Just Kids

Poet, musician, performer Patty Smith recently released a memoir about her formative years and her relationship with the late artist, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, titled Just Kids. Her story shows how she and Robert struggled to be artists in NYC and how they were really Just Kids. I had not known much personally about Patti Smith or Mapplethorpe, or even much about her work prior to reading the book. Smith vividly describes many of Mapplethorpe's early collage work in Just Kids. I had only seen his photos and didn't have a clue that he started off with making assemblages. I asked the fine folks at the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation if they could point me to a source on the web for these images since they did not come up easily in a google search. And here they are for those of you who might be curious too. I found the book to be an insightful one, written by a now successful, iconic artist and really the steps she and Robert took or stumbled on to get there. It was an inspiring journey, one that I think many of you might enjoy reading.

I found this Fresh Air podcast interview with Terry Gross to be a good supplement to the book. I agree with her when she describes, at the end of the interview, about being able to recognize joy in the midst of sorrow. As she did when her brother passed away, the moments she shared with her sister. It is an important feeling to hold when emotionally shaken. I recall a similar moment that I shared with my sister, in the middle of a Buddhist ceremony during the process of my father's funeral, where we burst out laughing. The Buddhist nun gave us an awful look, and scolded us, but we saw the humor in the situation and enjoyed being able to bond that way.

I also wanted to mention the documentary Black White + Gray which depicts the relationship between Robert Mapplethorpe and his lover, the curator, Sam Wagstaff. The film actually focuses more on Wagstaff than Mapplethorpe, and while some of the people interviewed were not so credible, I found it to be interesting background info on Mapplethorpe and Wagstaff.

It's too bad there isn't a place like Max's Kansas City for us younger artists!

Agassi's Open

I am a big fan of Terry Gross who hosts Fresh Air which I listen to on WNYC. She recently did an interview with tennis star Andre Agassi which I really enjoyed. I have a friend who was a huge Agassi fan when we were 13 or so. She decided one summer that we should go to the US Open, why not, we lived in Queens. We didn't have any money for tickets but she was convinced we could look cute (and pathetic) enough for people to give us tickets at the entrance. Somehow, our scheme worked. We went two years in a row and managed to get into the players lounge as well. It was swell.

Terry Gross talked to Agassi about his recently released book, Open. He reveals this, "I play tennis for a living, even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion, and always have." (This is a huge revelation coming from a guy who was ranked no. 1). It's an interesting conversation where he describes his childhood of tennis camps and his father. His father was a former Iranian boxing champion and tennis fanatic, who pushed him to achieve in Tennis, to complete an immigrant's dream for his child. The best part of the interview was about Agassi's hair (and its malfunctions). It cracked me up. You can hear the entire interview and read an exert from the book on Fresh Air.