Take two thing a large number of us have manipulated once in their lives: LEGO and chalk. Take it further and create something too amazing for not writing something up about it. Dutchman Peter Westerink and a few other helping hands must have astonished a few by-passers with their 100m2 3D creation depicting a army of LEGO men Terracotta style.
You will see below, pictures showing the steps these guys has to go through. Oh and did I mention that it took 6 full days to a crew of four artists (Leon Keer, who also came up with the design, Remko Van Schaik, Ruben Poncia and Peter Westerink) to get this leaped out if the concrete floor. No surprise that the Sarasota Chalk Festival in Florida was chosen, imagine doing that at Glastonbury festival where it is very likely to rain and wash out a pile of efforts.
A grid is first laid out using chalk, then painted over with white paint before being removed and a mammoth task begins: filling.
Peter and his crew (and many other artists) are part of Planet Streetpainting is a collaborative of international street painters
Les Baker V’s INEBRI-NATION project is one of a kind. One may look at it as another purely photographic work while others a bold take on drug use and in some cases, abuse.
Meet Les Baker, a New Mexico-based photographer who has embarked on the most ludicrous, yet interesting in many aspects, projects taking portraits of people at the moment when the subjects reach the ‘high’ state on different drugs.
The idea behind it is to showcase just how diverse the effects can be, with many various transformations of individuals’ faces. And this is why we like the concept, because we believe the last thing a drug user wants is to face their face in such a state.
Another point worth highlighting is the array of people who took part in this project. You may have thought participants are all drug addicts or heavy users and perhaps from a disadvantaged background, but you could not be more wrong.
“The individuals featured in this series showcase the diversity of those who use mind altering substances. They include students, servers, doctors, soldiers, lawyers, politicians, mothers, fathers, artists, teachers, police officers, fire fighters, and judges,” .
The Creators Project spoke to him about his influences, his visions, and why he started the project in the first place, so head over to find out more about it.
In the meantime, we included some of these portraits below, notice the caption for them which tells you what drug these (brave) souls are on.
Would you be up for having your face which you may not feel but you probably like it <– some may have worked out the reference to this tune “Can’t feel my face” by The Weekend… fitting nicely uh? 🙂
It is such a shame that Nathan Sawaya’s new show is in New York and not in London as his art is truly fascinating and is using LEGOS bricks. I have a particular and secret love for those bricks which always take me back to sweet and happy childhood memories and playful moments. Continue reading Nathan Sawaya: the art of the LEGO brick→
We are surrounded by coded communications. The artists of This ‘Me’ of Mine present an interesting insight into the difference gender makes to interacting with these coded communications. Curiously, I became aware of this difference by posting snippets, sometimes almost cryptic messages, from some of the artists’ bios on Twitter. A few weeks ago I made these four tweets:
11 Sept 2012
@HarrisonHayley“a lover of objects and stories, not necessarily…historical sense but the bits that are not said. ”
12 Sept 2012
‘a set of anecdotes where meaning is levelled by celebrating the beautiful and grotesque,’ Mel Titmuss on her work
13 Sept 2012
@Captainpye on her work, ‘…a complex mixture of scientific observation and a girlish enthusiasm…’ @ThisMeofMine
14 Sept 2012
‘fascination w/passage of time…contrast between permanence of objects & fragility of human existence’ @katemurdochart
At the time, I remarked that when read together they presented a compelling view of the female point of view in art. Arguably so, yes. But then I realised something more, each of the artists in This ‘Me’ of Mine are working with, perhaps struggling with, this coded communication and there is a fascinating difference between the way the women artists explore this and the way the male artists explore it. The women speak of emptying out of memories, permanence of objects, invisible stories of objects, things left unsaid, equalizing meaning through comparison of opposites, fascination, obsession, fictions and mythologies, voyeurism, vulnerability and body language. The men speak of the limits of communicating meaning, uniforms and meaning, surprise and fear, answers just out of reach, hiding complexities within and stimulus triggering a response.
Before I go further, I want to point out there are many commonalities in the female and male views, such as removing things from context to challenge meaning, the insecurities of home, the influence of space, experience and the passage of time. So while I am not trying to create a gender-biased argument here, I was struck by the differences nonetheless.
Untitled 30-5-11 (c)2011 Darren Nixon
It could be said the struggle to self-identify is the struggle to decipher coded communication. The way we go about that as males and females is indicative in the topics of importance to each group of artists. What does this say about us? Little girls are taught to believe in fairy-tales, romance and dream-come-true scenarios, encouraged to believe in the perfection of a future life, whether that is with Mr Right or more recently that we can do and have it all. Little boys are taught to believe in the importance of belonging to groups and the status which comes with that belonging, hiding their emotions, fears and all visible signs of weakness, encouraged to become providers and bread-winners. Both sexes have been taught to be competitive, in ways suitable to their sex. But if these things are to be challenged, is it really through gender wars? Wouldn’t it be more productive to realize the truth that living is hard no matter what your personal circumstances, there are no guaranteed outcomes and all you can do is the best you can in any given situation. Would prejudice and utopias disappear if we taught those simple realities to our children?
Born in Doncaster in the fifties David Lee flew the nest at a young age to set up residence in London, which heralded a new phase in his life, as he discovered London’s burgeoning hippy scene. However, during his early thirties, his love affair with France began with the marriage of his French wife.
Inspired by modern French painters, particularly Cézanne, his exploration of the forthright nude and his radical brush strokes were the first step toward Impressionism.
Lee’s paintings are inspired not only from the South of France and Paris but from the era between the 1920’s and 50’s, which is a common theme in all of his work.
Lee readily adopted the cafe culture of our continental cousins where Paris seized him. Spending so much time in the City of Lights, enjoying such impassioned vibrancy, the cafes were the creative enclaves where his artistry was honed.
His work embodies a delightful image of French café culture. The distinction from Lee’s work is how he captures this hustle and bustle of Parisian cafés giving us canvases splashed with vivid colour, radiating gaiety and the joy of life.
A second love interest later developed and this new ménage-a-trois between London, Paris and the South of France was a source of nouveau inspiration. With a palette full of colour from the warm South, Lee has brought back from the azure shore paintings that palpitate with hot sunlight and dazzle with their audacious colour.
Exclusively for Graffik Gallery David Lee has also painted a series of French inspired pop-art portraits.
To celebrate Lee’s Anglo-French love affair the preview will feature a themed party, which includes feasting on French delicacies, a wine tasting and a mime artist.
‘Vive La France’ 26 April – 9 May 2012 – Daily 11am to 6pm
To RSVP to the Private View (26/4) please email art@graffikgallery.co.uk
VETA GORNER at the BEN OAKLEY GALLERY, Greenwich
Preview Evening 9th November 2012, 6.30pm – 9.30pm
A fresh and exciting solo exhibition of new works by Veta Gorner. Veta is a multi-instrumentalist high quality Printmaker. Using her own Press she creates unique etchings, lithographs drypoint, screenprints, colographs and processes that have not even been named yet.
Technically excellent her works are strong in colour and delicate in content, they carry a dense raw energy that are aesthetically balanced, some built up from layers of the finest hand made papers with waxes and thread woven through, it is in the detail that you can read the time consuming journey that goes into each individual piece.
Ben Oakley comments: “This new body of work sees Veta experimenting on an open brief with no real narrative, some natural abstract fluid forms effortlessly merging with bolder but subtle architectural influences.
Veta shares time between her London & Swedish Studios always observing the cultural differences in each country and around the world, she is engaged and fascinated in the parallels of life as they overwhelm and delight us simultaneously.”
VISITOR INFORMATION
BEN OAKLEY GALLERY
9 Turnpin Lane, Greenwich, London SE10 9JA
DLR: Cutty Sark Greenwich ( 2 minutes walk )
Overground Train: Greenwich Station ( 5 minutes walk )
Opening Times: Thursday –Sunday 11-6pm
Monday –Wednesday by appointment.
All media enquiries /invitations: contact Ben Oakley:
To coincide with (another) David Bowie exhibition, namely “The many faces of David Bowie” opening tonight at Opera gallery, Jimmy C unveiled a large scale portrait in Brixton, where David Bowie is from. You will have recognised the the iconic Aladdin Sane image here.
Now on to the show at Opera Gallery. We hear that a bunch of artists including street ones will share their visions of the iconic singer. Some of the artists includes Paul Alexis, Joe Black, C215 and Nick Gentry
What – The Many Faces iof David Bowie Where – Opera Gallery (new bond street) When – 21 June to 21 july
The exhibition that opens at the New Bond Street gallery on Friday (June 21) will consist of contemporary visions of ‘Bowie Mania’ with one-off masterpieces and tributes with street artists including Mr Brainwash, Joe Black and The London Police.
Some will tell you how ugly all these road signs, billboards and others are and how much they give our cities an ugly look. This is when The Billboard Art Project comes in with a awesome idea which surely will enhance the city landscape.
They acquire digital LED billboards normally used for advertising and repurpose them as roadside galleries. .Projects are currently held in various US cities only.
What makes this project even better is that it is open to anyone who is interested in contributing. The type of artwork consists of images specifically created for the medium or art turned into the required format. And you should never get bored since artwork rotates every 6-10 seconds.
Street artist Mobstr has a very interesting artistic approach and combine stencils with nagging messages which have made Newcastle (where he is from) council going loopy more than once.
Mobstr purpose is to make us see the public space we live in.
Take two thing a large number of us have manipulated once in their lives: LEGO and chalk. Take it further and create something too amazing for not writing something up about it. Dutchman Peter Westerink and a few other helping hands must have astonished a few by-passers with their 100m2 3D creation depicting a army of LEGO men Terracotta style.
Born in Doncaster in the fifties David Lee flew the nest at a young age to set up residence in London, which heralded a new phase in his life, as he discovered London’s burgeoning hippy scene. However, during his early thirties, his love affair with France began with the marriage of his French wife.
Some will tell you how ugly all these road signs, billboards and others are and how much they give our cities an ugly look. This is when The Billboard Art Project comes in with a awesome idea which surely will enhance the city landscape.
