Originally published in
Sarah Perpich: What are some of your earliest and fondest fashion images and memories? Growing up, did anyone in your life inspire and spark your love and curiosity of fashion or art?
Jaime Perlman: My parents sent me to art school on Saturdays in Philadelphia when I was just a kid in the ’80s—I studied sculpture. I remember walking around South Street in awe of all the punks with black lipstick and leather. I secretly wanted to be them…
Sarah: Do you see art and fashion as separate entities: Is Fashion Art? Is Art Fashion? Are you more passionate about one than the other?
Jaime: Fashion is a form of expression, like art, but it’s also a business… There’s so much scope for creativity within this industry and the lines between art and commercialism are often blurred. Fashion shoots and films that we make can be artistic with the specific intention to sell product or an image.
Sarah: Can you describe your country-hopping career path and how it led you to your role as Art Director at British Vogue?
Jaime: I left New York for the job at British Vogue. Conde Nast sponsored me to come over. I always dreamed of living in London and was slightly obsessed with British pop culture. I’ve learned so much coming here and feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to live and work abroad.
Sarah: What inspired you to launch testmag.co.uk and how does it relate to your work at British Vogue?
Jaime: I was inspired to launch Test because I felt change percolating within the publishing industry. We were in the depths of recession; photographers were in a frenzy to experiment with film as digital media began to rise in importance. I also sensed a hunger for a new platform to exhibit work without commercial purpose, as independent magazines began to fold. Vogue and Test are obviously very separate entities, yet they complement one another. Through Test I have formed relationships with new talents that might eventually move their way into the more established ranks at Vogue.
Sarah: When did you first recognize the importance and impact that the Internet would have on the fashion industry and what were the most exciting and challenging aspects of transitioning to the online world, specifically concerning Test?
Jaime: It’s become more evident in the last couple of years that fashion is going increasingly digital. You only have to look at labels like McQueen and Burberry streaming their catwalk shows live last year and the rise of “celebrity” fashion bloggers like Diane Pernet and Tavi to see that the Internet holds more and more innovative platforms yet to be explored. For me, I’m most excited about fashion film and the transition of still fashion photography to moving image.
Sarah: Can you briefly describe Test? What is your goal for it as curator, creator, director…?
Jaime: Test is a platform for creatives in the industry to come together and demonstrate the best of their abilities. It’s a celebration of the contributor and creating imagery for the purpose of inspiration. I wanted to keep it simple and direct and free from the constraints of a commercial project. I think it’s straightforwardness makes it stand out from other online publications.
Sarah: Are the projects more of an organic collaboration or do you select, recruit and commission the crew?
Jaime: All of the projects are commissioned by myself and submissions are not accepted. Each collaboration evolves “organically”. Sometimes I come up with the concept and other times an artist will approach me with their own ideas. No matter what, I think it’s important for the artist to be passionate about the piece when they’re working on their own time.
Sarah: Online fashion films and videos have become the hot, buzz-worthy mediums in the industry. How do you think this new exclusively online fashion world will affect the future of the fashion industry offline?
Jaime: It’s amazing how large an audience you can reach online, but the overall sensory experience of seeing a catwalk show in person can never be fully recreated on the web. The luxury of a live performance is still decadent enough to survive in the fashion world.
Sarah: What are your short and long-term goals and dreams for Test?
Jaime: I want to keep collaborating with incredibly talented people and collate a body of continually inspiring work. I’m also planning on directing my own fashion films eventually.
Originally published in A Shaded View On Fashion
A Q & A with Kathy Grayson: Co-owner of The Hole
SSP: Briefly describe your professional and personal history with the Deitch gallery and your relationship with Jeffrey.
KG: Jeffrey is the most interesting person in the art world. he is the only art dealer who is a true historian. thus the best person to blaze the trail from art dealer to museum director. He has the best spirit and energy. He has shaped my approach to art exhibitions and, more generally, art and life.
SSP: How do you you feel when you read or hear yourself described by the press and public as Jeffrey’s “deputy,” “protege,” and even “legacy” or “beneficiary?”
KG: Jeffrey treated me like a curatorial and intellectual protege, I treated him like a mentor, which he was. We had lots of discussions about curatorial approaches, art practice and art criticism. He was the only person I would show my essays and articles to for feedback, and he would show me his essays to get feedback. We would cook up shows projects, and would plan events together. Beneficiary: I certainly have been the luckiest girl in the world to have gotten to work at Deitch and to learn all this from him, and then to have his support and assistance transitioning to being a gallery owner myself. but it makes it sound like a will and Jeffrey is certainly not dead! He is going to have an even bigger impact on art history as the head of a museum.
SSP: How did your time at Deitch develop your viewpoint and how you critique art? How do you define art, and more importantly, how do you characterize “great” art or art that really “matters” to you?
KG: I share a sensibility with Jeffrey, whether innate or developed in conjunction with working at Deitch, that the best art is art that comes from lived experience. Neither of us have any patience for art about art. We love when someone’s lifestyle or being and experience is really crammed into the artworks and they are about something real and important as oppose to self-reflexively closed down academically or emotionally. I may be a lot of things but I am certainly not boring, and I will never show boring art!
SSP: What makes an artist’s work attractive and exciting for you? Is discovering the “new” important to you?
KG: It is a very old avant gardist idea but I still think that each new generation has its unique set of experiences and those experiences inform their artworks, and the best and most exciting new artworks are those that cut straight to this and what it means to be here and now. It can manifest in all different ways though!
SSP: How did you decide and manage to co-launch “The Hole”(partners Meghan Coleman & Suzanne Geiss) and how is it similar and different from Deitch Projects? How do you make it your OWN?
KG: All the articles about Jeffrey leaving talked about “the hole in the downtown community” or”the hole in the art world” that he was going to leave. So we decided we would fill that hole! There used to be this great lawless club called THE HOLE that many of the our artists, and we ourselves, used to hang out at that closed a few years ago. plus we thought it was weird and post-feminist gross to have ladies running a place called The Hole. THE HOLE! Open for business! Our art operation will share the great spirit of Deitch Projects and I guess if anything, things might get even weirder!
SSP: How would you describe The Hole’s aesthetics; as a gallery, as a community, and as a collection? How would you describe your artwork? Your artists?
KG: Its hard to make general terms for things but our community of artists, the staff, the supporters,we are all just downtown creative types, on the weird side, hardworking open and enthusiastic. The vibe is like a COMMUNITY CENTER and everyone is welcome.
SSP: Tell me a little about your new blog artfrombehind. Is it your personal blog or the official blog for The Hole?
KG: I had a blog on MySpace for years and finally decided to move it to a real website. but now that I find myself opening a gallery I thought that it would be fun if the gallery had a blog and now the blog has become the gallery blog. I don’t know! I like posting photos of great art on the internet and making fun of bad and butts and parties and funny looking people. Its FUN!
SSP: What was it like spearheading your first show; “Not Quite Open for Business?”
KG: Like the press release reveals, this has been an extremely stressful and difficult time. The first show will reflect our struggle to get a gallery going and open the doors with art so quickly after Deitch’s closing.
SSP: With the opening only a few days away what are you most excited about and what is your biggest worry?
KG: I am worried the opening will be too crowded for anyone to see the great artworks we have!!! I am most excited about everyone seeing the show and loving it.
SSP: If you could buy any artist’s entire collection to decorate your home, who would it be and why?
KG: If I could hang one artist’s work it would have to be Ben Jones because he is so versatile: he makes paintings, drawings, videos, video paintings, sculptures, rugs, ladders, benches, furniture, and clothing. TOTAL PACKAGE!