Miss Manhattan Hangs Out with Rob Roth
Bonjour, Monsieur.
Before we do anything else, Rob Roth reads my tarot cards. We cut the deck once, twice, three times sitting at his dining room table. Sprinkled across it are a red tile from a Valentino show in Paris, a white elephant teapot, some partly burnt palo santo sticks in a white ashtray. Above us hangs a chandelier dripping with juicy, clear baubles. The walls are papered with a print of gold surveillance cameras edged in flowers on black paper. He’s drawn The Fool countless times from the tarot deck, he says, and though tonight it’s swords. For me, it’s La Force.
Technically, Rob says, he’s a creative director, but he’s not sure if that title is quite right anymore. Artist and director works. He began his creative career partly in New York nightlife, where he was active at the legendary Jackie 60 party and co-created the famed party Click + Drag. Since 1999, he’s worked with Blondie and Debbie Harry–who once called him, lovingly, a “sex fiend, drunkard, visionary”–on music videos, short films, documentaries, and even Harry’s memoir, Face It. Rob also created visuals for David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Coach in addition to experimental theatre starring actress Rebecca Hall. He’s presented his work everywhere from the Whitney Museum to the Museum of Art and Design, and countless others in between.
Once we finish tarot, he puts on a pair of gold and black leopard sneakers and we are off into the night. He wants to show me some of his favorite murals of ripped posters on the Lower East Side, those wheatpasted ads piled on top of each other then ripped apart. It’s unintentionally art, he says. He moves us up Essex Street to a beloved neighborhood Japanese joint, Takahachi. Rob is greeted with warm waves and hellos. I notice a star tattoo on his wrist, but I forget to ask the story. We nibble on sushi and conversation is easy–Rob is chatty and impish; his eyes flash when he talks about ideas for the future and stories from the past. Rob also wants to make sure I see the bathroom–it’s yellow and decked out in graffiti. There’s a theme here, of art in unexpected places.
We traverse Alphabet City for a bit, where it’s safe to walk around now but didn’t used to be. Living downtown, Rob has seen the area change significantly and recalls a young finance-type guy asking him about his building’s amenities. Amenities? Rob was incredulous.
We arrive next at the newish bar Monsieur, owned by director Baz Luhrmann. Inside, the light is amber, the bar is curling, the mirror behind the bar is like stained glass, and paper of dark leaves lines the walls–almost like if the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Fountain Room only went out at night/was a vampire. We sit at the bar and sip cocktails, fruity and smooth, from long-stemmed coupe glasses. Rob has become a regular, and chats breezily with the team. He is a natural in this light.
