Blog 8. My reaction to Magic Gardens!

    Visiting the place where all the magic really happens truly made my day. I couldn't believe I was finally in the presence of all the artwork of a well known artist, I had never felt that overwhelmed by art before or so intrigued. I have to go back soon and bring my mom along, to see all that he was able to do, and all the "trash" he truly did turn into "treasures".
    Looking back I can't even imagine what was going through his head when he was putting all these pieces together. The idea of a maze full of textures, colors, and everyday items really suites its name as Magic Gardens. In the events of that day I couldn't go home empty handed, yes of course I had taken pictures galore, but that wasn't enough. On my way out the door I bought a doily tile made by Zagar. It not proudly sits on a shelf in my room, the second piece to a collection of things. I decided that day not to let artwork get away, that I needed to own a piece of it, to inspire myself. I know own a Mitch Lyons clay star, a Zagar doily tile, and a Rhoda Khaler clay tile. The start of my collection of artworks, I can't wait to collect more.

Blog 9. My practice at Graffiti

    In my high school experience I had been taught some about the art of graffiti and had my fair share at it. During high school my brother had one day come up with the nickname Inky for me. I have no idea what it means, or where he came up with it, but it has stuck ever since. One day in my art class, my teacher said we were going to make graffiti art. We used techniques like stamping, drawing, water color painting, etc. to make up our own words in a graffiti style. I choose myself to use the word Inky, as not only my word I would make up in a graffiti style but also as my graffiti artist name.
    In my current class on graffiti and mural art in my last year of college, I have learned of an artist who has already claimed the name though spelled different, Inkie. Inkie is a local Bristol graffiti artist. His inspirations include punk rock albums, and other graffiti artists such as Goldie, The Chrome Angels, and Nick Walker, all of whom he at one point painted with. Inkie has even been known to have collaborated with the world renowned graffiti artist Bansky on a projected call "Walls On Fire" in 1990 the year I was born.
    I can't help but feel my brother was sent a special message that me and this graffiti artist have something in common. I mean how ironic is it that he worked with Bansky on the year I was born. There has to be another connection other than that, maybe a palm reader can help me. Below are the two pictures I could find of "Walls on Fire" by Bansky and Inkie. The top is definitely more a Banksy style, and clearly the bottom is by inkie, by his name tagging signature at the right of the picture.

Bibliography Sources

www.filthymodernart.com/artists/inkie

Blog 7. Touring One Of The World's Largest Outdoor Art Gallery

    On Saturday, our last day of class, we will be going to Philadelphia again to tour some of the world's largest outdoor art galleries. The tour is a part of the Mural Arts Program, visiting popular sites of famous artists works all located outside for the public viewing. The tour does cost and even though you can go visit the sites on your own, going on the tour should provide a lot more information on the sites, how they were created, and information about the artists. There are self guided tours that still cost, but you are only paying for the audio information about each mural site.
    I am very excited to go on this tour. I can not wait to learn about more local artists in the area and how they came up with their creations, and the messages they wished to convey.
    Before going on the trip, I wanted to find out a little more information on the Mural Arts Program. The Mural Arts Program was begun in 1984 as a movement towards the non-graffiti movements. A woman muralist by the name of Jane Golden was directed as the head of this movement for the Mural Arts Program by the major in 1984, so redirect graffiti artist from their destructive graffitiing and redirect it to mural paintings that would inspire. Since this program began over 3,600 murals have been created all over Philadelphia. New art education programs have been created to give new and upcoming artists all the resources they will need to build more spectacular murals that will make the city a more beautiful place to live.
    All of this information is so overwhelming and I hope that I can see what this Mural Arts Program has done, to create better lives for the people of Philadelphia, by the simple placement of a mural or painting on its beautiful city walls.

A picture of a trolley bus, which is one option of transportation for the tour. 

The mural seen in the picture portrays the artists love for his country, and the opportunities he/she is so happy to have. 

Bibliography Sources

http://muralarts.org/tour

Blog 6. Another Local Artist

    Like Zagar from the Philadelphia area, there is another local artist that is known as a graffiti artist rather than a mural artist. This local artist is well known for his "Radiant baby" symbol. Yes, you guessed it right its Keith Haring. Haring is from the Kutztown area. Who knew there were so many famous and well known artist so close to hope. It certainly brings your spirits up if you are an aspiring artist in the area.
    Keith Haring went to several different colleges after high school trying to pursue his interest in drawing. He ended up in New York were his graffitiing began using white chalk on black matted boards in the subways. He is also known for having done many backdrops for theaters and clubs through out New York City.
    Later Haring became known for his charity works in childcare facilities in hospitals, schools, and museums. His charities led to more expansive works on activist movements, including aids, and children's programs. Haring is a world renowned artist who's graffitis will live long past him.

Above is a poster that would inform people about aids and relaying the message that getting tested is better than not. 

Below is a Haring illustration for a children's book. Showing that Haring's graffiti has worked it's way into many different fields.

Bibliography Sources

http://www.haring.com/!/about-haring#.UaX7h3DR2JU

Blog 5. Some Top Graffiti Artists

    As we all know from my previous blogs, Bansky is a very popular graffiti artist, but there are tons of graffiti artists out there, Keith Haring, Inkie, and Dr. Revolt, just to name a few. These artists all have different techniques, making their artwork easy to tell apart.

    Keith Haring is an artist known for his outline forms of the human body, representing people. He is an artist I have known about for a while, but never knew he was labeled as a graffiti artist. Haring using his art to display message about peace and unity. He is a avid activist for things like aids and peoples rights. His cheery colors bring light to serious subjects and make them relatable.

Keith Harring

    Inkie is a graffiti artist from London, his name making it obvious he dwells in the arts of messy things like ink. He using very thick and vibrant coloring to make his graffiti arts pop right off the wall as if three dimensional. He is now a well known teacher for young graphic design students, and is art is displayed with several different video games.

   Inkie    

    Dr. Revolt is among the top famous graffiti artist but is more known for his tagging, so I would consider him a tagger. He often writes his name Dr. Revolt in different spots all over ton, but also does actual graffiti, its just not as well known.

 Dr. Revolt

Bibliography sources

www.depothography.com/drrevolt.html

http://inkie.bigcartel.com/

http://www.haring.com/!/about-haring#.UaX7h3DR2JU

Blog 4. Art Terms

    In class today we were handed out new street art terms to learn. The most interesting I found were graffiti and tagging. Did you actually know that there is a difference? I didn't. I did some research and used resources provided in class to come up with the actual difference between the two.
    Graffiti is actual artwork, where there is a defined purpose and meaning to the artwork being presented. Here you could say that graffiti is something done by Bansky or Shepard Fierry. These two artist present a clear image or idea when making their artwork and posting it. Though not always using color these two graffiti artist plan to get a point across through their artwork.
    Where as tagging is something of like a copy cat like in Blog 3. Response to Exit Through the Gift Shop. It is pointless and has no real meaning. Its like crayon scribbles on a way or pointless words like "I was here". They have no real importance and aren't thought out.

Above is a prime example of graffiti art. It displays a message that people can relate to and therefore has meaning. (Bansky)

Below is an example of tagging. This is a movie line, that everyone knows but displays no real meaning to anyone. I mean yes life is beautiful, we already know this, but this piece of art, doesn't display a memorable moment for you. It simply is just a tag of a movie line, that Brainwash has created as his line of graffiti that more says "Brainwash has been here".

Bibliography sources

www.ci.santa-ana.ca.us/pd.graffiti.asp

Blog 3. Response to Exit Through the Gift Shop

    Yesterday in class we watched a short film called Exit Through the Gift Shop. It was a film produced by a graffiti artist named Bansky. Bansky was a man everyone wanted to meet but he remained mysterious as he began on his way to fame by publicly marking property with his art. A man by the name of Thierry Guetta found him by filming many other graffiti artist like Space Invader and Shepard Feirry. Guetta began marketing from the findings of graffiti, helping graffiti artist find prime property to mark with their art. He in return got to film them putting up the graffiti and at times helped them put it up if they needed an extra hand.
    Guetta later began to have artist create artwork for him and began putting it up as his own, calling himself Brainwash. Brainwash was quite the appropriate name as he manipulated other artists work and called them his own, making people believe he was a great graffiti artist also. I, myself, do not find Brainwash to be a graffiti artist but more of a copy cat.
    Copy Cat would have been a more appropriate name for this Guetta. He learned his techniques and resources from Bansky, Space Invader, Shepard Fierry, and other graffiti artist by filming them and following them around. I think Bansky made this film to show that copy catting exists and not to get his work confused with Guetta, whom he sees as a very silly man. He helped a very silly man become famous, and was showing that he never thought it would have gotten this out of hand.

Here is a stencil not created by Brainwash, but known as his art. It was created by a different artist unknown, and Brainwash used all the similar resources of Shepard Feirry (kinkos) and created stickers and giant paper cut outs, to post all over as his own graffiti.

Blog 2. More on Zagar's creations

      On my way to feed my curiosity on Magic Gardens, Zagar popped up on the front page of the Magic Gardens website. His name so familiar, was something I had to find out more about. Zagars artwork will be what I look for all over Philadelphia, his unique style is easy to pick out of the crowd on the Philadelphia sidewalks I am sure, as over 100 walls in Philadelphia bare his mosaic murals.
Zagar developed his style at an early age of 19 he was inspired to collect his technique from all the concepts of untrained artists. This idea of almost sloppy work, had his mind spinning and he learned that uneven cut edges can create appealing things for the eye. He grabbed all the materials he could to incorporate them into a mix match of things that created pleasing things for people to see.
     If there is one nickname Zagar should receive it is dumpster diver, and I mean this in all ways positive. Out of all the things you just threw out last week, he can take them apart and then put them back together in a cohesive piece of colorful eye catching artwork that you can't get anywhere else.
    Of Zagar's techniques I learned this spring how to cut glass, break tile, how to tile, how to grout, and how to buff out all the unnecessaries and create a beautiful Zagar piece myself. All of these skills are something you never think you really need in life, but after learning them I don't know how I went about living without them. Some of these skills need to be taken seriously especially glass cutting to avoid hurting yourself, so if you want to try this yourself, by all the protective gear you need before trying.
    As the summer continues, my mom and I plan to create a Zagar piece ourselves, we are being to collect tile now and have already purchased a glass cutter. We are well on our way to becoming mural artists ourselves.

bibliography sources

www.phillymagicgardens.org/isaiah/about

Blog 1. We are going to go to Magic Gardens

    There are tons of public mosaics in philadelphia that are a part of the Magic Gardens tour. I can not wait to visit on Thursday and see all the beautiful art created by what are now strangers. Graffiti art is starting to catch everyone's eye all around the world. Today in class we watched the movie Exit Through the Gift Shop and it made me realize how much graffiti can mean to people.
    I never thought of Mural art as a type of graffiti, but now I see the connection. A mural/graffiti artist I learned about this past semester is Zagar. Zagar is an artist who seems to be able to turn anything and everything into something new and fantastic. His art is the most fascinating to me right now, after hearing all about it from Rhoda who was the main artist for the Transition piece I helped work on. He was her main inspiration and I hope that after seeing his work, he can be mine too.
    As i worked on the mural located on the outside of The E.O. Bull Center I thought I was making meaningful art, but actually all art is meaningful. You walk by graffiti/mural art everyday and never take in the appreciation of it and you really should. In the video seeing all the hard work people put into just putting a small piece you come to realize it all really does mean something.
    When we visit the Magic Gardens on Thursday I hope to take in all the precious art people have created for me to see. I put in a over a month on the mosaic I worked on outside the E.O. Bull Center and hope people come to have the same appreciation too.




Bibliography sources

www.phillymagicgardens.org/about/general