The writing is on the wall, believe me

Defacing walls, poles, trains and buildings, Graffiti is considered undesirable vandalism to its victims who spend time and money to remove it from their property.

Without an understanding of why artists turn to graffiti, it is not surprising that the average person's image of a graffiti artist is far from accurate. A majority of people tend to associate graffiti with vandalism. They think most graffiti artists are hoodlums or gang-bangers with nothing better to do with their time. However, vandalism and graffiti derive from very different motives and environments, although at times there is a fine line between the two.

The explosion of this new style of art became so big that it was impossible not to notice. There were mixed reactions. By the 1980s, however, police pressure cracked down on graffiti and many well-known "writers' corners," where artists would converge to share ideas and techniques, were repainted and kept clean. The subway system began a massive clean-up program that discouraged kids from writing.

There are Graffiti artists who are drawn to the art form for individual expression.  They turn to graffiti because they feel that it is the art form which can most accurately represent them and graphically depict their background. The idea behind putting their names up in public and familiar places was to show a rejection of their working-class environment. Most who worked in menial, low-class jobs felt that they had no individuality in the workplace; that they were just part of the city's life-blood and could not be distinguished from the next worker. Graffiti writers posted their names in as many places as possible, to let the world know that they were still conscious and were still human beings.

However, on the streets of the UK near London, an artist called Bansky gained international recognition and fame for his graffiti. The fact is that Banksy's "street art" has become immensely popular with both pedestrians and private art collectors alike. In the last several years, there have been a number of exhibitions and auctions of Banksy's art work as his popularity has soared. 

Venice Biennale 2011: Korean Pavillion: Artist, Lee Yong Baek

What characterizes the works of Lee Yong Baek is the use of peaceful elements within an estranging environment. War, Life and Death.


"Armed soldiers of Automatika Kalashnikova are hiding from the absent minded observers: us, as preys of already written destinies (not by superior gods, but by politics). An army is mimicred behind floral multidimensional patterns made of bright colors. They are slowly assaulting an unaware target. The prey doesn't notice anything and death could arrive unexpectedly. Lee Yong Baek, the only representative artist for Korea, moves the souls of the observers, by contextualizing a sub-pop asian world and by using in an excellent way the means offered to him by the digital age."
Artitude Review

Demonstrating Lee's background in kinetics, the 'pieta' sculpture uses casting elements to create oversized, robot like figures.  In 'pieta' 2 forms speak to self destruction, with the molded figure destroying the mold from which it was cast.

Venice Biennale 2011: Italian Pavillion

The Italian Pavillion left me with a strong impression of a country that has been battling for the longest time, battling that elusive oppressive order know as the "mafia". 

"The mafia is oppression, arrogance, greed, self enrichment, power and hegemony, above and against all others. It is not an abstract concept, or a state of mind, or a literary term...it is a criminal organization regulated by unwritten but iron and inexorable rules.  The myth of a courageous and generous 'man of honour' must be destroyed, because a mafioso is just the opposite."

Cesare Terranova, Italian magistrate murdered in 1979

Venice Biennale 2011: The Shape of Things to Come

Venice is synonimous with art and passion, ever inspiring and transcendental. Venice is a place where everyday life can be so absorbing, so ingenious and so enchanting as to make you forgive her any inconveniences, be it extreme heat or cold, long line ups and painful blisters. Take a walk with me through the Venice Biennale Giardini and Arsenale at the international art exhibition which dictates the shape of things to come in the art world.

 

Altheoworld: Milan Design Week

Milan Design Week

Each year, since moving to Milan, I make sure never to miss out on the year’s most important appointment, “Fuori Salone” with hundreds of events and installations. The design world descended on Milan once again, turning the city inside out with artists, designers and buyers from all over the world. The event  steadily  growing over the years, has opened up new areas of the city previously unexplored. 

 

Fantastic weather, the city bustling with people, me scuttling through the crowds of Via Tortona taking in the action and energy which blows across the city like a welcome steady breeze on hot scalding day.

Light and emotion were a big part of the most celebrated events at Milan’s  2011 Fuorisalone. The Canon NEOREAL Wonder Light Show and KANEKA OLED light experiences were truly breathtaking.

Trecking around town during the fuori salone was hectic and tiring but as I lay on a giant plush sofa looking up at Foscarini’s delightfully ecclectic lighting ensemble, I knew I would do it all over again next year.