LIVE at
The Fashion
Institute of Technology
The Fashion
Institute of Technology
ACEDIA SPOTLIGHT LIVE IS A SPECIAL EDITION OF ACEDIA SPOTLIGHT.
ALL INTERVIEWS WERE PERFORMED ON SITE AT THE FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AT THE FIRST EVER ACEDIA STUDIOS POP-UP.
FEATURING THE TALENT OF 6 DIFFERENT ARTISTIC INDIVIDUALS, SHOWCASING THEIR FAVORITE PIECES.
@marin.jurgens
What Is Your Name?
My name is Marin. My pronouns are she/her!
Talk To Us Briefly About Your Art
I'm studying communication design. I'm mostly into graphic design, so I do freelance commissions as a graphic designer and illustrator, and then I do paintings and drawings in my spare time.
Why Do You Create?
I've always felt that art is the best way to communicate my perspective and how I feel about certain issues rather than speaking or writing. It's the only way I feel confident about spreading a message.
Who Is Your Biggest Inspiration?
My favorite artist is James Jean. Who is a Taiwanese American artist. I love his use of color and line in his work, but I also take a lot of Japanese influences in my design work.
How Would You Describe Your Art in One Word?
Oh my god um… Ise (Marin’s friend and member of The Jades) help me. How would you describe my work in one word?
Ise: Oh jesus… ummm “graphic”
E: That’s lame!
C: CUT THAT OUT! CUT THAT OUT!
Cut “graphic” from the record please.
I would say … Intentional.
@jainarez
What Is Your Name?
Jefferson. But people know me as Jai. he/him, I guess.
Talk To Us Briefly About Your Art
Since high school, I've been customizing sneakers. I got to the point where I felt like I could do whatever I wanted with sneakers, whether it was materials or painting on them. But right now, I'm focused on designing sneakers and actually making sneakers from scratch. The construction process, the technical aspect of drawing sneakers, and athletic designs are also my biggest passions right now.
Why Do You Create?
I feel like it's an outlet for me to express myself, but also, I like to help others. So I try to keep my design in a way that I could have them for certain purposes, whether it's functional purposes or like, aesthetic purposes as well. But I also try to keep it at a place where I could try to be as sustainable as possible to kind of help out the environment as well.
Who Is Your Biggest Inspiration?
I'd say my parents because they kind of gave up on their dreams to let my dreams come true. But also, design-wise, I respect Tinker Hatfield a lot. I feel like him coming from an industrial design standpoint, coming into sneakers, and all that is a big change. I kind of wanted to express my love for sneakers and kind of bring a new wave of design to the game. I want to eventually create something fresh that hasn't been seen before.
How Would You Describe Your Art in One Word?
Immaculate.
C: Immaculate! I like that, I like that.
@lindsaywong.design
What Is Your Name?
My name is Lindsay. My pronouns are she/her.
Talk To Us Briefly About Your Art
I'm a fashion design student, so I design clothing. I do a lot of just wearable things. Classic looks. I also paint occasionally. Very infrequently, actually. I do oil painting sometimes. Other miscellaneous art things. I make jewelry sometimes. I love to make personal pieces; my favorite one was one necklace I made with watches. One of my favorite materials to work with are pearls. In general, I like to make pretty things.
Why Do You Create?
Why do I create? I create because, well, for one it is fun. But, I think I design specifically, because, to me, it combines both engineering and creativity. I'm a very technical-minded person. I think through processes a lot, and fashion design is a good way for me to combine that technical way of thinking with creativity. That is why I do fashion design. For my other creative endeavors, in full honesty, I create because it benefits me in some way or the other. Like, if I make my own jewelry I have something new to accessorize with. Or if I sew my own top, I’m like “another top for me!”. When I paint, I'm painting because it's fun and relaxing. It’s like my own time, time for me to unwind and relax.
Who Is Your Biggest Inspiration?
I don't have one.
E: Really!?
I'm sticking with that. I don't think a certain designer or design type inspires me. I'm not inspired by a specific style, necessarily. I'm not inspired by a specific artist or an era of time. I find inspiration in many different things and just kind of compile for whatever.
E: So could it be like, life, I guess?
Yeah! I think for me, for fashion specifically, I get a lot of inspiration from what I see daily. I see something and I am essentially like, “how can I make that better?”
E: So there’s no specific designer you would say inspires you? Or you enjoy their work?
I could name a few designers I like. However, when I talk about a designer I like it’s in a more materialistic way, “like I would wear that”. As opposed to something I take design inspiration from.
How Would You Describe Your Art in One Word?
Classic.
@bens.camera
What Is Your Name?
Ben Hoyland. I use he/him pronouns.
Talk To Us Briefly About Your Art
So I've been doing photography for about five years now, and I've just recently started to get into more conceptual editorial photos. I really just love the whole collaborative effort. I love bringing some videographers on. I love working with stylists, makeup artists, and just, like, taking everybody's ideas in and creating something bigger than what I could create by myself. I'm also a huge fan of doing multimedia projects. I love doing manual things that don't require a computer, like printing stuff out and scanning it and then stretching or warping it. But I like physically moving, scanning, and shit like that. I have been focusing on physical forms of art recently because I came to the realization that I have spent so much of my time consuming media online instead of creating. So I really want to switch off that a little bit and start just drawing and doing things that don't just have me in front of the screen all the time.
E: I get what you mean about doing things without a screen. Scanning or sketching adds a physical sense to your work, something you can't mimic digitally.
Exactly!
Why Do You Create?
I create purely because it is self-expression. I think it's something really fun to do that doesn't require effort. If I don't want to put the effort in, I can just sit down and just fuck around and have a good time, and it'll pass the time and make me feel very fulfilled.
Who Is Your Biggest Inspiration?
I like to be inspired simply by people. I actually haven't done this project yet, but what I really want to do is kind of just go around to random people, stop them on the street, stop them at a park, take a portrait of them, and just kind of ask them what's on their mind, what they've been thinking about, and just kind of draw inspiration from random people because I think people are fascinating—people with different mindsets, people who come from different belief systems. I just think it's great to draw inspiration from what I don't know already.
How Would You Describe Your Art in One Word?
Fun!
@naiabeates
What Is Your Name?
Naia!!! My pronouns are she/her.
Talk To Us Briefly About Your Art
Oh my god, about my art. I feel so on the spot. I feel like a lot of my art is based on my culture, like my Japanese heritage, because my mom's from Japan, and I'm from Hawaii. So a lot of my stuff is very [much] an homage to that. I try because I like meaning! Even though I'm in fashion design, I still try to write a lot and do other stuff too. A lot of the stuff I write has Japanese words and references.
Why Do You Create?
Why do I create? Because I'm a human being with emotions. I need to express myself. And I feel like every person needs to do art and express themselves. Like, that's just human nature. That is the core of the human experience.
C: I agree, I agree.
Who Is Your Biggest Inspiration?
My biggest inspiration? That's so hard. Honestly, this is going to sound so conceited, but I like myself because I feel so proud of myself. Like, I went from being bullied for being so different in Hawaii to coming to New York. Like, I made it to New York! I've always wanted to come to New York. And I'm doing really well in all my classes. My professors hold me to a really high standard. So I feel like I'm the most myself right now. Yeah! I keep myself going. I'm powering through.
How Would You Describe Your Art in One Word?
Oh my god. Umm.. uh… confused.
E: Alright! I like that.
Honestly, that's just how I would describe myself in one word. Just me, like all the time.
@thenightmare_factory
What Is Your Name?
I’m Bri. I use she/her pronouns.
Talk To Us Briefly About Your Art
I like to do a lot of graffiti stuff.
Why Do You Create?
Because I feel like I'd go crazy if I didn't create. Creating is, like, one of the best ways to express for me to express myself, and that's really why I do it.
Who Is Your Biggest Inspiration?
I'm inspired by, like, a lot of alternative artists and fashion designers, like, you know, Giambattista and Vivienne Westwood and other designers like that.
How Would You Describe Your Art in One Word?
Different.