Artwork: what you do by WRDSMTH (@wrdsmth)
This resonates—new paste-up by WRDSMTH titled what you do, located on the boulevards of Hollywood (@wrdsmth).
Love it.
making your mark
Image: eL Seed painting at the British Library for the exhibition, ‘Writing: Making Your Mark’ 2019
For the current British Library exhibition (showing until August 2019): Writing: Making Your Mark—a project spanning 5,000 years, across the globe, and that explores the act of writing, of leaving one’s mark—artist eL Seed created a painting for the exhibition with his distinctive calligraffiti script.
Language for eL Seed is about identity. Growing up as French-Tunisian, he felt conflicted about who he was and found that Arabic script enabled him to make a connection between his two cultural identities. It’s fascinating that the Arabic alphabet has symbols not present in other languages, which to eL Seed, creates infinite possibilities for expression and connection, especially in relation to his audience.
Speaking about the project, eL Seed said: “Once a bedouin in South of Tunisia told me, 'The one who doesn't leave a mark, didn't have a life'. I guess this is why I write.”
The painting for the exhibition features a quote from the Lebanese-American writer, Khalil Gibran, that was etched on his gravestone: “I am alive like you, standing beside you. Close your eyes and you will see me in front of you.”
fragile future
Artwork: Fragile Future III (2019) by Studio Drift, C'a d'Oro Museum, Venice
Studio Drift’s Fragile Future III (2019) is a poetic light installation merging nature with technology, where light is pivotal in connecting the work to its audience and environment.
As stated by Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, founders of Studio Drift: "'Fragile Future III' is about conveying emotion and at the same time refers to the fact that light lies at the basis of all life.”
Currently showing at the Venice Biennale in the exhibition, ‘DYSFUNCTIONAL” at C'a d'Oro Museum in Venice, the installation is situated around Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna’s painting San Sebastian (1506), one of the outstanding artworks of the museum’s collection.
Integral to the piece is the dandelion. The sculpture consists of three-dimensional bronze electrical circuits connected to light emitting dandelions—actual dandelion seeds, that were handpicked, and glued seed by seed to LED lights. The artwork’s handmade, labour intensive creation stands in contrast to contemporary mass production and consumption. By fusing nature with technology, Studio Drift explores the evolution of both, questioning whether technological developments are any more advanced than what is found in nature, and can the two co-exist?
small stories: small fires
Image: Luminous Craters by Luzinterruptus (@luzinterruptus), Madrid, 2009
small fires
candles lit
stars on the ground
from above
the earth has tilted
and the sky
now beneath
beckons
this sea of lights
© Angela Jooste
the red hand files
Image: Paste-up of Nick Cave—smiling!
Recently I discovered Nick Cave’s site, ‘The Red Hand Files’.
For those who don't know his work, the title comes from one of the Bad Seeds’ iconic songs, Red Right Hand (album, Let Love In). On this site fans, or whoever feels inclined, ask Nick Cave questions and he answers them in the form of a letter.
Nick Cave is a wordsmith, a great writer. Reading his letters I was moved by his eloquence, directness and honesty in answering questions broaching issues of what is love, the nature of grief, personal demons, self-loathing, inspiration and influences. His distinctive voice reaches out, plumbing the depths of being human, or admitting to not having a clue, but signalling a resonance with his audience that we’re all in this life-journey together.
Here’s a letter answering questions: “Do you have a harsh inner critic?” and “Did you ever want to simply give up and quit, because of your inner voice? Have you ever suffered a crisis of confidence?”:
Dear Ursula, Joe, Rod and Sophia and many more,
I don’t know how many times I have been asked this question, or a version of it, in The Red Hand Files. Let me say this – the ‘harsh inner critic’ that you speak of is in no way unique to you. The truth is that virtually anybody who is trying to do anything worthwhile at all, especially creatively, has seated in his or her brain, a horrible homunculus that blows a dreadful little trumpet, and only knows one song – a song that goes, “You are not good enough. Why bother?” This evil little gnome is full of bad jazz, and is, in the words of author Sam Harris, “an asshole.” The enemy of aspiration, this atrocious inner voice demands you turn away from whatever your higher calling may be and become a second-rate, cut-price version of yourself. As your very own personal detractor it is deeply persuasive in its dark business. Many of us listen, many of us accept its message, and many of us throw up our hands and give in. The problem is, of course, that this inner voice, this monstrous homunculus, is you.
The creative act is an act of war – but as much as this inner critic is your adversary, it is also fundamental to the creative process. It is what anyone worth their salt is doing battle with all the time – we are in a perpetual dogfight with the lesser version of ourselves. To lose the battle is to become the embodiment of the homunculus itself. Defeated, we do nothing but sit in perpetual judgment of the world, idly watching, as it goes down in flames. As vicious as this fight with our own selves may be, it is this very conflict that puts the blood in the art, the tears too, and carves the battle scars deep into the work itself.
The world, for all its failings, is an extraordinary experiment in rampant human imagination. At its best, it exists because there were people who had the courage to follow through on an idea – who resisted the inner voice that said, “You are worthless. Why bother?”
I’ve said it before. Beautiful ideas abound. These ideas swim around us, ideas that can be of immense utility to world. Some ideas have our singular names inscribed upon them and it is our responsibility to reach beyond our lesser selves to the brightest version of what we can be and breathe life into these ideas. This act of reaching is almost always accompanied by the wretched homunculus and its dreary anthem of personal incompetence, but it is our sacred duty, to turn around and kick this little fucker in the balls. The fight with the dark force inside us is the forge in which true art is formed.
Love, Nick
P.S. A homunculus is a very small human or humanoid creature.
(source: https://www.theredhandfiles.com/)
I'm not chic
Japanese band, noodles, just released a new album I’m not chic with this awesome album cover artwork by Yoshitomo Nara.
Yep, I’m so not chic.
Notre Dame
Image: @shakespeareandcoparis
Notre Dame, the morning after the fire.
Still can’t believe it.
stars down
Mood—chill.
Love this—So Inagawa’a remix of mouse on the keys’ track Stars Down, featuring Dominique Fils-Aime.
Check it out.
more poetry
Artwork: Jeremy Deller’s billboard in Swansea, 2014
Yes—whether it’s actual poetry, a way of seeing the world, or a way to reach out to others on the street—we could do with some more poetry in the world.
British artist Jeremy Deller’s billboard pasting was created in 2014 on a large wall of Swansea’s Quadrant Shopping Centre, UK. It was commissioned as part of a celebration of the centenary of poet Dylan Thomas’s birth.
the secret garden of the pyramid
Image: @jr, The Secret Garden of the Pyramid, Paris, 2019
The beauty of street art—its life is shaped by the street.
It might get pasted or painted over, tagged, torn down, hosed off, collapsed with a building, get worn by the elements, or it might last for a very long time.
Artist JR knows this. To celebrate 30 years of the Louvre pyramid designed by architect I.M. Pei, he created alongside 400 volunteers, an optical illusion paste-up on a massive scale called, The Secret Garden of the Pyramid. Made from 2000 sheets of recycled printed paper, the paste-up/collage provides a fantastical glimpse of what lies beneath the pyramid, as if the structure is emerging from an archaeological dig.
But as JR wrote on IG the day the artwork was open to the public: “Once pasted, the art piece lives on its own. The sun dries the light glue and with every step, people tear pieces of the fragile paper. The process is all about participation of volunteers, visitors, and souvenir catchers. This project is also about presence and absence, about reality and memories, about impermanence.”
Over the 3 days it has been visible the artwork has gradually been abraded by foot traffic and visitors tearing pieces away to take home as souvenirs.
It was never meant to last. JR believes as a living artist, his artwork needs to be alive—to have a life of its own—which stands in stark contrast to the surrounding Louvre museum where artworks are collected and looked after in perpetuity.
It was never meant to last, and that’s the beauty of this artwork.
imagine
Artwork: Icy and Sot, imagine a world without borders, 2017
It’s #worldpoetryday, and while I’m not big on what feels like an arbitrary custom to highlight something for a day—like #worldenvironmentday should be every day, and pretty much any other cause that’s significant—here’s some poetry that goes beyond words: Icy and Sot’s installation, imagine a world without borders.
Originally from Tabriz, Iran, the sibling artists started out stencilling on the streets of their home city and now live in New York, making work in a variety of mediums internationally. Engaging with issues such as gun violence, refugees, human rights, and environmental issues,, the duo’s public art has an underlying purpose to advocate freedom and hope for people worldwide, and raise awareness of issues relevant to our times.
Check out their work at www.icyandsot.com.
eternal
Artwork: Christian Guemy (C215, @christianguemy)
Just a reminder this morning from one of my fave street artists, Christian Guemy (C215, @christianguemy), of what’s eternal and necessary:
“Paris, eternal city of love. Love is what we need, more than ever...”
Deep Seads
Image: Underwater mural by Sean Yoro from his Deep Seads project, 2019
Sean Yoro’s (@the_hula) next art project goes deep underwater.
Wanting to make a difference to the degradation of coral reefs due to environmental factors, human activity in the oceans and pollution, Yoro’s Deep Seads project involves freediving to create underwater mural reefs. These artificial reefs are intended to help jump start marine growth, potentially becoming thriving reef sites for a multitude of different organisms. Importantly, all materials Yoro employs, including the pigment sticks, are eco-friendly and safe for marine ecosystems.
For more images and the video accompanying the project, check out Yoro’s website: https://www.kapucollective.com/works/deepseads
pipsqueak was here!!!
image: paste-up by @pipsqueakwashere
Just a girl and her bear and…friends!
Love the duo behind @pipsqueakwashere. If you’ve ever read Philip Pullman’s amazing His Dark Materials trilogy beginning with Northern Lights, the concept of having a deamon, an animal companion that represents your inner-self or soul, is beautiful. This girl and her bear that features throughout their work, reminds me exactly of that.
I wouldn’t mind the bear, but I bet mine would be a cat, maybe even a panther!
the breath of life
Artwork: mural by millo, Hongi—the breath of life, New Zealand, 2019
Having been to New Zealand a couple of times, this resonates: @_millo_ has just completed a gorgeous new mural in Whangarei, NZ, titled Hongi—the breath of life.
Millo explains:
“HONGI is the traditional Māori greeting in New Zealand. It is done by pressing one's nose and forehead (at the same time) to another person at an encounter.
During the hongi, the ‘ha’, or breath of life is exchanged and intermingled.
The breath of life is also considered the sharing of both parties' souls.
Through the exchange of this physical greeting, one is no longer considered ‘manuhiri’ visitor, but rather ‘tangata whenua’, one of the people of the land.”
A Yoshitomo Nara Day
Ummm, well for me they do!
And hoping I find the words today…writing…😊
honesty
Kind of love this. Yves Tumor’s track Honesty from his album Safe in the Hands of Love (2018). It hooks in and I keep wanting to listen to it—sizzling, funky and just a bit trippy. Check it out.
cat walk
Artwork: mural by Seth, Cat Walk, Shanghai
Another gorgeous artwork by Seth (@seth_globepainter) titled Cat Walk, one of his paintings made in an old district of Shanghai.
It’s the black cat that I love!
make love
Artwork: mural by Alice Pasquini, make love not war
“make love not war” mural by Alice Pasquini (@alicepasquini).
Awesome.
breath & grace
As part of an end of year round-up, the team at NOWNESS (https://www.nowness.com) has produced a series, 12 Days of Performance, featuring dancers, musicians, and prominent creative individuals, such as Sergei Polunin in this “capsule performance”, directed by Bunny Kinney. Simply gorgeous.