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I was invited by a magazine friend of mine to attend a gallery reception honoring photographer Melvin Sokolsky. The event was hosted by Real Simple magazine at the Axelle Gallery in Chelsea. Sokolsky is best known for his editorial fashion photographs taken for Harper's Bazaar, including his Bubble series, in which models were suspended midair in clear plastic bubbles above Paris. Here is a page from the booklet we received:

Sokolsky photographed Real Simple's September fashion spread, and the gallery displayed those photographs along with a selection of his most well-known photographs from the course of his career. He has a very whimsical style, and there were several photographs that I would die to have prints of. I especially love his photo of model Iris Bianchi with a giant chair- it's very Alice in Wonderland.

 Sokolsky (right) shared his book, The Archive, with guests

It was a beautiful party, made even moreso with Sokolsky's stunning photography. We mixed and mingled, sipped white wine, ooooed  and ahhhed our way through The Archive, and left with Uniqlo scarves which were featured in the Real Simple September Issue:

Was a fabulous NYC evening! Thanks to all!

I was invited to a screening of Catfish tonight! When I first watched the trailer I was a little skeptical- like, was this really a documentary? I've been hearing a lot of underground rumbling about this flick, and was afraid it was a Blair Witch take on "documentary". But no, this is actually a play-by-play account of what happens when Nev starts an online relationship with Megan... and subsequently her family and friends. After growing skeptical of a few odd details, he arrives in her hometown to meet her face to face- and you won't believe what happens.

I think I experienced the most suspense I've ever felt while watching a film. Because it's real. You're learning things and the story is unfolding for you as the viewer at the same time that it is revealing itself to the 3 guys making the film. It's funny, shocking, a bit scary, and I think says a lot about the way we communicate with the world around us.

So many of us take people at face value and are intrinsically trusting over the internet. We communicate with people we've never met every single day- over IM, Facebook, dating websites, forums, blogs and Twitter. After speaking with them for a while, you feel like you know them. You trust them. I admit I'm definitely one of those people. I have two friends who I speak to nearly every day online who I've never met in my life. And I met my last boyfriend on Craigslist (and we dated for a year).

The film opens Friday in select theaters around the city, and I'm telling you- see it. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you take a second look at the way you live online. 

I *finally* went to the top of the Empire State Building- something I've been wanting to do since I moved here. It was as beautiful as I expected. The city is so quiet from so high. I made my friend stop every few feet around the perimeter of the observation deck to take photos.

One thing that struck me (that I unfortunately couldn't capture on camera) were the birds that constantly flew around the top. We were up there at 11pm, and birds swooped and played in the neon green light of the radio tower. The birds glowed green, making them look radioactive. It was so odd.

Definitely worth seeing, and another must-do NYC activity crossed off my to-do list.

I've been dying to see the Haunted exhibit at the Guggenheim, and I finally went! The exhibit is displayed throughout the Guggenheim's rotunda gallery. As you walk through, gazing at photos that capture the past with surrealism and gritty reality, a voice rises up through the hollow rotunda. An audio piece of the exhibit, Shallow Sea by Susan Philipsz, is a recording of her singing. It plays every ten minutes, and the rotunda's open layout lends an echoing, eerie quality to Susan's voice. It's hair-raising.

One of the first pieces I saw was Andy Warhol's Orange Disaster #5, which embodies the theme of the entire exhibit. Andy's electric chair is empty, but you're still left with the gristly reality that the chair has a past... the empty electric chair is haunted by those who have died in it.

And so the exhibit goes, with four themed sections, all displaying work that captures the past to bring it to present as if it's haunting us. Every space, person, object has a history; no matter how pleasant the history, its revival in the present can be unsettling. That's the feeling I got going through the exhibit, an oddly unsettled feeling. It's definitely one of the more evocative exhibits I've seen.

The Guggenheim museum itself is incredible, the architecture alone is worth the price of admission. I don't think this exhibit would be as powerful in another venue, the layout definitely lends itself to the art and its presentation. The exhibit runs through September 6. For hours and ticket information, click here.

I've been in bed with a 102* fever for 2 days, and I'm starting to go crazy. I was planning on going to Coney today to check out the 20th annual sand sculpting competition... but that was a no-go. I fainted in my living room a few days ago, so I didn't think hitting the beach was a smart idea. I've been relying on a few things to get me through the past couple days:

A suspenseful book...

Thank goodness for Kindle! The first 2 books in this series had me on the edge of my seat, and the last installment in the trilogy has not disappointed so far.

Fruit...

a friend brought some fruit and tea... a lot of this fruit was made into smoothies!

Netflix...

Been watching tons of movies! Remember Me was better than I thought it would be... the ending caught me by surprise.

Crazy thunderstorms...

Sitting on my fire escape I took video and photos of the storm that prompted tornado warnings across the 5 boroughs yesterday

Kitty love...

my kits have been keeping me company!

With any luck I'll be up and about tomorrow, and can head to Governors Island to check out the {NewNew}! I've been looking for some serious design inspiration for my apartment... I need some cheap, fun ways to spruce up my space. Then maybe next time I'm stuck at home I won't be so eager to get out.