Photo by Mark Zimmerman

Over the past year, Eyakem and I have tried several times to collaborate on various bike-related photo projects, but none of these projects have ever come to fruition. So when I saw the opportunity to feature him in the first ever Apache House show, I didn’t hesitate. I have enormous respect for his documentary inspired photography and will continue to work with him as often as I can. Check out more of his photos at the show this Friday, at Gray Owl Coffee.

Where are you from?
It is a difficult question, but I am from Ethiopia.

What do you do?
I am a photographer studying at OU to get my MFA.

Who or why do you use for inspiration?
My inspiration is the people around me. I like to watch people where ever I am at – the grocery store, school, parks etc I guess that is why I photograph people. I often like to put myself in other peoples shoes. I am also inspired by indie movies and documentary of ordinary people. I watch a lot of shows from KQED spark.

What are you sick of?
I am sick of galleries that take a high percentage of profit.

What music are you listening to recently?
I have been listening to a lot of music by recent immigrant to America such as K’naan and others that have been born here. These artist sing about their stories through eclectic sounds. I want to listen to their stories to learn more about them and for my own inspiration. Blue Scholars, Lupe Fiasco, and Gabriel Teodros.

What is your first creative memory?
Competing with my younger brother drawing pistol when I was 7 or 8.

What is your favorite food/drank spot in Norman?
I love BJ Totanka Stout. The earth has amazing food but their fig cookies are the best.

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The beautiful people of Dustbowl Arts Market are teaming up with Norman Music Fest in April and they are currently looking for artists to work with. They will be featuring “regionally local artists and handmade crafters who will be selling paintings, ceramics, clothing, jewelry, pottery, home accessories, textiles, prints, photography, stationery, and all other sorts of handmade creations”. If that sounds like you, download an application here or drop by Birdie or Wild Hare Beadery on campus corner and pick up one in person, which is way cooler. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this NMF-DAM collaboration. Hopefully I’ll see you there.

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Listing out musicians that have recently recorded with Norman based Blackwatch Studios is pretty much the same thing as listing out my favorite local musicians. The amount of talent involved in their endeavors is a little bit humbling. I am, and will continue to be, excited to see what new work they produce.

Who and what is Blackwatch?
Blackwatch, officially, is a recording studio in downtown Norman, OK. If there was a mission statement for Blackwatch, it would probably go something like this… Blackwatch is a community of local artists. In our aim to help our local art scene be exciting and progressive, we strive to support and expose a wealth of local talent and create a community where collaboration and new ideas are always exploited.

What have you been involved with in the past?
We’ve been involved in lots of records… many local, many not. A list of our favorites would look something like this:

Ryan Lindsey (White Paper Beds)
Bishop Allen (The Broken String)
Jacob Abello (Nothing But Gold)
Sherree Chamberlain (The Wasp in the Room)
The NON (Tadaima)
Vandevander (The Great State of Emotion)
Chase Pagan (Bells and Whistles)
Umbrellas (Illuminare)
Dead Sea Choir (Thin One the Red One)
The Workweek (Untitled, Unreleased)
Brine Webb (Untitled, Unreleased)

When did Blackwatch get started and how has it progressed?
The creation of what is now Blackwatch was a slow evolution. The building was initially utilized as a rehearsal space for a few local bands. Over time, some of those bands were writing records and the space was a great spot to set up recording gear and get the job done on a low budget. One thing led to another and we started picking out small construction projects to do one at a time. Over the course of 2005-2007 we remodeled most of the building ourselves to the specifications that made it a comfortable and efficient creative environment to make records in.

In the early days the studio was super vibey, but also had lots of problems (leaks, little to no isolation between the control room and tracking room, and fluorescent lights that buzzed and had to be turned off everytime you hit record). Our main objective in the renovation process was not to lose the cool and comfortable vibe that makes you feel relaxed and creative while working. We’re quite pleased with the current blend of vibe and professional or commercial quality. The renovation definitely opened up the doors to a whole new clientele.

Why did you choose Norman, of all places?
The short answer would be, we all grew up and went to college here. It just happened to be the place where we lived when we started putting the studio together. That being said, I don’t think either of us would change the location right now even if we had the choice. We love our friends here and believe greatly in this surprisingly talented and creative midwestern music scene.

What exactly are your thoughts on the Oklahoma music and creative scene / community?
Being from Norman, the Flaming Lips have clearly paved the way for local artists to be optimistic about working on innovative and abstract art. Its cool that there is a conscious thought process among artists here to expose this music scene on a national level. Its exciting to think about any given local artist getting a big break and pulling others from this community in the the national spotlight… I don’t think its a stretch to think that way either.

Do you focus mostly on local artists or is there a wider spectrum than that?
We love working with local artists, but don’t focus on it exclusively. At the end of the day, I think we just want to be a part of the best music that we can be a part of… no matter where it comes from. I’d say about half of our business would be considered local.

Favorite Blackwatch project so far?
I don’t think we could list a favorite. We’re just really excited to be involved with lots of talented artists all the time.

Any future goals or projects in the works?
We are planning on doing some more renovation to Studio B this year. We recently bought another vintage yamaha console that is really gonna help make Studio B another very legitimate room. We just teamed up with News OK for their Static series. They shot a few segments at Blackwatch that will be airing within the next couple of months.

Is there anyone in Oklahoma that you would like to work with but haven’t had a chance to yet?
Yes. Mike Hosty.

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As one of the few Oklahoma design studios that doesn’t restrict themselves to the nothing-but-advertising attitude, Live4This has contributed some really solid work to the local scene and has been recognized nationally for their talents. These surprisingly young creatives describe themselves as “artists, art directors, advertisers, designers, photographers, and programmers”, and their website is full of work that shows they aren’t exaggerating their skills.

Who is Live4This?
Live4This is the collaborative between Darshan Phillips & Aaron Whisner.

How did you get started and what goals were originally present?
We started the studio because the two of us had enough freelance and contract work to do it. We have been friends for a long time and had studied art and design together.

As a multidisciplinary studio, how do you balance the differences between art and design, and what differences do you see there?
In art, we create without trying to appeal to any audience but ourselves. In design, we are trying to appeal to the intended audience. The rules of composition are the same in both art and design.

How do you find inspiration in Tulsa, Oklahoma?
Books, online, movies, and nature.

What are your thoughts on the art/design community of Tulsa and Oklahoma in general?
We are huge advocates of the Oklahoma art/design community. There is so much talent in our state regardless of our geographical location and it is growing. When we first started, we had a lot of people tell us that Oklahoma would never have a cool design community. Instead of fleeing to some state that did, we wanted to work on growing one. It is a huge frustration when someone we know, with talent, moves out of Oklahoma. Hopefully Oklahoma will continue to retain talent and grow its design and art community.

Any favorite projects so far?
Our last art show, Progress as Promised.

We saw you in Print Magazine a while back, what other awards have you won?
Best of Show / Ride Snowboard International Art Competition, 2005
2nd / Salomon Snowboard International Design Competition, 2005
Multiple Awards / Art Directors Club, 2007 & 2008
Best of Show / ADDYs 41, Best of Show, 2008
Multiple ADCT Graphex Awards, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

We have also been featured in:
ART 365 THE FILM
Art Directors Club, 2007 & 2008
CMYK Magazine, 2004
Corridorbuzz.com, 2008
FecalFace.com, 2008
Kern Newsletter, 2007 & 2008
New American Paintings, No. 78, 2008
Oklahoma Magazine, 2007 & 2008
OklaTravelNet, 2008
Print Magazine, RDA, 2007 & 2008
Tulsa People, 2008
Tulsa World, 2007, 2008 & 2009
Urban Tulsa, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009
Up Late with Ben Sumner, 2008
Steamboat Pilot, 2006 & 2007
WheatToast.org, 2008

What are your goals for the future?
We would love to have a show featured in the New York Times. We are also working towards having shows world-wide.

Anybody in Oklahoma you would like to work with but haven’t had a chance to?
We would love to be commissioned by one of the big oil companies to produce a body of work.

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Todd Jackson (from Evangelicals and my favorite blog ever) just made my day with a copy of Brother Gruesome’s new cassette tape, released on LA label Slanty Shanty Records. Todd and Levi have recorded five awesome songs with a little help from local heartthrob, Penny Hill, who is also releasing a tape on the same label in March. You can pick up the tape at Guestroom Records.

Room for Rent

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I know Justen from back in the day when he was a vis comm graduate student at OU and I was a sophomore. During critiques, I think we all trusted his advice more than our regular professors because of his keen eye for design as well as his awesome Brooklyn accent. We were all blown away and inspired whenever he showed us any of his work. What a class act.

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in New York City (mainly Queens) and came to
Oklahoma for college.

What do you do?
I teach graphic design at Oklahoma State University where I’ve
developed a program focusing on motion and interactive design. My
design work encompasses motion graphics (video, typographic animation,
etc.), printed work (including posters, logos, custom typography,
etc.), interactive work and illustration. I have also enjoyed making
sample based music for many years.

Who or what do you use for inspiration?
My son, Hudson and wife, Holly. My grandparents, Anna and Arrigo
Ghedini (both artists) were huge inspirations for me. A laundry list
of assorted inspirations would include; Hipgnosis, R. Crumb, Ralph
Bakshi, Jack Kirby, Ghost, Saul Bass, Tehching Hsieh, Ivan Chermayeff,
Herb Lubalin, Weegee, Futura, Francis Bacon and old lady Pray. In
general, I am motivated by a sense of life being very short.

What artists do you respect right now?
I respect all the artists and designers I know. I’ve actually found
myself having a deep respect for scientists like Vilayanur S.
Ramachandran. Maybe it’s interesting because it’s outside art theory.

What are you sick of?
Joylessness disguised as professionalism.

What music are you listening to recently?
Bodega System, J Dilla, Thelonious Monk and the Odd Couple theme song.

What is your first creative memory?
I remember inventing the Star of David being a huge breakthrough for
me (I was playing around with triangles and thought I had invented a
new star).

What is your favorite food/drank spot in Norman?
The shag carpet room at Opie’s.

Anything else?
Shout out to the Renyer, Ghedini and Dirickson families. Thanks for
checking out my work.
http://www.behance.net/JustenRenyer

Preliminary type design and character study for upcoming motion design inspired by Justen’s home borough of Queens (NYC).

CD cover concept. Image and layout created in 2004, type designed in 2009.

Self-initiated project. Lunar phases. Birds.

Promotional video for Oklahomans For Reproductive Justice.

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Chicago boys Geronimo! dropped us a message to let us know about their upcoming show at the Soundpony on Monday. Not sure how they know who we are, but we figured we would pass the word along. And if you don’t already know, the Soundpony is a bar in Tulsa with a bicycle theme. That’s right, bicycles. Best. Bar. Ever.

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Oklahoma just got a little bit cooler with the creation of Warpaint Clothing, thanks to Travis Pickett and Derek Knowlton (of parts&labor and The Pretty Black Chains, respectively). If we made our own line of shirts, it would look pretty much like this – except they’ve already made ‘em, and they are awesome. Check out their facebook or myspace pages for more photos and information or pick up a shirt or two at parts&labor. There have also been some rumors of a possible Warpaint table at the first ever Apache House Show. Get excited.

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