Art

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What is counter culture

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I think being counter culture nowadays means creating instead of consuming.

We all know America (and the world) is a culture of consumers. On a large scale, we take the natural resources of the planet and convert them into products that consumers (us) buy. There’s a reason when we talk about the economy, we citizens are called “consumers” because we are literally consuming the resources of the planet that we’ve turned into products.

But consuming not only happens when you buy something. You scroll TikTok, you consume. You scroll IG, you consume. Twitter, Reddit, SnapChat, the internet as a whole. It’s short bits of entertainment meant to be easily consumable that you digest for half a second, forget about, and then move on.

This theme of everyone living their lives by purely consuming and not creating is something we’ve seen in movies like Wall-E and Idiocracy. (And in both those films the citizens had to learn to create again to regain their humanity.)

The system itself, is designed for consuming. So counter culture then, must be creating.

Being counter culture, to me, means creating art. (And not with the intention to become famous or make money.) Making art purely for the sake of making art. You don’t just sit around and think of yourself and what other people will think of you, you get up and create something. You take risks, you experiment. You don’t just spend your days consuming.

Just something to think about.

Till next time,

-Oliver Endahl

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If the internet was different

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If Instagram and TikTok didn’t exist, would people still “create”?

Whether people want to admit or not, the thought that nearly everyone has kept in the back of their mind while on a photoshoot for the last 15 years is “Will this do well on social media?”

If you’re a model, photographer, dancer, actor, baker, etc.. Would you still create if you couldn’t post it to a social network? I’ve met many people who were only at the photoshoot to produce “content” for Instagram. And I gotta be honest, that sucks. Cause really that means the thing they’re actually into, isn’t the process of creating art, playing or experimenting. That means the thing they’re actually into is getting validation & gaining social notoriety through posting on the internet.

Here’s another version of the question: What videos would people create and post if you couldn’t follow or like any of the posts?

What if TikTok/Instagram/YouTube didn’t exist, and the only way people could watch a video on the internet would be to have a direct link to an actual website, where the video file was hosted, and that’s it. You couldn’t follow the person who created the video, and you couldn’t like the video. You could only watch it thru a direct link on a website.

How many of the videos that you see on TikTok would still be posted if you couldn’t follow the creators or like the video? I would think, not very many.

And that’s the problem. Whether people are putting out comedy videos, lifestyle content, political videos, outrage at whatever is in the current news cycle that day, etc.. All of these people aren’t actually creating for the sake of spreading the word about their topic, they’re creating to have people hit follow and hit like.

Keep that in mind next time you’re watching a short form video. Ask yourself: “Would they still make and post this video if no one could follow them or like the video?”



Till next time,

-Oliver Endahl

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Bradley Denniston: Musical and Photogenic

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Bradley Denniston is an audio engineer and singer/song writer. When it comes to audio, there is nothing he can’t do. Plus in addition to all that, he’s also very photogenic.

On top of his solo pop music career, he’s also worked on the music for a ton of movies and TV shows that you’ve probably seen. Including: Thor Ragnarok, Cannon Busters, The Lego Movie, The Lego Ninja Movie, Abstract: The Art of Design, Beatriz at Dinner, Pitch Perfect 2, Vacation, Hotel Transylvania 2, and 22 Jump Street. (Just to name a few)

For these photos, Bradley and I got together and shot at a photo studio in Los Angeles from the afternoon into sunset.

You can stream Bradley Denniston’s solo pop music on Apple Music and Spotify (And all other streaming networks)

My four current favorite tracks by him are currently “Stolen Love” “Stars” “Haunted by You” and “Reflection”

You can follow him here on IG

You can also check out all he has to offer here thru his Link Tree

-Oliver

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Kitty Cam Time in Downtown LA

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Kitty Cam Time is a model and adult film star. She and I created these various stills at 2 different photo studios in the downtown Los Angeles area.

Kitty Cam has a great sense of style and brought a bunch of fun outfits and wigs with her. For this fit below, we channeled Harley Quinn and Alicia Silverstone from Clueless.

Shooting with Kitty Cam is a blast. She always knows how to work various expressions and emotions that light up the camera.

You can find her work on the internet by typing her stage name into google, and you can follow her on IG here.

-Oliver

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Ariana Emnace in SoCal

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Ariana Emnace is a dancer and model. We’ve been shooting for nearly a decade, and it’s always a blast.

For these photos, Ariana and I created at Santa Monica Beach, a photo studio that had built a set resembling the inside of a private jet, a white cyc-wall, and also an indoor photoshoot pool.

Loved the golden light we got here and how it backlit her hair.

Love the ethereal nature of these ones with her in the dress in the water.

Ariana is captivating to photograph. She always brings a unique and intriguing energy to the photos.

You can follow Ariana on Instagram here, and keep an eye on this website for more photos from our shoots.

-Oliver

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Is it punk?

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I’ve really come to enjoy the word “Punk”.

It turns out, I think a lot of the best art made is actually punk. (And by punk, I mean counter culture) Something that pushes back, holds the mirror up, and is a bit radical. If you think about the great artists we celebrate, often times, their work expressed a pushback on society in one way or another. You can see this throughout history with famous artists like Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Elvis Presley, Keith Haring, The Beatles, Britney Spears, the list goes on and on.

I think one of the reasons for this, is because punk art often says something and has a unique viewpoint that makes us question ourselves, our values and our lives and pushes them further. Often times, you’ll see art made by the ultra wealthy (like some music artists on the biggest record labels) is not punk at all. It’s extremely consumable and intentionally unoffensive in every possible way. Because the goal of the folks creating this art, isn’t to say something, it’s actually the opposite. They don’t want to say anything. Cause when you don’t say anything, no one can get mad, no one can make fun of you, no one can complain, and if no one has a problem with it, then it’s consumable by the largest amount of people and therefor it can make the most money. There is no risk because the work is intentionally risk averse.

Something you’ll see on this publication is photoshoots and projects with people of all socio-economic statuses & all levels of fame. Some total unknowns & some extremely well knowns. Isn’t that punk? All levels of status, all levels of wealth & all levels of fame.

Seems like everyday the culture of our capitalist paradigm wants more & more for our statuses to be separate. I’ve attended many functions and events for the wealthy (Regardless of the genre. It could be fashion, dance, art, film, music, photography, etc..) Really the thing a lot of these events and the people who attend them have in common is just wealth. If you’re wealthy, you’re in the club. If you aren’t, then you’re an outsider. (Basically the plot of Gossip Girl) Xoxo

Something to keep an eye out as you consume art. Whether it be music, films, television, people’s fashion, photography, etc.. Is to ask yourself “Is it punk?”

Till next time,

Xoxo

-Oliver