summer 2015
Inked Memories Avedon a portrait of an artist
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Table of Contents 5 from the editor
16 crux cult girls
what was it like to make crux cult come to life
who are the crux cult girls? dive into their backstory and motivation to be themselves
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32 inked memories 7 aware
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food, culture, travel
12 Products here are the latest must-haves to start your life on the edge
24 avedon discover the man behind the camera lens
read about how the common day tattoo evolved through history
41 diversity a visual story about individuals enjoying life
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Editor
Brooke Mang
Art Director Brooke Mang
Contact
at a glimpse Crux Cult is an edgy magazine for those who like to test the boundaries of style. It’s not just a look, it’s a lifestyle. Those who dress on the edge, live on the edge, they think differently and love to stand out. They want others to notice the difference between them and your standard individual. That wandering nomad, who dresses and thinks differently from the rest of society, finally has a home, a group, an escape to turn to, known as the Crux Crew. We invite you to join us, in rebelling against the standards of society. Crux Cult is suitable for young adults coming from any background. It mainly appeals to women, who want to have a more “street” look, but includes male content as well. The content includes lots of men’s high fashion streetwear stores to incorporate the two sexes into having a common style.
contact@cruxcult.com 818) 912-1313
Dean Baquet Executive Editor
Tom Bodkin Creative Director Susan Chira Deputy Executive Editor Janet Elder Deputy Executive Editor Matthew Purdy Deputy Executive Editor Kinsey Wilson Editor for Innovation and Strategy Executive V.P., Product and Technology
Assistant Editor
Steve Duenes Assistant Editor Ian Fisher Assistant Editor Joseph Kahn Assistant Editor Clifford Levy Assistant Editor Alexandra MacCallum Assistant Editor Michele Mcnally Assistant Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Trish Hall Deputy Editorial Page Editor Terry Tang Deputy Editorial Page Editor
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Golden Vice Chairman James M. Follo Chief Financial Officer Kenneth A. Richieri General Counsel Roland A. Caputo Executive V.P., Print Products Meredith Kopit Levien Chief Revenue Officer
Vice President
William T. Bardeen Senior Vice President Terry L. Hayes Senior Vice President
Brooke Mang
A
From the Editor
t a glance, you may not know what to expect from Crux Cult. Creating a magazine could be compared to building a puzzle. You have an idea of what you want the end result to be like, but are given all these pieces that you are unsure of where to put. I wanted to create a new feel and deeper meaning, rather than designing a magazine that you have already seen. With this magazine I hope to inspire the youth into expressing their inner-being instead of hiding it from the world. I used to dress and act like every one else because I didn’t want to stand out. Once I got out of the high school bubble, I started to slowly expose myself to the world, physically and mentally. I cut off my long dirty-blonde hair and dyed it black, pierced my nose, and started a mini collection of tattoos on my arms. I began attending numerous rock and roll shows and express my artistic side through pointillism and tattoo designs. I dropped out of a traditional college and pursued an art career. I can proudly say that I have never felt more like myself. I hope to pass that along to the readers. Each page revolves around standing out and expression. Even the layout isn’t what you would typically see in a fashion magazine with its bold shapes and fonts. The Crux Cult is a family, you are not alone, and you don’t have to stay within a bubble. Pop that bubble and show the world who you are.
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aware
Food
Culture
Travel
photos by: Brooke Mang
Healthy brews The first thing in your mouth should be healthy coffee Starbucks is aware that many of our customers prefer their favorite beverages to be prepared with non-dairy milk options, including almond milk. Through careful research and development including numerous recipes and taste tests, Starbucks Global Research & Development team found that the rich, creaminess of coconut milk is the best complement to Starbucks® hot, iced and Frappuccino® beverages. We are unable to provide Almond Milk as a milk alternative at this time. We are always listening to customer feedback and continually look to evaluate additional core espresso offerings and explore the operational feasibility as they become important to our customers. Plant-based milks have taken the market by storm and as more and more companies add them to their menus, it looks as though they’re here to stay. One such company, Starbucks, recently added coconut milk to their offerings, in addition to the soy milk they already offered, in an effort to give people a dairyfree option, as well as a soy-free one. Now, it appears they’re doing it again in the form of their limited edition Almond Milk Frappuccino with Honey Crunch and the Almond Milk Latte with Honey Crunch. Available only from mid-March through mid-April, the company is delving into the ever popular almond milk territory, something they avoided due to allergen concerns when they went with a worldwide release of coconut milk as their soy alternative milk.
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aware
Food
Culture
Travel
Comic Treasure Fashion times comic book art
Who doesn’t love to look at comic books? Maybe you aren’t a fan of the stories, but the artwork is spectacular. FIDM students took a creative approach to display the fine comic book art in a more “fashionable” way. Within the windows on the fifth floor, of the downtown LA campus, are shapes and treasures, from floating shoes, to fighting crime, and hidden treasures among the rukus. While passing by, you are unable to just take a glance at the design, as the vibrant colors captivate your attention to look a little deeper. The eye-catching colors make it hard to look away, but bring about a nostalgic feel. The students say that they took what had inspired them and put it into their childhood memories into their works of art. Comic books, some say, played a huge roll in their childhood, as they wanted to mimic their favorite superheroes. As we all know not all superheroes wear capes, in this case, they look like they wear jewels, purses, and heels. Guess that’s what you can expect from the students of FIDM. May all of their fashion aspirations come true and inspire those who next enter the doors of design.
written by: Brooke Mang
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aware
Food
Culture
London Road History intertwined with modern living
written by: Brooke Mang
Looking for places to go this year? Check out the amazing sights of London, England. From the architectural history, to the art museums and cobblestone roads, it feels as if you are walking through a storybook. Check out the Paliament building, including Big Ben, and Stonehenge lies just a couple hours outside of the city’s boundaries. So much history and sight-seeing opportunities in this country. There are the many castles, and palaces, even the Queen’s crown jewels in the Tower of London. Cathedrals and burial sights of the names we have all read in our history textbooks. A great family adventure, or a place to explore with friends with a poppin nightlife.
Travel
Products 1
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Flannel: gives that rocker feel, nice accessory to tie around your waist
Winged eye liner is a bold statement for any outfit, why not give it a try?
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Black high waisted rip jeans go perfectly with any shirt, giving you a little edge.
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Heels with spikes are the perfect addition to make your dress a little bit more edgy.
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Wearing a plain tee, add a giant necklace to dress it up for the night.
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Who wants boring sunglasses? Spice up your style by going for the 60’s chick look.
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Leather jackets go with just about any outfit choice, should be one of your closet must-haves.
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Black hat makes your outfit more of a statement, or can dress it up. Perfect sidestage hat for festivals.
Want to be daring? Try adding red lipstick to spice up your attire.
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Summer of
Love
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C C Meet
read
GI
CRUX CULT the Crux Cult girls, some of the edgiest girls around
about their backstory and what inspires them to be different
IRLS written by: Eduardo Smith
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CRUX CULT GIRLS
Amanda Hendrick Amanda Hendrick is a 24-year-old with The Look and Colours Agency, Scottish model, born in Airdrie. She works Select Model Management, Diva Models,
Supreme Management, Vision Los Angeles, and Women Management. She is an official member of the Crux Cult, along with other well- known models.Walking the runway for Balenciaga, Jean Paul Gaultier and featuring in Vogue and Elle magazines
across the globe, Amanda Hendrick is one of the most sought after models in the UK. Taking time out of her busy schedule Bring The Noise caught up with her to discuss fashion, music and her hippy inspired life!
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Hanna Beth Hanna Beth Merjos (born 24 August 1988), best known as Hanna Beth is a New York model who modeled for Evey Clothing and New York Couture. Hanna Beth was born in New York City on August 24, 1988. She moved to Los Angeles when she was five years old. Her father, Stavros Merjos, and her mother, Danielle Merjos split when she
was young. Hanna has 3 younger brothers: Marlon, Roscoe. Her father owns a production company. After Hanna graduated from high school, she did not continue her study. Hanna started modeling at the age of 16. She worked with any photographer and eventually, people started to see her photos and photographers would contact her. Her first real
CRUX CULT GIRLS
photoshoot was an ad for Sharp TV. She also collaborated with the Indie clothing company Glamour Kills on their 2009 line. Hanna has been featured in over 27 magazines. She had a relationship with Trace Cyrus, front man of Metro Station, Martin Johnson, front man of Boys Like Girls and rapper Flavor Flav.
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“You’ve lik
kely stumbled across one of her numerous fansites, or admired her tattoos.�
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Hannah
CRUX CULT GIRLS
the internet. You’ve likely stumbled across one of her numerous fansites, or admired her tattoos. Or perhaps you’re familiar with her partnerin-crime, Bring Me the Horizon band frontman and fiancé, Oliver Sykes. So we’ve had our eyes on Hannah for awhile – it’s hard not to, after Trust us when we all – she’s a megasay that you have seen Hannah before babe, having even done some side – she is arguably modeling projects, one of the most reblogged faces on including for Syke’s A tattoo artist by trade, a creative spirit by nature, a chronic doodler by design and a modest scholar at heart, Hannah Pixie Snowdon has attracted an immense following with her array of creative talents and beautifully ornate designs.
Snowdon
clothing line, Drop Dead. But the real attraction is her dedicated work ethic and positive approach to her craft. Despite her popularity, Hannah remains somewhat elusive; her Instagram account is about as close of a look into her private and inspired life as one can explore. Until now. We spoke with Hannah about some of her recent travels and sources of inspiration.
Rich Ave
A PORTRA
hard edon
AIT OF AN ARTIST
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What do Jean Genet, Jimmy Durante, Brigitte Bardot,
Georgia O’Keeffe, Jacques Cousteau, Andy Warhol, and Lena Horne have in common? They were a few of the many personalities caught on film by photographer Richard Avedon. For more than fifty years, Richard Avedon’s portraits have filled the pages of the country’s finest magazines. His stark imagery and brilliant insight into his subjects’ characters has made him one of the premier American portrait photographers.
Born in New York in 1923, Richard Avedon dropped out of high school and joined the Merchant Marine’s photographic section. Upon his return in 1944, he found a job as a photographer in a department store. Within two years he had been “found” by an art director at Harper’s Bazaar and was producing work for them as well as Vogue, Look, and a number of other magazines. During the early years, Avedon made his living primarily through work in advertising. His real passion, however, was the portrait and its ability to express the essence of its subject.
“All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.” –Richard Avedon
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s Avedon’s notoriety grew, so did the opportunities to meet and photograph celebrities from a broad range of disciplines. Avedon’s ability to present personal views of public figures, who were otherwise distant and inaccessible, was immediately recognized by the public and the celebrities themselves. Many sought out Avedon for their most public images. His artistic style brought a sense of sophistication and authority to the portraits. More than anything, it is Avedon’s ability to set his subjects at ease that helps him create true, intimate, and lasting photographs. Throughout his career Avedon has maintained a unique style all his own. Famous for their minimalism, Avedon portraits are often well lit and in front of white backdrops. When printed, the images regularly contain the dark outline of the film in which the image was framed. Within the minimalism of his empty studio, Avedon’s subjects move freely, and it is this movement which brings a sense of spontaneity to the images. Often containing only a portion of the person being photographed, the images seem intimate in their imperfection.
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W
hile many photographers are interested in either Throughout the 1960s Avedon continued to work for catching a moment in time or preparing a formal image, Harper’s Bazaar and in 1974 he collaborated with James Avedon has found a way to do both. Baldwin on the book Nothing Personal. Having met in New York in 1943, Baldwin and Avedon were friends and Beyond his work in the magazine industry, Avedon has collaborators for more than thirty years. For all of the collaborated on a number of books of portraits. In 1959 he 1970s and 1980s Avedon continued working for Vogue worked with Truman Capote on a book that documented magazine, where he would take some of the most famous some of the most famous and important people of portraits of the decades. In 1992 he became the first staff the century. Observations included images of Buster photographer for The New Yorker, and two years later Keaton, Gloria Vanderbilt, Pablo Picasso, Dr. J. Robert the Whitney Museum brought together fifty years of his Oppenheimer, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mae West. Around work in the retrospective, “Richard Avedon: Evidence�. this same time he began a series of images of patients in He was voted one of the ten greatest photographers in mental hospitals. Replacing the controlled environment of the world by Popular Photography magazine, and in 1989 the studio with that of the hospital he was able to recreate received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of the genius of his other portraits with non-celebrities. The Art in London. Today, his pictures continue to bring us brutal reality of the lives of the insane was a bold contrast a closer, more intimate view of the great and the famous. to his other work. Years later he would again drift from his celebrity portraits with a series of studio images of Avedon died on October 1st, 2004. drifters, carnival workers, and working class Americans.
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Written by: Broke Mang
Inked Memories The History of Tattoos
Tattooing has been around for centuries, with different purposes for various cultures. Take a look into history, and how tattooing has evolved into the fine art we know and love today.
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The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian “tatu” which means “to mark something.” It is arguably claimed that tattooing has existed since 12,000 years BC. The purpose of tattooing has varies from culture to culture and its place on the time line. Tattoos have always had an important role in ritual and tradition. In Borneo, women tattooed their symbols on their forearm indicating their particular skill. If a woman wore a symbol indicating she was a skilled weaver, her status as prime marriageable material was increased. Tattoos around the wrist and fingers were believed to ward away illness. Throughout history tattoos have signified membership in a clan or society. In recorded history, the earliest tattoos can be found in Egypt during the time of the construction of the great pyramids. When the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread as well. The civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia picked up and expanded the art form. Around 2000 BC tattooing spread to China. The Greeks used tattooing for communication among spies. Markings identified the spies and showed their rank. Romans marked criminals and slaves. This practice is still carried on today. The Ainu people of western Asia used tattooing to show social status. Girls coming of age were marked to announce their place in society, as were the married women. The Ainu are noted for introducing tattoos to Japan where it developed into a religious and ceremonial rite. In Borneo, women were the tattooists. It was a cultural tradition. They produced designs indicating the owners station in life and the tribe he belonged to. Kayan women had delicate arm tattoos which looked like lacy gloves. Dayak warriors who had
“taken a head” had tattoos on their hands. The tattoos garnered respect and assured the owners status for life. Polynesians developed tattoos to mark tribal communities, families, and rank. They brought their art to New Zealand and developed a facial style of tattooing called Moko which is still being used today. There is evidence that the Mayan, Incas, and Aztecs used tattooing in the rituals. Even the isolated tribes in Alaska practiced tattooing, their style indicating it was learned from the Ainu. In the west, early Britons used tattoos in ceremonies. The Danes, Norse, and Saxons tattooed family crests. In 787 AD, Pope Hadrian banned tattooing. It still thrived in Britain until the Norman Invasion of 1066. The Normans disdained tattooing. It disappeared from Western culture from the 12th to the 16th centuries. While tattooing diminished in the west, it thrived in Japan. At first, tattoos were used to mark criminals. First offenses were marked with a line across the forehead. A second crime was marked by adding an arch. A third offense was marked by another line. Together these marks formed the Japanese character for “dog”. It appears this was the original “Three strikes your out” law. In time, the Japanese escalated the tattoo to an aesthetic art form. The Japanese body suit originated around 1700 as a reaction to strict laws concerning conspicuous consumption. Only royalty were allowed to wear ornate clothing. As a result of this, the middle class adorned themselves with elaborate full body tattoos. A highly tattooed person wearing only a loin cloth was considered well dressed, but only in the privacy of their own home.
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A highly ta loin cloth wa but only in th
attooed person wearing only a as considered well dressed, he privacy of their own home.
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illiam Dampher is responsible for re-introducing W tattooing to the west. He was a sailor and explorer
What kept tattooing from becoming more widespread was its slow and painstaking procedure. Each puncture of the skin was done by hand the who traveled the South Seas. In 1691 he brought ink was applied. In 1891, Samuel O’Rtiely patented to London a heavily tattooed Polynesian named the first electric tattooing machine. It was based on Prince Giolo, Known as the Painted Prince. He was Edison’s electric pen which punctured paper with a put on exhibition , a money making attraction, and became the rage of London. It had been 600 years needle point. The basic design with moving coils, a tube and a needle bar, are the components of today’s since tattoos had been seen in Europe and it would be another 100 years before tattooing would make it tattoo gun. The electric tattoo machine allowed anyone to obtain a reasonably priced, and readily mark in the West. available tattoo. As the average person could easily In the late 1700s, Captain Cook made several get a tattoo, the upper classes turned away from it. trips to the South Pacific. The people of London The cultural view of tattooing was so poor welcomed his stories and were anxious to see the art and artifacts he brought back. Returning form one of for most of the century that tattooing went this trips, he brought a heavily tattooed Polynesian underground. Few were accepted into the secret named Omai. He was a sensation in London. Soon, society of artists and there were no schools to study the upper- class were getting small tattoos in the craft. There were no magazines or associations. discreet places. For a short time tattooing became a Tattoo suppliers rarely advertised their products. fad.
The birthplace of the American style tattoo was
Chatham Square in New York City. At the turn of the century it was a seaport and entertainment center attracting working-class people with money. Samuel O’Riely cam from Boston and set up shop there. He took on an apprentice named Charlie Wagner. After O’Reily’s death in 1908, Wagner opened a supply business with Lew Alberts. Alberts had trained as a wallpaper designer and he transferred those skills to the design of tattoos. He is noted for redesigning a large portion of early tattoo flash art. In the 1920s, with prohibition and then the depression, Chathma Square lost its appeal. The center for tattoo art moved to Coney Island. Across the country, tattooists opened shops in areas that would support them, namely cities with military bases close by, particularly naval bases. Tattoos were know as travel markers. You could tell where a person had been by their tattoos. After world war II, tattoos became further denigrated by their associations with Marlon
Brando type bikers and Juvenile delinquents. Tattooing had little respect in American culture. Then, in 1961 there was an outbreak of hepatitis and tattooing was sent reeling on its heels. In the late 1960s, the attitude towards tattooing changed. Much credit can be given to Lyle Tuttle. He is a handsome, charming, interesting and knows how to use the media. He tattooed celebrities, particularly women. Magazines and television went to Lyle to get information about this ancient art form. Toady, tattooing is making a strong comeback. It is more popular and accepted than it has ever been. All classes of people seek the best tattoo artists. This rise in popularity has placed tattoists in the category of “fine artist”. The tattooist has garnered a respect not seen for over 100 years. Current artists combine the tr5adition of tattooing with their personal style creating unique and phenomenal body art. With the addition of new inks, tattooing has certainly reached a new plateau.
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