For our latest Just Six Degrees we've chosen Erin Spens, the publisher of Boat, "a nomadic travel + culture publication that focuses on a different, inspiring city for each issue."
Boat Magazine
Erin Spens nominated photographer, art director and writer Tag Christof:
"Tag Christof is a creative that I'm really inspired by. He's the former art director at Need Supply Co. and Editor in Chief of their magazine Human Being Journal – based in Virginia. He’s now living in New York and setting up a new office for 2DM.it, a photo agency he worked for in Milan. I can actually spend quite a long time here talking about the interesting things Tag has done, but I think the real treasure in Tag’s work lies in his own photography, especially his ongoing project “America is Dead.”
With his architecture background, Tag’s photography is mostly focused on buildings, specifically the era of big American modernism. We featured loads of his photos and a lot about him here.
I really love the thinking behind his work and how he captures a certain feeling in his photos while also purely documenting this era of architecture. That's a really tough thing to do – create a body of work that’s so documentary it could be used as a buildings record, and yet still create a very emotional response from those that see it. Very inspiring!"
Work by Tag Christof:
Tag Christof nominated Hrishikesh Hirway, the host and producer of the podcast Song Exploder.
"Trends in music are shifting so fast that even the coolest kids are lying when they say they know what’s cool right this second. Marvin Lin called the musical culture of today “ridiculously incomprehensible,” and music journalism that almost always resorts to puns and metaphors and arcane references does little to help anyone really understand it better.
“He gives artists whose songs really capture the zeitgeist a forum to talk clearly about the technique and emotion and serendipity that go into making their work”
With his podcast, Song Exploder, Hrishikesh helps us take a step away from all the noise. He gives artists whose songs really capture the zeitgeist a forum to talk clearly about the technique and emotion and serendipity that go into making their work – and as a musician himself, he is super sensitive to the ins and outs of it all. He pulls the curtain back on sonic icons, the soundtrack of our times, and helps us understand it from the inside out. Such a genius."
Song Exploder by Hrishikesh Hirway:
Hrishikesh Hirway nominated editor, publisher and digital visionary Eli Horowitz
"Eli Horowitz is a storyteller, editor, and innovator. His projects are diverse and surprising. It's been impossible to predict what he's going to make next, and that alone is something I find incredibly inspiring. Books, magazines, apps, podcasts…he's had his hand in creating all kinds of exciting, boundary-pushing forms of story-telling. The only constant that runs through his projects is a sense of magic and wonder, like he's got a microscope that's uncovered this secret fun that runs through the world, and he's giving you a chance to look through that lens."
Work by Eli Horowitz:
Eli Horowitz nominated illustrator and graphic novelist Wendy MacNaughton:
"Sometimes Wendy MacNaughton is an artist. Sometimes she’s a journalist. Sometimes an illustrator. Often a doodler. What impresses me is the way she slides smoothly between all these worlds, or even combines them all in a single project, as in her book Meanwhile — is it a record of the overlooked people and places of San Francisco, or is a collection of watercolors?
I guess the answer is both, or something else entirely, something new. Other times she’s content to remain in the background, giving other people’s projects life and color. Her work is pretty and refined, but also loose, unfussy, spontaneous. That maybe describes her as a person too, plus generous — with friends, enthusiasms, connections, and party invitations. Also, those parties almost always involve good snacks."
Work by Wendy MacNaughton:
Wendy MacNaughton nominated designer, social innovator and urbanist Liz Ogbu:
"I met Liz Ogbu over ten years ago when she was working at the firm Public Architecture. She had just completed a behemoth project in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco where she transformed a busy intersection into an urban park that sits smack in the middle of that street (impressive feature in our often nay-saying town.) She was just starting on a project designing stations for day-laborers that went on to win every award under the sun. I know nothing of architecture, but my background is in art and social work, so i was hugely impressed by Liz’s work - to her, architecture is not about making buildings, it’s about addressing human needs.
“to her, architecture is not about making buildings, it’s about addressing human needs.”
Liz now runs her own firm, Studio O, and is involved in projects all over the world - from delivering sanitation to low-income communities in Ghana to redesigning affordable housing in Charlottesville, North Carolina - all while teaching at Stanford and CCA. She brings such a huge heart and brain to her work - using her expertise while recognizing the expertise of the people she works with, using the public’s knowledge and experience as the foundation for the work. A lot of lip service is paid to this kind of approach these days, but she’s been the real thing for years. I still don’t know anything about architecture, but i know Liz is doing great work. i’m a huge fan."
Liz Ogbu and her work
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