Category Archives: CONTEMPORARY ART

How to Spot Street Art

If you love spotting street art, but you’re never quite sure where you should look for it, then worry not. There are plenty of ways in which you can make sure you encounter great street art on a regular basis.

Where as street art was once considered to be little more than vandalism, these days it is a hugely popular art form. This means that there are plenty of books, magazines and websites dedicated purely to the subject of street art and where you van find it. Many works of street art are now protected, so you you may find that you have much more time to visit them. Spend time researching an area before you visit, and you are more than likely to be clued up on where to find local street art before you arrive.

However, some street art is far more temporary, and you’ll need to be on the ball if you want to be in with a chance of spotting it. Sites like Twitter can be a great way to keep up to date with the latest street art discoveries. If you’re keen to keep an eye on where new works of street arts have cropped up, whilst playing online games like Partypoker and checking your email from the comfort of your own home, then using sites like this can be the best way to do so. They’re also perfect if you’re on the go, and don’t mind making a detour to see some great street art before it’s gone.

Lastly, it is important to simply keep your eyes peeled. Even street art which may not have a big name attached to it can still be well worth seeing. Certain locations are fairly well known for attracting street artists, so it can be well worth keeping a look out should you happen to be passing through.

Joram Roukes & Sean Madden at Signal gallery

I managed to get to see the current group show at Signal gallery and I am glad I did. The shows called Mixed doubles presents works from Dan Baldwin, John Squire, Andrew Mc Attee, Sean Madden and Joram Roukes.

While I am familiar with the first three artists mentioned, I did not know much about the two latter ones – Sean Madden and Joram Roukes and what a shame that is as these two have got very strong and powerful works on display.

Joram Roukes – oil on canvas
Like Dan Baldwin, Joram Roukes does figurative paintings but unlike Baldwin’s works, Roukes’ color palette is lighter making the whole composition a lot less intense. But looking at what those paintings depict – series of layered figures, completely at random – you get for example what looks like a human body but with a bear’s head or a dog’s one, looks closer and you will notice the back stabbed with the back of an aircraft on fire; Joram Roukes’ paintings also have got an intensity in them.

You will have got it by now, Joram Roukes work will probably appear ridiculous to some but also and most probably like a joy for more people. Funny and intriguing could summarize what this is all about.

Sean Madden – bronze sculpture
I did not pay much attention to this artist when I first read about this show, I could blame on the gallery for actually not mentioning an awful lot about him but I should have made my own research so we call it a draw. We are looking here at sculptures work. Not a fan of these type of work, Sean Madden is certainly one of these artists that will make you like sculpture or at least take a closer look at it.

His sculptures for this show are tiny but yet so powerful. The display put together by Signal definitely does some good to emphasize the beauty of these sculptures. When you spot them, you cannot stop looking at them. What could be an angel is hanging above the other sculptures and give the whole installation a mystical dimension.

I have also included pictures of some of Andrew Mc Attee’s and John Squire’s artworks

The show runs until the 5th March 2011

Related links
Joram Rouke’s website – joramroukes.blogspot.com
Sean Madden’s website – http://contemporarybronze.com

Japanese designs from the 1920's/30's

I stumbled upon these very singular graphic design pieces from 1920s and 1930s, they all come from Japan and are characteristic of what the country was experiencing: a massive social change.

I have collected below a selection of posters, mag covers and advertisements which gives you a very good insight of where the Japanese society was heading to: modern industry and technology. Western art and culture influences can be felt in those pieces as well as a growing incline towards a leftist political thought.

Is it me or some of that stuff reminds of a certain Shepard Fairey?

Japanese design
Buy domestic! (poster)
Japanese designs
Cover of "Nippon" magazine issue #1, Oct 1934
japanese designs
"Fuji Weekly" cover, Oct 1930
Japanese designs
Kyoto Grand Exposition to Commemorate the Showa Imperial Coronation, 1928
Poster design by Shujiro Shimomura, 1928
Poster design by Shujiro Shimomura, 1928
"May 1" movie poster by Hiromu Hara, 1928-1929
"May 1" movie poster by Hiromu Hara, 1928-1929
"Reijin" sheet music cover, 1930
"Reijin" sheet music cover, 1930

[Source: “Modernism on Paper: Japanese Graphic Design of the 1920s-30s”, (published 2003)]

ROA at Black Rat Press

On my way to BRP (Black Rat Press), I knew I was up for a treat. I knew I would hang out for a while and enjoy ROA’s installation.

What makes ROA so popular is definitely his unique style – (very often) large black and white scale wildlife animals made of spray paint but also his ability in putting together quite clever installation integrating his wildlife characters. Flip out/ flip in some wood panels or just walk round and get a new angle on the installation and you can now see something completely different, the inside of the animals or the outside in this case.

ROA at Black Rat PressROA at Black Rat Press

ROA at Black Rat PressROA at Black Rat Press

We appreciated also ROA’s effort to push its creativity further by integrating x-rays light effect in one of his work. Close the flap and you see the fur of the animal, open it and the inside of the animal is revealed with an X-ray effect (see below)

ROA at Black Rat PressROA at Black Rat Press

ROA’s wildlife is powerful and definitely worth seeing with your own eyes. More pictures of the installation below.

The show is now over.

ROA at Black Rat Press

ROA at Black Rat Press

ROA at Black Rat Press

ROA at Black Rat Press

ROA at Black Rat Press