Graffiti 24/7

All legality issues aside, graffiti has come a very long way since the late 70's. Now ever-present in the age of information, the medium has exploded into hyper-drive. Sites like tslfilms.com (The Seventh Letter films) showcase masters executing incredible works in a time-lapse fashion.





Most world-renown graffiti artists also have websites showcasing their work which they update frequently. All things that make it easier to enjoy the art form, no matter when or where you are.

I will suggest a walk around your neighbourhood, of course, but if you'd rather—and instantly—travel the world following a specific artist's work, now you can. Above are samples from Revok's own website. Find his portal through time and space here.

Images: A fresh piece (short for master-piece) by Revok in England; Quick fills (fill-ins, throw-ups, etc...) by KC, Nekst and Revok in Texas; Rollers (large block-style letters done with paint rollers) by Augor and Revok in Los Angeles; and, a large collaboration spelling-out "MSKingsHaulin'Ass" which translates to: Mad Society Kings Hauling Ass (MSK is the name of the formerly Los Angeles-based, now international graffiti crew or collective that Revok is part of.) That piece was done in England by Revok with Roid and Aroe.

Ron Loranger and BGL in Toronto

Ron Loranger just produced two new extra-large blobettes (big paint blobs) in Toronto's Don River area. Québec City's BGL is also in town and have installed a small-scale cruise ship and a 15' diameter life preserver. See No.9's website for more info.

Both installations are on and around the decommissioned Eastern Street bridge crossing the Don River. Here's a map.

Julian Opie

Shown above are minimalist sculptures by English artist Julian Opie produced in the mid to late 90's. The third image is recent, showing vector (Adobe Illustrator) versions of his cars. Visit his clever site designed to look like a classic Macintosh interface. It catalogues a vast array of Opie's work. It's here.

Ted Tucker

Here are a few recent paintings by Ted Tucker. The works are stunning when seen full-size—lots of beautifully executed details and plays with lighting and dark tones. The subjects depicted are Tucker's imagined frat-society composed of other prominent (to quote Jubal Brown) Neo-Romantic artists. More here.

À l'écoute

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead's Source Tags and Codes (Interscope)
I've had this one for a long time and I've pulled it out again. I like these guys. And this is what I mean by winter music. Hard, driving, wall-of-sound-esque magic that you just don't get from most bands with great manicured haircuts. A great entry point if you're considering a shot at Trail Of Dead fan-hood.

Do Make Say Think's You, You're A History In Rust (Constellation)
I'm a little late getting the last Do Make Say Think release—that's been out for a while now—but for me personally, it just wasn't meant to be a winter album. Put it on and head for a walk through what it is we call Spring. It's simple and flows beautifully.

Pipilotti Rist on UbuWeb

Here's a link to a good selection of Pipilotti Rist's work on UbuWeb. Show here are stills from "I'm Not The Girl Who Misses Much" from 1986 and "Stillsmoking" from 1998.

Pushing Drew Simpson

Drew Simpson is opening a show this week at Christopher Cutts Gallery. I caught up with him over lunch to talk about his Shadow Houses series which is shown here. Each work measures approx a foot high by 6 inches wide. They are extremely tight, Dutch-style oil paintings showing a house at night—complete with warm glowing windows—set admits rolling landscapes or farm lands painted in full daylight.



Details: "What was successful of my interiors [Pseudo Sanctuary series] was how subtle they were and not so in-your-face. All the sets I had been painting were from Victorian houses and I wanted to make something more North American. Something more isolated. So I took these houses and placed them in a rural and isolated setting," Simpson explains.

"These are a continuation of the Pseudo Sanctuary series because, to me, these paintings are as much about the interior as the rooms are. But these are Town & Country. They are more from where you and I grew up. Duck-patterned wall paper, wood paneling interiors, not so high-class like in Pseudo Sanctuary," adds Simpson.

The exhibit opening this Friday features what comes after the Shadow Houses, Simpson's series entitled The Interiority Complex. I missed the show he had at Cutts this summer so I thought it wouldn't hurt to revisit these works as a primer.

More from the Archives

Here's an installation shot from a video work I produced in 2002 entitled Skateboard. It was shown as part of the Riverdale Art Walk in Toronto. The idea was to sit in this low-rider beach chair and pretend you were actually looking down at your feet on a skateboard rolling full-speed ahead.


I found this study for a painting never executed. The image was sourced from a plastic wall-mounted decoration that my friend Jen had in her room growing up.


I also found some great close-up shots taken by Gokche Erkan of the sleeping bag piece I installed outside of Artcore back in 2002 when the gallery was still in Yorkville, Toronto. More about the work here.

Archives

Looking through archived CDs yesterday I came across old illustration work (circa 2000-01) . Shown here is a bored Robin Jull, two stills from an experimental film done using Flash (the reel to reel deck and the doll in studio) and finally, a sneezing Laurel Fortin.

Nan Goldin

A few photographs by American artist Nan Goldin. More here.

Marko Mäetamm

These are Estonian-born artist Marko Mäetamm's Bleeding Houses. Each house, or painting, has a (wonderful?) story to accompany it. They can be found here.