Update! On October 29th we will unveil, online, the art featured in Genetics: A Visual Songbook, which will be auctioned during the Fundraiser. Stay tuned!
Raymond is a Travel, Lifestyle and Portrait photographer originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. His family traveled often and they lived in numerous places; Hokkaido, Japan for a year being one of them. Influenced by his father who was always taking pictures, he took his first photography class at fourteen. By age fifteen, fueled by his enthusiasm for skateboarding, he became a Pepsi Skateboard Team Photographer. Later, Raymond studied photography, product, and automotive design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. After moving to New York, Raymond assisted Steven Klein. This pivotal experience opened his mind to what a photographer is and how a photographer works on this level. For Raymond, photography is a visceral experience. "Creating images is not a fixed quantity. I’m mindful not to go into an assignment with too many pre-conceived notions of what to expect. It’s not unusual that the most authentic, interesting, and original images occur very spontaneously." After assisting, he shot his first assignment for Travel + Leisure, and after that assignment was published, was hired to shoot the IBM Annual Report. Raymond is based in New York and has traveled the world shooting for numerous clients. Work has appeared in these publications and others: Vogue China and Taiwan, GQ, Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveller (UK). Stock can be found at Getty Images.
How do you feel about participating in this project?
I feel honored to contribute and be a part of a positive consciousness and be among good people who are creating and expressing how they feel about the world.
How did you come up with your piece?
I shot this image in Shanghai from my hotel room on the 62nd floor of the Jin Mao Tower. At the time is was the 5th tallest building in the world. When I was asked to participate they gave me a song called "Accidental Wilderness", and said to create something that fits what you think this song represents to you.
This image of the Shanghai skyline needed a voice and this was the venue. It was the first image that popped into my mind, literally, it was instant. I always loved the image and I always wanted to show it to the world and this was a perfect avenue.
I think the image really speaks for itself and represents the words "Accidental Wilderness" completely without explanation.
Explore more of this artist’s work atRachel Hall Kirk was born and raised in the small town of Ashland City outside Nashville, TN. She holds BFA and MFA degrees in painting and drawing and has been an artist her whole life. She recalls making her first "real" painting while studying a video of television art guru Bob Ross. It was only natural that she would want to share her passion for art with others, so she started teaching college art classes. When not making art, Rachel enjoys traveling around the country and highly recommends crosscountry train trips. She especially likes visiting Las Vegas where she once played in the World Series of Poker. She currently lives in a log cabin in the woods with her husband and two adorable West Highland Terriers, all of which think Larry David is really funny.
How do you feel about participating in this project?
I’m flattered and honored. This is a talented group of artists and musicians, and to be one of the chosen few is a real treat. I’m also excited that this is such a national (even international) collaboration. I would like to see more of this type of creative act among artists, musicians, and writers from around the world. People in the creative fields are often stereotyped as elitist and cliquish, and, unfortunately, this stereotype is often true. If enough of us reach out to other artists as creative collaborators instead of competitors, we can break down that stereotype and tap into some amazing art that is just waiting to emerge from our collective unconscious. Also, it always feels good to help out a charity.
How did you come up with your piece?
My song title is "Can’t Help Myself". I purposefully didn’t listen to the song because I didn’t want my artwork to be a literal illustration of the lyrics. I was told that the song had a sort of melancholy mood, so that set the tone for my drawing. When people feel melancholy, they often exacerbate their sadness by dwelling on something about which they feel guilt or pain. This can become a cyclical process out of which it can be hard to escape — hence the cyclical prodding of oneself in the wrist, one of the most vulnerable areas of the body. I still haven’t heard the song, and – for the sake of my drawing – I really hope that "Can’t Help Myself" didn’t become a happy pop song in the final stage of production.
Explore more of this artist’s work atJon McAuliffe lives and works from his home studio in Walpole, New Hampshire. He works primarily as a portrait artist, while also delving into still life and illustration. Jon exhibits a keen eye for clarity and detail, which embolden his talent for understanding the true essence of his subject matter. When creating his work, it is Jon’s goal to capture as honestly as possible the truth behind those subjects, and it is his hope that his work will not only be a finished product, but the beginning of a conversation about the true center of those truths. His portraiture draws attention to the life of the person within, his still life paintings bring out the significance of the objects portrayed, and his illustration is a firm statement about the themes on display.
How do you feel about participating in this project?
As an artist, collaboration is what I live for, so when Lindsey came to me with this project I was really excited to start brainstorming… I’m always happy to be pushed out of my comfort zone, and it’s projects like this one, which help to do that. I really believe that this type of collaboration creates some of the best art!
How did you come up with your piece?
I had the benefit of jamming with Lindsey on "Good Morning" well before this project began, so I was familiar with the concept and themes of the song… I knew that I didn’t want to make my piece too heavy handed, but I wanted to make sure that something of the universal feeling that the song has came through. I really wanted there to be an interpretative nature as well. My goal was to create something provocative that each person might see a little differently… Ultimately I hoped that the song itself and my art would help to deepen each other’s meaning.
Explore more of this artist’s work atMainly, Chip Boles likes to draw. Everything else — including his BFA in Drawing, his MFA in illustration, and his continuing and rewarding collaborations with other creative people — are all just efforts to allow as much of this as possible. Chip currently lives in Himeji, Japan, but through the wonders of modern technology, works with folks anywhere in the world.
How do you feel about participating in this project?
I work in illustration for two reasons, and they both made this a great project.
First, I’m strongly drawn to (haha) visual narrative, and illustration is one of the fields richest in people continuing to explore how stories’ power can be amplified through the abstracting process of putting it down onto paper in one's own unique visual voice.
Second, I’m in illustration because I also enjoy collaborating with other passionate, creative people. I find that two or more such people’s efforts do more than simply add up into bigger results — they can exponentially increase each other’s thinking and output.
For these two reasons, it’s a pleasure to work with Lindsey and Bill — two artists talented at abstracting and amplifying their own human experience into the familiar but incredibly abstract language of music. Who wouldn’t want a chance to react visually to their music, and to even go a step further by participating in them sharing this wider work with the world?
That’s why it was fun to make "Sooner or Later."
How did you come up with your piece?
Like I said, music is somewhat unique as an art in how innately abstract it is. While there are literal correlations between percussion and our heartbeat, between our singing and mating songs of countless species, it’s still strange to me that some long riff on a guitar can show me more about how I feel than I knew before.
For making my part of "Sooner or Later", I tried to open my own head up and similarly let the abstract sounds lead to images. Whatever arose naturally and to which I was most drawn (again, ha) began to find their natural relations to one another. The giant clock is obvious, but casting it as a giant, somewhat threatening-if-heavenly structure was more its reason for being there. The balloonist aloft in his homemade vessel — a quilt of rags, and with himself as the fuel — this all felt like a direction I could go in yet leave enough unsettled for both myself and the viewer to stay involved.
Explore more of this artist’s work atJackson Martin was born on The Farm, a commune in Summertown, TN in 1978. At age 10 Martin moved to Nashville, TN with his family where he graduated from Hume Fogg Academic High School in 1997. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States, using both traditional and non-traditional methods (hitch-hiking, train-hopping, walking) and was involved in a study abroad program in Mexico. Martin received his BFA from Middle Tennessee State University in 2004 and earned his MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2007. He exhibited regularly while living in Baltimore, MD at venues such as Area 405, the Maryland Art Place and Artscape's Baltimore Sculpture Project. He has also shown work at the Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, VA, the Gallery at Flashpoint in Washington, DC and conducted a piece of interactive art for the 11th Annual D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival in Brooklyn, NY. Martin has been an artist in residence at the Hall Farm Center in Townshend, VT and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT. Martin currently lives in Johnson City, TN with his wife and daughter.
How do you feel about participating in this project?
I was very interested in participating in the Genetics Visual Songbook project because, as an artist, I’ve not had many chances to work collaboratively. It seemed like a unique opportunity to develop an idea through 4 different artists and across 3 different art forms: Overflow began as the musical inspiration of Bill Carrasco. I was then invited to create a visual representation of the song and created an interactive sculpture to be worn by the musicians. The project was culminated in Times Square last year where Hugh Swingle composed various photographs of Lindsey Boise wearing my sculpture.
How did you come up with your piece?
Listening to the original, lyric-free, version of Overflow I immediately envisioned some sort of circle with lines or sections radiating from its center. I imagined this piece of art to be made from a water resistant canvas and to hang on the wall. However, after struggling for a while with the two-dimensional aspect of the piece I realized I just needed to push it a bit further. So I took it off the wall and transformed the project into a hat that visually suggested an extreme overflow of ideas and emotions.
Explore more of this artist’s work atOriginally from Youngstown, Ohio, Jacob Gossett has been living and working in New York City since 2001. He is currently pursuing a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. While primarily working as a painter, Jacob also works in various mediums including, sculpture, film and music.
How do you feel about participating in this project?
I am always happy to be involved in projects that have multiple components and ambitious goals. Having worked with both Agua Trip and Ugallery in the past I knew that this would be an exciting and successful venture. I was very pleased to find out that part of the proceeds will be donated to CONNECT, an organization that strives to prevent family and gender abuse and I applaud Agua Trip for organizing a collective event with such an important issue at is core.
How did you come up with your piece?
Coming up with the piece was entirely dictated by the songs unique rhythmic quality. I had heard Dancing Che’s at different stages of its evolution and from the very beginning I was drawn to it. When I sat down to create the piece I looped the song and listened to it exclusively while working. I laid down washes of color by pouring paint into raw canvas that for me signified the expansiveness of the chorus. I then worked over that with structural and somewhat geometric forms. I was trying capture the shift that I felt took place between the verse and chorus, a shift from a tight controlled movement to an open expanding freedom.
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