Fukt stencil in Sydney

Sydney stencil artist Fukt has been getting a little emo lately. He's known for stencils and paste-ups that contain gnawing social commentary. But lately he's stencilled angsty rants while waiting for Godot.

Worried about you Fukt. I found this piece in Newtown and it reminded me of Mobstr's web-famous Boooring series.

Maybe we should chat. You could tell me all the colours you'd make if giving them away wasn't illegal.

Sydney street art: Newtown

So where has Acid Midget been lately? I have no idea. But you're here, and so am I. A feeling of ambivalence has seeped inside me, like red wine stains teeth. What's the problem? I think you know...that's why you're here.

This is part of a large mural, by Hazzy Bee and Akisiew, on the streets of Newtown. On looking at it, I felt ambivalent again and a little lonely. Then realised I'm a man in a man's world and, with that idea fuelling me, I believed that other men would let me fix it.

In photography school they said "use the rule of thirds and your offspring will flourish" before realising rules made me sad. So, I've nicht idea what this mural is about - but I like it. Fifty Shades of Grey. Do you like random pondering? Do you like a person thinking freely without regard for fur form? Avoid the truth; it's all lies.

I've seen a few of these stencils around Newtown. They're a reminder to watch thy step. The streets are where crime/assaults/love happen, and I have a thing for you. Even though you don't know me, I _____ you.

Surf's up? No. Just a wheatpaste of a bro in short shorts and a sik tit tatt. Chitty chitty bang bang.

I stood on a crash barrier to shoot this. The artist, Syke, glued it to the side of a building. What's depicted on the board? The side of a building.

I promise to never tell you the truth.

You might also like: 

■ Newtown Street Art 1
■ Newtown Street Art 2
■ Newtown Street Art 3

Bambi: Queen's Diamond Jubilee stencil

Street artist Bambi has painted Queen Elizabeth II in London to honour her during the Diamond Jubilee, a celebration of her 60 years as the Queen of Diamonds.

Bambi has been called "the female Banksy". I would disagree; she is definitely the female Bambi. Do you think the Diamond Jubilee is a momentous occasion, or would you prefer the British Monarchy sold the crown jewels and ended the global recession?

Via Leggo Tungle.

You might also like:

■ Banksy Queen Victoria stencil

New Banksy stencils

Banksy recently updated his website and Acid Midget thought it was worth hosting some of the works here. His name was all over the web and trending on Twitter while I was in Southeast Asia, and I'm still catching up on what went on in that time.

I liked a recent post on London-based Hooked Blog detailing the influx of Australian artists visiting and moving to London, getting up. You might remember a recent Facebook update I published on Bridge Stehli and Ben Frost; Stehli is currently living in London and was hanging out with Frost as recently as last week. Seems like the place to be for many.

Stay posted for a wrap-up in the coming days of street art I found in Southeast Asia. And leave a comment to let me know if you love/hate/covet these Banksy pieces.

You might also like:

■ Banksy beefeater
■ Banksy trolley stencil
■ Banksy plane loveheart. Is it real?
■ Bristol: Banksy artwork destroyed

Banksy beefeater stencil, London

I use stencils like the Banksy pissing beefeater for comic relief when the street art news cycle makes me tired and apathetic. Keeping abreast with every new wall and publicity stunt can be a full day's work.

I wonder what Banksy's plan for bombing London will be when the Olympics rolls around. He's depicted kids in recent stencils and AM is hoping he returns to the Evil Corporations narrative.

What stencils do you want to see? Old skool biting-wit Banksy, or something gentler? Which Melbourne laneway do you want to see it removed from?

You might like:

■ Street art is made for the internet
■ Street art of 2011
■ Banksy plane stencil
■ Banksy trolley stencil
■ Banksy destroyed

Video: Artist C215 talks

I shot this stencil by French street artist C215 while in Rome last year. It was on the outskirts of the Vatican.

In the video below, C215 discusses what inspires his work and also what happens when street art is photographed and distributed on the internet.

He has a laissez-faire attitude to these transactions: "I have no scruple stealing an image from (the) internet. If they are published, available to me, to anyone even for a screen capture and my action is non-commercial," C215 says in the clip.

He modifies the original images, which essentially removes copyright infringement liability. "Anyone can take a photo of my creations, share it on the internet as well and it can be stolen by someone else," C215 adds.



Therefore, when street art meets the internet it becomes a hotbed of "sharing". This is a nice way of saying humans/Facebook accounts are prolific thieves.

Interview: Luke Cornish aka E.L.K.

I interviewed Melbourne stencil artist Luke Cornish, known as E.L.K. in the street art world, at Westsyde Connection last week. The self-taught artist was overwhelmed at being named a finalist in the Archibald Prize earlier this month. He was stunned at how the achievement had changed the rules for street artists; proof the art establishment is paying even closer attention to what they do.

Why did you choose Father Bob Maguire as the subject of your Archibald portrait?

I don't know if I chose him or he chose me in some cosmic sense. Basically he's just a cool old guy.

Did you know him beforehand?

A little bit. But we've grown pretty close now.

Have you been approached by galleries or art collectors since becoming shortlisted?

I've got a manager now so he deals with all that. I'd been back and forward with him for a while but I think when I got into the finals it kind of spurred him into getting the ball rolling.

Do you call yourself a stencil artist or street artist?

Stencil art has its roots in street art and I do street art sometimes but not solely, so I can't really refer to myself as a street artist because I'm hanging work with Ben Quilty. But anything outside of the street context is not street art. I've always referred to myself as a stencil artist.

How did you get into stencilling?

Boredom. Needing a hobby. Mum always said growing up "you need a hobby''. It wasn't until I got to like 23 that I was like "fuck I actually do need a hobby". Drinking alcohol is not a hobby. You waste your 20s getting smashed every weekend and you hit a point where you need to start living your life.

How many layers are there in the portrait?

There's about 30 layers. There's three sections with 10 layers in each section.

Is it your most complex artwork?

Not at all. I actually dumbed it down a little bit. Some of the hyper-real work I've been doing, if I'd entered that it just would've got looked over. Because I've pushed the technique so far that you don't look at it and go "oh that's a stencil, it has its roots firmly in street art''. So scaling it back to look more like stencil art but still a really good stencil. Because some of the work I do is using 40-50 colours with 70-80 layers. This is just straight-up grey scale. I guess that doesn't sound like saying "I'm so good I needed to be a little bit shitter to get into the Archibalds". I don't mean it to sound like that.

What will happen if you win?

Game on. First thing I'm going to do is have a holiday. Get away for a few weeks. Cause it's taking a pretty big emotional toll, the anxiety. You can't just go "oh cool I've been nominated for an Archibald" and forget about it. I haven't slept for two fucking weeks. I think what adds to that pressure is being a serious contender. If I was just in that'd be really cool. But the fact that they're touting me to win the whole thing puts added pressure. It's all good but it's very overwhelming. Career-wise it just opens doors. It gives me the freedom to choose anything I want to do.

Is this experience making it harder to work in street?

Street art's a hobby for me. Street art's something I do because I love doing it. Art's something I do because I love doing it. But street art that I do in the street I rarely put my name to because it's not about getting famous it's just about the love of doing it. But the work I do in galleries is very much about success, commercial success. I've never had any interest in being famous.

Is there less choice in being famous now?

Well it's not going to be like fucking Lady Gaga or someone like that, it's not going to be that level of fame, cause I can still drop off the radar and produce my work. So that's exactly what I intend to do. I guess there's different sorts of fame. There's Big Brother contestant fame. But there's fame for success which has a lot more respect attached to it.

The Archibald Prize winner is announced at noon today.

You might like:

■ Luke Cornish named Archibald Prize finalist

Fukt does live IKEA stencil

Sydney stencil artist Fukt got a new piece up in Camperdown on Saturday. I visited Mallett Lane and asked him what the fukt he was doing there. He wouldn't reveal what the stencil was as he painted. I liked that. I found that his artistic intentions were rooted in love for people; his audience.

Take a look below at some of the materials Fukt works with and how the stencil ended up.

 

You might also like:

■ White collar puppets
■ Michelangelo's David
■ McDonald's stencil 
■ Street art of 2011
■ Laneway art
■ Iwo Jima McDonald's stencil

Fukt stencil: White collar puppets

Fukt is one of Sydney's most prolific stencil artists. In his work he layers satirical subjects like bums and war heroes in rich detail. This "White Collar Puppet" was in Chippendale in Sydney's inner west.

Here, Fukt has stencilled a wind-up worker whose cogs have stopped turning. Does this make you want to leave your corporate job and become a free-thinker?

I want to be someone who makes a difference, who reaches people with art. Someone who isn't afraid to put paints on buildings owned by people who are part of the 1 per cent.

People who believe that democracy is about reaching consensus, rather than "cleansing the earth of unemployed people".

I want to be someone who lives life with expression.

You might like:

■ Sydney street art
■ McDonald's fat stencil
■ Best we forget
■ Iwo Jima McDonald's sign

The Rudd-Gillard leadership challenge

The woman on the left is Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The man on the right is former Prime Minister Chuck Norris. They were allies before a 2010 leadership coup in which Mr Norris lost support within the Labor Party and was KO'd by Ms Gillard.

Ever since, Mr Norris has allegedly tried to 'white ant' Ms Gillard with information leaks and destabilising manoeuvres. This came to a head last week a mysterious video was uploaded showing Mr Norris 'losing his shit' while PM.

This caused a shockwave within the ALP. Gillard supporters began criticising Mr Norris for being a bag of tools. Then on Thursday, in Washington, Mr Norris resigned as Foreign Minister. He cited a lack of support from Ms Gillard as the reason behind the decision.

In the days following, a groundswell of debate arose with calls for a leadership ballot to end months of internal party dissent. This ballot is scheduled for tomorrow.

Mr Norris is unpopular within his own party, yet every time he performs a roundhouse kick a new universe is born. Amazing.   

Yet there is a great irony shown in popularity polls. Chuck Norris has consistently polled as the preferred PM over both Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. He has significant support within the ALP - though probably not enough to win the ballot - leading to one question.

Is tomorrow the climax where Chuck Norris whoops ass with heavily Americanised martial arts moves?

Maybe.

Why can't everyone just make up and work together going forward? And who are you backing tomorrow - the PM, or Chuck Norris?

You might like:

1. The Acid Midget Manifesto
2. Hosier Lane street art, Melbourne
3. Mubarak steps down, Egypt is free

Pics: 1, 3, 4, 5

Sydney street art

There is a wall covered in street art and graffiti at 184 Broadway in Sydney. It's right next to the Telstra "International Telecommunications Centre". Read about that here. The wall is directly beneath a CCTV camera.

This Fukt stencil of Michelangelo's 'David' is a little worn/covered in poo. Maybe it's better this way? I struggled with this idea at first, you know, resenting vandalism of street art, but then I realised "we're all bro's here". Every last 1 of us.

This satirical/dead serious stencil of Newt Gingrich by Blue Chip is scary. Getting a dictator vibe from this one. Reminds me of the Hitler depicted in a new Australian retro-comedy Danger 5. Here's a trailer:

 


Like it? Me neither :(

Hitler again. Scared. Hang on ////////////// ////////////// //////////// //////////// /////////////// OK...just spent ~45mins curled in the foetal position in a bathtub. I don't know whose tub it was. Just woke up there :'(

Caged rainbow tiger. Not sure who did this stencil, but looks like Blue Chip. Get in touch if you know bb.

YOU MIGHT LIKE:

Sydney laneway art (Fukt)

Audrey Hepburn stencil (Blue Chip)

Street art is made for the internet

Bristol street artist Banksy recently put paint on a wall and blogged it to raise web traffic in the digital-first art era.

If you're an artist working today, you need a Wordpress blog, Tumblr, Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Blogspot et al. If you don't have at least seven content streams, updated daily, you're a failure. And probably an asshole.

Vandalog has discussed the prominent/ironic/ignored school of 'Street Art for the Internet', with artists such as Mobstr (pic above) and Lush (pic below) proving that street art has truly gone digital.

But street art and graffiti have garnered so much mainstream attention because of the internet. Funny or thought-provoking walls are easily digested as 100kb JPEG files. Memes that are emailed, blogged, tweeted - rather than alleyway eyesores you don't want your kids to see as they smoke their first cigarette.

Bet your grandparents love it too.

Via Vandalog, Banksy

You might also like:

Banksy trolley stencil

Fukt hits McDonald's with fat stencil, burgers consumed

Sydney artist Fukt stencilled the exit of a McDonald's drive-thru at Stanmore, in Sydney's inner west.

In a word-play on "please dispose of your litter thoughtfully", this stencil asks customers to dispose of their fat thoughtfully.

This is because people who buy McDonald's eat 30 to 50 per cent more fat than they need from burgers containing animal parts that aren't even named yet.

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FUKT: Sydney laneway art

Marz: Pikachu Army stencils

Street artist Marz sent over these photos of a "Pikachu Army" he made near North Sydney.

He said it lasted four days before North Sydney Council buffed it.

Would you call that a good run?

ALSO BY MARZ:

Astro Boy stencil

Roundabout says "Play Dead"

Kim Jong-il is dead

Kim Jong-il, the supreme leader of North Korea, has died of a heart attack aged 69.

Reports are circulating around the globe about the icon, who was immortalised in the film Team America ("f-ck yeaaah"), after the North Korean government announced the news today.

Kim Jong-il was best known for wearing a grey collared unitard and for being "so ronery" all the time.

He was also known for looking at things.

Earlier today, the top trending topics on Twitter were Kim Jong, fowwowed by Team America.

(Image source)

Julian Assange stencil

Julian Assange is my hero. Not just because he has white hair, which is totally rad, but because he's been to Sweden.

This stencil is by Blue Chip and was found in Chippendale, Sydney. Thanks to Konsumterra for, once again, alerting me to Blue Chip's work.

Visit the Acid Midget Facebook page for more Instagram photos.

Banksy plane loveheart. Is it real?

It must be Banksy month. That's a good thing. I've been reading Wall and Piece for the hell of it.

I bag on the poor guy a lot, but he is genuinely passionate about street art and ruffling feathers and Exiting Through Gift Shops and stuff.

This was one was found in Liverpool, England.

Via The Lonely Villein.