Publisher/Editor Stephanie J. Young
Editor’s Note:
Art Director David Born
Another exciting year comes to an end. 2013 was not only filled with events, studio visits and openings, but saw the launch of our monthly newsletter, revamped website and media cooperation with the ArtMap publishing house out of Hong Kong. The newsletter has allowed us to write about events we wouldn’t normally cover while exposing a vibrant art scene halfway around the world. With that said, the new issue continues our mission to feature unconventional artists working in New York City. Cover artist Micki Pellerano fits the bill with depictions of the human experience in a style reminiscent of an old world master. His symbolic palette of ritual and transformation gives insight into his obscure ideas and interests. Whereas painter Marcy Brafman embraces popular culture through media icons. One of those icons becomes the subject of an essay by Robert Mahoney in “Taming The Troll.” Other lovelies include the incomparable Nancy Drew, Dean and Pepa and The Defiled. Enjoy.
Layout Designer Kristy Sabey Vellum Management Carter Davis Contributors Marcy Brafman, Soda, Gloria Echeverry Martinez, Michael Lacerte, Leah Oates, Colin Hacklander, Alison Luntz, Robert Mahoney. Special thanks to (e)Motion Picture, TT, Anthea Fan and Artmap/a.m. Post:, Tom Kotik, Meike and DirtBikes, Aron and Larp, Val Lloyd, The Fire Electric, New Faith, Xylofaux, Donald, Nancy and Freddy’s, Francois Croissant and Art Basel, Art Basel Hong Kong, Liste Art Fair, Erick, Alex and The Paper Box, Matchless, Koren Kuntz, Anna Souvorov, Theresa E. and all the people I’ve met and will meet along this wonderful, crazy, journey.... Cover Art Micki pellerano
“Leviathan” 2011
Stephanie J. Young December 2013
Back issues: Vellum no. 3 Kurt Lightner, Tobias Putrih, Lauren Luloff, Stephen Nguyen, David Baskin, more. Vellum no. 4 Wei Dong, David Moreno, Jason Fox, Ofri Cnaani, Richard Dupont, Andy Piedilato, more. Vellum no. 5 Carter Davis, Elizabeth Huey, Marcy Brafman, Dean Monogenis, Amy Bennett, more. Vellum no. 6 Andy Piedilato, Tedd Nash Pomaski, Marcy Brafman, Becky James, Nathan Dilworth, Asja Jung, Mitchell Kehe, Jim Herbert, Elizabeth Albert // magcloud.com Vellum no. 7 Nancy Drew, Saya Woolfalk, Linda Ganjian, Todd Knopke, Haley Hughes, The Peripherists (Jocko Weyland), Wild in the Streets ( // magcloud.com Vellum no. 8 Mark Power, Saira Mclaren, Tony Orrico, Seher Shah, Aaron Houser, Davide Balliano, Wild in the Streets 2, walking around w/ artzine // magcloud.com Vellum no. 9 Tom Kotik, David Moreno, Mathanki Kalapathy, Gabriel J. Shuldiner, The Artists of SonicMarcy Brafman, Aaron Houser, Donald O’Finn, Nancy Drew. // magcloud.com Vellum no. 10 Lori Nix, Gina Magid, Amy Kao, Dasha Shishkin, Katherine Newbegin Vellum no. 11 Sarah Gamble, Tedd Nash Pomaski, Andy Piedilato, Julia Jacquette
// magcloud.com // magcloud.com
Back issues (not through Magcloud) are $5 including shipping and handling. Please send us an email with issue no. to arrange payment. Contact: thirdman3@netzero.com www.VellumArtzine.com
Dean Monogenis & Pepa Prieto Marcy Brafman Nancy Drew HK Media / a.m. Post Micki Pellerano Purple Satellite Colin Hacklander Fantastic Things
(...) and since noise depends on the intent of the transmitter, the context and reception (whether sonically, mechanically, culturally) it is certainly possible for someone to knowingly transmit a 'noisy message' through their disposition-- their 'outer face.' And one
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7KH 'HĂ&#x20AC;OHG
“Emporio” 16x20 Acrylic on wood panel, 2012 “Age of Innocence” 38x58 Acrylic on wood panel, 2012 “After the Storm”48x65 Acrylic on wood panel, 2012 “Parkland” 60x90 Acrylic on wood panel, 2012
Dean Monogenis & Pepa Prieto
When I visit them in their live/work duplex in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, I see some of the labor that began three years ago. Dean’s work has been on my radar for several years and when I first wrote about him in 2007 his painting was fueled by abandoned architectural sites found in mountainous landscapes. This remains true to some extent, except he’s paired it down somewhat allowing for more breathing room. Pepa’s work is completely new to me and I find like the creator it has great frenetic energy. As mentioned earlier, she’s currently transitioning from a more figurative style into abstract territory and it seems to be working. A transitional diptych on hand has the quirky shapes of performing acrobats similar in scale to Calder’s circus performers. While her new abstract work becomes an energetic lesson in mark making. Although figurative forms can be identified the approach has gotten more insular. Abstraction is usually seen and interpreted differently by each viewer and in her new pieces I’m most attracted to the actual mark making. Sometimes half the battle of being a good painter is how you apply the paint. On the other end of the spectrum, Dean’s design background consistently shows a technique that produces very flat graphic images. Progressing nicely with futuristic landscapes, he recently finished one that turned out slightly different. It depicts a lush environment with waterfall showing a partially hidden structure. Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Falling Water” house comes to mind, as does a scene from the original Planet Of The Apes movie. When he tells me the idea came after visiting the Bronx Zoo I’m not surprised. On perspective alone, it breaks from other work honing into the actual building; an old power plant in a derelict neighborhood of Athens, Greece. There’s an ancient quality present and different from other motifs which tend to be ultra modern.
“P.O.V.” 20x24 Acrylic on wood panel, 2013
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The story of Dean and Pepa began in 2010 at The Fountainhead Residency in Miami, Florida. Maybe it was the warm sun or tropical surroundings but both decided at that precise moment that they were at a point in their painting careers that needed a jolt. They proceeded to fall in love and embarked on the unthinkable, working side by side. Often times, painting is a solitary practice, done alone, and commonly not in the company of a loved one. But somehow the arrangement with Dean and Pepa produced positive results. It freed them from previous constraints and allowed the adrenaline of new love to work in their favor. Dean’s paintings got weirder and Pepa moved steadily into abstract territory, a transition she had been attempting for a while. In the past, both had worked as successful designers, eventually leaving it all behind to pursue the more challenging road of painting.
“A Brief Invention” 55x76 Acrylic on wood panel, 2013
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“In Between” 14x18 Acrylic on wood panel, 2013
Another has sentimental value and exemplifies Dean’s use of architectural structures in lieu of figures to project psychological associations and emotion. “That one’s actually about Pepa and I” he says. “At one time, we didn’t live in the same city. It was emotionally difficult. This was about having the space between us. The Sci-fi quality was really a lame trick I figured out in another ptg. I painted this massive canvas of Yosemite Park, with El Capitan as the back drop. I had a daylight blue background it was bothering me so one day I thought I’m gonna paint it black. Then all of a sudden the lighting made sense.” The two collaborated on a show together last Feb at Circuit 12 Contemporary in Dallas, Texas entitled “Land Ho”. The exhibit loosely dealt with the couple’s transient nature and resulting work produced together while traveling the world. Initially, the gallery contacted them separately and they ended up pitching the show. It not only consisted of traditional canvases but new trends in their work including video, installation and sculpture. A series of plein air canvases, entitled “El Palmar” was produced by Dean from the couple’s visit to Andalusia, Spain. Consisting of 7 relatively small pieces, they recall an older, impressionist technique. Depicted are various perspectives of someone’s backyard. However, the dominant focus is an extremely bright light native to that part of the world. It gives the paintings an ultra glare and compliments the ordinariness of subject matter, further exploiting the traditions of plein air. Obviously, painted just for himself and to further explore the mystery of craft, the couple currently have a punk rock attitude that allows for this type of unconventional thinking. “It goes back to the question of why are you an artist?” explains Dean. “Why? Because I can’t just go on vacation and sit on a beach! I gotta make something. You have to demonstrate how that experience affected you.” Adds Pepa: “I think it’s an illness really. You have to occupy your mind. I think it just means you’re fucked up. You’re addicted to your work. You can’t just watch tv. You’re on a search, forever investigating.”
“A core believe”, “Untitled”, “The mirror”, “There is no other”
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Above: “Untitled” Following: “Untitled”, “Untitled” “White lands”, “White is not white”
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Marcy Brafman
Interview by Leah Oates How did you become an artist and did you know early on that you would be in the arts or did you begin as something else? I was always drawing. The first thing I remember doing was drawing. I always thought of myself as an artist even as a very little kid. When I started painting in school I was unsure of myself as everybody else’s work looked so good and polished and mine was such a mess. I liked to draw all the characters first, the narrative and whatnot. Then I remembered I had to fill in the ground and I tried to paint around the detailed story figures. The teacher told my mother that I had a very active imagination. Where there other artists in your family? My father, now deceased, was an artist, a very good one. He gave it up and would never tell us why, and got really angry when my brother and I gave him art supplies as a present one birthday. When he got older and was in ill health he told me that he couldn’t stand the idea of people judging him and his work. I mean, who were they? He hated the idea of my subjecting myself to that scrutiny and the possibility of failure. He made a living as a Boss Painter a painting contractor. That man could mix a color like no one else. I learned a lot from him. I still have drawings he made as a teenager. My grandfather was also a house painter. I have worked in video and tv and think of myself as a media artist who paints. What are the themes of your work and what inspires you? My paintings are meditations on Jackson Pollock, the end of nature, comic strips, cartoons, rock n roll, John Singer Sargent and a long toxic immersion in the living billboard of electronic and digital life. They are mixmastered with Marshall McLuhan, Velazquez, Karl Marx, Thorsten Veblen, daytime television, and the motion poetry of the great American highway of picture image word. I have an ongoing fascination with Character in all its aspects as self-portraiture. I am super interested in Ghosts. Ghost images, ghosting, ghost writing. Vanishing memes. Disappearing images. Mirrors and doppelgangers. Id and Superego. The eternal duality of good and evil, Interior and Exterior realities. I’m painting about the Split, the Strike, the Bolt. The verge between sound and picture, time and space, still and motion, light and dark. Being and nothingness. After all, Every painter paints himself. What is your working process? Do you plan things out or play in the studio? Both. I do intensive writing and drawing and picture research online while developing a concept. I also take a lot of pictures. I’m always shooting something glimpsed in the street. Mostly on trucks. I pretty much have a color plan and a compositional strategy. I do an old school “cartoon” a drawing onto the canvas to start. Once I get into the work though, the paint takes over. David Gibson called it “the specific gravity of the paint.” The blueprint of the bollix. Always surprised by the outcome.
“Dutchmasters” (Ghosts of Dutch repainting) 24x36 Oil stick on dibond panel, 2012
Each artist is so different in how they approach their work. How do you approach the creation of your work? I consider myself a serious person and a serious artist. But not self serious, I hope. I feel compelled to make the work I do, like there is a specific number and task list and I have this responsibility within a finite time span to meet the image load. To me, the painting I admire from the past tells me something about the time it was made in. It reaches out across time to speak to us. I once saw a Titian where the hand of the Deity reached out to me. I realized that Titian had painted his own hand and he was reaching out over 400 years to me. As if he was present in the room. That is the power of true art.
What advice would you give other artists who are emerging? Just to keep working. Once you are out of school there are no assignments, no expectations. Just keep working. Or not. Nobody cares until they do. It is up to you to see if your practice is one you need. Or the world needs. Please talk about upcoming bodies of work, and recent shows. I am working on a series called “The Ghost Paintings.” So far I have completed “Schizophonia,” “TROLL gone Ghost,” “Crazy Ghost Fish,” “Dutchmasters (Ghosts of Dutch Repainting)” and “Hoop Fire Ghost Dog.” Starting a large piece 40”x70” entitled “Skeleton Key.” Recently completed a diptych on painted panels called “Commedia/Tragedia” and “Maltese Cross on Fire.” Also a series of drawings in color about the nature of alphabets. Just completed “The Name of the Snow Leopard.” Starting a series of drawings of frames from antique b/w television shows. Entitled the “History of Television” series. I recently created installations for Vellum Projects “Glo_stallation” and “Candy_land skydrop” as part of their Sound and Art projects “Purple Satellite” and “Fantastic Things.” Summer 2013 I participated in “Summer Break” a group show at Station Independent.
“The Name of the Snow Leopard” 12x 16.5 Ink and marker on paper, 2013
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Why do you think art is important for the world and why is it important for you as an individual artist? Art is very important because it allows the random to exist. To blossom or fester as you will. It asks people to think about their condition. Good art does that. It makes you think about what is around you. Art is the willing partner of a free society. When people don’t think they are easily led by powers that are not always in their interest. It asks you to take notice. About what is true. The nature of things. It is important to leave a record of the time we lived in.
“Hoop Fire Dog Ghost” 36x54 Oil enamel and fluorescent spray paint on canvas, 2013 “Maltese Cross on Fire” 16x20 Oil enamel, paint marker and spray paint on panel, 2013 “Commedia Tragedia” 16x20 Oil enamel, paint marker and spray paint on panel, 2013
schiz¡o¡phre¡ni¡a VNLWVκ¡IUÄ?QÄ?Îş ¡IUHQÄ?Îş noun 1. A long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. (in general use) a mentality or approach characterized by inconsistent or contradictory elements. SCHIZOPHONIA is a term coined by R. Murray Schafer in his 1969 seminal work â&#x20AC;&#x153;The New Soundscapeâ&#x20AC;? to describe the splitting of an original sound and its electroacoustic reproduction.
SCHIZOPHONIA or SCHIZOPHONIC (Greek: schizo = split; phone = voice, sound) The term was first employed by R.M. Schafer in The New Soundscape (Toronto, 1969, pp. 43-47) to refer to the split between an original sound and its ELECTROACOUSTIC reproduction in a SOUNDSCAPE. Original sounds are tied to the mechanisms which produce them. Electroacoustic sounds are copies and they may be reproduced at other times or places. Schafer employs this 'nervous' word in order to dramatize the aberrational effect of this twentieth century development. http://monoskop.org/images/0/03/Schafer_R_Murray_The_New_Soundscape_A_Handbook_for_the_Modern_Music_Teacher.pdf http://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/Schizophonia.html http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Schizophonia
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Schizophoniaâ&#x20AC;? 36x54 Oil enamel and spray paint on canvas, 2012
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"We have split the sound from the maker of the sound. Sounds have been torn from their natural sockets and given an amplified and independent existence. Vocal sound, for instance, is no longer tied to a hole in the head but is free to issue from anywhere in the landscape.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; R. Murray Schafer
“Maya” 36x36, 2013
Nancy Drew “The Maya Complex” A media culture’s obsession with airbrushed images sets the tone for Nancy Drew’s latest. At quick glance, one could interpret the glossy clips from high fashion magazines, as homage to collage. A closer look uncovers various objects out of sync with perfection. Rocks, faux jewelry, and empty plastic containers begin to inform deeper meaning. One that began with the ultimate Diva; Cher. In that, Drew used the same publicity shot to embellish and create Warholian like portraits of the former Mrs. Bono-Allman, mother to Chas and Elijah Blue. Black and white stills infused not with rosehips but glitter, flock, paint and more glitter.The meticulously crafted pictures referenced materialism, desire, cosmetic beauty, perfection..ultimately putting lofty thoughts into the artist’s head. These eventually transformed into the Maya paintings. The Hindu Maya believe any alteration to physical reality prevents true happiness and is a hinderance to blissful enlightenment. The paintings themselves cast a delusional spell somewhere between the matrix and america’s favorite top model, exploding into an Orwellian display of flesh. Painted eyes, lips and fingers swirl through canvases like little earthquakes. Rocks, faux jewelry and empty cosmetic display containers ooze symbolism.
“Life Empowered” 24x18, 2013 “Lava Pods” 24x18, 2013 “Glitter Lava” 24x18, 2012
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What does it all mean? The perfect teen, Miley Cyrus, smoking more than just marlboros, twerkin for a livin. Ultimate beauty at a price? Putting empowerment into the false eyelash and liquid eyeliner set. Cut to the chase. A desire for more than meets the eye. A state discovered in meditation. A willingness to let go. When time becomes illusion, turning into a ball of confusion, vibrating love and rockets. Polar opposites trying to find unison. Mirroring the Cher paintings it speaks on society’s undivided obsession with surface beauty. The need for perfection and control. An uncomfortableness in one’s own skin. Preferring to rip it off and color it pink. A warning sign for our time.
“Rouge In Love” 24x18, 2013 “Morroccan Sleek” 24x18, 2013
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“Vintage Bloom” 24x20, 2013
National Modern Art Museum Opens in Seoul The long-anticipated modern art museum opened in November, the South Korean capital’s first national museum dedicated to art from the twentieth century onwards. MMCA Seoul, a branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, will replace the old headquarters in Gwacheon as South Korea’s primary modern-art space. The museum is the result of a four-year, US$230 million project that oversaw the conversion of a former military site into an art museum. In addition to eight galleries, the museum is equipped with a film screening theatre, library, multi-project hall and audience participation education space, and will in addition hold a strong film and performance programme and activities, reflecting the country’s ambition of becoming a centre for visual art and innovation. Image courtesy National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art DATA: www.mmca.go.kr/eng/
New Art Prize Raises Human Rights Awareness The inaugural Hong Kong Human Rights Art Prize, launched by the local non-governmental organisation Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, has been awarded to works depicting the experiences of immigrants from mainland China and African refugees. Elva Lai Ming Chu won the emerging artist category for her series of works depicting the hardships of those who fled from mainland China to Hong Kong in the 1960s, whilst Alvin Fung Tsz-Chung was awarded winner of the community artist category for his depiction of the powerlessness and discrimination refugees from African often face in Hong Kong. The prize aims to offer local artists an opportunity to showcase their work whilst engaging the greater community, and the competition received well over fifty entries. Works by the finalists were exhibited for one night at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery and auctioned off by Christie’s. Image courtesy the artist Alvin Fung Tsz-Chung DATA: www.hkrac.org
HK Media / a.m. Post
China’s Wealthiest Man Buys Picasso Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, president of Dalian Wanda Group and currently the richest man in China, purchased a Picasso painting for US$28.2 million at a Christie’s auction in New York. Claude et Paloma, painted in 1950 and depicting the artist’s two young children, was sold at double its estimated price of US$9-12 million. Wang, whose net worth is estimated at US$14.1 billion and ranked 128th richest person in the world this year, took part in the auction through telephone bidding. Dalian Wanda is one of China’s largest real estate developers as well as the world’s largest operator of cinemas, after the acquisition of US-based AMC Entertainment for US$2.6 billion in 2012. The Picasso work was part of a series of dedicated sales by Christie’s of the collection of art dealer Jan Krugier, who died in 2008, and the newly acquired masterpiece will reportedly form part of a larger collection in a museum that he plans to build in Beijing. The Wanda Group has since come under fire for the extravagant purchase and questions have been raised on various social media websites questioning Wang’s patriotism.
Art From the Restricted Kingdom Rarely seen artworks from a mysterious place, North Korea, are on view at a special exhibition entitled A Mile Away, organised by Hong Kong Contemporary Budget Art Fair 2013 in September. The exhibition invites renowned North Korean artists Sun U-Young and Chung Soon-Tae to showcase their art, revealing to the public the culture and lives of people living in this restricted kingdom.
Art Experience Raises Awareness and Questions About End-ofLife Issues A multi-disciplinary art experience has been designed at a Singaporean hospital to create awareness and encourage debate about death and dying, the first instance where art is being used for end-of-life education in the country. Both Sides, Now, commissioned by the Lien Foundation and ACM Foundation at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, includes installations, short films, animations, outdoor theatre and public dialogue, and is aimed at healthcare professionals, caregivers and the general public alike, arguing that being able to talk openly about death and dying with trust and respect can result in greater clarity in the way that we approach both life and death. The project also encourages audience participation, with one piece inviting the viewer to draft his/her will and consider what they want as well as what they do not want to see happen, in order to gain insight into the viewer’s true values. www.bothsidesnow.sg
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Over the past two years there has been an increasing number of budget art fairs held at various hotels in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Contemporary (HKC) has gained in reputation and success since the debut event in 2012. With the mission of promoting high quality artwork at an affordable price for both exhibitors and art buyers, HKC aims at achieving this goal through the launching of the Budget art fair 2013 at Luk Kwok Hotel with various accompanying events. www.hkc.com.co
Micki Pellerano
Mickie Pellerano’s work references the very old. Through meticulous renderings he explores various forms of mysticism. Lately, the ancient art of Alchemy has gripped his attention. A philosophic tradition created in the middle ages, Alchemy was the precursor to modern chemistry and medicine embracing three basic principles: finding the philosopher’s stone, the ability to turn basic metals into noble metals and development of the elixir of life (prolonging youth and longevity). Like any spiritual practice, rituals are a part of it and for his current series of drawings, Pellerano captures what occurs on a metaphysical level as he experiences his own alchemical transformation. With a background in experimental theater, the artist embraces process that eventually manifests into documentation. Prior to his current body of work, he delved into various forms of mysticism, practices that have fascinated him since childhood. “I’ve been into this stuff for a long time,” claims Pellerano. “I got pretty serious about it in my mid to late teens. But it always seemed natural. I always knew somehow it was something i would be doing or getting into. Of course i didn’t know what it was i didn’t know what alchemy was necessarily.” Growing up in an ‘old world’ Miami household he was exposed to certain ideas reflected in the various shrines and mystical artifacts scattered about his apartment. “I’m Cuban,” he explains”and the older women in my family had a very mystical vibe about them and a very Santeria sort of magical aura, lots of shrines, candles and ink offerings things like that which really turned me on when i was a kid.”
The practices discussed are not only an artistic outlet but a cathartic way to harness negative energy and turn it into something which the artist refers to as ‘noble’. It enables him to explore ancient rituals in a modern setting and incorporate what he learns into his life and art. Mostly working in graphite on paper his drawings take on mythological nuances that give a sense of what one might encounter in a text of magic. The rendering alone shows delicate skill and true sensitivity to unconventional subject matter.
“Kephra Invocation” Graphite on paper, 2010 “Solar temple” 29x16, 2010
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That, combined with Greek mythology told to him by his father, began a lifelong fascination. One that has made Pellerano a voracious reader and searcher of unconventional knowledge. His studies have led him to ideas most people have probably never even thought about. “I’ve experienced psychic transformations while practicing these things and experienced psychic phenomena and physical transformation, that translated into psychic and sexual transformation and all sorts of things have happened to me.”
“The box #2, Separation”, 2012
Not surprisingly Pellerano has strong connections to music. He recently played bass for New York neofolk band Cult of Youth. In fact, this is how Jimi, the owner of Envoy enterprises (Pellerano’s gallery) discovered his work. The artist believes you shouldn’t limit yourself to just one genre or practice. “Yeah, that’s why i like working with musicians and fashion people who are from different worlds. I think the art scene can be a little y’know...I love artists and the art world but I think it’s way more interesting to sort of have other avenues too. If you get too enclosed in one world you lose the influence of what’s going on in other realms. There’s things going on in music right now that are interesting and innovative and in some ways more exciting to me than what’s going on in the art world.” Trained in experimental theater at NYU, the artist still performs occasionally and directs both short films and alternative music videos. His celluloid work definitely favors the moody and strange. Similar to David Lynch’s Eraserhead and b/w Warhol, there’s a seething uneasiness about his ventures into this area. On the other hand, his performances, similar to his drawings, take on grandiose staging in their depiction of ancient ritual and timing, most of which stem from visions encountered during meditation. To understand better he offers a comparison to common physical activity and discusses the intense draw of his practice.
“Here lies truth” 15x12, 2010
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In a piece entitled Separation box #2, the observer witnesses a nude lying down with legs raised. It appears a smokey ‘essence’ of some sort leaving his body. Hypothetically, it could be the moment of death, perhaps a dream or most likely a symbolic code of transformation. When the artist started working on the drawing, a band from Copenhagen contacted him and asked if he would be interested in contributing work to their new album. When Pellerano asked what they had in mind, a conversation about the moment of death came up. He feels these are not just coincidences but occurrences that happen when delving into certain studies. The piece itself conjures paintings from the 16th century and is almost as if the artist had been transported to the present from that time. There’s an eerie beauty present echoing hipster gothic sensibility similar to the first Bauhaus album cover.
In early 2014, Pellerano will have his second solo show at Envoy Enterprises, it will not only comprise drawings, video work but a few elusive paintings.
“The Magician” 12x16, 2010 “Love Will Save You” 20x34, Graphite on paper, 2009 “The Revelation”, 2010
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“You could say running is a lot like meditating. It’s something physical and rhythmic where a part of your mind is silenced and something else beyond you takes over. I’d say running is very much like meditation. I think meditation is the cornerstone of any ritual practice. It’s maybe not all that different. I suppose what excites me is the scholarly aspect in occultism and mysticism. When you study that stuff the way concepts are put forth are, as you saw from that book, colorful, bizarre and strange. You’ll read about these things and have this cosmic , psychedelic image in your mind of what it could possibly encompass. Those kind of explosions I experience in my spiritual studies and work. Those visions are what excites and makes me want to share, encapsulate or energize them somehow. “
The 'HÀOHG
A band’s first North American tour is usually filled with incredible highs and lows. To break America you have to play every dive bar from here to eternity. In the end, for a great band such as The Defiled, an all important move because any group worth its weight will leave the kids wanting more; thus translating into cd, download and merch sales. However, on the eve of their second album’s release “Daggers”, they’re opening for Davey Suicide and the pitstop where I catch up with them in Trenton, NJ, is making them a little agitated. The local dive is filled with a bunch of kids who have no clue and just want to mosh on a Friday night. Yet instinct and experience tells me just part of a grander plan. One that already has them signed to the largest booking agency in North America, a deal sealed after a triumphant ear and mind breaking performance a couple nights prior at New York’s Studio at Webster Hall. “Strap myself in freedom awaits what’s that knocking at my door? Strap myself in the fear awaits this untamed anxiety..”. ---Locked In Freedom--The Defiled began life in 2005, back then according to Vocalist/guitarist Stitch “it wasnt very serious just a few guys getting drunk in London playing music occasionally.” Around 2008, a light went off and they decided to tour and get a manager. Since then, they’ve been working their a$$es off, releasing the 1888 ep, then the incredibly brilliant and raw “Grave Times” in 2011. This is the album that put them on the map so to speak enabling them to play 2,000 seat venues in London as co-headiners and ink a deal with indie metal giants Nuclear Blast Worldwide. “Grave Times” was recorded in keyboardist/lyricist The avD’s house along with singer/guitarist Stitch, bassist Vincent Hyde, drummer Needles and guitarist Aaron Curse, and testifies as a brutal assault on the senses. One possible downfall of diy recording is the chance that self-indulgence will set in. Not the case here. The album stands as an extremist’s melodic piece of genius. Track by track the collection takes u on a brutal ride; no compromises, no prisoners.
“When we first started it was just not cool to listen to The Defiled or to be into The Defiled,” says Alex (aka avD). “The industry was just like what the fuck are they doing? We weren’t doing what was cool at the time. We just thought whatever, we’re just gonna keep doing what we were doing and believed in what we were doing and shit just came around.” The addition of electronics was a bit off kilter at the time even though bands have been using this combine for years. However, at that precise moment it just wasn’t hip. But as Alex, pointed out, the band stuck with what they believed in and after a couple years are now being called the ‘saviors of metal’ by a usual finicky british press, a term which isn’t far from the truth. My first impression when I see them at Webster Hall is also that they could be huge. They have all the elements of a great band, incredibly original music, spectacular live show and a distinct look. Surprisingly, another element that gave them a few hiccups along the way.
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Notable Bits “Black Death” , “In The Land Of Fools” “Metropolis” , “Blood Sells” “Locked In Freedom” all testify that metal is alive and well, living in the talented hands and minds of this wonderful band from the UK. But like anything worth a damn, this wasn’t always the case. When the band first started they werent considered ‘cool’ and had a hard time fitting into that all too important ‘niche’. They were playing fast, industrial metal but looked like goths. And anyone with any familarity with the music scene in the UK knows the look is almost, if not more so, just as important as the music.
“It’s kind of been a bit of a drawback, “ says Stitch referring to their ‘image’. “Sometimes, like when we first started people would see a bunch of goths playing metal and people really didn’t get it. We don’t dress normally in day to day life. People might think we just go onstage and dress like this but we dress like this normally in day to day life. They might think it’s fake but it’s not. What we wear onstage is just a more extreme version of ourselves.” If pressed, the band’s look can be described as post-apocalyptic punk. In fact, two of the guys have their own rock-centric clothing lines. Bassist Vincent Hyde makes custom made duds under Vile attire and Singer/guitarist Stitch has a line with his wife Nina Kate tagged Jane Doe. The goth label carries a little bit of weight also since all five members have black hair and wear heavy eyeliner and on special occasion ghoulish face powder. But really it all just boils down to a mash-up of musical influences that make them sooo intriguing. Another bit new defilers might not know is that singer/guitarist Stitch writes the melodies and keyboardist Alex aka the avd writes the lyrics. After meeting them, this arrangement seems natural since Alex has the easy outgoing personality of a northerner and Stitch is a bit more introspective and soft spoken. Included with their new album “Daggers” both provide commentary about each track. Some interesting stuff they write ranging from sex satisfaction to spy games. The music continues on a good path perhaps shaking a little more polish the second time around. It’s a well known fact that a band’s first album took a lifetime to write while their second usually took about a year or two. Still, with their second US tour underway supporting Wayne Static, and a headline tour of the UK in 2014, it looks like these chaps will be around for awhile. Awesome.
Live photos by Gloria Echeverry Martinez
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Purple Satellite
Purple Satellite at Paper Box Summer 2013 Marcy Brafman- Glo_stallation (e)motion Picture The Fire Electric Val Lloyd Xylofaux Like the perfect storm, Vellum’s “Purple Satellite” Event at Paper Box, could be described as the perfect show. To coincide with our “Purple Satellite” section in the last issue exploring the relationship between music and art, the event hosted an installation by Marcy Brafman and featured four bands that although very different from each other, could play off each other’s strengths and contribute to the night as a whole. The idea of Purple Satellite came from a combination of the color purple, usually associated with royalty and the ultimate rockstar..Prince, and his form of communication..music. It also references space, dreams and light. Originally, our plan for the installation was to hang glow sticks from a skylight in the music room. Marcy was working with the concept of Silver Surfer who for those not familiar, rides the galaxy on a Galactus-made surfboard looking for planets to destroy in order to save his own. She decided the sticks should resemble hanging stalactites, which formed a chandelierlike constellation-shape similar to the galaxy Silver might dream on his search. When the day arrived, we noticed a tent-like structure in the box’ outdoor space. Marcy decided this was better and we proceeded to create, along with Sean the glo_stallation. Since a tent is normally held up by a set of bars forming a four point skeleton house shape, the sticks were hung on these using different lengths of clear fishing line. When it was finished, all we had to do was wait until nightfall. When it arrived, the bands broke the sticks and the installation was born. A little while later, nightfall descended and then rain. The installation was complete glowing splendidly. It was the first night anyone performed in the Box’ second room, and Val Lloyd christened it right. Primarily a solo performer, tonight Val performed with a drummer. His style of music can be described as blues rock, except he throws in some interesting elements to give it catchy flavor. His voice is deep and clear..smooth.. like him. One of his more memorable tunes “Lies, Lies, Lies” has an up-tempo beat that will leave you hearing it long past Val leaving the stage. The Fire Electric took the stage next and pretty much turned the whole building into one big electro-dance party. If people could hear it in nearby buildings they probably stopped what they were doing and grooved. The Fire Electric consists of Josh Mcmillan and his computer of incredible music. Again, it’s not typical electro-dance because Josh sings along to his sounds and has an amazingly powerful voice along with some really cool stage moves. He played most of the tracks off his new album HLS and the crowd loved it. Next up, was the incredibly cerebral (e)motion Picture. The goal or vision for the night was to bring together four different types of bands that could play off each other’s strong points. Yes, (e) p is definitely different. There’s no middle ground with them and similar to certain songs by Alice in Chains like “Love Hate Love” take you for a rough, emotional rollercoaster ride. Soda says it’s his form of catharsis, and for a man who doesn’t drink, drug or smoke and leads a fairly quiet life, any demons he might have are left on whatever stage he and TT might be gracing.
They closed with “The Worth Of A Heart” single which recently got included on a compilation put out by Slam Scene Magazine and His Mighty Robot’s “The Cliche”. Both on another level in musicianship, creativity and originality. You don’t see many bands like (e) p especially in the underground so next time they play take advantage of the opportunity to witness something special. Again, in another genre then the other three, Xylofaux ended the night with a mellow set of well-crafted tunes. What perhaps separates them from other melodic guitar-infused indie bands is the singer. His voice has a unique tone which definitely recalls 70’s bands while the music hints at jazzy arrangements reminding of Mike Watt’s Firehose. The trio originally hails from the mid-west and have the good natured positive vibe usually associated with bands from those parts. Stellar end to a perfect night.
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The duo opened with “Abandon Me” and even though both would probably argue that it was a bit sloppy, within that looseness was a raw energy so pure it could make the hairs on your back stand up. Soda has such a beautiful, melancholy way of playing making you feel what he does which makes him such a great performer. TT is just outright badass on drums. He’s an animal behind that kit but again remains in a realm only touched by a few. The set went on including a new song which Soda described as “droning”. Primarily an instrumental, the track was similar to an exorcism of some sort.
Excerpt from Essay, Noise In and Beyond Sound: considering noise in cultural channels (...) and since noise depends on the intent of the transmitter, the context and reception (whether sonically, mechanically, culturally) it is certainly possible for someone to knowingly transmit a 'noisy message' through their disposition-- their 'outer face.' And one can do so confidently, knowing they are causing some sort of disruption... (So somehow, the intent of the transmitter is clear). Anything that exceeds capacity in the minds of mainstream society (ie, in-use cultural values) for The Other-- for the un-relatable, contrary or seemingly opposing attitudes, concerns, lifestyles, traditions-- for something strange or uncanny... becomes noise. (...) By committing to the experience, concepts-of and subjective exposures-to noise can and do take us beyond mirages of mystery-those ostensibly inexplicable events that must be probed, must be actively and consciously tested in order to find any truth... Beyond fascination, noise in its true form remains ever-vital, for in its ambiguity, noise holds the possibility of becoming... here then the potential arises for great depth, revealing mystery, into the void, the total void, the obliteration of self, obliteration of the constitution of Self (...)
Noise in and Beyond Sound
Colin is Co-Director @ NK Projekt-- an artist-run independent non-profit organization in Berlin that is dedicated to Sound Arts-with Farahnaz Hatam & Julian Percy. Promoting non-mainstream cultural production & providing a platform for discussing paradigms and problematics in music & technology in a raw cultural context that attempts to cover gaps between the academic & institutional, commercial and independent cultural agents of Berlin. NK now in its 5th year of operation... www.nkprojekt.de
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By Colin M. Hacklander
Fantastic Things
Vellum's "Fantastic Things" Freddy's Silver Room, Brooklyn, NY. Fall 2013 Fantastic Things....Something to describe the outrageous, bizarre, unique. Each artist in this show proved their out of ordinary search fuels a singular affection for the unknown. Nancy Drew's latest are from her Maya Series. Referring to Hindu Maya or delusional reality it is a take on the current pandemic strivings for false happiness through material fulfillment...Most are 24 x 18 inches, collage on canvas with rocks, jewelry, beads, vacuum-form packaging, etc. and continues where her 'Dear Cher' series left off. Theresa Echeverry transforms a visual recollection of the world through eyes using abstract landscapes in a style similar to that of pop art. The colors represent the richness of the world and spaces travelled to; each with its own message of how these experiences transformed her thinking and perception. Her journey uses artist magic markers and extreme outline diluted with gouache in an attempt to keep alive the boldness of color and life as she knows it.
Above: Donald Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Finn Below: Anna Souvorov
Anna Souvorov uses her training in realistic oil painting, to break away and explore a strange, otherworldly place in “crash sites”. Here, scenes of plane crashes take on illusionary dream-like narratives and become beautiful pictures juxtaposing a more sinister reality. Donald O’Finn’s cult art videos are the product of re-purposing and re-contextualizing appropriated media samples. They have been shown nationally and internationally and most recently enjoyed a solo exhibition in Berlin Germany. Marcy Brafman is a media artist who paints and has exhibited her work worldwide. This will be her fifth time collaborating with Vellum on a site-specific installation . For Fantastic Things, she will transform the silver room into a painterly 3D version of Candyland.
Opening night music: (e)Motion Picture Val Lloyd Sportsman’s Paradise Dirt Bikes
Above: Theresa Echeverry
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Artists Nancy Drew Theresa Echeverry Anna Souvorov Donald O’Finn (video projections) Marcy Brafman (candy installation)
DesignerCon 2013
Christmas came early this past November when Halls A and B of the Pasadena Convention Center was temporally transformed into a pop-up art fair and toy market. Chock full to the brim with commercial designers, professional artists and enthusiasts alike, a group of the same first created the “Vinyl Toy Network” in 2006, aptly renaming it “DesignerCon” in 2009. The yearly fair opens its doors to the public giving them access to vendors who sell toy collectables. Over 100 vendors from around the world sell everything from art prints and greetings cards to knickknacks and curios. Alongside the affordable items were highly collectible toys, some only released in limited runs, and editions made exclusively for the show. A nice perk was the ability to get items signed and personalized by various artists and designers who were on-hand for scheduled events throughout the convention. Some participating this year were: Brandt Peters, Katie Olivas, Sket One, Ewok, Angry Woebats, OG Slick of “Dissizit!”, 123 Klan, Scribe, Travis Louie and many more. Some designers and artists even had their own booth to boot. Paul Frank was spotted working his own space promoting his new line “Park La Fun” a new endeavor created using an anagram of his name. San Francisco artists Bigfoot and Frank Kozik, maker of “Labbit” manned their own as did “Mr. Toast” creator Dan Goodsell whose booth was fashioned to mimic Bansky’s Central Park prank “Better Out than In”, where he sold his art under the inconspicuous banner for the month of October. Goodsell’s simply read “Spray Art”. Admission was only a meek $5 for one day admission and $10 for two if you bought online pre-sale or $7 at the door. Attendees were a healthy, happy mix of hip, nerdy, cool teens, 20-30 somethings and parents with children. No matter what the age, taste, style or budget, there was something memorable and enjoyable for all who attended this pseudo throw back to youthful fun. To learn more about DesignerCon or it’s date for 2014, please visit: www.designercon.com By Michael Lacerte
Custom working Soy Sauce and Sriracha “Dunnys” by Sket One 2013
Taming The Troll
Marcy Brafman, in her recent Ghosts series, has become a ghost hunter in the labyrinth of culture. Troll sunk out of sight for years, became, in fact, a ghost, wandering around below memory, then, one day, poof, it pops back into oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind. You know you have encountered a pop culture ghost, if, when you do, you smile, but also are made kind of sick by it. You encounter then the nauseating core of nostalgia, viewed as a kind of sweet sickness, often, you have to turn away. Brafman enlisted her full performative arsenal as a painter to pull the Troll out of the depths. She instantiates her capture of it in an act of spontaneous painting. She too then might have been surprised that her Troll ended up with a few very distinct characteristics, all of which together testify to the distance it has travelled both in the culture and in her mind. For one thing, it is upside down. Apart from Baselitzian art reasons, turning it upside down has a ghostly meaning derived from its migration from faddish fame to bottomdwellingabjectness in the mind. Modern movies often made use of a close up of the upside down head as a signifier of hallucination or vision. In the Euro tradition, the upside down head exploited a trick of the eye whereby if you turn your head upside down, then cover your mouth and nose, the eye looking at you will quickly reorient your eyes upright and having them lookingaskant and strangely out of a face (made by your forehead) featureless except for its very long old-fashioned beard. As a result, any satanically possessed woman sooner or later ended up upside in a spider walk, representing her having stopped looking up but down to Satan. The burning eyes of Brafmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Troll reinforce this geneaology, as, like Michael Jackson as werecatglowering deceptively at the end of a classic music video, yellow/orange eyes represent the sulphurous seeing of the possessed. The upside down glowing eyes, therefore, reinforce the fact that this troll is a ghost to be managed and approached with some care. And then, too, Troll being upside down emphasizes the hair.Brafman is too young to have experienced the Troll fad when it swept America from late 1963 to 1965. I suspect that she came in contact with Trolls in one of the intermittent efforts they made for a comeback in later years, none of which were pretty:most likely linked to sleepovers, compulsively brushing its hair. As a result her Troll is just a bit more tart, detached from warmer associations. Marcy Brafman, as a ghosthunter in the gaps that open up in the aftermath of the fads of popular culture,has raised a troll, it popped into her mind one day, she had to do something to pin it down. You Troll, there you are, you little monster, the painting seems to say, you will not bother me again--gotcha. By Robert Mahoney
Vernissage | Wednesday, May 14, 2014 | By invitation only artbasel.com | facebook.com/artbasel | twitter.com/artbasel
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