The Untitled Magazine (XXXX Magazine print edition)

XXXX Magazine is excited to present The Untitled Magazine. Moving forward from the multimedia publication launched in December of 2009 by Indira Cesarine, The Untitled Magazine presents a new dimension to XXXX Magazine?s original fashion films, video art productions and articles. For the first time aside from seeing our movies online or in our international exhibits and screenings, you can now read the publication in traditional magazine form, as well as browse our interactive page turning publication or our new iPad app. The digital versions allow you to click directly to the videos from the page, as well as incorporate a lot of exciting new features. The print version elaborates on the original productions produced by XXXX Magazine and our contributors as well as expands on our blog content to present a magazine meant to inspire our viewers. Throughout 2011 do not miss XXXX Magazine movies screening almost daily in collaboration with the Big Screen Plaza in Chelsea, Manhattan.

It is recommended to view the digital publication in Full Screen Mode.

MASTHEAD

INDIRA CESARINE
Editor in Chief / Creative Director

Co-Curator
Konstantinos Menelaou

DIRECTORS & ARTISTS
Andrea Tese, Anne Koch, Blindmice, Brian Gonzalez, Catherine Anyango, Chiara Cola, Delaney Bishop, Diana Eugeni Le Quesne, Diego Corredor, Dimitri Hyacinthe, Henry Jacobson, Indira Cesarine, Ion Manciulescu, Iris Brosch, Jessica Mitrani, Jordan Doner, Karine Laval, Kofi Paintsil, Konstantinos Menelaou, Michael Daks, Michael Williams, Monica Elkelv, Morgan O?Donovan & Alistair Allen, Patricio Guillamon, Paul Windridge, Peter Luckner, Romy Northover, Ronnit Hasson, Sean Capone, Sophia Deininger, Zaiba Jabbar

CONTRIBUTING VIDEO EDITORS
Anders Bramsen, Anton Ostrovsky, Bernice Gonzalez, Devon Talbert, Diego Corredor,Emma Tammi, Hannah Jayanti, Indira Cesarine, Isobelle Ehrich, John Paul Zuviate, Marco Urbani, Mayumi Suzuki, Michelle Latorre, Natalie Braxton, Sebastien Praznoczy, Susanne Aichele, Ted Hesse, The Dirty Glamour, Thomas Bergamini

MUSIC CONTRIBUTORS
Arbol, Marco Iannelli, Archy & Mehitabel, B.N.Wuertz, Brett Hammond, Carlos Gualda, Christian Zerpa, Derek R. Audette, DJ 00 Newchair, Edward Jahn, Grant Oddeye, Jah Jah, John Harding, Micke LIndebergh, Moby, Pierre Bastien & John Maus, Rama Kolesnikow & Sam Jacks, Sandi Sirocco, Sophia Deininger, The Dokteurs, The Vile Bodies

FASHION DIRECTOR
Indira Cesarine

CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITORS
Amit Gaiwani, Brit Cato, Celia Arias, Johnny Ducoin, Maria Bonet,?Cannon, Rene Gaza

INTERACTIVE MEDIA DIRECTOR
Christopher Hannan

CONTEMPORARY ART CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Aniko Berman, Gary Krimershmoys, Heidi Lee, Rena Silverman

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR
Kathy Ruiz

PARIS CORRESPONDANT
Amy Tabarly

COPY EDITOR
Emma Corbett

XXXX MAGAZINE BLOG CONTRIBUTORS
Aniko Berman, Barnaby Murtagh, Camille Verrier, Daniel Herendi, Daniel Picado, Darrel Chandler, Don Frasco, Don Frasco, Ernest Salgot, Gary Krimershmoys, Ghislain MiratHeidi Lee, Indira Cesarine, Jeffry Gamble, Jenny Blumenthal, Joanna Zielinska, John Paul Zuviete, Miguel Ezquerro, Nick Hackworth, Rena Silverman, Ryan Quadri, Emma Corbett

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
Angelina Cepeda, Bartlomiej Stadnicki, Chris Parente, Diego Corredor, Don Frasco, Elaine Hargrove, Geir Foshaug, Jeffry Gamble, Kaitlyn Barlow, Kathryn Chadason, Mary Ann Palmery, Mayumi Suzuki, Natalie Barnes, Sandy Chen,?Thomas Bergamini, Olivia Hart

AI WEIWEI: NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHS 1983-1993 AT ASIA SOCIETY

Over 200 guests gathered at the Asia Society on July 27^th for a special viewing of the ?much-heralded? exhibition of photographic work by famed Chinese, activist artist Ai Weiwei.

The show, entitled Ai Weiwei: New York Photographs 1983-1993, showcased more than 200 unpublished photographs which captured, in unified monochrome compositions, the free-spirited events and creative personalities behind the protest movements which came to define New York?s East Vilage in the 1980s ? ?New York through the eyes of a Chinese artist.? Weiwei?s retrospective show provided its viewers with a portrait of the ?atmosphere? in New York throughout the 1980s.

Guests, including David and Carol Appel, Juliet de Baubigny, enjoyed a creator-led tour of the exhibition by the museum?s Associate Curator, Miwako Tezuka. The exhibition disclosed only a small proportion of the works present in Weiwei?s extensive private collection which accumulates to over 10,000 photographs.

The exhibition invited its viewers to re-acquaint and, in some cases, acquaint themselves with New York?s cultural past. Twenty years on from the snapshots of events in Weiwei?s photographs, his portrayal of New York in the 1980s ignited in his viewers feelings of detachment and dislocation. The New York then is not the New York now but the New York then did exist and does still exist, engrained deep within the fabric of contemporary culture. As Weiwei stated:

?In a flash twenty years have passed, and the New York I knew no longer exists. The appearance of the East Village has totally changed, and many of the people in my photographs are no longer in this world [?] Today, looking back on the past, I can see that these photographs are facts, but not necessarily true. After all, any reality is just a factor of change ? an unconfirmed moment in the slow march of time. The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today.?Having recently been released from three months detention in China, the show marked the first ever showing of Weiwei?s work outside of China and presented its viewers with a truly unique experience, revealing records of his own personal experiences, thoughts, feelings and attitudes. His photographs of East Village poetry readings, riots in Tompkins Square Park, drag queens at Wigstock, as well-known artists and intellectuals from China, such as filmmaker Chen Kaige, composer Tan Dun and artist Xu Bing, also celebrate what came to emerge as Weiwei?s conceptual art career.

The evening closed with a drinks reception in the Asia Society?s Garden Court. Guests were welcomed into a party space which reflected the evening?s theme of floral d?cor accented with photographic equipment and discussed Weiwei?s work with the exhibition?s curators and the Society?s Director, Melissa Chiu, poet and writer, Bob Rosenthal and leading art critic, John Leobald Cohen

The Fitzrovia Photography Prize ?Within A Mile?

First Prize: Julian Wakeling

Runners Up: Julija Svetlova & Kayne Li Lui Sang

Laura Noble: Curator

Eleanor Kelly: Assistant Curator

Guests gathered in the historically Bohemian area of Fitzrovia in London in anticipation to hear the results of the Fitzrovia Photography Prize 2011. The atmosphere buzzed with the activity going on in the neighbourhood?s vibrant streets where creative spark, despite the collapse of many of London?s past creative hubs, was greater than in the years of resident artisans, Walter Sickert, Dylan Thomas and Nina Hamnet. The key aim of the exhibition and competition was to celebrate the long line of creative wealth an activity which has, and to this day still continues, to surround the district of Fitzrovia by showcasing the work of upcoming photographers from both local, national and global regions.

The rules of the competition were simple: Each entrant could submit up to three images taken within a one mile radius of the premises of Diemar/Noble Photography, London, [Map ref: H8.] The location of each photograph then had to be illustrated by its corresponding grid reference. Unsuprisingly this unique and innovative edge to the competition led entries to come pouring in from photographers down the road to photographers in Canada and other areas of Europe. Not only did the diversity of photographers call upon the reflection of the many facets of city life, ?whereby everyday moments become breathtakingly perceptible & extraordinary?, but it also reflected the wealth of talent within the photography industry.

The resulting images submitted into the competition evoked a plethora of emotions, visual elements and artistic concepts. While some captured the area with feelings of romance, others drew on absurdity, political unrest, national celebration and comedy. ?Poignant? is the word one would use to describe the mass of photographs which the competition attracted. Why? Because ach photograph captures, in their individual and unique ways, quit moments of poignant observation which, when viewed as a whole, enable one to construct a genuine portrait of London in all its diverse, national glory.

Congratulations go to the competition winner, Julian Wakeling and the runners up, Julija Svetlova and Kayne Li Lui Sang for their exceptional talent and photographic skill. XXXX Magazine looks forward to hearing more about these photographers in the future. Watch this space.

?The Search for Outstanding and Undiscovered Fine Art Photography?

July 7th-17th, 2011

Now in its second year, The Curator supports nine artists in nine artistic categories paying honour to their skill, creativity, ability and individuality. Each artist received recognition in their individual practices. This year, the nine artistic categories were selected to encompass the following: Portraits/Nudes, Installation/Still Life, Abstract/Mixed Media, Nature/ Street Photography, Photo Essay/Reportage and Student Work. Between July 14th and 17th, Milk Gallery exhibited a selection of the winners? works from each individual category.?The Judges on the panel for the competition included: Brian Paul Clamp (owner and director of ClampArt), Gravette Pierre (founder of +Kris Graves Project), Julie Grahame (editor-in-chief of aCurator.com), Ariel Shanberg (executive director of the Center for Photography at Woodstock), Jeff Dunes (fine-art and commercial photographer) and Michael Zideis (landscape photographer).

The following nine artists were accredited the title ?Most Outstanding and undiscovered fine art photography?:

PORTRAITS/NUDES

Sophia Wallace

Sophia?s portfolio focuses on her portrayal and exploration of the figure of ?the dandy.? In her pieces she located the dandy as a versatile source of creativity, as Sophia states: ?The dandy is rather a space of creative possibility where men and women can perform a persona in ways which reach beyond the narrow binary constructs of masculine and feminine.? The figure of the dandy can thus be regarded as performative. According to Sophia, the dandy?s ?power and danger lies in the aestheticized androgyny? which it delivers to its interpreters.

ABSTRACT/MIXED MEDIA

Klea McKenna

Klea?s submitted project catalogued a selection of photographs she took of an installation of paper airplanes. Her interest in her chosen subject matter stemmed from her research and fascination with the careers of WWII air force soldiers. She attempts to capture the experience of ?watching planes fly over the horizon and across the sky all day and night? by shining light through her paper installation at different levels of intensity and at different angles. The installation includes a collection of 40 light sensitive paper airplanes which she exposed to the sun from dawn to dusk from a WWII anti-aircraft look-out post at Tennessee Cove, California. The resulting images produce a panoply of luminous abstract images and shapes.

NATURE/STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Jane Fulton Alt

The inspiration for Jane?s series of photographs arrived from her observation of prairie burns; a process which she goes on to draw connections with the diagnosis and treatment of her sister?s ovarian cancer. As Jane explains: ?I was drawn to the quality of the moment when life and death are not contradictory but are perceived as a single process to be embraced as a whole. The parallels between the burn and chemotherapy were revealed. Both reduce invasive, unwanted growth.? Her photographs are resultantly poignant, highly perceptive and symbolic; a mixture of fire and smoke clogging up the landscape in the process of deconstructing shadowy remains and branches of trees.

INSTALLATION/STILL LIFE

Klaus Enrique

In his vibrant, colourful and nature-focused installations Klaus utilises leaves and other forms of greenery and vegetation to construct portraits and masks. Having researched his idea thoroughly, Klaus stumbled upon the work of artist Giuseppe Archimboldo, who construed similar creations in his paintings 400 year ago. He first created Giuseppe?s work and then began working on his own constructions. He plays continuously on the fact that many people don?t often recognise the works as portraits by experimenting with different objects and forms.

PHOTO ESSAY/REPORTAGE

Matt Eich

Focusing on the marginalisation of the black community in Mississippi?s Baptist Town, Greenwood, where ?the neighbourhood of 500 people is cut off on all sides by train tracks and where 50.9% of the black residents live below the poverty, as opposed to 16% of the white community,? Matt?s goal in producing his photo essay series was to remind people that racism still continues to impact people to this day in ?persistent and pernicious ways.? An additional purpose was to ?foster understanding amongst the community [?] by introducing the two communities as neighbours in order to dispel uncertainty and fear.?

STUDENT WORK

Christopher Patrick Ernst

Christopher?s increasing interest in photographing interiors lead him to focus more specifically on exploring and recording mural wallpaper. He backs up his series of photographs by revealing: ?I feel the murals say a lot about the spaces they live in and remind us that paradise is never too far away!?

Event Photography by Jeffrey Gamble exclusively for XXXX Magazine

]]> http://www.xxxxmagazine.com/blog/events/the-curator-photo-district-news/feed 0 http://www.xxxxmagazine.com/blog/art/visionairs-en-art-presents-photography-by-ahn-sun-mi-paris http://www.xxxxmagazine.com/blog/art/visionairs-en-art-presents-photography-by-ahn-sun-mi-paris#comments Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:46:45 +0000 XXXX MAGAZINE BLOG http://www.xxxxmagazine.com/blog/?p=10194

On May 24th, Visionairs en Art gallery in Paris presented a solo exhibition of works by Korean photographer, Ahn Sun Mi. The young artist presents a nostalgic world, between childhood and sensuality. Her photography, at the same time dream and reality, reveals her fears. Through her self-portraits, the artist invites the viewer to travel, in quest of her inaccessible feminity.

“A little poetry in our ordinary life denounces sometimes its more difficult aspects. Sun Mi witnesses our fragile time. Inducing feelings, and an aesthetic sensuality?”

WINGS

AHN SUN MI photographs

May 24th to June 18^th, Visionairs Gallery?Paris

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Indira Cesarine for XXXX Magazine
Event photos by Nhung Nguyen for XXXX Magazine

PHONEBOOK MULTIMEDIA VIDEO

I caught up today with the creator of Phonebook, the latest photo journalistic essay by photographer and film maker CB Carter Smith.? The book presents a glimpse into the personal life of the artist, through photos taken on his camera phone and his text messages, montaged into a thoroughly modern layout that keeps you turning the pages. Images of girls on the loo juxtaposed with shots out of airplane windows, and even a chicken at sunrise lingering on a New York street captivate with their realism and rawness. Carter said he never planned to create the book, it was only after reflecting on the images and texts that he realized where he could take it.? After breaking up with his wife of 12 years he, he spiraled into a period of self proclaimed debauchery? “To put Phonebook in context, it all began after a calamitous breakup, when my life was thrown into a fragmented mess.?This leads to the proverbial ?lost weekend?… A two-year descent into debauchery and adventure. I know Phonebook might not be for everyone, but this was my life, take it or leave it.? ?Check out the link above for a multimedia version of the hardbound, capturing his life in the fast lane.

These days you can find him jetting around on a multi-city tour of the book,? and presenting exhibits of the work.? Look out for his next event coming up soon in Rome. You?can buy your own copy of the book now at Collette’s e-store: www.colette.fr

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Indira Cesarine for XXXX Magazine

XXXX MAGAZINE PRESENTS BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE SURREAL ISSUE COVER & THE SPELL VIDEO ART FILM

A behind the scenes look at the making of video art film The Spell as well as XXXX Magazine’s? Surreal Issue Cover art.? Directed by Indira Cesarine and edited by John Paul Zuviate, this 6 minute short presents the inspiration behind the visuals in these productions, as well as a behind the scenes look on set during the shoot. The images from the cover were from the photographic series Eyes Open, Eyes Closed, by Indira Cesarine, and were initially exhibited at Visionairs Gallery in Paris, France in January 2010.? Inspired by early work of Surrealist artists ManRay and Jean Cocteau as well as the Manifesto of Surrealism, in the series of nude portraits she explores the innocence and serenity of dreamlike states juxtaposed with the intensity of consciousness. The Spell video art film was shot on the same day in a collaboration with video team Phantasmic TV, who came on board to co-direct the video version of the images.

BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE SPELL & EYES OPEN, EYES CLOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC SERIES (6:09)

Directed by Indira Cesarine

Edited by John Paul Zuviate

Behind the Scenes Footage by Kaitlyn Barlow

Titles by Emilie Ye Ji Koo

Featuring Indira Cesarine & Phantasmic TV, models Beata Grabowska and Jessica Bertoncello, Makeup artist Bernadine Bibiano with hair by Rutger.

Assistants David Lincoln,? John Paul Zuviate, Kaitlyn Barlow, Chelsea Cohen,? Maria Cristina Cuyco, Taylor Rhodes, Adriana Favero, Equipment provided by K & M Camera New York

Music by Chuckie Steel

NEW YORK PHOTO FESTIVAL 2010

(May 12th ? 16th, 2010)

The First International Photography Festival
in the United States

The New York Photo Festival kicked off on May 12- 16, in Dumbo, Brooklyn, and was spread out amongst 12 different locations within walking distance from one another. ?Curated by Vince Aletti, Erik Kessels, Fred Ritchin, and Lou Reed the festival celebrates photography from around the world.

“Photography, one of the most important visual media of our lives, has been surprisingly uncelebrated,?particularly in the United States. New York City, home to the world?s most influential commercial and?fine art photography community, has lacked until now a large-scale event dedicated to photography.?The?inaugural?New York Photo Festival (May 14?May 18, 2008) delivered a dynamic, high-quality event in?what is arguably the photographic capital of the world.?2009 saw the introduction of Jacob Holdt?s seminal work on race relations in America to a mainstream?audience for the first time, as well as the debut of Tim Hetherington?s ?Sleeping Soldiers??a multimedia?piece on the Iraq war effort, which formed the basis of an acclaimed 2010 Sundance documentary. Both?works were twice profiled by The New York Times.?In addition to the curated pavilions, the festival offers visitors an extensive range of activities that?generate dialogue and buzz among all communities of photo professionals, amateurs, students, and?aficionados of art and culture, including: seminars, slide shows, book signings, photographic workshops,?live performances and events, and a gallery row.”

Of particular note was the works at the 81 Front Street location. ?One of the exhibits, “Object Lesson”, curated by Vince Aletti, featured a unique selection of imagery of rather ordinary objects taken into an extraordinary context – images included close ups of spider webs, old underwear, tennis racquets, meat hanging from hooks and photos of found photos, in an examination of Still Life today. Artists featured include: Yanimi Nayar, Jeff Bark, Bill Jacobson, Sharon Core, Laura Letinsky, Andrea Modica, Richard Learoyd, Sally Gall and Adam Bartos. ?Also in this location was “Hidden Books, Hidden Stories” ?curated by Lou Reed.

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Photos & article by Indira Cesarine for XXXX Magazine

On Thursday April 8th the opening reception of “Distorted Beauty”; group exhibition and benefit auction was held at the Gallery at Sation Digital on Franklin Street in New York City. Works by photographers Indira Cesarine, Alex Beauchesne, Amber Gray, Edwin Ho, Wendy Hope, D Tyler Huff, Sergio Kurhajec, and Caitlin Mitchell were auctioned off to benefit the Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project. The event was curated by Danielle Ezzo of Anagnrisis Fine Arts in collaboration with Pixelspace Retouching, with the afterparty held at the Tribeca Grand Hotel.

The theme of the show “Distorted Beauty” refers to the connection between the fashion and beauty industry’s long-seated practice of transforming the photographic image by means of excessive retouching, ultimately creating a frame for what constitutes conventional beauty. While the current backlash against touching up of celebrities has taken center stage, similar techniques are employed on nearly all beauty and fashion images. The Exhibition examined the state of hidden digital manipulation, and aimed to generate dialogue about the nature of this controversy, by exposing the degree to which body image is distorted beyond what is considered “real”.

XXXX Magazine’s Creative Director, Indira Cesarine, exhibited an image of top model Edda Petursdottir,?that was retouched, but not in the traditional way. ?In an statement against over perfected beauty retouching, her image, retouched by Tyler Huff, left every imperfection on the face, and even emphasized some elements such as freckles, that are often removed by retouchers for beauty publications and advertising. High resolution digital photography is so detail oriented, nothing is left to the imagination. ?Unlike the grain of film, it is completely unforgiving, showing every hair and pore almost as if viewed through a magnifying glass. ?Our society has become so used to seeing overly retouched images, a beauty portrait such as this one, with visible facial hair and pores, would be considered almost grotesque. ?The fact that we have pushed our ideal of beauty to such an unrealistic place through the saturation in the media of over-retouched images forces one to question the fundamentals of what we are saying about women in our society. Leaving a beauty image unretouched becomes in essence is a statement against the misogyny of over-retouching.

THE EXHIBITION RUNS APRIL 8TH THROUGH MAY 6TH , 2010,

GALLERY at STATION DIGITAL

located at 73 Franklin St. (between B?way and Church,) New York, NY.

For more information, contact Anagnorisis at 347.661.0855 or art@artanagnorisis.com

On January 28, 2010, Visionairs Gallery Paris presented “Carte Blanche” multimedia exhibit by photographer and director Indira Cesarine, in collaboration with XXXX Magazine.

?Carte Blanche? by Indira Cesarine is a multimedia exploration of visual references and ideology that have inspired her since she began her artistic career.? Touted as a ?photographic child prot?g??, Cesarine?s first solo exhibition was at the age of 16 at the Paul Mellon Arts Center. Over the years her work has sparked the interest of some of the world?s top creative directors, having been commissioned for British Vogue, GQ, Glamour and L?Officiel as well as many other international publications and advertising campaigns.? In 2009 she produced and launched the multimedia publication XXXX MAGAZINE, showcasing original multimedia productions of fashion and video art films. The launch issue, The Kaleidoscopic Issue, was brought together through the collaboration of over 100 creative contributors.

A fascination with the exploration of light combined with intense close up portrait style imagery has become her signature. In a return to her work from her first exhibition in 1988, ?Carte Blanche? presents imagery that once again explores themes of experimental exposure, solarization, fractured light and dramatic composition. ?Her inspiration has often come in the unwoken hours of sleep, as with her imagery she can bring to life the visuals of her dreams, often unworldly creatures that are inspired by myth and folklore.

?Carte Blanche? is a presentation of several of Cesarine?s recent series, including Eyes Open, Eyes Closed, an ode to Surrealism. ?In a series of nude portraits she explores the innocence and serenity of dreamlike states juxtaposed with the intensity of consciousness. In Kaleidoscopic, a photographic and video presentation, the multifaceted nature of visual icons is presented through the representation of modern day mythical goddesses.?? Other imagery includes a photographic portrait series inspired by fairies, Faire Philtre, video art films Four Walls, Monocromatic Kaleidoscopic and Kabaret, as well as clips from the launch issue of XXXX MAGAZINE.

Her latest film for XXXX Magazine, THE SPELL, directed in collaboration with Phantasmic TV, premiered at the exhibit. It was projected outside the gallery as well as on interior screens juxtaposed against the photographic images used in the film, the “Eyes Open, Eyes Closed” series.

The exhibit was open from January 28 – February 10th, 2010.

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Exhibit photographs by Ernest Aregal Salgot and Barbara Labate exclusively for XXXX Magazine.