Honey, I Blew Up the Art

Typewriter Eraser by Claes Oldenburg

Written by Michael Ashman

Household objects like pencils, thread spools, or forks don’t seem like they’d make for very impressive art objects because we see and use them all the time. But what if a sculptor increased the size of those everyday things to transform them into something larger than life? Not only would it dramatically change their detail and visibility, but it would also change our relationship to them. Walking through a park and noticing a giant paperclip among statues of famous heroes or dignitaries would certainly raise a few eyebrows. These monumental sculptures—that are the right size for giants—seem out of place and make us want to investigate them.

Claes Oldenburg

Claes Oldenburg is one such Pop artist who has continued to reject the traditional models for statues. Instead, he created some very unusual larger-than-life sculptures. “I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something more than sit on its ass in a museum," he once said. Claes Oldenburg saw the significance in common objects as colossal-sized reproductions and worked with commercial items to change their identity. He used unconventional materials to form nonfunctioning facsimiles of objects like his Soft Bathtub (Model)—Ghost Version (1966), a drooping tub made with foam-filled canvas, acrylic paint, pencil, wood, and plaster. He also brought humor to his work by super-sizing things into monumental sculptures like his Typewriter Eraser, Scale X (1999)—a work that pays tribute to a once common tool now replaced by the personal computer and its Delete key. Claes Oldenburg shared with the audience every last detail of the once small things, and being able to examine them makes them more memorable than they once were.

Big Bow by Piper Brett

Piper Brett

In a similar manner, Piper Brett creates monumental sculptures like that of Claes Oldenburg.  Some of her sculptures are recreations of small objects made more meaningful by magnifying and modifying their aspects. She uses her welding and metal fabrication talents to create these unique reproductions. One example is a gigantic gift-wrapping bow with sturdy steel instead of bendable ribbon. Its minimalistic qualities, bold red color and large size, shows us that a even a simple object can capture our attention if it is enlarged. It is a playful reminder to everyone about the holidays, and the way it is made makes it a lasting icon for the viewer.

Pop artists use and repurpose common images in their art to appeal to a wide audience. One can see local art and artists like this at the Thumbprint Gallery in La Jolla. There are also a wide selection of prints and other items at the Thumbprint Gallery shop.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claes_Oldenburg
http://www.artnews.com/2011/08/30/pop-goes-minimalism/

Adam Neate: Art Can be Free

Written by Carly Deblock

On the morning of November 15th, Londoners awoke to find 1,000 screen prints created by one of the most prominent street artists scattered around the city. Some on doorsteps, some by trash cans and some on lamp posts. Adam helped to develop the concept of free art.

5,000 Paintings

Adam Neate, born in 1977, is a British painter who has developed into one of the most influential street artists in the world. His experience with art began around age ten, when Adam discovered his passion for graffiti and began to create. He graduated from Suffolk College and then worked as a graphic designer for two years.

In the spare time that he had, Adam would paint on anything and everything that he could get his hands on. Constantly painting on wood and cardboard, Adam was able to gift his artwork to friends and he even began to leave his paintings littered in the streets. This gave any passerby the opportunity to walk away with an original Adam Neate masterpiece. Adam was painting around 1,000 paintings a year during this time, but he avoided the art galleries for 5 years. Congruent with the original concept of street art, Adam prefers to give his art to the streets he came from. He was eventually contacted by a gallery and hosted a solo show that sold out hours after opening. He quickly rose to a stardom status and claimed a huge name in the contemporary art world.

The London Show

Adam Neate’s biggest project to date took place during the night of November 14, 2008. With an anti-high art mentality, Neate placed his art around the city, where anyone was free to claim his signed silk-screen prints. Adam and helpers scattered 1,000 prints of his art, worth over a million dollars, around the streets of London. People around the city woke up to a city-wide art show right on their doorstep. This was after Neate’s work had sold at Sotheby’s for over $100,000. Allowing the whole population of London the opportunity to own one of Neate’s pieces was an enormous project.

Urban Style

Walking into a gallery of Neate’s works teleports the viewer into a world filled with dynamic colors, movement and emotion. He places focus on the creative process as an artist and less on the product. Neate uses brilliant colors, strong lines and diverse compositions to create eye-catching paintings. His work is reminiscent of the bold Basquiat and it is easily spotted in the streets. His three dimensional paintings, overlaying pieces of cardboard, are intense explorations of motion on multiple viewing planes. Adam’s works are also reminiscent of Francis Bacon in the use of vibrant colors and the successful attempts to create dynamic movement through his artwork.

Free Art

Adam Neate finds a literal and poetic way to give artwork back to his urban roots. As he told the Independent, "It is about putting back in what I got out at the beginning of my career". His method brings art away from the galleries and places it into everyone’s hands - what street art initially intended to do. Graffiti and urban art creates a sense of community between the artist and audience; anyone on the street is invited into the art world. Giving art back to where Neate started his career creates a dialogue and encourages other artists to keep creating.

Neate’s message and urban style relate to many of Thumbprint Gallery artists. The gallery is dedicated to displaying the best in contemporary urban and pop surrealist art. You can browse and buy a variety of works at Thumbprint Gallery’s online store here.

Sources:

http://cloudking.com/artists/adam-neate/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Neate
http://www.adamneate.co.uk

The Rising Movement of Pop Surrealism

Anatomy of a Somnambulist, by Mia Araujo

Artistic movements are a constant and organic system in the art world. Some arise in response to other movements, and others are created by the innovation of a single artist’s imagination. The artistic movement known as “Lowbrow art” or “Pop Surrealism” was born in the Los Angeles area in the 1970s. It began as an underground style with heavy influences from pop culture, comics, and other subcultures.

Pop Surrealism has been on the periphery of the art world for years, occasionally cropping up in mainstream galleries across the country. It has been chronically excluded from the “fine arts” sphere due to its unconventional origins. Each of these artists has enormous talent but reside on the outskirts of the traditional bubble. Many of the artists in the Pop Surrealist genre are self-taught and lack a traditional arts foundation, alienating them from the “legitimate” art world. Many of the artists come from backgrounds in illustration, tattooing, and comic books.

The term “lowbrow art” was coined by artist Robert Williams for the title of his book: The Lowbrow Art of Robt. Williams. He wanted a term for his type of art since authorized art institutions refused to recognize his style. Williams has since admitted that the term “lowbrow art” is ill fitting for the genre. Instead, Robert Williams prefers to describe his work, and the genre that sprung from the title of his book, “cartoon-tainted abstract surrealism.”

This estrangement from the fine arts world has not stopped people from collecting Pop Surrealism, however. Collectors are drawn to the figurative and narrative focus of Pop Surrealism. The genre highlights humor and detail fused with pop culture references, some rather old-fashioned. Regional styles have developed across the United States as well. The “west coast” style is more heavily influenced by comix and hot-rod car culture than other parts of the nation. The worldwide spread of Pop Surrealism has caused some very interesting cross-culture effects. As the style develops, there may be more branching, leading to the creation of new artistic movements.

In 1994, Robert Williams founded the magazine Juxtapoz, which continues to be the frontline of writing, media exposure, and Pop Surrealist art community news. The magazine advertises events, galleries, and shows. The magazine is a microcosm of the entire movement and subculture. Each sub-group of the art movement is represented including illustration, graffiti, tattoo, erotica, street art, and music and film.

Some galleries tailor specifically to Pop Surrealism, expanding the credibility of the style. As the community of artists grew, so did the number of galleries showing lowbrow art. One of the galleries that exhibits this type of art, particularly by local artists, is Thumbprint Gallery in La Jolla. The gallery is located at 920 Kline Street and is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12pm to 4pm.

Sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowbrow_(art_movement)

http://beinart.org/info/essays/robert-williams.php

http://www.juxtapoz.com/

Elton John's Car Collection- Urban Art: Christie's Auction House Sells It All

Christie's Auction House

Written by Samantha Tutone

The sale and trade of art and valuable objects is as old as commerce itself. The formulation of auction houses began mostly after the French Revolution, as London became the major center for international trade. From the world record-breaking sale of a Bugatti Royale automobile in 1987 to Impressionist paintings by Monet, Christie’s Auction House has made some amazing sales since it opened its doors.

Christie’s Auction house was first established in 1766 in London, England. Founder James Christie made the first sale on December 5, 1766. Today, Christie’s has 53 offices in over 32 countries. An amazing assortment of art and memorabilia is sold in the 450 annual auctions. Christie’s Auction house is one of the largest in the world with annual profits of over $3.5 billion. Private and public sales are all part of the extensive services Christie’s offers. The auction house prides itself on having impeccable quality and impeachable provenance for all of the items it sells, including the antiquities. Christie’s has a longstanding rivalry with the other global art auction house: Sotheby’s.

The list of objects Christie’s Auction sells is enormous. There are over 80 categories and departments. Urban art, interior furniture, African art, musical instruments, and fossils are just a few of the types of objects they sell. Some of the most unusual things have come up for auction and sold for a small (or large depending on how you look at it) fortune. Elton John sold twenty of his own cars £2 million. In 2006 a model of the Star Trek Starship Enterprise Class D sold for a half-million dollars. Not two years later an ink and wash drawing of a Gundam by artist Hisashi was auctioned as well. Traditional art objects like photographs, Old Master paintings, and sculpture are also for sale.

Rare and expensive wines have their own market at Christie’s Auction. The house even has art storage facilities for rent or purchase, for proper atmospheric and environmental housing of delicate collections. Christie’s also has an international realty department, selling and renting exclusive properties around the world at the most spectacular locations. The auction house also offers appraisals for all manner of arts.

Even with the recent downturn of the world economy, Christie’s Auction still manages to make a serious profit off the art that it sells. Some aspects of the market took a serious drop, however. Urban art, especially works by the urban art movements’ most famous member Banksy, struggled to sell through 2009 and 2010. On average, the price and demand for Banksy art dropped 30 percent. Nevertheless, change is in the wind. Contemporary art specialist, Ben Hanly said, “Banksy will come back. He’s the one member of the urban art movement who will last” (Reyburn, Bloomberg). Sales of urban art and contemporary art at Christie’s Auction will continue to rise as the world economy begins to recover.

To learn more about contemporary and cutting edge art visit Thumbprint Gallery. It is located at 920 Kline St. #104 in La Jolla, San Diego. The gallery exhibits contemporary, urban, lowbrow, and graffiti art from local artists. It is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12pm to 4pm.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christie's
http://www.christies.com/about/company/index.aspx
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7k5jl05o0i0

Sotheby's Auction House: From Antiques to Banksy

Art at Auction at Sotheby's

Written by Samantha Tutone

Art as a cultural item has always been associated with two things: extreme poverty or extreme wealth. The poverty usually belongs to the artist or producer of the art, and the wealth is typically that of the commissioner or purchaser of the art. The value of art is ever changing and is usually, as one could say, in the eye of the critic. Fame, of both artist and artwork, contribute to the cultural value of art. There are some places, however, where it is an occupation to assign monetary value to art: Sotheby’s Auction House. Here, buyers and sellers come together to privately or publicly acquire art. The collections and items bought and sold at Sotheby’s auction is extensive and impressive.

History of Sotheby's

Sotheby’s Auction House was established in 1744 when Samuel Baker sold the entirety of the library of Sir John Stanley. It’s expansion from books to fine arts, antiquities, jewelry, and decorative arts grew with the increasing global auction market. Now Sotheby’s has 90 locations in 40 different countries. Sotheby’s is the largest art business in the world with profits grossing an average $5.8 billion a year. The auction house prides itself on having impeccable quality and impeachable provenance for all of the items it sells, including the antiquities. Sotheby’s has a longstanding rivalry with the other global art auction house: Christie’s.

Various Departments at Sotheby's

Sotheby’s Auction House has a near endless list of departments (over 70): from handcrafted English furniture, and Scandinavian paintings, to watches, Egyptian antiquities, and street art and graffiti art. The house even has art storage facilities for rent or purchase, for proper atmospheric and environmental housing of delicate collections. For the wealthy wino, there is a special Sotheby’s Wine department, dedicated to the auction of rare and fine wines, including wines found on sunken Spanish ships. Sotheby’s also has an international realty department. There they search for the most exclusive and prominent properties around the world in the most beautiful and sought-after locations. The auction house also offers appraisals for all manner of arts.

Pricing of Art

Art on sale at Sotheby’s usually fetches a high price. The price is also often directly correlated to the popularity, prestige, and provenance of the piece or artist at auction. In 2006, works by Banksy, stencil artist from Britain, went up for auction and sold fore more than £50,000 for a piece. However, street art and graffiti art are not nominative auctions for Sotheby’s. The rise of Bansky as an artist (and not just social vandal) greatly influenced Sotheby’s decision to sell his work. Banksy’s work has been gaining notoriety since 2003. Even celebrity Angelina Jolie spent more than £200,000 on a Bansky stencil. Combinations of recognizable images and humor that make a social or political statement typify his work. A second auction of Bansky stencil and graffiti art, in 2007 raked in an approximate £167,000. The sale of Bansky’s work has given him even more acclaim and attention. It has also brought street art and graffiti art to the forefront of the contemporary art world.

To learn more about contemporary and cutting edge art visit Thumbprint Gallery. It is located at 920 Kline St. #104 in La Jolla, San Diego. The gallery exhibits contemporary, urban, lowbrow, and graffiti art from local artists. It is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12-4pm.

Sources:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/sothebys-makes-a-killing-from-banksys-guerrilla-artworks-432756.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotheby's

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2012/contemporary-art-n08875/overview.html

http://www.sothebys.com/en/inside/about-us.html

An Animated Take on Art

Scenes from Howl's Moving Castle Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Written by Samatha Tutone

Animation is a form of artistic expression usually associated with children and Saturday mornings. Cartoons and hand-drawn imagery are often overlooked as a fine art form and are instead separated into a corner reserved for pure entertainment and commercial uses. One specific form of animation has become prolific in the last few decades is Anime. Short for “animation”, this style of cartoon was created and developed in Japan beginning in the 1960s. In general, Anime is characterized by colorful graphics, standardized proportions, and extreme facial expressions. Contrary to the common conception of Saturday morning cartoons, themes in Anime are usually geared toward adults, not children.

Like all animation, Anime follows the standard division of labor and production process of character design, storyboarding, and voice acting. Today there are several different combinations of production including hand-drawn and computer based approaches. Manga, the name of Japanese comic books, originated in the 1940s and shares many stylistic qualities with Anime. The same characteristic rules apply, as do many plotlines. It is not uncommon for a Manga to be translated into Anime, and visa-versa.

A standard unit, the height of the head, determines basic body types in Anime. The proportions are determined from there. A tall figure is approximately 9 heads high, a short person 5 heads high, and the average person is 7 heads high. The eyes of characters are usually large and are used as an expressive device. Shojo, a genre of Anime typically centered on stories for girls, uses an even more exaggerated eye size. Some Anime uses wild and overstated stylization, while others use more realistic rendering.

Just as in all genre of art, Anime and Manga are fluid. Each artist and company designs and portrays it’s characters a different way, leading to an endless variety of forms and styles. Often, the stylization of the animation is paired to the type of story being told. Plot lines range from romantic comedies, fantasy, science fiction, historical drama, horror, classical literature, and even animated porn (known as Yaoi and Yuri).

Anime and Manga have developed into an international sub-culture. Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise has blossomed into a multi-billion dollar success due to its extreme popularity in the Western Countries. Anime has influenced the artistic styles of American and European artists and animators. It has even provided inspiration for character design in video games. Conventions (such as Anime Expo, Animethon, and Otakon) are held worldwide, celebrating artists, directors, and favorite Anime and Manga series. Attendees and fans “cosplay”, or dress up as, characters from their favorite shows.

The spread of Anime and Manga throughout the West has produced an all around fascination with Japan and its culture. American artists have adapted several characteristics of Anime into their own styles, creating an “oriental” tone or mood. Graphic designs for clothing, shoes, posters, etc., are extremely common. 

Many contemporary and urban artists have found inspiration in Anime as well. One can see numerous stylistic influences in many contemporary urban art works. To learn more about contemporary, urban, graphic, and lowbrow local artists, check out Thumbprint Gallery.

Source: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime

Urban Art Fair, London, Celebrates 10 Years

London’s largest open-air art fair will be celebrating its 10th birthday this July. The Urban Art Fair is a free event hosted by the residents of Josephine Avenue, London. Approximately 2,000 works of art will be on display, by nearly 160 artists. Art of all mediums will be on exhibit, including paintings, prints, graffiti art, and photographs.

Local artist and Josephine Avenue resident Timothy Sutton established the Urban Art Fair in 2002. He realized his neighborhood was an ideal gallery space and knew that local artists were desperate for a place to show their work. The fair provides a unique opportunity for up and coming artists to exhibit their work for the public, often launching their careers as professionals.

The inhabitants of Josephine Avenue volunteer their time to transform the street into the alfresco fair. Besides having art on display, graffiti artists will also be creating art, live, on their Urban Art Walls for viewers to see. Food stalls with international cuisine will accompany the works. A Sound stage will feature music from local musicians. Ten percent of all sales will be donated to charity: Holy Trinity School, Jubilee Primary School, and the Southside Rehabilitation Centre. More than 8,000 people are expected to attend the fair this year.

The Urban Art Fair is a fantastic opportunity to see new and original art and meet the artists themselves. The fair runs from July 14-15th from 10am-6pm, on Josephine Avenue, London. For those interested in the urban art genre you may want to check out Thumbprint Gallery in La Jolla. The emerging gallery features high quality low brow and urban art.