Christian Montone's photostream  

Activities: Painting, Collage, Assemblage, Collecting Vinyl, Exploring New Music, Photography, Blogging.

Interests: When I am deep into working on a drawing, painting, collage or assemblage, I am almost always insanely happy. Something definitely breathes through me. I didn't choose it. It definitely chose me.

--My fascination with classic Hollywood films runs very deep. I've come to admire the sartorial elegance of Cary Grant, the graceful, athletic physicality of Gene Kelly, the affable, emotional accessibility of Jack Lemmon, the handsome wisdom and ease of Paul Newman, the bold, Bronx-ish bravado of Tony Curtis, the insouciant swagger of Steve McQueen and the deceptively laconic facade of Burt Lancaster. His eyes always seemed to vibrate with an undercurrent of intense conflict in every role. The ability that Liz Taylor had to seethe with guttural, feral disgust or tease a camera lens with demure, doe-eyed grace was astounding. The voluptuous carriage and pursed-lip countenance of Sophia Loren, the stylish and luminous warmth of Audrey Hepburn and the all-consuming, ethereal bounce of the ageless Marilyn Monroe (talk about an undercurrent of conflict) can always stop me in my tracks. These performers had the kind of depth that reaches through the cinema screen to transcend time and erase it.

That said, I like to imagine the following scenario:
I would set all of the players above (in their prime) within the luxurious vista of a Fellini location and give them an Edward Albee narrative. I'd add the sonic backdrop of a score by Ennio Morricone or Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 and then... BANG! A cinematic supernova would occur!

Favorite Music: Goldfrapp, Moloko, Roisin Murphy, Portishead, Belle and Sebastian, PJ Harvey, Cut Copy, The Presets, Fischerspooner, Blondie, David Bowie, Prince, Depeche Mode, Bjork, Siouxsie, The Creatures, The Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain, Radiohead, Pet Shop Boys, Beck, The Cure, Tori Amos, Pixies, Kristin Hersh, Throwing Muses, Patti Smith, Simian Mobile Disco, The Beatles, Arcade Fire, OLD Rolling Stones, Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Bob Mould, Aimee Mann, Suede, Interpol, New Order, No Doubt, Hole, Courtney Love, Smashing Pumpkins, The Who, Bloc Party, Beta Band, Marianne Faithfull, The Doors, Jane's Addiction, Madonna, Duran Duran, Elvis Costello, Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Velvet Underground, The Box Tops, The Who, The Shins, The White Stripes, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, Classics by Burt bacharach and Hal David and so on and so on....

Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Brady Bunch
2. I Love Lucy
3. Mary Tyler Moore
4. Laugh-In
5. Medium
6. Merry Christmas Charlie Brown! (It STILL erases everything. I never miss it.)
7. Ugly Betty
8. Match Game (the OLD ones with Bret Somers, Richard Dawson, Betty White and Charles Nelson Reilly)
9. Rhoda
10. SOOOOOOUL TRAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!
11. The Twilight Zone (the early 1960s ones)
12. Little House On The Prairie (first few seasons)
13. My Three Sons

Favorite Movies:
-Taxi Driver (1975)
-Midnight Cowboy (1968)
-The Graduate(1968)
-Saturday Night Fever (1977)
-Psycho (1960)
-How To Marry A Millionaire (1954)
-Grey Gardens (1975)
-Cool Hand Luke (1967)
-All About Eve (1950)
-Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf (1966)
-Last Exit To Brooklyn (1992)
-Valley Of The Dolls (1966)
-Rosemary's Baby (1968)
-The House Of Yes (1996)
-Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)
-Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
-To Sir With Love (1967)
-The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
-The Seven Year Itch (1954)
-Almost Famous (2000)
-Pretty In Pink (1986)

Favorite Books:
1. Last Exit To Brooklyn (Hubert Selby, Jr.)
2. Helter Skelter (Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry)
3. Slaughter On 10th Avenue (William Keating)
4. Girlfriend In A Coma (Douglas Coupland)
5. While England Sleeps (Andrew Holleran)
6. Beautiful Losers (Leonard Cohen)
7. TIE: Tropic Of Cancer & Tropic Of Capricorn (Henry Miller)
8. The Orton Diaries (Joe Orton)
9. The Alienist (Caleb Carr)
10. Myra Breckenridge (Gore Vidal)
11. The Amboy Dukes (Irving Shulman)
12. The Hours ( Michael Cunningham)
13. City Of Night (John Rechy)
14. A Home At The End Of The World (Michael Cunningham)
15. In Cold Blood (Truman Capote)Favorite Quotations:Ummmm.... Gimme a minute....

For further info, please see the following:

www.christianmontone.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/christian.montone