Yesterday, Jay-Z was a work of art. Performance art, that is. He performed Picasso Baby and interacted with the crowd for six hours at the Pace Gallery.
Jay-Z raps about his appreciation for the art world. Here’s a snippet of the lyrics;
Sleeping every night next to Mona Lisa
The modern-day version
With better features
Yellow Basquiat in my kitchen corner
Go ahead lean on that **** Blue
You own it
Good times. Check out video here.
Sincerely,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
If you’re out going out East this summer, make sure to check out a few of these upcoming art and shopping fairs in the Hamptons. They also make for great day trips.
1. Bridgehampton Historical Society’s artMRKT Hamptons July 11-July 14th.
2. You can also check out Art Southampton presented by Art Miami July 25-July 29th.
3. Ovarian Cancer Research Fund’s Super Saturday July 27
4. Hamptons International Film Festival Saturday, August 12th at 7 PM
5. Fashion Insiders with Fern Mallis: Nicole Miller Sunday, July 28 at 11 AM
Talk about street art. This past weekend I stopped by the Absolut Vodka Open Canvas Event in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where artists Olek, Katsu and others transformed a whole street into an art display. Ice sculptures, knitted bikes, and graffiti filled the street and it was kind of amazing.
It was also really hot outside! Summer finally hit New York and I stayed cool in a white bustier, a white lace skirt and jewelry from various places including I-Ella’s List and Lea Jefferson. Absolut Vodka stirred up some great cocktails and I was able to meet Olek and her friend, the first person I’ve ever spotted wearing the new Google glasses! Check out more photos from the event below.
Sincerely Yours,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
This week I stopped by the Milk Gallery for Jonathan Mannion’s Rough Around the Edges Photography Exhibit Opening Reception. Mannion is most known for his iconic Hip Hop photography: the portraits of DMX covered in blood for “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood,” Ludacris’ “Back For the First Time” album cover, Jay Z’s “Reasonable Doubt,” Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Ni**a Please,” and more. Amazingly, his work was done with a Polaroid camera.
The DJ was absolutely amazing and kept the crowd rocking while the crowd sipped to Ciroc cocktails and Red Stripe beer. The crowd was also decked out in their most fashionable summertime party gear and I met a few interesting people. Model Stevie Finedore (pictured below) wore a black and white dress, I saw lots of cutouts and crop tops, and other summer essentials like maxi dresses, rompers and printed pants. Check out photos of what they wore and more of Mannion’s photography below. The exhibit is on until July 9th so check it out!
Sincerely,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda F. Knowles
According to Business of Fashion, developer Craig Robins’ Miami Design District is growing at a rapid pace. Artists, interior designers, architects, and luxury good stores have clustered in the neighborhood. The feel of Miami, everlasting impact of Cuban and Latin American culture, as well as the artwork are shaping the character of this new district and business is experiencing success. Real Estate professional Zendell stated that “…before, Miami was a place to unload your summer gear, now even cashmere sells in Miami.”
I thought it was particularly interesting that artwork and even graffiti seem to permeate the area. Street artist Retna covered the Louis Vuitton store graffiti-style and the brand has marketed graffiti-covered merchandise as well. Robins states that “when you come here there will be a lot of art, anchored by the Rosa de la Cruz collection and my own collection.” Robins is an avid supporter and collector of the arts. He is Founder and Chairman of the Anaphiel Foundation, member of the Board of Trustees of the Miami Art Museum, and Principal of Art Basel Miami. Over 100 brands are expected to have locations in the District by the end of 2015, and I am very excited to see the area develop.
Sincerely Yours,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
This weekend I stopped by the Chelsea Rush Arts Gallery in a hot orange jumper (similar here) to catch the tail end of their Physically Practiced Performance and Closing Reception. Artist MarIo [Or Am I] Platypus went from painting a wall with interpretive language to actually frying a fish in a performance art dance. The studio also features artwork from artists Samson Contompasis, Musa Hixson, John Lee, and Jonathan Villoch (Depoe). The artists all incorporated movement into their work whether it be martial arts, breakdancing or simply meditating on dirt from the earth. I just loved Samson Contompasis and Jonathan Villoch’s pop art portraits of real women (pictured above) which he is using to raise awareness of women’s rights. And they displayed John Lee’s jump suit and a video of him literally break dancing and painting at the same time.
I met Curator Charlotte Mouquin, her team and photographer Greg who were all too gracious in having me at the studio. Charlotte and her team posed for a quick photo below after the event. Fried fish, breakdancing and painting simultaneously. Great stuff at the Rush Arts Gallery this past weekend.
Sincerely,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
So Central St. Martin had their annual fashion show to showcase the work of its graduating students. Designer Cassandra Verity Green decided to feature her ‘pet goldfish’ swimming in her handbags on the runway. Now that’s fishy business.
According to the Telegraph UK, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) absolutely does not approve of the use of living creatures on the catwalk. A spokeswoman for the organization stated: “While we understand that a graduate fashion show is about grabbing attention and headlines, we do have concerns that using a living creature to create a novel or unusual accessory encourages people to see them as replaceable ornaments, rather than living creatures in need of care and commitment.”
Now fashion is an art form and the runway features lots of fashion that never retails. Fashion always seems to strike a nerve, push boundaries and create controversy. But, isn’t that what fashion is supposed to do?
Whether Cassandra meant to retail her goldfish handbags or not, we must admit that it was a creative idea. It is the translation from runway to real way that the RSPCA is concerned with. But I think most of us want our handbags to accommodate items such as cell phones and lipstick, not goldfish.
Sincerely,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
I was looking at some old Instagram photos of an amazing time I had on the beach last Memorial Day Weekend and decided to share a few. I just can’t wait for the weather to fully warm up in New York City and for a few Hamptons weekends. As an original native of Florida, I live for the beach (only the good ones though) and I adore cute summer sandals, hats, bikinis, maxi dresses and jumpers. As I finalize my summer plans and get out of these final exams at FIT, I am absolutely looking forward to summer this year! 
Here’s an old painting of a beach wave that I did some time ago but I’m challenging myself to do better than that and get a bit more depth and contour in the wave and ocean water. As I said before, all of my artwork should be up on the blog before the summer is over.
Anyway, I love a good maxi dress for the summer and spotted some new ones recently that seem great for that Florida or Hamptons summer vacation weekend. Check out a few below from Tibi, Roberto Cavalli, and Diane von Furstenberg. See even more summer wear here.
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
So this week I attended the Pratt Design Show 2013 in midtown to view work from graduating students. Again, unfortunately, later that evening my electronics were stolen so I don’t have my own photos to share as usual, but I did grab some of the student’s photos and met several design students with great work. Here below are some of my favorites.
Came across a few cartoon illustrators with some outstanding and not-to-mention pretty funny stuff actually. Logan Fitzpatrick and Jenni Ng made me laugh with their funky illustrations.
In jewelry, I adored this necklace from Gabrielle Nicole Morris and loved work from Samantha Nania as well.
And, lastly, the Pratt Graduating Fashion Show had some great looks. Take a look at some of my favorites on the runway from Emma Hastil, Madeline Gruen, Raya Kassisieh, Catherine Young, and Jefferson Musanda.
Sincerely,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
Photo Credit: Jesse Lirola of New York Magazine
So I’ve been studying waves as I want to use the ocean as inspiration for my next painting. The ocean and waves are not only gorgeous but give an automatically calming feeling.
Most of my artwork should be available for view by the end of this summer, so stay tuned.
Sincerely Yours,
“Fashionably-Late”
Malinda Knowles
