BIG BRANDS & FAMOUS ARTISTS SOUTH AFRICA’S POP CULTURE MAGAZINE EST. 2005
ONE SMALL SEED MAGAZINE / ISSUE 27/ DIGITAL 02
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE MAN BEHIND
OBEY
THE MOST ICONIC
COLLABORATIONS
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JEFF KOONS - LADY GAGA - ANDY WARHOL - MILEY CYRUS ELSA SCHIAPARELLI -WALT DISNEY - SALVADOR DALI - YSL PIET MONDRIAN - MIUCCIA PRADA - JEREMY SCOTT SOPHIA CHANG - PUMA - HENNESSY - SHEPARD FAIREY JACK PAROW - ALEXANDER MCQUEEN - DAMIEN HIRST IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
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BIG B RAND SOUT S & FA H AFR ICA’S MOU POP C S ART ULTUR ISTS E MA GAZIN E EST. 20 05
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THE M ICONOST IC
JEFF K OON S - LA ELSA SCHIA DY GAGA - AND PAREL Y WA LI -WA PIET M INCL RHOL . 21 V L T O D ID N I S D SOPH N R M E I A Y - SA ILEY C EOS N-M IA CH L YRUS V IUCC AN JACK IA PRA ADOR DA PARO G - PUMA L DA - J I - YSL W-A EREM LEXAN HENNESSY Y SCOT - SHEP DER M T ARD F CQUE AIREY EN - D AMIE N HIR ST IN PA RTNER SHIP W ITH
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editor's letter
Welcome to our one small seed magazine issue 27 and our second fully digital issue, bursting with new videos, slideshows and audio features. We all know that the way people absorb and share information changed a long time ago. So we’ve updated the balance in our digital mag between articles, interviews, and videos in a way that you can access the mag while just having a quick browse and watching a video here and there; or sit at your table on a Saturday afternoon and start from page one to the last page without being bored by the monotony of a one-directional publication. It has been a while since artists, designers and musicians raised the question whether collaborations with big brands is a good move or if it might dilute the credibility of their image or career. Well, we did quite a bit of research, and from my point of view it really depends on each separate case. However, in general we found that today more and more big brands are willing to collaborate – with designers, artists or musicians – whilst still honouring the integrity of the individual and their work. We selected a couple of the most iconic or talked about cross-pollinations in this issue and hope you will have a better understanding of why it might be a good thing to overcome your fear of possible collaborations. There are obviously many more examples, or even failed collaborations, but we wanted to focus on those that had a positive outcome. Also in this issue we feature an exclusive interview with the man behind OBEY, Shepard Fairey, who we were lucky enough to meet in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, and get his opinion on joining forces with big brands. We witnessed, first-hand, the creation of his Mandela mural and talked to him about his successful partnership with Hennessy...
editor's letter
He also gave us a Very Special shoutout: ‘I’m Shepard Fairey and I’m talking to one small seed, and in terms of one small seed, it might not sound like much, but that is where everything can grow from. Nothing has ever been changed by anything other than a few determined individuals with good ideas making them grow into a mass movement, so props to one small seed…!’ Talking about team efforts, in this issue we showcase Sophia Chang X Puma 2014 Collection. New York style presented on some amazing street wear pieces. Also, new in this issue is our #HelloMusic section. No reviews, no opinions: just what we think is a cool selection of music for your entertainment. Why write a review, when you can listen and decide for yourself ;-) So hope you will appreciate our interactive and interesting online mag, and please don’t hesitate to send me feedback on giu@onesmallseed.com Now flick this page and enjoy the journey!
Giuseppe Russo / FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
COVER SHEPARD FAIREY , courtesy of Hennessy FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
EDITORIAL ADDRESS:
GIUSEPPE RUSSO
Unti 501, Salt Circle, 19 Kent street, Salt River, Cape
CO-EDITOR
Town, 7925, South Africa
SARAH CLAIRE PICTON
tel: +27 (0) 21 4477 096 fax: +27 (0) 86 545 0371 web: onesmallseed.com email: contact@onesmallseed.com
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTION
JESS LEVY GRAPHIC DESIGNER
ADVERTISING SALES mike@onesmallseed.com
LAUREN DE SOUSA
contents
KOONS’ ART + GAGA’S POP Exploring themes of transcendence and transgenre ambitions through ARTPOP. HENNESSY GETS TAGGED BY FAIREY Hennessy pours Fairey a collaboration invitation. We interviewed the Friendly Giant on the first day that one of his dreams was being painted true. #ThePurpleShallGovern
THE WARHOL, CYRUS, SCHIAPARELLI, DALI, YSL, MONDRIAN, SCOTT AND PRADA ARTICLE! From the Lobster Dress to that Dirty Hippie… Here’s your front row ticket to a runway line-up of crosspollinations and hybrid creativity.
JACK PAROW: DIE MUSO AND BRAND WUNDERKIND It’s been half a decade since he poked his tongue at us… We’re still keeping the conversation rolling as we say: ‘Hos Ja, Parow!’
#HELLOMUSIC Volumes up please for #HelloMusic - our new magazine regular where we introduce you to a stellar selection of sounds from around the world! Ten videos are waiting for you…
SOPHIA CHANG: SELECT MAGAZINE Q&A NYC artist and selfproclaimed ‘bun queen’ talks about quitting fashion school, Brooklyn’s new creative energy and her illustrations for her PUMA collaboration.
SOPHIA CHANG X PUMA Designer-illustrator Sophia Chang collaborates with PUMA to create an exclusive Brooklyn-inspired collection.
MASTERS OF SKULLS Legendary fashion house Alexander McQueen and infamous artist Damien Hirst celebrate the Skull Scarf 10th Anniversary in 2013, by creating 30 once-off scarves
DALI, DISNEY AND DESTINO One of History’s most unlikely collaborations… An animation of six Timeless minutes.
Y S S E N HEN GGED GETS TA
by FAIREY
TION] AS A RA O B A L L [CO IS I. AND ‘HENNESSY SEE TH O D O S D N A IP IONSH SYMBIOTIC RELAT ND.’ RA B A R O F L A U S THAT’S VERY UNU SHEPARD FAIREY
Hennessy, one of the world’s most revered cognac crafters founded in 1765, invited the Face and Force behind OBEY – Shepard Fairey – to embark on a journey to merge his powerful art with the brand. In celebration of the Hennessy Very Special Limited Edition, Shepard was invited to join them on a tour that would see them hit ten of the world’s most influential cities. One of these included Braamfontein in Johannesburg, South Africa… And this is where it got Very Special: one small seed was invited to join in on this part of the adventure.
Standing beneath the purple and yellow mural of Mandela – now beginning to take form – we discovered an aesthetic that was not only one of paint… The streets are the new runway in Jozi… belly laughter and Hells Angels offering seats to the local cats drinking Strawberry Daiquiris and talking in vernac. Raw. Textured. Infectious. This is the African Aesthetic. As faces gazed up, Madiba’s painted eyes shined brightly back on down. Amidst the humbled expressions, we started gearing up for up our talk with Fairey. Watch our video interview with the Face behind the Giant and read on to discover more about Fairey’s roots; his unique collaboration with Hennessy; his Mandela mural in Jozi; and the meaning The Purple Shall Govern.
‘Everything that I do came from skateboarding, and at first punk rock, and then later hip hop because hip hop became the new punk rock... Punk rock and skateboarding were always about creativity, resourcefulness, rebellion and then hip hop came along and it was the same way.’ (Fairey) Shepard Fairey first started propagating his art onto skateboards and t-shirts in 1984. These seeds soon germinated and multiplied a few years later in 1989 with his OBEY sticker campaign known as Andre has a Giant Posse. The image of Andre the Giant, the wrestler, started as an in-joke in the hip-hop and skater community because – according to Fairey – ‘the sticker has no meaning but exists only to cause people to react, to contemplate and search for meaning in the sticker’. Followers soon caught on, and the hype spread and people started sharing, plastering and collecting stickers as mementos. In the 2008 U.S. Elections Fairey produced his Obama Hope posters, which were rejected by the Obama Campaign – they declined any affiliation to the posters saying they were ‘perpetuated illegally’. However, revered art critic for The New Yorker, Peter Schjeldahl, dubbed the posters as the 'most efficacious American political illustration since Uncle Sam Wants You.'
‘SKATEBOARDING, PUNK ROCK, GRAFFITI AND HIP HOP – THOSE ARE THE ESSENTIALS FOR ME.’ Those who dismissed Fairey’s posters as an extension of him ‘augmenting [his] existing brand of pissed-off rebellion’ (in his own words!), were wrong. Hope was actually created out of a desire to show his support for Obama, and to secure a brighter future for his daughters. Empowering people to look at moving forward instead of backwards is what Fairey continues to cultivate. He shares his favourite quote from Joe Strummer’s (The Clash) The Future is Unwritten: ‘I'd like to say that people can change anything they want to.’ Although his roots might be on US soil, his humble but fierce determination to spread his message to Rise Above reaches surfaces and cities across the world. And aligning himself with brands that respect his art – and his message – remains vital: ‘I’m very cautious about which brands I’ll work with, earlier in my career I needed to just survive so I couldn’t be picky. I’m in the luxurious position of being able to be very choosy about who I work with’. (Fairey) The collaboration between Hennessy and Shepard Fairey has everything to do with their shared values: the never ending quest for excellence, the love of true craftsmanship, the cultivation of consistency, the passion for tradition and innovation. ‘There is a philosophical connection between the way I work and the way that Hennessy works as a brand,’ he says about the many parallels that could be drawn between his art and Hennessy’s craft.
To work on such a specific and iconic canvas as Hennessy Very Special, Fairey had the privilege to dive deeply into their visual history in Cognac. His research brought some enlightening insights into the brand’s iconography and its core principles. His tireless work ethic found its match in Hennessy, as the artist saw a haven for like-minded craftsmen bearing striking similarities with his own creative process. ‘When I look at the history of Hennessy and how the best eaux-de-vies are saved for years and built upon, I see a connection to the way I work as an artist. I’ve developed, experimented, come up with techniques I have at my disposal, the more each new piece of art I’m able to pull from all those techniques to achieve what I envision. A wide variety of eaux-
de-vies have to be mixed to create the ideal Hennessy. It’s all very analogous’. During this voyage Fairey was given his artistic licence, creating murals in seven of the ten cities Hennessy and him travelled to being: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Berlin, Johannesburg and Toronto. The City of Gold was his second to last last mural. At night in Jozi the Mandela Bridge winks at you with fire eyes. Melodies of street jazz flow in unity with dancing figures. From 19 - 22 September, Shepard Fairey too was celebrating as one of his dreams came true…
Click here for short film of Hennessy and Fairey's Collaboration
'HOW ONE CAN TAKE SUBJECT MATTER AVAILABLE TO ALL AND MAKE IT SPECIAL - THAT'S THE ESSENCE OF CREATIVITY FOR ME' - FAIREY
With each stroke of purple paint came a new dimension, and the gravitas started to grow with an aesthetic dialogue that was both infectious and humbling. His Madiba mural represented rising above those that oppress; those that discriminate; those that walk with closed eyes…The mural’s purple conviction painted an aesthetic of empowerment whilst it shone with saffron nostalgia… On the mural are four words that stand as legion: The Purple Shall Govern. The symbolism in this was and is revolutionary. During our interview Fairey shares a bit about the meaning of Purple in the Mandela mural: “My friend Jesse Stagg lived in Cape Town, South Africa for many years, and when Apartheid was ending he was a witness, and part of, what was called The Purple Revolution. He explained about the history, saying: ‘the 20th anniversary is coming up and I have outtakes from Mandela’s Nobel Peace Prize photo session, and if you could illustrate [Mandela] in purple
with a nod to The Purple Revolution I think it’d mean a lot to a lot of people in South Africa.’ And of course that was an incredible opportunity for me and I was excited to make an illustration of one of my heroes.” The Purple Revolution was an antiapartheid protest, which took place four days before the Nationalist Party held their elections in Cape Town. Police used water cannons armed with purple dye to quell the unrest and to stain the protesters so they could later be identified and detained. However, an activist redirected the water cannons onto the Nationalist Party’s headquarters, leaving the oppressors’ home base tainted. 'I’m an advocate of human rights, justice, and equality, so it should be obvious why Nelson Mandela is a hero of mine. Some people seem confused by the use of purple and the slogan on my Mandela mural but they reference the anti Apartheid Purple Protest.' (Fairey)
DALI
CYRUS, SCHIAPARELLI, WARHOL, YSL, MONDRIAN
SCOTT AND PRADA
ARTICLE
Photo by: George Platt Lynes
Andy Warhol’s rebellious sex symbol status in the ’60s isn’t that much of a departure from Miley Cyrus’ notorious tongue-poking, twerking antics today. However, Warhol’s disdain for the mass market: ‘commercial things really do stink,’ is in stark contrast with Cyrus’ use of shocking-meets-witty type of tactics to reach fame. Cross-pollinations and collaborations in the malleable realm of creativity — from art, design and fashion to music, architecture and literature— that back to the early ’30s have reached full bloom. Interdisciplinary relations are ubiquitous Today but will the fire that can result from certain artistic unions be diluted Tomorrow? Trusty ol’ Father Time will deliver his verdict soon enough. Artists in the 21st century have to increasingly pander to the demand from consumers for more ‘bespoke’ items. Is this pressure leading to designers piggybacking on each other’s followers to stay ontrend? Does the dizzying pace at which we function mean that innovation could have fallen to the wayside in place of the endless battle to stay on top. So many questions! Let’s backtrack to when it all started…
The Lobster Dress (1937) by Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali is one of the early 21st instances, and remains forever timeless, where art said ‘hello’ to fashion. The organza dress designed by Schiaparelli featured a painted lobster by Dali, an unlikely match between a fashion garment and a surrealist painting. [FYI: The crustacean made a sneak appearance in 2010 on Lady Gaga’s head as a diamond-encrusted hat (for want of a better word!) And a golden lobster embellishment on the editor-in-chief of American Vogue, Anna Wintour’s Prada dress in 2012.]
Commercial things'
really do stink.' (Andy (Warhol 'COMMERCIAL THINGS REALLY DO STINK.' ANDY WARHOL Photo by:André Durst
y
Andy Warhol’s burst of bold pop art exploded onto the scene in the ’60s to try and untangle the distinctions between high and low culture and make art accessible to the public. The Souper Dress (196667) presented a way to do just this. The disposable paper dresses were made entirely out of Warhol’s iconic Campbell Soup Cans artwork and were affordable enough to take home.
Piet Mondrian’s abstract paintings inspired fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent to produce the ultra-chic Mondrian Dress (1965). The A-line shift dresses emulated Mondrian’s abstract and minimalistic sensibilities by skilfully piecing together primary colour blocks with bold black jersey and wool material. Yves Saint Laurent, the movie, was released in January 2014 detailing the designer’s journey through the fashion world. You can watch the trailer here: [ FYI: 1 000 participants united in Liverpool this September to create a Mondrian made of people. The happening was filmed for the BBC One Show in their abstract art segment. Each block was made out of a different community performing and wearing designated ‘Mondrian’ colours.]
Photo by: Dalmas/ Sipa
'ARTISTS HAVE EMERGED AS BRANDS IN THEMSELVES.' MIUCCIA PRADA Credit: Imaxtree
Fast-forward to the 2014 Miuccia Prada Spring collection where six streetartists were commissioned to create large murals of women’s faces to feature in the fashion show. The striking images of the women’s’ faces were seamlessly transferred onto some of the dresses and handbags, in this way ‘transposing public art onto private, expensive wardrobes’ (Miuccia Prada). In her opinion: ‘artists have emerged as brands in themselves. In a way fashion has made art Photo by: And rew Bo more fashionable’. yle
for Milk
Made
A new hybrid creation on the scene features Miley Cyrus in cahoots with Jeremy Scott. The 21-year-old pop star and established clubscene fashion designer presented Scott’s Spring 2014 collection as well as Cyrus’ Dirty Hippie artefacts. The artefacts consist of brightly coloured found objects plastered together in a haphazard way, and found their way onto the runway in the form of fashion accessories. Cyrus describes her artistic process: 'I had a bunch of f---ing junk and sh--, and so instead of letting it be junk and sh--, I turned it into something that made me happy.' Was their involvement just a publicity stunt? Would Warhol buckle under the power of the profit-driven society we all live in? The integrity of the purist merging of ideas in the ’30s is a world apart from the murky associations and name-dropping mechanisms that even some of the most popular brands have adopted in this century.
+
Lady Gaga appears on the cover of her last album ARTPOP (2013) as a sculpture with a big, blue gazing ball straddled between her legs, hands cupping her breasts and a collage of classic Renaissance art as the backdrop. ARTPOP is not only a musical exploration, but also a fusion between art and music, showcasing Lady Gaga as the pop musician, and Jeff Koons as the artist. In addition to creating the cover artwork, Koons also sculpted the larger-than-life statue of Gaga, entitled Mother Monster, that is featured on the cover.
' Despite Gaga being a long-time fan of Koons’ work, the two only met about three years ago at the Metropolitan Museum’s annual fashion ball when she put her arms around Koons and reminisced how she would sit in Central Park and talk to her friends about his work. The concept behind the album comes to life through the collaboration between two of the most acknowledged and influential figures in their respective realms. There’s Gaga with her millions of little monsters (her term of endearment for her fans), and then Koons for achieving a world auction record when selling his Balloon Dog (Orange) at $58.4 million in 2013.
Even though the amalgamation of art and pop could alienate certain audiences — not everyone who listens to pop music has heard of Jeff Koons! — Gaga endeavoured to show how trans-genre links could transcend the rigidity of fixed boundaries. Enter Koons… The big, blue ball, which forms the centre-piece for Koons’ Gazing Ball collection, as well as the ARTPOP album cover, is significant in his work because it comes from the desire to both reflect and lure the viewer into a transcendental world… ‘The gazing ball really does become kind of the symbol for everything’ (Koons). Transcendence as a theme is visually further explored on the face of ARTPOP by the inclusion of the Renaissance artists’ Apollo and Daphne statute by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1622-25) and Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (1486). The allusion that Koons makes between Gaga and Apollo (the god of music) is explained by Koons: ‘Whenever Apollo would perform music he would transcend… And that’s the transcendence that you can experience through art and life’.
“THE GAZING BALL REALLY DOES BECOME KIND OF THE SYMBOL FOR EVERYTHING”.
Click icon to watch full video of Lady Gaga's Applause video, from her 2013 ARTPOP Albumn
The common thread between Gaga and Venus, Koon says, is through the ‘pursuit and the enjoyment of aesthetics and of beauty… [and] the desire to continually have transcendence’ The success of the album yielded rather poor results for Gaga as the sales dropped 81% in the second week, and fell to number 7 from 1st place. But whether or not Gaga achieved her trans-genre ambitions is perhaps not the most pressing issue. What resonates is the relationship they formed between art and music, cultivating new dialogues and keeping the creative ball rolling. And the end result for the two ARTPOP collaborators? For Gaga, aside from her mammoth list of musical collaborations, her venture with Koons is a stand-alone one. And Koons? Well, he’s subsequently designed a limited edition handbag for H&M featuring his Balloon Dog, however his foray into music collaboration is a first. He also says: ‘Art is not finished until it’s interpreted by the viewer’. So, what do you see in the gazing ball?
Click here to watch full interview with Jeff Koons
“ART IS NOT FINISHED UNTIL IT’S INTERPRETED BY THE VIEWER” JEFF KOONS
Photo by: Ralph Orlowski
DIE MUSO & BRAND WUNDERKIND Sporting caps as bizarre as his grammar, Afrikaans rapper Zander Tyler aka Jack Parow gives unwavering views, in his 2009 EP titled Cooler as Ekke, that brands did not define the man. A contrast of lifestyles is heard over the gruff tones as Parow passionately yells to the rest of the world that money, status and/or material wealth will never make you cooler than him. Busting into the South African music scene in 2009 with his take on rap, the team at one small seed, like many others, cranked up the volume as we familiarised ourselves with his Afrikaans colloquialisms scattered throughout his rhymes. One line we owe him thanks to as it introduced the one small seed name to those unfamiliar with it at that time: ‘Jy dink jy's cooler as ek, omdat jy die nuwe issue van One Small Seed het', which translates in English to “You think you're cooler than me because you have the new issue of One Small Seed.” Starting with his lyric half a decade ago, a dialogue formed between Jack Parow and one small seed: a tongue-incheek relationship that is being kept alive by both parties. We take time to reflect upon, assess and re-assess, and offer a fresh debate around the Parow-born rapper from Bellville, Cape Town since he gave us his first shout-out five years ago.
Parow belongs to a niche music genre in South Africa, dubbed zef, which he s hares alongside South African rap-rave group – Die Antwoord. Parow who is a jack-of-all-trades as a performer, voice-over artist, shoe designer, and actor (in the 2013 film Babalaas), also identifies with hip hop and rap. Parow arrived onto the South African market blasting catchy outrageous tunes that echoed sentiments of anti-consumerism. A rapper more concerned with his music and fans than with the monetary delights had finally arrived to usher us into the Promised Land where money doesn’t make the world go round. It would seem that we had the short end of the stick. Following PUMA’s move to sponsor Parow, he created his own limited edition Purple Headed Yogurt Slingers and Parow Gold sneaker designs for PUMA in 2011. In the same year, he appeared in the Hunter’s Dry advert. In 2012 RayBan approached our beloved Afrikaans musician to recreate their RX5227 sunglasses – which turned out as obscurely colourful as his personality. Parow Braai sous: Built to Blerrie Braai was launched in the same year – a product developed out of Parow’s own love for ‘braaivleis’ (Afrikaans slang for barbecued meat!). The ‘Dans Dans Dans’ (Parow's popular 2010 single that featured Francois van Coke) musician carried on with his strategic partnerships by starring in the Captain Morgan publicity stunt to generate a buzz for the 2013 Oppikoppi music festival. It was announced that Parow would no longer be performing at the Limpopo festival due to the fact that we was detained for disturbing the peace on a catamaran. A video clip of Parow apologising was screened during his scheduled slot, only to be interrupted by Captain Morgan saving him.
2009 "Cooler as Ekke" video
2011 Hunter's Dry Commercial
Jack Parow and The Plastics do the 90's - RayBan
2013 Captain Morgan publicity Stunt
There have been many developments since the bold statements made by Parow in the ‘Cooler as Ekke’ track. His sponsorship list has grown to 12 companies, he has his own clothing label and braai sauce, has featured in TV adverts, and he boasts a healthy list of collaborations. His selfexpressed indifference about materialism stands in stark contrast with his attachment to well-known brands. However, seeing as being an artist is his full-time job, we wouldn’t suggest that he deprive himself of the necessary exposure required to thrive in the ever-growing and innovative creative industry. Staying 'new' is a necessity to keeping ones fans, and garnering new ones, using whatever means necessary to strengthen your foothold. In Parow’s case he has utilised marketing, branding, and endorsement deals in order to entice onlookers into worshipping his cult of zef. His success shows that South Africa’s music market has come to understand and accept Parow’s stance. Do his campaigns count against him? Can he still call himself anti-consumerist? Jack Parow's chameleon-like moves to slip comfortably into whatever inspired deal is offered to him - have not gone unnoticed. Whether Parow is a savvy businessmen-cum-entrepreneur who moonlights as a rapper or not, he is making waves in the world with his Afrikaans-influenced rhymes. Making the most of his opportunities, the living multi-brand is a force to be reckoned with. Conquering critiques and maintaining a fan base is a lot harder than it may seem, and for that we say ‘Hos Ja’ to the zef meister.
‘JY DINK JY’S COOLER AS EK, OMDAT JY DIE NUWE ISSUE VAN “ONE SMALL SEED” HET.’ Photography by Sean Materlerkamp
# HELLO
MUSIC
Our audio-visual music experience titled #HelloMusic is i our new regular in each digital edition of one small seed magazine. Covering musical genres that’ll take you on a journey across the world, #HelloMusic is our shout-ou to the sounds we’re on board with right now… Join in the conversation and click play! Tweet any (hyperlink) (hyperlink feedback and tell us what you’re #NowPlaying remembering to use the hash tag #HelloMusic.
iss d n ut n k)) g,
CAYUACAS – WILL THE THRILL (WITH MICHELLE BRANCH)
GOGO PENGUIN - HOPOPONO
TAXI VIOLENCE – BEATEN BY THE GUN
#
HELLO
MUS
THE CORRESPONDENTS – GIVE YOU BETTER
FKA TWIGS – TW-ACHE
USIC SIC
THE WAR ON DRUGS - UNDER THE PRESSURE
JOHN WIZARDS – MUIZENBERG
#
HELLO
MUS
JENNIFER LEFT - BLACK DOG
NICOLAS JAAR - CONSOLATION – THE HELLEN HOLLINS SINGERS
USIC
FANTASMA – SAFETY BELT YES
MASTERS O
OF SKULLS
Two mega-power houses – the Alexander McQueen fashion house and Damien Hirst – collaborated in 2013 to create a limited edition collection of 30 scarves in celebration of the Skull Scarf’s 10th Anniversary. Alexander McQueen and Damien Hirst hardly need any introduction – the late Alexander McQueen described himself as the start of the 21st century, while Hirst claims that he sold his diamondset platinum skull, entitled For the Love of God (2007), for £50 million. Each piece of wearable art boasts a once-off pattern comprised of thousands of brilliantly coloured insects sprawling intricately into woven form. The images were adapted from Hirst’s Entomology Paintings (2009), and integrated into each design to create a kaleidoscopic vision of geometric shapes ultimately forming McQueen’s signature skull. These garments are the physical embodiment of their vision by combining symmetrical patterns with references to the natural world.
‘GIVE ME TIME AND I'LL GIVE YOU A REVOLUTION.’ ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
McQueen and Hirst shared a similar fascination for finding the magnificence in the morbid – McQueen found beauty in everything: ‘what ‘normal’ people would perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it,’ the skull motif an obvious illustration of this. Their rebellious and controversial behaviour is magnified by their theatrics – especially in their views on death as Hirst thinks that ‘suicide is the most perfect thing you can do in life,’ which is ironic since McQueen performed his own dramatic death. Fashion and art are often paired because of their ability to inspire, express and expose – whether it be a painting or piece of clothing. Even though the expression of these ideas and thoughts can be met with criticism, Hirst and McQueen have never been deterred from pushing the boundaries. The overwhelming tangle of colours, insects, shapes and sharp objects have also morphed into a short film entitled Alexander McQueen & Damien Hirst Scarf Collaboration: A Film, directed by Sløve Sundsbø in 2013. The film is a sublime portrayal transposing the material objects into magical masterpieces – giving life to each scarf. A melancholic score evokes a heightened sense of drama, while models move mysteriously with their faces and limbs fully covered by the flowing, silky scarves ultimately coming together to form shapes that represent the designs. The crossovers between art, fashion, film and other creative mediums are seamless – illustrating the success of this exclusive partnership between two formidable forces. ‘Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment’ – McQueen certainly never felt restricted. Hirst shares this sentiment as he embarks on showcasing his own art collection of about 2000 pieces (ranging from Frances Bacon to Banksy) at the new Saatchi Gallery in London set to open in 2015. There really are no limits to the imagination!
SELECT MAGAZINE Q&A Sophia Chang is a successful illustrator, creator and designer who has been involved in the arts her whole life. Her approach to creativity spans multiple mediums from prints, design and media. Born and raised in New York, Chang graduated from the prestigious Parsons School of Design. Her pro-activity led her to a series of internships and freelance design works, embodied in an impressive portfolio and Black Book of New York’s finest. Chang’s love of hip-hop music came at an early age, growing up amongst the hustle and bustle of New York City, drawing inspirations from a vibrant street life and pop culture. The guys from PUMA sat down in her office to talk about their first collaborative collection.
HOW DID YOU BECOME A DESIGNER? I’ve been drawing my whole life and at first I was interested in fashion design. Then I went to college and I saw the typical "fashion" people, and I hated them, so I decided to follow my passion of drawing and I studied illustration. I graduated in 2010, and since I have spent three amazing years in New York, there are a lot of great opportunities here. In the past three years I had the opportunity to work with a lot of great clients, but what started my professional career was all the internships I did when I was in college. So I was interning for Ryan McGinness, for Complex magazine and actually I had a part time job in PUMA retail while I was in college. Now, in 2013 I have my own collection with them. WHAT’S YOUR RELATION TO NEW YORK? I was born and raised in New York, Queens, and I’m still living here. My whole life. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BROOKLYN, MANHATTAN AND OTHER BORROUGHS OF NY? Queens keeps it real (laugh). Because when you come into Queens everyone speaks a different language and comes from a different country. No one cares about where you are from, they’re just here to live in New York. You go to Brooklyn, parts of Manhattan, and most of these people are not from New York, they’re from Montana or Michigan or whatever, and they’re here to work. New York is a big melting pot but here in Queens, not a lot of people speak English. In my neighbourhood, we have a Tibetan community, Irish, South Korean, Thai, and a lot of Indians. You walk few blocks and it’s all Peruvians and Ecuadorians. You walk few more blocks you have only Chinese and Korean, no white people, it’s just a huge variety of different communities.
WHAT PARTS OF QUEENS AND NYC HAVE INSPIRED THIS COLLECTION? I think I would say that New York City is very important in terms of my influences because there is so much competition in New York and even more inspiration everywhere you go. Everyone is hustling, trying to be the best in what they do, and that really inspires me. Being in Queens, it’s kind of away from all this craziness, it’s kind of an area where you can live; it’s just a residential neighbourhood. It’s not like Manhattan where everywhere you look, there are museums in front of you. It’s different. I think that Brooklyn is this new upcoming city in New York. All these people are coming there to see or take part in this creative stuff which is happening. Everyone who comes to New York now wants to check out Brooklyn. Some people come to New York and just stay in Brooklyn the whole time. It’s like a new creative energy centres around Brooklyn. That’s why I thought it would be a great concept for PUMA to be the first sportswear company to check out Brooklyn. Some people come to New York and just stay in Brooklyn the whole time. It’s like a new creative energy centres around Brooklyn. That’s why I thought it would be a great concept for PUMA to be the first sportswear company to dedicate a whole collection to Brooklyn.
CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS COLLECTION? HOW DID YOU BUILD IT IN TERMS OF COLOURS, MATERIALS AND SILHOUETTES? The theme of the collection is Brooklyn and its iconic imagery. You have the Bridge, but you also have certain things that only the locals know. There are even street vibes. The pattern piece has a stack of money, standing for the dark side of the area; the fire engines are opened with water so everyone can cool down. The trees and the brown stones you see in the Spike Lee movies. So it’s very inspired by the culture of Brooklyn from my perspective as a New Yorker. It’s not like this very skittery time that Biggie Smalls mentioned. I mean some areas are still like that but a very popular part of Brooklyn is just going in this creative wave. So for the collection I was able to work with PUMA team members on the illustrations and the colors that would best fit in. With the Nets in town, black and white is like the colour of Brooklyn now, so we thought « why don’t we kind of stick to that? And it fits very well: the collection is very strong. AND ABOUT THE PASTEL PIECES? The pastel stuff is more from the skyline illustration that we did. We were thinking about the sun setting over Brooklyn, the brown stones, the streets and the people. So that’s how we came up with the skyline gradation. We decided to implement that in a whole jacket, so you have your top jacket and you also have the kicks to match. TELL US MORE ABOUT THE COLLECTION… There is a men’s line and a women’s line, but I wanted to design a collection I’d want to wear. I wear men’s clothing; men’s tshirts, hoodies, gestures whatever. So the men’s and women’s lines are similar if you look at them. In terms of my fashion influences, just because I grew up in NYC, streetwear has always been a huge influence in who I am. The women’s pieces are more fitted but the pattern is very unisex, very interchangeable.
Sophia Chang quit fashion school because she ‘hated the typical fashion people’. Not giving up her creativity, she headed straight to Parsons School of Design to study illustration. Just recently fashion has become a part of her life again, as she collaborates with PUMA to create an exclusive collection for the second half of 2014. Influenced by Chang’s love of hip hop and her upbringing in New York City, the street wear features her illustrations of Brooklyn and its iconic imagery. It’s a 360-degree range for men and women, featuring the NYC suburb’s bridge spread across jackets and t-shirts or its skyline wrapped around a funky pair of sneakers. Forget about clothes, it’s Brooklyn on your back! PUMA x Sophia Chang is available at PUMA Select stores in Bree Street, Cape Town and Juta Street, Braamfontein, as well as selected retailers, including X-Trend Store, Republik, Dip Store, Queens, Brands Unlimited, Shelflife and Lost Property from September. Visit pumaselect.co.za or follow @PUMASouthAfrica to join the PUMA Select conversation.
DALI
DISNEY &DESTINO
A TIMELESS MASTERPIECE DIGITAL PAINTING CREDIT - DAVE ARREDONDO
DESTINO Screen shot of original artwork from Destino animation by Dali and Disney
‘A MAGICAL DISPLAY OF THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE IN THE LABYRINTH OF TIME.’ (SALVADOR DALI)
DESTINO
As a beautiful, nimble dancer flits through a barren desert land, she locks eyes with a strong, sculpturesque man, and as they motion to embrace each other the sands of time quickly begin to slip away to reveal a great wall between the two lovers. Not only does a hummingbird peck at a watch to awaken time, but so do figures dive into mysterious shadows and emerge only to morph into dandelionssumptuously supported by a Mexican operatic musical score. This could only happen in an animated film, and only by Salvador Dali. However, you will be surprised to know that Walt Disney was the instigator for this pioneering and bizarre collaboration resulting in a 6-minute animation film titled Destino. The project started in 1946 when the two creative virtuosos embarked on their journey towards the completion of Destino; little did they know that it would only come to fruition about half a century later. The project was shelved a few months into it’s inception due to financial problems caused by World War 2, only to be revived in 1999 by Walt Disney’s nephew, Roy Disney. He happened upon the unfinished sketches, storyboards and 17 seconds of animation whilst creating Fantasia 2000. He worked alongside John Hench who carefully completed the project maintaining the integrity and focusing on finding continuity. The revival of Destino was met with success in 2003 when it was nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Animated Short Film.
DESTINO
EXQUISITE METAPHORS AND IMAGERY MAKE THIS ANIMATION RELATABLE AND TIMELESS. Perhaps the mismatch in ideologies between the two collaborators contributed to the project being swiftly curtailed. Some saw Disney’s sudden move into surrealism as a statement that Disney movies are not only about marketability, but also about artistry. Dali saw the animation as a ‘magical display of the problem of life in the labyrinth of time’, as opposed to Disney’s more traditional take as a ‘simple story about a young girl in search of true love’. Before watching Destino, one may think the animation is outdated and inaccessible, but just like the timeless appeal of Dali’s paintings, the exquisite metaphors and imagery make this animation relatable and timeless. The viewer is shown simple yet meaningful imagery and clever shape-shifting which can deceive the eye. Dali and Disney certainly did create a masterpiece, whether it was wholeheartedly their creation, or not, remains a mystery deep in a puddle of one of Dali’s shadows.
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