Breath Control

What a good weekend. Not relaxing, but, as they say, no rest for the weary/wicked.

It looks like this summer will be the summer of doing things I've never done before. So to start with, Friday was dinner at the Tribeca Grill . It was lovely, as far as restaurants go, a good old standby of creative yummy food, sexy low lighting but alas, no Robert de Niro or other such Tribeca-ish sightings, and really without those extras, the restaurant is like any other in town, I know I know, but it's true.

After dinner, my companion and I moseyed on down to see Mood Enhancer, a series of shorts at the Tribeca Film Festival . Again, something I've never done before! It was touted as the “porno” shorts, but whoever said that must be dead down there, cuz not only was it not sexy or porny, it was actually just C R A P. It takes a lot for me to walk out of a movie theatre, but I couldn't take the didactic, facile, story lines and the cheesy car commercial-y looking filming style and soundtracks. Boo hiss.

I'm going to skip recounting Saturday –this isn't a diary, after all.



Sunday.
Kate and I are learning it is essential we get over our hermit, antisocial ways and hustle our bustles around town a bit more. So with that in mind, we hauled our tired asses over to PS1 (ANOTHER place I've never been before) to meet our friend Caroline of Uluru NY, and see her friend Sebastien Derenoncourt speak on his contribution to the new art book Sonneteer. The publisher, Front Forty Press, was doing a showcase of it's recently released titles, which included some really interesting stuff by the likes of Matt Valla and the awesomest beatboxing performance by Yuri Lane, it was A-MAZING to watch him, I never cease to be stunned by a really talented beatboxer, it's like watching a magician perform, you stare and stare trying to see what his secret is, where he's hiding that THING, and the whole time you're just giddy. Then he threw in a harmonica and confounded me even more.



Highlights at the museum were the Vic Muniz room. I've always loved his stuff and finally got to see the Medusa Marinara in person, which was very very satisfying and makes me giggle.

Years ago at a Whitney Biennial, I fell for the drawings of
Ernesto Caivano, and then there he was at the museum, having decorated one of the stairways.
Lovely.



Then Kate and Caroline and I were utterly blown away by the photography of Tom Sandberg. His work is stunning. The style is spare and smooth, consistent and enchanting, each image a simple, contemplative gem. Some are sexy as hell, some are sad as hell –all are beautiful. And the space was perfect for the images, the installation simple and subtle. I highly recommend it.

Afterwards we were supposed to meet up with Sebastien and crew at the Bohemian Beer Garden to pound Hefe-Weizen and eat brats , but, after

1. Getting lost in Astoria
and
2. Getting carded and not having our IDs (second freaking time this weekend!)

We had to pass up the mythic, infamous garden for some weird little
Greek spot with a gigantor mixed grill and mousaka platter.

All in all a bleedin' good weekend –We’re wiped out.

XO

Milla

Do I need to know a secret handshake? I don't know the secret handshake.

Ahhhh. We had such a fun day. Just did a last minute job for the wondrous Mr. Lee Carter over at Hint Mag. We've wanted to work with him for ages and finally, suddenly, he offered us the chance to shoot the portrait of the extraordinary, some have said, genius (I think that's a frightening, strange word) Mr. Harold Koda, head of The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Since it was last minute, we didn't dress for the occasion, and looked pretty scruffy considering the bastion of fashion we were soon to encounter. And though obviously, nothing in our wardrobe could ever have given his sartorial expertise pause (except perhaps Kate's totally illegal cheetah skin coat from her grandma), we really would have at least liked to have smelled lovely. Oh well. Anyway, these are our light tests, we're giving you TOP SECRET preview of the gorgeous hand painted backdrops made especially for the exhibit by a Frenchman, who's name I've already forgotton, but who's the stenographer for the Paris Opera. Why does the opera need a stenographer? I dunno.



Anyway, it was amazing to walk through the secret chambers of the museum, and get a secret preview of the impending Poiret Show that'll open on May 9. Can you get desensitised to working in that environment? I can't imagine that it's possible. Every morning, to walk those chalky steps, rush past the mosaics and tapestries and armor, Greek Gods, African queens. How could you ever be blind to them? Everyday there, one must see another amazing artifact. Anyway, the lady escorting our scallywag asses around was tres chic and sweet and seemed very much appreciative of the coolness of her job.

AND if you can believe it -I can't believe it, this was the SECOND day in a row that Kate and I have been given private, special access to the innards of an extraordinary site of New York history.

Just yesterday evening we were invited to the private viewing of The Mid Town Y Photo Gallery Exhibit at the New York Public Library. Lucky for us we’re pals with a killer cool woman who is one of their book conservators.

I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never been there before. But goodness. I walk into those coffered halls, the expansive marble walkways, jiminy crickets it’s beautiful. And juxtaposed with all this greatness –names like Astor, Hamilton, Carnegie carved into the white stone, was the funniest looking techno dance floor. We could hear the throbbing beats as we got closer, but couldn’t believe our ears, then lo and behold, the disco dance floor lights, and a goofy ageing DJ dressed in fluorescent pink spinning Donna Summer. Amazingly enough, 4 people were dancing, but we were convinced they were hired, not one other person the entire night danced except for me –but my pal Sarah, the conservator, dared me for a dollar.

Anyway.

kiss kiss

Milla

Inhale. Exhale. Jump.

Kate just read about this guy in the New Yorker.

Not only do I love Dean Martin's, Sway, but I'm now fully crushing on the ripped acrobatics of Monsieur Belle. He must get laid ALL the time. Hehe.

Enjoy.

Mils.

Art Opening: Photography and Contemporary Tactics

Hello gorgeous people.

We have an art opening next week. At the Brooklyn Arts Council.

We're so excited about it. We found an amazing women, Katy Martin to print the work for us and we're just so pleased to be a part of it all.

Happily, our piece is being used to publicize the exhibition -at least on the interweb. See here

There's a typo in the article, and if you don't feel like sifting through it, here's what they say about us:

"Kate and Camilla's, 'Sebastian', aims to mimic the posture, scale, and idealism of traditional portrait painting, while short circuiting its romantic air through the camera's unrelenting realism."

God, I love art speak. I/we actually don't take ourselves very seriously, so it's slightly cringe-inducing, slightly butterfly-exciting when someone else does.

There'll be a curator's talk on June 6. But that's years away as far as I'm concerned so we'll do a reminder later on.

But.

More importantly.

Come party with us in Dumbo. Thursday May 3, 6-8, BAC Gallery, 55 Washington St. Brooklyn, 11201

Yes, Sebastian will be there, and yes, he is a handsome devil, but he's engaged to a drop dead luscious lady, so look, but

Please

Don't

Touch.

Kisses,

Milla

Nuts and bolts

Well, jeez. After having someone else do all the technical stuff for our Nerve blog, we're not quite up to snuff on how to do it on our own -taking things for granted, eh?

Luckily we have a bevy of tech savvy blog building brains at our disposal, and as soon as we can all coordinate, I'm hoping to spiff-up the look of this place a bit.

In the mean time, we'll have to make do with this regular 'ole template. But I do find a luscious pair of tatas tend to make everything look better.

N'est ce pas?

Bisou,

Milla

Kate and Camilla need room to breeeath.

It’s time. Time for a change. Time for a broader marauding arena. Yes.

After many emails requesting tips on photo stuff, ideas on building one’s own business, particularly in photo, and general requests for our opinions on more than buttholes and boobs, we’ve decided to start our own blog. A place where we can be ourselves, a place where we can ask questions as well as answer them, a place to keep those who care, up to date on our professional and personal travails and successes.

We want this to be an up to date venue for our work and thoughts, an extension of our collaboration, that includes you too.

Let’s make this happen lovelies, it’s time.

Kisses
Kate and Camilla