Shepard Fairey’s NSA themed Obama posters

Shepard Fairey’s face must have dropped when he saw these “Yes we scan” posters which are a “remix” of his now iconic “Hope” pieece for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Yesterday he was the one using a photograph without permission, which got him into  a legal battle and a $25,000 fine, but today it looks like someone is doing just the same.

We hear that Shepard Fairey likes the posters a lot and that he will not start any legal proceedings. We agree too, e thing they are great posters with a straight to the point slogan. What do you think?

The posters features the slogan “Yes We Scan,” a parody of Obama’s “Yes We Can” rallying cry, and an image of the president wearing headphones, presumably to listen in on average Americans’ phone calls.

“Subversion of well known symbols and images for social commentary has long been a technique in my repertoire, so I’m glad to see it in the work of others,”  Fairey said

Shepard Fairey | Art-Pie Shepard Fairey | Art-Pie

First seen on Artinfo

MIX: Winter Group Show 2015 at Lawrence Alkin gallery

MIX: Winter Group Show 2015 at Lawrence Alkin gallery forms the second of the gallery’s biannual group show programme, which showcases the breadth of artists that are associated with the gallery and introduces those who we’re big fans of and will be working closer with in the future.

The exhibition runs throughout December and January offering you the chance to enjoy a wide variety of art and artists over the coming couple of months. On display you’ll find new original works from our roster of contemporary and street artists alongside iconic pieces from world renowned names. Expect to see everything from oil on canvas through to neon/light sculpture.

'Synthesis' by Tom French | Art-Pie
‘Synthesis’ by Tom French | Art-Pie

Works on show from the following names:

Jake Wood-Evans | Jessica Albarn | Miss Bugs | Jeff Koons | Dan Baldwin | Zoe Grace | Banksy | Dave White | Ryan Callanan | Dean Fox | Tom French | Nick Smith | STIK | Laura Keeble | Damien Hirst | Nick Walker | Static | Jube Jube | David Walker | Jackie Berridge | Shuby | Ai Wei Wei | Michelle | Mildenhall | Kim Smith | Will Blanchard (Wildcat Will) | Lucy Sparrow | Matthew David Smith

WHAT – ‘MIX’ winter show
WHERE – 42 New Compton Street, London WC2H 8DA
WHen – Until 16/01/2015

Message in the Code

The Bigger Picture (c)2009 Sandra Crisp
The Bigger Picture (c)2009 Sandra Crisp

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
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?

Would the message in the code change?

 

DEIH and his Insider Series

DEIH The Insider Series | Art-PieWe talked to the Spanish born graffiti/street art artist DEIH who is part of the XLF CREW. We asked to tell us about him –

“I’m painting graffiti since 1993, and I still love it. I draw, I breath. I am developing a project called “The Insider”, which is part of an introspective investigation on my feelings and my life.

I draw my inner life, as I consider that the particular way of relating to the others and oneself (and the impasses one undergoes through that process) are the very core of any attempt of creation.

Thus, I understand science-fiction representational codes as a way to achieve (to construct) a personal truth, as I think that truth has a fictional structure.”

We have included a few photos of DEIH’s works along with some related links

http://www.eldeih.com
http://deih.blogspot.com

DEIH - THe Insider project | Art-Pie

DEIH - THe Insider project | Art-PieDEIH - THe Insider project | Art-Pie

DEIH - THe Insider project | Art-Pie

DEIH - THe Insider project | Art-Pie

London Art Fair – artists we enjoyed, Philip Braham

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….

________________

Philip Braham

"Ophelia bathing" by Philip Brahams at London Art Fair | Art-Pie
Click to enlarge

We stumbled upon the piece called “Ophelia Bathing” – oil on canvas, 183x122cm, and instantly appreciated the hazy feel of the depicted landscape.

It made us feel like diving in this river or enjoy a long and lazy lie down on one of its banks.

About the artist

Represented by the Roger Bilcliffe gallery at this year’s London Art Fair, Philip Braham is a Scottish artist whose paintings and photographs emerge from the Northern European engagement with landscape as a metaphor for the human condition. Recent projects reflect on the temporal nature of our existence through personal recollection and collective history, set within the slowly evolving landscape that bears us forward. Fidelity to experience is fundamental to his practice, and this brings a poetic grace to his technical mastery of oil painting and silver-based photography.

Other works from this artist

Click to enlarge

Philip Brahams | Art-Pie

Philip Brahams | Art-Pie

Philip Brahams | Art-Pie

Fibre Femmes at Surfacepop

A all female paste up and stencil show:

for a show that features several artists, the layout of the works in the space felt as though it was seven minds working as one, with each artist using different tools and techniques, we found that all the themes were interlinked.

However, there were definitely pieces that stood out from the rest, this included artists such as Kaffe-eine and Precious little. The space was welcoming and well curated and we will definitely be keeping an eye out for future shows.

Enjoy the pics below and make sure to check out the full photoset here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chasingghosts/sets/72157626821556534

Dance & 3D – Le mouvement de l’air

3D technology which once was promised to succeed (back in the 80s) completely disappeared (or almost) as a medium for any artistry around but this is changing. 3D movies have been a regular hits at the Box Office while 3D gaming is booming.

3D and dance?

Meet Adrien M and Claire B, pioneers in embracing and using multimedia in their choreographies, present us with a fascinating and reactive projection-mapped performance. The Movement of the Air, now a video, is bond to bend they way you usually looked at dance.

How does it work?

Collaborators Rémi Boissy, Farid-Ayelem Rahmouni, and Maëlle Reymond manipulate tornadoes, columns of smoke, and lively geometric shapes in real time.Unlike normal projection mapping, which relies heavily on pre-planning a show to fit every contour and crevice of a surface, Adrien M and Claire B let shapes and patterns emerge in response to the people on stage.

Plus the dancers move to the rhythm of live music, adding one more layer of irreplicable humanity to the show.

I still don’t get it, pls clarify

No one better than the artists themselves may be able to shed some light on the technicality of the use of 3d and dance. Here is what they said to The Creators Project

The set is inhabited by a 3 face structure: two vertical panels of white gauze and a white dance oor are asymmetrically combined to create an immersive projection system. This « living light » is produced by video projectors and generated in real time by a set of algorithms.

It is a mix of control room operated human interventions and onstage sensors data that outlines a precise writing of motions and generative behaviors. They are generated according to physical models and therefore remind everyone of their own real life experience and imaginary of motion.

3D dance | Art-Pie

3D Dance | Art-Pie

3D Dance | Art-Pie

Sound painting – get your own today

I have not been felling so excited like this for a while. Steady, I am talking here about the concept of sound painting. I know what you are thinking right now – “How does it work?”. Read on.

Right, the gear you need first – a camera with a flash, a loudspeaker unit, plastic sheeting, electrical tape, paint (ideally poster paint), and a laser trigger (if you happen to have one).

So what is it really? “captured images of specific moments when paint is propelled into the air by sonic vibrations.” <- that sounds good to me – literally.

The pictures below are the work of  Martin Kilmas, German born artist,  who spent some time to get the right shots, the moments that are truly moving. I am sure you will agree?

Hands on – head over to www.thecreatorproject.com blog where all the steps are break apart. But first have a look below and see what you could achieve.

What is really remarkable with this concept is what you actually get – A spontaneous and ephemere somewhat  abstract visual of whatever tune you have decided to blast out. Awesome.

Pictures and initial read from www.thecreatorproject.com

Miles Davis - "Bitches brew" by Martin Kilmas
Miles Davis - "Bitches brew" by Martin Kilmas
Kraftwerk - "Transistor" by Martin Kilmas
Kraftwerk - "Transistor" by Martin Kilmas

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