Format Magazine #12: Women's history month special

by Evan Orensten

In celebration of women's history month, Format Magazine #12 highlights some of the rising female stars out there making moves in urban culture, a traditionally male-dominated market.

Within the streetwear scene, it's rare to see a women's line that's not an extension of a pre-existing brand, but Gabriella Davi-Khorasanee of Mama (above right) founded one of the premier and only independent female street-wear brands. In Format, she comments on the struggle of being a woman in an industry full of men. A former lawyer who gave up the courtroom for fashion, Mama has focused primarily on tees thus far, but has recently expanded to cut and sew products and accessories, a collaboration with Bijules, and the Mama nail polish line. Check out and purchase some of her products at Mama

The issue also features in-depth interviews with Claw Money, Bijules, Blood is the New Black and chocolate-maker Alison Nelson, who collaborated with a variety of graffiti artists to design wrappers for her limited edition chocolate bars. Published online, check it out here.

Tiger Translate

by Tim Yu

With new works from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China, Tiger Translate is a group exhibition featuring 25 emerging Asian artists that are redefining contemporary Asia through their artwork and interpretations. Featuring contributions by Stephen Lau and Jing, among others, the nomadic exhibit is in its second year. Following 2006 stints in Dublin, Shanghai and Auckland, the latest installment, "Merge," opens this Saturday, 31 March 2007, in New York City at Xchange.

With live performances and DJs, Merge includes contributions from the international design collective Surface to Air, creator of interactive light installations James Clar and designer Mary Ping. After Merge (the first installment in this year's series), Tiger Translate moves onto Berlin with "Rise" and brings "Gold" to Berlin.

Visit Tiger Translate for more info and to see images of works by featured artists.

Xchange (at the Terminal Stores)
640 West 28th Street, Floor 9
New York, NY 10001 map
tel. +01 212 967 4500

The East/West Propaganda Project

by Josh Rubin

WK Interact and Obey Giant formed an alliance recently, collaborating on an exhibition called The East/West Propaganda Project, currently up in Japan at Tokyo Wonder Siteand traveling to Paris' Galerie Du Jour Agnès b next. (Sponsored by Agnès b, there's also work by the two artists up at Agnès b's Tokyo store and a clothing line and prints are available there as well.)

Playing on both the different coasts of the U.S. that each call home (WK is NYC-based and Obey operates out of LA) as well as the geographic locations of the two shows, the pair bombed Tokyo together and separately before jointly creating the massive installation.

22 March-22 April 2007
Tokyo Wonder Site
1-19-8 Jinnan Shibuya-ku
150-0041 Tokyo
tel. +03 3463 0603

16 May-13 June 2007
Galerie Du Jour Agnès b
44 Rue Quincampoix
75004 Paris
tel. +33 144545590

via Supertouch

Ultra-thin MoGo Headset

by Josh Rubin

Thoughtfully designed for true mobile convenience, MoGo's 5mm thick headset can be charged without needing any additional cables. The lightweight (1/3 oz) Bluetooth 2.0 device has a fold-out ear piece so it rests comfortably in the ear and stores flat when not in use. While it can be charged with an optional AC adapter, it is sized to fit in a laptop's PCMCIA or ExpressCard 34 slot which is also a convenient storage location.

The design becomes really interesting if MoGo can work with handset manufacturers to get a storage and charging well built in to the shell of the mobile phone. A mock-up of that is shown on the right, but imagine if they took it a step further and made it flush with the casing so that you didn't even know it was there until you needed it.

The device made it's debut yesterday at CTIA in Orlando where I had a chance to check it out. No word yet on pricing or availability.

Jason Fulford

by Jonah Samson

Earlier this week, I was excited to be able to question Jason Fulford about his work. He and his partner, Leanne Shapton, run J&L Books, a small publishing company they started in 2000 that supports emerging artists. The dynamic duo have also curated an exhibition currently on view at Seattle’s OK OK Gallery. Jason Fulford’s own solo show can be seen at Quality Pictures in Portland until 28 April 2007. For more images, go here.

Your photos are more than just great images of small details and ordinary things, they have a very strong graphic sense—as if the things you photograph were designed rather than found. How would you describe your work?
I think about balance a lot, not just compositionally, but about balancing extremes or balancing contradictory things. And I love opposites especially when they happen simultaneously or in one person. My life involves lots of these kinds of relationships, like wanderlust vs. settling or respectability vs. disregard. I see these types of relationships everywhere now, like when I used to drive a Pontiac Sunbird and would always see other Sunbirds out on the street.

What lead you to start publishing books?
The simple answer is that I’ve always loved printed matter and I’ve always had the compulsion to make things. Also a naive dissatisfaction at the time (late '90s) with art books I’d see in bookstores. I wanted to publish books so I could have them on my own shelves. Another reason is that I was traveling so much and really missed a sense of community. Publishing helped me find a community of people, tied together with overlapping sensibilities.

When you’re putting together a show of other people’s work, or when you’re deciding on whose work to publish, what are you looking for?
There are exceptions to this, but generally speaking I look for three layers. First is a physical beauty that makes me want to stare at the work. Second, a connection to the subject matter that activates my own memory and imagination. Third is a question that’s raised by the work but left unanswered. This last layer is the most important for me. If a work has an open or hovering quality, it tends to last longer. I also look for a sense of humor, and the artist’s motivation also affects the way I judge a work. You can often tell right away if the motivation is genuine. Of course sometimes this is irrelevant.

Continue reading...