Category — jalani morgan

Hermann & Audrey has been getting some love from Heather Morton, Art Buyer on her blog lately, and we thank her.

Last week Heather posted about Carty and his new promotional piece, Positives, a 150-page soft cover leave behind. Along with a few candid images of the book is a brief interview with Carty where he discusses his motivation behind the soft cover version of his first book, where he’s at and where he’s hoping to go.

(Images by Heather Morton)

Carty and the family are really pleased with how the book turned out, and so, it seems, was Heather. Check out what she had to say about it.

—

Feb 8th’s post was a lot more Hermann & Audrey specific – the freelance art buyer named us among the new reps in town worth knowing about:

“Subtitled “a family affair” these people are tight knit in a good way I think. Joining Steve on the roster are Javier Lovera and Jalani Morgan.”

Who he is: Shingo Shimizu

What he does: Illustration, design and a little DJ-ing on the side

Hermann & Audrey: What’s inspiring you lately?

Record sleeves and photographs.

It’s amazing to see that a lot of musicians that still release 12” records with awesome sleeve artwork. Sadly I haven’t been able to swing by the record store in a while. I’ve been buying online lately. I do miss that feeling of flipping through a whole section of vinyl and then you stop at a crazy slick record cover artwork that excites you, which you set aside for your listening pile. Who cares who it is really. I just want to know what it sounds like, or buy it because of the artwork. I remember buying a record two years ago, The Late of the Pier’s ‘The Bears Are Coming’ 12”. It came with a pair of 3-D glasses! That was pretty exciting. Now that feeling is reduced to a ‘pack shot’ on screen. It’s a shame that all that great artwork can’t be fully appreciated. Even then, there’s nice stuff coming out lately. Perhaps it’s more about the music video nowadays.

Also, photography blogs are a great source for inspiration and reference material as well. Not sure if it saves time… it’s easy to get distracted from work on blogs. Except Hermann & Audrey of course.

H&A: What makes excellence in design?

Depends on what it is. Its got to have an exciting first impression, and one that stands the test of time.

H&A: What is the piece of work you are most proud of, why?

Not really sure. It’s usually something I just finished. Then I’d be like, ‘What was I thinking?’ Speaking of which, I just finished this custom type logo for my DJ posse, ‘Hot Sauce’ (http:morehotsauce.wordpress.com). After a week, I still like it, so that’s good. We’re hoping to get some shirts and tote bags out this year.

H&A: What do you see as upcoming trends in the art/illustration world?

I think we’ll see more juxtaposition of hand-rendered styles with vector possibly. I love the hand-rendered stuff out there, the beautiful ones I’m talking about, and not the sloppy looking stuff. I’m a little tired of that. Hopefully that’s on its way out the door.

Also, been loving hand-rendered type. There’s a lot of great things happening with that.

At the moment, a lot of stock illustration houses may be sprouting up here and there, which is great for clients on a budget, but the work gets a bit stale. It’s also very hard for Illustrators and definitely Photographers who will have to win clients more on their skills even more so rather than price point. Now with artists having to step up their game, it’s going to be an exciting year for creative. Right now, I’m experimenting with type and more graphic-type illustrations.

H&A: What is the philosophy behind your work?

It’s nice to be enthusiastic when creating an image. The enthusiasm comes from things new and old. What I mean by ‘new’, is by pushing myself, experimenting and being receptive to new ideas. Sometimes it can be difficult, especially when approaches become routine. And old things, by adding touches of nostalgia to bring the artwork back a bit, back to earth.

Also with the music reference again…there’s this great energy coming from all the amazing music that’s out there today. Especially those pushing the envelope crossing genres especially, and tapping into everything they like for inspiration. I respect that a lot, since I like to do a bit of everything myself. People are stepping up their game, and that’s inspiring.

You can check out  Shingo’s work and learn more about the artist at www.shingo.ca

portrait shot by Jalani Morgan

On January 25 – 26th , Hermann & Audrey was invited to create a photography exhibit that tied seamlessly into the five&dime booking games, Ontario’s premier action sport and street culture trade show, hosted at the Sound Academy.

“Keeping the convenience alive, five&dime [brought] the fashion industry together with like-minded culture based vendors in a two-day, one-night meet and greet.”

The collab is thanks in part to Mike Poole and Jason Eano (A Typical Collective), our close friends and partners. Thanks to their great relationship with the crew over at five&dime, we were able to reach a section of the community we normally wouldn’t have access to.

Excerpt and post images by Cory Vanderploeg

Recently, artist Jason O’Brien was in the studio for a series of portraits with his impressive repertoire of work. Working with Jalani, Jason was able to begin telling the story in photographs about who he is as an artist and a deeper narrative of his process and connection to his pieces.

The bold themes, rich textures, vibrant color and deep shade of each piece help create the drama used to hint at his own perspectives on the highly emotional issues the work is based on.

“My art is an extension of me. With it I transcend thought into action onto canvas and with each brush stroke I am inspired” – Jason O’Brien

Jason graciously lent us ‘black cotton’ and it looks mighty fine on our wall.
http://jasonobriencollection.com/ is his current site where you can view and even purchase his pieces (if at all possible, choose-not black cotton, we do love having it).

The final images from this shoot will be incorporated into O’Brien’s incredible new web experience being developed by H&A, due out in April.

see the final images now, visit www.jalanimorgan.com

behind the scenes shot by Cory VanderPloeg (www.coryvanderploeg.com)

Guest: Jesse Jones

Who is he?: Brand Manager for Mark Ecko, Nautica and TX; Timex Group

What is he up to?: Pulling references and inspiration from what’s happening  in the music, entertainment, fashion and new media industries, he seeks out interesting ways to apply trend to his brands.  At the moment, he’s preparing for an unique approach to his TX Canadian brand launch (happening early 2010) and gearing up for the release of Nautica’s new web presence, and lots more in development for his portfolio.

Jesse is also working towards launching his latest personal venture, u-ology101.com – a program aimed at empowering and mentoring youth. Their motto: “Uncovering Passions, Actualizing Dreams”.

www.u-ology101.com

On the menu: Stewed chicken, straight out of St. Vincent, courtesy of Jalani (and his mom).

Every week at the Hermann & 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.

(Photos by Cory VanderPloeg)

Sometimes a simple memory can inspire an artist to create something fantastic.

With storybook references being revised for the next generation of youngsters, Jalani was compelled to revisit one of his own childhood favorites – The Cat in the Hat.

Focusing on a literal interpretation of the unforgettable character, Jalani worked closely with stylist Ryan Catney (www.judyinc.com) and hair and make up artist Gabriella Soares (www.judyinc.com) to transform Sidney (Elite Models) into a fashionable version of Seuss’s famous feline.

Check out his inspiration below, along with some outtakes from the story and some behind the scenes from the day of the shoot.

(Behind the scene photos by Stefania Sgambelluri)

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.

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/

Urban barriers are everywhere. Seriously, walk down Spadina and count how many people have intentionally placed something –a cell phone, iPod, sunglasses—between themselves and you: the faceless stranger. It’s in this light that photographer Jalani Morgan’s ‘Safety Glasses’ series uses an old pair of construction glasses in order to deconstruct big city stoicism. Adding a ‘weird layer of approachable nerd’, the glasses instantly transform the subject from a source of social threat into your new best friend. The wearer becomes member of the tribe of effortless cool, reminding us that, not only are we part of the global collective, but that we’re all hopeless geeks inside.

Jalani Morgan shoots Matthew Bissonette for Filler Magazine