Gallery 3209 proudly presents the first ever gallery exhibition of the compelling collaboration between legendary photographer Moshe Brakha and his son, emerging artist Eddie Brakha, with their series New Economy.

New Economy is a collision of raw emotional energy from the original punk patriarch and his academic punk son who constructs a conceptual and narrative framework within his fatherʼs visual process. The two perspectives strike a brashbalance, refining one anotherʼs attitudes in their combination.

After three years confined in a lab creating their first series, Silent Pictures, Moshe and Eddie – aka BrakhaX2 – craved human interaction. Silent Pictures explored tools and artifacts representing humans and emotions; New Economy integrates humans into this context in a Constructivist quest to explore the young artistʼs emotional connection to his or her form of expression. Moshe and Eddie ask:

How do you think?

Following the Beuysian proposition that every human is an artist, they approached boxers, musicians, and directors as well as curators and professional artists to participate in New Economy. Moshe and Eddie interviewed each subject a week before their shoot in order to concoct a conceptual conceit through which to present each individualʼs unique connection to their art form the filter through which they experience the world and by which the world experiences them. For 52 weeks – thus 52 subjects – Moshe and Eddie adhered to this strict regimen of interview and photograph, producing two images for each artist. In one close up and one wide, Moshe and Eddie memorialize the essence that their interview reveals.

Moshe and Eddieʼs ever-ingenious technique renders each photograph a painterly expression of super saturated colors, employing slick lighting and highly designed mise en scene to investigate what makes a human tick. Such acute stylization confronted by the intimacy spawned in the interview reveals a strikingly surreal vision of reality, heightening the viewerʼs awareness of each subjectʼs aura. This is the currency of the New Economy – internationally famed or entirely unknown, each subject in this series is endowed with his or her own supernatural power. However grandiose or nuanced, it is the creative spirit that gives value to humanity and all that We produce. New Economy is on view at GALLERY3209 from January 7th- Febuary 11th 2012.

Curated by: Denni Zelikowsky

http://www.brakhax2.com/

“BEAUTY CULTURE provides a seminal examination of photography’s role in capturing and defining notions of modern female beauty and how these images profoundly influence our lives in both celebratory and disturbing ways.

Through different lenses focused on the body beautiful, the exhibition examines both traditional and unconventional definitions of beauty, challenging stereotypes of gender, race and age. It explores the links between beauty and violence, glamour and sexuality and the cost (in its multiple meanings) of beauty.

Featuring works from over 100 world-renowned beauty, fashion and fine art photographers, BEAUTY CULTURE encourages a social discussion about the allure and mystique of the pursuit of female beauty, as well as its cult-like glorification and the multi-billion dollar industries that surround it.

BEAUTY CULTURE presents diverse viewpoints on beauty as it has evolved through the 20th and 21st centuries. These viewpoints are at times challenging, daring and controversial. Ultimately, the exhibition illustrates the power of the still image in shaping cultural ideals and expectations of feminine beauty – and photography’s undeniable influence on conceptions of the Self.

In addition to over 170 photographs featured in the print gallery, BEAUTY CULTURE showcases hundreds of digital images in vivid detail on high-resolution screens in the Digital Gallery. The Digital Gallery also includes a short documentary film that expands upon the print exhibition’s themes, featuring interviews with well-known photographers, models, historians and beauty experts who guide visitors on a fascinating photographic exploration of the culture – and cult – of beauty.

If you have a moment, watch some of the featured photographers’ videos {incredibly powerful}. If you are in Los Angeles, visit the space. Either way, muse on the message.

Today, the wildly amazing team of Moshe & Eddie Brakha {Brakhax2} went Goldfinger for their Sketchy Mondays series, featuring a duo of fascinating and fabulous photos of yours truly:

#1: My favorite, an extreme closeup of my head covered in silver block letters {remember my love of typography?}

#2: A wide shot, with me looking like the incredible hulk wrapped in computer cables and sucking on a binkie.

“But Stephanie,” you beg, “I don’t get it! Tell me- what does it all mean?“

Hate to disappoint, people, but my lips are sealed {or they forgot to untie the power cords so I’m finding it difficult to type}. I will leave the interpretation up to you, since I would never dare pretend that I know what is going on inside their {commercial} heads.

Let me know what you think they’re all about. And remember, flattery will get you everywhere.

P.S. Extra thanks to the people behind the scenes- Buddy, Levi, Shaun, and Karl. xo

So you can imagine my delight when I ran across the celebration of the { in this witty “Field Guide to Typestaches”, expertly designed by San-Francisco based art director Tor Weeks. He artfully describes the project as “A nerdy little love story about typography and mustaches.”

Although I have Mr. Helvetica peppered throughout my website, I have changed allegiances and fallen in love with Mr. Filosofia through this poster. Expect to see him in my bag of tricks soon.

Weigh in and share: What’s your favorite ‘stache?

Late in the day, we stumbled across two small boutiques, City Bird and Bureau of Urban Living, both selling wares from local artists and craftsmen.  The most incredible find were goods from the Detroit Lives campaign. A creative force driving and celebrating the re-invention of the city, their amazing city murals and clothing line feature some fabulous typography, aliens, and retro graphics {what more could a girl ask for!}.

Thank you for visiting my {finally} revamped website! It’s been a long time coming, and I appreciate that you hung in there and put up with my old flash site for so long. Take a look around and let me know what you think- comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!

I am dedicating this section of my site to posting {when inspiration and time permits} some fun and interesting things I always seem to run across while designing and developing my client’s sites.

Here’s an amazing freebie page for you from one of my favorite stock photo/font sites- bookmark and check back weekly for new goodies {their activity books are tons of fun}

http://www.veer.com/products/free/

My favorite from this week, of course, is this fabulous “Escape from Comic Sans” wallpaper- a call to action for all of us