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Nick Stern, a photographer who works with the artist, tells us that the statue is also a commentary on Hollywood culture. He speaks on behalf of Plastic Jesus:

The piece is intended to draw attention to Hollywood’s hidden problem of drug addiction that effects hundreds of people in the showbiz industry and is largely ignored until the death of a high profile A-list celebrity. (Stern)

He publicizes the picture of an in-and-out life in excess and gross gratification… hedonism and narcissism. Nonetheless, we’re all pawns to the system – (k)nobs that keep the capitalist wheel rolling – be it waiting out a regular late-night corner shift; or for that bond to be approved; 5pm to arrive; Better Days; a quick fix; freedom, bought; or for someone to talk to you while you sit making the Big Decisions. Ultimately, Plastic Jesus creates art that is ubiquitous – and he’s got bravado. Boundaries overstepped, perhaps. But, that happens every day, in mediums or journals that the public cannot get hold of or are not accessible and thus we don’t look for them. The Financial Times, The Economist – they might come across as elitist – and there are articles which indeed are. Oh, yeah, you also have to pay for them – unlike this piece of public art that pulls the middle finger at Capitalism.

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‘I wanted to engage the city and understand it and make some observations'(Merry)

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Image: News Design List

2007 Sleepwalkers Trailer from Doug Aitken Workshop on Vimeo.

2008 migration 303 Walkthrough from Doug Aitken Workshop on Vimeo.

Image: morgangoodman-dougaitken.weebly.com/

Image: Whitney Art Museum

His latest, ‘MIRROR’ is a permanent installation at the Seattle Art Museum in Washington State and was revealed on 24 March with a live performance by the composers Steve Reich and Terry Riley. For the museum he has created a horizontal LED display that will project footage Aitken shot himself from various locations within Seattle and the greater Pacific Northwest on the front of the museum’s exterior. While describing the project to The Stranger Aitken explained, ‘We needed to create an invisible system that could relate to and mirror what’s happening around it, like a living composition…I think we’re coming into this very interesting era where the divisions between different sectors of culture aren’t so strict.’ The building is able to sense its environment and the images and light display change with the movement of pedestrians, light, wind and other environment elements. Just like the urban landscape that surrounds it, the installation with transform with the progression of time and human activity.

Image: Mirrorseattle.org

12th Planet

Whether headlining his own tours or playing alongside heavyweights such as Skrillex, Skream, or Datsik, 12th Planet is constantly in motion and loving every minute of it. Recently, one small seed was able to catch up with 12th Planet, who was backstage set up with his mini studio working on a remix for Porter Robinson, during the Detroit stop of his The End is Near North American tour to talk about what else, dubstep.

It seems like, when it comes down to it, a lot of the dubstep artists that are enjoying success right now have a bit of communal respect for one another. Speak more about the importance of that.

Imagine being a part of workforce or going to work everyday and hating everyone at your job and especially your boss. Except, it’s like going to work, and there are no bosses, but it’s like everyone’s homies. Like some people have different salaries than other people, but at the end of the day, it’s all love and it’s a good time. When you are on the road all the time, you run into similar people constantly so you might as well be good with them because you damn sure know you are going to see them again.
 

You are one of the original ambassadors of American dubstep. How did you get into making this sort of music?

I started out producing and DJing drum-n-bass. I heard the music out in England and I was like ‘Yo, what is this? It’s like slow drum-n-bass’. I came back and was put onto this dubstep stuff. I heard this BBC show, Mary Anne Hobbs. She did the Dubstep Warz radio set with like Burial, Skream, Benga, and DMZ. All these guys I got to put a face to the name and a name to the music. I went to the DMZ three-year anniversary over in England and that shit was nuts. It changed my life. I had never seen so many nationalities in one place reppin’ this underground music.

Do you think the mass growth of dubstep in the states will give a jolt to the other forms of electronic dance music?

I’m not sure, because dubstep was always the third or fourth option room at a party. Before that, it was drum-n-bass, and before that, it was hardcore. That’s where it gets most of it’s appeal is that the majority of the people that listen to it are kind of like ‘us against the world’ mentality and ‘strength in numbers’.

That’s why dubstep is come as you are. Just come to party. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, black, white, Mexican, Asian. It’s just all about good vibes and good times no matter how you dress.

I’ve read that Skream is one of your main influences and he remixed Control for you. How was it to connect with such a talented artist?
 
It was one of my first releases and we signed it to the Juan BassHead’s label down in Miami and he was really good friends with Skream. At the time, Skream was like my idol. Skream was like ‘I like the track and I want to remix it’.

I was like FUCK, are you kidding me? It made my fuckin’ 2-3 years!

It made my career really because from there, a lot more UK people started paying attention to my stuff.

words: Kelly “K-Fresh” Frazier
images: 12th Planet

Matthew Dear is an ideal example of progression within electronic music. His early work, like 2003’s Leave Luck To Heaven on the Ghostly International imprint, propelled him into the upper echelon of dancefloor music. As the years passed, Matthew Dear has been able to stretch the possibilities of his music to a new apex, both on record and performance-wise.
 


 

Starting prominently with 2007’s Asa Breed and on through into 2010’s Black City, Dear has had an evolved presence within his own music that had guided him into more of a front man role. The supplement of a live tour band breathes another existence into his music, and takes it into realms not experience on record. With his new EP Headcage, which is a precursor to the upcoming Beams album, Dear continues on his musical transcendence and shares with one small seed how he goes about the journey.

Matthew Dear, image: © Ghostly International

Matthew Dear, image: © Ghostly International

Going from someone who early on was mainly a DJ, was it a nervous ride to transform yourself into the performer you are today?

I tour as a DJ more often now than I did five years ago. Back then, I was predominantly getting booked as Audion live. It was definitely more akin to a DJ performance than a band performance, and it took a while to figure out just how to make it all work. There is such a different interaction with the crowd at both shows. In a club, the crowd wants to disconnect from you and escape into the music. In most rock settings, they want to see the white’s of your eyes.

What’s being a front man mean to Matthew Dear?

I am out there as a conduit for the music from my albums. The music is the front man, and I am just a portion of it. You’re trying your best to recreate a portable studio, and give the crowd a unique re-interpretation of the songs they know.

© Matthew Dear

I’ve seen your live show after Black City was released and I was just floored. You take the recorded music to new heights live. Where does the inspiration to do this come from?

It’s important to give the songs a new lease on life. They aren’t crafted for the stage, and don’t have live drums, trumpets or guitar parts. When it comes time to do them live, we write new lines and give the songs a more live sound. The inspiration comes from not letting myself get bored with the recorded material.
 

 

 
You have a sound that is reminiscent of music of the past but completely holds its weight in the present without ever sounding dated. What is your philosophy when molding your sound?

I search for the inherently odd in myself, and once I find it, I put it into the music. Sometimes love, fear, or jealousy gets attached to the subconscious outpouring. I guess what I’m saying is I don’t put up any gates, and hold anything in when I’m writing. This process doesn’t always yield a keeper, but it’s the only way to keep moving forward.

You are one of the founders of the Ghostly International label that was the vision of Sam Valenti IV. Your record Hands Up For Detroit was the first release in 1999. Looking back all these years later, talk about those early days of Ghostly.

We were extremely confident in our abilities, and wanted to produce as much high quality content as possible. We fed our dreams daily with such passion and enthusiasm, that it didn’t allow for second-guessing or questions. I look back and am proud of what we accomplished, and more importantly, what we thought we could accomplish.

 

Guest Vocals by Jonny Pierce of The Drums; Concept & Directed by Morgan Beringer and additional Source Photography by Toyin Timeyin
 
words: Kelly “K-Fresh” Frazier
images:  © Ghostly International

one small seed: Congratulations on your first solo exhibition at the Rooke Gallery in Johannesburg. How did this come about?

Stefan Krynauw: My work was seen by Roelof van Wyk. He then became my mentor and patron. Gavin Rooke, the owner of the gallery saw the work via van Wyk. And they decided to give me an exhibition. I worked in Oyster Bay for three months and then at Rooke Gallery, two months prior to the exhibition.

How was your work received by the public?

People seemed positive at the opening, but you never know.

So tell me, who is Stefan Krynauw, and why should we care about your work?

He enjoys painting; hopefully you will enjoy looking at it.

What are you trying to achieve through your work? What’s it all about?

I want to find different ways of extracting emotion out of chosen source material.

Your work is very conceptual, what is the process you go through to create your work?

My work is more personal than conceptual. I work from various sources while painting. I make use of newspaper clippings etcetera. Some of my reference, photographed by van Wyk was exhibited with the paintings. The relationship between the reference and the paintings can then be seen. I rework the paintings constantly.

You started out studying drama, even playing Jesus in the Lady Grey Passion Play, and within 12 months you have become a successful artist with a solo exhibition. What led to the departure?

I couldn’t see myself practicing as an actor. I’ve always made drawings and doodles, mostly on texts while in rehearsals. I made drawings for a play 4.48. Psychosis. I couldn’t stop after that.

How has your background in acting influenced your art?

It made me trust my instincts. I work intuitively as a result of studying Drama. I plan to combine the two at a later stage.

What happened when you picked up a paintbrush for the first time? What did you paint?

It’s difficult to remember, but in grade 1,I painted a car from the side, I made the surrounding sky, grass and road blue. The teacher looked at the painting and started shouting at me.

Let’s face it; all creatives have strange habits, hobbies and creative tweaks. What is your strangest hobby, ritual or creative tweak?

Reading “Die Huisgenoot.”

That’s a rather, um, unique creative tweak. So, what is the craziest thing you have ever done?

I haven’t done a lot of crazy things, but while I was in primary school I stole people’s mail and rewrote the amounts they owe the bank (in crayon). I then closed the mail and put it back in their mailboxes. It’s rather stupid, but I thought it was crazy at the time.

Keep an eye on this upcoming South African artist, and be sure to take a look at Stefan’s exhibition, Portrait of a Painter, running from 5 May to 24 June at the Rooke Gallery in Johannesburg. But don’t despair, if you miss it go down to the Johannesburg Art Fair happening in September to catch is new body of work.

Rising star of the art world, Juan Francisco Casas, uses up to 14 ball-point pens to create his photo-realistic drawings. All produced using only blue ball-point pens.

His canvasses reach up to 3m in length, and his work is already a sell-out at exhibitions. At his latest exhibition in Madrid, he sold an amazing 60 canvases, ranging in price from R8 500 to a staggering R42 500 each. That is quite a nifty profit, considering the price of 14 or so ball-point pens. And surprisingly it only takes him about two weeks to complete a canvas.

Formally a traditional painter, Casas began experimenting with larger than life ball-point drawings about three years ago, based on photographs of nights out with his friends. Casas admitted that he first started doing the drawings as a joke, just to try and make something so super-realistic that people would think that is was a photo.

In 2004 he entered the national art competition in Spain as a joke, having submitted a ball-point pen drawing. Surprised at his second place victory, he took his drawings seriously, and moved away from traditional painting. “For me it’s not that different from painting. I was trying to show that it doesn’t matter what material you use, it’s what you do with it.”

When asked why he chose the humble pen to be the representation of his mind and work, he simply answered, “I wanted to create art with something that everyone has – a Biro. I don’t think it has ever been done before.” Pens can be a torturous means of creating art, as the obvious drawback is that you can not simply erase your mistakes. Casas has learned the hard way, and his advice is to make mistakes at the beginning, rather than the end. Otherwise you just end up with a really big doodle.

Casas’s extraordinary art just goes to show that art can be created out of the simplest everyday materials. And if you get frustrated whilst trying to be the next great pen artist, you can always eat it and win a Darwin Award.

It doesn’t seem fair that one man is able to express himself successfully through almost every medium possible. So is the skill of our very own Aryan Kaganof. Responisble for the controversial documentary, ‘The Uprising in Hangberg’ that screened at the Labia, Kaganof now also has a film festival under his belt. Let’s here it from him; South African film- maker writer, poet, artist and all round master of the  upper-case, one-liner interview…

So…Aryan, who are you?

ME

What are you all about?
LOVE

Why did you choose to study in Amsterdam?
I WAS LIVING THERE

Did you ride a bicycle?
ONLY AT NIGHT

Explore the Red Light District? Any happy endings?
THE FIRST TIME WAS QUITE SCARY BUT I GOT BETTER AT IT

What’s your most distinctive memory of your time spent in Amsterdam?
POPPERS

How did those years influence you as a person, as an artist.
MADE SURE THAT I NEVER WANT TO LIVE IN HOLLAND AGAIN

KYODAI MAKES THE BIG TIME – What was the public’s reaction to this? Your first film – is it like your first time having sex? Which I guess is a subjective question, but I’m thinking experimental, unnerving, liberating, a learning experience, a humbling experience, leaving you wanting more ?
SEX SHOULD ALWAYS BE LIKE YOU’RE HAVING SEX FOR THE FIRST TIME

What was your all-time favourite childhood movie? Did you ever listen to the “books on tapes”?
PLAY MISTY FOR ME

How would you describe yourself to an alien?
SLOWLY

Who was your inspiration as you grew up? What did he/she/they teach you?
MY MOTHER. SHE USED TO BEAT ME. THAT TAUGHT ME TO LEAVE HOME YOUNG AND GET MY SHIT TOGETHER.

Who is the most enticing individual you have come across?
MY WIFE

What are you fundamental principles in life?
ONLY LOVE IS REAL

Tell me something
I DON’T HATE. ONLY LOVE IS REAL

In the titles words like “dead, serial killer, waster,  Any particular theme thatàultra-violence, fragments, sharp, uneasy” — flows through your work – film/books/poetry/art?

NO

What is Art to you?
“ART” IS ONE OF THOSE WORDS THAT HAS DEGRADED IN MEANING OVER THE PAST DECADES. WORDS LIKE “PARLIAMENT” AND “DEMOCRACY”. A LOT OF OUR LANGUAGE NOW IS ENTIRELY DENUDED OF MEANING. ART IS PROBABLY THE MOST MEANINGLESS OF ALL THE MEANINGLESS ACTIVITIES WE PURSUE.

In terms of writing – who has been your biggest influence? The Beat writers – Jack Kerouac, Burroughs, Gingsberg, then of course Hunter S, Tom Wolfe – how did they change literature?

I TRY NOT TO BE INFLUENCED BY WRITERS. I DON’T READ A LOT. I ENJOY SITTING IN SILENCE AND DOING NOTHING.

Lady Lazarus – Sylvia Plath; this poem is so tragically beautiful. There seems, well to me at least, to be a very powerful connection between tragedy and beauty. What do you think?
BEAUTY IS HARDER THAN PAIN

It’s the same with pain and pleasure, they are so intertwined. The Snuff Collection you seems to explore this – this arousing fascination with torture. I think it is an extremely primitive feeling and Snuff explores this with reckless honesty. Are you a voyeur?
IT DEPENDS ON WHO I’M LOOKING AT

What did you learn from your time in Japan? How did this influence your work?
THE AESTHETICS OF PACKAGING

What your tastiest meal?
WHATEVER MY WIFE IS COOKING TONIGHT

Where can one find you on a Sunday morning?
I CAN NOT BE FOUND ON A SUNDAY MORNING

Anyone we should take notice of?
GENNA GARDINI

Why did you come back to SA?
TO MEET MY FATHER

If you could stick gum in someone’s hair who would lit be?
I ONCE DID THIS TO A GIRL AND SHE WOULD NOT FORGIVE ME, SO NO THANK YOU

What turns you on?
I LIKE IT ROUGH AND DIRTY AND SWEATY AND STINKY

What turns you off?
MAKEUP

interview by: sarah claire picton

Sarah Jayne Fell talks to AJ Fosik about God, acid trips and impending doom, as well as his latest body of work, which fits somewhere roughly in between.

The Third Way Out (2009) wood, paint and nails 213.4 x 91.4 x 91.4 cm

Images courtesy of Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York

Who is AJ Fosik? (And what does AJ stand for?)

AJ Fosik is a benevolent and loving creator who will smash and burn everything you love if you don’t exalt and praise his name, which the faithful can tell you is Antonius Jamiroquai.

Tell me about when and where you grew up…

I grew up gnawing on the rusty bones of Detroit, Michigan. We washed down dinner with a glass of tears from each of the Big Three and at night we would use the axles of Plymouths and Pontiacs to bar our doors against the wolves and prostitutes.

Always to Dust (2007) mixed media 127 x 132 x 35.6 cm

I’ll probably never get to meet you so what kind of person would you say you are?

Don’t be so negative, we could have a chance encounter in an airport bathroom in some far-flung port of call. I’m a raptor.

Does it surprise you that there would be an interest in your work all the way in ‘deep dark Africa’?

I’m surprised, yes. Given that I’m American, and a product of the American education system, I was quite surprised to learn of the existence of a ‘South’ Africa. The globes we buy from Walmart only feature the US of A on them so I’m not sure exactly where you are but I’m guessing it’s close to Florida.

In the Teeth of Stupifying Odds (2010) wood, paint and nails 121.9 x 121.9 x 38.1 cm

You studied illustration. Why the departure?

I still illustrate, I just don’t make clever little jokes for art directors. I make clever little jokes for people to hang above their sofas.

Read the full article in issue 22 of one small seed: South Africa’s pop culture quarterly. Order your copy here.