Carmichael Gallery
Invites You To Our Booth At The
Moniker International Art Fair
Boogie, Boxi, Martha Cooper, Eine, Gregor Gaida, Hush
Inti, Mark Jenkins, Aakash Nihalani and Sixeart
Featuring the artwork of Katie Decker, FARO, Hellbent, Marlo Marquise, John McGarity, Don Pablo Pedro and Ellen Stagg
Beyond the lights, glitz and glamour of New York City resides an artistic underworld that resonates in the shadows of this great metropolis. This creative element encompasses many disciplines and methodologies, demonstrating a wide range of artistic interpretation. Cimmerian Shade, the latest show from Mighty Tanaka, highlights a darker side of art for the witching month of October. Featuring the artwork of Katie Decker, FARO, Hellbent, Marlo Marquise, John McGarity, Don Pablo Pedro and Ellen Stagg, they each provide their own unique vision from the shadows.
Dark art is a term that applies to the ghosted image of a thought or an idea that transcends the ubiquitous and exists within a realm all its own. Neither wicked nor nefarious, this artistic expression thrives in a world beyond that of typical society, providing an outlet for our altered obsessions. From the overt to the subtle, Cimmerian Shade offers a glimpse behind the veil into a world overlooked by everyday exploration.
With an arsenal of inspiration at their disposal, the artists provide a personal interpretation of life and experiences into their artwork. Through a variety of mediums spanning photography to woodcarvings, carbon transfers to oil paint; Cimmerian Shade exhibits a plethora of methods that translate well for both home and gallery.
Who decides what messages and images are displayed in the public? When it comes to advertising, images and graphics are supposedly governed by “community standards”, meaning a body of some sort passes judgment on the worthiness of an image or message based on a common understanding of the collective opinion. More often than not, unless there is a vocal protest from a potent fraction of a community, standards are merely the guidelines to push against to grab attention and a tiny piece of mind share.
As these standards evolve, so do the broadly drawn boundaries of what an advertiser can use to sell a product, whether it is on a sticker, billboard, mural, or high-gloss kiosk. “It’s almost like you can put a dildo on a billboard as long as the brand or logo is there to validate it as another normal commercial,” says French Street Artist Ludo, who has been merging his art with the commercial art in bus shelters.
Ludo’s series is called “co-branding”, a seamless appropriation of existing ads that can be strikingly beautiful and even unnoticeable by the casual observer. These pieces merge so well with the context that they might very well be mistaken by genuine ads.He talks about a piece that re-invents a Chanel advertisement by noting the high-concept imagery that appears in typical ads for high-end consumer goods. “The overabundance of ultra aesthetic visuals in some ads now, the kind of arty stuff that only Karl Lagerfield will enjoy, is so annoying to me that it made me want to hijack my own work and brand them as an other campaign. It’s funny how in fact people see it as advertising because of the logo but are also kind of disturbed by the image.”
This week, K-Guy primates appeared in the urban jungle of NYC while Vango, in Kiellarny, Ireland touched on American pop culture and Brooklyn’s own Faile gifted NYC with an amazing Prayer Wheel.
Experimental show space 17 Frost in Brooklyn tonight hosts the opening of a show that summons Woody Guthrie from the ethers to talk about a time when average working American citizens were asserting their right over resources from multinational companies. An unconventional mashup of NYC graffiti and Hudson River School this show boldly challenges you to make connections where you didn’t know there were any. Reconciling urban abstract with pastoral landscapes can’t be easy, but when both are your influences you are bound to find the is a germ of something new.
Ride ‘Em Cowboy – Beast & Berlusconi
Furious Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has ordered in inquiry after 16 giant posters showing him riding young models like horses sprung up overnight in Milan.
The faked images – some showing the playboy PM beating the girls’ bottoms with a riding crop – are said to be the work of a local Banksy-style street artist called Beast.
In another politically engaged Street Art take on graphic messaging in the public sphere, Brazilian Street Artist Mundano is re-styling posters for the Presidential elections currently taking place in Brazil.
Know Hope in Toronto Tonight
Street Artist Know Hope is currently in Toronto for tonight’s opening of his solo show “There Is Nothing Dear (There Is Too Much Dear)” at the Show and Tell Gallery. “I’m really excited about this show and the pieces in it. Toronto is also a really cool city,” says the artist.
Skewville charms the French
Or at least that’s what Adam says he did.
FAME Wrap Up Video
Italy was once again treated to some of the best worldwide large scale installations of work by Street Artists in one place for the FAME festival. Here is a summary of the scene.
Opening Saturday October 16 from 18H Addict Galerie
Exposition Collective du 16 Octobre au 4 Décembre Mardi Samedi 11 :00 – 19 :00
Group Show from October 16th to December 4th Tuesday Saturday 11 :00 – 19 :00
La rue, laboratoire dun nouveau mode dexpression
Un art est né dans la rue parce que ses auteurs ne se définissaient pas comme des artistes. Cétait là, la révolution. Des jeunes aux doigts errants, voulaient simplement rappeler leur existence en prenant à partie un paysage urbain, prison de briques et de pierres, souvent délabrée, qui servait de décor à leur vie. Depuis maintenant plus dun demi-siècle, lesthétique des cités sen est trouvée modifiée.
On a souvent dénoncé le spontanéisme immature de ces peintres clandestins qui nobéissaient en réalité quà un besoin instinctif dexpression visant à déconstruire un certain académisme des formes. Dabord terrain dexpérimentation de jeunes amateurs, la rue est devenue le lieu dexposition dartistes issus des meilleures écoles allant à la rencontre dun public, souvent absent des musées.
A rebours de lindividualisme traditionnel du créateur, ces artistes ont su développer générosité et sens du partage pour élaborer des projets collectifs. Ils ont également renouvelé les outils traditionnels de la peinture en explorant toutes les techniques et tous les types de supports. Certains dentre eux en revisitent laspect figuratif avec lironie dun langage métaphorique. Dautres sapproprient aussi le multimédia pour nous sensibiliser aux dangers du monde virtuel.
Lart urbain est désormais un art de vivre pour beaucoup de ses adeptes, artistes authentiques à linspiration variée qui entendent créer en toute légalité, sur des supports autorisés.
Surgit alors un paradoxe : comment ces innovateurs nomades, ayant élu la rue comme terrain dexpérimentation, habitués à y exposer des travaux destinés à disparaître, comment ces acteurs du provisoire peuvent-ils se laisser enfermer dans un musée ou une galerie ?
Une chose est sûre : en investissant « lintérieur », en renonçant à leur clandestinité, ces artistes ne perdent rien de leur authenticité. Ils revendiquent simplement une inspiration différente mais fidèle à leur démarche créatrice. Tous se promettent également de retourner sexprimer dans la rue. Cette tendance nest pas nouvelle. Le passage du mur et du wagon au support léger, mobile et collectionnable se produit déjà à New York dès la fin des années 70, avec Crash, Lady Pink !
Face à ces tentatives qui se mondialisent que pense le citadin de ces « uvres » quon lui met sous le nez ? Il demeure sceptique, parfois choqué, souvent dérouté. Institutions et critiques en ont tiré prétexte pour tenir à lécart ces fabricants de signes indéchiffrables, ravalés au rang de propagateurs dune sous culture de ghetto aux slogans parfois subversifs.
La presse, de son côté, a fait preuve dune étonnante absence de curiosité à légard de ce mouvement quand elle ne la pas fustigé allant jusquà le traiter « dart dégénéré ».
Les musées lont largement ignoré. Les collectionneurs, mal informés, ne pouvaient que se montrer frileux à son endroit.
Un tel contexte assigne à lart urbain une place singulière dans lhistoire et ne facilite pas sa reconnaissance comme mouvement artistique à part entière. Même si la situation évolue lentement, à ce jour en France, très peu dexpositions lui ont été consacrées. Elles ont notamment peu pris en compte la variété des techniques quil met en uvre, ni la richesse de son inspiration, passant même à côté de certains de ses grands acteurs.
Il nétait que temps de témoigner de limportance dun des élans créatifs les plus révolutionnaires du Vingtième siècle car inscrit dans une époque condamnée à lentassement humain dont il réinvente les formes dart pictural.
Pour rendre compte de son ampleur, Addict Galerie lui consacre deux expositions, la première débutera le 16 Octobre 2010. Ce panorama voudrait témoigner du foisonnement des talents qui lirradie. Seront entre autres rassemblées les uvres de plus de quarante artistes internationaux, des pionniers tels Gérard Zlotykamien, John Crash Matos, Doze Green, Lady Pink, John Fekner et Don Leicht, Jean Faucheur, Toxic jusquaux jeunes talents tels Imminent Disaster, Jazi, Alexandros Vasmoulakis, 36RECYCLAB, Mambo Partageront aussi ses murs Jaybo, Marco Pho Grassi, Victor Ash, Herakut, Andrew Mc Attee, Nick Walker, Kofie, Boris Hoppek, Thomas Fiebig, LATLAS, Mist, TRYONE, Smash 137, Eelus, Dtagno, 108
Ce projet unique en son genre suppose une subjectivité dans les choix dont Addict Galerie a conscience et quelle assume librement. Il sagit pour nous de révéler, loin des sentiers battus, la cohérence dun mode dexpression qui, à travers sa multiplicité, saffirme comme imaginatif, inspirant et novateur.
La scénographie proposée scande en deux temps le parcours de ce panorama sans en briser lunité même si la première étape comporte une dominante plus abstraite et la seconde plus figurative. Cette approche conforte au contraire une vision globale qui voudrait souligner la réussite du passage de cet art en galerie.
Par cette initiative hors norme, Addict Galerie souhaite rendre justice à lart urbain et laider à asseoir sa légitimité artistique.
Laetitia Hecht et René Bonnell
Pour toutes demandes Contactez la galerie : +33 (0)1 48 87 05 04 / info@addictgalerie.com
Information available upon request Contact the gallery: +33(0)1 48 87 05 04 / info@addictgalerie.com
ADDICT GALERIE
Laetitia Hecht
14/16 rue de Thorigny
75003 Paris – France.
T: +33(0)1 48 87 05 04
info@addictgalerie.com
This Land Is My Land
Erik Burke & Cahil Muraghu
Opening Friday, October 8th between 7 – 11pm
Burke and Muraghu’s collaborations are vivid representation of the American landscape. The show’s title, This Land is My Land, taken from Woody Guthrie’s landmark song, embodies the artists’ intent behind both the work and their own lifestyle. Guthrie describes the disenfranchised American staking a hypothetical claim to the landscape, reiterating native American concepts of land ownership. Their work inspired by the New York City graffiti movement and the Hudson River school not only attempts to document the American experience, but lay claim, even if only for a moment, to enlivening our relationship to the landscape through abstraction.
Gallery Hours
Fri, Sat, & Sun, 3:00pm – 7:00pm or by appointment.
A lady, perhaps in her late 60’s or early 70’s with small wire-rimmed glasses stood on the pavement grinning in front of our flickering video projection time-lapses of Street Artists putting up work. She only turned from the screen once to make sure that her posse was also watching. When the video ended, with shoulders pinch up toward her grey fluffy hair, she clapped her hands quietly in front of her smiling mouth, and went back to the sidewalk to talk to her friends about it. She asked them if they had seen it. They had. A bit of wonder for us, her excitement.
We like to think that all of the artists involved in the first ever Nuit Blanche festival in New York received a similar experience for all of their efforts. As artists, few things make us happier than when we get to see the faces of the public enjoying the art being presented.
In New York there aren’t many venues where both the artists and the public get to mingle and talk directly with each other in an open and unrestricted environment: No VIP rooms, no PR handlers, no spokespeople, no velvet ropes, admission tickets, no one looking down their nose. The organizers of “Bring to Light” made this possible for one glorious night in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Perhaps 10,000 art lovers got out of their homes to enjoy one evening of free enlightenment without restriction.
With a five-hour convulsing light carnival by 60 artists, many of whom are well known for avant garde innovation, “Bring to Light” brought to life this former maritime hub of North Brooklyn that once blustered with lumber yards and rope factories. Now a rusty hopscotch of weathered industrial architecture, burned out lots, and faded hopes, Greenpoint in recent years has bloomed with the lifeblood of artists overflowing from neighboring Williamsburg. Aided by a crisp autumn night and Greenpoint’s Open Studios weekend, where artists open their doors to the public, “Bring To Light” was suddenly pulsating with the feet of thousands of art fans. All manner of projectors blasted on the walls with myriad images, forms, and shapes, some breathtakingly beautiful. Other artists created sculptures and installations that worked as light vessels and amorphous creatures while collaborative dancers entertained groupings of appreciative observers.
The show’s organizer DoTank:Brooklyn, calls itself a public vessel for interdisciplinary exploration, and Nuit Blanche seemed like the perfect showcase for everything these (mostly) urban planners are about. More interested in taking action than talking about it, their collective sense of focused urgency is like a refreshing gale of cool October air. Since they actually know how to plan and work with local civic and citizen groups, they were able to pull off New York City’s very first Nuit Blanche event in less than 3 months, and on a shoestring budget.
While DoTank had the initial idea, the Nuit Blanche ball started rolling when festival producer Ethan Vogt got involved to steer the effort in late July. DoTank had experience organizing participator events in public space and Ethan brought his background in film production and a passion for creating cinematic experience outside of traditional venues.
DoTanker Ken Farmer, originally from Memphis, Tennessee usually is riding his bike around the city or working as a consultant at Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit planning, design and educational organization. He likes to ride his bike around the city and scope out cheap places to eat, or “blue collar hollas”, as he calls them.
A Boston born New Yorker since ’02, Ethan Vogt is a filmmaker who makes documentaries for organizations, music videos with found footage, and has produced three feature films with Andrew Bujalski. Now developing a masters thesis about Media in Performance and Architecture at NYU, Vogt hopes to produce Nuit Blanch for at least the next couple years in New York.
Brooklyn Street Art spoke to both guys about the success of their first Nuit Blanche in New York.
Brooklyn Street Art: How do you feel about the event, now that you are a few days on the other side of it?
Ken Farmer: We could not be more excited about how things turned out. Great weather, great crowd, great support from the community and a great response from both people who attended as well as those who have seen post-event coverage.
Ethan Vogt: Yeah, we are all just thrilled with how it came together – I’ve heard nothing but positive things from artists, visitors, and Greenpoint residents. I would say it exceeded our expectations and we were just in awe of what we had “organized” and “produced.”
Brooklyn Street Art: How long has this event been in the planning?
Ken Farmer: The idea began in July and planning really began in August. We were on pins and needles until the last minute getting the permits approved due to apprehension about an event with no prior history in NYC. Luckily, some key leaders like Councilman Stephen Levin and Borough President Marty Markowitz really believed in the event and helped us get over the hump.
Brooklyn Street Art: Would you call yourselves artists?
Ken Farmer: I’d say…artist and organizer…maybe that’s a curator?…of public spaces.
Ethan Vogt: Sure, I’d say I’m an artist and creative producer. I actually was going to do a projection project for the festival before I got too busy producing. You can see some of my projections and photography online. I feel like my art-making allows me to be a better producer, I often think about what I would want from a producer if I was the artist and then try to be that kind of producer.
Brooklyn Street Art: Who had the idea of launching New York’s first Nuit Blanche, and why did you think it was important to pursue and execute?
Ken Farmer: DoTanker Ted Ulrich organized a similar event in Atlanta and other team members had experienced Nuit Blanche events in other countries. We knew that it provided such a creative transformation of public spaces. Given our interest in short-term interventions to transform the way public space is experienced…we had to try.
Brooklyn Street Art: Can you talk about one of your favorite projections or performances from Saturday night?
Ken Farmer: We had some pretty well known light artists like Chris Jordan and Ryan Uzilevsky, but the thing that amazed me was the way the art, performers and crowd coalesced into a seamless experience. It wasn’t about individuals or feature pieces, it was about the transformed landscape that emerged collectively. This was our curatorial goal, but the reality far exceeded our expectations.
Ethan Vogt: So many of the pieces were amazing, it is hard to choose. I loved the percussion performance, “Scaffolding” by Tom Peyton with Terence Caulkins, Eddie Cooper, Lily Faden, Leo Kremer, and Mike Skinner, I also thought that the way that crowds were interacting with “A Small Explosion” by Kant Smith, “Light & Glass Dance” by Miho Ogai, “Oculus” by Nathaniel Lieb & Sarah Nelson Wright, and “Untitled (Drums, Lights) by Peter Esveld & Philippo Vanucci was remarkable and a very vibrant way of people connecting to artwork that I haven’t seen very many other places in my life.
Brooklyn Street Art: What role does public art play in the life of a neighborhood or a city?
Ken Farmer: It should be a manifestation of its surroundings showcasing the local identity. And it should compel us to appreciate our surroundings–aesthetically, whimsically, critically. But it is frustrating how often it falls short.
Ethan Vogt: I’m no expert on this but I think public art should encourage reflection, debate, and connection. New public spaces like the “High Line” in Chelsea are the kind of thing that I believe embodies this and I would love to someday be involved in producing a project like that.
Brooklyn Street Art: We’re always talking about the intersection between Street Art, Urban Art, Public Art, Performance, Projection Art – do you think that there is a growing interest among city dwellers in reclaiming public space for art?
Ethan Vogt: Yes, Yes, Yes! – I think this festival really struck a chord and that people looking for an authentic, non-consumer, artistic, participatory, and community experience.
Ken Farmer: I think there is a growing interest in authentic, and interactive public art. We are in a beautiful era of D.I.Y. culture. The big, corporate commissioned public art pieces in lifeless lower Manhattan plazas are old news. People want something more relatable and more dynamic. We are seeing a proliferation of low-cost, pop-up elements in public spaces. Some may see it as art, others as amenity, either way…its terrific.
Brooklyn Street Art: Were you surprised how difficult it could be to pull this off?
Ken Farmer: The difficulty lies in the need to do everything by the books. We intend to make this an annual tradition that gets better every year. So we dotted the “i’s” and crossed the “t’s”, which was costly, fiscally as well as temporally, but essential to building community support.
Ethan Vogt: It was extremely difficult to get all the pieces together to make this work but the reward of the experience was well worth it and things will certainly be easier next year.
Brooklyn Street Art: Do you think most people who see the show have any idea the amount of work that goes into it?
Ethan Vogt: I’m not sure if they have a sense of the work but I don’t care, I’m just glad they came out and had a night to remember. Hopefully they might continue to support us next year.
Ken Farmer: Hopefully they don’t know how much work goes in. I think the biggest barometer of the event’s success was how calm it felt. It was amazing to have that big of a crowd, with that many artists and that much excitement, yet have things seem so orderly.
We are extremely appreciative of how the crowd received the event…Thank You New York!
DoTank:Brooklyn is always looking for new partners. Please contact them at info@dotankbrooklyn.org
“Bring to Light” was organized by: Do Tank: Brooklyn Michael Doherty, Ken Farmer, Aurash Khawarzad, Tom Peyton, and Ted Ullrich
Produced by: Ethan Vogt, Furnace Media
Co-produced by: Pepin Gelardi, Jacquie Jordan, Annie de Mayo, Anna Muessig, Stephen Zacks
Please visit the Bring To Light site and click on their Kick Starter Campaign. They are only a few hundred dollars from reaching their fundraising goal. They need your support!
Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. http://4rbyf.th8.us #optimism #hope #beauty
Send.
103 characters and her followers would have had an update of exactly what Anne Frank was thinking. The inner life of this girl, as recorded in her diary, has inspired many an artist, author, movie director, painter, and writer to contemplate their own.
Irish stencil Street Artist Vango has just imagined Anne Frank as she might be today – sending her personal thoughts and observations, status updates. It’s a tricky minefield of human history to tread for an artist and the implications of a wireless data stream available to all are still being assessed by contemporary culture. As our historical touchstones are viewed through these new screens, sometimes it can be jolting and will raise questions. What parallels exist today, and what has been fundamentally changed by our creation?
Brooklyn Street Art:With this new stencil you have updated an image of Anne Frank using what we are calling “social media”. What inspired you to create this piece?
Vango: Well, I always like merging the past with the present in my work and I especially like painting historic characters using the modern equivalent of their chosen medium. Today everyone ‘s on Twitter or Facebook expressing themselves to the world, which is a positive thing, except 99% of what they say is irrelevant bulls**t. On the flip side, 65 years ago this young girl actually had something to say that was unheard in her lifetime.
BSA
Brooklyn Street Art:Tell us a bit about the Street Art scene in Ireland.
Vango: Obviously Ireland isn’t known for Street Art but there are some talented artists emerging, especially in the last year or two like KARMA, ADW, Canvaz, Maser and of course Conor Harrington.
BSA
Brooklyn Street Art:Who would you cite as an inspiration as an artist?
Vango: As a stencil artist it’s hard not to mention Banksy. Lots of stencil artists are reluctant to admit that Banksy had an influence on them at the risk of sounding like stale copy cats. That’s understandable but I’d rather be honest and admit that Banksy had a major role in my decision to pick up a can. The guy makes it look so easy again and again and the least he deserves is homage from newbie stencil artists.
BSA
Brooklyn Street Art:Why do you think Street Art is important and relevant in today’s art world? Vango: It’s there for everyone to see, like it or not. It demands to be noticed and as you can tell it’s succeeding. You can be on a train, walking to work or driving home and see art that’s just as thought provoking as art you have to go out of your way to find. I think that ‘s important because nobody seems to have time anymore. If you have a job and a favorite TV show, your day is spent.
Veng from Robots Will Kill is working hard in his studio here to prepare for his first solo show at Pandemic Gallery in December. Here’s a taste of some of the work he’s preparing, featuring his character and a cool illuminated hat!
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
