The Rolling Stones signed 10 guitars that will be sold at the May 6 auction organized by NYDG Foundation to benefit victims of the Haiti earthquake. Image courtesty of NYDG Foundation.
NEW YORK – Mick Jagger, L’Wren Scott, Rachel Weisz, Catherine Zeta Jones, Michelle Williams, Sienna Miller, Jude Law, Helmut Lang, John Currin, Rachel Feinstein, Naomi Watts, Zac Posen, Christopher Niquet, Margery and Ted Mayer, EJ Camp, Edie Falco and Dr. David A. Colbert will lend a hand – figuratively – when they host a benefit and auction May 6 to raise funds for Haitians who suffered the loss of a limb during the earthquake in January. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
“I came back from Haiti believing that one of the most important things we can do is to provide the prosthetics and related services that people who were injured will need to function again,” said Colbert, a prominent New York physician, after his first visit to Haiti after the earthquake. “If each of us does one little thing, it can add up to a very big thing, so we are raising money for a prosthetics clinic in Port au Prince that we know will make a big difference,” he said.
The auction will feature the works of major artists, photographers and designers. Guitars have been signed and donated by Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Woods, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Bryan Adams, and drum skins from Charlie Watts and Kenney Jones.
Another major lot in the benefit auction is a luxury cruise with Yachts of Seabourn.
Auction items have been donated by country music artist Taylor Swift; designers Zac Posen, Thakoon, Narciso Rodriguez, Helmut Lang, Calvin Klein; jewelry designers Fred Leighton and Diana Broussard; artists Elizabeth Peyton, Shaun Dulaney, Luca Pizzaroni, Tauba Auerbach, Huma Bhabha, Jules de Balincourt, Jason Fox, Rachel Harrison, Mary Heilmann, Jacob Kassay, Louise Lawler, Chris Martin, Dave Muller, Wangechi Mutu, Stephen Shore, James Siena, Philip Taaffe, Fred Tomaselli, Kelley Walker, Jill Moser, David Benaïnous, Andrea Tess; and photographers Annie Leibovitz, EJ Camp, Sante D’Orazio, Jim Marshall, Roberto Dutesco and Al Satterwhite.
Also helping to raise funds for the cause, accessory designer Paige Novick teamed up with her friend Lu Simon, who is Haitian, to create the Hope Bracelet. A double leather strap using a vintage coin that reads L’Union est la force, translated to “There is strength in unity.” It is available for $200 at www.nydgfoundation.org/haiti
The benefit and auction will be held May at The Greenhouse, Scholastic, 557 Broadway. The event includes a VIP reception from 6 to 7 p.m. ($750/person) and a cocktail party and auction from 7 to 10 p.m. ($400/person).
Tickets, list of auction items and more information are available at www.nydgfoundation.com/haiti
NYDG Foundation doctors respond to medical crises around the world. The address is 119 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10003.
‘Granite, Oklahoma’ is a C-print by Steven Shore. The photographic print measures 5 inches by 7 1/2 inches. It is 7 of an edition of 10. Image courtesty of NYDG Foundation. Artist Mary Heilmann’s glazed ceramic titled ‘Spanky’ has a $7,000-$15,000 estimate. It measures 9 3/4 inches by 9 1/2 inches. Image courtesty of NYDG Foundation. ‘S’Nicky Eyes’ is Wangechi’s multi-medium work of ink, collage and tape on X-Ray. It measures 7 1/4 by 5 1/4. Image courtesty of NYDG Foundation. Sante D’Orazio photographed actress Pamela Anderson at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles in 2008. The 20- by 24-inch photograph carries a $7,500-$10,000 estimate. Image courtesty of NYDG Foundation.
Fiat heir and furniture designer Lapo Elkann contributed to the retro-chic styling of the Fiat 500 shown in this picture taken in Torino, Italy, on July 5, 2007. Photo appears by permission of its creator, Thomas Doerfer, through Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.5 License.
MILAN (AP) – This would be a car fanatic’s dream room: an exhaust-pipe chandelier hanging over a crystal dining table top resting on Formula One tires.
The creations embody the identity of their designer: Lapo Elkann, an heir to the Fiat auto empire, whose latest foray into the world of design was on premiere at the Milan Furniture Show, which ended Monday.
“It’s not only about automobiles. It’s also the concept of recycling, which today is essential,” Elkann said.
Probably no one can tap into the Ferrari tire supply chain more easily than Elkann. He’s also taken shock absorbers from trucks and tanks and made them the base for side tables, with a crystal top or one of fine, wooden kite board.
Elkann’s designs are being realized by the Italian company Meritalia. But this is not his first time working as a designer: He helped on the retro-chic Fiat 500 and has designed sunglasses. He also customizes his own cars.
The chandelier Wroom Wroom costs about $13,163, the dining table Roll Roll sells for $9,400 and the shock-absorbing side tables start at $1,343.
Elkann’s entree into Meritalia was thanks to Gaetano Pesce, the New York-based Italian designer of whimsical furniture.
Elkann, 32, and Pesce, 70, each had a store front window of Meritalia’s central Milan store to show their creations in the hottest opening of design week, paparazzi bulbs flashing. Pesce’s was a green carpet-covered sofa with brown cushions draped with oversize fabric flowers. “Fiorita,” the soft, inviting sofa, starts at about $8,730.
“I thought to make a meadow where flowers have been planted, and some have already grown,” Pesce said. It was the natural segue to his “Montanara” modular sofas of last year, featuring winter mountain scenes. Expect to see Pesce’s vision of summer next year and fall the next.
Pesce said he saw in Elkann a creative power and did what he had done for other friends: suggested that Meritalia work with him. The pair of Italians with New York roots met in 2004 when Elkann opened a Fiat cafe at Milan’s Triennale design and modern art museum.
“He translated the vitality of his family. He did not pretend to make things very elegantly. That is not interesting,” Pesce said.
Also of note at the Milan furniture show:
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The designing Brazilian brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana have taken inspiration from cloth dolls handmade by women in the remote Brazilian village of Esperanca for their latest creation: a white Murano glass chandelier featuring glass figures of the folkloric dolls dressed in red and black.
The white base of the chandelier, which is called “Esperanca,” creates a cloud-like atmosphere, from which jut the torsos or legs of the dolls. The chandeliers are made on the Venetian glass-blowing island of Murano for Venini.
While the Esperanca dolls sell for about $10 in Brazil, the chandelier is pricier – about $53,000 for a large version, $39,600 for a small. Each are in a limited series of five.
For the more price-conscious, the brothers also created limited-edition vases with the figures, at $6,580 each.
The glasswork is the second project they have made based on the Esperanca dolls, after a chair, “Multidao,” that featured dozens of them sewn onto it. That chair brought the dolls national attention in Brazil, Humberto Campana said.
The brothers liked that they were helping the village, so they decided to do more. “We wanted to reproduce the dolls in glass, which was more sophisticated, more detailed,”’ Humberto said.
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The “Bend Sofa” by Milan-based Spanish designer Patricia Urquoia is understated and contemporary, and could fit anyone’s living room, if not budget. Its undulating modular forms allow maximum versatility.
A brown, three-section, L-shaped model in its Milan showroom runs about $11,760. Another layout nearby showed just how versatile the design is: The long white sofa alternated backs, allowing one sofa to serve many spaces.
B&B Italia’s sofas are made in the Brianza area near Lake Como. Their classic styles have a long life, even 25 to 30 years, with the possibility of changing the velcro-attached fabric.
The B&B Italia customer “is someone who sees the difference between what we do and what Crate & Barrel does or what IKEA does,” said Jonathan Friedlander, B&B Italia USA’s marketing director. “There is a great overlap with the art world. People who are culturally sophisticated, educated and, of course, people who are wealthy.”
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Designer Daniele Basso, who once worked for Versace in Italy and the United States, presented stainless steel mirrors by his Glocal Design company. This year’s novelty: a mirror panel shaped like the Berlin Wall, starting at about $1,070.
Recognizing the connection between design and fashion, Basso displayed his mirrors in the via Manzoni showroom of the Italian outdoor-wear maker Napapijri. After all, fashion needs mirrors.
“Design is not about beauty and aesthetics. It is a way to resolve problems,” Basso said.
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One thing that won’t be going on sale soon but would appeal to any former kid who loved slime or rubber worms: Pesce’s armchairs made out of silicon tubes. They look as if they were molded out of thick spaghetti, colorful garden hoses or glowing blue worms. Pesce has been experimenting with the material since 1996. The first chairs weighed about 172 pounds; they’re now down to 40 pounds.
“To experiment with design is very important because design is the art of our time. It is very mature and advanced, not just things practical, and you can tell a story, a political story, a philosophical story, a religious story,” Pesce said. “That’s what art did in the past. If you go to a contemporary art store, no one understands anything. Design has the capacity to talk to anyone. That is democracy.”
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
2009 photo of Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater, taken by Stu pendous. Photo licensed under the Creative commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Michael Jackson’s fedora, Ella Fitzgerald’s dress and Louis Armstrong’s trumpet are together in Washington to celebrate New York’s Apollo Theater that helped make these stars shine.
The Smithsonian’s not-yet-built black history museum is bringing Harlem to the nation’s capital with the first exhibit focused on the Apollo and its impact. It opens Friday at the National Museum of American History.
The late King of Pop won the theater’s Amateur Night as a youngster in 1967 with the Jackson Five. Fitzgerald debuted on Amateur Night at age 17. Many other top names also were frequent performers.
Singer and actress Leslie Uggams toured the exhibit Tuesday, recalling the start of her career at the Apollo. She debuted at age 9 and soon was appearing in 29 shows a week.
The Apollo Theater is one of the most famous music halls in the United States, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It serves as the home base for Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated variety show consisting of new talent.
The theater is located at 253 W. 125th Street in New York City’s Manhattan borough.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Form-fitted left-hand glove with armor plating, designed by Tony Stark and worn with the Mark III Iron Man suit. Sold through LiveAuctioneers.com for $6,600 against an estimate of $1,000-$1,500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Propworx.
CHICAGO (AP and ACNI) – It’s not every day you get to attend a billionaire’s yard sale. OK, defense contractor Tony Stark (a k a “Iron Man”) is a fictional character played by Robert Downey Jr., but to fans of both the film and comic books attending last weekend’s Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), the display of props and costumes from the film Iron Man and the auction of those items on Sunday felt very real.
It probably helped that employees from Propworx, the auction house hired by Marvel Studios to oversee the auction, were dressed in T-shirts bearing the Stark Industries logo. And it didn’t hurt one bit that LiveAuctioneers.com – providers of Internet live-bidding services to more than 900 auction houses worldwide – was chosen to facilitate the online bidding. In the end, 57.1% of the sale’s gross was generated from fans using LiveAuctioneers to place their bids through cyberspace.
A total of 219 items from the film – everything from dresses worn by Gwyneth Paltrow (as Stark’s secretary Pepper Potts) to props used in the making of the big-budget 2008 hit – were entered in the auction.
Props actually used in production by the stars (referred to as “hero props”) sold for prices more than double those for the same props never used on screen). Lot 127, a fictional Chronicle newspaper with the headline “Who Is the Iron Man?,” showing wear around its edges from being held by Downey over several takes, sold for $1,200. A double of that same prop fetched $720.
The item that made the highest price at auction was Lot 29, the Iron Monger Hero Helmet and Torso. Film producers indicated it was used for “practical, non-CGI shots.” It sold to a Chicago movie memorabilia collector for $19,200.
The bidder, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had placed a ceiling price of $18,000 on the item, but then decided at the last minute to raise his final bid.
“It’s a great movie and a unique piece,” he said. “I think it will be a good investment.”
Other items receiving high bids:
An Iron Man Crushed Mark III Helmet, seen in the final battle in the film but not used by Downey ($13,200 to another anonymous Chicago bidder).
The Iron Man Hero Mark I RT Unit, a power source that Paltrow removes from Downey’s chest ($10,800 to a LiveAuctioneers.com bidder).
The Iron Man Hero Mark II RT Unit she replaced the other unit with in that same scene ($10,200 to a LiveAuctioneers bidder).
The Iron Man Mark I Mask piece members of the Ten Rings team found in the sand after Tony Stark’s escape ($9,000 to a LiveAuctioneers bidder).
Hero left-hand glove with armor plate Tony Stark designed and wore with the Mark III Iron Man suit ($6,600 to a LiveAuctioneers bidder).
“This is more than just a garage sale. We see this as much more than just selling props,” said Propworx founder and CEO Alec Peters. “Auctions like these are as much about selling the brand as they are about selling assets.”
“There are hundreds if not thousands of warehouses in Los Angeles packed with items from film and television,” added Propworx’s Shelley Oliver Littleton. “These are huge expenses on balance sheets. Auctions monetize those assets and give fans a shot of owning one-of-a-kind items.”
“I really don’t think it’s just about making money for Marvel,” she added. “Marvel has built their business on pleasing the fans, and auctions like this are less about making money and more about making fans happy.”
And while all of the items on the auction block were from the film and not it’s soon-to-be-released sequel, Marvel Entertainment brand manager Michael Pasciullo said both the comic book and film are benefiting from the auction.
Things like this raise awareness for the brand, he said. The character has been around since the 1960s, but before the movie came out he wasn’t that known outside the comic-book community.”
One bidder paid $840 for Lot 24, the Mark I Iron Man Armor Butt Plate. (“An integral piece of the Iron Man Mark I armor,” according to the hardcover auction catalog – which, at $20, was the cheapest thing you could buy that had an association with the auction).
“Something that appears ordinary to you might mean something more to a fan,” Oliver Littleton said. “You just never know what will appeal to a fan.”
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog, with prices realized, for the April 18 Propworx Iron Man auction.
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Catherine Saunders-Watson of Auction Central News International contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Iron Man Mark I mask piece fund in sand during Ten Rings search of the desert after Tony Stark’s escape. Sold through LiveAuctioneers.com for $9,000 against an estimate of $1,000-$2,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Propworx. Screen-used Mark I RT chest unit that Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) helps Tony Stark to remove from his chest to replace with an upgraded Mark II chest unit. Sold through LiveAuctioneers.com for $10,800 against an estimate of $2,000-$4,000.
China plate teeth face jug, late 1960s, attributed to Lanier Meaders, could have been made by Cheever, estimate: $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Slotin Auction. BUFORD, Ga. – A two-day sale featuring more than 1,000 lots of self-taught art, Southern folk pottery, outsider art, African-American decorative arts, quilts and, circus art will be conducted May 1-2 by Slotin Auction. The sale will be held in the historic Buford Hall, 112 E. Shadburn Ave., starting promptly at 10 a.m. Eastern. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Headlining the event will be the prestigious folk art collections of Karen and Werner Gundersheimer and Roger Schlaifer. Both collections have been widely exhibited and illustrated. Many of the works were highlighted in the book American Folk Art of the Twentieth Century by Jay Johnson and William Ketchum Jr. The auction will read like a “who’s who” in folk art.
Almost every artist featured in Johnson and Ketchum’s landmark book will be represented in the auction. The sale will also feature an ambitious fund-raiser for Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art; the Clay Morrison Estate to benefit the School of Art Institute of Chicago; and property of the Columbus Museum of Art.
An oil on canvas painting by Georgia artist Mattie Lou O’Kelley (1908-1997), The Watermelon Cutting, signed and dated 1979, is expected to bring $20,000-$30,000. The work served as cover art for William Ketchum’s book American Folk Art. Also sold will be a 1978 work by O’Kelley titled Spotted Cat (est. $8,000-$12,000), which appeared in Life Magazine.
A large (40 inches by 15 1/2 inches) museum-quality mixed media on paper rendering by Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980), titled The Great Now Jerusalem, featuring Sister Gertrude marrying Jesus, has been conservatively estimated at $30,000-$40,000. The paint, acrylic, tempera and ballpoint pen on paper work depicts angels and dinner table detail and is signed.
Six works by Clementine Hunter (1886-1988) will cross the block, including Madona (sic) of the Lilies, a large paint on board work executed in the 1950s and recently exhibited at the African American Museum in Dallas. The 23- by 19-inch painting includes authentication papers from Shelby Gilley, and is expected to command $8,000-$12,000.
The auction will feature 23 works by the talented and prolific potters from the Meaders family. A china plate teeth face jug by Lanier Meaders was the top lot at Slotin’s last Southern Fold Pottery Auction in November, bringing $8,855. This sale will feature a late 1960s china plate teeth face jug, attributed to Lanier and in mint condition (est. $3,000-$5,000).
What would a Slotin Auction be without Howard Finster (1916-2001)? This auction has 26 renderings by the artist, including an enamel on board beauty titled There Were Just Enough (est. $5,000-$8,000). The pre-1976 work was exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Alliance Show titled Howard Finster, Man of Vision, and was featured in a pair of authoritative folk art books.
An oil on board by Red Grooms, titled Bill Traylor and Fighting Dogs, acquired from the Marlborough Gallery, N.Y., is expected to hit $5,000-$7,000. An ink and watercolor on paper by David Hockney, titled Family Outing, should make $2,000-$4,000. And No. 74, The Tragic Fire at Bucks Stables, Independence, Indiana, by Tella Kitchens, should breeze to $7,000-$10,000.
Welcoming Lady, a 6-foot-tall painted cement sculpture by an anonymous maker, circa 1920s, should rise to $4,000-$6,000.
Additional artists of note in the sale include Frank Jones, Joseph Yoakum, S.L. Jones, Raymond Coins, Sam Doyle, Thornton Dial, Charlie Willeto, George Lopez, Felipe Archuleta, Robert St. Brice, Forrest King Moses and Edgar Tolson.
Also represented in the sale will be William Dawson, Jesse Howard, Eddie Arning, Bryan McNutt, Justin McCarthy, Victor Joseph Gatto, Andrea Badami, Lawrence Lebduska, Gustav Klumpp, James Castle, Chief Wiley, Frog Smith, Stephen Huneck, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver, Robert Brady (nudes), Teofilo Magliocchi (sensual pencil drawings) and many others.
The auction will also feature some rare and special treats, like the anonymous water hose-powered whirligig, circa 1940s; a Flemish Impressionist work by Edmond Verstraeten, 1870-1956; an original study by Norman Rockwell; circus sideshow banners; African American juke joint signs; 19th-century ledger drawings; and works of mid-century modernism.
Additional surprises will include contemporary art by Todd Murphy, profound art by Monji, Jewish folk art from Burma, Day of Dead masks, skeletons and costumes, newly acquired 1950s drawings by Boykin Richardson, African American quilts, industrial skull molds, a real North Georgia moonshine still and a drivable 1992 folk art van, painted by Sam McMillan.
Slotin Auction’s next big sale after this one will be held in November and feature the prestigious Howard Campbell Americana Collection. More information will be posted on the Web site as the auction date draws near at www.slotinfolkart.com. Slotin Auction has been in business for about 17 years. The firm conducts several sales a year in a converted grocery store in downtown Buford.
Slotin Auction is always accepting quality consignments. To consign a single piece or an entire collection, call (770) 532-1115 or (404) 403-4244. Or, you can send an e-mail to auction@slotinfolkart.com. To order a free 140-page color catalog for the Spring 2010 Masterpiece Auction, call (770) 532-1115.
To learn more about Slotin Auction and the firm’s calendar of upcoming events, please log on to www.slotinfolkart.com.
Oil on canvas by Mattie Lou O’Kelley (1908-1989), ‘Watermelon Cutting,’ image 26 inches by 24 inches, estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Slotin Auction. Mixed media work by Sister Gertrude Morgan, ‘The Great Now Jerusalem,’ image 40 inches by 15 1/2 inches, estimate: $30,000-$40,000. Image courtesy of Slotin Auction. Enamel on board by Howard Finster, ‘There Were Just Enough,’ image 26 inches by 20 inches, estimate: $5,000-$8,000). Image courtesy of Slotin Auction. Cement, paint and tin piece, anonymous, circa 1920s, ‘Welcome Lady,’ 67 inches high, estimate: $4,000-$6,000).
