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| | Beyonce & Jay-Z's Tiffany's campaign has riled Jean-Michel Basquiat's friends | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Ever since Tiffany?s released their new ad campaign with Beyonce and Jay-Z on the first day of Virgo season, it?s just been one thing after another. First, the giant yellow diamond necklace which Beyonce wears in the campaign is literally a blood diamond from South Africa. People also complained about the frantic tokenization of Beyonce as ?the first Black woman? to wear the necklace. They?re mad about the $2 million tax write-off donation to HBCUs to smooth over the controversy. But the strongest ire has been for Tiffany?s use of a rarely-seen Jean-Michel Basquiat painting. The Basquiat painting was in private hands for decades, and it was used in the campaign because of Basquiat?s use of the robin?s egg blue, the signature color of Tiffany?s. The problem? Basquiat didn?t use that shade of blue as some kind of ode to Tiffany?s. And now Basquiat?s friends and former coworkers are speaking out:
For close friends of Basquiat?s who lived and worked with the late, trailblazing artist in the late ?70s and early ?80s, the answer is quite clear: Their loved one was not thinking about Tiffany?s at all while conjuring Equals Pi. ?I?d seen the ad a couple days ago and I was horrified,? Alexis Adler tells The Daily Beast. Adler, who lived with Basquiat in his earlier years of art-making between 1979-1980, maintains that ?the commercialization and commodification of Jean and his art at this point?it?s really not what Jean was about.?
At first glance, it might seem like the function of the ad, to sell a more modern Tiffany & Co. to their wealthy consumer base, might align with Basquiat?s desire to sell his art at a high price, but where his art was displayed mattered more so than the monetary transaction itself. ?Unfortunately, the museums came to Jean?s art late, so most of his art is in private hands and people don?t get to see that art except for the shows. Why show it as a prop to an ad?? asks Adler. ?Loan it out to a museum. In a time where there were very few Black artists represented in Western museums, that was his goal: to get to a museum.?
The fact that Equals Pi will permanently hang on the walls of Tiffany?s flagship boutique on Fifth Avenue proves a sore spot for artists like Al Diaz?who was a close friend of Basquiat?s and collaborated with him as a teenager on their street art duo SAMO?and Stephen Torton, who mixed paints, framed hundreds of Basquiat?s paintings, and worked as his assistant for many years. ?People think that his association with luxury was because he was impressed with that shit, but he couldn?t care less,? Diaz explains. ?It?s not just about wearing an Armani suit. If he wore it, it?s because he could buy it and fk it up, it wasn?t because the stitches were fabulous or well-made.?
But what?s happened in the last decade or so, as images of both Basquiat the face and Basquiat the aesthetic swarm brands like Avian, Urban Decay and Coach, is an overemphasis on the more lurid aspects of his biography?the party animal, the fashionisto, the drug addict?and a flattening of the art itself. ?It?s lost in translation,? Diaz remarks, exasperated. ?People won?t see the depth. At this point the only people that could afford a Basquiat are people he was targeting. Like, you?re the oppressor. They buy it out so that it becomes meaningless.?
[From The Daily Beast]
I get it. Tiffany?s has basically turned an anti-corporate, anti-homogenized-culture artist into a neutered, apolitical corporate mascot. The Daily Beast piece keeps going though, I learned something: Tiffany?s didn?t even trademark that ?robin?s egg blue? color until 1998. Basquiat was using that color in his paintings long before it was trademarked for Tiffany?s. His friends also point out that he mixed his own colors and he often used that shade or similar shades of blue in other works and it had nothing to do with Tiffanys.
Anyway, yes, this is a huge PR mess for not just Tiffany?s but the art world. I kind of wonder if Beyonce and Jay-Z regret their involvement too.
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| | Jennifer Lopez gave us a preview of her Venice Film Festival style: stunning? | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez arrived in Venice yesterday and the reaction was so positive. We didn?t know for sure if J.Lo was going to join Ben on his trip to the Venice Film Festival, so her presence was just such a happy surprise. Ben will attend the premiere of The Last Duel later today, and we?ll have the photos? at some point. I mean, it?s happening on a Friday. So just consider this a preview of coming attractions, and I?ll probably update this post with new photos when we get them ahead of the bigger fashion post on Sunday.
My guess is that Ben and J.Lo had some kind of date night in Venice last night, but there doesn?t seem to be any paparazzi photos of them that I?ve seen (and I looked). But Jen really brought her glam squad to Venice, because she tagged everyone in an Instagram posted last night. She got all dressed up and styled for? something. Probably a private, romantic dinner with Ben, maybe at the hotel. That would explain why there are no pap photos of J.Lo in this spectacular dress. Also, she captioned these photos on IG and Twitter: ?Back on the block.? Get it, because she?s Jenny From The Block. Yacht Butt-Rubbing Szn is still in full effect. Anyway, I?m giddy! Bennifer on the red carpet!!!
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A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo)
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| | Kaley Cuoco & Karl Cook just grew apart & she puts her career 'first in her life' | | Added 3 years ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Kaley Cuoco filed for divorce a week ago, last Friday (September 3). Kaley and Karl Cook organized their joint statement announcing their split, then shortly after People Magazine published it, news of Kaley?s divorce filing came out. Things are moving fast too Kaley has already asked the court to deny spousal support for both parties, meaning she doesn?t have to pay Karl anything and she doesn?t want anything from him. As I said at the time, she?s rich as hell and he has family money. I?m glad Kaley has protected herself with what is reportedly a rock-solid prenup. Good for her. As for how she?s doing? she sounds totally fine? Her publicist keeps leaking stuff to People Magazine and it amounts to ?she?s fine.?
Kaley Cuoco is pressing on amid her divorce from husband Karl Cook. The Flight Attendant star, 35, who announced the split on Friday, is doing fine, a source tells PEOPLE in this weeks issue, adding that the pair havent spent that much time together recently.
She has a big career and puts that first in her life. Its basically a growing apart and each pursuing separate interests, the insider says.
Cuoco has been busy filming her upcoming romantic-comedy Meet Cute, in addition to starting production on season 2 of The Flight Attendant.
She has a lot going on in her career now and loves her work, the source says. Their relationship is just following different paths. A marriage doesnt work if you rarely see the other one.
Cook, meanwhile, is focused on his career as an equestrian and spent last winter away from his and Cuocos home in L.A. to ride in Florida. Karl is a lifelong equestrian with a thorough love of horses. His jumping career has picked up recently, and he did well over the summer, a source in the equestrian world adds.
[From People]
What I?m getting so far from the publicist-driven pieces in People Magazine is that Kaley isn?t looking to make Karl the villain, nor is she about to rollout a new boyfriend. Her message seems to be: we weren?t spending that much time together, we sort of outgrew each other, no harm, no foul. Which very well may be the case. But people are still talking about the Pete Davidson situation, and how Pete and Kaley have been working together for about two months, and how he?s single now, etc. The Sun had a gossip piece this week where the gossip guy misspelled Kaley?s name throughout, which isn?t a good sign:
A source explained: ?When Pete and Phoebe split there was talk that his close friendship with Kayley did play a part. But now Kayley has announced the breakdown of her marriage to Carl, those around them on the set of Cute are saying they saw it coming. Pete and Kayley have got on incredibly well since day one but as the weeks have passed, it?s become clear there is some attraction there. Obviously they play a couple in the film and it?s all very romantic and sweet. But the chemistry between them is so palpable, it?s all people could talk about on set. When the cameras stopped rolling they?d be cracking jokes and were clearly enjoying one another?s company. A friendship has definitely been formed between them and they seem very tight.?
[From The Sun]
I guess we?ll see, won?t we? She doesn?t like to be alone. Even if Pete wasn?t her jumpoff, I wonder if they?ll try it out now, because what the hell, why not. Personally, I kind of hope Kaley has matured past that kind of ill-advised fling, because that?s all it would be.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram, Backgrid.
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