Thursday 14 November 2013

ALL OF US ARE SHADES OF GREY

As I flew out of Los Angeles last night I realised that stars are a dying breed. Being a celebrity is not what it was. There are no Iconic lovelies anymore, there is little secrecy.  There is no Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Clara Bow or Alexis Smith, The dream factory ideals. Hollywood is a place where dreams were and are assembled.  Unfortunately an actress nowadays cannot sing and dance or twirl a cane.  Marni Nixon was the true singer behind most of them. Hollywood was intimidating, cold back then, and they looked like they could handle anything, but now they look like they are handled. It is scary. I think stars disappeared after super market clothes became the fashion. There is no Veronica Lake and no more Nathalie Wood. There are beautiful women but there are no stars,  Madonna styled herself on these stars, I style myself on these stars. Hollywood still uses these stars,  I am tarted up like  Marilyn Monroe because she has lasted 52 years after her death. We all lose our charms in the end. I shall be a galleon in full sail, The  Queen of the night. I love the idea of death, love and life, questioning everything.
DENNIS TARASOV

I consume ideas of sex, lust and taking life to the edge. I think most people do. The popularity of 50 Shades of Grey. One of the most successful books ever written, is proof of this.
I like graveyards, magic, sex and I love flowers and opera too. Today I walked down the Kings Road to discover what The Saatchi Gallery had to show us. Yet again Charles Saatchi, my friend, stretches our imagination with The show Body language. The photographic etchings in the graveyard by  Dennis Tarasov,  Through people's dusty  memories, Dennis has created the life of the person below ground, with flowers, drink, a Volvo car, people looking real and interesting, but our memories fading. Then there was the singed faces in Dana Schutz's work, A singed Picnic. I walked through the gallery and remembered how many other people Mr Saatchi has helped, along with his wife Kay Saatchi, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, Mat Collishaw, Martin Maloney, by supporting them and showing and buying their work. After twenty odd years his gallery still excites me, his character too. Charles is edgy, he always was.  At number 3 in my most attractive men list, he is certainly no crashing bore. He has, lest we forget done enormous amounts of good for Great Britain.
DANA SHUTZ

The last few months have brought him right bang up to date along with the feisty artists he represents. Controversial and shocking, he rocked his world and ours, by his fight with his ex wife Nigella. He is able to make us think and question the popularity of books like Shades of Grey reminding us "What not to do" In other words he is his art. Let's hope he continues to stir  the world we live in, with his thoughts and artistic brilliance.  Tomorrow I have tea with him and I shall enjoy it because without doubt he is one of the most unusual men alive today.

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