Amateur Magazine 009 by Amateur Magazine

THE BEST THINGS IN LIVE ARE FREE.

No. 009 October - April 2011 - 2012

Cover shot by RICKY POWELL (www.rickypowell.com)

FOR THE PEOPLE

CONTENT:

4 6 10 20 26 32 38 44 48 52 56

COVER: Jean-Michel Basquiat by Ricky Powell «The shot was taken in the summer of 1986... West Broadway... SOHO... NYC. Shot from my 'Frozade' (Frozen Lemonade) stand...» See more of Ricky Powell's work on pages 20 - 25 or check out his website

MAKING OF THE MAGAZINE LIL’ ILLU BATTLE GROTESK RICKY POWELL ASVP BLANDA EGGENSCHWILER LNY GREG LAMARCHE JEFF STAPLE ANTHONY PONTIUS DAVID GENSLER

www.rickypowell.com

62 66 68 72 76 82 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 104 106 108

FREI FILMS JOSHUA LINER GALLERY THE FEATHER FACTORY METAL HEADS - ERIC VOGEL DOWN THE DRAIN - MAKEM ERICH NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE - SMASH 137 THE ART OF WHEEL BUILDING ANTENNA - SUBWAY CAR DESIGN AMATEUR NIKEiD BESPOKE NYC (SNEAKERNESS) KIDROBOT FOR SWATCH SHIRTY C.R.E.A.M. SAUCY BITS NYC STOPSPOTS NEVER STICK TO THE RULES ART IN THE CITY

110

DISTRIBUTION, THANK YOU, SUBSCRIBE, IMPRINT

«NYPD is a four-letter word.» «Swiss chocolate tastes like Jesus shits in your mouth.» «Sweden or Switzerland?»

2011 © 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.

WWW.AMATEUR-MAGAZINE.COM

This summer, Amateur Magazine spent 30 days in New York. Welcome to issue 009. Welcome to the city.

The view from our rooftop - Bushwick, Brooklyn

The equipment - amateur style

The desk - amateur style again

The bomb - meeting Grotesk

The office - the shit The freedom

The One - meeting TAKI 183

The kitchen

The boys - kicking it on Williamsburg Bridge

www.amateur-magazine.com

KENNY NEED www.flickr.com/kennnyneed/

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

SAFU www.iamsafu.ch

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

Photo by Chantal Bavaud

Kimou Meyer aka Grotesk is the prototype of the Swiss graphic designer who made it big in New York. The 37-year-old Genevan came to New York twelve years ago and has become the go to guy when it comes to streetwear and graphic design. His keen style and flavor are conspicuously stamped on everything he does for friends at Alife, Sixpack, 5Boro, or his private sketchbook. We met with Kimou in the backyard of his agency in Brooklyn to talk about New York, Kung Fu and American work ethic. He is so sought after that he hardly had time to send us his stuff until one day before printing. Never on schedule but always on time! A: Hello Kimou. So, let’s start with your early years. Where did you go to art school and what made you move to New York? K: I did college in Switzerland. After that, I wanted to study in London but that was too expensive. I also wanted to study in Zurich, because the school is good, but I didn’t want to speak Swiss German, because I was uncomfortable with it. So, I ended up in Brussels studying art and doing a master in communication in a school called La Cambre. When I finished my diploma I presented my work to a jury and there was a guy called Dimitri Cherisen who is from „Base“ design which is a big graphic agency that was about to open a New York studio. So, he saw my

work and he asked me, „Hey do you wanna come to New York to open the studio?“ That was like a dream for me because I wanted to travel a bit, and like this I didn’t have to go back to Switzerland. And, ah, because I was really into Hip Hop - I mean, I still am - but back then for me going to New York was like going to the Mecca. That’s how I arrived here. A: And you didn’t know that you would end up here for the next twelve years? K: No, I mean, I came here for three months just to see and after three months I just loved it and I stayed six months and after six months, a year. And after the first year I was just like, “I don’t see myself coming back because there were too many good things,” and now it’s been twelve years. Maybe one day, when I’m old, I’ll buy a little house in the Jura or somewhere. A: How and when, within these twelve years, did you become the creative director for Zoo York? K: OK, the way it happened, after that first job my wife and I met the people from Alife when they just opened the store in 1999. And one of the owners was French and basically met us when we were in the store and he started to talk to us. He asked my wife like literally random, „Hey do you wanna work for the store? We need somebody with an accent,“ and she was like, “Oh yeah, that sounds good.“ She was looking for a job.

www.grotesk.to

troubles. As I was tired of the Ecko big rhino thing I was like, „If you want me to stay, I wanna do Zoo York as the creative director or I’ll leave.“ So I did Zoo York for four years and I connected with a lot of artists during that time. It was a really good team. And then Zoo York got sold to a Chinese company so I left. It lost all the soul and wasn’t what it had used to be. But that’s kind of how I got inspired and immerged into that street wear stuff, you know.

So she started to work at Alife, and as soon as we started to spend more time over there after work, going to parties with all those guys, I met really everybody in the street arts community - but it wasn’t what it is now. Obey was doing his first show in New York, ESPO just started to really be known, Reas, all those guys. It gave me the excitement to do the kind of art inspired by the street because that’s what this whole community was. Everybody was doing stuff like this. I started to do a lot of illustrations based on photos and then Marc Ecko hired me to do a freelance job for a video game when I was still at this first job. When we met he was like you should come work for me and Ecko was still cool then. It was still hip hop. They had Jeru the Damaja, Black Moon, the Wu Tang and it was like you would meet those people and it was still exciting to work for them, and they gave me a much better salary. So, I worked four years for Ecko and then Ecko eventually bought Zoo York which had some financial

A: Swiss graphic design has a strong history. Is it important to your clients that you are Swiss? Or do they not care? K: For my first job, it was. I was hired to do Swiss design in New York. Minimal, Helvetica, etc. And that’s really what I studied and was pretty good at it. I came with two other Swiss - I took two of my friends with me and was like, “Hey, if you want to hire me, you have to take all of us,” because I was not sure about going by myself - and they needed a team. So, my first boss would present us to a Brazilian soccer team. „I got my three Swiss designers,” and the clients were like. Wow, you got three Swiss. But truthfully, the real good Swiss design is in the German part. This was funny, because after that I was really inspired by the minimal aspect of Switzerland. I love to use simple colors and designs and this is really because of my Swiss roots. But my main work and inspiration is fully American. So, I think I am the perfect hybrid of Swiss culture that gets shook up with like the cows. Ralf

«I think what the clients appreciate of being Swiss is the professionalism, my work ethic, and the way I deal with clients.» Dondi

I think what the clients appreciate of being Swiss is the professionalism, my work ethic, and the way I deal with clients. People here are just lazy. Americans work a lot but just to feel they are working. And they don’t take the time. So, sometimes we do a job in 3 hours that would take an American three days. Because we sit down, hear, think and then we do it. That’s really Swiss. The way we give documents to the printer and stuff like that. “Wow, you saved me a day of work.” There is a “savoir faire“ - a culture of doing things right in Switzerland that is definitively what I am teaching the kids here. A: So, you already answered the next question, I think. What would you say is the difference between working in Switzerland and New York? K: One more thing that I can add is that Switzerland likes to work really perfect. The one side that I hate about Switzerland and love about New York is the opportunities. You can be young, with tattoo, a hat like this and you can meet a business guy and say „I have a great idea, I need 40000 dollars and I can do a clothing line or furniture line.“ If you can convince the guy and show him that you have the idea they totally trust you. But you know, when you are in Switzerland and you ask 5000 Dollars from UBS they look at you and go like, „Fuck you, who are you?“ And people here love to connect, „Hey, you should talk to this guy because he is my friend. Sometimes it is a bit artificial but on the other hand that’s how it works. It’s like a small world. You quickly know everybody in your industry. When I see my friends in Switzerland it’s like, “Nobody believes in me or if people in Switzerland don’t like my stuff, why would they like it in New York or Tokyo?” and that’s really Swiss instead of just going somewhere else and realizing that people actually like what you are doing in Switzerland. A: Is there something you don’t like about the New York way of living? K: It’s not really stuff that I don’t like but it’s more like a challenge. New York is a really expensive city. I mean Switzerland is expensive, too, but the public schools are really bad here and private schools are too expensive. I am speaking as a dad now, but to raise a family here in New York is hard. So, if you don’t have lots of money, that’s kind of the downside. And then sometimes the permanent noise is annoying, too. A: What’s your favorite hood in New York? Is it Wiliamsburg? K: You know, it’s funny. A lot of people hate this neighborhood because it’s too hipster or whatever. But for me this is the neighborhood closest to a city in Europe. My next door neighbor here is from Paris, the one over there is from Spain, the other guy over there is from Germany. It’s a really European neighborhood where people take time to have coffee in the morning with the newspaper, you have terraces where you can have a drink. But I like Brooklyn in general because it’s so big. You can go to Coney Island and be with Russian gangsters, then you go to the Korean part of

www.grotesk.to

it and eat real great Korean food, then you go to Bedstuy for the whole hip hop, you know, like basketball culture. There are just so many different things to see. I really like Brooklyn the best because of the inspiration and the different cultures. A: OK, I see. Is there a New York based artist that you think is really pushing it at the moment? Who are your favorites? K: I really love ESPO, Steve Powers, first because he is never not working. He is always doing new things and second because he is one of the few. He would never say that he is a street artist. He was a graffiti artist and now he is doing real fine art but still kind of using the wall or the city. I don’t know, It’s hard to describe – you should look at his work. He is never happy with his work, so it’s really inspiring to see somebody who changes every year. It’s still the same person but he is evolving. And also one of my good friends Greg Lamarche – he writes Sp.One – he is doing really amazing lettercollages. And with him it is the same: A guy who used to do hardcore graffiti and never did street art. They did graffiti and then they stopped and they did fine art. They didn’t try to put like graffiti on canvas. I think I really like people who evolve. Once they find something they evolve it. It’s not the same thing for ten years. A: Let’s talk about your new agency Doubleday & Cartwright. Why did you change the name? Is it just because of the different people that are involved in now? K: The one thing with Grotesk was that as much as I liked it I was doing it as a side project which was why I loved it so much. I didn’t have the pressure to make a living out of it. So, I could choose my clients. I could say, „No, I don’t want to do this.“ Then when I left Zoo York for a short period of time. I was only doing this and then it became obvious that I was just doing work for hire with my little characters and stuff to a point

Doubleday & Cartwright agency office

www.grotesk.to

where I just couldn’t do it anymore. I just didn’t like it anymore. And my wife who is my toughest and most honest director was like, „Why do you keep doing the same shit over and over?“ and she was right. And I was kind of blinded by it. I went to school to do creative direction, photo shoot and all that but nobody would ever call me for that because it was always, „Can you do the little baseball script and stuff like that.“ So, when my two friends Chris and Aaron – my two business partners – had the idea of starting a creative agency with a new name, I was like, „This sounds perfect,“ because probably 80% of our clients don’t know me as Grotesk. They know me as Kimou Meyer who is part of this company. So, all of a sudden it gave me the opportunity to protect this project again, to kind of put it on hold a little bit in order to now create new stuff. I’m trying to be not like everybody. As soon as they create something, they show it on the internet. I’m trying to kind of build a body of work, that I can show maybe next year and people are

like, „Holy shit, that’s what you were doing all the time.“ It’s like I said with Doubleday & Cartwright. I can do projects with friends, I can collaborate and do more thought process rather than just do little characters. A: Thank you Kimou. We reach our last two Amateur Magazine standard questions. As you might know the term amateur means doing something out of a personal passion or love and not out of money interests. So, what do you love? K: Right now, my real love is my wife and my kids who are really a big inspiration. Kids are amazing. The way they think gives me a lot of inspiration because they see things differently and I really love to hang out with my family. I love food, I love to cook, and I love Kung Fu. I do a lot of Kung Fu with my daughter actually. We are really into that and traveling. I just love to travel and take pictures and drawing, obviously. A: Cool. Thank you. Last one: Anything else you want to say? K: Hmm - It’s always nice to meet Swiss people that do personal projects. Whether it’s a magazine, it’s art or music. This is one thing that I always respected, when Swiss people in Switzerland do really „their“ thing – like you said - because they love to do it, because people get old really quickly in Switzerland. When I see some people from my school - I am 37 now - but when I see them I feel like they are 47. I’m like, “What happened to them?” They work for a bank and gave up their art dream when they were kids because it’s too easy to go with the stream in Switzerland. ._. Wooden Homey

Humpty chain

www.cutterskink.com

www.grotesk.to

Photo by Lain

Ricky Powell is a particular person for sure. Some call him the fourth Beastie Boy, as he joined them on their early tours as their photographer, but he prefers names like The Horny Dog Walker or The Cool Substitute Teacher. These days, Ricky's passion is street photography. Before we met him at the Kangol office for an interview we got warned: It's hard for him to focus. And he likes women a lot. Great conditions for a unique interview. We had fun. Enjoy!

A: Hello Ricky, thanks for showing up. The interview should take about ten minutes then we are done. R: OK, OK. Take a picture of me with the Kangol hat on. A: OK.

R: (seeing the new Kangol catalogue on the table) This is a dope catalogue. Real dope. A: You didn’t see it before? R: No, No. We fucking did it. R: (pointing on a lady pic in the catalogue) Listen, I think I took this picture. And she was on my job, this one. M: See guys, I told you. A: That’s OK, we can handle this. R: She was on my dick. I know that’s crazy. A: So Ricky, honestly, I’m a bit nervous interviewing you. R: Really? Relax! A: No, not really. It’s just the introduction to my first question.

A: Amateur Magazine R: Ricky Powell M: Marcella from Kangol

«White guys can’t wear a troop suit. You look like an idiot.»

www.rickypowell.com

A: When was the last time you were nervous shooting somebody? R: Good question, good question. Walter Frazier, the basketball player. New York icon. The King of Cool. A: When was that? R: Ah, that was about five years ago. I was interviewing him cause he reissued his Puma Clydes and I was like sitting next to him. I grew up with Walt Frazier and the New York Knicks. The early seventies were the golden years and I was like ten or eleven. I couldn’t believe it. While I was sitting next to him, interviewing him, I was really sweating. I was just so nervous, I couldn’t believe it. Mr. Knick, the King of Cool, oh my gosh, I was so nervous and he was cool. Then when I’ve completed the interview he pulled out a pair of Puma Clydes, signed them and gave them to me. Nervous? Yeah. Hm, nervous while photo shoots. Let me see. Not really. I’m not saying I am nervousproof, but at this point of my life not much really gets me nervous.

LL Cool J

R: Unless a girl, if I get infatuated with a girl, then I get nervous and that never ends which I am glad. I got a little muse now named XXXXXXX. M: You were dumped by Kim? R: No, No. Actually, I’m mashing the two. Cool chicks though. Anyway, the inside counts as much as the outside. I don’t photograph anybody who thinks they are the hot shit or got an attitude. They gotta be cool people. Speaking of cool, I got a dope picture of LL Cool J, if you need any just let me know. A: Nice one, thanks. R: I’m gonna make a note. Alright. R: (seeing a photography from Jamel Shabazz on the table) He’s a real gentleman. I love Jamel Shabazz, great man with a beautiful soul. Me and him, we are like this. You know, he’s black, I’m white. A: Half And Half, right? R: Actually, Half And Half is my new nickname. A: I know. R: How do you know? I just came up with that one. A: I can read and have an internet access, you know. R: Good dude! I call myself Half And Half as I’m half-white and halfdespised, you know. A: Yeah, I know. This leads me to my next question: The Lazy Hustler, The Cool Substitute Teacher, The Horny Dog Walker, The Illy Funkster. What are you today? R: Shit! You fucking did your homework. Wow, I’m very impresed. You got them all in there. The Horny Dog Walker and The Cool Substitute Teacher. Wow. I just had a big show in Austin Texas the other night. When I went on stage, it’s kind of a blend with me doing my slideshow kind of stand up and half I’m in Substitute Teacher mode. I kind of make them believe they are the dummy class and I just have drinks. R: (pointing on the Swiss chocolate, that we brought him). Yo, you are winning, dude. I love it. This is very nice. I really appreciate it. A: You are welcome. I thought it might be good for your next munchy. R: Yeah, I got some good hashish, you know. Wait, where are you from? Sweden or Switzerland? Sorry, I always get the two mixed up. A: No worries, everyone here does. It's Switzerland. We used to have a very liberal law for smoking. You could even smoke in trains. R: Really? A: Really. Anyway. A: OK, next one. Analogue versus digital - what’s your opinion. By the way, where is your camera? I read that you always take your camera with you. R: I have this one with me today. (Pulling out his small digital camera) I still use my little film, but this one is digi. I need digital sometimes. A: But you still shoot with films? R: Yeah. R: I got some good hashish if you need some. Somebody gave it to me. M: We are recording this Ricky. R: I don’t give a fuck. I went to a FRANK book release the other night and I stepped into a cipher which is a group of people smoking a joint and this thing was a canon. And this guy, he was an American Indian dude, I took one hit and I was like, “Oh my god... shit ... TKO, TKO!” And this never happened before. Everybody was laughing. Anyway. So, after signing a book for him he was like, „Hey you have to come to my house. I wanna give you something.“ I’m like, „No, I’m good, thanks.“ I’m looking him up and down, like, can I take this dude if he gets funny on me in his house? So, we take a cab to his place, I wait in the cab and when he comes back, he pulls out a pack of cigarettes, opens it and pulls out a big brown thing. I’m like, „Oh cool, a hash brownie,“ until I realized this is a block of hash. He gave it to me and said „Because you have a beautiful spirit. Enjoy brother.“ It was great. Good shit I tell you. Anyway. R: So talk to me. Ask me something intellectual. Come on. A: Ok, ok. If you could be a thing, what would you like to be? R: Good question. Interesting. Hmmm. I’d like to be a vibrator. A: Haha, That’s what every other man says. R: Really? A: Yeah of course. It’s the thong or the vibrator. R: OK, OK, so you know what I’d like to be? A sparkling lake. A: Ah, I see and then having beautiful naked girls swimming in you, right. R: Exactly. Wow, you are two moves ahead of me. A: OK, OK. Let’s get back to business. Who was the first person you shot wearing a Kangol hat? R: Karl Lagerfeld. (Laughs) He’s a jerk-off. I wanna pull him by his ponytail

www.rickypowell.com

«To me, street photography is like my transistor radio, the playlist is infinite.»

and kick him in his fucking face. Hmm, let me think. LL Cool J! I think it was on the Raising Hell tour in 86. He just had that look, you know. Even before I’d just see him at clubs, wearing the Kangol with a college basketball jacket, that was big then. Yeah, LL Cool J, he was the Kangol. And also in Style Wars you see Dez wearing a Kangol and Slick Rick of course. That’s about it at that time. A: So, you’d say that these are the guys that pushed Kangol? R: Yeah, I’d say. There’s more probably. Grandmaster Flash for example. The blacks, you know. They look better in these kinds of hats. I was also saying during my slideshow, “White guys can’t wear a troop suit. You look like an idiot.“ But on the other hand if you chill then you look cool – no matter what color.

Beastie Boys

Run DMC

Flavor Flav & Biz Markie

R: What’s happening? I’m glad I put my pants on today. I got out the house, I worked, I wasn’t a pussy. A: Alright. Last one. R: (phone vibrates) Wait! Who’s this? Ah, it’s my Nubian prostitute from the Marcy Projects texting me. Hold on. She’s cool though. OK. A: Have you ever been to Switzerland? No. Let’s make it happen. I will have a show in Sweden next summer, that’s as close as I have been to Switzerland so far. Throwing my dick out there, you know. Little bit - in a good way. A: Anything else you want to say? R: Black chicks dick me! A: Oookay. Thanks for the chat, Ricky. R: Alright. Everything OK for you? Just hit me up and I will send you some more pictures. A: Alright, thanks a lot.

«Black chicks dick me.»

www.rickypowell.com

Dog car

Walking through the streets of New York it is almost impossible not to see pasted posters with the four letters ASVP on them. Omnipresent on the streets, it is hard to catch the artist for an interview. As we had almost lost hope to meet ASVP for a talk, the universe struck back and we literally ran into them.

Please introduce yourself. Hi, We're ASVP.

was it? The first thing I put on the streets was a tag on a racquetball court at my high school. That was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

What does ASVP stand for? That's the first thing that everyone wants to know but we keep that to ourselves.

How do you produce the work that you post on the street? Every piece on the street is made completely by hand. Everything is hand-screened, hand painted and hand-cut.

Can you remember the first artwork you put on the streets? When and where

Do you get the same feeling when you go out on the streets today as you got then? No way. Never could. For us the time and energy we've spent making

www.asvpart.com

and sharing our work has had a cumulative effect on our perspective of many things. For example now when we're headed home after a night of pasting and we see all of the good folks of the world scurrying past us with their GrandĂŠ Mocha Frappuccinos, we're happy to be covered in paste looking like a couple of GrandĂŠ Moca Crapuccinos. Your work can be seen all over New York. Ever had troubles with the NYPD? Yes. Not fun. If not New York, where would you live? Not sure, we have work in London, Zurich, Varanasi India, Florence Italy, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Cleveland and Hawaii among other cities. There are many places that we've been inspired by. You have quite a variety of artworks. Where do you take the ideas from?

The streets on the other hand offer an unadulterated nothing-gainednothing-lost platform for the work to be experienced through, affected and routinely changed by. The streets' ungoverned platform creates a raw, honest, living, breathing dialogue that continually contributes to the way the work feels, the way it looks, and ultimately the way it is perceived. Not only by those that walk by it, deface it, collaborate with it, take a picture of their child standing next to it, or smear shit on it, but also by the artist that originally made it. So, what the street ultimately gives back to the continuation of the work is---inspiration. The lifeblood that helps us find new ways of thinking, seeing, developing and expressing how we can communicate and connect with others. What do you think is the difference between doing art on the streets of New York and the streets of a Swiss city? There is none. Please tell us an important lesson you have learned in life. The good things you do will come back to you.

There are a number of influences; at the moment we're mashing up a lot of iconic Eastern and Western imagery. We're interested in some of the People's Republic of China imagery from the '80s as well as retro pop and advertising images among other things. You're working on a big show at a gallery in Denver. Tell us about that. We're currently producing a solo show that will open on September 2nd at The Black Book Gallery in Denver, Colorado. The show will feature roughly 40 works on paper and canvas. http://www. theblackbookgallery.com/ Galleries versus street. What's your opinion? We didn't know they were in a fight. Everyone loves to stack one thing up against another. Though they seem comparable, Galleries and Streets are totally different vehicles that give back totally different things. Yes, they both get the work in front of people to experience and react to. The big difference is what the streets ultimately give back toward the continuation of the work vs. what a gallery ultimately gives back towards the continuation of the work. The galleries monetize the process. For the purists there's no way to take the stink off of that. Fair enough. For a month or so the galleries offer the work a clean, controlled environment that will expose it to audiences that are proven to be interested in art that may otherwise have not seen it. This is for the most part---a good thing. But, ultimately, what the gallery gives back to the continuation of the work is simple, cold, hard cash. Fuel. Gasoline. To buy more supplies with like spray-paint, paper, ink and brushes etc. And that's good---but that's it.

What projects are you currently working on? We just released a limited edition print called, "Future Cop" through CMYK projects (www. cmykprojects.com). After the September show at the Black Book Gallery we have a number of street projects that we're excited about that will take place throughout the rest of 2011. Check our website for details. We're also talking with some folks about doing a London show in 2012. We'll keep you posted as that develops. Do you currently have any work for sale? In addition to the pieces

that we created for the Denver show, we have monoprints and limited editions for sale through our website. We recently produced an edition of 25 Balaclavas (mask with hearts & halo) and an edition of 30 Protection Girls which will release very soon.

ÂŤEvery piece on the street is made completely by hand. Everything is hand-screened, hand painted and hand-cut.Âť

India

New York Hongkong

Las Vegas

Zurich

www.asvpart.com

Photo by Katrin Walther

Photo by Giuliano di Marco

Swiss artist and illustrator Blanda Eggenschwiler kind of lives the American Dream. In 2007, she packed her suitcase and moved from Zurich to New York to study graphic design. Only four years later, she works as an art director at The New York Times. Her style is a combination of collage, printmaking and drawing fused into a singular expression of feminine form. Blanda's artwork merges the minimalist order and clean typography of her Swiss background with the visual hyper stimulation of her daily life in New York City. We asked Blanda about her latest artist series for Obey clothing, about New York and where she draws inspiration from. Dear Blanda, please describe yourself. I think a simple description of myself is that of a person who is creatively curious, constantly seeking out new mediums and styles to experiment with and incorporate into my personal repertoire. I hate boredom, so I find ways to occupy my mind and my time that simultaneously allow me to further my career while serving as a creative outlet. I don't like to ‘work’ - I like to attack projects by making them into something personal so that they become a necessary catharsis of ideas. What made you move to New York? When was that? I visited New York for the first time in 2006. I was traveling alone and didn't know anyone in the city but I felt right at home and knew that I had to come back. I applied for schools in NY a few months later and moved out here in 2007 to study graphic design at School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. I arrived with one suitcase and slept on a friends couch for the first 3 weeks and it was a great time!

Where in New York do you live? What's your favorite neighborhood? I live on East 14th Street right now and I really like this neighborhood. Union Square is just a few blocks away with most subway lines that I use and I have plenty of great restaurants and bars within walking distance. Over the past 4 years I have moved 6 times and lived in several places, all distinct--it keeps life fresh, you know? The West Village has always been one of my favorite NYC neighborhoods. I like it for it's trees and beautiful town houses, it's unmistakably New York but still has an European vibe. What would you say is the difference between living in New York and Zurich? I have come to appreciate both Zurich and New York for their distinctive feelings. I love NY because of the constant presence of opportunity and its vastness. Any given day can bring something new and unexpected. Being in a city with so much history and so many subcultures is incredibly inspiring and keeps me going. But I still get home sick when I haven't been back to zurich in a while and I start missing the lake, my friends and family. Zurich will always be home for me and being away for so long has made me appreciate the things that I always took for granted about switzerland like the fresh air, good affordable food and most of all peacefulness. New York is constantly in your face and its nice to have a break from the cacophony of ambulances and crazy people. Your style is a mix of typography, illustration and collage. What‘s your technique - can you give us a short description of the process from the source of inspiration to framing the artwork? Most everything in my work is derived from hand drawn thoughts, but I also depend heavily on my ‘inspiration folders’, which are basically collections of images that strike a chord in me and inspire me to branch out. Most of what keeps me interested in the creative process is my constant attempt to try and experiment with new mediums and new techniques on each individual project. You recently did a beautiful artist series for Obey. What was the collaboration like? Were there any guidelines? Obey was amazing to work with. They completely trusted me and gave me freedom to do whatever I wanted. There were very few guidelines. The idea was approached like a curatorial project - mining images that have worked for me and retro-fitting them to clothing that best presented the imagery. I probably had the most fun with the jewelry because I've always moved in and out of geometric art and this allowed me an opportunity to really explore it and put it into three dimensions. I feel that if you approach clothing design as a fine art - for example using collage for the shirts and sculpture for the jewelry - then you can get a much more personal and special product.

TRIBECA Collage for Obey clothing

«I don't like to ‘work’ - I like to attack projects by making them into something personal so that they become a necessary catharsis of ideas.»

Please tell us an important lesson you have learned in New York. Just don't give up...you really have to be relentless in this town. Sometimes it takes a unbending persistency to get something done. My Swiss manners get in the way of that every now and then but I have learned to find a good balance between fighting for what I want without losing my integrity. Sometimes self-promotion is the hardest thing, but you have to treat it with passion - it should never be difficult to express your passion for your own work, or else you're probably in the wrong field.

www.cargocollective.com/blanda

If you could be a thing, what would you like to be? I'd be something historically important. There's a building in the East Village, 9698 St. Marks. I would love to be the facade because it is teeming with New York's history. So many amazing creative minds have lived within those walls and helped represent the creative force of this city.

SOHO SHIRT & NOLITA NECKLACE for Obey clothing KEEPING IT SIMPLE POSTER 100 things I like, see, keep, found, was given, wear, eat, drink, make, need. Things I come across every day for the most part. Just stuff. Welcome to my life everyone. Silkscreen on watercolor paper, 25 x 35 in.

Who inspires you as an artist? Many...From present day artists and designers like Julie VerHoeven, Louise Fili, James Victore to Tibor Kalman and Martin Kippenberger. Growing up I was fascinated with Hopper's ability to capture a mood and I admire the old masters like Duerer or DaVinci. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s your favorite saying? "Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast." - Oscar Wilde What's your next project? A bunch...I have lots of ideas and am hoping to put most of them into action this and next year. There are a few collaboration projects with some very talented friends of mine in the making. I am also working on a portrait series but that is more of a private project as of now. What do you love? Finding a solution for something that seems unsolvable. Watching movies in bed when it rains outside. Sketchbooks. Rivella. Boys with blue eyes. Mozzarella. Old good things, good old things. Ballpoint pens Anything else you want to say? Nope :)

www.blandablanda.com

BIGGER FISH TO FRY When I was a little girl I had a fish tank with a guppy named Hugo. One day he suffered a heart attack right in front of my eyes. At least thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how I remember the tragic incident that put him into fish nirvana. I had to flush him down the toilet, poor Hugo. I never really got over him. Poster, silkscreen, 11 x 17 in.

THE TYPEFACE I had this party at my room a while ago. Just me, a bottle of wine and a bunch of letters. Not really. But sounds like a lot of fun, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it? Type self-portrait. Hand-cut from take out menus from all of my favorite NYC restaurants. No computer for this one. All tedious manual labor darling.

Mike Bauer flickr.com/photos/mikebauerrules/

DXXXTR flickr.com/photos/dxtrs/

SH17 flickr.com/photos/sugarhills/

Judy289 flickr.com/photos/53330395@N08/

tameblue flickr.com/photos/tameblue/

NielsKalk flickr.com/photos/37538052@N00/

Elena Mir flickr.com/photos/elenamir/

hari_d flickr.com/photos/hari_d/

Omnitarian flickr.com/photos/omnitarian/

www.flickr.com/groups/amateurmag/pool/

Photo by Rudie Diaz (www.rodolfo-diaz.com)

LNY is an artist happily living and lurking between New Jersey, New York and the rest of the world. Having been raised in both Ecuador and New Jersey the idea of constant travel and change have become part of his identity. Being caught ‘between’ spaces, cultures, problems, politics and people is what he makes art about. His work on streets is a reaction to the people and places where he puts them up and he believes that art should be open and free for everybody. He is also still looking for the perfect bike... Artist name? I go by LNY, LÑY, YNL or BROWN CHOCOLATE! or whatever really... Were you born in the United States? No, I was born in South America. I grew up in Ecuador and in New Jersey. After school I’ve been travelling. I like travelling and seeing new things, and being from place to place kind of makes me feel comfortable. When did you come to New Jersey? When I was fourteen. I didn’t have much of a choice, I mean, I was young and my family moved. It was an interesting time for me, being a teenager and coming into a new country and a new culture. Why do you make art on the streets? After I graduated from art school, I kind of lost faith in painting as a medium to communicate with people. I didn’t draw or paint for two years after, I just didn’t want to and couldn't. I used to help artists here in New York that were doing new media art and that’s how I really got introduced to open source philosophy, interaction and making art accessible and free for everybody.

How do you get your motives? I like to ground my artwork to a specific space. That’s why I usually take a long time doing my drawings, because I like to think about it slowly, you know... what fits best to a given spot. Sometimes when I see a spot I find something very interesting or inspiring about it. For example when a wall looks old, I would like to add some bright colors to it, you know to kind of react and create some tension. Back when I used to paint in the studio it was the same thing. I would have a canvas and would look at it, think, and react on it. It’s the same thing with public space now you know.thing with the space, you know. What do you love about New York? The simple answer: Its people. Ok, so any great metropolis functions as a magnet for creativity and interesting living conditions, what sets NYC apart is it's particular history and flavor. NYC has given so much to the world but the real key to this innovation is the promise of possibility it offers to anyone; you know the old "America dream" ideal. I'm critical of this dream, because someone should be, and because we have all seen it's negative side effects, especially now in such a weak economy. Anyway this city will eat you up and chew you out if you don't keep your guard up so it's natural that it makes some of the most interesting people you will ever meet. The other funny thing is that a lot of them are not natives, they come from all over the world and make up my idea of what ‘New York City’ really is. This is the perfectly natural because to be a New Yorker you don't need to claim birth right but instead an adherence to common ideals; it's the same with being American because It's a country founded on an idea not a common geography nor history. So it's this combination of people and the ever flowing influx of ideas and

www.lnylnylny.com

Philadelphia, USA, 2010

Incheon, Korea, 2010

perspectives that make New York such a beautiful city. Were you in town, when 9/11 happened? Yes. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of those memories that I have that is always kind of present. I was eighteen when it happened and I was in high-school. Nobody knew what was going on. I just looked outside the window and you could see these big clouds of smoke, coming from downtown Manhattan. And then after school, I went to the riverside and I could see the whole thing happening and I saw one of the buildings go down â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and then a cloud of smoke. What I remebmber is this smoke was there for two weeks â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the sky. So, that smoke kind of stayed with me and became like my personal symbol. How was the Living Walls project? What did you paint? It was pretty amazing, not only was it a great opportunity to meet up with friends and make new ones from all over the world but the entire project had... lots of integrity. That's how I would best describe it. I guess because most of all it was a work of love towards the artists, the art and the city, so my heart and admiration goes out to the organizers, volunteers and citizens of Atlanta who made this such a positive experience. I ended up painting 3 walls and putting up some posters around the city. Most of the work is a continuation of themes and ideas I have been dealing with on the regular. Some of the imagery includes tornadoes, clouds of smoke, fire, fire tornadoes, kids with their heads on fire, giant burning heads and anonymous as well as local people. For the bigger mural I asked some of the volunteers to pose for me, I like doing this to somehow ground the work to the space it will inhabit... but the more I do it the more I question if it works or not. The mural was mostly well received but a little contended because It depicts the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks, each tower being held by one of the volunteers. The ESCIF mural, which is across the street from mine and depicts a

Chinese made fire extinguisher and the phrase "Emergency Only", had the same kind of reception but I find it encouraging that cooler heads prevailed and artistic expression won in the end. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your next project? Some exhibits here and there, but that always feels more like work than anything. Project wise I have some ideas of things I want to work on in the next 3 years, they are more like big arches my life will take in the future that I need to slowly build . One project I am working on right now its called Doodledrag, which I started with my musician/artists friend Marissa Paternoster and the idea is to take drawing and doodling and make it more fun and interesting as well as a collective activity. It's a big hard to explain but I like it that way, a good simile would be imagine a punk show or dance party where instead of music people draw, but theres music too sometimes... fuck i dont know, just check out the website: http://doodledrag. tumblr.com/ If you could be a thing, what would you like to be? a Swiss army knife, the kind that has the toothpick and maybe a fork too What do you love? People, family, friends, hands, good music, coffee, flying, drawing, sex and sleeping. Anything else you want to say? ah... yea just be true and trusts your struggle. ._.

Incheon, Korea, 2010

New York, USA, 2011

www.lnylnylny.com

Living Walls, Atlanta, USA, 2011

Incheon, Korea, 2011

www.lnylnylny.com

Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011

Living Walls, Atlanta, USA, 2011

Berlin, Germany, 2011

Jersey City, USA, 2011

New York, USA, 2011

«they come from all over the world and make up my idea of what ‘New York City’ really is.» Berlin, Germany, 2011

to assemble several collages and ideas simultaneously. Although there are some that come together rather quickly, in a more spontaneous way, I usually lay the compositions out and play with the forms, often changing and altering them over time. Once I’m satisfied I glue them down and then they go off to the framer. Back in the early 1990s - before Adobe and desktop publishing - you made a graffiti magazine called Skills. Do you think this way of working has influenced your nowadays collage works? I was already making collages before I started publishing Skills but the magazine was significant in the fact that it was the first time I started to combine my collages with my graffiti. The magazine embodied all the things I am interested in photo documentation, collage and graffiti. I recently read "I miss the old New York" on a wall in Manhattan. Do you miss the old New York? What do you miss especially? Yes and no…I mean I had a lot of fun growing up in NY and watching things change from the 70s to 80s and into the 90’s. In a way I’m glad the trains are not bombed anymore because if they were it would be hard to stay out of the yards.

Queens, 1989

Imagine you didn't grow up in New York. Do you think you had still become an artist? Probably, my parents were my first influence as far as drawing and paying attention to art…that said if I didn’t grow up in NYC I might not have ever written graff which is crazy to think since I have been writing for 30 years now. Who is your favorite New York based artist? Who inspires you? Joseph Cornell, Ray Johnson, Dondi, Iz the Wiz... to name a few - are people from NY who have definitely influenced my style in one way or another…sad none of them are still with us. Imagine the DJ at your party was a jukebox for once. What track would you choose? Power by Earth Wind and Fire.

Greg Lamarche - also known as Sp.One - was born and raised in Queens and still resides in New York City. Taking inspiration from the streets, and using the same fundamentals he developed during his 25+ years as a graffiti writer, he creates unique collages that blur the line between fine art and graphic design. How would you describe yourself? Hard working, low key…not to be slept on. You have made yourself a big name as Sp.One. Wasn't it hard to leave this name behind? The name still lives but I do more than just write graffiti so it made sense not to limit myself with just going by my tag. How did the collage work start? I started making collages as a kid out of used firework wrappers.

What‘s your technique can you give us a short description of the process from finding the paper to framing the artwork? I collect materials mainly during the summer and fall. I am very particular about the papers I use and require that they are all matte and usually they are vintage so it is often challenging to find materials. Once I’ve gathered enough papers I cut out thousands of letters and shapes. After, I begin

www.greglamarche.com

Please tell us an important lesson you have learned in life. Go with your gut. What's your next project? Los Angeles in mid September to October. First for an exhibition at Known Gallery, which opens on September 17. I’ll also be participating in the Pulse and Art-Platform art fairs the first weekend of October. The Pulse fair organizers have commissioned me to do a major wall painting on site and I am also exhibiting new work with Joshua Liner Gallery. For Art-Platform I will also be debuting a super limited edition of Krylon boxes with Anonymous Gallery. What‘s your favorite saying? Check ya later…(from Dazed Confused)

and

Hustle sketch

Skills 5 cover, 1993 Hustle, 2008

Untitled

«…I mean I had a lot of fun growing up in NY and watching things change from the 70s to 80s and into the 90’s.»

Soulin

What do you love? My wife, my family, my work and catching wreck. Anything else you want to say? Thanks for the shine. Check out www.greglamarche.com. ._.

www.greglamarche.com

36-year-old Jeffrey Ng, better known as Jeff Staple is the founder of Staple Design which operates in three main categories: a clothing collection, a creative agency and a retail store. Fourteen years after Jeff received his first t-shirt order, he has an international following and high respect from his peers, Jeff Staple himself, has become a brand. We met Jeff in his office at Orchard Street to talk about his first art teacher, the oversaturation of clothing and his imaginary molecular friend

A: You are a graphic designer, fashion designer, store owner, entrepreneur and a lot more. What do you call yourself?

A: Speaking of teachers: I read that you named Reed space after your first teacher in art school. What do you appreciate about him? What made him so special?

J: I think the easiest is to just say that I’m a teacher. That’s it. When I sit on an airplane, and you know people always ask you, so what do you do for a living? I just say I’m a teacher because people usually find that very boring and they don’t want ask any more questions about it. So they are like, “Oh, that’s nice,” and they just stop talking. And then also I do feel a little bit of everything that I do, whether it’s clothing or graphics or magazines or stores. It’s always about spreading information which is what a good teacher should be doing. So I kind of feel like I’m always just passing information. Teachers don’t really make information. They have History, Math or English and then they are just passing it on to other people. They didn’t invent Math – they’re just passing Math on. So, a lot of what I do is just sharing. I do some creation, too, in some other stuff that I do, but a lot of the stuff that I do is just sort of like, “Oh, this is a really great illustrator or photographer, let’s have a show at Reed space,” or, “This is a really great brand, let’s sell it at Reed Space,” Even when it comes to our own Staple collections a lot of the inspiration comes from people that I meet or places that I go to. So, I’m still sort of saying, “Yo I went to Berlin and spent a month there. Let me share that with the world in my clothing line.“

J: Well, before I met him I had no real art support in my life. I was a doodler. I’d drew at home but there was no support system, e.g. my parents didn’t say, “Oh that’s good, you should keep doing that!“ They were more like, “Stop doing that! You are wasting your time!“ So, Michael Reed was the first person of authority that was like, “Keep doing what you’re doing. Let me help you do what you’re doing.” Even after school which was very dope. You know, for the most part you hate most of your teachers when you are a kid, but this was a guy who was like, “Yo, after class, six o’clock, if you want me to help you build this, let’s go out the back and get some tools and start building this shit.” That was so cool for me. And not only did he teach me about art, but also he taught me about communication and how to approach stuff. I thought about it when I was in high school. I take all these different subjects and I hate all my teachers because the way they teach me is so bad that it makes me not want to learn about this stuff. Whereas Mr Reed had this way of teaching stuff that made you wanna dive into it further. To me that was an even stronger lesson, because it taught me about how to be a better boss. When I’m working with my employees, if I want them to do something, there’s different ways of approaching stuff and Mr Reed taught me a better way of doing it. And then he passed away in the year he was teaching me, too. So, not only was he my favorite teacher and the most influential person in my life up until that point but then he like left immediately, unexpectedly.So that was another lesson about who means the most to you and being able to tell them. Yeah, I never got to tell him what he meant to me. So I try to tell him by naming the store and the magazine after him.

www.stapledesign.com

photo by Chevon McIntyre

J: It’s weird, too because he died in a very controversial way. He was like a crazy guy and he was drunk driving, riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle and he died in a motorcycle accident. It was bad. He hit an eighteen-wheel truck and his head got cut of. They found his head like a mile away. So it was a very tragic accident – not good for the school image to have a teacher being a drunk motorcyclist with no head.

the artist that just says, “I don’t care about having 20000 followers and getting 100 likes on facebook everyday.” There are guys that just wanna create and just wanna do it slowly. They are more like a craftsman, like a blacksmith who hits metal everyday. You know, I really respect that kind of people who don’t do it for the fame - they do it for the product. And I think when I started along with other people of my generation like Eric Haze or Stash we were all not thinking of fame because nobody was famous doing this. There was no such thing as fame. It was just love, and that’s it.

And then a few years later after I opened the Reed space, I called my school to find out if Michael Reed has family or any wife or kids because I’d love for them to see what I’ve done and maybe do a dedication or something like that. And they would not even acknowledge that he was a teacher here. They were just trying to hide everything. They didn’t want the facts to come out. So, I couldn’t get in touch with anyone. All of a sudden, one day a woman e-mails me mysteriously and says, “Is it true, that you’ve named Reed space after Michael Reed?“ I wrote back, “Yeah, why do you ask?“ She replied that she was married to Michael Reed. She said that when he died they were already divorced, but they used to be married. I was like, “Wow, that’s amazing. Thank you for reaching out. I would love to meet you or connect with you.“ And she never replied. It was really weird because she just reached out and then probably thought, “I don’t wanna open that part of my life again.” So, that’s the closest I ever got to going back to him. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I would be doing any of this. So I kind of dedicate a lot of it to him.

Yeah, exactly. Just making, and communicating ideas because we couldn’t find the shit that we wanted at Banana Republic, you know. There would be only ten stores in the whole world that were like Union or Triple Five Soul. This was like our club and we just made stuff for our club. I feel like now, if you talk to a kid in 2011 who is like sixteen years old, he wants the fame so bad because he has been influenced by people like me or Bobby Hundreds. So, they look to the “stardom“, but they don’t actually think about what they actually need to make this stardom happen. They just want the stardom. And the sad thing is that you can just have the stardom now. There are people that just are famous for doing almost nothing.

Yeah. I get it. It was more about the artworks than the whole marketing shit though.

«the hangtag for my t-shirts had my home phone number.»

Do you have a graphic that you made in the past that you are most proud of? The pigeon? Or is it like a father had to choose which of his children he liked the most?

reed pages magazine

A: Thanks for sharing, Jeff. J: And it’s dope now when you hear sixteen years old kids from the hood. They are like, „Hey yo, let’s go to Reed and get some new shit.“ It’s great to hear that his name is being about dope shit. A: Your career started with wearing a hand-printed Staple t-shirt that a store wanted to buy off your back. That was in 1997. Times changed since then. Do you think this is still possible today? Or is the t-shirt market supersaturated these days? J: That’s a great question. Could that happen today? It can happen today, of course, but your mindset would have to be that of a craftsman. E.g. you’d have to be really patient. Because, when I started Staple, there was no blogs - I didn’t even have an e-mail address – the hangtag for my t-shirts had my home phone number. I didn’t even have a cell phone. So, that was only 15 years ago. Now, if you wanna be a competitive brand or creator, you have to have Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, myspace, cell phone, you know like all of this shit. You have to really build your image. That’s the say if you really wanted to be on this level. But on the other hand, I also really respect

The infamous Pigeon Dunk that lead to the first "sneaker riot" in history.

No, I mean, the graphics that I always love the most personally are the ones that don’t really sell that well. The one that made the most impact is the pigeon graphic that we did. It’s got a really powerful meaning to a lot of different people. As a designer I’m a little bit tired of pigeon stuff but it just keeps going and trust me, once the world says, “I’m sick of seeing pigeons,” I will happily stop doing pigeon stuff. But I don’t feel like that’s ever gonna happen because since we launched the pigeon Dunk, the first one, in 2003 - it’s been eight years now - there is no sign of people getting tired of the pigeon. I think it’s a lot of things. You know, people have a strong connection with the pigeon whether they strongly hate it or strongly think it’s cool. I think the pigeon looks - from a colorway standpoint - easy to accept with grey, darkgrey, black, white, pop pink, it’s easy to wear. Eevery major city you go to there’s pigeons. So, I think everybody can relate to a pigeon. Hopefully it just keeps going – knock on wood.It definifely helps that there is this mythological sneaker riot thing that happened that keeps burning the stories behind it but it also has a light of its own. So, I’ll just continue to do it. But it’s always the weird designs that I love doing that my sales guys say that no one is going to buy that. But I’m like, „Let’s just do it anyway.“ I love doing those ones and I think you have to do those to push the envelope. Because sometimes those designs, after we sell them and we make only eighty pieces because nobody liked it - I always find out that two or three years later people are like, „Hey what happened to that design?“ A: Recently, you collaborated with Swiss graphic combo +41. How did that collaboration come to be? J: I have always respected +41 and we were one of the only stores that carried +41 in the United States when they had a clothing line back in the days. So we had already a relationship and when they stopped doing clothing and… just did graphics. We always kept in touch… and then Laurence, she came to New York and lived here for a few months and then she reached out and said, “If there’s anything we can do together,…“ and I just suggested at a café we should do a little eight piece collection. She went back to her partners and they were definifely cool about it… then we did it. That’s really how it is, just respect for each other’s design work. And +41 is a great example of one of those designs that are very edgy, that are not for the masses. It’s not for everyone but I felt like you gotta do stuff like that to push the envelope and go the edge.

www.stapledesign.com

I don’t care about what city you’re from, or where you’re at - if you do good work, there is potential that we could do something together. A: Todays' fashion-production is exorbitant. I think we could stop producing clothes immediately and still had enough clothes for the next 20 years for the whole mankind. J: Even more. Probably for eternitiy! The clothes that we make, will outlive our planet. The whole mankind will be over and there still will be polo shirts. A: I know that you are thinking about stuff like that a lot. Are you going into a direction with Staple that could be a solution? J: I’m moving that way. But the industry is a very big old ship and if you want to turn this ship a little bit, there is this big wheel that needs to be turned slowly. I’m moving in that direction and I’m changing the way Staple design is gonna start doing business in the future. I spoke about this last year when I was at Bread & Butter. I just felt really disgusted – like you were saying - about all the shit that’s going on. Everyone’s guilty. It’s not only the shitty brands but even the premium brands – we are guilty too. I make a jacket, a really great jacket and let’s say I’m gonna charge someone 600 dollars for that jacket and then in six months I’m gonna say here is another jacket for 600 dollars. I mean, why do you have to buy this other one? If I made a great jacket, it should last for five years or ten years. And then, fine, if you used it for ten years and it breaks, please buy another one but not every three months The fashion world dictates that you have to buy new jackets, new shoes, new pants, new shirts every three to six months. It’s ridiculous. Even if every fashion brand in the world reduced what they made by ten percent, we would still have more than eternity’s worth of clothing.

It’s New York City. I have a certain amount of talents and a certain amount of hard work and drive. So, you put me anywhere, even Kansas or doesn’t matter how small the city is and I can figure my way out, but New York is like an accelerator and it’s also like a testing ground. New York is a different world because New York spits people out. There is a rejection process here. New York will tell you, you are not good enough to live here and will kick you out. I’ve seen it so many times that people retreat to LA and they say that they couldn’t handle New York but actually New York kicked them out. New York is like sink or swim. If you don’t swim, you just start sinking. A: But you have to admit, that - at least in Europe - if the kids see that the brand is from New York they’re just going to buy it because of the fact that the brand is from New York. J: Yeah, sure. There is a marketing aspect to it as well, definitely. But you can’t fake that marketing aspect, you know what I mean? There are a lot of brands, in Japan for example, that just have the word NYC at the end of their brand. But I think you can’t just add NYC. There is the soul about it that is very important. The second last question is an Amateur Magazine standard one. We kind of ask that to every person featured here. If you could be a thing, what would you like to be? Oh, that’s a great question. You know, when kids have imaginary friends - when I was a kid I had a molecule as an imaginary friend. There was this glowing dot that was next to me all the time. The great thing about a molecule is that it can change in anything it wants because it’s a molecular thing. So, if I could be any thing, it would be a molecule. I would be changing to any molecular structure that I wanted to. Nice one. No one ever said that for sure.

A: But on the other hand, it’s also the consumers who are guilty and should change their minds, shouldn’t they? J: Maybe it’s because I’m on this side of the fence, but I think it’s the responsibility of the brands and the editorial side like fashion blogs and magazines. At the end of the day, consumers are going to listen to people that they respect or that they look up to. There’s almost no choice for the costumer. I think the change has to start from the top. Just show people that there is a different way and then people might start thinking differently, “Oh yeah, I don’t need that just because 55DSL or Patagonia, or some actor said it.” A: So, your message is „Buy less“ or at least „buy smart“? J: Buy smart! Yeah. Maybe this will put us out of business. (Laughs) A: New York is THE city for streetwear. Have you ever imagined your career if you didn't live here? Or let’s say it like this: How important is the fact that Staple design comes from New York?

Yeah, I think this was a strange childhood. I remember a roadtrip with my family. I’m on the back seat and my molecule would be outside the car. I’d be sitting and my molecule would just be floating along. I was like, “He’s just chilling, just floating, that’s cool.“ Haha. Thank you Jeff. Anything else you want to say? Yeah, I mean, I liked the question you asked about if you can do it the way it used to be done before and you have a lot of readers that are creators and artists and I just wanna tell them: don’t feel the pressure to be a YouTube star. Just go out there and get your hands dirty. Just walk into a store and show them a t-shirt. You don’t have to have a fucking beautiful flash website and everything. Just do it the old-school way. You don’t have to be a superstar over night. I think that’s the biggest mistake that young people make. Just make good shit and don’t worry about the fucking stardom. ._.

J: I often think that I wouldn’t be where I am today without New York City, that’s for sure. I think New York is more than fifty percent responsible for who I am, where I am, and what I am today.

Collaboration t-shirts with Swiss +41.

«I often think that I wouldn’t be where I am today without New York City, that’s for sure.»

Please introduce yourself. I am just a midwest kid who loves to paint, garden and ride my bike. I am married and i have a dog. I like tattoos and metal music. I am obsessed with aliens. I eat a bunch of garlic and drink lots of soy creamer. I like cartoons and video games. I like my friends. I love learning new things. How would you describe your art to someone who has never seen it before? Imagine a historical landscape painting that has hung on the street for 400 years.

Where would you live if you couldn't live in New York? I want a small farm in the mountains. What‘s your favorite saying? I need to go paint. What‘s your technique? I use oil, watercolor and graphite on panels How do you make your living? I do sound at a music venue. Why do you draw what you draw? I love finding out what else I can produce. I love seeing what comes out of a session in the studio.

How did you get into art? I guess I have always been making things out of other things, so all of my life.

What is your source of inspiration? Aliens.

How has New York influenced your work? It makes you always want to be in the studio.

What are the 3 most important things in your studio? Paint, computer and the words “trust yourself” written above my easel.

www.theartofanthonypontius.blogspot.com

the brambling brood bumbling in the meadow of our matron oil on panel 18x30 in 2007Â

golden fawn oil on panel 24x24 2007

limits of illusion oil on panel 24x24 in 2008

Anything else you want to say? Nope, rather paint it.

Imagine the DJ at your party was a jukebox. What track would you choose? Dragonaut by Sleep Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s your next project? I curated a project that is a collaboration between me and five local Brooklyn artists. We are all a part of the Shirts and Destroy t-shirt and print company. The event will take place at Tara McPherson's Cotton Candy Machine here in Brooklyn in September. Check www. thecottoncandymachine.com You at the age of 66? What will you be doing? Painting, and loving my wife. What kind of people do you admire? People that do things that inspire. Who is your favorite artist? All time fave is Goya. If you could be a thing, what would you like to be? A redwood. What do you love? My wife

edelweiss oil on panel 24x18 in 2007

www.iloveartbastard.com

hotter than hell oil on panel 18x24 2009

David Gensler is the president of KDU, publisher of the The Royal Magazine and founder of SVSV. He is a designer and considered to be one of the top youth strategists, today. He established among others, Rocafella and The Human Brand in his 20s. Gensler has changed into working with more sustainable projects in an effort to develop not only brands, but humanity in general. On top of that he makes damn good hamburgers. We met David in the backyard of the KDU office in Brooklyn for a barbecue and a chat.

Dear David, please introduce yourself. I guess I see myself as curious and ambitious. I live in an age that moves quickly and I do not intend to be left behind, that is an honest answer. First I am a designer, photographer, marketer, and strategist. I believe that in such a dense, fast paced world, your efforts have to be carefully planned and guided, or you risk they will simply go unseen and have no effect. In the modern age, strategy is the new art - so I guess ultimately that makes me an artist. What is the Keystone Design Union? We are a design based fraternal collective. We have around 550 members spread across the globe. We consist mostly of designers and artists covering almost all disciplines: fine art, illustration, industrial design, fashion, architecture,

www.thekdu.com

footwear, typography, interactive. We also have members that focus more on the business side of things: MBAs, lawyers, agents and some writers, photographers, directors, business owners, editors, publishers and pretty much anyone that uses design as a tool to build themselves and their business. There really is no goal to be the biggest. Actually, I prefer the days when I knew everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday and the names of their dogs, but the global design culture is growing larger and larger, so we simply grow organically with it. I think that 1000 members worldwide is a good number to cap it at. I want to make sure we are truly in all emerging markets so we can feed the entire group inspiration from all cultures and subcultures, not just the ones coming from the big cities. Today, The KDU is very simply a larger version of it's original form. We find talent, unite talent and utilize it to do various things. This will always be the organizations mission, but we have grown to include various other business units. The overall company is involved in many endeavors, such as content development, brand development, publishing and consulting. Our consulting division is probably most widely known, since we are fortunate enough to have such high profile clients. We work hard to provide brands like adidas and Hennessy with alternatives to their day to day research, design and marketing needs. You know the major players in the creative/street/brand business and still had time for a young gunner like Amateur. Is there a philosophy behind it or were we just lucky? In this age, media is truly controlled by individuals who are independent of "big media." I always find it important to participate and support anyone that is fueled by passion over just profits. I also find it rewarding to help anyone who is trying to keep the craft of the printed magazine alive and well.

ÂŤI always find it important to participate and support anyone that is fueled by passion over just profits.Âť

Graphics by KDU members David Gensler, Zach Shuta and Josh Vanover.

You are a master in branding, doing whole strategies for companies. Still I realized that you are really into details. How do you explain that? To be a good strategist, you need to be a good tactician. The more you can control the entire process, the more likely you can predict the outcome. My clients do not hire me to guess the outcome, they want results only and not excuses - I deliver results, not just hype. Results are born in the details. Imagine the DJ at your party was a jukebox for once. What track would you choose? I love so many different types of music... it changes with my mood, which changes constantly. Most often, I listen to hip hop. What do you love? I love my fiance and partner, Margarita. I love our ever growing farm of animals. I love that God blessed me with a mind that keeps pulling me forward and refuses to rest. I love travel and experiencing new cultures. I love good clients that are passionate about doing amazing things. I love being surrounded by KDU members from all over the world that push me and inspire me on a daily basis. I recently read "I miss the old New York" on a wall in Manhattan. Do you miss the old New York? What's the difference between now and then? I love Brooklyn. I relate to Brooklyn, not New York. I love New York, but sometimes it is too much for me. Too many egos and not enough love. I was born in Baltimore and spent most of my life in Pennsylvania and California. I love nature and the outdoors - my life now is about finding balance. To me the old "New York" is 15 years back... and it felt more raw and had a very strong identity - but this is the beauty of New York, it is a living thing that changes and mutates constantly. New York is truly fueled and run by the youth generation... the city is now in the hands of the generation below me and it is interesting to see how they create the culture. You are currently focusing on your SVSV clothing project, which is exclusively made in your own Brooklyn based factory. What's the idea behind that? It is simply, SVSV is a place I have complete control. I invented every aspect of the business model and have been lucky enough to be blessed with a team that believes in me and helps me turn my vision into reality. The idea behind the factory is fueled by the idea of "real" versus "simulation." How can you claim something is exclusive if you are not familiar with who actually makes it? If you do not have control over production, you have control over nothing.

Graphics by KDU members David Gensler, Zach Shuta and Josh Vanover.

What advice would you give to a young creative that wants to start his own business? Go to business school. If you can't go to school, do everything you can to read and learn... become a sponge and absorb everything. Ask advice from people that have experience and no matter what do not quit, because even on the worse day, it is better than having a stupid or lazy boss. I know you like to philosophize. So let's finish this interview with a saying from Einstein - who studied in my hometown and later settled to the USA - which is quite appropriate for this issue. "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow" What was a lesson you learned in the past? I have learned many lessons. I know the price of second guessing. I know to treat those I love with respect and to protect them above all else. I know to not rush and to take my time to get things right. I know the value of saying "no" and walking away from things that are not positive. What is important to you nowadays? Family and building work that I feel will stand the test of time. I am concerned with defining myself as a man, a husband and a father... not as just a designer and strategist. I am no longer interested in the moment and much more interested in the age. What do you expect from the future? Sadly, I think the digital realm will continue to grow and force us to move faster and faster. At a certain speed, nothing is clear... nothing has meaning and it all becomes a blur. I hope there is a revolution, spawned by a future youth generation, against all the technology dependence. I hope we call a future generation the "balance generation" and they view us as technology addicts. Anything else you want to say? Challenge the things that you know are wrong. Revolt against that which you feel is trying to control or manipulate you. Be brave and know that it takes more than a click on some website to call yourself (or be) a friend. Create legacies not just hype. Peace.

Collage works for the new SVSV collection. A collaboration with Victor Antonio.

www.svsv.net

Collage works for the new SVSV collection. A collaboration with Victor Antonio. The photography technique is large format 4x5 photography with polaroids. The film is being treated with heat and various chemicals. No computer is used.

Daniel Frei (right) talking directions with hisproduction partner and camera man Andrei Zakow (left).

After high-school in Switzerland, you moved to New York. What was the first year like? It was 'squaaaazy', you know. Well, after high school I had a short intermezzo in southern Africa, which was pretty interesting too - but wow, it is true I left my "Chuchichaeschtli" right after high school for New York, pretty much. The first three months in New York were what made me stay here (or come back and stay to be more accurate). I met so many good people, funny enough some of the people I have been out of touch with but now have reconnected and work with them and others I've always been working with and still do. Of others I wish they hadn't left New York. You know it is all about community, especially in this business. It was kind of bizarre to basically meet all the people that still matter to me today within such a short period. But look, it wasn't all peachy. Coming to a different country is never just a stroll in the park. As similar as the US might be to Switzerland and Europe, it is still different. You don't know what a check is or well, you ask yourself, 'why the heck would I ever use this archaic payment system?', you have no clue where to buy a horse and I'm not even talking about the animal, a saw horse that is, if you know the word at all, you have to look it up, then you learn about this massive place called Home Depot and so on, it's a battle, HeMan and Skeletor style. You know, not knowing the infrastructure leaves you very vulnerable and can exhaust you quite a lot, mostly subconsciously but to the point where you don't have much energy left for yourself. I believe I had some 'quiet' years in the US just because of that, kind of learning how to swim. I'm a person, who functions like a sponge, soak and then squeeze and spread the juices, I guess I had to do a lot of soaking first. Now it's time to squeeze. Splash!

Already in high school it was obvious that Daniel Frei isn't a John Q. Public type of guy; 9 to 5 corporate wasn't for him. So it is no wonder that Daniel Frei set out to New York to become a film director. Ten years later he is living his dream. We visited him in his office in SoHo and accompanied him and his team on a shooting day for his latest project Andre J World Wide (AJWW).

As you have settled in the meantime, what are the most important factors that makes you stay in New York? That I don't speak enough Mandarin (yet) to live in Shanghai or Beijing. That's where the honey and CO2 is at! I never felt at home anywhere and New York as rotten and dysfunctional as it is, it is - as cliche as this might sound - a melting pot and being Swiss and liking fondue...ok, ok..Seriously, that said, I get to be at home in the whole world without having to travel so much. And that's good. I hate waiting for busses, trains or airplanes (why do they always have to be late? and if they are on time - I'm not, unhappy marriage, I tell you). Also from a practical point of view, I just built a network here that I need to squeeze now before I can or want to move on. I would like to stay here and explore my world here a little bit more, but I would never sign the statement that New York City is the best city in the world, that's complete nonsense. Well, maybe as long as I am here there is a little bit of truth to it... You have built-up your own film-company and invited us to join you while shooting for one of your latest projects. What is this project about? Oh, Andre J Worldwide or I like to spell it Andre J World Wide aka AJWW.

www.freifilms.com

Team and talent discussing the next scene

That's a 'squaaaazy' project. You really wanna know more about it? It is a TV project (at the moment) revolving around Andre J. Andre J is a cross dresser, or, well Andre J calls himself genderless and some people at the networks are all excited to see more about the boy-girl. So call it what you want. Anyway, the concept is to do an episodical TV series something like "This American Life" meets "The Bourne Identity", which is of course very hard to do (if you are familiar with this film/TV series). We want to reinvent the documentary genre a bit here, which is not easy to do because both image and content need to push the envelope and with our limited means at the moment that can be quite challenging. Placing it (meaning programming it) is another tough pony. In a world over-saturated with reality TV, if you come with an project like Andre J (who is a former nightclub person) people of course want to see reality TV at its finest. 'Panic at the discotheque' literally, you know bitch-slapping and 'oh my Gosh, she just downed my drink, now I must punch out her verneer teeth' you know that kind of bad drama and we try to do the exact opposite. We try to explore the arts, some of it very commercially. The industry's commonly spread (self-) conception) of being non-commercial is quite frankly not only a complete lie but counterproductive and an obstacle to the sector itself. Just get over it - don't sell out - but, come on, put a price tag on it! We are shooting some tests at the moment (with very notable appearances such as Nicola Formichetti and the likes). During this process, which your magazine has been part of, it has already been proven to be quite hard to put our concept into practice, much harder than imagined. To go deep and explore topics in a stylized fashion yet genuinely and without pretense is really hard, it turns out. (But remember "He-Man and Skeletor - we can do it!") The beautiful pictures or the wild shots we take sometimes distract from the story we want to tell; there never seems to be enough time to explore it all. Basically, for me we are not radical enough, not extreme enough, don't go deep enough. People naturally don't want to open up themselves completely in front of the camera, but I kind of demand that of people I work with, let it all go only then you are worthy to be presented to the world on screen. I mean why else would I want to look at you, or listen to you, if you don't give your all to me, right? I say if you want to see somebody close up, cut them open (ok, ok, not literally) if you want a low angle, better dig a hole for the camera if you want a high angle, climb the tallest building or get a satellite picture; just do it right and all the way. But we are dealing with reality here not a scripted film so certain things just

remain tame for the sake of keeping it all sane, but I wish we could bend reality a little bit more and each time we film I try to twist it a bit more. So once we have some initial cuts we will put them online check out www.freifilms.com or www.thefreigoup.com for updates, you will see what we have conjured up here in our office in Soho. What would you say, are the differences between working as a film-maker in New York and Switzerland? None. Ha! Well, really none - good films can be made anywhere, but since every story has been told and it really matters now how you tell it, the location and the environment, in which you create it, is tremendously important. I can't really say much about making films in Switzerland I worked in TV in Germany for a while but from what I've learned from that experience and what I see happening in Switzerland when I look at my filmmaking fellows and friends there, I would say it might be a bit easier to make a film in Europe, but much harder to make

Daniel Frei producing wildly his neat office in Soho

Daniel Frei (left) prepping artist and talent Muffinhead for filming.

"Where is 'it' hiding?"

a good film in Europe than in the US. Europe has the public funding option, which is pretty much completely absent over here, but Europe is also governed by a lot of fear and not daring to break out maybe exactly because there is public money involved. Also it seems that people are very suspicious of film or the business of film. They don't know whether it is a commercial or artistic vehicle. That's probably the main reason why we have less private film investors in Europe. In the US, it is really hard to make a film because all the funding has to be raised from private sources (if you don't shoot a studio picture) but the willingness to give money is higher and film is after all regarded a commercially viable investment (crazily risky, but hey, what isn't these days?). So over here people often need to put so much of their own money into films and projects (not advisable but sometimes the only way to go) that the filmmakers work with a "I'm going squaaazy with this one because, hey, nobody is giving me money anyways" Sometimes the best things get created with this 'let is all loose' kind of attitude; that I don't see often happening in Europe or especially Switzerland, where everything needs an official potato stamp of approval (which also has its positive sides non-the-less). I also think the United States is very isolated (a horrible danger politically and economically as we start to see more and more) so filmmaking

kids over here have much more tunnel vision, which is really needed when trying to pull a film off the ground. They don't know much about what's going on on the outside so creating a film seems like something they could do (hey, why not?) no matter how insane it might be. In Europe there is much more awareness of the overall picture, the political climate, the historical and philosophical meaning of your creations (Czars, La Bastille, Ruetli, Bibracte, 1066, Buchenwald, Luther - you know that stuff ain't easy to digest) so making a film, which can be the most inane undertaking is much more questioned by the filmmakers themselves than in the United States. Here you have some deep social issues too (like slavery) but generally it's much more - wow - again He-Man and Skeletor - or Reagan and Schwarzenegger. What can we expect from you in the future? The Future. Hey, I'm not trying to be funny. We are literally creating new ways of making and enjoying entertainment, visuals, stories and sounds, as we speak. I always wanted to push for the future, new technologies, new ideas, evolving after all is the most beautiful thing life has to offer. I think right now, in an economic downturn, is the right moment to grow. Like the nettle that pushes through the unattended road, cracks the asphalt and starts to blossom. Now is the moment of creation. Let us give back to this disoriented societies. So hopefully soon Amateur Magazine and The Frei Group will have a dialogue about a new filmic experience and much more.

Daniel Frei on the streets of new york shooting a segment for his project AJWW.

If you could be a thing, what would you like to be? Stainless steel but I would smell like ‘L'Eau d'Issey’ or ‘Channel Bleu’. Anything else you want to say? Yeah, shut the fuck up and do (I'm I allowed to say that?). Send that e-mail now not tomorrow. Create - as bad as it might be - at least, you have a product versus empty words. Nike says, "just do it" not "just try it" there is a reason behind the choice of these words. And don't worry about failure it is better to make a bad decision early and correct it then a good one too late. Can I say more? Like, wherever you go in this world, treat it as if the place was your home because you will be welcomed like at home and it will feel like home, so please clean up after yourself in public spaces, yeah?! Flush the toilet in the restaurant!

"Why is filmmaking so hard? Where do we come from, where do we go?"

Oh, and why do you call yourself Amateur Magazine? Do you have an aversion toward expertise? I think ‘Unprofessional’ would be a much more charming name, no? So much hidden meaning. Ha! And - can I quote one of my good production partners Andrei - aka The Zakow: "Fondue - whatchyougonnado?" ._. Photos: Lain

Daniel Frei (left) next to Andre J (right) the star of his show AJWW.

www.freifilms.com

Please introduce yourself and your gallery. My name is Joshua Liner and I am the owner and director of Joshua Liner Gallery, located in the Chelsea gallery district of New York City. What did you do before you had the gallery? Actually, before I started this gallery I had another gallery - Lineage Gallery - that I founded with a friend. After graduating from college in the Midwest, I wanted to move back to the east coast but was looking for a different quality of life than being in a big city. We found a space in Burlington, Vermont, invested a little bit of money - not really sure what we were expecting to happen - but things took off from there. In the summer of 2005 we made the move to Philadelphia. Vermont was great but the market was so small. It was really good to start that way and grow from there. Philly didn’t last too long, about two and a half years. I moved back to New York and opened my own space, Joshua Liner Gallery, in April 2008. Can you remember the first artwork you sold? From whom was it and what was it like? I don't actually remember the first piece of artwork I sold. When we started the gallery we weren’t doing exhibitions, we were doing more art dealing of original prints. Basically buying and selling limited edition prints by artists such as Warhol, Dali, Miró, Haring, Chagall - basically a bunch of dead guys. Around the same time I started moving my personal collecting from prints to originals and discovered a whole new world (to me at the time) of artists that were around my age. It was like a light bulb went off and I realized that this is the type of art we should be showing. Our first group show was in 2004 and we did solo and two person exhibits in Vermont with artists such as Jeremy Fish, Damon Soule, Mars-1 and Oliver Vernon to name a few. Who buys art in your gallery? New York based people mainly? People you know personally? We have all sorts of collectors purchasing works from the gallery. I think the main reason for this is the diversity of our program. The gallery artists we show work in a wide range of disciplines so we really have something for everyone. With the Internet we’re able to reach and interact with collectors all over the world. Of course we have a great group of collectors supporting what we do here in NYC, however we work with a lot of west coast based and European collectors as well. I’ve been fortunate enough to become good friends with many of the collectors and some of my artists are among my closest friends.

What are the criteria for an artist to be in your gallery? Mainly I’m interested in exhibiting things that are what I consider quality works. I'm not interested in the hype but prefer that the work be strong and unique, not trendy or popular. I think putting together a strong gallery program needs to be centered on something. There are many galleries that focus on a specific genre or style of art, some that focus on specific regions or periods - our program is very diverse so the common thread is quality. The art world has changed so much in the past few years, galleries have come and gone, artists’ careers have skyrocketed and plummeted. To me the quality works and artists creating them is what will stand the test of time and prevail in the end. The best analogy I can give is the tortoise and the hare - the winner does so with patience and consistency. We’re working in the long term, fostering and helping build artist careers. If not New York, where would you live? I've lived in some very different places and the saying that there is no place like New York is true. New York will always be the home base; this is the mecca of the art world, period. Having a place out of the city as a secondary residence would be nice. Something nearby but far enough away that you are getting out of the city, something up north in the mountains would be nice. Its great to get out of the city sometimes and decompress but once you come home you need to jump right back in, immediately. The city is not for everyone, if you don’t work hard to keep what you’ve earned someone’s going to try and take your spot. Galleries versus street. What's your opinion? I work with a few artists that got their start in the streets who have developed a different style for the gallery setting. Some still do street stuff but what they do outside is different from what they are showing in the gallery. Tony Curanaj, for example, is a meticulous realist painter. One wouldn't know it from looking at his canvases but he is also an incredibly talented writer, SUB. Then there is Greg Lamarche who still writes as SP One, a legend in graffiti, but what he’s mainly showing with the gallery is his hand cut paper collage works. Recently, I’ve been working with Stephen Powers (ESPO) who is nothing short of a legend. What he does in the gallery, as well as what he used to do in the street, nobody can touch. In my opinion the work for the gallery should be different from what one puts on the street. Taking the same work from the street and putting it in a gallery setting doesn't always work so well, a lot can get lost in the context

www.joshualinergallery.com

Joshua Liner and Jeremy Fish Listen and Learn, 2011 Installation view, Joshua Liner Gallery New York

What do you think is the difference between selling art in New York and Switzerland? We exhibited once in Switzerland at the Scope art fair during Art Basel 2010. We presented a solo project by Kris Kuksi with seven new mixed media assemblages. Normally when we exhibit Kris' work in the states, either at the gallery or in the states at art fairs, the works sell out instantly. We sold four of the works in Basel, the rest were placed with collectors upon returning to the states. European buyers are less likely to acquire works by artists they’re not familiar with. I think they want to see something a few times, get familiar with it, do their research then decide if it is right for their collection. Anything else you want to say? I'm really excited for the upcoming fall season. We start with a major solo show from Tomokazu Matsuyama featuring new paintings, sculpture and installation at the gallery in September. We will be exhibiting at the PULSE art fair in Los Angeles in October. This is the first time PULSE is offering a fair in Los Angeles and we are looking forward to showing some of our artists out there. For PULSE Los Angeles we will be exhibiting new works by Dave Kinsey (paintings), Greg Lamarche (hand cut paper collages) and Kris Kuksi (mixed media sculptural assemblages). Then in December we will be showing at PULSE in Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach. For that exhibit we have a five person show with David Ellis (video works), Kris Kuksi (mixed media sculptural assemblages), Stephen Powers (paintings), Tomokazu Matsuyama (paintings and sculpture) and Tony Curanaj (paintings). Right after Miami we have a big solo show with David Ellis which will be really special. In 2012 the shows at the gallery will be all large solo shows. Previously, about half of our shows were split solos as the gallery in New York has two exhibition rooms. We won't be doing any split solos in 2012 but will be presenting full gallery, major solo exhibitions by Kris Kuksi, Evan Hecox, Shawn Barber, Tony Curanaj, Greg Lamarche, Tiffany Bozic and Dave Kinsey.

Jeremy Fish Listen and Learn, 2011 Installation view, Joshua Liner Gallery New York

Ian Francis Three People Lose Track of Time in the Financial District of San Francisco, 2010 Oil, acrylic, ink, pen on canvas 36 x 50 inches

David Ellis True Value (Paint Fukette), 2011 Kinetic sound installation Dimensions variable

Tomokazu Matsuyama Glancing at the Twin Peak, 2009 Installation view, Joshua Liner Gallery New York

«To me the quality works and artists creating them is what will stand the test of time and prevail in the end.»

Joshua Liner Gallery 548 W. 28th Street 3rd Floor New York NY 10001

Stephen Powers Credit is Dead, 2010 Enamel on aluminum 24 x 24 inches

With his Feather Factory Swiss born Christian Calabro found something like heaven on earth for himself and selected creatives looking for an extraordinary place to stay.

Christian Calabro

Photo by Bettina Sorg

The living room

Please describe the feather factory. The Feather Factory is a 5000 square foot converted factory space in East Williamsburg/Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. It was first populated and used as a living/artists space in the late 90s by myself and a few friends who took over the other floors in the building (there's a total of 4 floors). The Feather Factory has emerged out of my desire to create a place for creative people to come together and work, to share their experiences/struggles/ success-stories with one another and inspire others to do the sameâ&#x20AC;Ś It is also an urban paradise tucked away in an area mostly populated by factories and warehouses.

Dear Christian, please give our readers a short insight of your settling to New York. How did everything start? I came to NYC in 1994 for a degree in Graphic Design at the School of Visual Artsâ&#x20AC;Ś After I graduated art school in the spring of 1998 I got hired on staff by Verve Records as a Junior Designer. Only a year after being hired I left the company to become a freelance designer. This coincided with me taking over The Feather Factory. I wanted to spend much more time working on fixing up the space, and earning money with freelance projects as opposed to being a full-time employee with a two-week-ayear vacation.

Since when do you run the feather factory? How did you find it? I've run The Feather Factory for 12.5 years now. I actually found out about the space from a friend of mine who had just taken over the 4th floor of the Feather Factory building in early 1999. Intrigued about what he had told me regarding the building, combined with the desire to get away from exploding Williamsburg, I decided to take over the 2nd Floor of the building with a friend of mine in March of 1999. The place was an absolute mess when we first took it over. All windows were either boarded up or nonexistent, the floors completely rotted out and littered with holes, millions of feathers were stuck to the ceiling, the walls were covered in dirt. It was very grimy,

Stoop chilling in the living room

The kitchen

Boat bookshelf

yet incredibly inspiring, knowing that we could do anything we wanted with this place. How many people have lived there since then? I can't tell exactly, but it's certainly been hundreds of people over all those years. The reason for the big turnover is that people come to live here for 3-6 months. We get a lot of artists/creative people who either come to NYC to work on a project, take classes at art school, or simply want to come here to get away from their regular lifes, get inspired by the city etc. I've had a lot of people who've gotten grants from their government to work and live in the states. And more often than not they end up here. So can everybody stay at the feather factory? Technically yes, however, i mainly get people to come stay here through people who've lived here before or through people i've met over the years (word of mouth is still the best publicity)... I like the fact that whoever stays at the Feather Factory is connected to someone I already know or someone who's lived or worked here beforeâ&#x20AC;Ś The place is equipped so beautifully. Where did you get all the furniture from? I found most furniture all over the placeâ&#x20AC;Ś At garage sales, fleamarkets, prop-houses, the streets! Also, whenever friends moved out of town I'd get dips on some of their furniture, which I always happily took up. Having a place as large as the Feather Factory is a bit challenging. It takes a long time to make it look liveable and cozy, something I've slowly succeeded in creating over all these years.

Christians room

How has the area changed since you moved there? I'm pretty much on the edge of two neighborhoods, which is East Williamsburg on one end and Bedford Stuyvesant on the other. Both neighborhoods have drastically changed over the last 12 years. People no longer able to afford the skyrocketing rents of trendy Williamsburg have been pushed out closer to where the factory is. Also, the Hassidic community has grown much larger and pushed into my neighborhood, which up until a few years ago was mainly of mexican and african american heritage. 12 years back I was literally the only white kid at my subway stop, but meanwhile it's become a 50/50 situation.

The kitchen

You told me that you rent the space for photo-shoots sometimes. Make our readers jealous, do some name dropping. Converse shot their SUMMER MUSIC VIDEO here last summer, featuring Kid Cudi, Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. It was really fun having some of my favorite musicians hang out at the loft for a day. Sony Music is also a recurring client. They like the location for photoshoots. I've also had fashion shoots here at the Feather Factory. Most recently Diana Scheunemann, a german/swiss photographer based in NYC did a shoot here which turned out amazing. Unfortunately we didn't get permission to show it here. JOJO MAYER is also a regular 'guest' at The Feather Factory. He's shot scenes of his last drum DVD here at the loft, and is planning on doing more shooting for his next video here as well.

What is the future of the feather factory? The Feather Factory is somewhat of a "child" of mine, so, i guess it'll keep on growing up with me as long as possible... Anything else you want to say? Yes. The Feather Factory BKLYN is on Facebook. Like it! ._. Photos: Lain

Concerning living in former factories. What do you think is the difference between Switzerland and New York? Not sure I can answer this question. I've never lived in a factory in Switzerland. What I can imagine however is that my situation would be a lot different and I'd venture to say more difficult to pull off in Switzerland with all their rules and regulations. I built everything myself here, and did so under the motto "Learning by doing". I love the fact that this place gets its character equally from its flaws as it does from its successes.

The stage was set perfectly for a gritty cop movie. Inside the neutral colored car, two tired looking guys, ashtray full of butts, and empty coffee cups rattling around our feet. Outside it’s a gloomy, rainy, Tuesday in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn. “This is where I usually see them”, Jon Melemed, Editor of Overflow Magazine tells me, “but I wonder if the rain will keep them away.” My thoughts drift towards filling up my newly freed up day along with which one of my image making counterparts are sipping a cappuccino in a climate controlled studio, surrounded by fragrant smelling models today.

www.ericvogelphoto.com

“There’s one, let’s get a few blocks in front of him,” and with the lurch of an engine and some spilt coffee we are off. It takes the hulking man pushing a full shopping cart with a fishhook scar an astonishingly quick three and a half minutes to clear the span of three blocks. We get out of the car, perhaps a bit too eager, and unintentionally spook him. He takes a few steps back and looks around for a way out. “Hello” “.... hey...........OHHH, hey there,” he says eyeing a $20 we are offering per portrait. With the calm of someone feeding wild bears

we slowly and deliberately tell him the story we are working on about the scrap collectors of Gowanus. Funny, sometimes people just want to know that there’s someone, anyone that gives some semblance of a damn about them. It’s like he has been waiting to get things off his chest for a while now. Not whiny, tissue heavy, high priced daddy issues, just simply, what he does. That this hulk, with the scar, pushing a 700 pound cart three blocks in less than four minutes is actually, well, kinda a regular blue collar cat. He works harder than most, knows all his spots (he was coming from Fort Greene because “that’s where the copper is”), and has got to have brains. Are you involved in an ALL cash business? That day, we met all manner of scrap guys, the substance abuser with a temper, the guy who is saving for a van to expand his business (he scheduled an interview with us on his blackberry), and yes, the scarred gentle giant who was our fitting introduction to this world. That was the beauty of it. This shoot was the quintessential NYC experience of being put in direct contact with all sorts of folks. Hurt, dangerous, benevolent, friendly, confusing, or just working their ass off, it’s all here in millions of tiny little worlds that make up one, big, metal apple. ._. Text & Photos: Eric Vogel

www.ericvogelphoto.com

Photos by MAKEM ERICH

www.biggerthannewyork.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism

www.biggerthannewyork.com

New York City is without a doubt the birthplace of graffiti. Movies such as Style Wars or Wild Style documented this creative phenomenon. Their screening in the early 80’s fascinated many European teenagers and triggered the first graffiti movement in Europe. For years NYC was the role model for the graffiti scene. Now three decades later younger generations of graffiti artists are pushing the limits harder than ever and are consciously breaking the ‘original’ graffiti codex. One exceptional outstanding talent is the Swiss artist Smash 137. Inspired by the great New Yorker style masters he started painting trains and walls back in 1990. Smash 137 is an impressive talent, who himself has heavily influenced not only the European but the international writers’ scene for years. I had a chance to chat with him about his relation to NYC and how he left the city’s great graffiti tradition behind. Text: Wink One

SMASH 137 // BREAKING THE NEW YORK CODEX Like many others I dreamed the great dream of NYC graffiti. It was an important influence to me and there is no doubt, NYC is the origin of my artwork. Nevertheless the city hasn’t been an inspiration to me anymore for many years. The city is like a mother and father regarding the idea, values and philosophy of the graffiti movement and of my work too. Nonetheless is seems to me that the New Yorkers are caught by their own codex and understanding what graffiti is thought to be. To them it is more important to give their arrows the final sharpening than to push on with the movement. I’m proud to say that figuratively speaking I learned to walk with the help of the NYC writers and later in my career received an excellent and solid education. As such I will be forever thankful. Every time I set foot in the city and even more so when I finish painting a piece I remember how thankful I am. A finished piece in NY means more to me than in any other city in the world.

www.numberone-actiongear.com

Blend of lettering, filling and outline. Ekateringburg, Russia, 2010

Blend of outline and filling. Barcelona, Spain, 2009

www.numberone-actiongear.com

Even though I always was the opinion that my artwork was in steady progress, I can say looking back that my development was very slow. It was very difficult for me to leave the safe path created by generations of writers before me and to continue in a new direction not knowing where it will take me. On this new path there is no way for me to hide myself behind the laurels the great New Yorker style masters gained and justify my deeds based on a codex they created for themselves. The trigger, which allowed me to step in a new direction, was the “crack” technique that I developed in 2007. Regardless the explicit warning on the spray cans not to perforate the can with any spiky objects, I started to shape and fill my letters by piercing the spray cans. With this technique, due to the high pressure of the spray can, it gets emptied in seconds and it is impossible to neither control nor pull any clean lines. This powerful act of spraying has a strong impact on the piece. The background and the filling of the letters merge together and indefinable parts of the letters need to be redefined by the observer. This new approach opens a totally new understanding to my artwork. It’s comparable with Jackson Pollok’s drip paintings, which broke the shapes of traditional painting. The escape out of the firmly set square in which I pressed my letters became very important. I began to focus on the stroke and single lines as well as the blend of the traditionally separated elements filling, background and outline. Today the letters don’t need to be clear and distinctly legible. It doesn’t matter to me anymore whether someone can read it or not because there is no message in the written word itself. The rules are only as important to me as I need a whole and comprehensible guiding principle regarding the formation and development of the shapes and figures. Already four years after detaching myself out of the secure bounds of classic graffiti I have a considerable more scenic and abstract view of my artwork and my focus and lie in generating a feeling projecting my artwork and its environment to the spectator. I am not satisfied anymore by just following a codex, which only an initiated group of people can understand. The question shall not be what it represents or what it means; each one on his own shall be able to judge my artwork without having to deal or study the philosophy of the graffiti culture for years. If you want to watch me in action while I was in NYC check out the video on www.facebook.com/numberoneactiongear .-.

Style tree. Basel, Switzerland, 2008

Crack technique. Barcelona, Spain, 2009

Crack technique. Basel, Switzerland, 2007

Classic lettering based on the NYC tradition. Athens, Greece, 2009

www.numberone-actiongear.com

Smash 137 sets his focus on the stroke and single lines as well as the blend of the traditionally seperated elements filling, background and outline. Basel, Switzerland, 2011

1) Four different wheel parts are needed: Hub, rim, spokes and nipples

2) The truing stand is a

4) Placing the spokes into the hub

5) Connecting the rim w

If people are into cycling they will come to a point where they start building up their own rides. Some say it's because they want to know how everything works, some because they only trust them self if every nut is well tightened. Whatever reason all of those enthusiasts feel great pride and satisfaction when they take their custom bike to its first ride. To see if everything is working fine, all settings are right, if the saddle/handlebar position is comfortable and most of all if the wheels are running true and well.

Nothing is like a hand laced wheel When it comes to building up bicycles there is one supreme discipline ‘wheel building’. Be it to add an unconventional spoke pattern or to unify the desired wheel parts to one superb wheel, mechanical as well as optical. On a bicycle there are few parts with the same mechanical forces at work than on a back wheel. They have to deal with all the bumps on the road, the weight of its rider and torsional loads of the driving force, therefor building wheels is a real craftsmanship. To make a good and lasting wheel every spoke needs the right amount of tension to hold the wheel true. Spoke patterns will affect the stiffness and strength as well as the look, there are common patterns like radial (used for front wheels) or cross 3 (back wheel), more unconventional are crow foot or 3 leading 3 trailing. Those more exotic patterns will lead to less stiffness and possibly to more work when maintenance is at hand but will distinguish a steel horse more than just add some hip colorful parts. So it is in the builders discretion to decide what is needed and how its been done. Also details like the rim label is readable from the bicycle's right side or that the hubs label should be readable through the valve hole should be paid attention when building. But having a unique and custom made wheel doesn't only mean that it has to look good, it should build out of grade parts with great care, to be durable, enjoyable for many years and therefor especial for its rider. To start your own wheel, Sheldon Brown got a good tutorial online (www. sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html) with lots of detailed information about wheel building or check youtube for how-to videos. ._. Text: Fixed Gear Switzerland (www.fixedgearswitzerland.com) Photos: Obst & Gemüse (www.obstundgemuese.ch)

8) Every nipple needs e

www.fixedgearswitzerland.com

an essentional tool for wheel builders

3)The spoke lenght must be well chosen to fill the cap between hub and rim

with all the spokes in a radial pattern

6) Lacing the final two spokes

7) Preparing the wheel at the truing stand

extra care

9) Getting the right amount of tension on every spoke

10) Rim tape protects the tube

How did you get to design the subway cars for MTA in New York? Was it an open competition? The engagement was based on our prior success with the MetroCard Vending Machine design. What was your first feeling when you got this big job and what was the hardest task? We were quite surprised and happy about the engagement. It was our first train design project. We assumed it would be a difficult project, so we approached it with the attitude that we do not know anything about subway cars. Also, the subway agency consists of many offices, each representing a different point of view. So, we felt achieving consensus would be quite difficult. In order to have a clear understanding of needs and priorities we rode the subway a lot, visited various facilities and asked many questions to many people, including passengers, operators, maintenance crew, engineers, specialists, managers, researchers, etc. We presented our design concepts as hypotheses for different trade-off scenarios, clearly laying out the pros and cons of different concepts. This worked well as a way to achieve consensus.

Antenna Design was founded in 1997 by Japanese Masamichi Udagawa and Austrian Sigi Moeslinger. Antenna's peoplecentered design approach aims to make the experience of objects and environments more meaningful and exciting. Projects range from public to commercial, from applied to exploratory. In the public sector Antenna designed three new fleets of subway cars for New York City, all of which are in service now.

What was important to you? Making something that works for this particular context (safe, reasonably comfortable, easy to use and maintain, robust) and that will hold up over time, so in the future we could look at what we have done and still feel good about it.

ÂŤWriters, prize fighters and Wall Street traders - We come together on the subway cars - Diversity unified, whoever you are - We're doing fine on the One and Nine line - On the L we're doin' swellÂť

Beastie Boys

spilling acid. So, when we worked on the new cars, we incorporated some counter measures against both old and new forms of vandalism.

How long did the project take from your first sketch to the first run? About three years from our engagement. The project itself had been going on before we got onboard. What's the feeling like when you see one of your subway cars in a movie or so? We are quite happy to be able to ride subway cars that we worked on. The NYC subway is a very important part of life for many residents. It is part of the city landscape. Seeing the subway cars in movies just confirms this fact to us and makes us smile. If we see a car in the movies, we try to look if it was done on a movie set or in a real car, and typically we can spot some differences or details they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do quite right in the prop or mistakes such as showing the wrong car for a line (as different lines have different cars). We get quite geeky about such details.

Products are often used in a way that wasn't really planed when designing them. Now, as the cars are in use since 2003, is there something that doesn't work out the way you thought it would? Any positive or negative surprises? The first car started service in 2000. So, it has been in service over 10 years. The cars held up pretty well considering the harsh environment. The positive surprise is that people seem to take better care of the new cars. At the same time, disappointingly, there are still quite a few people who vandalize the cars. Even more disappointing is that there are lots

What is it like when you see a ticket vending machine being covered with tags or stickers? Luckily, that does not happen too often. But when it happens we get very angry. If it is not too difficult we often try to remove them by ourselves. Anything else you want to say? Typically, if something is cared for and well maintained, people have more respect for it. But once something starts showing some neglect the threshold for vandalism and abuse gets lower. People see it as an invitation even though they shouldn't.

of people who simply - almost unconsciously - litter the cars and stations. A lack of basic education. The worldwide Graffiti-movement started in the New York subway trains 40 years ago. When you designed the cars did you incorporate the fact that many subway cars were abused for vandalism in the past? Yes, of course. We tried to come up with a design that is as robust as possible. Already since the '80s, different materials and finishes of the cars, combined with a lot more maintenance of the system have drastically reduced graffiti. However, the tools of vandals keep changing and more recent practices have been quite juvenile - pure vandalism, without any art to it, such as scratching and

Photos: Chantal Bavaud

Bespoke is an innovative by appointment design experience offering the opportunity to work one-on-one with Nike design consultants to customize the iconic Air Force 1 sneaker. Globally exclusive to 21 Mercer, Nike Sportswearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first stand-alone retail space located in SoHo, New York, it is the natural evolution of Nikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personalization and customization offering, first brought to consumers with NikeiD.com in 1999. Invited individuals are able to create a unique design by customizing up to 31 parts of the shoe to choose from over 82 premium, iconic materials and color options. Additional premium options include premium full grain suede, nubuck and leathers, Italian full grain patent leather, premium denim and reflective synthetic leathers. Amateur Magazine got invited by Nike to set their hand to the Air Force 1. Thumbs up!

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KIDROBOT FOR SWATCH New York based toy company Kidrobot and Swiss company Swatch teamed up for a creative and collectible collabo. The collaboration fuses two cult products - the classic Gent Original Swatch and Kidrobotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s iconic vinyl Dunny - both of them made it to the MoMA by the way. Kidrobot and Swatch invited 8 contemporary artists to each put their unique mark on one of these collectible pairs. Featuring the extraordinary talents of artists Gary Baseman, Jeremyville, Frank Kozik, Joe Ledbetter, MAD, Tara McPherson, SSUR, and Tilt, these one-of-a-kind combos should be both treasured and closely guarded.

From left to right: Bengali by Joe Ledbetter, Love Song by Tilt, The So Far Away by Jeremyville, Midnight Magi by Gary Baseman, Shout Out by MAD, Ski Instructor by Frank Kozik, The Eyes Are Watching by Tara McPherson, Tic Tic Boom by SSUR.

Numbered and limited to 300 special set includes the eight Dunnys and the eight watches, comes with a 50.8 cm monster Dunny by Frank Kozik.

Four out of eight designers are New York based. From top to bottom: Tilt, Tara McPherson, Jeremyville, SSUR.

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www.kidrobot.com

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COOKIES N CREAM Taking the concept of the ice cream truck, Cookies -N- Cream, an independent culture brand based out of New York City, sells their stuff in their customized truck. The Cookies n Cream brand is one that encompasses two creative outlets - one is clothing and the other is designer toys. In an era of “Me too” clothing brands and toys, they set out to create a brand that draws on their different influences - New York City lifestyle, art, street couture, designer toys, high fashion, music, underground culture just to name a few, all with a distinct personality and attitude of their own. www.bakedinny.com

BNE WATER World famous graffiti writer BNE from New York recently established the ‘BNE Water Foundation’ a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean, safe water, and sanitary living conditions to people living in developing countries. On his website the founder writes: "I traveled the world and covered a large part of the earth with my logo, learning different languages and cultures along the way. Before long, I had created a globally recognized brand that offered no product or service. To me this in itself is art. My work has also amounted to what is basi-

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cally a multi-million dollar international ad campaign. The campaign has reached millions of people and has awed some of the world’s largest ad agencies. As my fame grew, I started getting a lot of offers from individuals and companies looking to use my life’s work to advertise whatever they had to sell. They were truly greedy, selfish people who did not care about me, graffiti culture, or anything else other than profits. I realized that with my art I had a global voice and not to use it for good would be a waste. I needed to use this brand that I created to make some sort of positive social change. In my travels, I have been to some of the world’s poorest slums and have seen the extreme poverty and horrible injustices that billions of people suffer through. After a lot of thought, over one year of research, and a chance encounter with a poor Indonesian woman, I concluded to what I could do that would have the biggest impact on poverty. Providing clean water and sanitation solutions to people in developing countries is what really needs to be done...The main challenge would be actually raising money. Graffiti’s original purpose was to give a voice to the voiceless. There are billions of people living in poverty with no voice at all. I want to let all my fellow graffiti writers, artists, and everyone else know that if we simply lend our voices to these people, we CAN change the world. Join us and be apart of something REAL. Peace & Love - BNE" www.bnewater.org

www.malikarts.com

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A special thanks to: Ricky for giving us the dope cover shot. Toto for connecting me with Ricky. Pierre for hooking me up with Blanda. Kimou for putting me in contact with Greg. Dave for connecting with Eric. And last but not least Chantal for accompanying me.

SWITZERLAND: Aarau: Home Street Home, Garage, Kunstraum Aarau. Baden: Frau Meise, Merkker. Basel: Ace Records, FHNW, Galerie Katapult, Gallery Daeppen, Marinsel, Parzelle 403, Zoolose. Bern: HKB, Kitchener, Layup, Milieu, Titolo. Chur: Dings. Geneva: 242, Famous Ape. Lausanne: 242, Delicieux, ÉCAL, Outsiders. Lucerne: Doodah, HGKL. Zurich: BlamBlamBlam, Carhartt store, Dings, Esperanto Rapperswil, Famous Ape, Fashionslave, Grand, Kitchener+, On y va, Rio Bar, Roll Laden, Street-Files, The Gloss, The Trace, ZHDK. GERMANY: Berlin: Awear, HHV Selected Store Berlin, Le Gang, Overkill. Rest: Ailaik (Wiesbaden), Animal Tracks (Hamburg), Artyfarty Gallery (Cologne), Ozone (Bielefeld), The Spot (Dresden), Under Pressure (Hamburg), Vibes (Düsseldorf & Cologne), 874 (München). WORLDWIDE: 24 Kilates (Barcelona), Size? (London), Slam Jam (Milano), Reed Space (New York), Starcow (Paris), The lazy dog (Paris), Homegrown (Rio de Janeiro). JykK Japan Inc. (Tokyo), Veteran (Warsaw).

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For your work, love and help: Pascal Allaz, Dominic Bäni, Fabien Baudin, Chantal Bavaud, Pierre Bonnet, Alex Braunschmidt, Mélanie Breitinger, Diana Cabarles, Silvio Conti, Harun Dogan, Onur Dinc, Blanda Eggenschwiler, Markus Fischer, Reto Fischer, Daniel Frei, Marc Furrer, Sarah Furrer, Rodja Galli, Gregor Garkisch, David Gensler, Florian Hauswirth, Florian Huber, Migi Keck, Greg Lamarche, Dave Marshal, Manuel Mathys, Rudy Meins, Kimou Meyer, Axelle Mueller, Marc Müller, Kenny Need, Van Manh Nguyen, Torben Paradiek, Ricky Powell, Thomas Raynal, Enzo Scavone, Damian Schneider, Soup, Jeff Staple, Thomas Walde, Lukas Wanner, Ian White, Christoph Wyer, Daniel Zehnder, Vedran Zgela, and everyone we forgot. For your trust and financial support. It’s not possible without you: Carhartt, Element, Eastpak, Makia, NumberOne, Obey, Sixpack France, Swatch, Volcom, Wemoto.

SWITZERLAND: 20 CHF for 3 issues EUROPE: 25 EURO for 3 issues WORLDWIDE: 35 USD for 3 issues

IMPRINT Published twice a year. 5000 copies. Amateur Magazine is an independent, artist driven print platform. It is about creative people, projects, products and places. Editorial address: Amateur Magazine | Postfach 2235 | 5001 Aarau | SWITZERLAND Contact: hello@amateur-magazine.com Publisher: Amateur Kunstverein | Alain 'Lain' Schibli | lain@amateur-magazine.com Advertisement: ad@amateur-magazine.com

Photos: Chantal Bavaud

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