Now on Snake: Every other Friday an interview with a respected newsletter personality whose tastes in vintage, furniture, collectibles and related fields are worth celebrating and learning from. Expect sellers, buyers, decorators, artists, neighbors, etc. But first some cleaning:
On Friday June 9th, my book, Sheer Drift, will be premiering at the Innis College Screening Room on Sussex Ave in Toronto. There will be a film screening followed by a discussion; is an event with limited numbers and tickets (to cover expenses). Tickets are available in Toronto viaBooks at midnightandShow recording store. If you want to participate and pay online, you can send me a message. I learned about the video we are showing from my stylish friendMichaelwhen he wrote about it a few years ago. I saw it soon after. I think, and for a while I thought this was the best movie of the 2000s… it's the most stylish, awesome, brutal movie. Director Miike has also directed four other films this year. It is a masterpiece; no one talks about it, few have seen it, no one shows it. More information here:
Sami Reiss on Instagram: "I would like to announce that I will be releasing my book SHEER DRIFT which will include a lecture and FILM screening in TORONTO JUNE 9th - limited edition, big screen, full Megillah. This will be a ticketed event as it would cover the costs of the placement - information and announcements@midnightmassbooks.Can't wait to be back HOME”
18. maj 2023
Thank you. Now back to the Q&A…
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Here is the fifth…
Geoffs snack/Instagram/ New York / Toronto / I deal with strategy and education and sell books
Geoff runsWrong answer, an elite-level paper pusher (art books, xx, xx). He exhibited Raymond Pettibon's collection of flyers in Colbo in March and the upcoming xx. (Online shop wrong answer here)
SNAKE Q&A 005
Favorite flea market?
Aberfoyle Flea Market. This is outside of Toronto. It's out there, and it's never anything that great, but it's one of the better experiences of browsing a flea market with a crowdfunkyhandicrafts and sometimes you can find a decent chair or vase.
Best flea market day ever - what did you get?
When I was little, my father used to take me to the Sunday flea market in the town where I grew up. Some guys were selling tools and stuff. I liked the guy selling video games and there were a few people selling records. The other day a video game guy had a Turbografx 16 handheld system and after some negotiating we were able to purchase it.
Best Buy on eBay?
Paid for it but probably a very large combo set with 2 Donald Judd concert posters. One in the Kunsthalle Berlin and the other in the Kunstmuseum Basel. I have never come across another copy of the poster. On the surface they are usually separate, but they are not. It's one big poster.
Best find on Craigslist?
I found some artist books by Sol LeWitt [one below] as part of the children's book collection. I think the person who mentions them thought they were educational books. I struck up a pleasant conversation with a shifter who worked as an artist and artist's assistant in the 1970s and 1980s. I asked him if he had any more books and he had several stacks ready for me to look through in a van outside his house. I ended up with a good stack of architecture books, artist books and some art.
Find LiveAuctioneers the best?
I took a very rare Basquiat catalog to an exhibition in Scotland in 1984. I paid $50 for the lot and a catalog usually goes from $1000 upwards to $2500.
Seller's IG account where you spend your time/watch their stuff the most?
@two linesit is flawless.
What do you regret most about quitting?
I have a short memory and haven't really transferred it, but I recently bought a prototype Eames LKX chair that was a little too flimsy to sit on. For this reason I returned it to the person I bought it from. It's a 1 of 1 that will probably come back to me at some point.
The best you can get for crazy cheap?
I picked up the Robert Loughlin Brute painted on a Coors 12-pack and Robert Loughlin's summary [not in the picture] at a really good price from a dealer who was very active from the 70s to the 90s.
The best thing you overpaid for?
Cini Boeri modular sofa. The leather is very worn and the plastic back still has the original stickers. It's a great size, great proportions, and there's room in the back for books that I've never used.
Favorite piece of furniture you own?
I hate to say it, but this is my Pierre Jeanneret systole. I know it's pretty boring to mention Jeanneret in a newsletter like this, but the shape and patina are literally perfect. Brilliant design and so incredibly simple.
[Jeanneret kicks ass! - A snake]
What is the one thing you will never sell?
A copy of Popism signed by Andy Warhol with a small drawing. For a time it belonged to the artist Richard Kern, and then it was bought by New York design impresario Jim Walrod. After his death, Mast Books sold a large part of his library. Months after the sale I found this on the bottom shelf in the corner of Mast and bought it at a really good price. A possibility, even. The drawing and provenance give this book a completely unique energy.
A piece you have now that you hate and want to replace?
A pair of modernist irons in the form of bull heads and snake legs. I don't have a fireplace and never have had a fireplace. I don't like fireplaces either. I thought snake feet were cool, but they are completely useless and take up a lot of space. I can't find anyone who wants anything to do with them.
Who do you think sold more records: Nelly Furtado or Three 6 Mafia?
Nelly Furtado. Canadians always do it quietly the most.
A secret place you love but don't tell anyone about? (describe as reasonably as possible and ignore any distinguishing features)
Not necessarily a place, but there is a good dealer in Toronto who traveled to and from Paris and New York in the 80s and has incredible taste. It has one of the best collections of Cubist paintings I've ever seen and amazing lighting and furniture. Memphis, folk art, Jean Prouve, etc. He has it all. Most are not for sale, but sometimes I get lucky. His collection is housed in his apartment and a modest shop below.
Rarest/most canonical vintage items you own but never wear?
I have a box of about 30 extremely rare punk and hardcore t-shirts from the 80s. Lots of Black Flag, Butthole Surfers, etc.
The most enviable thing you've ever seen? (i saw a guy in Foremost jeans once in 2012 and i never got over it)
About five years ago I was at a rare book and ephemera show when I was leaving I saw a vendor with really boring art books and several baskets of $5 books on the floor. I saw a guy looking through trash cans for a while so I looked. The bins were full of photographs, concept art and art books. The guy who was there before me pulled out a very rare Judd catalog, a stack of Ed Rusch art books, and more that I couldn't decipher. I was about 20 minutes late but still got some decent stuff. I later learned that it was the library of a Toronto artist loosely connected to General Idea [Canadian art collective], who recently passed away, and the estate mismanaged his library, so it ended up with a dealer who just wanted to get rid of it cheap.
Favorite Russian author?
Dostoyevsky
Is there an area of fundraising that you would like to pursue in the near future?(Vintage furniture/paper/autographs/stamps/model trains/computer shirts/90s Harley t-shirts/digital watches/lighters/toy cars/Faberge eggs/Amish quilts etc.)
Italian toys and puzzles for children. For books, copies of associations.
What was the longest item on your watch list without pulling the trigger?
Flipbook on Blue Monday with artwork by Robert Breer produced by Factory Records as a Christmas present for friends and family from the record label. I already have one, but it's always good to have an extra.https://www.ebay.com/itm/333144610205.
An item that has been on my watch list for years, the last one I bought was Barry Simpson's Rooster Chair. This is a great little stool that folds up completely for easy storage.
Is the best vintage furniture found online or in kind?
Absolutely safe in nature. The best things are always in private collections.
Have all the cool things been discovered? (Just a yes or no answer)
NO.
Are there old accounts you want to highlight or promote? Furniture?(please include local places)
Modern porchit has one of the best collections and spaces in Canada
Follow Geoff and wrong answer toInstagram
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