NEVER BEEN GIRLCRUSHING SO HARD: LERNT UNSER COVERGIRL CAT KING KENNEN!

Schauspielerin, Künstlerin, Musikerin, DJane… ob es irgendwas gibt, dass Cat King nicht kann? Stillstehen vielleicht. Wir fotografierten den Shootingstar in ihrer neuen Heimat Los Angeles.

Cat King zieht ihre Umwelt an, wie ein Magnet. Es ist nicht nur ihre zeitlose Schönheit, die einen trotz ihrer wilden Strubbelhaare an Hollywoodgrössen wie Grace Kelly denken lässt, es ist ihre Offenheit, ihre Neugierde, ihre Lebensfreude… ihre Verletzlichkeit.

Mit 14 in eine große Modelkarriere gestartet, kennt man sie aus internationalen Modekampagnen, mit ihren mittlerweile 26 Jahren hat sie diesen Teil ihres Lebens und ihre damalige Homebase New York hinter sich gelassen, um sich ihrer Kunst zu widmen. Und der Schauspielerei – einer Herausforderung, die Cat gefunden hat, nicht umgekehrt. In ihrer neuen Heimat Los Angeles meidet sie den Konkurrenzkampf und die Massencastings der Branche, um sich auf die Dinge zu konzentrieren, die ihr Inspiration und Freude bringen. Ein Luxus, den man sich auch nur dann leisten kann, wenn James Franco einen nach einer flüchtigen Begegnung persönlich ausfindig macht, um einen für seinen nächsten Film The Long Home zu casten. Bis das unter anderem mit Josh Hartnett und Ashton Kutcher besetzte Werk ist Kino kommt können wir Cat in einer Rolle in Let Me Make you a Martyr mit Marilyn Manson sehen, der diesen Winter anläuft.

Gemeinsam mit Fotografin Kristy Benjamin zogen wir mit Cat einen Tag lang durch die Stadt der Engel. Und sprachen mit ihr über ihre Kunst, Female Power und die einsamen Momente in ihrer neuen Heimat.

Photography Kristy Benjamin

Production and Styling Kira Stachowitsch

Hair and Make up Caitlin Cassidy

Model Cat King

jumpsuit ELISABETTA FRANCHI via ZALANDO

fake fur coat MAX&CO via ZALANDO shoes CAT’S OWN

After having built a life in New York, how come you moved to Los Angeles about a year ago?

I will always love New York, but I have always been a bit of a vagabond, and I was finding that the harsh winters were beginning to have a negative affect of my creative spirit. I’m originally from New Jersey but I’ve lived in Philadelphia, Miami, and I’ve spent some time in London as well. I first came to LA a few years ago when recording an album under the management of Randy Jackson at the Henson recording studios, however I spent pretty much all my time in the studio and didn’t actually see any of LA, but I was intrigued by it. Like many transplants, there was also the catalyst of a relationship that helped push the migration. The relationship didn’t survive the move but I was determined to prove that I could make it all on my own in a new strange land, far away from any sort of emotional support safety net. Although I have found that it is much harder to make friends in LA, I am happy I decided to stick it out here and it is starting to pay off.

bra CALVIN KLEIN UNDERWEAR via ZALANDO panties CALVIN KLEIN UNDERWEAR via ZALANDO fake fur coat MAX&CO via ZALANDO

jumpsuit ELISABETTA FRANCHI via ZALANDO

bra CALVIN KLEIN UNDERWEAR via ZALANDO skirt KARL LAGERFELD via ZALANDO blazer KARL LAGERFELD via ZALANDO shoes CAT’S OWN

You make art out of found objects but are also involved in street art, how did you get into this scene?

I’ve always been a fan of harmless rebellion. When I was living in Brooklyn I was working at The Keystone Design Union, where we helped to connect artists together for collaborations as well as with brands. I learned a lot about branding at the time and I came up with a logo for myself that was a cat head that looks like its yelling. I started printing it out and using it as a base for many of my projects which then lead me to deciding to wheat paste it on the street. This is how I met and became friends with Elle Street Art who later introduced me to Vexta. It felt great being a street artist as a women as it’s such a male dominated world, we started this thing called “Garmy”, the Girl Army, representing girl power.

bra CALVIN KLEIN UNDERWEAR via ZALANDO skirt KARL LAGERFELD via ZALANDO blazer KARL LAGERFELD via ZALANDO

top RODEBJER via ZALANDO skirt M MISSONI via ZALANDO

top RODEBJER via ZALANDO skirt M MISSONI via ZALANDO coat CACHAREL via ZALANDO shoes CAT’S OWN

Can you tell us more about the series of artworks you created from old saws?

I love reviving things that are looked upon as being trash or useless. As a child I was forced to wear a uniform to school so I was constantly customizing everything else I owned. This habit is something that I have never grown out of. I found my first rusty saw at a garage sale for two dollars and I just thought it was so beautiful already with the color of the rust and the wood, so I bought it and took it home and immediately took some power tools to the thing and started engraving a poem I had written into the surface of the blade. I was pleased with the results and posted a picture online, and ever since then collectors and gallery’s have been buying them up faster than I can make them. It came as a shock to me because I was just going to hang it on the wall in my room. I actually still own the first saw I ever made. Rust and poetry and symbology are three of my favorite things so it is really cool to be represented by all three through my artworks.

scarf CAT’S OWN top STYLIST’S OWN coat IBLUES via ZALANDO