image: "explore love" // The Love Movement Series // 2004 // Donald K x La Churra Productions + the mondomedeusah creative arts group.
As part of the Love Movement Series that started in 2004, a collaboration with La Churra, "explore love" is one of many unpublished works by Creative Art Director Donald K. He's is putting together a series of mixed media collective works which is a collaboration with Sakimoto8 and published by mondomedeusah creative and produced by the mondomedeusah creative arts group working out of Montreal, Canada.
Jay F: Tell the mondo readers about the concept behind this particular image "explore love".
Donld K: While attending high school and college in the 90's I was influenced mostly by hip hop music, electronica, rock, metal, punk, reggae, poetry, coffee houses and underground art shows here in Canada. I attended a high school of the performing arts so it was all around me. The creative energy was amazing, everyone I knew was doing some sort of art medium. The night culture was also a heavy influence behind my concepts. In college my friends and I threw loft and penthouse party keggers, I'm not sure what they call it in other parts of the world but we called them keggers in Canada, it's what paid the bills and my tuition. I didn't want to work a 9-5 so we simply threw parties. It was beautiful times. We had a huge loft and a party every weekend, a list of rotating dj's, open mic freestyle battles, hip hop, reggae, techno, house, turntableism and beautiful people. Nobody really beefed back then, no one carried guns and shit, at least not at our parties, it was just love. This is where mondomedeusah started but at the time my crew was called R.E.P. We would also make frequent trips to Montreal seeing that it was just an hours drive. The Montreal parties...well those who have partied in Montreal know what i'm talking about, those who haven't, well you should put it on your "to do list" before you die. There's New York City and then there's Montreal. The piece "explore love" is simply what it is. Exploring love because it's a beautiful thing. mondomedeusah was built on love and this is what our work simply portrays, the beauty of love. It's what inspires mostly everything I do in the mixed media realm. It's very simple but every image tells a story.
Jay F: Cool. Now I recognize this image from one of your parties, it was on tv screens or something all over the lounge. Now as a Creative Director what kind of work do you usually work on?
Donald K: The spectrum is pretty wide. Anything from this type of stuff which I dig to designing software applications and GUI's (Graphical User Interfaces), posters, t shirts, marketing for the alternative fashion industry, music industry, I did a ton of government projects, I mean the list goes on. I think being a Creative Director is a good profession to be in because every industry needs some form of art direction behind their product or concept. I spent a lot of time working on government projects and I kind of got out of that recently. I didn't want to be pigeon-holed or held in that corporate setting. I like to have creative control and the freedom to expand into new elements and just keep rotating you know from like fashion to music to technology, software, even video games I'm starting to explore that.
Jay F: explain "mondo art"
Donald K: That name was given to what we did at the time. It is what it is you know. I mean, we're just doing what we do and loving what we do, we're not trying to follow anyone. We just put out what we like really. I don't want to do anything else, this is what I love and mondo art was a name that someone else called it not us. Some people get offended by what we do, some people dig it (laughs), take it however you you like.
Jay F: I've seen a lot of your stuff at parties and at your infamous dinner parties but not in the public eye. Why is that?
Donald K: Umm...I've just been working mad crazy for the past 5 yrs for clients and some of my own non-mondo personal projects. The software industry took a lot out of me and this year I've been in travels and collecting my thoughts. This summer and Fall I'm working out of Montreal and will be working on more stuff with the mondomedeusah creative arts group so I can start where I left off some 5 yrs ago. There's 5 yrs worth of work so I have a good time buffer to work with, I would like to do a solo gallery one day...no rush really. Right now we support our friends and their work. I like to see my friends succeed and do well. Whenever our web site is done we'll throw our stuff up. There is just so much to do but I guess it's better to be busy than than picking your nose waiting for the phone to ring, ya dig.
Jay F: Any more mondo parties in the works?
Donald K: Ummm I hope so (laughs). I would love to do something!! But there's so much on my plate. Ask me next year.
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