Monday, April 15, 2013

Carl Hammoud, Everybody:



I've realized that half of the satisfaction i get from art comes from continuously attempting to lump little bits of everything together, as if behind the curtains of this giant benignity we call life i might discover some semblance of a plan.

I recently came upon Carl Hammoud through 12oz Prophet and i was reminded of a time i spent working for a racist Israeli selling piles of useless shit in a set of warehouses. Each day as the sun would set and the air would turn yellow i would revisit the horde of filth and catch it cast in a heavenly glow. For a few lonely minutes, the pile looked like a scene of heaven.

I also once worked at a library, which was a pleasant time that conjures less colourful metaphors.

I am reminded of both of those times in a happy sort of hindsight as i gaze into these very mindful pieces: The colour palette reminds me of DuChamp, the form reminds me of Samuel Bak and Ai Wei Wei, and parts of the imagery remind me of my good friend Magritte.





















Saturday, March 2, 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

SQUASH BEEF



No, i’m not talking about a savory dish or a recipe on how to make one. I’m talking about the slang term for ‘get along already’. I came across a rather heartwarming story today of not just beef getting crushed or breaded with squash, but an exemplary artistic way of explaining oneself:

    Somewhere near the Bay Area in 1993 the graffiti artist Keep6 was involved ‘in a beef’ with the MBC crew. Keep6 threw up a giant piece that said ‘KEEPFUCKINGSIX’ [see picture] in his own wild style on the side of an appropriate building. RaiseOne of MBC kept and morphed Keep6’s letters into an equally big burner that read ‘RAISEFUCKINGONE’.

Fortunately Keep6 seems like a very understanding guy and immediately dropped the ego and the beef. Everyone likes a happy ending, so there.

Once i find pis of the RaiseOne piece i’ll throw them up here too.

Keep on keeping on. Six times forever, baby.

-e.