BLOG, FEATURE, STREET ART

Visual Impact – Creative Dissent in the 21th Century

Liz McQuiston‘s new book ‘Visual Impact – Creative Dissent in the 21th Century’, is out now.   It is a richly illustrated exploration on art and design driving major social and political change in the 21st century.

Loads of events, such as Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, etc., plus social issues like poverty, equality, gun-control and more, have given rise to what is known as ‘activist’ or ‘protest’ art.

Visual Impact highlights the extraordinary power of art and graphic design to affect social and political change. Generously illustrated with over 400 images, this is a visual guide to the most influential and highly politicized imagery of the digital age.  Read more about the book

To celebrate the book and all dissident artists, we’ve included some famous and striking images below from artists conveying a strong (and often) political message.

Artist: JR

JR | Art-Pie
28 Millimetres: Women Are Heroes by JR, Kenya, 2009. From Visual Impact

Artist: ROA

The Lenticular Rabbit by ROA, London, UK, 2009. Photo by RomanyWG.
The Lenticular Rabbit by ROA, London, UK, 2009. Photo by RomanyWG.

Artist: unknown

From Visual Impact: Creative Dissent in the 21st Century
From Visual Impact: Creative Dissent in the 21st Century

Artist: Princess Hijab

‘Hijabizing’ intervention in the Paris Metro by Princess Hijab, France, 2006-11. From Visual Impact (Phaidon, 2015)
‘Hijabizing’ intervention in the Paris Metro by Princess Hijab, France, 2006-11. From Visual Impact (Phaidon, 2015)

Artist: Blek Le Rat

Stencilled poster of US soldier by French artist Blek le Rat, pasted along the route of anti-war march in Paris, France, 2003. Photo by Sybille Prou. From Visual Impact (Phaidon, 2015)
Stencilled poster of US soldier by French artist Blek le Rat, pasted along the route of anti-war march in Paris, France, 2003. Photo by Sybille Prou. From Visual Impact (Phaidon, 2015)
PREVIEW

Under her skin: female tattoo culture at Atomica gallery

Under her skin at Atomica gallery | Art-PieAtomica Gallery is delighted to announce their first exhibition of original artwork: Under Her Skin, in association with Things&Ink, the magazine embracing female tattoo culture.

Celebrating the magazine’s first anniversary and launch of the new issue The Art Issue, the exhibition is curated by Things&Ink and will include work from twelve female tattoo artists who have featured in the magazine’s pages over the past year.

Founded by journalist and tattoo enthusiast Alice Snape in 2012, Things&Ink magazine reflects on tattoo culture from a feminine perspective. Differing from traditional, often male dominated tattoo media, the publication is both beautiful and thought-provoking and has fast become a collector’s item.

Under Her Skin marks one year of Things&Ink by bringing together a selection of today’s most talented artists for an exhibition celebrating modern female tattoo culture:

Amy Victoria Savage (Jayne Doe, Hornchurch UK) | Angelique Houtkamp (Salon Serpent, Amsterdam NL) | Charissa Gregson (Jolie Rouge, London UK) | Dominique Holmes (The Family Business, London UK) | Grace Neutral (Good Times, London UK) | Guen Douglas (Salon Serpent, Amsterdam NL) | Iris Lys (London UK & Paris FR) | Lucy Pryor (Into You, London UK) | Rachel Baldwin (Bold As Brass, Liverpool UK) | Rebecca Vincent (Nostalgia Traditional Tattooing, Leeds & The Circle, London UK) | Tracy D (King’s Cross Tattoo Parlour, London UK) | Vicky Morgan (Ghost House, Derby UK)

WHAT – UNDER HER SKIN – Celebrating one year of Things&Ink and launch of The Art Issue
WHEN – Thursday 12th September – Monday 30th September 2013
Opening Party: Thursday 12th September
WHERE – Atomica Gallery, Hackney Downs Studios, London

After-party at Doomed Gallery Dalston, 9pm til late www.doomedgallery.com

BLOG, FEATURE

London Art Fair – artists we enjoyed, Guy Allen

We strolled through the London Art Fair for the fourth consecutive year and as always stumbled upon remarkable artworks from ever so talented artists.

In this series, we will tell you why we liked a particular piece from these artists as well as posting more works. We hope you will also enjoy it as we did.

Feel free to comment too at the end of this article. Let’s get started….
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Guy Allen

Guy Allen | Art-Pie
Click to enlarge

We stumbled upon the piece called “Horse Study Yellow” – etching, Aquatint with 1 colour screenprint and instantly got drawn to it. We like the contrast in this piece and when artists use 2 or 3 colours. Some may qualify this as minimalist art and this is fair enough. We think a grey on any colour is striking.

About the artist

British printmaker Guy Allen is highly skilled at drawing from the animal world. His limited edition etchings are beautifully detailed, and sometimes include abstract elements. He’s a graduate of Central St Martins who has also studied at École Nationale Supérieure Des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

He has worked with the highly respected Curwen Studios and now works out of London’s Artichoke Studios. Guy’s work has been included in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition and is popular at London’s major art fairs including the Animal Art Fair.

Other works from this artist

Click to enlarge

Guy Allen | Art-Pie

Guy Allen | Art-Pie

Guy Allen | Art-Pie

Guy Allen | Art-Pie

Uncategorized

Clemens Behr's cardboard installations

I do not get excited very often by sculpture works but probably because I have been focusing my interest in illustrated art so it is always  joy to get hit on Twitter by this sort of encounter – “Check out Clemens Behr’s cardboard installations”.

I am glad I clicked. Using what you can find around to make art – I like the sound of this.

Then here I was looking at Clemens’ stuff: painted cardboards put together in some ways, in Clemens Behr’s way, a German artist who manipulates cardboards, wood, paint and tape.

Looking him up, I found people qualifying his art of origami. If this is origami, this is origami full scale, this origami taken beyond the scope of it, this is someone having found his medium.

Visit www.clemensbehr.com

DIGITAL ART

Immaterials: light painting WiFi networks

Light Painting WiFi is the creation of Timo Arnall, Jorn Knutsen, Einar Sneve Martinussen. Their work explores the invisible terrain of WiFi networks in Oslo urban spaces.

They put together a four-meter tall measuring rod with 80 points of light reveals cross-sections through WiFi networks using a photographic technique called light-painting. By the simple action of walking down streets, they are able to pick up the thousands of WiFi signals and with the help of a long exposure camera, transform them into wall, barriers of lights.

Beyond the art aspect of this work, this technique has also a research purpose as the data collected is used to evaluate the quality of the Oslo wireless networks.

Immaterials: Light painting WiFi from Timo on Vimeo.

Related links
> Flickr set

BLOG, PREVIEW

‘Soviet Pin up’ by Valery Barykin

'Soviet Pin up' by Valery Barykin

Erarta Galleries London is pleased to present Valery Barykin’s solo exhibition entitled ‘Soviet Pin-Up’.

The exhibition will feature a number of specially made, limited edition pieces. Barykin`s eyecatching prints are reminiscent of the celebrated 1940’s and 1950’s American pin-ups blended with Soviet Russian propaganda advertisements. Known for his unique style, Valery Barykin’s prints contrast the aesthetic of the beloved American Pin-Up culture and its heightened sexuality with the sharp-edged and saturated colours of Soviet Russia’s propaganda posters.

His upbringing was surrounded by socialist advertisements and mass-produced American pin-up photographs that slowly made their way
into Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. The women in his works often resemble Soviet Russian film stars such as Lyudmila Gurcgenko and Natalya Fateeva who are sometimes scantily clad and the object of attention.

Barykin displays his outrageously gorgeous and provocative women in unexpected everyday familiar situations as they enthusiastically continue to perform their stereotyped roles and female duties.

WHAT – Valery Barykin’s solo exhibition entitled ‘Soviet Pin-Up’.
WHERE – 8 Berkeley street, Mayfairt, London, W1J 8DN
WHEN – until the 19/12/15

DIGITAL ART

Rippled, light painting and animation at their best

There are quite a few light-painting based videos/animations out there these days, some very well done, some others a bit less but what about this one – “RIPPLED“, another collaboration between Darcy Prendergast and the creative team at OH YEAH WOW.

Two words – truly amazing.

You do not get perfection or beauty without pain. 6 months is how long this work took to get wrapped up and frame by frame animation and long exposure technique were how they proceeded. The camera was the weapon and the creativity topped it all off.

Track – All India Radio- The Silent Surf

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS