DEPT Pop-arazzi
AUTHOR Olivia Ouyang
ISSUE FALL 2012
A peek into the brilliance of Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, who has curated exhibits Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations and Poiret: King of Fashion.
Harold Koda
AUDREY MAGAZINE: You have curated numerous critically acclaimed fashion exhibits throughout your career. Is there one show that stands out in particular way to you?
If you’re a tumblr person, then you’ve probably stumbled upon the work of artist Ran Hwang who has become an overnight sensation in the social media world. Why does her art have people staring? Hwang is known for taking objects like buttons and crystals and pinning it onto a wall. Through this tedious pinning, she creates amazing wall sculptures and wall art.
The Japanese American National Museum strives for appreciation and understanding of the Japanese American Experience. The museum aims to provide a voice and forum to enable people to explore Japanese history and heritage. We are extremely excited for their current exhibit, Supernatural. The exhibit uses the art of Audrey Kawasaki, Edwin Ushiro, and Tim Watters to portray the various superstitions within the Japanese culture. The exhibit is opened on February 9th and will remain open until March 17th, 2013. For information about this exhibit, visit the JANM website here.
Continue reading to find out more about the featured artists:
With today’s technology, photography has been a growing and accessible hobby to take on. This is a gift guide for the shutterbugs in your life.
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Canon/Nikon Lens Cup or Mug, $10-$40
Camera lens mugs have been on the market for several years; however, it doesn’t take away the novelty of the gift. Every photographer needs to own a camera lens mug for the pure joy of drinking out of a lens. Make sure you select a mug that matches the equipment of your beloved photographer.Canon or Nikon Lens Cup/Mug $10-$40. Available at Photojojo, ThinkGeek, and Urban Outfitters.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA, is not only providing local LAists and visitors with visual art, but they’re now providing the art of music as well. Their new hip-hop concert series, “Through the Mic,” is on the third Thursday of every month through October 2012 at 8 PM. On Thursday, June 21st, for their second event, the Korean-American rapper, Dumbfoundead, along with other hip-hop artists like Gizzle and Medusa, performed live in front of LACMA’s renowned Urban Light sculpture. Before the three hip-hop artists performed live under the night sky, Audrey Magazine was able to catch Dumbfoundead (DFD) and have a little chat with him. When we asked him if he wanted to take picture with a “gangster” pose he turned down the offer and said, “No, I hung up my gangster title a long time ago,” we knew that he was ready to show more of himself than just his rapper image.
Although the interview lasted about 10 minutes we quickly discovered that DFD wasn’t just this tough and swagger-like Asian-American kid who could spit sick rhymes. Instead, within those 10 minutes he revealed that he was quite the hopeless romantic and the “politician.” From talking about his inspiration for his latest EP “Love Everyday” to the politics of South Korea, we thought we were talking to somebody else instead of the usual Asian American rapper we see on YouTube. However, we saw his rapper and entertainer reputation on stage shortly after as he performed songs like “Bubba Kush,” “Cell Phone,” and “Are We There Yet?” Dumbfoundead, along with his band and Breezy Lovejoy, turned up the energy at the usually quiet museum. The crowd of all ages and ethnicities went wild when Dumbfoundead showed his true talent: freestyling.
Continue reading for the interview and for more pictures!
Fashion is art and designer Trina Turk joined forces with The Decorative Arts and Design Council (DADC) of LACMA on May 23rd to raise funds for the acquisition of new items for the museum.
Guests shop the Trina Turk boutique in Los Angeles
In recent years, Asian American designers have come to the forefront of the fashion industry. Trina Turk, whose Japanese mother taught her how to sew at a young age, was ahead of the curve. Founding her fashion company in 1995 along with her husband, photographer Jonathan Skow, Turk’s first line was immediately picked up by major department stores such as Barney’s New York and Saks Fifth Avenue. Since then, her company has expanded to 11 deliveries per year, including a men’s line and home décor.
“I often build a relationship with my paintings as if they are my off- spring.” — Diana Reyes
ISSUE: Fall 2011
DEPT: Personalities
STORY: Han Cho
Artist Diana Reyes, a.k.a. Fly Lady Di, brings new meaning to “art show.”
Diana Reyes is a dancer with an impressive résumé: She’s been featured in music videos for artists such as Fabolous and Fall Out Boy, and appeared in the film Honey starring Jessica Alba. Never- theless, Reyes considers herself a painter first. Better known as Fly Lady Di, the Filipina Canadian is a visual artist noted for her stylized “graffiti” art.
The influence of graffiti is clear. Reyes infuses bold, flat colors with intricate patterns and black outlines, a quality seen in most street art. However, her feminine subjects stay powerful and grounded, and oftentimes she puts herself “in almost everything that I create, much like the work of Frida Kahlo.
“Empire State.” Acrylic on Canvas. 24 x 36 inches. 2007.
“I often build a relationship with my paintings as if they are my off- spring,” says Reyes. “They are whom I have given life to.”
Reyes’ performance and art back- grounds come together in Live Art, a relatively new and little known art form. Live Art is a performance undertaken by the artist before an audience, revealing the private working processes of the artist. “When done in public within a strict time limit, art takes on a whole new meaning,” says Reyes. “Live Art inspired me because I had never seen painting pursued in that way.”
As the new assistant dance director of The Manifesto, a hip-hop art and music festival based in Toronto, now in its fourth year this fall, Reyes will be running the first-ever All-Styles Dance event in addition to exhibiting both new and old artwork, an indication of her rising success. “People don’t understand the willingness and luxuries we have to sacrifice to live as creative people,” she says. “The luxury is to live as a creative person, and not by society’s rules but by our own.”
Find out more about Diana Reyes at FlyLadyDi.com.
— Han Cho
More stories from Audrey Magazine’s Archives here.
ISSUE: FALL 2011
DEPT: CULTURAL COLLAGE
PHOTOS: CHRISTINA SONG
Nature and the outdoors greatly inspire me in my art. I find it a chance to share some of the visceral moments seen and experienced during a hike or a walk through a scenic route. Thinking of fall fills my mind with free-spirited and youthful imagery, like leaves freely falling whilst changing colors. I kept these thoughts in mind and it led me to depict the wonderful season in a bold, playful manner.
Check out more stories here. Purchase the Fall issue of Audrey Magazine here.
Got a Cultural Collage story you’d like to share with us? Now accepting submissions of poems, drawings, pictures, and more from our readers! Email your submissions to editor@audreymagazine.com
Artist Isabelle Thuy Pelaud.
Growing up, every girl dreams of her wedding day, her future husband, and having her own place. Now, the Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA) asks the question, “If you had a place of your own, what would it be?”, in A Place of Her Own, a showcase of works by 23 Asian American women artists from diverse backgrounds and generations, opening today at the SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco.
When my friend first showed me suckatlife.com, I thought, “Wtf, is this another version of fmylife.com?”
But it wasn’t. In fact, it was a blog with posts of fascinating artwork.
Ferris Wheel: ink, wc on paper.
Using ink, markers, and watercolor, Taiwanese American artist Lawrence Yang creates movement within his paintings that evoke a certain mood and feeling. Much of his artwork focuses on natural settings, like mountains and water, and this may largely be due to his uncle being an established Taiwanese artist and the traditional Chinese art that surrounding him as a child growing up in suburban Chicago. Graffiti is also a source of inspiration; the colors are stark, and though evocative, there is something grim about the pieces much like graffiti.
Little Ones: ink, watercolor, and gouache on paper.
Regardless of the medium, Yang finds balance with his art, working during the day and painting at night: “logical, left brain work during the day, unwind with color and chaos at night.” And he strives to achieve that balance in his artwork as well, creating “order out of chaos (and vice versa).”
Anyone Out There?: digital.
To check out his stuff, hit up www.suckatlife.com.
Goldfish: ink, wc, and acrylic on wood.
