Aesthetica Magazine Issue 54

August / September 2013

This issue pays homage to artists who are pushing the boundaries and doing things in new and exciting ways. The pages within are a celebration of creativity in its many forms. It’s the desire to lead, not to follow, which shouts loudly throughout this edition. Inside we start with the Jason Rhoades, Four Roads retrospective, which opens at ICA Philadelphia and surveys the work of this extraordinary artist. The Rediscovery of the World is the latest exhibition to open at Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, showcasing a new wave of contemporary Dutch photographers. James Turrell opens three shows simultaneously, each examining the artist’s groundbreaking explorations of light, colour and space.

At the moment of being heard  is currently on at South London Gallery and presents works and performances by a group of international artists and composers who are questioning modes of listening. In photography, we look at highlights from Only in England, which juxtaposes the work of Martin Parr and previously unseen pieces by Tony Ray-Jones. We also present a series of works from Joel Sternfeld, who is known for large-format documentary images. Finally, we introduce the talents of Julie Blackmon and Gail Albert Halaban along with a series from Jean-François Lepage.

In film, we speak with Oscar winning director Fernando Trueba about his latest feature The Artist and the Model, which explores the relationship between an artist and his muse. We also chat with Laurent Cantet about his new film Foxfire, set in 1950s America, in which five teenage girls set up a gang to interrogate patriarchal society. In music, we look at the rebirth of headphones as an essential fashion accessory, while Local Natives talk about the release of their second album, Hummingbird, which combines beautiful melodies and Americana. On stage, Punchdrunk’s latest immersive production, The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, has audiences enamoured with their signature experiential work. Finally, Sorcha Carey, Director of the Edinburgh Art Festival, has the last words, speaking about this year’s event. Enjoy!

The Creation of a World

Punchdrunk’s new production, The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, invites audience members to immerse themselves in a world created exclusively for them.

Evoking Nostalgia

Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr are not only well known for being outstanding British photographers, but for capturing the English landscape with familiarity.

Perceptions of Light

A major three part retrospective of artist James Turrell displays his pioneering explorations of light, space and time.

From Artist to Art

Oscar winning director Fernando Trueba’s latest film, examines the relationship between the artist and the model, against the backdrop of World War II.

The Art of Sound

Fresh perspectives on listening are offered at South London Gallery in a show utilising sound sculpture and performance to explore the moment of hearing.

Olafur Eliasson

Referring to his role as an artist as one that is “to create a situation in which the viewer is at the centre”, Eliasson’s main preoccupation is the audience.

Photographic Paintings

Gail Albert Halaban traced the steps of legendary artist Edward Hopper, travelling to Massachusetts to record the houses he painted 100 years before.

Local Natives

Californian notes of catharsis, melodic intensity and momentary euphoria.

WeeGee: Murder is My Business

Weegee’s unique documentary portraits of New York crime scenes coincided with the end of the Depression, the repeal of Prohibition, and a governmental crackdown on organised crime.

Documenting the Surreal

Combining colour, everyday objects and portraiture, Blackmon’s works are endlessly fascinating, and every return glance reveals a new angle or shape.

Lee Miller in Fashion

Described by Life photographer David E. Scherman as a “renaissance woman”, Lee Miller balanced a career as a model and an incredibly talented photographer.

Alternative Utopia

Joyce Carol Oates’ story of political disillusionment, feminine power and the naïvety of youth is brought to the screen once again by director Laurent Cantet.

The Complete Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid is a phenomenon. The first woman to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in its 26 years, she defined a radical new approach to the field.

Experimental Photography

The analogue is increasingly marginalised in a digital climate that sees images everywhere; in this context the value of art photography is constantly questioned.

Women Artists of the New Millennium

A comprehensive study of the progress of feminist art, The Reckoning demonstrates the enormous influence female artists have had, and continue to have.

Me & You

Lorenzo is a teenaged misfit who takes a strange kind of refuge in the grimy basement of his apartment building, until drug-dependent Olivia appears.

Reality

Luciano, a Neapolitan fishmonger, decides he wants to become famous and sets out to be a contestant on Grande Fratello , the Italian version of Big Brother.

The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines is an exploration of the things that happen beyond the expectations of society.

Organised Chaos

Jason Rhoades, Four Roads at ICA Philadelphia will be the artist’s first major exhibition at an American museum, revealing his sprawling environments made from a wide range of materials.

Music to Our Ears

Headphones have gone further than music. Now they’re about fashion and style, and maybe even art as well. Here’s how it happened – and where it’s all going.