Very Nearly Almost

Poster Boys (and Girls)

There’s a crazy art movement that while not exactly ‘underground’, is certainly off a lot of people’s radar and yet is responsible for some of the most visually appealing original artwork at the moment. It is a tradition that started in the ’60s and is still going strong: the gig poster. A once disposable memento of a great night out with your mates has become highly collectable artwork but thankfully, something that is still pretty accessible to everyone.

Stuck Up in NYC

I’ve been lucky enough to spend a week in New York City recently, a place I’ve loved since my first visit back in 2000. It’s fascinating to see the city evolve along with its street art/graffiti – much like the East End of London some classic spots have gone, making way for coffee shops and inexplicably crap yet expensive bars. One thing that always struck me about the city was the proliferation of sticker art. As a form they’ve been dear to me – whether it was the little characters you’d get in bubble gum packs from the corner shop after school through to grabbing old Powell Peralta designs for Caballero and Welinder and putting them on my school folders.

Circling Around

Some things are classic. No matter how styles or fashions change they will always seem original. The Chanel LBD. Adidas Superstars. True classics that have lasted through all the trends to remain on top of the pile. Street art too has been through some real phases but the cream has always risen to the top. Walk round any area that’s become synonymous with street art and generally your eyes will be assaulted by wall after wall of generic stencils, some well executed, others looking like they were placed by a blind dog on PCP.

Dran… Is Sick

In these crazy days of ‘street art’ it’s so easy for us to forget the roots of this culture: graffiti. Pure graffiti… tags, dubs and pieces. Racking, trains and tracksides. Marker pens and spray paint.

Some graffiti writers still don’t like the idea of graffiti exhibited in galleries, it’s wrong. Graffiti belongs on walls and trains. It’s about getting your name up and not selling out. Others think differently and pursue a career in art alongside their night-time job of being a writer. Either way, it’s up to the individual. Sometimes graffiti really works on canvas and other times I feel the work would be best left where it belongs, sometimes I see a writer and wish they did work on canvas and in print form, but I know they never will.

VNA Does Amsterdam

So we booked the cheapest flights and accommodation we could find and went away for the weekend. Sure, we’d just missed the incredible Project ASA show by a week, full of top street artists like Ortica Noodles, Fark, Galo and Pez. And yeah, the weather forecast was as bad as could possibly be for a June weekend in Holland, but hey – this was to be the first international VNA trip ever and we were going to the mythical city of sin that is Amsterdam, so it wasn’t all bad.

Summer Lovin’

Summer is starting to show its face here in the UK and Europe, and to people not obsessed with football (and quite a few people who are) it only means one thing: it’s festival season.
But what if you are tired of Glastonbury (never!), Reading or Lovebox? What if you want something other than the usual rowdy music fix? Well fear not, there are plenty of graffiti and art festivals here in the UK and Europe to satisfy even the most switched on urban art lover.

Technologic

So I got asked to write this column for Brainer about 10 mins ago, and I really didn’t know what I should write about. I work for VNA so I’m guessing it should be street art related, but seriously how many times do you need to read about pretty pictures on walls? As it happens quite a lot actually, but then I thought dang! I’m actually from the future so I’m going to give you a little insight about how technology changes everything. Everything including street art.