Here’s some of the amazing stuff that happened in Melbourne last month. I’m sorry it’s so late – I am already working on the March post. Damn I am proud to post about my home town. So much goodness every month. Enjoy!
Continue reading “Melbourne Monthly Madness – February 2013”
Gaia was in Newcastle, UK last month for some murals organized by Unit44. I’ve got photos of the wall here, but I think the video Gaia made with Unit44 is even more interesting. In it, he speaks about the challenges of being a muralist/street artist trying to do more than just impose advertising (aka street art) onto communities. I don’t agree with everything he says, but he makes some very valuable and interesting points.
Photos by David Bilbrough
“I felt always like I was part of a larger thing, that would encompass a lot of people. And all of those energies of all of these individuals and all of their unique talents and unique contacts is what came together to make that thing happen.”
-Aaron Rose
When Joe Ficalora (pictured left) brought me to the roof adjacent to Alicé Pasquini’s wall he said, “only family comes up here.” The deep personal connection I felt looking over a year’s worth of accomplishments with Joe and Alicé is the feeling that both individuals are trying to instill upon the community surrounding this intersection. A close Italian family who emigrated to Brooklyn only generations ago, the Ficaloras welcome any person to the neighborhood who shares their passion for beautification, like Joe’s grandmother who is always quick with coffee and snacks on cold days.
Although the nexus of this project was marked with personal tragedy, these losses became the impetus for change. Starting during Bushwick Open Studios last year, the area quickly became the Brooklyn hub for visiting muralists, which gave Yok and Sheryo some of their first walls as well as other notable visiting artists, such as Nychos and most recently Alicé Pasquini.
For her first visit and wall in the United States, the artist worked through the wind, which at one point toppled her ladder, to complete a deeply personal mural for the area. The wall that the Italian artist was given previously belonged to Jim Avignon, the yellows of which were incorporated into the space’s latest iteration. The figures in her piece, titled “As Much As You Can,” bustle around the streets of Alicé’s imagined vision of New York City. Having never previously visited the city, the artist imposed the dreams and ideologies of her imagined characters, who represent the beliefs of the many people who come to this city for a new life. Being aware the Ficalora’s roots in her native Italy, the artist painted this piece as a tribute to not only all immigrants, but specifically for his family.
From the sense of family I felt when standing on that roof to the kindness that the Ficaloras extend to any person who finds their way to the neighborhood from the Jefferson train stop, Alicé has distilled this sense of belonging into her mural. By reflecting the vibrancy and closeness that occurs in the small neighborhoods within New York City, one would think she had lived here her whole life, rather than a first visit.
Photos by Rhiannon Platt
Yesterday MOCAtv (MOCA Los Angeles’ YouTube channel) announced an open call for content for the channel. Jeffrey Deitch, Carlo McCormick, Martha Cooper, Ethel Seno, and I will be reviewing content on YouTube with “#MOCATVUPLOAD” in the video title and then selecting the best of those films for inclusion on MOCAtv. Read more about the project here.
I can’t wait to see what gets submitted.
For Olek, the past year has seen endless legal battles in London, which led to a brief incarceration and house arrest. During this time, it must have seemed as if a long road was ahead of her. The majority of the work on display at her recently opened show at Jonathan Levine Gallery was made during this time in London, when the end was indeed far. However, don’t let the image of Olek crocheting away in a cell paint a disparate image of the installations that the artist created during this time in her life. The spectacle that one has come to expect from energetic and vibrant artist has only intensified. The speakers have been turned up to 11, if you will.
The entrance to Olek’s work hinted at the pageantry that would unfold in her exhibition upstairs. Harkening to her court trail, the artist has used her recent text-based body of work to draw upon these experiences. An anonymous figure, perhaps representing the everywoman, carries a flag with the empowering phrase “nobody can hurt me without my permission.” The ominous tone set in the entryway distinctly contrasted the whimsical tone set by her performers in the gallery space. Continue reading “Olek: Becoming One’s Art for “The End Is Far””
While on a recent visit to London, Tim Hans photographed with seven artists for our continuing series of photo-portraits by Tim. This week, we have Tim’s photographs of Word To Mother, along with an interview by Shower.
Also, Word To Mother has been as he puts it ‘analogue’ since we met him. In a small attempt to contribute to the digital world, he has got himself an instagram. Go follow him for regular updates on his work – @wordtomother.
Shower: I expect you have been asked this on numerous occasions but where did the name Word to Mother originate?
Word To Mother: It was never supposed to be a name. I started writing Word To Mother next to my pieces in about 2003…I like the expression, it’s affirmation of the Mother’s and classic Hip Hop phraseology, perfect! Illmatic is also one of my favourite albums so I guess that had a part to play in it all.
I started using Word To Mother as a name when I wanted to make a distinction between the fine art I was producing and everything else. I like the anonymity a pseudonym allows, it means the art is at the forefront and I am somewhere in the background.
S: Your style is very distinctive, your characters tend to be warm and welcoming with a strange complexity, and are usually found juxtaposed against stylised typography. What influences you and this style?
WTM: I have never knowingly tried to construct a style, it’s an ongoing process that is continually changing…I just try and do me, not look at what others are doing for inspiration, but to outside sources; architecture, sign writing, vintage cartoons, nature…
My strongest works are produced when I’m not thinking about what I’m doing, the images almost draw themselves. You can see by the weight of line in my sketches when a drawing is going to work. If the line is heavy then I’m not chilled and the drawing is forced. The best stuff is super fine and is like a subconscious wandering of thoughts.
S: On the subject of characters, Disney and other cartoon varieties feature regularly, which is your favourite and why?
WTM: I don’t have one favourite and the list is endless so let me just give you my starting five:
Early Mickey Mouse
Sponge Bob
Marvin The Martian
Big Bad Wolf (early Disney)
Ren and Stimpy
S: Do the influences differ between your gallery work and outdoors?
WTM: I have no interest in producing what I do indoors, outdoors. They are two separate things to me.
S: Which came first, indoors or out? Which do you prefer and what keeps you painting outside?
WTM: I’ve always drawn, so working inside came first. Working outside started with graffiti in the late 90’s. If I’m painting outside it has to be fun, and trying to replicate what I do in the gallery, outside, just stresses me out. If I’m painting outside it’s going to be letters but I don’t refer to myself as a writer or street artist, just an artist.
S: If I was describing your art I would say that much of it is illustrative. Would you agree? And have you ever had any professional training to achieve this style or are you self taught?
WTM: I love to draw so I would agree that my work is rooted in illustration. I studied illustration and animation 3 years full time, before then I was like every other small town youth that thinks they can draw…I wasn’t as good as I thought I was. Those 3 years were imperative in deconstructing and rebuilding my drawing. I wouldn’t say that anyone taught me how to draw but that course guided me in the right direction.
S: The first thing that strikes me when I look at one of your pieces is the exceptional level of detail. How do you go about starting a painting to achieve this depth?
WTM: I’m always intimidated by a blank surface, so I begin with loose mark making and tags to create a base to work on. Then it is just a case of building layers and layers of tones, pattern, characters, text etc until the piece comes to life.
S: Your art tends to be found adorning weathered surfaces using a range of mediums – wood, brick, plaster, spray cans or paint brushes. Do you find each piece is dictated by the surface you paint onto or do you look for surfaces with the content in mind?
WTM: I love weathered objects, stuff that is decaying and has existed with another purpose for years, then adding your story to it. When I am painting on these types of surfaces, I try to retain as much of the existing qualities as possible. I’m always on the lookout for those little gems to hoard in my studio. Some stuff I get way too precious about, I have objects and panels that I have had for 6 years that are still yet to be worked on as they are so beautiful already…this is now becoming a problem as I am relocating to a much smaller studio and am going to have to let go of a lot of things. Also, the cost of shipping heavy objects overseas is crippling financially. As a result, my new works are going to be on canvas…you have to adapt with the times…this recession is bullshit.
S: In some of your pieces I have seen nods of appreciation to fellow artists; Sickboy, Ronzo and Roids come to mind, and you have also worked in collaboration with Sickboy on a few projects. Do you enjoy collaborative work and do you feel it brings anything additional to your solo pieces?
WTM: I know the painting you are talking about, it had a section of tags in it which shouted out a few of the homies…it was based on the gallery front on Redchurch street where they buff over all the tags in the same colour…
In terms of collaborating, I have to work with friends. I’m a perfectionist so it has to be a certain way….Sickboy and I moved to London at the same time and were introduced by our friend Stella Dore. We are complete opposites but somehow it works. I am a massive fan of what he does and we both love the same things visually. Whenever we work together it is a succession of sleepless nights and too many jazz woodbines but we always laugh ’til it hurts and end up with something we’re proud of.
S: I rather enjoyed your recent edition of ‘fuck you, pay me’ baseball bats? Is there a hidden story of personal experience?
WTM: A decade of self employment in the creative industry.
S: You seem to be a big fan of tattoos. Are any of yours self designed or influenced by other artists?
WTM: I love tattoos and am lucky enough to own work by Thomas Hooper, Saira Hunjan, Josh Sutterby and Frank Carter to name a few.
T: Do you tattoo others yourself? If not, then would you ever consider a change of career?
WTM: I have been known to tattoo friends but I am certainly not a tattooer. If I wasn’t painting I would consider it, I think it’s a great career for someone that loves to draw. If I were to do it I would stop making art and concentrate on it fully, it is an ancient craft that demands a huge amount of respect.
S: Finally, have you got any specific plans for the future?
As I mentioned I am in the process of moving from my enormous studio to a much smaller space. It’s a shame as I am having to part with a lot of things that I have accumulated over the years…Once that is done I am going to be concentrating all of my energies on making my largest paintings to date for my upcoming show in the incredible new White Walls Gallery space in San Francisco. I’m hoping to work with the incredible Angelino Milano again this year on a bespoke run of screen prints. I haven’t shown in London for a couple of years so 2014 will see another solo show with the StolenSpace family… Other than that I’ll be drawing as usual.
Photos by Tim Hans
Stenciling master Logan Hicks has a solo show this week at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE). Thin Veils And Heavy Anchors opens on March 8th and only runs through March 10th, so mark it down on your calendars and don’t let this show pass you by. With this show, Hicks has continued to work with a combination of etching and stenciling, but he’s the work is on a massive scale that I don’t think I’ve seen from Hicks in quite a few years, and it looks like the combination of a stenciled layer beneath the etched architectural components (which I believe is new) has really helped to make the etched bits more aesthetically interesting (or perhaps just more apparent in photographs). I wish I could see this show in person, but I’ll settle for everyone I know in LA going there instead. So please go check out Thin Veils and Heavy Anchors at LACE.
The show opens on March 8th from 6:30-10pm.
Also, the LA Weekly is doing a print giveaway with Hicks. Enter here.
Logan has sent us some preview images. Check them out after the jump… Continue reading “Logan Hicks solo show coming up in LA”
Parisian graffiti king and PAL crew member Horfee‘s first London solo show, Horfee’s Imaginarium, opens later this month with Topsafe London at 4 Wilkes Street E1 6QF in Shoreditch. Horfee is one of the world’s most interesting and celebrated active graffiti writers, and he’s got a very promising gallery career developing. Horfee’s mad cartoons have a rare crossover appeal such that they can be appreciated by those familiar with his graffiti and the fine art world too.
Horfee’s Imaginarium opens March 14th (5-9pm) and runs through March 23rd. Email horfe @ topsafelondon .com to RSVP for the opening.
I can’t wait to see more from this show, but Topsafe London has sent over quite a healthy preview. More after the jump…
Continue reading “Horfee solo show coming up with Topsafe London”
Caledonia Curry aka Swoon‘s latest solo show opened last night in her home-state of Florida. Petrichor (a word I was unfamiliar with but she says means “the first scent of rain on parched ground”) is an installation at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota Fine Art Gallery in Bradenton, FL. The show runs through April 3rd. Petrichor was made for Curry’s father, who lives near the college.
More after the jump… Continue reading ““Petrichor” by Swoon”
Update 1: Wet Dog, another Banksy street piece which was up sale in the same auction as Slave Labour, was also withdrawn at the last minute. Wet Dog was recently shown in the controversial Banksy: Out of Context show in Miami last December, where it was reported that the piece was not for sale.
Update 2: Wow. Slave Labour wasn’t just withdrawn from the auction, it was withdrawn in the middle of the auction after there were already 3 bids for it! (Thanks to Wooster Collective for this tip)
Update 3: Here’s a statement from the auction house, Fine Art Auction Miami: “Although there are no legal issues whatsoever regarding the sale of lots 6 and 7 by Banksy, Fine Art Auctions Miami convinced its consignors to withdraw these lots from the auction and take back the power of authority of these works.” and a statement from the owner of Wet Dog, Stephan Keszler (who will not say whether he also owns or represents the owner of Slave Labour) “We pulled it because of the hype. We did not feel comfortable in this environment. But I think we are very happy that an auction has tried to get Banksy’s street works into auction. It’s a breakthrough.” (via)
The Banksy street piece shown above (named Slave Labour (Bunting Boy) by the auction house which was trying to sell it), which a few days ago we mentioned was up for sale at an auction house in Miami, did not end up selling at the auction yesterday as had been the plan. Instead, the piece was withdrawn from auction, there has been a public outcry to return the piece to its original site, and investigations by British police have begun into how the piece was removed from London and put up at auction in the first place.
The local outcry about the piece’s removal reached a particularly hilarious point when a member of the local government arranged a protest requesting that the piece, which presumably was painted illegally, be withdrawn from auction and returned to its original location. Sounds like they might be successful in that effort, but I expect that the piece would be quickly destroyed by haters and/or street art/graffiti purists if it were returned to the street at this point.
Even the FBI got involved, asking the British police to investigate the origins of the piece. It’s still not 100% clear whether or not the piece was removed from the street with the permission of the property owner, but the owner has so far refused to comment, so at this point I’m guessing that they saw a chance to make a few bucks and organized the removal themselves.
While we’re on the topic of Banksy, I’d like to discuss dispel two Banksy-related rumors that popped up elsewhere on the web last week as a result of a lack of fact-checking by journalists and bloggers.
The Haringey Independent has published two stories about what they call “a new ‘Banksy'” on the same street where the Slave Labour piece once was. The piece is a stenciled image of a rat holding a placard with the question “Why?” on it. The only hint in either article that the new stencil might not be by Banksy are the quotes, but there’s no real discussion and it’s basically assumed that the piece is legit. After even just a quick glance at the piece, I’m 99% certain that it was not done by Banksy, but was just an homage and comment on the removal of the real Banksy piece. The rat stencil is poorly cut, poorly sprayed, the font on the placard isn’t one of Banksy’s standard fonts, I don’t believe Banksy has done a 1-layer rat stencil since 2009, and (save for the Banksy versus Robbo events) I can’t think of any instances of Banksy doing a street piece which directly addresses a specific controversy of his career. Of course, the funny thing is that the property owners where this new rat is seem to think it’s a real Banksy, since the second article reports that the non-Banksy is now covered in a protective layer of plexiglass.
And then there’s the hoax story that Banksy was supposedly arrested in London last week. A press release posted to prlog.org claimed that Banksy had been arrested. The news quickly spread on Reddit and Twitter. Although the press release was quickly removed from the site, UK Street Art has the full text available. Give the press release a read. Think about it for a second. Does it sound legit? Blogs such as Jezebel and Death and Taxes, and Clutter Magazine reported the story as fact. At least Complex.com made clear that the release was basically an unconfirmed rumor. If those blogs wanted some hits, posting that press release without actually thinking about it was probably a good move. But it wasn’t too difficult to determine that the press release was a very likely hoax, even before it was removed from prlog.org. And the press release was a hoax. Betabeat has a good brief summary of how the hoax happened, some reasons why it was a hoax, and who was behind it (it seems that site was). Reddit and The Banksy Forum have more detailed discussions as to why the press release was clearly a hoax.
With Banksy, things are rarely 100% clear, which opens up the door for hoaxes (I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but I’m sure I’ve fallen for one or two before), but if we exercised a bit more caution, perhaps these kinds of hoaxes and misattributions wouldn’t be quite so common.
Photo courtesy of Banksy, aka lifted from his website
