Flights of Fantasy To Future Worlds
Venta De Suenos - 2013 - Juarez Mexico - Pixel Pancho Over the last year i started to become aware of "street art" by someone called "Pixel Pancho" as i criss-crossed the internet in my hunt for various threads of information. I'm not really up with current street art trends and generally don't like the indiscriminate tagging of property that i have seen in many urban centers. I have seen some excellent street art in Melbourne Australia and Stavanger Norway though, which showed skill and imagination and sometimes great humor. For the most part though most of what i have seen has been the indiscriminate midnight spray bomb jobs of wannabe graffiti hacks. The images of Pixel's art have mostly left an indelible impression on me and inspired me because of the intelligence, skill and creative energy he brings to each work; i say this because most of them are large scale, very visual and not easy to execute. I wanted to look at Pixel Pancho's work and try to examine it for what it is in the wider global phenomenon of street art and why it means something to me.
Robot - 2011 - Cartagena - Pixel Pancho There is a convergence of styles and content in Pixel's art that resonates personally with me. Like many other street artists he is drawing inspiration from the deep bucket of pop culture, blending ideas and styles that reveal a strong empathy for machines and the life of machines as a future come and gone in the mind of the artist and is now being recreated as nostalgic snapshots of a future past on buildings all over the globe. This in the light of a future currently being created by Hollywood as a continuing series of dark dystopias dominated by a technological hope (machine intelligence) that suddenly "wakes up" and becomes a nasty nightmare for mankind.
Pixel's murals are largely quaint and sometimes cute scenes of vintage style toy-like robot characters often in states of disrepair or disintegration creating pathos in the mind of the viewer. His robot characters are portrayed as non menacing inventions both male and female of all ages, which also includes a menagerie of robot animals. The theme of "trans-humanism" is evident in his work with robot and human bodies often being a syncretistic blend inducing in the viewer a strong sense of empathetic and affection. A sense of sadness or loss sweeps over us as we embrace his characters who seem to be engaged in human-like behavior and activities giving his images a depth and tenderness that touches our humanity.
Somehow the artist has reversed the bleak and scary dystopian future of the man machine interface by portraying the machine as "victim" at the hands of humans rather than the opposite scenario of potential "villain" touted by the film industry. Many of his murals are poignant and whimsical, showing robots as understanding, sentient guardians aware of humans and protective of their connection to nature. The images below illustrate what i'm saying.
Pixel's murals are largely quaint and sometimes cute scenes of vintage style toy-like robot characters often in states of disrepair or disintegration creating pathos in the mind of the viewer. His robot characters are portrayed as non menacing inventions both male and female of all ages, which also includes a menagerie of robot animals. The theme of "trans-humanism" is evident in his work with robot and human bodies often being a syncretistic blend inducing in the viewer a strong sense of empathetic and affection. A sense of sadness or loss sweeps over us as we embrace his characters who seem to be engaged in human-like behavior and activities giving his images a depth and tenderness that touches our humanity.
Somehow the artist has reversed the bleak and scary dystopian future of the man machine interface by portraying the machine as "victim" at the hands of humans rather than the opposite scenario of potential "villain" touted by the film industry. Many of his murals are poignant and whimsical, showing robots as understanding, sentient guardians aware of humans and protective of their connection to nature. The images below illustrate what i'm saying.
Pixel is an Italian artist (born 84) from Turin who received an art education in both Italy and Spain completing his degree at the university in Valencia. He works in many media including tiles, wall painting, sticker/poster art, printmaking and sculpture. There is a strong influence from Salvador Dali, Sorolla, Ron English, and Takashi Murakami as well as steampunk genre overtones evident in his images incorporating an early Sci Fi comic book illustrative style. Of course all his images display entropic "grungy" degradation and the characters seem to be yearning for some lost "Machine Eden" where robots once lived carefree lives. Pixel's characters remind me strongly of the animation movie "Robots" released in 2005 with its cute cast of robot creations. Some recurring themes i see in his art are paradise lost, decay, existential pessimism, melancholia, identity, trans-humanism and oblivion are carefully threaded throughout Pixel's creations.
Whether you find yourself in Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Vienna or Los Angeles Pixel's surrealistic murals loom from building heights to interject suddenly like a hallucinatory vision into the banal everyday routines of locals and passersby. This young artist has already taken his unique style to many countries and has become an instantly recognizable street art brand on a par with "Osgemeos" the twin brothers from Brazil who have also become famous with their funky murals around the world. His work is also exhibited in galleries and sold as print editions, drawings or sculptures. The short video below catches Pixel in action painting a large challenging robot mural.
Whether you find yourself in Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Vienna or Los Angeles Pixel's surrealistic murals loom from building heights to interject suddenly like a hallucinatory vision into the banal everyday routines of locals and passersby. This young artist has already taken his unique style to many countries and has become an instantly recognizable street art brand on a par with "Osgemeos" the twin brothers from Brazil who have also become famous with their funky murals around the world. His work is also exhibited in galleries and sold as print editions, drawings or sculptures. The short video below catches Pixel in action painting a large challenging robot mural.
Robot Mural - 2012 - Kazan, Russia - Pixel Pancho If anyone is going to put the phenomenon of "contemporary street art" into context it is first necessary to understand how it has come about and grown into the sizable international juggernaut that it is. Pixel and his compadres largely could not be doing what they are doing if the environment had not been prepared for them by an advance guard of young and mostly poor and disaffected "graffiti" taggers in cosmopolitan urban centers like New York City during the 60's and 70's. It is also important to note that graffiti has existed from ancient times and many examples can still be seen on ancient buildings, walls, road surfaces and tombs in what was once the Roman, Greek, Persian, Egyptian or Babylonian empires. This is mostly text based or symbol driven graffiti expressing human sentiment and for the most part, apolitical. So graffiti has been around for a long, long time but now it has become urban "art!"
People have always left their marks on built surfaces in the form of signage, poetry, political commentary, romantic declarations or vulgar expressions and so it continues today. Seems people everywhere like to leave their mark for posterity. From the late 60's and with the newly available "aerosol" spray paint can graffiti went from simple text to elaborate pictures. Although still outlawed in most places (you can get arrested if you're not careful) graffiti has become a socially sanctioned activity by an increasing number of art organizations, community groups and urban authorities. What was once a cat and mouse game with authorities of illicit activity for young thrill seeking kids of "paint and run" after dark, has become a series of invite only events to paint a wall by art organizations and museums. Some early outsider graffiti artists went on to become mainstream art "stars" and i'm thinking here in particular of "Jean Michel Basquiat" and "Keith Haring." What has happened to "street art?" It's becoming more sophisticated semantically and visually.
Art innovative potential or new trends are now targets to be sucked up as soon as they are identifiable as ideas with commercial potential. Graffiti has been turned into big business via web strategies and i'm thinking here about "Banksy" the British "stencil" artist in particular. What's wrong with that you might ask? Nothing, if you don't care about co-option of art into reproducible images printed on every kind of object conceivable. Street art has it's own ideology but artists bring their own slant to this once "illicit" activity viewed as vandalism of public property.
Personally, i think street art is a great thing if it rejuvenates urban spaces but is a bad thing when endless buildings are defaced by those devoid of talent or imagination. Bad street art has negative psychological and emotional repercussions on those exposed to it.
Should there be a "vetting" of quality to ensure the benefit of all? I believe so and maybe the invitations to those who have proven their ability is a good way of doing this.
Is there a risk that institutions will eventually groom their own stars and attempt to control the outdoor art scene as well as the indoor exhibition scene? Yes, i think it's happening now.
Accepting this form of control is just the same as surrendering personal freedoms to more bureaucratic regimes where only a chosen, young and hip, art "elite" benefit from private promotion and sponsorships. Yep, it's a slippery slope alright!!
The images below are examples of small scale sculptures by Pixel.
People have always left their marks on built surfaces in the form of signage, poetry, political commentary, romantic declarations or vulgar expressions and so it continues today. Seems people everywhere like to leave their mark for posterity. From the late 60's and with the newly available "aerosol" spray paint can graffiti went from simple text to elaborate pictures. Although still outlawed in most places (you can get arrested if you're not careful) graffiti has become a socially sanctioned activity by an increasing number of art organizations, community groups and urban authorities. What was once a cat and mouse game with authorities of illicit activity for young thrill seeking kids of "paint and run" after dark, has become a series of invite only events to paint a wall by art organizations and museums. Some early outsider graffiti artists went on to become mainstream art "stars" and i'm thinking here in particular of "Jean Michel Basquiat" and "Keith Haring." What has happened to "street art?" It's becoming more sophisticated semantically and visually.
Art innovative potential or new trends are now targets to be sucked up as soon as they are identifiable as ideas with commercial potential. Graffiti has been turned into big business via web strategies and i'm thinking here about "Banksy" the British "stencil" artist in particular. What's wrong with that you might ask? Nothing, if you don't care about co-option of art into reproducible images printed on every kind of object conceivable. Street art has it's own ideology but artists bring their own slant to this once "illicit" activity viewed as vandalism of public property.
Personally, i think street art is a great thing if it rejuvenates urban spaces but is a bad thing when endless buildings are defaced by those devoid of talent or imagination. Bad street art has negative psychological and emotional repercussions on those exposed to it.
Should there be a "vetting" of quality to ensure the benefit of all? I believe so and maybe the invitations to those who have proven their ability is a good way of doing this.
Is there a risk that institutions will eventually groom their own stars and attempt to control the outdoor art scene as well as the indoor exhibition scene? Yes, i think it's happening now.
Accepting this form of control is just the same as surrendering personal freedoms to more bureaucratic regimes where only a chosen, young and hip, art "elite" benefit from private promotion and sponsorships. Yep, it's a slippery slope alright!!
The images below are examples of small scale sculptures by Pixel.
Irregardless of art world politics and control, street artists like Pixel Pancho have an increasingly open door to go and place their large scale fantasies in public places where everyone from every social level can view them. This makes Pixels art valuable because there is ready public access anytime; no admission fees and no exclusivity, which is a win win for everyone.
The aspiring young artist gets a wide audience, reputation and the opportunity to exhibit his creations 24/7 as long as the murals survive.
The public get inspired, challenged and ongoing exposure to artistic visions they couldn't have imagined.
Public art can increase property values and lead to better community harmony, neighborly relations and quality of life. Pixel Pancho is one street artist among many that i admire and there is a growing number joining their ranks every year. If they change cities for the better i'm all for them and the innovative visions they create in public spaces.
View these great street art sites by clicking here and here
Read this essay about the impact of graffiti by J Tsoumas here
The aspiring young artist gets a wide audience, reputation and the opportunity to exhibit his creations 24/7 as long as the murals survive.
The public get inspired, challenged and ongoing exposure to artistic visions they couldn't have imagined.
Public art can increase property values and lead to better community harmony, neighborly relations and quality of life. Pixel Pancho is one street artist among many that i admire and there is a growing number joining their ranks every year. If they change cities for the better i'm all for them and the innovative visions they create in public spaces.
View these great street art sites by clicking here and here
Read this essay about the impact of graffiti by J Tsoumas here
