October 2009: Sjors Vervoort in the Netherlands

I'm always on the lookout for street art innovators. While the medium itself is novel, sometimes a piece pops up that grabs my attention. Enter Sjors Vervoort. This Dutch native recently moved his cardboard creatures down under, but I hope he makes it to the U.S. sometime soon. Today, he discusses the process behind his street creatures. He writes:

"I have recently moved to Melbourne, Australia, from the Netherlands, so I don't have any of the characters here. Some of them will be shown in a museum in Holland though, but unfortunatly not in the States, since I
haven't got any budget. I am thinking of joining an artists program in Utah next year, where I might be able to get fundings to create some characters there. And I'm currently designing new characters to place in Melbourne, Australia."
"To be honest, I'm still a rookie when it comes to street art. I'm an animator and character designer, and have recently started to explore the world of street art. My first street art project was cardboard, an experimental animation. I liked the idea of exposing my characters in the streets. After thinking of different materials, I decided to use cardboard. It's flexible, cheap and easy to manipulate. Characters are really important to me, there universal and appealing to all cultures."
"Since I haven't got much expierence yet, I'm still working solo. But I'm always looking arround for other interesting artists to collaborate with. I developed my style by spending years of drawing doodles. My characters are usually created around a certain theme. And when creating my characters, I'm always thinking in movements, in case I'm going to animate them. Lately, I have been spending a lot of time researching bugs. They have the most beautiful and
organic movements which I can use for my characters."
"I paint my cardboard characters safely at home, probably because I'm still a woosh when it comes to writing on the streets. When my characters are ready, I place them in the streets. With cardboard, I spend a lot of time finding the right locations. I recently started doing stickers, so putting them on walls is still exciting for me."

"I never expected cardboard to be this successful, but since I have had so much possitive feedback. I have decided to continue creating new cardboard characters. Melbourne is perfect because it has a great street art scene. Currently, I'm still designing the characters, and looking arround for big pieces of cardboard."

Fabulous, Sjors! Can anyone hook him up with some giant corrugated sheets? The man needs cardboard STAT! For more creatures, check out his website. (I must say, the tee shirts look fantastic.)

Friday ProFile: LukeDaDuke

During the day, Luke Da Duke teaches school kids ages 12-18. However, this Dutch art teacher spends his nights filling the streets with stickers. When he was the same age as some of his students, he discovered graffiti. “I had two cousins who got up,” he says. “I tried it twice but got busted both times. I wanted to get myself out there and Netherlands sticker scene in the mid to late ‘90s was booming. There were guys like Influenza, Erosie, and ZIME getting up everywhere. I wanted to have a go, too.”

Stickering opened a slew of doors for Luke Da Duke.“I see new places, meet new people, and get inspired, all because of a little piece of sticky paper or vinyl,” he says. Over the past 10 years, he’s covered walls across London, Paris, Stockholm, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bern, and more. “The dog is still the same as ten years ago,” he explains. “I place the dog in different graphic surroundings. In the first couple of years, he was alone.”

“Putting up stickers for the first time was something that gave me a kick,” he laughs. “It was something of mine, anonymously, out there for everyone to see. I still have that feeling when I’m in a new town or city and putting up stickers or posters.” While he insists he’s never been afraid while stickering, his habit has landed him in trouble. “A couple of times, I got busted for doing graffiti and stickering,” he remembers. “The first two times, I got away fairly easily and without any problems. On the third time, I got a fine for 30 euros…that was it.”
Flying solo is fun, but Luke Da Duke loves working with a crew. He’s a member of Grafik Warfare and VST Crew. “The good part about crews is that you hook up with the best people around,” he says. “It’s hard being international, though, because we’re so far apart. It isn’t like we meet on a regular basis.”
Don’t ask Luke Da Duke what he’s working on; he lives without a plan. “I will see where my work will go,” he adds. “I’m not doing it for the money or to get world fame or anything. I just want to have fun making the stuff that I enjoy making.” There’s no ulterior message to these slaps, either; it’s all about having a good time. “I'm not a moralist,” he insists, “I just hope I brighten people’s days just a little.” While he doesn’t know what’s in his own future, he believes a few dedicated souls will keep street art alive. “It will probably only get bigger and bigger size-wise: bigger stencils, bigger paste-ups,” he predicts. “At the end, most of the people out there right now will be out. Only a couple of hard heads will keep it alive.”
Thanks, Luke! For more photos, check his Flickr. I'm looking forward to a weekend at home since the past two weeks have been absolutely bonkers. Here's to not working and sitting on my couch!

October 2009: Florentign Hofman All Over The Place

Dutch artist Florentign Hofman's work doesn't look like anything I've posted on before. His portfolio includes a neon penguin (named Michael Moore?), a huge rubber duck, and a wooden muskrat. Hmmm. What the hell is going on here? Hofman sent us some words and photos to give us a clue. He writes:

"The work of Hofman is known for intriguing and interactive installations in public spaces. Obviously, he oscillates with great joy between performance (public) art and the domain of the sculpture (only to mention a few of his used media) and has a strong wish to amaze and make life a little more fun."

"The fact that Florentijn Hofman is not an average gallery-exhibited artist should be obvious. The world is a huge playground and he can choose just about any spot or material in which to display his installations."

"Asked by the borough of Delfshaven in Rotterdam to work on the site of a derelict block awaiting demolition Hofman painted the entire exterior of the property with a 2 micron layer of blue paint that transformed it into the most photographed section of the city. The application of the paint was intended to slow further deterioration. Such urban dereliction is usually a material reminder of the alienating power of urban planners and developers to disperse communities and erase local history. By amplifying the memory and meaning of the space for those people living in and passing through the neighbourhood, the surreal energy of Hofman’s work temporarily reclaims that alienation while the building awaits deconstruction via wrecking ball."

"The Loire River in France was the starting point of a project that ultimately became a giant rubber duck. Measuring 26 m in height, it may look like the favourite toy of Sesame Street’s Ernie, but it’s too big to fit into anyone’s bath (and it's impossible to ignore). According to Florentijn Hofman, the Canard de Bain crosses all bounderies and does not discriminate or have a political connotation. The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties; it can relieve mondial tensions as well as define them."

Thanks, Florentign! For more info, check out his official website.

Friday ProFile: Bytedust

Dennis Douven, a.k.a. Bytedust, always searches for the next creative frontier. As a party photographer, he found inspiration in his own photos and created his first sticker designs. While he studied and received a degree in biomolecular sciences, health issues prevented him from working full-time. This sick leave left him more time to mess around with graphic design. He recalls, "Approaching interpretation of street art gradually evolved into Bytedust."

Bytedust took his career in a new direction, but he never left his scientific roots behind. His "Hazmat" series features variations on the Red Cross. Sometimes he's pictured playing the piano. In the next frame, he realizes his key-tinkling days are over as he desperately waits for a Band-Aid. His most recognizable characters are arguably his smokey clouds. In "The Hot Little Factory," steaming clouds with unhappy frowns spew from smokestacks. With red crosses over their little smokey hearts, these masses of gas mourn for their environment.
When he first created the clouds, Bytedust denied having any activist tendencies. "In 2005, the global warming issue wasn't as prevalent as it is now. It was not my intention to get a point across with these images. Most of my illustrations have a background story or message, and environmental problems definitely deserve attention. Today, people need to be criticized about their environmental behaviors. My images reflect these bad behaviors."
Through his initial forays into street art, Bytedust expanded his repetoire into the third dimension. Today, he also designs lines of 3D toys and plush characters. "I likedconverting my two-dimensional characters into 3D figures," he insists. The added dimension created a huge learning curve for Bytedust, but he accepted the challenge. "I'm not a very good hand drawer or painter, so I have to be creative with different techniques," he admitted. "I mainly use the stencil technique to get the details on the toys done."
Currently, Bytedust has a myriad of projects to keep him occupied. In addition to the toys, posters, and stickers, he's also working on a book for sick children in hospitals. "This story will be very close to my own experiences as a child," he adds. "I hope to have it out by November, but It's quite a huge project. Every day, I realize that releasing a book is more complex than I thought. Fortunately, I've got good help around me."
Thanks, Bytedust! For photos of stuffed critters, artwork, and more, check his website. That's all for now! Hopefully, the stars will align so I can make it to the mural slam this weekend.