Image Culture

My guest is Adam Charlap Hyman, principle at the architecture and design firm Charlap Hyman & Herrero, which he cofounded in 2014. Adam’s work is grounded in a deeply considered approach to all aspects of the built environment, creating spaces imbued with a rich sense of history and narrative. His work ranges from residential interiors to art galleries, furniture, opera sets, and a new collection of abaca rugs, wallpapers, and fabrics in collaboration with Schumacher and Patterson Flynn Martin.

Recently Adam designed an exhibition at Friedman Benda Gallery entitled Blow Up in which he and curator Felix Burrichter transformed the gallery into a life-sized dollhouse, creating architectural elements through scaled up prints of Adam’s watercolor illustrations. The imagined spaces were then furnished with the work of a dreamlike roster of contemporary artists and designers.

At the center of Adam’s work is the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk, the total work of art. He has a unique way of understanding interiors that goes far beyond the decorative. Instead, his spaces feel as if they are part of an ever-expanding narrative, often funny, full of twists, and always fascinating.

I’d like to thank Adam Charlap Hyman as well as Andre Herrero, Alex Charlap Hyman, Juliet Breza, Felix Burrichter, and Friedman Benda. Remember, you can see my portrait of Adam on Instagram @william.jess.laird and @image.culture as well as at our website williamjesslaird.com/imageculture This show is produced by Sarah Levine and our music is by Jack and Eliza. Thanks for listening.

On the show today is the photographer Michael Halsband, whose work I first saw in Surf Book, a collaborative project with legendary surfer Joel Tudor examining surf culture through the people who built it. From there I began exploring his extensive body of portraits of artists and musicians from Klaus Nomi & Bernice Abbott to David Byrne & James Brown. After studying photography at SVA, Michael got the chance to photograph Keith Richards for the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, after which he joined the Stones on their 1981 Tattoo You tour. Upon returning to New York, Michael made what was to become his most famous photograph, one that I imagine many of you have seen. The 1985 portrait of Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat wearing boxing shorts and gloves, arms crossed, looking straight into camera against a clean white background. Originally created as a promotional poster for a collaborative show between the two artists, it became the iconic image of one of art’s great partnerships.

I got to sit down with have tea with Michael in the same studio where that photograph was made. You can also see my portrait of Michael in the studio at www.williamjesslaird.com/imageculture as well as on Instagram @william.jess.laird and @image.culture

This show is produced by Sarah Levine, our music is by Jack and Eliza. If you like the show help us grow by leaving us a rating and sharing it with a friend. Thanks for listening.

You can see much of Michael’s work at his website michaelhalsband.com

My guest is the iconic writer and editor Wendy Goodman, whose new book May I Come In? is out now with Abrams Press. Having spent her career at publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times Magazine, House & Garden, and most recently New York Magazine, where she has served as Design Editor since 1997, Wendy has profiled a most interesting group of individuals through their private homes. She lives by the idea that a house never lies and that few things are more fascinating than the opportunity to see how people live during their private hours. From Gloria Vanderbilt to Richard Avedon, Tony Duquette to Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Turner and Valentino, the new book is a retrospective of her work, and, as she puts it, an ode to the golden age of magazines. Profusely illustrated with work from an exceptional group of photographers, it offers a rare glimpse into some extraordinary lives. But ultimately, what makes the book so compelling is how personal it is. It’s a book of relentless search, full of risk and anxieties, and at the end we see how perfectly a space can serve as metaphor for the self. It’s much more than just a book of interiors.

My guest is the artist Camille Hoffman. In her work Camille rethinks the narratives embedded in traditional American landscape painting. She points out the political motivations of the romantic landscape, it’s enforcement of ideas of Manifest Destiny and Western Exceptionalism, and, in doing so, she begins a conversation about the monolithic history of painting. Looking closely at this history motived Camille to focus on her materials. In addition to traditional oil paint, she uses printed matter collected from her daily life, ranging from holiday themed plastic tablecloths to discarded medical records, from plastic bags to nature calendars. The resulting works reimagine what a landscape painting can be, and point out how charged the medium has always been.

I had the chance to photograph Camille in her recent installation Rockabye My Bedrock Bones at False Flag Projects, in which she covered the exhibition space in a massive wall painting using tones derived from her own skin. You can see the photograph at our website www.williamjesslaird.com/imageculture or on Instagram @william.jess.laird

You can see Camille’s current show Excelsior: Ever Upward, Ever Afloat, in which she remixes the allegorical figures in the New York State Seal, now at the Queens Museum. It’ll be up through Fall 2019.

I’d like to thank Camille Hoffman, as well as False Flag Projects for hosting our talk. This show is produced by Sarah Levine and our music is by Jack + Eliza. Remember to leave a rating and review and subscribe to hear all of our episodes. Have a great week!

Today on the show I’m talking with photographer and sculptor Vicente Muñoz, whose work I’ve found uniquely resonant in its engagement with architecture and optical phenomena. He has a new book out now entitled Virtual Transparency, which gathers a body of work originally started in 2015. The book focuses on the glass curtain architecture that defines New York City’s skyscrapers. Working at extremely long focal lengths, Vicente photographs the reflections of one building in another, however, much of his attention is on the glass itself. Specifically, he focuses on an optical phenomenon caused by imperfections in the manufacturing process known as roller-wave distortion, which creates unexpected bends and diffractions of light. The resulting photographs are abstracted to the point that, at first, I thought they might be illustrations. After spending some time with this book, I started seeing these distortions everywhere.

I photographed Vicente one day on the roof of his studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In the photograph you can see him handling a set of concrete blocks in different colors. These objects were cast as part of his body of work Beton, which examines the legacy of Brutalist architecture. You can see the portrait on our website at williamjesslaird.com/imageculture or at our Instagram @william.jess.laird or @image.culture

You can find Vicente’s new book Virtual Transparency on Amazon at the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Transparency-Vicente-Munoz/dp/0692763627

I’d like to thank Vicente and Audrey Rose Smith. I’d also like to thank Paul Knox, who wrote the titular essay in Virtual Transparency. This show is produced by Sarah Levine and our music is by Jack and Eliza.

See more of Vicente’s work at: http://vicentemunoz.xyz/#/

My guest is Randall Poster. If you don’t know the name, I guarantee you’ve heard his work. Randall is a music supervisor. He’s responsible for creating the soundtracks and overseeing the scores of some truly iconic films. Among his many credits is a 20 year collaboration with director Wes Anderson, crafting the musical profile of all his films dating back to 1996’s Bottle Rocket. From Rushmore’s sound of the British Invasion, to the Portuguese covers of David Bowie in Life Aquatic, from the music in the films of Satyajit Ray for The Darjeeling Limited, and the Eastern European Folk Music of The Grand Budapest Hotel, there’s always been a new stone to turn behind one of the most fruitful collaborations in cinema.

In addition to his work with Wes, Randall has had longstanding collaborations with great directors such as Richard Linklater, Todd Haynes, Martin Scorsese, Sam Mendes, and Harmony Korine.

Behind all of his work, it’s clear to see a genuine love of music and film that’s persisted through a long career. I photographed Randall at his office in New York and you can see the portrait at our website at www.williamjesslaird.com/imageculture or on Instagram @william.jess.laird and @image.culture

Thank you to Randall Poster, as well as his entire team at Search Party Music. This show is produced by Sarah Levine and our music is by Jack and Eliza. If you enjoy this show, help us grow by leaving a rating, writing a review, our sharing us with a friend.

As always thanks for listening!

Those of you that listen to the show regularly probably know that my partner and I frequently travel down to Marfa, Texas. If you’ve never been, I really can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s my opinion that seeing Donald Judd’s work permanently installed at the Chinati Foundation is one of the most pure experiences you can have seeing a work of art. But here’s the thing, there’s also a lot about Far West Texas that’s interesting for reasons entirely separate from Donald Judd. This brings me to my guest, writer, curator, and historian Lonn Taylor. Lonn is a bit of a local celebrity in Marfa. His books Texas, My Texas, Musings of the Rambling Boy, and, most recently, Marfa for the Perplexed are my first recommendations to anyone interested in the region. That’s because Lonn’s writing offers a most insightful and unique view into the lives of some of the most eccentric Texans. Reading Lonn’s essays, many of which were originally published between the pages of the Big Bend Sentinel, has opened up a world of stories, both big and small. They make a real case for why we should all read a bit of history, and, for me, they’ve changed the way I think about a place I’ve loved for a long time. If you thought you knew all there was to know about Marfa, I guarantee Lonn will show you something new.

For someone so influential in Marfa, Lonn actually lives one town down the road in Ft. Davis, where he retired after a 20 year career as a curator at the Smithsonian. He’s completed major projects on the history of furniture in Texas and New Mexico, the myth of the American Cowboy, as well as a landmark book on the Star Spangled Banner. We had our conversation one afternoon at Lonn’s desk looking out at the mountains which surround the town. You can see them in the portrait we shot together, which you’ll find at our website www.williamjesslaird.com/imageculture or on Instagram @william.jess.laird or @image.culture

Finally I just wanted to say a quick word about another legendary Texas resident, Boyd Elder, who passed away last week. I met Boyd when I was a kid, the first time I ever came to Marfa with my family. It’s funny that I just had this conversation with Lonn, because his work is really about exploring the exceptional people that make a place special. Boyd was certainly one of those people. I’ll miss him, I know many will. Rest in peace Boyd.

I’d like to thank Lonn and Dedie for having us by their home. I’d also like to thank all the staff and volunteers at the Chinati Foundation, Jenny Moore, Caitlin Murray, Tim Johnson, Robert and Rosario Halpern, Buck Johnston, Camp Bosworth, Elise Pepple, and Marfa Public Radio. Of course a final thank you to Boyd Elder for everything you gave to Marfa.

This show is produced by Sarah Levine, our music is by Jack and Eliza.If you like the show it makes a big difference if you subscribe, leave a review, or give us a rating on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much for listening. See you next week.

In this bonus episode of Image Culture, Fernando Mastrangelo gives a walkthrough of In Good Company 2018, co-curated with senior design editor at Architectural Digest, Hannah Martin.

You can follow along with images of all the works in the show at www.fernandomastrangelo.com/collections/in-good-company

Find Fernando on Instagram @iamfm

Find Hannah Martin @_h_mart_

Sculptor and designer Fernando Mastrangelo was raised in Monterrey, Mexico and received his MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Upon arriving in New York he landed a job working in the studio of the artist Matthew Barney, whose work would prove a lasting influence. An early sculptural work using sugar as a primary material was a major step for Fernando. His use of natural, granular materials cast in resin would become the foundation of his practice as both a sculptor and a furniture maker.

In the wake of this first piece Fernando began a series of ambitious works experimenting with material as well as exploring, often controversially, his status as as a Latino artist. Avarice, a scale replica of an Aztec calendar, was cast out of Mexican white corn. Another work, Felix, a figurative sculpture of a coca-farmer was cast out of Cocaine. Further works drew on materials such as gunpowder, concrete, human ash, salt, and sand, always selected for both their formal and metaphorical qualities.

In 2012, prompted by a large scale commission by Sean Parker, Fernando made a critical move away from figurative, narrative sculpture back towards abstraction. It was the beginning of an expansion of his practice into making functional design. Fernando’s work in furniture draws upon the processes he pioneered as a sculptor. His method of binding loose granular materials with an imperceptible layer of resin grant his objects a kind of surrealist quality. One can’t quite figure out how they remain solid. Recent work has focused on environmental issues and the expression of landscape through furniture. Additionally, Fernando’s non-profit In Good Company is dedicated to showing work by emerging designers and sculptors through an annual exhibition, the second installment of which is on view at his studio in East New York through mid October.

I’d like to thank Fernando and his entire team at the studio, Michelle Rosique, Anna Karlin, Brian Caverly, Loie Hollowell, as well as all the participating artists and designers of In Good Company. Special thanks to Hannah Martin, senior design editor at Architectural Digest, who co-curated the show with Fernando.

You can see my portrait of Fernando, shot with a body of work made in collaboration with Anna Karlin, at www.williamjesslaird.com/image culture. You can also find it on Instagram @william.jess.laird or @image.culture

To see more of Fernando’s work head over to www.fernandomastrangelo.com or find him on Instagram @iamfm

You can also see images of all the works in “In Good Company 2018” at www.fernandomastrangelo.com/collections/in-good-company

Thanks for listening!

Today I’m talking with the artist Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, whose paintings address the ancient history of West Africa and its associated mythology. Born and raised in England to Nigerian parents, Tunji studied art at Oxford University before moving to the United States to pursue his MFA at Yale, an experience that he describes as a culture shock and which had an immediate and profound effect on his work. It was in the US that he was first exposed to painters like Bob Thompson, Barkley Hendricks, and Kerry James Marshall, whose influence you can feel in his work right alongside British painters like Lucian Freud and David Hockney. We spend a lot of time talking about the differences between British and American painting, especially when it comes to representations of the black body. His recent solo show ‘Flash of the Spirit’ at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery takes its name from Robert Farris Thompson’s landmark 1984 book examining the influence of West African aesthetics on the modern diaspora. Seeing the eight works in the show all together is to see the development of Tunji’s language as a painter. His large scale works are inhabited by cast of richly colored, androgynous figures suspended against lush, compressed backgrounds, the forms echoing from one canvas to another. I’ll be looking forward to his upcoming solo show ‘A Place to Belong’ which will be at Hunter Harrison in London.

I photographed Tunji in his Brooklyn studio surrounded by a new body of work. You can see the portrait at www.williamjesslaird.com/imageculture or on Instagram @william.jess.laird or @image.culture

I’d like to thank Tunji Adeniyi-Jones as well as the team at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery. This show is produced by Sarah Levine and our music is by Jack and Eliza. Thanks for listening.