#richard avedon did some magic with this one

[vibrantlives]

<3

[trek-tracks]

Tony-winning actress, writer, and humanitarian Phyllis Newman passed away today.

I worked - almost lived, basically - in Phyllis’ astonishing apartment in the Beresford, which shared a floor with Jerry Seinfeld’s and overlooked Central Park West, for a year in 2009-2010, doing an internship to accompany my MFA thesis at Columbia. The internship was a dream come true - they needed someone with archival experience and a passion for musical theatre to organize half a century of notes, photos, cards, and memorabilia, stuffed into every crack of the two floors. I remember essentially telling everyone else in my year to “back off” - this was mine.

Phyllis was married to the late Adolph Green, of The Revuers (with Judy Holliday) and Comden and Green, for decades. If Green sounds familiar, it’s because of the book to Singin’ in the Rain, and the lyrics/books for shows like On the Town (with its famous tune about the Bronx being up and the Battery down), Wonderful Town, The Will Rogers Follies, On the Twentieth Century, and many more. About the understudy role for Holliday in Bells are Ringing, Phyllis used to joke that it was the only time sleeping with the writer made it harder to get the part. She won the 1962 Tony for her featured actress turn in Comden and Green’s Subways Are For Sleeping as Martha Vail, with her memorable song “I Was a Shoo-In.” Apparently she was, because she beat Barbara Streisand that year.

Phyllis was a regular guest on talk shows, such as the Tonight Show (she told me she was the first woman to guest host it), and game shows like What’s My Line, due to her sparkling wit and sunny personality. She beat breast cancer and wrote a fantastic book about it, called Just in Time. She worked on all sorts of fascinating shows, including a vehicle called The Madwoman of Central Park West. Just about every star from the 1940s-1970s and beyond was her friend; they all sent cards and telegrams, and attended parties at her apartment. And it was my job to organize it all. (She was still giving those when I worked there - if I had known there was going to be a party with Alec Baldwin for The Actors Fund one day, I would have done better than wearing my casual, dusty archivist clothes to work. I think I was more presentable the day Glenn Close showed up.)

I went through hilarious cards from Stephen Sondheim (one, a Peanuts card featuring Snoopy, had “Happy Birthday” crossed out and “Fuck Off!” penciled in its place), and telegrams from Frank Sinatra, and photo after photo after photo of Carson and Comden, Bernstein and Bacall. My favourite thing was a picture of Groucho Marx, signed “To Phyllis - NOT Betty or Adolph.” My biggest shock was an original composition by Leonard Bernstein - in his own writing - possibly never copied, given as a gift to Phyllis and Adolph for their wedding, just sitting in a desk drawer. I almost had a heart attack carrying one of their original wedding photos, taken by Richard Avedon, to Kinko's to make a scan.

“There’s something about working in an apartment that’s suffused in glamour that makes even the most mundane tasks seem magical,” I wrote, back in 2009. “Knowing that probably half the stars of the past 50 years (and probably a larger percentage of theatre-makers) have partied here, worked here, generated ideas here for the classics of the stage makes every ride up in the elevator, every interaction, every rummage through dusty drawers contain some measure of awe…The apartment preserves a time when celebrity had that mid-century golden sheen of class. Its drawers are filled with original memorabilia of the coolest things imaginable, that its occupants haven’t seen in decades.”

“There’s a wonderful telegram, for the opening of Subways Are For Sleeping, or maybe Moonbirds, where a young Stephen Sondheim tells Phyllis that he’s more excited for her than she is. In a way, that’s what I’m doing - going through this world of my dreams that will never exist again; being more excited for Phyllis than she is, because she’s lived it. Though she is clearly super excited when I find things like photos from a forty-year-old production she hasn’t seen since they were taken, or her birth announcement (I love talking with her), she is still busy all the time - the Tony people call, or she’s organizing another evening of exciting benefit performances to fund health care for uninsured female artists. I am making files of Important Things, cataloging lives of wonder, lives more exciting that mine will ever be, with datebooks filled with soirees and names and numbers of modern gods…Maybe the golden veneer that shimmers all around this place will rub off on me one day. It could happen.”

I created file after file, and enormous finding guides of these treasure troves. She once told me that I was more than earning any of the credits Columbia was giving me for the internship. I definitely saw it the other way around - I was getting more out of my time spent in her world than any sort of school credit or monetary remuneration could possibly encompass. I was finding material for the publication of The Comden and Green Songbook. I was scanning photos and sending them to James Lapine for Sondheim on Sondheim, and finding the very best headshots to be approved by her to accompany press releases. I was helping her with her new websites, and her guest-blogging for Playbill, in which she was very kind to me:

“I have never thrown away anything in my entire life. Have you?” she wrote.

“I mean nothing….menus, invitations, notes, tickets, programs, (PLAYBILLS, of course). Clippings, diaries, notebooks, photos by the thousands, lists and more lists, clothes I’ll fit back into when I lose 542 pounds, hats, scarves, multi-colored boas, crayolas, old arrangements from nightclub days….I just stuffed everything into any available opening. But into this madness came a skilled archivist who is changing my life. She comes in four days a week. She has organized and unearthed amid the boas and rhinestones, some pretty interesting memorabilia of two lives whose passion was every aspect of The Arts.”

I was thrilled when she won the inaugural humanitarian Tony, the Isabelle Stevenson Award, for her work with the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative (or PNWHI - Pin-Wee, she'd say), which sought to provide funds for female actresses and artists who did not have health coverage, due to the precarious nature of the industry. I was enraged when her award was not shown on the Tony broadcast - what, after all, was more important than this?

Most of all, I got to spend time with the woman herself - never as much as I wanted, as her health was not ideal, but she was still a powerhouse. She was brilliant and self-deprecating at the same time. She would pin you with the sharpest look and say something wickedly funny. One day, for the life of me, I had no idea who some person in a picture was (I think it wound up being Andre Gregory, but I hadn’t seen My Dinner With Andre), and she didn’t either. “Sidney will know,” she said. “Oh?” I responded, uncomprehendingly. “I’ll call him, you describe it…Hi, Sidney,” she said, and suddenly, as she explained our predicament and handed the phone to me, I realized that I was on the phone with legendary director Sidney Lumet, a long-time family friend who lived just upstairs, with absolutely no preparation as to how to handle it. I think Phyllis found my reaction very funny; I just lived through it. “Sidney” died in 2011.

She told me to speak up for what I believed in, and to continue to write and follow my passions. She was incredibly supportive of female artists. I hope what I do today continues to honour her.

One day, a life-sized leg made of chocolate, saying “break a leg!” to celebrate her Isabelle Stevenson Tony win, appeared at the apartment. I thought it was a piece of statuary until it started to melt in the sun, and until a fellow staffer in the kitchen took a cleaver to it and handed me the foot to take home.

Never say that Phyllis didn’t let me get a foot in the door.

Working for Phyllis was like a dream. She was a legend, not only for her many, many amazing achievements, but for the era she represented. She was one of the last from that era, having been so young when she married Adolph - whom she always spoke about with so much love it was physically palpable. I was absolutely blessed to spend a moment in time - just in time - with her, and I’m so sorry that she’s gone. She changed my life a lot, and I can only hope that I helped her life a little.

Thank you, Phyllis. Rest in Peace.

[carolhnd2bphoto]

Evaluation of Pure White

several weeks ago I took part in a brief, Pure White. as the name suggests the colour white was to be an important part of the image more so the background.  famous photographers such as Richard Avedon and David Bailey were well known for taking images of famous people set against a pure white background (a review of their work has already been posted).  I had the opportunity of taking shots, both digitally and film, of actors and classmates.  one image has already been posted of an actor who came into the studio.  initially I was nervous about this brief purely because I found it slightly difficult understanding the lighting set up, the use of the light meter and getting the aperture right to allow for a pure white background.  however, I am fairly confident about it now.  the photography itself was enjoyable, interacting with the actors, making them feel relaxed and at ease.  when it came to looking at the images in Photoshop to check that the background was indeed pure white, that side of it was good.  any adjustments made were to blacks, whites, exposure, shadows.  now, not only did I use my DSLR I also use my film camera, this was really enjoyable as there is more patience required, its not a case of point and shoot then delete if you don't like.  the whole process of loading the film, winding it on, taking the shot, winding it on.  the sound also has such a satisfying feeling; the sound of the shutter release button, the simple click, winding to the next frame.  for me those simple sounds put a smile on my face.  fortunately the lighting set up for my DSLR was used with my film camera and to make it less difficult a remote flash light was place on my camera, meaning that I would have achieved the same pure white as I did with the DSLR.  the next step was processing the film, this was slightly tricky, as this was all done in the dark.  the film was placed into the spiral, when that had been carefully wound onto the spiral, the film was placed into the developing tank and went through the process of various chemicals.  the end result was some good punchy negatives (as described by my lecturer).  on hearing this I was looking forward to getting into the darkroom to start developing. this experience was amazing, from  my first test strip, to contact sheet, to picking the negative that I was going to print.  firstly, the paper I used was fibre based (FB) not Facebook, now initially when doing my test strip, the exposure was at 5 seconds at grade 2 (grade is related to contrast) with the help of my lecturer I decided to do my contact sheet at 12 seconds of exposure, this looked well and as such went ahead and developed my first print (not of an actor but of my classmate).  this turned out better than I expected, the tone, contrast, the pure white background were perfect.  the only snag was the edges, they weren't quite even. since then I have been in the darkroom more than I should, simply because I want perfect edges, which I now have.  I have made silly mistakes such as not adjusting the light on the enlarger but that's as a result of my eagerness to do well and to print.  for me the darkroom is a space of sheer magic.  within 2 minutes, less even, you have a blank paper then you have an image developing right before your eyes.  it is such an addictive but also a frustrating experience.  this is where patience comes in, this cant be rushed, like photography, developing a print is a mindful act and one I want to do more of in the future.

[erhiem]

You are welcome world builder, our ongoing series of conversations with the most productive and thoughtful behind-the-scenes craftsmen. In this entry, we chat with Edgar Wright, Ron Mel, and Russell Mel about tying The Sparks Brothers together, escaping the maudlin drivel, and imitating the band’s energetic humour.

Love makes you flirt. Inherent passion can only seep through for so long. Eventually, it must break, and those around you are made aware. You don’t want to be quiet when it comes to your love. You want your friends, neighbors and strangers to know about it. After a few days under its influence, you are shouting from the tops of the mountains, “sparks God is the greatest band in human history!”

pop-rock duo ron male and Russell Male Infects certain people in a certain way. Consuming sparks is like catching a virus, and you spread your glee as soon as you bump into others, and it makes its way to the next person after that, and so on. The band is simultaneously prolific and unseen, but its champions are nearly infinite, and more importantly, very loud.

edgar wright Couldn’t understand why there wasn’t already a documentary dedicated to his talent. After meeting Ron and Russell in 2015, the prospect of The Sparks Brothers Boiled. Wright was in love, and even though Sparks is admired by many, and all the weirdest musicians appreciate his magic, Wright wanted the rest of the world to be equally enchanted.

The Sparks Brothers Edgar Wright’s blatant rally is crying out. He was honored that the Meles took his friendship with him, and even though people say never to meet his heroes, Wright discovers a great generosity flowing from Ron and Russell. And the stories he gave to Wright demanded a larger audience.

“Talking to them on camera in a documentary is no different than the first coffee we had,” explains Wright. “Meeting Ron and Russell in person started worrying about the idea that there should be a documentary. Their story needed to be captured on film.”

Unbeknownst to Wright, Ron and Russell had already been approached about possible documentaries. They always refused. The last thing they wanted was a dull Best of Sparks recollection or a documentary serving as a preemptive headstone. But getting Wright out was an impossible notion.

“We’re fans of Edgar’s movies,” says Russell. “Any previous hesitation of not doing so for reasons such as, ‘Is this obituary for a band, and here’s your fine gold watch, and see you later,’ went away. Edgar insisted That would be a thesis in the documentary. All the different eras along the way have led the spark so far. Knowing all this, we trusted Edgar to do what Edgar does best.”

What Meles saw in Wright’s films was a kinship. They recognize a strange partner, and Strange look out for each other. The brothers didn’t even need to discuss the alternative. Their cooperation was undeniable.

“One factor that determines how people get along best is a shared sense of humour,” Ron says. “Obviously, Russell and I have it through music. Edgar has the same thing. It’s a secret club, people who have a certain sense of humor, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a romantic situation. Or is creative.”

Music doctor common to all parties Avoiding hard work was paramount. As envisioned by Wright, the task became one of transferring, or better yet, transferring sparks sensations. The brothers spent decades doing heavy lifting. The director only needed to wrap his film in piracy, claiming his aesthetic for his narrative.

“When you know what Ron and Russell are capable of,” Wright says, “on stage and on records and in videos and on album covers, it’s just a gift. Now you’re able to get in touch. [the film] in such a way. I mean, in terms of all the media, using all the tools at your disposal in the same way that they make up an album. “

Wright flashed sparks in front of him and took out his scissors. He used to slip here and there. Then, he glued the parts back together, and the resulting Frankenstein monster uncovers the tissue that links Sparks’ earlier era to its current iteration. The method is right there in madness.

“There were things that were a jumping off point,” Wright continues. copying some of the aesthetics of the album cover and video. All interviews are done in the style of Richard Avedon covers big Beat. I think I told Ron and Russell a long time ago, ‘Hey, we should do all interviews like this.’ They are in black and white like the same classic cover. It makes the collection stuff really pop. “

Putting Ron and Russell’s energy on his passion didn’t feel like a decision to Wright. The Sparks Brothers’ The aim is to bullhorn their vibe and grab the attention of those who are yet to fall under their spell. Once viewed, viewers must race to collect the album and the videos they missed.

“Even small things like animation are no-brainers,” says Wright. “Because Ron and Russell have used animation brilliantly in recent videos. In fact, stuff with the stop motion puppet versions of Ron and Russell, they were done by Joseph Wallace, who in 2017 wrote ‘Edith Piaf (Sad It Better Than Me)’ did a video for him.

Russell Mel was excited to see Wright explain the Sparks style, but he still wasn’t sure what. The Sparks Brothers will actually be about. He was unable to see what the outside audience would do to his story.

“We didn’t know what the thrust of the film would be,” Russell says. “What is the angle of this documentary compared to other documentaries? Where is the clear point of the great dilemma? Where is the big problem with drugs and overcoming it and how does it affect music? None of the band members are hating each other.”

But creating a narrative wasn’t really Russell’s or Ron’s problem. Considering Wright was at liberty to take that pressure off. And he does not need to panic with his director.

“Once we saw the documentary,” Russell continues, “and started getting backlash, [the theme] There was something that never even killed us. It is about the emotional side of creative endeavours and to have one’s own creative values ​​and one’s own integrity. It was something that was a real bonus for us, because we’re so close to the position, and we never thought it was some kind of angle, but Edgar did. “

Wright always thought he and the brothers would get along, and he made the film to prove their creative connection. somewhere dropping out Sparks hides. His rhythm and his utterly comical humor is at the bottom of every script.

“I think what Ron and Russell have done in the band is no different than what I’ve done in my movies,” says Wright. “His approach to the subject is completely honest. That doesn’t stop us from playing with form. That’s what’s great about Sparks. His approach to the lyric-art and the emotion that goes into the lyrics is extremely honest. But there’s a kind of takeaway where you can play with the expectations and reverse the genre. And that’s what I’ve done in my comedy films and things.”

There was a lot of self-deprecation to be had within that worship. The Sparks Brothers Cannot exist as a grand love festival. The jabs were needed as a joke. Pedestals were built only so that mails could be taken away from them.

“I love Sparks, and I love music documentaries,” says Wright, “but that won’t stop me from making fun of him at the same time.” I knew these guys would be sports. You can tell that from music videos and TV appearances and album covers. They are not an old-fashioned band with no sense of humor about themselves. “

Ron Mel invites Wright to do his worst. They knew their collaboration would increase the reach of Sparks. whatever fun or creative fulfillment went into making The Sparks Brothers Did not compare to actual sales of more records.

“In a very basic way,” says Ron, “maybe even in a selfish way; It’s a great thing that those who’ve seen the documentary, who didn’t know about Sparks before, will now get their first exposure for the band. Yes, it’s something that Sparks fans will go crazy for, but it’s at least as inspiring to know that there are people who, for whatever reason, don’t know about the band, and thus they don’t know about it. I’ll find out what we’ve done. You can have an instant history of twenty-five albums and get them online.”

The Sparks Brothers It was fun for the Meles brothers, and it’s a cherished production for Edgar Wright, but the music remains the thing. Songs are messages. Like music videos or album covers, documentaries are another means of slapping a potential listener’s face.

Hey, check it out. The spark is wild. You will dig it and fall in love. pass it.

Edgar Wright’s The Sparks Brothers opens in theaters on June 18.

Source

The post Edgar Wright and the Sparks Brothers are Here to Spread Love appeared first on Spicy Celebrity News.

[nazaninlankarani]

Piaget brings “Moments of Happiness“ to the Venice Biennale

Chabi Nouri, chief executive of Piaget, discusses the evolving “marriage” of luxury with contemporary art at the opening of Dysfunctional.

At the 58th edition of the Venice Biennale, the sprawling exhibition of contemporary art, one of the best attended openings was an off-site show titled Dysfunctional that featured a selection of works produced in collaboration with the Richemont-owned maison, Piaget.

The splendid setting of the show was the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca’ d’Oro, a museum housed in a Venetian gothic palazzo located in the historic Cannaregio district of Venice, where Piaget exhibited its connection to today’s artistic creation while putting forward some of its own ancestral savoir-faire.

© Piaget

It was on that thin frontier between art and design that Piaget positioned itself with the fruit of its collaboration with the designer-duo known as the Verhoeven Twins – the brothers Joep and Jeroen - represented by the Carpenters Workshop Gallery, an art and design gallery dedicated since 2006 to presenting functional works of design made with an artistic sensibility. The works presented by the Verhoeven Twins were each made of industrial glass shaped like soap bubbles, for the most part suspended from the ceiling of the enclosed loggia on the third floor of the Palazzo, well-positioned to capture and reflect the warm lights of Venice.

The Verhoeven Twins at work © Piaget

Piaget had given the Twins “carte blanche” to produce their glass ensemble titled “Moments of Happiness,” consisting of a dozen pieces whose sole function was to reflect the ambient, natural light. The 24ct yellow gold attachment from which the ceiling pieces were suspended was presented as a tribute to the Maison’s own Swiss goldsmithing tradition.

Chabi Nouri, chief executive of Piaget, was on hand at the inauguration of Dysfunctional and spoke with WorldTempus about the evolving “marriage” of luxury with contemporary art.

Piaget chose to collaborate with Carpenters Workshop, a gallery well known for its commitment to blurring the boundaries between art and craft. Does that explain your collaboration? That positioning was really what clicked between us. At Carpenters Workshop Gallery, art and craft are on an equal footing. Craft is the foundational element of the art they show. And that is precisely what we do at Piaget, with the fusion between our art and creativity, and the work that our in-house artisans do in handcrafting gold or in working with stones. Historically, our founders referred to our craftsmen as “les artistes”, and art has always been an important part of our values. We thought this collaboration would be interesting to allow us take inspiration from other arts, and to bring the work of these artists into our own environment. Looking to the outside world is one way for us to push the limits of our craftsmen to reinvent their craft, to show ways to work with different scales, in different ecosystems and with new constraints. Our products - in particular our watches - are functional works of art.

The Verhoeven Twins © Piaget

What is your view of luxury’s foray into contemporary art? Speaking for Piaget, the connection to art is very relevant because our own creations are works of art made by highly trained artists. We think of our own pieces as multi-dimensional artworks, often unique, just like art pieces. Our connection to art is also about preserving the arts. Within our Maison, we have know-how that has been passed on for generations. With every new piece, our artisans invent or re-invent a new art in a highly dynamic process. Our in-house craftsmen tell me that even after 40 years with Piaget, they continue to perfect new techniques, in part because we encourage them to push their own boundaries.

Has Piaget been involved with the arts in the past? Piaget has often collaborated with living artists, starting in the 1960s with Salvador Dali and in more recent years with Pierre et Gilles, Willy Rizzo or Richard Avedon. Today, we do not limit ourselves to contemporary art. We have worked with Italian artisans specializing in micro-mosaics, an art that has existed since the 15th century. We aim to preserve that art and bring it into our own creations. We stay focused on those arts that are relevant to Piaget, because it is crucial that there be an affinity between our Maison and its artisans, and the specific art or craft in question to respect our own authenticity. We have a real savoir-faire in the art of crafting gold and working with color (mostly with stones), and that serves as a fantastic spectrum on which to engage in outside collaborations.

Piaget is a sponsor of this show but its name does not appear anywhere. Why not? This stage has been set for the artists. Our collaboration with the Verhoeven Twins to produce “Moments of Happiness” echoes our spirit. We don’t need to put our name forward because we respect the work of the artists. The gold used to support their pieces is an homage to our gold craftsmanship. We also plan to commission additional works with different gold elements that will be traveling around the world very soon. Specifically, the Verhoeven Twins will be creating five one-of-a-kind art pieces with 24ct gold for some of our key Piaget flagship boutiques which we plan to unveil throughout the year.

The Verhoeven Twins and Chabi Nouri, CEO of Piaget © Piaget

Why did you choose Venice to show the fruit of this collaboration? Venice is today a hub for craftsmanship. It is still and perhaps more than ever relevant to both art and design. That is why it made sense for us to be here. Seeing the lights of Venice reflected in these pieces fits rather well in the ecosystem of Piaget. Beside this collaboration, we have always enjoyed a great relationship with Italy. We have been present in Venice for some 30 years, in particular with our ongoing commitment to restoring and maintaining the working mechanism of the Tower Clock in St Mark’s Square and the clock in the courtyard of the Doges Palace. We have the necessary know-how, both technical and scientific, to preserve those functional works of art, and that has been very inspirational to us. Also, Venice is a place where magic happens.

[Source]

[anniversary-magazine]

Q+A with Photographer Bastiaan Woudt — Where Creativity Arises

Bastiaan Woudt is a self-taught photographer from the Netherlands who started his own practice five years ago. With no experience or any formal training, he has developed a strong personal signature that manifests itself throughout a broad range of subjects. His style can refer to significant periods, such as Surrealism and the documentary photography of the 60s and 70s, while maintaining a contemporary edge that makes his work truly unique. We recently had the opportunity to exchange with Bastiaan Woudt on the origin of his artistic expression, his approach to new concepts and ideas, as well as how intuition plays an essential role in his photography.

Elda Oreto (EO), Bastiaan Woudt (BW)

EO: You started your career as a photographer in 2009, buying a camera to take pictures of your firstborn son. Then, in 2011, you rented a studio from a photographer and began your journey as a self-taught artist. It seems to me that intuition played a crucial role in your life. I believe that personal experiences and artistic research are united and that one contributes to the other. How do you combine intuition and preparation in your photographic practice?

BW: Intuition is the best part of my process. I am relying on my ability to create while enjoying the quest. Preparation is only a small part and mainly has to do with the practical matters. Making sure everything is ready for a shoot and that the atmosphere is perfect. Preparing for what is to be created is something I seldom do. I think that everything should arise during the shoot. Only then, you create work that surprises you.

EO: The Mukono Project bears the name of a city in Uganda, where the Marie-Stella-Maris Foundation has contributed to establishing a clean drinkable water system. For this project, you have made portraits of people whose life revolves around this well. How can a photograph tell a story about a subject without exploiting it?

BW: During a project in countries like Uganda, I never focus on the bad, painful, or piteous sides of a community. I'm not a documentary photographer who wants to show what kind of miserable situations people live in. I'm not looking for a sad child who tells a story of hunger, thirst, or poverty. In a project like this, I try to seek out the beauty of mankind. To find the small, tangible moments and to photograph people with self-confidence and pride. Even in countries like Uganda, and areas like Mukono, where people have to walk miles for ( contaminated) drinking water, there is something beautiful to find. An innocent child who, despite everything, dresses beautifully with a dress and pearl necklace. The beauty of a hand that washes itself. A group of children who are playing in the lake. The photographs are almost like a talisman, a bringer of happiness and hope. 

EO: Does analog photography influence your creative process differently than digital photography?

BW: Although my work always has an analog feel, I still shoot digitally. I have fallen in love with the aesthetics of old photography, but the working method, cost, speed, and ease of digital photography make it possible for me to create so much work. I could never trade digital photography for analog, but I do shoot with analog cameras—more for fun. I would do a series of polaroids at the end of a shoot or use my old Hasselblad at home on a Sunday morning. The process remains magical, but I'm glad I don't have to do that every day. 

EO: I believe that a decisive meeting for you was the one you had with Roy Kahmann of the Kahmann Gallery in Amsterdam. Can you tell me how this relationship helped you grow artistically?

BW: I met Roy a couple of years ago while I was assisting another photographer, from whom I eventually bought my studio. We got to talk, I was able to show some work, and one thing led to another. At that moment he told me that he saw something in me, but that it hadn't revealed enough yet. He proposed to guide me, coach me. This meant that I just had to do what I was doing, but that I could come to him with the result, discuss what I had done. We looked at the images together, he made selections and explained why he had chosen them. A lot out of intuition, but often with good reason. Slowly but surely, a signature began to emerge, that "unique signature" that every beginning photographer is looking for. Eventually, after two years, I was asked to join the Kahmann Gallery. 

EO: The work of photographers Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Man Ray, and Bill Brandt has influenced your artistic development in various ways, leading you to a combination of still life, portrait, and landscape photography. Do you believe that a clear separation should be made between genres in photography? Or, on the contrary, are the borders made to be crossed?

BW: No. The borders are made to be crossed for sure. I don't like being boxed. I shoot a lot of people, so am I a portrait photographer? What if I make a landscape series? Am I a landscape photographer? I think I am a photographer, an artist. Someone who, regardless of the subject, makes my best, unique visual representation of what I see at that moment. A face, a tree, a body, or a bucket. It has to affect me. And to categorize it, to cast it in a genre, I think it's a shame. Isn't it true that a landscape can also be a portrait? And a naked body can be a landscape? 

EO: In 2016, you were awarded the Van Vlissingen Art Foundation award, which led you to develop the Karawan project. Between the portraits and landscapes you have captured, I feel like there is always something ancient and visionary. Could you tell us more about the story behind this project and how it came to life?

BW: Karawan was shot as a result of winning the Van Vlissingen Art Foundation Grant 2017. I was able to travel Morocco for two weeks, together with filmmaker Jelmar van Belle, to make new work. My choice of Morocco was based on the diversity of the land, culture, and people who live there. For two weeks, I tried to capture everything that came my way. As a child, I was fascinated with the thousand and one night stories and tried to find that atmosphere. What a beautiful country, Morocco is. I hope to be able to work there more in the future. 

EO: In a previous interview, I read that what you miss the most in digital photography is imperfect. This notion played a crucial role in Surrealists and photographers such as Avedon and Penn. This made me think about the French philosopher Jean Luc Nancy, who, in his book Corpus, describes the body as "beyond language." In some of the portraits you created, it seems like you try to repeat this dynamic through the digital medium. How did you achieve this result?

BW: Imperfection makes your mind think, wander, and explore. A perfect image can be boring. Personally, I find it exciting when a picture is out of focus. When a movement is really a movement, instead of a perfectly frozen moment. Don't get me wrong, the latter can also be beautiful, and that's what I sometimes use in my image. But deep inside, imperfection touches me most. You leave something to the imagination, the viewer has to look again, and think about why that choice was made. Technically it's the same as 50, 80, 100 years ago. Now we just have the power of photoshop. That doesn't mean I'm adding imperfection later. I shoot it on camera, but I can amplify it on the computer. 

EO: On different occasions, you said that in a certain sense, it makes no difference for you whether the subject of the photograph is a naked woman or a still life or a landscape; a landscape can be as disturbing as a nude in abstraction. Then, why does a more significant part of your research or work focuses on nudity?

BW: I think it's a combination of my love for the naked human body and the phase in my career where I work a lot in the studio and want to work with people. The human body, and especially the female body, can be so beautiful and pure. In an era where sex is often what comes to mind when seeing a naked body, many people forget that our body in itself is art: the lines, the texture, the vulnerability. Maybe I have more focus on that now, and that I will eventually go a different way for a while. But I will photograph nudes for the rest of my life. 

EO: You seem to give much importance to meeting a specific subject in person, before initiating a new project. Could you please tell us more about this process and about the notion of spontaneity within your work?

BW: Spontaneity is the cornerstone of my work. I like to go into a shoot without a plan. Seeing what happens, letting the interaction between photographer and subject run free. I think that with spontaneity, the best ideas arise. An encounter which aims to take pictures should not be stuck to preconceived plans. It all has to emerge within the moment.

 EO: A curved shape, the line of a hat, the gaze of a profile lost in thoughts, the mystical curve of a hill; I feel like many elements of your work tend to return to the essential. Your images often move towards me as a dreamlike world and then transform into another nature, another shape. In addition to photography, who or what influences your artistic approach?

BW: I get my inspiration from all kinds of art forms: sculptures, painters, the old masters of painting, charcoal drawings, music, films, magazines. It can't be said that one person or direction inspires me the most. Sometimes it's the little things in life: a lady with a big hat waiting in the street, a reflection in the mirror at the hairdresser. These are moments that I record, enjoy, and then unconsciously take with me during the creation of new images. I never see anything and think I have to make that too. They are characteristics, pieces of different moments. 

EO: The two last questions are a ritual. Any future or dream projects?

BW: I'm always busy. At the end of 2019, I made a long trip through Nepal, during which I went off the grid for a month with a team of Porters, guides, and a cook. During this trip, we walked up to almost 6000 meters. A beautiful project is the result of that trip; an exhibition will open later this year, and a book will be published. As soon as all that is done, I will be ready to think about the next project. In the current situation, where flying and traveling is not easy, it might be a little closer to home. Unless a cure is found for that time. Let's hope so. 

EO: Any book recommendations?

BW: My love for photography originated in books, so I am a real photobook collector. A title that always stays with me and which I always enjoy reading is Révélations by Javier Viver. Also, I'm a big fan of interior architecture and design. I really enjoy Vincent van Duysen - Works 2009-2018. But of course, I could not recommend my latest book, "Hidden" enough. Available directly through my webshop! ;) 

All images © Bastiaan Woudt

[ladystylestores]

Unpacking How Karl Lagerfeld’s 2004 H&M Collaboration Changed Fashion – WWD

https://pmcwwd.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/060612-ww-karlnew-1.jpg?w=640&h=415&crop=1

“It would have been super easy for Karl to say ‘no.’ The surprise was that he said ‘yes,’” Caroline Lebar, the late Karl Lagerfeld’s longtime communications director, marveled this week, recalling that day in 2004 when the designer agreed to design a one-off collection for low-cost Swedish fashion chain H&M.

“Cheap” had a real sting then, and Lagerfeld silenced it, making the incredulity of a collaboration between one of the world’s most acclaimed couturiers and a mass-market chain a leitmotif of an unforgettable advertising video. “Is it true?” a plump, indignant man shouted to Lagerfeld across a crowded restaurant when he learns of the tie-up. “Of course it’s true,” Lagerfeld shoots back. “But it’s cheap,” the man implores. “What a depressing word. It’s all about taste,” Lagerfeld replies dryly. “If you’re cheap, nothing helps.”

The chance to buy $49 blouses and $129 sequined tuxedo jackets from one of the most famous designers on the planet not only unleashed retail pandemonium — it had a seismic effect on the entire fashion system: breaking down barriers between luxury and mass; democratizing design in a new way, and foreshadowing an era of rampant collaborations, drops and pop-up concepts.

It would also catapult the image of H&M, creating a new annual selling bonanza that endures still, and it would ultimately inspire the template for Lagerfeld to relaunch his brand in 2012 in the then-burgeoning “masstige” zone, convinced his sweet spot was affordable clothing for a wide audience.

The big bang that the Lagerfeld for H&M project unleashed is also a reminder that instinct and daring should not be underestimated — or discarded in an era of influencer marketing, big data and AI.

Lebar said Lagerfeld kept an eye on everything, was always open-minded and rarely said “no” by reflex. While he had never visited an H&M store himself, the designer noticed young people in his studio wearing its clothes, and he knew it eclipsed all other fashion brands in terms of its mighty distribution network, then numbering about 1,000 stores in 19 countries.

“The surprise at that time came from a fast-fashion brand, so we should be very careful about what could be next,” she mused.

Lebar stressed that H&M was a “personal project” not associated with Lagerfeld’s signature fashion business, then operating under the Lagerfeld Gallery moniker with an ultra-exclusive, rarefied approach to ready-to-wear headquartered at one boutique on Rue de Seine in Paris.

Yet the designer reasoned that a sketch for a Chanel couture dress, Fendi fur coat, Lagerfeld Gallery blazer or H&M shirt involved the same process, cost and effort — the design component being the most important. He proved “that fast-fashion can also be creative,” Lebar said.

“Karl had never done mass market — and he loved a challenge,” recalled Eric Pfrunder, who worked closely with Lagerfeld on all his photography and collaborations. “He proved he could do an elegant line, but less expensive. I still have the shirts he made for H&M.”

The H&M project magnified Lagerfeld’s fame, as he based the coed range on his emphatic and graphic personal style, hinged on high-collared shirts and lean black tailoring. H&M even included his fingerless driving gloves and a T-shirt bearing a sketch of his face.

A t-shirt part of the collection  Courtesy of H&M

Margareta van den Bosch, creative adviser at H&M and Lagerfeld’s key contact there, said the collaboration with the designer replaced what was typically an underwear campaign for November.

“It was something really new. Karl understood that, and he was the first one,” she said in an interview this week. “We learned a lot from this collaboration.”

Van den Bosch said the teaser campaign, including billboards featuring Lagerfeld and model Erin Wasson, was an innovative element that propelled swift sellouts.

Not only did H&M learn that it was best to launch such designer capsules in fewer stores, it ultimately gave the chain the confidence to flex its own design muscles, launching its own Studio and Conscious collections, the former with big Paris runway shows, alongside the high-profile collaborations.

“Now we have different price levels in our stores,” van den Bosch said. Meanwhile, H&M soldiers on with its annual holiday collaboration and will reveal its 2020 one soon.

Margareta van den Bosch and Karl Lagerfeld  Courtesy of H&M

“The press is maybe a little tired of it. The customer is not. Nobody wants it to stop,” she said.

A lesser known, yet pivotal figure in the groundbreaking collaboration was art director Donald Schneider, who now runs his own creative agency in Berlin. Here, his account of the project, and how it changed the fashion world:

WWD: Can you recount how it all happened?

Donald Schneider: I still remember it all very clearly — those adrenaline-pumping nine months in 2004, working day and night with Karl and H&M helping to give birth to that legendary first designer collaboration.

At that time my creative agency, Donald Schneider Studio, was based in Paris and H&M was one of our clients for whom I was regularly art directing campaigns. I liked what they stood for, always thinking so big and modern, and their inspiring legacy of outstanding campaigns.

So one day in late 2003 I was in Stockholm again for meetings with H&M, having lunch with the-then marketing director Jörgen Andersson and the-then creative director Janne Nord. They were mentioning that this same morning they had received the results of an extensive survey on H&M by a respected consulting firm and that its conclusion was that H&M should surprise with a big new idea.

That challenge instantly tickled my mind and I spontaneously came up with an idea: How about inviting a high-fashion designer to design a special collection for H&M and create a surprising campaign around that? That would generate a buzz around a collection in a totally new way by putting the big name behind that, instead of H&M’s regular supermodel-in-the-campaign approach. They were completely surprised by this idea. Back then it was unthinkable to mix these two completely separate worlds — high fashion and retail.

A few days later Andersson called me and said that he very much liked my idea and that H&M wants to go for it. This was amazing news! In order to create a bombshell, I proposed we should try to get the king of high fashion, Karl Lagerfeld. Jörgen agreed. So I called Karl and asked him if he knows H&M — “Of course, all my assistants are wearing it!” Lagerfeld reported — and if he would be interested in designing a special collection for them. “Yes!,” Karl said. “The future will only be about high and low. Everything else in between will disappear. The high I already have with Chanel and this would be perfect to get the low.“ That was it! Karl instinctively went for it. He only had one question: “Have you asked somebody else for this, too, or am I the first one?“ “You’re the first one,” I told him. And Karl said, “OK, then let’s do it!”

A backstage image of Karl Lagerfeld shooting the campaign  Courtesy of H&M

WWD: Was there a particular business imperative from H&M that this project fulfilled?

D.S.: H&M had a stellar success in the Eighties and Nineties. They were the hottest fashion retailer. But by the late Nineties competitors had caught up. So H&M needed some sort of a big bang to further establish its leading position. And this first designer collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld in 2004 did that magic.

Of course going into this, there was no precedent to follow, no blueprint. We had to invent everything on this project while doing it. For example, up until then campaigns had always launched simultaneously with when the products became available in the stores. So we instead invented a countdown strategy for actually building up hype before, putting the campaign out in the days and weeks before. Even actually launching the collection on the same day in all countries was an almost impossible logistic stumbling block. But we did it, it was incredible teamwork, H&M fearlessly believing in it and throwing all its weight behind it.

WWD: Describe the context at the time. How popular were collaborations then?

D.S.: There maybe had been some small local collaborations before, I don’t know. But for sure nobody had ever taken it to this massive scale. And don’t forget, this was before the rise of e-commerce and social media. The phrase “capsule collection” was not common yet, neither putting an X between two names.

Also, Karl had just completely reinvented his persona, just completed his diet to fit into Hedi Slimane’s skinny Dior suits, started wearing lots of Chrome Heart jewelry, several rings on every finger — Karl the rock star! It was the perfect moment to have Karl himself starring in our campaign, I thought. But I knew he doesn’t like to be photographed, so I asked him to be the photographer himself and to shoot the campaign images as self-portraits, him wearing the men’s looks and standing next to model Erin Wasson in the women’s looks. For inspiration I showed him some sketches and mood photos, also some from an old Richard Avedon self portrait-shooting, him together with Marilyn Monroe. Karl loved this direction.

WWD: Did he have to get the permission of Chanel and Fendi to proceed? Or anyone else?

D.S.: No, he didn’t have to ask anybody for permission. Karl said that he has a contract for life with Chanel and can do whatever he wants in his own name.

WWD: The ad campaign played off the incredulity of a luxury name meeting cheap chic. Were you expecting some resistance in the marketplace to this new concept?

D.S.: We wanted to surprise and astonish — doing what nobody had dared before, mixing high and low, making luxury fashion available to everybody. Don’t forget in 2004 it was simply unthinkable that fashion could become democratized one day, the word “collaboration“ was not yet part of fashion’s everyday language. It was clear to us that not everybody would be pleased with this. As you can imagine there was lots of resistance and skepticism from all different sides, also from some journalists. I also remember when I let my Parisian agent into our secret, he was in shock and completely disapproved of it. He thought that this will destroy fashion.

Karl Lagerfeld’s sketches for the collection  Courtesy of H&M

WWD: Was there any nervousness on the H&M side? The Karl side? How risky was it?

D.S.: During the whole project, while working in total secrecy, we could feel that we’re on to something very big. But of course we all had our moments of doubts, even Karl. The morning of the launch, Nov. 12, 2004, 4 a.m. his time in Paris, he called me on my portable. It was 10 p.m. in New York where I was for another shooting. And he was very nervous: “What will we do if nobody shows up today at the stores?“

WWD: Karl liked to be first with things. Why do you think that was so important to him?

D.S.: Karl loved to surprise. He immediately grasped that this is the opportunity to catapult him into the forefront of everything. To break down the borders between luxury fashion and retail. To make him the designer who proved that looking chic is no longer a question of money. After all, it was Karl Lagerfeld for H&M that made Karl into the absolute superstar!

WWD: In what way or ways did it change fashion? How did it affect notions of brand elasticity?

D.S.: This one bang pushed open the door to what’s still thriving in fashion today. Just think of Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, coming from streetwear being nabbed by high luxury and his own penchant for collaborating at all levels, from Ikea to diamond jewelry. Or think of Moncler Genius and its extremely successful serial collaborations.

WWD: What can we learn from this today?

D.S.: The origin of every big shift is a creative idea. Today I too often hear, “We need to find out what the customer wants, follow data, algorithm, consulting firms, Excel sheets.” But come on. If back then in 2004 we would have done a customer survey, no customer would have wished for a Karl Lagerfeld-designed collection from H&M. Therefore my callout for today: Let’s give more empowerment to creative ideas and visions; let’s surprise and dare.

See More from WWD:

Karl Lagerfeld Changed the Fashion Industry Forever

Karl Was the Ultimate Industry Role Model

Video: Remembering Karl Lagerfeld’s Prolific Fashion Career

Source link

قالب وردپرس

from World Wide News https://ift.tt/2T09Y6S

[promomagazine]

Q&A With Photographer | Founder & Director of Devojka Models Tina Nikolovski

In the broad prospect of fashion and lifestyle, Promo Magazine had the opportunity to interview Tina Nikolovsk, who is a photographer and also the founder & director of Devojka Models in Australia. In this particular interview, we asked a series of questions in about her creative process and how she got her booming business off the ground. We are very happy to have met with the amazing Tina Nikolovsk. You can also find her latest editorial in our latest issue with her image on the front cover, be sure to purchase your copy and see what beautiful work Tina has produced. Take care everyone, and enjoy the read!

-Do you agree that you are challenged everyday to create something that has never been created before?

I agree with this statement - every shoot, subject and intention is different and I see myself as an artist more than a business woman, therefore in every shoot I am certainly challenged to create something that is unique. Something that both aligns with my aesthetic and intention, but also the intention of the subject and one in which captures their essence.

-Can you describe your creative process? What do you look for when creating a shoot and do your shoots line up to be what you expected?

My creative process can be described as ‘beautiful chaos’. At any given moment I can have a number of ideas in my mind - triggered by any aspect of life: music, a location, the way that light hits a particular surface, the texture of a wall, an item of clothing. Once I am inspired by something, my mind automatically creates an entire concept around that piece, and this evolves over time. I then try to draw / write it down (more like a brainstorm) with the perfect model, makeup, everything I can think of at the time. From that point - the logistics are organised (teams, timelines, etc) - and on the day it is a mixture of both intention and spontaneity to achieve aesthetically pleasing, unique results.

When shooting I look for something outside the norm, one may call this the ‘wow’ factor - and usually the eyes (and/or emotion) are the most powerful element of my images. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my work - so every element (lighting, composition, intention, styling, makeup etc) must work together beautifully to convey a powerful, aesthetically pleasing image that aligns with my intention as an artist. My shoots normally line up to be what I expected but sometimes they exceed this - because of a number of uncontrollable factors when shooting on location this can quite often be the case, but I have learnt to flow with it as an artist.

-You have to have a favorite artist in mind that drives your creativity or inspires you, who is it? / -Do you have a favorite photographers who inspire you? Why is that?

I absolutely adore the work of Emily Abay. Her work definitely inspires me in terms of aesthetic, light and simplistic beauty. I also adore the masters of photography from the 1960’s/70s who shot in film - Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton. These days however I rarely set out to look at any artist’s work more than now and then, as I have too many organic ideas of my own and I love making my work as authentic as possible. When I become inspired by someone I like using one element as inspiration rather than the whole, as I strongly believe in authenticity as an artist. Intention is such an important component of the final result.

-How would you describe yourself as a person & artist?

As a person and an artist, I would describe myself as driven, visual and pure. As an artist I would say I am a perfectionist when it comes to the delivery of my final pieces. I don’t necessarily fit the mould of a standard commercial photographer, for me it’s never been about money. Since I began my career in photography my decision was to always live as close to my creative values as possible. I’ve always had the idea that I want to wake up everyday doing what I love for the rest of my life and that’s something that is a huge driving factor day to day.

-How did you know you wanted to be a photographer?

As a child - the first camera I used was a red Kodak film camera which was our family camera - which somehow always ended up in my hands even back then. I loved taking photos - at 14 I remember appreciating and capturing the architecture in Italy, France, Austria

- in a juxtaposition against the polarised skies and dramatic clouds. When I chose my electives in college I chose photography, which enabled me to get a grasp on the basics and develop through to advanced photography with 35mm film cameras and processing in the darkroom. After finishing college I actually pushed myself to attain the highest UAI possible (perfectionism trait) to become a psychologist - and two days before the course started I changed my mind and enrolled in photography instead. The reason for this is I was aware that my mind was already over-analytical, so I knew that to achieve some sort of balance I would need to pursue something creative. I have never looked back - starting my business in second year of my degree and finding my calling. Throughout my life, especially though turbulent times something always kept drawing me back to my preferred art form - photography - it has been an outlet for me in many ways and has brought so much richness to my life and the lives of others. I live to create.

-Can you describe one of your favorite projects that you have worked on and why was it your favorite?

I would have to say that the image below is definitely one of my favourite ever photographs and most enjoyable photoshoots. I captured this as a photography student in my second year of study - and I asked my parents to help me carry, up a hill, a heavy battery pack and lights, stands, sandbags and other equipment. I created this image in-camera (it is not a composite) - all I have edited is grass at the bottom and an extra layer of intensity to the colours. This image to me is magic. It symbolises how photography makes me feel and what is achieved when I push myself outside my comfort zone.

-We have taken a look at your website/portfolio Online, how do you want the viewer to feel when looking at your work?

I would never dictate how I would want the viewer to feel when looking at my work. I think the beauty of art is that it has the power to make people feel different things. When viewers look at my work - if they feel something, anything, that is enough to bring me satisfaction in producing something that moves people. If they feel nothing that is fine too. It is all relative and subjective and I don’t create art with the intention to make people feel a specific thing.

-Do you ever collaborate with designer brands.

Yes I certainly do. Another one of my favourite photoshoots, ‘SPECTRUM’ was a collaboration - I spotted Bianca Pavlic’s work at Fashfest and I asked to photograph her garments. She gave me a bunch of them and I styled my model (Emma, Devojka Models) - and put together a killer team in Canberra whose aesthetics aligned beautifully. I planned the shoot around a specific time to capture powerful lighting, which I had been keeping an eye on for days prior to the shoot. Whilst this lighting was tricky to capture well, I think something very powerful is illustrated in these images. Here is a sample:

Full series here: http://tinanikolovski.com/spectrum

-In the artistic world of photographers, do you see yourself not only trying to achieve your perfect shoot but also being known for your work?

As an artist and human who has been through an ‘awakening’ I no longer compare myself to any other artist. I wish everyone success and can appreciate what they do. I focus on my ideas and creating incredible powerful images that align with my intention. Whether or not I am known isn’t so much my focus from an ego perspective, however I do love sharing my art with the world and being known is one way to ensure that you are able to continue capturing photographs for the rest of your life. So in that sense - I would love to be known as much as I can as it would help me achieve longevity and abundance, to support creating art forever.

-If you could shoot an editorial anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why is that?

If I could shoot anywhere in the world it would be somewhere on the Greek islands (Santorini, I am yet to see and capture the beauty) - I love the blues and whites and authentic architecture. I would also love to shoot in Morocco - in the beautiful unique colourful streets, as well as on the incredible sand dunes. Imagine that.

-What was the main reason that you decided to become a photographer?

I decided to do photography to balance out my over-analytical side; to give me a creative outlet. The reason I have stuck with photography is because of the way it makes me feel, the second ‘eye’ it gives me to see the world, the way in which it allows me to connect with others and empower them. Capture their essence. Inspire others. See new places, appreciate the world in a different way. Photography also helps me live out my higher

purpose which is to connect, inspire and help others achieve their full potential and overcome their self-perceived barriers to really understand how unique, beautiful and powerful they are in their most authentic state.

-Tell me about your latest shoot. What was your vision when you created it?

My latest shoot was actually a test shoot in the studio with a local model. My intention was experimentation and the vision was ‘beauty’ style images. My aim was also to push myself to light my subject in a way that I have never done before. My vision was dark but crisp - showing beauty but also the essence of my model, and a strong yet feminine way.

-To be a photographer, you had to undergo a lot of struggles. What was the most difficult obstacle for you when putting together a shoot?

The most difficult obstacle in putting together a shoot - there would be a few! The weather (rain), lighting and other factors that are out of my control and can affect the outcome of the shoot. Also, mindset - when I first started I used to battle my own mind (‘Am I good enough? Will I know how to achieve this? What if I can’t light it the way I need to?). I have mastered my mindset to a point but the biggest obstacle would be putting myself out there to capture something that is outside my comfort zone (technically) where I don’t quite know the outcome.

-Does your personal life ever effect how you compose your shoots or do you have a set schedule/formula that you follow? What is it exactly?

After hitting rock bottom at 25 years old, I finally faced my fears head on and made choices that allowed me to live my life with as little anxiety as possible. Prior to this awakening I struggled with 10 years of depression as a result of a traumatic childhood. In hindsight, I know now that everything happened for a reason. But prior to that enlightenment my mindset stopped me from doing a lot of things - I quit, and started photography so many times in those 10 years. The fears that I had were blocking my ultimate state of thought and ‘flow’.

In terms of a schedule or formula, over time I guess I have refined my organisational practices leading up to shoots - I also run an agency of 37 models so I have become very organised (www.devojka.com.au). I used to be all over the place (typical artist). I still write on 100 different scrap pieces of paper and have piles of ideas that are not consolidated or not yet executed, but I have a system that I loosely follow to organise everything and it seems to be working.

In terms of the actual shoot day - although I may have a mood board and timeline I still allow myself to get lost in the moment and allow for a great degree of spontaneity. Some of my best work has been produced ‘in the moment’. The ultimate state of shooting is a state of

‘creative flow’ - which is in absence of all thought, where I just get in my ‘zone’ and shoot driven by something much more powerful than the mind.

-Who excites you the most (Celebrity) & why?

I can’t say I follow celebrities at all. But Russell Brand excites me - so does Jason Silva - I feel euphoric listening to their talks about consciousness, metaphysics, reality - life. Jason Silva talks about the ‘creative flow’ that I have experienced and it is amazing to witness how he articulates this. Both of these humans excite me the most, especially Russell Brand, because of his search for meaning and the way he deconstructs the material world which acts as a curtin that has been placed in front of our eyes. I also really admire him for overcoming so many years of addiction/depression and setting up cafes for recovering drug addicts, speaking his truth no matter how absurd it sounds to the general viewer, and still using his humour to lighten so many unjust situations. Challenging people’s mindsets and not conforming to the matrix in many ways.

-If you had to pass on a suggestion for someone starting out in photography, what would you tell them?

I would say to any new photographer - that the sooner you stop comparing and allow yourself to just be, to create from the deepest place within you regardless of how it may be perceived or whether or not it is ‘better’ than someone else work, the sooner you will feel freedom and ‘success’ in your chosen field of endeavour. As soon as you can, create from a place of authenticity in the absence of fear and you will then produce your most powerful work because it will be a pure reflection of YOU.

-How is your style of photography different from other photographers & what are your world-dominating goals?

My style of photography is authentic to myself as an artist because it is a reflection of my authentic ideas and unique combinations of light, styling, angles, etc. My world-dominating goal would be to never have to worry about money - and to be able to be free to travel the world and continue to take images of fashion, portraits and landscapes. There are so many beautiful places around the world and I want to witness them, appreciate them, and capture them with my eye and my lens.

 LINKS | Contact

PHOTOGRAPHER |

www.tinanikolovski.com

www.facebook.com/tinanikolovskiphotographer

www.instagram.com/tinanikolovski

info@tinanikolovski.com

 FOUNDER + DIRECTOR | DEVOJKA MODELS

www.devojka.com.au

www.facebook.com/devojkamodels

www.instagram.com/devojkamodels

info@devojka.com.au