On “Turning”: A Conversation with Antony Hegarty and Charles Atlas

Published in Blend (Netherlands), Andy Warhol special issue, November 2007.

It has been almost a year since Antony Hegarty and Charles Atlas toured Europe with their collaborative project entitled “Turning.” It’s a meditative piece on transformation that features thirteen “beauties” placed individually on a rotating turntable, a live video feed mixed by Atlas and a musical performance by Antony and the Johnsons. As Antony sings, a single beauty stands still on stage, moved by the turning pedestal. Behind the band and Antony, their faces are projected onto a giant screen, filmed by two cameras with a delay, so that as they turn away from one camera, we always see the front of their faces. Atlas layers images on the spot, creating a mesmerizing live portrait with Antony’s haunting voice and lyrics forming the psychological soundtrack. Think Warhol’s screen tests, but on a larger, more public and more spiritually dense scale. But whereas one senses an emotional detachment between Warhol and his subjects, after hearing Antony describe the almost psychic bond he felt between himself and his models – all female, but with diverse, unique experiences with their gender identity – you realize that “Turning” moves well beyond the simple relationship of object and objectifier. It is far more complicated, and when you get down to it, holistic, than that. The performers and the audience are watching each other, the camera, Antony, all reacting to and interacting with each other in a way that comes, well, full circle.

Poppin’, Lockin’ and Breakin’:B-Boys and B-Girls Show Style in the Bronx

Originally published in Fashion Wire Daily on December 31, 2003

For those who think hip-hop style is limited to bling-bling, Phat Farm or Sean Jean, take an express train (the No. 4 or the D train will do) to the L. Pac Center in the South Bronx on the night of a B-boy or a B-girl breakin’ battle, and you’ll find that the styles of hip-hop’s genesis are alive and well. Old-school Pumas, three-stripe Adidas, sweatbands, wristbands, afros, cornrows are intermixed with current popular looks such as the trucker hat—not at all “over” amongst hip-hop teens, but instead customized with grafitti tags or worn simply unadorned—and the side-tipped newsboy cap.

But at Universal Breakin’s Battlezone Championship, it’s not just about the hip-hop “look” – as Ivan “URBAN ACTION FIGURE” Manriquez points out. “Anybody can go to Ross or Wal-Mart and come out looking ‘hip-hop,’ you know what I’m saying, but for those who thought hip-hop was only a dress code, it’s not only that. It’s individuality. It’s who you are, what you’re about. It’s how you urbanize yourself.”

And Ivan should know – he’s been on the scene since the early days and is highly respected by both new and veteran b-boys and b-girls alike. “You ask anybody, in any country, or any state, who is the monster b-boy of the world, and they will say, this crazy guy right here,” says Honey Rockwell, pointing to Ivan. Originally from Mexico, but raised in California, Ivan comes from the movement Universoul B-Boyz, which is not a crew, but a movement of artists based on the West Coast, that incorporates all the urban arts – from writing, to coordinating, to dance, to music.

Today, it is precisely that fusion of individual style and art that characterizes underground hip-hop. It is about constantly re-interpreting the original forms that make up the core of hip-hop culture—known to practicioners as the four elements of hip-hop: b-boying, grafitti, emceeing, and DJ-ing.

Brainy Burlesque: The Bombshell Girls and the Artful Striptease

Originally published in Fashion Wire Daily on December 12, 2003

Barefoot and wearing silk kimonos held tightly in place with corset-like sashes, Ms. Tickle, Lady Ace and Bunny Love tiptoe across the stage twirling paper umbrellas like giant flowers, or as indicated by the title of their routine, like cherry blossoms. As dramatic “punchlines” progress, the kimonos fall away with scalpel precision, revealing the requisite pretty underthings. The plot thickens.

Soon, the strategically placed umbrellas are set side by side on the ground while the three women lie behind them, tantalizing the audience with leggy Ethel Merman-esque moves. Legs still inverted, here comes the movement of truth and the climax of the show: each woman stealthily removes pretty underthing no. 1 (the bra), and in a final tease, her panties slowly slide off, aided only by pointed toes. Umbrellas close, the audience sneaks a peak, and The Bombshell Girls are revealed, in all their captivating glory.

Tales of a computer-age punk: Black Moustache at Don Hill’s

Originally published in Fashion Wire Daily on Nov. 13, 2003

For whatever reason, the thin mustache on the thin man is an image that will forever be branded as the ultimate symbol of sleazy cool. Whether sported by John Waters, bad-boy photographer Terry Richardson, or the anonymous trucker hat-wearing Williamsburger, the mustachioed man has a firm place in the hipster universe. Last year’s teen issue of the latest holy bible of hip, K48 magazine, even featured an advice column written by a Mr. Moustache, who humorously offered his wisdom that upper lip facial hair could be remedy for any number of teen problems, from struggles with authority, to making the school’s dance team. So I have to admit, I didn’t go to see the band Black Moustache at Don Hill’s last Friday because I’m a big fan of the music. Naturally, I went for the mustaches.

Black Moustache is the brainchild of Spencer Product, Kenan Gunduz and Mike Skinner, who started the project earlier this year “to see what would happen if they meshed rock ‘n roll, punk, and electronic music.” Black Moustache is a part of the next generation of electroclash, or rather, “outsider electronic music.”

Formerly one of the resident DJs at electroclash nights at Club Luxx, Black Moustache frontman Spencer Product used to perform under the stage name Prance, his over-the-top Prince-like alter ego. Black Moustache, with their emphasis on raw punk rock underlined by solid dance beats, are definitely trying to position themselves as a “post” electroclash act. However, the only thing that distinguishes the band from former “electroclash” acts is that they’ve foregone the categorization. But that’s a very punk rock move, and the result: more Clash, less electro.