portraits

Karen Tauches

please click on the image for a larger view


favorite local artist?

I think it's divisive to call favorites. that said, atlanta has a fine group of avant-guardes, living at the edge of what on the surface is a very mainstream, commercial, corporate city. Atlanta can be like casablanca for creatives; it's a place you end up for various reasons other than for art, while waiting to go somewhere else. it's also a polarized, cultural battlefield. this makes those on the edge more eccentric, fierce & independent. hell, there's nothing to lose here, and a lot of opportunity to experiment. that's something that atlanta has to offer.

here are some names (no particular order) and apologies to anyone I left out: the late gretchen humpfel, nat slaughter, brian parks, andy ditzler, robert cheatham, eggtooth, kiki blood, shana robbins, cece kane, daniel osborne, matt proctor, bill taft, r.land, omar, hormuz minina, patrick holbrook, naz, shana wood, zano, alison rentz, alvaro avillar, linda armstrong, ruth laxson, marshall avett, ana balka, jody fausett, benita carr, the art taxi, craig dongoski, julie puttgen, krispin harker and mary mae, sara hornbacher, lisa kemp, kristopher lamey (in person), that homeless guy who ties capes around his chest in little 5 and is so damn stylish, albino mattioli's animations, jason johnson's black paintings, nicholas fraser, don cooper, silas reeves (I just know he's an artist), travis pack's scratched photos (where the hell are ya?), stan woodard's transparency piece, chea prince, katie ridley, caroline smith, martha stiles, carlos tardio, evan levi, john otte, joe peragine's phallic, inflatable tank, benjamin solomon (words). . . . . . . .


what album/music are you currently listening to?

congotronics

favorite local hang out?
ballroomm lounge, carlos's treehouse, the oakland cemetery, amy's house in c'town, pal's lounge, carroll st, northside tavern, aurora on weekdays.

one thing you love about your life?
my personal freedom. . ."

for updates on karen's work please check out her website : www.ktauches.com

EVEREMAN: the man behind the face

favorite local artist?
Mr. Fangs

what album are you currently listening to?

The Asch Recordings Vol. 1-4 Woody Guthrie

favorite local hang out?
Carol Street Cafe

one thing you love about your life?
I love the fact that if I give my art away, I can't keep it in stock. It flys outta here! No advertising costs, no middlemen, no salesmen calling, no warehousing fees, no taxes. Hey Capitalists, take it from me, you wanna move some product? Give it away! You'll be astounished at how much merchandise you can move. Your business will be booming and you'll have a more refined and introspective life. This will lead to thinking for yourself and the realization that your religion is nonsense. As a byproduct, we might stop killing each other! Anyway, I love communicating with fellow inhabitants. It's primal.

find EVEREMAN everywhere by paying close attention to your surroundings or check out his website: www.evereman.com

Steven Dixey

favorite local artist? i'm going to have to say, in no particular order: Stenvik Moström, and Jason Murphy. Hands down...

what album are you currently listening to?
The Sword, High On Fire, Iron Maiden, Pelican, Isis, Two Gallants, Lucero, Explosions In The Sky, Johnny Cash, Baroness, The Melvins & Big Business, Torche, Tom Waits, Old Man Gloom, The White Dove Frisbee Team... there's way too many to list.

favorite local hang out?
The Local, the Cleremont, and 97 Estoria, those are about the only places i go, except for maybe the Earl to see a show

one thing you love about your life? I don't know... not being dead, or in prison... i'm not sure how to answer this. I would like to say that I'm very grateful for my loving and supportive family and friends. I wouldn't be anywhere without them. So there, i guess i love that.

Dec 01-30, 2007, Eye Drum Gallery, Atlanta, GA. Two man show with Jason Murphy
Steven will be showing new paintings and giclee prints, Jason will be showing his "drill site" series.
www.eyedrum.org
www.jasonmurphyart.com

Dec 07, 2007, New Street Gallery, Atlanta, GA. group show
www.newstreet.org

Dec 14, 2007, Eastside Lounge, Atlanta, GA. "Sons of the South", group show
this is the launch show for the SOS collective.
prints will also be available at foundation one gallery and rabbit-hole gallery

www.eastsidelounge.net
www.13sonsofthesouth.com
www.foundationonegallery.com
www.therabbitholegallery.com

2008:
dates TBA, stay tuned to www.stevendixey.com for details about the following shows

-group show of Atlanta based Ringling Alumni at beep beep gallery
www.beepbeepgallery..com
-curating a group show at LAS gallery in Phoenix, Az.
www.lasgalleryaz.com
-co-curating a top-secret show with Stenvik Moström at Eyedrum... get ready to run to the hills motherfuckers......
-more to be announced...

Special Thank You/ We Love You's to the individuals whom made this shoot possible...

friends:
Sister Louisa went without one of her "last supper" chairs for the weekend and...
Geoff allowed us to scare the neighbors with his AR15 rifle. maybe he'll let me practice my aim next time we go to the range... please? i hope...

sponsors:
We would like to thank Charlie Vlass and Vivian Mann owners of Army Surplus Sales Inc. for providing us with the great gear seen in this photograph. Their store is filled from floor to ceiling with amazing millitary "you name it"... I was so excited to find my buddy Charlie Owen's his Xmas gift for under 10 bucks. Seriously unheard of these days!

All ammunition was provided courtesy of Ben Autry, owner of Autrey's Armory Inc. I can't wait to take all my friends back to this great shooting range (ladies free on Wed nights ;)... their selection of guns and ammo is top notch... You'll know where to find Dixey and I on any given weekend (after taking Geoff's AR15 hostage)... come join us!

These business owners are graciously supporting our project. Please take a minute to check out their websites and return the effort of support:
www.armysurplussalesinc.com
www.autreysarmory.com

Charlie Owens in tha' Dirty South


Check out Charlie Owens and his ladies.

favorite local artist? John Tindel, hands down! been a fan of his work for years! Local music: Gonzalez and Zoroaster

what album are you currently listening to?
Itunes is set to shuffle – The Sword, Down, Doomriders, Sleep, Fireball Ministry, and Buzzov-en

favorite local hang out?
Righteous Room, Clermont , and the Wall Crawler Rock Club

Sorry ladies, you probably won't run into this handsome man of a Charlie Owens on the streets of Atlanta any time soon, he is busy preparing for the following shows you do not want to miss:

Dec 1-29, 2007, Windup Gallery – Mesa, AZ. "Sk8 Deck the Halls",group show
www.windupgallery.com

Dec 7, 2007, Alcove Gallery, Atlanta, GA. "Wonka", group show
www.alcovearts.com

Dec 8th 7-11, 2007, Young Blood Gallery, Atlanta, GA. "Seasons", group show
www.youngbloodgallery.com

Dec 14, 2007, Eastside Lounge, Atlanta, GA. "Sons of the South", group show
www.eastsideloung.net

January: Date To Be Announced, Eastside Lounge, Atlanta, GA. "Skull Fuck II", group show
www.eastsideloung.net

April: Date To Be Announced, Cry Baby Gallery, New Jersey, group show www.crybabygallery.com

SNEEK PEEK: Bethany Marchman

Here is a sneek peek of the photo shoot with Bethany Marchman.

favorite local artist? Rene Arriagada and Eric Thrice are two of my favorites (there are a ton of amazing local artists that I greatly admire, too many to name them all!)

what album are you currently listening to?
Elevado's "The World Is On Fire"

favorite local hang out?
East Atlana and the Clermont Lounge

one thing you love about your life? "I'm in love"

Bethany Marchman's work can be viewed at the following exhibitions:

November 12, 2007, permanent exhibit, Strychnin Gallery, Berlin, Germany
www.strychnin.com

December 6-9, 2007 art, ARTNow MIAMI, Micaela Gallery (San Francisco), fair
www.micaela.com
www.artnowfair.com

Dec 7, 2007, Alcove Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, "Wonka", group show
www.alcovearts.com

Dec 8, 2007, Foundation One, Atlanta, Georgia, "The Grind" Skate Park Benefit, group show
www.foundationonegallery.com

Dec 15, 2007, Cry Baby Gallery, New Jersey, Anniversary Show, group show
www.crybabygallery.com

Special Thanks:

We have made a couple of new community friends. We would like to thank Maggie Monatesse owner of Decatur Estate Antiques for allowing us to use beautiful jewelry and antiques from her store. Our fabulous wardrobe was provided by Debbie Hitchcock the "Painted Lady." You can find her lovely booth #Z11 at Kudzu Antiques . These business owners are graciously supporting our project. Please take a minute to check out their websites and return the effort of support:
www.decaturestateantiques.com
The Painted Lady

Laurel Wells


Laurel Wells is a New York based designer and musician from the good ole ATL.

favorite local artist? Travis Pack

what album are you currently listening to?
Neil Young, and The Selmanaires

favorite local hang out?
Trader Vics and the Clermont Lounge

one thing you love about your life? "I love my new Greenpoint apartment!"

Laurel is currently involved in a number of creative projects:
www.laurelwells.com
Mia Riddle and Her Band
Leyode

Black Lips and The Selmanaires play NYC/BK

Last night the bands put on a great performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Article courtesy of C.J. Smith:
When the circus comes to town, everyone takes notice. But Wednesday night at Sound Fix Records in Brooklyn was not your typical Ringling Bros./ Barnum & Bailey event: In the center ring were garage-rockers Black Lips, who decided that a record store is a good a place as any to try and throw a circus.
The band is part of a thriving Atlanta indie-rock scene that also includes Deerhunter, Manchester Orchestra and others. Originally slated to be a simple in-store acoustic performance, the band decided to take it one step — OK, several steps — further, dubbing the event the "Black Lips Circus and Bad Kids' Parade." The band's shows are notorious for bad behavior both onstage and off — most famously involving several different kinds of bodily fluids, which the band has largely stopped doing — so the concept isn't much of a stretch. "It's always kind of a circus mentality of people being degenerates at our shows, so we decided to take it to the next level by inviting kids — not even at a show — to parade down the streets," Lips singer/guitarist Cole Alexander said of the event.
"We wanted to spice things up a little. It was kind of thrown together last minute, though," said bassist Jared Swilley — and that much was apparent. The circus part of the night was a tad bumpy due to a bunch of last-minute cancellations (including jugglers, ponies and a couple of other circus acts), but the band's acoustic set went ahead with burlesque dancers and a marching band that led the crowd into the streets for the second portion of the night, the "Bad Kids' Parade."
"We embody bad kids, and that's why we created the Bad Kids Circus, to parade down the streets, promoting juvenile delinquent behavior," Cole said of the parade. And while there was no overtly bad behavior along the parade route, it was nonetheless a rousing success. Fans poured from the record store, led by the Black Lips and the marching band, who played rousing anthems all the way to the Music Hall of Williamsburg, where the band hit the stage for a proper — well, kind of proper — show later in the night.

By the time the parade reached the venue, it had swelled to 200 or so people, complete with confetti launchers, fire-breathers, skateboarding bandmembers and fans in costume and face paint.
And the revelry only gained intensity when the band hit the stage for a typically rambunctious set. As the band tore through a set of fan favorites and songs from their brand-new fifth LP, Good Bad Not Evil, fans formed a giant pit, slam-dancing while crowd-surfers bounded from the stage.
Between the sweaty mess of bodies and beers being hurled into the air, barely a soul left the Music Hall dry.


The SELMANAIRES are: (from left to right) Herb Harris, Mathis Hunter, Tommy Chung, Jason Harris

Tommy Chung from Selmanaires answers:

favorite local artist? Bradford Cox from Deerhunter. Says Tommy, "All around creative personality...music, art, photography, graphic design (Cox has designed album covers for Black Lips and more recently The Coathangers). Its sometimes hard to make out lyrics at a Deerhunter show, but on top of all that, he's also an incredible singer."

what album are you currently listening to?
"Tender Buttons" by UK band Broadcast. Constantly on standby: Can and 70's funk. CCR makes great driving music!

favorite local hang out?
Manuel's Tavern.

one thing you love about your life? People in ATL. Despite how much its grown, there's still a small southern town feel. &nb sp;

*************************************************************************************

Upon moving from Austin to Atlanta in 2000, twin brothers Herb and Jason Harris met Tommy Chung, and the trio had their first band practice at 73 Selman Street, the location from which they took their official title of the Selmanaires. The group played their first gigs after learning a slew of Rolling Stones and Stooges cover tunes on which they would let their drunken basement party audiences sign up to take turns at the mic stand. The Selmanaires’ original sound tread on quieter acoustic territory that featured stand-up bass, bongos, and a Wurlitzer, but the trio noticed their audience was more responsive to the rockers that closed their sets. Several years and equipment adjustments later, the Selmanaires added multi-instrumentalist Mathis Hunter to the line-up and released their debut record Here Come the Selmanaires in 2005. The band generated significant buzz and a solid following in their home state as a result of their impressive first effort that was built on the gorgeous vocal harmonies of the three originating members, as well as their affinity for the eccentric ass-shaking of late-seventies new wave artists like Devo and the Talking Heads. The band has just finished recording their sophomore release, and is gearing up for the Zig-Zag Live Fall Tour with the Black Lips.

Story by Andrew Lutwin
courtesy of Zig Zag Live
Thanks, Taylor

Stay tuned for Aaron's interview of the band!

Dosa Kim: The Interview


Thirty-one year-old Dosa has lived in Atlanta for 17 years and says he can’t imagine abandoning the city that gave rise to his creativity. He started his career in graphic design at the Art Institute of Atlanta, and then went to the University of Georgia for computer animation. His work can be starkly simple, as with his famous black and white bunnies humping, or haunting, as with his graphic novel-like prints. --Erin Behan

Dosa, is that your full name?
It’s Andrew Dosa Kim. Dosa is a Korean name, and it's funny because it's my dad's nickname in Korean, and most Korean people have a hard time calling me that because it means guru or master. … When I was in Korea—I was born in the states—I lived in Korea in the summers. They would really pick on me. They'd really kick my ass.

How did you end up in Atlanta?
I used to live in Knoxville, Tennessee—born in Knoxville, Tennessee--and my parents ended up getting into manufacturing. And they bought out a manufacturing plant in Atlanta. And, we ended up in Atlanta from there on.

What school did you go to?
I went to a Christian school all the way through my freshman year, and then I went to public school—Roswell High School.

How has Atlanta influenced your art?
[During the interview Dosa is wearing a T-shirt of his own design that mocks the KKK.]
Atlanta's locked in the tradition. The South is locked in tradition. The unwillingness to accept new—the struggle—is where the artwork comes from. It's not for the sake of being different. It's more on the content. The impetus [in the art world] is on content in the South, instead of technique or style. I think the struggle is on a very social level. I can look at you in the South—I can look at you, the skin, color, and because of that I don't want to do business with you, I don't want to talk to you. Those are the struggles of the South. … Because of that, that's why I feel I need to stay in Atlanta. It's more important. New York and L.A. have the tendency to drag all the creatives out of the South because [the cities] are not open to new ideas, but there are a few of us who are sticking around and we really want to push our message across.

Have you gotten any reactions?
I did this one thing at Apache Cafe. They invited me for Black History Month, and the first print I did was this black kid getting lynched. And the whole audience is all black, and I'm the only Asian there. And I think they were about to lynch me, and they were really angry about that piece. And I got up on stage, and they're all booing, and I had to explain what all these art pieces meant. And they're all different war images … So I get up on stage and say, “You guys think it's all great that you're on MTV, making money, lawyers and doctors, but this is less than 100 years ago, your grandparents saw this, and your parents probably saw this. The one thing the Jewish community hasn't done, they haven't forgotten the Holocaust, but the black community, you guys, don't remember the pain. It was less than 100 years ago, and it can easily happen again.’ I think a lot of my stuff has to deal with pain and remembering the past. I had this one piece, this one art show, I did this whole Nazi series. Nazi monkeys. Actually a Jewish lady bought that piece. That caused a lot of commotion too. The one I'm known for is this black rabbit humping this white rabbit. I don't think it could ever be done more poetically. It's very interracial, but it's very cute. It's the same design, the exact same rabbit. It's so simple. A few lines and a few pieces of color--trying to break down these barriers.

Do you support yourself as an artist?
I do T-shirts for Soul Monkey. Help people brainstorm ideas. I'm realizing ideas—they're not a dime a dozen--ideas are golden. If you have a strong beginning, you have a strong finish.

What do you like best about Atlanta?
I like it's because it's a city you can get away from. You can be in the city, but not be in the city.

Favorite place?
My backyard.

Tell me what you think about the whole project, the Atlanta Creatives Project.
I think it's a good idea. It's really funny, every time I travel outside of Atlanta, people are always wondering what Atlanta's doing. Atlanta is really hot right now, but nobody knows what's going on. There's a feeling of trendiness to it. Like MTV for example, it's not about the music, it's about the medium. They control that whole sphere of influence. Same way with all these art magazines, Juxtapoz, Beautiful/Decay, and these weird trends. They are controlling the trends. Before you know it you have the same stuff. … And with Atlanta, it's not like that. We're kind of just doing our own thing. In fact, we made it a point to not even look at those magazines.

Why is Atlanta different?
It's the way Atlanta's spread out, and it is the lack of organization. It's really funny, seeing how you and Neda are from Atlanta, you live up here, you guys are really focused. I think a lot of kids who are native to Atlanta are kind of complacent. It takes someone from outside to motivate them.

Will it bring things together?
It has to be done. It's just a matter of time--who is going to do it. We're trying to do a show, Sons of the South. We're going to the same art shows, we're doing the same thing, but we never sit down and talk. I'm just a piece of the puzzle, but if you can see the big picture--I'm pretty sure it's an amazing picture. I feel like those three blind men and the elephant. … It's something big, just nobody's put it together yet.

Why isn't Atlanta better documented?
I've come to the conclusion there's no channels of media in Atlanta that covers what we do. There's nobody that's setting the standards or documenting what we're doing. Anywhere in California, someone's publishing it, putting it on the web, it's being documented. They know who the players are. Even New York. Nobody's documenting Atlanta. That's probably the biggest travesty of Atlanta. I'm one of the few who is making the cut, because I put it in my own hands. … The nightlife scene heavily influences the art scene—that kind of passion, that kind of pure passion. If nobody's covering that stuff, it really doesn't matter. … It's all word of mouth. It's a small city mentality in a town of 5 million people. It's some funny shit going on. I don't really understand it.

To see Dosa's work, check out:
Sneakerpimps Atlanta
live art installation by DOSA on Sept. 22
Atlanta Contemporary Art Center

When Robots Ruled The Earth
opening Sept 28th 7-11 p.m.
Gallery at East Atlanta Tattoo

Underdogs Art Auction
Sept 29 7-11 p.m.
Soap Box Studios