Media, Events, Experiments
Steve Madden’s Tokyo fashion show.
Oct 5th
Hfour collaborated with fashion show producer 6inch to provide visual content at the first Steve Madden Fashion show in Japan. Titled ‘Love and Peace Parade’ to match the brand’s direction for the upcoming year, the show included dogs, cheerleaders, 3 motorcycles, several cars, 3 hummers and a truck with a dancing pole.
Update: Nov. 15th 2008. The full video is now online.
The hidden nature of beauty.
Sep 3rd
A series 8 of paintings on 61x61cm plywood boards was completed for a group exhibition. The subject matter is magazine models, painted in oil on untreated hardwood ply and then sealed. Their message raises questions about beauty and nature. Natural beauty is found everywhere, it is possible to see in many pristine locations which haven’t been adjusted by humans. Natural beauty is also found in human faces: models are selected by their looks, because it is their appearance that is attractive to viewers which helps sell products. However, their appearance is augmented with make-up and computers to improve the overall appeal and beauty. The same augmentative activities are performed with natural materials and objects. The natural beauty of wood grain does not appear without the help of humans and tools. The plywood surfaces of the paintings are a form of ‘constructed nature’: they are perceived to be natural, but do not appear in nature. Other examples include the Nautilus shell (the spiral aesthetic is invisible until the shell is cut), trans-axially cut fruit and polished stones.
Live video performance excerpt.
Aug 28th
An excerpt from a live video performance piece by Hfour. Originally performed at Ultra’s grand opening event, June 2008.
Music: Micah Lukasewich’s remix of Tommib by Squarepusher – Oldschoolin’ Booty.
Software: Modul8
Some loops in this clip were provided by: Lightryhthmvisuals and AnalogRecycling.
Wet Paint Redux
Aug 28th
Hfour did a live painting show at Ever on the 29th of May 2008. Musical accompaniment by Esie and a traditional flute player.
Here is the write-up from the flyer:
Hfour explores the transience and ephemerality of life using paint as a metaphor. By intentionally repurposing traditional artists’ materials, he expresses a paradigm shift which suggests the awareness of the impermanent nature of contemporary society (disposable). Hfour channels primal expressions incorporated with reactive gestures to perform a painting without termination.
A collaborative performance with Flyflyfly reinforces the convergence of technology and human instinct; the postmodern city and the condition of society.
Two pieces were performed, both canvases were destroyed after the show.
Also included are photographs from the first live painting show performed in 2002 in Canada.
Animated Blacklist Logos
Aug 23rd
Produced for the August 2008 BlackList event at Crystal Lounge. Original Crest courtesy of Euroculture & Antique 505 stock imagery book.
Animated BlackList logos from Stuart Ward on Vimeo.
Exivision
Aug 23rd
A friend of mine emailed me to express his wish to attend my Art show and misspelled the word exhibition as exivision. I was impressed with his new word and named the show after it. The longer title was “Thunder Dragons and Flying Tigers: Visions of Bhutan.
Exivision toured through three exhibition spaces, two in Tokyo (2006 and 2007) and one in Kyoto (2007).
P1X3L5
Aug 22nd
Digital photographs from outward journeys, Digital prints from inward journeys.
December 10th-20th 2005, at Art Cocktail in Nakatsu, Osaka, Japan.
VJ Vault
Aug 22nd
Hfour recently uploaded a large number of loops to the VJvault.com website.
View them here. Sign up for a membership to download.
Experiment in Infrared (IR) Photography
Aug 22nd
A Canon IXY 500 camera was modified to take the following photos. Almost all digital Cameras have a Infrared cut filter installed over the sensor to filter out unwanted IR radiation. This ‘problem’ can be ‘fixed’ by opening the camera, electrocuting yourself with the flash capacitor, removing the cut filter, replacing it with a filter that cuts out the visible spectrum and only allows IR radiation, and putting the camera back together. Warranties will be voided, frustration will grow, and difficulties will be overcome, and in the end, you too can take Infrared pictures with your very own digital camera. Buy a cheap used camera in Akiba to use as the victim. Now if I could only figure out where that one extra screw fits.
