Hasta La Ideas

High art in a revelatory New England field guide by William Wegman

Best known for his photographs of his beloved Weimaraners, William Wegman is an American artist with a talent for the unexpected. The recent release of his book “Hello Nature” coincides with an exhibition at Bowdoin College Museum of Art, both serving to demonstrate the artist’s intrinsic connection to nature and the New England wilderness. In the spirit of childhood—Wegman spent his summers in Maine’s Rangeley Lakes region—the compendium takes the form of a mock survival guide complete with recipes, advice and helpful anecdotes.

Wegman writes that he wished to create “a fiendish nature guide. Something that would combine the New England transcendentalism with a lifelong interest in hiking, fishing, canoeing, and birch bark. Have you ever made tea from birch bark?” For fans of his dog portraits, the woodsy art will shed light on the Wegman’s relationship to creatures. Beneath a crude drawing of a woodland critter, Wegman sums up this connection by writing, “Life wood bee boaring without animals as pets. Without pets life wood bee unbearable.”

Organizationally, Wegman’s own writings and art are broken up with a duo of essays by curators Kevin Salatino and Diana Tuite as well as a piece of short fiction by author Padgett Powell. These written works focus on Wegman’s life, his work, and the role of the environment in both. From the artist, we get a recipe for cinnamon teal duck cake, advice on birdwatching and handwritten treatises on environmental reform.

The layout of “Hello Nature” is curious. Curious in the sense that much of the writing is barely legible, the organization sporadic and the effect emotive. Curious, too, in the sense that this is not the Wegman we think we know. Weimaraners are present, but many of Wegman’s best-known works are left out. The result is that his work is given context outside of the celebrity buzz that dressed-up dogs have earned him. In short, the book is an honest look at the artist and the naturalist.

“Hello Nature” is available for purchase from The Bowdoin Store and on Amazon. The accompanying exhibition of over 100 works is on view at Bowdoin College Museum of Art through 21 October 2012.

An interactive digital woodland at London’s Tate Modern

Having won the hearts of music fans and artists alike with the wonderful co-creative spirit of “The Johnny Cash Project” and their digitally groundbreaking video for Arcade Fire, “The Wilderness Downtown,” Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin (head of the Data Arts Team at the Google Creative Lab) have joined forces again for a new project called
“This Exquisite Forest.”

Drawing on the overwhelming response they received in the frame-by-frame drawings that created their Johnny Cash video, Milk and Koblin are now broadening the scope of their creative partnership by offering a digital game of consequences to the global online community. This project takes the form of a new web platform where people can evolve each other’s drawings frame-by-frame into new animations.

The title of the project is inspired by the Surrealists’ game of consequences, called “The Exquisite Corpse.” Suitably, this week’s project launch was hosted by Tate Modern in London, in a gallery filled with 20th-century masterpieces. A large interactive screen in an annex of the gallery allowed visitors to navigate “This Exquisite Forest” with a handheld laser device, which, when pointed at the wall, triggered new animations to spring forth from the branches and leaves of the trees.

The initial seeds of the project have been sown by eight artists chosen from the Tate’s own collection. Dryden Goodwin, Olafur Eliasson, Bill Woodrow, Mark Titchner, Julian Opie, Raqib Shaw and Miroslaw Balka have all contributed work, creating an archive of drawings that the public can then appropriate and change according to their own taste. People from around the world can add their drawings online, while London locals can do so in person at the Tate Modern, where a bank of interactive screens are available for visitors to make their creative contributions to the project.

We spoke to Aaron Koblin about having his work in such a prestigious museum and how the project has grown and changed with the involvement of his collaborator, Chris Milk.

We’re standing in Tate Modern surrounded by Giacometti, Dubuffet and many other amazing artists—how does it feel to have your work in here?

I’m thrilled, this space is amazing. It’s a bit intimidating actually, but it’s a beautiful and wonderful space to be in. We’ve put so much time and effort into putting this project together, so it’s a bit surreal to be standing here and see it finalized and ready for people to do whatever it is that they do with it. It’s an exciting moment. Tomorrow we’ll open up the website and see what people do.

How did this project come to be in Tate Modern? Was the project always destined for this place?

Chris and I worked on a project called “The Johnny Cash Project” a couple of years ago, and in that project we saw people really wanting to express themselves more and take it further. So we thought we should build something that empowers them to explore their creative potential together. And that’s what this project is.

When Jane Burton (Tate Media Creative Director) reached out to us shortly afterwards and asked what we could do together with the Tate, then we knew this was a great opportunity to let people express and explore in a totally different way. To see what happens when you use the internet to allow them to connect in a way that I don’t think people have in the past. Random strangers exploring ideas in a really visual way.

Is this the first time you guys have collaborated on a physical installation as well as a digital platform?

I guess it is. I have unofficially been involved in some of Chris’s physical installations in the past. I’ve been helping behind the scenes, but this is our first physical collaboration.

How has the creative process been different on this project compared to “The Johnny Cash Project” or the “The Wilderness Downtown?”

This project is more complex in a lot of ways. It’s very open ended so people can really do all kinds of things with it. And it also has this physical component as well as the interactivity. It’s a bit like YouTube combined with Google Docs combined with a social network—it has a lot of aspects to it. So it’s been a different way of thinking and a much bigger experiment.

How has your creative relationship with Chris evolved over the time you’ve been working together?

I think we’ve only gotten better at communicating. There’s very little held back. Which sometimes is brutally honest, but also very valuable and it makes the iteration process very quick. We can openly discuss things and come to conclusions pretty quickly.

Are you always working at a distance from each other or do you get to be the same space sometimes?

Since we’re both in California it’s not too bad. Sometimes Chris drops into San Francisco for the day, or vice versa. We’re in the same time zone so video conferencing is really easy. It’s definitely a less traditional process where we’re not in the same room that often.

How does your role at Google play into your collaborations with Chris? Are they separate endeavours or one in the same?

It’s been an interesting fusion. I think working at Google has been great. They are amazing people with great resources. I’ve been able to use that opportunity to create some pretty exciting art projects. We’ve just been having a lot of fun really. There’s so much cool technology and so many interesting uses for it. So we really experiment with the potential of the web and see if we can’t push these technologies to their limits in weird ways to see what happens. So it’s a pretty dream job, for a nerd who’s into art.

Sweden’s legendary video director talks story-to-screen at Liberatum’s recent stop in Berlin

Liberatum, the global series of summits and seminars that celebrate creativity in its many forms, made a stop in Berlin to celebrate the opening of the new Soho House apartments. The program brought together great minds and big names like Stephen Frears, Jonas Åkerlund, James Franco, Kim Cattrall, Marianne Faithfull and Carmen Dell’Orefice to discuss their respective areas of expertise in film, music and fashion. Curated by Britain’s industrious young entrepreneur Pablo Ganguli, Liberatum focuses on connecting leading cultural minds in major cities of the world.

Soho House Berlin has opened 20 apartments for short-term or long-term living in its historic building in Mitte, the rooms adding more booking options to the in-demand accommodations in the massive building. Guests are treated to hip Berlin living while enjoying first-class service and access to all Soho House amenities such as a pool, spa, room service and full-size Cowshed products in the bathrooms. Soho House Berlin plans to launch more housing options in the upcoming year, including a handful of sprawling loft apartments.

Liberatum made full use of the various spaces to host the summit. In addition to artist talks, dinners and general enjoyment of Soho House’s lush cocktail spaces, Liberatum screened recent work from the directors, including “Tiny Apartments,” Jonas Åkerlund’s third feature-length film. The Swedish director is best known for making iconic videos for 25 years for the likes of Prodigy’s “Smack my Bitch Up,” Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” Metallica’s “Turn the Page,” Madonna’s “Ray of Light” and “Mein Land” by Rammstein, a band he frequently collaborates with when in Berlin. As of late, Åkerlund has been increasingly focused on longer-form storytelling. “Small Apartments“—a black comedy set in the less-glamorous side of Hollywood—premiered this year at SXSW.

Åkerlund, who got his start as a drummer in the Swedish black metal band Bathory, can trace his signature editing style back to his own drumming style. With quick cuts or sped-up characters, Åkerlund believes the story is best told through the editing process. He still takes a very hands-on approach to editing, working late into the night once the shooting wraps.

He explained to a gathered group in the Soho House’s Red Room how his skills in making music videos and commercials translated into longer works. “You use everything you can to make an impression in a very short amount of time,” he said. “Of course, if you translate that into a movie it becomes very in your face. I have that in my blood. There’s no other way I can do it.”

The talk ended with a screening of Åkerlund’s nine-minute video for Duran Duran’s “Girl Panic.” “The video reunites the world’s top supermodels, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Cindy Crawford and Eva Herzigova, to play Duran Duran in a typical night of concert and behind-the-scenes debauchery. Åkerlund explained that he is often influenced by fashion, because it’s an industry where trends change by the minute.

Åkerlund reminisced about the early days of music videos when the brief was to simply break all the rules and do whatever necessary to get attention for the band. Then with shows like “Total Request Live,” that changed to do whatever necessary to get a spot on the charts, thus copying the other videos. Today, with the rebirth of the Internet, where the music video is used less for pure promotion, the allowance for creativity is coming back in a big way. Åkerlund is focused on the stories to come, long and short. “The first 10 years are the most fun,” he said. “Everything is fun. Then it loses its fun. Then your body of work becomes what you’re most proud of, and you keep working.”

Intrepid drivers cover 3,500 miles with over $7,000 in traffic tickets for a first-place finish

More than just an excuse to take your super-car from the track to the open road, the Bullrun Rally is an eight-day adventure putting driving abilities, navigational skills and overall gravitas to the test. Started in 2004 with a cross-country, “Cannonball Run”-style inaugural race stretching from LA to Miami, the grueling competition winds across the US each year carving a unique route held secret until the race is actually underway. As the rules go, anyone with a car and the $20,000 entrance fee can enter—but while the buy-in covers luxurious accommodations, meals and even luggage transfer, without a quick wit and superior sense of direction teams aren’t likely to get far.

Now in its eighth year, the rally route has once again evolved to what has been dubbed the West Coast Loop for 2012. Covering more than 3,500 miles, this year’s Bullrun Rally set off in LA on 22 June, leading 100 cars north through Oregon, back down into Nevada and ending in LA again.

Reaching the final check point of the 2012 rally on 29 June, Tony King and Seth Rose became the first team to win back-to-back rallies as well as the first team to win twice with the same members. Pushing a heavily modified 800hp 2009 Nissan GT-R at speeds upward of 200mph, The team fought inclement driving conditions, rogue police and excessively aggressive drivers on this year’s route up and down the California coast. Contrary to the more widely publicized car rallies that flaunt extravagant parties, flamboyant rides and inexperienced drivers, Bullrun celebrates honest competition through expert navigation with a general sense of camaraderie for what Rose feels is just “one hell of a good time.”

First introduced to Bullrun in 2009 by sheer happenstance, King (founder and creative director of digital agency King and Partners) responded to a forum post on Rose’s NYC-based Exotics Rally website regarding the last-minute opportunity to run that year’s rally. The “blind date” as Rose jokingly recalls led the two strangers on a three day trial that planted the seed for success. After getting their feet wet in 2009, the two returned in 2010 for a fourth-place finish, followed by consecutive wins in 2011 and 2012.

While Rose drove, King navigated the car, suped up with top-of-the-line tech—streaming wi-fi, multiple iPads, go-pro cameras, radar detectors, binoculars. As King puts it, “Seth is the monkey behind the wheel and I’m the monkey behind the computer.” The rally commenced each morning at 8am, with teams given a single checkpoint card directing them on the day’s route. Sometimes a specific address was given, other times it was as vague as a scenic description. For one of the more cheeky, memorable checkpoints King found himself riding a jetski to the center of Lake Tahoe in order to physically check in and receive a tip towards the next stop.

“If your foot’s not knocked to the floor you’re not going to succeed,” explains Rose, who received eight traffic violations—including a $6,200 ticket in Oregon—during the 2012 rally. Although speed is obviously a key component, Rose credits their success to a combination of three things—”Navigation skills first, second being the vehicle and equipment that’s inside it, and driver capability. Navigation has to be the most important role though,” he says. “We just navigated better,” adds King.

According to King, the two “don’t have a choice” when it comes to returning next year to defend their title. Rose tells CH they plan to upgrade their car to something slightly more comfortable, and might even bring along their “girls” for next year’s rally. For more on the scenic landscapes, evidence of hairy situations and general car porn see the slideshow.

The artist’s latest print series blends graphite drawing with 3D digital sculpture

Haunting curvilinear forms dominate the work of Sougwen Chung, an artist with international roots and a flair for outspoken minimalism. Her most recent series—produced as a limited-edition print run for Ghostly International—portrays four natural phenomena with subtle coloration and high contrast. The individual members of “Étude Op. 2 No.1-4” take the names “Flight”, “High Tide”, “Cocoon” and “Bloom”, and lie somewhere between representation and theory. Viewed together, they communicate a congruent narrative and aesthetic in spite of their abstract form.

“The form and composition of each piece are informed by textures and elements within an original series of graphite drawings,” Chung tells CH when asked about the process. “Elements are deconstructed and then sculpted in a 3D digital environment. The final pieces are a result of a multi-disciplinary approach to improvisation and experimentation.” Ultimately, the blend of mediums and abilities brings about sci-fi worthy, otherworldly shapes.

A departure from her previous print series for Ghostly “Étude Op. 1”, “Op. 2” rejects the minimalist, hand-drawn look for “darker palettes and more iconic motifs.” “‘Op. 1’ was deliberately austere and minimal, celebrating pure form and visual rhythm in the way only black and white images can,” Chung explains. Both series showcase Chung’s talent for visual edginess and slick dynamism—which goes a long way towards explaining her commercial successes. If Chung’s look is minimalist, then it is a minimalism in crisis, full of movement, transition and graphic energy.

“Étude Op. 2” and the earlier series “Op. 1” are available from the Ghostly online store starting at $60. See more images of the two series in our slideshow.