Issuu

BOOK A STREET ARTIST MAGAZINE ISSUE 6 / JUNE 2015

WWW.MONTANA-CANS.COM

BOOK A STREET ARTIST MAGAZINE ISSUE 6 / JUNE 2015 EDITORS IN CHIEF Guille Lasarte & Charlotte Specht guille@pantamagazine.com charlotte@bookastreetartist.com ART DIRECTOR Guille Lasarte MARKETING DIRECTOR Mario Rueda mario@bookastreetartist.com CONTRIBUTORS Breana Bonner, Matthew LaPlante, Jeffrey Dahdah, Kirsti Anna Urpa, Penelope Gazin, Dan Witz, Peter Joseph, Sebastian Tost, TAPE OVER (LaMia & ‹‹just rob››), Scott Rothstein, Xuan Alyfe, Duda Carvalho, JOS*, Edite Amorim, Silvia T., DRAW, Janielle Williams, Sophie Zoe, Rolf Fassbind Alejandro Tobón Álvarez, Crisp, Gris One SPECIAL THANKS TO João Janes www.pantamagazine.com panta@bookastreetartist.com FOUNDERS OF BOOK A STREET ARTIST Charlotte Specht Mario Rueda www.bookastreetartist.com

Cover illustration by Penelope Gazin Photo on inside front cover by Dan Witz

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS This sixth issue of PANTA has impressively shown us how artists in the most different corners of the world continuously fight for the time and space they need to accomplish their work. We want to share stories of artists who have overcome obstacles, who have broken the rules and who have fought back restrictions and repression of their freedom of speech and self-expression in order to make their art. We can see how the state of mind that gave birth to the first generation of street artists has bred a persistent crowd of activists for a better art world. There is no time to wait for change, the message we hear is loud and clear: pursue your ideas as crazy and surreal as they may seem to some, fuck bureaucracy, claim the time and space you need to execute your work and make yourself heard. We thank all artists who raise their voice and who chose PANTA as one of the channels to speak up. Thanks for reading!

ISSUE 6 / CONTENTS

Cambodia meets street art Text by Breana Bonner Photos by Matthew LaPlante, Jeffrey Dahdah & Breana Bonner

ABROAD STORY

n the second floor of a building in the center of the revived town of Beoung Kak, Ludi Labille sat hunched over in a wooden chair, her eyes frantic with excitement. Her arms and legs pulsed up and down as she spoke. “I see art coming back,” Labille says. Not the traditional fine art Cambodians are accustomed to. Not the stone-carved murals that decorate the temples of Angkor Wat. Not the 18x24 canvas paintings young Cambodians are learning about in school. Labille sees something new. It is sprawled across the back of the very building she is sitting in as she speaks. It crawls over itself along an alley leading to Beoung Kak. It’s hidden in abandoned urban quarters destined for demolition. It’s patent on fences and buildings leading to Cambodia’s most precious and famous sites. On March 14th of this year, it was on full display for visitors to experience at a first-of-its-kind street art festival. With the support and encouragement of Labille and other artists, residents have revitalized their community as a center of street art and contemporary culture in Cambodia’s ever-growing capital. For Labille, the spring festival was an attempt to introduce a relatively foreign art form to the longsequestered Khmer culture. Doing so means exposing young Cambodians not just to street art, but to street artists – which is why, as she spoke, the Colombian street artist Stinkfish balanced precariously on a ladder on a rickety fire escape behind the building, giving life to his latest mural: a child reaching out to take the hand of an adult. “These kids meet the bigger artists, see what they can do and they want to learn,” says Labille.

Outside watching Stinkfish paint was Dara Pong, a young aspiring street artist who goes by the name Keven. He looked up at the established artist with admiration, watching him spray colored embellishments on the almost-finished product. “This art has never happened in Cambodia,” Pong says. “I try to do something with Khmer style. We have our own ideas for drawing on walls but we don’t have high quality spray. A young Khmer should learn to spray with high quality.” Across town, a fitness center displays a collaboration piece done by Theo Vallier. He looked proudly at his interpretation of Rahu – or, as Vallier calls it, the “moon eater.” Vallier, a French native, is passionate about teaching young Khmers quality street art. To accomplish this, he has spent eight years adding a Khmer flair to his art and motivating young artists to pursue the path. Vallier wants to show the younger generation what he can do but it’s difficult to make skeptics understand, he says. “The new generation wants something fun and funky. They don’t want to follow their parents. Art for them is something you buy and put in your house. To explain street art to their parents you would have to start from the beginning.” Vallier and another French graffiti artist, Chifumi, have been looking to “give art to the culture” since they moved to Cambodia. They have started this quest by mentoring high schoolers David Myers and Kimchean Koy, two 17-year-olds who got their exposure to street art from the Internet. Chifumi and Vallier found the young artists on Facebook while searching for fresh ideas and talent. They found it in Koy and Myers.

THE COUNTRY IS GROWING ON NEW ROOTS. AND SINCE THE YOUNG GENERATION ISN’T REALLY EDUCATED ON ART, THEY HAVE TO REBUILD IT THEMSELVES.

“They were doing something new that wasn’t typical,” says Chifumi. “In two years, they’ll be famous.” In a bustling capital city filled with people – one where much of the street art is still limited to tags – Koy and Myers stand out both for their skills and their dreams. And those dreams appear to be a fast approaching reality. Six months ago, the two high schoolers weren’t involved in street art at all; today their art is coming together and forming a style, Chifumi said. The duo has been invited to show their work in Europe later this year. However, the teens still have a lot of work to do. “Like a diamond, you have to remove the dirt first,” Chifumi says. Myers and Koy have found this sudden success “unexpected.” In Khmer culture, art isn’t considered a career choice because of family and cultural pressure, Koy says. “Survival is very valued in my culture and my parents don’t see being an artist as a way to make a living,” says Myers. All the intellectuals and artists were killed in the Khmer Rouge 36 years ago, Vallier explains. “The war destroyed a lot of the culture.” Koy explains that the tragedy influences his art, as do many Khmer artists, but he’s cautious not to over-reach. “We don’t want to make fun of it,” says Koy. “There’s nothing to celebrate. It’s horrible enough.” Vallier and Chifumi encourage young artists to involve the Khmer culture in their art, but in a modern way that interests the new generation. “The government doesn’t want something new, they just

want tradition,” Chifumi says. “They’re scared about the possible political meaning,” says Vallier. “They’re worried it will make them forget their culture.” For now, though, the Cambodian government – ruled by the Cambodian People’s Party – doesn’t seem to know what to do about street art. There are currently no zoning laws that would forbid it from blossoming anywhere in Cambodia. Artists say they hope the government will keep street art legal as its popularity grows, but they’re not too concerned either way. Most non-violent crimes – and even some violent ones – can be made to go away by putting a bit of money in the right hands. Vallier says he’s prepared for the possible repercussions “writing on the street” might have in the immediate future – and ready to wait out whatever resistance comes as street art gains popularity. The old country is growing fast, says Vallier. And change is inevitable. With around 70 percent of its population under the age of 30, Cambodia is among the youngest nations in the world. Koy hopes his art can be a balance of the new and the old culture, without the new taking over. But he recognizes this will take time. “The country is growing on new roots,” says Vallier. “And since the young generation isn’t really educated on art, they have to rebuild it themselves.” After seeing his art, Koy’s parents have been more supportive. Although it’s “highly unlikely,” the young artist says, making a living off of street art would be a dream. For now, he and Myers are enjoying their success.◆

ARTIST

I let the dogs out Text by Kirsti Anna Urpa Illustrations by Penelope Gazin

Penelope enjoys provoking people. She told me so, just not in those exact words. Originally from Connecticut, Penelope Helen Gazin is the creator of a fascinating collection of bizarre characters. Her illustrations often resemble pin-up models with some form of mutation. Sometimes her monster girls are based on pop icons, such as her piece entitled ‘La Barta’, which came about simply because she “wanted to see Bart (Simpson) with big boobies.” “I don’t really think about it when I’m drawing,” she casually tells me during our intercontinental video chat. “I follow my instincts.” Apparently those instincts send her off on adventures to some really strange places. In addition to freaky females and transgender-ized cartoon luminaries, Penelope sometimes voyages into the realm of science fiction. A while back she dreamed up a short story about ‘SisterShe’, a blue babe from two dimensions. She drew this scene on an imaginary planet, somewhere in a galaxy and time very different from our own.

I JUST REALLY WANNA DO WHATEVER I WANNA DO, AND I’VE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO MAKE IT SO THAT I CAN ACTUALLY DO THAT.

Penelope’s favorite series of Star Trek is the original, which she used to call the ‘captain show’. She has fond memories of watching episodes with her dad as a little girl. She was saddened after the passing of Leonard Nimoy in February and, (as any artist) she transmuted her emotions into a new piece of art. “Death is so sad when it’s not supposed to happen, but when it’s supposed to happen and they’ve lived a full life, to me that’s a beautiful thing... it’s like a beautiful part of life.” Although Penelope is often snapped flashing the Vulcan hand greeting in photos, she proclaims that she is absolutely not a nerd. “I like pop culture, I like TV shows… but I don’t obsess. I kind of purposefully don’t obsess with, like, other types of art because it takes the focus away from making my own art… I don’t want it to influence me, I want my art to be as organic as possible.” Not shy from being labelled the quintessential narcissist artist type, her main inspiration is – in her own words – Penelope. She says that she only paints herself, or some facet of her personality. “I only paint women, but I so much more enjoy painting women because that woman is always me in some capacity.” And Penelope has a lot to draw from. The multiple dimensions of her personality have generated just as many varying forms of art. Since she began dabbling in self-expression back in art school, she has created taxidermy, textile, sculpture, animation, stop motion with self-created puppets, as well as mixed media art. But these days, “I put my feelings and creativity in illustration,” because she believes it to be her strongest skill set.

INTERVIEW

DAN WITZ Interview by Guille Lasarte Photos by Dan Witz

From hummingbirds to mosh pits to the pursuit of creating presence in his paintings, Brooklyn-based realist painter and street artist Dan Witz does his own thing, uninterested in contemporary art trends. Perhaps he is best known for his paintings of mosh pit scenes â€“ a series that arose from a combination of his remarkable technical skills and his past in the 1970s New York punk scene. Witz is also considered one of the pioneers of the street art movement, with a career dating back three decades, before the term street art had even been coined. We were intrigued by this rebellious artist who paints like the Dutch masters, so we set out to learn more.

IN THE ART CULTURE BACK THEN THERE WAS A STRONG BIAS AGAINST ANY TYPE OF REPRESENTATIONAL SKILL IN PAINTING - A HOSTILITY IN FACT, AN US VS. THEM MENTALITY WHICH REALLY TRIGGERED ALL MY POST ADOLESCENT REBELLION ISSUES.

Tell us about yourself. Where are you from originally and why did you decide to move to NYC? I was born in Chicago in 1957 and grew up there and in the suburbs. I moved to New York City in 1978 to go to art school (Cooper Union). After a brief career in music, I settled down to making art. I currently live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and divide my time between street art and studio works. Your technical skills are remarkable. So much so that it would’ve been like sacrilege if you had become an abstract painter or something. Tell me about art school and how your artistic style was received there at the time. Yeah, I was never what you’d call a model student in art school. And being a committed realist painter I wasn’t exactly beloved by the neo-expressionists dominating the painting department at Cooper Union in the early 80’s. In the art culture back then there was a strong bias against any type of representational skill in painting – a hostility in fact, an us vs. them mentality which really triggered all my post adolescent rebellion issues. Sometimes I wonder if my decision to remain a realist painter actually sprang from this resentment – a need to be in your face to a bunch of people I didn’t even respect. How do you think art schools (or the art establishment) differ now from when you were in art school? No idea. But I’m going to be teaching at Cooper Union next year (I know, ironic), so I guess I’ll find out. How did you get into the street art scene? (I guess the term hadn’t been coined yet – but making art on the

streets, is what I mean) Did you go at it alone or was it a collective thing? It was pretty much solo. My first street works were in the late 1970’s. At the time I didn’t know anyone else who was working that way. I’d seen earthworks and installation art but what really got me thinking were the graffiteed trains and punk rock. Your first street art project was the hummingbirds – a symbol of joy and freedom – which is something curious for a pissed off young artist who is struggling to find his place in the world to do. Why hummingbirds? I really love hummingbirds. And identify with them. Also, I was interested in the idea of beauty as sedition – how such a blatantly sweet image could be so provocative and offensive to the aesthetic ruling class of the time. As a painter, you consider yourself an academic realist. What do you think is the realist painting’s place in a world ruled by the photograph? For me realist paintings are as important as they’ve ever been – and in a large part because of photography. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been mesmerized by old master paintings. Not so much the narratives, but the presence, that brief miraculous moment of transferral to the painting’s space – that moment, so unlike in a photograph, when you’re actually there, and you suspend disbelief and surrender yourself to the world of the painting. And, technically, yes, I do consider myself an academic realist. My primary pictorial goal is to create utterly believable light, space and presence – especially presence – something that just doesn’t occur in a photograph.

INTERVIEW

Interview by Mario Rueda Photos courtesy of Peter Joseph Collage on opposite page by Sebastian Tost In 2007, musician Peter Joseph performed a solo percussion interpretive piece in lower Manhattan that he called â€œZeitgeistâ€?, which had a 6 night run and was free to the public. At the suggestion of a friend, he uploaded the video on Google video. Within a few days, the video went viral (before the concept of viral videos was even a thing), and was viewed by millions over the next few months. This low key performance gave way to an entire movement known as The Zeitgeist Movement, a global sustainability advocacy organization. Peter was kind enough to talk to us in depth about the film series, the movement and his insights on the future of our species. What is the Zeitgeist movement and what does it hope to achieve? I suppose TZM is a few things, depending on what aspect one chooses to emphasize. On the broad scale, it is a sustainability movement. In this, we understand the importance of environmental sustainability and how it relates to social sustainability. Long story short, you cannot have social sustainability (i.e. social stability) without environmental sustainability. If we experience massive resource shortages throughout the world, we can rest assured that it will create social destabilization as a consequence. Therefore, habitat integrity precedes societal integrity.

On the other hand, TZM is a civil rights movement. While we do not embrace or promote any existing political structure as a means to an end, one could (perhaps) use the word “populist” to express the movement’s interest to help the vast majority of the world – a majority that should now rise up and realize the state of their oppression and counter the dramatic amount of unnecessary suffering and structural violence endured – all resulting from the current socioeconomic system. TZM doesn’t blame specific people, groups or “political” policy. At the root of the problem is the system of economics itself. Namely, market capitalism. However, it is worth noting that capitalism is also a symptom of a deeper sociological disorder regarding how we view the world and how we view each other. Our culture has evolved within an archaic and fearful worldview based on scarcity, with our most primitive reactions constantly ‘pinged’ or excited by the negative stress of our environment. This has manifest the capitalist model as a natural consequence and, as of now, we are in a nasty feedback loop which keeps humanity in a violent cycle of primitive reactions of fear and greed… slowly pushing everything towards collapse. So, to stop the cycle and create a more humane value system and appropriate approach to our social management, we

first need to remove the system that is reinforcing it – what is creating the destructive feedback loop. The vast majority of the world’s problems are not going to be resolved or even slowed by current “establishment” oriented attempts at change. It’s all just noise. Trivial in the long term. Only when a new, intelligent socioeconomic system is installed that relevant long-term change will commence. We title this new system a “Natural Law, Resource-Based Economy”. This worldview essentially began in the early 19th century with a man named John Etzler who is currently condemned by history as the first “Technological Utopianist”. While there are some problems with Etzler’s early, primitive vision (his main thesis was written in 1833), the basic framework of what he noticed – the intelligent use of technology; aligning with natural law forces; and the raising of humanity to a new level beyond merely working for money and the inherent slavery that it is – has been embraced by many since that time, extending the logic. This includes thinkers/institutions such as R. Buckminster Fuller, Technocracy Inc., Jacque Fresco and many others. The Zeitgeist film began as an artistic performance rather than a documentary per se. What do you think

THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS ARE NOT GOING TO BE RESOLVED OR EVEN SLOWED BY CURRENT “ESTABLISHMENT” ORIENTED ATTEMPTS AT CHANGE. IT’S ALL JUST NOISE. TRIVIAL IN THE LONG TERM. ONLY WHEN A NEW, INTELLIGENT SOCIOECONOMIC SYSTEM IS INSTALLED THAT RELEVANT LONG-TERM CHANGE WILL COMMENCE.

is more effective in terms of creating an impact on the audience (artistic performance vs. documentary paradigm?) I’m not sure if there is a clean answer to that question. Each approach has an effect in different ways, depending on the nature of the viewer. My first film was created as an emotionally driven aesthetic piece that worked to generate critical thought in an extreme, abstract way. This work was done with heavy gesture and over-simplified statements to create a broad worldview. However, gesture aside, it is also likely the most sourced documentary in filmmaking history. I am unaware of any film that has detailed everything in such great scrutiny as I later did in the 200+ page book written to support the claims made. I state that because even 8 years later there is a vast condemnation of the piece in certain circles, with endless propaganda and derisive association – mostly based upon an uneducated and unenlightened sense of artistic expression and mixed genre style. So, I hence believe a combination of art and science, of gesture and academic rigor, is key. It is a balance. In fact, this is probably truer than ever given how saturated media has become in the modern day. The very act of getting anyone to pay attention to anything out there requires some type of aesthetic persuasion that invariably must be somewhat entertaining rather than coldly intellectual. That is my view, at least. Do you think that being able to participate in activism is a luxury, to a certain extent? For example, if I have to struggle to work a mindless job 10 hours a day just to feed my family of 6, do I have the same opportunity to take an interest in changing the system as someone with more time and resources? Or is it a ‘with privilege comes responsibility’ kind of thing? A natural consequence of the economic structure and

resulting incentive system is that people become locked into a feedback loop of narrow self-interest. People are not trained by the very nature of this society to care about anyone else but themselves and their “tribe”, and the pressures – the structural coercion – that are built into the system reinforces that need for apathy and hence the disregard of one’s external surroundings. This relates to both people and the habitat, in fact. So, in that respect, for people to really care about the well-being of others or to pay attention to what is really happening in the political sphere – one has to be able to distract themselves from their general survival for a moment. This is easier said than done. While, of course, we all realize that our existences relate to the systems around us – such as the political and economic system – it is still extremely difficult to have time given all of the survival pressures to actually do anything about what is going on. And, sadly enough, most of the little things people do who think they are doing something… are actually pointless in the long run as, once again, they do not address the system problem. I would also say that people have been bought off in this society, even if poor. One of the negative benefits of technological development in the current material culture is the vanity and bizarre fetishes that have been created surrounding superficial devices/gadgetry. The thought of people losing access to these fetishes keeps them more in line with establishment values, just like how the rich would obviously rather keep their great wealth. Needless to say, to ‘rock the boat’ puts in danger one’s stability. The feedback loop continues. However, to answer your question “with privilege comes responsibility”, I suppose I agree in theory but at the same time most who achieve a state of true financial privilege have usually been indoctrinated into being satisfied by the system since the system has accommodated them.

Coupled with the inherent narcissism and self-interest that the system compounds, again “pinging” primal human fears and generating greed – more often than not, those who do reach a state of “privilege” tend to be even more fearful of rocking the boat. Rather, they pretend. They start trusts and become “philanthropists” – which is probably the most offensive word in culture today, if you think about how it is used. So, back to my original point: there are system pressures on many levels that deter people from challenging the status quo. I would state that the most common deterrent is the general destitution and stress perpetuated by the social structure itself that restricts one’s capacity to even pay attention to anything outside of one’s personal survival. It is too inconvenient and risky. I will add that education is also a huge factor. Just like in abject slave times it was illegal in some regions for slaves

despotism and exploitation to really get a true sense, just like you really cannot understand the horrors of war unless you’ve seen someone killed directly next to you in real life. In my early development, all I cared about was the art of classical and modern music. I closed myself off from reality, just like many others do and, as per my introverted character, I preferred to develop myself in a very disciplined and detached way. It wasn’t until the cold reality of having to survive as an adult did I begin to analyze the world around me. I ended up in advertising because it was the only thing my limited skill set would allow me to do, keeping some decent standard of living. I moved to equity trading because it is the only occupation in existence with no boss and no employees. I wanted out of the corporate hierarchy. So, I see myself as having been pushed along the rails of the natural, structural coercion that is the socioeconomic complex. Coincidentally and

VERY SOON IN THE FUTURE, DUE TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY, A MODERN CITY WILL BE ABLE TO GROW ALL OF ITS OWN FOOD AND ESSENTIALLY DO ALL OF ITS OWN PRODUCTION FOR THE ENTIRE POPULATION WITHOUT EVER NEEDING TO IMPORT ANYTHING BUT PERHAPS SOME RAW MATERIALS.

to be literate, there is a natural propensity to avoid quality education for the masses because there is no advantage to freethinking individuals when the overarching aspect of the socioeconomic system is self-preservation and not progress. It’s kind of ironic that you started out working in advertising and independent equity trading (or maybe it’s exactly as it should have been). Did you always have an ideological stance against the system, but kind of went along to survive, or was it precisely these professions that led you to dedicate your life to activism? While my critics seem confused by such associations, I would defend them as revealing how close I have been to the worst aspects of the social structure and how that has affected me. You have to be very close to such structural

virtually by accident (it seems), this path led me to where I am today. Talk to me about the power of filmmaking. Do you consider filmmaking the most effective medium to incite social change? Well, shocking to many as it might be, I don’t particularly like the art of filmmaking compared to other art forms. I will not go on a tangent about that. I will state that within the spectrum of multimedia production, the film tradition has a tremendously large influence on culture today. When you see, say, the Academy Awards and all these huge directors and famous actors sitting in a single room, you are really seeing the most influential people on the planet. When it comes to people’s values, these people have more power than the political establishment and the religious establishment.

Z IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT THE ARTS AND THE SCIENCES APPEAR DETACHED.

So, realizing this, and also thinking back on the bizarre success of my first film/performance piece Zeitgeist, I engage this art form with a kind of strategy to, again, play both sides – the art and the science of communication and expression. So, to answer your question, I think it is a very effective medium but filmmaking is really comprised of multiple mediums. I would still suggest music has a longer-term, stronger power in some value shifting ways – but music also presents more ambiguity.

Are there any particular artists that you admire? Perhaps the greatest intellectual and artistic influence I have had, more from the standpoint of theory, was a man named Iannis Xenakis. He was a 20th century composer that dealt with various abstract ideas regarding aesthetics and how to represent intellectual systems with sound and form. John Cage was another important influence in the way he broke the separations of music and everyday life. As far as film, I’m not really much of a film buff. I create my films from an intuitive standpoint with very little reference to anything that I’ve seen. Honestly, I create films from a musical standpoint. Music and the aural quality of the film comes first in style and form. My new film trilogy, “InterReflections”, will be a vast exploration of this personal style. Musical phrasing is superior to filmic phrasing and I apply it as such. Do you truly think, in the bottom of your heart, that humans are capable of transitioning to this postscarcity society that you are proposing? If so, how come we haven’t already? Not only am I convinced that the very foundation of our human nature is primed for this type of society given the incredible public health revelations regarding how negative

the current model is to our physical and psychological well-being – I believe once a small version of this type of world is created and shown, people will flock to it at an exponential rate. Why? Firstly, because 99% of the world’s population is being screwed. It isn’t just a well-being issue – it is a dignity and pride issue at this stage. Principle. Our social nature doesn’t like to get jerked around. We have an inherent sense of justice, just as our primate ancestors have proven in various anthropological studies. Sadly, most do not even understand how badly they are getting screwed and how the system is literally killing them slowly by its structural violence – not to mention the insane wealth inequality that is another level of an emerging public health crisis. However, the main challenge is getting people to realize that the alternative is real and can be done. The reason we have not been able to make this change is because the pressures of the current structure are so severe. This change is a complete shift of everything in the social order. Therefore, my estimation is that some country will begin the transition. The fruits of this country are shown to the world and then I believe there will be a chain reaction. The Empire will fight it – but all empires fail eventually. The main great catalyst will be the emerging trend towards localization of all production. With the advent of 3D printing, zero marginal cost and nanotechnology, coupled with the ability to automate labor, we are seeing a massive economic transformation. Capital goods are becoming consumer goods, while labor power is being built into consumer goods/capital goods through automation. In other words, very soon in the future, due to the advancement of technology, a modern city will be able to grow all of its own food and essentially do all of its own production for the entire population without ever needing to import anything but perhaps some raw materials.

THE REALITY IS THAT OUR EVERYDAY VIEWING OF THE WORLD AND THE VERY PROCESS OF THE WAY WE CHANGE, INVENT AND EMBRACE OUR INHERENT HUMAN INGENUITY – IS FIRST ARTISTIC.

Over time, due to the ability of emerging nanotechnology, the importing of raw materials will also be greatly slowed if not eliminated as a necessity. In the end, you will have almost pure localization and hence decentralization. Once this happens the structural pressure to maintain associations in globalization – which is and always has been the new colonialism – will come to an end. By the way, I’m not saying detachment is economically ideal – I’m saying it is a transitional step. As we approach 2030/2040, which will be virtually apocalyptic based on the negative trends at hand assuming no changes – this will also be the same time that we will be able to break free and societies will be able to work on their own without having to submit to larger order governmental or transnational interests (as the march of exponential technology growth continues to improve). This isn’t to say the world no longer works together – it would have to in the end as it would be most optimized for efficient economic calculation/resource management – but normal everyday living would not have a heavy reliance on such global interaction. As the old saying goes “think globally, act locally.” TZM’s ultimate mission is the installation of a new socio‐economic model based upon technically responsible resource management, allocation and design through what would be considered the scientific method of reasoning problems and finding optimized solutions. What’s the role of artists in this rather technical approach? It is unfortunate that the arts and the sciences appear detached. The reality is that our everyday viewing of the world and the very process of the way we change, invent and embrace our inherent human ingenuity – is first artistic. Science doesn’t have any real novel leads.

Science is a verification/analysis process mostly and this explains why so many scientific breakthroughs are achieved by accident. One could argue that humans can’t actually invent anything – we can only deductively analyze phenomenon around us as we perform different experiments, seeking a lucky combo. Therefore, we have to have a creative expectation. We have to have a hypothesis and a hypothesis is invariably a creative deduction or inference – an experiment. So, there is no purely “technical approach” as the arts and the sciences are part of the same system – of creative ingenuity and problem solving. As far as pop culture art, as per the more traditional definition of “art”, I could only expect it to flourish in a way unimaginable. First, the polluting monetary influence is gone. No more contrived artists looking to manipulate prior trends to sell something. This means the artist will be much more pure in his/her intentions from the start. There would be no real reason to create anything unless you loved doing it. Money pollutes everything. Second, the stress relief coming from the basic nature of the new social system and the free-time realized would set the stage for an explosion of human creativity on all levels. Just imagine all the wasted minds working at fast food restaurants today that might have a propensity for great contribution in our ‘Group Mind’ societal-creative apparatus… but have never been given a chance to realize it or participate. Millions if not billions of lost minds are toiling in market BS roles trying to just live, polluted by modern culture. Anyway, creative thinking and the act of creation itself would be the new norm of human consciousness, I think. It would be profound. ◆

ARTIST

XUAN ALYFE Text by Scott Rothstein Photos courtesy of Xuan Alyfe

Xuan Alyfeâ€™s painted walls read like visual poetry. Gracefully rendered pictures appear on the surfaces he creates, enhanced by a sophisticated use of color. Abstract and figurative elements coexist, exposing intimate and unexpected visual moments. The scale of his figures and the shapes painted are grounded only by Alyfeâ€™s imagination. His works are compelling, with dreamlike compositions.

PHOTOGRAPHY

DESERTO Photography by Duda Carvalho

Duda Carvalho (born 1968 in Brazil) is a photographer based in Rio de Janeiro. Duda studied Visual Communications at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio. Since the late 90s, he works as a fashion photographer and visual artist and has participated in a number of exhibitions. His work has won multiple awards, such as NUDES#3 from Graphis (USA), Hasselblad Master Award, AGFA & Photographies Magazine Prix (France), and has appeared in international publications such as SANTA Art Magazine (Brazil), Outdoor Photography Magazine (UK) and the Resolution Exhibition at the New York Photo Festival 2014. www.dudacarvalho.net

MUSIC

One Round Sound Text by Janielle Williams Photos by Rolf Fassbind & Sophia Zoe Once upon a time in Vienna, a crowd of festive individuals danced through the streets, following the allure of the music ahead. Instead of one man leading there were four, and in place of the flute was an acoustic guitar, a bass, a violin, and a Balkan tuba. This isn’t a modern day account of a children’s fairy tale, it’s one of the outstanding memories of past performances that the quartet known as Bukahara shared with us. On the return to Germany from a summer tour through Romania, Slovenia and Croatia, the four musicians passed through Vienna. They had been playing outdoors at a spontaneous concert one

night when they realized that the audience had grown to nearly two hundred people. Police eventually arrived and attempted to disperse the crowd. The captive audience was vocal about their discontent that the music had stopped. They demanded for the band to be allowed to continue. While this was all happening, the crowd had doubled. Although the concert was forced out of the area in the end, the party went on. Bukahara took nearly four hundred people through the streets until they reached a construction site where the band made a container their impromptu stage.

ABROAD STORY

BOGOTA: a mecca for street art Text by Alejandro Tobón Álvarez Photos by Alejandro Tobón Álvarez, Crisp & Gris One

Colombia is a dynamic and complex country. Culturally and (environmentally) diverse, Colombia is also one of the most unequal and violent nations in the world. There has been an armed conflict within its territory affecting its population – especially in rural areas – for decades. In the streets and murals of its capital, Bogotá, you can hear the echo of the war that unfolds in this land. Bogotá does not have a good reputation. Its name is often related – sometimes with good reason – to the ‘reality’ portrayed by the media and exaggerated by Hollywood. Violence, along with inequality, drug trafficking, armed groups and state corruption, permeates and conditions Bogotá’s society. Graffiti and tags have become a means for liberation, an outlet for escaping the discontent and dissatisfaction felt by its inhabitants. The city is flooded with these visual expressions of social demands and thousands of anonymous signatures. This phenomenon, tagged “guerrilla painting” by Cuban writer Jorge Enrique Lage, was opposed and fought against until not too long ago. As in other cities, the police was constantly chasing graffiti artists, deemed delinquents by the state. Punishment by law enforcement

officials was severe and often violent in order to repress the paintings that frequently criticized the state. “Before,” says Toxicómano, a local street artist, “whoever was caught painting would get their spray cans emptied on their shoes, face and hair. And they would get beaten up.” Many young artists spent nights in the confines of cold police stations, where they were mistreated. The police and some members of the army would paint over the street art with gray paint. Beyond the official repression, some groups linked to far right-wing paramilitaries intimidated these graffiti artists. “There was the risk of coming across a police car, but if you saw a black armored truck… that was really scary. With these guys, you didn’t know if they were gonna beat you up or if they were gonna kill you. That was the real graffiti monster.” These groups were dedicated to the so-called social cleansing aimed at street artists, prostitutes, gays and minorities in general. But these risks, latent and disastrous, didn’t prevent the creation of “an amazing cloud of tags rising into the Andean mountains, building up and mixing dreams, delirium and the nightmares of thousands of anxious young people”.

On August 19th, 2011, Diego Felipe Becerra went out spray tagging with some friends under a large bridge in the west side of the city. A policeman, in an act of excessive violence and impatience to enforce the law, shot the 16-year-old in the back. The officers tried to justify the unwarranted act by accusing the young man of assaulting a bus, but the victim’s parents quickly came to their son’s defense and used the media to report the abuse of authority and demand justice. The case generated a series of reflections and exposed a problem that until now the bogotanos had ignored. Toxicómano explains that, “In this country, until someone rich dies, things don’t change. Someone always has to die for people to pay attention. Today that guy is like a martyr.” Months after the assassination of Becerra, Justin Bieber – idol of millions of teenagers around the world – came to

Bogotá to give a concert. During his brief stay in the city, the Canadian singer went out and, escorted by private security and the police, painted a mural on Avenida 26, one of the most emblematic and busiest avenues in the city. The voices of protest soon started condemning the shameless incoherence of public security forces. It was at this point that the police permanently lost its moral authority to chase graffiti artists. It was at this point that the Pandora box of Bogotá’s street art opened. These two events were the catalyst that allowed an entire group of young people that were hiding to go out and take over the streets with their painting. Fear and night-painting ceased to be basic elements of street art in Bogotá. From then on, street artists were free to make larger, more complex and more ambitious works without risking their lives.

THE ILLEGALITY IS COMPLETELY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AND THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT NARROW-MINDED GOVERNMENTS DONâ€™T REALIZE. UNDER HEAVY REGULATION, FAST GRAFFITI IS WHAT PROLIFERATES.

In this regard, DjLu, a local street artist, says that, “the illegality is completely counterproductive, and this is precisely what narrow-minded governments don’t realize. Under heavy regulation, fast graffiti is what proliferates, which is less elaborated graffiti. This will not stop, that’s a fact. More and more people are doing it and by banning it, what you’ll get is more tags, throw-ups and fast writing. And, of course, less murals”. Gris One, one of the most talented street artists in the Bogotá scene, says that he’s very pleased with the police’s increasing tolerance and respect for graffiti artists. By feeling calm and relaxed when painting, the artist can concentrate more on his work, pay more attention to detail and be more selective with colors. Although what made him fall in love with graffiti in the first place was the darkness, the danger and the adrenaline generated by breaking the rules, the new legality of it has allowed him to experiment with new techniques and to offer innovative and highly technical artistic pieces to Bogotá’s inhabitants. “Graffiti,” says the artist, “is only yours while you’re painting, but once you finish it, goodbye. It becomes part of the street”. This urban art, by belonging to no one, belongs to everyone. To Crisp, an Australian street artist who has lived in Bogotá for more than six years, says that, “Bogota is like an openair museum and to persecute street art would just ruin everything. It’s like the war on drugs. You can’t stop it. The more severe the penalties are, the more damages you are going to do to the city”. According to the artist, one of the major problems caused by the oppression of street art is the multiplication of youth criminal records, youth that is then stigmatized, marginalized and ultimately discriminated against. Crisp reminds us that in the end, “artists are not criminals and painting on walls is not hurting anyone”. DjLu goes further by stating that being open to graffiti generates a number of benefits for the city that aren’t obvious at first glance. “It’s estimated that there are 20,000 people painting on the street. It’s estimated that the city gets around 7000 million pesos [around 3 million dollars] in taxes from the sales of paint. Not only is street art good because it generates income, but also because the city is becoming known for something. Graffiti makes the city an interesting place for photographing and video making. People will start walking more and enjoying the city”.

103

Although Bogotá is perceived as an unsafe metropolis, street art may be impoving this perception for many of its inhabitants. “Some people see the renovated spaces as safer, more bright. People will want to take care more of public space,” says DjLu. Toxicómano believes that, “a few years ago, people related graffiti with gangs and vandalism and avoided walking by places with tagged walls. Now a street full of graffiti means it will generate traffic of people, especially young people.” It’s a fact that citizens have generally begun to change their perception of street art. This is largely due to a number of reasons that reinforce each other. Thanks to the clear technical and conceptual improvement of the art that is now seen on the streets, people are starting to enjoy a more colorful city. Meanwhile, the media has given a voice to street artists and their work is becoming more visible. Interest

useful for these artists to spread their work worldwide, to learn and replicate new techniques while improving their own, to be contacted for collaborations and even to travel and welcome foreign artists in their homes. Today, the Colombian capital lives a very positive reality when it comes to street art. The municipality has launched campaigns to finance large murals, thereby formalizing a practice that was previously not tolerated. The mayor Gustavo Petro has understood that quality street art is an added value for the city, “especially for Bogotá, where traffic is so bad, you want some good things to look at while you’re stuck in your car, in a cab or on a bus. You just don’t want to be looking at some gray walls,” says Crisp. Also, “many foreign journalists and media have now taken a new interest in Bogotá,” says DjLu. In recent years, there have been many constructions

GRAFFITI IS POLISHING UP THESE IMPERFECTIONS THAT ARE SO CHARACTERISTIC OF A DYNAMIC CITY THAT’S IN CONSTANT EXPANSION, GIVING IT A NEW IDENTITY THAT’S RELATED TO ART AND NOT TO VIOLENCE AND DRUG TRAFFICKING.

in street art has been growing elsewhere, especially in Europe, where art galleries have embraced this form of artistic expression. Even a group of foreign graffiti artists created Bogotá’s Graffiti and Street Art Tour, which explains the history of graffiti in Bogotá and unveils some of the city's best street art. “With knowledge,” says DjLu, “comes tolerance. When people see street art in newspapers and magazines, when they learn that there are a lot of gringos who come to see this shit, then they start to change their opinion. That’s how people are.” Technological advancement has also helped propel street art. Thanks to digital cameras and Photoshop, Toxicómano has reinvented his artistic approach by perfecting his stencil technique, which has turned him into one of the most famous examples of the scene in Bogotá. Internet and social networks in particular are

related to the TransMilenio – the main rapid public transport system of Colombia. These works require, in many cases, the extension of public space, causing partial demolitions of some surrounding buildings. This phenomenon has generated countless divisions that become like scars across the city. “These physical gaps and residual spaces, which are not taken into account by the city, are great for working,” says DjLu. Graffiti is polishing up these imperfections that are so characteristic of a dynamic city that’s in constant expansion, giving it a new identity that’s related to art and not to violence and drug trafficking. Thanks to the standardization of graffiti, police officers are prompted to focus their efforts on fighting crime and delinquency. Street artists can now make their art without risking their lives.

107

Their works are a gift to the city, for those living on the streets and those who enjoy dwelling in a city full of colors, shapes and ideas. They are also an alternative to advertising images, which have so far reigned the cityscape. A Dutch tourist called Bogotá the Disneyland for street artists. But the continuation of this paradise of street art, of this Mecca that the city has become, is far from assured. In October, new mayoral elections will be held and there is a list of conservative candidates who would be capable of declaring war on street art. One of the candidates likely to win is Rafael Pardo, who was temporary mayor of Bogotá last year. In his short mandate, which barely lasted a month, Pardo ordered to “clean” the streets of graffiti, painting over several murals in immaculate white. The reaction from the graffiti community was immediate and within 24 hours those white walls were sprayed. Whatever the future of graffiti in Bogotá is, what’s certain is that this community will not stop expressing itself through art. The only thing that may vary is the quality of the work. Hopefully, street art will not be prohibited again for the sake of the city, for its aesthetics, but above all, for the life of its inhabitants. In a country plagued by violence, it is unacceptable that cases like that of Diego Felipe Becerra, one of the martyrs of graffiti in Bogotá, happen again. ◆

108

109