Last year, JR made a version of his Women Are Heroes project in Paris, covering bridges and walls along the Seine. He’s recently posted this video documenting the project:
Via Nuart
Hrag, Fauxreel and advertising
Hrag Vartanian has a fantastic article on Hyperallergic about Fauxreel and what it means when street artists take do corporate jobs outdoors. Fauxreel found himself labeled a sell-out a couple of years ago when he partnered with Vespa for a campaign that involved illegal wheatpastes on the streets of Toronto. The whole debate is very interesting, because really, all street art is advertisement to some degree, so where do we draw the line at what is acceptable? And of course, do artists have a right to partner with companies on advertising campaigns, and if so, how should they go about it? Personally, I’d say it’s generally great when artists collaborate with corporations on projects, but they need to avoid any illegal pieces for that advertising campaign.
Here’s some relevant thoughts from Fauxreel, taken from a recent interview on Unurth:
I definitely think artists can work commercially and with a conscience, however, I think that if you are going to do this you should be aware of the differing motivations and you should try to make the commercial project provoking to the public in some respect. Because I like blurring the lines and playing with the public’s perceptions in some of the work I create, I immediately realized that the difficulties surrounding an illegal street campaign completed by a commercial interest would be a perfect fit for me. So I approached the Vespa Squarehead project with the goal of raising questions about the role of advertising in public space, examining the grey area between street art, graffiti and advertising and attempting to make connections between products and people’s identities. If I can complete a series of work that will pose and examine these types of questions and it will allow me to make some money at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with that in my opinion.
Will working on a project like that endear you to the public? Probably not, and for me that’s okay. I think the notion a great deal of the public holds, is that street artists should all fall under the same political leftist umbrella and they should all be anti-capitalism. This is certainly untrue (think about Banksy or Shepard Fairey as businessmen and Princess Hijab as a right wing street artist) and it would be boring if it were. Although the simple act of placing up illegal artwork can be said to have political connotations, if the work in question is a stencil of Talib Kweli or a paste up of fried chicken, the work is then purely aesthetically based and not political at all.
In terms of drawing a line between street art and street advertising and deciding what distinguishes the two, I am not the one to be judging that. I am far more interested in the overlapping areas in between and engaging with audiences who appreciate work that challenges the political status quo associated with street art, or art in general, as well as talking to fellow artists who understand these nuances and who utilize them within their work and their approach to developing their practice and essentially their brand.
Hrag’s analysis of the issue is insightful and definitely an interesting read. He’s one of the few bloggers who really writes about street art in a serious academic fashion, in addition to enjoying the art.
Photo by icathing
Exit Through The Gift Shop review and spoilers
On Tuesday evening, I had the chance to see Banksy’s film Exit Through The Gift Shop (in cinemas March 5th) at the pop-up cinema he has put together in the tunnels next to Leake Street (where he held Cans Festival). It was an experience that I’ll never forget.
Outside the entrance, Banksy has painted a red carpet onto the street. Inside, it’s like a mini-exhibition. A mix of new and old works, the highlight for me was the “Paranoid Pictures” logo which has been stenciled onto one of the walls. Or maybe it was the animatronics from Banksy’s Pet Store show. It’s tough to say. But the art got everybody in the mood to watch what we’d been invited there for: something that involved Banksy, a video camera and Mr. Brainwash. Beyond that, most of us were in the dark as to what exactly was going to be shown.
Here’s the spoiler-free review:
Exit Through The Gift Shop is not going to be the Subway Art of street art (Beautiful Losers and Bomb It have already attempted that anyways…), and it’s not trying to be. It’s not “The Banksy Movie” either. And I think that’s going to disappoint a few people. But if you’re a regular reader of Vandalog, you probably like street art, not just Banksy. Exit Through The Gift Shop is a film that you’ll enjoy.
The film is a documentary that comes across as a mockumentary. I’ve heard people plenty of people compare it to Spinal Tap or Borat. But everything in Exit Through The Gift Shop is more or less true. Of course, I’m sure certain half-truths are told, but it’s about as factual as you can get when it comes to talking about anonymous artists. The important thing here is that all the characters are real people, and the events on film actually happened and were unscripted, so that seems real enough to me.
There’s a line every five minutes that might be quoted by street art fans for years to come: Some of them are funny, some are poignant and some are depressing. The whole film is mixture of comedy, drama and tragedy, but every angle will be compelling to street art fans.
The big problem though, is that I just can’t imagine telling my friends who don’t like art or film to check out the movie. It’s not like Spellbound or (in my opinion, not that of my friends who stopped talking to me after a certain movie night…) Helvetica; if you don’t like street art (or at least art or documentary films in general), you may just be left confused and bewildered by the whole thing. I suppose that’s the point, but last time I checked, Banksy’s work isn’t supposed to confuse people, it’s meant to be clear, direct, funny and hopefully provocative.
And where the film could have most interested audiences outside the street art world, examining how money and marketing plays a role in the art market, Exit Through The Gift Shop hints at these issues, but falls short of actually confronting the subject head on, leaving the audience to consider the consequences. While people certainly are smart enough to see what’s going on and figure these things out for themselves, I think Banksy could have been a bit more direct about the whole thing.
Perhaps the film’s greatest flaw is that it ends on more of a decidedly bleak pop than a spectacular bang or even just a hopeful note of any sort.
Minor issues aside, most street art fans will absolutely love this film. It is hilarious, has behind-the-scenes footage of Banksy and other great street artists at work and tells a story that needs to be told. I can’t say much more without spoiling the plot.
Okay, and now for a spoiler after the jump… Continue reading “Exit Through The Gift Shop review and spoilers”
Re-Creation II, the Carmichaels go to NYC
If you follow Elisa Carmichael on twitter, you may have noticed that she’s been dropping some hints recently about a big secret show that they’ve been planning. Well here it is: Re-Creation II features artwork from Will Barras, Simon Birch, Boxi, Ethos, Mark Jenkins, Labrona, Aakash Nihalani, Nina Pandolfo and WK Interact. I know Seth and Elisa have been working like crazy to pull this all together, and it sounds like it’s going to be amazing. They’ve flown some of their favorite artists to New York to work on installations in the space, and with the show running for so many months, plenty of people will have a chance to see what’s created.
In collaboration with Carmichael Gallery, Ogilvy & Mather New York will host Re-Creation II, a global exploration of emerging art, from March 5th through July 2010.
The exhibit will be held at the new Ogilvy & Mather headquarters on New York City’s West Side at 636 11th Avenue. Re-Creation II will showcase some of the most important emerging contemporary artists from around the world.
Large-scale murals, installations and original canvas, sculpture and mixed media works will be on display from Will Barras, Simon Birch, Boxi, Ethos, Mark Jenkins, Labrona, Aakash Nihalani, Nina Pandolfo and WK Interact. Many of these artists, who are based in the UK, Hong Kong, Germany, Brazil, the US and Canada, have never shown in New York before, and have never shown together.
Ogilvy & Mather will transform five floors and the lobby space of its new headquarters in The Chocolate Factory into a museum-quality exhibition space. As viewers ascend each floor, they can experience the upward momentum of the artwork. Re-Creation II is the second exhibit to be hosted by Ogilvy & Mather in its new space. It follows the inaugural Re-Creation exhibit, which featured the work of 12 emerging artists who use recycled materials to create unique forms of art. That exhibit will also be viewable through the end of March.
The opening reception of the exhibit will be held on Friday, March 5 with several of the artists in attendance at Ogilvy & Mather. The exhibition will run through July 31, 2010. Opening on March 5th in the middle of the Armory Art Fair week, the exhibition will run through the end of July 2010.
Doors are open to the viewing public, by appointment only, Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm by contacting Jun Lee at jun.lee@ogilvy.com.
On a side note, this is the 1000th post on Vandalog. Almost a year and a half in, we’ve averaged over 2 posts per day, posting almost every single day.
Vhils goes all out in Moscow
Vhils has really outdone himself with this latest piece in Moscow… I wish I owned a house, if only so he could take a jackhammer to it.
Photos from Lazarides
Via Stick2Target
Shepard Fairey in Cincinnati
The latest iteration of Shepard Fairey’s Supply and Demand exhibition opened this week at CAC in Cincinnati. I think it’s the same as what’s already been in Boston and Pittsburgh, but of course it also means that Shepard is in Cincinnati to put up some murals. Have a look:
(more) Kaws in Madrid
Yesterday Kaws posted some pictures on his blog of his artwork being unpacked for his solo show in Madrid. And now Guillotine has some proper photos from the opening as well as pictures of Kaws’ piece at the ARCO Madrid art fair.
Here’s the solo show:
And I’m serious. That’s pretty much the show. It looks like there were three canvases and a small chum sculpture. But hey, they’re huge and cool if you like Kaws (I love the red one), so maybe that’s okay.
And here’s his piece at ARCO:
The pieces in his solo show are interesting, but to me, this one is just Kaws’ attempt at being Barry McGee: A cluster of canvases that combine simple geometric shapes with trademark characters. Though to be fair, the far right section with half of Spongebob’s face looks awesome.
Lots more pictures on Guillotine (here for the solo show and here for ARCO), which is where these pictures are all from.
Banksy on Channel 4 News
A very interesting article on Channel 4’s website and piece on the 7pm Channel 4 news on Monday. Read it if you are interested in the art market.
There’s no one quite like Banksy – the only street artist most of us have ever heard of it.Aside from the mystique that surrounds his identity (the Daily Mail claims to have unmasked him) his rise from the streets has brought him into conflict with the art market. One Notting Hill dealer accuses of him of being a control freak.
Our little excursion into the Banksy market was instructive.
Banksy has an outfit to sell his prints, Pictures on Walls in Commercial Street, and a sister organisation, Pest Control to authenticate everything. He has an agent and a publicist.
I’ll say two things about the article and video: 1. Who cares if Banksy’s a brand or whatever? Every successful artist does the exact same things to varying degrees. 2. Channel 4 should stop pretending that the media aren’t complicit in the Banksy hype that they’re now trying to call him out for. The BBC found the house where Banksy grew up and could have revealed his identity, but didn’t. The Daily Mail could probably do a hell of a lot better job “unmasking” the guy. And if the Channel 4 reporter Nicholas Glass was at the opening of Banksy versus The Bristol Museum and honestly didn’t notice that there was artwork for sale, he can’t be said to have been very observant at all. And of course, I include myself in being complicit building Banksy-hype and generally ignoring the odd bits like not authenticating street pieces or the fact that he works with a PR agency, but I don’t think I’ve ever pretended to not be part of that hype-machine. Oh, and I’ll add a third comment: 3. Yes, we should respect Banksy’s privacy and just let this thing run it’s course, it’s more fun that way.
Banksy smashes estimates at auction
It looks like Banksy‘s film Exit Through The Gift Shop is already helping boost the price of his artwork, even though it sounds like the film is more about Mr. Brainwash (whose prices somehow have not dropped to $0, yet). This week, there have been 5 Banksy pieces at auction in London, and almost all sold above the high estimate.
First up was the Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day Auction on February 11th. There were three Banksy pieces in that auction: one print and two originals.
Why is there a Banksy print for sale at Sotheby’s instead of Dreweatts or Bonhams? Because it was a Kate Moss. An edition of just 50, these are probably the most sought-after of any of Banksy’s prints. They aren’t my favorite, but I’m just one guy and the market definitely disagrees with me on this one. The print was estimated to sell at £25-35,000. Including the buyer’s premium, it went for £46,850. The Kate Moss prints have sold for as much as £96,000 before, but this is probably the best price one has achieved since the recession hit.
Both originals at Sotheby’s were older works, and sold to benefit The Luggage Store Gallery. Bomb Hugger and Armoured Car were both estimated at £25-35,000. Bomb Hugger sold for £58,850 and Armoured Car reached £49,250.
Next up was the Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Auction on the 12th. They had an amazing Banksy canvas, You Told That Joke Twice. Christie’s estimated the piece at £100-150,000, and it sold for £169,250 including the buyer’s premium, which put the hammer price near the upper end of the estimate. This was the only Banksy piece this weekend not the exceed the high estimate.
Later that day, Phillips de Pury had their Evening Sale in Contemporary Art. Their Banksy was Vandalised oil #001, a fantastic crude oil. With a conservative estimate of just £60-80,000, the results here were outstanding. The painting sold for £121,250 including the buyer’s premium.
Now, as noted with the Kate Moss print, these aren’t the best auction results Banksy has ever had, and I don’t want to sound like that NYTimes article that said “The art market is once again shooting up like a rocket,” but the Banksy market at least seems on the road to recovery.
The latest from TrustoCorp
TrustoCorp is back with some new signs in Manhattan. These guys are great, I just hope they don’t try and go into the gallery.
