Art Space Talk: Steven Bogart

Steven Bogart combines oil and rustoleum paints in a variety of consistencies to achieve complex abstractions. Bogart states that he finds inspiration from nature, cosmology, physics, biology, music and surrealism. His work is an ongoing exploration of spontaneous intricacies, chaos and thought. Each painting is an emotional experience in capturing something beautiful and surprising.

Dolichopodidae by Steven Bogart

Brian Sherwin: Steven, what can you tell us about your academic background concerning art? Did you study art formally? Tell us about your art studies in general-- any influential instructors?

Steven Bogart: I received my BFA in painting from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While I was attending the Museum school I worked with several great instructors: Kaji Aso, and T.Lux Feininger were two important teachers. But I also owe a great deal of gratitude to my two high school art teacers, Richard Fendorak, and Wilhem Wybanger. Without them I may not have found myself in art.

BS: Tell us about yourself. At what point did you gain an interest in creating visual art?

SB: I was interested in art from the time I was seven years old. My stepmother and my father exposed me to the art world through museums and art books. Between the ages of 7 and 12, I used to copy the paintings of Toulouse Lautrec, Kees Van Dongen and Alexei von Jawlensky
Gamma by Steven Bogart

BS: Can you tell us about your art? Give us some insight into the thoughts behind your art?

SB: Over the past thirty years I have explored both surrealism and abstraction. For the past five years I’ve moved to purely abstract painting. My work is influenced by cosmology, nature and ideas about the universe, i.e., chaos theory, quantum theories, light, fractals, and space.

I often draw specific inspiration from the sky and the space between tree branches. I’m interested in discovering something beautiful and unexpected. It often takes me several canvases to find one that works for me. I want my paintings be compel the viewer from a distance and entice them to move closer, while viewing the work close up creates a very different experience.
Medusa's Dream by Steven Bogart

BS: Steven, can you discuss your process in general? Are there any specific techniques that you utilize?

SB: I spend a good amount of time preparing a luminous space using oil colors that eventually function as both background and areas that come forward into the foreground. The images that play on the surface of the canvas are created from mixing enamel paints in various combinations.

BS: What about other influences? For example, are you influenced by any specific artists?

SB: I used to have very strong ties with Paul Klee, Joan Miro, Mark Rothko, and Turner. I also love Pollock. There was a frustrating period where I couldn’t seem to escape the influence, but something happened five years ago that exploded my work into a voice that I feel is now uniquely mine. I think the influences can still be felt, but they are like echoes now. Some artists that I feel a kindred spirit with now are artists like Barbara Takenaga, Sarah Walker, Matthew Richie and Terry Rose. If you have a chance to google these artists and take a look, you won’t be disappointed.
Elephant by Steven Bogart

BS: So what is the specific message you strive to convey to viewers? Do you adhere to a specific philosophy as far as your work is concerned?

SB: I hope that my paintings are filled with beauty and the excitement of the unknown.

BS: What are you working on at this time?

SB: I’m working on a series of paintings called, As Form Falls Away.

BS: What are your thoughts concerning the internet and utilizing the World Wide Web in order to gain exposure for your art? In your opinion, why is it important for artists to embrace the internet?

SB: I think the internet is great, and allows for artists to connect more with each other.

BS: Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

SB: Presently, I a have solo exhibit on line with the Caladan Gallery, and I’m in a group show that opens March 21 at Artspace Maynard Gallery called, Edge.

BS: Steven, do you have any concerns about the art world at this time?

SB: I don’t have any real concerns. I love how the art world is eclectic and filled with so much great talent. However, for myself, I’m having a very difficult time find a gallery that wants to represent my work.
Crescendo by Steven Bogart

BS: There has been several stories involving copyright infringement in the mainstream press as of late. What is your stance on copyright? Do you see strong copyright as a reflection of artist rights in general? Or do you feel that copyright restricts creativity? Do you have a stance on this issue?

SB: Artists have a right to control their images and the right to be credited.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

SB: No. The more I talk about my work, the less interested I am in what I have to say.

View Steven Bogart’s profile on myartspace.com

You can learn more about Steven Bogart by visiting his website-- www.stevenkbogart.com. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

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Brian Sherwin

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Art Space Talk: Janice Nakashima

Janice Nakashima was born and raised in Northern California. She is a third generation of Japanese descent or sansei. Nakashima’s art is meditative and introspective. However, she is also concerned with humanitarian and social issues. Her paintings often explore notions of place and belonging. Nakashima has been involved with exhibits at the Haggin Museum, Triton Museum of Art, and the Crocker Art Museum.

In one series of paintings Nakashima explored the idea of home on various levels. This works explored the idea of home within ourselves, within our communities, and upon this earth-- the universal aspects of ‘home‘. Nakashima’s installation ‘Far from Home, is an expression of the plight of refugees in camps all over the world. The double cages of seven camp details are from camp images from all over the world. Refugees live in a kind of double prison—both physical and political. Many have no hope of returning to their homes and remain dependent on aid organizations.

Far from Home by Janice Nakashima

Brian Sherwin: Janice, what can you tell us about your academic background concerning art? Did you study art formally? Tell us about your art studies in general-- any influential instructors?

Janice Nakashima: After teaching school for a few years, I went Claremont Graduate University and studied art, receiving an MFA in 1979. The most important part of that experience was the freedom and encouragement to explore that was emphasized. It helped me experience what being an artist was about.

BS: Give our readers some insight into the thoughts behind your art…

JN: My work is a kind of a confluence of my response to the outer world whether nature, social, etc. and my interior world of feelings.

Far from Home detail (Baghdad) by Janice Nakashima

BS: Janice, can you discuss your process in general? Are there any specific techniques that you utilize?

JN: I work very intuitively, sometimes without knowing what the work will be about and a conversation begins that carries through the work. Occasionally I'll begin with a clear idea that I see in my mind.

BS: Janice, is there a specific message you strive to convey to viewers? Do you adhere to a specific philosophy as far as your work is concerned?

JN: Each piece has its own experience that I try to convey rather than a specific message. That is a broad statement. The installation/s that I have done do have a specific humanitarian message--mainly to bring an issue to light. I don't have a didactic message. So for the "Far From Home" installation, I was merely putting out for consideration the plight of refugees in many countries.

Far from Home detail (Darfur) by Janice Nakashima

BS: What are you working on at this time?

JN: I am working on a series of watercolor paintings and a collaborative installation.

BS: What are your thoughts concerning the internet and utilizing the World Wide Web in order to gain exposure for your art? In your opinion, why is it important for artists to embrace the internet?

JN: The internet is an amazing tool and has given us incredible access to art and everything else. I hope it helps in getting exposure to art to folks. I do feel the inner-person experience is still essential because art has a real visceral presence and the scale actual piece needs to be there in real life for it to be accurately experienced. But--the internet can help get interest in the art.

BS: Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

JN: Yes, I have a solo exhibit in May at Axis Gallery Sacramento.
Ecoute Moi by Janice Nakashima

BS: There has been several stories involving copyright infringement in the mainstream press as of late. What is your stance on copyright? Do you see strong copyright as a reflection of artist rights in general? Or do you feel that copyright restricts creativity? Do you have a stance on this issue?

JN: Copyright should definitely be given to the artist for the life of the art or the artist can choose to give it up. But it should be the artist's choice.

Phases by Janice Nakashima

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

JN: As most artists probably hope--I do hope my work is something that is of value to the viewer and can communicate something that is intangible and positive in their life.

View Janice Nakashima’s myartspace.com profile

You can learn more about Janice Nakashima by visiting her website-- www.jnakashima.net. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

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Art Space Talk: Olga Gouskova

Often walking hand-in-hand with controversy is the sensual female form, Russian born, Belgium based - artist Olga Gouskova certainly knows how to capture an audience with her paintings of beautiful and stylish women. Gouskova's women are sexy, melancholic and mysterious, with a powerful physical intensity and a subtleness of form which almost makes you want to caress them. Her female figures do in fact caress themselves, almost as if to emphasize the preciousness of the female body - the eternal source of life and love. The sinuous lines in Gouskova's paintings convey vibrations, memories, ambivalent feelings and deep emotion by means of the positions and expressions of the figures.

Her contemporary approach to pose, dynamic composition and colour produces paintings that are modern, proud, vibrant and uniquely individual. When painting, Gouskova uses two different techniques. First she draws the body with sepia pencil to make it look almost real - warm and soft, giving it a feeling of physical intensity and a subtleness of form, outline and volume. For the rest of each painting she uses acrylic and all kinds of pens to draw lines and small decorative details. She doesn't paint the volume, using instead flat washes of colour. The lines and patterns make the composition dynamic and complete.
SCARLET FLOWER • 60 x 60 cm • acrilyc on canvas, sepia, pen. By Olga Gouskova

Brian Sherwin: Olga, what can you tell us about your academic background concerning art? Did you study art formally? Tell us about your art studies in general- any influential instructors?

Olga Gouskova: I was born in Russia and grew up in Belarus. At the age of 11 I went to Byelorussian Art College in Minsk. After 7 years of studying I've obtained an academic classical art education. Many hours of painting and drawing. From landscape in water-colour to model in oil on canvas. After college I went to Byelorussian Academy of Arts in Minsk. But I've chosen the Design department, because I wanted to learn new things and do something different. And for the next 4 years I was busy with all kind of textile design for interior and cloth.

During these years I had a lot of good teachers like Ugrinovich Vikentiy and Nazarenko Oleg, and I've met very interesting and talented people. I'm very grateful for this wonderful experience and the possibilities to learn and do so many different things.

BS: Tell us about yourself. At what point did you gain an interest in creating visual art?

OG: I’ve painted and drawn for as long as I remember myself. I just love painting. I enjoy the process and mostly the results too. It fascinates me how the white piece of paper or canvas can become the visual expression of emotions and feelings, somebody's stories or dreams... and after all of that the painting can have its own life and existence. All paintings are part of me and at the same time when they are ready they are not me anymore... I love to watch how people experience art... how it makes them feel and think, how it brings new emotions in their live...

PAPILLON • 60 x 80 cm • acrilyc on canvas, sepia, pen • sold. By Olga Gouskova

BS: Olga, can you tell us more about your art? Give us some insight into the thoughts behind your art.

OG: My paintings are about feelings and states of mood, about dreams and expectations. And I express it through the female portrait. Sometimes it feels like I paint a kind of self-portrait from the inside out - the way I feel... the way I am or the way I want to be or will never be... My thoughts about being happy or sad, sensual or extravagant... The mood of the day, of the season, of the moment... of life-- all through the portraits of women. In every painting I try to capture part of the mystery of the female personality by combining the beauty of the physical with the intensity of the mental.

I emphasise the soft femininity of my figures by using flowers, butterflies, and lace details within the compositions, but counter that delicateness through the use of heavy contrasts and strong bold lines. The hair is almost always long and exudes some soft sexuality and is exquisitely detailed. I want my women to look comfortable, soft, serene, and special in their nudity and exposure.

Actually I don't really like to talk much about my paintings, it's like Gustav Klimt had said "I have the gift of neither the spoken nor the written word, especially if I have to say something about myself or my work. Whoever wants to know something about me -as an artist, the only notable thing- ought to look carefully at my pictures and try and see in them what I am and what I want to do"

BS: Can you discuss your process in general? Are there any specific techniques that you utilize?

OG: When painting, I use two different techniques. First I draw the body with sepia pencil to make it look almost real - warm and soft, giving it a feeling of physical intensity and a subtleness of form, outline and volume. For the rest of each painting I use acrylic and all kinds of pens to draw lines and small decorative details. I do not paint the volume, using instead flat washes of colour. The lines and patterns make the composition dynamic and complete. Some times I use a model, some times I get my references from photos.

BS: Olga, what about other influences? For example, are you influenced by any specific artists?

OG: Often people see the Art Nouveau style in my paintings and speak about the influence of Gustav Klimt and Alfons Mucha. I like these artists very much, but there is no influence in terms of medium, techniques, or ideas.

MARGO • 50 x 70 cm • acrilyc on canvas, sepia, pen. By Olga Gouskova

BS: So what is the specific message you strive to convey to viewers? Do you adhere to a specific philosophy as far as your work is concerned?

OG: There is no particular message. I just try to bring some beauty and emotions to viewers, some special feelings and joy - be who you are, look for things that make you special and happy, see the beauty in people and simple things around you, love them... and enjoy it as much as you can.

BS: What are you working on at this time?

OG: I'm busy with series of small paintings on painted canvas. It's a little bit different technique than I'm used to-- something new for me... and for viewers too. I have a few commissioned portraits for private collectors as well that I’m working on.

BS: Olga, what are your thoughts concerning the internet and utilizing the World Wide Web in order to gain exposure for your art? In your opinion, why is it important for artists to embrace the internet?

OG: The best thing about the web, in my opinion, is the access it provides for sharing information. You can find anything on the internet. You can view artists from all over the world and meet buyers from all over the world. In fact, it doesn't matter were you live anymore. With the internet you can be everywhere you want to be.

I use the internet a lot - to find things and people, to get some information about things and people. My website is my portfolio for everyone who is interested in my art. And... without Internet this interview would not exist-- or so many people would not be able to read it...

GERBERAS • 60 x 60 cm • acrilyc on canvas, sepia, pen. By Olga Gouskova

BS: Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

OG: You can see my paintings in the gallery space BONHOMME in Liege Belgium, till 19/04, also in gallery Artipico in Schiedam, Netherlands, and on my website www.olga-gouskova.be

BS: Olga, do you have any concerns about the art world at this time?

OG: No, I don't have concerns. I think it doesn't make sense to have any concerns about the art world. My concerns will not change or help it anyway. There are so many possibilities and opportunities for artist and the art lovers-buyers, so many things are being created every day, so many new ideas, new exhibitions, new names. I just try not to be overwhelmed. So I'm busy creating new paintings and think about the people who can see, feel and like them just like I do.

BS: There has been several stories involving copyright infringement in the mainstream press as of late. What is your stance on copyright? Do you see strong copyright as a reflection of artist rights in general? Or do you feel that copyright restricts creativity? Do you have a stance on this issue?

OG: All this attention to the artist copyright is certainly a good thing for all artists. Because making money with the artwork without paying the artist his copyright can not be right anyway. And it still happens a lot. It is one thing to be inspired by somebody's work... If it is just copied it is simple and obviously wrong . That said, if the artwork gives new ideas and inspiration where does it stop the copyright of the one artwork and begin the copyright of the other?

HAVAH • 70 x 70 cm • acrilyc on canvas, sepia, pen • sold. By Olga Gouskova

BS: Olga, as you know, the economy has been hard. Have you had to change-- or should I say adapt-- your practice due to the economy?

OG: I’ve read a lot of Abraham-Hicks. It helps me to see things different. The world is the way you think about it or expect it to be. When I paint I never think about the economy or stuff like that. In fact, I try not to think about it at all. When I paint I think about some beautiful pure things, like love and joy, light and colours...

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

OG: I'm happy being an artist and doing what I do. It is wonderful that there are people who love and appreciate me work. I want to thank Brian and MyArtSpace for this interview and opportunity to show my art. And I hope you can be kept up to date with my new works on my website at www.olga-gouskova.be

You can learn more about Olga Gouskova by visiting her website- www.olga-gouskova.be. Gouskova is currently a member of the www.myartspace.com community. Feel free to visit her myartspace profile . You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

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Carrie Ann Baade at Dabora Gallery

"The Character of Mercy" by Carrie Ann Baade

Fellow www.myartspace.com member Carrie Ann Baade is currently involved with a group exhibit at Dabora Gallery. The exhibit, titled Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists, features 15 female artists who explore surreal / mystical worlds within their art.

I interviewed Carrie Ann Baade for myartspace.com in 2006. Since that time Carrie has helped me with one of my youth art education fundraisers. In my opinion, Baade's art is a perfect example of what a surrealistic painter can accomplish today. Carrie's paintings have been called "Imaginative Realism" due to her strong skills in traditional painting. Her body of work captures the essence of Master works while embracing the heart of surrealism. This mix of 'old and new' comes together to create images that are both beautiful and alarming at the same time.

There is a mysterious beauty about Carrie Ann Baade's work. In my opinion, the world she creates is one of harlequins and jesters cloaked by a shroud of danger that can be observed just beneath the surface. When viewed as a collection, Baade's paintings become a masquerade: Anger, fear, humor, sadness, humility, and joy all wear their respected mask. They beg for the viewer to peer beyond their guise. Will you be so bold as to take a look?

Visit Carrie Ann Baade’s myartspace.com profile and website, www.carrieannbaade.com.

From the Fata Morgana Press Release: (www.daboragallery.com/fata.html)

Dabora Gallery and Phantasmaphile's Pam Grossman are proud to usher in the spring season with the group show "Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists," on view from March 14th through April 12th, 2009.

In literal terms, a fata morgana is a mirage or illusion, a waking reverie, a shimmering of the mind. Named for the enchantress Morgan le Fay, these tricks of perception conjure up a sense of glimpsing into another world, whether it be the expanses of an ethereal terrain, or the twilit depths of the psyche. The artists of "Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists" deftly utilize the semiotics of mysticism, fantasy, and the subconscious in their work, thereby guiding the viewer through heretofore uncharted realms - alternately shadowy or luminous, but always inventive.

About the Curator: Pam Grossman is the creator and editor of Phantasmaphile (www.phantasmaphile.com) the premiere online destination for art aficionados with a passion for the surrealand the fantastical. An internationally beloved art and culture web log, it features daily spotlights on artists and events, as well as interviews with such visual luminaries as Thomas Woodruff, Nils Karsten, and Richard A. Kirk.

Phantasmaphile was written up two years in a row on the Manhattan User's Guide Top 400 New York Sites list, and has also fostered rich relationships between Pam and numerous artists who have been promoted on the site. "Fata Morgana" is Pam's first curatorial effort.

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Brian Sherwin
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Joanie San Chirico at The Ocean County Artists' Guild

Zona #2 by Joanie San Chirico

Fellow www.myartspace.com member Joanie San Chirico will be having an exhibit at The Ocean County Artists' Guild this April. The Ocean County Artists' Guild is a non-profit organization working to promote the arts in Ocean County drawing in artists and patrons from around the region. Their mission is to serve the artists and community; to provide an outlet and training for artistic talent, to enhance the quality of life for the residents and thereby attract newcomers, and to provide an attraction to draw tourists to the community. For more information visit www.ocartistsguild.org or www.joaniesanchirico.com.


Visit Joanie San Chirico’s myartspace.com profile

Joanie San Chirico's work is unique in that it incorporates painting on canvas, photography, or stitching on textiles in such a way that challenges the viewer to decipher how the work was made. More than simple paintings, she combines these media to portray natural surfaces using imagery of this planet's fragile beauty. The work depicts ordinary objects, perhaps some lichen, rocks on a beach, dead vines; images from the artist’s travels or even her back yard.

Quoting the artist:“These little things are beautiful, and I never know when I'll find an interesting image or texture that I'll save for use in my work at some point. Please take care of these little things, as they will eventually affect the BIG things. My art is about raising awareness of the fragility of our environment.

Since 1982, a two-phase Superfund environmental remediation project has been ongoing at the Ciba-Geigy Site, now owned and operated by Ciba Specialty Chemicals, in Toms River, NJ where I live. As a result of the spill into the drinking water in the 1970’s, a cancer cluster developed which affected some children in the area. It is essential that we prevent incidents like this in the future.”

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Brian Sherwin

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Nancy Pirri at Lillstreet Gallery and Serene la Femme

Fellow www.myartspace.com member Nancy Pirri is currently involved with an exhibit at Lillstreet Gallery in Chicago, IL. Pirri also has an upcoming exhibit, May 29th, at Serene la Femme. She will also be involved with a charity event on April 17th-- check her website for updates-- www.npgraphx.com.

Nancy Pirri (b. 1963) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and currently lives in Chicago, IL. She has dabbled in every art form since childhood, discovering clay to be her true passion in 1991. For the fifth year, she is represented as a House Artist in a local Michigan Gallery and also Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. She exhibits at many different venues including charities, and even curates her own group shows.

Her work is about women and how they survive through time. She works in several different clay bodies utilizing techniques that result in 'aging' textures. Ceramic print techniques continue this 'antiquity.' She fires her work in atmospheric kilns including soda firing… transpiring her art further into history as if her pieces were buried underground for centuries.

The Ceramic Print is an exhibition of work by artists who integrate traditional printmaking techniques like etching and silkscreen printing into ceramics. Exhibiting artists include Eric Jensen, Matt Harris, Nancy Pirri, Paul Wandless, Thomas Lucas, Marcia Adler and Nancy Anderson. Paul is also the author of Image Transfer on Clay, published by Lark Books. Lillstreet Gallery • 4401 N. Ravenswood • ChicagoReception: Saturday, March 28, 5 - 8 pm

Visit Nancy Pirri’s myartspace.com profile

Serene La Femme This collection of work is a contemporary twist on the timeless beauty of the female form as a muse, featuring innovative techniques in platinum photography by Ted Preuss, ceramic methods and figurative sculpture by Audry Cramblit and Nancy Pirri, and paintings by Mary Qian. Show will exhibit for 10 days.

Percentage of sales will be donated to The Union League Civic & Arts Foundation which develops and promotes programs that support education, civic responsibility and the arts for children and young adults in the Chicago Metropolitan Area.

For more information please visit serenelafemme.com or contact Nancy Pirri.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
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My Response to Shepard Fairey concerning his ‘AP, Obama, and Referencing’ message on ObeyGiant.com. Part 4

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


Copyright is very important concerning the market and technology of today. People talk about how “fair use” needs to be extended due to the technology of today-- they feel that an extreme interpretation of “fair use“ is needed to secure creative freedoms. They often forget to mention the ease in which an individual can make reproductions from images found online today and the fact that many of the artists advocating for extended “fair use“, such as Shepard Fairey, profit from the random images they find online.

They are waving the banner of creative freedom when in reality the focus is on profit and profit alone-- their profit. Profit with total disregard for the profit and market of their peers. That is why Shepard Fairey is a target for my criticism-- and why he will continue to receive criticism until he takes responsibility. Unfortunately, he tends to use his charity work as a shield or resorts to having his friends rattle sabers when faced with criticism.

The fact remains that a skilled artist can use computer programs to alter an image they found online in order to suggest that it is his or her own-- or he or she can simply print off copies of the image in order to make changes to it. That is not to suggest that artists using these programs are not artists or that certain aspects of computer based art is of no value. It all comes down to responsibility and respect for other artists.

Shepard Fairey, to me, represents artists who display neither. Those who support his extreme view of “fair use” either don’t care about how hard it is for artists to establish a market for their work or they embrace his practice within their own methods of artistic creation involving works for profit.

My issue with extended views of “fair use” is that an emerging artist can spend months or years working on an oil painting or sculpture only to end up with another artists using an image of that painting or sculpture for a project that may have only taken days to create. In a sense, you could say that the artists working in traditional mediums need to have their work protected from the technology of today. Telling those artists not to upload images online is not the answer.

All artists deserve to gain exposure online knowing that their work is protected by strong copyright. There is room for “fair use” as long as it is limited and does not destroy or burden the business of emerging artists before they have a chance to rise on their own. Unfortunately, copyright is constantly under attack.

As mentioned earlier, more artists than ever are making a living or part of their living from selling their art. These artists need to know that their images are protected. Their collectors need to know that their investment is secure. In other words, artists must be able to defend the exclusive rights to their art-- to their business and legacy. If Shepard Fairey wins against the AP it will be yet another blow to artists who desire to embrace the market aspect of art. Throw the romantic image of 'the artist' aside! The idea that art should not involve business is a fantasy when one consider the art market of today-- Fairey knows this. So do I.

That is why so many art organizations and individuals have stood against orphan works legislation in recent years due to the fact that if passed the legislation would have greatly reduced the ability of living artists to protect and defend their art in court. Those same people should stand against artists like Shepard Fairey who fly false banners of ‘artistic freedom’ and ‘free expression’ during legal cases involving copyright infringement.

After all, the artists who cry ’artistic freedom’ and ’free expression’ when exposed for copyright infringement often do it in order to protect their profit rather than the way in which they work. Look at Shepard Fairey’s lawsuit against the AP-- it makes it clear that he desires to protect the profit made from the image as well as future profit. The issue is not necessarily about the AP-- the fact remains that Fairey could have done this to a fellow artist as he has done in the past.

Again, if the AP loses to Shepard Fairey it will mean that the door will be open further when he decides to ‘reference’ artwork by an emerging artist. If he wins against the AP it will set a precedent that will greatly harm the ability for all artists to defend their copyright in court. I can't stress this enough!

I realize that copyright issues can quickly become a debate between freedom of speech/expression and control. However, suggesting that supporters of strong copyright are attacking creative freedom is not exactly fair considering that the issue of copyright infringement does not become an issue until price tags are involved.

If an artist wants to explore the work of another artist directly, fine-- it becomes an issue when the artist attaches a price to the ‘new’ image or produces prints of the ‘new’ image for profit. We would not be facing this debate if it were not for the fact that some individuals-- Shepard Fairey for example-- think that it is acceptable to profit off of the hard work of others. His case against the AP is not about creative freedom or any of the other similar rhetoric spewing from his lips-- it is about his desire to profit off of others without consequence.

Securing creative freedom is one thing-- the desire to legitimize irresponsible and disrespectful appropriation for profit is another. Creative freedom is not under attack-- the rights of artists to secure their artwork and images of their artwork by copyright is. The ability for artists to protect the market for their art is under attack. Those on the other side of the aisle continue to wave the banner of creative freedom-- I wish they would just come out and say what their battle charge is really about. They want to be able to profit off of the works of others while at the same time protecting their ‘new‘ images from “profiteers“, “mimics“, and “parasites“. They want the best of both worlds. Point that out and those artists will often flee from a debate on this issue.

Think of it this way-- many of the artists who support an extended view of “fair use”, such as Shepard Fairey and Joy Garnett, are the same artists who create art utilizing the work of others for profit. They are represented by galleries-- they know the business side of art. So are they really champions of freedom and free-culture? Or are they just protecting their own business by supporting standards that would make it harder for other business-minded artists to protect their images from their use? If it is not about profit you would think they would be more than willing to 'spread the wealth' with the artists and photographers they 'reference'.

Don’t get me wrong, “fair use” is important-- however it should not be extended to the point that a widely known artist can base his or her career working directly from artwork by relatively unknown artists-- and other individuals-- for profit. This is why I have concerns about Shepard Fairey and what he represents. The contradictions and hypocrisy is tiresome. I’m not attacking creative freedom with my opinion-- I’m standing up for what the majority of artists have fought long and hard for. Don’t confuse creative freedom with the need for some artists to profit off of other artists.

To put it bluntly, it is going to be horrible if artists allow their rights to be stamped out in the name of creative freedom when the artists leading this charge, such as Shepard Fairey, are thinking more about their bank accounts than real creative freedom. Since when did creative freedom involve the need to profit from others? Are we defining creative freedom by dollar signs now? Let us not confuse the two! We should examine what Shepard Fairey is really saying when he uses these powerful words-- “creative”, “freedom”, and "expression".

In my opinion, he is seeking the freedom to be creative with the work of other living or recently deceased artists-- and others-- in order to profit without consequences. He desires the freedom to go against their intentions and legacy while expecting others to ‘obey’ his intentions and legacy. He is no different than the people who strongly supported aspects of the recent orphan works legislation which would have harmed the ability of living artists to protect their art. It is as simple as that. If we define ‘artistic freedom’ and ’free expression’ with a dollar sign the arts are truly doomed.

I must stress this-- If Shepard Fairey/ Obey Giant Art Inc. wins against the AP it will set a precedent that will make it easier for individuals and corporations to abuse the copyright of visual artists and other creative professionals. Make a stand-- disobey Shepard Fairey. Let people know that not everyone in the global art community supports Shepard Fairey's extreme interpretation of "fair use" for profit. Think of the past allegations that have shadowed his career-- think about what a victory against copyright could mean for your career. Support the exclusive rights that the majority of artists have fought hard for.

This is a 4 part rant:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog

My Response to Shepard Fairey concerning his ‘AP, Obama, and Referencing’ message on ObeyGiant.com. Part 3

Part 1
Part 2

As I’ve said before, securing creative freedom is one thing-- the desire to legitimize irresponsible and disrespectful appropriation for profit is another. Creative freedom is not under attack-- the rights of artists to secure their artwork and images of their artwork by copyright is. The ability for artists to protect the market for their art is under attack.

Those on the other side of the aisle, such as Shepard Fairey, continue to wave the banner of creative freedom-- I wish they would just come out and say what their battle charge is really about. They want to be able to profit off of the works of others while at the same time protecting their ‘new‘ images from “profiteers“, “mimics“, and “parasites“. Shepard Fairey wants the best of both worlds.

Shepard Fairey then states, “This case has raised many issues, including the use of references in art. Some of my earlier works have been attacked by some as “plagiarism”. I think reference is an important part of communication and it has been common practice in the art world.” Followed by, “When I flipped through the Christie’s auction house catalog from November 2008 I found many pieces that are based on reference or appropriation. Most are selling for over $100,000. Some are more clever than others, but these are all works that are at auction being taken very seriously. Take a look.”

Shepard Fairey failed to mention that many of the artist examples he listed appropriated widely known images instead of a photograph that was relatively unknown as he did with Mannie Garcia‘s AP copyrighted photograph of Obama. For example, the famous photograph of Marilyn Monroe was widely known, for the time, when Warhol used it. Warhol’s image quickly became iconic. Thus, under “fair use” one could parody Warhol’s Marilyn with little worry.

The same goes for other examples Fairey listed, such as ‘Jetsons’ by Kenny Scharf-- Scharf was a child in the 60s- it is safe to say that The Flintstones and The Jetsons were iconic long before Scharf used them in his art as an adult. The Marlboro advertisements that Richard Prince re-photographed were also widely known for their time. On a side note-- Fairey must not know that Richard Prince is having troubles of his own right now over copyright infringement.

Fairey then states, “If the AP wins their case, every Obama art (or any other politician) that was based on a photo reference that was not licensed would be rendered illegal.” Followed by, “Here are just a few that were an important part of the political discourse during this election cycle. I also think art that is critical of leaders that neither the subject or the photographer approve of need to be a legal form of expression. I think this Bush image is a perfect example. See Below.”

Shepard Fairey is full of contradictions. Today he is the champion of artistic freedom and free expression-- for many he is now the poster boy for “fair use“. However, last year he had a different stance on artistic freedom and free expression. In an October 2008 article for US News Shepard Fairey mention that he planned to “go after” individuals who “hijacked” his style in order to make “copycat images” of the candidates. He stated that he would try to make the “bootleggers” donate their profit to the ACLU. The fact remains that Shepard Fairey is not the champion of appropriation that he claims to be. After all, his Obama posters were widely known by that time. One could suggest that parodies of HOPE and PROGRESS would be perfectly acceptable under “fair use” due to the iconic status of the posters.

Need further insight concerning the contradictions of Shepard Fairey over “fair use”? In May of 2008-- as reported by the The Austin Chronicle -- Shepard Fairey was infuriated when emerging artist Baxter Orr created a parody of Fairey’s 20 year old image of Obey Giant-- an image that was widely known… iconic in its own right. Orr titled his parody ‘Protect’ and placed a SARS mask over the face of Andre. Soon after Orr received a cease-and-desist letter from Obey Giant Art Inc. The Austin Chronicle reported that Fairey called Orr a “profiteer”, “parasite”, and “mimic” for having appropriated Obey Giant.

Fairey, according to the Austin Chronicle, felt that Orr’s parody of Obey Giant threatened the secondary market for his art. In the Orr situation Fairey made it clear that he was protecting his trademark. Obey Giant is a trademark-- however, there is “fair use” under trademark. Fairey knows this-- he has parodied trademarks himself. He also said that the difference between he and Orr is that if contacted by a copyright owner he will stop using the protected image. Apparently that does not count in regards to the Associated Press case? The contradiction don’t stop there.

Earlier this month, March 2009, the Pittsburgh City Paper reported that Shepard Fairey had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Cafepress.com due to a store titled Steelerbaby. The store featured merchandise involving Steelerbaby , a doll designed by Larkin Werner. The official site for Steelerbaby features an image of the doll along with several catch phrases that visitors can click in order to have Steelerbaby say the phrase. One of the most popular Steelerbaby phrases happens to be “Obey Steelerbaby”. Thus, Werner created “Obey Steelerbaby” merchandise for his Cafepress shop. Cafepress removed all of the Obey Steelerbaby merchandise soon after receiving the cease-and-desist letter from Obey Giant Art Inc. However, Werner claims that he was not inspired by Shepard Fairey in the first place. Needless to say, Shepard Fairey felt that the merchandise was a threat to his trademark and the market for his art.

According to the Pittsburgh City Paper, Olivia Perches-- the representative of Shepard Fairey who sent the cease-and-desist letter to Cafepress-- has suggested that Obey Giant Art Inc. owns the use of ‘Obey’ and that artists can’t use the word ‘Obey’ in their artwork or designs. Chris Broders, a business partner involved with Fairey’s Obey clothing line, has suggested that the use of “Obey” becomes an issue when artists or other individuals profit from the “‘Obey’ mark”. He went on to suggest that Fairey’s representatives and business partners will do what they can in order to “protect" their "trademark".

Keep in mind that Werner only made just over $70 from Obey Steeler baby merchandise-- just barely enough to buy an OBEY hoody. Again, Werner claims that Shepard Fairey’s ‘OBEY’ was not on his mind. Even if it had been I would think that his use of Obey would be considered parody and that it would be acceptable under “fair use” due the iconic status of OBEY in general. Which begs the question-- does Shepard Fairey really support “fair use” and the whole of appropriation for that matter?

Again, this is just my take on Shepard Fairey’s message concerning the AP, Obama, and referencing. Read his message in its entirety in order to draw your own conclusions. I stand by my opinions . I want to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with being successful. I want artists to be successful. However, I also want emerging artists to be able to protect their work from the abuse of profiteers- like Shepard Fairey-- who take an extreme position regarding “fair use“ for their own gain.

I don’t care if it is a corporation, an artist, or an artist who owns a corporation-- they should not prey on the images of emerging artists. An artist can be successful and sustain a level of integrity. If the laws allow abuse perhaps they should be changed as far as visual art is concerned.

This is a 4 part rant:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog

My Response to Shepard Fairey concerning his ‘AP, Obama, and Referencing’ message on ObeyGiant.com. Part 2

Part 1

Fairey states, “As far as the idea of the image being “stolen”, I would love to have the clout to command portrait sittings from world leaders, but for me and most artists out there, that is not an option. For lots of artists, even licensing an image is out of the question financially. Should artistic commentary featuring world leaders be stifled because of copyright of the reference images even when the final artistic product has new intent and meaning? Reference is critical to communication, and in my opinion, reference as a part of social commentary should not be stifled.”.

Unfortunately, Shepard Fairey failed to mention that some media sources and individuals make images of this nature available for use at no cost. There were many photographs of Obama that Shepard Fairey could have used legitimately without dodging aspects of licensing that any first year illustration student understands. Keep in mind that he could have simply asked Yosi Sergant of Evolutionary Media Group to obtain a photograph of Obama during the campaign. After all, Yosi Sergant worked as a media consultant for the Obama campaign. Thus, one could suggest that Shepard Fairey did have access if he had wanted it. Instead, he chose to willfully infringe on the copyright of the AP.

Fairey stated, “Another suggestion someone made was “why not splice two or three photos together and illustrate from that?” Well, though a direct match would have been harder to find, with an image as popular as the HOPE poster, internet sleuths would probably have found the references and maybe I’d be facing two or three lawsuits.” Followed by, “This leads to the next question: is illustrating from a photograph “cheating”? I studied art, illustration specifically, at one of the most prestigious art schools, The Rhode Island School of Design. At RISD I was taught to draw from life, to draw from photo references, and to appropriate and re-contextualize imagery. All of these techniques had historical precedents which I learned about. Here are some great examples of famous painters working from photo references, and not always their own photos - http://fogonazos.blogspot.com/2006/11/famous-painters-copied-photopraphs_06.html”

I’m glad that Shepard Fairey learned the basics at RISD. However, I don’t think this brief reflection of his academic years has served him well. I don’t think many people suggest that drawing or painting from a photograph is “cheating”-- that is not really the issue here in the first place. Fairey’s distraction aside, there is a difference between drawing or painting from a reference photograph compared to stenciling over a copy of a photograph.

No, that is not to suggest that stenciling is ‘wrong’ or is of no value-- its just that it is a different process than drawing or painting as far as I’m concerned. As mentioned earlier, the real issue is that most first year illustration students know that if they use a copyrighted photograph as a reference or as a base image they had better ask permission or finding out about licensing from the copyright holder.

In his defense Fairey mentioned how artists from the past used photographs as a reference, some of which were “not always their own photos”-- the link he provided mentioned, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, Toulouse Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, and Edgar Degas. Unfortunately, Shepard Fairey failed to mention that the situation today is very different compared to the past-- especially with respect to art law and the art market.

None of the greats he mentioned earned over $700,000 from copies of a single image in their respected currency during their lifetime. None of them had sold out exhibits involving thousands in profit during their lifetime-- at least not when compared to the profit that some artists earn from exhibits today. None of them sold their art as a corporation as far as I know-- dear Vincent did not run Starry Night Art Inc., true?

Furthermore, the famous painters that Shepard Fairey mentioned were not aware of copyright law as we know it today-- as any first year illustration student knows it today-- these artists were long dead before current copyright law. Times change-- the business of art has changed. Keep in mind that the majority of visual artists have fought for decades to have the rights they enjoy due to copyright-- the right to have more control in the market of their art.

Now, more than ever, visual artists need to be able to protect the market for their art. It seems that if we lived in Shepard Fairey’s world-- a world where current law is useless-- it would be acceptable to take a leap back in time in order to neglect the rights that creative individuals enjoy today. If the art community accepts Shepard Fairey’s extreme interpretation of “fair use” it will no doubt cause even more artists to endure the same financial woes that Vincent van Gogh endured in his time.

Fairey then states, “I have respect for, and have frequently collaborated with, photographers, but I do not think permission, or a collaboration is warranted in every case where an artist works from a photo reference. I collaborate with photographers because I WANT to, not because I believe I HAVE to.”

If Shepard Fairey feels this way he has failed to acknowledge over 60 art organizations that stood up against the 2008 Orphan Works legislation. With this statement he has slapped every photographer, including fine art photographers, in the face. With this statement he slaps Brad Holland and the Illustrators Partnership of America in the face as well. With this statement Shepard Fairey slaps the face of every creative person who understands the need to be able to protect their works!

Shepard Fairey is doing this while waving the banner of ‘artistic freedom” and “free expression” when in reality he is concerned with the freedom to profit off of the hard work of others without consequence. Keep in mind that this is the same artist who ‘ referenced ’ a poster by Rene Mederos without contacting the Mederos Estate for permission. After being exposed he stated that he did not know how to contact Rene Mederos since Mederos lived in Cuba. Apparently he was unaware that Rene Mederos had died in 1996-- so much for Shepard Fairey’s art history lessons.

This is a 4 part rant:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 Part 4

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog

My Response to Shepard Fairey concerning his ‘AP, Obama, and Referencing’ message on ObeyGiant.com. Part 1

Shepard Fairey has addressed some of the allegations against him by posting a statement on his website. The message, titled ‘The AP, OBAMA & Referencing’, is an attempt to challenge the allegations against him concerning the AP. Fairey’s message is also an attempt to connect his use of the Obama photograph to art history. I warn you that this will be long-- I can't help it. Someone has to say what needs to be said and far too many people are worried about dents in popularity if they speak out. I don't care who I'm in favor with-- I know where I stand.

In the message Shepard Fairey declares that he is fighting against the Associated Press in order to “protect the rights of all artists”. Thus, his message is also an attempt to rally support from the visual art community. In other words, Shepard Fairey is attempting to say a lot with what little he is allowed to say due to the case. Unfortunately, it is what he does not say that should alarm the global visual art community. WAKE UP!

To be fair please read Shepard Fairey’s message in its entirety in order to draw your own conclusions. Then, by all means, read my opinion and see where you stand. Before I go further I must thank Qi Peng and Marc Schiller-- recent debates with these two individuals on Twitter spurred me to investigate Shepard Fairey further.

Done? Good. Throughout the message Shepard Fairey makes bold statements about ’artistic freedom’ and ’free expression’. He suggests that all artists will lose some of their rights if he loses against the Associated Press over the issue of copyright infringement. My take is that artists stand to lose more if Shepard Fairey wins his case against the Associated Press.

My opinion is that if the AP loses to Shepard Fairey it will mean that the door will be open further when Fairey decides to ‘reference’ artwork by an emerging artist or any artist that is not widely known. If he wins against the AP it will set a precedent that will greatly harm the ability for all artists to defend their copyright in court.

Fairey stated, “The Garcia photo is now more famous and valuable than it ever would have been prior to the creation of my poster. With this factor in mind, it is not surprising, that a gallery in NYC is now selling the Garcia photo for $1,200 each. As I understand it, Garcia himself did not even realize the poster was created referencing his photo until it was pointed out to him a full year after the poster came into existence. Mannie Garcia has stated in the press that he is an Obama supporter pleased with the poster result."

Shepard Fairey failed to mention the name of the gallery in his message. The gallery is Danziger Projects. The owner of the gallery, James Danziger, contacted Mannie Garcia on January 21st 2009. Danziger informed Garcia that his AP owned photograph had served as the basis for Shepard Fairy’s “HOPE” and “PROGRESS” posters. Fairey failed to mention that Mannie Garcia has stated that he does not like it when photographs are "ripped off"-- he has said that Fairey's Obama poster is a special case. Fairey also failed to mention that the “gallery in NYC” has represented some of his own artwork in the recent past.

I have to agree with Shepard on this one-- I doubt he was surprised at all that Danziger Projects is now selling prints of the photograph for $1,200. Just as I’m sure that Anthony Falzone was not surprised when he included the sales at Danziger Projects in Fairey’s preemptive lawsuit against the AP in order to ‘prove’ that the market for the photograph has increased due to Fairey’s use of the image. Take that for what it is worth…
Fairey states, “I did not create the Obama poster for financial gain. The poster was created to promote Obama for president, and the revenue from poster sales was re-invested in more posters, flyers, stickers, etc.., and donated to charity, including the Obama campaign.”

Unfortunately, Shepard Fairey failed to work under the umbrella of a charity group. In most cases if someone desires to raise money for a cause they will do so in direct partnership with a non-profit. The non-profit will handle the money instead of the individual-- in this case Shepard Fairey. My understanding is that Fairey handled the majority of the profit directly and then allocated it as he wished. Thus, Fairey did profit.

Think of it this way-- if you donate your entire paycheck to a cause does that mean you did not profit from your employer? No. You made profit-- you earned your paycheck-- you just decided to do a great deed with that profit. My point being that the money Shepard Fairey earned from his Obama prints and Obama merchandise is profit no matter how he attempts to slice it.

Fairey states, “A free download of the Obama image was available on my website, which should provide further evidence of the desire to disseminate the image, not to benefit financially.”

Unfortunately, Shepard Fairey failed to mention that he often has free downloads available on his site-- he also makes sure to have copyright information listed on every page of his site. Including the page where the downloads are offered. He also fails to mention some of the veiled legal threats he made in 2008 concerning artists who made parodies of his Obama posters. In fact, in one article he suggested that after the campaign he would go after ‘bootleggers’ and other who profited off of the image or variations of the image.

Obviously Shepard Fairey was interested in profit and in silencing those who referenced his poster for their own form of social commentary. One could say that though he may not have put any of the profit from the image in his own pocket he most certainly did want to secure his investment in the image.

This is a 4 part rant:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog

myartspace London Calling early registration ends March 31st

www.myartspace.com/londoncalling

Early registration for the London Calling competition ends on March 31st. There are only a few days left to take advantage of the reduced entry fee. Currently the registration fee is $25. After March 31st it will be raised to $50. After registering, myartspace.com members (the site is free to join) can submit a www.myartspace.com gallery of up to 20 images for the jurors to view. In other words, if you register before March 31st it is $25 for a 20 image myartspace gallery that the jurors will view. A great value if you consider the caliber of the jurors.

www.screamlondon.co.uk

Scream London is run by Tyrone Wood. Tyrone, son of Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, is quickly becoming one of the most influential gallerists in London. Notable guests and patrons of Scream London have included Tracey Emin, Claire Danes, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Beverly Knight, Meg Mathews, Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones and other celebrities, groundbreaking visual artists, and notable musicians.

The Jurors for London Calling are: Vanessa DesClaux Assistant Curator of Performance, The Tate Modern, London, Tom Morton Curator at the Hayward Gallery, London and contributing editor at Frieze, and Rancesco Manacorda Curator, the Barbican Art Gallery, London. The jurors will select 50 finalists. Artwork by 3 top finalists will be physically exhibited at Scream London for London Calling. Also, 17 artists will be represented digitally at Scream London for London Calling.

The jurors for myartspace.com London Calling:

* Vanessa DesClaux Assistant Curator of Performance, The Tate Modern, London.

* Tom Morton Curator at the Hayward Gallery, London and contributing editor at Frieze.

* Francesco Manacorda Curator, the Barbican Art Gallery, London.

If you are new to www.myartspace.com take advantage of our video tutorials in order to learn more about the site and gallery creation. www.myartspace.com/tutorials. You can also contact us at info AT catmacart.com if you have further questions about London Calling or myartspace.com. Feel free to repost this blog entry if you feel that your readership may enjoy this competition.

Matthew Lively at Red Door Gallery

72 Virgins, approx. 10 in. tall Mixed Media 2006

Fellow myartspace.com member Matthew Lively will be involved with an exhibit at Red Door Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. The exhibit will open on April 17th, 2009. The show will feature Lively’s sculpture and paintings-- which are all backdrops or set materials from a short film that is still in progress.



Find out more about Red Door Gallery by visiting, www.reddoorgalleryrichmond.com. Learn more about Matthew Lively by visiting his website, www.matthewlively.com, or myartspace.com profile .

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog

Christian Rex van Minnen "Neo- Grotesque" at Roq La Rue Gallery

Keyhole Portrait 4 by Christian Rex van Minnen

Featured www.myartspace.com artist Christian Rex van Minnen ( Interviewed in 2007) is currently involved with a solo exhibit at Roq la Rue Gallery. The show, titled ‘Neo-Grotesque’, involves 10 recent works as well as several of van Minnen’s landmark pieces from 2007-2008. Van Minnen's art, as the Roq La Rue Gallery press release states, features biological monstrosities painted in portrait form with a Renaissance formality.

In recent years there has been a resurgence of artists exploring subjects that are traditionally considered repulsive or unattractive while at the same time revealing the figures in a sympathetic manner that is enforced by aspects of traditional painting techniques-- this has been coined 'Neo-Grotesque'.

In Christian's work aspects of alchemy and automatism are linked together in the cognitive creative process. As he has stated, intention becomes line, line becomes shape, shape becomes form, and form becomes content. In his work Christian finds himself either suppressing or indulging his own desire to associate personal narrative to the raw visual information inherent in the material and process. Construction, destruction and reconstruction are symbiotic elements in the creative process allowing the image to fluctuate between abstraction and representation, truth and illusion, personal and archetypal.

Christian Rex van Minnen‘s profile on myartspace.com.

Also on exhibit, according to the Roq La Rue website, is a very small show of work by Japanese painter Yoko d'Holbachie. D’Holbachie’s work has been described as “Jim Woodring on acid“. Her work, like van Minnen, reflect a "grotesque" style. However, her works are more humorous and sweet in nature. Find out more at the Roq La Rue website-- www.roqlarue.com. Also visit, www.seevanminnen.com, for more information about Christian Rex van Minnen.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Senior Editor

myartspace.com

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Art Space Talk: Steve Litsios

Born in 1959 near Boston, raised in Washington DC, Steve Litsios moved to Switzerland with his family in 1967. He studied art for a couple of years at Geneva's ecole d'arts appliqués before attending the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 70's, then moved back to Switzerland where he has been active internationally as an artist since 1983. He lives in the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds and can be found playing the washboard with The Crawfish Blues Band.

Slice of air -1998 - acrylic on paper (Torinoko extra light) - Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Neuchâtel

Brian Sherwin: Steve, Mark Staff Brandl introduced me to your work. I understand that you have exhibited with Mark in the past. Have the two of you ever thought about collaborating? Have you? Is that something that you would consider?

Steve Litsios: We collaborated two years ago. I was in a group show at the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Neuchâtel in which each artist was asked to invite someone of their choice, and since I was interested in working with Mark I asked him if he wanted to participate.

For that show we organized an exhibition within the exhibition using Mark's Collapsible Kunsthalle: a wandering Art Space that he created and holds solo and group shows in(www.markstaffbrandl.com/collapsible_kunsthalle/collapsible_kunsthalle_3.html). So I guess you could say that I invited Mark to show his portable Art Space in which he invited me to join him by making an installation for it. I certainly would be interested in other forms of collaboration.

Encircled - 2003 - acrylic and paper, each ball Ø10 cm. / 4 inches

BS: Steve, my understanding is that you were born in the United States and that you eventually moved to Switzerland with your family. Would you say that your travels have influenced your art? Did you experience a clash of cultures, so to speak?

SL: My family moved to Switzerland when I was eight, it was definitively a clash of culture and ended up being something that I was pretty unhappy with as a teenager.

I'm sure it influenced my work. When I went to the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 70's for instance, a canvas that would have been considered big by many Swiss artists was pretty much the same size as what was seen as small by my fellow students. Although that wasn't really a surprise in itself, the American tradition for large scaled works was well known, I found it interesting that in most cases it seemed that it was not a conscious decision, artists on both continents where mostly making art the size that “felt right” for wherever they were. How our sense of space is modified by a culture and the environment that goes with it has always intrigued me and is something I have often work with.

However, the San Francisco bay area had (still has?) a tradition for figurative work so it wasn't like I was suddenly confronted with something that was new to me. My mom is a printmaker, she studied art at Cooper Union in the mid 50's and is still very active in her work, so it can be said that my mother culture in art is also American.

It was actually in the first art school I attended for 1½ years in Geneva before going to SFAI that I experienced the most clash. My attitude, ideas and expectations didn't go over well with the teachers and it seems that the only reason I didn't flunk the first year was because I was American and what could you expect...

In the long run however, I think that simply living and adapting to Switzerland, learning to speak French and all, is really the part of it that influenced my work the most since it helped me understand just how much of what we perceive is defined by the culture(s) we belong to.

We watch, absolved in our narcissistic ways as Willie Pete consumes them. The children die, the wise man dreams. - 2005 - acrylic, ink and paper on linen - 180x120 cm. / 71X47 inches

BS: In several of your works I’ve seen references to aspects of contemporary warfare. For example, images of tanks and bombs. Is your work political in that regard?

SL: In that regards yes, but although it is political, politics isn't always its main purpose so it's kind of hard to explain in a general way. As a child I was always sensitive to the opposition between the enjoyment of playing make believe war and the knowledge of what war actually is. That concern remains facing the primal attraction a weapon can have and opposing that impression to the destructive object it is; this to me brings forth a curious state of emotional ambivalence all the more since we mostly can live with it and not be bothered more than that.

So in some of those works there is the desire to use these images of war machines in a way that hopes to portray those contradictory emotions. It is a fact however that some of my works do strive to denounce specific armaments in a more direct way if only by reminding us of their existence.
Landmine Wallpaper Motif (Where have all the flowers gone?) – 2006 - acrylic and interference pigments on linen – 110x70cm. / 43¼ x 27½ inches

BS: Can you tell us more about the thoughts behind your art? The themes that you deal with and so on?

SL: Well for years my work was mostly abstract, but beginning around 10 years ago, I found it growingly difficult to receive the daily media brought dose of the conflict we humans seemingly thrive on - the way we mistreat the small and finite planet we live on - the amount of viruses just waiting to pounce on us and so forth, and not be expressing anything about it in my art work. So I took a deep breath and began to look for ways to open my work to those concerns.

Although desired this wasn't something that just happened overnight, it took a few years to go from head to hand. One of the first “clues” I remember finding was in a small paper installation titled “Encircled” in which a group of paper balls I had made where placed on the floor in a circle surrounding other paper balls that where place haphazardly. The balls where coated with the discreet colors you get with interference pigments, a fact that could have been used - one color surrounding another for instance - but purposely wasn't. Multicolored balls encircle multicolored balls, both visual and part of an imaginable story.

Later that year (2003) I was considering the numerous man – women “toilet door” figures that were appearing at that time in many art works. Despite and yet perhaps because of the fact that I found them cheesy, it occurred to me that these and other generic symbols might also be useful for what I had in mind, a means for the narrative. It was a surprise just how interesting these turned out to be even if they were somewhat limited, so I continued looking in that direction and ended up focusing on emoticons (smileys).

Because these grins, frowns and winks are used to make sure the reader understands the emotion behind our hastily written words in order to help avoid misunderstandings, they seemed perfectly suited to be separated from their texts and tell a few stories of their own.

Still, trial, error and letting whatever elements enter the dialogue remains the basis of my work because I rarely have a clear image in my mind to work from, it's only when I can put what I'm working with out in front of me that it gets a chance to make sense. Mostly my ideas begin by seeming impossible to work with, I tend to get caught up in an intricate maze of what I know, all I don't know, the whys and the hows.

But some themes were obvious ones: portraying weaponry that can not be excusable for whatever reason like white phosphorus and fragmentation bombs. Terrorism and global warming have been unavoidable themes as well as the various plagues which I hear a lot about when I visit my father, a retired World Health Organization Senior Scientist, and currently a historian of public health. Nothing extreme if I dare put it that way, just our daily background noise with its multiplicity of emotional content.
Enhanced Mutant Maggot Wallpaper Motif with LOL Initialism (Maggots Love Global Warming) – 2008 - acrylic, paper on linen, 120x85 cm / 47¼ x33½ inches.

BS: So what are the direct social implications of your art? For example, is there a specific message that you strive to convey to viewers concerning issues that trouble you?

SL: Well, it would be nice if my babbling was somehow part of a chain of thought that gives the masses something to think about but I doubt it and in fact don't believe art to be a good weapon for activists. If your goal is communicating specific messages there are many other ways, most of them better.

Still, like everything else that happens on earth, troubling issues slowly become part of our collective memory and in that sense it's important that they be portrayed by artists. I see it as being part of our society's digestive system. How would we consider both the past and the present if we didn't have generations of art works that transmit visual sensations and emotions beyond the known historical facts?

BS: Tell us about your process. Perhaps you can discuss some of your current work and the process involved in creating those specific works?

SL: Most of my ideas come from the working at it and not the thinking about it. As I said, I need to stick things out in front of me and move them around until something clicks somehow, so I draw things I'm thinking of on leftover bits of paper, or on the computer to be printed, and leave them scattered around, visible to be picked up; a way to see what associations are raised when they are randomly placing side by side. I also have many stencils that I've made that can also be added to the mix.

I use repetition a lot, initially with the smileys it was a way to create the idea of a crowd or group of people while avoiding the need for explicitness. Later, like in the works that have land mine silhouettes for instance: Landmine Wallpaper Motif (Where have all the flowers gone?)(2006), I covered the canvas with them to make a wallpaper like pattern because the idea of wallpaper made me think of how its graphic presence, when new, fades into the background over time, simply because it becomes so much part of the room that we don't see it unless we look at it. By being metaphoric instead of descriptive, it suits how I want these works to feel which to me is perhaps even more important than how they look. Other works have elements place on top of, or behind the “wallpaper” layer like: Enhanced Mutant Maggot Wallpaper Motif with LOL Initialism (Maggots Love Global Warming) (2008).

There is also a lot of “let's see what happens” in what I do. “Mass Grave Soul Party” (2006) began with the decision to silkscreen a smiley repeatedly along a line on the bottom of the canvass until a whole area was entirely covered, in this case in black. At the time I was looking for convenient ways to cover the canvass with smileys and other images. Silkscreen worked, but getting the printed smileys to dry fast enough to be able to print over them before the paint in the screen dried up was a real pain. I ended up having to work in small sessions for two or three months just to cover that small area, but the resulting black is physically filled with the smiley motif in a way that made the whole process worth it. These days, if the image permits it I mostly use stencils for that kind of layering.

The “Lost Souls” series, an undefined number of paintings that I am working on now, are made like that with a multitude of human silhouettes. The idea came watching flocking birds in the evening sky and I wondered how much of their fantastic group movement could be transcribed to a painting.

The red oxide, white or/and black color combination found in all of my recent work came about when I started using linen again after a few years of just working with paper, at first three dimensionally and then flat. Process-wise, the flat paper works are better described as paper “sandwiches” than collages and the process used to make them involves a flat plastic surface on which it all can be glued together, left to dry and pealed off. At one point this surface was a funny orange red color which was visible through the thinner parts of the paper while I was working which was cool. I used a similar color as a base on the paintings and decided then and there that it was all I needed.

When the work contains paper its color adds to that palette of course and to complete the mix, most of my works regardless of medium, contain interference pigments one way or another. These have been with me since they appeared on the market in the early 80's and I have yet to find a good enough reason to stop using them.

Mass Grave Soul Party – 2006- silkscreen and acrylic on linen – 155x101 cm. / 61x39¾ inches

BS: Steve, I noticed on your website that you list what could be considered stages of your artistic exploration. For example, from 1977 until 1999 you primarily created oil paintings, from 1990 to 1999 you created shaped wood abstract painted constructions, 1998 to 2005 you focused on installations, and from 2004 to present you have focused on works on paper and mixed media paintings. Do you view your work in stages, so to speak?

SL: No, not at all. It was just that the way my work evolved can be a bit confusing to explain, presenting it that way helps to make that clearer. Basically I worked on shaped relief oil paintings for quite a while until the way certain aspects of the early works were reacting over time forced me to reconsider my whole work process, a moment of forced change that also made me give acrylics a try.

It was a surprise to find how much acrylics had a different language than oils and a direct outcome of that was that they inspired me to paint directly on the wooden structures that I had been building to stretch the canvass on. It also showed me just how stupid I had been up to then by having many of the preconceived notions that oil painters can have when facing acrylics. I decided to be more open to other mediums after that.

The painted wood structures pointed directly towards sculpture, which with hindsight seems to have slowly removed the need for color in the wall works that I continued to work on. I've always liked the fact that a shaped object on a wall has nothing attaching it to the space around it, a relief from sculpture's plight with gravity. It suddenly became obvious that objects had to be hung in space and I was fortunate at that time to have a group show that gave me the opportunity to experiment a first idea in that direction. (Slice of Air, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Neuchâtel, CH. 1998). So because of its light weight, paper became something to work with, not on, and inspired a whole series of both flat and sculptural works as well as some installations. So one thing just lead to another and a lot of it happened simultaneously.

BS: It often seems that we are told that artists should focus on one form of expression-- that branching out to other mediums instead of having a focus can become an obstacle. In your opinion, why is it important for an artist to branch out and explore several mediums?

SL: Although I can see what your getting at, I'm not convinced that artists are really told to focus on just one form of expression. Painters usually draw, which is a whole world in itself, and are often involved in printmaking one way or another, and these days who doesn't play around with video and everything digital technology offers, even if it's only for the yearly Christmas card. So in fact it would be an artist who really works in only one medium that would be weird.

That said, it's also a fact that certain medium mixes seem more “acceptable”, most artists work with one form of printmaking or another and no one ever views it as a lack of focus but painters who make sculptures and vice-versa can still meet with some foolish “not a serious this or that” negative remarks. Fortunately contemporary art has helped make working with many medias a lot more acceptable.

Exploring different mediums can be stimulating and often makes you see your work from a different perspective, get a new eye, plus it can a lot of fun. If you only work within your comfort zone, you greatly reduce your chances of stumbling on something that will help you move beyond it. But that doesn't necessarily mean working with another medium so whether it's important or not depends on the person. It is obviously going to take up your precious time so there has to be a certain amount of desire, need or curiosity to begin with.

In any case, I was taught that much of being focused involved mastering the medium; because only then could you express yourself clearly. But in my opinion focus is also learning to recognize and take advantage of the specificity of your abilities.

BS: Speaking of the internet, you are involved with a few art forums and sites, correct? What are your thoughts on the internet and how it can be utilized to gain exposure for artists and inform artists?

SL: No, I wanted to give it a try but writing actively turned out to be far too time consuming for me. The web has obviously helped art's globalization, it makes it possible to know what's going on pretty much everywhere, as a result there is the fact that any successful trend is immediately recuperated. Today's art is tomorrow's commercials and vice-versa.

Of course it is useful, if only to give easy access to images of your work and of course it can help artists gain recognition since it has already created a few stars. But blind luck aside (I was once contacted by a gallery owner, the poor guy was suffering insomnia and stumbled on my website at 3am), I suspect more often then not it is complementary of the exposure artist are already receiving in the “real world”. There are simply too many artists everywhere trying to get there work seen.

Unfortunately the web can also be to the artist's detriment too. Even having your own website is not an obvious choice-- it means that if you aren't getting shows it will be blatant and people will be judging you by what they see there. Keep in mind that not all that many successful artists have them...

I do follow a few art sites, Sharkforum (www.sharkforum.org) for instance which I like because of the diversity of the content, (poetry, music, art, etc) and because of their critical attitude towards the art world which we need more of.

White Human Silhouettes (Lost Souls? #1) – 2008 - acrylic on linen – 180x120 cm. / 71x47 inches

BS: Is there any specific concerns that you have about the art world at this time?

SL: The art world and the art market now seem the same thing, a system that functions with a market's logic, with the value of an art work based on its desirability and perceived importance. Both are contiguous to your perception of them and as such are factors that are malleable. I've never been that interested in this white-collar way of looking at art so “concern” is probably too big a word here. However I do think there should be more critical debate about this state of affairs.

It used to be that the market would become interested in an artist after they had received acclaim by their peers; nowadays it is the art market itself that does the filtering. This does not necessarily mean it makes bad choices, but it does show that the dynamics within it have drastically changed. Everyone is a business man!

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

SL: These days it's all in the titles...

You can learn more about Steve Litsios by visiting his website-- http://steve.litsios.org/. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page--www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
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Brian Alfred solo exhibit at Studio La Citta

Golden Hour – 2009, acrylic on linen, 40,6x50,8 cm. By Brian Alfred

Feature myartspace.com artist Brian Alfred was interviewed by myartspace.com in 2007. Currently, Brian Alfred is involved with an upcoming solo exhibit at Studio La Citta in Verona, Italy. The exhibit, titled Majic Window, will involve paintings, collages, an animation, and Custom View Masters. The exhibit will explore optical phenomena and the sublime landscape. Brian Alfred’s solo exhibit at Studio La Citta opens on March 28th.

Brian Alfred received his Masters of Fine Arts from Yale University in 1999. Since that time he has enjoyed solo exhibitions at the Mary Boone Gallery, Max Protetch Gallery, Sandroni Rey Gallery, SCAI the Bathhouse, and Haunch of Venison. Alfred's work has garnered many awards including a Joan Mitchell Foundation Award and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. His work is represented in many important collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among other prestigious collections.

According to Studio La Citta, Brian Alfred is known for working fluidly between painting, collages, digital drawing and animation. He has worked extensively collaborating with electronic musicians creating and designing catalogs for which these musicians created songs in relation to the artist's work. His animations have been shown in film festivals internationally. The collages are made from Color Aid paper cut with an X-acto blade. The artist works with collage paper to create "paper drawings". These collages are made in a similar fashion to the computer drawings and paintings. The small scale and tactile nature of the collaged paper give them a more intimate feel.

Brian Alfred will also have a solo exhibit at Haunch of Venison in New York this fall.

Brian Alfred’s gallery on www.myartspace.com.

Links of Interest:
www.paintchanger.com
www.studiolacitta.it/English/
www.myartspace.com/brianalfred
www.haunchofvenison.com

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Brian Sherwin
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Sonya Sklaroff Solo Exhibition at David Findlay Galleries

Cafe, oil on panel, 48x36. By Sonya Sklaroff

Sonya Sklaroff, interviewed by myartspace.com in 2007, will be having a solo exhibition at David Findlay Galleries in New York City. The exhibit, titled City Thoughts, will involve recent paintings by Sklaroff.

Sonya Sklaroff is inspired by the urban landscape. From her studio in SoHo she captures the energy and character of New York City. Her paintings frequently include water towers, fire escapes, street lamps, and other seemingly mundane elements of the NYC infrastructure. However, these structures are just one aspect of her paintings-- at the core of her work is a strong interest in abstraction. Sonya challenges herself with different methods of composition, contrasting elements of light and dark, complementary colors, and negative space.

“David Findlay Galleries has long been associated with fine painting. The gallery was founded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1870 by William Wadsworth Findlay as The Findlay Art Company. Since 1938 the business has been known as the David Findlay Galleries and located in New York City. Michael N. Findlay, the fifth generation in the family art business, is the president and owner.” -- www.davidfindlaygalleries.com

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Zeng Fanzhi’s first United States solo exhibition at Acquavella Galleries

undefined painting by Zeng Fanzhi

Chinese contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi will be involved with his first solo exhibition in the United States next month. The solo exhibit will feature Fanzhi’s recent portraits and landscapes-- this will be the first time that the works will be shown publicly. Zeng Fanzhi is one of the most celebrated Chinese contemporary artists. His work has sold for over $9 million at auction. His paintings explore social convention and personal identity.

According to Acquavella Galleries, “Zeng Fanzhi was born in 1964, and came of age during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. He studied at the Hubei Academy of Fine Arts in his province, where he was deeply influenced by Expressionism. From his graduate work on, Fanzhi’s painting have reflected these cultural and critical touchstones…”. Fanzhi has exhibited widely. He has had exhibits at the National Art Museum (Beijing), Santa Monica Art Centre (Barcelona), and Art Centre (Hong Kong).

Zeng Fanzhi’s solo exhibition at Acquavella Galleries will open on April 2nd and will run until May 15th, 2009. The exhibit will involve approximately 20 oil on canvas paintings. A Q&A session with Zeng Fanzhi has been scheduled. Visit www.acquavellagalleries.com for more information.

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Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s ‘Thousand’ at David Zwirner Gallery

Philip-Lorca DiCorcia’s Untitled, 980, from Thousand, via David Zwirner.

David Zwirner Gallery is presenting its first solo show of NYC based artist Philip-Lorca DiCorcia. The exhibit involves 1,000 Polaroids shot by the contemporary photographer over the span of almost three decades. The exhibit reveals DiCorcia’s cinematic approach to photography-- a balance between documentary and staged photography. On a philosophical level on could say that DiCorcia’s Polaroids focus on the juxtaposition of fact and fiction. Upon viewing the photographs one can easily establish their own narrative for what the images are communicating. Thus, the exhibit welcomes imagination as viewers take the role of participant. The solo exhibit is titled Thousand and will be open until March 28th, 2009.

Links of Interest:
Exhibition Page [David Zwirner Gallery]
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia at David Zwirner [Primeira Avenida]

Zwirner + DiCorcia [Horses Think]

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

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Piero Manzoni Retrospective at Gagosian Gallery

‘Merda d’Artista’ by Piero Manzoni

Andres Serrano declared himself the champion of fecal art in 2008. However, his play on human excrement is not very groundbreaking when you consider the 90 cans of ‘Merda di’Artista’ by Piero Manzoni. Manzoni ‘produced’ the contents of the cans in 1961. Manzoni priced the cans based on the weight of gold. The artist died a few years later-- a few months short of 30 years of age. Since that time the individual cans have sold for as much as $80,000. The Gagosian Gallery is currently holding the first major United States retrospective of Manzoni’s work. While Manzoni is best known for his canned feces the retrospective shows that there was more to Manzoni than 90 cans crap.

The exhibit at Gagosian ranks Manzoni as one of the first major artist critics of the art world-- art world criticism via means of creation. His radical brand of conceptualism took jabs at the art dealers and collectors who supported him. At heart Piero Manzoni was a critic of the commercialization of the art world-- one could say that he loathed it. The irony being that art collectors still pay larges sums of money for his visual criticism today.

Links of Interest:
Manzoni: A Retrospective [Gagosian]
Piero Manzoni: A Retrospective [Time Out NY]
To Bump Off Art as He Knew It [NY Times]
Italian Conceptualist Piero Manzoni: More Than the Guy Who Canned HisCaca [Village Voice]

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Brian Sherwin
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Art Space Talk Quotes #5

Here is another group of artist quotes taken from the Art Space Talk series of interviews. This group of quotes deals with aspects of the economy, politics, or culture. You can read the Art Space Talk series of interviews by visiting, www.myartspace.com/interviews. Enjoy.

Concerning the economy, politics, and culture:

“Which comes first, art or politics? I think art becomes the reflection and the record of time…but life is politics, and usually art imitates life, except occasionally when life imitates art.” -- Wafaa Bilal

“The thing is life is full of contradictions, it keeps things interesting, certain people try to live out their lives through products and brands, it's excepted in our society that shopping is a 'hobby' and wearing brands depicts your of a certain 'stature' or 'class'. What I noticed recently with the down turn in the economy is that people are still going to the shops, it's as if their lives have become programmed to do that, no matter whether they have money or not.” -- D*Face

“I use the Financial Times newspaper stock listings as I think of the stock market as a global dream-world that literally flows through all of us. This for me is a contemporary form of landscape…” -- Gordon Cheung

“I feel that everyone views the world through the lens of there past experiences. That being said I've lived a life that has been full of exchanges like the ones you see in my work. I see today’s world as a place where everyone has reverted back to their state of nature doing whatever it takes to get theirs. I think that this perspective resonates with people today in our current economic and political times.“ -- Cleon Peterson

“I'm really not sure that art can spur change, at least in America. Art isn't mainstream enough in the whole country. It is largely the playground for the rich; it is still fundamentally elitist, despite the increase of museum attendance.” -- Susan Crile

“Popular culture isn’t a myth, it is culture, it is spirituality, it is our heritage. The beauty of media is its ability to expose freedom of speech, or the lack of it.” -- Anthony Lister

“I believe that it is important for the artist, painter, poet, dancer, etc. to keep in mind that it is the art that drives the art world and not the other way around. Artists and other people of intelligence have the power to bring deeper content to our culture.” -- Thornton Willis

“There is lots of Porn or politics in my art...because there is lots of porn and politics in our lives. Sometimes people get pissed, but that is even better because it proves that your work is making people feel. At least they feel it!" -- Miky Fabrega

Feel free to comment about any of the quotes listed above. Can you relate to their words? Do you take a different position? You can read the Art Space Talk series of interviews by visiting, www.myartspace.com/interviews. Enjoy.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
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Myartspace.com London Calling update: Early registration deadline is March 31st

www.myartspace.com London Calling update: Early registration deadline is March 31st

Myartspace.com is sponsoring a competition juried by a world class panel from The Tate Modern, The Hayward Gallery, and the Barbican Gallery all in London. Fifty finalists will be selected and three winners will have their work represented at the Scream London in June 2009. Seventeen artists will be represented digitally at the exhibit as well.

The early registration fee for London Calling is $25. After March 31st the registration fee will be raised to $50. Once registered for the competition the artist will need to submit a myartspace.com gallery containing up to 20 images for jury consideration. In other words, for $25 the jury will view up to 20 images. The final deadline to register for the competition is May 15th. May 15th is also the final day for those registered to submit a gallery for jury consideration.
Located in the heart of the West London art district, Scream London is just a moment away from Sotheby's, Cork St and the Royal Academy, and rubs shoulders with some of London's most established art galleries in the traditional hub of the capital's art market. Scream is run by Tyrone Wood as curator. Scream is focused on contemporary art and has quickly developed a reputation as being an innovative gallery.

Scream London has exhibited works by Robert Indiana, Matty Small, Ingrid Baars, Rene Ricard, David Montgomery, among other artists. Notable guests and patrons have included Tracey Emin, Claire Danes, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Beverly Knight, Meg Mathews, and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones.

The jurors for myartspace.com London Calling:

Vanessa DesClaux Assistant Curator of Performance, The Tate Modern, London. Vanessa DesClaux is currently assistant curator of performance at Tate Modern, recent projects include Actions and Interruptions and USB Openings: Saturday Live. Vanessa has recently collaborated with artist Benoit Maire, to produce an artist book which will be published by Revolver Books this summer. Vanessa contributes to a variety of magazines and art publications, including Untitled, Art-News, Contemporary and Art_Press. The Tate Modern in London is Britain's national museum of international modern art and is, with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online[2], part of the group now known simply as Tate.

Tom Morton Curator at the Hayward Gallery, London and contributing editor at Frieze. Tom Morton is a curator at the Hayward Gallery and contributing editor at Frieze. The Hayward is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall/Purcell Room) and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute. Prior to a rebranding of the South Bank Centre to Southbank Centre in early 2007, the Hayward was known as the Hayward Gallery.

Francesco Manacorda Curator, the Barbican Art Gallery, London. Rancesco Manacorda is Curator at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. Born in 1974 in Turin, Italy, Manacorda undertook a Degree in Humanities at the University of Torino and completed a MA in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art, London in 2003. He is an experienced art writer, publishing extensive articles and reviews in publications such as Domus, Flash Art Italia and Flash Art International, Frieze, Metropolis M and Art Review.

Info about myartspace.com:

myartspace.com is a social art site for the art world. With over 50,000 members, and more than two years of history, myartspace has been a key force in the art industry at availing opportunity for its rapidly growing community. Membership to www.myartspace.com is free, and members can upload an unlimited amount of artwork, music, video and audio narration.

Myartspace galleries can be embedded on other websites-- one goal of the site is to provide tools that artists can utilize in order to promote themselves online. Members can also utilize the New York Art Exchange (NYAXE) -- www.nyaxe.com, an eCommerce platform for buying and selling art online. New features are regularly implemented as the community continues to grow at an alarming rate.

Again, the early registration deadline for London Calling Competition is March 31. If you are a myartspace.com member and desire to enter the competition please visit, www.myartspace.com/londoncalling/register

For more information about Scream London visit, www.screamlondon.co.uk

For more information about the myartspace.com London Calling competition visit, www.myartspace.com/londoncalling

Art Space Talk: D*Face

D*Face (Dean Stockton) is a London-based street artist who has received international acclaim for his outdoor and indoor art. One could say that D*Face uses London as his own personal gallery and the world as his personal art museum by utilizing spray paint, stickers, posters, stencils and aspects of sculpting in order to spread his visual message directly to the public.

D*Face held his first major London solo exhibition, titled Death & Glory, at the Stolenspace gallery in October 2006-- it was a sold out exhibit that placed D on the radar of the mainstream art world.

Cli Che by D*Face

Brian Sherwin: D*Face, In the past you found yourself in a cell-- a work desk to be exact. My understanding is that at the time you doodled in order to express your individuality. In time the doodles became drawings on various materials. Eventually you created stickers, posters-- your art became something more than just a way to escape your day job. It turned into a message that defines you-- a voice.

Today your day job of old is just a memory. Can you reflect on those early years? What motivated you to take the leap, so to speak? What inspired you to cut your own path in life? Also, is it true that your mother spurred your first interest in street art?

D*Face: The origins of my work were purely self indulgent; a means of escape from the daily grind. Don't get me wrong I had a good job in a creative agency that I'd studied and worked hard to get, it just wasn't what I'd expected. It seems so often the case is that the journey to a place or a point in time is more enjoyable than the actual place when you reach it and I think that summarizes my path from what some would call 'education' to employment.

Those days were really naive and exciting, there was no preconceptions, no such thing as 'Street Art' there was just a few like minded people putting work up, this is outside of the more traditional graffiti, as there was always tags and throw ups going up.

Guns are for Idiots by D*Face

It's was a pretty gradual process, first doodling away in any spare moment I had sat at my desk, then I thought if I replaced the paper (which I was throwing away most days) with adhesive vinyl I could make very basic hand drawn stickers to put up on my way home and on my travels across London, it became addictive and I was putting up more and more stickers and changing my routes to and from work, making all my journeys across London on foot, just to put more stickers up.

I was then spending every night drawing out stickers and I realised I had to figure out how to screen print... it was a very natural growth, built upon my own demand to put my work up, I wasn't even aware people were seeing these characters peering down at them from lamposts and walls, I didn't even care, I was putting them up for my own amusement, I was more interested in how long they lasted, how to make them last longer and how easy it seemed to link up routes across town.

I met up with fellow artist from around the world, The London Police, Shepard Fairey, Faile etc. and as I was spending every night in my loft printing stickers, painting posters, I'd go into work the next day and think what am I doing here, I could be so much more productive if I had the daytime hours and not just the graveyard shift, luckily I had a supportive girlfriend who encouraged me to quit my job to spend more time producing my own work.

Looking back on it now it all came about really naturally and in truth naively, I learnt as I went along, taught myself techniques and methods to produce my work, I've always had a DIY mentality which I get from my father, as a child growing up we didn't have much money so my dad encouraged us to make things and this mentality continued as I grew up and my interests developed into skateboarding and punk music, both of which were born from a DIY ethic, I'd build my own ramps, paint and shape my own skateboards and I guess that mentality has never really left me, I'm very much about being self sufficient.

My mum brought me the book 'Subway art' and that spurred my interest in graffiti, but that was way, way before any of my own activities and the term 'Street Art' was coined, so I'm not sure she could be held accountable for that really, I think skateboarding has more to do with it, but then again she did buy me my first skateboard!

United States of America by D*Face

BS: Tell us more about your thoughts on consumerism and popular culture-- and how your work offers, or at least explores, an alternative. For example, would you say that most people live in contradiction-- in the sense that they strive to be individuals while embracing every message that flashes on the TV screen?

D: The thing is life is full of contradictions, it keeps things interesting, certain people try to live out their lives through products and brands, it's excepted in our society that shopping is a 'hobby' and wearing brands depicts your of a certain 'stature' or 'class'. What I noticed recently with the down turn in the economy is that people are still going to the shops, it's as if their lives have become programmed to do that, no matter whether they have money or not.

I was at a shopping center recently and it was strange, people were walking round the shops but like zombies or vultures circling a giant rotting corpse looking for a 'bargain'. It was surreal, but at the same time really interesting, the backdrop of most shops 'Sale' or 'Closing down' signs covering the windows, made it feel like a film set or art installation.

I really don't want to come across like I'm preaching, because I wear Nike, I drink Coke, but if there's an alternative it should be considered.

My work has always been about a subversive intermission from the media saturated environment that surrounds us, I always saw the characters I was putting up as a break to to the advertising bombardment, it was also my escape from this world, I was surrounded by it, not just in the public domain, but at the time the marketing mumbo jumbo speak that I'd hear at work... it made me really cynical, I guess seeing and hearing it with my own eyes and ears made me want to spread the rot from the inside out.

You know, I've never said 'don't buy this brand or wear that label' what I've wanted to do is get people to consider an alternative or look at the brands that surround us with different eyes. The billboard liberation's I've created are my most direct way of instigating this.

I need a Riot by D*Face

BS: With that in mind, would you say there is hidden riot going on within our collective conscience-- a need to break away from spokespeople and the daily news? Is our society boiling just under the surface as far as you are concerned? If so, what do you think keeps it from boiling over?

D: I often wonder and I probably shouldn't, but I'm intrigued in how a shared opinion or belief becomes a protest and a protest becomes a riot. What the triggers are. I think CCTV has a HUGE part in the control of our society, you could look further and say that television and media reports are also controlling, the information that we're fed and how that's translated and digested.

I think recently there's been situations that could have been one or two steps away from a riot. People cuing up to get their savings out of Northern Rock, if the government hadn't stepped in to secure peoples savings... who knows. Anyway it's all got a bit heavy!

BS: Tell us more about the thoughts behind your work. In your own words, what is the message that you strive to convey to viewers?

D: I don't want to talk too much about it, I prefer the viewer to work it out or not. But behind every piece is a back story that might not be immediately obvious, there's an underlying current, tone or message that I try to convey to the viewer.
Pop Tart by D*Face

BS: Can you go into further detail about some of your influences? For example, I understand that Shepard Fairey's Obey Giant campaign has been a major influence for you. What about other influences?

D: Shepard and his Obey Giant campaign was an early influence, I wouldn't say a major influence, but I admired his methods, determination and mentality, when I met up with him for the first time in 1999, it cemented what I was already doing.

In terms of influence I'd say Jim Philips, Vernon Courtland Johnson and John Pound were unknowingly my biggest influences, the illustrations I'd see in Thrasher Magazine, on the boards I was skating and also on the records I was listening to.

BS: One interesting aspect of your work is that you did not necessarily desire to receive recognition for your art. In other words, you created your art and utilized public spaces due to passion and the need to express yourself-- the thought of financial success and fame did to cross your mind.

Furthermore, you never set out to create a trademark image of your work or 'brand'. Thus, the success you have had with galleries and companies is more of a by-product than anything else. That said, did you have any hesitations about exhibiting in galleries or working with companies?

D: The actual creation and act of putting my work up was purely a creative escape and release, a selfish act really, putting work up in the street was a by-product of my interests in graffiti and skateboarding as a kid... I was content with putting the work up and meeting like minds, I hadn't ever imagined or even considered exhibiting work in galleries, you have to remember that there was no such thing as Street Art when I started and only a handful of people doing anything what is now termed Street Art, so when the interest picked up to the point where I was offered shows, print releases, opportunities to work with brands, I was really surprised and flattered.

Obviously I was hesitant as I wasn't sure that something I'd been doing for my own self amusement should be used in this way, but it made me realise that there was a possible way out from the daily grind and maybe, just maybe I could live as an artist. I wake up everyday looking forward to getting into my studio and thank God that I get to do this... Obviously along the way I've learnt by mistakes as well!!

Skeleton Key by D*Face

BS: So today are you concerned that people would accuse you of commercializing street art or that somehow your work with galleries and companies would conflict with your message? I've interviewed a few street artists and there seems to be an underlining concern that they will inadvertently become the very thing they have opposed-- and that their message will be lost. Is that a concern that you have?

D: Nope. If you feel strongly and do what you do with passion, integrity and love why would you become the very thing you despise? So long as you keep evolving and developing then so will your work. I think my earlier messages are stronger now than ever, what with the economic down turn and mistrust in what our consumer led society has brought us... but as that becomes more apparent and my work continues to develop I feel there's less reason for me to make those points so vocal.

BS: As you have pointed out with your work society is saturated with media hype and consumerism-- it is not hard, even in a small town, to see an ad anywhere that you look. However, one could say that the streets are also saturated by street art-- saturated with regurgitated messages that focus on anti-consumerism and anti-media messages. It is not hard to find works that play a little too close to work that has been created by you and others, so to speak-- as in some artists are relying a bit too much on your work in order to create their own message.

What are your thoughts on street artists who take your imagery in order to make it their own-- while not really offering anything new to the visual dialogue that can be found on the streets? Would you say that some people are going about it the wrong way? Are there any rules? Is it an issue of respect? Furthermore, would you say that some street artists are mere opportunists-- in that they know the market for said work is hot?

D: For sure, but thats just the case with any movement or subculture that starts picking up momentum and interest. I've personally seen allot of people suddenly become 'Street Artist', the last 2 years have seen a massive influx and there's been many 'artists' that are looking at already established artists for inspiration, obviously when it appears that money can be made, motivations change and thats when you start to see a million Banksys or other 'inspired' works. Personally I don't pay attention to it, I'm doing me, I'm always developing what I do and moving it forward, I switch off to the next internet hero.

To inspire someone to go out and 'create' and even better claim public space for their work is more than I ever imagined of my work, so long as those people keep developing what they're doing then thats cool with me. Besides it keeps things fresh and moving and there's been some really good artist that have surfaced in the past 2 years. It's funny to think now that 'Street Art' is being studied at Colleges and Universities.

Stay Up by D*Face

BS: Lets get back to the work-- you utilize a variety of mediums within the context of your work-- everything from computer programs to spray paint. That said, do you have a preferred medium? Would you say that it is important for an artist to try as many mediums as possible?

D: I always enjoy screen printing, I love the process and imperfections, I also love painting with enamel paints, you can get such a good quality of line, they're pretty much a constant in my work. It's really important to me to keep developing, trying and learning new methods or rediscovering old techniques, each yields new ideas and results and if you don't try you never know.

BS: What about your process in general? Can you discuss how an image comes into being? For example, do you create preliminary sketches or do you work intuitively directly upon the surface? Is there a difference between creating work on the street and creating work in a studio? Or do the two mesh together?

D: My work generally follows the same pattern of development... everything springs from a thought, these can be triggered from various places, just living in London, watching the TV, reading books, the birth of my little daughter... everywhere and everything... these ideas I write down in a little black book or as a note in my phone, I'd then doodle these ideas out, at least the ones that stick, then draw them up to a more finalised visual, these are then traced out and painted out or scanned and turned into a screen for printing. If I'm working on a show, then I'd see what ideas sit together and develop them, but the truth is I still see every idea as a street piece, or at least how it could be executed in the street. I guess that still sticks with me!

Dead Head- Winston Churchill by D*Face

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the goals that you have?

D: The greatest goal is to be able to live as an artist and love what you do everyday, both my parents hated their jobs and as a child I guess that must have left a great impression, not to get trapped like that wishing your life away. I'm lucky enough to have found a way out the rat race and live life loving what I do.

You can learn more about D*Face by visiting his website-- www.dface.co.uk. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
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Join the myartspace.com Community Forum

www.myartspace.com/forum

Myartspace.com now has a community forum. The purpose of the community forum is to foster debate among members of the myartspace.com community. It is also a useful place to share art advice and feedback. Feel free to discuss controversial artists, exhibits, aspects of the art market, or anything else art-related.

If you have an art blog be sure to introduce forum visitors to it by starting a thread about it on the Art Blog forum. There are also forums for Art History, Art and Politics, Art School Reviews, Selling and Buying Art Online-- among others.

Recent topics include:

Controversial art exhibits that stir violence and outrage-- who is responsible?

What Adhesives to Use for Making Recycled Indoor/Outdoor Sculptures?

Do Copyright Laws Restrict Creativity?

What is Art to the Artists?

There are also specific forums on the myartspace.com community forum for discussion about site features of www.myartspace.com and www.nyaxe.com, the eCommerce platform for myartspace.com. Feedback about the two sites is appreciated since we are always looking for ways to improve the sites.

As always, www.myartspace.com is free to join. Members can upload an unlimited number of images and create an unlimited number of Flash galleries in order to display their images on the site. Music, video, and audio narration can be attached to each gallery. The galleries can be embedded on other sites. Embedding your myartspace.com galleries on other sites can be a great way to gain exposure for your art online.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
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Art Space Talk: Laura Larson

Laura Larson is an artist from Chicago, Illinois. Her work encourages self–initiated discovery as an antidote to the media’s hypnotic propaganda. Larson achieves this by creating sculptural objects that are approachable-- that invite the viewer to investigate another level or levels of meaning.

She has stated, “Each object is worthy of examination, yet much more powerful when combined as a whole piece. Ultimately I want the viewer to feel uplifted about his or her own uniqueness, and at the same time more aware of our connections to each other.”

Larson has an extensive exhibition history-- including solo exhibits at Kristi Engle Gallery, HAUS Gallery, and the Riverside Art Museum. She studied art at Carthage College and UCLA.

Laura Larson -- Tableaux for "The Clearing"

Brian Sherwin: Laura, tell us about your academic background. Did you study art formally? What about influential instructors that you have had?

Laura Larson: I graduated from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1973 with a B.A. in Fine Art and Speech Communications and Theatre Arts. I specialized in print making because we had a really good printmaker named Joe Rozman. Being that we were close to the Chicago area, the influences of the Chicago Imagists and the “Hairy Who,” were felt. This group which included Jim Nutt and Ed Paschke, was fiercely independent from New York/East Coast trends and felt that art should have motivation and content other than Camp and quotation. However, my attention was really split between Art and Theatre. Our theatre program was small but highly developed and participated in major regional competitions. Everyone did everything. I worked on props, costumes, painted backdrops and became a fairly decent character actor.

Moving to L.A. in 1978 I took a weekend “Doing by Doing” performance art class with Rachel Rosenthal, a highly acclaimed performance artist. I have taken other various classes through UCLA Extension over the years for printmaking, drawing and, a class in 3-D computer rendering called Form Z to better visual public art projects.
Laura Larson -- Baby Crone

BS: Tell us about the thoughts behind your art. Can you give our readers some insight into any specific themes that you explore?

LL: My work is generated by curiosity about the nature of our nature – our body, mind and spirit – as well as our relationship to the planet and the universe beyond. Yes, the big picture. But since no one can ever see the entire picture, I have spent time working on selected categories, one by one, from the interior to the exterior and back again in some apparent spiraling motion.

In the recent past I investigated the nature of beauty and self-esteem. I wondered just how important youth and beauty are in regard to a woman’s self worth. In my installation The Looking Glass Lounge I decided to re-examine the value of beauty and its affect on our self-esteem and to see if we, as women, carry the same issues as our female ancestors. Moving from the very interior notions of “the Lounge” I began to look outward and at the human figure itself. Another installation called Epidermis Emporium examines our ambivalent or dichotomous relationship with our bodies’ sacred (honored) and profane (misused) aspects – using the shape of the dress form as a stand in for the human body.

Now I am moving a bit further outward and am including the animal world in my purview. I visit the zoo regularly and wonder what will happen to all of these species in the coming years. Will we resolve the issue of global warming and its effects? Why did we come to this disconnect? Can we learn to cherish the earth and its inhabitants again? I ask these questions as I create my next project.
Laura Larson -- Lady Pink

BS: Is there a specific message you strive to convey to viewers concerning your art?

LL: When I was a young artist I read a book called “Seth” by Jane Roberts. The message that Seth set forth in the book was that we “create our own reality.” This became my mantra or message for my art, and I wanted to share it with everyone. Now I believe that each person must find their own way, belief system or structure to make sense of the world. So I try not to be didactic about messages. However, if there is a message I am striving to convey it is to care. I mean really care about one’s self, one’s fellow human beings, our fellow inhabitants on this planet and the planet itself.

BS: What can you tell us about your process in general? Give us some insight into how you work… as in turning an idea into reality, so to speak? Can you discuss some of the methods that you utilize?

LL: What I do is try to create an atmosphere for exploration of the subject matter. My work is definitely content oriented but is presentational in nature so that any conclusions should come from the viewer’s own perspective. My intention in the execution of the work is to make it approachable, and then to invite the viewer to consider another level or levels of meaning. Humor is important in my work as the means of approach.

Here’s what happened with my newest project, “Nearly Beloved.” I read somewhere that plant and animal species were becoming extinct at a rate of 40 per day. I was shocked and I wanted to learn more and then to shine a light on the animal world. Then I became motivated to go to the zoo, draw animals, ask questions, write a lot in my notebooks. I seem to need to set my art works within some framework. So in this case I decided it should be an atelier where these artifacts are collected by a time keeper.

The concept is everything in my work. It all revolves around the concept. For “Nearly Beloved” I am examining the dichotomy of wild/domestic, control/chaos, male/female energies which translate into painting/embroidery, real/fabricated materials. Then I draw and dream and generally I see the piece before I make the piece. Generally I have many images in my head and am working on 3 or 4 at a time. I also like to think up things that would be challenging to make and then figure out how to do it.

The process also ties into my personal domestic life. I walk in the hills and pick up sticks, branches, burrs, seeds – mother nature’s cast offs. I take them home and combine them with domestic materials such as fabric and embroidery. A stick becomes a unicorn horn. A shelf holds a group of salt shakers, each one preserving (in salt) a dead bee I have collected from my balcony. An encounter with an ostrich at the zoo becomes a portrait revealing her sense of humor, encouraging the viewer to consider her domestication for food and the “Folies Bergere” nature of the feathers that frame her.

Laura Larson -- Ode to Joan x Millions

BS: What about influences? For example, are you influenced by any specific artists, world events, or art movements?

LL: Betty and Alison Saar (narrative and mythological), Terry Allen (poetic installations), Kiki Smith (body art and fairy tales), Orly Cogan (embroidered drawings about domestic issues), Nancy Jackson (delicate evocative sculptures), Kate Clark (hybrid animal/humans), Brancusi (master of the understated) and Bernini (master of animated baroque sculpture), The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, CA (wildly atmospheric and mysterious)

The feminist art movement of the 1970’s in which I was a member of Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party. Currently – the fire storms of Los Angeles and the plight of the changing earth and its inhabitants

Laura Larson -- Earth Form

BS: Where can your art be viewed at this time? Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

LL: The past decade was very busy for me with 7 public art projects and several solo shows. The last year or so I have been taking a breather and focusing on a completely new body of work. I am just now starting to look for appropriate venues. (When one does installations, there are a lot more things to consider for both the artist and the venue.)

BS: Do you have any concerns about the art world at this? There has been a lot of debate recently about copyright and the rights of artists. Do you have an opinion on issues such as that?

LL: I am concerned about artists’ rights. In Los Angeles Kent Twitchell’s amazing mural of Ed Ruscha (which he considered his masterpiece) was obliterated overnight by people who didn’t really understand what it was and didn’t care that it was supposed to be protected by copyright. What really concerns me about this is that the average person cares very little about art.

I think the reason is twofold. If the arts in general and visual arts in particular were thought to be an important component to a person’s well rounded education and introduced to people at an early age, then perhaps the average person wouldn’t be so intimidated by art and would care more about it. On the other hand the art world has become highly specialized and pretty elite. As a result visual art is not a necessary part of most people’s lives unless you consider TV art.

I am pleased to see that the economic stimulus package has reinstituted the original funding of $50 million to the National Endowment for the Arts. This is a good sign for arts organizations as well as artists. Perhaps there will be a surge to include more art and art programs into popular culture and for more artists to be recognized as contributors.

BS: What about the internet? One could say that the art world is starting to catch up-- more galleries are turning to the World Wide Web in order to further exposure for their artists. How do you think the internet will impact the art world in say… a decade? Can you see a meshing between the traditional market and alternative (online) markets taking shape?

LL: I think we all better get good at photoshop because I am guessing that there will be a lot more art seen on the internet in virtual galleries than in actual galleries. I think the internet is great. I love myartspace.com because I am being exposed to so many more artists from all over the world. It’s like a breath of fresh air. My only fear is that I will disappear one day into cyberspace.

Laura Larson -- Marie Antoinette

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the goals that you have?

LL: My goal is always to find that state of grace which allows me to be in contact with my muse. That is where I make my best work. I strive to be open and truthful in my work. I hope that whatever truth is revealed to me is something that I can translate into compelling work.

You can learn more about Laura Larson by visiting her website-- www.larsonart.net. Laura Larson is currently a member of the myartspace.com community. You can view her myartspace.com account by clicking, HERE . You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog
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Art Space Talk: James Cropper

James Cropper is an emerging artist from the UK. Cropper is concerned with the re-use of discarded items/objects that are of specific interest to him as materials and function. Cropper searches discarded junk-- metals, plastics, wood, fibrous materials-- in order to create ‘Constructs‘. His process is selective-- and involves preliminary sketches in order for him to decide which material to integrate together.

Cropper’s Constructs invent new possibilities, combining completely opposite objects within the same structure, eliminating their functions and partially their identity to initially confuse the viewer. One could say that Cropper’s Constructs echo the wisdom of Marcel Duchamp. However, Cropper's Constructs are a hybrid of conceptual and contemporary ideas.



Brian Sherwin: James, tell us about your academic background. Did you study art formally? What about influential instructors that you have had?

James Cropper: Yes I did A-level art at school, then did a Foundation Diploma in College and I am now currently in my 3rd year at Loughborough University in England studying Fine Art and will be graduating in June this year. My tutors Alan Bunkum and Nelson Diplexcito have been fantastic and a great help in developing my concepts since I started the course in September 2006.

Construct - James Cropper

BS: Tell us about the thoughts behind your art. Can you give our readers some insight into any specific themes that you explore?

JC: I have been attracted to the idea of using junk objects like I was using any of the strange combination of materials in my developing studio work over the past 2 ½ years. The reason I do this is because I have an uncontrollable urge to merge the most unlikely materials and objects together, thus creating these strange but intriguing structures.

One of the concepts of my work is influenced by Duchamp’s Ready-mades of the 1920’s which were ideas on the elimination of an objects function or a transformation of its function and/or its practicality as an object. Quintessentially though the concepts of my Constructs are a hybrid of conceptual and contemporary ideas.

Construct - James Cropper

BS: With that in mind, is there a specific message you strive to convey to viewers concerning your art?

JC: Yes…I hope that people viewing my work will strive to challenge art boundaries.

BS: What can you tell us about your process in general? Give us some insight into how you work… as in turning an idea into reality, so to speak? How do you determine what to use? What about your process in general?

JC: Well, my work is concerned with the recycle if you like, of Junk objects; of any shape, size and material, although I draw a firm line between Junk and everyday rubbish, such as food packaging, bottles... etc. I am also very selective and specific with the junk that I collect from the skips, the choice of which junk objects I pick up depends on the characteristics and previous functions of the junk and also personal preference. Then I collect it in my studio and then methodically sketch varying ways in which I can join the objects together to become a single unified structure.

In my work I have used as many ways as I can invent to attach the objects to one another, such as using nails, screws, cable ties, glues, tying objects together, hanging objects, balancing objects, and slotting or placing objects on top of one another. Also the creative processes involved in making the Constructs are before hand made using intuitive decision’s throughout, such as how am going to attach such and such an object together? Are these two materials pliable? How will the viewer interact with this Construct?

Construct - James Cropper

BS: You mentioned Duchamp-- what about other influences? For example, are you influenced by any specific artists, world events, or art movements?

JC: My primary influence is Conceptualism of the 60’s, such as Robert Morris, Sol LeWitt, Joseph Kossuth but my current work is influenced in particular by Marcel Duchamp and Robert Rauschenberg. I have also looked Fischli/Weiss and Tomoko Takahashi to aid the development of my concepts.

BS: Where can your art be viewed at this time? Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

JC: At the end of this year (June) there is a Degree show held in the Fine Art Studio’s in LUSAD at Loughborough University which attracts people from all over Leicester and the general public. This will be my first exhibition if you like, but I am going to enter the 2009 London Calling Exhibition held at the Scream London Gallery later this year.

Construct - James Cropper

BS: Do you have any concerns about the art world at this? There has been a lot of debate recently about copyright and the rights of artists. Do you have an opinion on issues such as that?

JC: I haven’t read any debates recently on this but I think that art work should certainly not be copied it should always be the right of the artist to be able to preserve his individuality in which ever medium he or she works in.

BS: What about the internet? One could say that the art world is starting to catch up-- more galleries are turning to the World Wide Web in order to further exposure for their artists. How do you think the internet will impact the art world in say… a decade? Can you see a meshing between the traditional market and alternative (online) markets taking shape?

JC: I think that the internet, from now on will always help upcoming artists promote their work. Then again I think it’s more important to view art physically in a gallery than on the internet, and I don’t think that the internet will ever replace the gallery. I can definitely see online markets taking full effect in the sale of some art in the future, although I am a little bit skeptical of sale of 3D and sculptural works.

Construct - James Cropper

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the goals that you have?

JC: Yes my favourite and famous quote by Ad Reinhardt 1963, ‘The one thing to say about art is that it is one thing, art is art-as-art and everything else is everything else. Art as art is nothing but art. Art is not what is not art.’ If you remember this you can’t go wrong.

James Cropper is currently a member of the myartspace.com community-- www.myartspace.com/jamescropper. You can read more of my interviews by visiting the following page-- www.myartspace.com/interviews.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Senior Editor

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Art Space Talk: Kathryn Dunlevie

Kathryn Dunlevie is an artist based in Palo Alto, California. She is a two-time recipient of the Arts Council Silicon Valley Fellowship in Photography. Dunlevie's art has been featured in Artweek, A Journal of Art Criticism, San Jose Mercury News, Palo Alto Weekly, ArtLies, ArtShift San Jose, The New York Times-- among other publications.

Dunlevie has exhibited internationally-- her extensive exhibit history includes exhibits at Vertigo Gallery in London, at Studio Thomas Kellner in Germany, and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery.

A graduate of Rice University, Dunlevie also studied film at the University of Paris, photography in Madrid, and painting at California College of Art.



Brian Sherwin: Kathryn, when I view your work theories of science and psychology come to mind. It is as if your images bend time-- they explore our perception of the world around us. One could say that they capture the idea of various dimensions as well as altered states of the mind-- or reflect collective memories stored as information. With that in mind, can you discuss your interest in science, psychology, and philosophy in regards to your art? Are there any specific theories that you adhere to within the context of your art?

Kathryn Dunlevie: About ten years ago the focus of my work began to shift from memory and psychology to a contemplation of the sensory overload being created by new technologies. It seemed to me that we were developing a different type of perception – not a linear catalogue, but an instant synthesis of pertinent images culled automatically from the ever-increasing barrage of data.

Not at First Glance: New London, 1998, mixed media on panel, 45” x 37”. Kathryn Dunlevie

Not at First Glance: London Inside Out, 1999, mixed media on panel, 45” x 60”. Kathryn Dunlevie

In my series Not at First Glance I attempted to offer visual models of this new type of perception. I created composites of disparate photographs which, once combined through collage and painting, formed meaningful compositions. As I used paint to blur the borders between the photographs, I began to notice in some of the works the appearance of peculiar transitions. This development inspired me to create my next series in which I consciously pursued the creation of more of these spatial anomalies.
More Than Meets the Eye: Carcieri del Vaticano, 2006, mixed media on panel, 60” x 47. Kathryn Dunlevie

More Than Meets the Eye: Changing Station, 2004, mixed media on panel, 37” x 60”. Kathryn Dunlevie

In More Than Meets the Eye I employed the photographic deconstructing and reassembling of specific places, and allowed the act of painting to coax the spaces into revealing their hidden layers. The interweaving of different perspectives created twists and ripples not visible in the original scenes. The pictorial worlds of More Than Meets the Eye were no longer merely composites of things seen while moving through space and time, but focused compositions containing glimpses of invisible extra dimensions.
Mirror Unmasked: Illumination, 35" X 54" - 2005 mixed-media on panel. Kathryn Dunlevie

BS: Kathryn, one of your most recent projects is titled Matter Unmasked. These photographic collages involve altered scenes that challenge the viewer’s perception of familiar objects and places. A review by Garland Fielder for ArtLies mentioned your methodical attention to detail. He also noted that you conveyed a painterly sensitivity in this body of work. Can you go into further detail about Matter Unmasked? Give our readers some insight concerning the thoughts behind this specific body of work.

KD: The series Matter Unmasked grew out of the mixed-media works of More Than Meets the Eye. My interest in String Theory and the depiction of unseen dimensions led me to a contemplation of particle physics’ Standard Model and a desire to illustrate the actual but visually imperceptible make-up of all matter. I felt I could best convey the notions of molecular structure and subatomic movement through the hard edges of collage.
Mirror Unmasked: Beyond Manhattan, 50" X 30" - 2008 mixed-media on panel. Kathryn Dunlevie

I put my paints away in favor of cutting and pasting, but soon found that I was essentially “painting” with snippets of photographs. In order to create recognizable scenes as well as a sense of underlying motion and structure, I integrated intact images with mosaic-like passages of small shards of photographs. This often led to a sense of surfaces having been stripped away to reveal a magnified view of what was actually underneath.
Mirror Unmasked: La Visitazione, 45" X 58" - 2008 mixed-media on panel. Kathryn Dunlevie

BS: What about your process in general? Can you describe how you work? For example, do you build the images from intuition, so to speak, or is their a great deal of planning and research beforehand? Tell us about your process.

KD: I’ve amassed a large bank of images primarily from urban areas. I photograph intuitively and extensively, choosing which images to print after I return to the studio. I like to start several pieces at once and move from one to another in order to keep a fresh eye.

The most exciting part of the process occurs in the studio. No matter what I’ve had in mind when selecting particular images to work with, there is always a moment when the piece veers off in a direction I haven’t seen coming. Ultimately each piece develops its own logic. Fortunately, I can now print all but the largest photographs myself. I’m able to work with a greater sense of immediacy and flexibility than ever before.

Double Take: Phane, 8" X 6" - 2003 mixed-media on panel. Kathryn Dunlevie

BS: Can you go into further detail about some of your influences? For example, are you influenced by any specific artists or art movements?

KD: I’ve always loved the way Georges Braque leads the viewer panoramically through a room with seemingly illogical jumps that end up making perfect sense. I also love the untrammeled way Rauschenberg mixed different media and so many aspects contemporary culture. Of course, David Hockney has been a huge inspiration with the way his photographic collages encourage the eye to progress through time as well as space.

Double Take: In Shadow, 20" X 15" - 2002 mixed-media on panel. Kathryn Dunlevie

BS: Speaking of exhibits-- where can your art be viewed at this time? Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

KD: Right now I have work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery in San Francisco, at Belgravia Gallery in London, at the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz, and at Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston, where I’ll be having a solo show in December.

You can learn more about Kathryn Dunlevie by visiting her website-- www.kathryndunlevie.com. Dunlevie is currently a member of the myartspace.com community-- www.myartspace.com/kathryndunlevie.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
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The Downward Spiral of the Chinese Contemporary Art Market

An untitled painting by Zeng Fanzhi

In recent years the market for Chinese contemporary artists has been hot in the global art market. Many of the top selling Chinese artists were virtually unknown before the Chinese art market boom at high profile auction houses and art fairs. Successful Chinese contemporary artists, such as Zeng Fanzhi, reaped what quick fame and fortune offers to artists who dominate the global art market. Due to global success artists from Shanghai and Beijing have been able to operate large studios in order to create further work. However, success can be fleeting-- these artists are now caught in what has been described as the “downward spiral” of the contemporary Chinese art market.

Galleries and art dealers in Shanghai and Beijing are facing some of the same struggles that galleries in New York City and other hubs of the art world have been challenged by in recent months. At the core of the plight is the ongoing global financial crisis. Art collectors worldwide are not as wealthy as they were just a year ago-- thus, aspects of the art market have been caught in a financial freeze, so to speak. Prices for art have dropped rapidly-- meaning the value for specific artists may be in limbo. In other words, high profile collectors are wary to invest in an uncertain global art market.

Chinese contemporary artists who were steadily patronized over the last few years are now faced with the humble reality that perhaps their art will falter within the global art market. Even the top auction houses, such as Sotheby’s, have been reluctant to spotlight Chinese contemporary art in recent months. This has lead insiders to suggest that the era of high-priced Chinese contemporary art is over. Rumors suggest that the market for Chinese contemporary art may bottom out before the global economy recovers. Thus, the fate of these artists within the global art market is not clear.

The surge in popularity for Chinese contemporary art among wealthy global art collectors-- such as Charles Saatchi-- came without warning. Artprice.com only listed one Chinese artist on their Top 10 best-selling living artists list in 2004. By 2007, 5 of the 10 best-selling living artists at auction were from China according to Artprice.com. The most acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist for that year, Zhang Xiaogang, had total auction sales of over $56 million.

Zhang Xiaogang ranked under Damien Hirst and Gerhard Richter in 2007-- two artists who have long dominated the global art market. The rise of Chinese contemporary art came swift. Unfortunately, the crash of the Chinese contemporary art market in the last year came just as sudden. It begs the question-- will any Chinese contemporary artists remain on the Artprice.com best-selling list of living artists after 2009? Who knows what will happen in this turbulent market.

Some feel that the bust of the Chinese contemporary art market was needed in order to sustain the validity of the market for Chinese contemporary art as a whole. Wealthy art collectors and art dealers, such as Charles Saatchi, had artificially driven up prices by investing heavily in art by Chinese contemporary artists-- according to some insiders. Other high profile art collectors and art dealers followed suit in what I like to call the ‘Keeping up with the Saatchi’s' effect.

A few of these individuals were quick to open galleries in China in order to take advantage of the flow of wealth-- now gallery doors are closing. Needless to say, some individuals feel that the artificial rise of specific artists-- not just Chinese contemporary artists-- within the global art market must come to an end in order for the global art market to have a steady business foundation that places integrity and sustainability above excessive personal gain.

Thus, it is felt that art dealers-- in general-- must take more responsibility within the global art market by helping their represented artists sustain the market for their work in a realistic manner. For example, art collectors/dealers who artificially increase prices may need to be avoided if the global art market is to have a strong foundation. Unfortunately, many artists throughout the world will fall victim due to key art world power players who have already manipulated the market for their own needs. The global art market as we know it will never be the same. Integrity is due.

Link of Interest:

China’s Art Market: Cold or Maybe Hibernating? By David Barboza -- The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/design/11decl.html?_r=1

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
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Art Space Talk: Kate Bauman

Kate Bauman is a contemporary artist and designer in Portland, Maine. Growing up in Wisconsin, she began painstakingly crafting all kinds of projects with her mother and grandmother at a young age. The habit stuck with her. She completed her BFA from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2005, with a senior research project focused on enameling.

A year later, she packed up and headed east to the foothills of the Catskill mountains, where she began her graduate studies in metal at SUNY-New Paltz. She graduated in 2008 and this time headed northeast to the coast of Maine. Her work is rooted in contemporary American culture, and pursues subversion in pattern, decoration, and enamel.

Brian Sherwin: Kate, tell us about your academic background. Did you study art formally? What about influential instructors that you have had?

Kate Bauman: Yes, I studied graphic design and metal at the University of Wisconsin -- Madison for my BFA. There, I was greatly influenced by Lisa Gralnick, an excellent metalsmith and challenging instructor. Lisa introduced me to enamel (glass fused to metal), and encouraged me to explore possibilities of this traditional medium with contemporary imagery and ideas.

I recently completed an MFA in Metal at the State University of New York at New Paltz, where I studied with enamellist Jamie Bennett, metalsmith Myra Mimlitsch-Gray, and Sarah Turner. The MFA Metal program at SUNY-New Paltz is extremely rigorous, and I have been fortunate to study with such renowned and influential figures in my field.
BS: Tell us about the thoughts behind your art. Can you give our readers some insight into any specific themes that you explore?

KB: My work is greatly influenced by pattern and ornamentation, both traditional and contemporary. I am intrigued by the psychological effects of pattern in domestic spaces and at play in American culture. Family dynamics, relationships, and heredity are also themes that motivate much of my work, though they may not always be readily apparent.

These influences derive from a time of particular difficulty in my own home life. a time when everything seemed to be falling apart and I found myself disturbed by the audacity of the happy flowers crawling over the walls in my family’s home. I focused on wallpaper patterns as a metaphor for the tendency of families to cover up their realities to put up a front, a veneer, as wallpaper covers cracked walls and pattern camouflages or transforms an object or space. I also began to consider the spaces we live in as witnesses to realities that often go unacknowledged.

While my artistic interests span a variety of media, I am most inclined to use, and muse upon, enamel. Not enamel paint, but vitreous enamel, which is glass fused to metal. It is a process that is no longer widely practiced, but is incredibly appealing for its rich colors, visual depth, traditions, and permanence. Enamel is generally considered simply a decorative medium. I am attracted to the potential of enameling as a primary means of expressing ideas, rather than secondary to the fabrication of a metal form or the crafting of a jewel. I seek to use enamel in a manner that blurs the distinction between art and craft.

In my work, I have explored the visual and psychological effects of applying a series of enameled patterns to a repeated shape (copper guns) in the Silhouette series as a manifestation of something pattern could transform. Or, in the case of the Wallpaper series, something pattern could hide.

In a body of 100 drawings, I investigated the ability of repetition in pattern to hide an image, in this case, again, a gun. The structures of the patterns suggest various other styles, eras, and ideas, but the silhouette of the gun is not often readily recognizable.

Moving away from guns as imagery, I began to consider floral patterns, and the ability of their stylized tendrils to creep into ones subconscious. Natural flora have been an ever-present subject in pattern and decoration, but stylized and controlled in rigid patterns. Growths began to question what could happen if such constraints were lifted.

The series, Decorum: The Devil Is In The Details, arose from an interest in decoration as a projection of identity and an effort to design new pattern motifs reflecting contemporary culture. Patterns from patterns, they are at once visual motifs created from daily human habits, personalized crests, Rorschach inkblots, and pop design. Their familiar imagery and seductive colors betray a conflict of the American consumerist psyche. The vibrant colors and detailed images draw the viewer in and force them to look more closely at portraits that, through glossiness and subtly textured imagery, may also serve as mirrors on their own life.

While my work is sometimes inspired by personal events, it has been important to me not to create work that is personal to the point that it is about me, or my story alone. Instead, I hope to make work that relates universally personal ideas.

BS: Is there a specific message you strive to convey to viewers concerning your art?

KB: I don’t have a single, specific message to convey to the masses. Rather, I am interested in creating a visual experience that will resonate with viewers on various levels. The root of my work is a desire to express aspects of the human experience, and I hope that others will recognize and respond to that.

BS: What can you tell us about your process in general? Give us some insight into how you work? as in turning an idea into reality, so to speak? Can you discuss some of the methods that you utilize?

KB: I suppose my process varies from piece to piece. I usually start by writing down ideas, followed by general sketches. When I get down to the actual creation of a piece, I do lots of specific drawings, trying out shapes and compositions to see what works. I often use my computer to do some of these drawings, creating vector shapes in Illustrator that I can quickly move around, scale, and experiment with. But for all my preparations, I often end up making lots of intuitive decisions in the actual completion of a piece.

I have found, between my experience in graphic design and as a maker, that I really enjoy moving back and forth between using my computer as a creative tool and using my hands. One seems to balance the other out and provide opportunities to inspire and work through ideas in a variety of ways.
BS: What about influences? For example, are you influenced by any specific artists, world events, or art movements?

KB: I am inspired by enamelists Veleta Vancza, Gretchen Goss, and Jamie Bennett, contemporary pattern designers like Timorous Beasties, artists Rudolph Stingel and Peter Garfield, and photographer Sarah Malakoff. More truthfully though, my work is a response to the influence of my life and surroundings.

BS: Where can your art be viewed at this time? Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

KB: I have a few exciting projects and exhibitions coming up in 2009. I have recently been invited to create a site-specific enamel installation for the upcoming American Enamels exhibition at The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, opening May 1st. A number of my Silhouettes will also be on display.

I am also working on an interesting and challenging experiment in collective making with a number of my colleagues. We are making 15 pieces between nine jewelers and object makers, a sort of exquisite corpse via mail. The finished pieces will be shown in an exhibition titled Unbalanced Forces: An Exploration Of Collective Making at Bambi Gallery in Philadelphia during the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) conference, also in May.

Finally, two of my enameled portraits from the Decorum: The Devil Is In The Details series have been selected for the Surfacing, the 8th International Juried Student Exhibition, sponsored by the Enamelist Society at The Oakland Art Gallery in Oakland, CA from July through August.
BS: Do you have any concerns about the art world at this time? For example, there has been a lot of debate recently about copyright and the rights of artists. Do you have an opinion on issues such as that?

KB: Sure, I think every artist is concerned about the art world during this particular economic struggle. I think the art world will survive, but will definitely be changed. I think the down-turned economy will shift the faces of the art world, force some galleries out of the game, and allow room for new ones. In the big picture, its natural selection and survival of the fittest, as always. But, I think people will continue to buy art and support the hand-made.

I am, however, particularly concerned about attitudes towards art and creative expression by American culture in general. I think its sad and problematic that many people untrained in the arts feel intimidated by a visit to an art museum or gallery, or feel that they don’t know the proper response to a work of art.

The recent focus on Shepard Fairey and the AP over copyright issues has been very interesting. I think the Internet has inspired a pervasive attitude toward images and words, that things should be shared. It’s become increasingly difficult to control images and words. It seems that anything is fair game for an artist to cull for their work. I think that if an image or idea is transformed by the artist’s vision, it has become a new thing and intellectual property of the artist.
BS: What about the internet in general? One could say that the art world is starting to catch up-- more galleries are turning to the World Wide Web in order to further exposure for their artists. How do you think the internet will impact the art world in say? a decade? Can you see a meshing between the traditional market and alternative (online) markets taking shape?

KB: I think the Internet is already having a huge impact on the art world, and I’ll be interested to see how both evolve over time. The Internet is a great promotional tool for artists. A personal website is a gallery that anyone can view at any time. That changes the whole ball game. There are more opportunities for artists to share their work online, and as we’ve seen through globalization of everything else, we have access to more creative images and ideas than ever before.

Artists can share their work with different social communities, and there are an increasing number of online exhibitions. Although an actual physical and visual experience with an object or painting or photograph will always trump a virtual one, the Internet spreads our awareness of how and where and when we can do so.

The Internet has also opened up opportunities for artists to sell their work themselves, by setting up a shopping cart on their own site or using sites like Etsy or myartspace’s NYAXE. Many artists I know have been upset by some attitudes on sites like Etsy to sell handcrafted products at prices that don’t reflect the time, price of materials, skill, and ideas required to make them. They’re worried that such under-pricing will lead to a public perception that handcrafted objects and artwork are worth less than they should be.

However, I have seen artists selling work for appropriate prices and making sales. I’m not sure that such practices will turn out to have such overreaching effects. Buyers can still spot skill and will value reputation and craftsmanship. It will be interesting to see if and how this affects traditional galleries. I can definitely see a meshing of traditional and online markets, and I think the two can serve different purposes and reach different audiences.
BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art or the goals that you have?

KB: I’d just like to thank you for your interest in my work, and for giving me the opportunity to reach a broader audience. Your questions raised some interesting thoughts about my practice and current issues in the art community.

You can learn more about Kate Bauman by visiting her website-- www.kate-bauman.com. Kate Bauman is currently a member of the myartspace.com community. Her work on myartspace can be viewed, HERE

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
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Shepard Fairey decides that Steelerbaby does not need to Obey his legal team

Larkin Werner's 'Obey Steelerbaby' next to a poster by Shepard Fairey.

UPDATE: It appears that Shepard Fairey has dropped his cease-and-desist order against Cafepress and Larkin Werner's Steelerbaby store. My sources tell me it was dropped on March 10th-- days after my post about the issue.

Disobey Shepard Fairey by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog

www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/03/disobey-shepard-fairey.html

There are three rumors floating around as to why Shepard Fairey dropped his cease-and-desist order-- all of which suggest that he did it in order to save face:

1.) Shepard Fairey did not want the negative press going into his case against the Associated Press-- kind of hard to be a champion of "fair use" when you oppose it, true? After all, Fairey sent the cease-and-desist letter a week or so before his last interview on NPR. During that interview he suggested that he is going against the AP in order to secure the rights of all artists who work under "fair use". Perhaps he is finally realizing that part of that involves people being able to parody his widely known posters and trademark? Or maybe he just took a big gun away from the Associated Press countersuit?

2.) Lawrence Lessig, Anthony Falzone, and the Fair Use Project did not want negative press concerning contradictions of "fair use" in regards to their client-- Shepard Fairey. After all, the Fair Use Project supports an extended interpretation of "fair use" in general. It would not look good if their client flip-flops on his opinion of "fair use". Shepard Fairey often appears to have a selective interpretation of "fair use"-- as in it is OK for him to parody-- or comment on visually-- the work of others while at the same time sending legal threats when emerging artists parody his world renowned images. Due to this it has been suggested that Shepard Fairey is only interested in "Fairey use".

3.) Shepard Fairey did not want negative press-- period. It seems the press honeymoon is over. Recently Shepard Fairey has been ripped apart by the press-- a far cry from the constant praise he received for months due to his work for the Obama campaign. Shepard Fairey of all people should understand the double-edged sword of mass media. It can’t be butterflies and awards all the time.

Needless to say, Werner's 'Obey Steelerbaby' items have returned to Cafepress, www.cafepress.com/steelerbaby.

At some point the artist who says "question everything" must answer some difficult questions from fans, critics, and collectors concerning his ethics, the validity of his art, and the contradictions that have shadowed his career-- questions that can't be answered by a resume of good deeds. The sidestepping and using charity as a shield during interviews must stop if he is to be taken serious. To put it bluntly, post after post from SuperTouch and other Fairey friends can't hide the fact that people are demanding answers.

What are your thoughts concerning this situation? Do you think Shepard Fairey honestly supports “fair use”? Or do you feel that he is only interested in --as the Phantom Street Artist calls it-- “Fairey use”? Did the Fair Use Project make a mistake in representing Shepard Fairey? What is your opinion of Shepard Fairey in general? What are your thoughts?

Links of Interest:

Steelerbaby Blues by Chris Young -- Pittsburgh City Paper

www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A59932

Fair Use: Shepard Fairey and Baxter Orr by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog

www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/02/fair-use-shepard-fairey-and-baxter-orr.html

Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Damien Hirst & Shepard Fairey / Cartrain & Baxter Orr by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog

www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/02/birds-of-feather-flock-together-damien.html

Integrity Lost: Lawrence Lessig helps Shepard Fairey by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog

www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/02/integrity-lost-lawrence-lessig-helps.html

The Phantom Street Artist speaks out against Shepard Fairey in Citizen LA by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog

www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/03/phantom-street-artist-speaks-out.html

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
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UW-Milwaukee Grad Student feature: Mairin Hartt

This is the second in a series of MFA student features from the graduate program I work in at Peck School of the Arts, the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. These will be cross-posted on implicit art at nathanielstern.com

UW-Milwaukee Grad Student features are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

After graduating with a BFA 2006, Mairin worked as an Arts Educator at various institutions, including the Evanston Art Center, the Chicago Children’s Museum, and the Marwen Foundation. Her work explores the existence of emergence, entropy, and connection in organic forms and processes. Mairin has studied at Beloit College, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and at the Burren College of Art in Ireland. Mairin is currently working toward a Masters of Fine Arts in Visual Art at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. To view images of Mairin’s work or information about upcoming exhibitions and events, please visit her blog, http://www.mairinhartt.blogspot.com, or her website, http://www.mairinhartt.com.

Talk about your current practice. What do you make and why is that important to you?

I combine various media on paper, using mostly automatic drawing methods. In 101 Cellplates, for example, I layered small sheets of rice paper on top one another, working on the utmost layer. Marks from the previous sheets – graphite pencil and ink – would seep through, creating impressions upon the sheets underneath. I interacted with the marks of each layer, simulating sedimentation and other processes of accumulation. I find it interesting how one layer builds upon and affects another, creating a dialogue, and becoming a document of time. You become a witness to that process.

#41, #55, and #61 of 101 Cellplates, Sumi Ink, India Ink, and Graphite on Rice Paper, each 3" x 5", 2008

Drawing, to me, is the most elemental, the most direct act in visual art. It allows for different media to interact and co-exist. When I draw, the exposed paper often reminds me of exposed bone; the textures, raw and fragile, like skin. The residual spaces reveal the process of creation, of the piece itself. There is something about the tactile quality of paper and drawing that is extremely fulfilling. I feel more connected with each piece. I believe that establishing a connection with the image is important to create honest work. Art that is honest – both emotionally and intellectually – affects me the most.

What got you to this point? What were you doing or making before, and how did that lead you to this kind of production?

As a child my two favorite subjects were art and science. Both subjects were about curiosity and discovery, about observing the world around us. I studied natural forms a great deal. I would peel open seedpods in my backyard, sometimes creating drawings of dissected trees and plants. I once made a flipbook of a single flower growing from a seed, blooming, wilting, and then returning to the soil. I considered being a biologist, but I felt art allowed for a deeper exploration and study of all aspects of science as well as other subjects.

Up until college, I painted realistic portraits and landscapes. For me, realism represented a sign of discipline and the technical ability of a professional artist. In 2002 I finished a portrait that was the most successfully realistic painting I had made up to that point. I remember looking at it and feeling, surprisingly, dissatisfied. Realism could only scratch the surface of what I wanted to convey. It was strange. None of my favorite artists were Realists. They were Impressionists and Expressionists, and I asked myself, "Why am I painting this way?"

Afterwards, I began exploring other methods and techniques, moving toward abstraction, eventually utilizing intuitive and automatic drawing exercises akin to the Surrealists and Expressionists to explore the textural and emotional affects of numerous combinations of various mediums. I still use these methods today. I believe that everything is connected in this world. As such, I feel abstraction allows multiple contradictions to co-exist and connect.

Who inspires you that you know personally, as well as historically or in contemporary practice?

As I said previously, my initial inspirations were Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and Expressionists: Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, et cetera. I first saw their work in the flesh at age nine, and was in awe. Monet’s analytical approach, and Van Gogh’s emotional approach, to color revealed to me the emotional effect of color upon the viewer. As I got older I also became interested in the Romantics' use of rich, saturated colors to convey the Sublime.

Contemporary artists I admire would include Vija Celmins. She creates intensely detailed graphite drawings of vast, natural spaces. I appreciate her treatment of the small and the grand on an equal terrain. Her work revealed the potential of gray to me. Ocean Surface Wood Engraving 2000 is a large, gray, woodblock print of the ocean that appears to recede into infinity.

I am also interested in work by Paul Nudd, specifically his drawings and collages. I saw some of his mixed media collages at the Evanston Art Center in 2007. They looked to consist of mucus, pubic hair, and other possible repulsive items on canvas. The materials were not listed, which left you wondering if the materials were actually what you feared. Yet, I could not help but stare. They were oddly alluring.

Tell us about your favorite and least favorite works of art from your entire repertoire - why they deserve those titles and what you learned from them.

My least favorite works would be those lacking imagination or discipline. It is a precarious balance. Part of what I enjoy about reactionary processes is the unexpected, the 'mistakes,' which provide potential for exploration and imagination. What I have discovered is my imagination is more vivid than I could have fathomed. However, work without any structure or focus also loses my interest.
My favorite pieces are ones that are unpredictable, where the image develops and progresses on its own. This is how I became interested in ideas of emergence – specifically how order can come from disorder, and how the universe is in constant flux.

Images from Cellular Repetition/Outdoor Installation, Chalk, 2008

In Cellular Repetition/Outdoor Installation, I wanted to engage with the urban environment directly and, symbolically, re-connect areas within that space to each other. I envisioned these circular marks representing microscopic cells, replicating, spreading, and connecting everything around us. It began as an exercise to continue freeing up my drawing practice, but it grew into a much larger project when I began drawing on my own skin to connect myself with the space.

Image from Cellular Repetition/Body, Ink on Skin, 2008

What are you working on right now, and where do you see your work headed next?

I see my work continuing in this vein - combining various media on paper, creating abstract images. I enjoy the vagueness or unidentifiable aspect of my work. Despite the vagueness, the images often remind me of odd organic creatures and structures. The ambiguity allows the viewer to make their own connection with the work.


untitled 1, Sumi Ink, Watercolor, and Graphite on Paper, 8" X 15", 2008-2009


untitled 2, Sumi Ink, Watercolor, and Graphite on Paper, 8" X 15", 2009


untitled 3, Sumi Ink, Watercolor, and Graphite on Paper, 8" X 15", 2009

Currently I am exploring notions of emergence and connection through microscopic forms and cellular processes, highlighting the connection of the macro and the micro. I am fascinated with the theories of entropy and emergence. Specifically, to the idea that patterns and structures develop and organize from apparent disorder. According to the theory of entropy, organized systems should not exist. It would be more efficient for all of our atoms to float around the universe detached, instead of cooperating as complicated entities. It requires energy to become a planet, star, or living organism. Living is tension, a balance between existence and non-existence. I hope to remind people of how inter-related everything is and to gift a sense of some of the sublimity of existence.

Disobey Shepard Fairey

Larkin Werner's 'Obey Steelerbaby' next to a poster by Shepard Fairey.

Last month Shepard Fairey was interviewed by Terry Gross for NPR. The world renowned artist discussed his pre-emptive lawsuit against the Associated Press due to the media giants copyright infringement allegations concerning his Obama posters-- Fairey had used an AP owned photograph by Mannie Garcia as the base image for his posters. Fairey is represented by Stanford Law School's Fair Use Project (FUP)-- an organization that claims to support an extension of the boundaries of "fair use" in order to “enhance creative freedom“. However, it appears that Shepard Fairey does not agree with FUP 100%-- at least when his work is used by others under "fair use".

Based on Shepard Fairey's recent statements you would think that he would fully support artists using his widely known images under "fair use". After all, in the NPR interview Fairey suggested that his lawsuit against the Associated Press is important because he views it as standing up for the rights of artists who create art that is protected under "fair use". However, Shepard Fairey has a history of threatening artists with legal action when they utilize his famous artwork under "fair use"-- even if the artist did not willfully infringe. The most recent situation involves graphic designer Larkin Werner and his Cafepress store.

Early last month-- before the NPR interview-- Shepard Fairey’s Obey Giant Art Inc. sent www.cafepress.com a cease-and-desist letter concerning a Cafepress store titled Steelerbaby-- Larkin Werner‘s account. Obey Giant Art Inc. took action due to the fact that Werner had been selling a version of his ’Steelerbaby’ doll that involved the word ‘obey’. Shepard Fairey feels that the merchandise involving the word "Obey" is an infringement on his trademark. However, Werner claims that his use of ‘obey’ was not inspired by Shepard Fairey. In fact, Werner has suggested that “Obey Steelerbaby’ is one of several catch phrases spoken by the doll at, www.steelerbaby.com. The obey phrase is popular among fans of Steelerbaby.

Obey Giant Art Inc. took issue with Werner due to the fact that the graphic artist had designed merchandise based on the popularity of Steelerbaby’s "Obey Steelerbaby" catch phrase. The merchandise, which was sold on Cafepress, involved pictures of the Steelerbaby doll standing between the words “Obey” and “Steelerbaby” while others featured the word “Obey” above the doll. According to the Pittsburgh City Paper, Werner-- who is based in Pittsburgh-- had earned around $70 from selling “Obey Steelerbaby” merchandise on Cafepress. That said, Shepard Fairey’s representatives feel that Werner’s “Obey Steelerbaby” merchandise is a direct threat to Shepard Fairey’s trademark and business.

According to the Pittsburgh City Paper, Olivia Perches-- the representative of Shepard Fairey who sent the cease-and-desist letter to Cafepress-- has suggested that Obey Giant Art Inc. owns the use of ‘Obey’ and that artists can’t use the word ‘Obey’ in their artwork or designs. Chris Broders, a business partner involved with Fairey’s Obey clothing line, has suggested that the use of “Obey” becomes an issue when artists or other individuals profit from the “‘Obey’ mark”. He went on to suggest that Fairey’s representatives and business partners will do what they can in order to “protect" their "trademark". Needless to say, Larkin Werner feels that Shepard Fairey is being a hypocrite due to the fact that Fairey has established a career from creating images under "fair use" of copyright and trademark law.
A comparison of a poster by Shepard Fairey (left) next to a poster by Baxter Orr (right). Orr put a SARs protective mask over the famous Obey Giant image and titled it ‘Protect’. Fair Use? You be the judge.

This is not the first time that Shepard Fairey has attacked "fair use". In 2008 there was a story concerning “fair use” and Shepard Fairey in The Austin Chronicle. The situation involved the famous Shepard Fairey and emerging artist Baxter Orr. Orr created a parody of the iconic Obey Giant image-- which he distributed and sold. Orr-- being cynical of Shepard Fairey -- strived to make a visual statement about Fairey’s art and practice in general. One could say that Orr’s appropriation of the Obey Giant image was in itself a statement on Fairey’s practice of appropriating from other artists.

Viewers of the work recognized that Orr had made a visual statement about Shepard Fairey and the Obey Giant image. There was no confusion as to who made what. Thus, it did not take long for Orr’s image to be picked up by art bloggers-- which stirred debate concerning Fairey’s artwork, the copyright infringement allegations that have shadowed Fairey’s career, and Fairey’s own history of appropriation.

Eventually Orr received a cease-and-desist letter from Obey Giant Art Inc. However, Orr continues to sell his parody, now titled ‘Protect Yourself -- Giant’, for $25.00 on his website, www.baxterorr.bigcartel.com. Oddly enough, some artists have started to parody the situation between Baxter Orr and Shepard Fairey:
A parody of the Orr, Fairey, and Associated Press disputes by Dan Nolan.

I find it odd that Shepard Fairey suggested on NPR that he is fighting for the rights of all artists concerning “fair use” when earlier that month he had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Larkin Werner. After all, supporters of Shepard Fairey have suggested that the Associated Press has “bullied” Fairey-- some have went as far as to suggest that the AP has attacked "fair use". You would think these strong supporters of "fair use" would call Shepard Fairey out just as they have called the AP out concerning "fair use". Right?

One must ask-- where was Lawrence Lessig, Anthony Falzone, the Fair Use Project, and other supporters of extreme interpretations of "fair use" when Shepard Fairey 'bullied' Baxter Orr and Larkin Werner concerning issues involving “fair use”? Is Shepard Fairey truly fighting the good fight for “fair use” or is he, as the Phantom Street Artist suggested, fighting for “Fairey use”?

The contradictions involving Shepard Fairey are widespread. Unfortunately, the major media has barely reported on this aspect of Shepard Fairey and "fair use". Instead, most have conveniently championed Fairey as an advocate for “fair use”-- which is obviously false. If anything, Shepard Fairey is a champion for his own work involving "fair use".

In closing, I think Shepard Fairey needs to realize that artists can, and will, use trademark protected images under “trademark fair use” within the context of their own work. I’m not against “fair use”-- though I do think it should be limited. That said, if Shepard Fairey is allowed to extend the boundaries of “fair use” I think he needs to realize that he is opening the doors for his own work to be exploited by legal gray areas. My guess is that artists and other creative individuals will continue to disobey Shepard Fairey's copyright and trademark-- especially if he wins his case against the Associated Press. Be careful which doors you open Mr. Fairey-- they may lead back to you.

UPDATE: It appears that Shepard Fairey has dropped his cease-and-desist against Cafepress and Larkin Werner's Steelerbaby store. My sources tell me it was dropped on March 10th-- just days after this post. There are three rumors floating around as to why the cease-and-desist was dropped:

1.) Shepard Fairey did not want the negative press going into his case against the Associated Press-- kind of hard to be a champion of "fair use" when you oppose it, true?

2.) Lawrence Lessig, Anthony Falzone, and the Fair Use Project did not want negative press concerning contradictions of "fair use" in regards to their client-- Shepard Fairey. After all, the Fair Use Project supports an extended interpretation of "fair use" in general. It would not look good if their client flip-flops on his opinion of "fair use".

3.) Shepard Fairey did not want negative press-- period. It seems the press honeymoon is over. Recently Shepard Fairey has been ripped apart by the press-- a far cry from the constant praise he received for months due to his work for the Obama campaign.

Werner's 'Obey Steelerbaby' items have returned to Cafepress, www.cafepress.com/steelerbaby

Links of Interest:
Steelerbaby Blues by Chris Young -- Pittsburgh City Paper
www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A59932

Fair Use: Shepard Fairey and Baxter Orr by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog
www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/02/fair-use-shepard-fairey-and-baxter-orr.html

Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Damien Hirst & Shepard Fairey / Cartrain & Baxter Orr by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog
www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/02/birds-of-feather-flock-together-damien.html

Artist Cage Match: Fairey vs. Orr by Richard Whittaker -- The Austin Chronicle
www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:625022

Integrity Lost: Lawrence Lessig helps Shepard Fairey by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog
www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/02/integrity-lost-lawrence-lessig-helps.html

The Phantom Street Artist speaks out against Shepard Fairey in Citizen LA by Brian Sherwin -- Myartspace Blog
www.myartspace.com/blog/2009/03/phantom-street-artist-speaks-out.html

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com

Laurie Lipton makes waves at Pulse

I’m pleased to announce that Laurie Lipton, a fellow www.myartspace.com member, is currently displaying art with Santa Monica’s Copro Nason Gallery at the Pulse Art Fair in NYC. A piece by Lipton has sold to a museum for $38,000. If you visit the art fairs in New York be sure to check Lipton’s work out at the Pulse Art Fair. You can view Laurie Lipton’s art on myartspace.com, HERE .

I interviewed Laurie Lipton in 2007. The price of her work has drastically increased since that time. Lipton was born in New York. She was the first person to graduate from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennsylvania with a Fine Arts Degree in Drawing (with honours). She has lived in Holland, Belgium, Germany and France and has made her home in London since 1986.

Inspired by the hyper-realistic paintings of the 15th-Century Flemish masters, Laurie's drawings are known for their intense detail. In a sense, pencils are her paint and paper is her canvas. Her work is smooth and appears to be almost photographic at first glance. However, a closer look reveals the intricate detail of her work. From thousands upon thousands of distinct, precise, cross-hatched pencil-strokes, Laurie builds up rich, monochrome tones. It is rare to find an artist who can draw as she does- I consider her to be a contemporary master.

Links of Interest:
www.laurielipton.com
www.copronason.com

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com

Fernando Mastrangelo solo exhibit at KUMUKUMU

Fernando Mastrangelo

I’m pleased to announce that Fernando Mastrangelo, a fellow www.myartspace.com member, is currently involved with a solo exhibit at KUMUKUMU-- a contemporary art gallery in New York. The solo exhibit, titled ‘LoVE is a smoke made with the fume of sighs…’ will be open until March 22nd 2009.

I interviewed Fernando Mastrangelo in 2007 shortly after being introduced to his worke at SCOPE. Since that time Mastrangelo has been exhibited widely in the United States, South America, and Europe. Mastrangelo recently exhibited at Moti Hasson Gallery in New York. His work will be exhibited at Volta this month. If you visit the art fairs in New York be sure to check his work out. You can view Fernando Mastrangelo’s art on myartspace.com, HERE .

Fernando Mastrangelo

From the KUMUKUMU press release:

“KUMUKUMU is proud to present New York artist Fernando Mastrangelo's first solo exhibition, "LoVE is a smoke made with the fume of sighs…" The title comes from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Pursuing his overarching mixed media investigation of society, history, politics, and literature through conceptual precepts, the artist here transforms the gallery into a three-room replica of a sea vessel, including a corroded anchor, a fragment of a battered raft, and a sculpture of the lower half of a woman's severed body, made of cast sugar. The black heart carved into a sugar wall in the gallery's back room shores up the show's lovelorn underpinnings.

Overall, the installation evokes a lost-at-sea, wreckage-of love ethos, simultaneously romantic and dangerous. Positing the three elements of art as death, life, and love, Mastrangelo plays the dual role of the broken-hearted and sensitive lover and the macho, tattoo-sporting seafarer. The show includes a series of love tattoo drawings set in circular frames of cast sugar. Together, they dot the side walls of the gallery like portholes. Here again, the inevitable evaporation of love's sweetness is reiterated.

Conceived of as part of a continuum, "LoVE is a smoke…" draws on past projects in which the artist has used other symbolic materials often dealing with commodity culture. Staples like sugar, rice, coffee, and corn, as well as coal from regions of Kentucky, have been deployed in his work to specifically address energy issues as well as the wider abuses of political power. Through his metaphoric use of material, Mastrangelo is able to evoke myriad universal references as well as the particular relationships of objects and meaning across different strata of place and time.”

Links of Interest:
www.kumukumugallery.com
www.fernandomastrangelo.com

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com

Social Art Site Has Offline Presence: myartspace.com opens NYAXE Gallery in Palo Alto, CA

Eighteen members of the www.myartspace.com community were represented digitally during the opening of the NYAXE Gallery. Six were physically represented at the gallery.

The grand opening of the NYAXE Gallery in Palo Alto, CA on February 26th was a great success. The exhibit opened at 6pm and was met with a steady flow of visitors. Art collectors and other attendees observed artwork by 24 members of the myartspace.com community. The exhibit space was filled with good conversation, exquisite music, and powerful works of contemporary art. The event was a meshing between the physical and online art world.

Steve Benjamin entertained NYAXE Gallery visitors.

The represented members were chosen from a selective-- ongoing --competition that allows members of the myartspace.com community to compete for NYAXE Gallery representation.

Six of the gallery representation winners were selected for physical representation at the NYAXE Gallery: Murray Hidary , Jennifer Wasson , Fanne Fernow , Chadney Everett , Nick Weber , and LeRoy Howard . Eighteen winners were selected for digital representation: Stuart McCall , Jesse Benson , Pau Guerrero-Prado , Alex Jarosz , Paul Ruiz , Dirk Franke , Terry Amburgey , Manny Rodriguez , Aldo Bertolini , Andrew Johann Salgado , Thea Pratt , Lorella Paleni , Douglas Newton , Kevin Sharkey , Angel Plata , Michail Parlamas , Jon Barwick , Kirk Lanier .

Visitors enjoy viewing art at the NYAXE Gallery opening.

The NYAXE Gallery, located at 818 Emerson St. in Palo Alto, also featured two guest artists from the myartspace.com community. Lucy May -- the first place winner of the 2008 myartspace.com graduate art scholarship competition, and Sarah Sisun -- first place winner of the 2008 myartspace.com undergraduate art scholarship competition. You can learn more about the 2008 art scholarship winners, which involved $16,000 in cash scholarships, by visiting, www.myartspace.com/scholarships/winners.

The opening exhibit also featured art by the late Lois Foley . Mrs. Foley is the mother of Catherine McCormack-Skiba and has served as a constant source of inspiration for the development of the myartspace community. Catherine McCormack-Skiba, the CEO, founder and Creative Director of myartspace.com, was on hand to meet visitors.

Collectors gathering at the bar…

The opening of the NYAXE Gallery in Palo Alto, CA marks myartspace.com as one of only a few social art sites to have a physical presence in the form of a brick & mortar gallery-- as well as the only online art community to have a physical gallery presence in the heart of Silicon Valley. The NYAXE Gallery places myartspace.com members art within reach of some of the most powerful-- and wealthy-- professionals in the United States.

myartspace.com is the leading online social network for the contemporary art world. Dubbed "the biggest network you never heard of" The Next Web, the site continues to experience dramatic reception by the art community. myartspace was the first site to offer compelling, integrated presentation technology -- the ability to blend images of art, music, video and audio narration all online. The company also distinguishes itself by being a free and open community with unlimited upload of images, videos and music.

Catherine McCormack-Skiba, Founder and CEO of myartspace, notes "It's very exciting to energize the creative spirit in Silicon Valley with world-class contemporary art. The blend of the technology innovation center of the world, and compelling art is very inspiring".

The NYAXE Gallery involves an ongoing competition that allows members of the www.myartspace.com community to submit work for gallery representation consideration. The competition is free for Premium myartspace.com members to enter. For more info visit, www.myartspace.com/nyaxegallery

Catherine McCormack-Skiba, the CEO, founder and Creative Director of myartspace.com, was on hand to meet visitors.

You can learn more about Premium membership on myartspace.com by visiting the following page, www.myartspace.com/premium. You can learn more about the current represented artists by visiting, www.myartspace.com/nyaxegallery/winners

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com

Art Space Talk Quotes #4

Here is another group of artist quotes taken from the myartspace.com Art Space Talk series of interviews that I have conducted. This group of quotes deals with the art world-- in general. You can read the Art Space Talk series of interviews by visiting, www.myartspace.com/interviews. Enjoy.

Concerning the art world:

“As I have spent more time in Rhode Island and gotten older, opportunities have come my way less easily. Out of sight, out of mind really applies to the art world. Lots of people whose opinions I value know and respect my work but younger dealers tend to show younger artists only naturally. We are all aware how hard it gets for mid-career artists to be seen – even those doing their best work right now. So for the moment, I’d go along with what artist Nancy Shaver said during her visiting artist lecture at RISD this fall - "Art – like vegetables and politics – should be local and global."" -- Holly Hughes

“I like the art world today. I like Frieze and all that. I can remember when Art in London was shit. Its really exciting BUT I think artists should always aspire to an art that turns things upside down and not just participate. Its more important than ever that Matts Gallery, Peer, The Tates The Whitechapel etc... promote difficult art that is impossible to sell.” -- Bob Smith aka Bob & Roberta Smith / Bob and Roberta Smith (Formerly known as Patrick Brill)

“For the last 50 years or so an artist could hardly paint anything representational with out it being looked down upon by the "Art World". In this past century, art ran a course to an extreme of minimalism and conceptualism and now things seem to be more inclusive." -- Mark Ryden

“The art world is mature and can take care of itself. It definitely doesn't need my policing. All I can concentrate on is doing what's in front of me today.” -- Cleon Peterson

“I'm more focused on my world than the "art world" as some sort of entity. I suppose one thing I am noticing is that a lot of younger artists are scrambling to become famous without even finishing formal art training.” -- Vasily Kafanov

“The gender equality in the art world in short, SUCKS. There are so many galleries that have one or two women out of a roster of twenty artists. No one feels the need to explain or defend this, the arrogance is monumental. I suppose women are left to assume that we are just crappy artists, when in fact a lot of this is driven by the fact that collectors think men’s art appreciates in value at a higher rate. This is all about the MONEY. I didn’t sign up for this as an artist. I’m still kind of stunned by the hedge fund mentality of the art world. Everyone’s waiting for the whole thing to collapse, and collapse it will.” -- Nancy Baker

"I love the art world. Especially when my work seems to be fitting in or at least part of the conversation. I hate the art world. Especially when my work seems not to be fitting in or be part of the conversation." -- Ken Fandell

“Have you ever heard of the saying "one can never be famous enough"? I took that saying to heart many years ago and it freed me up from being caught up in the art world. Being an artist has to be about doing the best work I can because that is all I really have and that’s the big equalizer among all artists. I think artists begin to lose sight of their work when they take themselves too seriously as personalities.” -- Anne Neely

"I decided to take part in the spectacle and entered it at the shallow end." -- Mark McGowan

“I have always had a strong belief in the power of my own work, but have been so disheartened by the art world that I often thought I would quit showing. I knew I could never stop making, however: at those moments, I remembered the Audrey Flack quote: "If the Art World is making you crazy, give up the art world, but don’t give up art."" -- Kate Kretz

Feel free to comment about any of the quotes listed above. Can you relate to their words? Do you take a different position? You can read the myartspace.com Art Space Talk series of interviews by visiting, www.myartspace.com/interviews. Enjoy.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com

The Phantom Street Artist speaks out against Shepard Fairey in Citizen LA

The Citizen LA cover is a collaboration between Rick Mendoza and Joey Krebs aka The Phantom Street Artist. www.citizenla.com

As mentioned on the Myartspace Blog the Phantom Street Artist is actively challenging the ‘street cred’ of artist Shepard Fairey. In my article, titled ‘Shepard Fairey Dodges Criticism at ICA: Street Artists and Copyright Advocates Demand Answers‘ , I mentioned that some street artists are furious concerning the commercialization of street art by Shepard Fairey and his business associates. Unfortunately, their voice has not been heard widely-- even on the majority of websites and e-zines dedicated to street art.

For that article I asked Joey Krebs aka Joel Jaramillo, aka Caine 2, aka the LA Street Phantom, aka The Phantom Street Artist about some of the statements Shepard Fairey has made about his work for Pepsi, Saks, and other companies. The Phantom Street Artist told me that he and others close to him feel that Shepard Fairey is “buying status and staking claim in a world that refuses to recognize him.” Krebs then told me, "The media does not represent the voice of the street. It represents the money of those who want to be recognized on the street.". He went on to say that Fairey is, “privileged, self entitled and self consumed.”. Needless to say, The Phantom has been very critical of Shepard Fairey‘s art, practice, and ethics.

For my article The Phantom Street Artist mentioned that he would like to “challenge” Shepard Fairey-- stating, “I want to challenge his point of view, his beliefs and his values in a dual of sorts. I want to challenge him physically, mentally, and perceptually.“ Krebs then told me, “This is the chance for him to win the character approved award by his colleagues-- true street artists. The challenge match is a physical as well as a conceptual performance.”.

I then asked the Phantom Street Artist if he felt that Shepard Fairey would meet his challenge concerning credibility on the streets. The Phantom responded, “There is no risk if you do not risk yourself. This is not a game of perception being managed and defined by publicist and public relations officers. These money fed publicists failed to realize that media is nothing other then the perception of opinion formed in management.”. In a sense, the Phantom Street artists feels that Shepard Fairey, with the help of a media relations machine, has bastardized the street art movement.

The Phantom Street Artist’s “character approved” statement was a jab at the USA Networks “ Character Approved Award ”, an award given by the USA Network to the most “remarkable, imaginative and innovative characters”-- Shepard Fairey won the top slot for the 2009 art category. Needless to say, the Phantom Street Artist does not feel that Shepard Fairey’s art is remarkable, imaginative, or innovative as far as street art is concerned. In fact, he feels that the award given by the USA Network to Shepard Fairey is a prime example of how corporations are claiming street art for profit and marketability with Shepard Fairey serving-- or should I say obeying -- as a corporate spearhead.

The Phantom Street Artist at work.

The words of the Phantom Street Artist have not went unheard. Citizen LA , a monthly arts & lifestyle publication that strives to support and sustain cultural diversity in Los Angeles, has acknowledge the Phantom Street Artist’s criticism of Shepard Fairey and his call for a "cage match" between the two with "street cred" in the balance-- a performance of sorts that would also serve the purpose of raising money for charity. Both artists have experience with fundraising. The Phantom helps to operate Art Saves Lives, www.artsaveslives.net, a non-profit dedicated to helping the homeless through art. Will Shepard Fairey meet the Phantom's challenge?

The Citizen LA article/interview touched on several other issues concerning the Phantom's criticism of Shepard Fairey. Heidi Hutchinson, reporting for Citizen LA, recently conducted an interview with the Phantom Street Artist titled, RAGE AGAINST THE SHEPHERD FAIREY PROPOGANDA MACHINE. In the interview the Phantom Street Artist explains to Hutchinson that Shepard Fairey does not represent the voice of the “populace” and is instead the “voice of the Elitist Media disguised”.

In his interview for Citizen LA the Street Phantom goes on to suggest that Shepard Fairey is nothing other then a “consumer being consumed” by buying media time, buying publicity, and buying legal representation. The Phantom states that Fairey has done this to “justify his infringed violations” in order to “present himself as a legit street artist.” The Phantom went on to say that Shepard Fairey and Obey Giant Art, Inc. are “exploitive media whores jacking references from historic cultures for their own selfish interests.”

According to the Citizen LA interview The Phantom is also critical of the ICA retrospective of Shepard Fairey's career. The Phantom feels that the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston “conjured” a 20 year retrospective with total disregard for Shepard Fairy’s “unapologetic infringed actions”. The Phantom views this as “a sign of the degeneration of our society and culture which is being conformed by mediocrity by the likes of Shephard Fairey and OBEY as well as his publication SWINDLE as the true life metaphor to inveigle beliefs systems and values all in the interest of mammon.”.

The Phantom’s message is clear-- he feels that Shepherd Fairey is no different than the entities he has spoke out against visually. In the Citizen LA interview he describes Shepard Fairey as the “poster boy for Big Brother”-- stating, “The media is run by elitists to manipulate public opinion. They’ve also overtaken the independent media, including Satellite Radio.”.

The Phantom then mentions that the real meaning of Fairey’s art is the power of propaganda as far as branding and commerce is concerned. He explained to Hutchinson, “OBEY has no responsible message other then to brand self promotion in the self interest of commerce.”-- an opinion that is shared by many street artists who are wary that the history of their ’culture’ as well as the power of the messages they leave are threatened by commercialization.

In the Citizen LA interview The Phantom states that Shepard Fairey’s actions is the “epitome of rape,” based on his ravaging of “important historical and revolutionary cultures, ideas, concepts and visions” for profit. According to Citizen LA The Phantom-- born to first generation immigrants from Ecuador-- feels that Shepard Fairey is "demeaning" the integrity of the “referenced” works as well as the voice of disenfranchised cultures from which they emerged by altering images without credit. The Phantom finds it offensive that Fairey has “referenced” works from Latino cultural history for profit-- stating in the Citizen LA interview, “He’s making a novelty out of degrading our historical cultural imagery.”.

Concerning Shepard Fairey’s case against the Associated Press the Phantom stated, “If visual artist or merchandisers like Shepard Fairey can cite “fair use” only in the interest of protecting their corporate interest of profit, we have lost the value of “fair use”. Phantom explained to Citizen LA that people should not sit back while Shepard Fairey exploits “fair use” for profit-- stating, “Fair Use protects language and true social commentary without suffocating independent voices.”. The Phantom went on to suggest that if Shepard Fairey wins his case against the Associated Press it will kick open the door for the exploitation of “fair use” by the rich and powerful.

Needless to say, the Citizen LA interview with the Phantom Street Artist is a must read for anyone who has been following the chaos involving Shepard Fairey. The article gives some great details about the Phantom's upbringing, street roots, and other insightful information about the artist. The Citizen LA website, www.citizenla.com, contains several other stories and interviews of interest. Do check them out.

For those who don’t know, The Phantom Street Artist is a Los Angeles based street artist who is widely known for creating art that was used on the cover of the Rage Against the Machine album titled The Battle of Los Angeles. The Phantom directed two videos for Rage Against the Machine, 'Bulls on Parade', and 'Renegades of Funk,'. Both videos were awarded by MTV. The Rage Against the Machine album and videos feature the Street Phantom’s signature artwork-- a lone silhouette, which the Phantom explains represents the “Public Everyman“.

The Phantom's criticism of Shepard Fairey offers the hope that maybe the voice of the 'everyman' can be powerful enough to go against the grain of media sensationalism and the cult of personality. Personally, I do hope that the Phantom and Shepard Fairey have an 'art bout' for charity. It would be interesting to observe the two match wits and talent for a good cause.

Update: This write-up is a review of the article/interview that the Phantom had sent to me. According to the Phantom, Citizen LA decided to edit most of the content due to "fear of legal retribution". The Phantom suggests that Citizen LA took creative liberties with the presentation as a whole. Perhaps the Fairey Machine runs deeper than first expected-- or maybe there was just a lack of communication between the Phantom and Heidi Hutchinson? As the saying goes, "There are two sides to every story". It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds.

George Stiehl, the publisher of Citizen LA, has contacted me over the issue. He has stated that there was only one version of the piece. Stiehl suggests that the situation may be due to a misunderstanding or lack of communication. He made it clear that Citizen LA does not intentionally misrepresent their interviewed artists-- and that he hopes to solve the issue in an amicable manner.

That said, the version that was published was enough to spur a reaction. According to my sources an outspoken critic of Shepard Fairey was threatened after mentioning the Citizen LA Phantom piece on Facebook-- she has since pulled her criticism from Facebook out of fear of being physically harmed.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
Myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
New York Art Exchange
www.nyaxe.com