NEAPOLIS, A BOOK BY ILL-STUDIO – SEPTEMBER 2012

SEPTEMBER 2012

HAVING HAD A PROTECTED AND ISOLATED CHILDHOOD, SKATEBOARDING WAS ABOUT AS ENCOURAGED AS CANNIBALISM AND I DIDN’T HAVE THE BALLS TO TRY. TEAM SPORTS AND PHYSICAL COORDINATION WERE A BIG SOURCE OF SHAME FOR ME IN GROWING UP SO OF COURSE THEY ALWAYS HAD THE ALLURE OF THE UNATTAINABLE. AND I HADN’T LEARNED HOW TO REBEL YET. BY THE TIME I DID, I WAS TOO OLD TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE IN MY MOTOR SKILLS AND IT WAS TIME FOR DRUGS.

I LOVE THE AESTHETIC ECONOMY AND INDEPENDENCE OF A SIMPLE BOARD WITH WHEELS AND THE WHOLE WORLD AS AN AVAILABLE SURFACE. AND THE JOYFUL RECKLESS VIRILITY OF HAVING NO RULES. I LIKE HOW THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOOK TO MATCH; SIMPLE LOOSE T-SHIRTS AND BAGGY SHORTS SOMETIMES OVERSIZED TO ALMOST KABUKI PROPORTIONS. HUMBLE AND OPULENT LIKE A MONKS ROBES. I’VE USED THIS.

THE SKATEBOARD RAMPS THAT I SAW IN MY YOUTH WERE SIMPLE, PRIMITIVE DO-IT-YOURSELF LANDSCAPES MADE OF CURVING PLYWOOD, OFTEN ROUGHLY PAINTED BLACK. LIKE AN OUTDOOR LEATHER BAR. THEY HAD THE SIMPLE BRUTAL RATIONALIST POETRY OF AN ANGULAR BRANCUSI. OR MORE RECENTLY IN MY EYES, THE ARTIST OSCAR TUAZON.

ANGLES SUGGEST TRANSITION FROM ONE LEVEL TO THE NEXT. ASCENSION OR DESCENT. A MOMENT OF AMBIGUITY AND EXPECTATION. THE ETERNAL CYCLE OF CRAWLING FROM NOTHING TO THE PEAK OF ALL YOUR STRENGTH AND THEN FEELING YOUR STRENGTH GRADUALLY FADE AWAY TO NOTHING AGAIN.

BIAS CUTTING HAS BEEN ONE OF MY MAIN TECHNIQUES IN MAKING CLOTHES. THE GARMENT IS CUT WITH THE FIBRES CROSSING THE BODY AT 45-DEGREE ANGLES, CAUSING THE FABRIC TO CLING TO THE FORM IN A GENTLE WAY. I LIKE THE IDEA THAT BIAS CUTTING IS REFERRED TO AS CUTTING AGAINST THE GRAIN.

‘AGAINST THE GRAIN’ WAS ALSO THE TITLE OF A BOOK BY J.K. HUYSMANS THAT MEANT A LOT TO ME IN MY FORMATIVE YEARS, ABOUT A RECLUSIVE, NEUROTIC AESTHETE THAT SHUTS HIMSELF OFF FROM THE WORLD TO COMPLETELY INDULGE HIMSELF IN SENSATION AND BEAUTY. THERE WAS SOMETHING VERY REASSURING TO ME IN HIS EXAMPLE. I ALSO FELT A SATISFYING CLICK OF RECOGNITION WHEN I FOUND A BOOK BY THE ARCHITECTS CLAUDE PARENT AND PAUL VIRILIO TITLED ‘THE FUNCTION OF THE OBLIQUE.’ THE ARCHITECTURE THEY PROPOSED LOOKED LIKE THE SPACES I’D WANTED TO LIVE IN ALL MY LIFE. AND THEY RESEMBLED THE ANGLES AND CURVES AND SLOPES OF SKATEBOARD PARKS. I KEEP THIS BOOK STOCKED IN ALL MY STORES.

EVERYONE RESPONDS TO A RATIONAL GRACEFUL LINE. AND THERE’S SOMETHING SO APPEALING ABOUT THE IDEA OF SWOOPING AND SOARING ALONG ONE. ADD THE ELEMENT OF RISK, AND IT’S IRRESISTABLE.

THE FURNITURE IS A VERY POWERFUL ECHO OF YOUR AESTHETIC. CAN YOU BOIL DOWN HOW YOU’VE ACHIEVED THAT? IS IT HEFT, SHAPE, MATERIAL?

I’M SHAMELESSLY MIMICKING BRANCUSI AND LE CORBUSIER. IN FURNITURE AND CLOTHES. I LIKE A BLUNT RATIONAL SIMPLICITY IN RAW SIMPLE MATERIALS. AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, A SLIGHTLY RIDICULOUS FLOURISH.

WHAT DID YOU LOOK AT IN TERMS OF REFERENCES/INSPIRATIONS FOR THE PIECES?

I ALWAYS LIKED RUHLMANN, MALLET-STEVENS AND JEAN-MICHEL FRANK. I OVERSIZED AND SIMPLIFIED THEIR SILHOUETTES WITH A HINT OF CALIFORNIA SKATE PARKS AND LEATHER BAR INTERIORS AND VOILA. THIS ‘30S GLAMOUR ROUGHLY SKETCHED IN LEATHER AND OLD T-SHIRTS WAS MY ORIGINAL BLUEPRINT FOR THE CLOTHES AS WELL.

DID YOU DESIGN WITH YOUR OWN SPACE IN MIND?

I’VE LEARNED THAT BEING SELFISH IS THE ONLY THING THAT REALLY WORKS FOR ME. IF IT’S SOMETHING I GENUINELY DESIRE, IT’S A GOOD BET THAT OTHERS WILL, TOO. OUR GENERATION HAS COMMON TOUCHSTONES THAT WE ALL CONNECT TO. I AM CERTAINLY NOT UNIQUE.

ARE THESE ‘DIFFICULT’ PIECES TO LIVE WITH?

NOT FOR ME. I’VE GOT MORE UPHOLSTERY GOING ON THAN SOME MAY THINK.

CAN YOU FORESEE A DAY WHEN YOU MIGHT CREATE A COMMERCIAL RANGE OF FURNITURE RATHER THAN EDITION PIECES?

I’VE REALIZED THAT THE FURNITURE IS MY VERSION OF COUTURE. IT’S TIME CONSUMINGLY ARTISINALLY MADE IN A MIX OF BASE AND RARE MATERIALS. AND THE PROCESS IS SUCH A PLEASURABLE PART OF IT. I’M AFRAID THAT I LIKE INFECTING THE MOST MUNDANE THINGS WITH MY AESTHETIC. LIKE CAST BRONZE SWITCHPLATE COVERS OR PATE DE VERRE TOILETS. THOSE ARE ON MY LIST NEXT. THE CLOTHES SATISFY MY COMMERCIAL URGES. THE FURNITURE IS PROBABLY GOING TO JUST GO MORE EXTREME.

WHAT OTHER DESIGNERS DO YOU MIX—IF ANY—WITH YOUR OWN INTERIOR? VINTAGE/MODERN?

THE MOST RECENT THINGS I’VE GOTTEN ARE A GEORGE HOENTSCHEL TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY MONUMENTAL URN, A PAIR OF CONSTRICTER LAMPS BY ROLF SACHS AND A SET OF GOLD ALUMINUM PROUVE DOORS.

HOW IMPORTANT IS COMFORT WHEN IT COMES TO FURNITURE? I’M PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN YOUR BED. THERE’S SURELY NO PIECE OF FURNITURE THAT WE CONNECT WITH MORE THAN A BED. WHAT MOOD DID YOU STRIVE FOR? WHAT WERE THE INSPIRATIONS FOR IT?

ORIGINALLY I HAD DONE THAT SHAPE IN MY HOLLYWOOD STUDIO THAT WAS A LIKE A CONCRETE BUNKER LINED IN ARMY BLANKETS. KIND OF ART DECO BEUYS. I DUPLICATED IT IN PARIS. BUT THE NEXT BED HAD TO BECOME A BIT MORE FORMAL. THE ALABASTER HAD A WARMER BIBLICAL QUALITY AS OPPOSED TO MARBLE SO IT SEEMED LIKE THE RIGHT WAY TO GO.

HOW DOES OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH DESIGN AND FURNITURE DIFFER FROM PREVIOUS GENERATIONS?