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UPDATE: The Uroboros Project

Gaia‘s just sent me some new info and photos for his previously mentioned Uroboros Project.

Uroboros Project is a collaborative effort between artists Rachel
Lowing and Gaia. Spawned from a mutual interest in articulating the
inexorably intertwined relationship between people and nature, we
examine the act of consumption and its implications on contemporary
life.

The urban environment is an organism whose growth is dictated by the
symbiotic relationship between the city and it’s inhabitants. It is
the ideology and laws of society manifest, yet simultaneously it obeys
basic, natural properties of formation and development that is shared
by all sentient creatures.

By considering our connection and correspondence with the city, we
come closer to understanding the purgatory between nature and culture
that defines our internal struggle as human beings.

Collaborate
Late Latin collaboratus, past participle of collaborare to labor
together, from Latin com- + laborare to labor — more at labor
1 : to work jointly with others or together especially in an
intellectual endeavor: to cooperate with an agency or instrumentality
with which one is not immediately connected

UROBOROS
Uroboros is a circular symbold depicting a snake, or less commonly a dragon, swallowing its tail, as an emblem of wholeness, totality or infinity.

Here are some more photos from the recent installation in Baltimore. The project is all leading up to an installation at thinkspace gallery this January. See more of Gaia’s work on his flickr, and more photos of the installation at the Uroboros Project Blog here.

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Sickboy Solo Show

HOOKED has info on Sickboy’s first major London solo show. Opening December 3rd in Shoreditch.

I love Sickboy’s work on the street, but I’m cautious about how well it will carry over to canvas. We’ll see in December though.

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Street Art in ARTnews

Great article on street art in the fine art magazine ARTnews. Thanks to Andrew from Ad Hoc Art for the tip.

It’s a well written and informative article that is definitely work a read. Here’s a short excerpt:

Fairey is part of a wave of street artists gaining acceptance in mainstream museums. Last summer London’s Tate Modern presented six towering murals on an exterior wall, created by a global lineup of street artists. Among those featured was Faile—the New York City duo known for graphic mash-ups of pulp fiction imagery—as well as Blu, an Italian artist whose monumental black-and-white doodles have long been materializing on abandoned buildings all over Europe, and the Brazilian brothers known as Os Gemeos. The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh has included a sprawling, kaleidoscopic hallway piece by installation artist and celebrated graffitist Barry McGee in its 55th Carnegie International, on view through January 11. McGee has done other museum projects, including covering the facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit—at the museum’s request—with a bubbly, 110-foot graffiti tag that reads “Amaze.” Last year the New York–based Espo (a.k.a. Steve Powers) was the subject of a solo show at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. And figurative prints by Swoon, another New York artist, are part of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum. It’s a surprising turn for an urban art form that until now has received minimal attention from the fine art world—and one that can land its practititioners in jail for anything from vandalism to breaking and entering.

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What Is Pure Evil?

UPDATE: I had an error in this article. Pure Evil tells me that Lister bought a comic or two featuring The Joker right before hearing of Ledger’s death. Not a tabloid magazine. The photo that Lister used for his painting was found at a different time.

Bunny Fingers by Pure Evil at Saints and Sinners. Photo by RJ
Bunny Fingers by Pure Evil at Saints and Sinners. Photo by RJ

Here’s the second of my artist profiles based on the Saints and Sinners show at the St. Martin’s Lane Hotel.

Walking around Shoreditch and Hackney, Pure Evil’s work is almost impossible to ignore. He is undoubtedly one of London’s most prolific street artists, both in how much of his work is on the streets, and how varied the work can be.

PE’s work stems from a fear that something is just going wrong is the world. “I just kinda have this sense of a shit-storm coming, you know, all the time,” he said. In part due to this sense of impending doom, he spends much time researching its potential causes: from the power of multi-national corporations to Milton Friedman’s economic theories and groups like the Illuminati. When his reactions to his research emerge in his work, PE says they often get mixed up and come out as a sort of hodgepodge of fears.

Much of PE’s work parodies or plays on pop culture gone wrong. “I’m trying to summon the dark side of popular culture,” he said.

The PE persona comes from some of his early childhood experiences. When he was young, he would spend time with his cousins in the countryside. PE’s cousins had a lot of guns, and he used to walk around the countryside with guns strapped to his body. One day, his cousins gave him a shotgun and let him go out hunting for small game. While he was out, he “saw some rabbits and shot them,” said PE. “I didn’t think anything of it and then walked over and there was actually a rabbit that had been shot, and it’s that kind of thing where you go ‘what does that actually gain?’” Killing the rabbit made PE realize that death is real and that it can come so easily from something as simple as a gun. “[The Pure Evil tag is] the idea that this rabbit that I killed is now sort of undead and coming back to haunt me.” Continue reading “What Is Pure Evil?”

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I’m Not Searching For A Neate

This is killing me, and I’m sure it’s killing Harry at Artbleat too. We can’t go searching for Adam Neate pieces tonight. Why not? Well I dunno about Harry, but I’m stuck in St. Louis at a conference on high school journalism. Well, stuck here is a bit harsh, I’m glad to be here, I’d just also like my own Adam Neate. Ha.

I can’t be more excited and surprised with how this project is working out for Neate. Sure his dropping 1000 pieces in one night is a big deal, but he’s had coverage in the Independent, and even on CNN and the BBC. Maybe I’ll hire his publicist for Vandalog.

The question is though, will the “average-Joe” be out looking for paintings. Sure they’ve heard about the event, but do they have the time and the interest to actually leave their homes or change their plans to go hunting around London for something they probably won’t find? Continue reading “I’m Not Searching For A Neate”

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Moss Graffiti

This is a pretty cool form of “alternative graffiti.” It’s not quite reverse graffiti (unless you want to take down cities completely), it’s not quite something that GRL will do, it’s natural graffiti. Moss graffiti is something that it apparently very easy to make with little more than some moss and a can of beer, and it looks awesome. Becki Fuller has a photo of the stuff in New York, and Stories from Space has instructions on making your own.

Moss Graffiti by Beckie Fuller
Moss Graffiti. Photo by Becki Fuller

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Asbestos Exposure

Sorry of the lack of posts this week. I’m at a conference in St. Louis (which means that YES, I’m missing the Adam Neate treasure hunt). To make up for the lack of posts, I’ve got two really special posts this week. This is the first of two profiles based on artrepublic’s Saints and Sinners exhibition at the St. Martin’s Lane Hotel. Check back tomorrow for the next one (with Pure Evil).

Asbestos is one of Dublin’s premier street artists, and his portraiture and “Lost” series wheatpastes can be seen all over the world. He’s also been displayed in galleries across the world. Most recently, he was involved in a show at the Carmichael Gallery in LA, and the Saints and Sinners show in London.

Chess Thinking at the Old Truman Brewery. Photo from Asbestos
Chess Thinking at the Old Truman Brewery. Photo from Asbestos

Continue reading “Asbestos Exposure”

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Maclaim Crew in Juxtapoz

Vandalog favorite, the Maclaim crew, has a short feature on the Juxtapoz website. Lots of great photos though. I’m extremely jealous of whoever bought “Porky Bible” by Case (photo below) just 10 minutes after it went on sale. A really spectacular piece. So far as I know, the two pieces that Case has at the Carmichael Gallery right now are still for sale, so have a look. The entire Maclaim crew is fantastic, but I’m particularly confident that Case is destined for great things in the future, so now’s the time to get his work if you can.

Porky Bible by Case. Photo from campbarbossa.com
Porky Bible by Case. Photo from campbarbossa.com