THECULTURECREATIVE.COM

Hi friends,

I'm gonna keep this pretty simple. I really don't like plugging myself, but I have a new online, side project that I think you may enjoy and find useful. After four years of producing my namesake blog, I've decided to diversify with THE CULTURE CREATIVE. Whereas this site is a content-rich dialogue about design and style (and will continue to be,) THE CULTURE CREATIVE is an ever-evolving, visual mood board. The audience I'm speaking to are Creatives who can visit the site daily for visual inspirations. Whether you're in fashion, interior design or film, you're probably quite use to creating mood boards to convey a project your working on. My goal is to provide a platform to share the most provoking images, curated in a replenishing and ongoing series of pages (or mood boards,) as a resource to you. Another important component for THE CULTURE CREATIVE is that I will primarily archive high-res imagery, so be sure to click on an image if you'd like it enlarged. For me, finding high-res images can be somewhat of a challenge online and a deterrent for putting a mood board together, so I'm shooting to be a resource in this arena.

Okay, there you have it! THE CULTURE CREATIVE

Thanks for listening and stay inspired!

-S

THECULTURECREATIVE.COM

Hi friends,

I'm gonna keep this pretty simple. I really don't like plugging myself, but I have a new online, side project that I think you may enjoy and find useful. After four years of producing my namesake blog, I've decided to diversify with THE CULTURE CREATIVE. Whereas this site is a content-rich dialogue about design and style (and will continue to be,) THE CULTURE CREATIVE is an ever-evolving, visual mood board. The audience I'm speaking to are Creatives who can visit the site daily for visual inspirations. Whether you're in fashion, interior design or film, you're probably quite use to creating mood boards to convey a project your working on. My goal is to provide a platform to share the most provoking images, curated in a replenishing and ongoing series of pages (or mood boards,) as a resource to you. Another important component for THE CULTURE CREATIVE is that I will primarily archive high-res imagery, so be sure to click on an image if you'd like it enlarged. For me, finding high-res images can be somewhat of a challenge online and a deterrent for putting a mood board together, so I'm shooting to be a resource in this arena.

Okay, there you have it! THE CULTURE CREATIVE

Thanks for listening and stay inspired!

-S

Greg Gorman Retrospective, 9/15

For my photography junkies in L.A. ...The opening of the Greg Gorman photography exhibition, "A Distinct Vision: 1970-2010," at the PDC, September 15th.

The retrospective exhibition celebrates four decades of photography by Greg Gorman.

Greg will give a lecture at 2:00 PM on September 15, 2010 in the Blue Conference Center (Suite B259) followed by an artist’s tour of the show and book signing.

Later that evening, he will attend the public opening celebration from 7:00 PM – 9:00PM.

The show will be on view September 15 through October 29, 2010.

Best known for his celebrity portraits and nudes, Gorman’s exhibition will include 190+ images. Specially highlighted will be works featured in his most recent book, “In Their Youth,” including previously unpublished images of celebrities Leonardo Di Caprio, Viggo Mortensen, Johnny Depp, Rupert Everett, Keanu Reeves, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law and Tom Cruise.

Greg Gorman Retrospective, 9/15

For my photography junkies in L.A. ...The opening of the Greg Gorman photography exhibition, "A Distinct Vision: 1970-2010," at the PDC, September 15th.

The retrospective exhibition celebrates four decades of photography by Greg Gorman.

Greg will give a lecture at 2:00 PM on September 15, 2010 in the Blue Conference Center (Suite B259) followed by an artist’s tour of the show and book signing.

Later that evening, he will attend the public opening celebration from 7:00 PM – 9:00PM.

The show will be on view September 15 through October 29, 2010.

Best known for his celebrity portraits and nudes, Gorman’s exhibition will include 190+ images. Specially highlighted will be works featured in his most recent book, “In Their Youth,” including previously unpublished images of celebrities Leonardo Di Caprio, Viggo Mortensen, Johnny Depp, Rupert Everett, Keanu Reeves, Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law and Tom Cruise.

Joseph Szabo: "Jones Beach" Reception Tonight!

M+B (AKA my favorite photography gallery in L.A.) is pleased to present "Jones Beach," an exhibition of black and white photographs by Joseph Szabo. Images of tanned muscle men, catwalk-like displays of beach wear, heavily oiled skin, masses of sprayed hair, and all the pageantry of adolescence reveal the dynamics of a beach that was a true melting pot of humanity.

There will be an opening reception for the artist on tonight, June 10 from 6 to 8pm and a book signing for Szabo's newly released monograph by Abrams Books with introduction by Vince Aletti titled Jones Beach, on Saturday, June 12 from 2 to 4pm. The exhibition will run from June 10, 2010 to August 14, 2010.

Somewhat of an expert on the subject of teenagers with his previous works "Almost Grown" and "Teenage," Szabo began shooting at Jones Beach one summer when his usual subjects – his photography students from Malverne High School – were no longer readily available. He chronicled the public and the private lives displayed on this ocean playground that is one of the world’s busiest beaches. Even if we weren’t there to enjoy the good weather and excellent people watching, we have these photographs which turn a captive eye to the urban masses who came out to celebrate their weekends, holidays and summers.

Jones Beach reveals the forces in motion at such a theater of humanness, from moments of quiet introspection to flashy exuberance. Called the “people’s palace by the sea”, Jones Beach is still a unique space very different from the commercial appeal of Coney Island or the privileged seclusion of the Hamptons. On this democratic stretch of sand and ocean class, race, and other potential divisions were temporarily forgotten and Szabo’s sympathetic lens was there to capture it all.

For more information, please visit M+B's website: www.mbart.com.

Joseph Szabo: "Jones Beach" Reception Tonight!

M+B (AKA my favorite photography gallery in L.A.) is pleased to present "Jones Beach," an exhibition of black and white photographs by Joseph Szabo. Images of tanned muscle men, catwalk-like displays of beach wear, heavily oiled skin, masses of sprayed hair, and all the pageantry of adolescence reveal the dynamics of a beach that was a true melting pot of humanity.

There will be an opening reception for the artist on tonight, June 10 from 6 to 8pm and a book signing for Szabo's newly released monograph by Abrams Books with introduction by Vince Aletti titled Jones Beach, on Saturday, June 12 from 2 to 4pm. The exhibition will run from June 10, 2010 to August 14, 2010.

Somewhat of an expert on the subject of teenagers with his previous works "Almost Grown" and "Teenage," Szabo began shooting at Jones Beach one summer when his usual subjects – his photography students from Malverne High School – were no longer readily available. He chronicled the public and the private lives displayed on this ocean playground that is one of the world’s busiest beaches. Even if we weren’t there to enjoy the good weather and excellent people watching, we have these photographs which turn a captive eye to the urban masses who came out to celebrate their weekends, holidays and summers.

Jones Beach reveals the forces in motion at such a theater of humanness, from moments of quiet introspection to flashy exuberance. Called the “people’s palace by the sea”, Jones Beach is still a unique space very different from the commercial appeal of Coney Island or the privileged seclusion of the Hamptons. On this democratic stretch of sand and ocean class, race, and other potential divisions were temporarily forgotten and Szabo’s sympathetic lens was there to capture it all.

For more information, please visit M+B's website: www.mbart.com.

Visual Duets

Some of my favorite types of blogs are those dedicated wholly to imagery without any need for accompanying words. Sometimes called "image bookmarking," these websites are hotbeds for inspiration as each random image provokes and stimulates the viewer. Today, I want to push the act of image bookmarking one step further. I find that combining random, found images to have an even more profound result than just posting one image at a time. By culling through the vast landscape of imagery found on the web and selecting two random images to be thoughtfully presented together, I'm manipulating the visual story and creating a new experience for the viewer.

-S

Visual Duets

Some of my favorite types of blogs are those dedicated wholly to imagery without any need for accompanying words. Sometimes called "image bookmarking," these websites are hotbeds for inspiration as each random image provokes and stimulates the viewer. Today, I want to push the act of image bookmarking one step further. I find that combining random, found images to have an even more profound result than just posting one image at a time. By culling through the vast landscape of imagery found on the web and selecting two random images to be thoughtfully presented together, I'm manipulating the visual story and creating a new experience for the viewer.

-S

L.A. Muse: A conversation with Alex Prager

Last week, I was invited to the opening night for Alex Prager's exhibition, "Week-End," the latest body of work by the 29-year old photographer and native Angelino. Completely self-taught and recognized for her signature aesthetic, Prager’s "Week-End" is a collection of color photographs as dazzling as they are bizarre. The exhibition opened on January 30, 2010, and will run through March 6, 2010 @ M+B gallery in West Hollywood.

"Inspired by the high drama of classic movies—which, despite their theatricality, touch upon genuine emotions of alienation, fear, anger, longing, and lust—Prager's images seem at first to be all exquisite surface. However the girls of this series—named “Barbara,” “Jane,” “Lois” and other such conventional and slightly old-fashioned monikers—conceal pain beneath their lipstick-lined smiles and dead eyes. In the artist's own words, she is “documenting a world that exists and doesn’t exist at the same time.” The trilogy began with girls playing archetypal roles in "Polyester." Then in "Big Valley," the roles took on lives of their own, and the separation between make-believe and real life began to dissolve. With "Week-End," which signifies the peak as well as the extent of the period, the façade becomes so thick that the illusion is now more real than the world they actually live in." - M+B

As a photography enthusiast and fan of Alex's work, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with the artist herself. Here are some snippets from our conversation, as we talk about Los Angeles as a source of creative inspiration:


SY: The word "End" in your latest exhibition, "Week-End," seems to suggest a completion to your previous two works "Polyester" and "Big Valley." How did the story evolve throughout the trilogy, and why "End" it now?

AP: "The story started with a box of old clothes from the 60's that my grandmother's friend Vera gave me because she knew I liked vintage. I threw some wigs on my friends and basically played dress up with them. I think that's why "Polyester" seems more to me like it's a performance by a small town theater group with very bad acting. It's not serious to me. "The Big Valley" was more thought out for me, and I think it comes across a bit more on the edge, and slightly more real. With "Week-end," I felt as if the girls in the photos were no longer play-acting. It's as if their little game had become their only reality. To me, it's like the ending is more about them than about me and the work."



SY: As the trilogy unfolded, I became more and more convinced that you are doing a commentary on life in Los Angeles as much as telling a story about your cast of females. What is a bigger muse for you, L.A. or the women that fill your work?

AP: "I'd say that Los Angeles has been my muse for the past three series. The girls are more like props to me. I still have to find the exact right one for the picture I'm going to take, and she has to inspire me and all that, but when it comes down to it, there'll always be another girl, but there will never be another city like Los Angeles."



SY: How has being a native Angelino affected your artistry?

AP: "There's so much about this city that I disagree with, but at the same time I love it more than anywhere in the world, I guess maybe some of that might come across in my pictures. It's like anyone in regard to the place they grew up, I think there's always some sort of love/hate relationship going on there."



SY: Rick Owen's said something like "L.A. should stick to sitcoms and leave fashion to NYC and Paris." Of course, we're not talking fashion, but does the same go for art? Is it more challenging to prove oneself in the international community coming from L.A.?

AP: "I don't really know. I think a lot of artists in New York go unnoticed because there's so many people focused on art and so much competition. So many rules and politics and all that. Los Angeles is more laid back when it comes to art. You can put a show on in your closet and a crowd will probably turn up. I feel like because I started here, I had more of a chance, not less of it, because when I started my audience was mainly just friends and friends of friends checking it out. Not necessarily to criticize, but more just to see what I had made. I felt like people were interested in a different way than they probably would have been had I been having the same shows in New York. Maybe it's because they're more starved for art here, because there's not as much, I don't know."



SY: When one thing ends another begins. Now that the series is completed, what are we to anticipate from you in the future? ...new directions/inspirations/anything you’d like to share?

AP: "That's a secret, but I will be showing "Week-End" in Tokyo in April, and London in June."

L.A. Muse: A conversation with Alex Prager

Last week, I was invited to the opening night for Alex Prager's exhibition, "Week-End," the latest body of work by the 29-year old photographer and native Angelino. Completely self-taught and recognized for her signature aesthetic, Prager’s "Week-End" is a collection of color photographs as dazzling as they are bizarre. The exhibition opened on January 30, 2010, and will run through March 6, 2010 @ M+B gallery in West Hollywood.

"Inspired by the high drama of classic movies—which, despite their theatricality, touch upon genuine emotions of alienation, fear, anger, longing, and lust—Prager's images seem at first to be all exquisite surface. However the girls of this series—named “Barbara,” “Jane,” “Lois” and other such conventional and slightly old-fashioned monikers—conceal pain beneath their lipstick-lined smiles and dead eyes. In the artist's own words, she is “documenting a world that exists and doesn’t exist at the same time.” The trilogy began with girls playing archetypal roles in "Polyester." Then in "Big Valley," the roles took on lives of their own, and the separation between make-believe and real life began to dissolve. With "Week-End," which signifies the peak as well as the extent of the period, the façade becomes so thick that the illusion is now more real than the world they actually live in." - M+B

As a photography enthusiast and fan of Alex's work, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with the artist herself. Here are some snippets from our conversation, as we talk about Los Angeles as a source of creative inspiration:


SY: The word "End" in your latest exhibition, "Week-End," seems to suggest a completion to your previous two works "Polyester" and "Big Valley." How did the story evolve throughout the trilogy, and why "End" it now?

AP: "The story started with a box of old clothes from the 60's that my grandmother's friend Vera gave me because she knew I liked vintage. I threw some wigs on my friends and basically played dress up with them. I think that's why "Polyester" seems more to me like it's a performance by a small town theater group with very bad acting. It's not serious to me. "The Big Valley" was more thought out for me, and I think it comes across a bit more on the edge, and slightly more real. With "Week-end," I felt as if the girls in the photos were no longer play-acting. It's as if their little game had become their only reality. To me, it's like the ending is more about them than about me and the work."



SY: As the trilogy unfolded, I became more and more convinced that you are doing a commentary on life in Los Angeles as much as telling a story about your cast of females. What is a bigger muse for you, L.A. or the women that fill your work?

AP: "I'd say that Los Angeles has been my muse for the past three series. The girls are more like props to me. I still have to find the exact right one for the picture I'm going to take, and she has to inspire me and all that, but when it comes down to it, there'll always be another girl, but there will never be another city like Los Angeles."



SY: How has being a native Angelino affected your artistry?

AP: "There's so much about this city that I disagree with, but at the same time I love it more than anywhere in the world, I guess maybe some of that might come across in my pictures. It's like anyone in regard to the place they grew up, I think there's always some sort of love/hate relationship going on there."



SY: Rick Owen's said something like "L.A. should stick to sitcoms and leave fashion to NYC and Paris." Of course, we're not talking fashion, but does the same go for art? Is it more challenging to prove oneself in the international community coming from L.A.?

AP: "I don't really know. I think a lot of artists in New York go unnoticed because there's so many people focused on art and so much competition. So many rules and politics and all that. Los Angeles is more laid back when it comes to art. You can put a show on in your closet and a crowd will probably turn up. I feel like because I started here, I had more of a chance, not less of it, because when I started my audience was mainly just friends and friends of friends checking it out. Not necessarily to criticize, but more just to see what I had made. I felt like people were interested in a different way than they probably would have been had I been having the same shows in New York. Maybe it's because they're more starved for art here, because there's not as much, I don't know."



SY: When one thing ends another begins. Now that the series is completed, what are we to anticipate from you in the future? ...new directions/inspirations/anything you’d like to share?

AP: "That's a secret, but I will be showing "Week-End" in Tokyo in April, and London in June."

Color Stories w/ the Beckerman Sisters

There's a fine line between avant garde style and wearing flat-out costumes in fashion. Rarely do we see ladies who can stand boldly with one foot on either side of the line, claiming both as sources of inspiration. Of course, there was the fictional Carrie Bradshaw, AKA the non-fictional Patricia Field, but I digress. Which brings me to the point of this post: The Beckerman Sisters. These Toronto natives have a wonderfully colorful fashion label, but an even more relevant style blog. Beckerman Biteplate is the sisters daily fashion diary that chronicles their own personal outfits. Their fashion sensibility is undoubtedly evident, but it's their styling abilities and on-the-spot art direction for their photos that personally inspires me. I'd love to see these ladies get into interior design, or production designing for film. If nothing else, the color stories these girls tell in their outfits are something to take note of. Time and time again, I talk about the need for juxtapositions in the design marketplace, and especially the need for young talent in the shelter arena. Maybe these girls could do a line of home accessories or even a line of fabrics or wallpaper. Speaking of wallpaper, have you heard about Vivienne Westwood's collaboration with the iconic Cole & Son wallpaper company?! It's a fitting collaboration when you consider that although Vivienne Westwood's known for her rock n' roll ways, elements of Westwood’s designs are still nestled in timeless British mores, just like the century old company.


-S

Color Stories w/ the Beckerman Sisters

There's a fine line between avant garde style and wearing flat-out costumes in fashion. Rarely do we see ladies who can stand boldly with one foot on either side of the line, claiming both as sources of inspiration. Of course, there was the fictional Carrie Bradshaw, AKA the non-fictional Patricia Field, but I digress. Which brings me to the point of this post: The Beckerman Sisters. These Toronto natives have a wonderfully colorful fashion label, but an even more relevant style blog. Beckerman Biteplate is the sisters daily fashion diary that chronicles their own personal outfits. Their fashion sensibility is undoubtedly evident, but it's their styling abilities and on-the-spot art direction for their photos that personally inspires me. I'd love to see these ladies get into interior design, or production designing for film. If nothing else, the color stories these girls tell in their outfits are something to take note of. Time and time again, I talk about the need for juxtapositions in the design marketplace, and especially the need for young talent in the shelter arena. Maybe these girls could do a line of home accessories or even a line of fabrics or wallpaper. Speaking of wallpaper, have you heard about Vivienne Westwood's collaboration with the iconic Cole & Son wallpaper company?! It's a fitting collaboration when you consider that although Vivienne Westwood's known for her rock n' roll ways, elements of Westwood’s designs are still nestled in timeless British mores, just like the century old company.


-S

Where They Create

Kinda like The Selby, but different. Instead of photographing the homes of the artsy (as The Selby does so well,) Paul Barbera visually documents the working environments (studios/offices/etc...) of today's most relevant Creatives on his online portfolio, Where They Create.

You know what I love about both of these sites... I love how authentic they are. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy reading my interiors magazines from cover to cover, but it's really refreshing to see a space that's not so obviously staged to death. Simply, these are the homes of real people in real time. These spaces are individual and often peculiar, and that appeals to me in a way that is so 2010.

Happy NYE! ... watch out for the full moon!

-S

Where They Create

Kinda like The Selby, but different. Instead of photographing the homes of the artsy (as The Selby does so well,) Paul Barbera visually documents the working environments (studios/offices/etc...) of today's most relevant Creatives on his online portfolio, Where They Create.

You know what I love about both of these sites... I love how authentic they are. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy reading my interiors magazines from cover to cover, but it's really refreshing to see a space that's not so obviously staged to death. Simply, these are the homes of real people in real time. These spaces are individual and often peculiar, and that appeals to me in a way that is so 2010.

Happy NYE! ... watch out for the full moon!

-S

Visual Buffet: Guido Mocafico

Guido Mocafico is a Swiss-born photographer who draws inspiration from Dutch Masters of the 17th Century, such as Pieter Claesz, Alexandre-François Desportes, and Floris van Dijck.

These prints would make a dramatic focal point to any dining room, but personally, I'd love to have one hanging over my headboard in the bedroom (well maybe not the dead carcass of a rabbit.) Talk about an aphrodisiac.

-S

Visual Buffet: Guido Mocafico

Guido Mocafico is a Swiss-born photographer who draws inspiration from Dutch Masters of the 17th Century, such as Pieter Claesz, Alexandre-François Desportes, and Floris van Dijck.

These prints would make a dramatic focal point to any dining room, but personally, I'd love to have one hanging over my headboard in the bedroom (well maybe not the dead carcass of a rabbit.) Talk about an aphrodisiac.

-S

Josef Schulz: Insignificant Buildings

If you're a fan of Todd Eberle's work, than you'll love Josef Schulz. Schulz is an architectural photographer of industrial buildings, modern warehouses and factories. What makes his photography different than that of Eberle is that his objects are not important architecture landmarks. Instead, Schulz makes the insignificant pre-fab building, shed, factory or warehouse become more remarkable, valuable and relevant with his lens.

Mass-production never looked so good!

-S

Josef Schulz: Insignificant Buildings

If you're a fan of Todd Eberle's work, than you'll love Josef Schulz. Schulz is an architectural photographer of industrial buildings, modern warehouses and factories. What makes his photography different than that of Eberle is that his objects are not important architecture landmarks. Instead, Schulz makes the insignificant pre-fab building, shed, factory or warehouse become more remarkable, valuable and relevant with his lens.

Mass-production never looked so good!

-S

Design In 70's Danish Porn

Design inspiration can come from varying sources... books, films, music, art, a feeling, daily life, the past, and even in snapshots from 70's Danish porn. I stumbled upon a clever blogger that has compiled a collage of stills from 70's pornography, and I have to say that mid-century design never looked so suggestive.

Design In 70's Danish Porn

-S

Design In 70's Danish Porn

Design inspiration can come from varying sources... books, films, music, art, a feeling, daily life, the past, and even in snapshots from 70's Danish porn. I stumbled upon a clever blogger that has compiled a collage of stills from 70's pornography, and I have to say that mid-century design never looked so suggestive.

Design In 70's Danish Porn

-S