YRB Magazine Fall Fashion 2020- The Quarantine Issue by YRB Magazine

THE QUARANTINE ISSUE F/W 2020 I SSUE NO. 116

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

15 WAYS TO

about the future is in the past

SURVIVE THE PANDEMIC CYBERPUNK SHINJU WHISKY FELIPE PANTONE ERNIE PANICCIOLI BIOFABRICATE ART NOW AFTER HOURS

A MASKED SOCIETY Augmented Reality Scan details inside

think less, live more

Editor-in-chief Jonn Nubian

Creative Director Executive Producer Photo Director Production Director Senior Editor Design Editor Design Director Digital Director Fashion Director Advertising Director Senior Editorial Assistant Editorial Assistant Art Director Deputy Photo Editor Photo Assistant Senior Designer Interns Researchers Contributing Writers Contributing Photographers Contributing Illustrators

Dominic Guerrero Nubiano Roubini Micheal Evans Guillermo Wilkins Judith Wong Alma Myers Patti Lawrence Gerard Hernandez Ashley Buchanan Heather Wilkins Fiona Graham Jacquelyn Rodgers Wesley Sherman Peter Parker Jenny Murphy Josephine Vasquez Gustavo Becker, Noah Scott Terrell Parker, Don Silva Brana Dane, Marguerite Parsons, Rosie Leizrowice Frances Oliver, Stella Magloire, David Rhodes Jack Kirby, Yoji Shinkawa, Josan Gonzalez

EDITORIAL OFFICE N 40° 46' 59.016", W 73° 58' 16.4964" +1-646-883-0018 | contact@yrbmag.com YRB is published by Blackwell Media Group

yrbmag.com THE QUARANTINE ISSUE

@yrbmagazine

#StopTheSpread Proper hygiene stops the spread of the virus.

Wet your hands before applying soap.

Handwashing 101

Source: World Health Organization

Bring your palms together and rub soap all over the palms and backs of your hands, including between the fingers.

Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds.

Wipe your hands with a clean towel or paper towel and avoid rubbing too vigourously.

Editor's Note

#StyleWatch

Shinju Whisky

Felipe Pantone

Ernie Paniccioli

Cyberpunk Now

#GetLit

Party Patrol

YRB MAGAZINE | 07

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V O TE !

Editor's Note

We are now living in a masked society. This issue looks at the cultural disruption the world has experienced this year.

These troubled times seem to parallel the graphic novel The Watchmen that takes place in an alternative, contemporary reality in the United States. Masked vigilantes became outlawed due to their violent methods, but some of them gather around to start a revolution while others attempt to stop it. It is a work of fiction published in 1996 that reflects contemporary anxieties and looks to deconstruct and satirize the superhero concept. In our new reality, everyone wears a mask every day. We also take a look back at a popular tactical espionage videogame released in 2001. In addition to the stealth action, it contains themes and concepts, such as post-truth politics, fake news, alternative facts, and echo chambers. These are all issues we are dealing with today. This Quarantine Issue is proof that the future has imploded into the present.

ON THE COVER: Everything must continue, we might as well make it fashionable. Photographer: cyano66

YRB Magazine is a lifestyle publication that focuses on fashion, music, art, and related cultural subjects.

YRB stands for Yellow Red Blue and denotes the use of these pigments as primary colors in art and design, particularly painting. It is the make up of the primary color triad in a standard artist’s color wheel.

Download the Scanner app at

JONN NUBIAN Editor-in-Chief

YRB MAGAZINE | 09

whitelablelar.com for a sneak peek at how augmented reality will change the direction the print industry.

yrbmag.com

How to Safely Wear a Medical Mask Source: World Health Organization

Do's

Thoroughly wash hands with soap and water before touching the mask Check the mask for any tears or holes Find the top side where the metal piece or stiff edge is Ensure that the colored side faces outwards Place the metal piece/stiff edge over your nose Cover your mouth, nose, and chin.

what's inside fall / winter 2020

20 HOW MASKS CHANGE US On Anonymity, Road Rage & Rituals

31 THE QUARANTINE EDITORIAL #Staysafe #Stayhealthy

56 ART NOW AFTER HOURS The platform highlights artists from all disciplines and introduces their work to a new audience.

71 LIFE THROUGH MIRRORLENSES Cyberpunk as a Reflection of Reality

77 MODEL PERSPECTIVE Brana Dane talks with Suzanne Lee about BIOFABRICATE, a platform for biomaterial innovators and consumer brands growing a sustainable future.

84 A TRIP TO THE MOON Something from our friends at NASA Spoiler: it's amazing.

YRB MAGAZINE | 11

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meaning “Pearl”, was born

from the slopes of the great Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest and most sacred mountain.

The ancient Japanese believed that pearls were created from the tears of Angels; ‘born of the water’.

Mt. Fuji's pristine alpine water is used to create Shinju, giving it a unique smoothness.

It is aged 2 to 4 years in mature white oak barrels to give it a rich caramel color and distinct flavor profile.

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That's Hot! #throwback to the times when sunset photos were the best things to see in our newsfeed. Well, good news! It's making a comeback and you can take all the shots you want and share them with your friends! Just make sure to #wearamask

TIP #1 The version of the world you are seeing is invisible to the people who misunderstand you, and vice versa. #socialmedia

YRB exclusive

ART

F/W 2020

trawoC neruaL rehpargotohP

FELIPE PANTONE

elipe Pantone is an Argentinian-Spanish artist. He started doing graffiti at the age of 12. He graduated with a Fine Art degree in Valencia (Spain) where his studio is based. Pantone’s work deals with dynamism, transformation, omnipresence,and themes related to the present times. Pantone has achieved star status without ever publicly revealing his face, a feat that makes him all the more iconoclastic.

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Recently he designed a limitededition Hennessy V.S bottle & gift box in his signature aesthetic. YRB Magazine sat down with Felipe to discuss his art and the process in making the bottle.

yrbmag.com

YRB: We have interviewed a variety of artists who have collaborated with Hennessy including Futura, Ryan McGinness, Scott Campbell and Shepard Fairey. What was your experience like? Felipe Pantone: I’ve been following this collaboration from the very beginning. Everyone you mentioned are my Idols from when I was younger. Now I’m doing this, can you imagine? It’s crazy! I traveled to Cognac over here a year ago and went through all the archives. I paid attention to what my fellow street artists did in the past, but also everything Hennessy has done. They’ve been doing labels and posters since 1765.

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I decided to take elements that I thought were connected to my work in some way. One of them being the three stars. Hennessy Very Special used to be called Hennessy 3 Stars until they changed the name in 1950 or something like that. You can even find like the quilted pattern which is like this rhomboids in the design. YRB: Did you have any push back with some elements of the design? Ryan McGinness changed the arm hold an axe into a flower. Felipe Pantone: Check this out! They let me play with the logo! Which is absolutely incredible! I think this is the furthest they have gone! The process was very smooth. I made many sketches and versions to present.

Above Photo by: Lauren Cowart

"They let me play with the logo! Which is absolutely incredible! I think this is the furthest they have gone! "

yrbmag.com

YRB: How many versions did you present before getting to the final version we have in front of us today? Felipe Pantone: I’m not sure. It’s not like I presented formal versions. We would tweak on the computer and just kept going. It was a real collaboration. YRB: What was the time frame from the beginning to the bottle that is here today? Felipe Pantone: That’s a good question. A long time, nearly a year. There was a lot involved for the final result as you can see I extended the world colors.

YRB: Were you working with just spray paint or other medium? Felipe Pantone: Most of the artwork is spray paint. There is one in piece that is UV paint. I created an original piece that was painted entirely with spray paint. That was the beginning of all this. With that painting in mind I translated it into the design on the bottle. YRB: What’s next? Felipe Pantone: We’re going to Nigeria for the first time which is exciting for me. From there Moscow, Berlin then Ukraine then back in the U.S. in December. YRB: Thank you!

YRB MAGAZINE | 19

Above Felipe Pantone displays the original designs that were transfered to the bottle. Photo by: Lauren Cowart

"There is one piece that is UV paint. I created an original piece that was painted entirely with spray paint. That was the beginning of all this."

felipepantone.com

THE QUARANTINE ISSUE

HOW MASKS CHANGE US: ON ANONYMITY, ROAD RAGE & RITUALS BY ROSIE LEIZROWICE Road rage seems to just be an accepted part of

But plenty of situations have those characteristics

modern life. I don’t drive, but as a passenger in other

and don’t cause otherwise civilised people to erupt

people’s cars, it never surprises me to see an

with fury. It doesn’t explain why we treat road rage

otherwise calm, polite, rational person lean out of a

as something understandable, something which isn’t

window and scream insults over a minor

a reflection of a person’s true temperament — like

transgression.

PMS.

Sometimes it turns into an all-out fight — I once saw

Most of what we all do on an average day is boring

a policeman turns off his siren and lights so he

and tiring.

could shout at a driver who got in his way.

Why is driving so different? Because it’s anonymous. Safe behind a windscreen, you are encased in your

Someone told me that their dad pulled over to

own private world and therefore unchained from

argue with another driver and ended up half

social constraints. Say what you like, swear as much

strangling the guy through an open window.

as you want, make whatever obscene gestures you favour — as long as you’re following the driving laws,

Even the calmest drivers I know will, at the least,

it’s okay.

give moral judgement and regard the driving skills of others as the most accurate IQ test.

A car is a mask that lets you shrug off yourself.

It’s easy to find explanations for road rage. Driving is tiring. Boring. Nauseating for some. Dangerous. People regard both their cars and their driving skills as a concrete manifestation of gender, class, age, nationality, and personality. No one likes having their personal space infringed upon, even if that space is a moving radius of tarmac.

YRB MAGAZINE | 21

rosieleizrowice.com

Here’s what Joe Moran writes about road rage in the fabulously nerdy On Roads: "In 1994… I passed my driving test and haltingly began my own career on the roads. Up until that moment, I had spent very little time on roads even as a passenger and so the behaviour of that alien species, the motorist, was as fascinating to me as the creatures on a South Sea island must have been to an evolutionary biologist. This species mostly assumed it was invisible…But when it wanted to communicate with its unhappiness to another member of the species, it seemed suddenly consumed by frustration.. behind a windscreen its gesticulations seemed more animated, its face more expressive, its curses more vociferous, its death stares more terrifying.…Precisely because encounters with other motorists were near anonymous and temporary but involved the questioning of one’s character and judgement, they assumed an intensity that was quite disproportionate to their actual importance. Nowhere outside silent films did people’s body language seem quite so histrionic.”

YRB MAGAZINE | 22

There’s a wonderful German word that encapsulates this- one of the many concepts with no English equivalent, perhaps because it contradicts the essence of how British people think of themselves- maskenfreiheit. Loosely translated (whenever I refer to German words I get native speakers correcting my interpretations) it refers to the freedom that comes with wearing a mask. The literal translation seems to be ‘carnival license.’ Which can be positive or negative, a literal mask or a metaphorical one. It’s a cliche at this point to talk about how we all wear masks, we all portray a fake image on social media, we all lie and conceal our trueselves. Of course we do. We always will as long as it’s not socially acceptable to do things that everyone does. And although that’s seen as a bad thing, it’s not. We wear masks because it liberates us. A driver, screaming bloody murder at the minivan that cut them off, is taking advantage of the anonymity to vent their bottled up rage at the world because they can. topic, etc.

"We wear masks because it liberates us." rosieleizrowice.com

YRB MAGAZINE | 23

We all do this because we have to. Otherwise, we’d end up unemployed (and unemployable) and unloved (and unlovable.)

A brief field guide to masks

Maskenfreiheit is different though. It’s the freedom we feel when we literally cover our faces or hide our identities.

Criminals wear balaclavas, motorcycle helmets or scarves to make it harder for them to be identified — but I suspect it also helps them suspend their conscience and preserve their self-image as a good person.

That freedom works both ways. It always has. Although it takes many forms, the liberating effect of masks is part of our world, manipulated for good or evil. The question is: do masks make us into someone else, or do they make us more ourselves? Perhaps it makes sense to ask what masks are and how we use them.

First, the ugly.

Protesters wear masks, famously Anonymous, for a similar reason and to create the feel of a global, unified group. I’ve seen Anonymous protests all over the world and the effect is profound. It might as well be a single army,even if the participants are different each time.

darkmodematters.com

In psychology, the phrase ‘masking’ refers to a process wherein someone disguises their true personality, often without realising. For example, a person who has been bullied for enjoying time alone may later mask that aspect of themselves by acting extroverted and constantly socialising. In the long run, this will leave them exhausted and unhappy, without them knowing why. We all do this because we have to. Otherwise, we’d end up unemployed (and unemployable) and unloved (and unlovable.) Maskenfreiheit is different though. It’s the freedom we feel when we literally cover our faces or hide our identities. That freedom works both ways. It always has. Although it takes many forms, the liberating effect of masks is part of our world, manipulated for good or evil. We all do this because we have to. Otherwise, we’d end up unemployed (and unemployable) and unloved (and unlovable.) Maskenfreiheit is different though. It’s the freedom we feel when we literally cover our faces or hide our identities. That freedom works both ways. It always has. Although it takes many forms, the liberating effect of masks is part of our world, manipulated for good or evil. The question is: do masks make us into someone else, or do they make us more ourselves? Perhaps it makes sense to ask what masks are and how we use them.

YRB MAGAZINE | 24

A brief field guide to masks First, the ugly. Criminals wear balaclavas, motorcycle helmets or scarves to make it harder for them to be identified — but I suspect it also helps them suspend their conscience and preserve their self-image as a good person. Protesters wear masks, famously Anonymous, for a similar reason and to create the feel of a global, unified group. I’ve seen Anonymous protests all over the world and the effect is profound. It might as well be a single army,even if the participants are different each time. Members of the Klu Klux Klan and similar groups do the same. Horror movie villains are portrayed wearing masks for the creep factor and to dehumanise them (Jigsaw, Michael Myers, almost any villain in a home invasion movie, Hannibal Lecter, Leatherface, Ghostface, etc.)

"Masks can be a form of protection ."

Masks can be a form of protection, again more psychological than practical: gas masks (more effective for preventing gas attacks than surviving them), surgical masks worn in cities, plague doctor masks (like the one Scipio wears in The Thief Lord) with a nose full of sweetsmelling herbs, armoured masks worn in battle, football helmets.

thespookwhosatbythedoor.com

YRB MAGAZINE | 25

yrbmag.com

Then, the mysterious.

Wearers were liberated from their usual selves and could become someone else.

Masks are deeply embedded in social rituals.

Death masks-often made using a plaster or wax cast of the deceased’s face- have been used for millennia to preserve an image of the person, protect them in the afterlife, provide a reference for works of art, help identify John and Jane Does before they decompose, as a piece of art in themselves, or as a reminder for the living.

The oldest surviving examples date back 9000 years, but it’s believed people have made them for as long as 40,000 years. The earliest masks tend to be ceremonial or death masks.As soon as we knew who we were, we wanted to become someone else. During rituals, people wore masks to take on another form, often that of a god, animal spirit or another spiritual being. Shamans, healers and witches wore elaborate masks as they cured the sick, manipulated the weather, promised good luck or foretold the future. Dionysian cults wore masks conveying the god’s face as they abandoned themselves to hedonistic revelry and ignored societal norms.

YRB MAGAZINE | 26

Actors would wear death masks at Roman funerals to take on the role of a person’s ancestors and enact parts of their lives.

"Masks are deeply embedded in social rituals."

yrbmag.com

The boundaries between rituals, celebrations and theatre have always been blurred Later,masks became an integral part of theatre where they served the same role. Indeed, the boundaries between rituals, celebrations and theatre are somewhat blurred. In each case, masks let wearers shrug off their identities and become someone else. When I took drama for GCSE, I worked on a script about a teenage runaway who falls into the clutches of a manipulative pimp and his silent henchman. My friend played the henchman but the vibe felt wrong — silence alone didn’t make her seem threatening. So we took a plain, featureless mask and painted it black. She put it on with a long black coat, pulling her dark hair forward to cover the edges. The effect was sudden and horrifying.

YRB MAGAZINE | 27

So did everyone else. Several people in the class would leave the room when she put the mask on, some would scream if they unexpectedly saw her. It was odd — after all, it was a plain mask, a gender and race neutral, featureless piece of plastic (like this one.) And yet, it was terrifying. Her whole demeanour changed. She became that character: the heartless, silent henchman. That was when I first understood why masks are so ubiquitous across so many parts of cultures.

Beginning in the 15th century, masked balls became a popular way for people to dance and let themselves go, without harming their reputations. European villagers from all walks of life came together for masked carnivals and parades. The practice spread to the higher echelons of society, as wealthy Venetians appropriated masked balls. Anonymity was the main appeal. Like Dionysian cults, Venetians enjoyed the freedom to dissolve into pure hedonism.

whitelabelar.com

Although the practice was short-lived and less extreme than we imagine, masked balls are still associated with lust, seduction and murder. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story The Mask, a sprightly dancer at one such event passes out and a physician removes his mask. Behind the wax face of a young man, he finds a withered elderly gentleman. The old man’s wife tells the physician after he carries the wrinkled figure home, why: “Ah! yes, why? So that the people will think him young under his mask; so that the women will still take him for a young dandy and whisper nasty things into his ears; so that he can rub up against all their dirty skins, with their perfumes and powders and cosmetics… it’s regret that leads him on and that makes him put a pasteboard face over his own.”

YRB MAGAZINE | 28

At their core, masks are a tool to induce disinhibition. We use physical masks to counteract the psychological masks. A mask might not really conceal your identity but it has a few powerful effects: Makes it harder for you to be identified Conceals your emotions and reduces the amount of eye contact you make Lets you feel/think like a different person Helps you avoid guilt, shame and embarrassment Brings to the surface parts of your personality you might otherwise hide In groups, masks can be dehumanising, leading to groupthink and extreme behaviour.

"...masked balls are still associated with lust, seduction and murder."

yrbmag.com

Today, we use different sorts of masks. Alcohol, for instance, does the trick. Nightclubs have much in common with masked balls. A drunk person surely can't be held responsible for their actions, so alcohol becomes an excuse for doing whatever you'd otherwise be too embarrassed to do. I remember when my friends at school first started drinking. They'd come into class and tell everyone about the appalling things they had done after 3 cans of beer and how terrible they felt. And then they'd repeat that, week after week. Except they weren't acting that way because they were drunk. They got drunk so they could act that way and then distance themselves from it. None of them liked drinking, they just liked the sense of freedom it gave them.

YRB MAGAZINE | 29

Wearing a mask, in whatever form, only makes us more ourselves. It’s scary , when you think about how anonymity changes us. I use the term 'anonymity' loosely, to mean the sense of detachment from your identity to the extent that it frees you from a sense of responsibility. And yet, we search, in our own ways, for that sense of maskenfreiheit. We use it for good or evil, to harm or to help, to change and to enhance. But as privacy becomes ever more elusive, we miss out on opportunities to feel that freedom.

"We use it for good or evil, to harm or to help, to change and to enhance." rosieleizrowice.com

A GUIDE TO MASK USE ! PS A G NO

Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks.

Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask.

To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of mask); discard immediately in a closed bin; clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

Source: World Health Organization

W E PLANNED T H IS PH O T OS H OOT B EF OR E T H E PA N D EMIC.

W E HAD TO L E ARN T O AD AP T

C E RT IF IC A T E O F

C O M P LE T I O N

EDITORIAL

Disposable Chemical Resistant Coverall with Hood, Elastic Cuff and Serged Seams by Dupont Triple Flange Half Mask Respirator by Honeywell Shoes by Converse Photos by cootonbro S

AMID THE COVID

YRB MAGAZINE | 34

EDITORIAL

IMPRINT MAGAZINE | 38

ERNIE PANICCIOLI

FEATURE

THE ESSENTIAL PHOTO ARCHIVE OF ERNIE PANICCIOLI LAUNCHES AS PART OF THE CORNELL #HIPHOP COLLECTION

Nearly 20,000 images can now be viewed online as Cornell University Library launches the Ernie Paniccioli Photo Archive, a digital collection chronicling hip-hop music and culture from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

The collection features digitized

“What he captured can now be

photographic slides selected from

experienced by everyone.”

Paniccioli’s larger archive of more

“In the pantheon of prolific

than 100,000 images and artifacts

photographers of hip-hop, Ernie

housed in the Cornell Hip Hop

Paniccioli is certainly at the top

Collection.Ernie’s images offer

along with a handful of others,”

viewers an unprecedented look at

said Ben Ortiz, assistant curator

hip-hop’s evolution,”

of the Cornell Hip Hop Collection.

said Katherine Reagan, the Ernest

Ortiz described Paniccioli as a

L. Stern curator of rare books and

revered elder of the hip-hop

manuscripts, who first approached

community and marveled at his

the photographer in 2012 about

insider’s view of artists “moving

preserving his work.

through their careers, in between

“We are grateful to Ernie and his

performances, in between moments

collaboration with Cornell,” Reagan

when they’re

said.

in the spotlight.”. “Just all types of situations that the average person wouldn’t have access to – that’s a big deal with this archive,” Ortiz said.

YRB MAGAZINE | 43

bit.ly/rapblackhistory

FEATURE

ERNIE PANICCIOLI

was born Feb. 26, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, to Cree Native American and Italian parents, and spent his teens steeped in the bohemian spirit of Greenwich Village. Later, working as an analyst for a telephone company, he started documenting graffiti on buildings and in the subways on his commute. The graffiti artists Paniccioli befriended introduced him to kindred hip-hop musicians, who then welcomed him into their tight-knit community as “Brother Ernie.” In the ’80s, he became the principal photographer for Word Up! and Rap Masters magazines; his pictures also have appeared in The Source, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and NewsweekHe has also exhibited in galleries and published several books, including “Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hip Hop Photography” and “Hip Hop at the End of the World: The Photography of Brother Ernie.” For his contributions to the hip-hop community, Paniccioli has been recognized by many of its organizations, such as the Universal Zulu Nation and the Hip Hop Hall of Fame.A self-taught painter-turned-photographer, Ernie Paniccioli has always been dedicated to capturing the energy of the moment. “I used to work on a portrait sometimes for six months; then I got a camera and I could do it in a 60th of a second,” he said. “But I carried that same ethos with me, the same thing whether I’m with that person for 60 days or a 60th of a second. I wanted to put everything else away and just be at that now.” Currently residing in Jersey City, New Jersey, Paniccioli makes collages, plans exhibitions of his photos and artworks, and takes plenty of pictures of his grandchildren. “These are the superstars I’m working with,” he said with a laugh. He said he is “super excited” about his images finding a wide audience through the Cornell Hip Hop Collection. “All the different graffiti artists and DJs opened up a whole world to me. Imagine 45 years later an esteemed university comes and wants to share your archive with the world,” Paniccioli said. “And all you wanted to do that day was get up and go to work.”

Photos by: Ernie Paniccioli

YRB MAGAZINE | 44

erniepaniccioli.com

THE CYBERPUNK NOW FILM FESTIVAL HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH CONFERENCE 2020

FEATURE

Cyberpunk Now Film Festival organizers announced the winners of the 2020 Cyberpunk Now Live Short Film Festival, sponsored by 2600 Magazine: The Hacker Quarterly and R. Talsorian Games during the closing ceremonies of the 13th biennial Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) Conference. HOPE is one of the largest and oldest hacker community events in the world, typically attracting thousands of attendees to a sprawling and vibrant three-day weekend assembly once every two years in New York City, but this year was all virtual courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The participants had five days to team up, brainstorm, write, produce, edit, finish, and upload their films to the submission portal. A screening was live-streamed to showcase and announce the winners of the six main challenge categories (Animation, Comedy, Drama, Educational, Experimental, and Found Footage) on the final day of the conference. Challenge category winners will each receive an original digital artwork produced by WBAI hacker radio show Off The Hook cohost Rob T. Firefly (visual artist Rob Vincent), as well as a gift card provided by festival organizers. The Challenge Category winners advanced to compete for the Grand Prize, furnished by 2600 Magazine: The Hacker Quarterly, a store credit in the 2600 store, which features hacker clothing and accessories, as well as archives of the magazine and past HOPE conferences. The Grand Prize was awarded for the short film Cyber Boogie Shakedown to filmmakers Cory McElrea and Krystal Pohaku, who had won Best Drama in the challenge categories. Winning projects were selected by a jury that included professional filmmakers Matt Brown and TK Lorell, Atlanta Film Festival screener Beth Braunstein, technology archivist Jason Scott (textfiles.com/archive.org), and hackers Protothresh, IbaLL, and Dernyn. In addition to the regular awards, an additional award, Most Cyberpunk, surrounded by cryptic suggestions about how it is possible to obtain, was awarded to Aleksandar Bradic and Bogdan Rosu for their Animation category-winning short Baud Zero Signifier. .

YRB MAGAZINE | 47

cyberpunkfestival.com

FEATURE

THE MOST CYBERPUNK PRIZE WAS SPONSORED BY R. TALSORIAN GAMES, A COMPANY THAT PUT OUT A ROLEPLAYING GAME IN 1988 CALLED CYBERPUNK 2013. It was shortly followed in 1989 by Cyberpunk 2020, and they are the inspiration for the highly-anticipated upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 video game. The Most Cyberpunk-awarded filmmakers have won a signed copy of the updated game Cyberpunk Red’s Jumpstart Kit, signed by famed R. Talsorian Games founder Mike Pondsmith, as well as a complete print library of supplements for the original Cyberpunk 2020 game, which came out in 1989. “That’s some serious original cyberpunk fun,” said Festival Director Charles Beckwith, when he announced the award. Cyberpunk Now organizers plan to expand into future contest programming at a larger scale and are looking at possibilities in hosting an array of new events in 2021, featuring competitions for cyberpunk music, literature, and games, as well as future film competitions. The Cyberpunk Now Film Festival gathered over 35,000 social media impressions during the HOPE conference live stream had visitors from 60 countries.

Cyber Boogie Shakedown Filmmakers: Cory McElrea, Krystal Pohaku

Baud Zero Signifier Filmmakers: Aleksandar Bradic, Bogdan Rosu

For the latest updates, please visit CyberpunkFestival.com YRB MAGAZINE | 48

yrbmag.com

50 Fifty pages in this magazine so far.

Next up, 15 albums we listened to on vinyl while

preparing this issue.

PAGE 50

.etihW kcaJ -mubla eht nwo yllaer t'nod uoy ,drocer lyniv eht yub uoy litnu ,ekil tlef syawla ev'I .laed laer eht si lyniV

ESABLYNIV

#GETLIT

ERUTARETIL

Building An Empire by

Spawn #309 by

J. Alexander Martin

Todd McFarlane and Ken Lashley

J. Alexander Martin releases his

The MYSTERIOUS and

latest book and shares many of the success secrets he used to help grow FUBU from a street corner business

to an international corporation, grossing over $6 billion in sales to date.

Wait For The Corn by Vic Cipolla The book is a free flow of rants

DANGEROUS army of Spawns continues to grow. First SheSpawn and Reaper! Then Medieval Spawn! Now Gunslinger Spawn has made his presence known. But who is a hero and who is a villain?

My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me by Jason B. Rosenthal

that focus on, not only the adult

An inspiring memoir of life, love,

industry, but marriage and

loss, and new beginnings by

relationships in general, modern

the widower of bestselling

internet culture and, of course,

children’s author and filmmaker

sex. Some chapter titles: Dick Pics

Amy Krouse Rosenthal, whose

Are Horrifying, Anal Prep, Some

last of act of love before her death

men – Suck!, Social Media, Porn, Relationships, No One Pays Attention and The Money Shot, gives you an indication of the wild ride you will read.

was setting the stage for her husband’s life without her in the viral New York Times Modern Love column, “You May Want to Marry My Husband.”

Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly

Human rights become profoundly personal when dissident artist Ai Weiwei’s monumental exhibition on the former American prison island of Alcatraz encourages thousands of visitors to write to prisoners of conscience worldwide. AI WEIWEI: YOURS TRULY documents both the formerly imprisoned artist and his exhibition on the nature of political imprisonment.

A Film Directed By Cheryl Haines, Gina Leibrecht, USA - 78 minutes

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yourstrulyfilm.com

Kindness Matters Regularly check in with people especially those affected Encourage them to keep doing what they enjoy

Provide calm and correct advice to children Share WHO infomation to manage anxieties

SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS/WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

TRAVION PAYNE: FRAGILE MASCULINITY Travion Payne is an American artist from Houston,

Lastly, his paintings fuse apparent contradictions, seeking to

Texas.

heighten the experience of the spectator by creating immersive portraiture. His work explores an array of human

While he has recently acquired his BS in psychology

emotions that are associated with different facial

his passion for creating art has never left him. He likes

expressions.

to utilize his psychological background to create thought provoking paintings with a goal to

He has learned through his experiences, both positive and

emotionally influence the viewers of his work.

negative, that there is truly power and beauty within

He enjoys painting portraits using a variety of vibrant

emotion.

colors and textures to add depth to the meaning

For additional information please visit

behind each painting.

travionpayne.com

The art sheds light on controversial topics that will give insight into the issues that black men face. Issues such as mental illness in correlation with religion, colorism, homophobia, and fragile masculinity within the black community. Although the paintings feature predominantly black men the themes can apply to various groups of

Artwork on the following pages:

people. The paintings also include hidden symbolism

Golden Abundance, Oil on Canvas, 72” x 60”, 2019

as well which intertwines with the numerous

Colorism, The Art of Deflection, Oil on Canvas, 72” x 60”, 2018

meanings behind each painting.

A Glimpse of Hope, Oil on Canvas, 48” x 36”, 2018

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artnowafterhours.com

GIANT STEPS ART NOW AFTER HOURS presented the latest work by David Rhodes , Kay May, TAFA and Michael Anthony Pegues at Casa de Montecristo in New York City earlier this year.

"I create works across various media, though I am rooted in working with pen and ink on paper. In my current series, Meditations, I spend hours at a time representing lives we have lost as a way to reflect and ground myself. The series began as I considered how to grieve the loss of something or someone I never knew. Since then, I have made a portraits of young people and am currently working on several studies of extinct plants, using the same process of stippling. Although the subject matter varies, each are connected in their former beautiful life and their cause of death — humanity’s

This exhibition titled Giant Steps is curated by Robin King and Carla Ricevuto was on view February 20 – March 26, 2020.

devaluing of their life. Through painting and sculpture , I develop stoic yet vibrant characters as a means to explore Afrofuturism and narrative work."

– Kay May “This art work by Dapper Dan took me two years to create. The idea came to me through a lady by the name of Leola, that I met in an Art Gallery in Soho. I was inspired by her, because she was talking about

“Everyone has a story to be told.I love the stories the one face can tell. I’m writing that story every time I try to capture an image. The emotions that an unanticipated moment in time can provoke.Every face can have more than one story, probably does have more than one story. Certainly each story is a different story depending on who is

Dapper Dan, where the idea first came to mind. This is one of the pieces out of five series. I implemented this idea to be selected of a vivid imagination of fashion and art, which I grew up with of back in the day so people can see that I have an art and fashion swag. I’m an old school, new rules”

– Michael Anthony Pegues

doing the looking or even when I hope you see something you like. Something that makes you remember or feel, something that make you take a moment to wonder long

TAFA is an artist who describes his practice as meaning to “materialize the transient, the spiritual”

enough to write that story. “

within ordinary and commonplace social pursuits, such as

– David Rhodes

organized sports.

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artnowafterhours.com

#StopTheSpread

Physical Distancing 101 SOURCE: WHO

Stay away from mass gatherings. Keep a distance of 6 feet or 2 meters â&#x20AC;&#x201C; about one body length â&#x20AC;&#x201C; away from other people. Avoid touching other people, and that includes handshakes. Physical distancing slows down the spread of the coronavirus, which keeps our resources available to those in need.

Life through Mirrorlenses: C Y B E R P U N K R E F L E C T I O N

A S

O F

R E A L I T Y

By Absence of Gravitas Illustration by Josan Gonzalez

"The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel."- William Gibson, Neuromancer

It is common knowledge that art is a reflection of the time in which it is created. Literature is no exception, from the postmodern cynicism of the post-war period to the space operas beginning after the space race, speculative fiction tells us a lot about how authors felt, what concerned them, and which trends they saw as important. In the 1980's, technology underwent a significant uptake by the masses. Personal computers saw exponential growth. Television became common in third world countries.

Tech companies seized the opportunity to carve out empires of silicon chips and 8-bit data, and the ARPANET set the stage for what would eventually become the Internet, arguably the single most important invention in the history of mankind. During this period, the economy experienced a substantial recovery from the recession of the late 70's. Capitalist consumerism ran rampant and Wall Street investors saw millions in the zeroes and ones that flooded out of the tech market. All the while, the wealth gap began to grow, and the manufacturing boom towns of the late 50's started to empty out, leaving only the poor and desperate to fight over the tattered remains. Enter cyberpunk.

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Cyberpunk blues Cyberpunk is one of the most evocative genres to carve a niche for itself in the past century of writing. It has it all: the hardboiled neo-noir detective, the lethal femmefatale, the daring code cowboy slicing his way through cyberspace - the tropes have become prevalent in other works now, too. The tone of cyberpunk is one of unreserved dystopia, with a cynical veneer that exudes cool nihilism. It is a visceral reaction the tech boom of the 80's and the subsequent trend of humantechnology interfacing. I remember my first introduction to it, although I didn't realise at the time, was from the manual of a video game from the late 90's called Starsiege.

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Back then, games weren't digital releases; they came in a big box with a manual, colour printouts, art, and in the case of Starsiege, a compendium that provided backstory to the game. While Starsiege had you controlling a giant mech and played like a grittier Mechwarrior,the compendium lovingly filled in the blanks. An earth divided by megacorporations under the banner of a united Empire, the cybernetic augmentations of everyday citizens, and the meddling with technology that ultimately causes the deaths of billions. I remember poring over the pages of the book as a child, mesmerised by the cyborgs and androids plastered there.

Years later, I watched Blade Runner. My love for that film is a topic for another post. Cyberpunk film and literature became a staple of my reading diet, and I consumed voraciously. I read Gibson's catalogue back to back, sprinted through Phillip K. Dick and J. G. Ballard, and played my way through System Shock and Deus Ex. I was hooked.

The artwork was grisly and cartoonish, but very real.

anabsenceofgravitas.blogspot.com

The technolinguistic gap There was something about cyberpunk that resonated deeply with me. I was a child of the late 90's, and I had missed the golden age of CRT monitors and arcades. But I was born in time to witness the internet becoming ubiquitous, changing from a screaming dial-up modem wired into the landline and becoming a seamless, integrated wireless field that permeates every square inch of the urban world. I was lucky in that regard. This Cambrian explosion of information technology, the internet of things, Web 2.0, would all become formative experiences for me.

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Now I wonder, though, if my understanding and perspective on cyberpunk is markedly different from someone born, say, ten years after me. The gap in technology is so wide that references which we take for granted are likely lost on a younger reader. The "television tuned to a dead channel" line from Gibson's Neuromancer only makes sense if you have an understanding of how an analog television functioned, in the days before digital streaming.

While this may seem irrelevant, it does have a significant impact on the readability of the genre. It dates it, forces obsolescence on books that are only now coming into their own. This is a pity; a genre predicated on the dystopian effects of hypercapitalism is more relevant now than ever. Cyberpunk needs to evolve with the times.

Similarly, describing the screech of dial-up to a child who has only know the internet to be wireless can be an exercise in futility.

anabsenceofgravitas.blogspot.com

A new vision Cyberpunk can and should take the core of the genre and transplant it into something more recognizable to a twentyfirst century reader, something that holds a dark mirror to the world we live in. There are some brilliant entries into the genre, from Richard K Morgan's Altered Carbon (and the subsequent Netflix adaptation) to more contemporary pieces of speculative fiction like Black Mirror, that shine a light on the way we live today. Life in the finde-siecle digital space is far from simple. As our tech becomes more streamlined, portable and integrated, so too does our interaction with it become more complicated.

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The internet moved from a single point of access on an ageing family computer to a handheld device that streams 4K resolution video in seconds at the touch of a finger. The barrier between online and offline blurred.Email became instant messengers which quickly became video calls and end-to-end encrypted chat software. The old players fell away and were replaced by the social networks, as apps started to swallow each other up and become bloated abominations.Facebook was no longer something you would check once a day - it was now a constant presence, controlling your Instagram feed, connecting you via Messenger. Now, vast social networks vie for supremacy in the digital battleground, all the while pinging us and sapping our attention from anything else.

Early cyberpunk writers envisioned our connection to cyberspace as being covered in wires, spinal sockets and physical hardware interfaces. Now, the reality is different. We are all connected to a vast unknowable leviathan of data and impulse, a symbiotic relationship where we feed it our lives and receive information in return. We are addicts, craving the next hit of data shunted from the ether into the device that barely leaves our hands. Our eyes, short sighted from years of screen use, now bask in the glow of cyberspace. And in the darkness, artificial intelligence moves closer and closer to the singularity point. And I think that's worth writing about.

ǝbɐd ʇsɐ‫ ן‬ǝɥʇ uo ǝpoɔ ʇǝɹɔǝs ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ǝn‫ן‬ɔ ǝɥʇ sı ɹnoɟ ʎʇxıs

#MODEL Brana Dane: Tell me about your personal background in fashion. Suzanne Lee: I trained at Central Saint Martins in fashion alongside designers like Hussein Chalayan and Stella McCartney. I first worked as designer and then consultant for various high-end brands in London. I then went on to discover biology and that absolutely changed everything! Brana Dane: What made you decide to change directions? Suzanne Lee: It became apparent to me 15 years ago that the future of fashion would be about growing materials using biology instead of mining, farming and refining fossil fuels. I was right. Today we have labgrown diamonds, silk and leather materials.

Brana Dane: Why is sustainability personally significant to you? Suzanne Lee: Once you’ve worked in the fashion industry and see how and where things are produced and what happens to them at end of life, you can’t ‘un-see’ that. The world doesn’t need more fashion designers. It needs more creative people designing solutions. Brana Dane: What challenges have come up in the lab? Suzanne Lee: Where to begin? Rule one: Designers in labs need to develop patience that’s measured in years not weeks. Rule two: Leave your ego at the door.

PERSPECTIVE

BY Branda Dane

The fashion industry is the second-largest polluter globally. I was honored to attend the Explorers Club talk hosted by Parley on this very subject One of the speakers, Suzanne Lee, is among the few people coming up with truly innovative solutions to this escalating issue.

Suzanne Lee: Rule three: The conversation between design and science is a constant tension that doesn’t go away so find creative solutions to manage it. Brana Dane: How do you foresee overcoming the cost barrier in the future for practical production? Suzanne Lee: Biology is eminently scalable – we’ve been producing consumer products this way for millennia. The difference is that those products, such as using yeast to brew beer, have now been joined by using yeast to ferment biofabricated materials like silk and collagen (leather). The costs will inevitably be high initially, just like all desirable new technologies when they come to market. As volumes increase prices will come down, but not overnight.

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Brana Dane: What’s next? Suzanne Lee: The timeline for radical new material development is not quick. It takes years of development. Right now biofabricated materials are either in R&D or just coming to market, what’s next is their adoption and iteration upon listening to consumer feedback.

Brana Dane: How do you take your coffee? Suzanne Lee: I’m more of a teadrinker! English breakfast.

For additional information please visit BioFabricate.co

Brana Dane: How would you describe your personal style? Suzanne Lee: Mostly outside the fashion system. I have a large collection of vintage military workwear (I love utilitarian design) mixed with technical sportswear and ethnic artisanal pieces. I’m a global soul.

branadane.com

I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living. VASCO DA GAMA

BLACK

YASUKE

COMING SOON

SAMURAI

WHEN I FIRST LOOKED BACK AT THE EARTH, STANDING ON THE MOON, I CRIED. Alan Shepard talking about his time on the lunar surface during the Apollo 14 mission in February 1971.

TECHNOLOGY

The Most Profound Moment in Gaming History @MaxDerrat has posted a brief analysis video of what most people would agree is the most profound moment in gaming: the final conversation that Raiden has with the Patriot AI at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2.

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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a stealth game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 on November 13, 2001. It is the fourth Metal Gear game written and directed by Hideo Kojima, the seventh overall game in the series and is a direct sequel to the original Metal Gear Solid. It really speaks volumes to several topics in Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Ethics, and Science. But perhaps most importantly is that it presents one of the best arguments for control of the human race by AI, something most science fiction stories never even attempt to do. The YouTube video includes an interactive chart that illustrates the shift in the American public’s political values over the past two decades, using a scale of 10 questions asked together on seven Pew Research Center surveys since 1994. The share of Americans with ideologically consistent values has increased over this time. These political values also have become more strongly associated with partisanship. The game is often considered ahead of its time for dealing with themes and concepts, such as posttruth politics, fake news, alternative facts, and echo chambers, all issues we are dealing with today in 2020.

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@MaxDerrat

HUMANS CHANGE THEMSELVES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY.

ON LOCATION

BEAUTIFUL BARCELONA BY NIKKITA LAWRENCE; PHOTOS BY LEE COOPER

GET TO KNOW BARCELONA

SIGHTSEEING IN BARCELONA

Barcelona is the capital and largest city of Catalonia and Spain's second-largest city, with a population of over one and a half million people (over five million in the whole province). This city, located directly on the northeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, has a rich history, having been under Roman, then Frank law before declaring its independence.

One of the most famous and breathtaking locations to visit in Barcelona the most famous building in the entire city and its landmark, La Sagrada Familia. Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 was consecrated and proclaimed a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI.

In 1992, Barcelona gained international recognition by hosting the Olympic games that brought a massive upturn in its tourism industry. This had the effect of changing the city in ways that are still felt today with neighborhoods renovated (and in some cases leveled) and the intense.

WHEN TO VISIT

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August is probably the busiest time in Barcelona; at the same time about 10% of shops and restaurants can be found closed from mid-August to early September, when the owners go on vacations. Catalan is understood by 95% of residents. yrbmag.com

PARTY PATROL

PHOTOS BY: STELLA MAGLOIRE, CHRISTOPHER SILVA, DALLAS GONZALES AND DAVID RHODES

SCRIPT: JACK KIRBY| PENCILS: JACK KIRBY | INKS: JOE SIMON ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1957

MISINFORMATION LEADS TO LIES BEING CULTURALLY ACCEPTED AS TRUTHS.

59.0 16" N 40° 46'

16.4964" W 73° 58'

CHADWICK BOSEMAN NOVEMBER

29,

1976 –

AUGUST

28,

2020

WAKANDA FOREVER!

L E G E N D A R Y since 1999

#STAYSAFE

PLOT, PLAN, STRATEGIZE, ORGANIZE AND MOBILIZE!