Honet
If Cédric had the option of choosing another profession, he would be an archaeologist. But for now, he is an artist, who goes by the name Honet. In his art, he reconciles two of his talents – creativity and curiosity. Starting out as a graffiti writer, he is an illustrator today, who is intrigued by remnants of former generations. His interest in artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes leads him down tunnels, up on roofs, and every level in between. He records all his experiences figuratively, through illustrations that are not just important within the art world, but as a legacy as well. His works are akin to textbooks that tell of forgotten, uncared for, or underestimated spaces.
We meet Honet in his hometown of Paris. He once said, the city’s Notre Dame cathedral was one of his favorite places to scale, but we decide to stay on the ground though, strolling along the Seine and discussing acrophobia, claustrophobia and Far Eastern masks. Read more »
Stefan Marx
In his 1967 theoretical work, Paragraphs on Conceptual Art, American conceptual artist Sol LeWitt wrote, “The idea becomes a machine that makes art.”
It’s highly possible that Stefan Marx would make the same observation today. The artist is best known for his drawings and typography. While he does not pursue any particular concept, an idea does indeed inform his art.
Marx does not necessarily work from a studio. He works intuitively, depicting whatever inspires him at any moment, whether in a night club, at a concert, on a plane or in a café.
He describes the perception of art as being snobbish or arrogant, and sets out to disprove that with his multifaceted and multi-layered art works.
Marx, who also draws graphics for the German fashion label Cleptomanicx and for record label Smallville, met up with us at the Karin Guenther gallery in Hamburg, which is exhibiting his solo show Die Hefte. Read more »
Daidō Moriyama
When it comes to photography, Daidō Moriyama is an old hand. Born in Osaka in 1938, he began taking photos in the 1950s, when Japan was just beginning to recover from the Second World War. It was a time of change – when traditional values broke down and gave rise to new ones. Moriyama trained his lens on post-war Japan’s social shift, zooming into the darker side of urban life. No subject was too taboo or frightening. More than ever today, his photographs remain a stark reminder of Japan’s social history.
We met Moriyama in Amsterdam at the opening of his solo exhibition Journey for something. He discusses his early photos and the impact of globalization on city life. Read more »
Asger Carlsen
‘Asger Carlsen born 1973 in Denmark. Lives and works in New York, NY.’ These are the words you see when you click the ‘info’ tab on Asger Carlsen’s website. It’s a short, sharp description that does not assign the Dane any profession. Carlsen is often described as a photographer. If you ask him to label himself, though, he will say he’s a material collector. Of his work, he says it is actually very little about the photographing process, and more about the “relentless” editing.
Between 1991 and 1996, Carlsen worked as a photographer specializing in pure depictions of crime scenes. He soon discovered that he used his camera in an unexpected and unconventional way. In 2006, he began layering images on top of one another – for example, to create odd-looking faces with many eyes. The resulting images shocked even himself, and he did not show the work to anyone. Today, however, the 38-year-old has come to terms with his unusual techniques. Carlsen is well known for deconstructions that question both the meaning of photography as well as the prevailing notions of normality and beauty. He is inspired by surrealism and the works of painter Francis Bacon.
In Carlsen’s best known series, Wrong, he edits and distorts everyday scenes. What looks familiar at first quickly becomes alien. People’s reactions range from strong dislike to admiration. Even models for his photography have no idea what they will end up looking like. Fortunately, most are okay with the result. But there was one man who commented on Facebook that he did not necessarily need to see obese people like this.
Carlsen dares to bend traditional connotations of photography. The Düsseldorf-based venue NRW-Forum recently showed the exhibition The Start of Art Photography, where it listed Asger Carlsen as one of the photographers likely to have the greatest say in the future. Read more »
Es Devlin
Es Devlin’s life epitomizes the word ‘busy.’ The 41-year-old mother of two has a tight schedule: while events and appointments are planned years in advance, they also have a habit of popping up spontaneously, too. More often than not, the British designer will receive a phone call in the middle of the night then find herself on a plane the next morning. The destination can be New York, Los Angeles or any city where a superstar might take up residence.
Devlin designs productions for artists across a broad cultural spectrum. From crowd pullers such as Lady Gaga, Take That, Shakira, Rihanna and Kanye West to theatrical productions, opera performances and sporting events, including last summer’s London Olympics.
It is just after 10:00am and we are standing on the terrace of her home in London Peckham. Devlin points out some of the capital’s top sights, including the venues that have once been temporarily transformed by her creative vision. “Although it is not even a clear day, you can just about see Westminster Abbey – it is the building with the flag on top; over there is our first stop, The Royal Opera House; here you can see St. Paul’s cathedral; there is the London Eye; over there is the Olympic stadium, our second venue; and this is where we are going tonight – the O2 arena.“ Read more »
Nina Hagen
Ever since German musician Nina Hagen entered the spotlight, she has been distinguished by her unique look and sound. With her colorful punk hairdo, rigorous mind and multi-faceted voice, Hagen is an original – an artist who has always stood by her own values and resisted the pull of commercialism. Her free-spirited attitude has taken her on an exhausting journey, marked by both difficulty and triumphs.
It was in 1974 when a 17-year-old Hagen first gained fame with her song ‘Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen.’ It rose to the top of the charts in the former East Germany. Yet, it was precisely this mainstream success that annoyed her. While it was common to adapt pop hits from the West at the time, Hagen says she decided to produce her own music instead. And that’s how she got into punk.
Hagen has lived in Berlin, Hamburg, London, Los Angeles, and Ibiza; she has been on stage in every continent, performing for small and large audiences, including one memorable gig in Rio de Janeiro that attracted 300,000 screaming fans. Though surrounded by fans, friends and lovers, Hagen says only one person remains her faithful companion: ‘Jesus is My Friend’ is not just a song on her latest album. It is her mantra.
It is almost midnight when Hagen sits down for our interview after singing for 2 hours at her concert at Zeche Bochum. She reveals how she came to embrace God and life as a nun. Read more »
Jo Baer
When museum directors, curators and journalists visit American artist Jo Baer in her third floor loft in Amsterdam, they don’t feel any sense of leaving again. Her loft, which also houses her studio, is chock-a-block with tools, which overflow from shelves. Paintings still in progress hang from the raw walls. A poster of her very first exhibition at New York’s Fischbach Gallery in 1966 is also on display, framed in black. Back then, Baer was most famous for her minimalist art – paintings that typically featured a white area framed by a black square and a thin colored line.
Today, her artworks are more complicated – so much so that Baer says it would take too long to explain them in detail. But she does describe them as an “abstract” representation of her time in Ireland. And those long-ago days remain fresh in her memory. The 82-year-old recalls a day in 1973 when she had lunch with Andy Warhol: “We got up to nonsense talking about doing a movie together with ourselves as the actors both having this white hair,” she says. During our meeting, Baer talked about a mysterious nude painting of herself, her years living in an Irish castle, and her work process. Read more »
Herakut
31-year-old Jasmin Siddiqui lives in Heidelberg and describes herself as a graphic designer. Her modesty prevents her from styling herself as an artist. But in fact, she is exactly that.
34-year-old Falk Lehmann lives in Munich. He is similarly humble, and can be accurately described as an artist as well.
Both have a background in graffiti and street art, but have since become established figures in the world of contemporary art, where they retain their pseudonyms. Falk is still known as Akut, while Jasmin remains Hera. Together, they are Herakut. Combining as perfectly as their names are their opposing styles and tastes.
Hera and Akut believe they were destined to work together. They first met in 2004, while painting a large mural in Spain. They struck up a friendship on the scaffolding and have been inseparable since. Apart from murals, Herakut exhibit their realistically fictional images in galleries worldwide. One show chases the next: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, Bristol and… Schmalkalden.
The small town, described as a “vacation resort in the Green Heart of Germany,” is where Akut grew up, in a house his grandparents rebuilt by hand after the Second World War. It is still the family´s home today. There is a small indoor pond teeming with goldfish, and on the walls, portraits of children and Herakut’s first paintings.
The duo has created a studio on the ground floor of this house, splendidly isolated from the distractions of urban life. Hera and Akut begin their day in the kitchen, with a cup of coffee and the local paper. After reading the horoscopes, they choose one forecast to be the motto of the day, then solve a crossword puzzle before discussing their work strategy and starting their session.
We joined Herakut in Schmalkalden to discuss their sources of inspiration, urban life, and injustice. Read more »
Henrik Vibskov
18th-century English painter Thomas Gainsborough once famously said of his competitor Joshua Reynolds, “Damn him, how various he is!” 21st-century designer Henrik Vibskov could provoke similar bursts of envy among his own peers. While the multi-talented Dane is best known for his eponymous fashion label, he is also a fine artist and a musician: he is the drummer of electronic band Trentemøller and exhibits in museums and galleries worldwide.
Vibskov studied fashion design at London’s famed Central Saint Martins college. He moved back to his native country ten years ago to start up his own business. Since then, he has built up a solid reputation as a multidisciplinary artist.
Ever-present, yet at the same time unreachable, Vibskov cuts a striking figure. Standing six feet and seven inches tall, his laissez-faire attitude belies his workaholism. His studio in Copenhagen’s city center is hidden in a cozy red brick building on a back street. It looks like housing for an extended family, and in a way it is: it hosts Vibskov’s army of workers.
When asked whether he defines himself as a designer, a musician or an artist, Vibskov likens his skills to the different ingredients that make a dish special. Read more »
Lee Fields
It’s all about the moment for American blues and soul musician Lee Fields. Instead of making plans, he just lets be – a credo that could describe the development of his career. Starting up in the funk and soul era of the late 1960s, Fields tried turning his passion into an occupation. He released a single in 1969 and his first album in 1973. But he remained virtually unknown. Despite a string of albums and considerable success in the South American blues scene, he still didn’t earn enough to make a living. So Fields turned to real estate. It is only now, decades later, that he is returning to first calling, by restarting his musical career.
His latest album Faithful Man is as strong and emotional as his former albums. The title single, ‘He Still Got It’ sums it up. Meeting Fields is like taking a journey back in time, when music was more pure. The veteran musician walks slowly now, and appears a little shaky during our conversation. But you can tell that the old power is still there, ready to be unleashed the moment the spotlight hits him.
Sporting a suit, a shiny shirt and heeled leather shoes, he performs as though time did not exist. At certain points, his eyes roll up to the heavens as though in prayer. Fields has much to be thankful for. Music has always been his dream, and now, on stage, he has made it real. Read more »
Jan Delay / Beginner
In summer 2011, Jan Delay gave a concert in Hamburg, Germany, to bid farewell to his “Bahnhof Soul” era, a solo career characterized by a mixture of funk and pop music. The musician will now collaborate with his former band ‘Absolute Beginners,’ which first formed in Hamburg in the early 1990s with a combination of English Rap and an iron will. Six albums and minus one member later, the band was renamed ‘Absolute Beginner.’ Then, after a seven-year break, Dennis Lisk, Guido Weiß und Jan Philip Eißfeldt reformed again simply as ‘Beginner.’ Their next album is expected to be released in Summer 2012. It will be interesting to hear what the trio produces after years of separation, especially given the different inspirations that have influenced each member.
We sat down with Jan Delay to look back at the early days, when he wore Starter jackets, hoodies, Doc Martens, down vests and denim overalls – a completely different look to the one he sports today.
Diane Pernet
Big names don’t sound big when Diane Pernet speaks of them. She virtually knows all about those in the creative world. But exactly who knows about this veiled lady? She rigorously dresses in black, never takes off her darkly-tinted sunglasses, never goes out without red lipstick and always has a turban topped on her head. Doing everything possible to look tall, the 5’2“ “statuesque” lady is indeed a principal force within the creative world. Her opinion is dominantly influential and can be a decision-maker as far as the careers of artists, filmmakers and fashion designers.
Although considered as infinitely extravagant, even the insiders of the creative industry consider Pernet as somewhat strange. Some say she looks like a witch and expect her to be as mean as Cruella de Vil in the 101 Dalmatians. But with her voice as smoky as a bar on the corner, Pernet proves the opposite. She loves colors. This is apparently not for her clothing but for her interior as she says. Her flat in Paris is as vivid as an art museum. From her back room, she can spot the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Shortly after arriving back in Paris from the London Fashion Week, she walks us through her neighborhood in the seventh arrondissement. She says it is the first time in her life that she has left home without a heavy bag. Carrying her keys and her Blackberry in her hands, she feels kind of free. She talks to us about talent, persistence and her visions on the art and fashion world.
Jean-Paul Goude
Being only a few feet high, the Frenchman Jean-Paul Goude is fascinated by beauty and proportions. He is a real graphic designer constantly thinking about the perfect way of visualizing. According to Goude, beauty is not dependant on its prevailing notions or standards shown in magazines. It’s also about the spectator’s perspective. Goude says nobody would regard his present wife as beautiful. Her face is as round as the moon but it is the different way in which Goude looks at her that is testament of her prettiness and captured in his latest art works.
It was the same with Grace Jones whom he met in New York City in 1976. He fell in love with her and her proportions. After a three-year relationship and numerous collaborations such as the remarkable album covers or the 1985 advertising campaign for Citroën with Grace expectorating the Cx 2, they are still in contact today as they have a son. Walking down memory line, he shows us a drawing that he sketched right after their first encounter.
Exactitudes
Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek are Dutch artists fascinated by society and its ongoing changes. Better known as a team than as individuals, the pair works together under the name Exactitudes, which is also the name of their long-time project that they began in the early 1990s.
Dutch Telekom had commissioned them to portray Dutch youth culture, and that task has since turned into their personal project. Exactitudes recalls the very moment it happened – New Year’s Eve, 1993: “We got half-drunken in our studio, did not go to any party, but decided to go on with the project. Exactitudes was born,” they say. “The week after, we went to ‚A Nightmare‘, a real big gabber party in the Netherlands. We photographed gabbers. Next was the Gabberbitches, whereupon we worked on a series about gays whom we just spotted coincidentally in a bar. The series was called Casual Queers. Everything developed organically.”
Exactitudes has since enlarged to 136 series of different stereotypes, each speaking for themselves. We met them in Cologne. They had their first exhibition in Germany at Ruttkowski;68. Read more »
ECB / Hendrik Beikirch
German artist Hendrik Beikirch proves that graffiti can be art. Instead of transferring images from concrete walls and train carriages on to more accepted media, he picturizes people. The result is a series of stunning murals that make a statement in any space they occupy – indoor or outside.
We spent the day with Beikirch at his home village near Koblenz. Aside from his art, he also expresses a passion for American culture, saying glibly that “bus drivers are more friendly there.” But when pressed again, Beikirch – also known by his artistic name ECB – became more precise. Read more »