notes on Urban Wall Systems no. 1, Toronto 2009

-essentialy an 'urban hack'(see or google Scott Burnham) UWS suggests a more spatial and volumetric consideration of the urban wall and the potential of 'guerilla gardening' as an integrated urban/architectural intention rather that merely being flowers on the ground.
-I consider this an urban hack as it uses existing poster space and literally takes that material, slices it up and reconstitutes to create something new that jams the space from more ads to appear. It's an interesting, i guess, jiu-jitsu move that uses the energy and motivations of another urban system and distorts its mechanisms for something else. Although I make mention of 'guerilla gardening' i see this project more of a hack as it reveals the potentials and provocations of urban space rather than beautifies or greens the space--it offers a new perspective of interpreting urban objects and space. Admittedly, most of these plants will be pretty dead pretty soon-- I don't cry over them, although future UWS will consider more Succulent plants for installation.

- interesting variations, as above, were/are being collaborated with artist DSMartindale where a more graphic intention is being sought. Here, a cork or striped effect is created and the use of the conical shape both follows this graphic intentions as it furthers the act of 'peeling' away the poster space. Further, the conical shape creates an interesting funnel that allows aeration to occur without having to punch holes in the bottom and, in the corkscrew pattern, allows water to naturally flow from one planter into the other. It's a nice functional aesthetic!





- on a process note, i quite like how well this idea simply flowed from sketch to realization in a very short period. although, having looked at my previous 'Natural Urban Intervention' work, I realize this probably builds and was influenced by that work; that is, I'm currently quite interested in our interpretation of the natural in contemporary urban design and recontextualizing natural elements to offer wry, delightful moments that ponders the amount of 'control' placed on urban design. None the less, I enjoyed the sketch model making and notebook sketches that describes a relatively simple idea but, considering the planter contextually, allows it to be a provocative moment.

- i''m calling it UWS or Urban Wall System as it seems like a politeful jab to my architectural background--that there would be these, *ahem* pretentious designers with willfully demanding intentions of urban design control where as this 'system' is really more of a hacking of existing space and really, in its own delightful way, organically forms its own geometries... . I guess also UWS suggests a more interesting or at least provocative way of dealing with derelict streetfront space...

- I enjoy how this project follows on the heels of the 'Post No Bills, Post Pretty Art' project in Edmonton at its optimistic intentions of taking dead or repetitive spatial experience and give a more 'eventful' moment than repetitive visual graphic that often occurs on hoarding or abandoned storefronts.

"Post No Bills, Post Pretty Art" May 2009

this text taken from the general art call produced in '09:

‘Post No Bills, Post Pretty Art’ (PNB-PPA) is an urban regeneration project in downtown Edmonton at the derelict Mayfair Hotel on the corner of Jasper Avenue and 108 St. NW. Using the boarded up windows as a canvas, I am encouraging temporary works of art in an open call/challenge to other Edmonton area artists to make this derelict site a fantastic urban moment during the summer of 2009.


To start things off, the creation of three panels of temporary artwork and a postered ‘Post No Bills, Post Pretty ART” encourages you to produce thoughtful and playful work on the remaining panels.


As this is a temporary site, I primarily see this as a large, public sketchpad project. All the initial projects(see pics enclosed) are temporary works and intend to be taken down, reproduced and recycled as, hopefully, future work appear on the boarded up panels. Barring the City doesn’t remove the artwork by weeks end (or even if they do...), I think there’s incredible potential to do something amazing in this depressed area---it’s an urban regeneration project from an artist’s perspective!

I hope ‘Post No Bills, Post Pretty Art’ establishes an alternative, distinct and unique urban regeneration project that pushes an energetic and highly visible art scene in Edmonton and, more importantly, can make the city a more interesting and fun place to live.


For those who might be offended by the “pretty” moniker in the project call, it is intended to be a wryly ironic sentiment of art often conceived through an institutional, commercial and ultimately bureaucratic level where the art produced ultimately becomes ‘watered down’ and ‘neutral’ and the general sentiment from the client is to simply make the work look “pretty.” Here, ‘pretty’ in our moniker becomes quite the opposite--it is a challenge to create art that is a free rein for artistic vision removed from such bureaucratic constraints.

--
After this had been done, I got some interesting press and I also met a pretty awesome guy named Steve Teeuwsen who is editor of the most excellent Notebook magazine that focuses on Edmonton artists in a spectacularly and professionally presented quartely mag.(it's actually printed on that super glossy stiff paper and it definitely has a 'weight' to it). He's looking at doing an art jam through more legal means at mayfair hotel, and I totally appreciate that he's willing to take the project to that next level. Very cool to know that Edmonton, despite general sentiment, really does have incredible potential to be an art gem...

090217 Quick Notes on our Ice Hands.

Our ice hands work is an irreverent urban intervention that creates a modest and surreal moment in the city, both delighting the viewer by figuratively connecting human gestures while also celebrating the oft-perceived 'miserable cold day.'




Our first set of work used the hands in menial gestures sticking out of ordinary objects, either holding mittens, clapping hands or grabbing rope--each offered a 'moment' that subverted the 'seriousness' of the city and suggested a more relaxed, informal and surreal possibility to the city. These ice hands suggested a more narrative city than the one being offered, suggesting relationships between urban environments that are often taken for granted.








Our second set of work began to explore the communicative possibilities of, literally, hands. Using American Sign Language as a basis, we shaped the hands to offer delightful 'puzzles' in the city; that is, one would need to read the hands to read the message. This ranged from the simple message of 'L-O-V-E' around Valentines day, to more pun like possibilities as we signed 'C-H-I-L-L-I-N-G' on one wall and small poems: 'words lost in winter's deafening silence' on others.
The use of signing coupled with the ice hands provides a powerful interface and relationship on the transience of street art, language and the winter season itself.
We find the ice hands a successful series primarily because of their figurative relate-ability(?) to the viewer--that they connect on a human gestural scale.

090214 Observations of 'LOVE' in streetart

'Love' and the heart symbol seem to be an ubiquitous and universal symbol in street art- invariably in any city someone will either swish out a heart or quickly scribble 'love' on a wall. I find that interesting b/c of it's universal message and meaning--it is an entirely harmless critique yet powerfully simple--it's a message that everybody quickly understands and therefore becomes an acceptable street art message--no cop would ever chide anyone for scrawling that on a wall.

The subversive possibility, then, is to take that message and let it become a 'medium' in which to operate in; that is, the artist regardless of the 'message' behind the act works simply through associativity-- the artist becomes 'responsible' for the message.




The two examples we have been working on seem appropriate in this regard. By throwing out grass hearts or ice hands that spell 'L-O-V-E' the artist subverts the inherent symbolism and message of 'Love' and makes in an integral part of the artist's oeuvre. No longer is 'Love' simply another tag or message but becomes a critical theme that plays out in the artwork itself, the symbol becomes the dominant form of communication for the artist. The transient nature of the medium(grass and ice) is a critical move in this regard and plays well with the viewer intending to 'read' or 'interpret' the work itself(i.e: the viewer would make a connection about love not lasting forever as the work itself dies or melts...).

Reconstituted Street Art No.1

from the archives, me just rambling after a night of pasting but i think it's going somewhere interesting...
in response to the oft-criticized ‘commercial’ aspect of street art and the ‘dishonesty’ of street art in a gallery setting, i think a more provocative response would be to translate works of street art in to object-forms that can then be sold or displayed in galleries for purchase. this would keep the essential ‘honesty’ demanded by critics, while at the same time suggesting how urban elements translate themselves into consumable, personal products.

confused? i think the two examples above seem to be where i’m going with this:

1. the first is the unfortunate first attempt at the orphans taking over an entire building. basically having run out of money, the project never was fully ‘complete’ and the owners got terribly annoyed/angry and asked it be taken down immediately. in doing this, the translation of an architectural shell or cladding element into cubes of ‘reconstituted’ artwork became a provocative installation on the street. turning architecture/urban elements into a potential consumable ‘thing’ seems appropriate in our contemporary understanding and interaction with space[see ‘ghosts’]. although i’m purely confident the next ‘hit’ will work, this one was a bit delirously difficult.

2. the second example is a result of wrapping natural elements[in this case, leaves] around a bollard in shoreditch. the story here was that a PC stopped me halfway through the work and ask i remove the project(although his partner said the colors were quite pretty...). in removing the work i was a bit surprised how well the leaves held the form of the bollard. i can see the potential of a ‘bollard’ bowl of leaves that translates the shape/space of urban elements into an object/sculpture to be displayed/moved elsewhere.

the final statement, then, is how do street artists/urban interventionists establish financial backing w/out resorting to working at starbucks, receiving corporate sponsorship, etc...--i think this is a possible avenue that keeps the integrity of the work and adds successive layers of translating the art from spatial intervention to consumer object/product. if you’re interested in displaying or purchasing, give me a shout...

-september ‘08
eric for AT.AW.

finally got around to photomontaging the last ghosts for a while.

as im back in canada and its absolutely freezing, the work is staying indoors for a bit.

see www.at-aw.com/ghosts and click the image for the full size.

8

dwn in bricklane...........somebody asked if i was going to stratford with this one. yes. yes i was.

ill put better photos up later--> you really have to see this one in person.