Over the years I have had many names besides John. Re naming began in middle school when some of my classmates started to call me Doc Allen, I think it was a Gunsmoke thing which followed me into high school and evolved in to CC short for Constantine Christian long explanation and thankfully short lived.Then there that other short lived life of Constantina Josephina Della Maria Trent do ,you really want to know just saying it makes one breathless. I came to New York in the era of Andy Warhol , the Factory, Max's and the glorious decadent 60-70 . A brave supervisor who lived in the suburbs of New Jersey and listened to Lou Reed gave me the nickname mrbenet superstar , which was shorten to just mrbenet which still hangs around as my name. 1999 mrbenet got a nickname for the new millennium johnny love from the same source. Much to my surprise last night at dinner a famous American photographer called me by the name of BIG HAPPINESS , I think I like that name, I make even keep it see how it goes.
It is so, not me, it makes a perfect ironic disguise
While at that dinner I received an invitation by the Kentucky born photography Raymond Adams who had some images in the Southern Memories Exhibitions .On March 9 2011 in New York he will have a solo exhibitions called New York At Dawn. I am excited and happy when an artist I know gets a chance for more people to see his work.The title reminds me of the swirling music by Gershwin and the taste of brandy and lipstick and cigarettes as we giggle and tiptoe home on a Saturday night clutching the Sunday New York Times .For many years when mrbenet went late from his job he was sent uptown in a taxi and saw many a New York dawn cruising along the East River or the Hudson River Drive ... cue piano and saxaphone as he sinks into the backseat of a private car alone
If you cannot be here, find that moment , on Ray's website www. raymondadams.net or visit www.greenwichhouse.org
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