Black rat GallerY owner Mike Snell is interviewed here, talking about the show, Nows The Time

Watch this video and see me talking total awesomeness about lots of insightful and life affirming stuff as only I can do, after a good few pints of amber nectar.

Matt Small from Polo Jeans Co. - Art Stars on Vimeo.

A new arty type book is coming to a book store near you, Beyond the street is full of insightful commentary by contemporary artists, myself included…..

I cant remeber what i said in it though, I hope to the heavens it’s not my usual cliche riddled babble but it probably is

Damn, sad news indeed with the death of Guru.
43 is a young age to leave the planet but as his last words suggest, he was happy with his life. At the end of our days the ability to leave a positive mark on this earth is what we all hope for, rip to you sir

“I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting.”

I ain’t in this show (what the hey!!!!!) but it’s going to be a very important exhibition. It’s basically an overview of all this street art malarkey, (which obviously exudes me because I am not a street artist).
It’s important to have shows like this in order to re contextualize what street art is, to place it within the historical avenues of human creativity….. (no I don’t know what im chatting about, im just hitting keys on my computer) (and why do I keep putting brackets around certain parts of this post..am i drunk or something)?
anyways this is a must see, so go and see it.

Black Rat Projects will be holding our first exhibition of 2010 in April. We are really excited about this show and hope it lives up to expectations.

The last five years or so has seen an explosion of artists working outdoors, often in an urban environment, and the interest from newspapers, television news, magazines, books and radio has been matched by the public’s appetite for this growing phenomenon. Stencils, woodcuts, sculptures, stickers, freehand paintings, pasted posters, ceramic tiles and photographs have all been put up in cities across the world. However street art is not a new phenomena, for at least four decades artists have chosen the streets as a primary place to exhibit works. Most of these artists were initially shunned by the establishment but the best of them gradually gained acceptance from a slow moving and conservative art world and in doing so changed the rules of that world. Jean Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring were amongst the early practitioners of what has become known as street art and it is the descendents of their ethos and work who are amongst the best known artists working in the streets today. ‘Now’s The Time’, named after a Basquiat painting of the same title, is an exhibition which attempts to bring together the most important and influential street artists of the past 4 decades.

‘Now’s the Time’ features important works by arguably the most influential artists ever to have worked in the streets. We will be exhibiting works by artists including Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Banksy, Barry McGee, Faile and Os Gemeos. The exhibition opens on April 23rd and a preview evening will be on Thursday 22nd.

There are some individuals who are just complete examples of the creative potential within us, Marvin Gaye was one of those humans, a true inspiration

Whilst sneaking around on Mr Conor Harringtons bloggy spot I discovered this funky piss take beat from Reggie watts, I remember seeing him playing at the Jazz Cafe a good few years ago and thinking what a funny and original chap he was. Enjoy

The town of Brighton, (whoops I meant humongous, gargantuan big city) will soon bear witness to an awesome event beyond the likes it has ever dared to even contemplate dreaming of.
Geisha arts is an art event that has been organized by the funkiest and freshiest dude, Mr Zachary Walsh.
Mucho groovy artists such as the bad man Goldie and Dan Baldwin will be exhibiting as well as Best Ever and Henrij Preiss to name but a mere few, with a good chunk of proceeds going to the charity International Childcare Trust
As well as art being shown at the event, there will be art workshops and seminars where you can see very hungover artists talking about their creative abilities and fighting one another to the death
There’s music and all sorts of entertainments to make the three day spectacle a grand old thing…….it gonna be the shnizzzle mizzle nizzzzle.

Start Time:
Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 7:30am
End Time:
Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:30am
Location:
75 East Street, Brighton, East Sussex. BN1 1NF

Heres a wonderful little youtube film about a group of at risk young people from London visiting the Shitima school in Zambia, where I went.
The film was made a few years back in conjunction with Zamcog and Regenerate. It’s lovely to see all the good work that was done whilst these guys where there and to see the difference the experience had on them.
I think more of our young people should have the opportunity to see real struggle and witness what the human spirit really is. For me one of the greatest tragedies in life is the inability to see what you have.
The youth here in Blighty are forced to focus on everything they haven’t got, to feel inadequate because they lack, to measure progression in a materialistic sense. This means that their value systems can become confused, they are set up to feel like failures unless they are able to access the numb nut media promoted lifestyle, the money the clubs, the cars, bla, bla, bla.
How can anyone feel any sense of worth growing up in a aspirational society, being constantly shown what you haven’t got, it’s bloody ridiculous.
The Kids in Zambia are just happy to be, they do not expect, they appreciate little things, time spent with loved ones, kind words, love given. As they grow up they obviously begin to want more out of life, but there’s still a appreciation of life, there’s still hope and determination to succeed in life, it hasn’t been squeezed out of them, their main concerns is not materialistic requirements, it’s about getting the next meal, looking out for family, real stuff
One of the people who ran Shitima school, Brother Marcus made the comment, “In the west, poverty kills the soul, in Africa, poverty kills the body”.
If we all realized what we had and stopped being so wrapped up on what we ain’t got, we would be a damn sight happier bunch.