Amateur Magazine 006 by Amateur Magazine

WELCOME TO THE SIXTH ISSUE. VERY RAW WITH A FUCK YOU ATTITUDE.

LIL’ ILLU BATTLE

8 14 18 26

PEOPLE: PMKFA SEAN LYMAN SCHWARZMALER JEREMY FISH AT ARTYFARTY GALLERY

12 17 25 28

30 34 38 39 40 46 48

PROJECTS: BAGHEAD FAMILY NIEVES SUPERSTUDIO BACK TO THE ROOTS 1KM OF SILVER STEEL GRIP TAPE ART EXHIBITION, ZURICH STROKE, MUNICH

33 36 38 39 45 47 49

50 54 58

CARTE BLANCHE: LAIN SERGEJ VUTUC PRISM

53 57 61

62 68

COLUMNS: DARE R.I.P. (NUMBER ONE) WE MAKE BASEL (SACHENMACHEN)

67 73

74 75 76 78 80 82 84

PRODUCTS: SNEAKERNESS (IMPRESSIONS ZURICH) EYES ON TOYS (RON ENGLISH) SHIRTY (FAKE STREET STYLE) C.R.E.A.M. READERS DIG IT SAUCY BITS WELL DONE

74 75 77 79 81 82 84

DISTRIBUTION, THANK YOU, SUBSCRIBE, IMPRESSUM ._.

WWW.AMATEUR-MAGAZINE.COM

No. 006 Jul - Sep 2010

2010 © Amateur Magazine. SWITZERLAND. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written permission is strictly prohibited. Any views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. No guarantee for accuracy of statement.

Cover artwork by WES21 (www.chaoz.ch)

WERK

DOSEY

www.onetruth.ch

In each issue 2 chosen artists draw against one another. Each artist gets his page (left or right) with an object

DR. DRAX www.onetruth.ch

placed in the middle (done by Dosey for this issue). Amateur then just puts the two pages together as they come in.

Self taught or art school? I have a masters degree in Visual Communication from Copenhagen and went to three other schools besides that. Still I would say I'm mainly self taught through late night drafting in empty school corridors. I was hungry like a wolf and I still am. What made you move to Japan? Love. How did you get to know the people from swiss-french One Louder agency? About two years ago, I was interviewed by Julie from One Louder while she was working at Gustav magazine. I really enjoyed how she conducted it. It was sharp, well researched and thorough, so we kept in touch and when Julie started One Louder, I felt that her angle on running an agency was what I was looking for. I don't wanna be a sheet in an agency just displaying styles from 1-10. I want a partner and I think that's what One Louder is and I look forward to deepening our collaboration. You made an amazing collaboration line for Sixpack France & DC Shoes recently. Where do you see the future of collaborations? In the future, the number of collaborations will even more increase - I think. For myself I'm just about to engage in a big collaboration with a rather unknown but huge Chinese shoe manufacturer. It's quite uncharted territory but I cannot deny their force over there and cannot wait to see what it will result in. I have a couple of other collaborations that I soon get started on, too. How would you describe your artworks to someone who has never seen them before? Imagine a parallell now as if you went back to 1982 and the future visions of back then actually happened. But, it only covers a part of my work, I sometimes try to be a bit more sober than that. Plugging into imaginations of sci-fi what-if's is really a source of aestetical inspiration to which I've come back to, once in a while. A couple of other things are boredom and stupidity. If the project allows and I'm rather bored or let's say under stimulated by spending too much time in the office, things can get rather extreme but only if the project allows it. I want the more illustrative and free parts of my work to be seen as stupid. As with a lot of the southern-US stuff I listen to. The lyrics and often also the productions are stupid and not rarely cheap but the culture down there still has a rich history. So many social issues and stories can be told about it. Yet, the presentation of the music is stupid. That's a bit how I want my work to be seen. Please, tell us something about your Probarious exhibition. How was it? Probarious took place at Diesel Denim Gallery in the same area as my office, Aoyama, in Tokyo. It lasted for three months. It was a thrill, big budget, many people, extreme work hours and massive response. It was a pure joy. I went to bed at 3am and stood up four hours later with a smile ready to cut plastic and glue. I always cut myself when I work with a blade but this time no blood came out because my hands were covered in so much plastic glue. It was named "exhibition of the month" by a big magazine and Daft Punk came to the after party. It could have never been done without the amazing people at Assistant. What do you think about extraterrestrial life? I'm sure it's there. I have no doubt about it. The more relevant question is: What level of life is there? But I don't think about it. I'm more concerned

about how we treat each other in the world and political incompetence. The only sc-fi-ish subject that really interests me is commercial fusion technology. Imagine what the world would be like! When working as an artist what is important to you? I'm not the one talking too much about titles but I'm a commercial graphic designer. I feel very comfortable with that, as I'm working rather illustratively in my graphics. Sometimes it suits me to work for rather non-commercial purposes but whatever it is, it's a challenge. I need to be challenged and when I am that's when I perform the best. Give me trust and I'll make sure you won't be disappointed. I won't disappoint any person giving me a project but when I'm tested that's when I feel the most stimulated. While doing visual work I listen to talk radio and audiobooks. I normally go through 5-6 hours a day of political discussions. Having input that's not connected with what I'm doing visually stimulates my work energetically. I think it contributes to my aim of self-expression. What would be the project of your dreams? I don't really have any. My life goes in phases and each phase has it's own dreams. Right now I have these thoughts about "gridding life". In 2000 I saw an amazing dance video from the Bauhaus school, where they dance very minimally on a grid drawn on the floor. My graphic work might not be the most gridded however I'm very interested in doing a project of this nature where I control the rather uncontrollable. I cannot explain right now what I have in mind exactly. What's your next project? The Chinese project. And after that, I'm art-directing a book about bike culture in Japan during the bubble economy of the 1970's and 80's. That will be amazing. You at the age of 66? What will you be doing? I won't be retired most probably. I don't know what I will be doing but I think I'll be enjoying life as much as now. I just turned 30 and I'm actually thrilled by aging and accumulating knowledge. The ability to analyze your surroundings, what you see and what you read, is steadily getting better. What people do you admire? Michail Gorbachev, Le Corbusier, Olof Palme, my family, Werner Herzog and David Brooks who is a climber. Imagine the DJ at your party was a jukebox for once. What track would you choose? Salem - "Asia". What do you love? Waking up early in the morning having a jetlag and enjoying the silence and loneliness, walking the road to the lake with my girlfriend at my parents place in Sweden with a basket of cookies and homemade lemonade on a stunning summer day seeing the curious cows and horses walking with us, being able to live a good life out of what I'm doing, cook good dinners, meet and skype with my family and watch "Meet The Press" and Werner Herzog movies. Thank you. I give thanks.

www.pmkfa.com

Name:

PMKFA

Hometown:

Tokyo, Japan

Age:

Dividers for It's Our Thing

Sixpack book

Plostyle for It's Our Thing

Probarious exhibition, Tokyo

www.pmkfa.com

Several logo designs

www.pmkfa.com

DAEWON SONG

TO SEE DAE’S FULL SEQUENCE GO TO: W W W . M A T I X C L O T H I N G . C13 OM WWW.BRAZIL.CH

Based in Springfield, USA, artist Sean Lyman prefers to work with charcoal and pencil to create mostly monochrome portraits of humans in their every day situations. However, he breaks with the mundane by hiding the faces behind animal masks - preferably sheep, horse and rabbit - or blankets. Some of his characters also carry along guns or axes causing a stir making most viewers want to alienate from the artist and his images. Yet, the classically trained artist manages to play a hand that brings you closer. ._. Text: Art Bastard Name:

Sean Lyman

Hometown:

Springfield, Missouri, USA

Age:

Where do you get your inspiration? Personal experience and different aspects of learned behavior. What's your favorite color? Black. What's on your desk? Pencils, paper, tape measure, images for drawings, and a pint. When are you the most productive? I am the most productive in the evening. What are your tools? I use mechanical pencil and generals charcoal pencils wrapped in paper. Where is your favorite vacation-spot? New York City Any exhibitions planned this year? Solo-exhibition at the Nice/Nice Exhibition Space (Hannover, Germany) opening in November. If you could be a thing what would you like to be? I would be an iPod. I find the idea to be able to adapt and change moment to moment very interesting. What is your favorite material to work on? I am currently working on Bristol with mechanical pencilâ&#x20AC;Ś I shift from this to Arches and charcoal. What do you love? This is hard to answerâ&#x20AC;Ś. I love anything that is individual. What project are you especially proud of? I am proud of the current body of work that I am doing. I have come to a place where I am able to be honest and show how I see what is around me and in turn how it is influencing me.

www.seanlyman.com www.iloveartbastard.com

Who is part of the Schwarzmaler? Where are you from? kese27, bare04, wes21, mower, klex, aero, kkade. We are from Bern, Lucerne and Biel. Where did you meet each other? In the wrong place at the wrong time. As what do you see yourself? A graffiti crew, a loose collective of artists, a bunch of friends? We are a bunch of friends, everyone has his special skills and thanks to that our collective works in different sectors and combines them in a new way. Each of us is active as an individual in his sector – be it spraying, painting, designing or constructing – and at the end we put it all together, and something new is being created. It's kind of special and cool that your crew is from different Swiss cities. What is your enemy, if you can't blame it on other cities? The time is the bastard! Self taught or art school? Some of us went to art schools. Some didn’t. Nowadays we try to push ourselves and try to refine our personal style. How would you describe your artworks to someone who has never seen it before? Strange-Chaoz-Comtemporary-Ordinary-Spontanious-Dirty-FetishAbstract-Odium-Handstyle-Artwork! If you work all on one project, how do you start working? Fix concept, by coincidence? Well planned projects are a welcomed variation to spontaneous actions. Chaoz leads to the solution. Not the plan but the process brings us closer to the goal. Is there one project you are especially proud of? Why? Pride is something for the deathbed! But there is a certain satisfaction after a project that seemed to be unmanageable. aero

What's your next project? To create tomorrows shit, today! You at the age of 66? Will you still be painting together? That would be fine by us. Who are your idols? Charles Bukowski and Hermann Nitsch. Imagine the DJ at your party was a jukebox for once. What track would you choose? Sorry, we can’t answer this one, we all suffer from Tinnitus.

www.chaoz.ch

Name:

Schwarzmaler / 15er

Hometown:

Switzerland

Age:

wes21

60hz by bare04 / wes21 / kkade

wes21

mower

kkade

kese27

mower

kkade & wes21

klex

kkade

kkade & mower

kkade & wes21

www.chaoz.ch

mower

bare04

mower

www.chaoz.ch

Alexone, Blu, SozyOne, Microbo, Supakitch, Wayne Horse or Will Barras, to name a few. Almost no big name in the business is not on the exhibition-list of Artyfarty gallery. Most recently the turn was on mister Jeremy Fish - just right for the gallerie's first birthday. It seems as if the art space in Cologne is kind of the new star on Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s urban gallery sky. No wonder, if you look at who is pulling the strings: Before Coskun Gueven - the head behind Artyfarty - opened the gallery in 2009, he organised projects such

www.sillypinkbunnies.com www.artyfarty-gallery.com

as Carhartt‘s Big Geezers Tour or Circus Maximus. Already for many years, he is good friend to most of the artists he invites. A great plus for both - artists and gallery - and surely big part for the success of his gallery. Not a new star, but a star for sure is Jeremy Fish. The sympathic Californian is one of the most respected artist in the scene. For over 15 years, he is travelling the world from one art venue to the next, constantly producing great artworks. ‘The road less travelled’ was once more a great show full of witfull, tiny and twisted works. Sadly, I missed the show. But fortunatly Coskun was so kind to ask Jeremy Fish our questions. ._. Text: Lain Photos: Max Slobboda

Name:

Jeremy Fish

Hometown:

San Francisco, USA

Age:

Please describe yourself. I'm 36 years old, I am an Aries, I like the color brown, old vans and weird vehicles, friendly people, traveling to far out places, and a cool ocean breeze from time to time. I draw pictures most of the time. How did you get into art? I think it's something everyone is into when they are a kid, I just never got ‘out’ of it. I'm not too into change, and im having a hard time ‘growing up’. How would you describe your art to someone who has never seen it before e.g. people who lived in caves for the last 15 years? Narrative illustrated works. simple stories, a symbolic library of animals and characters woven together to create big smiles, and grumpy frowns. What do you think was your breakthrough? Talent? Luck? Stamina? I'm still waiting to breakthrough. talent 10% luck 10% stamina 80%. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Why do you draw what you draw? I don't know what else to draw yet. But I'm always trying to find new things. I find them in the back closets of my mind.

You at the age of 66? What will you be doing? Selling hot dogs out of my ape-van hot dog mobile in amsterdam. Living on a houseboat. Getting rad somehow.

What’s the 3 most important things in your studio? Pens, paper, and imagination

What people do you admire? Anyone who truly loves what they do all day.

Imagine the DJ at your party was a jukebox for once. What track would you choose? Time has come today, by the chambers brothers.

Amateurs then?!

Please tell us an important lesson you have learned in life? Nothing comes easy, and nothing lasts forever. Live now, sleep later...

What do you love? What I do all day. Life.

What’s your next project? Trying to jump the snake river canyon. Next year I have a show in NYC with joshua liner gallery.

Anything else you want to say? Well, a wiser fellow than myself once said, “sometimes you eat the bear, and much obliged, sometimes the bear well, he eats you.”

Yeah, right. They wake up every day to do it better than the day before.

www.sillypinkbunnies.com www.artyfarty-gallery.com

Poor Ganymed, once known as the most beautiful of all mortals and kidnapped by Zeus (the pope amongst the greek homeboys) for personal amusement, has been hanging by the lake for years, his homoerotic charisma slowly fading. Similarly, the sexy bullfighter showing off his steely Schwarzenegger body by Bürkliplatz, had somehow lost his fire. Life sucked. Until the glorious 11th of April 2010. The night they, and many other statues were officially pimped, in a crazy street art action, to become the first members of the infamous „Baghead Family“. Now, our dear Ganymed, very much to the satisfaction of his companion the super bird (aka Zeus), feels like a real catamite again and the lovely bullfighter, with his new fiery and slightly kinky swinger-clublike look, finally gets the fame he deserves. But the family isn‘t complete yet. There are many dull creatures waiting out there, ready for a splash of color, for a whiff of life, for some sex appeal. Ready for baghead-ification! Because they know, that as soon as they belong to the gang, even if they are only masked for a few hours, their future looks bright. Once a baghead, always a baghead! ._. Photos & Txt: Bag Dad

Facebook: baghead oner or baghead family Twitter.com/bagheadfamily

When I saw my first Nieves zines, I was charmed, of course, as everyone is. The sweet but humble format, the consistency of the product, and the editorial choreography, which is so nimble and so modern, took me first of all by surprise, and then brought a smile to my face. At Printed Matter, the artists’ bookstore in New York City, we have some 15,000 titles by artists at any given moment. And so we are always hesitant to order too much. And zines, as we all know, get damaged, or slip between books and disappear. So we began by ordering small quantities of a few zines here and there, in a careful kind of way. But we soon discovered that our staff was buying most of the zines as they came in the door, and people were beginning to ask after Nieves. It is a grassroots, grapevine kind of publisher - if you will excuse the mixed metaphor - and a young, hip and very smart audience were soon salivat-

ing after the Nieves products. So, Printed Matter placed a standing order with Nieves for every Nieves zine and book, and I began collecting every Nieves zine as well. Although I have collected artists’ books for several decades, this is the first time that I have trusted a publisher’s tastes and program to intersect so completely with my own. Perhaps this is because Benjamin Sommerhalder, who is Nieves itself, is not so much a publisher as someone taking pleasure in artists’ zines and in the act of publishing itself. The zines are each in an identical format, each in a numbered edition of only 150, and Benjamin produces the zines in a casual but very precise kind of way absolutely Swiss! - on a copier, first at home, then at the local copy shop. The domestic aspect to this production is somehow very clear, and crucial to the charm and intimacy of the individual zines. The expression “a labor of love” may be a platitude, but it is absolutely suitable here. I respond to the DIY aesthetic of Nieves. In the mid-sixties, I was one

www.nieves.ch

of a group of people who founded a commune, and a free school, and published an underground newspaper improbably titled “The Loving Couch Press.” Our newspaper took advantage of the web offset press, the invention that first allowed short-run newspapers and spawned the explosion of underground newspapers - and hence underground culture - that appeared across North America and Europe. A newspaper became something you could cook up in your kitchen, and everyone did. A few years later, I found myself part of the artists’ group General Idea, a kind of mini-commune if you will. And in 1972 we began FILE Magazine, which was essentially a tabloid newspaper wrapped in a glossy verisimilitude of LIFE Magazine, at once glamorous and of the proletariat. Through FILE we first met John Armleder and his gang of friends in Geneva, who kept a mimeograph in the back room of Ecart, and occasionally pumped out little artists’ chapbooks and passed them out to their friends. Those chapbooks, which we now call zines, are the obvious progenitor of Nieves. I am also reminded - and this seems to me a crucial ingredient - of the posters on the streets of Paris in the riots of ’68, printed by artists in their studios and in the art schools with whatever technologies were available to them. This moment announced the beginning of self-publishing, a movement in opposition to capitalism, a movement which only became truly self-evident with the intense flowering of punk zines ten years later. The DIY aspect of Nieves carries within it a memory of a history that spans more than four decades, and yet manages to be absolutely fresh, and, in a highly improbable way, as consistent as a Swiss watch. The three monthly zines are salted with the occasional book, which adds meat to the program without losing the essential flavor. In the last few years, a number of small publishers have mimicked the Nieves model: Utrecht in Tokyo and Islands Flow in Canada come to mind. Nieves has transformed the world of publishing, not through marketing or savvy deal-making, but through the simple means of developing a model that exactly matches both the technological means and the spirit of today. In this time of economic recession, it is a model that accomplishes much with modest means, and it will flourish despite the difficulties of the day. While Nieves appears to represent a kind of alternative economy, it is now evident - amidst the decline of the large publishing houses and the rise of Amazon - that what was once seen as “self-publishing,” is in

fact the beginnings of a new more diffuse economy, in which publishing, and many forms of production, will be controlled from the bottom up, in a more democratic way - Joseph Beuys would be pleased! With humility and intelligence, Nieves points the way to the future, and a method of sustainable economic development that escapes the hubris of money and power. Not only that, but Nieves does all of this by publishing unique artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; publications in a mix that creates a conversation between peers. Each month I add three new zines to my box of Nieves zines and that makes me happy. ._. Text: AA Bronson Photos: Nieves

www.nieves.ch

Superstudio was a group of architects formed in December 1966 in Florence by two architecture graduates (Adolfo Natalini and Cristiano di Francia). Maybe because they wouldn’t have any chance in post-war Italy to find work in their field they started to be disappointed with Modernism which was the main concept in architecture and design since the 1920s. By their time it was flooding the design world and suspected to be assimilating local cultures to one single International Style.

Superstudio 1970 (Courtesy: Archivio Superstudio, Firenze)

But how were they supposed to criticize the rationalistic theories of Le Corbusier or the modernistic International Style and oppose the arrogance of industrialism? The solution was to not work as architects but as artists! And so they began to create works which conveyed the message they wanted the world to understand: Modernism is absurd. Out of this came collages like “Monumento Continuo” a vision of an all-encompassing urbanization. A structure with a black grid on white surface that was supposed to depict the modernistic wish to amplify standard models to a global scale. A negative utopia.

‘Il Monumento Continuo - New New York’, Superstudio 1969 (Courtesy: Archivio Superstudio, Firenze)

Opposing pop culture in the field of design they created a series of objects called “Quaderna” which were supposed to contrast the characteristic curvy forms and flashy colors with their white, neutral color and clear grid structure. After having the height of their success at the exibithion “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” at the Museum of Modern Art in 1972 the group disbanded in 1978. There are some rumors going around that by then they had finally found work as architects or in the academic field.

Superstudio is A. Natalini, C. Toraldo di Francia, R. Magris, G. P. Frassinelli, A. Magris, A. Poli (1970-72).

-.Txt: Enzo Scavone

‘checkered Quaderna.’, Superstudio 1969 (Courtesy: Archivio Superstudio, Firenze)

‘Il Monumento Continuo - Sulla costa rocciosa’, Superstudio 1969 (Courtesy: Archivio Superstudio, Firenze)

YZ’s new project is a return to origins, a search for identity guided by emotion, curiosity and sensibility but above all by the Guadeloupeans and particularly the inhabitants of the Sainte Rose region. With them and through them the Guadeloupean values, the miscegenation, the heritage, the history, the scars of slavery and their vulnerability to current economic and social uncertainty becomes apparent. In 2003, Yseult became known for the creation of a face ‘Open your eyes’ that appeared literally to rise up on walls. YZ‘s work has been recently exhibited at the Fondation Cartier, the Grand Palais in Paris and will soon be shown at the Moscow Biennale, presented by the prestigious Galerie Bailly.

www.openyoureyesproject.com

Normally, Amateur Magazine is not about wholetrains. But, when we heared the story about these crazy Italians, we knew that we could make an exception for once. Also, as these pictures have never been printed or published before! Ladies and gents, welcome to a premier - and enjoy. “Once we did the second train I realized the size of the trains. 10 cars of approximately 25 meters is 250 meters. So I thought, if we do 4 of them, that would be 1km of silver steel! The idea was so fascinating to me that l started to organize it. l started to call my oldschool friends from the 90’s, chose colors and hatched the whole operation. The biggest problem was the yard, and not being chased by the police after we have been doing already 2 wholetrains there. Finally we won. Within a month we made 1km. We did every train in less than 90 minutes. For each car we spent 5 to 6 big chrome cans, 3 cans for the outlines and the same for the background. It is a lot of paint, but well worth it!

l was the first one going to the station the next morning to take the pictures. The place was full of cops but l really needed to take the entire sequence – I am a picture freak - so l climbed and hid on a roof of an abandoned building, waiting the wholetrain to pass. Unfortunatelly, for the last one I had to change my position. But at the end we were better than the cops, the security and the workers and l got my pictures.” ._. Text & Photos: One of the writers

The griptape art contest held this early summer was a public contest, open to everyone. Element, Posca, Lomography, PullIn, Sneakerness, Whiteout and Amateur called artists to pick up three sheets of griptape in one of the participating shops and unload their creativity. This is a selection of the best works, from more than 80 submitted works. Or another example that skateboarders are some of the most creative athletes.

Exhibition at Sneakerness in Zurich

Yves Rosenthaler

Kevin Daire

Kevin Daire - detail

unknown

www.amateur-magazine.com www.brazil.ch

Nicolas Baudillon

Dominik Meier

Maxime Jaccoud & Julien Mathey

Sven Mathis

Sven Mathis - detail

Stef Pgisler

Stroke is the new fair for contemporary and urban art. A gathering of galleries, artists and interested spectators. Second edition was held in Munich at the end of May, 2010. Some impressions for you. Amateur booth

the location

www.stroke02.com

Lego Art

Jeroo

Biserama

We Love Kicks

Artacks

Amateur booth

www.sein.se

www.sergejvutuc.com

photos: Marie Taillefer - www.marysmith.fr

styling: CĂŠline Buehrer - www.blackholerecords.blogspot.com

clothes: Prism (A/W 10-11) - www.the-prism.ch

www.the-prism.ch

† R.I.P. Sigi ‘DARE’ von Koeding 1968 - 2010

REST IN PEACE - DARE TWS. Early this year the tragic death of Swiss graffiti legend Dare - The Wild Side shocked the graffiti community. He passed away after a short battle with cancer. Sigi von Koeding a.k.a. Dare died in a Swiss hospital at the age of 42. Dare is well respected as one of the European graffiti style masters, with his background in calligraphy and sign-writing giving him a unique and solid understanding of the letterform. Back in the days before magazines, videos and the Internet the only way the see and study graffiti was to travel. During the initial years of graffiti in Europe Dare traveled many different countries. Traveling and taking pictures of graffiti was his passion. Over the years he had built up an enormous network and had painted all over the world. His unique style and the love to letters influenced and inspired a whole generation of writers. His impact on the graffiti movement in Europe is doubtless immense. Dare was known not only for his graffiti but for his foray into the fine art world, regularly exhibiting his graffiti influenced canvas works around Europe and the world, and in a scene where for many ego is out of control, he was also well known for being down to earth and a laid back guy. .-.

Txt: Wink One All Photos marked (*): David Dalucco

Pics to the right Top: Dare painting in his Atelier. Bottom: Dare posing in front of his favorite “gallery”— the Basel train line.

www.dare.ch

NumberOne Magazine

www.numberone-actiongear.com

NumberOne Magazine

Previous spread Left page: Dare painting the Basel “Line”. Right page: two Dare pieces along the “Line” This spread Mix of Dare pieces and collaborations with other artists.

www.dare.ch

'Sachenmachen' is an online-platform for up-and-coming Swiss design. For Amateur Magazine they started a series of city-shootings called 'we make' - an update about promising Swiss designers. Therefore a chosen town’s freshest designers are being asked to bring along one product for a photo-shoot.

running throughout her past collections which were very diverse. Anita Moser sees design as an insistent developing. “It’s in the process that ideas come into existence. They don’t just pop if you sit around drinking coffee.”

After the freezing cold during ‘we make - Zurich’ our second shooting in Basel was another extreme. This time, the Basel-based photographer Gina Folly was challenged by a pretty tight timetable. Due to the fact that the chosen installation space was a shop we needed to be finished within two hours so the shop could open its doors at 10 am.

Cornelia Peter is the Basel-based half of PETER MÜLLER. The other half of the fashion duo is Nicole Müller who has her studio in Zürich and the two collaborate between these cities. For their collections they always define a shared vision and usually start with the choice of fabrics. Then each of them develops the first ideas with regular phone calls and meetings every now and then to have a look at the experiments and prototypes. So the pieces slowly evolve into a collection. Cornelia brought along their Eskimo - sweatshirt and leather wristbands. The pullover is inspired by the geometric cut-lines of Inuit skin coats.

SET & SEKT is a pretty cool shop for cutting edge fashion and with its minimal interior it offered the perfect setting for our photo shoot. And since Basel is quite well known for its fashion school, the fashion shop suits really well as a background. That is also the reason why we chose more fashion designers this time. And here we go - our selection of up-andcoming designers from Basel: Alain Jost from Brandnewdesign describes his work as minimal, pragmatic and material related. He presents a lampshade called “Fibonacci”. It’s the result of the trial to develop an object that can be packed flat and takes its form when in use. It shows his great interest in geometry, which he calls a universal language that helps understand the world better. Alain thinks Switzerland is a good place to be as a designer because there is a basic understanding of design. Saša Kohler describes his work as “cute as hell”. He shows a dwarf - his first commercial product among the puppet work he does. He is trained as a fashion designer and usually works on projects for the stage or the arts. The dwarf belongs to a series of 7 dwarfs and is a rather decorative object. It is free of function but it makes the owner happy. Even though he sometimes wonders if the commercial way is the right path. “Somewhere between design and the arts lies the obvious way” he says. For INCH Furniture design means to transfer ideas into contemporary objects while keeping handcraft, existing solutions, experiences and fundamental concepts in mind. They show us their “Shanghai Chair”, a chair from solid wood they made for the Swiss Pavilion at the Expo Shanghai 2010. Each year Tom Wüthrich and Yves Raschle from INCH Furniture spend one or two months at their production facility at a vocational school for woodwork in Indonesia where they also teach. There they enjoy having a lot of time for the development of their projects in the evenings.

The lamp duo “Batman und Robin” is designed by ZMIK, a studion for spacial design. Rolf Indermühle, Mattias Mohr and Magnus Zwyssig from ZMIK usually work rather conceptual. To them, design means to find solutions within the setting of a task and to figure out solutions and concepts, which make a virtue of necessity. They see interior design as a service and their designs are often multidisciplinary. The three of them develop the designs together but in every project one is the project leader. They are pretty different characters so the exchange is very important and enriching. There is always someone who is more critical towards an idea. Boycotlettes unfortunately couldn’t make it to the shooting. But they sent us a knitted i-Pod- and headset-cover as well as a dress out of bio-cotton, with a colourful print, peculiar cut lines and an exaggerated oversize hood - a shelf warmer from last year as they say! Their studio is at the port, so while they are sewing colourful clothing they watch the huge ships on the Rhine. For a change, they go to West Africa every now and then, to see the most exciting developments concerning silk-screen printing. “Africa is the future” Boycotlettes predict. Sabine Lauber from IT’S LAUBER examines the past to transfer the finds into a vision for the future. She tries to discover what now could be in but could stay for longer. That means she does not work on seasonal outfits or collections. She brought along leather jewellery, an accessory with fringes. She enjoys making accessories which are not mainly functional but rather also stylistic decorative objects. -> continuation on page 73

Shoe designer Anita Moser took along her favourite pair of shoes from the new collection. They embody summer 2010. “It’s a shoe that is typically me” Anita Moser says. It readopts earlier elements and shows the thread

www.sachenmachen.ch

Brandnewdesign

Sasa Kohler by Coming Soon INCH furniture

ANITA MOSER

PETER MÜLLER

ZMIK boycotlettes

IT'S LAUBER

Laura Pregger DesignLab

Formzone ben may | studio for applied design

BruggmannIndustriedesign

la pomponette

Beni Beugger and Maya Werthmüller from benmay | studio for applied design brought along their “Hokkar tall” – a chair made from an old art crate and epoxy putty. In the beginning they often worked with used materials because it’s all about the making anyway. “We don’t simply develop our ideas from sketches, some don’t even exist as drafts at all, our objects rather evolve during the process of their physical implementation. The unpredictable is what is interesting about design work and what makes each object unique.” they describe their approach. Adrienne Scherrer from la pomponette describes her work as playful, colourful and elegant. As a child she wanted to become a bird-photographer. She always wished to have birds around her. Now her jewellery acts for those birds and adorns its wearers. Japanese arts and crafts are a big inspiration for Adrienne. She took her “Kimono”-belt with her as well as the “Tea Garden”-necklace made from bands and Pompons which both show the Japanese influences. Christian Speck from Formzone describes his work as varied, innovative and detail-obsessed. He took a breadboard named “Duan” with him. The soft wooden board is decorated with CNCmilled grooving and through the use irregular cuts occur on the surface which turn the surface of the breadboard as edged as the Piz Duan, a mountaintop in the Bergell. The project is about making a lot from little but also about using local resources. To Christian, design has got a lot to do with life, telling stories and the aging process of his products to receive their optimal look.

www.sachenmachen.ch

Laura Pregger from Laura Pregger DesignLab brought along a vase form stacked cups and an oval cup mural. Two products that show her interest in a shift in habits and the perception of things. Laura likes the experimental work with a material and is fascinated by the contrast between anonymous industrial products and handmade objects. To her, stories are as important as function. For Michel Bruggmann from BruggmannIndustriedesign the production method and the manufacturer build the framework for design. He shows a plant pot he did for Eternit. It is the latest product from a complete product line he designed for the company. The characteristic of the pot is defined by the soft radiuses and by the material itself. He likes Eternit for its appearance, its robustness and the way it is produced. To get to know more about our chosen designers from Basel, read the thirteen interviews in full-length on our blog www.sachenmachen.ch. A big thank you to all the designers involved, to Gina Folly for the fast and great photos and to Corinne Grüter for her warm welcome at SET & SEKT. ._. Text: Luzia Kälin - www.sachenmachen.ch Interviews: Florian Hauswirth & Luzia Kälin - www.sachenmachen.ch Coordination: Thomas Walde - www.sachenmachen.ch Photos: Gina Folly - www.ginafolly.ch

Impressions / Zurich, June 5th 2010

www.sneakerness.com

Ronnnie Rabbbit by Ron English If you have never seen Ron English’s artwork then you are in for a treat. Since the early 1980s he has created a plethora of illegal murals and billboards replacing existing advertisements with his own subvertisements. Many of these amazing and thought provoking works of art have ended up getting him into big trouble with some major corporations and the police. So far he has been in jail over 30 times due to his culture jamming activities. But that’s just one side to the artist. He also creates masterful trompe l’oeil based artwork using popular and imaginary characters twisted together in a very distinct and highly desirable style. The first character from such a painting to be brought to life as a soft vinyl figure is Ronnnie Rabbbit. Released In 2005 by Darkhorse and standing 9” tall with bubble gum retro colours, three eyes, 2 noses, 2 mouths and three stubby rabbit ears, Ronnnie is an adorable and disturbing companion for anyone who likes vinyl toys or rabbbits. ._. Text & Photos: Ian White (Cutterskink)

www.popaganda.com

Broke, D端sseldorf Buy & sell

Element Organic Earth

Lowrider Teeshirt Give more ink

Makia Ivar

Prism Raphael Garnier

Burton Waiting

NumberOne X Rodja Galli Old School

Makia Mermaid

Element Mountain Man

Carhartt Eyes

Zimtstern Witch

Hixsept

CTRL

Impossible shirt

Popeye sailor

Foreign Family

Family Snapback cap

CTRL

Insight

First aid jacket

Rodeo shirt

Krink K71

CTRL

Nippon hood

Hixsept

Voyage shorts

Carhartt

L/S Harbor shirt

Carhartt

Military cardigan

Sixpack France

Blotter t-shirt by Cody Hudson

Reebok

Pointer

Court Victory Pump, Basquiat

Barajas

DC X Sixpack X PMKFA Sector 7

HUF

Wemoto

Double check shirts

KIKS TYO X Penfield

Twist leather jacket

Elephant pack jacket

HUF

Seersucker caps

Swatch

Manhattan Portage X Wemoto

CassettePlaya

Obey

City pack

Obey

No mercy cap

City light bag

Krink K60

BEYOND THE STREET

The 100 Leading Figures in Urban Art

ECLIPSE - DARK LINES FROM THE CITY OF LIGHT By Scott H. Bourne

The second book of poems by Carhartt family member Scott Hobbs Bourne. The book is limited to 1000 copies worldwide and exclusively available over the Carhartt network and at the Spacejunk Gallery in France,

Beyond the Street is comprised of interviews with 100 key players in street and urban art from around the world, each of which is richly illustrated with inspiring images. For the first time, this 400-page tome brings together the direct points of view of leading artists and the most important sales outlets for street art as well as key commentators, collectors, and enthusiasts. Captivating, informative and entertaining.

Poems and illustrations, b/w, english 128 pages, hardcover, A5 20,00 €

by Patrick Nguyen & Stuart Mackenzie Features: 400 pages, full color, hardcover Format: 24 x 30 cm Price: 48,00 € ISBN: 978-3-89955-290-4

www.carhartt-streetwear.com

www.gestalten.com

IMPRESSIVE

Printmaking, Letterpress and Graphic Design Inspired by the challenge of hands-on tweaks and unpredictable results as well as the tactile qualities of different inks, papers, and binding techniques, today’s creatives are rediscovering old-fashioned printing methods and crafts. An interplay between current trends in graphicdesign and traditional handiwork such as letterpress printing, hand-cut linotype, chiselled woodblocks, and embossing. by R. Klanten & H. Hellige Price: 44,00 € Format: 24 × 30 cm Features: 240 pages, full color, hardcover ISBN: 978-3-89955-288-1 www.gestalten.com

CALLIGRAFFITI

The graphic art of Niels “SHOE” Meulman Artist Niels "Shoe" Meulman explores the contours of words as images in "Calligraffiti" - his hybrid art form which blends calligraphy and graffiti. This impressive publication showcases a fine selection of artworks by Meulman as he presents for our viewing pleasure a wonderful series of fast phrases and upbeat witticisms in the form of captivating typographic masterpieces. Every spread offers two interacting visuals. Language: English Price: 19.95 € Format: 23,4 x 23,4 cm Features: 144 black and white pages, hardcover ISBN: 978-3-937946-21-4 www.nielsshoemeulman.com www.fromheretofame.com

URBAN READER 3 The Synergetic Issue

What's a synergetic issue? Literally, it's an issue for which people work together, because the Greek synergos means just that. It's a team work. But do these people really co-operate? They live in different cities, countries, continents! How does this work? The elements and protagonists in "The Synergetic Issue" work according to guidelines on their own within the most global space. It is the largest space with a synergetic potential of roughly eight billion people - the internet. The issue's synergetic result, however, is presented in a very small space, big enough for only one person to stand on top of it - a book. Contributing artists: Amy Hunting, Diego Gravinese, Fernando Elvira, Himaa, iseneehihinee, Loredana Sperini, Norman Palm, Shinko Okuhara, so + ba Printed in Switzerland, Published in 2010 by COLIN SCHAELLI PUBLISHING ISBN 978-3-033-02387-1 This art book is under the patronage of: URBAN RESEARCH Co., Ltd. www.urban-reader.com

Parzelle403 Gallery

CassettePlaya Chat

A short chat with Carri Munden aka CassettePlaya at the SWATCH & ART launch event in London: The new gallery and artstore in the heart of Basel is a space for young and upcoming artists to present their pieces and help them setting up in the art-scene. The opening show was held by Berne's BlackYard - to show the youngsters what is possible inside Parzelle403's walls. New exhibitions are held in a two months interval. www.parzelle403.ch

Hello Carrie Hello. Is there a ‘rule’ in life, you try to life after? Believe in yourself and be a warrior. If you could colaborate with anyone you like. Who would it be? Malcolm McLaren - if he would still be alive. He was an amazing pioneer. For me it‘s always hard to categorize your label. How would you describe it? I think, I would call it ‘luxury streetwear’ if I had to. Even though, I don‘t really like today‘s conotation of ‘streetwear’. Do you have a favourite symbol, something you would even tattoo? Uh, that‘s a hard one. I kind of like the new symbol that Tom, my graphic designer, made for Cassette Playa recently. Future Primitives style. But I have a rose tattooed, I like the rose for it‘s beauty and danger at the same time.

ATTAK

Insight Garage Artists

Thank you. Thank you!

Hailing from the Netherlands, Attak is a twoheaded dynamic design monster formed in 2004 and fresh member of Insight's Garage Artists. The output can be seen as a sticky crossover between graphic design, illustration and art. Attak itself call it "Powergestaltung". Always aiming to add thunder and cut some edge.

www.cassetteplaya.com www.swatch.com

www.attakweb.com www.insight51.com

OK, last one, already. What do you love? Oh, there is so much I love. Music, my life, art, my friends and family.

WEBSHOP: WWW.NUMBERONE-ACTIONGEAR.COM

ARTIST: ALEY

NOW AVAILABLE AT ESPERANTO:

Tiefenaustrasse 2, CH-8640 Rapperswil www.free-styles.ch

COIL LAMP

by Craighton Berman Craighton Berman's lamp ‘Coil’ reduces the iconic table lamp down to the absolute minimum of defining elements. The entire lamp is created exclusively from a 100 foot extension cord that has been wrapped around a laser-cut clear acrylic form. This simple transformation elevates the status of the humble extension cord to the realm of domestic design. Size: 30 cm x 43 cm www.craightonberman.com

CS MMX

NOT SO HAPPY BIRD

MMX is an elaborated furniture system by Swiss designer and Amateur columnist Colin Schaelli.

Porcelain sculpture by Dutch illustrator Parra made by Toykyo from Begium.

by Colin Schaelli Design Bureau

A contemporary furniture, easy to move and simple to assemble. There‘s no need for screws or tools to put together the furniture and it‘s made with the most renewable resource – wood. It is made in three different versions for varying values. Think BIG – ACT Local. Currently MMX is being sold in Switzerland and Japan. In each country one carpenter commissioned to manufacture the series of furniture. People interested in seeing the furniture one by one can visit their showrooms made in typical Japanese shoji style. It’s located in Chur, Switzerland. Or see all furnitures online at...

by Parra

Available not in pink, orange or lightblue, but pure white or black. Each in an edition of 25. Packed in a screen printed and numbered box.

The measurements of MMX furniture are based on the Tatami grid system. The primary unit values we use are 85 cm x 170 cm and make sure that the furniture can be easily transported by car.

Height: 22cm

http://shop.colinschaelli.com

www.toykyo.be

Enjoy the deluxe toy!

DISTRIBUTION Maybe you get Amateur at the following places:

SWITZERLAND:

Aarau: Home Street Home, Garage, Kunstraum Aarau. Baden: Frau Meise, Merkker, Minimalillusions. Basel: FHNW, Marinsel, Parzelle 403, Zoolose. Bern: HKB, Kitchener, Layup, Milieu, Titolo. Chur: Dings. Geneva: 242, Famous Ape, Hard to find. Lausanne: 242, A1, Cellophane, ÉCAL. Lucerne: HGKL, Doodah. Zurich: Carhartt store, Dings, Esperanto Rapperswil, Famous Ape, Fashionslave, Grand, Kitchener+, On y va, Rio Bar, Street-Files, The Gloss, ZHDK.

INTERNATIONAL:

Barcelona: Atticus, 24 Kilates. Berlin: Big Brobot, Overkill. Köln: Artyfarty Gallery. London: Upper Playground. Milano: Slam Jam. New York: Alife Rivington Club, Supreme, Kid Robot. Paris: Starcow, The lazy dog. Rio de Janeiro: Homegrown. Japan: In selected stores.

THANK YOU For your work, love and help:

Kathrin Abrecht, Julien Babigeon, Stefan Benchoam, Pierre Bonnet, Veronika Brusa, Diana Cabarles, Craze, Cruze, Julien Tran Dinh, Georg Dinstl, Julien Duval, Marc Furrer, Ale Formenti, Reto Gehrig, Peter Grant, Gina Graeser, Donovan Gregory, Mauricio Guerreiro, Florian Hauswirth, Admir Jahic, Toby Jerman, Nici Jost, Luzia Kälin, Rio Kawaguchi, Migi Keck, Pawel Kozlowski, Lina Kunimoto, Flavio Lardelli, Sébastian Lavoyer, Simon Lemmerer, Harlan Levey, Julie Machin, Rudy Meins, Axelle Mueller, Sergio Muster, Van Manh Nguyen, Torben Paradiek, Colin Schälli, Oliver Toman, Axel Void, Thomas Walde, Elly Ward, Ian White, Sarah Würsch, Philipp Zimmermann and all friends & family! For your trust and financial support. It’s not possible without you:

Carhartt, Element, Insight, NumberOne, Obey, Pointer, Sixpack France, Wemoto.

SUBSCRIPTION Please support Amateur Magazine and subscribe! Just send a mail with your address to: abo@amateur-magazine.com

SWITZERLAND: 20 CHF for 3 issues EUROPE: 20 EURO for 3 issues WORLDWIDE: 30 USD for 3 issues

IMPRINT Published three times a year. 3500 copies. Amateur Magazine is an independent, artist driven print platform. It is about creative people, projects, products and places. Editorial address: Amateur Magazine / Aarestrasse 10 / 5000 Aarau / SWITZERLAND

Contact: hello@amateur-magazine.com Publisher: Alain 'Lain' Schibli / lain@amateur-magazine.com Advertisement: ad@amateur-magazine.com

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