GRAFFITI AND GUERILLA ART
Herakut painting live in Berlin, 01/11/2009
BMW Krink MINI Cooper S. Hamburg, Germany 2009. For more info, please visit krink.com
Directed & Filmed by: Candice House and Brian Smith
Edited & Produced by: Vincent Aricco and Michael Matassa
Sound design by: Jimmy Guthrie
Special thanks to: Hense, Ironlak, Mai Phung, Lexi Aricco, Sever, Michael Ouweleen, Johnny Colt
Edited & Produced by: Vincent Aricco and Michael Matassa
Sound design by: Jimmy Guthrie
Special thanks to: Hense, Ironlak, Mai Phung, Lexi Aricco, Sever, Michael Ouweleen, Johnny Colt
BREAKING NEWS:
So it turns out the show as listed below was unfortunately canned (no pun intended). Apparently funding was withdrawn.
That didn't stop Revok who took the opportunity to get up only before finding himself snapped...
That didn't stop Revok who took the opportunity to get up only before finding himself snapped...
on his way to the airport!
It seems technology was his downfall in the end.
Watch for yourself:
Last Sunday night at 8.30pm there was an interesting documentary on ABC2 called Guerilla Art.
If you missed it: This Sunday on ABC1 at 3.00pm they will be replaying it.
According to the blurb,
"A new generation of international street artists are
the latest hot property for galleries, art collectors and big advertising brands."
Well I am not sure you would credit artists like Futura 2000, Ramm:ell:zee, Blek le Rat, or Os Gemeos as a "new generation" but regardless... it's not every night you flick on the television and are blessed by their presence.
It's filmed in New York, London, Paris, Sao Paulo and Tokyo and with the help of Agnes B and art curator Jerome Sans, takes a look at survival from an artist's point of view. Everything from selling limited-edition prints to clothing designs and record labels, vinyl toys and logos.
It's filmed in New York, London, Paris, Sao Paulo and Tokyo and with the help of Agnes B and art curator Jerome Sans, takes a look at survival from an artist's point of view. Everything from selling limited-edition prints to clothing designs and record labels, vinyl toys and logos.
For the most part I found it really interesting.
It wasn't groundbreaking in that there wasn't anything entirely new... although it was worth it to see the suit Space Invader gets around in.
I've always been a big fan of Dan Witz.
Here is a fantastic interview with the man himself.
His work is technically astounding and from his early street
paintings of hummingbirds has held a delicate blend of subtlety
[the kind experienced from the work of old masters] - plus some
good ole fashioned social commentary thrown in for good measure.
--as equally at home alongside dutch masters in stuffy institutions
as they are in back-alleys textured and scrawled with graffiti.
Below is a recent Halloween inspired paste-up to promote
his new exhibition in LA at Carmichael Gallery.
Dan Witz, Untitled. 2009
It is something you could just as easily walk past...
but that is all part of it's beauty.
As Witz himself proclaimed in an interview with Craig Dershowitz
from Bombin' Magazine,
"I never realized how deeply people were sleepwalking until this year
when I put up the fake ventilator grates on the new condo buildings.
These pieces were glaringly obvious but it was amazing how long they
lasted-how little they were noticed (and removed). More than once I
watched the condo people somnambulate right by, oblivious, usually
absorbed in their cell phones."
Dan Witz. Laura. 2008 23x17 oil and mixed media on canvas
It's not a stretch to consider similarities
between his work and advertising.
I am not entirely sure who came first but these ad campaigns
appear to have held a great deal of resonance for me.
I've only seen them online but I haven't forgotten them at all
and while I can't recall the organizations involved, I do feel
more aware of the cause. I am pretty sure that is the objective.
Homeless campaign, Date Unknown
It wouldn't be the first time the advertising industry
appropriated ideas/ imagery from a street based artist
and it could be completely coincidental but it is a little
uncanny how similar the images/concepts are.
As an artist with a Masters in Creative Advertising, i see
value in the kinds of creative processes used by
advertisers but regardless of who came first...
when you do notice them, the images certainly
stop you in your tracks!
There has been recent criticism regarding the methods
employed by Dan. Apparently he blows up large photographs
and paints directly over them. In an interview with Louise Bak
in 2008, Dan clarified/justified this process further,
"These days, my jumping-off point is about trying to make
my stuff even more realistic - past the point of what's been
possible in the past.
I mean isn't this what we're supposed to be doing - pushing on
to new forms? To this end, I experiment with various digital
and photographic aids; I employ new technologies and blend
them with old master techniques. In fact a lot of my street
works are more Photoshop than paint.
To me this isn't heresy or a contradiction (although it's definitely
contrarian). Different times demand different approaches."
These are indeed very different times and I am definitely inspired
to see where Dan's work takes us next. With such a strong grounding
in tradition and such an eye on the future and progression of his work,
it is easy to see why he was such an inspiration for me growing up.
For now, here is a piece from his new DARK DOINGS show.
For more of Dan Witz please take some time out and visit his website.
___________________________________________________
New Work: Kasumi
I had my exhibition at Cylinder which was a great success, although I didn't really have much time to give it the attention I would like to due to the fact that I was busy getting my Fragments show completed in time. It was a fantastic experience all round and Leticia, who runs Cylinder, is really on the level and extremely supportive of the arts.
The show hosted my Mugshot series which revealed celebrities in their finest of hours immortalized in Oil on Linen. Feel free to see them on my website but fyi the celebrities in attendance were Heather Locklear, Robert Downey Jr, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Shia Labeouf, Edward Furlong, Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton.
The following night I had my exhibition at 19 Karen which is housed in a fantastic space on the Gold Coast. The opening night had over 50 people travel from Brisbane to support my work which was fantastic considering there was a big music festival on the same night. So basically I was competing with Empire of the Sun, The Cool Kids, Mstrkrft, A-Track and The Rapture to name a few. That's cool though because overall there were a few hundred people in attendance. A big thank you to all who made it down!
Celebrity Mugshots
Celebrity Mugshots - All works created by Benjamin Reeve
It will be up for a month for those keen on checking it out.
My solo show at 19KAREN is coming along really well and should be a fantastic night all round.
The opening night is September 26th and the show will run until October 17th.
New Work-Progress Shots
For the past week or so I haven't been able to access my studio due to external reasons.
I was put in a position though where I was forced to make new space in our sun-room. There are benefits to this:
- Being around people.
- Being around all my records.
Below are a few process shots for a solo show coming up in September.
I really miss painting with an easel and should move the works back to the studio and continue there but they are a little large and as I am painting in oil, are wet wet wet.
I hope you like the progress of this one.
I don't want to give too much away before the show and apologies for the quality but we'll have to make do with shots from my phone for now...
Vegas Spray
VEGAS SPRAY.COM is an online gallery dedicated to Brisbane artists and it's nice to see something localized on the world wide web for a change.
There really is some fantastic work coming out of this place.
Presently they have their very first show...
appropriately titled LAUNCH SHOW 2009.
My work is among the works represented and it's completely online so check the show for yourself here
celebrity mugshot paintings
The mugshot series really was developed as a single body
of work to be hung together. It is difficult to imagine
the overall presence of the work due to the fact that you are
order for display. To get the proper impact, you need to see
the works for yourself.
of work to be hung together. It is difficult to imagine
the overall presence of the work due to the fact that you are
- viewing it on screen
- seeing the works in a tiny format and
- seeing them displayed separately
order for display. To get the proper impact, you need to see
the works for yourself.
Dr Who?
Here is an image I painted for the latest K9 tv series (dr. who). It was prominently featured in the main staircase of the mansion. This is actually just one of a pair. I will dig up the other one soon.
Encaustic painting
I have just returned from a fantastic weekend away in the country complete with rolling hills and suspicious locals.
The town in question (Maleny), while being very peaceful and calming, has its own rules. Community members are all about self sufficiency. So much in fact that they are releasing their own currency, the Baroon , set to launch in August..
It appears that the Aussie dollar isn't good enough around these parts.
The cool thing is that artists are encouraged to design the notes.
I would love to design a currency... unfortunately it is only open to locals though.
Maybe we can try to organize a Fortitude Valley currency in the near future...
Anyway... here is one of my very first encaustic trials.
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