NO, IT IS NOT; NOT, ALWAYS

IS A SOLO POST-CONCEPTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION DEVELOPED AND RUN BY CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER ARTHUR SOPIN AND ANDREAS ROD ALONG WITH THEIR ART PROJECT DOWNTOWN 500 MAGAZINE

MEDIUM:

PHOTOGRAPHY / SLOW DOCUMENTARY / INSTALLATION / HAPPENING / CURATORIAL ASSEMBLAGE / PERFORMING ART / URBAN LEGEND

Arthur Sopin and Andreas Rod were creating the immersive show, also exclusively for the Opening of the Exhibition, connecting artists, musicians, curators, editors, gallerists and other creatives of London today ( by the before announced Open Call: “Are You a Meta-modernist?”). The idea was also to angle with the old school urban legend of Downtown 500 crew N.Y.C. from the 80ies, where J-M. Basquiat, Nan Goldin, Maripol, Lou Reed, and David Wojnarowicz were among the other members.

The space at the By Other Means Gallery was transformed for the Exhibition Opening Event as in the factory and club. The chosen Open Call finalists are Aria Kiani, Mune, Metaraph, Anide, Arora Gaza, Jeb Hartley and Neo Fung. D.J. Raro ( HTBX), D.J. Venice Calypso (Inferno), DJ VISHSCALE.

The Main Gallery Room was exhibiting: The Photography Exhibition of 12 portraits of eccentric figures from N.Y.C., London, and Berlin ( by Andreas Rod and Arthur Sopin together with a winner of Open Call Aria Kiani’s VRTX triangle installation ). + Extra Studio, Halls, and Corridor Rooms were exclusively converted for the Opening Event along with other 4 performances of the finalists and their interpretations of the No It Is Not Always narrative ( the finalists from DT 500 MAG OPEN CALL)

NO, IT IS NOT NOT ALWAYS:  IS EXHIBITED AT BY OTHER MEANS GALLERY, LONDON 9.03-31.04.2018

NO, IT IS NOT NOT ALWAYS. THE SELF-FEAR. SHORT FILM IS EXHIBITED: AT THE DYSPLA INTERNATIONAL MOVING IMAGE FESTIVAL AT THE CRYPT GALLERY

LONDON 14.03-18.03.2018

“THIS EXHIBITION REPRESENTS THE COLLECTIVE IMAGE OF A PROTAGONIST WHO IS AN YET INDETERMINATE AND UNCLEAR CHARACTER. HOWEVER, IT WOULD BE STRANGE TO DEMAND CLARITY FROM PEOPLE AT A TIME LIKE OURS; THERE IS ONE CERTAIN THING: OUR HERO IS A STRANGE INDIVIDUAL AND AN ECCENTRIC FIGURE. SOME MAY DEEM THAT THE STRANGENESS AND ECCENTRICITY ARE MORE LIKELY TO HARM THAN DESERVE ATTENTION IN A WORLD OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DESPERATELY STRIVING TO IDENTIFY PARTICULARITIES WHILE SEARCHING FOR SOME COMMON SENSE IN THE GENERAL MUDDLE. A NEW QUESTION ARISES: IS ECCENTRICITY DETACHED AND ISOLATED, ISN’T IT? IF YOU DISAGREE AND THINK,’‘ NO, IT IS NOT’’ OR ” NOT ALWAYS ‘ HERE BEGINS OUR INSPIRATIONAL MOVEMENT. NOT ONLY IS THE ECCENTRIC FIGURE ‘NOT ALWAYS’ OR ‘NO IT IS NOT’ RELATED TO THE PARTICULARITY AND ISOLATION, BUT ON THE CONTRARY, IT SO HAPPENS THAT THE ECCENTRIC ONE, PERHAPS, CARRIES A CORE OF THE WHOLE EXISTENCE AT SOME POINT, BUT THE REST OF THE PEOPLE, BY SOME OTHER KIND OF STRANGENESS, AT TIMES ARE BREAKING AWAY FROM IT.”

-Arthur Sopin and Andreas Rod

DT500mag: – What is the exhibition about?

Andreas Rod: – We are both Masters of Arts, both professional portrait photographer and creative director, were working in the industries for a good while. This time we are inspired by American portrait moguls’ rock and roll aesthetics. Our party is about capturing the spontaneity of the illustrative story. It is about meeting kind of rebels, not rebel looks…right there, right then, having fun, touching the raw moment, the revelation and enjoying our excellent skills to snap it.  

“Our party is about capturing the spontaneity of the illustrative story. It is about meeting kind of rebels, not rebel looks…right there, right then, having fun, touching the raw moment, the revelation and enjoying our excellent skills to snap it. “

Arthur Sopin: –   No, It Is Not Always exposure is an old-school happening, not the promoted old-school gas. We prefer to challenge and interact with the human senses through many provocations initially by the photo camera and context. We feature it with chosen installations and performances from DT500 MAG’s Open Call. We play with the dynamics of stereotypes, pre justices, clichees posing the question and effort will.

DT500MAG: – Is the meta-modernist narrative confusing?

Arthur Sopin:  – The Term Oscillation is our detail. It is like wobbling and straying from side to side- as happens during the creative thinking process, without necessarily knowing the result, without planning the end of the story. The practice itself, above all the academic theories… and doing Your Thing. All with the ranges and the contradictions of two instincts: Eros vs Thanatos.

DT500MAG: – Who are your agents?

Andres Rod: – They are Kids of action, symbol makers, or the new hot generators. It is not about being the beauty but about the beast becoming the beauty, fresh romanticism.

DT500MAG: – What is your activism?

Arthur Sopin:  – It is live research and documentation on how the artists respond to, reflect, interpret their sensibilities, and potentially affect actions in the social realms or political landscape here and now. All publicly outside the privacy or comfort zone! It is all true! It is not a Gogglebox show; our activity is anti-judgment. It is not about watching T.V. or sucking the pleasures of quasi-experiences, which is not always a negative thing! It is not about” becoming T.V.,” as friend Warhol said once… It is about creating the organic discourse with the angle of maximals, issues, possibilities, and manners of today, apparently including background aspects of feminism, gender, LGBT, sexuality, freedom, human rights, etc. Nothing too serious, fun only (accenting sarcastically)!“

“ Our fancy sentiment is to frame the ongoing visionary moves. Babes, we are living in involving times… Andreas and I are doomed vs blessed to portray the diversity of the beautiful subs ( *as in subcultures). “

Andres Rod: – Our Open Call has more than 150+ serious submissions by artists inspired by the Metamodern narrative; the top 5+ best finalists were exhibited, published or collaborated, f.e. as we did in Opening Event. We are taking Plus 5+ finalists with short films who we will invite to DT 500 MAG The Short Film Festival at B.O.M. or other galleries in the coming months. The real Boomy...

DT500MAG: – What is No It Is Not Always trying to play?

Arthur Sopin: – No, It Is Not Always: It is mostly not about the trends, manners, or traditions; it is not always! It is abstractedly about meanings. Finally, it is not about ” being mad” or, however, different just for ” being different” sake; it is not a gimmick of ” being cool” or to get attention or fame; it is not about the styling or interior. It is not always faking till you make it, but we are not excluding anyone, but choosing the most entertaining ones. It is all true, and social artistry is alive for communal transformation.

Andreas Rod:- We did documentary photography, a frozen moment, or -ts. The rest is a free impression. DT 500 zine gives some ideas on what, how, and where these impressions create expressions.

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DT500MAG: – What is the legacy of Downtown 500 NYC from the 80ies?

Arthur Sopin: – Thanks to our social hunger, not for our distinctive etiquette this time, not always. We managed to know some of the Downtown 500 NYC urban legends -originals privately. We lived for about four months at the bohemian villa of bohemian artist Unni Askeland, eating and drinking her legacy, living together, and becoming husband and wife. Unni is the former wife of singer-songwriter Eric Andersen. In the 1980s and 90s, she became part of the Manhattan art community together with Bob Dylan; she knew personally Lou Reed, hanging at CBGB, and other classic bigs. Sorry for shameless namedropping; it is not always a hate thing, isn’t it?

 

Andreas Rod: – Unni is a real bohemian queen! She also introduced us to her best friend, Irmelin Nohal, the founder of Berlin Klondyke, and a close friend of artistMartin Kippenberger, Joseph Beuys, and among other artists vs poshness. Irmelin is the wife of Reinald Nohal, the former owner of the Paris Bar in Berlin. We have spent many evenings under the so called Lamp talking and listening to the tittle-tattles and gossiping about the bohemian records of Berlin and N.Y.C. (before SAMO).

DT500MAG: – What are your plans, boys?

Arthur Sopin – Several projects will continue to take shape at http://www.downtown500magazine.com, probably as a hybrid art project exploring current movements along with new technological cultures, retrogrades, and beyond props… before we stop being restless. We are witnessing right now what it means to be an individual in Britain after Britain / E.U. after Britain, Trumps in the U.S.A., etc. You know … f.e. our muse Rose McGowan with her new book BRAVE, btw her new album Planet 9 matches our tunes too. 

Andreas Rod: – We would like to thank all the visitors, friends, fans, models, frenemies, haters, copycats, members, participants, indeed the gods, all the losers and the winners too, the Queen almighty and our new hero Meghan Markle, more even Art Council of England, LENNIE VARVARIDES and KAZIMIR BELECKI from the DYSPLA Festival and very much the cute crew: Drucilla Von Burrell and the gallerist of By Other Means Gallery  James Qua Nasmyth among lovely others. We are all in one making the right move… Love.

Arthur Sopin: – Rapture!

PRESS RELEASE

https://www.artrabbit.com/events/no-it-is-not-not-always-the-selffear-downtown-500-magazine 

East London March 2018