PIXNIT Post III

[Since today we have learned about Art Nouveau, I thought I write my blog about PIXNIT, whos ornamental, flowery style, linked to the decorative arts, reminds me very much of the Art Nouveau style]

"As we get farther from her work, we're going to recognize that she's a different voice in contemporary art."(Chris Constas)

Pixnit was a street artist, who introduced something contemporary by combining graffiti with something traditional. Her style is beautiful, elegant. Her technique is spray paint and ornamental stencils, also called "spores." The artist has been influenced by Mexican mural art according to Asher. Her art is also influenced by the decorative arts, 17th-19th century architectural ornaments and wallpaper.(Folie que la nouveaute,2008).

The name PIXNIT comes from latin, which means "she painted it."
She is believed to be a rare artist, with a wonderful personality, who brought beautiful contemporary art with a hint of tradition and who believed that everyone deserves to enjoy art and art should be visible, easily accessible.
Unfortunately, she will not continue her journey since she is believed to be dead after dissapearing on April 2nd during her visit to Paris, but she will not be forgotten since her work has been exhibited in many places, such as Boston, Los Angeles and also in Switzerland.

"This quarreling over graffiti is going to fade, and she will be recognized as a great American artist", Constas believes. She is not limited to street art, she also works on canvas and paper, but she is recognized as a graffiti artist since 1987. (Gallery revisited)

http://pixnitproductions.com/Info.html
http://www.decordova.org/decordova/exhibit/2008/PIXNIT.htm
http://www.weeklydig.com/arts-entertainment/visual-arts/200804/pixnit

Franco-Belgian Comics Post II

European comic art is considered to have richness in style, humor and realism. Comic art was famous and respected all around Europe, especially in France and Belgium.
I would like to concentrate on the Franco-Belgian comics( so called because they were created in France and Belgium),but especially on the ones with the middle eastern influence. The Franco-Belgian art was heavily influenced by the middle eastern civilization. probably one of the earliest and most famous graphic novels is "The Adventure of Tintin," by the belgian comic artists Herge and George Remi. Herge created his own studio and started working with other comic artists such as Jaques Martin, who got the chance to become known and famous by creating "Alix" hero, in a Persian word of a different time.
Gilles Chaillet follows them who is known to be the master of middle eastern comics. the Persian culture has a major impact on his art and he creates "Vasco," a medieval knight of the Middle Ages. His adventures are taking place at the time when Persia and the Byzantine Empire were rivals.
Marjane Satrapy also a member of the artists interested in the middle eastern culture, successfully completes the circle of artist with her series "Persepolis." The hero in her graphic novel is not a muscular, strong figure but a school girl, who experiences the Pre and Post Revolution in Iran. The style of these comics are known as a clean line style. The reason I talk about the European comic art is because I wanted to see what differences in style and plots can be found on different parts of the world and how American artist were influenced by them.

Body Graffiti Post I

Body art, and more precisely tattoo, has been present since centuries and served not only as decorative art but also as identification, branding and in some cultures had spiritual meaning,and also represented ranks of status.
Tattoo art is believed to be practiced as early as the Neolithic times in Eurasia and than spread out to the whole world. Different cultures had different believes and traditions, so the body art was used differently. A very good example of tattoos with cultural and sacred association are the Ta Moko tattoos, that are closely related to the Maori people from New Zealand. The designs of these tattoos represented their lives as these few lines are also telling us;
"I wear my pride upon my skin
my pride has always been within
I wear my strength upon my face
comes from another time and place
Bet you didn't know that every line has a message for me?
Did you know that?" (Awekotuku & Nikora, 149)
While the use of tattoos usually has a positive impact;for example, in some cultures is practiced to heal just like acupuncture,it's not always the case. These body sign can represent a group of people with same believes, just like the Nazi, or other criminal groups. These people use it as a sign to identify and to become part of the specific organization. Body art embraces a huge diversity of people, while it is celebrated as an art form by holding exhibition of painted bodies, prisoners also ink their skin to symbolize their criminal behavior.
Tattoo artists confess that half of the population has one or more tattoos, and some of them have it to represent beauty while others to create fear. Either way is a symbol, an art for expressing yourself.
In today's world, this form of art expanded in the medical field as well. In cosmetics use it as permanent makeup or changing skin tones in some areas.
I chose this topic because I believe there is a connection of some sort between the body art and graffiti. The artist introduced a new form of canvas, that of the human skin.

Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia , and Linda Waimarie Nikora. Mau Moko; The World of Maori Tattoo. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 2007. 148