Month: March 2011

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Weekend link-o-rama

Overunder

This week is spring break, so I’ve been enjoying some relaxation and watching too many films on Netflix, but in the mean time, there were of course some stories that slipped by me. Here are some of them:

Photo by Overunder

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When street art and advertisment collide

Yesterday RJ and I got sent this video of a a mural being put up in Sydney sponsored by Lipton Iced Tea. Despite tagging over some work already put there, the mural isn’t half bad. Apparently this is part of an ongoing series sponsored by the brand to create urban art projects in Australia while showcasing their partnered artists talents.

It’s no secret that art and advertising have been hand in hand ever since graffiti style became popular in the early 1980’s. But where is the line drawn between advertising art and art for advertising? And as such, can the work stand on its own as an entity to be appreciated or is it less appealing because it has brand association?

The video led us to further question other examples of this practice in the past and how audiences reacted to the works. I can think of several just near my flat alone- Tron Legacy painted ad on Great Eastern Street and the large scale Converse painted ad that went over the Eine piece on the Village Underground. Last week Vandalog posted about the annual Supreme paste ups depicting a celebrity photographed by everyone’s favorite “alleged” model molester, Terry Richardson. This year it was Lady Gaga who graced the streets of cities and my Tumblr dashboard as the photograph went viral. An annual event though, these flyers usually get bombed on their own by artists. In their own right, these photographs are artworks and can stand next to any Rankin or Chapelle portrait. But does the added connotation of being associated with Supreme lessen its artistic value? And what about artists like Faile and Poster Boy and Aakash Nihalani who amended the Lou Reed Supreme ads? Are those also further removed from the brand because the artist chose to alter the ads of their own volition?

I just wanted to put this idea out there and would love to hear what you guys think.

Photo by Steven P. Harrington for Brooklyn Street Art

Photo by Steven P. Harrington for Brooklyn Street Art

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High Roller Society brings Skewville to London

Skewville, my second favorite street art twin duo (Os Gemeos kind of takes the cake in that category), will have a solo show next week at High Roller Society in Bethnal Green. Skewville make some of the most fun art around, both indoors and outdoors. This show, Slow Your Roll, will involve both new and old work, including some of their crazy sculptures. The opening of Slow Your Roll is going to be the place to be for art fans next Friday, March 18th. Don’t miss it. I’m also hoping that while Skewville are in London, they will get up to some trouble outdoors as well, but I haven’t seen anything yet.

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Shepard Fairey’s “Revolutions” opens this weekend in Santa Monica

This Saturday, March 12th, Shepard Fairey‘s latest solo show opens at Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. The art in Revolutions will be a series of  Fairey’s album cover-scale pieces, plus two boxed print sets. Like how skateboard graphics inspired Aaron Rose (as mentioned in an interesting conversation between him and Jeffrey Deitch in Interview Magazine recently), a lot Fairey’s early inspiration came from music and album artwork and he’s done artwork like this before, but I don’t think there’s ever been an entire show of it. Arrested Motion recently visited Shepard’s studio and got some shots of the artist working on this show.

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Elbow Toe in London

Photo by HowAboutNo!

Elbow Toe aka Brian Adam Douglas is/was in London this week for the launch of his new book, Paper Cuts, and the opening of his show Due Date at Black Rat Projects. While in town, Elbow Toe put up a few street peices. Most of Due Date was recently at the Warrington Museum (photos here), but there is one major addition the version now on at Black Rat: A massive 5×7 foot collage called The Memory Of You Is Never Lost Upon Me.

The Memory Of You Is Never Lost Upon Me (click to view large). Photo by Elbow Toe

Due Date is open at Black Rat Projects now, but I’m not sure when it closes.

Here’s Elbow Toe’s latest image for the street, which looks like it is up along the canal in Hackney:

This Too Shall Pass. Photo by Hookedblog

Photos by HowAboutNo!, Elbow Toe and Hookedblog

 

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Dede Confidential in Tel Aviv

I met Dede Confidential this past fall in Tel Aviv. His whimsical stencils, drawings and stickers could be found throughout Tel Aviv’s edgier neighborhoods. He since tells me that the municipality has been buffing the walls in an all-out war against street artists. This has not stopped Dede from using his city’s walls as his principal canvas. He says he’s only more determined to engage the public. Luckily, he’s been documenting his pieces before they disappear.

Photos: Dede Confidential

 

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Para Mi Gente – Chicha poster style art at Primary Projects

El Celso isn’t the only artist who is experimenting with Peru’s unique Chica style of posters, a style pioneered by the Urcuhuaranga family in Lima, Peru. In Miami, Primary Projects have a group show opening this Saturday in homage to Chica posters. For Para Mi Gente, more than 50 artists have contributed designs to a Chica-style collaboration. Shepard Fairey, El Celso, Tristan Eaton, Skullphone, Posterboy, El Tono and others have sent designs to the Primary Projects crew who will combine all these designs by hand painting them throughout the gallery. The artists have little control over how their designs will look on the walls, where they will appear, or next to what. This sounds like a pretty unique and risky show. It should look cool, and it will definitely mess with the standard notions of what gallery art should be and look like.

Here’s the flyer with all the critical info you may need: