Friday, October 30, 2009

Not in Alphabetical Order


NOT IN ALPHABETIC ORDER...Aaron Rose, Adam Hayes, Alexis Saile, Alexis Zavialoff, Amigos Koike, Andrea Heller, Andreas Banderas, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Andro Wekua, Anja Kirschner, Annelise Coste, Anthony Record, Ari Marcopoulos, Bastien Aubry, Beau LaBute, Beni Bischof, Bruno Peinado, Catalina TM, Chris Johanson, Chris Lindig, Christian Andersen, Cody Hudson, Daniel Johnston, David Chieppo, David Shrigley, Dimitri Broquard, Dylan Martorell, Ed Templeton, Eddie Martinez, Fergus Purcell, Florencio Zavala, Francis Upritchard, Frédéric Fleury, French, Gabi Berüter, Gareth Bayliss, Geoff McFetridge, Georg Gatsas, Grrrr, Guy Meldem, Harmony Korine, Hendrik Hegray, Henry Roy, Himaa, Holly Stevenson, Jaret Penner, Jason McLean, Jay Nelson, Jo Jackson, Jockum Nordström, Jody Barton, Jonas Delaborde, Josh Petherick, Katerina Christidi, Keegan McHargue, Kevin Lyons, Kim Bennett, Kim Gordon, Kim Hiorthøy, Körner Union, Kuniko Nagasaki, Kyle Field, Larry Clark, Laura Owens, Leah Singer, Linus Bill, Lizzie Finn, Lorenzo Petrantoni, Marcus Oakley, Mari Eastman, Matt Leines, Matt Lock, Matthew Chapman, Marcel Dzama, Mark DeLong, Masumi Yamauchi, Maya Hayuk, Mehdi Hercberg, Michael Dumontier, Michael Günzburger, Mike Mills, Nakako Hayashi, Nathan Gray, Neil Farber, Nick Haymes, Nicola Pecoraro, Nicole Bachmann, Oliver Grajewski, Paul Davis, Perks and Mini, Peter Piller, Peter Sutherland, Reala, Rick Myers, Rita Ackermann, Robin Cameron, Rockmaster K., Ryoko Aoki, Samuel Nyholm, Scott Barry, Spike Jonze, Stefan Marx, Susan Cianciolo, Susanna Howe, Takashi Homma, Tal R, Talia Keinan, Tanja Helena Roscic, Taro Hirano, Taylor McKimens, The Changes, Thurston Moore, Tim Barber, Tobin Yelland, Tucker Nichols, Warja Lavater, Wesley Willis, Yoshimi, Yuka Katagiri and Yukari Miyagi

Taken from 100+ Nieves Zines at Printed Matter in New York last April 4th – May 23rd, 2009. Missed that one. Thanks FFFound.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Clean Water at the BU


Surfrider Beach is a world famous wave, a blessing to the surf community, and the image of classic California beach life recognized worldwide. Unfortunately, Surfrider is also one of the state’s most polluted beaches, receiving poor water quality grades every year for nearly two decades.

As of Labor Day 2009, Surfrider Beach has received “ F ” water quality grades 59% of the time. What causes the pollution? We know that commercial and residential septic tanks in the Malibu Civic Center area are a major source of pollutants into Lower Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and ultimately Surfrider Beach. As a result these waterbodies are included on the USEPA’s list as unsafe for recreation.

With encouragement from the public and the Clean Water at the Bu Coalition (Surfrider WLAM, Heal the Bay, Malibu Surf Association, Santa Monica Baykeepers) LA's Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) has stepped in to solve this serious public health issue. RWQCB is proposing a prohibition on new septics and a phase-out of current septics in the Civic Center area while the City of Malibu pursues a permanent solution. Prohibitions like this have worked in other areas: it’s critical that the RWQCB move forward with this action.

1. Attend the RWQCB hearing Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 9 am at Metropolitan Water District 700 North Alameda Street Downtown LA.. Demand a stop to pollution at Surfrider and Malibu Lagoon, and request that septic systems be phased-out in the Civic Center area. For questions or more information check surfriderwlam.org/cleanthebu.

2. Sign our petition asking the RWQCB for wastewater solutions in the vicinity of Surfrider Beach. http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/cleanwateratthebu_06_09

3. Forward this email to everyone you know! Help us spread awareness about this historic hearing!

Cheers!
Marilee Sweeney

simple and unembellished

the descriptive words above just seemed like the right sentiment for this Thursday...

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Meaningful Reminder - October 22nd (Tomorrow!)


Here's a sneak peak iPhone pic of Mike Piscitelli's wall of photos!

Come to the opening of the POPgallery tomorrow night between 7 and 9pm, have a glass of wine and get inspired. The show is entitled Meaningful and includes the work of Adam Silverman, Alexis Hartman, Katsuo Design & Mike Piscitelli.

POPgallery
3505 Helms Ave.
Culver City, CA 90232

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Searching for MP



Walking a fine line between creativity & madness...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Eltono






Eltono (English)
By Javier Abarca
Translated by Marina Molares and Rafael Schacter

Born in 1975, Eltono started producing graffiti in 1989. Using the name Otone – a simplification of the word automne, Autumn- and as part of the prestigious crew GAP, he specialized in bombing the train line that connects Paris with his native suburb, Cergy-Pontoise, executing simple and legible pieces. He studied plastic arts at Saint Denis, Paris, however moved to the Complutense University in Madrid in 1999 as part of a student exchange program of a year, a year which soon turned into a permanent residence.

When arriving at Madrid he turned Otone into Tono (which means tone in Spanish), an inversion of the syllable order which is a common practice amongst French youth. He also attempted to make the name sound more Spanish by adding the article “El” (”the”), inspired by the example of, amongst others, the Barcelonians La Mano and El Vino. After several intense months writing graffiti and given the circumstances of tagging saturation in Madrid, Eltono decided to experiment with the use of an icon as his identity.

These tactics – which the artist had already observed in his partner of studies Olivier Kosta-Théfaine, among others – focuses on taking advantage of an image’s visibility among the uniformity of texts. Eltono thus chose the image of a tuning fork as a graphic translation of his name. His first experiments are samples of iconic graffiti : he replaces the lettering with an image, but he solves it with the formal graffiti materials and solutions: fill-in, outline and a three-dimensional effect, all painted with spraycans.

He soon rejected this solution however and by February 2000 had carried out his first experiments with masking tape and acrylic paint, a technique that he has used since then in almost all his work. The use of such uncommon and stigma-free materials that are generally perceived as benign – along with a respectful attitude and preference for working on dilapilated structures, has allowed him to work freely most of the time.

New materials brought new formal solutions and the tuning fork was abstracted until it became a geometric figure of positive and negative uniform lines that changed shape and color whenever it appeared. Eltono’s art thus works as a campaign of iconic postgraffiti: it repeats a mutable icon, a graphic motive constant enough to be identified immediately but which mutates in order to integrate with the context and to keep both the artist and the public interested. In addition to his work in Madrid, which turned him into an omnipresent element in the old city for most of the decade, the artist soon began to export the campaign to other capitals of the world.

Eltono is known for his constructive criterion and his sensitivity to medium and location. He always improvises his forms and colors in situ to integrate within the existing balance. He also chooses neglected surfaces with the intention of reviving their dignity and to make use of the formal load of the aged textures. Such pieces are seldom very visible, which adds privacy to the fortuitous meeting with the work. By doing this he sacrifices numerous public encounters with his work but increases the capacity of penetration within each one of them.

Together with his main campaign he has sporadically produced small series of posters and stickers. The most outstanding ones are based on two humble forms of commercial communication (a constant interest of the artist), that abound in the scenery of Madrid: the locksmiths’ advertising stickers and the small photocopied bills with which people offer help for domestic jobs. The artist’s stickers and posters imitate them and mimetize to the point of invisibility. Another equally subtle work is Light graffiti, in which using a mirror he parasites the light of a lamppost to project his logo onto the opposite side of the street.

The street work of Eltono and of Nuria Mora – his habitual partner between 2000 and 2007 – attracted attention of the gallery Vacío 9, which has represented the artists since 2002. Eltono´s work soon stood out in the international scene and his prestige has not stopped growing, a fact which undoubtedly has beed helped by the quality of the photographs with which he documents his projects, as well as his early and efficient use of the Internet as support of his personal portfolio. Today he is a first line figure and has shows regulary worldwide. He understands his entry in the art system as an opportunity to connect it to the street and to create a relation that enriches both parts. In his works for galleries he sets as a priority to stretch some type of bridge between interior and exterior.

This bridge sometimes crystallizes in the shape of collectible artworks. An example of this are the pieces the artist calls “inversions“. The production of the inversion begins, as almost always in Eltono’s process, with the examination of the city. He produces his collectible works specifically for each show and with materials found in its context. During his examination of the city he searches for wood and other abandoned remains, that he takes to the studio in order to work on the rich textures which are the natural canvas of his work.

On a collage built with these objects Eltono then paints one of his forms, which is the exact negative shape of a another one produced without permission in a street of the city. The inverted consists of this piece, a photography of the original work and a certificate, which specifies the place and date of execution, and above all, it guarantees the authenticity and uniqueness of the work. The original piece forms a part of the set, as well, albeit in a symbolic way in the same way as with Invader’s “aliases”. These two are among the rare instances of amphibious artworks – pieces that live simultaneously in the street and in the collection – in the street art scene..

Eltono also produces pieces – as the recent Autotono – that depend on the public’s physical intervention to form the image of the artist’s icon. He links this level of intervention from the public with the way in which the pieces he regularly abandons in the street are transformed by many factors totally out of his control. The artist values this sometimes slow vanishing process for its formal values and for the fact that it liberates his work from the sacrality the Western tradition imposes to the work of art.

A recent project by Eltono incorporates one of these external forces as a main part of the work. The work is no longer postgraffiti but a piece of urban interventionism: it leaves out the identity of the artists and focuses on making use of an element of the scenery. Carried out in New York along with North American artist Momo, the project PLAF consisted of the manufacture of a series of kinetic sculptures built from driftwood found in the East River and then installed on the rests of pillars from old piers left on its shores. The sculptures use the river’s flow and tides in a more or less predictable choreography.

(Originally published on November 20th 2008 on Urbanario.es)

Thanks Lachlan!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Julie Goldstein


Thanks Marilee. Check out newyorksurf.com/features/goldstein

This still feels great...


I know, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem! But it still feels great to dig on W...

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Sunday at Sunset Point




Sunset Beach — On October 3, 2009 Randy Wright of Horizon's West Surf Shop, Santa Monica, was kayaking 320 yards off Sunset Beach. It was 9:00 AM and he had been on the water 1.5 hours. He was using a Wilderness Tarpon Kayak, 10 feet in length, as a anchored stable platform, and a Canon 40d camera with a 24-105 mm lens inside an SPL Waterhousing. Sea conditions were flat with a measured water depth of 27 feet and 5 – 8 feet of visibility. There was a mild offshore breeze with air and water temperatures estimated at 70 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. Several Dolphins were observed in the area in addition to schools of baitfish.

Wright reported the following; “Doing volunteer field research for the SRC, I paddled my kayak out in the same area where Brian Moore, Gerry Wallfesh, Kim Welsh and many others have seen shark, believed to be GWS, breaching. My intent was to photograph the breaching shark for research purposes. I anchored about 50 feet farther out from the buoy. I did not chum nor throw anything in the water. At 8.47 AM, I heard a large swooshing noise just east of my position in the direction of the Bel Air Bay Club. I grabbed my camera and turned to try and capture what I was vaguely seeing. What appeared to be a large animal splashing into the water about 60 feet away from me. Since I did not see it initially, I only caught a glimpse of it as it re-entered the water, noticing a lot of white on it body, but I could not tell what it was. Now I knew something was out there, but I did not believe it to be a Dolphin, since I noticed no Dolphins surface and breathe in my vicinity. Keeping my camera ready, level, pre-focused, and my finger on the shutter trigger, I continuously scanned different sections of the water. At 8:56 AM, looking towards the point, I noticed 2 guys on SUP's paddling past Chris Rozsa, who was halibut fishing in his small boat. Still looking towards the point area, at 9:00 AM exactly, I noticed some movement towards my left and quickly turned the camera and fired off 4 shots of something, I wasn't sure, airborne and then splashing. As I was not originally looking in the same exact direction, I did not see what it was, it happened so fast, but I assumed this was a shark, since I did not see any dolphins in the area surface and breathe afterwards. A local resident, Blake paddled up to me on a SUP and we conversed about what I thought I had photographed. Deciding to try and capture a photo of one of these animals with the land as a back ground, I pulled anchor and paddled 75 feet farther, dropped anchor and waited. At exactly 10:00 AM I heard another splash on my starboard side, towards the Bel Air Bay Club, but missed the animal breach, but shot the remnants of the splash. I did not see any other breaching by the time I left at 11:23 AM arriving back at Horizon's West Surf Shop at noon. Two friends, Carlos Pires and Paige Heatherington watched me unload my camera from the SPL Waterhousing and download and go over the photo's I shot that morning over the 4 hour period that I spent observing. Our jaws literally dropped when image #73, 74, 75, 76 appeared, for his was the legendary breaching shark in mid-air! This was what I saw and luckily captured.” Randy has been, and continues to be, a valued SRC supporter and field observer. Based on dorsal coloration, the gray and white pattern on the pelvic fin, shape and color of the caudal fin, location and shapes of the dorsal and pectoral fins, snout and eye, the pictured animal is a White Shark, with an estimated length of 8 – 10 feet. From May 17, 2009, to today's observation, there have been more than 20 reports forwarded to the SRC of a shark breaching at Sunset Beach. Please report any shark sighting, encounter, or attack to the Shark Research Committee.

Check out www.sharkresearchcommittee.com or
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/sequence-of-the-week-white-shark-breaches-in-la_31125/