As promised here is my post dedicated to my current magazine inspiration. 4 hours and 20 magazines later I walked away with W: Art Meets Fashion issue and a new magazine that is apparently already in it's 4th issue, Rika.
Although W magazine is littered with ad's you can't expect any less from any American magazine. None the less there were a few editorials that really caught my eye, this one in particular featuring the cover model and actress Jessica Chastain. 5 artists used her as their muse and made art either about her or with her involved in it somehow. I have already ripped the page above and used it as the cover of my new sketchbook.
This Earth Angel editorial is what really convinced me to purchase the magazine. Shot by Ryan McGinley, a photographer I am a very big fan of, stylist Edward Enninful (another amazing artist I am a fan of) and model Daria Werbowy they created this phenomenology induced series. The way the model is working within her environment, the styling choices, the angles chosen to shoot it, all of it is like a visual orgasm to me.
I wasn't a fan of this whole Optical Illusion editorial as it got to be a bit redundant and un-inspiring but I did really like this page in particular. After having my moment of being a fashion-editor at RAUKUS I have gotten really interested in the layouts of magazines and the white border around the art next to this fashion themed page really pushes that Art Meets Fashion theme that W was going for this issue and I L-O-V-E it.
Next up is Rika magazine. Named after its editor in chief (I'm assuming), Ulrika Lundgren, I have flipped through this magazine at least 10 times before I could fully consume it's unassuming great-ness. It's clean yet collage like design on the cover and first few opening pages induces a moody-creative type of viewer that is interested in more than just a pretty picture but a photo about something.
With so many new movies and documentaries out on Alfred Hitchcock recently it was no surprise to see a review on the man and his movies. However this being a fashion magazine an accompanying article written by Alice Pfeiffer about the intricate decisions made about what the stares wore in his movie really inspired me.
"The story is of less importance than the overall visual impact on the screen - the costumes are centerpieces of the visual themes of the film." - Stylist Edith Head speaking to Kim Novak on the set of Vertigo
"Hitchcock could also be an instinctual artist, arranging his film like the Expressionist painters, ie. according to certain patterns of colors that he chose for the unconscious effect they have on the viewer."
- Author and film critic John Fawell
Some extremely beautiful dark images that at first I flipped over quickly but after about the 2nd or 3rd time I immediately ripped them out and pasted them on my walls
The thing that really got me to purchase Rika was this interview with Tim Walkers contributing creative/art director Simon Costin. It was unbelievably inspiring to read about his experiences working with Tim Walker to create images like the one's above and to read about his current projects such as creating a British Folklore museum and past projects like his runway show set up for Alexander McQueen in 1997.
"What I like about Tim's work is the way that sometimes the model appears almost secondary to the overall image, another prop serving as part of the narrative being explored. That's a rare thing for a fashion photographer to pull off."
Well said Mr. Costin. I will be further exploring this statement in a future post on my work, phenomenology, and some very exciting projects I have in the works.
This was a short 2 page spread featuring model/photographer Dorothea Barth Jorgensen's interpretation of dreams.
"I have been exploring the language of dreams. I have captured obscure moments from my travels, which somehow represent the absurdity of dreams, the vague shades that might blindfold you, or make your experience richer, how they can affect, and the awareness you get from observing them. The dream can tell you stories beyond your daily horizon and bring you to higher levels of understanding the self."
What seemed very random Rika had this spread of a sketch from The Raven and then the whole story written out next to it. I absolutely loved the hand written aspect and how seamlessly it seemed to go with the drawing and story itself. A fitting way to end the magazine if I do say so.
What magazines are you all reading these days?