Arts
Nature Girl
Photography by Rebekah Campbell Collage by Ben Giles Styled by Charm School Vintage Hair and Makeup by Rebekah Campbell Model is Halle Saxon Gaines
KNOWSGAY
We first met Charlie Welch and Paul Moreno at their booth at the 2013 LA Art Book Fair. What they were offering that weekend was as unique as the boys themselves. Thirteen seemingly unrelated images, unbound and wrapped in pink cellophane. Only one hundred were made, selling for ten dollars each. A series of images that holds a deeper significance as one continues to thumb through the little stack. This slim packet we walked away with was a mutual confession: a series of jokes and allusions and [...]
WC Gallery: Daniel Arnold
Words by Megan Martin “It was the straying that found the path direct.” — Austin Osman Spare On a warm evening in early summer, nearly three years ago, I went to a bar-turned-gallery in the Lower East Side to see a photo exhibition. I was there to see the work of Daniel Arnold. He only had a couple prints up, stuck to the wall in a back corner: Black-and-white, quiet observations of life. Still, they managed to stand out among the noise at the bar. On my way out I saw a roster of [...]
The Odalisk Diaries
Navid Sinaki was born during a war that most people watched on television. As a gay man under relentless oppression of Iran, he found that he didn't exist. It wasn't until his family fled the the conflict to sunny California that he materialized. After the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979, some old films were drawn over with black marker to cover objectionable material. Something about that struck Navid. As he puts it, "My Polaroids are my nudes and I dress them in delirium." Check out [...]
Black Mirror
Words by Kristy Ann Muniz Fashion magazines have shaped pop culture and the ideal of beauty for decades. Young girls flip through the glossy pages, in awe of the flawless-looking models who line them. Critics focus on the negative complexes these images may impart to readers, while others choose to indulge in the escapism that fixation on beauty provides. Oakland-based artist Serena Cole, however, has turned her girlhood infatuation with these publications into art. “My childhood obsession [...]
UNTITLED
Arn Gyssels, an underground artist from Antwerp, lives inside of the Roman Colosseum and from his grape-stained throne watches an endless battle. The combatants are beauty and the raw chaos that shapes everything from the rocks to the tops of the pops. So far it's been an even fight. Click here to see more of Gyssel's work.
WC Gallery: Ryan Metke
Words by Benjamin Trager We may not notice how important stories are to us. Sometimes we come home from a day of work and tell our loved ones about our daily grind. Some of us sit in dark bars and spew our sorrows to our best friends – or whichever stranger will listen. Or maybe we live inside of our heads, playing out what see and feel on pieces of paper. Sharing ourselves is an integral part of the human experience. Everyone tells stories. Ryan Metke, the Greenpoint-based artist, takes [...]
PANTYHOSE
Photography by Howard Chu There was once a time when Howard Chu knew only of traditional fashion photography. Something was missing, however. Something more personal. That feeling of absence led him back to a longtime obsession: pantyhose. It was at this moment that Chu decided to transfer this obsession into a publication devoted to photos of women wearing nothing but pantyhose. He created a 'zine based in Brooklyn, and, yes, it's called PANTYHOSE. Click here to see more [...]
Under the BQE
Photography by Max Dworkin Skaters Chris Herity and Chris Martin execute some moves, while Brooklyn-based photographer Max Dworkin captures the moment. Click here to see more of Dworkin's work.
BREATHE
Photography by Jesse Untracht-Oakner While cycling breaths one day, photographer Jesse Untracht-Oakner noticed he felt a bit lightheaded. It turns out a sort of minor euphoric calmness is always just a few deep breaths away. Breathe is his collection of hyperventilating boys in crisp black and white. The photographer has them run, jump and flood their brains with oxygen, forcing their bodies into flux. When Jesse's finger flips the shutter, a click marks the precise moment when each boy's [...]
WC Gallery: Amit Greenberg
Words by Michael Fensom I've known Amit Greenberg for nearly two years, and at no point in that span have I not been impressed with what struck me as his relentless enthusiasm, the steam that powers his lithe frame. Between the two of us, he is older by three years, but almost always seemed, outwardly at least, the more boyish. I never knew him as boy — he grew up in Haifa, Israel, far from my home in New Jersey — but stories about his childhood, such as diving to the bottom of a [...]
MUSE
Illustrations by Chris Kittrell In between playing with his bandmates, designing a fashion line and swimming far into the ocean, Chris Kittrell, singer for the Brooklyn-based band, Baby Alpaca, loves to draw portraits of his friends. Here are a few of model/wild child Julia Dunstall and designer/muse Maggie Paxton. Visit BabyAlpa.ca
Confronting the Moment
Words by Ryan Michael Commins It’s something we all do: examining a powerful moment shared with a close friend. The difference in this story is that most of us don’t plunge into that moment, examining it constantly for days on end, ultimately rendering it onto canvas in oil so it is reborn into a life all its own. We certainly don't line up these moments on a white wall for further examination by the general public and the art world collective alike. Yet, this is exactly what Jenny Morgan [...]
WC Gallery: Jen Mann
Words by Kristy Ann Muniz Spirit animals and cosmic powers are just a couple of the concepts dissected in the dreamy, nature-filled universe created by Canadian artist Jen Mann. While studying printmaking at Ontario College of Art & Design, Mann spent her time concocting reality-based images using copper plated etchings. In the mere three years since graduating Mann has moved to a quiet area outside of Toronto where she has constructed this dreamscape in several collections of oil [...]
BABY GIRL
Jesse Treece's collage work is a ongoing examination on the power of juxtaposition. Using only scissors, glue, vintage magazines and books, the Seattle-based artist has discovered a way to craft imagery that feels simultaneously classic in its content and modern in its execution. A brilliantly simple method of creating intoxicating images worth staring at for hours on end. Click here to see more of Treece's work.
R. Robot
Words by Matthew Phillp Painter R. Nicholas Kuszyk is plagued by robots. Dancing cartoonish robots, robots that form their own subculture. Robots unable to make an audible sound. Robots that, he feels, resemble humans more than we may realize. After installing several murals around the US including one on Metropolitan Ave., in Brooklyn, completing a children’s book and now a huge rooftop painting – all featuring the same robots, Kuszyk’s 10-year fascination with robots has a very [...]
WC Gallery: Brandon Friend
Words by Ryan Michael Commins I’ve known artist Brandon Friend for years, so the idea of having an exploratory conversation with him seemed only natural. You see, it’s nearly impossible to speak with Brandon without it leading to some form of discovery. He frequently stares off as he is making his points, disconnecting enough to find the right words without letting my reaction to them influence his choices. However serious he is while making these points he usually ends with a smile that [...]
WC Gallery: Javier Piñon
Words by Michael Fensom The artist Javier Piñon grew up in Kingwood, Texas, a suburban enclave of Houston that, in the 1970s, billed itself "The Livable Forest" to attract families fanning from the oil-fueled metropolis. Kingwood had the trappings of a “suburban hell,” Piñon remembers -- escape from which etched a migration to Austin, Providence, New Orleans and eventually Williamsburg, where he has resided for 17 years. But, in the woods beyond the backyard fence that hemmed his [...]
A Conversation with Cecilia Elguero
Words by Melissa Burgos Cecilia Elguero is an Argentinian-born, Brooklyn-by-way-of-San-Francisco multimedia artist. Her work spans from sculpture to installation to jewelry design; yet her comforting, thoughtful, and warm aesthetic is always present. She wants her work to feel like a big hug, and we, for one, are happy to reciprocate. WC: I have a couple questions that relate directly to your history, so I’m not sure if I should ask them the way that I had set it up or if you just [...]
New York: 1968 – 1978
Words by Megan Martin In one of Paul McDonough’s black and white photographs, a priest is walking down the streets of New York City next to a beautiful woman; he is wearing dark shades and a cool, carefree expression as they both gaze curiously into the lens. Sunlight glows in the background, highlighting that this shot, among others, is the manifestation of Manhattan’s past. A Shirley MacLaine poster is plastered on the side of a building and behind the crowds is a sign for Woolworth's, [...]
WC Gallery: Kevin Cyr
Words by Olivia Sholler With an interest in observing and documenting the American landscape, Kevin Cyr has – like all artists – done so in his own, unique language. Crumbling consumer culture and structures that were once an active part of society, form the basis of his works. Coupled with his childhood obsession of drawing trucks, one can see how the beaten-up vehicles that define his body of work have come to exist. Before entering his Greenpoint studio, my ignorant self [...]
VINYL
Ciara Phelan is a freelance designer and illustrator working from a shared studio in North London. After graduating in 2008 studying Graphic Design at Brighton University she worked as a junior at a small creative company called IWANT Design. She has since gone on to build up an amazing portfolio while working with an extensive range of clients. Ciara particularly enjoys collecting vintage ephemera and cutting things out of paper. To see more of Ciara's work click here.
Damn, I Wish I Thought of That
Words by Kristy Ann Muniz Over dim sum shrimp dumplings in January of 2009, a mysterious designer/creative director who wishes to keep her identity hidden started contemplating the idea of a blog to catalog the artists who, as she puts it, “inspire her, while at the same time crush her artistic soul.” It would be a page where one could browse through a wide variety of invigorating art in a neatly organized directory. A month later the site went live, and so began The Jealous [...]
Heavy Metal Parking Lot
Photography by Brandon Harman These photographs were taken in the parking lot during the summer of 2010 at the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino California. Iron Maiden fans are serious fans… There is no question of their dedication to metal, the music and the band. To see more of Brandon's work, click here.
WC Gallery: Burton Machen
Words by Katie Stolowitz Although I somewhat cliché-ly expected to encounter a professional snowboarder when meeting Burton Machen, my personal growth is very thankful that the man's actually an artist. While an inverted 180 is always cool to look at...I don't think a jump, no matter how long the rotation, has the power to inspire me in any profound way—perhaps because I just like my limbs too much. The same cannot be said about the work of Burton Machen. Although I readily admit that I [...]
Herb and Dorothy
Photography by Nathaniel Tileston In the early 1960s, when little attention was being paid to minimalist and conceptual art, Herb and Dorothy Vogel began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Thirty years later, the Vogels have accumulated over 4,000 pieces, filling every corner of their living space from the bathroom to the kitchen. The Vogels' discerning taste and magnanimity have changed the face of contemporary art collecting. In 2007, James Stourton, the chairman of Sotheby's [...]
Artist Profile: John P. Dessereau
Words by Melissa Burgos Photography by Antwan Duncan John P. Dessereau's relationships define his art. Likewise, his art is defined by his relationships—his relationships with friends, family, his environment, and the city he knows best, New York. I met John one curiously cold May night at Deluxe, a Williamsburg salon, where the artist was commissioned to paint a mural on the wall. I was greeted with a warm and easy smile. The Carter III was playing and despite having just [...]
Synchronicity
Photography by William Perls No matter your gender, orientation or race there is an undeniable unity between all of us. The laws of attraction and manifestation solely rely on synchronicity.
A Conversation with Ray Caesar
Words by Marcel Dagenais "I think we all have our sores and bruises from life and we carry scars both small and large that will be with us until the day we move into the next world."-Ray Caesar Looking at Ray Caesar's paintings gives me an eery sense of a deeper tale behind the eyes of these beautiful, haunting characters. The Toronto-based artist was nice enough to give me some insight into his work and his internal day-to-day struggles with the world around him. WC: What is a [...]
I Googled How People Affect Eachother
Illustrations by Devlin Shea Narrative and connection are ongoing themes in Devlin Shea's work, also an interest in visualizing the role the subconscious plays in human relationships and in individual choices. The human ability to accept and attach meaning to an obviously fabricated world fascinates Shea both in art and in culture. The New York-born Brooklynite now based out of Stockholm, Sweden often uses images of couples in her art. With two individuals overlapping, one can see the [...]
I Draw Like I Draw – One man’s quest to be genuine on the eve of turning 70.
Words by Robert Tumas “Marx was right,” Howard Saunders says one humid night this summer at his girlfriend’s apartment in Williamsburg. When I ask him if he considers himself a socialist, “I mean a lot of people were right, but Marx was right.” It is an apt question, despite the fact that the term communist has become synonymous with outdated and semi-mythical witch hunts, as Saunders describes himself as a propagandist for a labor think tank for the last 30 years, (he was actually [...]
BK Stands for Billi Kid
Words by Marcel Dagenais When I'm en route to work every day I find there is constantly new tags and street art along my varying path. Street artists are very distinct in their style, since it is a somewhat ghetto-ized formula for creating something visual the materials can range from traditional aerosol to colored tape or painted paper or giant stickers. The work I'm most drawn to always has vivid colors and intricate details. From the sticker art on bathroom [...]
Drunk
Photography by Ryan Bailey The idea of freedom often goes hand in hand with some kind of substance that can take your mind to a "free-er" place. Ryan Bailey captured these people at a moment when all inhibitions were thrown out the window; three sheets to the wind and ten shades of shit-faced. You know when you're lying on a couch in the middle of the street with your hand down your pants that you really don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks of you. Maybe you will tomorrow, but [...]
Jeffrey Milstein
Words by Marcel Dagenais A couple of my buddies out west have a gallery called Ambient Art Projects. They feature both established and emerging artists from all over the country. Recently, I was walking through one of their exhibits looking at work when I walked up to an enormous print on the wall that struck me. The image was of an airplane frozen in mid-flight surrounded by white space. The plane’s under-belly exposed, revealing all the details never seen by the average eye. The man [...]
WC Gallery: Jen Stark
Words by Harry Smith Armed with a steady hand, an X-acto knife and a stack of colored cards, Miami-based artist Jen Stark creates paper sculptures that your first grade crafts teacher could only dream about. Drawing inspiration from nature, science and the cosmos Stark's sculptures ooze and explode with color creating a series of meticulously psychedelic patterns. Since graduating in 2005 from the Maryland Institute College of Art, the artist has exhibited her work in galleries all over [...]
Memory
Photography by Andrew Tyson These are photos Andrew Tyson took while in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006 and 2007. He superimposed toy soldiers over the real soldiers in order to protect others and himself. It was the only way the photographer/soldier could re-create some of the scenes he witnessed in order to make it less real. He tries to only see those memories as distortions; to scratch away the real parts and paste over them with abstractions.
Free Finds
Photography and Words by Brandi Kaseta I've loved collecting branches, sticks, stems and tree parts since I was young. I'd pick them up and keep them with me for prosperity and good luck, they made me feel more connected to the earth and life around me. I'm really lucky that these things that I value so much are free.
Truth in Pills
Words by Moni Briones Viewing New Mexico based artist Jennifer Vasher’s works is an enthralling experience. Poignant sculptural pieces and weighty installations make up the body of Vasher’s latest collection. “To Another Good Year”, a somewhat Betty Crocker take on drug addiction, easily reflects country club pill poppers and prideful addicts at their best. “Ditropan and Friends” is almost too colorful to take seriously, but it’s whispers of untold solitude are sincere. [...]
Ty Cole
Ty Cole is an Alabama-born, New York based photographer. After graduating from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2001 he moved back to his home state to assist an advertising photographer, where he learned the ins and outs of the business. After a year and a half the allure of New York City became too much to ignore and he packed his truck and headed north to assist the world-renown photographers he studied in school. After a few years of carrying cases and building his client list, he decided it [...]
Shoots
Photography by William Perls William Perls was sent out to New York by his school, the Academy of Art in San Francisco, and assisted on Working Class' Girl with Flowers photo shoot. These photographs document his journey and a few of the people he encountered while he was here. To see more of his work click here.
The Family Tree
Photography by Thomas James Winchester Words by Anney Bonney It was after the last white bead had been rescued from the bottom of the trunk. The yellow newspaper broke into shards as if it were glass. soft hides and red feathers. The ghost from the plains over his shoulder made him look taller, prouder- his eyes smaller. He wasn’t seeing the wall, the dust, what was happening next door- Before the camera looked away and he looked after. Only awkward for a moment.
Artist Profile: Jason A. Maas
Words by Megan Miller Jason Maas has made quite a few changes this year. Not only has he changed locations, swapping his Brooklyn zip code in favor of Philadelphia, but the one time teacher is now the student. Maas spent the last few years as an elementary school art teacher in upstate NY. Commuting from Brooklyn to Westchester everyday definitely presented him with time limitations to labor over his own artwork and the exploration of new concepts, until now. He decided to leave behind [...]
Guy Bourdin
Shot on silent super-sixteen during some of his most memorable shoots, these films attest to Guy Bourdin's ruthless pursuit of beauty. A pursuit that often verged on recklessness and the misanthropic, like a mix of poetry and snuff films. Some of his antics include covering a model in plastic gems until she fainted from asphyxiation, hanging models upside down in elaborate contraptions and restaging his first wife’s suicide as a fashion shoot. But in the end, he always got his [...]
The Skinny
Brandi Kaseta is a filmmaker, photographer, painter, collagist, and craftslady. Since finishing her MFA at Savannah College of Art and Design, Brandi has continued filmmaking here in New York by re-appropriating archive footage into contemporary contexts. Click here to see more of her work.