No. 15: Tim Coleman
A Jenny Holzer Truisms hat, bus advertisements, The Conformist, Getty Research Library, and Griffin Funk's book
Tim Coleman is a freelance art director and creative producer based in Los Angeles. He loves art, photography, movies and junk food. Most mornings when I open instagram I am blessed with Tim’s post of an interesting photograph or film still. From Tim —
I. a Jenny Holzer Truisms Hat
For a long time, I have scoured the internet for an ever-elusive piece of art history. I have always loved interacting with art in, let's say, more "budget-friendly" ways. Can't afford a Thomas Ruff photo? Buy a poster whose profits are donated to charity. Can't find a way to steal the "OOF" Painting by Ed Ruscha from the MOMA? Buy the Champion hoodie at the gift shop (it feels great, it's on reverse weave). In my never-ending quest for art merch and ephemera, I recently procured something I have been looking for for ages. I have had alerts for Jenny Holzer hats from her “Truisms” series and finally struck gold on Yahoo Japan Auctions. The only problem was, they didn't come with the hats to match. Thankfully, a good friend at Stussy was able to slide me a production sample blank to complete the package. A very necessary shoutout is also in order for Mr. Kim, at La Brea Dry Cleaners, for putting it together for me.
II. a growing collection of bus advertisements
I know this is a proper and respectable newsletter, that would never condone general thievery and criminal behavior, but in my pursuit of all things beautiful in art and imagery, I have taken to a spot of let’s say, “being resourceful”. That being said, I’m not planning grand heists at the Gagosian in Beverly Hills or casing art collectors’ houses. My target for my criminal endeavors is bus ads. I know that it sounds petty and unnecessary, but one of the perks of living in a big city like LA, is fashion company’s need to market to the infinite amount of drivers on the roads. With all these eyes on the streets, there has been an influx of marketing dollars spent on bus shelter ads. (I also want to note, that my sights aren’t set on PSAs to drive sober, or for Netflix’s next big budget flop, I am solely on the hunt for fashion’s finest imagery.)
It all started when Celine started rolling out imagery with Kaia Gerber, for their Winter 2022 campaign. If anyone knows me at all, I’m obsessed with all things Hedi Slimane. His clothing and photography and world building are second to none. These photo ads were my only moment to OWN a piece of his artwork outside of clothing or his ever escalating in price art books. Once I grabbed my first ad off the street, I could not be stopped. From there, I have been lucky enough to grab Celine’s menswear campaigns shot by Hedi Slimane as well as Daria Werbowy shot at the Chateau Marmont, by David Sims, for Gucci.
III. a viewing of The Conformist
I want to start this brief blurb about this movie by saying that, while I really, really love watching movies, I am nowhere near smart or skilled enough to dissect this movie for all its worth. That being said, all I know is that I was shown this movie by someone who is infinitely smarter and more knowledgeable about films than I am, and I fell in love with it immediately. This movie is absolutely stunning and sexy, the most screen-cappable piece of cinema I’ve seen in years.
IV. a trip to the Getty Research Library
Let me begin with an admission: I spend A LOT of time on the internet. Whether it’s looking at photographers' work, fashion collections from the past, auction sites, or magazines, I am extremely online. One of my favorite websites, which I’ve been using for ages to find references or absolutely anything obscure or enigmatic, is Archive.org. The site is incredible because it has collections of books, movies, websites, or images for anything you could want to research.
While lost in a deep wormhole on the site one day, I found the Getty Museum's archive. In it were thousands and thousands of scanned books from medieval times up to now. After doing more research on the Getty’s library, I found that, with a simple application and orientation process, anyone could join the museum’s research library. The whole process took a few weeks, but it was incredibly painless. The reward of being able to access their library and physically look through incredible photo books and print material is really beautiful. Making an entire day out of research and lounging on the lawn in the sun is unbeatable.
V. a Griffin Funk photo book
Griffin is one of those incredibly rare internet people where you see 40+ mutuals in common, but can’t pin down who they are exactly. When I asked a few friends, most replies kind of boiled down to, 'I’m not really sure who he is, but he makes cool stuff, and his page is great.' I don’t know how Griffin and I first became acquainted online, but I’m glad we did. He has been putting out really interesting personal projects for years (see his '20k Hermes Birkin Bags ‘Smells Like Marijuana’’ poster) and has a great feed.
When I saw that he had recently self-published his own book, titled 'Screen Test,’ I grabbed one without flinching. The whole process behind this book was 'a book composed of cropped and juxtaposed images of movies photographed off my television.' The idea was handcrafted for someone like myself because I too am obsessed with screen capping movies while I watch them on my laptop. I think it’s sold out already, but MAYBE if you shoot him a DM, he can manage to find a spare copy.
~ bulletin ~
los angeles
Open: Joshua Hagler’s I Would Not Speak of the Mountain at Nicodim. Elizabeth Neel’s The Ghosts of My Friends at Vielmetter. Fashion still life photographer Sheila Metzner’s From Life at The Getty. Hannah Taurin’s Issues at Chateau Shatto. Jonas Woods’ Drawings 2003-2023 at Karma. Tom Anholt’s Sticks and Stones at BLUM and Gideon Rubin’s Substance to Shadows at Anat Ebgi end Saturday.
Saturday: My friends have been showing up to coffee.. holiday parties.. etc. etc. in Brooke Callahan’s pants. She’s doing a pop up at the newly reopened Bucatini this Saturday from 11a - 5p. Also on Saturday, group show Apricity opens at Gallery 12.26 — I’d never heard of the word apricity before.. it’s the warmth of the sun in winter.
Tuesday: There are a few tickets left to Kitchen Sink Festival at Lodge Room with performances from Devendra Banhart, Rodrigo Amarante and more (and hosted by John C. Reilly). All proceeds go to the Hollywood Food Coalition!!
new york
Open: Derek Fordjour Score at Petzel. Tracey Emin’s Lovers Grave at White Cube. Jenna Gribbon’s The Honeymoon Show! at Levy Gorvy Dayan. Robert Ryman 1961 - 1964 at David Zwirner. Katherine Bradford’s Arms and the Sea at Canada Gallery. Ann Craven’s Night at Karma. Henry B Taylor’s B Side and Ruth Asawa’s Through Line at The Whitney. A Glorious Bewilderment: Marie Menken’s ‘Visual Variations on Noguchi’ at the Noguchi Museum. Ed Ruscha’s NOW THEN at MoMA.