FACULTY: August 2012

Friday, August 24, 2012

"AMERICANA" New works by Shepard Fairey opening this Saturday

Americana x Shepard Fairey x Perry Rubenstein Gallery

AMERICANA
New Paintings by Shepard Fairey

Public Reception
Saturday, August 25th
7pm – 10pm

Perry Rubenstein Gallery (LA) presents a special project by Shepard Fairey and Neil Young in celebration of the recent release of Young’s new album with Crazy Horse, “Americana,” which features reinterpreted classic, American, folk songs. Fairey has created eleven new paintings, each one inspired by the songs, such as Oh Susannah, This Land Is Your Land and Clementine. The new Shepard Fairey paintings will be on view to the public at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Los Angeles starting August 25th. In addition, Shepard will have a limited quantity release of the Americana Print Edition Box Set at the opening on August 25th at Perry Rubenstein Gallery. The Box Set will include a collection of screen print versions of all the new paintings, more info and official release date on the prints to come shortly, so STAY TUNED!

The “Americana” project developed as a result of Shepard Fairey’s relationship with Neil Young and his long-time manager Elliot Roberts. Fairey created a portrait of Young for the artist’s May Day show in 2010, based on his view of the musician as a social commentator philosophically aligned with people like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Joe Strummer. Young and Roberts then asked Fairey to design the art, CD and DVD packaging for the 25th anniversary of Young’s Bridge School charity. Fairey states, “Neil really liked the art and I was thrilled he asked me to collaborate by making paintings inspired by the songs on his “Americana” album. I’m a huge fan of Neil’s music in general, but when I heard the album I realized how much the subject matter of several songs reflected the aspirations and tragedies of those pursuing the American dream tied into issues relevant to the 99% movement which I have been supporting.”
Fairey says he listened to the music and lyrics to come up with concepts for visual representations of the songs. Then for each song, Fairey presented Young with ideas about a visual image that would best capture the meaning and/or protagonist/s in each song. The artist enjoyed hearing how Neil interpreted aspects of the songs that moved him the most musically and lyrically. Fairey states, “I showed Neil sketches, and then we discussed the ideas and refined them. He was very open to my ideas and encouraged me to go with what inspired me the most. Latitude for interpretation is something that Neil utilizes and seems to value as an important way for the listener/viewer to personalize their interaction with art and music. I also was excited about this project because the concept of re-interpreting pre-existing songs filtered through Neil’s unique sensibility parallels what I have often tried to do as a visual artist by building upon iconic images that are an accessible part of the cultural dialogue.”

Each of the new Fairey paintings resonate powerful messages presented in the songs, some depicting a hopeful outlook on the pursuit of a better tomorrow, while others reflect the hardships that come in trying to achieve that dream. One painting related to Clementine, which captures the words of a mourning lover whose “darling,” the daughter of a California Gold Rush miner, drowned. Here she is represented by the levitating body of a young woman draped in white, with the text “And Gone.” Another painting is related to the 1848 minstrel song Oh Susannah that features a dungaree-wearing banjo player with the text “DON’T YOU CRY FOR ME.” Other works feature a wanted poster (Travel On); an iconic image of Queen Elizabeth embroidering an American flag (God Save the Queen); and, a lonely tree, stripped bare of its leaves, in a desolate landscape (Tom Dula).

For Young and Crazy Horse’s rendition of the famous 1940 Woody Guthrie song known to every school-aged child in America, This Land Is Your Land, written in response to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, Fairey has depicted the hopeful face of a youth, set against a dramatic Western Landscape. Three rows of sharp, barbed wire cross the boy’s path with the text “NO TRESSPASSING / THIS LAND IS MY LAND.” The text is derived from a variant verse Guthrie added as a social commentary during a 1944 recording session. Fairey’s paintings are mixed media on canvas, including techniques such as stenciling, collage, and screen-printing. All of the paintings measure closely to the 30 x 44 inch dimension, which is one of Fairey’s standard choices of size. “Americana” is Neil Young with Crazy Horse’s first album together in nine years and is being released on June 5 on Reprise Records.

Perry Rubenstein Gallery
1215 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038
T (310) 395-1001 / F (310) 395-1019

www.perryrubenstein.com

*Repost from Obeygiant.com

Thursday, August 23, 2012

RISK "Old Habits Die Hard" & COLIN CHRISTIAN “Hello, Pretty, Pretty”

Corey Helford Gallery located in the Arts District of Culver City gave us a two tiered group show thease past months. With famed Los Angeles graffiti writer "Risk" aka Kelly Graval putting together "Old Habits Die Hard" and London born sculpture artist Colin Christian with "Hello, Pretty, Pretty". During the dates of July 7th to August 8th, 2012 embarked on a convergence of pop surrealism and graffiti street art.

In a career spanning almost 30 years, RISK has impacted the evolution of graffiti as an art form in Los Angeles and worldwide. RISK gained major notoriety for his unique style and pushed the limits of graffiti further than any writer in L.A. had before: He was one of the first writers in Southern California to paint freight trains, and he pioneered writing on “heavens,” or freeway overpasses. At the peak of his career he took graffiti from the streets and into the gallery with the launch of the Third Rail series of art shows, and later parlayed the name into the first authentic line of graffiti inspired clothing. RISK has continued to work on numerous Hollywood projects for movie and music video sets, including the film Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and videos for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Bad Religion and Michael Jackson. Today, RISK is still involved with graffiti, and shows his work worldwide. In 2011, RISK was a featured artist in Art In the Streets, the first comprehensive museum survey of graffiti and street art. Following an outdoor installation at the London Pleasure Gardens and UK gallery show on view this summer during the 2012 Olympics, RISK debuts “Old Habits Die Hard,” and is his first solo exhibition at the gallery and his most comprehensive to date. For the show, RISK returns to his graffiti roots with a series of traditional work that celebrate his iconic lettering style, self-described as “organized chaos" all delivered in classic RISK fashion.

RISK "Old Habit Die Hard"

"RIS"

Spray Paint on License Plates 96" x 48"

"Good Times #1"

Spray Paint on Neon Steel 48" x 48"

"Risk Aqua Blue Tag"

Spray Paint on License Plates 72" x 96"

"Pink Elephant" with collaboration with OG Abel

Spray Paint and Acrylic on Fiberglass 84" tall

Risk

The letter "H" out of whole alphabet set

Top: "Good Times #1"

Bottom: "Good Times #3" Spray Paint on License Plates 48" x48"

Entitled “Hello, Pretty, Pretty”, Colin Christian’s first solo exhibition with Corey Helford Gallery pays tribute to the Black Queen of Sogo from the 1968 cult film “Barbarella”. Internationally known for his glamorous sci-fi-esque female figures crafted from fiberglass, Christian describes his aesthetic as “optimistic futurism with a giggle”. His large-scale sculptures capture beauty in many forms from futuristic portraits of Cleopatra and Hello Kitty to ultra-mod Orbit Chairs made from fiberglass, steel and faux fur. Christian will unveil twelve new pieces, featuring luxe textures that incorporate glitter and sequins as well as darker overtones addressing transhumanism. He adds, “I wanted to push it as far as light and dark goes, both figuratively and literally”. Striking a blend of fashion, 60s pop art and 70s interior design, “Hello, Pretty, Pretty”, references a wide range of influences from Christian’s life. He notes,“‘Zoofy’ was inspired by my sister-in-law’s traffic accident. It features a gothic corseted girl in eighteen-inch heels with a metal support frame on wheels so that she could walk. Another piece, my first major black figure, ‘Superflyhoney’ is a nine and a half foot tall, 70s inspired futuristic girl. Wearing a painted on rubber cat suit with giant space flares, she is based on my love of 70s soul and disco”.

Colin Christian "Hello, Pretty, Pretty"

"Humanoid Series-Vigilante"

Fiberglass 24" x 24"

"Glitterbomb"

Fiberglass 40" x 24"

Top: "Ceremony" Fiberglass 14" x 24"

Bottom: "Lovely" 16" tall

"Babs"

Silicon, fiberglass & paillettes 38" tall

"Hello, Pretty, Pretty"

Fiberglass and swarovski crystal 66" tall

"Transhumanexchange"

Fiberglass and silicon 20" x 36"

"Inner Vacation (Capsule Series)"

Fiberglass, silicon and color changing LED lighting

"Zoofy"

Fiberglass, silicon and steel 34" x 84" x 24"

"Superflyhoney" front

Fiberglass and silicon 48" x 120" x 36"

"Superflyhoney" back

Fiberglass and silicon 48" x 120" x 36"

Colin Christian was born in London on March 30, 1964 to a loving and outgoing mother. Apart from art classes, he hated school, and at the age of 15, he left to live in Morocco with his family. The cultural difference was very liberating, and upon his return to England at 16, he worked at a record music store. In 1982 he became a DJ and stage manager for a large nightclub in the south of England where he met his wife Sas. In 1992 Colin moved to the U.S where he and his wife started a small business making latex clothing for fetish stores around the country. Their work was featured in Penthouse and Skin Two magazines. Taking what he had learned from clothing manufacturing and combining it with his interest in movie special effects, Colin produced fiberglass figures and displays. In 1998, he produced his first production figure, an anime girl called “Suki,” towering seven feet tall and anatomically correct. Colin decided to put his career on hold for a few years to take up commercial sculpture. A robot he made for the American Heart Association was interviewed by Katie Couric on The Today Show, and he also constructed the world’s largest mousetrap for pest control company Truly Nolen, which is now featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. Colin works full time on his original sculptures, finding inspiration in old sci-fi movies, pinup girl/supermodels, anime, ambient electronic music and H.P. Lovecraft. In 2004, he started using silicone in his sculptures, a difficult material to use but one that helps him achieve his goal of true cartoon realism, a line drawing made flesh. He is not looking to create every imperfection and flaw, but to take the exaggerations and perfections of cartoons and make them into a realistic 3D form.

To learn more about RISK and his art, please visit here:

www.riskrock.com

To learn more about Collin Christian and his art, please visit here:

www.colinchristian.com

To learn more about the Corey Helford Gallery, past, present and future shows, please visit here:

www.coreyhelfordgallery.com

Friday, August 17, 2012

"There's always money in the banana stand" Art inspired by Arrested Development

Once in a while and in my opinion, Fox Television Network puts out a show that mere words can't describe. A show that takes you to so many different comedic and dramatic levels. A show that is so hilariously amazing and never gets dry or dull. That show being "Arrested Development". Brainchild of Mitchell Hurwitz with Executive Producer Ron Howard who doubles as an uncredited narrator of the show that centers on the Bluth family, a formerly wealthy, habitually dysfunctional family set in Newport Beach, Ca. With a short run of only 3 seasons that spanned from 2003 to 2006, this hour long sitcom instantly became a cult classic among viewers with critical acclaim that includes 6 Emmy Awards and 1 Golden Globe and in 2007 Time Magazine named it "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time".

Six years after the series had been cancelled by Fox. Netflix announce earlier this year that filming for a revived fourth season will began in August. The season will consist of ten new episodes with all ten debuting at the same time on Netflix in early 2013.

To celebrate this news and pay homage to the past seasons. Gallery 1988 on Melrose in Hollywood opened it's doors to bring us "There's always money in the banana stand". An art exhibit consisting of over 100 pieces by a slew of artists is inspired by the show and it's motley mix of individually unique and quirky characters that ran from June 29th to July 21st, 2012. Ranging in a spectrum of medias, viewers were treated to various paintings, proofs & prints showcasing the sitcom in all its outlandish behavior and glory. Some pieces were handcrafted plush dolls with one work being an actual play set.

Below are selected samplings of the show: