Author: scooj

I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.

783 North Street Savana (1)

A little while ago Frankie Beane posted a piece by Telmo Miel which was absolutely stunning. We had a short exchange of comments, and I looked into whether or not Telmo Miel had been to Bristol for Upfest. It turns out they have been a couple of times before, the last of which was in 2015. It also just so happens that I photographed their shutter piece not knowing who they were, and only now am I able to share it.

Talmo and Miel, North Street, Bristol, June 2016
Talmo and Miel, North Street, Bristol, June 2016

Telmo Miel is/are two artists who paint as one. This was the Dutch duo’s biography from the Upfest website:

‘Telmo Pieper and Miel Krutzmann are the names behind Telmo Miel artistic machinery. Telmo Pieper was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands where he graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy. He is a creator, image maker and a contemporary graffiti artist. Miel Krutzmann also received his degree from the Academy in Rotterdam, and he is a mural painter and illustrator, who started drawing as a child and never stopped. Together, they share a fascination for (sur)realistic imagery and are currently making life-sized wall paintings using spray-paint all over the globe.’

I hope they return soon as their work is actually rather good.

 

 

782. The Bearpit (68)

Coming back down to earth from five posts about Upfest pieces I find myself back in the old Bearpit, and confronted by this absolutely brilliant and slightly chilling grayscale piece by Laic217.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017

The image conjures up so many thoughts and ideas, perhaps of a menacing figure, but also maybe one that needs care and love.I think it captures so brilliantly the judgements we make about others based upon their appearance, location or demeanour. I really love this piece. Yet another from the ever-productive Laic217.

Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017
Laic217, The Bearpit, Bristol, May2017

 

 

C.R.I.P.

 

Awful acronyms

dehumanise our language,

dehumanise us.

 

by Scooj

 

  • I came across this at work today – Commonly Recognised Information Picture (CRIP) – a ‘management speak’ term used in emergency contexts. I think it means pulling together information and intelligence that will give us a clear understanding of what it going on. Shame on the person who coined this one.

781. Upfest 2016 (125)

A man with a proper man cave. Luke Hollingworth, AKA Stencil Shed, AKA Syd is an artist who works in his shed, and outside his shed. This is one of his ‘outside’ pieces that he did for Upfest, and what a great piece it is.

Stencil Shed, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Stencil Shed, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Unfortunately I only got a couple of pictures of it, but I remember thinking at the time how much I liked it. It has a story, a message. On a Tumblr feed Syd wrote:

‘My 12ft X 8 ft piece for @upfest. Two great endangered species, the sperm whale and the black rhino. Mashed up and contained in Hirst like formaldehyde. Have to say always find it challenging to come up with something decent when painting on boards (90% of artists get boards at upfest.) my usual street pieces are woven into the wall. This hits the spot I’m hoping with its inventiveness. Revisiting an old concept of mine from 2013 when I placed Damien Hirst in formaldehyde in a field of cows. This one more of a play on his shark turner prize winning conceptual art. Down super quick as my wife is 7 days overdue on the birth of our second child, gulp.’

Says it all really.

 

780. Upfest 2016 (124)

Located slightly off the main drag of Upfest is this rather large wall with an advertising hoarding inconveniently taking up the top left hand corner. In 2015, the wall was admirably sprayed by Snub23. This year it was the turn of Gamma Gallery.

Gamma Gallery, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Gamma Gallery, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I’m afraid I don’t quite get the concept of Gamma Gallery. I’m not sure if it is one person or a collective, but irrespective of that I think this is a magnificent piece. There is something about the pigeons that I really like.

Gamma Gallery, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Gamma Gallery, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

For the observant of you out there…I took this picture a short while after Upfest, and the picture on the bill board is different from the one at the time it was painted. I wish I knew more about this piece, but the Interweb wasn’t very fruitful, so I am just enjoying it for what it is.

Gamma Gallery, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Gamma Gallery, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

 

779. Upfest 2016 (123)

Arguably the most stunning piece of the 2016 festival was this huge and very popular work by PichiAvo. These two artists, operating as a single entity, are from Valencia in Spain, but are busy working all over the world.

PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Their works, as far as I can make out are a synthesis of graffiti writing styles incorporated into classical statuesque images…or at least that is my take on it all. I expect there are scholarly descriptions out there, but however their work is categorised, it is undoubtedly beautiful and supremely well executed.

PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
PichiAvo, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

I know I have more pictures of this piece, but I’ll be damned if I can find them, so it’ll just have to be these three I’m afraid. Loads more on the Interweb if you want to see other magnificent works by this duo. They have a fine website too. Magnificent.

Bookshop

.

No satisfaction

thumbing through volumes of books

I will never read. 

.

by Scooj

778. Upfest 2016 (122)

Mr June was one of the lead artists at Upfest 2016, and he had the privilege of painting a large wall, previously occupied by Dan Kitchener, on the side of the Salvation Army building in Church Street.

Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Trained as a graphic designer, Mr June took to the streets as a graffiti artist in 1985, and his preference for combining his love of typography, graffiti and abstract art come together beautifully in this mesmerising piece.

Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

This is definitely one for the fans of large, bold designs that have an almost architectural feel to them. His use of colours is first rate, and the overall impression is impactful.

Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016
Mr June, Upfest, Bristol, July 2016

Growth

.

I’m in the greenhouse

That’s where you’ll find me, growing

As a human bean. 

.

by Scooj
* With apologies.