Augustine Kofie and his Band of Merry Men have come together in Vancouver for a show curated by street artist (interviewed in LSD Magazine) Indigo. Should be a great show...
Augustine Kofie / Chor Boogie (Team LSD)
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Concrete Ocean (Little People Show) by Slinkachu
Andipa Contemporary is delighted to announce Concrete Ocean, the new solo exhibition of renowned urban artist Slinkachu. Named as a leading figure in Urban Art by Patrick Nguyen and Stuart Mackenzie in Beyond the Street (2010) Slinkachu places tiny 1:87 scale installations - Little People - around the city and then abandons them to fend for themselves. In Concrete Ocean Slinkachu has for the first time reversed his usual process, seemingly uprooting paving stones and parts of pavements to bring them into the gallery to form concrete islands.
Concrete Ocean follows the artist's internationally acclaimed Little People Project started in 2006, and the publication of Little People in the City: The street art of Slinkachu, published by Boxtree (Pan MacMillan) (2008), The Old Vic and Punchdrunk's collaboration, Tunnel 228 in 2009, and in 2010 the highly successful exhibition Extraordinary Measures at Belsay Hall, Northumberland, alongside Ron Mueck, Matt Collishaw and Mariele Neudecker, which saw a record breaking 55,000 visitors. 2010 also saw the Amsterdam launch of his second publication, Big Bad City, by Lebowski Publishers.
Concrete Ocean is the second solo exhibition of Slinkachu's work to be shown at Andipa Gallery and follows Whatever Happened to the Men of Tomorrow (2009), which focused on the relationship between an old, bald, Superman rejected by the city which once lauded him. For further information please click HERE
ALL PHOTOS by Slinkachu
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Banksy in Hollywood - February 2011
Brand new Banksy spotted in Hollywood last week... Our boy Banksy tends to blitz various spots during the early hours of any one morning. By the time we all wake up someone somewhere in the world has texted, twittered, facebooked, myspaced and Flickred before you can say 'is that a banksy?' Authorised Banksy networks declare the pieces are indeed the work of the man himself (or at the very least a team of little green helpers).
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
The Alchemy Records Festival (Turin, Italy) June 2011
The Alchemy Records Festival and Competition
June 11th, 2011 in Cavour, Italy
(Turin, February 21st 2011) Underground electronic music fans can finally start mapping their summer festival route with Mauro Picottoís announcement of the Alchemy Records Festival: Italyís first open-air underground festival in the countryside near Turin on June 11th, 2011. Ambitious music producers also have reason to celebrate as Mauro officially opened the Alchemy Records Festival Competition for entries on February 19. Finalists will be awarded a recording contract, the chance to perform at the Alchemy Records Festival and ongoing promotional support from Mauro, Meganite and Alchemy Records. "There are a lot of new people out there who streak across the scene like a meteorite. I want to catch one of those meteorites and help them become a star!" says Mauro.
The Alchemy Records Festival
Mauro and his label Alchemy are organizing Italyís very first open-air underground electronic music festival in Mauroís hometown of Cavour (The nearest airport is Turin Caselle for those who want to book early!). The lineup will be typical Alchemy ñ a magical and transformative mix of world famous DJs and experimental performance artists together with emerging talent arising from the competition. An underground techno Woodstock meant to take clubbers on a musical journey of discovery in the heart of Piedmont. "I want to bring the young people to the country and offer producer/DJs with talent the same luck I had,ì says Mauro. His vision is for the festival to be a launchpad venue for the next generation of hot talent. In fact, this could be a life changing event for the winners who will have a chance to show the world what they can do. The Alchemy Festival is also Mauroís tribute to the town where he first started mixing tracks using a turntable and a portable radio. "I used to drag my portable radio to the turntable and had to finish mixing the track before the song came to an end,ì recalls Mauro. "Weíve got way more technology now but the spirit is the same!"
The Alchemy Records Festival Competition
The Alchemy Records Festival Competition is backed by Mauro and his label Alchemy Records and managed by FOEM, in cooperation with SoundCloud. Music producers from around the world are invited to submit their finest original Techno/Techhouse tracks. The originality and quality of the music will be what separates the first round winners from the crowd. But having a great track is just the beginning: In stage two the artists will have to prove they have the charisma to play live in front of thousands of people. ìThatís definitely going to be the X-Factor that makes this festival unique,ì says Mauro. The lucky winners will be flown to the Alchemy Records Festival and have their track released on Alchemy Records. Just imagine playing next to some of the worldís top stars with a contract in your pocket and your own place in the media spotlight. Is this your dream? Then make it happen! The Alchemy Records Festival Deadline for submissions is April 15th, 2011 and winners will be announced in May. There will be no fee for submitting a track and winners can expect some serious prizes:
Winning tracks released on Alchemy Records
Top winners will be flown to the Alchemy Records Festival near Turin, Italy(including flight + hotel costs)
A fine slot to perform live at the Alchemy Records Festival
The artist with the best performance at the festival wins the brand-new Cubase 6 music production system from Steinberg óthe perfect tool for professional aspirations
Full international support by Mauro Picotto, Alchemy Records and Meganite
The Grand Winner also receives a yearly Pro Account on SoundCloud, runners-up will receive yearly Lite Accounts
Beatport vouchers worth Ä 200 for the Grand Winner and Ä 50 for one runner up
Mauro says they are looking for tracks that embody the Alchemy philosophy: "Alchemy is about club music with character. Music that is not anonymous. I donít like to follow the ship. I like to make my own journey.ì
The Alchemy Competition deadline is April 15, 2011
Mauro Picotto: The Alchemist
Mauro Picotto is one of the world's most important producers of electronic music. He is also counted as one of the world's leading DJs. Mauro has released massive tracks including Bakerloo Symphony, Iguana and Komodo, though his fame is mainly due to Lizard, a track that turned into a musical style, receiving awards and accolades from all territories, and pushing Mauro to the Olympus of the Top 10 most popular DJs in the world. In 2001 he left Media records to create Bakerloo and the label Alchemy. In 2003 Mauro Picotto created Meganite - Electronic Music Lifestyle - a successful club party linked to the worldís best contemporary DJs. Mauro Picotto has released over 600 productions and numerous remixes, and to date has sold over six million copies worldwide. Mauro was the first DJ ever to play live at Top of the Pops UK and has performed in all the major dance music events, from Love Parade to Creamfields, MTV Festival, Winter Olympics in Turin, Ultra Music Festival, Time Warp and Awakenings. In 2011 Mauro will release his new album ' TwentyEleven' .
Personal Invitation from Mauro
Official invitation to the Alchemy Festival by Mauro Picotto Line-up and ticket information to be announced soon.
Click here to go directly to the competition
Friday, 18 February 2011
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Artist's Elate - Biogentic Archive
We were absolutely chuffed when after interviewing Elate for Issue 6, we discovered that not only is he seriously switched on, but he is also a wonderfully talented writer. We had a chat with him about joining the team here at LSD, and his first dispatch from the edges of consciousness was this fascinating insight into the Biogenetic Archive of human archetype and a merry dance through that shadowy world where myth, legend, symbolism, history and creativity meet. The full article is in Issue 6 - linked below.In this age of contrived and controlled ‘Urban/New Contemporary Art’ and only slightly less contrived and controlled ‘Reality TV’ we find free expression so dumbed down that hard won skill, infused contemplation and virtuosity can be deemed irrelevant, while reflected glory, vain posturing, cronyism, manipulation, reappropriation, self aggrandisement, and hype are the highly prized and lauded attributes of the big go-getters; the result?
Intuitive insight is all but forgotten behind a facade of carefully PRed ‘anti-heroes’, insipid illustration, vacuous idiosyncrasy, cloying sentimentality and rebranded pop tack. This leaves only one possible choice for my first contribution to this magazine; a strong antidote to the poisonous vanity and empowered inadequacy that has dumbed down art thus; a reminder of the ever-present timeless in a sea of transience, a heroic odyssey back to the dawn of life, to infinity and beyond into that everlasting present that is the ‘Other World’.
“...nature has endowed man with "three brains", which despite their completely different structures have to function together and maintain contact. According to this view, the oldest of our brains is reptilian, the second was inherited from the lower mammals, and the third is the achievement of the higher mammals. This is the one that turned the living creature into man. So, figuratively speaking, when a doctor invites his patient to lie down on a couch, he is dealing simultaneously with a human being, a horse and a crocodile.” Dialectical Materialism (A. Spirkin)
Deep beneath the layers of consciousness we have evolved over millennia to navigate civilisation, society and identity; we have access to a timeless, astonishingly beautiful realm of jewelled splendour, comprised of geometric patterns, fantastic luminous objects and landscapes shining with supernatural light. A biogenetic archive of things that continually change into ever more beautiful things; the “landscape of such surpassing beauty that words cannot describe it”, recalled by Aldous Huxley “The D.N.A memory coiling back to the dawn of life” described by Robert Anton Wilson, the “Akashic Records” of Occult lore, and the “Non-local Frequency Domain” of Quantum Physics.
Such states of consciousness have been experienced worldwide throughout history, are described in the religious texts of every faith, and appear to have been involved in the birth and development of virtually every belief system. They have been experienced by people of every age, race and background and are consequently described in innumerable ways. Many who tell of such experiences, speak of a profound empathy with, and understanding of, the Universe; this accompanies the dissolution of the personal identity; ego death. Dramatic shifts occur in perception of space and time, both often ceasing to exist. Experience is no longer ‘separated’ by the five senses, a phenomenon known as synaesthesia. “One sees the old and familiar in a new and strange way...” writes Dr R.D. Laing, “...often as though for the first time. Ones old moorings are lost. One goes back in time. One is embarked on the oldest voyage in the world.”
It is widely accepted that such states not only {7} allow waking access to the unconscious mind, but also to the ‘collective unconscious’ or group mind “a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This collective unconscious does not develop individually but is inherited. It consists of pre- existent forms, the archetypes, which can only become conscious secondarily and which give definite form to certain psychic contents”
Certain schools of thought believe, and empirical data would suggest, that this awareness extends beyond the archetypes into the universe itself, unlocking all experience, animal, vegetable, mineral and cosmic, even mythical; all life in fact, all the way from the consciousness of a single atom, to the consciousness of the whole of creation. Subjects sometimes produce otherwise unknowable and checkable information under laboratory conditions; the ultimate ‘information superhighway’. The discovery of DNA and its double-helix architecture by Crick while he was tripping on LSD is probably the most famous example of this. He later won a Nobel prize for his insight. This is but one way of initiating the state - there are countless othersThroughout history, those reporting experience of such states have been treated in a variety of ways, from being tortured then burned alive by the ‘Holy Inquisition’, worshipped as prophets and saints, locked away as dangerous criminals or madmen, or more recently (always overlooking such deviations), regarded as the greatest writers, scientists and recording artists and being awarded O.B.E s and other such baubles of establishment approval. So then, in our current climate of ‘scientific understanding’, in which so much can be verified and quantified, such important states, which defy many such attempts by their very nature, are overlooked and ignored by those who could gain most from the understanding that can be gained from their experience.
For millennia early man roamed the earth, nature his unchallenged master, all that met the eye its’ savage state, he had little personal control over that which met his gaze and none over the dramatic vista and elemental fury from which he scratched his survival. Thus, the first art was an act of taking possession, to lessen the huge gap separating him and nature and the according terror that confronted him. He placed thereon his mark in two main ways, the scratching or daubing of shapes onto a surface or the reappropriation of ‘found objects’ such as shells, bones, evocatively shaped sticks or stones that would have been taken from their place of discovery and given new context in a shelter or favoured space, thus giving him some small symbolic semblance of control over nature.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN ISSUE 6 - STAND AND DELIVER
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
French Street Artist Jef Aerosol Piece Trashed - London
Shot this yesterday off Brick Lane... French street artist Jef Aerosol has been painting this wall for a few years now. Normally the pieces stay up for some time although many additions are made to the work over time. The original contained the person, red arrows (jef signature) and the artists name...
Everything else you see such as the text, stickers and PAINT were added later...
Everything else you see such as the text, stickers and PAINT were added later...
Monday, 14 February 2011
Street Artist Stik - Solo Show 3rd-26th March
PREVIEW WEDNESDAY 2 MARCH
6-9 PM
LIVE GRAFFITI BY STIK
EXHIBITION 3-26 MARCH 2011
LIVE GRAFFITI BY STIK
EXHIBITION 3-26 MARCH 2011
SINGLE MUM 2011 silkscreen print 45 x 112 cm - edition of 50
Stik’s latest solo show at the Subway Gallery features a Live Graffiti event on the opening night, an installation comprised of four large
light-boxes and hosts the long awaited launch of the new high quality print edition “Single Mum” produced by Squarity. As always there will be smaller,affordable pieces on sale too at this free show.
light-boxes and hosts the long awaited launch of the new high quality print edition “Single Mum” produced by Squarity. As always there will be smaller,affordable pieces on sale too at this free show.
Live painting by Stik on Saturdays throughout the month.
If you’ve visited East London in the last ten years you’ll doubtless have seen the huge mysterious stick figures lurking on the sides of buildings and billboards. Deceptively simple in form, with just six lines each and dots for eyes, they are packed with subtle form and emotion. They are the work of street artist Stik, who having spent many years homeless and working
on the streets, knows the city from the inside and manages to reach seemingly superhuman locations to paint these highly stylized pieces.
These days Stik exhibits in the West-End, liaises at Central Saint Martin’s “Graffiti Dialogues” with Police and Councils and is funded to run graffiti workshops by councils and schools. The artist also works with groups as diverse as Amnesty International, Reclaim the streets, Queeruption, Mutoid Waste Company and British Waterways and yet still regularly paints unauthorised pieces around the capital, underlining Stik's status as a key component of both underground and mainstream art scenes.
If you’ve visited East London in the last ten years you’ll doubtless have seen the huge mysterious stick figures lurking on the sides of buildings and billboards. Deceptively simple in form, with just six lines each and dots for eyes, they are packed with subtle form and emotion. They are the work of street artist Stik, who having spent many years homeless and working
on the streets, knows the city from the inside and manages to reach seemingly superhuman locations to paint these highly stylized pieces.
These days Stik exhibits in the West-End, liaises at Central Saint Martin’s “Graffiti Dialogues” with Police and Councils and is funded to run graffiti workshops by councils and schools. The artist also works with groups as diverse as Amnesty International, Reclaim the streets, Queeruption, Mutoid Waste Company and British Waterways and yet still regularly paints unauthorised pieces around the capital, underlining Stik's status as a key component of both underground and mainstream art scenes.
This is a short film we made of Stik's first solo show...
FEATURED REGULARLY IN LSD MAGAZINE
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Irish Street Artist Karma - Brand New Piece in Amsterdam
We received these shots at 3.33am this morning. The paint isn't even dry as Irish street artist Karma continues his tour of Amsterdam. We love Call to Actions of this kind as it directly involves the viewer who can either chose to ignore or take action. We don't care if its been stenciled, painted, sprayed or spread across a wall in wallpaper. If it helps inspire another human being then we'll support that street action. Long may you avoid {cough*} 'erm the other fellas {cough*}... The Streets are Yours...
Nice One Karma
Nice One Karma
Full Interview with KARMA IN LSD MAGAZINE
Monday, 7 February 2011
Another 25 Amazing Soviet Union Posters 1980s
We've posted more Soviet Union posters from the mid-eighties because we got such a great response from many people and many artists whom by their own words are inspired by the collection. We too feel inspired by the great artwork that just wouldn't look out of place today. We know there was much propaganda from all sides but when we think back to the mid-eighties all we really remember were the statements coming from America warning us that the Reds have their fingers on the button. Just one look at the posters from the period immediately tells a different tale. LSD are more than happy to help breath life back into these marvelous artworks. Never forget the importance of art in any people movement, what you create today may be seen decades in the future by another generation of people, who like us today, stare in awe of those creative moments in history.
What will they say about this generation of street art graffiti aficionados?
Trivia: Although most people think the Soviet's or Chinese created Communism it was in fact a European invention thats was transported to those countries…
What will they say about this generation of street art graffiti aficionados?
Trivia: Although most people think the Soviet's or Chinese created Communism it was in fact a European invention thats was transported to those countries…
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