How to be a Man: Glenn O'Brien

“A good line bears repeating,” I often repeat to myself

Glenn O’Brien is - hate this tag. but it fits – an old school man. He’s a a very hetro-dandy, bit of a style meister and a liver of life. He describes his working life rather opaquely as “writer, editor, copywriter and creative director, also worked as a grocery clerk, demolition man, steelworker, waiter, bartender, convention salesman, needlepoint painter, art director, singer, stand up comedian, and record producer”

O’Brien’s flippant CV continues through his personal descript “I’m a Pisces with Aquarius rising and a Cancer moon. I’m also a Fire Boar and right handed”

O’Brien was born in Cleveland, apparently during a blizzard, he attended public and parochial schools in Ohio and New Jersey and the Jesuit-run St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. He studied at Georgetown University, where he edited the Georgetown Journal – founded by Conde Nast. O’Brien also attended Columbia University Graduate School of the Arts, where he studied film. He joined Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine, which was one year old, in 1970, as Assistant Editor and was made Editor & Art Director in 1971. O’Brien left Interview and became New York Bureau Chief of Rolling Stone in 1974, and then took the position of Articles Editor at Oui magazine with the Playboy Corporation in Chicago 1975. His CV is endless and envious, oh and if it went passed you, he’s adept with a word.

CHAPTER IV. CULTURE AND SOCIETY
How To Be Polite

Yes, Virginia, civilization did end. But in case it comes back, we don’t want to be left out, do we? In the meantime, behaving with style and aplomb will both impress those we want as friends and frighten our enemies. Exemplary behavior will make sure the welcome mat is always out when we visit and that the answering machine won’t pick up when we call. Here are a few basic considerations on behavior in an anything-goes world. 

Don’t hide your mistakes; they may be the best part of your resume. Since the mid-eighties, we have lived in a culture of recovery. I think it’s something we picked up from the space program. By the nineties, chic twelve-step meetings surpassed the country club and the VIP room as the place to shine. Everyone has a few skeletons in the closet. They make your profile spicier and provide real contrast: “Oh, he’s wonderful now. He used to be such a mess.” If you were awful enough you might even get a book out of it. But learn from Oprah. Slug it “fiction.”

O’Brien;s point of view is one that is much missed in modern society, sartorially elegant, witty and pretentious, his bohemian cravings shine in his words “To tell you the truth I never understood what it is about Men’s Health that appeals to men.  It’s just one step away from Men’s Death.  But apparently it’s really a topic of concern since 1.8 million men care about it enough to buy a magazine called that.  Of course I have concerns about my health, but I think of my health more as Health than Men’s Health.  I mean I know men are more likely than women to contract HIV, which is another one of the reasons I don’t use that orifice for alternative purposes, and I know men are more likely to have heart attacks, and 100% more likely to have prostate cancer”

“A man must wear a suit. He must not be a suit”

“I love the necktie because it is the only article of clothing in a man’s wardrobe that has real enemies. Iranian revolutionaries, for instance, see the tie as an evil phallic symbol of Western decadence”

“I wish he were joking when he informs us…”It is in the interest of big business for there to be fewer workers and for them to have shorter lives.”  Think big dude.  Think like John Stuart Mill.  As the work force ages it gets slower, more inefficient, more bitter” said Jason Ross, of the Daily Show

Mark Oppenheimer via his webpage ‘Slate’ penned:  How To Be a Man is funny and urbane, beautifully bound and deckle-edged. But I loved reading it because it cured me of my temporary hankering to be more of a Glenn O’Brien-type, with better clothes, a busier social calendar, and a facility for apothegms like, “Buy aStar Trek uniform in case you get called for jury duty.” It is probably possible to live a meaningful existence amid all that frippery, but if so, O’Brien does not make the case. I think he is probably quite sad. He does not seem to like women much, and I gather he likes children even less, although he probably loves his own. He used to love gay men, back when they were flamboyant and fun, but now they are domestic and shabbily dressed. He hates cats, tolerates dogs. He does not seem to know any poor people anymore, unless they are cleaning up after him.

By far the most outstanding advise from O’Brien’s pages is also the simplest advice he imparts - in fact it’s all simple - that’s the charm of  How to be a Man:

 Always say thank you. Say it even when you’re not grateful. Even when you’re angry. You’ll get them thinking and worrying: “Was he serious? Have I gone too far this time? What’s he up to?” Kill them with cordiality. Write notes. Send e-mails. Put “thank you” down on paper. But be careful about “I love you.” Magnanimity is rare and magnificent. Thank you for reading this…

Glenn O’Brien is featured as “The Style Guy” at GQ magazine, and has published a book with that title. He has worked as an editor at a number of publications, and published the arts and literature magazine Bald Ego from 2003-2005. In his early years he was a member of Andy Warhol’s Factory. He was a music critic for the Andy Warhol publication Interview in the punk era, with the column “Glenn O’Brien’s Beat”. In 1980-1981, he wrote the screenplay (which he also co-produced with Patrick Montgomery) for a film to be called New York Beat, starring Jean Michel Basquiat (The film was only released in 2000, as “Downtown 81″), with post-production managed by O’Brien and Maripol. From 1978 to 1982, Glenn O’Brien hosted a New York city Public-access television cable TV show called “TV Party,” which featured such then underground figures as David Byrne, Klaus Nomi, August Darnell, Fab 5 Freddy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, John Fekner,Amos Poe, and bands like Blondie, The Clash, DNA, and The Fleshtones. After leaving “TV Party” in addition to continuing his writing career, he attempted a stint as a stand up comedian, and was a contributing editor of Allure, Harper’s Bazaar, and Creative Director of advertising at Barneys New York. For 10 years, he wrote a monthly column for ArtForum Magazine. He edited Madonna’s Sex Book. In January 2008 he was named Editorial Director of Brant Publications, which includes Interview Magazine as well as Art in America and Antiques.  In June 2009 it was announced that he had left his position with Brant Publications. He has lent his collection of early Jean-Michel Basquiat works to various exhibitions, including Deitch Projects, and is a co-author of a major work on the artist.  In 2009, O’Brien was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by GQ Magazine.

checkout O'Briens website: http://glennobrien.com/

How To Be a Man: A Guide To Style and Behavior For The Modern Gentleman

Written by Glenn O'Brien, Illustrated by Jean-Philippe Delhomme

• Pub Date: April 26, 2011

• Category: The ultimate sartorial and etiquette guide

• Publisher: Rizzoli

• ISBN: 978-0-8478-3695-6

Channel Blipverts, making stearing at the sun safe for all

Social Engineered presents three videos from behind the scenes of very different aspects of the entertainment industry. Firstly Electric Canvas, producers of light displays that bring art to life in amazing ways, bit of a slow starter of a film but spectacular non the less. Artisans of light, colour and motion. Who would have thought so much work went into making a zombie, apparently it’s not all just brains and biting. No as demonstrated in the second clip it is instead 6 hours in the make-up chair with glue and latex. The first half of the clip has the experts describing the process and the second half of the clip is an excellent time-lapse shot of the entire process, unexpectedly hypnotic, like a good mystery you’ll want to see how this one finishes. Rounding out the three is the cute Chiara robot, a crab robot that plays classical music. He’s an education robot with a heart and lots of legs.

Clicking fingers at the ready Read the full article »»»»

Kick Gallery: The Aerosol Assassin

The Aerosol Assassin: Refining the spirit of graffiti, of guerrilla art can be a tricky practice in contemporary arts. Although contemporary and post graffiti has become an important genre within art today, it is still too often viewed with a specious eye. Talking about contemporary graffiti in art history, the discussion generally starts with Keith Haring or Jean-Michel Basquiat and ends with Banksy.  All this in mind, John Williams  - DUEL – sidles the thin boundary between contemporary art and his much loved street work, a foot either side of a distinct line. Duel’s technique is much lauded by his – street – contemporaries, it is also easily recognized by those who gaze on contemporary abstract art. Duel’s refined stensiling style drags the mind back to Post-Painterly Abstraction and Abstract Expressionism, in this vein Duel is very much an Action Painter,

Duel’s Aerosol Assassin exhibition is a little reminiscent of Mark Tobey’s more intricate works, and like Tobey Duel’s pieces are infact works within works, multi layered, multi messaged geometric abstract works that begged a viewer to seek THE hidden meaning. Amusingly the artist informed me that each picture has a hidden word, then warned he’d had people stand in front of a picture for 45 minutes trying to find it. This latest show is a serious collision of gestural abstraction and guerrilla street art, the works lift Duels art to his next level. The works are intricate, layered and spontaneous. Bursts of color have always been part of Duels form, many of his current works simply pop with color, line and contrast.

“A big part of the inspiration for this show came from Denny Dent, his art and his physical movement making his art really triggered something” said Duel “A big problem in moving from painting the sides of trains to a studio is getting that high, the high you get from running, how do you move that to a studio? “

Attraction to street based works has to be partly based on a seemingly energetic approach, almost an attack on canvass. Staying true to this is a hardship, we all have to make a living and the pressures of conforming to moderation is a hard thing. Duel, fortunately doesn’t seem to suffer any need for an arithmetic mean. His measure is well entrenched  in a glorious history of mischief, a bounding talent and an eye that is well attached to a weirdly wired mind. Duel has realized what many miss, that getting any word out there in a single medium is laborious, and getting the word out is what it’s all about.

As a culture, street art is a complex being, a crew, a need for adrenalin, an eye for good spaces, and a style with the ability to stand out from a sea of layer upon layer upon layer of color. Being pursued down the street at speed by angry land owners and city officials also qualifies as a talent, though Duel says he talked his way out of most tight place. His reputation as one of the worlds finest street artists is important, it keeps him grounded, we are after all what we do. Duel it seems has a need for a public, an audience, his art is and always has been as much about performing as technique, her will doubtless be an interesting - at the least - artist to watch.

“I want different people to view my work in different environments, I like to watch people watch my art, it must be the performer in me, an audience is a good thing”

Duel’s Exhibition Runs Until August 6

Kick Gallery is at 4 Peel Street, Collingwood

For further information visit www.kickgallery.com/duel/

or contact the gallery on info@kickgallery.com

MORE Dirty Pictures Please!!

WE Want Your Trash . . .

Sydney: Deus Ex Machina, Save Their Swap Meet Site!!

One of our MOST favorite places on this planet is Deus Ex Machina their Camperdown space is absolutely one of the most woderfilled, eyepoppingly brillaint spaces to simply gaze, take in the smell of bent steel and ogle at what a good machinist can fabricate! Turns out beuracracy doesn’t give a sideways about all this, they just want the right paper signed by the right guy! Deus Ex Machina NEEDS YOU HELP 

Over the last 5 years Deus Ex Machina in Camperdown has utilised its carpark to host Swap Meets and festivals for surfing, cycling and motorcycling communities.  These events are congregations of enthusiasm that draw people from all walks of life to share in the passions of others, Deus makes no money from these days and all the gate donations go to the relevant charity of the day. We are facing a ban on holding these events by the powers that be, they cite we do not have approval to hold these events in our carpark. We think this would be a shame to see these events disappear. If you have attended one of our days or would simply like to see the Deus carparkcontinue to be a place where enthusiasm can overflow please sign the petition and help our campaign to keep the swaps alive.

CHECKOUT THE PARTITION: www.gopetition.com/

Sydney: SMASH! 2011 Hits Town, Anime Up PPL

In its fifth year SMASH! 2011, is about to hit the Sydney Convention Centre with 6000 fans expected to turn up.   WTF is SMASH! I hear you ask, SMASH! is a celebration of all things Manga and Anime. A one day event that brings together like minded boffins of the naively styled  Japanese animation genre. The day is jam packed with exhibitions, gaming, competitions, presentations and special guests.

Special guests include charismatic Shinichi Watanabe is an anime director and seiyuu, best known for his over-the-top adaptation of Rikdo Koshi’s Excel Saga, in which he appears as the character Nabeshin. He has been an anime director since 1995 starting with Bonobono and has gone on to direct popular anime series which include The Wallflower, Gravitation (OAV), Tenchi Muyo! GXP and Nerima Daikon Brothers. His Nabeshin character has made cameos in various series such as Puni Puni Poemy,Eyeshield 21, Hayate No Gotoku, Rune Soldier, Nyan Koi! and Tayutama.

Eminence will perform to close out the day.  Eminence is known for its live performances and recordings of pieces from world-renowned video games, animation and films. Eminence has also recorded new music for several well-known anime and video game series. SMASH! will debut Last Goodbye, Eminence’s newest project incorporating a new short animated feature, fully backed by Eminence’s live instrumental soundtrack and special vocals. The touching story and musical score has been especially animated, composed and arranged to be viewed and enjoyed for the very first time at the concert! 2011 will see a bit of a retro slant on gaming, with some classic tournaments and freeplay titles.

Those of you competitively minded can test your skills in Street Fighter II and Mario Kart 64, while those looking to enjoy a more languid game can enjoy our myriad of Freeplay titles, including Super Smash Bros 64, Tekken 3, Super Cosplay War Ultra, Motorstorm Apocalypse and Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Madman Entertainment - sponsors – will be releasing the first volume of K-ON!?  on both DVD & Blu-Ray! They’re also running a cool cosplay photo competition.

WHERE AND WHEN:  Saturday, July 16 at the Sydney Convention Centre. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door.

For the Full Schedule Checkout www.smash.org.au/schedule/