RIP Alexander McQueen

"There's beauty in anger, and anger for me is passion"

Alexander McQueen 

A tribute to his work narrated by Colin McDowell

The View From Outside.

It's been a long time, I know. Let's just say I've been otherwise occupied. No sign of anything that could be classified as a proper job yet, but some progress has been made, and I've been getting involved in a few projects - some of which could eventually bear fruit. To be seen.

The little time I have spent online has been catching up with the goings on of my native island - including, yes - THAT blog.  WTF guys? I thought that things had hit rock bottom with that whole Ir-Realta saga. Talk about tip of the iceberg!! I mean, seriously.

I don't know what it's really like living on the island and the moment, because I've not done so for some time now. But believe me, the view from outside ain't pretty. Never have I wanted to move back home less than I do now.

Perhaps rather than squabble about which political holiday is to be declared National Day, the Maltese should face the cruel facts, and agree that the most suited is perhaps the coming Carnival weekend, and - while they're at - they should really consider John Bundy's Pajjiz tal-Mickey Mouse as the new national anthem!

Love, soft as an easy chair ....

It started with this ...

Seeing as I'm in a post-Christmas holiday mode, and kinda broke, I've not been out much since my return. I came back a bit traumatised by the festive season back home, and have decided to stay in and be a bit proactive about the job thing, spending most of my day sending out CV's, even if down deep inside I know that little will come out of it. Honestly. Good as everyone says it is, my CV has never lead to one single job. But I won't not go down that route... things have a way of falling into place, and I'm making sure they will. Nothing, but NOTHING is going to make me leave this city.

But what has that got to do with the 'A Star is Born' poster pasted above? Well nothing really, except for the fact that being home alone usually brings about the digging out of some long forgotten album or other (I say 'digging out an album', but what I really mean is looking into the mother of all musical hard drives and copying music which was created way before mp3s were ever dreamt of onto my iTunes), and only a few hours ago that album happened to be the soundtrack to one of my big growing-up movies, which I've had playing on a loop since. Right now, as La Streisand sings in the background of lethal black widows, I can just see myself as a nine or ten year old, waiting for his parents to leave the house so that I could put the (real) record on to what then used to be called a 'three-in-one' and singing my heart out to every single one of Esther Hoffman Howard's (Babs' character) songs. Gay? Moi? No kidding!!

There's a story to this. As a child, one of the highlights of my Saturday morning was going to the KRS offices on Zachary Street in Valletta (they were - and still are - the island's main film distributors) to look at posters of forthcoming movies. Whilst the cinemas displayed posters for current and pending releases, KRS would have the ones for films that would have been released a couple of months later. It kept me ahead of the game, you see, so since very few people knew about it, I could boast to all my friends that I'd already seen the poster for the big, upcoming movie ... not that any of them cared. But still, it made me feel smug and up-to-date ... ahead even. I really must have been a nightmare of a child!

Anyway, when I saw this poster, it was a case of love at first sight: a massive, jam packed stadium, topped  by a Francesco Scavullo (this I found out later) shot of  Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand, naked, looking into each other's eyes ... in sepia tones. Jesus did it blow my mind!

Within a week or so, I had bought the LP - that's a Long Play for those who were born in the days of CD - well, it was more of a case of "Mummy, mummy, you have to buy it for me!!"-  and knew all of the lyrics to Babs' songs by heart. I was good like that as a kid. Our then next door neighbour, who was like a second mother to me, always reminds me that I knew all the lyrics to Evita by heart age 7 or 8. Again, me gay??

When the film did finally make it to the screens, it was "Mummy, mummy, I want to go see it", which of course created a bit of a drama. The film was classified suitable for those over the age of sixteen and all my mother's friends advised her not to take me. But I was crafty. Having already been taken to see 'Hello Dolly' and 'Funny Girl', I pulled out the 'But you like Barbra Streisand' card, putting the onus on her. Being the angel then that she still is, she took no heed of her friends' warnings of eternal damntation if she took me to see it, and did. It was a Saturday afternoon, I remember that, and she took me only on the premise that I wouldn't tell anyone she'd taken me. Bless her!

Don't ask me how she got me into the cinema (it was the Embassy in Valletta) - she must have said that she didn't have anyone to leave me with or something like that - but she did, and it was heaven. The outfits (Barbra's white suit, her Navajo poncho, the baby's breathe in her hair), the music, the candle lit bubble bath, the everything ... oh, and probably, I must add, the hunk of man that was Kris Kristofferson, though I have to say, I don''t remember any particular, ehrm, shall we call them 'stirrings' then.

Anyway, it was all hunky dory throughout most of the film, until the unimaginable happened. The couple argued and KK drove off into his jeep, never to return again. That's the last Esther ( gets to see of him, with so much unsaid. Next thing I know, she's in her white suit, bathed in red light, singing his songs, tears rolling down her cheeks ... and even more on mine. You see I was a bit of a cry baby as a child, and would cry at anything, including the opening sequence of 'Little House on the Prairie' (because of the episode in which they had a baby brother who died).

And so my poor mother took me home all red-eyed and still sobbing (honest) only to find my father there, who of course wanted to know what the hell it was it was that had reduced me to that blubbering state. It seems like I wasn't very good at keeping promises then, (I'm a lot better now) because I proceeded to explain the whole film to him, landing my poor mother into a bit of a situation.

Needless to say, she was not very amused!

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!

After a week of too much food, drink and lazing about on the sofa feeling as if I'm about to give birth to overweight sextuplets, I'm back in Barcelona. All will return to normal within a few hours, once I've gotten into the groove of being back home. Bliss!

This Time, It's Sack The Make-Up Artist

Nicole has a powder problem at the NYC premiere of Nine.

You would think that with her quality of skin, Nicole Kidman would be the least likely candidate for a Major Make-Up Fuckup, and yet there she was, on the red carpet for the premiere of Nine in New York earlier this week, looking like she'd just done a Scarface.

Madonna a la Magnani

Madonna for Dolce & Gabbana, ss 2010

Italian Vanity Fair has published a preview of Dolce & Gabban's ss2010 advertising campaign photographed by Stephen Klein, featuring Madonna - who the Dolce boys make no big secret of being huge fans of. It's all very Italain neo-realist cinema, with Madonna channelling Anna Magnani at the kitchen table, peeling tomatoes, eating pasta and washing dishes.

I like the campaign. It reminds me of their earlier ones with Steven Meisel starring Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Tony Ward in similar settings. As for M? Well, she looks a lot more real than she did in the Vuitton campaigns, though I'm sure the images have been touched up a tad. But, all in all, it gets a thumbs up from me.

This Year's Christmas Card

Happy Holidays!

This year's Christmas mail out comes courtesy of our friend Zahara who took this picture of our Christmas tree last Sunday.

Postcards from Barcelona

When Christian Schallert first came to Barcelona, he couldn’t find the kind of postcards that he wanted to send. So he started making his own. Seven years later, with not a hint of Gaudi, his postcards are available all over the city.

Wish you were here in ...

Two ladies take a stroll down the Rambla

JF:  Let’s get the basics out of the way, how long have you been in Barcelona, and how did you end up here?

CS:  On the 15th of January, I celebrate 7 years in this city. I can’t believe it! I always wanted to live close to the Mediterranean . The sea is far away from Austria, so from there it’s a big illusion, a holiday dream. I thought it would be great to not just have a holiday at a beach city, but actually work and live there … and I had an incredible desire to speak this sexy Spanish language!

JF: That’s understandable, the language was a big part of my love affair with Spain too. I loved it the minute I heard it. It’s such a  happy language, even when they’re saying something sad, it sounds funny.

CS:  Yes, and it’s direct and quite rough sometimes. But I love it. In Austria the woman in the bakery always asks politely: "How can I help you?" and "There we go, here’s your bread".  Here its "DIME!!!" or "TOMA".

 JF:  Yes. I still feel bad when picking up the phone and answering  “Si?”.  But on the other hand, I like that. It goes with the 'roughness' of the city.

CS:  If you want rough just go to the bocadillo stand at Encants market. It’s the roughest and most funny place: “Oye reina: que te pongo? Dime, chato….

 JF:  I have actually been there. For me it’s not that bad because it’s very similar to Malta, but coming from Austria .. .That’s different!

CS:  Oh yes! Austria is very clean cut. Especially coming from a village of 8,000 inhabitants. There is not so much surprise. There it’s all about working, working, working … and building a house, getting married, having kids. And of course, the dog! I am different. I realized that after finishing my studies in Austria when I was 23. Then I got an opportunity  to work for Sesame Street in New York …. and that was the beginning of the rest of my life! Big city, crazy people, adventure, lifestyle …

JF:  Wow! You worked on Sesame Street!! What did you do?

I wasn’t Big Beard, no. I worked in marketing and merchandising. Basically I corrected designs from producers of toys, textile or even shower curtains. I had to tell them which Pantone colour to use for Ernie’s orange head. Or I had to be sure the size of Cookie Monsters mouth is big enough.  It was fun work. But I was actually more excited about my time outside the office. Strolling around in the streets of the Big Apple, brunch in the East Village and dancing in Alphabet City. 

JF:  So it doesn’t look like there’s much chance of you moving back to Austria?

CS:  I admire Austria. I grew up next to mountains, near Lake Constance. My family is brilliant. They run a successful pastry house and ice cream parlour. I love visiting and eating like a crazy bastard. But I am more of a city person, and my Austrian village is too “classy”. So, no, I am not planning to move back in a looong time.

JF: Barcelona beats Austria then …

CF: Barcelona is a city for survivors. You either you make it or you leave it. It’s not a career city like London or New York. Even an art director of a big agency doesn’t make great money here. I had studied economics but didn’t want to focus on a career as a financial consultant or anything similar. Coming here straight from New York, I was inspired by art, design, photography, so I changed my focus from economy and jumped right into the art scene here, exhibitions, museums, courses, a degree in design at Elisava design school ….  I love to be creative, and very visual

JF:  Yeah,  Barcelona does that to you ... There's something about it that tends to kick off the creative bug. So is that how Urbarna come along?

CS:  I had the postcard idea when I wanted to tell my friends far away from where I lived now, how I was doing, how this city really is, how people live here. I always loved to send postcards because it’s a quick message - a sort of vintage SMS - but so much more personal and  stronger because you know that the person who is sending the postcard actually picked a special image, took time to writing something, stamped it and dumped it into a mailbox. I think it’s a big thing to receive a postcard. So anyway, I had problems to find a postcard here that reflected the city’s lifestyle … it was just the Sagrada Familia, or La Pedrera. So I picked up twelve of my favourite photos, went to a printer and printed 30.000 postcards so that the calculation of making some business with this works out (there we go, my economist skills being put to use!!!). I lived in a small room in a shared flat. My room was just full of postcards and no client yet.

Designer clad butts in Sitges 

 JF:  Did you think at that point, what the hell have I done?

 CS:  I believed in it. So I set up a stall at a little market at the Convento de San Agusti and presented my stuff "to the world". I had moments of doubts but the feedback of the people and friends was amazing and really motivating to move on!

JF:  It was a very good idea. I must say, whenever I did send postcards from here, it was always (unknowingly) yours I picked. They’re a lot more interesting that the usual Gaudi ones …

CS:  Wow. I love to hear that. It makes me really happy to get such great feedback …

JF:  Well they show Barcelona as it is ... warts and all

CS:  It’s the real Barcelona and not just this bubblegum design Barcelona

JF:  Exactly. Washing hanging out in the streets, that sort of thing

CS:  Yes. And menu cards with sun eaten, crazy photographs of the bocadillo menus just in front of the restaurant.  I think it’s so funny because it kills off any desire wanting to eat there. So anyway, I kept believing in the postcards, and went from one store to the other,  selling, selling, selling. It was really hard at some point. And I didn’t make much money in the beginning. But I went from a self-made wooden box as a postcard display, to floor and desk spinners and wall racks. And I started with my little bike, going from Montjuic to Parque Guell. Now I have a distributor, an employee, a motorbike and my own apartment. :  And I keep growing. Now I’m doing notebooks, T-shirts, street bags and beach bags, and I started in Mallorca and Madrid with the same concept

JF:  That’s not bad in seven years is it? How do you work? Do you set out with camera in hand looking out for things to photograph or is it more spontaneous?

CS:  I walk around with my camera a lot. I wish I had more time, but things have changed now. Often I have a very clear idea of what I want, and try to watch out for it. Let’s say I need a pic of pan con tomate in a tapas bar. So I check specific places and go crazy with the camera. But the best pics come along spontaneously. Special moments: two old ladies with their flowered dresses holding on to each other walking down Gran Via, boys showing off their fashion brand swimmers at the gay beach. Or a  sunburnt woman trying to achieve a leather tan. I love that shit

JF:  Do you find that now that the business has grown you have less time to do that?

CS:  Yes!!! 100 %. There was a time where I didn’t have time to be creative and productive in terms of taking pictures. But since I hired a person to do all the administration for me six months ago, I have more time to be creative, and that’s important. I need to be doing things constantly, and renovating. The competition doesn’t sleep. Since I launched, there’s about 7 new little postcard companies with a similar approach.

JF:  Is there a particular barrio that produces better images?

 CS: I love Barceloneta. It seems as if time stood still there

 JF:  Yes, and there are some wonderful characters. In fact I think the whole city is full of wonderful characters to photograph. Do people ever object to being photographed? I was in Santa Caterina market the other day and a guy kicked off a big fuss because someone took a picture of him

CS:  I have had problems sometimes, yes which is why I had stopped asking and just took pics. But I’ve learned my lesson because someone sued me for being on a postcard. A man from Madrid, on my Madrid postcards

 JF:  Oh no!

CS: Now, I have to deal with a lawyer and shit. I’ll see how I can get out of that one. But yes, I’ve learnt, so I prefer to ask from now on, and go run around with model releases and getting the papers signed

 JF: What a pain, everything has become so official now! Is there anything you dislike about being in BCN?

CS:  That you have to be patient. Very patient. And don’t expect things to happen when you want them to happen. You always have to add a couple more days and weeks to due dates and you are fine

 JF:  That's the first lesson I learnt! I moved here with a London frame of mind, and I was going crazy. I had to shed all of that. Mañana, mañana is a fact of life here, not a myth.

CS:  I also dislike false promises and major delays in payments. My Swiss friend Raphi always loves when he gets his money paid on time by his Swiss clients. And I’m struggling, and calling clients to remind them to pay...

JF:  We're running out of time of time here, so here’s a final question: What's the one place that foreigners visiting wouldn’t know about that you think they should absolutely see or do?

CS:  Here are some places and things that I love in this city: I think the Encants market is quite an experience. Delicious tapas at Bar Mut  on Pau Claris for very special occasions, lunch or dinner at Candela on Plaza Sant Pere; a walk up on Tibidabo; tennis on Montjuic with all the birds singing; Sitges in winter…. I think what’s most important is to not run around with a tourist map. To just keep discovering, and watch out for great music and dance events at the Apollo or the Mercat de les Flors.

View more of Christian Schallert’s work at www.urbarna.com and the webshop www.icecreamsocialweb.com

Shouldn't the menu make you want to eat? 

No Way, Hathaway

Hathaway, Callas, Cruz (from El Pais)

According to last Sunday's Observer it has been announced that there are 2 biopics of Maria Callas is in the making. Eva Mendes has been confirmed for one, but both Anne Hathaway and Penelope Cruz are being considered for the other. It's not that I don't like Hathaway, she was brilliant in Rachel Getting Married, but I'm rooting for Cruz BIG TIME!!! Go Pe!!!!!

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