OCTOBER 2014
MAGAZINE
ARTIST: Cryptik, Untitled
Street Art Save My Life
Facebook.com/streetartsavemylife
WHAT THE FUNK’S INSIDE 5..................THE RUNDOWN 6.................. EDITOR’S NOTE 7................. OUTSPOKEN: Gypsy 11................. BRITT’S REAL TALK: Battle of the Sexes 13................. WWAWWW: Funny Things I’ve Noticed ... by Almighty Wise
15................. LIVING COLOR: Aliza Razell 25................ BLACKGROUND: Alberto Seveso 37................ TRIBAL FUTURISTIC BIZARRE: Charly Dominguez 49................. DAVENCE’S COSPLAY ZONE: The CGBros
E EDITOR-IN-CHIEF C.E. LAWTON SENIOR EDITOR GENESE NICOLE CREATIVE DIRECTORS C.E. LAWTON & GENESE NICOLE SEPTEMBER CONTRIBUTORS “Almighty” Wise, Aliza Razell, Brittany Diaz, Alberty Seveso, David A. Ochs, Charly Dominguez, Darvell S., Seon F., Damion A., Jordan K., Jaa, Davence Young ADVERTISING info@funktheformulamag.com FUNKTHEFORMULAMAG.COM It’s the commentary of your life ... but better. Art. Culture. And Then some.
FOLLOW FUNKTHEFORMULA FACEBOOK.COM/FUNKTHEFORMULA TWITTER: @FUNKTHEFORMULA YOUTUBE.COM/FUNKTHEFORMULA INSTAGRAM: @FUNKTHEFORMULAMAG
COVER: Seon Body Paint Works by Charly Dominguez for his Tribal Futuristic Bizarre Series LEFT: Self Portrait Piece by Aliza Razell
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EDITOR’S NOTE Keep The Candles Lit ... Summer’s come to a close closing & I’m personally celebrating another year of FTF life... To say it’s a blessing can be an understatement at times. Amidst the hustle and bustle of being a born and bred New Yorker and now ever growing entrepreneur just tryin’ to make it, sometimes it gets hard to take those moments to reflect on the good and bad and how they correlate to paint this beautiful picture that is Life. And I know I talk about Life and Living a lot but it’s because ... Well, why the fuck not? When you go through things in life, whether a sequential onslaught of WTF or sporadically spaced events throughout your lifetime, it begs to be acknowledged that clearly, your survival means you are here for a reason. I know I am. I KNOW. And in all that this magazine has been for me and may have been for you as a reader, the rough and tumbles working in tandem with the pure vibrancy of every day lived provide great character to what could be an otherwise bore fest one when chooses to stand still. Stagnancy in an ever moving and evolving world is quite frankly suicide. To find no level of fruitful gain on every wake up is a full-fledged choice to slowly die. And there are a lot of instances where life will make you feel like you want to do just that, whether figuratively or literally (but there’s always prayer that the literal doesn’t take place). But our resliience through the hard times is what brings forth the great experiences that colorize our lives in full bloom ... That’s the reward. it’s jumping that hurdle, and it’s the successful grab of that vine when waist deep in the quicksand ... But they involve the choice to propel forward and to reach up, and that’s part of where the discovery and rejuvenation and positive reconfiguration can begin. So another year has passed. I’m grateful ... Immensely grateful. I’m grateful to be able to paint the picture of a brighter future, and I get to paint it with the FTF team, which goes beyond those that write and contribute ... It’s everybody. All the Formula Funkin’ inhabitants of the world. The ones that zagged when they were told to zig and spoke when silence was the majority action. I’m real grateful. It’s a reminder when I wake up, every day. So I actually want to say Happy Birthday to us ALL. Let’s continue to be reborn. LIVE. -C.E. Have questions, suggests, comments? Feel free to contact us: info@funktheformulamag.com
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OUTSPOKEN Your words. Your thoughts. Out loud.
ARCHANGEL
by Gypsy
D
ark brown eyes linger on my thighs, you mesmerize,
As I stand transfixed into a soul’s dark abyss Thin line between torture and pain, These precious rules your soul ordains Extreme emotions you expel. Are you from heaven or from hell? A glance ensnares deep within your web. A spell on my heart, I can not shed A fallen angel, wicked sweet. Everything but not complete
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A mystery on two legs. He’s really a God but yet, he still begs Doesn’t see the truth in his eyes. But I see future and his demise Passion and chaos instilled in his bones. Mixture potent, only strong condone A true martyr in an one man war Chaotic justice, judge, jury, the law Deep quiet side screams the desire Unbridled thoughts, his mind on fire Emptiness in which he loses his mind. Solace and comfort, he’ll never find Abyss of pain, enticing lair A dagger without sheath, and soul despair Condemned angel, fallen from heaven to hell Foreshadows the love that can break his shell Stroke of his sex, reveals what nobody knows, Blessed few are those he shows Miracle in his hands, feet and his hips And even in the poisoned honey from his lips...
Gypsy 8
ARTIST: Sigi Kolbe, Untitled
Street Art Save My Life
Facebook.com/streetartsavemylife
RealTalSkexes the
Britt’s
f o e l t t Ba
The strength, power, and beauty of a woman are such that cannot be denied. Historically we have endured quite a lot. We have been looked over as inferior to men and have taken the back seat on decision making, powerful roles, etcetera. However as years progressed, women began to see their true capabilities and started using them to be front seat drivers as opposed to the back seat rider. The feminist movement was a prime example of women taking the lead and challenging the norms society had set in place. The fuel that fired up these women, trailed into the attitudes that many women still have today in regards to gender roles and relationships. Nowadays the whole “I don’t need a man” mantra is quite prevalent and spans into media with the “act a lady, think like a man” movie appealing to women everywhere. It challenged the historical norms of women being submissive homemakers with no lives of their own outside of their relationship/ marriage. Women today however have taken on a whole new attitude when it comes to how we deal with men. We no longer play the submissive role. But instead many women have adopted the attitude that all they need men for is sex and physical pleasure. The home, bills, and children are taken care of quite well otherwise devoid of their presence. This ideal however is quite detrimental because the reality is that women DO need men and men DO need women. God gave us each other for companionship, love and marriage because we do better with each other. Women turn men off when they display that aggressive, “I can do bad all by myself” attitude. Reality is that a man wants to have the ability to be a MAN, to show his masculinity by taking the lead on things; i.e. picking up the tab, opening doors, choosing the places for dates from time to time and knowing you trust him to make decisions. He does not want to feel like the woman he’s dating is the one wearing the pants in the relationship. Gender roles are so skewed these days that men and women bump heads so much more now than ever before. I believe that bringing back the traditional ways of relating to each other in relationships and dating can greatly reduce this “battle of the sexes” so to speak. I am a lady and I want to be treated that way. As such, I have to learn how to take the back seat and let a man lead in the right direction. Of course a woman has to determine which man is best to be given this responsibility and privilege, but she must know that this is the ultimate goal. In other words, women, for God’s sake, please be WOMEN. There’s enough testosterone in the atmosphere. Happy dating ;]
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Check out more from Britt’s Real Talk on her blog link below: http://brittsrealtalk101.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/the-battle-of-the-sexes/
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FUNNY THINGS I’VE NOTICED WHILE PLANNING FOR OUR WEDDING It’s been a long time since I spoke with you. I’ve been grindin’ with this music... GAMERUNNERS ENTERTAINMENT (shameless plug), writing for FuNkTheFormula Magazine (even more shameless plug) and planning a wedding with my wife-to-be. There are a shitload of things to address about this process, most involving cost, and how they try to play up to the “women” and their desire for that dream wedding. What most of them didn’t know was that I am more of the “spend-thrift” between the two of us... So rolling them dice caused them to ace! (cee-lo reference) But today, I’m addressing some other issues... Well, mostly my observations. You all know that I have a tendency to look past the hype and delve deep into the root of the problem. You’re asking right now... WTF am I talking about right? Well, “F” you... This is what I mean...
1. WEDDING RECEPTIONS TURNED MUSIC VIDEOS: I looked up a couple of
wedding receptions for ideas, and references of “flow” on Youtube and found myself watching these flash-mob styled wedding receptions. One video I saw a bunch of women with chairs in the middle of the floor dancing to “Drunk In Love” and basically gyrating their waist and making love to the chair. Another was definitely a flash mob idea as people were scattered around the room but they all broke into this “Gangnum Style” dance routine which looked very choreographed once they began. I’m waiting for one of these reception videos to start off with a “Hype Williams production”. What happened to just the husband and wife dance, and the father and daughter dance? I told my wife-to-be I’m not doing it. I will not dance to “Set It Off” in a line with my boys from the hood. Miss me with that...
2. BREAKING THE BANK ON A WEDDING: My wife-to-be as mentioned is frugal.
I would even say VERY frugal... But it is justifiable “frugalness.” Why should we pay $3000 for a bunch of flowers that will die in a couple of days when we can have silk flowers, and my lady can make the bouquets? Why pay upwards of 2-300 dollars a plate when we have a nice reception room in OUR building? It does not make sense to have to take out damn near a “medical-school-loan amount of money” for MAYBE eight to ten hours for a wedding and reception! You then spend the first couple of years or so paying the shit off... Bickering about bills in your newlywed years. We would rather take ANOTHER cruise and a honeymoon this year and remain in the black... Fuck that.
3. NO ONE CARES YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED BUT YOU: I don’t mean to 13
take a jab at family or friends... But damn... All of the traditional stuff that your family or friends would handle was overlooked, unfortunately. People treated our wedding like it was a party they were going to... Waiting until the last minute to tell us if they were coming, (see RSVP Cards next); people in the bridal party waiting until the last minute to get their dresses / tuxes; and no one asking us “how can I help?” It’s not all about money... Your time would have been sufficient. I was waiting for someone to ask me “what time is it free for the ladies” or “what is the dress code to get in?” I swear if someone asks for seconds like it’s some BBQ... ”Kuff”!
4. RSVP CARDS: I sent you an invite. Inside was a card that requests that you
RSVP which means “respond please” in English. I have not heard from you. Oh wait... Two weeks before the wedding, you sent me an INBOX on Facebook saying you’re coming. But I sent you a CARD for that. Why are you sending my an inbox/ text/phone call saying that you’re coming to my wedding when I asked you send the RSVP CARD BACK? For that matter, I could have just created an “event” on Facebook and invited you that way... But you wanted an INVITE... A physical CARD, RIGHT? Asshole. By the time you read this, I will be a married man (July 12th is the wedding). I’m pretty sure I’ll have a lot more to discuss about the subject... But I haven’t decided whether or not to bore you with that just yet. By the way, I’m sorry about the shameless plugs for GAMERUNNERS ENTERTAINMENT, FUNKTHEFORMULA MAGAZINE and BEAUTY’S BOUQUETS FOR LESS? Oh, I didn’t make a shameless plug for BEAUTY’S BOUQUETS FOR LESS, which is my wife’s new company which creates beautiful bouquets at a reasonable price? https://www.facebook.com/groups/702617076473756/ My bad.
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Artist Aliza Razell mixes self portrait photographic scenes with vibrant splashes of watercolor, creating magestically surreal scenes that tell a captivatingly colorful story. Check out these images from her 2 series’ Anesidora and Ikävä.
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t u o k c e h C n o s e u s ! s i m t s o c . pa g a m a l u m r o f e h
Blackground Artist, Alberto Seveso provides some amazing, mesmorizing captures of ink plumes under water against a black background in one of his most recent projects, Blackground. You can check out more of his work at http://burdu976.com/
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FTF takes a look into the vibrant world of Charly Dominguez aka Charly Magazine as he “bares all� through an anatomically artistic exploration of surreal body painting.
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What does Tribal Futuristic Bizarre mean?
Tribal Futuristic Bizarre is the title of my body art series. It merges ancient tribal body adorning, with graffiti, cartoon, and abstract art, it also highlights robotic and other worldly accents to show how human tribes may exist in the future. Where does it come from? It began while i was experiencing my rites of passage, cleansing rituals and meditation in my mid teen years. What inspires/influences you when embark on to a new piece? I usually envision colors and templates of spirit beings. It’s as if I’m viewing a cross between worlds or dimensions, and I’m sketching what I’m seeing. The energy of the human canvas sometimes reveals colors, and beings that become present in the design as well. Who/What artist and style influences you? I am influenced by the most authentically unique artists in music, and in my immediate community. Graffiti artists are my favorite, they provide murals
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of beauty in not so pretty environments. But have moved me to create more beautiful images. What is your favorite medium? Mixed Media installations. How can a person be painted by you? I can be commissioned to paint for private and public photoshoots, and events. I can be reached by cell, or email. Do you find that people are more comfortable with their nakedness once painted by you? It depends. For the most part, the majority of the people who have become canvases for my art tell me it is a liberating experience. However, many people in general have body conscious issues. In society, the ideas of the perfect or imperfect body is a serious issue that more often than not becomes a negative reality for our self esteem. When did you first begin painting? Since Elementary and Daycare center, arts and crafts class. Also i have memories of drawing in
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Dominican Republic when i was a child. What kind of canvas inspires you the most? One that i feel a chemistry and connection to. I paint more on males because I am a gay man who appreciates the the beauty of women but am quite intrigued by the anatomy of a man ;-) Tell us about your art collective. How can one donate or contribute to the collective? The X Collective is a Bronx based, NYC Community Arts group that i have been a part of for the last 3 years. We create art based on Social Justice in collaboration and as individual artist. Our basement studio is our work space which we also transform into an exhibit space. You can check out our work at thexcollective.org One can imagine that being covered in paint and tribal symbols is a powerful experience. Do you see a difference in people that undergo this experience? Is this imbuing of power symbolic? Absolutely, art itself is transformational. I can get deep with the ritualistic properties, but to put it simply, when you are getting a hair cut, or style, your stylist becomes an informal counselor. Bodypaint is a very intimate experience which has created a safe space for some therapeutic opportunities, which is always a delicate process that is about building trust. Do you use tribal symbols within your work? Every symbol has power properties, involving elements through color and energy points of the body. But i am less conscious of that while creating, I allow something higher than me to implement that. What is an orisha?
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An Angel, A force of nature, a spirit, a particle of god which is all. Do you channel one orisha more than another when you work? I work with many, but Oshun rules my joy and my eye for beauty. She also snaps me out of my dark and withdrawn moments. One can imagine that this work is somewhat spiritual based. Does this resonate with you? Yes, as I believe all art is. What origins? My bloodline, my ancestors, my walk in life thus far, my community, the environments where i have lived, all have informed my body of work. What advice would you give to any young artist looking to bring an artform to life? Primarily, do it for the love of creating, the world will make of it what they wish, but keep the freedom in your creative process.
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I usually envision colors and templates of spirit beings. It’s as if I’m viewing a cross between worlds or dimensions, and I’m sketching what I’m seeing.
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The energy of the human canvas sometimes reveals colors, and beings that become present in the design as well.
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Hello my fellow lovers of cinema and CG art! I am happy to introduce a new corner of the Funk the Formula magazine “The CGI Corner�. In this article I will be f eaturing a different CGI masterpiece created by regular people or crews that are simply breathtaking, either it is cope or emotional content, or sometimes both! I have been given permission by a group called the CG bros. This will be an ongoing series as each month I will be hand picking another powerful or humorous article from their deep chest of awesomeness. And with that said I want to introduce to you guys the CG Bros! Great to meet you. Pleased to meet you. So the first question: are you guys artists as well or just lovers of the craft? TheCGBros are made up of a loyal collective of digital 3D/Animation//VFX professionals that have worked together in the digital animation/gaming/VFX industries across many different projects, for many different companies, in many different places all over the world. Our love of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) in all its forms, and the tech 49
behind it is what binds us together as bold pioneering artists of the new millennium, In a nutshell... Awesome, having that passion behind it is so important. It is everything besides the talent. Yes so true it defines who we are, how we live. As well as we perceive the world... Yes totally. What inspired you to gather up all these amazing CG works of art? In planning for our projects, we found that instead of having fun, we were wasting weeks of productivity searching for high quality reference material, resources and examples to not only help visualize our projects, but to inspire us to break through those frustrating creativity blocks. We began to individually curate our reference, educational and inspirational examples into a centralized digital HUB for quick and easy access whenever we needed. I totally love the variety of CG works you showcase on your channel. From animation to live action CGI features. Our goal is to provide the widest possible variety to reach the industry as a whole and try to get as many different ideas as possible and use it as a “creative stew” so to speak... It is definitely a feature rich “Stew” to feast upon. Very nourishing to my eyes at least, but I am sure to thousands of others as well. We really hope so, and thank you for your kind words! Our goal is to make artists’ lives easier... About how many views do you get a month? We do get 4-5 million views per month. Amazing! What are some of your personal favorites? We feature many different angles on the craft of 3D/VFX animation from Behind the Scenes Breakdowns and tech demonstrations, to 3D/VFX short films it is very difficult to choose a favorite as all of them have a special quality that makes them unique and 50
meaningful in their own way. We’d have to say that the 3D/VFX short films are particularly strong inspirational pieces for us and there are so many fantastic ones. Brain Divided, MonsterBox, R’ha, Sight, Johnny Express, Caldera, Meet Me Far, the fractal works of Julius Horsthuis are right up there for many of us! Yes, I love “R’ha” by Kaleb Lechowski. Such a great and powerful undertaking by one man. It is so awesome, they are making a film out of it now... I heard rumors about it. So glad, I definitely want to see more about that race and their struggle. The story is everything today. The technical methods used to create the visuals are definitely key to selling the story but, the story is really the king... Yes, I totally agree. We try to cater to both sides of the brain. There has to be a powerful tale to tell. What was the very first CG work you posted up? Wow, we have almost 2000 vids, but the first short film that really hit hard was the short film “Sight.” It is a wonderful work hitting all the high bars for the genre...very polished production and story... Appealing to both male and female audiences... I will have to definitely watch that. OMG...You haven’t seen it...OMG!!! Not yet, ha ha, I will definitely watch it today. Just messing with you... It’s all good, haha. The Gift is another good one too. The unicorn... Yes... People are starving for original content, and the studios are too involved with the bottom line (although that is important). We aim to give voices to those with the creativity and drive to bring their visions to life... Without Hollywood being involved. Oh yeah, I totally agree. Hollywood needs a serious wakeup call. I am happy that more and more indie films are popping up and showing Hollywood how it should be done. ABSOLUTELY! The VFX industry has also taken severe body blows and with large
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amounts of studio work going overseas as well... Now with world wide competition, good resources have never been more important for artists than today... Very true. They can find it all at TheCGBros rather than wasting all of their time. I seriously love how more indie directors are using those resources now more than ever, plus it takes their work to a whole new level making them serious competition or even surpassing Hollywood on so many levels. And, yes, I agree your site is definitely the nexus for amazing CG works. I like that word,nexus! Can we use it? It is definitely what you guys are to me. Feel free to use it. You guys are the center of an epic convergence of ideas and thoughts expertly conceived by arts and filmmakers. A perfect, explosive blend. We appreciate your noticing our humble channel and the opportunity to share it with others... You guys are providing such an important service. You allow these amazing artists to get exposure in areas of the world they would not normally get the opportunity too. That is one of our unique strengths is the reach and breadth of our audience... We have subscribers and contributors from being to New York and everywhere in between. We want to help put these artists “on the map.� Exactly why I am here interviewing you to help spread the word. Our contributors sacrifice blood, sweat and tears for months or years to create their visions and deserve to be seen regardless of their ability to afford traditional marketing; also they get the benefit of being exposed to industry professionals, directors, and producers. Cool. What do you think is more powerful: CG with good voice acting or CG with no voices at all, just impactful music? One of the hallmarks of good visual storytelling is the ability to convey meaning, feeling and emotion without the utterance of a single syllable. The simplest expression, the smallest gesture, most basic pose, even the body language of a silhouette can speak volumes and should be able to tell the story on their own. The addition of music reinforces the meaning, providing emotional anticipation and emotional expectation; words are really unnecessary.
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I have seen quite a few of those on your channel and I have to say they are all breathtaking not to have uttered a single word. The emotions they convey and pull from the viewer is just epic. I look forward to the day when indie made films get the same reverence and viewership as mainstream films. So much can be conveyed through body language, even more than the spoken word. Very true. We will make that happen my friend! Indie is where it is at... Power to the individual! Most definitely. Is there a short you can recommend for my readership to view today? Yes...”Brain Divided” for a PG rating and “Mis-drop” for R (has a couple s bombs)... Awesome. FunktheFormula Magazine welcomes both PG and the Bombastic stuff, too, haha. I have had a blast chatting with you.
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I have enjoyed meeting and chatting with you as well. I look forward to featuring another work of CG art from your channel next month, and chatting with you about it as well. Absolutely. It has been a pleasure Davence, and we look forward to speaking again soon. Hope you guys loved the interview I had this month with the CGBros. The short I am recommending you guys watch this week is called R’ha and below is the link to it. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBPfABMDRE And feel free to comment back and let me know what u think of this amazing animated piece done all by one man!
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ARTIST: Sqon, “Angry Birds” Italy
Street Art UTOPIA www.streetartutopia.com
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FunktheFormula, Inc. 2014