R Kelly

Although R Kelly is sketchy as hell (golden showers and sex with minors), this video is the greatest thing ever. It's been online for quite sometime but I had to post it anyway, Ben Pobjoy

Tim Barber / TV Books

Tim Barber, the curator of Tiny Vices, has launched a new publishing house named TV Books. There's already 12 great titles with plenty more to come. Check out TV Books here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Julia Deakin

We're at work writing a new artist biography for Toronto's Julia Deakin. We're also happy to announce that she'll be exhibiting at The Emporium Gallery this year as well.

We'd encourage everyone in Toronto to check out her upcoming exhibition at Bobby Five Gallery (1239 Queen St. W, suite 3) on Saturday, June 14th from 8pm to 11pm. Thanks, Ben Pobjoy

We're in the news

Canadian Press came by the Switzerland CS office last week to interview us about doing stick 'n poke tattoos. You can read the article here.

Hey South Eastern Australia

NEVERNESS – Part 1 is the curatorial extension of NowNow Gallery and WON Magazine. Contrasting notions of eternity with sequence NEVERNESS – Part 1 subtly frames the exploratory nature of a global group show. Although multiple perspectives inevitably create a kaleidoscope, a considered choice of photographers has developed an atmosphere where contrasts create harmony, and where the group and the individual are naturally balanced.

NEVERNESS – Part 1 features the photography of Amanda Maxwell, Andrew Long, Chris Barton, Christopher Day, Conor O'Brien, Emilia Bergmark-Jiménez, Jeremie Egry, Klara Källström, Linus Bill, Mårten Lange, Per Englund, Ray Potes, Stefan Simikich, Thobias Fäldt, Thomas Jeppe, Thomas Stavnes and Tristan Ceddia.

NEVERNESS – Part 1 will open for one night only in Melborne on Friday, May 30th from 6PM to 9PM at Right Angle Studio (6/252 Swanston St.)

NEVERNESS – Part 1 will then travel to Sydney to the Black & Blue Gallery (302/267-271 Cleveland St., Redfern). It will run from June 6th to June 22nd.

For more information visit the NowNow website here.

Hey New York City

Glynnie McDaris, who exhibited at The Emporium Gallery last fall, has curated 'What Comes Naturally,' a group show of contemporary flowers featuring work by Joyce Kim, Patterson Beckwith, Joshua Smith, Liz Goldwyn, Sarah E. Wood, Patrizia Iglesias, Joseph Heidecker, Ori Gersht, Anthony Fuller, Marc Swanson and Joe Mama-Nitzberg. What Comes Naturally opens June 11th from 6Pm to 8:30 PM at Fake Estate in New York City (526 W. 26th St. #502A). The exhibition will run from June 11th to July 11th. Check it out, Ben Pobjoy

New G-Unit

50 Cent is one of my guilty pleasures. Everything he's done since Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been terrible though. Dr. Dre was the mastermind that made Get Rich or Die Tryin' good- his production made the album what it is.

Shawn has patiently endured listening to Get Rich or Die Tryin' at least a hundred times at our office in the last year and a half. He's probably going to be quite bummed to know that I'm loving this new G-Unit track. The rhyming's pretty stock issue but the beat is rad. The video's pretty standard with the exception of the intro which is hilarious. Get your thug and watch the video, Ben Pobjoy

Man Utd. appreciation post

Shawn and I are fervent Manchester United F.C. supporters. I must confess that I missed quite a few matches this year due to the lackluster football package that we have in the office. Shawn, on the other hand, watched every single game- a real feat!

Anyway, United won both the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League this year. So, we had to pay some respect to our club by posting the video below- it's art in motion, baby.

Accordingly, working when there's a United game on is one of my favorite things about our office. This is another reason why we had to post a video about the Red Devils. These are dynasty years for United and we're loving every second of it! Eat it Chelsea!

And, with the UEFA Euro starting next month, we couldn't be happier! Ben Pobjoy

Below are the best United goals from the '07/'08 season with a Kanye soundtrack. Oh, so nasty, baby-

We're looking for interns!

We're looking for interns that live in Montreal. Here's the deal- we run Switzerland CS, a creative services firm that principally works in the areas of Art Direction and Graphic Design, Branding and Identity, Creative Direction and Consultancy, and Marketing and Communications. We work for clients around the globe on fun, creative projects. We also maintain this ol' blog.

In addition to Switzerland CS, we run the The Emporium Gallery, an art gallery in the St. Henri neighborhood of Montreal. The gallery has over 10 exhibitions booked for 2008.

We also run Red Tree, a producer of web based software applications. PAS, our first software application, is going to market in September.

On top of that, Shawn Butchart is a producer and I'm a photographer. There's tons of work associated with Shawn's production work and my photography.

Our loft office in Montreal is the hub of all our ventures. It's a fun, busy place. It's chock full of tunes and has all the lattes and Coca Cola you can drink. You can click the image above to check out our work space.

We're looking for interns that are studying design, marketing, communications, advertising or business. However, we work in so many lines of business that interns will be exposed to a slew of interesting work- too much to summarize. And, we're not assholes, so we guarantee a fun but hectic time. We also believe in inclusion and look forward to including interns in creative decision making.

Applicants should be creative, highly motivated, have strong communication skills and have an absolute passion for the arts.

Why apply? Well, you'll get a hell of a lot of experience, work on interesting projects, meet all the awesome musicians and visual artists that swing by our office, get a ton of free stuff and free access to heaps of concerts and events. And, if you knock our socks off, we'll hire you.

Interested? Email info@switzerlandcs.com and send us your CV. Thanks, Ben Pobjoy

Neckface keeps me awake!

It's 11:30PM and I have heaps of writing to do. I'm starting to tire but I can't quit as I'm a little behind on this personal project. So, what to do? Well, I searched for Neckface videos and found the one below. After watching this video, I want to crank some Minor Threat and stage dive off our office's balcony. Well, not really, but the video did kick my ass a little- thank you Neckface! Check out this video. Neckface throws a lit molotov cocktail at one of his murals at night and it's crazy radical! Wicked, Ben Pobjoy

Sean Orena

Sean Orena is a Montreal based photographer. He's increasingly exhibiting his work more and more- both in galleries and on photo based websites. His photographs often have a feral tie to nature. You can see his work here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Hey Toronto- 'Never Alone' opens next week

Red Bull 381 Projects has curated 'Never Alone,' a group exhibition that opens next week in Toronto. The show features works by our friend Dennis Chow as well as works by HVW8, Paul 107, Marco Cibola and Tracy Maurice.

The exhibition explores the affects of music on visual artists. According to Red Bull "we asked a handful of our favorite artists to show works that were in one way or another inspired by music, and we're pretty happy with the results. We hope you are too."

The opening reception is on June 4th and the exhibition is open to the public from June 7th-June 20th. For more information visit Red Bull 381 Projects' website here. I'll unfortunately miss the opening reception but will surely be checking out the exhibtion when I'm in Toronto next, Ben Pobjoy

Free Dark Meat show this Tuesday in Montreal!

Dark Meat are an amazing psychedelic / garage rock band from Georgia. If you like bands like the Deadly Snakes and Demon's Claws, you'll dig Dark Meat. Anyway, the good people at Vestal and Vice are presenting a free Dark Meat show this Tuesday at Zoobizarre (6388 St. Hubert). Doors open at 8:30pm. To check out Dark Meat, visit their Myspace profile here. Go to the show, Ben Pobjoy

Keith Haring

Keith Haring is one of my all time favorite artists. He was a real trailblazer; he pushed politicized street art into the high art world and took a page out of Warhol's book by embracing commercialism- so much so that Haring's work transcended the art world to become a pop culture esthetic.

It's the weekend so I figured I'd post some links to 'Drawing the Line," a late 80's documentary on Haring. Go grab some chips and soda, get comfy and get your 'couch potato' on.

Haring unfortunately died of AIDS-related diseases in 1990 at the age of 31. If he were still alive today I bet he would have painted half the world by now. R.I.P Keith Haring- you remain an inspiration to many. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Drawing the Line (1989)- Part 1 of 3


Drawing the Line (1989)- Part 2 of 3


Drawing the Line (1989)- Part 3 of 3

Aaron Turner

We've long been fans of Aaron Turner's graphic design work. For more than a decade he's created fabulous packaging designs for a slew of amazing bands (Cavity, Brutal Truth, Mare, etc.).

He's increasingly re-integrating more of his illustrations into his design work which is awesome. He's a talented illustrator with line work that's tighter than a taut snare drum skin, ha ha.

Turner's sure left his mark on heavy music- not only in his visual art but also through his music (Isis & Old Man Gloom) and his presence (he runs Hydra Head Records). Wow.

To follow the progress of Turner's projects, you can read his blog here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Won Magazine

Won Magazine is put out by our friend Chris Barton of NowNow in Melborne, Australia. It's a fantastic oversized magazine that I'd urge you to check out. It's full of great photographs, illustrations and interviews with visual artists and musicians.

Anyway, Volume 1, Issue 2 is out. It's free across Australia and available, by mail order, for a small fee everywhere else. You can visit Won Magazine's website here. Pick up this mag, Ben Pobjoy

Angela Boatwright

We exhibited some of Andrea's photographs at our gallery last fall. She's a great photographer that has photographed all your favorite actors and favorite musicians in all your favorite magazines, ha ha. She's as prolific as she is hard working!

Anyway, Angela's a big metal fan and photographs metal fans like no one else. She recently reached out to us and was like, 'hey, I got a blog, let people know.' So we're letting you know that you can see her blog here. Her blog's full of great portraits of metal fans and performers. Check it out, Ben Pobjoy

God Went Surfing With the Devil

God Went Surfing With the Devil is a documentary film about life in Israel and Gaza. I don't know too much about the documentary (I'm not even sure if it's out) but the website for the documentary has some beautiful photographs and some really sobering anecdotes that depict the difficulties of life in this part of the world.

The website excels in its juxtaposition of photographs that show how 'life goes on' amidst conflict with textual observations that speak of uncertainty and ultimate volatility. I'd encourage you to check the site out here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Doug Brown

We're proud to announce that Doug Brown will be exhibiting new works at the Emporium Gallery this August. I was able to spend a few hours with Doug in his studio a few weeks back and his new works are looking great- big scale and bright colors. We're all quite excited for this exhibition- more details to come closer to the date of the show.

Also, Doug has started a new blog about his work which you can see here. Check it out, Ben Pobjoy

Digitalism

I photographed Digitalism a few weeks back. We're playing their latest record, Idealism, quite a bit in the office these days. If you live in Canada and have seen a Virgin commercial on TV that's red and chock full of animation, you're probably familiar with Digitalism as their song appears in the commercial. To check out Digitalism's Myspace profile click here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Hayden Menzies

It's just been confirmed that Hayden Menzies will be exhibiting at the Emporium Gallery in Montreal this November. More details to follow closer to the date of the exhibition. In the interim, you can check out Menzies' work here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Donald Weber

Donald Weber is an outstanding Canadian photographer that currently resides in between Moscow and Kiev. His photographs document the human condition in areas of the world that are either in conflict or have suffered conflict. They're often raw and ghostly. If you're a fan of Boogie's work, you'll dig Weber's work which you can see here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Johnny Hockin

Johnny's a Toronto mover and shaker that has his hands in a lot of pots- he's a MTV Canada host, a DJ, a promoter and has a rad record label, More Proof. He also runs a blog that I like to read- it covers the music he likes and the interesting events he gets to attend through his job at MTV. You can read his blog here. Check it out, Ben Pobjoy

Ryan Foerster / NYC / NYPH

I went to NYC for 24 hours this past weekend to catch up with my pal Ryan Foerster (pictured above) and attend the New York Photo Festival. Foerster continues to be one of Canada's best photographers and is increasingly getting the recognition that he deserves. You can see his work here. Unfortunately, you really have to see his work in the flesh to appreciate its scale and beauty- his website does not do his work justice!

The NYPF in Brooklyn was great. The curation was interesting and the event itself was quite intimate as the exhibitions were in various venues all within walking distance from one another. If you're a fan of contemporary photography, you should try and check out the NYPF next year. I've been to quite a few international photo festivals in North America and Europe and the NYPF has been one of the better ones. Ben Pobjoy

Optical Illusions

Everybody loves Optical Illusions. Well, I do anyways--confusing your own body is funny. Below is a collection of illusions that vary from being historically important, to basically cool looking shit.

Johannes Itten "The Art of Color" - Bauhaus professor and color theorist. He wrote a book called "The Art of Color", which explored the optics of color. Check it our here.

Obviously Escher, check out his stuff again by clicking here.

A classic digital illusion. Click here.

A twist in perspective. Click here.

3-Dimensional chalk drawings. Check out Julian Beever, Felice Varini's 3D rooms, and all the chalk drawings at the bottom. Click here.

An illusion using color, click here.

A whole bunch of illusions in one. Click here.

Enjoy, Shawn Butchart

Dave Arnold

We swung by Dave Arnold's Montreal studio last week to check out his new paintings for his upcoming exhibition, D DAY. The paintings look awesome- they're bold, graphic and lighthearted. Arnold's 'steady hand' is obvious- he can paint lines like no one else! It's going to be a great Pop Art show. We'll provide exhibition details for D DAY in the weeks to come. In the interim, you can see Arnold's commercial illustration work here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

The Emporium Gallery website now online!

Switzerland CS is proud to announce the launch of the Emporium Gallery Website! While we run Switzerland CS, both Shawn and I, along with visual artist Dave Arnold, founded The Emporium Gallery to promote the artists we love.

We've booked a heap of exciting exhibitions for 2008 so check the Emporium Gallery website here. to learn more. Spread the word! Thanks, Ben Pobjoy

Margaret Kilgallen

The art world suffered a terrible lost when Margaret Kilgallen passed away in 2001 at the young age of 33. Her artwork is, and was, amazing. I wanted to post about Kilgallen to keep her memory alive and promote her outstanding work. Check out the video below to see Kilgallen's work and hear her speak about her influences.



Keep Kilgallen's memory alive, Ben Pobjoy

Telephone Explosion Records

Jon Schouten's a longtime pal of ours and if you've swung by our office in the last year you've inevitably met him (or seen him sleeping on our couch). Anyway, Jon, along with his friend Steve started Telephone Explosion Records sometime last year. It's a great 'cassette only' record label out of Toronto that puts out awesome garage rock. If you like your rock raw and gritty, you'll love TER. You can check out their label Myspace profile here. Support Telephone Explosion Records, Ben Pobjoy

Jeremy R. Jansen

Jeremy's a Toronto photographer and all around nice guy. He keeps a photo blog that he updates regularly with photographs of his life and the events, moments and situations he feels compelled to capture. It's interesting to follow given Jansen provides you with a voyeuristic portal into his life- but the photographs are often abstract and dream-like which compounds the interestingness of his blog. You can view Jansen's blog here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Garry Trinh

Garry Trinh is a Sydney based photographer that recently completed a new photo series entitled 'Our Spot.' While the photos may appear to be quite observational and simple at first, they're actual quite powerful when viewed in succession. While the photographs specifically speak to the dissolution of the monuments of Trinh's youth (skate parks), I feel that they're very much universal in the reaction that they elicit in the viewer- the ever increasing erosion of personal monuments in an increasingly changing world. While the world has always evolved, it feels as though it is physically evolving at a breakneck pace like never before. And, the outcome? Monuments that are extremely temporal in their connection to our personal legacies, histories and narratives. To see both 'Our Spot' and Trinh's othere work click here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Blu

Blu is a really creative illustrator and animator. Don't believe me? Watch the video below and get awestruck!



You can check out his work here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Eva Michon

Not only is Eva Michon a talented photographer, she's also an awesome illustrator. Michon recently integrated an illustration section into her website. You can check out her illustrations here. Support Eva, Ben Pobjoy

M83

You know when it's springtime and the sunlight shines through a tree's leaves in the park and you're like "holy fuck?" M83's new album 'Saturdays=Youth' is the musical equivalent. You can see their Myspace profile here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Robin Schwartz

We exhibited a Robin Schwartz photograph at our gallery, The Emporium, last fall. Schwartz continues to be one of America's most exceptional photographers. She's spent the last few years working on Amelia's World, a photo series that revolves around her daughter, Amelia, who is often accompanied by various animals. The photographs are beautiful- they capture both the wonder of Amelia's youth and their private fantastical world. I could go on for years about why I love Schwartz's work but I'll spare you, ha ha. All I know is that Schwartz's photographs make me want to have a child (shocking, I know)- it makes the parent-child relationship seem exceptionally magical! I'd urge you to check out Schwartz's work here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Hit me on my Beeper!

Sinden and The Count recently unleashed 'Beeper' (featuring Kid Sister) which is the club jam of the summer. I've recently photographed Sinden, Kid Sis and Flosstradamus (who appear in the video) and they're all a bunch of nice, talented individuals that you should listen to and support. You can check out the video for Beeper here. Ben Pobjoy
Sinden
Kid Sister
Flosstradamus

New York Photo Festival '08

We may be shutting down the office a little early tomorrow to go down to NYC to check out the New York Photo Festival. Tim Barber's one of the curators of this year's NYPH- he exhibited at our gallery last fall as part of the Heavy Metal in Baghdad Photo Exhibition we organized with Vice. He's passionate about photography and was cool enough to offer me invaluable photo hanging advice a while back. So, support this. Anyway, the great thing about Festival websites, like the NYPH one, is that you usually discover some great artists by skimming through the participants' section. I'd recommnend you check out the NYPH site here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Edith Dora Rey

Edith Dora Rey's new exhibition opens tonight in Montreal at the Thomson House (3650 McTavish). The vernissage begins at 5pm. For more info click 
here. Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

Pyramids & The VSS

Hydra Head Records has been one of our favorite record labels for years. They consistently put out great records with great layouts and continually respect the past by re-issuing often overlooked records. Anyway, they've just released a new record by Denton, TX's Pyramids (pictured above- photographer unknown). Pyramid's new record is an ambient, aggressive mix that sounds like Swans meets Sigur Ros meets Mare meets Radiohead. And, even more exciting is Hydra Head's re-issue of The VSS' Nervous Circuits LP. This is a seminal mid '90's record. Hooray for good tunes, Ben Pobjoy
Check out all the aforementioned at the links below-

Hydra Head Records

Pyramids

The VSS

Chromeo

Thought I'd post some recent photographs I took of Chromeo. A Montreal summer ain't nothing without Chromeo, Ben Pobjoy

Click here to see Chromeo's Myspace profile

Love to Dymsy!!!

We just wanted to send some love to our Australian brother, Dymsy. He's one of the friendliest dudes ever. It's actually because of his niceness and generosity that Queensland is known as the Sunshine State.

Dymsy- you and your family are in our thoughts. All our love, brother. xoxoxox Ben Pobjoy

Bob Kronbauer

Bob Kronbauer is a friend of ours that is absolutely killing it these days. We first worked with him last fall when we curated the Heavy Metal in Baghdad Photo Exhibition with Vice.

Anyway, we've since stayed in touch with Bob and have been witness to, and floored by, his prolificacy. He's recently been busy curating, designing and photographing- doing all of the aforementioned extremely well. You need to check his work and zillion projects 
here Enjoy, Ben Pobjoy

We're going BANANAS in here today!!!

Yo Majesty's Shunda K just emailed us the mastered track that Switzerland CS' Shawn Butchart (aka Mercedeez Bendz) produced for them. It's sooo banging! We cannot wait for the world to hear it.

Above are a few portraits that I took of YM's Shunda K when she was hanging out with us in the office. Ciao, Ben Pobjoy

Click here to check out YM's Myspace profile

Sebastien Grainger

I've just started writing a new artist biography for Toronto based musician, Sebastien Grainger- it's an honor as much as it's a challenge! Seb's been working on a new album and was kind enough to share some new tracks with us (from an upcoming digital EP, I believe). The songs are amazing and it's a little daunting to write him a biography in light of this. Seb's one of Canada's best song writers and his new album will be one of the year's best- mark my words! Above are some photographs that I shot of Seb when he played in Montreal last winter. I'd stongly advise you to catch a Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains set and buy their music when it comes out! Ben Pobjoy

Click here to check out SG's Myspace profile

Doug Brown

I got to spend a few hours interviewing/ hanging out with the exceptionally talented Doug Brown last week. Doug's one of the most creative visual artists in Toronto, if not Canada. We're currently working with Doug- we're writing his new artist biography and will be bringing him to the Emporium Gallery in Montreal later this summer. I'm not sure if Doug's got a web presence but you can scope some of his art in the photo section of his Myspace profile. Honestly though, you can only appreciate Doug's work in the flesh- its mammoth scale does not come across online! Ben Pobjoy

Click here to see DB's Myspace profile

Get Midnight Juggernauted

I recently met up with the Midnight Juggernauts to photograph them for the 'Children of the Night' photo series that I'm currently working on. We've been blaring their 'Dystopia' record a ton lately (which is finally going to be released in North America on May 27th). Dystopia's got a bit of Bowie, a bit of disco and is psychedelic thanks to the synthesizers. I'd urge all of you to see this band live! Ben Pobjoy

Click here to check out MJ's Myspace profile

Mercedeez Bendz now online, baby!

We're proud to announce the launch of the new Mercedeez Bendz production website. MB is the alias of Switzerland CS' Shawn Butchart, our Co-Creative Director and Art Director. He recently cut a track for Yo Majesty and is currently remixing a track for Paper Bag Records. Check out his production reels on his website and listen out for his songs in the clubs and on the radio in the months ahead! Ben Pobjoy

Click here to see Mercedeez Bendz's website

Back in Black

The new Switzerland CS website is finally online! It's been five months in the making but worth all the hard work. We built the website in the small gaps of available free time that existed in between projects and worked on it in Montreal, Toronto, Mexico and Australia (in offices, cars, airports and airplanes). We're total rolling stones these days and the way the website was built is reflective of this.

We're thankful to everyone that worked with us on the site- Dave Arnold (www.davegonewild.com) contributed some illustrations, Noah Earle (www.mynameisearle.com) helped out with trouble shooting with regards to development, Jessica Ianni scrutinized content and Luke Dyms provided us with some photographs of us in Australia (which unfortunately did not make it onto the website). We did, however, use one of Dyms' photographs above.

Thanks to Scott at the Storyboard Label, Andrew of Quest For Fire, Nina at Vice Records, Johnny at More Proof and Enrique at Paper Bag Records for providing us with awesome music for this month's Swiss Audio Player.

So, why blog? Switzerland's blog is intended to act as a unique cultural portal for site visitors to learn about the ideas, artists, thinkers, people and events that inspire, entertain or provoke thought within us, Switzerland's Creative Directors. The truth is that we're friends with a bunch of interesting, creative people that are prolific and, we want to share their works and ideas with you. We intend to update this blog a few times a week so check back often for some 'good reading'. Thanks, Switzerland CS.