La Bonne Critique
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Sept/Oct/Nov 2015
WE ARE ALIVE A minimalist magazine of FRANCOPHONE ART
EDITORIAL Have you forgotten the potential of Francophone art? With an evermore dominant culture of globalisation, La Bonne Critique Magazine,as part of the collectif LBC World Family, has one precise goal to protect, reinforce and empower Francophone art. Here at La Bonne Critique we believe that every culture must protect and empower its authenticity and we are the advocates for the world of Francophone culture and creativity. Our mission is to demonstrate the quality and originality of all Francophone art, to place Francophone talent on a worldwide stage and to put a spotlight on its diversity.
We will also advise you on the best cities, venues and events to discover and support new talent. So together lets help the many branches of the francophone tree to grow and flourish.
In order to achieve this goal we will expose you, our readers to a large scope of artists from all domains such as music, photography, literature, audio visual art, theater,underground art and contemporary performance art, on a trimestrial basis
Emma Josie Hayes Chief Editor
SUMMARY Art
CASPER ULVSKOV
Photography
CHERRY LAZAR
Cinema
EMMA CHAIBEDRA / ET BIM
Music
GALSEN in Paris / TARIK M. / CHRIS STYLEZ
Mode
CLEA LALA / JOH’LY
Animation
JEAN-CHARLES KERNINON
Underground
MORNE
AJ DIRTYSTEIN / KIMONO
Performance
GALSEN IN PARIS
Missionaries of happiness Galsen in Paris is a group of five African musicians, from Senegal who came to Paris with one goal, to spread the love. Music for each of them is their ‘raison d'être’. They wanted their message of peace, love and harmony to cross the borders and unite people. Having traveled quite a lot they sing in French, English and Wolof. They all gathered in Paris and created their own music studio Timesound records and are all auto produced. Although they are a group of five, their door is open to everyone who would like to collaborate with them,they have a melting pot with artists from many genres of music. They can be found lighting up the Paris metro, often encouraging hundreds of all so serious and busy Parisians to stop and dance, not an easy task. The RATP have remarked that traffic in certain metro stations is slow when they perform as the majority of people want to stay to listen to them during
rush hour. I feel the need to tell you my own particular experience which is how I came to meet each of these wonderful men. It was the end of a difficult, long day attending to a class of my little primary school students, with my tummy rumbling and my moral low, I ran into a huge group of people in the Republique metro (something I had never seen before). Despite my fatigue and hunger I had to stop, the joy was contagious. I was at first shy to walk in front of the whole crowd to pick up a flyer but when their member Lidiop hit a certain note, I had chills and my head said go! The energy they transmit is one of healing and positivity. ‘The sky is the limit and we want to spread this message to every person, despite their religion, color, background or social status, we are all here together. As I personally heard them sing once, something which really touched me ‘all blood is red’. After all music has no race,
culture or religion. The public is welcome to take part in all of their performances. As we all know day after day we pass by homeless people that spend every night in the metro to keep warm, Galsen are the first to give these people a voice, inviting them to sing and dance with them , a true sign of beauty and acceptance of all. ‘ If just one person tell us that hearing our music has transformed their day for the better, we cannot ask for more.’
Each member of the group has their own style but together they are harmonious with one strong link, their message! – l’homme est un remède pour l’ homme’ : ‘Man is man’s own cure’. Galsens in Paris also play and record as solo artists. To find out more all you have to do is stay tuned to LBC, Galsen in Paris will headline our launch event on August 20th with other guest performers. We’re spreading the love with you Galsen.
Emma Josie
TARIK MACHIAVEL
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Electronic and techno music producer
Machiavels’ desire to produce music began during his time living in London where he met many different talented electro and techno djs and frequented some of the best known electro clubs. His main musical inspirations being jazz, r'n'b and funk, he wanted to transmit these sounds into his electronic music. He later furthered his knowledge in Berlin where he became inspired by the techno producer and label owner Stephane Bodzin. Machiavel learned from experimentation and by surrounding himself by talented djs in the industry, he emphasises the necessity of motivation 'the motivation to make music needs to come from you and not just from a desire to please a large public, it’s not consumerism’. Machiavel took a step backstage creating his own label in 2011 called Machiavel
‘Music is passion, nothing else. I’m not striving to please an audience if there are ten people or ten thousand people that like what I do, I’m happy.’
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Records. He was conscious of the fact that the world of electro music was and still is saturated, with many famous Djs just 'following the wave’ always reproducing the same beats. He was selective about what DJ’s he produced on his label, they needed to show not only inspiration but 'infusion’, something creative and new. Machiavel continues to make his own music, beats with a chill, lounge vibe, a softer approach to electro music.
He wishes to focus more on his own creations in the future, with a focus on quality rather than quantity. With 13 years experience he has learned how to make his sounds authentic… following perhaps in the steps of Bodzin who considers “authenticity is everything without it everything would appear to be nothing more than a hollow shell.” Quelle belle rencontre !
Emma Josie
AJ DIRTYSTEIN The female inside out. I was first intrigued by the work of AJ Dirtystein when I met her whilst performing with the contemporary arts collective, Dimanche Rouge. Her work spoke volumes to me as a young 20 year young woman finding her place in the world, discovering the desires of her body and beginning to understand what it really means to be female. AJ is a painter, live performer, visual artist and film producer, her message pulsates through the raw nature of her work. The body for AJ has its own limits and constraints, a female body is not just the breasts, the child-bearing hips and the vagina, its ‘sensible flesh’. The constraints of this flesh are imposed by society. Female sexuality notably is often watered down, minimized
and caged. In her performances AJ releases the many dimensions of female sexuality, the frustrations, the taboos. She explores eye opening themes such as sadomasochism, death and influence of religion, but simply to 'make people reflect, after all sexuality is related to every aspect of society.’ AJ’s reflections are interesting, she reminds us that men and women both have characteristics of the opposite sex, only that society and particularly religion in the past taught us that the masculine model is of much more value. She speaks about how in the 16th and 17th century women that knew how to cure using just herbs were accused of witchcraft, purely because their knowledge posed a threat to masculine authority, for example the catholic church. Speaking of female and male traits in all of us, AJ is a voice for the transcommunity,
'the rights of the trans community do not exist.’ For AJ society needs to start wiping out shame, and pity. Why should someone who is trans, physically or mentally disabled or socially marginalized be pitied ? It’s those who cannot open their minds to acceptance that must be pitied. Stop victimization, stop stigmatization. AJ creates all stage sets by hand and began a series of short movies by filming herself in all of her intimacy in her own bathroom carrying out a series of symbolic rituals, such as walking on eggshells with heels or brushing her teeth with her partner's sperm, which she is now releasing as one longer feature film. She admits that not all members of her audience will appreciate what she does but she is not doing it to please but rather to raise important questions related to controversial issues such as rape or porn.
Her performances always include strong symbols of the female, such as white rose petals, needle and thread or
even her own blood. We can often see symbols of Catholicism in her performances, which in a
sense is ironic as until the age of 13, AJ wanted to be a nun, growing up in a very Catholic family in French Guiana. However upon growing up she realized that there were other ways of living and she began having 'discussions with her subconscious’ , something she considers to be very important for every individual. These discussions with her subconscious inspired AJ to write her own on the topic of 'performing the savage woman’.
AJ will project her feature length movie 'Don’t pray for us’ for the first time in Toulouse in September in the suitably dark setting of an abandoned 18th century manor house. Her next exposition in Paris will take place also in September entitled 'Cannibalism and Animalism ’. Stay connected to LBC for more information on her performances, we certainly will be attending them too!
Emma Josie
CASPER ULVSKOV Bearing his soul on canvas Casper D Ulvskov is a Danish painter from the small city of Horsens, currently residing in Paris. The crystal waters of life’s stream began taking Casper on an exploration of painting at
a young age and the streams are now leading him to oceans. Casper has traveled all over, but it was in Paris that he found his first real identity as a painter. He found a certain freedom in his work during his time spent painting with an Italian painter Manuel
Baldassare, he came to the conclusion that ,whilst painting, the target is always anonymous, one must simply explore. In January of 2014, Casper had his first exhibition in Paris at Petit du Bonheur Gallery in Montmartre. The exhibition was entitled ‘Food for the Soul’, using oil colors he painted using entirely waste materials,like cardboard sheets found on the street. 'Art recycling’ was also used in his second exhibition, 'The Circle Ends’ at Gallerie Lekker in Paris later in 2014. Both exhibitions were a success and attracted the attention of galleries overseas. In the summer of that same year Casper was invited to exhibit his work at the prestigious HOWL festival in NYC, organised by the mayor of New York to celebrate the works of poet Allen Ginsberg. He had just four days to prepare his exhibition and so began painting publicly with an installation granted to
him at Tompkins Square Park. Casper describes this experience as being one of complete exposure, bearing his soul to a crowd of curious onlookers with every stroke of his brush. He describes NYC as being a place of great competition, a place to prove your work worthy and consequently a place of great energy and motivation. He painted a little boy holding a gun, the American flag flying proudly behind him, which he entitled 'In God we Trust.’ This was a reflection on American society, the stark contrast between the great faith in God and the reliance on arms. Casper hitchhiked from NYC through Canada, he describes it as the best and most authentic way to travel. He found inspiration for his work in the stories told to him by the local people that took him from place to place. He eventually stopped to live in a cabin in the woods in Yukon, Alaska. It reminded him of the stories told by Thoreau or Kerouac but feels that they omitted the extent
‘When you accept to paint you accept to be alone…’ of the loneliness such a solitary experience exposes the human to. He spent three months just 'painting for the birds.’ His return to civilization (London) was a shock to the system, seeing more people in one second than he had seen in three months. However, Casper believes that, contrary to
the instant gratification provided by the big city, the forest offers truth. Casper offers us a comparison between the artist and the scientist, both are searching for truth. Art tries to enlighten just like science, both try to understand life. For Casper however, life is
in fact meaningless, art can be an attempt to give meaning to life. He explains that these attempts are never ending, capturing the truth or even a hint of truth is most difficult. He says only one out of twenty of his paintings really speaks to him. He explains that it takes time to become free and confident with your creation. However when he looks back at old work he finds proof of how far he has come. Casper’s next venture is poetry. He has begun writing and exploring the art of making language mean something, as language is often poor. He also has a partnership with the Danish Bank Art Association who organize his painting exhibitions at home in Denmark. Here at LBC we were highly impressed by Casper’s talent for painting, we can only imagine what wonders his poetry will bring to light.
Emma Josie
CHERRY LAZAR Eroticism and the celebration of the female Artist Cherry Lazar currently residing in France is opening her first exhibition ‘Cherry on Top’ in Paris this month and it is top of our 'to discover list’ here at LBC. A young lady born in New Zealand, Cherry began exploring her talent in photography at high school, starting with self portraits with various playful, fantasy moods and characters. She felt a need to explore the world at an early age and has lived in various capital cities such as London, New York, Rome and Berlin. Studying at the Paris College of Art lead her to consider the exploration of the power of the self portrait to celebrate all aspects of femininity, something which as a child she had been
discouraged to not 'buy into’. But for Cherry dressing as a princess, a sexy nurse or a slutty bride does not brand you as a weak woman waiting in the wings for her prince for reassurance, quite the contrary. Cherry is much inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, the god Himeros of desire and of course Venus. She is currently working on a short movie in which she explores these influences. In her work we see the female in all her beauty and powerful glory. Cherry has a goal in her work ’ to break shame’, there is no shame in a woman loving sex or loving her body no matter what shape or size it is. 'It’s my
decision to be naked and I’m doing it for me not for the pleasure of men’. During our interview we spoke of how far we’ve come as women but how far we still have to go and part of that long road is also educating and changing male mentalities. A woman is a sexually charged being just like any man and the mystery of the female orgasm is something to be explored and spoken about.
Her portraits are wonderfully colorful and strikingly pink, somewhat of a symbol of femininity but also holding a certain satire. Her self portraits are meticulously shot , the angle of her camera exposing the most desirable parts of the female body. She works with many different female models whom she includes in the creation of the set of her shoots. Cherry also expressed her interest in
one day photographing men in a similar manner – an exploration of the male.
Emma Josie
EMMA CHAIBEDRA
Goddess of simplicity The origins of Emma Chaibedras talent begin in middle school theater class where she had her first introduction to the stage. A little dancer and blossoming actress, Emma at first saw her talent as a hobby, aspiring at first to be a psychologist. Later in life she was drawn back into the artistic sphere when she began her studies of cinema and audio visual. She was invited to play her first cinema role in a short university movie that planted the seeds of her career and that gave her the ‘passion and determination to try every means to make it’. Emma began in the comedy clubs of Paris alongside Kyan Khojandi, star of French series 'Bref’, in which she played a small role in 2011. Emma’s influences vary from the genius of Meryl Streep to the simplicity of Natalie
Portman. She regrets the feeling that in recent years she struggles to find inspiration in French actors, she speaks of a 'lack of confidence in French talent amongst the French themselves’, something she feels is a great shame because after all France, like America played a significant role in the birth of cinema. She looks to the likes of Jean Gabin and Buster Keaton, the old greats who had a 'real desire for the art of cinema and not just a focus on making money’. Her current projects are varied, in both cinema and theater. She is currently preparing her theater debut in the role of a middle aged pregnant lady. A very interesting aspect to Emma’s 'jeu de role’ is her versatility, she can play a large age spectrum and finds her newest challenge of filling the shoes of a middle
aged mum to be, inspiring both for her personal and private life. The play is called L'impasse, directed by Julien J. Romano and premiering at Theater de Menilmontant on the 15th of May, with a 6 month continuation at Theater Clavel from November this year. In cinema, she recently played the second female lead in an Indonesian film called Edensor, directed by Benni Setiawan. It was also a first opportunity for Emma to play in English, something she wishes to continue. On the subject of the difficulties for women in the business, Emma had a lot to say. She recently played in her first topless scene for the comedy web series 'Double Rainbow Infinite’ in which she plays a sexy genie.It was a step easily taken for her thanks to her confidence in her director Thomas Lusourd. For her, being an actress means also being aware of the influence it has on the youth of today. We have forgotten
how to seduce without being sexual. Seduction doesn’t always mean sex, it can be an artistic seduction or even a seduction based on friendship, we forget that on screen or with fame.'Flirting is logically social , we all have a desire to please others but why this focus on sex?’ Perhaps it’s because sex sells?
Emma makes the point of highlighting that the fact that as artists we are constantly judged doesn’t help.The instrument of the actor is his or her body, but also his or her mind.
If she gains a certain notoriety and influence some day, she wishes to encourage young girls today to not 'buy into the game of the 'easy’ physique but to be strong minded, classy and simple most of all.’ Simplicity is the key. At La Bonne Critique we encourage Emma to share her elegant simplicity with an Anglo Saxon audience, be it in France or on the international stage.
Emma Josie
CHRIS STYLEZ
You don’t know Chris Stylez ? Chris Stylez is a passionate soul of Jamaican origin and born in Ottawa, Canada. His belief is that when one love ends another begins, at a young age he fell out of love with basketball and in love with music. Chris grew up surrounded by music, mainly reggae and jazz, these influences later drew him into a musical wave and in recent years those waves have become wild. The currents of music have taken him from Ottawa to Toronto and to NYC. He believes that if you really want to make something happen in life you must put yourself in the way of it. Every road he took involved music, whether it was time spent working at a radio station, writing or being part of a rap group. Wherever Chris was, music was too. He learned how to play guitar and piano through the people he spent time with. Chris speaks about a natural gravitation towards people
who inspire him, different musicians, DJs, songwriters and these people are who he gives thanks to for his success. Regarding his writing, it was something innate for Chris he always wrote short stories, short films and poetry. He began combining his two passions when he began songwriting, adding melody to a story. Behind each of his songs there is a small glimpse into his life. Not all of these songs were released under his own name, in fact Chris has written over 70 songs for artists from a range of genres whilst often vocal coaching artists. He also studied entertainment business management and so has an all round knowledge of his domain. Chris performed his first independent record ‘Fade Away’ on America's national TV show 106 and Park, a show created for their Music
Matters campaign. He performed live 3 times on the show, this was the beginning of his solo career. His writing remains the core essence of his work, the sound a reflection of his soul. His EP 'Superstar’ featured 'Can I live’ in 2013, a song about disconnection to follow one's own path, be it from a person or a place, a feeling everyone of us can relate too. His path seems to be leading him somewhere special. This year, Chris released his new single 'Who is’, a killer of a tune that Chris tells us is an introduction not only to himself (reflecting his direct and honest character) but also to the future of his work. He visited London and Paris this year where he performed live at 'I luv live’ (London) and Radio Marais (Paris). Snapchat launched 'Who is’, inviting Chris to their Venice beach platform to perform live on
their show 'Under the Ghost’. 'Who is’ has also been released as a remix and added to a number of spotify playlists. Here at LBC we are excited for Chris’s next project.On his next trip to London he will record a reggae song with his uncle BB Seaton, reggae singer and producer at Soul Beat Records. I personally have heard Chris perform this record and I can tell you it’s one to wait for. Who is WHAT?
Chris
Stylez?
Say
Emma Josie
CLEA LALA Household fashion Young, contemporary designer, Clea Lala has gained recognition for her talent for embroidery. With a generously minimalist style she has created beautiful pieces using a simple needle and sewing thread, an old and often timing consuming practice. It is a pleasure to see this young lady at work,
modernising a practice that is often viewed as something confined to old fashioned households. She customizes minimalist garments giving them a unique and artistic touch at an affordable cost. It hasn’t taken long for her work to attract the attention of big names such as Levis, Facebook and BHV.
Her talent is a real asset. Her pieces can be explored online.
M. B.
WET KIMONO Hey bobo wet your kimono ! When electronic music meets poetry. Wet Kimono is a collaboration that began in 2013 between a French ‘electronic mechanic’ Human Koala, an artist with a talent for setting emotions and feelings free through sound and a French writer and poet Clementine D. Calcutta.
With titles like 'even if lust’ and 'tease tease tease’ we already have a taste of the theme of this artist's music. 'Strange and Sexy Dubby Electropop’ with a raw edge to it, Wet Kimonos work is an expression of desire with a
trance feel, we can feel this most in their piece 'tease tease tease’ 'I don’t take drugs, I’m listening to Wet Kimono’. Eroticism is expressed through their sound but with a minimalist and psychedelic vibe.
Human Koala captures the natural sounds of the body in his compositions whilst Clementine expresses the thoughts. Two artists that certainly compliment one another. Listen to experience.
Emma Josie
MORNE
From spray paint to pencil Before taking the road towards the GARE EXPO, Morne signed with the DMJC crew, a graffiti group well reputed in the world of Graffiti art and originating in Peru. The wildstyle is Morne’s main influence, at once full of complexity, but also beauty. His work is an explosion of color, in sometimes gigantic dimensions, mixed with a powerful savage vibe. The move towards a more abs-
tract style was slow but well thought out. Between Gothic experimentalism and symbolism his traits are impeccable. The format is significantly smaller than his graffiti, as he enters a phase of playing with perspective effects. The architect’s pencil has replaced the spray paint as the artist now explores a more intricate approach on paper. LBC is patiently waiting for his next exhibition…
M.B.
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