Nights in Connecticut.

Sitting in your chair, smoking your effetely rolled cigarette,
I see the image of the icy moon refracted
In the stolid waters gone black
And it is a solemn night in Connecticut
When only coyotes are killing.

Naturally, a full moon mines the passage
Envelopes our conversation in its dull supernal glow
And a small flame wicks itself
In the heat of exhaled smoke
The acrid curl of whiskey licking the throat
The heat of our young blood
On the night of the hunt.

In blood we are borne
The milk of that husky moon
And the dusky howl of the darkness that surrounds us.

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The Cliffs of Acitrezza

still, La Terra Trema, reg. Luchino Visconti

“Granita with Artist” is what surfaced from this moment of suspension. You “painted” it in the truest colors you knew, in a style that demanded no flighty interpretation. You appreciated the dual coldness of representation and title—the scarcity of color gave it an almost monochrome palette, drawn out from umbers and blacks, cadmium white, bluish-greys. The title framed the entire transaction for you, condensed the drive away from the dusty city, the façade of the small pink house, the adolescents splayed out on the sciara, into one extractable essence. The truth is that you didn’t even need the painting, and that is why you preserved the image in the living pigment of memory. The sciara still spoke to you in verses of slippery stone, in labile intonations. At times, you awoke feeling the grit of the granita on your tongue and the lingering bitterness of lemon rind. And even the jackal face of the artist surfaced periodically out of the ruins of the times when you knew each other.

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The remains of the day.

Thank you, unsphinxincompris, D.J.

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Writer's Block

old and new copies of Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, Fantastic Man, T Magazine
mixed with travel photos, books, and stones

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Enzo Mari for Artek: Autoproggettazione at the Conran Shop

"la forma risponde al significato del oggetto."--enzo mari

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Sirena, alla McMenamy

all images, courtesy of vogue.it

I am intrigued by the boundless depths of Steven Meisel's imagination.
Namely, his conceptualization for the August issue of Vogue Italia, "Water and Oil,"
portraying Kristen McMenamy as an apocalyptic sea nymph awash
in oil and couture. We arrive closer to the etymological origin
of the word decadence, to which the leggy muse McMenamy may
stand as a harbinger.

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Reminiscences

ukha, la minestra russa da Io Sono L'Amore

"The first colors that made a strong impression on me
were bright, juicy green, white, carmine red, black and yellow ochre.
These memories go back to the third year of my life. I saw these colors
on various objects which are no longer as clear in my mind as the colors themselves."
-kandinsky, "Reminiscences"

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The last two weeks...

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Notes from an Italian Summer

If you've been checking in throughout the past few weeks,
you'll have already noticed my culinary obsession with italy and summer.
I often reflect on my adventures in that wonderful place, and food
(and its preparation) offers the most visceral re-connection. I offer to
the jury Phaidon's latest bookshelf marvel, Recipes from an Italian Summer,
as a potent device for rendering oneself defenseless against severe bouts of
longing for the motherland, and its delectable bounty.

You may even give in and try something completely new, such as my foray
into the delicate zucchini blossom. After many requests, I have posted my
newly vaunted recipe below.

Natalie & Lisa's ricotta-stuffed Zucchini Flowers
(Fiori di Zucca Ripieni)

what you will need:
13 - 18 cleaned zucchini flowers
3 lg eggs
1 cup fresh ricotta
1/4 cup grated parmesan
wondra/flour
fresh herbs, such as thyme, basil, parsley
cooking oil, such as canola or peanut
s&p



Step 1: assemble the filling -- in a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, herbs, and egg, making sure to evenly distribute the egg. add salt & pepper to taste.

(in the meantime, make sure to gingerly remove the stamens (i.e. male sexyparts)
from your zucchini flowers -- you don't want to bite into that.)

Step II: Stuffing and breading -- with a small spoon or pastry bag, fill each flower
with a dollop of filling, making sure not to add so much that the flower won't be
able to close. With your fingers, "close" and twist shut the petals of each flower.
Break the remaining eggs into a shallow bowl and whisk with a few tablespoons of
water to create an egg wash. Pour an ample amount of flour into an identical bowl, and season with salt&pepper to your liking.


Step III: Sizzle in a frying pan
Now the dance begins -- you are ready to coat the flowers in a layer of egg and flour, and
then into the frying pan. Fill a deep skillet with about 1 cup of oil, and place on high heat until the oil gets smoky.

Once you have coated the blossoms in egg and flour, fry them in the skillet no more
than 3 at a time on 1 minute per side.

Remove blossoms when thoroughly browned and
place onto a tray lined with paper towels.

each batch serves 6-8 people as antipasto (made only for the ones you love)
pairs well with an heirloom tomato panzanella

buon appetito!

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Gold Standard: Recent works by Ivy Mix

Ivy Mix, enantiomers, 2010. mirror, plywood, gold leaf, negra modelo gold foil; 12 x 51 x 9 in.

Ivy Mix, Horror Vacui, 2010. Plywood, paper, paint, negra modelo gold foil, fluorescent light; 48 x 48 x 14 in.

For more of Ivy's art, visit her site.

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Taste of Summer, pt. II

The fig makes its fashionable debut on tabletops in Italy and throughout the Mediterranean
in the warm, balmy summer months. Italians prepare them several ways, as a condiment
for meat dishes such as wild game hens, or as the opening acts -- decadent antipasti grilled or served raw with salty prosciutto. My take on the fig is below; an easy recipe perfect for large parties that combines distinctly regional flavors with seasonal ingredients.


Fichi con Ricotta dolcificata con miele (Figs with Honeyed Ricotta)

8 - 10 figs, sliced in half, lengthwise
1/3 - 1/2 cup ricotta fresca (preferably ricotta di bufala, if you can find it)
2 generous tspns honey
a good aged balsamic vinegar

On a cutting board or disposable tray, coat each fig with a drop of balsamic vinegar. Transfer
coated figs to platter. In a small mixing bowl, whip the ricotta with a spoon to lighten
the texture, gradually incorporating the honey until fully integrated and airy.
With a spoon or melon baller, "shape" ricotta into little gobs and spoon on top of
each individual fig. Make sure to only coat the center of the fig.

serves 4 - 6

buon appetito!

figs with honeyed ricotta, assorted olives, and greek style gigante beans

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Taste of Summer, pt. I

Fresh vegetables, ingredients, and seafood combine in this stress-free recipe in two acts that emphasizes bold flavors and involves almost no cooking.

Tonno alla Siciliana (Tuna steaks Sicilian-style)

ingredients:

2 ahi or sashimi grade tuna steaks (approx. 2 lbs.)
4-6 good summer tomatos (jersey tomatos suggested)
1/2 cup pitted and roughly chopped kalamata olives
2-4 sprigs fresh mint
a small handful of parsley
one lemon
good italian olive oil
pepperoncino (chili flakes), salt & pepper

Act I - make the salsa cruda:

roughly chop tomatos into nice large cubes and layer into medium glass bowl w/juice
(N.B. the goal with this dish is not perfection, but rather il sapore del paese, a taste of the country. all chopped ingredients should be large enough to see and identify with the naked eye.) Lightly salt the tomatoes and let weep in the bowl.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley and mint until the herb mix is unified (most of my
instructions for this dish include the word "roughly" - keep in mind, this is
an expressive dish). After a sufficient amount of liquid has accrued in the bottom of the bowl,
add the herb mix and the kalamatas and mix together gently.

Add the juice of half the lemon to the tomato-kalamata mixture and stir.
set other lemon half aside (quartered, it will serve as a table accoutrement). Next, add
a generous amount of olive oil (2-3 tblspns), and pepperoncino.

Set salsa cruda aside and let ingredients macerate for at least half an hour.

Act II - Searing the tuna

coat tuna steaks on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brush a light layer of olive oil on both sides.

on high heat, heat a medium skillet (no extra oil required).
When the skillet is hot, add the tuna, one steak at a time (you should hear a nice sizzle). Depending on the thickness of the fish, searing each side should take less than 2 minutes per side, but keep an eye on the fish.

Finally, plate seared tuna steaks and add a generous amount of
the salsa cruda on top of the fish.

serves 2

pairs well with Sicilian white wines, such as the Inzolia variety

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Obsession: The North Carolina Museum of Art's African Wing

Yinka Shonibare at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

The North Carolina Museum of Art may not be located
in an area known for its impressive collections, but this museum refreshingly proves
any art prejudices about the South wrong.

Point in case: NCMA's exquisite African Art wing.
Stunning works by contemporary artists Yinka Shonibare
and El Anatsui join 17th and 18th century African tribal costumes and objets,
demonstrating the fertile continuum of African craft and creativity.


African tribal costume.



El Anatsui. Lines that Link Humanity, 2008. 18 x 25 ft.; discarded aluminum and copper wire. NCMA.

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Will the Summer Make Good for all of our Sins?

I've been listening to this breezy album by the Icelandic outfit
and dusting off my summer dresses.

Last week I was introduced to the line of Brooklyn designer
Sveta Dresher, and hope to make some of her beautiful linen frocks my own.

Get in touch with me, and I'll tell you something exciting that has happened...

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So long, Louise

In honor of L.B., I return to a post on the old blog I wrote

while contemplating her Retrospective at the Guggenheim.

Your work continues to challenge and inspire.

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Summering....

Prints of the Alerion, Nathanael Herreshoff's personal sailing sloop.

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The Death of an Original

Goodnight, dark prince.

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The Difficult Loves, via Pablo Neruda

LOVE

By Pablo Neruda

photo, Henri Cartier-Bresson

Because of you, in gardens of blossoming

Flowers I ache from the perfumes of spring.

I have forgotten your face, I no longer

Remember your hands; how did your lips

Feel on mine?

Because of you, I love the white statues

Drowsing in the parks, the white statues that

Have neither voice nor sight.

I have forgotten your voice, your happy voice;

I have forgotten your eyes.

Like a flower to its perfume, I am bound to

My vague memory of you. I live with pain

That is like a wound; if you touch me, you will

Make to me an irreperable harm.

Your caresses enfold me, like climbing

Vines on melancholy walls.

I have forgotten your love, yet I seem to

Glimpse you in every window.

Because of you, the heady perfumes of

Summer pain me; because of you, I again

Seek out the signs that precipitate desires:

Shooting stars, falling objects.

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Fascists, and the Women Who Love Them

Vincere (dir. Marco Bellocchio) tells the story of the woman who may or may not be

Benito Mussolini's first wife, Ida Dalser. The film, set within the backdrop of

Italy at a time of deep social and political revolution, reveals the volatile love

affair between the two, and its repercussions as they play out amidst Mussolini's

rise to power (Dalser, who bore a son with Mussolini, left Milan for her native Trento,

where she spent the rest of her life under Fascist party surveillance. She was forcibly interned

at the asylum of Pergine Valsugana, and died in 1936 on the island of San Clemente in Venice.

Her son, Benito Albino Mussolini, died in 1942 at age 26, in an asylum in Mombello, Milan.)

The film, while deliberately focusing on Dalser's story,

masterfully depicts the powerful role

that intellectual movements such as Futurism, as well as celluloid films and propaganda newsreels,

had in shaping the zeitgeist of Fascist-era Italy -- the black, monumental visage

of "Il Duce" looming in the background throughout the last half of the film

as a grim adumbration of the man whose physical presence charged the first half of the film.

Marco Bellocchio remarks on this topic in an interview with Fabio Periera that appeared

in the Huffington Post:

"I think the historical aspect of the story is extremely interesting because I chose to tell a passionate story set at a time of deep social revolution. These deep changes in society were not only that, but there were also changes at the artistic level. In fact, in the film, futurism has a great role. And futurism was an artistic movement that was primarily Italian at the time and Mussolini actually supported that, and the futurist artists all supported fascism later on. Also, it's right in those years that cinema became important and a mass phenomenon. And Mussolini was indeed the first politician in Italy who (understood) the strategic importance of a poltician's image. In this sense, we can draw parallels with prime minister Silvio Berlusconi today."

Vincere, dir. Marco Belloccho, Starring Filippo Timi as Mussolini and Giovanna Mezzogiorno as Ida Dalser

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