WHO_Me (Suz). Again.

WHAT_Art date with Gracie

WHEN_August 2010

WHERE_Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveilance and the Camera, Tate Modern

WHY_I’ve been interested in how the camera and photography has maniupulated our concept of reality for a long time. Susan Sontag’s ‘On Photography’ & ‘Regarding the pain of others’ as well as  Roland Barthes ‘Camera Lucida’ definitley educated and incuraged my curiosity for the subject.

Privacy  and Publicity / Reality and Fantasy

Being bombarded with a vast array of voyeuristic imagery turned my thoughts to just have little power we have over what we see and what information we digest. Voyeuristic sensibilities are ingrained in our society. A deterrent to actually live your live. An escape from reality with no creative gain. The ‘Celebrity & the Public Gaze’ room expresses that the “notion of celebrity as we know it today is inseparable from the invention of photography”. Feeling familiar with celebrities due to the influx of imagery in our everyday life, despite never meeting them in person. I can’t bare gossip magazines filled with such imagery but I’m most definitely partial to looking at photographs of glamorous couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (featured in the show). I’m always more interested in looking at the past.

In the ‘Voyeurism & Desire’ room there are a selection of photographs with couples kissing. I can’t tell you why i like them, but i really do. It isn’t a sexual thing, and funnily enough in reality if I see people kissing too much it makes me want to scream ‘get a fucking room’ at them. Despite the invasive element, when embodied in a well composed photograph it expresses a genuine closeness that everyone desires. That just shows the power of photography. Something I genuinely dislike in reality is captured in photography and translated to be viewed as beautiful. Or maybe I like them because I don’t kiss half as much as I should…

Highlights of the show: Merry Alpern’s ‘Dirty Windows’ secretly taken photographs through an air shaft of a brothel near Wall Street, NYC. A collection of Sophie Calle’s work including a text image piece of when she hired a unknowing private investigator to follow her and take pictures of her movements. A photograph with text by an unknown photographer entitled ‘Bank Bandit Exits after Haul’ I laughed for a while, it’s worth going to the show just to see that.

Lee Friedlander ‘New York City’ 1966

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WHO_Me (Suz)

WHAT_Seeking inspiration in all the right places

WHEN_August 2010

WHERE_The Surreal House at the Barbican

WHY_I’m currently working on three briefs. They focus on different aspects of my thinking, all of which explore the seductive and ephemeral nature of modern existence through the themes of love, loss, death and desire. I needed inspiration, so I found some.

‘Art imagines the house, film ‘performs the house and architecture builds the house.’

The Surreal house was full of film, art, sculpture and architectural references. The more I learn about Surrealism and it’s influence/influences it becomes more relevant to my artistic interests. It highlights the importance of the house to surrealism and explores the relevance of surrealism to architecture. A piece of writing in the show about Surrealist Godfather Andre Brenton’s home in France describes it as the ‘..archetypal surrealist home and the embodiment of surrealism’s longing for marvellous encounters between people, things, images and environments…’. Marvellous encounters are what I live for.

Highlights of the exhibition – Avant-garde film entitled ‘Steamboat Bill JR’ (1928) directed, starred and produced by Buster Keaton. A WHOLE section dedicated to Joseph Cornell including a couple of his magnificent box constructions and a collection of his ephemera. A equally disturbing and beautiful film ‘Jabberwocky’ (1971) which was written and directed by Jan Švankmajer, the film is loosely based on the poem ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll.

Claude Cahun ’self portrait (in wardrobe)’ c.1928

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WHO_Millie Brown X SHOWstudio

WHAT_The canvas is from Millie’s performance ‘Nexus Vomitus’, the original piece also carries the same title

WHEN_July 2010

WHERE_Go HERE to pur-chase

WHY_ This one-off canvas will be an investment. You’ll thank me in 10years time when the value has atleast tripled. Plus when do you get to have a piece of the artist within the art work?

WHO_Millie Brown

WHAT_A live online performance at showstudio produced by Nick Knight and Ruth Hogben

WHEN_Friday 30th July, 11.30am BST

WHERE_http://showstudio.com/project/livestudio/session/millie_brown

WHY_Millie’s piece will be exploring the powerful relationship between music and performance art. Her rainbow vomit accompanied by live opera will no doubt create an obscure piece of work.

WHO_Mister Batlow and Jennifer Crouch

WHAT_The Red Bull Canvas Cooler

WHEN_July 2010

WHERE_Red Bull HQ

WHY_Red Bull asked us to give some artists and we gave them Jennifer Crouch and Mister Batlow. They were asked to customise a canvas covered Red Bull fridge for their Canvas Cooler project. Other artists that took part included our lovely studio buddy Alfa, Discotek, Insa, Inkie, Dave White and Eine, to name a few. To see the full story with more images go HERE. They also kindly threw a lovely shindig afterwards. Big thanks to Gabriella.

Images taken from the Red Bull Website.

WHO_Nina Manandhar

WHAT_A solo exhibition showcasing a selection of her reportage photography

WHEN_August 2nd – 30th

WHERE_Exposure Gallery, 22-23 Little Portland Street, London

WHY_Photography has a big place in my heart. Especially documentary photography. Nina ‘explores contemporary British youth culture and the notion of engaging with it as opposed to taking from it’, a way of working that I admire. The show is produced by THE FIRM so expect only great things.

WHO_Dels

WHAT_His incredible video for forthcoming single ‘Shapeshift’ featuring Joe Goddard from Hot Chip. The video was produced in collaboration with US Design Studio, who we LOVE.

WHEN_It’s up now on the World Wide Web.

WHERE_Go watch it on Dazed Digital right HEREEEEEEE

WHY_Dels is one of the most talented artists I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. From music to visual art his style and approach is one of a kind. Dels just signed to Big Dada, expect only success from this talented young man. Over It & Co will collaborating with Dels later on this summer. Keep yo peepers peeled innit thooooooooo

Stills from ‘Shapeshift’

WHO_Deth Kills (death spelt like meth)

WHAT_Art collective from L.A

WHEN_I found out about ‘em from my dear friend Skinny last night and proceeded to roll to their art jam in culver city later that evening…

WHERE_Culver City, CA

WHY_I trust Skinny’s opinion on everything, I was like, totally into their work, see for yourself right here

WHO_Hell’O Monsters

WHAT_Art collective from Brussels

WHEN_Like now…

WHERE_Right here

WHY_Firstly their name is dope. Secondly their drawings are beautifully executed and have created characters in fantasy worlds with a consistent stylised quality. Thirdly as well as working on paper, they let their self-created world explore city walls, exhibition spaces and transform into sculpture. Fourthly… Is that even a word? Whatevs, If i need to give you a fourth reason you’re clearly the wrong audience…

Buy their Toykyo Studio produced amazing image and text (courtesy of Sebastien Vanden Berghe) book called ‘The Carnival of the Charlatans’ here well worth 22,50 €

WHO_Clare Pestaille

WHAT_A collage of Milada Mladova

WHEN_1939

WHERE_New York

WHY_It features in an upcoming show entitled ‘Reality’ at the Paul Stolper Gallery, London. I think it is incredibly beautiful.