Spray Art Canvases from your man Grafeeney... Nice Work... Check his website for prices although we can tell you the artist is good for a deal...
Showing posts with label spray art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spray art. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Eagle has Landed - UK Graffiti Legend Busk
Old Skool UK Graffiti Legend 'Busk' is mad busy creating a new line of art which is far removed from conventional graffiti methods. Aside from creating some great commissioned works of art for some of London's most swanky venues such as The Ivy or penthouses in St Pancras, Busk is experimenting with nature.
We shot some video of him this time last year...
We shot some video of him this time last year...
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Identity of Banksy on EBay $US999,999
There's no denying that E-Bay features many interesting items to purchase some of which received worldwide attention. A user under the guise of 'Jaybuysthings' in the states recently offered the true identity of Banksy for sale on the network. What he offered was a piece of paper with the lads true name written or typed onto it. Although we didn't get to see the bid it apparently reached $US999,999 with Free Shipping Offered. The American informer said he'd tried selling the idenity before on EBay which was qucikly shutdown 'because I was selling something that was not tangible' he said 'It is now tangible,'
We found some quotes online from 'Jaybuysthings' original Item Desciptions;
"The Identity of 'Banksy'"
'If you win this auction I will mail you a piece of paper revealing the true identity of 'Banksy','
'I have uncovered his identity by matching up the prices of his sold pieces to corresponding tax records. I will reveal no more details.'
'The winner of this auction is the only person I will ever share this information with. The piece of paper will say his name, nothing more.'
'I give you 100% assurance that it is most certainly the full name of the street artist known as 'Banksy'.'
Read more:: ORIGINAL SOURCE
Friday, January 21, 2011
PHILISTINES - Saturday 5th February @ The Junction Rooms
PHILISTINES - Saturday 5th February @ The Junction Rooms, 578 Kingsland Road, Dalston 9pm - 2am, free entry.
Philistines exhibition launched back in September 2010 on a Thursday at The Junction Rooms in Dalston. Word of mouth resulted in its popularity of being 'not just an art exhibition' but also a place to meet like minded characters and listen to groundbreaking music.
This art and music event has since had much support from the local community and it's popularity has seen endless interest and numbers through the door. Many art pieces have been purchased and others commissioned, there's always a handful of artists floating around so come down and say hello personally. Philistines is a hot ticket and one of the coolest places to visit.
Please note if you cannot make the actual event, this is an ongoing exhibition and can be viewed at other times and by appointment only with the man himself, Philip Ignatious Salacious Stein (see http://junctionroom.co.uk/ for hours of trade.) The exhibition resides at The Junction Rooms, 578 Kingsland Road, Dalston.
Philip Ignatious Salacious Stein will be celebrating his 50th birthday so expect lots of surprises and special guests at the party which will be held on two floors across the cool venue in Dalston. Pen the diary, it's a free masquerade ball with guest DJs, surprises and features affordable and exclusive art to purchase.
We move from a Thursday to a Saturday. This successful art/music event has gone from strength to strength... A project and exhibition which brings together street artists, collectors and lovers of art and music.
This is what happeneds at Philistines in December:
Aloosh EP Launch, Guest DJs, interactive artist Lubix Slumbarave....
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=302311&id=651924602&fbid=10150089926074603
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Karma on Prowl in Streets of Amsterdam
This work is so fresh that the artist hasn't even woke up from painting it last night (friday) Irish street art sensation Karma is currently on the prowl in Holland's Amsterdam. We're not sure how long he's there but we're gonna try to hook him up with another artist interviewed in LSD Magazine and that's the stencil supremo FAKE... we'll see how that goes... Meanwhile back on the ranch, keep out of trouble Karma.... Dont do anything that Team LSD wouldn't do....
Read Karma's Interview in latest edition of LSD Magazine - Stand and Deliver
LSD Magazine presents Revolve by Hedflux (Music Video)
Riding the twisting, turning, subversively yearning synthesized sorcery of the fresh cut release by the author of LSD’s Soulflux column, Hedflux, rolls the explosion of visual lucidity penetrating public consciousness spray by searing spray and reclaiming the streets for the rays of individuality. Chewing through the restraints of cavernous conformity and the liquid bonds of group-think, the mischief, the bursting forms, the awe inspiring colour and the wry, winking subliminal resistance bursts out of the frames and rides the currents of direct action deep into the reshaping of our sensory identity…..
REVOLVE by HEDFLUX IS OUT NOW
(please support independent talent)
(please support independent talent)
BUY THE TUNE - READ HIS LSD COLUMN - LIKE THE VID - SUPPORT with MIGHT
Hedflux @ http://www.hedflux.com
Released January 2011 http://www.broken-robot-records.com
Released January 2011 http://www.broken-robot-records.com
LSD Magazine: http://www.londonstreetartdesign.com
LSD Magazine Blog: http://www.londonstreetartdesign.blog...
LSD Magazine Blog: http://www.londonstreetartdesign.blog...
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
LSD Magazine Interviews US Street Artist RSH (Issue 6)
Polymath of the creative arts, lucid surfer of the mists of mysticism, all round politically illuminated mischief maker and creator of a bizarrely psychedelic, sinuous menagerie of monstrous glee, Raymond Salvatore Harmon dances through the barricades of medium with an irrepressible energy. Laced with a sublimial whisper, his film, music and abstraction alike glow with the rich hue of the esoteric, the internal, the eternal and the subconscious while his visual activism cuts straight through the layers of buried meaning to deliver a straight up punch to the solar. A lecturer and a formidable knowledge bank, a painter and a stencil artist, he also delves deep into the geometry and texture of electronic music, the nature of light and its channels and the fiery symbolism of conceptual film. unifying the often lonesome strands of sensory expression into a barrage of seductively arresting output. We spoke to him...
How did growing up in industrial Detroit shape your perceptions of society?
Although I did spend a ton of time in downtown Detroit proper in my teens I actually grew up in a town about 45 minutes outside of Detroit. It was a desolate postindustrial scar on an otherwise green farmland. It plays host to what was once the world's largest walled prison and claims to be the place where the Republican Party was founded. In my teens we would break into the former Goodyear Tire plant complex (1.2 square kilometer factory) and skateboard on the steel floors. The plant closed in the early 80s due to a huge explosion that ruined one of the buildings. When it closed 30,000 people lost their jobs and the town was gutted financially. Still, the town has one of the best comic book stores in Michigan. Michigan in general is weird. I hated it as a kid and when I would go back in my early 20's I felt like I was suffocating, even if I was just visiting. But something about that place breeds intensely interesting, massively creative people. Motown, the Stooges, Juan Atkins, MC5, Wolf Eyes, Andrew WK. I came up seeing amazing shows in Detroit and was around during the birth of the noise scene there in the early 90's. I remember being at a rave in about 1991 with Graham Massey of 808 State and a friend of mine who was performing. This back when raves had bands like the Shamen or Meat Beat Manifesto, before the rise of DJ's. Orion pictures was there to film some movie about dance music that never came out. In hindsight I was in an amazing place and time seeing incredible things and doing ridiculous stuff. But it never seemed enough when I was young. Everyone I knew wanted to escape, to go out and see the world and get away from what we thought of as a boring existence.
What were your first forays into expressed creativity?
I come from a family that promotes creativity. I have aunts and uncles who are artists in one way or another. So I started drawing young (like all kids) and just never stopped. I first started doing graff work in my teens, mostly as tags on buses and terminals in the 80s and early 90s. Then when I moved to NYC in 95 I started working with a crew of kids from the School for Visual Arts. I was the odd man out as I was older and didn't go to art school. All we did was paint the pieces designed by one guy, which got boring fast, so I moved on. It wasn't until 2003 or so that I started painting the sea / space monster things I do now. They grew out of drawings I had been doing for years. Kind of automatic drawing style psyche stuff.
When did you first begin to take an interest in the esoteric?
When I was young, like 11 or so, I was fascinated with mythology and fantasy stories. I started reading up on the witch trials and slowly gravitated to more mystical work. By 13 I had figured out how to get books from other libraries sent to mine and was reading books on 14th century demonology and kabbalah. Crowley came along by my mid-teens, as did yoga, meditation and other mind expansion techniques; although I was totally straight edge (though not vegetarian) all through high school.
In the final analysis, what is your take on Crowley?
Crowley is funny, especially in the UK where he still gets press. On the one hand he was an amazingly intelligent guy who spoke a half dozen languages and wrote an enormous amount of brilliantly insightful material into mystical traditions, esoteric thinking, and the nature of religion. On the other hand he was a man raised with money, used to being given what he wanted and overly indulgent of his desires/passions. The thing I find funny is how they still call Crowley a "Satanist!" in the UK press. It's been 100 years and as many books have been written about him and yet no research gets done or basic fact checking when an article about him comes out in the mainstream media. Yet when he does get mentioned its always "DRUG USER! "SATANIST!" etc. In today's world someone like George Michael it doing more in the way of "bad things" than Crowley ever did. How controversial is a guy who is bisexual, practices yoga and does drugs today?
How did growing up in industrial Detroit shape your perceptions of society?
Although I did spend a ton of time in downtown Detroit proper in my teens I actually grew up in a town about 45 minutes outside of Detroit. It was a desolate postindustrial scar on an otherwise green farmland. It plays host to what was once the world's largest walled prison and claims to be the place where the Republican Party was founded. In my teens we would break into the former Goodyear Tire plant complex (1.2 square kilometer factory) and skateboard on the steel floors. The plant closed in the early 80s due to a huge explosion that ruined one of the buildings. When it closed 30,000 people lost their jobs and the town was gutted financially. Still, the town has one of the best comic book stores in Michigan. Michigan in general is weird. I hated it as a kid and when I would go back in my early 20's I felt like I was suffocating, even if I was just visiting. But something about that place breeds intensely interesting, massively creative people. Motown, the Stooges, Juan Atkins, MC5, Wolf Eyes, Andrew WK. I came up seeing amazing shows in Detroit and was around during the birth of the noise scene there in the early 90's. I remember being at a rave in about 1991 with Graham Massey of 808 State and a friend of mine who was performing. This back when raves had bands like the Shamen or Meat Beat Manifesto, before the rise of DJ's. Orion pictures was there to film some movie about dance music that never came out. In hindsight I was in an amazing place and time seeing incredible things and doing ridiculous stuff. But it never seemed enough when I was young. Everyone I knew wanted to escape, to go out and see the world and get away from what we thought of as a boring existence.
What were your first forays into expressed creativity?
I come from a family that promotes creativity. I have aunts and uncles who are artists in one way or another. So I started drawing young (like all kids) and just never stopped. I first started doing graff work in my teens, mostly as tags on buses and terminals in the 80s and early 90s. Then when I moved to NYC in 95 I started working with a crew of kids from the School for Visual Arts. I was the odd man out as I was older and didn't go to art school. All we did was paint the pieces designed by one guy, which got boring fast, so I moved on. It wasn't until 2003 or so that I started painting the sea / space monster things I do now. They grew out of drawings I had been doing for years. Kind of automatic drawing style psyche stuff.
When did you first begin to take an interest in the esoteric?
When I was young, like 11 or so, I was fascinated with mythology and fantasy stories. I started reading up on the witch trials and slowly gravitated to more mystical work. By 13 I had figured out how to get books from other libraries sent to mine and was reading books on 14th century demonology and kabbalah. Crowley came along by my mid-teens, as did yoga, meditation and other mind expansion techniques; although I was totally straight edge (though not vegetarian) all through high school.
In the final analysis, what is your take on Crowley?
Crowley is funny, especially in the UK where he still gets press. On the one hand he was an amazingly intelligent guy who spoke a half dozen languages and wrote an enormous amount of brilliantly insightful material into mystical traditions, esoteric thinking, and the nature of religion. On the other hand he was a man raised with money, used to being given what he wanted and overly indulgent of his desires/passions. The thing I find funny is how they still call Crowley a "Satanist!" in the UK press. It's been 100 years and as many books have been written about him and yet no research gets done or basic fact checking when an article about him comes out in the mainstream media. Yet when he does get mentioned its always "DRUG USER! "SATANIST!" etc. In today's world someone like George Michael it doing more in the way of "bad things" than Crowley ever did. How controversial is a guy who is bisexual, practices yoga and does drugs today?
READ FULL INTERVIEW IN LSD MAGAZINE issue 6
THIS IS WHAT RSH SAID ABOUT THE INTERVIEW
THIS IS WHAT RSH SAID ABOUT THE INTERVIEW
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
LSD Magazine Interviews William Parry on Palestine Wall Art (Issue 6)
We are privileged to welcome journalist, author and photographer William Parry to LSD Magazine. William has just published Against the Wall, a book crammed full of original photography and captivating, deeply emotive insight that documents both the art of the separation wall that pillages the land, the resources, the freedom and the dignity of Palestine as well as the struggle that it so starkly symbolises. Oscillating between the art itself, it’s evolution, the balance between local paint and visiting solidarity and the human cost and searing scars that the wider conflict has torn into the Palestinian psyche, the book examines the throbbing concrete heart of this terrifying symbol of injustice and grinds it’s visual story into grim focus...
What drove your commitment to documenting the art of the separation wall?
First and foremost, the injustice of the wall and the millions ways that the graffiti communicates this and the steadfastness of the Palestinians in their struggle. I was doing an article about the legacy of Banksy and co.’s Santa’s Ghetto project in Bethlehem. I’d been many times and as I was leaving Bethlehem on this occasion I was amazed to see how much new artwork had gone up on the wall since my last visit. I texted my partner, joking that someone should document it for subsequent generations because all walls fall, and it’d be a shame to lose all this stunning work on this hated wall. I quickly thought: hey, it’s not a bad idea and I proposed it to Pluto Press, who quickly backed it. The advocacy movement for Palestine urgently needs fresh and creative ways of communicating with Western audiences so that it can get new support and raise awareness, like with the anti-apartheid movement – only then will real pressure on Israel build to respect international law. The Santa’s Ghetto project, pulled off with astonishing skill, creativity, originality and humour by Banksy et al and Pictures on Walls (POW), was such an act, making headlines around the world and showed Christmas shoppers in the West that Bethlehem/Palestine is being destroyed by Israel’s occupation and the wall. The book is a continuation of their fortnight there and their thinking – with the human stories of Palestinian hardship and resistance between the artwork.
Can you give us some insight into how you went about researching the book?
There are thousands of wonderful, committed people who form a web of solidarity for justice, involved with various groups and from all walks of life. It’s a growing, international community of people who are doing their little bit to raise awareness about Israel’s decades of injustice in Palestine. I depended hugely on their contacts, their energy, their assistance, their lifts to areas on the ground in some cases, to meet people with tragic and inspiring stories to tell. In the UK I had original assistance from Tristan Manco at POW, who put me in touch with many of the artists. Then it was down to basic journalism – gathering the stories, the statistics from the many organisations who produce regular reports on such things (the UN and humanitarian/human rights groups), and taking a few thousand photos! And of course there’s my wife, who accompanied me through most of the journey and whose language skills and ‘nativeness’ granted us access into the lives of many people I could never have experienced otherwise.
How much did the process change you as a person?
My admiration, respect and understanding of the Palestinian people grew exponentially. I was profoundly moved by their generosity, patience, humour and their steadfastness/ resolve. They taught me a lot about all of these qualities. It also turned me on to street art and taught me a lot about this medium that was previously foreign to me, I’m ashamed to admit.
What is your personal take on whether art diminishes or accentuates the monstrous impact of the wall?
I’d like to think the graffiti highlights it and exposes, stroke by stroke, the nature of Israel’s on-going colonial project, now 62 years old. It’s a small way for ordinary people to express their outrage, their disgust, their solidarity – but it’s the growing number of small but creative ways that civil society is taking to voice its opposition and combat the oppression, given how pathetically our politicians have failed to uphold international law and morality. Instead of writing to your MP, go over, support the local economy, witness Israel’s occupation and leave your mark on the wall. That will lead to other actions and growing awareness, and that will help change the situation for the better.
How much of the art is directed towards a forgetful media and how much do you think is actually for the day to day lives of the communities themselves?
Virtually none is there for the media – the Santa’s Ghetto work was partly to get the media’s attention. But most is for the people caught behind the wall, a small way of saying ‘you are not alone’. That knowledge – whether through the graffiti or by campaigning for their rights in other ways there and here – means a huge amount to them, they say.
Is the spray can mightier than the sword?
It’s a means of communicating about injustice. It’s one means of getting a message across. The more people who learn about Israel’s crimes, the more who challenge the West’s blind backing of Israel – the quicker Israel’s incredibly sophisticated military machine will be undermined. The spray can is part of the spectrum of other creative, non-violent ways being undertaken by civil society to raise awareness, challenge historical narratives and overcome injustice.
What drove your commitment to documenting the art of the separation wall?
First and foremost, the injustice of the wall and the millions ways that the graffiti communicates this and the steadfastness of the Palestinians in their struggle. I was doing an article about the legacy of Banksy and co.’s Santa’s Ghetto project in Bethlehem. I’d been many times and as I was leaving Bethlehem on this occasion I was amazed to see how much new artwork had gone up on the wall since my last visit. I texted my partner, joking that someone should document it for subsequent generations because all walls fall, and it’d be a shame to lose all this stunning work on this hated wall. I quickly thought: hey, it’s not a bad idea and I proposed it to Pluto Press, who quickly backed it. The advocacy movement for Palestine urgently needs fresh and creative ways of communicating with Western audiences so that it can get new support and raise awareness, like with the anti-apartheid movement – only then will real pressure on Israel build to respect international law. The Santa’s Ghetto project, pulled off with astonishing skill, creativity, originality and humour by Banksy et al and Pictures on Walls (POW), was such an act, making headlines around the world and showed Christmas shoppers in the West that Bethlehem/Palestine is being destroyed by Israel’s occupation and the wall. The book is a continuation of their fortnight there and their thinking – with the human stories of Palestinian hardship and resistance between the artwork.
Can you give us some insight into how you went about researching the book?
There are thousands of wonderful, committed people who form a web of solidarity for justice, involved with various groups and from all walks of life. It’s a growing, international community of people who are doing their little bit to raise awareness about Israel’s decades of injustice in Palestine. I depended hugely on their contacts, their energy, their assistance, their lifts to areas on the ground in some cases, to meet people with tragic and inspiring stories to tell. In the UK I had original assistance from Tristan Manco at POW, who put me in touch with many of the artists. Then it was down to basic journalism – gathering the stories, the statistics from the many organisations who produce regular reports on such things (the UN and humanitarian/human rights groups), and taking a few thousand photos! And of course there’s my wife, who accompanied me through most of the journey and whose language skills and ‘nativeness’ granted us access into the lives of many people I could never have experienced otherwise.
How much did the process change you as a person?
My admiration, respect and understanding of the Palestinian people grew exponentially. I was profoundly moved by their generosity, patience, humour and their steadfastness/ resolve. They taught me a lot about all of these qualities. It also turned me on to street art and taught me a lot about this medium that was previously foreign to me, I’m ashamed to admit.
What is your personal take on whether art diminishes or accentuates the monstrous impact of the wall?
I’d like to think the graffiti highlights it and exposes, stroke by stroke, the nature of Israel’s on-going colonial project, now 62 years old. It’s a small way for ordinary people to express their outrage, their disgust, their solidarity – but it’s the growing number of small but creative ways that civil society is taking to voice its opposition and combat the oppression, given how pathetically our politicians have failed to uphold international law and morality. Instead of writing to your MP, go over, support the local economy, witness Israel’s occupation and leave your mark on the wall. That will lead to other actions and growing awareness, and that will help change the situation for the better.
How much of the art is directed towards a forgetful media and how much do you think is actually for the day to day lives of the communities themselves?
Virtually none is there for the media – the Santa’s Ghetto work was partly to get the media’s attention. But most is for the people caught behind the wall, a small way of saying ‘you are not alone’. That knowledge – whether through the graffiti or by campaigning for their rights in other ways there and here – means a huge amount to them, they say.
Is the spray can mightier than the sword?
It’s a means of communicating about injustice. It’s one means of getting a message across. The more people who learn about Israel’s crimes, the more who challenge the West’s blind backing of Israel – the quicker Israel’s incredibly sophisticated military machine will be undermined. The spray can is part of the spectrum of other creative, non-violent ways being undertaken by civil society to raise awareness, challenge historical narratives and overcome injustice.
READ FULL INTERVIEW IN LSD MAGAZINE issue 6
London Street-Art Design Official Portal
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
London Street-Art Design Official Portal
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
Monday, December 27, 2010
LSD Magazine Interviews The Yes Men (Issue 6)
Hello, good evening and welcome to the subversive, lunacy tinged mischief of the Yes Men and their twinkling mission to fix the world. We love our inventive activists here at LSD and have a massive soft spot for complete nutters, and these two anti corporate reprobates combine the two beautifully. Having made two films that document their extraordinary stunts, they set up fake websites purporting to represent some of capitalism’s most shameless offenders, pursue any offers of the oxygen of publicity sent to those ‘organisations’, and proceed to reshape their despicable policies in the full glare of the public eye, raising not only awareness of the issues, but the spectre of those companies having to come out and deny everything, thus reiterating their complete lack of morality to the world. From announcing 12 billion dollars of compensation to the victims of Bhopal live on the BBC on behalf of Dow Chemicals, to unveiling human corpses as the solution to the worlds energy crisis...
Tell us a little about your background in political activism and what inspired you to start the Yes Men.
Well it all kind of happened by accident. We were already working on what you could call an anti-corporate corporation and we ran a thing called RTmark.com where we were trying to put together people with the resources they needed to carry out subversive projects - match making them with people with ideas and sometimes people with money. In the course of doing that, Andy started making fake websites including one for the World Trade Organisation that were so satirical, we expected people to look at them and laugh. In fact though, some people would go to them and having had such a hard time contacting say, WTO representatives through the real site, on finding the contact button on ours, they would email us thinking that we were the real thing. We had been dong that for a while and received a few invitations before we realised that we could follow up on them to participate in the conferences they were asking us to attend.
So you get an invite, you RSVP, and what – you just swan in?
Yeah that’s pretty much it! I mean over the years things have grown more elaborate but the first time round we fully expected to be thrown out, and when we weren’t and people were ready to accept the dark satire that we were indulging in as gospel, it was so surprising and weird that we decided to stick with it. We kept on with actions in that vein, impersonating the WTO and then expanding into many other wrong doers, big corporations and governments for the last decade now.
How do you judge the line between exposing how absurd their policies are through an even more absurd satiric announcement and being credible enough to not get kicked off the stage within the first 30 seconds.
Strangely, we started being very careful about that and tried to ramp up the talk very slowly and not say anything outrageous for a while - sort of lulling the audience into it. Thing was, before long, we found out that there was basically nothing that we couldn’t say in that context because people had so much respect for us and people do tend to trust authority and avoid rocking the boat. They’re in a situation where they are supposed to meet the most important person in the room and get their business card and since we were supposedly the most important people in the room we were the target for everybody to come up, get the business card, meet us and shake our hands, so we had license to say anything and people didn’t respond negatively. Consequently, as the years passed, we really just stopped paying attention to how subtle we had to be.
Were you amazed watching the herd mentality in action as people just swallowed this with very little sense of irony?
We were surprised at first, but then we came to understand that this was human nature and of course it reflects on what’s going on in the world. Think about it, how can we accept things like climate change and continue with business as usual despite the fact that we know that it’s going to kill us or if not in our lifetime, it’s certainly going to be killing a lot of us a few generations down the line. Right now it’s just killing “other” people far away - 300,000 people a year now according to the UN. But knowing that it’s destroying us why do we keep doing it? I think that this reality of people sitting back and not responding is related to that and of course it’s been tested in laboratory experiments, there’s the famous Milgram experiments and a number of others concerning human behavior whether it’s about group dynamics or deference to authority. People are easily manipulated and in many ways, we have what I would call ‘vulnerabilities to reason’, our reason has vulnerabilities where something else kicks in and we stop using that kind of reason.
Why do you think that freedom and capitalism are considered one and the same, especially in the USA?
Well there is one very specific explanation, and that is that a small clutch of ideologically driven people who have a lot of money, have put a tonne of it into that way of seeing the world. That’s one answer, and it’s no accident that these massive lobbying organisations like the US Chamber of Commerce who lobby hard for no regulation, the interests of business and that conception, that idea that human freedom is somehow connected or is in fact the same thing as economic licence. Obviously they’re not, and anybody should be able to see that, but that’s of course not the way it’s gone. It’s clear whose interest it serves - eventually there is an end game to all of this and it’s going to have to change, because you can’t just keep on having unfettered growth. Capitalism is a machine that will destroy itself given enough time and given enough rope and you’d just hope that it doesn’t destroy us all with it.
London Street-Art Design Official Portal
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
Tell us a little about your background in political activism and what inspired you to start the Yes Men.
Well it all kind of happened by accident. We were already working on what you could call an anti-corporate corporation and we ran a thing called RTmark.com where we were trying to put together people with the resources they needed to carry out subversive projects - match making them with people with ideas and sometimes people with money. In the course of doing that, Andy started making fake websites including one for the World Trade Organisation that were so satirical, we expected people to look at them and laugh. In fact though, some people would go to them and having had such a hard time contacting say, WTO representatives through the real site, on finding the contact button on ours, they would email us thinking that we were the real thing. We had been dong that for a while and received a few invitations before we realised that we could follow up on them to participate in the conferences they were asking us to attend.
So you get an invite, you RSVP, and what – you just swan in?
Yeah that’s pretty much it! I mean over the years things have grown more elaborate but the first time round we fully expected to be thrown out, and when we weren’t and people were ready to accept the dark satire that we were indulging in as gospel, it was so surprising and weird that we decided to stick with it. We kept on with actions in that vein, impersonating the WTO and then expanding into many other wrong doers, big corporations and governments for the last decade now.
How do you judge the line between exposing how absurd their policies are through an even more absurd satiric announcement and being credible enough to not get kicked off the stage within the first 30 seconds.
Strangely, we started being very careful about that and tried to ramp up the talk very slowly and not say anything outrageous for a while - sort of lulling the audience into it. Thing was, before long, we found out that there was basically nothing that we couldn’t say in that context because people had so much respect for us and people do tend to trust authority and avoid rocking the boat. They’re in a situation where they are supposed to meet the most important person in the room and get their business card and since we were supposedly the most important people in the room we were the target for everybody to come up, get the business card, meet us and shake our hands, so we had license to say anything and people didn’t respond negatively. Consequently, as the years passed, we really just stopped paying attention to how subtle we had to be.
Were you amazed watching the herd mentality in action as people just swallowed this with very little sense of irony?
We were surprised at first, but then we came to understand that this was human nature and of course it reflects on what’s going on in the world. Think about it, how can we accept things like climate change and continue with business as usual despite the fact that we know that it’s going to kill us or if not in our lifetime, it’s certainly going to be killing a lot of us a few generations down the line. Right now it’s just killing “other” people far away - 300,000 people a year now according to the UN. But knowing that it’s destroying us why do we keep doing it? I think that this reality of people sitting back and not responding is related to that and of course it’s been tested in laboratory experiments, there’s the famous Milgram experiments and a number of others concerning human behavior whether it’s about group dynamics or deference to authority. People are easily manipulated and in many ways, we have what I would call ‘vulnerabilities to reason’, our reason has vulnerabilities where something else kicks in and we stop using that kind of reason.
Why do you think that freedom and capitalism are considered one and the same, especially in the USA?
Well there is one very specific explanation, and that is that a small clutch of ideologically driven people who have a lot of money, have put a tonne of it into that way of seeing the world. That’s one answer, and it’s no accident that these massive lobbying organisations like the US Chamber of Commerce who lobby hard for no regulation, the interests of business and that conception, that idea that human freedom is somehow connected or is in fact the same thing as economic licence. Obviously they’re not, and anybody should be able to see that, but that’s of course not the way it’s gone. It’s clear whose interest it serves - eventually there is an end game to all of this and it’s going to have to change, because you can’t just keep on having unfettered growth. Capitalism is a machine that will destroy itself given enough time and given enough rope and you’d just hope that it doesn’t destroy us all with it.
London Street-Art Design Official Portal
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
LSD Magazine Interviews Artkieda's AK-47 (Issue 6)
Is heisting a piece of art a work of art in itself? Those are the blurred lines prankster, mischief maker, artist, jump-suited nutter and all round shadowy doer of mayhem AK 47 is out to cross, then reverse and cross over again. Infallibly controversial, from his light fingered lifting of Banksy’s Drinker which led him straight to the still smoldering Bonfire of the Momart Vanities to nicking Tracey Emin’s latest slice of drivel, he has opened questions about ownership, value, and the flexibility of the concept of conceptual art. An artist in his own right in between court appearances for exhibiting live firearms, we caught up with AK himself for a quick word...
How did you get involved in the street art scene?
As a kid I used to do a lot of tagging when I was about 17/18. This was in 1974, before anybody knew of the term tagging or knew what it was. I used to write ‘linky ok’, the ‘ok’ was a bit like a ‘@’ sign with the ‘k’ inside the ‘o’. I got arrested for criminal damage on a local bus shelter and while in the cells I dug into the old plaster wall in huge letters, ‘linky OK’ which made my not guilty plea to the shelter damage impossible.
You made headlines when you kidnapped a Banksy piece in the west end of London called The Drinker. What made you lift the piece in the first place?
As a joke and because I knew I could, I knew nobody else would have thought of doing it How did you go about taking The Drinker and where exactly did you take it? I hired a lorry with driver from a friend’s garage in mid-afternoon, went down and removed it from the back of Tottenham Court Road. We drove the piece off blindfolded so he couldn’t see where he was going. Haha. We took it to a friend’s squatted warehouse in Dalston, just off Kingsland road. Did Banksy see the funny side of the stunt? I don’t know, I hope so. I know his manager Steve Lazarides didn’t.
We’ve watched YouTube videos showing you and the lads pretending to blow the piece up with fireworks but what did you really have planned for the piece?
I wanted to swap it for a Banksy original canvas. I mean, I did get him his first broadsheet front cover, a PR dream. I was even contacted by the Guardian’s legal team and made to sign an affidavit that I was nothing to do with Banksy or Pictures on Walls and that this was not a publicity stunt arranged by him. This PR alone was worth a piece. When I sent him the ransom note he offered me the money to buy a gallon of petrol to burn it, and I said I would gladly do that if he gave me a can of petrol that he signed. I was, and still am a massive fan and couldn’t really afford one of his pieces.
How did you get involved in the street art scene?
As a kid I used to do a lot of tagging when I was about 17/18. This was in 1974, before anybody knew of the term tagging or knew what it was. I used to write ‘linky ok’, the ‘ok’ was a bit like a ‘@’ sign with the ‘k’ inside the ‘o’. I got arrested for criminal damage on a local bus shelter and while in the cells I dug into the old plaster wall in huge letters, ‘linky OK’ which made my not guilty plea to the shelter damage impossible.
You made headlines when you kidnapped a Banksy piece in the west end of London called The Drinker. What made you lift the piece in the first place?
As a joke and because I knew I could, I knew nobody else would have thought of doing it How did you go about taking The Drinker and where exactly did you take it? I hired a lorry with driver from a friend’s garage in mid-afternoon, went down and removed it from the back of Tottenham Court Road. We drove the piece off blindfolded so he couldn’t see where he was going. Haha. We took it to a friend’s squatted warehouse in Dalston, just off Kingsland road. Did Banksy see the funny side of the stunt? I don’t know, I hope so. I know his manager Steve Lazarides didn’t.
We’ve watched YouTube videos showing you and the lads pretending to blow the piece up with fireworks but what did you really have planned for the piece?
I wanted to swap it for a Banksy original canvas. I mean, I did get him his first broadsheet front cover, a PR dream. I was even contacted by the Guardian’s legal team and made to sign an affidavit that I was nothing to do with Banksy or Pictures on Walls and that this was not a publicity stunt arranged by him. This PR alone was worth a piece. When I sent him the ransom note he offered me the money to buy a gallon of petrol to burn it, and I said I would gladly do that if he gave me a can of petrol that he signed. I was, and still am a massive fan and couldn’t really afford one of his pieces.
READ FULL INTERVIEW IN LSD MAGAZINE issue 6
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
Sunday, December 26, 2010
LSD Magazine Interviews Belgian Street Artist Resto (Issue 6)
Belgian artist Resto has been taking the flatland's by storm with his gargantuan dreamscape of lovingly warped, modern mythic wonder. Rippling with vibrant colour, he dances through styles from letters to questionably attired giants and has become notorious for the sheer scale and epic nature of so much of his work - often in collaboration with ROA. A wink and a comedic nudge infuse so many of his characters, yet always tempered with a deep compassion that brings his gorillas, his giants, and his lunatic living machines into the realms of empathic humanity. Steeped in the phantasmagoric tradition of the surreal from El Greco to the present day, he has carved his own identity into the industrial landscape of the modernity as his characters and his paintings plaster a warm, loving smile over all of our faces. We spoke to him.
How long have you been painting walls?
My first spray can works date from around ‘96, my first illegal piece must have been 50cm by 50cm hahaha the more serious work came about a year later.
Are you formally trained or did you shoot from the hip?
I got an education at the Academie of Fine Arts in Gent, etchings, linocuts and silkscreenprinting was my master. Allthough I can’t say that helped me a lot.. whether this was my fault or the teachers... who will say. All I know is that I am far more happy now doing my own stuff than back then when teachers told me this or that is not art. If that’s what you mean.
Scale and colour seem to be your signature, when did you decide to paint such large colourful pieces?
After I got kind of bored of always painting five letter pieces of the same height and length I guess.
Do you enjoy painting letters as much as painting characters?
Allthough I kind of got bored doing only letterpieces, I can still enjoy it. I’ve always liked the typographic part of graffiti, that’s what kind of got me into it. But O my god how many times can one repeat the same letter without getting bored with it. Before I actually used to switch names quite often just because I got bored with the letters. A lot depends on the wall and who I am with but in general I enjoy more and more drawing on walls (wherein letters can be involved). The bottom line is: Tags and simple pieces for quick enjoyment, characters and muraldrawings for bigger projects and a longer effect of enjoyment..
How long does it take to paint those large walls?
It depends on how big the wall is, so mostly the job is done in one day. (What can be a long day...) About twelve hours must be the longest I’ve worked on one piece, although I can’t wait to go bigger.
What or who influences your designs most?
That’s a hard one, so much people do, every day new things influence me. I am not a person who tends to keep to one style or technique, because I usually get bored of it very fast. But I could say people close to me influence me, my daily collaborators, crew members and co, and the there are about a million artists I look up to, from El Greco, Bosch, to Schiele, Paul Klee,... Phillip Guston, Jean Spezial are great friends and I think their work is amazing, together with lots of todays illustrators, some of Gents greatest talents, Pointdexter, Bue,...and so much more, not to forget Blu, EricaelCane, Honet, Horfé... Mostly I get my influences from people who make illustrative stuff with great detail.
How do people respond to your work in the city?
I must say we kind of built up a good vibe in the city towards graffiti/street art approaching it from a different angle. Asking people if you can paint their wall can be much more rewarding than just doing some
How long have you been painting walls?
My first spray can works date from around ‘96, my first illegal piece must have been 50cm by 50cm hahaha the more serious work came about a year later.
Are you formally trained or did you shoot from the hip?
I got an education at the Academie of Fine Arts in Gent, etchings, linocuts and silkscreenprinting was my master. Allthough I can’t say that helped me a lot.. whether this was my fault or the teachers... who will say. All I know is that I am far more happy now doing my own stuff than back then when teachers told me this or that is not art. If that’s what you mean.
Scale and colour seem to be your signature, when did you decide to paint such large colourful pieces?
After I got kind of bored of always painting five letter pieces of the same height and length I guess.
Do you enjoy painting letters as much as painting characters?
Allthough I kind of got bored doing only letterpieces, I can still enjoy it. I’ve always liked the typographic part of graffiti, that’s what kind of got me into it. But O my god how many times can one repeat the same letter without getting bored with it. Before I actually used to switch names quite often just because I got bored with the letters. A lot depends on the wall and who I am with but in general I enjoy more and more drawing on walls (wherein letters can be involved). The bottom line is: Tags and simple pieces for quick enjoyment, characters and muraldrawings for bigger projects and a longer effect of enjoyment..
How long does it take to paint those large walls?
It depends on how big the wall is, so mostly the job is done in one day. (What can be a long day...) About twelve hours must be the longest I’ve worked on one piece, although I can’t wait to go bigger.
What or who influences your designs most?
That’s a hard one, so much people do, every day new things influence me. I am not a person who tends to keep to one style or technique, because I usually get bored of it very fast. But I could say people close to me influence me, my daily collaborators, crew members and co, and the there are about a million artists I look up to, from El Greco, Bosch, to Schiele, Paul Klee,... Phillip Guston, Jean Spezial are great friends and I think their work is amazing, together with lots of todays illustrators, some of Gents greatest talents, Pointdexter, Bue,...and so much more, not to forget Blu, EricaelCane, Honet, Horfé... Mostly I get my influences from people who make illustrative stuff with great detail.
How do people respond to your work in the city?
I must say we kind of built up a good vibe in the city towards graffiti/street art approaching it from a different angle. Asking people if you can paint their wall can be much more rewarding than just doing some
READ FULL INTERVIEW IN LSD MAGAZINE issue 6
ALSO FEATURING INTERVIEWS / ARTICLES FROM THIS MOTLEY CREW
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
Ananda nahu, The Correspondents, Solo One, Soulflux, The Orb + Youth, Jerm IX, 69 DB, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Rennie Pilgrem, The Yes Men, Resto, Chaz, Neurodriver, Lokey, Elate, Dhear One, Page 51, Umek, Karma, Andrew Tiernan, K-Guy, Richard A Webster, William Parry, Andy C, Jesus Greus, Push Pony, James Lightning Wilks, Dominic Spreadlove, AK - 47, Mr Sofalumpkins, Mat Banbury, MikkiM, David Corden, Ian Milne, Punch Music, Hudson Zuma, Wayne Anthony, Sirius23
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
