Rackstraw Downes Mixed Use Field on Texas Coast, 1987, oil on canvas on board, 11 x 58 inches
As someone soon to be facing how to paint a large desert sky spread across a large desert panorama, I’m circling the question of the possibilities available.* The Goldwell Foundation, where …
“Harry Smith is best known for compiling the *Anthology of American Folk Music*, the highly influential 1952 collection that had a significant hand in the blues and folk revival of the ’50s and ’60s. What isn’t as widely known is that Smith—also a painter, linguist, and anthropologist—created a significant body of experimental films: kinetic, vibrant, sometimes abstract work that earned him a spot in the history of American avant-garde cinema. His 1957 animated collage *Film #10: Mirror Animations* was included in his short film anthology *Early Abstractions*, which was selected in 2006 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. While originally silent, Smith later used music by the Fugs (who were Smith’s friends) and the Beatles as the collection’s soundtrack; its video release in 1987 synced music from Teiji Ito (husband of another experimental filmmaker, Maya Deren), and more recent scores have been created by pianist/composer Philip Glass and the band Sonic Youth. Smith himself described *Film #10* as An exposition of Buddhism and the Kaballa in the form of a collage. The final scene shows Agaric mushrooms growing on the moon while the Hero and Heroine row by on a cerebrum.
This soundtrack for *Film #10: Mirror Animations* was created in July 2009 by the Shaking Ray Levis and Love, Execution Style. It was improvised and recorded in real-time, as the musicians viewed the film.”
(Thanks, Maxime)
From Shepard Fairey:
“Dave and Holly Combs are wonderful people as well as the founders of PEEL Zine. They took the risk of following their artistic passion and have paid the price of losing their home. I created this print with and for them to raise money to help with their huge debt. PEEL has helped to support and grow the street art community and I believe they deserve to have the favor returned. Profits from this print go to help the Combs family. Please help out”.
From Dave:
“Nearly eight years ago a sticker changed my life forever. My wife Holly and I had traveled to Ground Zero NYC to assist with the 9/11 recovery effort. Amongst the noise of a city in turmoil an unassuming little sticker kept popping up declaring that “André the Giant has a Posse.” My curiosity was piqued and investigation ensued. I was both delighted and amazed to learn that I had unknowingly participated in a kind of social experiment in Phenomenology. The stickers had challenged the way I viewed public space and led me to question many long-held ideas about what art could be. That raw, unexpected, anonymous encounter stuck with me and powerfully impressed upon me the efficacy of street art using the medium of the sticker.
Shepard’s work inspired Holly and me to start our own propaganda campaign to “ban comic sans” and soon after to document street art in our own DIY fanzine, PEEL. Over the course of eight issues and about five years the zine grew from 200 black-and-white, ½-size copies to 20,000 full-color, full-size glossy copies distributed worldwide. We eventually started an online store, GORILLAmART.com, to sell sticker packs and zines related to street art. After a while we also opened a gallery in Indianapolis dedicated to showing the work of street artists, Alias Gallery which lasted for about a year. We also worked with a publisher to produce the book PEEL: The Art of the Sticker which collects highlights from the first eight issues. Through our work we were directly involved in the production and/or distribution of about one and half million stickers.
In all of this work, we were unable to turn a profit, but rather incurred a large amount of personal financial debt secured by our home as collateral. About the time of the economic downturn we were unable to continue paying on all the loans we had taken out to pursue our dream and as a result lost our home in bankruptcy. Though it’s been difficult we have no regrets and it’s been an incredible ride.
Holly is now teaching street art in public schools through her Street Styles workshops. We are both are grateful to everyone who has been involved with and supported PEEL in some way or another from fans to street artists. We are especially grateful to Shepard for both inspiring us to embark on this incredible journey of doing PEEL Magazine and for now helping us get back on our feet with this print. – Dave Combs
The Sticker Kit Print will go on sale today at a Random Time, Limit 1. Edition of 450, 18×24, S/N, $50
if you are in Cologne be sure to check out L.E.T’s upcoming show on October 30th at the Unique Gallery.
JR talk to VernissageTV correspondent Christophe Ecoffet about “Women are Heroes”, his new open air installation around the Ile Saint-Louis in Paris.
