Interview with Street Artist Korp

Proud to present an interview with the contemporary and Peterborough based urban street artist Korp.

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Korp and a draw worms although when I get time I cut multi layer stencils as well

How do you feel about street art in your current city/environment? do you like it?

Despite the Arts Council calling it a cultural blackspot Peterborough has a growing street art scene, there are some legal walls and a few writers that get up regularly. The city centre has a huge piece of street art by Blok Collective that covers the underpasses linking the city centre to the train station which is well worth a look. Its also worth taking a look at the Green Backyard where you can usually find someone painting or something creative going on.

There are lots of graffiti artists, How does your artwork stand out from the rest?

I stumbled across my Korpworm character a few years ago while taking part in the Boston Sketchbook project. It’s a very simple worm character that was quick and easy to reproduce but quite effective and easily recognisable. People liked what I was doing and it has slowly evolved over the years with arms and feathers to become my trademark. I find it’s a lot more difficult to stand out as a stencil artists as one multi layer stencil looks very much like the next.

What are the good and bad things about creating street art in your city?

The good thing about street art in Peterborough is the actual street artists who are all very talented and really easy to get on with. The bad thing is that there are not enough opportunities within the city for these artists, there are a few that try to juggle being an artist with organising events but that can be a challenge especially when they get more success and recognition elsewhere.

Who’s your favorite graffiti/ contemporary artist?

Tough call between Logan Hicks or Shepard Fairey, I’m in love with the intricate detail in Hicks multi layer stencils but I also love the bold mass produced propaganda style you get from Obey. It was seeing a Logan Hicks YouTube video of him painting Taipei Alley that motivated me to start cutting stencils.

How important do you think it is to be creative?

Very, its therapy. Whatever your mood on the day you paint it and bring it out in your work.

Korp at Gloucester Paint Jam 2014

To find out more information and artwork on Korp please see links below:

Korp Facebook Page
https://www.patreon.com/korporate

http://www.korporate.co.uk/

5 Benefits of Social Media

Interview with Artist Bunny Boiler

 

Proud to present an Interview with Cheltenham based bunny loving Street Artist and illustrator Bunny Boiler.

 

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Bunny Boiler and I’m an artist, I have a background in tattooing and graffiti over the last twenty years, I have a serious passion for surreal and cartoon art and draw most days mainly using pens, aerosols and acrylics with lots of them containing cute bunnies .

How do you feel about Street Art in your current city/ environment?

I live in Cheltenham and the graffiti scene now consists of two tunnels and a small skate park so it is rubbish, there are several good graffiti writers but our neighbouring town is considered more open to graffiti and most of them will prefer to paint there .

There is lots of Street Art in Cheltenham how does yours stand out from the rest?

I think my style makes my artwork standout once decried as ….as mad as a hatter , as lost as Alice and as alluring as the Cheshire cats smile, describes my strange mix of dark and cute and I always try to keep my work fresh and not too repetitive so it is always interesting or fun to look at. I just love creating it and sharing it .

What are the good and bad things about painting in Cheltenham?

Cheltenham considers itself a posh town so ‘street art ‘ by that I mean illegal art even stickers are usually removed quite quickly, the council need to allow graffiti on at least several more walls to give a better amount of space to allow people to show their art to the public.

Who is your favourite Street Artist?

my favourite graffiti artist is a guy called Daim from Hamberg his 3d lettering is so realistic is mind bending, as for favourite other artist there’s only one….. a true master Mr Salvador Dali, his work covers so many different styles but most known for his surreal images of melting objects inspired me ever since first seeing them .

How important do you think it is to be creative?

I believe it is so important to encourage creativity and expression of ideas in art, music or any other medium as it encourages the imagination to explore, is part of why I volunteer with local community art groups helping run art classes as I love sharing my skill and ideas to help others express there’s.

To find out more information and art work on Bunny Boiler please see links below:

@BunnyBoilerArt

Bunny Boiler Facebook

5 reasons why streetart is important and a positive part of our society

 

1. Street art in U.K cities can make the cityscape look interesting and unique to that particular place or region. Especially if the city has streetart that incorporates its history and events. This can be seen as an advantage to most places.

2. The bigger Cities and towns across the U.K such as London, Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham have a well developed street art scene attracting many street artists to paint there. This can improve a cities art culture and turn that city into an artistic hub which can attract more visitors and art lovers.

3. Within our cities and towns street art is given to us usually on a daily basis by the street artists for free. At a cost they are willing to pay to show us what they believe in.

4. Street art is risky due to illegalities, but also a massive advertising tool to make your talents known within your city. It allows street artists to get noticed and be able to make it in the creative world.

5. Streetart makes most people inspired when they see murals around their city. It can make the average building look interesting.   This allows a shop, business or workplace to stand out with a colourful unique design.

Nostalgia

Nostalgia – A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.
The condition of being homesick; homesickness.

Indyfotos

have a new streetart photograph page on Facebook! Indyfotos please check it out!  

 

Inside the castle!

Check out this video of inside the castle at Dismaland!

Dismaland Review 2015

As soon as I found out about Dismaland  in the nearby seaside town Weston Super Mare, I was on the website trying to book tickets to this amazing 5 week Event created by Banksy the Bristolian street artist..

Unfortunately I tried the website around five to six times constantly clicking on the calendar to book a ticket. In the end I gave up thinking I had been to slow to get a ticket. I checked all my social media platforms mainly Twitter to find out if I had just been unlucky and loads of people would be tweeting smug comments about going to the theme park. As I scanned through my feed no one had managed to get tickets. I knew the queue would be major but I decided I needed to see Banksy’s next creation. I arrived at the Tropicana at around 10:00am on Saturday 22nd August the first day Dismaland opened to the public. The queue looked horrendous as I made my way through the gated area I was around half way through the first queue and predicted a three hour waiting time. The day was sunny and everyone was excited to see Dismaland. Many people had travelled pretty far to get to the park.

Dismaland at Weston Tropicana Lido

As it turned 11am the other people beside me in the queue were in two minds in leaving due to the vast length of the queue and the time it would take to eventually see Dismaland. I convinced them to stay as I was really enthusiastic to what we would see in the park and how great to be one of the first few thousands to experience the delights of Dismaland. The queue was moving steadidly now as I reached the ticket office to pay and get my wrist band. It was great knowing I had paid and surely this meant I would get to see the theme park today! I carried on round and had a quick bag check by security. I was now in the second gated queue that little bit closer to the magic of Dismaland.

Dismaland Wrist Band

As I was waiting I posted a few pictures on my social media accounts and checked the time around hundred times. It was getting close to 1pm the time I thought  I would eventually get in to Dismaland. I checked the time and it was around 13:20 when I was at the front of the queue, literally minutes away of entering Dismaland. They were allowing around ten people to enter the park at a time. Our group crossed over the street to the entrance of the old Tropicana lido and we were greeted by a misareble couple of girls with pink hi vis jackets on and micky mouse ears. One of the Dismaland staff members asked how long we had waited in the queue for and a guy in our group said three hours. In a mono tone she told him “It’s not worth it” We all laughed and headed in to the security section just before the entrance to Dismaland. The security room was awesome and every piece off equipment was made out of cardboard including the CCTV cameras. After being verbally abused by the security guard I entered Dismaland. 

I was so excited as I tried to look at everything at once. I had a quick look round and headed straight for the castle that looked like a run down version of the Disneyworld castle. The castle was pitch black and I was scared to enter. I walked through and was pretty impressed with what I saw. I then started going to every section of the park taking a photo every two seconds.

I really had had enough of queuing for the day but I needed to see what this place had to offer. I joined the queue for the art gallery which took about twenty minutes for me to get into another pitch black room with loads of flashing lights and weird exhibits. The art gallery was amazing full of outstanding art work by various artists. My favourite piece I saw in the art gallery was a shark painting by Josh Keyes an American contemporary artist.

Art by Josh Keyes

I stayed in the art gallery for quite a while and looked at all the amazing creations it had to offer. I then headed back into the main park area and found another queue to join. This queue was quick and painless waiting to get into a small circus tent in which I had a quick look round and saw the Damien Hurst exhibit. A few hours later I was satisfied I had seen every part of Dismaland. I checked around and finally went up some stairs to a roof bar terrace, sounds a lot nicer than I’m making out. I took my last few photos of the whole park then I saw the sign for ‘Exit through the gift shop’ I couldn’t resist buying a tshirt and programme. As I left I was actually sad to leave and so happy I had decided to make this trip to one of the weirdest places I’d ever been to. 

This Banksy art exhibition is not around for long and has been thought out to the last detail. If you can make it to Dismaland in the seaside town of Weston Super-mare it’s definitely an experience you will never forget.

 

Why Street Art Never Stays Around Forever

I love street art and taking as many pictures of it as I can. The main reason I document street art is because it never stays around forever. No matter how great you or the next person thinks the piece of art is, there are certain factors that help to destroy street art as soon as the paint dries. These factors include:

1. Taggers are the main culprits. A tagger is someone who wants to destroy other people’s art work. I mainly think it’s through jealousy of the artists work or they think they can do better themselves. It may just be through boredom and it’s just a joke to tag another persons work. When it comes to street art unfortunately there are no rules and everything is fair game.

Bedminster, Bristol skate park July 2015.

 

2. Local authorities have to maintain a certain standard within towns or cities. The council will cover up street art pretty much within a week or so. There is always an exception to the rule if it’s a Banksy piece this usually stays as they are interested in the money aspect or tourism that can and would benefit the town or city.

The Banksy in Cheltenham Spa.

3. Property Owners If a building is graffitied without the consent of the owner the street art is likely to be painted over. Sometimes it may stay but this would be at the owners discretion.

Building over looking the Bedminster, Bristol, skate park.

4. Demolition Many derelict buildings will have some kind or graffiti inside the property or on the outside. Unfortunately these buildings are sometimes condemned and likey to be torn down. There is usually no time frame and luckily many buildings are around for a long time before they get demolished.

Prince of Wales pub, Gloucester demolished in July 2015.

 

Marli & Mac

My new artist page on Facebook! Please like and check back for upcoming designs! 

https://www.facebook.com/indystreetart