1. 12 Opinions and Inspirations 13 Opinions and Inspirations
Beyond the Maze
By Damien MacDonald, illustrator and storyteller
www.damienmacdonald.com
Inside the myth, there is a dream.
Inside the dream there is a door.
Behind the door there is everybody.
Illustration by Damien MacDonald
Shapeless “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive,
but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through
it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose
themselves.
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put
water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and
it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
—Bruce Lee
Photograph by Gabriele Micalizzi
By Gabriele Micalizzi, photojournalist
www.gabrielemicalizzi.com

2. 14 Opinions and Inspirations 15 Opinions and Inspirations
Hotel Escondido
By Guillaume Guevara, NY-based entrepreneur
@miscelaneany
Since I was born and raised in Mexico, this picture of Hotel
Escondido in Oaxaca pretty much sums up my roots, my inspirations
and aspirations.
I lived abroad for 15 years. My life has now become a constant
paradox of past and present archetypes, mostly related to the
intricate path towards the pursuit of happiness.
But, possibly, what I found most appealing about this image is
the juxtaposition of Mexico’s stunning and tranquil landscape
that I knew back then, and the newer one, full of modernisms and
architectural chefs-d’oeuvre (not to mention my lifetime love affair
with hotels).
As a teenager, and for many years in a row, this beach was my go-to
destination to slow down and be carefree with friends. Even though
this carefreeness has become harder to achieve as an adult, seeing
this picture brings back an instant joie de vivre. Things may change,
but their core concept remains unchanged.
Photograph courtesy of Grupo Habita
The Grapes of Holy Rocks
By Ioanna Tsilili, enologist
www.tsililis.gr
41o
C. Harsh sunlight. Persistent beams of the Greek sun are hurting
my eyes. The hot air smells like mint that refreshes flying birds. My
forehead is wet, my respiration tempo seems freaked out but the
view is an oasis to my eyes.
In front of me a sloppy, vigorous vineyard with dark green leaves
and blackish purple bunches of grapes. In the background the
giant, grey, cruel, rough rocks dramatize the feelings: the holy
rocks, Meteora, are floating between the land and the sky, unifying
the body and the spirit with the divine.
The purple beads are covered by a greyish, foggy cover that
provokes me to tear it apart and touch the glossy, juicy, sweet and
youthful flesh. My hand steals some precious beads of each bunch
that reach my tongue, craving their juices. Tasting them, my mind
tries to capture the flavours and lavish the sweetness.
My hand caresses the leaves of the grape bushes as it tries to feel
the vegetal veins that keep my precious plants alive. They are my
little children that seek approval and they have it. The grapes of the
holy rocks are ready.
The time is now: tomorrow will be the day of their transformation
into wine, the holy liquid of mankind.
Harvest, August 2014.
Photograph by Ioanna Tsilili

3. 16 Opinions and Inspirations 17 Opinions and Inspirations
Pants Down
By Jina Khayyer, author and journalist
www.jinakhayyer.com
Pants Down is a character who flexes his muscles and his pants fall
down. Pants Down is about body anxiety and the vulnerability we feel
about our body shape. Pants Down also reflects the vulnerability of
making art, of revealing yourself and how unveiling your ideas and
work can often feel like you’ve been caught with your pants down.
Pants Down is the mascot of every creative person because when
you share your work publicly you really do get that feeling of being
seen with your pants down.
Kate Groobey, Pants Down, 2014, Gouache on card, 29 x 20 cm
Bang Bang
By Julien David, fashion designer
www.juliendavid.com
Last year I was approached by Quiksilver to work on a new line with
them, Julien David Quiksilver, which we started during my spring
2015 show. It has been very easy for me to get my head around this
collaboration because I have been a fan of Quiksilver since I was
a teenager. I have memories of the brand from the late 1980s and
early 90s—I was deep into skateboarding at the time and Quiksilver
was a big part of the movement. I love the humour in their designs,
the campaigns they created, the general fun vibe of the surfer dude
they incarnate. Here is an image from that time.
Photograph courtesy of Julien David and Quiksilver

4. 18 Opinions and Inspirations 19 Opinions and Inspirations
L’Amour
By Laurence Kleinknecht, communications consultant
www.laurencekleinknecht.com
“-Il n’y a pas de vacances à l’amour, dit-il, ça n’existe pas. L’amour,
il faut le vivre complètement avec son ennui et tout, il n’y a pas de
vacances possibles à ça.
Il parlait sans la regarder, face au fleuve.
-Et c’est ça l’amour. S’y soustraire, on ne peut pas.”
—Les Petits Chevaux de Tarquinia, Marguerite Duras (Éditions
Gallimard, 1953)
Sunny Suits, Joey and her reflection, Paris, 2006
Do You Believe in Miracles?
By Paul Weston, artist/instigator
paulwestonart.com
People ask me, “Why do you enjoy watching sports?” Well, you have
the underdogs, the comebacks, the last-second shot, the walk off
home run, the world records and the perfect game, just to start.
Many have never really played competitive sports or just don’t
understand... It is an action/reaction. Sports have the magic that
fiction and films can only wish for. When an athlete is in the “zone”,
the truly unbelievable can happen. We, as viewers, get to see these
actions in real time and are forever grateful and amazed.
“Do you believe in miracles? YES!”
—Al Michaels’ interjection as time expired on the 4–3 USA victory
over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympic Games.
Paul Weston, Balls, 2010, enamel, wood panel, 24 x 24 x 1.5 inches

5. 20 Opinions and Inspirations 21 Opinions and Inspirations
Deux Hommes There is one book, and one image in particular, that I find myself
always going back to—it’s this photo from the book Des Modes et
Des Hommes. I am completely in love with what is happening in this
picture. My French is really bad and I’ve tried to translate—I know
the photo was taken after World War II, probably in Paris. I’m not
sure if they are street thugs—gangsters, hoodlums—or just guys
hanging out the way guys do. That’s part of the intrigue: who are
they and what is their relationship with each other?
On a whole other level is the style. They are completely unassuming
in what they are wearing, but there is such strength in the way their
hands are thrust into their pockets, jackets pushed back. The way
the pants on the right hit the waist, the way they both wear their
scarves—it’s a real testament that style is not about money, but
about how a person stands and presents himself to the world. That’s
the real message and why I keep going back to this for inspiration.
Des Modes et Des Hommes by Farid Chenoune (Flammarion,1993)
By Richard Haines, artist
@richard_haines
My First Lens
Photograph by Thomas Beckner
By Thomas Beckner, director
thomasbeckner.com
When I got bored as a kid, I would close my eyes and look towards
the sun. Focusing on my eyelids, I could see squiggles floating
around in what looked like a translucent petri dish. In the dark,
these unknown shapes became colourful cubic patterns—frenetic
and frenzied. They were so mysterious. Whether my mind’s creation
or some other more plausible, scientific explanation, it didn’t matter.
I kept them a secret.
After many years had come and gone, I realized that those patterns
had manifested themselves in my personal artwork, sometimes. I
saw them in brick and bark, in leaves and liquid, in sand and space.
What were once intriguing and haunting are now comforting. The
shapes, patterns and textures are in me and all around me; a fabric
of another realm enveloping me. Organic, psychedelic, different and
unique. But forever, constant.
Opinions and Inspirations curated by Alison Beckner