BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE
THE NEW YORK ICON ESSAYS
THE BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE MAGAZINE
THE ICON ESSAYS WRITTEN BY BUREAU EDITOR JOSHUA A. TRILIEGI
MARLON BRANDO . DAVID BOWIE . JAMES DEAN . ORSON WELLES
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED WITHIN THE SEASONAL EDITIONS
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| Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery Los Angeles CA USA / Phil Stern Catalogue |
MARLON BRANDO: The WILD One
By Joshua Triliegi Originally Published in The June 2014 Edition of Bureau of Arts and Culture
Marlon Brando is the quintessential original wild one. He broke down the barriers for acting styles. He conquered Shakespeare, Hollywood and Racism. He is The Godfather. He owned an island. And like all the great ones, he had his demons and had to walk back down the flight of steps that he walked up to begin with and meet all the same people on the way down. Many of them never got to the top. It's cold up there and you are all alone, thats the way it is when you are number one. When you are the highest paid, the most revered, the greatest, the best, the most talented, the one. The top of your game can only last a lifetime for some, decades for others, a few seasons for most, and for many, just a few days, but for most: never. That explains why we honor, respect, revere and enjoy those that have it going on. It also explains why many do the exact opposite and try to strip that all away, they never had it, never will and wouldn't know what the hell to do with it, even if they had. Marlon Brando told the world to fuck off. He stood up against white property owners in the 1960's, thankfully accepted his first Oscar from Hollywood and years later, sent a Native American to say, basically: No Thanks. He knew when film makers and studios were going to make millions off of him and so, he flipped the script. He's more than a legend: he's real, a man, flesh and blood. Actors will tell you that he was their original inspiration. Everybody sights Brando as an inspiration. He is alive, exciting, scary, unpredictable, sexy, funny and underneath it all, he's vulnerable. Simply and quite honestly: he's a big baby. But what a beautiful baby he is. He is intuitive, curious, mischievous, sly, brooding, delving, stubborn: all this and so much more. Fill in the adjective(s) . Marlon Brando seemed to personify a time and place in America, a glimpse into the psyche of men in transition. Post War American men came back from the war, toughened, suspicious, some damaged, others with a certain confidence and reinstated rebelliousness. Brando's career follows the trajectory of post war America and parallels that line straight through to Apocalypse Now. From The Nineteen Forties straight through to the Nineteen - Seventies he's in the game. The comebacks are phenomenal and the mistakes and fumbles are equally outstanding. Brando's dancing in Guys & Dolls is simply amazing. To see a man that large, with a boxers physique, move so cat - like with a cool daddy - o style that seems to precede a sort of beatnik smoothness is a joy to behold. A man who admitted few regrets publicly, though whole heartedly exclaims that he wished he had treated James Dean with more respect and attention during his short lifetime. There is no James Dean without Brando. Its safe to say there is no: Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, the list goes on and on. We are talking about explosiveness, sex appeal and raw magnetism, mixed with a perfect sense of craft, curiosity and hard work that makes up what we call great and unparalleled acting. And thats just the American list. Some times, we in America thinks its always about us, hate to burst your bubble here, but people around the world are influenced by our greatness and that effects their work too. Brando often made films in Europe and his influence can be seen in actors like the great Toshiro Mifune of Japan. Brando's roles are often an explanation for the very thing that is wrong with human kind and some times he is there to fight against that very thing. The photograph by Phil Stern is a Hollywood Classic and a perfect example of a man at work, like any other man. Well, that's stretching it a bit. Maybe it's more honest to say: A Man at Work, Like No Other Man.
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| Photograph by Masayoshi Sukita Sukita / Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive |
DAVID BOWIE: IS THE OTHER MAN
By Joshua Triliegi Originally Published in The Summer 2014 Edition of Bureau of Arts and Culture
David Bowie Is the most important contributor to Modern Rock and Roll. Many people forget that Bowie is actually the Godfather of Punk Rock and New Wave Music. That includes: The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Souxie, Gary Glitter & The Entire English New Wave invasion of the 80's. The big difference being that, he outlasted all of those who he had inspired. And to this day, he still puts out interesting, experimental Music. David Bowie is also the most influential contributor to Modern Rock & Roll, hands down. He is the original Chameleon.BOWIE is The Space man, The Thin White Duke, The Spider from Mars, The Cracked Actor, The Joker, The Glam-A-Rama, The Trusty Narrator of our Story, The Social Critic, The Sexual Seeker, The Man who Fell to Earth and so much more. Possibly the most daring and experimental performer in Rock and Roll ever, make that the most daring, most respected and the most successful performer in Rock and Roll Music History. Todays new music scene is entirely dependent on David Bowie's influence. Bowie alone brought back the return of : The Story, The Character, The Opera, The Entertainer, The Show, to Rock and Roll Music. He became his characters and then killed them off accordingly, like Mary Shelly and Doctor Frankenstein did with The Monster. Bowie's musical alignments with fellow performers like Iggy Pop, John Lennon and Mick Jagger are legendary. Bowie is really the Elvis of a new time and place. He speaks to more than one generation in our homes. The albums are still very much classics. They take us on a journey. They are mini novels. They are sensitive, brash, gentle and oddly scathing. The music is not dated because it was decades ahead to begin with and so we return to David Bowie year after year, decade after decade, again and again. Bowie personified life in London, Berlin, Japan, New York, Hollywood and then, finally, the entire World. In "Young Americans", Bowie told Americans more about ourselves than we would ever know before. Speaking directly to sexuality, politics, housewives, young men, young women and to all of us kids. He spoke and we listened, even Bing Crosby couldn't deny Bowie's influence. There is so much yearning in Bowie's music, in his voice, in his lyrics, in his trembling statements about life, about love, about loss. He is connected with, on the one hand, Opera and on the other hand, Literature. And in the middle, is this very gentle and fierce performer who, when he grabs the microphone, and warms into the song, flinches his head, smiles, echoes & reinvents the performances as he goes along. When David Bowie gets into the performance, something quite magic happens, to us, to him, to the audience. David Bowie is elliptically responsible for the careers of film makers like David Lynch. Had Bowie not played The Elephant Man on Broadway, for recording breaking performances, in the 1970's, the play would not have been optioned and turned into a film, which launched the career of David Lynch. David Bowies foray into androgynous characters is also partly responsible for the rights of alternative lifestyles that are currently in the limelight at this time all around the world. His music invaded the toughest neighborhoods and even the toughest hoods in those 'hoods. Ziggy Stradust alone is possibly the most legendary music character to celebrate the beauty of Performance, Insanity and Displaced Heroism ever created by anyone ever. Its starts with " Ziggy played Guitar … " and then it ends with, "… Ziggy played Guitar." The bookends of Rock and Roll for The Modern Man: End of The Story. Well, at least until the Next David Bowie album.
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| James Dean By Dennis Stock / Courtesy of MAGNUM Photo Agency New York |
JAMES DEAN : The ACTOR
By Joshua Triliegi Originally Published in The Winter 2014 Edition of Bureau of Arts and Culture
James Dean. He was not simply an actor in search of a project, he was a human in search of a world, a son in search of a father, an orphan in search of a mother, a new kid in search of a friend, a worker in search of wealth, a comedian in search of a tragedy, he was an outsider in search of the inside and when he got inside, he did what anybody with integrity and curiosity does, he searched for the exit and found it. But before that and most of all, James Byron Dean was an American in search of America. Maybe that is why we empathize with him so deeply and even then, cinema fans from around the world loved, admired and even worshipped Dean. He was more than an American. He was a symbol of truth in the eye of fakery, anger in the face of complacency, passion in the face of blandness. James Dean was ahead of his times and when the world caught up, he was already gone. He was beautiful, angry, funny, reflective, moody, original, sexy, expressive, quiet: he was small and he was large, figure that one out. He had studied the best and took from the rest, adding his own style of acting. Dean had the bravado of Marlon Brando on his right and the quietude and gentleness of Montgomery Clift on his left and he knew it. He had the urgency of a person fully aware of the ticking timepiece on the wall of life. A voracious appetite for learning everything that was worthy of learning: Acting, Dance, Photography, Music, Racing, Basketball, Philosophy and Filmmaking to name a few. Who knows what he would have done with his power had he stuck around longer than the twenty - four years that he walked the earth ? Because Dean was a method actor and delved deep into his roles, it is safe to say he would have become an outstanding businessman, in the same way that actors such as Mark Wahlberg has become or possibly an award winning producer in the way that Brad Pitt has become or possibly an activist for the rights of others in the same way that Martin Sheen and Sean Penn have done. He was extremely progressive in his own life, but also served the characters he played first and foremost to the utmost degree. His friends were from all walks of life. That may sound easy in these modern times, but in the nineteen fifties, that was rare. James Dean was as they say, born cool. But actually, the truth is, he acquired his coolness from a compendium of individuals: poets, writers, actors, beatniks, hipsters, underdogs and over achievers, he was all of the above. Those he worked with found him to be mesmerizing, defiant, romantic and honest. Younger actors such as Dennis Hopper wanted to know his secrets. Older actors such as Rock Hudson found him to be more focused than any actor ever. Sal Mineo stated that Dean, "Never took any nonsense from anyone in a higher position, he would stand up to them no matter what the situation. It is no wonder we love him so, wouldn't we all want to do such a thing ? Demand that our parents be honest with themselves, as he does in Rebel without a Cause ? Exclaim to our wealthy employer that we are going to be, " …Richer than all the rest of you," as he does in Giant or to seek out the family secrets and successfully recover our fathers lost investment as he does in East of Eden ? Dean is confused and he is searching for clarity, he is angry, but he is looking for peace, his is young, yet he yearns for experience, he is hurt, though he blames no one. James Dean personified characters written by John Steinbeck, Edna Thurber and Stewart Stern, top of the line writers each with a streak, a sparkle, a deep understanding of the human condition and a flare for drama and reality. Dean dabbled in television and theater, but discovered that film was the big medium and he found his way to the screen with a steadfast and meteoric rise that was not unlike a freshman climbing to the graduates position by avoiding half the steps to the top and eventually jumping entirely into the abyss when he got there. The list of musicians, actors, writers & performers that owe a debt to James Dean is so vast that it would be meaningless to even begin to categorize. Every single scene in every single film is authentic. To this day, he is undeniable real, undated, fresh, as if the scene was shot yesterday. Dean's performances are so authentic and urgent that even the periods with which the films are set, have no real consequences to the viewer, the fact is, he was the perfect actor for the medium and for that, we are eternally inspired, enthralled and entertained to a degree that is almost impossible to describe. The James Dean legacy is beyond compare. After all is said and done, it is not about Dean's death, but his life, and so on the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of his passing, we celebrate the life of James Dean through the very real, beautiful and heartfelt images created by Magnum Photographer Dennis Stock. These images are soon to be celebrated in the new Anton Corbin Film entitled, LIFE.
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ORSON WELLES : A Real Radio Voice
By Joshua Triliegi Originally Published in The FALL 2014 Edition of Bureau of Arts and Culture
Orson Welles is the real voice of America. He scared the living hell out of us on October 31st 1939 with The Historical radio narration of "WAR of The WORLDS". A somewhat naive public had tuned in to hear the usual musical concert brought to you live by so and so from such and such a location and instead was told that, "The Martians were landing in New Jersey," and a full on invasion of America was taking place. The 'Boy Wonder' as he was called by some, had looks, guts, a voracious appetite for fame and a deep male voice that held passion, wisdom, roots, defiance and bravado. Orson gathered a group of actors and called them The Mercury Players, including a young Agnes Moorehead, Vincent Price, Joseph Cotton, Everett Sloane, Ray Collins, Martin Gabel, Anne Baxter, Judy Holliday, Geraldine Fitzgerald and other future stars of sound and screen. Orson Welles wrote, acted, directed, narrated and produced. He took classic literature and related it to current issues including Shakespeare's Julius Caesar with a twist toward the growing fascism in Europe of the late 1930s. He went on to create radio adaptions of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Huckleberry Finn, Our Town, The Heart of Darkness, Five Kings, and Native Son. The Legend of Welles has created many a great film and literary adaption in its own right. "RKO 281" starring Liev Schreiber as Welles is a good adaption of events leading up to his entry into Hollywood and filmmaking. "The Cradle will Rock" by Tim Robbins is another fine and thorough film which brings to life The Theater chapter of Welles experience in New York City with the WPA and censorship in America. Orson Welles' All Black MacBeth commonly known as VooDoo Macbeth, set in Haiti, was an out and out success, every line in Shakespeare's play was kept intact. The production, "Exceeded its original play dates in New York and had a popular tour of The country". It also began an animosity surrounding Orson Welles that continued to follow his career leading up to his masterpiece which chronicled the life and times of a once powerful media mogul and newspaper magnate, in all its highs and lows: Citizen Kane. Both Peter Bogdanovich and Henry Jaglom spent a good amount of time with Orson late in his life and each have interesting stories to tell, in both book and film. "The Cats Meow" a film by Bogdanovich tells a dark chapter related to media mogul William Randolph Hearst of Citizen Kane fame and Jaglom's book, "My lunches with Orson" transcribe taped conversations with the late great master filmmaker and magician. Some twenty years after Citizen Kane created a revolution in film, censorship and battles between the artists and the media in Hollywood, Bogdanovich had organized a retrospect of works at The Museum of Modern Art in New York and years later posthumously published, "This is Orson Welles" in 1985. Controversy courted Welles at all levels, especially with his collaborators and creating partners, including The Bogdanovich book which, was lost in storage, later found, put on hold by Welles himself, having been offered funds for his own life story and later published with full approval. Some called it a failed career, others know damn well that Welles was out and out blackballed from the industry and ten years later, hundreds of left leaning artists, writers and filmmakers were witch hunted by not just, The Industry, but by their own government. Orson Welles was a real voice for American Radio and being a real man in America can be a dangerous game. Citizen Kane is commonly called One of, if not, THE, Greatest Modern American Film of all time. Welles took the newspaper techniques utilized by Media Moguls of the time and flipped them right back in their faces, taking tawdry facts and innuendo and skewering the all powerful modern day millionaires of the day. It was a beautiful and defiant move that scared the pants off of the powerful and at the same time, empowered the individual artist. Unfortunately, the price Orson paid to make that statement ended his own career, created a legend, set the tone for decades to come and even taught a weary government what tools could be used to dupe the public into submission, fear and war. To this day, film, radio & literature as well as newspapers are all fooling society daily.
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