PANTA Issue 5

BOOK A STREET ARTIST MAGAZINE ISSUE 5 / FEBRUARY 2015

BOOK A STREET ARTIST MAGAZINE ISSUE 5 / FEBRUARY 2015 EDITORS IN CHIEF Guille Lasarte & Charlotte Specht guille@pantamagazine.com charlotte@bookastreetartist.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Guille Lasarte MARKETING DIRECTOR Mario Rueda mario@bookastreetartist.com CONTRIBUTORS Jasmin Siddiqui & Falk Lehman (Herakut), Janielle Williams, St Francis Elevator Ride, Dion Lucas, Dan Davies, Mechi Bassano, Enriqueta Arias, Alessandro Abate, Andrew Khosravani, Nobumichi Asai, Fab Ciraolo, Cici Rivarola, JOS*, Jason deCaires Taylor, Tomasz Pierog, Caro Curbelo, Andrés Boero Madrid, Ana Sofia Brito, Simon de Los Rios SPECIAL THANKS TO Al Jazeera English, Kaori Ikeda, José Carvalho www.pantamagazine.com panta@bookastreetartist.com FOUNDERS OF BOOK A STREET ARTIST Charlotte Specht Mario Rueda www.bookastreetartist.com

Cover illustration by Fab Ciraolo Illustration on inside front cover by Andrew Khosravani

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS The fifth issue of PANTA has led us to discover the work of yet another handful of talented creative people around the world.

From the United States to Germany, Portugal, Japan, Uruguay and Argentina (just to name a few), what we continue to learn is how art is a universal language that transcends the barriers of nationality, race, religion, gender and culture. Whether it be painting, illustration, street art, sculpture, performing arts or architecture – art has the ability to unite communities and to address social, cultural and environmental issues. Furthermore, art is increasingly becoming connected to its context, as the white walls of museums and galleries have ceased to be the only relevant spaces for art appreciation. Instead, imaginative individuals and associations all over the world are aiming to create an active and direct relation between art and its audience, such as encouraging individuals to participate in collective mural painting, constructing buildings that cater to the community or creating pieces that help solve environmental issues. All in all, PANTA celebrates art initiatives that are created by people for other people, while rejecting the notion that art is something reserved for the elite. That’s why this magazine is created by you, the readers, by submitting your work and stories to share with the rest of us. Thanks and enjoy!

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ISSUE 5 / CONTENTS

INTERVIEW

Herakut:

the artists in rat costumes Interview by Janielle Williams Photos courtesy of Herakut

Hera and Akut form the artistic duo known as Herakut.

We interviewed Hera to gain insight on the team’s artistic process, to unravel the rich symbolism that characterizes their pieces and to explore the social impact of their work.

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Fighting the atrocities of this world, street art is my weapon of choice. It can be loud without making a sound and it can poke people’s brains without shedding their blood.

I read in one of your interviews that you consider yourselves storytellers, aiming to create characters and worlds. How do you think imaginative worlds communicate truths about real world issues?

Our way of documenting reality is through allegory.

We break down the real-world’s complexity and our answers to it by using the ancient symbolism of animal characteristics. That way every viewer knows how to interpret the action he sees on the wall or canvas. We create fables. Modern fables based on modern realities.

The photo blog of your travels through refugee camps in Jordan contains many poignant photos of people. How would you compare or contrast the very “real” nature of photography with the dreamlike quality of your paintings and sketches?

All of our artwork is rooted in our own experience. The people we meet along the way inspire our paintings, too. These faces you see in Akut’s photography are lives we got to know. We shared meals together, listened to each other. We learn a lot from traveling, not from looking at nice landscapes but from hearing people’s stories. In that way, refugee camps are libraries.

There is often a humorous tone to your commentary on predominant social issues. What does humor contribute to the discourse on these issues? That is,

does humor have an advantage over other possible tones of communication?

Humor is a form of therapy. You take a scary or sad subject and play with it, twist it and turn it, until you find a perspective from which it appears completely absurd. Then you find it funny instead of frightening.

That is our way of curing our own fears. Surprisingly enough, the most memorable encounters we’ve ever had in our lives were with individuals who have gone through the darkest times, endured all sorts of grief, pain, catastrophes, and still had the energy to crack a bad joke. That’s human greatness!

You focus on a wide range of social issues. At the start of any new project, how do you decide on the subject matter of your craft?

The subject matter finds us. We just follow the flow.

Whatever we have encountered so far has not been planned. We went to Nepal because a friend of a friend had a contact in Kathmandu with a great project underway. Or we happened to stay in an apartment next to Samantha Robison, the founder of aptART, who had just returned from a project with kids in the Congo. Two years later she was in Syria, asking if we would like to paint with Syrian kids in the desert.

“Sure, why not?” we said. There is no reason to make plans. Just roll with what comes along.

We break down the real-world’s complexity and our answers to it by using the ancient symbolism of animal characteristics.

Animals are a common theme in your work.

How do you believe people relate to this imagery?

Every human has instincts when it comes to interpreting animals. The least imaginative person can tell you that a lion has different qualities than a rabbit. In our symbolism we use the ancient knowledge people all over the world carry with them.

At first glance your images command an emotional response. What do you hope is the long-term effect on the spectator?

First you feel, then you reflect. That is all we can hope for, that people think about what they’ve seen.

Have you ever modified one of your works because it was too provocative?

Yes. That was in 2008 or 2009 when we painted a mural with a little child holding a gun. We realized that this wasn’t an image a gallery audience (or any audience for that matter) could handle. Elementary school kids were passing by that mural and it just didn’t feel right. We took the gun away and changed it so the child only made the shape of a gun with his fingers. That wasn’t much better. The whole thing was a mess, but we learned from that experience.

Text accompanies many of your images.

How does the text alter our perception of the visuals?

We do art because we want and need to communicate. The text is another level of communication. If we could add an audio file we would do that, too. Every new level is great and helpful. I personally hate when artwork is “untitled”, especially in big museums where I walk all the way over to that tiny white description plate to get another part of the puzzle and then, “no title”. That’s plain laziness. If you manage to grab someone’s attention then PLEASE seize that moment to get your point across. Use words, artists!

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If you manage to grab someone’s attention then PLEASE seize that moment to get your point across.

Use words, artists!

Your refugee painting projects in Jordan and recently in Germany with REFUGIO were very successful. Was it easy for the people who don’t necessarily call themselves artists to create? Do you believe the process or the finished product was more significant?

As with our own work, the process is always what matters most. I am not a fan of taking photos. I am a fan of enjoying the moment when the photo takes place. Akut is the same way. When he paints his photorealistic parts, he lets himself get lost in all those little dots of light, all those shades of red, of blue. He just floats. And for me, the exhaustion at the end of the day is another important moment. The refugee children and adults we worked with this year came from Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Somalia and Kosovo. They all were super proud of themselves after a long day of just focusing on lines

and colors, and not realizing that their whole bodies were involved in the creative process. I think people are always happy when they have created something with their own hands, used mind and muscles, and did it together with many others who have just had that same experience.

What are your thoughts on street artists? How does street art compare with other artistic mediums?

As street artists, we think of ourselves as kids in rat costumes, rats being a symbol of underground life. For us, that is a role street artists choose for themselves.

The magic of street art is that you can work with a lot of people on the same project all at once, but with enough space for your own thoughts. That is rare.

People realize this rarity and treasure these shared experiences. They are thankful and we are thankful, too, because in return, we get a lot of smiles. ◆

ARTIST

St FRANCIS ELEVATOR RIDE Text by Dion Lucas & St Francis Elevator Ride Popular visual culture is difficult to characterize, but what we can be sure of is that it’s an ever-changing and fluctuating phenomenon. Many artists today, fascinated (and perhaps also disgusted) by what pop imagery has offered us during the past century, are re-appropriating this imagery in captivating ways and transforming them in the process. One such artist goes by the pseudonym St Francis Elevator Ride, a Memphis-based collage artist and designer whose work incorporates digital and analog methods expressed through various mediums, including collage, print and web media. His distinct style is characterized by simple and minimal design aesthetics, vintage pop imagery and twentieth century romantic ideals. As for inspiration, the artist’s creations are fueled by his interpersonal relationships and revolve around themes of love, sex, delusion and visceral emotions.

St Francis Elevator Ride’s collages are what you would get if you put vintage pop imagery and surrealism in a blender. He assembles different objects of mass culture through a surrealist aesthetic in order to create unsettling images. And we can’t seem to take our eyes off them.

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I think all artists must be at least a little bit brain damaged to put so much work into a thing with no reward except getting to see what the inside of their heads looks like on the outside.

Of the series presented on these pages, the artist states: “I enjoy making an audience feel really uncomfortable.

To achieve this end, I often marry lowbrow retro ad clippings with images culled from old anatomy/botany texts to make something completely new, beautiful – and unsettling. Lately, I’ve been addressing the issue of American overconsumption by introducing surrealist settings filled with disgusting food photos from gimmicky 60s recipe books (Google “frosted ribbon loaf ” or “ham and bananas hollandaise” for a general frame of reference). I’ve always been drawn to the pop approach of making art from domestically ordinary things, be it household appliances or the jello mold rotting in the back of Grandma’s fridge. The end goal is always the same: get the audience’s attention by upending the commonplace (or even gross), and then challenge them to find beauty in unexpected places.

I think all artists must be at least a little bit brain damaged to put so much work into a thing with no reward except getting to see what the inside of their heads looks like on the outside. And I wouldn’t change a thing about it.” ◆

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ARCHITECTURE

Text by Dan Davies Photos courtesy of Al Jazeera English

Last year, Al Jazeera English featured a six-part documentary entitled “Rebel Architecture” that took viewers around the globe to Spain, Pakistan, the Occupied West Bank, Vietnam, Nigeria and finally Brazil. Each episode follows architects that use their profession as a means for activism and addressing social needs.

All the Rebel Architects share a common ethos: that architecture should be used as a tool to improve human life and not just provide something for the elite and tourists to marvel at. The common goal is to change general attitudes towards architecture and to raise consciousness to the fact that architecture has the power and responsibility to help solve some of the world’s urban, environmental and social problems.

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ne of the new terms added to the Cambridge Dictionary for 2015 is “hostile architecture”, suggesting we live in dark architectural times. What’s more, the rise in “hostile architecture” couldn’t have come at a worse time. Since 2010, we’ve been a majority urban species, with more humans living in cities than the countryside for the first time in humanity’s history. Unfortunately, this has been less about hundreds of millions moving into town houses with front and back gardens and more about an urban explosion of informal settlements on the edge of hypercities like Manila, Delhi and Mexico City.

Many of the new city dwellers are fleeing from the other threats humanity is faced with, like extreme weather events, drought, rising sea levels and displacement through conflict, while even “peaceful” countries with temperate climates suffer from the social issues created by soaring inequality. And yet when they arrive in the metropolis what do they find? Hostile architecture.

But just as architecture can drive people away, it can directly contribute to solving many of these issues. Good design can produce very dense, yet liveable cities. It can both diminish the effects of environmental threats (rising sea levels, drought, etc.) while also produce buildings that require less energy overall. Perhaps most controversially, since it has suited contemporary governments and developers to demonise the modernist expansion of public housing, architecture can also contribute to reducing the social ills we know for a fact accompany large imbalances of wealth (The Spirit Level, Wilkinson & Pickett, 2009).

This isn’t to claim that architecture per se can create a better person, but to state the obvious and point out that people with secure housing are less unequal than those without, and thus better able to focus on other aspects like education and employment.

It seemed perverse to us that architecture has become all about the aesthetics of a few iconic buildings whose main function is the glorification of those with the money to build them.

As one prize after another, and the media, celebrated the work of a select band of world famous “star-chitects”, it seemed like humanity’s most pressing problems were how to fold metal into the most obscure shapes and how implausibly high a building can go. Thankfully, not everyone agrees, and we were pleased at how many architects we found who considered their profession to be about more than aesthetics.

As one prize after another, and the media, celebrated the work of a select band of world famous “star-chitects”, it seemed like humanity’s most pressing problems were how to fold metal into the most obscure shapes and how implausibly high a building can go.

Santiago Cirugeda was one of the first that we found, and in many ways became our template. Working on the edge of the law, he occupies unused municipal land to construct radical self-built structures with local activist groups, for use by the wider community.

After looking at many architects around the world, we found they all shared some of these traits. They are architects who can’t ignore the wider context in which they live – be it Spain hit by the financial crisis, or Pakistan ravaged by floods – and then refuse to accept the status quo. Their buildings become a physical manifestation of their broader analysis. For Cirugeda, that is creating independent cultural spaces for people to flourish in a country in which, as he says, “the state has withdrawn” due to the banking crisis of 2008, while Yasmeen Lari in Pakistan helps people build their own flood-proof homes and shelters.

The main thing the Rebel Architects do that is different is shockingly simple, but speaks volumes: they construct buildings that fulfil a real social need. One of the aspects that gets lost behind the aesthetics debate is, “why is this building needed?” How many of the buildings on the Stirling Prize shortlist were needed? Did London “need” the Cheese Grater, or the Walkie Talkie? Not in the way that London needs hundreds of thousands of social housing units, and yet…

The other thing the Rebel Architects do is refuse to limit themselves to what developers want. Only the Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia works with a developer, and the scene where he’s trying to convince them about the benefits of his green “farming city” is extremely revealing as to what happens when building is left to private capital.

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All the Rebels refuse to see their buildings as something separate from society and reject placing aesthetics above people. They start the design process with an analysis of the wider context in which they live. They refuse to accept the status quo and aim to change something fundamental rather than just mitigate it. Their work is a physical solution to real problems and they design to fulfil a social need. They are willing to work outside the traditional structures and take risks with their own careers.

They are not architects paid by international NGOs to parachute in solutions, but rather architects that work in their own countries with issues they understand at a deep level. They are architects who work independently, rarely getting developer backing but funding projects themselves. And they rarely get media coverage outside specialist architectural and academic circles.

That’s not to say they’re all the same: Santiago Cirugeda is a minor legend of alternative urbanists around the word and would self-identify as a Rebel, while Kunle Adeyami has a day job with Rem Koolhaas. But for all their differences, the issues they deal with are surprisingly similar – trying to help marginal communities help themselves and fighting municipalities that are at best obstructive and at worst hostile. Yasmeen Lari has come to her work from being a kind of Pakistani “star-chitect” and what makes her a Rebel isn’t so much the architecture, which is very traditional, but the cascade training she uses to teach locals. Vo Trong Nghia, who is innovating with green architecture and materials like bamboo has, after years of struggling, established a successful practice incorporating ideas, while also taking personal risks with social projects like his Low Cost House.

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Why does attempting to create environmentally and socially responsible buildings limit access to funding, pit architects against governments and place them outside the mainstream?

The two that stand out as the most unusual are Goldsmith’s professor Eyal Weizman and Ricardo, the Brazilian slum architect. Weizman uses architecture to analyse Israel’s occupation of the West bank through its structures and built environment, and it’s also the frame through which he tries to resist oppression.

Ricardo is the only untrained architect in the series, but as a self-taught builder-architect or “pedreiro” in Rio’s Rocinha favela, he is also a quintessential Rebel. We looked at many projects led by professional architects and NGOs aimed at helping, improving and regenerating Latin America’s slums, but it only made us realize that the slums themselves where the most profound examples of Rebel Architecture. It was people like Ricardo and his forefathers who built what are now cities with no land, no training, few materials and basic tools. For all that, Ricardo still dreams of leaving and building a big concrete tower.

Working outside the traditional architect-developer relationship makes life hard for them and consequently all the Rebels are incredible, determined and inspiring people who refuse to give up, even when all the odds are against them. This isn’t to romanticize their difficult professions but to show how their architecture has made them Rebels.

Ultimately, the series asks how have we arrived at a place where architecture that actually fulfils a social need makes a Rebel? Why does attempting to create environmentally and socially responsible buildings limit access to funding, pit architects against governments and place them outside the mainstream? What does it take to make the hostile architects the outcasts? ◆

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To watch the Rebel Architecture series, visit www.aljazeera.com/programmes/rebelarchitecture

PHOTOGRAPHY

CEREMONIAL & PROTOCOLO Photography by Mechi Bassano

Ceremonial y Protocolo transports us into a Latin-American culture of worship and celebration. Set in Argentina, the series presents an intimate look at situations that celebrate daily customs, festivities and religion, ultimately evoking a sense of nostalgia and beautiful decadence with the maximum splendor of color. The scenes are composed by a mix of kitsch objects that are elevated to a state of divinity in these personal and private altars.

Mechi Bassano is a graduate in Design of Image and Sound from the University of Buenos Aires and in Direction of Photography from S.I.C.A. She was coordinator and director of product photography for the magazine Catalogue Book.

Mechi is currently developing her work as a photographer in the field of fashion and as an audiovisual artist, as she is currently co-directing her debut documentary entitled “Greater Mexico�.

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INITIATIVE

RAW Project

A New Perspective for Street Artivism Text by Enriqueta Arias & Guille Lasarte Photos by Alessandro Abate

As a quintessential movement of the past century, street art’s raison d’être in the urban environment is deeply grounded in fostering the relationship between art and the community. Wynwood Walls was conceived that way when all those abandoned warehouses in a forgotten corner of Miami began to transform into giant canvases for all residents to enjoy.

The shape of art and its role in society is constantly changing. Existing in marginal spaces, street art functions to create an unmediated connection between the artist and the viewer, but the inevitable gentrification of Wynwood questions the fundamental ethos of ownership, the process of creation and the ever-changing relationship between street art and the city.

This oasis of murals has become one of street art’s most iconic hubs. Nowadays, Wynwood is no longer considered the backyard of Art Basel, one of the most important art fairs in the world that takes place in Miami Beach each year, but is instead an integral part of the program. Considering these developments, there is a sad paradoxical reality in the neighborhood: Due to budget cuts, Wynwood’s middle school doesn’t have an art nor music program.

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The inevitable gentrification of Wynwood questions the fundamental ethos of ownership, the process of creation and the ever-changing relationship between street art and the city One can’t help but wonder how can one of the most upand-coming art neighborhoods in the entire world have public schools that don’t teach art? Furthermore, how is the popularity of street art in Wynwood being perceived by the locals who don’t get to be a part of it?

Wynwood is surrounded by low-income neighborhoods such as Allapattah, Brownsville and Overtown, and most of its residents are poor minorities. The majority of Wynwood’s population is now made up of tourists and foreign hipsters. Considering its geography, the neighborhood itself has become a contradiction demonstrating the disconnection between the local community and its original manifesto.

A few blocks away from the trendy streets of Wynwood is Re-Imagining the Arts in Wynwood or, the RAW Project, a massive public art project that started when Catalina Hidalgo, a science teacher at Jose de Diego Middle School, thought the walls of the school building were too empty and lifeless and set out to do something about it.

Patrick Walsh, director of the Wynwood Art District Association, and Robert de los Rios, creator of WynwoodMap.com – a site and app that acts as a guide to Miami’s street art – were dismayed by the fact that Wynwood has schools without art departments, so they decided to get involved in organizing a project that would initiate the process to get the “ungentrified” side of Wynwood involved in what is going on in their own neighborhood.

Dr. April Williams, principal of Jose de Diego Middle School, accepted to bring artists to paint the walls of the school during Miami Art Basel. “It’s just a shame to have galleries, boutiques and all these expensive restaurants just a couple of blocks away, where its tens of thousands of dollars for this and that, and then all of a sudden, you have a school where the people who actually live in Wynwood, who actually call this home, don’t feel any connection to it,” Robert de los Rios affirmed to National Public Radio.

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To combat this, they’ve created new hope for the 600 students by gathering over 70 murals painted in just a few weeks by internationally famous artists like Nychos, D*Face, Shark Toof, David Walker, Never2501, Anthony Lister, Fin DAC, Paola Delfín, Axel Void, Pixel Pancho, Bik Ismo and Spencer Keeton Cunningham, as well as local artists like Trek 6, Hoxxox and Santiago Rubino.

The common goal for the project, beyond the prospect of creating a unified community in an otherwise gentrified setting, is to raise $5,000,000 in order to fund an arts and music program and hire specialized staff at JDD Middle School and ultimately extend this to other public schools in the area. In order to do so, the RAW Project has launched a long-term fundraising campaign.

Finally, the volunteer artists will be selling original paintings where 100% of the proceeds will go to the Middle School.

The walls have gained new life and they invite the students to gather around and enjoy the new murals of their school. Some of them affirmed that now that artists came, they made their lives better and the initiative makes them want to go to school everyday.

Shawn Palmer, a 17-year-old boy from the neighborhood, approached Spencer Keeton Cunningham while he was working on his mural and shared the experience to paint with him. But despite all the joy that art can bring, violence continues to be a reality in the neighborhood.

“There was a shooting down the street from where we were painting – while we were painting – the other night and five were shot. One 17-year-old was killed. Shawn knew one of the kids. The violence is saddening but we are still painting.”

Spencer Keeton says.

RAW Project was a whole new experience for Axel Void, a graffiti writer who was born in Miami and raised in Spain. He said he was touched when some school kids gave him drawings to show their appreciation for painting a big mural inside the school.

The RAW Project at JDD Middle School has demonstrated to be one of the most influential and inspiring events during Art Basel by catering to the community and not just the visitors and a selected few. This demonstrates how art is a significant tool in the creation of a unified society led by kindness and cooperation. ◆

ILLUSTRATION

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from

ANCIENT

civilizations to

SURREALISM Interview by Dion Lucas Illustrations by Andrew Khosravani Vibrant swirls of detail give way to surreal illustrations inspired by a wide range of sources, from ancient civilizations to science fiction. South London-based illustrator and animator Andrew Khosravani’s work is a result of a harmonious blend of styles – from psychedelic to surrealist while figurative and ornamental at times. We wanted to get to know the man behind these meticulous and mesmerizing illustrations.

Tell us about yourself. Where are you from and where are you currently based?

I’m from South West England and I am currently based in Peckham, London.

Do you work for a company or do you freelance?

At the moment just freelance, I also work in a skateboard shop part-time to make ends meet.

How did you get into illustrating? Have you always done it or did it come about later in life?

I pretty much always enjoyed drawing and did a lot of it in secondary school. When I finished college, I decided to do a foundation in Illustration as I almost had nothing else on. Whilst I really enjoyed it, I spent a lot of my time getting stoned so my production level wasn’t great. It was only when I was in my first year of Uni did I realize that if I put the bong down I could actually make a living drawing, so I focused more and since graduating in 2013 I have worked on a load of stuff and moved from drawing to animation as well.

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It was only when I was in my first year of Uni did I realize that if I put the bong down I could actually make a living drawing.

From where do you draw inspiration?

I’m really interested in surreal imagery, tribes, ancient civilization, science fiction and musicians as inspiration. Recently I have been looking into Persian artwork and Far Eastern stuff. The Persian Miniature is a particular favorite source of inspiration as they are so beautiful and intricate.

Can you tell us a bit about what draws you to ancient civilizations and cultures?

I have always been fascinated by the old world and ancient ways of life. Their complex cosmology and ideology fascinate me and I really enjoy visiting these subjects in my work. My dad is Iranian and my mum is Brazilian so language and culture are something I naturally find interesting.

There are powerful elements of surrealism in your work. Can you elaborate on that?

I guess I have always been inspired by the surrealists and it comes out in my work. I personally like making images that are a bit strange and psychedelic because those were always the images I was attracted to when I was growing up.

I enjoy making illustrations with several subjects interchanging between each other and the theme of metamorphosis has always fascinated me.

Are there any particular artists that you admire or that inspire you?

I’m a big Hieronymus Bosch fan, his work was just so far ahead of its time, it’s unreal. For animation, the production company Buck create spectacular stuff as well as Nicolas Ménard.

I’m also lucky that some of my closest friends are amazing animators and illustrators. Amélie Barnathan, Maciek Janicki and Cristina Florit Gomila constantly inspire me and push me to work harder to keep up with them! ◆

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ART & TECHNOLOGY

DIGITAL IDENTITY Interview by Charlotte Specht Photos courtesy of Nobumichi Asai

We are on the horizon of a new age in virtual reality. Japanese media artist Nobumichi Asai and his team have visualized real-time face tracking and 3D projection installations they imagine as the future of ‘face-hacking’. Being able to transform faces entirely, Nobumichi paves the way for a completely new reinterpretation of the human form and our understanding of what the face traditionally used to be.

Face-mapping technology already exists, often used in marketing initiatives. But Nobumichi wanted to focus on the expression of beauty instead of technological gimmicks. Traditional Japanese aesthetics play a particularly significant role in his work since Western influences have almost completely replaced “kesho”, the Japanese expression for make-up, Japan’s unique set of aesthetic ideals that have been passed on through generations. Nobumichi Asai explains what face-tracking is and how it works.

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What is face­-tracking?

It is a technology that projects the computer-generated facial texture, created by tracking the position of the face with an infrared sensor, perfectly on to an actual face.

How is art involved?

Just like projection mapping to architecture, the texture that is projected is only adding meaning to the original object, and is not the expression itself. The person being projected on to is the essence that appeals to the viewer, and the mapping controls how the person appears. So, what is most important is the object of projection (the person). With our project “OMOTE”, the casting was very deliberate. If we had chosen a different model, I think it would have been a completely different expression.

How does it work?

It is important for the tracking and projection to be done in real time and not in post production. The texture projected on to a real object and not inside a monitor blurs the line between reality and fantasy and possesses the power to leave a strong impact on the viewer.

What are the implications of face-tracking?

People are able to conduct complicated and delicate communications using their facial expressions. To control the image of the face that is the medium of that communication is, like makeup, to influence the relationship between people. While it is an expression within a very small area that is the face, it exerts very powerful transmission powers. This shows the importance of the face in human communication.

What will it change?

I think it will take some time for art to actually influence how the world works. But when face mapping becomes the norm I think there will be many problems. When we consider how the face is one’s identity, we will once again have to consider the question, “What am I?” People have the desire to transform into the self they want to be through makeup. I think that desire is both self affirmative as well as self denial. I think a vector that will push that desire will start working.

How can it be used?

I think the field that it will be used most effectively will be as a fantasy. In music videos and theatre, I think it will be used as an effective production tool or gimmick.

Also, there is usage of it as makeup. There may be many women who will want to put makeup on more instantly.

Among the many inquiries I received so far, there were many people who wished they could use the technology as a makeup simulation similar to trying on clothes. I think the fact that the face is an important medium that cannot be ignored in the way we live heavily influences our daily lives, but personally, I want to express the intrigue of that fact through exciting entertainment.

What role does the human face play in Japanese culture?

In Japan, we have a saying: “Meh wa kuchi hodo ni mono wo iu”, which translates to, “The eyes say more than the mouth.” We also have the saying: “Kuuki wo yomu”(“Read the situation”, “Read between the lines”). The face is a very important transmission tool in communication, especially to convey emotion.

Is your project “OMOTE” in some way also a criticism of the Western influence taking over in other cultures, such as Japan, and replacing traditional values?

Even if it’s not intentional, I think it unconsciously exists. I am of the postwar generation (World War II), but the deeper I learn about Japan’s traditional culture, I am moved by its culture and high artistic quality and depth. The culture I enjoyed while growing up in a city was not that kind of good old traditional culture but a Westernized junk culture of mass production and consumption, which I feel prioritizes economic principles and efficiency over richness of humans and humanity.

When studying history, it makes me feel there were many things that were destroyed or lost after the Meiji Restoration and a few wars.

What will be the next step in “face-hacking”?

Technology widens the possibilities of various expressions. I’m not insistent on face mapping.

But the face as a medium always presents possibilities for large expression. Next I want to take on the challenge of reaching the level of expressing emotion and personality by pursuing precision even further. I am also trying to develop a full body tracking and projection project. For example, I see a big possibility in collaboration with Cirque de Soleil.

The culture I enjoyed while growing up in a city was not that kind of good old traditional culture but a Westernized junk culture of mass production and consumption, which I feel prioritizes economic principles and efficiency over richness of humans and humanity.

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What future role does it play in terms of identity – can we lose our identity or will it enhance and expand our identity?

One possibility that was gained from face mapping is that an identity can be actively controlled by facial expression. I think to be able to change a face with expression will give us an opportunity to really think about what is identity and what is individuality? I think this is the same problem of makeup art. I think we are going to be expected to subjectively think about our own identities and to express ourselves.

What is most exciting about being able to project anything in your fantasy onto a human canvas, the face?

In face-hacking, I pursued various fantasies over reality. There is still potential for various expressions. But what I want to put more emphasis on are the values of “beauty” and “elegance”. This theme is an extension of OMOTE, but I think “beauty” and “elegance”

expressed using a human face has a universal value that transcends generations and nationalities. I feel the most significance in creating and conveying such work.

3D projections on the face are temporary artworks and do not live on unless you record them on video. What meaning does it have to you to make art for the moment which changes with every millisecond?

It is necessary to record in order to convey to a large audience, but essentially, the true interest lies in “the changing of an existence living in real space” rather than the recording and establishing of it as a work of art. This is something that is very surprising, and an exciting experience.

This is because it can be felt as a real experience and not as an “image (notion)”. This shows the essence of the expressive possibility of projection mapping, and expressions created with new technology in the future cannot escape this context. ◆

ILLUSTRATION

FAB Art by Fab Ciraolo Photos by Cici Rivarola

www.fabciraolo.com

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THE PSYCHEDELIC CHEF

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BANANA LEMON MARMALADE Recipe & Photo by JOS*

Once upon a time, a father that didn’t know how to put together a breakfast came up with the great idea to just mix and play with food.

He called it “The Come Down and Eat It Fast Because We Are Late for School Breakfast”.

I always remember this awesome taste of a mix of chopped bananas, lemon juice and sprinkled sugar. That was a complete breakfast for me when I was seven, also he used to toast bread with strawberry marmalade and afterwards melted some gouda cheese on top, (just yummy shit right there), we can call it the strawberry cheese attack!

So I grew up and now it was my time to play with food. I was working in a restaurant in Lisbon a few years ago and we used to have a very tasty banana dish on the menu. I was so far away from home and the flavors of the warm Romeo’s clan breakfast came back in my mind and these good memories made me create the “bananalemon marmalade”. In the beginning I wanted to put it on top of a juicy grilled steak, also I forgot to mention that the marmalade has a little hint of Asian ginger that crossed my way during it’s creation, but then I said to myself: fuck the steak and go simple! And that’s when I just cut a slice of rustic Italian bread, olive oil on top, two big spoons of the magic bananalemon-ginger awesomeness and two slices of gouda cheese, then to the oven until the cheese became golden... just pure pinche fiesta de sabor!

INGREDIENTS • • • • •

Bananas (same amount as sugar) Sugar (same amount as bananas) Lemon juice Asian ginger White pepper

PREPARATION To make the marmalade, you will need the same amount of sugar as bananas, it’s simple to make. Just put the sugar and chopped bananas into a pot to melt and boil for 15 minutes on low heat. Chop a little bit of Asian ginger, throw in some ground white pepper and lemon juice and it will be ready to go, although first you will need to let it cool down for sure.

Get fat, get drunk, have sex!

THIS IS ROMEO’S

THE STORY GOES LIKE THIS

CLAN BREAKFAST

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SCULPTURE

MAN AND THE SEA Text by Tomasz Pierog Photos by Jason deCaires Taylor

Jason deCaires Taylor has taken his art beyond aesthetics and technique by fusing the fields of art and science to create underwater sculptures that not only act as magnificent installations under the sea, but also actively contribute to organic growth of marine life in an increasingly damaged ecosystem.

Most of us won’t have the privilege of witnessing Taylor’s sculptures firsthand, but since we live in an image-world anyway, his photographs of his stunning installations offer us ephemeral glimpses of an art form that is in constant evolution. His sculptures, occupying up to 420 square meters underwater, are made using sustainable pH-neutral materials and act as artificial reefs that soon become populated by plants, corals and other forms of marine life. The underwater sculptures also help divert divers and snorkelers away from the delicate reefs in order to give them space to recover naturally.

As the most destructive species on Earth, humans continue to damage coral reefs and marine life through overfishing, oil spills, pollution and countless other practices that are ruining entire ecosystems. Art has the power to transmit messages of urgency in dire situations like these where changing mentalities (and thereby practices) is of essence.

Taylor was born in 1974 and grew up in Europe and Asia.

Already as a child, he explored the coral reefs of Malaysia and his fascination with underwater life led him to become a diving instructor after graduating with a degree in Sculpture from the London Institute of Arts. His love of art and marine life merged and gave way to the striking results we see in these photos today.

As the most destructive species on Earth, humans continue to damage coral reefs and marine life through overfishing, oil spills, pollution and countless other practices that are ruining entire ecosystems.

In 2006, Taylor founded the world’s first underwater sculpture park located off the coast of Grenada, West Indies, which was named one of the 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic. Three years later, he co-founded the Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA) off the coast of Mexico, an underwater art museum with 500 permanent life-size sculptures. Most recently, in 2014, Taylor created Ocean Atlas, a 60-ton, 18-foot-tall sculpture of a girl holding the weight of the ocean on her shoulders, in reference to the Greek mythology of Atlas, the primordial Titan who held up the celestial spheres. The massive statue now lives under the sea on the western coastline of New Providence

in Nassau, Bahamas, and is reportedly the largest sculpture ever installed under the sea. The sculptures themselves are all figures of humans – men, women and children – in different scenarios. One man, possessed by inertia, passively sits on a couch watching television, oblivious to the environmental crisis unfolding around him. Others join hands and look up in hope. Others bury their heads in the sand. Soon the bodies and faces become covered by corals, plants and starfish. The works themselves develop biological growth and with time, they transform the underwater landscape by working with, instead of against, nature.

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Art has the power to transmit messages of urgency in dire situations like these where changing mentalities (and thereby practices) is of essence.

Taylor has become a significant player in the practice of ecological art, which are a series of art practices that go beyond engaging an audience’s aesthetic sensibilities to directly tackling environmental issues, such as moss graffiti or guerrilla gardening. These forms of art are often created in collaboration with scientists, city planners and other professionals in order to successfully intervene in restoring different aspects of the environment.

It is nature itself that plays a role in the development of Taylor’s artwork, because once his sculptures are placed on the ground, they are transformed into another state by becoming assimilated by marine life. This, in turn, acts as a significant metaphor for the future of our own species. Let his work inspire us to take action and protect what is left of the planet’s underwater life. ◆

PERFORMANCE

ART VOYAGE Text by Ana Sofia Brito Photos by Simon de Los Rios

It is always a privilege for any artist to cross borders to show their art. Taking my show to India was a dream come true because I have always felt a great fascination for this country, for its culture and its people. I would be lying if I said that the shows I did over there weren’t the best of my career; that audience that marvels, that feels, that screams, that gives back, that is not ashamed to admire and to show their gratitude for what the artist offers them. At one moment, in the middle of the performance, while the audience tirelessly applauded, I felt tears running down my face, something that has never happened to me in ten years of performing. Not to mention the enormous affection that the people showed. At the end of each show, dozens of people waited for me to ask me to take their picture with them, to hug me, to talk to me or to tell me they had never seen anything like my show before. This illustrates the kind of people they are – affectionate, humble, polite and genuine – and it was precisely the attitude of the public that made these four shows the best of my career so far. It was a magical experience for me, given the cold and reserved European public I am used to. If we consider that art is what gives color to

life, then it is invaluable for artists to travel and share, exchange and fuse their art with the rest of the world.

Travel is what most enriches our internal worlds; it is what gives us wisdom to know how to live respecting all the different cultures and customs around us.

Through travel, we get to know life as it is, away from our bubble, with eyes wide open and an awakened consciousness, which in turn makes us more creative and in better conditions to develop our art.

To practice and live from your art is an act of courage.

It is a proof of love and respect for ourselves and for the world and it is this very courage that pushes us to travel, to give and to receive. Through this, we become more confident, humble and ultimately better artists when we realize that there is an entire world out there with people just like us from whom we can learn and share that same love. If we grow up with fear from a society that intimidates us from the moment we are born, we will never get the courage to embrace what we truly love and be able to enjoy a life made up of happy moments every day.

To live doing what we really love is the best virtue one can have and is, for me, the only way to live a life full of joy and fulfillment.

www.bookastreetartist.com/fireart/ana-sofia

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INITIATIVE

NEW NEIGHBORS

Text by Caro Curbelo Photos by Andrés Boero Madrid Special thanks to Andrés Boero Madrid & Clarissa Guarilha for this amazing experience and for the good times we spent together www.residenciavatelon.com

In the quiet town of Villa Soriano, on the banks of the Río Negro, the inhabitants of the first Spanish settlement on Uruguayan soil have begun to befriend their new neighbors.

Like in any small community, you can spot an outsider from a mile away. What gives them away immediately is their way of walking, the speed of the city and the habit of asking for the time. We’re not talking about tourists. For a couple of years now, there has been a house that brings new neighbors to the town every summer.

The decision to establish a creative powerhouse in a rural enclave was the answer Uruguayan photographer and filmmaker Andrés Boero Madrid and Brazilian producer Clarissa Guarilha found after living for several years in Río de Janeiro. They felt the need to change pace, to take on new challenges and, above all, to connect with an inner calling that was asking them to open up to something that would allow them to share, reflect and contribute to the development of a better community.

They never leave completely, as they always leave a mark that keeps them alive in the collective memory of the town and its people.

They stay the time needed to adapt to the rhythm of the river: sometimes one week, other times, one month. Their stays vary in time and form and it’s common for them to change plans as they go. They never leave completely, as they always leave a mark that keeps them alive in the collective memory of the town and its people.

VATELÓN. A house, a workspace, a place of reflection: an artist residency program that since 2013 actively promotes exchange between artists and this small community.

Among the goals they set themselves is the premise to reconnect with nature in order to cultivate the knowledge of man; to reclaim the artistic experience as the best school and to value uncertainty as the greatest engine for fostering creativity.

Art. 27 of the Declaración de los Derechos Humanos (Declaration of Human Rights) states, “All people have the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to partake in scientific advancement and its benefits resulting therefrom”.

Top: Mural by JAZ Bottom: JAZ sketching and painting what will later become a large-scale work of art

Now that we know the objective, this town ceases to be a lost place and transforms into a dreamed place, as it’s the perfect setting to fulfill this challenge.

ART UNPLUGGED. Since Residencia Vatelón opened its doors two years ago, it has received more than 20 artists and professionals in the culture fields, some Uruguayan and others who came from Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France and Mozambique. These experiences create a strong tie between residents and visitors. A close and familiar relationship is established almost immediately, which causes the newcomers to abandon their quality of “guest” and adopt the role of “maker” instead. From this new place, an honest dialogue opens up, which leads to reflection on the residency’s true objective: cooperation between the community and the artists.

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An honest dialogue opens up, which leads to reflection on the residency’s true objective: cooperation between the community and the artists.

At this point, whether directly or indirectly, a large number of locals have participated in these activities, be it lectures, workshops, interventions or even handing over the walls of their homes for the artists to intervene on.

This last case is perhaps the most visible form of Residencia Vatelón’s presence in Villa Soriano.

Each season, well-known artists arrive to paint murals that integrate into this peaceful rural setting.

Referential work of street artists like David de la Mano (Spain) or Franco Fasoli, a.k.a. JAZ (Argentina), reaches an extraordinary new dimension when they take the ruins of an abandoned rural house as their canvas or when they mimic the colors of autumn in the country.

Uruguayan artists such as Nicolás Sánchez (Alfalfa), Florencia Durán (FITZ) and Camilo Nuñez (THEIC) explored themes of culture and local identity. During their residency, they painted a series of large murals, one of them under the slogan “Tradition for evolution”, which they worked on with local schoolchildren and the master Julio Asarían, a renowned local artist and author of the historic murals of the town.

Francisco Díaz, a.k.a. Pastel (Argentina), creates a relationship between his work and its surroundings, taking wild flowers and other native elements as references that he then paints on the ruins of an old ranch. Into the woods, we discover an installation of lead arrows that, suspended in the air, crosses the landscape in intimate dialogue with the river.

The work is completed with its context and the grateful landscape receives it as a gift.

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1. A boat full of fantastic musicians arrives at the port of Malegría. Ignoring the limits of the large wall, his work continues on a mast carrying aloft a waving flag.

2. FITZ paints a mural with local children.

3. Old photographs taken by her father inspire many of Mariela Ajras’s murals. However, in this case, the reference of this group of women on a summer’s afternoon comes from a 1960s image from LIFE Magazine.

Clockwise from top-left: Pastel works on his installation of arrows; a local “gaucho” observes Malegría’s mural; Pastel’s installation of arrows flows over the river; a mural by Pastel on an abandoned ranch.

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The roots of Residencia Vatelón continue to strengthen and the new year arrives with a proposal that goes beyond the limits of the town. Taking the river as a narrative backbone, a group of muralists are invited to leave their mark in BROTE, the very first street art encounter in the region that happens alongside the Jazz a la Calle (Jazz on the street) festival. Sebastián Malegría (Colombia), Pol Corona (France), Mariela Ajras (Argentina) and Martín Lorenzo, a.k.a. MADE (Uruguay), painted during intense days accompanied by musicians

that played on the streets surrounded by curious neighbors that would come with their foldable beach chairs to create improvised stages on any corner.

Once the gathering came to a close, we returned with the artists to spend a few more days at the residence. The atmosphere is one of family celebration, we share first impressions, ideas, projects, names of artists to recommend… and even though we haven’t left yet, we’re already thinking of excuses to return. ◆

Opposite & this page: The entire town navigates the river on Pol Corona’s boat. In the foreground, characters inspired by the neighbors he met during these days hold trees in their hands.

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