The Hub Newspaper - Issue N°2. by manu labadie

The HUB Paper A journal about creation initiated by DC Shoes

Issue 2 - Fall 2012

The HUB Paper Issue 2 - Fall 2012 - A journal about creation initiated by DC Shoes

ChloĂŠ Trujillo Clyde Barrow

p. 3

Pablo Ash

p. 6

Marke Newton Neue Ines Gama

p. 7

David Kinsey p. 10

Luisa Cativo

Art Against Knives David Manaud

Jim Pulp68 / DLF A concept by Emmanuel Labadie Art direction and design by Christophe Victoor Editing by Sofia Nebiolo Front and back covers by David Manaud

p. 32

p. 35

Mmav

p. 36

p. 42

p. 8

p. 34

Vitor Bastos David Sigh & Orsi Victor Aime

p. 4

p. 38

p. 40

p. 44

p. 46

DC Shoes Europe, 162 rue Belharra, 64500 St Jean de Luz, France DC Shoes - The HUB, 15 rue Montorgueil, 75001 Paris, France mydclife.com - dcshoes.com - facebook.com/dcshoeseurope

Chloé Trujillo Chloé Trujillo is a Los Angeles based artist. Born in Paris, she found her way to the US 12 years ago and has been part of Burning Ink New York City, Berlin and London. She has also designed two pairs of shoes for DC Shoes Women line for Spring 2013. What’s your background? I am a born and raised Parisian! My parents were working in the fashion industry as stylists; they had their own brand and this allowed me to grow up in a very creative world. I have been drawing and painting since I was very young. I started some scientific studies, until I realized art was the only career I would want to pursue. I took classes at L’Ecole du Louvre to learn all the technics and would spend my days drawing sketches in Le Louvre museum. I moved to the US 12 years ago, and now live in Los Angeles. How did your relationship with DC Shoes start? I got in touch with DC Shoes when I was invited to be part of the traveling exhibition Burning Ink a few years ago. I had a great experience with it in New York for the first edition. I then was offered to collaborate with the brand to design two pairs of shoes. I was super excited to do it and I drew a lot of different ideas the evening they told me! Can you explain us your designs? I used the reference of a heart with an eye inside. It can have several meanings, such as the french expression “on ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur” (you only see clearly with your heart). The shoes are part of the women line, so I wanted to do something pretty feminine. I was very happy when I got to see the final product, it is a great pleasure to see how an artwork I drew can end on a product like a shoe.

chloeinart.com

Pablo Ash Pablo Ash is a Madrid based tatoo artist. He is hosting the last Burning Ink exhibition in his tattoo shop Estigma, this September 2012 in Madrid. What’s your background?

Tell us about Estigma Tattoo?

I was born in Mexico City and I’ve been interested in graphic arts since I was a kid; my father is a very good artist, but selftaught, because he didn’t have access to any art school. I didn’t either, but I learned a lot from him. I figured out that you can do many things, even if you have no proper preparation; actually, many of the tattoo artists of my generation share the same situation, no art studies, only courage and constant practice. I’ve learned more in psychology books than in many art books, and that’s why I try to get close to my clients, to scratch a little into their personality and see what they want to get from a tattoo, then I can decide which is the better way to begin. My city is very important to me, but it’s not because it is where my roots are, and not because it is where I grew up as a tattoo artist, but because many of the details I use in my tattoos are the shapes that give form to a day to day routine. All those details that amazed me all the time, all those colors I discovered through the food, the festivities, and all that paraphernalia surrounding me constantly. I got into the tattoo scene 21 years ago, and accidentally. I used to spend my time drawing with my best friend then, Jason. We used to experiment with different media, and one day he came to me with a homemade machine, asking me to make some tattoos on him. I took that artifact into my hand, and I said yes. Then, I made my own homemade machine, with a walkman engine, the long part of a spoon end a mechanical pencil. I made tattoos for my friend, and more friends of ours came to get tattoos; suddenly all the young people in our neighbor had a mark made by us. It took us to open a very small tattoo studio in 1994, called “Orion Tattoo”, which still exists. Those were years of constant discovery, more work came up and we grew up and met more people involved in this. That’s how we could get proper equipment, good pigments, and booklets about the process of disinfection and sterilization, because we had to think about all the details around our “profession”. We wanted to be professionals as much as we could. Jason died 4 years ago, and he is still a great inspiration to me, and keeps me working constantly to show him how far can this go.

I opened my own shop “Estigma” (after Jason’s studio) 3 years ago, having worked at “Tattoo Magic” with Roman for almost 9 years. I always desired to have my own space, and it came true finally, after so many years of constant development of my technique. I work with a big tattoo artist called Keko Benavista, who is a 16 year experienced tattooer; Pepe Gutierrez, an argentinian friend and good artist as well, and Anita, who is our apprentice and big time supporter in all the details of the shop. The shop is located downtown Madrid, in Malasaña, to be precise. Here you find all kind of people, from many countries, many interests, and the same idea: to have a nice piece of art. As host of Burning Ink Madrid, have you always considered tattoo as a form of art? I’ve always considered tattooing as a form of art, and that’s why I’ve been fighting more than 20 years with narrow minded people, with police, with religious people who think that tattooing is associated with many things like felony, sin, or any kind of shit associated to bad behavior or against the law. All I can say is that if many people are changing their minds about this it is because tattoo artists have been growing and developing this art, -but more than that-, breaking all kind of stereotypes, and I think the best is still to come. The idea of “Burning Ink” about mixing art and tattoo, doesn’t sound so weird because like me, a lot of people -specially those who wear a tattoo- think that both terms are already associated. It’s interesting to have this kind of events to show everyone that any simple thing can be shown on the body canvas.

pabloashtattoo.supremeserver5.com Estigma Tattoo Shop, Calle de Valverde 26, 28004 Madrid, Spain

Clyde Barrow Clyde Barrow is a London based artist. He is one the artists taking part in the Burning Ink exhibitions. His artwork for Burning Ink London takes the form of a tee-shirt in a collaboration with DC Shoes Spring 2013 line. Can you tell us about the artwork you did for Burning Ink Madrid? A recurring character that appears in my work which is based on the guys who hang out in Soho, who hang out at sleezy jazz nights around London. Plenty of hair grease, flecked fabric suits and narrow silk ties.

What’s your background? My family is British Filipino. I grew up in the London suburbs, and ever since I was a kid, I loved to draw. But playing squeeze box in a band called ‘The Severed Limb’ a Skiffle rockabilly punk band; inspired me to draw all the artwork for their EP covers, flyers, posters and badges. So that’s how I got into the scene. Doing artwork for other bands, posters for nights of the garage, punk, rock and roll scenes in London. I’m heavily influenced by Horror comics of the 50’s as well as modern cartoonists such as Dan Clowes, Charles Burns and good friend of mine Kristian Hammerstad, his work is amazing!

clydebarrowart.blogspot.co.uk

Having been part of several Burning Ink exhibition, how do you relate art and tattoo? Working on a tattoo is very different, since its going to be on someone’s skin forever! Also you have to consider where the tattoo is going to go! Visually it has to suit the person. I try to keep the lines quite clean and simple, making for a less painful tattoo! Burning the artwork, makes the tattoo unique and exclusively yours. No one can get a copy unless you scanned the person’s tattoo!

Marke Newton Marke Newton is a British artist and was also featured in the Burning Ink exhibitions. What’s your background? I am a contemporary British artist, specialized in portraiture. I am also art director for Metropolitan Skateboards (relaunching this fall). I grew up in Colne, Lancashire, UK. A hotbed for british skateboarding in the 70’s and then Nelson and Burnley which are (after North Shore Kauai) probably THE BEST places to live on this planet!! I have always made art, always been drawing and painting for as long as I remember. My mum really encouraged me by letting me draw all over the dining room table. My dad was a baptist minister and I loved copying drawings from the bible. For six years I studied at art school in the UK and then with a ‘master’ painter and art restorer (I was his protégé). I worked in Slam City Skates in Covent Garden, London with Henry. In Tokyo, Japan I was an English teacher . I made art at night and on the weekends (when I wasn’t skateboarding). One of my biggest influences is my best friend from art school Mark Foster and my best friend from Paris the artist JonOne Having been part of several Burning Ink exhibition, how do you relate art and tattoo? Tattoo’s are RAD! - but I don’t have any, I count my scars from skateboarding as a reminder of good times . I have total respect for tattoo artists, it is a REEAALLY tough job and I would love to actually tattoo someone one day. I need practice though! Can you tell us about the artwork you did for Burning Ink Madrid? The artwork I made for Madrid is very romantic, its a drawing of a young couple enjoying life together.. “The best things in life are free”

markenewton.org 7

file:///Users/erwann/Collectif%20Combo/Prod/Expos/BurningInk/2012/Madrid/artworks/DK_Burning_Ink_2012.jpg.webarchive

Page 1 sur 2

David Kinsey David Kinsey is a Los Angeles based artist. Back in the late 1980s, he was the one who designed the DC Shoes logo. He will be exhibiting his work at The HUB in June 2013. What’s your background?

Being part of Burning Ink Madrid exhibition, how do you relate art and tattoo?

I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moved around the East coast for most of my youth. I also got to experience living in California for a few years growing up which inspired me to move back when I was lucky to be offered a design job right out of art school.

I’ve never done tattoo work. The only skin I’ve ever created work on was at the after party for the recent Bordeaux exhibition, Faraway So Close. The Skin Jackin’ crew had me sit in with them and draw on people with Posca pens. I have to say, drawing on a man’s hairy arm is pretty difficult! I did enjoy drawing on the women’s skin though, it’s pretty smooth and forgiving.

Ever since I can remember I was into making art but I was also motivated by other forms of expression like skateboarding, punk and hip-hop music. Also, seeing graffiti on the streets of Pittsburgh among the depressing urban decay when I was young was inspirational—It really made me understand the possibilities and limitless boundaries of creative expression and communication within the public space.

I love the concept of the Burning Ink exhibition; the fact that the artwork will be ultimately destroyed is brilliant. Can you tell us about the artwork you did for Burning Ink Madrid? This piece is about equality, peace and unity. I also decided to make it into a poster to help support President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection. I feel it’s one of the most important votes U.S. citizens will ever make. If Obama loses it will have negative repercussions on everything from our environment and social structure to the worldwide issues.

Over the course of my life I’ve been influenced by all kinds of people from artists to musicians to filmmakers. I’ve always enjoyed being a designer and artist and take my inspirations from other artists, the city and nature.

kinseyvisual.com 8

Neue Neue is a Paris based art duo. They are exhibiting their work at The HUB this year After this we did an evolution exhibition in l’Imprimerie in Paris near the museum Georges Pompidou. We installed drawings, books and lots of black and white photography all around the space. Then we did another exhibition in Brussels with the High needs Low party, where we were invited to build our own exhibition in a very big space. Here we tried a different approach and new technics to match our work and the place. We worked on Plateau, a very cool art magazine, which presented a small but very powerfull exhibition next to Barbes in Paris. And our last exhibition was at le 104, a contemporary art place in paris. Here we mixed a combination of installation, drawings, and photography.

What’s your background? We come from Paris, France. Esteban is from Seine St Denis and Nicolas was born and raised in Place de Clichy. We met in 2003 at the art school Auguste Renoir, where we studied edition, advertising drawing, photography and graphic design. Art is a part of us naturally I think, since we started to learn about it from our childhood with our parents. Art history in school makes you learn about composition, colors, technics of expression, and then you can start re-thinking your production and take part in your own creation and develop. Friends are the most inspiring artists, because you constantly move with them, take part in there work, and exchange something very positive with a great energy.You discover new technics and ideas everyday.

Could you describe your art? In our art we explore different technics around us. This means that we constantly want to do something new with different approaches because we are curious as to how it will impact our work and others. The base of our work lies in argentic photography, graphism, video clips and drawings. Our style is inspired from these technics and all that kind of feeds our personal style. We use different mediums for different results, always with a will of liberty without elitism. We like to reference to Flemish Romanticism for example, but someone who doesn’t have that art culture must also feel our production.

What is Neue? We created Neue 6 years ago after a trip to Amsterdam. We found the word “neue” during this travel, meaning “new” in german. In typography you use this expression when you make a re-work of something. For us, this meant being aware of the past and planning the future. Our collaboration started during a travel in New York where we worked together with the same camera, without knowing who took what, when we got back to France, we had a collection of images which didn’t belong to either of us, and Neue began at this point. We didn’t know very much about photography, but time after time we discovered a real interest for it. The idea was to create a studio to work in for different clients. After less than a year we wanted to do a big exhibition with our friends around us in La Générale at Pont de Sevres. We invited friends to do a small representation of there works all around the space and this was our first exhibition. After this we worked for Andrea Crews and different brands and labels such as Because or Green United Music. We explored lots of different technics and approaches to serve all kind of projects.

How important is Paris to you? Paris, like everywhere else, has to be a playground. Of course it’s a pleasure to live in a city where, regarding art, you can see important exhibitions. Paris is good and even better when you leave it. Best spots are rue St Anne for the best katsudon, and when it’s about having fun, nothing is better than a good party in an apartment.

neuepicture.blogspot.f 10

HAMBURG starring George Schroeter and Ramona Eisenbeis Photographed by Eric Mirbach

Ramona is wearing a Golden Years jacket George is wearing a Gunhill jacket.

Ramona is wearing a Tumble cardigan and some Bristol LE shoes. George is wearing a Rawson sweater.

Ramona is wearing a Golen Yeas jacket.

George is wearing a Terrill shirt.

George is wearing a Terrill shirt and a Gunhill jacket.

BUDAPEST Starring Orsy MĂŠszaros and David Vigh Photographed by Andras Mar

David is wearing a Rawson2 SS tee-shirt. Rossella is wearing a Nath top. Walter is wearing a Skate Star tee and Straight jeans.

Orsy is wearing a Heathen jacket, some Skinny jeans and some Village LE shoes.

Rossella is wearing a Manny top, Slacker Denim shorts and Bristol LE shoes. Orsy is wearing a Heathen jacket, some Skinny jeans and some Village LE shoes. David is wearing a Hashboat SS tee-shirt, aTerrill shirt and some Tonik SE shoes.

Orsy is wearing a Knolls top. David is wearing a Greenpoint shirt.

PORTO Starring Vitor Bastos and Ines Gama Photographed by Luisa Cativo

Ines is wearing a Heathen Jacket and some Skinny jeans. Vitor is wearing a customized Bedford jacket, a Ditmas cardigan and some antifit pants.

Ines is wearing a Mead ZH hoodie.

Vitor is wearing a Greenpoint, some Straight jeans and some Shoes.

Ines is wearing a Heathen Jacket, some Skinny jeans and some Truce shoes. Vitor is wearing a customized Bedford jacket, a Ditmas cardigan, some Antifit jeans and some Studio LX shoes.

Ines is wearing a Mead ZH hoodie and an Owl tee-shirt.

Luisa Cativo Luisa is a Porto based photographer. She shot the European Snapshots Fall 2012 in Porto. What’s your background? I was born in Coimbra, the city with one of the oldest universities in Europe, and I’ve lived there until I was six and started attending primary school. I then moved to Oliveira de Azeméis, a small town 50km away from Porto, where I lived until I was 18. Oliveira de Azeméis was small and didn’t have much going on – but I lived in the suburbs, which means that there was absolutely nothing going on, ever. Being a teenager in a place like that made me turn to the internet and eventually made me take up photography as a hobby. My cousin indirectly inspired me to start taking pictures in my free time – which was plenty. It started as something introspective and almost secret – even though the results would most likely end up online in places like Deviant Art, Fotolog or in my Livejournal and most of them were embarrassingly bad or cheesy – but nothing else is to be expected from a teenager experimenting with a compact digital camera and Paint Shop Pro in the middle of nowhere. I’ve always had some trouble with my image and self-portraits helped me get a better perception of myself. They also taught me how to mold the way I look or the environment around me without leaving my room.

How would you describe your style? I think the things I value the most are simplicity, intuition and empathy and I like to think that all of those show through my photos. I think I’m inspired by my reality; the people that surround me, conversations, events, movies, internet, music – I try to take in as much as I can and then there comes a time when everything blows up into an idea in my head, a concept. Then, I try to gather the people I find the most appropriate for said idea and try to make everything happen within our own limitations. I don’t try to disguise these limitations; I’d rather work with them and see what comes out. I like dirty images, grain, lo-fi, flash or lack of it, out of focus, as long as they manage to touch me in some way. Sometimes, imperfect images are a lot more touching or intense than clean, glossy, sharp and colorful images. I love Juergen Teller, Nan Goldin, Sarah Moon, Paolo Roversi, Corinne Day’s personal work, Jenny Gage and Tom Betterton, Rineke Dijkstra, Francesca Woodman, among many others. I feel that what binds them together is that their work seems very spontaneous or genuine, and it either looks very real, unreal, or like something that came out of a movie. I think Art should come from within – for me it’s a process where you assimilate everything that surrounds you; good or bad, your hopes and concerns, what inspires you and disgusts you, what makes you wonder – and then find a solution, a way to materialize all of these into something other people can see and interpret their own way, be inspired or intrigued by it. I feel like I haven’t managed to achieve this entirely for now, but it will happen eventually I hope. Honestly, photography for me is not work. I don’t think my visual language is commercially viable or compatible with Portugal’s visual culture – or lack of it – so I have put aside the possibility of working as a professional photographer here. I’d rather work on something else for money and only work with projects where I have the creative freedom to do what I want, even if they don’t pay that well or at all. So everything ends up being a pleasure shooting, and that works for me. Of course, it would be great to make a living out of it, but I don’t want to give up my personal style in order to fit someone else’s vision.

When I first left Oliveira in 2006, I moved to Porto to start studying Fashion Design, which didn’t go too well. I started my college degree in Photography in Visual Arts in 2008, and despite the many flaws of that course I did manage to absorb very useful information and inspiration from what I was taught there. Moving to Porto was a relief at first, but I still find it a little too backwards and small for me every now and then. Maybe if the internet didn’t exist and if I hadn’t spend two months in California this year I would be perfectly content, but sometimes I do get a little frustrated. The good things about Porto can smother you a bit at times. I think that isn’t limited to Porto though, it’s the whole country. Portugal has a lot of potential, but it’s being handled by the wrong people who are essentially wasting it on their own agenda and I think that is very frustrating, especially for the younger generations who are forced to leave the country and their families in order to have a chance at a career and some stability in their lives.

What do you find in Porto that you don’t find anywhere else? The food, when it’s good it’s incredibly good and makes me unbelievably happy. The weather is not a very steady source of joy; one day it’s sunny and nice, the next day is cloudy and windy – beware of Porto’s northern wind, it’s well known for being viciously cold at times. One of the things that makes Porto very special to me is the so often under appreciated and unsupported subculture: the bands, the events, the artists, the initiatives that often fail for lack of funds, support or attendance. I deeply admire the people that make everything happen with practically nothing and they give me hope and inspiration to keep on doing my thing here in Porto. They make me not want to flee to a place where things could be easier, and they motivate me to still do things regardless of how much feedback I get out of doing them. I admire our people’s resourcefulness, even when the picture is as black as it is right now. I can only hope that things eventually get better, and that we get our sh*t together in time to fix what has been broken. Hopefully, in a decade or two, Portugal will have a chance to explore its full potential.

captivelouise.wordpress.com 33

Ines Gama Ines is a Porto based artist. She was a model for the European Snapshots Fall 2012. I’m from Porto, Portugal. I was born here but I’ve been all around Portugal, my grandparents had farms, where my brothers and I spent loads of time, including Lisboa, where they had a house as well. I studied at a christian school until I was 12 and then went to study in a public school in Porto. I started oil painting at 11 or 12 because my mum had seen my guache work so she asked me if I wanted to learn...after that I chose art in all my studies. I majored in fine arts and painting at Porto University.

Since I was young I have listened to good music and seen all types of movies. My dad was addicted, buying cd’s all the time. He showed us Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Doors, Bob Dylan, told us stories and kept us very close, making us dream.When I was 11, I went to a Pink Floyd concert with him and I will never forget that. Loli comes from all my influences, I mix the old and new and most of my paintings have music titles or part of lyrics. What I look for in my art is to give a meaning or the feeling you understand but you can’t explain. I don’t like to explain something that you can understand by looking at it. A feeling is like a drug. It is a mind process and it can be processed differently by different people. If you give one explanation it is like losing that drug, that high.

My right hand is painting and for that I will never say no, I cant live without it. But in the other hand everything is possible, and when I’m working I like to do everything at once, thats why my shows have loads of different medias. I like to connect to give different aspects through a different composition.To give words and time.

My goal message is very simple I want people to think I don’t want to entertain I want more. And think in a personal way, my work lives trough that. Its also a dream, very sensual and it can be very provocative. I’m a woman and I use that.

As I said I started young but I never felt like the person who lived through art, i.e the artist. It’s nothing to be inspired as it is having something come to you and you feel it, it is a sense of true.Truthfulness. I don’t know if this is easy to understand, but I remember it was hard to do a piece or a painting that didn’t have some of that want and that can’t. Art is very tricky... Knowing this, I have kept very honest and developed as much as I could my technic, my concerns, and concepts at school.

I’ve been traveling around, looking for perfect places to show or do my art. My grandfather lives in Angola, he went to live there 30 years ago.When I can I go to visit him. First time I went there it was very crazy and I felt like this is a city and a perfect place to show my work. The streets are masterpieces, so alive, so many people, it is like my perfect frame. I met the coolest and sharpest artists, curators, and so many important people that didn’t act like the people from here, they were so open to see and show my work, and had such a honest way of working. I almost felt like the them, but they were better cause they born there. I learned a lot with those trips, and I can say I learn here as well, especialy with artists and one in particular.

My paintings started to have the honesty and were becoming as I wanted. Early, from my 20’s until now, I created an alter-ego named Loli. Loli is a way that I found to connect to people, saying and giving messages like I was giving to one particular person, but when you read it feels like it was made for YOU. It’s very real but it keeps that untouchable sense.

I can’t say that art or the art world is shit here, it isn’t! There are very cool artists and 1 or 2 cool gallerists. Lol!

Through the process of Loli, I made 20 or 30 paintings/drawings, videos and photos, and along the way i started doing performance. The first one named “The big bad wolf ”, which was so funny and felt so good! I couldn’t stop! So I made three more! The last one was very special, in a Redbull event, inside an old house, which involved projection and music. I danced, and was so crazy using a realy low budget. I stoped looking for my financial support on my art early on, the galleries here are shit and it was a bad experience. Street is my thing and there are other ways to show your work, more now with internet and art can be everywhere. Maybe my art isn’t good enough for a gallery but honestly i don’t care, my goal is not to sale it. I do it when i feel like it. Im no slave for art.

Apart from that I love all of Portugal. Porto is my city. I love to skate at seaside and to smell this breeze and I don’t need to open my eyes to see where I am. The part I am really into now are the highways where I am showing my work. I’m preparing a massive show on the main traffic line. I started this work when DC came here to make the shoot, but i didn’t show any cause it was growing and I wasn’t so sure about it. I ‘ll always have my heart here but my head wants to travel, specially to Africa. I think the difference between me and my art and the city it is already a masterpiece. Hope you can follow my work and get the same feeling I do. Loli loves u. XX

lolilovesu.tumblr.com

Vitor Bastos Vitor Bastos is a Porto based fashion designer. He was one of the models for our European Snapshots Fall 2012. At the moment design wise I am ending up a trilogy that explored Life SS12 (all aspects that define V!TOR as a person and a long process to develop prototypes in the materials that came from my own wardrobe) Death AW12/13 (a celebration of life on its end and a possibility to finish a process by my own will. An all black collection that was presented in many medias: photography, catwalk, video and performance. The last one collection involved a performance dinner party where I laid in a a coffin a top a table for 3 hours when dinner was served all inked in black. And finally resurrection which is the collection to be shown next during Lisboa fashion week.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your background? I was born in Brazil and lived there until I was 18 years old. My relationship with fashion was a love and hate combination throughout the years. Still in Brazil I had some experience in cloth making while joining some classes at a local fashion university. I came to Portugal and put this passion aside. Soon after I got involved with catwalk productions and started again to relate with fashion again. After one year coordinating fashion shows I realized that fashion was a constant presence in my life and started my design studies again in Porto. After this and creating my own vision and way of working fashion became part of my way to express myself.

What are your favorite aspects about Porto? I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t born in Porto. I chose Porto to live in when I was 19 years old. And I believe that makes the difference. When I arrived I saw in Porto a city full of creative people that at those days were desperate to collaborate together and develop new projects to shake up the city. That excited me. At the moment things are more settled and the structures are done. Many nice places had open to get together such as Cafe Au Lait, MissOPO and Vitoria and many of the old places are now reinvented by the projects running around.

Could you describe your work? Before anything my work is very relatable. I work with simple structures that belong to the clients background. Knitwear and jerseys are a constant as they are materials that belong to the viewer idea of clothing. In the other hand I have a strong concept related process and everything produced has a strong connection to me as a person, all my work is extremely biographical.

vitor.com.pt

David Vigh & Orsy Mészaros David Vigh is a musician and video producer, Orsy Mészaros is a jewelry designer, both based in Budapest. They were models for the European Snapshots Fall 2012. What’s your background?

Tell us about your creative process.

David: I studied graphic design in Budapest and then completed an MA in London in digital arts. That’s when I really started working with moving image. How did you get into music? What other bands did you listen to growing up? etc.) Music has been a part of my life since i got my first guitar at age 7....listening to Black Sabbath, Hendrix and Led Zepplin. My musical vision started expanding when I got into grunge. This process is still ongoing. I seek and hunt for new music every day. It is like food for me, both, the making, and listening...

Orsy: I love using recycled materials. the creative process usually starts with an inspiring piece of trash i find. Often, I come by the best materials and objects when traveling. David: Making music is a meditation in itself. Once you get into that state, music comes to you. Effortlessly. I prefer evenings and nights, like most musicians, i guess.. What aspects of Budapest couldn’t you live without? A very big city is the same in a certain sense. They are melting pots of human thoughts, feelings, desires, etc. some are more inspiring then others. Budapest can be an inspiring place if you’re connected with the right people and the right places. We like cycling in Budapest in the summer. It is all gold and the vibrations are smooth. Maybe the bridges are my favorite spots.

Orsy: I am completely self taught.. completed a year at KREA, an arts school in Budapest, but never finished. I grew up in Csákvár, a little village in north-west Hungary. My love of making things is related to my father. He was a gadgeteer. How did you get into jewelry design? I just started to make things. these little creatures happened to be accessories! After lots of positive feedback and encouragement, I continued making them. My influences came from my experiences and my life in general. Festivals I go to, the people I meet, the music I listen to, these are all experiences that feed my creativity

davidvigh.tumblr.com facebook.com/Manoluma 36

Mmav Mmav is a Parisian art collective. Rey and Mutt took part of the ART FOR $ contest at The HUB. But, If we talk about the illustration field solely, I have some huge references, ( Moebius, The Ukiyo-e Movement, Harry Clarke..) and I think if you don’t have a few you can’t progress or at least you won’t feel challenged.You have to look at everything..that’s why when I stumble on new things that’s a fucking great feeling.

Who is Mmav? We are a collective of two young artists and illustrators who live and work in France. We met early 2007 at the faculty of arts in Paris and ever since we’ve been working together to develop various creative projects through illustration and design. M. M. a. v. means, Mon Moulin A Vent in French or my Windmill. We were looking for a name that will stand out for a long time, so, we were mainly thinking of something that can define our perception of things and life. We wanted something that is easy to remember too of course and at the same time can be used as a reference for all of our graphic work so that if we need to work on a logo, we could do it clean, sketch it and play with it no matter the medium..

Mutt: So many things influence me, and not only in the field of illustration. There are the direct and indirect influences, the visible and the invisible. Even if it’s in a minor way: movie, architecture, sculptures, advertising... can be an inspiration source, everything that has a strong visual impact is inspiring. I think the search for new references is fundamental, it’s all part of the job.You have to find new tutors to develop your practice, to go forward, to approach new representation’s, new techniques, new forms and new subjects of interest. I learned how to draw by studying the works of others artists. James Jean , Travis Charest, Muscha, Moebius, Schongauer, which brought me so much ; they defined the basis of my current work.

What kind of art do you do? We are two huge fans of drawing. We’ve been doing for the most part illustration work, followed by a few solo exhibition and group exhibition.In constant graphic research, we don’t want to put any boundary on our creation that’s why we are always looking forward take the next step and to be able to represent our work on a different approach no matter the medium..That’s one of the main reason we first tried street collage and video taping them in the first place..it was a great experience and we learned a lot, we still do. The fact is in illustration you can do almost everything.. to provide great work is our first preoccupation and then if the medium is appropriate and that feel right to us, we will try our best to make it happen. We worked, edited and published our first Fanzine “The Last Escape” available in the Palais de Tokyo, Le Centre Georges Pompidou and other places in Paris..You just have to find the right thing to communicate and obviously put your best work in it.

How important is the city of Paris for you?

Who are you influenced by? Rey: It’s very hard to say by who I’m influenced by exactly. Because I always want and look forward to improve myself. If one day I won’t be able to draw because I’m not at the studio, I’ll just do something else to stay focused on. What I want is to achieve as an artist and just by reading some well-written articles about architecture and design, describing the perfect shape of a house, this could inspire me to create.

Rey: Well most of our family and friends live there so it’s always good to get back in the city when you have gone elsewhere for a short or long trip..and it’s not a cliche to say that Paris is a very inspiring city in a lot of different aspects mainly in the architecture area. Needless to say the Louvres, I really enjoy their Renaissance collection ..Also the Centre Georges Pompidou is where we still look for information when we work on projects.. furthermore, since I worked at the Lazy Dog end of 2010 a lot of my art books came from their store. ..They have a great collection of literature and the people who worked there were very friendly. We don’t hang out a lot but I have to say that Bastille is always a good place to hang out and go riding… My brother showed me this nice restaurant called Les Cafes Parisiens..I’m addicted to it! We went to New York a bunch of times so it’s probably one of our favorite places of the moment, some of the best skate shop we have ever seen. Mutt: Paris itself doesn’t matter to me. I mean the Parisian atmosphere doesn’t inspire me, only its museums and library really count in my work. If Paris is not a direct source of inspiration, we are fortunate to have many galleries and interesting place like : Musée de la chasse et de la Nature, Musée d’Orsay, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Cinémathèque and some great galleries.

Katy - Art Against Knives Katy Dawe is the founder of Art Against Knives, an East London based charity that works to reduce the root causes of knife crime through arts initiatives. DC Shoes is supporting their cause , donating sales from the limited edition Burning Ink shoe to fund a series of graffiti workshops. Interview by Hannah - Neon Stash What is Art Against Knives background?

Do you still have time to be creative yourself?

Art Against Knives begun in 2009, it started out as a fundraiser for my best friend, Oliver, who was stabbed and the attack left him in a wheelchair. He was in hospital for over a year, so I decided to do a fundraiser and the next thing I knew massive names in the art and fashion world were getting involved and wanting to donate things. So this small-scale event turned into something larger, an exhibition and then an auction. We needed to channel that support into actually doing something. Instead of starting something new we both wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing. I took a year out and spent it working with young people, youth providers, community workers and local businesses to understand what it is we could do. The projects that we run now are a complete result of that. So we listen to young people and instead of telling them what to do, its designed by them!

I actually went back last year to finish off my degree in print design and have done quite a bit of my own work to sell in the gallery but doing this made me realize that being creative isn’t just about putting pen to paper. Actually we are being creative in everything that we do, doing things innovatively and interesting. I always want us to take a fresh approach to things and be creative day to day. Where do you see Art Against Knives going in the next 5 years? I don’t really look that far ahead as this has all happened organically because of the demand and success of our projects. We have always aimed very locally, so we want to remain local. I would like to see AAK as an example of a project that can be used elsewhere. It’s happening already, we are doing work in North and South London. I like the idea of it being used as inspiration and a platform for other communities to action.

How did it become an arts based charity? Well we are creative and it started as an art exhibition. Art is such an amazing tool to engage with people and communicate. It’s also a tool that allows young people to engage and express what they want to say, in a way that’s easy. We say to young people; what is it you want to communicate? Then through photography, music, spoken word, they can express themselves. Obviously East London is a very creative area so it’s a great way to engage with local businesses and people here, its something everybody can relate to. Why art? Because it’s such a great tool! It’s about taking a creative approach to everything you do and we make sure it has a visual outcome and outlet to present it.

How did the collaboration with DC come about and how does it benefit Art Against Knives? It happened organically after some conversations and shared beliefs. Working with DC Shoes has been a prime example of a creative collaboration we want to get involved with. It’s an opportunity for the young people we work with to see the organization being associated with a big brand. It’s such a catch for them and really important. I love how we are fully involved in the project and see it as ongoing. Describe London in 3 words:

Describe a typical day at Art Against Knives. Every day’s a different day at Art Against Knives. Anything from early morning meetings with youth providers to meeting a young person I am potentially mentoring to coming to Boxpark or running projects with young people in Tower Hamlets or doing collaborations with interesting brands. All normally with about 5 young people in tow!

Creative, mad and fascinating! I love that it’s so diverse. There are no set rules and no set ways. London gives people the opportunity to come and do your own thing. www.artagainstknives.com. Their gallery at Boxpark, Shoreditch is open 7 days a week.

Victor Aime Victor Aime is a Paris based Dj. He is also involved in the french electro music label Ed Bangers. He is a long time friend of DC Shoes and The HUB. Portrait by Kim Chapiron By night I’m someone else. I’ve been DJing for 6 years now and I had the luck to travel a lot. It’s something very exhausting when you also have a day job, but I realized not so long ago that I can’t live without this. You must be a bit crazy to love spending your life alone in an airport, or to be waiting for a car to take you to your gig driven by someone you’ve never seen before. But there’s nothing like going on stage and playing in front of thousands people.

What is your background? I was born and raised in Paris, and I feel so lucky! I started hanging out in the nightlife when I was 12 years old. I met almost all the people I work with now in the clubs. I left school when I was 16 years old. There is clearly nowhere else in the world you can do this! Back in the days I was inspired by people like André, Alexandre de Betak, or Gildas from Kitsune.. Even if i’m still following what they do, I’m more interested by characters like Emmanuel de Buretelle, André Balazs or Bert Stern.

What got you into doing photography? Like I said, most of the time I’m touring alone. And when I started I was so young that people couldn’t trust that I went there or there and that I met him or her. So I started taking pictures of what I was seeing. To show them when I came back. I always feel like a spectator of this strange industry that is EDM, and when I watch documentaries about music in the 90’s, I feel like I need to document what I’m actually living now. I love to think about people asking me to send them my pictures in ten years for a documentary or a story about this era. My favorite subjects are the people I hang with. My pictures are more about what they show than how they show it.

What do you like the most about your work? I would say meeting new people and seeing new things. I exchange everyday with people from different counties, different cultures, different way of doing business, It’s fascinating me. By day I’m helping my artists at Ed Banger in every step of their development. I’m the link between them and the promo team, our touring agents or the cd factory, for example. Taking care of the planning, the budget and of course the artistic vision of the project. We also have a lot of special events to produce.

David Manaud David Manaud is a french photographer, based in Bordeaux. He has collaborated with DC Shoes on several skateboard photoshoots, and will develop some special projects with The HUB in 2013. What’s your background?

How do you find inspiration in your work?

I am 36 years old. I started photography something like 15 years ago with an old polaroid before switching to a SRT 100X SLR camera my grandfather gave me. At the beginning, I would shoot every single thing that would come around my way. As I was skating since the age of 15, I eventually started shooting my friends on their boards. I developed my skateboard photography skills at the same time as my friends were developing their skating skills. My photos started to be published in magazines 10 years ago. I did not go to any photography school, I learned everything I know in magazines, on the internet, and thanks to a lot advise given by other photographers. I am still learning, and I always will, this is what I find really cool about photography.

My inspiration comes very naturally. When shooting skateboarders, I usually get ideas once I reach the spot. The guy tells me the trick he wants to do, we speak about it together, and then I get to feel the space, its ambiance. And one thing to never forget when shooting skateboarders : to sublimate the tricks! Do you do art photography? I am not sure if I could call myself an « artist », but from times to times, considering my way of living life, I can relate to what people call the « tortured artist ». Apart from the paparazzi kind of photos, I believe that any constructed image, that people put energy and thoughts into, can be considered as a piece of art.

Where are you from What is your best memory as a photographer? I was born and still currently live in Bordeaux, in south west of France. I share my flat with my girlfriend Yasmine and my cat Paté. Bordeaux is a really cool and enjoyable place, especially since the mayor decided to tear everything down and build a completely new city. We have a very good reputation when it comes to red wine, and nowadays, Bordeaux has also become a important spot for European skateboard culture.

I have a lot of good memories thanks to photography. It is very very difficult to pick just one. Whereas they are planned photos or just a quick snap, photos always provide a positive story behind them. The most important to me is that every protagonists related to the picture is satisfied with it, and happy to be part of it. By the end every memory I have with photography is a good memory. I also have funny stories, more human, like this older lady in Paris that I shot with her dog because I loved her look and expressions. I turned out that she did not have any pictures of her dog. I made her day! She made mine too! Another interesting one is when I caught a Grizzly in the Yellow Store, when it was out of the wood, only 15 meters away from me. I shoot the life surrounding me, the skaters, my friends, my family, my cat, and crazy landscapes during some of my trips. And every time, it is a great story. Photography is my life, my passion, there is no day when I do not take a photo.

Who were/are you influenced by? To be honest, I don’t really know. I believe I am influenced by a little bit of everything that surrounds me, and a lot by cinema. When it comes to skateboard, I like a lot work of photographers such as Sem Rubio, Eric Antoine, Brian Gaberman, Mike Blabac. These people brought a lot to the skateboard photography I think, from their style to their creativity, and obviously their technics.

davidmanaud.com

Jim Pulp 68 - DLF Jim is the owner of skate shop Pulp 68, and has been working closely with DC Shoes for a while. He is also one of the heads of the DLF (Dirty Left Foot) project which aims to bring back together skateboard and custom bike values. What’s your background ?

Tell us about Pulp 68.

At age 43 I feel old writing my background, though in skateboarding, 43 years is extremely old. I always dragged my sneakers in the urban scene, lucky to grow up in the 90’s, years full of freedoms and expression, years where everything was possible, and especially everything was invented. We used the influences our parents to destroy the established codes.

I opened Pulp68 in 1995 for a few months during my recovery after a serious accident in skateboarding, a fivefold fracture practicing ramp.I had 6 months of rehabilitation to do, and I realized nothing would be the same. I understood that skateboarding for me was finished, and that if I loved this sport then I had to find another way to stay in touch with riders. I decided to open a skateshop association in order to organize events and help other skateboarders. At that time, everything was very different, there was no money in skateboarding, and the media was not interested by us. I always had a different approach, far from the hype and its derivatives. My style attracted many people and the reputation of the shop skyrocketed with my incredible team at the time.

I was born and raised in Geneva, Swiss, a city far removed from the “clichés” that people make. I’ve always loved Geneva because here nothing is won, you have to fight every day to make our cultures exist, Geneva is not New York where everything is possible, Geneva is the city where nothing is possible, that is what makes this interesting challenge. I’ve always been attracted to marketing, graphics and advertising, but my parents did not really believe in it, nor did I. At age 15 I believed in punk and skate, the way of a good life !

The heart of the action, these few months turned into 17 years… Pulp68 has never and probably never will be located in the best area in the shopping street or “fashionable” area. This is a place that lives and that we find in people, products, adventures and surprises.

My father was in the mechanical and motorized sports, so I grew up with grease on my hands. Having always been surrounded by skateboarding and gear motors, I combined these two passions, sharing a little world of my father in the race. Skateboarding has opened my eyes to graphic arts, architecture, photography. Thanks to this sport I’ve played in my life, I see the world differently.

Over time, by dint of never throw anything and everything, the shop turned into a museum. Moreover, 80% of the surface is used to display. Unthinkable in the world of skateboarding today, which is often placed on the profitability of every square meter. Pulp68 is a place to share for artists skateboarders, enthusiasts of all kinds, mechanics, tattoo artists, a world of exchange and sharing and creating Pulp68.

Today I am passionate about everything that surrounded me during my adolescence , music, movies, sports, artists, the people who invented modernity that surround us. I am fascinated by the Bauhaus school and its faculty, Frank Lloyd Wright world, Mies Van der Rohe. I find all these elements in the world surround me and inspires me. I also love people more contemporary as Olafur Eliasson, Renzo Piano, Oscar Niemeyer, Sylvie Fleury or Blu and my special thanks goes to Jim Henson. I admire people who are beyond fashion and critics and who go after their ideas.

What does DLF mean to you? DLF, Dirty Left Foot is the common point between skateboarding and the world of motorcycling. In both, we are always walking with one shoe worn while the other is almost new. Whether by tricks or by the shifter, you always have one foot dirty ... and often the left.

My motto has always been dictated by Master Yoda “”Do or do not; there is no try.”

Jipi from Big Bore Cycles

When my clients gave me my first Harley Davidson after a gag on Facebook, I came into this world all about customizing. That bike could not stay fresh from the box! It was at this point that I finally opened the door to Big Bore Cycles. For me, it was a logical, skateboarding, fixie and then custom bikes, always looking for ways to make fashion, not follow. I wrinkled fixie since the 2000s, but as soon as fluokids fashion seized the movement I no longer wanted to ride my old “Bianchi” 70s. At least with a bike, you need a license, it already limits access!

I think it is this ambiguity that makes me who I am. A mixture of annoyance and realism tinged with unrealistic dreams, which sometimes, even often, emerge. I think this is also why brands appeal to me, it is a kind of guarantee of success. I’m so adamant towards others, I am bound to myself. This is not the first project that I worked on for DC Shoes, but probably the most important achievement so far. I do not despair, that one day, I will be able to make shoes. I was a serious sneaker addict with more than 800 pairs, all vintage and mottled in empty granaries at a time when nobody was interested in it.

And this is not new, many old skaters are in this world of customizing, the idea of DLF The Machine was simply to cross both worlds. The final input came from “Manu” (Emmanuel Labadie), with whom I had worked on “Burning Ink”, who knew and shared my passion, he also drives a Harley! Between Jipi, a passionate skater, my vision and feasibility side of Manu, everything came together to put this project on two wheels. DLF is not just simple promotional goodies, this is the meeting of three passionate people about a crazy project to mix the world of custom bikes and the world of skate.

DC was my first sponsor, sponsor I mean, the first brand of shoes that I could wear free in 1994, the year of launch. At the time I rode Puma Clyde and Superstar with sponges under the tongue, the arrival of DC Shoes was saving for my feet. Today, it is thanks to all those years in that environment, and all those that know my profile as the “skate archivist” that gives me wonderful collaborations. I’m vintage, Old School, Collector, but not yet hasbeen, I want and I have a background … One day maybe I will be too old to understand current trends (although musically I feel that day has already arrived ..) so I thoroughly enjoy.

The issue of collaboration with DC arose very quickly, the legitimacy to make a motorcycle “promo” for a brand that focuses on skateboarding. This was perhaps the most difficult. Skateboarding is quite adamant to recovery, and the world of custom bikes sticks to a strict respect. For me to have legitimacy with DC Shoes in this project was completely normal, do not forget that it is the first brand to have dared to break the taboo on mechanics sports, considered at the time the devil, it is far from the pseudo environmentalists with a guitar and a campfire eating vegan sausages!

When I went on my first skateboard offered by my father in 1978 I realized that I really liked it, but I never thought that one day it would become my job … or at least a part, because I myself have great difficulty in defining what is my job, it changes every day depending on what I do and for which client! Like many people in this world, we were not really concerned about our future, we have created, wrote, and now it is told, Photographer, Artist, DJ, graphic designer, videographer, teacher, designer, brocileur, organizer, when you’re a self-made man you can do everything with passion. This is my case and this is what fed my days and... often my nights!

I grew up with the exploits of Pastrana, Ken Block and their friends and with my father being a mechanic, I feel much closer to gasoline fumes than weed ... I should not be seen as a polluter! I love nature, but I hate green washing. I’d rather watch an old Shovelhead engine like the DLF, for hours admiring the bark of an old platanus or a century Oak.

pulp68.com

Coming Summer 2013