Thursday, May 3, 2012 05:00 PM PDT

Wet, revisited

In the late '70s, one magazine had an unparalleled artistic influence on L.A.'s bohemians

By Michael Dooley

• 
• (Credit: Photo: Raul Vega. Design: April Greiman and Tom Ingalls. Art direction: Leonard Koren.)

This article originally appeared on Imprint.

In the late 1970s, bohemian hipsters on L.A.’s west side were getting Wet. At the time, it was highly influential among local artists, designers and architects, despite its small circulation. And now, “Making Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing,” provides a sampling of its spirit.

Poster illustration and design: John Van Hamersveld.

Leonard Koren admits in his book that when he launched Wet in Venice Beach in 1976 he had “no skills in writing, editing, designing, art directing, advertising sales, publishing or business generally.” The first one, printed at Peace Press Graphics, “looked an awful lot like a newsletter.” After a few more issues he met Thomas Ingalls. “Tom had pale white skin, a long, straight nose, and limp blond hair parted rakishly on the side. He was exactly how I imagined a graphic designer might look.”

For the next six months or so, Tom tutored Leonard on layouts and paste-ups and connected him with photographers, illustrators, and designers who contributed to the magazine in exchange for freedom from commercial restraints. “In Wet they were able to express their bolder, brasher weirder visions – unfettered. April Greiman was one of those creators. She and Tom were romantically involved but on the verge of breaking up. In calmer times they had both agreed to assemble Wet issue number six. It was to be the first time someone other than me designed the magazine. When I brought in the text and visuals, April and Tom were screaming at each other. Nervously I sat around waiting, wondering if I had made the right decision.”

As it progressed, each issue became an innovative, off-the-grid visual experience. Graphic sensibilities varied from punk to pre-New Wave to proto-PostMod. Leonard recently told me, “I wouldn’t know where to begin about the various art directors who’ve worked for Wet.”

Leonard Koren signing books last month at L.A.'s La Luz de Jesus Gallery. Photo: M. Dooley.

The magazine lasted 34 issues before it went under in 1981. While afloat it covered the likes of David Hockney, David Byrne, David Lee Roth, David Lynch, Dick Dale, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Sissy Spacek, Tim Leary, Merle Haggard, Mick Jagger, Henry Darger, Henry Miller, Helmut Newton, and on and on.

Those features, and a full survey of the magazine’s groundbreaking graphics, will have to wait for their own anthologies. Rather than an immersion, “Making Wet” is mostly a frothy, self-indulgent soak, with snapshots and drawings of men, women, and children in various stages of undress, cavorting and luxuriating in all manner of showers, spas, and tubs. There’s also a ten-page comic strip review of bath soaps by a pre-”Simpsons” Matt Groening, work by Gary Panter and Peter Shire, and some striking covers, including the ones below. So take a dip.

#7. Photo: Raul Vega. Design: April Greiman and Tom Ingalls. Art direction: Leonard Koren.

#9. Photo: Matthew Rolston. Design and art direction: Tom Ingalls.

#12. Illustration: Lynn Robb. Art direction: Leonard Koren.

#13. Photo: Jules Bates. Design and art direction: Elizabeth Freeman, Leonard Koren, and Margaret Wynn.

#14. Photo: Herb Ritts. Design and art direction: Leonard Koren.

#19. Photo: Larry Williams. Design and art direction: Roy Gyongy and Larry Williams.

#28. Photo illustration and design: Taki Ono and Lisa Powers. Art direction: Leonard Koren.

#30. Collage and design: Bob Zoell. Art direction: Leonard Koren.

#33. Illustration and design: Teruhiko Yumura. Art direction: Leonard Koren.

Copyright F+W Media Inc. 2012.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!

Obama's Afghanistan Speech: A Guide for the Perplexed

President Obama’s dramatic speech from Afghanistan should be parsed as a careful election-year orchestration of his plan to “wind down” the war. It is no accident that the speech came during the first-year commemoration of the killing of Osama bin Laden, the event providing Obama the rationale for ending American combat while placing hawks and political rivals on the defensive.

For reasons historians will have to explore, George Bush dropped the pursuit of bin Laden, providing Obama with a chance that few top Democrats are given: to prove himself “tougher” on terrorism than his critics. Obama took the risk. The question now is whether the rewards he reaps will be for real peace or a disastrous quagmire.

Between now and November, the narrative of killing the Al Qaeda leader will be politicized and repeated in the mainstream media and Obama campaign films and speeches that many will find inappropriate. Obama himself may have kept his pride in check last year when he said “we don’t need to spike the football” and “we don’t trot out this stuff as trophies” (speaking of photos of bin Laden’s body). Then Obama’s top aide David Axelrod seemed to test the boastful political line, “Ask Osama bin Laden,” when answering a question about Obama’s toughness. Since then, the bin Laden assassination is increasingly about spiking the football, leading CNN’s Jack Cafferty to accuse Obama of being “hypocrite-in-chief” and allowing the Republicans to grab the opportunity to change the subject.

Obama spoke to multiple and conflicting audiences from Afghanistan. Primarily, of course, his speech was to America’s voters and families, especially those upset by the suffering of their loved ones or the dark suspicion that the war has been for naught. But Obama also intended to frame the Chicago summit for NATO members and the world media, and include a peace incentive for the Taliban and Pakistan, while still assuring the Afghan allies and the military that he’s committed to the long run. These contradictions are impossible to smooth over. But there were signals worth heeding.

For the first time, Obama acknowledged and embraced the “direct discussions” going on with the Taliban towards a “negotiated peace.” That statement may seem mild enough to peace activists who remember the long years of talks that dragged on during Vietnam. For a commander-in-chief, however, talking with the perpetrators (or avid abettors) of the 9/11 attacks is potentially volatile in the extreme. Obama needs to defuse any potential backlash from the talks going bad.

Obama’s stated conditions for talking with the Taliban were (1) their breaking with Al Qaeda, which means a credible agreement to prevent safe havens in Afghanistan, a condition the Taliban can accept; (2) that they abide by Afghan “laws,” as distinct from the more rigid Afghan constitution; and (3) a protection of Afghanistan’s sovereignty, which is different from the country’s present form of governance, is closed to the Taliban. None of these starting points are insuperable obstructions to progress, not even Obama’s more general call for human rights for “men and women.” Agreeing to repudiate “violence” is far easier than surrendering weapons, as the Northern Ireland experience proved.

On his side, Obama offered a “clear timeline to wind down the war,” a nod towards the Taliban’s longstanding demand for an explicit timetable for withdrawal. Obama’s generals and all Republicans abhor “timelines,” especially during political campaigns.

Obama spoke directly to public opinion when he refused to leave “immediately,” on the grounds that Afghanistan will need an "opportunity to stabilize,” an observation the vast majority of Americans will accept, at least for a time, if US troop withdrawals are proceeding on course and casualties are down. And if Afghanistan fails to take the “opportunity to stabilize,” then it will have had its “decent interval.”

Finally, Obama spoke of the need for “global consensus,” including Pakistan as an “equal partner” with legitimate “interests” in Afghanistan. The euphemism “global” masks whatever agreements being sought with non-NATO powers like Russia, China, India and, directly or indirectly, Iran.

Obama significantly noted that there are no agreements yet concerning specific American troop levels to be left beyond 2014, or levels of Western funding for those troops. Afghanistan’s president Karzai has been shopping for $2–4 billion in annual subsidies for at least a decade, figures that will test NATO’s resolve during a deepening recession. These issues are left open to serious debate in Congress and Western governments, unless a surprise settlement is jammed through the NATO summit. The recently heralded US agreements to “share” control of night raids with the Afghan security forces and turn over imprisoned detainees to the Afghans involve so many unresolved ambiguities that Obama chose not to trumpet them as measures of progress. The ultra-sensitive matter of permanent US bases, opposed by a Congressional majority, was finessed by a White House spokesman as a matter of keeping “access to and use of Afghan facilities” down the road, but without permanent bases. Past 2014, Obama committed himself to two “narrow security missions,” training and counterterrorism. With Iraq as a template, it remains to be seen how those play out.

Drones were not mentioned, but Obama is feeling pressure to deflate a concern that will not go away. An agreement involving Pakistan as an equal partner suggests that drones, which are hated in Pakistan, could be shelved or suspended as part of a settlement process.

In summary, the final deal, if any, is still a work in progress, on the fast track to a fix in Chicago.

Public opinion, in the US, NATO, Afghanistan and Pakistan, is already a decisive factor in shaping the speed and character of this endgame. But public opinion is shaped not by television news so much as the processes of everyday life, where anti-war activism can sometimes channel massive impatience with war and recession into a popular tide towards peace. If peace activists simply keep mounting local support for Barbara Lee’s legislation to cut funding and her Congressional letter to Obama, they are speeding the tide.

via commondreams.org

Scriptkitty Dreams

via youtube.com

EFF works tirelessly to protect programmers and developers engaged in cutting-edge tech exploration through our Coders' Rights Project. Become a member of EFF today to help us in the fight for coders' rights! Do it for the kittens!

Digital Music Digest For May 3

Opponents Of UMG-EMI Merger Ask For Senate Review   Parties opposed to Universal Music Group's $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI's record labels last week asked the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust issues to examine the deal, raising the possibility of Senate hearings. According to the New York Times, digital rights group Public Knowledge and the Consumer Federation of America jointly sent a letter to Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Michael S. Lee (R-UT), outlining objections to the deal. UMG, already the largest music company with about 30% of the global recordings market, would have more than 40% if the deal is completed. The letter compares the UMG-EMI merger to the Justice Department's recent lawsuit charging Apple and five major publishers with collusion in setting the price of e-books, contending that "if five companies with a market share of less than 50% pose a threat to nascent competition from digital distribution models, does one company with a market share above 40% pose a similar threat?" UMG's response: "The e-books case is about an alleged illegal price-fixing conspiracy...[while] the law governing mergers is totally different. Most mergers, like this one, are ultimately found to be beneficial to competition and consumers." [Full story: New York Times] Microsoft Reportedly Set To Launch Woodstock Music Service In June   Microsoft reportedly is set to unveil its new digital music service for Xbox, Windows Phones, and Windows 8 PCs at the E3 expo in June. The service, known as Woodstock, is a Spotify-like platform that will be integrated at a fundamental level with Facebook, letting linked friends share songs and playlists, and also will offer a service similar to iTunes Match that will let users "scan and match" their libraries of digital music, automatically identifying those songs in their Woodstock accounts. As reported by Digital Trends, Microsoft isn't commenting about Woodstock, but these latest reports on the service parallel Microsoft's media strategy in recent years. The company has expanded its various entertainment options on the Xbox, with a focus on television offerings with HBO Go, Major League Baseball, and Comcast's Xfinity on demand service. In fact, Xbox marketing and strategy head Yusuf Mehdi revealed in March that Xbox owners spend an average of 150 hours per month watching television and just 84 hours per month playing games. [Full service: Digital Trends] Mel Karmazin: Sirius XM To Offer Personalized Radio Later this Year   Sirius XM this week announced it is developing a personalized radio service designed to compete with Pandora and Clear Channel's iHeartRadio. In an earnings call on Tuesday (May 1), CEO Mel Karmazin announced that "late this year we plan to debut a Sirius XM version of personalized music online, allowing subscribers to tailor their favorite Sirius XM music channels to their tastes. [These] stations will not have commercials and will be free to subscribers who have Internet listening included in their Sirius XM subscription plans." Karmazin did not reveal specifics of the new service, but since satellite radio broadcasts are not interactive, it could be surmised that the personalized features will be accessed only on web-enabled devices. "Free and 'freemium' competitors online will have a tough time matching the commercial-free aspect of Sirius XM-branded music combined with the unique sports and talk content we offer," Karmazin noted. Sirius XM's entry into personalized online radio indicates that the platform not only is highly competitive, but also suggests why the satellite radio firm recently filed suit against SoundExchange, which collects performance fees paid by U.S. satellite radio companies (Sirius XM being the only one) and online radio services. [Full story: Billboard.biz] Spotify Plans To Launch Internet Radio Service In U.S.   Sirius XM is not the only company developing a personalized radio service designed to compete head-to-head with Pandora [see story, above]. Business sources recently told Bloomberg News that Spotify is building an Internet radio platform designed to promote Spotify's strategy of offering free, ad-supported services to users who eventually can be converted into paying subscribers. As reported by Music Week, a Pandora-like radio service would give Spotify users access to artists who currently prevent their music from being used because of a perceived threat to music sales. While Pandora users can't select specific songs, they can access any artist whose music has been published because the service operates under federal statutes rather than negotiated licenses. Graham James, a spokesman for Spotify, commented, "We have no announcements to share at this time." The Spotify radio service reportedly is set to launch in the U.S. later this year. [Full story: Music Week]     Apple Fights To Keep Depositions Sealed In "Eminem Case"   As the ongoing lawsuit between F.B.T. Productions and Aftermath Records moves into the damages phase, Apple Inc. has filed a motion to prevent depositions from late Chairman Steve Jobs [right] and other company executives from being made public. As reported previously, the focus of the lawsuit is whether digital tracks downloaded from iTunes and other sites count as "sales" or "licenses," and this debate makes the Apple execs' testimonies particularly valuable, since agreements forged between the company and the major record labels could reveal specific answers to that question. During the discovery phase of the original trial, many depositions taken from Apple employees were done so in secret, while that of Jobs was played in a closed courtroom with the transcript sealed on completion of playback. The company now is trying to block attempts by plaintiffs to find out what was said, insisting that the depositions, as well as other documents related to Apple's business relationships with Aftermath parent company Universal Music Group and other record labels, contain "highly confidential and proprietary trade secrets." [Full story: Hollywood Reporter] ReDigi May Lack Funds To Defend Itself In EMI Lawsuit   ReDigi, the controversial online music service that ostensibly allows music fans to sell "used" MP3s to third parties, may not have enough cash in its coffers to afford its legal battle with EMI. Lawyers working for the digital start-up last week filed a motion to withdraw from the case and hand it over to another law firm, fueling speculation that financial resources were slim to none. ReDigi contends reselling MP3s is no different than reselling CDs, a practice protected under American copyright law by the so called 'first sale doctrine.' By contrast, EMI argues that the 'first sale doctrine' does not apply, because when a CD is exchanged no actual copying takes place, whereas a digital exchange requires new mechanical copies to be made without a license. The judge hearing the case previously ruled that the issues involved are too complicated for a judgment to be made without a full trial, and noted that the dispute at the heart of this case was a "fascinating issue" that "raises a lot of technological and statutory" points. Which may be why the recorded music industry would like to see the case simply disappear. [Full story: Complete Music Update] SoundExchange's Huppe: We're #2 Revenue Stream For Record Labels   "SoundExchange is currently the Number Two digital revenue source behind iTunes for most record labels in the U.S." That's the word from Michael Huppe, president of the digital rights organization that distributes payments to music companies and recording artists, and it comes as no surprise to such Internet radio companies as Pandora and Spotify that pay a majority of their gross revenue in performance fees. "What we do is increasingly being relied on as a revenue stream for performers and record labels alike," Huppe told Huffington Post in an interview. "SoundExchange checks have become a very real source of income, and it's exciting to hear from those who are grateful for what we do." While conceding that the organization has had "squabbles" with the service providers - including Sirius XM, which in March filed a lawsuit against it for anti-competitive practices - he said, "We view ourselves as partners that enable music services to do what they do best: creating new ways to listen and discover music. In the long run, we want them to succeed. It's in their best interest, our best interest, and the best interest of the consumer to have a very full and vibrant webcasting market. We want them to create new business models, new ways of listening to music and we feel that SoundExchange enables all of that." [Full story: Huffington Post] Al Bell Presents American Soul Music ... And American Soul TV If you're into classic and contemporary Soul, R&B, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Hip-Hop Soul, Rap Soul, and Neo-Soul, we invite you to listen to Al Bell Presents American Soul Music. Former Stax Records owner and Motown Records Group President Al Bell personally has programmed this awesome radio station online, presenting your favorites from the 1960s and '70s [and some '80s], a lot of the best new music that's being released today, and some real gems you haven't heard in a long, long time. Come to www.AlBellPresents.Com  and hear it for yourself!

Silent discos

Silent discos, Boston's Silent Storm Sound System take the party 'a little bit softer now'

Posted by The Next Great Generation  May 2, 2012 09:00 AM

By Rachel Pennellatore

I first encountered a “silent disco” back in June 2010 at Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn.; the quiet dance parties have been a staple attraction of the annual festival since DJ Robbie “Motion Potion” Kowal played in 2005. At first, in the dark, the silent disco just looked like a tent full of people dancing to nothing in the middle of the night (hey, you’re on vacation, go for it). But when they suddenly broke out into a perfectly synchronized chorus -- not unlike a flash mob -- I knew I had to take a closer look.

When you enter a silent disco area, you’re handed a pair of wireless headphones. Once you put them on, what was before a strange scene becomes a concept that makes total sense: The DJ’s songs are broadcast to each set headset, rather than through a traditional speaker system. By containing the noise, silent discos open up a whole new realm of dance party locations.

“We have partnered with some great Boston DJs who create high-energy dance parties in virtually any location,” said Sarah Thomas, director of business development and PR for Boston-based silent disco company Silent Storm Sound System. “We’ve ventured into museums, galleries, outdoor parks, rooftop venues, sailing vessels, colleges, and universities,” including a recent event at Providence’s Brown University that attracted more than 500 guests.

Silent Storm Sound System, which has been in business since Fall 2009, offers silent disco equipment rentals and full production services. Customers have the option of renting two- or three-channel headsets to please guests with varied musical tastes. The company prides itself on “bringing the [silent disco] concept beyond its prior trends into unique and classy spaces as well,” Thomas said. “We encourage people to have the autonomy to host events the way they envision them.”

The technology and the concept to silence an entire event in this way got its start in the 1960s in an obscure Finnish sci-fi movie that translates to A Time of Roses. After gaining popularity in Europe in the 1980s -- where silent discos are still big today -- the technology made its way to the U.S. in the 1990s, as concerned environmental activists wanted to get people into the forests they were trying to save but limit noise pollution and wildlife disturbance. Silent discos have since become popular at large events and music festivals like Glastonbury as a way of allowing the party to continue on without violating late-night noise restrictions.

“We feel that we can take the mobile concept of ‘silencing’ a musical experience to the most unexpected locations,” Thomas said, “and the options for human engagement are limitless.”

Silent Storm held its first public event at Jamaica Plain’s Milky Way Lounge during the 2010 Together Festival. In the two years since, they’ve held silent disco nights at Harvard Square’s Om Lounge, Banshee Bar in Dorchester, Kendall Square’s ThinkTank, and even the MIT Boathouse. In 2010, the company also organized the world’s first silent disco pub crawl, which “put Boston on the silent disco map,” Thomas said.

Video by TrueDIY (YouTube)

According to Silent Storm’s website, it’s also possible for a band to play a silent live show. Grab your friends and have a “quiet night” soon!

Photo courtesy of Silent Storm Sound System

About Rachel -- I'm a tiny gal with big ideas who's always on the move. One day I'm going to use my vast amount of otherwise useless trivia knowledge to beat Ken Jennings' Jeopardy score. Likes: hula hooping, all things involving the 80's, delicious martinis, sunshine, proper grammar, baby animals. Dislikes: math, being cold, spiders, most vegetables, things in places I can't reach.

D*Face Interview

D*Face Interview

Wednesday, 07 May 2008, 11:52am

Taking his 80s skate influences, combined with wicked bold character illustration and plenty of clever punk rock irony D*Face has developed an artist style and street art system that is all his own. Not long ago I was able to catch up with D*Face and his right hand man, WordtoMother in New York City. I was pretty impressed to find that a guy who grew up in London was as influenced by 80s American skate culture as many of us were in the states. Taking his 80s skate influences, combined with wicked bold character illustration and plenty of clever punk rock irony D*Face has developed an artist style and street art system that is all his own. One thing we can all be sure of, D*Face will always be the guy to get the last laugh. - Manuel Bello Manuel: What is D*face exactly? D*Face: D*Face is a secret government project, started about 10 years ago to test the publics awareness and resistance when faced with an alternative to the mundane advertising that surrounds our public domain. There is no specific goal, conclusion or end it merely serves to test cause and reaction. Manuel: Where did you spend your childhood and what was your upbringing like? D*Face: I was raised in London, born and bread to hard working parents. Mum worked in a bank, Dad worked as a panel beater and bodywork sprayer. I hated school. I had a very clever sister who was the academic one. I was never going to step to that so I decided to just sorta find my own direction. I started to get really into graffiti at a young age. My Mum stupidly bought me the book 'Spraycan Art' that pretty much changed my life. I used to draw and doodle and things like that and tried to be a graff artist as a kid, but I did not really get the full idea of it. At that time it was an American thing for the most part. I mean I would see it around, but I did not fully understand the culture of it in those days. I was too young I guess. Then as I got a little bit older I got into skateboarding and that was pretty much the center of my life. Skateboarding changed my life. Manuel: Who were some of your early skate influences? D*Face: I was actually talking about this the other night. When I was about 12 years old I saw Back to the Future and it had Per Welinder doing the skating. That was pretty inspiring back then. Apart from magazines there was not really any of that American culture coming in to the UK except for that film. I was like I need to get a wide skateboard because at the time I had some skinny plastic thing that I had since I was 5. I kept busy skating around on it because back then that was what skateboarding was: skinny boards. But before long I needed to get me a real skateboard, we didn't have any money so it was a big deal to go and get a new skateboard. I remember looking up at the walls in the one skate shop in London and it was a Ray Meyers Santa Cruz. It had the art of Jim Philips gracing the bottom. I was looking up at it and thinking that is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I loved that board but it was a freestyle board and expensive. My mum didn't have the money to buy it so I ended up getting the 'house' board. It was like a Zig Zag or something. It was fucking terrible, Variflex wheels and trucks. But it started it all! Going back to the original question I guess my first influence was the Ray Meyers board because of the graphics. I guess it was a combination of skate culture, punk music and the art of Jim Philips that really got me into skateboarding and into the illustration side of skateboarding. Of course I didn't even know him as Jim Philips, except by his art until many years later. Manuel: You mentioned Per Welinder. I actually saw Per at a mall in Santa Fe, NM in 1989 and after the demo (with the one launch ramp set up in the parking lot) me and a couple of my friends poached it, just so we could say we hit the ramp that he hit. D*Face: Yeah, the Powell team came over to Europe and back then it was all about Powell Peralta. They all came over, Cab, and Tony Hawk and all of them. We went to one of the very few skate spots in London called Latimer Road, which had a pretty decent half pipe for the time and we had never seen anything like it. Those times were amazing for sure. Manuel: How did you get into illustration work? D*Face: After I managed to get myself through school, failing all of the 'academic' subjects, due to skating, graffiti and generally fucking around, I somehow managed to get into a college for photography. But again, I just got stoned and fucked around for a couple years and realized I was never going to be a professional photographer. My mum was like 'well, I'll get you a job at the bank', my dad was like 'I'll get you a job as a mechanic' and I was thinking what the hell are the two of you talking about. I wanted to be a student, and bum around for a few more years. I was looking into this animation and illustration program, totally expecting not to get in. Luckily I got an interview and had this tutor that was totally into the same stuff as me and gave me a place on the spot. That one guy changed the direction I was going. Once I started that coarse I realized that all these magazines like Thrasher, with Jim Philips art and punk music and skateboard culture, was something that you could do with your life and make a living at it. There was this moment when everything I had been into in my past locked and all the suddenly made sense. If I was not doing this God knows what I would be doing. Manuel: How would you personally describe your art and the underlining theme behind it and how did the street thing all begin for you? D*Face: Originally it started out as a creative release because I was really bored with what I was doing. I had spent all this time and worked really hard to be able to work within the (graphic arts) industry and thought it was all going to be creatively great. As it turned out it wasn't the case at all, at least not the situation I was in back then. On my off time or between jobs I would draw little characters. It really started out as something I was just doing to fulfill a creative release. Anywhere I would go I would put up these stickers and just try to cover as much of London as I could. It kind of became a subversive intermission to all the shit that was around us. But I was never really aware of it. I was just putting my shit up wherever I went!! Then a couple years later the whole sticker scene really took off in London. I went to this art book opening and there was a bunch of people milling around. Up to this point I was just doing my own thing, taking my stickers and printing out bigger versions on paper and putting them up. Then I show up at this book launch and these guys were like "fuckin-eh, you did that shit", I was like "um yeah, you have seen it?" And these guys were like "fuck yeah, it is everywhere!" The only person I had been out with at that time was Shepard. We kept in touch and when he would come over we would put some stuff up. Until that point it did not even occur to me to put my work up to get people to notice it. It was more escaping the everyday and to get people to question their environment and culture. Question the advertising that is around them. It is a little different now, the more aware the public becomes of street art the less applicable it seems to be. Because it was like "oh thats D*Face" or "Shepard" or whoever, instead of what is the meaning behind that. Manuel: I can see that being true. I remember the stuff in Pictoplasma, from the first books the shit that really stood out to me was your stuff and The London Police. D*Face: Yeah that is really cool, I have known Chaz from The London Police since way back. Not since the get go, but they were the only real crew that was also doing character stuff of that type at the time. In the same methods that I was using, although at that point I was doing paste-ups and they were on the drawing direct on the blank advertising posters. There was one other group of guys doing stuff called the Toasters. They would go around pasting toasters. They stopped and laid low for a long time but actually recently just had a show. Then there was Shepard who came over in 99' but his stuff was nothing like what we were doing. Manuel: Can you explain some of the symbolism in your work? D*Face: Well there are different types of symbolism. Like with the CliChé piece. It is really quite cliché because that image of Che has really become such a door matt graphic. These people wear it as a symbol of them being some kind of revolutionary. They don't seem to understand they are wearing it as a tee shirt, as a product, which is so far removed from his beliefs. I also love the idea of him coming back from the grave to kinda question what all of this consumerism is about. Same with images of Marilyn, who was probably the first iconic super model ever. Then there is Andy Warhol who was the artist to really use the media as a tool. So, combing those things I hope to make society question their fascination and fixation with fame and celebrity. Manuel: For your Death and Glory show you did the huge metal D*Dog smashing car piece, what was involved in creating that massive sculpture and do you have any more large projects lined up? D*Face: This now friend of mine named Ben Johnson who was doing big sculpture work had come down to Stolen Space one day. We started talking and he said: "It would be great to work with you, would you be interested in putting something together?" I was like yeah that would be sick. He suggested doing one of my characters but I was not that into it because I had been doing smaller version of them already for years. I told him I would be interested in doing something bigger with some other meaning. Then some time later I had this show planned and I really wanted to do something grand and massive. I thought it would be cool to take something that started as a sticker, that has taking pretty much every path it could have possibly taken and just take it one step further. I did not really have any money for the project aside from a couple thousand pounds from a sponsor, but luckily he was a really cool guy about it and it all worked out. We rented a space that was big enough to hold this thing. We worked on it straight for three months. It was a really tense the last 2 weeks trying to get that shit put together. It turned up the morning of the opening to be completely unpainted. I was like "Fuck, we have a lot to do", but we got it done. Working with Ben was really great, he completely understood me and the way I work, and the kind of finish I needed to achieve. We were planning on doing a fiberglass cast of the original and then taking them around and doing various street installations, leave mobile version in the street so we could see what happens to them but didn't since we never sold the original, which was not surprising to either one of us. We do have another massive something planned for later this year. Manuel: How much other street work are you doing these days? D*Face: A lot less than I would like to be doing and a lot less than I have done in the past. It is always a difficult thing. I mean my heart lies in the street. That is where I come from and how this whole thing has come about. It is a slightly different feeling with a gallery show. Obviously, if I am doing a show in a gallery I want to at least succeed with it and put as much into it as possible. I also had a kid last year, so my weekends are spent with my family. Evenings I am trying to get home at a reasonable hour, which does not always happen, as I am sure you can understand. We do a lot of street work when we travel. Did a bunch of stuff in Norway and try to do as much as we can when we come to New York. Not as much stuff as I would have liked but New York can be a difficult place to put stuff up these days. Wordtomother: Plus this time around there were a few problems with our shit getting through customs. It does not make it easy. There were a few hindrances this trip. D*Face: We are coming back later this year. We plan to do some stuff then. The thing about New York is, it is a different city than London. I have come out here with Shepard and just put up loads of shit in one or two nights. Times have changed, New York is aware of it now and it makes it difficult. When you are spending a few days here preparing for a show or whatever, do you want to risk of spending a couple nights in jail? Manuel: New York has definitely become overly saturated with street artist. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is slapping shit up whether it is good or not. Do you feel like it is the same in London? D*Face: There was a period of time that that was the case. We are in 2008 now aren't we... I guess it was 2005 or maybe 2004 that every fucker seemed to have a sticker or thought they were a street artist and it got to the point where I was finding myself a little pissed off about it. I guess I was feeling a bit stifled in all of it. Lets face it, you can not really make any kind of impact when there is a million others doing the same shit that you are doing. At the same time I have always had this view that if it is "street" art than I should support it. Anyone who goes and makes their art public, then great. There is no gallery critic saying this one is good or this one is bad. It is freedom of speech and that is what makes it such an amazing thing to go out and do. I just think that people who are going out and doing it should be doing what they do, rather than what others are already doing. The alternative is there are all these kids looking at what has already been done and in the end you end up with a thousand of Banksys. Wordtomother: I must say in London it does seem to be a lot more garbage out there than in the past. Just a few years back it was not about anything but the love of it. Now it seems that there is some recognition coming into play with all this and people have began to come up with these other motives. People are seeing some of the bigger guys in the scene getting gallery shows from it and they will put up a piece of paper or a few stickers somewhere and that will be it. I don't think that many of these kids get the scale of it and it is more than just that. D*Face: That is another thing, there are other guys who have been around for five minutes getting gallery shows and selling their work for crazy money, especially in the UK. I think that the art scene is the same as any. You have to pay your dues. There is this factor that has become less about the street art and more about the street aesthetics. You may have drippy tags in you work but you might have never done a drippy tag in your life. I think that people are starting to feed from that and it is sneaking its way into contemporary art culture. They're not street artists but they are representing themselves as that. Half the time I also find myself questioning what people's motivations are. Manuel: Do you think that the European street scene is more of a form of expressionism? D*Face: I do think that in the UK people are a little bit more receptive to that. Just from people who I have spoken to here in the States. Like WK for example, I had seen a massive amount of his work up in New York but have not heard a whole lot about it. I wonder if it would have been better received in Europe. No mater how you look at it, he did it with the imagery and message that he thought needed to be out there, that alone says a lot. As a whole I think there is more of a social or political comment that is being made in Europe or at least in the UK. I'm not saying that artist in the States don't have social or political agendas. I just think that in the UK that is something that is more evident. There are those in the States however who are getting a message across without question. Manuel: Where do you see this movement in 10 to 20 years, do you think your work will find its way to some more established art museums? D*Face: If it does or it doesn't, it really does not matter. I would like to think that at some point the street scene will be given the recognition it deserves. I would like to think that it will be hung in the right places. It is really difficult to think of some of it hung in some of these museums. They just seem so... formal. The way all of this street art has come about is so informal. I think in order for street art to infiltrate some of these places there will have to be some key people who really do believe in the spirit of the art. All I can say is I was around before it was this big movement and I will be around if it disappears. If I have to support myself doing some other job than that's what I'll do, I've done it before and I'll do it again… but I hope it doesn't come to that!! Manuel: I think this is an obvious question that you have probably already answered but do you prefer your art in the street or gallery? D*Face: I love doing work in the street but it is also nice to be creating gallery work as well. I think the two things can exist together. I obviously try to approach the things I do in the street differently than the way I approach work I'm doing for the gallery. Wordtomother: Plus as an artist I think that type of approach gives you the freedom to go down both avenues. D*Face: It is true. I like to think of my work as going down a path of sorts. I hope that people get that and if they have been following it they can see that. I understand when people say I wish you would just keep doing more character stuff. I also understand people saying that they love the stuff I am doing now much more than what I was doing in the past. But I think it is important to have some repetition in your work in the same sense that can be a little bit stifling. There are also those other more personal reasons why my work has taken the path it has. The whole play with death comes from having some things in my life that were pretty tough and dark. Manuel: There is also a very literal way of looking at those death pieces. D*Face: As I said, what I was trying to do with those pieces was question the whole idea of celebrity and fame. That is the one thing that we cannot deny is that we are all going to die. That is the point, to question the celebrity status of these people. But as soon as they die they almost become legends. There are those celebrities who people say if he or she would have died much younger it would be much better. Really, if you think about it, a lot of the true pop culture legends died at a young age. Is it the person that society is in love with or thought of what or who they are. There is pretty much an endless game you could play with that. Manuel: Where does the merchandise and vinyl toy thing fall in to all this art stuff for you? D*Face: Ya know, that is a difficult thing. I was approached about doing the vinyl toy thing and at the time I was really stoked to do it. But what it looks like and what it ends up becoming are two totally different things. I wish now that I had never done it. I don't know that I would do it again unless I knew that it would be executed exactly the way I wanted it to be. The vinyl toy thing is something that everyone has jumped in. Like anything, there are maybe a handful of people whose shit will be worth what you paid for it down the road and in some cases more. I bought a few of the Kaws toys way back when, the Futura stuff, some James Jarvis and some of those became worth crazy money. But not long after that it was crazy money just to buy any of them, and everyone started to turn them out so quickly I finally had to say enough. Plus these toy people never take them out the packaging. Fuck that, if I'm paying good money for these things I want to take it out and feel that shit. Manuel: Does D*Face Have any words of wisdom? Wordtomother: Stolen Space.com D*Face: (Laughs) The only thing I can really say is, do what you do from the heart and it will lead you in the right direction. Many thanks to: D*Face, Wordtomother, and Malena Seldin Interview conducted by our NYC correspondent, Manuel Bello. {moscomment}