I spoke with Christopher Stribley today. The New York artist whom I adore was feeling a bit peaked but in good spirits. I called him from Switzerland, straight to the hallway of the famous funny farm he is currently holed up in. He almost out chic-ed Mdvanii, thusly, he is SOOoooooo Mdvanii.....he IS a MDVANIIISM! Can you imagine? He is a living, breathing Mdvaniiism!
Nestled comfortably in the Psychiatric Ward of Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, slightly drugged out and zoning, the totally 19th-century artist clearly has decided to live classic poetical moments and give forth, for the year of our Lord 2010, major art aura. From this iron barred windowed place of prestige where the momentarily disturbed have gone since ages, when you speak with him the first thing you hear is that he has a slight British accent, of such poise and elegance, you can only wonder where it comes from,...endless cultivation surely.
He knows Emma by Jane Austen as well as I do. That catches me by total surprise.
Currently he's reading something called "The Best American Nonrequired Reading of 2010" (Edited by Dave Eggers and with an introduction by David Sedaris, published by Mariner Press, Boston/NY). It's all so mysterious and a twee bit oppressive, we can just only twinge with delight at it's 19th-century oppressiveness and je ne sais quoi. It seems whatever he says or does, even in the mythic "nut farm" as he called it, it turns into poetry. Subtle, minimalistic poetry.
He's so punk. He's so Victoriana Punk. He's Steam Punk and Pop Punk. When you see him, tall, skinny, red-haired and bearded usually, he looks right out of a Daguerreotype. Christopher has a dandy tucked inside his Sid Vicious glamour.
He's having a show for a month (opening November 11th until December 11th) at a place called, now does it surprise you?....., "LiveFast", a vintage clothing store specialzing in Rockabilly wear. It is located somewhere near Stanton and Rivington Streets on the Lower East Side. Isn't that just maddeningly chic? I can't bear it.
Christopher does photos of street art. He does it to the point that the street becomes HIS art, he has what one calls "an eye". He creates from what he sees and often what we don't see but should, poetry and magic when we'd sadly just hurry by it. He makes street art into (capital "S", capital "A") Street Art which turns immediately into just good ol' Art! The good stuff, the kind we want for a long time and not just like flairs, for a short while. You'll want to live with his stuff for eons, for decades, forever.
He has captured the essence of New York street art and made it into true fine art. Its like what Andy did for advertising art. He made it into real art that lasts. So, this is what Christopher is doing with ephemeral street art. He makes it solidify into something which lasts and which you can contemplate and linger on. Forever. Just look at the totally Mdvaniiism-esque pieces above. He has made us look at them in a way we would wish to look at them ideally. He's madly clever. He's very Mr. Knightley, indeed!
His alias is PlasticRobot on Facebook if you wish to follow him. He'll be back soon, once he's out of the Bellevue Psychiatric Ward. Goodness, that is so darn chic. It's so glamorous. He's had tons of glam people from Edie to Truman, to Zelda, to Tennessee to James Dean, from Marilyn to Sid preceed him who were there as well for the all sorts of reasons linked to their creative moments of epuisement, so he's in such great company. He's destined to be a respected artist. But living. Now.
Go see his show when it opens in November. I am sure it'll be hugely glam-a-rama. I recommend that those who do go buy up as much as you can of this art which is exceptionally good and very much an expression of this unique man and our times. Don't be an idiot, just go to the show and buy stuff and be glad you had the chance to do it and not moan about how you wish you had met any of the other fab artists who preceeded him whom I have just mentioned above.
- BillyBoy*
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