By Lilia Menconi Friday I told you about a good way to spend 100 bucks. Today I’ll tell you how to spend 1200. And, for future reference, any time you need advice on how to spend money, you can count on me. I will be there for you…I really will…
By Lilia Menconi Well? Have you? Answer me!!!! So I throw around the words “juried exhibition” a lot. And, every time I use it, my silly imagination runs with the term. I can’t help it. I picture a big scary panel of judges sitting in a dim room. A bright…
Roy Wasson Valle is one of the darlings of the local art scene, and his works are hard to forget. Maybe you’ve seen his distinct line of T-shirts and toys with unforgettable characters like El Bastardo, a one-eyed, jagged-toothed rabbit creature with a perma-shit-eating grin smacked across his face. Or…
Last year, my best friend and I stood in front of a Fritz Scholder painting in a Scottsdale gallery. I don’t recall every detail of the painting. But I remember the feeling of being smacked in the face with an electric color palette and a smash of rapid brushstrokes —…
By Lilia Menconi Disclaimer: I tell Betty Friedan to “suck it” in this blog. I don’t really mean that. It’s a joke, everybody. Impressed? You should be. Spaceboy by Julie Duschack is all fabric, folks. Don’t get me wrong – I appreciate the second wave feminist movement, I really do…
By Lilia Menconi These ladies REALLY want you to check the slideshow. Some weekends, we just want a little comfort. There’s been a lot of special event-oriented club candids that are always a good time, sure. But between the opening of the W Scottsdale Hotel and Halloween at Last Exit,…
One of SeeSaw’s adorable cards. Aaaw! By Lilia Menconi I think I may have found a blog that’s better than Arty Girl. Impossible you say? Oh, shut your mouth! You’re so sweet! But, honestly, this one is pretty damn good. Local design firm, SeeSaw Designs, not only has a beautiful…
By Lilia Menconi About a year ago, I saw this: and this: So I totally freaked out and wrote this. Both pieces are by local artist, Denise Yaghmourian. I spied Hook Cube (top) and Label, Jumpsuits (bottom) – or, at least, works very similar to them – at the Tempe…
By Lilia Menconi Scottsdale ARTWALK is getting all up in some international shit this Thursday. I already wrote about Lisa Sette’s Chinese art show. And just across Marshall Way, you can see two amazing Cuban artists at Bentley Gallery. Sombra hacia el sur by Acosta. Gustavo Acosta’s “Temporary Current” is…
Last Exit, Halloween, Club Candids
By Lilia Menconi Hiding in the City #46: Whole Happy Family 2 by Liu Bolin, color photograph So it’s the beginning of the month and I’m drowning in press releases. But this time is always fun for me. When planning for the upcoming weekend, I feel like I have my…
By Lilia Menconi Awww…this little symbol of death is just too cute. Hey, guess what? You’re going to die. Oh, don’t worry, I’ll die too. And so will everyone else. Sure, this concept is nothing new. But it’s easily forgotten. We buzz around everyday – working, eating, joking around with…
You were smart enough not to buy into certain fads of the ’80s. You skipped the at-home perms, and now you’re one of the few who isn’t suffering from female hair loss. You didn’t care about politics enough to don a “Ruck Fussia” bumper sticker. Nice choice, because now that…
Americans suck at death. To us, mortality is so taboo that when it actually happens, we survivors emotionally crumble. We could learn a thing or two from our hermanos from Mexico, who aren’t afraid to face death straight on. A good place to start is the Dia de los Muertos…
Artists can’t resist molesting the world with their paint, ink, or charcoal. A blank surface doesn’t stand a chance. Think of Basquiat. His lady friend falls asleep for two seconds and the guy splats up her expensive party dress. Sure, she was pissed at the time, but little did she…
By Lilia Menconi By Goran Konjevod. With marriage, the one year anniversary may mark the time when things have slowed down a bit. Life has hit its routine, you don’t really go out that much anymore and maybe you just don’t crumple the sheets like you used to. It could…
By Lilia Menconi Check the slideshow, will ya? They say it’s a good thing to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while. So we decided to push ourselves this past Friday, skip dinner to keep our bellies flat and amp up the glam factor with a…
By Lilia Menconi Everyone has felt the pressure to really bring it with personal style. You’ve got a big work event coming up and it’s necessary to make an impression. Easy enough. You hit the gym a little harder a month before and grab up some fashion magazines to help…
By Lilia Menconi Anticipation of the Thesmophoria by Simon Casson. In this postmodern world, we just can’t seem to keep our grubby paws off of other people’s ideas. Having surrendered to the concept that there is no longer a purely original thought, we’ve embraced a creative zone of spring boarding…
First, it’s warm cans of Keystone Light in the parking lot in junior high. Then, it’s chilled Miller Lite at your friend’s house party. Eventually, bottles of Fat Tire or Sierra Nevada become the regulars, and knowledge of the best microbreweries in town has been established. Mix in a progression…
You think of the movie Dune and you remember two things: that strange, childhood confusion of feeling turned on when Sean Young was gagged, and the steaming shot of Sting in his blue, plastic-ribbed manties. That said, it’s no wonder the hipster kids are throwing “The Spice Will Flow” Dune…
By Lilia Menconi You’ll most likely come across a movie buff long before you run into an art freak. In our day and age, museums don’t have the pull that movie theaters (or home theaters and Netflix) do. Many would look at this as horribly tragic. I say it’s just…
