Artist Decoded: Alex Beck with "The Balance Between Art & Life"

Artist Decoded is a weekly podcast series created by emerging creative director and photographer Yoshino.

Alex Beck is an award-winning painter and illustrator who maintains a studio in Richmond, Virginia. He is known for his uncommonly versatile work in oil, acrylic, and gouache.

Beck was formally trained at Ringling College of Art and Design. He also expanded his training at the Illustration Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, The Masters Class at Amherst, Massachusetts, and The Art League of Alexandria, Virginia where he previously taught at.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Films
• The balance between life and creating art
• Art as a narrative told as a single statement
• Finding love within ourself
• Not letting a lack of technical knowledge detour us from creating work
• Creating a personal "vocabulary" with our work
• Giving back and adding value into other's lives

www.alexthebeck.com

Meditative Music: CFCF - You Hear Colours

© Paper Bag Records 2013 - CFCF Purchase it from the online store here: http://shop.paperbagrecords.com/products/continent

Vogue Cover Model Adwoa Aboah Opens Up on Addiction, Depression + Body Image

via i-D

After early battles with addiction, depression and attempted suicide, the cover star has emerged on the other side of recovery with a new vision for supporting young girls. By account of her recent interview with VICE/i-D, @GurlsTalk is "the best friend you wish you had growing up, a voice to speak out on body image, feminism, self-perception and empowerment."

“Be vulnerable, be open and be true to yourself. I found when I was trying to be someone else everything was so much harder. But when I was true to myself, I felt so much freer.”

Click here for the feature in full.

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Thumbnail Image: Paul Maffi

Meditative Music: Tennyson - Like What

We asked Nikita to listen to the song "Like What" by Tennyson, and to describe what came to mind as she listened. Afterwards, we filmed everything she described. Nikita has been blind since birth. This film is a tour of the imagination of someone without vision and their interpretation of music.

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.