Susan K.

Susan Kirschbaum has written features - covering trends, fashion, and art -- for various publications including Harper's Bazaar, London Times, New York Observer, and New York Times since the late Nineties. She has worked as a web editor for both fashion and art concerns and as a founding editor to Fashion Wire Daily, when it served as a wire service to the Associated Press. She has written both synopsis and forwards to photography books by Steidl Dangin. Currently, she is a contributing editor to Whitewall - a seasonal art magazine - that sets new visual and story telling standards to cover the art world. She also writes for Purple, the French fashion magazine.

Her first novel, WHO TOWN, a dark social satire is now being reviewed by several publishers through rock star agent Robert Guinsler at Sterling Lord Literistic.

(All photos on this blog are taken by Susan Kirschbaum on her Canon SD850 digital point and shoot, unless otherwise noted - please credit all photos accordingly)

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May 09, 2008 7:59 PM (go back to main view)

Brand Bastardizer Tom Sachs Takes Over New York!

Whale on Piano, by artist Tom Sachs, at Sperone Westwater(All photos and videos, shot by Susan M.Kirschbaum)

One little man, one little cat. That's how some people might say Tom Sachs, the conceptual artist, slinked into the center of the art world. He placed a "Hello Kitty" figure as the baby Jesus in a manger in the windows at Barneys. Thing is, he doesn't really slink, he explodes into the consciousness, poking fun at hero worship of beloved iconic brands.

Kitty, a Japanese cartoon and global fashion star, became a reoccurring theme in Sachs ouvre, which includes models of McDonalds that function as standing restaurant stations and a gas chamber with Prada logos that debuted at the Jewish Museum awhile back.

Sachs, 41 -- a favorite of designer Miuccia Prada who has feted him in New York and Milan --has taken over Gotham with two massive fountains -- one Hello Kitty and her bunny friend Miffy -- at Lever House uptown and an exhibit called "Animals" at Sperone Westwater in the West Village.

At Sperone, a white foam whale sits atop a polished baby grand piano, creating a metaphor for how so many pianos serve as shelves for family photos and nothing more. In an adjacent room, Sachs constructed another piano made of plywood, with strips of construction site orange and wheels. A pianist sits and plays with concentration as guests walk by. It's a piano made of scraps, but unlike the whale shelf, it's exploited properly. Sculptures of mini lions and dolls, possibly Narnia inspired, pop up in corners. A drawing of a rabbit and scholarly donkey visiting evil royal cats could turn Beatrix Potter on her head. Plus, there's recorded Billy Holiday, "negro music" played on a boon box behind a glass, and of course the echos of piano chords throughout all rooms. (See videos below)

Serious player, junk piano, see Tom Sachs sneak in back, toward the end

CLICK BLUE LINE BELOW TO GO TO LEVER HOUSE, REST OF STORY, VIDEO!

Artist Tom Sachs Likes Animals..Last Night, Lever House

Later at Lever House, several streams of the city coagulate under an open sky to fete Sachs: art world figures, King, the original bouncer of Spy bar, who now takes yoga with me several times a week, art dealer Tony Shafrazi, original Interview Magazine editor Bob Colacello, and the designer Valentino, who stands inconspicuously at five foot six approximately. If it weren't for his coffee bean tan, I may not notice him checking out the buffet of prime rib, asparagus, and pasta salad with pesto.

I ask Colacello if the city has changed since Andy Warhol's reign. "When I first met Andy, I thought he was a sweet shy child," he tells me. "But I soon learned differently." Colacello explains the difference nowadays. "We all used to be together in one place. You could talk to anyone. Now celebrities have bodyguards." Sachs, hiding in a corner of the main courtyard, keeps away from too much meet and greet. Perhaps the artist would reason that celebrity brands -- even his own -- have just got gotten too big!

Back to the Sperone theme, Sachs explains that each piece represents a metaphor for an animal and every human can be interpreted in animal terms. I've had girlfriends who've known him well. He called one "the pony," because her brown eyes and multi shaded hair reminded him of one. Tom's girls have treated him with the kind of enthusiasm reserved for frisky puppies. And we all like puppies, which is probably why he gets away with so much, brilliantly done.

Boon Box in historical context, "Negro Music"

"Animals," by Tom Sachs, May 8th-June 21st, Sperone Westwater Gallery, 415 West 13th Street.

Lever House, 303 Park Avenue