Artist Decoded: Gems - "Every Full Moon"

GEMS is the evolving ethereal pop project of former lovers Lindsay Pitts and Clifford John Usher. After an agonizing romantic split, the duo are continuing to make music together with the project: ‘Every Full Moon’. The full moon represents a time of culmination and fulfillment, of coming full circle, and a symbolic illumination in our inner lives that is mirrored in the night sky. GEMS will be releasing a new song with every full moon as they work through the ghosts of their past and face the uncertainty of the future. Their hope is that the music they create can serve as a vehicle to transform the pain and work through things that otherwise seem totally overwhelming.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Being able to separate yourself from your art
• Constantly investigating and navigating the world
• Neil Young, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell
• Astrology
• Releasing their songs at the end of the full moon cycle
• Changes the duo has been going through both personally and with their musical career
• Technological advances
• The music industry
• Getting trapped in systematic styles of living / thinking
• Social and emotional education
• Positivity through individuality
• Artwork affecting culture

www.gems-band.com

Artist Decoded: "Drawing Your Own Path" with John F Simon Jr.

John F Simon Jr. is a multimedia artist and software art pioneer who work and installations are found in the permanent collections of The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others. In 2011, he collaborated with Icelandic singer Bjork to write an app for her album, Biophilia. Simon's newest publication, Drawing Your Own Path: 33 Practices at the Crossroads of Art and Meditation, is out now by Parallax Press. Simon grew up in central Louisiana and currently lives and works in Sugar Loaf, New York.

Topics Discussed in this Episode: 

• Creative ruts leading to personal creative breakthroughs
• His experiences going to Brown and SVA
• How he started to experiment with digital imaging
• Communal VR and AR spaces
• "Snowcrash", a book by Neal Stephenson
• Classic panopticons
• His research into AI
• The "no-self" experience
• Discussing the idea behind his book "Drawing Your Own Path"
• Understanding and dissecting meditation
• "Secret of the Golden Flower" (book)
• Mindfulness being executed when the verbal and non-verbal parts of the brain sync up
• The personal narrative
• Bruce Lee
• Creating your own reality

www.drawingyourownpath.com

www.numeral.com

A Live Conversation from MIND/WAVE feat. Joshua Hagler + Jarell Perry + Maja Ruznic + Yoshino

It was an honor co-hosting my first live panel on art and spirituality last weekend during MIND/WAVE in Los Angeles. 

During the talk we touched on:

• The role of religion in our upbringing and how that informs our artistic process today
• The importance of intuition and where it comes from
• The spiritual as the unknown, and seeking enlightenment through art

Listen below.

This podcast episode was originally recorded in Los Angeles, CA @ NOH/WAVE on March 18th, 2017 with guest speakers Joshua Hagler, Jarell Perry, Maja Ruznic, and Yoshino.

Images by Steve Lucero

Artist Decoded: "The Warrior's Path + Developing Mental Toughness and Resilience" with Daniele Bolelli

Daniele Bolelli is an Italian-born writer, martial artist, university professor, and podcaster. He is the author of several books including On the Warrior's Path. He's also known for his podcasts History On Fire and The Drunken Taoist.

• How martial arts and physical activity can change your life
• Developing mental toughness
• The ability and willingness to challenge yourself
• Making small improvements to your life
• Joe Rogan
• The reasons why he started his podcasts The Drunk Taoist and History On Fire
• Existing as yourself
• Living an unedited existence
• Tackling fear
• Understanding work from a conscious perspective

Artist Decoded: "Overcoming Obstacles + Becoming Focused and Disciplined" feat. Yoshino interviewed by Cory Allen

Artist Decoded host, Yoshino, interviewed by Cory Allen.

This interview was originally on Cory's podcast The Astral Hustle.

Artist Decoded: "Create Like There's No Tomorrow" with Andrew Hem interviewed by Justin Hopkins

Born during his parents' flight from Cambodia in the wake of the Khmer Rogue genocide, Andrew Hem grew up poised in the balance between two cultures - the rural animistic society of his Khmer ancestors, and the dynamic urban arts of the tough Los Angeles neighborhood where his family eventually came to rest. Fascinated by graffiti at an early age, he honed his skills with graphics and composition on the walls of the city before following a passion for figure drawing to a degree in illustration from Art Center College of Design. Working in gouache, oil and acrylic, he weaves atmospheric, richly textured narratives in a vivid palette of twilight blues enlivened by swaths of deep red and splashes of golden light. His haunting impressions of culture and landscape evoke the life of the spirit through the visionary manifestation of memories and dreams.

Over the six years since his graduation from Art Center with a B.F.A. in Illustration, Andrew Hem has exhibited in venues worldwide, from Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York and the Portsmouth Museum of Art in New Hampshire to solo and group exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Nashville, Miami, Toronto, Zurich and Leece, Italy. He has lectured at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida. His personal work has been featured in Beyond Illustration, the Society of Illustrators annual, Communication Arts, Spectrum, American Illustration, 3x3, Swallow and Hi-Fructose, among others, and his illustration clients have included The Atlantic, New Scientist, the Los Angeles Times, the Fort Worth Opera, Adidas and Lucky Brand Jeans. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

www.andrewhem.com