Mrs. Carter's Non-Collaborateurs, In Non-Chronological Order

1. Herb Ritts Andie MacDowell in Hawaii, 1984
2. Leonor Fini The Ends Of The Earth, 1949
3. Marylin Minter Splish Splash, 2005
4. Irving Penn Issey Miyake, 1991
5. Man Ray Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924
6. Herb Ritts El Mirage, 1990
7. René Magritte The Lovers, 1928
8. Guy Bourdin In Between, 2010
9. René Laloux Fantatsic Planet, 1973
10. Erwin Blumenfeld Vogue, 1950
11. Robert Mapplethorpe Lisa Lyon, 1980

For her self-entitled #VisualAlbum 'BEYONCÉ', Beyoncé has been seeking expressionist advice from French surrealism and its tradition in film and fashion photography.

Beyond well-established motifs of modern and contemporary art, the content also reflects something soft-political: feminist speech clashes with sexist slang ('Bow Down Bitches') and masochistic submission ('I Cooked This Meal For You Naked.'). A work on rough love, drunk love, jealousy. Not an artwork though - but a commercially valuable, visual-acustic product.
/HORST

Work Bitch

Britney Spears - Work Bitch 2013

I am sorry to break it to you but this is going to be history. The bitch is back. And she is working it. Reversed triangle platforms (Silent Hill), desert car scenes (Spice Girls) and bisexual slave action (Madonna) are interwined in Britney's self-referential pop mesh. Add a perfume bottle product placement and pop becomes POP.
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A Short History Of Anime In Popular Culture (Interlude)

Michael Jackson % Janet Jackson - Scream 1995

The opening scene of the most expensive video of its time. A better version of 'The Scream'. And a reminder that everything that will be has been. I am looking forward to it (the future).
/HORST

A Short History Of The Comic Strip In Popular Culture IX

1. Snap! World Power, 1990
2. Snap! Mary Had A Little Boy, 1990
3. Snap! The Power, 1990
4. Snap! Oops Up, 1990
5. Snap! Mega Mix, 1991
6. Snap! Cult Of Snap, 2003
7. Salt 'N' Pepa Let's Talk About Sex, 1991

The constituting archive to this chapter can be found in my vinyl record collection. As someone said: I am creating my own future by writing this blog. Turning into 'The Cult of A Short History of Myself'.
/HORST

The Horst Interview: Komakino

Komakino Fall/Winter 2013

A lyric investigation on the London-based label that places traces of typography to convey an aesthetic universe based on music, theatre and, most importantly, anonymity. A short, restricted conversation.



Spring/Summer 2013

Who is Komakino?
Federico Capalbo and Jin Kim. We have recurring collaborators that are definitely part of the brand.

What does the name stand for? An homage to the homonymous single by Joy Division?
Yes, music has always been a constant in our lives.

Words are a recurrent theme throughout your collections, appearing as patches on clothes, as fragments of a secret message. Are you storytellers?
We have always worked on building a system of codes. Words, graphics, silhouettes are tools that we use to define a spirit. Fashion can be politically or socially addressed, but what we do has more to do with identity, an identity that is connected to subculture, defined by outsiders.



Spring/Summer 2012

Your work is multi-dimensional, conceptually as well as visually. Can you describe your approach?
I didn't really consider a set starting point with the first three or four seasons with Komakino. Later I started to take a clear direction in form of the music I was listening to, the universe that I related to, which could span from cinema to a gig. This was when our aesthetic became more defined. I tried to translate this through the alphabet of shapes, and how this formed through certain codes of fashions. We want to be able to succeed the moment you take a single piece from the collection out of its context and still it can be recognised and related to the brand. At the end of the day we are making clothes, and clothes are single garments.

Which further projects are you working on currently?
A fanzine project we would like to present in collaboration with artist Matteo Giordano – more a collection of visuals actually, which will hopefully develop into a film and an installation.


Spring/Summer 2013

Which item is dearest to your heart, which garment could stand as symbol for your body of work?
The MA-1.


Societas Raffaello Sanzio Tragedia Endogonidia, 2004

Which piece of art has moved you recently?
I have recently purchased the box set of 'Tragedia Endogonidia' by Societas Raffaello Sanzio. I had the chance to attend to a few performances by Romeo Catellucci in the past, I find his work to be terribly exciting.

A recent record you listened to?
Raime - Quarter Turns Over A Living Line

Thank you, Federico.
/HORST