HA LF
01_01 2014
Hello. Half is Miami/New York. Half is male/female. Half is art/design. Half is here/there. Half is big/small. You are Half. We are Half. Thank you.
Index
4/5 _photo
Melissa GutiĂŠrrez
6/7 _photo
Daniel Lopera
8/9 _mixed media 10/11 _illustration 12/13 _design 14/15 _curation 16/17 _event 18 _pix
Pamela Gonzalez Brian Rivera Tom Pupo Ana Sophie Salazar Robert Gober The Other Half
19 _wip
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Melissa GutiĂŠrrez
Madre Mia, 2014 _introduce yourself. Hi, I'm Melissa. I'm 22 years old and I live in New York. I'm from Miami, Florida and I went to Parsons New School for Design. _what brought you to art? I began to explore photography in high school. I was really interested in old archival images. I'd spend a lot of time in the library. I remember being really obsessed with yearbooks from the 70s. _what are some of your concerns in art that affect your work? I feel there aren't many minority women artists represented in mainstream media. Photography is a male dominated profession and being a woman in the field is a constant struggle.
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_any interesting anecdotes? Whenever my mother sees a photo I have taken of her, she never recognizes herself. It’s as if she doesn’t remember the moment. It’s always a surprise for her when she sees my photography. _what tools do you use? I really cherish an old Yashica camera I got my freshman year of college. I basically shoot all of my images on it. _what role does place play in your work and process? It's really hard for me to make work in New York. I think about the work that I’ve made in Miami there’s something about being in the confines of that space that inspires me to make work. Maybe it's because Miami’s closer to the memories that I have. But the color palette, the pastels and the light, has had a big influence on my work. _work environment/studio setting and time? I feel comfortable making photos in the early afternoon, three o'clock. That's my favorite time for portraits. It's my favorite time because I'm comfortable with how the light works. There's something that's extra warm about three o'clock that no other time has. _what about exhibiting your work? To be honest, I don't want to be an artist who works on commission. I’m more interested in building a collection. I think it's more comforting to make work for myself and then see the progress later on in my life. That's why I strive to have a day job to manage my work. On-Line melissa-gutierrez.com
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Daniel Lopera
Green Bear, 2014 _introduce yourself. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is D-A-N to the IEL, Lopera. I am a Floridian currently residing in NYC. _what brought you to art? I guess I would say my father introduced me to art. I grew up looking at artist books in his library and I'd say that influenced me a lot. Also marijuana, it expanded the art and creativity section of my brain. _what are some of your concerns in art that affect your work? Some of my concerns in art include how easy it has become to create images because of technology. I guess due to that, I have strayed away from the camera and look for different ways of representation.
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_what drives your practice? The meaning of life drives my work. I tend to read a lot of afterlife theories and metaphysical thoughts. Also, GOOD Hip Hop literally drives me to produce art. _what’s the image you included? is it from a series? Yes, the image is from the same series called, Pellucid Plasma. _describe it a bit. Process is important for me in my artistic practice. I created miniature flat sculptures using glue, acetate, and other materials. I stacked these up on top of each other then used a flatbed scanner to scan at hi-res. The result for me reminds me of plasma, like stars colliding in space in some hallucinogenic universe. _how do you use your medium? If I have a medium it'd be photography. And how I use that medium is slightly different from the traditional sense of it. I try pushing the limits of what a photograph can be. In essence photography is drawing with light, there's a ton of ways one can achieve this. _what can you say about your work environment? I live in Brooklyn, I am lucky to even have a place I can call a studio, it’s a small 9x9 room. It consists of a table where I make things and the walls are filled up with works in progress and inspiration. On-Line daniellopera.com
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Pamela Gonzalez
Pins, 2014 _introduce yourself. Hi! I'm Pam. I'm 23 years old, born & raised in Miami with a Colombian background. _art? It's the only thing I've ever continuously gravitated towards. _what are you currently working on? Trying to work on a new theme in my work based on life experiences and changes. Trying to experiment with photography and video. I'm also hoping to start learning how to tattoo before the year ends!
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_what are some of your concerns in art that affects your work? The struggle of trying to find purpose for my work. This leads to focusing on making handmade objects or pieces that can be sold - etsy for example, or freelance work. _how has your current work differed from your earlier work? I get bored easily so I transition through different phases. My current work includes trying to master the skill of drawing while developing different projects on the side and constantly changing up the materials being used. Staying stimulated and allowing for risk is the best way to grow in your practice _what drives your practice? The oddities I come across in people and experiences drive me... characteristics such as memories, human qualities, aesthetics, design, harsh realities and humor influence me. On-Line: etsy.com/shop/seahorsex
Wall Installation, 2014
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Brian Rivera
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Planet Nueron, 2006 – 2014
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Tom Pupo
Curie Shelf, 2014 _a brief introduction to your project as a whole. Moonlighter is a forum for creative collaboration in design. Currently it is composed of an online network of creative individuals discussing, featuring, and exhibiting their designs via the website, mobile app, and online store. The vision is to create a physical place where creatives can go to unwind and allow ideas to unfold organically. It would be equal parts cafe + lounge, prototyping + 3D printing lab, and exhibition venue + design shop. Regular design workshops, lectures, and events would engage the community by highlighting the design and fabrication process behind the objects exhibited. Moonlighter aspires to promote an alternative method to our culture of consumption by educating and empowering people with new technologies, local economies, and collaborative design communities.
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_what lead to this specific project & your discipline? After graduating from the School of Architecture at FIU, we realized our access to laser cutters, CNC mills, and 3D printers were now limited. While studying, we were so focused on our design project briefs that we never had the chance to explore these technologies freely and design personal pieces. We realized that many young professionals are equipped with the technical skills, but they lack a central place to go and exercise these skills. Understanding that not everyone can drop everything and work on their own designs full-time, we named the company Moonlighter, after the people who would be "moonlighting" their creative projects after work or school. _on the topic of work environment - what tools do you use, how do you use them, and why? We use two Macbook Pro's (as our work needs to be as flexible and as mobile as us) two Makerbot 3D printers, A CNC mill, and a Lasercutter, as well as three 3Doodler 3D Printing pens for our youth workshops. For software, we typically use Rhino 3D, AutoCad, Sketch-Up, Photoshop and Illustrator. Our process tends to think of the objects in parts and design each part with the best fabrication process that suits it. There are certain qualities associated with the final product of each production process and we design in a way that capitalizes on the qualities of these individual components. There are certain characteristics that are unique to objects produced in this way, and we think that harnessing these qualities makes for an interesting, ever changing design project. On-Line moonlighter.co info@moonlighter.co
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Ana Sophie Salazar
Pรกtio Ambulante, 2013 _introduce yourself. My name is Ana Sophie Salazar and I was born in Paris to Ecuadorian parents. I was raised in Portugal where I studied at a German School and graduated in piano from the Music School of Lisbon. I have taught piano, mathematics and German since 2008. Currently, I am a student at the MA Curatorial Practice Department of the School of Visual Arts in New York City _what brought you to curating? In 2009, I co-founded the cultural association FRAME 408 based in Berlin and Lisbon, which experiments with artistic participatory practices in public space. Through site-specific interventions, art is instrumentalized to invite people to gather and experience cooperation, promoting social cohesion and integration. My main interest as a curator is to be actively part of the contemporary art discourse developing physically and emotionally engaging events, where the role of art is to create space for new possibilities of personal and social development.
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_have you curated projects before? Påtio Ambulante is a project that uses a 1975 German firetruck as the motor for occupations of public urban spaces. It functions as means of transportation for our urban furniture and itinerant exhibitions, as well as small home-made ice cream shop for selfsustainability. The patio typology is omnipresent in Lisbon’s urban fabric and our goal is to use these spaces to create communities and allow grassroots exchange. The cultural program I co-curated was filled with different kinds of art practices by artists who were happy to take the challenge of performing in unconventional venues. Music, theater, contemporary dance, film screenings were part of the events, as well as workshops in various areas, from sewing to theater, from urban art to furniture building. For me, it is important that these activities were open to everybody, especially the local community of inhabitants around the patios. The itinerant nature of the project forced us to be constantly on the lookout for new partnerships with social and cultural projects and understand the urban infrastructure characteristic to the space. We have created a network that includes artists, resident associations, cultural spaces, architecture collectives, the city libraries, among many other different projects. _is FRAME 408 still a thing or was it a project that existed in the moment? FRAME 408 is the name of the collective that consists of architects, artists, curators, set designers, and musicians. The project Påtio Ambulante continues at least for the next two summers and is financed by the City Municipality. On-Line facebook: Ana Sophie Salazar instagram: @anasophiesalazar
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The Heart Is Not a Metaphor October 4, 2013 - January 18, 2015
Image courtesy of caretsandsticks.com
The 40-year Robert Gober retrospective at MoMA, ongoing until January 18, 2015, is an extraordinary event you can’t miss. Curated by Ann Temkin and Paulina Pobocha, The Heart Is Not a Metaphor takes you on a journey through Gober’s prolific career, amassing important periods in his imaginative work that leaves you asking more questions when you leave than when you came in. As you enter the first of 14 galleries, you get lost in a pseudo-surrealist story with its home-like feeling. You slowly make your way through Gober’s artistic life in chronological order, as it makes sure to introduce you to some of the most important life-turning moments in his life, including his faucet-less sinks, uncomfortable wallpaper and odd dollhouses. Gober, who has also curated shows in the past, has a room dedicated to other artists midway through his show that shows similar works to his, allowing for you to take a short break from his extensive collection to breathe.
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Slowly gliding through the galleries, you get lost in Gober’s imagination and progressively, you start to think that you actually know him. His sinks hang bare, with nothing more than the do-it-yourself mentality that has driven his practice. The lack of faucets reflect the inability to cleanse during the AIDS epidemic that hit hard in New York in the 1980’s and 1990’s; an epidemic that Gober experienced firsthand. The wallpapers in the following rooms mirror American history, for example, starting with the white privilege mentality of the boy asleep on a pillow juxtaposed next a lynched black boy. The reappearing images of painted houses, dollhouses, and home furniture throughout shows Gober’s connection to his home-life and parallel his ongoing struggle with his personal life as a gay man and his relationship with his family; the pieces seem rough, assertive and gentle at the same time. “Why is Gober obsessed with sinks?” “What’s the point of focusing so much on the idea of a home?” “Who is Gober, anyway?” These questions, along with many others that you may have will leave you with no answers. Gober’s retrospective allows you to ask these questions and start a conversation about different themes he tackles: class struggle, sexuality, and terrorism to name a few. One of the true successes of the show is that it leaves you thinking and imbues your mind with abnormal thoughts about Gober’s pieces. To experience Robert Gober’s retrospective is to experience a man with many layers that not only allows you to peek into his life but invites you to be part of it. Tempkin, Pobocha, along with Gober, arranged the 110+ artworks like a story. Gober’s works speak to you the deeper you get lost into the galleries. You can easily find spaces where you can relate to him, as seen with his newspaper works about September 11, 2001. By: Maya Castro Gutiérrez
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#WIP _HALF is seeking artists, designers, curators, musicians, and creative of all walks to feature.
_HALF is a work-in-progress and hopes to produce an issue every quarter.
_HALF is the product of Brandon Paul Martinez and Maya Castro GutiĂŠrrez.
For more information regarding HALF, please email: halfnyc@gmail.com
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The Other Half
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halfnyc@gmail.com