Erotic Scrapes from
Adrian Blanca Memory Documents
with Jose Parla Influenza
Viruses and Antibodies
Word from King Adz
17 4 197565 304950
Photo: Vincent Skoglund
Flip 2
10 Open 12 Spy 1: Kingdrips 14 Spy 2: Little Marina 16 Riders Ink
52 Andrea Boscardin
22 Influenza
58 Word From King Adz
24 N8 Van Dyke
62 The Transformer
26 Squatting the White Cube
64 In Your Ear
28 How to Cut a Stencil
66 Show and Tell
32 Illustrated Works
68 Show and Tell
With Mr. Simon Peplow
Artist as Virus when all is viral
Skulls and the Bone Room
Bottles, Spells and Granny Smith Apples
With Blek le Rat / By King Adz
San Mr. Jago Adrian Blanca
By Stephen Smith / Neasden Control Centre Alexis Manning: Return of the Real Skateboard Trophies and more on Daryl Smith With Florent de Maria and Jon Kennedy Stanley Donwood at BTAP Vincent Skoglund at Jonas Kleerup
70 Show and Tell
Jose Parla and Richard Elliot
StolenSpace in London
56 Want It!
46 Memory Documents
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Rip it out and take it with you!
Changing Perspectives
55 Inside
45 Modart Gallery Guide
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Art Trek 5 – The Jubileum Edition
72 Off Line
Art Trek 5 – The Jubileum Edition
sabotage last issue
Creative action = active creation
Modart hits NYC Before Banksy there was Blek le Rat Memory Documents with Jose Parla
Cover: Mr.Jago
Erotica and Scraped Knees from Adrian Blanca
Issue #17 Managing Director Christian Vogler christian@modarteurope.com
Creative Director Harlan Levey harlan@modarteurope.com
Art Director Tobias Allanson tobias@modarteurope.com
Distribution/ Production Manager Oliver Kurzemann oliver@modarteurope.com
Associate Editor Evie Haines Wayne Horse
Spring is here and the world is going green. OP E N
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Open
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We’re going to start looking at what that might actually mean. In this issue, we’ll also have a look at pirates on the TV lines, some skulls and at no time will we discuss street art. Surprising, Brave, Innovative, “Cutting Edge” and Empathetic, yes indeed the language of the streets has been absorbed by the sponges of the culture industry. The wheel has not yet become square. Today, people write in to Modart saying that they are ‘street artists’, and while I love the undertow of street art aesthetics and live amongst a moving community of people who dare to share their voices in the cold of the city, this is still a sort of perverted self classification. On the street for a lot of artists its really fun to compete against that (advertising), because if you consider all of it, street art, stencils, graffiti, its all done for free by people who are enthusiastic about making their city look better … some people are trying to just destroy the city, but that’s their opinion. That’s up to them. – Chaz / The London Police
If Modart can be called a Street Art magazine, here are 3 quotes that hit our nail on the head from 3 top geezers. Keep them in your own head as you meet the young and talented winner of the 'FreeRide' competition, get lost in the illustrations of San or find stories in the formless characters of Mr. Jago. Repeat them as we squat the White Cube and have a look at Stanley Donwood’s breathing problems in Tokyo after putting our ears to Candy Chang’s whispers in Chinatown. Enjoy the issue, Harlan
We believed it was possible to have a sort of street exhibition, for free, for people. The goal was definitely to have fun and enjoy the reactions of people who were normally just passing by. – Galo
I think the minute you try and label movements and call them something while they are in the middle of evolving, you’re stifling them… for me if you just throw your stuff in galleries you’re kind of communicating with an audience that can afford to be a part of that … and at that point you’ve leveled out anybody who can’t afford to be a part of what you’re talking about. – Jeremy Fish
Gallery Guide Associate Editor: Eva Cardon
Modart Editorial Jo Waterhouse, Ripo, King Adz
Modart Music Florent de Maria, Jon Kennedy
Contributors Simon Peplow, Lutz, San, Mr. Jago, Adrian Blanca, Ashley in Amsterdam, Stephen Smith / NCC, Adrian B, Jose Parla, Richard Elliot, Abner Preis, Influenza, Candy Chang, Andrea Boscardin, Nate van Eyke, Eric Laine, Alexis Manning, Blek le Rat, Daryl Smith and Beth at Stolenspace.
Advertising: Oliver Kurzemann oliver@modarteurope.com +43 676 4205126
Publisher Rebel Media Limited
Editorial Office Good Guy Marketing GmbH Modart Magazine Erlerstrasse 1 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Printing Grafica Editoriale Srl Bologna, Italy www.monrifgroup.net
Distribution: ASV Vertriebs gmbh Süderstrasse 77 20097 Hamburg, Germany Modart magazine is published 6 times a year by Rebel Media Limited. Reproduction of editorial is strictly prohibited without prior permission. Views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior written consent, except for permitted fair dealing under the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988. Application for permission for use of copyright material including permission to reproduce extracts in other public works shall be made to the publishers. All rights reserved copyright 2007.
www.modarteurope.com
Kingdrips Visit Hamburg. The city is bombed. Paint on so many of the walls that it could get you high. Look closer. You’ll see it. Stickers, spray, scribble, all kinds of faces and often the solid logo: Kingdrips. Kingdrips is a project run by Breitengrad 53,5, Fabrock, Spanish Fly, Lutz157 and 730express – 5 artists all living in the town where the Beatles went big, sharing aesthetic influences and bringing their own perversions to the collective mix, which ends up speaking articulately in a range of recognizable images. Kingdrips is a collective. It is a crew. It is also a brand. As a crew the group weaves their time through commercial and unsolicited works, aware of potential conflicts as design and art, a job and the job of living smack up against each other. On a screen or swinging down the hammer, whatever Kingdrips is, you can’t walk around Hamburg without feeling it, unless of course you don’t read the writing on the walls. www.kingdrips.de
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S pa f ly D e c k s
S PY 1
} Raw As Fuck
suz
Little Marina
I never did any professional sort of design work, though I started drawing at age five and it quickly became a regular hobby. Drawing helps drain stress and keep my mood positive. Usually it happens on paper, but this might get transformed later on the computer, or spill out onto my furniture and walls.
In high school I met Vladimir Shopotov (zomb), and via him I then got to know twol and trun, who form part of the ‘bananas the crew,’ and do some amazing graffiti in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. We became good friends and our communication flows; often I help out with initial designs that the boys later turn into fully sprayed pieces. It was their idea that I participate in the Burton contest and this encouragement is one of the things I definitely need to thank my friends for. The styles of everybody in the ‘Bananas’ may be unique, but all are all influenced by pop art and comics; reflective of simple forms surrounded and stuffed with local colors. We draw easily recognizable ideas and turn them into logos.
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www.bananascrew.spb.ru … coming this summer!
S PY 2
} The Winning Board Design in:
Freeride Design Competition By Burton & Suzuki www.board-design.com/winner-video/
Simon Peplow is a delicate soul making sense of the world through his whimsical characters. Originally based in the middle of England, he now resides in the calmer, greener environment of Exeter.
RI D E R S IN K
What made you chose to specialise in illustration over other mediums? I’m not sure, cost may have been a factor, pencils and pens are pretty reasonable. I guess I also liked the idea of seeing my work in print. Can you tell us how the Outcrowd got together, who’s involved and what you’ve been up to? The Outcrowd organically formed in 2004 during my final year at Art School. I wanted to exhibit my personal work but didn’t
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For sure, when I first started out I worked a morning paper round 5 days a week and saved up for a good month to by my first skateboard. It was a H-Street Tony Magnusson, an OG vert skater, I wasn’t into vert skating and selected it solely on the merits of the graphic instead of the shape. The two detailed boars perched in a tree on the bottom of this maple treat had me sold. Subsequent boards included a Powell Peralta Tommy G, a Blind Mark Gonzales mini, and a Stereo Greg Hunt. A little later on I realised you needed to have something unique to offer in order to stand out, develop your own style. Which took time, patience and came with age. Good or bad skateboarding offered endless freedom to digest my surroundings in a more personal and direct way, I came into contact with so many interesting, quirky and unique people from all walks of life, which in turn encouraged me to view and tackle things in my life and my art in a sensitive, honest and original way.
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In late 2000 I started riding for Converse footwear alongside long time friend Vaughan Baker. We both had a travel budget and decided the birthplace of Skateboarding would be a fine place to spend a sizeable amount of it. We hatched our plan and the following year a three month excursion to the West Coast of America was realised. First stop San Francisco. S.F. is such an eclectically bohemian place and we carefully explored every magical nook and cranny we stumbled upon. It was whilst scooting about the Mission District that my eyeballs came into contact with the mesmerising imagery of local artist Barry McGee. Barry along with Brian Briskey (who I was introduced to just before we moved onto LA,) the artist responsible for, in my opinion the finest Enjoi graphics - depicting smoking monkeys in top hats and underpants are solely responsible for re-kindling my interest in mark making. I purchased a small sketchbook and began documenting my new surroundings and day-to-day experiences, using characters and short narratives to convey my various thought bubbles and observations. I’d shown a keen interest in picture making from an early age, so my folks encouraged this pursuit; I started skating back in ‘89 and I don’t think they were overly stoked about it, but supported me none the less. The idea that I could possibly make a living from skateboarding never entered my dome, and the trip to the US didn’t change anything. On my return to the UK I decided to enrol at Art College and make use of the limited drawing skills I’d been given.
Did skateboarding inspire your younger self creatively at all?
RI D E R S IN K
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Tell us about the time you spent skating in the US and what led you to decide to study illustration over pursuing a promising career in skateboarding, was it a difficult decision to make?
16 RI D E R S IN K
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relish the idea of doing it on my lonesome. An old friend owned a small coffee/art house in Birmingham (UK) and asked if I’d like to exhibit there. Some hard pondering ensued and we concluded that a bunch of our friends would benefit from getting their artwork out into the ether too, and the birth of a collective was realised. In the beginning The Outcrowd loosely consisted of 20 Artists, some have left, channelling their creative energies into other areas, and a few moved back to their respective homelands; Germany, Norway and China. This has allowed us to become a more manageable unit consisting of 8 friends; Myself, Log Roper, Ben Javens, Stef Grindley, Chris Bourke, Lee Basford, Tsz Wan Ting and Vaughan Baker. Each affiliate brings something different to the table, multi-disciplinary. We aim to exhibit at least once a year. The most recent exhibition was The Supersonic music/arts festival in Birmingham last year.
You recently moved from the city to the countryside of Exeter. How has the relocation been? Has the move been helpful to creative pursuits or a hindrance? I’m close to the beach/sea now so that’s a positive change, I want to take up surfing. I’m not sure whether it’s been a hindrance or not yet, ask me again in six months. Is there anything you miss about city life? Aside from my family and friends, nothing springs to mind. Your work is mostly character based. What are your main influences, inspirations and reference points for the characters in your work? The characters just tumble from my imagination, as mentioned
previously I think Barry McGee has had a huge impact. The characters do serve a purpose because they are the storytellers, narrating my dot-like existence on planet Earth. Each character inhabits a tiny cabin inside the corpus callosum region of my dome and successfully fail to be picked up by the human ear. Whispering ever so softly they command my hand. You also use a lot of interesting colour and patterns, is that a conscious decision or something that your naturally drawn to? I’ve always gravitated towards vibrant colours, just like the Fauvists my eyeballs dig them. Psychologically colour plays a super important part in your well being, having the ability to enlighten or darken any given day. England is for the most part wet, murky, miserable and grey, so I guess subconsciously by selecting vibrant
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colours I’m rebelling against mother nature’s duff hand. By adopting a bright palette I’m momentarily transforming my mood from a negative into a positive. Hopefully this is transmitted to the viewer as well. Aesthetically I love the Graphic qualities of patterns and repetition, however they do serve another purpose by adding texture and helping to break up the flatness of my work. There’s also quite a bit of text in your personal work that seems to be a mix of personal and social commentary. Is creating your artwork a cathartic experience for you? I guess it could be considered a form of therapy. I’m a pretty dysfunctional being at the best of times and find it difficult to adapt to the day-to-day running of the modern world. I tend to just mooch along in my own little place where everything makes just a little more sense. So downloading my befuddlement is a short-term release from the daily slog. You had a show recently at the Carhartt store in London. How did that come about? In November last year I decided to jock out and entered a competition Carhartt held in conjunction with the marvellous Illustrated Ape magazine. The brief was simply to design an advert for Carhartt, my image was selected alongside two others, and as a result I was granted a full page ad in the Illustrated Ape Magazine and a small exhibition at their Covent Garden store in London town.
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I know you’ve now signed up with an agent for commercial work. How are you finding adapting to that style of working, have you had to compromise any of your ideas or aesthetic at all?
} RI D E R S IN K
I’m utterly useless at self-promotion, and an avid selfdoubter, a lethal combination. So I decided to scout for a reliable agent who understood and believed in my squiggles. In July of last year I signed up with Frank Sturges Reps based in Ohio, US. Hopefully some fun jobs will come as a result. My digits are firmly crossed. Commercial work forces you out of your comfort zone, it can be an awkward challenge - illustrating articles which make very little sense, for magazines you would have otherwise never come into contact with. For me though, it is a positive thing. My commercial work tends to be lighter and less sinister than my personal stuff: this is a conscious decision. It’s still early days, but I wouldn’t say I’ve compromised my aesthetic, perhaps some of my ideas, yes. What have been some of the highlights of your creative career so far? I recently traded a print for a jar of homemade plum preserve, delicious. Meeting lots of rad folk who continue to encourage and support my lo-fi shenanigans: that’s a truly humbling experience. www.simonpeplow.blogspot.com
Gary Baseman
Influenza
Life as an artist and a disease By: Abner Garson Preis
Influenza is an artist based out of Paris and Rotterdam. His opinions are varied but always face off against one another in stark contrast. In fact Influenzaís work faces off against a lot of people, and he’s gathered plenty of rumors and lots of attention in the process, including from the FBI who are reported to have taken away his portfolio in response to his street actions. He was also arrested for making art at his own show in the Boijmans museum and is renowned for speaking his mind regardless of who he is talking to (many a curator has walked away after receiving his honest opinion). Influenza by his real name - is now represented by galleries and is showing his work in Art Basel, Berlin Artfair, prepping for a NY show- all pretty far away from the streets. This interview was an opportunity to speak with someone who both lives as a disease and as an artist.
INFLU: “It started as a curiosity - an action I call the climbing of buildings, fences and other opportunities. Seeing architecture as another kind of invitation - not to exclude, but to invite - to get into another kind of dialogue - as a dance. Its great to free your look from the intentions that are forced upon us in public space. It’s a joyful experience, as kids play.” I follow suit and wait for the metro to arrive or the police. A.G: “Much of your work deals with the public domain- for instance the pointless one liner or your fake measurement. These marks tend to indicate something more secretive, or more camouflaged within the public space; something other than graffiti- do you consider it a step away form traditional Street Art. INFLU: “There is no such thing as ‘traditional street art’, but that’s another discussion. The ‘Exaggerations’ came from a series of misspellings I did (‘Mispellings’) in the streets. Somewhat to take the piss out of all this Professionalism that totally dominated the landscape. Beautiful buildings, clean streets, cool billboards with foxy shaved girls and boys, an empty trashcan on every corner and smiling cops in between, even the graffiti became lovely.”
As we step out of the metro space, all these actions and talk come to a complete stand still. When we step out, I am a witness to all these things Influenza calls art - to be a true reality. In a world that is turning the streets into museums, the riots in France were a prime example of the beauty in cause and also the effect in action. Apparently being on the wrong side is something we sometimes find regretful, but remember we do it as a duty to save the world. And so, As the riots consume the city, Influenza decides to ride both sides of the fence- first we manage to be behind the police lines- to get what he calles a “tourist view” and then- Influenza produces a silver painted brick out of his bag and proceeds to “interact” with a bus stop window dainted with pictures of children dressed in Thongs and tight underwear. As the rock exits his hand, and the glass shatters, he is thrown down by undercover and regular dressed cops and is beaten like a childs dysfunctional toy.
A.G:”SO you are going against cleanliness?”
AG: “Do you always start your mornings like this?” INFLU: “Well, now that I have a kid, I have been up for about three hours already, which makes this the afternoon for me. I usually sleep for about 4 hours a night anyway (as he is putting a sticker on the bottom of the gate rail). SO, lets start with this one.” A.G: “Tell me about the climbing?”
INF L U E N Z A
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} 07:00 in the morning, and we were buying ticket to get on the subway- Influenza stamps his ticket, and climbs over the gate. Then, he crawls back under the gate again.
INF L U E N Z A
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INFLU: “My work is about saving the planet and in order to save the planet- this asked for an approach that gave tune to the lost art of Amateurism - Amateurism had to be put back into the scenery - the human scale of things. Ugly hand drawn words and sentences, marks and lines, made with the best intentions, but done with the laziest and least of effort, where the result is subtle but obviously out of place. It’s sometimes a great luxury to take pleasure in being misunderstood - ha! - Now this is something designers could steal.” A.G: ”As a member of the “fine-art” world and as a vandal who still works in the streets- Are there any stones you wish you didn’t throw?” INFLU: “I painted some stones for an exhibition, but at the same time had the unstoppable urge to throw them through some billboards outside the space - the throw I regret the most was the one that bounced back on me. Amazing how hard that glass is to smash sometimes! Shameful really, to take that possibility away from us, being able to fully interact with the adverts being offered to us.”
The trip to the hospital was in itself a story- and my time with Influenza was over. Several day later I receive this picture of him having surgery and I believe it says it best “Influenzahaha nothing funny about.”- that’s true (or at least a little bit).
Evie Haines gets in N8 Van Dyke’s skull
Angels, demons, the mystery of life, the shadow of death, adventure, nature vs. culture bionics, the ancient and the hi-tech. Steel, flesh and dreams. N8’s pen has covered a broad range of subjects in his career as an artist, but his current obsession is skulls, a theme which unites just about all of those topics in one iconic image. Skulls? Or should I say skull, because the beginning of all this is a human skull he recently acquired (in addition to his own). Well, the questions that raises for me apparently inspired N8 too, because he’s been drawing it ever since.
Amongst other sketches and paintings this facetoface experience led N8 to the idea of ‘killing’ himself, and his friends (artistically speaking), through portraits that cut beneath the individual and reveal their substance, the biological existence underneath. Glaring out from beneath, the eyes, and the haircuts; our identity is that mechanic structure that we all have in common. It’s our vulnerability, the thing we share, rather than what
N8 Van Dyke is an artist and illustrator whose beautiful pin-detailed images have brought him great success. Having worked on websites and advertising and comic books in the past, in parallel to his freelance work he is also currently collaborating as concept artist in video game design. Testimony to his huge creative drive is that in his free-time he’s busy, well, drawing. What you see here now is likely to feed into a show in London later this year. We’ll keep you posted… www.n8vandyke.com
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The portraits have been a huge success- people are lining up to get ‘killed’ N8 style. To have their flesh stripped back and their inner self let free… Soulsearching, because we all have days where we think we’ve misplaced it. Or for sure I do- slice me open N8we’re gonna find it!
N8
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Gifts from the Bone Room
“Before I opened it she asked me what I thought was inside. I said the box was too small to have a head because a lower jaw would have made for a larger box.” But he was right. It’s a genuine skull, delivered from ‘the boneroom’ (someone out there is collecting them (?)), and is identified as ‘an Asian male’. The skull since the beginning of time has been a shortcut to our fears of mortality and perhaps paradoxically embracing life. The presence of the skull in N8s life, made him take a step back on what he was doing and where he was going. It changes your perspective on your time on earth right, when you imagine your head ending up as a motif for someone else’s creations?
makes us different. And perhaps that’s the line to the heart of his work. He’s best known for his drawings of chimps. Here’s another chapter in the story of the human condition. What’s it mean to be a human? What’s it mean to be alive?
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N8:
The skull in question arrived in his hands gift-wrapped by his girlfriend last Christmas.
Squatting the White Cube:
Check Out!
www.candychang.com Candy Chang is an artist, graphic designer, urban planner and musician living in New York City. With a diverse and layered background in architecture, urban planning, graphic design and all her other interests and influences, she enjoys making city issues more accessible, by engaging people with integrated design and the appropriation of public spaces. She works on enough interesting projects at any one time that we’re sure there’s a feature story shooting out of her in the future.
New York City
WC
Vi c to r C a s t i l lo / I P u t A S p e l l O n Yo u
Tuned in and talking to you, Candy Chang’s off the couch and on the concrete intervention reminds us how the coupling of art and activism can be as good a therapy as any. Not a doctor, but a clever designer and one of the millions of people trying to make sense of their sanity in a city that travels two steps quicker than any other, her daily routine encouraged her to try and provoke casual reflections. In the spin of the big city, sometimes our pedestrian life is also the one where we have a second to process the pace of everything else. When Doctor doesn’t know best, when politics is pure entertainment, critical questions are our only bet to finding out what works
for us in this sad and lovely world. Her paint will fade and the questions are recycled, but the gesture plays out like a minimalist punk orchestra. This is an important gesture. Questions should only be avoided when absolutely necessary. The easy way out is on offer, clearing house sale style. Not digging on a bottle or a pipe? You can always escape by asking the doctor for the cocktail you saw during last night’s commercial break. Guess what? No hangovers here. Your girl friend left you? Have some anti-depressants. They’ll make you lethargic. You’ll get fatter.
Once you stop chasing you might just stumble onto the place at the start of the arc where Green stands proud amongst the colors with the promise of spring. We heard it first from Kermit, ‘it ain’t easy being green.’ I always thought he meant green like a virgin about to get laid. Green like a boy who just stepped off the boat. Green like a banana, not quite ripe, not quite ready. Green is the color of rookies, hope and potential. Green is military and US money. Green Go. Gringo. All over this mainly blue planet, the great Greenwash is on. Kermit stands confirmed. It ain’t easy at all. You can invest your money in green funds only to find out how dark they are. You can go paperless without knowing that paper is a plus for the environment when logging is monitored, or that the increase in digital communications has energy spenditures soaring: a server never sleeps. You can fly less while the people who encourage this fly more. You can ask again, what the hell is all of this about?
Pictures are being painted. Imagination sets the limits of free will. Advertisers know that the streets, like the living room are an ideal spot for injecting their message and its essential that we inject new possibilities into that decaying aesthetic, read into what isn’t there, be critical and leave critique to somebody who cares to spend time on that. Inspiration and action in order to leave the apathetic behind to do whatever it is they do and wonder if Annie was right and the sun’ll come up tomorrow.
www.victor-castillo.blogspot.com Victor Castillo is a Chilean painter living in Barcelona. A sensitive ex patriot, Victor is skeptical about fairytales and intrigued by our motivations. His noir work reveals profound technical competence and a poetic voice that is relevant and disturbing. A new book from Iguapop highlighting his recent work is forthcoming.
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Your libido will fall. Your confidence is likely to go limp with it. Does this sound like the best way to get over the hump and back in the saddle? Of course says Science. Can’t handle your home life? We can fix that too. Have some lithium and you won’t feel a thing. Life will be easier. Brighter. Whatever. Who said life should be easier? Stop chasing rainbows. Come on cowboys, forget that big voice and listen to the little ones.
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Have you heard of beta blockers? Created to help an aching heart, these are now pills you can take before an intense moment in order to remember it like a bus passing you by. Not only for heart failure, this Scooby snack is now prescribed for performance anxiety. How could a performer not be anxious about it? Do you have any idea how many parents are on prozac in part to avoid considering the implications of their kids on Rittalin. Too many. Got problems in your life? Blame it on your mother or repressed sexual desires. Blame History. Blame Bush. Blame Britney Spears. What? Shut up. Step up. Stand up. Talk to a shrink when you need one. Use a pill like a band-aid or a key, but keep in mind that by most standards, Psychiatry is a total failure: More opium for the masses. Literally. It’s been over 100 years since Freud unlocked the unconscious like a poem and today more people then ever are on anti-depressants, drug abuse is up, uppers and downers and new ways to hang in between. Another huge downer is that our jails are continually more crowded. There is a reason that we now see advertisements for drugs we need a prescription for. Apparently, Doctor (like President, Preacher, Etc …) no longer knows best as advertisements for a better you go chemical and the so-called ‘war on drugs’ wages on. Timothy Leary encouraged us to ‘Tune in, drop out,’ but this isn’t what he meant.
Candy Chang
WC
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Sweets for adults and sweets for kids, the apple dropped and in New York City, where self-sufficiency demands social interaction, somebody was always going to bite. We were back in New York this March for the Scope Art Fair, and though I’m tempted to write about the beautiful sculpture purchased by Lance Armstrong, the mysterious bottle of Bushmills talking to the Barry Mcgee’s, or just how much of a young master sorcerer Victor Castillo is turning into, but instead I’m going to share work from four of the artists who touched me in NY and use their offerings to get high. Yups. Lets take some drugs in this column. Millions of Americans are doing just that and if you have a think, you can link toxicants to all the art in this rant and addiction to every word in this issue.
www.vincentskoglund.com
Green is for jealousy. Green is for naivety. Today if you aren’t green you become the black sheep and in the now misappropriated words of legend Billy Bragg: “Must I paint you a picture?” Kermit
Photo Vincent Skoglund
Vincent Skoglund carved his reputation in the snow and his work continues to melt across the various environments he lives in. Respected as a top action sports photographer, Vincent’s commercial work for brands and bands and his friends at WEsc earned him further acclaim. His latest work, LightYears, has already earned critical acclaim having been unveiled at a Swedish Art Fair, and then presented by Modart at the Scope Art Fair and in galleries in both Los Angeles and Stockholm.
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‘First off you have to select an image. This is the very important, you have to choose very carefully.’
Blek was born and raised in the west of Paris, in the wake of the 2nd world war. He loved nothing more than playing in the street and in bombed-out buildings with his friends. He began by drawing on the walls with chalk, which he would steal from the teachers at school. He hated school and only began to enjoy learning when he began further education in his teens. He was a witness to the birth of Graffiti when, on a trip to NYC in 1971, he saw his first pieces of ‘writing’ on the street walls. ‘I had never seen any kind of Graffiti Art in the cities before. I discovered people making crowns, wreaths in the subway of New York and pieces on the walls of basketball courts. It was very primitive but also very extraordinary because it was the thing that made the biggest impression on me for the whole trip.’ He asked his friend what it was. ‘My friend, who was a fine artist said, “I don’t know man, maybe it’s done by crazy people!” He did not make the connection between art and the graffiti in 1971’ And although Blek was entranced by what he saw he didn’t jump straight in. ‘I wanted to think about it. I held it in my mind for a long, long time.’ He continued studying architecture at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris and it was only in 1981 when he first began to realise what he had to do. ‘I didn’t want to make the same thing as I saw in New York City, like pieces. I wanted to have my own style and I found that style in stencils.’
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‘Then you have to draw the stencil out and cut it with a sharp knife’
By King ADZ
B L E K L E RAT
Okay, so he's been killing it in the city streets since 1981, as the original underground artist, but what is important is he is now part of a group of artists collected by serious international art buyers. What goes up must come down and so this is the last time I write anything about Blek. I've created the book, film, t-shirt… yada yada yada. What more can I do to publicize the man? So this is how I'm gonna lay it down, a kinda paintby-numbers by the master, signing off of a major part of my life:
The use of stencils is part of French history. ‘Stencils have been around for hundreds of years. All I did was to change it a little, but Nobody was making graffiti in Paris. I was really alone, and felt alone. It was very important to involve other people. It took about 2 years to see other stencils from other artists from when I started making, and when I discovered another guy I was very happy. He signed TNT and was making a stencil of a bat. He put the bats near to my stencils. And after than the movement starts. Very fast, in 1984 in 3 months about 100 people started making stencil in Paris. Now it is a movement. All over the world.’
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How to Cut a Stencil
I have been working with Blek for some time now, beginning with a short film 'The Genius of Blek' back inna day, followed by my DVD documentary 'Original Stencil Pioneer' in 2006 and finally with my Thames & Hudson book 'Blek Le Rat: Getting Through the Walls' published in May in the UK (which has been on sale from February in France and released in June in the US), in collaboration with Blek's wife Sybille (who has been photographing his work from the beginning). I have seen Blek go from strength to strength, from cult obscurity giving away paintings for £200 to an internationally respected artist with a £15,000 price tag.
In 1981, Blek cut a stencil of silhouette of a rat. He sprayed it everywhere in Paris for over a year. “No-one was making art on the streets of Paris at this time (1981) apart from political graffiti. I change the meaning of the stencil from Political to Art. I flipped it.’ This is a defining moment in the history of Street Art.
B L E K L E RAT
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In his youth, Blek had been surrounded by political stencil art. He remembers a trip to Italy ‘ I remember seeing stencils when I was young in Italy, a stencil of Mussolini. Done by the fascists during the war. It made a huge impression on me.’
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‘Then you have to choose where you are going to put the image’
Blek has always put a lot of thought in to exactly where the images are going to go, as this is an integral part of his art. But the meaning of his work is left deliberately ambiguous. ‘I do not have any political message to say. I prefer when the people see my image and they make there own idea of what my image represents. For example when I put a character in the street, some people think ‘This is Charlie Chaplin’ and another guy tells me ‘this is a derelict (tramp) in the street’ It means that the image has more than one meaning. I do not want to impose a message onto the people; I like it when the people have their own reaction.’
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Blek has been caught many, many times, in many countries, most recently in Buenos Aries, Argentina. During the 1990’s he was in caught and convicted of graffiti crimes in France, and so began to paste up posters instead of spraying stencils. He was never going to be stopped. ‘I know my goals and nothing can trouble me. Police, justice, courts, these will not stop me.’
BLEK LE RAT
‘You have to do something in your life, that is the most important thing in the life of a (wo)man. You have to leave something for the children. That is a very important point in my life. I want to leave something after me. I know I will die some day and I want to leave something. That is the most important thing in my life. I don’t want to have a normal life like normal people.’ And from a 50-somthing family man this is fighting talk. This is what sets Blek apart from the 1000’s of imitators he has around the world.
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Blek is clear in his mind about his goals, and even though the life of a true artist is a tough journey, Blek has never swayed in the face of adversity.
Blek is looking for an invitation from a mayor of a city to be given the opportunity to use the city as a canvas for his creation. ‘I would prefer to work with an invitation to certain cities in the world for a while, and stay in the city for 2 or 3 months and work in the city putting up images. I would prefer to work in that way than to work for a gallery making paintings. It is more interesting to stay in the urban space. I was arrested in Argentina and over there it was horrible, with the police and the people calling the police. So it’s not really a good environment in which to work, when you are afraid of the police all the time. It’s not good atmosphere. It could be possible that one day a mayor of a city ask some people to come and create art on the walls of that city. It would be great.’
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‘Then you spray. But be careful you do not get caught by the police’
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‘The best way to get known, to be recognised by people is to be in the street. Because when you are in the street 25,000 people can see your work, but when you are in a gallery only 200 people can see your work.’
BLEK LE RAT
Blek’s work with the kidnapped French journalist Florence Aubenas put him on the TV news and in the pages of the newspaper (for which she worked) ‘Liberation’, every day. He pasted up over 400 life-sized images around Paris, in the places where Florence used to hang out. He was trying to keep her alive in the consciousness of the public. Which, in these selfish, celebrity-obsessed times, is a rare thing: To care about someone other than yourself. This took his art to another level. This was a consecration that Blek is a continual pioneer. ‘I am fighting against all institutions. I want to bring a new way of life and a new way of art, in the street. It means that I do what I want to do, and I realised that street art is the only way. Between me and my art there is nobody’
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‘It took more than 25 years to be admitted into the public consciousness.’
Blek Le Rat: Getting Through the Walls by Sybille Prou and King Adz , published by Thames & Hudson May 2008, £11:95
How to Cut a Stencil
SAN ILLICIT ILLUSTRATIONS T E XT BY: Anna Dimitrova
Critical reflection via imaginative escape; San’s work takes the daily grind and warps into a world of social conscious and new possibility. If you watch him working, you’ll notice that he bites his lip and gazes with fixation, that his hand is tense, but study. If you watch him working, you can almost feel the explosion building up in him, the conflicts getting shattered into complex expressions and fragments of their original appearances. Passionate and humble, San’s origins in the Spanish countryside remain vital too him and as his name begins to tour the international art scene, fame comes low on his priority list while family, he says, comes first; be it friends or brothers. Like many, San got hooked on the adrenaline of illicit art. Inspired by Graffiti writers, throughout the 90’s he wrote his name on concrete city walls, a practice that helped release a creative energy his expression suggests might have burned him if he hadn’t begun to bust out and speak to the city.
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We can consider this a sort of exploration and it takes place not only in characteristic lines, but in real time travel and tribulation. Brazil, Russia, the USA, all around Europe and beyond, long solitary trips give him time to fill notebooks with sophisticated drawings, inspired by objects, passersby and a palpable reality, which brews deep down in him.
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Over the years he has constantly reinvented his techniques, and a look at his work in the last years shows a developing complexity, a certain richness of composition that can be called surrealist and still manage to stink of a vibrant social realism. He attempts to illustrate the essence of man using organic combinations, one two punches that unite animal and machine, exploring their mutual perversions and beauties. The colors change, lines are getting thinner, but the work keeps hiding a sense of transcending reality.
This brewing may be the necessity of what we hope is art imposing itself on him. He is called to create, and aims to transmit the magic born from energy, the imagination of a child coupled with the cynicism of a citizen of this so called modern world. Recently San has shown at Luis Adelantado (Spain), No New Enemies (Brussels), Fifty24SF Gallery (USA), The Don Gallery (Italy), El Kartel (Canada) and his work has been showcased in a variety of publications including his own book published together with Belio Magazine.
illustrated works
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Extintor
Meones
Icarus
Big-city-lover
Rio de Janeiro
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Zaragoza
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Mr.Jago
The hills are alive Some of you know Mr. Jago. You know him from the infancy of the Scrawl Collective, his toys and artist series work with Addict, or perhaps it’s just a question of style. You come to know Mr. Jago, because who else could have taken a brush and subtly shot off towards space? Who else? That’s classified.
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A country boy, Mr. Jago drew furiously, filling sketchbook after sketchbook before going on to study graphic design and illustration in Bristol and since then we find his work flying past us: in bars and on record jackets, snowboards, canvases and of course those toy soldiers. At present the old boy’s preparing a solid show back in Bristol. After years of taking his work on the road, he’s found the will and the weigh to brave the hometown reviews and is working hard to produce something special and set it free somewhere in Bristol.
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Influenced by Graffiti, Mr. Jago continues to fine tune his own visual language, bringing forward a style that continues to splinter the rules in fluid stories, which shatters form only to find it filling itself back it. In his work, style is surely the medium of action.
His inspirations run through hip-hop and comic books, visiting impressionist masters and Japanese Manga, stopping in the woods or standing in awe of contemporaries like Futura2000 or Mode 2. Today, we can say, cuz he sure won’t, that Mr. Jago has earned a place with his heroes for a work, which he describes as ‘itchy’ and ‘dynamic,’ an experiment of life’s movements, multi-layered landscapes and the animation of a robotic dance we know all to well. Wondering where art meets music? Check out his website and learn to listen with your eyes. www.mrjago.com
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Sherbet Phantom 2
Long Brows
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Orlang
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RB 1 & RB2
Adrian Blanca Ride All Day Adrian is keeping it simple. He finished studies in graphic design, while working as an illustrator at the snowboard magazine Snowplanet and sharing his work to the left and right of whatever project he was on. His love for skateboard culture bleeds out of the fragile risk felt in the motion of his intricate drawings and since those early days his work has appeared in every aspect of skate culture: publications, products and the pursuit of setting up his own shows.
Interested in his work? He offers to send you a disc with about 500 illustrations. Wanna know more? www.arbeitzeit.com Interested in the laser etched éS collection? www.eSfootwear.com
illustrated works
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Since then, he left Barcelona for the tranquility of Roses, where the young man lives with his young family. In addition to his new éS collection, Adrian also has projects moving forward with several other partners. We’re stoked for him about the success, but mainly we dig it, because, well, just look for yourself: rough and lovely.
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In 2001, he contacted Emerica through the Sole Technologies distributor in Spain and a series of collaborations begun. While so many brands aim to look hot by claiming to support artists, so many of the original skate brands took a more human approach and provided opportunity and paychecks.
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don This page can be sniffed. Modart European Gallery Guide 2008 www.modarteurope.com
Memory Documents:
SUBLIME Mnemonics
PICTURE : CHAOS IN THE STATUS QUO
A conversation between José Parla and Richard Elliott in Genova 24th March 2008.
M E M O R Y D OC U M E N T S
Speaking of photography, you and your brother Rey almost obsessively and constantly record every place you visit. How important is photography as a medium to you?
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How different is this show to others you have done in the past? “It’s my first in Italy and I created certain pieces based on Genova. For example Chaos in the Status Quo is a direct interpretation of the walls here, my gut initial feelings about the place came out in the paint. The walls were filled with political writing and seeing that the city has a communist / left wing background it connected something within me with Cuba, something rebellious, something chaotic. Greg Tate quoted James Joyce in his essay for the catalogue, “God is a shout in the street” and writing is that shout for me, it’s an anonymous feeling in the work, I wrote ‘Tutto Cio Ho e Qui, everything that I have is here, meaning that anyone could have written that their personal power is in their writing on that wall at that moment in time, it could mean a lot or very little… My works, like the writing on the walls, gives a voice to the tongue-less streets.
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Why is the show called Memory Documents? The show is titled Memory Documents because the way to describe the process of incorporating the world into my artwork is to make them direct documentaries of my travels, experiences and memories of my current life. I wanted to introduce that concept in Europe because I thought it was a great platform to introduce new themes for upcoming exhibitions”.
“Really important, you have to have a good eye. Composition speaks volumes and it helps me to be more precise about the places I visit. It’s been a part of my work since I was a kid, my father was into filmmaking and acting and he instilled into me the importance of capturing all our creativity on camera. Rey always had a camera and he passed that on to me to help me document my travels, my emotions”.
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While setting up the new show, Memory Documents, José and I took an hour off to discuss new and recurrent themes in his work in a bar in Piazza Matteotti, outside the Trifoglio Nero gallery.
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Love Affair
M E M O R Y D OC U M E N T S
We talk about this all the time but where for you is home? “Home is Brooklyn, New York. I actually feel all the time that I am homeless and displaced. For me it is important to represent the place where I was born but at the same time to call new places home”. So.. “Miami is also home, my mother is there”.
Why do you feel displaced? “My family migrated to the US from Cuba, this as an example of migration makes people feel displaced. Knowing that my roots are not in the US, it took a long time to feel… I never felt that I fitted into the regular mainstream, I always felt part of a niche community, a subversive community. Artists are antisystem, anti-republican, open minded, liberal and in a small percentage. That said I feel where I most fit in is in New York City”. Could you live in Europe? “I could be open minded. I’ve lived a month here, six months in London..”
A mixtape “Yeah, a customized mix for painting. Growing up I listened to classic Cuban music, then salsa in Puerto Rico, hip hop from the age of 9, old school like The Treacherous Three, Ultramagnetic, Spoonie Gee, the breaks, Jimmy Castor Bunch and all that and then house music, reggae, my neighbours in Miami are from Jamaica”. How did you get into dancing? “I was introduced to the local b-boys by my sister, they would show up in front of the house so they could show off for her as she was a cute girl and they were trying to impress here. This was 1983.
Did she know that you bombed? “Yeah, but all mums in Miami would worry. Miami Vice was on TV, ha ha”. But she knew that I would do well. Rey started painting before me, he was hanging out with writers but then stopped tagging but kept painting on film, he was more avantgarde, I was more traditional. He was really influenced by Stan Brakhage and Futura”. Can we talk about space, you always say that you were also influenced by Abstract Expressionism. “I was not aware of Rotella, or Twombly. I wanted to show the environment, like the wall had been cut out. It wasn’t about being pretty, it was about real grit, deterioration, ageing. I saw the humanity in these gestures”. I like very much the photos of walls by Aaron Siskind. But what about your formal art studies? “I was sixteen and never finished high school. I found it fun, skipped a lot but learnt the fundamentals. At Savannah
College of Art and Design in Georgia I learned about process and critique with professors and students and it was an opportunity to meet new people outside Miami and my spectrum grew and multiplied into different dimensions. Before Savannah my paintings were based on script and layering writing, the negatives of letters, Rothko colours and mainly working with oil. At school I did still life, figurative work which was boring and so I kept pushing my work. Through words I wanted to show that calligraphy was beautiful with its roots in New York City writing – the style came from Miami writers like Ask, Name189 etc. I was also aware of NY writers like Jon One, Lee, Phase2… through Subway Art or the film Style Wars.. I’m a writer at heart, I fit in with the old writers not with the new group under the name “Street Art” because its stencils follows in the footsteps of NY City subway art like Haring. My work is different, I’m a painter, a calligraphist and am now more experimental.”
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“Via San Lorenzo is another piece from here, it’s a street name and is a very colorful piece, I remember seeing a wall with those particular colors, it speaks for itself, a memory document of a location.”
What do you listen to? I’ve been listening to Turkish music, a song called ‘In My Bed’ by Amy Winehouse, ‘Hard Man Fe Dead’… I specifically put 15 songs in an order to paint to”
What did your mum make of all this? “She was worried about me getting in trouble but now she is happy, very supportive. She wanted us to create art..”
M E M O R Y D OC U M E N T S
Let’s talk about music. How important is music to the process? “Very, I paint to music, in my diaristic paintings the pen travels to the music like a seismograph, the writing goes to the beat.
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Love Affair
Why is street art suddenly getting all this attention? “Because more than ever, urban culture is giving humanity something new, the cities are getting bigger, whether it’s good or bad, people don’t know but it influences everything from fashion to what we eat. It’s exploitative, for example Louis Vuitton is urbanized, the use an image of Gorbachev in front of a wall filled with graffiti, then the graffiti bag… Is this not good? “Represented in the right way, yes but if it’s an uneducated choice being made and the art is not original then it’s also useless and holds no integrity.” Are your paintings optimistic? Some are, some less so. I am the lens, I’m not making any judgments and the viewer finishes the painting, each time differently. There is no political agenda, the paintings are deliberately unreadable as in a diary. I called the show I did with Futura Pirate Utopias because the way we create our art is piratical, we came from outside the system but have somehow managed to get into the high art world.
What do you mean, why write it then? “Do you open a diary for everyone to read? I found a way to write a diary that people can look at but can’t read. It’s about everybody – I know what I’m writing and it’s therapeutic, it relaxes me, I’m getting it all out, I’ll continue until it’s all out. 50 Years and On and On is fairly obvious, that piece was started in the days of his (Castro’s) resignation and I got to thinking, 50 years of people’s lives in Cuba, a powerful Communist leader but what has changed? Nothing… In that piece I am writing down a lot of comments and the thoughts of the Cuban people. All your life you hear the funniest stuff about Castro, it’s in my roots, it was a relief. 50 years! I can’t believe he resigned. There’s an old Cuban joke that says that he was in power longer than Moses in Israel. That piece is a diary of that experience, I don’t expect any change. Fidel is all about timing everything right – he is the ultimate athlete of politics – he timed his resignation just right, why now?
Fifty Years and on & on & on
Do you think about the amount of money people spend on your paintings? “Not really. It’s simple, paintings have a price like most things in life.” Where would you still like to visit? I want to go to India, amazing colours and my sensibility is earthy. I love Tibet, the situation is fucked up, they are a country on their own, a culture of their own. What do you like to read? “Mystery detective novels”. Books about Cuban history.
Would you like to return to Cuba? “Maybe one day…” A few of the new pieces refer directly or indirectly to Castro, can you describe them a little? “OK, Fifty Years and On and On, one of the black and white diaristic pieces, it’s not meant to be deciphed or read, its personal, wild style, not for the public”.
And Estado Cuidado? No, that’s just anti-government, they take your freedom. I don’t condone any of them, no system is perfect. It’s about independence, how not to be taken advantage of, telecommunications… Our freedom is basically gone, I’m not a political activist but a common citizen is losing their rights. We have to live in an alert state of mind.
Athlete of Politic s 50 Years
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Finally, what about the watercolours? “They are different again, they are a calligraphic experiment. I’ve always wanted to isolate the handwriting, no strokes just the calligraphy, Asian, middle-eastern, British, I want to show the style. I want there to be a correlation to my general work, inside the letter I manage to experiment with colour, a colour that has an earthy feel, one that connects to my colour palette in general, rusted, moulded. Here we are in the new millennium, and in the final stages of the last a movement that came from urban music, graphic, fashion we see the early stages of American calligraphy. There was none in the US but now there is the beauty of urban calligraphy, nice hand styles from the ghetto, from the city.
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Estado Cuidado
What do you like to do when you are not painting or traveling? “I like to drink rum, lay on a beach, chill haha”
Memory Documents runs until May 10th at Galleria Il Trifoglio Nero, Piazza Matteotti 80R, Genova, Italy. The New Grand Tour restarts later this spring. www.joseparla.com
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Travel books? “I never read about places before I go, never picked up a travel book”.
Eritrean Church
Roms /Living in and through the wastelands on the edge of Milan, challenging the power of politics to define a human life.
/Fighting for identity in the bricks and concrete.
FRAMING THE FLOW Through His Eyes
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/ Twisting out new communications through the city.
Andrea Boscardin
headed out onto the street in 1993, when he started with tags and trains. Pretty soon he started documenting his creations, and those of his crew, to keep a trace of them before they were wiped out. A love affair grew with his camera, and the pictures became more than just a record of their art. The images became a description of a whole world: the preparations, the night-scape, the artists gestures and their environment. Tales of the invisible. Over the years, other subjects, and interests have caught his interest, but in his pictures the street remains the backdrop for all kinds of people and stories, and especially for those treading the outer edges of society, (again those tales of the invisible). His eye and heart got the attention of the professionals and for some time now he has been working on assignments for the Italian press, but he still puts time aside for his personal projects, where he can work at his rhythm and following his feelings.
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Here, nowhere / The story of an empty building lost in the hub of Milan, and newcomers looking for permanence, papers.
His ‘Day in a Life’ series are part of his personal portfolio, each one a collection of 12 pictures. The series are taken over a period of days, months or sometimes years, as he sorts and recombines the photos to create a tight portrait of a particular scene or community. Here we present just a glimpse into that process with some selected images, and the stories behind them.
A n drea B o s c ardi n
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Throw-up
They call us Vandals / Night activity… From home to work and back again…
Check out the full series from Andrea: www.andreaboscardin.com
Riot
/A day of violence erupting and disappearing.
StolenSpace An Artist’s Art Gallery
So what makes this space special then? What can you see there? There’s people you know, and people you don’t know yet. A democratic and eclectic selection of work, but the uniting factor is that their artists that have mastered their medium, heading off beyond the ordinary, into virtuosity. This is testified by the shows over the last year. These twelve months past, Seen, Shepard Fairey and D*Face himself, have all occupied StolenSpace for a stretch, showing the galleries urban origins. But the walls have also held delicate and mysterious pencil drawings from David Bray, sketches from the idiosyncratic world of Word From Mother, and a series of portraits of the Queen by Chris Levine, who used light and holography to take her familiar face into another dimension.
Perhaps it’s also because it’s an artists art gallery that they’re keeping an eye on the prices. Despite the weighty names on their list, and some weighty talent, the cost of whats on show remains accessible. It’s still in the price range of a broader public, not only pop stars and city brokers, maybe even within yours. That’s a deliberate choice, and not from lack of interest: they have stories of queuejumping and bribery, as the public try to get their hands on the work. Finally- they have their own printroom which is an investment I guess, but also a way of staying in touch with the practical, messy, reality of it all. Making art is dirty and fun, and yes, it’s great when the colour of fingertips is in line with your dreams. If a gallery can remember that, then you’ve got to keep your fingers crossed that it works out for them… See what StolenSpace are busy with at www.stolenspace.com, or pay them a visit in person in Brick Lane London. Coming up is ‘Mother’s Ruin’ a show of the best of their female artists… and from the 23rd of May- Word to Mother.
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It’s mostly 2D, drawings, paintings and prints, but a notable, and pretty weird exception are the porcelain pieces by Charles Krafft that blend kitsch, morbid, hand-made and industrial.
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StolenSpace is an artists art gallery. Literally. Seven years ago the artist D*Face began marking out his territory in the future of street art, and making history in London by creating a space inside for the great stuff he saw outside. After moves, growth and developments, StolenSpace is that project’s current evolution. From its urban roots on the street, the house brings in new styles, and new faces, a typical example of the journey towards acceptance and diversity that street art has been making over the last few years. We’re still busy looking for a name for that, right?
INSIDE
Inside:
brotundspiele
Vincent Skoglund, up in Stockholm, Logan Hicks in Brooklyn, for this Want It we went outside of London to glorious Coxheath where I learned the joys of English footpaths. Stephen Smith / Neasden Control Centre shared some shots of his new studio and some of the tools he talks to out in the woods. www.neasdencontrolcentre.com
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Stephen Smith / Neasden Control Centre
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Want it!
www.100proof.tv Book will drop worldwide in 2009 with film going into production in 2010.
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There is only one writer killing it these days, and SHE is called ALEXIS MANNING (ex-pat English living in NYC). I really wanted to interview her for this column but she refused, telling me to fuck right off and did I think she was some pathetic Z-List celeb desperately biting for exposure? After she had calmed down a bit she conceded that there was everything the readers of this column needed to know in her writing, and that maybe I should give you a sneak preview of the forthcoming graphic novelization of her 'From Our Blown Correspondent' column (which I have written the introduction for and helped out with the art), which complexly re-invents the whole concept, and, just for the record, is the first ever street art inspired/influenced graphic novel and has cameos created by the world greatest street artists… check the proof… form a queue… and pay your respect.
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ALEXIS MANNING: RETURN OF THE REAL
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The Transformer: Skateboards in Disguise - Daryl Smith converts old skateboards into Skate Trophies and reveals the art of winning.
When did you first make a skate trophy? What was the initial idea behind it, have they always been made for actual contest trophies, or ever for just ‘art’s sake’? I think the first trophy I made was in 1994. I can’t remember now exactly which one it was, but it was either an early attempt at a trophy for Livingston, or one for a competition that never happened again: The Scottish Mini-ramp Championships, which John Rattray won. To be brutally honest the ‘Art’ side was decidedly put second to their functionality, or lack-of to be more precise, as trophies. Typically the prizes for the skate comps were new boards, clothes etc but that seemed so ephemeral to me. There were no permanent symbols of winning as other ‘sporting’ (I hate using the word ‘sport’ to describe skateboarding, it’s so much more than that) events had. I guess also
In 2002 I was invited to take part in a show called ‘The Unafied Family,’ which was a collaboration between Unabomber skateboards and an art organization called
Capsule. The pieces I made weren’t trophies as such. We were asked to decorate blank skateboards, so I added more laminations to mine instead of painting /drawing on it. Another piece was an over-sized ‘Stanley-knife’ in my usual construction style. Can you explain the whole process from initial concept to finished piece? How are they constructed? I take my conceptual shapes and figure out how I can make it from the limitations that the material presents. The maple-ply of a skateboard is a very nice material and has some great working properties to it, but a deck is only so big, and is far from being a simple flat piece of plywood. They have some complex curves which can really dictate plans for the end-result and the construction methodology. The coloured laminates are fantastic though, and I try and use these to my best advantage as much as possible. It’s been interesting to note from my position that over the years the shape of decks have become much more standardized and can now be relied on to have certain relationships of proportions and sizes. When I started, I could rarely match one deck to another for laminating; each professional model had its own custom shape and set of curves. Skaters all know this as riders, but I had to start thinking about this as construction material. Instead of planning them out rigorously, I usually just see what happens and figure out various solutions to things as I go along. The end product will doubtlessly get handled somewhat enthusiastically so it needs to be as strong as possible while not becoming a boring lump through that
The ideals of ‘truth to materials’ is very important to me. As a craftsman (and by that I’m not saying I’m particularly skilled, merely persistent) the direct connection between the equipment used in the activity and the construction of these symbolic objects is too strong to ignore. Do you have any favourites from the pieces you've made?
What are you working on at present? At present I‘m working on a trophy for a competition called The War of the Thistles. The competition is held in two different indoor skateparks; presently Aberdeen and Dumbarton, and was inspired by a similar comp held in England called (with far more historic relevancy,) ‘The War of the Roses.’ Since the competition is in two parts, so is the trophy. I liked the graphic imagery of the claymore on the poster, so I decided to make a sort of broadsword, or part of one anyway. The trophy is essentially split up the middle so each winner gets a recognizable part of a sword, or, if one person wins both heats they win the whole thing. They can then hold it aloft in the glare of the camera-flashes and the roar of the crowd and be truly acclaimed as a skateboarding ass-kicker. Rock on.
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that my artistic ego wanted a project to do after college, and to push something a bit different. The classic model of a silver cup, or the old chrome-plated skateboarding figurine (which dates from the 60’s) seemed far too cheesy to revive. The idea of recycling worn-out decks seemed too good to pass up. I didn’t want paying, apart from perhaps the odd person saying ‘that’s cool.’ I really just wanted to see the best come out of people in these competitions, and for something to be passed on from year to year. It doesn’t matter to me if no one knows who made the trophies, just as long as they are recognized as having a life of their own, and are genuinely prized.
I think whenever I finish a new one, that becomes my favourite, but then I see an older one and think “wow!... I made that?
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What is your background in art? My ‘proper’ art training started mainly after high school. I did a few courses at a local further education college to get my portfolio up to scratch, and then had an amazing four years at the art college in Dundee. After the foundation year I decided to go into the Jewellery and Metalwork department, which I realize now, set me up nicely for thinking about art from the standpoint of design and construction. People have look a bit funny at me when I said I studied jewellery, but the craft of making what is basically small sculpture, and a kind of lo-fi engineering with various metals really fascinated me.
limitation. I construct it in a solid manner, while trying retain some life to the form. More and more I’ve tried not to use too many ‘foreign’ materials in the process. In the past I’ve used lots of hidden screws, even nails, and certainly lots of glue, but the latest one I’ve done in the shape of a sword has no metal in it all; it’s strengthened with various slotting and pegging methods. A nice joke since it’s portraying something classically ‘metal,’ in more ways than one.
TRANSFORMER
Most skaters agree that skateboarding is not a sport but a way of life and more often than not: an art form. How fitting then that Scottish artist, skater and skatepark designer Daryl Smith should produce his completely unique, sculptural creations to be given away at contests. Constructed from used boards, his ‘Skate Trophies’ embody the creativity inherent in skateboarding and make the perfect non-sport-like prize for those lucky enough to take one home with them.
The Livingston Sphere, and the Dundee lightning-bolt are closest to my heart, but they are all important to me. Unafied Board
In Your Ear!
rock band. So, most of the harmonies and technics are coming from his mind. On my side, I'm bringing the artistic direction, arrangements and my dj-ing experience. This year, I promised myself to learn playing piano!
12” Reviews Atlantic Connection – “Remember Tulum” ( advanced ) Eclectic drum and bass of yester-year on this 12”. An unmissable, sublime, soulful production from Atlantic Connection on the BOMB track “Remember Tulum”. It contains everything that is missing from most drum and bass records released at present. On the flip is “Water” great for this coming summer’s late night BBQ’s ! HAVE IT !!!!!! www.ciarecords.co.uk
Left to Right, top to Bottom
Jellybass – “Transatlantic” / “Vulgar Liquid Metal” ( white ) “Transatlantic” is superb with out-of-this world production on a Danny Breaks level ie. FAT FAT FAT basslines reaching below audible levels- LOVELY! Swinging drum patterns keep it moving at around 96bpm. Abdomninal is on vocal duty to a most uninspired and even unpleasant effect, one only needs worry about the instrumental version. The flip side is a banger too but a little less serious with tight brass licks and Jellybass’s now trademark basslines ……. BIG UP YOUR CHEST! www.jellybass.co.uk
Cynic Guru – “Drugs” / “Dick” ( fat northerner ) Heavy indie flavours on “Drugs” tilted towards Audioslave with added violin and Turkish vibes. I love this track. It rocks and the production is great! On the flip side you get a more melodic Beatles-esque crooner. Proving Cynic Guru can make PROPER tunes even on a four track recording device (or at least a four track recording device plug in effect) ! www.fatnortherner.com The Crack Whore Society – “Lowrider” (angora steel) Rocked out and fuking ACE “Lowrider” is a superb lifting rock tune with all the drum fills and riffs one would expect to hear from a band with such a name! It’s kinda rock-a-billy meets the Edgar Winter Group. Limited to 666 pressings on solid white vinyl
Lazy Habits – “Lazy” / “Fallen” ( lazy habits ) This is an old release from 2005 that I just discovered! “Lazy” is a lovely, lovely live hip-hop / funk track that would be perfect for a warm up set if the MC would slow the fuck down, or just shut up …… too much info in each verse there dude! Splendid track regardless. On the flip is “Fallen,” which has the same problem with the MC’s and is a less engaging track. Verging on depressing to be honest! www.lazyhabits.co.uk Amie J – “Naïve” / “I Think I’m Gunna Make It” ( good living ) Fucking amazing 7” here from the UK’s Aldo Vanucci featuring the unbelievable vocal talent of Amie J. “Naïve” is a funk break / bootleg style banger with enormous drums and very, very clever vocal hooks from Amie. This is definitely one worth grabbing if you’re a fan of funk, hip-hop in a banging club fashion. Amie has tinges of Amy Winehouse and I personally believe she is gunna be huge! www.myspace.com/goodlivingrecords Z Trip ( white ) Guns ‘n’ Roses meets Stevie Wonder meets B Boy break here. A massive anthem of a 7” release. Limited to 500 hand stamped and numbered pieces. Essential start or end of set fodder on a stadium scale, which I might add is where Z Trip ( or Zach to his mum ) tends to perform, after just being in Kuwait entertaining the troops! Check his website for more on this …… EPIC ! www.djztrip.com
Naim Amor – “Introducing” ( amor music ) French, guitar-folk and ambience, rock gently on this 10” release. Loveliness all around. It’s simple and atmospheric straight through. I’m sure the ladies will fall for this … There is something about the accent, even if he is singing about his grandma’s or whatever ( NOTE FROM JON : “I have not translated lyrics” ). Open production gives this record a ‘REAL’ sound, a LIVE, unfinished beauty. It’s just so simply honest ……. www.amormusic.com
Kurious – “A Constipated Monkey Demo Sessions” ( crate escape ) A fucking rare and fucking expensive 12” press, limited to 200 copies only. Featuring some of MC Kurious' finest lost moments, including production from Prince Paul (De La Soul) and SD50s. All 6 tracks are killer hip hop joints from the golden era. The trump cards here are “Catch My Drift” and “Trueness To The Blueness” sure fire dancefloor fillers …. If you want this you better act fast! www.jibbering.co.uk
Aeroplane Is there any better name to revisit a luxurious musical past than this formal designation of our current winged aerial bus? Excelling in creating wonderful waves with delicious bass lines, this Belgian duo is indeed the best way to get some certain psyche and disco flavours back in our minds. Florent got down with Stephen, one of the wings guiding this flight. Hey Stephen. How you doing? You got a show at the Make-Up this week-end with Tim Sweeny (DFA)... Recovered? Oh yes, that was great! Tim played amazingly. He's someone that I admire a lot, both in terms of his musical culture and personality. There were loads of people at the club. It was also Dirk Eskimo's birthday, so you can imagine what kind of party it was! I imagine! Ok, let's talk about Aeroplane. This is your third project, but as a core practice you’re a DJ with a long and rich curriculum vitae... Everything started for me in the mid-eighties. I actually learned with my uncle, who was animating private parties. When he stopped in 1988, he offered me his material and some of his record collection. Since that time, I've always been continuing to buy records of every style (new beat, acid, rave, house, trip-hop, synth pop, disco, italo, rock, etc.). I really started to play in clubs in 1996. And then, you met Vito, your inseparable mate. Exactly. Vito and me met something like 5 years ago. He was the owner of a vinyl shop and was creating a few demos at home, without any precise direction. I came with a clear vision of what I wanted. We talked for a while, we worked on it... and then we created Aeroplane in 2007. How would you describe the role of each of you? Vito followed a sol-fa education when he was really young; he learned how to play guitar, piano and bass guitar, and he also played into a
What is your relation to the disco era? I think that with Aeroplane, we have a larger view than just the disco period, but it's evident that it totally belongs to our musical universe. I grew up with Giorgio Moroder, Gino Soccio, Pink Floyd, Human League, Supertramp... Vito, however, evolved more with the Stones, Lucio Battisti or James Brown. So, most of the time, our influences are coming from the seventies psychedelic funk-rock, from disco, funk or synth pop. Finally, the new electronic scene wouldn't be the same without disco... In my opinion, the seventies - eighties disco simply influenced the whole electronic dance music... It's its continuity! The "new" disco is just more easily produced thanks (?) to technologies. Do you think about working on a full album in the future? We're actually working on it. We don't really have any deadline, except that it might probably see the light in early 2009. Before this, we will release our third single in collaboration with the English singer Kathy Diamond, and a remix from Hercules and Love Affair is also about to be available. You're DJ resident at the Make-Up, in Gent, when did you start? What does your typical week look like? I started playing at the Make-Up when they opened it, in 2006. In January 2008, Dirk Eskimo (who is also the club's AD), proposed Aeroplane instead of me alone, in order to build up the name even more and allow us to meet up with some other artists. So, Vito joined me! My usual week starts every day at 7am, because I gotta run to work (Yes... I still have my little daily job...) which is one hour from my home. Then, I go to the studio. I'm coming home around 8pm, checking my emails and then staying with my dear. On Saturday, I take the time to listen to some promotions and new stuff, and Sunday I usually dedicate to cinema. So, you still have time to discover new bands? Yes, I have the time to do this every Saturday, but also in my car, since I'm doing around 200 kilometres a day. What was the last stuff in your playlist? The last album from Sébastien Tellier and the Hercules & Love Affair one.
Why? Alopecia (2008). Tom Lab Records Yup. When bands like Antipop Consortium and cLOUDDEAD get together, it may start to stink of revolution and glee. Unaware of a fashion towards tragic lethargy in the genre they often get lumped into, Yoni Wolf, the man behind Why? Put out an abstract vision of how hip hop could bounce off to tomorrow with the instant classic Oaklandazulasylum. The almighty ‘style’ wasn’t sought after here, instead we got the dodgiest beats entangled with inscrutable melodies falling through ambient layers. Lo-Fi universe-d, more hip folk than hip hop, but a mature masterpiece that brought rock and pop to a tangy encounter. Elephant Eyelash with tracks like “Good Friday” and “These Few Presidents,” lets enthusiasts drop any regret for the candor of the first album and in sentences and murmurs can turn your ears into believers. Why? refuses hyperbole and overcomes tenebrous and suspenseful choruses, convoluted beats built with almost anything as the sound comes across. Everything is measured, from the background voices to the clean bass lines. If the transition from alternative project to veritable band appears to be a real achievement, Yoni Wolf moved on personally to the next stage, giving soul to each track. Inspired, important and rare in regard to current songwriters gaining acclaim, he refines and embellishes every single moment of this record, like a poet making prose firmament. Extremely beautiful, frail and seriously poignant at the same time, have a listen at the links below. -FdM. www.myspace.com/whyanticon www.tomlab.de
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Jhelisa – “Friendly Pressure” ( turbotrax ) The amazing Turbotrax bootleggers return with a red vinyl press of Jhelisa’s “Friendly Pressure” to great effect! Perfect for a smooch or a chill. Limited to 150 pressings on transparent red vinyl, this downtempo soul number is near essential for any fan of Nightmares on Wax and such vibes. www.turbotrax.co.uk
.. EVIL ! The flip side has a bleepy ELECTRO punk stepper remix from T Rauschmiere that does not hold it for me. www.crackwhoresociety.com
Kraak & Smaak – “That’s Our Word” ( jalapeno ) Tight as fuck production all the way through. The title track “That’s My Word,” being the banger for me here. Mixing hip hop-esque beats and synth basslines to great acclaim and held together with lovely vocal flows from Dudley Perkins. Next up is “Why Do People Fall?” a jazz crooner which took me nicely by surprise I must say… with Carmel having a trill…. The B side is for a 4am house / techno dancefloor, not my bag but 4 to the floor for you pil heads to “come up” on …. Serious ! www.jalapenorecords.com
Your songs are mostly pretty long and this has an influence on the esoteric and wanderer touches of each one of them. Do you think the impact would be the same with some shorter songs? Is it important that each composition has a "scenario"? If they are really long in general, that's for the DJ's too. We give them a lot of space and liberty to mix, lengthening the beginnings and the endings of the tracks. The last week, we just finished a remix for Cut Copy and this one is pretty different from the other ones, it has a structure that is more pop radio. Moreover, it only lasts 4 minutes!
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Madam – “Call America” / “Some Other Elvis” ( reveal records ) “Call America” is a superb melodica, guitar folk tune that would suit any gentle boat ride. ACE ! The flip side is also loveliness in folk music, recorded simply and sung honestly. Not too many catchy hooks but pleasing enough…. Pressed on solid pink vinyl it looks and feels as lovely as the production! www.madam.org.uk
You often quote two eminent references, Giorgio Moroder and Serge Gainsbourg. The first one is musically evident, whereas the second one is more covert, as in the "Aeroplane" song introduction: some delightful sensual plans like Gainsbourg precisely knew how to do... This is funny that you noticed this, hehe! But I really assure you that while we composed the track "Aeroplane", we didn't try to stick to Gainsbourg or Moroder.
Aeroplane is soaring. The proof is that you took part to the "Fool For Love" remix EP from Das Pop with two electronic figures (Surkin and SebastiAn), but there's also Hercules & Love Affair, the new sensation from DFA, which you remixed. What’s next? Our next maxi with Kathy Diamond. It will be released on Eskimo records in May, with the Hercules & Love Affair remix. About our future remixes, we're currently working on one for The Shortwave Set on Wall Of Sound records and an other one for David Rubato on the French label Institubes. Remixes for Cut Copy and Allez Allez are finished, we're now just looking forward for the release date. And at the end of the summer, we'll have a remix of Lindstrom released on Feedelity...!
IN YOUR EAR
Florent de Maria & Jon Kennedy are:
Show & Tell
BTAP and Puffer don’t Creep Stanley Donwood Goes to Japan. A r t w o r k P h o t o s : To k yo G a l l e r y + B TA P / I n s ta l l a t i o n P h o t o s : w w w. s lo w ly d o w n w a r d . c o m / w w w. t o k yo - g a l l e r y. c o m
Ashley Rawlings
Stanley Donwood. Perhaps you don’t know his name, but yes, you will have seen at least some of his images. And maybe you won’t recognize the next one you come across – part of the ever-shifting mosaic of images, styles and techniques that make up his world. Outlet(s)
S T A N L E Y D ON W OO D
That seems to be an important part of the dialogue for Mr Donwood. He’s a pretty reclusive guy, steers clear of media attention and dislikes its inclination towards meaningless hype. Staying low-profile doesn’t mean being secretive though. Through his various productions the curious are invited into his world, to share his questions, his discoveries and even his disappointments. Take his most recent show in Tokyo for example- you find a short chronicle of how the work developed online at phofa.net. From this blog you get a taste of his characteristic stew of the personal, (the work is based on his experience of asthma), and the social (the culture and graphics of medicine, the fear of the sick and the manipulations of the pharmaceutical industry), all-a-blended together as he prepares the series ‘Puffer’.
And in the current show you get examples from three main series of work. First, those ‘Puffer’ paintings, (big canvases, with slick, hallucinatory inhalers in the bright colours used for kids toys and road signs). They’re singing the lyrics of health and joy loud enough to make you feel more than a little uncomfortable. Alongside those are etchings and plates from ‘If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now’, (misty mountains & architectural dystopias)
What those three series have in common is difficult to pinpoint, but for me it’s something quite, errm, British about them. A fairy tale combination of the gothic and macabre, fairgrounds, and fantasy, alongside the modern aesthetics and problems of Her Majesty’s Realm, where Red Riding Hood goes shopping in Tescos, and her preteen daughter just got pregnant. They’re sure to love that in Japan. Each of these series sets up on its own terms though, in its specific style, with its own vocabulary. Each one is a separate tool for an artist who is trying to sort out his love and hate and fear of the odd hybrid of fact and fiction that society is. Are we swimming in it? Drowning? Stanley Donwood’s busy picking out the fragments he needs to build his raft. So you see what I mean? With that level of diversity, a pinch of politics and an eye for recombining the familiar with the unknown, you know who Stanley Donwood is, but will you recognize what he does next?
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Finally there are the linoprints from the ‘London Views’ series (where King Cnut whips the Thames into a fury of lines that wash the monuments off the horizon). These ones you will probably recognize from their association with The Eraser, Thom Yorke’s solo project.
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Their work runs is so tightly knit that the music, and its apocalyptic tales of personal tragedy, social apathy and communication breakdowns, are developed simultaneously with the images. Stanley isn’t illustrating their songs, his role is far more complex. The images are part of the process of shaping an album, he and Thom Yorke, draw, write and talk throughout. Their different outputs of image, text, and sound feed off each other along the way. His personal website testifies to that diversity, with hand-drawn and collaged images, linoprints and screenprints, small stories and musings, spoken word CDs and even some pulp-fiction (just a side-project he pulled off). As you’re clicking through each page you quickly realize the site isn’t just there to show or sell, but is an open door right into his ways of thinking.
Dystopia
S T A N L E Y D ON W OO D
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So what will you have seen? It’s Donwood’s long term collaboration with Radiohead, most importantly the images he has created for their album artwork, that has made his work known to the eyes of millions.
Salaryman(s)
Show & Tell
VINCENT SKOGLUND’S
“LIGHTYEARS” By Åsa Riton
To play with light, using the forest as a sculptural backdrop bringing out unexpected things out of the darkness, is nothing new to Vincent Skoglund. ‘Lightyears’ is a project that has been developing over years, and that recently resulted in a successful solo exhibition at Gallery Jonas Kleerup, Stockholm.
SKOGLUND
Vincent always had a close connection to nature, but he was less impressed by nature photography in the traditional meaning until the ‘Lightyears’ project brought him back to the childhood forests in Dalarna, Sweden. During a couple of cold weeks he spent the winter nights in the deep forest equipped with his photo gear, communicating by walkie-talkie with his assistant, carrying around a heavy portable electrical aggregate connected to a very large spotlight. The scenes and objects are carefully selected. Each photography is a controlled and at the same time random process in real time, using the artificial light and the shutter speed of the camera.
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The result is staggeringly beautiful. Pitch black mountains thousands of meters away, is emerging in the spotlight that sweeps the landscape like a gigantic brush. The pictures are at the same time abstract and exquisite made. The motives hints of a place out of this time.
Kleerup: “I think people are attracted by the mysterious artificial light settled in the dark, black contours of the otherwise familiar Swedish forest. Visitors describes the pictures as magical and praise them.” Magical indeed, decide for yourself when getting absorbed in the world of Vincent Skoglund.
• Vincent Skoglund was born 1974 in Dalarna, Sweden • ‘Lightyears’ is his second solo exhibition • www.vincentskoglund.com
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Kleerup: “The opening reception was a bit crazy. Paparazzis and newspapers captured the mix of media hipsters, art buyers, models, artists and the rest of the art world. Our openings are normally pretty hyped, but this was something extra.”
Vincent: “The ever lasting cycle of life and death is something that always fascinated the human kind. Our will to control, and our inability to stop the time. That anything at all would last forever is an illusion.”
SKOGLUND
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The ‘Lightyears’ exhibition has been one of the most visited since Gallery Jonas Kleerup opened, as well as one of their most commercially successful shows. Vincent Skoglund’s name has drawn people from the snowboard and skate scene to men in suits. Kleerup has sold Vincent’s works to The National Public Art Council of Sweden, as well as to private collectors in Sweden and abroad.
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Julia Pott Maxomatic
Neasden Control Centre
Atypik Atsuko Ishii
Ephameron
Jean Spezial
“ART TREK” 5
Casarramona
Show & Tell
ART TREK 5
Thanks to grants from the Flemish government, a unique collaboration with the gallery owners and help from many volunteers, materials are purchased to actually put up the show and to print and spread posters, flyers and catalogues. No commission is taken by anyone on the sales, which alone already makes it a quite unique project in this otherwise very material world. Only the person who actually created the art will also benefit from you taking a piece home with you, and with the still affordable prices of these amazing artists you just can’t refuse.
Blue
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So where to from here on? The exhibition opening on August 2nd, 2008 celebrates three candles on the birthday cake and five editions of Art Trek, with hopefully many more to come. And with participants from Belgium, Denmark, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Argentina and the United States that shouldn’t be a problem at all. The poetic etchings by Atsuko Ishii, muted-tone paintings by Evan B. Harris, Max-omatic’s soft drawings, Ephameron’s romantic imagery and felt-tip pen coloured sketches by Julia Pott will flourish next to Bue’s strong and cute graphic work, the funny and immensely detailed scenes of the Jeanspezial crew and Miss Lotion’s flowing character universe, while Charakter Atypik’s abstract forms and the playful lines in the work of Specio will flow into the pencilled silkscreens by Casarramona and stencils based on daily reality by Chris Stain, next to Neasden Control Centre’s mixed media collages. Art Trek is an international meeting place for alternative talent and hopes to see you very soon! “Art Trek 5”, from August 2 until September 13, 2008. Opening party on Saturday August 2 from 18 to 22h at Galerie Mekanik, St.-Jacobsmarkt 73, Antwerp, Belgium. Open from Monday until Saturday, 10 to 18h. More information about the project and artists on www.art-trek.be. Art Trek would like to thank the Flemish Government, Mekanik Strip (Linda, Jan, Sara, San and Daan) and their friends in need are their friends indeed: Sylvain, Louis, Astrid, Ward, Serge, Jan, Dee & Jazz, Johanna, Saartje, Eva & Benjamin, Dewi, Kevin, Roel, Sarah, Jens, Liesje, Katharina, Carmen, Harlan, Daphné, Peggy and Tom.
Matthew Feyld
Atsuko Ishii (JP) - www.atsuko-ishii.com Bue (BE) - www.myspace.com/bueone Carakter Atypik (FR) - www.myspace.com/carakteratypik Cassaramona (CH) - www.casarramona.ch Chris Stain (US) - www.chrisstain.com Ephameron (BE) - www.ephameron.com Evan B. Harris (US) - www.evanbharris.com Jeanspezial (FR) - www.jeanspezial.com Julia Pott (UK) - juliapott.blogspot.com Maarten Vande Wiele (BE) - champagnecatfight.blogspot.com Max-o-matic (AR) - www.maxomatic.net Miss Lotion (DK) - www.misslotion.com Neasden Control Centre (UK) - www.neasdencontrolcentre.com Specio (FR) - www.specios.net
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High art meets low art at Art Trek. From the beginning, Ephameron wanted to show an eclectic group of artist friends and favourites, some better known in the scene than others, and give them the chance to expose in an accessible gallery among peers. From illustration and graffiti on silkscreen prints or fine art, comic books and digital prints, Art Trek tries to show another side of contemporary art, the hidden one that lives within youth and on the streets, is an inherent part of pop culture and doesn’t require a concept to be hyped. As always with underdogs, this form of art falls out of every category previously created, thus keeping its originality in the often rigid established art world. These youngsters live by their own rules, sneer at the Golden Section but take inspiration from everywhere - life around us, past, present and future, colours, shapes and materials.
The media have also been pretty generous - about every Flemish newspaper and magazine has already dedicated one or several articles to one of the editions.
ART TREK 5
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Situated above Belgium’s largest specialized comic book store, Art Trek summer headquarters Galerie Mekanik is a perfect host for the underground event that the annual group show has become. Every year, 14 young artists from all over the world are handpicked to take part and send in their works to Antwerp. And each year, due to the soaring success of the previous editions, the time of exhibition is lengthened so that by now the art is on display for six full weeks.
Frank Plastiq
When Ephameron, an Antwerp-based illustrator, organized a one-night exhibition event with a couple of friends back in 2005, little did she or her partners know that this was going to be the first in an annual series of boundary-breaking group shows, by now recognized for their mix of styles, fresh choice of international artists and lowbrow attitude. After contributing to many shows all over the world, she thought the time was right to start organizing events herself, with the help of the people around her. Ephameron wanted to offer a stage in Belgium for all the young graphic talent she was encountering. Some would refer to this visual movement as street art, but she prefers to refer to it as illustrative art. Three years on, the fifth edition of Art Trek is about to start!
Havec
THE JUBILEUM EDITION
Off Line
Photo: Curtis Kulig
Mario Clouds Version
This isn’t the captain speaking.
By Evie Haines
Pirating, culture-jamming, hacking or hijacking, whatever you want to call it, art is the most ruthless jacker of all. Ladies and Gentleman, I’m going to take an image, and idea, an object whatever, put it in my magic hat and hey presto, yes I have twisted it into something new. The original remains, but distorted, taking on double meanings, and heading schizophrenically in two directions at once. Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s both, and, neither, and both, and neither and it’s the mix that we love, that delicious ambiguity.
1)Telestreet… What?
The Italian media is very harassed. The crossover between the broadcasters and the government is so wide, that the feeling of paranoia around the edges is stronger there than anywhere else in Europe. That paranoia has led to guerilla media tactics and since 2002 pirate TV stations have been sprouting. Some dying, many growing on, 2008 sees around 100 of them currently operating. Their main objective is to get information to directly to people, without passing through filters, whether commercial or political, but its popularity lies in the fact that it invites the viewers to tell their own stories. Not in the chat-show, bitch-fight format we usually get, but giving people cameras, and getting them to use them. Telling local stories, national stories, giving small and usually excluded communities a place to make their voices heard. And in hearing themselves, grow stronger.
How?
P h oto : i n s u ^ t v, N a pl e s
Well pirate TV works just like pirate radio, the station transmits over a frequency that is weak over a certain area (for one reason or another). There’s a short how-to on youtube. Each local station has produces their own material and shares it with other organizations. The videos are collected and distributed online, through ngvision where they’re free to download.
And us?
You can try and set up your own station. The knowledge is out there, though of course it’s more illegal in some places than in others, and more strictly policed. Easier, in the meantime, is to send in videos, animations, and flights of fantasy to become the food for thought that replaces MTV, Fox and RaiUno in households across Italy. There’s a few gems from Blu in the database. Contact them to send yours. Thanks to insutv (www.insutv.it) in Naples, especially Raffaele who gave me some pointers and the images here.
This little plug-in is a project from Steve Lambert- who is also part of GraffitiResearchLab, a group in New York developing new technology for graffiti artists. Addart is designed to free your daily computer experience from the flashing banners and scroll bars, that desperately try to interpret your behavior, find your weak spot and SELL YOU PRODUCTS!!! YES!!! NEW TV SERIES!!!, new page, YES!!!CHEAPFLIGHTS!!!, new page, YES!!!ONLINE POKER!!! and which you’re always trying to avoid accidentally clicking with your mouse. Someone already came up with a way of getting rid of those images. AdBlock, is one of Firefox’s most popular plugins. Steve’s idea was to make that gesture a touch more creative; not just say no to advertising, but to exploit that space for art. That gesture comes from what he describes as “the unabashedly optimistic belief that art changes the way people look at the world. That belief fuels a pragmatic approach to bring about those changes.”
How?
The prototype version, which you can download from addart. eyebeam.org, currently slips a patriotic bald-eagle into the adframes, but sometime towards the end of this month the betaversion will be ready and they’re looking for images that are a little more stimulating and diverse. Your browser becomes a gallery- a new way of distributing the latest, sharpest, most vital images out there.
And us?
You need to send your images to addart, they’re building their collection now, ready to launch May.
3)Skullphone What?
Well these images just appeared on digital billboards owned by Clearchannel in LA a little while ago. Skullphone used his mark to replace the usual advertising for films, tv and cars that the passersby are treated to.
How?
That’s a good question. First news out was that he’d managed to hack the system. Clearchannel claimed the space was bought (but it’s in their interest to be hackproof huh?). No comment as far as I see from Skullphone. Reactions to the whole thing range from sympathetic to brutal- disappointment hits hard. Because there are so many out there who wanted to believe that it was possible. If we trust Clearchannel as a source then he paid for two days worth of space for himself. How? Lord only knows. Is Skullphone the child of millionaires? Or did he manage to get in there and is now suffering the consequences? So yep, you need your clear your bank accounts either way, for the ads or for the lawyers.
And us?
We get a moment of reflection to think a little bit about the whole pirating game. There’s the thrill of the chase and the skill of the chase, outsmarting the graduates and the big budgets. DIY culture has its own merit, each thing you learn to do for yourself frees you. But that’s all for you, your pain, your gain. You’ve carved out a niche in the slick face of corporate media but what are you
going to put there? Sometimes the act of resistance is enough. On the longer term, if you’re going to keep that corner you need to convince, or to seduce. Soundbites are easy, producing consistently fascinating, profound or funny statements is tough. That’s why youtube works right? Millions of people can produce content that lasts less than 9 minutes and branding yourself is still branding. Good jacking is like good art, mysterious, and full of questions rather than statements. Authority gives answers. We want new possibilities. So even if the image alone is kind of flat, and the debate has left him battered, Skullphone hasn’t left the field empty-handed. Twist that doubt into something new. “Once again, it’s a matter of semantics. What does it mean to hack the system? Is getting people to think for themselves hacking?” “The art of hacking I know nothing about. What is hacking? What is art?” “People thought Bob Dylan sold out when he went electric. I guess people weren’t ready for it.” “To me it’s American art. The (now digital) billboard on the side of the highway.” “Skullphone digital billboards.’ It was a logical fit.” “Once again, it’s a matter of semantics. What does it mean to hack the system? Is getting people to think for themselves hacking?” “Skullphone has a right to be there.”
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What?
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2)AddArt
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And Street Art? What does that mean when thousands of people discover your work on flickr not because they’ll ever pace your neighbourhood? This is the now and it means a stage that is a whole lot bigger, a thousand new communication channels to subvert and a thousand new ways to do it. Here are three 21st Century experimental routes to disturb the view of those expecting the comfort of the known. ‘We are interrupting this broadcast, to bring you something, else.’
23 rue du Renard 75004 Paris www.galerieljbeaubourg.net tel. +33 (0)1 44 59 27 27
September 6th to 27th, 2008 opening reception September 6th, 7pm
aj fosik
ANIMALS
Collective exhibition
Reg Mombassa Spacejunk
Board Culture Art Centers + 33 (0)619 210 184 www.spacejunk.tv
Sjk Grenoble: May 22-June 21 Sjk Bayonne: June 26-July 26 Sjk Bourg-Saint-Maurice: July 31-August 30 NNE Progandish Posters made for NNE at the Botanique: 24 artists, lots of Mayhem. NNE goes Green in Modart issue 18
www.vans.com