Audio Project

Thank you to Corey Biot who wrote an amazing song and allowed me to record him and his wonderful talent

Song: Outta My Way

Corey Audio Writeup

Podcast #2

Here is my second podcast review!

Assignment 1 Essay

Assignment 1

New Media History Essay

Olivia Paige Wilson

MPM17

            New Media is a term used to describe the constant development of technology and utilizing it for communication. In the art world, almost anything can be considered artistic. Since the beginning of time, man has used sounds, images and movement to express themselves to others. As the world evolved, the basics of sound, image and movement became more intricate forming into many things including video, photography and dance. There are so many ways to express your creative side. However, one of the most underrated and misunderstood forms is street art, other wise known as, graffiti. Graffiti has been considered to be a form of vandalism and a disgrace to the art community, but in reality, it can be one of the most beautiful and inspiring forms you may ever see. New York City, a place that is to be considered the birthplace of all dreams, is the birthplace to this now world wide art movement. (Nick Mount2011) In the past 40 years, Lee Quinones, Paul “Moose” Curtis and Banksy have brought street art to new heights. Using anything they can get their hands on, both inside and outside, these three individuals bring their own unique twists to this popular medium.

 

In 1970, street artist Lee Quinones gravitated to the urban underground of New York City. Lee is coined one of the most influential people to come out of the New York City subway movement, where subway cars became the new blank canvases for the world of graffiti. In 1974, Lee painted his very first subway car canvas and in 1975 he started to paint whole 40-foot subway car murals which almost always included is name “Lee” in big bold letters in an interesting colour and font. This led to the 10-car train that was fully painted on one side to the other. Within the next decade, over 115 whole subway cars would be graced by Quinones amazing gift coating their outer shells. Lee finally took the next step and started to move his amazing talent above ground in the spring of 1978 painting beautiful murals on anything he could get his hands on. Lee tends to refer to his art as history in the making and would rather not have his own artwork reflect history that other people have created. Some of his work has been featured in 6 different museums, 3 of which some of his work is on permanent display for the world to enjoy.  Lee is revolutionizing this medium by creating his murals on moving canvas’s that could be seen in one place or another. He is also creating art that will become apart of history for this medium instead of just imitating someone else’s ideas from the past. To become a true street artist, one must understand that there are no limitations to art, especially when the world can be your canvas. Lee truly proved that when he started to turn ugly subway cars into works of beauty. Some would argue that Lee is still a vandal, taking public or government property and turning it into his art canvas, just doing it a different way. Lee’s street art is meant to spark imagination and cause individuals in society to look at the world as a blank canvas to make your own instead of someone else making it for you.

 

In 1992, “Counter-culture prankster” an artist by the name of Banksy turned the whole world into a blank canvas for his artwork. For being so well known across the globe as the most popular street artist, he has maintained a mysterious identity creating Banksy as his persona instead of his really identity. Nick Mount says that street art is all about location, location, location. (Nick Mount 2011) He has also shared that Shepard Fairly has deemed him “the most important living artist in the world.” Not only has Banksy proven that location is key and earned the title of important living artist, He has used both to their fullest through out his art life. It didn’t matter if it was indoors or outdoors, he would use anything to express himself and showcase his talent. The Bristol underground scene was where his work was first born which combined both musicians and artists. His work tends to show both social and political commentary attacks at the government for labeling street art as vandalism when it is often nothing close to the definition of the word. The three main messages that are portrayed in Banksy art work is anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment and his art is mainly created by the art of stenciling combined with slogans. By using anything and everything he can get his hands on as his canvas, he is bringing new creative ideas to this medium and it is paying off for him. His work has been featured in many museums and celebrities have bought some of his work for large sums of money across the world. Banksy’s art is highly illegal which is part of the reason why he keeps his identity a secret.  An anonymous author has written about the removal of one of Banksys famous paintings on a wall of an abandoned automobile factory arguing both if it was right or wrong for the art gallery to remove it and put it on display. (Anonymous 2011) He or she ultimately argued that if they hadn’t stepped in and removed it, the art would have been lost forever. However, he/she also argues that street art is meant to be temporary and by removing it from its original location, it has ruined the meaning. He has also snuck into many museums and illegally added his own work to exhibitions without being caught. Banksy is the mysterious prankster that has flipped the art world upside down with his anything, anywhere attitude. People could say that his illegal acts of art shouldn’t be looked at as a thing of beauty but should be covered and stopped. Banksy uses the freedom of expression law to its fullest and we should all take a note from his books.

 

Reverse graffiti has been a newly discovered innovation to street art. Reverse graffiti consists of cleaning the dirt and grim off of surfaces to create unforgettable art instead of using paints to create the art. Alexandre Orion started creating memorable pieces of reverse graffiti in 2006.  He has created pieces using only black and white paint on building walls and photographs people are they walk past. Capturing the individual interactions with his pieces allow his artwork to come alive, becoming part of reality instead of just a painting on a building wall. Orion creates his pieces to reflect on the problems that are going on in the world, a family wearing gas masks or a young boy pointing a gun and a scared elder man.  His most famous piece of reverse graffiti, which consists of skulls designed in a tunnel in his home town, was made to remind drivers of what their gas emissions are doing to the environment and the planet we all live on. Using this innovation to express yourself by cleaning instead of adding a coat of paint makes Orion an important step to making street art a more respected art form. Some may argue that they are still defacing public property and bringing their unique art places it doesn’t belong, however, they are only making the dirty walls of the world look more beautiful than ever.

 

The right to self-expression has been fought for generation after generation in one way or another. People have put restrictions and guidelines on art, one of the universal forms of expression that has brought happiness to both the artist and the observant. Lee Quinones, Banksy and Alexandre Orion have thrown the rulebook out the window and decided to create pieces for the world to see and so far it has been paying off for them all.  Media is all about ways to communicate a concept from one person to another. New media is using the new technology that is being created as time goes by to innovate that way of communication. As more people find better ways to innovate street art, it is being considered more of an art form in some peoples eyes than ever before.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Lee Quinones

“Lee Quinones.” Lee Quinones. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. http://www.leequinones.com/index.php?page=about

 

Alexandre Orion

“Alexandre Orion – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Orion

alphabet. “Alexandre Orion | artist and art.” modern & contemporary artists and art | the-artists.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. http://the-artists.org/artist/alexandre-orion

Chapman, Matt. “REVERSE GRAFFITI: Street Artists Tag Walls by Scrubbing Them Clean | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World.” Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. http://inhabitat.com/reverse-graffiti/

 

Banksy

“Banksy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy

Mount, Nick. “Searching for Banksy.” Queen’s Quarterly 117.2 (2010): 262,262-271. MLA International Bibliography. PROQUESTMS. 11 Oct. 2011 http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/760976991?accountid=13631

Urbanist. ” The Banksy Paradox: 7 Sides of the World’s Most Infamous Street Artist | WebUrbanist .” WebUrbanist | From Urban Art & 3D Graffiti to Abandoned Cities . N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. http://weburbanist.com/2007/07/19/banksy-paradox-unofficial-guide-to-the-worlds-most-infamous-urban-guerilla-street-artist/

“Who Owns Street Art?” Scholastic Art 2011: 12-. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 11 Oct. 2011 <http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/857308519?accountid=13631>.

Podcast

Check out the podcast I have created about Kent Monkman’s beautiful masterpiece, The Academy, created in 2008. Kent Monkman\’s \”The Academy

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