Vali Myers
Encyclopedia
Vali Myers was an Australia
n artist who specialized in fine pen and ink drawings, born in Canterbury
, Sydney
.
Vali was a flamboyant artist who divided her life between her adopted home of Melbourne
, the Hotel Chelsea
in New York City
, and a 14th century cottage in her valley near Il Porto (Positano
), Italy
. She was acquainted with Tennessee Williams
, Salvador Dalí
, Django Reinhardt
, Jean Cocteau
, and Jean Genet
, among many others. Vali died in Melbourne after a short battle with cancer at the age of 72.
On 18 January 2003 The Age
newspaper printed an article about the artist's life. The article concluded with the following quote from Vali Myers:
"I've had 72 absolutely flaming years. It (the illness) doesn't bother me at all, because, you know love, when you've lived like I have, you've done it all. I put all my effort into living; any dope can drop dead. I'm in the hospital now, and I guess I'll kick the bucket here. Every beetle does it, every bird, everybody. You come into the world and then you go."
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist who specialized in fine pen and ink drawings, born in Canterbury
Canterbury, New South Wales
-Commercial area:Canterbury has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial developments. Commercial developments are mostly situated on Canterbury Road and surrounding streets...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Vali was a flamboyant artist who divided her life between her adopted home of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, the Hotel Chelsea
Hotel Chelsea
The Hotel Chelsea, also known as the Chelsea Hotel, or simply the Chelsea, is a historic New York City hotel and landmark, known primarily for its history of notable residents...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and a 14th century cottage in her valley near Il Porto (Positano
Positano
Positano is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast , in Campania, Italy. The main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.-History:...
), Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. She was acquainted with Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
, Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, and Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
, among many others. Vali died in Melbourne after a short battle with cancer at the age of 72.
On 18 January 2003 The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper printed an article about the artist's life. The article concluded with the following quote from Vali Myers:
"I've had 72 absolutely flaming years. It (the illness) doesn't bother me at all, because, you know love, when you've lived like I have, you've done it all. I put all my effort into living; any dope can drop dead. I'm in the hospital now, and I guess I'll kick the bucket here. Every beetle does it, every bird, everybody. You come into the world and then you go."
Books
- Myers, Vali, 1930-2003 Drawings 1949-79 / Vali Myers. London : Open House, 1980 : ISBN 0905664256
- Menichetti, Gianni Vali Myers Memoirs Fresno, CA : Golda Foundation, 2006 : ISBN 0978560604
Filmography
- Vali, The Witch of Positano - 1965. A film by Shelton Rochlin, co-Produced by George PlimptonGeorge PlimptonGeorge Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
. Winner, Documentary Film Category, 1965 Mannheim Film Festival. (Duration: 65 minutes)
- The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda - 1968. Experimental film by Ira CohenIra CohenIra Cohen was an American poet, publisher, photographer and filmmaker.Cohen lived in Morocco and in New York City in the 1960s, he was in Kathmandu in the 1970s and traveled the world in the 1980s, before returning to New York, where he spent the rest of his life...
. (Duration: 22 minutes)
- Vali: Death in Port Jackson Hotel - 1971. A film by Ed van der ElskenEd van der ElskenEduard "Ed" van der Elsken was a Dutch photographer and filmmaker.His imagery provides quotidian, intimate and autobiographic perspectives on the European zeitgeist spanning the period of the Second World War into the nineteen-seventies in the realms of love, sex, art, music , and alternative...
. Features Vali in her "savage paradise", Il Porto, the canyon near PositanoPositanoPositano is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast , in Campania, Italy. The main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.-History:...
where she created her artwork. (Duration: 36 minutes)
- Patti and Valli - 1973. A short film/documentary by Sandra Dailey. The film shows Patti SmithPatti SmithPatricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
having her knee cap tattooed by Vali, and also features an off screen commentary by Smith. (Duration: 30 minutes)
- Vali: The Tightrope Dancer - 1989. A documentary by Australian film-maker Ruth CullenRuth CullenRuth Cullen is an Australian based documentary maker who has been making documentaries since 1989 when she directed and produced the acclaimed documentary The Tightrope Dancer about the artist Vali Myers. Tightrope was followed by a sequel in 2002 called Painted Lady which looked at Vali Myers'...
. (Duration: 58 minutes)
- Painted Lady - 2002. Ruth Cullen's follow up to The Tightrope Dancer, a documentary that follows Vali at her studio and with friends like Lee Fuhler. (Duration: 27 minutes)
Trivia
- In 1949 at age 19 Vali travelled to Paris to pursue a dance career but found herself living on the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres Quarter on the Left Bank.
- Love on the Left Bank is a 1954 book of photographs from Dutch photographer Ed van der ElskenEd van der ElskenEduard "Ed" van der Elsken was a Dutch photographer and filmmaker.His imagery provides quotidian, intimate and autobiographic perspectives on the European zeitgeist spanning the period of the Second World War into the nineteen-seventies in the realms of love, sex, art, music , and alternative...
(1925-1990), documenting the bohemian life on the Rive GaucheRive GaucheLa Rive Gauche is the southern bank of the river Seine in Paris. Here the river flows roughly westward, cutting the city in two: looking downstream, the southern bank is to the left, and the northern bank is to the right....
of Paris. Vali Myers is shown throughout the book, along with some of her early drawings.
- Vali Myers was a huge inspiration to the young Patti Smith, whose walls were covered in pictures of and by Vali Myers. When they met in New York, Vali tattooed Patti with a lightning bolt on her knee cap. This was filmed by Sandra Dailey who also filmed the infamous piercing of Robert MapplethorpeRobert MapplethorpeRobert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
's nipple. This information is from Patti Smith: A Biography (1997) by Nick Johnstone Omnibus Press, UK ISBN 0-71196-193-X paperback.
- Vali was the inspiration behind the character of Carol in Tennessee Williams play "Orpheus Descending".
- Vali is also mentioned in Marianne Faithfull's 1994 Autobiography Faithfull.
External links
- Vali Myers Studio Gallery
- Multimedia magazine Aspen no. 9, published in 1971 Features a letter to friends Diane & Shelley from Vali, with photographs
- A LiveJournal Community dedicated to Vali Myers