Friday Profile: Neil 'Women158' Parkinson

No matter what he’s doing, Neil Parkinson, a.k.a. Women158, always sees the world through an artist’s perspective. “I don’t think I’m ever not an artist,” he says. “It’s not a part-time vocation; it’s an all-consuming demon that makes you question everything you see. I don’t think you’re ever able to switch that part of yourself off.” This Leeds-based artist has been on his grind since his first commission at 14.

As a shy child, Women158 spent hours drawing ladies in his grandmother’s garden. “I remember wanting a picture of a girl in a bikini for my bedroom wall when I was younger,” he recalls. “My mum said that if I wanted something like that on my wall, I should learn to draw it. So I did. It instilled in me a strong DIY ethic.” In 2000, he transitioned from pen and paper to spray cans and walls. “I didn’t really have a clue how to do anything,” he confesses, “So my earlier pieces were god awful: too big, too small, out of proportion, etc. I was mainly interested in the act of doing it at the time, just doing art for the sake of art.”
While he insists, “I didn’t make a piece worth the paint used on it until 2005,” Women158 eventually developed a more mature signature style. “I’ve let it grow at its own speed over the years,” he adds, “and now people see to instantly recognize my pieces, which makes me happy.” Throughout the process, Women158 avoided copying other artists and focused more on brainstorming with the people around him. “The people who influence me the most are probably the people I paint with,” he says. “We’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other and talking about art.” Pulling from his own experiences, he sprinkles with work with semi-autobiographical elements.

Surrounding himself with creative people pushes Women158 to improve. “I’ve been involved with quite a few crews,” he says, listing RCS (Radicals), VIP (Visual Piracy), AND DG (Damaged Gods). “We all have a lot of mutual respect for each other,” he confesses. “Having a group means everyone brings something different to the table, allowing for more interesting productions.” Women158 is quick to point out that “People often think that crews are gangs. They’re not.”

Today, Women158 sticks with legal walls, but he’s paid his dues with his friends in the streets. Risking arrest, accidents, and getting jumped, he bombed all around the UK, Rome, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. “It just comes with the territory,” he explains. “If you’re running around areas at four in the morning with intentions of breaking the law, you’re gonna get some hassle. It’s just about being focused, knowing what you’re doing, knowing how to deal with situations that might arise, and just getting in and out.” In the end, it’s worth the risk for Women158. “Everyone is getting shafted by the people that are supposed to be looking out for them,” he argues, “so I try to put stuff out there to brighten their days up.”

Those days of hustling are over for Women158 and plenty of travel, books, and heaps of live art await him in 2010. Still, he worries about the future of street art. As street art becomes easier to produce, he believes fewer people will truly take it seriously. “A lot of people claim they’re street artists ‘cos they’ve done some half-arsed stencil in the comfort of their house and nipped out and put it up,” he insists. “Graffiti writers have to perfect and develop letterforms, painting techniques, can control…and that’s just the practical side. Then there are the missions of hitting spots, getting into train yards, avoiding arrest. It’s damn hard work.”

For more info and photos on Women158, check out his website. This weekend is about to get crazy hectic. Saturday entails running my own race, helping at my girls' race, and playing with a two year-old on her birthday. (This last item will probably involve said baby getting cake all over her face.) I'm ready!

September 2009: Ludo in Paris

Technology surrounds us, but what would happen if the natural world and technology merged? Parisian artist Ludo ponders this question in his giant wheatpastes. In one (aptly titled 'i-Biscus'), the stamen of a large hibiscus morphs into a satellite transmitter. In another, sunflowers look more like engine turbines than normal sunny blooms. Ludo prefers to keep his answers short and sweet so his work can do the talking. He writes:

"I was born in the suburbs of Paris."
"I am around 30 years old and I live and work mostly in Paris."
"Titled 'Nature's Revenge', the work I produce connects the world of plants and animals with our technological universe."
"It speaks about what surrounds us and affects us for any reason and tries to highlight some kind of humility."
"Thank you for the post--Ludo." Thank YOU, Ludo! For more fantastic photos, check out his Flickr.

P.S. Today is Adam's birthday. So if you see a lumberjack/Viking type chasing snakes on Cape Cod, make sure to wish him a happy one. :)

September 2009: Gaia in Brooklyn

Over the summer, I headed down to Brooklyn to check out the Willoughby Windows project. Sponsored by Ad-Hoc, the exhibit featured work by Chris Stain, Michael De Feo, Ellis G., and other Illicit favorites. Each storefront housed a different artist's unique piece. In the midst of so many great works, Gaia's style stood out. Mixing animals and humans together, her characters left a big impression on me. That's why I'm so glad she agreed to put a post together. She writes:

"I am a Brooklyn and Baltimore based street artist with a background in printmaking and sculpture."
"Marrying the animal and the human form, Gaia conjures mysterious figures that carry a heavy sense of mythology and recall a past when man and nature were once united."
"These romantic creatures stand in relief to the urban environment as they lurk and beckon from within the city’s forgotten and neglected spaces."
"The conveyance of their story relies on the chance coincidence with a passerby, and even in that intimate moment, their narrative is precarious and delicate."
Thanks, Gaia! For more photos, check out her Flickr.

October 2009: New Britain Mural Slam

I never thought I’d be so grateful for rain (especially after this summer). Since the skies opened on Saturday, my meet was cancelled and I could attend the second annual New Britain Mural Slam. Organized by CCSU professor Mike Alewitz and his mural painting class, the event featured a wide range of talent and mediums. Each artist got their own chunk of wall on the Welte parking garage’s 5^th floor and was left to do their thing for eight hours. The intermittent rain washed some murals away, but I tried to capture all of them on my camera. Here are some highlights.

Eyesore came out in full force, spraying giant bright pieces flanked with creepy gumdrop monsters. Always a crowd favorite, he signed black books and chatted with everyone.
You can’t tell from this photo, but Mike Goldschneider had one hell of a time getting this stencil to stick. Battling wet walls, dripping paint, and the impending doom of more rain, he managed to slap five layers up before the downpour started. Applause!
Esper and Speak spent a whole day tweaking their pieces. The pair commented other people’s wild style and encouraged others to critique their work. Speak got all cerebral with it, talking about "light sources and shit." I really liked these guys and hope I catch up with them again sometime.
Aside from the brilliance of this hypothetical death match, the guys that worked on this piece made my day when they sprayed a little penguin on the nearby cinderblock. Octopus vs. stegosaurus: who would win?

For some reason, I really enjoyed this mural. Throughout the day, I stopped by this piece again and again intending to ask the artist why the noses were bleeding. I never asked. Any insight here?

I’m sending Alewitz all my photos, so see if he posts them here.

In The Headlines

Brilliant weekend in spite of all that rain. Since I didn't have to work a meet, I made it to the New Britain Mural Slam after all. Great stuff! Lots of graff, stencil, and good times. I promise to share photos at some point. Now it's back to work but there's a great week up ahead: half marathons, music festivals, and birthday parties for so many people. Excellent! While I get ready for the week, have a look at these headlines.

Remi/Rough’s new book Lost Colours and Alibis is out. If you pick up a copy this week, make sure to wish him a happy birthday (his was on Sunday).

Next stop, Bahrain? That’s right, this Middle Eastern country hosted its first street art exhibition this month. You have until November to check it out.

In Bristol, Chris Chalkey got busted for mural painting.

The Jafa Girls love making scarves for bronzed public figures.

"Urban Eyes," the Art Modern Gallery's exhibit featuring Dolk, Banksy, and others, opened in Naples, Florida, this past Friday. The show runs through October 17.

Decoy’s show “Memento Mori” opened last week at The Fridge in Washington, D.C. Wish I’d known about this gallery when I was there over the summer!

JR’s series “Women Are Heroes” hit the Pavillon de l’Arsenal in Paris. In addition to the photos, he will also create an accompanying mural.

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.

September 2009: Escif in Valencia

Escif's work toys with your expectations and throws off viewers with unexpected flourishes. As a woman slashes her wrists, doves spurt out instead of blood. On another wall, a couple embraces in a pile of fish. (What?) Tourists photograph giant entities carrying eyeballs and cats use the W.C. just like people. In Escif's world, forgetting convention is the only way to make sense of it all. Today, he fills in the gaps about how he got to this point. He writes:

"I live in Valencia, but I try to travel whenever it's possible. I'm 29 years old and I started painting in the streets in 1997. I was influenced by some friends who were graffiti writers. At the beginning, I started doing traditional graffiti pieces. Two years later, I studied fine arts at university and my ideas about painting in the streets progressively changed."
"I attempt to reflect thoughts that I have in my life: concerns, conflicts, and contradictions. I attempt to highlight some hidden mechanisms in power strategies from the post-capitalist system in which we live. You can build a critical focus out of seemingly normal situations."

"I am influenced by many things in my daily life. Fortunately, I have been influenced by many artists like Dibo, Os Gemeos, Logan, Herbert, San, and Blu, as well as many others. Besides admiring their work, I admire them as people; they're really great friends.Conceptual artists have also influenced me, like Mauritzio Cattelan, Santiago Sierra, or Teresa Margolles. Over the years, I've tried to make my style simpler. I would like to make the concept the focus and keep technique in the background, balancing concept, poetry, technique, and context. To paint walls, I use plastic and sprays paint. I like to use wall texture on my compositions."

"I usually paint alone. I really love to paint alone, but I also enjoy working with other artists. Eight years ago, I joined a group called XLF. Each member has its own style, but we work well together. XLF is not only a graffiti crew; we are a group of friends who shared a love for street art. I try to stay informed about what happens in my surroundings. I think it's very important to be aware of what's going on in the world. People should form their own opinions about it. I believe the world could be better if each person developed their own criteria about what's happening in the world around them. Paying attention to conflicts is difficult, but it's necessary if we want to build a better world. Through my work, I try to give my vision of different conflicts. Street art has a big potential because everybody can see it without going to museums or galleries. The street is a very powerful tool. Politicians and businesses constantly mangage citizens. Street art can be used as a tool to combat this management. It's away to build the city from the bottom up, from the people who really live there."

Gracias, Escif! For more photos and info, check out his Flickr. For folks in the Hartford area, I think I'm going to the Tanlines show at the Atheneum tonight. If you're going, come and find me! I'll probably be wearing obscenely crazy leggings and snapping photos all around.