this update brought to you by GrumpyLox:

Art Basel, Miami, the largest arts centered festival in the US, Blocks and blocks of very organized to impromptu street art/style writing. And even more interior gallery spaces celebrating contemporary artists. Sounds like a lot of fun, and for the most part you couldn’t ask for a better time. It does however remind me of why (the lacking of talent aside) i have always shied away from the convergence of creativity and capitol, as it seems to create this odd space of tension and unease. Last year The Upsetters ad the pleasure of working in a relatively quite area, with some really focused but also enjoyable other people to share time and space with. This year due to companies sponsoring the event, i should add sponsoring in fairly important supportive capacities, the Upsetters were in the same location but said location had been bastardized in the name of product placement and advertising. In the center of what was once a quite 3 quarters closed lot Amp energy drink decided they should set up a both with a dj, slated to play 8 hours a day. Clearly there was some expectation the live painting and carnival set up by trusto-corp, were intended to draw in a crowd, who would be overwhelmed by the awesome DJ, and then drink loads of free Amp and then dance the day away in a hot black top parking lot with no shade or water. This did not happen. INstead each day the DJ would set up play about an hour of decent old schoolish hip hop and then transition in to tecnho-club crap; whilst nary a sole seemed to care about the music or the free amp; of which there were cases lying around for days then remained untouched and un-pilfered which for an event filled with petty criminals really says something about the desirability of the product. Personally it seems like it would have been more cost effective for Amp to private label a bunch of cheap waters and give them out, that way they’d have Amp logo in hands and in photos, and also be considerate of the climate and the people they hope to buy their shit. Water should cost less then their awful drink does, while they could also have some energy drink available, it seems like a no brainer that you can only drink so much energy drink before youre done ( for me the limit is zero), but in the sun all day long water seems like the thing to drink, call me crazy.

In the weeks preceding art basel I had been going through a lot of stress, and got to Miami in a really awful state of mind and being, and as i knew it i tried to contain it, but i think i managed to be a flaming asshole to pretty much everyone at unexpected and unneeded times. My frame of mind just exacerbated the stresses of the sparycation road trip. So before you call the whambulence, i say all of that to say that despite my salty attitude and outlook, both Kems and Preys managed to pull out awesome pieces and really made shit happen, while putting up with my non-sense, if only to just make it home alive so they can plan the next trip sans grumpylox.

In the times where i wasn’t on some stress related war path in Miami i managed to meet and talk to a bunch of, to me at least, pretty important, and talented writers/ artists, which was awesome. I’ll admit i was kinda disappointed that none of them came off as hollywood assholes, im not sure what the world is coming to, hundreds of artists all rolling on the humble for the most part getting in where they fit in and keeping it moving. I think this is Art Basels saving grace, and its a really big one. Complete Chaos, but community controlled and regulated; like a grateful dead concert minus the overwhelming sense of apathy.

I had a few outlines and ideas with me but i was pretty locked in on doing an outline based on simple shape juxtaposition, that culminated after some illustrator drawings. I also knew i wanted to paint some characters. I generally dont paint characters as they have never seemed to me to really work out compositionally when randomly placed next to typography. I often find myself viewing walls with characters as separate endeavors. ANd they can be awesome ones but somehow they never manage to fully related to the word they are accompanying. I could be argued they are hype men drawing the viewer in. You come to see what the noise is about and stay for the letters. Its always been about the letters to me. But i decided to make an exception and nike the fuck out of it. So characters there would be.

you'll learn one way or the other, Bible or the Gun

You’ll learn on way or the other; Bible or the Gun. This is how it seems the world is leaning. The polarized contradiction of doing exactly what you criticize your enemy to be doing whilst justifying your actions and simultaneously condemning the same actions by other actors.  Do as i say and not as i do.

rath BOG art basel 2010

BIG Thanks to: Primary Flight,  Molotow, Bombing  Science some much needed support.