KYLE FITZPATRICK

Stories by KYLE FITZPATRICK

Kyle Fitzpatrick is a homosexual former military brat who decided to settle in heaven (a.k.a, Los Angeles). With a love for horror films, champagne, short shorts, and CAPS LOCK, he works as a writer, comedian, and actor.

RRL’s Take On 1920s Australian Mug Shots

Earlier this year, a collection of 1920s Australian mug shots surfaced and made the rounds on the Internet, where people were taken aback by how visually beautiful and even “cool” these mug shots looked. As you see above, there are a few of the 1920s mug shots and…a few impostors! Two of the above are actually shots from the current RRL lookbook. Can you spot which are authentic and which are imitation?

The rugged Ralph Lauren lifestyle brand currently features these looks on their website, showcasing this season’s styles for the brand. The concept is genius, as their aesthetic lends itself so brilliantly to their look. Of course these are admittedly a little silly as they are recycling an idea that was used to document criminals, but the execution of the idea in such a truly authentic looking manner is quite a feat. I really did have trouble figuring out which were from the 1920s and which were from 2011 when inserting these photos, but–if you haven’t figured it out already–the second and fourth photo are the impostors.

Catch more 1920s mug shot inspired photos on their website and, if you have a few extra Benjamins in your pocket, be sure to pick up some of the looks.

KYLE

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KYLE FITZPATRICK

September 19, 2011 - See more posts by KYLE

Gluekit’s “How To Design A Product To Be Put on Display In An Art Exhibition”

Scion has a lot of cool sub-projects related to art going on. One of them is Installation Los Angeles, which is an ongoing audio/video/art forum. They have an event coming up this weekend in Los Angeles entitled “A Product of Design,” which has resulted in their posting a lot of the videos and projects that are going to be on display this weekend.

Above is one that I found particularly funny and perfect for The Fox Is Black: Gluekit’s “How To Design A Product To Be Put on Display In An Art Exhibition.” Gluekit are a Los Angeles based art duo that are Christopher and Kathleen Sledoba who are curating the weekend’s event. Their illustration work is amazing and, if you’ve read a magazine in the past two years, you have definitely seen their work. The video above is one of a few they have featured at A Product Of Design. This one is about getting something ready for display, as the title suggests. But, instead of the video prescribing directions on exhibition practices, it is instead this hilarious French infomercial for a pamphlet set of the same name. It’s really great and feels like something you would have caught on the television in the late seventies, to help you with your art career.

Take a minute to watch the video and, should you be in Los Angeles, be sure to RSVP for the event!

KYLE

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KYLE FITZPATRICK

September 15, 2011 - See more posts by KYLE

Planningtorock’s “Living It Out”

Planningtorock has been ruling my music library for some time now, even to the point where I had to convince Bobby to let me post a video of hers that was published retroactively but was, still, very cool. She’s been doing a lot of great things in the experimental/techno/German/DFA/goth scene, including an excellent mix through Resident Advisor and a remix with unlikely pair Creep, among a list of many other cool things she’s been up to.

In keeping with all of her singles, she recently directed the video for her third single, “Living It Out.” The song was the first song that really clicked for me on W because it’s this huge banger of a goth dance techno song that makes me start doing dance convulsions every time I hear it. When I first listened to the song, it seemed like an obvious move for the song to be the third single on the album because James Murphy would want to market it as DFA’s newest dance hit. However, PTR didn’t let it go that way at all. The song in the video, seen above, takes a step in a completely different direction of the album cut, deconstructing the goth techno song into this erratic cabaret that isn’t too far from the album version, but far enough that it is not a comfortable listen the first time through. It definitely does an excellent job of making the listener fight to understand it. I love it.

In the video, PTR (real name Janine Roston, when not in costume, masks, or prosthesis) frolics around Berlin statues and studios in a “Living It Out” bandana, giving her best goth/albino Erykah Badu meets Rocky Horror‘s Magenta. The video is fairly non-objective, besides the fact that it is in keeping with Roston’s contemplative, uneasy performance style in her videos. In this video she maintains the blue hue of “Doorway” and “The Breaks” and W as a whole and positions it as a tattered, rusted vision, perfectly playing beside old statues. It showcases Rostron’s video hallmarks at their best: overlayed images, toyed with linear time, and screen splitting.

The video is fun and smart and totally PTR. Give it a play and feel free to head bop along to the song. It totally requires that.

KYLE

Found via Nowness.

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KYLE FITZPATRICK

September 15, 2011 - See more posts by KYLE

The Fox Is Black Is Seeking Los Angeles Writers For A New Project

Bobby and I have been hard at work on a new site we are going to be launching very, very soon. We are super excited about sharing it and are giving you a little taste with this post because, of course, we need writers to help out.

The site is centered on art, design, and culture in Los Angeles. It will feature news and coverage on local art shows, projects artists are up to, design throughout the city, the culture of the city, and anything and everything in between. This will be a forum for us to share our thoughts on what is happening in Los Angeles, as the city is really coming into its own with thriving art, fashion, food, entertainment, and much more. We hope to be the city’s biggest champion, a mouthpiece for just how awesome Los Angeles is.

This is where you guys come in: we’re looking for writers with an eye for aesthetics that are involved, support, and interested in Los Angeles’ artistic community to contribute to the site. We want people who seek out new ways to see art in the city, people who can spot growing trends in the city, and people who want to yell the city’s praises from atop Runyon Canyon.

If you’re interested in contributing to the site, here’s what you have to do:
• Send three writing samples. These do not have to be related to the site’s focus, but should convey your writing style, voice, and opinions on things. They should be three to five paragraphs each.
• Send ten article pitches of things you would contribute. This is likely the most important part: we get to see what you would be bringing to us. These need to be one to three sentences each, explaining your idea for a post: think of them as pitches for articles. Please don’t just send in things like a write up Lynda Benglis at MOCA, a restaurant review of Animal, an essay about Joy Rich, and reasons why you love Coachella. Sure, those could be great, but we want things that are a little less obvious.
• Let us know how long you have lived in Los Angeles, what you do in the city, what neighborhood you live in, and a few of your favorite places to hang out. We want to get a sense of your relationship with the city.
• Include any pertinent social media of yours, such as your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook–anything you feel is important to get a sense of who you are.
• Send this to [email protected] by September 26, 2011 at 6PM PST with the subject line “Los Angeles Writer.”
• If you do not live in Los Angeles at the moment, do not submit. We will not be able to consider you.

The position is not compensated to begin with, but we are hoping to be able to supply something in the future. However, there will be opportunities to attend events, galleries, and openings on behalf of the site. People have always think Los Angeles is a silly city that isn’t to be taken seriously. We are going to be the ones that change how people perceive us and the city.

KYLE

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KYLE FITZPATRICK

September 12, 2011 - See more posts by KYLE

‘Circus’, A PBS Documentary Showing The Inner Workings of a Forgotten Art Form

Bobby and I have been watching an amazing documentary we found courtesy of PBS by way of Netflix: Circus. It sounded kind of like a silly premise for a documentary, just following a group of circus performers around as they perform, but once you watch this, you will be hooked into these remarkable people’s lives. Not only is the show so full of rich human stories, it also delves into many lost performance styles like trapeze, juggling, wire walking, clowning, and even dog training. Many of the performers shown have been born into families of international circus performers, who haven’t lived a life outside of the ring for generations.

The six part documentary follows New York’s Big Apple Circus during their 2008 season. You get a glimpse into the mechanics of how a circus works from the setup of the one ring Big Apple is known for to the planning of acts and, sometimes, cutting of acts. The production value of the series is really, really high and is everything that a reality television producer hopes for but never accomplishes: capturing truly special people doing truly special things and documenting them as they are–not as how you think they are. The documentary is doesn’t hold anything back and is quite beautiful.

The video above is the trailer for the series and is, admittedly, a little cheesy because of the music. However, it does give you a look into the series and how Big Apple’s circus conducts itself. You can catch the documentary on Netflix Instant Watch, which demands you clear six nights in a row so you can watch the documentary all the way through.

KYLE

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KYLE FITZPATRICK

September 8, 2011 - See more posts by KYLE