Part of our 3 street art works series you should see today: Faile, Klaas Van Der Linden & Evoca-1.
Faile – located in Dallas (United States)
Klaas Van Der Linden – located in Antwerpen (Belgium)
Evoca-1 – located in Peru
New Banksy in Calais depicts Steve Jobs
You’ve probably heard of Banksy‘s Dismaland, a dystopian amusement park which closed its doors in October of this year. However you may not have known the installations used for this art project have since been transferred to the port-side town of Calais France by volition Banksy himself. Labeled “Dismal Aid”, the timber and building materials have been repurposed into housing, children’s play areas, and community centers for the 7000+ Syrian refugees.
At the same time, Banksy has taken this opportunity to spread a few messages about the situation of “The Jungle”, the largest refugee camp in Western Europe. Three new pieces with very strong messages can be seen around Calais – read on below to see the images and brief descriptions.
The Steve Jobs Piece
With weathered clothing and an exhausted body language we see a depiction of Steve Jobs, sporting the now notorious expression from this iconic photograph. Steve carries an old Macintosh computer and a bin bag or rucksack on his shoulders. The message? Jobs is himself a son of Syrian migrants, he is of the same lineage as the refugees escaping ISIS today.
In a rare public statement to accompany the piece, Banksy expressed his drive and the message:
“We’re often led to believe migration is a drain on the country’s resources but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant. Apple is the world’s most profitable company, it pays over $7billion a year in taxes – and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs.”
The Medusa Piece in the Center of Calais
Based on French artist Théodore Géricault’s Raft of The Medusa, Banksy updates the dark and striking piece with a small background image of a modern cruise ship or luxury yacht. The boat, like the original piece, is embroiled in an intense struggle with the sea. The message of “We are not all in the same boat” speaks for itself.
The Young Boy Piece on the Beach
A silhouette of a young boy can be seen looking through a telescope while a vulture watches over him. The message of hope, future and dreams is cast harshly against a looming potential reality of darkness and death.
These artworks have been well-received by the city of Calais with an official statement in the local newspaper by mayor Natacha Bouchart, describing their value for the city. The city has expressed their commitment to protect the pieces behind transparent plastic shields, so the message and artworks remain intact for the foreseeable future.
Struggle in the Moment of Difference
I recently interviewed London artist Shireen Qureshi for This ‘Me’ of Mine. Her ‘Untitled Nude’ is a compelling expression of the struggle in the violence of existence; of being flesh and bone. We discussed an interesting point of the Deleuzian ‘event’…
Jane Boyer: Deleuze suggests we are an event; meaning that out of a chaos in which conditions have come together to form a ‘one’ or have passed through ‘a screen’ which allows something rather than nothing to happen.[1] There is a sense of ‘event’ in your tableaus and the figures are that ‘event’, as if we are witnessing the coalescing of a self, how do you see this? Do you feel the passage of time is relevant to the self?
Shireen Qureshi: It is interesting that you suggest that we are witnessing the coalescing of a self in my work because in my mind I am more interested in breaking down the body, of rupturing boundaries. I often initiate a painting by making it look real and then trying to break it down, by overlapping bodies or breaking apart skin and bone, I suppose in that sense the aim for me is towards chaos rather than from it. But I think that this is a very interesting idea, especially the sense of an ‘event’ you describe in my work, forcing my viewers into the role of witness. I think that if the paintings have created any sense of inescapable drama pinning both my figures and viewers in place, then this is an achievement in itself. From my point of view, the passage of time is interesting because it is within a space of time that metamorphosis and transformation can occur. I would like to create a sense of movement, an undulation within each of my paintings as if they were bubbles of captured space and time. I think that time is inescapably relevant to the self because it is within time that a self is built or deconstructed, subjected to the violence of existence, and within which the self moves, inevitably, towards death.
Whether we think much about it or not, we live every moment of our existence with the thought of our extinction – every one of us could cease to exist at any moment. This latent threat is one aspect of the ‘violence of existence’ mentioned by Shireen. From her point of view the violence exists in the visceral reality of living in flesh and bone, a violence we understand first hand. Often through serious illness or accident, the loss of loved ones or violent personal threat we realize the fragility of our existence and the latent threat of our extinction become a conscious reality. Once aware of this imminence our sense of self undoubtedly alters; we become a self with limited time.
The visual breakdown of bodies, flesh and bone is an interesting interpretation of this psychological awareness of our mortality. The ambiguity of whether the bodies in Shireen’s paintings are coalescing or breaking down is indicative of the struggle in the moment of ‘difference’ described by Deleuze, and as such, is also the ‘violence of existence’ Shireen speaks of. Deleuze said, “Indifference has two aspects: the undifferentiated abyss, the black nothingness, the indeterminate…in which everything is dissolved – but also the white nothingness, the…calm surface upon which float unconnected determinations like scattered members: a head without a neck, an arm without a shoulder, eyes without brows. The indeterminate is completely indifferent, but such floating determinations are no less indifferent to each other. Is difference intermediate between these two extremes [the undifferentiated and the determinate]? Or is it not rather the only extreme, the only moment of presence and precision?”
He continued, “There is cruelty, even monstrosity, on both sides of the struggle against an elusive adversary, in which the distinguished opposes something which cannot distinguish itself from it but continues to espouse that which divorces it.”[2]
Living is difference; it is the precision of presence. Living with the imminence of our extinction is the violent struggle of divorcing that which continues to espouse us; a struggle “within which the self moves, inevitably, towards death,” as Shireen says.
Read more of our interview, ‘Straight from the Nerves’ on the This ‘Me’ of Mine blogsite.
Jaybo Monk – I need a dollar
This is this kind of event which propels creativity to the next level, this is when a collaborative effort becomes Art.
American R&B artist Aloe Blacc, musician and music-maker Mihalj “Miki” Kekenj and artist Jaybo got together and put on a what have been an amazing night at Berlin’s creative space MADE.
Aloe Blacc´s original music was interpreted by Miki and his string-quintet which transformed the soul and funk style of Aloe into classical music compositions. Jaybo got involved and took his inspiration from the lyrics of Aloe’s song “I Need a Dollar”and converted it into his own visual interpreation – one of the best piece of art I have seen so far this year!
Jaybo’s painting was put on dispolay for the first time during the event at MADE where Aloe and Miki’s quintet performed a bunch of aloe’s repertoire. The film below shows this performance and tell us about the project.
Hats off to MADE for pulling such a great show where great talents from different art disciplines get together for everybody’s delight.
Happy New Year 2017!
With the New Year just round the corner, we selected just for you, some of the best New Year related street art on the web.
We would like to wish you a Happy New Year 2017!
UV radiation graffiti by STAN, AXER and CUKE – Berlin 2013
By Ben Eine, London
Evoca1, CaseMaClain & A.Signl x Dabtar street art
Part of our 3 street art works series you should see today. Evoca1, CaseMaClain & A.Signl x Dabtar.
Evoca1 – located in Lima (Peru)
CaseMaClaim – New York (USA)
A.Signl x Dabtar – Chemnitz (Germany)
3d Sketches by Ramon Bruin
3D is spreading fast in the movie industry and everyone seems to embrace that technology and I certainly am. But I appreciate even more when it comes into some illustrated art.
Meet Dutch freelance artist Ramon Bruin and his new series of astonishing 3D pencil drawings. I do not need to say much about those, they are just out of this world. But what I would say is that these were made only with pencil, yes just ordinary pencils. Ok add a touch of genius from the artist and boom, see below.
First seen on Design Taxi
RECURSIVE on Repetition
I’m very pleased to say
1) I have a new project in the works and
2) Art Pie is again media sponsor!
This project is smaller in scale than This ‘Me’ of Mine, but just as interesting. RECURSIVE explores the inner repetitive thought processes, both ones we’re aware of and ones we’re not. The works in the exhibition show evidence of this recursive thinking in action through the work. My goal for the blogsite is to create a place to discuss what repetition is, how it affects us, and why we’re so drawn to it. So far, that is working really well!
Here’s an example:
janeboyer
Submitted on 2014/05/16 at 1:03 pm
I’ve been thinking of how I feel about the change in repetition, and really, how would I put it into words?I can remember feeling ‘solid’, meaning I knew who I was in relation to where I was and who I was with. Mechanization made communities prosperous, providing most of the work for a local population.
I knew what products I could depend on, where to buy them and how much they would cost. I knew I would need to save money to afford more expensive things I wanted. There was stability in knowing products were readily available and in constant supply. I came home with products I liked in shopping bags. I could smell the production process of tires and toothpaste on the air, knowing they smelled polluting.Now, as someone involved in a digital world, I work where I do not live, I purchase products from all over the world which are shipped to me.
I feel guilty at the thought that less wealthy people than I (and I am not wealthy!) make the clothes I wear and have produced them in a very foreign place in unknown circumstances and at unknown costs to the environment. I feel ‘transparent’ as I share quirky little thoughts on twitter and downright exposed when I post anything on Facebook. I feel impinged by knowing that I can never decide to remove my profile on Facebook. I feel hectic and rushed even though I sit at a table most of my day typing on a keyboard.
I see almost no one, except my husband, throughout my workday. In short, I feel boxed, constrained, observed and strangely non-material in a world that I struggle to comprehend, as my thoughts flit from task to task, page to page, and site to site.
Ian Pickering
Submitted on 2014/05/16 at 4:50 pm
I am not sure that repetition is mechanisation. Farming is repetitive as is much basic craftwork. I am also tempted to suggest that change has always produced a response that things have got worse. Feeling transparent. That is an insight and I understand the idea of being simultaneously connected but isolated.
codedimages
Submitted on 2014/05/16 at 5:17 pm
I recognise your descriptions. I do feel though that I work where I live, but the product of that work is then spread instantly to all parts of the globe and to anyone who cares to take an interest. Working alone is lonely.
I envy those who have a physically located group to associate with and are able to share ideas face-to-face. I don’t know if any of this has repetition at its core though. I do know I would not want to turn the clock back entirely. I feel privileged to be able to discuss ideas with people all over the world.
Being able to find like-minds wherever they might be is a huge plus for the web. On the other hand I need to find a better balance, where at least some portion of time is spent physically co-located with other artists. I will be working on that aspect in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
Kay
Submitted on 2014/05/17 at 1:46 pm
A few thoughts on a great topicI knit and crochet so there is much repetition involved in those actions. By chance I found and continue to find those repetitions creative. The stitching can also have a meditative quality to it, awakening me to the moment.
I don’t expect every repetitive action to have a meditative quality to it however I do recognise actions which are engaging and enlivening and those which have a dulling effect.I have had interesting on-line conversations and got connected to collaborative on-line projects -which I would never have come across without the digital world – I do value them. What I find with digital media is that it is all too easy to get stuck in repetitive actions which don’t lead to anything in particular.
The impact of some digital repetition is to dull / numb the brain. Perhaps that is why we crave the connection with humans who aren’t glued to the screen. The connections can perhaps be more random, intuitive and exploratory.I also think that repetitive digital actions in office spaces are questionable. The assumption seems to be that if people are at the screen they are working and even engaged in their work.
I don’t agree. Humans create and work in a range of ways. As a fellow human I need variety and stimulation through words, textiles and other random moments to develop. This becomes more important as I get older. I work with older people and am obsessed with memory, aging, loneliness and isolation! A few of the comments here refer to people experiencing a sense of isolation even in a world of virtual connections.
I think it is essential to create spaces which integrate the virtual and physical nature of life (I love the makers library network). Isolation is a killer. As a human I want to be awake to this and create repetitions which sustain me and who know others around me.
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We hope you’ll join us and join in the conversation…
Go to RECURSIVE
Leak street tunnel: a giant canvas for street artists
One of the if not the only and definitely most known authorised graffiti area in London is living up to the expectations. Artist, loads of them showed love here and keep doing so like the only guy I met that morning who was dropping up what looked like a piece that is worth coming back very soon to check out.
Below are just a few shots of that morning, click here to see the gallery I especially put together for it. Continue reading Leak street tunnel: a giant canvas for street artists
Loos with some style at Far Rock Away
There is a new boozer in town, located on Curtain road to be precised, and should you fancy having a drink while looking at various pieces from emerging (mainly) street artists, well this is your kind of place.
Ben Oakley’s Gallery acts as the curator along with Kevin Martin from Hoxton Gallery. Currently on display are Xenz, Above, Lucas Price, Cranio, Cept and Guy Denning. We are not talking just a few spread pieces but walls covered of stuff and I am not even mentioning the toilets, the best we have seen in a long time, so long that we have included a few shots below.
WHAT – Far Rock Away
WHERE – 97-113 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, EC2A 3BS.
