Niche Artefact: Podcast
NICHE ARTEFACT PODCAST | #3 | STAGE EXIT: The Golden Age of Hollywood - Deep Dive
I can see you through the foliage. - Hi. - Squirrel energy, like I need to put the nuts somewhere. They need to be something I need to be hidden. Nobody can look at my nuts. - Good clean smoke. - I need more time. You need to perform something else. You use too many spices in your cooking to be British. - Exactly. (laughing) - I was like, "Ooh, Marolina Monrona. "It's truly begging me to do a subscription." - Someone stole Maragon Monroe's potatoes. - If you're watching this, and you stole some of the potatoes, give them back. (upbeat music) - All right. Hello. - Hello. - Welcome everybody to the third episode of the niche art of our podcast, where we're going to be reacting to stage exit. - Yes. - The Golden Age of Hollywood. - Yes. - And we also have a special announcement coming up towards the end of the pot. So please stay tuned for that. Very special announcement, I would say. - Yes. - I can see you through the foliage. - Bye. - Bye. - As always, I am here joined by. - Hi, I'm Robin De Silva. I'm the founder of niche art of fact. - And I'm brother Lamonka. I'm a performer with niche art of fact, and a trustee for the charity as well. Right, so, should we, let me tell you a story about work first. - Yeah. - I need to tell you a little bit. - How was your week then? - I need to tell you about my Sunday. So, I used to work retail, and now I work for the company from the same company, right? But like, the business part of the company, not retail. But for some reason, I was in the office on a Sunday, 'cause we were doing an event, blah, blah, blah. And it was just me and another person there. And this person went on their lunch, came back, and I just hear them scream, "Roe, close the doors! It's flooding!" And I was like, "No." And yeah, so, our entire event space was flooding, because one of the drains was blocked, and it was coming out through skylights. And if you've ever wondered what happens if a, I can't say the name, but if a shop that sells bath fizzies floods, it's just like what you're imagining, just foam everywhere, frothing at the mouth. So that was my Sunday. - So you've had a good start for the week? - Yes, absolutely, but now I'm here. Welcome, everybody. - Hi, yes, we've had a very exciting week. - Yes. - We've done our penultimate rehearsal for Dystopia, which will be on the 20th of September, 7pm at Nottingham Central Library. So I'm so incredibly proud of everyone. I was like a very proud mama last rehearsal. - Yeah, it was definitely, I could see it all. It was beautiful, it was Chris, it was pristine. We have two amazing drag queens we have Priscilla Shana Krakow and Danny Magic. - Yeah. - Serena Eden, who, can we talk about the journey for a minute? - Yes. - So Serena, hi Serena, hope you're watching. Serena Eden is this fantastic Nottingham-based vocalist. And she joined on Erotica, which we'll talk about at some point, and it was her first niche artifact. And the way she has blossomed, the way she has grown as a performer, as a singer, the way she used to just go on stage and sing beautifully, but very apologetic about it. And now she has blossomed into this powerhouse. She is doing a very, very cool number for, well, she's doing a lot of very cool numbers, but she's doing a specifically like bone chilling number that to give a bit of insider tea. The song that she's singing was written to not be able to be sung by humans. - Yeah, that's true. - And she kills it, knocks it out of the park every single time. - And she just learns it a few days ago. - But it's a rehearsal. - It was a song idea that I brought to her and she really has done an incredible job of just like, because I think it's a testament to what the community does for the people involved with the performers, like Serena was so very shy and very nervous and now seeing her on stage. And she posted a story on Instagram the other day that was really touching and being like, oh, this is a video of her like in 2020. Could you imagine where I am now? And then a video of her on stage performing with niche. So the growth of Serena has been incredible. So we're very excited to see her there. - Yeah, I feel like her and I have had a very similar journey in the sense of like, we wanted to be a part of the industry, but the industry kind of didn't want us to be a part of the industry. And like, the way that we have found our niche. - That I'm done. - It's just really special and I'm so proud of her. I'm so, so proud of her. And then we also have Ray Pipe, or sorry, the lady Berlesse, who's been rehearsing in Germany. - Yes, she'll be flying back especially for the final rehearsals. - For more, I believe, yep, so excited. - So we have final rehearsals coming up next week which will be full dress rehearsal. - And then me, would you like to say anything about? - Yes, and the incredible row, go, go, row. - The little row, ee. - Yes, obviously you're amazing. - Thank you. I'm very excited about dystopia. I think it's gonna be a moment. - I think it's, I don't know, I keep saying this, but it literally is, will be the best show. - Yeah. - Yeah, the amount of effort everyone's really turned up for the rehearsals and the ideas and the commitment. - And the art, the art, some of the previous of the art that I've seen. - Yes. - So Rita Eden, aside from being a fantastic performer, is also submitting a sculpture and it-- - It's beautiful, yeah. - It was so beautiful. Anyway, so-- - In fact, most of the artwork, everyone's been quite in the niche arts fact group chat where the community kind of like has their talks. There haven't been that many previews on there, but I'm kind of grateful for that. - Yes. - Because that means that, you know, someone on the chat put the other day, like, oh, you know, everyone posts what they're doing. And I was just like, well, the show's so soon. Everyone's nearly finished, so they're probably, I can't wait for the actual remover group. - Reveal. - So I've not seen most of them other than little snippets, so I'm gonna be just as surprised as everybody. - Which also sort of goes along with how you have created this community, where you know you don't have to be like, what, can I see the progress? What are you doing? How's it going? You just know that your artists are gonna be there and they're gonna be fantastic. And I'm, I'm really proud. - And then also DJ Wilson. - DJ Wilson, yeah. - DJ Wilson Shaw will be playing his music, very talented music producer. - Yeah. - I did, Priscilla and I did a lip sync to a remix that he did of a Marina the Diamond song. - Yeah. - Which was fantastic. - That was for birth of pride. - Yeah, that was for birth of pride. So before we get on with the episode of the pod, I just wanna take a few seconds to think our sponsor for today's episode. - Yes, we've got our first sponsor, so. - Yeah, so if you notice we are in a different location, we are today, where are we? - We're filming at The Hole in the World. It's a pub run by Drew Gruschore Sparks and he has graciously offered to be one of our sponsors. - Yeah. - So they will be looking into doing some fundraising for us. - Thank you, Drew. - For all the things that we're trying to do with the local artists, providing us a space to rehearse, so it feels natural that we-- - And a space to do the pod. - Yes. - So we're very grateful, Drew. Thank you for being our first sponsor. - Yes. - Yeah, it feels really special. And if you haven't been to The Hole in the Wall, please, please come on over. There is things happening every day. There's a pool table. There is vintage video games. There is-- - Yeah, residential drag queens. - Residential drag queens. - There's drag shows here, you know, I think it's gonna be very up and coming and the wrestling and Nottingham. - Yeah. Karaoke, coming over. If you haven't been to The Hole in the Wall, you can check it out. We'll put the socials up, we'll put the address as well. It's really cool. I love The Hole. It's our new home. - It is. - Yeah. So should we get started? - Yeah, so we're gonna start with a little deep dive into stage exit into the journey and then reacting to the artwork that was displayed and also the exhibit. - So tell me, you finished Grace Jones. - Yeah, so Grace Jones was finished and I was rearing and ready to go for the next one. So I actually have my own personal collection of vintage memorabilia from like the 1950s and 40s. So that kind of subject just seemed that natural 'cause at the time I still didn't really have that many people involved. So I was picking subjects that I could really like push. So this time around, I had a lot of original 1950s memorabilia. - All yours? - Yeah, I own all of them. So like old records and original lobby cards were these to put in the movie theaters. - We're gonna put a little montage of like what the night looked like. - Yeah, definitely. - But I do wanna say, 'cause obviously Grace Jones except it had a little print, which was amazing. And Stagix had also had some friends. - Yeah. - But it also had like physical vintage copies of posters of like you said, old records, magazines. - Yes, vintage magazines, yeah. - And like books and biographies. So it was a really cool opportunity to do some actual visual displays with vintage items. - Yeah. - So I'd say out of all of them, that one had probably the most to look at. - Yes. - So you had prints, you had original art and you had the show and then you also had the physical exhibits as well. - Yeah, which was really cool. I saw a lot of people come to you and be like, "Can I buy these?" And they were like, "No." You had a poster of-- - Down with love? - Down with love. You also had a poster of what's that fantastic film with Elizabeth Taylor. It's one of your favorite-- - Oh, down the opposite sex. - The opposite sex, yes, which I've never seen, but now I have, thanks to you. And like, yeah, that poster in mint condition, by the way. - Yeah, so-- - It's my pride and joy. I've had it for a long time. - Yeah, so, yeah. So basically, what in, so was it the fact that you already had the memorabilia that made you go, I should do, this should be the next subject thing. - Yeah, so it just seemed like a natural jump-off point. So I had all these, I had the knowledge and the materials to do it. And then, yeah, so I just put the displays together, I did some research on some prints. And by this point, we had quite a few more artists involved. So this is when Ray Piper joined-- - And not just joined, did four original pieces, but we'll talk about-- - Yeah, yeah. - Mark Zang, we joined on stage exit. - Which again, Mark Zang is an international student living in Nottingham, so still Nottingham-based artist, but also the reach, right? So it's not just for the Brits. - Yeah, and then Ava Ferreira, she joined in. So she's an international artist from Madeira in Portugal. - Ava Ferreira, who I bedded on one of the pieces, and I was out bedded, and I'm still very bitter about it, but it lives in my heart forever, which will go through it. - Yeah, she did a fantastic series called Tinsel Town Tragedies, and then she did this. Obviously, she couldn't fly over for it at the time, she was busy, but she sent over this really, really nice voice note. - Which was basically the first niche artifact podcast, which will play. - Yeah, definitely. - It was amazing. And also, obviously, you are in the know, you know about these things, you've done your research, but also you went to film school. So I'm guessing you had some film-- - History. - Yeah, so we had the video installation as well. - Yes. - So I intercut loads of vintage 1940s and '50s stuff, so to play on the massive TV screen after the stage performance was finished. So that was like the atmosphere and the music, everything was just like such a vibe. Like the ambiance was 10, 10. - Yeah, but I want to talk a little bit about, before we dive into the prints and the paintings and the art, the original artwork, I want to talk a little bit about how I got involved, 'cause that was my first niche artifact. - Yeah. - So Ray. - So how did we, isn't this one I first met you? - Yes. - That was just before the stage exit. - Yes, so Ray had already met you through Zoe Ellis, fantastic, Nottingham based artist and craft teacher, come to spill the paint. So we introduced you to Ray. You guys set it off. Ray, I remember, called me at one point, and she was like, I've met this guy. He is amazing, you need to meet him. I'm gonna drop off my artwork for his exhibition, just before we go to our craft night. Do you want to come and meet him? And I was like, yeah, absolutely. And we came to the bar that you used to manage. - Mm-hmm. - And yeah, we just got introduced, and I just remember, I don't know why the subject came about, and I was just like, oh, you know, most people can't tell that I'm Mexican, blah, blah, blah, and you were like, well, I can tell honey, I can tell all about you. And I was like, I like this faggot. Can I say, you can bleep it out. But yeah, and we met there, and I remember Ray being like, oh, you should hear Ray saying, they're a fantastic singer, blah, blah, blah. And you were like, oh, yeah, absolutely. We have karaoke every Friday, come around, blah, blah, blah. And then that Friday, I went out with my friends from work, and it was karaoke at the bar you used to manage, and it was really cool, and the atmosphere was right, and it was so nice, and then I remember I sang poor unfortunate souls in the original key. And I just remember, as I was singing, you were just like, hold on a minute. Wait a second. - Well, that was the first moment that I realized that how talented you were, and I was just like, well, this person is incredible. - Yeah, which is always like a double-edged sword to be a good singer or karaoke, 'cause it's gonna put people really off from singing. - Fuck them. - But also, it's my moment to shine. And unbeknownst to me, that was my audition for Nice Artifact, and I remember right then and there, after I finished "Poor, Fortunate Souls," I was walking back to my group of colleagues, and you grabbed me, and you were like, hey, do you know that thing that I'm doing? I was like, yeah, and you were like, would you be interested in doing some songs? And I was like, oh, yes, absolutely. - So how long has it been since you've performed since the first Nice? - Oh my God. - So Ray and I, and the company that Ray used to be, co- artistic director of, we worked all through 2019 on this show, featuring lots of choreographers and dancers and some singers, and I was doing music direction for that. - But you weren't actually performing? - And I was gonna perform in Ed. - Okay. - And then we performed at once. We were meant to take it out on tour. And then our first performance was February 14th, 2020, and you can fill in the rest as to why we did it performed. - Oh, well, so that because of what? - Because of the pandemic. - Yes. - Like the show didn't go anywhere. And then after the pandemic, I tried to get back out there, and the industry was like, oh, no, we don't want that. And I was like, okay. And I just remember going to like end this audition. So yeah, basically, I retired in the sense that like, I told myself, I don't wanna perform anymore. Sort of about 2022, just 'cause it was more painful than it was bringing me joy. And then, but my last performance was like 2019, 2020. So I hadn't sang professionally until you said, would you mind singing at Neish? And it was really cool. I remember my partner and I came into your bar, one day when you were closed, so that I could sing the songs that I had chosen. And I remember Robin telling me, prepare three songs, and I was like, great, absolutely. And I did "Fly Me to the Moon," down with love. - "Moon River?" - Oh, four songs, sorry, "Moon River" as well. And then I did a song from, if you were gay in the 2010s, and you liked musical theater, you probably know about the show "Smash," and if you don't, that is a sacrilege, and you need to go watch it. Thank you. - The song "Smash" is about the making of a musical, but it's like a drama show. - Yeah. - And they wrote original music for a Marilyn Monroe musical, and the title, the first song is called "Let Me Be Your Start," and I sang that as well, which is a song that I absolutely love. And yeah, and then I remember on the night, I had sang three of my four songs. We were leaving "Let Me Be Your Start" till the end. And I just remember you coming to me, and you were saying like, I need more time. You need to perform something else. And I was like, ah, I don't know why. And you're like, you need to figure it out. And-- - Everyone has this image of me during "Like Knee," so I don't know. I think I'm lovely, truly. - You are so lovely, lovely, lovely, McIntyre, but you are also like-- - A stress ball. - Yes, it's very much squirrel energy. Like, I need to put the nuts somewhere. They need to be some with any to be hidden. Nobody can look at my nuts, which I love. But yeah, and then I sang, I think, this sound of music, ah, hills, ah, hills, ah, hills. - Yeah, yeah. - With sound of music, ah, ah. And it was amazing. It was so good. And I sort of sang in between Arnold Vailings and in between Priscilla's performance. - Who were the other performers? Say, was it just Priscilla? - It was just Priscilla and myself. So that was like the first step into niche becoming what it has become now, niche artifact shows. - Yeah, becoming an actual production. - Yeah, Priscilla did this fantastic number too. - Oh, isn't that with diamonds or girls? - Diamonds are girls best friends. - So that was, oh, yes, I remember. - Yes. - I think one of our most iconic performances. - Absolutely. - With the big, the two wine glasses with diamonds in there. - Then she, yes. Oh, so good. - And the outfit, yeah. - She looked beautiful, she always does. But I was like, ooh, Marolina Monorona, it was amazing. So yeah, should we look at some artwork? - Yeah, sure. - Fabulous. - We have a trusted little iPad here. Thank you, David. - Yes, so we'll be, let's go through all of the prints that we did for the exhibit. - Yeah. - So we will be reacting to these and we'll pop them on the screen for you guys as well. - So the first one we have, the first piece that we have is Descent of a Rose, which is by Ray Piper. Ray Piper uses a mixed medium of art. She has started playing with oils, right, at the moment, with acrylic. - I think, I think acrylics. - Yeah, she's doing some very cool stuff. - But her. - Outside of unusual ink drawings. - But her first medium that she loved so much is Chinese ink on rice paper, which it fits her very well because Ray is very precise and Ray likes to do things right. And Chinese ink does not allow for any mistakes. - Yeah. - So every stroke is recorded, you can't go wrong. - Yeah, you can't go wrong. - On the paper. - Yeah. And she did this fantastic four piece. It's not a triptych 'cause it's four, but whatever the word for triptych that is for, tell us down in the comments. But she did this four piece about Marilyn Monroe. So she talked about how the roses were her favorite flower and she was also Hollywood's rose at the time. And it tells this beautiful story. So the first image is this sort of portrait of Marilyn Monroe. Really beautiful with her iconic beauty mark, the detail of the lips, the eyebrow, the lashes, the eyeliner that Marilyn Monroe was super famous for. Then the next one. Yes, we start to see the cracks in the foundation. - Yeah. - So it starts to be a bit smudgy. She started to add a little bit of color to them. So it has a little bit of red on the lip, which is really impactful. - It's really beautiful. - And then the next one is my favorite. - Yeah, that's my favorite too. - So I think there's a video of it. And if we can find it, we should post it, but... - Wasn't it like an eye condition that Marilyn had? - Yeah, so basically when you overdose on barbiturids, your eyes go glassy and she wanted to capture that. And obviously Marilyn Monroe, we still don't know what actually happened, but died of a barbiturid overdose. - So it's insane, the amount of stars in Hollywood during that time, they were on barbiturids. Like that documentary that I saw about Carmen Miranda. - Yeah, so that's how her story ended as well. - Judy Garland, who looked surely 65 by the time of her death in her mid 40s. - Yeah, I think that kind of thing was rife in every kind of star at that time. So even though the big ones like Marilyn and Judy, but this was like obviously the norm, otherwise people wouldn't have done it in those times. - Exactly, and on this you see a lot more color. There's this beautiful red rose. I remember when this art got unveiled. I gasped 'cause I'm gay, but many people gasped as well. - Yeah, you're like, oh my God. - I was like, oh my God, even though I had already seen them, but I don't care. And actually, little side note, that Rey made a print of it for my birthday, and I have it on my wall, and it's beautiful. And the next is, we go back to black and white, and it's just these two roses that is all that remains. - Yeah, I think it's like symbolizing the death of her. - Yeah, it's so beautiful. - It's like a funeral rose. - A black rose. - Yeah. - It's so beautiful. Rey, your art is so important. Please never stop making art. - Yeah, and this was your first ever submission. - Yeah, this was, this was Rey's first ever submission to each artifact. - Knocked it out the park. - I mean, what else do you want? - Yeah, and she's been with us for every single one since, so we really appreciate the loyalty that she has with us. - Even when she hasn't been in the country. - Oh yeah. - She has submitted art pieces. - Yeah, and she's so organized. Rey's like two months ahead of everyone, so she's like, "She had her pieces done as soon as I announced the subject." And no, she's, she's a little work horse. - Yeah. - I love Rey. - We love your art. Okay, next, we bring to the stage. - So we've gone. - Okay, so Darren, if you know Darren, Darren Barnum. - Yeah. - He is a fantastic, graphite ink. - Yeah, so he. - Makes medium. - I think he uses acrylic and ink with his. - Ink, yeah. - So you get this really nice, like, kind of, lino-print kind of quality to his work. - You know what it also gives? You know in movies when someone's a photography major and they're in, like, the red room. Like, what do you call it, the dark room? - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, and they're like, it looks like, it looks like a picture. - Yeah. - It's so good. His detail is so amazing. So the first one, we have rumors. Both of the pieces were called rumors, but they had different subjects. - Yeah. - So the first rumor was Barbara Stanwick. So, shall I read what he wrote about his piece? So, we can't say with absolute certainty that Barbara Stanwick was a lesbian, but they are enough innuendo and rumor about the iconic actress's personal life that it seems pretty likely Stanwick was at least open to girl-on-girl action. And even if she weren't a lesbian, her brassy and butch nature, both on screen and off, garnered her a loyal following from lesbians and gays everywhere. - Yeah. - I love the gloves. 'Cause again, she has these boxing gloves on. She had this reputation for being very stern. She took no shit. She was very assertive. - I didn't really know much about this actress in particular, so there was insightful for me. - That's the beauty of me. We learned so much through the process. And then the next one of Darren's pieces, which again, this was another gasp. And I think this one sold. - Yeah, no, this was great, yeah. - So, this is another rumors piece. I'm just trying to load it. There we go. So, this is called rumors. James Dean and Marlon Brando. So, it's ink and acrylic on canvas. Now, we know the medium. So, Darren writes rumors that sexual relationships existed between the friends have long persisted, but now a book called James Dean, tomorrow never comes, claims specific details from the early 1950s. So, obviously James Dean and Marlon Brando, there was always like an alleged sort of rumor going on in the 1950s. And I love Darren always likes to incorporate a bit of like, I think his artwork stems from a very proud LGBTQIA plus I. - There's always like a bit of history in it. - There's always a bit of history. - There's always a story linked to like a bit of history and pride. And I think, you know, it's something that he's been doing and what continue to do. - Yeah, so we obviously have, we have them in like a cowboy outfit and like a little Tomofenland moment as well, which is really like just stunning. I love Darren's art. I have yet to not be outbidded. - Yeah, to be fair, he's Darren's been a show stopper from the beginning. - Yeah. - And he's like Ray since he joined with stage exit. He has been exhibiting every single time. - Yeah. - So we are so grateful to have such a wonderful talent like Darren to continue to support us. - We really are. Thank you, Darren. Thank you. Next we have... - This was Emma's first piece that she ever did for us. - Yeah. - So Emma, she does oil and canvas. And so there's plenty to unpack in this one. I mean, if you look at the, like the shape of the perfume bottle and... - It's a vagu. - Yeah, and just like, it's just stunning. I don't think it was modeled after any particular actress or anything. - No, and I love... We said this on the first episode of Nege. She always sneaked in a flower. She always sneaked in a rose. But she talked about how the vase is empty, the vase. - Yeah, so there was a story behind this in regards to having the face covered with flowers. - Yeah. - So it was to represent like all the kind of beauties, the unknown beauties that Hollywood kind of ate up, I think, like as a machine. - Because it went through women. - Oh, definitely. - You could be an Academy Award-winning actress on Monday and destitute on Wednesday. Like, it was wild. - Yeah. This was Emma's first piece. It was amazing. A proper show stopper. - Another gay-gassed moment, like, through the audience. - Yeah. - I think this was the last piece you unveiled. - Yeah, it was, yeah. This was the final one. - Cool. - Okay, so up next we've got the Tinseltown tragedies. So this one was done by Ava Ferreira. So it was a series of six, starting with the number one, which is Marilyn Monroe. So Marilyn Monroe was founded on August the 4th, 1962. The top psychology report showed that the cause of death was acute barbiturate poisoning. She had eight milligrams per 100 milliliters of the solution and an empty medicine bottle was found next to her. The possibility that Monroe had accidentally overdosed was ruled out because the dosages found in her body were several times the lethal limit. And then the second one we have was the Grace Kelly. - Yeah. - So the Grace Kelly suffered cerebral hemorrhage while driving back to Monaco. She lost control of her 1971 Rover and drove off the steep road and down a mountain side of 37 meters. So each piece is inspired by, like, a tragedy that's happened to one of the artists. Sharon Tate was the next one. So shortly after midnight, Tate was murdered by members of the Mans Family Cult. And then we have Elizabeth Short. So Elizabeth Short, known posthumously as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Laymer's Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her case became highly publicized, owning to some gruesome nature of the crime, which included mutilation of her corpse. And then the next one was Jane Mansfield. So Jane Mansfield was in a car crash at high speed into the rear of a tractor. There were three adults in the front seat died instantly. Her children survived with minor injuries. And then the final one on the series is Natalie Wood. So on this one, Natalie Wood died under mysterious circumstances at age 43 during the making of brainstorm. So this was Ava Ferrara's first ever contribution towards being shot to act. Yeah, so they're incredible. Like the colors on each one and the concept, tinsel-town tragedies, like who thinks of that? The blackout eyes. Yeah. And like everyone has blacked out eyes to represent the death that they had. And yeah, the concept is amazing. She sent this to us. She was really panicking because she didn't have enough time to do what she wanted. So she classed these pieces as a case study. So hopefully this could be a series that she'll revisit. Hopefully. Because I just think the concept is out of this world. It's out of this world. It is also something that like we still talk about now. You know, we're coming up. We're closer to 100 years from that than closer to it. Yeah. And we're still talking about it. It's still unsolved mysteries. Nobody knows truly what happens. We will play the little audio clip. Yes. We'll insert that into here. Because she couldn't be there. So she sent a little voice out. Yeah. So we will play the over so we can hear Ava's interpretation of it, which sounded like a wonderful little podcast novel in itself. Hello, everyone. I'm Ava Ferreira, the creator of the Tinseltown Tragedies, featuring six iconic women whose deaths are darkened by rumors and conspiracy theories. Manuel Monroe, the original blonde bombshell, whose suicide is subject to debate to this day. Some believe that she was assassinated because she knew too much due to her fail with JFK. Sharon Tate, infamously murdered by the Manson family, believed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But was she? Grace Kelly, the most sought after and elegant actresses of all time, who died tragically in a car accident. Some say it was actually her daughter, Stephanie, who was underage at the time, was driving. Some say it was a mob hit. Jane Mansfield, another blonde bombshell who died tragically young. She died in a car accident. Some say her ties to the Church of Satan got her killed. Natalie Wood, some say Robert Wagner, a fellow actor, was responsible for her drowning, yet it wasn't proven. Suspicion still shrouds her death. And then finally we have Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia. Some say she was a struggling actress, but it's debated. All we know is that she was murdered in the most gruesome manner. Most suspect the work of an unknown serial killer. Her death to this day remains a cold case. And I just wanted to say a special thank you to Robin for organizing this wonderful events. I'm sorry that I could not be there personally. And I just wanted to give you warm greetings to everyone at the goats this evening. Thank you for coming. Thank you for supporting the arts. Wonderful art, Ava. Please keep making art. Holy cow. Right. Next we have. So the next one, this wasn't done as a submission. This is actually from my own personal collection. So the little story behind this is that I actually found this painting in rubbish, like in a skip where it was just going to get thrown away. And so I rescued it out of the trash. And this one's called number seven. So in April 1960, Marilyn was interviewed for a French magazine on the set of Let's Make Love. And now 52 years later, Chanel has got hold of the interview tapes which Marilyn reflects in her comment. They ask you questions. Just an example. What do you wear to bed? Do you wear pajama top, the bottoms of pajamas or a nightgown? So I said Chanel number five because it's the truth. And yet I don't want to say nude, but it's the truth. So this was inspired famously from those interview tapes where Marilyn said that all she wears to bed is Chanel number five. So this was also done by Ava Ferrara. But I rescued it from the rubbish and I love it. I love it too. It's really beautiful. So the theme of stage exit, but definitely was part of the exhibit. Okay. Next up we have. So this is another piece from Ava. This was actually a gift from her to me. Yeah. This was one of her pieces featuring the famous Marlboro brand cigarette packets in her signature pop art style, which is very like Andy Warhol. Yeah. So this was just a personal gift to me. So it also included that on the exhibit as well. It's really amazing to think about like how cigarettes were doctor recommended at one point in time. Oh, yes. It's also you can't. I don't think anybody didn't smoke in the Golden Age of Hollywood. You see pictures of every star lit, every famous actor with a cigarette in hand. So it's still or in the mouth. It's still very like. Yeah. Like in some of those old magazines that were on display, some of them had sold those adverts of like a good clean smoke. Yeah. Literally. It's hilarious. Oh. Oh. So next we have Chelsea Marie. Yeah. Again. Chelsea Marie, first of her niche was the Grace Jones exhibit. Yes. And in the picture, you can see again her art style is very hers. We have a mix, mix media. We have graphite, resin and glass on canvas. This is Audrey Hepburn. That's the title of the piece. It's a beautiful portrait, very breakfast at Tiffany's Tea. And she rides the glimmering and silver dust background, sets the stage for an enchanting portrayal of my childhood icon, Audrey Hepburn. Capturing the essence of her iconic role in Breakfast at Tiffany's, the glitter resin like Stardust, that's a touch of magic, depicting the glamorous world of Hollywood's golden era. The black outline serves as a cinematic frame, inviting spectators to step into the timeless allure of Audrey Hepburn and her unforgettable role. This was definitely a show stopper. Yeah. It's just got that classic Chelsea look. Yeah. And I can never get a mouth of it. Me neither. I think you had this on the wall for a while after the exhibit. Yeah. So like a really great thing about having being able to manage the bar while doing these is that we had the opportunity to rotate the artwork and still have people see them and get exposure. Yeah. So even when the show was over, we still made an effort to make sure that everyone's artwork was on rotation. Or somewhere. And you had a little thing at the bar saying like all pieces are of for sale, contact. Yeah. So we were encouraged anyone to make an offer. So, you know, just try and support the artist. And then the next Chelsea piece, which, and again, I got outbid it. This is Ruby referee, an Ode to Oz. Awesome title. So good. So again, we have acrylic, resin and glass on canvas. I'm going to read. Yeah. A magical journey, this vivid portrayal of the iconic Wizard of Oz red shoes against the mysterious black backdrop. A glossy allure with the hope to entice viewers into a world of enchantment and timeless fantasy. A reminder that there's no place like home through the eyes of imagination. That's beautiful. That's so beautiful. So this was quite a large. I think this is the largest piece she's ever done. Yes. Although birth of pride was huge. Oh, yeah. But it was quite a big one. Yeah. But yeah, this is so beautiful. It makes me feel like, you know, when she, when Dorothy goes, there's no place like home and she transports. She goes back to Kansas without the shoes. And I feel like that's what it's capturing there. The shoes just stayed inside of this like magic. Yeah. And the gold used in this is stunning. Yes. So it looks like a galaxy. So up next we've got the first other piece for Mark Simon, which is a little cutie. Yeah, we love Mark. We love you, Mark. He's incredibly talented. And every one of these pieces has sold. If I'm not mistaken. I believe so. Yes. I have one in my bedroom. Which one do you have in your bedroom? Oh, OK. The one from Arotica. We will get to that. So this one is called Who Am I? It's a digital illustration. So being stuck in the limbo of not feeling Chinese enough or American enough was what Anna Maeve Wong felt during her acting career. This painting shows the struggle of her cultural identity and reflects on the cultural authenticity during the golden age of Hollywood. I'm going to get vulnerable on the channel. I remember crying when he explained the piece because I'm pretty sure you can relate to this as well. Being foreign to the country we live in is this weird mix of you want to be proud of your heritage, but you're too much of where you came from to fully fit in where you are. Yeah. But then even when you go back home, you don't fit in. You feel like a foreigner now. You feel like a foreigner now in your home. And when he was talking about this piece, I got really emotional. And I was like, "Oh crap, my mascara is going to run!" But yeah, I relate to that. I think it's a very universal thing. And it was so beautifully captured, the sort of split focus. It was a beautiful piece. No, I can relate to that completely, obviously, being of mixed heritage and growing up in different countries. That's kind of something that I've always kind of battled with internally. If I went back, I'm too English to go back and then it's a thing. But you're too English to go back. To go back. But then here. And then here, obviously. You use too many spices in your cooking to be British. Exactly. So the next piece that we have is by Zoe Ellis. Again, same as with Darren. So we love to incorporate anything gay into their work. They love to show a little bit of the inside history of blah, blah, blah. The tea honey. The tea honey. So this is digital art. And it was inspired by a vintage photography, a vintage photograph. So it says showing lesbian pride in an era when it was a lot more taboo to be queer. This piece combines modern aesthetics with vintage undertones to create a visually harmonious piece that celebrates love in the face of adversity. I love this. Zoe obviously added the pins with the lesbian flag. I think the kisses are in the original photograph. This is beautiful. And I have this, actually. I have a print of this in my living room. I'm surprised you have a new wall space. I know. I hope honestly one day there is no more white in my house. And it's just artwork. I would be fine with that. Yeah, me too. And... Yeah. So I think that was all the artwork that we had exhibited for stage exit. So just as a little recap, we went, you went, because that was an apart of me for the first one. But you went from an art exhibit with four original art pieces to an art exhibit with 15 original art pieces. Is that how many of you have? 15. And you went from four artists to Eva, Chelsea, Darren, James, Mark, Zoe, and Ray, Seven. Yeah. So almostable. Yeah. That's incredible. I'm very proud of you. I know it's like, seen badly to be like, "Yes, I did that, but you did do that." And my involvement with niche was very minimal at that point. So this was truly all you. I mean, like, stage exit was a real jump from the first one. Yeah. And the atmosphere, just the whole package, like, stage exit is where niche became a package deal. Yeah. And it wasn't just like, "Oh, let's just see if this sticks." So, no, definitely. Like, the art, the exhibits, everything was fantastic. But, yeah, so what we'll do is move on to the prints that were part of the exhibit. Fabulous, yes, please, because I have a print in my home as well. And we'll also have some bonus ones. So there'll be ones on here that were shortlisted but didn't make it to the walls. So the first one we have is still from Boys and Girls from 1955. Yeah. This is stunning. I wanted to say, I said to you during the break, this was the first and only niche artifact that I got to experience because I wasn't madly changing costume in between art reveals. Welcome to the family. I know. But, yeah, so this is still from Boys and Girls. Yeah, 1955. So another example of digitally restored photos. So there are elements in this that I've had to duplicate and replicate to try and make it right. Some color grading and look at it. It's so crisp. You could have told me this was filmed today. It's literally an epitome of MGM, Hollywood. The fashion, the girls, the figures, the makeup. The tiny, tiny little wastes. Of course it is a hell. Yeah, this is everything. Right, and then the second one. So up next we've got, this is a production painting. So this would be useful promotion for Cleopatra. So this was 1963. Yeah. And so just some facts about this one. So adjusted for inflation. This is one of the most expensive movies ever made. Oh wow. A budget of 44 million is the equivalent to 400 million these days. And this is the Taylor, right? Yeah, so yeah, this is the iconic. So just look at the colors on this or just everything. I would have this as a wallpaper in my home. I know that blood oxidizes, but it looks like blood in the background. It's so rich, so carnal. Rich. I love it. It is honestly one of my most favorite things ever. Yeah. So the movie broke even in 1973, 20th Century Fox closed the books on it, keeping all future profits a secret to avoid paying those who might have been promised a percentage of the profits. Very of the time. Very MGM darling. Very MGM. Shady lady. Shady lady. Have you ever watched the TV show Feud? No. We'll talk about it after we react to these prints. Oh my God. Okay. Next. Jean Kelly singing in the rain. Classic. Yeah. So this was 1952. So just some facts about behind the prints. So the original negative of this film was actually destroyed in a fire. Gay gas. Truly a gay gas. So this was also selected into the national film registry in 1989 for the first year of its induction for being culturally and historically and aesthetically significant. Yeah. According to the widow of Patricia Ward Kelly, the famous rain dance sequence took a day and a half to shoot and Kelly was actually quite unwell at the time as the temperature of 103 degrees. I bet. Well. Far and high. Yeah. Yes. Still Susie if you don't. Well he is dead. But you know, fun fact about this. I learned in film school. Slash musical theatre school. In order for the camera to be able to capture the rain. This was actually a 50/50 mix of milk and water. What? Yes. Because water, the camera couldn't capture the water. So they had to like blur it. Like make it a little bit more colorful with milk. So not only did Kelly probably feel really ill because of the water, but you also probably smell very mildewy by the end of filming that scene because you were getting, you know, milky water. That's insane. That is insane. Yeah. I adore the lighting in this one. But the yellow are the top in the contrast with all the blue. You have the warmth coming only from the street light and then everything else is very cold. Yeah. It's really beautiful. I mean like the aesthetics from those eras, they're just, I don't think we've ever had anything quite like it. No. I think La La Land sort of like pushed it as far as anybody has pushed it in like recent times. Yeah. I'm a La La Land apologist. Have you seen La La Land? I enjoyed La La Land. Okay. Yeah. It was good. Keeping it PC on the pod. Right. Next up we have, oh, Gone with the Wind. Beautiful. So Gone with the Wind. This was in 1939. Yeah. So it was the first color film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. And when they finished shooting it, there was actually 88 hours of footage. Oh my God. Yeah. Cause isn't there like an extended version that's like three and a half hour longs or four hours long? Every meaning to rewatch this for a while and not actually. When I was doing the research, so this was actually a still from the movie and the lighting and the aesthetics of it. It's so beautiful. Look at the sparkle in her eye and the use of the shadows in that is just so beautiful. Super controversial film shoot. There was a lot of like negative press around it. There was a lot of drama behind the scenes drama, but such a fantastic film. We should have a movie night and watch that. Yes, of course. So some facts about this was Michael Jackson reportedly paid over 1.5 million in 1999 to purchase the Best Picture Oscar that this one. Love. And the film script changed almost daily and the cast did not receive the final version of the script until after the film was completed. Love that. That's the minute. I hope they never remake this. I think it'll be impossible. Yeah. Well, you know what? You know what? The kids in the studios are like these days remake anything. Then we have an Andy Warhol portrait of Judy Garland. Yes. So this was an actual Andy Warhol piece that he did. This is beautiful. This is. Again, when we were reacting to the James Grace Jones exhibit prints, we had an Andy Warhol as well. And also a very interesting fact about this is that Andy Warhol, he notoriously focused his pieces on actresses later on in their lives. So out of respect for Judy Garland, he loved Judy that much, that he chose to do this portrait based on when she was younger. And you can tell in the face and the way that this print has been done, she looks like vibrant and young and beautiful. Whereas most of Andy's other print portraits were always intentionally done towards the end of the actress's lives, which I just thought was really poetic and beautiful. Well, yeah, that the respect that Andy had for her. It was this whole thing of like, it was such a tragic end for what was probably one of the most famous women at the time. So I think that was a very respectful thing to do. And if you love the subject, wouldn't you want to, you know. Yeah, do it justice and respectfully. So now I really admire Andy for doing that with this portrait. I love the blue eye shadow, the blue garage door. I love the red lip. I love the wonkiness of the lip. I think it's really beautiful. Cool. Next up we have, oh, oh, okay. I, when I saw this print, when I saw Kylo Minogue as Marlene Dietrich, I screamed. It is probably one of the most unknown and unseen photos of Kylo Minogue. This is beautiful. Yeah. I love this, this is perfect, perfect makeup. The contouring, the lip, the bone, not bone, the like pencil thin eyebrows. This is, this is what I think I look like when I'm on stage. And I look nothing like that. I look nothing of the sort. So some interesting facts about Marlene Dietrich. So her makeup man said that she kissed so hard that she needed a new coat of lipstick after every kiss that she ever gave. That means that you, me and everybody watching at home, we have never been kissed properly. Hello. And then another one for example is that she sucked lemon wedges between takes to keep her mouth muscles tight. Work. Pro tips. Work. So she. So if you see me sucking on a lemon, you know what I'm doing. She started to train to be a violinist until she was injured and she switched to acting. That's. That's a good pivot. Yeah. And in 1933, she, she was detained at a train station in Paris for violating a ban about woman wearing trousers. Work. Yes. So she was a little maverick on her day. And again, this is Kyla Minow, but she looks. Yeah. So this was obviously in tribute to her. Yeah. It was a photo shoot that she did. I love this print so much. Okay, cool. Next up we have, okay, I have this in, oh no, I don't have this one. Okay. But it's a Marilyn Monroe. Them very famous Marilyn Monroe on Lexington and 52nd Street on top of the subway grades, dressed flowing in the air. Again, if you were gay between the years of 2010 and 2014, you probably watched smash and you know, the very famous song on Lexington and 52nd Street. Anyway, back to you, Bob. So Marilyn Monroe stood on top of the subway grade for this, for this particular shot, 14 times, taking around three hours to film just the scene. The scene took 14 takes to get right. And while 100 male photographers between 2000 and 5000 spectators who were all loudly reacted whenever her skirt blew up, looked on while they were filming the scene. Yeah. Did you know that this was also when her marriage collapsed with Joe DiMaggio? Oh. This was the thing that made him go done. So this was the catalyst? This was the catalyst. This was like a huge cultural moment. Yeah, but it was at that point when he thought that like, very men of the time of like, you either love me or you love the spotlight. And he was like, oh, she loves the spotlight too much. She can't love me. She can't be the housewife that she never promised to be. And he left her. Although Joe DiMaggio, bless you, Joe DiMaggio was the only one of her lovers that did anything when she died to like, you know, commemorate her. So, but yeah, that was the moment when her marriage exploded. Well, next we have, yes. Okay. This is the potato dress. I have this, I have this on a print that Robin gave me after performing on my first niche, stage exit, the Golden Age of Hollywood. I reacted so vividly to this that you just gifted this to me. I love this. Please tell me the story behind this. Please tell the children at home the story behind this. Once again, there's another bonus picture that wasn't exhibited, which was another take on this one, which you're going to die when you see. Yes. So the, like, if there had been an internet in 1951, the dress would have broken it. But when the cat in newspaper columnist said that Marilyn Monroe would look better off wearing a potato sack, she did just that. The story of how the blonde bombshell ended up in a fitted burlap sack. Has a couple of different versions, but the most entertaining one is the one in 1951. Monroe was attending a party at Beverly Hills Hotel and was wearing a dress that was on the low side, much to the chickering of the female newspaper columnist. Apparently, they said that Monroe was cheap vulgar and that she had been better off suited to wear a potato sack. Monroe, whose sense of humor continued to be one of the most underappreciated things about her, decided to take the columnists at her word and the producers at 20th Century Fox immediately organized a photoshoot for her, complete with a fitted Idaho potato sack and red high heels. In a twist that surprised absolutely no one, she looked stunning according to Monroe. The photos were so successful that the Idaho potato farmer actually sent her a whole sack of potatoes as a thank you for the generous publicity by Monroe. Apparently, never got to enjoy them saying there was a potato shortage on them and the boys in publicity stole them all and never saw a single potato. Oh no! I also... Someone stole Monroe's potatoes. If you're watching this and you stole some of the potatoes, give them back. There was also all of this discourse, a lot of people used to say that she wasn't beautiful and that she was only beautiful because she wore gowns, beautiful gowns. And I think she truly shot everybody up. Yeah, like this was literally, like I said, this would have broken the internet if this happened today. Absolutely. Like what a legendary move. And this photo, in particular, I think I ended up having to do a deep dive on some like Japanese websites. Yeah. It was so hard to find this image. I'm so glad I did it and I managed to get it at this quality. This quality is amazing. I'm so glad it's in my living room. I look at it every day. I love it so much. Oh. Right. Next we have Marlon Brando in the wild ones. So again, a little bit of the inspiration behind Darren's piece. We have Marlon Brando in this, like, obviously it's not Tom O'Fillan because that's not what he was doing, but it's very like motorcycle. Well, this is what inspired Tom O'Fillan. Yeah. Like this kind of look of masculinity, which was, you know, I mean, look at him. Yeah. That's a man. That's a man, Mary. So this was the wild one in 1953. So some facts about this movie was that during their lunch breaks Marlon Brando and his leading lady Murphy would stay in character while they were at the studio commissary. So while they were having lunch with everyone, they never broke character and stayed in character. The film was rejected for UK cinema classification in 1954 and the BBFC was finally granted an X rating in November in 1967 after a 13 year ban. Damn. So the director Stanley Kramer hired real biker gangs to play themselves and the reflecting on the movie in his autobiography Marlon Brando concluded that it had not aged very well but said that most of the parts I've played in movies or on stage, I related to Johnny. Because of this, I believe I played him a more sensitive and sympathetic than the script envisioned. There's a line in the picture where he snarls, nobody tells me what to do. That's exactly how I felt all my life. Love it. So good. So powerful. This film I've never seen but I know it was like a cultural moment. Yeah. It was kind of what launched him into being like a sex icon I guess in those days. Yeah. I love this thing about staying in character in between like takes. I think it's so I'm not a good actor by any means of the imagination unless I'm singing. I just I just think it's very silly. I think it's Tony Collette who says that like she just goes in. She says her lines and then she leaves because people are like how do you recover from like doing like all of these roles and she's like I just I just do my job and go home and go home. Right. Next we have another one of Marlene Dietrich. Yeah. So this is one of the bonus ones so unfortunately well not unfortunately. We had a lot more artwork for stage exit so I had to cut down on the print. So this is one of the ones that we had to cut out but this is an absolutely stunning picture. So good man. Dietrich. And you can see how well Kylie was painted to portray her. She's so stern. I want her to slap me. Non-sexually. No, no, that would be sexually. We don't want to get demonetized when we're not making money. Yeah. She looks, she looks amazing. Right. And next we have. Yeah. Another one. Another Marlene. Shanghai Express. Yes. Yeah. So like another one that didn't make it but look at that photo. Stunning. Oh, the hair. Is that a cigarette? Yeah. Elevating the beauty. Of course. Elevating the beauty. Elevating the beauty with a cigarette. There we go. Oh. Oh. Stonisha. Stonisha. Honestly that picture makes me speechless. Yeah. So it's a still from the film. Yeah, from Shanghai. Oh, then we have another potato dress. Yeah. So this is the bonus potato dress photo. So work. Work me out. She is so beautiful. Isn't that something? And I guarantee you've never seen that photo before. Never. I had to deep dive to get these pictures. Love this. Oh. And last but not least we have Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock. Yes. So this is another one that didn't make it. I wanted to have a nice balance between male and female. So Elvis Presley was one of the ones that we looked into. So and I absolutely adore the style of posters that they used to do. The posters and the MGM period were kind of like pieces of art in their own respects. Yeah. They were paintings. Yeah. So photography wasn't as readily available as it is now. So most of the posters were hand painted. Well, you can achieve such like, I think, otherworldly colours with painting. And I think that's what they were going for. Yeah. You know, these were very dark and desperate times for people. So they relied on the movie studios to be like, we need to make things look as bright and beautiful and hopeful as possible. Yeah. So that's an example of that. Okay. So please let us know in the comments down below what was your favourite print. If you've never seen the potato dress, let us know down because I honestly, I'm a huge royal room and broke fan. I'd never seen the potato dress before. Really? Never. Okay. Never. And I am, I love the woman. So yeah, let us know down in the comments what your favourite print is and what your favourite art piece is as well. So the next niche artefact Jamboree is going to be announced now. So the next talker that we have is Georgina Wilding. So some of you might recognise Georgina. She has helped us with co-hosting with the niche artefact on the main stage at birth of Pride for the last one. So just a little introduction about Georgie. She is the first ever UNESCO City of Literature young poet laureate from Nottingham. Yeah her poetry focuses on social commentary and expression. Georgina is the founding editor of Mudpress Nottingham's own independent poetry publishing house, which is amazing. And she has been commissioned by organisations such as the BBC to write and perform has toured her poetry in UK, Germany and recently performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She has first class degree in creative professional writing from the University of Nottingham and began a career in poetry working with spoken word and collective mouthy poets. So like how amazing are those achievements. And again, wide range of art forms for any artefact bride. We have paintings, we have digital art, we have performing. We have poetry. We have poets, yeah. And our poets have been very successful so far that we've had. And also Georgina Wilding is the events lead at Nottingham Central Library, which is how we got our new home for the niche art effect artist exhibition. Yeah, so that's how we got a contact there. So we've got the niche art effect jamboree. The next one will be on the 24th of October. I'm so excited. I will be there for this one. Yeah, so there will be a Thursday, Thursday the 24th of October. I will be there with Georgie to go through her journey that she has, the advice. And Georgie is just an amazing human being. She's so inspiring. She's hilarious. She's sweet. So funny. I am so blessed to know her. And I'm really excited to share her story. Yeah, me too. And if you don't follow her, we will put a little bit of her social media on screen right now. So please go and follow Georgie. She is a fantastic Nottingham based poet, event organizer and just badass. She is it, kids. Yeah. And just take this last opportunity to remind you that this is the last time that you're going to hear about dystopia. So until we review and react to the artwork. Yes. And we will be going through all the backstage rehearsals. So we will be filming the final dress rehearsal and it'll be a moment. So get your tickets from gigantic. Just go to nichartsfact.co.uk, all the information's there or underneath this video. There will be links. And yeah. So if you can leave us a like and let us know what you thought about the video. Yeah. What was your favorite part? What was your favorite print? What was your favorite artwork? And again, don't forget, 20th of September at Nottingham Central Library, niche artifact percents dystopia. It's going to be truly a moment. Yeah. It's going to be a production. Yeah. I'm so excited. Hopefully see you there. And thanks again, Robin, for doing this with me. No worries. Thanks for having me, right? All right. See you on the next one. Bye. Bye. [MUSIC] [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] You You