[First filed: Oct 20, 2010 @ 13:12]
30 October 2010 – 27 February 2011 | Project Gallery
FREE http://nga.gov.au/spaceinvaders/
Street art is not graffiti. Street art may have had its origins in graffiti, but graffiti is a different, more rudimentary, animal altogether.
Street art is complex, interesting, challenging. Even a cursory glance at the images contained in this ground-breaking show reveals just how sophisticated it is. Remember John Howard? – he’s here; and Ned Kelly – ditto. And for Christ’s sake He’s included as well. There’s politics, social commentary, fashion. But let’s not mess about here, in some of the works there is a kind of stuff-you nonchalance with respect to what you think, and about what they’ve done, and where it’s going to finish up. But so it goes.
So come see this first-time-in-a-major-gallery exhibition and be inspired by stuff that is not only, yes, ‘beautiful’, but beautifully executed. Stuff that has real muscle, real presence, real content, done by a bunch of urban guerrillas – space-invaders – whose works have not only transformed the walls of their cities but have now breached the walls of our citadels – the galleries themselves. If you want to see some fabulous things, see this exhibition. Read the catalogue, see the work, change your mind. It’s the only one you’ve got.
[Sync not titled (Yoda) 2004, stencil, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Gordon Darling Australia Pacific Print Fund 2007, © Sync]
Party at the NGA on opening night – get your tickets now
Come and party at the ‘New Look’ National Gallery of Australia on Friday 29 October for the official opening of the coolest exhibition to ever hit the walls:
Check out the exhibition, meet the artists, chat with the curator and funk it up with some soul filled tunes from DJ Rush… Then party on at the official afterparty at NewActon hosted by exhibition Cultural partners NewActon/Nishi and the Molonglo group.
Transport between the official opening party and the afterparty will be available on the night.
Street art has significantly altered Australian visual culture, especially over the past decade. It has announced the arrival of a new generation of contemporary artists. Playful, edgy, clever and satirical, the works in Space invaders have appeared in city streets around Australia.
This exciting exhibition looks at street art of the past 10 years by more than 40 of the most prolific and infamous street artists working in Australia today. The works are from the Gallery’s growing collection of street art—the only one of its kind in an Australian public gallery.
Space invaders Exhibition Official Opening Party:
Friday 29 October
7:30pm – 10:30pm, National Gallery of Australia
Space invaders Afterparty
10pm – late, NewActon
Please note the afterparty is a cash bar only
TICKETS: $50 | http://www.moshtix.com.au/
NGA members $40, guests $50 | ph 6240 6528
[Meek Begging for change 2004,
stencil, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Gordon Darling Australia Pacific Print Fund 2007, © Meek]
TICKET GIVEAWAY: RiotACT has five double passes to give away to readers. To enter post in the comments your favourite piece of street art, preferably with a link to imagery of the work, before 27 October. The five winners will be chosen at random.
Please make sure your email address in our database (>> my riotact >> edit my profile) is correct so we can get in touch if you win..
UPDATE:
And the winners are: Northbourne Ultimatum, Skidbladnir, Bags, Fragge, and Sunshine. Jazz will be in touch with you shortly and if you haven’t heard anything email tim@the-riotact.com
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Deref said :
Hmmm, I think the fact the national Gallery of australia has accepted stencils and street art to an exhibition legitimates the activity completely, try telling them its not art.
Can I get clarification on whether I can just bring my guest or if I need to have their name listed also?
Welcome to the world behind the velvet rope! Your name will have x2 or +1 next to it.
Deref said :
Ignorance is bliss huh?
I’m also a massive fan of ELK.
Fave works of his currently have to be This Monkey is going to Heaven and Wake up to the Stink
Here is a pretty cool one I like from Melbourne. http://www.melbournestreetart.com/stencil/samurai-stencil/ Samurai make everything better.
@homeone, it would be hilarious if they were, and a possibility given that Fosters is available in Chile (as is Coopers, luckily) but I think they’re actually just spent spray paint cans.
astrojax said :
Seen on a car somewhere in the USA “Support your right to keep and arm bears”.
My favourite piece of street art would have to be by Julian Beever (http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/pave.htm), of a flowing river/pond done as a perspective piece entirely in chalk (his speciality), the piece is called “Waterfall” and can be found at http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/images/waterfall.jpg – this entire project (and the others like this) are done using the perspective of the camera as a reference to build up an image that looks surreal when viewed from the right angle.
I also really love his underground cavern, found at http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kt1y0tBgUH1qzzwmio1_500.jpg
Coming in close at equal second is a collage piece by Shepard Fairey (Obey Propoganda), located at http://dckaleidoscope.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/0072.jpg – I bought a large print version of this for my house, it is absolutely gorgeous :] Shepard works with silk screen printing and collaging to get these patterned effects, though he also uses stencil prints in conjunction with street prints.
“http://www.fotolog.com/veggie/9548440
Veggie from Santiago, Chile, a simply amazingly detailed stencil, in spite of the photo not doing it much justice.”
@Lagringa, Chile !!
Are those Fosters cans on the ground?
Deref said :
incorrect
do bumper stickers count? the best one was found in oregon, usa – ‘the christian right is neither’…
Classic Banksy:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/49/148059278_a2981b5fb2_o.jpg
http://www.6emeia.com/img/escova.jpg
Street art may not be graffiti if it has the permission of the owner. otherwise it is. Regardless, stencilling is no kind of art – street or otherwise.
Shrine of the risen Mully – undoubtedly the most artistic
http://the-riotact.com/?p=19972
Shep Fairey gets my vote
http://s1.hubimg.com/u/1739336.gif
i like his political features
Favourite? http://the-riotact.com/?p=4760
More seriously, some of the works in Bordeaux, Toulouse & Paris were my favourites. However I don’t have the images online. Consider perhaps: http://www.myspace.com/rooblar
Or just any “Bill Posters is Innocent!”
Not an original image I had to google image seach it : http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://simianuprising.com/images/flickr-eat_this-local.jpg&imgrefurl=http://simianuprising.com/2006/10/&usg=__AkrkklMdduNT8mlxlQWjNwAYa3Q=&h=240&w=179&sz=27&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=ATsnavJ6UdWE_M:&tbnh=125&tbnw=92&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEat%2Bthis%2BMcDonald%2527s%2BLogo%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1916%26bih%3D895%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=130&ei=t5a-TJH4FZCIvgOt1YF_&oei=t5a-TJH4FZCIvgOt1YF_&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=73&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=83&ty=20
Definitely rudimentary and very controversial, but I liked it as soon as I saw it sprayed on a wall.
and I disagree with the comment above, there are many stencil artists who spend hours perfecting the stencil and then painstakingly cutting out different layers and carefully placing those layers to create a very detailed stencil, like this one for example:
http://www.fotolog.com/veggie/9548440
Veggie from Santiago, Chile, a simply amazingly detailed stencil, in spite of the photo not doing it much justice.
“Graffiti is more rudimentary” LOL
Proper graffiti artists spend hours perfecting their pieces and letter forms, while most of these guys cut up their allegedly ‘thought provoking’ stencils of Chuck Norris or Mr. T at home and spray them up in 5 seconds.. Gimme a break.
Anything by local E.L.K is brilliant.
http://elkstencils.com/gallery/Gallery/