How to make a marker
Hollyweed not Hollywood, the prankster who hijacked the hills of California
Hollyweed not Hollywood, the prankster (and his wife) who hijacked the hills of California.
You most probably heard about this very recent prank – on the 1st January, the famous HOLLYWOOD sign got hijacked to read HOLLYWEED.
“I wanted to make people laugh”
Zach Fernandes, the artist behind this prank, also goes by “JesusHands,” – at the time of writing this post, his Twitter account seems to have been suspended – https://twitter.com/account/suspended
We hear that Zach Fernandes’s motive behind this prank was just to make people laugh but pressure got too high and the artist cracked under it.
“If I did break the law in trespassing, I’m not going to run from the law,
Fernandez said.
The artist turned himself in on Monday.
Over the fence and a bit of sewing
Looking more closely at how the sign was transformed, you’ll notice that he wrapped letters with tarps to transform its message.
We literally were sewing stuff the day of. It was so fun and exhilarating.
The striking style of Kerry Beall
We had wanted for a while to have Kerry Beall in one of our edition of The Creative Bubble, a multi-discipline pop up event atRoxy Bar and Screen, London.
Art-Pie – Can you tell your readers about yourself in a few words?
Kerry Beall – Hello! my names Kerry, I’m a Graphic Designer by trade and been working in the industry for about 8 years, in the last few years I’ve really got into fine art, I wanted another creative outlet away from the computer screen so I went and bought loads of inks and brushes, it wasn’t something I was overly confident in until I drew a face that actually looked like the real deal! that was pretty exciting, and now painting and drawing is definitely a big part of my life 🙂
Art-Pie – Can you tell us about your creative process and where does your inspiration come from?
Kerry Beall – I tend to draw lots of portrait pieces as that’s what excites me, drawing eyes and watching a face come alive from a blank piece of paper is magical to me!
I work with ink and charcoal, I love the unpredictable nature of ink when it hits the page, coupled with the accuracy and precision you can get with charcoal. So I tend to use them both together.
I’m inspired by interesting fashion photography and nature, I gather inspiration from pinterest and instagram, and then visual ideas start forming from there…usually at four in the morning, so I often leap out of bed and draw it before I forget!
Art-Pie – Give us the name of three artists you admire or like?
Kerry Beall – I really love collage, and masking imagery, I came across Joe Webb’s stuff, and fell in love with it a bit.
I also really like Françoise Nielly’s work, with the bold, striking colour portraits.
Lastly I have to say Dali, as he’s a childhood favourite and triggered my first interest in art.
Art-Pie – Street art is something we like at Art-Pie, what is your take on that form of art?
Kerry Beall – I’m a fan of street art, especially having lived in Bristol for a long time, the appreciation for street art is really apparent there, as it’s Banksy’s home town…I like the way whenever I visit there’s something new to look at 🙂
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?
Kerry Beal – I’m working on new stuff all the time, my main focus for this year is a project I started called Beyond Words – Gaza
https://www.facebook.com/beyondwordsgaza?fref=photo
I am currently painting the lives that have been lost in Gaza with the intent of raising enough money to have all the portraits framed and exhibited, hopefully in a few places, with the final destination being Palestine, where the family members of the victims can keep the portraits that are of their family.
I know what’s happened can’t be undone, but I just felt a strong urge to do something, by trying to somehow immortalise these people in some form so they don’t fade away forever.
——-
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)
Street art by Eyesaw
Street art by Eyescam
Related links
Eyesaw website – eyesaw.bigcartel.com/
Eyesaw on Flickr – www.flickr.com/photos/eye-saw
Shepard Fairey Sound & Vision show
Shepard Fairey’s Sound and Vision show has been the hot topic in town for the last few weeks. The artist and his crew has hit hard for this show since not only the Stolen Space gallery is hosting the show but another much bigger one a few yards away has also been necessary to give a roof to the impressive amount of pieces the artist has produced.
Since the Hope portrait of Obama back in 2008, Shepard Fairey and his brand OBEY has become something people recognize and like. You see a Shepard Fairey and you know it is one – the typography, colors and subject will give it away. OBEY is a brand here to stay.
Helen Gorrill’s solo show DEICIDE at Degree Art
Saturday 26 November I made way to Degree Art’s gallery on Vyner Street to view the works of Helen Gorrill on show in the solo exhibition titled DEICIDE. The gallery is not so far away from Bethnal Green as people might think and a fair pace will get you to the gallery in 10 minutes.
Upon arrival to the gallery I chatted with gallery manager (and all round arts, culture & fashion voice) Ryan Lanji who gave me a few pointers about the show, which I had not picked up on from my brief musings online. The first of which being the portrait of a Pope which was attached to the floor at the entrance of the gallery; meaning that everyone that enters walks over the Pope – a sign of the conflict with sexuality and religion which appears a central aspect in Helen’s work.
After which Ryan explained about the Confession Chamber which was the interactive element of Helen’s work; a look at the notion of confession, who to and why. Within the chamber, which has been meticulously created to represent a real confession box, are confessions from every body that has entered, along with some well know confessors from the art world. Some of which have been stitched into the fabric of the inside, some written in chalk on the walls and some placed in envelopes on the wall. Everybody was encouraged to enter there own confessions…
The last point we covered, which really was not apparent with the online material was the sheer size of Helen’s work. I had imagined them to be water colour pieces which would look great in a plain white frame and would be of reasonable size to go above the fire place, hang in the dining room or be a centre piece for the spare room. I did not for one minute imagine them to be the slightly oversized real life height that they are!
The reason for this as I found out when talking with Helen is intertwined within the whole body of work. The role reversal; the woman in charge, the woman in power, the woman imposing in height standing above the crouched, submissive man.
Helen’s work was hung from chains on the ceiling to allow for the full effect of the size to be felt. They covered the main walls of the gallery and in my opinion are hard to find fault with in terms of the concept. Secured to the floor were 3 images of men in submissive postions, all positioned under the images of the women. In addition to this there was Helen’s provocative installation pieces which are steeped in religious references as well as a swipe at the controlling nature of the Church.
Helen’s background is that of an interesting mix of religion and control. A Christian background, a marriage to a Policeman who was also a Jehovah’s Witness and a seeming questioning of the effect of male influence in her life and choices. One of Helen’s shows was censored; the male nudity was covered but the female nudity was not – a very interesting point, especially as it was censored by men. This also questions the influence that men have had over society and the extent of control over what social acceptances should be. Helen’s work was actually featured on a Vatican sponsored website for some time because they thought it was promoting the Confession – when they realised it was actually asking a few more questions it was promptly removed!
Listening to Helen reference sexuality, feminism and religion in her work was very compelling in considering whether this is just a result of Helen’s personal experience or is a genuine perception of the world which many of us overlook or choose to ignore. Helen was supported by Degree Art’s very own Chloe Lawrence who covered some points in
literature relating to the feminist cause and the response this drew from female artists. References to Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece”, Carole Schneemann’s “Interior Scroll” and Judy Chicago’s “Dinner Party” were all made. In addition we also heard from Kim Foxton who spoke about religion and the role of women through history and how this has changed.
Questions from the audience as well as Degree Art Founders Elinor Olisa & Isobel Beauchamp followed and this evolved to more personal discussions with the speakers accompanied with refreshments.
Overall a very well put together show which had important questions to state, as well as what I felt were aesthetically pleasing works. A great
environment to discuss the work and a well chosen line up of supporting speakers made a very enjoyable ‘art evening’.
Information
The provocative solo show ran from 3 November to 28 November 2011 with an evening in conversation with the artist on Saturday 26 November 2011.
All works are available for purchase from Degree Art.
To read more about the artist and to view all works visit: http://www.degreeart.com/events/deicide-solo-exhibition-and-new-works-helen-gorrill
Visit Helen Gorrill’s site here: http://www.helengorrill.com/about.aspx
© Degree Art and the Artist
Gimme gimme abstract art at the London Art Fair
On our way to the Business Centre, where the London Art fair takes place, we could not help but speculating about what we would see and remembered all the wonders we saw in the past years.
A quick ushering through by the fair staff and we were in. Thursday evening is a good day to go at the fair as you are sure to find on your path some waiting staff eagerly willing to hand you over free bottles of beers.
We thought we’ll go around the ground floor as well as the first floor today where you normally find the “mammoths”. By this I mean the heavy-weight art galleries which mainly deal “fine art”. As we were hopping from one booth to the other, it was becoming obvious to our eyes: abstract art we were seeing was awesome and stood out from almost anything else.
We have included below the best pieces we thought we saw.
5 Great Cities For Street Art
These days, some of the most interesting artists and art projects from all over the world are accessible from the comfort of our own homes. Whether you’re interested in digital art, galleries from your favourite artists, or even researching and comparing different pieces, you can do just about anything you need on your computer. Indeed, there’s something appealing about picking up a bottle of wine from Marks and Spencer, getting comfortable at your computer, and sifting through sites for your favourite art.
However, there’s also something special about getting out into the world to see great works of art in person – particularly if you’re interested in street art. Sure, you’ll find endless collections of images online, and in some cases you can even have them made into canvases for your apartment! But you can’t do street art justice unless you see it in person. With that in mind, here’s a quick look at 5 of the best cities in the world for viewing exceptional street art, as identified by Fodor’s.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Giant maps, abstract art, football celebrations, and of course, political statements dominate Buenos Aires’s buildings, largely because the city has made it completely legal to tag. The only catch is that building owners have to agree – and in a city already full of incredible graffiti, most owners are probably inclined to encourage more!
Los Angeles, California USA
LA is famous for celebrating artistic expression, and that characteristic of the city certainly extends to street art. From Banksy, to Retna, and even the artist behind Barack Obama’s campaign posters, LA brings in the stars, resulting in outstanding murals and graffiti.
London, England
Not only is the local tagging in parts of London fairly legendary, but the city is also a hub for famous artists from all over the world. In terms of celebrity status, Banksy is about as big as a street artist can get, and has done a great deal of outstanding work in London’s Square Mile.
Berlin, Germany
Known as an artistic hub in general, Berlin is home to some of the world’s most inspired street art. In fact, well known street artists from all over the world travel to Berlin specifically to tag, and this has led to some truly outstanding creations worth seeing in person. Head to Gustav Meyer Allee in Kreuzberg to see a clock tower mural recently installed by famous French artist JR.
Bogota, Colombia
Murals and graffiti dominate the city walls of Bogota, and vary greatly in nature. From politically inspired art and inscriptions against former government executives, to vibrant, expressive art, Bogota has it all. Be sure to visit the portion of the city called La Candelaria – a charming city quarter on its own, but also the centre of street art activity.
Eeeefun at Shoreditch Studios
Shoreditch as always will be hotting up at the week end with street art, dance and good music. Zack and his team at eeeefun throwing a party this Saturday 16th April 2011. Best of all, mention ART-PIE and get your names on the guestlist by emailing eeeefunparty@gmail.com!
From Zack
We’re hosting a party on Saturday 16th April at Shoreditch Studios in London where we’ll be recording the international brand film for a cutting-edge new electric scooter. As well as appearing in the commercial, everyone who attends will also get the chance to show off their artistic talents and submit their creative design for an eeeeFUN scooter.
The best one designed on the day will go into commercial production, with the winner getting their very own e45 scooter with their design on. We’re looking for street artists and designers, plus musicians, actors, DJs and dancers (as well as people who just want to enjoy a free party).
More info here – www.facebook.com/eeeefun
“Chasing ghosts” by Andrew Millar at Curious Duke gallery
Award winning Curious Duke Gallery are proud to present the first UK solo show of Polaroid transparency artist Andrew Millar, with Chasing Ghosts. The East London based gallery invites you to rejoice in all things retro glamour this April 2016.
East London’s Curious Duke Gallery is known for nurturing young talent into the bright stars of the art world: Andrew Millar is no exception. UK born Millar joined CDG last year and took the gallery by storm with his distinctive ethereal style.
Hailed as a big hit at Moniker Art fair 2015, the artist creates the little known process of Polaroid collage transparencies with finesse and vintage beauty. If you haven’t seen his back catalogue yet, you will soon be falling in love with his latest collection, Chasing Ghosts.
Breathing new life into vintage imagery, like his forebears such as Andy Warhol before him, Millar collects from markets and antique dealers, the artist revives forgotten faces with his little known process of Polaroid collage transparencies. Millar explains how “When I produce the pieces I use a lot of old facial imagery so whilst lifting the polaroid and applying the gold it kind of brings them back.”
It is the final touches of these artworks that create experimental images that call to filmmaking of the 1960s and beyond, with layers of black and gold giving a touch of Hollywood glamour.
