15th Annual Free Arts Auction Celebrating Scott Campbell, hosted by Marc Jacobs & Robert Duffy
[Justin Theroux, Scott Campbell, Marc Jacobs, Lake Bell]
Where: The Garage
Who was there: Guests included Scott Campbell, Marc Jacobs, Liz Hopfan, Lake Bell, Justin Theroux, Kelly Rutherford, Derek Blasberg, Waris Ahluwalia, Andre Saraiva, Erin Wasson, Alexander Gilkes, Jenne Lombardo, Natasha Lyonne, Lorenzo Martone, Hannah Bronfman, Harley Viera Newton, Todd Dicurcio, Brendan Fallis, DJ Kiss, Ross One, Mr. Brainwash, Scott Lipps, Evan Yurman, Sara Ann Macklin, Gina Gershon, Laura de Gunzburg, Noot Seear, Dustin Yellin, Michelle Hellman Cohen, Valerie Boster, Athena Calderone, Curtis Kulig, Amy Phelan, Peter Marino, Sante D'Orazio, Ann Dexter Jones, Bettina Prentice, Chrissy Rutherford, Mordechai Rubinstein, Sarah Hoover, Carlos Quirarte, Jennifer Fisher, Amanda Ross, Greg Boust, Joyann King, Tara Dhingra, Jennifer Creel, Todd Dicurcio, Drake Burnette, and Gucci Westman.
Other details: Last night, Free Arts NYC, the organization dedicated to bringing arts and culture to children who don't have access, hosted their 15th annual Free Arts Auction at the Garage on 50th Street. A heavily 'downtown' crowd braved the violent rain showers to attend the event and support the featured artist of the night, Scott Campbell. The tattoo artist, who has focused more time on fine art in recent years, provided a new piece titled 'Enough' for the live auction. He was tucked away near the back of the room for most of the night, satisfying as many interview requests as he could. He was joined by wife Lake Bell, who also had to answer plenty of questions about her newly announced pregnancy, as well as actor Justin Theroux, nightlife impresario Carlos Quirarte, actress Gina Gershon, and more. We chatted with Bell about her role in her writing/directing debut "In A World" and how she had the freedom to be more expressive with the character since she wrote it herself. Theroux had once told us the best thing you can do for your first tattoo is get a huge tattoo. We argued that it's hard to get an appointment with a guy like Campbell, so he added an addendum to his rule: get an ugly tattoo from the worst artist. Campbell agreed, saying a tattoo with a good story is what will get you laid (disclaimer: this is not a guarantee by any of the parties involved in this anecdote).
[Justin Theroux, Scott Campbell]
Soon the crowd was filled up with artists, tastemakers, and cultural influencers like Mr. Brainwash, Waris Ahluwalia, Jenne Lombardo, Erin Wasson, and Dustin Yellin. Scott Lipps brought over British import Sarah Ann Macklin, who only moved to New York 3 weeks ago. Marc Jacobs arrived in his signature combo of a richly colored coat and trousers with Stan Smith sneakers. Soon after, he took to the stage and immediately told the back of the room to shut up to the crowd's applause, because they were delaying the auction. He expressed his gratitude to be a part of the organization, and then Free Arts director Liz Hopfan introduced Scott Campbell. They played a video of Campbell's recent event where 10 volunteers spent a day with kids before getting the kids' signatures tattooed on their body so they would always support them in spirit.
Paddle8 founder Alexander Gilkes then kicked off the live auction with an hour tattoo session with Campbell, which went for $3,800. His 'Enough' piece went for $32k, but not before starting a bidding war between patrons including Theroux, who ended up being outbid but took it all in good spirit. The highest item of the night was David Ostrowski's "F," which brought in $36k, adding to the totals raised in the silent auction as well. After the auction ended, Andre Saraiva popped in, and Derek Blasberg formed a small crowd with actress Natasha Lyonne. The guests and hosts were all grateful to be part of the philanthropic event, and happily left with Scott Campbell temporary tattoos and Momofuku Milk Bar cookies.
[Hannah Bronfman, Brendan Fallis]
[Andre Saraiva, Sarah Ann Macklin]
[Marc Jacobs, Lake Bell][Derek Blasberg, Natasha Lyonne]
[Alexander Gilkes, Liz Hopfan]
[Sarah Ann Macklin, Scott Lipps]
[Photos courtesy of BFA; via @guestofaguest]