A Lip Smacking Night

Artist, Poet, Musician Genesis P-Orridge

The motto of cosmetic giant M.A.C is "Art is M.A.C's DNA"—although of course it's designed to cover up imperfections in your own genetics. Last week, M.A.C outdid itself, launching three collaborations for their Fall 2009 pallette, featuring painter of many things glossy Marilyn Minter, illustrator Maira Kalman, and Richard Phillips. The latter is a particularly bold choice: not that Phillips couldn't be accused of touching up his hyper-real portraits of young women—far from it, he likes his subjects to look perfect. But for a multi-national corporation, M.A.C has given unprecedented creative freedom to an artist who sources his subjects from pornography, and incorporates into them images of the government and the business world as symbols of power and control. Says M.A.C. creative director James Gager, "We thought it'd be interesting to see what three artists in their own field would do if we gave them our Fall color collection... I didn't get involved in art directing; I wanted the project to be pure. At M.A.C, we do a lot of things that no other company would dare."

Last week M.A.C hosted three separate parties for the artists, in one night. The last, "Make-Up Art Cosmetics Fall '09 As Seen By Richard Phillips" entailed a cocktail party held at the artist's Chelsea studio. Phillips gave some of his paintings a M*A*C make-over, some photo-retouched with dirty pale pink matte cheek blush and Young Thing lipglass. Xeno and Oaklander, the minimal wave/synth duo of artist Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride flipped on a (poor clarifying) smoke-machine and played analog synthesizers and percussion instruments. When I stepped out for air the paparazzi were snapping feverishly at nightclub owner Amy Sacco and Phillips' Yale alum the painter John Currin with his wife the artist and sometime fashion model Rachel Feinstein. Art, buisiness, celebrity, and fashion, at it again.

http://www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/nightlife/2009-07-20/richard-phillips-mac-collaboration/