Vehicle. Vehicule. Vehikel. See, the term itself already suggests that this issue will be about different, and predominantly motorized, forms of transportation - and there will be bits about the fetish of the vehicle itself, don’t worry - but in actuality it’ll be much more about getting from A to B, an examination of artist’s positions about spiritual, intellectual and physical mobility. It’s about the transportation of information and ourselves within this ever moving networks we find ourselves tied in. Specific rituals and religion can be vehicles for entering stillness and getting certain ideas across, but the same thing can be said about a canvas. Traveling defines our reality, doesn’t matter if you do it the 5G way or by using the excursion train of thought. Every presence has a million turning points - sometimes they lead to dead ends, sometimes to major breakthroughs. We derive from the past, but force ourselves to tell our own future. Science is fantasy and art is friction. Information is for everybody, you simply cannot outsource democracy since technology has the potential beyond controlling our everyday lives. There’s a reason we all travel more than ever before, right? Phew, this was getting a bit too much back and forth through the doorway of my upper head, wasn’t it?! Anyway, here’s another new issue to make your legs twitch and put your grey cells up there into positive vibration, another documentation of international artistic activism against all odds which just loves to feed the mainstream with grassroots craftsmanship.Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt? Wow, what a boring world this would be.
Yours truly, LODOWN
Highlights include
- CHRIS LaBROOY... curious scenes abound as digital artist Chris LaBrooy toys with the laws of nature and rational in playful scenarios of familiar objects and a generous stretch of the imagination. Rendered in hyperreal computer-generated clarity, his virtual car constructions showcase impossible contortions and madcap antics..
- DANIEL RICH... these days, the celebrated artist is known best for his elaborate images which present extracts of the architectural madness the city skylines of todays mega-cities offer as gateways between past, present and future. Besides this ongoing series though, hes painting snapshots of contemporary events subtlety loaded with politically motivated subject matter that open discussions far beyond composition and colour.
- VEHICLES & MUSIC... in essence, vehicles or vessels used for any kind of mode of transport play a vital role in linking communities to each other - and maybe thats why vehicles play such a prominent role as an ever-recurring topic in album-cover art as it connects the artist with the audience before the first note blasts through the speakers. But dont fool yourself: in the majority of cases it simply looks pretty rad.
- KEVIN CYR... the work of Portland, Maine-based artist Kevin Cyr provides some interesting food for thought. His vehicle explorations inspire topical reflections on mobility, autonomy, freedom, habitat and DIY self-sufficiency in modern times.
- plus more elaborate features and visual awesomeness from the likes of: TOM SACHS, ERIC HAZE, THE SKULL ECLIPSES, PHILLIP VAN, KARL HAB, GEOFF McFETRIDGE, LIZZIE ARMANTO, AMEN DUNES, MICHAEL SAILSTORFER, BRUNO FORZANI & HELENE CATTET and many others.
