Category — jalani morgan

recently jalani shot a portrait session with margaret atwood for third way magazine, this is what he had to say:

“i was hired to shoot the legendary novelist, margaret atwood for third way magazine in london england. this was shot at her home in toronto. we were treated with an amazing story about the past owners of her place, ‘mr and mrs christie biscuit’, and an interesting anecdote about a person who’s head was inhabited not with multiple personalities but with an ‘alien’ that lived permanently inside. ms. atwood was elegant, warm and a pleasure to shoot with.”

the magazine will be published at the end of august with margaret on the cover.

From the desk of Jalani Morgan:

This was shot at the Doug Coupland designed ‘The Terry Fox Miracle Mile’ in the heart of downtown Toronto. I recently moved into the nearby condos and often I would spend time in my mornings before I go to my studio relaxing on the red canoe. I knew instantly I had to shoot a story at this canoe, the juxtaposition of a canoe in the middle of a downtown condo complex completely intrigued me.

Story Name: La Canot Rouge
Stylist: Claudia Da Ponte
Make Up Artist: Carmelle Da Roza
Model: Alexis (Sutherland Models)

congratulations to jalani morgan. he was also selected (along with javier lovera) as one of the artists to be featured in poor but sexy volume iii.

“i’m humbled and excited about being chosen to contribute into PBS, since seeing it on heather morton’s blog i have had it as a goal to shoot for the magazine and now it’s happening.” expressed jalani. “i look forward in pushing my creative, looking to take this into new heights of my imagery, it’s something i look forward in executing.”

for this challenge, photographers are given a theme and have two months to create their individual interpretations. “i place a high regard for passion into each project and that will be the same for PBS, i’m going to really dive into my mind and my past history and influences to display what inspires me and shoot a story that i’d like to tell” said jalani.

a description from the poor but sexy manifesto:

the phrase poor but sexy was used by klaus wowereit, mayor of berlin, to describe his city, as it struggled with debt and unemployment but simmered as a hotbed for artistic talent and staggering innovation. poor but sexy is a hotbed for artists, a gathering place on its pages that mirror the raw creative energy found in our own city streets. from cover to cover of the magazine, artists are given the chance to shake off inhibitions and produce work that is fresh and original — to challenge the norms of art and industry. fearlessly.

see jalani morgan’s introduction on PBS here

keep an eye out for the final editorial in september

see highlights from jalani:

here’s a preview from one of Jalani’s new creatives. full story can be seen at: http://www.jalanimorgan.com/2010/05/sunday-afternoon/
special thanks to Sue Kuruvilla (Fred Perry), Ryan Catney (Judy Inc)
Tami El Sombati and Elmer Olsen Management

For the past month Jalani has been working side-by-side with ET Canada capturing behind-the-scenes and final images for their Winners collaboration – Find Fabulous for Less.
Watch one of the segments here, at Global TV.ca

Special Thanks to the crew at Mediacom – Anthony Hello, Lindsay Greig and ET Canada Peter, Angie Smith and The Canwest Crew – Annamarie Howard and April Kawaguchi

Check out some of the shots below:

Written and photos by Jalani Morgan (www.jalanimorgan.com):

Who is he?
Jon Todd, Fine Artist

Jon Todd and I were introduced through our mutual friend, Steve Carty and I have admired his work from the get-go. His work is distinct and his choice of colour palette and inspirations spoke to me; in other words his work is very dope.

At the beginning of the month I spent the afternoon with Todd at his studio in the Junction to talk art, life and shoot portraits of him while he works on new pieces for upcoming shows in Montréal and Miami. Todd is collaborating with Carty for the Hermann & Audrey’s CONTACT exhibit this May. Some future collaborations between he and I are on deck for the coming months as well.

Todd’s studio had such an authentic and artistic feel. References littered the walls in an abstract collection and his previous work  already completed for an upcoming show stands guard over his new creations; the place had a great vibration, in my eyes a true fine artist’s studio. There was a freedom in there, when he didn’t have the best light – no problem; Todd took a construction light and drilled it into the roof!

It was great to talk with another creative from a different medium and we discussed his inspirations and what motivates his pieces. It’s really a thrill connecting and building an authentic rapport with committed and inspired artists and it’s even more special when it happens while I’m shooting!

you can view Jon Todd’s work @ www.jontodd.ca

Editors note:
JON TODD: Inspired by the underground street art culture, Jon Todd has developed a unique voice in the artworld. Perhaps this is due to the diversity in his inspiration: Jon Todd is influenced by the Asian Japanese Folklore, Mexican Luchador Wrestling as well as Russian prison tattoo artistry. His works attempt to take the viewer on a personal journey to his surreal world. Over the past 5 years his works of art have been shown in multiple galleries and exhibitions across North America including the cities of Toronto, Montreal, New York, LA, San Francisco and Miami. In 2009, he exhibited at the Toronto International Art Show (TIAF) and Aqua Miami Art Fair.

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.

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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)