Java.Jan.2017

BRING ON THE NEW
By Robert Sentinery
BUZZ
Here’s to new beginnings, and to kicking off 2017 in a spectacular fashion. Artist
and thinker Devin Fleenor knows all about creating spectacles. His company
Epic FX has mounted large-scale, laser-based art installations for numerous
clients since its inception in 2012. Recent projects include collaborating with
the international design firm Unispace to create “architectural lasers” for their
DesignHive Project in downtown Los Angeles. Fleenor has also worked alongside
musical artists, including The Acid, Odesza and Nosaj Thing, to create stunning
visuals for their videos and live shows.
Fleenor started experimenting with lasers prior to touring Europe with his
own band Mr. Meebles back in 2011. Having studied neuro-psychology at
ASU, he has always been interested in exploring the far reaches of human
perception and recognizes the role technology can play in enhancing human
experience. In 2015, Fleenor created his S.E.E.D. project as a form of art
therapy to help those with autism, PTSD, anxiety disorder and other psych
and neurological conditions, employing brain-computer interfaces in a kind of
high-tech version of biofeedback.
Fleenor has also used his large-scale projections to create subversive artworks,
including his infamous 2014 Super Bowl intervention that projected live social
media feeds about commercialism onto the Bud Light party tent. Here’s to Fleenor’s
continued explorations (see “Devin Fleenor: The Future in a S.E.E.D.,” p. 8).
Phoenix is all about creating the new, and fashion designer Alejandra Inzunza
represents the leading edge here. Having graduated from the Art Institute of
Phoenix just months ago, Inzunza is already making a splash. Her coup de grace
was winning a competition that brought her work to New York Fashion Week
last February. Inzunza is still feeling the repercussions from that, with various
invitations and media inquiries coming in regularly.
All of this is quite an accomplishment for the twenty-something single mom who
served in the Marine Corps prior to enrolling in fashion school. Inzunza hails from
the border town of Douglas, Arizona, with a population of less than 20,000. But
make no mistake, this is a woman on the move, and if haven’t already seen her
work at Phoenix Art Museum or at one of our local fashion weeks, it’s probably
only a matter of time. When asked if a move to NYC might be in her future, she
acknowledged that possibility but said she would prefer “London Calling” (see
“Alejandra Inzunza: Fabric and Structure,” p. 12).
Finally, with every new beginning, there comes an end. It is the cycle of life.
Phoenix lost one of its own last month when artist Jules Demetrius finally lost
his battle with cancer. He put up one hell of a fight, with his body wracked by
four different kinds of Stage 4 cancer. It’s amazing he could even get out of bed,
let alone hit the studio to crank out his wonderful Pop Art paintings that seemed
to convey a surprising degree of optimism despite facing mortality. Rest in
peace, brother Jules (see “In Memory of Jules Demetrius,” p. 34).