Exclusive interview with light artist Patrick Rochon

Patrick Rochon, worldwide famous artist has agreed to answer my quick interview. Enjoy !

1- How would you describe yourself and how would you describe your art?

Light painting is an interesting form of art different then "traditional"photography because the artist is actively creating by hand in front of the camera instead of being behind looking trough the camera to take a picture.

So as a light painter you are active and add a dimension to photography. Personally I never think as myself as an artist, I'm just a guy who like trying new things and light painting is something I do. I was doing photography in college and heard about light painting so I played with it and saw magic in the result. I thought it was unexpected and intuitive.

2- What other artists, designers, architects do you feel close to?

For inspiration I more and more turn towards nature and meditation. I find nature to have all answers and every influence an artist needs. If you get into the spirit of things and the very essence of nature you discover your greatest teacher.

What I look for in people's art is transformation. I think most artist are exploring and searching but eventually the artist's transformation should come trough and become the viewer's transformation. If the artwork stays with me long after I experiencing it, then it's good art.

3- Why Light ?

We can observe in our modern world specially with technology that light is taking a new form and becoming present in a new way. Lasers are now everywhere in CD, DVD players and other devices. The internet is often connected with fiber optics transmitting data with light. Doctors, scientist, factories, the army are using lights and lasers to operate, cut, communicate...

4- What gallery do you work with?

I'm not working with galleries now but I'm open to do so.

5- Would you consider to do something else if you were not an artist?

You know if I wasn't an artist I would be somewhere in science. I think science is also an important voice in bringing clarity and answers for the human world.

6- Do you consider that "art is alive"?
Let's remember we have a big ball of light keeping us alive just next to the earth. So light becoming an art form, yes. No limits... and yes art is alive very much so.

Like waves in the ocean it comes and goes as an important part of cultures. Like waves in the ocean it comes and goes as an important part of cultures. Like Wade Davis said; "culture comes from imagination" (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html). We must keep it alive. It is a basic expression of what is is to be human, a manifestation of life.

7- To finish with, what would wish to this blog?

I find the internet an interesting way of spreading information. Blogs are doing a great job at it. I wish for the blog media to keep transforming and improving it self to share and show how interesting life is and that we are an active part of it.

To learn more: http://www.patrickrochon.com/

Skin+Bones exhibition at Somerset House in London

This is the last day tomorrow to go to Skin + Bones: Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture, an exhibition at London’s Somerset House, which "is one such attempt to demystify how these two creative disciplines no longer operate in a cultural vacuum. Coinciding with a book of the same name, the exhibition charts from 1980 to the present day the increasingly shared dialogue between fashion designers and architects through the work of over fifty contemporary pioneers.

The fashion on show is a mix of high concept and high drama: Chalayan, McQueen, Miyake, Comme, Viktor + Rolf and Westwood together with architects of a similar calibre: Gehry, Hadid, OMA and Herzog & de Meuron to name just a few. It might seem outlandish to try and draw parallels between the two – but this is precisely where the exhibition succeeds. Rather than forcing similarities with grand, academic texts, the visuals are left to speak for themselves.
Both architects and designers are preoccupied with space, volume and providing a cover for the body, a protection from the environment and a vehicle for social and cultural comment. And these are the kernels at the heart of the exhibition, presented thematically with garments or catwalk videos on one side and architectural parallels opposite. " Wallpaper* magazine has declared.

To learn more: www.somersethouse.org.uk

Pure style: Madonna - Give It 2 Me

Liverpool Biennial 2008 Presents the fifth edition of the UK's festival of contemporary art

Liverpool Biennial 2008 20 September - 30 November 2008

The Biennale will be showcasing the best contemporary artists from around the world.
In 2008 the festival is bigger and better than ever, celebrating 10 years of ambitious and challenging new work as well as Liverpool's status as European Capital of Culture. Liverpool Biennial animates the whole city centre as a platform for the largest concentration of contemporary art anywhere in the UK.

The fifth edition of Liverpool Biennial's International Exhibition is MADE UP, an exploration of the ecology of the artistic imagination. MADE UP highlights art's capacity to transport us, to suspend disbelief and generate alternative realties. Consisting of around 40 projects by leading and emerging international artists – principally new commissions as well as several key works previously unseen in the UK – MADE UP will be presented across multiple venues: Tate Liverpool, the Bluecoat, FACT (Foundation for Art & Creative Technology) and Open Eye Gallery, with half the exhibition sited in public spaces across the city.

To learn more: http://www.biennial.com/

Zaha Hadid + Melissa

After Vivienne Westwood and Alexander Herchcovitch, it is the turn of the architect Zaha Hadid to design a pair of shoes for melissa, the Brazilian brand. "For thirty years now, I've been looking for different spheres of creativity in the design and architecture fields, and this project is a real challenge for me, not just because of the design but because of technical aspects.
There was a real synergy between us. I worked closely with melissa to transform my design into reality" said the architect. From this momentum a plastic footwear was born. "melissa + Zaha Hadid" will be produced in 8 colors (red, black, silver…). Fashionistas will only be able to buy this new "must-have" in September

melissa is known for its recyclable plastic shoes and will organise a launch event on September 18 during London fashion week. Zaha Hadid, famous for his avant-garde creations, recently collaborated with Chanel for a of contemporary art mobile museum, Chanel Mobile Art.

To learn more: www.zaha-hadid.com

Vanessa Paradis is the new face for Miu Miu

Vanessa Paradis, actress, model and singer, in a nutshell a proper person (and not only Johnny Depp's wife) is the new face for the Autumn campaign of Miu Miu. She used to be a model for Chanel n.5 when she was younger and is a close friend to Karl Lagerfeld but this doesn't mean she can't play in other Fashion's houses' campaigns.

Here is a selection :

To learn more: http://www.miumiu.com/