thetwokeyspress

[thetwokeyspress]

It’s 2019, Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

We’re here! Well, some of us.  

The Two Keys Press lives on in 2019 as an art collective that occasionally publishes things that its artists create.  That was always the intention really, to bypass the gatekeepers of art and publish our own work whenever and however we want to. Total artistic control. Total artistic integrity. 

Our loose coalition of creators is still striving to make beautiful things and that leads us to occasionally reach out to each other for advice, collaboration, or just updates on all the cool stuff we’re making. 

If you have any questions at all about The Two Keys Press, we’re happy to answer them.  Email me, at TreyPenton87@gmail.com

Thanks,

Trey Penton Creative Director The Two Keys Press

P.S. -  Archived on this tumblr is everything we posted in 2014 when we wanted to have a platform.  We’re not posting anymore because we don’t want to work on making a platform, we want to work on art.  Because we’re artists. But we are proud of the stuff we wrote here so this archive will remain available for your reading pleasure. 

[thetwokeyspress]

Quiet Revival

Hola amigos,

The Two Keys Press is going through a tiny revival at the moment.  

Since I love lists, here are some bullet points:

We are a family, not a platform.

We are committed to developing and publishing good art

We are printing our first book of short stories this week!

We live all over the USA: Tampa, L.A., Brooklyn, Boston, and elsewhere

We are always open to reading/listening/watching your art!  Send it here: thetwokeyspress@gmail.com

We need help creating a new website!  If you think you can help, send us an email :)

That’s all for now!

Trey Penton Creative Director The Two Keys Press

[thetwokeyspress]

Art Basel Miami 2014 - Day Two

The Morning After Report: Friday

Yesterday, the whole group went to Pulse, another satellite fair on Miami Beach with a lot of contemporary work.  From there, some of us went to the Convention Center for the official Basel event.

At the end of the day, we all reunited to see a free screening of "Big Eyes", the latest from Tim Burton.  It tells the story of Margaret Keane, the artist behind the large eyed paintings of children that became so popular in the 60's. 

We came across quite a few intriguing pieces yesterday.  Here are some of our favorites:

Kristin's Pick: Tobias Putrih

Master of the pencil, the repetition and line quality in these paper works are just as hypnotizing as his sculptural installations.

Sarah's Pick:  Nychos

Nychos craftsmanship of transparent layered figures is impeccable in person. 

Trey's Pick: Natalia Arias

The most impressive and meaning filled way I've ever seen a photographer display their body of work. 

Phillip's Pick: Dinh Q. Le

A Vietnamese artist who literally and figuratively weaves life into all of his photographs.

Whitney's Pick: Susan Giles

Playful paper wonderlands. I'm mesmerized.

Morgan's Pick: Amelia Bauer + Elizabeth Parks Kibbey

A luminescent body of work; visually spellbinding. 

[thetwokeyspress]

Art Basel Miami 2014 - Day One

The Morning After Report: Thursday

[Kristin, Morgan, Trey, Sarah, Phillip, Whitney]

Yesterday, the six of us set out from Tampa to join the madness that is Art Basel Miami for a four day weekend.  After having a perfect little Cuban lunch at Tinta y Café, we headed down to Miami Beach to check out Scope, one of the best satellite art fair's in the city. 

We found a ton of really great new work by artists from around the globe.  The following are a few of our favorites. 

Trey's Pick: Eric Ogden

An eclectic mix of landscapes, straight forward and ambiguous photographic portraiture with a subtle, atypical Americana style. 

Sarah's Pick: Evan B. Harris

Gorgeous folk art with cohesive narrative and style.

Whitney's Pick: ZHANG Yu

Muted, peaceful, intriguing. Who is this crowned one?

Phillip's Pick: Peter Ravn

Danish painter with dark intriguing narrative elements.

Kristin's Pick: William P Immer

If you were able to travel to another century... and bring one item with you...

Morgan's Pick:  Casey Weldon

Four eyed cats, 'nuff said.

[thetwokeyspress]

Phillip Brittan

In 2012, England based photographer Phillip Brittan set about making a beautiful set of images called "Autumn River". What you should know about Phillip Brittan is he doesn't just take photographs the way you or I may, you know - using a camera the way it was intended. Instead he experiments and explores and sometimes tosses his camera into rivers. In the artists own words, "I believe it is also important that photographers help to awaken viewers to the spectacular beauty and variety of wildness that still exists, and often lies just beyond their house or car windscreen, if they can only be encouraged to look. The less the natural world is known visually and imaginatively, the easier it is to dispose of morally and politically".

- katie

[thetwokeyspress]

Debra Folz

Debra Folz is an interior designer that has found her stride with her furniture designs. Her recent pieces have earned her collaborations with big names like Tommy Hilfiger, Neiman Marcus and Helmut Lang. Folz often uses what she considers "traditional craft" in a modern way. Her most recent Pleat Collection (in the last three photos) has found resonance in the fashion industry and was presented in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. 

Folz says in reference to the Pleat Collection “Inspired by the pairing of structured geometries with the softer materiality, of textiles, these furniture forms were designed specifically to support each textile pattern and celebrate their unique compositions.”

I love that these pieces are not only intricately designed and pleasing to the eye but are purchasable on her at www.debrafolz.com.

-laura

[thetwokeyspress]

Sucré - Loner

Sucré is singer songwriter Stacy King (Eisley) with husband Daren King (MuteMath) and Jeremy Larson as producers/composers.  It’s an interesting collaboration that debuted with an LP in 2012 that I liked but wasn’t in love with.  Well the trio is back with a new EP called Loner and this time they really pulled me in. 

With lush orchestral arrangements and fun, heavy beats, Larson and King have managed to produce pop music the way it should be. Rhythmic and intelligent.  And of course Stacy King and her angelic voice stands above it all as a central figure, confident and charming.  On first listen, the big beats will be what gets you but spend some time with this EP and it will make you smile at its genuinely sweet lyrics.  It’s pop music that’s a little left of center and just right.

- trey

[thetwokeyspress]

Xiao Yang

Beijing-based photographer Xiao Yang is an artist I essentially know nothing about. Her photostream on flickr (username: inhiu) has dazzled me over and over again. Through a quick scroll you'll notice a lot of vivid and impressive time lapse photographs but if you look closely, through all the lights and long shutter speeds, there lies a series of images called "Love Letters" featuring much more muted colors than their counterparts. Instead they are double exposure portraits featuring old buildings and melancholic backgrounds nestled into the crevices of young faces.

- katie

[thetwokeyspress]

James Mollison

To children (and adults), bedrooms are sacred spaces. A bedroom is a safe space - a place to be surrounded by beloved objects. James Mollison recently completed a book of  56 really fantastic diptychs featuring bedrooms around the world. On the left, a studio style portrait of the bedrooms occupant - a child. On the right, a photograph of their bedroom. Featuring children from all over the world, this project investigates a myriad of cultures while maintaining a cohesive style throughout. Though each child and room and is (very) different, the lighting and portrait set up is the same. Not only are these images beautiful, they are also sometimes heartbreak, sometimes wacky, and always a very interesting look into other worlds. Check out more images on his website, www.jamesmollison.com

-katie

[thetwokeyspress]

Tyler Hicks

Tyler Hicks won the Pulitzer prize for his photograph of a woman hiding with and sheltering her children during an attack in Nairobi and NPR has a really great article on the photograph. Read it here!

 - katie

[thetwokeyspress]

Exploring the World Through AirBNB- Part Two

A little more traveling? Yes, please.

Next on the tour is this gorgeous spot in Sydney, Australia. This modern interior perfectly reflects the casual Australian lifestyle that incorporates outdoor living areas. 

I love how the architect used the wall of blinds on the porch as opposed to the interior!

Next stop is another tropical location- Buenos Aires. This space really exposes the flavor of that area. This particular home is nothing fancy but that's just what I love about it. Exposed brick, brightly painted walls... and at only $40 a night you may just catch me down there!

Last, but not least, we go back to the USA and head to Portland. This "Tiny House" is so well thought out and has so much charm! The couple who owns the house also built it (so Portland, eh?) using reclaimed materials- everything down to the furniture.

- laura

[thetwokeyspress]

Soft Hoagie Rolls

Soft Hoagie Rolls is soft documentation of people escaping reality. 

Life is a hard and complicated road that is sometimes very unstable and scary. If you find anything that helps you cope, that is not directly harmful to you or the surrounding world, then you should grasp onto it with extreme force.

The advice you could take away from Soft Hoagie Rolls would be to love the most you can love towards whatever and whoever you feel a strong bond or force with.

Something like skateboarding is merely just a very easy, technical, and painful way to promote brotherhood and exploration.

"In the end it's just friends escaping reality with skateboards. It's alright though, because that's enough for us."

- Jacob Jacob is a guest blogger from St. Pete To see more from Soft Hoagie Rolls visit their site here.

[thetwokeyspress]

Cannes 2014

Hard to pick a favorite, as usual.  While this film lover obviously didn’t get to see even close to all of the in competition flicks at the 2014 Festival de Cannes, we figured it wouldn’t hurt to do a quick tally on the ones that we did. 

The Owners

Out of Competition

Kazakhstan meets Wes Anderson meets Napoleon Dynamite meets surrealism meets tragedy as three orphaned siblings struggle and fail to keep a roof over their heads.  Everyone I was with hated this film.  I quite liked it, mainly for it’s absurdist and surreal approach to tragedy.   An art piece that’s as infuriating as it is hysterical. 

Jimmy’s Hall

In Competition

Ken Loach shot this 1930’s Irish countryside drama on 35mm film.  And that was about the best part of it, which was massively disappointing considering the rather important cultural and socio-economic themes at play.   The potential was present for epic uprising and wind-swept romance, but what should’ve been massively dramatic and heart-wrenching moments repeatedly fell flat or missed the punch.

Two Days One Night

In Competition

A woman tries to convince her co-workers to give up their end of year bonuses so that she can keep her job, and that is exactly what you get for 95 minutes as you witness in real time the struggle of a woman to keep her job while also keeping her dignity.  A film of zero flare but also very few flaws, Marion Cotillard is solid, as is the film as a whole.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby

Un Certain Regard

Full disclosure: I hadn’t seen the other films in this trilogy.  But with James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and the beauty and tragedy found in films like Blue Valentine, you really can’t go wrong. 

The Homesman

In Competition

Run to a theatre.  Be charmed, be haunted, be in awe of Tommy Lee Jones’ and Hillary Swank’s badassery. 

The Foxcatcher

In Competition

The king of uncomfortable is at it again, but this time, with a horrifying set of fake teeth and a serious self worth problem.  I was trying to remember if there was ever a movie or show Steve Carrell hadn’t made me feel uncomfortable in, and I came up blank.    All discomfort aside, Carrell will and should get an Oscar nom, and the film is so beautifully and hauntingly put together, wouldn’t be surprised to see it in the lineup of Best Picture nominees come February. 

The Search

In Competition

This film was poorly reviewed (and I think I know why), but it was my favorite of the festival and I think is one of the more important films I’ve seen in the past 10 years.  The film examines war and hatred from three different storylines, a young soldier, an orphaned boy, and a political ambassador trying to fight on the inside.  To me, it was everything Zero Dark Thirty should’ve been but wasn’t – it was a strong but vulnerable female protagonist fighting for change, it was a young boy finding peace in a world of trauma, and it was a young man transforming from an innocent bystander into a ruthless killer.  It wasn’t a perfect film, but had it not been for the existence of Annette Benning’s character, I think the film would’ve avoided a lot of the criticism it received for being preachy and melodramatic.

- nora

[thetwokeyspress]

Exploring the World Through AirBNB- Part One

As a (future) interior designer and lover of travel, I have been known to spend hours looking at AirBNB rentals. What better a way to explore the world and cultures than looking through real people's own homes? After my last virtual world tour here are just a couple of spaces I thought were absolutely worthy of sharing.

The first stop is this historic yet modern apartment in Barcelona. Common in these historic spaces in the city center of Barcelona are gorgeous windows, doors and high ceilings. And tiles. I'm immediately won over by the colorful tiles that most of the apartments have.

The next stop is a medieval tower in Asti, Italy. Another modern interior outfitted in a historic space. For the most part it seems that Europe does this eclectic look right. 

Talk about a perfect spot for a morning espresso and croissant. 

More airbnb spaces to come in Part Two.

-laura

[thetwokeyspress]

Woodcuts of Helen Frankenthaler

The remarkable American Abstract Expressionist, Helen Frankenthaler, has been on my mind a lot lately. As an artist, I tend to look to others for inspiration and growth; I believe that studying those you admire is one of the most productive ways to develop your own visual vocabulary. 

Frankenthaler is not only inspiring to me as a successful female artist, her color schemes are vibrant and perfectly suited for every piece she produced. For summer color inspiration I have been looking to the colors of Frankenthaler's woodcuts, a set of work that was purely experimental in the beginning, but developed into a beautiful collection of pieces.

- amanda

[thetwokeyspress]

Dorothea Lange

Now, I already know that you already know who Dorothea Lange is. You've seen "Migrant Mother" a million times but the reason that you have is because Dorothea is an incredible photographer. She killed it in a time when women didn't have much space to be creative. She studied photography at Columbia, traveled around the US photographing Native Americans, great depression victims in California, Japanese-American camps... basically, she hunted out hard things. She told the truth, and she did it with her camera. "Migrant Mother" is certainly her most famous portrait, but I encourage you to really dig deep into her impressive career.

the doll, herself

-katie

[thetwokeyspress]

Robert Yeoman: An Underrecognized Genius

This video has been circulating around the internet on fancy blogs and such for a while so I thought I’d feature it here too but with a twist.  I love almost all of Wes Anderson’s films and objectively he has to be on any list of the most brilliant directors of this or maybe any generation.  This supercut highlights his fondness for symmetry and centered shots which I also love, although I have to say I’m a bit more enamored with the long tracking shots from the dolly.  The problem for me lies not in the video itself but in the buzz surrounding it and generally all Wes Anderson films.  No one except Wes Anderson ever gets any credit for them.  It’s as if he were a one man crew.  Now clearly with a director who has such a specific style that is bound to happen, and it’s warranted to a point but specifically with this video and all talk of how Wes Anderson’s films are shot one other man needs to always be mentioned and that man is Robert Yeoman.  Yeoman has been the head cinematographer for every single one of Wes Anderson’s live action films as well as the brilliant Squid & Whale and many others from various directors.  He’s a member of the American Society of Cinematographers and has won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.  So you can bet that he has quite a large influence on how Anderson’s stories get told on screen; he doesn’t simply point the camera where Wes tells him to before hitting record like you would think from his lack of name recognition.  In the interview below, Yeoman talks about his recent collaborations with Wes Anderson as well as some films that inspired him pursue his craft and his preference for 16mm.    

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a great film and if you weren’t able to catch it in theaters, it just came out on blu-ray.  Just remember when watching, yes, it is Wes Anderson’s vision but there’s only so much vision can do.  At some point, someone has to step up and move the camera and Robert Yeoman is the humble man who gets up to do just that, every single time.

- trey