FRESH NEWS DIRECTLY FROM 2DM MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTION WORLD
2DM talent’s still featured in last L’uomo Vogue: this time Rossana Passalacqua styled Aleksandar Kolarov – serbian football player inside an Italian team, Lazio, since 2007 – in a shot by Roberto Baldassarre. GF Ferré suit and shirt with an Etro pochette in the pocket are clearly meant to be contrasted by Puma sneakers.
By Elisa Lusso – images courtesy of L’ Uomo Vogue
Portuguese football player Simão Pedro Fonseca Sabrosa a.k.a. Simão is featured inside last Italian L’Uomo Vogue with a couple of shots by Daniel Riera, styled by our passionate Ana Murillas. Midfiel player inside Atlético Madrid – all the times antagonist of the other county town team Real Madrid – Simão naturally fits these mediterranean colors and mood.
By Elisa Lusso – Ph. Daniel Riera – Courtesy of L’Uomo Vogue
KILIMANJARO
Ciao Olu, would you please introduce yourself & Kilimanjaro Magazine?
My full name is Olu Michael Odukoya, born to a Nigerian family. I spent my teenage years traveling from one African country to another with friends. I studied film and photography a long time ago, worked as a an official artist before deciding to use printed matter as a way of communicating Art, Love and Everyday Life.
Kilimanjaro is a printed project dedicated to visual pleasure and experimental editorials. The driving idea is to create an ‘idealist’ magazine, and is not really based on any specific market or angle. We strive to mix a bit of design, photography, style and un-provocative thoughts to create something that says something from nothing. It has a romantic punk attitude – that is, it creates without any obvious restrictions; it’s something free. The conclusions are drawn by the audience: it could be art to someone, while another might consider it a magazine.
I believe in freestyle and organic creative direction. We live in a very tight environment in which things shift from one end to the other. A designer becomes a photographer, artists become celebrities, and so on. ‘Untitled’ is the future, and kilimanjaro provides a platform to explore this.
When was it that you realized that you wanted to work in the art/publishing industry?
Since I was a kid I’ve loved collecting magazines, especially Playboys and Right On (an American teen mag). I like the sense of movement and time that magazines hold. Before going to art school I wanted to be an optician and I did actually work as a dispensing optician while still curating Kilimanjaro. It was a strange profession. Dispensing optician by day, Artist by night. Then kilimanjaro continued to get stronger and bigger, so I reluctantly became the full-time unofficial art director.
Art, love, everyday life and…?
Yes, Art, love and everyday life. The ethos of kilimanjaro is my greatest achievement because over the years when I first used this language within a printed context (2003) and now I see on newsstands that magazine publication entitled ‘Love’ as and some new magazines using everyday life as their ethos to the idea behind the publications.
It’s all about love to me. My work is very thoughtful and my art direction is a very generous way I communicate with my audience.
I like to create things that make you go ‘wow, thats nice,’ and never use shock factor or over-intelligence in my work.
I like to produce things that people think they could invent themselves.
Speaking of, Love seems to be a recurrent theme on the pages of Kilimanjaro (your payoff, issue #3, #4, #9).
Is it purely coincidence?
Love always finds a way – Ask The Beatles – “All You Need is Love”.
What’s your approach to the curation of your magazine’s contents?
I work on kilimanjaro like an artist making a piece of Art. It’s all about the process to me, while the end product is the less intriguing aspect. Since the magazine is not intended to report on conventional editorial content, its quite an interesting concept to make something up that you believe in sharing with people and they buy into it.
In some way, the curation process is quite tricky, as I can’t make up bullshit because its a printed matter and the mistakes have to be lived with. Also making the magazine involves some good research works and heavy thoughts on how to produce it in print. Then, it just happens and we flow with it. I have to say that the contributors of kilimanjaro are the main stars of the project, not me. I am blessed to have worked with some very talented people over the years.
Kilimanjaro’s printing format is unusual (96 x 68 cm). Is it just a matter of identity, or did you choose such a massive layout for other reasons?
Identity was one of the factors, but I did not want to be a magazine. I like the idea of posters, and after all these years the format is not really relevant anymore. Many other magazine have tried big format, then it fails. None are conceived as posters. Some old school vibes…..
Is there anyone you dream could work with you as a Kilimanjaro contributor?
I have actually worked with a lot of people I would love to have worked with but still i would love to work with the incredible Roni Horn… (artist from Hauser and Wirth). She rocks.
Looking backwards, how would you describe Kilimanjaro’s evolution?
My independent manifesto works. It still reaches people and I have been doing it since 2003. Self published – not overcrowded advertising – the people that buy it support it. Still inspiring a lot of nobodies and somebodies. Still trying to make interesting print work in this Digital Age.
You started Kilimanjaro with your own funds back in 2004 and things have changed drastically since then.
What is, in your opinion, the present and the future of the publishing industry?
I think Bi annual is definitely in at the moment. The content of printed matter should feel like there is thought and property thats worth keeping. The monthly magazine format is less effective because blogs have supplanted them in some ways. I think its really a great time for printed matter because all the junk ad space magazines are going off the shelves .
It was just too much, this-everyone-who’s-got-a-Macbook-can=be-an-art-director kind of thing. So it a good time for projects like kilimanjaro and other die hard publishers.
It feels much easier now and there is no overly patronizing independent magazine conference and seminars which makes it a commercial underground. Back in the days I couldn’t even put kilimanjaro in art bookshops because it was too Avant Garde or because it doesn’t carry a household name artist on the cover. Now all those artists are celebrities and now people want a change. It’s happening in fashion, politics, media and I’m sure its going to happen in art soon. Still happy to be here and I’m thankful for all the people / contributors that support the project and make this project exist.
What’s your (and Kilimanjaro’s) strategy for survival?
Don’t sell out! Make things yourself. Lose the traditional ways of making magazine it costs too much money. Invest your ideas around you.
Make a good sincere publication and let people come to you. Be patient if it does not work it does not mean it’s not good.
How do you think recession has affected the art industry? Creativity?
It a blessing! Things where not right before, it was all money money!
I will say this: make what you can afford! For kilimanjaro it has been a great time. Now a lot of people could get together and make something based on the creativity. It’s also a fresh start for the newcomers. I want new contributors with new energy to collaborate with. You might probably just have been sacked from a job you hated anyway. Now you have no excuse.
Interview by Enrico Grigoletti.
Editorial supervising by Tag Christof – image courtesy of Kilimangiaro Magazine
The latest issue of V Magazine “All the world’s a stage” included a shot by Mario Testino inspired on a Latin American myth, Maria Felix. She was born in Los Alamos Sonora, an arid province in the north of Mexico and just after being discovered, she started a controversial but unforgettable career, however, it wasn’t till the film “Doña Barbara”, where she got the nickname that is still being remembered, “La Doña”.
She was blessed with a classic beauty besides to a strong exotic touch, everything in a shape full of a particular kind of folkloric elegance that made her the Mexican femme Fatale par excellence.
Although her work it’s almost full of mexican thematic, she also tried other international markets, especially the european one, as she was always attracted by an european aesthetic close to the Chic french style. But everyone knows stars are not for ever: she died the same day as she was born, closing a perfect cycle that seemed to be coldly calculated – yes, this is just and example of her strong temperament-. Her coffin was put the next 22 hours after her death at the Fine Arts Palace in Mexico city and during all this hours and on, the way to the cemetery was always accompanied by loads of people singing a song composed by one of her husbands Augustin Lara, “Maria Bonita”.
By Dodi Espinosa – images courtesy of V Magazine
French stylist and fashion editor Marie Chaix fulfilled Roger Deckker’s wishes with classical 70’s glamourous inspirations in this black/white shooting for Self Service. Framing faces and postures under the perfect light and dynamic was the primary duty for Deckker, while the casting by Natalie Joos just made the rest.
Filippa Hamilton, contract model for Ralph Lauren for the past 6 years, Rie Rasmussen, top model in the early 00’s, Ana Claudia Michels one of all time Riccardo Tisci’s favourite and Tasha Tilberg, naturally bloom in the entire mood.
By Elisa Lusso – Image courtesy of Self Service Magazine
A feminine take on sex and pornography is probably one concept still lacking, or at least not yet properly developed in the magazines we’re used to buy.
UK stylist Andrew Richardson once thought about this shortage and he did realize a teasing homonym publication due to fill this kind of girlish demand.
Richardson Magazine seems to shout that ‘girls just wanna have fun’ and yes, the new issue is finally back on the shelves after a long break.
Just try to set your minds on a girl perspective, then start thinking about how will it be finding features of Sasha Grey by Glenn Luchford, contributions by Carolee Schneemann, Valie Expert, Steven Meisel, Bunny Yeager, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Tracy Ermin, Annie Sprinkle, Malcolm Mclaren, David Rimanelli, Tristan Taromino, Amy Kelner, Simon Ford. Need anything else to run at Colette and get your copy?
Bela Borsodi from A1
Glen Luchford from A1
Mario Sorrenti from A2
By Elisa Lusso – images courtesy of RICHARDSON MAGAZINE
From Jericoacoara beach, northern Brazil, Claudio Cassano hits the pages of La Repubblica D, this time hailing under some palmtrees and surrounded by the waves ever-moving as background. (It’s time to leave aside our envy for the esotic for a while).
2DM talent and friend Claudio is stating his hallmark on the female universe once again with many illustrations following a charming editorial shot by Matteo Montanari and styled by Ada Kokosar, besides being feautured with an interview through which you can jump into in his tropical life, his old-styled but contemporary way of achieving art and his latest tees project and shop called Lov Durden.
By Elisa Lusso – Images courtesy of La Repubblica D
After interviewing the publisher, publishing photos of backstage, having shown a preview of the cover, spoke of’ event which was held by Gloria Maria Gallery for the Italian launch of Sang Bleu # 5, finally we will show the pictures shot from two of our talents 100% Made in Italy - Vicky Trombetta & Rossana Passalacqua.
Photo: Vicky Trombetta
Styling: Rossana Passalacqua
Model: Kinee Diouf – Dmanagement
All clothes: Acne
Special thanks to Numerique.it [postproduction] & Elisa Lusso [coordination]
Executive Editor Zana Bayne gets in depth the concept of body limits on the 3rd issue of Lurve Magazine, actually investigating what’s beyond our perception of this bound. As most of the times pure sensitivness comes with melancholy on the background, from the pleasurable net chat we had with Zana a vision of the world immediately turns out, involving an enigmatic view of dance, artists’ global fil rouge, the effectiveness of the internet and fashion evolution.
Describe the deeper love feeling that the meaning of the word Lurve presupposes.
LURVE replaces the generic and robotic term of “love”. Love is so easily spoken, so quickly used in arbitrary situations. Its overuse can flatten its meaning. By simply tweaking the letters and smoothing its pronunciation into “lurve”, a new richness is born. Lurve is a sensuous word.
Is that feeling concerning the way you approach your content and visual investigation?
We are more concerned about showcasing the work of the artists involved than selling clothing or selling trends, so the visual contributions can really be varied. Once you start to limiting content to a certain aesthetic, you instantly shut off potentially incredible work! I always love (or lurve) to see mediums and locations used in ways that you are typically not supposed to.
How would you describe Lurve’s visual strikes?
Fluctuating.
‘Beyond the body proper’: how did your contributors develop the theme? Is it a kind of interaction between the magazine and them? Does Lurve give any limit or track?
We start each issue with a broad thematic idea, and through the contributions we become more specific, so yes – the interaction between magazine and contributors is very important. I believe in artistic global consciousness; people around the world who, without any prior connection to each other, are working on similar concepts. So its not surprising when a line of similarity is drawn throughout editorials and written content even before the final theme is announced.
Is there a way to trascend reality and phisicality through our bodies?
Surely – dance, for instance, is one of the most primal ways of doing this. I can not think of any greater escape from my physical self than being absorbed into music and letting my body go. I find it equally powerful to watch others dance – they become oddly less human, alien gestures and language created through movement.
What are the body’s limits? In which situation or effort do these boundaries show up?
What the body can not physically accomplish, the mind certainly can – that is where some of the greatest art comes from!
In which way the relationship between fashion and body will evolve?
The body and clothing always have a close relationship, however their connection to each other is constantly shifting. For this fall, Maison Martin Margiela chose to ignore the natural body with trousers that have a floating waistline, Comme des Garcons and Louise Goldin continued to create new bodies with their abstract-form based clothing, Mark Fast showed his painted-on knits that utilized the body itself to inform the shape of the garments, while Viktor & Rolf supersized garment proportions and lost the body altogether.
Try to assume your readers point of view. What kind of refelctions or thoughts do you think he could have after reading your magazine?
I would hope that the reader would feel the urge to look through the magazine again. The need to take in all of the images slowly and read every word. And then a day or two later, do the same again except for even more comprehensive. It should be a seductive experience, each time finding deeper connections.
How do you choose your contributors? Is the process sometimes inverted, being Lurve choosen by its contributors?
The process is a gut feeling, less calculated more instinctual. In some situations, there is a particular individual who we feel would suit the issue perfectly, so we pursue them strongly…and at the same time, we have had people fall into our lives who instantly understand the rhythm of the magazine and have quickly become family.
What is, in your opinion, the feeling that people are mostly scared of?
Being alone, being poor, being powerless.
What are the principles (rules) dominating our culture over this century?
Well time has certainly sped up, and media has increased and multiplied at an astonishing rate. There has been a major disconnect from the personal a big shift towards worldwide access. We are at a point in time where our identities are not as strongly shaped by our location, since the internet has opened up what people are doing or look like in virtually every corner of the world. At the same time, there is a stronger feeling of international connection than ever before! And that to me is incredible.
By Elisa Lusso – images courtesy of Lurve magazine
Tonight marks the Milan launch of Sang Bleu V – the fifth issue of the experimental culture and style magazine.
Absolutely dripping with gritty, visceral, and stunning images (including a drop-dead, starkly gorgeous editorial shot by 2DM’s Vicky Trombetta and styled by 2DM’s Rossana Passalacqua, as well as another styled by 2DM’s Ana Murillas), the double issue is a feast of beauty and iconoclasm. Launched in London in 2004, Sang Bleu’s vision of that which is contemporary destroys the varnished surface of usual culture and fashion mags and looks with a poignant eye into the subcultures of tattoos, lowriders, body mods and fetishes.
Presented by Maxime Büchi & Marcelo Burlon at Gloria Maria Gallery, Via
Watt 32. Party following at Magazzini Generali.
Text by Tag Christof – image courtesy of Sang Bleu
