Cynthia von Buhler
Encyclopedia
Cynthia von Buhler a.k.a. Countess von Buhler, is an American
artist
, performer, and children's book author
.
, the middle child in an artistic family with six children. Of her childhood, she says "As soon as we could hold a scissor, we learned every kind of craft imaginable, and worked in three dimensions, not just two." Creative from the start, she created large-scale papier-mache floats for her hometown Halloween parades, and won her first art award while she was still in grammar school. But while her art flourished, she struggled continuously with mathematics. By the fifth grade, she had not learned her multiplication tables. Using her love of animals as an incentive, her parents promised the young von Buhler a pet if she learned them. She did, and was rewarded with a de-scented skunk
which she says taught her how to be responsible. Von Buhler was shy, but art and theater kept her active and involved in school as a teen.
Von Buhler studied art and children’s books at The Art Institute of Boston
. After graduating she continued her studies at Richmond, The American International University in London where she met her first husband, Adam von Buhler
.
. Within four years she worked her way up from Administrative Assistant to Director of Public Relations
reporting to the university’s president. “AIB was my second home. That experience gave me confidence in all facets of my work." Von Buhler wanted to be a children’s book author and illustrator
, but she was having trouble breaking into the field. She focused instead on editorial
illustration and began creating dark pastel drawings for magazines like Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, and Teen
under her maiden name, Cynthia Carrozza. "I was the queen of teen magazine illustration. Anorexia
, date rape
, and jealousy were constant themes." Eventually, at the request of her clients, her art became stylistically brighter and she started drawing for high-end clients like the Four Seasons Hotel. "The work had no depth. It just wasn’t me and over time it became something I hated. I went through this period of depression. It was very hard and emotional for me."
At this time, in the mid-nineties, she and Adam Buhler a.k.a. Adam von Buhler
bought a large purple Victorian
house in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
. She painted the walls in jewel tones with patterns of climbing vines. “It was a creative turning point for me. When I moved into my house, I needed art for the walls. So, I started making these paintings that were much different than the style I had been working in. That is when I decided not to make any artwork that I did not want to put on my wall.” Von Buhler's three-dimensional paintings have been reproduced and featured in a diverse variety of books, magazines, and newspapers from Rolling Stone
to The New Yorker
. Her work has appeared in more than a thousand magazines, books, publications, billboards, and CDs. In 1995 she was interviewed about her art in Mary Magdalen: An Intimate Portrait on the Lifetime Network. The expose
was narrated by Penelope Ann Miller
and also featured interviews with Martin Scorsese
and Arch Bishop Rembert Weakland. In addition, a von Buhler portrait of Mary Magdalen which had been commissioned by The New Yorker was featured in the show's introductory graphics. In 1998, she was hired by Viking Publishing to illustrate a children’s book, Nicholas Nicholson's Little Girl in Red Dress With Cat and Dog. This book garnered von Buhler a starred review in Publishers Weekly
, which praised the "imaginative debut" and her "distinct sense of time and place." A tarot
deck based upon the writings of William Shakespeare
, "The Shakespeare Oracle: Let the Bard Predict Your Future,” written by A. Bronwyn Llewellyn, was illustrated by von Buhler and released in 2003. In 2004 von Buhler’s portraits of Madonna
and Jimi Hendrix
accompanied essays by Britney Spears
and John Mayer
in the "50th Anniversary of Rock and Roll" issue of Rolling Stone
. The painting of Jimi Hendrix was built with a Stratocaster guitar as the singer’s spine and the piece was set on fire. Both paintings are now in the collection of Jann Wenner
.
, known for treachery, hiring Leonardo Da Vinci
as his plumber, beautiful mistresses, and a delicious Italian nougat candy called Torrone.” A friend began referring to the gothic Victorian house as Castle von Buhler and the name stuck. When Cynthia married Adam Buhler in 1995, she decided to add “von” to her name: “I couldn’t take someone else’s name and still feel like myself…so I dubbed myself Cynthia von Buhler. (The “von” took the place of my non-existent middle name.) ”
band, Women of Sodom, which won a Best Music Poll Award from the Boston Phoenix in 1997 and became a Boston sensation. Women of Sodom headlined clubs across the country and opened for Gwar
, Voivod
, God Lives Underwater
and Psychotica
. The band performed at New York City
’s Roseland Ballroom
and Boston’s Avalon as part of the Sextacy Ball, with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult
and Lords of Acid
also on the bill. “Boots” featured vocals and lyrics by von Buhler and music by Xavier Dietrich II and was released in 1997 on Pussykitty Records. At this time von Buhler and her husband started a record label named after their house with the award-winning designer Clifford Stoltze. “In the 1990s, it was impossible to walk into an Allston
club or Cambridge
bar without tripping over one of Cynthia von Buhler’s paintings, music projects, or a band signed to her record label. If there was ever a queen of the Boston scene, it was von Buhler.” Castle von Buhler also released a series of art and music CD compilations titled Soon, Anon, and Nigh. The artist explains the titles this way: “Soon there will be a cure for AIDS
…and then we came up with Anon and Nigh which means the same thing.” In honor of von Buhler’s close college friend, William Lincoln Tisdale, who had died from the disease, proceeds from these compilations were donated to various AIDS charities. The CDs won various design awards and many of the young illustrators who created the artwork flourished. Von Buhler contributed musically and artistically to the compilations
and her first work (which incorporated a live dove) was honored by Society of Illustrators in New York City. Curators began approaching von Buhler, offering her exhibits in Boston and New York City. She was she was chosen by Boston Magazine as one of the "40 Bostonians We Love" in their June 2002 cover feature article. Von Buhler was frequently featured on the covers of The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, The Improper Bostonian magazine, and many other Boston-based art and music publications. She appeared so frequently in The Boston Phoenix they named her “their unofficial mascot.” She also appeared twice on MTV; as Bettie Page
in an MTV
music video for the band The Amazing Crowns (which was previewed on Beavis and Butthead) and in a sitcom called Apt 3F. Von Buhler formed and managed her husband’s band Splashdown
, and helped them get signed with Capitol Records
. In 2001, after Splashdown angrily left Capitol Records, von Buhler’s band Countess released a rock opera
record about the evils of pop stardom and the music industry. Ironically, the project was funded through a demo deal from MCA Records
. Countess was nominated for a Boston Music Award. They opened for Karen Finley
at Royally F***ed, a three-day event featuring visual and performance art in at The Boston Institute of Contemporary Art and the Paradise Rock Club
. In 2001, the last year that von Buhler lived at Castle von Buhler, she turned the second floor into The Dietrich von Buhler Gallery “for artists who want to do things that aren’t market-driven, that aren’t necessarily for sale, that are cutting-edge. Art that you probably wouldn’t want to put in your house but is really interesting to view, and opens your mind to new ideas.”, A curator from The Whitney Museum in New York City stopped by looking for artists to be featured in their Whitney Biennial
exhibit., The house became well-known for von Buhler’s unique parties and art exhibits.
, found objects, human detritus
, and electronic audio. By combining these media, often enhanced with text and electronics, von Buhler's canvasses frequently became kinetic
installations. "Regardless of medium, all of von Buhler's pieces require the viewer to get involved: sometimes physically, by feeding a caged animal or inserting a coin to operate a machine. For example, "Sir Repetitious," a man's transparent insides reveal two live rats, hungry for the food and attention of onlookers – feed the rodents with the supplied seed, and you are satisfying "Sir Repetitious" on physical and metaphorical levels. Miss Ann Thrope is a life-sized painting of a woman with two doves perched inside. When the birds move in the piece, they change its equilibrium and alter its intended meaning. A velvet-curtained puppet theater sets the stage for Show and Tell, a multimedia painting that explores the use of word versus action with hidden visual and auditory messages. "Please Don’t Look Up My Skirt" is a commentary on date-rape in which a Botticelli-esque girl without arms or legs tries modestly to cover herself, imploring the viewer not to violate her; those who disregard the plea see what they have become when they look up her skirt. Cynth-O-Matic offers various plastic capsules containing actual samples of the artist’s body hair and fluids from a vending machine. The piece is von Buhler’s critique of those who attend art openings to chat with the artist and scarf hors d’oeuvres without buying any art. For only 25 cents they can buy a piece of the artist. Von Buhler's work provides commentary on morality
, vanity
, politics
, and the art world itself". From 2001 - 2007, von Buhler’s work appeared on the covers of New York’s Gallery Guide, Communication Arts, Step by Step Graphics,[64] and NY Arts. A photograph of von Buhler taken at her New York loft for The Boston Globe was enlarged and used on billboards advertising the publication. Inspired by lying politicians, von Buhler altered and old carnival machine for “Shake Hands With Uncle Sam
.” For 25 cents, viewers shake Uncle Sam’s hand, the dial spins, and lands on audio samples of "Weapons of Mass Destruction
," "Iran Contra," "No New Taxes," or one of seven other bipartisan audio clips. The piece was created for “The Presidency” exhibit at Exit Art
in Manhattan. In 2005, von Buhler created a video for another exhibit at Exit Art, “The Studio Visit”. Her video was singled out by New York Times art critic Roberta Smith
as one of the best. She also was chosen by the art space to move her art studio to the gallery for a few months where she had to create her work in the window while people watched her through Exit Art’s windows. Her fine art appeared on TV in Law & Order SVU as the artwork of a serial killer, and in a fight scene of the show Kidnapped. In March 2006, Art & Antiques named von Buhler as “one of the top contemporary surrealists.”
However, she has also been linked to the Lowbrow
, and Fluxus
movements. Her art has been displayed in galleries and museums around the world, and her work is in the collections of Howard Stern
, Jann Wenner
, The Nassau County Museum of Art
, The Staten Island
Museum, The University of Toronto, The Opera Company of Philadelphia, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and hundreds of personal collections.
to illustrate Martha Stewart
's story for Once Upon A Fairy Tale (Viking), a book produced to benefit The Starbright Foundation for seriously ill children. In 2002, New York Public Library selected the "handsomely illustrated" (The New York Times)They Called Her Molly Pitcher (Knopf), written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by von Buhler, as one of One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing. In 2004, von Buhler went on to illustrate Nicolaus Copernicus
: The Earth Is a Planet. Reviews called her "dramatic oil-on-gesso artwork" (School Library Journal) "handsome and effective" (Booklist). Publishers Weekly offered high praise for her work on the book: "Von Buhler's paintings exert a gravitational pull of their own." In 2006 von Buhler wrote and illustrated The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside (Houghton Mifflin) with dual credits as author and illustrator. The book, based on a true story, featured painted clay characters in detailed architectural sets. Book Sense named the book as a Children's Pick for Winter/Spring 2006/2007 for its "beautiful story" and "extremely detailed sets." Kirkus Reviews called the illustrations "unique" and "eye-popping," providing "a glimpse of a world beyond the frame" and pronounced the book "a sheer delight." Publisher's Weekly thought "readers ... may well be entranced" by the "considerable magic" of von Buhler's illustrations, while Time Out New York called the book "beautifully ornate," and "the cat's meow." The book was also chosen as Teacher's Picks: Best of 2006 by Parent & Child magazine. A short video was created using the book's images and it remains popular on You Tube. In 2009, von Buhler took a second turn as author and illustrator with But Who Will Bell The Cats? (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The book's illustrations feature handmade architectural sets, cinematic lighting, and paper doll oil paintings of the characters in action. Kirkus Reviews stated that “young readers will pore over this one again and again," and School Library Journal agreed that "children will find a lot to discover in the details, even after repeated readings." The Nassau County Museum of Art in New York exhibited the book's elaborate miniature sets in a solo exhibition between September 20, 2009 and January 3, 2010. During the summer of 2010 Von Buhler exhibited the miniature sets in an animatronic window display that she created for Books of Wonder in Manhattan. A video was created for YouTube which shows how enlarged characters from her book move and “play” with the miniature dollhouse sets and characters. Time Out Kid’s did a feature article on the window along with a slideshow showing von Buhler creating it. Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Librarian and School Library Journal posted a lengthy review of the book on her School Library Journal blog, “Is it wrong that I sometimes want to blow a four-year-old’s mind? I’ve come to the decision that Cynthia von Buhler’s But Who Will Bell the Cats? is going to be my library’s secret weapon from here on in.” Von Buhler has also illustrated dozens of young adult book covers including Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen
, The Road to Damietta by Scott O'Dell
, and two Newbery medal
winners, The Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
and The Perilous Guard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.
2006, "The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside written and illustrated by von Buhler, Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-618-56314-8
2002 (reprinted in paperback in 2006), They Called Her Molly Pitcher, written by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by von Buhler, Knopf, ISBN 0-679-89187-0
2004, Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth Is A Planet, written by Dennis Brindell Fradin, illustrated by von Buhler, Mondo Books, ISBN 1-59336-006-1
2001, Once Upon A Fairytale, partially written by Martha Stewart, partially illustrated by von Buhler, 21 celebrity authors, 21 award-winning illustrators, a Steven Spielberg benefit project, Viking, ISBN 0-670-03500-9
1998, Little Girl in Red Dress With Cat and Dog, written by Nicholas Nicholson, illustrated by von Buhler, Viking, ISBN 0-670-87183-4
Children’s Book Awards and Honors
: In His Wake featuring Warhol's superstars, Ultra Violet, Taylor Mead
, Billy Name
, and Ivy Nicholson along with artists who were influenced by Warhol. For this exhibit von Buhler created The Great Warhola, an interactive, fortune-telling machine. Von Buhler claims that Warhol was a fortune teller, "with reality television
and YouTube
everyone has the 15 minutes of fame that Warhol predicted for them". This popular exhibit was featured on television in Japan
, Switzerland
and Germany
. CVB Space and the historic, industrial building it is housed in has been featured in Sex and the City
, Law & Order SVU, and Someone Like You
(starring Ashley Judd
, Hugh Jackman
, and Greg Kinnear
) and will be appearing in No Reservations
(starring Catherine Zeta-Jones
). CvB Space has become CvB Spaces, a location leasing agency for film and photography shoots. Von Buhler is the president of CvB Spaces.
and Jason Webley
, and the forward was written by Neil Gaiman
. Von Buhler also created the artwork for the preceding Evelyn Evelyn
CD (a project by Palmer and Webley) and merchandise. To celebrate the completion of the artwork for the two-set book, Palmer and Gaiman’s marriage engagement, and her own birthday, von Buhler’s held a lavish, ‘Freaks’-themed birthday party at a Manhattan penthouse loft. Von Buhler was dressed in a custom-made latex mermaid tail and greeted her guests from a claw foot bathtub filled with water. In homage to the BP Oil Spill victims von Buhler created an oil-slick mermaid installation featuring live models. The party was attended by many literary luminaries: Lemony Snicket
, Neil Gaiman
, Jonathan Ames
, Elizabeth Bird, Adele Griffin
and others. Salman Rushdie was rumored to have been at the party as well. Scenes from the rooftop merry-go-round, von Buhler's art, and Empire Snafu Restoration Project art were later used in his book trailer for Luka and the Fire of Life
. A few of the party guests were also chosen as actors for the trailer.
and a veritable zoo of animal species at Fort Hill Castle in St. George, Staten Island
and at a lodge, The Fur Gnarl, in Connecticut.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, performer, and children's book author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Early life
Von Buhler (born Cynthia Carrozza) was raised in Pittsfield, MassachusettsPittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
, the middle child in an artistic family with six children. Of her childhood, she says "As soon as we could hold a scissor, we learned every kind of craft imaginable, and worked in three dimensions, not just two." Creative from the start, she created large-scale papier-mache floats for her hometown Halloween parades, and won her first art award while she was still in grammar school. But while her art flourished, she struggled continuously with mathematics. By the fifth grade, she had not learned her multiplication tables. Using her love of animals as an incentive, her parents promised the young von Buhler a pet if she learned them. She did, and was rewarded with a de-scented skunk
Skunk
Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
which she says taught her how to be responsible. Von Buhler was shy, but art and theater kept her active and involved in school as a teen.
Von Buhler studied art and children’s books at The Art Institute of Boston
The Art Institute of Boston
The Art Institute of Boston is a private, not-for-profit art school in Boston, Massachusetts, and a part of Lesley University. Undergraduate degree programs include animation, design, fine arts, illustration, and photography. Graduate degree programs focus on fine arts and photography, with an art...
. After graduating she continued her studies at Richmond, The American International University in London where she met her first husband, Adam von Buhler
Adam von Buhler
Adam von Buhler is a producer and musician, currently one half of the rock duo Anarchy Club, and a former member of the band Splashdown. He plays drums, bass, guitar and other instruments, and works the studio gear...
.
Illustration career
Not knowing what to do with an art degree, von Buhler considered becoming a stripper, but instead was offered a job at The Art Institute of BostonThe Art Institute of Boston
The Art Institute of Boston is a private, not-for-profit art school in Boston, Massachusetts, and a part of Lesley University. Undergraduate degree programs include animation, design, fine arts, illustration, and photography. Graduate degree programs focus on fine arts and photography, with an art...
. Within four years she worked her way up from Administrative Assistant to Director of Public Relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
reporting to the university’s president. “AIB was my second home. That experience gave me confidence in all facets of my work." Von Buhler wanted to be a children’s book author and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, but she was having trouble breaking into the field. She focused instead on editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
illustration and began creating dark pastel drawings for magazines like Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, and Teen
Teen magazine
Teen magazines are magazines aimed at female teenage readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include posters, stickers, small samples of cosmetics or other products and inserts. Magazines targeting teenage boys are not often called teen...
under her maiden name, Cynthia Carrozza. "I was the queen of teen magazine illustration. Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
, date rape
Date rape
"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
, and jealousy were constant themes." Eventually, at the request of her clients, her art became stylistically brighter and she started drawing for high-end clients like the Four Seasons Hotel. "The work had no depth. It just wasn’t me and over time it became something I hated. I went through this period of depression. It was very hard and emotional for me."
At this time, in the mid-nineties, she and Adam Buhler a.k.a. Adam von Buhler
Adam von Buhler
Adam von Buhler is a producer and musician, currently one half of the rock duo Anarchy Club, and a former member of the band Splashdown. He plays drums, bass, guitar and other instruments, and works the studio gear...
bought a large purple Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
house in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. She painted the walls in jewel tones with patterns of climbing vines. “It was a creative turning point for me. When I moved into my house, I needed art for the walls. So, I started making these paintings that were much different than the style I had been working in. That is when I decided not to make any artwork that I did not want to put on my wall.” Von Buhler's three-dimensional paintings have been reproduced and featured in a diverse variety of books, magazines, and newspapers from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
to The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Her work has appeared in more than a thousand magazines, books, publications, billboards, and CDs. In 1995 she was interviewed about her art in Mary Magdalen: An Intimate Portrait on the Lifetime Network. The expose
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
was narrated by Penelope Ann Miller
Penelope Ann Miller
Penelope Ann Miller , sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress...
and also featured interviews with Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
and Arch Bishop Rembert Weakland. In addition, a von Buhler portrait of Mary Magdalen which had been commissioned by The New Yorker was featured in the show's introductory graphics. In 1998, she was hired by Viking Publishing to illustrate a children’s book, Nicholas Nicholson's Little Girl in Red Dress With Cat and Dog. This book garnered von Buhler a starred review in Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, which praised the "imaginative debut" and her "distinct sense of time and place." A tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
deck based upon the writings of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, "The Shakespeare Oracle: Let the Bard Predict Your Future,” written by A. Bronwyn Llewellyn, was illustrated by von Buhler and released in 2003. In 2004 von Buhler’s portraits of Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
accompanied essays by Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
and John Mayer
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
in the "50th Anniversary of Rock and Roll" issue of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. The painting of Jimi Hendrix was built with a Stratocaster guitar as the singer’s spine and the piece was set on fire. Both paintings are now in the collection of Jann Wenner
Jann Wenner
Jann Simon Wenner is the co-founder and publisher of the music and politics biweekly Rolling Stone, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.-Childhood:...
.
Illustration awards and honors
- 2002 Bronze Medal, Society of Illustrators of Los AngelesSociety of Illustrators of Los AngelesThe Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles was founded in 1953 by a group of Southern California artists and designers "...to promote the professional status of illustration art as well as foster both philanthropic and educational goals"....
- 1997 Silver Medal, Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles
- 1996 Gold Medal, Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles
- 1995 Gold Medal, The Visual Club, New York
- American Illustration, 25, 23, 21, 20, 18, 17, 14
- Society of IllustratorsSociety of IllustratorsThe Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
, 49, 46, 45, 42, 40, 38, 37 - Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, 41, 36, 35
- Communication Arts magazine Illustration Annuals, 45, 43, 42, 41, 40, 39, 38, 37; Design Annual, 38
Royalty connection
Von Buhler’s family is rumored to be descended from the royal Italian Sforza family. ‘When asked what I wanted my e-mail address to be, I said off-the-cuff, “Countess.” Countesses aren’t prissy like Princesses. Countesses know the score! In a manifesto von Buhler wrote in 2001 she explains why she has a title. “But is there really royal blood in my veins? My grandmother’s maiden name is Sforza, and the rumor in the family is that we are related to the infamous Francesco Sforza of MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, known for treachery, hiring Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
as his plumber, beautiful mistresses, and a delicious Italian nougat candy called Torrone.” A friend began referring to the gothic Victorian house as Castle von Buhler and the name stuck. When Cynthia married Adam Buhler in 1995, she decided to add “von” to her name: “I couldn’t take someone else’s name and still feel like myself…so I dubbed myself Cynthia von Buhler. (The “von” took the place of my non-existent middle name.) ”
Music career
At the same time she changed her name, von Buhler became involved in the music industry. She started a performance artPerformance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
band, Women of Sodom, which won a Best Music Poll Award from the Boston Phoenix in 1997 and became a Boston sensation. Women of Sodom headlined clubs across the country and opened for Gwar
Gwar
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
, Voivod
Voivod (band)
Voivod are a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Quebec, Canada. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s...
, God Lives Underwater
God Lives Underwater
God Lives Underwater was an industrial rock band from rural Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania , formed in 1993 by band members David Reilly and Jeff Turzo. God Lives Underwater was originally signed to American Recordings after being discovered by Rick Rubin, who subsequently produced the band's first...
and Psychotica
Psychotica
Psychotica, formed in 1994 by Pat Briggs and Paul "ENA" Kostabi, were a seminal influence in Industrial Goth, releasing 3 albums to mixed reviews and varied success....
. The band performed at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
’s Roseland Ballroom
Roseland Ballroom
The Roseland Ballroom is a multi-purpose hall, in a converted ice skating rink, with a colorful ballroom dancing pedigree, in New York City's theatre district, on West 52nd Street....
and Boston’s Avalon as part of the Sextacy Ball, with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
and Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid is a Belgian-American post-industrial/techno band, led by musician Praga Khan. They debuted with the controversial new beat single "I Sit on Acid" in 1988...
also on the bill. “Boots” featured vocals and lyrics by von Buhler and music by Xavier Dietrich II and was released in 1997 on Pussykitty Records. At this time von Buhler and her husband started a record label named after their house with the award-winning designer Clifford Stoltze. “In the 1990s, it was impossible to walk into an Allston
Allston
-People:* Aaron Allston , an American novelist* Johanna Allston , an Australian orienteer* Robert Francis Withers Allston , a Governor of South Carolina...
club or Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
bar without tripping over one of Cynthia von Buhler’s paintings, music projects, or a band signed to her record label. If there was ever a queen of the Boston scene, it was von Buhler.” Castle von Buhler also released a series of art and music CD compilations titled Soon, Anon, and Nigh. The artist explains the titles this way: “Soon there will be a cure for AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
…and then we came up with Anon and Nigh which means the same thing.” In honor of von Buhler’s close college friend, William Lincoln Tisdale, who had died from the disease, proceeds from these compilations were donated to various AIDS charities. The CDs won various design awards and many of the young illustrators who created the artwork flourished. Von Buhler contributed musically and artistically to the compilations
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
and her first work (which incorporated a live dove) was honored by Society of Illustrators in New York City. Curators began approaching von Buhler, offering her exhibits in Boston and New York City. She was she was chosen by Boston Magazine as one of the "40 Bostonians We Love" in their June 2002 cover feature article. Von Buhler was frequently featured on the covers of The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix, The Improper Bostonian magazine, and many other Boston-based art and music publications. She appeared so frequently in The Boston Phoenix they named her “their unofficial mascot.” She also appeared twice on MTV; as Bettie Page
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
in an MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
music video for the band The Amazing Crowns (which was previewed on Beavis and Butthead) and in a sitcom called Apt 3F. Von Buhler formed and managed her husband’s band Splashdown
Splashdown (band)
Splashdown, formed in Allston, Massachusetts, in 1996, was an American pop rock band. The group disbanded in 2001; their last show was at the release party for the debut CD of Freezepop on February 2 of that year. Splashdown gained a small but extremely loyal following in the Northeast United...
, and helped them get signed with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. In 2001, after Splashdown angrily left Capitol Records, von Buhler’s band Countess released a rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
record about the evils of pop stardom and the music industry. Ironically, the project was funded through a demo deal from MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
. Countess was nominated for a Boston Music Award. They opened for Karen Finley
Karen Finley
Karen Finley is an American performance artist, whose theatrical pieces and recordings have often been labelled "obscene" due to their graphic depictions of sexuality, abuse, and disenfranchisement...
at Royally F***ed, a three-day event featuring visual and performance art in at The Boston Institute of Contemporary Art and the Paradise Rock Club
Paradise Rock Club
The Paradise Rock Club, formerly known as the Paradise Theater, is a small music venue in Boston, Massachusetts which opened on September 22, 1977...
. In 2001, the last year that von Buhler lived at Castle von Buhler, she turned the second floor into The Dietrich von Buhler Gallery “for artists who want to do things that aren’t market-driven, that aren’t necessarily for sale, that are cutting-edge. Art that you probably wouldn’t want to put in your house but is really interesting to view, and opens your mind to new ideas.”, A curator from The Whitney Museum in New York City stopped by looking for artists to be featured in their Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
exhibit., The house became well-known for von Buhler’s unique parties and art exhibits.
Discography
- 2001 Shooting Star, Countess, Castle von Buhler Records (Funded by MCA Records)
- 1999 Nigh, art and music compilation, AIDS benefit, producer and contributor
- 1997 Anon, art and music compilation, AIDS Action Committee benefit, producer and contributor
- 1997 Boots, Women of Sodom, PussyKitty Records/Castle von Buhler Records
- 1996 Soon, art and music compilation, AIDS Action Committee benefit, producer and contributor
Awards
- 2002 Countess, Best Club Act (nomination), Boston Music Awards
- 1997 Women of Sodom, Most Deviant Act, Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll
Fine art career
In August 2001 she held an event at Castle von Buhler dubbed “The Great Purge” where she sold off most of her possessions. Von Buhler separated from Adam Buhler and moved to a 4500 square feet (418.1 m²) artist loft in New York City's Meatpacking district. Farewell articles were published in The Boston Globe, The Improper Bostonian and The Boston Phoenix citing her as producing “some of the most sensuous, humorous, ridiculous, outlandish, and inspired art and entertainment in Boston.” At this point von Buhler began utilizing unconventional media in her art: video projection, living faunaFauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
, found objects, human detritus
Detritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
, and electronic audio. By combining these media, often enhanced with text and electronics, von Buhler's canvasses frequently became kinetic
Kinetic art
Kinetic art is art that contains moving parts or depends on motion for its effect. The moving parts are generally powered by wind, a motor or the observer. Kinetic art encompasses a wide variety of overlapping techniques and styles.-Kinetic sculpture:...
installations. "Regardless of medium, all of von Buhler's pieces require the viewer to get involved: sometimes physically, by feeding a caged animal or inserting a coin to operate a machine. For example, "Sir Repetitious," a man's transparent insides reveal two live rats, hungry for the food and attention of onlookers – feed the rodents with the supplied seed, and you are satisfying "Sir Repetitious" on physical and metaphorical levels. Miss Ann Thrope is a life-sized painting of a woman with two doves perched inside. When the birds move in the piece, they change its equilibrium and alter its intended meaning. A velvet-curtained puppet theater sets the stage for Show and Tell, a multimedia painting that explores the use of word versus action with hidden visual and auditory messages. "Please Don’t Look Up My Skirt" is a commentary on date-rape in which a Botticelli-esque girl without arms or legs tries modestly to cover herself, imploring the viewer not to violate her; those who disregard the plea see what they have become when they look up her skirt. Cynth-O-Matic offers various plastic capsules containing actual samples of the artist’s body hair and fluids from a vending machine. The piece is von Buhler’s critique of those who attend art openings to chat with the artist and scarf hors d’oeuvres without buying any art. For only 25 cents they can buy a piece of the artist. Von Buhler's work provides commentary on morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
, vanity
Vanity
In conventional parlance, vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant futility. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic synonym for vanity, but...
, politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, and the art world itself". From 2001 - 2007, von Buhler’s work appeared on the covers of New York’s Gallery Guide, Communication Arts, Step by Step Graphics,[64] and NY Arts. A photograph of von Buhler taken at her New York loft for The Boston Globe was enlarged and used on billboards advertising the publication. Inspired by lying politicians, von Buhler altered and old carnival machine for “Shake Hands With Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam is a common national personification of the American government originally used during the War of 1812. He is depicted as a stern elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard...
.” For 25 cents, viewers shake Uncle Sam’s hand, the dial spins, and lands on audio samples of "Weapons of Mass Destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
," "Iran Contra," "No New Taxes," or one of seven other bipartisan audio clips. The piece was created for “The Presidency” exhibit at Exit Art
Exit Art
Exit Art is a non-profit cultural center established in 1982. Located in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City, United States, the two-story gallery exhibits contemporary visual art, installation, video, theater, and performance....
in Manhattan. In 2005, von Buhler created a video for another exhibit at Exit Art, “The Studio Visit”. Her video was singled out by New York Times art critic Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith is an art critic for the New York Times and a lecturer on contemporary art.Born in New York City and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, Smith studied at Grinnell College in Iowa. Her career in the arts started in 1968 while an undergraduate summer intern at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in...
as one of the best. She also was chosen by the art space to move her art studio to the gallery for a few months where she had to create her work in the window while people watched her through Exit Art’s windows. Her fine art appeared on TV in Law & Order SVU as the artwork of a serial killer, and in a fight scene of the show Kidnapped. In March 2006, Art & Antiques named von Buhler as “one of the top contemporary surrealists.”
However, she has also been linked to the Lowbrow
Lowbrow (art movement)
Lowbrow, or lowbrow art, describes an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California, area in the late 1970s. Lowbrow is a widespread populist art movement with origins in the underground comix world, punk music, hot-rod street culture, and other subcultures. It is also...
, and Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
movements. Her art has been displayed in galleries and museums around the world, and her work is in the collections of Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
, Jann Wenner
Jann Wenner
Jann Simon Wenner is the co-founder and publisher of the music and politics biweekly Rolling Stone, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.-Childhood:...
, The Nassau County Museum of Art
Nassau County Museum of Art
The Nassau County Museum of Art is located 20 miles east of New York City on the former Frick Estate, a property in Roslyn Harbor in the heart of Long Island’s Gold Coast. The main museum building, named in honor of art collectors and philanthropists Arnold & Joan Saltzman, is a three-story...
, The Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
Museum, The University of Toronto, The Opera Company of Philadelphia, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and hundreds of personal collections.
Solo exhibits
- September 20, 2009 - Jan 3, 2010, But Who Will Bell The Cats?, The Nassau County Museum of Art, Long Island, NY
- April 2007 - September 2007, Show and Tell, The Staten Island Museum, Staten IslandStaten IslandStaten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, NYC - February 2006, Cynth-O-Matic: Documented, Studio D’Ars, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - October 2005, Cynth-O-Matic, CVB Space, New York, NY
- June–July 2005, Cynth-O-Matic, CVB Space, New York, NY
- April–May 2004, Cynth-O-Matic, 301 Gallery, Montserrat College of ArtMontserrat College of ArtMontserrat College of Art is a four-year residential college specializing in the visual arts, located in Beverly, Massachusetts, 23 miles north of Boston. It is named indirectly after the Slave Ship Montserrat.-Description:...
, Beverly, MA - October 2004, Cynth-O-Matic, The Dollhaus Gallery, Williamsburg, BrooklynWilliamsburg, BrooklynWilliamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
, NY - September 2001, Inside/Out, New England School of Art and DesignNew England School of Art and DesignThe New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University is a fine arts and design school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as continuing education courses and programs for the local community. The School of Art & Design is...
, Boston, MA - Spring 1999, Through the Looking-Glass, Darkly, National Boston Video Center, Boston, MA
Children’s books
In 2001 von Buhler was asked by Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
to illustrate Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising...
's story for Once Upon A Fairy Tale (Viking), a book produced to benefit The Starbright Foundation for seriously ill children. In 2002, New York Public Library selected the "handsomely illustrated" (The New York Times)They Called Her Molly Pitcher (Knopf), written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by von Buhler, as one of One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing. In 2004, von Buhler went on to illustrate Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
: The Earth Is a Planet. Reviews called her "dramatic oil-on-gesso artwork" (School Library Journal) "handsome and effective" (Booklist). Publishers Weekly offered high praise for her work on the book: "Von Buhler's paintings exert a gravitational pull of their own." In 2006 von Buhler wrote and illustrated The Cat Who Wouldn’t Come Inside (Houghton Mifflin) with dual credits as author and illustrator. The book, based on a true story, featured painted clay characters in detailed architectural sets. Book Sense named the book as a Children's Pick for Winter/Spring 2006/2007 for its "beautiful story" and "extremely detailed sets." Kirkus Reviews called the illustrations "unique" and "eye-popping," providing "a glimpse of a world beyond the frame" and pronounced the book "a sheer delight." Publisher's Weekly thought "readers ... may well be entranced" by the "considerable magic" of von Buhler's illustrations, while Time Out New York called the book "beautifully ornate," and "the cat's meow." The book was also chosen as Teacher's Picks: Best of 2006 by Parent & Child magazine. A short video was created using the book's images and it remains popular on You Tube. In 2009, von Buhler took a second turn as author and illustrator with But Who Will Bell The Cats? (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The book's illustrations feature handmade architectural sets, cinematic lighting, and paper doll oil paintings of the characters in action. Kirkus Reviews stated that “young readers will pore over this one again and again," and School Library Journal agreed that "children will find a lot to discover in the details, even after repeated readings." The Nassau County Museum of Art in New York exhibited the book's elaborate miniature sets in a solo exhibition between September 20, 2009 and January 3, 2010. During the summer of 2010 Von Buhler exhibited the miniature sets in an animatronic window display that she created for Books of Wonder in Manhattan. A video was created for YouTube which shows how enlarged characters from her book move and “play” with the miniature dollhouse sets and characters. Time Out Kid’s did a feature article on the window along with a slideshow showing von Buhler creating it. Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Librarian and School Library Journal posted a lengthy review of the book on her School Library Journal blog, “Is it wrong that I sometimes want to blow a four-year-old’s mind? I’ve come to the decision that Cynthia von Buhler’s But Who Will Bell the Cats? is going to be my library’s secret weapon from here on in.” Von Buhler has also illustrated dozens of young adult book covers including Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen
Jane Yolen
Jane Hyatt Yolen is an American author and editor of almost 300 books. These include folklore, fantasy, science fiction, and children's books...
, The Road to Damietta by Scott O'Dell
Scott O'Dell
Scott O'Dell was an American children's author who wrote 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books...
, and two Newbery medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
winners, The Bronze Bow
The Bronze Bow
The Bronze Bow is a book by Elizabeth George Speare that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1962.-Plot summary:This book is set in first century Judaea...
by Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare was an American children's author who won many awards for her historical fiction novels, including two Newbery Medals. She has been called one of America’s 100 most popular children’s authors and much of her work has become mandatory reading in many schools throughout the...
and The Perilous Guard by Elizabeth Marie Pope.
Children's picture book bibliography
- 2009,
Children’s Book Awards and Honors
- 2009-10, Cybil Award nomination, Fiction Picture Book, But Who Will Bell the Cats?
- 2006 Teacher's Picks: Best of 2006, Parent & Child," The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside
- 2006/07 Children's Pick for Winter/Spring 2006/2007, Book Sense, The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside
- 2002One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing,They Called Her Molly Pitcher, The New York Public Library
- 1998 Exceptional Book of the Year, Little Girl in a Red Dress with Cat and Dog, Bookman Review Syndicate
CvB Space
CVB Space, also known as The Carrozzini von Buhler Gallery, an art gallery, film location, and event space in New York City's Meatpacking district was owned and directed by von Buhler from 2003 - 2008. Stefania Carrozzini was the director of International Exhibition Projects at The Carrozzini von Buhler Gallery. In February, 2007, von Buhler curated an exhibit titled Andy WarholAndy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
: In His Wake featuring Warhol's superstars, Ultra Violet, Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead is an American writer, actor, and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films including Tarzan and Jane Regained.....
, Billy Name
Billy Name
Billy Name, , is an American photographer, filmmaker and lighting designer. He was the archivist of the Warhol Factory, from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequent friendship with Andy Warhol led to substantial collaboration on Warhol's work, including his films, paintings and sculpture...
, and Ivy Nicholson along with artists who were influenced by Warhol. For this exhibit von Buhler created The Great Warhola, an interactive, fortune-telling machine. Von Buhler claims that Warhol was a fortune teller, "with reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
everyone has the 15 minutes of fame that Warhol predicted for them". This popular exhibit was featured on television in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. CVB Space and the historic, industrial building it is housed in has been featured in Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, Law & Order SVU, and Someone Like You
Someone Like You (film)
Someone Like You is a 2001 romantic comedy film, based on Laura Zigman's novel Animal Husbandry which tells a story of a heartbroken woman who is looking for the reason she was dumped. The film stars Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman and Marisa Tomei and was directed by Tony Goldwyn...
(starring Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
, Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, and Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
) and will be appearing in No Reservations
No Reservations (film)
No Reservations is a 2007 American romantic drama film directed by Scott Hicks. The screenplay by Carol Fuchs is an adaptation of an original script by Sandra Nettelbeck, which served as the basis for the 2001 German film Mostly Martha.-Plot:...
(starring Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, is a British actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of United Kingdom and United States television films and small roles in films, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies such as the 1998 action film The Mask of...
). CvB Space has become CvB Spaces, a location leasing agency for film and photography shoots. Von Buhler is the president of CvB Spaces.
Graphic novels
In 2010 von Buhler illustrated a graphic novel entitled Evelyn Evelyn: A Terrible Tale in Two Tomes (Dark Horse), about conjoined twins. The book was a collaboration with musicians Amanda PalmerAmanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
and Jason Webley
Jason Webley
Jason Webley is an American musician known for his fusion of folk, experimental and alternative music. He began as a busker, playing accordion in the streets of Seattle, Washington, but has since moved in-doors and on stage, playing various venues....
, and the forward was written by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. Von Buhler also created the artwork for the preceding Evelyn Evelyn
Evelyn Evelyn
Evelyn Evelyn are a musical duo formed by Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley. According to the fictional backstory described by Palmer and Webley, the duo consists of conjoined twin sisters , Evelyn and Evelyn Neville, who were discovered in 2007 by Palmer and Webley...
CD (a project by Palmer and Webley) and merchandise. To celebrate the completion of the artwork for the two-set book, Palmer and Gaiman’s marriage engagement, and her own birthday, von Buhler’s held a lavish, ‘Freaks’-themed birthday party at a Manhattan penthouse loft. Von Buhler was dressed in a custom-made latex mermaid tail and greeted her guests from a claw foot bathtub filled with water. In homage to the BP Oil Spill victims von Buhler created an oil-slick mermaid installation featuring live models. The party was attended by many literary luminaries: Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American novelist Daniel Handler . Snicket is the author of several children's books, serving as the narrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events and appearing as a character within the series. Because of this, the name Lemony Snicket may refer to both a fictional...
, Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, Jonathan Ames
Jonathan Ames
Jonathan Ames is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs. He was a columnist for the New York Press for several years, and became known for self-deprecating tales of his sexual misadventures. He also has a long-time envy of boxing, appearing occasionally in the ring...
, Elizabeth Bird, Adele Griffin
Adele Griffin
Adele Griffin is the critically acclaimed author of numerous novels for young adults, including the Vampire Island and Witch Twins series. Her novels Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be were both National Book Award Finalists....
and others. Salman Rushdie was rumored to have been at the party as well. Scenes from the rooftop merry-go-round, von Buhler's art, and Empire Snafu Restoration Project art were later used in his book trailer for Luka and the Fire of Life
Luka and the Fire of Life
Luka and the Fire of Life is a children's book by Salman Rushdie. It was published by Jonathan Cape, Random House in 2010. It is the sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories.- Synopsis :...
. A few of the party guests were also chosen as actors for the trailer.
Personal life
An avid animal lover and rescuer of cats, von Buhler currently lives with her husband, noted jazz violinist Russell Farhang,and a veritable zoo of animal species at Fort Hill Castle in St. George, Staten Island
St. George, Staten Island
St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond...
and at a lodge, The Fur Gnarl, in Connecticut.