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models photography Paolo Castiglioni styling Franco Lorenzon cover artwork Erich Frey model Daisy M @ Fashion Models Milano as “The Finish of the long Journey� make up Alberto Boggeri hair styling Luigi Martini and Pierre Baltieri dress Gianluca Capannolo, bijoux Sharra Pagano story shot in big format camera on Kodak Portra 400 film 3
THE SOCIETY a magazine/celebration of analog photogrpahy
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LEITMOTIV
"PARADISE ISLAND"
Spring/Summer 2014 Collection www.leit-motiv.com
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Ok guys and girls, here we are!!!! We’re sooo sorry for the long time we get to finish the issue, you have waited really too much but finally here we are, really proud of it!! A lot of news with the 4 issue: first of all a blog where we want to develop even more our philosophy and give more space to all the artists, designers, photographers, movies and actors we really really like!! They are so many and the magazine is too short for that! So welcome our new blog! Same time please, take a time to see our new social media profile: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
All your following are much appreciated! At this time I can only say: have a good reading and enjoy our pages! Thanks so much for being with us! Jacopo Manfren
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Director Jacopo Manfren
Fashion Editor Bailee Edgington
Illustrations Erich Frey, Fantasvale, Gail Weissman
Public Relation Lauren Thomas
Graphic John Kellerman Writers Jacopo Manfren, Tom Storch, Peggy Gifford Contributors Paolo Castiglioni, Franco Lorenzon, Luz Marvin, Shanna Fisher, Giulia, Laddago, Stefano Guerrini, Ruben Kristiansen, Sophie Elgort, Drew Brando, Ben Horton, Serena Duffin, Josh Fogel, Martin Morse, Natasha Phan, Ed Ross
Special Thanx to Renee Esebag
Visionarios Magazine has been registered at the Civil Court of Milan in the 27 of july 2012 with number 291
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OUR ICON Laura Harring - p. 16 THE GIRL WE LOVE Dorothy Wang - p. 26 FASHION ON FILM p. 32 SHADES OF ARGENTUM Ed Ross - p. 82 THE GUY WE FOLLOW Michael Utsinger - p. 88 AN ART DOSSIER Ilya Zomb - p. 98 THE MOVIE WE WATCHED The Swimmer - p. 106 Dead Of Winter - p. 108 A MODERN PHOTONOVELAS p. 110
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photography Luz Marvin artwork Fantasvale “The Homage to the Vitreous Idol� pictures shot with Hasselblad 503cw on Ilford HP5 film
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“Half Pound Of Sour Cherries” painting by Iliya Zomb
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BAREFOOT COUNTESSA ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE LAURA HARRING photography, styling and text Jacopo Manfren @ MS Mng
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shoe Alberto Biani In the opening and above dress Intrepid by AEOC, fur Guess, shoes Robert Clergerie 18
It’s a sunny day (not night this time), I’m driving an 89’ cream mercedes (not a black limo), but Mulholland Drive is the same. And now the special moment has arrived as I enter the photoshoot’s location… I really feel as though I’m in a movie (in that movie). Actress Laura Harring, heroine of the film “Mulholland Drive”, muse of David Lynch, modern “barefoot countessa” is waiting for me in the garden of a mansion on the top of a hill. Time after the masterpiece of David Lynch she is still the beautiful, mysterious dark lady we all know, and she surprisingly reveals an enchanting glowing smile. With her black deep eyes and long shiny black hair, I now understand why she has been compared so many times to the Golden Hollywood Era actresses like Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth… Laura, let’s start with my favorite question… you can never forget your first time… in your career. How was yours? I was Miss USA, I was a little girl and I suddendly became famous! I had never considered being an actress, but after winning Miss USA I got my first important role; I came to LA to audition for a movie and, seeing all of the other girls (even much more determined than myself) in line I was wondering “Why should they choose me?”. But I got the role and on the set, I was totally taken by the protagonist, Raoul Julia; he was an incredible professional actor, I was observing him studying his part, all by himself in his own world, and when the director called “action” his power totally blew me away. I wanted to be an actress. What was actress life like before becoming a movie star? Not easy; you always wait to receive the final “phone call”, but I had really good satisfactions as well. I had many chances to work with such great talents like Raoul Julia first, William Hurt, John Travolta, Javier Bardem… But at the beginning, people were seeing me only as a beauty pageant queen, and many doors were closed for me; I became a tv and event hostess, and I even started my theathre company in Downtown LA, a sort of “Commedia Dell’Arte” inspired by the Halloween Culture. It was a great period of my life. 19
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dress Halston Heritage, silk scarf Pitsart Foulard D’Arte
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Let’s talk about your first meeting with Mr. Lynch It was amazing and really strange at the same time: I was familiar with his Twin Peaks show and his many other incredible movies and I was really excited about that. My agent told me that he saw a picture of me: “This is the girl, I want her” (remembering “Mulholland Drive”?)!! The next day I went to the audition and I was so nervous that I got into a car accident that made me arrive terribly late; at the casting office I was almost in tears, and upon hearing this, the casting director told me “The movie starts with a car accident…”. And so I met David: he looked at me, silent, for a realy long time, and then he just said: “Good, good…” for at least ten times! And so all my tension went away and I start laughting and laughting with him! I knew from that moment it was good! What are we expecting from you in this year? I have several movies coming out: one is an interesting movie shot in analog film, in which the director used a really old camera and black and white film to recreate a story in the Silent Hollywood Era… many other famous actresses are involved and the project is really fun and stylish. 23
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The second one is a comedy about adolescence, I play a really funny mother, a different role from my usual ones. It’s nice to show a comedic side of my persona. And finally an italian film: a sort of drama about bullying. This is not your first experience with italian people: you shot with Lamberto Bav, the son of the great Mario Bava, a director who made the history of italian cinema giallo in the 60’s… I love italians!!! Who doesn’t? They are always so relaxed and positive; on the set we had always amazing lunch times with wine and parmigiano, it’s not a clichè!!! What about LA? Is it your home now? Definitely it is; I have spent so much time of my life travelling through out the USA, Asia and Europe and I feel it’s time to settle down! And I even want to develop new projects… For example? First of all a book about my story! Not really to publish but just for myself, a sort of “Memoires”… then I have in mind a make up line, based on an organic concept of healthy life… many things that I hope will see the light soon! And we all hope so!! Thank you!
make up artist Martin Lane Christopher photo assistant Tomer Halfon watercolor portrait and illustration Erich Frey story shot on Nikon F801 camera on Kodak Portra 160 film
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RICH KIDS IN BEVERLY HILLS Dorothy Wang 26
photography Jacopo Manfren @ MS Mng styling Bailee Edgington
(left)jacket Lumier by Bariano ,pants American Apparel, rings Simon G (right) dress Pas Pour Toi , earrings Fever
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in this page: shirt Aryn K jacket and pants Stella+Jamie necklace Haati Chai in the opposite page dress Bariano earrings Simon G
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make up Spencer Barnes @ solo Artists hair Campbell McAuley @ Solo Artists assistant stylist Bridgette Denise illustration Fantasvale story shot with Nikon F801 on film Kodak PlusX 125
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“Key Keepers” painting by Iliya Zomb
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dress For Love & Lemons, necklace and bracelet Natalie B
Summert ime
photography Shanna Fisher styling Bailee Edgington
sadness
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dress Yoze, coat Tsemaye Binitie, shoes Joe’s, socks American Apparel necklace Natalie B, rings Alberto Parada and Nissa
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vintage necklace Jean Paul Gaultier sweater, skirt Rick Owens, shoes Marni 36
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dark green dress Azzedine Alaia archive
dress Bariano, shoes Badgley Mischka, earrings Alberto Parada, ring Nidda
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bodysuits Yoze and For Love & Lemons 38
top Love Gia, bodysuit For Love & Lemons, skirt Adolfo Sanchez,shoes Badgley Mischka necklace Danielle Stevens
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gown in grey silk stylist’s own
model Caroline Jarvas make up artist Maddalena Brando photography assistant Giulia Frigieri stylist assistan skirt and jacket Alana Hale, shirt Capulet, shoes Badgley Mischka, Francesca sunglassesCisani Oliver Peoples, rings Alberto Parada and Nissa, cuff Michelle 40
model Cherish make up artist Sinem Cetin hair stylist Sarah Dougherty assistant stylist Bridgette Denise story shot with camera Mamiya 645afd and Canon EOS Elan IIE on film Kodak Portra 400
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dress Alberta Ferretti shoes Fornarina
FUTURE HOPE
photography Giulia Laddago styling Stefano Guerrini
him: jacket vintage Archivi Mazzini, overalls vintage Moschino Archivi A.N.G.E.L.O., sunglasses Jil Sander her: jacket Ilaria Nistri, overalls Domenico Cioffi, sunglasses Salvatore Ferragamo 54 42
her (center): jacket vintage Hache Archivi Mazzini, dress Hache, total look Diesel glasses Dsquared2, shoes Casamadre him (right): total look Au Jour Le Jour Garรงon, glasses Jil Sander, shoes Casamadre
her (left): total look Ilaria Nistri glasses DSquared2
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photography Siul Martinez styling Naomi Zinns
Nick, USA @ Envy Models LA Levi’s denim vest and shorts, vintage flannel shirt him (left): suit Alessandro dell’Acqua, shirt Eton, sunglasses vintage Archivi Mazzini, shoes Memento Duo 56
her (right): jacket and sunglasses vintage Archivi Mazzini, dress Gap, shoes Casamadre Diane, USA @ Pinkerton Models LA BDG jumper stylist ‘s own jewelry
him (center): suit and shirt vintage Haute Archivi Mazzini, shoes Carlo Pignatelli her (center): jacket Longchamp, skirt Banana Republic, hat Federica Moretti Handmade, shoes Casamadre 57 45
Uliana, Russia @ Pinkerton Models LA her: jacket, Golden Goose boots, Evil Twin bustier Trulythrifted Madly Deeply t-shirt, him: shirt Bugle Boys, pants OP, jacket Levis 46 MinkPink vest
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him: suit Massimo Rebecchi, shirt Banana Republic, glasses Balenciaga her: leather jacket Hache, dress Angelos Bratis 60 little crowns with flowers “Il Punto Verde� Milano
Malea, Hawaii skirt Ilaria Nistri Robert, USA her (center): jacket Banana Republic, @ Pinkerton Models LA @ LA Models him (left): shirt MĂźnn, trousers Caruso Staring At Stars dress, Zara shirt her(left): total look Ilaria Nistri flower crown Headband
make up Doneisha Benton using Street Saint Cosmetics hair Erika Barquinero and Doneisha Benton from models Robert Mitchell @ Independent Men, Alex Kelly@Women Elite Fashion Academy make up Matteo Bartolini www.elitefashionacademyla.com stylist assistants Giacomo Tagliati, Gianluca Zappoli Photo Assistant Nicola CordĂŹ story to shot with Mamiya RZ Thanks Martina Frascari 6x4,5 on Kodak TriX 400 film Story shot on Mamiya 645 camera on Kodak Portra 160 film 61 49
photography Ruben Kristiansen muse Jeanette Mathisen
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Bonjour Jeanette
mask Maison Close, coat Day Birger, stockings Wolford
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trench Mikkelsen
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polo H&M
foundation and make up Street Saint Cosmetics
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make up Iris Jamne hair styling Laila Pettersen story shot with Mamiya 645 on film Kodak Tmax 400
L’educazione
sentimentale
delle fanciulle
photography Sophie Elgort styling Drew Brando
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leather vest Line Knitwear, shorts Blank NYC, necklace vintage shoes Jennifer Harley
him (center): blazer Long Tran, pants Costume National her: jacket Made For Pearl, knit Zara, pants Smythe shoes Ego & Greed, accessories Zara him (right): pants vintage, shoes Zara
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him (left): shirt Long Tran her: vest anveglosa, top Iris Von Arnim, pants True Royal, accessories Zara him (right): shirt Long Tran
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her: lace romper Made For Pearl, shoes Zara guys: black shirt, silk pants, white leather harness Long Tran
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her: top Rhode Resort guys: black shirt, silk pants, white leather harness Long Tran
model Kate Somers @ Muse Models NYC make up Valerie Star @ Kryolan Professional hair styling Kiet Phong Location Caravan Stylist Studio and The Carlton Hotel story shot with Canon Original Nikon F and Olympus Stylus Epic on film Kodak Tri-X 400 and Kodak 160 VC
A pagan poetry
photography Ben Horton styling Serena Duffin
dress Alice+Olivia, boots Carlo Pazolini, necklace Charisma by Ritu
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(left) jumper Cameo, bra Lonely, booties Lui Ching necklace Charisma by Ritu, rings Gemma Simone, earring Desla (right) body suit Nasty Gal, blouse Rodebjer necklace Charisma by Ritu
model Avery @ Photogenics LA make up Jamie Dorman hair styling Becky Bentley story shot with Canon Elan 7E on film Kodak Portra 400
KNIGHTS, SAINTS, DRAGONS AND PLAYERS ( PORTRAITS FROM LA ... )
shoe Alberto Biani Andy Brodhag, actor / model/ surfer Il California total look Diesel, necklace Ankh by Racquel Honorè
shoe Alberto Biani Monica Ollander @ Nous Model Management Washington blouse Elison, jeans Forever21
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shoe Alberto Biani Megan Felix @ Blue Models Il Oregon dress Lumiere by Bariano
shoe Alberto Biani Johnathan Kaker, basketball player / actor California shirt and shorts Gipsy
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Disillusion
photography Jacopo Manfren
shoe Alberto Biani Matt Jordan Sowell, model / singer Il California total look Diesel
hair styling and make up by Sherry O story shot with Hasselblad camera on Ilford Delata 400 Pro film
Maryah Bonner @ Nous Model Management , actress Maryland dress Intrepid by AEOC 73
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MIDNIGHT SHINE photography Paolo Castiglioni make up artistry Alberto Boggeri hair styling Luigi Martini and Pierre Baltieri
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models Daisy M. and Marina Mirt @ Fashion Model Milano styling Franco Lorenzon using Sharra Pagano story shot in big format camera on Kodak Portra 400 film
�Reminiscence Of Morning Awakening� painting by Iliya Zomb
SHADES OF ARGENTUM photography Ed Ross illustrations Gail Weissman
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Wet plates shot with a BlackArtWoodcraft camera
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”Cup Of Night Tea” painting by Iliya Zomb
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THE COLOR OF THE NIGHT MIKE UTSINGER photography and text Jacopo Manfren @ MS Mng
We met Michael Utsinger at BOXeight Studios in Downtown, where he welcomed us for the photoshoot and interview. BOXeight is a huge loft divided by black and white images (Nudes, landscapes, portraits) a white limbo and a gorgeous custom silver airstream in the middle of the space. A reality show that centers around Mike and his close friends in art, music and fashion is taking place while we are there so we see numerous cameramen, audio people, make-up artist’s and wardrobe stylists running around transforming the huge space into a living set. For most people who know, Michael is the iconic face of LA nightlife and President of BOXeight Studios in Downtown, and he organized the first beautiful party of Visionarios magazine at the Roosevelt hotel in LA a year ago. All the of the cities most talented and interesting people were there and the party was a huge success. Wow, what a cool atmosphere... what’s going on here? Well, we are here shooting the pilot for a television show about my life and basically the worlds of art, music and fashion i play in. I wanted to show the culture behind all of it and showcase the amazing talent in my city and the dope people i connect with and not just the fun life and pretty girls associated with those things. Basically, some people saw my Instagram, said “wtf is your life” and now we are making a television show with the most talented reality production company in the business, Bunim-Murray. They’ve won Emmys, I’m pretty into it. So yeah, we are on location today covering the studio, we’ve been shooting all over the city the past two days. Louis Carreon, a street artist and a friend of Mike’s, enters with a camera crew following him while he greets friends. Ok Mike, Tell us your story from the beginning as a child! Well, i don think I was ever a child actually (Laughs), I was born this size and age and in this outfit. But yeah, I’m a Cali kid born and raised in Santa Monica. My mom’s from South Beach and my pops is from the Bronx. I spent most of my time as a kid chasing waves and girls. I was the youngest of three brothers. My elder brother’s Daniel and Carl taught me everything I know. The hustle, how to be tuff, and most importantly how to do the running man at my first dance party so babes would dig me (laughs), everything. I began my career in marketing and events when I was very young. I was a club kid since i was 15 going out all the time and by the time I was 19-20 I was throwing my own clubs and events. 89
As time went on and with the formation of Utsinger Entertainment Inc, my network and career path evolved and now i’ve been fortunate enough to have worked alongside some of the biggest brands in the world. Let’s talk about BoxEight Studios I’d like to introduce you to Peter Gunrz the founder of BOXeight and my partner in the studio for the last several years. Pete and I met years ago at a party I was putting on with Anthem Magazine. We vibed and have been working together in the art, music and fashion realm ever since creating content and producing events that we think are interesting and innovative. We currently represent a diverse roster of creative minds such as photographers, painter’s, sculptors, graphic designers, hair and makeup artists, stylists etc. In its inception BOXeight was very much inspired by, and created in the spirit of the Warhol Factory. We wanted to create a artist compound for creative minds to flourish and generate a living from with our support. Things are going well.
Peter: (He’s with Katrina, his Muse/Girlfriend we see in many of his pictures, mostly in black and white shot in Hasselbladwith film. Powerful). Hey its a pleasure to meet you! BOXeight Studios was officially born in 2004 after I moved from NYC to LA. At the beginning we were called IMG81 and Downtown LA has always been its base. My dream was to make a sort of cultural change in Downtown. When I first arrived this neighborhood was a ghetto and now its what you see-- a neighborhood that lives and breathes arts and events. We played a integral role in that transformation. Mike: even the art walk in downtown was born from an idea of ours. In the first event there were only a handful of people really curious about what was going on downtown and now, we see thousands of people coming and attending the art walk each month. Its become a cultural shift both mentally and physically for the city. We are happy to have played a big part in that. What do you usually work on at BoxEight Studios? The studio is very much alive with different things happening each day. In addition to it being a fully functional photo studio with brands that rent the studio out to shoot here etc, we are constantly developing and creating our own content here as well. 91
Shooting our own content, making art for shows that we tour globally, developing products. We are always creating. A saying around the studio is “The love we make and the art we create”. I dig it. A big part of what I do via Utsinger Entertainment with the creative support of BOXeight is being of service to brands. Mike shows me a clip of his most recent music video for “Hugs” he casted for Pharrel and Andy Smaberg that recently aired on the Season Finale of Saturday Night Live. Michael has also served as casting director for Atlantic Records and casted video’s for artists and brands such as Chromeo, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, The Weeknd, Dior and Tom Ford
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What’s your project for the future? Have you ever thought of directing and producing? That is the direction I am heading in with Utsinger entertainment Inc. I am currently working on a couple projects as both a director and producer level(s). Very exciting stuff and I love the creative ability being behind the camera gives. Very excited to share what I’m working on with the world soon. What about a movie? 100%. My backround is in theatre, I will be in the film business at some point with a feature film. Screenplays are already in the works. Exciting stuff. Feeling blessed.
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(from left) Louis, Peter, Mike and Katrina wear Skingraft story shot with Nikon F801 on film Kodak PlusX 125
”Niche Of Limpid Penumbra” painting by Iliya Zomb
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MINUIT IN BLUE AND LAVENDER ILYA ZOMB interview by Jacopo Manfren
I start my interview with the Russian artist Ilya Zomb during a fresh winterish morning. In the East Coast, where Ilya lives, it’s a nice bright day, and when I open my skype the scene I have in front of my eyes reminds me one of his paintings: he’s seated against a pale blue wall, some cream and beige canvas behind him and a wooden table; sporting grey hair and a grey moustache he warmly greets me with his little dog Thalia (like one of the Greek Muses, I ask?). Ilya, it’s such a pleasure to meet you! Welcome! Thank you! Pleasure is mine! Let’s start talking a little bit about you: I’m really interested in your childhood, your education and mostly, the start of your career. I was born in the country “Once upon a time called” URSS, now known as the Ukraine, in the city of Odessa in 1960; my father was an opera singer and between books, culture and music (especially Verdi, my father’s favorite composer), I can definitely say I had a lucky childhood. He wanted me to become a singer as well and he gave me a lot of piano lessons, but I already knew it wasn’t my way and I was developing a strong passion for drawing. With the strong support of my art school teachers, until the age of fitfteen, I then begun attending the Art College of Odessa; at that time Picasso was the “living god” and I really liked him a lot. I stayed in the Ukraine until 1988, when the URSS collpased and so, with my family, I escaped to the USA, where we were refugees; with the difficult beginning, I was looking for small jobs to survive but at the same time I was really fascinated by the extremely free cultural environment I found there. I realized URSS was a prison only allowing a rigid governed style, and strictly forbidding any other artistic expression … here I was free and I started again my artistic career: some little expositions came first, until where I am today.
in the opposite page: “Grapes Of Long Island”
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What most interests you in your painting? What I look for most is the research; since I was young I never wanted to follow the trend just because it was supposed to be and I was studying a lot of contemporary artists and the maestri of the past, especially the Italian Reinassence. I even think the technique is an extremely important part of the background of every artist. Which medium do you use? I mostly use oil on canvas, I’m a traditionalist! I have started experimenting a lot with the use of the colors on the palette knife. Then, with time, I have become much closer to the Realism. Let’s talk about the leitmotivs of your paintings: you talked about the Italian Reinassence, is it reflected in your painting? Definitely, and it even mixes my childhood memories, especially the places I have lived and appreciated. 100
in the opposite page: “Mutual Admiration For Pomegranates”, belowe: “Pleasure On Walking On Water”
“Elegy Of Long Island”
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So no symbolism in the landscape… what can you say about your redhead women? Or of your recurrent objects? My women are affected by my admiration for Egyptian paintings, but after that said, I would tell you there are no particular references… except for the fact that I love redheads! I paint what I like and what I feel and in my pieces there are often Thalia or Vassili, my rabbit. I can reveal that the relationship of women with animals in my paintings is a reflection of the one between women and men. How can we explain the titles that you give to the pieces? Just those remind a vague symbolistic touch… That’s true, title can be connected to a simple memory of something I have in my head or even a solution for the viewer to start a new story with my painting… I want the viewer to feel free to think openly. I have even just started to paint male figures, even if women are still predominant… for example you can see a small self portrait in one of my recent pieces. Moving from the lanscapes to your indoor still lifes, what can we say about that? That I surely look for the minimalism and simplicity. I try to simplify the most. And where do you derive your inspirations? Mostly from my travels and from everything in my head. There is definitely no Surrealism in my vision, I would call it better a Pseudo Realism: everything I paint would be a possibility to happen. And so how do you spend your free time? I love movies! And I don’t watch tv!!!
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SUBURBAN MALAISE AND BREAST STROKES text by Tom Storch illustration by Gail Weissman
About midway through The Swimmer, adapted from a John Cheever short story by Eleanor Perry and directed by husband Frank Perry, it becomes apparent that something deeper is happening. Burt Lancaster, playing the middle-aged, middle century Adonis Ned Merrill with broad faced consternation, is not simply making his way through a upper class suburban valley of backyard swimming pools, a “river” as he calls it, but is in the midst of a tragic fall from grace; hinted at in the camera’s occasional plunges into the actor’s saturated blue eyes. Shot in sunny, languid colors and smelling of choline, the film, taking place throughout the course of one day, is a chronicle of personal decay as the owners of the pools Lancaster’s Merrill passes through become progressively more antagonistic with memories of financial woes and jilted affairs he cannot seem to recollect. It is to the filmmaker’s credit that the story is able to maintain such a strong allegorical current without ever lapsing into brash obviousness. Employing each new pool as a set piece, a number of archetypal suburban characters show up, ranging from aging nudists to vapid loungers of an afternoon party to a former lover played by Janice Rule, in an episode that is the film’s one major misstep, laying out an incident from Merrill’s past and his faults a little too explicitly. However, any lack of subtly is more than canceled out by the particularly resonant image of Lancaster, alongside an adolescent boy, walking in an empty pool while going through the swimming motions, despite the lack of water - a profound comment on the character’s means of coping.
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Employing each new pool as a set piece, a number of archetypal suburban characters show up, ranging from aging nudists to vapid loungers of an afternoon party to a former lover played by Janice Rule, in an episode that is the film’s one major misstep, laying out an incident from Merrill’s past and his faults a little too explicitly. However, any lack of subtly is more than canceled out by the particularly resonant image of Lancaster, alongside an adolescent boy, walking in an empty pool while going through the swimming motions, despite the lack of water - a profound comment on the character’s means of coping. Lancaster, an often over looked actor, fits the role of a physically impressive man well, dressed in swim trunks the entire running time and, in one scene, displaying his physical prowess by galloping like a horse alongside Janet Landgard’s filled out former baby sitter; however under the muscular exterior, Lancaster conjures a distant and emotionally immature man, susceptible to the crutches of vice and delusion, so clearly that the end is a forgone conclusion well before it is reached. Though its tragic hero is timeless, like the story it is based on, The Swimmer, is very much a product of the sixties when city dwellers flocked in mass to the suburbs with fenced backyards and faraway windows, keeping private lives that much more private, but as Ned Merrill, finds out failure is impossible to keep secret. Tragedy belongs to the neighborhood. 105 105
COLD CASES
text by Tom Storch illustration by Gail Weissman
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“It’s a Thriller?” Mary Steenburgen asks at one point during the classic 1987 tale of suspense, Dead of Winter, sounding as if she is addressing the filmmakers themselves, who through revelries in tropes and playful thematic teasing, stoically, but emphatically reply, “It’s a Thriller.” What else could it be? No other genre could so naturally house this post-Hitchcock study in kidnap, blackmail and the fluidity of identity. Dead of Winter is by no means a graceful film; dialogue flows stilted and the premise, which involves Steenburgen’s character, an aspiring actor, following a disconcertingly calm Roddy McDowall to a film producer’s isolated mansion so she can audition for a promised role, pushes just a little further beyond believability. However, these B movie trappings take very little away from the experience of the overall film, in fact, if anything it adds credibility to the proceedings, making it clear that this is no mere exercise in style, but rather the genuine article. Directed by Arthur Penn, a sure-handed, occasionally brilliant chronicler of movement and space in America, best known for the indelible Bonnie and Clyde, took over the film midway through production from co-screenwriter, Marc Schmuger and deserves credit for creating such rich visual tones from the icy opening sequence where a mysterious woman - face hidden under a large hat - is strangled in the driver seat of a car with a bag full of money in the passenger seat to the scenes inside the mansion where the golden lighting is alternately a reprieve from the blizzard outside and an inescapable terrarium under heated lamp. Take for instance the first shots of the mansion’s interior during the introduction of Jan Rubes’ wheelchair bound antagonist. The frigid colors of the scenes up to that point are replaced by warmer hues and homey set dressing, harmless on the surface until you see the dead stuffed bear and the austere smiles plastered on the lips of the hosts. It is appropriate the piece playing on the creepy player piano (connected to Rubes’ characters’ heart rate in an irreverently farfetched conceit) is Chopin’s “Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2,” where dulcet tones are unexpectedly interrupted by forceful octaves.
The plot progresses to reveal Steenburgen to be an exact double of a murdered woman attempting to blackmail her identical sister by the hand of Rubes’ mastermind, who tries to deceive the sister into thinking the murder was botched. This gives Steenburgen a chance to play three different characters and leads to a literal depiction of man’s struggle with self in a confrontation that is impossible to resist. Plus an escape door behind a mirror provides some fun directing choices as each time the protagonist travels and returns from the other side of the looking glass she comes back a different person; the ultimate honing of her craft. If the film has one take away, it is that internal forces are always more dangerous than external ones. The torrential weather conditions outside are less dangerous than the two men in the protective shelter, who, in turn, are less of a threat than the identical woman, though none of them might be as insidious as the self, hinted at in a double mirror effect that overlays the pursuer with the pursued.
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“Still” painting by Iliya Zomb
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I AM NOT TOO OLD FOR THE ROLE... AM I???
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Maa
aaax
xx!!
I AM NOT TOO OLD FOR THAT ROLE!! Am I right, Max??
CLIK
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They told me I am TOO OLD... Could you believe it ??
MaX!!
THAT ROLE WAS PERFECT FOR ME! Bunch of idiots... DON’ T YOU THINK, MAX? I’m not old...
ACTION!
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MAX??
They told me
ok Na is GO
wow
OMG, I am exhausted
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See you tomorrow!
d e...
... I’m perfect!
I HAVE THE ROLE!
aomi, this OOD!!
COFFEE for me!!!! NOW
Is it the wrap??
Look at that hot chick!!
I HATE THIS MASK!!!
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THE END
“Lined Up On The Edge” painting by Iliya Zomb
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Have a submission for us? Are you a model or an artist?? VISIONARIOS MAGAZINE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU!!! We always consider new submissions in the realms of fashion, photography and art. We always look for cool personalities as well!! BUT REMEMBER: ONLY EDITORIALS SHOT IN FILM PHOTOGRAHYS OR DRAWS MADE BY INK OR PENCIL! WE SUPPORT FILM AND HANDMADE! ANY SUBMISSION, COMMENT OR QUESTION IS ALWAYS WELCOME! info@visionariosmagazine.com www.visionariosmagazine.com
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