News - LA-Artist.com

Long Beach to Hollywood: Los Angeles Artist “Arpen” THC

By Oliver Shipley | Published: May 10, 2011

The ArtCard submission below was received middle of last week from an L.A. based artist “Arpen” THC who works from Long Beach to Hollywood (90029-90805).

This isn’t the first submission by this illusive artist. Back in May of 2011 the LA-Artist.com P.O. Box was getting large amounts of blank ArtCard spam. I was finding USPS Delivery Notices asking me to pay $$$$$ for stacks of unstamped blank ArtCards. It was driving me crazy!

During one of these spamming occurrences I asked the Post Office Clerk to show me the unstamped blank cards and behold, after running my fingers through the stack, there was an artwork by “Arpen” THC sitting smack in the middle of the 30 to 40 blank canvases. I payed $8.36 for the Delivery Notice and walked away with a bundle that sandwiched the “Apren” card.

I published the artwork that same day, March 12th 2011.

The digitized artwork started zipping around online and to my amazement a friend and colleague approached me with information about the artist. It turns out that “Apren” THC is a graffiti artists and mum who has been boming the streets L.A. for years. A true pioneer in the L.A. graffit art scene.

After publishing “Arpen” last ArtCard submission I reached out on the comment thread to find out a little more about the artists in person. Finger crossed I’ll be posting an in depth interview with “Arpen” THC in the following months. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed or check us on Twitter and Facebook to read more.

Which one of these images are your favorite? Leave a comment below and also feel free to leave a link to your artwork as well!

Posted in News | Tagged “Apren” THC, art by neighborhood, art for everyone, art prints, Los Angeles arts journal, los angeles graffiti, mapping artwork and artists, new media public art, public art in L.A. | Leave a comment

Saving Digital Art from Rapid Technological Change: Vanessa Thorpe

By Oliver Shipley | Published: May 9, 2011

A race is on against the fast pace of technological change as scientists search for ways to preserve today’s most innovative artworks.

A team of experts is warning that some of Britain’s contemporary artistic landmarks will be no more than memories within a decade unless conservationists can effectively archive digital works and stop them degrading.

“The threat is very real that, unless we do something, we will have a ‘lost generation’ in terms of our cultural heritage,” said Dr David Anderson, who, together with his colleague Dr Janet Delve at the School of Creative Technologies at the University of Portsmouth, is leading efforts to save the more complex artworks of the digital age from oblivion.

“Past generations captured who they were and what they did via museums and books,” Anderson said, “but the pace of technological development in the digital age has now outstripped our capacity for preservation.”

At the same time as the visual artist Hilary Lloyd is nominated for this year’s Turner Prize for her inventive work in film and video, “digital preservationists” are campaigning for more shared research and have organised the first of a series of symposiums to be held at King’s College London and Cambridge next month.

The fast pace by which technology changes means that many of the earliest works of art created on computer are in danger of being lost, or are already impossible to read, while new interactive digital artworks, such as 3D visualisations and video games, are so complex that scientists are not yet capable of faithfully preserving them.

“Digital preservation is desperately important,” said Anderson. “In technology little things change all the time. Over the course of a 20- or 30-year working life, the software we use is updated or made obsolete all the time, but most of us aren’t really bothered by the changes. But in terms of science and art, digital preservation is increasingly important.”

Preserving today’s works of art poses more of a challenge to science than continued efforts to restore and conserve the great oil paintings and sculptures of the past, Anderson and Delve argue.

Artwork by Vampyrohtechnix from Echo Park Los Angeles, CA

By Oliver Shipley | Published: May 5, 2011

‘Vampyrohtechnix’ from Echo Park, 90026 has submitted this magnificent, trippy and down right wicked cool ArtCard. I can’t get this piece out of my head, there’s something anarchic, uncensored and unforeseeable about this artwork. I guess it mirrors arts chaotic and unpredictable nature.

As Oscar Wilde once said “Art is individualism, and individualism is a disturbing and disintegrating force. There lies its immense value. For what it seeks is to disturb monotony of type, slavery of custom, tyranny of habit, and the reduction of man to the level of a machine.”

This artwork by L.A. artists Vampyrohtechnix has knocked me for six…… the more I look at it the more involved I get.

Leave a comment below and also feel free to leave a link to your ArtCard and/or artwork as well!

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Vintage Voltage: Metamono’s shock of the old

By Bluefat.com | Published: May 1, 2011

The times cry out in desperation for something new! Obviously. Yet, could be that the new new is old. Old and cheap, shopworn and simple, useful but uncared-for, lovingly restored…respected.

Metamono is three guys in London, longtime mates inspired to form a band of sorts –– an affordable band, a non-wasteful band, a real, true hands-on electronic band –– while sitting round down the pub. Jono Podmore is a composer/producer/programmer/engineer who as Kumo is also a musical partner with Irmin Schmidt of Can, and has been the chief mixmaster for all the recent Can catalog remasterings for CD and vinyl on Spoon Records. Paul Conboy (a.k.a. APE, CorkerConboy, Soul Circuit) is an electronic musician with numerous film and TV credits, and has written for and performed with Bomb The Bass. Mark Hill is primarily a visual artist who “has contemplated his Korg MS-20 for 25 years and has finally turned the on switch.”

The trio have recently released a six-song cassette called Band Theory, which you can inquire about at http://www.metamono.co.uk. Yes, that’s right, it’s a cassette-only release, as was their limited-edition initial release, the four-song C15H14O6 .

The good-humored power and charming oddness of Metamono derives in the main from the power of restriction, to use limited means and far more direct actions to make a sound that lives and breathes, and does itnow. Their sound –– generated with a borrowed, broken, substandard pile of vintage analog synths, ring modulators, pedal-effects units, dial radios, a siren and theremin –– is very, very musical, and there are many reasons for that, as you shall see when you sit around Skype with us and discuss the matter with Metamono:

Read the full interview at: Bluefat.com

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April 2011: Highlighting L.A. Art and Artists

By Oliver Shipley | Published: May 1, 2011

The month of April saw a massive response from L.A. based artist Larry Swanson who in now participating on a weekly basis. I spoke with Larry a few days ago and he said that his creative juices were in full flow.

I’m planning an interview with Mr Swanson in the next couple of month so join us on Twitter and Facebook to stay in the loop.

Larry Swanson: South Central, Los Angeles, CA

Also, a big shout out to Naew form China Town, your artwork has real energy and I’m feeling that Los Angeles buzz from within. Incredibly detailed work…..

Naew: China Town, Los Angeles, CA

For some of L.A.’s younger up-and-coming artists we’ve had an incredible response from Emely Mata coming from Historic South Central Los Angeles. It’s a treasure!

Emely Mata: Historic South Central, Los Angeles, CA