Steadfast Mag Issue N.1 by Steadfast Magazine

STEADFAST MAGAZINe ISSUE N. 1 -THE IDENTITY ISSUE- 70+ FEATURED ARTISTS AND CREATIVES ADJECTIVE STEAD路FAST \STED-FAST FIRMLY FIXED IN PLACE: IMMOVABLE

Contributing Editors Barbara Skrak Stephanie Berzon Contributing Photographers Christina Arza Christina Jorro Christopher Schoonover Jonathan Schoonover Tanya Posternak Zhenya Posternak Contributing Writers Ashley Catharine Smith Ellen Silverman Quinn Tivey Stephan Jahanshahi Taaron Sundby Tony Arza On the Cover Front | Kazuya Tsuji’s Spawn Mask I Back | Michelle Leftheris’ Lychee

Artist Index | 132 Supporters | 134

Advertisement Inquiries advertisement@steadfastarte.com Subscription Inquiries subscription@steadfastarte.com Issue N.2 Artist Submissions contributor@steadfastarte.com Graphic Design Chelsea Kozak & Christina Arza Printed by: Linco Printing Long Island City, NY www.lincoprinting.com

www.steadfastarte.com Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @steadfastmag Steadfast Magazine is published bi-annually by Steadfast Arte, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be copied, produced or transmitted in any form without the publisher’s written permission.

STEADFAST

Editors-in-Chief | Art Directors Christina Arza & Chelsea Kozak Managing Editor Liza Ciraldo Directorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Assistant Gabriella Owens

EDITORS’

What does it mean to be Steadfast? The word and its meaning hold so much sentiment to me. However, it wasn’t until I came across English poet John Keats’ Bright Star that I felt entrapped by this word. In this poem, Keats is speaking to a star. He seems to be in admiration of the star’s unmovable spirit, yet in criticism of its isolation. Three years ago I moved to New York for the opportunity to receive my MFA from the School of Visual Arts. During that time, I was filled with an overwhelming amount of knowledge and inspiration from artists, professors, and students of every cultural background. I craved to share this knowledge with other aspiring artists but was in search of how. It was during my thesis year that Steadfast Magazine began to flourish. As a team, we were able to collaborate with artists around the world to create a memorabilia that will forever stay on my bookshelf. Although my education here is reaching its final months, within me has been engrained a Steadfast desire for knowledge, and most importantly community. I will no longer be able to walk up two flights of stairs to artist and mentor Charles Traub’s office to show him my latest endeavor; but it is in this publication that I will be strengthened with the perseverance to continue gaining knowledge, and forever, seek community.

Letter & Photo Christina Arza

LETTERS

When we began forming the concept behind Steadfast Magazine, there was always a tangible excitement surrounding the canvas of our inaugural issue. As the creative timeline drew to a close, we knew we wanted to give the cover to one of our featured artists as a symbol of admiration to the creators gathered from around the world for our debut issue, The Identity Issue. After careful consideration, featured Japanese artist Kazuya Tsuji’s Spawn Mask I revealed itself as the perfect beacon for Issue N.1. Of today’s endless artistic mediums, what better way to personalize our printed gallery than with a collage? Painters blend into video artists, photographers collide with sculptors, illustrations fuse with new media, writers mingle with designers and celebrated artists are placed shoulder to shoulder with the emerging and unknown; this is the Steadfast philosophy. Just as collage revolutionized modern art in the early 20th century, Steadfast seeks to revolutionize the way art is perceived in a printed format. There is no hierarchy, just pure creation. As a publication that will always celebrate diversity, the primary goal of Steadfast is to fuel your creative subconscious. I can only hope that when you’ve turned over the last page of our issue that you feel the burning desire to create, that you feel humbled knowing there is an incredible wealth of brilliance in the world and comforted knowing there are so many truly talented visionaries that are dedicated to serving the muse inside each of us. Always seek inspiration and stay forever Steadfast. Letter & Photo Chelsea Kozak

Maggie Shannon Opposite: Jesse Chun

Katherine Smith

Roberto Rodriguez

Quinn Tivey

Allan Gorman

Matt Herrmann

Pascal Marlin

Charlotte Lethbridge

Nakeya Brown

Kazuya Tsuji

Tiffany Smith

Timothy Hutto

Blake Noyes

Pamela Staker

Dana Stirling

Mitchell King

Ashley Catharine Smith

Anne Surga

Caryn Coyle

Sanghyuk Yoon

Lucia Oceguera

Nicholas Freeman

Brittany Carmichael

Ellen Silverman

Patrick Gonzales

Yoav Friedlander

Baoyang Chen

Claudia Martucci

Brandon Isralsky

Luke Schuetrumpf

Fish Soup / Fisherman’s Soup There is absolute male dominance in Hungarian politics. Hungary is the only European country that has no female ministers in its government and where the proportion of woman members in the parliament is under ten percent. In our family’s kitchen both males and females are represented, not equally but close. Well, nothing is perfect. There are special types of meals that my Mom prepares like soups, chicken and sweets. But making beef, pork, duck or Italian food is my dad’s duty. There are exceptions of course. Fish Soup is one of them. That is a typical Christmas meal, it is made out of different kinds of fish and it takes a lot of time making it. We eat it with some fresh bread and if you like it spicy you can put hot paprika cream in it. My father is very good at making it and he also catches the fish for the soup. We have a riverside cabin in East Hungary, so during the summer he spends all his time there fishing. That means that the rest of the year our fridge in Budapest is stuffed with frozen fish and nothing else can fit in there. After my dad is done cooking he leaves the dirty dishes in the sink because that is something the women have to do. Unfortunately, my brother follows his conservative dish-ideology.

Julia Standovar

Audree Anid

Stephan Jahanshahi

Emir Sehanovic

Rehan Miskci

Karla Read

Astrid Oudheusden

Andrew McNeile Jones

Tracy Dods

Jonny Elder

Alf Dahlman

Oliver David

Yi Yi Lily Chan

Bing Wright

RESERVOIR SQUARE

Featured Designer Sabina Cavenius Photo Christina Jorro Stylists Megan & Elizabeth McCormick Model Giannina Oteto Make Up Kristen Ruggiero Location Bryant Park

Giannina is wearing the Toggle coat.

ELINOR CARUCCI. Interview by Ashley Catharine Smith Images courtesy of Edwynn Houk Gallery

Elinor Carucci, world-renowned photographer and educator, sits down with student Ashley Catharine Smith, to discuss her sentiment of an art school education, being nervous all the time, and intertwining your work with your life.

Ashley Catharine Smith: When we started class and I said you were my favorite photographer, I was serious! I have some technical questions that I have been curious about for a long time. I did a presentation on your work in undergrad and I was looking for what kind of camera you used for Closer and your earlier work, but I couldn’t find it. Elinor Carucci: Most of it is a Nikon 35mm film and then some of it, very few from Crisis and Pain, are taken with a 4x5, but that was only when my husband helped me shoot because it was his grandparents camera. But Closer is all 35mm. ACS: When you switched and started shooting digital were you nervous that your work was going to change or that you weren’t going to be able to keep the same aesthetic going? EC: I’m always nervous when changes come into my life. ACS: I’m nervous all the time. EC: All the time! And it took me a little while, but it was eventually in 2008 that I switched and I was nervous and had to learn a lot. If anything though, it opened up my work so it was a good change. When I photograph my kids or even for editorial stories, some of them are very sensitive situations. In those situations I am able to show the person the work and then they don’t feel like I’m the photographer and they’re in my hands, so the switch to digital actually only helped me – the fact that there is more of a dialogue and trust. ACS: Photographing your kids and the way your work is intertwined with your life –was it always like that for you? When I was coming to school, I felt like I had my work and that was different, it was like a job. I did my work and it felt separate from me. I don’t know why I felt that way, but I’m glad that I came to grad school because through this process I feel like it’s finally starting to merge and I am more honest with myself and more giving with the work. Did you go through a process like this or is it more natural for you? EC: I feel when I started and I wasn’t thinking about being a photographer, I just picked up my father’s camera and I took great pictures and maybe not the best pictures now but they were really authentic. They were about my life and about what I feel and they were more, as you said, intertwined with who I am. And then when I went to art school it was a little bit of what you’re describing because of the pressure and the insecurity. I felt like I needed to do work about important matters so a lot of the authenticity was lost. I had to find my way back. Two professors really helped me, not going back completely, but going back to this straightforwardness and feeling confident that what I am doing is interesting enough and I started growing from there. It took 2 years. And those two professors, they’re a part of who I am. I can explain it to you within one minute, but it took a while. Also, whenever I turn into a new direction it sometimes feels forced or not right or it takes time. It’s always a struggle.

ACS: So what do you think about art school then? Do you have an opinion about whether you think art school can be more hurtful than helpful? EC: Oh not at all! Not at all, because it’s okay to feel the pressure. And if it paralyzes you it’s okay to get paralyzed, but work through it. And so for me art school was really great. I feel even today when I have challenges I sometimes fail first before I find my way. I don’t think we can progress without those falls or fails. You try new things and you fail and on the way I always make a lot of images that are not interesting. ACS: For you, which of your images or kinds of images do you think still resonate as the most interesting or powerful over time? EC: It’s really hard to separate now that the work is, not so old, but older. Because I’ve shown it so much and so many people responded to certain images, that for me it affected the way I see my work. So now I’m not sure what I would feel without that, but its okay. It became a part of how I feel about my work. And it’s not only what critics wrote about in magazines, but also people that emailed me personally. So there are images of my parents together and images of me and my mom and iconic images of my mother that I can say are still important. ACS: It’s so nice that you have such a big archive of pictures of your parents. I think about that now, as my parents are getting older. I started to photograph my mom last year and I have some images where she looks nice and I know she would like them and I am so happy to have them. EC: It is comforting somehow, the photograph. And I think it’s true for all of us. That’s why people photograph all the time. Not only professionals, but everyone. It might be a false kind of comfort because it doesn’t keep us young or it doesn’t keep people from going away from our lives or dying or getting sick, but it does give us some connection through the process. ACS: I personally have felt frustrated by photography within my own work lately, and that’s why I have been experimenting with other things, but when I view other’s work at galleries or museums, I think photography still is the best thing. Like when someone really hits it, it’s really good. EC: And it’s really hard. You’d think that with all the people taking pictures all the time you would see more good pictures, but it’s hard to make a good picture. It’s really hard.

BRIAN DONNELLY. â&#x20AC;&#x153;KAWSâ&#x20AC;? Interview & Photo by Christina Arza

Brian Donnelly, aka KAWS, lets us pick his brain on recent and past travels, building his Williamsburg studio with a Tokyo pal, his art school education and transitioning from street art to gallery representation.

Christina Arza: Did you create art as a child? Brian Donnelly: All the time. It was one of the only things that held my interest. Everything I looked at I would wonder how to reproduce it. CA: You were just in Venice, Italy. Can you tell us about your travels? BD: Sure. It was just a quick trip to look at some possible projects. I don’t like traveling so much lately but I needed to get over there to figure some things out. CA: Being a tri-state area native, what brought you to Japan for all those years? BD: I actually never lived in Japan, but used to go often. I started visiting Tokyo in ‘97. I knew I would love the city before I got there and once I arrived I knew that it was a place that I wanted to spend some time figuring out. In 2006, I opened a shop there called OriginalFake and I closed it seven years later. CA: Is there a particular moment in time you can recall your art took you from producing in the streets to seeking a more traditional structure of learning at the School of Visual Arts? BD: Not really. I was doing work on the streets all through my time at SVA. I never saw a separation between the different types of work that I make; I was only interested in making good work, regardless if it was on the street or in my home (now studio). I just wanted to make something good. CA: What was the most difficult part of transitioning to gallery representation? BD: I did not really see much of a transition. I was bored doing work on the street long before having opportunities to exhibit. I think one of the last things I did on the streets was in 2002 and although I had some shows time and again I didn’t really start showing regularly until 2008. I was always very interested in making objects and products so I kept myself busy while still making paintings, etc. CA: How did you find your studio in Williamsburg? BD: I didn’t find it, I built it. I moved to Williamsburg in 2000 and lived and worked in a few different spaces. In 2008, I bought a garage which I demolished and asked my friend Masamichi Katayama, who has a company in Tokyo called Wonderwall, to design a new building. He’s great and I trusted him completely. We also designed my shop in Tokyo together in 2006. I’m a long time fan of his work.

CA: I admire your finesse in balance between so many mediums -- from your vinyl toys to the Macy’s Day parade float. How does one person produce so much? BD: Thank you. I guess I’m lucky to be really motivated to make work. I like to move around a lot and work in different mediums. It just keeps things interesting. When I’m making sculptures or prints, etc., I am depending on the assistance of other people to help make the work come to fruition, so I knew from the beginning that it was important to surround myself with great people who are the best at what they do. CA: I am curious about the formality of your work. Could you give an example of a process between concept and execution for a recent work? BD: There is a thousand ways to skin a cat. Most everything starts with drawing. CA: Are there days where you prefer one medium over the other: for instance, sculpting to painting? BD: I am usually working on one or the other depending on what projects are coming up. At different times, I tend to lean more in one direction or the other but I am usually always doing both. CA: Do you have any Steadfast sources of inspiration (family or Sunday cartoons)? BD: I think everything should be steadfast. CA: Are there any contemporary artists that have caught your attention as of late? BD: Saw a great exhibition of work by Peter Saul last night at Venus Over Manhattan CA: If you had anything to say or ask of aspiring artists today, what would it be? BD: I think it’s best they ignore the advice of others.

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THE LIBERTY INN

Photography Chris & Jon Schoonover Wardrobe The Break Vintage Hair Stylist Taaron Sundby

Model Re:Quest Models Rebekah Underhill Makeup Artist Elizabeth Lerman

TO OUR SUPPORTERS A Special Thank You!

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Sanghyuk Yoon 137