CONTEMPORARY ART, REVIEWS

Wonderful World, solo show by Gérard Rancinan

Gerard RancinanWhere: Londonewcastle Project Space
When: 7-24 June 2012

Thursday evening I managed to drop by the Londonewcastle space to see first hand the Rancinan show presented by The Future Tense. I  had known about the exhibition for some time and was really keen to visit. I was not disappointed.

Opening from The Future Tense

“Gérard Rancinan is one of the world’s leading contemporary fine art photographers. For the past 7 years, Rancinan, along with writer Caroline Gaudriault, have been developing the ‘Trilogy of the Moderns’ – a revolution in three acts. Pitched somewhere between comedy and tragedy, this vivid photographic tableau and accompanying texts paint a picture of a confused humanity, blindly groping in the darkness, obsessed with fame and guided only by an absolute desire for generalised happiness.”

Gerard Rancinan

Walking through the show I envisioned myself watching the film Donnie Darko and playing out scenes from which include the infamous bunny head. In addition the irony was that I was humming “Mad World” the corresponding score to the film. Batmanesq and cartoon imagery which although perhaps has been included within other contemporary art, I do not feel this is in any way reproduced. It feels new, yet old, fresh yet re-worn and very much engaging.

Gerard Rancinan

The narrative which accompanies the show, actually does not waffle or meander through meaningless meanings, it provides a commentary, which I find sits well with me. This is the first time for many months where the ideals which are being conveyed actually mean something to me. References to a society documenting its own history via social mediums are made and the act of me writing these very words endorse this. In addition the term ‘non places’ and ‘non people’ have been used which when used in conjunction with the virtual Twitter & Facebook world actually have a relevant description of contemporary society.

Gerard Rancinan

The works themselves are comparable to hyper realistic painting, coupled with well staged and well shot content arranged in such a way that just works. The sheer size of the works give an air of importance to them whilst drawing you in to the content. Another perfect fit to the show is that the final piece of work for the series was actually shot in real time at the exhibition using real people attending the show. This for me bridged the gap between aesthetic and interactive art in a way which I hope everyone can appreciate.

Ed Bartlett of The Future Tense said to me that “to fully appreciate the show you must come back” and he is right.The show runs until 24 June 2012. For more information visit: http://londonewcastle.com/arts-programme/events/2012-06-07/wonderful-world

DIGITAL ART

Rippled, light painting and animation at their best

There are quite a few light-painting based videos/animations out there these days, some very well done, some others a bit less but what about this one – “RIPPLED“, another collaboration between Darcy Prendergast and the creative team at OH YEAH WOW.

Two words – truly amazing.

You do not get perfection or beauty without pain. 6 months is how long this work took to get wrapped up and frame by frame animation and long exposure technique were how they proceeded. The camera was the weapon and the creativity topped it all off.

Track – All India Radio- The Silent Surf

BLOG, STREET ART

Mehdi Ghadyanloo’s street art illusion

Meet Mehdi Ghadyanloo, a proficient street artist from Teheran, Israel.

The artist style is ‘illusion’ and his works always need you to look again and again to understand what it is all about but that illusional aspect is most definitely why so many people appreciate it.

Surreal scenes are often depicted in his murals such as a man floating up into the sky and holding on helium balloons.

Mehdi Ghadyanloo is a painter and designer based in Tehran, Israel. His street art is extensive. What makes his artworks particularly intriguing is that they are full of dimension that tricks the brain.

Mehdi Ghadyanloo's illusion street art | Art-Pie

Mehdi Ghadyanloo's illusion street art | Art-PieMehdi Ghadyanloo's illusion street art | Art-Pie

Mehdi Ghadyanloo's illusion street art | Art-Pie

Mehdi Ghadyanloo's illusion street art | Art-Pie

Mehdi Ghadyanloo's illusion street art | Art-Pie

URBANISM

Central St Giles – urbanism at its best

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I did not expect to walk through what, actually, turned out to be a truly enjoyable experience. I am talking here about the new urban development named Central Saint Giles, comfortably wedged between Bloomsbury and Soho in London.

I suspect the sunny weather that day helped here, but I was truly amazed by the imposing and colorful buildings that make up this very modern workplace, which includes office space, shops, restaurants, cafes, apartments and an outdoor public piazza. Bright green, yellow and orange are the colours used for the huge facades, which clearly make them stand out amidst the surrounding urban buildings.

While enjoying a walk on the spacious and bright piazza, I was happily surprised to encounter a couple of sculptures, one of which is by the artist Steven Gontarski; a five-meter-tall piece, adding another layer of colour to the landscape.

Urbanism like this can be beautiful, by either inspiring the architect (Renzo Piano) or being integrated into it.

http://www.centralsaintgiles.com/

Central Saint Giles

Ob 08 by Steven Gontarski
Central Saint GilesOb 08 by Steven G0ntarski

Central Saint Giles

Uncategorized

The nuclear bunker project by 3Dot gallery

The Secret Bunker project | Art-PieWe recently met up with the 3Dot gallery team to find out about the Nuclear Bunker project. The gallery is located in Edinburgh.

Art-Pie: “So guys, what is the Nuclear Bunker project all about“?
3Dot: We have graff, illustrator, stencil, projection and lighting artists coming in over the next few days to create some exceptional pieces of art that will completely transform Scotland’s “Secret Bunker”.

A-P: “Scotland Secret Bunker?”
3Dot: ???

A-P: “What the greater idea behind this project?”
3Dot: We believe the projects we do are quite special due to their nature with the hope that this one will be the turning point in the grander scheme of things.

Great artists have come together at our studio within the four weeks we have had to put this project together.  They have come along to do what they are passionate about even though no-one is making any money, the budget is extremely tight in respect to the space we have to cover – everyone has been pitching in as much as they possibly can with materials and countless hours spent working and helping out

We are doing this to provide artists a platform to showcase their pieces and throw an awesome party to celebrate all the hard work from everyone involved,  something that I don’t believe is actually happening at the moment in Edinburgh and all the artists we work with agree with us too.

A-P: “Where do you see this initiative take you?”
3Dot: We want to keep doing these events so that we can establish ourselves and gain a reputation that we can use to gain a credible charity status that will develop our ability to provide extremely talented artists with materials, studio space and a venue to showcase their work – All of which would be costly and could deter these creative individuals from doing what they do best.

The first event of the Nuclear Bunker project will take place this Saturday 2nd Februrary 2013 at ???. We will report back on it and show you some of the creations that came out of it. We have included below a teaser of the artwork that have already been produced by some of the artists involved.

To get further information and to get involved, please get in touch with ??? or take a look at the 3Dot website (although your website guys does not mention the event! Why??!!)

Have you got a list of the artists involved???

The Secret Bunker project | Art-Pie

The Secret Bunker project | Art-Pie

STREET ART ENCOUNTERS