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There is horror in my work...
"There is horror in my work, a kind of cinematic narrative where the good guy always loses. There is a duplicity where cuteness and evil coexist behind the saccharine façade of a comic-book character or a much loved fast food restaurant. I am reflecting a world in trouble, a heaving dying fur-seal of an earth that is being repeatedly clubbed with baton-sized television remote controls. The drips that melt down the canvas are nods to an immense self-destructing machine made up of endless icons, logos and expressions that are the infected medical waste of the 20 th century.At first it is a feeling of wanting to express this consumerist, pop-culture Armageddon that we are a part of, but I realize I have no choice, as, like you I have been given the responsibility of its maintenance and I never flipped through the instruction book (if there ever was one).
Any second now, any second now – we’ll all wake up."
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Ben Frost's work fuses logos, comic book characters and corporate mascots together into sometimes irreverent yet always playful statements on the nature of today's society.
He has worked and exhibited in Japan, Europe and across the USA. Frost's work has appeared in many magazines such as Vogue, Australian Art Collector and Harper's Bazar; and his commissioned work includes Nokia, Mambo, Tiger Beer, Livid and Warner Records
The philosophy of Obey
The Philosophy of Obey (Obey Giant) is said to be "one of the fundamental texts of 21st Century aesthetics - short, bold, candid, puzzling and remarkable in its power to stir the imagination of philosophers and artists alike.”
Written in short, carefully numbered sentences of extremely revealing candor, it is certain to capture the imagination of a generation of Street Artists and philosophers. For Obey, discourse is something used to examine reality, which is in itself both elusive and unobtainable.
Shepard of Obey famously summarised this book in the following words:
“I aim to bring something new to every artwork.”
The work is prefaced by Sarah Jaye Williams introduction to the first edition.
Sarah Jaye Williams has followed all Obey's art and ideas throughout Shepard Fairey's career.
She has compiled quotes for the “Philosophy of Obey” book by meticulously reading hundreds of his articles and interviews. These quotes touch on a broad range of topics and show the evolution of Fairey's positions over the years.
"There is humour, irreverence, hope, pessimism, anger, jubilation, and even maybe some wisdom mixed in with all the potentially contradictory thoughts and emotions," comments Shepard Fairey about the book.
Three (3) Versions of the book are available at nervebooks.net; Comprehensive, Volume I and Volume II
Obey Giant (1989 – 2008). Regarded by many as one of the most significant street art campaigns.
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Pink, Orange, and Yellow Sheets
One of the many ways in which a royalty-free art book can be used!
The below photos display an installation of over 180 graphics from the new book, "Reproduce & Revolt" (Soft Skull Press/Counterpoint; 978-0-9796636-1-1). All images in the book are copyright free and were reproduced via xerox on neon-colored paper. The more than 150 sheets of paper were manually tacked in about 8 hours of time! Special thanks to my buddies Ray Hernandez and Leticia Hernandez for helping me with this great task!!
The photo shows Reproduce and Revolt's co-editor, Favianna Rodriguez and Ray Hernandez.
The piece is part of the book release party happening this weekend in Los Angeles, CA.
Photo by Favianna Rodriguez
YES! Posters are crucial
The Taller Tupac Amaru's mission is to produce and distribute screenprinted political posters and to foster a resurgence in the screenprinting medium.
This type of collaboration and support given by a vast network of people was crucial in order to place 10,000 posters into the hands of hundreds immigrant right activists around the globe, and the thousands of people they help organize.
A historic gathering brought together over 300 migrant leaders from the US and Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America this May 2008, in Mexico City, to form a global association of remitters and their families.
The event is said to have helped consolidate remitters’ economic and political power and gave them the space to define an agenda for the sustainable economic development of migrant communities.
The conference was convened by TIGRA (Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action).
YES! Posters are crucial for today’s immigrant rights movement!
They printed EACH poster in a run of 2000 via offset and freely distribute them to the organisations attending the gathering. The posters will reach cities around the globe, so that they may introduce new and inspiring concepts about what it means to be an immigrant in the 21st century. They forged partnerships with over 20 individual donors, whose generosity made this project possible.
This ambitious project was advanced by the collective power, action and love of many, many people all of whom are part of the immigrant rights movement.
The Gun & the Gaze
Shirin Neshat's "Women of Allah" photo series:
There is a palpable energy in Shirin Neshat's photographs, an almost tangible seduction obviating the violence it borders, deeply rooted in the historical culture she would ultimately have to call "home."
Born in Iran in 1957, photographer and installation/film artist Neshat came to the United States as a student in 1974. She remained away from Iran throughout the revolution, until her first visit back in 1990. This trip, and the visits that followed, catalysed her exploration of Westernisation, Islam, gender roles, martyrdom, and censorship against the backdrop of her birth country.
Her stark yet stunning black-and-white photography series "Women of Allah" wherein her models (often herself) are clothed in the iconographic chador, Farsi calligraphy, and weapons won her international acclaim.
Neshat followed this success with a series of installation video and film projects that are often mounted on two screens in enclosed spaces, gripping the audience in visual and aural experience. Less specific to the revolution, these metaphorical, unconventional and performative narratives employ Islamic/Eastern references and other archetypes to explore power dynamics, isolation, societal forces, autobiography, and exile. Throughout her work, Neshat not only redefines the critical boundaries of her art but expands the viewer's capacity to contemplate ideas of universal significance.
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iResist
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May Flower
"May Flower" has been designed by Jef Aérosol - 2008 -
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MAZAJ BEIRUT
Shot by sugarpop, some of the walls speak loud the artists' mind & heart.
Explosive street art! check it by yourself...
