Why Bowie's new house won't be by Bow Wow

[imomus]

The picture below shows, fanned open, all the jpg images I had on my desktop at about 10 o'clock last night. They're basically the result of two data-mining enquiry lines, a Bowie line and a Bow Wow line. Atelier Bow Wow, that is. So, my favourite celebrity and my favourite architecture studio. (Click the picture to see it huge.)



Having opened these images all up together, I began to make connections between them. At the centre you can see Bowie playing a vicious capitalist refusing a young dot commer a line of finance in Austin Chick's forthcoming film "August". The film is set in 2001, but the room inhabited by Bowie's character is in the pseudo-Victorian style we could call "international rich chintz" or "hotel baroque".

That got me wondering whether the man I associate most fondly with the avant pop experiments of the "Lodger" album has built his new house in Shokan, near Woodstock, yet, and if so, what style it's in? The idyllic woods-and-lake photo below right in my spread is the site, Little Tonshi Mountain.

Google Earth left me none the wiser -- it wouldn't zoom far enough into this remote rural area to show construction, let alone the style of the building taking shape on Bowie and Iman's 64-acre plot in the Catskills. What we do know is that when Bowie commissioned a house on Mustique it was in a sort of Jet Set PoMo style -- a sprawling Balinese fantasy by Swedish architect Arne Hasselqvist, who also made Mustique villas for Mick Jagger and Princess Margaret. (Hasselqvist and his son died tragically in a fire in Nassau in 2001; they initially escaped, but were overcome by smoke when they returned to try to save some documents, possibly architectural plans.)

Bowie's PoMo "world architecture" house was featured in Architectural Digest magazine in September 1992. I remember running out and buying a copy on Tottenham Court Road, near where I was living at the time, and being a bit disappointed. The cover made it look very alluring and Asian, but inside there was a disappointing lack of personality. Everything was cream cushions and rattan chairs. It looked like a rental villa. Now, Bowie bought the Mustique place in the 80s, when he was particularly close with Mick Jagger, who had his own villa in exactly the same style pretty much next door. So there was probably some enormously-wealthy-rock-star peer pressure going on. But it's a bit disappointing how the rich fail to spend their money on really great architecture, and just go for chintz and "hotel baroque". And of course it's also disappointing -- and this is not unrelated -- when their records cease to be avant and just settle into "timeless" styles too. "Luxury hotel baroque" in your living arrangements seems to lead to "luxury hotel rock" in your music arrangements.

If I had Bowie's money, there's no doubt at all what I'd do. I'd commission Atelier Bow Wow to design my house. But, you know, it occurs to me that there's a reason rock stars, in general, have less-than-cutting-edge taste. If they were unremittingly avant, they'd never have got rich in the first place, because the large publics required to generate large fortunes are essentially conservative. In other words, a rock star rich enough to commission an avant-styled house is unlikely to have remained unaffected enough by his public and his rich peers to want something avant garde in the first place. It's impossible to be that popular without being, in your heart of hearts, somewhat populist in your tastes. And populist, when it comes to architecture, mostly means chintz.

To put that another way, if David Bowie had only made avant pop albums like "Lodger", he probably wouldn't have enough money now to commission the Atelier Bow Wow house he might well -- in that parallel world -- be inclined to crave.

Comments

[ex-newironsh15.livejournal.com]

In other words, a rock star rich enough to commission an avant-styled house is unlikely to have remained unaffected enough by his public and his rich peers to want something avant garde in the first place. It's impossible to be that popular without being, in your heart of hearts, somewhat populist in your tastes. And populist, when it comes to architecture, mostly means chintz.

is this your constructivist theory of housing construction??

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Is that what you call Constructivism? I call it Sod's Law!

[grzeg.livejournal.com]

Neil Stephenson, Snow Crash: “You know those [hotel] rooms in high-rise casinos in Atlantic City, where semi-retarded adults from South Philly are put after they’ve blundered into the mega-jackpot? They got everything that a dimwitted pathological gambler would identify with luxury: gold-plated fixtures, lots of injection-molded pseudo-marble, velvet drapes, and a butler.”

Not that Bowie is semi-retarded or a dimwitted pathological gambler, but many people do have normative predispositions toward what ‘luxury’ is -- rock stars, notwithstanding.

Have you checked out Bow-Wow’s ‘Pet Architecture’ or ‘Da-Me’ work? Good stuff.

Fan-atic

[pay-option07.livejournal.com]

One thing I learned about David is his ability to musically go from here to there without any one knowing or tipping his hand. He once if I remember moved to Berlin and lived alone anonymously before the trilogy release.
Also David's American tour was really defending some serious musical territory.From Real Cool World to Grunge/Indie.





It's safer to say what you see is what he is around!
Maybe an interview with the man from Brixton is on the horizon.

Re: Fan-atic

[pay-option07.livejournal.com]

Spoof!

[(Anonymous)]

I see you have zep_out_door_6.jpg on your desktop. Is that the cover for "In Through the Out Door"? Rock on!

[(Anonymous)]

You should call your next album "Berlin Through the Out Door"--it would mark the return to your metal roots that fans have been screaming for these last few years.

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

Dammit, I told you kids to use coasters--there's recursive circles (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/lord_whimsy/Miscellany%20IV/DSCN8782.jpg) all over the furniture! (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/lord_whimsy/Miscellany%20V/DSCN2011.jpg)

And turn up that Ohio Players album!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Ah, I was brought up in a house with that same high-backed wooden chair, the one you have by the fireplace! And it was even broken in the same way (suggesting the diverging rails leading from the seat to the neck rest are a bit of a design problem).

I do find this a "trad" environment rather than an "avant" one, though, whatever recursive circles you think are going on, and it does occur to me that you've been able to realize your dreams so thoroughly because those dreams were not, to begin with, anything that would terrify Hollywood. If your book had endorsed a less populist style (and I can hear you spluttering with indignation at the word, but still, to me this is populist), would the film rights have been sold?

We reach another interesting paradox of conservative populism here: conservative populists tend to portray the stuff they don't like -- the kind of stuff championed on this blog (http://www.egodesign.ca/en/) -- as an established professional mainstream they're rebelling against. (This, for instance, is the argument of the Stuckists against the Serotans.) But, while it's true that the avant style has become the status quo within a narrow cadre of the urban elite, the greater mass of the general public clings to conservative values. For this "trad mass", avant is still avant: it is still ahead of them. They're waiting for its revolutions to become sufficiently anaemic and familiar before they embrace them. Which they will, the way they eventually embraced Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, and so on: a century or so late.

A Review of Lord Whimsy, Dandy Supreme, American

[(Anonymous)]

Look what I found on Amazon, Lord Whimsy! lol


Too brave, too insightful, too refined for this epoch

Before I found ‘Lord Whimsy’s’ book, I was lost. I was a vulgarian, dressed in the ghastly fashions of this tawdry age: track suits and woolly hats – any old fabric that happened to be within reach and not too malodorous. I slouched amid popular magazines highlighting the cellulite of pea-brained popular celebrities, watching popular television shows and dining on ‘fast food’ from a popular ‘restaurant’ whose name I cannot bring myself to reproduce here. I was a dupe, a schmuck, a drone. I was hardly human. I never gave a thought to self-invention, style, the virtues of inauthenticity and the delicious ironies of being misunderstood, even by myself! I suppose I naively believed in some ‘deeper identity’, and that the way I dressed had, or should have, no bearing on this alleged ‘identity’. Of course, now I realise I had the whole appearance-essence thing the wrong way round!

Allow me to briefly recount my humble ‘conversion story’, in the hope that others like me, so mired in the Maya of these crass times, may similarly benefit from Lord Whimsy’s stunningly original contribution to the art of embroidery. One day I was walking my ‘pit bull-type’ dog, tiptoeing between merde du chien, when out of the blue a dandified fellow with a poppy behind his ear and a titanium fob minced up to me out of the blue, looked me up and down for all the world like a fop from Brideshead Revisited, and handed me – O with what gentle, charming hauteur! – a copy of Lord Quimsy’s delicious, edifying manual for transforming oneself into an utterly pointless work of art.

It could be said that this delightful pamphlet, which I now keep upon my person at all times, next to my jasmine- and lavender-scented neckerchief, served as a looking-glass through which, for the very first time, I could finally see my own soul – clearly. With Lord Flimsy as my beacon, my very own shooting star of divine, useless beauty, I underwent a complete transformation, until I arrived at the vision of irritating complacence for which I am widely known today. ‘I owe it all to Lord Whimsy’, I say when people remark upon some new and improved aspect of my appearance (my corduroy-lined top hat, say) or behaviour (such as my relentless anecdotes about my orchid collection).

With the help of this slim volume – surely the most informative book on Aztec weaponry ever published – you too can learn how to take your worst qualities and turn them on their head so that they become your best qualities, in the manner of Wilde’s aphorisms (ah Wilde, notorious epicene, Godfather of our dwindling tribe!). Because in this ephemeral world, where style and beautiful indulgence are our only touchstones, our only ‘real’ ‘sources’ of ‘meaning’, the ultimate armour is the cultivation of refined disingenuousness taken to such an extreme, and performed in such a preposterously derivative manner that it can be used to justify anything, any accusation, say, of being a self-indulgent, self-regarding, humourless, imitative, haughty bore. And believe me, I’ve heard it all – every time I walk down the street with my toy lobster in tow, for all the world like… well, like a 19th-century dandy, come to think of it! But then I just think back to my Foppish Guardian Angel and the book he gifted me on that fateful day; I think of the abuse poor Lord Whipsy suffers so gallantly for the Cause on a regular basis, and all is well.

In conclusion, thank you my dear Lord Bilbo, for changing my life, for giving me the courage to show the world that narcissism is not necessarily a bad thing: not when it is entered into fully, displayed openly, and with an invitation to others to join in one’s own narcissism. Inchoate poseur aristocrats of the world, you have nothing to lose but your stained tracksuits and boorish tastes! Join Lord Bilbo, a true Man of Affectation, on his noble quest to assist you in, as he himself puts it with characteristic originality and profundity, ‘cultivating an air of uselessness’.

A life-transforming work of stunning joie-de-vivre and self-indulgence. Plus, Blimsy is hawt, lol. Five out of five stars.

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, do I have to do another one of those slash videos with you in it? You make it so easy, Momus.

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

If you do a Bowie/Momus/Sylvia threesome one I will love EVEN MORE forever than I already do.

[kumakouji.livejournal.com]

"it occurs to me that there's a reason rock stars, in general, have less-than-cutting-edge taste. If they were unremittingly avant, they'd never have got rich in the first place, because the large publics required to generate large fortunes are essentially conservative."

How do you explain the mainstream popularity of Ikea? It's hardly chintz, in fact it's the opposite - utilitarian and modern.

Speaking of which, do you remember that Ikea advert imploring people to “Stop being so English (http://citypages.com/databank/20/991/article8243.asp)”? It featured a Swedish psychologist claiming the British are uptight due to their taste in “English” (read: chintz) furniture.

For christmas my Nan offered to buy me some new furniture. I chose a pine blanket box - untreated, flatpack, made of solid pine slats. My nan thinks it looks cheap apparently. I asked her to show me what she considered nice and (what a surprise) she shows me chintz.

My furnishing tastes are pretty much modern Scandinavian meets traditional rustic Japanese -- low furniture, solid natural materials, slight weathering, leaning towards utilitarianism. Basically the warm textures of traditional Japan taking the stark edge off modern Scandinavia. I just took a look Atelier Bow Wow *thumbs up* I'm a fan.

[stanleylieber.livejournal.com]

How do you explain the mainstream popularity of Ikea?

$2.99 bookshelves

[(Anonymous)]

I read somewhere that Bowie once bought a place in Kyoto but haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere and don't know if it is true. Given your interests and the theme of this piece it seems you are just the man to ask.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

He did have a place in Kyoto, yes. In Gion, I think. He still had it when he married Iman, because they spent their honeymoon there, or some of it.

[(Anonymous)]

To put that another way, if David Bowie had only made avant pop albums like "Lodger", he probably wouldn't have enough money now

I'm not so sure. "Lodger" was no flop. "Boys Keep Swinging" was quite a big hit, and so was "DJ" I think. In other words, it successfully combined commercialism with avant pop. And that's the thing about Bowie (and about a certain strand of 70s culture): not that he was some sort of elitist experimentalist, but that he made experimentalism commercial. He wanted to be an entertainer, but the 70s allowed him to be an arty entertainer. In a way, his decline is less his fault than the culture's, which changed in the 80s in a way in which it made it much harder to do 'art' in a commercial sphere.

I'm a little intrigued by your relationship with Bowie: he maybe your "favourite celebrity" but he always seems to come in for some stick on Click Opera. You're always disappointed!

[(Anonymous)]

Actually, "commercial" is probably the wrong word, it's more about populism: what makes Bowie great is that he came up with an "arty populism" that was only really viable in the 70s.

The Temple of the Golden and Very Glittery Pavilion

[qscrisp.livejournal.com]

What would you say to the Mishima style of decor (in an interview in an arts magazine he refuted that the native Japanese taste was all muted and wabi-sabi shibui, and said the Japanese have always like all things that are gold and glitter). The article was a bit of a Lloyd Grossman on his house. I have the magazine somewhere, and it leads me to believe that the representation of his house in the film (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay0rRP9fqGQ&feature=related) was fairly accurate.

What would you call that style? Rococo with a touch of Greece?

Love the Philip Glass score, by the way.

Anyway, I'm sure if I had the money, I'd be tempted to do a Mishima. But then again, I wouldn't be able to keep it tidy, so it would be a bit of a waste.

Re: The Temple of the Golden and Very Glittery Pavilion

[imomus.livejournal.com]

It's quite an odd combination of styles, Mishima's house (as represented by Schrader and his designers, anyway).

Chintzy-yet-Stoical, Westernized / Grecian, a bit 1950s retro (like certain ivy-clad cafés you find in Japan), definitely gay (the statues in the garden), also slightly nouveau riche.

I had a chapter in my novel based on a scene from this film, but I nixed it.

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

MOMUS, TELL MY FRIEND LINDE THAT GOING TO SEE YOU ON SATURDAY WILL BE MORE FUN THAN STAYING AT HOME.

ps: "It's impossible to be that popular without being, in your heart of hearts, somewhat populist in your tastes." CAMP ISN´T JUST A ROW OF TENTS.

[trickseybird.livejournal.com]

So, do you think he was jerking off over Bowie or the house design?

[(Anonymous)]

"If I had Bowie's money, there's no doubt at all what I'd do. I'd commission Atelier Bow Wow to design my house."

I thought you were an avowed lifelong renter.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd rent it out to myself.

[trickseybird.livejournal.com]

oh silly momus, Bowie doesn't have a personality.

Also, lol stalking him like a big fangirl.

[(Anonymous)]

Hello. As is very few news about Heath Lodger in my own country. I am found your blog for Heath Lodger news. How sad to say! And yet thank you for this article!

[vonbruckhousen.livejournal.com]

lmao

no really

[mylifeismundane.livejournal.com]

yay, we independently have the same favourite bowie album! heart.

[(Anonymous)]

probably the first click opera comment that's ever made me literally burst out laughing

"Property Is Theft!", said Pierre Joseph Proudhon.

[(Anonymous)]

Open plan living
Bungalow ranch-style
All of it's comforts
Seem so essential.

Thomas S.

In Every Dream Home A Heartache.

[(Anonymous)]

One possible problem inherent in owning an avant-garde house would be that one would have to chuck out the settee every few months in order to keep said sit-upon as cutting edge as the domicile that housed it.
And then there is the property itself, a mere decade later and and those cornices look so dated.
What then?
Demolish and rebuild.
Go cheap and renovate in the new avant-garde.
The dilemmas.
The heartache.
Thomas S.

Re: In Every Dream Home A Heartache.

[count-vronsky.livejournal.com]

I remember that zep album. If you removed the inner-sleeve and wiped a damp cloth over it, it would turn trippy colors.

I ‘ate ‘ouses

[(Anonymous)]

Despite studying art, I’ve never seen it in houses - especially interiors. People with no aesthetic expression whatsoever - in their clothes, music or books – spend disproportionate amount of time obsessing over walls. Reasons:

1. The turbo-capitalism of the UK property ladder - insisting that ‘investments go up as well as up’, like a default pension or righteous reward that scuppers the next generation as swiftly as it turns London into a giant Chichester.

2. Figuratively, houses seem to represent the ‘structured mind’, a symbol of solidity and balance, even a cure for neurosis. They are not, they are bricks.

3. Ideal Home Show ‘small snobbery’. Interiors live on at the Geffrye Museum, but the lives they clad were often unremarkable and apolitical. Just as diarists can have little to diarise (exhilarating people too busy or unreflective), so interiors and an interesting or political life can often prove to be either/or (obviously there are exceptions).

4. I spent a long time creating and living with no heating, concrete floors, a mattress in a corner, rattling windows, structured clutter (when I afforded it). I am happiest in a Francis Bacon workshop, and welcome people who understand why. I am uncomfortable with luxury.

Re: I ‘ate ‘ouses

[imomus.livejournal.com]

That all makes sense to me -- if only more people thought like you!

The Hacienda must be built

[(Anonymous)]

Having occasionally been unfortunate enough to see MTVs "Cribs" it occurs to me that there is also a very practical reason for the apparent banality of the taste of the music industry's jet set.

Touring, and the 'pressures' of possibly maintaining several homes on several continents surely mean that all questions of interior design are delegated, money does not necessarily by the time to exercise taste, hence the 'hotel style' as a kind of short cut signifier of wealth, comfort, quality.

This leads to the often bizarre paradox of artists (perhaps wrongly) celebrated for expressing their unique and idiosyncratic artistic visions (OK, Bowie perhaps, not 50c ) living in weird beige palaces fitted with wall to wall cream carpeting, massive fridges which contain not much more than Kristal and home cinema systems that call to mind the private screening rooms of faded film stars (Sunset Boulevard)- In short no kind of 'home' at all.

Perhaps, as all good Rockists know, home is where the Hyatt is.

Re: The Hacienda must be built

[count-vronsky.livejournal.com]

Bowie should live here (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080125.html)