What the what? Way To War, that’s what! Kirin J. Callinan is hands down the best thing to hit my inbox this month. Coming to you from Australia via our friends Terrible Records in the U.S. (and Siberia Records in Australia), it’s great to know what really happened to Paul Pfeiffer from The Wonder Years (just kidding). Launching – and I do mean launching – with this video directed by Kris Moyes and a 7 inch featuring an extended version of the song, of I personally am going to take the day off to publicly twitch like a gif in a speedo out of thanks. Someone loan me their kid? Watch for tour info and release dates on the Terrible website and hold your cats close.
She’s Ready To Dance When The Vamp Up, And When She Hit That Dip Get Your Camera
Azealia Banks is everywhere. Did you see that shoot that’s in Dossier? Did you hear that new track, Jumanji? In the spirit of summer and excess and hype, here are some outtakes from our shoot with Michael Flores of the young Rapunzel taking off a pair of sunglasses. Don’t be a Kool Aid dude, one-two.
Shirt: Fred Perry
Skirt: Jac Langheim
Sunglasses: Jeremy Scott
Necklace: Bing Bang by Anna Sheffield
Lingerie: The Lake and Stars
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In Conversation With Jacopo Benassi and Kubiat Nnamdie
On May 4, a series of books by the Italian photographer Jacopo Benassi were showcased at The Milan Image Art Fair. Among the featured work were the set of photos, The Ecology of Image, and two collaborative works with Kubiat Nnamdie and Pete Voelker titled LaSpezia is Not Miami/ Miami is not LaSpezia and LaSpezia is not New York/ New York is not LaSpezia.
Though he might be relatively unknown outside his home country, this was not Benassi’s first large-scale acknowledgment. The self-publisher of his own books, Benassi’s works seem to emerge from some place raw and pulpy, still pulsing and bloody, often literally: a girl covers herself in layers of meat, pigs roll in mud, Benassi is naked save for a well-placed mini-coffin, fingers are bloodied, beautiful flowers are so enormous and pink they look like grotesque body parts. Photographers themselves, like Olivier Zahm and Terry Richardson, are some of his most illustrative subjects; it’s a testament to Benassi’s spirit that two purveyors of salacity become subdued in front of his lens. Benassi is good at exposing the lurid, better at vulnerably revealing himself.
LaSpezia is not Miami/ Miami is not LaSpeziais Benassi’s first proper collaborative effort. One side of the small, zine-like book is his, the other side is Nnamdie’s. While Nnamdie’s work displays a certain nuanced distance, it is all distilled with the same gritty quality as Benassi’s. Nnamdie is more the voyeur of his scenes, less the maker.
Jacopo Benassi: This project arose from an idea I had with my friend, Warbear, for a gay film festival. He invented the name “La Spezia is not Los Angeles.” Fantastic! This festival has not yet been done, and I asked him permission to use the slogan for my zines. This work’s concept is based on a “split,” with the same mood of old punk bands who recorded tapes and discs with an A side of one band and a B side of another. My idea is the same, but with photos. Read More
Maryam Nassir Zadeh
This Thursday, May 17, come view video art by the shape-shifting ladies of Symbols + Rituals, listen to music by 51717, and stare wistfully at all the beautiful objects and clothes at Maryam Nassir Zadeh. The event will be at the store at 123 Norfolk St., NYC, from 8 – 11 pm, with a live musical performance at 9:30.
Watermelon Mouse
Watermelon Mouse was created by Oliver Clark and is a product of his complex, insightful, inspired brain. Tune in regularly for more installments.
American Beauty
Up this month at LAX/ART is a group show combining two non profit art spaces, New York’s Participant Inc. and Los Angeles’s LAX/ART. Curated by Participant’s Lia Gangitano, the show thoughtfully exhibits the work of artist Laura Parnes with the duo Lovett/Codagnone. Parnes’ video installation, titled County Down, takes from the aesthetics of traditional horror movies to tell the story of two young girls in a gated suburban community who trigger an epidemic of psychosis among the adults through the invention of a designer drug with potentially apocalyptic side effects. The video is episodic and highly reminiscent of both the optimism and style of the early 1990′s. In addition to the video, on display are photos and other arranged objects, such as like-size cardboard cut outs of the characters that directly relate to the narrative. County Down presents a strong critique on American consumerism as a means of destruction. The other half of the exhibit, featuring the artists John Lovett and Alessandro Codagnone, who have worked together under the name Lovett/Codagnone for many years, present Make Anarchy and Disorder Your Trademarks carefully twisting the known associations with understood symbols of power, revolution and protest. For example, two Mega Horns are joined together with leather straps and hung from the ceiling, creating an unique perspective on noise and power. There is also the ever classic anarchy symbol – an encircled A – which has been made into a large black and grey quilt, softening and domesticating and possibly changing the typical message the symbolism conveys. In addition, outside of the gallery a large, mostly blank billboard bears the image of a falling black and white American flag being supported by a crane. This subtle play on strong cultural signifiers elicits an interesting personal response, especially when contrasted with the work of Laura Parnes. This collaboration between the two non-profit galleries highlights the important role that these organizations play on each coast, offering an alternative viewpoint prominently supporting experimentation and innovation.
Participant Inc is up at LAX/ART runs through May 19 at 2640 S. La Cienega, Los Angeles. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am – 6pm.
Top image: Lovett/Codagnone. Bottom image: Laura Parnes. Images courtesy of LAX/ART.
A Look at Frieze New York
London’s perennially popular Frieze Art Fair descended on New York City for the first time last week with a roar, bringing with it Frieze’s famous custom-designed tent (this iteration designed by Brooklyn-based SO-IL), and unique programming around the fair’s temporary home on Randall’s Island. The Frieze Art Fair, organized by the inimitable duo Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, has for the past 11 years been exclusively a London affair—fortunately for New Yorkers and other art lovers, the Frieze empire’s expansion across the pond promises to be a positive influence on the New York art world by invigorating the gallery scene and applying some needed pressure on the staid Armory Show to step up its game.
Above left: Ben Schmacher at Bortolami. Courtesy of Bortolami Gallery. Right: Paulina Olowska at Galeria Foksa. Photograph by Pip Deely.
Justin Matherly. “Every body moves, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly (Dedicate to everyone).” Courtesy of Bureau.
Mint&Serf and the PPP Portraits
Our recently debuted issue features interviews with members of the New York graffiti collective the Peter Pan Posse, lead by Mint (a.k.a. Mikhail Sokovikov) and Serf (a.k.a. Jason Aaron Wall), along with a group photo by Michael Avedon. Get a preview by perusing Michael’s individual portraits above and below, then order the issue here.
Above: Mikhail Sokovikov. All images by Michael Avedon.
Left: Jacuzzi Chis (a.k.a Same). Right: PJ Monte
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