Anthony Lister documentary trailer

LISTER (Official Trailer) from Alex Gee on Vimeo.

I went to see Les Miserables last weekend and, during the previews/ads/self-help segment, I saw the trailer for Anthony Lister's forthcoming documentary Lister.

I got happy for ~3 seconds because it felt like this blog mattered, like something I cared about was good enough for real-world people to turn into a film using a lead character + narrative arc + commentary on contemporary art.

Then I felt sad again at the realisation that one more street/gallery/fictional artist was no longer our secret, but would become another dinner discussion with the parents/grandparents/Jesus.

Will you see Lister's doco when it comes out? Not sure if I'll watch it, or just focus on blogging 'illegal' street art on Instagram + Facebook :(

Anthony Lister mural in Sydney

Globetrotting artist Anthony Lister recently visited Sydney to paint this mural, which was found in Darlinghurst by an Acid Midget reader who submitted the photo. Lister does these murals when he isn't staging anti-Australian exhibitions, making drunk scribbles or scrawling aerosol around das Berlin. Er ist ein Übermensch.

What do you think an artist of Lister's calibre charges for a mural like this? And how do you think this compares to what he makes for canvases? A muralist recently told me the difference is significant. So how do even mid-level artists - whether bonafide street artists or just art school-trained bros painting for the lower classes - reconcile the difference between what business owners pay for paint versus collectors?

Yes, they are different mediums for separate audiences. Canvas is preserved indoors. Murals are weather-damaged and sometimes have "TOY" or "ART FAG" sprayed on top by low-level taggers using authenticity as an excuse to remain insignificant.

While money makes you unhappy, watch this short film that splices stock footage Lister supplied from his travels:



You might also like:

-Bogan Paradise exhibition
-Lister in Berlin
-Lister visits scummy Sydney bar
-Graffiti Wars: Listers uppercuts Brisbane Council like a boss

Street art: My first experience with counterculture

Portrait of Kate Moss by Banksy. Source: stuff.co.nz

As a public school graduate, my experiences with "counterculture" were mostly limited to hating my parents and listening to alternative rock on Rage. I failed at being punk when I pierced my nose with a nappy pin and it got infected and pussy. I even smoked weed at a Christian music event, but when they asked everyone who "wanted to be saved" to ascend the stage, I got paranoid and ran to the car park. Then I ate two packets of Doritos.

"Napalm Girl" by Banksy. Source: D2 Group

But everything changed when the internet began in 2009. I got an iPhone and used Facebook to stalk friends I used to know in the real world. One of these humans once shared a photo of a "Banksy" artwork of that hungry napalm girl running arm-in-arm with Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald. I thought they were showing her where to buy a Happy Meal, and, as a regular consumer of these global brands, I was impressed that Banksy combined Vietnam War imagery with universal symbols of American capitalism (land mines sold separately).

Banksy's "maid" stencil in London. Source: Bored Panda

I did some Googling and found out Banksy was a "street artist". Within minutes it dawned on me that I'd become part of something bigger, that I joined a counterculture which self-reflexively deconstructs and satirises the art establishment, and society in general, with illegally placed pop imagery. I immediately bought some Minties.

John Fekner subvertising billboard. Source: Artist a Day

I began following street art blogs and social network pages to unite with my comrades. I learned about stencils and wheatpastes. Even graffiti didn't seem annoying because it had "artistic genealogy". Street art also helped me justify spending 2+ working hours on Facebook each day. It's where I share photos of street art to my network of followers and each receives about 15 likes or comments (before tax). My affiliation with the movement has helped me cultivate the edgy, neo-anarchist identity I always wanted.

Street artist Shepard Fairey got 'smashed' by AP. Source: Charleston City Paper

Other street artists I like include Shepard Fairey, but he's no longer cool after losing a court case with AP. It was about time he took one for the team!

Space Invader mosaics. Source: Mosaic Ideas

I also really dig Space Invader, but I generally find the French to be feuking stupid, so I unsubscribed from his barely legible mailing list.

Mr Brainwash street artwork. Source: Wooster Collective

Let's not forget Mr Brainwash - one of my idols - who is proof that you don't need creativity to join the cause.

Now I walk the streets and photograph street art on my phone. I share, blog and run it through 2c Instagram filters. Being part of this counterculture is a value-add to my life and I don't know who would listen to me without it.

Have you ever found your identity through counterculture? Have you ever thought "over-30s suck?" Is it time for a REDvolution?

You might also like:

■ My First Art Exhibition Press Release
■ Acid Midget Manifesto

Your Instagram street art captions

So last week I asked Acid Midget followers on Instagram to describe what this wheatpaste was about. I had no idea who made it or what it depicted (I still don't) when I found it. I also asked fans on Facebook and Twitter.

And as promised, I'm republishing your answers right here.

Instagram

tikicave: Two people laying in bed.

east_clintwood: The tip of a quill pen.

interstellar_medium: Happy stingray with pants pockets.

paulphamtastic: It's a Pokemon character!

Facebook

Juilee Pryor: It's a post modern ghost...

Hibbles TheWizard: I figured it looked like that cocoon thing in Pokemon.

Rotar Uno: KKK mask?

Jenny Bunyon: Yeh! Kakuna i think. Metapod. Crossed with a happy Japanese bear or cat.

Twitter

Mim West: Japanese inspired character from space? I am imagining him aqua blue with green eyebrows.

OK so the jury is in. This weird image appears to be the Pokemon Metapod. Do you agree?

Thanks to everyone who contributed. As you know, I love interacting with fans on social networks just as much as writing this blog. To show my appreciation for all your support...here's some more art!

Jumbo and Zap, Camperdown.

Awol Monk, Chippendale.

You might also like:

■ Boots street art (shared on Facebook)

Introducing: Artist Dame Dismember

Sydney artist Dame Dismember might make you a little uncomfortable, like a visit to the dentist can stir up nerves, cold sweats or blog addiction.

I first saw her paste-ups in Newtown a few months ago. They're photocopies of collages showing sliced and fragmented human faces re-imagined with playful enthusiasm for the grotesque.

These collages make me uncomfortable for two reasons. First, they show how fragile we are, how external appearances are so easily changed with a blade. The second is that, for all the disfigurement, these faces look good. Even alive.

I was curious about the artist behind the faces, so I got in contact with Dame Dismember. Below is her response, followed by some of her work. Photo credit for the top image goes to Awol Monk.

Dame Dismember: I've always loved assemblage / collage art. I found drawing & painting kinda boring. My mum told me that when I was a child I'd quickly get bored with colouring in.

I've had an obsession with images as early as I can remember. I can't really pinpoint how my style developed. I never set out to make dark disturbing images. 

They just came out that way. I'm sure you have a similar experience when it came to developing your style too.

I think Frances Bacon is my biggest influence. A collagist influenced by a painter. The intuitive representation of the human form / condition.

You might also like:

■ Street art magazine Get Up or Get Out

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.

Street art magazine Get Up or Get Out

A new street art magazine has hit the streets in several Australian cities - and you're about to get a copy.  

Get Up or Get Out was printed late last month and features articles from Houl, Vars, Bafcat, Dame Dismember and Will Coles. There are also interviews with Fukt and Bunkwaa, plenty of photos from Baddogwhiskas, and cover art (pictured) by SMC(3).

The project was run by Melinda Vassallo, author of Street Art of Sydney's Inner West,  and street artist Chris Tamm (aka Konsumterra). I was also the editor.

It's great to see a mixture of artists - all connected in some way - come together to create something unique. It's a celebration of the energy and talent within Australia's art scene.

Get Up or Get Out is free and available at shops and galleries in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

Or download a copy right here.

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

Mr Brainwash London Olympics show

Mr Cliche, I mean Mr Brainwash, is hosting his first ever UK solo art show in London on August 5. This is during the London Olympics.

I can't tell if this is to milk "Olympics" "London 2012" "Pippa's bum" keyword search hits, or whether it's to cash in on wealthy European art buyers who will flood the city during the British summer. The British summer is equivalent to the Australian winter in terms of rain and cold and shittyness.

As you can see in this digitally altered image, MBW has used/borrowed/pilfered Banksy's use of British iconography - such as the Queen and the beefeater - while smothering it in bloggable irony, juxtaposition and satire.

Would you see the Brainwash art show, or will you be too busy seeing non-nonymous people achieve incredible feats in stadiums?

Takie sketches in the studio

I recently visited Takie at Glebe's Toxteth Hotel for a chat about the colourful art she is becoming increasingly popular for. Currently in the middle of a residency at the hotel's Tate studios, under the auspices of curator Chris Loutfy, Takie will produce a body of work to be exhibited at the Tate gallery in the coming weeks.

Below are photos I took while she was at work. I told Takie that I admire how she continues to get paste-ups on the streets even while her career as an exhibiting artist takes off.

See more of Takie's work on Instagram.

You might also like:

■ Takie street art

Boots street art, Sydney

Acid Midget reader Ben Isley submitted this photo on Facebook of a Boots sketch he found in the backstreets of Chippendale.

I haven't seen much of Boots's work on the street, but, ironically, I have in the feeds of fellow street art photographers on Instagram.

I've been using Instagram all year to share daily updates with you guys. It's also been a way to network with street artists and photographers. One such instance was a visit to Takie's studio in Sydney earlier this week.

I'll have a post on that in the coming days bb.

Greek Debt Crisis means cuts

This new mural from Bleeps, an edgy street artist I've never heard of, suggests the Greek government will begin amputating models, or, less figuratively, allowing the economy to break to alleviate the Greek debt crisis.

Who's to blame for the European Debt Crisis?

You might also like:

■ European Debt Crisis in graffiti
■ European Debt Crisis needs miracle

Fukt Commbank subvertising, Newtown

While I was editing getUP or getOUT yesterday afternoon, Fukt sent me this juicy piece of subvertising he put up in Newtown, right next to the Martin Luther King mural.

The meaning of the very open-ended "Can't" Commonwealth Bank ad currently polluting Sydney bus shelters was given a kick in the ass here.

Oddly enough, Fukt now calls himself Jack Fennell on Facebook. Maybe he's losing it.

You might also like:

■ Global street art project
■ Fukt IKEA stencil
■ White collar puppets stencil
■ McDonald's fat stencil
■ Fukt: Best We Forget

Global street art: Shanghai to Sydney

An enormous amount of street art is shared on blogs and social networks every day; a virtual gallery where artworks live beyond the confines of weathered reality. Forever. This has fostered a global community in which artists receive wider recognition for their work - finding audiences they otherwise would not.

But what about sharing art between cities, rather than hard drives? Ben Frost found success with this idea through his Pastemodernism projects, inviting hundreds of artists around the globe to submit posters for exhibition. After corresponding with Shanghai-based artist Clive for close to a year - during which time I interviewed him and blogged his paste-ups - I thought of bringing some of his work in Sydney. So I asked him to send some pieces.

I contacted Sydney artist Fukt and asked if he'd like to join the project. He was interested. Clive hand-painted the posters and sent them to me.

A few weeks later I received a package from "Hugh Jass". WTF, I thought. But sure enough, inside it were Clive's posters, tinged with the smell of paint and cigarette ash. I handed them over to Fukt as he painted the IKEA stencil not long ago. You can see that here.

In the photo above, you'll see one of the posters in Camperdown as of Thursday last week. Fukt thought a good spot to paste was along Parramatta Rd - one of the busiest, most congested roads in Australia.

See below for more. And let me know if you want to see more projects like these.

You might also like:
 
■ Wheatpasting with Clive
■ Clive interview
■ Shanghai subway posters
■ Fukt IKEA stencil
■ Best We Forget stencil

Hong Kong, Thailand street art

So I recently returned from a two-week jaunt around Hong Kong and Thailand, doing the holiday thing and trying to unwind from Sydney life. HK is not a place to unwind and neither is Bangkok. They are panicky, f-f-frantic and combustible. And the humidity. Wow, sweating into sweat. Then a day of Thailand's southern islands and all that changed.

But no matter which city I'm in, I'm looking for street art. Below is a series of shots I took of both street art, tags and other bits. The shot above is a view of Hong Kong Island from the Avenue of Stars.

This is by Insa. Found in Central, on HK Island.

The next few were on a wall in Admirality, HK.

Then in Bangkok the toll on my senses was deeper. Everyone was rushing, some were begging. Tourists were targeted and harassed. The air stank of warm pollution.

Neck Face tag in Sukhumvit, Bangkok.

This was in a Bangkok laneway. Yes, I took an extremely heavy piss there.

Then I went to Phuket, and farther south to Phi Phi Island and, pictured above, Maya Bay. This is where The Beach was filmed.

Found this outside a tattoo parlour on Phi Phi. Reminds me of Anthony Kiedis.

This was taken on Phi Phi Don, an island hit hard by the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Phuket. A red flag means "dangerous current".