PREVIEW

WX Street Party: the rise of the non-conformists

Summer time and outdoors urban art exhibition sound like they are made for each other so you imagine my excitement when I heard about the Whitecross street party.

I am lucky enough to work quite near the area and had unfairly some might say went a few days earlier to get a sneak preview at the artworks which were starting to pop up everywhere on the walls of Whitecross street. The huge piece from Burning Candy had definitely open my appetite for more.

I turned up then early afternoon on Saturday and was happy to see that the street was fairly busy with heads going up and down the surrounding walls and fingers pointing at will. I was quick to join and enjoy Burning Candy, EElus or Best Ever pieces.

I was disappointed though by the lack of live events. I perhaps should have turned up earlier and could have attended the giant knitting event or was I expecting too much? Anyway, it was good to see some artists at it at least stenciling and spraying away.

Good day out overall and definitely some awesome pieces to go and see. The street exhibition runs until the 5th September.

Featured artists:
Best Ever | Burning Candy Crew | Carrie Reichardt | David Bray | Dead Leg | Dotmasters | Dr.D | Eelus | Filthy Luker | Gavin Turk | Giles Walker | Small | Mysterious Al | Mr.E.Dawe | Paul Insect | Peter Dunne | Ronnie Wood | Shepherd Fairey | Teddy Baden | Will Barras | Wreckage | Xenz

Related links
> WX street party website
> WX street party on Flickr

ART-PIE

BLOG, FEATURE

10 mind blowing sculptures from all around the world

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We came across these mind-blowing sculptures and could not resist sharing them with you. Defying gravity or just beautiful, you can decide for yourself. We hope you’ll enjoy them.

Why not telling us about them in the comments below?

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Name: “The Immigrant Sculpture” by Bruno Catalano
Location: Portugal
Meaning:  Symbolizing luggage full of dreams but an empty heart, because you are leaving everything behind.

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Name: “Popped Up” by Ervin Loránth Hervé
Location: Budapest (Hungary)
Meaning:  Promotional piece for Art market Budapest (2014). The temporary sculpture combines art with nature, surprising visitors while welcoming them to the Eastern capital.

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Click to enlarge

Name: Jeju Loveland
Location: Jeju island in South Korea
Meaning:  Jeju Loveland is an outdoor sculpture park which opened in 2004 on Jeju Island in South Korea. The park is focused on a theme of sex, featuring 140 sculptures representing humans in various sexual positions.

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Name: “Hippo Squares”
Location: Taipei Zoo (Taiwan)
Meaning: The square is the brainchild of former zoo Director Chen Pao-chung, who came up with the concept while looking for ways to complement the African Animal Area. After consulting with employees and designers, Chen greenlighted the square and it went on to become one of the facility’s signature nonliving attractions.

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Name: Not known
Location: Tuen Mun Park (Hong Kong)
Meaning: Not known

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Click to enlarge

Name: “The Rundle Mall pigs”
Location: Rundle Mall, Adelaide (Australia)
Meaning: The four pigs won Adelaide City Council’s Rundle Mall National Sculpture Competition for the upgraded Rundle Mall in 1997. South African-born and Sydney-based sculptor Marguerite Derricourt was the winner. Her four bronze pigs were unveiled on July 3, 1999.

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Name: “River God Tyne” statue by sculptor David Wynne (1968)
Location: Newcastle Town hall (UK)
Meaning: It portrays the river God in human form, a fountain within his outstretched hand coursing a constant stream of water along the tortured and twisted torso of the aquatic diety.

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Name: “Octopus plays Chess” by Leigh Dyer
Location: Hasting Old Town (UK)
Meaning: These fantastic pieces that live in the Chess Square, George Street, Hastings Old Town.

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Name: Yorkshire sculpture park (UK)
Location: Yorkshire sculpture park (UK)
Meaning: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is an open-air gallery in West Bretton near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, showing work by British and international artists

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Name: Rock sculpture by Smaban Abbas
Location: Terminal 3, Cairo airport (Egypt)
Meaning: ?

BLOG, CAUSE, INTRO

Wildlife photographers joined forces and talent to present Remembering Rhinos

Incredible images by some of the world’s best wildlife photographers will be brought together in this much-anticipated new book, with exclusive launch event and exhibition in London this month.

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Remembering Rhinos | Art-PiePowerful images of rhino taken by some of the world’s top wildlife photographers will be unveiled at a free London exhibition and an evening of talks by leading conservationists, as the much-anticipated Remembering Rhinos book is launched this month.

The beautiful photographic book is a follow-up to the hugely successful Remembering Elephants project, which last year raised over £135k for international wildlife charity Born Free’s elephant conservation work.

It has gained widespread support from a host of celebrities including Russell Crowe, Chris Martin, Joanna Lumley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Holden, Emilia Fox, Caity Lotz, and Katherine Jenkins, who posed with their copy of the book as part of a social media campaign on World Rhino Day.

Remembering Rhinos | Art-Pie
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Stunning images from the project will be on display at a VIP private view on Tuesday 31st October. The event, held at La Galleria, Pall Mall, will be attended by celebrity wildlife ambassadors as well as a number of the internationally acclaimed photographers, whose work is featured in the book.

The exhibition will remain open 10am – 5pm each day until Saturday 11th November – an unmissable opportunity to view the exquisite imagery, and purchase limited edition prints and copies of the book.

Remembering Rhinos | Art-Pie
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Born Free patron James Lewis will preside an auction | Art-Pie
Born Free patron James Lewis will preside an auction

Tickets are still available for a very special evening about rhino conservation and photography at the prestigious Royal Geographic Society, on Wednesday 1st November.

The event will be introduced by Will Travers OBE, President of Born Free and will include talks by Saving the Survivors founder, vet and photographer Johan Marais and former Wildlife Photographer of the Year Steve Winter.

The founder of Remembering Wildlife initiative, Margot Raggett, will compere the evening, which will culminate in an auction of some of the images from the book, presided over by TV auctioneer and Born Free patron, James Lewis.

The books themselves will also be on sale on the night with some of the photographers available to sign them if requested.

Tickets are available at: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembering-rhinos-book-launch-tickets-34138488137 and start from £25.

Find out more about Remembering Rhinos at: www.rememberingwildlife.com/remembering-rhinos

Learn more about the work of the Born Free Foundation at: www.bornfree.org.uk

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Private View at La Galleria, Pall Mall
Red carpet arrival Tuesday 31st October, from 7pm
> Free exhibition runs from Monday 30th October to Saturday 11th November

Rhino conservation talks at the Royal Geographical Society
> Wednesday 1st November from 7pm

BLOG, PREVIEW

‘Portraits in Character’ by Alexander Newley at St Martin’s in-the-Fields

‘PORTRAITS IN CHARACTER’ BY ALEXANDER NEWLEY IN THE CRYPT OF ST MARTIN’S | Art-Pie
Alexander Newley painting Dame Judi Dench

Artist Alexander Newley is delighted to announce his solo exhibition ‘Portraits in Character – supporting St Martin-in-the-Fields’, in the Crypt of St Martin’s, Trafalgar Square from 7th to 21st November. The exhibition is to run in partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields, a fitting location for the exhibition, with its proximity to the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery, and will mark Newley’s return to the London art world after several years in New York.

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Auction to support St Martin- in-the-Fields

St martin in the Fields | Art-Pie
Saint Martin-in-the-Fields (click to enlarge)

In Spring 2017 the paintings and drawings featured in ‘Portraits in Character – supporting St Martin- in-the-Fields’, will be auctioned to benefit the work of St Martin-in-the-Fields, including their outreach with homeless people.

For more information about this auction in support of St Martin-in-the-Fields please contact StMartins@activ.org.uk

Portraits of comedians such as Dame Judi Dench

Newley collaborated with Kenneth Branagh to create a unique series of portraits of several of the leading cast from the Plays at the Garrick season, which comes to a close this November. Alexander Newley spent time with the cast over a period of one year, capturing the actors in character backstage after performances.

The result is a series of drawings and paintings capturing the aura of some of the UK’s most celebrated actors; Dame Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Adrian Lester, Derek Jacobi, Richard Madden and Lily James.

Alexander Newley commented:

Painting an actor in character adds another layer of interest for me. I’ve always been fascinated by the unknowable human self and how it variously disguises and forms itself into the mask of personality. In a theatrical portrait, that self is further warped and refracted through the mask of portrayal. I am making a portrait of their portrait, in other words, which is a fascinating game of chess on many levels.

About Alexander Newley

Alexander Newley | art-Pie
Alexander Newley

Alexander Newley is a leading contemporary portrait artist working on both sides of the Atlantic, known for his iconic depictions of major figures in the Arts including; Gore Vidal, Billy Wilder, Christopher Reeve, Oliver Stone and Steven Berkoff. His portrait of Gore Vidal, America’s infamous polemicist and wit, and his dramatic triple-portrait of Actor, Activist and former Superman star Christopher Reeve, imprisoned in his life-supporting wheelchair, form part of the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery at The Smithsonian in Washington DC.

About St Martin-in-the-Fields

St Martin-in-the-Fields is a landmark church, which has been serving London for centuries. The iconic building stands as a beacon in Trafalgar Square, welcoming people through its doors for services, music or simply as a place of quiet sanctuary from the bustle of central London.

St Martin’s is famous for offering a welcome and practical support to some of the most vulnerable people in society. This December marks the 90th Anniversary of the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. The money raised helps homeless people who receive shelter, food, help and advice at The Connection at St Martin’s; as well as maintaining a special Vicar’s Relief Fund which makes thousands of one off grants to vulnerable people across the UK.

CONTEMPORARY ART

Internal Objects and the Objectified Self

“Lacan revises and enriches the myth of Narcissus, so passionately in love with his image that he plunges into the water and is drowned.”[1]

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Bathroom, (c)2011 Hayley Harrison
Bathroom, (c)2011 Hayley Harrison

The mirror holds peril. Revealing truths unwanted or enticing the loss of the self to an objectified world. The creation of our self-identity begins with how we respond to our image in the mirror in infancy. We either recognize the ‘other’ and begin the process of socialization or we retreat to find the maternal object and become locked in the death wish.[2] Psychoanalytical theory is of course more complex and involved than that simple description. But the significance in the simplified description is the relationship of self to object. We begin to understand we are an object which occupies space, distinct from others or we seek the comfort and reassurance of objects to satisfy our longing, beginning to see everything as an object available to satisfy us.

In Kleinian theory, the ‘internal object’ is “a mental and emotional image of an external object that has been taken inside the self. The character of the internal object is coloured by aspects of the self that have been projected into it. A complex interaction continues throughout life between the world of internalised figures and objects and in the real world…the state of the internal object is considered to be of prime importance to the development and mental health of the individual.”[3]

Her, (c)2011 Hayley Harrison
Her, (c)2011 Hayley Harrison

We are bound to objects as a means to understand the world, ourselves and the complex relationships we have throughout life. Any kind of exploration of self and identity must perforce include a discussion of objects. This ‘Me’ of Mine has delved into several aspects of this ‘object relationship’, through the work of Kate Murdoch and memory association with personal identity development, Annabel Dover and the complex personal codes and emotions imposed on objects, Cathy Lomax and objects which represent self-image and emotional states and now with the work of Hayley Harrison and her use of objects as an expression of an inner self:

“I think we have to be in the ‘right’ place both internally and externally and that’s when a conversation occurs. For me self-recognition through the external is experienced in its ‘purest’ form when we are here, now, rather than through our pasts or futures.  We can be taken off guard by something, something perhaps poetic that throws us into the present. Whatever that something is, we just have to come into relationship with it.  When we experience one of these rare conversations between the internal and external I believe we come back to ourselves, much like Jacques Lacan’s famous discourse with the sardine can. Ultimately within these moments we are looking into a mirror.”

Read more of my interview with Hayley, Speak Me Many Times .

Read past interviews with Kate Murdoch, Annabel Dover and Cathy Lomax.

[1] Roundinesco, Elisabeth, “The Mirror Stage: an obliterated archive” from The Cambridge Companion to Lacan, edited by Jean-Michel Rabaté, 2003, Cambridge University Press, accessed online  at: http://artsite.arts.ucsb.edu/~arts1a/outlines/The_Cambridge_Companion_to_Lacan.pdf , 25 June 2013

[2] Ibid.

[3] Melanie Klein Trust, http://www.melanie-klein-trust.org.uk/internal-objects ,accessed 25 June 2013

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS