So its been over two years in the making but it’s coming soon… My latest book, Street Sketchbook: Journeys is now appearing for pre-release on Amazon.
I’ll be writing more about it in the coming months, the official release date is 27th September – with a launch party in London lined up for the 1st October.
There are so many fantastic artists and their personal stories in this one but I don’t want to give the game away too soon…
But just today I heard news of a piece two of the artists appearing in the book did together. Saner and Sego were two artists I met on my travels in Mexico last year and this book has a Mexican flavour to it with nearly a third of the artist’s coming from all over Mexico.
Painted at the National Museum of Popular Cultures – its an absolutely stunning piece which gives a flavour of what’s coming in this next book. To read more about the project check Saner’s blog. Also check Sego’s blog for more great work and fantastic photos.
This month Choque Cultural gallery in Sao Paulo present a solo show by Zezao, an artist who continues to impress me through his artwork and actions. I first got to know Zezao researching the Graffiti Brasil book in around 2004.
Having been involved in graffiti painting, train bombing and pichacao tagging for many years – Zezao is a graffiti veteran. By the time I was introduced to him he had evolved his own style of painting his “flops” (throw-ups). These flops are characteristically painted in shades of blue in a free-form style. He has become most famous for painting these flops in the sewers of Sao Paulo, but he also paints them on the streets, particularly where the homeless build makeshift shelters and sleep by the road side.
As he paints the “homes” of the rough sleepers, who sometimes include families – he talks with them, gets to know them and helps them out when he can. By painting where they live, his paintings become a sign of life or a notice of the people living there. It is a simple way of acknowledging people who are often ignored by the thousands of people who drive past them everyday.
So how does Zezao’s art work in a gallery context? Zezao doesn’t claim to be the new Picasso, he is very modest about his own artistic talents. However he is always pushing his art and exploring in directions such as performance, installation and photography to name a few. His abstract forms have an integrity and skill from many years of painting, but he doesn’t rely on simply reproducing what he creates on the street. He draws from his experiences of the city both above ground and subterranean in his creations.
By all accounts this current show is Zezao’s most critically successful to date. In his various works using ripped posters and materials sourced on the street, along side his signature gold and blue palette, as well as beautiful photographs of his underground installations. All images courtesy of Lost Art.
Here’s a book that gets two thumbs up from me and that’s before I’ve even read it – which I’m planning to this weekend. The reason I like it already is not because I am featured in it! – but I admire the work that has gone into it. At least two years of almost constant research I believe, particularly from Patrick Nguyen who as I understand it took a career break to work on this book full-time. He went the extra mile, putting his own funds into travels around the globe to meet artists and being persistent to get the interviews and materials needed for the book.
The book has been made with the same care that I’ve tried to put into my own books. All of my publications have taken two years to produce and where I can I travel to meet artists all over the world in person to really understand the work. But enough about me… it’s just that I believe this is the only way to do it. There are too many lazy books put together by people who have not met artists in person or experienced the art first hand – and this, I’m glad to say, is not one of them.
Although I haven’t delved fully into the book I’m already familiar with the line up of characters involved – many of whom I have had the pleasure of working with and have had adventures with in the past. These chosen artists tend to be people who push themselves, innovate and have something special about them. Many of them I’ve featured in books and know very well but I am still looking forward to reading their interviews.
Finally my own interview – yikes! I wish I had taken more care with my answers – I didn’t even proof read them. So my own answers are delivered as relaxed e.mail written replies – rather than anything too profound. But I think its okay and I’m happy to be included in this stellar list. I don’t really see myself as a “leading figure” – the books I have produced are about the artists I think are doing something interesting not about myself – but if someone wants my thoughts or experience, it was a pleasure to be included in this historical review.
For a number of years I have been in communication with the writer and journalist Chris Parkinson. During a number of visits to East Timor, Chris began to document the walls which reflected the turbulent times this country has been through. His idea was to turn this into a book, and during our correspondence I did my best to offer support in this area.
Finally the Peace of Wall book is printed and I have a copy in my hands.
It doesn’t disappoint – with admirable dedication Chris Parkinson has produced an evocative piece of photojournalism – capturing an important moment in East Timor’s history through its walls. His timely photographs uncover the memories of these walls, supported by excellent research and personal anecdotes. This book alerts us to the cultural value of graffiti and street art for public expression, rehabilitation and community building.
This is not a typical “Graffiti” book – it is more focused toward understanding the community and the way it expresses its concerns and dreams. The president of East Timor was so impressed with the book that he has found funds to have the book translated into either Portuguese (East Timor’s official language) or a native language. How many graffiti books can make the same claim!
I was first properly introduced to Brazilian Graffiti through Ignacio and Louise at Lost Art. In 1999 they sent me copies of Fiz magazine – a magazine designed by Os Gemeos – the magazine completely blew me away! At the time very few gringos were aware of the exciting graffiti scene that was developing especially in Sao Paulo. Twist had spent some time in Sao Paulo in 1993, meeting Os Gemeos which became a two way exchange of ideas. But it wasn’t until Sonik and Raven from 12oz Prophet visited Sao Paulo in 1997, who subsequently did a big feature on the scene, that graffiti writers worldwide become more aware of Brazilian Graffiti.
Sonik aka Caleb Neelon and Lost Art went on to be my partners for the Graffiti Brasil book – so it was great today to hear news via Lost Art’s twitter of a rare film surfacing of the legendary 12oz Prophet visit…
Image above: Sonik, Os Gemeos and Vitche from Caleb’s website.
Abundantly creative is perhaps the best way to describe Vhils, a young Portuguese artist who constantly innovates with new techniques and approaches to his art.
I’ve long been a supporter of his work – and was lucky enough to be able to invite him Cans Festival in 2008. It was also a pleasure to feature his work in depth in my next book which will be published later this year.
For the uninitiated, Vhils’s current work is about revealing images through deconstruction (in the demolition sense – construction in reverse). By stencilling, stripping away billboards and chiselling into walls; Vhils creates new images that reflect the random decay of the streets. At the same time Vhils’s uses portraiture to evoke the lives and ghosts of people who make up the history and life of our cities.
I was very excited to see Vhils new work in Bogota, with thanks to the Memoria Canalla team. It is a city I found fascinating and great to see that Vhils was able to leave his mark there.
This post comes a little late - Hugo Kaagman’s book Stencil King was published in November 2009 by Lebowski Publishers. I was honoured to be asked to write the introduction to it. I first got to know Kaagman’s work on an art college trip to Amsterdam in 1986 – I was blown away by what I saw – hundreds of amazing stencils making up a giant mural in Waterlooplein. I guess this is where I first got the bug for Stencil Graffiti. Many years later I was able to invite him to take part in one of the biggest ever stencil art gatherings – Cans Festival underneath Waterloo station. The book is well worth tracking down to see a life in stencils by the stencil kind himself….
This month’s Creative Review Magazine (Jaunary 2010) features an article about the Chica poster culture of Peru. These posters are screenprinted with fluorescent colours typically with a strong black background. The designs are drafted by hand and with extraordinary skill, each layer of colour is the result of a hand cut paper stencil. Although I had seen similar posters in Mexico these Chicha posters have a very distinct aesthetic and culture behind them. I was made aware of their existence through my friend Nano from Equipo Plastico and through him I managed to reach Jules Bay a curator in Lima an expert in this area to find out more. It was fascinating story and so I approached Creative Review with the concept of a feature article on this subject. Like last year’s January 2009 issue which I was also involved with, Creative Review decided that it would be exciting if the cover of CR could be made in Lima using this technique – within weeks the cover image was designed and printed in Lima and now on news stands around the world…
A documentary was also commissioned which can be seen here
60 : Innovators Shaping Our Creative Future is a new book published by Thames and Hudson this November. To commemorate 60 years of Thames and Hudson, this book celebrates sixty innovators in art, design, fashion and other creative fields. I was asked to compile and write the “Street World” chapter featuring 5 artists that have been innovators in this field. My choices were Space Invader, JR, Darius and Downey, Swoon and Blu.
The book is handsomely hard-bound, with a die-cut glossy cover – although I don’t think the jacket cover will survive much handling…
As part of my research for a new book I was lucky enough to travel to Mexico – stopping in Cuernavaca, Mexico City and Oaxaca. Among the many artists I met were Saner and Smithe. It was great to watch them painting for an afternoon – more to be revealed in the book soon…
