This is simply one of the most exciting projects I have come across recently. My liking for this amazing technology is probably the result of a personality going geek sometimes.
Graffiti Analysis is an extensive ongoing study in the motion of graffiti. Custom software designed for graffiti writers creates visualizations of the often unseen gestures involved in the creation of a tag. Motion data is recorded, analyzed and archived as Graffiti Markup Language (.gml) files, a specifically formatted XML file designed to be a common open structure for archiving gestural graffiti motion data. GML files are saved in an open online database, 000000book.com, where writers can share analytical representations of their hand styles.
Critically-acclaimed London fringe theatre company Broken Glass is proud to present Scenes from the City – a collaborative art, literature and theatre project.
Taking you on a magical and surreal journey Scenes from the City follows a shifting perspective of everyday life, turning the mundane and the prosaic into something extraordinary. Continue reading Scenes from the City at Nolias Gallery→
We have come across to this stunning time lapse video from Pedro Simão and could not resist to share it. Ah we miss the Big Apple, we gotta get back there asap.
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
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
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?
If you have been near Trafalgar Square in London, you must have noticed a 7m high sculpture looking like a thumbs up.
This particular pedestal on the square is called the Fourth Plinth and the current artist showing their works is David Shrigley.
So what’s next for the Fourth Plinth?
2018 & 20 shortlists announced
London’s National Gallery has revealed the five shortlisted proposals for the 2018 and 2020 Fourth Plinth commissions by artists Huma Bhabha, Damián Ortega, Heather Phillipson, Michael Rakowitz, and Raqs Media Collective.
The shortlisted proposals, which are currently on show in the National Gallery’s Annenberg Court until 26 March 2017, include an empty white robe, a recreation of a sculpture destroyed by ISIS, and a scoop of parasite-covered ice cream.
Not long now to find out which two works will be selected to finally stand on the plinth in 2018 and 2020.
Shortlisted sculptures in images
“Untitled” by Huma Bhabha
– an imposing figure, the scale reflecting a modern comic sci-fi movie.
Untitled, by Huma Bhabha
“High Way” by Damián Ortega
– a playful and precarious construction of a truck, oil cans, scaffold and a ladder.
“THE END” by Heather Phillipson
– explores the extremes of shared experience, from commemorations and celebrations to mass protests, all while being observed by a drone’s camera.
“The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist” by Michael Rakowitz
– a recreation of the Lamassu, a winged bull and protective deity, which was destroyed by ISIS in 2015.
“The Emperor’s Old Clothes” by Raqs Media Collective
– explores how power can be both present and absent in sculpture.
This week debuts the 2016 London Art Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington, running from Thursday January 20th – Sunday the 24th.
Find out what’s being said about this year’s Fair – #LAF16
The London Art Fair 2016 features 126 carefully selected modern British and contemporary galleries, displaying work by over 1,000 artists covering the period from the early 20th century to the present day.
Educational talks, insightful tours and interactive events
Highlights include:
Thursday 21 January including Thursday Late in association with Peroni Nastro Azzurro
The Fair stays open until 9pm for a special programme including a performance and a PLAY ART DATA MONEY game jam. More information
Friday 22 January
Find out how artists are responding to today’s migrant crisis and whether London’s international reputation as a city of culture is at risk due to soaring rental prices. More information
Saturday 23 January
Key stakeholders in the UK contemporary gallery sector discuss the affect that increasing adoption of social media is having on art buying behaviour and Magnum photographer Olivia Arthur reveals her Desert Island Pics. More information
Sunday 24 January
Family-friendly workshops inspired by Julian Charriere’s current exhibition at Parasol unit for contemporary art. More information
Warhol, just the name conjures up an instant catalogue of artworks/images that transcend generations – the Campbell’s Soup tins, the Jackie Kennedy prints – and define the pop art movement.
This exhibition gives viewers a glimpse into something other than the primary colours and consumerism images of Andy Warhol. Proud Chelsea is exhibiting a photographic memoir of a year at the Factory – Warhols working world of creativity and notoriety. The images were taken by David McCabe who was a rising star on the New York photography scene during the 60s, he was contacted by Warhol and asked to collaborate with him in documenting life at the Factory between 1964 and 1965.
McCabe was asked to conform to two conditions by Warhol: that he didn’t use a flash and that he was someone who would fit in; David became part of the Factory’s entourage and took over 2,500 photographs at the Factory and other locations around New York.
This is McCabe’s first UK exhibition and highlights this world that Warhol created the exhibition features snap shots of other artists Warhol knew, such as Salvador Dali. In one image Dali is seen to be explaining one of his paintings to Warhol, almost in a teacher/professor like manor.
This small display at Proud Chelsea of McCabe’s photographs are a peek into Warhol’s world and the stars of the Factory, one of these was Edie Sedgwick, for whom this display is for; commemorating the 40th anniversary of her death. She features across many of the images and her contemporary look could be straight out of a bar in Chelsea today.
One striking image for me is Philip Johnson’s Glasshouse1964/5 something about the angle, the glass and space that perhaps say a lot about Warhol and the world he was cultivating, his look of almost a surveying nature. It also reminded me of a clothing advert – the slick, clean cut look and serniness of the image – it could almost be for Burberry.
The images still feel modern and some are more candid than others, such as one featuring Edie, Chuck Wein and Warhol at a party at the Empire State building in1965, which could almost be a Facebook picture, the three of them are huddled in close, looking up at the camera.
The display features images that Warhol decided did not portray him in a light he was keen to cultivate and they were put away by McCabe and left. Some of these unique photographs have been untouched or unprinted, for nearly 40 years so its well worth a look.
Downstairs are some of Proud’s other images by terry ONiel and others. My favoruites is a shot of the Rolling Stones with paige boy hair cuts from 1963, an open shirted Mick Jagger striking a pose for an image entitled ‘Mick’s Lips’ and the sultry Marianne Faithfull in knee high socks and Mary Janes. All of the images no matter what the year still look modern, with looks straight out of today’s catwalks.
The exhibition opens today at Proud Chelsea and runs till the 4th December Mon, Tue, Thu – Sun 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM; Wed 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM.
Opening their 2016 exhibition programme, the Lawrence Alkin Gallery welcomes STATIC to host a solo exhibition presenting their unique layered glass reinterpretations of 8-bit video game graphics.
The show has been born out of the duo’s massively successful Game On! image released early 2015. Press Play reflects on the sub-culture of gaming and how since its inception in the mid-twentieth century it has carved for itself its own sub-culture and global following, which now has far reaching influences. The new work and exhibition also reflects back on how these early graphics have come to influence and inspire contemporary design.
Featuring images from a host of well-known, iconic, games from both arcade machines and early home entertainment systems such as Tetris, Asteroids, Space Invaders, Super Mario & Pac Man, this show promises to start your year with a bang!
This week debuts the 2016 London Art Fair at the 
McCabe was asked to conform to two conditions by Warhol: that he didn’t use a flash and that he was someone who would fit in; David became part of the Factory’s entourage and took over 2,500 photographs at the Factory and other locations around New York.
