Interview | the LIFESTYLE

Jan 28 2014

Artist Feature: David Figueroa

David Figueroa estudió arquitectura y también diseña camisetas, escribe microrelatos, saca fotografías, mientras combina todo en su tienda Básic Barcelona (Carrier Portal Nou 17). Le conocimos a David durante el viaje que hicimos en el verano de 2013. Su arte y buenas vibras se encuentran en su tienda que representa un lugar donde también invita a otros artistas a compartir sus voces y palabras. En la entrevista, David comparte su narrativa global y nos invita a charlar sobre Reflexión y Respuesta, y varios otros temas sobre una mesa con tazas de café en Barcelona.

Artist David Figueroa studied architecture and also designs T-shirts, writes micro-fiction stories, takes photographs and combines all of these mediums in his shop Básic Barcelona (Carrier Portal Nou 17). We first met David during the LIFESTYLE trip to Spain in Summer 2013. His shop space is filled with his work and represents a place where other creators can also come to share their voices and words. In this interview, David shares his global narrative and invites us all to discuss Reflection and Response, and various other topics over cups of coffee straight out of Barcelona.

Para empezar con algunos puntos básicos de dónde eres y dónde estás ahora?

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

DF: Soy de Colombia, soy arquitecto y llegue hace doce años y medio aquí a Barcelona. Vine con mi hijo pequeño y mi ex esposa y aquí estoy en Barcelona. Vine a Cerdanyola, luego estuve un tiempo en Estados Unidos , 6 meses. Luego vine aquí, he vivido en Gracia, en el Raval, en Sagrada Familia, en el Borne. Me gusta mucho el centro, el ambiente del centro.

DF: I’m an architect from Columbia and I came to Barcelona twelve and a half years ago with my young son and my ex-wife. I first came to Cerdanyola, then lived in the United States for six months. Finally I moved here [to Barcelona] and I’ve lived in Gracia, in Raval, Sagrada Familia, and el Borne. I really enjoy the environment of living in the center of the city.

Que quiere decir reflección y respuesta para ti y cómo se mete esta definición en tu arte?

What does Reflection and Response mean to you, and how do you locate those ideas in your artwork?

DF: Reflección es lo que nos tiene que inspirar, el arte; el pensamiento crítico o no. Yo creo que el arte no es gratis si no sale porque si… nos hace como respuesta a algo en que esto es personal. Que realmente tienen que ver con algo más global. Una respuesta social. Es parte de donde has estado, el sitio, todo lo que estas viviendo.

DF: Reflection refers to what inspires us artistically, expressed critically or non-critically. I believe that art isn’t free [from experience] and comes out in response to something personal [in the artist’s life]. I believe we need to actually view art with a more global perspective and a social response. This is shaped [differently for every individual, depending on] the places you’ve seen and your unique life experiences.

David Figueroa – Cilantro

DF: Mi arte, yo no sé si considerarlo arte. Si que es una expresión gráfica en este caso con las camisetas es diseño gráfico y si que hay respuesta a muchas cosas pero sobre todo personales lo mismo. Las cosas que me gustan y que me gustaría compartir. Por ejemplo un diseño que he gustado muchísimo y tiene muy buena respuesta es del cilantro. El Cilantro es una yerba que utilizamos para cocinar en Colombia. Es cómo el sabor de casa, algo que añoramos y que nos identifica muchos que estamos aquí que somos de fuera. Luego también sueño de infancia de tener un Mustang, pues mira es casi siempre (sueñas con) tener un Mustang, pero tienes por lo menos una camiseta.

DF: I don’t know whether to consider my work “art”. It’s true that my pieces are graphic expressions, and the [screen-printed] T-shirts certainly represent graphic design and involve response, mostly to personal issues – themes that I enjoy and that I’d like to share with others. For example, the “cilantro” t-shirt is a design that I’m passionate about and that has had a strong response from others. Cilantro is an herb that we use for cooking in Colombia. It represents the flavor of home, something that we miss, and is part of the identity of those that live here but are not from here. [Another design concept I’ve been working with involves] a childhood dream of owning a Mustang – although you can have this aspiration forever without actually owning a Mustang, at least you can have one printed on a t-shirt.

David Figueroa – Mustang

DF: Yo también hago fotografía y escribo. Escribo microrelatos y cosas cortas, y hay unas cosas que están en plan más en camisetas también. Es algo más íntimo, más mío y me gusta eso que la gente lo pueda llevar. Normalmente para los diseños utilizo fotografía, la retoco en Fotoshop y en Illustrator. Hay una que también me gusta mucha y que ya tenía muy buena respuesta que es una fotografía que hice en Marruecos en la playa. Un turista típico con sombrilla y calcetines blancos, shorts-guiri típico haciendo una foto. Queda en el sol en la playa, o sea que perfecto con eso hay que hacer algo. Luego viene lo de el concepto del turista. Por eso quise poner el texto de “I’m not a tourist.” Porque también hay una cosa de viajar: tu puedes ser un viajero pero no un turista, un turista típico. Es una especie de critica también, y por eso me gusta que ha tenido tan buena aceptación.

DF: I also take photographs and write. I write short stories, short pieces, some of which I incorporate into my t-shirt designs. These are intimate pieces that feel very much mine and I like that people can wear these pieces. For my designs, I typically work from a photograph, using Photoshop and Illustrator for retouching and editing. Another one of my favorite pieces that has had a positive reaction is a photo that I took on the beach in Morocco: an archetypical Western tourist holding an umbrella, wearing high white socks and shorts, taking a picture. The tourist is standing in the sun on the beach – an image I knew I had to do something with. Thinking of the whole concept of an archetypical “tourist,” I wanted to include the text “I’m not a tourist” to suggest that one can be a traveler without being a tourist. This piece represents that criticism, which is one reason why I’m happy that it has had such a positive reaction.

David Figueroa – I’m Not a Tourist

Que más estás haciendo actualmente y que proyecto estás pensando trabajar próximamente?

What else are you doing currently and what projects are you thinking about working on next?

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Tagged Architecture, art, Artist, artist feature, Barcelona, Bàsic Barcelona, Cali, Clothing, Colombia, Creative Writing, david figueroa, Design, España, Graphic Design, Interview, micro fiction, microrelato, Photography, Reflection and Reponse, Screenprinting, Spain, store, Visual Arts

Nov 15 2013

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Visual Arts

Artist Feature: Damjana Jokic

Damjana is an artist whose explorations come from various places including her hometown of Vojvodina, Serbia and her current location in Madrid, Spain. Her art is tied into questioning the world around us and uses visual mediums to reflect on and respond to human nature, challenging accepted beliefs. We welcome the words and ideas of Damjana to the LIFESTYLE Collective with our dialogue below and samples of her work!

What are the problems of the world that we live in that are affecting us as artists and towards which we cannot be indifferent?

– Damjana Jokic

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

DJ: I’m from Serbia, and have been living in Madrid for the last nine years.

I just finished my Art Manifest, where I invite all “The Makers of Reality” to join and gather around the idea, and that is an indefinite love towards the art, the strength of a human spirit and the creative force. For the Makers of reality it’s important to be brave, the truth when we create and we are moved by cosmic force and intuition.

We want to finish with the fake, superficial, banal and decorative art that is offered by the galleries.

Damjana Jokic – Bitter Mud of Experience (2005)

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

DJ: The world is a picture that is inspiring me. My observations, reactions and my emotions towards it, are leading me to my projects. The projects are the response of my reflections.

How does “Living in between of everyday life” fit in with that definition?

DJ: My project is called “Living in between of everyday life”. We live in between of everyday life, in the metaphysical space, marginalized. I see that as a problem of the crisis of our spirit, consciousness, and values. The concretizing the problem would be showing the intoxication that we are exposed. The essence is that everything that is surrounding us is something that is constantly making us stupid. The absurd of our existence I see in our own impotence to change something that is obvious. Should the artists be more radical, devoted and sharper in their critic?

Damjana Jokic – Living In Between of Everyday Life (2005)

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

DJ: I am interested in the new generations, where are they going in life and in art? I have been painting and making graphic prints, videos.

I would like to make an art movement on a bigger scale.

Who or what inspires you?

DJ: The new generations live in the world that is a picture that inspires the search for an answer to the question: Where are we going? The need for the truth and understanding the world that I live in, revealing the human nature.

What are the problems of the world that we live in that are affecting us as artists and towards which we cannot be indifferent? We live the consequences of the capitalism that is pushing us towards neo fascism, slavery and ignorance. That is making us vulnerable taking away our dignity little by little. How is that affecting art and artists?

Damjana Jokic – Arrival (2005)

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

DJ: I think that art today needs to get back to the traditional values meaning to perfect the form, technique and the spiritual essence of an artist. Also needs to have a clear moral message, meaning to discover the floods of a contemporary social ethic and to offer a new esthetic. If the art doesn’t have those elements then its kitsch!

Makers of the Reality are also pursuing the Little happiness!

What is the personal happiness?

The possibility to question our own life, when we know who are we and why we exist!!!

www.damjanajokic.com

Damjana Jokic – Mud (2005)

Reflection and Response.

Tagged art, Artist, artist feature, damjana jokic, Drawing, Interview, Madrid, Painting, Reflection and Reponse, Spain, Visual Arts

Nov 08 2013

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Visual Arts

Artist Feature: Javier Blanco

El estudio de Javier Blanco se encuentra en una calle estrecha empedrada en el Barrio Gótico en Barcelona, un barrio histórico y energético. Andabamos en el barrio un día durante nuestro viaje a España el verano pasado cuando encontramos el estudio/tienda/taller en el que se ve las varias obras y piezas en escultura, dibujo, y diseño gráfico del artista. Después de una charla inicial optimista en su espacio llena de bienvenida, volvimos unos días después para hablar más con Javier de Reflexión y Respuesta, su trabajo, y las experiencias de su vida. Nos sentamos en el cuarto interior y la discusión resultante, que se presenta debajo, muestra su perspectiva reveladora acera del arte y interacciones interpersonales.

Javier Blanco’s art studio is located on a quiet, narrow cobblestone street in the historic and energetic Gothic district in Barcelona. We were walking through the neighborhood one day while traveling through Spain this past summer, and came across Javier’s studio/shop/workspace featuring his various creative works in sculpture, drawing, and graphic design. After a great initial conversation in his welcoming space, we came back a few days later to talk further about Reflection and Response and Javier’s work and life experiences. We sat down in Javier’s office in the back room of the space and the ensuing dialogue, recorded below, showcases this artist’s engaging and enlightening perspectives on the arts and interpersonal interactions.

Para mi el arte desde principio es una forma de reflexionar. Hay una frase en el catalá que es “hago mi obra porque me ayuda a pensar a sentir a entender el mundo en el que vivo.” Es una manera de entender. La ciencia formaliza el conocimiento mediante una formulación matemática. El arte lo formaliza mediante una forma estética pero es conocimiento en definitiva. En este proceso de crear esculturas es en el que de alguna manera voy reflexionando acerca de como entiendo el mundo como entiendo las diferentes cosas, no solo el mundo también las relaciones interpersonales.

For me, art is, at its core, a form of reflection. There’s a phrase in Catalan that says: “I make my work because it helps me think, feel, and understand the world in which I live.” Art is a form of understanding. Science formalizes knowledge by means of mathematic formulas. Art formalizes aesthetic forms, but this is knowledge, by definition. The process of creating sculpture involves some form of reflecting on how I understand the world, how I understand different things – not just the world, but my relationships with other people.

– Javier Blanco

Para empezar con algunos puntos básicos, de dónde vienes? Dónde estás?

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

JB: ¿De donde vengo físicamente o de dónde vengo emocionalmente?

JB: Where I come from physically or emotionally?

Los dos.

Both.

JB: Yo nací en Barcelona y sigo en Barcelona. Bueno he vivido en Canadá en Toronto pero durante un año académico pero mayormente (he vivido) vivo siempre en Barcelona. En principio empecé a hacer cosas así a un nivel artístico ya a partir de 20 años cuando por un casual fui a una escuela de diseño y arte y bueno me pusieron a dibujar y en el primer dibujo que hice dije joder eso es lo mío y hasta entonces había sido muy mal estudiante. A partir de ahí me apunte a bellas artes, estudie bellas artes paralelamente hice aquí un diseño para la escuela en que utilizaba el vidrio. Contacte con el socio amigo de un tío mío que trabaja vidrio – mi tío tenía un taller de vidrio – para poder hacer esta pieza que había yo diseñado. Entonces me asisteron me ayudaron a hacerla y me dieron el contacto de la escuela de vidro donde fui y estuve haciendo los estudios de vidrio parallelmente a los estudios de bellas artes y la especialidad de escutula. La misma escuela de vidrio me dio una beca para estar un año en Canadá en una escuela en el Sheridan College hacieno el programa de diseño y arte en vidrio y a la vuelta estuve trabajando un tiempo en la escula de aqui, preparando y haciendo los talleres de fotografía y también luego de professor de esutula de vidro y de diseño en vidrio.

Con lo cual mi trayectoria siempre ha sido el trabajo del arte y en concreto escrutura del vidrio pero ahi si que es verdad que es donde un poco esta mi dualidad o no un tema en el sentido en que hasta que punto me considero o me consideran artista en vidrio siempre de alguna manera para mi por más que he trabajo mucho con él y en principio conozco y entiendo bien casi toda su técnicas no todas y no deja de ser un material es un material como hay otros. Entonces a la hora de hacer arte lo trato como tal. Cuando me interesa el vidrio como material lo uso, cuando me interesa otro material uso otro material. No me considero artista en vidrio porque no necesito que mi arte se exprese en vidrio. Se puede expresar y de hecho se representó durante tiempo en todo tipo de material contanto pues con como un color de la palta un pintor usa.

Para mi cada material tiene una personalidad propia y evidentemente está diciendo una cosa no concreta pero si está surgiendo con la cual el significado de una pieza por el hecho de ser un material o una mezcla de materiales es uno u otro. En este sentio me limito, si quiero hacer solo vidrio me limito. Las piezas que son en vidro son las que llamaron major más la atención. De tal manera que por parte de interioristas, de arquitectos , este trabajo en vidrio es lo que de alguna manera me han venido a reclamar mayormente y el estudio mio que es de arte y vidrio durante bastantes años estaba dedicado bastante a hacer encargos para casas particulares para organismos oficiales para diferentes sitios así como incluso trofeos, no sé hay una lista de clientes. En el que normalmente me han venido a buscar es la facultad de vidrio. Quiero decir con eso que yo utilizo muchos materiales pero profesionalmente quizá se me busca en esta faceta de vidrio más que en otras. Doy que actualmente eso durante los últimos dos o tres años ha cambiado y los 10 años anteriores estaba haciendo especialmente encargos de vidrio.

Actualmente no es tan asi sino que estos encargos para arquitectura para el interiorismo han bajado mucho y me han dejado la oportunidad de empezar otra vez de volver otra vez hacer piezas más personales digamos con lo cual me estoy dedicando últimamente más a hacer piezas quizás de pequeño formato quizá más fáciles de asumir porque me interesa que el estudio sea más dinámico yo como un punto de interés que tanto en vidro como no en vidrio siempre he tenido este hecho de llegar al público. No me interesa excesivamente el arte como objeto elitista sino que me interesan mucho los procesos de poder llegar a todo el mundo. Por lo tanto como es escultura ya iniciada la acción no es escultura interactiva donde quizá no era necesario comprarla por parte del público porque no tenía necesidad, pero si que me interesaba que el público participase y me gusta la idea de que el público en esta escultura se exprease se disfrustase jugase con ella incluso los niños hacían cola para subirse pueden subir en ella. Esto ha ido variando y actualmente loresuelvoo de otra manera. Lo resulevo mediante el diseño de manera que el arte se funde en esta pieza que utilizas y lo resuelvo también mediante la pequena pieza de diseño escultura, diseño muy personal que es más fácil por parte de todo el mundo de poder comprar de manera que si me interesa que no solo una elite pueda comprarlo.

JB: I was born in Barcelona and I still live in Barcelona. I studied in Toronto, Canada for a year, but for the most part I’ve always lived in Barcelona. I started working on my own artistic projects when I was 20 years old, when, by chance, I was attending an art and design school. They put me in a drawing class, and after I made my first drawing I realized “wow, this is me!” – up until that point I had been a really bad student. From then on, I registered for fine arts classes, and studied fine arts while also producing a design for my school, using glass as my medium. I got in touch with my uncle’s business partner who worked with glass – my uncle had a glass workshop – in order to be able to make this piece that I had designed. So they helped me make the piece and they gave me the contact information for a glass art school where I went to study glass work, alongside my studies in fine arts and sculpture. The glass art school gave me a scholarship to study in Canada in a glass art and design program at Sheridan College, and when I returned to Spain, I worked for a while in the school here preparing and facilitating photography workshops and, later, working as a professor of glass sculpture and design.

Thus, my trajectory had always been working with art, specifically glass sculpture, but the truth is that I encounter this duality in the sense that where do I consider myself – or am I considered an artist – working in glass, and though as much as I’ve always been involved with glass in some form or another and understand the vast majority of glass techniques, it remains one material, an art material as any other. So when it’s time to make art, I treat it as such. When glass sparks my interest as a medium, I use it, or when other materials spark my interest, I use other materials. I don’t consider myself a “glass artist” because I don’t need my art to be expressed only through glass. It can be expressed and represented through all types of materials, as with the various colors on a painter’s palette.

For me, every medium has its own personality and conveys something non-specific, but suggests something and the meaning of a piece can be based on the fact that piece is made from one material or another. In this sense, I would limit myself if I only worked with glass. Glass pieces have become my most popular. This glass work is what has drawn interior designers and architects to my work, and for many years, I dedicated most of my art and glass working studio to producing commissioned work for specific houses, organizations, or various other sites – there were a lot of different clients. What they would usually seek me out for was glass work. What I mean by all this is that I work with many different mediums but professionally I’m known more for glass work than anything else. Granted, this has changed a bit during the last two or three years, but for 10 years prior to that, I was primarily producing commissioned glass sculptures.

Right now, I have fewer commissions for interior design or architecture projects, which has given me the opportunity to get back to creating more personal pieces that I’m ultimately dedicated to, creating pieces that might be on a smaller scale, or might be easier to take on because it’s important to me that my studio is dynamic. I’ve tried to make it a point to work as much with glass as with other materials, always with the goal of reaching an audience. I am not particularly interested in art as an object of the elite, instead what attracts me are the various ways to access the world [through art]. As far as this [one specific] project is concerned, because the sculpture had already begun, it’s not an interactive sculpture that I needed to market to the public – instead, I was hoping that audience participation would lead to public expression and enjoyment, and kids even lined up to play on the piece. I explored this theme and now I deal with audience participation in another way. I now focus on participation by making pieces that aim for public interaction and use and I aim to connect with a wide audience through small design pieces, which makes them easier to consume for a greater number of people – which is the whole point of making art accessible beyond the elite.

Blanco Studio Arts and Glass (Barcelona, Spain)

¿Qué quiere decir “relfexión y respuesta,” y cómo se mete esto en tu arte?

What does Reflection and Response mean to you, and how do you locate those ideas in your art and sculpture?

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Tagged Artist, Barcelona, Barrio Gótico, catalonia, Catalunya, Conceptual Art, Creative Process, Drawing, Glass, Gothic Quarter, Interview, javier blanco, Medium, Pop Art, Popcepto, Process, Reflection and Reponse, Sculpture, Spain, Visual Arts

Aug 23 2013

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Music

Feature: Christian Garcia Fonseca Secher

The LIFESTYLE Collective expands. Were going going, back back to Madrid Madrid. Christian Garcia Fonseca Secher balances a life of many facets: various cultures, experiences, and mediums make up this one man. His work as an instrumentalist and vocalist through various projects bring out the different tones that Reflection and Response can exude. Christian shows us how creation is a genre in itself that can spread over eclectic places and spaces. Peep the dialogue below with examples of this artist’s work!

I only write when something happens, but when it does, the pen can´t stop.

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

CGFS: Well, My mother’s family comes from Denmark, and I was born there, but I grew up in Madrid Centro. Is good to have two natural born cultures, it makes you see things in two different ways, have to sights to everything. But if there´s no big changes, I will stay in Madrid as long as I can. This city provides me all what I need, and sometimes it can make you feel small at the same time, but I have my small town in the mountains, an hour from Madrid, to breathe and chill when it´s necessary. I must recognize that I see to many things going wrong in the country I live in, and I fall many times in comparing with the good things Denmark has, but in spite of it all, this is where I come from and I will stay while my situation is sustainable.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

CGFS: I think is a good opportunity to get to know myself and the little artist I have inside, who don’t show up that often. It´s funny to think that before we made our first video clip (8.A.M.) with my band (Welt de Klasse) there was not that many that knew that I had a band or that I had been making music since I was 17 (even my family). I must recognize that the big change came after I met Peter Müller and Vivian Garcia a year ago. They invited me for the first time in my life to get on the stage (and I´m 30 years old). To work with them is always a pleasure, because there´s absolutely freedom to do what comes from inside. They are so talented that makes you feel so grateful when they ask to collaborate in their songs. It´s a gift and I try to do my best, this is the reflection.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

CGFS: Right now the other half of the band (Turco) is living in Chile. The situation for the youth in Spain is horrible, so he decided to get a life in another country. But we have still projects in mind. We are planning at the moment a new video that will be recorded on July 2013 for our new song “Carne y Chocolate”, produced by Fermin Bouza and with Vivian Garcia as special guest making the chorus. This song is part of a new project we started called Mugre, where we try to separate our music of the Rap style, making the beats sound different, dark and dirty. In the case of “Carne y Chocolate” I can say that this is a real scary song, I´ve never listen to anything like that. I guess there will be many that will not be in the mood to listen to it, and that´s why we wanted to make a video for the song, to explain the scary moment the youth are living, the no future feeling. We will be working again for this clip with Luis Plaza (Luis Plaza Films), who also made our first video 8 A.M. We have been friends since school, and working together is easy because we understand each other really well, and the workflow is fast as hell. So check out our facebook, Welt de Klasse in the next few months!!

Next in mind is to finish the Mugre project with Fermin Bouza. And beside Welt de Klasse I´ve started a new band called TPCE (Totally Political Christian Experience) with Moez Khan and James Jarman, two good friends and musicians, where I play the spanish cajón flamenco, and do some raps too. The idea is to make music that makes you moove, but with lyrics that makes you think. We are working with many talented musicians, with a lot of instruments and beautiful voices, and the results can´t be better. At the same time Luis Plaza, is video recording everything we make, with both of the bands, so we have plenty of good stuff that will be ready soon!

Who or what inspires you?

CGFS: For writing, the big inspiration is living. I normally write when I have something to say to myself, or just to understand a little bit better my own situation. Is not always easy, I only write when something happens, but when it does, the pen can´t stop. About the music, the inspiration of our new songs is close to the music of the 90´s as Portishead, Kosheen, Skunk Anansie. We try to extract this dark sounds and reconstruct them to the times we are living in. Trip Hop has been dead for too long. It has to come back and hit again. Hard music for hard times! But in my basics, the real inspiration that made me start writing has always been The Spanish beginners as CPV, 7 Notas 7 Colores, Solo los Solo, Bufank. I still remember myself listening to this tapes with the only friend I had that loved hip hop, and thinking, this has to be my way of expression.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

CGFS: Don´t close the doors of your style to anything. The musical freedom is the key.

Shout out to…?

CGFS: My brother Turco. So long distance between us and still the same connection! Me quiere sonar Perra!

Tagged Café La Palma, Cajón, Christian Secher, Denmark, entrevista, expresión, Hip Hop, Interview, letra, Lyrics, Madrid, Música, Music, Rap, Rapear, Rapping, Reflection, Response, Spain, Totally Political Christian Experience, Welt de Klasse

Aug 09 2013

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Film, Performing Arts

Feature: Tanya Jackson

We’re honored to present this week’s feature on East Harlem-based educator, documentary artist, and performing artist Tanya Jackson. Collaboration is hard work sometimes, but nonetheless forces everyone invested in the process to grow—Tanya discusses her experiences working with other artists on some inspiring film projects and how she herself grows and develops through each project. Watch as she builds an exhibition of how we as people can be reflections of one another as we respond to the brush strokes that paint the canvas of our lives.

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

TJ: I’m a native New Yorker. I was born in Long Island and during the early years of my childhood, I bounced around various sections of the city. At about age 12, I moved to Hudson, New York where I finished high school. From there I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of New York at Albany – SUNY.

I lived in Philly for about 11 years and recently moved back to New York where I currently reside in East Harlem. But I spend a good amount of my free time in the artistic bed of Brooklyn.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

TJ: Reflection is a process used for recalling experiences in order to analyze and evaluate our thoughts, feelings and actions, as well as the social context that informs how we address those experiences. Reflection is how we make sense of our lives and the world around us. Response is replying, answering or reacting to something – and the reaction can take many forms.

Artistically, I respond through my role as an educator, media maker and performing artist.

How does your work fit in with that definition?

TJ: I recently worked with Visual and Performing Artist Frances Bradley shooting and editing the promotional video for the Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? project. The project is a depiction of her experience as a victim and survivor of sexual assault.

When Frances and I first started discussing ideas, I found myself reluctant to take it on because I was dealing with a lot personally – including the loss of my father and my younger sister within a few months of each other. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted and all those things made me feel defeated. But creativity has the power to revitalize.

As a documentary artist, it is always challenging to document someone’s personal life. It requires you to be present as a human being but detached as an artist so you can operate from an objective standpoint that allows you to convey their message in the best way. Even though Frances only needed basic videography services, it ended up being a pretty tough project.

The experience depicted in Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? is not isolated. One in six women are victims of sexual violence, and through visual art, Frances managed to capture themes that reflect the psychological and emotional trauma every victim deals with after being sexually violated. You can’t spend countless hours shooting and editing that type of footage and ignore that.

Retrospectively, learning about Frances’ experience and working to capture the message she was trying to convey challenged me to reflect and cope with my personal history of being sexualized at an early age. I was on a creative journey that no other project had ever taken me on. Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? is truly the Art of Healing and working on the project helped my own healing process. My contribution to Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt is paralleled with Frances’ work – and is the response to that reflection.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

TJ: Ironically, the majority of projects I’ve worked on for the past year focused on relationship and sexual violence.

I’m co-director of an after school program where I also teach high school students documentary filmmaking around social issues. This past spring, my students chose to explore dating violence for their term project after one of their peers shared her experience of being in a violent relationship with her child’s father. After showing my students the Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? promotional video, the same student who shared her violent relationship experience, shared how inspired she was by Frances’ courage to give voice to her trauma, and work to heal. Frances’ story, in part, helped this student find the courage to profile her own story in the students’ film, Journey to Survival, which confirms the necessity of the Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? project.

Last year, I co-starred in the short film, Bottom, written by up and coming director Chinonye Chukwu. Bottom addresses sexual trauma’s effect on intimate relationships. That film is currently in distribution and recently premiered at the Los Angeles OutFest Festival.

Promo photo from “Bottom,” a story of love between girlfriends taking an unexpected turn.

In the beginning of July I (humbly) served as a production assistant for an episode of Lisa Ling’s Our America series, which airs on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network. I say humbly because I haven’t been a production assistant in a couple of moons and I certainly didn’t see myself chiefly responsible for getting coffee and loading camera equipment at this age. But the experience and networking opportunities were well worth it!

I am currently working to finish the documentary for Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt?. And I will also be working with Ms. Chukwu on her next short narrative, A Long Walk, a story that takes place in Philadelphia during the 1980s, and explores the effects of staying silent after witnessing injustice.

Who or what inspires you?

TJ: I find inspiration in lots of places. Throughout the course of my life, the Black experience in the world, the struggle—how people fight against various forms of oppression in this world has always moved and churned my spirit. As a youth I danced, wrote poems and made speeches about the Black experience. Ms. Debbie Allen was a huge inspiration to me in my youth because of her ability to channel different forms of artistic talent as a means of expression.

Learning inspires me! I earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in media studies, with a specialization in media literacy education (MLE). As a student I was always excited about investigating all kinds of interests, especially when it came to studying how people consume media. The best practices of MLE rest in the awareness that inquiry and co-creating knowledge in an educational setting cultivates learning that requires constant reflection and encourages intentional, conscious response.

The energy of NYC inspires me. I am inspired by my students and the communities where I work. I find the perspective, courage and vulnerability of other artists inspiring. Beautiful imagery in still and moving images cause me to soar. Direct engagement with all sorts of art is inspiring to me. I especially like being pleasantly surprised by art and nature when I’m walking about in the world. I tend to get lost in my head a lot when walking and when art or nature unexpectedly jumps out at me, I’m immediately reminded that beauty can be just as real as it can be imagined. Of course, a well made documentary film or video can inspire creative ideas. Lastly, and most importantly, I find inspiration in myself when I am centered and in tune with my own creativity—true inspiration comes from the inside out.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

TJ: Art is a universal language and the life-size art of Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? tells a story that the majority of women in our lives are experiencing. People are becoming more visually oriented and conversations about sexual violence, it’s impact on victims and the healing process, needs to reflect that trend.

Only four out of 12 pieces of Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? are finished and we’re raising $25,000 to complete the project and we need all the support we can get. Every dollar counts so please contribute to this project.

I’m just beginning momentum for my company, Life Happens Media Works. The Reflection and Response theme of LIFESTYLE resonates with the direction I plan to develop future work; taking part in this interview has been very helpful in developing these concepts. Thank you for your time and interest in my story.

I also want the Collective to know that our gifts matter! Our existence matters, even when we don’t feel like it does. We must continue to reflect and respond through our work and just Being the unique expressions of Love that we are; we are messengers!

Shout out to…?

TJ: All my homies! The driving force and PR department of the Womanhood or Woman’s Hurt Project, Frances Bradley and LaToya English; Frances Bradley again for her courage, power and artistry, she definitely inspires me in multiple ways. Thanks to the Educational Video Center where I currently teach documentary filmmaking. EVC has been such a great place to merge my skill sets in education and media making. As I enhance my artistic skills, I can’t ask for a better day-job set up. Thanks to filmmaker, Chinonye Chukwu for being my artistic angel. She has lovingly included me on really amazing projects in ways that challenge and honor my gifts. She has provided a significant amount of loving support and encouraged me to continue being a true artist! Shout outs to all artists! Shout outs to my family and friends who ground me, save me and love me through thick and thin, Shout out to the city and people of Philadelphia for helping me mature and cultivate my work ethic. Thanks to New York City for its energy, urban beauty, diversity of people, and its art and experiences. Thanks to the Universe for everything!

Check out more of Tanya’s work below:

Breathing Easy: Environmental Hazards in Public Housing (Trailer)

Tanya currently serves as co-director of Educational Video Center’s Youth Documentary Workshop. Breathing Easy: Environmental Hazards in Public Housing, is one of the student-made films in her workshop. Breathing Easy was produced by high school students who participated in EVC’s fall 2012 Youth Documentary Workshop. Students focus their attention and cameras on the harmful impact that lead poisoning, mold, and pests and pesticides in low-income housing has on the health and wellbeing of their communities. They investigate how these pollutants affect their fellow student’s Harlem apartment, and show how the information and advocacy provided by WE ACT for Environmental Justice and other health experts give hope to a family in need.

Alaskaland (Trailer)

One of Tanya’s artistic roles is as a script supervisor for film productions. In 2011, She served as the script supervisor for the feature length film, Alaskaland, shot on location in Fairbanks, Alaska. “Alaskaland tells the story of Chukwuma, an Alaska-raised Nigerian struggling to balance his cultural heritage with the pressures of the larger world around him. After a family tragedy forces a two-year estrangement from his younger sister Chidinma, the siblings reconnect in their hometown. Although their time apart has created new frictions, they find their reconciliation bringing them closer to each other and to their roots in this gorgeous, knowing debut film.

Reflection and Response.

Tagged Brooklyn, Collaboration, Dialogue, Documentary, East Harlem, Education, Film, Interview, Long Island, New York City, Performance Art, Reflection and Response, Tanya Jackson, Video, Womanhood or Woman's-Hurt?

Aug 02 2013

1 Comment

Visual Arts

Feature: Frances Bradley

We’re proud to welcome Brooklyn-based artist Frances Bradley to the Collective. Honoring the charge of art as she shines light on a dark topic and speaks about expression so honest it has life of its own—Frances eloquently tells us about her work, including her current project entitled Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt?. Another humbling feature, undeniably powerful and sincerely purposed.

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

FB: I am from Flint, Michigan and I am currently in Brooklyn, NY.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

FB: To me reflection means recalling past memories and events and response is simply addressing and reacting to those events.

How does your project Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? fit in with that definition?

FB: The artwork of Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? are perfect examples of reflection and response.

Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? is a 12-piece autobiographical art series that illustrates my experience as a victim and survivor of sexual violence. The series was conceptualized during therapy and each piece is a portrayal of what I was feeling while I was being raped and the experiences that followed. Every piece requires reflection.

Only four out of 12 pieces have been completed, titled Broken, Zip, Unzip and Transformation. The life-size artwork is painted with traditional mediums such as oil on stretched canvas and features collaged poetry taken directly from my therapy journal.

“Broken” – Acrylic, Oil, and Collage on Stretched Canvas, 5′ x 5′

Broken is an illustration of when I was sexually violated. It’s titled Broken because I was a virgin when it happened – thus being physically, mentally and emotionally Broken.

“Zip” – Oil on Stretched Canvas, 5′ x 6′

Zip portrays my feelings of isolation and fear of telling someone about being violated due to shame and the potential of being further victimized.

“Unzip” – Oil on Stretched Canvas, 3′ x 6′

Unzip depicts what happened when I decided to speak up and shows the collective response from my family members.

“Transformation” – Oil on Stretched Canvas, 5′ x 6′

The last piece of the series, Transformation, portrays the pieces of me that were shed as a direct result of my healing and the new person that has emerged from this experience.

This project is so important because it is my personal response to a traumatic experience and creating it is a part of my healing process. And now, I am using it as a tool to empower other victims who have suffered from similar experiences and who also need to find a way to heal. I truly believe artistic expression is a means to heal and I am working to promote the Art of Healing with Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt?.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

FB: I have experienced so many emotions – including sympathy for Trayvon Martin’s family, sadness, hurt, pain and surprise – following his murder and George Zimmerman’s acquittal. My natural reaction as an artist is to express my emotions through art.

So, I’m currently working on a piece that conveys my feelings about Trayvon’s murder. This piece will actually be a part of a developing mixed media series that addresses social injustices that have been “justified” by America’s “justice system.”

“Oscar Grant” – Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas, 3′ x 6′

I’ve already created a piece titled, “Oscar Grant” that addresses the murder of Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day in 2009. The first time I watched that murder on YouTube I was moved to tears and, much like Trayvon’s murder, an outpouring of emotion turned into a palate for expression.

“Bang Bang” – Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas, 18″ x 24″

The second piece is titled, “Bang-Bang” and was created during last year’s national protest that took place all in the name of Trayvon Martin. It’s a mixed media piece that not only touches on the injustice of Martin’s death, but also illustrates the fatally repetitious acts of racism and devaluation of the lives of melanated people in America.

“I Am A Man” – Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas, 24″ x 48″

There is also a commissioned work titled, “I Am A Man” that speaks to the value of the lives of melanated men.

As far as what’s next for me, I plan to tap into the film world and release a few short documentaries that I’ve been working on. So please stay tuned.

Who or what inspires you?

FB: I’m inspired by life, the struggle, politics, history, spirituality, culture and the world. I find inspiration from people of all walks of life. I think living in Brooklyn, New York and being raised in Flint, Michigan has helped me to understand what struggle really is and I’ve witnessed first-hand, poverty on many levels. I’m so inspired by life’s lessons, and it drives me to use my gifts to empower, educate and instill hope and strength.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

FB: I am currently raising $25,000 to complete the Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? series. The purpose of this work is to create conversations about sexual violence, its impact on victims and to promote healing through the arts. This is my experience but its every victim’s story and it needs to be told through the universal language of art.

I invite the Collective to learn more about the Womanhood or Woman’s-Hurt? project by visiting www.womanhoodorwomanshurt.com, contribute to the campaign at www.gofundme.com/womanhoodorwomanshurt and Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/womanhoodorwomanshurt. If you’re interested in viewing my other artwork please visit www.nielahstudios.com. All of my art is available for purchase at www.etsy.com/shop/nielahstudios.

I welcome your thoughts so please feel free to contact me at booknielahstudios@gmail.com

Shout out to…?

FB: The Lifestyle for being interested in my work and providing me with the opportunity to share it with others. Thanks to all the victims and survivors of sexual violence who have shared their stories with me. This work is for YOU. Special thanks to my creative team, Tanya Jackson (videographer/editor) and LaToya English (public relations representative) for their dedication and for believing in my project enough to have sacrificed long hours to see this project come to fruition. THANK YOU. Thank you to my friends, family and supporters who continue to support my dreams and have contributed to my campaign, and to those who have helped me spread the word. I appreciate all of your positive responses and support. Thank you.

Reflection and Response.

Tagged Acrylic, Arts, Brooklyn, Collage, Dialogue, Flint, Frances Bradley, Healing, Interview, Michigan, Mixed Medium, New York City, Oil Painting, Painting, Reflection and Response, Sexual Violence, Visual Arts, Womanhood or Woman's-Hurt?

Jul 20 2013

4 Comments

Music

Feature: Padraig O’Connor

The beautiful thing about Reflection and Response is that it is about experience – interacting with as well as observing life and the cycles it presents. When it comes down to it there is a special chemistry that bonds people to their environments and likewise plugs us into a matrix of aesthetic circulation. It’s a dance—romantically passionate with a sort of rhythmic groove, a backdrop scene set by a flow or mood and daring to go wherever creativity leads you. Here, Padraig O’ Connor eases the Collective onto the dance floor of artistic expression as he spins a tale full of energy and intuition. This is great, almost reminiscent of an amazing first date. Enjoy…

As a songwriter, there´s a constant battle to capture those little moments of magic where you get an idea for a melody or a phrase…So the reflection is that first inspiration… your mind making sense of the world… and how well you respond [to that initial engagement] influences how well the song comes out. It´s a matter of not getting in the way of the inspiration. The best songs just flow.

– Padraig O’Connor

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

PO: Where I´m from is a village called Kill in Co. Kildare, which is close to Dublin in Ireland. Difficult place to hitch-hike to. Picture holding up a sign that says KILL on it. I moved up to Dublin after college. It´s a great city, and has always been a big inspiration for me. It´s full of history. We´ve had writers like Joyce, Wilde, Yeats, Kavanagh, Behan who´ve lived in the city and written about it, so the streets are alive with stories and verse. Where I´m at is Madrid; Malasaña to be exact. I´m recording an album about Dublin over here in a friend´s studio in Goya: Rob Green and Richard Harris’ Spaceland.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

PO: As a songwriter, there´s a constant battle to capture those little moments of magic where you get an idea for a melody or a phrase. Those ideas can come first thing in the morning, when you wouldn´t mind sleeping in a bit longer, or when you´re away from home with just your phone to record them, or before you go to sleep late at night, and you have to write them down there and then or lose them forever.

So the reflection is that first inspiration… your mind making sense of the world… and how well you respond [to that initial engagement] influences how well the song comes out. It´s a matter of not getting in the way of the inspiration. The best songs just flow.

I like to collect little words of wisdom from other songwriters, and there´s something John Lennon was supposed to have said to George Harrison that ties in with this. The gist of it was: as soon as you get the idea, try to finish it. Write an extra verse, try to write a bridge, because that original inspiration might not come again, or if it does it may have changed into something else.

So that´s my approach. The reflection is very important, but you don´t really have control over that, it just happens. The response, to try to stay true to the essence of it, is probably more important. It´s that old adage: “1% inspiration, 99% perspiration”.

How does your song Free fit in with that definition?

PO: This song I wrote, Free, is about a weekend I had in Ireland. I was back for a friend´s stag party in Carlingford, but before leaving, I met up with some friends to sit out on the grass in front of The Pav (The Pavillion, the bar in front of the cricket pitch) in Trinity College, Dublin, where I did my Masters in Music & Media Tech. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I spent a few hours just enjoying that with friends. You don´t get so many [sunny days] in Ireland, so when you do, you have to take advantage of them. I had already written the melody, but when I got back to Madrid, I woke up quite early the next morning (unusual for me) with the song playing in my head and went straight to the piano and guitar, finished the new lyrics, and recorded a demo of it. It sounded something like this:

The first verse is about my hometown, Kill. There´s an old pub there called The Dew Drop Inn, and as a kid I loved the double meaning in the name “Do drop in…” I always pass by it on my way into Dublin and that´s where I was going that day.

The second verse is about walking by the Grand Canal, where one of my favourite poets Patrick Kavanagh was inspired to write some of his best poetry. It´s a nice spot.

The third verse is about sitting on the grass by the Pav in Trinity College as the sun goes down, after the exams and deadlines were all over with. Nowhere you have to be, nothing you have to do, taking your foot off the pedal and letting the world take care of itself. Some days are just perfect like that.

It features Woody Woodman on drums, Karl Twyford on electric guitars, and on backing vocals along with Amber Stiles. Still needs a bass and a couple of other instruments.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

PO: I´m constantly writing, but mostly I´ve been working on the album, which will be called The Lights of Dublin. A lot of the songs I´ve written about down the years were about my experiences living in Dublin, so it seemed natural to use the city as a theme for my first album. They´re mainly written from first hand experience, and songs name check different parts of the city. Some songs are about good times in the city, others about struggling to pay rent and keeping your head above water, other about characters I´ve met, places I´ve been.

One of the songs, Porcelain Doll is like a modern fairytale, inspired by working in an office, and seeing some really two-faced behaviour going on there. It´s about a woman who pretends to be all sweetness and light on the outside, but as soon as a person´s back is turned says something horrible. People who act that way are never truly happy though, so she meets the same fate as Humpty Dumpty, but unlike him she has the opportunity to pick herself up and start again.

That one wasn´t written recently, but it´s a finished song that I´ll be including on the album. It features Julien Lonchamp on bass, Adrian Hart on violin, and me on guitar, melodica with some glockenspiel thrown in for good measure.

I´ve had help from some great friends and great musicians too: Rob Green, Richard Harris, Woody Woodman, Karl Twyford, Amber Stiles, Lionel Gray, Clem O´Regan, Sean Twomey, John Leo Carroll among others. And I´ve even recorded my dad playing harmonica on one track. The goal is now to finish it. At the moment I´ve got most of the basic tracks done, so I´m looking to record extra instruments like trumpet, sax, trombone, violin, viola, cello. It´s taken me a little bit longer to locate those musicians, but I´m hoping to get most of those tracks down in the next couple of months.

After that, I want to move on to album number two. I have a big backlog of songs to record, so it´s a matter of getting them down and moving on to the next ones.

Who or what inspires you?

PO: Anything and everything inspires me. It´s all about feel. It´s like Keith Richards says:

“The thing about being a songwriter is, even if you been fucked over, you can find consolation in writing about it, and pour it out. Everything has something to do with something; nothing is divorced. It becomes an experience, a feeling or a conglomeration of experiences…”

As I said above the album will be called The Lights of Dublin, and it´s going to be a kind of concept album. When I fly into Dublin at night, it´s all lit up, and on my way home to Kill I look back at the lights of Dublin from a distance. When I lived there, I was in a band called The Lights, and this was one of the songs we recorded, and another song that´ll be on the album is a tribute to that band. It was made up of three of the most creative people I know, and yours truly. Conor O´Hara on drums, Julien Lonchamp on bass and Karl Twyford on guitars and vocals, while I sang and played keyboard.

This song, Daydream, started out as a stream of consciousness thing, where I wrote lyrics that suggested a melody as Karl simultaneously came up with daydreamlike chords on a guitar. We used to record all our ideas on Dictaphone tapes, and somehow we managed to lose the only recording of this one for about a year and a half. When we eventually found it, it took us another half a year to work it out, write the intro, and bring it to the band. It was recorded on the Roland Multi-track recorder live with the band and then we overdubbed vocals and samples from the television, traffic, and the Dictaphone. Very oldschool. 🙂 It starts off with the sound of waves recorded on the seashore at Dublin Bay.

For me, that track is about the process of inspiration, about a smell, a taste or a sound that brings you back to your childhood, or somewhere you´ve been, about the half dreaming state before you fall asleep, building castles in the sky, possible worlds, echoes of something you once heard, a memory of a time or a dream, or a daydream…

My biggest musical inspirations would probably be The Beatles, Velvet Underground, Dylan, Randy Newman, The Beach Boys, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Pixies, Love, 1970´s punk, jazz, Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Ennio Morricone, Henry Mancini, Debussy, Satie, Beethoven, minimalism, anything and everything.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

PO: I do a Song of the Week blog here on wordpress where I choose one of my favourite songs, and go into a bit of the background behind it. It´s not always as weekly as it should be, but I try to post there most weeks.

Shout out to…?

PO: All the people I mentioned above who´ve helped out with the album etc, along with all the talented people who play every week in the Triskel Tavern/Café La Palma/ Toast and other bars around the city. I´m sure I´ll forget someone, but Richard Harris, Amber Stiles, Victoria Bolorinos, Woody Woodman, Michael Dixon, Sally Smith, Miguel Gonzalez, Vivian Garcia, Sean Twomey, Jorge Bee, Alyssa Rasmussen, Francisco Hernandez, Mary Elaine Jenkins, John Leo Carroll, Rico Adventura, Rob Green, Taylor Mann, Rob Bertels. There´s a really good scene going on at the moment.

Thanks a million to Peter Muller for the interview too, and keep up the great work with Fede Valenciano doing the open mic on Sundays in Café La Palma.

Reflection and Response.

Tagged Feature, Inspiration, Interview, Ireland, Madrid, Music, Padraig O'Connor, Reflection and Response, Richard Harris, Rob Green, Songwriting, spaceland studio, Spain, Studio

May 17 2013

1 Comment

Clothing, Handicraft, Visual Arts

Feature: Keenan Hartsten

For this week’s installment in the Feature Series, we’re honored to present one of our true inspirations: artist Keenan Hartsten. First off, just know that if you’re open to experiencing something new, this one will touch you. The organics of Keenan’s feature are pure and well cultivated—Reflection and Response really gets moving here! It may take a little bit longer to process the energy, but when it hits it’s sure to activate appropriately. You may find yourself off balance at first as it bumps you off the rhythm of the everyday hustle and bustle – don’t sleep though, cause it pounds a direct message—this one packs a big punch. Independence is at the core of the LIFESTYLE movement and the dude Keenan is definitely putting down his indie grind as he creates new spaces and waves in the world. So sit back, kick aside the stress of the week, put on some chill tunes if you please, and digg on his interview along with photos of his various creative endeavors. This one deserves two green-thumbs-up in approval…enough from us though; enjoy and watch it blossom. Peace.

Reflection and Response is really part of a larger set of processes including absorption/assimilation, digestion, and growth…I feel that to be a well rounded person/artist/liver/lover, you are constantly receiving, receiving, receiving.. especially if you are consciously open to it. I feel like life is there always willing to give, whatever it is that you need to see, hear, think, taste, and ultimately feel…I think that the most interesting thing is the way in which one takes all these seemingly disparate bits and actively responds with whatever is right there, here, now.

– Keenan Hartsten

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

KH: I originally hail from a town in the middle of the state of Oregon named Bend. It was a beautiful place to grow up with an abundance of opportunities to be close to nature… rivers filled with trout, crystal clear lakes, epic mountains, overall a really amazing place to cut one’s teeth. Needing to see new sights and meet new people I moved to San Diego 7 years ago and have worked to make this place feel like home.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

KH: Well, for me Reflection and Response is really part of a larger set of processes including absorption/assimilation, digestion, and growth. I think you could liken it to the act of eating. In order to fuel my body I take in calories through my food consumption. So I’m eating, eating, eating, everyday, all day, chewing, chewing, chewing. Chewing along with saliva, which helps to start digesting the starch in the food, are the first acts of accepting consumable molecules into my body—the first acts of digestion. Once the food is sufficiently chewed, my internal systems start to work by taking those larger molecules and breaking them down into smaller more manageable bits. These manageable bits are then further broken down and ultimately used for their energy potential. I think Reflection and Response are the second and third bits of a trilateral experience of being alive, especially for someone pursuing creative endeavors.

I feel that to be a well rounded person/artist/liver/lover, you are constantly receiving, receiving, receiving.. especially if you are consciously open to it. I feel like life is there always willing to give, whatever it is that you need to see, hear, think, taste, and ultimately feel. For me, the Reflection part of the tertiary equation is that process of digestion; taking these different particles and breaking them down into smaller bits, being present to and appreciating what I have received by letting those things not only come into me but also become one with me. We are given much in life to reflect on and the feedback is always there if I want to look. The Response part of the equation is that process of using what I have taken in and doing something with it. What is interesting for me about Response is that there are all these little bits banging around from all of the time that we are all tapping into. I saw something when I was five, or had a particular experience, only to find that years later in my twenties that experience is still with me and I am responding to it at some level, consciously or not. I think that the most interesting thing is the way in which one takes all these seemingly disparate bits and actively responds with whatever is right there, here, now.

How does your piece When to Water fit in with that definition?

KH: Well, “When to Water” is an installation/exhibition I have up now at my buddy’s coffee shop, the Coffee & Tea Collective. The exhibition is twofold in that I have made an installation on the walls of the space consisting of these floating shelves that accommodate planters which contain all these different variety of plants that work together to create a very crisp, alive essence in the space. The name of the show “When to Water” is very in line with this notion of Reflection and Response. When one is attempting to nurture and take care of a plant, a very important thing to know is when to water. That water is crucial to the energetic functionality of that plant, without it it will eventually wither and die. When you water that plant, the plant is involved in its own version of Reflection and Response: the taking in of that life giving substance to the plant, its cells pulsing with new liquid, and its response in the form of lifting its arms to the sky and driving its roots deeper and further into the soil. The connection between human beings and plants is amazing. There have been countless scientific studies that have pointed to the fact that there is no separation between us and plants; we are both completely sentient beings, and interconnected, affected by our surroundings, in the process of reflection at all times, and responding to all that we are feeling, sensing, etc.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

KH: I’m also currently working on some large private garden commissions. I really love that, helping people live with more aliveness in their lives.. plants and creativity and all.

Too, as part of the exhibition I have currently, “When to Water,” I am throwing a musical gathering and making a crazy handmade instrument to be a part of the event. For the instrument, I have been going to thrift stores buying all kinds of kitchenware/utensils that will be transformed into a percussion instrument. Pots, pans, lids, cookie sheets, silverware, cups, dishes, and utensils are all coming together to form this original percussion instrument. For the gathering I am hosting, I am inviting a bunch of talented musicians to come together and play a percussive set on this instrument, them having never played this instrument before, completely improvised. I am really excited to see how this turns out, the way that all these different pieces sound are amazing.. Wish you could be there to hear!

Besides that, I have a line of limited edition clothing, one off clothing I am making called ffiisshh, which can be found at ffiisshh.com. I am taking retro patterned sweaters and cutting them up and remixing them into one of a kind creations.

Who or what inspires you?

KH: I am inspired by much… I think we live in a pretty wondrous world. I am inspired by the hummingbirds that I have been seeing nearly every day without fail. Wow, those little creatures are magic to me! I am inspired by music, always. I am inspired by the people I encounter each day that just seem to be open to connecting, whether through a smile in passing, a quick conversation, or a heart to heart with a friend, sibling, or parent. I know I have talked a bit about this but I am really inspired by plants, I think they are magical and worth being close friends with.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

KH: That I am proud of what you guys are up to!

Shout out to…?

KH: My mom: Probably first on the list because without her I wouldn’t be half of me.. or me at all in that case!

My dad: Thank you for being a barometer in my life!

My sisters: You always give me room to be but are amazing and supportive.. Thank you!

My roommates: For being great inspiring people to be closely related to.

My Teachers: The many they may be, for helping and encouraging my growth.

Vicken: You’ve been a crystalline example of what a solid man can be in this world.. keep doing your thing and thanks for inviting me into the collective!

Reflection and Response.

Tagged Bend, California, Clothing, Coffee & Tea Collective, Collective, Feature, Feature Series, ffiisshh, Gardening, Installation, Interview, Keenan Hartsten, Oregon, Plants, Reflection and Response, San Diego, Visual Arts, When to Water

May 03 2013

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Music

Feature: Veronica Jones

Yo, here we go—here we go—here we go again. Hope everyone had a great week. We at the LIFESTYLE are hosting Veronica Jones today as she explores her identity within music as well as in her professional pursuits. Through a blend of soulful sounds, icons, and inspiration, Veronica shares her thoughts on and relationship to Reflection and Response through music. She also names a few great artists to look up and plug into if by any chance you haven’t already. We especially want to take the time to thank Veronica for making space for us in her schedule and wish her the absolute best in her pursuit of Law. That’s enough from us; lets dive in!!

Reflection & Response in a musical context means that you are taking a really personal, introspective look into your feelings, your life, your relationships, and also taking time to empathize with & understand the lives of others.

– Veronica Jones

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

VJ: Hey, I’m Veronica, I’m 25 y.o. and was born & raised in Houston, TX (like Beyoncé!!!!) but I am currently living in New Orleans attending law school at Loyola New Orleans College of Law. After law school I am not sure where I will end up or what type of law I want to practice, but considering practicing criminal law, business law, international law, or entertainment law.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

VJ: Reflection & Response in a musical context to me means that you are taking a really personal, introspective look into your feelings, your life, your relationships, and also taking time to empathize with & understand the lives of others. After taking time to really understand your emotions and also see all kinds of conflicts & joys that occur in life, you are able to meaningfully convey your experience, or the experiences of others through music.

How does your music fit in with that definition?

VJ: Although I have not recorded any of my original pieces, I am a fan of jazz and have recorded a few jazz standards (Mood Indigo, Lullaby of Birdland & Fever). Also, while living in Spain I recorded a song called “Let the Music Play.”

“Mood Indigo” is a very melancholy song. It is about a person whose lover left them and is now dealing with loneliness. This song fits perfectly within the theme of Reflection & Response because when it comes to someone you love you have to first recognize your feelings with the situation and understand them and only after that should you decide how to react to them.

“Fever” is pretty self-explanatory, but just focuses on how a guy is giving her that special feeling.

“Lullaby of Birdland” uses a metaphor about birds singing to describe how she feels about the one she loves. Sometimes being direct about a situation is not the best way to explain how you feel.

“Let the Music Play” is all about losing your inhibitions and just experiencing the music and having a good time.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

VJ: Sadly, recently, I have not been working on anything. Since I am in my first year of law school, I find myself too busy to be involved in recording/gigging. But I certainly do sing around my house in my spare time!! Looking forward; I plan on staying in New Orleans for the summer & hopefully finding opportunities to gig/record while here.

Who or what inspires you?

VJ: My family inspires me so much, in particular my mother. She is one of the most generous people I have ever met, and has been supportive of my musical talents since I was a child.

Also I feel that my life experiences and those of others inspire me to think about situations more in depth and convey them in a way that really expresses the true meaning of a song.

Musicians that influence and inspire me are Beyoncé, Lauryn Hill, Ella Fitzgerald, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, The Weeknd, Adele, Brandy, and Lianna La Havas.

In particular Beyoncé inspires me because she has some of the BEST vocals known to man. Every album she puts out shows her progression and she has not been afraid to venture outside of her comfort zone.

Amy Winehouse inspires me because of the pure emotion she can put in a song with her voice. Its gritty, rough, soulful, and at the same time relatable.

Lianna la Havas inspires me because she has a very pure tone and uses tons of acoustic guitar, which I love. Her voice conveys tons of emotion as well.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

VJ: Just want to say that I have grown so much from my experiences and have come to realize that music can be very personal. When I was younger, I never understood that, but now that I am older, and singing about topics and situations that have affected me or my loved ones, I know that it takes courage to be able to be so transparent and share your stories with so many people you don’t know.

Shout out to…

VJ: Just wanna give a quick shout out to Peter for asking me to do this. I appreciate the involvement! Also, to my supportive/loving family and friends. And a shout out to New Orleans, for being the city which is my first stepping stone to becoming the successful lawyer that I want to be!!

Reflection and Response.

Tagged Collective, Feature, Houston, Interview, Law, Music, New Orleans, Reflection, Reflection and Response, Response, Singing, the LIFESTYLE, Veronica Jones, Vocals

Mar 23 2013

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Creative Writing

Feature: Jessica Quick

Aright y’all it’s again that time! This week the Collective welcomes Jessica Quick to the Feature series dialogue! Jessica is coming from a place and space unable to be captured by one setting or time. She brings a perspective shaped through elbow-rubbing experiences traversing time zones across the globe, expressed through her creative writing. Anchored in mood and narrating through observation, Jessica takes the time to dive into her interpretation of Reflection and Response, providing a pint of insight into her path thus far. Take a look at her interview and her poem Daffodils below. Enjoy the ride; Bon Voyage.

A city’s mood, its mannerisms, its charisma (or lack thereof) reflect in its inhabitants and its architecture, and I like those things to feed into my reconstruction of a city through words.

-Jessica Quick

Leading off with some basics, where are you from? And where are you at?

JQ: I’m from Simi Valley, California, a synclinal suburb squatting outside of Los Angeles. Its geography and demography made it perfect for routine brush fires and a large population of conservative right-ists when I was growing up. It’s an awkward little city, and I’ve come to appreciate its quirks. In doses.

In the past few years, I’ve lived in Harlem, Seoul, San Francisco, Madrid, and I’ve just relocated to Brooklyn a week ago. I’m looking forward to sticking around and getting back in touch with some old literary haunts, as well as my writing projects. I’m juggling a few ideas, and I think New York is the perfect place to explore them.

What does Reflection and Response mean to you?

JQ: Reflection! A necessary trait of response that’s learned with time, I suppose. I’ve traveled a bit, and it always takes me a long time to arrive at a place where I feel I can appropriately reflect on a city. What I like to do is feel out (and up?) places through my writing. I love infusing their bodies into my poetry. A city’s mood, its mannerisms, its charisma (or lack thereof) reflect in its inhabitants and its architecture, and I like those things to feed into my reconstruction of a city through words. Like getting to know someone new, attaining depth of a place just takes a little time. I wrote about New York when I was in Seoul, about Seoul often when I was in Madrid. And I still haven’t touched my hometown.

How does your writing fit in with that definition?

JQ: Although I like using my travel experience in my writing, I try to avoid relying too heavily on personal perspective. For example, I like creating stories that are not necessarily my own, but in a setting with which I’m familiar. Or I’ll use a mood that I may have felt in a certain city, but explore new lyrical narratives in a poem. I strive towards creation and embellishment over accuracy in retelling my response to a place. Maybe that makes me a liar. But I like telling stories. I think it’s boring and a bit vain if they’re all mine.

What else have you been working on recently? What are you looking to work on next?

JQ: I’m working on my first poetry collection, The Liminal Parade. It’s about spaces between here and there. I like writing about travel limbos, like subways, elevators, long plane rides. I’m also paying attention to certain psychological in-betweenness that mirror in those subways, elevators, and long plane rides – traveling for long periods of time without destination, waiting for someone to arrive, and indecisiveness are things I’m teasing out in my poetry. I like writing about hybrid existences because it hits close to home, both with my travel and with my mixed ethnicity. I’ve dwelled in the in-between and it’s an awkward, beautiful place.

I have a few other projects in mind for the future and the now. I’ve been talking to a few artists about comic book ideas and collaborations on creating some illustrated poetry, which I’m very excited about. I’m a huge comic fan, and the prospect of writing one makes my nerd heart skip a beat.

Who or what inspires you?

JQ: On the topic of comics, Daniel Clowes and Jason Lutes are my favorites for their dark humor and stark aesthetics. The Hernandez Bros. and Chris Ware are also stunning, although Ware makes me want the world to be a better person.

For poets, my current obsession is Frank O’Hara because I spent so much time writing about him for my MA thesis, which compared O’Hara and Lorca’s poetry in New York. I appreciate his unabashed exhilaration with life in his poetry, and how much his personality shows. And if O’Hara were still alive, I’m pretty sure he would be the coolest person in the world.

Of course, big cities inspire me as well as the people I meet. I am indebted to the city dwellers – from the rush hour flautist in Tokyo to my life-long companions. They accompany my memories of the cities I have grazed in my wanderings.

Is there anything else you would like the Collective to know?

JQ: We are poised in an interesting moment in history. From the state of the world economy, to the persistent race for technological advancements and subsequent dependency, we are witnessing rapid change in the world around us. We are responsible for how we choose to respond to these changes. To artists, I encourage you to create something beautiful in reflection of the environment around you.

Shout out to…

JQ: Big love to all the creators and rabble-rousers. You make the world go round. And a big shout to a very talented jazz musician, my inspiration, and my husband-to-be, Daniel Stark.

Daffodils by Jessica Quick:

Daffodils

The first poem I ever wrote

was written by Wordsworth,

a posture of lines followed by

a school teacher’s request:

“Please see me after class.”

I never showed and

swallowed my first D –

literary theft on record

as enraged or defensive.

Years later, I found myself

writing poem after poem about daffodils.

Bought them any chance I could get.

I filled large suitcases with piles

of laughing heads and moved

to distant corners of the world.

Every town I visited,

I left solitary specimens

behind nondescript buildings

and cheap hotel rooms.

I remember one figure

splayed out like a brown

carcass of envy squatting

on the menu of a fish restaurant

in old Beijing.

After the last, I moved to an island at the edge of a map,

where (they said) daffodils could never grow.

I spent my days planting gardens near tough rocks.

At night, I counted holes in obscure constellations

where great, big, burning stars used to be.

Keep up with more of Jessica’s work at her website: www.jessicaquick.wordpress.com

Also check out Penumbra Magazine, which Jessica co-founded in 2012. She is currently the Poetry Editor for the magazine: www.penumbramagazine.wordpress.com

Reflection and Response.

Tagged Arts, Brooklyn, California, City, Collective, Creative Writing, Feature, Harlem, Interview, Jessica Quick, Madrid, New York City, Poem, Poetry, Reflection, Reflection and Response, Response, San Francisco, Seoul, Simi Valley, the LIFESTYLE, Travel, Visual Arts, Writing

Reflection and Response

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