Peter Jonas – uniting communities through public art

// June 28th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

Have you ever walked past a mural painting and felt like it was watching you?  This realistic technique is know as trompe-l’œil and is one of the many specialities of  UK-based mural artist Peter Jonas.  Jonas is known for creating expansive and intricate works of art on any surface with all forms of ‘paint’ –  from chocolate to acrylic to mixed media.  His work can be found on floors, walls, fabric and even the human body. Jonas is a member of b-uncut and this week’s featured artist in the b-uncut “Special Exhibition” gallery.

b-uncut: What was your very first artwork?

PJ: A Dali-esque androgynous / humanoid figure on a desert background. SURREALIST.
b-uncut: Describe the one you love the most—why?

PJ: Person or picture ? Picture-wise  it’s,  ” Red Bull ” my latest piece oil on canvas.

b-uncut: What are your methods for creating your murals?

PJ: They are created through an evolving process from start to finish often to compliment the venue or its function literally or ideologically. To set a tone or create a statement without saying a word. Not merely to adorn or embellish existing structure but to subtly enhance or redefine it with a confident artistic statement.

b-uncut: Who are you inspirations?

Private lounge mural

PJ: Van Gogh for colour, Salvador Dali for creative expression and sensual beauty and great food.

b-uncut: What did it take to make it to where you are now?

PJ: Lots of interesting mural jobs and accidental media and celebrity endorsements direct or by proxy, competition wins, inspirational students work.

b-uncut: You seem to work in a wide-range of techniques.  Which do you find the most challenging?  Enjoyable?

PJ: Everything over 100 square metres seems to be challenging  however painting on canvas always seems to be emotionally more heart-wrenching and cerebral.

b-uncut: If you were to design the ultimate dinner party, what 5 artists (dead or alive) would you include for stimulating conversation?

PJ: Picasso, Leonardo Da vinci, Antonio Gaudi, John Lennon, et moi.

b-uncut: Your biggest (albeit endearing) flaw?

PJ: Talking to much and creating too little art, ….,till now, watch this space.

Red Bull

b-uncut: Your parents advice you should have followed, but didn’t?

PJ: Don’t do art.

b-uncut: The superhero power you wish you had?

PJ: Seeing through BS …especially in the Art world.

b-uncut: The celebrity you’d like to meet?

PJ: Myself ….lmao

b-uncut: Your least favourite interview question?

PJ: What made you become an artist

b-uncut: Where do you see yourself in…

One month?

PJ: Painting a mural for a school in Slough.

One year?

PJ: Having an exhibition abroad or a good gallery in London.

One decade?

PJ: Using established art status and wealthy contacts to grow my Art School internationally.

Social channels are democratising the art market

// June 27th, 2011 // View Comments // Uncategorized

As I’ve discussed in the past few weeks, technology is the catalyst for innovative forms of artwork and also how we discover new artists.  Never before have we seen Twitter art, new media art or even art re-appropriated through Google Earth.  Artists can easily replicate old masterpieces and ship them globally.  And at just a click of a mouse, we can own a Kandinsky for our very own.  These changes have fundamentally altered the art market, and viewers’ expectations of how they find new artworks or purchase ones for their own.

For artists just starting out, it can be difficult to compete with world-renowned living artists such as Jeff Koons or Damien Hirst.  While prestigious galleries may still adhere to the same traditions from the past few hundred years, social technologies are allowing for an entirely new form of art market.

Social channels are paving the way artists (and art buyers) to interact in an entirely new way.  The tradition of the gallery owner as highest authority on the artists and their value is no longer the case.  Some of the most influential players – such as the tier one artists, curators, art critics and biennial arts fairs – don’t have the same prominence as they once had.  While specialists in the art world are still sought out for their opinions, social technologies are allowing for more diversified viewpoints to be heard.  Information about the art market is available to everyone, and it is democratising the entire process.

Now, smaller artists can have more visibility online, giving them the ability to compete with bigger names.  Artists can self-promote with Facebook or Twitter accounts to announce a gallery opening or current projects.  They can connect with prospective buyers on LinkedIn or create artistic promotional video for YouTube.

While social media is not entirely ‘new’, it is opening up diverse possibilities for how we buy and sell art.  Since the global economic downturn, the art market tanked, leaving artists rushing to find alternative ways to self-promote and find new ways to sell their work.

Businesses are increasingly looking for creative talent from lesser-known artists.  From album cover designs to corporate artwork for the office, social channels are providing a radical alternative to the overhead costs of a traditional art broker.  Now, there are alternative ways for artists to be found online.  For example, b-uncut, a platform that is part of the Creative Services Exchange, is a community for artists to share their work and even pitch for projects.  Businesses that are looking for new artists for a project or are want for a specific artistic style, can submit a brief for a project to the exchange to find this talent from around the globe.  It’s opening up the market to a diversified community of artists.

Do you need artwork for your project? Submit a brief and get diverse options from artists from around the globe.

Lost and found art collection

// June 24th, 2011 // View Comments // Uncategorized, b-inspired, b-scene

Looking for something to do this weekend?  Tired of the same old paintings or sculptures?  How about seeing some rubbish art, literally.

The Transport for London Lost Property Office opened its ‘collection’ of rubbish to KK Outlet, a Hoxton-based hybrid communications agency, who curated a somewhat bizarre exhibition featuring unclaimed ‘art’ from London’s underground, buses, Black Cabs and trains.  The appropriately titled “The Lost Collection”, houses the work of unnamed artists, and includes a range of work, from entire portfolios, to paintings, photographs and intricate drawings.

The exhibition boasts more than 60 paintings, photographs and sketches from artists who have never come back to claim them.  The curators at KK Outlet rolled up their sleeves and dug into over 200,000 other ‘junk’ items to select the few to be put on display for the public.  Amongst the artworks are Impressionist-style paintings, still lifes, portraits, pop-art pieces and even family photographs.

The exhibition invites criticism of any form.  Viewers have the ability to discover a new artist or ever to reclaim a work of art that they’ve left behind.  While the idea of this exhibition is unique, is it really worth visiting? The artistic director of the KK Outlet gallery admits that “These works are kind of worthless”, however, there are different values placed on personal possessions.  While you may not be impressed by a canvas with a few squiggled lines, you will be impressed that it’s by the famous artist Miró.  Since the works are anonymous, the viewers can focus on the creative interpretation of the art – who the artist is, the story behind the work and where they are now. Should these works be considered ‘art’ or they really rubbish that should have stayed buried?

OK, maybe I lied.  It’s not rubbish art.  Perhaps you’ll find a famous masterpieces amongst the collection, or you’ll find one of your own.

Need help curating an exhibition?  Submit a brief and get started today.

Burke and Norfolk: a posthumous artistic partnership

// June 22nd, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

While war photography has never really piqued my interest, I found the recent photography exhibition at the Tate Modern to be an artistic exploration worth visiting.  This display is a window into the changing culture and landscape of Afghanistan, leaving out the gruesome details of war.

The premise of the exhibition is simple: a juxtaposition of photographs between centuries.  The exhibition, Burke + Norfolk: Photographs from the War in Afghanistan, is a story told by two photographers, Simon Norfolk in the twenty-first century and John Burke in the nineteenth century.

Irish-born Burke is known as the first traveller to photograph Afghanistan: its culture, people, landscapes and architecture.  He accompanied the British forces during the Anglo-Afghan War in the late 1880s to produce albums to be sold to the general public.  A century later, Norfolk re-discovers Burke’s work in an archive at the National Media Museum in Bradford and sets out to capture the war-torn country in a posthumous collaboration with the original photographer.

Norfolk refers to this collaboration as an “artistic partnership” between the two travellers, and it is clear that they both see the beauty of the country through a lens.  The exhibition is a refreshing take on a landscape that we’ve grown accustomed to viewing through sensationalised news stories.  However, Norfolk is critical of the mainstream media’s interpretation of Afghani culture and people.  Many of Norfolk’s photographs are a commentary on modern photojournalism: how many journalists hide behind the fortified walls of five-star hotels, only venturing out with armoured cars and bodyguards.  Norfolk, on the other hand, wandered the streets of Kabul with only a guide and his camera as companions.

Some of Burke’s work leans more towards an ethnographic study of the culture, some is a celebration of colonialism and others evoke  Ansel Adams landscapes.  Norfolks photographs are a response to Burke’s cultural explorations in the context of the contemporary conflicts in the Middle East.  After a century of warfare, the landscape has drastically changed since the original photographs. The contemporary photographer used modern technology to re-discover the earlier explorer’s work.  Using Google Earth, Norfolk was able to map the exact mountains and terrain that Burke had captured.

This gallery is in conjunction with an exhibition earlier this year at the Queen’s Palace in the Baghe Babur garden in Kabul, with the support of The World’s Collections Programme and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

- Level 2 Gallery: Burke + Norfolk: Photographs From The War In Afghanistan.

6 May  –  10 July 2011.

Are you looking for artwork for your next campaign?  Why not submit a brief and get started on your project?

What post-digital means for the art world

// June 20th, 2011 // View Comments // Uncategorized, b-inspired, featured

Is the digital revolution over?  More than a decade ago, Nicholas Negroponte predicted in the Wired article, Beyond Digital, that our “digital-ness” is not only part of our everyday lives, but without it, we’re not fully human.  Digitalisation is the backbone of culture: “Like air and drinking water, being digital will be noticed only by its absence, not its presence.” Now that these once disruptive technologies are becoming part of our everyday existence, what does this mean for us?

We are becoming digitized, and this movement is radically changing our culture.  The past two decades have seen the evolution from experimentations online, to a fully wired culture and now a ‘post-digital’ world.

Post-digital refers to our relationship with digital technologies and how it influences our humanity.  For creative work, digital technologies are continuously evolving.  Media production is becoming more social – whether it’s a film, painting, music or web design – and it’s influencing every aspect of the creative process.  More than ever before, digital technologies are blurring the boundaries between an artist, curator and viewer.  Let’s take a look at some of the ways this post-digital revolution is becoming the norm for the art world.

Who is the artist?

Have you ever visited a museum and been overwhelmed by the number of people snapping photos of famous works?  Why travel all over the world to look at the Mona Lisa through a camera lens when you can easily search for the painting on Google?  While the first-hand experience is the reason that art fanatics make pilgrimages to see the Monet’s or Jeff Koons’, is this really necessary in a post-digital world?  We can learn everything we need to know about the latest auction at Christie’s or a Joan Miró exhibition without ever stepping foot inside a museum.

Sharing art

Social media allows anyone to be a digital ‘curator’.  YouTube lets us post art videos, Flickr allows us to share photos of artwork that we’ve seen and with music sharing sites like Pandora or Grooveshark, everyone can be a DJ.  Anyone can be an art critic as well:  Facebook groups, blogs and Twitter feeds are the new Artforum.  These platforms are the foundation of ‘art 2.0′, where art enthusiasts can rate, share and comment on exhibitions, concerts or any form of artwork.

Digital reproduction

Do you own a reproduction of Andy Warhol’s silk-screens?  Well, you are a member of this ‘postdigital’ revolution.  As I discussed a few weeks ago, cheap reproductions of classical works allows for the possibility for everyone to own a copy for themselves.  While these works aren’t the originals, they open up a previously elite art market to the rest of us.  We are witnessing the democratisation of the art market.

Co-creation

Digital technologies are opening up possibilities for co-creation in the art world, challenging the notion of   The net.art movement and later the ‘new media art’ movement are using the medium of social media technologies as a method of developing online artworks.  Now, ‘artists’ can experience online art in an entirely new way: as participants, collaborators or viewers.  How does this compare to the white-walled gallery experience?

We are witnessing a revolution.  While some may hold onto the traditional art practice, ‘art 2.0’ is here to stay.

Art that you can sink your teeth into

// June 17th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

Do you like chocolate?  Who doesn’t? If you’ve been paying attention to the digital sphere the past few days, then you’ve probably heard about the sweetest (literally) promotional campaign.  Sagres has gained world-wide attention for the launch of their chocolate stout, Somos Guloses, by creating the most off-the-wall promotional campaign: a website built entirely from chocolate.  The website was created not by a web designer, but an internationally known chocolatier.

Somos Guloses commissioned Victor Nunes, artistic director of the Óbidos International Chocolate Festival to ‘bake’ this delicious digital space. Nunes sculpted the website using black and white chocolate to create 3D shapes of Twitter buttons, the Somos Guloses logo and text.  The designer then photographed the pieces in high-resolution and transformed it into a user-friendly web space.

Not impressed? After the launch of the video, Sagres offered their first website visitors pieces of chocolate from the site and a six-pack of chocolate beer! This is a promotional campaign that you can really sink your teeth into.

Now that this campaign has whet our appetites, let’s take a look at some other chocolate art pieces. 

Sculpture for dessert – Janine Antoni paved the way for other food artists by using the medium of degradable objects for controversial performances.  Her work blurs the lines between sculpture, installation and performance art.  One of her most well-known works, an installation piece appropriately titled ‘Gnaw’, is a block of lard and chocolate that she sculpted with her teeth.

Edible sneakers – Do you like art that you can wear?  Swiss-based design agency, +41, moulded a mouth-watering set of miniature milk and chocolate shoes for the 25th anniversary of Nike’s Air Force 1.

Chocolate room – Would you sleep in a room made of chocolate?  Do I even need to ask? Manhattan’s Bryant Park Hotel commissioned the Los Angeles-based designer Larry Abel to create a cocoa-inspired room for the Godiva Chocolatier Valentine’s Day annual campaign.  Hanging above the wall was a painting made entirely from different chocolate pieces, inspired by Gustav Klimt’s, The Kiss.

Get a taste of the (alternative) arts in Portland, Oregon

// June 15th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired, b-scene

London’s top three public art spaces

// June 13th, 2011 // View Comments // Uncategorized, b-inspired, b-scene

Konstantin Grcic. Six Public Clocks. Canary Wharf, London, UK.

As I discussed a few weeks ago, some of the best art in London may not be in a painting in a white-walled gallery, but graffiti art in an underground tunnel. If you have a free afternoon and feel like exploring some hidden gems of London, then these public art installations may be worth the trek.

Canary Wharf – Six Public Clocks

London is full of beautiful public art installations.  On every corner is a breathtaking statue or intricate bas relief of history’s figureheads throughout the centuries.  Some of the best installations you wouldn’t necessarily notice unless someone pointed them out to you.  The Six Public Clocks piece at One Canada Square in Canary Wharf is in the public view, but takes a second glance to realise that it’s an art installation.

Konstantin Grcic, a German designer, won the competition to have his vision of these six clocks displayed in the centre of London’s financial district.  These clocks have become an iconic Canary Wharf sight and are based on the design of Swiss railway clocks.  However, these have a slight twist: each face has a different numeral and they are set at the same time.

Spitalfields Market – Spitalfields Spirit and System No. 18

Julian Wild. System No. 18. London, UK.

The Spitalfields Market is another hub for alternative public art spaces.  This vibrant art scene is supported by the Spitalfields Public Art Programme.  These changing installations reflect the rich history of this East London marketplace and the modern changes to the landscape.

Paul Cox. Spitalfields Spirit. London, UK

Paul Cox’s white rabbits sculptures, known as the Spitalfields Spirit, are on display at Bishop’s Square.  Without knowing the history of this piece, you may assume that it references Alice in Wonderland.  However, the background story of this work is very different.  This installation reflects Mary Spital, who in the year 1200 opened a hospital in the area that was part of the Augustinian priory.

Sculpture artist Julian Wild’s System No. 18 is a large sphere of metal tubing connected by wires.  The monstrosity and urban feel of this work reflects the industry boom that has been taking place around Spitalfields in the past few years.

London Fieldworks – Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven

The Secret Garden Project is a programme of ‘pop up’ projects with the goal of fusing nature and art to create innovative public art installations.  The curators of this unique project, Emma Underhill and Sarah Davies, aimed to promote London’s green landscapes through encouraging viewers to appreciate ecology and biodiversity.  While this is not an easy task, the curators succeed in drawing viewers into the nature by transforming local urban spaces into vibrant ecological sites.

A recent project, the Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven, draws viewers into the trees.  This dual-site sculpture, located in both in the Duncan Terrace Gardens, Islington, and Cremone Gardens, Chelsea, is a bizarre twist on a tree fort.  The installation is made up of over 250 hand made wooden bird and bug boxes and is influenced by Georgian-style architecture.  The goal of the work is to attract local wildlife and to document its transformation from wooden boxes into living ecosystem.

Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven by London Fieldworks, Cremorne Gardens Lots Road, Chelsea

Zombienose – there are no happy endings

// June 10th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired, featured

Have you read the original versions of the Little Mermaid, Cindarella or Sleeping Beauty?  While we’ve come to love the ‘happily ever after’ versions of these fairy tales, the older stories are dark, morose and don’t end happily. Zombienose is a UK-based author and illustrator of ‘The Zombinose Collection’, a series of darkly poetic storybooks where ‘there are no happy endings’.  Zombiense is a member of b-uncut and this week’s featured artist in the b-uncut “Special Exhibition” gallery.  He is currently showcasing his work at the 2nd Annual Haunted Mansion Tribute show at the Parlour Gallery in Halloween Town in Burbank, California.

b-uncut: What was your very first artwork?

Z: Although I was a mere toddler and too young to remember this, I was told that the first thing I ever drew was a picture of Santa Claus and his reindeer on the wall of my grandmother’s bedroom. Because it was my first, the drawing was allowed to stay on the wall for many years. I believe that was the longest exhibition I have ever been a part of and I wish I had a picture of it. I’m sure it resembled an ancient cave drawing.

b-uncut: Describe the one you love the most—why?

Z: This is a difficult question to answer, as I love all the things I create. But one of my favorite pieces is a sculpture I entitled ‘Bumpy’, for numerous reasons. It’s a sculpture a pregnant character with green hair reading one of my storybooks, but that’s not why it’s my favorite. The piece was inspired by someone I love very deeply and it’s also the first piece I’ve done that identifies the character as female, rather than asexual. I get a kick out of the title ‘Bumpy’, which refers to the pregnant belly.

b-uncut: What are your methods? Your inspirations?

Z: The only method I can think to describe is to just move forward, even if your idea is incomplete. Just keep creating, even if it’s frustrating. When you start working, the art almost begins to create itself. If it doesn’t result in something satisfying, come back to it another time and rework it. It will eventually come together.  As far as inspirations, silent movies inspire me, as well as the music from that era. There is something about their art of pantomime that interests me – the struggle to communicate without the benefit of dialogue. Yet, there are many, many real masterpieces of silent cinema that are quite beautiful in their own way. I’m unsure if any of this actually comes across in my work, but I believe ALL forms of art are intended for the purpose of communication with other human beings.

b-uncut: What did it take to make it to where you are now?

Z: Hmm… It took time to build a body of work and develop an appealing style. Also, learning to promote myself, at least on a small scale, was an undertaking. I was encouraged by my friend Chet Zar, who happens to be the greatest human being that has ever lived. As with most artists, I think, I am never completely satisfied with anything and am determined to move ahead in any new direction possible. I suppose the simple answer is that it took a lot of searching to make it to where I am, and I’m still searching.

b-uncut: You’ve described yourself as a ‘Gothic Dr. Seuss’. In what way?

Z: That comment was referring to the series of storybooks I’ve created called The Zombienose Collection. They are dreary tales told in rhyme and storybook format, but that’s really where the similarity ends. This is a series of books I was compelled to create because I love Edward Gorey’s books. They are also an inspiration of mine. The Zombienose books are not really intended for young children, as they contain more mature themes and, of course, there are no happy endings…

b-uncut: If you were to design the ultimate dinner party, what 5 artists (dead or alive) would you include for stimulating conversation?

Z: Ha! Hosting a dinner party is a funny thought that is worth entertaining. Actually, a notable artist I’d love to chat with would be Frances Bacon (1), of course. I love the hideously tormented subjects in his paintings. I’d also be interested in what someone like Chuck Jones (2) would have to say. He created and refined many of the old Warner Bros. cartoons, which still make me smile. I’d like to have a remarkable dinner party chat with Al Columbia (3). He created the underground comic book “The Biologic Show” and it’s a pure inspirational nightmare. I’ve seen nothing else like it. I used one of his stories as a subject for a live-action short film and posted it on YouTube. I’d also invite my fellow artists Chet Zar (4) and William Basso (5). I marvel at their work. For each of them, every new piece they generate is an impressive leap forward. I wish I had their ideas!

b-uncut: Your biggest (albeit endearing) flaw?

Z: I’m obsessive. I must completely learn everything about things that interest me and absorb it all until I’m sick of them. If this is endearing, I think that wears off quickly and simply becomes annoying. At the same time, I’ve learned a lot of things that other people never spend the time considering and sometimes this knowledge makes for impressive conversation at dinner parties.

b-uncut: Your parents advice you should have followed, but didn’t?

Z: Parents?

b-uncut: The superhero power you wish you had?

Z: Telepathy.

b-uncut: The celebrity you’d like to meet?

Z: I’ve been fortunate enough to have met several celebrities already. By far the most pleasant and sincere was Adam Sandler. However, meeting Henry Winkler (the Fonz from Happy Days) was a thrill as well. I’d love to meet John Lennon or Bruce Lee, but I suppose the chances of that happening at this point are pretty dismal.

b-uncut: Your least favourite interview question?

Z: I hate being asked, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

b-uncut: Where do you see yourself in…

One month?

Never seen the ‘Mona Lisa’? Don’t worry, you could own a copy for yourself

// June 8th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired, featured

Real Fake Art, Michael Wolf. Featuring a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503-1519).

What makes a work of art ‘famous’?  Is it the quality of the work, the character of the artist or whether it’s unique?  This much-debated problem is often referred to in art historical jargon as an artwork’s ‘aura’, meaning its authenticity and unique existence.  The surge in copy artists worldwide who are pumping out famous works of art daily are challenging the notion of original art.

Michael Wolf, a German-American photographer who has been living in China for the past 10 years, tells the story of this phenomenon in his series, Real Fake Art.  In these photographs, Wolf captures professional ‘copy artists’ next to their reproductions of Van Gogh’s, Goya’s and Lichtenstein’s.  These Chinese artists create up to 70 per cent of the copies of classic works to export to Europe and the United States.  Some of the most efficient copy artists are producing up to 30 masterpieces daily and selling them at the “art village” in Shenzhen for 15 yuan (about $1.90 USD).

Some of these portraits are identical to the original masterpieces, while others are larger reproductions of the works.  Wolfs plays with the notion of valuing artworks by showing his subjects in their urban environment and next to their masterpiece copies.  These scenes comment on the relationship between the Chinese mass-production of goods and modern capitalist culture that benefits from this labour.

Real Fake Art, Michael Wolf. Featuring a copy of Jasper Johns’ Flag (1954-1955).

These artisans are part of a budding multi-million dollar industry – the reproduction of masterpieces, which are sold cheaply around the world.  An Andy Warhol fetches a mere $45 and for $75 you could have a Van Gogh of your very own.  While these hand crafted pieces come mainly from China, they are shipped to the countries of the original works.

So, if you’ve never been to Paris to see the Mona Lisa, don’t worry, for $1.90 you could purchase a copy of the masterpiece for yourself.