We collaborated with Smart Car on a billboard that’s being painted right now. As part of a project they’re doing about the “future of the city,” Smart asked six magazines to interpret what that phrase meant. Each design is going up as a billboard by Collosal Media at a different location on the city. For our collaboration, we asked artist Josh Slater to work with us. The final design can be seen starting September 1 on Spring Street between Lafayette and Crosby.

Photographer Corrine Day is rumored to have died. She was only in her forties but has been suffering from a brain tumor, so, though I hope the rumor is wrong, I’m feeling like it might be true. For those of you not familiar with her, she took the loveliest early photographs of Kate Moss, capturing in her something completely ephemeral and launching her career. I like most Day’s work as a photographer, but with those pictures I think she made something truly great.

Photographer and filmmaker Poppy de Villeneuve has been working on a series of ten interviews based on the Proust questionnaire. The first four, with Gerard DeCock, Mike Figgis, Emma Gibson and Edoardo Ballerini are posted to the Another Magazine site and can be seen here.

Our friend Josh Slater is an artist who has been doing some interesting projects recently. He designed a pyramid for the new MGMT video for Congratulations, and he also has been working on a project with us, designing a billboard for Smart Car which is going to be painted on Spring St. next week. Click “Read More” to see the MGMT video and for a a little get together of his for the Smart mural.

Josh’s drawing is going to be reproduced by Colossal Media on a 19 foot by 40 foot wall on Spring st (between Crosby and Lafayette Street, next to the 6 downtown train). The wall will start being prepped on the 27th and the painting will end on the 1st. To celebrate, he is going to have an opening party on Wednesday the 1st at Gatsby’s (63 Spring Street) from 6pm to around 10. Hope to see you there.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have always been strongly opposed to dressing dogs – or any pet for that matter – up in people clothes, as they are animals, not people. But there are instances in which exceptions can be made. Pony (pictured above) has been a fan of both Living Young and Maria Sharapova for some time now, so I feel it only fair for him to have his moment. Evian’s Live Young event at Mulberry Street yesterday allowed for everyone else who shares these likes to have their moments too and to become part of their online community.

I went to the Apollo for the first time last week for the premiere of the Nike Air Force 1 documentary. I was excited to be there and also a little surprised by how small and cozy it was. And even with the coziness, I can’t imagine the weight it carries as a performer to be on stage there.

The video below is Viktor Longo and Eric Heger (as The HarpThrobs), performing Mad World by Tears for Fears at the Jazz Foundation fundraiser concert at the Apollo. Viktor is my ex-boyfriend’s little brother. I’d be excited for anyone I know to be singing at the Apollo, but I’m extra excited when it’s someone I’ve known since he was seven years old, and even more so when he sounds like this. Click “Read More” for the video.

NY’ers on staycation this weekend and next, all is not lost. On both Sundays, the Great Room in Fort Greene plays host to 2 days of C.H.C.M. See you there.

It’s August, so I’m going to assume that a good number of you will be in the Hamptons at some point. If you want to check out some art while you’re there, Aurel Schmidt has a solo show opening tomorrow. It’s at The Fireplace Project, a contemporary art gallery in East Hampton, and will be running through Labor Day.

Aurel Schmidt
August 20-September 6
Opening Saturday, August 21, 6-8 pm
The Fireplace Project, 851 Springs Fireplace Road, East Hampton, NY

I shot Crystal Renn a few years ago and found her to be hands-down one of the best models I have ever had the chance to work with. She takes her job incredibly seriously and thus is seriously good at it. Plus you can’t take a bad picture of her, which I know people say but in this case happens to actually be true. I’ve been wanting to shoot her again, and I recently had the chance to. I did a cover shoot with stylist Aya Kanai for this new Canadian magazine called The Block. Below is a video of Crystal dancing between shots in a VPL bodysuit. I also just need to point out that the fact that she is a plus size model is pretty crazy and says a lot of things about the fashion industry – none of them good. Click “Read More” for the video.