SPRING 2019 | V5-02
ALWAYS EVOLVING
32ND ANNUAL HRC ATLANTA GALA DINNER & AUCTION
As the lives of LGBTQ Americans hang in the balance, we cannot afford to take one step backward. We must build upon our momentum and move FORWARD.
05.04.19 To purchase tickets visit HRCAtlanta.com
HRC ATLANTA CORPORATE SPONSORS As of March 11TH PRESENTING
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
CRYSTAL
Brian Cave Leighton Paisner, Littler Mendalson, Boston Consulting Group, Positive Impact Health Centers, Creative Approach
Morris, Manning & Martin, Kilpatrick Townshend & Stockton, The Fryer Law Firm, Seyfarth Shaw, Troutman Sanders, Intercontinental Hotels Group
AFTER PARTY 5 Star Office Furniture
In the guise of satiric exploitation-horror, the all female cast of The Secretaries takes an uninching look at the warping cultural expectations of femininity.
By The Five Lesbian Brothers
MAY 2-18, 2019
Tickets: $15 and up Out Front Theatre Company 999 Brady Avenue, Atlanta
www.OutFrontTheatre.com
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As the ultimate guide to Atlanta for the discerning gay man, we thought that we’d broaden our scope a little in conjunction with the fact that the city is rapidly growing bigger. Atlanta now attracts fashion, art, culture, design, and architecture like never before – and at an entirely new and elevated level. Thanks to a fast-moving film industry and still very agreeable job and housing market, Atlanta is making its mark as a cultural hub in America. So, this issue of GOLIATH is a little different – and it’s the first issue on the path to a new and may I say improved editorial profile that much better reflects the vibrant city, we live in. A major difference is that we are adjusting our publication frequency, so instead of coming out monthly, GOLIATH will be a seasonal publication four times a year. We want to pursue quality instead of quantity, and more time allows us to curate our content to perfection. One look at our cover and you may notice the change already. Going forward, it will feature some of the amazing photographers that we come across in our work, and we reserve the cover for them to be profiled. We will have even more fashion with several photo shoots from leading designers from all over the world, and we provide a useful style and trend guide in every issue, so you can better incorporate a new season into your wardrobe. This issue also premieres our first ever co-editors. Robert Brown and Todd Davis of Brown Davis Architecture and Interiors will curate an all-new Design & Living section, and in this inaugural edition they take on decorative wallpapers. Deven Green is still with us – we simply couldn’t go on without our comedic and uberglamorous muse – and she will be conducting interviews with personalities from her illustrious circle of friends. In this issue, she talks to the talented Tom Goss. There are many more new additions to GOLIATH, so flip through it and take a look for yourself – we hope you like the new direction as much as we do. One thing is unchanged: Deven Green closes out the issue with her often salacious advice from her equally salacious experience.
Mikkel Hyldebrandt Editorial Director mikkel@GoliathAtlanta.com
CONTENTS SPRING 2019
O P E R AT I O N S Jeff Anderson SALES AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mikkel Hyldebrandt GRAPHIC DESIGNER Josh Murtha CONTRIBUTORS Chris Azzopardi Robert Brown Todd Davis Deven Green
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SALES Andrea Davis SALES REPRESENTATIVE Thomas Le SALES REPRESENTATIVE
W E L C O M E TO T H E L . A . S A R TO R I A L T R I B E
DISTRIBUTION Andrea Davis N AT I O N A L A D R E P Rivendell Media 908.232.2021 PRINT At Community Distribution Points Across the City ONLINE GoliathAtlanta.com COVER Stavros Christodoulou
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O N O U R R A D A R .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . APPEARANCES........................................................... WELL HELLO..............................................................
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The content of Goliath Atlanta is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice. The opinions expressed by any writer, advertiser, or other person appearing in Goliath Atlanta are not necessarily those of this publication, its management or staff. The information and materials appearing in the magazine are not guaranteed or warranted as to accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness, or suitability of the information and materials found or offered for a particular purpose. It shall be your responsibility to ensure that any products, services, or information available through Goliath Atlanta meets your specific requirements. Goliath Atlanta is not responsible for claims made by advertisers, content of information, changes, events, and schedules.The magazine contains information and material which is owned by or licensed to Goliath Atlanta, including but not limited to articles, advertisements, design, layout, graphics, and logos. No part or portion of Goliath Atlanta may be reproduced in any way without the prior written consent of the publisher. Unauthorized use of Goliath Atlanta may give rise to claims for damages and or criminal offenses. Your use of the information or materials in Goliath Atlanta is strictly at your own risk.
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Stavros Christodoulou Cyprus-based Stavros shoots mostly fashion, portraits, fine art, and artistic nudes. His photography has been featured in Vogue Italia (online), and international magazines such as Dark Beauty, Adon, DNA Australia, KaltBlut, OhLaLa, HUF, and Rey. Notable blogs like Fashionably Male and Homotography are also listed on his extensive portfolio. This is his first cover for GOLIATH Atlanta Magazine, and we are thrilled to work with Stavros on creating this stunning cover. Please, visit Stavros Christodoulou on social media to see even more of his incredible work.
Instagram@stavroschr Facebook @stavroscphotography Tumblr: stavc.tumblr.com Model: Kevin Mcaulay Styling: Constantinos Natiotis Grooming: Christos Theophanous Location: Ayia Napa / Cyprus
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ON OUR RADAR The Wonder of Under
Could you imagine dining immersed into the rough sea off the coast of Norway? Welcome to the largest underwater restaurant in the world, Under. Under is situated off the coast of Båly, a small town on Norway’s southernmost shore, its walls are three feet thick to withstand all pressure from the sea, and diners sit in a dimly lit dining room with unobstructed views of the marine life right outside a footthick glass panel. Under means ‘under’ in Norwegian but it is also a play on the Norwegian word wonder, which is precisely the sentiment the establishment is going for. Seasonal dishes are prepared under chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard, and diners are recommended to allot a good four hours enjoying their meal at the unusual and exquisite space. Another recommendation is to visit the restaurant in rough weather, so you can fully experience the harshness of the sea – and don’t worry, the construction is made to withstand even the roughest seas. The restaurant is taking reservations, but the unique concept has already garnered a lot of attention and with that quite a waiting list. Try your luck at under.no. Photo: Snøhetta
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The Masters Go High
Photo: Design Shanghai
Design Shanghai If you are into design, you should look to China – or rather Shanghai where the annual Design Shanghai has just concluded. On its sixth year, the design fair showcases some of the most influential and most innovative trends. One of the strongest points coming out of the international design event is how Eastern and Western design philosophies are working together synergistically across platforms. Design Shanghai will return on March 11-14, 2020 and until then you can catch inspiration through an extensive catalog of images and videos at designshanghai.com. Henson_Goliath_half proof.pdf
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Atlanta is quickly becoming a major Southeast art destination that attracts significant exhibitions and shows from all over the world. The recent Infinity Mirrors featuring Yayoi Kusama’s incredible infinity rooms was Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963), Still Life surefire proof of that, and with Grapes and Clarinet, 1927, oil on canvas. the upcoming European The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., acquired 1929. © 2018 Artists Rights Society Masterworks: The Phillips (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris Collection (April 6 through July 9, 2019) continues the impressive lineup of world-class art exhibits right here in Atlanta. The new exhibition features 75 works by European artists that define the 19th and early 20th-century modernism including Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin, Manet, Matisse, Monet, van Gogh, and Picasso. The masterpieces are all from the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., which has been recognized as America’s first museum of modern art since it opened in 1921. The Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Expressionist artworks on display at the High Museum in Atlanta exemplify the distinctive eye of collector Duncan Phillips who founded the museum. For more info, please visit high.org.
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404.795.5100 GOLIATHATLANTA.COM 11
BASQUIAT BASKS AGAIN
By Mikkel Hyldebrandt
The Brant Foundation Will celebrate the inauguration of its new space in New York City’s East Village with a large-scale solo exhibition of works by Jean-Michel Basquiat that fully presents the scope of the enigmatic artist and showcases the incredible exhibition space at the same time. Located at 421 East 6th Street, the new Brant Foundation exhibition space occupies a century-old building originally designed as a substation for Consolidated Edison. The building subsequently served as the home and studio of famed artist Walter De Maria from the mid-1980s until his death in 2013. Richard Gluckman of Gluckman Tang Architects was in charge of the massive renovation of the building and transformed the 16,000-square-foot former substation building to accommodate 7,000 square feet of exhibition space across four open floors. The transformation also enveloped the outer space, so two new gardens adorn the adjacent structure, as well as a landscaped roof terrace.
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The inaugural exhibition of Basquiat’s most important artworks has been organized in collaboration with the Fondation Louis Vuitton and curated by Dr. Dieter Buchhart. The exhibition will bring together Basquiat’s masterworks from the Brant Collections as well as from international museums and private collections. “The retrospective will show Basquiat as a resolutely contemporary artist who created a foretaste of our Internet society by using cut-and-paste sampling from his surroundings,” says Dr. Buchhart about the choice of Basquiat for the first show, and continues: “with the astonishing radicalness of his artistic practice, Basquiat renewed the concept of art with enduring impact.” The Brant Foundation is pleased to premiere some of the most important works from the Brant Collection, which have been amassed since the 1980s by Peter M. Brant. This important compendium of Basquiat’s works reconnects the East Village to one of its most significant past figures. As Brant describes it: “Basquiat has been a cornerstone of the East Village art scene for decades, and to bring his work back to the neighborhood that inspired it is a great privilege. Our family is thrilled to launch The Brant Foundation’s New York space with an artist who is central to the collection, and above all to share his legacy with the community that was fundamental in shaping it.”
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Spanning the artist’s entire oeuvre with works from The Brant Collections as well as several international museums and private collections, it illustrates Basquiat’s prolific yet brief career and broad range of subjects, especially his keen observations of his contemporary world while giving insight into his politics, heroes, influences, and singularity of vision. Gluckman Tang Architects (previously Gluckman Mayner Architects) is the New York City architecture firm that in 2007 the firm designed the renovation of a former cold-storage barn in Greenwich, Connecticut, transforming it into The Brant Foundation Art Study Center. Studio Cicetti Architect of Brooklyn, New York, is the owner’s representative for the East Village building, and Melissa Cicetti, who previously worked at Gluckman Mayner Architects on the The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, continues to oversee work at the building in Greenwich. The New York landscape design firm Madison Cox Associates, designed the two gardens that flank the new East Village exhibition facility, as well as the the roof terrace.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, In Italian, 1983, Acrylic and oilstick on canvas. Courtesy of The Brant Foundation, Greenwich, CT © Estate of Jean Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump, 1982, Acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of The Brant Foundation, Greenwich, CT © Estate of Jean Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York.
Photos: Sean Keenan, Courtesy The Brant Foundation, Tom Powel Imaging, Copyright Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Courtesy The Brant Foundation
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9 ALBUMS TO HEAR THIS YEAR By Chris Azzopardi
There’s something for every color of the rainbow included in this year’s music-release roster. The list is long, but here’s a taste: debuts from Pitch Perfect star Ben Platt and hair-toss kween Lizzo, songwriter showcases from Patty Griffin and Lana Del Rey, gay icons (Madonna, Melissa Etheridge), emerging gay icons (Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen), and much more.
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Ben Platt Sing to Me Instead You know Ben Platt as a _Pitch Perfect_ acca-nerd – he played Benji Applebaum, the acapella-obsessed outcast crazy for magic – and as the eponymous lead in Broadway’s _Dear Evan Hansen_. But the magic of his first solo album, where he’ll peel back the layers of the gay man under the wizard’s cape, is purely Ben Platt being Ben Platt. Already, he’s captured the greatest love of all – the saving grace of self-love – on “Bad Habit,” a tender, aching piano number with gorgeous vocal riffs on gorgeous vocal riffs. Surely Platt has a few more tricks up his sleeve.
Carly Rae Jepsen In October 2018, Carly Rae Jepsen announced her pop career’s next chapter by Instagramming a snap of a (her?) cat nipping at a Twizzler she held in one hand, a droopy slice of pizza dangling from her other. Full pizza at her feet, the pic – hilarious, empowering – captured the buoyant breakup anthem that would follow, “Party For One,” a bop that makes a strong argument for singlehood and self-pleasure. _E*MO*TION*_ was fire. The best pop album of 2015. Maybe not a Hot-N-Ready, but whatever Jepsen delivers, piece by piece, we’ll eat it right up.
Ariana Grande Thank U, Next
Madonna Will Madonna reel it in? Drain the pool of zeitgeist, hotshot producers she’s been known to enlist for recent projects? Ditch trends? Blaze trails? Much remains to be seen (and heard), but because women are ardently reclaiming their rightful power – and because Madonna is Madonna – she’s bound to come down hard on the patriarchy on her 14th studio album. Suitably, she had a session with an all-female Portuguese orchestra for the release, which she told Women’s Wear Daily was being made “in between rose mist spray and serums.” So just maybe this one’ll be sweet and fresh and like a Sephora after all.
Patty Griffin Patty Griffin A first-ever self-titled album after nearly 25 years in the music business has to mean something. For Patty Griffin, one of the best character songwriters this world has to offer (just ask gay power-songwriter Justin Tranter, who stans PG), it means deep, pensive dives into her own life. Battling cancer, as Griffin did, will tend to beget self-reflection, and so her 10th studio album, “Patty Griffin,” traces her steps, from memories with her late mom to growing up in Maine, when she thought “maybe who I am wasn’t right.” “Luminous Places” – a could-be swan song – is otherworldly, casting a mystic dreaminess amid a delicate dance of strings, guitar and pillowy piano; it’s as if the song was composed in the clouds, then fell from the sky and floated to us on a single moon-lit snowflake.
Ariana Grande moves on fast – from donut controversy, from exes, from albums. _Sweetener_ descended upon us just half a year ago, in August 2018, but Grande had more to say, dammit, and so she’s gone and said it with an army of 12 bad-bitch-and-beyond songs conceived for this new project led by the power-asserting “thank u, next” and the “My Favorite Things”-sampled “7 rings,” a piercing, winking satire of millennial entitlement. A confessional chronicling a trying year in the spotlight, it’s her best, boldest album yet.
Melissa Etheridge The Medicine Show As always, LGBTQ activist and lesbian rock legend Melissa Etheridge has the antidote for our precarious times – songs about them. Her 15th studio release called _The Medicine Show_ reunites Etheridge with producer John Shanks – the album was largely recorded live in studio – and explores universal themes of renewal, reconciliation, reckoning, compassion and healing. Songs include “Shaking,” about national anxiety; “Here Comes the Pain,” personalizing the opioid crisis; the hopeful and unifying “Human Chain”; and rock anthem “Love Will Live.” The survivors of the Parkland school shootings inspired the album’s closing song, “Last Hello,” while “Wild and Lonely” and “Faded By Design” take another, different look at Etheridge’s past.
Dido Still on My Mind Dido seems to not mind being forgotten, only to be remembered every four to six years, when she floats back to earth like the mystic fairy she is, reminding us that her dainty voice may be that of an actual pixie. Her first album since 2013’s _Girl Who Got Away_, _Still on My Mind_ was recorded with her brother, Rollo, at home, on a couch. It’s that chill living room sound both you and your mom can agree on; the real thrill, though, is hearing the English performer infuse electro and hip-hop life into her delicate sofa songs. A remix album can’t be far off.
Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell Lana Del Rey’s persona is the subject of much debate and confusion: how much is truly authentic, and how much is the record label’s doing to produce a pop icon for These Sad, Dark Times. Del Rey seems to have leaned into the conversation, and she’s responded accordingly – and very, very personally – with her forthcoming album’s maximalist-titled first single, called “hope is a dangerous thing for a woman to have – but I have it.” Produced and co-written with Taylor Swift and Lorde producer Jack Antonoff, the song is a songwriter’s song, hauntingly simple, intimate. Her authenticity is her defiance.
Lizzo CUZ I LOVE YOU (April 19) On “Juice,” rapper-singer-flutist and “America’s Next Bop Star” Lizzo does not, will not, even let that mirror, mirror on the wall chime in on the fairest one of all. Because, honey, she is. And you are. And we all are. There for you and all the blighted characters in _Blockers_ and _A Bad Moms Christmas_ and _I Feel Pretty_, the Detroit-born, Minneapolis-raised performer’s breakthrough single, “Good as Hell,” similarly empowered you to write your own damn fairy tale and parade that princess crown around and let it shine. All signs for this one, Lizzo’s much-anticipated major-label debut, point to more hair-toss, “you go geeeerl” swagger.
Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service. Reach him @chrisazzopardi.
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Take us on your body-awareness/body image journey in your videos. I didn’t realize I was gay until I was 23. Now, I don’t say I didn’t come out of the closet until I was 23, because the truth is, I had no idea! I was always an athlete, always hanging with, and showering with, young, fit, handsome and earnest Midwestern men. I didn’t find them sexually attractive. I didn’t find women sexually attractive either. I assumed I was asexual. I wasn’t. The fact is, I’m sexually attracted to bigger men. And by bigger, I don’t mean tall; I mean chubby. There is no representation of that in mainstream media. We are told beauty is one shape, one size. That’s not how I see the world and I know I’m not alone. I want to create content that reflects how I see the world. I want to reveal the beauty of all shapes and sizes to the world. You have become a strong leader and voice in the gay community, in particular, the “bear community.” Why such an affinity?
THE SHAPE OF MUSIC By Deven Green
Photo: Michael Serrato
I am, and always will be, an outspoken voice for that which I see as beautiful and marginalized. That’s why I tell stories about my community. I see insane amounts of beauty, kindness, talent, and compassion in the bear community. I am grateful to be a part of it. Your videos always include diversity. Where do you find such rare talents? Diversity is important to me; it always has been. I want to create art that reflects the world that I live in, and that’s a diverse world. Finding diverse talents isn’t hard; they’re everywhere. I look forward to the day when we don’t see it as diverse; we see it as normal. What have been the best responses to your music?
Tom Goss has been a dear musical friend who, through his highly acclaimed music, brings awareness, diversity, and a connectivity in his live shows and thought-provoking videos. Tom, you create your own music, music videos, calendars, posters, tours and everything else. Your musicianship is all-encompassing. Where does this drive come from? I’ve always had it. Whatever I’m passionate about, I’m obsessive about.
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It’s what made me a great athlete as well. I think people assume that things come easily to me, trust me, they don’t. I’m a nose to the grindstone kind of guy. I’ll do something 10,000 times until I get it right. It’s served me well over my life, but sometimes I (and my husband) wish I could just take a day off. There are certain things that everyone else loves, that I just don’t understand. For instance, the beach. I cannot fathom what one would do at the beach for more than 3 minutes.
Almost daily I get the most heartfelt letters about how my music has touched someone. My music has played at weddings, funerals, birthday parties, pretty much all of the most precious moments of a person’s life. I’ve helped people see their own beauty, that floors me. I’ve helped people get through the worst of times, and celebrate the best of times, what an honor. That’s why I do this. I am humbled by the power of music and storytelling; I will never betray that responsibility. Tom, you are an inspiration. Thank you. TomGossMusic.com | FB/IG/Twitter/ YouTube @TomGossMusic
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TRENDS FOR A NEW MASCULINIT Y
Although tailoring and classic staples remain the core in this season’s menswear, you may want to re-evaluate your concept of masculinity slightly. No, designers are not breaking out the full skirts Billy Porter-style, but the traditional silhouettes are definitely being challenged to be less conventional and more unexpected. Here are four prevalent trends that From left to right: TODD, SNYDER, DUNHILL will point you towards 1. Tie-Dye Daydream a new masculinity this One of the strongest trends on the print side is tie-dyed fabrics used on everySpring season. thing from shirts to jackets and bottoms. The print imbues a specific streetsmart style while giving it a Woodstock-like softness. Plus: the color combinations are endless just like a floral print.
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DUNHILL
TODD SNYDER
ISSEY MIYAKE
By Mikkel Hyldebrandt Photos: PR
May 4th, 2019 | Heretic 9:00PM - 3:00AM $20 ADVANCE (AND UNTIL 11:00PM DAY OF) $25 AFTER 11:00PM | 21+ ID REQUIRED
Tickets available at: joininghearts.org
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2. Hey Daddy
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Whether you want to go full leather Tom of Finland style or just want to wear dad jeans (the preferred shape of the season), the Daddy is coming out in all sorts of ways. It’s time to grow up, and this trend will take you there.
3. Neo-Utility
The less conventional approach to traditional tailoring explores new shapes and even ways to wear a suit. Break conventions by wearing it with a bare chest or indulge in a more exaggerated shape for a fashionable edge. 20 SPRING 2019 • V5 I02
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4. Smarten Up
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Utilitarian attire is making it into your daily wear. Practical pockets and traces of army-wear make this trend multi-functional on several levels. Add a crossbody bag, backpack, or belt, and you’re good to go.
LGBTQ+ Networking Night
& Bring Your Dog!
April 26th, 5:30-7:30 PM Club DiOGi
2080 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, Suite B, Atlanta, GA 30324 REGISTER FREE NOW:
TheAGLCC.org © 2019 The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved.
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Welcom e to th e L.A. SARTORIAL TRIBE If the year-round warm weather and rebellious attitude suits you; welcome to the sartorial L.A. tribe. The famous relaxed approach to tailoring opens up options for you to get into tees, polos, button-downs, and casual suiting with the power to shake up your look with a vintage character and a modern fit.
Photography: Kenny Thomas for Todd Snyder New York
Images courtesy of Todd Snyder New York. All styles available at ToddSnyder.com.
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Images courtesy of Todd Snyder New York. All styles available at ToddSnyder.com.
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Images courtesy of Todd Snyder New York. All styles available at ToddSnyder.com.
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OCTOBER 11-13,2019 atlantapride.org
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WALL TO WALL STYLE By Todd Davis and Rob Brown
GOLIATH Magazine proudly welcomes Robert Brown and Todd Davis, of Brown Davis Architecture and Interiors, as contributing editors of the Design & Living section. Their uniquely American aesthetic fuses traditional roots of classicism, with an international, modern, sensual vitality. Over the course of the year, they will present you with their tasteful perspective on all things design, and in this inaugural feature, Brown Davis will focus on the tried and true subject of wallpaper - and it’s not what you might think. There is no doubt that the saturated hues, tropical landscape and design mecca of Miami have all influenced our bold aesthetic that resists conformity. Brown Davis is based at the 1111 Lincoln Road complex on Miami Beach, Florida, which in itself carries an iconic design status that feeds right into the foundation of each of our projects whether it’s modern, transitional, or traditional. The Brown Davis design and architectural team trains their exacting eye on the technical and design challenges of each project to ensure proper proportions, details, materials and an efficient build process. Throughout the years, our portfolio has expanded to include architecture, renovations, landscape, and furniture design, and with the expansion, we have distilled a certain maximalist aesthetic that saturates just about everything we do. With our motto ‘Comfort is the Greatest Luxury,’ we resist conformity and when scanning the world for new ideas, architecture, innovative furnishings, and design products, our eyes are instinctively drawn to those objects that possess that maximalist energy and vitality.
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WALL TO WALL STYLE Grey Gradens by Alex Mason
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There are infinite ways to customize your walls and ceilings, and wallpaper presents you with beautiful options to add dimension or enliven any room. You can work with an artist to create your own specific design, or you can purchase great patterns and colors off the shelf. Silks, foils, metals, and natural materials such as hemp are being woven into the papers to give added texture and punch. And since there are so many good options, you might want to enlist an experienced interior designer to help push your boundaries even further and determine what is best for you and your home. Here are some of the design inspirations that we have either taken significant note of or have used on projects.
Wallpaper Aloft When we first saw the work of Alex Mason we were blown away – and who could resist a design called “Grey Gardens?” Her designs are modern, colorful and original. Her work includes paintings, prints, wallpapers, and murals. In particular, we love the ceiling she created for the featured den. We always ask the question, why ceilings are ignored, and Alex created a great answer to this question with her original mural on a ceiling.
Dynamics This paper we used on a client’s beach house in Delray, Florida. ‘Sigourney’ from China Seas is bold, and the colorful pattern enlivens any room. We used this in a dark den that doesn’t get much natural light, and the wallpaper took the place from drab to dynamic.
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In the same beach house, we used this Lee Jofa Palm Jungle Wallpaper paper by Cole & Son in the dining room for an up to date “Palm Beach” look and a feel of the tropics.
Palm Jungle by Cole & Son
‘Sigourney by China Seas’
Palm Beach Dining
Arbour Steel Blue on White by Meg Braff Desings
This foil wallpaper, we used in a traditional home on the Potomac River just outside of Washington, DC, is perfect for updating a traditional home or softening a modern home. The design, color, and foil walk a perfectly updated line.
Fromental
Phillip Jefferies
Updated Design Experience
Not All Wallpapers Are Paper Caller Coolness
Eden in Licorice by Weitzner
This really fun Phillip Jefferies wallpaper we used in a guest bedroom on Miami Beach. It is an uplifting, unexpected, and fun choice for a guest bedroom that can be designed to transport your guest to a fantasy world.
Textural Quality Another unique paper that we recently used in a foyer on a home in Annapolis is the Weitzner ‘Eden in Licorice’ in 100% Mulberry and Salago Fiber. This paper comes in a variety of colors, and as you can see in the image, there is a real textural quality to this paper, so the wall color behind can be fully customized to your desire - the result is bold, modern and stunning.
Wallpapers can be intricately woven with fabrics like silk to add an extra dimension and texture. Adding layers of wallpaper, curtains, sheers, and fabrics also absorbs noise. This wallpaper we used on a master bedroom wall in a project on Miami Beach is from Fromental, and it was custom-scaled to fit the particular dimensions of the room.
Todd Davis and Rob Brown joined their shared passion for classic architecture, discerning environments, and extraordinary craftsmanship to create Brown Davis Interiors, Inc. in 1994. Brown Davis has received awards including Architectural Digest Top 100, Luxe Gold List and Ocean Home Top 50 Interior Designers. Their portfolio includes interiors, renovations, and their own collection of colored wood furnishings. Get more design inspiration at browndavis.com, and follow Todd Davis @browndavis and Rob Brown @browndavisarchitecture.
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Blue Into the
Dive into coolness with swimwear
designed to make you look your very best.
Photographer: Alejandro Brito Models: Oliver Buendia, Alejandro Cifo and Thomas Busson All styles are from the 2019 ES Collection Bon Voyage Visit escollection.es/en for more information
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MOMMIE QUEEREST French cinema legend Isabelle Huppert talks Sapphic subtext of Greta, John Waters and her LGBTQ roles By Chris Azzopardi Photos: Focus Features
I’m saying goodbye to Isabelle Huppert, grande dame of French cinema with over 100 films to her name, including 2001’s The Piano Teacher, the Oscar winner Amour and 2016’s Elle, for which she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. But this is not goodbye. Quiet aside from a savory “mmm” here and another savory “mmm” there, Huppert has wandered back to my line of questioning about Greta, her wild new film from director-writer Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), and its queer resonance. Publicist-monitored time is seemingly of no concern to her. And so I’m still saying goodbye, this time also thanking her for our interview. Silence. “Yeah, but it’s interesting,” she starts again, absorbed in thought as she reflects on playing the titular crazy old lady. “I’m happy that you bring it up, because of course this attraction from that woman toward young girls, you can make many readings about it.” Is she implying that Greta’s interest in these young women could be sexual? “I didn’t consciously think of it,” she adds, “but it’s there, of course. It lingers.” Roped into Greta’s subtextually Sapphic scheming is Chloë Grace Moretz’s poor Frances, a New York waitress who out of the goodness-but-misguidedness of her heart returns a handbag to the sadistic stalker (Huppert). And talk about lingering: You won’t soon forget Huppert doing that Chopin murder-dance. Or gum! Which is to say Juicy
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Fruit will now be haunting you when you least expect it. Huppert, 65, recently spoke about playing bad women, her many LGBTQ-themed films, and the queer community’s relationship to camp. John Waters once said you play a lot of bad women, but you corrected him and said, “No, I play women in bad situations.” That’s right. But this time, this one is a really bad one (laughs). She’s in a very bad situation and she’s a very bad woman, and she’s very different from all the others I’ve been playing so far. In what ways? She’s different in the sense that she has not the least bit of innocence in her (laughs). I mean, she’s really a psychopath and, in a way, a kind of monster. When you go that far, when you cross the border like she does, there’s nothing to make whatever she does legitimate or justified, so she’s a monster. But the movie is not psychological. The movie doesn’t try to give you explanation or justification; it just shows the facts and just the facts. And it’s also very highly stylized in the sense that it’s sometimes very funny, and there’s also a great sense of humor. Did you read the camp elements before shooting?
Not really, actually. I liked the script and that’s why I did it. It was enough for me to do it, and also because I knew Neil Jordan was going to direct – so, of course! If it wasn’t him directing, or let’s say a name of someone that I could expect to be a great director, I’m not sure I would have done it the same way. But given I knew he was going to do it and that he added some elements, like the fact that she plays the piano – and, at the end, the staging – made it all. The design, the apartment where she lives and the whole atmosphere of the film is very, very special. It’s a bit out of time, also. There’s something a bit timeless, which I think makes it a bit more mysterious. At the same time a tale, not a fairy tale… But I see where you’re going with that. I picked up some Hansel and Gretel parallels myself. And also, the name of my character – Greta – reminds you of this kind of tale with the innocent, the good and the bad, the white and the black, and that’s what I like, also. But the movie, it really deals with stereotypes: what it means to be good, what it means to be bad, what it means to be innocent, what it means to be guilty. You said you’ve never quite played a woman like this before. What steps did you take to prepare for Greta? I didn’t really have to take any steps myself. Neil gave us a lot of freedom; I just played
it the way she was written. I didn’t really bother. I didn’t try to make her more nice or more horrible. She appears very innocent and almost invisible at the beginning. A bit weird. The way she lives in this old apartment, it’s a bit like she was coming from another time. But that was it, you know? That’s why I’m saying you just have to get yourself (in character) just by the facts, nothing else. And not trying, of course, to bring any element of emotion that would be completely irrelevant, even though there is a kind of emotion, but emotion is certainly not the right word. But, for instance, when you find out where she keeps all her victims in this room that is completely from another time, with all these dolls and teddy bears, something that’s a threat, it’s very disturbing. This story is one that I could see John Waters having a lot of fun with. Absolutely. I mean, John Waters. Dario Argento also. All these kinds of people who play with stereotypes with great freedom, because there is this ironical dissonance and, again, there is great stylization in the film, which makes it very, very special. So, again, on one hand you can call it a thriller and something really mainstream, but on the other hand it’s really sophisticated, which I like about it. Otherwise, it would’ve been one more thriller. It’s a bit more than that. And I like the reference to John Waters, who I love, by the way, as a filmmaker. Why haven’t you worked with him? Oh, I would love to! Maybe I’m not fat enough to work with him. (Laughs) Are you aware of why LGBTQ audiences might respond to the sort of winking humor of this film more than other audiences? Yes, maybe because there is something provocative in a very good sense, and there is
also a freedom to it, and when all the codes are kind of scattered and it’s beyond the good taste, that’s where you find some truth about life, about what it means to be a woman, about what it means to be a man. I played this monologue directed by the great stage director Bob Wilson years ago (in 19931995 and based on the novel by Virginia Woolf) called Orlando, where I was a little boy at the beginning who turned out, finally, to be a woman at the end of the journey. That was a play I did on stage, a wonderful play I did with Bob Wilson, and so I explored all these possibilities. That’s not exactly camp, but I think I understand what you mean, so, yeah, I’m not surprised. But it’s not only for gay people. I think it’s for everybody who has a little bit of taste, a little bit of openness, a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of expectations from what it means to be a creator, what it means to bring metaphor to any imaginary expression. We really never get to know Greta’s backstory because she’s not trustworthy and she’s a master manipulator. Even her sexual identity is unknown. She could be queer. Oh, she could be! Oh yeah, absolutely!
a sexual identity crisis. What drew you to that film? I like the film very much, yes. Well, I like working with Anne. You know, I did another film with her which is soon to be out here, which is called Pure as Snow. It’s a very, very contemporary version and very unexpected version of Snow White and I’m playing the bad queen. Another bad woman. A very bad woman! But, again, she goes against the stereotypes, and instead of having a Snow White “white as snow,” it’s a Snow White a bit more in the quest of sexual pleasure. My character, of course, is the bad queen that she is, but also very vulnerable and more (triggered) out of a very personal wound, so it’s a different way of showing the good and the bad. What other films of yours would you say have resonated with LGBTQ audiences? So, clearly, Anne Fontaine’s movie because that was about this young man’s journey, but yeah, let me think, I don’t know… I hope all of the films I’m doing (laughs)! But in terms of subject, clearly, yes, Coup de Foudre.
Did you think about that in the process? No, I didn’t. Honestly, I don’t think about anything when I act, I hate to disappoint you (laughs). I just think about saying my lines. I’m like (actor) Robert Mitchum. Robert Mitchum used to say that. In director Diane Kurys’s 1983 film Coup de Foudre, you and another dissatisfied housewife found romantic satisfaction in each other. The Advocate called the film “the best gay film” of that year. How do you reflect on playing a gay character at a time when gay characters weren’t quite as accepted by society? Oh, I loved that film. It’s so wonderful. It’s interesting that you present her as a gay character, in fact, because in the film we never really – it was saying a lot about the time, which was 1983, and the time that story was set in. This homosexual aspect of the relationship was never really clearly expressed. In fact, it’s hardly something – not to say not at all – that we even brought up as I was acting, but the story was so strong that everything that was going on underneath brought us there. But that’s the theme of the film, because the story took place in the ’50s when these sorts of things weren’t supposed to be said in the daylight.
And in 2013’s The Nun, by director Jacques Rivette, your mother superior was homosexual. Yes! Of course, of course! Yeah, you have to refresh my memory, I’ve done so – but yes, yes, so clearly! That was wonderful! I loved doing that part because, again, when the story takes place, which is the 18th century. If you read the book by (Denis) Diderot, it’s about this nun wanting to sleep with the youngest nun. There is such a sense of humor – you know, it’s really, really funny – even though the whole journey of the young nun is very tragic, but that part in particular, whatever irony and humor I brought to it, I found it in the book itself. I loved doing it. It was this very good director called Guillaume Nicloux. I forgot about that one. That’s probably the one role I really played with the most awareness of what I was doing. As editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBTQ wire service, Chris Azzopardi has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in GQ, Vanity Fair and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.
Another queer highlight was Anne Fontaine’s 2017 film Reinventing Marvin. You play yourself and you guide the film’s gay protagonist, Marvin, who’s experiencing
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ON THE SCENE DEEP SOUTH PRESENTS THE BLACK MADONNA AT THE HERETIC Photos courtesy of Alli Royce Soble @roycetakespics | @roycesobolovitz The queer Atlanta DJ collective, Deep South, attracts some of the biggest underground DJs from around the world. In March, the Black Madonna, who was named DJ of the year in 2016, played an incredible set at the Heretic for an ecstatic crowd. Vicki Powell, founder of Deep South, and Ash Lauryn (Deep South/Underground and Black) played the opening sets of the night.
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ON THE SCENE THE ARMORETTES ARMORY REUNION AT AMSTERDAM ATLANTA Photos by MH The legendary camp drag organization that celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year comes together annually for a special reunion show, honoring the place where it all started – The Armory Bar in Atlanta. This year, the reunion was held at Amsterdam Atlanta, and the camp queens served a spectacular show that, true to the Armorettes’ mission, raises money for those in the community affected by HIV/AIDS. thearmorettes.com
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WELL HELLO.
IT’S DEVEN GREEN
DEVEN GREEN is an award-winning comedic chanteuse. You know her from the “Welcome To My Home” series of comedic parodies, headlining her convivial music show and being a ray of light. DevenGreen.com
DEAR DEVEN: I fell head-over-heels for a celebrity. I think he likes me too! How do I proceed to date someone famous?
DEAR DEVEN: I survived a car crash now I feel like I am invincible. How great is that?
DEAR DEVEN: I actually won a huge chunk of money in the lottery. When people find out, all they want to do is wrangle something from me. How do I shake them off?
“Crazy For You” You don’t. As a generalization, they will suck your energy and lifeblood until you are a husk of what you once were. Then, they will move on. #fact.
“Live To Tell” We are glad you are here with us, so stay a while. Don’t push your luck.
“Lucky Star” They see you as receiving “free money” as opposed to you earning your money so it doesn’t “cost” you anything to give them some. Never discuss your finances in public again.
DEAR DEVEN: I get rashes easily. It isn’t a disease, just irritations but I feel new romances stutter when they see it up close. How should I educate them?
“Burning Up” I would play this up so a new suitor would feel compelled to take care of your every need. You may also suggest that snacks and gifts keep your rashes at bay.
DEAR DEVEN: Our friend disliked us getting him a particular magazine subscription as a gift. He said it was a “women’s” magazine. However you respond I will abide.
“Vogue” Fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway is for everyone. Not only is your friend ungrateful he should have known you well enough to realize your intentions were to earnestly make him happy. He deserves NOTHING!
DEAR DEVEN: Oh god, I’m with a sweet guy who bows his head before each meal even if we are out in public. Why am I cringing?
“Like A Prayer” Because are you a d*ck. In the future chose people who are more aligned with you. I suggest you conduct yourself with a little more grace.
DEAR DEVEN: I went to elementary school with my best friend. We are still best friends today. How rare is that?
“True Blue” Most people just have memories. You have a rich, tangible history. It is going to be wonderful to have such great company with each other in your twilight years.
Dear Friends: I do not offer advice, only my salacious experience. DevenGreen@gmail.com Special celebrity audio version here: GoliathAtlanta.com Image: Jasmin Mieles MUA: David Marvel
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