“The Wanderer”?

“The Wanderer”,?Shot by photographer Willy ?Vanderperre, is the latest multimedia editorial campaign by?Dior Homme. The project was specifically conceived by Dior Creative Director, Kris Van Assche, and is oriented to the “new connected?generation that gets its fashion and trend information from online?magazines and blogs.” The “alternative?communication?endeavor” consists of a series of nine photographs of the Fall Winter 2011-2012 collection shot with an editorial point of view, as well as a fashion film ?called the “The Wanderer”. The images present a rather mysterious and isolated suburban landscape juxtaposed with the streamline cut of the dramatically lit silhouettes from the fall collection. ?Slim tailoring and monochromatic tones are juxtaposed with flashes of red. The radically modern aesthetic of Dior Homme is unmistakable, with the photo and video series encapsulating the nonchalant elegance Kris Van Assche is known for.
Aside from giving a new insight into the collection, the project?promotes Dior Homme in an alternative way to the plugged-in generation. Dior has blasted the images featuring model?Victor Nylander to select online magazines and blogs, creating a buzz about the striking collection and edgy imagery as well as their ultra modern viral marketing approach.?The project itself brings to light the fact that luxury brands such as Dior are opening up more and more these days to a new concept of marketing outside the traditional advertising approach of paying for pages in print publications. ?The buzz created from online marketing and viral campaigns can easily surpass that of print publications by way of the shear numbers that have the opportunity to view the imagery with the immediacy of the internet. ?It will be interesting to see how many other brands follow suit by blasting their own editorial productions geared primarily for online magazine and blog readers. It certainly could become the trend of the future, with exponential numbers tuning in to online publishing. ?We are looking forward to seeing the Dior Homme Spring/Summer 2012 viral campaign.

It would seem reasonable to conclude that Marco Brambilla wants us all dead. Not in the immediate ?I?m going on a violent, grotesque killing spree that would harm victim and loved ones all at once? sense, but more of the ?I?m interested in what humanity?s inevitable decline will look like.? The director of the 1993 post-apocalyptic ?Demolition Man? has shifted course over the last two decades into the formal field of visual arts, with video and photography works shown at the Guggenheim, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Kunsthalle Bern and the ARCO Foundation in Madrid. Brambilla enters uncharted territory again; this time, as creator of the first video artwork designated as an Official Selection at the 68^th Venice International Film Festival entitled ?Evolution?.

For one night only, the ten-minute film will be screened at the Sala Perla in Lido, Venice amidst an array of nineteen Out of Competition films selected by a distinguished international jury. The gravitas of Brambilla?s achievement, as the first and sole entrant producing a work of silent video art versus a scripted narrative, is alluded to even in the published opening statement by Paolo Baratta, President of the Venice Biennale. ?Technologies are in constant evolution,? says Baratta, ?with the spreading of digital and 3D techniques ? and the ways in which audiences experience cinema are constantly changing too.? No great irony there, as Baratta (wittingly or not) mentions the title, media and working techniques all fundamental to Brambilla?s entry.

The film is built upon a seamless flow of roughly 400 film excerpts, all reflecting humankind?s milestones in a grandiose, meta-historical fashion. Using the existing language of Hollywood?s versions of life, death, existence and destiny, Brambilla weaves a satirical tapestry of popular, cherished cinematic memory. The film made its initial debut during Art Basel Miami Beach last year, in an intimate poolside screening at the Standard. It was also included in a larger corpus of works from Brambilla?s solo exhibition ?The Dark Lining? at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. The enthusiastic response to the film can only be magnified now, as it ascends to a new level of global artistic mastery.

What?s most engaging is that Brambilla seems to retain a love and respect for his ?parent? profession in Hollywood, appropriating some of its most memorable tales to allow his own unique vision to surface. The satire seems neither bitter nor disparaging; rather, it appears to lightheartedly address the cycle of human existence from beginning to end (thoughts of our demise are miserable enough, why not throw in a few associations with favorites such as ?E.T.? or ?Star Wars? or Monty Python?) with a humorous lilt.

In every way, Brambilla casts humanity as a mere walk-on role in the cinematic epic of natural existence. With ?Evolution?, this extraordinary 3D moving montage renders us spectators and the spectacle all at once. Adding a bit of bravado and two decades of sincere pop-cinema appreciation, you can almost hear Brambilla call out: lights, camera, apocalypse!

Article by Shana Mason for XXXX Magazine

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

Opening its doors in February 2011 in Miami?s Wynwood Art District, the Robert Fontaine Gallery offers a unique selection of internationally established and emerging artists, centered around genres of Pop Art, Urban/Street Art (translated into portable edition format), and contemporary photography. The Robert Fontaine Gallery, in its mission to provide viewers with an engaging, vibrant contemporary program throughout the year, is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in the US of British artist Nick Gentry.

Gentry adopts an approach to contemporary portraiture in the guise of photo-mosaic, in particular, using outdated or dissolved technological methods or objects. As a generation of young artists are stepping into the realm of ephemeral, mobile digital technology, individual elements such as VHS an cassette tapes, floppy disks and Polaroids become not only obsolete machinery, but memory triggers in and of themselves during their period of birth and subsequent death. This inaugural US solo exhibition will display Gentry?s contribution to contemporary art which comments on the rampant, irreversible path of human progression in dialogue with the life cycles of innovation.

Nick Gentry ‘Body Language’ (2011) Mixed paint and used computer disks on wood, 150 x 90 cm

At its core, Gentry?s work is a subtly aggressive inquiry into the technology leviathan: what happens to the people in the process of invention? The melancholy snapshots of Generation X act as a bridge between those faded personalities who had laid the foundations of present-day technology and the new consumers who may know of those antiquated objects only by rumor or a convenient browse on Wikipedia.

‘Base Jumper’ (2011)?Mixed paint, used computer disks on wood,?150 x 90 cm

Gentry is a graduate of Central St. Martins in London.?Notable exhibition venues include Art Paris, Verge Art Fair (Miami) and appearances at Bonham?s and Dreweatt?s Urban Art Auctions in London. International press for Gentry has included the Mirror, the Huffington Post, La Repubblica, Juxtapoz Magazine, Wired Magazine and the Wooster Collective. Gentry lives and works in London. Invicta Watch Group (having commissioned an exclusive model designed by Gentry) and Ocean Drive Magazine will act as sponsors for Gentry?s opening reception to kick off the contemporary art season in Miami.

The Robert Fontaine Gallery is located at 175 NW 23^rd Street in the Wynwood Arts District in Downtown Miami.

Photos courtesy of Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami

Miami has earned a reasonably steadfast reputation as a designer?s heaven; with the Design Center of the Americas stationed in Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Design District (which continues to expand both in size and scope) located in Downtown Miami and more than fifteen publications exclusively dedicated to interior and applied design, it?s difficult to miss the signposts.

There?s a continuous struggle, however, to successfully meld the fields of fine art (pointedly manifested from a creative source transcending ?practical? or ?utilitarian? efforts) and design without one overpowering the other or, worse, the entire operation turning into the safe (but monotonous) tones of IKEA. In Miami, especially, as fine art is just beginning to make its international presence known outside the auspices of Art Basel Miami Beach, such an endeavor is equivalent to walking a tightrope set on fire.

So either Dmitry Prut, director of Avant Gallery in Miami Beach, has the cooling touch which manages to tame art and design seamlessly into a single space, or he?s a masochist. ?I think our uniqueness lies in that our concept is very different,? Prut says, ?it?s a special hybrid.?

Dmitry Prut, Director of Avant Gallery

Formerly located at the edge of the Miami Design District, Avant Gallery will officially open its location across from the W and Gansevoort South Hotels in South Beach in time for Art Basel Miami Beach this December. ?We?ll be back in the Design District in early 2012, when our bigger and more centrally-located space is ready,? Prut notes, ?our Miami Beach outpost will take us through Art Basel, making it more accessible.?

CubeWorks by Josh Chalom (installation view) ‘Falling Apart’ (2010) 50″ x 56″

Avant?s contemporary art roster is a diverse circus of maverick Pop and Urban art forms: representing young and emerging talents such as Alec Monopoly, Alejandro Vigilante, Arno Elias and the Toronto-based CubeWorks collective. As for design, Avant holds the distinction as one of the sole distributors of the Airline 009 Chair, designed by Cory Grosser exclusively for Walt Disney Signature, as well as other eye-ticklers such as Dal??s Leda Chair (part of the Dal? Furniture Project) and the futuristic Hi-Can high fidelity canopy bed by Edoardo Carlino.

Arno Elias ‘Bardot Escape’ (2011) Mixed media on dibond, 48″ x 48.”

How does this glorious?madness come together? ?We?re always evolving and keeping up with that I think will be in demand,? Prut says, ?and hopefully,?half the time, I am right. I?m happy to see our growth and diversification in our programming, such as adding a street art element with Alec Monopoly as well as something on the opposite end of the spectrum, exemplified with the re-launch of Walt Disney?s favorite chair, the Airline 009.?

Avant Gallery will keep walking the burning tightrope straddling art and design, and with the momentum already achieved, there?s certainly further surprises in store as the busiest months of the year descend upon the ?Magic City.?

Alec Monopoly ‘Running America’ (2011) Acrylic on vintage American flag, 26″ x 52″

Photos Courtesy of Avant Gallery, Miami

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

ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER?HAUTE COUTURE ?- PARIS F/W 2011 FASHION SHOW

Alexandre Vauthier, who presented his first haute couture line in 2009 after working at Mugler and Jean Paul Gaulthier, recently showed his collection for Fall/Winter 2011 at Haute Couture week in Paris. The show took place at the Bibliotheque des Genovefians, the library inside of Lyc?e Henry IV, perhaps the most prestigious high school in all France with alumni such as Sartre, Foucault, and Guy de Maupassant. An hommage to Valentino and his red dresses, the show speaks to the greatness of its inspiration and places Mr. Valentino beside those great thinkers and artists that spent their formative years in the school. In a beautiful old library bathed in hot red light, how fitting that the collection should be a bit racy, sexy, yet sophistocated – taboo yet grounded.

According to Vaulthier, the starting point for the collection was the Rouge Baiser, or “red kiss,” by Ren? Gruau, a series of campaign posters created to promote a lipstick. Several pieces maintained this vintage and glamorous vibe through dramatic draping and fluttering trains. Modernity stepped in with the choice of materials and several details such as the piped ribbing and the downward slanting shoulder silhouettes.

However, a few of the dresses with hemlines that just did not quite hide everything and?the finale “Football jewel structure” created by Pierre Annez de Taboada were distractions and somewhat crude next to an otherwise luxuriously beautiful collection. Feathers, Swarovski crystals, rich furs…it glittered, sparkled and satisfied, but leaves a little room for questions.

ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER – PARIS F/W 2011 PRESENTATION VIDEO

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Fashion week coverage directe by Indira Cesarine
Runway photos by Pascale V Marquis

Article by Amy Tabarly

ALEXIS MABILLE – PARIS F/W 2011?HAUTE COUTURE?FASHION SHOW

In an array of feathers, crepe and organza, the fall couture collection from Alexis Mabille, the 33 year old?Lyonnais?French couturier lived up to his pension for extravagance. Inspired by the classic French fables from Jean de la Fontaine, each look was a different animal: an ant, a swan, a frog, etc. Some of the interpretations are subtle and others more literal, such as the fox, a velvety burnt orange dress with a large fox fur sleeved bolero and two fox tails tied around the waist.

The breath taking parts of the collection were the simplified ones that departed more from the fable, such as the frog, ?an enormous emerald green silk dress that let the proportion and beauty of the fabric make a statement – not all the added feather and furs.

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Fashion week coverage directed by Indira Cesarine
Article by Amy Tabarly

ARMANI PRIVE – PARIS F/W 2011 FASHION SHOW

Kimono, kimono. Armani Priv? has latched on to Japan full force, with obi-inspired belts, kimono collars, and origami folding. Cherry blossom prints made appearances, but also a few prints that are reminescent of asian florals, that were less than literal thankfully. The cuts of jackets and tops kept the Asian inspiration in the forefront, and the tightness of the pant suits spoke of a current Asian fashion sense.

The decision to have Philip Treacy create headpieces for the collection outweighed the tried “exotic culture” remakes. And then that mini jacket! Little fans layered almost like scales. The collection rises steadily to culminate with stunning sequin gowns in an unexpected orange hue. Although Armani took on a theme that could have easily gone straight into the bin, finally the collection maintained a high level of elegance and refinery.

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Fashion week coverage directed by Indira Cesarine for XXXX Magazine
Article by Amy Tabarly

CHANEL?HAUTE COUTURE?- PARIS F/W 2011 FASHION SHOW

The retro-feel at?Chanel’s haute couture show was injected with modernity. Held at the Grand Palais, Karl Lagerfeld had a neon Place Vendome recreated to honor Coco Chanel, who spent many of her years living at the Ritz there, and where there is still a Chanel boutique. Why use a replica when you have the actual thing just steps away? To reinvent your own version of course. Lagerfeld’s nearly sci-fi rendition added to the mysterious allure of the collection.

Mystery abounds for the collection entitled Les Allures de Chanel, and the muted color palette aids in creating this special atmostphere. The classic Chanel tweed suits shone this season in a peplum silhouette paired with pencil skirts with hems that stayed close to the knee. As always, Karl Lagerfeld has a way of creating classic and inventive remakes that are absolutely wearable and stunning alongside long elegant gowns that use patterns, beading, feathers and lace to create what will surely be a new classic in years to come.

For the finale, the models all returned in the pitch back with light-up LED platforms that illuminated the space. The allure of Chanel lives on. Chez Chanel somehow manages to stay current through each collection while staying true to the style and feel of what Coco created long ago.

CHANEL?HAUTE COUTURE?- PARIS F/W 2011 PRESENTATION VIDEO

CHANEL HAUTE COUTURE – PARIS F/W 2011
(IMAGES BY KARL LAGERFELD)

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Fashion Week coverage directed by Indira Cesarine for XXXX Magazine
Article by Amy Tabarly
Video Directed by Indira Cesarine, edited by Karc Chan
Runway Photos by Pascale V Marquis for XXXX Magazine