This guy seems comfortable with his style across a range of different scales (some of the aerosol pieces are big!). Check out the clip below to see one of the smaller ones coming together…

Visit his site for more… http://www.aryz.es

Really enjoyed this, always motivating to hear from high profile people who’s feet remain firmly on the ground.

The 11 episodes released so far include parts 1-6 of Skate and Create, parts 1-3 of Graffiti and a couple of brief artist profiles on Swoon and Os Gêmeos…

Visit the site to check out all the episodes so far at…

http://www.wk.com/wke/show/diy/

You can find the image above among a selection of other work from Mr Young in our recent Capsule 01 print project.

LMG Interview with Alex Young

 
Let me begin by making it clear that the Capsule series is in no way intended as a replacement for the online magazine (which is still due to return in the near future), serving instead as a physical extension with it’s own functionality and agenda in line with the nature of the format. To explain a little further…

Since publishing the first digital issue of Multilink Magazine people have often enquired about a print version and expressed an interest in getting their hands on the featured artwork in a more tangible format. There’s a number of reasons why the magazine has always made more sense to me in a digital format both in terms of production and distribution as well as the flexibility needed to accommodate the diversity of what’s been featured in each issue. That’s not to say I don’t fully appreciate the desire to interact with content away from the computer sometimes. There’s so much to soak up online that it’s often hard to really give things the level of attention they deserve and regardless of what quality monitor you use it never really feels the same as leafing through well printed pages on a nice weighty paper stock.

 
Multilink Magazine has always been a purposely chaotic mixture of people and ideas across as wide a variety of disciplines as possible. The idea is to celebrate the diversity of creativity while at the same time trying to highlight the common fundamentals involved. This has meant issues of various sizes are released at irregular intervals, one of many logistical considerations that alongside the fluid nature of the content in each issue really doesn’t sit too well with the kind of unavoidable financial model required to produce and distribute a project in print.

Capsule has been conceived as a high quality and collectible series of art books and prints that span the same diversity of visual culture found in the free online magazine without the editorial. Many of the same principles remain in place such as the variety of content and desire to elevate some incredible talents, generally operating beneath the popular radar. But where the online magazine is a platform for all kinds of creative endeavours, these books and prints provide a more focussed catalog of art and illustration. High production standards have been a key consideration and considering what we’ve achieved with the magazine in it’s ‘virtual’ environment I’ve been keen to ensure that the physical quality of the end product justifies the move to a manufactured format. On a similar note, I’m happy to say that we’ve kept tightly in line with all FSC standards, using environmentally sound inks and paper from well managed forests and other sources. It was essential from the start to try and make the books as affordable as possible and collectible over time forming a much larger resource and archive. With that in mind they all feature an extra durable PUR binding to ensure you won’t find pages starting to drop out over the coming years. You can also open them up nice and wide too without worrying about any disturbing cracking sounds from the spine.

 
So enough introduction from me, follow the link below (or in the left hand menu) to see more details of who’s in the first volume. It’s currently available direct via our new online shop and will soon be joined by some initial limited prints from this volume and a handful of other non-Capsule related items that will also appear here on the blog in the coming weeks.

If you’re having any problems with the order process or have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to drop me an email via the address on the info page or via the contact page on the shop.

A new online issue of Multilink Magazine is incoming too I promise so please do keep checking back.

For more details and to order a copy at £7.99 click here.

I had a music post prepared for today but something exciting is happening tomorrow which I’m hoping this Howell interview may (loosely) work as a primer for. Check back Sunday / Monday for details.

Andy Howell interview at Slap magazine.

This book could be vital. For as long as I can remember, graffiti has been a prime candidate for appropriation by the seemingly infinite incarnations of mainstream media. The explosion in recent years of ’street art’ as an ambiguous tag for anything outdoors involving paint has done little to expose the real nature of the sub-culture that ad agencies still seem unashamed to pillage for a lazy fast track to an ‘urban’ aesthetic.

In a lot of ways, a low profile of the reality here is a helpful proponent in allowing it’s continued practice. The fact that such a raw, committed activity continues to burn so brightly despite the constant, overwhelming misrepresentation it receives is certainly reassuring. That said, it’s always good to see these things documented accurately at some point if only to provide a valid counterpoint for their bastardized commercial persona.

Pre-orders and further info at www.crackandshine.com

I’m short on time to be posting stuff as usual but here’s a couple of Graff related links I recently received via Gabe at miamigraffiti.com. Hopefully they’ll go some way towards filling the gap…

First up is a 6 minute film of a graff jam back in September of last year where locals were joined by writers from out of town to paint a 10,000 square foot section of the LA Rivers concrete waterway…

Next is an even older, 30 minute docu called Getting Up. Graffiti is big business these days. What started life as an illegal activity has spawned a far more socially accepted component with more and more authorized areas to paint and huge corporate entities like McDonalds and Coca Cola happily adopting the visual element to promote and package their products.

I’m going to avoid controversy and stop short of pushing any personal views but I think most people would agree that for all the advantages of letting people get on with their ideas without the dangers of being caught, the absence of that particular pressure means a large part of the original culture is lost. In regards to peoples motivations for being involved at least.

This film is very much focused around more traditional views of what Graffiti is about and as such, it gets a little over zealous at points. I’ll let you decide for yourself when people are starting to waste words . For me though, this is a reassuring little window into how, regardless of it’s long, ongoing proliferation into the mass media, the cultural roots of this are safe for now.

Part 1…

Part 2…

Part 3…

Keep daydreaming about a trip to Japan too, late 2008 / early 2009 I reckon…

Another update over the weekend if I can get enough other stuff done…

Iloobia has passed me an article on filming this that I’ve put aside for the new issue early next year but you might want to think about picking up the DVD/book now as it’s been around for a while. Available from Laurence King Publishing in all good book stores…