inspiration: "so lonely, so pretty, such a lack of diplomacy"

last summer i confessed my adoration for this phoenix song. it takes me a while to warm up to new stuff (working right now to decide how i feel about david byrne's imelda marcos record...) but once something takes hold i take a long time to let go. the lisztomania CD is still in heavy rotation, but the other song that i listen to repeatedly on days like today: lasso.

don't you know

don't do it

what you do

oh what you do to me

forever is a long long time

when you've lost your way

could you run into

could you run into

could you go and run into me

anyway-- i wanted to post a video but i don't think there is an official one.

so i thought, let me find a photo...too obvious to pick someone with a...lasso. but i started thinking about cowboys...

and i remember my cousin has a wonderful photo of a guy in a cowboy hat on his site.

it doesn't really match the up vibe of the song, but i wanted to share:

i hadn't looked at his portfolio in a while, though it is permalinked on my sidebar under "visual inspiration." i had forgotten how much i love his eye and his rendition of color. he has some new shots that i think are just beautiful...

have a look at matiasaguilar.com--i hope you'll appreciate the visual journey as i do.

news!

untitled (me) by matias aguilar.

i've been inconsistent with posts, but i don't want any more time to pass before i call attention to a couple of very cool sites:

zovig's callastyle site: you can find out more about her, and her image consulting business. there's also a link to her truly fashion -"inspired" blog -- she'll have you contemplating style, and help you confidently embrace your own.

matias' photography site: humor and melancholy. evocative stillness. vintage and modern. gritty. reflective. those words come to my mind when i see his photos. take a look, take some time. see if you agree. perhaps you'll have more, better words to describe them.

in the end, i hope you'll enjoy them as much as i do.

visit his blog to see who's influencing and inspiring him.

he took these photos of me a few years ago, in what will forever be one of my favorite places--my old studio on jane street. he captured a couple of "moods," which i very much appreciate.

untitled (me). by matias aguilar.

food of my youth (i love these photos)

when i was in kindergarten, our class trip was to mcdonald's. we took turns jumping into the big meat freezer. and then we had hamburgers and fries for lunch. i don't think they were called happy meals back then, but it was one. the burgers cost only a little bit less than they do here:

photo: matias aguilar, from untitled series 2/2008. copyright, matias aguilar.

i love the blues in the photo, and the 70s look...

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i used eat vienna sausage...cold, right out of the can...

photo: matias aguilar, from untitled series 2/2008. copyright, matias aguilar.

love the light...
sad, solitary refuse...

see more of matias' work here...

untitled (bike memory)

© 2007 matias aguilar. all rights reserved.

"untitled" from isle of man series, part 7.

matias has posted some great new photos from his isle of man series. i couldn't decide which one to "feature" here, but i particularly love the mood and light in this shot. and i have a thing for motorcycles.

not that i have ever driven one myself.

but a dear, former boyfriend of mine developed a singular passion for motorcycles shortly after we started dating. he purchased a used suzuki gs850, a modest, but very cool bike. i had never been near a bike, let alone on one, and it didn't hold much appeal ("scary!"). but when this particular opportunity came along--to be escorted around town by this sweet, sweet guy, at the point when he was falling in love with the idea of being on the road, on a bike--i started to imagine what that kind of freedom might mean. i couldn't resist. he was fearless, and my "fear" fell away pretty quickly. which is not to say I didn't hold on pretty damn tight...

there maybe no better way to see new york city. as the passenger, you can literally sit back and enjoy a wonderful, unobstructed view of the sky and the cityscape. and you hear nothing but the constant, gentle whir of the engine, the wind against your helmet.

more than a few times, late at night, we rode across the brooklyn bridge. manhattan shining bright behind us, brooklyn twinkling ahead, everything truly aglow under the full moon light. as if we were watching an amazing silent film. or, creating one.

unforgettable.

matias aguilar

Untitled, from the I Love Rock and Roll series. 2005.
by Matias Aguilar on view as part of the Do You Think I'm Disco exhibit at Longwood Art Gallery, Hostos Community College. Feb 2006.

he's an amazing artist...he captures beautiful, soulful, sometimes humorous moments, mostly of city life...check some of the them out here and here and here and on his blog. i'll be posting links to his photos whenever i get updates, too...