October 6th, 2009 §
“LOVESTAIN”
PRESENTED BY STOLENSPACE
(LONDON)
Exhibition from 1st – 18th October 2009
GALLERY HOURS: TUESDAY – SUNDAY, 11:00am – 7.00pm
Okay it’s in London – but this is big potatoes…
StolenSpace are proud to present ‘Lovestain’ a UK premier solo show from world renowned female street artist, Miss Van. A retrospective as well as a new body of work and taking over two exhibition spaces at StolenSpace, this will be her largest solo show to date.
Toulouse native and current Barcelona resident Miss Van started to paint her graffiti on the streets during the 90s, at the age of 18. Her overtly feminine street art was a breath of fresh air in a traditionally masculine movement of urban art and paved the way for many contemporaries. Now her infamous sultry female characters, known as her ‘Poupes’, are seen on the streets and in galleries alike all over the world.
From these pouting, sulky girls emerges a certain sensuality and disconcerting eroticism that is frank and unabashed. Their thoughts are palpable and the paintings become real in both flesh and spirit. Miss Van creates her characters with an innovative spirit. Affirming her style, the artist infuses into her work traits from her own personality, rendering them thus, self-portraits. It is through their fantasy that the sensitivity and fragility of the artist is expressed. She takes pleasure in playing with ambiguities, her dolls are childlike women that are equally angelic and devilish. They have a rare appeal that transcends gender-an appeal that also extends to the work that she shows in galleries.
Over the years, Miss Van’s characters keep evolving. They have become less cute and more dangerously alluring, edgier – their sexy aura made all the more complex by their increasingly ambiguous facial expressions. The more she has moved into gallery work and can work with the nuances of more fragile media than the streets allow (pencil, for one), her characters have grown even more sensitive, subtle, and delicately rendered.
Featuring a retrospective of her work & new paintings this show also sees the release of 2 rare exclusive hand pulled limited edition screen prints from Miss Van
For all the details check here.
October 1st, 2009 §
Eastside Projects is an artist-run space as public gallery and incubator of new ideas for the City of Birmingham and beyond.
Eastside Projects is a not-for-profit organisation, working in partnership with Birmingham City University and STATE Enterprises, revenue funded by Arts Council England West Midlands; it aims to commission and present experimental contemporary art practices and exhibitions and fully participate and support the cultural activity of the city both inside and out.
Eastside Projects was conceived by artist-curator Gavin Wade and is organised by a founding collective comprising Simon & Tom Bloor, Celine Condorelli, Ruth Claxton, and James Langdon.
Abstract Cabinet Show // 26 September to 8 November 2009
Part of The Birmingham Comedy Festival 2–11 October and The Event 4–8 November. Featuring Laureana Toledo & John Taylor, Mithu Sen, Support Structure, Para/Site Art Space, Heather & Ivan Morison, Magnus Quaife & David Osbaldeston, Shedhalle Zurich, Michael Takeo Magruder, Bedwyr Williams, Grizedale Arts, The Hut Project, Malgras & Naudet Contemporary Zurich, Stan’s Café, Freee, Daniel Salomon, Juneau Projects, Stone Canyon Nocturne, DJ Simpson and Clarke & McDevitt.
Featuring the Premier of a new multi screen film, sound, bass amp and newspaper publication project, CORRESPONDENCE/ CORRESPONDENCIA, made collaboratively by Mexico City based Laureana Toledo and Duran Duran Bassist John Taylor. Toledo and Taylor’s Super-8 footage of Birmingham and Mexico City (with Taylor filming Mexico and Toledo filming Birmingham) - is a “meditation on local and international constructed space and identity, the sound of cities and an inquisitive meeting of difference, coincidence and shared passions”.
September 29th, 2009 §
Following on from my last post, we hear from Nicole Scribbel a visual artist from Wolverhampton who is contributing to the literary landscape of the city by leaving word play all over the streets of Birmingham. Her “Spontaneous Art Shows” are a type of mysterious street art that is deposited for passersby to glimpse, or take home and enjoy. In an exclusive interview with Best Believe she explains how her passion for words and lettering started at a young age.
During school I developed my own style of handwriting (quite possibly influenced by the music I was listening to, and the records I was buying at that time). It was a subconscious thing and looking back now, I realise it was my way of expressing myself.
Around the late eighties to mid nineties, I would spend time admiring the graffiti that was happening in my area and would often doodle out my own words three dimensionally in different styles. Heavily into music, I would also listen carefully to lyrics and scribble them down on record sleeve inners in order to try and decipher what the artist was trying to say.
Later down the line, after some formal training as a “Fine Artist”, the battle of not wanting to be moulded into a pretentious Art Twit with an A, and undoing a wee bit of confusion, I have reversed back ten to fifteen years, working with letters and words once more.
In my eyes, letters are line drawings, and in day-to-day life we use these alongside signs, shapes and symbols to communicate with one and another and they help give us guidance. And depending on who we are and where we are from, they may differ slightly.
My Slogans or “Word Art” are an attempt in some cases to communicate with people and make people think and re-asses their priorities in life but also a form of self-expression for myself. It’s where I am able to release my frustrations and celebrations.
Words are powerful, and by even reading a single word, it can trigger many thoughts and/or images in your mind.
I currently adapt well-known nursery rhymes into thought provoking statements, which perhaps reflect the more serious side to my personality. In contrast, I also make my own rhyming slang as a more humorous way of communicating my thoughts. For me personally my work acts as a kind of diary, as it documents certain moments in time.
And as Sister Corita Kent once said “I am not brave enough to not pay my income tax and risk going to jail. But I can say rather freely what I want to say with my art.” And this I can relate to.
September 23rd, 2009 §
We all know that the first rule of fight club is don’t talk about fight club but nobody said a girl can’t blog about it. Birmingham’s answer to fight club uses pens and poscas rather than bare knuckles and fists, but is just as underground and sometimes just as moody.
Secret Wars has been a revelation – A cultural movement that is spreading across the globe! Started in March 06’ (By Monorex kingpin, Terry Guy in London UK) as a testing ground for artists to show the public what they can do. The idea quickly evolved into a knockout cup style contest that now attracts huge crowds of people anywhere it is held.
Seeds, Slobz and Keefy run and maintain the Birmingham rounds.
Secret Wars is the world’s premier live art battle, and in Birmingham…. things get very live.. Illustrator vs graf writer vs comic book writer vs street artist vs toy maker vs animator vs graphic designer etc etc etc …
This dissident group of artists meet regularly at The Rainbow to battle one and other, the rules are simple:
- 90 MINS ON THE CLOCK
- BLACK PAINT ONLY – ON WHITE WALLS!
- NO SKETCHES / NO PENCILS
- INVISIBLE MIDDLE LINE WITH AN ARTIST EITHER SIDE
JUDGED USING A 3 POINT SYSTEM – 2 GUEST JUDGES AND A CROWD VOTE (USING A DECIBEL READER)
GO BIG OR GO HOME!
Much like the 1984 comic Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars the key players from the scene, both evil and good get summoned to the planet “battleworld” in a distant galaxy (The Rainbow in our case) to duel to the death. I wouldn’t like to speculate on who the heroes and their opposing villains are in the Secret Wars Birmingham series but just like in the comics, world domination is getting to look quite attractive. The boys in charge have decided to put together a crack team of artists that can compete in battles throughout the UK and Europe.
Representing our city will be a squad of 5 artists, made up of previous winners Phill Blake and Newso with all round heavy weights in the field of graffiti illustration; Chu & Agent.
With four already in the crew the hunt is on to find the 5th member, this place will be given to the overall winner of the mini series that kicks off at The Rainbow on Sunday 4th October at 4pm, then on every Sunday through October and November. The official draw was pulled on the Secret Wars radio show on Rhubarb Radio and is as follows: AS-ONE / MIKEY BRAINS / POSH-ONE / ROO / SOL1R / SYLPH / TITLE / TX
For all the info on round one check the facebook page …Let the battle commence!
September 21st, 2009 §
October is Black History Month and in Birmingham and the West Midlands there are a bunch of things going on to celebrate Black History, many of the events do so organically and also regularly and don’t necessarily need a specified ‘month’ to do their thing. Here are some of the events that I think would be worth checking out…
Black History is important to Birmingham because of the significant contribution made by Black people to the socio-economic and political foundation of this city and as an Afrikan saying goes: “A people without a history are like a tree without roots”. Birmingham Black History Website
Exhibitions
The Drum presents BirminStrong by Damian Brown // Mon 14 Sep – Fri 4 Dec, Mon – Fri // 10am – 6pm // Admission free
This photographic exhibition captures the essence of Black artists through a series of portraits, which documents their everyday lives, living and working within Birmingham. BirminStrong is a major new exhibition commissioned by The Drum as part of the BirminStrong and Black History Month Season.
In a culturally diverse city like Birmingham, the impact and positive contribution that African, African Caribbean and Asian artists have brought to the city and also to the arts fraternity has been eminent. From the music world right through to the theatre world, Black British artists have transformed the different artistic genres and made it their own. Giving us a flavour of what it means to be Black and British through their creative ideas and bodies of work in today’s society.
The New Art Gallery Walsall presents Thursday Affair – Sing It Black // Thursday 1 October 2009 // 6pm – 9pm // A special free event to launch Black History Month in Walsall.
Nominate your favourite black music track of all time to be part of the night’s play list. Songs that mean something to you, your generation, songs that are integral part of Black heritage and traditions or associated with major moments in history.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Motown, Mel Day will perform some of the most representative songs from that golden era accompanied by relevant film screenings and activities.
To tell us of your favourite track email Ioannis Ioannou on ioannoui@walsall.gov.uk by Friday 25 September.
Free food and a free drink on the night and another opportunity to have a look at the Gordon Cheung, Neal Rock and Steffi Klenz shows!
To find out more about Black History Month events in Walsall check here.
Gigs
Nu Century Arts presents… Femi Temowo
Sun 18 October // 7.45pm // Nu Century Arts // £5 (£3 concessions and members) // Hare and Hounds Kings Heath // 0121 523 5551
Appearing here as part of the Live Box anniversary tour, Temowo is also a key figure in the Soweto Kinch Quartet - who shared Mercury Prize nomination glory for Kinch’s debut album ‘Conversations with the Unseen’. The producer and guitarist has performed with George Benson, Cleveland Watkiss and Jason Rebello, and was a musical director for Amy Winehouse.
Film
Retrofilm.biz and The Drum presents Burning An Illusion
Wed 21 October // 7pm // £4 (£3)
A young British-born Black woman finds her aspirations of comfortable, respectable married life called into question when her partner is sent down for assaulting a police officer. Her political consciousness grows as she finds strength through a Black women’s group, asserting her needs while supporting and planning a future with her partner.
Dir: Menelik Shabazz (1981)
Running Time: 101mins
Certificate 15
Some other gigs worth a look are:
September 21st, 2009 §
I have been to a few things this year that have been sponsored by Tiger beer. Most noticeably Jibbering Art’s ‘Line Steppers’ exhibition in May. So if you are having a preview, exhibition, event or opening and you are looking for drinks sponsorship it is worth taking a peek at Tiger. Be aware that there is a three month lead in period and you should be prepared to sell your event in ‘branding’ terms, but if it gets you free beer then I say..dive in! Check here for all the details.
September 20th, 2009 §
The Warp and Woof Exhibition featuring the work of Glenn Anderson and Richard Coldicott is currently showing at The Green Street Warehouse, 22 Green Street, Digbeth B20 2RW until 26th September.
