JOSE ESPAILLAT: An Interview With Designer MIODRAG GUBERINIC

Headdress Design: Miodrag Guberinic 

Photograph © Jose Espaillat

Designer Miodrag Guberinic

Headdress Design: Miodrag Guberinic 

Photograph © Jose Espaillat

It all started when James Estrin, co-founder and editor of The New York Times Lens Blog, spoke to my School of Visual Arts BFA Photography "Professional Community" class! I gave the students an assignment to create an editorial blog-post worthy of The NYTimes Lens Blog. Jose Espaillat created this amazing piece with his brilliant photographs accompanying his interview with Designer Miodrag Guberinic, whose most recent project was the development of costume crafts and prototypes of iconic helmets and shoulder pieces for Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour 2015.

Espaillat was born and raised in The Dominican Republic. He moved to New York City in 2012 and started taking photos in the summer of 2013. Following his dream, he began studies at School of Visual Arts for a BFA in Photography. In his short career, Espaillat's work has been featured online as well in print by several magazines. Selected editorials were published by GlassBook, Elegant Magazine, The Dapifer, among others.

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Jose Espaillat met with Designer Miodrag Guberinic at his studio in Brooklyn to talk about his art and the life of an artist in New York City. Guberinic grew up in Serbia and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade with a BFA in Costume and Fashion Design in 2005. He was awarded a full scholarship to Northwestern University’s Stage Design Program, and graduated with an MFA in Theater Costume Design in 2011.  Following his graduation he moved to NYC. He has worked with big names like Madonna, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Prada, among others. 

Jose Espaillat: How was it when you moved to New York City? Was it hard, was it easy?

Miodrag Guberinic: When I came to NYC for the first time as a tourist in 2004, I felt that it was the place where I belong. I knew this was the city that would give me abundance of creative work opportunities in my field and I sensed that I simply need to come back to it. So since then, I knew NY will be my home.

The first few months were challenging, but I was doing my best to be proactive about my work and I did everything I could to stay focused on my path. A few of my colleagues from Chicago had moved to NYC as well, so my first jobs were in the Theater. Additionally, I worked as a craft assistant in theater costume shops and a tailor's assistant in a few fashion companies. I only promised myself I will make my money from creative jobs and stay persistent.

Designer Miodrag Guberinic developed the costume crafts and prototypes of iconic helmets and shoulder pieces for Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour 2015! (Photo: Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Miodrag Guberinic and Jose Espaillat

Photographer Jose Espaillat shooting Model shooting Selfie

Q: How did you get those jobs?

A: Most of the jobs came through friends and friends of friends, and some came through Craigslist.

Q: After 5 years you are working for big clients. Did you ever think that you wouldn’t make it in NYC?

A: I never had a doubt. The phrase, “To make it in New York City” has a different meaning for every person who comes here. For me it means - to be able to create and to be recognized for the love I invest in my creative work - as well as to live and support myself from it. That dream became true.

Q: Do you go to art exhibitions and museums frequently?

A: I try to follow whats happening in the city as much as I can. Usually I go only to recommended exhibits. Most  of my close friends are artists and I rely on their opinions. They are pretty active in the city so they help me filter my choices when it comes to new art shows.

Headdress Design: Miodrag Guberinic 

Photograph © Jose Espaillat

Headdress Design: Miodrag Guberinic 

Photograph © Jose Espaillat

 Model: Mateusz Maga and Makeup Artist: Viktorija Bowers

Q: What’s the art event in NYC that left the biggest impression in you?

A: There were a number of costume exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that were astounding to me. If I need to select one - I would say, "Seeing Alexander McQueen" exhibition in 2011. That specific exhibition pushed me to move to NYC faster. Moreover, it had the strongest emotional, intellectual and lifelong creatively inspiring impact on me.

Q: Your drawings are very futuristic and unique. Did you always draw with that style? How do you come up with those alien ladies?

A: In my childhood I drew a lot of princesses, then in primary school I started drawing monsters. With art education and work, ladies and monsters evolved and merged into those androgynous looking beings. They just appear on the paper for me and I try to give them my full attention in one shot. I never go back to the same drawing twice - what happens in that moment, that's what it is. 

Q: Do you see yourself in NYC in the next 10 years; and if so, doing what?

A: I see myself here until the end of my life. I will always enjoy being in this city as so many beautiful moments happened and are happening for me here. I don’t recall any other place I visited that gave me a sense of belonging like NYC. I will be doing what I love at that time in my life. That's the goal.

In a city that never sleeps, Mio is an unstoppable force that is working towards greatness.

Designer: MIODRAG GUBERINIC

Photographer:  JOSE ESPAILLAT

Makeup Artist: Viktorija Bowers

Model: Mateusz Maga

DEAR DAVE, CONVERSATIONS: Domingo Milella in Conversation with Stephen Frailey

Photograph © Domingo Milella

Nemrut Dagi, Turkey 2013

Photograph © Domingo Milella

Myra, Turkey 2012

Photograph © Domingo Milella

Gavur Kale, Turkey, 2013

DEAR DAVE, presents

DOMINGO MILELLA

in conversation with

STEPHEN FRAILEY

SUNDAY,  October 25TH, 2015

SVA Theatre
12 PM

333 West 23rd St, NYC
RSVP: info@deardavemagazine.com

DEAR DAVE, presents a talk by Artist Domingo Milella about the process of making his recently published monograph, Domingo Milella (STEIDL, 2015). Inspired by the subject of cities and their borders, cemeteries and villages, caves and homes, Domingo Milella  documents photographs from what turned into a global journey of the oldest lands and the archaic world. 

"It's hard to talk about photography without facing issues of time, memory and death - not as stereotypical archetypes, but as challenging and malleable entities of culture and nature." – Domingo Milella

Domingo Milella, Steidl

Subscribe to DEAR DAVE Magazine

Domingo Milella was born in 1981 in Bari, where he lived until the age of 18. After moving to New York, he studied photography at the School of Visual Arts under the guidance of Stephen Shore. He worked with Massimo Vitali then Thomas Struth was for him an influential mentor. He currently lives between London and Bari. His work has been exhibited at the Foam Museum in Amsterdam, the 54th Venice Biennale and Les Rencontres d ‘Arles.

MALCOLM LIGHTNER: MILE O' MUD Kickstarter Campaign

Mile O' Mud

Photographs (c) Malcolm Lightner

LINK TO PLAY KICKSTARTER VIDEO

"I've been delighted by Malcolm Lightner's 'Mile O' Mud' series for several years now. His photographs capture the country culture surrounding Florida's Swamp Buggy races. I can almost hear the racing engines propelling the swamp buggies through the mud with a chorus of cicadas singing along the banks. These photographs bring out the southern roots in me – gators and pistols, mud wrestling and beauty pageants, Budweiser and BBQ – images full of my favorite rednecks and they are proud of it. Southern charm at its best."– Elizabeth Avedon

MILE O' MUD BY MALCOLM LIGHTNER

THE PROJECT: Before embarking on my “MILE O' MUD” project in October 2002, my encounters with the swamp buggy races consisted of a few abbreviated visits to the track as a child, with my mother, who was not interested in the races but in locating my father, who had gone missing for several days.

I began to photograph swamp buggy racing to pay homage to my family heritage and to document what I consider to be a rare slice of Americana. On my first visit to the track, I drove into the parking lot of the Florida Sports Park, heard the engines of the buggies roar, and witnessed the great plumes of water trailing behind the boat-dragster hybrids. I could feel the vibrations from the raw horsepower pound against my chest, and it almost took my breath away. I thought to myself that this was going to be fun! The races occur three weekends out of the year, and I managed to make the trip at least once a year from 2002 to 2013 except 2005, when the races were cancelled due to Hurricane Wilma.

In my own mind, this project felt like time travel. I experienced firsthand the people and culture that were a large part of my parents’ life that I never witnessed but that felt somehow defining. Initially, it was the buggies themselves that attracted me, though I soon began to discover endless narrative possibilities and connections among the drivers, spectators and enthusiasts. I unveiled family connections that I did not know existed and heard numerous stories about my father, who had the reputation of a hard worker in the plastering and construction community. He was an all-around tough guy, someone you would not want to mess with.

I came to understand Swamp Buggy Racing as a metaphor for life’s daily struggles and the innate drive to overcome obstacles against great odds while trying to maintain a sense of humor and grace. The races demonstrated to me the All-American desire to compete to win as well as the power of family and community.

MILE O' MUD BY MALCOLM LIGHTNER
KICKSTARTER 

Introduction by Padgett Powell and Essay by Malcolm Lightner. Clothbound Hardcover, 12.125 x 11.875 inches (landscape), 136 pages. Photographs: approx. 86 in color. PowerHouse Books: November 2016

DEAR DAVE: Foley Gallery

Air Kiss, 2007

Photograph (c) Jessica Craig-Martin

Andrew B. Myers, Balloons, 2013

Joseph Tripi, Formica Desk: Side #2, 2007

List of Participating Artist's

(dble-click image to enlarge)

DEAR DAVE, Approaching 20 Issues in Print

April 16 – April 19, 2015

FOLEY Gallery

59 Orchard Street, NYC

Opening Reception:

April 16, 2015

Conversation with Stephen Frailey, Editor

And Mark Alice Durant, Editor At Large

April 18, 2PM

Subscribe To DEAR DAVE,

a tri-annual publication of photography and writing. It celebrates a community of visual thinking, with affection and humor, and publishes idiosyncratic and original work that is deserving of further recognition. DEAR DAVE, is interested in the most unpredictable work of all genres and sensibilities.

Publisher, David Rhodes; Editor-in-Chief, Stephen Frailey; Director of Design & Digital Media, Michael J. Walsh; Managing Editor, Maria Dubon; Cover Editor, Mary Ehni; Fashion Director, Lindsay Hart Thompson; Associate Editor, Sheilah Ledwidge; Editor-at-Large, Mark Alice Durant; Lead Web Designer & Developer, Eric Corriel; Editorial Assistant, Caroline Tompkins; Webmaster, Eric Graham; Editorial Advisors, Philip Gefter, Michael Kazam, Jimmy Moffat, Roger O. Thornhill, Jessica Craig-Martin; Distribution, Disticor Magazine Distribution Services

PHOTOVILLE: SVA BFA Alumni Exhibition In Brooklyn Bridge Park

Photograph © Nir Arieli

Photograph © Supranav Dash

An Exhibition of Works by select School of Visual Arts BFA Photography Alumni from the classes of 2013 and 2012. Curated by Department Chair Stephen Frailey for PHOTOVILLE, a Public Exhibition Space built from Shipping Containers in the heart of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

SVA Alumni Exhibition

PHOTOVILLE 

9/18 – 9/28

SVA Alumni Exhibition

PHOTOVILLE 

9/18 – 9/28

LISA ELMALEH: American Folk at Foley Gallery

Matthew Kinman and Moses Nelligan, West Virginia , 2013
Photograph © Lisa Elmaleh

 

 Janice Birchfield, Tennessee, 2013
Photograph © Lisa Elmaleh

Jim Costa's Porch, West Virginia, 2013
Photograph © Lisa Elmaleh

Lisa Elmaleh has been creating tintypes of traditional folk musicians who live in and around the Appalachian Mountains since 2010. Her project grew out of a love of the land, American folk music, traditional American culture and her own romance with this 19th century photographic process.

Portraits captured by tintype call for great patience from both the sitter and the photographer. An entire day is spent with each musician - each 8x10 plate is hand coated, exposed in a large format camera, and developed on-site. The tradition of American folk music echoes in the historic nature of the tintype photographic process, connecting photographer with subject, each with their pursuit of keeping their own respective histories alive and well in the 21st Century.

These warm-toned portraits combined with a selection of their natural landscape counterparts, provides a full setting for understanding a way of life.  The crops are garlic and tobacco and the wardrobe is dungaree and flannel.  Hands are well worn, larger from labor and the rigorous playing on their instrument of choice.  Elmaleh’s approach is simple and straight forward which echoes the lifestyle and the plain dresses worn by her female subjects.
 

Elmaleh lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.  She holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NY.  Her photographs have been exhibited widely including a solo exhibition at Candela Books + Gallery in Richmond, VA. Group exhibitions include ArtCenter South Florida, Miami, FL; Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA; Bronx Biennial Group Show, Bronx, NY.  Her work has been published in Harper’s and Black & White magazines.  She is a past recipient of the Tierney Fellowship. (Text courtesy the Foley Gallery)

Lisa Elmaleh - American Folk

July 17 - August 9, 2014

FOLEY GALLERY, NY

PHILLIP GARBER: Auction to Benefit SAY "Every Voice Matters"

Times Square in the Rain

Photograph © Phillip Garber

Auction to Benefit 
SAY: Stuttering Association for the Young

"Our mission is to empower young people who stutter and inspire the world to treat them with compassion and respect so they can achieve their dreams. Our vision is a world where every voice matters."

Phillip Garber, a former student of mine, is a SAY alum and a sophomore in the BFA Photography program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. An aspiring photo-journalist, his focus is social documentary work. He attributes much of his confidence and success to SAY, which broadened his horizons and him gave him the power of his voice. "No matter how hard a situation may be, you always have an ally in your community."

Up for auction is Phillip's silver gelatin "wet print," Times Square in the Rain, with a starting bid of $250.00. Auction runs to June 12, 2014. Start bidding!

SAY AUCTION SITE

SAY: Stuttering Association for the Young is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people ages 8-18 through the organizations theater program, summer camp, and speech therapy. 

AIPAD 2014: Touring With Students

 Monroe Gallery's Sidney Monroe, Booth #421

SVA Photography student, Mo Walbrook, Monroe Gallery

Steven Kasher Gallery, Booth #205

SVA Student, Pelham Goddard, KlompChing Gallery

KlompChing Gallery, Debra Klomp and Darren Ching, Booth #216

Chris McCaw, series Sunburned

Yossi Milo Gallery, Booth #

Photograph by Saul Leiter

Howard Greenberg Gallery, Booth #401

AIPAD Photography Show

through Sunday, April 13, 2014

The Park Avenue Armory, NYC

more later...

RADCLIFFE 'RUDDY' ROYE: Instagram Activist

 

January 10, 2014 Gabriel -- self proclaimed son of David.

Photograph © Ruddy Roye Instagram.com/ruddyroye

December 31, 2013 The Designer (Unfinished and Unedited) I believe by design I am a designer. Shiny as a petal that was stained from last mornings early rain: Polluted water, skipping on second hand smoke to fill the banks of the raging rivers, rising again like streaming steam, steeped in soilings, to fall again like a Congolese Sapeur on flavoured flowers. I am by design, a designer. Grounded as any root pushing pass dirt and the contaminated loot we pretend to be fodder We call it organic, stringing, and slinging, profane pharmaceuticals into the earth to fertilize our minds I am by design, a designer. Made by man reaching to be higher, but being developed by our local sponsors Acting like we are better than the four legged creatures we carry in our DNA like that man Adam or was it Noah? Watching the world from our hand as we click away blindly with our index finger, Our gaze firmly pointed at the other. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

November 19, 2013 Extract from The Four Seasons (Unfinished, Unedited) Fall And he carried a broken black bag, with his needs and things. A bag that carried no food or clothes, But was filled with his dreams and pills. It is his whole-- Filled with all his earthly possession. Clutching tight it's twisted secrets He uses it to deflect life's cruel weapons. It's is a traveled bag, A carried bag Through centuries and Cross terrains It has been a beaten bag A mistreated bag left to hang in the harsh sun and the pouring rain. I watched him, face blackened, hidden by frustration, he is Everyman invisible and worn. Slowly, I watch him run from the sun and straight into the shadow and pleats of his broken black bag. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

January 29, 2014 "Another Year" -- Happy Birthday, Mom. Every year time sifts each atom that magically shapes her cheeks. It bunches up her brows And tries to redraw the smile etched across her two molded peaks used to pull the universe in. It pulls her eyes forward and forces her to weep Changed in a blink, stopped with a click. She was someone's moon, The waning pregnant shape now wrinkled and barren Was what I first howled at. I wore my first crown sliding down her future while she laid on her back. These days I bemoan time spent chasing a liquid dream hugging this brittle basket of American pies and picket fences watching my dough slip through unraveling seams. I am missing all her seasons. She sits for my camera singing, about a day to come when she will again see her beginning. So I steal a page, and her cheeks flick forward to mimic the click of another year. Straining itself through the magical sift of atoms I see her age peeling away with the tears That drip in this basket called distance and absence drying up to flake away like her life captured in a stare. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

December 27, 2013 Cyclops -- Walking with my eight year old today and talking pictures. He was trying to convince me that he knew what ingredients should be in a good picture. It was a fantastic couple of miles worth of conversation. Instagram.com/ruddyroye

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Radcliffe 'Ruddy' Roye is a Brooklyn based documentary photographer specializing in editorial and environmental portraits and photo-journalism photography. "Radcliffe is inspired by the raw and gritty lives of grassroots people, especially those of his homeland of Jamaica. He strives to tell the stories of their victories and ills by bringing their voices to matte fiber paper." With over 64,000 Instagram followers, Roye has redefined the art of communicating through images and words.

RUDDY ROYE.com

The photographs on this website are a Must-See!

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 Radcliffe Roye, Tuesday March 11 7pm

SVA, 136 West 21st Street, room 418F, NYC

i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration Lecture Series

presented by MPS Digital Photography 

Photograph © Ruddy Roye

As seen in "The Street Types of New York"exhibition

co-curated by Paul Moakley and Anthony LaSala
Alice Austen House Museum, 2013

Photograph © Ruddy Roye

As seen in "The Street Types of New York"exhibition

co-curated by Paul Moakley and Anthony LaSala
Alice Austen House Museum, 2013 

I first saw Roye's portraits in an exhibition last summer curated by Time Magazine Deputy Photo Editor Paul Moakley and Photo Editor Anthony LaSala. I was blown away by his work and very honored he recently accepted my invitation to talk to my School of Visual Arts BFA Photography program students.
 

Ruddy Roye gave my students an inspirational, moving and informative talk and presentation of his work. He generously shared his own life experiences and career path. Thank you so much, Ruddy Roye.

NIR ARIELI: Inframen at Daniel Cooney

Austin, 2012. © Nir Arieli

 Clinton, 2012. © Nir Arieli

"Inframen" at Daniel Cooney Fine Art is a striking series of black and white infrared images of male dancers by New York based photographer Nir Arieli. "The infrared technique allows the artist to examine below the skin, to reveal the blemishes, scars, stretch marks, sun damage and other traces of wear that lie below the surface of his subject's outward appearance. As dancers, the men express themselves with their bodies, at once pushing their physical limits and maintaining beauty in their appearance and movements."

Nir Arieli launched his career as a military photographer, before receiving a scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York - he graduated with honors and has received numerous awards since. If you are in New York, don't miss this exhibition.

Elizabeth Avedon: What brought you to work with dancers which appear in most of your work?

Nir Arieli: My cousin Tal, an incredible dancer, introduced me to his dancer friends and their performances. I don't dance at all, not even at a party. I admire dancers because they can do what seems to me impossible. The training process of a dancer teaches the body to do things that it can't do naturally. I observe it like a child, like it's a super power. Aside from the physical qualities, these are people who are so dedicated to what they do, subvert norms of gender and thrilled to collaborate on projects of different art mediums - It's quite a pleasure collaborating with them.

EA: What is the "infra-red" process you use to shoot these?

NA: The infrared process is being done digitally. The photos are taken in high resolution and in color, and in the conversion process to black and white I imitate what the old infrared film used to do. In this technique the warm tones (which are the tones of everything that is under our skin) are turning dominant, therefore sun-damage, scars, stretch marks and freckles are all being emphasized, and the cool tones are turning light. 

Kyle, 2012. © Nir Arieli

Taner, 2012. © Nir Arieli

Nehemiah, 2012. © Nir Arieli

EA: Did you receive your scholarship to SVA through Stephen Frailey's "Photo Global" program?

NA: Stephen Frailey is a significant influence in my artistic journey. I wasn't a part of the "Photo Global" program but he was my department chair during my 4 year SVA BFA Photography program. He is a generous and special educator and artist. The 4-year scholarship I received was the "Silas H. Rhodes Scholarship," named after a co-founder of the School of Visual Arts.

EA: What type of photographs did you begin your career with? 

NA: In my mandatory military service in Israel I was lucky enough to serve as a photographer for the IDF magazine "Bamachane". It was a great experience which thought me not only technique but also a lot about what I'm interested in as a photographer. I realized that journalistic work which requires me to capture moments that I have no control over was not something that excites me. I'm more of a director or a sculptor, I need the interaction with the subject and I value the intimacy that is being created during a photo-session. 

EA: How does your early work contrast with your current fine art photographs? 

NA: The military was like an intense three year school program. We photographed something different each day, both documentary work and portraiture. I got to be on airplanes, on ships and in the desert... I was sent to do assignments. My current personal work is much more intimate and personal. It's about themes that I'm interested in, people that I choose and the dialog of the photo-session. It seems like it's the complete opposite but actually, there are some similarities. I had an agenda as a military photographer to find that gentleness and sensitivity in the soldiers I photographed, which is something I do in my current work. I feel like that period set down the first bricks in this "castle" I'm building.

NIR ARIELI: INFRAMEN 

Exhibition to March 8 

Daniel Cooney Fine Art, New York

MALCOLM LIGHTNER: Dixieland

Stars and Stripes, 2008

Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

 Braids, 2009

Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

  Hauling Ass, 2009

Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

 Gator, 2001

Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

 Off Season, 2008

Photograph © Malcolm Lightner

MALCOLM LIGHTNER is a fourth generation native Floridian and his work is rooted in the distinctly American tradition of Southern Photography. By combining the traits of an articulate narrative storyteller, probing cultural anthropologist, and contemporary visual artist, Malcolm chooses depth over distance, imbuing both his pictures and his subjects with a profound sense of dignity.

His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions including: Art + Commerce Emerging Photographers and Joint Venture: Selections from the Dr. Barry S. Ramer Collection & Other Photographs. Several of his works are included in the permanent photography collections at the Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona Beach, Florida. His work has also appeared in publications including Life Magazine, Florida Trends Magazine, Guernica, Photo District News and Visual Arts Journal.

Malcolm currently resides in New York and is a member of the photography faculty at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

MALCOLM LIGHTNER

STUDENT SHOWCASE: Roman Anaya

 My 85 year old Grandfather came here from Mexico as a migrant worker.
Photograph © Roman Anaya

My Grandfather captures the essence of a hard working man.
Photograph © Roman Anaya

"My family came here from Mexico as migrant workers. These images represent the hard work and obstacles my family has had to overcome to get to where we are today."–Roman Anaya

Roman Anaya is this month's Student Showcase choice. He is currently a student in the School of Visual Arts BFA Photography program.