Sucre #2 – Matter by sucre mag

MATTER #2 Nick Quine Erika Altosaar Edward Curtis Salva Lopez

Clemens Behr Nadine Goepfert Bonnie Mably Insolance Collective

SUCRE

Editors’ note

Index

4/5

10 / 13

18 / 23

Edward Curtis Nadine Goepfert

Dear readers,

Nick Quine

We warm-heartedly present you the second issue of Sucre. We thought about all the big and small building blocks that create everything, and we thought about things that actually matter. We came to the conclusion that matter is often the central point of many artists’ practice. Thus, this issue is dedicated to “Matter”, in any sense.

6/7

14 / 15

Bonnie Mably

Although our paper does not have a specific publishing schedule we would like to promise you that Sucre is going to continue growing and to get published several times per year! All this thanks to our wonderful contributors and to everyone who supports us in any way.

24 / 25

In this issue we’ve asked a fine selection of talented, amazing young artists to answer our questions: Salva Lopez, Edward Curtis, Bonnie Mably, Nadine Goepfert and more. Our cover is a wonderful photograph of Edward Curtis’ graduate collection shot by James Rees. There is also an exclusive editorial shot by Nick Quine in Normandy.

Erika Altosaar Editors’ pick

8/9

16 / 17

26 / 27

Salva Lopez

Insolance Clemens Behr

The cover photo is taken by James Rees. Contributors on the middle page are from left to right, upper to lower: Ricardo Passante, Sarah Baugh, Michela Heim, Dan Allegretto, Pia Riverola, Hilda Hellström, Marvin Levrey, Aimee Han, Brian Ferry, Adele Favreau, Hanna Ukura, Lena C. Emery.

Well, now turn the page and enjoy your reading! Thank you, Angela Blumen and Sophie Tajan

Nadine Goepfert

photography

Nadine explores matter, material and textile through her collection ‘Garments May Vary’. She conducts experiments with textiles in a unique and eccentric way.

How do you think studies at art school have influenced your work and your way of working? Do you think it is important for young creatives to complete some kind of creative education? I studied at School of Art Berlin Weissensee and Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Both universities are quite free, and don’t force you to only work design related, which is very important for me. I don’t think that studying is a must to become a designer or an artist, but I enjoyed studying and think it was really enriching for my education as a designer. Not only because of the teachers, but also because of the daily exchange with other students and the workshop staff; you can learn from it in terms of craftsmanship. When studying at Gerrit Rietveld Acadamie, I had classes with teachers like Joke Robaard and Giene Steenman. Both have been working in the field of fashion research for many years, and they became a quite big influence on my following works. Which materials and structures of textile do you work with and find interesting? Every textile material is interesting and also very complex in its production. My work focuses on finding structures in my surroundings which are not related to textile, and subsequently finding a way to translate those into textile materials.

You collaborate a lot with other people. What is important for you in a collaboration? Both personally and creatively?

“Garments may vary” is a very diverse, explorative collection. Can you tell us more about it, please! The collection emerged against the backdrop of the subject of “conservation” related techniques, purposes, and the associated idea of capturing a certain condition or moment of a naturally changing object. Taking a look at textiles, it seems obvious that they are underlying a constant process of change. Clothes not only change through their use and wear (in terms of quality) but also change their form in every moment they are worn. A good example are wrinkles that naturally occur through movement when wearing a garment. In this way the project investigates the daily usage of apparel and the associated movements of the person wearing it. These movements are accentuated and partly captured within the materials and surfaces of the garments. Each of the materials chosen is used to highlight a different form and duration of change. The garments seek to temporarily or permanently capture the traces, movements and behavior patterns of the wearer. The combination of a textile’s ability to frequently change its form, and the possibility of capturing moments and traces through the process of wearing it, is the core of the project “The garments may vary.”

I think it is important that you first of all develop some mutual understanding for the respective ideas, and the ways of working of the people collaborating. This mutual exchange can already be very exciting and enriching. It also might be just a thought you have within a good conversation or the view of someone else on something you got stuck with, that inspires you. How does living in Berlin influence your work? I think it is less the City Berlin, that influences my work, but more the people and friends surrounding me. I think you can get your Inspiration and ideas everywhere and every time, while reading, waiting for the bus, going for a walk or traveling. Creativity is not necessarily related to the place you live in. Wherearethetextiles works with the subject of the body - can you tell us more about it? Wherearethetextiles is a project, that inspired me to work on the collection “The garments may vary.” To me a textile evolves its “essence” only within the relation to the body or the use of it. At the same time textiles or clothes are able to influence the behavior and the movement of the wearer. There is this nice quote of Roland Barthes regarding this subject which accompanied me while working on those projects:

“What is the essence of a pair of pants (if it has such a thing)? Certainly not that crisp and wellpressed object to be found on department-store racks; rather, that clump of fabric on the floor, negligently dropped there when the boy stepped out of them, careless, lazy, indifferent. The essence of an object has some relation with its destruction: not necessarily what remains after it has been used up, but what is thrown away as being of no use.”

Bonnie Mably

fine art

Bonnie Mably has recently graduated from University of Falmouth as a fine artist. She works with matter in its direct meaning. Her creations resemble geological findings. Similar to rocks her arttells stories.

You use incredibly various mediums for your work (screen printing, ice sculpture, painting, photography), but they all converge to the same aesthetic. How come the variation? If you could pick one medium only, which would it be?

Your art works resemble geological studies – how does matter matter to you? Also what significance does matter have for the art world, in your opinion? For me, matter is the substance in which everything exists. Be it a waste product or the final product, matter tells a story, and reminds us of what makes up our universe. Everyday matter plays a hugely significant role in the art world. It provides artists with an alternative medium, and challenges traditional ways of working. It can arguably harbor meaning in work that conventional materials can’t. How do you conduct your studies? Do you see yourself more as an explorer or as a creator in this project? I am interested in the corners of reality that the eye misses. Looking sideways, discovering common ground between two extremes of scale. I definitely feel I have acquired lots of different roles during this project. Alchemist, Geologist, Theorist and yes, Explorer! When you find yourself collecting debris from the sculpture workshop you wonder if you are a cleaner, too!

The converging of the same aesthetic is inspired by the notion that all matter is connected. The idea you can find the imagery of one thing in something else. I enjoy the variation of mediums because it echoes the variety of matter in the universe. It’s a celebration of all forms, materials and stages, unfinished, broken, shiny or new. Have you worked with other artists before / do you plan on doing so? I am a firm believer in collaboration. I think you can learn so much from other people that can inform and inspire your work in ways you never anticipated. I haven’t worked with other artists to create new work, but I would love to. I think people in different professions can inspire each other too; it would be fascinating to work creatively with a psychologist or astronomist say! You’ve just graduated - what are your future plans? As for future plans, I have also just started working for Hay Studio, a photographic location, gallery, and workshop and event space in Cornwall. We are hosting exhibitions, talks and events, and we are about to launch The Making Project, a series of workshops led by various makers. It’s about connecting people with materials and the different stages of a materials life, which is exciting, and supports my practice!

Where does your interest for the notion of scale come from? My interest in scale is linked to what we can and can’t see, the macro and micro, the detail in piece of granite vs. a view from space. There has always been a playful aspect to my practice that manipulates the scale of ordinary objects in order to reference distinct imagery.

Photography by Bonnie herself

photography

Salva Lopez

You have been applying your personal photographic style to different areas of commercial work; which has been the most interesting so far? Editorial work is my favourite. You can present your point of view. When there is a set style you can still mix portrait, landscape and still life which can be very enriching. You meet a lot of different people when working commercially!

What is your creative process? Normally, it is a slow process. I would like to know and explore the ground, and then through a reflective process I get an interesting project. Sometimes I use some photos that at first are not useful but after a while they become something.

Salva works intuitivelly and exploratory with his artistic medium – photography. He talks about his fascination for decaying things and places which is especially present in his series showcased on this spread.

How would you define your photographic style? I’m trying to get photographs as natural as possible, with little artificiality in them, similar to documental photos. My referents are Alec Soth, John Gossage, Michael Schmidt, Paul Graham, Stephen Shore, Taryn Simon. You are based in Barcelona. Can you tell us about the city’s dynamic, artistically speaking? Barcelona’s and even Spain’s environments are on fire. As it is well known, the crisis does not allow to invest in arts but artist are still so motivated! Therefore, there is a great dynamic. There are a lot of talented photographers. This year Aleix Plademunt, a local photographer, has published a book with Mack, which is currently one of the best publishing houses.

Deserted spaces seem to be one of your reoccurring themes. How come the interest? I am not interested in those spaces anymore! Right now I love decaying things and places. I want to take photos of places and things that will disappear within the near future. I like the sensation of melancholy they carry.

What is your favorite working process? Working in series or shooting your daily life and editing it as a series like you did for Last November? I like both. I would like to work on a series for a longer period of time and also photograph my current life. Lately I haven’t been doing what I wanted to, though. There’s a lot going in the independent photo book sphere, is that a form of interest for showcasing your work? It is the perfect format for my style. I hope to publish a book next year with B-Side Books called “The green curtain”. I have been working on it for 4 years in an emblematic mountain in the city of Barcelona. What are your future projects? Once I will have finished “The green curtain”, I do not really know. Right now I am interested in cognitive sciences but i do not know how to materialize the idea within my pictures yet. I would also like to do something about Spain.

Edward Curtis You’ve interned with Marc Jacobs – how does your way of working differs from their way? How did this experience influence your personal work? I think the way they work is very regimented, as you would expect from such a large, almost corporate company. I generally work in a very organic way, I’m very all over the place when I’m working and jump from idea to idea, from drawing to fabric within a short space of time, So I guess my focus shifts very quickly. Something I learnt from working at Marc was the idea of having options, having one garment, but cut in different colours, or fabrics. Just changing the colour can change the feel of the piece completely, some dresses from my collection I cut in sating organza, and I did 2 in the same fabric but different colours, both very striking. The fabric was enough to hold the look so I left them at just that, knowing when to stop is crucial. What role does material, and matter in general play in your work? Material/fabric is the most important part of my development, I think its so important to be able to understand the possibilities of a certain fabric, I used mainly satin organza, but I by no means have I finished with it, I like to think that I could use the same fabric for a long time, but keep doing something new with it. I really respect the work of Madeleine Vionnet’s work from the 20’s; how she cut everything on the bias and let the fabric guide her.

fashion Edward approaches fashion in a playful and colourful way in his recent graduate project. His main subject of research and use is material; for him material is what matters.

Tell us about your future plans! Future plans are to produce a second collection; I’m working on getting some sponsorship at the moment so we will see. Your collection has a lot of personality – which personal traits do you find important when creating clothes? For what people are the clothes made/ Who would you want to be wearing your creations? Also, how come you are focusing on woman’s wear? I think my hectic way of working shows very clearly in my collection, although the fabric is pretty much the same the whole way through, there are many messages within it. I change my mind all the time, so I end up with a bunch of different silhouettes, mostly coherent, but then a couple of random pieces thrown in, like my PVC dress and the tulle dress with all the decoration. I would hate for everything to be super coherent and it is nice to show many sides of the story I am trying to tell. Your collection gives models a rather wavy shape, taking them away from the androgynous femininity. What are your thoughts on that? I go back to my choice of fabrics for this question, I don’t really think I know what I want the feel of the collection to be until I start to see the pieces in their real fabrics, I cut everything on the bias which gave it that wavy shape, I don’t think I could have created something androgynous with satin organza if I tried. I think there are enough designers already pushing androgyny.

Photography by James Rees

fashion

You quote a lot of various artistic references for your collection such as Roy Lichteinshtein, Koon’s, but also Alessandra Sanguinetti and particularly her famous series Adventures of Guille and Belinda…”. How did those artists inspire your collection? The photographs by Allessandra Sanguinetti really were one of the first things I looked at for this collection; it was really just this feeling of complete freedom and two children having fun, which influenced my process a lot. With Lichteinshtein it was more that I just liked the images and I thought my prints shared a similar sort of graphic. Your designs are directly created from your cartoonish illustrations; do you practice any other artistic disciplines, and if so, do they influence your work as well? Yes, my illustrations are kind of a release of everything going on inside my head at the time. It is something that I just do and don’t really think about whether it is influencing my designs or not, but I think it is the closest I get to understanding the mood of the collection before everything comes together.

Insolance

collective Insolance is a Paris based collective run by Marine de la Loge, Rebekka Deubner and Melissa Boucher. The three girls met at Gobelins while studying photography. They have just had their first exhibition in Paris in November. The selected photographs showcase an abstract and whimsical aesthetic that takes you to a world full of soft, shiny and strange matter.

editorial

Photography by Nick Quine Post production by Paul Madelaine Art direction: Sophie Tajan Model: Julie Vallon Assistants: Sylvain Adenot, Alexandre Lectez

Erika Altosaar

fine arts Erika is a Canadian fine artist who works with a diverse variety of mediums. Through and with them she explores the nature of matter, the subject of femininity and that of body.

You work with different mediums, and you have undergone different medium phases. What is your favourite medium and why? How does a medium influence your work? Charcoal and graphite are my predominant mediums. I just like how close it is to the hand. It’s also a really malleable medium, whereas paint has a window of flexibility and then any altering becomes very difficult. Recently I’ve been drawn back to paint though because I’m sort of looking to get my hands dirty and deal with some physical surfaces again. You have been traveling the past half year. Tell us the story behind your travels; how did they influence you personally, the way you work and your actual work?

Femininity and matter are re-occuring themes of your art works. How come the choice? A multitude of reasons. I’ve always been afraid of the implications of my own gender, particularly with the consideration of childbirth. It’s so funny, in the earlier years of my practice, I was obsessed and horrifically preoccupied with the fragility of my own birth. Beyond other health complications, I narrowed in on the fact that I was allergic to my mothers breast milk. My practice and I developed side by side as I grew into a woman, and the idea of childbearing has branched out into many other points of interest for me. Currently, I’m exploring my relationship with my sister as a product of our relationships with our mother. Your works are subtle and at the same time revealing - how do you think the audience interprets what you are trying to communicate? I’m guilty of avoiding the way people absorb my work! I find it really distracting. I’ve noticed though that because of the subject matter I’m working with, works that are more figurative are better received by women, and the abstract works are better understood by men. The division is fascinating and has definitely affected my work in the past.

Really THE stop that was of academic interest to me was India. India’s caste system has always been of tremendous interest for me from a woman’s perspective, and interestingly enough the closest I came to breaching the subject was with a 15 year old girl who could not yet fully comprehend the implications of the system she lived in. The only people who were available to speak openly and felt entitled enough to speak about Indian society were men. Ultimately, I spent a lot of time observing the very specific livelihood of the female community in India, predominantly by the water. Also, my time in Buddhist countries such as Myanmar and Japan informed a different part of my practice that is more about digesting and reducing information.

Your main focus within this series is hair - why does hair matter? I could bore you with this answer in a big way but instead I will simplify it: I think it’s almost expected for women to obsess about hair in 2013. Aesthetically, socially, sexually. And honestly, hair is prioritized almost everywhere I’ve been, whether it is cosmetic or religious. Where do you get your inspiration from? Many things inspire me. It can be something like a figure in my life, a book that I’ve read. An image I’ve seen. It can be difficult to identify direct influence. If you’re asking me for artistic influences I can narrow that down to Marlene Dumas, Tracey Emin, Chloe Piene, Sophie Jodoin, Shary Boyle and Alice Neel. Also I love the impressionists and Vermeer the most. What are your future plans? I’m so young! There’s no way I could answer you that. Just got to keep working and see where it’ll bring me.

Clemens Behr

fine arts

Clemens, a fine artist from Berlin, finds material on the streets and creates 3-dimensional installations which in their turn resemble graphical compositions.

How does your working process look like?

Your work has many dimensions and consists of different materials – what fascinates you about matter? I enjoy a lot to walk around a work and see different variations of it in space. Composition changes while you change your position. Different materials are good at providing a specific character to the work. Basic building materials are easy to access and to process. Since my work focuses a lot on the adaption to spaces, it is also practical to use the given materials. What is your criteria for picking the material you work with? Which materials work well together, which don’t? I usually take the cheapest. It is good when they last a while but i don’t really mind when they don’t, when I work on public works. In the end I just pick them by the colour and you can see it as a kind of painting. They get treated like coloured shapes in a 2-dimensional collage. Sometimes, I run across a new field of material like I did last year with plexiglass. It is nice to explore the new material, learn to work with it and find the advantages, disadvantages and limits of it.

When I have an idea for an art piece, I usually get all that I need at the same time. All the material, a ladder, paint and so on. I mostly improvise and don’t do any sketches in advance. Sometimes, I start by cutting and painting everything to then assemble it semi-randomly. Other times I just start adding piece by piece, then painting while building or even building everything first and then painting it all. It is always the 2 parts, painting and assembling that cross each other’s paths. In the end it all depends on the mood and on the circumstances. Usually, I am a bit in a rush. Since there is always a lot of heavy and bulky stuff that I need to fix together, it is important for me to always carry on adding and assembling. You included a lot of bright colours in “The sum is whole than the parts…” - how does colour matter in your work? That is very simple, since I usually choose between 3 options. When I want a piece to look very “mature”, I simply use white and grey. At other times, when I want it to look really happy, I use neon and rainbow colours. Occasionally I just adopt the colours to the given space, which is my most preferred way of working, especially in a public space. How does living in Berlin influence you and your working process? I wouldn’t say that Berlin influences my working process. I have been traveling a lot in the past 3 years and I barely ever spend more than a month in Berlin without having to leave for work somewhere else. I would say that I mostly get my ideas for concepts while I am traveling. Eventually I hope to realize the ideas either in my studio or for a show.

Certain objects in your creations remind us of things you can find in cities. How does the city influence you? I find a lot of inspiration by randomly assembled compositions on construction sites or within the strange architecture of bus stops on highways, for example. I mostly take my inspiration from shapes, materials and patterns. For example, when I was in Russia I was fascinated by their use of corrugated metal sheets, so now I am trying to find my own use of this material. Your pieces play with the space surrounding them, in which place are you dreaming to build an installation? I do not have any specific preferences where I would want to work. I like it though when I see a place and then can’t get it out of my head. I have been thinking a lot about working in a kind of white snowy scenery!

Self published, limited edition of 50. ....../ 50

Any kind of reproduction of this paper is prohibited All rights belong to the photosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;/artworksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; owners. Design by Angela Blumen. Photo editor Sophie Tajan. Art direction, writings, etc by Sophie and Angela. Feel free to contact us at sucre.le.mag@gmail.com Or like us on facebook.com/sucrepaper Twitter: @Sucre_Paper sucrepaper.tumblr.com