As a teenager, and a guitar player, I clung to Jimi Hendrix like a god…. ok fine, I still do! It was something to do with his expression, his release, his distortion, his control of his instrument, and the era that he lived in that I think captured my imagination. I know, that’s a pretty far out list. Continue Reading →
Bob Dylan‘s Self Portrait
When I wake up I’m in either one of two moods. One: I don’t want to be up, just sit here and numb for a while. Or two: Alright, today is a great day, lets get this train rollin. Today was a train rollin kind of day. What did I put on? Portishead of course. Continue Reading →
Ben Harper is one of the most inspirational people I follow on a regular basis. His discography spans back to 1992, with Pleasure and Pain (one hell of a record I must add). In 2006 he came out with Both Sides of the Gun
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are a very tasteful band. Their creativity makes me feel like I’m flowing through some sort of magical mystery, with only floral patterns, old tea cups, and phonographs. To be short, I like the album Up From Below
The Black Keys are for real, and they will for real you. To be korney, they attack and release, and oh so much more. Yes, it’s all true: you must listen to them. Continue Reading →
Remi/ROUGH just finished a trip to Canada, his first ever, and to no other than Vancouver at that. Yes, this is where I’m at. Yes, I met him. Yes, he’s a major cool chap. Yes, his art is amazing.
The pure mix of straight edges, with complete slur of all emotion mixed with symmetry, and then displaced with layered chaos is amazing.
He came to Vancouver to do Unintended Calculations, a mix of spraying the Moda Hotel walls in downtown Vancouver, as well as showing at Becker Galleries, located on Granville Island. The show was curated by the talented Indigo, who herself is an amazing artists becoming a global figure. I’ve taken some photographs of the event held at Becker Galleries.
Remi/ROUGH’s work leaves a lot up to the imagination. There are many angles to approach it, for myself, I feel. One can embrace it from chaos inward to straight and stiff edges, or the other way around: straight stiff to chaos. Maybe the correct word is not so much chaos as one would think.
Remi/ROUGH has been part of the Graffiti scene for a very long time. One of the fathers one might even say, so needless to say he is looked up to by many, many people. Artists, punks, rebels, musicians all alike; and with just cause, he is a great guy.
While talking with him, he gave me the certain awe that most people who have been doing their thing for a while, proven themselves, give me. It’s like a ‘yes, I’m just doing my thing, and I’m great at it, and I love it, and I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy it too cause that’s why I do it’ kind of feeling. Or maybe that was just the English blood in him… Hard to tell.
The above piece is a collab put on the walls of a gallery with System, another artist.
To be honest though, it’s work like this that inspires me. There isn’t one thing that a person can pinpoint that does it, it’s a mixture of all things combined. How does one enjoy the drips any more than one does the edges? And how can you ignore the raunch feel of anger that is evoked in pin pointing an exact thing that inspires? Maybe it’s not anger at all, maybe it’s just something akin to capturing fireflies.
To me, it’s a body. It’s a figure, it’s a feeling. It’s not just one thing. It’s everything. Does this make sense? How does it make you feel?
The photo above is Remi/ROUGH doing work with Jaybo Monk. I have done a profile on him recently for he is also one inspiring fellow. Two legends, two icons, two people that will be talked about for many many years to come.
I am honored to have met Remi/ROUGH and I look forward to seeing his future work.
All pictures are to the best of my knowledge taken by Remi/ROUGH unless otherwise noted.
I have been fascinated with Slayer for a very long time. When I was in grade 6 or 7 I had asked my older neighbor (who happened to be a metal head) to make me a mix tape of the heaviest, metalist stuff that he had.
Slayer was on the tape. This is obvious right?
I spent a few years, ever night listening to that tape. For a while I had a ghetto blaster above my head that I would turn on as I went to sleep. Then soon I got a walkman and had headphones on every night. It was for a very large part that tape that I listened to. It was a great tape. The funny thing is that the tape had no song list, so I didn’t know I was listening to Megadeth, or Slayer, or Anthrax, or Prong until much later in life. I’m still finding a few of the bands on there. Light bulbs go off.
So, the album for today I have chosen to review is Slayer’s South of Heaven
The title track is a staple to any metal fans diet. If you do not know this song, then you are not a metal fan. Seriously. It’s that staple.
The fury that rocks through your veins when you listen to this album is real. Fast drum beats from Dave Lombardo, the fascinatingly hard and fast riffs from Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, and Tom Araya belting out lyrics blows the lid off of many pots (and mothers) regularly.I laugh at this old photo.
I love the track Mandatory Suicide. Not particularity for the name, but everything together makes sense.
On angry days, I like to scare innocent people with Slayer. You know they’re wanting to stare and wonder and gawk, but you know they’re to afraid to do it. This is what goes through my mind.
I think the thing I like about this album is that every single song makes me think about dancing around in a circle throwing a few elbows. Have you ever been there? I’ve had the chance to see Slayer rock a few times; yes, its epic. Kerry King’s goatee is getting pretty intense. I read an article on him where he explained the reason for braiding it now is because it would get stuck in his guitar. Badass.
Cleanse The Soul? Seriously? Is this possible to be such a crazy insane bits of solo mixed with the clearly searching lyrics of preparation of Tom? Badass, I’m not joking!
Whose with me on this? Which one of y’all have days where you need to be angry? It pushes me further. Does it help you? Get South of Heaven
You get pieces of art that are pretty close replications of real life, evoke a sense of 3D, and really give a feeling of something that you can see happening. Well, Jaybo Monk touches briefly, in little corners of his paintings on these elements, fits together pieces that really make sense on their own, but what I find are his strongest suits are that he pushes the freak into what one would feel is quite natural and ordinary; freakishly and radically awesome.
It really is works of art like this that inspire me. Where does it come from? Where has it spilled forth from? What was on your mind? How did you get those strokes? How did you blend there? Did you create this from space? Those are just the first few that come from looking at the above photograph. Lord only knows how many more would come if I could actually behold one of them in front of me.
From what I’ve read, Jaybo is from a strong graffiti background, he grew up in France, but ran away from home to settle in Germany, Berlin to be exact. His biography on Circle Culture will take you into more detail, but its very interesting to hear how he has shaped the scene of that area from the ground, grass roots up.
A friend just told me, because I was lamenting about how far away my art is from this, that to get to the point where my art speaks like this, it takes many many hours, days, years of work. I optimistically put the fear of never getting to this point out of my mind and push on. Another friend once told me that if I spend to much time looking at all the other works out there, I’ll become overwhelmed with how much there is and start getting dizzy. I think that’s how I’m feeling right now. This is just such an amazing body of work Jaybo has.
Just wow. You know? wow. Shading, contortion, vivid body parts mixed with spaces of plain white. Ease and confusion. Words just keep flowing. Comprehension doesn’t follow suit. I found a great interview done by Remi Rough at Graffuturism, where I got the final picture of Jaybo from. But the interview does reach some interestingly quirky points, but mainly showcases some of Jaybo’s brilliant works. Maybe you’ve seen some of them before? Maybe it’s just in your dreams…
Also, the mixture of materials that he uses. To me, it looks like theres oils, water colors, pens, and spray paint? It is just confusing to me. Amazingly confusing. So much does it speak that its confusing.
I hope this opens up new doors for you as it has me, finding or learning of such style, such works just inspires me to the point of utter madness, a circling spiraling into madness that I can’t stop smiling about until I’m upside down and…
What do you think about Jaybo?
Here are a few videos to watch Jaybo’s process from Urban Art Core
This one is from Urban Art Core as well
Some of you may know her as a stencil artist, some of you may know her as a graffiti artist, some a dancer, and some of you will simply know her as the artist. All these combined, what do we have? A great person and an inspiration to nearly everyone within her reach; oh yes, she does reach far.
Me, as an observer, would define Indigo as a relentless worker who cannot say no. You can see it in her eyes (or hair)! It’s a drive that only people filled with life carry with them, like a little gerbil in a cage, tirelessly running on its little spin wheel. Time, location, hunger.. these are things that do not effect these types of people, and Indigo is definitely tested; starving artist she be.
Her artwork is graceful. You know the feeling you get when you watch an eagle soar through the air? Kinda like that. It just has a being, an existence to it. A natural essence that seems to say: “Yes, this is how it’s supposed to be, can’t you see?”
This artist is also an incredible writer. Read for yourself some of her blog posts. Her stories put you in places. I like those kind of stories, I like those kind of places, a realm of reality that you know exists there, or has existed in the past, but you’re just taking a break with a cup of tea right now on your dreaming to take you there.
One of her latest projects has been the wooden boxes and shelves that you see here. She touches on her thoughts of why she has started this project on her blog.
Indigo once told me when we were in discussion about stenciling (maybe illegally, maybe not): “It’s not just making the stencil cool, it’s about placement. You don’t just stick a little stencil in the middle of a giant wall, it just doesn’t fit.” These words just make sense for all art. Whether it’s stenciling on a wall, or in a collage, pasting onto a sign, dancing to a song, or painting on a canvas if it doesn’t fit, it’s not a proper piece. Yes, granted many artists push these boundaries to new levels that expand the mind to immeasurable heights, but you still look at it and go: “My that looks easy,” or: “My that fits there.” Her art fits there.
Her artwork is easily available through her Cargoh storefront, but I mention this because they have just created a artist bio video of her, thats simply brilliant.
One of her recent projects is curating an art show at Becker Galleries in Granville Island here in Vancouver, you can see a bit of what to expect with this video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq6k_2djVZs&feature=player_embedded]
Her next venture is a 4week stint in South Africa where she will be part of many great projects that range from desert festival group paintings, to teaching youth the art of expression, to showing in a few galleries that you need to follow her blog to stay updated on!
Note: All photos are courtesy of the artist.