WHAT IS HIP?

Glamorous, articulate and almost always controversial, my dear friend David Schoffman has always given great interviews.

Starting in the 1970's with his notorious tête-à-tête with Le Monde's Sascha Izit all the way to last year's ridiculously candid entretien with Dahlia Danton of The Harps of Heaven, Schoffman is reliably prepared to stir the broth with his unique blend of amiable quips and contentiously divisive insights.

Few followers of the art world's inside game will forget David's appearance on the Mick Teagling Show where in a bright orange shirt and burgendy scrubs he jumped on the studio couch and started chanting wildly "Je suis Ubu Roi, Je suis Ubu Roi."

Equally memorable (or lamentably indelible) was his interview with the late Canadian poet Guido  Cezzho. Published in the Sunday Supplement of Montréal Philologique David apparently answered every single question (according to Cezzho they spoke for nearly four hours) in a falsetto voice using a sock puppet.  

Now, if Schoffman is to be believed, all those antics are over. As a result of his recently becoming a paid spokesperson for Noitanbreh, a Los Angeles urban clothing line featuring bright, colorful t-shirts, rugged basketball jerseys and sensible yet savage looking bucket hats,  he is contractually obligated to tame his public persona.

Now that's a scary prospect ...