A Startling Art Career
by David Larkins

With such a long and varied career creating the sort of art that reaches out and grabs the viewer, whether it’s on a three-dimensional canvas or towering overhead as part of a monolithic concert set, Dennis Larkins has a knack for making an impression. So much so that over the course of his celebrated career, he’s picked up a wide following among everyone from connoisseurs of the lowbrow to fine art collectors to Deadheads. Admirable as this is, it’s made for a fairly diverse fan base.

Grateful Dead Radio City poster, D. Larkins/P. Barsotti, © D. Larkins/P. Barsotti/ GDP.

That fan base can now at last come together to see gathered in one place the sheer breadth of Larkins’s creative vision with the release of Startling Art: Revealing the Art of Dennis Larkins (Last Gasp/LaLuz de Jesus Press). The cover depicts a ruggedly pulpy archeologist pushing aside a screen of jungle vines to uncover perhaps the most well-known of Larkins’s “rock art” pieces, the infamously collectible Grateful Dead “Radio City Music Hall” poster. The back cover of the book is a whimsically typical slice of Larkins’s skewed worldview, a surrealistic collage playing with the concept of artist as ultimate outsider against a background of those cheesy “You Too Can Be An Artist!” ads that have run in the back of comic books and popular publications since time immemorial.

Between the covers readers will find an art book quite unlike any other they may have encountered before. Not just a catalog of images nestled among self-important essays; Startling Art is a personal history, an artistic biography, of Larkins’s creative growth over four decades as a working artist. From his early experiments in psychedelic landscapes to the beginnings of his use of found imagery to construct pop-surrealist phantasmagorias, the reader is treated to a visual feast on every page. The majority of the book is devoted to Larkins’s current body of work, created over the last decade as he plugged into the underground art scene after a 20-year hiatus to work as a commercial artist.

“Road Trip to the Forbidden Zone”

The term commercial artist sells Larkins short however, for even in that capacity he brought his uniquely profligate vision to a wide variety of entertainment venues. His contributions as a poster artist, already mentioned, are covered, but so too is the central role he played in pioneering a theatrically grandiose vision of the 1970s arena rock scene. Working with legendary musical impresario Bill Graham, Larkins created almost literally from scratch a new approach to concert staging. His larger-than-life stage designs for such immortal acts as Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Journey, and many others are given their due in print for the first time, as the reader is treated to pictures of the sets themselves along with sketches and behind-the-scenes photographs of the sets’ construction.

This is just one example of the unprecedented level of access into an artist’s life and creative journey allowed by Larkins’s new book. In many ways, it was the only format that could even begin to summarize his career, and the best way for old fans to discover new facets of a pioneering artist.

Please take a look at the artists website:

http://www.startlingart.com/

Aaron Speiser
by Melanie C. Jordan

Aaron Speiser is a well known acting coach in L.A. I was tipped by Annette Vazquez Calvo that he was in Miami Beach giving a seminar. So, I took it upon myself to get in contact with Aaron for a short interview. Why would I want to interview this guy, well let me see… Umm, maybe because he has couched LL Cool J, The Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Jeff Dunham, Nia Long, Nadine Velazquez and many, many other great actors and actresses we all love.  I asked Aaron many cool questions which Gary Michaels (Comedian) Helped me with. . I was hoping to hear more about the people he couched. But I still found him to be very interesting. So here it is:

Who would you say was your biggest challenge coaching as an Actor?

There was never an actor that I would call my “biggest challenge” when coaching. Almost always it is the material we are working on that is “the challenge”. Working on the movie, “I Am Legend” was extremely challenging because of the unique premise that Will Smith’s character just might be the last human being left on Earth. Creating an inner life that keeps the character driven and motivated with very few lines was one of the most challenging films that I worked on. However, working with Will Smith is and always has been a joy.

What was your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment is helping people understand that following their dreams of acting will always lead them to a better, more interesting, more fulfilling life whether they “succeed” professionally or not. Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss”. I can’t say it better.

What actor are you most proud of and why?

I’m proud of all of the actors I’ve worked. Asking which actor I’m most proud of is like asking a parent which child are they most proud of. I love my students and clients and that love is unconditional. Some of my clients have been nominated for Academy Awards as well as other awards but I am just as proud of the new actor that books his first job! Or the actress that finds her true love in acting class and gets married and asks me to give her away. That was great!

What makes you different then Lee Strasberg?

Mr. Strasberg and I are similar in that we both believe in actors being real in their work. We believe that an actor’s goal is to create life in the imaginary world of the script. We are different in some of the techniques he preferred in helping the actor achieve that goal. Mr. Strasberg preferred a technique called, “Affective Memory”. I prefer the use of physical actions. I find it too difficult for the actor to use Affective Memory as they are working. I find Affective Memory very useful as a teaching technique to explore and expand the actor’s emotional life.

Will there ever be another Marlon Brando?

No, there will never be another Marlon Brando. There will also never be another Leonardo Da Vinci or Abraham Lincoln. But there will absolutely be more revolutionary artists, leaders, scientists, etc that break barriers and help the world learn, grow and move to a better place!

What advice would you give someone that wants to get in the business?

Find the best teachers in your area and begin by studying. If you can get a job, even as an apprentice, production ass’t or in some capacity in the business, take it. Find mentors and teachers you can trust to guide you. Develop a team to help you. Above all, follow your bliss! If your bliss changes, once again, follow it!!!

www.aaronspeiser.com

The Secret
by Anthony Zummo

Do you like scary movies like “I know what you did last summer?” or “Jeepers Creepers”? Then you will love “The Secret”. Usually I would just watch one of those movies or read a comic styled the same way with some predictable humor. But with this one I found myself wondering what would happen next. Right from the beginning when the lead character is invited to a house party being thrown by the girl of his dreams named Pam you expect there to be some setup for trouble.

Tommy shows up and is welcomed in by a slightly flirtatious mother who guides him downstairs to where the party is taking place. Making his way through the clicks of people talking amongst themselves while stabbing him with their cold stares. But once he found Pam she was sitting with other friends in a small room playing a telephone game. Each person would dial one digit out of seven and once the person on the other line would answer, one of the kids would say:
“I know your secret.”

Once the person on the other end of the line was curious to know who had called them and what secret they knew, the kid would instruct them to meet up in the park near a statue at midnight. After a few more phone calls Pam’s friend makes one last call and then hands Pam the phone telling her to just hit “send”. But when the phone picks up Pam puts it on speakerphone. Everyone sits and waits patiently for someone to say something but instead all they hear is a television on in the background.

Pam then just calls out: “I know your secret”.
Then a voice replies back to her: “How do you know my secret”?

That’s when Pam’s friend nudges her to continue with the prank. So Pam instructs the voice to do the same thing that they instructed the others to do earlier. Meet at the statue in the park at midnight.

Freaked out, Pam decides she has had enough and while taking Tommy’s arm looks for a place a more quiet. Pam decides to show Tommy her bedroom and doesn’t waste any time getting comfortable on her bed. Now even though the book showed Pam and Tommy making out, the very next cell on the next page shows them and the group of Pam’s friends at the park so I can only assume that everyone decided to take the party out to the park.

During another make-out session on a hilltop, Pam and Tommy notice a set of headlights coming down the bike path. Could it be one of the people they had pranked earlier on? Some dark figure walks through the park and then stands by the statue for a while. Pam knows it’s the man who answered her call and all of the kids decide its safer to just leave.

The following day in school Pam gets a phone call while in class and to her surprise the voice asks: “How do you know my secret?”
Stunned, Pam tells Tommy about the call and explains that Kyle used her cell phone to make the call so the man could easily find her. Tommy tries to calm her nerves by being there for her but he is unable to keep Pam from being abducted. Now he needs to figure out how where she is and who has taken her. I already read the book so I know what happens but don’t worry, I can keep a secret. Can you?

Mary and Max
by Melanie C. Jordan

Mary and Max is one of the strangest and saddest animations I ever did see. This film was written and directed by Oscar award winning Adam Elliot. Mary and Max is a bizarre story about a pen-pal relationship between a lonely, shy and gloomy eight-year-old Australian girl from Melbourne and an obese, 44-year-old Jewish man with Aspergers Syndrome who lives in New York City.
The claymated characters in this film are all dark and Gloomy. They all have something bizarrely wrong with them. Take for example Maxs cat; this cat has a missing eye and chronic halitosis. I love his Imaginary friend Mr. Ravioli who sits in the corner reading self help books.

Marys best friend is a rooster that fell off a slaughter wagon. She has a legless, agoraphobic neighbor and a father who is withdrawn and obsessed.

I heard that Adam Elliot based the film on his own pen-pal relationship with a New York man diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. (Just like Max)

This film shows pain and suffering, I was actually unsure if I wanted to watch it. I am happy that I did because the clay characters that Adam created were truly a master piece. Knowing this was a true story moved me as well. This was defiantly not a Pixar or Disney film but the painstaking labor put into it was hell worth the watch.

I can go on and on talking about this film but I don’t want to give the scenes away. I can tell you there are a few funny parts as well, but that’s all I can say. Go check it out for yourself!

http://www.maryandmax.com/

Daniel Jean-Baptiste
by Melanie C. Jordan

An old friend of mine from Brooklyn went away with his wife on their Honeymoon to this beautiful tropical environment and brought back a piece of heaven. Louie Olivos, thank you for introducing me to an amazing artist and may heavens light always shine on your marriage.

Daniel Jean-Baptiste was a breath of fresh air to interview. His love for nature shines through his gift of art. Jean is such an inspiration to all that meet him and his art work even moved President Bush. Please get comfortable, kick up your feet and get ready for an amazing interview done on an angel that sheds his love of “Natures canvas”.

I.mag: Jean, your art is mainly tropical. Please tell the readers where you get this tropical inspiration from.

Jean: All my inspiration comes from my wonderful childhood of growing up on an estate near a street town of Choiseul in St. Lucia.  In the 60’s and 70’s that part of the world was still quite wild and under populated. I can remember swimming in the crystal clear Caribbean Sea just about every day, and if was out of the water I would be exploring the thick beautiful forest close to home.

I.mag: I viewed your website; please tell me about this house that is on many pages of your site.

Jean: This house was built by my grandfather over 80 years ago in the parish of Choiseul. I grew up in this house until 1975.  I am now the owner and I have over the last two years, restored it back to it’s original state. It will become an art gallery and studio which will be open to the public.

I.mag: What Medium is used in your creations?

Jean: I work exclusively with silk. The paints are water based and made especially for the silk fabric.

I.mag: When you create is the image drawn from memory or do you draw your subjects (as they are in front of you)

Jean: My process of creating an image involves getting research material from as many sources as possible. The possibility of a live viewing of the subject helps in seeing the true colours and possibly details that the camera might miss. The end result comes from putting everything through my mind and what evolves from this I usually love, but if it feels empty I destroy the piece and start all over again.

I.mag: I love the water effect in your art. How is this done? (It’s so realistic as if the water is moving in front of my eyes)

Jean: This water effect was an accidental discovery. Back in 1998 when I lived in St. Lucia with my two kids and wife, I was busy working on a large piece when my 5 year old daughter spilled water on the painting while I had been working on it. At first it seemed like a disaster, but the effect of the spilled water was a crude version of that now wonderful part of my style. It is done working wet on wet with the silk.

I.mag: Please tell me about Scarlet MaCaw

Jean: I had come across a Turquoise Macaw at a hotel in St. Lucia and became intrigued by the feather design and the colour layout. I had to do actual photo research to create the Scarlet Macaw since I have never seen one live. So I relied mostly on the Turquoise for my original study.

I.mag: Do you have a favorite art piece you have done? If yes why?

Jean: I have often been asked this. I do not have a favorite since every moment of being in creation of something new is so suffering and in the end so beautiful. I live for now only, so I never compare parts of my life, every moment and every painting is a unique experience.

I.mag: You have been blessed to meet many people because of your gift of art. What can you tell me about the meeting with Bill Clinton?

Jean: The Government of St. Lucia invited me to present a piece to the President. He was very accommodating and down to earth. I really enjoyed meeting him, it seemed everyone in the crowd wanted to reach out to him. He was very charismatic.

I.mag: What did you draw for Singer song writer Paul Simon and do you remember what was said when you gave Paul the art piece?

Jean: I never met Paul Simon, but I grew up on his wonderful music and often painted to it. My neighbor at the time was St. Lucia’s Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. He and Paul Simon were good friends; in fact they worked on many projects together. I had Derek present a miniature titled “Brain Coral & Trigger” to him. Derek and Paul parted ways with the failure of the stage show “Cape Man”.

I.mag: Last words.

Jean: Art has always been something natural to me, I was born a painter, I don’t know why. I look forward to creating some of my greatest and most exciting work now.

http://www.jean-baptiste.com