Wednesday 15 September 2010

Opening night…

It was really fun yesterday at the opening (at least for me).

‘JJ’ was slightly (a little bit more than that) stressed before the opening. He was going on and on about how his stuff is shit and how they will start throwing tomatoes, broccoli and various other vegetables, fruit or eggs at him. It was all quite entertaining. I did my best to calm him though.

Surprisingly, the place was quite crowded. To be honest, I didn’t think it was properly advertised and promoted. I feared that only friends and relatives would be there but fortunately there were lots of people. A couple of glasses of wine eased JJ’s nerves and I think he started enjoying himself and the attention he was getting. We stayed there for almost three hours since JJ had to talk to potential buyers and do some PR. I was happy chatting to some people, noticing what artists wear these days (always fascinating), having some wine and food.


(I’d like to make a comment here. When organising an event like that, please do not serve pork ribs! It’s not really easy to eat and people are stuck with bones and greasy hands and faces! )

I was told that I look better than my portrait (always nice to hear) especially since JJ’s work is surreal and cubic, resembling Picasso’s portraits.



Out of the ten artists taking part in the exhibition, two managed to sell something. One of them was JJ! I was so happy for him. He needed a confidence boost since he wasn’t painting much recently. I probably take much of his free time and he hasn’t painted in ages. Funnily enough the portrait he sold was the one I had in my living room. Now, I have an empty space that needs to be filled. I’ll make him paint me something nice that he’ll probably exhibit next and maybe sell (yay!!). I want to help him create a proper portfolio of his work and set up a nice website. The other alternative of course is to use online galleries that mostly work with percentages of the things sold.

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Changing the subject, I am trying to find some nice gay related books to read. Can you please advice? I’ve read a couple books like two written by Hollinghurst but I can’t say I found them that great to be award winning material. I’ve also read ‘The City of Night’ which I also didn’t like. Preferably, I’m looking for a biography (Is the one written by Amaechi or Barrowman any good?) or a nice book with gay characters (is the ‘Geography club’ readable?). I’ve read the ‘A Home at the End of the World’ which I found decent and the ‘Night Watch’ by Sarah Waters. Thanks

7 comments:

  1. Books - try London Triptych by Jonathan Kemp. No a bio though.

    Personally I'd avoid Barrowman like a rash!

    ahoj

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  2. Or, on the subject of Bio, how about:

    The Pope is Not Gay, by Angelo Quattrocchi - an irreverent history of homophobic and sexist obscurantism in the Holy Roman Church and an endoscopic examination of its greatest contemporary advocate, Pope Benedict XVI. In his inimitable style, Angelo Quattrocchi traces the evolution of Joseph Ratzinger s life, beginning with the pope s childhood in Nazi Germany, his membership of the Hitler Youth in Bavaria and his conscription into the German anti-aircraft corps. His has been a startling career, a story that helps explain his development as a reactionary theologian and culminates in his carefully planned election to the papacy in 2005. Quattrocchi contrasts the Pope s doctrinal rigidity on issues such as birth control, abortion, and homosexuality to his extravagant attire and his controversial relationship with his private secretary, Cardinal Georg Gänswein. Rigidity on all fronts.
    The Pope is Not Gay

    ahoj

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  3. many congratulation to JJ...

    i like reading The meaning of Matthew and Becoming a man (Google it dear)

    Barrowman is so not my taste...hehehe

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  4. that is bloody awesome Nik :)

    Kudos to JJ

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  5. @MadeInScotland Thanks. I'll check out both books you've recommended. To be honest I don't know Barrowman. I don't watch TV much and I've been in this country for a short period of time. I just saw that it sells well in Amazon.

    @Suf_n_Steve Thanks. I'll check the two books you've recommended as well. I see that Barrowman is not that popular. :)

    @wozzel Thanks... :D

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  6. re: books, "G Quotient" is a neat book about how out, gay executive leaders are measurably more effective than their straight counterparts. It's a pretty quick read, but certainly interesting.

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  7. @Gauss_Jordan Thanks for that. It sounds quite interesting indeed.

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