Bring Street Art to Blackpool

As we are about to demolish most of Blackpool, in fact the demolition is well under way in the Northern Gateway area around Talbot Road bus station and the Station. May be we could take a leaf out of what has happened in other parts of the world and make use of some of the buildings before they bite the dust to host a major Urban Art Fest. I suggest Talbot Road Bus Terminus for a start, what do you think?

One particular example of such a Fest is at 11 Spring Street in New York, a building popular with Graffiti and Street artists was used to host a major event before it was renovated by the famous Wooster Collective.

Check out the video below and the Wooster Collection website here.

Vhills- Scratching the Surface Exhibition - Lazarides

I visited Lazarides Gallery in Soho last week to see an exhibition by Street Artist Vhils - Portuguese-born Alexandre Farto, age 21.In the context of current offering from the art work this is some of the most exciting and stimulating work I have seen in the past few years of hammering around galleries of all sizes and persuasion. As a fine art student I find Vhils experimental use of materials and media very exciting.

Of late he’s taken to creating works purely from in situ materials. Advertising hoardings are torn to make fresh images, and plaster drilled and chiselled away until the remaining relief forms the work. He is experimenting with ink and household bleach, rusting steel, stencils and industrial resins. His use of found material like old painted doors is particularly interesting. A far cry from graffiti and mindless tagging.

This is just a small sample of the work on display and I am afraid the photography does no justice to the original works which are both large and tactile. You really need to visit the exhibition, 3rd July to 1st August, so get a wriggle on.

Find more work here, this is also one of the best Flicker sites for Street Art.

Scratching the Surface by Vhils - Video

Even if you are not into the Street Art of Vhils this is a cracking example of the video makers art and well worth a watch.

Music - Gustavo Santaolalla Work by Vhils http://www.Vhils.com/

Books On-Line

As a student books become a way of life as a result I have strained tendons in my left wrist from hauling weighty tomes around. So the idea of being able to access my books on line is a very attractive one. I have been researching possible sources. Here is a list of initial contenders which I have yet to research fully.

Books.google.com
This a site I have used and works well. Also known as Google Book Search, there is a wide range of free book and magazine content, much of it downloadable. Occasionally they allow partial download of copyright restricted books. I found it good for contextual studies literature.

DailyLit.com
Out-of-copyright classics, most are free.

FreeBookSpot.com
A source of downloadable textbooks, saved as PDFs, meaning that unlike most electronic book formats, the diagrams and illustrations are preserved. Most take less than 60 seconds to download over broadband.

Worldcat.org
Find items in libraries near you, lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world. Results link directly into citation software such as Zotero.

World Digital Library
Libraries and archives from around the world have come together in a project to share their collections of rare books, maps, films, manuscripts and recordings on-line for free.

Project Gutenberg
The first and largest single collection of free electronic books. From Karma Sutra to David Copperfield.

Eureka moment - Figure/Ground

Interesting how Eureka moments pop up quite unexpectedly! I was browsing Robert Motherwells work "Premonition Open, with Flesh over Gray" in the Bernard Jacobsons Gallery, Cork Street, London the other day.

I am vaguly familiar with Motherwell from an essay I wrote about Pollock and Abstract Expressionism. I have to confess I had dismissed his work as boringly repetitive. When you have seen three black lines in a variety of configurations painted on a coloured background the tenth version becomes repetitive if not boring! However I had only ever seen his work in books and on the internet and a bit like recorded music it is no substitute for the live performance.

Casually if not disinterestedly perusing Motherwells large canvases on the walls of said gallery I was suddenly aware of the subtly of these black painted lines. I could hear the monaural Yorkshire tones of Norman Travis ringing in my ears, preaching the theory of the figure ground relationship. There it was in graphic reality, Motherwells subtle smudges of background colour across the ubiquitous black lines immediately presents the dilemma, which came first the blackline or the smudge of orange? Which was figure, which was ground?

Mall Galleries Exhibition - Update

Visited the Private View at the Mall Galleries, London on Monday 6th July to receive presentation of my runner up prize in the Daler Rowney " Make Your Mark" art competition.

The works were hung in conjunction with the RBA 7th National Students Art Exhibition. An interesting feature of the exhibition is that the work was displayed alongside work by members of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA). My work was hung alongside a Peter Blake! How cool is that.

Update: Robin Dukes was kind enough to give me a mention in his column in the Blackpool Evening Gazette this evening.

Fine Art Exhibition - 1st Year BA

Fine Art Exhibition by the 1st Year BA students from Blackpool Art School. At the Village Walks Art Spot, entrance off Queensway or from the entrance alongside the Post Office at the rear of Teanlowe Centre, Poulton le Fylde. The exhibition will run from 29th June to 31st July, Monday to Saturday 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, entrance free.

A wide range of work from the end of year show. Artists exhibiting include Alistair Parker, Sue McAuley, Ann Charlesworth, Sue Godsiff, Claire Heaton, Anton Byrne-Carter and Rebecca Armitage.

Channel 4 Life Class: Today's Nude

For centuries, artists have taken inspiration from the naked body. From Leonardo da Vinci to Lucian Freud, life drawing has always been a way to understand the human form and ourselves.

Bringing life drawing to the masses Channel 4 is running a series of 5 programmes "Life Class: Todays Nude" starting 12.30pm, 6th July and for the next 4 days.

This week-long series gives viewers an opportunity to learn to draw through five half-hour nude life drawing classes, one a day, with access to a renowned artist tutor in each, Maggi Hambling, Humphry Ocean, Garry Hume, Judy Purbreck and John Berger.

The audience is invited to pick up a pencil and use the class to develop their skill or interest in drawing at any level.

Drop-in life-drawing classes are being organised in London, Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester and Southampton...

Mall Gallery Exhibition

I entered the Daler Rowney international art competition - Make Your Mark Competition way back in in October 08 and much to my amazement was placed as runner up! At long last I am about to receive the fruits of my endeavours. My work will be shown at The Mall Galleries, The Mall (You know where the Queen lives) London SW1 from Monday next 6th July till the 11th July and I am off the private view on Monday evening. My 1st Private view, so I am a little bit excited. You can find more information in the original post here.

The exhibition is being held in conjunction with the RBA 7th National Students Art Exhibition, so there should be some work woth a look.