Marinate on that and check out more about this incredible story over at Mind Tai (where I stole the above photo).

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The more subdued my personal style becomes, the more I find myself drawn to larger-than-life looks. Herewith: the one and only Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis the out-there queen on the 1980s social scene. Dynamite!

A mighty casual Vanna White via Vanna White Fashion Show.

This shot from Vogue Paris’s Las Vegas roadtrip with Daria Werbowy is everything. As in everything in this photograph is exactly like this in my dreambedroom in my dreamhouse. And though this shot took place in Vegas it’s a reminder that spring’s not too far off and it’s finally time to take that trip to Graceland I’ve been dreaming of for a while now and more than ever since watching Mystery Train this summer.

And if you’ve got Vegas on the mind, buy my book!

Tommy Hartung
Anna
On Stellar Rays

Tommy Hartung has found a winning formula for his handcrafted movies: begin with literary inspiration, combine footage from an old documentary, experiment with found objects in stop-motion animation and exhibit the result along with some objects from the studio. It worked for his 2009 video Ascent of Man, which was a breakout hit at the 2010 edition of “Greater New York” at MoMA PS1 and it succeeds again in “Anna,” the artist’s second solo show at Orchard Street’s On Stellar Rays.

For the single-channel video at the center of the exhibition, Hartung began with Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. There is, however, little evidence of the realist masterpiece here, other than the indirect inclusion of another realist work, a 1930’s Soviet film called Earth. Instead, the film follows a group of figures—deeply detailed, but disturbingly fragmented mannequins—as they observe and participate in a series of ritualistic actions. Covered in glitter, missing limbs and revealing burning candles where their organs would be, the sculptures huddle over alchemical acts involving fire and steams of salt. In some cases, the camera follows material as it flows into orifices, revealing abstract passages of film that evoke chimneys and advancing crowds. Even as they blend into one another the scenes with the figures and those that buttress them share an uneasy feeling, heightened by Hartung’s tightly crowded framing.

Hartung has said that his work is deeply personal, something which is clear throughout the gallery. An installation of the plaster-covered mannequins offers a glimpse into the artist’s studio, with sticks of incense, cigarette butts, props, and film equipment. The artist is also present in the video; stop-motion animation reveals the artist’s hand—sometimes quite literally—as he shifts figures and lights fires. At times, Hartung succumbs to art-school tropes like those scattered cigarette butts and a droning ambient soundtrack that signals: this is serious video art. But even with its hiccups, the depth of detail present here promises Hartung has much more to explore.

photos (top to bottom): flickr/akeg; Jeremiah, 2011, C-print, 20 by 24 inches; Epilogue, 2011 (detail), Mannequins with plaster, nail polish, paint, salt, dirt, crushed walnut shells, incense, white wall and unique single-channel HDV, Dimensions variable

The new year, as they are wont to do, is reminding me of all the shit I didn’t get to last year. That’s why, over the next few weeks (months? years?) I’ll be posting–in no particular order and with no warning–all (some? a few?) the things I meant to last year, mixed in with (hopefully) some new stuff as well. Stay tuned.