Creative Sugar Magazine - June 2014

CREATIVE SUGAR
THE FALL ISSUE

J UNE 2014 - AN EMERGI NG ARTI ST MAGAZI NE
2 Summer 2014 CREATIVE SUGAR
COVER
THE ENDE TYMES FESTI VAL
PHOTOS AND WORDS BY
ADAM DEVL I N
CREATIVE SUGAR Summer 2014 3
Creative Sugar
Issue 9
Editor-in-Chief
Sabrina Scot
Photographers
Adam Devlin
Keith Bienert
Jason Maddox
Writers
Adam Devlin
Ashley Arroyo
Christne Etenne
Christopher Durant
Deena Atkinson
Dena Ferreira
Emily Wiest
Kenneth Lundquist, Jr.
Samantha Weiss
Makeup & Wardrobe Styling
Angelique Cerniglia
Hair
Tay Sims
Art Directon
Sabrina Scot
2014 Creatve Sugar Magazine
All rights to art, words, photos, design and
copyrights are the property of the Artst.
All work in this publicaton may not be used
without the Artsts consent.
New York, New York
Contact:
info@creatvesugarmagazine.net
web: creatvesugarmagazine.net
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twiter.com/creatve_sugar
FROM THE EDI TOR
EDI TOR- I N- CHI EF
Suumer i s here. Keep cool , keep hydrated. Check out
that art show i n the ci ty that you ve put off. I t makes
a great opportuni ty to catch up wi th fri ends or even
for a romanti c date.
Thi s i ssue bri ngs together a great vi be wi th a
conversati on wi th pai nter Al exander Yul i sh, at a gal l ery
i n LA. Wri tten by NY transpl ant Deena Atki nson.
Enj oy!

A
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VANESSA KOWALSKI 6
BY KENNETH LUNDQUIST, JR.
ALEXANDER YULISH 8
BY DEENA ATKINSON
NOZOMI ROSE 16
BY SAMATHA WEISS

ENDE TYMES FESTIVAL 18
BY ADAM DEVLIN
LAUREN FOXX AND RITT HENN 24
BY DENA FERREIRA

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FASHION EDITORIAL 26
BY KEITH BIENERT WITH JASON MADDOX
MI CHEL L E NAKASH 36
BY EMI LY WI EST
L I FE OF AN ARTI ST 40
BY CHRI STOPHER DURANT
GUNMETAL I NK TATTOO 42
BY CHRI STI NE ETI ENNE
FASHI ON ANDROGYNY 47
BY ASHL EY ARROYO
vanessa kowalski: vintage atmospheres
By kenneth lundquist, jr.
When I frst met Vanessa, I was immediately star struck.
Her personal style is like a brilliant summer day- efort-
lessly gorgeous. In experiencing her work, and watch-
ing her approach to the creatvity of her images, I knew
that she is on the golden road to artst success. I had the
chance to sit with her, in her new studio in Brooklyn, and
chat while we painted live pineapples for a new spread.
Of course, my frst and most obvious queston- Why art,
photography?
Its funny to think in terms of making images. I am ofen
plagued by an idea and cant rest untl Ive seen to its
creaton. I cant exactly say why, but just that it is. Mak-
ing art, creatng, has been a great way to cope with daily
reality and its idiosyncrasies. With photography I feel
like I am building my own language, and communicatng
without words has been an adventure.
What atracted you to the style you work in pres-
ently?
I work in various approaches to photography- ofen
shootng with whatever is readily available to me.
Ill use a scanner, make a polaroid, shoot with a 4x5,
a point and shoot, etc., - It really depends on the
outcome Im envisioning. Every image I create has
its own atmosphere, and that is something I try to
explore with the medium Im working with. I think
irony is a big facet of my work, which is why I might,
for example, make a polaroid of a rock - an instanta-
neous image of one the longest processes. I would
hate to limit myself to a singular way of creaton.
Experimentng so ofen leaves a lot of room for error,
which is something I appreciate about my own way
of working.
vanessa kowalski: vintage atmospheres
(ABOVE) WATERMELONS, PHOTO BY
VANESSA KOWALSKI
(OPPOSITE LEFT) 2.99, PHOTO BY
VANESSA KOWALSKI
(OPPOSITE RIGHT) CMY(BLAC)K SHEEP, PHOTO BY
VANESSA KOWALSKI
What is your greatest inspiraton for your work?
Language has always been my works center
of gravity. Growing up bilingual resulted in this
constant feeling of being lost in translaton,
everything always had two sides. I fnd that ten-
sion of duality present in my work, working with
antquated techniques for a digital audience. I
think that Im always trying to pick a side in my
work, and sometmes the side Im on is obvious
to the viewer, and sometmes I like to let my
viewer have their own opinion. I have always
been inspired by the natural world, especially
fruits and vegetables- theyre like these beautful
gifs from nature that I havent really wrapped
my head around yet! The conversaton surround-
ing GMO foods has been of partcular interest
to me lately- there is a lot of miscommunica-
ton and circulaton of false ideas surrounding
the topic and Ive been doing a lot of research
lately to formulate my own idea about it. I also
think Instagram is completely awesome - I follow
many photographers and love having the argu-
ment of whether or not your Instagram pictures
are considered your work. They totally count, by
the way.
What makes your work unique among your
peers?
It takes me a really, really long tme to make
an image. I put a lot of tme and efort to create
some sort of vernacular in my images based on
symbols. Im interested in the narratve of an
image. The way I work has goten increasingly
more metculous, which I think is moving in the
opposite directon for others as most photogra-
phers transiton into the digital age.
What are your processes in creatng your work?
I spend a lot of tme in vintage/thrif stores
searching for props. I am probably a level 1
hoarder. Most objects have this charged energy
about them that you can feel when you pick
them up. Finding family souvenirs in a thrif
store always brings a great laugh - I love that I
can buy someone elses memories. I also have
a thing for fake fruit- I love to see the idealized
versions of objects. Fake fruit just reminds me
of Barbies trying to portray real people. I travel
as much as possible- having a worldview brings
a diferent level of understanding into my image
making process and allows me to take a step
back from the work Im making. I want my art
to functon in the world we live in, and to make
sense beyond my studio walls.
Vanessa is in her early twentes, but I get the
sense she has her ear on the creatve pulse. I
wonder if she would have any advice for emerging
artsts?
She doesnt take but a second to respond- Talk
out loud about your work.
The future is incredibly bright for Vanessa. She
says,Id really like to spend the next lengthy
period of tme focusing on my project CMYK RGB
GMO which is an exploraton in the perceptons
we have about color and genetcally modifed
foods. Ive never felt so obligated to make a body
of work, and I think it will be interestng to see
how all of my research comes into the light.
I poke her for her favorite color, she says-Dang.
My idea of red might be diferent than your idea
of red, but the red in my head is prety beautful.
For more visit - vanessakowalski.com
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH
PAINTER ALEXANDER YULISH
By deena atkinson
lexander Yulish is many things an actor, a
model, a natve New Yorker, an Angeleno,
and a student of everything life has to of-
fer. But frst and foremost, he is an artst.
The son of a famed illustrator and sculptor,
art has always been in his blood.

You can check out his oeuvre online here. Look-
ing at the website, I was blown away by the im-
mediacy, the raw energy of his palete and lines
and I couldnt wait to visit the gallery. In person,
the paintngs are even more visually stunning,
at once playful and brutal, gripping, anarchic,
intuitve; some are emotonal to the point of
being soul-crushing. I mean that in a good way-
the kind of aesthetc soul-crushing that reminds
you of something inside yourself, or teaches you
something you didnt know, the kind that taps
into a primal part of the human spirit, the ch-
thonic, sub-material that resides in the depths.
I sat down with Alexander in KM Fine Arts Gallery
in Hollywood to hear about his new show Un-
quiet Mind and fnd out more about the intrigu-
ing and charming man behind all the semi-myths
I read on the internet.
Deena : So, I stalked you online a bit before
coming up with these questons. Your back-
ground seems really interestngyou grew up in
New York, correct?
Alexi: Yes, I grew up in Manhatan. I grew up
on MacDougal and 8
th
. And then I grew up in
Chelsea.
D: I read that you grew up in the Chelsea Hotel,
did you live there?
A: No, I grew up right next to the Chelsea but
people always write that I lived there because it
sounds more romantc! But yeah, I was around
people like Pat Smith and that whole group on
multple occasions, so it was defnitely excitng
growing up there. This was before the neighbor-
hood changed drastcally; it was stll Chelsea.
D: Your mother, Barbara Pearlman, is an artst
as well? She hasnt shown her work for almost
30 years. To what extent was your art infu-
enced by her?
A: She was a famous illustrator for Vogue, and
she travelled all over the world for her career.
Then she got into fne art and that was her next
progression. At one point her illustraton career
was skyrocketng and she just quit. She came
back from a show in Germany that she had
sold out and she just quit. She said This isnt
what I want to do right now, not in the sense of
quitng art, but she only wanted to paint. She
didnt want to deal with the business part of
art anymore, she wanted to make things really
beautful and pure. We had a studio in the back
of our house so she would go and paint there;
later she got into sculpture.

Recently she has come out of hiding. Were go-
ing to have a show together, actually. We dont
know when or where, but a lot of people want
us to have a show together and we are planning
it, so that will be a great extension.
If you go to Pearlman Art youll get an idea of
the environment I grew up in.
D: Was it during your formatve years then,
that she decided to just pursue paintng, and
do all this art for herself?
A: Yes, it was when I was around 6 years old.
D: So you grew up with the impression that art
is for self-expression, its not something you do
in a commercial sense, in order to sell things
for proft? Art for arts sake, if you will.
A: Exactly. As a kid I would spend hours literally
just watching her paint. She taught me every-
thing from drawing to color, but in a sense you
cant really teach someone to be an artst. I
feel like it was in my blood. Part of it I think is
genetc its just in you. And the other part is
a
I N BLUE SHOES, BY
AL EXANDER YUL I SH
putng in the work, so she taught me the craf.
D: Did she instruct you at all? Teach you color
theory and give you advice?
A: To a degree. When we used to draw together
what she would tell me is Just commit to the
frst line, whatever it is. Put your heart into that
frst line. And then the second line, then the
third line
Really, there is no such thing as a paintng, its
just a bunch of lines. But at the end, if youre
lucky, you might get a paintng and thats
great. Sometmes when I dont commit to some-
thing Ill throw it out, because Ill realize that
although I technically see a paintng at the end,
my heart isnt in it. The paintngs in this show,
Unquiet Mind, I feel my heart is in it. The rest,
that I didnt put my heart in, they were hung in
the garbage. So maybe some homeless person
is using it for a blanket.
D: Were you exposed to a lot of art growing up
that infuenced you? When I look at your work
I see a lot of de Kooning, maybe early Picasso...
A: You know, I get Bacon, de Kooning, Chagal
but when I look at myself I really dont see any
of that. I can understand the similarites in
compositon or in color combinaton and I take
it as a compliment. But my favorite compliment
I guess would be when you see an Alexi you
just know its my work. Its not self-conscious,
though.
People will go on and on about what they think
inspires me. But I dont even go to museums
that much because I dont want to be infu-
enced. Things like memories infuence me, like
this conversaton, maybe this will end up in one
of my paintngs.
D: Besides memories, what other types of
things inspire you outside of the world of fne
art?
A: Everything. Gravel. Trees. People. Cites. I
dont think theres anything that at the end of
the day doesnt inspire me. You have all these
experiences every day and it just starts to seep
into your bones. If you take a shower some of it
wipes of but most of its stuck in you.
Its really hard for me to talk about my paintngs
because essentally theyre just conversatons
and the conversaton shifs.
D: Speaking of being inspired by cites and the
environment youre inyou moved from New
York City to Los Angeles. Did that change in
atmosphere afect your creatve output in any
signifcant way?
A: I moved here because I had already done New
York. At the age of 25 I thought, Okay, I grew up
here, I was going out when I was 13 years old.
So you experience those things, then all of the
sudden you want to experience something new.
And I did. And I hated it here for the frst 2 years,
but then I stopped comparing. Once you stop
comparing you can actually appreciate LA for
what it is. I made peace with it and I fell madly
in love with this city.
Plus, I have room to work here! In New York it
would be almost impossible to have that much
studio space.

D: So you can work on a larger scale than you
would in Manhatan...
A: This show is a litle bigger than the last show;
I just feel like I had a lot to say and it came out.
Emperor of New York was similar but diferent.
They all have the same conversatons but theyre
diferent.
I dont even know how to name my paintngs. I
have friends name them sometmes, just because
its like..the experience were having here and
talking. Imagine you had to name this conver-
saton...it would be the strangest thing, what
would we call this?

D: It would be hard because there are so many
subjects, theres just a lot of content there and
so many things going on
A: Yeah, so thats like when I fnish a paintng
how do I possibly name it? Sometmes some of
them can be more fguratve, like this one I called
The Empty Chair because to start there actually
was an empty chair, although later I switched it,
but that one was a litle easier.

Its messed up because you can have a paintng
with a really cool name that isnt that good and
vice versa. Or the name can infuence you; for in-
stance, a paintng might be called Sunrise on the
Moon or something, but if you named it instead
( TOP) TOGETHER ALONE, BY
AL EXANDER YUL I SH
( BOTTOM) A QUI ET MI ND, BY
AL EXANDER YUL I SH
14
PHOTO BY GRAHAM COPPI N
Batlefeld thats what people would see and
take away from the paintng when they looked at
it. Subconsciously its amazing what naming does
for a piece. I dont want to name anything Un-
ttled #5 or Series 2, or Man Walking Down
Stairs Holding a Staple Gun.. I just dont do that.
D: Have you ever tried to work backwards, come
up with a name frst and then paint based on
that? Like a writng prompt.
A: No, I havent done that! Its a cool concept
though. Sometmes I give myself scenarios, such
as, Today, Im going to do a black and white
piece. Giving yourself restraints like that can be
fun.
Going to the studio is like going to war, but its a
war you really want to win. You risk everything
knowing that you can lose, even at the last mo-
ment. Sometmes I get to the end and Ill be like
okay I got it, this is almost done and then all of
the sudden at the last minute, you end up doing
something at the botom of the canvas that just
doesnt work.
Everythings a puzzle. If I do this blue line at the
botom it has to balance with something else. Its
like ping pong. So you can lose a paintng at any
moment. And thats what I love at the same tme
its unpredictable. And that unpredictability
is what makes me want to paint. If it isnt a bit
unpredictable or dangerous I dont get interested.
Some people think because I use so many colors
theres a really happy energy.look a litle deeper.
Its a dance. A lot of these paintngs change every
tme I see them.
D: This kind of malleability and fux, is that
something you are hoping people take away
from your art?
A: Thats what I would like people to experience,
to see something diferent every tme.
At the end of the day, you have to paint for your-
self and you just hope it translates. I feel lucky
people are buying my stuf and getng inspired
and the show is doing well, but at the same tme,
if it didnt, I stll would have to paint. Even though
theres nothing really romantc about doing some-
thing that people dont appreciate.
D: Art is inherently subjectve.
A: Yes, there are certain things people like. I saw
someone just get pounded in their stomach when
they saw this partcular paintng (Closer) and
then the next person walked by without barely
glancing at it. Youll overhear people; sometmes
they get excited and sometmes theyre saying
they dont really like it.
But you cant let that afect you personally,
the business part of it. The business part is so
important and thats the scary part because I
just love paintng and want that to be separate.
I think the idea of identty is just the weird-
est thing, having to say Im a writer or Im
a painter. What does that even mean? Its so
limitng.
D: You want to do what you love but you also
want to make enough money from it that you
can contnue to do it. You dont want to spend
your day at a soul-sucking job that leaves you
with no free tme to pursue your passions.
A: Oh god, yeah. Ive done the weirdest jobs.
D: Whats the weirdest job youve had?
A: Ive been a food delivery man in New York
City, that was a really strange one. I had to ride
a bicycle and bring food from this place called
Live Bait and I would go to the weirdest homes
and people would invite me up. I would literally
just sit there and talk to people while their food
got cold. Or sometmes I would crash the bike,
spill everything, and Id have to reassemble their
food.
When I frst came to LA I worked for this real-
ity TV show called Change of Heart and the
premise was I had to fnd people and then these
couples go on a date with the other people and
then have to decide if they stll want to be with
their signifcant other. So I literally would go up
to people and ask if they wanted to make $500
to be on this show but technically I would break
couples up. People would call me aferwards
and yell at me, saying Why did you put me on
this show? You made me look like an idiot! So
that was one of the strangestreally, really odd.
But yeah, Ive done everything. When I got
out of school I started modeling and I went to
Europe and I didnt like it at all. I lived in Milan
for a while and it was so strange but I would
do it all again, I just love experiences. And I
like watching peopleI get really curious about
people. I need people. Just as much as I need
to be alone. If youre a painter you spend a tre-
mendous amount of tme alone, its very intro-
verted. But at the same tme when youre alone
theres only so much you can learn. Its so good
to actually talk to someone.
D: You get to bounce ideas of of people
A: Yeah, and get excited! Theres nothing too
romantc about being tormented in your home.
Wearing sunglasses and telling no one to come
see you or look in your eyes. Having your as-
sistant say Only speak to Alexander Yulish when
spoken to, or something like that. I mean were
all eccentric in our way but there has to be a bal-
ance.

D: Speaking of the artstc process, I read you-
have a place in Mexico? Is that where you go
now to paint?
A: Im startng to. My mom and I are moving to
San Miguel, and we found the perfect place but
it ended up getng bought literally right before
we made the ofer. It was our dream home, with
these huge studios. We ended up fnding a place
further away.
D: San Miguel, that whole area is a big expat
artst community.
A: It is! But its weird, I dont like hanging out
with other artsts that much. I wish it was the
tme of Picasso and Modigliani, and that whole
crew back in the 20s; they all bounced ideas of
one another and they all critqued and its just
not like that anymore. Everyone always says
they want to create that kind of a space again,
they want to re-create Warhols factory, but no
ones ever going to recreate that.
D: Growing up in NYC during that tme must
have been interestng. Warhol was stll alive
then. And you got to experience the height of
graft before they really cracked down and
stopped running the trains with tags on them.
Did you ever do street art?
A: Oh yeah, we would tag any place we could.
D: Whats the coolest place you tagged?
A: On a church..Just kidding! That wouldve
been really bad. We would literally just dare each
other, we would tag the sides of police statons,
THE EMPTY CHAI R, BY AL EXANDER YUL I SH
16
Ive goten chased. We used to get in bad fghts,
cross out the wrong person and theyd know you!
It was a litle more innocent, people didnt just
shoot you, I mean down townbut that wasnt my
personal form of expression, there were people
who were complete masters, geniuses Street
art is a very strange thing right now. It was the
height and nowTheres a group of street artsts
who will go down as unbelievable.

Everyone likes street art right now but not every-
ones a street artst. Theres a diference. Some
of them are going to be in permanent collectons
of the biggest museums in the world and will be
appreciated. Someone will do a throw up and its
not nearly as profound but sometmes you just
see something and you cant even express it, its
just insane. Sorry, sometmes I have trouble with
words. Saying something is insane doesnt re-
ally describe it.
D: I know what you mean, I say awesome or
rad all the tme when I really like something,
and I dont know why those words even comes
out my mouth because things are always so
much more nuanced than that and we have this
whole rich vocabulary at our disposal
A: Exactly, because at the same tme a color will
express it, like Blue! or Ultramarine Blue
thats like how I feel and then other tmes, thats
not how I feel. I have to create a whole new blue.
But then you realize you can never create a blue,
everythings been invented.
D: Well, Yves Klein made his own blue and he
patented it.

A: Oh, youre right, that was a bad example with
the bluenow youre like Youre an idiot Alexi you
need to do your art history! Ha, I hate art school.
D: You mean when you went to college?
A: Yeah, I just hated it. My mom was my real art
school. And that was essentally years and years
just watching her and experiencing that. But in
school I hated my art teacher. I remember once
I had to render a chair and when I was done I
decided to elongate everything because thats
how I felt. But my professor was upset because
it wasnt what he instructed us to do. It was a
constant batle.
At the end I remember I said to him Im an art-
ist and he said, Thats a prety bold statement.
People spend their whole lives before they can call
themselves an artst. And I looked at him and I
said Well, thats their fucking problem. And he
just looked at me, and that was that. It was bad
so I quit. It was just such an awful experience.
D: Because it was limitng? You didnt have full
freedom of expression?
A: Basically. I could render something if I wanted
to, exactly life-like. But at the same tme, I re-
member drawing with my mom and she taught
me to just extend a line untl it emotonally stops
being relevant to you. When the emoton stops
the line stops, so a chair or an arm may go out
all the way across the canvas and then all of the
sudden it ends.

But there has to be a dialogue, you cant just take
it all the way out for no reason. So you may do
that but other things have to balance.

In a sense, there are no rules. You create your
own rules. Theres an alphabet, just like if you
were to write a book, you would have to use an
alphabet. Here, the alphabet is colors. Some-
tme the colors may not be enough so you grab
a branch of the ground and stck it through the
canvas. That may not be enough, so you start
using everything around you. Some people use
cement bricks, and they build a brick wall in the
middle of a gallery. That works emotonally for
some people. For me it doesnt. But everyone
has their own form of expression.

D: Speaking of forms of expression, youre an
actor as well. You were in a David Lynch movie?
A: Yeah I was, it was such an interestng experi-
ence. I wanted to meet him, so I did and it was
at the end of his movie Inland Empire and I
remember getng a phone call the next day ask-
ing if I wanted to be in the flm. They just told
me to show up on set. It was towards the end of
flming and it was a fun experience. I love actng
but its not something I share that much. Some-
tmes people want to know the story; yes, I did
actngand I did a lot of thingsthen theyre like
Oh, you came to paintng later in life, but, no,
I didnt. Ive been paintng my whole life. I just
decided to focus on it, and I got really fortunate.
Its funny, actng doesnt do it for me the way
paintng does.
D: Because youre following someone elses
script?
A: Yeah, I dont like people directng me how to
do things. The only thing I have to worry about
now is the guy who created these colors and put
them in a tube.
D: Well, hopefully that guy knows what hes do-
ing! Youve mainly done acrylics so far?
A: Yeah acrylics have goten just unbelievable,
theyre very diferent from oil in a sense but at
the same tme its very immediate, and thats
what I love about it, the immediacy of it.
D: Do you always use a really bold palate?
A: Sometmes. Sometmes I wont use them, and
Ill only use a blue. Or a black. I dont paint for
the sake of using a lot of colors. I use colors be-
cause thats how I express whats going on. But
everything changes. Im curious to see where
I go in the next 3 years, 4 years. Every show is
diferent not for the sake of being diferent but
because the vocabulary, the language changes.
D: I read something about someone seeing your
cellphone background and thats how you got
discovered?
A: I was at the Chateau and I had just goten my
frst show here but I was sitng and this guy who
is a friend of a friend sitng at our table saw my
phone background and he asked who did the
paintng. It turns out he collects art, so to make
a long story short, so he bought a bunch of my
stuf and told the Annenberg family about me,
then they contacted Leila Heller at her gallery
in NYC. There was a show called The Young
Collectors Exhibiton, and that went really well
so I started having bigger collectors. I was just
fortunate but I worked very hard. Really theres
no correlaton between working hard and doing
well on the business side, a lot of thats just cir-
cumstance. You just have to be in the right place
at the right tme. And the work has to be good.
D: Your paintngs are abstract, but they do have
recognizable things in them, such as a chair,
or a vase, or a body. When you make the frst
line, that line you commit to, do you have any
foresight that eventually, its going to become a
human, or a lamp, or whatever?
A: Not really. I commit to a shape whatever it
is. Then Ill start to disintegrate the shape. Like
this one paintng, the shoulders were out to here.
And it felt right, but then you realize its not
balanced. At least for me. Sometmes it works
when you have huge proportons. This one all
of the sudden started getng very compact and
very it felt like everything started to get squeezed
in.
D: So you painted over the shoulders?
A: Yeah and it was just constant, you know a
chair, this chair turned out to be a longcouch.
And then it felt..it could be anything, it was actu-
ally a drink when I fnished it. But sometmes its
not that fguratve. There was a desk I think, which
I completely erased. It just constantly changes.
This one was called Family and now its Alone To-
gether like how you can be surrounded by people
and be very much alone. Its very much about being
in the city. I had just goten back from NYC and this
kind of came out from it.
D: Im really glad I can ask you these questons
in person and we can point to the individual and
paintngs and talk about them. Because I had
this whole list of questons, but it changes when
I meet you, and when we are actually looking at
the paintngs as a point of reference. This sounds
odd to say as someone who writes about art for
a living, but what do we talk about when we talk
about art?
Theres a Gerhard Richter documentary on Netlix
and at some point, Im paraphrasing here, but he
says something like To talk about paintng is not
only ridiculous but beside the point. Paintng is
another form of thinking. Words are only capable
of expressing words and paintng has nothing to
do with that. And I just thought that was so
beautful
A: Wow, yeah! You completely get it. Paintng is
another form of thinking. I completely agree with
that, I didnt say it as well as that..Im not good at
speaking and thats why I paint. Its difcult and
pointless too because our conversatons are com-
pletely diferent.
Its also that, to me, paintng is another form of
thinking that can be very ethereal. I think its
another form of expression. When words arent
enough I paint.
Well, there you have it. Alexi Yulish is a truly
incredible individual and a talented visionary; you
should check out his work in person if at all possible
or check out his gallery online.
alexanderyulishart.com/
20
Nozomi Rose foats easily between many creatve
media, extending her artstc endeavors from paint-
ing and photography to fcton stories and plays. A
survivor of the Kobe earthquake in Japan as a teen-
ager, much of her work deals abstractly or concretely
with the feelings of survivors of disaster, or those
displaced by larger forcesher fcton pieces deal
with reactons to the Fukushima, and her canvas
work is inspired by discussions between Japan and
the United States of war and Peace Consttutons.
She also works to navigate the space between her
Japanese, European, and American experiences with
art. Although she has been trained in Paris and has a
great understanding of Japanese artstry, she believes
these art scenes are too rigid, and seeks to create a
more fuid, less defned artstc experience for herself
through her work.
We met in her most recent display, a gallery in Med-
gar Evers College that showcases several pieces that
had once been shown at the Japanese Consulate in
New York, to discuss how her Japanese perspectve
lends a more unique view of art.
CS: What media of art do you work in? How do they
intersect or infuence each other?
NR: I consider myself as a painter, but I ofen create
artwork that goes far beyond how the feld of paint-
ing has historically been defned. For example, I deal
with Formalism, but my paintngs can easily become
three dimensional. I do not sweat to cut the canvas
of my paintng anymore. When cutng my picture
plane, I do not think, oh, I will become a sculptor if I
do that. Do you think Michelangelo thought oops, I
will become a painter if I work on the Sistne Cha-
pel? I dont think so. Artsts need to do what their
work requires. I listen to the materials and follow the
voices
My work is informed by Shaped Canvas. Yea, Im
doing the 60s, but I like it and I cannot help it. Also,
I increasingly started to think that I truly like Arte
Povera. In short, I am not a medium-specifc artst.
I work with the ideas of paintng and photography. I
see those two felds as a single discipline of image-
making. The feld of image-making began with words,
and I personally believe that this image-making
traditon goes back to literature, fcton writng to
be precise.
CS: How is Japan and Japanese art draw upon in
your work? Does it show itself in diferent ways
across diferent media (for example, writng style
versus canvas style)? Is it all subtly mixed togeth-
er?
NR: I think my paintng style has been very Europe-
an because Japanese art is too strong in visual arts
to visualize my personal voice through it [It is too
generic, or typicalsimilar images are repeated be-
tween many artsts, and so there is less room for a
personal voice]. Modern Art is a mere refecton of
Japanese Art. And then again, an American English
teacher created the Japanese identty in visual arts,
not someone Japanese. A renowned black curator
I know once told me that Japanese is as white as
you can get, so that explains it. My current work
uses Nihonga paint (traditonal Japanese paintng
pigment), but I used it in the way that relates to
collage, like Picasso.
You might fnd more of my Japanese-ness in writng
in part because I write a lot about Japanese disas-
ters (in relaton to East Asian color perceptons).
I have been reading about ancient cultures that
didnt have color blue and had it confused with
green, just like Japan.
CS: What is the inspiraton for the art on display
currently? How does it compare to the other work
youve done?
NR: I made subtle changes to the works I am
exhibitng right now [from when it was shown in
the Consulate General of Japan]. I framed black
bishop and white bishop in gold; the frames are
not part of the paintngs, but the gold may be. I
installed the piece unttled (hope) much higher
than how it was shown for the frst tme in my 2012
solo show at the Consulate General of Japan in New
York in Midtown Manhatan. This was in part be-
cause the consulate ofce had the low ceiling, but I
feel this work of mine changes every tme someone
hangs it and that is fne with me.
artist nozomi rose discusses
japan, the u.s. and her influences
By samantha weiss
CREATIVE SUGAR Summer 2014 17 21
These three pieces [currently on display at Medgar Evers
College] are taken out of a group of my art that is very
conservatve and conventonal. I created them for the
Japanese Government When I decided to work with
them, my goal was that I have them feel art. Their space
was all about internatonal afairs that was foreign to me,
but we slowly worked together and successfully com-
pleted the project.
CS: What was the experience of paintng with Nihonga
like? How did it difer from your usual process?
NR: Well, Japanese paint has much larger grains than
other paint like oil or acrylic, and so it is much heavier.
Traditonally, when you paint on canvas, you have it set
up on an easel, almost vertcal. Here I had to lay the
canvas out fat because of the heavy paint. The color
is diferent, too, maybe muddierbut that may be my
experimentng with it, because it looks muddier in Black
Bishop than White Bishop. Also, it is traditonal for
Japanese painters to mix the paint with their fngers,
although they do paint with brushes. I wanted the expe-
rience mostly of touching the paint, which is something
that European paintng does not have.
CS: What was your goal in creatng these pieces?
NR: These were on display at the Consulate General
of Japan in New York, during the big discussions of the
Peace Consttuton of Japan. In 2011, the United States
was asking for Japanese military aid, despite it being
against the Peace Consttuton. There were also discus-
sions about the use of nuclear power plants in Japan,
and whether or not it should contnue.
For unttled (hope), I used my unfnished paintng from
2004. I recreated my 2002 sculpture that I made right
afer 9/11. I reworked on it with the change in materi-
als, from plaster and wire to canvas and fshing line. The
theme for this is the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster,
so it is supposed to visualize the feeling of something
ephemeral.
To me, unttled (hope) is about its ttle. The word
hope is the English translaton of my Japanese name,
but does the word represent the artsts hope for the
victms of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the author-
ship (signature) or the ownership of the artwork? While
I was creatng this piece, along with black bishop and
white bishop, I was thinking of war and the relaton-
ship between Japan and the United States, and how it is
like a chess game.
( TOP) ARTI ST WI TH SCUL PTURE, UNTI TL ED HOPE
( BOTTOM) WHI TE BI SHOP, BY NOZOMI ROSE
22
went to the frst night of the fourth installment of the modestly legendary Ende
Tymes Festval, a weekend-long celebraton of experimental music, video, and
art. It was situated at The Silent Barn in Brooklyn, NY and on Sunday at Outpost
Artsts Resources in Ridgewood. Its an entrely independently funded festval
of extremely noncommercial musicmostly harsh noisestarted by musician
and organizer Bob Bellerue. I went on Thursday night, May 8
th
, to see what the noise
(so to speak) was all about.
The concert is notorious for being what Bob has described as the one noise concert
of the year for a lot of artsts and musicians in the Brooklyn area. Its substantal
line up served as a powerful draw of likeminded artsts around the New York area.
Performers had a focus on textures, performance, innovaton, and the extreme ends
of the sound spectrum. A wide sprawl of diferent ethos drives the artsts on display,
but experimentaton is their shared connecton.
As an event organizer, Bob Bellerue is a modest, well-spoken man, kind and
easygoing. Organizing the event himself, he skews away from commercial sponsors,
handpicking the acts based on who he personally enjoys. Low budget and
ramshackle, Ende Tymes operates entrely on handshakes, informal agreements
and whatever free promoton the internet can ofer. Its an unspoken majesty of the
experimental arts world that I will proudly defend: no one is in it for the money. This
is true expression, take it or leave it.
A short walk from the Myrtle/Broadway J train stop brought me to The Silent Barn.
Performances had begun on tme, which was a litle unexpected. Bob is strict
and regimented in his scheduling; like some others I know in the same positon,
hes dealt with enough noise code violatons to understand the importance of
the strict itnerary. And everyone helps each other. A percent of the door goes to
the performers, who are vast and from several places in the world. An average
performance length of about 15 minutes promises speed in delivering weird or
transformatve experiences.
Unaccustomed to bands who keep their schedules so strict, I miss Chris Pitsiokos
performance with Philip White as well as Limax Maximus. Their performances,
already uploaded online to UnARTigNYC (unartgnyc.com) by the tme I wrote this
story, are excellently diverse and colorful.
I entered to the sounds of Lazurite, one electronic musician whose manipulaton
of live samples created an unusually immediate reacton. She was weaponizing
sculptures installed in the Barns main stage, building a squeaking groan into a
disarming, unexpectedly ebullient swell of buzzing drones and a kind of distant,
glimmering twinkle of something that at full volume would be quite terrifying,
but in the distance, has an odd allure to it. It strikes me as a gem sound, for its
crystalline, elusive beauty, and how it holds the air in stasis.
I
18
THE
BEGI NNI NG
OF THE ENDE
words & photos By
adam devlin
In the midst of the audience were most of
the performers. They are all friends to some
degree, and usually associate on Facebook in
diferent music groups, where the proliferaton
of event sharing ensures a loyal atendance.
I met up with Rat Bastard briefy, who I had
previously seen in Gainesville when he was
promotng the Internatonal Noise Conference,
his noise festval.
Ive done INC [at The Silent Barn] before.
Theres too many fucking rules now, he
says when I tell him Im excited for the next
performance. Now you cant take a beer, cant
take a s*** with a beer, he laments.
As a member of the Laundry Room Squelchers,
Rat is privy to the kind of psuedo-celebrity
status of other noise artsts with long and
infuental careers. His show is last, and hes a
major crowd draw.
Following Lazurite was one of the most
spectacular performances of the night, Phill
Niblock. A lastng force in avant garde music,
minimalism, and experimental compositon,
Niblock has had infuences on artsts such as
David First, Sonic Youth and Glenn Branca.
Armed with nothing but a computer and a beer,
he drew layers upon layers of simple waves
into a heart stopping superdrone. It could only
be called such, a superdrone; past the dirges
and chants, coursing through the legacies of
the Scotsh bagpipe and the esoteric artfce
of the snake charmer, the raga and the sitar
building more furiously, growing metallic and
mean and brighter than organic instruments
but stll perfectly seated in the middle of
your ears, it was a breathtaking performance,
unmatched. At 19 minutes, it felt far longer
and yet I didnt mind it one bit. I sat down and
got some thinking done. At one point I may
have tried to meditate. Niblock sat patently at
his computer sipping his beer, then folding his
hands together.
Worth followed, an artst who utlized a
string of efects pedals and a device called a
no-input mixer, which is an audio mixer that
creates sound out of pure feedback. Existental
implicatons aside it burst forth in piercing
tones in harsh tmbres and occasionally
thumped a deep heartbeat or a cats purr
or a motorcycle in idle. At the end of the
performance it was wailing and screaming, as it
is wont to do.
I took a break and went out for some fresh
air in the side entrance and stone garden that
wraps along the side of the Silent Barn. Lazurite
and their friends were relaxing, and I knew
one or two people there to kill tme with. The
experimental community is a fairly close knit one
but everyone is welcoming and friendly. I had a
drink outside and surveyed the sculptures and
art. As I stood up to return, I heard the sound of
a broken pipe. It may have been gushing water
into a metal bin.
Past the fimsy threshold between the
outside world and what is now a Taskmaster
performance, I heard the sound of two trains
colliding. It just kept going and going. Vicious
and metal and loud, the A and C trains crashing
together in parallel from 125
th
to about 14
th.
No
wait, now it sounds like children clashing pans.
No, its two hundred gamelan players with no
rhythm playing their hearts out.
Then everything gets blurry and sounds like a
nightmare. Its about half over at this point.
Taskmaster grabs a wire which (I guess) makes
noise happen, and locks his arms spread out,
Diane Arbus hand grenade style. He has an
impressive beard and a monastc dispositon.
Next on the stage was one Jean Sbasten
Truchy, who I am unfamiliar with. His music
consists of stark, binary dronesup note, down
note, beat, rest, etc.and a disturbing stage
presence. In a truly unnerving cadence, Truchy
contorts his hands and moans like a tortured
prisoner. The industrial pulses behind him
grow stranger and collapse under electronic
processing. Hes also rocking the monastc
chic look, but of a monk whos rootng for the
other team. Then he just starts screaming like
a regular demon. Im thoroughly terrifed and
impressed. Once in a while a burst of noise
subsumes another and its almost briefy kind of
catchy. Its very prety at the end, with layers of
voices and wind gusts.
Truchy gives way to Shredded Nerve. He has
on black boots and shorts and a t-shirt for the
band Disma. Sometmes when people use
loop pedals or looping equipment of some
kind they like to use interestng sound sources
and in Shredded Nerves case he banged on
metal grates and used a metal billy club with a
microphone atached to it. It was sort of catchy,
or it was infectously looped untl sataton set
in and I could hum along to it. Im prety sure at
some point the sound of someone urinatng was
sampled, which has a long list of precedents.
I was eager to try out the camera, which I
had borrowed. The stage proved difcult to
photograph due to low lightng, so I wandered
around the venue. The Silent Barn was clutered
with trinkets, walls were covered in graft, and
the side entrance contained not only a tcket
booth but also a barbershop, where customers
are encouraged to pay what they think their
haircut is worth.
I took a few shots of the interior and some of the
art. Walking around I saw art peppered along
the walls and rooms full of people talking to one
another. Each of the musicians who had played
earlier seemed to have a cabal of people who
knew them. There were about three degrees
of separaton between everyone in the room. I
took a picture of Bob as he opened a back door,
perhaps to retrieve some more cables. Everyone
needed lots of cables at shows like this.
Developer was the most actvely diverse
sound painter of the night, serving a bufet
of interestng and far-reaching tmbres
interspersed with small, neat experimentslike
a microphone on a door hinge, and it squeaks!
When I closed my eyes it was impossible to
track. It reminded me of being stressed in the
morning, when my fatgued mind cant form a
complete thought. Then he bowed what looked
like a drying bin for utensils, and at some points
along the bow it sounded like an electric guitar.
Other noises turned up in pitch and squeaked
humanly, and then some genuine bells, musical
bells, played before more noise happened.
Slasher Risk were a duo who lit sage to cleanse
the venue before playing some post-rocky guitar
melodies for a few minutes. It was very moody
and kind of nostalgic and sweet. Then someone
turned a knob and the melodies became a guitar
tornado. Slasher Risks atenton to detail in the
evocaton of irreverent 90s alt-rockers was too
spot on for the crowd to appreciate. They rifed
and posed and twisted their hips lackadaisically
while snarls of blown-out bombast whirled
about the room. It was very dark and I couldnt
take any good pictures of them and at one point
a half dozen atendees tried to start a mosh pit.
Again I was reminded of simple binaries. Silence
and noise. Total harmony, then the beatfc,
cathartc buzz of the atonal. Suspended in the
air of the room were two glowing orbs cycling
through colors. They glowed along with the
music, getng brighter or darker as the volume
rose or lowered in the room. But tonight
everything was so loud youd never know. They
were fully beaming, in soothing pastels and loud
neons.
What began as work/deaths performance
turned into an opportunity for me to clear my
head a bit. I took of around the street corner
for some food and to check my ears to know
what kind of damage Id accrued. I felt guilty for
skipping out on the show and subconsciously
ill from the absence of sounds. It was as if a
great vacuum opened up in my head, far more
punishing than anything emanatng from the litle
venue behind me.
Normally at this hour I would have been hearing
an arrestng, echoing herd of piano chords
doused in processing by work/deaths mindful
and brilliant Scot Reber; I had to rectfy that
problem. I managed to make it back afer
around 10 minutes right as something kind
of transcendentally beautful collapsed into
something darkly creepy. It kind of toed that line
for a while before fading out.
Blessed Thistle was Bob Bellerue himself, a
standard (for this crowd) performance that was
nevertheless thoroughly satsfying. He screamed,
whipped white hot sonics up and down, pressed
butons that made things growl or hiss or buzz,
and at one point shook his gear around violently,
knocking some of it to the ground. Bob was the
Platonic Noise Artst, his highs perfectly highs,
lows just right, and just enough interacton and
scalding fury to come alive, partcularly when he
yelled and shook the fimsy plastc table he laid
his toys on. Already worn out from the event
the perils of DIY organizing!it seemed like Bob
held in every last ounce of his precious strength
for this part of the night.
Newton provided the penultmate performance
of the evening, a schizophrenic sound collage
made up of textures and thumps and watery
sloshing sounds. Clicks and percussive slaps
were tmbrally blended into a grey mush that
cavorted between speakers playfully...then
angrily. When that thing reached its logical end
point, Newton played a sample of a crying baby
and dissected it, rearranged it, sped it up and
down and fed it through weird machinatons
untl it screamed and howled like strange birds
in pain. In physics class I learned that a babys
cry was in the range of frequencies that human
ears are most sensitve to.
Rat Bastard was the last act. Quick to set up,
he was armed with nothing but a guitar and
an amp, and what looked like a pedal that had
been built from scratch, no doubt to produce
odd noises. With the bravado of the worlds
one true guitar god and the outit of a mad
burglar, Rat truly shredded. A method not
taught in any books, vile and burning with a
mix of hate and desire he shredded like a real
life punk. The crowd, which had diminished to
a small semi-circle, loved it. Some bobbed their
heads.
It was always the most curious thing to me,
bobbing heads at a noise concert. How were
you all bobbing along? There was no rhythm
to follow, no patern to make sense of. Nothing
to grab onto; nothing but pure id, manifest in
sound. Yet stll, inexplicably, I nodded along
with them. The music breached paterns of
thought and structure and there we were small but
communal, nodding along together. Somehow it
stll made sense.
Bob was tred. There were stll messes of audio
cables, circuit bent synthesizers and busted amps
to store and plenty to clean up. I ofered to help
load out gear afer the last performance had
fnished and I was packed up. He told me not to
worry. Someone would help. Someone will always
help out.
The festval contnued all weekend long but I dont
think I could have survived the entre weekend.
It ended on Sunday, May 11
th
, with a screening
of experimental video art, a welcome respite
from the chaos of past days. Walking back home
Thursday night I felt my brain make its own litle
drone concert: a single piercing ring which grew as
the city noise ebbed, untl it occupied my thoughts
completely and lasted for two more days.
Ende Tymes typically takes place in May once per
year, at a venue chosen by Bob Bellerue. Anyone
interested in the Ende Tymes festval or any of
the performers and artsts involved can learn
more at halfnormal.com/endetymes/. Anyone
curious about The Silent Barn should check out
silentbarn.org. Both are artst run, self-supported
communites, open to volunteers and partcipants.
change, change, change:
theres a fox in the henn house
The Greek philosopher Herclitus said it before
Plato and Franois de la Rochefoucauld concurred,
The only thing constant in life is change, and
many centuries later Joni Mitchell said, You can
stay the same and protect the formula that gave
you your inital success[or you can change]
either way they will crucify youbut staying the
same is boring. Now considering Lauren Fox
and Rit Henn have been performing tributes to
Mitchell for the last few years, should it surprise
their fans that theyre now doing a bluesy cabaret
show featuring the hypnotc music from the
soundtracks of David Lynch flms? Ghosts of Love
Songs From the Reel World of David Lynch, had
its premier in the intmate red room of Stage 72/
The Tried NYC on Manhatans upper west side
this past winter and spring to sold out audiences.
They received glowing reviews by the New York
Times, Broadway World and CabaretScenes. Even
if you dont know the work of David Lynch, you
will leave changed -musically and emotonally
evolved, stmulated, thrilled, even saddened,
and defnitely beter for it.
When I frst met Lauren she was an aspiring
actress in her twentes, co-owner of Alices Tea
Cup in New York City and shed never mentoned
wantng to be a singer. But in fact shed atended
LaGuardia High School for Music & Performing
Arts with a concentraton in Opera Singing. It
was a dream long forgoten but it was there that
she learned to use her voice as an instrument.
That was several years ago. But dreams deferred
were also dreams evolved for Fox. She found her
way back to singing and has never looked back.
Afer seeing her perform all these years later I
was dumbfounded by the sultry sophistcaton
that oozed out from beneath that eye-catching
blue velvet dress that clung to her ribcage. Her
long red hair vibrated in contrast and her straight
cut bangs framed her stunning blue eyes and
By dena ferreira
high cheekbones. That voice went eerily into the
crowd like a breadth of smoke eking its way under
our skin and into our bones. As beautful as she
is, she couldnt steal the spotlight though.
Her cohort, Rit Henn, in perfect distncton to the
blithely beauty of Fox, is like a wild wolf, howling
at the moon, while feverishly strumming at the
bass or unexpectedly sofly picking a ukulele or
ringing bells once hung from a camels neck in
Egypt. While Henns body convulses and twists
in both the pleasure and pain of love, Fox quietly,
dutfully and mercilessly sings the poor man into
even more ecstasy and anguish. The mans got a
voice like a big bad angel and the two are really
quite a pair. They are the right mix of right and
wrong meant in the most positve way, theyre
tantalizing together.
Fox says, I frst saw Rit play acoustc bass at the
Algonquin before it closed. I loved his sensibility
and style hes very interestng to watch, adding
to the experience of any show. Nothing he does is
the obvious or typical.
For Henn it was easy, Foxs talent and generosity
is compelling. I frst began working with Lauren
on her solo piece, Love, Lust, Fear & Freedom:
The Songs of Joni Mitchell & Leonard Cohen.
Peter Calo, on acoustc guitar, Jon Weber, on
piano and musical director and me, on bass, goes
out with Fox on every show. Its very nice that
she includes us on the package. Not all cabaret
singers do that.
What inspired the work with David Lynch flms?
Wed sung benefts and a few of David Lynch
songs here and there. Friend, Elizabeth Freund,
began working for The Lynch Foundaton and
thats when it came to me. Songs from David
Lynch soundtracks would be a really great show. I
gave Rit songs that I knew and liked and then he
gave me songs that Id never even knew existed.
Separately but simultaneously the two went to
work on the project. Fox on the script and Henn
tackling the music to which he adds:
This was not songwritng but it was stll creatve.
It was nice because my mind was in need of a
breakit was using muscles and skills and at the
same tme not having to think about lyrics not
having to wade through my twisted sense of
sensibility when it comes to trying to write lyrics
and either embracing it or escaping it; I was
totally able to just side step it and sing the songs.
Coming together in the end, the collaboraton
paid of. They knew they had something special.
Moreover, what these two have created is an
evoluton in story telling; a new art form, out of
old art forms, using everything old to make it
narratve. Its cyclical beginning where it ends
and beginning again: infusing the evocatve
melodies from Lynchs flm soundtracks and
in no partcular order, with some of the most
iconic lines that any true Lynch fan would readily
recognize, the ingredients turn out a rich story
of love and loss. This isnt your Eydie Gorm and
Mel Torm show that your grandparents lauded
over. Fox and Henn have paid great homage
to some prety great trailblazers in music and
flm. Theyve taken the work weve already
appreciated like Love Me Tender, Blue Velvet,
Wicked Game, and In Dreams, and focused
in on the theme of love and loss, turned it on
its head and made sharp lef turns, got lost and
then got found again; fell in love, fell hard, failed
love and tried again, surprising their audience.
Finally, their unique take on these great frames
of work have caught the atenton of some
of the biggest fans of David Lynch. Recently
they were invited to perform at the biggest
Twin Peaks reunion, A Damn Good Twin Peaks
Screening, at The Paley Center for Media in New
York, twenty-fve years to the date of the fnal
episode. (Twin Peaks fans will know why that is).
Upon Fox and Henns return from an overseas
gig, they go straight into the studio to fnish their
frst CD, which will be released in the fall. Its
featuring many of the shows songs and more.
You can also follow them on their new Facebook
Fan Page FoxandHenn.
What Fox and Henn have done is change the
sound of cabaret and even the look of its
audience without excluding anyone of its original
followers. Theyve built on the old to make
something exquisitely clever and hauntngly
beautful. The music makes one want to cry tll
exhauston and then kiss their way back into
bliss. Change is sometmes what we fear the
most but it doesnt have to be. Change is more
likely than stagnaton. That is the good news,
though. Nothing lost will stay that way forever.
The sun will set, taking away the glory of its
light, but it also rises. Nothing is constant but
change. Take risks and surprise yourself with the
outcomes.
Photo by:
Timothi Jane Graham/Timothi Photography
htp://tmothi.com

Ballet Poi nte Shoes:
J. Bloch
Corset/One-pi ece:
La Mai son de Fashi on
Photographed by: Kei th Bi enert wi th Jason Maddox
Makeup and Wardrobe Styli ng: Angeli que Cerni gli a
Hai r: Tay Si ms
Model: Chri sti ne Ann Juarbe of Q Model Management LA
Stylehouse: La Mai son de Fashi on
ONE
HOT
CITY
A SUMMER STORY
Bolero: La Mai son de Fashi on
Bodysui t: DKNY
Ski rt: M. Stevens
Red Wrap Dress: La Mai son de Fashi on
Tap Pant: DKNY
35
31
32 Summer 2014 CREATIVE SUGAR 36
Black Busti er, Black Ski rt-Belt,
Tap Pant: Damsel
33
38
Dress: La Mai son de Fashi on
Shoes: Speed Li mi t 98
35
Janvier London is a premium accessories
house with an emphasis on luxurious
statement pieces.
aunched in 2013 by Jordache heiress,
Michelle Nakash, the initial lines carry an
impressive array of bag designs that seek to
combine a modern new look with constructive
elements while indulging in the luxury of ever-
lasting glamour.
Nakash established Janvier London with cre-
ative director Elle Azhdari in 2012. A line that
screams I own the night, or I know how many
steps in four-inch heels it takes to get from Soho
House to The Jane backwards with electronic
remixes still humming in my ears.
And if the Janvier vibe is one of glamor and
mischief then theres no doubt Nakashs heart is
the grand centerpiece. Quality and exclusivity,
--you cant sit with us --but with Michelle you
can, and most likely shell buy you some fancy
tea youll choose out of a large wooden box at
some overpriced cafe in the village. Shell tell
you stories of homeless men outside Balthazar
and the reckless evenings shes spent riding in
cars with boys.
Her prized possessions include Mug Shot by
Project Face, Renee Dweck, a photograph of
Che Guevara by Liborio Noval and a box of love
letters she keeps under her bed.
Theres a lot more than meets the eye when it
L
Goldie Hawn and the
vintage mermaid
by emily wiest
comes to Nakash, shes an animal activist,
singer and 80s blazer connoisseur. And Ive
come to help her pack for our trip to France,
ready to gain an intimate perspective into this
womans world.
She foats through her Soho Loft, a large
marble mosaic depicting Sophia Loren by
Marcos Marin eyes me suspiciously from the
wall. Vaulted ceilings and chandeliers usher
me into the grand space. I hate sconces,
she tells me as we ascend the stairs to her
converted walk in closet. This place was cov-
ered in them when I bought it and its taken
me years to remove them all. (I notice there
are still two rebel sconces, triumphantly hang-
ing high above the sitting room.)
I lay on the chaise lounge in the center of her
closet, as she begins to pack.
I feel like Cleopatra I confess, Thats the
point she replies in a frenzy, exquisite gar-
ments fying through the air. Should I bring
the ball gown? Im going for a Goldie Hawn
in Overboard theme. She holds up a long
black Diane Van Furstenberg creation. Pack
it! I squeal a bit too gleefully.
We fy to Paris, Paris is drunk--the whole city.
Or perhaps that was the jetlag, either way,
theres one night making out barefoot in front
of our boutique hotel, the gentle memory of a
skirt chasing bellhop and then were on to our
second leg, cruising south through the coun-
tryside.
Driving through the south of France in her
supped up rental is nothing short of bliss. We
discuss men, boys, women, musicians... she
loves to have a crush almost as much as she
loves the Rolling Stones and Fiona Apple. I
say Fionas style is intentional, Nakash says it
comes from a true artists ambivalence. She
turns on Hot Knife and we listen in silence
as we fy through the French countryside.
A night in a chateau, Michelle in purple, she
demands to be taken for a turn in the garden
(she loves Jane Austen). And there she was,
like the cover of a romance novel hanging off
a ladder, picking fowers in the summer green
felds and forests and centuries of sculpted,
remodeled architecture.
St. Tropez.

Nightingale, callgirl, wandering through
cobblestone streets looking to meet you.
A party city by night and lounge about by
day. Seafood, mixed food, well fed women
in tight dresses. She owned the night and
called my dress romantic.
Heir to a gilded lifestyle youd expect the
daughter of one of earths greatest for-
tune collectors to be more or less than she
is. Truth be told the heiress is just a playful
loving girl, doing yoga by the pool, reciting
anecdotes about expansive vulnerability.
Travelling by night we fy into Corsica, an Is-
land of bandits (Im told) and we giggle over a
string of fantasy-nightmares; perhaps a crew
of sexy pirates would overtake the boat and
have their way with us.
She hires a car to drive us south from Ajaccio
to Bonifacio to meet the yacht. She sleeps
through the winding rolling journey in the Lulu
Lemon yoga pants she wont leave home
without and her Helmut Lang mesh ivory
sweater.
Once on board theres no doubt shes a water
baby, as she loves the sea.
Riding the wave of the high tide fairy air in
those sparkly bottoms and clash t-shirt, shes
a vision in bronzed skin with the fabled hair
of a high seas Mediterranean mermaid. She
beckons, come on board with an all-know-
ing, all-graceful grin. She whispers, lets
begin to the Champaign fute and the bril-
liant star studded night. Its time for a swim
in some deep dark underwater, cave--or
grave--a testament to her adventurous side.
Rock leaper, lobster eater, some kind of water
nymph with a tail end to end the scenic view--
the great distractor. I was enamored, some
silly playwright on an all-encompassing jour-
ney through a day in the life of a 1% hipster.
A butterfy stalked us days like a tissue in the
breeze, hovering lovely above our fame-like,
sun-stricken faces, freckly and warm. The
mood was Pale Blue Eyes and wed hap-
pily linger on. It was the ocean that had our
41
attention with its relaxed atmosphere. We
were hammered asteroids buzzing bleep-
like through an endless sky, always with
the sadness of isolation brewing beneath,
the infnite oasis. Shes not afraid of sharks,
but the vastness of the ocean terrifes her.
She hates snorkeling, would prefer not to
see. Drunken water sports, sun block, a
bonfre on the beach and back to bed to do
it again. The gently rocking cabins our lush
prisons, capturing us, keeping us from the
midnight air.
On the last day she dons a Jean Paul Gauti-
er bustier designed for La Perla. Shes free
in her body and always ready to dedicate
her beauty to the frame. Smiling, seducing,
unmoving, frozen in time. Frozen but not
mine. Shes the girl who embodies the devil
be damned rockabout town chic momentous
attitude, with her scraped knee baby self and
her womanly taste. The hair, face and body
pieces of a braid tied together to create this
vixen image, rebel pirate bag maker.
http://www.janvierlondon.com/pages/about
LI FE OF AN ARTI ST
I hear there are many misconceptions about
artists. People believe its easy, yet in reality its
a world full of struggles and challenges that we
face on a daily basis, including competition from
other artists out there and time constraints.
Making art and living as an artist is diffcult, this
is why I have a job outside of art to support me
and also my artistic needs. One day, however, I
want to take a huge leap in to the art world and
start making a living out of it.
My main goal as an artist is inspiration, making
people believe in themselves is what I do best.
Believe being the operative word, most art-
ists just dont believe in themselves or they get
slammed by people who can do nothing but
judge them. Its a real shame, some incredible
artists I have met in my time are made to feel
worthless because their work gets rejected or
unappreciated by people who just dont under-
stand what it takes to create something.
I go to sleep at night thinking of vivid beauti-
ful colors and what I can add to my drawing to
make it better. I wake up every morning with the
same feeling, the desire to go over to my table,
pick up my pencils and draw. I utilize my pencils
to great effect, I love them. They allow me to re-
lease my inner emotions and thoughts through
the simple movement of my hands.
I can draw anywhere between 6-8 hours a day,
and thats including a 9 hour shift at my day job.
If you love the craft and want to commit your-
self to it, you have to be prepared to work, and
work hard. I may not be selling my work yet, but
i feel secure in my abilities as an artist and my
thoughts. I also write a lot of things down, be-
cause sometimes art isnt always about drawing
or painting. Anything can be art.
To me, being an artist is like having a sixth
sense, I believe we can see things that others
cant, and being an artist enables us to create
these things we see, and then show them to the
people who cant.
I can respect all types of art from around the
world, but I love colored pencil drawings. This is
the art I am trying to master. I draw for hours in my
bedroom with my television on in the background,
and I am meticulous about details in my work. I
never used to be that way, I would rush things to
get them out of the way. But now my drawings
take me weeks if not months to create.
I love the whole processes required to draw. The
visual stimulation you get from creating something
that people comment on and admire. I literally live
and breathe my art work, its a part of me, and
in that respect you can look and see the passion
and love that has gone in to it. Art is not just about
drawing something and hoping it sells and mov-
ing on to the next project. There are no elements
of emotion involved if you create art like that. You
have to love it and feel proud of yourself for cre-
ating something. I have my own Facebook page
which I try to update regularly and to try and in-
spire other artists too, and that in itself is like hav-
ing another job. I have over 25,000 people on my
page and I routinely get asked a lot of questions
about paper, pencils, art materials and the occa-
sional Will you draw me for free message. I reply
to them all as I love helping others, there are the
odd haters and people who try and put me down.

If you want to succeed in the art world you must
never give up. I was told in school by my teachers
that I would never become anything special. The
truth is, everyone is special in their own unique
ways. You just choose to believe that at times.
Everyone reading this can become successful, if
you dream of being the next Picasso, do it! Noth-
ing can stop you apart from yourselves. Dont lis-
ten to any haters or people who are jealous of your
progression in life. Work hard and when things are
not going your way, work harder.
Thats what a true artist does, they never give up
If you are an artist, use your powers and your abili-
ties to help inspire others and make people believe
in themselves. You can help make the world a
better place simply by making someone believe in
themselves.
My Facebook art page - https://www.facebook.
com/TheArtworkOfChristopherDurant
LI FE OF AN ARTI ST
When you walk into Gunmetal Ink, the brightly
colored walls welcome you. I frst heard about this
shop from my friend and tatoo artst Chad Tree.
He did an apprentceship with owner Bori back
in 2011. Bori took Chad under his wing to have a
more rewarding spiritual career in the arts. Since
then he has developed an illustratve style all of
his own.
To be honest I havent been to many tatoo shops.
This one is equipped with all the traditonal
services one can expect: tatooing, piercings,
laser tatoo removal and cover-up services and
apprentceships opportunites. In additon,
Gunmetal Ink also has a main gallery for artsts
to showcase their work, a small caf area, and
a shop where a tatoo artst can buy supplies..
Central to the shop there is an art gallery
featuring work by Chilean artst, Alonsa Guevara.
Owners of Gunmetal Ink, Bori Benz and Krissthl
, talk to me about the concerns of the business
and how their past mistakes have informed them
to become not only tatooists but tatoo artsts.
These guys carry a wealth of knowledge from
experience. Boris past twelve years of experience
includes serving in the Marine Corps, as a barber,
and flm school. Kriss fair for aesthetcs, and
initally startng with drawing and airbrushing,
plus his over 20 years of event planning, have
informed their decisions today.
I ask Bori how he feels about the rise of reality TV
shows focusing on the tatoo industry in recent
years.I see too many people trying to jump on
this bandwagon, because of all those TV shows.
Dont get me wrong, Ive tried the TV shows.
There are people who arent cut out for it and
there are people who stll publicize their inability
to do something. Its prosperous. He goes on
further to explain, Every tatoo that walks out
that door is a direct representaton of you, of
what you do. No mater how simple or how
complex, you have to knock it out of the park
every tme and if you dont, or are incapable of
doing so, whats the point?
Bori contnues to explain the complexites of
tatooing as an art practce. The sad thing is,
the common or the average Joe is not an art
critc .So most anything would look OK to the
general public, thats the problem. So you have
to walk on thin ice when it comes to critquing
tatoos. Especially our clients, theyre very
sensitve. Sometmes, they [tatoo artsts] build
relatonships with their clients where they bat
an eye. So before you call someones tatoo
shit, when they walk in the door, you have to be
mature and think about that, he said.
What Bori made me realize is that there are
relatonships formed between tatoo artsts and
their clients. Clients are sensitve (and within
reason) about past artwork that adorns their
body. Bori explains, You are talking about
a few hours where someone is intmate with
another person. A lot of relatonships build
out of tatoo sessions. He explains, Its hard
not to come of as a hater. Unfortunately, the
market is saturated with its almost taboo to
critque tatoos because people call you a hater.
But at the end of the day, its sad, the market is
saturated with work that is getng by and that is
making money, you cant fght that.
I ask Kris and Bori about lessons they learned
from past life experiences. Those 20 years of
event planning taught me how to be a good
people person, how to talk to people, how
everyones diferent and how you have to
adapt to them, Kris said.Hes done Billy Joels
Birthday, Whitney Houstons Wedding, Lionel
Richies wedding, concerts and fashion shows.
Bori said, One thing I learned from the military,
is if you have a problem with something,
dont ever just address the problem; you best
goddamn bring a soluton, because all youre
doing is bringing negatvity.
gunmetal ink puts tattoo
in the gallery
by christine etienne
43
TATTOO ATI ST BORI BENZ
TATTOO BY KRISSTIHL
TATTOO BY BORI BENZ
Boris dream to own a tatoo shop was realized
at 26 years old. It held the vision of being one of
the frst storefront tatoo shops in Washington
Heights NY, equipped with bay windows to
compete with Sohos market. Unfortunately this
dream came withhard learned lessons. Under
Governor Giuliani, landlords could disseminate
their real estate taxes among their commercial
property renters. So they worked double as hard
to pay not only their taxes, but the landlords real
estate taxes as well.
I ask Bori if he has any advice to those seeking
property or leasing.
Just because you are your own boss, doesnt
mean that you can just stay home at your
choosing, No, it means that you will work harder
than you will ever work for anyone in your life.
Make sure your overhead is low, its feasible,
make sure its not confned in space, the lower
the ceiling the lower on your income, you restrict
the space to diversify your income, you put
yourself in shackles, he said
I ask him what made him choose Connectcut and
if he likes it beter here.
My uncle Tio Flores has the business upstairs
making equipment for tatoo artsts. He was
also in the Marines and the force and started
to follow an artstc path later in life. He makes
the tatoo machines or the shop and foot metals
with reclaimed materials and customizes art on
them by various artsts. There are many family
members playing diferent roles in the shop.
I wanted to support my family. He also has a
security agency, helping people get their security
frearms, NRA classes- a one-stop shop for
security world, he said
The new Gunmetal Ink opened in Bridgeport
CT in February 2014. Its a beter place for
us artfcially, fnancially, it gives us a place to
actually grow, he said.
Kris said he likes Connectcut beter than
anywhere else and that the locaton makes them
more creatve. Being in the city, there are a lot
of distractons. We have more space and before
we were cramped. This is awesome. The fact that
we have to drive a litle bit far, it has its ups and
its downs. Its nice to get away, you know? And
I think if I lived right here it would lose some of
its nuances, Id get bored of this. Everything is
new, its a beter vibe and we have yet to see the
true warm weather. Its easy to be here for a lot
of hours. Thats what we want it to feel, homey
and comfortableWe (Me, Bori and Boris father)
poured a lot of sweat; achy knees, back, efort
and design input into the shop and were involved
with constructon, fooring, ceiling and plywood,
he said.
I ask Bori if he sees a diference in the clients
that come in now compared to his last shop.
Bori said,Now we are tatooing 9-5s,
Americans, where things mean something
to them litle things.[Bori proudly shows
me a tatoo that he did for a client of the 2
nd

Amendment]. The artwork alone is getng
beter up here because people are requestng
top-notch stuf. They know the value of sweat
equity.
Do you see any diferences between working in
Connectcut and New York.
Bori said, New York requires certfcaton,
knowing of blood pathogens, cross
contaminaton, that of a sterile nature whereas
Connectcut licenses the shop. Bori explains
that it is a double- edged sword: It is helpful to
be educated in art considering the competton
but it also sets it apart especially because
Connectcut is a state that does not harp on
individual standards, more than the business /
shop aspect. The county asks instead,if you are
capable of doing the artwork.
He contnues, Hopefully we get to force
this artstc issue down here, No more of this
chopped block, scratcher apartment type deal.
I would rather just stck with two artsts here
untl I get the quality that I want walking out
that door. Everyone leaving through that door,
I want them leaving satsfed, and I want them
to praise us. Its not going to do that if my
standards are as low as societys.
hat are some concerns or issues that he sees
in the tatoo world? We look for the easy
money, the easy way out .No one wants to
work sweat equity no more, no one wants to go
to college no more, no one wants to work no
more. Were forced fed with the easy gig. You
see those tatoo shows, with the tatoo artsts
blowing up on Instagram, following them, living
like rock stars. We get the liquor, women, free
sh*t. People love tatoo artsts. But you dont
see what it took for that man to get there.
The years of grinding out in the tatoo shop,
being considered trash, slum of the earth, just
tatooing, everyone envious of you as a free
spirit with marks on your face. Its a process
to get to who you are. If you are good it took
you some sort of process to get there, people
dont see that on Instagram. You got the young
guys saturatng the business, the scratchers.
Im not an ant scratcher, some of the greatest
tatoo artsts didnt have conventonal tatoo
apprentceships they are just that talented
artstcally... You know what I am ant? Im ant
bougie. Im trying to give another brother a
chance at life, like art did to me. Bust your ass
TATTOO BY KRISSTIHL
now so that your future will be more certain.
I ask Bori for the names of great tatoo artsts.
Nikkohurtado andCarlos Torres, he said.
What strengths in the real world help in the tatoo
world? Kris said,Competton isgood because
thats what gets people persevering and tryin
to outshine each other and thats what gets you
excelling at the craf. When youre by yourself
thats when youre sort of stagnant, you dont
know that you can do something beter, because
you dont have someone to compare yourself
to. So, by having other artsts near you, you just
develop, if youre a good artst, if youre humble
and feel that youve got something to learn,
anybody whos a good artst says that you learn
forever, every tatoo you are stll learning.
Bori said, Im one of those people self-analytcal
people. If I see a defciency within me or within
my nature/ character, I dont just accept the
defciency I also mitgate the defciency. Im
not trying to change it? Its who you are I
acknowledge that sometmes people turn
themselves into jagged pills and they are hard to
swallow. Im just trying to put a sugar coatng on
my pill. Im stll the same medicaton. I just taste
sweeter.
Bori and Kris are planning to open more shops
in San Diego, CA and Austn, TX with veteran
friends. You can visit these guys here:
Website: htp://gunmetaltatoos.com/
Gunmetal Ink
4380 Main Street
Bridgeport, CT.
Also visit my friend: Chad Tree and once
apprentce to Bori: htp://www.thetreefower.
com/
There are many out there who consider the world of
fashion to be a playground for the materialistc narcis-
sist and the commercialism industry. And there are
more who consider fashion to be a privae club for
the savvy and cultured. Regardless of the school of
thought, not many can see beyond the trends and sea-
sonal lines to notce the underlying prescriptve nature
of fashion.
Historically, clothing has been used as a form of ex-
pression, primarily exhibitng class distnctons. The
world of fashion had always been restricted to higher
classes, and the birth of fashion democracy did not
come forth untl the sixtes and seventes.
Today, we might consider ourselves free from the
tyrannical powers, which dictated fashion in the past.
But, there is stll one fronter, which remains under the
infuence of societal conceptualizatons called mens-
wear and womenswear.
Historically, when it came to fashion, there was a
distnct gender defning line that the sexes dared not
tread. Instead, exaggerated notons of masculinity and
femininity served as the main infuences for designs.
But this line, where masculinity meets femininity, this
is where power plays are neutralized. This is where the
fun lies.
Today, menswear and womenswear stll ascribes itself
to gender normatve forms and designs-- it is all too
predictable. Each summer, crop tops get shorter and
mens shorts stay the same length. But, the middle
ground, the sector of androgynous fashion is a general-
ly uncharted territory. Weve caught glimpses ofexperi-
mentaton during the cultural revolutons of the 20s
and 60s, and in the younger days of hip hop, and today
a new wave of unspeakably gorgeous androgynous
models are being brought forth for the world to marvel
at, but untl we can feel comfortable moving across the
prescribed gender delineatons highlighted in fashion,
we are stll restricted.

Each of us houses a component of the opposite sex;
the ying and yang symbol reveals an intertwining of
opposite energies that come together to form a per-
fect circle. The power of wholeness defnes androgyny;
this fusion of male and female identty markers pro-
duces a mysterious fuidity. American culture juxta-
posed against a number of European countries reveals
an inherent rigidity, where sex is taboo, and so we see
fashion refectng the obvious instead of exploring the
more elusive aspects of masculinity and femininity.
Thusly, womens fashion accentuates her sexuality
through by restrictng and revealing, and mens fash-
ion refects his power through comfort and ease.
But, because it is (in) human nature to fear the un-
known, elusiveness is avoided and only what which is
clear and evident is embraced.
Why not use fashion as the historically self-expressive
tool that it is to explore your own sense of what it is
to be a man, and what it is to be a woman? Our self-
expression will not be fully genuine untl the duality is
embraced.
Fashion designers create clothes based on percep-
tons of femininity and masculinity, but it is up to the
individual to convey their own percepton. Fashion,
being the inital visual marker of personality, is an
opportunity to interact with or against society in a
tangible way. Untl fashion refects our whole human
nature, the tyrant, who has enforced broken percep-
tons of society into fashion designs, stll reigns.
Fashion your body, instead of letng fashion do it for
you.
CROSS THE FASHI ON LI NE
WI TH ANDROGYNY
BY ASHLEY ARROYO
SO SWEET YOU L L GET A CAVI TY.
CREATI VESUGARMAGAZI NE. NET

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