Experience Everlasting Light in this Seashore Library, The World's Loneliest

“The moment you walk in, you will feel moved by something.”

Check out this visit to the Seashore Library at Nandaihe Pleasure City, China, a 5000-foot ocean-side structure inspired by an Andrew Wyeth painting and designed by Gong Dong at Vector Architects. 

Seashore Library

If you're looking for subtitles in English, flip the [CC] switch in the bottom right corner.

“If this reading room is considered the auditorium, then the sea is the ongoing play. This metaphor is the underlying theme of this space...Light creates atmosphere, and we hope to reveal the completeness of light in the space of this building.”

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“The state of life we hope to achieve is that anyone staying on the seashore has a space where they can feel their relationship with the sea, while holding a book.”

Stillness Within Every Piece: Q&A with Graphic Designer Elyn Kazarian

“Use other peoples’ negativity as your fuel to create something positive.”

Elyn Kazarian is a designer currently based in Los Angeles, CA. Her work provides an atmosphere of orchestrated pulse which effects people in a subliminal way. 

what is your craft? My heart will always be in the arts. Right now, I work as a graphic designer and creative director within the music industry, but who knows where I'll be in the coming years.

what are you most afraid of? I'm most afraid of not living up to my full potential. 

where do you get your drive from? My drive primarily comes from music. Besides nature, it's one of the few things that keeps me constantly curious.

what does mindfulness mean to you? Mindfulness to me means being aware of yourself, your abilities and potential, while also being aware of your surroundings and how you're affecting it. It's important to stay open minded, especially towards those around you.

what role does stillness play in your life and art? Stillness actually has always been an important aspect to my life and art. I never talk about it, especially in regards to my work, but it's there within every piece I create. People don't realize how powerful stillness is. Sometimes when I'm listening to music, the most catching moments for me are those exact moments of stillness in between the notes.

name up to 3 emerging visual artists, designers, musicians that inspire you right now. They all happen to be musicians: Innanet James, Smino, and The Code.

what is a book you have read / talk you have heard / video you have seen that has impacted your outlook on your life and art in the past year? There are 2 TED talks that I recommend: Janine Shepherd: A broken body isn't a broken person and Ramona Pierson: An unexpected place of healing.

what is a mantra or affirmation you are working on this year? Use other peoples' negativity as your fuel to create something positive.

how do you stay woke (awake/aware) on a daily basis? I listen.

'World of Tomorrow' is a fantastic commentary on past, present, and future consciousness

Stumble upon this 16-minute Oscar-nominated short film by Don Hertzfeld entitled World of Tomorrow, which is now streaming on Netflix, and you won't be sorry you did. It's an enchanting sci-fi horror-meets-bedtime story, in fully animated stick-figure glory. A theme that continues to ring in the ears, long after the movie ends:

“We don’t ever fully appreciate the present until it becomes our past”

A more complete synopsis found over at The Atlantic. 

Exclusive: Behind the Scenes Video of Deebs & Jarell Perry's "Relapse" | Q&A with Choreographer Sophia Stoller

The warped emotional visual for "Relapse" was the result of a large collaborative effort between several rising talents. Thankfully we were able to catch some footage on set to give a glimpse into the magnitude of this crew's work. Take a look here:

To add another unique perspective, Sophia Stoller, who beautifully choreographed the piece, was gracious in answering a few questions:

What was your process for choreographing and casting the dance featured in "Relapse?" What about the song was inspiring for you?

After hearing the song, I knew I wanted the movement to be derived from an internal experience of struggle. Relapsing, be it in the situation of a toxic relationship or drugs, generally involves a physical addiction of some kind, so my feeling was that the story of this song was already inherently existing in the world of physical movement. I started my process in my living room, listening to the song on repeat and allowing it to move through my body. These repeated improvisations eventually took shape as choreographed phrases. In my conversations with Yoshino, we had discussed the dance getting progressively more desperate and violent as the song built, so each phrase incorporated a new level of intensity or struggle.  I have worked with Kayla, Dina, and Yvonne on past projects, and I knew they would each bring their own unique qualities to the movement I gave them, which something I really value in a dancer. I also knew they were able to work fast...they learned all of the movement in one short rehearsal.

“The story of this song was already inherently existing in the world of physical movement.”

Would you say there is a certain aesthetic or style or inspiration you're drawn to in your own work specifically? How do you describe it and what about it resonates with you?

My training as a dancer is very eclectic, and many little tastes of the styles I have studied throughout my life find their way into my choreography. I would describe the work I make as contemporary dance, but there are definitely elements of hip hop in this piece as well.  My inspiration generally comes from exploring psychological and mental states through physicality. There is so much that can be communicated about emotional experience through movement, and I am fascinated by the idea of transforming something that is very internal into something that encompasses the entire body in an outward expression of some kind. Aesthetically, I am drawn to high contrast and dynamism--choreography that surprises the eye again and again with quick shifts, subtle sharp accents, and clever punctuation.

Lock & Key, 2015

“I am fascinated by the idea of transforming something that is very internal into something that encompasses the entire body.”

What is one of the major highlights of your career in choreography so far, the stuff you couldn't wait to share with others? A milestone, etc.

Last March I presented an entire show that I choreographed, directed, and conceptualized called "Lock & Key." The show was about physical and psychological prisons, and I collaborated with a team of incredible artists to develop an interactive set, live feed video projection, an original score of music, and lighting design that created the atmosphere of the piece onstage. The performance was my MFA thesis concert (I received my MFA in Choreography from CalArts in May 2015), so not only was it my most accomplished feat as an artist thus far, but was also a significant milestone because it signified the completion of my masters degree. Learning to edit video and creating my first dance film in 2013 was also a major highlight in my career thus far.  Video editing is all about flow and movement, and my vision as an editor, particularly when editing dance footage, is deeply informed by my work as a choreographer.

Check out an excerpt from Stoller's "Lock & Key" below: