I had no idea. You know when in your mind you have a maybe-fond or at least neutral-plus impression of someone and then you meet them or see them talk and you suddenly have an overwhelmingly powerful aversion to them? (You know, like with Philip Johnson, or Jean-Paul Sartre, or Adam Gopnik?) Well, this did it for me.
This happened for me during his interview on FashionTelevision a year or so ago. I had been reading his blerg for a while (yes, yes, before it was popular!) and expected someone more...shall we say urbane, witty, sophisticated* and instead was faced with a brusque, cocky hustler. Le sigh indeed, Choire, le sigh indeed.
*yes, I mean "gay".
i also too before it was popular
I didn't like gopnik before or after I heard him on the radio. He's very talented but I still can't get over a pretentious aside about his kid not liking ketchup.
It happened to me when, on a Monday night -- in *DC*, I tried to get into a show at the Cat by some kids I know and the line of BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS was around the block for some book-signing this asshat was doing next door. When people could finally get into the club, the singer moped up to the mic and said, "thanks for not going to the fashion party or whatever the fuck," and that summed up my feelings QUITE NICELY.
Ugh. 'BRIGHTEST YOUNG THINGS.'
ugh ^2. it's even worse than you think.
Who had a "maybe-fond" impression of Philip Johnson?!
People who hate the Jews?
SORRY KIDDING. I mean, people who liked his buildings before they found out about EVERYTHING ELSE.
Well, alls I know is I can't stand those old Delta bluesmen.
"It's not about me, it's about the people I talk to. There's one picture of me in this book. Well, poster actually. You can pull it out and it unfolds into a giant poster of me promoting my new television show, which isn't about me either, even though I star in it. I mean, basically, I've become well known not by talking about me but because I've had the printer offset that photo-poster of me in the book so that it's slightly larger than the other pages and the book just sorta flops open to that page no matter how you hold it, even if you're just standing there in line to watch me autograph it with this rubber name stamp while I sip this fine champagne and think about my TV show in my head while not looking at you in the eye."
I hit pause when I saw "pedestrian.tv". I don't need to hear anything pedestrian, ever.
It is kind of fun watching them walking around in heels.
he pronounces "horse" as "whores".
I love how he goes on about how he's better than other street style sites except this exists and is very valid: http://www.refinery29.com/street_fashion/get_shot_by_sartorialist.php
Then there was this little miniwar in photographer circles (or maybe just a few people I met?) about how he was this photographer with a vision vs an opportunistic snapshooter blah blah blah.
I thought you were being mean here until I heard "You know, maybe there's a t.v. show..." in that kind of affected, would-be fashion-drone guy (and it's always, of course, a guy) accent. So unbelievably ugly.
Adam Gopnik once wore a Darth Vader costume on Charlie Rose. I'm not making that up. No mask/helmet, but otherwise, a Darth Vader costume.
Can't find a still, but this should give credibility to my claim:
http://www.innovationsinnewspapers.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/gopnik.gif
Also, the single funniest thing I've ever read is the chapter about Gopnik in Renata Adler's New Yorker book. Again, not exaggerating.
Renata Adler! Big fan here. I read an essay in Harper's but haven't read the book.
NATAN! That stuff about Gopnik and Gottlieb is the BEST BEST EVER and his phone calls? Sometimes I lay in bed just laughing about it to myself.
That book is a MUST READ.
Mr Sicha, I've been trying to remember the cash amount that Gopnik says is "just enough" for a word processor. Something that would have bought a car.
I do remember this, though: "Isn't Adam adorable?"
Clearly, I need to read this book.
YOU DO! So do.
Hmm, later I will have to go find that quote about the word processor.
He'll never be Tim Gunn; wish he'd stop trying.
I couldn't decide between Gunn or Kors as to who exactly he was trying to be.
This is especially odd because I enjoy his photos especially for the fact that there seems to be a distinct lack of ego acting as a filter between him and his subjects, in as much as that's possible, given that it's all about his aesthetic preferences. Disappointing.
Also, I'm not suggesting he's high on coke, but this is exactly what people who are high on cocaine sound like to someone not high on cocaine.
I like his eye also. Maybe this is how he is responding to the media attention, by sort of mimicking the accepted public personnas of others.
He seems to be suffering terribly here, with the self-consciousness going to eleven. Maybe if he went to one of those coaches who teach you how to "act natural."
There's a great documentary about Helmut Newton ("Helmut by June," I think), with a lot of behind-the-scenes video of him working and doing day-to-day stuff. Helmut comes off as the most uncomplicated, non-intense, and frankly adorably pleasant man ... and he's staging and shooting these intense, psychologically fraught photos. This video is kind of like that, except with Schuman's dickish, uptight personality resulting in such aesthetically pleasing, relatively bland photos. Go figure.
I think it's just that we expect someone with a great eye to have a great mind (and mouth). If you ever read his posts that have text, you know he is not too bright. Shudder to think of the ones where he celebrates the "pride" and "spirit" of some non-fashion person who is wearing a nice coat.
Another person/voice mindfuck is Ian Schrager.
Indeed!
moth thertainly him!
Very disturbing when he plunges his hand into his shirt. Thought he was going to try to remove a tumor with only faith for anesthetic.
Just the weird way that he's lazily signing that big important book of his makes my jaw hurt with fashion tension. Those big, looping whirls of his pen, like he's done it a thousand times a day for his hoards of fans around the world. He really represents the nadir of fashion-gay navel gazing. He's a mobius strip of ego. Someone please give it a snip!
A bit repressed-frat-boyish, I thought.
One of the best career moves Kate Moss ever made was to stay mum. Almost always. Maybe Mr. Sart will go back to cool, glossy, and silent, too.
I had a big crush on Marcus Schenkenberg in the 90s. When he was dating Pam Anderson he was on her very cheesy show VIP which I loved and was a huge guilty pleasure for me. So imagine my delight when he was on an episode. His voice was TERRIBLE and goodbye crush.
Yup! It's just like the magic of silent movie glamour. Everything looks so much more perfect when it's on "mute"...
I went out a few times* with this guy who is a dead ringer for The Sartorialist and/or uber-gay HGTV's Design Star contestant Eddie Ross. It's uncanny. They have the same dirty blond haircut and compact, natty Jewishness. And they all have the same annoying voice.
*fucked
* "I went in and out a few times..."
+4000
Needs a bit of fine-tuning, but in time, this character will be as popular as his other creations "Andy Stitzer" and "Michael Scott."
YES!!
I guess a voice for photography is the new face for radio? Anyway, dude is also not the most honorable man out there. http://www.fashionologie.com/2911945 (scroll down to the comments)
Yeah, it was this (relatively) infamous, purportedly drunken interview with the Globe and Mail that did it for me. Too much information, indeed.
god, that kind of thing makes me glad I am not famous in any small way (just b/c we are all bound to make some bad mistakes like his... not to take away from how bad his are/were).
I kind of wanted to see/hear the interstitial asshattery that got edited out.
there are enough jump cuts in this thing to make a Carl Sagan Autotune remix of it. Anyone?
This clip reminds me of having met David Sedaris, and watching him be so unnecessarily mean and condescending to everyone that was around him, including Hugh. I was very disappointed, though I have loved reading many things Sedaris has written.
Oh no. That one hurts.
Also, please to providing details. I live off this shit.
Oh, weird. Because, when I met David Sedaris (and Hugh), he was charming and lovely and it was an evening no one wanted to end. He told stories and answered all sorts of questions and was exactly how you'd expect (want) him to be.
I hope he was just having an off night, David.
DEAD BRAD L. GRAHAM IS MY GENERATION'S DAVID SEDARIS//EOM
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HIS NOSE???
Did you listen to his actually-quite-perfectly-reasonable interview on popular nerd podcast the Sound of Young America?
visited NYC last year and saw this douche headed my way with his gf or wife or whatever, and they weren't talking, and he was *really* short, like danny devito short, and out of his droopy fuckhead voice to his bitch he goes "burberry called me" and then they stared blankly straight ahead as if to imagine all the glamour and luxury that was sure to be theirs. me and the wife still laugh at the scene, and also at how short he is.
* by douche i mean scott sartorialist of course...not sure if that was clear...he's really fucking short
I would additionally note that this 41- or 42-year-old heterosexualist is vacuum-packed and built like a brick shithouse. It's just one unlikely characteristic after another with this guy. He's like our family's own Anderson Cooper.
muscles do not make little dudes cool bro. tom cruise? it's over - sartorialist sucks. stop defending him.
I started to hate him after this exchange:
http://threadbared.blogspot.com/2009/10/picturing-politics-on-pride-in-his-work.html