Erotic Mechanisation

"As Above, So Below."

--Oracle at Delphi

Ryan McGinley: youth laid bare

7 JUNE 2016        JAPAN TIMES       PAUL MCINNES

In 1980s America the art scene fawned over the infamous "Brat Pack" group of writers that included Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney, Donna Tartt and Tama Janowitz.  They portrayed American (privileged) youth in that decade like it was -- with all their nitty gritty drug taking, vodka swilling and New York club excess. In the mid to late '90s a new crew emerged: not writers per se, but photographers and artists, such as the late Dash Snow and photographer Ryan McGinley. Handed the mantle by filmmakers such as Larry Clark and Gus Van Sant, they set about documenting -- and kill me for saying this -- "the cultural zeitgeist" of that time.

McGinley, a New jersey native and the youngest child of eight, set the art scene alight in 1999 with his handmade photo-book from his first public show, "The Kids Are Alright," a brilliant portrayal of his own set of friends in New York at that particular time.  He quickly emerged as the voice of a generation and worked on high-profile projects for several fashion brands and other commercial outfits. His work, which documented the likes of Snow and Dan Colen, was provocative and daring, and according to the men's lifestyle magazine GQ, McGinley became "the most important photographer in America." 

McGinlehy's creativity progressed and amid other work, he shot a series of Morrissey concerts in the mid-noughties. The resulting photographs, however, pale in comparison to other live-music photographers such as Kevin Cummings or even lauded fashion bands such as These New puritans and The Drums. McGinley later shifted from working with film photography to digital. 

The current exhibition, "Ryan McGinley:  Body Loud!" at Tokyo Opera City Gallery, is a set pieve of mainly nude portraits of McGinley's very hip friends, including some Japan-based subjects such as actress and model Rila Fukushima and blogger and photographer Cailin Hill Araki.  The exhibition kicks off with portraits of a naive looking and tattooed Snow and a drug addled, graffitied Dan Colen.  Both images are striking and provoke the audience with their unabashed honesty.  Read More

Four temple-inspired Sumer Houses built to accompany BIG's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

7 JUNE 2016       DEZEEN       AMY FREARSON

Architects Kunlé Adeyemi, Asif Khan, Yona Friedman and Barkow Leibinger have each unveiled a Summer House at London's Serpentine Gallery, taking inspiration from a Neoclassical temple nearby.

The four architects have created structures to reference Queen Caroline's Temple in Kensington Gardens, designed by architect William Kent in the early 18th century. 

The results feature a version of the building turned inside out and a structure made out of curled wood, as well as a maze of modular wireframes and a secluded courtyard designed to reflect sunlight. 

The Summer Houses accompany the Bjarke Ingels-designed Serpentine Gallery Pavilion -- an "unzipped wall" of hollow fibreglass bricks, which was also revealed for the first time this morning. 

... "We were fascinated by the form and the proportions of the temple, and basically looked at it and played around with it," he told Dezeen. 

"So we've created a playful, contemporary interpretation of this building, exposing its interior void to create three spatial conditions -- a room, a doorway and a window." Read More