We only recently heard from Plastic Jesus, a Los Angeles based artist, and while his motivation are clearly political and on that basis can be compared to other street artists such as Banksy, although Plastic Jesus seems to vary a little more his mediums and art forms by often making bold installations which he will spread around the city of LA.
We have included below some of his works.
Reading a bit more about the artist, I quickly realised that we are looking at a “modern” street artist –
1. Mass audience attention thanks to The Huffington Post in particular which listed two works by Plastic Jesus in the end of year round up of “The Best of Los Angeles Street art 2012”, one of them was “No more heroes” featuring disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong connected to an IV drip
2.Concerns about his work ethic and try to harm as little the environment. The artist will even send someone to remove his work should you not like it
3. Does art galleries show, sell prints of his street artworks and he is represented in the UK by Walton Fine Arts located in Knightsbridge
The last point will make cringe the purists street art heads out there.
I have no particular issue with the points above and like the messages Plastic Jesus tries to get accross, what do you reckon?
We came across these mind-blowing sculptures and could not resist sharing them with you. Defying gravity or just beautiful, you can decide for yourself. We hope you’ll enjoy them.
Why not telling us about them in the comments below?
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Name: “The Immigrant Sculpture” by Bruno Catalano Location: Portugal Meaning: Symbolizing luggage full of dreams but an empty heart, because you are leaving everything behind.
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Name: “Popped Up” by Ervin Loránth Hervé Location: Budapest (Hungary) Meaning: Promotional piece for Art market Budapest (2014). The temporary sculpture combines art with nature, surprising visitors while welcoming them to the Eastern capital.
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Name: Jeju Loveland Location: Jeju island in South Korea Meaning:Jeju Loveland is an outdoor sculpture park which opened in 2004 on Jeju Island in South Korea. The park is focused on a theme of sex, featuring 140 sculptures representing humans in various sexual positions.
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Name: “Hippo Squares” Location: Taipei Zoo (Taiwan) Meaning: The square is the brainchild of former zoo Director Chen Pao-chung, who came up with the concept while looking for ways to complement the African Animal Area. After consulting with employees and designers, Chen greenlighted the square and it went on to become one of the facility’s signature nonliving attractions.
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Name: Not known Location: Tuen Mun Park (Hong Kong) Meaning: Not known
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Name: “The Rundle Mall pigs” Location: Rundle Mall, Adelaide (Australia) Meaning: The four pigs won Adelaide City Council’s Rundle Mall National Sculpture Competition for the upgraded Rundle Mall in 1997. South African-born and Sydney-based sculptor Marguerite Derricourt was the winner. Her four bronze pigs were unveiled on July 3, 1999.
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Name: “River God Tyne” statue by sculptor David Wynne (1968) Location: Newcastle Town hall (UK) Meaning: It portrays the river God in human form, a fountain within his outstretched hand coursing a constant stream of water along the tortured and twisted torso of the aquatic diety.
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Name: “Octopus plays Chess” by Leigh Dyer Location: Hasting Old Town (UK) Meaning: These fantastic pieces that live in the Chess Square, George Street, Hastings Old Town.
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Name: Yorkshire sculpture park (UK) Location: Yorkshire sculpture park (UK) Meaning: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is an open-air gallery in West Bretton near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, showing work by British and international artists
Name: Rock sculpture by Smaban Abbas Location: Terminal 3, Cairo airport (Egypt) Meaning: ?
LUDO, French steet art from Paris made a visit to Poland during the Katowice Street Art Festival and took this opportunity to complete this hiuge piece depicting what looks like an aunt wearing “police” gear.
When asking Leo Rocha about making striking images to publicise Ecuador and its tourism, I wonder whether the tourism board of this country knew that they were in for a treat! I do not know for you but we think here at Art-Pie that these are pretty awesome and we definitely want to go and check out Ecuador now!.
Made by Koenig & Partners ad agency. CGI by Luiz Alves and Javier Porcel. Retouch by Leo Rocha, Ramon Saroldi and Marceu Lobo.
After a successful and very positively received installation at APT Gallery in Deptford, This ‘Me’ of Mine moves onto its second venue in a four venue tour. The exhibition will open Friday 12 April at Strange Cargo|Georges House Gallery in Folkestone. The new venue is a lot more intimate than the generous space at APT and therefore might be an interesting challenge for Jane Boyer, the curator, to recreate the grandiose atmosphere I felt when I visited the show.
Jane Boyers says “Stage two of a four venue tour begins this week at Strange Cargo|Georges House Gallery in Folkestone. The difference in gallery space for the second venue will impact the relationships of the works to each other and will present new connections for visitors to the show. The changing context of space becomes a visible manifestation of the project theme – ‘self in relation to context’.”
““When I installed the work at APT in their wonderful space, I was able to give much of that space to the works themselves, allowing time for reflection and possibly a deeper look into the work in the show. I soon realised, though, that the space I allowed the works became more than just ‘space’, it became a visible manifestation of the project theme, self in relation to context. Just as each piece in the show makes visible an aspect of self and identity, this space made ‘context’ visible. That excited me,”
If we had to pick out three artworks from what we saw at APT, David Riley, Aly Helyer and David Minton got our attention and our curiosity excited.
David Ryley‘s work using some very 2.0 mediums such as a digital photo frame and or twitter who makes him a very cutting-edge and interesting artist to observe. We particularly liked his work “Twitter user names: coded and transcribed – TUNC” (c)2013 which consists of printed A4 office paper, printed on an office inkjet printer, connected into a continuous record using binding combs. Hung using a steel rod and steel eyelets. 300mm x 1800mm x 20mm (variable, will grow). You cannot get more current than that!
While social media channels are becoming part of out lives, and can even take over then, we understood here why Jane Boyer included this piece in her show as a witness of the ‘ME’ in a social interaction phenomena.
Credits: This ME Of Mine
Aly Helyer‘s ‘Strange Fruit‘ (c)2007 ink on paper 67 x 101 cm mesmerised us and took us to many places. Look at it again and you seem to perceive things, or are they faces or just thoughts. Thoughts of the artist, maybe not so happy but that reminded us that the ‘ME’ is before deep inside all of us.
David Minton‘s Peripheral Vision (c)2010 oil on canvas 152.4 x 121.9 cm calmed us and reminded us of the simplicity of the ME sometimes. It can be everything and then nothing anymore.
Credits: This ME of mine
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This ‘Me’ of Mine showcases work by: Aly Helyer, Edd Pearman, Jane Boyer, Darren Nixon, Hayley Harrison, Melanie Titmuss, Annabel Dover, Kate Murdoch, David Minton, Anthony Boswell, David Riley, Sandra Crisp, Sarah Hervey, Shireen Qureshi, and Cathy Lomax.
Detail of “Hofbauergasse” | This piece will be in our next show
We were thrilled to receive James’ submission for our upcoming edition of The Creative Bubble, a multi-discipline pop up event atRoxy Bar and Screen, London. James has been following us for a while and we are delighted to give him the opportunity to showcase his work.
We asked a few questions to the man about himself and his art –
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Art-Pie – Can you tell our readers about yourself in a few words?
James Kinsella – I am Visual Artist, practicing and living in Vienna, Austria. I received my M.A. in Visual Arts Practices from IADT Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.
I have an ongoing work The Socialmaterialbank project, it is an art platform that identifies and maps critical issues that are of immediate concern to our global community. We present the public with questions on these issues and invite the participants to share their responses on the Socialmaterialbank. We collect and document the participant’s responses and collective instructions, on our platform – the Socialmaterialbank. Website at www.jamespkinsella.org
Through painting and screen-printing I explore how we build and perceive our concept of home by ‘investigating’ my subconscious and unconscious records and views of Vienna!
Art-Pie – Can you tell us about your creative process and where does your inspiration come from?
James Kinsella – I believe that through art we can engage with local communities and through participation, commoning and consensus arrive at and create a better and more sustainable world. I paint, draw, photograph and create instillations and I have a social practice (Participatory) where I use my varied art skills to engage with local people at festivals, events and galleries here in Vienna.
Art-Pie – Give us the name of three artists you admire or like?
James Kinsella – I really like all artists as they dedicate so much of their energy to the arts. But as I presently live in Vienna, here I admire Egon Scheele, Gustav Klimt and Viennese Actionism – Brus, Mühl, Nitsch and Schwarzkogler.UK artists, Tracey Emin, David Hockney and Lucian Freud
Art-Pie – Street art is something we like at Art-Pie, what is your take on that form of art?
James Kinsella – Street art has always engaged and impressed me, it occupies public space and is an ancient effective, low cost, un-censored way of communication with the public. To me it’s sort of a democratic way of claiming public space and questioning the statuesque. My wife is a Roman Archaeologist and I had the privilege to attend a lecture by an American Lecturer, that included text on Roman graffiti and street art – it was amazing, shocking, surprising and beautiful lots of sex and erotica. I really admire Art- Pie for their consistent exposure, support and promotion of Graffiti artists, please keep it going as support is needed.
Art-Pie – Are there any other projects or shows that you will be involved with for the rest of 2015 that you want share with us?
James Kinsella – I post my up and coming shows on my website: www.jamespkinsella.org I am organising a number of shows presently but no fixed dates at the moment.
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WHAT – The Creative Bubble, POP UP Art Gallery, Spoken Word, Poetry, Short Films, Music & Networking WHERE – Roxy Bar and Screen, 128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB WHEN – Wed 29/4/2015 (POP UP art gallery opening night) / Thursd 30 (Spoken word)
The 2014 edition of the football World Cup has now been on for almost a week and it has already been labelled as the better edition of the last 20 years.
While most of us have been enjoying great goals from the safety of our couch, brazilian street artists have taken their art to the city walls of Brazil, mainly Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo to remind us of the dark side of the Great game as they put it.
Artist: Paulo Ito Where: Sao Paulo
The mural shows a starving, crying child with only a football on his dinner plate serves to highlight the vast expense of hosting the World Cup when the money for food, schools and hospitals is needed so much.
“There is so much wrong in Brazil that it is difficult to know where to start,” Ito said. It seems the beautiful game has a dark side.” says Paul Ito
FIFA is not the most welcome and loads of artists ask the football association to go. Cranio is one if them it would seem. One of his mural shows a suited man throwing a sack labelled “public money” down the toilet.
Artist: B.Shanti from the Captain Borderline crew What: Anti Copa Mural Project organized by Colorrevolution and Amnesty International Where: Rio de Jainero (Brazil) Dedicated to all brasilians who lost their home during the brutal eviction.
But not everything is negative, take a look at this street view project from Google showing you panoramic views of (happy) street art from Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo amongst others.
Last week first edition of our pop up at l’Escargot was a success.
Although we ended up in the Salon Vert instead of The Library, we managed to play with the existing layout (we cannot make new holes or adjustment in this venue – fair enough when you see how sumptuous the venue is) and displayed a very nice set of paintings.
Now, we have informed that we will not have the room or any other one until Next year as November and December are busy months for l’Escargot with loads of corporate events happening. We will meet again with the venue by the end of the year to discuss options for 2017.
We would like to thank you for your interest and we will keep you in the loop for this one and about any other pop up events or show we get involved with
Be ready for what should be another good show by the folks at Hang-Up in Shoreditch. They are presenting again Alex Daw whose last year show sold out. This year the second solo entitled Proper-Gander in a rather unusual subterranean members club in the city called Eight in a show opening on the 6th December. Continue reading Alex Daw at Eight club by Hang-up→
