Archive for October, 2007

Funny, as I was writing the previous post on Banksy, it came up on the news – had camera to hand; batteries running low (see rule 6!) and using sky plus pause button on television in kitchen managed to get some images of the Banksy work. Bloke in one picture is a news reporter.
Several of the public were asked about the latest ‘graffiti work’
Lady 1: I think he’s done one round the corner on the side of a local shop, I think it looks great
Man 2: Saw it last night on way home from work – looks like a worker from the council. Had to get a photo of it this morning
Man 3: I think that it brightens up the neighbourhood and if it winds up tower Hamlets council cant be bad.

Personally I like the idea of the double yellow line going off the road and ending as a griant flower. I don’t think that it demonstrates some of the quality stencils he has previously done.

Artist Banksy ‘captured in photo’

The passer-by believes she may have captured an image of the elusive Banksy
His work sells for thousands of pounds and he is feted by the Hollywood elite, yet the identity of guerrilla artist Banksy remains shrouded in mystery.
Now a photograph has emerged which some people claim could show the reclusive artist at work on a London street.
The photograph, taken by a passer-by in Bethnal Green, shows a man at work with an assistant, scaffolding and a truck.
Banksy made his name with stencils and subversive art in public spaces but fiercely guards his true identity.
The photographer, who wishes to remain anonymous, is familiar with Banksy’s work and took the shot as she was passing the artist at work.
The mural depicts double yellow lines veering off a road and up the side of a building, creating an outline of a flower. A stencil of a painter sits beside it.
But like some of his stencils that appear periodically around his home city, authenticating the image as “Banksy” could prove difficult.

The completed mural shows a painter and a flower
While his anonymity has captured public imagination in the artist and his work, it leaves him open to copycats.
A recent auction of 10 pieces of original Banksy art sold for more than £500,000 in Bonhams, London.
He has also become a favourite with Hollywood stars, with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie buying his work at a recent exhibition in Los Angeles.
A possible new piece of his work appeared in his home city of Bristol earlier in the month opposite the Children’s Hospital.
It shows an armed police officer with a child about to burst a paper bag behind him. Hospital workers said they liked the piece.
But in Tower Hamlets a decision has been made to treat all of Banksy’s stencilled artwork as graffiti to be painted over.
A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council said: “In this case, Banksy has sought permission from the owners of the privately-owned building for his latest work.
“We do however need to look at the issue of the yellow lines as we have a legal obligation to reinstate the bit of the double yellow lines which has been painted out.
“As ever, priority is given to the removal of offensive graffiti.”

The 10 rules of making a pumpkin lantern:

Rule 1: always buy your pumpkin well in advance of the 31st – otherwise when you cut the top off you will overcome with the smell of rotting pumpkin flesh!

Rule 2: work out what you are going to cut before you start; having a vague idea is not the best approach

Rule 3: use appropriate cutting tools – a bread carving knife, a screwdriver and serving spoon are not the ideal tools

Rule 4: make sure that you have either
a) purchased a night light candle
b) know where they are stored in your home

Rule 5: do not use a head light as used for walking/reading in bed under the covers – they give off a different type of light and the elastic gets covered in slimy pumpkin (see rule 1)

Rule 6: try not to take photograph too quickly despite batteries running out (see rule 4 – where abouts of house hold batteries), it only causes blurring and disappointment

Rule 7: wash hands before drinking that now cold cup off coffee – the smell together with the slimy fingers will
a) cause you to retch
b) not obtain a true grip on the handle thus cup will slide in a downward fashion spilling now cold coffee onto your jeans and trainers

Rule 8: despite what may inspire you DON’T attempt anything other than a simple jagged mouth, two eyes and a triangle for a nose

Rule 9: when asked why are there pumpkin seeds on kitchen floor and a funny rotting smell do not blame
a) cats
b) the poor quality vegetables in your organic delivery box
c) something you had for lunch

Rule 10: dispose of the ‘pumpkin masterpiece’ in the appropriate brown bin vowing that next time you will buy a ready made one

Here’s the finished one – 25 minutes, 8 needles/pins, 1 cold (spilt) cup of coffee and a whole lot of clearing up!

just in case the question should arise: me looking grumpy

10 facts about halloween:
Fact One:
About 99% of pumpkins marketed domestically are used as Jack O’Lanterns at Halloween.
Fact Two:
In the United States, 86% of Americans decorate their homes for Halloween.
Fact Three:
Legendary magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit of gangrene and peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix on Halloween in 1926.
Fact Four:
Spalding claims to be the pumpkin capital of Britain, because it’s the home of the country’s biggest producer. David Bowman grows two million a year!
Fact Five:
Did you know – there are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange? Hard to believe for such an important colour?
Fact Six:
It is believed that the Irish began the tradition of Trick or Treating. In preparation for All Hallow’s Eve, Irish townsfolk would visit neighbours and ask for contributions of food for a feast in the town.
Fact Seven:
The record for the fastest pumpkin carver in the world is Jerry Ayers of Baltimore, Ohio. He carved a pumpkin in just 37 seconds!
Fact Eight:
Vampires think Halloween is tacky and don’t bother going out that night.
Fact Nine:
The original Halloween film directed by John Carpenter in 1978 cost just $320,000 to make. It ended up making over $50m worldwide.
Fact Ten:
People have believed for centuries that light keeps away ghosts and ghouls. Making a pumpkin lantern with a candle inside may keep you safe from all the spooky spirits flying around on Halloween.

To be honest, I have no real interest in celebrating Halloween, but having an 8yr old one has to make the effort! So today I will transform a pumpkin into a piece of art, drape cobwebs and spiders about the porch and open the door to little people who threaten me with plastic tridents and flimsy masks begging for sweets. (do I sound like a miserable old git!)

In years gone by we have thrown Halloween parties – spending two days setting up the flat with some serious latex heads; courtesy of an old friend with contacts.
I must admit to having a devilish time last year when we were bombarded with trick or treat (I must ask why we have this, is it another American import, in my day we never did anything like this, the nearest being carol singing for a couple of quid), anyhow, I decided to play a double stooge on those knocking on my door – I dressed up, wore a latex mask and when I opened the door jumped out and gave a deep scary wail (the idea was copied from a video of a man sitting on a porch and jumping out at victims – so no real original credit there!). Result: a lot of terrified kids, laughing parents and spilt sweets…. maybe, I might try that again…..
But why do we have to be subjected to this trick or treat anyway? One year I put up a big sign across the door – ‘dont bother’ – still the doorbell rang another year, having managed to get hold of a robotic arm, I fed it through the letter box and when someone came to the door, it moved (sound activated and ran a tap recording of eye gauging noises (made by using a fork and a potato just for interest!!)

As I read back this post, part of me says I can’t be bothered with halloween, especially the horrible activity of trick or treat – although JJ will want to go round the neighbourhood and ask for a treat, so I feel obliged to reciprocate. What pressure to conform to today’s society expectations
As for the pumpkin…… sharp knife at the ready
To get me in the mood – found some examples of pumpkin lanterns… enjoy the night!!!!

and this one is my favourite……

Having spent an hour or two! looking around on the scarlet impernet I occasionally come across something that takes my eye, leads onto other things and sinks in to my lower depths of my mind – to be retrieved at some point and used as a reference or just sits there and scores on the intriguing/wow front. This is one of those occasions – cool sculptures, exploring more of the work through searching; apart from the instant visual humour, the concept being many of the works: are what attracts me to his work.

I am interested in the object, in liberating it from its field, giving it a new validity and meaning. It is integrated in a different system of values and ideas: in that of art. In this way it loses its function and takes on another. I do not want to go so far as to say that the object is no longer recognized. Rather I want to have the appeal of the recognition effect on the one hand and that of alienation on the other, which the object emanates. Source:Erwin Wurm interviewed by Desirée Schellerer, Design Vienna, (Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, February 16-March 27, 1989)You may recognise one or two pieces – they have been taken further and used in an advertising campain regarding a greener environment (sorry, didn’t save link along the way)

Erwin Wurm, one of Austria’s most important and internationally famous sculptors, has been preoccupied with expanding the concept of sculpture since the 1980s. Wurm is primarily a sculptor, and traditional sculptural concerns such as the relationship between object and pedestal, the function of gravity, the fixing of form, and the manipulation of volume, play through all his work.

Over the years I have dabbled with ceramics, through teaching it pupils and at various stages to adults during evening classes. It’s not a medium that I have an infinity with, I struggle with its properties and have at times used it as a medium for small sculptures. Understanding different firing and glazing techniques is an area that as the years have gone past never really got to grips with. Visiting galleries and exhibitions I have recently seen a lot of ceramic work which I must admit does intrigue me, but not the bowls etc but more sculptural approaches. Sitting in our kitchen we have a piece by Eoghan Bridge titled:Rotund Horse and Rider which we acquired (courtesy of the Linda Blackstone Gallery)

Some time ago – well last December, I met an artist Kuldeep Malhi who was also exhibiting in the Sesame Saloon we shared a chat and a drink! I found his work beautiful and again strangely enough it was ceramic. I was facinated by the work, enquired on the techniques used and basically loved the organic and sensual shapes created.

here’s an example:

Blush

Blush was a direct influence from early Indian sculpture especially the Eleventh Century temples of central India, their sculptures and carvings which display explicit erotic imagery are astoundingly beautiful, they charm and seduce. They are bold yet sensitive, fantastic yet poetic, demonstrating the intimate relationship between sculpture and architecture; sensations and qualities that are reflected in the work of Kuldeep Malhi.Dimensions for these pieces range from 6cm to 27cm. Each piece is fixed to the wall with a screw and can be removed easily. There are 15 pieces in each set, the number of pieces in a set can be increased or reduced through negotiation and priced accordingly. Currently all Kuldeep Malhi’s wall installations are slip cast earthenware. Different colour ranges are available on all works.

Searching around as you do, I hit upon these ceramic pieces, which has sparked off my creative juices: formulating a new body of work based upon a piece a produced last year – ‘its all …….’ (acrylic on canvas)

where one piece will be ceramic based (will need to sharpen up my firing and glazing skills, or alternatively do a collaborative piece with Kuldeep, if he is agreeable!) More on this new body of work in a future post….

back to the plot!

The ceramic pieces that I came across are very different from the normal ceramics you see and apart from the comic book theme – batman, I find the concept and final outcome exciting. Any thoughts?

artwork by Shigeki Hayashi ( some incredible stuff)

well, I thought I might as well post another painting as I’m on a roll! part of the funny portraits series…
work in progress, first drafting of Payne’s grey, using 000 brush – no wonder I now have to wear glasses!

working title: Wince
50 x 50cm

must be the sea air I inhaled earlier this week…. but started this painting; it’s one of those that comes from no where but has a significance with the location and the times spent there (Seaton, Devon)

Still a bit to do on it – early stages

working title: C

size 20cm x 20cm