The amazing Grace Jones

Wow, what an incredible lady.

What a show! What a performance! What costumes! What a voice!

Yes, I was lucky enough to see Grace Jones perform at the Enmore Theatre on her Hurricane tour.

It started out a little strangely. When she first came onto the stage she appeared to be hiding behind a gigantic shower curtain…

Heeeere's GRACE!

After undulating under the silver for a while she revealed herself in THIS!

Grace Jones convincingly fusing My Little Pony and Africa

She looked amazing and she sounded amazing too. She worked the crowd, she chatted, she cussed, she sang, she danced.

Then she had another costume change…

Grace convincingly fusing the Devil and the Vagina

And didn’t the costume changes keep coming? Each of them spectacular and strange. The costumes were designed by Eiko Ishioka and showed off Grace Jone’s incredible 63 year old body.  SIXTY THREE!!!!!!

Grace Jones in her peek-a-boo flame dress. Yes there is NO BACK, just her beautiful black arse, back and legs

How can she look so great? I’m sure she’s lived quite the life, in fact she was drinking cognac on-stage “for her voice” and was telling tales of her time being busted with cocaine OUTSIDE (??) her bag in India.

Is there a Dorian Gray style portrait of Grace Jones somewhere?

Grace gets back to her Jamaican roots for 'My Jamaican Guy'

But wait! There’s more! More costume changes! More raconteur-ing from backstage, MORE MORE MORE!

Yes Grace your hips DO look big in that

With her shiny sparkly bowler hat she showered us with glitter reflections as well as her enthusiastic attentions.

I have a vague memory of seeing her 20 years ago at a party at the Horden Pavilion where she took hours to come to the stage then disappeared in a huff (if my memory serves me right!). She was down right JOLLY last night!

Grace Jones, you are an ARTIST and you make art art ART

But no! There’s MORE! More costumes, more songs, more spectacular!

Grace back in black

Grace lets it fly and releases her parachute. We all cheer

Grace Jones acknowledges the crowd's worship

Grace Jones NOT showing us her 'pussy'

Grace shaking her money maker and didn't we adore her for it?

So thank Grace Jones. That was one of the greatest live shows I have seen. I loved the music too. She integrated classic Grace Jones tracks with her latest album. She looked very happy to be there, she looked amazing, she sounded fantastic.

I’m a born again Grace Jones fan!

Day 367: Friday 30 April 2010

The Official End of The Year of Denim

Special Edition…

Vale, Year of Denim: as a gesture of farewell, we pay tribute to the pin-ups that lurk beneath Jane’s 367 everyday triple denim combinations.

Inspired by Helmut Newton’s androgynous fashion shoots, James Dean’s tough beauty, blaxploitation heroines like Pam Grier, and gender-bending burlesque, we have granted Jane licence to explore her glamorous alter-ego and tap into the popular cultural fantasies that drive much of her work as an artist.

These personae are not randomly chosen: they underline Jane’s interest in the borderlines between good and bad taste, queer and straight, masculinity and femininity, sexual allure and abjection. They also of course betray the fun of playing dress-ups, a playfulness that Jane shares with us as her friends, collaborators and audience.

It is a combination of courage — a dispassionate view of herself untainted by vanity; creativity — an ability to make raucous and astute references with the scantest of materials; and generosity — a desire to include others in her creative pursuits and explorations of self, that makes Jane so unique.

We congratulate her on having pursued, and now completed, the Year of Denim true to this spirit.

Cleopatra Jones - "The way I feel tonight, Muhammad Ali will have his hands full!"

Doodlebug - "Hair's like a woman. You treat it good and it treats you good. Ain't that right honey? You hear what I'm saying? Yeah, you got to hold it, caress it, and love it. And if your hair gets out of line you take a scissor and say, "Hair I'm going to cut you.""

Helmut Newton - "A woman does not live in front of white paper. She lives on the street, in a motor car, in a hotel room."

James Dean - "The gratification comes in the doing, not in the results."

Credits
Hair, make-up, camera, pinot noir: Beaver Dior
Concept, archival research, camera: HRH
Camera, prosecco, text: Jack
Everything else: Jambo

Over and Out

Thanks to all you readers, supporters, loaners and donaters of denim, commenators, rat bags, spammers, back stabbers, bitches and babes for an interesting Year of Denim. You know who you all are and I hope you all come along tomorrow night to celebrate the End of The Year of Denim.

Oh and today, as I gad about preparing for tomorrow night’s End of Denim function (if you’re reading this you’re invited) I am wearing this…

This image captures the Year of Denim perfectly. It's got it all: Tubes the denim snack, Taxi the dog, one of my fav denim itesm, the South Sea Bubbles bomber jacket, jeggings gifted exctly a year ago by AK, denim gym boots, studded denim cap donated by VOAK and a birthday cake from HRH

Top: South Sea Bubbles denim bomber jacket. I am so happy the weather turned so I got a chance to wear this on YoD one more time. Ta to the very generous donater of more than just the jacket, SLEE.

Bottom 1: Jeggings given to me on my birthday in 2009 at the very start of the Year of Denim

Bottom 2: JeasnWest denim skirt, bought in QLD for a song

Accessory 1: Denim gym boots gotten me through the hard times

Accessory 2: Denim bag with red piping slung over my shoulder

Accessory 3: Black denim, cap gifted

Accessory 4: Tubes, the self anointed denim snack

And don’t forget tomorrow night’s celebration of denim…

Day 356: Monday 19 April

What a relief to dress one’s self.

After a week of living under Flaps orders, yesterday the ‘girls’ dropped over for a bit of a photo shoot, a homage to various people, photographers and images. Sometime soon there will  be a special blog on the shoot with a guest blogger filling the denim hot seat.

As you can imagine I was bossed up the jacksy all afternoon.

It was strange to have my own agency back when I awoke this morning. I could choose whatever denim I wanted. Nobody to say no your legs look short in that, that’s not nice or those jeans are wrong, or simply getting you to wear combos you hadn’t considered before.

Not that I’ve let it go to my head. My look is understated, work-a-day double denim…

As with guns, shoot low, aim high

Top: Blue Asphalt dark shiny denim jacket

Bottom: Industrie jeans, they seem to have stolen my bum

Accessory: Denim shoulder bag

And a special thank you this morning to DHo for reigniting the bike riding. ep, I’m strapping on my denim helmet and pedal powering to work

Day 354: Sunday 17 April

Flaps Fashion Finale: Day 7

So the week of being styled by Flaps grinds to it’s conclusion.

I was at a loss as to what to wear this morning but some text messaging, a phone call and special bike courier denim delivery has got me an outfit. It’s a bit of a slobbing ’round the house on a Sunday style. But then it is Sunday and I am a slob…

And the Lord said let sleeping dogs lie and denim be worn on the sabbath

Top: Black denim vest almost invisible against the Mark Titmarsh art t-shirt. There are matching shorts

Bottom: Lee denim freshly couriered from the house of Flaps. They are well worn in and (sorry RO) I extended one of the knee rips by putting my foot through it this morning

Accessory: Denim birkenstocks. Mine all mine

Day 347: Sunday 11 April

It’s HOT out today, which makes the denim selection that bit much harder. I am also off to my friend Jacqueline Millner’s launch for her book Conceptual Beauty today at Glebe Books so I can’t be too scrappy, although, honestly I do look pretty scrappy. But then denim can both  be smart and scrappy, and I hope I fall into the smart scrappy, not crappy scrappy category today…

Rocky scrappy crappy haired style

Top: Supre pre-distressed vest, freshly laundered so the collar is currently not yellow

Bottom: Jay Jay’s skinny Jeans also pre distressed, which takes all the stress out of aging your denim. I also have give this sideways perspective because front-on was simply too bulgy today

Accessory: Lightfoot Studio denim bag, awesome

Day 319: Sunday 14 March

I have been busy since I last blogged.

In Canberra I went to CCAS  and I got lost and confused in the Museum of Australia before heading back to Sydney. The exhibition at CCAS was pretty good, taken from their emerging artists residency program from 2009. I didn’t get anything at the markets there though as I have been winding down the denim purchasing unless it’s something spectacular, and truly , there wasn’t anything spectacular.

Me and the girls fanged it back up the Hume Highway to Sydney and as soon as I got home I got straight back n the car and drove to watch the opening footy game of the season for the Newtown Jets at Henson Park.

And it was a pretty good game. Lots of tries, the Oh Errol girls were working the crowd doing vox-pops, the sausages were sizzling, the KB beer was cold and the company was witty.

Then it rained and we watched the last 5 minutes of the game from the comfort of the car. Yes! At Henson Park you can park around the edge of th oval and watch the game FROM YOUR CAR!!!

Then there was a North Sydney Bears streaker!

Then the Jets opponents, the Tigers, scored a drop goal meaning the score went to Jets 30, Tigers 31. Then the game was over.Phew I’m exhausted just writing all that.

But wait, there’s more. I rushed home to entertain a couple of friends for the John Waters tribute night at my house. After fuelling up on super delicious garlic chilli explosive Vietnamese food we settled down to watch 2 of the most… I can’t fond the words… hilarious? awful? ghastly? appalling? fantastic? revolting? films ever made: Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble.

Both starring the amazing (R.I.P) Divine, the edgy Mink Stole and the bizarre Edith Massey. After watching those films again last night, for probably the 10th time, it really struck me that Divine was an actor. Out of all the people in the film she is the only one who is acting. The rest of them shout at the camera.

So. Who wants to be famous and who wants to die for art?

In no way can I match John Waters’ vision, Divine’s beauty, Mink Stole’s anger or Edith Massey’s kookiness. So haven’t even tried…

I've got lots of trouble, female trouble, and so does Taxi

Top: Made in Australia denim vest

Bottom: Junk cut-offs

Accessory: Dark denim cap

Day 318: Saturday 13 March

Gosh isn’t Canberra a thriving and bustling metropolis?

The Musee D’Orsay Post Impressionist Masters show was a little under whelming. The pieces that I was surprised I liked so much were the Seurat paintings. Never cared about his paintings at all, but a series of 3 small nude studies were lovely and amazing.

The queue was shocking, nearly  a 2 hour wait.

Dinner was pretty good a ta Malaysian place in Manuka called Timmys.

Off to see Canberra Contemporary Art Space now. It’s got markets! It’s got art! It’s staff like wearing double denim!

Me outsidse the migrant hostel/ motel in Canberra

Top: Denim jacket with no label, but smart

Bottom: Same jeans as yesterday, Gap skinny jeans made different with a turn up

Accessory 1: Denim gum boots

Accessory 2: Denim bag

Day 313: Monday 8 March 2010

Today this denim thing feels like a uniform.

I suppose I’m lucky as I haven’t set up parameters like Tehching Hsieh in his series of one year performances. In one performance Hsieh punched a time clock every hour on the hour for a year, and by punch I mean put a time card into a time clock (or bundy clock as we call it here in Australia) that registers that moment in time on the card.

Hsieh figured out he would punch the clock 8760 times by the time a year came around.Unfortunately he slept through a few, only 133 though and usually because he was sleeping. Was he insane by the end due to the broken sleep?

You can read about it in this 2009 copy of the Australian art magazine Broadsheet and see some images.

So yes, I’m glad I’m soft and not a rigorous artist.  Happy that I’m flippant and ridiculous and take the easy way out rather than the hard core, devoted and intellectually rigorous route. Pleased I don’t have to do something denim related on the hour every hour for a year. I can’t even get YoD done the same time every day. I’d rather have a swim or surf at the beach, eat breakfast with a friend and amble back to the computer to blog at my lazy leisure.

A return to the beach makes sweaty denim. Ta HRH for photo taking

Top: Hand made black denim vest

Bottom: Gap jeans, slouchy

Accessory 1: Charcoal denim cp

Accessory 2: Denim bag

Day 308: Wednesday 3 March

Although it’s been an early start the day has begun with quite a bang!

No, not those kids in the street smashing bottles and laughing hysterically (were they on DRUGS?). Something even more exciting than that happened to me this morning.

After months assuming it was stolen, lost, gone, I found as I always suspected, my iPod in the pocket of the jacket I am wearing today!

As I said, a very exciting start to the day.

Last night I went to see John Waters (not the Australian actor, but the American director) give his one man show ‘This Filthy World’. He is quite the raconteur. A very funny man. Funny even though he is STILL using the same material from his book ‘Shock Value’ which came out in 1981!

How do I know? When I was getting ready to go to the Opera House for my first of 3 visits in 3 days on Sunday night I got a bit confused and packed ‘Shock Value’ hoping Mr Waters might sign it. Once  I was on the train I realised it was the wrong event but glanced through the book anyway

Sunday night was nude times. No, that’s wrong. Sunday night was ’13 Most Beautiful’.

But still, a very funny man with a very twisted sensibility. I just wish his last few movies had been a bit better, cos they’ve been rubbish.

Did anyone see ‘Dirty Shame’. So not funny. ‘Cecil B Demented’? Ditto (not Beth). And it’s a shame, because the casts for those films are great.

But I must focus on the positive. After all the man is a genius. Female Trouble (my personal fav I think), Pink Flamingos, Desperate Living, Polyester, Cry Baby, Serial Mom and even Hairspray all have an unlaboured joyfulness at their core.

Here’s THAT scene from Pink Flamingos….

Those later movies are just laboured. I think Waters should try his hand at an Arthouse movie. Something serious, Bergman like, even Fellini-esque, or even more serious just plain boring art films.

Anyways, it’s early, I have to go to work. Here’s a picture of me with my rediscovered iPod…

I feign mock surprise, because I was REALLY suprised

Top: Knockout super tight, but with give, denim jacket

Bottom: Cheap n’ nasty Jay Jays Jeans jeans

Accessory 1: Denim bag with red piping

Accessory 2: Denim gym boots

Day 307: Tuesday 2 March

I forgot to give my review of 13 Most Beautiful Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests that I went to on Sunday night in the Concert Hall at the Opera House. The exact same space I was nude in yesterday, although I sat in a different chair.

Here’s the trailer for the show…

It was pretty fantastic I must say, for something I knew nothing about. The band, Dean & Britta, created a kind of soundtrack to 13 of Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests, which they chose from the more than 500 Screen Tests Warhol shot between 1964 and 1966.

Warhol got visitors to the Factory to do a screen test, in which the subject would sit in front of the camera for an entire roll of 16mm silent black & white film. And of course it’s an amazing compilation of the who’s who of 1960s counter and uber culture.

So the show was great. The screen tests were really mesmerising, but sometimes the music and musicians were distracting. I found my attention wandering to them rather than the film behind the band. I left the show wanting more. More screen tests, not more music.

I took blurry pictures of the Harbour Bridge as I waited for the train. They are pretty.

To add to a week of cultural experiences tonight I am off to see John Waters talking in the … Concert Hall at the Opera House. That’ll be three times in three days! I will be wearing clothes… I think.

Here’s the morning’s denim do. I’ll be cleaning eventually so I’m wearing my denim do-rag…

Toast, coffee, paper, luxury, pleasure

Top: Benetton denim jacket

Bottom: JeansWest slobby jeans

Accessory: Denim doo-rag/ head scarf

Afternoon update…

I am off to see John Waters now. Yes, the Pope of Trash, director of amazing films like Female Trouble, Polyester, Pink Flamingos, Serial Mum, Pecker, Hairspray…

He should be pretty amusing and I ma feeling sycophantic so I am taking along a book in the hope he’ll be doings some signings.

Here’s what I’m wearing…

Seriously posing, don't know why

Top: Cooler weather means denim jackets again. Hurrah! Marcs shiny, tight suit jacket, denim

Bottom: Sportsgirl jeans, tight, too tight?

Accessory: Goffas supplied, Japanese denim pocketbook, as the Americans would call it