Handheld Learning 2009

Malcolm McLaren has proven to be a visionary of pop culture and a pop cultural icon for over thirty years.  An artist in the most post-modern sense of the word, time and time again, he has been at the forefront.  He is probably best recognized for his work in melding fashion with music: “the look of music and the sound of fashion”.

He started in the early 1970s when he opened his legendary shop on the King’s Road in London with his then partner, Vivienne Westwood, creating fashion that would dress the Punk Generation and inspire legions of fashion designers.  Alongside the fashion, McLaren founded, managed and art directed the iconic band, the Sex Pistols and went on to work with such artists as Boy George, Adam Ant and Bow Wow Wow, before becoming a recording artist in his own right.  His film of the Sex Pistols, THE GREAT ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SWINDLE is a Punk classic today.  McLaren’s solo albums DUCK ROCK (1981), FANS (1984), WALTZ DARLING (1989) and PARIS (1993) were major breakthroughs of musical genres: Hip Hop, Opera & R&B, lounge music, etc.  In 2004, Quentin Tarantino chose McLaren’s track, “About Her” for his film, KILL BILL2.

In 1985 McLaren went to Hollywood where he worked as a development executive for Columbia Pictures and Steven Spielberg.  In 1999, he ran for Mayor of London, gaining 10% of the popular vote. 

In 2003, McLaren discovered yet another new musical genre, the first of the 21st century: Micromusic, or Chip Music.  This music will be featured in McLaren’s next album.

In 2006, FAST FOOD NATION, a film which McLaren conceived and co-produced débuted at the Cannes Film festival main competition.  Based on the best-selling book by Eric Schlosser, and directed by Richard Linklater it was released in fall 2006.  

Presently, McLaren is developing a stage musical about fashion for Broadway which he has conceived.  McLaren’s “radio films” which he scripted and presented for the BBC have garnered critical acclaim and 2 Sony Gold (“Radio Oscars”) awards: “Malcolm McLaren’s Musical Map of London” (Best Music Special) in 2007 and “Malcolm McLaren’s Musical Map of Los Angeles” (Best Feature) in 2008.  Meanwhile, for the first time in his life, he has started to give live performances: a unique mixture of autobiographical storytelling, music and video projections in clubs all over Europe.  He featured in a 3-hour reality-documentary program called The Baron on ITV-1 this Spring to much acclaim and has also played Big Brother in the revamped version of Celebrity Big Brother in the UK: Celebrity Hijack.  Currently, McLaren is repackaging his first two solo albums, DUCK ROCK and FANS which will be re-issued in a new DVD/CD format.  Finally, returning to his roots as an artist, McLaren premiered SHALLOW 1-21, a series of twenty-one “Musical Paintings”—short films set around music that he composed.  SHALLOW 1-21 was unveiled on 2 June 2008 in a special exhibition as part of Art Basel Projects, a new section curated by the Art Basel committee at the Art Basel 39 fair in Basel, Switzerland.  Thereafter, SHALLOW had its North American premiere the last week of June in Times Square, New York City on the MTV 44 ½ screen.  The works were on display for the entire summer as part of Creative Time’s (New York’s leading public arts organization) re-launch of their artist video program formerly called “The 59th Minute”.  This December, the workmade its UK premiere as part of the GSK Contemporary “Collision Course” exhibition curated by David Thorp at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.  Further shows in museums and galleries are in the works for 2009.  He is currently based between Paris and New York.