Reads We Love: Connecting the Dots

October 11th, 2012 • BY Erinn Morgan

When I lived in New York City I was privy to the actions of the art studio that, seemingly, never slept. Across the street from my Greenwich Village apartment, the behemoth garage doors were always opening to reveal Stephan Weiss’ latest painting or sculpture or truck in his constant flow of supplies. There was nearly always a weekday soiree happening on the sculptor’s rooftop garden. Weiss was not only a respected artist, he was also the husband of famed fashion designer Donna Karan—and he’d helped her build her design house into the global powerhouse it is today. Thus, the flow of who’s who entering and leaving was almost always worth a look. And then, one day, the studio in the Village went silent.

At the age of 62, Weiss had died of lung cancer. The greatest irony was that, beyond their frenetic lifestyle, he and Karan (shown above in a photo from Karan’s personal archives) had lived a highly holistic life, where yoga, raw foods, and family were at the very core.

This month, Karan’s tribute to her husband debuts in the artfully designed Stephan Weiss: Connecting the Dots, a book with over 100 gorgeous illustrations published by Assouline ($95). It puts a focus on Weiss’ art, which he called Energy Field Art. Based on the string theory of modern physics, Weiss put random dots on a page and then quickly connected them with artful strokes. A shape and energy would emerge, which he then turned into a painting or a sculpture.

The book’s proceeds are fully donated to the Urban Zen Center (shown below in a photo by Yonghee Joe), which Karan set up after Weiss’ death as the home for the Urban Zen Foundation, an organization “dedicated to creating a new model for approaching wellness, education, and the preservation of cultures.” The Center is located in that sacred space where Weiss once worked at 705 Greenwich Street. Karan has hosted a wealth of inspired events there, ranging from a Dalai Llama-attended fundraiser for India’s Norbulingka Institute, which is dedicated to preserving the art, history and culture of Tibet, to the Stephan Weiss Apple Awards where former President Bill Clinton received an award for his contributions made through the Clinton Global Initiative. And so, the studio lives again.

Kamagra oral jelly Online something to buy the most convenient way. He doesn’t demand from you any actions except how to visit the website. And in separate with goods necessary to you to put the end. To specify your address and to wait for the supplier to whom you will give money.

About Erinn Morgan

After a 10-year career as an award-winning New York City-based editor launching and redesigning urban, style-driven magazines, Erinn Morgan left her downtown Manhattan digs after September 11th, 2001, in search of a less encumbered, freelance lifestyle. A life-changing, two-year-long trek around the country in a motorhome eventually landed her in Durango, Colo., which she now calls home. Her writing has appeared in numerous— More about this author →