Editorial is open for submissions: [email protected]

1) Hi Ev, can you tell us about yourself in one or two sentences.

My full name is Everard Best and I go by Ev Bravado. I am the menswear director of Who Decides War, I am from New York City and I thrive to be a better person on a daily basis.

2) What made you start to get into fashion and create these insane pieces? 

I grew up in a tailor shop, my dad being a tailor. I wasn’t really into fashion until I got into High School and started to get ingrained within the streetwear/sneaker culture. This was in 07 and the culture has really exploded since then. I grew up when BBC and Bape were in their heyday and this sculpted my initial interest within the streetwear scene. I wanted to create something with the same impact. That was my goal since then. I just want to bring energy everywhere we go and have people have love for our product for how it makes them feel. Our clothes should make you feel confident. We just want to bring our childhood, upbringings, and heritage to every channel of creativity we take part in. 

3) What are some of the projects you’re the most proud of ?

I would say the projects I’m the most proud of are our 3rd collection, Spring Summer 21 entitled “A Still Small Voice”

4) What goes into your process when designing?

It has to start with a message. Everything starts with a meaning. Usually dealing with something that’s going on in my life or something I want to see happen within life in general. 

5) how did you meet with RTFKT ? What drew you to collaborate with them.

I’ve been interacting with Zaptio from RTFKT for a minute on Instagram. I was always interested in what they were doing in the virtual world. We are entering into a new frontier on the internet and they’re on the forefront of it. I wanted to bring our art into this world so I reached out to see if we could make it happen. 

6)What’s the creative process between you and the RTFKT team to make all these items  ?

Everything is digital and seamless. 

7) What words or combination of words would you use to describe your work.

I would describe my work as being Neo Americana Wear. 

8) What inspired the creative behind the pieces in the collection?

They are translations of our items from our SS21 collection, “A Still Small Voice”. The inspiration of this collection comes from 1 Kings 19.

9)What excites you about the NFT movement?

It’s a world where the creative gets to garner equity and ownership. Artists are in control of everything and there’s so much to be seen on this frontier. I believe this is just the start of a new way to create art, equity and what it means to have a digital footprint. 

10) Who are some of your favorite artists in the NFT space?

At the moment I really like what Jake Osmun is doing and I love the innovation that Rtfkt is bringing to the table, merging the fashion and digital world.

Editorial is open for submissions: [email protected]

by EMMANUEL SHIU

A Bit About Me

I was involved in a motorcycle accident at the age of 18 and suffered a spinal cord injury that left me unable to walk. I’m now 53 and have been wheelchair-bound longer than I’ve been able-bodied. Now, before you start to feel sorry for me, you should know that this injury does not define me. That’s not to downplay the physical and emotional anguish that was my reality for years — but it also sparked a burning desire to do something with my life. It came in the form of art school, where an interest in working on games eventually led to my introduction into the film industry. Before I knew it, I was working on Star Wars at Skywalker Ranch. Talk about having your career kick started! Since then, I’ve gone on to work on many film and game titles, most recently, completing the upcoming Matrix 4.

The Piece

Dragon Surgery 

Trying to save an endangered creature, particularly one of this magnitude, is no mean feat. It requires a full team of experienced medical staff working around the clock in this painstaking 36-hour transplant surgery, their fatigue and drained energy clearly visible. The fate of the species’s survival rests completely in their hands. Hopefully she pulls through but either way , she’s the last of her kind.

Inspiration

A lot of my work is a reflection or expression of my injury. All of it has involved thought and soul searching. Dragon Surgery draws upon my own 10-hour spinal cord surgery. I remember reading the surgeon’s report while lying in the hospital bed I spent months in during recovery. I imagined what I must have looked like unconscious on the table surrounded by a skilled yet exhausted medical team. I wanted to depict the raw, authentic grittiness of the facing life or death daily, which echoes the overextended front line staff battling the global pandemic today.

Technique 

This painting took me many days to finish due to the modeling, shading and lighting. You will see in the close-ups how intricate the detailing is. My process usually comprises beginning with sketches, and once I have a strong enough idea, I block out the model in 3D and proceed with shaders and lighting. I finish the final step in Photoshop, where I paint as needed. I’ve included a wireframe of the scene in 3d for you to see some of the intricacies that go one behind the scenes.

I hope you enjoyed the back story to Dragon Surgery. Please visit my page to see the painting in full screen — it is best viewed on a large screen as there are so many details.

https://superrare.com/emanshiu
https://twitter.com/emanshiu
https://www.instagram.com/emanshiu/

Editorial is open for submissions: [email protected]

Jason Seife is an Artist based out of Miami, Florida. Simultaneously making a name for himself in both the Graphic Design and Fine Art worlds. Jason has worked on projects with Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Pharrell Williams, Mac Miller, Big Sean, and more. His paintings and sculptures have been the basis of successful solo exhibitions in galleries and museums across the U.S, Europe and Asia as well as collaborations with Nike and Kobe Bryant.

Article by Ellen Ratcliffe

The inspiration for Jason’s work is based around the notion that we can reinvent the past using modern day materials and compositions, allowing the excellence of an old craft to be admired by a younger generation. Seife was inspired by both his own Middle Eastern heritage and the complex artistic practice of Persian rug weaving. The original designs are laden with hidden meaning and language; the weavers were able to link each rug’s particular pattern, palette, and style with a specific and identifiable geographic area or community. Seife’s influences span the realms of art, architecture, performance and music. Seife grew up in Miami to immigrant parents who were supportive of his creative ambitions. After playing in bands throughout his adolescence Seife, a talented graphic designer, began creating album artwork for hip hop artists. He designed Big Sean’s lion logo, painted backdrops in Nicki Minaj’s music videos and created artwork for both Pharrell Williams and Mac Miller. Seife was not content solely actioning the creative vision of others, and so began to create his own work. With financial backing from his career in graphic design, Seife made the transition into creating contemporary artwork full-time in 2015. His paintings and sculptures have been the basis of successful solo exhibitions in galleries and museums across the U.S, Europe and Asia as well as collaborations with Nike and Kobe Bryant . Coming off his most recent sold out solo exhibition at Unit London I sat down with Jason to discuss his upcoming endeavor into creating NFT’s. What it means to him and where he plans to take it in the future.  

When did you first hear about NFT’s and what interested you in them?

Im fortunate to have become friends with a lot of amazing artists over the years thanks to social media and appreciation for each others work. A few of these artists were active really early on in the space and I always found it fascinating. As in any new medium or outlet that I take my work into I always want to make sure I am bringing something to the table that feels genuine and thought out. I didn’t want to rush into putting something out or minting a work for the sake of minting it, so I really took my time and studied the space and what I wanted to add to it. Having spent the last 2 years working on my most recent solo exhibition, once I completed that in December of last year I turned my focus into developing a new body of work for NFT. 

What really interested me about it was the ability to both literally and conceptually think outside of the box. I knew right away that I wanted my work in this space to exist as and extension or accompaniment to my paintings. As apposed to photographing or scanning an existing painting I wanted create new works from the same root imagery of my paintings that would ideally take them to a level and meaning that simply paint could not do on its own.

Can you tell us a bit more about your genesis piece “RE:birth”?

The idea for this piece came to me earlier this year. Before I make a painting I create high resolution digital renders which act as reference images for the paintings. These digital files up until now simply existed in my hard drives and were never shared to the public. For this piece I created a new design involving birds, which in ancient carpet imagery have always been rooted with deep meaning. Depending on the type of bird and where the design originated they were used to signify anything from fertility to joy and the celebration of a new beginning. With this piece being my first mint I knew I wanted it to represent a new beginning or new chapter in my artistic career. I chose to bring these birds to life through 3d modeling and animation. The conceptual meaning behind the origins of birds in carpet imagery tied into the physical act of rendering them to “life” in 3d was extremely interesting to me. It’s the first time I’ve been able to bring my work to life in this way and for me it genuinely feels like a rebirth of my artistic vision.

What are your plans for the future and where do you see your work going?

As mentioned before I have been developing my ideas for a few months now, so while I’m only minting one piece to start I do have quite a few other works already completed or near completion. For me my approach to art has always been quality over quantity. Because the works are so intricate they do take quite sometime to make so I prefer to have each piece I put out into the word whether physically or digitally to always be something I have sat with for a while and am fully content with. Im excited for the doors this has already opened for me in the ways that I approach creating art. I have some exciting ideas that would tie in a physical aspect such as a painting or sculpture in accompaniment to the NFT’s. I think a lot of artists feel they need to choose between making “digital” or “physical” art but in the end art is art and this is simply a new medium as any other so I will continue to create in all aspects that I can.

www.instagram.com/jasonseife
www.jason-seife.com
www.twitter.com/jasonseife

Editorial is open for submissions: [email protected]

PosterLad is a graphic design project by Czech designer Vratislav Pecka. The main idea of this project is to reinvent the perception of posters: A poster does not have to always promote – a product or an event. Instead, the designer is using the medium to express his design ideas and unique thinking in terms of approaching poster design as fine art. For SuperRare though, the designer wants to offer a bit more than a typical poster design – adding motion and approaching it differently than the rest of his work to achieve real rarity.

Mainly using simple shapes, geometrically aligned layouts or organically shaped lines and vivid colors, the project is all about pleasing the viewer’s eye. Because the world needs good looking things. 

The designer finds an endless source of inspiration in everything a bit old, dated. Old VHS cases, 90’s graphics, clothes or even music from that era. Without a doubt, there is a strong influence of Bauhaus in the PosterLad project as well. 

Vratislav Pecka, better known as Posterlad, created the Posterlad project to redefine how we perceive and interact with posters. His approach to the poster is aesthetic and ideas driven, rather than promotional and advertorial. On the Posterlad website, Vratislav says “the project is all about pleasing the viewer’s eye. Because the world needs good looking things”. And who could possibly disagree with that? The project has been a huge success, receiving awards and critical acclaim, and Pecka’s style is hard to forget once you’ve laid eyes on it.

Your Posterlad project has been brilliantly received – what lessons have you learned about turning your passion into a business?

Thank you! I actually never planned on making the PosterLad project a business. I mean, I have had an online store for about three years now. Back then I made it mainly because of the fact that twice a month someone asked me on Instagram “Where can I buy this?”. It went on like that for 2 years and all of sudden before the summer last year, people started buying more and more. At that very same time, thanks to corona, I did not have to spend that much time on clients work. So I invested a lot of time into learning something about e-commerce, I built a new online store and started taking the whole business side of it much more seriously than before. I am constantly learning something in terms of running an e-commerce business.

Where do you take inspiration from for your work?

Most of the time, I just start making a poster just like that, I don’t necessarily seek inspiration before I make something. In general, I love looking back at Bauhaus school designs and thanks to that I guess you can see it has had some influence on what I do.

You talk about “approaching poster design as fine art”. Do you have any fine art inspirations?

Yeah, I think poster can be so much more than just a medium presenting some event. When it comes to fine art, there are so many artists I follow or like to read about. Jan Kaláb, Morag Myerscough, Felipe Pantone, Peter Tarka or Marco Vannini to name some of the best ones. In general, I don’t always seek inspiration in terms of visual inspiration, but sometimes I like to observe these artists’ personalities – what they are like, how they present themselves, are they nice? For me, that is as important as the quality of their work.  

Do you have any thoughts on the line between graphic art and visual communication?

I think a good visual communication is true art. For instance, when I get to my designated gate at the airport without thinking too much about the navigation system, that is art.

What is the ideas process behind a Posterlad design?

For the Grafik Editions poster I just wanted to change things up completely. Usually, I use very geometric layouts, perfect circles, perfect rectangles, etc. This time I just started drawing these lines very randomly and then I realised they could overlap each other, so I kept drawing until the final design happened. I always spend the most amount of time on tweaking the colours, this was not an exception.

Do you have any plans for future projects you can tell us about?

I do have couple of exciting collaborations going with some brands that I will announce soon. I definitely want to keep doing more collaborations like that and also dive into the cryptoart world a little bit.  

www.superrare.com/posterlad
www.instagram.com/posterlad
www.twitter.com/posterlad
www.posterlad.com

Editorial is open for submissions: [email protected]

“H-U-M-A-N-S-C-U-L-P-T-U-R-E” is an add-on collectible piece to Pussy Riot’s “PANIC ATTACK” series, created by a visual artist Yulia Shur in collaboration with Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova. 

Relatively near future, year 2092. 
Objectification of human beings has reached the next level. 
“H-U-M-A-N-S-C-U-L-P-T-U-R-E” brings you to a dystopian future, you’re inside one of the toxic factories where human clones are being grown for consumption. Starting from the 80s of the 21th century, a new trend, surprising at first, started to take over. 
It all was as an experimentation in small underground designer boutiques in the beginning, when hackers were dicking around by making clones (mostly female) for their own enjoyment. But quickly the trend took over the global market, and human rights groups could do little about it, because the industry became too profitable to be stopped. 

The new law signed in 2085 states that any consumer who has means can stop by at one of the shops that each clone factory has and pick a clone, or simply make an order via AR set. Clones are used mostly for sex and as a food, because there’s no much protein resources left on the Earth. 

The global planetary law does not allow to create more than 10.000 replicas of one unique human, but these laws are being broken all the time and there’re lots of counterfeit cloners on the market: it’s cheaper to decode one set of DNA and produce millions of clones using it. When the police busts illegal counterfeit factories, clones are being quickly slaughtered and dissolved, because it’s economically more viable than to pay giant fines for illegal clones production. The piece “H-U-M-A-N-S-C-U-L-P-T-U-R-E” shows slaughtered clones that are about to be put in H2SO4 acid shower to be dissolved. 

Pussy Riot is a political art collective that started a movement in Russia and worldwide. Pussy Riot’s art was named by The Guardian among the best art pieces of the 21st century, Pussy Riot was named “Women of the year” (2012) by TIME magazine. In 2012 two of Pussy Riot’s members, including its founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, were sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for anti-Putin protests. Currently, in 2021, two members of Pussy Riot, Masha Alekhina and Lucy Shtein, are under house arrest facing 2 years in jail. 

Yulia Shur is a Belarusian-born art photographer and self-portrait artist, based between Tokyo and Los Angeles. She shoots for magazines such as NYLON, King Kong , i-D Japan, MUSE, Office, Rolling Stone and others stretching the definition of photography using the toolbox full of shapes, lines, illusions, poisoned beauty, death, love and subconscious fantasies. Yulia has had 8 shows in japan in the last 5 years and won the gold prize at the Tokyo International Foto Awards 2020. 

The artwork will be released on March 18th 
10am PST. 

On Yulia Shur’s SuperRare page
https://superrare.com/yuliashur

*Other artworks from Pussy Riot’s “PANIC ATTACK” NFT series consists of four unique NFTs on Foundation.