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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Bill Cunningham New York

What a man; what an eye.
My friend Kim clued me in to this documentary months ago, and invited Figgy and me to join her and her daughters, but life intervened. It's a close, brave, brilliant look at the renowned fashion photographer for The New York Times, who is now 80+. Bill Cunningham shoots the runway, the socialites and the people on the street who make New York tick, in their short skirts, simple sheaths, funny rain boots. He's been at it forever.

After Maureen Dowd wrote about the film in the Times, H., being a big Maureen Dowd fan, wanted us to go with Fig. But we foolishly drove into the city without reserving tickets ahead, and of course it was sold out that weeknight.

Now....playing in Montclair!!! I was thrilled. H. and Fig saw it last night while I was with Moey, so I zipped right over to the 4:40 show this afternoon, in the middle of a monsoon.

It was so, so good. There is so much to love about Bill Cunningham:
  1. He is a perfectionist. Good enough isn't good enough. You see him getting the young art associate at the Times [a tall, good-looking man he calls "a lumberjack"] to move the photos from here to there on the page, tweaking and retweaking, until the layout is just the way Bill wants it.
  2. His simple bike is his method of transport. His camera is his pen.
  3. He was a hatmaker first. Beautiful hats.
  4. He's charming--that's why so many people, famous and not, let him take their pictures. He's quiet, quick, unobtrusive.
  5. He's Catholic, goes to church every week, says his faith is important. That hit home with me. Look, I thought, there's a smart, talented visionary--and he goes to Mass, too! Sometimes I feel like following my faith blindly does not mesh with being a savvy writer. It's as though my eyes are closed at church and open the rest of the time.
  6. He is ethical; says he won't accept even a glass of water at the events he covers. [That of course gave me pause. As a magazine writer, I attend press events where lunch and other perks are a given.]
  7. He is serious about his art, his craft. He has a gifted eye. He loves his work. He chronicles New York City in its sheaths, T-shirts, baggy pants, high heels and garbage bags thrown on against the rain. He tells a colorful, detailed story with his lens. A writer uses words. Bill Cunningham uses his eye and a camera.
The man is my idol. Go see it!

P.S. The film also made me think of my oldest sibling, John, who is estranged from us and who was a gifted photographer in NYC in the 1970s and beyond. He probably still could be, if only he could be reached--on many levels.

TCOY
  1. I'm afraid today was an in-your-face! TCOY day [pain au chocolat, small movie popcorn with butter, apple muffin, Starbucks Cake Pop]--except for therapy. That surely earns me big points in the TCOY department, muddling through some tough stuff. But ZERO exercise! Not like me. Even poor Sug didn't get a single decent walk b/c of monsoon.
  2. Renewed my commitment to tracking my daily spending; every dime, every quarter in the parking meter or tip jar. Feels good.
  3. Yummy spinach and sun-dried tomato ravioli with vodka sauce, homemade by little "Mama" from Cucina 98, the kitchen next to Corso 98, an Italian restaurant on Walnut Street in Montclair. Mama is in the kitchen Saturdays and you can walk in and buy a box of her tender, just rolled ravioli and a container of her sauce while she stands nearby perfecting her lasagna. The food is wholesome, from scratch, so good. Pricey, so butts heads with #2 above, but....I figure it was far cheaper than us all eating a meal there.






7 comments:

  1. Oh so glad you saw it! It was inspiring. I mean he lives a personal life that makes me sad on many levels, but professionally, his life is profound. And he seems at peace with that. And I love how vital he is even as he is aging. I find that very inspiring, too.

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  2. Yes, H. said he found it bittersweet. I know, it truly is also that.

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  3. Hi Alice,will look for a showing of the above documentary.I can certainly use something inspirational rightnow.Love Aunt Ann P

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  4. Since I read about his photoblog on Kim’s blog, I frequently check out his photos. They are beautiful. I especially like the unlikely portrait studies, but I love the style shots, too. I definitely want to see the documentary. Love, Lin

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  5. Hi Aunt Ann and Hi Lin. How far apart do you two live from each other? Maybe you can find it in South J. and go together. :)

    love, alice xoxoxo

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  6. Good idea, Alice. Aunt Ann, do you want to go see it with me? If it comes anywhere around here, it would probably be the Ritz? Love, Linda

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  7. It has been held over at the Ritz in Philly.....see the site for where it's playing....love al

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