When I saw that Claudio Kirac, Vaughan Blakey, Sofles, Simon DeGroot, Jeremy Wortsman && Matt O’Brien were all going to be speaking at the same place at the same time, I thought… Fuck me! I must be dreaming. I mean, how on earth did the organisers of Analogue/Digital manage to persuade such an eclectic && incredible bunch of artists to appear at the same magical place? Well I don’t know how they did it, but I’m stoked they did.
I made the trek from Brisbane to the Sunny Coast without a hitch, which was a good effort on my behalf. Once there, armed with a giant coffee in one hand && my AD goodie bag in the other, I settled down in my seat, whipped out my pen && journal, ready to be inspired. And inspired I was.
The first speaker to kick off the day was Matt O’Brien. Even though O’Brien is pretty young, he’s made quite a name for himself with his brilliant surf photography && his clientele list is as impressive as it is extensive. Monster Children, Billabong && Surfing World are just to name a few. O’Brien has also proven that he is a natural at shooting beautiful travel && fashion flicks. Check out his incredible work, including the photo below, at 28monsters.com
Up next to bat was Simon DeGroot. Inspired by the Dutch Golden Age, DeGroot utilized this influence to produce Super Bouquet, a collection of stunning contemporary paintings of kaleidoscopic flowers && their pixelated twins. Degroot also discussed the collection, The Happy Mad, which incorporates vibrant colour && bold lines that come together to form beautiful childlike images of masks, fallen birds, crowns, rainbows && paper planes. DeGroot announced that he will be showing a new collection of works this November at the Metro Arts Gallery in Brisbane. If you can’t wait that long to set your pretty little eyes on his amazing paintings, like the one below, then check out his previous collections at simondegroot.com
After a subway-induced lunch I made my way back to see Jeremy Wortsman, director of The Jacky Winter Group. Wortsman, a New York native, started the agency in his own Melbourne home && represented only 12 artists. The Jacky Winter Group has since gone from strength to strength && now features more than 100 commercial artists nationally && internationally. The agency, named after the native Australian robin, has also stretched its wings into other areas. As well launching The Hatch, The Bowery && Rock of Eye, Wortsman opened Lamington Drive, a gallery that features a letterpress studio, an in-house art framer && a motorcycle workshop, just to name a few of the amazing features. Wortsman is an incredibly inspiring speaker. He discussed how he made his rise to fame && gave a shitload of good advice. Definitely one of my favourite speakers of the day! For more information on The Jacky Winter Group go to jackywinter.com
If you judge me by my previous posts, you can obviously see that I’m pretty interested in graffiti. It would come as no surprise then to learn that I was pretty interested in listening to the next speaker, Sofles. And he didn’t disappoint. Sofles, real name Russell Fenn, is a jack of all trades && fucking masters them all. Not only is he a killer artist, a graffiti king && handy with a tattoo gun, he’s also hilariously funny && good looking… Not a bad package. Sofles showed us a ton of flicks, throwing in a few photos of boobs && even a penis for good measure, but what surprised me the most was the way he talked so candidly about his graffiti past. I wasn’t expecting him to be so open about it. He was the only artist I felt a real personal connection with && his optimistic spirit is pretty inspiring. He finished his speech urging us to make the most of every opportunity && if I can quote the man himself… “Go out && do it. I can do it && I’m a retard.” Check out sofles.com && ironlak.com for more flicks && videos. Photo below stolen from hellyeahmag.com
After a short break we all converged for the next speaker, Claudio Kirac. After opening with an intensely comedic video, about what I’m still not sure, Kirac talked about his rise through the Billabong ranks to the coveted position of Art Director. Referring to himself as a “modern day renaissance man”, Kirac has had an exceptional career as an artist, photographer && designer. He’s worked with the crème de la crème of the art industry && although his speech was somewhat shorter than the other speakers it was just as inspirational && full of good career advice. View his impressive work, like the photo below, at claudiokirac.com
The last speaker of the day, but certainly not the least, was Vaughan Blakey, editor of Surfing World && frontman for the Goons of Doom. Blakey, who got his kick-start at Tracks, has worked && written for magazines such as Waves && Monster Children. A surfing fanatic, Blakey has also been involved in a bunch of surfing videos, including the hilarious Doped Youth. Admitting that he is “loving mandarins at the moment”, Blakey was a really top speaker && seems like a really great down to earth guy. Check out his awesome paint drawings at vaughandeadly.tumblr.com
So that just about wrapped up a very long, but motivating day. At the end, prizes were given away by the event organisers && even the speakers gave away some pretty dope shit. Judging by the photos on facebook, a pretty cool after party soon commenced, but unfortunately yours truly could not attend as I am a poor student && I could barely scrape together the money needed for the ticket price. The seventy bucks was extremely well spent && I’m looking forward to seeing how they’re going to top themselves next year. High fives all round for the guys behind Analogue/Digital… it was well electric.
The Highlight: Sofles. He. Is. Hilarious.
The Lowlight: Getting a parking fine. Fuck you Sunshine Plaza.
- Jack.
