Going (Lego) Underground

Short and sweet, for any regular SF readers you will find that there are a few recurring themes, one of which is Lego. We love Lego, since little boy status to bigger boy but just as much of a kid.

A classic in a classic medium

When you think of London you think of a few iconic things. Red buses, black cabs, pie n mash, Houses of Parliament and the London Underground Map. This year is the 150th anniversary and the design created by Harry Beck is pretty much as it was in terms of look and feel, only new stations have been added. If it ain’t broke… don’t fix it. Simple is always the best solution

Simplicity

Artful Lunch Break

So you have an hour for lunch break, at a push that is. Some rarely leave their desk and see the sunshine, most sit and work through but that is counter productive.

SF has resolved to make sure that once a week, a small trip will be made to grab a little bit of aesthetic relief at lunchtime, a stolen few moments away from flickering Apple screens and the twittering of phones.

Dream

First visit was to Scream in W1, a stones throw from the hustle and bustle of the retail centre of London town.

Hallucination

Static are a two man band featuring Tom Jackson and Craig Evans who use layering techniques of flowers, woods, debris, glass, paint and shadows to create an exhibition called Phantasms of the Living.

Ephemeral

The inspiration behind the exhibition is dreams, hallucinations and the ephemeral, using these ideas to create imagery requiring the viewer to look beyond what they see.

Link

First seen in March 2012, SF christened the wasteland the Graffiti Graveyard that was until it became a street football pitch complete with paint on walls and astroturf.

Footballart

An oasis of colour and action off of an Eastend housing estate, spitting distance from the hispster homested of Broadway Market. Encouraging to see something beautiful, useful, socially enabling and owned by the locals in the Eastend. Sure I have missed it and it has already happened but just waiting for a Nike advert to be filmed here.  They are proper urban afterall innit

Owed much

Blue corner

Every few months the walls are re-sprayed by local and visiting artists, the only wall that has remained is the King Robbo wall. Maybe this will remain until he is 100% back on his feet after his coma

I had a dream and left it underground

Tags and paint

London Sunshine and Paint

Always rains in London right? Not this bank holiday it was hot, it was sunny, there was a festival and it was hot.

In addition to this the sun remained long enough for the bicycle to come out and to spot a little bit of paint on walls. A mini taster now, but a lot more to follow, the summer floodgates have well and truly sprung.

Sokar Uno, a German artist of some note, typically using quite a real surreal style has been spraying in the Eastend. This is not to far from outdoor Hipster mecca that is London Fields.

PT I

PT II

 

Plus another….

More to follow shortly….

Now it is a case of avoiding being knocked off the bike

Prague Museum of Modern Art and other stuff

Hooks table

Little bit of a wander around the Prague Museum of Modern Art, five floors of art and sculpture from the rich history of the country. Plus some French masters and some seriously random shite.

Jindfrich Styrsky

Artistic football

Creepy and cute Hitler

Broken vinyl

Then this down by the water

Prague p-p-p-pengiuns

Czech Out Art

Child of Prague

A StandardFact trip to Prague, well the architecture is amazing and gothic and dark and religious and old full of statues, more statues than Czechs. Also more Germans and and Yanks than Czechs come to think about it.

Few points to make:

Very beautiful but not for raves.

Loads of places to eat but you better want a lot of meat

Loads to drink but bloody hard to find a Bloody Mary (head to Chilli Bar)

From a distance

There was very little to note in the way of street art except for the best known Czech artistic street export, Pasta Oner. His playful colourful pieces have the air of an advertising style from days gone by, something a little Lichtenstein about the style. One such wall in Pargue 1 displays some of the vibrant art that Pasta Oner is known for. SF Likes a lot

Here are a few snaps

Hardly an….

Big ‘like’ this…..

Religious building stencil

The Dude Company stencils

tri shade stencil

Shady sheep

Then this weirdness….

See we said it was thin on the ground for street art

Nike – some hits and misses from the world favourite kicks co.

Nike, the king of trainers in the humble SF opinion, obvs Adidas gets a honourable mention.

HIT – Simple, classic, fit

Nike Air Maxim – APC x Nike 2013

APC high top

HIT….. just. It has fluro soles

Nike Air May 90 EM Fluro Grey

MISS – WTF? This time you just got it wrong your Airness

Nike Jordan XX8 Black / Bright Citrus Cool-Grey Deep Royal

Why would you?JUSR

THE JURY IS OUT – ?!?!?!

Nike Air Jordan 8 Retro Black / Bright Citrus-Cool Grey Deep Royal

HIT – A classic with summer colour

Nike Air Max 1 Purple Suede

HIT – The top draw, number one, tennis style, velcro summer kick.

8FIVE2SHOP x Nike SB Stefan Janoski

All spotted on HypeBeast

 

Daft Punk – another teaser

More Daft Punk teasers, this time a short sharp piece directed by long term Kanye collaborator Nabil Elderkin. The rather dreams clip is yet another example of how DP are releasing and hyping their new album through small, short, punchy soundbites and visualclips, creating just the right amount of expectation and buzz before unleashing the next stage.

Elderkin is clearly a talented guy (well he worked with the bat-bollock-crazy-shy-as-a-kid-with-ADD-on-a-sugar-rush-legend we know as Kanye) as well as Nas & Damien Marley and Seal and brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, Adidas and Oxfam

SF is looking forward to seeing the full film…. and the next release technique from our Gallic robots 

Bowie’s mirror image

Musically, culturally, aesthetically, emotionally, etc etc. Many of today’s creative types quote a certain Brixton born music superstar as one of their biggest influences. There are too many to mention so I would suggest everyone creating within the last 50 years would have been touched by the Starman in some way shape or form

One such inspired type was a certain David Sims. His 2013 re-imagined   Bowie imagery known as Bowievirus features images you think are Bowie but in fact not.

Bowie?

Imagery featuring a model, rock star Vince Taylor and what appeared to be Bowie featured. But you could not tell which was which. Head to ICA to see for yourself, and to pick up a free print 

Bowie!

Bowie….

At the V&A museum at the moment there is a rather amazing exhibition all about the man behind the multi-coloured-faceted-sexual-talented Mr David Jones.

Paint out East – Unknown artists?

SF has been looking for new paint, away from the well trodden tracks of Brick Lane, the canals, Old Street, etc etc. A little cycle out past the Olympic stadium past Newham and beyond through up these lil gems. No idea of the artists as yet so suggestions would be welcomed, top line diggery suggests the below.

IDKY

Great colours and freehand with some stencilling to boot. 2013 so pretty fresh too

Kid1

Simple old skool, nice colours and freehand

Sish Man

Pink. Everyone likes pink, not just ladies and poofs. Words mixed in to the brain matter, with an on switch. Big like.

Cheese Freedom

Pyramid, all seeing eye and the idea of Cheese Freedom, who knew that the shackles were on for the fromage. Liking the slick writing style

Head to Newham on the cycle paths for your own view