ROJO affiliated film: Nova

On the rare occasion when I had more than 20 crumpled Euro notes nestling in my pockets while living in Barcelona, the lure of ROJO magazine was often too hard to sway from. From the reassuring Mook (magazine/book) weight of the publication to the inviting documentation of journeys, processes and finished works from artists synonymous to the streets of cities like Barcelona, Buenos Aires or Berlin. Alongside other Spanish publications such as Serie B, Neo 2 and Pasajes Diseno - ROJO played a formative part to my years in Barcelona, inspiring and introducing artists who did not define themselves as solely a product designer, a graphic designer or an architect. Some great news then that they are about to release a film introducing some of these artists. Check the Nova trailer above, directed by Isaac Niemand and featuring music by the excellent Bradien.

Above: Vimeo trailer of Nova. Film directed by Isaac Niemand 2010.

art: Appplesmash

In a society where convenience and familiarity regularly wins over pragmatism and social openness,  I was delighted to discover Michael Tompert and Paul Fairchild's 12LVE exhibition this week. Although it can be argued that Apple products are a well designed piece of equipment,  recent episodes have left me feeling part of a minority observing swathes of cash ready consumers lurch towards the latest gadget in the brand-led belief that it will greatly improve their life. Turning your back to other punters in a cafe or bar to play a retro video games or being wired to emails buzzing through 24 hours a day is not a social progression in my eyes.  In Norway alone the statistics are startling, almost 20% own an Iphone. As much as a great gadget it is for business, watching grown up professionals fight to whack their gadget out reminds me of being in a Primary School gym class observing the tension between owners of a pair of Nike air sneakers and the poor chap with the Hi-Techs  mulling about in the corner. Which is why it is so refreshing to see someone smash up some Apple products for the sake of art. These products are not perfect untouchable icons, this exhibition reminds us of the lack of natural aura consumer products have and of their temporary existence. Read more  here.

photos: from the 12LVE exhibition by Michael Tompert and Paul Fairchild, San Francisco 2010

Fresh buds from LALAland

There has been much talk recently of something of a significant and sustained wave of culture and artsy goings-on hitting sunny California and in particular LA. Wether the West Coast of the United States has finally put their dukes up to face the East, and mainly New York, for more than a couple of bouts of culture bragging rights is yet to be seen. What is apparent and much to the joy of music-hungry enthusiasts the world over is the vast quantity and depth of beat-making talent flowing out from Arnie's backyard. These producers/musicians are not only putting exciting new sounds at the forefront of listener's minds but, they are doing so with an armada of illustrators, graphic designers, publications and record labels collectively and through frequent collaborations.

This movement or attitude is of course not exclusively an LA or San Francisco thing, as similar music and art hooks up can be seen from Glasgow to Vilnius , Tokyo to Amsterdam, Vigo in Spain and many more. The matter of fact though is that for something some have tagged as a 'post Dilla' sound, for want of calling it something, has found the greatest and richest source of output from Los Angeles, California. Over the coming weeks two highly anticipated albums straight outta this LA vortex of creativity are ready to drop. The producers are Matthew David and Teebs, and you can catch them live on Mary Anne Hobbs excellent Radio 1 Breezeblock show from the 7th April and 24th March respectively.