Hawaiian tattoo design

In the 1985 film 'Weird Science' two nerdy boys create the perfect woman, who is played by Kelly LeBrock. It's a terrible movie but for the sake of argument, let's imagine what the perfect male might have looked like if the two nerdy boys were replaced by two adolescent girls. I think I know the answer. He would have looked like a Hawaiian surfer.

I just returned from Hawaii where I interviewed Kala Alexander, one of the most notorious founders of the surf tribe, Wolfpak, and spent the week surrounded by young, taut, virile young men. It was awful.

I was struck by their masculine perfection, and by the beauty of Hawaiian tattoos, which are territorial, warrior-like and designed to intimidate. Etched in black ink, the tattoos depict maps of Hawaii, cursive letters or Polynesian symbols, and although my story was all about surf gangs (not tattoo design), I did get a rare glimpse into how tattoo art has become an emblem of Hawaiian identity.

(Left: Kala Alexander, as photographed by Cory Lum in Oahu, Hawaii. My interviews with Kala appeared in Sunday Magazine & Tracks magazine).

Sydney's ethnic clubs

I sampled Lithuanian, Cypriot, and Basque cuisine (and marveled at the un-deliciousness of food from Germany and Uruguay) while researching this story for the (sydney) magazine about ethnic clubs. I also marveled at the fabulously daggy interior design of these clubs.


The decor isn't flash, so I have to credit photographer Steven Chee for taking such colorful pictures.

If you haven’t been to the Cypriot Club, Lithuanian Club or Concordia Club – go there, quick before they go out of business and a little slice of Sydney’s ethnic scene is lost forever. (And if you do make it to the Concordia Club, let me know if they've still got this article framed on their wall. It's my claim to fame).

Peter Saville, Factory Records, Manchester

One of my favorite interviews nearly cost me $600. I phoned Peter Saville in London – the graphic designer behind some of Factory Record’s most famous album covers – from a hotel room in Melbourne.

As it turns out, Peter Saville is incredibly talkative. He must have been interviewed by a thousand journalists over the years, all repeating the same questions, and yet he pondered each of mine like they were the most provocative questions he’d ever heard. We spoke for hours, and I forgot I was paying exorbitant rates for the call (until the hotel gave me my $600 phone bill the next morning, and I nearly fainted).

Mostly, we discussed Saville’s recent role as Creative Director for the city of Manchester and his plans to create a design destination on par with Bilbao and Barcelona. I love the fact that Manchester city had the foresight to hire a graphic designer to play a major role in revitalizing the city. We also spoke about Australian designer Matthew Robertson’s book, Factory Records: the complete graphic album. I think he’s brilliant.

Artist Wen Min Li

For some reason, I rarely find art I love enough to buy, although I interview a lot of artists and illustrators.

But when I interviewed artist Wenmin Li last year for incubate magazine, I loved her drawings immediately. They are inspired by traditional Chinese printmaking, yet depict everyday objects in a childlike, abstract style that really appeals to me. Perhaps part of the allure is Wen Min Li's fusion of East and West, which reflects my own background.

I wrote to Wen Min Li and asked her to invite me to her graduate exhibition at COFA, which she did, a year later. I'm now the proud owner of one of her oversized drawings. When I'm rich (any day now) I'll own more.

CREATIVE 2004-07

From 2004-07, I edited a magazine called CREATIVE, which is all about commercial creativity in Australia - designers, photographers, directors, advertising creatives, illustrators and architects.

The magazine was redesigned by Frost Design in February 2005, celebrated its 10th anniversary in October that year, and launched a website a year or so later. (This cover shows talented Australian graphic designer, Marcus Piper, of POL Oxygen fame.)

Feet

I travel a lot for work, and I photograph my feet to prove I was there.

About this blog...

Over the past few years, I’ve interviewed some of the most successful creative professionals in Australia and globally – first as Editor of CREATIVE magazine, and now as a freelance journalist.

Many creative professionals are far less interesting in person than you expect them to be, but the most innately gifted creatives can make the most delightful interviewees.

This blog is dedicated to them.