News
Event Alert: BEAM this week | Victoria Tillotson | C6.org | Steal From Work, News
This week, C6 and Steal From Work collaborate with AntiVJ to bring a unique event to Bristol.
You are invited to:
BEAM
Joseph Watts and Haywood Slucutt in collaboration with
ANTIVJ & Damien SchneiderLight and sound installation
20 - 24th July 2009 | 9pm – 12pm
74 – 76 The Horsefair, Broadmead, Bristol, BS1 3JSAs part of Steal From Work’s collaboration with ‘Street Art Dealer’, Bristol based artists Joseph Watts and Haywood Slucutt were commissioned to create a spacious work of art that would subsequently be made into high quality giclée prints, accessible to the general public via QR code technology. Their response is imaginative, ambitious and challenging.
Situated in the context of a disused shop in central Broadmead, the sculptural installation simulates an architectural collapse, resembling the remains of a mutated ‘accident’. Initially designed as a virtual 3D model, the sculpture was then realised in wood, piece by piece as a massive and complex puzzle. The accentuated, whitewashed forms, in the shape of I beam girders are structurally merged and entangled, as if the supporting walls and floor were liquefied for an instant and then frozen in a hyper-realized moment.
This mesh of girders becomes a 3 dimensional backdrop for a 2 dimensional painted image that can be clearly distinguished from a single point in the room. It reads ‘MEANWHILE BACKSTAGE…’ Starting from a consideration of the IMMERSIVE experience of Bristol’s central shopping district, the choice of words is meant as a provocative response to, and reversal of Cabot Circus’ main advertising slogan -the affirmative and directive: ‘TAKE CENTRE STAGE’. These theatrical connotations and more are elaborated in an accompanying text; a critical ‘meta-fiction’ developed in collaboration with artist and writer Owen Hart.
A further collaboration with internationally renowned light projection artists ANTIVJ and sound artist Damien Schneider has resulted in an immersive augmentation of the installation. Using innovative 3D mapping software the artists have delineated the fractured mass of geometric forms of BEAM, onto which digital textures and sounds will be projected. The public will be able to experience this exciting addition to the project from the street during the evening hours (9pm – 12am) between the 20th – 24th July.
CONTACT DETAILS
Joseph Watts : watts.joseph@gmail.com
Haywood Slucutt : haywoodslucutt@gmail.comWEBSITES
www.roejobconstructions.co.uk
www.haywoodslucutt.co.uk
www.antivj.com
www.damienschneider.com
street art dealer launch update | Lucie | C6.org | Steal From WorkWe now have a full list of artists that we will be showcasing in various ways to launch street art dealer in Bristol. The exhibition will be focused mainly on an installation provided by Joseph Watts and Haywood slucutt. Joe coming from a fine art sculpture background and woody(haywood) design the boys have come up with a interactive installation that we feel both accommodates the nature of the QR code whilst also focusing on it's viability in a multitude of representations. Combining this with street based works will in theory launch the nature of the technology to a broader audience. We are planning to release a print of the installation in a micro form that the viewer will be able to take home for free after using the qr technology. In the current climate it's becoming more and more evident to us that creative marketing is key. We are also looking to use the micro print as a way to reward possible street art treasure hunts again in order to push involvement from the public as much as possible. The idea is also to keep the gallery un-manned, if this actually possible. At the moment this is what we are aiming for as I think it will be great to show the autonomy of the qr code or at least it's potential though there are quite a few security issues with this and it may end up not being possible. So at the moment this is all to be updated tomorrow I will be speaking with estate agents to finalise the venue location which we will then release with press on artists involved and obviously the qr code.
We are currently looking attempt venues in Broad-mead to host the exhibition and in talks with various Bristol people about wall spaces to use for the treasure trail.
Work In Progress | Calum Lasham | C6.org | Steal From WorkHaving a beta release of Street Art Dealer online has helped a great deal in generating feedback and ideas for the project. We now need to raise awareness of the project and the technology involved as well as make the service more usable and acceptable to artists and consumers. There are a number of key topics that need particular attention.
Firstly is acceptance by artists and venues. We need to have more artwork tagged and available so consumers have a wide choice and so that exposure to the technology is increased. The project is designed to try and help artists sell their work without high overheads and with a fair return, the more artists help get the system up and running the better the overall exposure and returns will be.
Next is usability, with new technology comes barriers to entry. As very few people have ever purchased using QR tags and mobile checkouts we need to make it as simple as possible for people to learn about and use both mobile tag readers and mobile payments.
Research has proven that the convergence of mobile technology and purchasing is something most consumers want and will use, but they want proven, simple and secure ways to use those technologies. The UK is somewhat behind with both these technologies, something we hope to help change. QR codes and mobile based payment systems are hot topics in places like Japan and particularly QR codes are already prolific there. We need to lobby the mobile providers to invest in development of tag readers and mobile payments to make it simple and safe for consumers.
Another key focus is quality of service, we need to be a safe and trustworthy place of business. It is very important that we provide an exceptional level of service so that we can evolve through positive personal referral and recommendations.
In summary, if we can get a strong body of artists and artwork, raise awareness of and lower the barrier of entry to new technologies and get some high profile buyer case studies and publicity we hope to be able to build a simple, fair and thriving direct marketplace for art around emerging technologies.
Testing…testing….testing | Leon | C6.org | Steal From WorkStreet Art Dealer
A beta version of Street Art Dealer soft launched at Westbourne Studios, on the 5th March as part of the “Urban Art Showcase” organised by The Portobello Film Festival & Street Art Dealer.
“Urban Art Showcase” is a year round exhibition of the urban art available to buy straight from your mobile phone. Street Art Dealer have curated quite a stable of some of the freshest talent in the UK to start proceedings. Westbourne studios are kindly hosting these works so we can iron out system problems and usability in a more controlled environment before hitting the streets. (www.streetartdealer.com) a full street trial planned in the Bristol wide area.
Street Art Dealer launched a test environment of their system where works of art can be bought from a specific street location via a mobile phone using a QR tag. A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code). Many camera phones now have these bar code readers, there are a number of third party software’s that can be installed on a large variety of makes of phone and PD-A’s using a large variety operating systems. Street Art Dealer will be a quick and seamless mobile sales tool.
Featured Artists:
DOTMASTERS
The Dotmasters are the latest incarnation of C6.org the pranksters that brought you Man in a Box, Toogle and New Media New Arse. Alive and bombing since 1997 C6 have invaded both the web and street in a onslaught of puerile proportions. The Dotmasters are C6’s stencil arm, with exhibitions that range from Banksy’s Can festival in May 08 to works at the Cabaret Voltaire and the curating of Nuart in Stavanger Norway. C6 mix technology, hand craft skills with a sheer bloody mindedness to any commercial success. For the Urban Art show they present their new works on paper ‘A Load of Rubbish; and assorted prints.ZEUS
For the past 20 years, London artist Zeus has been drawing inspiration from urban culture to create dynamic, experimental compositions that have re-defined graffiti art. Captivated by the hip-hop scene of the 80s, he began expressing his creative talents on the street when he was just 14, using walls, trains, and open spaces as his galleries. Since then Zeus has continually pushed the boundaries of graffiti artistry, taking the form out of its traditional setting and into new, exciting and more legitimate places. His latest works represent an innovative fusion of graffiti techniques and typography, fine art and sculpture and reflect both his background on the streets and his formal training at Chelsea College of Art. www.zeus-uk.comSOLO ONE
Solo One has been one of the most prolific graffiti writer in recent times. His work is a comic book style reflection on society today and incorporates contemporary issues on a ever changing basis. Solo One continues to make art for the street and has exibited in Azerbajan, Cape Town, New York and Tokyo. He continues to keep a low profile in the mainstream street art scene and creates collectable one off pieces from his small studio in South London. www.myspace.com/soloone_vopstarsINKIE
One of the first graffiti artists in Britain, inspired by the arrival of the film Wild Style as well as the book Subway Art. After coming 2nd in the World Street Art championships in 1989 and then being arrested along with 72 other writers as the ‘Kingpin’ in the UK’s largest ever Graffiti bust Operation Anderson he moved to London and has since worked as a leading graphic designer in the video game industry as head of design for SEGA and Xbox as well as continuing to contribute as a leading member of the European graffiti scene.He was recently named by the Daily Mail as Banksy’s partner in crime, described by The Times as one of the world’s most in demand street artists, and featured in the Banky’s Bristol, Children of the Can & Graffiti World amongst others, Garphotism magazine, Studio Voice magazine in Japan and the LA Graffiti documentary ‘Bomb It’.
Inkie is currently working in Jade Jagger’s West London studio producing large scale paintings and designing graphics, illustration and clothing. www.inkie.co.uk
GRL
The Graffiti Research Lab is dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, artists, pranksters and protesters with open source tools for urban communication. The goal of the G.R.L. is to technologically empower individuals to creatively alter their surroundings on the scale of advertisers and the authorities in order to reclaim public space and encourage uncurated speech. Their work has been featured in the New York Times, Wired, Time Magazine, Time Asia, Esquire, Rolling Stone, a White House press release, Boing Boing, Digg.com and on the front page of YouTube. G.R.L. Weapons of Mass Defacement (WMDs) have earned numerous grants, awards and detentions from rogue governments, art organizations and global super powers, including an Award of Distinction from Ars Electronica in 2006. Their work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, and has been shown in museums, toilet stalls and the streets on five continents, including the Tate Modern and Art Basel Miami. Their first film, “GRL: The Complete First Season”, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, and sold-out the MoMA. In December 2009, the G.R.L will be featured in the Pompidou in Paris, France. The GRL is a F.A.T. Lab production, headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. www.vimeo.com/951135CHU
Some highlights of his 27 year graffiti journey-· Sitting on a coach waiting for the sun to rise with Futura on his 40th birthday, so we could photograph our paintings at an outdoor rave, 1994.
· Launch event for the Graffiti Bastards show in Birmingham’s Custard Factory, 1996.
· Painting my first stereoscopic 3d painting at Urban Games, 1999.
· Painted inside the bomb-proof basement car park of the Swiss embassy with Banksy, 2001.
· Painting the ladies toilet at the Big Breakfast house in East London, 2001.
· Working alongside Banksy and the bourgeoning Pictures on Walls, 2002.
· Only graffiti artist to work on the walls of the Barbican in London, 2003.
· Giving my hometown a 100ft & 15ft mural declaring ‘Born in Walsall’, 2004.
· 200ft by 20ft mural inside the Selfridges store in Birmingham, 2006.
· Helping Jamie Hewlett ‘paint’ 18 whole cars of a Virgin Pendolino, 2007.
· Creating the world’s largest aerosol mural singlehandedly, 2007.
· www.schudio.co.uk
