Vali Myers

Vali Myers (2 August 1930 – 12 February 2003) was an Australian artist who specialized in fine pen and ink drawings, born in Canterbury, Sydney.

Myers was a flamboyant artist who divided her life between her adopted home of Melbourne, the Hotel Chelsea in New York City, and a 14th century cottage in her valley near Il Porto (Positano), Italy. She was acquainted with Tennessee Williams, Salvador Dalí, Django Reinhardt, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Genet, among many others. Myers died in Melbourne shortly after being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 72.

On 18 January 2003 The Age newspaper printed an article about the artist's life. The article concluded with the following quote from Vali Myers: "I've had 72 absolutely flaming years. It (the illness) doesn't bother me at all, because, you know, love, when you've lived like I have, you've done it all. I put all my effort into living; any dope can drop dead. I'm in the hospital now, and I guess I'll kick the bucket here. Every beetle does it, every bird, everybody. You come into the world and then you go."

Books

• Myers, Vali, 1930-2003 Drawings 1949-79 / Vali Myers. London : Open House, 1980 : ISBN 0-905664-25-6

• Menichetti, Gianni Vali Myers Memoirs Fresno, CA : Golda Foundation, 2006 : ISBN 0-9785606-0-4

Filmography

• Vali, The Witch of Positano - 1965. A film by Sheldon Rochlin, co-Produced by George Plimpton. Winner, Documentary Film Category, 1965 Mannheim Film Festival. (Duration: 65 minutes)

• The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda - 1968. Experimental film by Ira Cohen. (Duration: 22 minutes)

• Vali: Death in Port Jackson Hotel - 1971. A film by Ed van der Elsken. Features Vali in her "savage paradise", Il Porto, the canyon near Positano where she created her artwork. (Duration: 36 minutes)

• Patti and Vali - 1973. A short film/documentary by Sandra Dailey. The film shows Patti Smith having her knee cap tattooed by Vali, and also features an off screen commentary by Smith. (Duration: 30 minutes)

• Vali: The Tightrope Dancer - 1989. A documentary by Australian film-maker Ruth Cullen. (Duration: 58 minutes)

• Painted Lady - 2002. Ruth Cullen's follow up to The Tightrope Dancer, a documentary that follows Vali at her studio and with friends like Lee Fuhler. (Duration: 27 minutes)

Trivia

• In 1949 at age 19 Vali travelled to Paris to pursue a dance career but found herself living on the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres Quarter on the Left Bank.

• Love on the Left Bank is a 1954 book of photographs from Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken (1925–1990), documenting the bohemian life on the Rive Gauche of Paris. Vali Myers is shown throughout the book, along with some of her early drawings.

• Vali Myers was a huge inspiration to the young Patti Smith, whose walls were covered in pictures of and by Vali Myers. When they met in New York, Vali tattooed Patti with a lightning bolt on her knee cap. This was filmed by Sandra Dailey who also filmed the infamous piercing of Robert Mapplethorpe's nipple. This information is from Patti Smith: A Biography (1997) by Nick Johnstone Omnibus Press, UK ISBN 0-7119-6193-X paperback.

• Vali was the inspiration behind the character of Carol in Tennessee Williams' play Orpheus Descending.

• Vali is also mentioned in Marianne Faithfull's 1994 Autobiography Faithfull.

References

• Smith, Bernard; with Terry Smith & Christopher Heathcote (2001). Australian Painting 1788-2000. Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press. p. 630p. ISBN 0-19-551554-4. 

• Online article and interview : Final dream of a bohemian priestess from The Age, 18 January 2003.
• Obituary by Clayton Patterson from Skin and Ink magazine, 2004
• Information on the relationship between Vali Myers and Patti Smith
• Director Ruth Cullen's official website
• Work with poet Lee Fuhler
• Official Website of Ed van der Elsken

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External links

• Vali Myers Studio Gallery
• Multimedia magazine Aspen no. 9, published in 1971 Features a letter to friends Diane & Shelley from Vali, with photographs
• A LiveJournal Community dedicated to Vali Myers