Contributor: Makoto Chiba

Creative Discipline: Jewelry Design

Geographic Location: Brooklyn, New York

Web: makoto-chiba.com

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“There is some soul of goodness in things evil, Would men observingly distill it out.”

–King Henry V (1599), in William Shakespeare’s, ‘ HenryV ‘

These words carry with them great significance. Inspiration and the materializing of an idea can be a daunting task. Looking at our own history, it is plain to see that those who press on; Da Vinci, Bruegal, Borromini, and stare challenge in the face can create true beauty, for creating is a pursuit with no end; our own polemics typically raise more questions than answers and leave us hungry to keep searching–to keep making…

Makoto Chiba embeds worlds and stories within his jewelry that we can perhaps only glimpse. They are made out of his life experiences–pulling inspiration from life, death and everywhere in-between. I had a conversation with Makoto this fall to catch up with him and to see what he was up to, enjoy.

__________________________________________________

DI: Your most recently released collection, The Revival; I really enjoy what you have written as the statement- (taken via Makoto-Chiba.com)

“The boundary of life and death, questioning if it’s really “life before death”, or maybe there is more after death. By deforming the rough, flawless and detailed body structure of animals, it shows the outlook on life and frame of mind”

MC: The deer is already dead, after it’s death I am using the deer as a material and present it to others as this. The deer then takes on a second life; a rebirth that is then made possible because of jewelry.

Before it was just an animal, and now the jewelry is his or her second life.

With the rooster broach the front is very beautiful, using diamonds and rubies, but the back side is hidden- no body cares about it [typically]. Showing the front makes sense, everyone gets it. But everyone also has an inside, and this always remains hidden– others don’t know what we are thinking about.

With the inside of this piece I did not want it to be boring. I wanted to give it a kind of style to show what is usually hidden.

DI: The fact that the person wearing it is the only ones that knows about the inside seems to make the piece that much more personal. Others don’t know that there is a whole other world on the other side– a secret that you share with those who wear your work.

MC: I think that everyone who is a jewelry designer, when making knows that a piece if heavy if solid. It also takes more time and money to make a large, heavy piece.

In removing this material, I wanted to think about how it was removed. I wanted to design how the material was taken away and, in turn, make a whole other piece inside.

DI: You have a very thoughtful process. Every step is saturated with thought. Even the seemingly banal tasks that others shove through, and that’s beautiful.

MC: The people wearing the pieces are of the same mind–

DI: What did you do growing up that lead you toward what you make now?

MC: Lego was my favorite, still I can make very good stuff.

Lego, and clothes pins. I would put all the clothes pins together.Using maybe, 30 pieces each, I would make robots.

DI: That’s amazing.

MC: Yes, I can still make them too!

DI: Is your work something that you would ever see appearing in a gallery?

MC: Yes, but not yet; not in New York. I have shown in my country, Japan, but not yet in the New York gallery scene. I am taking inspiration right now from New York.

There are so many people around and also there are so many shops and museums and just culture in general here. I can get a lot out of the ‘bad things’ too. For instance the graffiti; if I go into a ghetto area I can get  a lot of inspiration from this and everything else that is around. The people too, even the homeless; I draw inspiration from these kinds of places.

When I was in Japan I was always making very dark pieces, very close to death. Now I see that my work is much happier; more mature maybe. I can say that a lot of my work has changed, maybe I am just getting old, but New York has changed my mind and everything I do.

DI: Your new collection drawing inspiration from Japanese and American traditional styles–

It’s interesting what you said earlier about your inspiration for this new work; tattooing. It is an art that is inherently 2-dimensional, despite being on the convex body; and your jewelry lives in 3-dimensions. It’s intriguing that you are now 3-dimensionalizing the art of tattooing.

MC: Tattooing has so much meaning. For example, tattooing cannot be deleted. It all has meaning and is there forever. My tattoos [Makoto lifts his left arm] have meaning, all of them. There is a concept and meaning to it all.

DI: Each element has its own meaning, and when placed next to another element there are new relationships that can arise…

MC: Yes, all together. This is what I wanted to say! (laughs)

DI: Are you making work right now?

MC: Yes, I am making work.

DI: What are you making?

MC: It is a new collection. The concept is Japanese traditional style and American traditional style; a mixture of two cultures, it will be the new collection. Five months or 6 months ago I started to create the collection.

This winter, the new collection will be completed. I am also working with a friend of mine who is a tattoo artist and I am making a tattooing machine. It will be a concept piece–really nice. It will not be very comfortable to use though, it will be so heavy! Perhaps it will only be used for promotion.

Hey, have you ever seen Napoleon’s gun?

via, gizmowatch.com

Napoleon went to a lot of cities and to many countries; all the while he was creating a single gun. For example one side of the gun is Egyptian style, made while he was in Egypt; the other side is European designed and created while he was in Europe—another element is of Asian taste.

It’s so nice and it is all within one gun. His life—in a single piece.

DI: That makes me wonder what the gun would be today? Perhaps it’s the tattoo gun!

MC: (laughs) 

DI: (laughs) Where are you making work these days?

MC: In my home here in Brooklyn. Where I made work in Japan is like a cock-pit.

In both places I like to have pictures on my wall. I can get everything from my wall. I can always see the nice picture, and a picture can speak and talk to me. My studio in New York is much cleaner than in Japan since I’m living with my girlfriend. (laughs)

The things that you surround yourself with where you work always give inspiration– like in the movie, A Beautiful Mind.

Kind of crazy yeah?

 DI: Will you return to Japan ever?

MC: I will go back to Japan maybe after I am 35– or if I have a baby. It is much more beautiful there…

DI: Thank you Makoto, it has been a pleasure.

MC: Thanks Dave–

For more of Makoto’s work please visit: Makoto-Chiba.com

All images of Makoto Chiba’s Jewelry were shot by Kei Kondo

New York was filled with many happenings this past summer that brought people together. These of course ranged from concerts on water fronts to great movies in the park.  One happening that took shape was organicMobb’s event 01. ; ‘a kinetic installation and creative show case event’.

Over 60 creative and non-creatives alike came together in Brooklyn, New York to talk, discuss, listen and to share an evening. This was the first of organicMobb events where the goal is to highlight the work of select creatives while creating an original atmosphere via dynamic installation. These events serve as inspiring, inventive, new ways to use simple elements of material, space, light and sound to create brand new experiences and environments. These experiences serve as pieces unto themselves as well as creating  4-dimensional back-drops to allow for the presentation of selected creatives’ work.

event 01. featured a candid conversation between film director, Brian Gonzalez and organicMobb founder, Dave Irwin. ‘It Can’t Be True’, a piece of Gonzalez’s that is about the paradox of a blind woman and her own interpertive understanding of just what is her own reality truly is, was shown as Gonzalez and Irwin then began to open up the dialogue a bit further; all the while a tensile installation hovered above the ground composed solely of string and triangulated paper panels.

Artist Raul Bussot’s projections froze moments within New York City, filling the installation with altuistic life for all who experienced it; questioning the spacial prescence of the physical and where it’s extents exist, if present at all; thus creating new interpertations of surface as images were sheared into fragments upon contact with the physicality of the installation.

Dee-Jay 523b along with Wonsch and Michael Caton soothed the soul with auditory productions that made possible the presence of the installation even with the eyes closed and the ears astute for one’s own beautiful experience.

Most importantly, and perhaps what will be most remembered from event 01. was that the mind was stimulated, questions were raised and possibilities and implications of spacial construct were investigated. The possibilities to the trajectory of organicMobb events is quite simply, endless. Perhaps we will have to wait for the next event; rumored to be slated for this up coming spring, to see what new ideas are being cooked up.

To view all the images from event 01. visit organicMobb’s flickr account

Words by, Charles  Prouve, writer

charlesprouve@gmail.com

.

organicMobb is pleased to announce event 01,  a  creative networking event + collaborative installation. Sultry tunes to be played all night directed by the man himself, 523b along with wonsch and past contributor, Michael Caton. Guest speakers whom have contributed to organicMobb will also be speaking about their work.

This event is in association with HADAS  Gallery and J.A.C.O.B. Do check them out.

Where: 541 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY

When: Wednesday, July 20th, 2011; 7pm

Directions:  HADAS Gallery

Contributor: Brian Gonzalez

Creative Discipline: Film

Geographic Location: New York, New York

Web: taxiplasm.net

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A new music video directed by recent contributor Brian Gonzalez. Enjoy.

Credits:

Song: Sometimes (Take Me Away)
Artist: Edoheart
Album: Wa Domo Edo
Director: Brian Gonzalez / Taxiplasm

Contributor: Brian Gonzalez

Creative Discipline: Film

Geographic Location: New York, New York

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Passion can not be taught, however it can be honed. Being assertive and open to new experiences has helped push Brian Gonzalez’s work to a level of primal splendor. Brian is an emerging director that in his early 20′s  has shown his work at Art Basel, IFC’s Media Labs, PBS, MTV-U, and was invited to screen at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival- and this was all before he left film school. Enjoy our converstion with Brian Gonzalez.

[Artist Reel]

organicMobb: Why do you make work? 

BG: I remember the first day of film school at SVA. Our professor started asking for us to talk about why we were there and why we made film. He said that if you don’t know why you make film then you shouldn’t be here. I think that at SVA what they were trying to get at was that you should have a purpose to your films, and that there should be some sort of meaning behind it. Right away I was on a mind set that I don’t make films because I want to, I make them because I have to. It is not something that I have chosen, and it’s not something that I looked for. It’s something that came to me. When I begin to shit out ideas and I am writing them down constantly -all the time, and when I’m listening to music and I begin to see a visual companion that accompanies it all the time, this all begins to drive me insane. It’s not something that I’m choosing to do.

Albert Camus in his essay, Créer Dangereusement or create dangerously-the first sentence is, ‘there is no peace for the artist.’ That is absolutely true, it is not something that you are choosing. This is a responsibility you are given by god. It’s as if the universe has said, ‘ we have given this to you and now damnit this is your responsibility to do something with it.’

It feels very, very burdensome a lot of the time, and it will drive you insane if you don’t get it out of you.

organicMobb: Making is a cathartic act.

BG: It is completely therapeutic. It’s a catharsis.

As you know I started doing a lot of DP(Director of Photography) work and cinematography, but there wasn’t enough that I was expressing. I wasn’t creating anything that was actually me, and in turn unable to have that genuine catharsis as a person.

I started to video-blog in 2004 before anyone was really doing it at all and consistently making video work that was very expressive and not for anyone other than myself. To be able to express all this pain that I wasn’t understanding why I was feeling. I was 16 making these kinds of videos in San Antonio, Texas.

The piece I did with Raul Bussot, It Can’t Be True- it’s about this blind woman who’s fantasizing about this guy who is outside her window. Whether he is actually there, she will never know. But really, she is just trying to understand herself- and that is really evidently me. I’m the fucking blind woman!

[It Can't Be True]

I have all these ideas of what intimacy is and the way people are connecting because I haven’t had that. When you grow up gay and in Texas, you’re everything that’s wrong with the world. So, understanding these ideas of intimacy is done for me through my work. As a person this is what I’m searching for- and it is always something that is changing because we will always be growing.

organicMobb: I feel that your work strikes a primal chord in everyone that experiences it. In Gadfly you are using a few mediums to flesh out an idea.

[Gadfly]

BG: When I moved to New York and started going to art school at SVA, I was at first just searching for a film school. It’s laughable when I think about how dead-set I was about becoming a DP and living this ideal that I created while in Texas and that was it.

Moving to New York allowed me to explore so much more and being in art school and taking these humanities classes with all these other artists that were fine artists. They would talk about Marcel Duchamp and Robert Rauschenberg. At the time I had no idea who any of these guys were and I was coming from a place in the film world where I knew my shit! And now I realize I didn’t know anything at all. So I spent so much time researching and learning about all these other artists because New York is one of the major spots in the world for art and for new art. Artists are creating things that no one has seen before, and that’s inspiring and exciting.

I wasn’t finding enough excitement in the film world. I would go to these installations or I would see a sculpture or a performance and I was moved by them instantly. I would wonder, how am I moved by this sculpture that in many ways is inert?- but I am moved immediately. A film takes several millions of dollars to make and 2.5 hours to move me the same way. I mean I can take a look at the painting, sculpture,  installation or whatever and be in it for hours and I am still bathing in all of its beauty.

[Panic! At the Disco]

So the process began to be how can I integrate everything I am feeling with this into what I know, which is film. And I’ve done a few installation-type pieces in the past but I know that my foundation is film. I don’t know how to tangibly build things with my hands, I am not a very dexterous person in that sense, however I admire greatly people that do possess that ability, and I employ a lot of those people in the work that I do. I welcome their skills so that we have the ability to make something even bigger than ourselves.

organicMobb: That’s interesting that you say ‘even bigger than ourselves’. I mean now you have two people that are working in different disciplines and when you bring them together it’s not 1+1=2, but it is 1+1= exponential.

BG: I would hope so, I mean the very definition of an artist from one of my earliest mentors, Michael Verdi. He is a video blogger and a very video-savy guy, he changed my life completely. I didn’t know what experimental anything was and he completly blew my mind; breaking every rule I knew. He simply defined an artist as someone that’s always growing. This is something that I hope to continue to do, that I don’t get lazy, that I don’t get satisfied or content with what I know or accept on any level. It’s always about assimilating concepts from everybody- if I am moved by it, there is something that’s good about it. If I don’t understand it yet; even better- the mystery allows me to keep not understanding it.

Steve Reich for instance. It’s interesting how incredibly simple his pieces are. He’s implementing a concept. A concept of what is happening yet taken to these exponential levels that you get lost in and in many ways the organic nature of the human takes up so much of it. It’s something that between the musicians- between Steve, it has gotten to a much bigger place and now it is something that everyone can get lost in. If it doesn’t have that element of getting lost in it and that element of mystery it’s nothing. That moment of unpredictability is the key to all good art. If I know what’s coming next then it’s shit.

organicMobb:  I suppose this can be said about anything a creative person does.

[Leopold Rabus, The Standpipe (detail)] 

BG: One of my favorite painters, Leopold Rabus- there is so much happening within his paintings that you can not just look at it all at once like a Rothco. Even a Rothko, you can just fall into it. Leopold Rabus has subjects that are so intense and convoluted that your eye travels in so many places all at once- every time you look at it. So in a lot of ways the path that your eye is following is itself a story and the painting is so complex that your eye doesn’t go to the same place every time. Therefore the painting is a different story every time you look at it, yet it is composed of the same elements. On a broader level, now how can I bring this to a film? Where is this level of abstraction where I am still going on a journey with a narrative structure, but where there are still all these ingredients in between that are inviting me to go on these other tangents of story?

[Leopold Rabus, The Standpipe]

We are constantly collections of everything we have seen and perceived before.  The classic film principal, Mise-en-scène, the literal translation is, ‘put in scene’. The notion that everything within a film is motivated and there for a reason. If it’s not motivated then it doesn’t belong there and should not be in your film. It’s a fundamental principal of film that a lot of people disregard, and it bothers the shit of of me. The more perspectives you can have from not only fields of art but fields of human perception and put into a single piece, the more exponential weight  it carries.

organicMobb: That’s interesting- you can relate that to any discipline. At the end of the day, there is a user, whether the user is looking to see a film, enter a building, use a toothbrush or sit on a chair. There is a user in all of these creative applications.

Perhaps what it boils down to is an individual designing/ making and then the idea getting put through a selected medium and then the user reads it and interprets it. So at the end of the day it’s not about the objects or ‘things’ that we make but it is about the intention. It is what is in our mind and using the most efficient medium to get this idea out!

BG: Everyday I receive these pieces of ideas. They don’t have any structure yet. They are just these little pieces that I’m gathering all the time and I don’t know where they fit in- sometimes for years. For me music, specifically Colin Stetson, helps make sense of all these pieces.

organicMobb:  And when you make sense of these pieces what is the next important step?

BG: The more that you use materials that are tangible- real and natural on some level and not so built up from CGI the more posterity it is going to have, this is important. I love Lord of The Rings for that.

Peter Jackson uses CGI but he uses it in a particular way- he composites. If you look at any of these villages within the trilogy like; Hobbiton, Minas Tirith, The Shire- they all existed in real life for a period of time. They were real, ‘bigature’ sets that were lit and had physical presence. These elements of texture and reality allow the film to be timeless. Let’s say it will have a hell of a lot more posterity than Avatar.

organicMobb:  Interesting you bring up this notion of timelessness v. timefullness.

BG: I am open to CGI and compositing. However in my own work I try and create as much as I can physically. For instance in Gadfly when you see all these colors bursting from a beating heart. That is simply projection augmented with prisms. Of course this is based on simple principles of light. Nothing was animated, it was done unpredictably with my hands as I held these prisms in from of the projector- just playing with the light. This allows it to be human. Again, this is similar to Colin Stetson’s use of simple sounds with a few well-placed limits. Taking something simple and exploring.

[Colin Stetson, Awake on Foreign Shores & Judges]

organicMobb:  You set up these parameters for yourself and then you play with in them. I feel that it is when you begin to bounce ideas off of these self-imposed boundaries and work like hell that real creativity emerges.

BG: I agree. If it’s not challenging then why would you do it? Even as a viewer or user. If there is nothing challenging about a particular work, then it is easily dismiss-able, and not worthy of your time.

organicMobb: I see that within your work. It challenges the viewer to emotionally understand it. It challenges the viewer to understand their own thoughts and it is engaging. Thank you Brian for this interview, and good luck with everything.

BG: Thank you.

For more of Brian Gonzalez’s work visit Taxiplasm.net

Contributors: Garrett Rowland, Julian Ungano, Ben Fink Shapiro, Tommy Agriodimas

Creative Discipline: Photography

Geographic Location: New York, New York

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Past contributor Julian Ungano is still on the grind as he shows his work with Tommy Agriodimas,  Garrett Rowland and  Ben Fink Shapiro at The Tribeca Grand in Manhattan this Wednesday. Looking back to our interview, it’s clear that ‘the perfect storm’ is a culmination of quality work, perspiration and the assertion to move the ball forward. Catch all four of these gentleman along with their stellar work this Wednesday, April 13th.

[ Terence Koh and Feline, from Julian Ungano's: 'Reste Jeune Reste Belle']

La Lutte Continue Presents:

An Exhibition of Photographs
By Garrett Rowland, Julian Ungano, Ben Fink Shapiro, Tommy Agriodimas

TIME: 

 Wednesday April 13th, 2011, 7:30pm

LOCATION:

 The Tribeca Grand, Manhattan

MORE INFORMATION: 

DJ Sets By Ted Gushue Jr.  and Jules

Contributor: Christine Santanastaso

Creative Discipline: Jewelry Design

Geographic Location: New York, New York

Web: christinesantanastaso.com

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Christine’s conceptual series of jewelry entitled Rolls Series begins to look at street skating by establishing it’s core elements and their internal kinetic relationships- these are of surface, movement and material. These elements begin to coincide as her pieces bring the eye around the forms as they converge and wrap. Interesting is the fact the her abstractions are not to only be viewed, but they are meant to be worn on the body, crating a user experience.

Christine Santanastaso – Rolls Series, A thesis jewelry collection

Time:

Wednesday, April 06, at 6:00pm

Location:

Pratt Institute, Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery
Chemistry Building, First Floor
200 Willoughby Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11205

Show runs from April 06th – April 14th

RSVP on Facebook!

Film by Dave Toro of ODNY, roller blader Kyle Sola’

Christine goes on to say:

Rolls Series

Through rolling, abstractions are created on various surfaces through movements, memories and shapes.

The idea of this collection is to communicate the relationship the body has with static objects when they are being used as a catalyst for movement. The visual contrast between the weightless body of the skater and the stagnant materials surrounding them is translated into wearable objects that represent the kinetic qualities of street skating.

This body of work is a result of a series of abstract formal studies into the visual relationship between a moving figure and static, decaying architectural lines, planes and volumes. This collection of jewelry celebrates this beautifully balanced relationship that is showcased through the art form of street skating.

Come see Christine’s show which goes live this Wednesday at The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Christine Santanastaso – Rolls Series, A thesis jewelry collection.

Time:

Wednesday at 6:00pm – April 14 at 6:00pm

Location:

Pratt Institute, Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery
Chemistry Building, First Floor
200 Willoughby Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11205

RSVP on Facebook!

Contributor: Michael Caton

Creative Discipline(s): Architecture, Interactive Design, Photography

Geographic Location: New York, New York

Web: insertDRG.com

Twitter: @insertDRG

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Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” This holds true today as it did during the turn of the 20th century. Edison’s contributions to the future of communication and illumination undoubtedly transformed the way we live. An interesting thought would be to forget the fact that Edison even brought to us the incandescent light bulb or the phonograph and focus on his perspiration. Rigor was the true marvel, for this set up the trajectory and momentum within Edison’s body of work. Michael Caton has not yet invented his incandescent light bulb, but hey, perhaps that will come in his mid-twenties. Check out the conversation between organicMobb and Michael Caton:

[ exterior detail, Shams Arena, for: Atelier D'Architecture Andreas Durr ]

organicMobb: Something I would like to start with is understanding where your assertiveness comes from. You are obviously a driven individual; where do you find your inspiration?

[ photo, Dubai, from the series: Constructing Paradise]

M. Caton: I allow everyday life and design to influence my life. The design of things that are both contemporary as well as a bit older begin to overlap and to really influence the different areas that I work within. For example if I’m reading a book as I am now- this one happens to have a lot to do with religion and what I find interesting is that the author raises questions and conflicts that exist within religion itself. For me I ask myself, what would it be like in a different context? I raise questions. A good example would be if I were working on a project that was graphically based. I begin to ask myself questions such as: what if this were a building? ; or perhaps even something else like a website? I keep myself going  by asking  similar questions but in different contexts.

organicMobb: It’s not a specific person or even an area of design that inspires you. It seems that it is at the core of how you interact with people and handle situations-

[ Side Streets, photograph, Dharavi, Bombay, from the series: 1000 Gods]

M.Caton:  Right, it seems that we are talking about a “thing” but it is like you said; the way I approach things – for me it can be equated to a melting pot. What ever happens throughout my day, and especially something like what you are doing with organicMobb and a lot of other things that are going on for me, I allow them to boil down and effect the other areas of my life and inspire me. I like traveling and reading as well as coming across things that friends are doing. I really love that these experiences and encounters can begin to bleed into each other. I guess it’s my life style that begins to create my inspiration.

organicMobb: You’ve been out of school for a bit now and have seen the working world. An international working world at that. How has this began to augment your idea of architecture?

M.Caton:  [ laughs ]

organicMobb: It’s a huge question- I know!

[ interior rendering, Shams Arena, for: Atelier D'Architecture Andreas Durr ]

M.Caton: Going through school you are continuously asked what is architecture? I feel as you go beyond the academic experience and begin to work, and travel in my case, the definition of architecture is continuously expanding. You become much more aware of the influences on architecture. Architecture is essentially space and the experience. That is of course incredibly open-ended and to say architecture; space and the experience, which can be in the form of an installation, which can be in the form of a room,  or can be in the form of a bridge;  can take on many different forms- and that is what is really beautiful about architecture.

Now to add onto that and the question of what is architecture with space and experience.  Architecture, after my traveling experiences, is incredibly local. This question is particularly important in a contemporary context with architectural practice being so global. You can sit at a desk in Ohio or San Francisco that will ultimately affect people in Indonesia or Tokyo. This is how architecture is being practiced right now, however the reality of it is once you are traveling and you have your foot down in a place, you realize the local context and the way that people live. You begin to see their daily rituals and routines, their cultural habits and the way in which these elements shape the architecture and experiences created.

One example was when I had first moved to Dubai after graduating in 2008. I had started working on the concept design of a tower. Now here I am coming from New York and I wanted to design this big, open, fluid apartment tower. The architects that I  reported to were consistently making changes to the overall ideas I had and at the onset they weren’t explaining to me why. They would simply say, ‘no you can’t do that.’ And in turn  I would ask ‘why?’ Finally after two or three times of making seemingly the same mistake, they would then say, ‘ No you can’t do that because of ‘x’, ‘y’ and ‘z’ cultural reasons… and our culture here can not be exposed in this way.”  It was then that I began to realize that the cultural dimension completely changes the way that I as an architect shape space and experience.

[ massing concepts, Dubai, Architect not disclosed ]

organicMobb: Where do you position your work with insert ‘d-r-a-g’ [ insertDRG ]?

M.Caton: I never thought anyone would interpret that in that way. I’m referring to the literal word you just used, ‘drag’. It’s quite interesting-

organicMobb: I suppose I was trying to sound out the letters, not really thinking about the acronym DRG meaning: Design Research Group. The ‘D’ the ‘R’ and the ‘G’ are placed in a way that I always sounded them out. [ laughs ]

M.Caton: No, it’s fine- I just find it interesting especially with the question that you just asked me about where I position myself and you then bring up the term ‘drag’. I suppose that is the biggest risk. I do operate in many different areas, I mean not that different but primarily over the last couple of years I’ve been really focused on architecture; that is space and experience, interactive design and photography. These are the main things that I do. Also I dj, but that is much more of a hobby.

Now the big danger in this is wearing yourself too thin or moving in too many directions simultaneously where you are not really moving anywhere. When you said ‘drag’, it makes me think that I may want to be moving in ‘x’ direction but there are too many things happening in ‘y’ direction and there begins to be too much ‘drag’ and therefore it produces an inability to move forward. So that is the danger, however it is a conscious goal for me to be an interdisciplinary designer because that is what makes me tick: a melting pot of experiences caused by being very observant. This idea is key to how I work as a creative individual.

organicMobb: I see too many overlaps within your work for you to not have this approach; do you see insertDRG as a short term project or a longterm endeavor and can your interests ever coalesce into a single project?

M.Caton: Absolutely – It is a long term goal of mine to integrate all aspects of my work and to find ways in which, firstly to make a living doing this [ laughs ] but at the same time allowing who ever I am working with to see the value in this overlap. It is important to be able to convince a potential client in terms of what I do with architecture, interactive design and photography that these elements together can take the project to a whole new level. An example that we see today is the mountain housing project by BIG [ Bjarke Ingels Group ] where, aside from being architecturally interesting- the collaboration with a photographer to produce a massive three – story tall  image of a mountain begins to add another dimension to the project.

[ spore gamma tank, interactive animation ]

[ mountain dwellings, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) ]

organicMobb: All of what you just spoke about affects space. I would argue that it is all architecture-

M.Caton: Absolutely. I mean what is really interesting is the question itself; What is architecture?; particularly in this day and age. We can begin to think of architecture in the classical sense, that is columns and beams with literal space- but we are living through a time of such technological innovation where there are new conditions. Conditions in fact that didn’t even exist however many years ago. Take this conversation for instance [ conducted via Skype ] . I am talking about things that were literally not possible a short time ago. And in turn there are new roles born. Take for instance the Interactive Designer- that as a profession did not exist ‘x’ number of years ago. These innovations that are taking place expand the role of the architect. The group of disciplines that produce space and experience has grown. In turn the [ architectural ] profession or any group in flux for that matter must then react. This then gets into the invention of the internet and the way in which we live our lives- that is perhaps the largest example. Any catalyst in the system is going to cause some degree of feedback. So I suppose it is with that mentality that I approach everything.

[ Untitled, photograph, Dharavi, Bombay, from the series: 1000 Gods]

organicMobb: I wanted to thank you for this interview, this conversation has been inspiring-

M.Caton: I am equally as inspired with your initiative with organicMobb, it’s a two-way street.

organicMobb: Thanks Michael

For more of Michael Caton’s work visit insertDRG.com

Contributor: Geoff Manaugh

Creative Discipline: Writing, Publishing

Location: Los Angeles, California

Web: bldgblog.blogspot.com

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Geoff is currently teaching at the USC School of Architecture, and has been consistently writing beautiful pieces on his blog, bldgblog.blogspot.com for over six years. Geoff has shared with us a piece entitled The Structure from his 2009 publication, The BLDG BLOG Book. Enjoy.

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The Structure

An indestructible foam, resistant even to nuclear explosions, is developed by the Department of Energy to contain radioactive spills: When a nuclear power plant melts down you simply spray it with this foam-and voilà. It locks into place, sealing the site away from humans-away from all living tissue for ten thousand years.

One day, though, a massive shipment of foam is being taken out of Los Angeles by train when the pressurized cars containing it rupture. There is an explosion; the foam sprays everywhere, coating buildings, raining down onto cars and pedestrians; and it hardens within mere seconds.

Resistant to saws, fire, blunt force, and bombs, the site becomes known as The Structure. It is a huge, white web of hardened foam- and it will outlast human civilization. Families take tours of it; Greenpeace makes posters of it as a cautionary tale; architecture studios map its complicated arches, inspiring buildings as far away as Mumbai. It is the 8th Wonder of the World, some people say as they drive by, snapping photographs.

organicMobb thanks Geoff Manaugh for his permission to re-publish The Structure. For more of his writing please visit bldgblog.blogspot.com