The Diffracted Symphony: SΓ©bastien LΓ©on's Pioneertown Sound Sculpture Is A Funereal Mass For The Biological State Of The World
In 2017, the founders of Case Gallery ventured through Pioneertown and purchased a few hundred acres of expansive desert land with breathtaking views of the bouldered hillside and mountain ranges where they planned to create an oasis for artists to display their works of art. The first artist to contribute in initiating this vision is SΓ©bastien LΓ©on. His sculpture The Diffracted Symphony, inspired by the rib cage of a whale washed ashore, was originally conceived as a sound sculpture playing an altered version of Verdi's Requiem, turned into a funeral mass for the biological state of the world. LΓ©on pleads for us to recognize that the challenge of our time is for humanity to understand its power for both destruction and preservation, and our urgent need to act as the caretakers of the Earth's balance.
Commissioned by Nancy A. Nasher & David J Heamisegger Family, with the Dallas Symphony
Contributors: Stephen Dewey (Sound Design and Composition), Jason Francesco Heath, Ph.D. (Composition), Fife Metal Works (Fabrication)
Watch The Premiere Of "The Performance" By Avery Wheless
shot & directed by Avery Wheless
art direction & styling by Kari Fry
choreography & movement by Cami Γrboles
music "I Left My Juul in Monterey" by Niia Bertino
clothing by SUBSURFACE
What does it mean to be a performer? The Performance explores the connection between fabric and figure, self and body, perception and performance. As humans, we are always in a kinetic state; always moving, shapeshifting, and grappling with the impermanence of the human experience. To be human is to be the sculpture and the sculptorβwe are being passed around to, for, and from each other, molding and being molded along the way. This piece is an embodiment of these sentiments through an intentional synthesis of garment, body, movement, and form. It represents a return to selfβa self that embraces the beauty in evolving, sculpting, and shedding. We are forever performers on our own stage.
Fracked Or Friction: Lifes At Hammer Museum Mines The Interdisciplinary For A Ground Breaking Exhibition
Sit on it, wait for it, smell it, touch it, let it wash over you. Lifes, the bravely radical and experimental exhibition at The Hammer Museum, is a choose-your-own-adventure-style viewing experience, an astral projection of interdisciplinarity, that challenges what it means to see, feel, and hear an art exhibition. Writing about Lifes is like explaining a chasing dream to a paranoid schizophrenic, or a Chia Pet to a ficus, or a controlled burn to a fire. Conceived as a durational sequence that unfolds over time, artists and collaborators will respond to a series of commissioned philosophical and theoretical texts that question the rights of agency, the incompatibility between physical bodies, and how the aesthetic experience triggers our senses. Upon entering the exhibition, a set of βaura burnersβ by Jules Gimbrone and Micah Silver [(Energy Character (Micah) and Energy Character (Jules)] are metallic and metaphysical neuralizers that cleanse your chi. Further inside, Charles Gainesβ Falling Rock (2000) drops a 65-pound piece of granite every ten minutes onto a fresh pane of glass, a clash between the mechanics of time and the abstractness of violence. And ominously wrapping around the galleries is Morag Keilβs Vomit Vortex, a mysterious pneumatic tube system that traverses a canister of fake vomit, a statement on the banality of the nausea of our contemporary existence. Perhaps the most visually obvious work in the space is Nina Beier and Bob Kilβs All Fours, a suite of nine statuesque lionsβtypically seen at the entryways of buildingsβwhich come to life in the form of a performance where dancers ride the carnivoresβ muscular bodies for ten minutes each hour, a response to a series of scripts by Asher Hartman. There is also Cooper Jacobyβs How do I survive? (a mouthful of old firsthand), a bench outfitted with an AI-scripted thermostatβlike a Magic 8-Ball, it answers the age-old question: βhow do I survive.β The answers change based on fluctuations in heat and humidity, a polygraph for the existentially curious. The bench is also treated with heat-sensitive, liquid crystal pigment paint that registers the thermal impression of the sitter. Another poignant work is Fahim Amir, Elke Auer, and Nima Nourizadehβs AFGHANISTAN MON AMOUR (ENQUELAB ULTRAMARINE), a video work starring Aubrey Plaza that is dedicated to the people of Afghanistan who have resisted imperialist expansion for centuries. And there is legendary German conceptual artist Rosemarie Trockelβs Parade (1993), where a corps of silkworms parade and dance to a composition of music by Kurt Hoffmann, creating an abstracted pattern that is analogous to the exhibition as a whole and itβs ability to let its individual parts speak for the brilliant and beautiful βcuratorial assemblageβ that is Lifes. Click here to find out more about the exhibition and find a full map/list of artists and works. photos :Lifes, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, February 16βMay 8, 2022. Photo: Joshua White / JWPictures.com.
Embodied Resonance: Read Our Interview Of Pop Sensation Mandy Harris Williams →
Mandy Harris Williams is a renaissance woman working across more media than one could reasonably hyphenate. On social media, in her monthly #brownupyourfeed radio hour on NTS, and with her myriad published essays, she challenges us to consider critical theories on race, gender, sexuality, and above all, privilege. She dares us to meet the most divisive aspects of our charged political culture with a caring ethic that prioritizes those most deprived of our love and compassion. Offline, her DJ sets are like a blast of Naloxone to the automatic nervous system with the power to reanimate the rhythm in even the shyest of wallflowers. After studying the history of the African diaspora at Harvard and receiving a masters of urban education at Loyola Marymount, Harris spent seven years as an educator in low-income communities. From there, she expanded her educational modalities to include a conceptual art practice, musical production informed by years of vocal training, and a lecture format of her own dialectic design. These βedutainmentβ experiences are one part college seminar, one part church sermon, and one part late-night talk show with a heavy dose of consensual roasting. Itβs a Friarβs Club for an intellectual, intersectional, and internet-savvy generation. These performances draw us in with their vibey bass lines and hooks before they throw us under the quietly segregated bus that weβre still struggling to rectify. Mandy and I sat by the fire one lovely winter night in Los Angeles to talk about the contours of fascism, algorithmic injustice, her latest film for the Centre dβArt Contemporain GenΓ¨ve, and her upcoming residency at MoMa PS1.Read more.
Preorder Our Spring Summer 2022 Body Issue Featuring Three Covers →
Click here to purchase.
Goodbye Playboy: Finnish Photographer Iiu Susiraja Talks About Bullying Herself With The Camera →
Iiu Susiraja isnβt simply challenging the modus operandi of how we understand and perceive beauty. The photographer, born near Turku, Finland, is a private performance artist, a secret exhibitionist using her body as a versatile dress form to experiment with everyday props, like ladles, vases, plungers and other flotsam of the mundane. In one image, Susiraja lays in bed with a whole raw chicken resting on a silver platter, creating a sort of quotidian surreality. Ghebaly Gallery presented the artistβs first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, which included her strange autoerotic still lifes and video work. The following interview was published in our Fall Winter 2018 issue, featuring a selection of the artistβs diffident self-portraits. Read more
Watch Abraham Cruzvillegas Recite Tres Sonetos By Concha Urquiza @ Regen Projects In Los Angeles
Over the past decade, Abraham Cruzvillegas has explored the myriad ways to represent his life experiences in physical form. His humorous but incisive takes on identity often employ animal avatars to draw out similarities between humans and other species, particularly primates.
At the opening reception for Cruzvillegasβs third solo presentation at Regen Projects, the artist gave a rhythmic reading of three poems by Mexican poet Concha Urquiza. Standing upon sculptural elements from the show that function as performance platform and gallery seating, Cruzvillegas introduced a new series of drawings and paintings produced on-site during the installation of the exhibition.
In this new series of drawings, the artistβs own photographic likeness serves as the basis for such investigations. Thin textiles printed with images of his face act as canvases that the artist embellishes with designs rendered in bold colors. Employing a similar formal language, the artist presents a group of large-scale calligraphic paintings. Composed flat on the gallery floor, he uses a mop or broom to apply paint, tools chosen as a gentle nod to the workers who employ them, in loose, expressive gestures that serve as records of their performative nature. They translate the rhythms and tones of the Urquizaβs poems with precision and grace.
Abraham Cruzvillegas: Tres Sonetos is on view through April 23 @ Regen Projects 6750 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles
Read Exile On Main Street: An Interview Of Ai Weiwei From Our F/W 2018 Issue →
One week before this interview, Ai Weiweiβs studio in Beijing was bulldozed by Chinese authorities without any warning. Known for his brazen acts of dissent, Ai has not only challenged authoritarianism in China β the revolutionary polymath has also been extremely vocal about the worldwide refugee crisis. In a constant limbo state of exile, Ai has been living and working in Germany since getting his passport back in 2015. This fall, he will be taking over Los Angeles with three major exhibitions that he sees as one singular expression. At UTA Artist Spaceβwhich is housed in a 4,000-square-foot former diamond-tooling facility conceived and designed by Aiβthe artist will be showing a series of sculptural works made from marble, including his iconic CCTV camera on a plinth, a Damoclean symbol of our post-capitalist era of state-sponsored surveillance. Central to the exhibition will be Humanity, a performative work and social media campaign that encourages visitors to the gallery to read a passage from Aiβs recent book on the refugee crisisβthe footage will be compiled in a 30-minute video. On view until March 2019 at Marciano Art Foundation, Life Cycle will also explore the crisis of global displaced persons by drawing on the artistβs personal experiences and Chinese mythology. The show will include his famous work, Sunflower Seeds, which is comprised of over 49 tons of porcelain sunflower seeds carved and crafted by 1,600 artisans in Jingdezhen, in Chinaβs Jiangxi province. Finally, at Jeffrey Deitchβs new Hollywood Gallery, Ai will present his installation of over 6,000 salvaged wooden stools from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which were gathered from villages across Northern China, thus serving as quotidian ciphers of cultural erasure and human existence. Read more.
βAny government, not only the Chinese government, is afraid of true individuality. True individuality is at odds with collective thinking.β
Watch The Premiere Of "Suffer" By Patriarchy With Photographs By TorbjΓΈrn RΓΈdland
Los Angelesβs most prolific vamp is at it again with a new music video from her band Patriarchyβs track βSufferβ starring the bandβs front-middle-and-back woman Actually Huizenga, AJ English, and Shane McKenzie, with cinematography by Michael Romero-de Leon. βSufferβ is the second single from the upcoming album The Unself, slated for release in June through the label Dero Arcade. You can stream and download the track on Bandcamp. Norwegian photographer TorbjΓΈrn RΓΈdland photographed Huizenga and English in dialogue with the video. The result is published here exclusively. See his forthcoming solo exhibition, Pain in the Shell, opening March 26 @ David Kordansky Gallery.
Jeans by HardeMan
Watch Celine Homme's "BOY DOLL" From Their Winter 2022 Presentation
Shot and directed by Hedi Slimane, Celine Hommeβs Winter 2022 presentation takes place in one of Parisβs most emblematic venues. LβOlympia, known internationally for staging some of the worldβs finest operas, plays, and concerts was established in 1893 in the 9th arrondissement and is the cityβs oldest music hall. It was converted into a cinema in the 1920s after the market for theatrical performance experienced a sorrowfully steep decline. However, in 1954, the Olympia hosted a grand venue reopening under the executive direction of French Producer Bruno Coquatrix, and since then has hosted countless legendary concerts from the worldβs greatest musical artists, both domestic and abroad.
An original soundtrack titled βFAVORITE THINGβ was composed by the Swedish band SHITKID
Casting, Styling and Set Design by Hedi Slimane
Hair Styling by Esther Langham
Makeup by Aaron De Mey
Read Our Interview Of Photographer and Filmmaker Lewis Khan β →
British Photographer and filmmaker, Lewis Khan, uses London as one of his many creative resources. The city has great sentimental importance to the native South Londoner, who has lived on Bonnington Square for most of his life. Tucked away behind the traffic of Vauxhall, the square is one of 300+ housing cooperatives in London, owned and run by its tenants. It has a unique and fascinating history that owes much to the squatters who moved in during the 80s as a preventative measure to avoid demolition of the residential buildings. The community set up a wholefoods shop and vegetarian cafΓ©, which is still there to this day. Read more.
Watch Faith Wilding's Performance Of "Waiting" From Her 1974 Film Womanhouse
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Faith Wildingβs vanguard art installation and performance space, Womanhouse, Anat Ebgi in partnership with LAND (Los Angleles Nomadic Division), is presenting an eponymous solo exhibition with the artist. Seen here is a performance of βWaitingβ from the documentary film Womanhouse produced by Johanna Demetrakas (1974). Below is an excerpt from Hans Ulrich Obristβs interview with Wilding in our forthcoming BODY issue.
βHANS ULRICH OBRIST: You did two very legendary works at Womanhouse. You did the βWaitingβ performanceβan almost Beckettian performance about waiting, but very different from Beckett. And then, you also did an installation called βWomb Room.β Can you tell me about these two works? What kind of reaction did they get?
FAITH WILDING: Yeah, well we had a performance group that Judy Chicago led. Because that was our plan from the beginningβthat we would do some performances as part of the house. I was at dinner with Arlene [Raven] and Judy one night, and suddenly I was like, I wanna do something about waitingβabout what we've waited for, what I've waited for all my life. And so, we started making a list. I still have that list. Out of that, I crafted the βWaitingβ monologue, which we worked on as a group; other people tried out how they would perform the piece. But you know, I have given permission to anybody who wants to perform it, and lots of people have performed it all over the world in all different kinds of ways, which I think is really coolβ¦β
Womanhouse is on view through April 16 @ Anat Ebgi 4859 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles
Watch The Music Video For "Don't Look" By Benny Sings Out Now Via Stonesthrow
βDonβt Lookβ is produced by Kenny Beats and Cory Henry, from Benny Singsβ latest album, Beat Tape II. Made in collaboration with the historic Bob Baker Marionette Theater, the puppets and props were made entirely from scratch to bring Ryu Okubo's cover art illustration to life. You can find Beat Tape II on vinyl, Apple music, Spotify, and Bandcamp.
Alex Evans - Director and Editor
Kevin Beltz - Lead Puppet Builder, Puppeteer
Thom Fountain - Puppeteer Consultant
Ilana Marks - Puppeteer, Puppet Fabrication
Jamin Orrall - Puppeteer, Puppet Fabrication
Karina De La Cruz - Puppeteer
Julian Small Calvillo - Puppet Fabrication
Paula Higgins - Puppet Fabrication
Caden Healander - Best Run Boy
Anomalous Beauty by Christian Ferretti & Donovan McClenton
face mask MR. S LEATHER, dress DRIES VAN NOTEN, necklace ALEXANDER MCQUEEN,
bracelet ISABEL MARANT, boots vintage DR. MARTENS
photography by Christian Ferretti
styling by Donovan McClenton
talent by Nell Rebowe (Next Models Agency)
dress MOSCHINO, jewelry VALENTINO
full look and jewelry ISABEL MARANT
full look ISABEL MARANT,
jewelry ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
full look and jewelry ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
full look VERSACE, jewelry ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
Read Our Interview Of Rave Review: The Vanguard Label That Is Diversifying The Metaverse With Upcycled Digital Cryptopanties →
In 2017, Beckmans College of Design graduates Josephine Bergqvist and Livia SchΓΌck realized that they shared the same interest in sustainable fashion and thus was born their Stockholm-based label, Rave Review. After qualifying as a semifinalist for the LVMH Prize at Paris Fashion Week, receiving the Rising Star Prize by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Stockholm Prize by NΓΆjesguiden, the Bernadotte Art Award, and participating in the Gucci Film Festival, the label has established itself as a tour de force among a new crop of designers perfecting the art of transforming home textiles into desirable garments. Autre spoke with the vanguard design duo about their innovative design process, the role of digital fashion, and promoting sustainability on the blockchain. Read more.
βThe Tenth Museβ Group Show @ Case Gallery Celebrates Womanhood and Female Power
CASE presents βThe Tenth Museβ curated by Ludovica Capobianco. Featuring Miriam Cahn, Barbara Kruger, Louise Lawler, Nicolette Mishkan, Alexis Myre, Olga Ozerskaya, Cait Porter, Fawn Rogers, Samantha Rosenwald, Sydney Vernon and Valentina Von Klencke, βThe Tenth Museβ is a celebration of womanhood, showing the innate female power through delicacy, sensuality, and the intricacies that bestow the strength of femininity. The Tenth Muse refers to the poetess Sappho, the first known female artist and an epitome of how intellectual women have striven to have a voice of their own over the centuries. Despite arduously achieved freedom and independency, women still find themselves confined within social and cultural stereotypes. Women tend to be defined based on dichotomized characters and are expected to walk around wearing multiple hats and high heels. Bringing together a group of strong female artists with various practices and aesthetics, this exhibition aims at showing the beautiful and unique complexity of the female being. The Tenth Muse will be on view until March 27, at CASE Gallery, 154 S Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048.
Watch The Premiere Of "Lazy Bones" By Yoshi Sherma Out Now Via BabyRace Records
Yoshi Sherma is an enigma. Born in a tube yet spends most of his time in the Valve. His debut record Live From the Valve is a visceral mix of lumpy, chunky dance tracks, created in his rat infested, flood prone basement. Itβs simply a gift whether you like it or not. Live From The Valve is available on cassette and across the streaming universe via Babyrace Records. Eat it up here.
Boozed Things: A Story Of Intoxicating Folly By Enrico Caputo & Valerio Nico
photography Valerio Nico
creative direction and styling by Enrico Caputo
makeup by Greta Giannone
set design by Nour Choukeir
AI by Chiara Kristler
shirt: stylistβs own
sweater: VITELLI
skirts: GIANMARCO MUSSI
shoes: MARSELL
sweater: VITELLI
LEFT
hoodie: GIANMARCO MUSSI
jacket: NEITH NYER
pants: GIOVANNI PORTA
shoes: ΓANAKU
sweater: MONELLA VAGABONDA
skirt: GIANMARCO MUSSI
jacket: GIOVANNI PORTA
top: VITELLI
skirt: GIANMARCO MUSSI
top: MOTOGUO
skirt: VITELLI
pants: GIOVANNI PORTA
shoes: MARSELL
kneeler: STUDIO CROMATO
sweater: VITELLI
skirts: GIANMARCO MUSSI
shoes: MARSELL
top: MOTOGUO
skirt: VITELLI
pants: GIOVANNI PORTA
kneeler: STUDIO CROMATO
hoodie: GIANMARCO MUSSI
top: DANIEL SANSAVINI
pants: GIOVANNI PORTA
shoes: MARSELL
Intersect Art and Design Presents Intersect Palm Springs
Intersect Palm Springs, which ran from February 10-13, 2022, brought together a dynamic mix of more than 50 established and emerging contemporary and modern art and design galleries.
The Fair featured two Curated Spaces:
Good Vibrations, organized by Shana Nys Dambrot (Arts Editor, LA Weekly) and Hunter Drohojowska-Philp (Author, Rebels in Paradise: The Los Angeles Art Scene and the 1960s), offered an expanded view of geometric abstraction as it has evolved in Southern California from the 1950s to include the properties of light and the emotional and transcendent uses of color. Lorser Feitelson, Karl Benjamin, John Miller, Peter Lodato, Jim Isermann, Patrick Wilson, Dani Tull, Yunhee Min, Knowledge Bennett, and Jen Stark are among the artists to be included in this multi-generational show.
ZZyzx Redux, curated by Bernard Leibov (Director, BoxoPROJECTS), and presented with support from The Art Collective Fine Art Services, was inspired by that remote corner of the Mojave Desert which demonstrates the full cycle of modern Southern Californian desert history: from Indigenous trade route; to gold rush era federal fort; to railroad outpost; to a much hyped health resort; and finally an environmental research station. These cycles have spurred optimism, creative development, and new technologies as well as related aspects of dislocation, exploitation, and environmental damage. The exhibition looks at the sustainability of the current land rush in the local area through artworks both inspired by the attractant qualities of the region (light, space, architecture, nature, lifestyle) and those reminding us where history has taken us before. The exhibition includes work by artists Blake Baxter, Diane Best, Ryan Campbell, Gerald Clarke Jr., Sofia Enriquez, Kim Manfredi, Carlos Ramirez, Cara Romero, Aili Schmeltz, Ryan Schneider, Phillip K. Smith III, and Kim Stringfellow.
Tear by Richard Hudson. Presented by Michael Goedhuis at Intersect Palm Springs 2022 Focus on Form: Sculpture Garden
Focus on Form: Sculpture Garden provided a spotlight on sculpture at the entry to the Fair, featuring 18 large-scale works by such artists as Stephanie Bachiero (Peter Blake Gallery), Michael DeJong (New Discretions), Andy Dixon (Over the Influence), Tara de la Garza (bG Gallery), Richard Hudson (Michael Goedhuis), Robert Indiana (Galerie Gmurzynska), Dominique Labauvie (Bleu Acier), Robert Raphael (SITUATIONS), Alex Schweder (Edward Cella Art & Architecture), Jesse Small (Nancy Hoffman Gallery), Julian Voss-Andreae (HOHMANN), and Ben Allanoff.
Works from the Fair will be online at Artsy.net, Intersectβs exclusive online marketplace partner, through March 3, 2022.