27/07/2011

ILOVEFAKE / Seven Nine Tease

.

I Love Fake / Seven Nine Tease

At long last the first print issue of ILOVEFAKE has landed. The glorious, nefarious, indulgent publication that has long done a swell job of “Celebrating the Spirit of Youth” in digital format has made the jump offline with publishers Blend Studios. This first print issue, entitled Seven Nine Tease is a mashup of ILOVEFAKE’s already well-known ethos and 1970s and 1990s styles, taps into fashion’s schizophrenic zeitgeist and runs wild with it. The issue positively pops, and is a fantastic start to what will undoubtedly be a brilliant run.

The mega personality behind the publication is none other than 2DM photographer Jolijn Snijders. Her singular vision and very, very strong sense of style has driven the project, and hers is essentially the personality the magazine itself has taken on. No small feat. And as a sweet cherry on top, the journal’s fashion director is none other than 2DM’s stylist Jordy Huinder, and the in-your-face (very Dutch) art direction comes courtesy Harold Jonk.


Inside the issue is loaded – seriously filled to the brim – with top-notch features and content. From editor Niels Erik Toren’s mind-blowing article “Sway,” to a feature on new British fashion designers, and editorials from the likes of photographers Joost Vandebrug, Napolein Habeica, Lady Tarin, Elza Jo, Alex Brunet, Joe Lai, Kristophe Kutner, Letty Schmetterlow, Ebony Hoorn, and many others. There is also some very well-placed work by 2DM’s Roberta Ridolfi, as well as a stark “Polaroid Story” by Andrew Kuykendall. Contributing stylists include Alice Godard, Hanae Uwajima, Caroline Larrivoire, Tess Yopp, David Motta and others. As well as, of course, a host of killer work by Jolijn and Jordy themselves. 2DM’s stylist Ilaria Norsa’s work also makes a lovely cameo.



Other contents include an article by Pepijn Lanen, interviews with artists Andy Denzler, Jon Fox, Dave McDermott, Worldwarwon and others, and talks with “brutally honest” photographer Michael Mayren and Stylist Anna Travelyan.

The first touchable issue of ILOVEFAKE is welcome, distinctive and fun addition to the canon of today’s best fashion magazines. It’s irreverent and feel-good and clever and aggressively stylish, and this is most definitely not the last you’ll hear about it from us.


The magazine’s launch party is set for this August 4th at SPRMRKT’s original location in Amsterdam. Be there or be square.

Tag Christof – Special thanks to Jolijn Snijders

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
26/07/2011

Segalega / Zero + Giò Marconi

Segalega / Zero + Giò Marconi

June and July are usually not the best months to see exhibitions in Milan. The artistic season has essentially drawn to a close and, except for some blockbuster institutional events, most of the time, people can only find slack summer shows proposed by art dealers who are planning to leave the city until September.

But Segalega, the unusual group exhibition split between two of the most important galleries in Italy, Gio Marconi and Zero, doesn’t fall within either of these categories.

It seems that the show has been thought to hold the interest of the small ‘community’ of art lovers, who keep on going to visit galleries, in spite of tropical heat of Milan.

The project, running until last week in the two venues contemporaneously, came out under the pretext of overlooking the same street (via Tadino near Porta Venezia) and features some rather remarkable works. The exhibition opened with a weird and amusing performance by Marcello Maloberti untitled Doppietta, in which two people – one black and one white – wearing alpine uniform, crawled side by side from the first gallery to the other one and roamed around the visitors, who were watching the shows.

Among the works presented in both the art spaces, Kerstin Bratsch, the German artist, based in New York, draws the attention with his colourful pieces where subjects give the impression of being trapped between two boards of Plexiglas and make fun of painting. Rosa BarbaRosa Barba’s installation entitled Invisible act, on display at Zero gallery is characterised by the usual elegance through which the Italian artist, who lives in Berlin, is able to create sculptures that seem to be made of light. But a special note goes to the Andrea Kvas (b. 1985), who makes his debut among the already known international artists John Bock, Massimo Grimaldi and Markus Schinwald. Courageously, Zero dedicated one room of the gallery – in a sort of solo show – to the young artist that shows small works on canvas, which privilege the gesture.

With many ups and just a few downs, Segalega gave the opportunity to see a satisfying number of works, which truly spoke about painting, colour stratification, afterthoughts and some interesting effects. It was, happily, a good reason to challenge the hot weather of these past few days and see the show within tomorrow.

Monica Lombardi
  
Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
25/07/2011

The Editorial: Smoking Sex / Tom Vek’s Aroused

The Editorial: Smoking Sex / Tom Vek’s Aroused

Before you read another word of this, watch this video.

Now, don’t you really really want a cigarette now? I’m not generally a smoker, but I weakly went out and bought a pack after I watched it for the first time – it is importantly only the third pack I’ve ever bought. Ever. So just try to imagine the models in this excellent video doing exactly what they’re doing without them: it is unabashedly sexy because of the smoking.


Top Tung Walsh for Pop, Above Juergen Teller for Paradis

Theories about why smoking is so sexy abound. Each one as ridiculous and impossible as the next. “The cigarette is phallic.” (Lesbians think smoking is sexy, too…) “Virile young humans smoke, which has made us over time equate smoking with virile young partners.” (Plenty of fat old humans who don’t get much sex smoke, too…) “Humans had ancient ancestors with long incisors that resemble cigarettes which evolutionarily makes our brains equate cigarettes to long incisors, which equal good mates“ (Yikes. I’d like to meet the storyteller crackpot who came up with that one!) And the list goes on. And on.

Greta Garbo by Cecil Beaton

In any case, this video directed by Saam Farahmand for Tom Vek’s latest single somehow taps into smoking’s sexiness in the most positively provocative way in recent memory. Here smoking is a romp through a garden of pure, unabashed pleasure. Here it is sex. Soma. A journey from arousal to climax. And without diving into the many, many pitfalls of the habit (we know, we know, we know), fashion’s continued flirtation with the act has been unyielding, which might suggest that there is a deep, primordial connection to it after all.

Jolijn Snijders

Think of Cecil Beaton’s famous portrait of a smoking Greta Garbo. And every major fashion photographer from Avedon to Testino to Richardson to Goldin have used it in some capacity quite successfully. Juergen Teller shot vehement smoker and artist (in that order, I think) David Hockney last year. 2DM’s Skye Parrott (a disciple of Goldin), Jolijn Snijders and Bruna Kazinoti – all of whose images are laced with undercurrents of emotional and sexual tension – have each used the cigarette extensively in their imagery to brilliant effect. Tung Walsh (himself a disciple of Teller) and Vicky Trombetta, whose styles are more distant and hard-edged, as well as low-key, polished Nacho Alegre and Pablo Arroyo, have also skilfully made sexy even sexier by handing their models a cigarette or two…

Top Bruna Kazinoti, above Vicky Trombetta for Wonderland

So just as the United States one ups Europe’s screaming text warnings and follows other countries such as Australia in adding gut-wrenching images to cigarette packs, there remains quite the uphill battle. What’s wrong in mainstream society is so, so right – and per in the subversive world fashion. Even if there isn’t anyone among us who doesn’t have a hacking, wrinkly aunt somewhere to remind us by example of smoking’s devastating long-term effects…


Top Jolijn Snijders, above Skye Parrott

But the cancer sticks continue to seduce. And will until continue to do so until their un-sexy consequences become something other than distant, far-off, vague threats on crisply designed packs.

So in any case, be quite sure to augment your sexy with extreme caution. I’m throwing away my still unopened, brand-new pack today. Well, maybe I’ll smoke just one…

Tag Christof – Images courtesy 2DM, Juergen Teller and the estate of Cecil Beaton 

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
22/07/2011

The Noisettes in Morocco / Jolijn Snijders

.

The Noisettes in Morocco / Jolijn Snijders

2DM’s Jolijn Snijders trekked to Morocco recently to shoot Shingai Shoniwa, lead singer and bassist of London’s The Noisettes, in the north African sunshine for Modzik. The results are punchy, bright and up-close and personal.


Shingai whose incredibly powerful style is infused with a very African brand of flamboyance, has ‘tude by the truckload. Her fans know that she’s quite the amped up performer. And the editorial, called “Black Panther” brings it brilliantly to the surface. (The accompanying interview, for anyone who speaks French, is also a nice read – Shingai even mentions her goal to complete a London-Brigton course on a leopard-print bicycle.)

Styled delightfully by Flora Zoutu. Jolijn’s usual hard-edged beauty shines through… Fashion includes Aurélie Bildermann, Tom Ford Eyewear, Viv Westwood and others. Catch it in the current issue of Modzik (with a track by The Noisettes as a sweet bonus).

Isil Gun & Tag Christof

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
21/07/2011

Protein / Animate Everything

.

Protein / Animate Everything

Animated GIFs spread like wildfire in the early days of the net. As we away on the blazing fast 56K modem speeds of the day, the junky little motion clips – each containing a series of frames running in running in a continuous loop – stood in for our inability to download real video. They were in every creepy religious chain email your aunt sent, on Myspace pages, and they even dotted the e-porn landscape like devious 1990s kinetoscopes. Then high-speed internet hit, and they mostly faded into the sunset – save their obnoxious flashing banner ad cousins – replaced by high quality images and real video.

But it turns out they have a longer shelf life than just their technical simplicity. They’re somewhere between films and photos, and as such offer a typological bridge between the two. Over the past several years, especially with the advent of Tumblr, designers and all sorts of other people one the web have brought them back, someitmes to pretty spectacular effect. And several artists are even working in the medium (can I really call it that?).

Opening tonight, the endlessly clever UK creative firm Protein has curated the first exhibition of some of the most notable work being done in the format. The time seems right, after all. Artists include Parra, Jiro Bevis, Mimi Leung, Nous Vous Collective, DDF, Will Robson Scott, Tyrone Le Bon, as well as several others.

Opening tonight, 21 July at Protein’s gallery space on 18 Hewett street in Shoreditch, London, just off Curtain Road. Vernissage starts at 7pm, and the show will run until the 15th of August.

Tag Christof – Animated .GIF courtesy Protein

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
20/07/2011

Saul Williams / A Small Conversation

.

Saul Williams / A Small Conversation

“…[poetry] is somewhere between an anchor and a compass…”

The Blogazine had a long, intense conversation with legendary slam poet and hip hop artist Saul Williams in his adopted home of Paris recently. Just before the launch of his drastically different fourth album, Volcanic Sunlight on Columbia / Sony Records – as Vicky Trombetta was shooting him for a recent editorial – we talked poetry, war, and existing as an artist in Paris.

Saul is rare among pop culture figures for his progressive, thoughtful politics and his introspection-driven art, and this conversation is nothing if not introspective and thoughtful…

This short, edited by Daniele Testi, is a rare glimpse into the artist’s vision of the world. And even when not performing, Saul is an incredibly eloquent speaker. Watch the video twice to really take it all in.

Also, don’t miss Vicky’s editorial of the artist in the last issue of Modzik.

Tag Christof – Images courtesy 2DM

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
20/07/2011

Northern Women in Chanel

.

Northern Women in Chanel

“From Femme Parisienne to Swedish Dalkulla”

The Swedish stylist Ingela Klementz-Farago and her husband, the Hungarian-born photographer Peter Farago is the couple behind the epic project Northern Women In Chanel.

The couple has since 2010 lead a unique collaboration with Chanel. The result is an exhibition, which was inaugurated in early July at the photographic museum Fotografiska in Stockholm, and a massive pavé coffee table book. The photo series features 45 internationally known models of Scandinavian and Baltic descent, and about 500 couture pieces from Chanel, and will during the fall and winter travel through Europe.

The project is one of a kind in more than one way. First off, the usual puppet master Uncle Karl is not in leading position. And the usual contemporary Northern beauty has been placed in a greater historical perspective, and invites the viewer for a journey through time, with many easily discernible Scandinavian cultural phenomena.

In one photo, the surrealistic innocence and beauty of Linnea Regnander and her fellow elven-like colleague is portrayed as noble women in a middle age church-environment. Whether they were in collusion with King Gustav Vasa, or simply belonged to the court, the history does not convey. In the black and white photo, featuring a giant cross, Vicky Andrén steps in to the World of Ingmar Bergman and vintage Swedish melancholia, and becomes a still frame from the director’s chef-d’oeuvre ”The 7th Seal”. An intriguing dark scenery which one rarely associates with Chanel.

That’s the true genius of this project. To bag, borrow and steal something so connected with the French national spirit and heritage, and put it into such a different context. The terms cultural exchange comes to mind. From Femme Parisienne to Swedish Dalkulla.

However, such strong historical aspects also requires a lot from the mannequins fronting the project. Except for the 42-year-old Helena Christensen, the greater lot of the models are fresh from the Runway Foetus Factory, and there is simply something about classic Chanel couture, to which a 17-year old blushing beauty cannot always do justice.

Indeed, some pieces demands the Garboesque stern superiority of Kristen McMenamy. And where is the majestic poise exuded by Ingmari Lamy when you need it the most?


Something that is easily forgotten when talking Chanel, and something that in many ways has been buried in time is that, if you are to believe Axel Madsen, author of Chanel; A Woman of her Own, the Madame herself was a lot more than cute cupcakes from Ladurée. Coco Chanel was the raging riotgrrrl of couture, decades before Kat Bjelland got her first guitar.

So, when working with this very brand, it’s crucial to always add a hint of corsage-crushing avant-garde edge, to the timeless elegance and class that is Chanel. Where many others fail (read fashion magazine’s editorials), and simply end up cooking beautiful, slightly mediocre Chanel soup, the Faragos turn out to have many bright fashion photography moments worthy of Madame Coco herself.

Petsy Von Kohler – Images courtesy Chanel

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
19/07/2011

Fashion Illustration/Naja Conrad Hansen

Fashion Illustration/Naja Conrad Hansen

Artist, designer and fashion illustrator, 2DM’s Naja Conrad Hansen has been quite the busy bee as of late. Not only was she recently included among the 200 Best illustrators In The World for the third consecutive year by Lürzer’s Archive, Naja’s work has been making waves in commercial and editorial circles the world over for quite some time now. Her uniquely seductive, yet approachable style is steadily making her one of the most sought after illustrators in fashion. And if the growth in her her body of work over the last two months is any indication of her future trajectory, this could not ring any truer…


Recently Indonesian shoe brand EverBest sought some of the artist’s charm for the design of their latest store lunch in Jakarta. Pure, beautiful and spunky as ever, Naja’s art brings this new store in Gandharis City to life. But probably the biggest feather in her cap is the recent illustration she created for Spin magazine. The latest Lady Gaga issue the go-to music magazine released on the iPad features a one of a kind Naja Conrad illustration of the starlet.

From pokerfaced pop powerhouses to absolute darkness, Naja’s art seems to cover it all. Under the tagline “Is It Dark Yet?” Naja is also exploring the haunting depths of the colour black for a collectable poster. The funky poster is now on sale at artypeople.se, the hot Swedish arts portal.


And to top it off, attendees at London Fashion Week got a special slice of the artist as her designs were featured on goodie bags from designer Aza Zanditon and Six Magazine. Now out with her own t-shirt line Meannorth, the artist has sealed the deal, making her one powerhouse of multifaceted creativity.

We’re big fans, Naja. Now, what’s next?

Daniel Franklin 

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
18/07/2011

The Editorial: Kill The Cattle

The Editorial: Kill The Cattle

The populace of an ideal consumer society moves like cattle. Neatly segmented into little boxes, making predictable choices and spending their disposable resources on self-aggrandizing tokens of dubious worth. And this weekend, while crammed between two heroically fat passengers on an international flight, I had a blinding realisation that most travel has devolved into one of those tokens. A type of consumeristic merit badge.

I once had a romantic vision of travel, one in which a fuller passport automatically equalled greater perspective and a path towards relative enlightenment. And certainly, travel can do exactly that. Cross-cultural understanding, language learning and personal enrichment are hallmarks of the truly well-travelled. But as I watched the plump, suntanned faces on either side of me guzzle down several Diet Cokes while their owners nervously flipped through supermarket “adventure” magazines, I saw those cattle that marketeers and profit-hungry corporations adore.


In our short conversations, the couple bragged about jaunts to Africa and southeast Asia and a cruise to Alaska. And they were clearly people who had travelled quite extensively. But they were also people who have seen very, very little. They don’t leave their hotels while in foreign countries. “We loved the hotel… the cuisine! But it’s just too scary out on the streets!” And just like every good consumeristic cattle, these people (provincials who interestingly consider themselves quite cosmopolitan) don’t like it when things don’t come neatly packaged with clear warning labels and disclaimers.

Now, this couple was certainly extreme. But overtones of their attitude – not only of cultural superiority but also of laziness – can be felt strongly when travelling to any sort of heavily touristic destination. The droves of people who pack like sardines into unpleasant airplanes don’t truly want to experience the culture or uniqueness of their destination. They want to be coddled in fancy hotels, to take pictures of themselves smiling in front of iconic monuments, and then go home to brag about it to their friends. And they want to do this without feeling threatened or uncomfortable… except that being foreign is by nature uncomfortable. And its downright exhilarating!

And there’s the disturbing trend towards resort travel, in which tourists cross the globe to stay at posh mega resorts. All while completely ignoring the place around it – why visit India or Tahiti when all you see are your Swedish masseuse and American concierge? The spas and glittering towers of Dubai and Las Vegas are paradise, but those are cultural vacuums in inhospitable desert environments designed precisely to be self-referential monuments to hedonism – the resort is the culture, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with some hedonism from time to time. But outside of these adult Disneyland, it is extremely unfortunate that their non-culture cultures are being exported en masse to all tourism. For starters, Florence just got a loathsome new Hard Rock Café in one of its most beautiful piazzas. Now the city’s legions of American college girls really don’t have to trouble themselves with eating in Italian restaurant…


So, to those of us who travel for the right reasons (and readers of The Blogazine certainly do), this summer perhaps calls for a hard restart. We are trendsetters in style and believers in lives well lived. So as you venture off this August, think about really living your hard-earned vacation. Maybe even stay closer to home to experience the treasure trove of things you undoubtedly haven’t experienced in your own backyard. Revel in where you are.

And if you do go far, get lost while exploring a neighbourhood off your tourist map. Get food poisoning. Try the language. Nix the generic tourist photos. Make friends.

Punch those cattle between the eyes.

Text & Photos Tag Christof

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
15/07/2011

TANK/All New

.

TANK/All New

When we saw the amazing work from 2DM`s Bruna Kazinoti 
and Pandora Lennard - Tribe – we couldn`t help dedicating an article to the editorial last week. As an extension of the editorial, we must cite that the Tank team has changed a lot recently. New Art Director Micheal Donkin (coming from British Vogue) brings a breath of fresh air to the magazine. With a host of new talents, pleasant editorials like Croatia based talent Bruna and newly assigned Tank`s Fashion Director Pandora`s `Tribe`may be a more common future.


Since the magazine was first published in 1998, TANK has devoted itself to original and creative interpretations. For this deed, not only collaborating with considerable writers, artists, photographers, stylists and illustrators who all standout, but also with contributors who are independent thinkers which enrich TANK`s identity. The more TANK team discovers new approaches and such new names, the more they will capture the emerging talents.

Before the new art direction, TANK was a largely fashion oriented magazine that was a representation of a typically 90`s style and approach. It seems like Micheal Donkin felt the necessity to close the time gap, making it sophisticated though more reachable, which has turned out to be useful, new way magazine. Keeping the origins, new style in fashion magazine that has a considerable story behind.


Not only uniting the forces with new photographers has created timelessness, but also by the alternative art direction – just to mention the attention paid to fonts and the quality of the paper which is semi-matte – the magazine in general is helping the readers experience an evocative change.


We are curious about what is coming next in TANK who has given the signals that they are going to continue seeking out the most interesting names and subjects, always ELITISM FOR ALL.

Isil Gun 

Share: Facebook,  Twitter  
Next Page »