Aesthetica Magazine Issue 62

December / January 2015

One of the most thrilling discoveries is someone who is breaking new ground and embodying the word “innovation.” It’s important to look at both established and emerging artists that are the driving force behind this type of progress. At Aesthetica, we are interested in people who are experimenting while stepping outside of the everyday. We want to engage with works that challenge us and change perspective.

This issue of Aesthetica focuses on the idea of the unconventional. It’s a celebration of practitioners who are experimenting in their field by working in interdisciplinary ways and introducing concepts from other areas of art and design into their work. It’s this cross-pollination and Zeitgeist that reinvigorates the way people are experiencing the world. We take a look at Anne Collier’s show at MCA Chicago and how she is critiquing commercial photography, autobiography and the act of looking. Frank Gehry’s surreal architecture is explored in a major retrospective at Centre Pompidou. The nature of lighting design and how the electric light has revolutionised our environment is discussed in Lightopia, which is currently on at the Design Museum Gent. Sculptor and conceptual artist Reiner Ruthenbeck contemplates the geometric form at London’s Serpentine Galleries.

Photographers Emily Shur and Joël Tettamanti explore structures and location in their series, while Todd Hido captures light in an atmospheric way. The rising stars of Swedish photography are surveyed as the spotlight shines on Sweden’s latest talent, and we also present an overview of the seminal work of Guy Bourdin’s provocative fashion photography. Eugenio Recuenco uses narrative devices to create dramatic and powerful images. Much in the same way, Bryn Higgins’s film Electricity tells an affecting story of self-discovery, with a highly visual and encompassing narrative. Also, there is an opportunity for you to watch films from this year’s Aesthetica Short Film Festival. Finally, the last words go to Julie Cockburn who is using found photography in new and exciting ways.

Haunted Reflections

Elizabeth “Gazelle Twin” Bernholz’s new release UNFLESH trades in disturbingly sensual electronica inspired by body horror, puberty and high school sports.

Elusive Moments

Emily Shur’s sensitivity towards colour and her quiet approach to scenery results in stunningly still images that uncover beauty in the most ordinary subjects.

Julie Cockburn

Julie Cockburn transforms second-hand objects and images to produce entirely new pieces, injecting new life into mundane and forgotten items.

Life of Crime

What should be a cut-and-dry kidnap plot by Detroit crooks Ordell and Louis soon goes amusingly awry in this adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1978 novel The Switch.

Grand Central

The spectre of a nuclear power plant looms large over the lives of the protagonists in this carefully constructed love triangle by Rebecca Zlotowski

Dems

Awash with colour, South London trio Dems unleash a brilliant debut in the form of the concise, emotive, Muscle Memory.

Compelling Movement

The 39th London International Mime Festival focuses on the spaces between theatre and dance, playing with language, and making the invisible visible.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Allan Karlsson has saved Franco’s life, watched A-bombs with Oppenheimer and danced with Stalin. Not that the folk in the care home know anything about that…

Reshaping Minimalism

In a major survey at The Serpentine Gallery, German conceptual sculptor Reiner Ruthenbeck explores geometric forms found in everyday materials.

Glacial Exposure

The primary coloured houses of the Northern Hemisphere stand out against washed-out streets, and even the most mundane objects become almost mystical half-disguised in the frosty weather.

Composed Architecture

Frank Gehry, an architect responsible for some of the world’s most visually and technically outstanding constructions, is celebrated.

William Helburn

William Helburn’s appreciation of feminine beauty, combined with his charismatic personality, resulted in a practice that saw him working with most of the top ad agencies in New York.