Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs. 

While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

Estee Lauder’s vibrating Turbo Lash mascara has officially replaced Maybelline’s Great Lash and Dior’s Diorshow as my favorite mascara of all time. Admittedly, I rolled my eyes at the buzzing tube when I first received it about four months ago. But it has since won me over with its ability to do the job without leaving clumps of black goo on my eyes (the electric brush works to separate the lashes during application). And apparently I’m not the only one loving this thing. Since Turbo Lash launched in the UK, Harrods has consistently had a wait list for it, which is saying a lot considering the fact that women are spending less due to the busted economy.

Kehinde Wiley: Down
Deitch Projects, New York
Through December 20



Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of Cool
and
Shinique Smith: Like it Like that
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
November 12 - March 15



Shinique Smith: Good Knot
Yvon Lambert, London
November 21 - January 24

Ebony Bones is performing at the Portobello Winter Festival tonight. Here are three reasons why I’m pressed to see her.

1- She co-opts bits of black American culture and mixes it into an audio collage of afro-beat and post punk sounds in a really smart and cheeky way. Basically, she had me at her sonic version of “hello,” which was the opening of her single, “We Know All About You,” which really was an excerpt of the “Gold is Bold” montage from “The Wiz,” which I have blogged about more than a few times.

2 - Her vocal stylings have a magpie quality to it too, sounding like a mixture of Bembe Segue, Grace Jones and Fela Kuti’s background singers. 

3 - She managed to make the Ebony magazine logo, which she poached for her own, look progressive and cool. See: 

 

 
While surfing a few of my favorite blogs, I noticed a Fashionista post announcing that the Marc Jacobs store in Manhattan is having its big 70% off sale, which brings back memories of Stam and Stella handbag scores from year’s past. But when I called the Mayfair Marc Jacobs store here in London, the saleswoman told me that they’ve only marked merch down 40% on this side of the pond. Clearly, UK retail sales aren’t wallowing in as deep of a pit as New York’s. 

Each December, without fail, I find myself shopping for myself in addition to the loved ones on my gift shopping list. It goes like this: a gift for mom, a gift for me, a gift for sis, a gift for me, a gift for dad, and so on and so on. This year, the temptation is even greater thanks to the season’s crazy markdowns. But I’m shaking my bad habits and blogging about the items that have been calling me the way a freshly cooked rock sings sweet nothings in the ear of a Harlem crackhead. Feliz Navidad!

Catherine Holstein skirt because you can’t go wrong with a shiny mini, $213, www.otteny.com

Giles and Brother multi chain bracelet because it looks “cool and edgy,” $110, www.oaknyc.com

Prada hobo, because it’s more than half off at $619 (the original price was $1, 550), www.barneys.com

Acne dress because I need a new LBD, $251, www.acnestudios.com

J.Crew pajama bottoms because my sleepwear is looking a bit worn, $29, www.jcrew.com

 “You know things are bad when YSL is on sale,” said a friend during an iChat conversation. “Wha?? Are you talking about last season YSL?” I replied. Surprisingly, she was not. I visited the Web site and, lo and behold, certain shoes from the autumn/winter ’08 collection were listed for as low as $169 (a cute, can’t-go-wrong pair of ballet slipper flats) and $249 (an even cuter pair of platform pumps) — with the visible slash marks through the original prices and everything. I made a few calls and it turns out that the stores are having a major sale too. Who ever thought we’d see the day when you can buy YSL at Topshop prices?   

Arguably the most beautiful (and most talked about) show going during Basel week, the Rubell Family Collection exhibition, “30 Americans,” was so good that I went to see it twice during the same day. Don and Mera Rubell along with their kids Jennifer and Jason have collectively amassed one of the most significant collections in contemporary art, which they show in rotation at a Miami warehouse that is larger than some museums. This week, they’ve enlisted 30 black artists including Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Mickalene Thomas, Kalup Linzy, Barkley Hendricks and Kehinde Wiley to create a “portrait of African-American” art, which amounts to three floors’ worth of amazing intensity. After my first visit of the day, I went downstairs to buy the exhibition book and discovered that they hold sold out of all copies but the two on display. The small crowd of people trying to talk the sales staff at the register into selling the display books gave me flashbacks to the lines of women scrambling to snap up copies of the black edition of Vogue Italia at newsstands in New York a few months back. The heightened interest in an “all-black” moment felt similar. Fortunately, I found an extra copy of the book tucked away on another shelf (it looked like someone tried to hide it in order to purchase it later.) The saleswoman I spoke to mentioned that they would order more copies of the book, which reminded me of Condé Nast’s reprints of the magazine and of The New York Times’ reprints of its election day papers. Who knew black would sell so well in 2008?

I went back later in the day to hear Kehinde, Glenn Ligon, Rashid Johnson, Wangechi Mutu, Kalup and Thelma Golden talk about the show in a group discussion. Some of my favorite images from the show are below but the aspect of it that I liked most were the essays written by the artists explaining why they do what they do, what it is exactly they do, and whatever else moves them. (Read Glenn’s contribution here.) 

Nick Cave’s Untitled Works


 

Rashid Johson, “The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (The Power of Healing)” and “I Who Have Nothing”

Glenn Ligon “America”

 
Wangechi Mutu “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien”

 

Thanks to Mickalene Thomas I will never hear the ’80s hit “Hey Mickey” the same way again. The Brooklyn artist, who is a Muse favorite, had a crowd of people surrounding her video and painting installation at the main Art Basel fair. The video featured a sassy nude black girl dressed in knee-high gym socks and shiny red pumps singing the chorus from the song with her hip cocked to the side. It all sounds kinky on paper, but the work actually had a fun lightness and humor to it. If this week is any indication, Mickalene may majorly blow up in 2009. She has literally been all over the place from a special T Magazine edition being distributed around the Convention Center that includes a two-page spread of her artwork to her appearance on a panel discussion for the much talked about Rubell Family Collection show “30 American Artists” (more about that later)—not to mention all of her paintings at the satellite fairs.