Stitched Portraits: Klaus Kinski

Last Thursday, October 18, Klaus Kinski would have celebrated his 86th birthday. I celebrated it by watching Werner Herzog's Nosferatu and beginning Kinski's book, All I Need is Love.

Here, a portrait (with burning dark eyes):

Stitched Portraits: Erin McKeown

There was this one night in Providence, years ago (over a decade), when my cousin and I were early for a show at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel. I don't remember what band we were going to see, but I do remember our visit to a local art space, AS220, to kill some time. We walked into the beginning of this guitar player's performance and we were awestruck. Her skill with the instrument was commanding, but in a "who gives a shit how good I play?" kind of a way, the songs were sweet and completely memorable, and she was this just this little thing, completely owning the stage and our attention. She only had tapes at that performance and I kick myself for not getting one (my cousin did...)

Yesterday was her B-day.
I celebrated with a portrait.

Erin McKeown (Mick YONE):

Stitched Portraits: Paul Simon

On Saturday it was Paul Simon's 71st birthday. My family and I listened to Simon & Garfunkel and my 2-year old daughter danced to her favorite song, their version of Peggy-O.

Paul Simon (who taught me about Afro-Caribbean beats):

Stitched Portraits: Eleanor Roosevelt

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams"

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people"

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

- Eleanor Roosevelt (narrowed eyes):

 

Stitched Portraits: Thelonious Monk

I thought that it would be a birthday portrait of Ed Wood yesterday, but upon an in-depth listen and read into his life, Thelonious Monk gained a new fan (Thanks you Charles Crowley). This quote from Wikipedia immediately grabbed me:

"His compositions and improvisations are full of dissonant harmonies and angular melodic twists, and are consistent with Monk's unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of silences and hesitations."


Thelonious Monk (distant glance):

Stitched Portraits: Harvey Pekar + PJ Harvey

A tale of two Harveys

Pekar (b. Oct. 8, 1939) was a friend of R. Crumb through their shared love of Jazz music and place  (Cleveland, Ohio). Seeing his friend's work in underground comics, he was compelled to write serialized renditions of a working man's tales called American Splendor. His life story was made into a film of the same name in 2003 and in 2010, he passed away at the age of 70 - a man who brazenly shared his misgivings and didn't ask much for it.

PJ (b. Oct.9, 1969) is an English musician who plays music, seemingly, to make you feel uncomfortable. This is what I like about her. Throughout her career she has been both MTV accessible and almost outsider distant. She plays everything, moves around like a snake, and describes herself as "extremely quiet." Steve Albini said she ate nothing but Potatoes during their work together. I'd suggest White Chalk for any first listeners.

Their portraits:

Stitched Portraits: Desmond Tutu

First of all, you cannot deny that name. The images it conjures are worth the look up alone. But other that his anti-apartheid stance, I knew little of this man. What I found solidified the need to honor him on his birthday. He is a firm proponent for human rights even and especially when he is relatively alone - from his statements on Israel and Palestine to his vocal criticism of Mugabe for the atrocious treatment of Zimbabweans. On the latter, I am appalled that this has not been challenged further by the International community. We all know that Mugabe has caused much suffering and needs to be stopped. I applaud Tutu for his efforts

A former Archbishop who has won countless awards for his humanitarianism, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, Desmond Tutu (in robes):

Stitched Portraits: Glenn Branca

He came to New York in the late seventies for the theater and he decided to just plain kill it in a punk band called Theoretical Girls (amongst many other projects). His style veered on the experimental and he gave guitar playing a punch in the face. Consistently he has been a force for the Avant-Garde, even acting as a mentor to Sonic Youth in the earlier part of their existence. Over the past decade he has composed music for his 100 guitar ensemble (Heroes such as Annie Clark spent a stint). I can't believe it's taken this long for us to have met, but I feel our kinship. It's real. And drawing him felt natural.

Glenn Branca (string focus):