Couture Fashion Week: ROBERT FLORES

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Robert Flores escorted by his models

Winner of  the “Best Menswear Designer” at Miami Fashion Week in 2008, Dominican designer Robert Flores presented a mostly formal line up for Spring 2013 on September 15th, at the Couture Fashion Week event that took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel ballroom.

GLAAD Manhattan

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

On August 7 at Humphrey, located at the Eventi Hotel, the National Board of Directors of GLAAD, President Herndon Graddick, this year's Planning Committee and Co-Chairs Jessica Resler and Ted Shields presided GLAAD's annual casino-themed fundraiser.

BEFORE WE WERE QUEER Art Exhibit

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Hugh Ryan, founding Director of The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History

The Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art had the opening reception on August 11 of the multimedia community installation "Before We Were Queer", presented by The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History.

GOING DOWN IN LA LA LAND Film Premiere and DVD Sale

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Photo essay. No information has been provided to go with the images.

Going Down in LA LA Land Film Premiere took place at the Cinema Village on April 20th.

LIPSTICK LEGENDS by Angela Bowie Book Signing

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Angie shows off her new book

June 8th was a Champagne Night celebration, when Angela Bowie showed up at Lair Lounge & Restaurant for the signing of her latest book Lipstick Legends, which is about the trend setters who redefined sexual mores in the 1970s. From London, to Japan, Los Angeles, New York, and Switzerland, Bowie talks of her own personal experiences and along the way she passes on the thoughts and ideas of some of the most compelling voices of the decade.

Angela Bowie has been writing articles in British Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and on the internet magazine Frock. She is the author of three previously published books: Two autobiographies, Free Spirit (1981, which includes some of her poetry) as well as the bestseller, Backstage Passes: Life On the Wild Side with David Bowie, published in 1993 and updated in 2000. It detailed her alleged drug-fueled and openly bisexual lifestyle with her former husband and many other well-known musicians. She also wrote The Pocket Guide to Bisexuality.

The movie Velvet Goldmine was loosely based on her life with David Bowie. She was fictionalized as a character named "Mandy", portrayed by Toni Collette.

Also on display were copies of her CD Moon Goddess

FRUITS GONE WILD

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

On July 21 at the Wild Project Theater, 195 East 3rd Street, New York City, Fruits Gone Wild, the comedy show of the 10th annual Fresh Fruit Festival took place, hosted by Lady Clover Honey of NYC Life Television's Under the Pink Carpet.

Fresh Fruit is an inclusive International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Culture & Arts Festival held in New York City. All Out Arts' most exciting ongoing event, The Fresh Fruit Festival feeds the spiritual and artistic souls of the LGBT and artistic communities.

The All Out Arts mission is to "Fight discimination through the arts." To that end, Fresh Fruit is presented by All Out Arts to celebrate the LGBT community's unique perspective, creativity and diversity and to build links between the LGBT artistic communities, be they local or international.

DAVID LEDDICK/DAVID VANCE Double Book Signing at Rizzoli

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

The two Davids, Leddick and Vance,
each one holding on to their books

June 12th at Rizzoli NY, was the place for art lovers of the Homoerotic genre to be. It was there that two legends in the field of Gay Art, David Leddick and David Vance, gathered with friends to promote and sign their newly published books, Leddick's Gorgeous Gallery and Vance's Jungle Fever.

Jungle Fever

Gorgeous Gallery - Bruce Sargeant (1880-1938),
"Wrestler and Boy in Jacket"

GEORGE TOWNE: Portraits & Landscapes

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

On June 1st, the Michael Mut Gallery presented the solo exhibition, “George Towne: Portraits & Landscapes”, Towne’s second show at the gallery.  The exhibition featured a selection of his oil paintings, as well as Gouache Watercolors and Drawings.

"Meet & Greet" - COREY JOHNSON For NYC Council

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Corey Johnson telling what he is all about

On June 26th, at the home of Brian Delshad, hosts Artyom Matusov, Jay Coleman, David Castleman, Charles Serotoff, Al Taveras, Baruch Shemtov, Ted Anastasiou & Brian Delshad gathered a group of their friends for a Meet & Greet with Corey Johnson as he runs for New York City Council.

A renowned activist for the LGBT rights movement and current Community Board 4 Chairman, openly gay ex-high school football captain, whose "coming out" when he was 18 years old was documented in the NY Times, Corey Johnson is running for District 3's Council seat.

This is a critical race – the seat Corey is running for covers most of Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown, the West Village and Soho, and it’s being vacated by Christine Quinn as she runs for mayor. The West Side of Manhattan is going to change a lot in the next few years, and it deserves a representative as passionate and progressive as Corey. Johnson said he would need to work closely with the City’s Office of Housing Preservation and Development on land use applications and the shortage of affordable housing which will become much more aggravated with the imminent advent of the 7 Subway Train extension

Mathew Bergman and Corey

ROCKIT FRIDAYS 3rd Anniversary Masque Ball

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Congratulations Tony Fornabaio and Brandon Voss!

And Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, for bringing so much fun and entertainment to the Queer community!

Your April 20th Masque Ball at XL nightclub was a blast!

UNIVERSAL GEAR Flagship Store Launch!

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Hotter, Hotter, Hotter, Hotter, Hotter
To get more of an eye popping, live eye full of these Hunks, albeit more heavily covered, rush over to XL Nightclub, where they are safely kept behind the bar counters for fear of setting the whole place on fire

On May 18, Universal Gear launched its new flagship store in Hell’s Kitchen, its second location in Manhattan. The first store, in Chelsea, opened in November 2001, creating a dynamic shopping environment with dance music listening stations and aluminum and polycarbonate fixtures. It became instantly popular among the Queer community.

"The gay community has helped position our store for enormous growth," said David Franco, co-founder and owner of Universal Gear. "But the non-gay customer also makes up about 30% of our sales. Straight men are increasingly feeling more comfortable wearing cool, city gear and sportswear and buying in a traditionally gay area."

DAVID JARRETT's Seminal Art Collection

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

David Jarrett

David Jarrett’s collection of male figurative art, must be described as museum quality. The only other collection I would consider its equal, is located at the Leslie Lohman Museum. No wonder David Jarrett had been chairman of the advisory committee, which was dissolved in the spring of 2009, at the former Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation. He’s got the eye of a professional curator. He also writes articles on male-figurative art for the Leslie Lohman Museum's Archive quarterly journal and occasionally exhibits some of his photography in their premises.

Joe Radoccia's NAVIGATION

THE COFFEE SHOP Film Wrap Party

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

The Coffee Shop Director Jana (AJ) Mattioli

The Coffee Shop is the latest feature coming from the highly acclaimed LGBTQ film production company, Mattioli Productions, currently filming in New York City. Mattioli Productions, known for serving the LGBTQ community with groundbreaking work in movie production is run by Jana (AJ) Mattioli (recently honored in the Advocate as “40 People Under 40 to Look Out For.”) AJ Mattioli’s directorial film debut of An Affirmative Act, starring multiple Academy Award and Emmy winners and nominees, had a very successful national theatrical release in 2011.

 Film cast: Blanche Baker, Bobby Walker, Denise Finelli, Holly Meek,
Keith Collins and Elissa Goldstein, with AJ on top

ART + SIN: The Black Party Posters 1981-2012

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

On March 8, at The LGBT Center, a cocktail party took place to showcase the scandalous Saint-At-Large celebration of sensuality, sin and everything in between with a one-day-only erotic art exhibition displaying rarely seen Black Party Posters from 1981-2012.

WARNING! Explicit Nude images after page break

THE PIERS: Art and Sex along the New York Waterfront

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Curator Darren Jones, art historian and scholar of Queer Studies Jonathan D. Katz, curator Jonathan Weinberg and Charles leslie of the Leslie Lohman Museum

As the first gay and lesbian art museum in the world, the mission of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (LLMoGLA) is to exhibit, preserve and foster the creation of gay and lesbian art and artists which speak directly to all facets of the gay and lesbian experience, such as political, historical, romantic and social imagery. The Piers: Art and Sex along the New York Waterfront exhibit, which opened on April 3rd, met most of the criteria above in one of the most popular exhibitions The former Leslie-Lohman Foundation ever had.

Excellent French Brasserie Cuisine at CAFE UN DEUX TROIS

review & photos: Miguel Dominguez

Owned by restaurant team George Guenancia and Gerard Blanes, who have had over 35 years of experience in the business from Paris to New York, Café Un Deux Trois is located half a block away from the constantly bustling Times Square, but one wouldn’t know it from the quiet, intimate and relaxed atmosphere one immediately experiences upon crossing the threshold from a very inconspicuous entrance.

Owner Gerard Blanes flanked by general manager Randy St. Louis

and maitre D' Michael Ratel

HOUSING WORKS Offerings at DESIGN ON A DIME

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

On April 26th, Housing Works, the charity organization dedicated to helping people with AIDS by providing housing, job training, medical and dental care, substance use and mental health, and support to stay on track, opened Design on a Dime, a sale of furniture and house appointments at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea.

CAFE UN DEUX TROIS 35th Anniversary

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Cognac Wellerlane of Cognac's Corner Magazine, working it with owners of
Café Un Deux Trois George Guenancia on the left, and Gerald Blanes, right.

Celebrities from New York’s finest social, fashion, radio, theater and entertainment circles came out to ring in a landmark anniversary date on April 1, 2012, when Café Un Deux Trois celebrated its’ 35 years of success. In this special anniversary, the legendary restaurant invited legendary friends to the restaurants capacity by reservation only, to celebrate with them with dinner at 1977 prices and complimentary champagne.

Gerard has something to sing about for his

restaurant's 35th Anniversary...Success!

HOT MESS Drag Review at XL

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

In the very short time that XL Cabaret & Nightclub has been open, it has managed to become the premier spot in the city for queer oriented entertainment.

"Hot Mess" Maitresses of Ceremony Bianca Del Rio, whose witty tongue is as sharp as a razor blade dipped in acid, and Lady Bunny, of "Wigstock" and Ru Paul's "Drag U" fame, who is also a regular DJ at XL and one of the best reasons to go there on "Rockit Fridays" to party

BENEATH THE SHEETS: AN HIV/AIDS Awareness Fundraising Event

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Director/producer Sal Bardo and Actor/producer Max Rhyser play bookends to
MC of the evening Jonathan D. Lovitz, of MTV "The Set Up Squad" and tireless advocate of Gay rights and social causes

Food, drinks, entertainment, raffle prizes (including a walk-on role on Law & Order: SVU!), knowledge, and much more were the order of the day on March 30th, in the most enjoyable fundraiser "Beneath the Sheets", an HIV/AIDS charity event that took place at The Players Club to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and "Chaser," a short narrative film confronting the issue of unsafe sex in the gay community today, directed by Sal Bardo and starring Max Rhyser, whose companies Always Rhysing & Bardo Films are also the co-producers. The objective of "Chaser" is to start a dialogue about the increasing number of gay men practicing unsafe sex, both out of recklessness and self-injury.   

KLAUS ENRIQUE Photo Homage to Renaissance Surreal Portraitist Arcimbaldo

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Klaus Enrique with his "Arcimbaldo" photo series

Born in 1975, Klaus Enrique grew up in Mexico City. Having studied Genetics at the University of Nottingham, England, and receiving an MBA from Columbia Business School in the City of New York, his working career was spent as a freelance IT consultant before Enrique turned to photography, which he studied at Parsons and at the School of Visual Arts. In 2007 when his portrait of “Mother & Daughter” was short listed for the Photographic Portrait Prize at London’s National Portrait Gallery, he began to receive worldwide attention. Klaus also has been short listed for other works by the Newspace Center for Photography, National Geographic Traveler, the Photography Masters Cup, and the Art of Photography Show among others. In 2011, Klaus Enrique was the winner of the prestigious Curator Award/Emerging Artist of the Year for Still Photography, by Photo District News. His work is collected by a growing number of public institutions and private collections. Enrique is represented here in New York by Robert Burge, Twentieth Century Photographs, LTD. and currently lives in Mexico City.

A FETISH FOR FASHION - Folsom Street East Runway Show and Auction

Images: Miguel Dominguez

Copy: Folsom Street East press release

Anthony J. Christman

Malnourished adolescents are so last season. Skins (and rubber, and spikes, and jockstraps) are in, so Folsom Street East had their annual Fetish for Fashion runway show and silent auction on February 18^th, at the LGBT Community Center NY to benefit Housing Works.

Socializing at the bar while soaking in the ferocious talents of DJ Dave Huge, built up on the excitement before Master of Ceremonies Will Clark took the stage to guide us through an evening of gorgeous models showing off the hottest in fetish and fetish-inspired fashions from some of NYC’s top purveyors, including The Eagle Store, FM Leather Design, Manskins, My Lady’s Toys, E7 Rubber, Nick Stryker, and  WonderWear NY.

NICK & NICKY Screenplay Reading

Reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Actor/Playwright Patrick Askin with Charles Leslie,
founder of the Leslie Lohman Museum

On January 19th, at the Leslie Lohman Museum, a reading of the delightful play Nick & Nicky, a very amusing spoof on the sophisticated Hollywood comedies of the 30s, overwhelmingly populated with queer stereotypes and including a gay wedding finale, was presented with the goal of finding a producer and investors, with the possibility of making the script into a movie.

Cast: Aliya Kamenshikov • Derek Flics • Devon Talbott • Frederick Meyer • Barbara Rosenblat • Brian Tweedy • Patrick Askin • Theis Weckesser • Anna Lise Jensen • Julie Berndt • Martin Ewens • Adrienne Opalka
Director: camera shy Richard Sabellico

Screening of Queer Short Film REQUITED

Reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Actor/Writer/Director Sal Bardo

Written and directed by actor Sal Bardo, the short film REQUITED had a screening at the Anthology Film Archives on Sunday, February 19th.

Christopher Schram, Crystal Arnette, Sal Bardo, Max Rhyser

ROLF KOPPEL: WILLING Art Exhibit

Reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Rolf, on the right, with his muse Will

The Rolf Koppel: Willing opening reception on February 15 at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, kicked off a photography exhibition which includes over 60 images, representing 30 years of Koppel's career. The exhibit will run from February 16 to March 17, 2012 and on Tuesday, February 21st, from 6-8 pm, there will be a discussion with Austrian art historian and curator Peter Weiermair and Rolf.