Film Noir Buff Style Forum / John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

Blucher · 2012-01-20 03:51:55

I liked him when I was young, grew suspicious of him because of all that tedious, glitzy Mailer-Vidal-Jagger-Studio Arsehole-Capote bullshit, then grew to like him again. (But I like David Hockney more). There's an interesting book, probably long OOP, I think called 'From A To B And Back Again', in which he claims to have missed out on his adolescence through being ill in bed.

Shamrockorangutan · 2012-01-20 03:55:27

I'd never read that, but he was somewhat of a sickly momma's boy, growing up in a rough, tough part of the country. I'd imagine he didn't get out much.

Taylor McIntyre · 2012-01-20 04:02:02

Blucher wrote:
Bump. I'm determined to keep people focussed on this.

I'd love to read JG on Ivy, but then I do suffer from a one track mind, unlike him. His 'Pilgrim's Progress' in The Ivy Look has me wanting to know more.

He reads very well, does Mr. G. - A nice flowing style which never sounds forced. He also edits very well too - Various people have edited various of my so-called writings & JG absolutely did the gig best. I shan't mention who was worst... But it was the guy who re-wrote most of what I'd written in his own image - Not the role of an editor, but the usual behaviour of an ego maniac...

Actually, it resulted in a very funny read - Full of talk of me being a 'juvenile deliquent' and wearing 'fuddy-duddy' clothes... How we all pissed ourselves...

'Fuddy-Duddy'? Who talks like that?

- OMG - LOLS !!!

Blucher · 2012-01-20 04:15:10

'A To B' has been reissued at some point. The Picador 1979 paperback edition is the one I remember. Of course, I'd heard of him before leaving school: because of David Bowie's song.

Nico and I once passed one another in the street.

Sal · 2012-01-20 04:20:32

An extended period of being sick in bed as a child seems to work wonders for creativity - see Warhol, Nabokov and, er, Nicky Haslam.

Blucher · 2012-01-20 04:26:48

Yes: Proust was another sickly boy.

Blucher · 2012-01-20 07:08:20

'Quiet London' sounds a treat. Anyone with the patience should also study Ian Nairn's 'London' and Geoffrey Fletcher's 'The London That Nobody Knows' (amongst others). Always get off the beaten track. I learned that from my grandparents, who began visiting continental Europe during the 1950s, and my parents, who liked gentle walks in Derbyshire.
I also like the lady's Quaker credentials. You have to look around you with your eyes, mind and heart all open. Betjaman was good at this.

Blucher · 2012-01-20 07:19:54

'London Caffs' is also well worth having in your pocket.

Drink · 2012-01-21 09:23:09

Sal wrote:
Jimmy wrote:
I'd say that Warhol was wonderfully cynical. Very knowing. He fully understood what he was doing and what the framework was that he was doing it in. I doubt he ever put more effort in that he judged a thing deserved. In my book - to his credit.
Fascinating character Warhol. I'm reading his diaries at the moment. He sweated and worried a lot over the quality of the work he produced and routinely re-did or changed, e.g. portraits, if the client wasn't satisfied. Also concerned about his ranking among other C20 US artists, though most of all he seems to have been concerned about the prices his work fetched.

I love Warhol. The Victor Bockris biog is great. Warhol was such an awful person, as is usually the case with heroes of mine. He was one of the most disgusting kinds of capitalist imaginable, for one thing. That'll endear him to some, obviously. The Damien Hirst set took the template that Warhol and the art industry refined back then to heart in that regard. Tracey Emin, whom I like rather than love, particularly repels me. Yes, nothing's simple with me. Hmm. I could at least qualify my expressions of love more, say something like "I love some of x's achievements" rather than just "I love x".

Liam Mac · 2012-01-21 09:33:21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CPwOOK4nEM

From what I've read of Warhol he seems like a lost soul, a Mummy's boy with an outragious mean streak. A real sadist who would happily exploit the young and vurnerable to make a buck. Saying that I like his art. I don't think of the man when I view it. I just view it. Pure aesthetics. That's what his art was about anyway, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahhWksSmX6s

Blucher · 2012-01-21 09:37:04

What is your definition of a capitalist, I wonder? Georges Simenon, although very wealthy, denied that he was a capitalist, on the grounds that he earned his money through sales of his books. Anybody who has a bank account is a capitalist, though, aren't they?
Hirst and Emin appeal to the very, very gullible. So, in a sense, did Warhol. Time lends him charm. Rembrandt was a bit of a horror, too.

Drink · 2012-01-21 09:46:16

Liam Mac wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CPwOOK4nEM

From what I've read of Warhol he seems like a lost soul, a Mummy's boy with an outragious mean streak. A real sadist who would happily exploit the young and vurnerable to make a buck. Saying that I like his art. I don't think of the man when I view it. I just view it. Pure aesthetics. That's what his art was about anyway, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahhWksSmX6s

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 … C2yclVm95x

Yep, Warhol's nickname Drella (cinderalla and Dracula) seems to sum him up well.

I know he was known as monosyllabic but he had an incredible facility with word as well as image.

Andy: yeah, "sick greedy bastard" would've been better than what I said. Words like "capitalist" are too charged.

Liam Mac · 2012-01-21 09:51:58

Blucher wrote:
What is your definition of a capitalist, I wonder?.

Last edited by Liam Mac (2012-01-21 09:53:01)

Blucher · 2012-01-21 09:52:17

If I could shit in a pot, call it art and sell it to Elton John, I'd be a sick, greedy bastard, too. Warhol must have shook his head, opened and closed his eyes, blinked, grinned and rubbed his hands together. In the right place at the right time - unlike, say, Hannes Bok, who starved to death in a tenement.

steve mcqueen fan · 2012-01-21 09:58:39

Blucher wrote:
What is your definition of a capitalist, I wonder? Georges Simenon, although very wealthy, denied that he was a capitalist, on the grounds that he earned his money through sales of his books. Anybody who has a bank account is a capitalist, though, aren't they?
Hirst and Emin appeal to the very, very gullible. So, in a sense, did Warhol. Time lends him charm. Rembrandt was a bit of a horror, too.

Leave it alone, Andy. We all like the same clothes. Don't get into the other shit, let it pass by like you didn't even read it. That's what I do.

Liam Mac · 2012-01-21 10:06:18

How had I never heard of Hannes Bok before? Great stuff. Thanks for the tip Andy.

Drink · 2012-01-21 10:06:45

The greed was beyond the level of selling to silly pop stars. It was the kind of mindset you balk at Andy, the kind any sensible person does. It's something aside from politics. I try to avoid my political auto-pilot but we all slip. Apologies.

Blucher · 2012-01-21 10:07:08

If you said something imprecise during my Special Subject seminars, Professor Roseman would say: 'What exactly do you mean by that?'

Blucher · 2012-01-22 02:08:53

Lovely coat on that Italian chap. Shame about the puddles, though. He still looks better than anyone you'll see in England (although my trip to Rome's flea market one hot Sunday morning reminded me of home: all sweaty bodies, cigarette smoke and crummy chavwear). Yes, that colour palette. The basis of my wardrobe, although my inner prep, looking forward already to spring, has just invested in a rather spiffing 1960s wool and mohair Argyle cardigan; which will annoy my wife. Ever changing moods and all that.

More, John, and soonest.

Blucher · 2012-01-24 12:31:43

'The Syllabus' is now about the only thing worth reading via 'Talk Ivy'. I'm not sure that some of the members here appreciate or deserve John's quirky, thoughtful contributions. Stop babbling, some of you, and try soaking up something worthwhile instead.

Taylor McIntyre · 2012-01-25 00:29:35

'The Weejun' & 'The Ivy League Look' get my vote too, along with a few others when having a good day - Not to detract from John in any way.

More from JG is always welcome. Always interesting, always thought-provoking, always entertaining.

Blucher · 2012-01-25 02:25:02

John is truly three-dimensional - possibly four dimensional - and the above comments are in no way meant to denigrate the pioneers of 'Talk Ivy'. In fact, I still probably benefit from it more than I care to admit!

John Gall is, however, 'beyond Ivy'. And I believe that John Simons has possibly always been 'beyond Ivy': even at the beginning. This takes some hard work.

Taylor McIntyre · 2012-01-25 02:49:03

Blucher wrote:
John is truly three-dimensional - possibly four dimensional - and the above comments are in no way meant to denigrate the pioneers of 'Talk Ivy'. In fact, I still probably benefit from it more than I care to admit!

John Gall is, however, 'beyond Ivy'. And I believe that John Simons has possibly always been 'beyond Ivy': even at the beginning. This takes some hard work.

The old RS crew were entirely inspired by JG & his mate Mark Collins in the creation of fruity old Uncle Russ. We just took their schtick & walloped the Yanks with it.

Agreed on 'Beyond Ivy' for both the two Johns - Both have openly said as much.

And both are always interesting.

For me it's when they do Ivy that I'm interested most, but I'm still interested the rest of the time too.

J.

Blucher · 2012-01-25 02:56:33

'Beyond Ivy' made - for me anyway - 'Ivy' a bit easier: when rather randomly searching, particularly in 'retro'/'vintage' shops. Examining the linings etc. of jackets and coats became a major preoccupation - because you knew some (not all) of the sellers were clueless about their stock. Thus, bargains were to be had.
John Simons was always very generous with me when it came to sharing knowledge. He put me onto quite a few things, and I used to examine items of stock, make mental notes, then rummage in my area. That's how I came up with the car coat Hank now has.

Taylor McIntyre · 2012-01-25 03:03:53

Just started a thread playing with all of this.

I'll never be beyond Ivy, I'll always stay close to home I think, but I will admit to enjoying going off on a tangent sometimes.

It's Ivy, Jim, but not as we know it !

#51 2012-01-20 03:51:55

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#52 2012-01-20 03:55:27

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#53 2012-01-20 04:02:02

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

Blucher wrote:

#54 2012-01-20 04:15:10

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#55 2012-01-20 04:20:32

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#56 2012-01-20 04:26:48

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#57 2012-01-20 07:08:20

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#58 2012-01-20 07:19:54

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#59 2012-01-21 09:23:09

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

Sal wrote:

Jimmy wrote:

#60 2012-01-21 09:33:21

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#61 2012-01-21 09:37:04

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#62 2012-01-21 09:46:16

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

Liam Mac wrote:

#63 2012-01-21 09:51:58

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

Blucher wrote:

#64 2012-01-21 09:52:17

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#65 2012-01-21 09:58:39

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

Blucher wrote:

#66 2012-01-21 10:06:18

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#67 2012-01-21 10:06:45

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#68 2012-01-21 10:07:08

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#69 2012-01-22 02:08:53

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#70 2012-01-24 12:31:43

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#71 2012-01-25 00:29:35

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#72 2012-01-25 02:25:02

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#73 2012-01-25 02:49:03

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

Blucher wrote:

#74 2012-01-25 02:56:33

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

#75 2012-01-25 03:03:53

Re: John Gall's 'The Syllabus'

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