GEARON’S ABC’S: After a book signing for her new book “Alphabet” at Colette in Paris Friday, photographer Tierney Gearon had to hop a flight to New York for a book/Children’s party on Sunday at the Bleecker Street Arts Club. The Los Angeles-based artist made gigantic tablecloths with images from her somewhat dark children’s book which was four years in the making and features two of her children, 10-year-old Walker and seven-year-old Grace. Guests of all ages got to stare down an albino python (thanks to a snake handler) and have their faces painted like a Harlequin. “I wanted to build something intense and interactive. I didn’t want it to be just a regular children’s party. I want it to be an art project too,” Gearon said.
Similar events are planned for Los Angeles and other cities. Gearon was back on the West Coast for a talk at the Otis College of Art and Design Wednesday regarding “The Mother Project,” a documentary about her life. In addition to finishing up another book about color and form, Gearon shot her 20-year-old daughter Emily in a clown-inspired fashion spread for Out of Order magazine’s next issue. The photographer, who did Lucy Schwartz’s recent music video, is working on an artsy film for “a huge European fashion company.” But Gearon said she prefers to do fashion photography in small doses because there are always creative restrictions. “It is very stimulating to me creatively because when I return to my personal projects there are no reins,” she said.
Gearon will soon be breaking free in a different way. She will be off on a two-week trip to a remote electricity-and-cellphone free corner of Brazil where her friend Emilia Mello will be filming a documentary about that soccer-happy place.