ANTHOLOGY ISSUE EIGHT
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welcome to the eighth issue of st.art magazine, a visually driven independent magazine dedicated to promoting and exhibiting the creative talent of st. andrews. We know it is revision period so you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your bed to have a flick through our newest online issue.Following our previous issues, this issue is an anthology of the academic year. from face-painting at the vic every weekend to our continued involvement in under canvas, we have had a lot of fun helping out
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LETTER FROM THE CREATIVE and getting creative around the town. we’d like to say a massive thankyou to all the artists who have made a contribution throughout the year, and to everyone who has supported us in some way, from coming along to our events to taking a look at our website. we hope you have enjoyed our facebook posts, keeping you updated with events photos and most importantly arty shenanigans the world over. we can’t wait to start next academic year with big plans. wishing you all the best of summers, filled with sun, relaxation, and inspiration. The st.art team X
5 photography / anastasia daukas
7 PAINTING / JULIET BENINI
HOW MISTAKES MAKE MASTERPIECES
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It was a wet and gloomy day in Rome, the cobbled streets shiny with rain and littered with soggy cigarette butts. The road was clogged with cars, and drivers looked morosely out their window, their breaths fogging the semi-reflective panes. I wandered through the drizzle, a lone pedestrian, my boots leaving a trail of staccato clacks as I made my way toward the Scuidere del Quirinale, where an art exhibition was being held. Tucked into the very edge of a series of government buildings, its antiquated exterior was humble, and, in the grey, mottled sunlight, unimpressive. The interior, however, was startlingly modern: a vast marble floor stretched before me, and on the far wall was a detailed timeline of the life of the artist being exhibited: in this case, Titian, the famed Renaissance pittore. Though I was familiar with the name, I could not recognize any of his pieces.Walking up the wide stone staircase to the first exhibition room, the first shown painting slowly rose into view: The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence. I was absolutely awed at the precise expression of minute detail, as well as
the exactitude of the anatomy of the personages in the piece. personages in the piece. The story of St. Lawrence’s martyrdom is, interestingly enough, the subject of historical controversy. Lawrence was a deacon of Rome, in charge of the Church’s treasury and the distribution of alms to the poor; a zealously charitable man, he gave away the entirety of the treasury to those in need, and was consequently punished for it. Legend – according to which Titian created his expert rendering – has it that St. Lawrence was burned on a bed of hot coals; after a prolonged period of suffering, he – it is told – cheerily remarked, “It is well done. Turn me over!” Though humorous, the legend is contradicted by historical fact. Church bylaws at the time stipulated death by decapitation for any Churchly transgressions. One historian has postulated that the misunderstanding was brought about by the omission of a single letter in the transcription of St. Lawrence’s death. Apparently, the conventional way of announcing the death of a martyr was through the words “passus est” – “he suffered.”
credits article / tamar ziff photography / martin lyle
In it, Jerome mistranslates the original Hebrew text to say, “And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai…he knew not that his face was horned…” The original text used the word “keren” to describe what was coming off of Moses’ face – in Hebrew, “keren” means both “horn” and “ray”, as in ray of light. The Hebrew text uses “keren” in the latter sense, as a sign of Moses’ interaction with God. Jerome, unfamiliar with the Semitic tongue, opted for the former translation, causing Michaelangelo to make a completely unique version of Moses; a statue of the legend, not the man. The malleability of the past and the fruitfulness of the human imagination allow for the production of artwork that is neither completely accurate nor inaccurate, a soft grey area which may obscure the white light of fact, but, like a raincloud, also gives life to this strange world.
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St. Lawrence’s martyrdom, however, was described with the words “assus est” – “he was roasted.” This goes to show how the most trivial-seeming actions – the omission of the letter ‘p’, for instance – can, in fact, change history as we know it to be. This is not the only instance in which an erroneous transcription inspired a masterful work of art. Michaelangelo’s Moses – located in the Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter in Chains) off Via dei Fiori Imperiali in Rome – is an exquisite representation of the Biblical figure, but for the two horns on his head. Some incorrectly believe that this was a belated manifestation of the antiJewish sentiment prevalent in Europe during the Middle Ages, and see the horns as a negative addition. In fact, Michaelangelo sculpted Moses in strict accordance with the description by Jerome in the Latin Vulgate version of Exodus
13 PHOTOGRAPHY / JOHANNA ALLTIMES
15 Painting/ livia marinescu
clothing the anti - clone Sade English is a young designer whose definite vision refuses to conform. Her philosophy of “designing garments that are not built to suit society” differentiates her from her peers. English’s latest collection, Daphne 13, pushes aside societal and stylistic expectations, toying with silhouette and texture in a genderless mix that refuses to be categorized.The look of English’s garments is distinctly unique, with boxy cuts and shiny plastic creating an overall aesthetic that is at once dystopian and profoundly developmental. A mixture of dark, almost threatening utilitarianism and stunning individuality can be seen as the manifestation of her “anti-clone” ideology, a driving force behind her creative process.
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INFO www.sade-english.com article / vanessa kroos images / sade english pr
texture famously notable in Issey Miyake’s Pleats Please collections. With platform combat boots replacing the typical stiletto and a mixture of male and female models, Daphne 13 is a somewhat sinister, somewhat futuristic, and wholly captivating triumph that encompasses English’s aesthetic without sacrificing the integrity of her creative intentions. Tipped by St.art to become one of the brightest and most watched young designers in London and beyond, Sade English’s ability to make garments that are both thought provoking and darkly beautiful makes her an exciting contribution to British fashion.
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Textural accents and oilslick finishes combine throughout Daphne 13 to produce a collection that is sharply modern, while simultaneously echoing the chiaroscuro artistic vision of Fritz Lang’s robotic Metropolis.Her garments challenge socially prescribed beliefs about gender and beauty, confronting us to rethink assumptions via the medium of fashion. A recent graduate of London College of Fashion, English has already been featured in a number of publications,most notably Vogue Italia. Increased attention hasn’t changed her striking approach.Her kabuki-like styling calls to mind the work of Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, drawing on the Japanese heritage of geometric pieces and the revolutionary use of
21 ILLUSTRATION / LYDIA CRUZ
23 mixed media / Beatrice vasiliauskaite
24 photography / nefeli piree iliou
www.st-artmagazine.com
LA BLOGOTHeQUE
Paris is often thought of as a place of soaring beauty, art and poetry, so it is only natural that great friendships are borne from this romantic background. I met Ondine Benetier in the toilet queue of La Mécanique Ondulatoire; a tiny, cellar bar in the eleventh arrondissement of Paris. Ondine, a native of the volcanic forests of Clermont-Ferrand, lives in Paris working for Les Inrocks, the biggest music magazine in France and La Blogothèque, an indie music collective. Here is the result of a chat we had on a hungover Sunday afternoon.
La Blogothèque is “a child with two heads”. It is first and foremost a music blog where contributors write on whatever they want; there are no restrictions, there’s no set way of writing, nothing is forbidden. It’s a personal and intimate approach to journalism. We write and post videos of artists, make playlists, talk about genres or artists that we like or what’s going on in a city, musically speaking. The other side is the production part which creates Les Concerts à Emporter (Take Away Shows) and Les Soirées de Poche (Pocket Parties). La Blogo is mostly voluntary, ran off the love of music - no one is paid for writing articles on the site. In this way, La Blogo is a different way of talking and filming music. The Take Away Shows started in 2006 by Chryde and Vincent Moon. They are stripped back performances of artists filmed in the streets, bars or parks of Paris, the main character of the video, using only one camera. We never shoot more than three times so what happens…happens. Take Away Shows are totally unpredictable, you don’t know who the audience is going to be, you don’t know where the show is going to happen, you don’t know what the weather is going to be like – sometimes we don’t even know where we’re going to shoot. We don’t know how up for things the musician
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what is la blogotheque?
INFO www.blogotheque.net interview/ eleanor quinn photography / eleanor quinn
is going to be or how much danger they will put themselves in. This brings unpredictability and danger, the emotions are different, rendering the show is unique. They’re unpredictable even for us. If everything is planned… it’s just not interesting. These shows are thus the antithesis of the “perfection” that you find in manufactured music. The point is not to discover the “next big thing”; we choose new bands that we think have the potential to be incredible. t
I met Chryde, one of the founders, at the Beirut take away show circa 2007. I had become friends with Zach from Beirut through Myspace – back in the day when Myspace was the authority of new music discoveries. One day, Chryde suggested that I write for the blog. As I was a huge fan of La Blogo, I was taken aback… but I wrote my first article was on Folded Light in 2009. My second article was on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I wrote a piece on their first album which came out four years earlier which emphasises that La Blogo is just an appreciation of good music, it doesn’t feel the need to follow the trends. It was a freeing experience as I could express my love and emotions for any music, not just the music of “now”. What’s the future for La Blogo? At present, la Blogo has so many projects going on as we don’t want to continue to do the same thing, we want to evolve. We now film music videos, for example, for Lianne la Havas and Oxmo Puccino. We’re also expanding from France into elsewhere; we’ve had projects in the US and now in the UK. But really, the future is whatever is in Chryde’s head! Who’s music’s saviour? Fuck, this is an impossible question… I’m not sure I want to answer it! But what saves music is people’s love and passion for music. What’s your music guilty pleasure? Anything that’s brings nostalgia; Britney (except she’s cool) and Alliance Ethnik.
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How did you get involved?
John, I know will feel so touched by one had other plans. be honest and you here with belong being lov thing to make y your stay here and have ship of your life to let you go , becaus will be back and
what kind of relation continue to stay hones can be friends foreve life but tell you one th
I must love
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is to regret no
I think our is happening us, John, see you again
poetry / sarah polak
32 mixed media / milla bryden
35 PHOTOGRAPHY/CELESTE SLOMAN
37 ILLUSTRATION / EMMA RAVENTOS
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39 Illustration / Emils gedrovis
st.art music st.art music is an offshoot of st.art magazine, looking to promote, expose, consolidate, revew and appreciate music in st andrews. having just launched our brand new website filled with artists profile and playlists we decided to have a little get together with committee and friends to celebrate the launch. A taste of the ideas bubbling in the st.art music minds, we invited along some of our featured artists to play in our music editor’s living room. To add something a little specia, everyone was provided with blindfolds. for those of you who can’t wait for the next academic year to see whats in store, here are a selection of the artists from our page who also performed at the launch.
photography / kelly diepenbrock
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andrew pearson & the riflebirds Andrew Pearson is a singer/ songwriter who performs and records with his gaggle of Riflebirds. An Edinburgh native, Andrew hopped over the Forth of Fife to study English and Philosophy. Founder of his own record label, Common Records, Andrew holds an obsession for music that was first ignited by Elvis Presley circa 2000. Once an out and proud card-carrying member of the Official Elvis Presley Supporter’s Club of Great Britain, Andrew’s musical tastes have developed some what eclectically as he has confessed to knowing all the words to Shaggy’s ‘Mr. Bombastic’. his newest album, ‘There’ll Be Flowers Come The Spring’, is available at soundslikeandrewpearson. bandcamp.com
GABI Born and raised in the London metropolis to Brazilian parents, when Gabi isn’t delicate singer-songwriter with a heavenly voice, she’s a second year student of Theology. Citing her greatest aspiration in life and music is “not to be afraid”, Gabi believes that fear gets in the way of the creative process and inhabits the free experimentation of genre, sounds and concepts. Despite lending a hand to questionable internet phenomenons such as Rebecca Black (her musical pet hate), Gabi affirms that the creators of the internet are music’s saviour. It makes sense therefore that Gabi’s four track demo can be found on her website; gabimusic.co.uk
Aspiring to “jam out”, C-Section aka Chrisitian Smit aka Tyndally Jabula aka Monkey C (if he’s climbing a tree) is a devilishly clever rapper and wordsmith. Hailing from the sunny skies of California, C-Section arrived on the shores of East Fife to study International Relations in 2011. Internally driven by rhythm and melody, music is simply C-Section’s “thing”. Authenticity is the key to C-Section’s musical taste, mirroring his own belief in accolation. C-Section believes that “Anyone who makes music though the heart and the soul, using truth and positive energy to make a message, treats music right”. Although Monkey C refuses to recognise music that he does not engage with, he has professed a wparticular liking for none other than... Cotton Eye Joe. Each to their own. Watch out for C-Section’s intensely captivating freestyle shows around St. Andrews.
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c - section
45 Photography / maria faccilione
time is over time will come
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Firstsite is a vast multipurpose has been created and disregardgallery space some artists would ed without a second thought, find a challenge to fill; Richard and to see how it is still someHughes manages just that. The thing to be valued. A prime exentrance to Firstsite is paralample of this is Hughes’ sleepleled by an enormous curved ing bag, made again out of wall, one of the architectural resin, which looks dilapidated distinctions of the building, and and dirty, yet once you crouch it is on this wall that Hughes down to look into the opening, had placed a series of decrepit you are presented with a series looking drainpipes, complete of beautiful and with water stains running down colourful crystals. One of the from them. The beauty of these most profound pieces was a pipes wast that if you stood at brick wall topped with shards one end of the curved wall, the of glass, which had been made pipes aligned to spell out the out of resin and each brick inword NOWHERE. Underneath dividually painted. Hughes had these pipes lay what looked like been helped in this project by a piece of cardboard which had his father in law, who subsebeen carelessly left there, inquently died, leaving the wall deed my Granny, upon seeing as a tribute to him. By far the this, asked the staff to remove most impressive feature of the it. Needless to say, it was acexhibition was a kaleidoscope tually pieces of resin painted of a teenage boys bedroom; the to look like cardboard, with a overwhelming colour compared ‘lit’ cigarette (by an LED) and to Hughes’ other pieces was designated to a a penny sitting on room on its own, top. Hughes’ art credits where visitors focuses on the decould observe the cay of modernity, ARTICLE / IMMY GUEST piece in awe of it’s and the way that IMAGES / IMMY GUEST minute detail and whilst in the 21st scope.Hugh’s exhicentury it is norbition was though mal to crave take provoking and ina the next newer, formative, and I more exciting would urge anyone thing, one must who happens to be take a moment to in Essex to visit look back on what Firstsite.
49 illustration / neha luthra
CONTRibuting artists
51 nefeli piree iliou anastasia daukas juliet benini martin lyle johanna alltimes lydia cruz beatrice vasiliauskaite sarah polak milla bryden celeste sloman emma raventos emils gedrovics maria favilicione kelly diepenbrock neha luthra
photography/ kelly diepenbrock
THE TEAM
photography / martin lyle
NICOLE HORGAN / EDITOR IN CHIEF BIANA HOWARD / MANAGING EDITOR HETTIe O’BRIEN / CREATIVE DIRECTOR KATyA LEIBHOLZ / pr director ian hoppock / finance director nazira kassenova / events director eleanor quinn / music editor vanessa kroos / fashion editor lily moodey / blog editor kelly diepenbrock, nefeli piree ilio / photography editors yasmin drakes, rose pallone / sponsorship managers claire abrahamson, tamar ziff/ friends and resources editors elizabeth panton / ass. events coordinator devon williams, sarah pollock, chris govier, lizzie gow / events team anna gudnason / photography sub editor callum scott / music sub editor theo weiss, charlotte coote/ graphics team lorna cumming-bruce, immy guest, rachel tam annie cornwell, / featured writers
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