INHALE MAG » Andreea Chindris

DAMIEN HIRST EXHIBITS IN DOHA

admin — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:57:13 +0000

So, if Damien Hirst exhibits, it will surely be an event. This time double it, since it takes place in Doha. Apparently, this exhibition required a lot of logistics. Some of his works came by plane – business class. And if you thought that there wasn’t possible an exhibition as big as the one at Tate Modern (2012), you should see this one: 93 works are on view.

Damien Hirst is no artist that plays with small exhibitions or small works. When he puts on a show, the dimensions are impressive. “Relics” – why that name? Is it an irony towards contemporary art? So, when does a contemporary work become old?

photo economist.com

“For the Love of God” is the main piece of the exhibition. No work that contains the word God in it was translated into Arabic. It’s quite an interesting topic and nudes are also not allowed for public viewing. This makes the exhibition even more interesting, because it Hirst is a controversial artist even for the Western world. Dead animals, nudes, diamonds – it’s a powerful mix that will surely remain in the focus of the public.

photo economist.com

Of course, such an exhibition should produce a change in people’s perception, since it is a sign of the liberation of art and a proof of freedom of expression. Will this happen here? We will see this in time, after people visit this show. Anyhow, it is an important event on the art scene.

photo economist.com

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SARAH LUCAS AT WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

admin — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 09:51:02 +0000

The sexual body is at the core of Sarah Lucas’s work. The artist is interested in the materiality of it and tries to mix different materials that would create the new body. These possibilities shown here are underlining the power of sculpture: this is not boring, it’s not common, it’s a great deal of work and vision. She uses food and clothing and furniture to create a new body. The position of the body is also interesting and creates a whole new context. Her works might look cheap, but it’s close to a riot. And who need expensive materials for that?

Her works are violent and might shock the audience. Though the shock doesn’t come from the naked body, but from the position and the disposal in the gallery. And it’s a well-curated show, since it creates a claustrophobic feeling to the viewer. It’s too personal, too close to you and once seen it can’t be unseen.

Everywhere you turn you see a statement: the mattress is one, the photos as well, the kinky boots, the penises – they are all equally powerful. The artist is interested in the way power and fragility can be expressed and she is not afraid to melt them together.

Sarah Lucas
photo whitechapelgallery.org

photo whitechapelgallery.org

photo theguardian.com/

photo theguardian.com

Sarah Lucas. Situation. Absolute Beach Man Rubble
2 October – 15 December 2013 at Whitechapel Gallery, London.

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PUNK AS SEEN BY ALEXA KAROLINSKI

admin — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 09:01:10 +0000

ShowStudio continues with their Punk theme. This time, Alexa Karolinski creates a film with Liberty Ross, the famous model. Karolinski won at Berlin Film Festival in 2012 with a documentary, Oma & Bella. She works both on a commercial zone as well as in a personal one, depending on the clients. In 2012 Filmmaker Magazine named her one of the 25 new faces of independent film. Great choice made by ShowStudio, since the public should get closer to this young filmmaker

Karolinksi is interested in telling a good story, rather than to work on specific areas. “To say something is a documentary or a narrative or a hybrid — what does that even mean? Fifty years ago, there were filmmakers making fascinating projects we’d call hybrids today. I just want to tell a good story.”

What if Punk was actually linked to motherhood? Here is the result:

photo vimeo.com

photo showstudio.com

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THE ARCHITECTURE OF COLOR

admin — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 09:33:02 +0000

There is an architecture of color. Did you know that? Emmanuelle Moureaux creates space using colors and dividing it through that. It’s a powerful statement and from the start it’s a sure thing that the public will react to such a project. This time, the expert created a space for the 2013 Shinjuku Creators Festa in Japan.

What is beautiful about this project is the fact that it reminds of Pantone colors, therefore is a common thing, but here it becomes the concept behind the project, thus making the public rethink the famous code. And who would have thought that so many colors at the same time wouldn’t create some sort of a “noise”? The colors create a very positive space, and the light put an accent on each color and on each degree. It’s a nice way of showing color in different degrees that blend so well together.

photo archdaily.com

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ART AT GRAND PALAIS – CHANEL SS 2014

admin — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 09:45:13 +0000

Art, art, art. This summer and autumn, everything is related to visual arts. First of all, we’ve seen the madness with Jay-Z and Marina Abramovic at Pace Gallery in New York. Then there was that interview with Kanye West talking about rap being the new rock. As if these art forms should be validated by a different area, not through itself. And now Chanel presents its latest collection at Grand Palais. It’s not just the setting, it’s the inspiration: visual arts. The models walked through sculptures, thus giving a clear view on the approach. And the collection itself was no less than art.

The Chanel show is always awaited by the public and the critics. What’s it gonna be this time? An iceberg? A globe? What? The show opened with a piece that would give a direct view into the collection: a pink suit made of tweed. And from that moment on, you could guess the direction of the show. It’s classy and well put together, it’s young and unpretentious, it’s posh and it’s wearable.

photo washingtonpost.com

photo fashion.telegraph.co.uk

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ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE – EXHIBITION CURATED BY ISABELLE HUPPERT

admin — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 09:20:08 +0000

There are some people that can put together this incredible mixture of talents. And Ropac is a curator that thinks about this issues and, to be honest, who wouldn’t be interested in seeing an exhibition of the American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe curated by Isabelle Hupert? It’s the gallery’s direction, since Cindy Sherman, David Hockney, Bob Wilson and Sofia Coppola curated exhibitions. In fact, it’s a personal approach to the photographer. The research is different, since their relationship to the artist is not the same. They worked with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, based in New York. Huppert chose more than 100 works, among which Polaroids that were never published. Many of the selected works are powerful, famous nudes.

“I look at each Robert Mapplethorpe photo as if I were reading a poem. In the ones I have chosen, his way of seeing the world is pent with softness – and silence. They are silent photos. In that particular world that he made his own, everything is connected. He blurred the frontiers, merged the mobile and the immobile. His flowers are alive, almost human, and his bodies are frozen in their eternal beauty. Each photo is pure emotion. In each one of them there is a perfection of form, the delicacy and mystery of light and shade. Robert Mapplethorpe, the photographer poet.”

The exhibition in on view until the 26th October 2013 at Gallerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Salzburg.

Horse #2, 1982
mapplethorpe.org

Bill T. Jones, 1985
mapplethorpe.org

Lydia Cheng, 1984
mapplethorpe.org

Lisa Lyon, 1982
mapplethorpe.org

Rose, 1977
mapplethorpe.org

Lisa Marie/Breasts, 1987
mapplethorpe.com

Patti Smith, 1975
photo tate.org.uk

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ISABELLA BLOW: FASHION GALORE! EXHIBITION

admin — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 09:55:35 +0000

Isabella Blow: a stylist that changed the world not only due to her high-class style, but through her discovery of one of the most important persons in fashion world, Alexander McQueen. Blow was so confident that he was a talent, that she encouraged his vision and she promoted him. The world would soon be mesmerized by this man who would eventually change the fashion scene, bringing a new air to it. He was not afraid to take risks, and neither was Blow. Another talent she discovered was the milliner Philip Treacy, whith whom she closely worked and helped. He started making hats that were so intriguing and this became his signature.

Somerset House celebrates this woman through an exhibition called “Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore!”, by displaying more than 100 pieces of her famous wardrobe. Every time Isabella Blow appeared in public it was a statement, all the pieces she was wearing were stunning. She was born in an aristocratic British family, and she started to work as Anna Wintour’s assistant for US Vogue, then for the British Vogue, Tatler and Sunday Times Style. Her sense of style made people more courageous, due to the way in which she provoked the audience.

Isabella Blow with Horns, Gloucestershire, 1996.
photo bungalow1a.com

After she died, Daphne Guinness bought her collection and she directly helped the exhibition together with Isabella Blow Foundation and Central Saint Martins.

“This exhibition is, to me, a bittersweet event. Isabella Blow made our world more vivid, trailing colour with every pace she took. It is a sorrier place for her absence. When I visited her beloved clothes in a storage room in South Kensington, it seemed quite clear the collection would be of immense value to a great many people. I do believe that in choosing to exhibit them we’ve done the right thing – and that it is what she would have wanted. I am doing this in memory of a dear friend, in the hope that her legacy may continue to aid and inspire generations of designers to come”.

Isabella Blow and Philip Treacy, 2003
photo dailymail.co.uk

photo societeperrier.com

photo blog.thephotodiner.com

David LaChapelle
awhitecarousel.com

photo opestyle.blogspot.com

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VLAD TENU’S MC/3 PROJECT AT BUCHAREST EBIENALE

admin — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 09:38:48 +0000

Vlad Tenu is an artist hard to define. Having an architecture background, being very interested in design, Tenu is one artist that knows how to combine different areas and to create an organic work. It’s the case with Minimal Complexities, a project inspired by the geometry of objects and the algorithms that a structure creates. How can one create a piece of work out of that? By carefully observing it and reading the pattern behind it.

photo vladtenu.com

There is a specific energy of objects, the matter shapes its form. This project is a long-term project, where research is very important. Creation, in this case, is directly linked to science and to a programming code, which creates a pattern that is repeated all over again. Can we talk about innovation? We can, but I’d rather use another term, which is attention. Vlad Tenu is an artists who is constantly paying attention to the world, which is a constant inspiration, no doubt about it.

And this particular area that he is interested in is very large, and, therefore, his research can continue in the same direction. The artist is interested in working with architecture and design and 3D printing and we’ll keep an eye on him to see what’s next.

vladtenu.com

photo vladtenu.com

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SECOND SKINS PROJECT – MIGUEL VALLINAS

admin — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:24:16 +0000

It’s not rare that we ask ourselves: what animal do I resemble with? The links between animals and humans are strong and they cannot be denied. But one photographer went further and imagined animals dressed in clothes, in very human-like positions. And this is what came out of it:

photo dailymail.co.uk

What is interesting about the project is the fact that the artist tried to connect an animal to a type of clothing, so an animal’s personality would influence the way they dress. Also, you will definitely appreciate the clothes: so classy, so well put together, like they have such a good sense of fashion. It’s a pleasure to see the way in which colours mix, and the choice of materials which is absolutely stunning. It makes you think that animals would make so beautiful people!

photo dailymail.co.uk

Second Skins is the project that made Miguel Vallinas famous. Something so simple became so well-known because these animals, although strange, have a touch of melancholy, effect which is given not only by the subject, but by the way the artist creates the context. It’s also the light, it’s the colours, it’s the way in which they blend in so well, creating these half-humans, half-animals that do not look like monsters, but on the contrary, they underline the beauty of them both. Also, you can imagine that these animals have a human life and do human activities and you can see them going to work in an autumn morning.

photo dailymail.co.uk

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NICK KNIGHT AND THE ALL-FEMALE ARMY OF SOCIAL MEDIA-MOGULS

admin — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 09:42:51 +0000

The Independent Magazine teamed up with photographer Nick Knight for the fall/winter 2013 issue. We got some images, so we can tell you it’s an impressive project. Knight comes once again with a terribly good idea, that is to take photos of an “all–female army of Social Media-Moguls.” Do you know who these are? Abbey Clancy, Amy Child, Lily Allen, Iggy Azalea, Kelly Brook. Why? Because they are very powerful online and because they are followed by people.

photo showstudio.com

Abbey Clancy
photo showstudio.com

Iggy Azalea
photo showstudio.com

The photos went on Instagram and went viral pretty soon. It’s nothing to be amazed by, since these women are more that famous and are people on the internet try to find their next move. So, what I’m saying is that if you put it all down on paper, you see how successful this project is even before it started. Nick Knight- talented photographer, influencer (read about that here http://inhalemag.com/influencers-nick-knight/) works with beautiful females, all with a strong personality. So, what could have gone wrong? Nothing. Nothing.

Kelly Brook
photo showstudio.com

Lily Allen
photo showstudio.com

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EBIENALE IN BUCHAREST

admin — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 09:50:20 +0000

I like to see the way in which people gather in the same place and create a powerful event. Then others come and the event becomes bigger and more visible, mixing together different art areas, giving the public the feeling of being part of a larger context. It’s the case with Enescu Festival and EBienale. And, indeed, people going to the concerts can see young artists from Romania and abroad that are under this umbrella of technology, light and colour.

The event takes place from the 1st of September until the 28th, and it includes a large range of events and of artists and means of expression (mainly installation and videos).

photo artwe.ro

One of the important artists is Norwegian-Romanian artist Timon Botez, who is interested in sound. I feel that here, talking about architecture and sound goes hand in hand: the artist creates wood installations through which the sound is propelled from a loudspeaker and each installations creates a different sound. How can you form a sound? For Botez the sound can be given a physical shape due to the means through which the sound passes in order to turn into a final shape. And, after all, each ear perceives the sound differently, so the ear gives a different physical shape to the sound before it would be perceived by the brain. Sounds complicated?

photo Radu Sandovici

When you are in the presence of his works you understand the links between architecture and sound. The disrupted works seem to have a body and a continuity. Also, it makes you think that the objects, those boxes, have their own voice. His pieces work on different levels and play with texture, sound and his installations are very urban. He is interested in the way humans interact with technology and the way in which different objects with their own shape and rules mix with other object, creating a hybrid.

The exhibition is on view at Galeria Galateca (str. C.A. Rosetti nr. 2-4) until the 28th of September.

photo photo Radu Sandovici

photo Radu Sandovici

photo theseedersreport.ro

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THE MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC – RICK RUBIN

admin — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 09:40:19 +0000

Rick Rubin… does this name ring a bell? You probably know his work, although you wouldn’t recognize his face. He is one of those producers that closely work with artists in favour of art and a better result, and he’s been around for the last 30 years. Here are only some of the artists with whom he collaborated.

1) Beastie Boys

At the beginning, these guys were more into punk, but it was Rubin who tried to get them mix that with rap. He was in a continuos research for bands, for styles, for mixtures of different music levels. And Beastie Boys had now their own personal touch, that was never on the scene before. And that’ how you create mainstream music.

photo hiphopwired.com

2) Johnny Cash

Apparently, at the beginning of the 90s, his career was not working so well. For Rubin this was almost like a bet: how can you revive such a great legend, how can you integrate his music on the market? The common ground in all of Rubin’s projects its the continuos quest for success and the record-selling. This might be ultimately the best proof, right? And the album American Recordings sold so well, that they decided to continue to work together, as a team, for the next five albums. That’s quite a commitment, right?

photo wallpoper.com

3) Adele

This is probably a moment where you could have seen his face, since he won a Grammy Award for best album of the year. He closely worked with Adele, and the result was an album that was sold all over the world. I imagine you’d want to stick to that producer whose interest in the mainstream and in bringing to light bands and singers.

photo bigfm-saarland.de

4) Kanye West

The producer claims in interviews that West came in a hurry, stating that there are only 5 weeks left until the disc should be launched on the market. And apparently it was so far from being final, that they had to lock in the studio and to shape the album to what it is today. Like I said, Rubin likes to make artists cross borders, and this is maybe one of the reasons why Yeezus is so controversial, since it’s not what the public was used to.

photo urbanislandz.com

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GLASSTRESS EXHIBITION IN VENICE – GLASS AS ARTISTIC MEDIUM

admin — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 08:51:30 +0000

Glasstress 2013 is a collateral exhibition taking place in Venice during the Venice Biennale. Its purpose is to show what can artists create with glass, since it is usually seen as a used only for decoration, especially in the context of Venice and Murano. What is encouraging is the fact that many artists positively responded to this call, and now the exhibition is already established and people are curious to see the results. Also, it is very important the fact that it asks craft and working with people that know how to manipulate this material.

One of the artists present is Javier Perez, who is more and more visible on the art scene. His work here was the famous crow and chandelier piece, which creates a powerful impact in a white room, because of the blood-flood that looks to have taken place there. It is an important work for the artist who, in 2001, represented Spain at the Venice Biennale:

photo designinvogue.com

Jaume Plensa is famous for his interest in the way light works with glass and bronze. Indeed, his work at the Glasstress exhibition can be characterized as glass meeting light, as simple as that. He is also interested in scenography, so his range of works expands a lot and he gets to experiment new materials.

photo glasstress.org

Tracey Emin needs no introduction. The artist developed a style where the personal life is expressed through art, shocking the audience, especially at the beginning of her career, when the public was probably not ready for such confessions.

photo craftscouncil.org.uk

A beautiful project comes from Mimmo Paladino who is a painter, and this is where you understand better the purpose of this project, since you see the direct effect of changing the medium. As a painter, he was interested in abstractionism and he was a representative figure in the Transavangarde movement. Here, he creates a sculpture reminding of winter and ice. An underevaluated material gets into the spotlight and it should stay there:

photo 1fmediaproject.net

Oliver Clegg is obsessed with the materials he works with, as well as with the way his works interact with light. He feels at his ease both painting, drawing or using wood or, as you can see below, glass. Indeed, the work looks as if it were the mastership of an artists that works on a conceptual level, as well:

photo 24.media.tumblr.com

PUNK SEASON

admin — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 09:39:05 +0000

It’s Punk season! You probably already know that since the exhibition at Metropolitan Art Museum is so popular. SHOWstudio thought about it and announced a contest: send in your works related to this theme and you will be selected and presented on the site. What was even more exciting is the fact that Nick Knight himself did the selection. Well, isn’t this thrilling? Here are the two creative and inspirational winners so far:

Jenny Jokela is an animator and illustrator born in Helsinki and working in London. What is interesting is the way in which she combines two areas which rarely are put together, but as you can see below they not only work but underline each other even more. What is punk? Jokela’s interpretation is a little different:

As for other projects, here is one we liked a lot, in collaboration with Alvar Magazine. It has that dreamy touch, beautiful image and what is most important is the fact that it gives you a clear line of Alvar’s direction and interests.

The second winning project is Charlene Bagcal‘s project, which is dark and very daring. Again, what Nick Knight chose is a little different from what you’d expect, and this is why his selection becomes interesting. After years have passed, Punk is seen in a new way and, therefore, the term is open to interpretation.

http://youtu.be/-xklHNxzsgo

photo charleybee.tumblr.com

Of course this only makes you want to see more from the artist. Apparently, the film below, Dreamland for Dresslab was accepted in La Jolla Fashion Film Festival and up for a nomination at another festival, the International Fashion Film awards. We’ll probably here more about Charlene Bagcal, because the artist already has a position in the fashion film industry that makes her stand out. Her works are surrealist and daring and she questions themes like power, fragility and sexuality.

photo charlenebagcal.com

So, I thought I should see what the dictionary mentions about this term. The Merriam-Webster states it’s 1. prostitute (archaic), 2. a young inexperienced person : beginner, novice; especially : a young man,a usually petty gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian, a young man used as a homosexual partner especially in a prison 3. a punk rock musician, one who affects punk style and so on. The word was first used in 1596. And I liked a lot the definition given by the Urban Dictionary (urbandictionary.com):

“A guy walks up to me and asks ‘What’s Punk?’. So I kick over a garbage can and say ‘That’s punk!’. So he kicks over the garbage can and says ‘That’s Punk?’, and I say ‘No that’s trendy!

So, what is punk?

photo charlenebagcal.com

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MARC QUINN AND HIS EXHIBITION IN VENICE

admin — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 09:58:35 +0000

Venice and Marc Quinn go hand in hand this year. The artist exhibits at Fondazione Giorgio Cini where his main focus in on the human body and the changes it goes through. What is impressive about his work is the careful attention he gives to people and the way in which he interprets their bodies. Therefore, in this case he assumes that the human body has a starting point from where on everything is intervention and, thus art.

He was always interested in the relation between science and art, death, beauty, life. Quinn underlines here the wonder of life, the processes and changes through which a body goes through and how all these changes in different people are put together in the same space. One can see clearly which are the differences between people as well as what makes them similar.

photo designboom.com

Artists are generally interested in the human body, since it is the first material to work with. Clothing is another way of presenting the body and underlining the social life of different persons. His sculptures look so real as if there really is someone under the material. The hood is an important detail to some of his characters, since they would rather hide or try to be anonymous, as if hiding from the police.

photo designboom.com

His exploration of life and body goeas as far as studying the fetal states and there are 10 such large sculptures of the fetus. This is even more powerful since they look as if comprised in some structures.

photo designboom.com

Marc Quinn’s sculpture exhibited on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore is one that truly questions the way in which people perceive art. Of course, centuries have passed since Bosch and his weird creatures, but what about a muse, an inspiration? How to they have to look? Quinn was inspired by a female artist, Allison Lapper, who was born without arms and who pursued her career as an artist. More than that, the woman is pregnant which may look even more shocking to the audience.

So, even if you are not in Venice for the Biennale, you surely can’t miss Marc Quinn’s presence. Not only that it is a very visible work, but you might hear locals and tourists talking about it.

photo designboom.com

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WE WERE THERE: VENICE BIENNALE 2013

admin — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 10:00:55 +0000

We were at Venice Biennale and thought of writing about what we think to be the pavilions with the impressive exhibitions, the collateral events and what’s happening at Arsenale. Today, four pavilions: Belgium, Greece, Canada, Serbia. What we hope is that you will have the chance to get there, since there are some artists that are worth seeing and that will surely stick with you.

The Belgium pavilion is one of those that can’t be forgotten. You enter in the large space lightened by a soft light and you see on the ground a wounded tree. Its texture looks almost like flesh and bones. It looks as if someone came and tried to heal it. The artist, Berlinde de Bruyckere, is famous for her sculptures that treat subjects such as death. The entire setting is so powerful and the atmosphere is gloomy.

photo designboom.com

Canada is represented by Shary Boyle, and it was, probably, one of the most expected exhibitions. She works in different media and the audience was curious about her video and sculptures. For this Biennale she created some beautiful sculptures and a projection was running, thus giving the works even more layers. Music for Silence is the name of the exhibition and you might want to be alone in the space, because of the emotional setting. The space looks a little crowded, thus making you feel that anyway you turn you are surrounded by sculptures.

photo canadianart.ca

photo cbc.ca

Greece is represented by Stefanos Tsivopoulos, and the project is called History Zero. What is interesting in his approach is the fact that the artist takes the painful problem of money and austerity in Greece and turns it into a positive thing. The film has three parts: in the first one a hobo finds in a garbage bin a bouquet of flowers made out of money and runs away, leaving behind everything he had found before, in the second a very stylish artist looking for inspiration on the street and taking pictures of pretty much anything finds this hobo’s belongings and in the third part there is a wealthy old woman that bought a work by this artist and who throws away a bouquet of money she herself has created. History Zero is like a starting point in the way money should be perceived. It has that optimist and positive touch, where things are organic and are continually changing, and where people’s needs are complementary.

photo fadwebsite.com

photo port-magazine.com

And because Venice Biennale is work and fun, here is the project of the pavilion of Serbia, Nothing in Between Us, represented by artists Vladimir Perić and Miloš Tomić. You know how they say that an artist sees things where other people don’t? It’s exactly the same here, since this project puts into light the playful part of art as well as the power to observe things. One of the works is 3d Wallpaper for Children’s Room, where 247 toys are pun on the wall to for a beautifully coloured wallpaper. Photo Safari concentrates on the photographer and on the object used in order to create a piece of art. In this case, art is made out of the bags that protect the camera, with little intervention. What’s even more intriguing and enjoyable is the fact that they create animal figures, therefore an object which has a functional use becomes, now, a piece of art.

photo junk-culture.com

photo modernism.ro

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LORIS GRÉAUD AND HIS LIGHT INSTALLATION AT PALAZZO GRASSI

admin — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 09:16:32 +0000

Loris Gréaud is a French artist that gained international recognition due to his installations. After Pompidou, the artist is present at Palazzo Grassi, with Does the Angle Between Two Walls Have a Happy Ending?
commissioned by François Pinault Collection for Prima Materia, curated by Caroline Bourgois and Michael Govan.

This installation looks very strange because of the powerful light that is created in the room. So, you might just discover that you’re scared of too much light. Also, there are some sculptures that have the shape of a foetus and which are moving in circles on the walls. It is a proof of his interest in different areas meeting art, since his art is based so much on technology, here.

He creates conceptual works who work on different levels: they use sound, they use light and they create an entire show for the public. Indeed, his works look as if the audience is always in his mind, because he creates very immersive pieces.

photo lorisgreaud.com

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DARKNESS IN LIGHT : COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME PLUS SPRING 2014

admin — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 09:19:53 +0000

Darkness has different degrees and ways of expression. In the latest collection of Comme des Garcons darkness comes not through the colour black, but mainly because of the make-up or because of the models who walked as if they were sick or really troubled. Also, one important detail: their hair was really wet, but it didn’t look fresh and healthy, but more like weird and creepy. Kawakubo took elements that apparently work together in a very normal way, and changed then to such an extent that a shirt and a tuxedo no longer look common when mixed together.

photo showstudio.com

The collection focused primarily on layers and on different materials but together. Also, colours and textures mix, but the show started with some all black looks. The jackets have tulle fabrics that flow. The models looked like walking zombies at some point, with make-up all coming down and clothes teared up. Everything became lighter the moment when colourful bermuda shorts matched shirts that were also colourful.

photo showstudio.com

“I’m not interested in rules, or whether they are there or not. I do not consciously set out to break rules. I only make clothes that I myself feel are beautiful or good-looking. People maybe say that this way of feeling is against the rules.” says Kawakubo, an artist with a strong direction, famous for her independence and her vision.

photo showstudio.com

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FASHION VIDEO ARTIST: RUTH HOGBEN

admin — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 10:00:25 +0000

Since two weeks ago I mentioned Ruth Hogben in the article about Nick Knight, I thought about writing about her. In the fashion world there are not so many women that get their own distinct position as artists. In contrast, Hogben is well-known for the fashion films that she makes. She started as the assistant of Nick Knight, with whom she worked between 2005-2008, and then she grow to one of the collaborators for SHOWstudio. She is already a reference when it comes to well-made fashion films and she has that specific flavor that is so much appreciated in fashion world: darkness. Here is the film she made for Gareth Pugh’s fashion show in 2009. It’s not so much about clothes, as it is about the idea that sums up so well an entire collection:

She worked with Maison Martin Margiela, Gareth Pugh, and Alexander McQueen. And because her films are so artistic, they were screened at ICA and Fash/On Film Festival London 2012. Lady Gaga commissioned her and Nick Knight to make the visuals for her US tour which brought Hogben, if necessary, even more recognition. If you look at the clip below, you might think that there is a certain connection with the one made for Gareth Pugh. This is because she has a specific direction and her style is easy to recognize.

photo dirty-mag.com

She then worked again with Gareth Pugh, in 2010, and then in 2011.

photo bareps.tumblr.com

photo www.yatzer.com

Fashion films are important because they become very popular on Internet and get to a lot of people. Her films are very architectural, and she works with black and white that also makes it very clean and clear, and the result is that only the important lines remain in the photos. What is even more interesting is the fact that she does it all! From meeting the designer and deciding what the collection mood is to cameras, light, editing and colouring, doing, therefore, the work of an entire team.

She doesn’t exclusively work in black and white, and here is the proof. Hogben worked with Eliza Cummings for Dazed and Confused July 2013.

photo wearesodroee.wordpress.com

Here is an interview with Rugben:

Read the article about Nick Knight for more information:

http://inhalemag.com/influencers-nick-knight/

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KEEP AN EYE ON CHOREOGRAPHER JONAH BOKAER : NEXT AT ART BASEL MIAMI

admin — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 09:30:33 +0000

Jonah Bokaer is one of those talented, young persons that make you say What? Only 31 and he has this resume? Indeed, he is only 31 and he already presented his works in Guggenheim and PS1 MoMA – New York. He had a good start in dancing – at 18 he was working for Merce Cunningham. So what’s next?

His latest collaboration is with Daniel Arsham. They are preparing a performance show, Occupant, that will be presented in December at Art Basel Miami. Four dancers will dance near Arsham’s objects (they are white and made out of chalk). What is beautiful about this project is the warmness and the ability of mixing two areas, which is a thing both artists do, in such a natural fluid way, without intruding. What is interesting about Johan Bokaer is also the fact that he constantly challenges himself and other artists when they work together. Among others- Isaac Mizrahi, Robert Wilson, Robert Gober, Iri Batsry.

photo nowness.com

In False Start, in 2008, his body is standing in front of a garage door, which underlines the contrast between the body and the metal. Then what he does is to fold again and again, as if he tries to find a way to use it in this fight with the metal. How can you get through this door? How negotiate with this powerful object? Also, he body takes the time needed to start over again. All this hope is very important in the entire process, because it keeps the body moving. He also used 3D animation, which, once again, makes a statement on how a body mixed with a different medium to create an organic work.

photo boston.com

In On Vanishing, the choreographer worked with Lee Ufan, that exhibited at the time at Guggenheim, Marking Infinity. It was his first work where dance met sculpture. Here, the dancers used their body to underline the changes through which it goes. What was impressive is the use of space- there are many dancers that have difficulties in really filling a space and in using its full potential. But On Vanishing seems natural there is a great use of the space. Also, they make music when touching the paper, while they were curled up in it, as they were standing in a fetal position.

photo hartharthart.photoshelter.com

photo youtube.com

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ANA RAJCEVIC – SCULPTURE AND FASHION DESIGN

admin — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 09:13:37 +0000

Ana Rajcevic’s biography states that she works at “the intersections of sculpture and fashion design.” For someone who is not familiar with people working between areas, it might sound a little strange. Of course, the first impulse would be to see what this is about. Her works are very fluid and create this feeling of imperceptible continuity. The lines are very soft and looks very warm, although the final works have that rough image.

She received an MA scholarship from University of Arts, London and she won LCF Best Design Award 2012 as well as the Accessories Collection of the year at International Talent Support in 2012 for the collection below. She exhibited in Berlin, Rome, Paris, London, Rotterdam, New York, Trieste and Istanbul.

ANIMAL: The Other Side of Evolution (fiberglass, polyester resin)
photo anarajcevic.com

ANIMAL: The Other Side of Evolution: (fiberglass, polyester resin, 2012)
photo anarajcevic.com

She started from the skeleton shape in order to create sculptures. The result is that it looks warmer and that it fits somehow weird somehow interesting the human body. When attached to the head, the sculptures look as if they are part of it, and giving the owner a sense of sensuality and power. Of course, when there is a mix of human and animal the result is very strong, because the animal features bring into question a time when humans were closer to that area.

ANIMAL: The Other Side of Evolution: (fiberglass, polyester resin, 2012)
photo anarajcevic.com

What she wanted to create is sculptures that would be difficult to put in a specific category: accessories or jewelry? Anyway, the works can be exhibited separately as well as on a model.

ANIMAL: The Other Side of Evolution: (fiberglass, polyester resin, 2012)
photo anarajcevic.com

photo anarajcevic.com

photo lostateminor.com

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ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS AND PARAMETRICISM – THE NEW ARCHITECTURAL STYLE?

admin — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 09:30:45 +0000

Architecture can be hard to understand for people outside this domain. But not when Patrik Schumacher, company director at Zaha Hadid Architects, explains it to a large audience. It’s not hard to guess that he is also a professor, since the presentation was very vivid and since he paid attention to the public. As co-director of the Design research Laboratory, he is also interested in experiment, since this is the way they work in order to create such beautiful projects.

Schumacher was invited to talk in Bucharest at the end of the two weeks workshop where the focus was on different energies which exist in a given environment, such as wind. These energies were identified, simulated and publicly presented by teams made of architects. The researcher’s paper was on Parametricism as a style. What is that?

photo Andreea Chindris

It’s what the Zaha Hadid Studio works on, trying to create a dogma, indeed, while Modernism should be seen as taboo, his words exactly. There was an ontological shift from rigid shapes to more malleable materials and shapes, and this is very present in their works. The world is dominated by lines, but when entering the logics of this dynamic field, they changes their shape, creating a more fluid line and, therefore, a fluid starting point. Parametricism is a style that integrates different elements in order to give a new coherence to the result. Each element brings its own dynamics and when thinking about the medium where it has to fit, the building has to take into consideration the space, as it is, how it relates to other building and to the topography of the space.

Kartal-Pendik Masterplan, Istanbul, Turkey, 2006
photo patrikschumacher.com

Of course, there is the battle between functional and formal, and the result should be an esthetically beautiful building as well as functional and related strictly to the needs of the audience. And Parametricism is vey aware of the importance of the public.

As for the principles that guide this style, we must mention that there are forbidden the rigid forms, repetition and collage of unrelated elements that give a specific structure. Among the principles that do guide the Zaha Hadid studio are the attention to nature, soft forms, differentiation.

photo Andreea Chindris

Here is an example of what a building designed by their studio looks like:

Zaha Hadid Architects – Azerbaijan Cultural Centre, Baku
photo patrikschumacher.com

The researcher made it very clear why the studio wins so many projects: it’s because of their high-performance and because the mayors and politicians understand their interest in the city where they would build a structure and think ahead – when they make a proposal, they also think how the work would integrate in the city and how other similar buildings could change the general aspect. Also, they do not create sameness, meaning that they play a lot with structures while they are in the research phase in order to get to a different shape, created for that specific project. He is also interested in the history of architecture and tried to place Parametricism in the general context. He talked about the fact that architecture is very linked to a specific period of time and to politics, and Parametricism comes after the fall of Communism in a period when the public is important and when there is a movement towards a holistic view of a town and of each element.

Galaxy Soho
photo archdaily.com

Civil Courts – Madrid, 2007, Accentuating Environmentally Adaptive Façade
photo patrikschumacher.com

by Andreea Chindriș

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INFLUENCERS : NICK KNIGHT

admin — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 08:49:05 +0000

OK, so we all agree that, once in a while, there are people someone that have their own vision. These persons might change the world, might dictate a new direction or might influence a certain area so much, that after them there will be an entire wave. And you know what’s even better? When influencers meet. Then what you have is an earthquake.

So, yesterday you read just a glimpse about this guy, Nick Knight. He might not be a name on everyone’s lips, but, in fact, he is now becoming more and more visible, due to the artists he is working with. Let’s look back and see who he worked with the whole time. Amazingly, you’ll see that you already knew some of his works, maybe you wanted to check the-director-of-that-video and the photographer-of-that-crazy-photo-shoot. Here they are, lying there, just waiting to be read:

1. Nick Knight and Gareth Pugh – magnitude 5

In 2008 the two collaborated on a project called Insensate.

There are artists that know exactly what they want to do and whose direction is well established- once you see one of their works you recognize it as being theirs.

photo dazeddigital.com

But then there are those artists who are constantly changing, adapting to a context or creating a special context for their own creativity. Indeed, Knight seems as if he is boundless when it comes to thinking fashion photography.

Gareth Pugh A/W 2008- Insensate film

2. Nick Knight and Yohji Yamamoto – magnitude 7

The Yohji Yamamoto catalogues made by Marc Astoli, Nick Knight and Peter Saville between 1986 and 1988 were creating a new dimension to fashion.

So, a long time ago, when these names did not immediately open doors, the two artists collaborated on a project. Also, this area became more and more visible and he gave it a new direction, where it was see more as art.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I happen to find such proofs of influencers that worked long before together, it makes me think that eventually all important people meet to create together. Also, it gives me a sense of how much time and energy they’ve invested in something they believed in. In 1986 and 1988 they were already doing what they wanted to do and what they do still the present day, only that they didn’t yet get there. How many of you were born between these years? Yeah, see what I mean? That’s a whole lifetime.

Yohji Yamamoto Catalogue, Pour Homme 1987/88
photo a modernmatter.com

photo mariankihogo.com

photo reelfoto.blogspot.com

photo hmslatex.tumblr.com

3. Nick Knight and Björk - magnitude 6

How I feel about this collaboration? You know when you have two great friends, that don’t yet know each other? But you start thinking that they should meet, since they are both imaginative, determined and very self-aware of what they can do. Then you start think what if they met? And you are so excited about it and hope they would get together well. An when they do- Bam! Fireworks! Everything works. I don’t know how they came to work together, maybe they liked each other’s work and said it was time they did something together. Anyhow, the beautifully video became instantly a buzz in the art scene.

photo kosmiche.wordpress.com

4. Nick Knight and Lady Gaga – magnitude 5

As much as she is blamed, she is admired. Lady Gaga is truly interested in working with artists that are very good on their specific area. Behind her image there are so many talented persons and it is so good to see that emerging artists grow in visibility due to their common projects. And keeping an eye on the art scene is something that Lady Gaga does. We’ll talk more about that in another article. For now, here is what Nick Knight did with her:

photo fernandoirigoyen.com

photo fanpop.com

So, which collaboration did you like best?

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“SUMMER SELECTION” EXHIBITION AT DANZINGER GALLERY

admin — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 09:25:30 +0000

At Danzinger Gallery there is on display an exhibition with the title Summer Selection. Isn’t that a great name? Indeed, it sound fun and you will definitely want to go and see it, especially when hearing the great names that are exhibited. To start with, they have Tereza Vockova’s photographies. After her highly acclaimed project Two that studied the dark side of twin brothers, the artist comes with a different theme. Still, the light reminds of her previous works, it’s her signature.

TEREZA VLCKOVA
From the series: A Perfect Day, Elise…
photo danzigergallery.com

Malick Sidibe is famous for his photos that capture moments in Mali. In 2007 he received the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for his lifetime activity. The life he captures is fabulous and what is impressive is how effortless they all look. It’s all about beauty and youth and confidence, it’s a praise to the youth culture, and in this exhibition it fits perfectly. Here, one of his iconic photos:

MALICK SIDIBE
Nuit de Noël, 1963
photo danzigergallery.com

Do you know how it looks your city by night? So you might. But how about other cities? Thierry Cohen is interested in capturing towns by night, when everybody seems to be sleeping. What is disturbing is the sky that is so filled with stars, which are so rarely seen in the cities, because of the strong lights. He is also documenting the moment he takes the shots, as you can see below in the title of the picture.

THIERRY COHEN
New York 40° 44’ 39’’ N 2010-10-13 lst 0:04
photo danzigergallery.com

Chris Bucklow is known for making pinhole photos of silhouettes that look as if the sun comes directly on them. How he does it? It’s a complicated process that starts with him creating a drawing that has the real-life size of the person to appear in the photo. Then he penetrates this aluminum foil and this is, in fact, the camera’s lenses.

CHRISTOPHER BUCKLOW
Tetrarch, 2011
photo danzigergallery.com

One of the fastest growing artists is Hendrick Kerstens. He is famous for photographing his daughter Paula since she was little. The turn came at a certain point, from where his interpretation changed:

‘One day Paula came back from horseback riding. She took off her cap and i was struck by the image of her hair held together by a hair-net. It reminded me of the portraits by the dutch masters and i portrayed her in that fashion. After that i started to do more portraits in which i refer to the paintings of that era. The thing that fascinates me in particular is the way a seventeenth-century painting is seen as a surface which can be read as a description of everyday life as opposed to the paintings of the italian renaissance, which usually tell a story. northern european painting relies much more on craftsmanship and the perfect rendition of the subject. The use of light is instrumental in this.’

HENDRIK KERSTENS
Dust Bag, 2013
photo danzigergallery.com

HENDRIK KERSTENS
Sunburnt
photo danzigergallery.com

Patrick Smith has in this exhibition a very summer-like photo. The colours are so beautifully put together and one can mistake it for a painting.

PATRICK SMITH
Biarritz, 2010
photo danzigergallery.com

More about the exhibition here http://www.danzigergallery.com/exhibition/summer-selection_1/11

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ANTONY GORMLEY AND THE HUMAN SHAPE: EXHIBITION AT ROPAC SALZBURG

admin — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 09:46:47 +0000

Antony Gormley is an artist interested in the human body as itself and in its relation to the space. His sculptures have a certain continuity and he has his own style which wasn’t appreciated by all critics. We must mention the fact that he uses different materials and that his works are different reinterpretations of the body, again and again.

His latest exhibition is called Meter and is on display until the 13th of July at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Salzburg. His sculptures are formed from modules and have a pixel-like image, thus creating a disruptive image that doesn’t immediately stand out as clear:

photo ropac.net

His choice of exhibiting on the floor as changes the way his works are perceived. He is very imaginative given the fact that he uses the same theme for decades already, but each exhibition is different and once you get to see one you understand how organic his works are.

“I am interested in the body because it is the place where emotions are most directly registered. When you feel frightened, when you feel excited, happy, depressed, somehow the body registers it”.

photo ropac.net

Even though he is not really willing to risk (his path is clear, the public knows what to expect from his exhibitions) his works are beautifully executed and can fulfill a space, which is quite rare and is a great quality for an artwork. The Meter exhibition doesn’t have many works, but each room looks as if nothing else should be added, it’s a complete space.

Here are some works from a few years back:

photo artodyssey1.blogspot.com

photo antonygormley.com

antonygormley.com

photo complexitys.com

Gormley talking about sculpture and space at a Ted conference:

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NYMPHOMANIAC: THE TEASER

admin — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 09:15:24 +0000

When talking about Lars von Trier, being objective is quite difficult. And this happens because his films arouse controversies. He is not a director making popcorn, the themes he chooses are not easy, but rather dark and deep and you have to get through the rabbit hole with him and you never know what’s on the other side.

After having been banned from Cannes film festival because of some comments he made, the controversial director was in fact welcomed to submit this year his latest film. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ready. But people already talked about it, which keeps a constant interest on him and the upcoming film. In fact, they have a very good way of advertising Nymphomaniac (I just assumed that everybody already knows the title, because you rarely hear a title as strong as this one), since once in a while they upload on the film site either a photo or a short clip. And this is the first that was shown to the public:

photo guardian.co.uk/

Maybe the public expected something else from a film called Nymphomaniac. But when you hear a cutting-edge actor la Shia LaBeouf (he took LSD in order to get in character for The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman) says that

“There’s a disclaimer at the top of the script that basically says we’re doing it for real. Everything that is illegal, we’ll shoot in blurred images. Other than that, everything is happening … Von Trier is dangerous,” he added. “He scares me.” then you know that there must be something with this film and this film director.

photo fastcocreate.com

Above, the promotional poster of the film. You can see Uma Thurman, Shia LaBeouf laying on the ground, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Christian Slater near the bucket with what appears to be milk or soap, all being filmed with the phone by Lars von Trier.

And here is the first thing you see when entering the site.

photo www.nymphomaniacthemovie.com

If you check the film’s site you can see the names of the eight chapters of the film. For the first one, The Compleat Angler, they released a trailer. And there is an introduction to it, to present a little the context:

“How does an ordinary bag of chocolate sweets become a symbol of sexual victory?

As Joe and her experienced friend B embark on a train trip, they bet on how many men they can seduce on the ride.

The grand prize is a delicious bag of chocolate sweets, and it soon becomes clear to Joe that in order to win, she needs to lure the prey into biting the hook like a skilled fisherman.”

More about the film here: http://www.nymphomaniacthemovie.com/

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KATE MccGWIRE: THE BEAUTY OF NATURE, THE NATURE OF BEAUTY

admin — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 09:41:01 +0000

A must-see exhibition: Kate MccGwire is at Winchester Discovery Centre. Why not to be missed? Because Kate MccGwire has her own very special space on the art scene. Working with feathers made her very visible. And it is not only due to the material she uses, but also due to the beautiful sculptures she creates with them, that also seem to be filled with life. And, indeed, in the artistic world where taxidermy is very common, using feathers comes as a different approach. Again, there is a feeling of permanence and continuity in her works.

Sluice
photo katemccgwire.com

Evacuate
photo katemccgwire.com

They are sensual and dark, occupying the entire space of the gallery. If you look closely you can see the pattern on each feather and multiplying it creates a certain fluidity of the work and if you think about the use of feathers you will understand why their purpose is linked also to beauty, not only utility. She uses magpie, pigeon, crow and jay feathers that she collects from owners of such birds, and this process only can take months.

photo katemccgwire.com

Also, the space is important for MccGwire, she is careful to the way in which she integrates her works in a given space of in a space she creates. They either come out of an object or they might be hanged (as below, which reminds of animals that are put on wall as a trophy) or in a jar. In any case, the audience has a powerful response to the entire setting. Also, she works with the idea of otherness and the way in which we are used with certain things to be, then changes that specific order.

She questions the beauty of nature and the nature of beauty.

photo katemccgwire.com

Cleave
photo katemccgwire.com

photo yatzer.com

photo katemccgwire.com

And if you never saw a feather from a close distance, she made an installation where the viewer can gaze through a small hole at one, whose beauty is multiplied by the kaleidoscope.

Garrulous
photo katemccgwire.com

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ANIMALS ON WIRES: CLAIRE MORGAN

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 13:51:51 +0000

When Le Figaro made a list of 10 artists to watch after FIAC 2012, we thought we should do that. The first presented was Belfast-born, London-based artist Claire Morgan, working with organic materials and taxidermy to create sculptures. Most of the materials are linked to a certain period of the year, thus creating a feeling of specificity. Leaves, strawberries, flies, seeds, butterflies are used in her works and her studio is packed with boxes filled with such things.

photo mymodernmet.com

She puts animals in different contexts, where they interact with materials, creating weird sculptures, like the one with the crow hit by strawberries. She is interested in taxidermy and the way in which body and movement changes the once you have a stuffed animal. She questions life and death with her works and the feeling of permanence in the world, even after death.

photo www.claire-morgan.co.uk

“Animals, birds and insects have been present in my recent sculptures, and I use suspense to create something akin to freeze frames. In some works, animals might appear to fly or fall through other seemingly solid suspended forms, or even perch or sit on them. In other works, insects appear to fly in static formations. The evidence of gravity – or lack of it – inherent in these scenarios is what brings them to life, or death.”

photo vonwoof.files.wordpress.com

It takes a lot of time and patience to stick seeds to a thin wire, so working on a piece is a rather difficult process. The works have an architectural dimension, since they take into consideration the space where the animal is put and the way it is surrounded by materials. Also, there is the shape the work creates in its whole dimension. Most of her works are rectangular or circular.

The artist is growing and exhibiting in museum as Palais de Tokyo or Karsten Greve Gallery in Cologne, the Museum of Art and Design in New York and the Museum of Classic and Modern Art in Tanzania. Now it’s us telling you that you should keep an eye on Claire Morgan, since you’ll hear more from her.

Fantastic Mr. Fox
photo www.claire-morgan.co.uk

photo designboom.com

photo mymodernmet.com

photo inhabitat.com

photo mymodernmet.com

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HERE IS THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK: REIN VOLLENGA

admin — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 09:30:12 +0000

He divided his works in Sculptures and Wearable. But both categories have that touch of organic, still artificial liquid-like objects. Working with two colours, black and white, Vollenga’s pieces are powerful. His pieces are present on the fashion scenes, completing a look or giving a new touch to a collection, although he is not satisfied when people see his works as accessories.

photo reinvollenga.com

Even the eccentric Lady Gaga used one of his wearable sculptures in one of her clips. So, you might now have known his name, but you surely saw his works long before, in her clip Fame, directed by Steven Klein:

photo reinvollenga.blogspot.ro

Starting as a hairdresser, he felt that his creativity and personal input was limited to what the clients desired, so he had to find a new artistic area where he could have total control and liberty. But once the door was open, the artist went towards different areas. He claims that he likes working with performance artists, who use his sculptures in their shows:

Interperformance ZWEIMALER – SHIFT at Tresor.Berlin / June 8 – wearable sculpture by Rein Vollenga
http reinvollenga.blogspot.ro

He also collaborated with choreographer Damien Jalet and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, creating Les Médusés based on Greek mythology that were performed at Palais du Louvre in Paris, which was an important step for Vollenga, since again his artistic direction took another turn. In fact, the artist says that he doesn’t think about these boundaries.

photo reinvollenga.blogspot.ro

photo reinvollenga.com

The dark allure of his glossy works make them present on different mediums. Not only in fashion shows and performances, but museums are interested in his sculptures. For an artist, it is a different way of recognition to have your works both on a popular level, as well as a very institutionalized one. Aware of the importance of his pieces, Vollenga doesn’t want to duplicate them since each of them is unique and could not be seen as anything else than a unique piece of art.

photo reinvollenga.com

His latest presence was at M°BA (Fashion Biennale Arnhem) – Fetishism in Fashion and it’s not hard to guess why he was invited in the exhibition. He claims that

“I also aim for every piece of my work to be a one off; I don’t reproduce anything. It’s really boring to do that, and another reason is that I like to review myself all the time. I also think that it benefits the piece itself when it exists alone and is the only one on earth, it makes it more special.”

At M°BA 13
photo reinvollenga.blogspot.ro

At M°BA 13
photo fetishisminfashion.blogspot.ro

photo reinvollenga.blogspot.ro

Here, a preview for Thierry Mugler Women’s Fall 2012 featuring Vollenga’s works:

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BLACK ON BLACK – RICK OWENS SS 2014

admin — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 09:08:51 +0000

One thing is for sure: Rick Owens loves black.

His latest collection, the Spring-Summer 2014 was presented at Paris the other night. The usual Rick Owens is black and white and maybe grey. He is a designer whose signature is very easy to be recognized among other designers. And if that wasn’t enough to make him particular, his shows are powerful, with strong underground bands that you’ve probably never heard of before. If you get to one of his shows you might feel that some friends met and did what they wanted: one the clothes, other the modelling, and some the music, it’s a feel-good atmosphere of people meeting on the same level. This unity makes his shows look very organic.

photo showstudio.com

As for why he chooses black, Rick Owens is famous for having said “There’s something a little too chatterboxy about color. Right now I want black, for its sharpness and punctuation.” Zippers might as well be a sign of punctuation and the SS 2014 collection has many punctuation signs. Rick Owens doesn’t need colours to make his clothes visible.

And, indeed, his creations are sharp and very geometric. Also, his choice of layering black on black has a strong statement: “the more the better. When you layer a lot of black you’re like a walking Louise Nevelson sculpture, and that’s pretty attractive. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is also one of the most attractive things you can do.”

photo showstudio.com

As for the music of the show, Rick Owens had the Estonian punk/metal band Winny Puhh live singing and – probably you’ve never seen this before apart from a Cirque du Soleil performance - hanging from the ceiling, giving the show an atmosphere of riot. The hair is an important element for Rick Owens, and here the boys had either long hair or short and styled up, since he designer is one who chooses excess over simplicity.

photo showstudio.com

photo holyholyfashion.com

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SASHA WALTZ – LUST FOR DANCE

admin — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 09:19:44 +0000

A hundred years after The Rite of Spring had opened to the public, Sasha Waltz reinterprets Stravinsky’s work, which marked the beginning of Modernism. The public present at the 1913 premiere was shocked by the courage and violence of the ballet. We cannot say the same thing about Sasha Waltz’s show. The choreographer doesn’t try to step ahead of The Rite… but rather recreates a piece of work that is very powerful in reminding how time changes positions and what was once Modern is now seen as Classic. Therefore, what the public saw is an homage to Stravinsky and a way of connecting to the past: is it still possible to do that, after 100 years that were so strongly dominated by progress and change?

Sasha Waltz is a German choreographer, working with different artists and expanding towards architecture, as well. If her latest works are more classical, both in choosing the scores as well as the way in which the dancers move, at the beginning of her career the choreographer was more experimental. For example, she created Travelogue-Trilogy together with her company, inspired by Buster Keaton movies. The energy of the show made it so famous, as well as the idea of a body that repeats the same movements without loosing its focus and intensity. The show toured internationally, to the critics’ acclaim:

photo sashawaltz.de

As mentioned before, the choreographer is constantly interested in different artistic areas, as with Continu it is very visible her influence, since there is a structuring of the space in that performance. And when we say that it’s not about the scenography, but about the large gestures, dancers moving at the same time, creating a powerful visual and energetic structure, thus reminding of architecture. In her career, the choreographer seems to have moved from more experimental works, to performances that are more classic, where she is interested in key elements like movement and music, as if she got to the basis of choreography.

Her creative force changed through the years. Her trilogy Korper, S, noBody questions the body itself and searches new means of relating to it. There is the famous part where the dancer would say a phrase about her legs while she would be moving her head. This also questions the power of language and what it comes with it once some words are so well established.

photo bernd-uhlig-fotografie.com

Sasha Waltz made a film, Architectural Dialogues, where she underlined the importance of the space where the dancers perform.The unconventional spaces are Neues Museum in Berlin (archictectural studio David Chipperfield and Julian Harrap), the Jewish Museum in Berlin (architect Daniel Libeskind) and MAXXI National Museum of the XXI Century Arts in Roma (architect Zaha Hadid). The strong architecture makes the dances aware of where they are performing, thus changing the space itself with their own bodies.

photo post-new.com

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MAURIZIO CATTELAN – KAPUTT EXHIBITION

admin — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 09:09:24 +0000

June and Basel are a good combination for the art scene: not only that the city hosts Art Basel, but at the same time at the Foundation Beyeler there was the opening of a powerful show by one of the most controversial artists of our days: Maurizio Cattelan. Famous for his sculptures that he started making back in the 90s, the artist creates a feeling of unease and most of his characters are trapped or are found in dream-like situation. The show presents a single piece, the one below:

Untitled
photo urdesign.it

Although after the Guggenheim show in 2011 he claimed that he will stop making art, apparently the artist continues. Taxidermy is very present in his works and is a meditation on death. The artist uses this in a way that the audience does not concentrate on mortality, but rather sees the way in which a body can look like a living element. The original work presented only one horse, which reminded of solitude, while the five create a feeling of panic and of despair, as if they are all drawn together in the same direction:

Untitled
urdesign.it

The artist’s irony is well-known. He also mocks himself, like in an old work of his, a sculpture representing himself entering a museum, but how did he do it? For an artist as controversial and young as he is, this seemed the only way to be present in an institution as important as a museum.

Untitled
photo myartguides.com

As an artist, he does not take himself seriously, and he claims that “Nobody can frame me because I never pretended I was telling the truth”. One of his intelligent jokes is the one where he wears Joseph Beuys’s grey suit, like in the picture below. He is an artist that thinks about the artist’s condition and the way he is seen in the art world: is the artist a savior? Is the artist telling the truth? Or it’s just a hoax?

La Rivoluzione siamo noi
photo positive-magazine.com

He also uses strong figures in his works, which could be another reason why his works are so mainstream. There is a concept behind it, questioning the way these characters used to be seen before the moment you see them reinterpreted by Cattelan or put in different contexts. After centuries of portraying popes in a specific way, Cattelan makes a switch to where science meets religion.

The Ninth Hour
photo artstuffbitch.blogspot.ro

HIM
photo designboom.com

He is also interested in putting animals in human contexts, which underlines the weirdness of the act. Here, an elephant wears a sheet that reminds of Ku Klux Klan. Also, he might be disguising, but his dimensions make it impossible to get unnoticed.

Not Afraid of Love
photo rfc.museum

A famous work is Bidibidobidiboo, draws attention to the suicide: why would a squirrel do that? We should translate our human fears and needs into an animal world to get the least understanding of the work.

Bidibidobidiboo
photo positive-magazine.com

Here is a clip of Kaputt exhibition at Beyeler Foundation:

by Andreea Chindris

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DANCING QUEEN OF THE AVANT-GARDE – MARIE CHOUINARD

admin — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:35:10 +0000

You might know what Marie Chouinard is doing, even if you had no idea it was her. Thanks to Youtube, the queen of the avant-garde became famous even for people who are not into contemporary dance.

But it all started a long time ago when, in 1978, she performed in a piece called Cristallisation where she would drop raw eggs on the floor, among others. It was a period of experiments, where artists tried to find a medium in which they would feel comfortable to express themselves. The general atmosphere was one of liberty and experiment when, in 1981 with Danseuse-performeuse cherche amoreux or amoreuse pour la nuit du 1er juin (Dancer-Performer Seeks Male or Female Lover for the Night of June 1) she put herself on sale, through an auction during the show. People were outraged by her act. And it was only the tip of the iceberg, since in Petite danse sans nom there was a scene where someone urinated and Marie Chien Noir included a masturbation scene.

In 1990 she started her own company, La Compagnie Marie Chouinard, and the first performance was Les Trous du ciel, where the dancers were acting like primitives, and language was replaced by some noises. The performance was very powerful and the critics praised it:

She is interested in rituals, and many of her works are around this issue. Starting with 2000, she became more and more fascinated by them, and her works are, therefore, more mysterious and dense in hidden meanings. She puts the body in different contexts, where the body has to adapt do a special condition. Using objects is another way of changing the natural position of a body. How does it change? What rhythm does it take? In 2005, starting from Henri Michaux’s drawings and poems, she created bODY_rEMIX/les vARIATIONS_gOLDBERG, which won the Gemini Award. It is a highly acclaimed performance through its mathematical form, rhythm and the use of crutches.

photo nakedada.blogspot.com

It is said that the critics try to find new ways of talking about her shows, and that they are at a loss of words. Indeed, it might be difficult sometimes to talk about bodies, especially when the choreographer finds such unexpected means of expressing her ideas. The artist also worked with Marina Abramovic, Laurie Anderson, Robert Wilson, Trisha Brown, Simone Forti.

In 2009 she directed and danced in a performance, Gloire du matin, that was sold out throughout the entire Venice Biennale, since it was a special event: after 20 years she was back on stage.

Gloire du matin
photo youtube.com

In 2013 she completed another performance, called Gymnopedies, based on Erik Satie’s works ,which already started touring, to the excitement of her fans. Yes, it is not a misplaced context to say so, since, indeed, after years of work she already has her fans.

Gymnopedies
photo impulstanz.com

According to impulstanz.com

“eleven dancers from Chouinard’s company immerse themselves in the playful, magic worlds of the danced duet: a one-act ballet to the sounds of three piano compositions jointly called “Gymnopédies” by the French master of modernism, Erik Satie. This brand new piece, which boasts glittering bowls with flickering flames, provides a look into a dreamscape of perfect moments of togetherness.”

photo laplacedesarts.com

Read more about Marie Chouinard and her company: http://www.mariechouinard.com

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HENRIK VIBSKOV’S RUNWAY SHOWS

admin — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:15:03 +0000

Each Henrik Vibskov collection has that je ne sais quoi and you’ll find yourself waiting for his next one. And you won’t be disappointed! From his first collections, Vibskov created impressive runway shows, like the Donkey Solar Experiment or The Eat (see below).

Most of his shows have memorable titles, like The Transparent Tongue, The Stiff Neck Chamber and The Shrink Wrap Spectacular. He is part of the New Nordic Movement, which puts together different areas, from fashion to food and literature that have a feeling of evolution or that are, in a way, on the edge.

photo henrikvibskov.com

In his latest collection he is interested in dots and in the way they integrate in a look or in the way they cut its logics. Apart from being close to experiment, the designer is also one that puts comfort at a high place. Even though many collections remind of a scientist’s laboratory, most of his pieces are wearable. It is very difficult to put Vibskov in a category, since he changes a lot with each collection. Still, as recurrent elements there are ponchos, large T-shirts with inscriptions, strong colours.

photo henrikvibskov.com
AW 2012

The Eat runway show
photo www.artpit.org

Last year an album was published – the Henrik Vibskov book – where critics tries to define his career, therefore made a short list of words that would characterize him: “donkey”, “boobies”, “mint”, “tank” and “shrink wrap”. If some of the words are easier to understand, why boobies? He had an installation where his models presented clothes surrounded by sculptures in the shape of breasts:

photo coolhunting.com

Vibskov is famous for loving to take his fashion show outside, in the nature, or he tries to recreate it inside. Indeed, the shows have a different atmosphere the moment the clothes are presented in nature, since they must be very well-defined to still be visible:

The Donkey Solar Experiment
photo dianepernet.typepad.com

Invitation
photo blog.henrikvibskovboutique.com

And if you didn’t get a clear image of the dramatic power of his fashion shows, here are two of them.

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BILL VIOLA – NEW EXHIBITION – FRUSTRATED ACTIONS AND FUTILE GESTURES

admin — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:29:23 +0000

Video artist Bill Viola opened a show at Blain Southern. The exhibition called Frustrated Actions and Futile Gestures has three parts. The works are powerful and are related to death, futility and a certain despair and loneliness.

Dreamers depict portraits of people seeming to sleep underwater, while there is in the background a music sound. The peace and calm on their faces makes it more difficult to see where the sleep ends and death begins, therefore creating a tension.

photo blainsouthern.com

‘Viola has become the Rembrandt of the video age, an artist who has done more than any of his contemporaries to advance the emotional and aesthetic content of his medium’. – Laura Cumming

In Frustrated Actions, the second part, in one of his videos, a man is pulling a cart up the hill, reminding of Sisyphus and his futile gesture. He takes the time he needs to do this, thus creating suspense as you look at him, not knowing whether he will succeed or if, like in the myth, he will have to start all over again.

photo blainsouthern.com

Working as an artist for forty years, Bill Viola got to change what he understand through video art. He is today one of the leading artists and he is interested in the way this medium can express his interest in themes like birth, death, futility. What is leading in his works is his universality in the themes and in the way he chooses to express them.

photo blainsouthern.com

In Angel at the Door a man hears a knocking at the door. The viewer’s curiosity grows as he reaches for the door. Amazement – there is nobody. The action repeats, and at the end there is a mirror reflecting the man himself.

Angel at the Door
blainsouthern.com

Exhibition view
photo blainsouthern.com

The third part, Mirage, has four videos that were filmed in an area called El Mirage and where some distant forms are coming towards the camera, and from distorted and strange shapes they become more and more visible.

Bill Viola: Inner Passage on Nowness.com

Bill Viola

Frustrated Actions and Futile Gestures

London Hanover Square

5 June 2013 – 27 July 2013

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BERNDNAUT SMILDE MAKES CLOUDS

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:46:31 +0000

So what would be more poetic and dream-like that being able to create a cloud? Berndnaut Smilde might not be able to give you the moon, but can surely fill a house with clouds. Behind this ephemeral idea there is some research and work: the artist must “mix” light with humidity and temperature, and it requires some specific measurements in order to be able to create an indoor cloud.

Julia Wilczok and Maria Judice made a film with the artist.

photo blended.fr

“I’m interested in the ephemeral aspect of the work,” Smilde states. “It’s there for a brief moment and then the cloud falls apart. It’s about the potential of the idea, but in the end it will never function.”

In fact, most of his works only last for a few seconds, therefore they are photographed the moment they are created.

photo mymodernmet.com

Dutch artist Smilde is interested in melting together art and science, which is an even stronger statement when you see that he creates clouds, that only “live” for a few moments. So, you should consider yourself lucky in case you see one. And, in this case, the spectators are not afraid to have a cloud over their head.

photo mymodernmet.com

photo thisiscolossal.com

photo blended.fr

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ANIMALS AS SEEN BY PHOTOGRAPHER SIMEN JOHAN

admin — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:21:36 +0000

Simen Johan, a Norwegian photographer, takes photos of animals in museum, at the zoo or he takes them in his studio. After that, he digitally creates an environment for them.

In his latest exhibition Until the Kingdom Comes at Brown University’s Bell Gallery, the artist creates a strange atmosphere with these photographs, maybe because the animals look as if they are aware that they are photographed, thus remembering of humans. For example, the lemur that sits in the tree with as he is sniffing at a flower.

photo yossimilo.com

The viewer has a sense of unease while looking at the seemingly sad rhinoceros sitting in a sand that has the same colour, as if he wants to camouflage.

photo yossimilo.com

As the artist states, the title Until the Kingdon Comes “refers less to religious or natural kingdoms and more to the human fantasy that one day, in some way, life will come to a blissful resolution. …In a reality where understanding is not finite and in all probability never will be, I depict ‘living’ as an emotion-fueled experience, engulfed in uncertainty, desire and illusion.”

It is difficult to state which is the context created for these photographs, as some take you to a space where the animals find peace, while others remind of the Apocalypse.

photo simenjohan.com

Most of his works are somehow monochrome, thus creating a dream-like atmosphere.

photo yossimilo.com

photo simenjohan.com

yossimilo.com

photo simenjohan.com

Here are other works from the same series:

photo yossimilo.com

photo simenjohan.com

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WE WERE HERE – TRANSILVANIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

admin — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:00:03 +0000

Going to a film festival requires some type of commitment to the films and to the schedule of the festival, especially when the festival comes with special events, press conferences, parties and concerts. And even if you make your choices of films, you will definitely be detoured by others spectators that found one “must-see film”. This is what happened at Transylvania International Film Festival in Cluj, Romania, and I thought of making my own list of must-see film. Enjoy!

photo blog.tiff.ro

When you see that a film director like Xavier Dolan being a master of stories, dialogue and camera, you might have a bit of a shock of the maturity Dolan is capable of at only 24 years old. After J’ai tué ma mère (2009) and Les amours imaginaires (2010), the Canadian filmmaker goes to another level with Laurence Anyways. The story: boy meets girl, they fall in love, then he admits he always wanted to be a woman and that he is now sure he wants to make a sex change. And the rollercoaster begins. The film is an intellectual parade: little hints of what will come (there is a scene where she goes to the supermarket to buy sugar and there is on the background a child crying and you snap understanding what this means), discussions about writers and concepts (he is a teacher).

photo tellafairytale.files.wordpress.com

Although this might not be for everyone since it has that arty touch, it is visually powerful and there is also the stunning actors’ performance (Suzanne Clément and Melvil Poupaud) and one of the best soundtracks. During the film, a spectator said “I fear that Xavier Dolan will die soon. All that talent in one person is not a good thing.” Hopefully, we will see him growing, because he surely has much to say.

A Hijacking is a powerful drama about the four months Somali pirates spent on a Danish cargo ship along with the crew, waiting for the money to be delivered. And as if the tension wasn’t enough already, the CEO of the company wants to negotiate directly, which is risky, since there is the psychological pressure of him personally knowing the crew.

photo totallydublin.ie

Even though they never let their guns down, the Somali pirates party with the Danish crew. The director Tobias Lindholm creates here a nail-biting tensioned situation. As times goes by the crew is more miserable, the Somali loose temper easily and they are all hoping to go home as fast as possible. What makes the film powerful is the multiple perspectives from which the spectator can see the hijacking: there are the hostages, the Somali pirates, the CEO, the crew’s families.

And, not to say anymore, even though you’ll appreciate this European film, in the end you might find yourself hoping it would end happily like an American film, with no deaths and the heroes going home.

One of the controversial documentaries that were presented in TIFF is The Act of Killing. This terrifying documentary that shocked the audience since its first screening is directed by Joshua Oppenheimer who follows the “gangster” (as he likes to call himself) Anwar Congo, an Indonesian that took part in the massacre of around 100.000 people during the Indonesian killings (1965-1968). Oppenheimer makes Anwar and his colleagues re-enact the murders and talk about them. Therefore, the camera is not only a simple observer, but the tool that makes them confess and see what victims must have felt.

Anwar’s openness towards his murders makes the film feel anything but real. If at the beginning the killers want to create this image of gangsters and very cool people who had just a little different job, they end up breaking down.

photo childofklang.files.wordpress.com

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NEON LIGHT ARTIST OLIVIA STEELE

admin — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:45:05 +0000

Beautiful neon lights and controversial art: you have them together in Olivia Steele. She is a conceptual artist, who is not afraid to be linked to a very difficult area, since neon is, usually, connected to advertising and advertisements.

Neon lightning is more and more spread in artistic mediums. It is a beautiful and simple way of representation.

photo circleculture-gallery.com

She juxtaposes very contradictory elements, like images of atomic bombs and beautiful hand-writing, saying something very controversial. Therefore, Wish you were here becomes very ironic and very strong. A phrase which is cliche becomes visible when put in a different context.

photo oliviasteele.com

Her latest show Save the Best for Last at CircleCulture Gallery in Berlin was very refreshing, since most of her works are simple, accessible and also beautiful. The message is clear and very strong, but there is room for beauty, too.

photo oliviasteele.com

Her works are both dreamy, as well as strong statements that might become controversial.

“Olivia Steele uses neon lighting to charge spaces with ironic and spiritual meaning.”

photo oliviasteele.com

“Olivia Steele plays with our innate preconceptions.”

photo oliviasteele.com

photo mymodernmet.com

photo oliviasteele.com

Andreea Chindriș is a puzzle, even to herself. Some are trying to solve it, others just want to burn it all down in frustration.

Dragoș Gavrilă is a Freelance Designer. Specializing in Graphic & Interactive Design, Typography, Illustration & Graphic Art. Also an online curator of image and music, cultural informer, occasional writer, lover. Currently living, working & playing in Bucharest, RO.

More http://grafician.launchnext.com/

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ZIMOUN – SOUND ARCHITECT

admin — Mon, 27 May 2013 13:52:57 +0000

Zimoun, an artist from Bern, Switzerland, uses sound in his work to create space. Using materials like plastic bags, wood, boxes he gives these elements a new touch, creating different relationships between elements that were probably never put together. For example, in one of his latest projects, for Meetfactory Prague, he uses medical infusion sets with water and fire:

[Medical infusion sets, water, fire, wire, metal sheets. Dimensions: Size variable. Installation view: Meetfactory Prague, Czech Republic]

He is usually referred to as a sound architect. Zimoun’s work has a certain degree of elegance, which is even stronger due to the use of different devices (wires, ventilators, motors) used to create a sound. Here, a work where the spectator finds himself surrounded by clapping, but nobody is in the room:

[DC-motors, wire islolated, cardboard boxes, laboratory power supply. Dimensions: 4.75 x 8.5 x 14m / 15.6 x 28 x 46 ft. Size variable. Installation view: CAN, Neuchatel, Switzerland]

As his vimeo channel says “Using simple and functional components, Zimoun builds architecturally-minded platforms of sound Exploring mechanical rhythm and flow in prepared systems, his installations incorporate commonplace industrial objects. In an obsessive display of simple and functional materials, these works articulate a tension between the orderly patterns of Modernism and the chaotic forces of life. Carrying an emotional depth, the acoustic hum of natural phenomena in Zimoun’s minimalist constructions effortlessly reverberates.”

[25 woodworms, wood, microphone, sound system]

[5 ventilators, 35 styrofoam balls, 5 helping hands, air]

If we look at the description of this piece, of the elements involved, we can see that the artist works with air. His aesthetics is generally minimalist, and he tries to use raw materials. What is important is this energy that comes out of each of his works, as if there were some kind of latent vitality. Furthermore, the installations have a beauty in themselves, as objects that create the sound.

[200 prepared dc-motors, 2000 cardboard elements 70x70cm]

In 2010 he won Prix Ars Electronica, Digital Musica & Sound Art, Honorary Mention. The jury stated that:

“The clean, elegant sound sculptures combine visual, sonic, and spatial elements in an organically balanced entirely artwork. Using simple and well- conceived mechanical systems, Zimouns‘s work transforms and activates the space.”

photo yatzer.com
Studio Zimoun between 2005 and 2007

For more information about the artist, please visit http://zimoun.net.

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RYOJI IKEDA – SOUND ART

admin — Sun, 26 May 2013 09:41:09 +0000

Do you know that music that gets directly to your brain, as if the artist knows exactly how to push the buttons so that the sound enters into your head? Then you definitely know Ryoji Ikeda, the Japanese artist. His works are visual and sound installations, thus working on different levels, which has a greater impact on the public.

His performances cross the limits of art and science, and it’s difficult (and useless) to try to put him in a box with a label. What is sure is that his performances and installations are immersive.

Rhythm is very important for Ikeda, and his pieces are highly linked to his way of creating a space with sounds. Many of his works start in a minimal direction which gives the viewer a sense of calm while watching them, but after that the rhythm is broke and the pattern changes. And what is more alarming than this sense of peace that is destroyed in order to put up a new zone?

photo thethirdvoid.com

For the Auckland Triennial he prepared two works that are on display in the city until the 11th of August 2013.

MAY 9 – AUG 11, 2013
commissioned by The 5th Auckland Triennial, NZ
photo ryojiikeda.com

Ryoji Ikeda creates a sensorial experience, mixing mathematics with images. It’s inevitable to think about mathematics when seeing his installations. Superposition, one of his famous projects, mixes science and art. He uses the principle of superposition. This principle works “for all linear systems, the net response at a given place and time caused by two or more stimuli is the sum of the responses which would have been caused by each stimulus individually.”

As he states, “superposition is a project about the way we understand the reality of nature on an atomic scale and is inspired by the mathematical notions of quantum mechanics. Performers will appear in his piece for the first time, performing as operator/conductor/observer/examiners. All the components on stage will be in a state of superposition; sound, visuals, physical phenomena, mathematical concepts, human behaviour and randomness – these will be constantly orchestrated and de-orchestrated simultaneously in a single performance piece.”

His works are exhibited in museums like Barbican, STRP Biennial in Eindhoven, the Perimeter Institute for Theoreical Physics, Waterloo, CA, ZKM | Media Museum, but he is also present in festivals like Sound of Stockholm or Sonar.

http://youtu.be/QHUWvvYDb4c

On his his album +/- Ikeda says “a high frequency sound is used that the listener becomes aware of only upon its disappearance” In fact, he uses sounds that are, sometimes, hardly bearable for the human ear. Is it the space itself? Is it the DNA code? Is it quantum physics? What are the visuals accompanying the music?

If you look closer at this clip below, you can see at one moment a simple phrase that can characterize very well his music: “The most beautiful ugly sound in the world”.

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DON’T WASTE TAPE

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:01:47 +0000

Mark Jenkins works with tape. And it goes a long way back.

“It must have been in second or third grade that I cast a pencil in class. The teacher told me something like “don’t waste tape” and I kind of left it at that until 20 or so years later. ”

(Interview for twistedsifter.com)

And he didn’t. He is using it to make sculptures that interact with the environment. They are usually linked to a specific moment, space, street, town and so on. He grabs on what he sees on a street and creates something related to that.

Jenkins brings to town elements that belong to the nature, to the wildlife, thus mixing two very powerful areas.

www.xmarkjenkinsx.com
In Washington D.C.

Jenkins is interested in participatory art, his personal belief being that the street is a scene. Choosing to exhibit his works on the street, he wants to transform the passerby into an active participant. He is aware that his sculptures will be seen, since his installations are often disturbing, often dealing with social themes and pushing the boundaries between public and private.

www.xmarkjenkinsx.com

www.buzzfeed.com
Barcelona

He had a personal exhibition at Gestalten gallery in Berlin last year, where he created a buzz with his strange characters that appeared to be violent, depressed, poor or lonely. In the safe, white space of the gallery all the sculptures looked even weirder, creating the viewer a feeling of unease.

www.mymodernmet.com
Glazed Paradise exhibition, at Gestalten Gallery, Berlin

http://www.mymodernmet.com

If you think that his technique isn’t very popular, then you should know that last year he was part of the jury that would choose the winners of a tape contest called Off the Roll Contest.

http://www.ihlet.com
Jenkins with one of his works

Here is a short video of him making a sculpture:

For more information visit http://www.xmarkjenkinsx.com

by Andreea Chindriș.

Andreea Chindriș is a puzzle, even to herself. Some are trying to solve it, others just want to burn it all down in frustration.

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