Regular readers may have noticed the few subtle changes at Graffoto towers, hopefully for the better!
We now have a subscribe function, where you can choose to be updated via email whenever there is a new post made. For the confused amongst you early subscribers, the title of the email that comes through was showing as "Over & Over" which is actually the official title of the Graffoto blog - for clarity this has now been amended so you know what you are getting and who it's from!
Remember if you'd rather not have the email updates, there is also the RSS link feed that you can add to your own reader software too.
We also await with baited breath the first post from our new staffer, Mr Shellshockphotos. . . A.K.A Banksy locations and tours man, A.K.A a general graf spotting LegEnd! This man pretty much invented the London graf tour, loads of which have been cropping up in various guises and publications this year...and he seriously regrets not patenting the idea a long time ago!
There are more changes afoot, all of which will hopefully make Graffoto a nicer place to be and still remain a good source of honest opinions and sightings of stuff on the scene by people in it for the love, not just cos they are being paid a hefty salary to talk cobblers...pretty much like I just have.
Stayed tuned!
Thursday 21 August 2008
Wednesday 20 August 2008
Cans Festival - One More Sniff
Remember how news of the Cans Festival broke to us common plebs last May? Some posters, a list of artists too incredible to believe? In just 5 days time? Well, now we have a new mystery:
What could it be? Some have talked of something fresh, some have talked of The Grand Buff (actually I just made that up), as there is nothing concrete to go on and it case it is all about to disappear I thought I'd make one more trip to Leake Street this evening, just a month or so since my last visit.
A recent visitor has been Sickboy, adding a temple into Boris Johnson's gob and a collab with Spanish artist Zosen.
Sickboy and Zosen Fight The Power
POST SCRIPT:
Cans Festival proved to be something Graffoto had to devote far more than this post to, here is the full set of related posts:
Cans Festival - the first preview night visit
Cans Festival - Let Us Spray - what went on in Banksy's pet project, the public access spray zone
Banksy, No Lions, Eelus Group Show - Banksy wanted anyone apart from artists to take up stencilling, we accepted the challenge
Cans Festival - One More Sniff - How the Cans wall art evolved in the first month or so after the event
Cans Recycled - First Peek - An un-scheduled sneak peek at the second version of Cans Festival when the tunnel was closed for a few days.
Cans Recycled Opens - Like it says on the tin
Alphabet Soup - The Cans 2 Letter Hunt - A Rarekind of letter game played at Cans Recycled
Cans2 Recycled Revisited - more.
What could it be? Some have talked of something fresh, some have talked of The Grand Buff (actually I just made that up), as there is nothing concrete to go on and it case it is all about to disappear I thought I'd make one more trip to Leake Street this evening, just a month or so since my last visit.
Unlike some other graffiti festival sites I have been to where either the graff was taken away or the site remained sterile and un-touched since the event, Leake Street has generated a steady trickle of fresh stencil updates as well as territorial assault from graff crews. And based on some horror stories I have heard, some of those youngsters are quite viperous thugs.
A recent visitor has been Sickboy, adding a temple into Boris Johnson's gob and a collab with Spanish artist Zosen.
Sickboy and Zosen Fight The Power
It is good to see writers getting handy with the cans, personally I don't feel like its heresy for them to go over old stencil, its a force of nature.
Tizer - I put this one first because unusually I could read a bit of wild
That one above is HOT
"Google Codex Alimentarius". And to save you the trouble, this is what the website says: "The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme." Sounds as exciting as the EU's efforts to standardize the shape of bananas.
Ckeck the fate of Bansky's Caveman buff. Tags appear all over the cave drawings and the "buffed" area in Banksy's composition but none has covered the sprayer or Banksy's tag. It like no matter how hardcore or aggressive the writers want to appear, they're really convention abiding pussycats who can't actually write over an image of a human and have too much respect for the cool might of the Banksy brandname.
Tristan Manco has written in a recent art mag that some 651 un-invited artists signed up to have a go at stenciling over the first Cans weekend. Well many many more have turned up to add their un-regulated shit Among the loads of fresh stencils, one that caught my eye for good cutting, nice image and great colours was this, tagged "Onelegout".
Onelegout
So, is there a fresh wall of frame going up, is it the grand buff, is the site returning to Eurostar or is it just a minor clean up to make it look like it did that May bank holiday weekend? Lets see what Saturday morning brings.
Quite a lot more pics from this visit here, pics from the "official invited" artists at the opening here and for earlier relevant blog blurts see Cans Festival, Let Us Spray and diary of a toy at Cans aka "Banksy, NoLions, Eelus Group Show (or, Banksy - You Created A Monster)"
POST SCRIPT:
Cans Festival proved to be something Graffoto had to devote far more than this post to, here is the full set of related posts:
Cans Festival - the first preview night visit
Cans Festival - Let Us Spray - what went on in Banksy's pet project, the public access spray zone
Banksy, No Lions, Eelus Group Show - Banksy wanted anyone apart from artists to take up stencilling, we accepted the challenge
Cans Festival - One More Sniff - How the Cans wall art evolved in the first month or so after the event
Cans Recycled - First Peek - An un-scheduled sneak peek at the second version of Cans Festival when the tunnel was closed for a few days.
Cans Recycled Opens - Like it says on the tin
Alphabet Soup - The Cans 2 Letter Hunt - A Rarekind of letter game played at Cans Recycled
Cans2 Recycled Revisited - more.
Hot or Wot
My fave of the current Know Hope pieces on the street at the minute. Thankfully this one has been left alone.
Monday 18 August 2008
Diggs We Are Shitting. . . .
The Krah http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-krah/ repainted a spot on the wall of The Foundry over the weekend and brought a new friend with him this time. Going by the name of "Fors" http://www.myspace.com/fors1
Hopefully we'll be seeing lots Mors very soon!
Saturday 16 August 2008
CORKED - Not a cheap whine
28 Cork St, London
15 Aug – 25 Aug 2008
pics: nolionsinengland except where noted
A battered white transit van sits on Cork Street, “Vandals” it proclaims and sure enough it seems to have suffered a graffiti attack, cops and wardens eye it suspiciously anticipating a ram raid and in many respects they are right.
15 Aug – 25 Aug 2008
pics: nolionsinengland except where noted
A battered white transit van sits on Cork Street, “Vandals” it proclaims and sure enough it seems to have suffered a graffiti attack, cops and wardens eye it suspiciously anticipating a ram raid and in many respects they are right.
Bloody vandals
Urban art has bemused the “serious” crowd but hitherto they haven’t had to worry too much with it staying in its place in grubby East End galleries and transitory pop-up ghetto bazaars. Until now. Corked, the Urban Angel debut gallery show has brought a strange whiff to snooty Mayfair gallery land and that smell is the odour of street art, the chemical whiff of spray paint.
No regal gilded windows for this show, rather a wildstyle Zeus sculpted arrow bursts through the window threatening to penetrate one of (count ‘em) 2 Ferrari’s parked outside, Eine promises HELL within. Its not difficult to predict the rapid disappearance of Eine shutters off the Hackney streets when the price tag on this sprayed window becomes common knowledge among the sub-nation of shop owners.
Israeli Know Hope has chronicled on streets around the world the despairing interaction with a puzzling society of a gangly, insecure tee shirt covered character, distinguished by his long skinny arms, lost heart and melancholy expression.
Know Hope - London street p;ieces, Aug 2008
In the major installation, the un-named character sits entranced by a collection of old photos, kindling rose tinted memories of a by gone age which he hopes existed. Powered by the glow of this hope, confused scrawled noise on the TV screen intermittently resolves itself into a heart, only to distort again as he oscillates through doubt and hope.
Know Hope: "Generated by anything/Reminisce About Anything
This endearing bemused and slightly forlorn figure sits in several stunning framed collage pieces (one a partial light box), sometimes in lonely solitude, in others finding the solidarity of communication with kindred spirits. One fabulous piece shows our stringy anti-hero discovering the strength of bonding through linked arms, reflecting the power transmitted through the linked cables behind.
Know Hope: These Arms Are For Linking
After rocking the concrete skimmed canvasses at his London solo show last autumn, Eine has re-discovered the dayglo colours of his older bear images, which I never really cared for. Perspex is this year’s “found metal” (see D*Face, Pure Evil). The street playtime innocence of groups of Blyton-esque happy smiley children morphs into threatening and sinister subversion seen through the lenses of the ubiquitous CCTVs, the poor children are then overwhelmed by simple negative labels such as Vandals, Activist, Guilty done in that Hell font. Of course you can tell it’s street play, because of the paint spray background and drips everywhere.
Eine: “Activist”. Photo: Wallkandy
In addition to his window busting 3D sculpture, Zeus has three large compressed perspective skyscraper plans painstaking assembled in hand-cut card, one natural daylight coloured, one night time and one a blanched out magnolia – which interestingly is possibly the most striking of the trio. There are no winos, car wrecks or graffiti down at street level, c’mon, what kind of rose-tinted diluted reality is that! Anyone who was at the Open Studio last year and saw Zeus working on his RUN stencil won’t fail to appreciate the incredible work that has gone into creating these pieces and don’t worry if this time you can’t read the word spelled out by the building plan, it’s not that wild style has moved beyond your comprehension, this time there actually isn’t a word in there. Or is there? Blow your brains out searching!
Zeus: Untitled. Photo: Wallkandy
Labrona’s Rumours of War, an acrylic on canvas group of fleeing mothers clutching children heading in the opposite direction to goose stepping half-sized men with moustaches. This piece with its colourful cross between Picasso and a kind of tribal art feel is another show highlight, simply lush and gorgeous.
Labrona: “Rumours Of War”
Charming Baker takes a pop at a deserving target: molly coddled never-fail kids. Two young brats fail to fail with their dads as ghillies helping them shoot a strung up rabbit.
Charming Baker: “The Overachievers”
Hush continues a run of form with the manga and geisha girls, or we boys know it – wife-friendly wall porn. Manga tits are present and correct as expected whilst the Graff Geisha triptych is just stunning.
Hush “Graf Geisha Tryptich”
No regal gilded windows for this show, rather a wildstyle Zeus sculpted arrow bursts through the window threatening to penetrate one of (count ‘em) 2 Ferrari’s parked outside, Eine promises HELL within. Its not difficult to predict the rapid disappearance of Eine shutters off the Hackney streets when the price tag on this sprayed window becomes common knowledge among the sub-nation of shop owners.
Israeli Know Hope has chronicled on streets around the world the despairing interaction with a puzzling society of a gangly, insecure tee shirt covered character, distinguished by his long skinny arms, lost heart and melancholy expression.
Know Hope - London street p;ieces, Aug 2008
In the major installation, the un-named character sits entranced by a collection of old photos, kindling rose tinted memories of a by gone age which he hopes existed. Powered by the glow of this hope, confused scrawled noise on the TV screen intermittently resolves itself into a heart, only to distort again as he oscillates through doubt and hope.
Know Hope: "Generated by anything/Reminisce About Anything
This endearing bemused and slightly forlorn figure sits in several stunning framed collage pieces (one a partial light box), sometimes in lonely solitude, in others finding the solidarity of communication with kindred spirits. One fabulous piece shows our stringy anti-hero discovering the strength of bonding through linked arms, reflecting the power transmitted through the linked cables behind.
Know Hope: These Arms Are For Linking
After rocking the concrete skimmed canvasses at his London solo show last autumn, Eine has re-discovered the dayglo colours of his older bear images, which I never really cared for. Perspex is this year’s “found metal” (see D*Face, Pure Evil). The street playtime innocence of groups of Blyton-esque happy smiley children morphs into threatening and sinister subversion seen through the lenses of the ubiquitous CCTVs, the poor children are then overwhelmed by simple negative labels such as Vandals, Activist, Guilty done in that Hell font. Of course you can tell it’s street play, because of the paint spray background and drips everywhere.
Eine: “Activist”. Photo: Wallkandy
In addition to his window busting 3D sculpture, Zeus has three large compressed perspective skyscraper plans painstaking assembled in hand-cut card, one natural daylight coloured, one night time and one a blanched out magnolia – which interestingly is possibly the most striking of the trio. There are no winos, car wrecks or graffiti down at street level, c’mon, what kind of rose-tinted diluted reality is that! Anyone who was at the Open Studio last year and saw Zeus working on his RUN stencil won’t fail to appreciate the incredible work that has gone into creating these pieces and don’t worry if this time you can’t read the word spelled out by the building plan, it’s not that wild style has moved beyond your comprehension, this time there actually isn’t a word in there. Or is there? Blow your brains out searching!
Zeus: Untitled. Photo: Wallkandy
Labrona’s Rumours of War, an acrylic on canvas group of fleeing mothers clutching children heading in the opposite direction to goose stepping half-sized men with moustaches. This piece with its colourful cross between Picasso and a kind of tribal art feel is another show highlight, simply lush and gorgeous.
Labrona: “Rumours Of War”
Charming Baker takes a pop at a deserving target: molly coddled never-fail kids. Two young brats fail to fail with their dads as ghillies helping them shoot a strung up rabbit.
Charming Baker: “The Overachievers”
Hush continues a run of form with the manga and geisha girls, or we boys know it – wife-friendly wall porn. Manga tits are present and correct as expected whilst the Graff Geisha triptych is just stunning.
Hush “Graf Geisha Tryptich”
Chillin with Hush - Corked aftershow
Romanywg gets a special mention for the oddest piece, the double bass that looks like a magician used it for sawing the box in half practise, in collaboration with French artist C215 and inspired by French artist Arman. It is worth having a look at the artists’ pictures of the piece under construction to see all the C215 pieces within the cuts between each section, link at the bottom.
Romanywg/C215 “Double Bass”
New name Michael Alacoque has produced a lurid set of skull faced dogs with ice creams on their heads and medallions. This is an allegory on the military establishment’s use of war memorials to both commemorate and promote war, I’m surprised you needed to ask. It is said many artists subconsciously paint themselves when doing an anonymous figurative work, Alacoque brilliantly contrived to actually look a bit like his sculptures with his bouffant hair and mascara.
Mikael Alacoque
This kind of show has no greater thrill when you confront in the flesh work by an overseas artist you hadn’t even heard of before and new but highly commended is young Brazilian artist Andre Firmiano. Three gorgeous canvas portraits echo a bastard offspring of Titifreak and Word To Mother styles, more please!
Andre Firmiani “Love”. Photo: Romanywg
Among familiar images of Mona and Toughen The Fuck Up, Dotmasters brings indoors the Burlesque Girl and his CANS “What A Load Of Rubbish”. Dotmasters have wisely, since these pieces are destined for the living room, decided not to overload with the authentic piss, vomit and dog-shit normally associated with a pile of bin bags.
Dotmasters "Load Of Rubbish"
Having experienced vicariously through the lenses of NY based flickr-ocrats the exquisite street works of Gaia and Imminent Disaster, the two are shown in different rooms here. Gaia’s Ourobus combines a nest of tail devouring snakes with a man devouring his own fist. Imminent Disaster’s wistful, seated, buttoned-up and extravagantly coiffured Ophelia looks like she can sit on chairs with the front right chair-leg sawn off. The viewer may ponder if the weight is meant to fall on the model’s own ankles on the box, in which case what does it mean?
Gaia “Ourobus”
Romanywg/C215 “Double Bass”
New name Michael Alacoque has produced a lurid set of skull faced dogs with ice creams on their heads and medallions. This is an allegory on the military establishment’s use of war memorials to both commemorate and promote war, I’m surprised you needed to ask. It is said many artists subconsciously paint themselves when doing an anonymous figurative work, Alacoque brilliantly contrived to actually look a bit like his sculptures with his bouffant hair and mascara.
Mikael Alacoque
This kind of show has no greater thrill when you confront in the flesh work by an overseas artist you hadn’t even heard of before and new but highly commended is young Brazilian artist Andre Firmiano. Three gorgeous canvas portraits echo a bastard offspring of Titifreak and Word To Mother styles, more please!
Andre Firmiani “Love”. Photo: Romanywg
Among familiar images of Mona and Toughen The Fuck Up, Dotmasters brings indoors the Burlesque Girl and his CANS “What A Load Of Rubbish”. Dotmasters have wisely, since these pieces are destined for the living room, decided not to overload with the authentic piss, vomit and dog-shit normally associated with a pile of bin bags.
Dotmasters "Load Of Rubbish"
Having experienced vicariously through the lenses of NY based flickr-ocrats the exquisite street works of Gaia and Imminent Disaster, the two are shown in different rooms here. Gaia’s Ourobus combines a nest of tail devouring snakes with a man devouring his own fist. Imminent Disaster’s wistful, seated, buttoned-up and extravagantly coiffured Ophelia looks like she can sit on chairs with the front right chair-leg sawn off. The viewer may ponder if the weight is meant to fall on the model’s own ankles on the box, in which case what does it mean?
Gaia “Ourobus”
Imminent Disaster “Ophelia”
Grafter’s work has somewhat polarised opinions but there is no doubt the quality of the stencils have come on leaps and bounds and he benefits hugely from moving away from photo-shopping nearly iconic images. The best piece, a Chris Stain like pair of smiling kids was displayed at the after-show venue .
Grafter
Inkie does what Inkie always does so well, beauties with labyrinthine tresses of hair.
Inkie
SHOK-1 contributes a set of two-tone takes on camera bodied flies, referencing the media’s obsession with celeb culture drawing paps like flies to shit. Several pieces are identified as “part of diptych, other half not shown” which leaves a mystery to be resolved.
Shok-1. Photo: Romanywg
Herakut – sad bat-masked squatting figures sharing a single tail. Hera’s loose brush work and Kut’s microscopically applied photorealistic eyes present and correct, watery-eyed pup missing.
Herakut “Right Before You Leave”
Two artists whose sweet work I would be remiss not to mention are Phillp March Jones:
“Beast 2”. Photo: Wallkandy
and Oliver Vernon:
“Red Swirl”
“Red Swirl”
Urbanangel has unleashed not just strong works from old hands and great promise from new names, it has also launched its move to expand from the computer screen to global domination on the gallery streets. It has set a new benchmark for throwing a party and created a niche for itself by turning up in posh art twat land and preceding to blank the fine surroundings and do things its own way. The AfterShow party was memorable for …errrrrrrrrr…ummmm, actually I’d be surprised if many remember much at all, a gallery-shaped hole appeared in the London scene recently and Urbanangel are going to more than fill the space.
Friday 15 August 2008
Diggs We Are Shitting. . . .
I am still undecided with what I'll call this occasional style of updates...of which I have kidded my self will be daily (when I struggle to even get the time to make it weekly!)
I mostly intended to just highlight stuff that makes me smile on my way to work, I think the problem becomes that I want to show too much and get carried away!
So I promise, brevity will be the key, I'll be short and sweet, say almost next to fuck all (except this once) and just show the great art that remains on the somewhat barren streets of the currently buffed East end (all courtesy of your friend and mine shown below....someone please tag the shit out of this van if you ever see it)
The only solution is a blank canvas...that works?!
So to get the ball rolling...a man who needs no introduction...not one of his most amazing works, but hey...still bloody marvellous.
I mostly intended to just highlight stuff that makes me smile on my way to work, I think the problem becomes that I want to show too much and get carried away!
So I promise, brevity will be the key, I'll be short and sweet, say almost next to fuck all (except this once) and just show the great art that remains on the somewhat barren streets of the currently buffed East end (all courtesy of your friend and mine shown below....someone please tag the shit out of this van if you ever see it)
The only solution is a blank canvas...that works?! So to get the ball rolling...a man who needs no introduction...not one of his most amazing works, but hey...still bloody marvellous.
Friday 8 August 2008
Untitled - Street Art In The Counter Culture
Following on nicely from the Banksy street piece held by Andipa mentioned in the post below, a picture of it features on the cover of an absolutely brilliant new retrospective book on the worldwide culture of street art. Entitled "Untitled - Street Art in The Counter Culture" (hence the clever title of this post ;)
Also doubly cool as it features my picture of that Banksy piece in question on the front cover.....
The book is never afraid to say fuck and bugger..and I think that's what I admire it for most greatly...a breath of fresh air rather than trying to be high brow and use long words....which quite frankly I would struggle to keep up with. It also does a good job of never trying to intellectualise the whole thing, which many other books have done before it.
Also doubly cool as it features my picture of that Banksy piece in question on the front cover.....
I was actually there the night the guy who owned the door was contemplating selling the it on Ebay, he reckoned he would fetch around £850 for it and seemed more than happy with that.....I don't officially know if it ever made it to Ebay...but it definitely ended up in the hands of Andipa.
The book has been curated and published by Gary Shove, a friend I met originally via the Banksy forum and then at a couple of shows. He was clearly extremely passionate about putting a no bullshit book out there, filled with artists he was passionate about ....and rather rarely for a book on the movement he has done a superb job of writing it from a real fans perspective, rather than someone publishing a book to jump on the street art bandwagon.
The book is never afraid to say fuck and bugger..and I think that's what I admire it for most greatly...a breath of fresh air rather than trying to be high brow and use long words....which quite frankly I would struggle to keep up with. It also does a good job of never trying to intellectualise the whole thing, which many other books have done before it.
Excerpts from the website http://www.untitledstreetart.co.uk/index.html
"Not to be filed under history, photography, design or non-fiction, as it contains outright lies and outrageous subjective opinion, this book is definitely about street art. It is also about now. Fungus grows on your collected wild-style pioneers. Vile passions rage between old schools and new. Shit flies out from under the hammer at auction houses and property developers fund street art shows to liberal press fanfare. Oh, and Banksy hits the West Bank. Is anyone taking this stuff seriously? Should it be taken seriously? Is it all just an immense daisy chain of poker faces, irony and mind games?"
From Brooklyn to Bethlehem, Brick Lane to Barcelona this book shows just why street art is destined to become the first new major art movement of the 21st Century.
Do the guy a favour and help him recover all his costs and ,make this book the hit it deserves to be...it's worth every penny for the limited edition version (750 copies only) which features a hardback cover, gloss laminated and a eclectic mix CD inserted into the back.....superb!
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