Posts from — November 2009

Every week at the Herman & Audrey homestead we do a family lunch – it’s an opportunity for everyone in the studio to decompress from the work week, chill over a home cooked meal and share what we’re up to and inspired by.

This family time quickly evolved into a meeting of the minds, per se, as we began inviting select friends we know and those we don’t, to share our talents, from culinary to artistic, bounce ideas off each other and catch up on projects, new and old.

Guest: Matt Howe

Who is he?: Art Director, MacLaren McCann

What is he up to?: Art Director on Coke’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic national out of home advertising, Matt also spends a lot of his time uncovering the undercurrents of style and innovation in new media, advertising and film. His successes include Bluenotes’ “If these jeans could talk” National campaign.

Canadian singer LIGHTS is on an international tour and promoting her new LP (which dropped in September), but before she left, she and Jalani (www.jalanimorgan.com) worked on the cover and an editorial spread for Vervegirl’s Nov/Dec 2009 issue.

Check out a few of the outtakes below:

You can view the full spread at their website, www.vervegirl.com

Special thanks to Judy Inc.,  Dee Daly (hair and makeup), Shea Hurley (styling), the Vervegirl editorial team and the LIGHTS team.

A natural progression from photography is the evolution into motion – bringing still images to life.

Like his partners at Hermann & Audrey, Javier shares a deep passion for film, and increasingly has been expanding his creativity in this arena. In February of this year Javier worked alongside Lawrence Williams on a “high profile documentation” called Choleric, the artistic brain child of sculpstist and installation artist Richard Stipl. “Stipl wanted to have a video that served as an art piece and as a showcase of the installation at the same time. It was up to Lawrence and I to come up with a visual solution for him” says Javier.

“It’s supposed to be creepy,” Javier explained. “A lot of the thematics Richard works with feel like the result of a nuclear fallout.” The awe-inspiring post-apocalyptic set, according to Javier, takes up a four and half by ten foot space. It’s an original installation by Stipl which features wax sculptures (hyenas and self portraits), and a painting that acted as the background for the piece.

Although the film has a distinct “stop-motion” quality, the final effect acheived is more fluid – a liquid in and of itself.

“We were treating the still camera as though it were a cinematic motion camera,” Lawrence explained. “Jav walked around shooting bursts of stills and I ‘hand-stitched’ them together.”

An unanticipated result, the filming technique has a choppy, disjointed effect, as though the viewer is “sniffing around” its surroundings.

The idea behind the technique, Lawrence continued, was to create something that looked as though they’d been using either really sophisticated digital equipment or really old school optical equipment; to maintain the dynamic range and ensure the finished product looked “kinda creepy”.

Mark Stuart, a sound engineer working in film and television, provided clips for the soundtrack, which Williams manipulated to fit with the aesthetic of the timeline: “He was the composer, and I did the mix”.

The mysterious nature of this stop motion inspired technique combined with Mark’s haunting track illustrate Javier’s and William’s vision to mirror the dark, shadowy drama and complex emotion evoked by Richard’s work. In Javier’s own words, “The whole thing is weird.”

Visit Lawrence’s website to see what he is currently up to.

Written by Hermann & Audrey friend Stephanie Cloutier, freelance writer & photographer

Portraiture with moving light is another style added to Steve Carty’s expanding repertoire of images.

Having experimented with light painting before, Carty recently collaborated with Toronto artist Jon Todd. Creating light streaks into fine art, Carty was able to combine his interest in motion with photography, while bringing to life Todd’s visually complex cast of characters.

“I was thinking of Picasso and his portraits,” says Carty. “I told Jon about the idea and he was eager to do it.”

Todd is best known for his pop surrealist work, mixed media pieces that combine various styles such as Asian, Mexican and street art. His work has garnered a steady following in Toronto, Montreal and Los Angeles. Creating characters with moving light was a new medium for Todd to play with.

“It took me some time to get used to working with a flashlight but after twenty minutes, we were able to get something,” says Todd. “It was neat to see the evolution of our work over the course of an hour, of me doing my thing and Steve doing his.”

Expect to see more of Carty/Todd originals in the future. New ideas have already sprung up between these two distinctive artists, developing into a very interesting partnership.

“I’m a firm believer of each one, teach one,” says Carty. “It benefits him to get exposure and it benefits me to do more experimental portraits.”

see more of Stephanie’s work at http://stephaniecloutier.wordpress.com/

See Jon Todd’s work at http://www.jontodd.ca/

Art & Copy. the film.

Directed by Doug Pray. Seen by Hermann & Audrey at Design Thinkers.

Basis: The film reveals the work and insight of some of the most influential advertising minds — creatives who’ve “profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry”.

Dissenters will say, and have said for decades, that advertising, based on the fact that it promotes materialism and attempts to create emotional reactions toward consumerism, can, therefore, never be considered art. Critics argue that true art encourages its audience to think, whereas the goal of advertising is to get the audience to stop thinking and consume.

The generalization of this view and the contrary premise that because advertising is creative expression it is therefore, art, are both too all-encompassing to be true. Good art — true art –  has the ability to provoke action and inspire the viewer. And, back to wise ol’ Nietzche, art inspires others to want to act, to create. Advertising, when done artfully, can provoke this reaction. One of the film’s examples is Nike’s slogan, ‘Just Do It’. Although based on the desire to sell running shoes, the art of the advertising campaign inspired a public to action, toward an ambition for wellness and a more active lifestyle. The film cites several examples of public reaction whereby the public identified with this message and used it as motivation to change their lifestyles.

Instead of standing by and joining the critique of the ubiquity of ad messages, the emotional manipulation, the deception that the ugly side of advertising can be, the truth is that advertising isn’t going anywhere. Some of this generation’s brightest and most creative brains are propelling this industry forward. Advertising will only be more and more integrated into our everyday lives. This film brought to attention the notion that ads should benefit society, be aesthetically pleasing, entertaining and offer shared experiences to the public. The veil of insidious, duping and manipulating ad messages should be dropped forever. We’ve created a world where we must live with advertising — wouldn’t it be grand if it could all feel like art?

In the words of the film, “Hate Advertising? Make better ads”.

The below is by Steve Carty for Blast Radius; client: NikeTraining.ca

Sean Wolfe, actor

“…He’s kind of like a superhero – I can see that when he reaches Hollywood, they will have roles for him already. He could be the new Transporter!” – Carty

For his first show in Toronto, Steve Frame had models strut down the runway in his S/S 2010 line – inspired by Heaven and Hell — on Oct 2 as a part of LG Fashion week.

Hermann & Audrey: How has the transition from overseas to Toronto fashion been?

Steve Frame: It has been difficult but rewarding. Dubai is a tough market because the support for local artists and designers is almost non-exsistent. Toronto has an amazing artistic community with progressive artists – it’s increasingly getting recognised for this and overcoming the shadow of the states.

HA: What was it like having Fashion Television document this milestone?

SF: At first it was a bit awkward to have cameras in your face, but we eventually forgot about them, especially when the show was about to start. The people at FT were natural and comforting.

HA: Did you have any pre-show jitters?

SF: We were a little nervous to begin with – uncertainty was the main feeling. [But] after receiving such a positive response, the feeling subsided and we are now really looking forward to the next season’s collection.

HA: Now that your first Toronto show is over, what are you concentrating on?

SF: We’re focusing on building a marketable company as well as entering the international sector. But, of course, we realise this will all take time and we’re up for the challenge.

In his signature editorial style Jalani documented the behind-the-scenes escapades of the show.
“Instead of coming up with an idea, Steve was the idea, and I wanted to document that for him – making sure the garments and models were ready, hair and makeup done right, and any last minute alterations. The situation around him was hectic, but Steve emanated this calming energy. He was more concerned with his crew than he was about himself.”
For more information about Frame and his collection check out: http://www.stephenframe.com/