Bowery on the Beach?

Has Leigh Bowery, said to have died more than a decade ago, been hiding out on the Coney Island boardwalk sporting a mullet all along? Peter Arkle took the photo at left on Sunday. Lucien Freud's classic portrait of Bowery on the right. You make the call. But wIth all due respect, when it comes to fleshy naked derrieres, I'll stick with the master:

That's Rubens's Three Graces. Anyway, it was a perfect day for some cold borscht, a glass of compote and a stroll by the beach. Come to think of it, that might have been Elvis on the Wonder Wheel.

|

Share This Story

Comments

Design Observer encourages comments to be short and to the point; as a general rule, they should not run longer than the original post. Comments should show a courteous regard for the presence of other voices in the discussion. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not adhere to this standard.
Read Complete Comments Policy >>

|

Share This Story

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Lamster is a writer on the arts and culture. He is Associate American Editor of The Architectural Review, and is currently at work on his third book, a biography of the late architect Philip Johnson. Follow: @marklamster.
More Bio >>

DESIGN OBSERVER JOBS

MORE BY Mark Lamster

05.13.13: The Tower that Beer Built
04.23.13: The Bush Library
04.08.13: The Story of Seagram
04.01.13: How to Design an Iconic NY Fast Food Joint
03.19.13: Berlin: Then and Now
03.11.13: The Dallas Way
03.05.13: Inventing the Modern Library
02.20.13: Orange City
02.05.13: The Imaginary Worlds of Stephen Talasnik
01.28.13: Grand Central Turns 100
More by Mark Lamster >>

BOOKS BY Mark Lamster

Spalding's World Tour: The Epic Adventure that Took Baseball Around the Globe - And Made It America's Game
PublicAffairs, 2006

Master of Shadows: The Secret Diplomatic Career of the Painter Peter Paul Rubens
Nan A. Talese, 2009

More books by contributors >>

A Nod to Surrealism

For artists not working in digital media — those who cut, build, draw, paint, glue, bend, and make things in the more traditional manner, there is something of a “Surrealist” popularity at hand today.

Dream Weaver
On a retrospective of the work of midcentury sculptor Ruth Asawa at Christie's, her first solo show in New York in 50 years.

The Conceptual Posters of Boris Bucan
Boris Bućan’s little known early posters, produced in Zagreb, were reductive, sharply defined, cerebral and enigmatic.

The Medium Is The Mail
Jill Stoll combines artistic ritual, creative reuse, and the postal service as connector.

Paranoid But Pretty
A review of Matthias Megyeri's new show at the German Architecture Center, and a review of the question the exhibition inspires: "Are we safer?"

Design Observer

Observatory

Featured Writers

Departments

Topics