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Feb 09
Volume 01 Issue 11
A New Year For All Intents And Purpos es!
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Feb 09
Volume 01 Issue 11
A New Year For All Intents And Purpos es!
Candy ‘09
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Candy ‘09
CandyCollective and Candy magazine were set up to showcase what we felt was exceptional creativity, here in our homeland of Ireland and around the world. We stand behind the artists herein. All content belongs solely to, and is copyrighted by, the various artists. We published their work with their permission.
contact them directly from the links provided. None of the artwork may be used or reprinted without permission from the artist in question. Please direct all queries or requests to either the artist directly or through CandyCollective by way of representation. © 2009 CandyCollective
We hope you like what you see and that you may commission the artists profiled for future work. Please
Who We Are!
Candy Magazine Aidan Kelly Editor / Tea www.aidan-kelly.com Cameron Ross, NEWMEDIA Editor / Web www.newmedia.ie Makeitwork Design / Vision www.makeitworkdesign.com
Siobhan Kane Contributor Alice McGillicuddy Contributor
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What’s inside? Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33-37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43-44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45-55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57-61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67-74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79-84 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85-86 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Whats Inside
Feature Who we are! Whats Inside Philip Toledano Chris Doyle Jen Stark Alex Trochut Kim Holtermand Chris Ro Makeitwork Where would I be without you? Maser is Dead! Mos Def Hvass & Hanibal Matt W. Moore Alex Gross Samantha Za Za - Coup Kiersten Essenpreis - You Fail Index of Featured Works
Candy Magazine
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Section
Philip Toledano
Candy Magazine
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Philip Toledano
Philip Toledano
Intro
Candy Magazine Philip Toledanos work on ‘Days with My father’ is a remarkable personal journey between a son and his father, to come to terms with so much of what fathers and sons try to understand about each other. Often difficult, often loving and memorable, Toledano has created probably the most striking work, based on that simple relationship, I have ever seen. These are a set of photographs that will be referred to as a landmark, in the same way
that we think about Nan Goldin, Robert Capa, William Eggleston or Bresson’s incredible contribution to photography as an art form. His project is heart-wrenching, made more poignant as I truly miss my own father and the days we let slip by because of feelings. Philip Toledano has done a wonderful thing, he has remembered to remember. Go to www.mrtoledano.com
Philip Toledano
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Q&A 01
Question One
Answer One
When you see your Dad in this way are you trying to remember every last detail? Does photography help you with this?
I suppose I am trying to remember things. I think that might have been the point of the project, although I was never very clear when I started it - it was more of a reflex, than a planned idea in terms of film. I suppose that for some reason, photos feel more intimate.
Why not moving film?
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two
Answer Two
It may seem a simple question but has your Dad seen all this work? How does he feel about your project?
He hates the photos...I think in part because he doesn’t like how he looks - every time I show them to him, he say’s they’re terrible!
And about himself at this point in his life?
How does he feel about himself? Well, I think that comes across on the site...most of the time, he’s lonely and confused. He feels as though he should be busy, doing something; but then he never has the urge to actually do anything.
Philip Toledano
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Q&A 03
QuestionThree
Answer Three
Are you trying to gain a better understanding of your relationship or time with your Dad? Is this the reasoning for the work?
I don’t really know. As I mentioned earlier, I’m just taking photos and seeing what happens...I suppose I am trying to remember this time we have together, mostly because I have such a terrible feeling that it’ll all vanish otherwise.
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four
Answer Four
Would you consider yourself a photographer or an artist first?
I’m not sure if there needs to be a difference between the two...it would be like asking if I was a painter or an artist...I suppose that artist comes first and photography happens to be the medium I’m expressing myself in at the moment (along with words!)
Philip Toledano
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Q&A 05
Question Five
www.americathegiftshop.com
You do have other projects that are completely different. What about new work coming up you can write about?
The other project is a new book called ‘PHONESEX’. It’s portraits of phone sex operators accompanied by text they’ve written.
Answer Five Oh yes! I had an installation show that opened a few weeks ago - it’s called ‘AMERICA THE GIFT SHOP’. The premise was that if American foreign policy had a gift shop, what would it sell? You can see all that stuff on
www.phonesexthebook.com - it’s coming out in a few weeks time. And then I’m working on a couple of new projects, which are of course, top secret.
Candy Magazine
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Section
Chris Doyle
Candy Magazine
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Chris Doyle
Chris Doyle
Intro
Candy Magazine Beautifully arranged compositions harbour serious and lonely undertones. Curious subject matter like cast-aside disheveled bed sheets, porches, bathed in slow sunsets, of those big houses you notice only fleetingly whilst driving by, evoke the tales of a continent. There is no soundtrack. It’s silent most of the time. There is loss and bright colours. Behind doors there’s loud music, shouting, throwing, bellows. His work certainly stirs an emotional response.
Welcome to the world of American born artist Chris Doyle. Chris resides in Brooklyn, New York, studied in Harvard and has exhibited extensively all over. His work is striking and powerful; both surreal and familiar. Watercolours aren’t supposed to be this contemporary, this beautiful. They wash over like waves, fresh and charged. Go to www.chrisdoylestudio.com
Chris Doyle
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Q&A 01
Question One When did you start painting and has the journey been worth the trip? What have you learned about yourself? Answer One I have been painting since I was a little boy. It seems like the thing that I always come back to, however long I’ve been away. All of the other work that I make has an impact on what I paint and making paintings changes the way I see the world.
As I make more projects in the public realm, I have found that if I don’t return to the solitude of painting, I am out of balance. I have made video and digital projects in collaboration with a lot of people but when I paint, I’m pretty much alone. Among the things that I have learned about myself, I suppose one of the big ones is that I need both in my life, that I tend to swing like a pendulum between working alone and working in groups.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two Do you see all the situations you encounter, the important scenes that stop you - do you see them through your painters eyes? Answer Two I guess I choose to paint things that I see as eloquent, moments that when isolated in time, have an expressive power.
But to answer your question, I would say that I guess I do see the world in a particular way. Sometimes I see things that I feel a real affinity for and paint them, but occasionally I think of painting as a chance to revise the world. I see something that troubles me and then I paint it the way I would like it to be.
Chris Doyle
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Q&A 03
Question Three Can you tell us about the Untitled House series? What was the inspiration behind it and why do you afford the houses so much space in each piece? Answer Three So much of my work, whatever the scale, begins with the notion of “animus”, the idea of bringing the inanimate to life, or imbuing things and places with soul. I grew up moving around from house to house, year after year, in places that were not always very charming.
I was always the new kid in school and as a result, I spent a good deal of the time contending with isolation and watching from the edge of things. The Untitled House series is a lifelong project where architecture is a surrogate. The houses are a kind of portrait. More than anything, the space around them is my way of recreating a sense of vulnerability. I started the project from memory as a way of thinking about those feelings of isolation and outsiderness but soon moved beyond that. The challenge has always been to take those funny, sad, or banal little houses and find humanity in them.
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four When did you decide to turn these into animations? Will you possibly ever work on a feature film? Answer Four Animation seemed a logical way to breathe life into the images I was making. In fact, the first ones I made were not based on the drawings but were more sculptural. Some years ago, I had a residency for a few weeks at the McDowell Colony in New Hampshire with a fantastic studio, perfect for making sculpture. Inspired by the space, I put aside the watercolors and I
decided to have a ton of bricks delivered from a local yard. I set up a camera and started moving the bricks around. I ended up making thousands and thousands of frames, and editing them into a series of stop-action animations. I guess I have always thought of the animations as time-based sculpture, even when they come from draw-ings. They loop and they don’t really have a beginning or end. They rarely have a narrative arc, because I am not thinking so much about telling a story in the way you do when you make a film. I usually think of them more as a state of mind than as a story.
Chris Doyle
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Q&A 05
Question Five In the series “Do you like plain pleasures?” is this about the normal everyday occurrences being very important and do you think we miss them and not care? Answer Five Well, I don’t know about everybody else but I’m always a little afraid that I’ll miss them. One of the big reasons that I choose to paint something is to spend time with it, so that I can get to know a subject in a closer, deeper, and more attentive way. I labor over it and that becomes a
very sensual and loving act. I get pretty involved in making work and sometimes feel like I am not paying enough attention to everyday things. Plain Pleasures was about my family. In a way, it was about making sure that I am looking closely at our lives. After they were finished, I realized that those paintings make the case that life and art making are not so separate for me. The visual experience of everyday life gets mixed up with all the paintings, drawings, and other stuff that I have looked at and it all ends up being part of the same soup of seeing.
Candy Magazine
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Jen Stark
Candy Magazine
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Jen Stark
Jen Stark
Intro
Candy Magazine Jen Stark’s animations have a childlike retro feel to them: a ‘do it yourself art on TV’ surrealism that brings a smile to a jaded face, thinking of all those endless hours of work spent on something so simple and yet so startling. But we’re not even going to begin to examine her animated work. No, we’re just here for the drawings. That’s all we want. Give us those doodles any day.
Her work resembles Coral maps, underwater cities, Japanese noodles, technicolour hair or even the emotions of a human heart. Her simple tools of the trade are brandished like endless quantities of wool or thread, woven in and out of space. Her eyes closed, a ballet dancer or a gymnast twirling her ribbons. Where does it start, where does it end? Go to www.jenstark.com
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Jen Stark
Q&A 01
Candy Magazine Question One We picture you in the corner of a playroom, with these drawings growing up the walls like ivy in a garden. Sound familiar? Did you have an interesting childhood? Answer One My childhood was good...I grew up in Miami and was always playing
outside, swimming in the pool, getting dirty, climbing trees and that sort of stuff. We always had a lot of animals as pets, like rabbits, birds, turtles, dogs, cats, hamsters, and fish. Our backyard was filled with plants, so that probably influenced me a bit too.
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Jen Stark
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two At what stage do you know the name of the work? Where does the idea come from? Answer Two For most of the drawings, I come up with the titles at the end. This is because I start each drawing without any sketches or an idea of what it will look like. It is very spontaneous.
I just begin making marks and eventually the drawing progresses and I can come up with a title. The ideas come from things I’m thinking about and how the drawing feels or looks.
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Jen Stark
Q&A 03
Candy Magazine Question Three Have you been getting to do interesting work as a result of your creations? Any favorites you can talk about? Answer Three Yes, I’ve been in a bunch of group shows, and am going to have a solo show in NYC in June 2009 at Lmak Projects.
That’s going to be exciting because I’ll have a nice chunk of time to work on that show. Usually my favorite pieces are the new ones I’m working on. Whatever I’m working on at the moment is my favorite.... they keep changing!
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Jen Stark
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four
Answer Four
Do you draw special inspiration from anything in particular to create your work?
Not really. I just draw images inside my head. I’m inspired by outer space and organic shapes especially.
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Jen Stark
Q&A 05
Candy Magazine Question Five Can you talk about your other work, say for instance your animations with cut paper? When did you start on those and how did the idea come about? Answer Five I’ve always been interested in animation, especially stop motion.
So one day (about 2002) I just began experimenting with the cuts and liked what turned out. I’ve been playing around with it ever since. I’m also interested in the idea of evolution and how you can have one shape that slowly changes over time (frame to frame) to become a completely different shape.
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Alex Trochut
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Candy Magazine
Alex Trochut Explo sion
Explosion. Explosion again, and again. It’s fairly loud to be honest, (image to left) like someone dragging us downstairs to a basement club that we asked not to go to. But on being forced to listen, we are gradually coming around to the sound. Actually, we really like it. In fact we can’t now see ourselves living without this sound, since someone has tricked us into thinking it is a sound. I’m confused. I now see a giant Z, like an animal curled up to
snooze. A major, meat-eating animal of a letter, proud sleek and curved. It’s no surprise then, that when you mention Alex Trouchet’s name, people respond, “Is that the guy…?” Yeah, it’s THAT guy. Not that he seems to be phased by this typical response, or even aware of how other type animals regard him or his work. What more can be said? You won’t forget having seen his work; it’s not easy to get out of your head. Go to www.alextrochut.com
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Alex Trochut
Candy Magazine
Alex Trochut Q&A 01
Question One You make reference to “More is more” in your short biog. Was there a progression from simpler tastes in type to explosions in your work? When did this happen and was there a catalyst? Answer One Hmmm, it’s hard to say when, but I guess my professional experience drove me through the steps that ended in this way of looking at type: 1rst, I started working with type in a very Swiss style at a studio in Barcelona and I also worked as an assistant for Alexander Branczyk and Moniteurs in Berlin. With Alex, I helped him to do 2 weights of a typeface he was developing; this allowed me to understand how close
you have to look at things when you’re working with type, being very systematic and consistent from letter to letter. Looking for the same mood in every letter. 2nd, after that I spent 2 years at Vasava, where the focus on illustration and exploring new techniques was the every day routine. 3rd, I started freelancing and having more freedom, to face the projects the way I wanted. In many cases I focus on type and illustration, which was the main legacy I kept from my previous experiences, and combine them. Right now many briefs ask for that, type and illustration. I’m trying to evolve and keep learning to communicate two messages in one text image, through the meaning and forms.
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Alex Trochut
Candy Magazine
Alex Trochut Q&A 02
Question Two In your process is there a sketch made first followed by digitization? What else helps with the work - like do you stick closely to the brief or are you allowed the freedom to shape the direction? Answer Two I usually do a quick sketch to define the artwork in a very rough way, then the computer is the tool I use in
80% of the process. Usually I try to present to the client something that is close to what he’s going to see at the end, so he won’t have to imagine so much how is it going to look. There are all kinds of clients, ones that are more trusting and others that are not. The important thing for me is feeling that the final result has been good. If the client doesn’t like, I keep that from myself. Sometimes it is not easy to find the right client for some things.
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Alex Trochut
Candy Magazine
Alex Trochut Q&A 03
Question Three You think your style attracts a certain client? Were you happy that some work, like say for Faber & Faber or The Rolling Stones came about, with all their histories? Answer Three Yes, definitely. I think your portfolio is like a restaurant menu, the clients will choose from what you have in your book. That’s why it’s important to me to keep evolving from personal projects, because many times clients reference your own past work as a starting step.
Sure, working for the clients and the big names you’ve grown up with is an honor and something exiting. It has always been a great acceptance socially, having in mind that the product you’re presenting through your work is something people LOVE so much already. For example, in the case of The Rolling Stones, I feel so lucky to have been able to put a face to their best songs in the Rolled Gold Plus compilation. But anyways, the relevance of the work is not important. At the end there’s no difference in the client. The only thing that matters is to do everything you do in the best way you can and that you enjoy doing it.
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Alex Trochut
Alex Trochut
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four
Answer Four
Who do you admire and have they influenced your own work directly?
Sure, so many, many masters from the past like Herb Lubalin, Milton Glasser, Rick Griffin and many others from the present. And between all that, the nature and anonymous stuff I find in old vinyl records, old lettering signs, graffiti, etc.
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Alex Trochut
Candy Magazine
Alex Trochut Q&A 05
Question_Five Your work resembles film credits - is this something you might work on in the future? What other projects have you got going on, and how do you feel about Sculpture? Answer_Five Sure, motion design is something that attracts me so much and since I’m sharing space with my friends Dvein, I can see many amazing possibilities everyday. For me
it’s hard to jump from a frame to motion in a way that the technical limits don’t affect the artwork, but everyday I can see more possibilities and see that step closer... Sculpture is something I didn’t think about before, but somehow, all graphic designers are quite near to that discipline. If the multi-touch screens that operate with the 10 fingers get installed as a regular design tool... I can’t wait to have one of those :)
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Kim Holterm and
Candy Magazine
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Kim Holterm and
Kim Holtermand
Intro
Candy Magazine Holtermand is characteristically Scandinavian - Danish even. You’d think stereotypical clean, simple lines with harsh blocks of colour and an un-healthy reverence for futuristic architecture and abodes would gracefully give way over the years to more random, non conformist flourishes, explosions of curves and colour even. No chance.
essential. Less about emotion and thick with function. Sometimes devoid of warmth, the work is composed of strength and exact precision. This is tomorrow’s world - a sci-fi landing area that is the shape of a world already here. Go to www.holtermand.dk
There’s a slight melancholy to Kim Hotelman’s work. It is bare and
Kim Holtermand
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Q&A 01
Question One
Answer One
When did you start taking photographs and have your ideas on the world changed to get to this body of work since the start?
I started taking photographs about 3 years ago. I have come a long way from then when I was taking “vacation” photos and up till now where I have my own style that is within most of my work.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two
Answer Two
There doesn’t seem to be many people in your world - is this an effort to not date the pictures with individuals and their fashions?
The main reason why most of my photos are empty of people is that I try to capture the essence of the motif in my pictures. I like the loneliness and desolate mood that haunts most of my work – and it works best without people.
Kim Holtermand
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Q&A 03
Question Three
Answer Three
Would you agree that there is a sense of loss, of loneliness, in your work? Could you explain if you think this is true or not?
Indeed that is true. Loneliness is a theme that has haunted me for years – and is obvious in my work. That feeling of being completely lonely is one of the strongest feelings a person can feel.
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four
Answer Four
Do you work in the architectural photography field professionally?
No. I mainly work with architecture photography in my spare time. I am however on the verve of being something big in the field of architecture photography and who knows what the future may bring.
Kim Holtermand
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Q&A 05
Question Five
Answer Five
Will you be working on anything different that you can talk about?
My style evolves from day to day. But one can be sure that I will create even more amazing imagery in the future.
Candy Magazine
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Chris Ro
Candy Magazine
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Chris Ro
Chris Ro
Intro
Candy Magazine Chris Ro is a graphic designer. He finds much delight in all that is classified as extremely complex yet ultimately, very simple. He enjoys the occasional blend of two and three dimensions. Currently on a quest, you may find Chris loving fine typography, tinkering with some experimental photography or consuming a west coast burrito. Chris holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Prior to his graduate studies, Chris held posts with a healthy handful of international design studios including ATTIK in San Francisco, New York and Leeds,
Fork Unstable Media in Hamburg and Berlin and Fluid in San Francisco. He holds an Undergraduate Degree in Architecture from UC Berkeley and is also a member of the AIGA. In his spare time, he contributes to the graphic design journal, GraphicHug™. ADearFriend™ is both Chris’s studio and portfolio. Currently located in New York, both ADearFriend™ and Chris are accepting inquiries and opportunities for future work and collaborations. As Eddie might say, “we do all this for grandma”. Go to www.adearfriend.com
Chris Ro
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Q&A 01
Question One Can we ask about the possibility of an Asian influence in your work? There’s a great deal of simplicity. You don’t seem to like too much fuss - would this be correct in all your work?
For the longest time, I have been mesmerized by complexity. Love the unknown. Love the ability to disappear in complexity. But recently, I have been engaged in a curiosity for simplicity. And I have wondered if it is possible, to similarly create these feelings through simplicity. Mystery. Atmosphere.
Answer One Well, it is interesting you note this. It is a constant battle I am dealing with. I do not think I intentionally pursued any Asian influence in my work. But your perception of a pursuit of simplicity is rather spot on.
So recently, I have been exploring what happens when you apply some levels of restraint to all this complexity which I usually thrive and enjoy living in.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two
Answer Two
Do you like creating your own typefaces? Do you need them and do you see your own creations as integral to ‘your’ work?
Well, this is a recent hobby of mine. I do love exploring type and different ways to produce type. I do not see them as integral to my work, but if given the opportunity or choice, I would greatly enjoy the chance to create a new typeface or produce a new typographic exploration for a project!
Chris Ro
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Q&A 03
Question Three Who would you consider as a peer or maybe as an inspiration and why?
In terms of peers who are inspiration, there are way too many to list here. But it seems that I feel very lucky to have the peer network that I have at the moment.
Answer Three Wow, there are probably too many to list here. I really look up to the work of Kenya Hara, a Japanese designer who I believe is really nailing this notion of simple but complex. I also feel that Peter Saville, is doing the same through much of his work. I also admire greatly, the work of Armin Hofmann.
Sometimes, I think, at the end of the day, I may need some recharge of sorts. And it is really pretty amazing to even have a simple conversation which is capable of doing such things.Â
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four Could you imagine not being able to use a computer in your work? What would you do? Answer Four I can imagine this. And sometimes I long for this. I think if this were the case, I would very much enjoy, perhaps being a furniture designer, sculptor, or perhaps, and this may sound strange, a shoe designer?
Not that they do not employ the use of the computer. But I really feel, that sometimes in graphic design, what is lacking is the ability to carve away, sculpt, mold things using your hands and only the sensitivity that the connection between your hands and your thoughts truly possesses.
Chris Ro
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Q&A 05
Question Five
Answer Five
Anything new you’ve seen that you think we would like to see, maybe someone else’s work that caught your eye, or something new from yourself, an exclusive?
Good question. Once again, probably too much to list here. Recently have been inspired by the photography work of Kim Høltermand. Pretty amazing work. Really enjoy the work of artist Kimi Sakaki too.
Candy Magazine
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make it work
Candy Magazine
39 Page 38
make it work
makeitwork
Intro
Candy Magazine Both Keith Nally and Jamie Delaney are well known in the city for their simple and yet clever work. They are growing in reputation with work for Edelman, The Science Museum, The Hugh Lane Gallery, IMMA, Sansa, BrandIgnite and collaborations with other creatives such as The Brennan Bros (UK), Andreas Pettersson, Richard Gilligan, Jeanie O’ Brien, Carly Sings and Black Cherry (UK). There is a clean and classical thought process behind the work, but in the same breath the work they do is timely and strong on message. There is a functionality and framework
in place for each set of work and in turn this helps the client realise their service or product in a new yet straightforward way. They profess that their own work is based around the idea that there is nothing more important than the message and the story behind the message. Because they work best at getting to the core of a set idea, they are unselfish. You recall the work because of its simplicity and its modesty. Go to www.makeitworkdesign.com
makeitwork
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Q&A 01
Question One How long did you work as individuals and how did you meet? What backgrounds do both of you come from? Answer One J: Keith has always worked freelance and I’ve worked for 10 years at various design houses between doing an MA in Typography at LCP formally LCC (University of the Arts London). We met through Richard Gilligan and realised we both knew a lot of
the same heads both here and in London. We both come from similar backgrounds having both DJ’d around the city and abroad since the early days of clubbing. I guess the difference is, Keith’s background is more music (he sourced the music for those Bulmer’s ads!), art direction, fashion & styling orientated whilst mine has been heavily influenced by the International Typographic Style. My minimal typography has seen me design and art direct for an extremely diverse range of clients from Cultural to Music. That’s the way I like to work. I get bored when doing just one format.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two What elements seemed to fit for both parties in your collaborative work? Answer Two K: I guess we were both doing extremely typographic work and a lot of art direction projects and it was this common ground and the marriage between these elements that led us to working together on our first project, branding of the fashion label DSO.
We’ve just continued on from there really, working on what we want to work on, trying to find the right balance of commercial and more creative work. We both continue to work on separate smaller projects but ultimately we’re just trying to build a co-op of different headz who can bring their talent to bear on whatever project we have going on.
makeitwork
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Q&A 03
Question Three What would be your ideal work or client? Answer Four K: I think we’re happy constantly challenging ourselves, which means pushing towards more international projects Music and Fashion is still where it’s at for us but at the moment we find the cultural work we are doing as rewarding
We’re currently moving towards more art direction projects and ultimately I can see that’s where we’ll be at in a few years time. Our ideal client? We discussed this in the early days and I don’t think it’s changed - rebranding the Garda Siochána (The Irish Police Force)...
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four How do you guys feel about the standard of Irish design compared to the rest of Europe or even America? Answer Four K: I think the standard is extremely high. Studio Aad, Conor & David, UnThink and Swollen are all pushing the boat out and creating work that’s as good if not better than a lot of studios around Europe.
A lot of the other studios in Dublin could be more courageous, too many of them have become bloated and uninspired and ultimately we need a lot more studios/indivduals doing work that will inspire the next generation.
makeitwork
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Q&A 05
Question Five Apart from our new issue, what are you working on now and in the future that we might like to see? Answer Five J: We’ve just completed working on the installation of the Science Gallery Lightwave Festival and Keith just did the first ever illustrative shoot to appear in IMAGE magazine. We’ve a big cultural project in the pipeline just around the corner as well as
curating an installation piece in IMMA, we’re also working with the Brennan Brothers (UK) on Arvenne's new music video here in Dublin. Couple of other projects that are still under wraps but watch this space. K: Individually, Jamie’s working with Black Cherry on their new album and making moves with his Clampdown project in London and I’m working with Carly Sings art directing her photo shoots in Paris.
Candy Magazine
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Where would I be without you?
Candy Magazine
Where would I be without you?
where would I be without you?
What days go past without incident without surprise? Incidents, In a giant city with small ideas, cracked actors heavy with past mistakes and stories of pure nonsense and deceit. The layers of myth piled high sit uncomfortably aside genius and caring, lovers and fighters for what can be termed right. What is proper and just. When one side is fighting no, another must fight yes and a balance is struck. With a certain calm and assurance, existence in a bustling city can pass without your identity being exposed. You can be anonymous, slip around and drift into either lights or shadows and get to a destination without giving away your intentions. Claustrophobia too can cover you and the bustling herd can sometimes hurt and knock you down. All the while being wary helps navigation, whatever the situation and getting through a tight crushed landscape unscarred, is the main objective. This particular day was an inordinately busy day. Too many emails and texts, too many people asking for help, guidance and direction. Fixing is the occupation. Putting people in touch with people, helping situations they don’t want go and solving problems that need solving. You do what you can to help, to get by in the world and remain friends with everyone and not make enemies too easily. This Monday, on the pavement, stopped and distracted, a flash of pain went through my chest and sent me down onto my knees finding it really difficult to breath. I lost sight and sense of everything, my hand on the concrete turned freezing and it hit me that this could be it. This could be the last gasp and all those apologies never given. Traffic kept going, people kept walking on and thinking nothing of my situation. I began to regret not
knowing anyone in this town. Dreadful loneliness came by and took hold. This definitely could be it and not only that and I could be making my way completely alone in a built up exit stage left. Mumbling sounds and at last some people are stopped, albeit on the other side of the street. It began to rain lightly and it had a cooling effect on me. It’s a small mercy in the process of my falling, my death. My eyes closed and opend more slowly and my two hands are now on the pavement trying to stabilize what’s left of me. It’s grey, black, I saw breath emerge from my lungs into the air and gone maybe my last few. Finished, spent, over, done and done. I began to remember the good times, good things that had happened over the years. Friendships, the laughter and crying from laughter. For an unknown reason, almost like a jigsaw, thoughts fell into place one by one and they made me smile. The events recounted, it all added up and just as I had resigned myself to the fact that this was almost a full stop, something happened. Managing to get onto my backside I began to get some air back. A few more minutes and the fog lifted and a small crowd gathered around talking to each other in a surreal way, Like I was and wasn’t there. Beside the main group I noticed her, to the left and on the right side of the pavement. Clearly a woman, in woman’s shoes, black and standing firm she called. “Are you ok?” She was softly spoken, gentle and memorable. I couldn’t place the voice but I knew it, from somewhere far away. I tried to think it through,“Where is that voice from?”
Where would I be without you?
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Of course I knew the voice. It was her voice. The striking pains in the chest began to slide away and breathing became easier, I heard a man in the distance say to another woman, “it’s okay, he seems to be getting better. There was nothing to worry about…c’mon lets go, this is crap” What the fuck did he know, or even care up until five minutes back? I was face to face with an ending. Typical, those individuals not seeing disaster, ignoring it all until they directly feel the hurt and harm of a situation. She was still there standing and waiting, for an answer. I couldn’t speak unless I got off the ground, off my knees and up straight with some semblance of normality. I have been known as a proud and stubborn individual. Head up, I saw her hair and eyes, her cheekbones and lips all the same, all in perfect order. Her tone was also the same. I had heard she had come into money. A relative of hers had discovered her online and made contact saying she had some good news. Money had been left to her by an old friend, someone from the other side of the world who had liked her once.
“That’s not true.” “Yes it is.” I felt really run down and out. I had a dull, sharp pain in my whole body, not just the chest. I was fed up, tired, slightly sad and alone again, which didn’t seem so bad. I was ready to give in, walk away from it all Thankfully, she got lost in the crowd and I helped the situation by ducking in and out of the drizzle and brightness, into the blackness. When I could, I stayed off the beaten paths, hidden somewhat. The temperature dropped rapidly and as if by the turn of a tap, the rain came down more heavily. I found a place to hide off the street in a porch, like a small alley way. I could see my breath against the doorway painted black, silence. I rummaged through my pockets to see if I had anything that would help. Only keys, a phone with no signal and a half bar of chocolate, which I rushed into - some energy, sugar. Like noticing a car alarm ten minutes after it started, I noticed a hum, like a machine in the distance. Like a constant nothing, but a powerful something, it annoyed but didn’t irritate.
“Worried about what? Me?”
I turned around to see the crowd on the street and there was no one, not a single soul in sight. Empty and grey, only paper and discarded litter scraped the streets. The rain grew louder and handed over to the end of the place. Not a soul, nothing, finished forever. The sound was constant and electric. I walked backwards for a time towards my street and felt nothing. More silence. The scariness of it all began to dawn on me.
“Yes!”
We were finished; we would need to start over.
“What do you want?” “That’s very nice of you! I saw you struggling on the street and I was naturally concerned for your safety. I was a little worried.”
“Get lost. You care about one thing, only yourself.”
Candy Magazine
the end!
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Candy Magazine
www.aidan-kelly.com
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
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Maser is dead!
Candy Magazine
Mos Def
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Queuing outside The Blue Note, New York City for two hours in sub zero conditions might not be everyone’s idea of a good time, but in order to see Mos ‘Dante Terrell Smith’ Def, there was no other way. Once the three night January residency was announced, table tickets were bought up, and the only other option was to queue for bar tickets, but as with many things that require patience and a certain amount of care, Mos Def was worth the wait. The whole idea behind the residency (produced by Jill Newman, who has a long-standing relationship with The Blue Note) was to preview material from Def’s forthcoming album ‘The Ecstatic’ (which gets its U.S. release in late February), and the whole evening was about Def redefining not only his relationship to music, but to the audience as well. The general sense of the show was one of a loose artistry, the kind that ebbs and flows, with no need for fireworks, only to find that on reflection, you have experienced something of a catherine wheel. Mos Def illustrated (more than any other live performance of his that I have witnessed) why he remains such a central and intriguing proposition in not only hip-hop, (perhaps his anchor) but more generally, modern music. His band contributed greatly to the infec-
tious sense of looseness, humour and creativity; pianist Robert Glasper, bassist Derrick Hodge, drummer Chris Dave and on horns, Casey Benjamin - who all not only accompanied Def, but through the process became a living embodiment of what real collaboration is all about; and what better environment to do it in than in The Blue Note, which over the years has been privy to performances from the Oscar Peterson Trio and the Mingus Big Band - and its roots as a well-regarded jazz club were not lost on Def, whose entire performance filtered the spirit of many jazz greats, and perhaps more than their sound; their soul. Though the material from his new record does sound very jazz-influenced; the result of complex arrangements which provide an interesting landscape for his diverse vocal style which can go from swaggering MC’ing to the kind of melting harmonies that could make doves cry, evident on two standout tracks ‘Life in Marvellous Times’ and ‘Quiet Dogs’ which take in stuttering synthesizers and Afro-Cuban beats along the way. Over the past few years, Def has taken some interesting creative detours into other less-obvious territory, from his roles in theatre - the brilliant Suzan Lori-Parks play Topdog/Underdog to working with Michel Gondry on the
film Be Kind Rewind (and most recently as Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records) but his performance at The Blue Note served to remind that music is where his heart beats quickest, and is where he will continue to connect the dots between both leftfield and prevailing musical culture. This is also evident in who he has worked with on this record, from the maverick talent of Madlib to the whirling dervish that is Kanye - and it is clear that Def has empathy with both; attesting to the slightly schizophrenic nature of his own talent. This adds to his process of trying to find some kind of creative truth through experimentation, which is how the performance at The Blue Note ended - through a unifying of all aspects of Def’s personality; a jazz-infused version of ‘Umi Says’, a raw retelling of the ‘Ms. Fat Booty’ saga through to some spoken word and a sincere, poignant restating of the Elizabeth Alexander poem, written for Barack Obama’s inauguration, with the last stanza providing pause for stillness, and a triumph of understanding ‘In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,/ anything can be made, any sentence begun./ On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,/ praise song for walking forward in that light.’ Siobhán Kane
Candy Magazine
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Section
Hvass & Hanibal
Candy Magazine
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Hvass & Haniball
Hvass & Hanibal
Intro
Candy Magazine The graphic world of Sofie Hannibal and Nan Na Hvass is beautifully organized and arranged.
Varoom, they constantly work on art direction, design, album covers, illustration and even silk screening.
They constantly work in different mediums, never tied down to one. They’re always looking for a concept to take shape and bloom in a way that’s exciting, different.
Their work is very striking, playful and multi-coloured to say the least and they take great pleasure in clashing blocks and shapes of reds and blues, pinks and greens, full and pastel side by side in an explosion of expression.
Based in Copenhagen and established in 2006, they are a young but vibrant outfit. Friends for life, they work in tandem on all manner of projects - for Vice magazine, Ladyfest, Sony BMG, Computer Arts Magazine. Featured regularly in the likes of IdN, Creative Review and
We think sometimes that where you come from can influence the work you do (in this case Scandinavia), but we feel that no matter their roots, their work would still be exciting. Go to www.hvasshannibal.dk
Hvass & Hanibal
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Q&A 01
Question One We hope we’re right, but there seems to be a ‘best friend’ collaboration thing going on. How long have you known each other and which came first, ‘Friends’ or ‘Work’? Answer One Nan Na: THERE IS. Friends came before work and made work possible.
Sofie: We met in high school, when I started at Nan Na’s school and didn’t have any friends. One day I saw Nan Na drawing in school, and I immediately asked her if she wanted to join me in a design course I went to. She said yes and that was the beginning of a beautiful and sometimes ugly friendship. But actually we’re very much alike, so it’s mostly beautiful, it only gets ugly if we’re going to the same store and want to buy the same outfit.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two
Answer Two
It seems quite craft or organic based with a hands on feeling, is it always this way and what sparks off your ideas, inspirations. What materials or processes do you favour?
We often work digitally, and use a lot of Photoshop, with Wacom tablets, that’s our favorite tool. We love silk-screening and doing home improvements in our office too.
Hvass & Hanibal
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Q&A 03
Question Three You don’t centre on one aspect of creativity. Has this led to too much work sometimes or does overlapping many projects help keep the creative aspect alive? Answer Three It’s fun to do different types of work, instead of specializing in just one field - also to keep challenging our selves. We recently started to make a living out of this. Up until now we’ve been full time
students, so at the moment we’re trying to get organized and make schedules, because when we’re too hung up (which happens a lot), we start getting confused and forget to answer emails and do other practical stuff. We are bad at saying no to projects that sound fun. That’s because we are hard workers too. Someday it would be nice to have a project coordinator or an executive producer. Maybe a cleaning guy too.
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four
Answer Four
Would music play a very important part in the inspiration behind your work - and not just the music on the stereo?
Not directly, no. We would more say that working for musicians and bands has given us a lot of new job opportunities. And visibility, as if (an extremely small) part of the glory of being a rock star rubs off on us.
Hvass & Hanibal
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Q&A 05
Question Five
Answer Five
Is this how you see the world, organizing spaces, creating emblems or maybe how you would like to see the world becoming?
We are confused... What do you mean by “is your Danish way of seeing, better”?
Is your Danish way of seeing, better?
Candy Magazine
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Matt W. Moore
Candy Magazine
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Matt W. Moore
Matt W. Moore
Intro
Candy Magazine Matt W. Moore is gaining lots of press lately and we reckon that the list of exhibitions and clients he hasn’t worked for, or with, would be a far easier list to complete than those he has. Some of us are familiar with his work for The KDU and Royal Magazine and, if so, you’ll know about his explosive graphic approach to the crossover of paint and live work on
all sorts of walls, canvas and other mediums. There are obvious references to ‘Pop Culture’, yes it’s bright, self-confident and almost illusionary - there’s so much going on in the smallest of spaces. That’s where the magic is apparent. Go to www.mwmgraphics.com
Matt W. Moore
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Q&A 01
Question One To be honest the first thing we thought of on seeing your work was “Tron”. Was there a period of time when it was all comics, video games and pizza? Answer One Haha. That’s not the first time Tron has been mentioned in reference to my Vectorfunk work. At my show in Barcelona over the summer a group of cult Tron fans came through and were very excited.
I had never heard of the movie, but I YouTubed it and was psyched to see the asymmetrical geometry and vibrant colors. Totally 80’s YO! Honestly, I was never into comics. I have a huge amount of respect for the culture, especially the illustrators, but it just never clicked with me. I was more into skateboarding and BMX. I guess I was watching the movie Rad when everyone else was rocking Tron. Video games lost me around Sonic The Hedgehog, but I still hold my own in a game of Tetris.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two Do you also come from the Graffiti and Tag tradition; was that an influence on your life? Do you like working live on pieces? Answer Two For sure. Graffiti was, and is, a major ingredient in my creative recipe. It was the first artistic discipline that I truly immersed myself in, and the dedication and process of graffiti
has translated into my other work in design and fine art. I am definitely not focused on doing work that screams “street”. I try to avoid being in the “low-brow” corner with my fine art. But I do have endless love and respect for the finer points of graffiti such as flow, color, scale, typography, risks, and fun. One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday afternoon is to get together with my crew and paint a big mural production.
Matt W. Moore
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Q&A 03
Question Three It seems that you have been busy working on as much commercial work as personal work; did getting work for bigger names happen relatively easily? Answer Three The only easy thing for me has been coming up with new ideas; everything else has been a long uphill hustle. I have been very fortunate, and my hard work has begun to pay off, so now it is easier to get bigger projects going.
I definitely would never have gotten to where I am now without the thousands upon thousands of hours of personal artwork that has helped me develop my style and visual vocabulary. 99% of the time, prospective clients are gravitating towards something they see in my archive of personal explorations. It is a symbiotic relationship. The client work keeps the lights on and allows me more time and resources towards my personal creative endeavors.
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four People will see a typographer in you as much as they see a painter or Artist. Which makes you happier or is it all good? Answer Four I love them all the same. Working across disciplines allows me to cross-pollinate ideas and carry the momentum from one project to the next. My versatility and the range of projects I work on keeps me excited and experimenting.
I would have never developed my “Vectorfunk� style without the ten years of canvas painting before the computer. Simultaneously, I would not have the same design sensibilities with my current paintings if I had never studied design and worked digitally. If I had to devote the rest of my life to a single discipline, it would be painting. Out of everything I work on, I put the most heart into my canvas paintings.
Matt W. Moore
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Q&A 05
Question Five What’s next for you? You seem to enjoy exhibiting work - any big shows or projects coming up? Answer Five Yes, lots on the horizon. In 2009 I will have solo shows in London (Concrete Hermit. March 2009) and Sao Paulo, Brazil (POP Gallery. July 2009. Currently I am working on two new projects that will be available in the next couple months.
The first is my annual installment to my lifelong B/W Bangers Series. This year is Volume 5 (MWM B/W B:5) and it will be another soft-cover book of monochromatic paintings and illustrations from this winter. The second project is “Alphafont 3.0”. The third phase of my ongoing typography exploration. This will be available as a set of 26 prints, in fullspectrum color. Both of these new projects will debut in London at my Concrete Hermit Show alongside three more series of recent work.
Candy Magazine
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Alex Gross
Candy Magazine
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Alex Gross
Alex Gross
Intro
Candy Magazine Lands far away have always enchanted us since childhood. As you grow older you find out how they became the places they are. You travel to see these distant lands and the people who inhabit them, who shape their histories and legends. Like American Indians or Japanese Samurai, Civil Wars or the proclamations of worlds. Accounts of these great times and occurrences have always been bestowed by the writers and artists as a record for posterity and remembrance. In recent times it seems this process has entered an electronic era and all that needs to be recalled, can be
found in a computer brain that exists forever. You would not then imagine that a painter in South Pasadena, California is recording these same events, from this same era, in a traditional method. His work is both dark and joyous and at the very same time strange and uncomfortable. It is epic and beautiful too, like those paintings on the side of the travelling circuses from Victorian dreams, with music drifting through the wind like a party moving on. Go to www.alexgross.com
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Alex Gross
Q&A 01
Candy Magazine Question One Can we say that we see an influence that’s dream like and references religious iconography? Would you agree? Answer One I’m influenced by both dreams and religious iconography. Probably it would be accurate to say that I often use images that reference religious iconography, particularly medieval gothic imagery, to create a picture
that has some dreamlike qualities. What I like about dreams is the ambiguity about images and elements we see in them, but at the same time we always know how a dream makes us feel. I strive for a similar objective with my work. I don’t want the symbolism or meaning of the work to be too clear, but I definitely have a certain ‘feeling’ that I want to convey in each piece.
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Alex Gross
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two Are the works autobiographical or do they depict stories or information you have heard or know about? Do you see all situations you encounter, the important scenes that stop you, through your painted style? Answer Two Most of my work is personal but not in a literal way. The themes that
might be present in a painting are usually related to my life at that particular time. For example I seem to have painted several images based on antique wedding photo images shortly after I got married a few years ago. And other relationship themes have crept into the work since that time. then I paint it the way I would like it to be. Â
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Alex Gross
Candy Magazine
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Alex Gross
Q&A 03
Candy Magazine Question Three
Answer Three
A good deal of your work has an Asian influence, almost like ancient scrolls. Have you spent time there? What’s the connection?
I’ve spent a great deal of time in Japan and I enjoy the culture and the aesthetic there. I always have been an admirer of Japanese art and history, even as a child.
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Alex Gross
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four We really are struck by the composition and the ideas you create. For instance, “The Surrender” has so much work on show - how did this piece come to you as an idea?
completely fictitious, since Cornwallis never surrendered to Washington personally. I love the posed quality of it. He also hands his sword over as I’ve done in my piece, so, from there I began to replace characters and try to create a scene which somehow parallels the original.
Answer Four ‘The Surrender’ was inspired by an old etching from the 1800’s entitled ‘The Surrender of Cornwallis.’ This was a portrayal of General Cornwallis surrendering to George Washington at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War. It’s highly staged, not to mention
Instead of Washington I wound up using a Civil War General named John Gibbon. The strange character of Cornwallis on the right is based on some images by Richard Lindner, a painter from the 60s who I admire. It’s depicted more as a state of mind than as a story.
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Alex Gross
Q&A 05
Candy Magazine Question Five Does the idea of making a film seem possible to you; would it be an easy or difficult transition to make? Answer Five I would love to make films someday. I am a big fan of film and I think that I could probably do some of the technical work of composing a film. However, I am not much of a people
person and I know that making a film is a giant team project and a good director must be excellent at working with large groups of diverse individuals, from actors to cameramen, producers and lighting people. So I doubt that it would be something I could handle, but who knows? It’s certainly something I have thought about a great deal, so you never know, perhaps something animated might be a better world for me, less real humans involved.
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Section
Samantha Za Za Coup
Candy Magazine
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Samantha Za Za Coup
Samantha Za Za
Intro
Candy Magazine We were startled at first by this most unusual set of works from Samantha Zaza.
of years on the front lines of combat, winning the wars that needed to be won.
Apart from her excellent drawings and paintings, which can be found on her site, a particular selection of work really caught our attention.
Of course you’ll notice that these are no ordinary soldiers, these are fighters we’ve never seen the likes of before. It shouldn’t throw you that these are all birds and in particular pigeons. It’s just slightly unusual.
What seems like a hallway of prominent portraits, French in style, hung in a very beautiful chateau, possibly in a wine producing region? The uniforms are high-ranking Lieutenants, Majors, Captains - no infantry on show here. They are heroes, battle hardened and proud
Who are they? Where did they come from and most importantly, whom are they fighting for? Go to www.szaza.com
Samantha Za Za
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Q&A 01
Question One What was your initial idea or concept around these birds in uniform? We’re completely baffled. Answer One I am a big fan of birds, especially pigeons. They tend to be overlooked, but are really quite fascinating and intelligent little animals.
I’ve been drawing pigeons for quite a while, and imagined that when pigeons coo, they were discussing a coup. They look like they’re up to something all huddled together on lines or under buildings, and in San Francisco where I was living, many of them bear scars and are missing feet, which resembled war wounds. I love Napoleonic era portraiture— I thought it would be great to draw these funny little birds in such a grand fashion.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two How are the works completed? What materials and techniques are you using? Answer Two I’ve been drawing Coup with Prismacolors and metallic ink on matboard, which works quite well.
I’d love to do a few in oils one day; I think they’d lend themselves well to oils. Prismacolors are so nice and creamy, that I can blend the colors together really smoothly without having to wait for anything to dry, which I like.
Samantha Za Za
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Q&A 03
Question Three What size are the works? Have they been shown as a part of an exhibition; what has been the reaction to this specific work? Answer Three The pieces are all 5” by 5”, and they have been in several group exhibitions in San Francisco.
The reaction to Coup has truly surprised me; I’ve sold every single one except for the last four I made. I initially thought I might be alone in my sense of humor, but the feedback has been fantastic— lots of laughs and appreciation. People were even on a wait list for more pigeons, to my delight.
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four Can you tell us about the Moleskin exchange? Has it helped you develop your work? Answer Four The International Moleskine Exchange, or Moly-X, is a fun collaborative project created by fellow artist Marty Harris, to connect artists around the world through art. The whole project is managed through Flickr by Moly-X members— at this point we have over 60 exchanges going.
An exchange is formed by artists that have joined Moly-X through the group Flickr page, who either jump into an existing exchange or ask other artists to form a new group. Once an exchange has formed, the group gets a blog and each artist buys their own Moleskine sketchbook. Moleskine is a great brand of sketchbooks and journals that has one book in particular that lends itself well to the project— the Japanese folding Moleskine. It is essentially a nine foot long piece of paper folded accordion-style into 60 pages. Cont over...
Samantha Za Za
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Q&A 04 Cont.
After each artist has their book, they have a month to draw, paint or collage their entry on the first three or so pages. Then a rotation plan is set up, and the artists swap sketchbooks according to the rotation order. The next artist has one month to draw in the book that was sent to them, then they send it off to the next artist and so on. Artists are encouraged to work off of each other’s entries to blend the work together. Once the books are filled, they are sent back the original owners, and the result is a stunning nine feet of ink, paint, pencil and collage. Moly-X has really pushed me as an artist in imagination, skill and
timing. Having a limited amount of time and space is a challenge, and I love working off of the other artists’ entries. I’ve been exposed to different styles, ideas and cultures, and have formed friendships. I feel that my drawing has improved quite a bit— since you are constantly working in other people’s books, you want your entry to be the best it can be, so I work really hard at each entry I make. A couple of months ago, my book for exchange 13 completed its first rotation. Having it back in my hands halfway filled was such an amazing experience. You can find the Moly-X Flickr group pool at: www.flickr.com/groups/moly
Q&A 05
Candy Magazine Question Five What are you working on next that you can share with us?
been briefly put on hold. In the meantime, I’ve been sketching around town in my journals and hope to get started on something new soon.
Answer Five I just moved from San Francisco to Istanbul and have been rebuilding my art supply stash, so work has
There’s so much inspiration here, I am certain my next project will have a Turkish flair to it. I plan on working larger too.
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Section
Kiersten Essen preis
Candy Magazine
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You Fail
Kiersten Essenpreis You Fail
Intro
Candy Magazine Where there are small chinks of light, there must be darkness around it so that we can appreciate the light. This battle between dark and light is very interesting. There’s a movie in that, we’re sure of it. When it comes to Kiersten Essenpreis and her self-titled and styled project ‘YouFail’, the dark and light thing is in full effect. We get a flash of exorcism; not the evil nasty green kind - the other kind, the ‘Finding my way’ kind. Like dreams
enacted on paper and canvas, the friendly demon characters are ousted. Sharks, Dancers, and young ones with nightmares walking around in their sleep, invade the space. Dreamers snoozing alongside a spider or in a daydream of books and space, childlike and strange but all too familiar to us slightly deranged creative readers of Candy. We’ve seen it all before, right? Wrong! Go to www.youfail.com
Kiersten Essenpreis You Fail
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Q&A 01
Question One There seems to be a multitude of themes going on here, mainly from the dark side of life. Is it your life?
experiences, which everyone goes through. Being teased, the uncomfortable-ness of growing up, unfortunate events that don’t seem like a big deal to anyone but you, things like that.
Answer One Well I certainly can’t say that any darkness that may appear in my work is directly the result of a traumatic life experience or anything like that. I think I draw a lot of inspiration from small, uncomfortable life
I’ve always been a little insecure in social situations (I’m tall) and use that theme in my work because I think most people can relate to it in some way. At some point, everyone has felt like someone is staring at them doing something stupid.
Q&A 02
Candy Magazine Question Two Where do the inspirations hail from? Answer Two Pretty much from everywhere, as cheesy as that sounds. A lot of my ideas are based on the exaggeration of childhood memories. How certain moments
seem like these big life-changing events, when in reality they were probably very simple things.. like the first day of school or being teased etc. I also find inspiration in things like bad humor, B-horror movies, talented friends, toys, my family, traveling, and situations that everyone experiences.
Kiersten Essenpreis You Fail
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Q&A 03
Question Four When did you start to explore art in this way? Can you remember the first drawings compared to work now? Answer Four I’ve always been kind of sarcastic and pessimistic and I think that probably always shows a little in my work. I look back at most of my work and cringe a little, probably because I always seem to like my work better before I actually go to paint it. I feel like somewhere between the ideas I have for a piece and the actual finish,
something is lost and I’m never 100% happy with the finish. But I think like most artists, I am constantly evolving what I’m doing and what I’m interested in. I will be really into doing something, whether it’s a technique, subject matter or theme for a really long time and then I kind of abandon it for something else. Last year all I wanted to do was simple, single images on the same size panel. Now all I want to do is elaborate patterns.
Q&A 04
Candy Magazine Question Four For us a couple of works really stand out. Can you tell us about the ‘Zebra and the Lion’ and also the ‘sinking ships in the bathroom’ - where did the ideas come from for these? Answer Four I used to use a lot of animal heads in my work to help represent the hierarchy of the characters in the piece. I think most people have a shared common knowledge of certain things (such as who’s dominant/recessive in the animal kingdom) and I tried to use that knowledge to create the mood or
narrative in the piece without having to directly spell it all out. The lion/ zebra piece was done for a story about the government raising taxes on the poor. The sinking battleships piece was inspired by the atmosphere created in a scene of Dario Argento’s horror film, “Deep Red”. At the time I painted that piece I was very interested in how crossing two different narratives could create a completely new narrative that ultimately seemed unrelated to either, so I took a drawing I had previously done (the battleships) and I crossed it with a still of the film.
Kiersten Essenpreis You Fail
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Q&A 05
Question Five We are taking a guess that these works are on a small rather than large scale? If so, do they work better for you on a smaller scale, maybe more intimate? What’s next for you - any new work coming up? Answer Five Most of my paintings are on the small side (usually under 8in x 10in). But every now and then I do a larger, more complicated piece for a show. I think I originally started working small because it took me less time and I was able to scan them in quicker. That works nicely for
editorial jobs, especially if the deadline is short. But I think I now prefer working small because it keeps the focus on the painting and details of the piece. Sometimes for a show I like doing a bunch of small paintings of the same size because they remind me of things I used to collect as a kid, Garbage Pail Kids cards, gumball machine toys, etc. I’m currently doing work for a few group shows, and doing editorial work when it comes around. I’ve had a dream job for the last few months doing the back page for PAPER magazine. They literally let me do whatever I want, which is UNHEARD of as far as magazines go!
Candy Magazine
Artists Index
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Artists Index
Candy Magazine
Philip Toledano www.mrtoledano.com
Kim Holtermand www.holtermand.dk
Pg 5-9 "Days With My Father"
Pg 28 (l) Experimental (r) Experimental Pg 29 Experimental Pg 30 Experimental Pg 31 (l) Copper Tower 1&2 (r) Metropolis 1&2 Pg 32 (l) End of Days 1&2 (r) Place 1&2
Chris Doyle www.chrisdoylestudio.com Pg 10 Making Endless Love Pg 11 (l) Household Wrestling- Tim (r) Why Can't I Touch You? Pg 12 (l) HotelDuncan (r) HotelPhillisI Pg 13 8 Houses Pg 14 (l) Freeze Frame (r) Failing To Levitate Jen Stark www.jenstark.com Pg 15 A Swarming Constant Pg 16 (l) A Swift Gaining (r) Cosmic Dust Pg 18 (l) (lrg. img) Microscopic Tangle (r) (sml. img) Microscopic Tangle Pg 19 (l) (lrg. img) Intergalactic (r) (sml. img) Intergalactic Pg 20 (l) (lrg. img) Space + Time (r) (sml. img) Space + Time Pg 21 (l) (lrg. img) PerplexingAllure (r) (sml. img) PerplexingAllure Alex Trochut www.alextrochut.com Pg 22 Mosquito Pg 23 Beautiful Decay Issue T poster Pg 24 Mr Z Pg 25 Rolled Gold (Rolling Stones Album Cover) Pg 26 (l) D Vein Logo (r) If You Could Go For It Pg 27 (l) More Is More (r) Urban Assault Pattern
Chris Ro www.adearfriend.com Pg 33 Debit Pg 34 Debit 1&2 Pg 35 (Bkgnd. img) Form (l&r) Art of Writing Pg 36 (l&r) Rhode Island School of Design Pg 37 (l) Form (r) Art of Writing Makeitwork www.makeitworkdesign.com Pg 39 Self-Poject/Business Cards Pg 40 The Green Room Project Pg 41 l) Space2/Unit H (r) Clampdown Pg 42 (l&r) Trinity College Lightwave Exhibition Pg 43 (l) Sansa Art Direction (r) Various logo treatments Aidan Kelly www.aidan-kelly.com Pg 45-55 Maser is Dead!
Artists Index
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Artists Index
Candy Magazine
cont.
Hvass & Hanibal www.hvasshannibal.dk
Samantha Za Za www.szaza.com
Pg 57 Hvass & Hanibal Pg 58 (l&r) Dgi 1&2 Pg 59 (l) Dgi (r) hvasshannibal Pg 60 (l&r) Form Magazine Pg 61 (l) Vega/TrailerPark (r) Clown
Pg 75-79 "Coup"
Matt W. Moore www.mwmgraphics.com Pg 62 Revolve Pg 63 2020 Pg 64 (l) Few Gallery (r) Revolve/Tank Theory Pg 65 (l) MVM 1&2 (r) MVM 3&4 Pg 66 (l) Desired Hearts/Coltesse (r) Alphafont Alex Gross www.alexgross.com Pg 67 Siren Pg 68 l) Bittersweet/Departure (r) Moscato Giallo/Sugar Sickness Pg 69 (l) (lrg. img) Hierophant (r) (sml. img) Arrival Pg 70 (l) (lrg. img) Moscat Giaolo (r) (sml. img) Outer Space Pg 71 Koshimaki Osen Pg 72 (l) (lrg. img) The Surrender (r) (sml. img) The Surrender Pg 73 (l) (lrg. img) The Meaning Pt.2 (r) (sml. img) The Meaning Pt.2 Pg 74 (l) (lrg. img) Julia (r) (sml. img) Julia
Kiersten Essenpreis You Fail www.youfail.com Pg 80 My Teeth Pg 81 (l) Foxhound/12 o'clock (r) Man Tie/Sand Sleep Pg 82 (l) Girls Dance (r) Grandpa Tv/Haunted Pg 83 (l) Abscond (r) Cake Pg 84 (l) Bath Tar (r) My Teeth 1 Glossary of Terms Pg - Page (l) - left (l) - right (lrg. img) - large image (sml. img)- small image (Bkgnd. img) - background image All content belongs solely to, and is copyrighted by, the various artists. We published their work with their permission. Š 2009 CandyCollective
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Sweettalk*
No 34
Illustration Delights
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