Femme and Fatalité : the art of Lori Earley

by Rena Finkel

Lori Earley’s haunting portraiture has been a staple of the alternative and art scenes since she first began exhibiting her works in 2004. The beautiful women in her world are ethereal creatures; fantastic mannerist figures full of secrets. Their large eyes and elongated limbs are immediately recognizable, but it is the elegant-but-fierce melancholy mood that pervades her work that has given Earley such distinction. We were fortunate enough to be able to talk to the New York City artist about her work and her recent diagnosis with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Tell us about how you developed your style.
Lori Earley : I honestly don’t know, it’s something that just came to me naturally. However, I think I might have finally found the reason and source of the distortion which I will explain later on. In high school art class, I was assigned to draw a self-portrait for the first time. When I drew mine, I found that I had a really difficult time making the eyes look real and in proportion to the rest of the facial features. I always inherently drew them much larger than they were. I tried several times after that to make my drawing look realistic but after several attempts, I had to give up because I just couldn’t do it. Whenever I was asked this question, I would say it was something I couldn’t explain. The best way I could put it into words was that the distortion of my figures was a visual manifestation of how I felt inside. The really interesting thing now though is that I was recently diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. It’s an extremely rare, genetic syndrome in which the physical features of someone with it tend to have large eyes, a slender build and stretchy, elongated hyper-mobile limbs, as I do. The reason for this is because Ehlers-Danlos syndrome affects the collagen in your body which is essentially the “glue” that holds your ligaments, bones, tendons, etc. together so it makes you very hyper-mobile and you tend to feel very stretched and elongated. The interesting thing about having this condition is that you can contort your body into unusual positions (many contortionists have the syndrome), but otherwise, depending on which type you have, the pain can be mild to excruciating, and I think the pain has lent itself well to emotions of the figures in my painting. When I found out I had it, it was like an epiphany! I finally had an answer as to where the natural distortion from my figures came from, and a lot of my fans made the connection as well. It was a very interesting discovery! Because I have Ehlers-Danlos though, it can be very difficult to keep up with my painting along with the business aspect of it (amongst other things), so I need assistance and found an amazing assistant who helps me tremendously with my business. She has been working with me for five years now and has become my best friend as well. I feel she deserves to be mentioned because without her, I wouldn’t be able to paint because I wouldn’t be able to keep up with everything because of my condition. So thank you, Sarah Smith!

read the full article in the October/November 2011 Issue

McQueen at The Met : The Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition, a retrospective on the late fashion designer, ran from May 4–August 7, 2011 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.

When prompted to impart a final message on his deathbed, Karl Marx said, “Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough.” This story has come to mind many times in the past few years, whenever anyone did an Alexander McQueen retrospective, and if you’ve been paying attention, that was fairly often. Every magazine and blog that has ever run the words “goth”, “haute couture”, or “Lady Gaga” has run long, in-depth pieces on McQueen since the designers untimely death over a year ago. I suppose I was bothered by the fact that, in my opinion, McQueen was a genius, not just for the message of his art, but for the eloquence with which that message was given. What seemed perfectly clear in the works themselves has been endlessly reinterpreted, rehashed, and reiterated. McQueen was no fool, and he had certainly said plenty, even in his tragically shortened career; why do we all feel the need to put last words into his mouth?

So there is certainly something refreshing about a McQueen retrospective that is allowed to speak for itself. The Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute put together a powerful collection of McQueen’s best pieces for this summer’s exhibit, and his enduring popularity delivered. Even on off days, the lines for Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, which closed last week, were often an hour long, for the entirety of its three month run. The Costume Institute often utilized a labyrinthine layout for its exhibits. In contrast to the Metropolitan’s airy white galleries, its thin corridors, sharp angles, and dark walls were never more appropriate than for this show. McQueen’s designs were separated into themed rooms, including “gothic”, “naturalism”, exoticism”, and “primitivism”. The curators emphasized the “romantic” in each of these themes, printing quotes from McQueen, as well as rather sappy blurbs on their part, on the walls to introduce each room. Certainly, all of these motifs were present in McQueen’s body of work, but separating them each into rooms felt a little artificial and affected. While there was evolution in the designs throughout McQueen’s career, his thematic palette actually remained remarkably stable and unified. The Angel and Demon heels of his final collection to not disagree with his historically-anchored dresses from the 90s, even his favorite shade of red could be found in almost every room of this exhibit. These curators seemed to need to impose some kind of personal statement on the collection of a designer whose works were always their own statement.

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A seasoned rock veteran, from Shotgun Messiah to KMFDM / MDFMK to Marilyn Manson, Tim Skold is back to his solo work with a new album, Anomie, due out on Metropolis Records in May.

photographer : Saryn Christina
makeup artist : Erika Diehl / Glamour Lush
hair stylist : Jeanna Kier
model : Tim Skold
interview by : Rena Finkel

Tim Skold is nothing if not a seasoned veteran of the contemporary rock world. Born in Sweden, he began as a founding member of metal band Shotgun Messiah in 1988. He released his first solo album, Skold, in 1996. He has spent the subsequent years recording, composing, performing, and producing with the rock elite; KMFDM, OhGr, and Marilyn Manson, among others. This May he releases his second solo album as SKOLD titled Anomie. Mr. Skold spoke with us on his extensive experience as musician and a businessman in the recording industry. Like his new album, he’s full of wry, almost rueful wisdom, boldly giving us a good look at one of the key figures in the scene.

From Sweden to LA, how have the places you’ve seen and lived in inspired you? Do you have a favorite place that you’ve lived or visited?
Tim Skold : Well, I’ve been around the block a few times. Since I came to the US in ‘88, I’ve toured around the US seven times. I think there’s something inspirational about going to many places. In touring you don’t spend time in any place too long. I haven’t lived anywhere besides LA. I lived in Seattle for a year and a half. I didn’t like that, it was good, in that there wasn’t any distraction. I don’t think I get inspired from where I’m living, it’s a place in my head, a safe place. Inspiration is a place in your soul, in your heart. Traveling around the globe has been inspirational, it can be really cool, but it can also be really painful. Sometimes, you have time to get around and explore, but a lot of the places you’re sheltered by security. I snuck out the back door in a hotel in Bogota in Colombia to be alone, and everyone thought I was crazy to go without security. I just wanted to be alone and get some coffee.

read the full interview in the April/May 2011 Issue

New York NY, October 8 to 10 – Comic Cons have clearly become a battle of the coasts.  With San Diego attracting major production companies and crowds numbering up to 120,000, it would seem to be the clear winner.  This year’s New York Comic Con might change all that.  A three-day convention at one of NYC’s largest venues, The Javits Center, tickets sold out on both Friday and Saturday, making total attendance upwards of 100,000, over 20,000 more than last years.  Thus, while cavernous, the Javits Center was unpassably crowded for most of the weekend.  This was particularly true of the vendor’s floor, where small-but-strong indie companies like RockLove Jewelry and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab appeared alongside with megaliths like DC Comics and Square Enix Games.

O So Wrong, O So Right in NYCC’s The Never Ending Closet Fashion Show

The New York Anime Festival, something of a subdivision of NYCC, was in a separate space in the Center.  A collection of artists, panels, and events here with a far more communal feel.  The rest of the con had a lot of that quintessentially New York City activity, pretending to pass others impassively while surreptitiously ogling their outfits in awe.  Anime fans, a decidedly younger set than the rest of the Con, involved a lot more giggling and impromptu karaoke in their day.  It was in this section of Comic Con that The Never Ending Closet Fashion Show took place.  Showcasing mini-collections from six young American designers, it was introduced by Takamasa Sakurai, a Japanese Pop Culture Diplomat.  The designers delivered the way only New York could.

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Baltimore MD, July 30 to August 1 – Anyone who has entered the world of con-going knows that it can and should be an intense experience.  Otakon is a 3-day Japanese subculture convention with a 22,000 person attendance.  At any hour between 8 AM Friday to 3 PM Sunday there are 5-8 possible events one could attend, in addition to football-field-sized dealers’, artists’, and gaming floors open throughout, not to mention unofficial events, meetups, and photoshoots going on in and around the convention center.  Official entertainment includes raves, fashion shows, screenings, educational and humor panels, concerts, and burlesque acts.  The accommodations themselves were plush.  It took place in the Baltimore Convention Center, a beautiful, gargantuan tribute to glass-and-cement architecture with everything from rooftop gardens to a Starbucks, in addition to all those staples for hardcore con-goers: plenty of clean bathrooms, comfortable seating, free water available everywhere you go.  These are necessities because if you want to really get the experience of an affair of this magnitude, you have treat it like a marathon.  There’s not a single mile of this you can sit out.

h.Naoto booth at Otakon

h.Naoto’s 2010 collection . image source s-inc.com

And that doesn’t mean for a moment you can skip on style.  Especially at an event like Otakon, seeing and being seen is imperative. Dressing up, people-watching, and taking photos of the best-dressed is all part of the fun.  Adaptations of not just the Japanese looks, but all strains of subculture were on parade.  This year, the convention had brought in h.Naoto, the prolific Japanese designer of all sorts of dark and decayed wearables.  He made a number of appearances, one in which young designers brought in portfolios and samples for him to critique, one in which he gave a Q&A and short fashion show, and several at his booth in the dealer’s room, where one could purchase his wares.  At the Q&A, Mr. Naoto was asked about the relationship between his designs and street fashion.  He replied, via translator, that while he knew all about goth, punk, Lolita, etc. and appreciated all of them, he wasn’t interested in designing in any one of those genres, but in taking what he likes from each and what he see in his own mind and creating something completely new.  He emphasized that you needed creativity, to bring something new into the look.

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Brooklyn NY, Saturday, July 21 – The Mermaid Lagoon, a benefit party for the Oceanic Preservation Society and the Gulf Coast cleanup efforts took place at the House of Yes in Williamsburg.  The House is a school of aerial arts so full of personalities and stories that is deserves its own book, but on Saturday night it served to host a gathering of angry mermaids.  The conceit of the evening was that the ocean home of these mermaids had been gravely threatened by the BP oil spill and they want it fixed.  The decor worked with what it was given, an air conditioning-less warehouse crowded with trapeze artist junk.  Blue fabrics were draped and twined, lights strung, and a local sculptor contributed large-scale UV reactive foam sea creatures that had an ethereal, if day-glo, effect.  The bar was serving alcoholic fruit smoothies, which were reported to be perfect for the temperature indoors.

Veronica Varlow

Desert Sin

The “mermaids” of the lagoon, that is, the performers and staff, presented a broad spectrum of entertainment.  The night’s opening act was Desert Sin, a non-traditional bellydance group in elaborate costume. The performance seemed to interpret the darker power of the sea, intense stares and rippling arms abounded.  Then came a fire-palm dance by burlesque performer Veronica Varlow.  Kai Altair, Varlow’s sister and the MC for the night explained that mermaids are famous for seductive dance and song that lures men to their doom and that this particular one was intended for the BP executives.  Altair herself performed her mystical/tropical music with great warmth and enthusiasm later on that night.  Other entertainment included Cassandra of Lady Circus in a breathtaking glass-walking performance inspired by the Little Mermaid, and Ali Luminescent (Coney Island’s Mermaid of the Year in 2009) on trapeze.  To tickle more academic fancies, a doctor of oceanography gave a lecture both on the ramifications of the oil spill and Japanese dolphin fishing in full mermaid attire.  Among other prizes, love letters from Ms. Varlow and prints of the resident oceanographer’s photography were raffled off as further fundraising.

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