Aug. 30, 2023 9:38 AM PT
Soon after leaving the D.A.’s office, the now 82-year old Garcetti switched his focus to art photography and discovered he could share his unique view of the world through his lens.
August 30, 2023
Though you may recognize his work before his name, Eric Johnson is the photographer behind some of the most memorable music imagery of the last few decades. He’s lensed the likes of the Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans, and created unforgettable album visuals for Aaliyah, Doja Cat, Eve, Foxy Brown, Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, the Hot Boys, and Yung Miami, among many others.
As for developing his signature realistic style of portraiture, which resulted in a legion of magazine features, covers, and more, Johnson was “always very specific” about how things should look—even before he picked up a camera at the age of 16. “When my mom used to go to the disco when I was a little kid in the ’70s, I would be like, ‘Oh, you should wear this.’ That’s how I got to people pushing me towards art. I was just that kind of quirky art person…I just think that just naturally I’m a vibey person, but I’m shooting all those things without thinking about it,” Johnson tells Vanity Fair.
In celebration of 50 years of hip hop, Johnson recently spoke with Vanity Fair about what went into creating some of his favorite photographs.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Vanity Fair: Your image of Biggie and Faith for the October 1995 issue of Vibe magazine is an iconic image in hip hop, what do you remember about that day?
Eric Johnson: That was my first cover [for Vibe]. George Pitts [the founding Director of Photography at Vibe was] like all of our godfathers, he just looked out for us as a photo editor. He made us all so much better. So he was like, “Your photos are looking really great, people are really into you.” When I go to meet with George … they wanted an iconic image at the level that we were looking at books like the 100 greatest album covers of all time, things like that. One thing, no one’s really shot outside on Vibe covers. And then two, Biggie is from New York, he always represents New York. I was like let’s just get a car and park it down by the bridge. I wasn’t thinking about anything major. Nothing was planned out in regards to angles and I didn’t even know what they were going to wear. I had already shot Faith one time and Biggie was just adorable, just like a little boy following you around talking about random shit. And I’m like dude, I’m still working. But he looked so powerful in a way in photos, but he was also so boyish, because he was so young.
I did hear after the fact that the guys in LA were pissed and they were saying that Biggie was trying to rip off West Coast car culture. When I look back at it, I could see why they would think that, because they’re mad at the east coast and Biggie. And we weren’t Lowriders, it was just a Cadillac. But that wasn’t necessarily New York, but I didn’t think about that either. So all of those things together, combined just made it sick.
When the cover was out, whenever I saw [it], I just froze, it was like I just cringed or something. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but it was just something about it.
The amount of times that people have hit me up about recreating different photos, but especially the Biggie and Faith. And they have so much enthusiasm as if when they tell me, the idea is going to blow my mind. I get if people out in the world are going to do that, I can’t really control it. But I’m like that is such a basic idea, when you look at the fact of what went into that day and Puffy’s badass, everybody was on top of the world, a nice summer day. We were in our youth, just everything. That’s why they came out like that. So people think you’re going to sit someone in the back of the car and think you’re going to get that same kind of magic? It’s insane.
How did the image with Foxy Brown orange fur trimmed jacket come about?
There was a studio on Broadway and she came over and we had a stylist and a make-up artist and those outfits. I was always into those punk images. If I saw someone on the street in London, I would just lose my mind, there’s something so pure about it. We’re all in New York and it’s kind of cool for people in middle America and the rest of the world to see as New Yorkers. I’m not super conceptual, but it’s little details like that that make the photos public connect. That is Foxy Brown on the street, no big set up, you could have run into her, you could have walked past and saw so that happening. So something about that I always like. And I think those pictures, they’re like amongst my favorites.
It’s the 25th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, what do you remember about shooting the visuals for this album?
The buzz for the project was insane. With what had happened with the Fugees, [Lauryn Hill] was just like the doll. So just her having the album coming out, everybody was just certain it was going to be big. I didn’t know it was going to be big like with ten Grammy [nominations], because I don’t think like that, but I kinda knew something. I just felt like, they’re giving that to me?!
I still love Lauryn to this day, she’s one of my favorites and we had such a cool working relationship. She already had her ideas, she had the album title and she wanted to shoot in a school and we looked at a couple of schools, but then we were like why don’t we just shoot in her school. So we went there and we shot in her school. I looked around and I liked the bathroom, because I always liked the girls bathroom, and then went to this classroom, and then we’ll shoot in the hallway. We just did all of these different scenarios with no specific cover, just to do a shoot in the school. So that’s what we did. Our families are cool with each other, but actually, my mom did her hair. My mom has a beauty salon in the hood in Newark.
It’s funny because in different stages of my life, I would be at the beauty salon a lot, so you don’t have to go home and be by yourself. So I would be at the beauty salon for hours sometimes. I feel like there’s something cheeky about that experience.
It seems like that experience helped shape you and how you see, have seen and are able to capture women.
Oh, my God. I’ve never even thought of that. And I never heard that before. Literally. But I never I never put those two things together until you said that. But like of course! You literally can learn something new everyday.
Do you have a favorite photo that you’ve taken?
I have so many favorite photos. I started putting photos on my wall and I think I have about 40, 50 photos on the wall of some of my favorite photos over the years. There’s so many good ones, you know? One of my most recent favorite photos of all time is the photo I shot of Doja Cat coming down the stairs. It looks like she’s at a ballroom, like in the ‘70s. You know those houses and those balls and things, I didn’t go, but I know. I’ve seen Paris Is Burning and I’ve seen things about it. For her to be a rockstar, that photo is so live! So I look at that photo and presently that’s my favorite photo. Not that it’s better than any of my other ones.
Is there anyone that you haven’t worked with that you would like to?
People ask me that and I kinda want to shoot everybody, everyone is popular, everyone is alive and has a story to tell. You know what, Cardi B! I feel like that makes a lot of sense. Especially with my kind of genuine style, she’s that type of person that we need to cross paths. It totally makes sense. I’m beginning to shoot all of the hot new artists that I like. I like Lil Uzi [Vert]. All of them. I want to shoot everybody – whoever fucks with me, I want to shoot them.
Dr. Fred Katz is well-known to many for his decades of volunteerism in the Jewish community in Atlanta. Over the last decade, he has spent thousands of hours documenting a personal mission and has completed an important contribution to preserving the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, as he photographed more than 100 Holocaust memorials around the world.
To accomplish his mission, Katz traveled the world. He shared, “I wrote this book to honor the memory of the six million Jewish men, women, and children, in addition to countless others, who were murdered during the Holocaust. It is vitally important that we never forget what happened so that this never happens again. Hopefully, by visiting these memorials, people will become more empathetic to the suffering endured by the victims and survivors of the Holocaust.
The Besser Holocaust Memorial Garden at the MJCCA in Dunwoody
Throughout my travels, I made it a priority to visit these sites. Unfortunately, there were often very few visitors at these significant places. I wanted to change that by making people aware of these memorials and how to visit them.”
His inspiration was multifaceted as he said, “My late wife’s parents had escaped from Germany, just after Kristallnacht, and we visited her father’s hometown of Fulda in 1975. During that trip, we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. The following year, we joined a United Jewish Appeal trip of young leaders to the Mauthausen Concentration camp memorial, and then to Israel. That trip literally changed my life. For the past 50 years, I have been visiting and photographing Holocaust memorials around the world and wrote this book so that others could follow my journey.”
The Catholic Memorial at Dachau Concentration Camp
“I have loved photography since I was a kid,” Katz shared, “I remember, as a child, taking over the bathroom of our apartment, to develop rolls of film. Eventually, we moved to a home with a basement, and I could use an enlarger to develop my own prints. After I retired from an active radiological practice, I spent three months at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography honing my skills.”
During his retirement, Katz had the time and the means to do a lot of traveling, which enabled him to write this book. He retired in 1998 and then taught half-time at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He and his late wife, Doris, traveled the United States in a motorhome in addition to many trips abroad. He added, “There is a saying that “when one door closes, another one opens.” That was what happened to me during COVID. For over an entire year, my wife, Marcy, and I stayed home in Florida, where I spent thousands of hours on my computer sorting through images and writing this book.”
The Drancy Deportation Center Memorial in Paris, France
When asked what he hoped readers and the world at-large should learn from this book, he shared, “I discovered that most people don’t even realize that these memorials exist, even in their own hometowns. One example was when I flew to Los Angeles to photograph the Holocaust memorial, I stayed with my cousin for a few days. He was fairly active in the L.A. Jewish community and when I asked him where the memorial was located, his response was ‘I know there is one, but I am not sure where it is.’ So first and foremost, I wish people would visit the memorials in their own cities and wherever they may travel. I recently visited Rio De Janeiro and did some research before we began our trip. I found out their new Holocaust Memorial was opening a few days before we left. Our visit to it was an especially very moving experience. By seeing the sculptures and reading the material, people will also gain empathy and understanding for minority communities.”
German woman praying at Treblinka Concentration Camp
He continued, “Most of the memorials are built when a group of people, usually survivors, or children of survivors, band together to organize the fundraising and construction. Occasionally, governments, whether country or state, initiate the building and financing of the memorials. I believe most are maintained by the community or organization that sponsors them.”
He added, “I have been profoundly moved by many of the memorials I have visited. Of course, Yad Vashem, in Israel, is in a category by itself, as the ultimate memorial to the Holocaust. The concentration camp that affected me most was the Mauthausen Concentration Camp memorial in Austria. I believe the Miami Holocaust memorial and the Liberator Memorial on Liberty Island in New Jersey are the most impressive monuments in the United States.”
Miami Holocaust Memorial
He said, “One of the most inspirational moments during my journey was when I met an elderly woman at the Treblinka Concentration Camp Memorial. She was standing behind a large stone, with the words, “Never Again,” engraved on it. She appeared to be praying. I approached her to ask if she minded that I photographed her. She told me that she was here visiting Treblinka, with a group of German Christians, praying for forgiveness for the murder of six million Jewish people. I learned from that experience and others, that we cannot blame all Germans, or all Poles, for the Holocaust, but only the perpetrators. But we cannot ever forget!”
Dr. Fred Katz recently published a photography book that documents visits to more than 100 Holocaust memorial sites around the world.
Katz said, “I hope that the readers will be interested enough to actually go and visit some of these very important and poignant memorials, to pay homage to the millions of people that were murdered during the Holocaust, and to realize that antisemitism and racism can lead to catastrophic results.”
Meet Dr. Fred Katz, at 11 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 22, at The Breman Museum where he will be presenting his photographs, telling stories, and signing books as part of the ongoing “Bagels and Books at The Breman” series. Museum members are free, non-members $12, this includes all exhibitions. Seating is limited; preregistration at TheBreman.org.
D.C. native and art advisor Chela Mitchell opens up about the purpose and ethos behind her new gallery space.
Inside Chela Mitchell Gallery, the walls are white and empty, a blank slate before the next exhibition. There’s a calm energy to the space, an echo in the openness — and it’s thrilling.
“Power is quiet,” Chela Mitchell, gallery owner and art advisor, tells me.
Mitchell is getting the space ready to feature the work of Siena Smith, a Rhode Island School of Design professor and artist who draws, weaves and collages, always with an ode to her Black ancestry. The gallery in its Union Market space has only been open for a month, but already its ethos seems set in stone.
Their first show featured photographer Nate Langston Palmer, a D.C. native. His exhibition “Song of Sons” shows Black men living joyfully — some doing art together, one kissing his baby, a couple embracing at an outdoor party, and so much movement, dancing and existing in public spaces fading due to gentrification.
“I’m not a mainstream person,” Mitchell says. “How I run my business is very spiritual. I can walk into a room and feel something when I see art, and I can’t even describe the feeling to you. I just know.”
Featuring Palmer’s work seemed like a given.
“This body of work from him is a gift to D.C.,” she says.
Like Palmer, Mitchell was raised in D.C., in Fairfax Village (or Hillcrest Heights to some) in Ward 7. She left to attend Rutgers University in 2003 and spent time in New York in the fashion world where she expressed her art through style. But it was those quiet moments alone in art galleries where she felt the whispers of what should come next.
“I love looking at art alone,” she says. “I like to take my time, to see if I can understand the artist’s intention before I read about it. I don’t have to be right; I’m happy to be wrong. A person’s perception of art is just as important as the artist’s intention.”
She started collecting art and books about art, doing deep dives into the world of artists and galleries. She decided she would own an art gallery by age 40. She’s 38 now.
“It takes a lot to bring something like this to fruition from a thought,” she says. “I moved so fast. I cry all the time. It took me weeks before I could come here and not cry.”
She reiterates that it took her 34 years to know what she wanted to do with her life.
“Once I knew what I really wanted to do, I’ve been coasting — which is what alignment is,” she says. “I’m in alignment for what my purpose in life is.”
It’s an art gallery, yes, but Mitchell has plans to make it a community space too. She plans to give artistic access to people from her community in Southeast D.C. She’s settling into her position of power, redefining what it means to be in charge.
“I know I can call all the shots,” she says. “But those things don’t feed my ego. They do make me feel like I’m balancing the power structures, tearing them down a bit. My artists always tell me I’m so calm.”
She’s been in industries where power was yelling, fighting, screaming. She doesn’t want to waste her emotions in that way when she could be channeling them for good, for problem solving.
“I feel like I’m an alchemist,” she says. “I’m taking a lot of energy that’s hard and masculine, tough and toxic, and I’m morphing it into something soft and nourishing.”
As a spiritual person, Mitchell relies on manifesting, astrology and ancestry for guidance. These are all modern buzzwords, and yet, it doesn’t feel kitschy when she talks about it. She’s welcoming to anything that helps her understand herself and her purpose.
“The best way I can describe ancestral guidance is an intuition or advice that didn’t come from me,” she says.
It’s the feeling she gets when she sees art she wants to feature. It’s the alignment in her choices coming to fruition. It’s the quiet power she’s brought to her space.
Even coming back to D.C. was complete intuition.
“I follow feelings without delay,” she says. “I came back to D.C. because of a dream I had. I can’t think too deeply about how it works. A lot of it makes no sense; you have to be okay with that. You have to trust.”
She’s already manifesting what’s next: a gallery in LA, a furniture line she curates. But for now, her focus is on Chela Mitchell Gallery, bringing attention and opportunities to artists with messages that transcend what meets the eye.
“The work might be aesthetically beautiful to a lot of people, but it’s meant to make people feel something — to create conversations and spark change,” Mitchell says. “Art is unique that way, you can have your own moment with it and have a conversation with yourself and create change within yourself.”
The gallery facilitates that change — in the powerful silence, in the open, in the self.
See Siena Smith’s work at Chela Mitchell Gallery starting September 16.
Chela Mitchell Gallery: 300 Morse St. NE, DC; chelamitchellgallery.com // @chelamitchellgallery
Want first access to select art exhibits and openings around the city? Join the District Fray community to access free and discounted tickets. Become a member and support local journalism today.
( Photos: Meredith Mashburn)Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art invites art enthusiasts and lifelong learners to register for “Portrait Photography with Meredith Mashburn” – a new 8-week workshop designed for folks age 55-plus who wish to learn photography and hone their skills creating powerful portraits.
Classes will take place on eight consecutive Mondays, September 11 through October 30.
In this 8-week program, participants will have the chance to express themselves creatively and make connections with fellow art enthusiasts. Professional photographer Meredith Mashburn will help attendees find their personal vision and teach them the skills to create powerful portraiture from start to finish.
Participants will learn both the technical skills needed for photography, as well as how to apply their own creativity and people skills to create great portraits that tell a story. You’ll learn about lighting and composition, how to use cameras and process digital data, how best to connect to your subject and collaborate with them through mutual trust and respect, and much more.
“Storytellers are vital to our world,” Meredith Mashburn says. “And a portrait is a story about a big, beautiful life. How can we best honor that story? It will be my honor to teach [participants] the art of storytelling through portraiture.”
All supplies are included, and no artistic experience is necessary. Participants are encouraged to bring their own smartphone, digital camera, tablet, or other device they’d like to use to take photos. But for those who don’t have one, don’t worry – the museum will have a few devices on hand for onsite use.
Class registration is $150 (or $120 for Crystal Bridges members), which includes registration for all eight class sessions. A limited number of need-based scholarships to cover class tuition are also available.
Reserve your spot online at CrystalBridges.org, or call Guest Services at (479) 657-2335 today.
Based in Northwest Arkansas, Meredith Mashburn has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. As a commercial photographer, she travels all over the world for her craft and works with a dynamic array of clients. Mashburn’s portfolio of work — described as modern, classy, and colorful — includes commercial, fashion, music, and portrait photography. She particularly enjoys teaching portrait photography, as it helps her to connect with and learn about herself as much as she learns about others.
Paid Advertisement – This post paid for by Crystal Bridges. If you’d like to advertise your business in a future promotion similar to this, call Dustin at 479-387-1002 or send us a message.
If you’re looking to shoot landscapes or to grow your current landscape portfolio, here are some pointers for every photographer.
I am so inspired by a beautiful landscape. I think that’s why I was so drawn to California, not to mention the beautiful light here. When shooting a subject, I do feel like there should be some meaning behind it or a story of some sort. What do you want to say or want people to feel? Of course, everyone is going to have their own interpretation and feeling, but you should have some intention behind it. Set out to tell a story that will serve as motivation for you and hopefully evoke a feeling in the viewer.
The below image was taken in Maui on a photography trip I took last year. I wanted to capture the vibe and culture of the Hawaiian people. Every morning from my balcony, I could see these canoes coasting by at top speed. It has been part of the Hawaiian culture dating back centuries, so this was inspiration that came to me while on location in Maui. I’m always exploring and trying to find something new and interesting and a way to tell a story.
What and where do you want to shoot? What inspires you, and what story do you want to tell? Yes, you can tell a story with landscape photography, and you should. What is the subject you want to photograph? A beach in Hawaii or a mountain in Japan?
Create a mood board, Pinterest board or just create a folder on your computer with images you like. Ask yourself why you like those images. What about them inspires you? Is it the colors, the mood, the time of day, is it black and white, is it the low angle from which the subject was photographed?
From there, you have to decide what time of day and what time of year you want to shoot; this all plays into the look of the photos. The time of year will change the light and seasons, so if you want bright, direct light coming from high above, then shoot during the summer. If you want a moodier, overcast, and cold vibe, then shoot during the fall and winter. I did a series of ocean landscapes in Malibu, all shot in early morning in the winter, so I could get a misty, cloudy, blown-out look; that’s the vibe I wanted for these photos. I also have plenty of photos taken on a bright summer day, giving the sky a beautiful, bright blue color, with the subject fully lit by the sun.
There are some basic tools that you will need such as a wide angle lens, tripod and a good camera bag. But also, work with what you have; there’s no need to break the bank in the beginning. I use a Nikon 16-35mm lens, and you will also want a lens to get closer to the subject. I use my Nikon 50mm, and I usually have my 85mm just in case I want to get even closer to a subject. But typically, you use a wide angle lens to capture the vastness of a landscape.
A tripod is important so that you can get a straight horizon line and to avoid camera shake if you’re taking long exposure shots. I am very guilty of shooting without a tripod on a lot of my landscape photos, but I turn the shutter speed up to help with camera shake. With that said, I suggest using a tripod and probably a travel tripod; they are more compact and lighter.
A good camera bag is important as well, preferably water-repellent, like this one I purchased. I had learned this lesson on my trip to Maui. I was using a great backpack, but it was most effective for street photography or quick jobs that don’t involve hiking or wet climates, like the bamboo forest I was hiking though. I suggest a backpack to save the pain of a shoulder bag. I learned this a long time ago, and my back is still out of alignment from using a shoulder bag for years. You want enough room for all your lenses, and a tripod holder is key, so you don’t have to hold it. I bring a small flashlight, so when it gets dark, I can find my way back to my car, like the lesson I learned in Joshua Tree, which is a desert, and if you don’t know, you can get lost in the desert really easily as there are no land markers and everything looks the same, especially in the dark. So, have pockets for a small flashlight, your phone, and a water bottle holder. This is important: bring water.
Where do you want to go? Is the location in your own city, your own state, or out of the country? You need to create a detailed plan.
Traveling is a great way to capture landscapes that most people can’t get to or have only dreamed of. It’s also a great way to challenge yourself and grow as a photographer. As I mentioned, I recently traveled to Maui, a place I have never been, so I didn’t know the island. I did research online before I went, so I knew the places I wanted to go. There is plenty of information on the internet that will tell you the best places to shoot. I use this information as guides, then from there, I find what inspires me. I will also walk or drive around, exploring new places that I find interesting enough to shoot. It’s important to get outside of your comfort zone and explore!
I create a shot list in a Word document before each trip that I print. It’s just easier for me to have a hard copy on me, especially if I’m doing a lot of driving. The shot list has a day-to-day list so that I can keep on track and make sure I shoot everything I had planned. I list the day, time I want to shoot the location, and address, as well as what the significant landmark is, a tree or rock formation, etc. I will also note how I want to shoot it: sunrise, bright daylight, overcast for a moody look. or sunset to create interesting shadows. You can’t control the weather conditions, but you can get an idea of what it may be like depending on the time of year and time of day.
Retouching is a very important part of any landscape photo and can transform the image from good to incredible. I always shoot in raw so that I have total control of the image. Retouching is a personal choice; some people like an HDR look or an oversaturated, deep color palette, and some people leave the image pretty close to the way it was shot.
There are plenty of presets out there that you can purchase or use directly in Lightroom. Post-production is all part of the creative process, so play around and create your own style. There are so many variables, but it comes down to the look and feeling you want to evoke.
Once you have your images retouched, it’s time to share them with the world! Get a professional website like Squarespace, or if you plan on selling them, I would suggest Shopify. I use both, but for selling, Shopify is the best. Share your images on social media; this will help you gauge what people like and maybe what they don’t like as much. It’s really just for learning. Don’t read too much into social media and people’s opinions. You should always shoot for you and the things that inspire you.
For many the end of summer equals emptying the suitcase. Unpacking after a journey often reveals more than just souvenirs – it unveils the quirky and individualistic items we’ve lugged along “just in case.” From books to pencil sharpeners, our travel companions speak volumes about our priorities and aspirations. My hats go off to those who carry hot sauce and salt, showcasing a commitment to flavor, even on the go.
German designer Jonas Finkeldei, during his tenure at the Academy for Design in Münster, ingeniously crafted a solution for flavor enthusiasts. His brainchild, the Stui dual spice shaker, seamlessly integrates salt and pepper into a minimalist, oak and beech design. Housing two distinct chambers, this travel-friendly companion boasts a color-contrasting slider that regulates the release of your chosen seasoning. Whether you’re a traditionalist or an unconventional coffee connoisseur blending sugar and cocoa, Stui accommodates your palate.
Finkeldei’s creation resonates with practicality. Imagine compact New York City studios with limited counter space, park concert picnics, or adventurous camping trips – all scenarios where space is a luxury. With its versatile design, Stui transcends boundaries, catering to various settings.
Native Soul creates entrancing electronic dance music born from a mix of styles and genres made popular in South Africa. The Pretoria-based duo — comprised of Alfred Mhlanga and Kgotatso Tshabalala — has released four albums to date since their formation in 2019 at the ripe ages of 18 and 19 years old. Quickly establishing themselves as worthy ambassadors of both amapiano and gqom on their instrumental first album Teenage Dreams.
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Native Soul’s debut revealed the producer duo’s talents for crafting elusively alluring and electrifying soundscapes, relying heavily on the galvanizing exchanges of piano-drum-synthesizers that interlace amapiano. Every track on the record unfolds as this borderline cinematic and exceptionally paced crescendo. One that edges you forward via the vigorous melodies that evolve from drummed bass lines into swelling mixtures of jazz, folk, afro, deep, and tech house, as well as kwaito and dibacardi.
Their sophomore album Native Roots continued to coalesce their sound around amapiano while also adding a cast of contemporaries to flesh out their music. Whether that’s on the hypnotic opening track “Labo Bhuti” (feat. Blaq K & Mrs Rain) or the explosively frenetic “Forth Line” (feat. Tshepzin Loco). For their 2023 follow-up Rise Up they joined forces with Jacksman (who also appeared on their second album) to propel themselves into even more futuristic iterations of their constantly morphing amapiano sound.
Only two months into the new year Native Soul dropped its colossal fourth album Undisputed, a sizzling and sprawling collection that ambitiously ups the ante on everything they’ve released thus far. Embracing both their love of enthralling instrumentation and the inclusion of choice features that only enhance the energies that course through their tracks. Be that on the droning fixations of “Siren” or the absolutely stacked but mesmeric “Hello” (feat. Aembu, Jacksman, Kha Ching Vocals, Blaq Boy ZA).
Visit Native Soul on their Bandcamp and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Words: Steven Ward
Listen to Teenage Dreams the debut album from Native Soul below!
This article is part of the Artnet Intelligence Report Mid-Year Review 2023. Marking five years of our biannual Intelligence Reports, this inaugural half-year edition paints a data-driven picture of today’s art world, from the latest market results to the artists and artworks leading the conversation. Read the full report here.
In three words, how would you characterize the state of play in the Asian art market at this point in 2023?
“Night’s still young.” People say this when the party is far from over. This is how the art market in Asia feels now. Some are playing at the very high end, speculating on things. There’s still a lot of potential. But the truth is, there are a lot of uncertainties in Asia now, from the economy to geopolitical conflicts.
This feels even more widespread when I talk to dealers in New York. There is this image of the Asian market in the West. Dealers think, “Oh, your clients are based in Asia, so they must be big spenders.” The reality is that Asian clients, at least the ones I work with, are becoming more cautious. Some have been collecting for a while. They do their homework, especially those who have come to realize that some art in the ultra-contemporary category does not have a very long life span. They do not just rely on auction catalogues. They are very rational and sophisticated.
What do the top-line auction numbers not tell us about what’s going on in the market in Asia?
The top-line auction numbers reveal about 5 percent of our market—95 percent of the artists are missing. Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara, and artists of similar caliber seem to be the only ones you see. What about the art fairs and galleries? Don’t you think it’s incredible and at the same time ridiculous? Art should be adventurous, but do you see anything meaningful or inspiring from the top-line auction numbers? No.
Visitors to Art Basel Hong Kong 2023 mill around Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin sculpture. Photo by Sebastian Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.
What region are you paying more attention to this year than last?
New York. It’s still truly the cultural melting pot. The gallery program in New York is very different from the rest of the world, and galleries are confident in their exhibition programs. Asian artists are also getting more exposure in New York. Maybe there’s an Oscars effect [the film Everything Everywhere All at Once and its ensemble Asian cast won seven Academy Awards this year]. In Asia, I’m looking at what’s going on in Hong Kong. Despite the recent changes and the news, Hong Kong is still the best place to see international art, compared with Seoul or Japan. I’m also interested in Hong Kong-based artists.
What has been the most surprising development so far this year in the Asian art market?
How quickly China reopened after the prolonged COVID lockdowns. It is very important because of the sheer size of the market and its influence.
What are your clients looking for right now?
My clients are looking for artists who work with unique concepts and materials. They want to find something rare and fresh—not necessarily young artists but also mid-career artists who are in their 40s or 50s. They are interested in artists who still have regular shows and continue to produce new works.
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