Being hugely impressed by Caron Hallahan’s Standard Finery collections, of which I talked earlier about here, I wanted to know more about the girl behind it. What she loves, how she spends her days and what is really inspiring her right now coming into her new collection, Spring 2011. I love the way you feel her personality feed through into her designs. Caron kindly took the time out of her busy schedule to answer a few of my questions, and has given us a visual reference of personal inspiration (above) that is driving her next season. Enjoy!

AnyOneGirl: Describe the ‘Standard Finery’ girl for us..

Caron Callahan: Smart, thoughtful, she likes fashion but doesn’t live by it. She’s subtle but passionate, involved, romantic, feminine without being girly. Classic

What are your current inspirations for your collection?

I’m working on Spring 2011 which is in the early stages. I’m looking at Billy Baldwin (the decorator!) interiors, chintz, nomadic lifestyles, Birkenstocks

What are you listening to right now?

NPR! Denis Wilson, The Six parts Seven, Nick Cave, I can listen to Kurt Vile’s “Blackberry Song” a couple times a day.

Describe your work place..

A total wreck. I use to work at Derek Lam where everyone kept neat desks. They would have put my desk in a closet if they could. Its semi-organized chaos; I really like having everything at my fingertips, minus the old coffee cups and gum wrappers.

Three things you love to do on a chill out day..

1. Coffee in bed with the newspaper or a book 2. long walks around Brooklyn with my man that usually end with 3. a Guinness in a pub.

Best things happening this year are…

So much -tough so say. Each new collection brings new and exciting possibilities for me. I’m working on a small e-commerce addition to the website. I really want to shoot the Spring 2011 lookbook on location again, so I’m excited about the search for the perfect spot.

We just got an early copy of the new David Mitchell book which I can’t wait to read- he is one of my favorite authors. His novels transport you to a different place in each chapter, and they really open my imagination.

Thanks you so much Caron! xx

To purchase any of Standard Finery’s beautiful garments, see here for American stockists.

When you think of extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing your mind instantly runs over a course of slightly insane and wild … boys. It is only later that we contemplate the existence of girls within these sporting realms. Nike have not only sourced out the best and the loveliest girls from the snowboarding and surfing divisions but are getting behind them and giving them performance support. For Nike, it is important for them to showcase the talents of these athletes but to also show the world their softer side, their female side within a ‘boys’ sport.

We visited the Nike campus a week back to meet these wonderful ladies, Monyca Byrne-Wickey; a surfing goddess, the very cool snowboarder; Ellery Hollingsworth and surfer Carissa Moore, of whom was actually busy competing at the Australian World Tour! (she won her last event too!) All of which have been very much part of the designing processes from the very beginning of their new Nike 6.0 Women’s Collection.

The collection, consisting of all new model sneakers, after-performance gear for the girls, lots of ‘boyfriend’ styled tees and sweaters, each incorporating some high-tech Nike ‘DNA’ details such as hidden zips, toggles and dry-fit fabrics, like streetwear for the athletes once they had come off the mountain or from the ocean. All was presented in the cutest showroom which they had decorated as a cross between a ski chalet and surf shack! All very girly xx Lamps, rugs, books, cameras and paintings. The designers and the girls talked us through the collection accenting their favorite pieces, for example…

Monyca loves her ‘tee shirt for your legs pants’.. (you can just imagine!), made from a re-formulated dry-fit fabric which is an oh-so soft and drapey, organic cotton which she immediately puts on after her surf, they are extremely comfortable and fit just right, the waistband has a wide fold down or up feature too so you can make them your won and wear them at your own ease. Easily packable, lightweight and doesn’t wrinkle making it the perfect road trip companion. Done. Thats what we’re wearing after we surf from now on too…

And Ellery, nicknamed Elle, loves her personally designed MSIXO anorak with a soft hoodie as the liner which you can take out in the warmer weather too. It has a water resistant coating which keeps Ellery dry and warm on the slopes and has a longer length so her back doesn’t collect any cold snow while she is on the mountain. The twill utility jacket shell features an adjustable waist, snap cuffs and a 2-way front zip. The jacket also incorporates Nike Grind trim made of recycled rubber to deliver an earth-friendly jacket you can wear 3 ways in any weather.

Their look book was shot by supermodel and fashion experienced Helena Christiansen who immediately bonded with the girls and brought out sides of them that were previously never seen by anyone other than their best friends. It’s very fun and relaxed, capturing the girls in their family homes and home towns, settings with friends and family and of course, their boards.

My favorite pieces were the ‘Air Isis’ sneakers, lightweight, half way between a mid cut and low cut shoe, block colored and they had that cool techy-running shoe look which I love right now. The little bloomer shorts! Made from a striped flannel, they mimic a boys boxer short pattern and have a comfy drawstring too. You can slightly see these in the top image. The velvet dunks were pretty crazy too- a girly crushed-velvet on a boyish sneaker- also available in an acid-wash red with floral laces xx

The girls talked about their home and family influence on their sports, Ellery followed her older brothers everywhere which finally lead to her onto the mountains snowboarding and trying to keep up- given a few years and they were racing to catch up with her. Monyca grew up a tom boy in Hana, Maui, of which she describes as a “mystical place” and LOVES going home whenever she can. “It has two stores, one hotel and one expensive gas station”, but it is “real safe and comfortable”. Her older sister was a cool surfer and her boy friends were too, so naturally she wanted in. She said she needed to work harder than the boys in order to improve which gave her her competitiveness!

Both girls get to travel the world but both agree, “there’s no place like home for me”. Traveling has opened their eyes and makes them so very grateful for where they are from, they have grown a huge respect for their friends and family and it certainly makes them grow up fast!

Commenting on their involvement with the design at Nike for their very own personalized collections, the girls add, “We are honored to be part of this with Nike, we got a blank notebook and were asked to write and draw what we wanted to wear. We brought in our favorite pieces from home and they somehow managed to create one line of stuff for both of our needs. We have learned so much, about our own styles and designing, it was such a buzz to see it all come to life!”.

I think their words that struck with me most were “we normally have to wear boys clothes in smaller sizes while we’re training or competing or actually even on the streets, they never fit right and they are definitely not flattering! You know, us girls still want to look cute while we action sport! We want to feel good about what we are wearing!” And this is exactly what Nike had set out to achieve, to put a focus on these girls and give them their own collections for their personal needs as well as their sporting requirements. At the same time, giving the girls a feminine side and letting them be women of great achievement.

By the look on the girls faces in that room, I’d be pretty confident to say that Nike has achieved exactly that.

Watch this beautifully shot video of the girls in action and their personal thoughts on their collection.

LA based artist Lola is opening her new solo show at Corey Helford Gallery this Saturday 27th March 2010. Entitled ‘Ipsum Factum’, the show encompasses Lola’s unique process for visual storytelling, illustrating a harmony between creatures and human figures in mythical worlds of her imagination.

I had the pleasure of interviewing miss Lola a week before she gets to share her highly anticipated new solo show at Corey Helford Gallery in California which runs through to 14th April 2010. Make sure, if your in LA to go and check out Lola’s new show!

This being your second solo art show at Corey Helford Gallery, what was it that brought you back?

Firstly, the kindheartedness of the owners, Jan and Bruce. They’re extremely passionate about art, and have a genuine connection with the artists they work with. And because of that, I have the most productive and honest experience while painting for their shows.

Tell us about your new solo show entitled ‘ Ipsum Factum’. What is the story behind these works.

“Ipsum Factum” is Latin for achieving one’s own truth. It derives from my observations through the relationships we share with one another. It also acknowledges that we are very different and unique and have a lot to share. Through truth, our eyes are opened to our hearts, which brings in all the other elements of the show: The gift of music, knowledge is power, protecting mother earth, nurturing a balanced heart. I also have a strong message to the viewer that it starts within them. The only way to move forward in anything in life is to have a really good sense of who you are, and rock that loud! Peace of mind is something you have to work for, on a daily basis.

Where does the inspiration for the creatures and people in your works come from?

They are simply the emotions behind the idea, their job is to convey the feelings for the work.

Working up to the show what sort of daily practices do you endure?

I have a hard time working first thing in the morning. So I like to go to yoga, or hike up on the hill by my house. Then I get the sensation that I have separated myself from home/studio for a bit and can ease into working a little better. My typical day is spent painting from morning to night, with breaks in between. I have a strange routine in which i will start by listening to kcrw or npr, then music for the better part of the day, and on to listening to documentaries or movies at night. Most of the movies I’ve
seen lately, I havent actually seen. But my ears enjoy! This makes time for actual sleeping blissful.

I love the way you hand pick your own antique frames, I feel like it finishes off the work with a personal and deliberate selection. Why did you choose to do this?

I just love the craftmanship that goes into antiques. They are their own works of art, detailed and loved. I love the hunt, and find, and they somehow on their own became the groundworks for what I would create.

Tell us about your father’s role in your artistic expression as a child.

My dad is rad! RAD! He’s a cartoonist, and was always letting us paint and draw. He let my brother and I paint with him on store front windows when we were little. He taught me how to silk screen when I was 12. And he had this wonderful old projector in the garage, and we would make huge banners for school, and soccer games. It was his encouragement and participation that really nurtured my early art addiction.

What are three things you like to surround yourself with?

The people I love, anything inspiring for my work, and cupcakes.

What is coming up for you in 2010? I hope you are showing in New York!?

Haha! well, my next exhibit will be in Canada at the Y’ves LaRoche Gallery where I’ll be presenting new works along side my friend Greg Simkins. It’s going to be insane!

In the middle of Joshua Tree, California beneath a star-studded sky, electronic master Richard File of U.N.K.L.E. and psyche lover Wendy Rae Fowler, who lends her voice to Queens Of The Stone Age, crossed paths. A romantic setting for sure, but these two experienced musicians had one thing on their mind – the creation of a new sound. We Fell To Earth is the audible product of that musical desire. Wanting to create music that embodies a vast sound filled with space, depth and atmosphere, their debut album has achieved exactly that. What a perfect place to start!

Tell us about how you two met and why you wanted to work together?

We met in Joshua Tree, California. One day we happened to be together in a room full of instruments. Rich started playing guitar and singing and I heard something in it, so I picked up an instrument and we had writen a song within 10 minutes.

Tell us about the impact the time spent in the desert has had on your music and sound?

Joshua Tree is very still and quiet…raw and unspoiled. It also happens to contain a plethora of natural wonders. For us these things seem very conducive to the creative process.

You both have an extensive musical background, which you can now put back into the music industry. How would you describe the industry today?

Can anyone really answer that question before it changes AGAIN? Everything is moving so incredibly fast, it doesn’t seem anyone knows what’s going on or what to expect. You can choose to either panic or get excited…we’re going with the latter. Regardless of what’s going on in the industry, we feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to make the kind of music we’ve both always wanted to make.

Richard, you’ve been part of huge collaborative processes during your time with U.N.K.L.E. What is it about collaborations that you think work so well?

I’ve always loved what happens when you put yourself in a room with people for the first time. There’s something magical in not knowing how you’re going to interact.

When collaborating, where do you draw the line with tracks when they need to have their own sound but still fit in with the rest of the album?

We made a decision early on about the desired general feel or vibe of the record, however, when writing we tried not to dwell too much on this. We allowed the songs to come out freely, eventually deciding which ones would best carry the sound we wanted to get across. We wrote several songs that didn’t make it onto the album because they didn’t fall within the parameters we initially decided on.

What is important to you both when performing live? What kind of experience do you want your audience to have?

What’s great about making music is that it gives you a chance to create a world that you like to be in – one that you can get sonically lost in, depending on your mood. Our live show is an invitation for others to join us, and hopefully get a break from the outside world for a while. No theatrics…just honest-to-goodness MU-
SIC.

It must be exciting having a new musical project. What’s next for We Fell To Earth?

We’re looking forward to touring with the band. We are very happy with how the album translates live. The sound is large, and it’s fun playing and watching the audience taking it in. It makes all the work leading up to the release of the album even more worthwhile when you look out into the audience and see the looks on peoples’ faces that say they are completely present, completely listening, completely THERE.

Writer Yasmine Bryce

Following up from our recent post on artist Kelly Allen’s new solo show, ‘Everything Is Everything‘, which opened last Friday night at Medicine Agency, we got a very generous interview with Kelly before she shared her work with her San Fransisco’s fans and an exclusive look at her show!

Read our exclusive interview below!

I just have to say I absolutely love your work! I am so glad I came across it.

Hi Yasmine! Thank you so much for your kind words and interest in my work. I think answering your questions is going to be fun.

Your works remind me of some sort of mass-hybrid creature. Is it your aim to create one big functioning creature or do you prefer to see your content as separate pieces all just joint together for a different reason?

I like the phrase “mass-hybrid creature.” I think that is perfect for the way I think about my pieces. At the core of my works and ideas about this world, I think everyone and everything IS one mass-hybrid creature. We are all part of one singular system. Each and every person, animal, plant is essential, playing out its own roles and duties to keep “the creature” alive. The creature could be a city, an ecosystem, or refer to the entire planet. Each one of my images reflects this idea in a certain way.

Does your content have a story? Either as one mass or as a linked-up sort of tale? Tale to tail? x sorry Im getting carried away.

Tale to tail!! Ha ha! I love it!! Well, I have a kind of strange way of relating to my pieces. I view them in two different ways. First, I do tend to invent a narrative of sorts about each individual composition. Like in A Star is a Seed, I have this idea about a person being in the jungle near the water, keeping one eye on the tiger and one eye on the amazing jungle nature that envelops them. Second, I have created a system for interpreting each piece through researching every component within them to discover various symbolic and cultural meanings they have been given over time and space. So, for instance, I’ll research tiger animal symbolism, symbolism for the color red, the symbolism of a pear, and so on. Then I weave all of these symbolic meanings together and devise a singular overarching meaning for the piece that I could have never realized in my own mind. I love to do this. It’s kind of like my own way of reading tea eaves or Tarot or dream interpretation. I’ve always been fascinated by that kind of stuff. This second way of thinking about each piece relates to the mass-hybrid creature idea in the way that each and every thing in the world is thought about in as many ways as there are people and other sentient creatures to think about it. That is very exciting to me. I keep my own specific ideas about each piece to myself for the most part. I want each viewer to feel free to connect with the work in her or his own way. That is very important to me. I do hope that they can connect with them in a positive way, but I know I don’t have much control over that.

What sparks the ideas for you to put certain objects together, is it something you decide as you go? Or have you mapped this out before you start?

I begin each piece with a “collage sketching” session, where I lay white paper out on the floor and start pulling out a bunch of cut out images that I have been collecting for years and begin moving them around. It’s really kind of meditative. I focus on keeping my mind quiet and just keep rearranging different images until they feel right together. It’s a process of discovery rooted in trust and allowing the composition to emerge. Then, when I have a composition I am happy with, I map it out and make a painting of it. I never glue the collage sketch down so that I can use the components again in future pieces, and also so that the collage sketch ceases to exist after the painting is finished.

Your work has been described as being mistaken for a collage work. Is this your intention? Have you ever worked with the collage medium or is it purely just your aesthetic and way of drawing?

Well, it’s kind of funny. I have been told that my images are “sneaky” because until someone gets right up on them, they just assume it is a collage. I like that because it compels each person to get really close to each image, spend more time with it and appreciate it more. With so much art around and so many quick and easy digital ways to make an image, it’s very important to me to be connected with the laborious, time-intensive practice of meticulous painting. It makes me examine every tiny detail of every cut out image I am working from and I feel a new appreciation for the individual beauty of each one. This relates to my ideas about our culture, as we are barraged by so many images and so much information every day that we are completely out of the habit of studying and focusing on a single thing for more than a second. It is helpful to my own psyche to take time to focus on the beauty in the minute details of life. One thing I love (which is weird, I suppose) is to come across a massive pile of ants, working on bringing a little piece of a Pop-Tart someone dropped back to their ant village. It takes me out of the endless thought stream of “to-do” lists and connects me with being a creature, coexisting with other creatures on this planet.

I love the movement and playfulness that is alive in your work, yet it sort of goes against that bold and liberal way of applying paint as the work is so detailed and specific. How do you feel you capture both the liveliness and focused attention in your works?

I think I kind of answered some of this question in the last one there. I think I capture the liveliness of the work through the exciting and colorful components within each piece, the unexpected partnerships that form between unlikely subjects, and the compositional format of all of these creatures and shapes “wadded” together with parts flying off into space. There is action in the stillness.

The focused attention then comes when either I, as the painter, or you, as the viewer take time to look closely at the image and see how every brushstroke needs to be made for the image to exist, and the time and dedication I put into each piece becomes evident. I really enjoy that pairing of feelings and I want the viewer to feel satisfied at every level.

What do you love about where you live? What is it about your surroundings that is evident in your work, if any?

I just moved to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I’m loving it here, but Michigan is where I was when I made this work, and I do love Michigan very much. West Michigan is rich with natural beauty. I used to live in the city suburbs in a big old house with a garden and fruit trees, close to the river, beautiful parks and great hiking spots. Then there is the amazing Lake Michigan, about 45 minutes away from the city and it is truly like a freshwater ocean; huge, clean, and gorgeous with sand dunes and endless beaches. I really appreciated being able to get out into nature, even if I went into my back yard to pick some pears off the tree. That was great!! Luckily San Francisco is an amazing city with so much natural beauty as well. Having just gotten here, I can’ t wait to ride my bike all over and get into both city culture and the nature that surrounds us.

Do you work from home or a studio? Tell us about your set up. What would be some ways to describe your working day?

Well, I just set up my studio in the teeny kitchen nook area in our studio apartment, and it feels cozy, so I think it will work out alright. In Michigan, my studio was in a spare bedroom, right across the hall from our bedroom, and it was really great. I have tons of nature books and files of all of my cut out imagery that I try to keep organized, lots of paper, a great easel my husband built for me, and my paints and tiny brushes. In the morning I get up, have breakfast, and get into the studio, which could either look like a bomb went off if I’m in the collage-sketching mode, or pretty organized and together if I am in painting mode. If I’m painting, I tend to listen to NPR or Luxuria music (my favorite internet radio) until I need to take a break and check my emails. Then it’s back to image making until I’m hungry again, and so on until I go to bed.

Your new show ‘Everything Is Everything’ opens this weekend at Medicine Agency. What do you love about showing/sharing your work?

I am so excited for this show! I can’t wait to show my work to a whole new group of people, many of whom will surely inspire me in new ways. The guys at the Medicine Agency are great and it’s so much fun working with them. I’m just really pumped to see how people react to the work and hear about what others think about it. That is something that’s really gratifying for me. When I can clearly see that a person is truly excited about one of my paintings and takes the time and energy to express how they feel about it, it’s really fulfilling, satisfying, and humbling.

Can you tell us about the ideas behind the title of your show, ‘Everything Is Everything’?

The title “Everything is Everything” goes back to our initial idea at the top of the interview, that all things in the world are interconnected in this massive, beautiful, living system (or mass-hybrid creature) we call Earth. Every person has their own ideas about existence and their own part to play within it that is necessary for it to be whole. I like to try to understand the core theories of quantum physics and the like, which through my base level of comprehension, states that at the quantum level, everything is composed of the same stuff. We all are made up of stardust. It is so incredible to me that a specific combination of particles and elements creates a human being that engages its consciousness with the stuff of the world, creates thoughts, ideas, and individualized meanings from them, and has a great effect on the world around them. If more people can come to realize the great benefit of living with that notion, that each person and each thing is connected to, and affects everything else, I think we are on the upswing. The upswing to exactly what, I don’t know. I like it that way.

What have you got planned for the rest of 2010?

Hooooo, let’s see. The rest of 2010 is going to be great! As far as shows are concerned, I will be participating in a group show at the Michael Rosenthal Gallery in San Francisco in June, and also for a fun exhibition I created and curated in Michigan, based on the childhood game of whispering secret messages, Telephone. (Remember that one?) I am excited to meet so many new art friends out here in SF and find my way through the city. I plan to get out of the city a few times and visit dear friends up north in Arcata, CA and go to Yosemite. I can’t wait to see how my new home will affect my upcoming paintings. I’ve got a lot of fun work to do.

Thanks so much Kelly!

Thank you Yasmine! Those were some great questions! Keep in touch!

All images are from John LaCroix for Medicine Agency

On Halloween 2007, Meryl Smith decided to give birth to herself. An exercise that most would find hard to imagine? Artist and profesional head turner, Meryl Smith, finds halloween humorous and a time to be un -human. So with the help of her  socks on her hands and an upside down unitard on, Smith did just that.

It seems Miss Smith gets into the Halloween spirit every year with disgusting outfits that she wears with pride, but November 31st isn’t the only day she gets enthusiastic. When asked what animal she would be, she replied ‘a dog’, why? ‘Because they look like they have so much fun!’.

Maybe thats why then, she chose to create her own dog for a group exhibition at The Honey Space. Five curators asked artists to create sculptures that fit the measurement requirements for international carry-on luggage,  Meryl made ”Excess Bagage” a Louis Vuitton monographed bag in the shape of a small hand held ‘handbag’ dog. With big ears, paws and claws, and a wet looking snout, the dog looked so alive you were left questioning the zip?!  Now she had made a doggie bag of tricks!

Meryl Smith is an artist based in downtown New York and  has had plentiful coverage of her art work,  having worked with the likes of  the deadly Neck Face and Ryan McGinley. Smith has shown her work at the likes of  Max Fish Permanent Collection Gallery, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art NYC and OHWOW Gallery.

She was asked to make a pencil sketch drawing of safari animals that was to be  screen printed onto a skateboard for famous skate boarder Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long. An extreme detailed drawing of lions, bears and giraffes splattered along the underside of the deck. More growling animals to add to her list.

T-shirt. Tee Shirt. Tea shirt? A play on words was the inspiration behind Smith’s actual tea bag tee shirt. A fully bagged tee which held tea leaves heavy at the bottom, sagging it down and staining the cotton. The tag of the tee shirt was crafted into a tea bag string and tab with tongue-in cheek labelling. A perfect combination of morning essencials; a cotton tee shirt and a cup of tea, if only you could have both at the same time?

The walls of Meryl Smith’s home contain a million tiny intricate pieces all adding up to one giant master piece of the inside of her mind. A clutter of yarn made children in wheelchairs, rusting typewriters in the weeds outside, a decaying wooden chair holding a hand made fury creature up (or perhaps the creature is holding up the chair), five monster head pieces, two love birds in a cage, and a hampster in a skeleton costume. It is full. But she must still makes room for  ideas to grow and hatch. A home that becomes infested with her projects has to be visually stimulating. By the look of the work she is producing I would say she has it set up just right.

Adding to her variety of doings, Meryl Smith has recently created work ‘Ewe and Me’ for ‘Paper Chase’ for Plaything Gallery x OHWOW Gallery exhibition which took place in New Zealand and the front window displays of a cute display of a paper-mice ‘life’ for Opening Ceremony which were for the launch of Spike Jones’ new short film ‘I’m Here’. Which should be on display this week!

She is inspiring, fresh and constantly pushing boundaries. All defining factors in going towards an artist who is making some big noise. If you haven’t already been exposed to the stomach turning world of Meryl Smith, introduce yourself today. Warning: Certain scenes and references may offend some people xx

-Your work seems to always create a shock factor for its audience, is this intentional? If so, do you start with the ’shock’ of an idea first and work backwards, or is it an organic process for you to end up at that point?

Its never been my intention to “shock” people but more so to create something thought provoking.  The process is organic. I’m mulling over a theme and I am so startled at the way the world is handling this particular theme that I feel they need to be jolted back to reality and away from their fantasy. I use my art as a way to alert people.

-When creating a piece of work, do you have your audience in mind?

Yes. But I haven’t always, I think many of the themes I’ve explored are pretty universal.  It’s only with my more recent ideas that i’ve been considering a more specific audience and for each piece i have different people in mind that i’d like a reaction from.

Where do you source your inspirations from?

The museum of natural history, petfinder.com, things on the sidewalk

Have you ever started a piece that you left for a while and came back to later? If so, which one, and why do you think you needed this time?

I keep a list of ideas as they come, hoping that I can just go back and pick one out when I need to. I have so many that i hope to make someday but i always end up waiting until the very last minute and doing something new.  If I’m sitting on an idea it’s probably because i can get a bit lazy or I’ve run out of space and money. As far as things I’ve actually begun building, I have some that are still in the armature stage and I’ll probably never go back to them. I keep them just in case….but its more likely because of my problem throwing anything away.

You seem to have a good sense of humour when it comes to creating work, are you trying to ‘break’ the so called ’snobbery’ of the often referred to art world?

No. The art world is the last thing i think about. That’s just how my thought process works. I think that many of my ideas have a much heavier point to make and adding the humor and sarcasm just makes it easier to digest. It helps me to painlessly address something much more serious.

Tell us about your study/practices?

One foot in front of the other.

Most of your work is in 3D sculptural form, have you always created physical art works or do you start 2D and work an idea up to its finished form. What is your process here?

I just visualize it in my mind…then i make it. sometimes i do a really quick sketch just to resolve the positioning or something. But it pretty much goes straight from my brain to 3D. After the idea comes, its all just very technical.

Your work space/home is amazing! Does it change its form with you and your art work depending on what creation your are working on, or is it a accumulation of everything up to now?

Its definitely an accumulation. Sometimes I think of my home as a big growing ameba that just eats up whatever it comes into contact with. I would say something gets unintentionally added to it every single day, and I might have a psychological problem when it comes to getting rid of things.  Its a really difficult place to work but its all i have.  When its in studio/work mode, it is total chaos and everything just goes to hell. It really becomes a problem when i have to share my bed with a sculpture. Whenever there’s a new addition to my home, whether its a sculpture or a pet or a pair of socks (ok, maybe not a pair of socks), I have to devote hours, sometimes days, rearranging.

Where do you see you and your art work heading?

Well it’s hard to say. I think my subject matter might be getting more serious and I might try to explore a some new techniques that don’t leave me bandaged head to toe from cuts and burns. There are many days when I just want to make Christmas cards. I definitely would like to pay some more attention to some of my 2D work.

Something you would love to do in your career…

Get a new one working with animals

Time out for you includes…..?

Something beachy

Something your mother always told you…

”Clean your room!!!!”….and look what happened.

merylsmith.blogspot.com

Written by Yasmine Bryce

I recently wrote this following article on Matthew Barney about The Cremaster Cycles he has produced during 1994-2002 for the next issue of LURVE Magazine. I can tell you I had to get into a bit of a ‘zone’ writing this one so I can only imagine what Matthew Barney’s state of mind was like during this creation. It is, however, a simply beautiful concept and way of understanding our existence, if the text is heavy you can watch his explanation on the video here at LURVE magazine. Read article below.

The Cremaster Cycle (1994-2002)

To start by choosing five landscapes or specific sites to work from for each project, Matthew Barney challenges himself to compare them all against each other in some way, be it emotionally or physically, or to simplify unify them all at once.

Looking beyond biology as a way to explore the project as a form, he employs narrative from his mind, such as biography, mythology, and geology in which he explores the comparison and similarities between two or more situations. Choosing to display his findings over a series of five stages, Matthew Barney has created ‘The Cremaster Cycle’. Working within five units he describes the third unit as having a ‘mirror’ which runs through the middle of it, responding and reflecting over each side, like it is falling in love with itself again, gaining confidence and moving forward.

He admits he has an inability to see something through to the end, not to not follow his leads but to only absorb the processes that happen along the way. It is exactly that that he is interested in, not the end or the resolution but in the creation of a project based around daily happenings seen in an unconscious manner. Not completely taking anything in, nor ignoring it either. Enjoying the fact that he never wants to fully understand something to its complete end allows him to take in the mystery of an unsolved, or rather, a left product. Observing from afar as well as right up close, his projects start to create demands of their own and he finds his ego slips away. This is when he is most excited. When the project becomes larger than he is. The realization that his mind is creating something larger than ones self and to be there witnessing it all from his very own mind.

Survival, strategy, and self preservation.

Capturing the essence of a site specific project and transforming that into a sculpture form or any kind of medium can be a challenging task. Matthew Barney has an organic approach of taking color, energy, emotion and heat from that object or character and giving it a new form in which to exist. Splitting his mediums into color zones, for example; when he worked at Isle of Man he used yellow (representing the land’s gorse bushes), blue (representing the ocean) and green (representing the land mass) which was then to be transformed into a tartan pattern of squared fabric ‘zones’ and ‘cross-path fields’ covering a new sculpture in a gallery space.

Matthew Barney uses sporting references as a metaphor for his own philosophy. Sport stands for a simplified journey of life; getting from A to B with options and occurences, mistakes and learning paths. He uses an example of a ‘triple choice option’, a decision a quarterback has while running with the ball on the field. The player now has three options; he can either keep the ball, pitch the ball to a trailing tail-back player or pass the ball up field to move the game forward. A very parallel look at life and its chosen paths. Chosen? Serendipity. Another parallel cycle he uses is that of the reproductive system, of life and the journey from birth to death.

‘Locked in’, ‘descending’ and ‘ascending’ characters play a role in every option and decision. A play off between different characters hosting different personalities or options. A system, or a unit needs warmth in order to descend. An undulating rhythm of ebbs and flows, heat and cooling, give and take. The universe in which these objects of desire exist has an organic pull on the situation which in turn creates a counter resistance to these objects. This creates a wonderful balance of a two-way stretch which also defines the point in which the decision is being made.

There is an underlying sense of unpredictability in his work which makes for an exciting process. He talks of a incident where he spent three months creating a set for five automobiles to exist in, later asking them to charge at each other. Who will know what will happen. It is a undiscovered route. If the sculpture model fails or goes down another path, if forces him into a new way of thinking, having to come up with a second idea which in turn brings it to an ever better place, not an ending, just a place, where we would not have come to had the first installment had gone ‘correctly’. Life’s mistakes vs’ life’s lessons. Or are they just the same thing. Or, like Matthew Barney, do we even want to know the answers?

You can see Matthew Barney’s next exhibition in Basel, curated by Neville Wakefield here, entitled Prayer Sheet with the Wound and the Nail opening in June.

By Yasmine Bryce for LURVE MAGAZINE

I recently interviewed the amazing artist that is Rita Ackermann just before she took off for her summer break last year. The interview is now live on Slamxhype.com as a featured interview from The New Order magazine. Have a read through!

It seems this generation will be remembered for their love of ink. Girls now have sleeves. Guys have at least four. Traditional or modern, tattoo art is quickly becoming a widely accepted means for expression of ones taste. A mark of identity and history, these stories and images we embed into our skin will re live our moments for our next generation. I think it is a good thing that people have let go of that precious, protective nature towards their bodies and are letting their creativity be expressed more easily. Although, there is a side of me that believes there is more status in not having to share your beliefs with everybody else, knowing what these beliefs are to you and what they hold for you, knowing where they come from, what they mean and where that will take you.

Rapper’s girlfriends, socialites, and pin-up girls are all thrown into the stew of goo, glitter, and chewing gum. Destroyed and then re-transformed, the girls are featured in a gory situation where repulsion becomes seduction.

Having already been published in New York Times, Vice Magazine and Saatchi Online Journal, Francine has participated in “Portugal Arte 09″ in Lisbon, and in “New York Minute” a show that Kathy Grayson curated at the MACRO Future in Rome, Italy 2009. October last year saw her first New York City solo show which was at Deitch Projects NYC.

Being a fan, I got to see Francine’s work up close at Art Basel Miami 2009, where the contradictions within her work and aesthetics really pop out of their given frames and I found myself almost ducking to find cover from the melting stew on the walls. I really like that sense of movement and urgency in her work. It is slow and strong, heavy but witty.

Cant wait to see more!