 I've been archiving myself. Hello Rock n' Roll Wonderland Friend,I think I mentioned this awhile back but I'm archiving my past art projects. This has been a very slow and lazy process. Also, didn't factor in the cost of organizing these photos and projects. I’ve been documenting everything from things I wore to the first time picking up a camera. I want to make nice photo books to archive my life as artist.  my painter boots - worn mostly from 2002 - 2007 So while I photograph every little essence of my life as an artist, everything remains in piles on my work table. I’m finally moving the art piles since I actually need my table space for an upcoming collaborative art show in June. Most aren’t for nostalgia but I’ve framed some my past art projects and have them on display in my home. Like little moments of reflection. What was thirteen-year-old me trying to capture? What was twenty-two-year-old me communicating to the world? And so on.  black and white photo by me - age thirteen Fashion Designer I don't know exact the moment I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer but I can tell you the exact moment when I no longer wanted to be one. During my final year of design school, learning about mass production and working with factories to make my collection available to purchase gave me the worse kinda of feeling. A true sadness. The real fashion world behind the glam of photographed editorials broke my little fashion-loving heart and knew that I couldn’t contribute to that world of waste that the fashion industry created. Do I still dream of owning pieces from legendary designers from legendary collections? Of course I do! Looking at you early 2000s Marc Jacobs x Stephen Sprouse for Louis Vuitton. Owning vintage Schiaparelli would bring me to tears. And early Alexander McQueen? I want everything from 2003 to 2008.  from my fashion collection from Omaha Fashion week 2013 - photo by Chris Machian This is where my journey began as a “fashion artist" using 90% of thrifted clothes and hand-me-down materials to create one-of-a-kind pieces for locally run fashion shows. A small attempt to help preserve the Earth. It's funny to think about fifteen years ago the word "sustainability" seemed like a language from another planet. “You repurpose clothing? Interesting.”  "influencer" - photo by my sister So when the hype of the fashion influencer craze happened on Instagram, it really annoyed me and yet I still participated in the outfit posting. Yet the fashion influencers were not (in my opinion) creating anything original. For quite sometime, everything and everyone looked the same! Where’s the fantasy in fashion?  Handpainted and screenprinted paper bag for The Art of Presenting One's self - photo by me Invisible Influence One random day down the internet rabbit hole, I stumbled upon the book, Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger that discusses behavior economics and how society influences our everyday decisions. It’s very fascinating! This book was one of the inspirations behind an art show I did back in 2021 about influencers and branding called The Art of Presenting One's Self. It was a presentation of poking fun at fashion influencers with a very big question, Would consumers buy a "luxury" brand if it were on produced on everyday items like shopping bags and paper cups? My guess would be yes. It was an exhibit of fashion branding, marketing, how one values handmade products and how fashion affects the environment. Using only paper bags, pizza box tops, aluminum cans and other miscellaneous found items, I created hand-painted props and disguised myself as an influencer (think Cindy Sherman film stills) in fashion photo editorials. I wanted to address the issue of fake designer bags, the "glam" of the "influencer" world and the damaging cycle of fashion. A bit of a tongue-in-cheek statement. And no, “influencers” did not come to the show.  photo from The Art of Presenting One's Self You can view more images from the art project under the More Art section on this website. I’m sure a lot of art goers didn’t understand the whole message but I guess that’s what art is….it makes you question and is open to interpretation. Reminds me of the song Achin’ to Be by The Replacements. And she's kind of like a movie Everyone rushes to see And no one understands it Sittin' in their seats She opens her mouth to speak and What comes out's a mystery  Captain Planet
In honor of Earth Month, I’ve created a playlist inspired by the environment. I gotta say, this is one of my favorite playlists I've made this year! It's so, so good! Like really good. Tune in Monday, April 21st, for Electric Radio Club at 7pm CST or catch the replay on Saturday, April 26th at 11am EST on www.em-radio.com You can stream on the Radio Cult app by finding ElectroMagnetic Radio to listen. I'll share the playlist in the next newsletter because I want you to be surprised! Miss last week’s episode? Don’t forget, you can listen on Mixcloud to all previous episodes. And you know me, I cannot include a creative recommendation of the week inspired by Earth Month. For something upbeat and wholesome, watch The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. It’ll make you feel good about getting rid of stuff. Also, it’s narrated by Amy Poehler, so some good laughs are in store. Documentaries about the environment and to feel hopeful after watching AND no longer than 90 mintues, go watch environmentalist and broadcaster David Attenborough's film, A Life on Our Planet. Thanks for reading and like always…….. Stay inspired, Comments are closed.
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