Interview with street artist "Son of Recession"

Remember I posted last week about a story in the Evening Standard in which an artist was given an £80 on-the-spot fine for criminal damage? Well, that was Son of Recession. When walking around Brick Lane and the surrounding areas if you look down at the pavement you will see his work. I was doing just this last Sunday afternoon when I met the artist.

I have uploaded a few of his pieces already, though I only met him the other day. Hid methods are two-fold. One is where he will draw the outline of a persons shadow in marker pen and make a pattern resembling barbed-wire. The other is where he outlines the shadow of an object, for example, a post-box, street-lamp or dust-bin, in "Fragile" packing tape. For a reminder just go back to previous pages, as these works really stand out.

"Son of Recession", or Mattia as his mother calls him, is of Italian origin, though he has been living in London for a few years now. We have had a number of conversations (drunk and sober) about his work, his ethos and the nature of art in general and he comes accross as someone who really believes in what he is doing. I know this sounds a little twee or trite as anyone could come accross in this way, though what I mean is that he has the conviction in what he is doing and the message he wants to impart that is sometimes lacking in one so young (I would guess he is in his early 20's).

If you look at the link to the article in the Evening Standard, there are a number of problems, though these are with the quality of the reporting:

The article states in the headline that "Son of Recession" is a Banksy fan. While this may be true to a certain extent, you can bet that the reporter only put it there to give the story and 'angle', and to make sure the report is near the top of the google rankings.

The reporter was given the name of the artist numerous times, even the following day over the phone, and still got it wrong, naming the artist as David Lin, who is actually a friend of Son of Recession.

There are some more issues, though these two are glaring ones.

I interviewed Son of Recession a week after the story appeared after he told me about this lazy reporting, and I said that maybe I could do a better job and put his side forward in a proper sense. Son of Recession did my outline, though I only wanted to "give the finger" in mine, then he did a live outline on video of my shadow. He works very quickly and likes to explain what is going on during and after his work.

Here is the interview, it's at night and recorded on a mobile phone so apologies for the quality, but I'm sure you'll agree that it is a very interesting interview. It is accompanied by my previous interviews with Mel and David.

Enjoy!

Some more street-art

As I have said before there is so much street-art and grafitti that it would be impossible to bring you it all, but here are some more pieces that I have picked up over the last few days

Chrome 'n' Black - Redchurch St. This has been there for ages and deserves to stay aas long as possible. I presume it's by Chrome 'n' Black, the Graf shop that is nearby.

Unknown artist - Commercial St.

Unknown artist - Redchurch St. This little guy is great, he kinda reminds me of me when I was in school and I had absolutely nothing on my mind.

Mark Amehling, 2010 - Bacon St.

Mark Amehling, 2010 - Bacon St.

And at last there is some decent Graf!

There is a legend in Grafitti called Vaughn Bode (pronounced BO-DAY). Bode was a cartoonist from the '60's that invented Cheech Wizard, Junkwaffel and a myriad of other characters and worlds. It is good to see that his influence in Graf is still going strong. Here are a couple of recent pieces that use some of his characters.

Apologies for the pics being dark but you can lighten them in photoshop etc.

This artist really impresses me. He/she does comissions all over London, and also (I presume) illicit pieces. The one with the Burka is on the side of a Bangladeshi restaurant on Brick Lane and I would be surprised if they got permission for this piece. It is a very powerful piece in my view because of the location and the messgae involved.

Unknown artist, piss-alley (not it's real name!) off Brick Lane. And who can resist a chekky little sperm!

I don't know if I'm right about this, but this reminds me of the shape of Africa made from skulls. If so, this is a very powerful piece. I wouldlike to meet the artist to ask about this.

Well, that's all for now. Please become a follower and leave messages as well.

Coming soon: Interview with street artist "Son of Recession"

mancpete

Brick Lane website

I just found this website and thought I would share it with you. It has a lot of information about the area and even a section on the Brick Lane arts scene, though not as extensive as mine.

http://www.visitbricklane.org/

Exhibition catch-up

Well, surprise, surprise! There were actually no exhibition openings last night! That's the first time that's happened on a Thursday for a long time. The good thing is that it's given me a chance to catch up on some things I didn't have time to bring you (or I was so drunk at the exhibition I forgot).

First up, a show featuring 8 artists at the Aubin Gallery on Redchurch Street, which is on now till the 25th July.

Here's an excerpt from the blurb.

Surface Warp Factor

Featuring the artists

•Diann Bauer
•Juan Bolivar
•Gordon Cheung
•Richard Ducker
•Stewart Gough
•Sheena Macrae
•Ian Monroe
•Tom Ormond

‘There was a kind of ghostly teenage DNA at work in the Sprawl, something that carried the coded precepts of various short-lived sub cults and replicated them at odd intervals… If the technology had been available, the Big Scientists would all have had sockets stuffed with microsofts. It was the style that mattered and the style was the same. The Moderns were mercenaries, practical jokers, nihilistic techno fetishists… If the technology had been available, the Big Scientists would all have had sockets stuffed with microsofts. It was the style that mattered and the style was the same. The Moderns were mercenaries, practical jokers, nihilistic techno fetishists.’

The artists in this exhibition explore some of the paradigms between Modernism, geometry and science fiction, confronting utopias and dystopias. Within this matrix, human fears, fantasies and failings are set against vertiginous backdrops, information overload or sensory excess.

‘Then the drug hit him like an express train, a white hot column of light mounting his spine from the region of his prostate, illuminating the sutures of his skull with x-rays of short circuited sexual energy. His teeth sang in their individual sockets like tuning forks, each one pitch perfect and as clear as ethanol. His bones, beneath the hazy envelope of flesh, were chromed and polished, the joints lubricated with a film of silicon. Sandstorms raged across the scoured floor of his skull, generating waves of high thin static that broke behind his eyes, spheres of purist crystal expanding…’

*Excerpts from ‘Neuromancer’ by William Gibson (1984)

Private View: Thursday 1st July, 6-9pm.
Exhibition runs: 1st July – 25th July
Gallery open: Mon-Sat 10-7pm, Sun 11-5pm.

Fieldgate Gallery
www.fieldgategallery.com / 07957228351

Here are some of the standout pieces from the exhibiiton

Hard Tack Moon by Tom Ormond

An Added Degree byIan Monroe

This exhibition kind-of let me down as nearly all those showing were graduates of Goldsmith's College, University of London so I expected the standard to be exceptionally high, though I can only pick out these two pieces that screamed originality at me. I particularly like Hard Tack Moon by Tom Ormaond as it reminds me of a dislodged eyeball. Some of the detail is remarkably similar to an eyeball as well, even down to the cones that help the retina reflect light, enabling us to see in 3-D. I like art that can be interpretted in different ways, where the viewer can use their own experience and imagination.

The exhibition ends on the 25th July so get on down there to check it out for yourself. For further details go to

http://www.aubingallery.com/


On the same night I went to the Brick Lane gallery where there was another show. This one had a diverse range of adult-themed pieces in the fetish range. The artists, who are a husband and wife team called Phillippo and Phillippo, called upon a number of influences in their work which was very eclectic.

Here is the blurb from their website:

Our work contains visually potent imagery, aimed at open-minded art connoisseurs and art galleries alike.

Innate and profound in us all; the smell and taste of sexuality is masked by the environment it inhabits. We uncover the mask and explore all aspects of human sexuality and spirituality in the temptation and consumption of life.

In a celebration of Sex, Innocence and Voyeurism and through the interconnection of sexual polarities, the viewer can experience the power and intoxication of the mind.

Our work contains a purity of innocence, confidence and curiosity, born from the male and female perspectives.

WARNING: this site contains adult-themed explicit artwork.

On the paper blurb that was available on the night there was a description of a piece that really struck me. It's called Furher's Fetish, and is a glass toilet with see-through plastice seat with barbed-wire inside (see below). It read:

The work examines the results of one of the very first psychological profiling investigations. In 1943, American and Allied Intelligence compiled a dossier on Adolf Hitler's purported personality taits in teh hope of detrmining his future actions. As Hitler rose to power, rumours circulated about his inappropriate relatonship with his niece, Geli Raubal. The report strongly indicated that Hitler was a sadist, with his taste for sexual humiliation in the form of urophilia.

This stood out for me for 2 reasons: - the stupidity of the American and Allied Intelligence community, and the genius of having a toilet representing not only Hitler's peccadilloes, but this crass approach to labelling insanity. Though in fairness Hitler was clearly a madman, but society's need to give insanity a cause/effect relationship is at the root of this piece.






Above: 2 views of Fuhrer's Fetish by Phillippo and Phillippo





Fuhrer's Fetish Poem by Phillippo and Phillippo

This exhibition runs till the 11th July, so if you hurry you can catch it. More details at -


http://www.phillippoandphillippo.com/index.htm


SomeWhereSomeTime, East Gallery, 124 Brick Lane, London, E1 6SA




Then on to East gallery on Brick Lane. This was another multi-artist show called SomeWhereSomeTime, featuring a myriad of artists from all genres, this show was a bit too visually busy for me to take in all at once. The stand out piece for me was as soon as you walk in there is a huge illustration/collage on the left by MESH137. I looked at this impressive piece and could not help but laugh at the humour. One part of it had a Guru sat crossed-legged with a speech bubble pronouncing "I can read your mind and you, sir disgust me" HAHAHAHAHA! this humour reminds me of Modern Toss, which is currently showing at the Maverik gallery on Redchurch Street and will be reviewed imminently, in that it is irreverant and syas something about contemporary culture and laughs in the face of the art establishment.

Here is their blurb.

Somewhere, Sometime is a showcase of brand new and recent work by a selection of young, up-and-coming and talented artists who are new onto the contemporary UK illustration scene.

This exhibition demonstrates all varieties of artistic methods from delicate linear drawings and paintings to spectacularly coloured murals and digital prints. Through each piece on display these artists reveal their fresh explorations into notions of time and place and their affinity with their favoured subjects, which range from the humorous, surreal and daring to the personal, intimate and familiar.

Featuring: Natasha Baker, Michael Cox, Merissa David, Rachel De Ste Croix, Lauren Ellis, Mike Hall, Riccie Audrey Janus, Benjamin Jensen, Paul Jode, Lisa Lee, Denise Mangaram, MESH137, Zack Mclaughlin, James Ward, and Laura Wesson.

Original artwork as well as limited edition prints and copies and other tie-in merchandise shall be available for purchase.

Private view is from 7pm on Thursday 1st July 2010 with music and a cash bar.

RSVP info@eastgallery.co.uk

Open to the public daily (except Monday) between 11am and 7pm from Friday 2nd to Wednesday 7th July 2010.




Fuck Fine Art by MESH137

Go to


http://www.mesh137.com/ and http://eastgallery.tumblr.com/ for more details,

Coming up: Review of Modern Toss Gallery of Shit-Naks at Maverik and more reviews, not forgetting the street art around the Brick Lane area.

mancpete

Police hand out £80 penalty to Banksy fan for pavement sketch

Here's an article from yesterdays London Evening Standard. This guy is a legend on Brick Lane, his ideas are very original.


An artist who was given an £80 instant fine for drawing on the pavement has criticised police for seeking to stifle street art and "freedom of expression".

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23853147-police-hand-out-pound-80-penalty-to-banksy-fan-for-pavement-sketch.do

Mission Statement

This blog is about showing people around the world the wonderful artwork on the streets and in the galleries in the Brick Lane area of London, which I have extended to Aldgate in the south and Hoxton in the north.

Art should be free, that’s why graffiti and street-art are so important to me.

I am cynical about the “artworld” and attack its commercialism whenever and wherever I see fit.

If a gallery has the prices of the artists work next to the piece, this exhibition will not get a good review, no matter how good the work is.

I will strive to get into the head of an artist when I interview them and always ask about the price as a way of ascertaining whether they are in it for money and fame.

I will also ask them about the concept of pieces, and as much as I can about their methodology and technique.

I will report on art-related issues that appear in the press and online.

N.B. This list is not exhaustive, I will probably add more as I extend the blog.

mancpete