What a pleasure it is to feature the wry and wonderful Choire Sicha for today's edition of 5+5! Choire and I go way back, sharing not-quite-parallel-but-close-enough paths. There's not much evidence of it on the internet, but Choire and I share the dubious distinction of being the only gallery-owning bloggers of the early aughts. Back then, I was lonely in my Spring St storefront, well before Lower East Side galleries were A Thing. Choire, who'd IM with me from his gallery Debs & Co (RIP), in the still-burgeoning Chelsea district, made me feel a bit less insane about my endeavors. He was the Managing Editor of that cradle of snark Gawker; I had a brief, but brilliantly fun tenure as the founding editor of the design blog Unbeige. A lot has happened since then, and we IM (or should I say Gchat? Whatever.) a lot less, but Choire continues to inspire me. He's the founder of a super smart site (blog? Whatever!) called The Awl, and is also the author of A Very Recent History which captures the era during which we were IMing perfectly. His taste in art remains impeccable. – Jen + 20x200
5 Perfect Picks
1) Mandrill, by Amy Jean Porter
I was looking at all of these prints together as an idea about being in a small room and writing. Obviously, in one's most zen state, one is the monkey. What's nice about this Mandrill is that she hides its hilarious backside. This is us at our most dignified and meditative. It doesn't matter how many carbs we've had today. It's fine we're just living meat. [Ed note: Mr. Sicha was one of AJP's earliest champions, and we are forever grateful to him for introducing her to us!]
2) North Side of the Moon, a Space Edition
This is about how we are nowhere and nothing matters and will all be dust floating through the nightmare that is space. If we're lucky enough, some of our remaining tissue will end up somewhere exciting, like Norway or the moon!
3) Plate 22, Sheet 6, Ancient Courses Mississippi River Meander Belt, a Vintage Edition
You can change your mind any time.
4) Panjwai. From the series A Winter in Kandahar, by Philip Cheung
You're sitting down to make something. Pieces are made piece by piece. If you don't do the time, you can't do the crime. STOP LOOKING AT YOUR PHONE.
5) Bookshelf 29, by Jane Mount
These are all the books you FORGOT TO WRITE because you're a self-centered lazy buttface who would rather do nothing or stare at your phone and you're just afraid and you should plunge in and take risks. GO OUT THERE AND TAKE IT or DIE FEELING BAD ABOUT YOURSELF.
5 Q's + 5 A's
1) What's your favorite museum?
Oh gosh I don't think I like museums that much. WELL maybe the Musei Capitolini, just because it intimidates through sheer size and surprise, although really if you're in Rome the crazy Zaha Hadid museum is terrific.
2) Most coveted coffee table book?
Ooh the early portraits catalogue of Alice Neel, it's so great, she loved painting people and being wicked at the same time.
3) You've got $5M to spend on one piece of art. What would it be?
Is it too late for a big late Joan Mitchell? Maybe it is.
4) Do you prefer a single statement piece or a salon wall?
I'm a packrat.
5) If you could be reincarnated as an artist, who would you want to be?
None of them, they're crazy!
The 411 on Choire Sicha
Choire is a writer and an editor and for now he lives in Brooklyn. Haha.
Professional Site: The Awl Twitter: @choire
Read the prior 5+5 with Erin McKean »
