NO15 VOL. III
TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER FROM THE EDITOR FASHION WEEKS
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4
15 THINGS WE LIKE
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ITAL
16
MOOMBAHTON
20
SONIC ROOTS
22
DEBATE: HAIR MAN
24
SURFACING
34
DAVID RAEDEKER
46
MIGUEL GUTIERREZ
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STRUCTURAL ALGORITHMIC DANCES
56
LA RINASCITA
60
& ALSO WITH YOU
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FROM THE GROUND UP
82
CLOWN OUTFIT
94
STAFF
96
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When I wake up, though I don’t put my “face on,” I do make sure I look presentable. I button up my collared shirt to cover up the homebody slob that I actually am. I trade my sweats for trousers to fill my professional void. I opt for oxfords to shift from a 5’8 boy to a 5’10 man. We are all guilty of this morning ritual. You do it too. You put on your make-up to conceal. You rinse your mouth to hide the lingering stains of last night’s cigarettes. You spray your cologne to replace your natural pheromones with an artificial scent that guarantees a gratuitous reaction. And before you walk out your door, you take one last and final glance at your creation’s reflection. We dust away our inner, most private details to make room for what we only want to reveal: the best. Don’t worry. We’re not alone in this everyday masquerade. Nature itself also indulges in this obsession and superficiality. As the Lolitas lay out savoring the tender caresses of the sun, they flaunt their vibrant and perfect petals for the world to see. The bees search for only the sweetest nectar to taste. Passersby prey on the most attractive for a nice, firm pluck. And the Unappealing? Deweeded. Nature is all about the perfections and what can visually be offered, but what about the imperfections that remain hidden and unexposed? What about the composition of this visage, and, more importantly, the significance of its roots? In this issue, we allow our curiosity to take an abstract exploration of these under-layers. Rather than celebrating the physical and visual aesthetics, we aim to deconstruct these “natural” beauties and expose a realm that is less obvious and much more complex. We are interested in the layer that is fundamental, that supports, that enriches, that nurtures, that replenishes, that feeds. Our visual inspirations, created by Symrin Chawla, represent what we imagine the anatomy of this hidden layer to feel like: a fluid yet kaleidoscopic prism that is tangled, intertwined, and interconnect-
LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
ed with ideas, values, complexities, inspirations, and influences. With the birth of Moombahton, Nadastrom proves that in world full of remixes, originality and authenticity can still prevail. Ital dissects what many simply label as “electronica” and reveals the intricate layering and the gripping make-up of his ethereal sound. Miguel Gutierrez shares that beneath his experimental and visually captivating performances lay a radical interrogation of the human life, body, and mind. These influential artists remind us that connected to the physical art itself exists a world of an even greater art that is too often overlooked, but never divorced or forgotten. I am very pleased to present our “Roots” issue. Our passion is reflected in our pages.
Kevin Nguyen Editor-In-Chief
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FASHION ROUND UP FALL/WINTER 2012 by Conor Ford
Looking forward, this Fall 2012 season was all about the spectacle. Despite Louis Vuitton trains, Chanel’s crystal caves, and the game of designer musical chairs, substituting Hedi Slimane for Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent and Jil Sander in for Raf Simons, NO15 writers and photographers at New York, Milano, London and Paris fashion weeks clued in to how the spectacle of it all translated to the clothes. Clothing this fall will be a performance and us, the actors. A new proportion emerged this season that is both less body conscious and more emphatic about the waist and the shoulders. The dichotomy about menswear as womenswear continued to be a focus for designers, and quintessential cool has become a necessity. As much as it will be about performing, the clothes for fall make the performance incredibly authentic.
NEW YORK by Anna Li PARIS by Marine Laurent & Aymeric Luczkiewicz MILANO by Marta Giaccone LONDON by Anthony Hoang
KATYA Fall/Winter 2012 New York
ALEXANDER WANG Fall/Winter 2012 New York
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KTZ Fall/Winter 2012 London
JENA THEO Fall/Winter 2012 London
KRIZIA Fall/Winter 2012 Milano
GAZZARRINI Fall/Winter 2012 Milano
PACO RABANNE Fall/Winter 2012 Paris
é JULIEN FOURNIE Fall/Winter 2012 Paris
15 THINGS WE LIKE LITERATURE
FILM
My Dear Bomb by Yohji Yamamoto Nadja by AndrĂŠ Breton The Ego and Its Own by Max Stirner The Plague by Albert Camus The Secret Life of Salvador Dali by Salvador Dali
Hiroshima Mon Amour La Pianiste Pina Tabloid The Hunger Games
MUSIC Blonde by Cœur de Pirate SBTRKT “Scream” by 2NE1 Ten$ion by Die Antwoord “Ima Read” by Zebra Katz + Njena Reddd Foxxx
NOISE
ITAL By Andrew Whitworth
Daniel Martin-McCormick is a busy man: in the last few years, he’s released influential hardcore records with Black Eyes, scorched dance-punk with Mi Ami, and low-fidelity synth pop as Sex Worker, but his most surprising transformation yet is undoubtedly Ital, a moniker under which he releases subtly skewed updates of classic house and techno. Upon listening to Ital, Martin-McCormick’s background with the more abrasive ends of the aesthetic spectrum is readily evident, with tinny YouTube samples, rhythmically unwieldy percussion and unsettling New Agey yoga class synths barely keeping up with the steady 4/4 rhythms of dancefloor-ready club music. MartinMcCormick took the time to speak with NO15 Magazine about dancing, the internet, and the collapse of modern music as we have come to recognize it.
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“You can’t deny the beat. Your body wont deny it.”
NO15: What inspired you originally to begin making electronic music? Ital: I have been listening to it [electronic music] for a long time. It has taken up a lot of my listening time. I thought that it’d be cool to actually try to make some, instead of just consuming it and watching it from afar. 15: Particularly on Hive Mind, you seem to be very much inspired by the Internet. Is this a continuing fascination or a theme that you were looking to explore on that album? Ital: Music is always reacting to the world we live in. In one sense, the Internet is not very interesting; it is just a bunch of babble. In another sense, I think it is fascinating; it changes the way we communicate, the way we view ourselves, and the way we see our place in the world. That very idea of the way the body is affected by this world is a big thing for me. NO15: What are some other influences behind your releases as Ital? Ital: Oh God, there are so many! I am really inspired by Italo disco and classic house. There is a sort of garish emotionalism that is paired against a raw and immediate beat which is also physically activating. There is no denying the beat. Your may body allow it, but your mind has this dissonance. The corroded offsounds, and the beauty of the physical world influence me. 15: Your music straddles the border between sounds that are “club-friendly” and elements that would not work in that context. Do you have a specific setting in which you imagine your music being consumed? Ital: No, I don’t. People always ask me, “Do you intentionally make them so you can’t DJ” and I’m like, “No, I don’t intentionally try to disrupt the DJ. You can play the record. You just put it on. It works with any standard turntable.” I am more interested in how close you can push music to the edge of “fall-apart.” This is something that happens a lot in live performance. When live, your shit falls apart, the sound guy is an asshole, the vocals are buried deep, but you’re still playing music. Music is not limited to a recordable sound. It’s an experience, an energy field, and an ephemeral and physical creation.
15: Is there anything happening in the music world that you’re particularly excited about right now? Ital: I’d say the collapse of the record industry is totally awesome. There is a lingering perception that some kind of castle exists with gates that you can storm. I feel that everybody is storming everybody else’s gates, because there is no center. I think last year was an incredible year for music, it doesn’t matter if you’re into indie rock or hard techno, there were incredible records coming out. The results kind of speak for themselves. It’s rough, because it means that the people who are able to pull it off are like survivors of this crazy crash, but I think the arts really benefit from instability.
MOOMBAHTON BY NADASTROM
THE GLORIOUS
BASTERD by Noah Greifer and Shane Konno
As the love child of an Amsterdam house hottie and a spicy Latin papi, moombahton is an emergency. It is a fire ignited by hip gyrations, an air raid of explosive beats, and a dance floor epidemic that will leave you forever infected. Here is the diagnosis: a fat bass pounding at 108 beats per minute, short and high synths, Spanish rap vocals, and, of course, that mean, floor-destroying drop. You’ll hear a wobble, a lot of snare, certainly gut-punching bass vibrations, and sirens. Dance low, but keep your fist held high. Invented by D.C. DJ Dave Nada in November 2009, moombahton is slowed down, Dutch house branch of reggaeton. Nada and his partner Matt Nordstrom are spearheading the moombahton movement as its creators, but many dance music makers are hopping on the moombahtrain. Although moombahton has stayed away from mainstream’s corruption of typical electro dance music, signs reveal that moombahton’s train into pop culture is a bullet train close to its destination. Techno has fully infiltrated the Top 40 charts and within the recent past, dubstep has slammed its way into the popular music scene. Moombahton will slap you across the face, punch you in the gut, and push you onto the dance floor. Moombahton commands you to move, and after that extended build and dropped beat, you best explode.
THE INTERVIEW
NO15: As the creators of moombahton, how do you feel when you watch other DJs perform moombahton sets? Is it like someone is distorting your brainchild or is there a sense of pride when other adopt your style? NADASTROM: Definitely proud. It’s great to see people take their spin on it. In the end it inspires us to be more creative, pull from more influences, and think outside of the box. There is nothing crazier than meeting a 20-year-old who lives in the middle of nowhere and is making insane music with some cracked software and a few plug-ins. That impresses us way more than someone with rooms full of equipment who has everything engineered and mixed perfectly. 15: Do you think anyone does moombahton as well as you? If not, what do you think most DJs are missing? NS: Absolutely!Cats like Sabo, Munchi, Bro Safari, Thee Mike B are not only phenomenal DJ’s, but producers as well. One thing that some DJ’s may be “missing” is the lack of diversity and groove that was the original draw for some with moombahton. We have seen a lot of DJs play just the hardest beats possible for hours on end. Moombahton has always been about having a groove that you can dance to. While those moments of jumping up and down are just as crucial, they must be spread out. 15: Do you think moombahton will ever break into the proper mainstream? Do you see it getting as big as dubstep? NS: Only time can tell. It is doubtful that anyone could have predicted that dubstep was going to do what it did. Once you create unfair expectations, you limit. We prefer to enjoy making and playing the music we love and pushing it as far as it can go creatively. 15: How do you feel about moombahton’s influence on EDM? Do you consider moombahcore and similar spinoffs bastardizations or creative evolutions of moombahton? NS: We think the spinoffs have been pretty sweet, from the hard-edged Moombahcore sound
to the vibed-out soulful Moombahluv and Moombahsoul. These help show the range and diversity of moombahton music. It’s also great to see how moombahton has infiltrated all types of genres in electronic dance music, from underground to mainstream.
15: Where do you see the future of moombahton? NS: After all these years of making music, we still find ourselves as sponges that search and soak up new music and sounds. Seeking out new stuff never gets old. Things continue to change. The reality is that we really have no clue what the future holds, but we will continue to push ourselves creatively.
SONIC ROOTS by Mi’Chele Daniels
It is a Saturday night in West Hollywood and I am standing in the middle of a hot, hyped crowd at the notorious Roxy on Sunset. I take a moment and scan the ill-lit, airless venue, taking in my surroundings: two women who look to be in their thirties sip drinks in plastic cups trying hard not to spill in the rumble of the crowd, a group of young men to my left rap along to the music lyric for lyric while sweaty couples awkwardly attempt to grind on each other despite the immense lack of space, teen girls in heels too high sway along to the 808’s. As thick smoke fills the air, bass fills the room and the show rages on – the Los Angeles music scene at its finest. And what artist brought this diverse crowd together? None other then 19 year old, Los Angeles emcee Casey Veggies. With the rise of controversially rash hiphop collective Odd Future, there is no denying that within the past year the West Coast music scene has catapulted itself into the limelight, gaining recognition not only at a national level but spanning demographics worldwide.
With the help of media outlets such as MTV, Twitter and a multitude of infamous musical blogs, the spearheading of these diverse new sounds coming out of L.A. has caught the attention of many, music industry insiders and fans alike, creating a large following for Los Angeles artists such as Veggies. Some would say this next generation of West Coast artists is the future of music, which may be true, but as we all know there cannot be a future (or present for that matter) without a past. As many born-and-raised Los Angelenos know, this diverse sound coming out of our city that has the critics raving and countless singing and rapping along is nothing new. In a city that birthed bands such as The Doors and The Eagles, L.A. reigned musically in the 60’s and 70’s, it became part of the heart of the hippie movement, and indubitably conceived California’s authentic divergent and distinct sound. With the arrival of the 80’s and 90’s we saw, as we do with the changing of decades, a substantial shift in mu-
sical style. This impactful evolution dawned the addition of new contemporary artists, enabling the L.A. sound to broaden with hard rock bands such as Guns N’ Roses, hip-hop group N.W.A. and Death Row Records, as well as alternative artists such as Weezer and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. All with varying sounds yet all bred from Los Angeles, no doubt a testimony to our musical authenticity and overall diversity. An unequivocal testament to this diversity in recent years has been the emergence of copious West Coast music festivals. Comparable to festivals such as Glastonbury in England and Bonaroo in Tennessee, Coachella and Rock the Bells, to name a few, have L.A. locals stocking up on sunscreen, packing up our cars and driving into the desert a couple of hours East of the city to unify with strangers in somewhat of a musical-melting-pot-oasis. With sonic styles randing from Sly Stone to Ratatat, young and old alike are brought together under the California sun to enjoy the diverse lineups these festivals purvey. This confirms
not only L.A.’s ability to generate diversified sounds but also our immense love for the genuine dissimilarity in music’s universality. To put it simply Los Angeles loves a mélange of music. At the age of 17, I became aware. Sneaking into free shows at Cinespace to see artist such as Kid Cudi perform and Lykke Li DJ, I found that the artery of this city, the force pumping blood into our hearts and air into our smog filled lungs is our unconventional and eternally contrasting music scene. Whether its a hip hop show in Hollywood, a hipster open mic in Silverlake, or a grassy field in the middle of the California desert, this is L.A., music is what we breathe.
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DEBATE
RAPUNZEL,
RAP UNZ
EL! Hair, Hair, everywhere Not a single strand undisputed. Without a shortage of opinions, Ranging from manscaping to Brazilians, and derision to adornment, Our conversations about appropriateness and acceptance Question and address the role of the hair on our bodies and the hairs tangled in our society.
Illustration by Corinne Johnston Original Photo by Frida Kahlo
PRO
by Milosz Paul Rosinski
It has come to my attention that the casual male youporn viewer may have forgotten the fact that hair is a substantial part of the natural female body – growing naturally. Let’s get the terrain clear. I am talking about armpit and legs. Not about down there, for that you may turn to the Vagina Monologues of Eve Ensler reminding us that the femininity’s core may be more than the characterless all-shaven something. What is a reason to cut and shave hair after all besides the sanitary illusion of hygiene (and spending a lot of time on it)? I think I agree with Mrs. Kahlo that it is a mere dramatic act. Is the divorce from an unfaithful husband the only legitimate reason for girls to shave their hair, as exemplified by Tomboy’s chief artistic imaginary spokesperson Frida Kahlo? I wouldn’t go that far to give emotional reasons, as for most issues what basically matters most is practicality. And a form of practicality is the ability to differentiate: Men have body hair – women don’t. This may sound reasonable, along the lines of feminist writer Charlot Perkins Gilman, one could think that this differences in the bodies and behaviour of both men and women are artifically exaggerated in order to create attraction. In post gender-society, where men wear hair buns and girls converse kicks, smooth skin hairlessness of the female body seems one of the last dogmas of mainstream culture. Help us naked apes out to overcome it.
ANTI by Tanaaz Jasani
Fully shaven legs and armpits can be a sign of femininity in an oppressive world of button down shirts and ties. Shaving doesn’t have to mean a loss of the “natural woman”…lets face it, nothing is natural anymore, and rather it can be a subtle sign of exactly the opposite- femininity. It is a means for the businesswoman who spends her days in rumbling through boardroom meetings, where everyone is in the same monkey suit, to demonstrate her flair and a bit of panache. Now comes a matter of practicality, a man just has to go to the barber and get his grooming needs fulfilled, with a fifty odd dollar hair cut. But a woman has to go beyond with not only the hair cut but also the weekly ritual of shaving. What good is it for her to take this extra time out of her day? Wouldn’t she much rather be focused on intellectually growing? Well, if you have spent any time grooming yourself be it your hair, nails or even the occasional glance in the parked car’s mirror, you would concur that this time can be a mode of relaxation. A time to take for yourself where the rest of the world slips away and you can focus on just yourself. Shaving for a woman is more than the external beauty but it is a private, intimate time for her, where she does not have to deal with the demands of her misogynistic bosses, nagging children and perhaps the unfaithful husband. This alone time in her bathtub, with a diamond sharp razor and white foaming cream is just for her mind and body. It is a moment where she can remember how beautiful every curve of her legs can be, even though the fashion gurus are demanding something else. So why not see shaving from a woman’s perspective? It is not an act committed to faire the pressures of the outside world, but an escape to a hidden moment of lavender scents where a woman can be herself and if she like later flaunt that moment of femininity in her black suite while walking to her tenth floor office. Illustration by Corinne Johnston
Original Photo by Man Ray
MAN by Domenico Petralia
Stylist: Joanna Gyamera Model: Jacob Mason at Future Models Hair: Roberta Zamperlin Makeup : Adriana Roversi
RIGHT: Christian Dior vintage fine ribbed knit.
RIGHT: Zara shirt (customized).
LEFT & RIGHT: Christian Dior vintage polo neck.
SURFACING by Lizzie Strupat
Stylist: Sophie O Models: Evie Howard and Olivia Janin Assistant: Lauren McIntyre
LEFT: (Olivia) Vintage dress; Headpiece by stylist; (Evie) Sophie O dress. RIGHT: (Evie) Vila shorts; Vintage top; (Olivia) Cat Yap bodysuit.
LEFT: Topshop mesh top; Harrods fur collar; Renato Balestra skirt. RIGHT: French Connection blouse; Headpiece by stylist.
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LEFT: Zara blouse; Cat Yap trousers. RIGHT: Zara skirt; French Connection blouse; Headpiece by stylist.
LEFT: Cat Yap collar; H&M dress; Headpiece by stylist; garter and shoes stylist’s own.RIGHT: Headpiece by stylist; Vila dress.
DAVID RAEDEKER by Mina Riazi
David Raedeker started taking pictures at a young age. Despite a fruitful career as a stills photographer, his principal interest always remained film. Originally from Hamburg, the talented cinematographer studied film under Ken McMullen at the London College of Communication. Later, David shot campaigns for Nike, RAF, and Nokia, and filmed musical artists such as The Magic Numbers, Babyshambles and David Gray. David has also shot television dramas and award-winning features, including the Berlin 2007 nominated film Elvis Pelvis. Recently, David snagged the World Cinema Cinematography award for My Brother the Devil at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. In his interview with NO15, David ponders pirates in Malaysia, his passion for cinematography and the future of film. Read the interview— then watch his movies so that you can re-watch them.
THE INTERVIEW
NO15: What prompted your career as a cinematographer? David Raedeker: It started when I was really young: When I was a kid, my older sister started to take pictures so she really inspired me and I developed an interest that way. My dad then lent me a camera and I started taking pictures. This was about 32 years ago. I started as a kid and I knew that I always wanted to do something connected with film and photographs. So you started first with photography? Yes, photography when I was a kid. When I was fifteen I started to work for a commercials company in Germany. Anything to do with film I did. I was a still photographer for two years, although I knew 100% that it wasn’t my thing, because I always wanted to do movies. During that time I was also impacted by some iconic films. The film that really influenced me that was also really ridiculous was The Tiger of Malaysia—I was only eight and I was totally crazy about that film. I played it over and over again. It was about pirates in Malaysia; in other words, an imaginary world that you could completely dive into. That’s what attracted me to film. 15: How close do you feel to the characters of My Brother the Devil? DR: The characters from My Brother the Devil are based in a certain area in London and I have lived in that area for the past 10 years and so I see those kids every day. They are very much from a different place—culturally and everything about them. I care about them because I see the difficulties that they face as ethnic minorities in Britain struggling to emancipate themselves from their parents. They live a hard life. That is why I sympathize with them. When I shoot a film and when I really care about the film I have to also empathize with the characters…naturally, I have to work on a project where I feel an emotional connection to the characters otherwise it becomes scientific and very technical. 15: What was your favorite scene in My Brother the Devil? DR: There was one scene involving the younger brother and the girl who moves to the neighborhood and who he falls in love with. The scene takes place on the rooftop where they’re both listening to music. It was a simple scene but it had a certain atmosphere. Without that scene there would be a big part missing, as his attraction for her would not be believable. The scene feels very authentic. Sometimes things happen magically and you shoot a scene and you don’t really know why but it turns out to be a really good scene.
15: Who is someone that you admire and draw inspiration from that works in your field? DR: In terms of cinematographers, I would first mention Barry Ackroyd. He was my mentor for a long time and he is still a very close friend but apart from that I love his attitude—he is very respectful of everyone on set and there is always a good atmosphere because of that. He’s very economic about his lightning and that’s why I chose him as a mentor. By economic, I mean that he doesn’t use many film lights, he keeps it to a minimum and he gives the actors a lot of freedom to move freely. Because of this the actors’ performances are not so contrived and they are much more realistic. 15: What qualities do you look for when you take on a project? DR: The script is my main concern. A good script, to me, rings true in life, which doesn’t mean that it can’t be a fantasy or a futuristic film but that the characters in the film react in a way that I believe. There’s a certain kind of logic. The second component is the director and who the director is and how we click and how our attitudes mesh. And the third factor is the production. If I feel that if the script doesn’t give me anything then I have to transform the script into something that I like. I guess that you can always find an aspect in something that you like—but I have turned quite a few scripts down because I didn’t find them interesting. It’s best if you stay true to yourself but sometimes you do something for money or because you don’t have any other projects—especially when you’re starting out. When I was starting out I was taking on all projects. It was also so that I could progress as a cinematographer. 15: Can you tell us about any upcoming projects? DR: There is a film that I’ll start working on about an old retired man who falls in love with a young girl. The film’s working title is A Long Way from Home and it takes place in the South of France; Virginia Gilbert is the director. Also, I’ve got one another project that starts in August and is set in Mumbai. It’s a Sundance film—from the Sundance lab— and Ritesh Batra is the director. These two films are not completely set in stone but hopefully I’ll start on them soon. 15: What excites you about the future of cinematography? DR: In a way I don’t really care about technology—some people are really into that—but I do think that the new cameras are great because they are smaller and they give you the ability to film things that could not be filmed before. For example, in a crowded train, you could film normal passengers without them noticing that you’re filming them because the cameras are getting smaller and smaller so that you could do things that you could never do before.
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MIGUEL
GUTIERREZ by N.M. Rosen
New York-based performance and dance-artist Miguel Gutierrez is known within the performance art world for his blurring of media, which span the written, spoken, and moving worlds, and his sharp eye for introspection and social commentary. A teacher and performer, his pieces and workshops challenge viewers and participants all over the world to explore the meaning of their own body within space. As a performer, his work asks more questions than it answers, and are as much of an excavation as they are a creation. In works like “Last Meadow”, a large scale exploration of the myths of American paternalism through theof three James Dean movies, Gutierrez offers his audience a multimedia take on a 2-D form and asks questions that draws the images off screen, and extends their symbolism to a concrete embodiment. He works on this in his workshop, Ineffable Intangible Sensational, where he uses his, and his dancers’ bodies, to conceptualize the ephemeral parts of living creatively and to explore what it means when we move, and how it creates meaning through embodiment.PADL West hosted this workshop at UCSD early in March this year, which I attended and after which had the pleasure of sitting down with Gutierrez for an interview. Drawing from the themes of the workshop and the theme of this issue, we discussed at length the ways that artistic creation is informed by our roots, and the dilemmas of referentiality in the production of art and identity.
THE INTERVIEW
NO 15: One of the things that you are talking about is how contemporary dance, and dance as an art form within our culture is much less documented, it’s transitory, it’s on our bodies, and it’s something that we talked about during your workshop. What does it mean to put something on the body, what does it mean to want to it to be something in your body, to be angry, etc – and to make that authentic. I think it is really interesting how you were speaking about authenticity as not as goal or something that can be achieved but is something that doesn’t even really need to, you can kind of grow out of authenticity. Miguel Gutierrez: Yeah, I think that it’s a trajectory that’s happening in the work. It’s a question that I ask. I think it’s something that I have realized. Each performance and each piece dictates its own set of rules and those rules are quite complicated (laughs). There’s something within that framework that has to do with where I am on the spectrum of real to unreal, or fictive to sort of documentary. With these last couple shows that I’ve done, I have consciously harnessed a relationship to the idea of authenticity as a kind of material, a kind of plastic thing,
and not landing in one specific place with it any more – not seeing it as the destination or the terminance of the train ride. For a long time, I did have that as a very strong goal. And of course, there’s always my daily life. I’m inside proxies that are about uncovering the truth of that day, or the truth of moment, let’s say. And I think that’s essential to sanity. It’s essential to having a useful interaction with the people in my life. But in terms of art making and art, I think that I have become really fascinated by the ways in which I can kind of bend the truth. Which is, again, very old: Picasso. “Art is allowed to tell the truth.” This is not a new concept either. But when we work in dance, we inherit so many implicit narratives about this form being about this kind of honesty, this kind of heroism, about this prowess, about this kind of capable body. There’s a lot of assumptions that are made around all that stuff, and I think the general public has an assumption about what it’s going to see when it hears that it’s going to see something about dance. I’m trying to fuck with that. 15: In the workshop you referred to your work and the work of artists as being this constant state of excavation, which really resonated with me. That’s a great way of phrasing that because it speaks to the experience of being instable or not being ever something that you can really pin down or identify. And even the process of excavation is a construction of identity in itself. MG: Absolutely. And I think that, the thing is, in my thirties, I was very suspicious of techniques or of systems because I felt like I could be the only agent of that self discovery and I presumed that the technique would mean be the means to harness a state, or to fix myself into a state.
What I realized was that it isn’t true (laughs), that the techniques are there to kind of unleash a process, and are there to actually support and deepen and specify a complexity of investigation, which, well, I really needed it to when that happened and it wasn’t necessarily studying Alexander technique, Feldenkrais method. I wanted to have more rigor around this self exploration, because, in a lot of ways, this self exploration can be quite impoverished, because I don’t have all the tools. I have tools in the sense that it’s all there with which to learn, but I don’t have all the information. And I can’t necessarily come to it by myself. 15: It also positions you in a lineage. MG: It’s in relationship, yeah. That’s exactly what it is. 15: It also takes away from the idea that you are a singular agent in the world, which doesn’t really do yourself any service. MG: It’s absurd! And certainly, in America, there’s credence given to this rugged individualism. It’s still a big thing. It’s important o realize that we are contextualized. When I teach, I’ll say something like at the beginning of the class like, “Here we are, in this room that we didn’t build. You know, I didn’t build the floor, I didn’t make the walls, I didn’t install the mirrors. There’s already work that’s been done by someone else that even sets the stage for us to do what we are doing.” So when I encounter that narrative, in readings that I hear from artists :“I did this thing!” I am like “No, you didn’t. Well, you did, but you weren’t alone!” It’s just not true, and it’s not fair to presume that that’s possible. For me to walk away from a show I did and say, “Yeah, I
did this show in San Diego,” it would be extraordinarily arrogant. I mean, I could do it, (laughs) people do it all the time, but I think it’s very arrogant. 15: Acknowledging that position, within a past, within the context of other people working with you, is really powerful because it does take away from this rugged individualism that is capitalistic, hierarchical... MG: It’s very capitalistic, very self-congratulatory...You know, our structure, our form, our culture really supports that way of being. And there’s a lot to say about icons and figures and leaders, and that sort of stuff, but I see myself as someone who is trying to spearhead something for myself, and at least for the people that I work with. But yeah, there is a limitation to that thinking. 15: How much do you think your work is formed by both being referential to an exterior concept or ideology? Or how much do you feel it’s self referential to your own past versus how much you reference your contemporary world and people around you? MG: I think there’s a balance. I haven’t tipped the scales in to one direction or the other, which is a struggle I have because sometimes. I see how reference or referentiality is such a thing now, and has been for such a long time, but really, in the dance world, in the performance world, certainly in New York, at least. It really took hold because I think there was this idea of the questioning of the authentic, that has really gone to such a extreme: if nothing’s ever authentic, then everything is always in relation to, everything is always in reference of, you fall into this kind of weird place
where you are just in the middle of all these completing systems, forces, and histories – I don’t fully buy that. I’m not an essentialist, per se but I do think that what some of my artistic practices and some of my practices outside of the studio have brought me to is that there are common narratives that run through our bodies, and there are currents that we locate ourselves in that... how do I explain this without sounding like a tool? Ok, it’s not about universality, but there is commonality. 15: You incorporate a lot of different practices, a lot of different means of creativity that is in reference to other things. Or maybe it is in a practice of another – but the combination you’ve created for yourself is such that you are creating something “of your own,” which is the creative process. MG: Yeah, the interest for me in making stuff is that I get to determine what the rules are for each process. And that those rules are changing and dynamic and in relation to the people that I am working with, the place I am in my life, the relationship to the work I’ve made and the work that I want to make next. And for better or for worse, the institutional context that helps support the creation of the work. None of those things are stable, all those things are in flux every time, and are different each time, so it seems kind of crazy that I would just pick one approach. Because, for me, one approach doesn’t work. Not to mention that I am also an inherently curious and inherently forgetful person. I don’t remember enough of how I made something to apply it to the next performance. 15: That sounds pretty beneficial for staying “fresh!” MG: Yeah, sometimes I’ll hear myself
reflected back to myself and “You did that workshop, and did that exercise!” and I’m like “Wow, that’s a great idea I should do that again!” 15: Miguel Guiterrez, thank you very much for this interview. MG: Thank you, I appreciated it.
PINA Stuctural Algorithmic Dances by Milosz Rosinski
The banality of viewing dancing cats and sometimes the animals that we are on YouTube exemplifies the need of some gourmet moving images standing next to this click-through empire. Wim Wender’s Acdemy Award nomination Pina Bausch engages in a relation of the grammar of ballet dance and three dimensional film technology. It is a film that has found a way to wrestle with the obscure characteristics of high definition image and the illusionary experience of sitting in the frame of the image. If you ever dreamt about being on visual drugs and seeing sculptures dance, you should probably see this film.
The clarity of the image is used to idealise the codified ballet movements of the Tanztheater sequences of the film and the algorithmic structure of the digital image is congruent with the composition of the dance movements. Meaning is created in the algorithmic technology through coding and decoding of waves of light, and in ballet through coding and decoding of gestures. The clarity of the images cannot be thought of in terms of the amount of pixels seen on the screen. Rather, clarity of the image makes it possible to understand the nature of ballet, which is obsessed with clarity of movements. The visibility that the images create make it possible to focus on the accomplishment of ideal clarity the ballet movements strive for. More than just being theatre, the intra-frame places form spaces that let movement and background poetically communicate. The film takes the relation of figure and ground to the three dimensional level of relating movement and spaces. The film engages in an externalisation of the mentally idealised beauty of movement into moving spaces. More than in conventional dance films like Last Tango in Paris the psychological suspense of dancing couples establishes a relation with the constructed space it is performed in. Beyond a classical male gaze perspective upon dance, the heterogenous nature of the two cameras concluding in the three dimensional image makes a heterotopian perspective upon the sexual aspect of the dance possible. This is further fostered by the contextual meanings of the heterogenous places the dances are performed in in long takes. The mobilisation of the immobile props of the film, primarily chairs makes the violent act of movement evident. The repetition of movement of ballet is made visible for the Black Swan spectator by showing that dramatic action has nothing to do with close-ups of blood and facial expressions. The violent act of dancing is the machine-gun expression of varied repetition of movement creating a fluid void of gesticulation. The narrative of the film does not think in terms of movement as progression in time. Sculptural representation is the freezing of gesture in an encirclement of perspective, and the film makes the sculptural experience hyperreal, by providing an illusionary encompassing perspectivism to the de-isolated movement of the gesture. The narrative is not concerned with the progression of time, this is what the meaning of the dance is occupied with, but with encircling places, making the narrative spatial rather than temporal. Another point concerning the narrative is the aspect of de-archivizing the life of Pina Bausch through her dance by fragmentary talking-heads style images. These images provide a framing for the hyperreal content the film provides. The mummification of Pina Bausch’s legacy is creating a narrative encirclement of the simulacrum of a lively representation through the dances she has composed. Using the illusion of touch the three dimensional technology provides is a hyperreal way of making this experience tangible.
PINA BAUSCH CHOREOGRAPHER (1940-2009)
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LA RINASCITA by Marta Giaccone
Stylist: Jacky Paker Jiao and Ellie Kim Models: Isabella Bert (Ice Models Milan) and Tatiana Simonova (ModelPlus Milan) MUA: Andri Alexiou
LEFT & RIGHT: Jo No Fui shirt; Vintage coat; Horace leather shorts; Dr Martens boots.
LEFT: Stylist’s own one piece and bracelets; Surface to Air shoes. RIGHT: Jil Sander dress; Jil Sander jacket;Stylist’s own necklace.
LEFT: American Apparel dress; Stylist’s own necklace.
& ALSO WITH YOU by Kevin Nguyen and Conor Ford
Models: Samuel Fuentes, Shane Konno, & Natalie Rosen Assistant: Alina Dyndikova
LEFT: (Samuel) Banana Republic suit; Dior Homme shirt; Jaxon hat; Ben Sherman shoes; (Natalie) Dior Homme jacket; Yves Saint Laurent shirt; Claudiae pants; Vintage hat; (Shane) Rag & Bone suit; Prada shirt. RIGHT: Claudiae pants; Jaxon hat.
LEFT: Banana Republic suit; Dior Homme shirt; Jaxon hat; Ben Sherman shoes; Vintage shall.
LEFT: Vintage leather jacket. RIGHT: Cheap Monday pants; Alexander Wang shall; Doctor Martens shoes.
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LEFT: (Samuel) Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket; Calvin Klein tank top; Custom Levi’s shorts; Prada shoes. RIGHT: Calvin Klein jacket; Calvin Klein top; Alexander McQueen pants; Louis Vuitton luggage.
FROM THE
GROUND UP by Conor Ford and Kevin Fuhrmann
Our feet. They support us, we depend on them, and they literally root us to the world. This spring, designers showed some serious support for our supports. From floral prints and exotic skins, platforms to metallics, the most impressive part of any look this spring will be the shoes. Interestingly, the trend for footwear this season, following the current mentality about clothing, is unisex; but not in the way you might expect. Men are sporting snakeskin trainers with platform soles, and women are rocking gold-plated armour over their toes like the city warriors they are. Ladies and gentlemen alike should perk up, as we have hand selected our five favorite trends to gather inspiration from. It is safe to say you can expect the unexpected south of our ankles this spring.
FLORAL
Rochas
Dr. Martens
PLATFORM
Prada
86
Versace
SNAKE SKIN
Alexander
McQueen
Jil Sander
CITY TRIBAL
DSquared
Burberry Prorsum
GOLD ACCENT
Yves Saint Laurent
Marc Jacobs
CLOWN OUTFIT by Conor Ford
I went to my favorite designer resale store the other day. Amidst the racks of the usual suspects, Dior Homme leather jackets and garnet colored Prada blazers, a couple exceptions caught my eye. On this same rack was some sort of clown outfit, a royal blue mechanic’s jumpsuit, and an Indian headdress. Now I get that this is Los Angeles and the Club Kids need somewhere to shop too (in their defense, the clown outfit was Vivianne Westwood), but when did people start passing off costumes as actual clothing? Looking through street style photographs over the past Fashion Month, I found the streets of Paris, Milan, and New York looking more contrived than ever. If this is happening on such a broad scale, it makes me think that both the kids wearing these ‘outfits’ downtown at 2am on a Monday night and fashion week attendees alike must be taking notes from somewhere, right? I went straight to the top to find my answers. Certain high-profile editors are looking batshit cray these days. They are pioneering the bizarre trend of donning complete looks right off the runway. Not only does this make them look like they are wearing a pricey, finely-crafted costume, but it is also a little disappointing. These are the people who we are supposed to look to for sartorial inspiration, and now they’re letting the professionals, predominately Ricardo Tisci and Muccia Prada, do all the heavy lifting. In his 2011 documentary, Tom Ford said to the camera, “I hate seeing women on the street wearing a whole look from the show”. Tom, we agree. That’s not what style is. Wearing a ‘head-to-toe’ look doesn’t automatically translate to having style, it just means you have the cash to burn (or really good connections). Dressing this way takes the accountability and the fun out of clothing. Seeing how different designers and different pieces compliment and contrast each other gives you both a signature style and a sense of authenticity. When anybody can go into the nearest Barneys, pull your entire look off the rack, and be out the door without any mental or creative leg work, what are you telling the world about your identity? About your authenticity? About your roots? Of course there are those who wear what might be more generally considered a costume on a daily basis. The difference is that these costumes speak to and compliment their individuality. Anna Piaggi’s multicolored layers of fur, cotton candy hair, and miniature top hats are one-hundred percent her own. Even Grace Coddington’s more demure black on red hair has become a signature. While these style choices may look completely wrong on someone else, they work for these women. Obviously the line between costume and creativity is thin. But the proverbial wrong turn is taken when you let someone else make the choices for you. Designers present us with an aesthetic and a mood that we are meant to interpret, not recreate. And as much as I would like to see a battalion of women stomping the streets of Manhattan in head-to-toe Givenchy, there’s a proper place for that-The runway.
Kevin Nguyen Editor-In-Chief Melissa Nguyen Managing Editor Kevin Fuhrmann Director of Visual Content
THE
STAFF
Conor Ford Fashion Editor Natalie Rosen Features Editor Shane Konno Music Editor Rebecca Limerick Art Editor Alina Dyndikova Writer Tanaaz Jasani Writer Mina Riazi Writer Milosz Rosinski Writer Shelly Yo Arts Coordinator Alejandro Parra Video Artist Rebecca Chien Marketing Robert Nguyen Marketing Anthony Hoang London Correspondant Leandro Marcelino London Correspondant Marta Giaccone Milan Correspondant Anna Li New York Correspondant Marine Laurent Paris Correspondant Aymeric Luczkiewicz Paris Correspondant
VOL. III