Fueled By Firefly

Noah Kalina is a photographer based in New York, living between NYC and upstate NY. He caused pop culture waves with a work he made called “Noah K. Everyday”, a collection of selfies taken over the course of 14 years, which now have over 26 million views on YouTube. The mesmerizing time-lapse video is quiet, thought-provoking, and simple– all while being hauntingly impactful, and his photos share those qualities. Whether shooting portraits, Cabin Porn (his new book), or scenes from a city, Noah is a Zen master of bending light and finding new ways of looking at the everyday occurrences of the world. He applies the same introspection he uses in examining our selfie-culture to the wonders of nature, and the resulting work that comes out of his photo explorations are just as compelling as his viral video. This is the second collaboration between Firefly Vapor and Noah, and we hope that we get to work together so often we lose count, in the same way we lose ourselves in the magic of his art.   CABIN PORN Check out Noah Kalina’s book, Cabin Porn, for some beautiful lifestyle inspiration here.

  “Evolution of Fire” is a motion light painting by media artists Eric Freeman and Toshi Anders Hoo.   The animated short explores the theme of human’s long and evolving relationship with fire, from ancient ritual to modern technologies. Freeman and Hoo have developed an innovative “motion light painting” technique using long exposure, stop-motion photography to create animations with a uniquely organic feel. Using custom fiber optic brushes they paint onto each frame using long exposures (up to 12 seconds) with a digital camera system. The final video is made up of over 900 hand painted frames. The Evolution of Fire Artist Statement It is impossible to understand human development without also understanding the evolution of our relationship with fire. Fire has been a critical influence in the emergence of human behaviour, technology and culture that has set us apart from all other life forms on earth. Recent discoveries suggest that humans have been using fire as a tool for over one million years. The taming of fire allowed our ancestors to stay warm, cook food, ward off predators and venture into harsh environments. Fire has allowed us to manipulate and navigate the world around us in ways that no other species has been able to achieve. In more recent times, highly controlled forms of fire have powered the transportation, communication and technologies of our modern world. About the artists: Toshi Anders Hoo is an award winning media producer, designer and artist. He specializes in directing interdisciplinary teams of artists and engineers to create transformational, inspiring and educational expereinces. He has worked with clients including the United Nations, TED, California Academy of Sciences, Intel, and NASA. As a lifelong lover of light he is in constant search for new ways to play with optical toys and visual techniques that bring wonder and insight into people’s lives. Toshi’s photography is represented by SF MOMA Artist Gallery.  Toshi is based in SF – check out his website! Eric Freeman is an electronic music producer, photographer and video artist.  His recent video work is a combination of light painting photography and time-lapse.   In his music production,  Eric weaves together elements of world, electronic, and experimental sounds to create a sonic journey accompanied by video.  Eric is based in Somerville Massachusetts – check out his Vimeo site and his electronic music project ElderFlux!

Fueled by Firefly: Our Mission We are proud to announce the launch of our new artists series, “Fueled by Firefly” celebrating the intersection of ART, TECHNOLOGY and CULTURE. At Firefly, we see ourselves as more than a technology company. Our innovation is fueled by our active participation in a wide community of designers, developers and creators. “Fueled by Firefly” will highlight an ongoing series of collaborations with artist, performers and thinkers to stimulate creativity and conversations about the themes and concepts that inspire us. “As an innovation company, we seek to empower people to explore, challenge and transform the world around them. Collaborating with artists who do the same is a natural extension for us.”– Suzy Lanza, Director of Artist Outreach. Join us, in person, Thursday, June 4th at PUBLICWORKS in San Francisco for the opening event for Fueled by Firefly and the world premier of “The Evolution of Fire”, our first artist collaboration with media artists, Eric Freeman and Toshi Anders Hoo. See the artwork, meet the artists and the Firefly team, have a drink, enjoy live music, AND be treated to a live interactive demo of the fiber optic light painting techniques that were specially developed for The Evolution of Fire video.

We got some new office artwork! Firefly commissioned a one of a kind surrealist homage to what is probably the best known painting of a pipe. And also one of the best known paintings that shows you that not everything you see can be taken at face value. This is not a pipe.  This is a vaporizer!  This is a whole new era.  Firefly is certainly not a pipe, and, pipes are certainly not what they used to be.   Thank you to Suzy’s friend Scott Dupree, who specializes in thought provoking paintings. You can visit his website here.

Noah Kalina is a NYC based photographer, best known for his Noah K Everyday series where he took photos of himself everyday (for over 12 years!).  He also publishes stunning editorial photos of nature, cities, and humans. He took the Firefly 1 out for a photoshoot in Fall of 2015, with comedian Ben Kronberg modeling. We’re honored to have his pictures as part of our series.

Firefly Vapor was honored to have photographer Charlie Watts posting on our social this past week. Charlie states that she “seeks to create images not of this world, to use photography as a stepping-stone to the unknown realm just past the peripheral edge of consciousness. She creates images to bring imagination into fruition and provide a visual escape from the mundane to the fantastical.” Watts is in the MFA program in photography with the San Francisco Art Institute. We look forward to more shoots while she lives in SF, so be on the lookout for more luscious Fairytale-like images. The vapor portraits were something Firefly has been wanting to do for awhile, and she captured them magically. We truly can’t wait to see what will come next in this creative series Check out Charlie’s website 

“Whether you’re fixing a flat tire on the tour van in the rain or pouring champagne on a yacht, “…fuck it, rap life.” We are excited to introduce a brand new video series in the Fueled by Firefly artist program: ‘Rap Life,’ presented with Kind Media and RetroHash. ‘Rap Life’ provides a glimpse behind the scenes with musical artist and rapper Asher Roth, featuring authentic visual documentation of Asher’s life, be it video shoots, rap shows or heartbreak. Get a peek into Asher’s creative process as he navigates the journey of an independent artist. WATCH THE FIRST EPISODE NOW. It’s fun to see Asher in his element.  We get an honest portrayl of his version of ‘rap life,’ and it appears that he’s not that different from us – he does yoga, laundry, and eats brunch too 😉 Does Asher have it all figured out?  “I don’t think that question has been answered. But it’s really cool I’m on that path. Instead of saying, ‘Hey man, here’s Rap Life, and this is the answer. We found the light. Happily ever after.’ That’s not the case at all. This is just the beginning of the awakening.” Welcome to the Fueled by Firefly family Asher, you are so “RADICAL MAGICAL!”   Go watch it!

Suzy, Director of Artist Engagement at Firefly, was scrolling through one of her favorite art blogs one day and recognized Maciek Jasik’s name, and his art. Suzy and Maciek had collaborated on a photo project years earlier in Brooklyn, and she was excited to see his new project, ‘The Secret Lives of Fruits and Vegetables’, as it was absolutely perfect to showcase on the FueledbyFirefly series. It featured fruits, and, yes, vegetables, with various vibrant colors of vapor emitting from them. It begged the question– what DO fruits and veggies do when we aren’t around? -AND- What are those guys smoking?!   Maciek’s artist statement about the project: The Secret Lives of Fruits and Vegetables The modern world has separated us from the origins and uses of fruits and vegetables; we know them only for the flavors and textures they provide. Until only very recently, each held its own mystique, mythology, symbolism and connection to the culture and afterlife. Not only were the blueberry, tomato, squash, papaya, potato, and pineapple only available in the Americas until Columbus arrived in 1492, most of what we eat today was cultivated over thousands of years, from small, bitter origins, like the eggplant, or afterthoughts, like the wild cabbage that became cauliflower. Watermelon originated in Africa as a largely bland, hard melon, but was prized for its ability to keep for months as a water source; they were buried with the pharaohs to aid their journey in the afterlife. Partly through its influence as a folk medicine, the pomegranate became a symbol of life after death in Egypt—and of Christ’s suffering and resurrection in depictions by Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci. The Buddha considered it one of the three most blessed fruits. In ancient Greece, Hades lured Persephone to his underworld with pomegranate seeds. Mark Twain famously said “the peach began as a bitter almond,” as it evolved from a pit with minimal flesh over 3,000 years of domestication in China into a sweet, juicy symbol of long life and divine powers. Local Chinese magistrates would hang peach wood branches on their doors to fend off evil spirits. For the Native Americans, squashes and pumpkins were essential to their agricultural approach. They planted “The Three Sisters,” corn, beans and pumpkins, together. The corn stalk would act as a natural trail for the bean vines and the beans put nitrogen into the soil for the corn. By providing shelter, the pumpkin vines would keep moisture in. This series aims to reintroduce these mystical, invisible qualities to fruits and vegetables that have been lost amidst the clamor of nutritional statistics. Each offers its own indelible powers beyond our narrow habits of thought. Maciek Jasik is Photographer in NYC. You can visit his website at www.maciekjasik.com