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thegirlwiththemouseyhairSo I was at the David Bowie is party last night and had a fabulous time. I did NOT chicken out of doing full makeup, which I'm happy about; I'm really grateful to the people at my work and the old friends on my Facebook who egged me on. I'm so glad I did that. I just felt this tremendous excitement and anticipation getting dressed in sequins and a bright skirt, blazer and feather boa (camp as a row of tents, remember?) and dousing myself in glitter (which will probably be stuck on me for the next three weeks as glitter makeup is murder to get off - but worth it). And when I put on the Aladdin Sane flash, I just felt so confident and thrilled, it was amazing. I felt delighted rocking that look on the streets, at the bank machine where I had to get cash and on the way to and from the museum - no funny stares at all (I was almost disappointed, although one little girl seemed to think it was cool and seemed to be trying to work out how to do it), and it was just an incredible experience sort of walking in the footsteps of David Bowie. As someone who hasn't really lived through the vast majority of the music she loves, this was just a wonderful, almost once in a lifetime opportunity. (Also felt like I was literally living in my favourite ever movie, which was nice too... Hence 'like the video films we saw...')
The party itself was amazing too. They had a DJ spinning Bowie and other music, but also the opportunity to go into the exhibit and to view/take part in some other activities like fans' collections of Bowie memorabilia that were on display, or to draw self-portraits of ourselves as Bowie. (I guess 'David Bowie is within us all,' or something.) I was worried about dressing appropriately but really this was just a great opportunity for people to be themselves, do what they wanted and present themselves how they wanted, which is totally appropriate. There were a number of other people with Bowie-esque makeup and as I was walking in, one girl who had the Ziggy Stardust trompe l'oeil disc on her forehead high fived me. So cool.
It would have been better had I had a friend of my own with me to share it with; that's the one downside. (And parties are not good environments to start talking to people and trying to make friends, especially not for shy introverts like me.) But I was still among fellow fans and therefore friends broadly speaking; I also went in there phone blazing and wanted to document some of the experience for others. So here are photos and comments/explanations/whatever.
Bowie in a bag... or at least the makeup part of my costume laid out on my kitchen table. Most of the makeup, anyway.
The mismatched Aladdin Sane-inspired nail polish that was driving me nuts all week and that is now blissfully 95% off. It kept chipping off yesterday during the day and in the exhibit as well, and every time a new nail got a chip I'd just keep thinking "Really, you too? Is it so much to ask that my bloody nail polish stays OK for a few more hours?"
Me being as camp as a row of tents. Sadly, I didn't get to use the feather boa much out of my apartment but whatever, I still have Halloween coming up...
Apparently taking selfies while holding a guitar is not half as hard as you'd think. I should have held it left hand, but forgot; anyway, you can just see how happy I look and how immersing myself in Bowie fandom just put this huge smile on my face. So many Bowie feels...
No photos in the exhibit, sadly, but last night they had these displays of "Superfan" memorabilia which local Bowie fans/collectors donated. It was incredible not just getting to see all the amazing *stuff* people could accumulate over the years, but more importantly seeing how people have experienced their Bowie fandom and how much he means to us...
Seriously, these were so touching. In case it's hard to read in the photo: "David Bowie's music, image and power fuelled an inner passion for me, one that transformed into a means of finding myself, as a young, queer redhead living in the east fringes of Scarborough, Ontario, in 1972. His music was the soundtrack to my teenage life. [...]" - Andrew Zealley
Note the two covers for The Man Who Sold the World, foreground left and right. They released it in the States (and Canada I presume?) with a different cover because Bowie in drag was too controversial. Having just moved from Ottawa, and having worked on Parliament Hill, my first thought when I saw the replacement cover was "Look, a Mountie in front of the Peace Tower.... Wait..."
Most all this stuff was before my time (sadly!) but note the pin set in the middle with the horrible glare - they sold those at Bowie's Reality tour concerts in 2003, which was my time; I have the same set. (I hope - some of them seem to be MIA due to constantly having to pack and re-pack for various stupid renovations that my parents are always doing.) Seeing Bowie two days after my 16th birthday, on December 13 2003, was one of the greatest memories of my life. He had had to cancel his Toronto show the day before due to a flu, and seriously, thank God it was the Torontonians who got screwed over with that and not, you know, me... /Montreal-Toronto rivalry
That was from the 'draw yourself as Bowie' workshop room thingy. I haven't drawn in roughly one million years, and was very surprised to find that I still had anything in me...
Wall of self-portraits of other fans as Bowie. This pic came out blurry but the idea is just so cool and I think really highlights how the things we are fans of can become parts of us and parts of our own identities so completely...
In case it's hard to read - "I have a collection of David Bowie memorabilia because he is always fresh and interesting, and always easy on the eye and ear. Experiencing and re-experiencing the music, pictures and videos over the years has helped shape the way I look at life. Bowie is and always will be." - Melanie Young
And my moment of triumph. <3 I LOVE YOU, DAVID BOWIE!
Addenda:
1) The makeup was itching me when I first put it on, so I carried an 'in case of makeup emergency' bag with an army of cotton balls and Kleenex. I had that stupid bag under my feet in the last picture, but was able to successfully Photoshop it out.
2) It was a little awkward not being able to touch half my face all night, but I didn't make too big a mess of my hard work, happily.
3) I love those platform shoes, but I went way over the time limit for wearing them; I nearly collapsed multiple times, and was about to freak out having to walk down the ramp to get to the coat check to get my sneakers. When I got the sneakers on that literally gave me a new lease on life. I've a love-hate relationship with those platform shoes...
4) Again I reiterate: if you're into Bowie or want to get into him or just experience something awesome, and you're in Toronto/coming to Toronto/have a random trip to Toronto plop into your lap, come with me!
5) How the eff do I reformat/edit this post for the Tumblr environment? The point of documenting this experience was partly to share it with other Bowie fans, and Tumblr has the widest audience, but I don't know if ginormous personal blog posts are on the cards there...
The party itself was amazing too. They had a DJ spinning Bowie and other music, but also the opportunity to go into the exhibit and to view/take part in some other activities like fans' collections of Bowie memorabilia that were on display, or to draw self-portraits of ourselves as Bowie. (I guess 'David Bowie is within us all,' or something.) I was worried about dressing appropriately but really this was just a great opportunity for people to be themselves, do what they wanted and present themselves how they wanted, which is totally appropriate. There were a number of other people with Bowie-esque makeup and as I was walking in, one girl who had the Ziggy Stardust trompe l'oeil disc on her forehead high fived me. So cool.
It would have been better had I had a friend of my own with me to share it with; that's the one downside. (And parties are not good environments to start talking to people and trying to make friends, especially not for shy introverts like me.) But I was still among fellow fans and therefore friends broadly speaking; I also went in there phone blazing and wanted to document some of the experience for others. So here are photos and comments/explanations/whatever.
Bowie in a bag... or at least the makeup part of my costume laid out on my kitchen table. Most of the makeup, anyway.
The mismatched Aladdin Sane-inspired nail polish that was driving me nuts all week and that is now blissfully 95% off. It kept chipping off yesterday during the day and in the exhibit as well, and every time a new nail got a chip I'd just keep thinking "Really, you too? Is it so much to ask that my bloody nail polish stays OK for a few more hours?"
Me being as camp as a row of tents. Sadly, I didn't get to use the feather boa much out of my apartment but whatever, I still have Halloween coming up...
Apparently taking selfies while holding a guitar is not half as hard as you'd think. I should have held it left hand, but forgot; anyway, you can just see how happy I look and how immersing myself in Bowie fandom just put this huge smile on my face. So many Bowie feels...
No photos in the exhibit, sadly, but last night they had these displays of "Superfan" memorabilia which local Bowie fans/collectors donated. It was incredible not just getting to see all the amazing *stuff* people could accumulate over the years, but more importantly seeing how people have experienced their Bowie fandom and how much he means to us...
Seriously, these were so touching. In case it's hard to read in the photo: "David Bowie's music, image and power fuelled an inner passion for me, one that transformed into a means of finding myself, as a young, queer redhead living in the east fringes of Scarborough, Ontario, in 1972. His music was the soundtrack to my teenage life. [...]" - Andrew Zealley
Note the two covers for The Man Who Sold the World, foreground left and right. They released it in the States (and Canada I presume?) with a different cover because Bowie in drag was too controversial. Having just moved from Ottawa, and having worked on Parliament Hill, my first thought when I saw the replacement cover was "Look, a Mountie in front of the Peace Tower.... Wait..."
Most all this stuff was before my time (sadly!) but note the pin set in the middle with the horrible glare - they sold those at Bowie's Reality tour concerts in 2003, which was my time; I have the same set. (I hope - some of them seem to be MIA due to constantly having to pack and re-pack for various stupid renovations that my parents are always doing.) Seeing Bowie two days after my 16th birthday, on December 13 2003, was one of the greatest memories of my life. He had had to cancel his Toronto show the day before due to a flu, and seriously, thank God it was the Torontonians who got screwed over with that and not, you know, me... /Montreal-Toronto rivalry
That was from the 'draw yourself as Bowie' workshop room thingy. I haven't drawn in roughly one million years, and was very surprised to find that I still had anything in me...
Wall of self-portraits of other fans as Bowie. This pic came out blurry but the idea is just so cool and I think really highlights how the things we are fans of can become parts of us and parts of our own identities so completely...
In case it's hard to read - "I have a collection of David Bowie memorabilia because he is always fresh and interesting, and always easy on the eye and ear. Experiencing and re-experiencing the music, pictures and videos over the years has helped shape the way I look at life. Bowie is and always will be." - Melanie Young
And my moment of triumph. <3 I LOVE YOU, DAVID BOWIE!
Addenda:
1) The makeup was itching me when I first put it on, so I carried an 'in case of makeup emergency' bag with an army of cotton balls and Kleenex. I had that stupid bag under my feet in the last picture, but was able to successfully Photoshop it out.
2) It was a little awkward not being able to touch half my face all night, but I didn't make too big a mess of my hard work, happily.
3) I love those platform shoes, but I went way over the time limit for wearing them; I nearly collapsed multiple times, and was about to freak out having to walk down the ramp to get to the coat check to get my sneakers. When I got the sneakers on that literally gave me a new lease on life. I've a love-hate relationship with those platform shoes...
4) Again I reiterate: if you're into Bowie or want to get into him or just experience something awesome, and you're in Toronto/coming to Toronto/have a random trip to Toronto plop into your lap, come with me!
5) How the eff do I reformat/edit this post for the Tumblr environment? The point of documenting this experience was partly to share it with other Bowie fans, and Tumblr has the widest audience, but I don't know if ginormous personal blog posts are on the cards there...
(no subject)
Date: 2013-09-30 12:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-10-01 03:58 pm (UTC)