A Message From Outer Space

Culture

As You Wish: Louie Lopez and Erik Herrera

The film, filmed and directed by Ryan Lee presented the legendary Los Angeles native Louie Lopez, who has been a sponsored skater since he was no less than seven years old. Alongside Lopez, and the CONS team, the film presented a part with Erik Herrera's — the young, rising force in the skate world who was surprised at the screening with the title of "pro". Over tacos, Lee, Lopez and Herrera — gangly, excited, maybe a bit nervous — spent some time with me the night of the film's debut, chatting about the yearlong process of creating the film, the tricks they landed, the ones they didn't, friendship, escargot and Parisian rails.

Anna Zanes— Louie, what was your first memory of skating?

Louie Lopez— My first memory of skateboarding is pretty classic story, but my older cousin had a skateboard, it was a plastic everything and barely even rolled, but I was just like, "Oh, what's that?" And if my older cousin's doing it, I was like, "I'm doing whatever he's doing." And I remember we just would go watch X Games, stuff like that. You'd see Tony Hawk and it just caught my eye. So I'd say that's where my first memory of skating comes from.

AZ— How old were you?

LL— Five. I was five when I started skating. So yeah, it's been a while. 27 now.

AZ— How do you feel your relationship with the skate park has changed since then? Since your first time going onto a skate park.

LL— Yeah, when you're younger and you're going into a skate park, it's actually pretty funny because I remember I was scared to step foot into a skate park just because I was like... Luckily my mom would film me with a camera or whatever and I could watch footage and I'd just have a helmet, a Hot Wheels helmet. Huge pads and you're just intimidated to step foot when you don't really know what you're doing. And I remember it just took one kid coming out because I would always skate outside by myself, and it just took one kid coming out to just be like, "Yo, come inside, I'll teach you." And I remember that like it was yesterday.

AZ— Do you try to do that with kids now?

LL— Yeah, the skate park's such an interesting place because you get people from all over. People that have been skating forever, people that have just picked up a board. And like anything, if you go in somewhere that people are experienced, you get intimidated. So I think if you are at a high level of skating, it means a lot to go up to a kid and just be cool with him.

AZ— Can you talk about the relationships that you like performing, making this? It's just the team, right?

LL— I'd say for this video, what separates it a bit from some of the other Converse videos, there's some new guys on the team, they're a little younger, they're newer to the scene and it's just cool to be able to just be on the road with them and have that fresh energy. A lot of them, it's their first time doing a lot of stuff like that. So that was refreshing and helped me and you feel like the big brother in a way. Although they're taller than me or whatever, but in a way.

AZ— Okay, Erik, so when did you start skating?

Erik Herrera— Since I was a baby, pretty much. But I stopped in middle school, for the whole middle school and then got back into it in high school.

AZ— How do you feel like your relationship with skating and the experience of being in skateparks has changed since you were a kid?

EH— It's changed a lot, because there was not that many skate parks back then. And it was... I don't know, more core, but now it's like everyone's filming on the phones. And it's for Instagram, TikTok, and all this. But back then, it just felt much more natural. Like a little cooler. But kids are getting super good now, since there's so many skate parks all around the world.

AZ— What's it been like for you personally? Your journey and your experience, as a skater, since then? Has it become something more serious? Has your passion about it changed?

EH— I mean, now since it's more of a job, not really, but it is, I don't know, it just makes it a little more stressful. Skating and filming a park, you don't really go out and have fun really. You're focused on what you want to do next, what tricks you want to do. But other than that, if you're not filming for anything, then it's still fun.

AZ— What was the process of this project like for you?

EH— Super fun. Just traveling everywhere for a year and just hanging out, meeting the new team because I'm pretty new to Converse.

AZ— Yeah. What was the best part of it for you? What was the best moment?

EH— I'd say maybe in Paris, just hanging out with the European people and the skaters over there, and just hanging out and skating, eating good food.

AZ— So, tell me about the process for As You Wish on your end, as the filmer.

Ryan Lee— It was hard. I don't know. There's so much footage and trying to whittle it down into a three minute song or whatever. So, I don't know. I guess just for me, it's how to cut it up and show what's important and also highlight the skaters. And also just the past month, I was like, it's not really about me. It's about highlighting these guys. So I was like, "I have this shot that looks awesome," but I was like, "It doesn't make sense.”

AZ— That's what it's like for me being an editor.

RL— Okay, that's pretty cool to hear. In what way?

AZ— If I'm editing my own writing, whether it’s an interview or profile I have to challenge that desire to have a my writing and my insight be what’s shaping the narrative, and remember it’s not about me. It’s not about creating the best piece of writing by Anna Zanes. It's putting forth the best, most focused highlight of the the person I'm talking to or talking about. Without losing your own voice.

RL— Exactly. That a good way to put it. Well, this was my first time of trying that. And I don't know. I'm content with it.

AZ— Are you a good skater? What’s your relationship with skating?

RL— I don't know if they told you. I'm like, every time I step on the board to skate, I definitely get smoked. Maybe after this I'll take it back up.

AZ— Skating is a lot about the culture though. I mean, obviously not to detract from the fact that it's a sport. It's so much about the culture.

RL— Yeah, it is for sure. It's just hanging out with friends and stuff and not quite about just... This is a different realm, though, of pushing yourself really hard. Street skating, what they do. You don't have to have all your friends around with you. It definitely helps, but it's more about trying for hours. That's what they did, you know? They did it really well, so I'm happy for them.

Culture

Refraction & The Future of Festivals

With over 1,600 members worldwide, including founding artists Nate Boyce, and Lorna Mills, the DAO has collective goals of uplifting artists, creating community and building modes of collaboration. Refraction DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) looks at the festival model as both an opportunity for tangible experiences, but also as a system that needs reinvention. And if you’re going to take a construct and blow it up, the best way to do it is with the help of 1,600 people.

Festivals are a model for collective experiences: encompassing artists, staff, partners, volunteers, and audiences. By focusing on community participation and ownership, Refraction is taking the traditional festival model and flipping it into a platform for expression and progress — and for their debut at Miami Design Week, they did just that. Contemporary artists, cutting-edge musicians and on-chain creatives gathered at the Future of Cities Climate + Innovation Hub to experience the pillars of the DAO IRL with musical acts including Yaeji, Jimmy Edgar, Sel.6, Space Afrika, Debit, Marie Davidson, Doss, INVT.

Over 60 visual artists, including Alex Gibson, Andy Rolfes, Elna Frederick, Laya Mathikshara, Mark Dorf, Raphaël Moreira Goncalves, and Suren Seneviratne + hypereikon created site-specific works that were minted live throughout the festival. Central to the dynamic works was curator Dina Chang. Diana Chang prioritized Refraction’s core value for the season–Creatives First”–with the help of Refraction co-founder Malcolm Levy, and selected artists that embody Refraction’s mission to promote diversity and support underserved communities. “I believe in artists, and I believe in art,” said Chang. “The best thing a person in my position can do is champion the voices and talents of others. In short, I’m always a fan, of those I meet and of those I know.”

Chang drew on subcultures and historic movements for inspiration, including legendary artists that have been active in the space since the '80s and '90s, like Krist Wood from Computers Club. Whether fresh or historical, established or lesser known, Chang’s curator style balanced progressive emerging talent, including the best new creatives coming out of Latin America, with more familiar names in the digital art sphere.

Many of the participating artists were recipients of Refraction Season 03’s Creative Grants programme, where artists are awarded across 3 funding tiers allocated across events, community programming, and commissions for the Refraction collection and editorial platform, totalling up to 100K $USDC. The projects chosen represented and lived alongside the previous projects collected, performed and facilitated by the DAO.

Andy Rolfes, 'Formentation'

Included in the exhibition was visual artist and director Andy Rolfes. Using performative and interactive toolsets alongside traditional methods, they work extensively across industries to build stills, animations, performances, and interactive experiences. Rolfes is a rising star in the visual art world, having worked with everyone from Lady Gaga to SSENSE to MoMA. Their portfolio only speaks partially to their mastery.

When reflecting on the work, Rolfes remarks: “As I played with dreamstates and concepts of euphoria, I found a place of thinking about ourselves merging with nature and how we reflect off each other. The key, though, came from watching a close friend deal with the loss of a family member, causing me to reflect about the beautiful ephemerality of some of our relationships in life. Things and people sweep by, making it all the more important to appreciate the beauty in front of us before it too fades off into another form. I didn't want to make this a piece about grieving, though I have my own family members I've lost through recent years. No, I wanted this balance to focus on the bright beauty that can be reflected out of that time.”

To design the exhibition, Refraction partnered with Nike and Virgil Abloh-collaborator Craig Barrow. With Barrow’s unique point of view and meticulous attention to detail, the Future of Cities Hub was enveloped in mirrors, light installations, and modular elements evolving over the course of the event. Responding not only to the artwork, but to the space itself, Barrow focused on taking advantage of the foliage by incorporating reflective materials to optically expand its presence, and carving out sections through design in an otherwise corner-less lot.

“With exhibition design, first and foremost, the artwork on display has to be clear and look good. It’s not about what I'm designing; the artworks on display have to shine through. My task is to enhance the artwork but also guide and engage the viewer; show them how best to experience a piece and give them the opportunity for moments of reflection with the art,” said Barrow of his practice.

Andy Rolfes, by Jason Gorelick at Gray Area in San Francisco

As a Berlin-based designer, Barrow was excited to visit the “Magic City”, and took inspiration from the surroundings he imagined would line the street. “It’s flashy and luxurious and at the same time rough and gritty, whilst remaining playful and fun. It may sound a bit obvious but for me having never visited Miami before, it’s my only understanding of the city and I wanted to reflect on this in the exhibition design. I wanted to create something lux but still a little tongue in cheek.”

Tonight, Refraction Festival moves from to a new location at the Frost Museum’s iconic planetarium for a one-night only world premier of Miami-based electronic musician Danny Daze’s Blue, a sonic art experience and live performance. Intentionally created for high tech planetarium environments, Blue is an immersive audiovisual work based on Daze’s forthcoming album. The 33-minute piece features meticulously crafted sound design and all-new original music by Daze. Its visual embodiment was created in collaboration with Sensory Works, Joseph Nickson, and Konx Om Pax. The experience is heard via a premium 40,000-watt, 16-point surround sound system and viewed in ultra high 8K definition on a seamless 67 foot dome screen.

Festival Curator, Dina Chang

While Refraction Festival’s Miami takeover might be coming to a close, the future of music festivals is opening up swiftly. By enablingweb3 infrastructure, Refraction has made it possible to transform the technology into a tangible, communal experience. The benefits of the web3 infrastructure are made clear when you enter their space and network. From the merch booth, to buying artworks, to joining a community with thousands of the most culturally tapped in people you can think of, Refraction makes web3 a space of possibility for those whose digital wallets are filled to the brim, and those who are simply crypto-curious.

Culture

Grand Collection and END. Fight Holiday Hunger

"It's so meaningful for established retailers like END to get behind small brands and initiatives like this," said Grand founder, Ben Oleynik. "With END's support we're immediately able to expand the reach and impact of the fundraiser to help more people that really need it. Much respect to them."

Furthermore, until the end of the year, a portion of the proceeds from all sales on Grand Collection’s website goes to feeding New Yorkers in need.

The shirts launch exclusively on END. on December 1st.