Friday ProFile: Digital Love

Imagining the vastness of the internet is like trying to wrap your mind around the universe: once you try to picture infinity, you start to get a headache. Each day, the amount of information sailing through ethernet cables increases, making it even easier to get caught up in the virtual abyss. Palm and Yes know how to harness the power of the internet while interacting with the real world. With their powers combined, they are Digital Lovers. The pair live, work, and study art in Athens, but they send their pixilated hearts to Glasgow, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, and everywhere in between.

While Palm and Yes joined forces as Digital Love in 2009, the pair have been painting for about five years. Initially, graffiti books and street pieces at home inspired them to make their own. "We ended up doing posters since we find it the most accurate way of putting up your work," they explain. "It's nice and quick, and people don't seem to have any problem with posters or stickers compared to spray painting."
Both Palm and Yes used to dabble in old school graffiti, but they recognize a difference between that scene and modern work. "Contemporary street art definitely evolved out of this old school culture mixed with other artistic ideas and thoughts," they insist. "What we do is in the exact same vein as 'old school' graffiti. Instead of tagging, we put up a symbol and we get to use more means to make this symbol as known as possible." Through international communication, Digital Love's stickers travel to obscure locations. "I think the craziest shit with Digital Love wasn't done by us," they laugh. "We recieved a picture of a PLANE with a sticker on it last night... can't take it outta our heads!"

Don't read too much into the symbol; Palm and Yes just want pedestrians to have a good time. "We're just saying, 'we are here!'" they say. "Everyone can understand it however he or she likes. We just hope it gives people a smile at least."
While Digital Love enjoys its pasty icons, they don't expect to stay stuck on stickers forever. In their opinion, just the process of creating street art creates change. "We'd say that living in the world of street art is an adventure by itself," they explain. "We get to travel a lot and meet many different kinds of people. Meeting crazy-ass artists is always an adventure! Our dream is to be able to communicate with people through our work on the streets. Digital Love is just the beginning."

Thanks, guys! Keep up with their blog for new updates. That's all for now! Hopefully, weekend weather will hold out and I'll be able to roam Providence, grope a big puppet, and find a tacky yet creative gift for my almost 20 year-old sister. Gasp.

Friday ProFiles: Jon Burgerman

Sticker fiends can tag some unexpected locations: in alleyways, on billboards, even airplanes.  English artist Jon Burgerman cites that last place as his most unusual bombing location. He recalls, “The sticker survived the flight but its legs were missing.” While he leaves the tagging to others these days, Burgerman credits his foray into stickers with jump-starting his career. “A lot of my early success came from my stickers which helped establish my work, leading to professional commissions and the opportunity to exhibit my art,” he says. 

Since his early sticker days, Burgerman has branched out to include a wide variety of mediums and products. While he still produces stickers, his repertoire also includes customized skateboards, designer toys like the Burgertown Heroes collection, and color-your-own wallpaper which was exhibited at Britain’s Hay Festival. Provide the medium and he will decorate it. Originally from the UK’s Midlands, he now lives and works in Nottingham. As a child, he remembers drawing with family as his first artistic exposure. He recalls, “I would draw with my mom in our spare room before my brother was born. I drew an orange tree with pastels on blue sugar paper.” After graduating from university with a degree in fine art, he built his career online by showcasing his work on the Internet. Since then, word of mouth and a strong fan based helped the commissions roll in. Citing a laundry list of influences, he draws inspiration everywhere, from Barry McGee and Phil Frost to Cy Twombly and Picasso. He also extracts ideas from his surroundings. He says, “I’m inspired by so many things: street art, stickers, dirt, tissues, art, graphics, design, and listening to lots of music.” Over the years, his style has morphed and changed because, he adds, “I want to improve and develop. Also, I get bored easily.” His daily routine consists of “Work, eat, and snooze,” he says, adding, “I don’t think you ever really ‘turn off’ as an artist.” Although he sometimes works alone, he collaborates with other members of his “crew,” art collective Black Convoy, on a regular basis. While the specifics of his career plans are hazy, Burgerman insists, “I just want to maintain a career and keep working. That's all I really want to do and it's the only thing I'm 100% certain of.” However, he does dream of an interesting collaboration someday. According to his website, Burgerman says, “I think I’d like to work with a baker and design a series of character cakes and buns. People could buy them, look at them, get bored of them and then eat them. No waste and full bellies before bedtime. It’d be perfect!” Confections are perhaps the one medium he’s not yet tried. Although the scene may change over time, he believes that street art will remain a constant presence in daily like. “Perhaps new technologies will be utilised by some artists,” he predicts, “but there will always be paint and stickers.” All images courtesy of Jon Burgerman. For more information, see his website or Flickr.

Thanks so much, Jon! I'll be over on your side of the pond in about a week now! If anyone wants a post of their own, now's the time to do it! E-mail me or hit me up on MySpace for the details. Also, I'm packing my suitcase full of stickers to pass around, so let me know if you want yours included in the stash. Have a delightful weekend and I'll see you all back here on Monday.