I can honestly say I have never been a big fan of video work, but Danny Yount put on an amazingly professional, clean presentation that really conveyed his love for the work he does. He has an impressive show reel, and worked on some of the biggest film releases over the last year or so, like Iron Man and Rock ‘n’ Rolla.

danny yount - iron man opening sequence

What I liked about Yount’s presentation was the way he kept it fun. Showing random little snippets from the internet, or his analogy of filming a squirrel, and how he will never do it again.

Out of Yount’s work, I am most impressed by his motion typography, from the way the type in the Six Feet Under behaves like ash when the crow flies past it, to the amazing graphic style used in the Rock ‘n’ Rolla opening sequence.

Be sure to go to his personal site to check out the projects he has worked on.

For more information on Danny Yount, follow these links:

Personal site, with great video works – www.dannyyount.com

Great Q&A over at computer arts – www.computerarts.co.uk

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dean sewell - aceh

Dean Sewell opened the talk with a large portfolio of images taken in Aceh, after the tsunami in 2004. He is believed to be the first, and only international photographer to be in the region at the time, and he fly in under the pretence that he was a tsunami expert, tricking government officials to let him into the area.  It is interesting to note that Sewell shot with film instead of digital, as he believed the tragic events needed to be recorded on a quality medium, and he shot in black and white in order to draw the eye to the extreme scenes that were being represented. For him, colour would have added an overwhelming dimension, and would have distracted from the reality of the events he was capturing.

tamara dean - squatters

Tamara Dean, on the other hand, shoots a lot of scenes from everyday life, and suburbia, using friends and family as the subjects of her photos. While the images she captures are of the everyday, they are far from mundane. Extraordinarily emotions shine through, with a strong focus on femininity, family, and friends. She shared with us her Squatters body of work, entering the world of squatters living in Sydney’s inner west. Again displaying a range of technically brilliant works, perfect exposures, and emotive images.

Both Tamara and Dean have works in progress that have already spanned over a decade, with Tamara documenting the girls around her, and their journey to womanhood, and Dean attempting to catch those brief moments of amazing colour in his tricolour series based in Hillsdale, where he grew up in Sydney.

Dean Sewell is a founding member of the photographic collective Oculi, later inviting Tamara Dean to join. Both now work for Fairfax, and continue their amazing work through Oculi.

For more information on Tamara and Dean, follow these links:

Tamara and Dean have extensive portfolios at – www.oculi.com

an interesing interview with Tamara just before Semi-Permanent 09 – www.fourthousand.com.au

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moyes on the set of cut copy's going no where

Working with companies like Cadbury to create commercials that engage the viewer, and creating music videos for some of today’s most well respected artists, Moyes has really forged a name for himself as a director that loves a challenge, as well as creating something memorable.

Videos like My People, for The Presets really stand out. It was amazing to see the behind the scenes for this one. After speaking about a scene in the movie Gerry, where the actors are walking together and they keep oscillating in and out of synchronized steps, the idea developed. This is evident at the start of the video, where the band members do that same. Moyes continued to show his full working process, from storyboarding, to motion tests with old stock footage, pitching the idea to the label and the band. It was a great chance for us to see the inner workings of a music video.

While his commercial work what Moyes is best know for, some of his more subversive works mite be just as well known. A few years ago, there was a leaked Wolfmother video, which had live concert footage that had been defaced, with all sorts of imagery drawn over the top in a haphazard, amusing and almost childish way. This was part of his agreement to edit the original video. I honestly prefer the defaced version to the original, and Moyes does too.

Moyes has a curiosity in making videos that show a visual representation of the music, from My People to a video for Softlights, where the inspiration was taken from Disney’s Fantasia, Guitar Hero, and Stefan Sagmeister. It is interesting to note that Moyes reminisced about this scene from Fantasia, saying “…Ever since I was a kid I have loved this moment, and it was awesome when I got a chance to rip it off!” It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. After showing the Fantasia scene, he showed the full video, speaking over it to explain how various aspects of the stop-motion animation were created.

By the end of his talk, Moyes had really warmed up and got into it. In the past I haven’t had much interest in working with video, but after seeing the way in which these works were created, it has really sparked my interest in motion imagery.

For more information on Kris Moyes, follow these links:

Kris Moyes – www.kmoyes.com (very info skint, but great video collection)

Directors Bureau Profile – www.thedirectorsbureau.com

and an interesting interview from Alex Young – www.milieu.alexyoung.org

below are some stills from Moyes’ work, as well as my notes taken during his Semi-Permanent presentation.

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Timba Smits is an amazingly down to earth guy. When he was speaking at Semi-Permanent last week, he made everyone feel like they knew him as a friend, inviting us into his world, where he works as a graphic designer, illustrator, and one man band behind Wooden Toy magazine.  It is easy to tell from the way Timba talks about his work that he is a very passionate man, who throws himself at every project he has with enthusiasm.

wooden toy collectors edition contents page

Timba likes to work with a pencil and paper. Taking it back to basics and working with his hands has allowed his magazine, Wooden Toy, to grow and be loved, showing his hard work. Much of the title type used in the magazine are all hand drawn specifically for the article they are used. This love of typography has lead to Timba punishing himself to make each issue of Wooden Toy noticeably better than the last.

At Semi-Permanent, Sydney, Timba took us through how he puts together an issue of his magazine. The way he painstakingly lays out each page, pulling aspects of featured artwork to place around the accompanying pages in little flourishes. He stated that he may spend 15 minutes placing a small flower near the spine of a 2 page layout, even though people will barely notice, he knows that it’s there, and he loves that. The magazine, which started as a free, 86 page street style magazine has grown from 2000 issues to 5000 issues, with the latest issue, the Hand Made Edition, which features a twig and string font Timba spent about 40 hours hand drawing and colouring. The launch party for issue 6 of Wooden Toy Magazine will be held at the Gorker Gallery, in Fitzroy.

hand made edition slip cover

Gorker gallery is another aspect of Timba’s creative life. It is a gallery space he has run in conjunction with Luke Matthews, Nathan Holmes Trapnell, and Lauren Biedrzycki since June 2008. It features predominately Australian artists, in group shows, and has been home to works by artists such as Ghostpatrol, Eamo, Drewfunk, Miso, and many more. 2009 promises to be a big year for the gallery, with a great exhibition line-up.

Timba also works as a graphic designer and illustrator through The Fad Experiment. Recently having worked on illustrative portraits for The Sons of Stanhope, a photobook of Ghostpatrol and Miso’s works, and Diamondback bikes. Under The Fad Experiment, Timba has also spoken at many events and universities, such as Semi-Permanent, Shillington College, and Abu Dhabi Women’s College of Technology.

one of the sons of stanhope portraits

I have to say, after hearing Timba speak, he is definitely an inspiration. Someone who believed enough in himself and his dream to publish a magazine, and to open a gallery.

For more information on Timba Smits, here are some handy links:

Wooden Toy Magazine – www.woodentoyquarterly.com

The Fad Experiment – www.fadexperiment.com

Gorker Gallery, Fitzroy – www.gorkergallery.com

and a great interview with Timba, from Australian Edge -www.australianedge.net

below are some of Timba’s images, as well as my notes taken during his Semi-Permanent presentation.

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semipermanent logo

Well, how do you wrap up an awesome couple of days at the Semipermanent Design Conference? By going home, cooking some dimsims and writing about it! yay!

First up, the announcments!

semipermanent WILL be in melbourne this year, oct 16 and 17, and i was the second person to get tickets! there will be 12 new speakers, but no announcements as to who they will be yet.

here is what the sydney sp09 program says:

For years now the lovely people of Melbourne have been pleading with us to host a Semi-Permanent even in their sexy city. We finally cracked and are pleased to announce the Semi-Permanent 2009 Melbourne event.

We’ll see you down there

Melbourne Semi-Permanent 2009 – 16 & 17 October 2009

melbourne convention and exhibition centre (southbank, melbourne)

speakers TBC (12 different speakers to sydney event)

so there you have it, i havent seen anything on the net about this yet, so i consider this to be an if forever exists exclusive!!! nothing is even on the semipermanent site as yet, but i would be staying tuned to get tickets before they sell out, cos if you guys wanted it that bad down there, its sure to sell out! (plus, you wanna sit next to me dont you? considering i already have tickets)

so thats the exciting announcement! now i just want to tell you, that starting monday we are going to be having profiles on each of the 13 people who spoke at this years sydney semipermanent, featuring works, information and exclusive parts of their presentations. as a bonus, i will include a scan of my raw notes for each presenter, so you can extract your own information if you want. that’s 13 amazingly talented people to be profiled over the coming weeks.

the lineup is as follows:

1. Timba Smits, of wooden toy magazine
2. Kris Moyes, film production
3. Ian Francins, mixed media artist
4. Tamara Dean, photographer
5. Dean Sewell, photographer
6. Danny Yount, film production/direction
7. Droga 5 (Ben Nott), creative advertising agency
8. XYZ Studios (Tim Kentley), animation studio
9. Kate Gibb, screenprinter/illustrator
10. Wired Magazine (Scott Dadich), technology/innovation publication
11. Daniela Federici, photographer
12. Ron English, billboard liberator
13. Digital Domain (Vernon Wilbert), digital production

it’s a massive lineup of some of the most creative people in the business, all of the wowed me at the event, and i hope they inspire you as well! This starts on monday!

I would like to take this opportunity to say thankyouthankyouthankyou to the event organisers – Andrew Johnstone and Murray Bell! without you guys, this wouldnt have happened! keep up the awesome work, and see you at the melbourne show!

dont forget, subscribe to the right to stay up to date with all the awesome on if forever exists.

and dont forget to check the semipermanent website for info on the brisbane, perth and auckland shows, as well as the freshly announced melbourne show!

www.semipermanent.com

peace

qwux

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Andrei Molodkin has been a favourite of mine for a long long time. He has recently opened a new show at the Daneyal Mahmood Gallery, titled “Oil Evolution” which features his trademark acrylic negative space scultpures, filled with crude oil. Andrei’s works are often controversial, and over the last couple of years this has created a lot of hype around his works. This has led to several collaborations with skate staple Supreme, and snowboard industry leader, Burton. I wrote a paper on Molodkin mid last year, and i have included it after the break if you are interested in more of his works.. I have not inluded the images from the paper, but they are all available on his profiles.

for more Molodkin – www.daneyalmahmood.com

also, i am going to the curvy opening at mori gallery tomorrow night, so i will post about that when i get home, but follow my twitter if you want the sneak preview.. and then friday is SEMIPERMANENT, and i am super excited!!!! yay!

peace

qwux

dont forget, click “read the rest of this entry” to read my paper on andrei.

Andrei Molodkin makes use of very little colour in his work.  Having grown up in the remote Russian town of Boul, the tones of his childhood have obviously carried through into his art making practice. Using colour schemes that are reminiscent of the sparse, snow covered landscape dotted by derelict buildings and Soviet missile silos to give his work an edge that could only be forged in the Russian interior. Throughout his youth, Molodkin studied at various art institutes before having to serve his mandatory stint in the military.  Marching along the frozen roads of Russia, his artistic tendencies never waned, saving up his ration of 2 biros per month , and hoarding his comrades unused ball pens to create his art. It was also during his time in the military that Molodkin realised the value of oil, acquiring a barrel from the roadside and then bartering with locals for more useful items that were not part of military rations.
After his 2 years of service, Molodkin returned to his studies at the Stroganov Art Academy, Moscow. While studying, he took first place in and architecture competition held by the city of St Petersburg. This architectural background can still be seen through his works today, with plan lines and meticulous attention to detail always being a unifying symbol of Molodkin’s practice.  He uses ball pens, crude oil, photography and highly symbolic imagery that allow audiences to absorb the strong political messages in his works at a glance, often including religious icons to heighten the impact of his pieces.
In 2002, Andrei Molodkin was catapulted into the global art stage, with one of his most iconic works. Simply titled Sex, the work features the recurring motif of an anatomically correct skull often used to replace the symbol of a love heart, which has also been used in many of Molodkin’s similar designs, like I Love NY and I Love God.  While the motif of the skull is common in the work of Molodkin, it is always redone by hand, and the detail is absolutely breath taking.

At over 2 meters tall, and nearly 6 meters wide, Sex really does command your attention. Stark white lettering contrasted by a deep blue scribble created by labouring with thousands of ball pens expound the works meaning with an infinite amount of clarity from across the room.  It is not until you are close enough to the work to see each individual stroke of the pen that the audience can see the extreme dedication to the actual art making practice that Molodkin uses to create each of his biro works. Literally translating to I love Sex, the theme of the work is shown in both the message and method of the work.  Molodkin has likened “his obsessive, large scale scribbling process to both meditating and masturbating.”

By using the notion of sex, one of the most primal human urges, the artist questions the wants and needs of humanity. Is it just he who likes sex, or is it everyone. Contrasting sex, a beautiful, natural act with the harsh reality of the skull, Molodkin also explores the notion of things we lust over, and how any intense feelings can ultimately end badly. This is demonstrated with the skull and crossbones, the age-old symbol of death and destruction, being used as a replacement for a love heart. Couple the simple imagery, bold text and high contrast nature of the work with the immense size of Sex, and it is easy to see just how strong the impact of the work is, and how clear Molodkin has been able to convey his message to the viewers.

In 2004, Molodkin took a backwards step in his art making practice. Not in the literal sense, as his works had stronger meanings and were obviously backed up by His choice of medium.  As Molodkin explained in an interview with Danny Way, “In the past, I used to waste a hundred ball-pens to draw one skull. But lately I’ve switched to a different medium – one hundred skulls of dinosaurs which had been converted into oil…”  This is in reference to the artists 2004 exhibits, featuring acrylic sculptures filled to various levels with crude oil.  The subjects of these sculptures include religious icons, symbols of currency, the Whitehouse and various body parts.

Iraqi Crude Oil in the form of Jesus, from 2004, was one of Molodkin’s more controversial works in this style. Using waste crude oil from multinational company pipelines to fill a clear acrylic sculpture of Christianity’s most recognized figure exemplifies the feelings of the artist.  The fact that the oil used is waste oil from large companies pipelines is a strong statement in itself.  In an age where the major world currency is oil, Molodkin managed to find what is referred to as waste oil, and use it in an artwork.  If there is really such high demand for fossil fuels, and the increasing value associated with them, one would think that even the largest of companies would be attempting to minimize the waste of such valuable commodities.

Using clear acrylic not only led to the artwork being a visually stunning piece, and something we have rarely seen in the contemporary art world, but it also added a dimension to the artwork that would not have been possible with another medium.  By tainting the purity of the clear acrylic, with its glasslike properties, the artist was able to share His thoughts of the way the oil trade and subsequent violence has tainted even the most pure parts of the world.  What could be seen as the home of Christianity is directly adjacent a country that has seen so much blood spilt over oil.  Molodkin also uses an inverted bus of Jesus in the world, further demonstrating the shift in today’s ideology, where oil is the new religion. It has become something that is worshipped, as Molodkin found with its high trading value during his military service.

One of the most controversial works Molodkin has done today is a simple, almost unfinished pen drawing, entitled God is Great.  In the work we see and Iraqi and an American soldier embracing and kissing passionately, eyes closed as lovers would kiss.  Both soldiers are shown in full uniform, with heavy weapons. Under the embrace is the text “GOD IS GREAT” in both English and Arabic script.  The meaning of this work is amazingly simple and clear, while the subject matter is filled with societal confrontation and lifestyle issues.

Basically, God is Great is Molodkin’s protest to the war on terror. By showing two sworn enemies embracing in such a way invokes a feeling of empathy for servicemen and women, something the artist can personally relate to.   He poses the question,  “What if we could all just get along?” something that has been raised time and time again throughout major conflicts in human history.  In most of his work, Molodkin uses text to directly convey his meaning, it is succinct and to the point. Here, the artist uses the text as an acclamation that God is great. This is even more interesting as the God he is referring to is non-denominational, and as the text is written in both the languages of the subject in the work, it raises the notion of no single god being greater then the other, demonstrating that all gods can be great, to those who follow them.  This self referential text again states that we should all be able to get alone.

Molodkin has taken a while to come into the public eye, but it is popular culture who have taken his artworks with the most vigour, having worked for Supreme skateboards in New York, Burton Snowboards in both America and Japan, and lots of popular contemporary media interviews and coverage, we are set to see a lot more from this 42 year old Russian expatriate, who now resides in London, Paris, or New York depending on the season.

Bibliography
Tupitsyn, M and Victor Tupitsyn. Andrei Molodkin, “Cold War”. Zurich: Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, 2007.

This text was one of the best insights into the life and times of the artist. It is an interview between Molodkin and the authors, and has been set out in an informal conversational style, which provides an amazing channel into the motivations of the artist.  By documenting a vast array of thoughts the artist has had about his work, and life, this text was the best starting point when putting together my essay.

Way, Danny. 2006. “Andrei Molodkin”. Monster Children Issue 13 (2006): 63-68.

Monster Children magazine published the article written by Danny Way, and unlike the first text was an interview that had been turned into an expose on the artist. Covering his work, his exhibitions and his thoughts in relation to the modern world. I found this text particularly useful as it contained a lot of images of the artists work in amazing detail, so I could gather a greater understanding of exhibited work. The informal writing style of Danny Way also made it extremely easy to comprehend the main focus of the article.
Hildebrand, K.  Artists Represented – Andrei Molodkin (2006) http://www.kashyahildebrand.org/newyork/molodkin/index.html  (accessed May 30, 2008)
The Kashya Hildebrand website contained a great deal of information about the artist, including a timeline, biography, and many images of the artists exhibited work. This website served as the main portal for my information and images, with a vast catalogue and links, including excerpts from books, interviews and discussions. It was particularly useful for the images available, with full annotation available for each.
Orel Art. Andrei Molodkin – Biography, OREL ART (2008) http://www.orelart.com/artiste-biographie.php?lang=en&id_art=25 (accessed May 26, 2008)

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Shin X Scion X Giant Robot

Shin Tanaka is an amazing artist. I have been a fan for quite some time, and i finally decided to email, asking if he would do an interview for the site. unfortunately he is a super busy guy, but he obliged by sending me a short profile! props to him, the amount of collaborations and corporate work he has been doing of late, combined with the plethora of personal projects he has been working on, i am stoked i got a reply from the email at all!

here it is, straight from magical, papercrafting fingers of Shin:

OK, you can post some of my images.
but I’m very busy, I won’t have a time to answer the interview.
I appreciate your understanding.

follow is my info, hope it will help you.

SHIN TANAKA was just a graffiti artist.
He had been looking for an interesting canvas instead of a street-wall.
One day, he hit upon an idea to draw graffiti on a toy.
But he didn’t have a good toy for it, then he made a toy from a paper as his
new canvas.
His works have two elements; ORIGAMI and STREET CULTURE.
His ORIGAMI experiences helped it when he was young.
And when he is designing, mega volume HIPHOP music is playing.
His inspiration is the beats and rhyming flow.
Because his paper toys are based on a street culture,
many artists and brands are interested in them.
Before now, over 500 artists and brands join in his paper toy project.
His paper toys have been growing with involving pop art, graffiti art,
street fashion and more.

Apr. 2005 – Paper sneakers were released
Aug. 2005 – Paper sneakers in NIKE Design Library (Portland, Oregon, US)
Sep. 2005 – Paper figure “T-BOY” was released
Oct. 2005 – Paper sneaker “BASQUIAT” (RBK/dpmih)
Feb. 2006 – T-BOY SHOW in Portland, Oregon
Feb. 2006 – Paper figure “SPIKY” was released
Feb. 2006 – Paper sneaker “Ventilator” (REEBOK) for NY FASHION WEEK
Feb. 2006 – Toy customize for nanospore in NYC
Mar. 2006 – adicolor customize for adidas taiwan
Apr. 2006 – Compound concoction in Guestroom gallery
Jul. 2006 – Toy custom for SUG SHOW (UNKLBRANDS)
Aug. 2006 – The WALLMAN custom show in Hawaii
Sep. 2006 – PAPER TOY EXHIBITION: KAMI ZOO in Berlin
Mar. 2007 – INKTHIS 2 in UK
Aug. 2007 – ROCK PAPER SNEAKERS -the paper art exhibition of SHIN TANAKA in association with NIKE-
Feb. 2008 – PAPER TOY LIVE in KENNEDY CENTER -HYPE CULTURE JAPAN-
Jan. 2009 – SYLVAN -hoophy and SPIKY BABY show- in Issey Miyake Paris, France

Thanks,

so there you go, it all started with this papershoes. the paper models of his favourite Nike trainers obviously struck a chord with the company, having collaborated with Shin on numerous occasions.

currently, you (yes, you) are invited to collab with Shin Tanaka on his Boxy papertoy. to get the template, you just have to go to his site, and send him an email, saying that you want to make a design for boxy! (below)

Boxy

so go on, head to his site, and just take a look at the amazing amount of awesomeness this guy has been pumping out!

Shin Tanaka’s Homepage – www.shin.co.nr

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