Really wonderful artwork by gigposters.com, they have literally thousands and at very reasonable prices. Shame they have so few of UK gigs though. 

Dare.

Image Sorce

Ai Weiwei Released

After posting about Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei a few days ago, I am delighted to find out that he has now returned home having been freed after more than two months' detention. You can find out more here: bbc.co.uk/news

Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei

Sign the petition to free this incredible and influential artist, who's whereabouts are currently unknown. A creative voice deserves to be heard no matter where you are from, as the artist himself said: "All people have a responsibility to speak their opinion on things, to state the simple principles of their lives".
 Don't let the Chinese authorities be successful in silencing his voice that is projected so fiercely through his art.

The Pencil is Mightier

Dalton Ghetti is an artist that uses the pencil not just during the process of planing an artwork, but uses the pencil used as a material with which to make sculptures. When an artist uses 'Pencil' as his 'Canvas' some truly original work is created.

To be seen and not to be seen

Alexa Meade is a young American artist who creates art work that truly challenges our perceptions of what is representational painting and what is real life. She paints directly on top of her subject matter to make it appear that they are two dimensional paintings,  using a mixture of paint, photography, video, performance and installation until subject matter and representation are fused as one.

This imitation of real life while covering real life really challenges me. Is this exposing the need for art to be more in touch and involved in our everyday lives or a statement that we as subject matters are also art, though in a non-traditional sense? By physically painting people is this a direct way of making art unavoidable, showing that we all have the potential to become artists as well as artist's subject matter? Or is this expressing the inevitable front we all have, expressing that it is only a performance, an exterior that has been created that we let the world see? Are we not all performers and therefore all artists? And to complicate matters further what happens when these representations become videos or photographs? In a lot of her work you cannot tell that they are not photographs of regular 2D, flat paintings yet we believe that they are painted 3D models because a source tells us so. Is this not further challenging how we see the world? The photographs (or any Photograph for that matter) is nothing but a snapshot of something that once was- is this a hankering after human permanence?  Or am i going to far with this?

What point she is making or whether she is making one at all is up to you- all art is interpretive to the viewer in any way of course, but either way you can't deny the skill this woman has and the interesting and wonderful and  way she has of viewing the world. If you want to see more of her work and photographs of the creating process visit her flickr.

Secret Art

RAC Secret is an annual exhibition that opens this Friday at The Royal College of Art. There will be a display of 2500 postcards donated by varies acclaimed artists and illustrators (such as Tracy Emin and Peter Blake) as well as students from the college. All the postcards will then be sold on a first-come-first-served basis at £45, with the money going towards student bursaries.

HOWEVER.

Unlike most art exhibitions there will be no labels beside the postcards and the works will only be signed on the back. If you know your contemporary art this could be your chance at buying some work by a renowned artist at a very cheap price! If not you have brought a very original (and expensive) post card and given money (in the light of resent policies) to a very much needed fund. Enjoy.

You can also join in the count down on thier Facebook page.

Drawing Drawing Drawing

Here are a few of my favorite illustrations, I have tried to provide links and the names of the artists for as many of them as i can but sorry I can't remember them all! If anyone knows them I'd love you to tell me.

Laura Laine



David Downton

Unknown

I can't find the artist but this poster is for The Finders Keepers, a design and art market from Australia.

E. H. Shepard

This gorgeous image is from the British artist Bobby Hillson, I cant find a website for her but she worked as a fashion illustrator for Vouge in the 1960's and later for the Sunday Times and The Observer. This illustration is of the Paris collections for The Observer, 1965.



Unknown - But isn't it wonderful?

Quentin Blake, The BFG is one of my favorite children's books.

My ultimate favourite Illustrator though has got to be Julie Verhoeven, I have loved her work ever since I discovered her a few years ago. She stands out as by-far-and-away one of the best contemporary artists today. She is intense and unique and fun and lively and daring and just everything I love in illustration.

Hans-Peter Feldmann

While in Düsseldorf this summer I visited the brilliant art gallery Kunstsammlung. I had seen posters advertising an exhibition for Hans-Peter Feldmann and thought that the photograph on the poster looked interesting so decided to take a look and how glad I am that I did (just shows what a sucker I am to the power of advertising, one pretty image and I'm there), it was one of the most interesting and fun exhibitions that I have ever been to.

It is difficult to categorise the German artist Feldman, from his intriguing photograph installation with 101 photographs of different men and women from the age of a new born baby to one hundred years old - one photograph for every year, depicting the gradual development of growth and age; to his diligently arranged vintage toys, lights and wires revolving on turn-tables to cast eerily beautiful shadows on the walls of the gallery, Feldmann interests and provokes thought at every turn.  

What I loved about the exhibition most was the sense of fun it had. Too many artists try and make a point about modern society while taking themselves far too seriously. Here Feldmann, with his collections of magazine cuttings, photographs and other random objects, reminded me of the childish continuation of everyday life. He pokes fun at us without being patronising. Where the brash colours should have been overwhelming, they are a reminder of the excessiveness of Feldmann and add to the ampleness of his images of the banal and mundane objects.

All in all I felt the exhibition was a wonderful insight to the mind and a man and his obsession of collecting and hording the objects around him. His art which is effectively just a documentation of his collection has made me see the beauty and art to be found everyday and that art is not necessarily an entirely serious pursuit.

(http://www.303gallery.com/artists/hans-peter_feldmann/index.php)