Content Features
- Travel Photography from Andrew Durham
- Artist Profile with C.R. Stecyk III
- Under The Same Old Pine by Alessandro Casagrande
- I Forgot To Remember To Forget by Ko-Ta Shouji
- Designer Profile with Anna Karlin
- Recipe from Antonio Murè
No. 3
128 Pages
10 x 13 In. (25 x 33 cm)
Full Color, Perfect Bound
Includes C.R. Stecyk III Postcard
Out of Stock
Taking long vacations during the summer is probably one of my favorite things
in life. When I was a kid, the summer holiday from school always seemed to define each year for me. It was the summer of… This was the time you could go on an adventure, fall in love, get lost, reinvent yourself. After summer, September always felt more like the New Year to me, never January.
The older we get and the more summers we have, the years seem to blend together, so I keep a photo diary of every summer. Snapshots with my faithful Contax 35mm camera. Pictures of nothing, in particular, just little moments during those few months when time seems to move a little slower. The two swimsuits that I live in for three weeks, waiting to dry. Those tiny strawberries that are only in season during the summer. The perfect local’s beach I stumble upon. An afternoon shower. The book I’ve been reading all summer at a pace of four pages per day.
— Andrew Durham. Santa Monica Canyon, California 2018
Craig Robert Stecyk III is a native son of Southern California. A born documentarian and incorrigible oral historian, he’s a rare asset to this stretch of coastal desert steeped in history, but seemingly allergic to any moment before the present. In a region so intrinsically attached to images and image-makers, and in an era increasingly dominated by visual media, that Stecyk has become most widely known for his photographic efforts should come as no surprise. He’s been drawn to the camera since childhood, perhaps emulating his father, who documented the destruction of Hiroshima as a member of the United States Army Signal Corps. But photography does not stand alone in Stecyk’s practice, and his output in sculpture, printmaking, street painting and performance should not be discounted. Over a half-century, Stecyk has produced an expansive and varied body of work that stands ready for re-examination.
Written by Felipe Lima
Polaroid portrait by Susanne Melanie Berry
C.R. Stecyk III discusses three images shown.
Photography by Alessandro Casagrande
Model Helena Lu at Vision Los Angeles
Stylist Makenzie McBride
Makeup Gladys Diaz
Photography by Ko-ta Shouji
Model Saki Nakashima at Bravo Models
Stylist Chie Ninomiya
Hair Daisuke Mukai
Makeup Makiko Endo
Self-taught product designer, Anna Karlin has many skill sets. Not only has she recently created an exquisite line of furniture and fine objects but she is also an art director and set designer for fashion shows and print editorial. The London born designer attended both Central St. Martins and the Glasgow School of Art, training in visual communication. Now a New York resident, she is professionally represented by design galleries to work with leading interior designers and architects internationally.
Scott A. Sant’Angelo (SAS) – Tell me about being self-taught, having been schooled in visual communication, when and where did you decide that this was the path for your creative output and what steps did you take to learn your skills?
Anna Karlin (AK) – I moved to New York 8 years ago and nearly two years in I decided that I wanted to make some permanent works. Everything I had been doing up until then had a shelf life and I knew that I had to explore another way of working. I learn by doing, making, collaborating, by trial and error… the learning process absolutely never stops. Making works is never straightforward, it’s an endless process of refinement with an infinite amount of possibilities. It’s partly what makes it always so interesting as there is never a simple turn-key solution to anything, you have to make a new process and pathway for each piece. Each object develops it’s own eco system and that is what I learn from.
SAS – Do you feel it is the role of a designer to be a specialist, meaning to grasp and dedicate significant amounts of time to perfect the design of one type of object or can you switch hats and work on multiple ideas at the same time?
AK – I can certainly switch hats. It would be a privilege to focus simply on one thing but if you’re running a business, multiple projects and always designing new pieces you have to be able to move between things in a smooth way. I’m very lucky I can dive in immediately and be completely focused on whatever it is I need / want to be thinking about without the need to separate the projects or mediums.
SAS – Is sketching and prototyping an important part of your process beyond the obvious need to refine details before final production? Are you patient as things develop from knowing what it takes to produce a final product?
AK – Sketching a prototyping is hugely important as you say not just for the practical elements. I am very patient with letting objects develop as they need to – it feels to me like it’s a back and forth between me and the work. We become friends, we fight, we grow together, we have a chat, mostly over a period of months. We dance around bit and then we both agree it’s ready and we move into a more technical phase. This phase can have a huge impact on the work so sometimes the dance starts again but then once that’s ready, I completely loose all patience as I’m desperate to see a final piece.
SAS – What have you not designed or realized yet in your career that would be top of your wish list?
AK – The interior of an airplane and all accompanying flying ‘accessories.’ Basically the whole experience from the coffee cups to the seats and a bridge.
SAS – Being self-taught, what advice would you give to young designers who are finishing up school or not in school and about to embark on a career?
AK – Work as hard as you can and be kind and life will give back in spades.
Post-WWII, the Italian Army made it mandatory that after high school, if you didn’t attend the university, you had to serve 12 months for the army. When I was 18, I was called up to serve my 12 months. At the time, it was a thorn in my side, but what it actually turned out to be, was the best opportunity to improve my culinary skills. I was based in Belluno, as a cook, preparing meals for 1,800 troops. No easy task.
During the Christmas break of 1988, I was chosen by the head chef to stay and prepare any meals needed, the head chef then went home to spend Christmas with his family. On Christmas Eve, I prepared one of my favorite lamb shank dishes for the 50 soldiers that stayed behind. Little did I know that the Colonel of the Italian Army would stop by the barracks to wish us a “Merry Christmas.” He smelt the lamb shank, and with a complimentary smile, asked: “Who was the chef?” Then he was off to have dinner in the officers quarters. Thirty minutes later, a server from the officer quarters shows up asking me to prepare dishes for the colonel and his family. The next day, I was transferred to the be the head chef preparing meals for all the officers.
Interview by Alessandro Casagrande
Photography by Alessandro Casagrande
Polenta
120 gr of polenta
500 ml of water
2 tablespoons of milk
1 Knob of Butter
1 a handful of Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper as required
Whipped Baccalà
500 gr of Baccalà soaked for at least 24 hours
200 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Parsley
Garlic
Laurel
Pink and black peppercorns
Ground pepper
Preparation
Polenta. Bring to boil the water and the milk with some salt. When boiling add the polenta and let it cook for 35 to 40 minutes mixing it regularly. Finish it with butter and cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Spread evenly the polenta over an oiled sheet pan and let it cool down.
Baccalà. Presoak the baccalà at least for 24 to 48 hours.
Clean the baccalà living only the white meat and make sure you take all the bones out. Prepare a milk court-bouillon with lemon zest, black and pink peppercorn, garlic and bay leaves and bring it to boil. Add the Baccalaà and simmer it for 15/30 minutes. Once it is soft put it in the mixer and add parsley, lemon juice, and last extra virgin olive oil while you are whipping very slowly like if you were doing a mayonnaise until it reaches a smooth and soft consistency.
Plating. Cut the polenta in little disks and grill it until it gets crispy.
Compose the place alternating the polenta and the baccalà making a little tower. Cover the tower with a dome or a large glass, and filled it with smoke from the smoke gun.
Serve it covered.
No. 3
128 Pages
10 x 13 In. (25 x 33 cm)
Full Color, Perfect Bound
Includes C.R. Stecyk III Postcard
Out of Stock