11:
I want to take some time out to show you another side project I’m working on right now. This diverts away a bit from the current format of this site but I’m really excited about this. I’ve also extended my skills into the shooting and editing of the videos, hence why I’ve been a little slow on the blog lately.
Urban Development is an outdoor art project, the objective is to provide the platform for collaboration between artists across a wide range of mediums and stages in career. The project centres around street influenced mural work but will also draw in a variety of creative’s, both emerging and established. The concept is to think outside the conventional confines of graffiti, fine art, sculptural work, performance and beyond, blurring the lines and creating a dynamic and interesting project worthy of international attention.
This Episode introduces the project through brief interviews with the founding collective, Berst, Askew, Snek and Tim Webber. Stay tuned for regular updates including profiles on collaborators and the murals progress.
http://www.vimeo.com/9364496
09:
At Primary Flight, Miami 2009. Photo by: Jeremiah Garcia
Welcome to my new look site. I’ve been meaning to revise the format for a while and try some new approaches to blogging, sharing my inspirations, projects and process with you in a more in depth way.
What motivated this? Well, 2009 was a pretty epic year for me. I turned 30, something I didn’t think would mark such a monumental ‘coming of age’ but it actually did. 30 is one of those landmark ages where you tend to reflect on what you have achieved against what you may have expected to have achieved or perhaps what societies expectation of you is. Having chosen fairly young to take the path of being an artist, specifically a graffiti artist it’s needless to say that I don’t have much in the way of material wealth, assets or conventional accolades. I certainly haven’t lived a life that has afforded me a house or made me highly employable in the typical sense.
A couple of years back, I went through some hard times emotionally and I started to reflect on this a lot. I began to question my chosen path and wonder if it was all in vain. As I mentioned, I really had little to show for all my work. I often struggled to make ends meet and was still relying on my partner (a student at the time) to manage the cash flow in our household. I considered getting a ‘normal’ job but most potential employers didn’t understand ‘what’ I was as far as fitting me into a specific role. All the while I kept pushing myself as an artist, trying to work every angle. It was frustrating trying to approach galleries or speak with people within that world because there was always a hint of them not taking me seriously. I was starting to become consumed by that aspect, wondering why after all these years, with all this sweat, tears and perspiration, after all the stress, chases and injuries, even after all the attention to developing my painting technique and striving to be the best I could, why my work still felt futile when presented to the people I perceived as from the ‘art world’.
I reached a ‘epiphany’ of sorts when I realised its nobodies fault but our own (The writers) that we don’t get treated as credible artists. It’s almost entirely about our inner conflict about graffiti in the context of its place in the art world. I truly believe that is the heart of the matter.
What we (generally) lack as a community are these four main things: An understanding of art history, real concept development and research of ideas, being able to identify graffiti’s key point of difference within the realm of art and strong documentation that reinforces our paintings and contextualises them. Aside from that, it’s about presenting, sharing, debating and striving to evolve. It’s also about honesty, being true to yourself and finding your voice.
I didn’t go to art school. I didn’t have time to incubate good art practise during the span of my studies so this revelation may sound fairly rudimentary to some. Realising these things changed my outlook dramatically though. I found new ways to enjoy the journey. I found a new mechanism to set goals, develop my work, evaluate my principals and also explain my objectives to people outside of graffiti. This marked a massive change in how I feel about where I am at today. I look back at 2009 and I am blown away. I look at how far I’ve come and appreciate that. Mostly though, I feel excited about where I’m going. That’s where this new site comes into play.
In this main blog section of the site, I will share a lot about my projects, from the inspiration, the research, through to the drawings and eventual painting process. I will present this with writing, photos and videos. Once a visible ‘body’ of work is defined it will be summarised and posted in the ‘Works’ section. Basically you will see the ideas develop, this site will function as my journal for you all to see.
Thanks to everyone that has supported me thus far and stay tuned in 2010.
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