had an inside label that was a near representation of Trovata’s distinct label at the time.

Trovata’s attorneys argued the alleged copying of the designs constituted trade dress infringement. Trade dress is the legal term for the visual appearance of a product that links it to a particular brand in consumers’ minds. Trovata, which is headed by founder and designer John Whitledge, is seeking a multimillion-dollar award for actual and punitive damages.

Unlike other suits brought against Forever 21 in recent years by companies such as Diane von Furstenberg, Anna Sui, BeBe Stores and Anthropologie, the Trovata suit does not allege copyright violations. Under current law, only original prints or graphics on clothes can be copyrighted — as they are considered artwork — and Trovata’s suit focuses on Forever 21’s copying of its unique button placements, decorative stitching, fabric patterns and other details.

Although U.S. copyright laws do not protect a garment’s basic design, silhouette or form, legislation is pending in Congress — supported by the Council of Fashion Designers of America — to expand copyright laws to the “appearance as a whole of an article” of clothing. The Design Piracy Prohibition Act has stalled in committee. Critics contend its provisions are too sweeping and would stifle competition and commerce in the apparel industry.

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More on Shawn Mortensen

Shawn Mortensen was a passionate photographer, activist, storyteller and human being, who expected the best out of everybody.

SHAWN MORTENSEN 1966—2009

Eddie Van Halen Signature Sneakers

Via Mens.Style.Com

Because we thought you should know: Eddie Van Halen is now marketing sneakers modeled on his signature accessory. (Apparently fans had been crafting homemade versions for years.) Hopefully not up next: David Lee Roth-endorsed spandex unitards.
evhgear.com

Guns Don't Kill People...Music Producers Do

FINALLY! Phil Spector convicted of second-degree murder

A Los Angeles jury convicted Phil Spector of second-degree murder Monday, making the legendary record producer who worked with the Beatles and a host of other pop stars the first celebrity found guilty of murder on Hollywood's home turf in at least 40 years.
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Paul Smith Opening In San Francisco

Via SFLUX

The new Paul Smith shop at 50 Geary Street is apparently a success. It seems to constantly draw a crowd with Paul's spring '09 womenswear, menswear (Paul Smith, PS,) Shoes, Ties, his quirky socks (they seem to be ubiquitous now) and a array of stuff he likes - artwork, books, shoes and rare record albums amongst other fabulous things.

Also, The interior is inspired by great American interior designers such as Donald Judd, Paul Evans and Karl Springer. Mounted color panels channel the famous block colors used by Donald Judd, while the chairs and stools were created by Pace.

Party Photos Here...

Shepard Fairey Wins Design of The Year

The winners were announced at the Design Museum last month, where an exhibition of all the shortlisted designs is on show until June 14 .

Here’s some more information from the Design Museum:

Brit Insurance Design Award 2009 Announced
Obama Poster, Shepard Fairey

Iconic poster receives official recognition through prestige of international design award Shepard Fairey’s Obama poster has triumphed in a shortlist of 90 other designs to become Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2009. Chosen as the most innovative and forward thinking design from the past 12 months, Alan Yentob announced the winning design at a gala awards dinner hosted by Naomi Cleaver at the Design Museum.

The design was chosen from the seven category winners by a panel of judges including Alan Yentob, Paola Antonelli, Karen Blincoe, Peter Cook, Sarah Mower and Yves Béhar. The panel commented, “If ever there were to be a ‘The Poster of the Year’, the Obama Poster would be it. The US election was a watershed in contemporary history and this poster demonstrates the power of communicating ideas and aspirations from grass-root level. Just as the presidential candidate’s campaign speeches recaptured the lost art of oratory, so this poster breathed new life into a form that had lost its purpose. Fairey’s poster came not from a marketing campaign, but as a self initiated fund raising campaign. The poster did its job by becoming a collector’s item. More than that it’s encapsulated the mood of its time.”

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Studio Number One

“Advertising is legalized lying.” - H.G. Wells

INNTERVIEW: Jean Touitou of A.P.C.

Text by Quentin Delafon

The man behind the brand that has produced some of Paris' most classic pieces is driven by a revolutionary conception of fashion. He says he hates rock n roll but it’s not true. Jean Touitou, the head and the heart of APC, lives for rock n roll. What he truly hates is what we call rock and roll today: the bunch of pretenders that replaced the heroes of yesterday.
To illustrate the statement the brand has collaborated with four bands that are more into playing than posing (Housse de Racket, Koko Von Napoo, Chateau Marmont and The Teenagers) to create limited edition t-shirts.

Production or Creation?
Procreation

Radical or normal?
Normal is radical now.

Wood or Steel?
Concrete, wood and steel.

Roger Moore or Sean Connery?
Roger who? You gotta be kidding me!

Rock or disco?
This is too private.

Raw denim jeans or check shirt?
Raw power.

God bless America or god save the queen?
Godmiché for the Queens

Evolution or revolution?
At this point, we need a conscience preparation, then we'll see how fast things can be changed.

North or South or East or West?
North by North-West, of course!

Cat Power or Lou Doillon?
Chan can sing, Lou can laugh.

Rollerskate or skateboard?
Rollerskates before 9 years old. Not more. Beyond this age limit, rollerskates should not be forgiven.

Stones or Beatles ?
Stones are cheap pussies, I mean that.

Kenzo or Agnes B?
Kenzo from '77 to '81.

Navy blue or beige?
The darkest navy blue.

Art or History?
History is a very good drug. Art died with god

Trotsky or Mao?
Dantec !!!! (I know it's easy to say that now, but both had a terrible understanding of Marx. Mao deserved to be terminated with a mountain pick. Trotsky didn't deserve that.)

Kinks or The Who?
Ray Davies' voice and lyrics moves me more than anything.

Elitism or Popularity?
Aiming for mass elitism.

Style or Substance?
Style without substance is too Warholian; five minutes of fun, and ready for the bin... style needs substance - even when an incredible substance has no style, who the fuck cares! We crave for great substance.

Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.

Legendary New York Times Photographer Bill Cunningham

Via The New Yorker

A few summers ago, on upper Fifth Avenue, Bill Cunningham spied a remarkable creature: a woman, in her seventies, with a corona of blue hair—not the muzzy pastel hue associated with bad dye jobs but the irradiant one of Slurpees and laundry detergent. The woman gave Cunningham an idea. Every day for a month, whenever he saw something cerulean (a batik shawl) or aqua (a Hawaiian-print sarong) or azure (a Japanese parasol) coming down the sidewalk, he snapped a picture of it. One morning, he spotted a worker balancing, on his shoulder, a stuffed blue marlin. “I thought, That’s it, kid!” he recently recalled. The following Sunday, “On the Street,” the street-fashion column that Cunningham has maintained in the Times for more than a decade, was populated entirely with New Yorkers dressed in various shades of the color—a parade of human paint chips. “Mediterranean shades of blue are not yet the new pink, but they are a favorite this summer,” he wrote. “The cooling watery tones, worn as an accent with white and browns, appear in turquoise-color jewelry and blue hair, but it is rare to see a man crossing the Avenue of the Americas with a trophy sailfish.”

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Bill Cunningham's 'on the street' Column

“We're a long, long way from home. Home's a long, long way from us.”

by JP @ the Selvedge Yard

Home Sculpted from Found Objects

I have to take my hat off to this guy. There are people in this world who dream and talk– then there are guys like Randy Polumbo who are actually living the dream, and walking the talk. His life may not speak to those of us that dream of master-planned communities, designer goods, & fancy friends– but if you’re someone that can appreciate beauty formed from an artist’s careful eye, a crafter’s honest hand, and a reverence for history, humanity and the planet that came before us– then this may speak to you.

Why keep consuming, creating demand for more disposable products, and adding to our planet’s endless landfills when there are plenty of reusable resources all around us? I need to get off my soapbox and be more like Randy– who bought and expanded a home out of what most people would consider trash.

“In Joshua Tree,” Ms. Magnuson said, “everything gets reconstituted. It’s certainly a place where the concept of outsider art is in, and Randy polishes it to a high sheen.”

Mr. Polumbo arrived in 2004 for a one-month artist’s residency at a ranger’s station in the Joshua Tree National Park. He had been making art out of found items, wind-up mechanisms that he turned into puckish and lovely whirligigs and gizmos.

In the park, he said, “I got interested in how Native Americans made stuff with just sand and fire.” He began casting glass, from bottles and telegraph insulators he found in the desert, into natural shapes: corn, for example, or insect shapes like a mosquito hawk or a cockroach. (Roaches have been a persistent theme for Mr. Polumbo: in the 1980s, when he was attending the Cooper Union, he said, he liked to catch the roaches in his apartment on Avenue D and gold-leaf them.)

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Stan The Man

Via HypeBeast

Emerging as one of the early stars of the professional tennis scene in the 1970’s, tennis player Stan Smith’s playing days have long-ended yet he still maintains an unmistakable piece of both the adidas and sneaker landscape. Given the chance to meet a living-legend upon his appearance in Hong Kong for the adidas Originals 60th anniversary, we jumped at the opportunity to discuss the towering figure’s storied involvement in one of the most recognizable signatures shoes ever. We touch on some interesting topics and differences between contemporary and past professional endorsements alongside some of the shoe’s developments which have inevitably become iconic characteristics of the timeless classic for almost 40 years.

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Rude Boys Don't Argue

Blur aside, The Specials reunion has me more excited than any other band reincarnations this year. And by the looks of this — their first — performance on Later with Jools Holland, they’ve barely missed a beat. They also played “Gangsters”, but here is the reunited Specials performing their hit “A Message To You Rudy”

Via TheTripWire

Ron English Vs. Vista Media

20 Minutes With Ron English from Art and Design Films on Vimeo.

Fred The Shoe

BROGUE BROS - PART 1

Via VICE Magazine

There is a famous fable from the UK northern-soul scene, from around the time the skinhead look first became popular in about 1969 or 1970. Legend has it that during some unknown all-nighter, at some unknown Manchester club, the fire doors suddenly burst open and a gang of skins piled in. Everyone stopped dancing and waited for the trouble to kick off. The leader of the gang, resplendent in a cashmere Crombie and Levi’s with turnups meticulously measured to one inch sitting neatly and exactly three quarters of an inch above his dark brown Loakes brogues, jumped up on one of the tables and announced that they had come to “smite the philistines that were wearing the wrong clothes, and that they would be paying special attention to those who wore déclassé shoes.” Or, to be more accurate, he said, “We’re gaahna kick the facking shit outtah any cant who int wearin the right facking shoes in ere tonight. Facking slaaaaags.”

These occurrences were not uncommon when I was a kid. For me, they helped invest certain articles of clothing with an incredible power. I can remember the day I was taken to get my first pair of proper brogues. I was 13, and I was so excited I couldn’t sleep the entire night before. My mum took me to the local shoe shop, where I got a pair of dark brown full brogues. I can still remember the overwhelming smell of new leather and the rows of dark wood shelves crammed with shoeboxes. It was like heaven. Most of all I remember how amazing they felt on my feet and how amazing they made me feel. Thankfully, I still get that feeling when wearing a new pair of brogues. That is one of the reasons why I’m so glad that shops like Men’s Traditional Shoes in South London still exist. In a world where every shop is an exact copy of every other in its chain, in every city center, in every shopping mall in the universe, thank fuck for places like Men’s Traditional and people like Fred the Shoe.

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Cowards Running in PackS

Ex- Skater turned Filmmaker Stacy Peralta talks about
The Movie They Didn't Want You To See

It seemed so obvious to me, a slam-dunk, a downright compelling true life American story. The story of how the Crips and Bloods -- two of the world's most 'iconic' gangs -- have been allowed to wage a virtual war within one of the richest cities in the world for 4 decades, a war that has taken over 15,000 lives in that time. Yet I couldn't find any studio or production company interested in financing my documentary. I went door to door, pitching my project to all of the 'right' people in Hollywood. All of them said it was a great idea and needed to be done -- but no one would write a check.

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“If it's the Psychic Network why do they need a phone number?”

Fashions Fade, Style Is Eternal.

Thom Browne Near Bankrupt

The tide is sweeping away menswear designer Thom Browne. The New York based-designer, which is known for avant-garde collection of cropped jackets and ankle-baring pants, is near bankruptcy and in need of a financial suitor, according to sources.

After raking in net sales of only about $5 million last year, Mr. Browne is facing massive debts and a dearth of investors for his eye-catching suits, which typically cost around $5,000, according to sources. Though he operates a small flagship store in TriBeCa, Mr. Browne also sells at high-end department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, many of which are facing their own financial difficulties and are having trouble attracting customers as well.

“It’s hard enough to find investors for more classic lines, but imagine asking a bunch of suits—in the traditional mold—to invest in the Pee-wee Herman look,” said Susan Scafidi, intellectual property and fashion law professor at Fordham University School of Law. She added that the “high prices and high-water hems only ever appealed to a niche market” that has since dried up.

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Beverly Hills Housewife

From ECONOMIST.COM

Anyone strolling down Duke Street in London’s St James’s last week came across a delightful coup de théâtre. Through the broad glass windows of Christie’s Duke Street gallery could be seen a large painting, instantly recognisable as the work of David Hockney, Britain’s most popular artist—both as a painter and as a man. It showed a woman in a pink dress standing in the middle of a room in a modern home that looked as if it was in Los Angeles. On a dull day in London, Mr Hockney’s painting celebrated California’s light and prosperity.

The painting is titled “Beverly Hills Housewife” (pictured), and it dates from 1966-67 when Mr Hockney had exchanged the dour Yorkshire life and light for its polar opposite in California. The painting belonged to its subject; the housewife was Betty Freeman, a notable patron of new art and music. She died early in January and her collection is being auctioned in May. Christie’s was showing the painting in London before it is displayed in New York.

Mr Hockney’s paintings of sunlight on swimming pools have proved to be his most popular and expensive works. The highest price for a Hockney at auction so far is for “The Splash”, from 1966, which fetched £2.6m ($5.4m) in 2006.

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TOP SIDER AUTHENTIC OXFORD

by Ryan Willms @ H(y)R Collective

I’m not sure the story behind this model of Sperry’s I recently came across, other than the fact they look good. They seem to have a bit of a vintage feel to them, both in the design and look in the coloring. The Authentic Oxford is definitely a model I haven’t seen around our parts of the world and I have to wonder if Sperry too, is gearing some of their product offering to the eastern shores. The shoes really aren’t all that different from the Striper’s I recently posted, and bought - but there are definite differences that leave me wondering. On a side note; in certain categories of products, I feel that you could go one way or another. For example you might like Sebago boat shoes, and/or Sperry, or you might like Allen Edmonds, and/or “X” American brand, Nike or Adidas, APC or Nudie, etc. When it comes to classics there are often a choice between one or two brands, I find that I usually tend to pick the one I like the best and really stick with them, actually get behind them, and support the brand beyond just wearing the shoes. Maybe this creates a bias opinion, but it is what it is, and mine is with Sperry. I think if you are going to go with a cheaper sneaker/boat shoe/deck shoe, then Sperry is the choice to make. If you are going to step into a Quoddy or something more special, that’s another story, and likely a better one. I guess I am herby pledging my allegiance to Sperry on the open seas (for affordable footwear).

Explorer

Nike x APC | 2009 Spring Collection

Advantage In

Nike and A.P.C -For those of you who nostalgically long for the '70s sports star look (Richie Tenenbaum, anyone?), get your tennis rackets ready. A.P.C. creator Jean Touitou has collaborated yet again with sports apparel giant Nike. This time, he's revived their 1975 All-Court model, which he says Nike "should never have stopped producing". The minimalistic white canvas sneaks have, simply, a white or red or blue swoosh. Perfect for a game of doubles, or bringing some preppy athleticism to your look... @ all APC stores now!

Via Refinery29.