A F T E R
PUNK POSSIVITY vivienne westwood
YAYOY KUSAMA
POLA ESTHER
RAPHAEL VICENZI
P O I N T
Point.
ROBERT MAPPLETORPHE
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info@pointmagazine. com www. pointmagazinet. com Facebook facebook.com/pintmagazine Instagram @pointmag Literary submissions cult@pintmag.com Visual submissions visual@pointmag.com Point LLPŠ 2016
W I L D
S I D E
T E A M
5. Magazine Editor Sandra Lopez
Literary Editor Nino Gabisonia Oliver Maxwell kuppe Tanka M.Laden Olivia Singer
Contributors Pola Esther Miranda Juli
Design and art direction Sandra Lopez Websit afterthepoint.com
Raphael Vicenzi Yayoi Kusama Robert Mapplethorpe Vivienne Westwood
Metalmagazine.eu purple.fr digitalartsonline.com.uk autre.love creators.vice.com Another.com
ISSN 2315-4047
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DEAR CHAOS LIFE
7.
I love you
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w a i t i n g
A F T E R
f o r
T H E
y o u
P O I N T
This publication finishes a moto: “out of all the lies that lies the least point there is truth about art i deeper meanings devastating red point Thats why we´re h point Because we, as every You see us in the photograp and sculpture we unvelop, th and we decide to give it a because it all belongs to the world unravel with cre a view point That is art po
9.
as it begins, with the same we live in, art is the one Why? Because, undebatably, in all its forms, therefore gly appealing to be discovehere, why wer´re everywhere ything else, are art point phys we show, the paintings he filmmaking we marvel in, kick and stuff it together the same thing that makes eativity, imagination and a oint nº0 - 2017 / POINT
MIRANDA JULY
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RAPHAEL VICENCI
28
50
TRAINSPOTTING 2
58
62
A WELCOME RETURN TO FORM FROM ‘THE SIXTH SENSE’ DIRECTOR M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN.
YAYOI KUSAMA
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VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
PUNK POSSIVITY
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE
COVER POINT
42
POLA ESTHER
14
13.
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by Nino Gabisonia
New York based Polish photographer Pola Esther tells magnificent stories through her lens. Having started with the P Otheatre L A back home, she switched to ESTH E R became photography, which her primary interest and an unstoppable passion. Her freedom is what makes her photographs so intimate, sexual and fun. Experimentation, improvisation and constant shooting is what Pola appreciates the most and by observing her works we instantly become part of her wonderland.
POLA
ESTHER
15. ctive a by d ce du se en be ys a lw a e “I’v since I e nc ie ud a e th of on ti a ip ic rt pa macy, ti in nd a r… te ea th ng ki a m ed rt sta umor, fun, …h ht lig e th of t en em ov m , gy ener my senses” es iv dr t a wh s t’ a Th . ss ne ul yf pla -Pola Esther
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PHOTOGRAPHY
We recently stumbled upon the thrilling photographic work of New London, USA, based photographic artist Pola Esther, who was born and raised in Lodz, Poland. As an artist Esther uses photography as her main platform for expression, with her fascinating series named ‘Mutual Attraction’ consisting of diptych collages, clearly showing her love of photographing nature, mostly human. The work of Esther reflects upon her intimacy, femininity and sexuality. Images with the figure can be provocative, encouraging us to peep through the keyhole, where behind lays a romantic and sometimes grim world full of the unknown. She produces a highly diverse color palette moving as broad as grainy, blurry black and white to silky pastelle-like colors in orchestrated romantic settings, sometimes juxtaposing different styles, creating wonderful little spectacles which continue to fascinate us.
POLA
ESTHER
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The first photography show of Pola Esther followed soon after in her resident town of New London, at Susan Madacsi named ‘Poliz’. Shortly after her first show she became a resident artist in the Hygienic, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to creating an enriching cultural experience in the city of New London. Esther’s second display was part of the 2010 artist in residence group show. The display was of numerous photos printed directly onto a bed spread that represented intimacy while the From an insightful article by New London Patch
adjacent night stand, which had photos on sale for
we’ve learned that Esther practiced experimental
96 cents, served to represent the release of those
theater for ten years in school and studied theater
attachments.
at University of Lodz. After studying at the University of Lodz she moved to New London eight
The most recent show was named ‘Common
years ago and worked at the Eugene O’Neill Theater
Ground’ a collaboration by six artists to take an
Center in the prop department. Out of a desire to
intimate look at the city of New London. As Esther
continue her creative path in life with a different
was raised in Poland, with a large majority of
medium Pola picked up photography. Although she
Roman Catholic inhabitants, she was fascinated
was unfamiliar with the art scene at the time, she
by the number of places of worship of different
created her own productions using her friends and
denominations available in a relatively small area in
various props including large rubber insects.
New London which resulted in an interesting series.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
What’s your story? Pola Esther is sort of a superhero version of herself, who lets her be anybody she wants to be and do all the impossible and inappropriate stuff. Nevertheless, there are a couple of real facts about her. I was born and raised in Poland. The legend says that I was kissed by the Pope and that event made me who I am. That’s actually a true story. I went to the University where I studied Film and Theatre and started to do an experimental movement theatre when I was very young, so performance was my first creative activity. Ten years ago I moved to the States and that somehow shed my Polish skin, my way of thinking and my patterns of action. I had to reinvent myself. I started an internship at the Theatre Center in Connecticut, but it was diverse from what I was doing back in Poland. At home, I was part of a collective, I was used to team work, I could express original ideas, I could improvise. But in Connecticut it was way different. It was hard for me to continue theater there. This is where a camera came to the scene thanks to which I could create my own spectacle. Then I started an artist residency and met artists with whom I could work creatively, I could watch them, and all those creative relationships formed my passion for photography. My art consciousness became stronger and I felt more free. Later I moved to New York where I started extending my visions. Tell me about your first steps in photography. Photography is my weapon of choice. I do not have a traditional camera girl education. I learned lot from watching, working with others and by constantly practicing. I come from a town with great filmmaking traditions and was exposed to ‘fine art cinema’ from an early age. We had very few channels on TV back then and around midnight I could watch adult programs like fornication, not
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POLA
ESTHER
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PHOTOGRAPHY
appropriate for a young Polish catholic girl, but
distract one another. I often change the positions
I often contribute with Purple Magazine, where
those films were beautiful. So often my approach
of the images. The dialog I’m attempting to initiate
I am given all the freedom I need to represent
is very cinematic. I’m not a technical photographer,
is supposed to provoke a more abstract thinking
everything I wish to. My presence on social media
the energy of the moment and of a person are the
about common objects or situations. I try to
is also not humongous so censorship didn’t get me
most important aspects to me while shooting. The
transition them into a fantastic universe. I want to
yet. Though I have experienced certain kind of ‘self-
camera is just a tool, I don’t really care if it’s digital
share my fascination by pairing images with the
censorship’, when people are censoring elements of
or analog, if it’s instant, expensive or cheap, as
elements of nature like flowers, fruit, vegetables,
their body. It could be intimate parts like breasts,
long as it lets me achieve what I want to achieve.
trees, animals with images containing human forms
penises, vaginas or even the noses, arms and hands.
I started taking photos, because I needed a new
that can express human desires, hidden intentions,
I try to be as subtle as possible while shooting and
outlet for my creativity, because it was the fastest
intimacy and sexuality. I was very happy to exhibit
help people to express themselves while posing in
way to continue who I was in a new world.
these series in Gallery Opus in Lodz, Poland, last
front of my lens. Although, it might get wild. The
June.
project Erotic Exercise started from my fascination
What do you think about New York as a
with Bruce Nauman’s piece Body Pressure (the
photographer?
Take us behind the scenes of K-Pop band Big Bang
title Erotic Exercise is a phrase taken from his text)
I think NY is everything, there is place for
photoshoot.
and motivated me to create a short photo story
everyone. This city gives lots of opportunities
It was super fun. Working on this project with
on erotic body movement which I’m planning to
and is constantly stimulating imagination, which
Dikayl Rimmasch was an extremely productive
continue.
sometimes becomes exhausting. I like its diversity,
experience. I absolutely admire his constant
Do you think your images are provocative?
for example, you can see in the streets or in the
creativity, mega passion and super skills. We
I want them to be a little bit provocative but I don’t
subway the best dressed person ever and then the
were making a film for a Big Bang concert tour
necessarily need to provoke. I hope this makes
worst dressed person ever, simultaneously. The city
in LA. It was all about explosions in the desert,
sense. I call it delicate provocation (laughs). For
is very bipolar, pretty and ugly, good and bad. All the
car chases, giant aquariums, including James
the photo projects, I usually invite people who are
energy and the aesthetics intersect with each other
Goldstein’s mansion. Apart from shooting, I was
willing to share their intimacy and those who are
and I love that. I’m very inspired by humans of New
involved in styling and creative communication, my
totally okay with the nudity. I sense that they want
York. I feel lucky to live in this city and appreciate
photos were sort of behind the scenes material. I
to and need to express themselves in a naked way.
meeting people who become my muses, heroes,
concentrated on badass female characters of the
Some bodies perform freely and some are more
comrades, partners. For photographers NYC is a
film, I generally focus on feminine energy in my
shy. I’m not the predator, I never push them, there
visual feast, networking party and a cultural garden.
work so it was a natural angle for me. In addition,
always is a mutual understanding on the shooting
hanging out with fabulous women is always a plus
scene. It’s a beautiful experience. I often call it a
and much fun (laughs).
photo date, it’s like meeting with somebody and
In your series of photographs called Mutual Attraction, you are putting diverse images together
having a very intimate conversation, seductive and
and creating a visual haiku. What’s your message?
Nudity is pretty prominent in your work and
playful. It can be very liberating as well.
A single photograph tells a certain story; I like to
especially in the series of Erotic Exercise, where
Do you have any particular methods while
expand that story by adding a second image. I play
you depict a nude female body. Have you ever
shooting?
with these two images, juxtapose them, connect
experienced any censorship?
Mostly, the shooting process depends on what I am
them and check if they are able to attract or
To be sincere I have not experienced any censorship.
working on. I usually follow a certain concept or an idea, like in case of Erotic Exercise, but often I have to shoot in locations I am not familiar with, where I mostly improvise and try to use the energy and the light. I like spontaneity but I also care for existence and composition of the elements in the frame. What I try to do first is to find a perfect spot and feel how the person wants to represent his or herself and try to listen to their body language but also see them in my own way. If there is a more precise assignment and if I’m working with a bigger team, lots of stuff are discussed and planned beforehand. You often incorporate your photographs into art installations. How do you do that? I start with selection of images; I will create a
All of the pictures of this article by © Pola Esther
main line of narration by using those images. After
POLA
ESTHER
21.
that I decide how to display the photographs and think of how they could be more interactive with the viewers. By incorporating photographs in the installations I try to make them more dimensional. My last installation was in Berlin at Kleistpark U-bahn Station with a project called Platform Berlin. For the exhibition I grouped my photos in triptychs which rotated three times, they were accompanied by sculptural pieces composed of found objects which extended their meaning. The project was displayed in a glass box usually used for advertisements and was accessible for 24 hours for anyone. The project was called EYE.EAT.YOU and it concentrated on the idea of lust and desire expressed by a suggested act of consumption. I set up a small table with two chairs, plates and silverware, ‘main course’ was changing, it included gold fish in a bowl (which got confiscated by German animal rights activists, even though it was fed and looked after every day) and red nail polish among others. I intended to evoke physical sensations. What’s Next? I am continuing to work on my existing projects and am planning to do more collaborations with other female artists who I find to be amazing. They are real rock stars and idols. Power of sisterhood is very important to me. I am also hoping to make a short film. Additionally, this fall I will be having a show at Florence Griswold Museum in Connecticut, called Room of Her Own. Ballad of Ruth Coxe, which is an exhibition of photographs and installation elements telling a story of an extraordinary and controversial woman from a small town who is a natural feminist, a dreamer, an entrepreneur, adventurous, independent and a strong character. I’m thrilled to tell her story.
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MIRANDA JULY
In a letter to friends, artist and filmmaker Miranda July discloses that she will be donating her vast archive of Joanie 4 Jackie, a large, feminist collection of short movies and video art to the Getty Research Institute. Joanie for Jackie (originally called Big Miss Moviola) was a feminist video chain letter series begun by Miranda July in 1995 in the midst of a thriving Riot Grrrl scene in Portland, as a way of instigating and distributing video
CULTURE
all my best, Miranda
Below is the press release from The Getty Research Institute and today’s NYT feature on project; thank you for sharing the news as you see fit.
I am also excited to announce that joanie4jackie.com launched this morning — this site guides you through the materials and the story of the project. I made it with Yuri Ono, Matt Wright, Astria Suparak, Vanessa Haroutunian, Jaqueline Goss and the students of the Joanie 4 Jackie Tutorial at Bard College. A labor of love; it took us seven years.
Today The Getty Research Institute announced the acquisition of the complete Joanie 4 Jackie archives. Twenty-seven boxes of tapes, posters, letters, embarrassing notes, to do lists, and grandiose plans that will be made available to researchers and preserved for all time in a feminist and queer context, alongside the archives of artists such as Yvonne Rainer, Robert Mapplethorpe and Carolee Schneemann. I am tremendously grateful to Glenn Phillips (curator and head of modern & contemporary collections at The Getty Research Institute) for his understanding and conservation of radical American histories.
When I was twenty-one I started an underground network for women and girls making movies. For more than ten years women sent their movies to Joanie 4 Jackie (aka Big Miss Moviola) and received a “Chainletter” tape in return — their movie compiled with nine others. In a pre-YouTube world, this was one way we could see each other’s work and know we weren’t alone. I also toured the country screening the movies and meeting audiences of challenging, brilliant women. It is not an overstatement to say that everything I have ever made has been with these artists and audiences in mind. We granted each other a powerful space that I have kept my heart in and built upon, often in the face insidious, dispiriting mysogyny.
This is a difficult time to send a group email about anything but our current, crucial resistance. Rather than distract from that fight, I hope that this email will give energy to it.
Dear Friends, MIRANDA JULY
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Raphaël Vicenzi “BLACK AND WHITE”
RAPHAEL
VICENZI
Though the artist’s nickname is the cheeky, My Dead Pony, Vicenzi’s works are a nod to the sensitivity of humans. The majority of his collages showcase fine-featured females, sometimes surrounded by halos of colors and half-obstructed by other design components.
B W R V
L H A I
A I P C
C T H E
29.
K AND E OF AEL NZI
Raphael Vicenzi aka mydeadpony is a Belgian illustrator living in Brussels,Belgium with his wife and child. Inspired by fashion, graphic design & typography, his works are a reflection of his internal landscape where beauty collides with graffiti shapes, broken paint and halftones whispers.
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ILLUSTRATION
Graceful brushstrokes by way of water colors bring a unique character to Raphaël Vicenzi’s original collages. Strongly influenced by the cultural leanings of fashion and street art, the Belgian artist displays a knack for compiling disparate themes into a single entity; each collage unpeels like a ghostly onion, navigating through layer after translucent layer. In effect, Vicenti’s ephermal and gossamer-like collages display a skill for establishing balance, reigning in gratuity while still keeping the audience’s eye.
Raphaël Vicenzi “BLACK AND WHITE”
RAPHAEL
31.
VICENZI
The artist has developed quite a fanbase for his stylized collages, featured at length on his Behance page, as well as his Facebook and Tumblr pages. Vicenzi is a self-taught artist who uses watercolors and sketchings to form the base of his works, which he later modifies with Photoshop, as told to Featured Magazine. In 2015, the artist also released a book containing a collection of his
Raphaël Vicenzi “BLACK AND WHITE”
best collages, titled LIVING WITH: My Dead Pony.
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I N T E R V I E W
ILLUSTRATION
Where did you train?
patterns and various mishaps” because I used vivid
I am mostly self-taught. I learned the tools of the
colours in the background for a change.
trade the hard way and I was lucky to find my way around Photoshop and keep going from there.
What clients have you worked for? Votre beauté, Marie-Claire, Brizo, Sunglass hut,
What kinds of materials and technology do you
Style.com and more.
work with? I use Photoshop and a Wacom Intuos Pro tablet.
Who and what are your biggest influences?
I also use a lot of hand-made textures made from
So many people have influenced me over the years,
watercolours, paint and markers, for example,
from Tom Bagshaw, Daniel Egneus, David Downton,
which I then combine in Photoshop.
Bansky, Chloe Early and so on…
What techniques and approaches do you use
What has inspired you most recently?
most?
Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval is an awesome
Drawing and painting in Photoshop, adding
comic book. I deeply loved the story and the
textures, using layer masks layer modes and
illustrations are fantastic.
gradients. Nothing too complicated. For commission work it’s easier to follow a brief and
What are you working on now?
build the illustration from there, but for personal
I’m doing the same kind of illustrations as I’ve done
work I sometimes get an idea that I am eager to try
before, but in secret, I’m trying out different styles
out. It doesn’t always work but I learn something
like fake book covers or collages. I’m not really
from the failed attempt!
confident with them for the moment, though.
What’s been your favourite piece you’ve created
What’s your dream commission?
and why?
Doing more
It’s hard to say, but
commissions
for the moment,
for the fashion
I like the piece
industry would
called “Unsolicited
be great.
Raphaël Vicenzi “BLACK AND WHITE”
33.
Raphaël Vicenzi “BLACK AND WHITE”
work, especially for younger or underrepresented female artists. Frustrated with the irrelevance of mainstream and even independent movies to the lives of women, July wondered if moviemaking could be reconceived as something intimate and easy – a medium for dialogue between women, like music and fanzines had recently become.
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ILLUSTRATION
ges I mainly focused “For this series of colla a ghost & the on life after deathe as at is life. It’s a transitory experienc beth e we don’t really fascinating subject mecaofusus after we die, know what will beco at will be forgotten, what will be left, wh where will we go.” -Raphael Vicenzi
www.mydeadpony.com
35.
VICENZI
Raphaël Vicenzi “BLACK AND WHITE”
RAPHAEL
www.mydeadpony.com
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ILUSTRATION
YAYOI KUSAMA by Oliver Maxwell Kuppe
YAYOI
39.
KUSAMA
There is something impossibly magical about a whole world painted in polka dots. It’s the kind of world an obsessive-compulsive god might create on a mushroom trip. Obsessive, molecular, psychedelic – the world of Yayoi Kusama is an alternate universe of love and nets – which she calls Infinity Nets – that seem to always catch her when her imagination flies too high. Kusama, who was born into a traditional upper-class Japanese family in 1929, has seemingly been misunderstood since birth. Plagued by crippling hallucinations and neuroses since childhood, she found refuge and solace in art. Falling into the currents of multiple art movements, between the waves
Photography by Hal Reif
of post-impressionism, minimalism and pop art, Kusama’s work has remained enigmatic, difficult to define; almost impossible to classify into one particular genre. Yet her dreams of becoming a famous artist would come true during the pivotal (and arguably most productive) years of her career, between 1958 and the late 1960s, when she became a central fixture of the explosive New York City avant-garde movement. She became close friends and collaborated with other important artists, such as Donald Judd and Eva Hesse, and exhibited alongside Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol (with whom, she implies in the following interview, she has had a
YAYOI KUSAMA, reclining on her work ACCUMULATION (1963-4): Accumulation No.2, Infinity Net and macaroni carpet in the background. Image courtesy: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo / © Yayoi Kusama, Yayoi Kusama Studio Inc.
surreality connected by a million dots and
somewhat contentious relationship). While she is most known for her dot paintings, which deal with themes of love and infinity, Kusama also experimented with other media such as sculpture, writing, film, installation, and performance during her years in New York. She also held “happenings” in the antiwar sprit of the times, many of them involving mass nudity in public places. Once, she even offered sex to Richard Nixon if he would end the Vietnam War. Perhaps because of a combination of exhaustion and disillusionment, Kusama eventually moved back to Tokyo, where she still lives in a mental institution close to her studio. Today, Kusama is as active and inspired as ever, and will be featured in two forthcoming major retrospectives –
Photography by Hal Reif
one at the Tate Modern in London and one in the summer In front of the statue of George Washington across from the New York Stock Exchange
of 2012 at New York’s Whitney Museum. Kusama is also collaborating with Marc Jacobs on a collection for Louis Vuitton. Famously elusive, Kusama was gracious enough to answer a few of our questions and share her important message with us all.
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ILLUSTRATION
YAYOI KUSAMA with “LOVE FOREVER” buttons, which she distributed at the opening of Kusama’s PEEP SHOW,
at some members of the press whose writings greatly disrupted my serious pursuit of art and my behavior as an artist Autre: What was it like in New York during the 1960s with Andy Warhol? Autre: Can you remember the first
question my thoughts and beliefs as
Kusama: Andy and I appeared
time that you knew you wanted to be
an artist.
together before the media on several occasions to discuss art. I found
an artist? Autre: I watched your documentary
his thoughts and behavior totally
Yayoi Kusama: I recall that when I
and there was a scene with you
different from mine.
was a little girl, about 10 years old,
flipping through press about yourself
my mother, who was vehemently
and it seemed like you had some
Autre: What was your first
opposed to my becoming an artist,
disdain for art critics - is there
impression of Andy Warhol?
tore up a large painting I had just
animosity toward the people who
finished exerting my utmost strength
write about you and your art?
and spending almost a month on.
Kusama: I have never thought about it. I have treaded my own path developing innovative ideas for my
Autre: You are most known for your
the past that I got angry at some
artwork. Andy copied my ideas such
intricate painting of dots – what is the
members of the press whose writings
as repetition and accumulation for
psychological or spiritual significance
greatly disrupted my serious pursuit
his work.
of dots?
of art and my behavior as an artist
Kusama: Since childhood, I have
Autre: What was it like in New York
Autre: What are some of your biggest
been painting, for no special reason,
during the 1960s with Andy Warhol?
inspirations?
from the hallucinations that seem to
Kusama: Andy and I appeared
Kusama: My ideas and creativity are
appear endlessly. I can’t explain why
together before the media on several
the sources of inspiration for me.
if you ask me.
occasions to discuss art. I found
numerous dots and nets, drawing
Autre: What is the biggest
his thoughts and behavior totally
Autre: What is one thing you’d like
different from mine.
the world to know about you?
Autre: What was your first
Kusama: I would like to dedicate to
impression of Andy Warhol?
the whole world a great message.
misconception about your art? Kusama: When I was in New York, I staged a large number of happenings
It is a message from Kusama
and anti-art musicals. The shocking
Kusama: I have never thought about
who has struggled to survive as a
scenes that often appeared in those
it. I have treaded my own path
human being and as an artist, and
events caused quite a few people,
developing innovative ideas for my
whose life has been brightly lit and
including artists, to criticize and
artwork. Andy copied my ideas such
strengthened by her pursuit of truth.
I N T E R V I E W
Kusama: There were times in
KUSAMA
41.
Kusama with Pumpkin, 2010
YAYOI
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PHOTOGRAPHY
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE by Tanja M. Laden You know an exhibition’s going to be stimulating when its signage warns visitors of sexually-explicit content, and in Robert Mapplethorpe’s case, the label’s not surprising. The legendary photographer continues to leave an impact, long after his untimely death in 1989 from AIDS-related complications at the age of 42. In nearly three decades since, he’s built up a bigger and broader oeuvre than one can hope to achieve in a lifetime. Now, a major traveling retrospective shows just how strong Mapplethorpe’s legacy actually is.
43.
MAPPLETHORPE
Robert Mapplethorpe, Patrice, N.Y.C., 1977, © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
ROBERT
’ is something “The word ‘pertifeedctto t’s that was so t’s legaRcyob,”ersa id work, to Rober thout sincere Edward, not wi emotion.
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Robert Mapplethorpe, Patrice, N.Y.C., 1977, from the X Portfolio. © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
PHOTOGRAPHY
Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium is comprised of dazzling fractals of Mapplethorpe’s wide-bodied career, which don’t just fill one, but two museums: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum. In 2011, both institutions banded together with help from the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation and the Getty Research Institute’s Mapplethorpe Archive to compile the bulk of the eponymous artist’s life work—only a fraction of which finally makes it into the current exhibition. The result is not only the first major retrospective of both art and archival material since the groundbreaking artist’s death, but also two books: Robert Mapplethorpe: The Photographs and Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive, and a documentary by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, will premiere on HBO.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Patrice, N.Y.C., 1977, © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
Mapplethorpe captured subversive, alternative
Mapplethorpe’s final pieces.
subcultures while also shining
Mapplethorpe was no less
a spotlight on high society
than a genius in his chosen
and the cult of celebrity.
field. Yet, while he will always
His use of texture, contrast,
be known as a photographer,
and composition bear the
the title The Perfect
hallmarks of a true artist, but
Medium does not refer to
it is his unexpected subject
Mapplethorpe’s choice of
matter, which ranges from
creative discipline as much
gay erotica, to stylized glamor
as to Mapplethorpe himself,
portraits, and even florals,
because it uncovers his true
is all consistently filtered
nature as an interdisciplinary
through Mapplethorpe’s
fine artist who not only
singular lens, reflecting not
created photographs, but also
only the visionary artist’s
made collages, assemblages,
highly refined aesthetic,
sculptures, films, and even
but his then-contemporary
jewelry, all with the same
experience.
compositional eye that the artist himself attributed to his
An understanding of
Catholic upbringing and early
the mechanics of analog
appreciation of symmetry
photography deepens
and the reverential nature of
one’s appreciation of
biblical art.
MAPPLETHORPE
Robert Mapplethorpe, Two Men Dancing, 1984. Promised gift of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation to the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
ROBERT
45.
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Speaking at a press conference for the exhibitions, Mapplethorpe’s youngest brother, Edward, said, “I am probably [Robert’s] earliest fan, earliest admirer. From a very early age, I knew there was something special about Robert Mapplethorpe.” The artist’s surviving sibling continued to describe how Robert was an inspiration for him to study photography as well, and how he was also struck by the title of the exhibit, The Perfect Medium.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken and Lydia and Tyler, 1985. Jointly acquired by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, with funds provided by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the David Geffen Foundation Š Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
47.
http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/robert-
mapplethorpe-most-iconic-works-exhibit nÂş0 - 2017 /
POINT
PHOTOGRAPHY
Robert Mapplethorpe, Patrice, N.Y.C., 1977, from the X Portfolio. Jointly acquired by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; partial gift of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; partial purchase with funds provided by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the David Geffen Foundation Š Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
49.
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FASHION
The legendary designer’s A/W17 collection presented a simple and pragmatic means of changing the world for the better – and what is more anarchic than that?
V W P T
I E U I
V S N V
IENNE TWOOD'S K POSIITY ion to “I talk abouthafardshfo s which alleviate the must cu apply to nevertheless wed” save the worl – Vivienne Westwood
51. As a lifelong member of the Green Party, I can say that getting people to talk about green energy is a Herculean task; Caroline Lucas’s occasional appearance on Question Time is about as good as it gets. In fact, and somewhat ironically considering that the fashion industry is one built on insatiable consumption, Vivienne Westwood’s segue into the field – a missive particularly present during her latest collection, titled Ecotricity and dedicated to convincing us all to switch over to the green energy supplier of the same name – has earned the cause more column inches than most other endeavours. As Westwood herself so succinctly explains, “I talk about fashion to alleviate the hard focus which nevertheless we must apply to save the world”. What she offers is an amenable pathway into the politics often dismissed as hippie nonsense; a fashionable hook onto something far less immediately appealing than cowboy shoes and tulle dresses. Both of these things appeared in Ecotricity, and if they weren’t so well executed you’d believe that they were simply set dressing, but Westwood’s determined provocation is not mutually exclusive with her innate aptitude for creating brilliant clothes. That doesn’t mean that her message is any less pertinent, relevant, or powerful; it just means that, all together, it makes for a beguiling package.
nº0 - 2017 / POINT Photography by Marco Torri
Vivienne Westwood A/W17
FASHION
Photography by Marco Torri
53.
Vivienne Westwood A/W17 VIVIENNE
WESTWOOD
A HISTORY OF DRESS Photography by Marco Torri
Whether or not they are the vehicle
corsetry of her A/W87 Harris Tweed
runway of late, but few deliver it with
home,” explained Kronthaler, “not
for a greater message, we are talking
collection, to the subversion of Savile
the confident finesse of Westwood
recycled, but home-made”, and
about clothes here. Westwood’s
Row tailoring that has defined her
– to corsetry so impeccably
plenty of looks came complete with
designs have always been founded
label ever since its inception.
constructed that it gave delicate
paper crowns crafted out of what
waists even to the boys who wore
appeared to be household ephemera
upon historic references, which she considers to be the foundation
The pieces that formed this collection
it. This was an explicitly co-ed show,
– the finger puppets hanging from
of cultural progress. They draw
drew on Westwood’s own history of
although Westwood has never been
models’ hands were made out of the
intricately and thoroughly on a
technique: from perfectly oversized,
partial to a gender binary. A loose but
pair’s leftover Christmas wrapping
history of dress: from the 18th-
broad-shouldered suiting – it has
well-fitting coat was patchworked
paper. “It’s fun, like dressing dolls,” he
century menswear that first inspired
been seen in abundance on the
from various fabrics, “like bits and
grinned after the show.
her Pirates collection in 1981, and the
pieces from the knitting basket at
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FASHION
ANTIDOTE
TO
ALIENATION
As a lifelong member of the Green Party, I can say that getting people to talk about green energy is a Herculean task; Caroline Lucas’s occasional appearance on Question Time considering that the fashion industry is one built on insatiable consumption, Vivienne Westwood’s segue into the field – a missive particularly present during her latest collection, titled Ecotricity and dedicated to convincing us all to switch over to the green energy supplier of the same name – has earned the cause more column inches than most other endeavours.
“I talk about fashion to alleviate the hard focus which nevertheless we must apply to save the world” – Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood A/W17
is about as good as it gets. In fact, and somewhat ironically
As Westwood herself so succinctly explains, “I talk about fashion to alleviate the hard focus which nevertheless we must apply to save the world”. What she offers is an amenable pathway into the politics often dismissed as hippie nonsense; a fashionable hook onto something far less immediately appealing than cowboy shoes and tulle dresses. Both of these
Photography by Marco Torri
things appeared in Ecotricity, and if they weren’t so well executed you’d believe that they were simply set dressing, but Westwood’s determined provocation is not mutually exclusive While continually advocating for
It is this detachment from reality that
doesn’t mean that her message is any less pertinent, relevant,
organised, eco-centric rebellion
Westwood argues is so problematic,
or powerful; it just means that, all together, it makes for a
might seem antithetical to
because it is through unquestioning
beguiling package.
the anarchistic spirit of punk
and insatiable consumption that “the
that Westwood first founded
rotten financial system” upholds total
her brand upon (what’s less
control. The only way to fight against
traditionally rebellious, after
this system is to combat climate
all, than asking your audience
change, to switch to a green economy
to switch energy supplier?),
(first step: sign up to Ecotricity)
her explanation as to how she
and thus destabilise a big-business
got to where she is now makes
system built on oil money, opaque
a roundabout sort of sense.
energy subsidies and conglomerate
In Westwood’s eyes, blind
monopolies. She makes a pretty
consumption – of clothing, of
convincing argument for her way of
media, of art, or of anything,
doing things – and for those who get
really – marks the downfall of
lost on the way to understanding it,
society, and the antidote to such
this season she drew impassioned
alienation is to fully embrace
diagrams of it all, which appeared
culture, and immerse oneself
intermittently on the clothes she
in its history. “Otherwise you’re
sent down the runway. “On those
throwing your roots away – and
shorts there’s everything Vivienne
then who are you? It’s alienating
believes in,” said her partner, Andreas
– and, right now, people are
Kronthaler. “The last ten years, on a
alienated.”
pair of shorts.”
Vivienne Westwood A/W17
with her innate aptitude for creating brilliant clothes. That
Photography by Marco Torri
A
WESTWOOD
CALL
TO
ACTION
The sheer joy of both her message and its execution is perhaps what makes Westwood as a brand so completely appealing. While tailoring tradition can often feel startlingly alienating, and politics even more so, there is sense of abundance and democracy which underpins Westwood’s work. In fact, when it came to the tailoring, “what was important was the generosity of things,” explained Kronthaler. “Big lapels sticking up into the air as far as possible, not those mean
55. Photography by Marco Torri
VIVIENNE
little collars which have, for too long, been too controlled. It was like a celebration of life.” Westwood has spent the past decade trying to disrupt traditional spheres; politics, perhaps the most undemocratic of all, is just one of many. If a few people switch to Ecotricity as a result of her collection, she will have done more than most for the climate crisis. If a few people like her jackets enough to “buy less, choose well, make it last”, then they will limit the exploitation of the planet’s natural resources. What Westwood promotes is simply positive action in some form – and when such a message comes from a woman better versed in anarchic nihilism than most, it is worth listening to. “If you change your life, you change the world,” she says. “I don’t want people to be satisfied with not doing anything.” So don’t be: sign up to Ecotricity. It only takes a couple of minutes.
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57.
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FILM
F V T T
I I R I
L E A N
M REW: ‘T2 INSPOTG’ by Guy Lodge
on smack or off it. As a fan-service
rave-culture veneer having long since
How do you make a sequel to a film
exercise, Danny Boyle’s itchy, antic
premiere at the Berlinale, the
peeled away.
that defined a generation, a whole
caper just about passes muster,
throwback has clearly landed: the
John Hodge’s screenplay is partially
generation later? Do you define that
reassembling “Trainspotting’s” core
clumsily titled “T2 Trainspotting”
adapted from “Trainspotting” author
generation anew, through thicker
ensemble, soundtrack cues, and
grossed over $6.4 million in its
Irvine Welsh’s less popular follow-
bifocal lenses, or do you pass the
even its seasick camera moves for
opening weekend, an especially
up novel “Porno,” itself published
baton to a younger one? Both are
two hours of scuzzy nostalgia. Yet it
robust figure for a film saddled with
back in 2002. The film’s repeatedly
valid approaches. Neither is quite
largely passes up the opportunity to
a no-under-18s certificate. (Perhaps
delayed genesis is apparent in the
the one taken by “T2 Trainspotting,” a
update the original’s caustic social
needlessly so: There’s little of shock
final product, which tosses some
shinily distracting but disappointingly
snapshot of contemporary Britain — a
value here, and certainly nothing
short-cut references to the present
unambitious follow-up to 1996’s
region itself currently preoccupied
to match the scarring impact of the
day (including some near-desperate
feverish youthquake of a junkie study,
with the rearview mirror, though the
original’s cot-death scene.) Whether
social-media namechecking) into a
which reunites its quartet of older,
irony isn’t necessarily noted.
audiences abroad will be quite as
story world that’s otherwise politically
eager to plunge back down into
vague — a cleverly roundabout
none-the-wiser Edinburgh wretches to say simply this: Middle-aged
In the U.K., where Boyle’s film has
the sewer is harder to gauge, with
allusion to Scotland’s recent
masculinity is a drag, whether you’re
opened ahead of its international
the material’s once-marketable
independence woes notwithstanding.
59.
Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor reunite for another descent into Edinburgh's unpretty underworld — but the heroin chic has long worn off.
nÂş0 - 2017 / POINT
FILM
One early punchline, meanwhile,
aesthetic a more expensive edge.)
might strike a reactionary note for
Per his iconic monologue — ill-
viewers entangled in the heated
advisedly rehashed here with
rhetoric of Brexit Britain. “Where are
moderately modish references to
you from?” 46-year-old Mark Renton
slut-shaming and reality TV — Renton
(Ewan McGregor) dubiously asks a
cleaned up and chose life, which turns
“Welcome to Edinburgh” greeter at
out to have meant little of the sort:
the city’s airport. “Slovenia,” comes
two decades in Amsterdam working
the reply. No, this isn’t the Edinburgh
in stock management software for
that Renton fled 20 years ago, the
the retail sector. At a loose end
loot from a high-wire heroin deal in
following a recent divorce, he returns
hand, at the end of the first film. The
to his hometown to reconnect
squalor of the mid-1990s has merely
with old acquaintances for reasons
been replaced with another style of
Hodge’s arbitrarily ambling script
decay: Production designers Mark
never makes quite clear.
Tildesley (“High-Rise”) and Patrick Rolfe crowd frame after frame with
He can’t be surprised to find that
an assortment of piled scrap metal
former best friend Simon (Jonny
and miscellaneous debris.
Lee Miller) still holds a bitter grudge after Renton stole his share of
Neither is Renton quite the same
the aforementioned drug money,
man. The gangly skinhead of 1996
though he’s not quite as violently
has grown into a buff, pensive-
vengeful as fellow wronged associate
looking McGregor, first glimpsed
Begbie (Robert Carlyle), newly
running himself ragged on a swanky
self-liberated from prison and on the
gym treadmill — a marked contrast
bloody warpath. Meanwhile, their
to the frantic sprinting from
affably hopeless friend Spud (Ewen
police that opened the original, in
Bremner) observes quiveringly from
the first of numerous visual and
the sidelines, still struggling to kick
rhythmic parallels drawn by Boyle,
his heroin habit, and channeling his
cinematographer Anthony Dod
nervous energy into an unexpectedly
Mantle, and editor Jon Harris. (Both
authorial role in their joint saga.
collaborators have been added since the director’s “Trainspotting” days,
In their efforts to delay a complete
and give the original’s dizzy, jagged
reunion of this sorry foursome until the eleventh hour, Boyle and Hodge keep a lot of plates busily spinning, without serving much meat on any of them. Tentatively reconciled, Renton and Simon embark on a project with the latter’s Bulgarian sexworker girlfriend Veronika (Anjela Nedyalkova) to convert a derelict pub into a brothel. In the most jarring shift from the original, the character of Begbie has been ramped up
61.
TRAINSPOTTING
from reckless oddball to wild-eyed, scarcely plausible psychopath: In between bouts of knife-wielding rage, he attempts to lure his estranged, upstanding son into the underworld. The script makes strained digressions for other returning faces: A sleek Kelly Macdonald shows up for a single
connections are loose, the stakes
scene to offer haughty legal counsel
are low, and those who have simply
to Renton, while Shirley Henderson
been waiting 20 years to hang out
is granted a single line as Spud’s
with these lads and their frequently
mournfully weathered ex. Indeed,
crackling banter will be essentially
the new film’s rather high-handed
satisfied from the moment Boyle
treatment of its female characters
teases us with the introductory
may be its biggest letdown: At a push,
clatter of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life”
one could argue that such sidelining
on the soundtrack. (All the most
reflects how the manchildren at its
ubiquitous tracks from the original,
center have failed to evolve, though
once played to death in college
“T2” is entirely complicit in their
dorm rooms, get some manner of
dissolute uselessness.
resurrection here; it’s telling that next-generation contributions from
Where “Trainspotting’s” dive into
the likes of Wolf Alice and Young
the void was targeted, bristling with
Fathers serve proceedings merely as
snarky anger at a Conservative
musical wallpaper.)
system that provided few lifelines, “T2” — despite landing in a Britain
And it’s generally good to see
once more under divisive Tory rule —
them. It’s particularly good to see
is mostly content to let its characters
a still-peroxided Miller, reminding
alternately indulge and excoriate
the camera of his lithe, splintery
themselves. So we tipsily gad about
star quality. That we feel we haven’t
with them through a succession of
seen enough of him lately lends real
chase sequences, luridly lit drug trips
poignancy to his reteaming with
and, in one nod to quintessentially
McGregor, who has been far less
British farce, a naked dash in the
of a stranger to us. Returning to his
countryside. Boyle and Dod Mantle
star-making role, a cruising McGregor
jump-start this unwieldy vehicle
looks palpably less hungry and more
with sheer formal brio, tricking it
polished than his co-stars in a way
out with technique after technique
that sets the film quite appropriately
after technique: 8mm flashbacks,
off-balance, as it ponders the
projections, deranged Dutch angles,
diverging fates of these perennially
and, in what may be an early low
muddled men. As happens at any
for cinema in 2017, the application
reunion with long-absent peers,
of Snapchat filters. It’s far from the
however, a certain awkward silence
director’s best-looking movie, but it
can’t help but sink in. “T2,” for all its
may be his most visually eager.
noise and neon, has little to say to
Beneath all this surface, the
fill it.
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a r f ‘ s r n y
e o t e e i a
w t r h n c g m
e u m e s t h a
lc rn f s e’ or t la
om t ro ix d m sh n.
e o m th i. -
FILM
whose unhinged new mind-bender is a worthy extension of his early work.
63.
SHYAMALAN
Multiple personality disorder, like amnesia, is one of those aberrant mental states that has been a curse to those who suffer, but a gift to screenwriters over the years. From Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” to Brian De Palma’s “Dressed to Kill,”
who also appeared in Shyamalan’s
filmmakers have long exploited how
“The Happening”), a sympathetic
little we truly understand about the
ear who dispenses exposition by the
condition — though none has pushed
wheelbarrow.
it quite as far as M. Night Shyamalan does in “Split,” treating dissociative
The more we learn, the scarier
identity disorder not as the twist, but
McAvoy’s character(s) starts to
as the premise on which this wickedly
sound. At the same time, among the
Ultimately, “Split” belongs to McAvoy,
compelling abduction thriller is
freak, and a crazy church lady, among
would-be victims, only Casey feels
who has ample scenery to chew, but
founded: James McAvoy plays a
others.
fleshed out, as Shyamalan gradually
doesn’t stop there — he practically
reveals the young lady’s troubled
swallows the camera with his tiger-
Shyamalan introduces these wildly
backstory via flashbacks to childhood
like teeth. With his head shaved, the
different personae one at a time,
hunting trips. Taylor-Joy, who recently
actor depends ever so slightly on
Rest assured, there are plenty of
revealing them through the eyes of
starred in Robert Eggers’ “The Witch,”
costume changes (sly contributions
proper twists to follow, none more
the movie’s three main characters, a
has a knack for suggesting dark
from Paco Delgado, who worked on
unexpected than the fact that
trio of teenage girls taken prisoner
undercurrents to superficially lovely
“The Danish Girl”), but otherwise
Shyamalan himself has managed
from a high school birthday party,
characters, to the extent that we start
conveys his transformations through
to get his groove back after a slew
who wake up — like the victims in a
to wonder whether McAvoy has meet
body language, facial expression,
of increasingly atrocious misfires.
nightmarish new subgenre of sadism
his match.
and accent, as his various selves take
To be fair, it’s hard to imagine any
that includes films like “Saw” and “10
writer/director sustaining a career
Cloverfield Lane” — in a bunker-like
Shyamalan’s goal is to keep us
one can come out to play at a time.
based almost entirely on surprising
cell with only the dimmest clue of the
guessing, and in that respect, “Split”
As in “Psycho,” there’s a tendency to
audiences. And though he lost us
fate that awaits them. Popular above
is a resounding success — even if
over-explain, and while Shyamalan
for a while there — water-intolerant
ground, Claire (Haley Lu Richardson)
in others, it could have you rolling
is basically making up rules for
aliens, anyone? — by trading on
and Marcia (Jessica Sula) are the first
your eyes. Still, scaling down to a
dissociative identity disorder as he
ingenuity rather than big-budget
to panic, reacting as most audiences
relatively modest budget and just a
goes along, the condition has afforded
special effects, Shyamalan has
probably would in their shoes, while
handful of locations has forced him
McAvoy the role of his career.
created a tense, frequently
brooding outsider Casey (Anya
to get creative
outrageous companion piece to one
Taylor-Joy) seems unusually calm … at
with the script,
of his earliest and best movies.
first, at least.
while a handful
But Shyamalan isn’t the only one
Trapped underground in an
most notably “It
getting a makeover here. Presumably
undetermined location (the actual
Follows” DP Mike
tired of playing handsome,
spot is the film’s next-to-last twist),
Gioulakis, whose
uncomplicated leading men, McAvoy
the girls spend several days trying to
crisp, steady-
— a talented Scottish actor best
devise ways to escape. Each attempt
handed gaze plays
known as the young Professor X in
will have moviegoers digging their
against the gritty
the “X-Men” prequels — has recently
fingernails deeper into their armrests,
confusion of the
expanded his repertoire to include
as McAvoy’s totally unpredictable
genre — elevate
unsavory creeps in films such as
character manages to gain the upper
the result in such
“Trance” and “Filth.” Those roles
hand, while the girls try to make
a way that we’re
may as well have been practice laps
sense of the information before
more inclined
for the Olympic main event that is
them. Meanwhile, to make things
to consider
“Split,” in which his performance is
a bit easier on the audience, their
the characters’
splintered between a gay fashion
captor slips out at regular intervals
psychology, even though Shyamalan
designer, a renegade nine-year-old,
to visit his shrink, Dr. Fletcher (Betty
appears to be making it up to suit his
an obsessive-compulsive control
Buckley, the classic “Carrie” actress
purposes.
lunatic kidnapper with at least 23 personalities to his name.
“the light” — since, per Fletcher, only
of new hires —
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Love art s it’s the one Out of all thelelie that lies the ast. - Gustave Flaubert
65.
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7£