ART Habens Art Review Winter 2014

Winter 2014

H A B E N S

KATE HALL MARIA VYRRA JOHN MORAN GREG FRASER PATRICK SANTOS SANDRA LIMA E SILVA YELENA YORK TONOYAN GENEVIÈVE FAVRE PETROFF Geneviève Favre Petroff (Switzerland) Evidence, Performance

ART H A B E N S C o n t e m p o r a r y

4

We are glad to announce the winners of the third edition of ART Habens: this season edition has focused on a recurrent paradox in contemporary art: the vague and ambiguous but thoroughly entrenched boundaries between the different practices of new media.

In particular, we have selected artists dealing with process-driven changes in our society, who pair their observations with new media technologies to produce their art projects: this competition aims to give the impetus and opportunity to artists (fine art, media, architecture, design, music, theatre, visual communication etc.) to work between the boundaries of Contemporary Art. arthabens@mail.com

A r t

R e v i e w

Geneviève Favre Petroff (Switzerland / France) Geneviève Favre Petroff (*1978, Lausanne) is a swiss visual and performance artist who works and lives in Paris. She studied in Geneva, Vienna and Lausanne. Her Perfomances & Installations were several time rewarded and are internationally presented during art exhibitions and festivals.

"The fantasist characters I create reflect my own questionings and evolve each time in a specific and emotional visual atmosphere. The spectators are invited to take actively part in some of my performances, I discuss and debate live with them." (Geneviève Favre Petroff)

24

Maria Vyrra (Greece) Maria Vyrra was born in Athens, Greece in 1984. She studied civil engineering from 2002 to 2007 in the Technological Institute of Pirαeus and from 2008 to 2013 she studied painting in the Athens School of Fine Arts at the studio of Panos Charalampous, she also studied sculpture at the studio of Thodoros Papagiannis and Nikos Tranos and stage design at the studio of Lily Pezanou.

She has participated in many group exhibitions and competitions.

38

Yelena York Tonoyan (USA) In my new collection of gun series I tried to contrast violence and beauty, love and fear.

The theme for my new collection is "Stop the Violence."

I didn't just chose random guns; every gun has a story behind it. The "Colt 1911" is the gun John Dillinger used to rob banks in 1932, the "White American Flag" is a legendary 1873 SAA Peacemaker that played an important role in the history of the American West which was the most popular handguns in the 19th century.

John Moran

54

(United Kingdom) My work is like a car accident. I pull inspiration from everywhere and mash things together, not poetically but aggressively.

I think of my work as a collision of history and contemporary, politics and pop culture, humor and tragedy, refined and unkempt, and different materials and aesthetics, all mashed together into a cohesive and concise mass of wreckage that makes it hard to turn away.

Sandra Lima e Silva

66

(Brazil) Through my work, I try to play with the viewer's gaze. The demonstrate image is inspired by something that impressed me or aroused my curiosity, and it will be fit as a background to the work and give it the title.

Using acrylic paint over the canvas, I cover the initial image that is completely spontaneous with manual cuttings of paper masks and successive layers of paint.

Open to new ideas, the original thoughts goes away and turn it into something completely new. And the background merges.

Greg Fraser

82

(United Kingdom) The mutability of earth and man’s existence is never ending: cycles of birth/death, creation/destruction – a perennial subject but in itself ever-changing.

Shelley’s famous lines from Alastor give weight to man’s condition: Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but mutability! No matter which age we live in, this is true: that constant tension with the supposedly finite man made environment that consumes our natural world; our human experience that is born from a chaotic and uncertain reality – a reality that is not a reality but a world that is mutable – redolent of constant change.

Patrick Santos

102

(Canada) Born and raised in sunny southern California, Patrick Santos was always interested in cameras.

Growing up, the thought of capturing anything with a camera interested him greatly which led him to explore film and photography Today, Patrick explores the ideas of the gatherings, parties, and group dynamics by using readymades, digital photography, and found photography in his conceptual art..

Kate Hall (USA) Creating organically inspired originals in graphite, color pencil, acrylics on canvas and mixed media.

Specializing in mixed media- acrylic masterpieces are drenched in Swarovski crystal, foil pigments, gold, silver and copper leafing, fiber, semi precious stones, and micro beads.

These mixed media creations are luscious light catchers that are as versatile as the lighting.

123

Geneviève Favre Petroff Performance art allows me to express myself in a transdisciplinary way bridging art, digital art, fashion design, music and technology. As singer and visual artist, I am particularly interested in the interplay between sound and light, voice and surrounding, music and costume. The fantasist characters I create reflect my own questionings and evolve each time in a specific and emotional visual atmosphere.

The spectators is invited to take actively part in some of my performances, I discuss and debate live with them.

For my installations, the body presence is transmitted to objects or to elements of the nature that interact with the visitors.

My Perfomances & Installations often flavoured with humor were several times rewarded and are internationally presented during contemporary art, digital art, performance or fashion festivals and exhibitions.

A still from The Day of Departure

Geneviève Favre Petroff Electra, performance created in 2007

Winter 2014

44 2

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

video, 2013

45 2

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Electra Rescue me, rescue me Reconnect my files E-L-E-C-T-R-A E-L-E-C-T-R-A E-L-E-C-T-R-A Mother ?

Why are you haunting my dreams?

Every morning, I charge my battery and start to ´blink' Every morning I take my pills and vitamins Every morning I do not forget to drink a ... cranberry juice !

Cran-berry juice Cran-berry juice

Winter 2014

Give me my power and beauty !

Life comes so easily

Dia - a - a - a ...

Diamonds are all my life !

I could die fo them.

Life comes and goes

Electra goes out tonight

Life lets the children be killed

Life tells you how to grow Life teaches you how to fly Life is just life

She has to be perfect She has to look real Electra goes out tonight She goes hunting the pharaoh in the wood She takes all the bravery she needs with her

Life follows its destiny

Our cities are full of violence and terror !

Who could have me as enemy ?

LIFE IS A TRAGEDY !

46

Life gives you no chance Heroes can’t live this life Life must be extraordinary

LIFE IS A TRAGEDY !

Geneviève Favre Petroff

An interview with

by Dario Rutigliano, curator

Hello Geneviève, and a warm welcome to ART Habens. To start this interview would you like to tell us something about your background?

In particular, you have studied at the Geneva University of Arts and Design: how much has this experience impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks?

Hi Dario!

I keep a very good souvenir of my studies. This period of time was very important to me. I had a total liberty to experience things. During these years I hade the chance to develop my sensibility, my affinities and define how I wanted to work, the media I wanted to use. I saw a lot of exhibitions and discovered artists I really liked on the Swiss and international art scene.

When I entered the Art school in Geneva, I started by painting portraits taken from music or fashion magazines in a realistic way that I detached on a pop monochrome background.

Then I began doing short videos like selfportraits already using the transformation.

I continued with video performances where I sing popular songs in front of colorful walls. In fact I felt so right and happy when I started to sing and play with my mini-DV camera, especially in my painting class, you know? It was a kind of evidence for me to use my spontaneity to express myself, to tell personal or fictive stories.

Geneviève Favre Petroff

I also appreciated the three months I spent at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna as Erasmus student. There was a great energy there! I enjoyed playing with classical references as Mozart, Sissi, Strauss, mixing them in video performances where I stood in the projection.

gargling while intoning the Blue Danube! I made several box-performances between 1999 and 2001 with one, two, three or four cameras.

When I came « Back from Vienna » (that is also the title I gave to my semester’s presentation), I built a large white construction in the studio, that I painted it turquoise at the inside. I performed different kind of things hidden in this rectangular box. The spectators could feel I was physically inside it but could have a look at my actions only via a video monitor. They watched at original points of view through the fisheye angle of the camera, as rollovers on the floor, my face turning on the screen or close-ups on my mouth

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

My creative process can be very fast, especially 47

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Loukoum, performance created in 2011

Winter 2014

23 4 8

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

when I work in an emergency or in response to a theme. But sometimes it takes several months to develop a technical project, as I work with collaborators (musician, programmer), give birth to a new character and bring it to stage! It depends also on the funds I have to collect to produce my pieces.

My work focuses on a direct communication, the shortest way to get in touch with the public. But my task becomes more complex by the fact that I create sophisticated and even perilous performances and that I insist on having all the technical devices dissimulated (under my dresses or in the bases).

I am very happy and proud of my Loukoum (Turkish delight) dress which reacts and lights up by receiving wireless commands. Thus I can dance and wander without any cable lying on the floor.

There is less risk of stumbling on the catwalk and it is so magical anyway!

For this dazzling “delightful� performance, I actually wear a mini computer on my back and batteries on my two thighs.

Now let's focus on your artistic production: I would start from Aquarius, that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article: and I would suggest to our readers to visit your website directly at http://www.genevievefavre.com in order to get a wider idea of your artistic production. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of this interesting project? What was your initial inspiration?

I decided to work on the theme of the water, natural element, source of life, and to speak on the inequalities in matter of access to drinking water in the world. Especially when the biggest food brands pump resources in the poor countries to sell water in bottle and do profits.

I tried to associate my different ideas through this costume made of a white cotton dress and transparent pipes fixed on it. I used the fluorescein to color the ways of the water coming down from

21 49

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Winter 2014

Geneviève Favre Petroff

21 10 4

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

Aquarius, performance 2013

as to state that in a certain sense this project forces the viewers' perception in order to challenge the common way to perceive environment... By the way, I'm sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in the environment we live in, so we need -in a wayto decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

the bowl that I have on my head into the buckles and spirals.

This piece makes reference to my zodiac sign, to the African woman and also evokes the fluids flowing in our bodies.

Another interesting work of yours that have particularly impressed me and on which I would like to spend some words is entitled Black Bird: one of the features of it that has mostly impacted on me , is the way you have been capable of bringing a new level of significance to the an image, recontextualizing the idea of the environment we live in, which is far from being just the background of our existence. I would go as far

Yes I guess an artist has to create strong and provocative images to reflect his/her time. I like artists who are able to denounce all kind of social, cultural, economical or environmental problems

22 11 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Winter 2014

Geneviève Favre Petroff

23 1 4 2

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

with humor, irony and efficiency. For Black Bird I wanted to recall these images seen on television of oil spills, of these stuck and sticky birds - theses images that we all have seen.

As a crippled, disorientated beast, I go round in circles uncertainly, crossing the street and challenging car drivers. I’m wearing a big wavy dress and a horned hat, both made of netting material. Small loudspeakers integrated into the black costume produce chirping sounds that accompany my chants and shouts.

During the various representations, it happened to me to fall because of the large destabilizing skirt or the wet ground, and I felt myself so fragile, humbled, that was so in the role!

Blackbird, performance 2007

21 13 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Casanova Moi

Winter 2014

21 14 4

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

Soubrette

Soubrette

In particular, I would like to spend some words about Société, tu m’auras pas, a piece inspired by the multifaceted figure of JeanJacques Rousseau: what has mostly impacted on me is the way this work communicates the cohesistence of the leap towards social accomplishments, and the a sense of subtle frustration that inevitably goes along people who pursue such ambitious goals... By the way, although I'm aware that this might sound a bit naïf, I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art -especially nowadays- could play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression... I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behaviour... what's your point about this? Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

a song of the French singer Renaud, I wanted to pay tribute to the Rousseau’s affection for the Nature and to show that he had to flee cities because of his frightened ideas. The philosopher who was also botanist is represented as a scarecrow, feet rooted in humus. He seems to meditate eyes closed on his fate.

I don’t know if my art makes people change their point of view, but it surely opens to discussions and to reactions. Most of the time, the spectators appreciate to be surprised and astonished. I like it is a chance to address me to a large public – except when my sculptures are stolen, it did happen!

A great experience for me was to present Chœur des Alpes at 2457m above sea level for example People were pleased to be welcomed up there with songs coming out of mouths of strange

With my large sculpture whose title is taken from

22 15 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Chœur des Alpes

Winter 2014

23 1 4 6

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

animals. Another special moment was the installation of the sneezing tree Atchoum in the city of Geneva by freezing cold! My husband who helped me on the mounting was wearing his ski suit to program the voice & lights samples.

Société tu m’auras pas

21 17 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Saturn

And I couldn't do without mentioning Electra that you presented in NY in 2007 and recently in London, a piece that I have to admit is one of my favourite ones of your rich and stimulating production: in particular, I have highly appreciated the way you create an effective synergy between mythological references -which are clearly framed in a "traditional" context- and a lively usage of modern technology, which is very recurrent in your works, as in Loukoum... In this sense I daresay that your approach creates such a bridge between Tradition and Contemporariness: by the way, maybe because I have a scientific background, I

Winter 2014

personally think that digital technology will soon fill the apparent dichotomy between Art and Technology... what's your point?

Tradition versus Contemporariness is exactly the theme of my performance Loukoum. I debate live with the audience on various current issues, as religion and politics, social networks, marriage. In between my five Middle-Eastern pop songs in French and English, I ask them to give me a local tradition recipe or to show me how to dance. It was a nice experience for me to approach another culture as mine - I even learned a Lebanese lullaby in Arabic.

In this performance, I associate past and future

21 1 48

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

Loukoum

Loukoum

references. The mini dress and helmet I wear refer to the futuristic fashion of the 60s. The cubes of increasing size on my dress, which look like Turkish delights, light up independently and draw motives in movement, synchronized with the music. The visual animations evoke the 1980s, such as disco, video games and some Arabic patterns.

face to the sky. I sing loud and let my luminous costume express itself. All the lightning effects are coming out of the long and pyramidal satin dress and jewels decorated with LED lights I wear, and which can alternately react to my words and to my actions.

During these fifteen years your Performances & Installations have been extensively exhibited in several occasions and I think it's important to remark that you have been awarded as well... It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or just the expectation of positive

Electra is probably the most successful performance I created, at the encounter of the Greek tragedy, the electronic music and the Science Fiction.

I stand in the middle of the stage as an automated diva, moving my arms, turning my

22 19 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Chœur des Alpes

Electra's world, exhibition at Galerie Synopsis, Lausanne 2007 23 1 4 3

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Societe tu m’auras pas

21 14 4

ART Habens

ART Habens

Geneviève Favre Petroff

Robe néon au mur, 2014

Winter 2014

21 2 42

Geneviève Favre Petroff

ART Habens

Evidence

feedback- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Geneviève. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects. How do you see your work evolving?

It is really enjoyable for me to have all these projects and these different characters in my repertoire. And of course I am really grateful of the financial supports I had from art foundations, awards and private donations, which helped me to produce these artworks and to travel to show my various performances.

Well I am currently working on a performance on the subject of the desires, implicating the participation of the audience, which will be presented in a gallery in Paris. This project will have some technical similarities with my recent proposal Evidence where I draw motives and lines live on my white kimono by pressing discreetly on syringes hidden under my belt.

Nice feedbacks are always encouraging but I don’t think they influence my production itself.

Furthermore, I would love to find more commercial and viable contracts with art institutions, galleries or private events.

I think I will continue to work on my own projects on emotional body extensions. But I also would like to collaborate on scenography or develop interactive costumes for ballet and opera!

Let me please thank you ART Habens for your invitation, it was a pleasure to answer to your interesting questions!

I will maybe commercialize my luminous clothes, who knows? Last Saturday, I went to a party wearing one of my creations, a dress highlighted by a colored neon thread and I was so complimented that I will soon have orders, for sure!!

An interview by Dario Rutigliano, curator, arthabens@mail.com

22 23 4

Winter 2014

Maria Vyrra Maria Vyrra was born in Athens, Greece in 1984. She studied civil engineering from 2002 to 2007 in the Technological Institute of PirÎąeus and from 2008 to 2013 she studied painting in the Athens School of Fine Arts at the studio of Panos Charalampous, she also studied sculpture at the studio of Thodoros Papagiannis and Nikos Tranos and stage design at the studio of Lily Pezanou.She has participated in many group exhibitions and competitions.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2014 On the road, Municipal Gallery, Sarande, Albania 2013 Graduation, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens Art for all, Gyzi mansion, Santorini, Greece 2012 Trash Art, BIOS open studios, Athens, Greece Cheap Art, penintaplinena gallery, Limassol, Cyprus 2011 Etsi oloi mazi, Michalis Kakogiannis foundation, Athens, Greece 2010 Psyche, bipolarity and art, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens, Greece A3, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens, Greece 2009 React festival, University of Syros, Greece COMPETITIONS 2014 Future Genaration Art Prize, Victor Pinchuk Foundation Young Art, Moscow Biennale for young art, Moscow, Russia 2013 S.U.N.D Festival, Lisbon, Portugal 2012 Future artists, Skywards Emirates Love in the age of social media, Athens School of Fine Arts and Metropolis free press

A still from The Day of Departure A banner, 650cmx330cm ,2013 Displayed as a banner of protest, this painting is

Winter 2014

224 4

Maria Vyrra

ART Habens

video, 2013

made by olive paste on fabric.

225 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Maria Vyrra

In the jars, 620x320cm ,2013 An installation synthesized by mini shelfs, jars and kernels of olives.

From eating to rituals the kernel here is displayed as a sumbol.

Winter 2014

26 4

Maria Vyrra

An interview with An interview by Dario Rutigliano

Hello Maria, and a warm welcome to ART Habens. To start this interview would you like to tell us something about your background?

In particular, you have formal training in artistic discipline: you have studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts and sculpture at the studio of Thodoros Papagiannis and Nikos Tranos... moreover, you hold a degree of Civil Engineering: how much have these experiences impacted on your development as an artist and on the way you currently produce your artworks?

From 2008 to 2013 I studied painting at the studio of Panos Charalambous, while I attended sculpture at the studio of Thodoros Papagiannis and Nikos Tranos and stage design with professor Lily Pezanou, set designer for the Greek National Theatre. The experience and knowledge i have gained over the years alongside my professors have certainly played a determinant part in how i perceive art, history, concepts and especially the relationship of all these to the space. I have to mention that a very important part in the evolution of my work over the last three years has played the scenography, there, the perception of space acquires another meaning, to fabricate and place an object in a space in such a way that it acquires other meanings, now to me that knowledge is an integral part in the production process.

Maria Vyrra

(credits for the photo)

characteristics. Any piece of work I create is always for a specific area,i will never put a work in an area that I have not studied as to the proportions of the project, it is of great importance to me the relationship of the project to the area to be the best possible.

In painting I usually start by working directly on the canvas, for the last years I use only red and black without previous impurities, the dynamic contrast to this I think is something with which I shall deal in the next several years, whether is painting or another art form.

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

Usually when i conceive the idea of a project there is a group of complementary projects that follows in order to help one another, I never work a single task. When it comes to an installation I begin by creating some texts around the central idea and continue with complete drawings. dimensions and

Now let's focus on your artistic production: I would start from In the jars, an extremely stimulating installation that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article: and I would suggest to our readers to visit your website directly at http://mvyrra.weebly.com in order to get a

27 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Maria Vyrra

In the jars, 620x320cm, 2013 An installation synthesized by mini shelfs, jars and kernels of olives. From eating to rituals

wider idea of your artistic production. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of this interesting project? What was your initial inspiration?

this is displayed. An olive means mainly food but it also is a big part of the Greek culture and the oil of it finds many uses in the rituals of the orthodox Christians. In this installation it is a symbol of poverty and the death of something that used to be alive in the past. I have created a pattern where each jar is carefully positioned and autonomous in its own space. At first the kernel was the idea and then i had to somehow to create something with it, the knowledges I had around construction, symmetry and architectural design came along and helped me to set up the project

This is a project I have been working on for about a year. The main idea is the olive, as Greek good, as food and the metaphysical concepts this has acquired from antiquity until today. This work of art is synthesized by mini shelfs, jars and kernels of olives. There is basically a symbolic theme around the kernel of an olive and in the way that

Winter 2014

4 23 2 8

Maria Vyrra

ART Habens

way, although I'm aware that this might sound a bit na誰f, I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art -especially nowadays- could play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression... I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behaviour... what's your point about this? Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

I do not believe that art can steer peoples behavior, indeed Art is beyond the routine of a behavior, but it may be a first stimulus to change the way a person thinks and is conformed spiritually .Surely art is influenced by the sociopolitical conditions and evolves through various forms, there are artists who create files, others who collect objects, others that use performance and others who like to felicitate themselves for their designing skills, but the question is whether their themes are anthropological, socio-economical or purely for decorating a space. Whether the art will have an impact in a person's life always depends on whether the person has the knowledge and the will to be able to understand.

Multidisciplinarity is a crucial aspect of your art practice: besides installations, you also produce interesting paintings: if I have been asked to sum up in a single word your artistic production, I would say that it's kaledoiscopic... while crossing the borders of different artistic fields have you ever happened to realize that a symbiosis between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

the kernel here is displayed as a symbol.

Mixing different techniques and forms of presentation is most often the only way to achieve the desired effect and to grasp an idea. When with the means I have at my disposal I can't express an idea, then the form is of no importance and what concerns me is the material and the technique that will serve my thoughts. Artistic activity is a survey on the nature of art itself and any result must be an intermediate version of the general conclusion that each artist will arrive to. For example Arte Povera avoids cohesion, cheap materials are evolving to aesthetic value objects with spiritual energy and the viewer is evoked by capturing the sense of volatility.

in this way. I should mention that the first time i saw this work staged was in the exhibition area and I was amazed by the fact that correct measurements, distances and inches will never disappoint an image I have already created in my head.

As you have remarked. the kernel of an olive is a symbol of poverty and the death of something that used to be alive in the past...

I can recognize such a subtle but effective social criticism in this installation. By the

21 29 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Hannah Hiaasen

Monotone Monologues in monochrome minimally manipulate the monotonous mundane. They are a live series that have been performed at the Brooklyn Art space, NY (2013), LabBodies, Baltimore, MD (2014), and The Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh, PA (2014).

Autumn 2014

21 28 4

Hannah Hiaasen

ART Habens

Oral Exercises is a collection of dances comprised of words as performers. Those words are brush, shuck, husk, flesh, fish, flush, chosen for their sonic unity. Each exercise is stenciled with powdered graphite onto a singular wall. Paired with this ephemeral installation, an audio recording of an androgynous voice annunciates the exercises on repeat.

22 29 4

Autumn 2014

ART Habens

Maria Vyrra

Over the void, Mixed Media

One of the features of Over the void that has mostly impacted on me , is the way you have been capable of bringing a new level of significance to the an image, recontextualizing the idea of the environment we live in, which is far from being just the background of our existence. I would go as far as to state that in a certain sense this project forces the viewers' perception in order to challenge the common way to perceive environment... By the way, I'm sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in the environment we live in, so we need -in a wayto decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

long field in this area that has some influence on it, it is anything outside our boundaries, interactions, matter exchange , energy and information. All art forms have a direct inspiration from the environment and indirect inspiration from the spiritual environment.

Surely each artist has created a personal style through which each time his environment gives the mark of harmonization between the spirit and the matter. In these projects you mentioned and generally in my painting someone can see that I never use territorial line and this is why I refer to the void.

During these five years your works have been exhibited in several occasions... It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or just the expectation of positive feedback- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way,

Speaking of environment we refer to anything that surrounds an object, a person or an animal, the environment of an organization is the short or

Winter 2014

4 23 3 2

Maria Vyrra

how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

ART Habens

something important and their work remains stagnant.

And I couldn't do without mentioning Reminds me of you, a piece that I have to admit is one of my favourite ones of your rich and stimulating production: in particular, I have highly appreciated the way you create an effective synergy between mythological references which are clearly framed in a "traditional" context as in A banner- and lively references to Modernity... In this sense I daresay that your approach creates such a bridge between Tradition and Contemporariness: by the way, maybe because I have a scientific background, I personally think that the apparent dichotomy between Art and Technology will soon filled... what's your point?

I don't think there will ever be an actual relationship between business and art, unless an artist creates for only purpose to sell where again he cancels the concept of art inherent in his works.

Nevertheless, the positive feedback and criticism of the public and the support of cultural organizations in the form of sponsorship or prize may actually change the career of an artist and with time he can be recognizable, perhaps even important. And may yet happen to the contrary, enough times we have seen awards been given in mysterious ways to very young artists who are not yet mature and have been helped quite a lot,suddenly they think they managed

'Reminds me of you' is an installation consisting of lighted vigils inside traditional ceramic pots. The main element of this project is the olive oil and the

21 33 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Hannah Hiaasen

Monotone Monologues in monochrome minimally manipulate the monotonous mundane. They are a live series that have been performed at the Brooklyn Art space, NY (2013), LabBodies, Baltimore, MD (2014), and The Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh, PA (2014).

Reminds me of you, 100cmx100cmx45cm, 2013 An installation lighted vigils inside pots.

8 Autumn 2014 related to rituals,the olive oil as fuel for4221

Hannah Hiaasen

ART Habens

Oral Exercises is a collection of dances comprised of words as performers. Those words are brush, shuck, husk, flesh, fish, flush, chosen for their sonic unity. Each exercise is stenciled with powdered graphite onto a singular wall. Paired with this ephemeral installation, an audio recording of an androgynous voice annunciates the exercises on repeat.

22 29 4

Autumn 2014

Maria Vyrra

ART Habens

and the fire it gives as fuel, this installation is associated with a christian ritual where those who mourn loss of a loved one use this method as a memory tool and protection of the soul. In the banner the color is replaced from olive paste, a painting which is presented as a protest banner. Inspired from banners used by demonstrators in marches and protests outside ministries and major city centers.

Certainly the relationship between art and technology is something that has been going on for several years, we find the first chemical picture captured by Nicephore Niepce in 1826, now the camera, photo, electricity, sound, etc. are key tools in contemporary art.

Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Maria. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects. How do you see your work evolving?

In 2015 I will participate in four group exhibitions of which two concern the project 'on the road', that began curated by artist Beskida Kraja and soon this exhibition will be found in Milan then Athens and back again Albania, involving several important Greek, Italian and Albanian artists, I'm quite proud to be participating in this.

I am also preparing my first solo exhibition

an interview by Dario Rutigliano, curator arthabens@mail.com

Untitled, oil on canvas, 350cmx220cm, 2012

Winter 2014

4 23 3 6

Maria Vyrra

ART Habens

the kernel here is displayed as a symbol.

21 37 4

Winter 2014

Yelena York Tonoyan In my new collection of gun series I tried to contrast violence and beauty, love and fear. The theme for my new collection is "Stop the Violence." I didn't just chose random guns; every gun has a story behind it. The "Colt 1911" is the gun John Dillinger used to rob banks in 1932, the "White American Flag" is a legendary 1873 SAA Peacemaker that played an important role in the history of the American West which was the most popular handguns in the 19th century.

The aim of this collection is to bring a new concept to guns; these "toys� that take so many lives away around us don't necessarily have to be used for violence only! They can always be seen as an art.

Guns are a product of an excellent engineering design. As an artist I am able to see the power in it, the beauty, and the finish, which combined become an art piece. While in a process of painting the guns I try to emphasize these artistic aspects and represent them in a very luxurious and dynamic manner.

The pieces of my gun series collection are somewhere close to 5x7 feet in size.

The drawings are free hand made with Copic makers, Acrylic and 22karat gold (22 karat has a lighter tone verses 24 karat, which has a orange tone to it) on a canvas. Usually every painting takes 3 to 4 months to finish. I get to paint on the canvas with no sketch as I already have the final picture in my head. When I paint with markers I have no room for error. I cannot "fix" the painting the same way as it is possible while painting with the oil. Every misaligned line, every misplaced dot has the power to force me start the work all over again, therefore everything is already calculated in my head.

3D stripe gun

328 4

Yelena York Tonoyan

ART Habens

video, 2013

329 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Yelena York Tonoyan

Saddle II in the making

Winter 2014

40

An interview with

Yelena York Tonoyan

An interview by Dario Rutigliano

Hello Yelena, and a warm welcome to ART Habens. To start this interview would you like to tell us something about your background?

As a basically self-taught artist, are there any particular experiences that have impacted on you and have influenced the way you currently produce your artworks?

I always loved seeing my grandmother working on her architectural designs and my grandfather working on his new mathematical inventions.

During those years I wish I were a little bit older to catch and understand more rather just having them as memories. I do believe that family background and genetics have a lot to do with what one becomes.

I knew that I could draw since I was little, but no one told me that what I had was a talent.

Honestly, I thought that everyone could draw, and never cared to even consider going to art school or taking art classes. And now that’s all I do - paint. I work very patiently; calculate every line in my head, choose the right colors, and work on making it to come to life. The ideas of what to draw next just come to me.

Yelena York Tonoyan Yelena York Tonoyan, known as York, was born and raised in Eastern Europe and currently resides in Los Angeles.

York pursued studies in graphic design and photography.

Her studies landed her opportunities in art and design. At 24, York established herself as a “go to” for interior design. York’s Armenian and Russian background has given her inspiration for her work. Aside from her culture, York’s vast love of travel abroad and her knowledge of art history immerse in her pieces. She turned to a different interest with her current collection of mixed media pieces. Her collections of paintings of guns are breathtaking dimensions of colors and 22 karat gold and silver leafs, mostly the technique and quality she uses is being done on iconic statues or paintings of Saints (for Christian or Catholic churches).

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your works? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

Usually it takes me 3 to 5 months to finish a piece. The longest that I have worked on was the St. Basil’s Cathedral (Moscow); it took me 7 months to finish. I started working on it before I visited last year’s Art Basil and continued for another month when I came back.

York’s work is seen and followed by prominent collectors, celebrities and today’s contemporary artist. She has shown at Art Basel in Miami, Houston Art Fair, Bridge Art Hampton, LA Mart “Art Life,” Palm Springs Art Fair, the LA Art Show and many other shows trough out Los Angeles.

There is no specific routine for the preparation of the paintings – no point measurements are being taken. Lots of people, who work on designing facades for buildings, couldn’t understand how it usually works out. I have been asked to put points and other things to calculate the distances between each building and I had no idea what they were talking about.

Yelena York Tonoyan has an inventive character that leads her convey the ordinary entities, shapes and patterns of life to new heights. She is also working on a collection of extremely detailed pen and ink illustrations.

Her modernized inspiration earns her artwork the exploration of wealth through black and white.

41

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Yelena York Tonoyan

John Dillinger's Colt, 1911 Medium: 22 Carats Gold / Silver leaf / Copic Markers Size: 4,5 x7 feet Stretched canvas

I think in the future I’ll find time to take architectural classes. In short - I never get prepared before starting a piece and it works for me somehow.

to get a wider idea of your artistic production.

In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of this interesting project?

What was your initial inspiration?

Now let's focus on your artistic production: I would start from Guns series an interesting conceptual series that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article: in this project, I can recognize a unique mark capable of shaking and at the same time of fascinating the viewer, and I would suggest to visit your website directly at http://yelenatonoyan.com in order

I was always fascinated with Guns. When for the first time I held a gun in my hand I was astonished by the engineering and mathematical calculations of these products. Besides my personal feelings towards guns, I always admire how a something so small as a tip of the hallowpoint bullet is calculated to expand when entering the target. It does inspire me.

Winter 2014

4 23 2

Yelena York Tonoyan

ART Habens

John Dillinger's Ortgies Medium: 22 Carats Gold / Silver leaf / Copic Markers Size: 4,5 x7 feet Stretched canvas

I can recognize a clear and effective social criticism in Guns series , and I definitely love the way you have been capable of manipulating such symbol, decontextualizing it. By the way, although I'm aware that this might sound a bit naïf, I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art -especially nowadays- could play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression... I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behavior...

what's your point about this? Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

I can agree with you. I believe that some artist do send messages through their art. In my opinion guns and any kind of weapons in general are dangerous, but it’s not what kills people or creates wars; it is people who kill each other and create war.

The message that I wanted to send through my Gun series by creating them strong and delicate at the same time is that these powerful products don’t have to be used only for causing damage.

21 43

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Yelena York Tonoyan

LUCK Winner of The Best Acrylic Painting, February 2014 Medium: Acrylic Size 4x5 Feet Stretched Canvas

"Acrylic paints have a rich, deep color

the mind, the hand and the brush became the continuation of one another, my ‘Lucky’ elephant appeared on the canvas. "

pattern, which allows the artist to combine the drawing with the painting, making the painting more true-to-life. I found that when

Winter 2014 2014

Yelena York

4 23 4

Yelena York Tonoyan

ART Habens

Octopus All Around You Medium: Copic Marker, Size: 4x4 Feet Stretched Canvas Although you have produced thoughtful pieces as Octopus All Around you, which -in a certain sense- are strictly connected to the chance of playing with the viewer's perception, I daresay that most of your works often refer to what I dare to define our immanent reality: so, is in your

opinion personal experience an absolutely indispensable part of a creative process? Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

That’s a tricky question. Personally for me

21 45

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Yelena York Tonoyan

personal experience is the most valuable thing when I create Art. When people look at some of my work, such as the Octopus All Around You, they do come up with certain questions, but that’s very natural. For example, in my pen and

St Basil Cathedral Medium: Acrylic Size: 5x7 Feets Stretched Canvas

Winter 2014

4 23 6

Yelena York Tonoyan

ART Habens

experience, the answer is -Yes. I could have brought some examples, but I believe it will sound judgmental.

Another interesting work of yours that has particularly impressed me and on which I would like to spend some words is entitled St. Basil's Cathedral: in particular, the skillful brushstrokes of this large painting have reminded me Léon Bakst's Firebird... By the way, there always seems to be a sense of narrative in works. How much do you explicitly think of a narrative for your paintings?

Interesting how you brought up Bakst, as I have actually found out about him recently. I can say, that I admire his style and I did fell in love with his costumes. What I do and what he did are completely different subjects and themes.

I agree with you that there is some kind of connection between them, and it is based on our old Armenian and Russian culture, which inspires me al lot. All these form my background which exists in my unconscious. In regards to the St. Basil’s Cathedral the idea for me to create something so symbolic and detailed was purely out of my subconscious showing the pain and the freedom by using the contrast of Red and White.

Now let's deal with the tones of your pieces: I would focus especially on Marilyn Monroe and in particular on Luck an extremely stimulating work that I have to admit is one of my favorite of your recent pieces: I definitely love the way the straightness of the black lines on the background creates a sense of movement, gives dynamicity to the canvas... and what has mostly impressed me is that it is capable of establishing such a dialogue, a synergy with all the other tones instead of a contrast... By the way, any comments on your choice of "palette" and how it has changed over time?

Thank you for the compliment on “Luck”. This piece accidently became what it was supposed to become and that was the beginning of creating a new style of sharp backgrounds and colorful/detailed subjects on it. I always had a sense in colors, so even when I do too much of colors on a painting, somehow the colors don’t get into conflict with each other.

ink illustrations almost every line has a symbolic meaning but its for me only, for others it should only be a piece of art. And to answer to the question if the creative process could be disconnected from the direct

I have been painting for 2 years now and I don’t think anything has changed in my style. I would

21 47

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Yelena York Tonoyan

Monroe Medium: Copic Markers, Acrylic Size: 5x5 Feets Stretched Canvas

Winter 2014 2014

4 23 8

Yelena York Tonoyan

ART Habens

Madonna Medium: Copic Markers, Acrylic Size: 4,5x7 Feets Stretched Canvas

brushstrokes of this large painting have reminded me Léon Bakst's Firebird... By the way, there always seems to be a sense of narrative in works. How much do you explicitly think of a narrative for your paintings?

personal experience is the most valuable thing when I create Art. When people look at some of my work, such as the Octopus All Around You, they do come up with certain questions, but that’s very natural. For example, in my pen and ink illustrations almost every line has a symbolic meaning but its for me only, for others it should only be a piece of art. And to answer to the question if the creative process could be disconnected from the direct experience, the answer is -Yes. I could have brought some examples, but I believe it will sound judgmental.

Interesting how you brought up Bakst, as I have actually found out about him recently. I can say, that I admire his style and I did fell in love with his costumes. What I do and what he did are completely different subjects and themes.

I agree with you that there is some kind of connection between them, and it is based on our old Armenian and Russian culture, which inspires me al lot. All these form my background which exists in my unconscious. In regards to the St. Basil’s Cathedral the idea for me to create

Another interesting work of yours that has particularly impressed me and on which I would like to spend some words is entitled St. Basil's Cathedral: in particular, the skillful

21 49

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Yelena York Tonoyan

Copic Markers was my Marilyn Monroe (which

Photograph taken by Yelena York Tonoyan

was never intended to be put in a gallery). As for Ink illustrations, which I started while I was working on my life size paintings, I can only say

Winter 2014

4 23 5 2

Yelena York Tonoyan

ART Habens

people start and finish their career with just one discipline, and it works perfectly fine for them, whereas it doesn’t for me. In my case maybe it isn’t kaleidoscopic after all because all of talents describe who I am.

If you ask me, I think that good artworks and good artist soon or later get the accomplishments that they deserve... However, it goes without saying that positive feedbacks are often capable of providing an artist of an important support that stimulate to keep on creating: how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

That is true, sparkling stone never stays on the ground for too long. So far I have got good luck and positive feedbacks on my work and it is very important. The positive feedback can play a huge role in a young female artist’s life. It is a beautiful feeling to know that people understand and appreciate my hard work and talent. If there could be a genuine relationship between business and Art? I think yes, if the Artist only makes Art and the Business part is being handled by a great businessman.

Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Yelena. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving?

Thank you as well. As of right now I am working on 3 more life size pieces that I plan on having them in my solo show in LA in 2015

An interview by Dario Rutigliano, curator

that it pushes me further in becoming better and better with creating microscopic details.

arthabens@mail.com

I don’t think different disciplines are the only way to achieve some results. Many talented

21 53 4

Winter 2014

John Moran Mel Brooks once said, “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die�.

My work is like a car accident. I pull inspiration from everywhere and mash things together, not poetically but aggressively. I think of my work as a collision of history and contemporary, politics and pop culture, humor and tragedy, refined and unkempt, and different materials and aesthetics, all mashed together into a cohesive and concise mass of wreckage that makes it hard to turn away. My work is made up of chronic appropriation, not of imagery in the same sense as Richard Prince or Andy Warhol, but of ideas.

I am not as interested in using the imagery of the Pieta or the Presidents, it is their auras I want to use, all of the baggage surrounding them, every preconceived notion and stereotype that already exists, and then I want to smash them together with conflicting or separate notions and stereotypes where I see similar attributes. I use a variety of materials to create figures and their environments. The content of my work is not derived from the materials, but they do add another level to the overall content. I sculpt the flesh in molten glass, which creates an eerie lifelike feeling, but the color and material quality make them appear comical. Glass is an extremely social medium. It is a collaborative process that relies heavily on communication and teamwork.

In addition to glass, I use a diversity of other materials, including, resin, metal, enamels, etc., to create a visual language. There is an immediacy in the materials used, which allows me to make several different components to use in the construction. This building method creates a plastic unnatural look, often giving them an absurd, quirky, and somewhat childlike appearance.

My work is not purely autobiographical, but my experiences and observations are the genesis of my ideas. Each piece is a reaction to a specific event, but is not an illustration of it. I pull from everything around me. My own political and religious views, art, books, movies, family, and popular culture culminate into layers of seemingly random references, multiple components, and a visual overload that mimics our daily experience.

American A Idols, 2012 The Day of Departure still from freehand sculpted glass heads

poliester resin, fabric, polyurethane, enamels, latex Pittsburgh Glass Center 524 4

John Moran

ART Habens

video, 2013

525 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

John Moran

American Idols, 2012 freehand sculpted glass heads poliester resin, fabric, polyurethane, enamels, latex Pittsburgh Glass Center

Winter 2014

56 4

John Moran

An interview with An interview by Dario Rutigliano

Hello John, and welcome to ART Habens. To start this interview, would you like to tell to our readers something about your background? You have a solid formal training and you hold a Master of Fine Arts, that you recently received from the Illinois State University: moreover, during these years you have literally traversed the globe in search of knowledge, and you moved from the Philadelphia area to the historical city of Ghent, Belgium, where you are currently based. How did these experiences impacted on your evolution as an artist and on the way you conceive your works?

I was born in Philadelphia, but my family moved to Delaware when I was ten. I never really felt at home there, so as soon as I finished high school, I went back to Philadelphia to Tyler School of Art where I received BFA. I had originally planned to be a painting or illustration major, but in my second year (1998) I discovered glass. From that moment on I was sold. I may seem deceivingly young according to my CV, but actually I never paid for my final year of undergrad, so in 2006 I returned to officially complete my degree.

John Moran

While I was in undergrad, I was very focused on the technical aspects of glass and other materials, but I felt like I struggled to express my thoughts. Then in 2001, I had the opportunity to take a workshop with Einar and Jamex de la Torre at Haystack (mountain school of craft) in Deer Isle, Maine. Their approach to the material and the inclusion of mixed media, not to mention their content driven work, changed the way I thought about glass. I finally began to incorporate the societal and political aspects, in which I have always had an interest, into my work. The work I was making at this point was very raw, poignant but direct.

about art. Thinking about life. This was certainly a turning point in my artistic career. I began to see and understand the world through different eyes.

When I returned from China, I finished my degree and began working for a glass equipment builder in Millville, New Jersey. While I was there I had two major opportunities. First and most important, I had access to the glass shop in the evenings, where I had the opportunity to develop my sculpting techniques and abilities. Second, the shop I worked in was across the street from WheatonArts, where I also spent a lot of evenings, working for artists in residence and making many friends in the process. In 2009, I was awarded my own residency at WheatonArts (Creative Glass Center of America), where I spent six weeks sculpting all 43 heads of the American Presidents (American Idols).

During my hiatus from school, I worked mostly as a glass blower, making production or teaching workshops. But in 2004, I decided together with one of my friends, to move to China to teach English for a year and a half. This experience had a huge impact. I didn’t make any work while I was there, but I spent a lot of time thinking. Thinking about glass. Thinking

57 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

John Moran

American Idol, detail

and about Belgian society (only they haven’t realized it yet).

Shortly after completing the residency, I was invited to Mechelen (Belgium) by Katrijn Schatteman, one of the former WheatonArts fellows, as an artist in residence. While I was in Belgium, I met a woman (who is now my wife) and found out I was accepted into the graduate program at Illinois State in basically the same day. So for three years, I split my time between Gent (where she lives in Belgium) and Normal, Illinois (where ISU is located). The contrast could not be greater.

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

Most of my work begins with a reaction to an event or to something in the news. From that point, I begin working out the concept for the sculpture. Once I have a basis for the concept, I begin by making the glass parts.

This dichotomy of the rural Midwest and a medieval European city helped shape the aesthetic of my current work. I began to combine the imagery and history of the art I was surrounded by in Gent with the societal criticisms and commentary that was already apparent in my work. After I completed my MFA, I moved to Gent, where I currently live and am continuing to make work based on both American society and politics

Winter 2014

I am professionally trained as a glass blower, but I have developed a lot of the sculpting methods I use on my own over time. The way that I work with glass is very methodical. Because I do not

4 23 5 8

John Moran

ART Habens

American Idol, detail

have a glass studio of my, I rely on residencies and working in other shops, so it is imperative that I plan the components for the sculpture. I usually spend about a day preparing and making eyeballs. There is a lot of experimentation that goes into trying to get eye color correct. On the second day, I will usually make the head. This (in glass terms) is quite a long process. The heads take me anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. It may not seem like much to a non-glass artist, but this means that for that amount of time you must carry around a ten-pound molten blob on the end of a five-foot stick and constantly reheat it in a 2000 degree oven. Then depending on the sculpture, I will make the hands on the third day, which take about three to four hours each.

On the fourth day I will make the arms and attach the hands, again this is a three to four hour process per arm. Depending on the sculpture, the glass process will shift, but this

part generally takes about a week to work out and finalize. After the glass components are complete, I return to my studio in Gent to begin work on the rest of the sculpture.

This process usually takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the scale and difficulty of the work. I begin by creating a metal skeleton to mount the glass components to and to act as a framework for the body. For the next week or so, I will work on getting the body built with metal, foam, plaster, etc. Once the body is built and I start working on the clothing, my process slows down quite a bit. I am very particular in the clothing and the designs and logos on the clothing. At this point all of my planning goes out the window and I can spend hours, days, weeks, whatever‌ working out the clothing. While I usually have an idea of what I want, the details are not there yet, and they come while I am working on the piece in the studio.

21 59 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

John Moran

Monotone Monologues in monochrome minimally manipulate the monotonous mundane. They are a live series that have been performed at the Brooklyn Art space, NY (2013), LabBodies, Baltimore, MD (2014), and The Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh, PA (2014).

Stand Your Ground, 2012 (photo by edwin Pieters) freehand sculpted glass heads, epoxy resin, fabric, enamels, latex

Once I have the clothing design completed and attached to the sculpture, the glass components are taped off and the fabric is covered in epoxy resin. This gives it rigidity and stability, but it also allows me to move the fabric around and “freeze� it in the correct position.

Winter 2014 2014

Once the fabric is set, the piece is near complete.

Usually at this point I will apply the hair, which is made from a latex based material. Sometimes this takes a few days, mainly because of set time.

Once that material is set, then I am able to paint it and complete the work. From start to finish most

4 23 6 0

John Moran

ART Habens

introductory pages of this article: and I would suggest them to visit your website directly at http://www.backdoorart.com in order to get a wider idea of your artistic production. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of this interesting project? What was your initial inspiration?

So, the concept for Stand Your Ground began after the killing of Trayvon Martin (an unarmed teenager who was murdered in Florida and his killer was not convicted). The killing itself was not the inspiration, but the discussion surrounding his killing. Was he threatening? Was he a thug? Did he steal something? Was it a “legal” murder?

The pose for the figure is from the sculpture the Dying Gaul. Stand Your Ground is also a tribute to a “fallen warrior”, only his war was not one fought by choice. There are a lot of little details in the sculpture. For instance, his hoodie bares an altered Starbucks logo only instead of the mermaid there is a figure of Jesus. In the logo it says “BEWARE THE DAY”, which is a reference to a Langston Hughes quote from the Civil Rights Movement. On the boxer shorts of the figure, there are mug shots of celebrities and killers who have become celebrities.

A feature that I recognize in Stand your Ground is the perception of the common and the challenging of it in order to create a new multitude of points of views: so I would to stop for a moment to consider the "function" of the landscape, which most of the times seems to be just a passive background... I'm sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in an image, so we need -in a way- to decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

I don’t expect every viewer, on that case, any viewer to necessarily pick up on all of the clues and information in this sculpture, or any sculpture for that matter. These decisions are a part of my creative process. That being said, if you dig into my work, there are many layers and references the deeper you look. What I do expect from viewers is the engagement with the initial “image”, the object that you see. I hope that this image is powerful enough to: one stay in the mind of the viewer and create discussion, and two interest the viewer enough to further inspect and question the sculpture.

full scale figures take me between four and six weeks, though there are always exceptions.

Now let's focus on your artistic production: I would start from Stand your Ground, that our readers have already started to admire in the

21 61 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

John Moran

American Idol, detail

Sale of the Deathman, 2013 (photo by edwin Pieters)

Winter 2014 4 23 0 5 freehand sculpted glass heads, epoxy resin, fabric, latex, found objects, silvering

John Moran

ART Habens

Another interesting work of yours that has particularly impacted on me is entitled Sale of the Deathman, and I definitely love the effective social criticism revealed by this stimulating piece: besides the engaging dark humour that pervades this piece, I can recognize a subtle but intense sociopolitical commitment in it... although I'm aware that this might sound a bit naïf, I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art especially nowadays- could play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression... I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behaviour... what's your point about this?

Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

I actually began the Osama Bin Laden sculpture, titled Sale of the Deathman, the day after the Benghazi attacks on September 11, 2012.

On the night of the attacks, the news everywhere was that it was a riot caused by the idiotic youtube movie The Innocence of Muslims.

About a month before, I had visited the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels and seen the Death of Marat; I had the idea for this piece almost immediately afterwards. That night, I was explaining the idea for this piece to some friends while we were watching the news about the attacks, and we started to discuss whether or not it was a good idea to make it. To be clear, the sculpture had always been about the American reaction to the killing of Bin Laden not the actual killing itself.

Stand Your Ground, 2013, details (photo by Edwin Pieters)

sion. Historically speaking I think art has played a larger role in society. I do believe that at this point in time, the type of work I make is important, I think it resonates with people who are turned off by the current state of art. I think an artist like Banksy is a perfect illustration of this idea. People are able to see the work, understand it, and think about it without feeling like they have to be a part of an elite club or that they are just not smart enough to understand what the artist is saying. It resonates because it relates to people’s lives and the situations they live in.

People were dancing in the streets and holding parties outside of the White House. I will not lie, I was relieved when the announcement came that Bin Laden was dead, but I was horrified by the reactions of people and use of a state sanctioned assassination as a selling point during a Presidential election. At that moment, any discussion of a societal moral high ground was lost, at least temporarily. On the day after the attacks, when I began the piece, I knew for me that it was not so much about Bin Laden, but about the conflicting perceptions people can have of individuals killed pursuing and defending dogmatic beliefs.

During the most recent exhibition of American Idols (the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts), I had the opportunity to give a talk about my work to the ACLU and Common Cause of Delaware.

They contacted me to discuss my ideas on democracy and how they fit into my work. The talk ended with a question and answer, which erupted into a discussion and a debate about the current state of American democracy. So, I guess in short, the idea that art can effect people’s thinking or steer their behavior does not sound exaggerated to me.

To answer your question, I don’t think art has to solely be an avenue for personal, expres-

21 63 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

John Moran

Monotone Monologues in monochrome minimally manipulate the monotonous mundane. They are a live series that have been performed at the Brooklyn Art space, NY (2013), LabBodies, Baltimore, MD (2014), and The Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh, PA (2014).

Back to School, 2012 (photo by edwin Pieters) freehand sculpted glass heads, epoxy resin, fabric, enamels, latex, prined acrylic

One of the feature of your installation Back to School is the capability of creating a deep involvement in the viewers, prescinding from the "initial background". So I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process

Winter 2014 2014

could be disconnected from direct experience?

It may sound clichÊ, but the reason I make most of the work I make is an attempt to reconcile in my head the events that are continuously occurring. .€ For instance, the installation titled back to school, was made in the aftermath of the Sandy

4 23 6 4

John Moran

ART Habens

Back to School, detail

something happens. (I say truthfully because I do not believe "it happened because there were not enough guns present" or "we should have more diagnosis of mental illness" are actually the root of the problem).

For me personally, I don’t think my creative process can be disconnected from my emotional experiences. I know there are a lot of artists whose practice is disconnected from their experiences, but in most cases their work does not have the same impact on me. There is an emotion built into the work when it relates directly to an experience, even if I as the viewer do not share in the particular experience, I am able to relate to that emotion.

I think of someone like Robert Gober, I have no idea what experiences led to the work that he makes, but I experience the tensions and the frustrations of those experiences in his work.

By the way, I daresay that there always seems to be a sense of narrative in your pieces. How much do you explicitly think of a narrative for your projects?

Hook massacre. What I found the most troubling was how the discussion turned to gun control and how this could be shaped so much by this single instance and the instances like this that continue to occur on a daily basis. This discussion seems to center around how something happens, and for the most part it never truthfully focuses on why

I don’t think I explicitly think of a narrative for the work, but I believe I build one during the process.

It is true there is a narrative built into the work, but I do not create it consciously. It is a part of the process; it is built through the decisions I make for the work.

21 65 4

Winter 2014

Sandra Lima e Silva Through my work, I try to play with the viewer's gaze.

The demonstrate image is inspired by something that impressed me or aroused my curiosity, and it will be fit as a background to the work and give it the title. Using acrylic paint over the canvas, I cover the initial image that is completely spontaneous with manual cuttings of paper masks and successive layers of paint.

Open to new ideas, the original thoughts goes away and turn it into something completely new. And the background merges. It is a game of clear and reveals parts of what would be a whole which is also contained in the hazards of doing. As an artist I wish that there's no cultural hurdle between my work and the world.

A still from The Day of Departure I dream, therefore I exist!

Sandra Lima e Silva

Winter 2014

626 4

Sandra Lima e Silva

ART Habens

video, 2013

627 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Sandra Lima e Silva

We are still baroque

Winter 2014

68 4

Sandra Lima e Silva

An interview with

Sandra Lima e Silva

An interview by Dario Rutigliano Hello Sandra, and a warm welcome to ART Habens. To start this interview would you like to tell us something about your background?

In particular, are there any experiences that impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks and on your evolution as an artist?

readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

There is nothing more challenging and impactful than being face to face with a white screen and through the use of ink and gesture make your imagination become physical and tangible.

Through my artworks I try to grasp and play with the viewer's gaze. My paintings in acrylic on canvas, are inspired by events or things that impressed me or piqued my curiosity,and provide the background and the title to my work. May be trivial things or recent events at world level, the key is that through them I may instigate a reflection on the viewer. Once the proposal is defined, either one piece or a series, I start painting, always with music, love to dance while painting. The initial image that is completely

Thank you very much! It’s a great pleasure to be a part of this Art Habens’ edition. I am Brazilian, with a very diverse background, I graduated in Dentistry and Visual Arts and moreover I hold a postgraduate’s degree in Education for Talented and Gifted Individuals. This plurality allows me to transit through various "worlds" and to have a critical and broader view of all that surrounds us.

What most impacted my artistic production and consequently has evolved throughout my career is my endless search for a visual poetry that reflects my personal identity.

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our 69 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Sandra Lima e Silva

Hope

Winter 2014

23 7 4 0

Sandra Lima e Silva

ART Habens

spontaneous, fragments itself allowing the appearance of new ideas, the subject that gave rise to it disappear and transmute into something completely new. Background and foreground merge. It is a game of erasing and revealing parts of the whole. This (un)veiling process also contains the eventualities of the art making. The work is performed alternating hand cutouts of paper masks and successive layers of paint. Each work contains a minimum of four times this process. The time to consider that the work is finished depends on two factors: the first is physical, I have segmental dystonia in my right arm and I am righthanded; the second is the very work itself which oddly enough will tell me how far it wants to go. Over the years I have learned to manage and live well with them both.

Now let's focus on your artistic production: I would start from I dream, therefore I exist! and We are stil baroque a couple of recent pieces that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article: and I would suggest to our readers to visit your website directly at htps://sandrasilva2.see.me in order to get a wider idea of your artistic production. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of these interesting pieces? What was your initial inspiration?

These works are part of my latest proposal which is a reflection on the psycho- social behavior of human thought in the beginning of the XXI century.I produced "We're still Baroque", along with "We need a new Renaissance," and "...and Mannerist ", with which I attended the XI Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence 2013.�I dream, therefore I am" is the latest one, also part of this "Hope" Project, along with a few more works that emerged from this very intriguing theme.

What has mostly impressed of your abstract approach is the way you are capable of establishing an intense, direct communication with the viewers which goes beyond the mere perception of an image: in particular, I find We need a neo Renaisance absolutely stimulating, not only from an emotional aspect, but especially because for

21 71 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Sandra Lima e Silva

Trapezists

Winter 2014

21 72 4

Sandra Lima e Silva

ART Habens

Mummery

Sling Blade

the intelectual involvement that it suggests me... Moreover, I noticed that blue is a recurrent color in your works, and I can admire a thoughtful nuance of it in Hope. By the way, any comments on your choice of "palette" and how it has changed over time?

process could be disconnected from direct experience?

The use of color is a hallmark of my art pieces, and, over time, I have been using them even more. I am a colorist by nature, I create them while working on my paintings, and blue is my favourite one.

Not in my case, I need to stabilish that connection in order to create. For example, we are going through a very delicate moment in Brazilian politics, there is a inversion of values, slander becomes the truth and the truth becomes slander, from this situation "Mummery","Tightrope" and "Trapeze artits" were born.

As you have remarked your artist's statement, each image is inspired by something that impresed you or aroused your curiosity: so I would ask you if in your opinion personal experience an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process, I mean both for conceiving a piece and for enjoying it... Do you think that a creative

Another interesting works of yours that have particularly impressed me and on which I would like to spend some words are entitled An Luiza Júlia Mateus Sofia e Clara and Emoção Diante da Beleza Feminina da Igreja de Chica : one of the features of it that has mostly impacted on me , is the way you have been capable of bringing a new level of

22 73 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Sandra Lima e Silva

Emotion against feminine beauty of the Church of Chica Technical Acrylic on canvas, 80cm X 100cm

Winter 2014

23 4 74

Sandra Lima e Silva

ART Habens

significance to the an image, recontextualizing the idea of the environment we live in, which is far from being just the background of our existence. I would go as far as to state that in a certain sense this project forces the viewers' perception in order to challenge the common way to perceive environment... By the way, I'm sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even " encrypted " in the environment we live in, so we need -in a wayto decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

I fully agree with you. I often say that artists are human beings that carry within themselves the power to transform the imaginable, and why not say the unthinkable, into reality.

In particular, I would like to spend some words about TrĂŞs soldados iraquianos mortos como insetos por um soldado americano , a struggling piece that reveals an intense social criticism... By the way, although I'm aware that this might sound a bit naĂŻf , I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art especially nowadays- could play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression... I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behaviour... what's your point about this? Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

It does not sound exaggerated at all. The major artistic movements that have happened over the centuries, and are still going on today, unfortunately, in a less expressive way, show us this. Art, and here I include all kinds of Art, visual, music, dance, film, theater, architecture, literature, culinary and folk art represent the human being in its essence.

We are creative beings by excellence, and this is what distinguishes us from other animals. I agree with you when you say that "Art could even steer people's behaviour" .We have experienced here in Brazil the reduction of crime rate in underserved communities through the participation of its residents in projects that prioritize the teaching of Art, in where they are offered art workshops. It is undeniable to me the inexhaustible capacity of art to transform human nature for the better.

21 75 4

Winter 2014

ART ARTHabens Habens

SandraLima Limae eSilva Silva Sandra

Three Iraqi soldiers killed like insects by a U.S. soldier Technical Acrylic on canvas, 80cm X 100cm

Winter 2014

21 76 4

SandraLima LimaeeSilva Silva Sandra

22 77 4

ART ARTHabens Habens

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Firmament Technical Acrylic on canvas, 80cm X 100cm

ART Habens

ART Habens

Sandra Lima e Silva

Ana Luiza JĂşlia Mateus Sofia e Clara Technical Acrylic on canvas, 80cm X 100cm

Winter 2014

23 8 4 0

Sandra Lima e Silva

ART Habens

And I cannot do without mentioning Trapezists and especially …and Mannerist , which I have to admit, is one of my favourite piece of yours: I have been very intrigued from the first glance by effective synergy that you have been capable of establish between apparently opposite elements. The purple layer does not plays just as a background, but it communicates with the light colors on the canvas and I daresay that it creates a prelude to the light that springs from this interesting piece...

Thank you, Dario. I love your interpretation!

Now let's talk about audience... It goes without saying that positive feedbacks are capable of providing an artist of the indespensable support to an artist: I was just wondering if the expectation of positive feedback could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

I love receiving feedback from the public, no matter if it’s positive or negative. If my work arouse any feeling in the viewer it will have fulfilled its role. I do not plan on pleasing the audience, being them art connoisseur or not, I do it to please myself first. If I like the final result on the canvas I'm sure it is ready to be exhibited.

Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Sandra. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects. How do you see your work evolving?

My goal as an artist is to become increasingly universal in the sense of being world-renowned for my good work. It's an ambitious project, I admit, but art is what moves me and without it I am nobody, I’ll to persist in this path confident in its evolution. To participate in this select group of artists, in this Art habens’ edition, proved to me that I'm on the right track. I thank the entire team of Art Habens for the opportunity, and for you for the nice interview. A big hug and best wishes to everyone!

An interview by Dario Rutigliano, curator, arthabens@mail.com

21 81 4

Winter 2014

Greg Fraser The mutability of earth and man’s existence is never ending: cycles of birth/death, creation/destruction – a perennial subject but in itself ever-changing. Shelley’s famous lines from Alastor give weight to man’s condition: Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but mutability!

No matter which age we live in, this is true: that constant tension with the supposedly finite man-made environment that consumes our natural world; our human experience that is born from a chaotic and uncertain reality – a reality that is not a reality but a world that is mutable – redolent of constant change.

From this mutability rises the juxtaposition of essence and nothingness. Mankind’s fate of creating, destroying; making a metaphysical essence that is nothingness; control that is chaos - all can be seen in our urban landscapes.

To me this is analogous to the process of making paintings. My paintings are made with deliberate and spontaneous marks: a desire to reproduce that controlled/chaotic process. In rejecting the traditional visual components of painting: metaphor, symbolism and narrative, I instead focus on the raw nature of making paintings. I create tactile objects by adopting a fluctuating compositional framework in a desire to create a concrete aesthetic from the memory of a real place. Using the qualities inherent in the physicality of paint - color, texture, transparency/opacity, reflectivity and by destroying the image, recreating it and repeating this cycle until it is resolved I produce in my work that cycle of growthdestruction-nothingness and regrowth of constant mutability; straining to imbue the surface with all the paradoxes and complexities of experience.

822 4

Greg Fraser

ART Habens

video, 2013

823 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Greg Fraser

Battery Cliff

Winter 2014

84 4

Greg Fraser

An interview with Hello Greg, and a warm welcome to ART Habens. To start this interview would you like to tell us something about your background?

In particular, you have a solid formal training in Art: you hold a BA(hons) Painting & Printmaking that you have received from the Glasgow School of Art... how much has this experience impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks and on your evolution as an artist?

My experience at the Glasgow School of Art was fundamental in my development as an Artist.

The tutors there are constantly challenging your artistic practice, with a particular focus on the conceptual elements of it - your ideas and motivations for making. This forces you to inquire into the meaning of the Art you make and challenges you to pursue a meaningful creative practice, as well as being able to understand its context in Art History. Because of the conceptual nature of the GSA, at times it could be an abrasive experience for me however this taught me how to fight my corner and gave me the integrity and belief in my own practice and pursuits.

Battery Davis

very limited amount of control. Juxtapose that with very deliberate techniques and you can achieve that tension. It's a balancing act, the paintings are in flux for a long time, they are only resolved when there is a certain harmony in play; gestalt is achieved. I see the making of Art as an Alchemic process.

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

Now let's focus on your artistic production: I would start from your LANDSKIP series that our readers can admire in the pages of this article: and I would suggest them to visit your website directly at http://www.gregfraser.com in order to get a wider idea of your artistic production. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of this interesting project? What was your initial inspiration?

My processes are defined by the object/image I intend to create - so they vary greatly from work to work. There are certain constants in my process - such as my initial surface preparation and I usually build my paintings from the foundations of loose compositional drawings. I view the process of making a painting as analogous to the cycles of nature and our built environment, so it takes time for the work to evolve. It goes through cycles of creation and destruction. Technically and conceptually I'm interested in the the tension of opposing form, this manifests as a desire to invent chaotic processes - that is techniques in which I have a

The Landskip series is an ongoing investigation into the re-appropriation of a former landfill site in the SF Bay Area in Northern California. The landmass is made mostly of organic waste matter that over time is decomposing - the land is slowly sinking. Over the years this has settled

85 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Greg Fraser

Landskip Bay

your KNOW-LAND PARK series that has mostly impacted on me, is the way you have been capable of bringing a new level of significance to the image, re-contextualizing the idea of images, and I would go as far as to state that in a certain sense this project forces the viewers' perception in order to challenge the common way to perceive the environment we live in, which is far from being just the background of our existence. In a certain sense these works stimulate the viewers' perception in order to challenge the common way to perceive environment... By the way, I'm

and now there is a long term project to redevelop it into a public park. This makes the landscape exciting to me as it's in a constant state of flux, it is being torn up and reformed in a very short space of time. The violent action of this human intervention makes the site the perfect vehicle to investigate visually threw landscape painting.

Painting can capture a multitude of moments in time, and harness them on one surface. I wanted to capture the melancholy I felt when walking this landscape, that was my initial inspiration.

One of the features of your investigation about mutability of earth and man’s existence in

Winter 2014

4 23 8 6

Greg Fraser

ART Habens

Landskip Bay

sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in the environment we live in, so we need -in a way- to decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

fundamental part of that. It is up to the Artist to reflect the culture and environment in which we live, to develop the patience and integrity required to communicate these truths.

The concept of individuation has always fascinated me - the idea that through an exploration of individual and collective unconscious a transformation can occur, leading to awareness in the individual. If I can challenge the viewers perception or awareness of the landscape and affect them on an intellectual or spiritual level then I would consider that a success.

I think the role of the Artist is the same as that of the Philosopher, we are searching for truth and understanding in the world in which we live - to pose existential questions about the human condition. Our environment is

21 87 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Gref Fraser

Monotone Monologues in monochrome minimally manipulate the monotonous mundane. They are a live series that have been performed at the Brooklyn Art space, NY (2013), LabBodies, Baltimore, MD (2014), and The Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh, PA (2014).

Winter 2014

21 88 4

Greg Fraser

ART Habens

Oral Exercises is a collection of dances comprised of words as performers. Those words are brush, shuck, husk, flesh, fish, flush, chosen for their sonic unity. Each exercise is stenciled with powdered graphite onto a singular wall. Paired with this ephemeral installation, an audio recording of an androgynous voice annunciates the exercises on repeat.

22 89 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Greg Fraser

I have highly appreciated the way your approach reveals a desire to create a concrete aesthetic from the memory of a real place: at the same time, I daresay that some of your early works, as the one from the stimulating ANACHRONISMS series seems to suggest an investigation about the onirical dimension of the way we perceive the environment... so I would take this occasion to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

than direct experience. I tend to create most of my work threw the memory of a place - my goal is to make that metaphysical experience into something that is tangible - that's what I mean by creating a concrete aesthetic.

The paintings become realities in themselves, not merely representations of reality. In that sense all of my paintings are investigations into the inner world, the oneirical dimension you mention.

Personally, I need to have that direct experience with a landscape - a physical and spiritual connection - that's the only way it can enter my psyche and occupy my memories and dreams.

Dreams and memory are more interesting to me

Winter 2014

4 23 9 0

Greg Fraser

As you have remarked in your artist's statement, in rejecting the traditional visual components of painting: metaphor, symbolism and narrative, you instead focus on the raw nature of making paintings... In this sense, I would state that your work goes beyond the artificial boundary that separates Tradition from Contemporariness, so I would like to ask your point about the features that mark the contemporariness of an artwork.

ART Habens

Turner, when I look at their work I see contemporary painting.I create representational spaces, and these are naturally informed by paintings I have been exposed to from the history of art. I've been lucky in that I've seen work spanning the history of art. View them in the context of their creation and they are every bit as contemporary as a Mark Rothko or an Anselm Kiefer painting. All of these artist pushed the boundaries of established tradition. I execute my paintings using experimental techniques; I burn, scratch and sand, use paint stripper, acetone and steal wool on my surfaces - processes that would probably horrify traditionalists.

My paintings are contemporary as they are a reaction to the age in which we live. The same could be said of great painters like Goya and

21 91 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Greg Fraser

From the iBeam series

Winter 2014

21 92 4

Greg Fraser

ART Habens

From the iBeam series

22 93 4

Winter 2014

Winter 2014

4 23 9 4

Greg Fraser

ART Habens

Other interesting pieces of yours on which I would like to spend some time are from your BATTERY DAVIS series: in particular, what has mostly impressed me is that it is capable of establishing such a dialogue, a synergy with all the other tones instead of a contrast and giving to the piece such a tactile feature... By the way, any comments on your choice of "palette" and how it has changed over time?

My palette for the Battery Davis series is intentionally muted as I wanted the paintings to be objects of quiet contemplation. Experiential colour theory in particular the writings of Goethe and Kandinsky continue to influence my practice.

Colour has such a powerful emotive element to it, so for the surface to possess the synergy you describe you have to be careful not to overwhelm the viewer.

Originally, my palette contained a very limited colour range as I wanted to challenge myself to be as efficient as I could be with form and colour, now I put no such limitations on myself - instead letting my intuition inform my colour choices.

Lately, I have gravitated back towards the power inherent in black, white, red and yellow - the colours of the Alchemic process. I see them in combination all over the landscape of California. I don't know why they are so emotive and powerful when together - it seems like a primal connection - if I knew the answer to that I probably wouldn't feel the need to paint.

21 95 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Greg Fraser

21 96 4

Greg Fraser

ART Habens

From the iBeam series

22 97 4

Winter 2014

14 23 00

Greg Fraser

ART Habens

It goes without saying that positive feedbacks are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if the expectation of positive feedback could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how important is it the feedback of your audience for you?

It is true that there is no Art without an audience. Both positive and negative critical feedback is an integral part of the viewer/artist relationship. I'm never motivated to create work with the expectation of positive feedback, for me that standpoint lacks integrity. You need to be aware that you will never connect with all of your audience, not everyone is receptive to the emotive/spiritual effects of the visual language.

However, connecting with an individual on that level is definitely an indication that I'm on the right path.

Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Greg. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you?

Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

I am currently undertaking a new body of work inspired by Yosemite Valley in Northern California. Yosemite has always been an inspirational place for Artists. However, it is always portrayed romantically as this Edenic place, unspoiled by the hand of man. In fact, the pristine meadows of Yosemite were created by regular fire clearances by the Indian occupants of the Valley and the asphalt roadways and parking consume almost half of the modern incantation of the park. I'm interested in exploring this side of the landscape and the man-made fire that consumed much of Yosemite earlier this year. I'm also undertaking a series of anamorphic drawings and short videos that I will show in the summer of 2015.

An interview by Dario Rutigliano, curator, arthabens@mail.com

21 101 4

Winter 2014

Patrick Santos Born and raised in sunny southern California, Patrick Santos was always interested in cameras. Growing up, the thought of capturing anything with a camera interested him greatly which led him to explore film and photography.

Patrick has moved to San Francisco in 2012 to pursue his BFA in Fine Art Photography. Since then, Patrick has explored new media of creating conceptual art which included video, collage, and installation. This inspired him to pursue a minor in New Genres with his BFA in Photography (expected graduation date 2015).

Today, Patrick explores the ideas of the gatherings, parties, and group dynamics by using readymades, digital photography, and found photography in his conceptual art.

Education 2012 - 2015 San Francisco Art Institute BFA Photography Minor New Genres San Francisco, CA 2010 - 2012 College of the Canyons Certificate in Fine Art: Photography Valencia, CA

Selected Exhibitions 2014 "New Genres Salon" San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA 2014 "MIAM - La nourriture, matière première à l’œuvre d’art" La Manicle, La Havre, France 2014 "Strung" Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA

A still from The Day of Departure 2013 "Flower Power 2013" 1650 Gallery & Studio, Los Angeles, CA

Geometric Gathering, 2014

2013 "Five" Docuphoto, San Francisco, CA

Installation 103 42

Patrick Santos

ART Habens

video, 2013

142 04

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Patrick Santos

In the jars, 620x320cm ,2013 An installation synthesized by mini shelfs, jars and kernels of olives.

From eating to rituals the kernel here is displayed as a sumbol.

Flicker Freespace 2014 Winter at 2014

03 4

Patrick Santos

An interview with An interview by Dario Rutigliano

Hello Patrick, and a warm welcome to ART Habens. To start this interview would you like to tell us something about your background?

In particular, you are currently pursuing a BFA in Photography... how much does this experience impact on the way you currently produce your artworks?

First I would like to say thank you for this opportunity. Out of high school in 2010, I studied photography at College of the Canyons in Valencia, CA. This gave me the time to get to know the camera, its process, and art making in general. After 2 years I became well versed in photography, photoshop, and developing and I knew I was ready to take the next step.

After receiving a certificate in Fine Art: Photography, I moved to San Francisco in 2012 to study at San Francisco Art Institute. While pursuing my BFA in Photography I am also minoring in New Genres, which opened up my process into new forms of art making such as installation, video, sound, and performance.

Expected to graduate in Spring of 2015, I am still learning but I have expanded my art practice in ways I would of never imagined. I enjoy making conceptual art and I am excited to see how my art process will change after I graduate.

Patrick Santos

meetups, or bars. I am interested in the mass production quality and the temporality of an object.

Now let's focus on your artistic production: I would start from Flicker, that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article: and I would suggest to our readers to visit your website directly at http://www.patricksantosart.com in order to get a wider idea of your artistic production.

In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of this interesting project? What was your initial inspiration?

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

I take inspiration from many places but most of my artworks revolve around my experiences. I am naturally a curious person and I would not shy away to trying something new. I believe that experiences are more valuable than personal possessions.

While visiting a bar I came across these fake candles that were placed on top of old burnt out candles. I was interested by how simple it was to replace an already simple object with a battery powered version. I was also mesmerized about how small this object was but it had the capacity to move like its real counterpart.

Materials that interest me are objects that you would be able to find at places where people would gather for example celebrations,

04 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Patrick Santos

Anti-Party (Detail) 2013

As you have remarked once, most of your current production deals with the ideas of gatherings, parties and certain group dynamics and the objects found within spaces that hold people for social situations... One of the features of your work that has mostly impacted on me, as in the interesting Patong and Anti Party, is the way you have been capable of bringing a new level of significance to the an image, recontextualizing the idea of social dynamics. I would go as far as to state that in a certain sense this project forces the viewers' perception in order to challenge the common way to perceive our society and the environment we live in...

situations. When I was creating Anti Party it was around the time of Valentine’s Day and I was invited to an antiValentine’s Day party. I was fascinated in the idea of having a celebration to put down another celebration. The banners in Anti Party received mixed reactions while some people enjoyed the decorated quality, others were turned off from the harsh words being displayed.

Patong was inspired by many aspects in my life.

During this part of my life, I was spending too much time at a Japanese tea cafe and I always enjoyed seeing groups of people go out just to have a cup of tea together. Also Patong is tagalog meaning ‘to stack’ and growing up, my mother would say that stacking dishes while using them was bad luck. I wanted the spoons rotating on

Anti Party was the beginning of my art practice when I started using materials found in ‘party’

Winter 2014

4 23 0 5

Patrick Santos

ART Habens

Anti-Party 2013

their own to show groups of people without the people.

contemplate ideas that they have never thought about before. Artists have the ability to bring an audience into their own world and explore the artist’s ideas. It is a bit exaggerated but it is not foolish thinking that art can drive people’s emotions.

In particular, I can recognize such a subtle but effective social criticism in Anti Party.

By the way, although I'm aware that this might sound a bit naif, I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art especially nowadays could play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression... I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behaviour... what's your point about this?

Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

Multidisciplinarity is a crucial feature of your artistic approach: I have appreciated the effective synergy that you create between different materials, as in the stimulating action video while crossing the borders of different techniques have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

There is a possibility that art can steer’s people’s behavior and art can make people

As an artist, I am challenged to express my ideas

21 06 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Autumn 2014

Patrick Santos

21 28 4

Patrick Santos

22 29 4

ART Habens

Patong Winter2014 2014

ART Habens

Patrick Santos

interdisciplinary collaboration today is an ever growing force in Art and that that most exciting things happen when creative minds from different fields of practice meet and collaborate on a project... could you tell us something about this effective synergy? By the way, the artist Peter Tabor once said that "collaboration is working together with another to create something as a synthesis of two practices, that alone one could not": what's your point about this? Can you explain how your work demonstrates communication between several artists?

Collaborating, personally, is an enriching experience in both my personal and creative endeavors. Still being in school, I have the chance to exchange ideas with my fellow peers and professors. I have the opportunity to talk to multiple people about my work and gather feedback from people with diverse background and practices.

Tabor’s ideas of collaboration is the basis of what it means to work with another person. Two things becoming one to create a singular great object.

My work is inspired by many artists that I have worked with while being in school. Studying for my degree, I am exposed to many artists that challenge and change my practice while i'm still at an early stage of my art career. Right now I have the time to polish my work before I graduate which I am lucky to have.

Anti-Party (Detail) 2013

Patong at Diego, 2014

the best way possible and with that I have to choose to best way to convey those ideas to a broad audience. I use photography, video, sound, installation because I think that those media are the best way to show my own ideas and I try to make every decision as considered as possible.

Another interesting work of yours that I had the chance to get to know at http://www.patricksantosart.com/balloon#0 is the recent video entitled Balloon, that you have created it in collaboration with Noa Kimura: by the way, I do believe that

Winter 2014

110 4 23

Patrick Santos

ART Habens

Balloon (Stills from Video) 2014

121 411

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Autumn 2014

Patrick Santos

21 28 4

Patrick Santos

22 29 4

ART Habens

Frosting Fix (Detail) Winter 2014 2014

ART Habens

Patrick Santos

Anti-Party (Detail) 2013

Patong at Diego, 2014

SEWN 2014

Winter 2014

4 23 0 5

Patrick Santos

ART Habens

Many contemporary landscape artists such as the photographers Edward Burtynsky or Michael Light have some form of environmental or even a political message in their works: in a certain sense, they force the viewers to investigate about apparently neutral images... In this sense, informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in the environment we live in, so we need in a way to decipher them.

Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

Images can create impactful ideas onto a viewer and we see thousands of images a day which we have to decipher ourselves.

With SEWN I use found imagery because I didn’t want to have any information about where or when the photo was taken. I don’t have any recollection about the found photos so I can focus more on content and forms of the landscape.

Images that Burtynsky and Light are showing intense landscapes that evoke emotions about the world that we have not seen before. Other than my multidisciplinary work, I enjoy making documentary photography work because I love evoking emotion from an audience.

21 06 4

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Patrick Santos

SEWN 2014

Winter 2014

21 28 4

Patrick Santos

22 29 4

ART Habens

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Patrick Santos

Anti-Party (Detail) 2013

Patong at Diego, 2014

Winter 2014

4 23 0 5

Patrick Santos

21 06 4

ART Habens

21 (Still from Video) Winter2014 2014

ART Habens

Patrick Santos

Geometric Gathering (Detail2) 2014

Winter 2014

21 28 4

Patrick Santos

ART Habens

It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award or just the expectation of positive feedback could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

I think that critiques and feedbacks are extremely important in making artwork. No matter if it is in an institutional setting, visiting artists or friends and family, talking about your work can lengthen the conversations in your art practice. Talking about your work to people can help develop your work in unexpected ways. I always have people look at my work and give me feedback but I also have long time friends that I show my work to that know my process which is most valuable.

Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Patrick. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you? Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

Well I’m graduating San Francisco Art Institute in Spring of 2015 then after I will be applying to residencies, studios, and grants. During the summer I work at a camp in San Francisco as an assistant instructor for a photography and film class for middle schoolers which I enjoy very much. After, I should be out of San Francisco focusing on making art and expanding conversations.

An interview by Dario Rutigliano, curator, arthabens@mail.com

22 29 4

Winter 2014

Kate Hall Creating organically inspired originals in graphite, color pencil, acrylics on canvas and mixed media.

Specializing in mixed mediaacrylic masterpieces are drenched in Swarovski crystal, foil pigments, gold, silver and copper leafing, fiber, semi precious stones, and micro beads.

These mixed media creations are luscious light catchers that are as versatile as the lighting.

Kate Hall A still from The Day of Departure

The Enchanted Forest 41 2

Kate Hall

ART Habens

video, 2013

42

Autumn 2014

ART Habens

Kate Hall

Splash- Acrylic, fiber, Gold, Silver & Copper Metal

Autumn 2014

43

Kate Hall

An interview with Hello Kate, and a warm welcome to ART Habens. I would start this interview with my usual introductory question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art? By the way, what could be the features that mark an artworks as a piece of Contemporary Art? Do you think that there's still an inner dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness?

In my world art defines itself as communication through aesthetics; the visual transference of energy that touches another deeply. It is a joy to inspire and uplift an audience. Many people are weighted down by troubles of all types; art can provide an escape, if only for a moment. The evidence is a smile that lights the face.

Perhaps instead of a dichotomy between the traditional and contemporary, there exists more of a paradox. The contemporary would not exist without the influences of the traditional as distilled by the artist. Many contemporary artists are well versed in the traditional and seek to preserve the essence of these techniques while appealing to an evolving society.

Would you like to tell us something about your background? Are there any particular experiences that have impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks?

Kate Hall

I was a lonely only; the adopted child of travelers. Therefore, I traveled. My parents sought out big cities stopping by national parks and places of interest from Baton Rouge to Panama City and as far north as Ohio. I sketched along the way. I learned to embrace the solitude. The beauty of nature fed my soul. I drank in the majesty of the sights seen & bottled them up inside. The rivers, mountains, oceans, and cities I have wandered spill over into my work in various cameo roles. I value travel and new experiences as sacred inspiration. As far as whether art could possibly be disconnected from experience, I think it happens when ambition exceeds experience.

myself behind the lens at the age of 14. It was the year we had several foals born onsite, one of which I helped deliver. They had such a wonderful sense of curiosity, and brief bravado‌. They were like very large, playful kittens. It was to be my first experiment with perspective‌. I would lie out, quite conspicuously, in the middle of the pasture and simply wait for them to come. It was a temptation they could not resist. I captured curiosity in the gentle noses that nudged the camera and the wide eyes that peered down from atop spindly legs.

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and

During my teens our family settled on the outskirts of town and accidentally started a farm.

Spending those five years among the animals allowed me a window into their world. I found

44

Autumn 2014

ART Habens

Kate Hall

Tiny Dancer, Watercolor

It's the Sun in Your Eyes, Watercolor

time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article: and I would suggest to our readers to visit your website directly at http://www.artofkatehall.com/photography.h tml in order to get a wider idea of your artistic production. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of these interesting pieces? What was your initial inspiration?

My process varies depending on what I am creating. Although, most start off as a sketch and a cup of coffee. I am most productive in the still of the night. The solitary creature in me appreciates when my family is at rest and I make the most of these hours. Photography is the exception. I prefer to shoot outdoors in a light overcast sky, soaking up the natural light. Regardless of whether I’m working in the 2D or the 3D studio, I usually gather together the basic supplies and let the work guide my selections as it evolves.

My lens is drawn to light: through mist, on surfaces, and in reflections.

Nowhere is this truer than when photographing a locale. It is a beautiful thing to be in the right place at the right time, Yes? I spent many days

Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from photographic works that our

4 23 5

Kate Hall

ART Habens

Movement Illuminated, Watercolor, Awarded 1st Place for painting 2012 Odyssey

of our inner Nature... what's yourpoint about this?

pursuing the right light as it filtered through the mountains on an elusive chase.

I am also intrigued by macro photography as an art form; dedicated to capturing details that are missed in a glance. I like to romance select details while allowing the background to gently fall out of focus. I find repetition of line both arresting and soothing as a part of a muted background.

One of the features that has mostly impacted on me of these works, is the way you have been effectively capable of re-contextualizing the idea of landscape, and in general of the environment we live in... which is far from being just the background of our existence...

Multidisciplinarity is a recurrent feature of your artistic production and I have appreciated the effective synergy that you create between different materials, and as our readers can see at http://www.artofkatehall.com/ceramics.html you also created and extremely stimulating interesting series of Ceramic pieces: while crossing the borders of different techinques

And I'm sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in the environment we live in, so we need -in a way- to decipher them.

Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially

21 46

ART Habens

Kate Hall

Owl of Love, Acrylic, Crystal, Foil Pigments

Autumn 2014

21 4 7

Kate Hall

ART Habens

Swirl, Airbrush, Acrylic, Fiber, Gold, Silver & Copper Metal

have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

my work, I find that the skills developed under each discipline strengthen the overall depth and quality of my works as a whole. Learning about photography, helped me be more mindful of the lighting and mood in my painting (I suspect this influenced the flooding effect of my paintings

On the subject of the multi-disciplinary nature of 22 48

Winter 2014

ART Habens

Kate Hall

The Harpies, Acrylic, Foil Pigments, Crystal

4 23 9

Kate Hall

ART Habens

you referenced). My work with ceramics requires more attention to forms and sculptural details. My background in painting assists me in creating visual interest during the glazing process. In response to your question: “While crossing the borders of different techinques have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?� I would definitely agree that sometimes it is the only way.

Now let's deal with the tones of your Paintings: I have been struck with the way you have been capable of merging delicate and thoughtful colors with nuances of green and red which turns from a delicate tone to an intense, almost flooding one, which turns to saturate the canvas... moreover, I noticed that although marked with a clear abstract feeling, most of your paintings have a reference to real world... I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

Take Status Update- the image of a woman sitting in a window seat. She has returned from an event and now has the perfect Status Update.

I created it in reference to social media. Her attire and the room furnishings were classic. Many were bothered by my inclusion of a laptop in what they assumed was a period piece. It soon came to be the most talked about and thus the highest selling piece in my collection at the time.

During these years your artworks have been exhibited in several occasions and I think it's important to remark that you have been recenly awarded at the LSSC's The 2014 Odyssey Competition... It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or just the expectation of positive feedback- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

At the very least, the feedback of others, whether through direct dialog or by the acceptance of awards, definitely serves as a barometer, or evena Anchors Away, Acrylic, Foil Pigments, Crystal

21 10 4

Schnebly Hill Rd Shower

Schnebly Hill Rd Shower

ART Habens

Kate Hall

4 23 9

Kate Hall

21 10 4

ART Habens

Sylvia & Bernadette on Tour

ART Habens

Kate Hall

Ceramic Serving Vessels & Agateware Bowl

Autumn 2014

21 13 4

Kate Hall

ART Habens

tuning fork. It lets me know when I’ve struck a chord. You see, when I paint, the work is all about capturing the thing that inspired me. When my work is on display however, it is all about the viewer. I’ve come to learn that each client sees their own story.

When they connect with a work, they see meaning, intent, joy, harmony… etc. They find what they seek out. These stories add texture and, at times, value to my work.

Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Kate. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you?

Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

Future plans… several things are in the works.

First things first, my works are debuting in a new gallery. Then it’s a family vacation. We’re taking the girls to see the Grand Canyon, lots of nature, hiking, horseback riding, a workshop or two, and definitely lots of photography.

I would like to attempt some aerial and possibly some night photography. In the fall, I anticipate expanding my ceramic studio to allow for the firing of larger pieces. October kicks off our locally busy season and the Folk Festival. My favorite event Off the Beaten Path the annual Florida Arts Tour is the 1st weekend in December. This tour offers an inside look at artists, their works and their studios.

Relocation! Our entire family/ studio/ school has all changed in the blink of an eye. Both my 2D and 3D studio have made the relocation. I am excited to complete the expansion of my ceramic studio in a new space & new local. The larger space will allow me to expand the sizes of my ceramic sculptures, continue to offer utilitarian pieces for everyday enjoyment, and serve as a destination for art tours as well as an instructional backdrop.

22 14 4

Autumn 2014