Lush is back again this week for his second comic in a 10-part series. What do you think the future holds for street art and graffiti? Lush’s first suggestion is already out there as an app by KATSU, but of course it hasn’t superseded painted graffiti (yet). – RJ
Comic by Lush
UPDATE: For those who may be unfamiliar, the term “art fag” is commonly used by graffiti writers to insult street artists, like here for example. The use of the term in this post caused some controversy on Twitter, but I think that you have to look at its use in the context of this comic. Lush is not advocating use of the term or not. He is merely documenting something that happens (something that I personally think is shameful). – RJ
A note from the editor: This week we have the first in a 10-part series of weekly comics by Lush. What do you think? Did Lush miss anything? Is it true? – RJ
Comic by Lush
Damn. It’s almost May! Sorry this is so late but it’s worth the wait. March was another action packed month in Melbourne.
Starting off with Baby Guerrilla‘s show in Footscray. Baby Guerrilla’s paste ups have been adorning Melbourne’s walls for a few years now, and they are some of my favourites, her gallery work was new for me and I loved seeing a different side of the artist.
Adnate was 1 of 3 Melbourne graffiti/street artists that entered the renowned Archibald prize. From the Archibald website “The Archibald Prize is awarded annually to the best portrait, ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia’.” It’s great to see some more modern painting techniques making it into this more conventional competition. Adnate painted a portrait of Samantha Harris; an Australian indigenous model. Also make sure you check out the video by Michael Danischewski below.
Continue reading “Melbourne Monthly Madness – March”
Sweet Toof, Paul Insect, and Lush met up in Mexico for some fun and a lot of painting. So much good work. You can find it yourself in Mexico City and some of the surrounding suburbs, but I’ve got a lot of it here too…
Continue reading “Sweet Toof, Paul Insect, and Lush in Mexico”
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”
Earlier this month, Lush had a one-night solo show at Backwoods Gallery outside of Melbourne. He sent over these photos and a video, where it becomes progressively more clear why the show only lasted one night…
Continue reading “Why Lush’s latest show was one-night-only…”
Lush is returning to Backwoods Gallery outside of Melbourne for a solo show (I believe his 3rd there) this week. The show, The Evolution of a Graffiti Shit ****, is open for one night only: This Friday. Lush’s shows are always a bit of a madhouse, so I would definitely recommending checking this one out, although obviously not if you’re easily offended (or, just really ever get offended about anything really). Seriously, should be great if you can handle it.
Photos courtesy of Lush
Occasionally I write pieces for Complex.com. This week, they published piece of mine called 10 artists using the internet like the street. List posts can be entertaining, but I wouldn’t normally say that I’m proud of my list posts. This particular piece is different though. It’s a list of visionary artists doing game-changing work that blurs or even completely ignores any lines that exist between the street and the internet. These are the artists I’m writing about right now in the book that I’ve mentioned here from time to time. So consider this post a little teaser of what I’ve been thinking about lately, and what I’ll be writing about in great detailing in the future.
Please check out the post, because I think these artists are doing really important work, and I’d love to get your thoughts on what they are doing. Maybe I’m onto something here, or maybe you think I’m on the completely wrong path. Either way, I’d like your input. So, go check out 10 artists using the internet like the street and let me know what you think by leaving a comment on this post or over at Complex.com, emailing me, or tweeting me.
Thanks.
Photo by Lush
I know it’s not Cyber Monday yet, but today we’ve got a special Black Friday announcement: Vandalog has teamed up with Lush on The Vandalog Shop‘s first poster release.
Lush’s poster was inspired by the United States Postal Services’ Label 228 Priority Mail postal label that so many sticker artists swipe from post offices around the USA by the hundreds, and Lush has blown up that label nearly to nearly 30x its standard size. In addition to the posters, each buyer will receive a special bonus item of original work by Lush, from an actual tagged postal label 228 to a tagged poster. The posters are available now for $15 plus shipping and handling through The Vandalog Shop. Pick one up by clicking here.
When I first saw Lush’s work, I wasn’t sure what to think of it. In fact, I’m still not sure. Lush is either the great jester of graffiti or the absurd conclusion of graffiti culture. He is either the most important or least important graffiti artist working today. Is he offensive for the sake of being offensive, or for the sake of art? It’s impossible to say. All that I’m sure of is that he won’t appreciate me calling what he does “art.” I approached Lush about working with us because The Vandalog Shop is a serious project, but it’s never safe to take yourself too seriously. I just want something on my wall to make me smile, and Lush has delivered on that front with this poster.
The more we get to know about Lush, the more it seems he is just a typical redblooded guy: He loves bacon and wants to blow up babies.
Photos by Lush
