Johnny, December 2011.
Photo © David Ingogly.
Please click the photo twice for a larger view.
Or click here for the stunning
full-size version.
My favorite moment of 2010,
and of my life, really,
was the final pose of my long program
in the Vancouver Olympic Games.
I had given up and gained so much
to get to the point of total human oneness —
an athlete, an artist,
with my soul shining out
of every pore of my body,
with a world erupting all around me
in applause,
staring up to God —
it was the moment of my life.
Tomorrow it will be two years since the world last saw Johnny compete.
He gave the performance of his life that night in Vancouver, skating his Fallen Angel program, a dazzling, emotional, soul-searing four-and-a-half minutes that touched people around the globe—and earned him an incomprehensible sixth-place finish, much to the displeasure of the roaring crowd in the stadium, and viewers everywhere.
And then he walked away.
Last February, he tweeted a bit poignantly about his Vancouver performances on their one-year anniversaries, looking back at both his short program and long program.
This year, as of this writing, he hasn't.
I kind of think that's a good thing.
That maybe he's been able to come to terms with Vancouver.
As best he could.
And then walk away.
Taking with him the transcendent joy, but leaving behind the crushingly bitter disappointment.
I hope that now he's intensely focused on both the training that's immediately in front of him, and on the invigorating challenges that lie ahead.
And I hope that his beautiful spirit—indomitable, yes, but also so very fragile—can be free to soar on the ice.
As high as he can go.
In the way that he longs to.
In the way that only he can.
I wrote about Johnny's Fallen Angel program last year, on the anniversary of that performance.
This year, I'd like to offer a different tribute, in the form of this brief set of photos, all taken in less than one minute during his last show performance, at Holiday Dreams on Ice.
One of the most amazing photos to come out of HDOI is this shot by Getty.
Here is Davey's series of shots surrounding that moment.
Please, please click the links to see the full-size versions of these. The detail is simply incredible. You'll feel like you're right there on the ice with Johnny.
The way he always makes us feel when he skates.
During the show finale,
Johnny performs his signature move,
but with a surprising twist...
Full-size version.
...rather than support himself
on his outstretched arms and fingertips,
as he usually does—one leg under him,
his hair just grazing the ice—this time
his hair just grazing the ice—this time
he lifts his hips and allows his head and upper back
to come into full contact with the ice.
Full-size version.
And thus when he stops,
his hair, shoulders, and part of his costume
are coated with frost,
leading to the Getty shot, of him
shaking the ice from his hair....
Full-size version.
...and then this
Johnny-as-a-snow-globe
moment.
Johnny-as-a-snow-globe
moment.
Full-size version.
He gets back up and skates off
to rejoin the rest of the cast,
ice trailing from him
like so much glittery dust...
Full-size version.
...still falling from him here...
Full-size version.
...and here, even as it swiftly melts away
and drips from his hands.
and drips from his hands.
If you click to the full-size version,
you can see a bit of angry redness
on his shoulder blade, a cold gift of the ice...
Full-size version.
...and here, also, on his back,
just below his necklace.
Full-size version.
Then, bathed in light,
he prepares for his final bow...
Full-size version.
...turning and holding out his arms
as if to embrace every one of his fans...
Full-size version.
...and then: The end.
The light illuminates just the tips of the furred shoulders
of his costume, and glints off one single point
on the front, near his heart.
Full-size version.
I suppose, in my world,
angel wings are made out of different kinds of fur.
— Johnny Weir, press conference,
U.S. Nationals, January 2010.
(In my world too...)
One more: Just after the snow-globe photo,
Johnny turned his head, and Davey captured this shot.
It's unintentionally more softly focused,
but I love it—
like a painting of an exotic being
but I love it—
like a painting of an exotic being
from a frozen, timeless land,
whose winged inhabitants
are partly
and exquisitely
made
of fur and ice... Full-size version.
All photos © David Ingogly.
Bonus video!! Now on YouTube!!
In case you missed it before!
In case you missed it before!
Here is the profile that ran on Philly's NBC 10
newscast Monday night—a wonderful piece.
Read the accompanying article here.
New!! East Coast fans: Don't miss this chance
to see Johnny on Saturday, February 25,
at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers!
It's not too late! Subscribe now
and get the entire Johnny Weir perspective,
including his never-before-heard free skate commentary
available exclusively on icenetwork.com!
New!! Johnny is an Honorary Chairperson
for the Imperial Court of New York's biggest annual fundraiser,
This year's beneficiaries are PFLAG-NYC and
New Alternatives, a group that helps homeless LGBT youth.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 31,
and get tickets now!
Hey, Johnny's been nominated for a Shorty Award!! You can join in on the nominating process by clicking here and tweeting your vote for Johnny. Most fans are voting for him in the "Athlete" category.
Note: The Shorty Awards have very specific rules, which essentially boil down to this:
(1) You can only nominate him ONCE from each Twitter account that you have. Additional votes from the same account will NOT be counted. So it's one of those deals where we need a LOT of different people to vote, rather than a few people voting a lot.
(2) Your nominating tweet MUST include a reason (for example: "I nominate @JohnnyGWeir for a Shorty Award in #athlete because he inspires his fans to believe in themselves"—thanks @PatinaGlace!).
(3) You must NOT copy someone else's reason in your vote.
All righty then.
The nominating period ends February 17—please vote vote vote!! For more info, click here.
Q and A! Go read it now!
At last: Pop Star On Ice is now available on DVD!
Order yours today from the Pop Star On Ice website!
Johnny tweeted:
"Buy my single,'Dirty Love' via iTunes.
Tell all your friends to as well. The more copies sold
takes me one step closer to making a video! №1!"
IN THE SAME WAY THAT IT NEEDS AIR.
You know what to do.
Please buy the song from Johnny's website,
or just click the "Buy" button on the player
at the top of the blog!
at the top of the blog!
Hey, Welcome to My World also is available
as an eBook! More info on Johnny's website!
copyright 2012 / Binky and the Misfit Mimes / Lynn V. Ingogly / all rights reserved
8 comments:
These pics...these pics....you actually see me speechless...these pics are wonderful, awesome, amazing,stunning, beautiful.
Thanks to David for taking them and for his wonderful ability to catch a moment in time.
Thanks to you for putting the pics up and trying to put in words what these pictures show. I believe it´s not that easy.
And last but not least...thanks to my muse whose spirit is so wonderfully captured with these pics.
I have been reading your blog for some time, and now I can officially say: You have brought tears to my eyes! Thank you so much!
I run out of superlatives in any conversation about Johnny...and Davey's photos leave me just as bereft of language.
Johnny appears to have been created by and lifted from the ice. Sometimes there are things in this world, that are just so beautifully perfect, that to simply witness one elicits a wave of tears.
That's what Davey's photos did for me this morning.
I know Johnny's human like the rest of us...but for the few moments that make up the life of a program, he merges with that ice...he is OF it, and he paints with it, molds beauty from it...and gives it to us all, an artist's gift. Fleeting and intangible in nature.
...and now it is here, captured beautifully.
Thank you Johnny. Thank you Davey. Thank you Binky.
Deborah - your comment reads almost like a poem; thanks for your keen observations and your way with the words, like Binky!
And LOVE Ice Globe Johnny! Added to my Johnny Weir slideshow, available for viewing 24-hours a day at my computer screen only!
Johnny is an artistic genius whose Spirit & mind uses the music as the colors his body so gracefully & skillfully paints onto the palette of ice. We in the viewing of his art are transformed.
I love the photos. David is brilliant. Like I keep saying, he has a great subject, but he still has to match that with talent and a wonderful eye for how to take a great photo.
And thank you for your beautiful words, MM. There's certainly nothing else I could add to what you've said.
And PumaJ, of course you are right, Johnny is indeed and artistic genius. I love your palette of ice comment!
Awesome photos. Great snowglobe moment!
THIS. Binky. THIS. Davey. THIS. Johnny. THIS. Deb. Thank You ALL for adding such beauty to my day! :D
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