UndaMagazine » Portfolio

A walk through Wynwood

jp — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 18:29:59 +0000

A walk through Wynwood

The UndaMagazine is making a home in Miami and will be feeding you a whole bunch of art & music from the Miami scene from here on out.

We recently took a walk through Wynwood pre-Art Basel 2014 to capture the art before the new works blessed walls.

re-baroque

jp — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 21:25:38 +0000

A call to all artists in

Puerto Rico, Miami & New York

Worldwide UnderGround is curating three exhibitions of original re-baroque Bluetooth speaker systems.

Submit your proposal to create a piece on a 20×24 or 16×20 inch piece to:

JP Eaglin • jp@WorldwideUnderGround.com

All mediums are welcome.

We will select twenty artists from each city based on originality, funk & soul.

The San Juan Foil Cup

jp — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:05:28 +0000

The San Juan Foil Cup is an international, hydrofoil kitesurfing race that is to take place on February 20th – 23rd of 2014. The kites will launch from the beaches of Isla Verde, Carolina, Puerto Rico in front of Café La Plage. The event will have both local and International competitors coming from California, France, Colombia, Brazil and Dubai.

The event is the first of its kind in Puerto Rico and will demonstrate the sophistication of the sport in the most beautiful waters. It is confirmed that the best sailors in the world will attend, making this not only a local spectacle, but also one that will be watched worldwide through the use of social media channels and live streaming.

view full festival details here.

Lado Ve, Mobius, DJ Adam y Larregui

jp — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 23:16:05 +0000

Lado Ve

Mobius

Edgardo Tomas Larregui Rodriguez

Nneka

jp — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 15:27:45 +0000

NNEKA

Were she not a musician, Nneka might have made an excellent investigative journalist. Or perhaps she’d have been a philosopher. In truth, an element of both those disciplines informs her art. Because throughout her third album, Soul Is Heavy, Nneka constantly asks questions. She interrogates friends, her Nigerian countrymen, politicians, God, the universe… and, most importantly, she questions herself.

“It wouldn’t make any sense if I only pointed fingers,” she admits. Her music and attitude are probing, even confrontational, yet never didactic. “It’s important that you recognize yourself as part of the system, too, and that the only way we can make things work is by realizing we are part of the same entity.

“I’m always having little battles in my mind,” she continues, apropos of the struggles that shape her work. Everybody has their existential quandaries, but most people are content to wake up, go to work, have a few beers and play some video games in the evening, and watch the world go by. Not Nneka. “I’m the kind of person who always questions things. It has a lot to do with the way I brought up, and my surroundings.”

Born and raised in Warri, in the Delta region of Nigeria, Nneka Egbuna watched as the city and its citizens wrestled with the impact of new-found affluence. Three decades later, electrical blackouts are still a part of daily life in Nigeria, an oil-rich nation plagued by petrol shortages, where tribalism and disparity of wealth and political power further entrench divisions of class. “All that has a lot to do with why I am the way I am, despite the fact that I have now been able to travel a great deal, and see the world from a different angle.”

At the age of 19, Nneka left Africa to Hamburg University, where she studied anthropology even as her musical career was building steam. With its marriage of timeless grooves, contemporary technology, and 21st century black consciousness, her 2005 debut Victim Of Truth was lauded by the British press. “As good as The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” trumpeted The Sunday Times. Its 2008 follow-up, No Longer At Ease, impressed rock star Lenny Kravitz so profoundly that he immediately tapped her to accompany him on tour. In 2010, selections from both albums—including the international hit “Heartbeat”—were compiled for her US debut, Concrete Jungle, which showed North America what the rest of the world already knew: Nneka is a unique, formidable talent to be reckoned with.

Written and recorded throughout the three year period following the release of No Longer At Ease, the fifteen selections on Soul Is Heavy were culled from a backlog of roughly fifty songs, many of which Nneka composed while back in Nigeria (even as the power went on and off in her Lagos apartment). They integrate myriad musical styles: reggae, hip-hop, modern R&B and vintage soul, Afrobeat, and even elements of flamenco and Sahara desert blues. They range from the driving opener, “Lucifer (No Doubt),” to the sweet and peaceful “Shining Star,” and from the furious “Camouflage” to desolate, introspective cuts such as “Valley.” All are unmistakably Nneka.

On “My Home,” triumphant brass and uplifting reggae rhythms illuminate the singer’s journey into the heart of darkness and an uncertain future. “That song is about your quest, searching for a place in life to feel comfortable, and not knowing where to go. And, in the end, realizing there is actually no peace on Earth until you accept that both bad and good are part of life. There is never total happiness, only a search for a healthy equilibrium between two extremes.”

The title song “Soul Is Heavy,” preceded the album’s release with a vibrant video reflecting its thought-provoking lyric, which invokes historic Nigerian revolutionaries including Ken Saro-Wiwa, Isaac Boro and Jaja of Opobo. While Nneka expresses frustration that the same social ills Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti addressed in his own work—oppression, corruption, oil exportation—still persist today, this inspirational anthem also charts a way forward. “Nigerians must stop separating ourselves from one another, despite the fact that we have 300 different dialects and tribes. Things would be better if we would see ourselves as one.”

Soul Is Heavy also features a pair of notable collaborations. “God Knows Why,” a hard-hitting song about hypocrisy, mental slavery, and the pitfalls of knowledge without questioning, features rhymes by Black Thought. “I felt he could relate to the context and content of the song,” says Nneka, who has performed with The Roots in the past. “I wouldn’t have to explain much to Black Thought—and that’s exactly what happened.” Mercury Music Prize and BRIT Award-winner Ms. Dynamite helps ignite “Sleep,” a cut inspired by Nneka’s battles with insomnia on the road, and the thoughts and feelings that keep her up at night.

On the album’s centerpiece, the insistent “J,” Nneka scrutinizes her own actions and motives alongside those of her fellow man. Amidst much soul-searching, she strives to project positive energy into the universe, and perform feats of emotional alchemy. “If you approach me with hatred, I will approach you with love. I have to be strong enough to transform that hate into love. And the more you hate me, the more I will love you, and the more I will make you love me.”

Nneka’s songs may begin with personal experiences and homegrown sentiments, but global appeal imbues her music and its messages. She transcends boundaries, both geographic and aesthetic. Regardless of the listener’s mother tongue, there is an immediacy to Nneka’s singing—be it pointed (“Don’t Even Think”) or poignant (“Stay,” “Do You Love Me Now”)—that anyone can appreciate. Nneka is indivisible from the world she inhabits, and her art reflects that on every level. “I am what you hear,” she concludes, succinctly. “I wouldn’t be able to separate my music from me.”

Mark Dorf

Bethiah — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 12:36:17 +0000

The young artist, Mark Dorf, graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Magna Cum Laude, in 2011 with a B.F.A. in Photography and Sculpture. His most recent works examine humanity’s relationship with our fabricated digital realities and the physical landscape in which we reside through the use of both photography and sculpture. With the understanding that all art is based upon comparison and relationships, he re-contextualizes moment and symbol to create new meaning through the surrounding environment. Mark seeks to understand humanity as an observer in his surroundings, using photography as a tool to explore the curious habitation of the world around us.

Mark’s work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions nationally and internationally, this year in two solo exhibitions. The first of these shows, Environmental Occupations, was in conjunction with Kiki Smith and Valerie Hammond’s collaborative exhibition Streaming Spirits in Lacoste, France, and most recently Mark Dorf: Environmental Occupations at Phoenix Gallery in the Chelsea gallery district of New York City.

Mark currently resides in Brooklyn, New York where he creates his images and continues to study contemporary art.

Phoenix Gallery presents “The Six”.

This group show features six artists that have shown previously at the gallery and aims to showcase the arc of what they have accomplished in the time between now and when they last showed with Phoenix. Below you can find all of the information about the reception on the 5th of December.

THE SIX
Show runs from November 27th – December 21st

210 Eleventh Avenue 9th Floor (at 25th Street)
New York, NY 1001

DYAD

jp — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 18:50:52 +0000

DYAD is an award-winning multi-disciplinary design driven post-production workshop based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

We are a design collective creating content for commercial advertising, feature films, television, music videos and interactive digital platforms.

Striving to create unique and innovative ideas through visual communication we push the limits of technology and modern thought in relation to marketing & advertising campaigns.

Awards & Nominations
2013

Latin Grammys

Nominated – Best Long Form Music Video – Hecho con Sabor

(Worked on graphics and animations.)

Cannes Lions

Winner of 3 Lions – Heineken Feliz Navidad Más Larga – JWT Puerto Rico

(Design and animation of Heineken Case Study)

FIAP

Gold – Trident Jam – Badillo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi Puerto Rico

(Designed and animated background videos of the game. Also worked the Case Study for the campaign.)

Featured in Ads of the World – http://adsoftheworld.com/media/online/trident_jam_game

Cúspide

Silver – Trident Jam – Badillo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi Puerto Rico

DYAD.tv
T: +1 954 673 1237
T: +1 787 405 4623
E: info@dyad.tv

Chemi Rosado-Seijo

jp — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 21:35:34 +0000

current exhibition
Roberto Paradise is pleased to present “On the Media, El Cerro Leftovers, & 365 Days in the Tropical Rain Forest: Studio Work From the Past 3 Years”, an exhibition by Chemi Rosado-Seijo. An opening reception will be held on Wednesday, December 18th, at 7pm; exhibition runs through Saturday, February 8th.

With a focus on wit and community development, Chemi Rosado-Seijo creates interdisciplinary projects that link architecture to the surrounding urban landscape, bridge work with social action, and reunite art with its history.

In “Historia sobre Ruedas” (“History on Wheels”), his 2005 project with Art in General, Rosado-Seijo mapped Manhattan from the perspective of a skateboarder, re-drawing the city in terms of its skating sites. For another ongoing project, “Tapando para Ver” (“Covering to See”), which also took the shape of a book, Seijo covered up parts of text and images from newspaper clippings with charcoal leaving only specific words, suggesting that all language might be a form of manipulation and drawing attention to the degree to which commercial information is controlled by the media. Since 2001, the artist has worked with the inhabitants of El Cerro, in Puerto Rico, painting all of the houses in different shades of green. Over several years, and through negotiation and collaboration with the residents of the community, over 100 houses have been painted.

Parallel to these ongoing projects and in his hometown in the northern tropical forest of Puerto Rico, Rosado Seijo left pre-prepared white canvases in the forest, registering the passing of time. Humidity, animals, insects, larva, rain, sun and other elements left their mark. After some time, the artist eliminates the loose parts with a small paint-brush, whilst adding a white edge all around the canvas. Here, he adds a text describing the process of the painting endurance and its references to other artists. For instance “120 days in the tropical Forest with Julio, Andy, Zilia, Lucio, Ana and Maria. Bo. Maricaeo VA PR” refers to both the place where the artist left the blank canvas, and its time frame. The names refer to Julio Suarez, Andy Warhol, Zilia Sanchez, Lucio Fontana and marihuana, who have influenced the artist for this work.

Rosado-Seijo has participated in numerous biennials including the Whitney (2002), Prague (2005), Havanna (2006), and Pontevedra (2010). Recent exhibitions include “My Brain Is My Inkstand: Drawing as Thinking and Process” at the Canbrook Art Museum in Detroit, “Art/Community/Life” at the Petrach Tikva Museum in Israel and “173 Days in the Tropical Forest” at Annet Gelink Gallery in Amsterdam.

In 2011 Chemi Rosado-Seijo received the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant; this year the artist became a Creative Capital grantee and gave a ravishing presentation at the Creative Time Summit in NYC. His work is featured in “Art Cities of the Future: Contemporary Avant Gardes”, just published by Phaidon Press. Since 2009, Rosado Seijo has been organizing exhibitions in Chemi’s Room, his apartment and studio in Santurce, creating a center for meeting and exchange in the local contemporary art scene.

Chemi Rosado-Seijo was born in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico in 1973.

Cranbrook Art Museum

Ex-teresas Dome Inverted, 2003, plywood and paint, 12 x 24 x 20

All works are copyright of the artist.

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Roberto Paradise

TruthSeekers Radio 90.7 KPFK

Bethiah — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 19:19:36 +0000

This show is not typical! Our goal is to provide the soundtrack to mind expansion and enlightenment through music!

Listen to all their playlists here at TRUTHSEEKERSRADIO.org

Love, peace, understanding and self discovery are at the core of our intentions when we start selecting tracks for every playlist.

We take pride in playing independent music, in addition to, podcasting eclectic mixes from a range of hand picked producers and artists.

It is with this freedom from typical \”music directors\” that we are able to weave together shows that encompass a wide range musical genres and time periods.

Unformatted, unpredictable, and unF*ckwitable since 2003 on one of the most progressive stations in the world is where you will find us 2am-4am (Pacific) every Saturday morning/Friday night in most minds!

As Sun Ra said \”music is a universal language.\” We broadcast to the omniverse and our message vibrates to the sound of CREATION!

TRUTHSEEKERSRADIO..org

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Pressure Busspipe

Bethiah — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 21:42:51 +0000

Born Delyno Brown on August 5th 1981 in the US Virgin Islands, Pressure is a talented singjay that began music with learning to play trumpet at the age of 9. After an excellent first album called “The Pressure Is On” in 2005, he is currently working on the second with the Jamaican producer Donovan “Don Corleon” Bennett. 4 great songs have already been released as 7” on Don Corleon records – ‘Ghetto Life’, ‘Love and Affection’, ‘Never Fall’ and ‘Be Free’.