What makes some of these local or global creatives tick? In this weekly column, artist & filmmaker Choānn shares his favourite things.
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1. Francis Bacon: There is something extremely haunting and poignant about his works that resonate deeply with me. I’m not sure whether it’s also the fact that he’s queer or that there’s this turbulence captured within the stillness of his works, especially in his works featuring gay sex. Additional note: I always thought it was more difficult to paint something “blur” as opposed to something crisp, and cannot understand how he visualised this in the 1950s without photoshop. [Laughs]
2. Frederik Heyman: I couldn’t stop staring at this image the first time I saw it. This was a campaign artwork and film he did for Rombaut (also a very cool brand) and I love the way he combined cruising culture with advertising shoes.
3. Lawrence Anyways: One of my favourite films from Xavier Dolan. Everything from the visual direction, the story and the soundtrack is amazing because it’s both stylistically potent and emotional at the same time. A lot of films end up being either one or the other. I also love the fact that you can tell it was made by a young person because here’s this raw energy about it that’s very youthful. There’s definitely something in the whole 1990s MTV generation sensibility seeping through the film that strikes a chord with me, but also a great example of the marriage of style and form to create something so colourful and poignant.
4. Kelly Wearstler: I love her taste in furniture and interior design. I also love her ability to pair different colours and textures so well, especially in such an eclectic fashion. I also love that she’s always experimenting with new styles because you’d rarely see a repeated distinct style or limited colour palette which makes her work even fresher. I read that she used to do production design for film as well until she decided to go on her own path.
5. Stanley Kubrick: No brainer here but his films are so intimidatingly crafted that you’re able to keep watching and re-watching them over and over for their abundance of details like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, Full Metal Jacket or A Clockwork Orange, etc. I like that his films are more than just stories, because they’re almost more like cultural milestones in terms of the research and prep work that goes into them. I read that when he was prepping for his Napoleon film (which was never made), his research process was so extensive he eventually created a mini library for it. It is recognised today as one of the most detailed collections of Napoleon images and historical information.
6. Max Richter: The first time I heard his music was when I first watched The Congress (2013) at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. I remember watching the final scene (no spoilers here) with the track “Beginning and Ending” reverberating through the screening hall. Insane experience. I’ve been a fan of his ever since and I still cry every time I hear his recomposed version of Vivaldi’s “Spring”.
7. Up: I can literally hear the soundtrack in my head when I see this image. The animated film by Pete Docter was also the first every animated film to open at the Cannes Film Festival which is insane if you think about it.
8. Joseph Kahn: I’m completely unabashed about my love for Kahn and his Taylor Swift MVs. I mean, this is also the same guy who directed Britney Spear’s “Toxic” so you know he has a knack for iconic visuals. His Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” MV was not just beautifully shot but the imagery was also such a witty way to address the whole scandal at that point. Very, very effective.
Once you’re done with Choānn’s favourite things, click here to catch up with our June/July 2021 issue!
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