NATALEE MILLER You there! That’s right, you! Do you find yourself petrified by the imminent threats of a virally toxic outside world? Do you feel you are just barely gripping onto the brinks of reality and need a change of pace? Are you spiraling into the warm embrace of insanity while feeling the unbearably nagging desire to venture into uncharted lands? If this is you, the art of Natalee Miller is here to help! If there is an alternate universe just barely caddy-corner to this one, Miller surely owns real estate. In her Separate Selves collection, she has created NATALEE MILLER a multimedia experience for enthusiasts, taking them into a world that encapsulates very specific pockets of this one, but one that is certainly on its outer banks. In an interview with PureHoney, she says her work is “hovering in this kind of space that is definitely in the past, but in an unclear way.” She appropriately relates the overarching mood of her work to “introduction videos for some weird meditation cult.” Drawing inspiration from the aesthetic creativity of Art Deco, Memphis style and Pop Modernism, Miller melds an art form that is uniquely her own. She is a graphic story teller, as well as a message conveyor, whose art is best digested as an integrative experience. She takes magnificent care in curating daunting and beautiful Spotify playlists, with a highlight on world music, making her art an all-sensory experience. Miller notes, “I can’t even draw without a soundtrack; I have to make a playlist for everything I do.” She enthusiastically continues, “I’ve been listening to a lot of Turkish love songs from the ’70s, they’re so dramatic, and you just picture ladies with, like, cigarette holders, with this huge hair and crazy eye makeup, and I’m like, ‘That’s the mood I want!’ ” By her style you’d never know she wasn’t from a long line of Miamians. Everything from the colors to the mood to the subject brings the consumer back to a mystifying late-1970s Versaceesque, “Scarface” South Beach setting. “I creep on the Wynwood Walls,” she says, “just like” — a longing dramatic sigh follows, and then a “someday …” trailing off. Though she grew up in New Hampshire, she notes, “Nothing about [New Hampshire] really ever resonated with me aesthetically.” Miller holds a fondness for collaboration. Her most recent project, “Amenti Oracle Feather Heart Deck and Guidebook” is a series for Tarot-style cards, created alongside author Jennifer Sodini, and was recently covered by Cosmopolitan Magazine and VICE. Luckily for fans of her art, the quarantine has allotted her the freedom to create by her own standards. She says, “I’m just really not interested in the present, as far as aesthetics go, so I’m just always trying to find people who want to work with, like, the best of what’s already happened.” She has another collaboration in the early stages and, without giving too much away, she describes it as an expression of two values she holds dear: “I really like to create a world, and a mood is very important to me.” (We hope it includes a killer soundtrack.) Raised by a new-age hairdresser mother, with horror-obsessed older brothers, there’s no shortage of inspiration for whatever Miller is working on to be drawn from her childhood. The Separate Selves collection magnifies the darkness in the light, as well as the reverse, and gives both room to breathe. She notes the bizarre content and overall mood of early ’80s children’s programs like “3-2-1 Contact” and “David the Gnome:” “I see kids programming now, and it’s so bubbly and bright and crazy, and there’s something really weird and, like, mysterious about the ’80s stuff that I was watching.” She continues, “There’s this weird overlap between what’s supposed to be relaxing and healing and what’s also supposed to scare you, and that apex is where I want to be.” Miller’s work is both eerie and comforting, and couldn’t be more wellsuited for the times we’re collectively living through. Her art reminds us that in this uncertain, sometimes claustrophobic landscape, the best place we can seek refuge is within the creativity of our own minds. NataleeMiller.com ~ Freddie Zand
The exclusive provider of
First Purchase
Veterans
Pediatric
Physicians
$55 Off $100
15% Off
15% Off
15% Off
Must show valid proof. Some restrictions and exclusions apply. See dispensary associate for details.
Express Pickup Delivery
&
Available at www.vidacann.com
SCOTT SUGIUCHI “Stay home, listen to records, make something cool,” says Scott Sugiuchi. Now, that’s the kind of canned line you expect to hear from some New Age guru in flowing robes. But if it comes from Sugiuchi, it’s sage advice from the highest practitioner of the mantra.
SCOTT SUGIUCHI
Hate Bombs.
Without falling into the trappings of trying to describe a modern Renaissance man, the best way to explain Sugiuchi is by looking into his college years. Imagine the musical and artistic landscape of Central Florida, Orlando specifically, when he lent his bass in 1993 to ‘60s garage punkers The
The entire state’s underground music scene was beginning to take shape and throw off sparks. Like South Florida’s hodgepodge of various styles, Tampa’s metal and Gainesville’s ska/punk were turning heads at the national level. By their own admission, The Hate Bombs were going to record one slab of wax and call it quits but the momentum they gained from their debut single, ”Peckinpah Man,” propelled them into a whirlwind of touring and a decently sized recorded catalogue. When they called it quits after their ’99 release, “Hunt You Down,” it was time for new things. “I was a lifelong drawer/class artist in school, so I made the decision to go into ‘graphic design’ because it was an actual career,” Sugiuchi tells PureHoney. “Although I think my love for art goes back to comic books and their lettering, printing and layouts. Posters were a natural progression for me since I started doing fliers for my friends’ bands and my own bands” Sugiuchi cites noted rock-music historian Paul Grushkin’s “The Art of Rock” book as a huge influence in his work, as well as the comics-laced language of punk and hardcore flier artists. “It was more aggressive and smart-assed; this appealed to my juvenile sensibilities,” he said. Since 2001 he’s resided in Baltimore and continues to play bass in bands like The Hall Monitors, Candy Smokes, The Beginner’s Mynd and The Stents. He founded the boutique record label Hidden Volume Records in 2014 and has released work by artists like Satan’s Pilgrims, the Kurt Baker Combo and the DTs, among others. In music and art, there’s a discernible universe that populates Sugiuchi’s work. So, coming back to the Renaissance and looking at it as a wheel of influences: The Space Age, ‘60s Bachelor Pad Cool, Tiki Culture, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and Surf Music are some of the rich devils in the details. It’s no surprise that he’s been a lifelong devotee of the iconic Estrus record label – fine purveyors of rock ’n’ roll in its many excessive forms. “Literally all those things mentioned are some of my fave things and Estrus did what the punk poster artists did and made it punchier and more smart-alecky,” Sugiuchi says. “Still fun of course! They never took themselves seriously which is definitely something I can stand behind. Nothing makes me run away faster than self-righteous people with no sense of humor.” A chance encounter with that label’s primary designer, Art Chantry, led to a friendship and most recently, a dream come true for Sugiuchi: He will be working with Chantry on a book detailing the label’s aesthetics. It’s scheduled for a 2021 release through Korero Press in the UK. During the coronavirus outbreak, Sugiuchi found an opportunity to fight back at misinformation – or rather, misconceived presentations of valuable information regarding social distancing and hygiene initiatives. “I wanted to make a ‘Wash Your Hands’ graphic for social media because I was tired of the boring infographics I was seeing, so I decided to make mine with monster hands,” he says. “It was pretty easy to adapt my style to a variety of messages.” While he hopes people take his message to heart, his Covid-19 PSA Posters have already turned heads and received praise for their clean, whimsical and humorous-but-serious approach. Like most folks tied to event-driven work, he’s not letting the situation keep him down. “I’m super lucky to already work from home and can determine my own direction,” he says. “With the absence of gig-related work I’ve been channeling my energies into new ideas and projects. I’m also lucky to have clients who are just as relentless in finding new ways to get their brands, music and messages out. Like anything, don’t wait for shit to happen. Make it happen.” instagram.com/ssugiuchi/ ~ Abel Folgar