London Wandering & Wondering

All visual, few words. East and Central London

True door – Off Cambridge Heath Road

Southbank Skate

Cambridge Heath Rd

SlowBen

Riverside E9

Cambridge Heath Road

Hackney Wick Stencil

That is all

Godfather of all Modern Art

Chess Master

There was this chap, a rather fascinating chap, one who has left an indelible mark on the world, one who it is argued shaped the world of art as it is known today. He involved in surrealism and was integral to the dadaist movement. What is also argued is that he had a hand in the creation of Pop Art and that there would be now Hirst (a bad thing?) or Tracey Emin without him. He also had a hand in Jackson Pollock the poster boy for 20th century abstract expressionism by encouraging Peggy Guggenheim to commission the artist to create something in her home (it took 6 months but was worth it). One thing for certain is that the hugely influential Ai Weiwie is a massive fan of the man that they called Marcel Duchamp.

At the Barbican at the moment there is a whole program of interesting Duchamp ditties and the one that drew SF was the Cabaret Duchamp. The only way to describe it without writing and essay would be quaintly-fucked-up-innocent-devious-brilliance.

Opening with host Will Gompertz getting two people on stage from the crowd to perform, who in turn picked out a poor fellow in the crowd who sang a Toy Dolls hit about a vicar cock-blocking (quite apt of the day that the world saw another creepy Pope chosen) then the main attraction.

Then…. an interesting spoken word turn by Stewart Lee, accompanied by a unplanned racket from two accomplices. Margaret Leng Tan performing on a miniature piano, a mesmerising and amusing turn by Martin Creed who coupled the guitar, harmonica, piano, ballet and a penis going from flaccid to turgid and back again in perfect timing as the crowd cooed and gasped with shock and delight.

The final act was Dog Kennel Hill Project who sang, danced, chanted and then perfectly summed up the thoughts of the crowd in a repetitive piece quote the crowds potential thoughts or maybe the reviews of critics.

The original… not the one on Old Street

How is this Duchamp? Well Duchamp was the man who said that anything could be art and that art did not have to be beautiful, the man who entered a toilet into a New York exhibition as art. Anything can be art and be interesting and this certainly was.

SlowBen’s Progress

Ben Slow 13

New Endings – March 7th Exposure Gallery London, the first solo show for Ben Slow, or Slow Ben, depends how well you know him. Slow showcased his latest works to a packed out crowd, prints and originals, yours for between £200 and £2000. The exhibition is live for 4 weeks total and the Gallery is open daily on week days.

BS

Slow’s style has evolved from portraits to something hyper real, black and white portrait styles cut with shards and angles in colour, something of Tron about it. These pieces take one female subject as their focus and split the images almost in to pieces of puzzles.

BS

‘It’s a step away from the safety of what I know and into something new and exciting. It’s important for me to experiment and to be uncomfortable, to question things and go seek answers. It’s been a challenge collating a body of work that I am proud of to showcase for the first time. There has been a lot of trial and error, plenty of mistakes made but that’s a good thing, it’s healthy to fuck a painting up every now and then.’

Head to Brick Lane and you will see numerous pieces by Slow, a bit of a break from the high colour style you usually see on London walls.

Melody Maker – Melody’s Echo Chamber

In the moment

It is a well known fact that French people are cool. They dress cool, they sound cool, they act cool (some call it arrogant) they make very cool music, take a bow Air, Daft Punk, Phoenix, Serge Gainsbourg, Justice and Vanessa Paradis… Add to this list a certain Melody’s Echo Chamber

Melody Prochet is a Parisian lady of some note, stunningly magnetic, awkwardly entrancing, acutely cute and an effortless lil style icon to go with it. Her music is melodic (obviously) and tinged with reverberating sound effects, wailing electric guitars and plinking pianos, set to Melody’s beautiful voice. Seeing as the album was mixed in Perth by her love interest, one part of Tame Impala (Kevin Parker), it is no surprise that the song sounds a little bit… Tame Impala, there is some Air in some tracks, a bit St. Etienne a little bit Massive Attack.

On March 5th at Scala Melody’s Echo Chamber played to what can only be described as a sausage-fest or bearded swaying-ness. A grotty venue no doubt, but lightened by the angelic tones. A solid 7.5 out of ten as the set seemed over all to soon.

Godfather of Pop Art – Roy Lichtenstein

Lichtenstein @ Tate

One of the most seminal artists of the modern era and one that even a heathen would recognise. Mr Roy Lichtenstein was born in 1923 in Manhattan New York, the exact place that he died some 73 years later, by this time he had influenced a generation with his take on art and his use of modern advertising and imagery found in comic books.

AM:FM

Blue pictures

Dot work

Beach

The exhibition currently running at the Tate Modern in London is a whistlestop tour through his stages in thirteen rooms, from his early discovery of his now iconic styles through experiments, sculpture, Chinese Song dynasty influences and up to the end of his life and his artistic career.

Pop sculpture

Along with Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist defined a movement and one of the most exciting ones ever, the influence of modern brands taking art away from more traditional areas and injecting some humour and irreverence.

Pop Chinese

It has been said that Lichtensten actually was fed up with being seen as purely a pop artist  and his iconic use of dots to create depth and shade actually limited his scope of work. Unconfirmed but you would can forgive the man for feeling that way.

Pop interaction

Lichtenstein: A Retrospective at the Tate Modern London runs until May 27, plan to book your tickets to avoid queues and disappointment. One of the finest exhibitions around and worth a re-visit. SF will be heading there again soon

Face time in Berlin

Kreuzberg. February. 2013. The walls are alive with the painted faces.

Religious Clown

Street artists have long used faces and massaged them into something new, emotive and down right creepy at times. The most recent trip down Berlin way pulled out many a face and here are a few stencils, freehand, stickers, statues and even a headless dictator.

Scroll below

Face Clown

The humour of putting one of the worlds most famous, money grabbing, creativity sapping gents in the game using street techniques is a nice touch.

Old Clown

Old is just as good and current and relevant as new

Super Clown

Super heroes are alive and well in Berlin

Berliner leibe

Jesus looks like he has finally found the love of a good man too. God may well be pleased

The bronze man of Berlin

Paint on everyone

And one depiction of evil

From Berlinische Gallerie

See No Evil – Bristol

Bristol is well known for a few things but the two biggest and most culturally relevant to the SF eye would be the Drum n Bass and the vibrant Street Art.

Listen to a little Roni Size while you peruse the paint on walls

See No Evil in Bristol is the annual street art project that draws an International crowd to an urban enclave every 12 months, it is a properly organised Arts Council supported display of street doodling.

Wruff

Flying Fortress & Nychos

Mark Lyken

Well this is quite the question. There is no right or wrong way actually. A touch of the Ben Eine about this one

?

!

See Bristol isn’t only the stopping ground of the ever-over-exposed Banksy

Conor Harrington

And finally….

A variety inc Lucy Mclauchlin &Chase

LaChapelle @ Halcyon

LaChapelle

David LaChapelle. Quite possibly the most seminal photographer of his generation. For what he does there is no comparison, the surreal extra-ordinary narratives in LaChapelle’s pictures broke the photography mould ever since he was taken under a certain Andy Warhol’s wing.

There are are other greats but none in the same ilk as LaChapelle

Other honourable mentions for Teller (pervert) Richardson (white trash pervert) Rankin (Brit Publishing great) Leibovitz (Beauty snapper) Rock (Rock’n’Drugs photography)

Halcyon Gallery is not one SF usually visits, because it is for rich people to buy pieces and the prices are more than you would pay for a row of house tup north, but to see the following pieces in one place you have to go. We might have to marry a rich Russian though

Diamonds are a girls best friend

Cereal anyone

Blow McQueen

The final Warhol portrait

Jose Parla – Broken Language

Jose

Jose Parla is a NY based photographer / artist who has his first London exhibition at the moment from 8th February to 28th March at the Haunch of Venison in Mayfair, he has a pretty damn amazing view on the streets of Londinium

Paving

So Jose heads to a city and take up residence, then he goes out on a wonder with his camera and shoots the landscapes that he sees, taking in the colours, textures, light, darkness and all the flaws of the city to inspire and create his pieces.

Brick Lane

Once he has a catalogue of images then he uses these for his paintings and sculptures, some are included some are just inspiration. It is pulls together some amazing perspectives on the city he is in.

London is arguably the best city in the world (NYC, Berlin, Lisbon will argue this) and has variety in the people, the food, the architecture, the weather and wealth. This all makes for a case study to bring a vibrant and energetic collection to life, Jose describes it as a reaction to the area he is in, giving him broken languages of a global community. SF reckons this is just Street Art.

When SF visited Haunch of Venison the man himself was there to speak to visitors and he genuinely looked excited to be showing in London, well you would be wouldn’t you.

Pinky

Jose explains here

Bit of garage in your life

So apparently this guy is going to be huge, according to a friend of SF, he is also fit and soon to be her new boyfriend. He is Scottish, classically trained pianist, just finished a degree at St. Andrews and is easy on the eye… poor sod is obviously looking for a break. . Just signed to major management and label to follow, expect him to be the flavour of the month towards the end of the summer

Shades of Jamie T but with better teeth. I give you Leon T. Pearl