Hierroglyphic-Frank Plant

Una Inclinación Natural / A Natural Inclination

2012-01-05T11:37:00.000+01:00

Next Thursday the 12th of January - the 10 of March I will be involved in a group exhibit at Tres Punts Gallery, c/Aribau 75. The opening starts at 7:30pm.

Online

2011-11-10T10:57:00.000+01:00

A rainy day in Berlin waiting to see the show of renaissance portraiture at the Bode Museum. We didn't get in...

Online, 262cm x 127cm x 2.5cm, Painted Steel, 2011

Some People with Signs

2011-11-09T13:12:00.000+01:00

Some people with signs was a commission that I recently finished and installed. The client had seen another similar yet larger piece that I had done called "Stay on Message" but didn't have sufficient space in her house and asked if I could do one similar yet only 160cm in diameter. What you see below is the result.

The very first figure....

Another of the first figures before it's incorporation to the larger piece

Beginning to realize the final composition

Installing the piece, for transport I welded a support structure to protect the piece from damage.

The piece in it's new home...

Some details of the piece.

Art Beat Istanbul

2011-09-15T10:15:00.001+02:00

Anyone in Istanbul is obliged to get over to the Lufti Kirdar Convention Center and go to the stand of SODA until the 18th of September. They're exhibiting a few of my pieces along with other artists they represent. Click on the image above to go to the fair's website. Or here to visit SODA

Berliner-Liste 2011

2011-09-01T11:00:00.007+02:00

From the 8-11 of September 2011, I'll have a few works in the stand of 3 Punts Galeria (booth A19) at the art fair Berliner-Liste. If you happen to be in the neighborhood stop by and have a look.

What the F$%& Are You Doing Here???!!!

2011-06-11T15:49:00.001+02:00

I gots me a spankin' new web page designed by Alex Duran. A comprehensive listing of works dating back to prehistory and in three languages to boot can be found by clicking on the above image or at www.frankplant.net! So what are you waiting for? Click right up and make sure to share it with your friends, Enjoy!

The Law of the Land, a particular view of SCOTUS

2011-06-02T12:55:00.006+02:00

Wikimedia / Jim Kuhm

In Light of a number of recent rulings by the Supreme Court I felt compelled to reflect upon it in a piece of work. Not merely to focus on the rulings but also the institution itself and how it has seemingly become perhaps an idealogical bully pulpit now more than ever. Decisions, some 5-4 mind you, such as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission concerning campaign finance and determining that limits on corporate contributions to political campaigns were unconstitutional and AT&T Mobility vs. Concepcion concerning consumers rights to class action lawsuits against corporations show a somewhat scary tendency for the Roberts court to favor the rights of corporations over those of individuals.

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)

Click here for the full quote

Seemingly this situation is not new except now one could say that the Supreme Court is complicit...

The Law of the Land, Steel, bone, 107cm x 55cm x 8cm, 2011

For those that insist on blanketing themselves in the constitution like any good fundamentalist I have this gem from one of the founding fathers himself, the venerable Benjamin Franklin.

"Mr. President: I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them; for having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others..."
"...In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other...."

Benjamin Franklin, Reflections on the constitution written to the president in 1787. The situation we currently find ourselves in begs for reflection on the situation we currently find ourselves in. The full letter here

A bit of the enlightenment that Lincoln and Franklin brought to their discourse would also help.

For My peoples in Brazil: Voxel Edição Especial Zupi

2011-03-06T19:48:00.000+01:00

The good folks at the publishers Zupi/Voxel in São Paulo have seen fit to include me in a special edition that they've published. Others involved in the magazine are Muti Randolph, Lagranja, Jestico +Whiles, STUDIO O+A, Rick Joy, and Haroshi. You can visit their web here Voxel. Focus is on Architecture, design, scenography, interior, product and furniture design...

Our Lady of the Burnt Valley / Nuestra Señora de la Valle Quemada

2011-02-28T00:24:00.002+01:00


Our Lady of the Burnt Valley, 54cm x 65cm x 22cm, Steel, Flock, Plastic Flowers, 2011

Some stuff that's been overlooked...

2011-01-27T17:56:00.000+01:00

Some pieces that got overlooked that were done last year and Exhibited towards the end of 2010

"Fe"(faith), MDF, Cloth, Steel,100cm x 100cm x 35cm, 2010

"Greenpiece", MDF, Flock, Steel, 2010

"Let me tell you a Story", Steel, Lace, 2010

"Musing", MDF, Steel, 120cm x 110cm x 8cm, 2010

"Landscape #1", MDF, Flock, 325cm x 120cm x 12cm, 2010

Untitled, Steel, Flock, Plastic, 70cm x 40cm x 40cm, 2010

"The Idea", MDF, Flock, Steel Branch, 90cm x 90cm x 8cm, 2010

Scope Miami 2010

2010-12-02T14:43:00.002+01:00

A bit late on getting the word out here but never the less I have a couple pieces at Scope Miami with Galeria Contrast as my escort. If your in the neighborhood make sure you stop by...

We Know What You're Thinking @ SODA Istanbul

2010-11-05T17:27:00.004+01:00

A new solo show in Istanbul at the gallery Soda which inaugurates on the 23rd of November (Kasim) and runs til the 8th of January (Ocak).

Dirty Bunny gettin' down in Istanbul...

Somewhere over who's Rainbow?

2010-09-28T20:38:00.002+02:00

Somewhere over who's Rainbow?, MDF, Flock Steel, 2010

Things might not be as they seem... Further investigation using the iconic AK-47. The title makes reference to the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy sweetly sings about some dreamy non-existent Utopia. Truly a classic of Hollywood creating contemporary mythology. The Rainbow, a symbol of good, the calm after the storm and any other number of similes and metaphors in literature, music and art in this particular case serves as a warning for the wary to have a good second look before venturing forward.

Somewhere over who's Rainbow?, MDF, Flock Steel, 2010 (detail)

{Libro} at Mad is Mad in Madrid

2010-09-25T09:43:00.001+02:00

A new collective show that I will be involved in in Madrid that required the artist to involve books in their work in some way shape or form. The show will be in celebration of the 5 year anniversary of the Gallery Mad is Mad and is curated by Roberto Vidal y Luján Marcos. The book as a vehicle for artists is a rich field and personally I'm a huge fan of Brian Dettmer who I had the pleasure of meeting recently here in Barcelona.

Con esta exposición, que celebra el 5º Aniversario de la Galería Mad is Mad, se invita a 27 artistas cuyo trabajo ha sido expuesto en ella, a que exploren las posibilidades del libro como medio artístico. Utilizan en ella un vehículo tradicional de textos literarios o teóricos como base de una experimentación plástica, con el propósito de explorar las fronteras tanto físicas como conceptuales de libro.
_
El artista es en este caso pintor, dibujante, escritor, tipógrafo, encuadernador, editor, programador, etc. Concibe y es autor de sus propios libros. Profundizar en la idea de libro de artista como nexo integrador de todas las artes, ya sea como soporte o como base conceptual, es uno de los retos que se les plantea.
_
*Las llaves { }
Como signo doble (de apertura y cierre), suelen encerrar un texto. Por otra parte, cada uno de ellos se puede usar de forma aislada para introducir varias opciones, clasificaciones, desarrollos de lo expresado anteriormente, etc.
_
Comisariada por nambernain: Roberto Vidal y Luján Marcos
_
Inauguración: 30 de Septiembre 2010, a las 20:00 horas.
_
{libro}
Del 30 de septiembre al 23 de octubre
Galería Mad is Mad
Pelayo, 48
28004 Madrid

Illustration*Play 2 —An Expedition to the Extraordinary

2010-09-13T01:15:00.001+02:00

A fantatsic new book from the people at Victionary arrived in the mail the other day that highlights a great variety of creative stuff from a really diverse group. Exciting and rewarding to be included. official blurb and list of the artists included below

Illustration • Play 2

—An Expedition to the Extraordinary

Edited by Victionary

What does it take to produce photorealistic qualities with a bunch of crayon sticks? What can you do with the unwanted doors or the .22 caliber rifle gift from your dad if you don’t like hunting? Well, have fun with them!

The process of making is an expedition to possibilities. It is an unprecedented excursion beyond set values and limitations, a sweet-and-sour journey that requires great patience, innovation and invincibility to forge ahead. With an interview section graced by the artists’ handwritings, doodles and distinctive characters, Illustration•Play 2, the second volume of our best-selling illustration series, Illustration•Play, is a body of sweat and surprises yielded from the most ordinary things you could find in life. From flat drawings and collage, to papercuttings, crafts, sculptures, bas-reliefs and installations, get prepared to experience the course of discovery and a different perspective of seeing through the extraordinary handworks made by the very playful hands of 24 makers from around the world! Don't sleep, wake up! You might be the next to stun the world!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTRIBUTORS:

Alli Coate

Ana Serrano

Ana Venura

Anastassia Elias aka Chadou Yama

Christian Faur

Dan-ah Kim

Emma van Leest

Frank Plant

Gregory Euclide

Guerra de la Paz

Jeff Nishinaka

Jennifer Khoshbin

Kenichi Yokono

Mayuko Fujino

Meredith Dittmar

Michael Velliquette

Nina Braun

Roman Klonek

Ron van der Ende

Sarah Trahan

Severija Incirauskaite-Kriauneviciene

Studio Evelin Kasikov

Walton Creel

Yulia Brodskaya

New Show at Galeria Contrast

2010-09-10T14:56:00.002+02:00

Sept. 9 was the opening of my new show in Galeria Contrast, Consell de Cent 281. Titled "How does your Garden Grow?" the show will be up until the 16th of October, hope everyone has a chance to go by and see the new work. Here you have a couple examples of the space with the work in it. The photos are by Margaret Stepien who is a wonderful photographer and friend.

Dirty Bunny

2010-09-10T10:49:00.000+02:00

Dirty Bunny

Unleash your inner dirty bunny....

A bit of exposure in the Phillipines

2010-09-10T10:34:00.001+02:00

Recently in the Inaugural edition of Mango Magazine (the same publishers of the magazine

How Does Your Garden Grow??? New Exposition 9th of September

2010-07-26T23:27:00.004+02:00

The 9th of September through the 16th of October I will be having a solo show at Galeria Contrast, 281 Consell de Cent, Barcelona. Anyone and everyone who is in the area is obliged to come and look at some art, enjoy the end of the summer and lift a glass.

Things That Cross(&*^%$!!!) Your Mind...

2010-06-01T18:09:00.013+02:00

A new series of 15 small statues that I'm currently working on for the Gallery Mad is Mad in Madrid. They follow the other series that I did last year except that the signage is a bit more provocative and complex. They serve as my bully pulpit and release valve/sketchbook for ideas and thoughts. Cross playing with the saying "cross your mind" as well as making you or becoming cross, as in angry. A few are highlighted below...

"If the church really had their shit together...", mixed media, 63.5cm x 24cm x 8.5cm

"I had a dream last Night", Mixed Media, 67 x 27 x 12cm, 2010

"Poke your eyes out for conservative Values...", Mixed Media, 60 x 25 x 8.5cm, 2010

"Telefuckyou", Mixed Media, 57.5 x 28 x 8.5cm, 2010

"Say no to old Stone Buildings...", Mixed Media, 59.5 x 24 x 8.5cm, 2010

"I went to the bank and all I got was this Lousy Broken dream...", Mixed Media, 70 x 25 x 16cm, 2010

"You Wonka", Mixed Media, 60.5 x 23.5 x 8.5cm, 2010

"You do that Voodoo...", Mixed Media, 71 x 29 x 18cm, 2010

"Vote This Guy", Mixed Media, 66 x 24 x 8.5cm, 2010

Paisanna

2010-05-12T19:19:00.013+02:00

Photo Margaret Stepien

The Forest for the Trees

2010-03-23T18:57:00.007+01:00

Small studies of people which I have covered in Flock to give the impression that we are all in some way untended gardens. Non-rolling stones...

My Furry Caterpillar (Oh Deere...)

2010-03-18T15:23:00.011+01:00

As is usual this idea has been bouncing around in my head for at least a couple years. Most likely from when after 7 years of threatening the city of Barcelona finally decided to begin the project of rearranging my neighborhood. Since I arrived in Barcelona in 1999 I've been living in the shadow of the wrecking ball but somehow have managed to remain in this small corner of the city unscathed. Then in 2006 things started to move, at least that's when the photo below is dated from which was the view from my front window (I have a workspace that I am extremely fortunate to have so the idea of having to leave it struck terror into the deep recesses of my being). Regardless I had an opportunity to reflect on some heavy equipment for some time. It's impressive to see it up close tearing down walls etc. and reminded me of the fascination I had with these machines as a child. What crossed my mind at that point though was the shift in my understanding of said machines from that of a child's understanding which is one of fascination, creation and possibility as well as responsibility, to that of an adult which recognizes them (at least in an urban environment) as the harbingers of change for better or worse. To be honest I still view cranes, front end loaders, bulldozers etc... with a certain amount of awe for the simple fact that they really are miracles of engineering.
The view from my front window the 11th of August 2006

On the other hand in the urban environment they are also the agents of metamorphosis, representatives of decisions that are normally made in other places by people who aren't directly affected by those decisions. Barcelona has undergone unprecedented growth in the construction sector over the last twenty years, to the point that "rabid" might be an appropriate term to describe the nature of what has been going on. With the bursting of the real estate bubble this is no longer the case. Within the metropolitan habitat obviously a certain amount of change is constant and required for a variety of reasons. It's not the idea to go too deeply into the economics and the moral repercussions of the construction boom, although it is fascinating and worthy for reflection, for the simple fact that my knowledge of it is superficial not being an economist. Needless to say there is constant change and constant shifting which has a profound impact on the individual and sometimes the collective as well. I don't say this as a positive or negative judgment just a simple fact.

I chose to work with a front end loader (Caterpillar 950-H) for a number of reasons, but primarily because it is menacing, the architecture/design of it is all strength, aggression and masculinity. Especially the teeth on the front of the shovel and the treads on the tires. In movement it is full of a sort of awkward muscular grace (yes I know, oxymoron). I chose the surface texture for the obvious visual irony that it proposes which fuses the idealism that I had as a child and the realities exposed to me as an adult in relation to construction and the machinery used to achieve it. And hence the title which reflects on the often life changing displacements of land, architecture, families and people that these machines are fundamental in creating. For better or worse...

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Steel, Flock, Sponge, cheap plastic flowers, 180cm x 120cm, 2010

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Detail), Steel, Flock, Sponge, cheap plastic flowers, 180cm x 120cm, 2010

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Detail), Steel, Flock, Sponge, cheap plastic flowers, 180cm x 120cm, 2010

Scope NYC Art Fair March 3-7 2010

2010-02-18T14:12:00.002+01:00

To all my friends and peoples in NYC here's a chance to see a couple of my pieces in person on your side of the Atlantic. Galeria Contrast who I work with here in Barcelona will be presenting at Scope's New York edition this year so drag yourselves up to midtown, seems it's around Lincoln Center and have a look.

Green Meanies

2010-02-08T20:43:00.006+01:00

The horizon is green....

2010-01-20T12:13:00.014+01:00

Sunday in the Park, Steel, Flock, 162.5cm x 113cm, 2009
Photo Margaret Stepien

Inspired by a brief but thoroughly enjoyable and unexpectedly warm February morning in El Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid. It is truly a wonderful park and provided me with the opportunity to continue to investigate the use of flock in my work.

Detail

Something new I have in development which is a continued investigation of last year's "Something for Everyone" ....

This shot is right after I put a base coat on the piece. Ultimately everything will be covered in flock. I used Montana colors Pistachio green, Avocado green and Lutecia green, graciously provided by my neighbor, artist Aleix Gordo Hostau. The next steps will involve the application of the flock in a similar fashion that you might find on a model train set.

Just Another Golden Calf

2009-11-20T20:01:00.014+01:00

Just another Golden Calf

A sketch for a new piece that I've been working on. It'll be a bit provocative. Still trying to figure out where I want to take it. Stay Posted....

Veni, Vidi, Vici: A day on the Beach with the Románs

2009-11-13T18:08:00.003+01:00

A lovely afternoon this past summer I spent on the beach in Cala s'Alguer, north of Palamos with some friends including Santi Román and his family. We had previously discussed doing a portrait of his family and I had been wanting to do a piece on the beach for awhile. I wanted to catch a relaxed moment that is basically pretty neutral and this is what came out.

Sunday on the Beach, Painted Steel, 119cm x 86cm, 2009

Text Message

2009-10-31T19:25:00.007+01:00

Text Message, Steel, Various Dimensions, 2009

Text Message (detail), Steel, Various Dimensions, 2009

Remember we used to write things?? :). Remember grammar? Remember penmanship? Naaaah forget penmanship it was never my thing. Regardless it seems today that most of the writing that get's done is electronic and I feel emoticonned. A couple years ago I did a text based piece for some friends and have been wanting to return to investigate it more since then. I have and this is the result... Text Message #1, a small note that you might leave or find on the kitchen counter, a pillow, etc... The possibilities are limitless.

detail

on the floor in the studio

And it's flexible!!! Here it is in the three line version in Diagonal!!!

A new text Piece

Interviews

2009-10-09T12:22:00.006+02:00

Over the last months I've done a handful of interviews which I find are a great opportunity for reflection and gathering ones thoughts. Here you have a video done for local television channels in Spain as well as links to others that I have done for various online publications. The series is called Noves Visions and in their own words:

"The program Noves Visions talks with people who have left their country of origin to come and live in Catalonia. This in order to learn about their new lives, their activities, their projects and their dreams."

Other recent interviews can be found at the following links:

The Rumpus Interview with Frank Plant by Victoria Gannon

Frank Plant - Something for Everyone

Frank Plant - Dealing with steel

text: Judith Busch

Interview: Frank Plant

Mad is Mad: Auto(Re)Trato

2009-09-15T19:44:00.003+02:00

Just Back from Madrid and I took a couple snapshots of some of the work presented there above and below.

I'll be involved in a show in Madrid if anyone happens to find themselves in Madrid over the weekend. If not the work should be up for a couple months. Other artists involved include
RAQUEL SAKRISTÁN, BUBI CANAL, DANIEL ENTONADO, FRANK PLANT, HECTOR ORUÑO Y LUJÁN MARCOS. The inauguration starts at 8pm and will go until 1am to coincide with Noche en Blanco of Madrid. The Gallery is situated in Pelayo 48.....

Dealing Arms: My piece of the pie

2009-09-09T15:01:00.013+02:00

Finally it dawned on me that this art gig is for the dogs, I could claim a variety of reasons but I don't want to sound bitter. Hence in my search for a new profession I wanted to find something that would be immediately lucrative and I have, arms dealing. I got started yesterday. Click the above image or here to go to Contain Gallery.

I mean why should all the governments get to keep all the revenue from such a lucrative all be it craven trade. No seriously that funny thought crossed my mind yesterday as i was making a shipping crate for my 3.5 meter fuzzy red Kalashnikov ( that's right! 3.5m, fuzzy and red!) which is on it's way to Cologne, Germany to be in the inaugural exhibition of Contain Gallery. I thought Charlton Heston would be proud of my crossing over to the Dark Side. I think I'm ready for lunch with Dick Cheney and Donnie Rumsfeld

Does this make me a bad person?

Should I be concerned about eternal Damnation?

Below you have a link to the video of the inauguration of Contain Gallery where the AK is currently housed.

In their own words:
"There’s a new arrival in Cologne’s design family
CONTAIN Gallery selected design editions is Cologne’s first gallery focused on young international design.

From now on there is a place in the heart of Cologne’s creative Belgian Quarter for exhibitions from the progressive world of young design.

The opening exhibition “Utopie jetzt! / utopia now!“ deals with the utopian idea of an allegedly refined society – contradicted by a cross-section of modern urban lifestyle.

A forum for young and modern design – this is CONTAIN Gallery’s mission statement. Alternating topical exhibitions present international up-and-coming artists and their exclusive prototypes, progressive design concepts and limited editions. Carefully selected pieces will also be available in the Gallery Shop."

Interview with Ioanna Paraskeva, director of Contain Gallery
in the Koelner Stadt Anzieger on the recent opening of her Gallery.

Personally Political

2009-06-12T12:25:00.004+02:00

This is the invite for Personally Political, Contemporary Sensation, a show that I will be involved in Berlin at the Kunsthaus Tacheles, curated by Barbara Fragogna, Here is short blurb on the show... "Is the artist’s work Political even if it is Personal?

What is Personal and what is Political?
Aren’t they as well an expression, explanation, and reflection of the contemporary?
Again, what is contemporary? Hasn’t art always been contemporary?
Aren’t we all contemporary, being alive now, in a specific society, culture, epoque and environment?"

The opening is the 26th of June so anyone in the neighborhood of Berlin is obliged to show up.
Tacheles, the legendary Berlin squat, alternative culture factory or however you'd like to descreibe it, from the backside.

Ain image from the evening of the opening

Go Figure....

2009-06-10T12:32:00.009+02:00

Series of Fifteen Quasi Identical Figures, Steel, cardboard, paint, 48cm x 24cm each unit, 2009

Figure, steel, etc.., 48cm without signage, 2009

This is a new series of 15 figures that I am working on. It falls in line with my earlier piece "Stay on Message". Working in a series allows me to discover the process involved in producing multiples (mindnumbing) which is something that I have never done. Even though the original drawing of the figure is the same because they are made by hand they still have each one their own individual differences. In the end they will also be adorned by other materials, some painted, some not, as well as signage that will make them different from one another. I am currently taking suggestions on what to put on the signage from anyone who cares to offer ideas. It can be text, an image or even an obeject, and can be any laguage or alphabet with a wink to musical notes and mathematical equations. Thesigns normally carry proclamations/declarations of love, fear, social injustice, hate etc... Sometimes just the will to communicate is enough. So if you have an idea please feel free to send it to me. I will be posting more images as I have them.

Something for Everyone

2009-04-13T20:21:00.010+02:00

Something For Everyone, Steel, bright red Rayon fibers, adhesive, 350cm x 120cm x 5cm, 2009

A young Kalashnikov at the drawing board

I've had this image in my head for awhile and the more I researched it the more engaging the project became for me. More than a few years back I did a large handgun and was always surprised at the variety of responses that I received, beyond the standard positive/negative people would really just sit there and reflect on what it meant to them. The majority found it disturbing, I did as well. It was and is a potent symbol.

Something for Everyone, Steel, 350cm x 104cm, 2009

Something for Everyone (detail), Steel, 350cm x 104cm, 2009

The Kalashnikov or AK-47 (standing for Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947) was invented by Mikhail Kalashnikov and has had what could be considered an illustrious trajectory in becoming first the standard issue rifle for the Russian military and then exported en masse to cold war battlegrounds in the middle east and especially Africa. In some countries, Mozambique for example, it is seen as a key element in their struggle against colonialism and imperialism and was even adopted as an image on their flag on May 1st 1983 (Recent years have seen a sharp debate to have it removed). Kalashnikov has been quoted that he is proud that for many his invention is synonymous with liberty, he has also stated that it was Germany's fault that he became a fabricator of arms otherwise he would have happily stayed and agricultural engineer which was what he was previous to being drafted into the Red Army during WWII. A few interesting facts about General Kalashnikov on his Wiki profile here.
As for the name I've given the piece, Something for Everyone, it has to do with this type of work which i feel leaves no one indifferent. I start with concern/interest in the composition of the object but ultimately am also aware of it's socio-political as well as historic significance. As far as scale is concerned I was due for a big one. This piece should not be confused as a pro arms stance or celebration of the arm itself but more an opportunity for reflection.

Flocking

Some new tools to explore

As you can see the Kalashnikov is destined to be a 3.5m bright red fuzzy Kalashnikov. Quite a process.

Taking in the Laundry

2009-03-26T16:02:00.002+01:00

Taking in the Laundry, painted steel, 140cm x 90cm, 2009

New Corkscrew

2009-03-03T23:15:00.002+01:00

New work made for Alex Goerke and recently installed in his Flat. Harks back to the older more iconic images that I was working with a few years back.

Corkscrew II, Steel, 166cm x 53cm, 2009

Sketches....

2009-02-26T21:26:00.003+01:00

Star Power and Raising Pooh

2009-02-26T19:36:00.003+01:00

Three new small figures that are a part of a larger series where I'm investigating new materials and techniques most prominently the process of flocking which is completely new to me but quite fun and super kitsch. The two figures on the left and the right are employing this technique.

1. Star Power: Sarah with Hanky, Steel, Fabric, flocking dust, 45cm x 4cm, 2008
2.Alex Raising Pooh!, Steel, Doll, 45cm x 4cm, 2008

3.Star Power: Maiken with Hanky, Steel, Fabric, flocking dust, 45cm x 4cm, 2008

Star Power: Maiken with Hanky(Detail)

Here you can see a bit better the texture flocking leaves, in the end it is not unlike felt to the touch and is supposedly weather proof. Not sure where this is leading but I'm liking working with texture and color.

We Know What you're thinking

2009-02-11T19:58:00.011+01:00

The latest.... One more to go.

These are the first three figures of a new piece involving five figures that I'm currently busy with. In the end with all five figures the signs will form a sentence when read in sequence. Can anyone guess what the last two signs will have on them??? As of yet the pieces are not painted or clean and the color of the signs and fonts to be used are also still to be determined so stay posted... Now off to ARCO!

Funny That... Art imitates life etc...

2009-01-08T16:31:00.004+01:00

Le Monde Diplomatique, January 2009 edition

In November I did a piece entitled "Relief" (see below) of a figure reading a copy of the La Vanguardia newspaper, the local daily here in Catalunya, of the day that Obama won the elections back in the good ole US of A. Over the holidays an art director from the esteemed (re. very serious as I've been told by a french friend), Le Monde Diplomatique got in touch with me about using the image in their January edition. Being the the slave to any form of publicity I can muster I readily agreed and lo and behold what arrived in the mail today. I'm well pleased and find it ironic that a piece that I did of a fellow reading a newspaper ends up in a newspaper.

LOST Property: Granny walking through the Hood, Nick Waving his Hanky and other things you might catch in the neighborhood

2008-12-16T11:08:00.004+01:00

Nick waving that hanky

Skepticism

New series, Kinda speaks for itself....

Relief.....

2008-11-16T18:10:00.004+01:00

Relief...(no.1), Steel, Photo, 44cmx12cm, 2008 (Photo by Guy Freeman)

On November 4th, I as well as millions of other citizens of the earth breathed a collective sigh of relief as the door closed on what has been one of the darkest periods of my countries history and also one of the darkest periods of american influence on the rest of the globe. In my memory and as a keen student of history rarely have such a small band of individuals wielded so recklessly the positions of power they found themselves in. I am now collecting material from friends across the globe reading the headlines of their domestic newspapers of the announcement of the victory of Barack Obama as the new president of the United States. This project is a reflection of what i feel was a global sense of renewal and good will that greeted the election of our new president. More to come. If any of you reading this have newspapers from that day and would like to submit a photo to be realized in steel for this project feel free to contact me at plantlife@telefonica.net.

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

2008-10-16T17:31:00.003+02:00

Living with Ghosts

Living with Ghosts, Steel, Cloth, Dimensions variable, work in progress, 2008

Detail

Stay on Message

2008-10-16T11:45:00.006+02:00

Stay on Message, Steel, mixed media, 200cm x 200cm, 2008

Finally!!!! I have the bulk of the piece done, 40 some figures in all and it's quite a presence. Some 6 months since the initiation of the piece.

Still growing! I promised more and this is the latest incarnation of the piece "Stay on Message". Even more will follow...

Ok, you can see it's beginning to take shape. The final destination will be a circle 2 meters in Diameter. If you look closely a faint purple line drawn on the wall is visible which marks the dimensions of the finished project.

Stay on Mesaage is an ongoing project that I am working on that as of yet is unresolved. The project is basically made up of people that are holding signs that convey certain messages. The idea is either to make a multitude of small individual figures or to actually bind a number of them together to make one larger piece. As of now I have made quite a few, here are a smattering. More to come...

Lovely Rita....

2008-07-07T15:35:00.003+02:00

Now that's a big Baby!, Steel, 147cm x 87cm, 2008

A portrait of the child of some friends (Rita being her name), something riveting about the naturalness and ease inherent in the body language of children. Blowing it up in scale gives it a super presence in interior spaces, more on this piece later.

The after from the before...

2008-07-07T15:23:00.004+02:00

The After from the Before, Steel, Cloth Doll (Made by Melkorka Reynisdottir), 120cm x 95cm, 2008

This piece was done as a commission from a client that had seen the piece "Fun on the playground". For me it was interesting to investigate the same theme but from the standpoint of a grown up as opposed to a child. The result is at once melancholy and nostalgic.

Never let them make you feel like a Clown

2008-05-11T20:29:00.002+02:00

Never let them make you feel like a Clown, Mixed media, video, 90cm x 55cm x 50cm, 2008

We've all had humiliating experiences with customer service whether it be in person or on the phone. I always end up wanting to throw myself or someone else off a bridge. This piece is my homage to the experience.

Kenny just might be Illuminated...

2008-05-10T18:21:00.003+02:00

Kenny just might be Illuminated, Mixed media, 56cm x 24cm x 7cm, 2008
A small piece that I improvised a bit with. These later pieces where I am incorporating more found objects and so on are a great opportunity for me to let my imagination run wild. Normally I see an image and it changes very little in the realization, with these works the piece realized in steel becomes the canvas as opposed to the finished piece.

Max at his father's table

2008-05-10T16:03:00.005+02:00

Max at his Father's Table, Steel, glass carafe, 193cm x 145cm x 4cm, 2008

This is a piece that I had been wanting to do for awhile. Initially i had wanted three figures but in the end stayed with one. The subject is a friend Max Zinnecker at what he considers "The only piece of furniture that has any value to me that I own...". It's a table that was his father's when he was a student.

Start @ Zaum Projects in Lisbon

2008-05-08T13:13:00.006+02:00

I'm involved in a great new project/gallery of Stefanie Santa and Miguel Duarte in Lisbon called Zaum Projects. Their inaugural exhibition will be held on the 16th of May. The opening group show "Start" presents the works of the artists of the gallery. The 400m2 of new exhibiting space will host artworks by Ana Rito, Caitlin Masley, Carlos & Jason Sanchez, Catarina Lira Pereira, Erik Geschke, Frank Plant, Gabriel Colaço, Gilberto Colaço, Isabel Baraona, Jeff Eisenberg, Jeremy Mora, Katrin Korfmann, Maya Schindler, Michelle Forsyth, Samuele Belloni and UIU.

We're all so complicated....

2008-04-14T16:18:00.004+02:00

In the end we're all complicated, Steel, Mixed Media, 57cm x 52cm (for the moment), 2008

Going back to my roots in using found materials and other objects to flesh out an idea. After working so graphically for so long it's a joy to involve some other materials. More on the content later.

New Show in May: Frank Plant @ Galeria Contrast

2008-04-13T19:13:00.004+02:00

On the 15th of May I will be having the Inauguration of a solo exhibit here in Barcelona. Anyone who reads this within a 300km radius will be obliged to come. More to come.

Collective Ennui

2008-04-10T09:18:00.005+02:00

Seeing as lately I am very interested in documenting social dynamics and relationships in my work it was just a matter of time before the group of students I work with at Metafora Tallers International fell prey to one of my pieces. The original material was taken last December at a meeting planning their end of term show. I decided to paint it white as I'm also interested in investigating how a piece fits in it's environment as well as the level of protaganism it has. The white pieces are much more subtle and the viewer has to work more for it's appreciation, the role of the shadows also becomes more important. This piece also goes a long way in showing just how much the wall above my couch needs a coat of paint... More detailed pictures shortly.

The Artist takes a Fall

2008-03-19T13:25:00.003+01:00

This piece is a reflection on my current tendency as an artist to pontificate or preach. It is also an opportunity to think about the fine line that sometimes separates or not art and propaganda/ideology.

The Artist Falls Off His Soapbox, Steel, 102cm x 54cm, 2008

Paperless Marks @ Galeria ADN

2008-03-18T15:01:00.005+01:00

On March 27th I will be involved in a group show at ADN galeria

Room 1: Paperless Marks: A. Benchamma, J. Galdón, F. Noguera, F. Plant, Qubo Gas, M. Quintana
Room 2: Federico Solmi The Evil Empire
Opening: Thursday 27th of March 2008 at 7.30 p.m.

Closing: Saturday 3rd of May 2008
Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 10h-14h/16h-20h and Saturday, 11h-14h/17h-20h30

c/ Enric Granados, 49, bj, 08008 Barcelona ▪ T +34 93 451 00 64 – info@adngaleria.com
For further information and hi-res images, please contact: Susanna CorchiaRRPP – e-mail: info@adngaleria.com, T: +34 934510064

Paperless Marks

Abdelkader Benchamma, Jesús Galdón, Fleur Noguera, Frank Plant, Qubo Gas, Marc Quintana
Five artists and one group are meeting together to show new proposals connected with the expanded notion of drawing. During their artistic growth, each they has been developing productions related to drawing, painting, animation or illustration and has been facing several aspects of this technique. Two are the main vectors motivating this exhibition: on the one hand, all the works belong to drawing realm although without the use of paper; on the other hand, works disclose a consideration about landscape and staging, both natural and abstract, human or urban.

The same title of the show enhances this real conceptual and technical challenge: a stimulation toward the investigation of expressive and creative ways, typical of the fresh and open moment which contemporary art is enjoying.

One day you too can work in Advertising!!!

2008-03-04T16:16:00.004+01:00

One Day You too Can Work In Advertising, Steel, Old Socks, 105cm x 94cm, 2008

A new piece touching on a the idea of another aggravation that humans are subjected to on a daily basis. I'll let you determine what that is.

The Big Guy trys to Raise the Level of the Discourse by Hurling a Large Gravy Boat

2008-01-31T10:04:00.000+01:00

The Big Guy Tries to Raise the Level of the Discourse by Hurling a Large Gravy Boat, Steel, Ceramic Gravy Boat, 50cm x 23cm, 2007

Further investigations with three dimensional objects playing with scale and the absurd. A happy addition to anyone's dinner table. More to come.

Kids

2008-01-29T20:09:00.000+01:00

As of yet unnamed, Click on image to see larger

This is a new series that I'm working on involving children and stuffed animals, dolls and other objects of importance. With this in mind I want to investigate not only the open, relaxed nature of the children but bring attention to the bond sometimes formed with their toys and or everyday objects. In these cases it's only a suggestion as the objects were added later after the models were photographed. The dolls will be made by a variety of people and provides me a chance to incorporate other artists work with my own. Also I continue to mix two dimensional and three dimensional objects as well as color and black and white. For me the contrast gives the pieces a vitality. Keep your eyes here for more in this series...

Marcel & Sara, Steel, Cloth Doll (Made by Melkorka Reynisdottir), 110cm x 75cm, 2007

Celia, Steel, Cloth and Plaster doll (Made by Jenny Sorenson), 131cm x 62cm, 2007

Neu, Steel and Cloth Doll (Created by Christopher Plant), 111cm x 88cm, 2007

Milla, Steel and Cloth Doll (Created by Brian Sanders), 94cm x 50cm, 2007

Liberty

2008-01-23T19:37:00.002+01:00

Liberty, Steel, Plexi, MDF, LED's, 109cm x 97cm, 2007
(Technical support provided Remi Melander)

This is a piece that I've had lying around unresolved for ages finally got to resolving it, the LED's actually blink. It's another piece dealing with social issues that I felt compelled to do concerning a certain countries drifting away from it's responsibilities towards it's citizens.

Baby Jesus Welder

2008-01-07T10:56:00.001+01:00

Baby Jesus Welder, Steel, 63cm x 100cm, 2008

I have always loved religious iconography and have had this version of a Raphael painting that I did sometime ago lying around. Thought it might be a good way to start the new year.

Hierroglyphic/Frank Plant

2007-12-17T19:18:00.000+01:00

Hello, my name is Frank Plant and I am an american artist based in Barcelona, Spain. I work in steel and often times am bending it into peculiar forms. Sometimes I am just welding it into normal functional things as well but I try to avoid that when possible. This blog will serve as a space that I use to document some of the projects I do as well as some of the peculiar observations I have. My friends, family, benefactors, neighbors, students, co-workers, etc., etc... will also probably knowingly or unbeknownst to them haunt these pages. I will also on occasion invent new words to see if the general population is actually paying attention and if we are on the same page. I hope that you will glean something entertaining, curious and or enlightening in these images and thoughts. So by all means read on.

That's me looking for inspiration in the twisted vortex of popular culture, not for the meek, I would not suggest trying this at home.

Fun on the Playground

2007-12-05T19:44:00.000+01:00

Ainara, Steel, Cloth doll (Created by Melkorka Reynisdottir), 140cm x 60cm, 2006

This is the first experiment in a new series that I am working on involving children and dolls and is a collaboration with an Icelandic artist Melkorka Reynisdottir. The impulse was to further investigate mixing 3 dimensional media with my more traditional 2 dimensional platform of the drawings in steel. More info to come shortly.

Waiting....

2007-11-20T19:01:00.000+01:00

"La Cola", Steel bar and Plate, 270x110cm, 2007

Does your service provider make you feel your back's against the wall?

2007-11-09T20:57:00.000+01:00

Ever hear the expression "Don't get mad get even.". This is my response to the treatment a certain spanish telecommunications service provider gives to their customers. Local regulatory commissions and the Spanish government turn a blind eye. The Spanish consumer has to look to Brussels for help as they seem the only ones to stand up and recognize the problem. The european union telecommunications regulatory commission recently slapped a certain Spanish company with a €500 million fine.
The piece involves the viewer placing on one of the gloves with the guilty company's logo printed on it. The figure in the piece has his back to the viewer and his pants around his ankles. There is a hole where his anus is, there is a red glowing from within. The viewer, with the glove on, places his finger in the anus of the figure, four centimeters in there is a button which when pressed triggers a scream (there are four tracks). This piece is a fairly direct representation of the treatment I feel the Spanish consumer gets from the local Telcomm giants. More pictures and video to come.

Taking it to the Banks revisiting Goya

2007-10-17T10:02:00.002+02:00

"When They Come Looking For Their Money (They won't care if your Vasque, Catalan, Andalusian or Gallegan)", Steel, 287cm x120cm, 2007

Banks are a necessary evil. Banks provide individuals with opportunity's to finance projects that would otherwise be impossible. The new house, the new car, business development etc... In my opinion they almost always have some very unsavory business practices, business being the key word. After all it is a business and hence required to make money to survive. Regardless from my current situation in Spain not only in the banking industry (pieces on other Industries to come) I've found a number of practices that as I said before seem to me foul. I won't go into a litany of my grievances I'll let you use your own personal experiences to fill in the blanks.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid: The Executions on Prince Pio Mountain, 268 cm x 347 cm, Oil on Canvas, 1814

Goya's "3rd of May 1808" was my point of departure. It is a seminal work dealing with the execution of Spanish rebels outside of Madrid by Napoleanic forces that were occupying Spain at the time. And for me the work is very inspiring. Drama in lights and darks, composition and content. Goya is considered a national hero and this work a testament to Spanish courage in the face of adversity. I wanted to work with some of the same material but give it a contemporary slant.

Detail of the Executioners

In this particular instance the culprits are the banks and the victims the Spanish public. I'm certain banks are more or less the same the world over I just happen to live in Spain at the moment.

Sequestrados/ Hostages

2007-08-10T21:10:00.001+02:00

Hostages, Series of 6, Steel, Mixed Media, 55cm x 20cm (each), 2007

This series has two objectives, the first was to capture in my language the desperation and the degradation that people who are sequestered are subjected to. This train of thought began from an image i saw as part of an article in the New Yorker. The article "Betrayed" by George Packer (New Yorker, 3/26/2007), is about the treatment of Iraqi's who have been playing support roles for the american army during the war there and how the american army or certain elements of it have come to make life impossible and excedingly dangerous for these people. In the article appears an absolutely gruesome and appalling image (above) of an unidentified man's body that has been left discarded on a roadside trash heap. This image haunted me and made me think about the liberties that we so often take for granted without having to fear that someone was going to drag us out of the house in the middle of the night off to the local garbage dump for a bullet in the back of the head.

photo by Christoph Bangert

The image ingrained itself into my head almost to the point of obsession, one thing was obvious I wanted to work with the image. I scanned the image and did a drawing and at the moment it's still in progress but you can see it in it's current state below. I like it's current representation beacause it's not immediately evident what it is and hence the viewer has to work a bit to determine the material.

work in progress, steel, jute

From this point of departure I continued to develop my line of thinking but limit it to people being sequestered not assassinated. It's all to often that when the news roles around we are confronted by some journalist, public figure, or just some innocent bystander bound and gagged with some armed revolutionary guards standing heavily armed close by. Mind you this is not a practice that is solely exercised in the middle east nor is it my intention to focus on any given region. My ambition is simply to introduce the brutality of these images into another arena in hopes of giving the viewer an opportunity to digest and reflect on these situations in a different manner. It is in no way my meaning to trivialize these occurences. The following images were taken from photos that I made of people in my studio and any resemblance to other images of a similar nature is coincidental and due to the subject matter.

Hostage #3, Steel, Jute, Plastic bag, 55cm x 22cm, 2007

Consumer advocacy or the lack there of

Hostage #1 The Stupid Consumer (El Consumidor Estupido) , Steel, Jute, Fabric, 55cm x 22cm, 2007

Hostage #1 brings me to the second agenda i have while developing these series. Hostage #1 is a piece that developed when i reflected on how everyday citizens are often, through misinformation, clever marketing, half truths, simple oversight, under education and sometimes just sheer stupidity are duped into situations where they are legally bound to something that is not in their best interest. In a sense held hostage. My specific focus now is in Spain because that is my current experience. Here I feel there is no tradition of safeguarding consumer rights and it is well documented that Spain lags behind in opening up certain markets to 'real' competition. This maintains a sort of government approved monopoly where the consumer is held hostage to the whatever power happens to be in control in that particular industry and whatever price they value there product at. Recently the european union overstepped the spanish telecommunications regulatory commission and fined Telefonica, the local 'Grande' in telcom, over 150 million euros for what it saw as unfair market practices concerning the the provision of Bandwith to it's customers. That leaves alot to the imagination as to the links between Telefonica and the local regulatory commission in charge of monitoring it's practices.
Recently in the region of Catalunya, whose capital is Barcelona, after a fire in an electric substation vast areas of the city were left without light for days on end. It has come to light that the whole system is dangerously inadequate for the demands that are placed upon it and that the local power company could almost be considered criminally negligent in allowing the situation to degrade to such an extent. Hospitals, public transport, traffic signaling systems, etc. were all left without power and a series of flatbed generators had to be placed in strategic points across the city to serve as a makeshift solution. generators that emit more noise than legally allowed in public spaces as well as compromising the air quality as they are all diesel generators. One would think if they don't give you choice they should at least provide stability. Thousands of people and businesses were compromised to the point where the government had to step in and oblige compensation for those affected. On one side one could argue that perhaps prices need to be raised to maintain the upkeep of the system, on the other side one could argue for more transperency and truly effective regulatory commissions that provide the security and confidence that paying customers deserve. This work is by no means meant to devalue the experience of people who are forcibly and violently held beyond their will worldwide. It is meant to draw a strong parallel between such actions with those of organizations that have an obligation to provide basic necessities but through the application of what could be considered sinister business practices are responsible for the degradation of millions of peoples lives.

Sunday on the Terrace

2007-08-02T09:56:00.000+02:00

"Sunday on the Terrace", 350cm x 120cm, Steel, 2007

Recently I went to a brunch on the terrace of a friend of mine in the neighborhood of Barceloneta. These brunches are normally replete with a staggering mix of people from all over and are hosted by connector extraordinaire Sandy Brunner, an architect native of Zurich. I have been going to these brunches for a few years now and in fact one of these brunches a few years back also provided the source material for a drawing in steel of a group of sardines which Sandy now owns. Anyway at a certain point I began to note the variety of postures people were assuming while laying in two plastic reclining lawn chairs that were on the terrace. People were assuming the most relaxed and languid positions that I began to think that I might be able to do a piece involving the material. Out comes the camera.

This is the first image that really made me think about the potential of using this material in a piece. It's a photo of a friend, Fery Rohrer, and it served as a point of departure for the creation of "Sunday on the Terrace". My desire with the piece was really to capture a completely normal moment and all the poetry inherent in it. Each individual posture is an incredibly complex equation which I believe can communicate alot about a persons current relationship to their surroundings. By doing four figures I have also created an imaginary dialogue which can actually be manipulated by changing the positions of the figures.

This piece is also exhibited on Sandy Brunner's terrace. It seems that her terrace is a spot that I find inspiring.

Handwritten Text

2007-05-25T12:52:00.000+02:00

More than a long time ago, a friend approached me with the possibility of doing a piece for him. He and his wife both appreciate my work and he wanted to surprise her for her birthday with a piece. So we discussed a few ideas and thought it might be nice if I had a look at some material they had generated on their honeymoon in the greek isles to use as a point of departure. I looked at the material and after doing some preliminary drawings decided to focus on the text for starters with the possible incorporation of an image.

Hand written text is fascinating for me in the same way that a fingerprint is in that it inherently represents an individual.

This is a small sketch I did for my friend Christian Marti and his wife Sole when they bought the text piece. It was right after I did the "Forever" Heart. I am quite happy with it and thought that much larger might also be quite nice...

Going to the Chapel.....

2007-05-23T16:43:00.001+02:00

Heart, Steel, 160cm x 120, 1999

Love, well at least the human heart as icon is an image that I have been busy with for a long time. In fact the image of the heart I have created has been one of the more popular pieces that I've ever done and has figured as a gift in at least three weddings and is displayed in two heart clinics in Holland as well as a handful of private residences. I have a lot of cariño or feelings for the image. Recently I was approached by a group of friends that were interested in buying a gift for a close friend of their's who was tying the knot. As time was a factor a lengthy design process was not an option and I told them that it would be much easier to work with an image or design that I already and tweak it to personalize it. I half jokingly said to them that it would be great to incorporate text as currently I'm working on another piece that involves text. That's when a slew of possibilities hit me. We agreed that the idea had potential and I agreed to do a couple mockups. The result is what you see below.

I wanted a really ornate and frilly font which I was able to track down online seeing as the ones I had on hand weren't quite baroque enough.

Forever,Steel,158cm x 140cm, 2007

The result for me is an homage to classical tattoos from another era (although in researching the project I found that those classical themes are very much alive and present in contemporary tattoo design.

The finished piece in an interior.

And another....

Remote Control: MOCA Shanghai March 3rd - April 20th 2007

2007-04-02T14:33:00.000+02:00

In Mid January I was notified by Thomas Charveriat that we had been invited by the curators, Ella Liao and Wennie Teo, of an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai to exhibit two pieces that we had previously collaborated on, F2T and Light Activated Faces. For awhile I had been looking for a good enough excuse to get out to Shanghai and investigate the small empire that Thomas has created for himself there which includes his gallery Island6 Arts Center, this looked like the perfect opportunity.
On the 17th of February I boarded a Finnair flight to Helsinki where I would catch a connecting flight to Shanghai. The voyage went without a hitch and I arrived at Shanghai's Pudong Airport at 8am the morning of the 18th of February, coincidentally Chinese New Years (Year of the Pig). Little did I know as I waltzed through the almost deserted airport to the strains of Kenny G's Christmas album that this was going to wreak havoc on our work schedule as the vast majority of things were closed and people on vacation. I caught a cab and made my way down to Island6 which was to be our command control for the next month. Once there I began to meet the cast of characters that would take part in the process of realizing the works we were to show at the MOCA.

Taxi drive from Pudong International Airport to Island 6 Arts Center

Arriving to Island 6 was a bit of gift because it's not very often that you can go to a foreign country and walk straight into a fully functional work environment. Granted the space we were working ins primary function is that of exhibition and office space not only for Island6 but also for Warehouse Studio, the brainchild Of Lucas and Olivia Gurdjian who would also be fundamental in the development of the visuals and elements of the sound for the projects exhibited in the MOCA. It was a bit tight but we made it work with a bit of patience and reorganizing.
The second day I was there we hit the ground running, this was to be the beginning of a marathon which not only involved the show at the MOCA but also pitching in and lending a hand in mounting the show Platform for Urban Investigation curated by Allard van Hoorn at Island 6 which inaugurated on the 10th of March.

The Place

Island 6 with the sunshine of Moganshan Lu 120 looming in the background. That's Thomas Charveriat, "Sunny" to his friends for his perpetual good moods. He's synonymous with Island 6. His sheer force of will is the driving force behind the whole operation and responsible for the realization of numerous works of art as well as whipping more than a few lazy artists into shape. Beware!

The Cast

Lucas and Olivia Gurdijan

As usual with such an undertaking it's important to be well organized and have a good group of people to provide support. We at least had a good group of people to provide support. Officially credited in the realization of the projects are myself and Thomas as well as Lucas and Olivia Gurdijan,

Super French Design couple Olivia and Lucas Gurdijan of Warehousestudio doing their Mac mind meld.

Yang Longhai Watch your dumplings!!! Longhai is the go to guy when your looking for something in the studio, always looking to help. His appetite for dumplings is almost as big as his appetite for english curse words. "Shitfuckman.... Shit.... Fuck... Man..." Need he say more?

Zou Shu Shu or Yan or Ian
Ok I thought I was upbeat until I met this guy. Zou Shu makes me look like a Gitane chain smoking, Pernod swigging, black turtlneck wearing exitentialist. Oh and he's multi talented, in this project he rapped as well as was the closest thing to a visual identity our projects had not to mention his skills as a video editor and designer.

Scott Hess
Music and Sound Design

Don't let the foto fool you it was taken at four in the morning when Scott is at his creative best. Scott did a great job of making Yan and my vocal tracks sound pretty damn good, In fact we are planning a tour of Finland in the summer. He's also the man behind turning Olivia and his own girlfriend into electronic temptresses, "Send me message....".

Behind the scenes are three people that that were indispensable:

Zhu Yu Mei Widely known as the Pearl of Shanghai but referred to affectionately as Julie, she works as Thomas' assistant in the gallery and shoulders the brunt of his maniacal behavior. She gets things done and proprietors have been known to close their shops when they see her coming on Bejing do Lu. Her negotiating skills are unrivaled.

Sebastiaan Hanssens
Sebby or just plain old workerslut#2, Gallery intern extraordinaire pictured here googling the alcohol content of Golden Harvest Imperial Quality Beer.

Olivier Verhaeghe de Naeyer workerslut#3, fruit of the loins of the french speaking belgian hinterland and patent holder of the famous Olivier "S" otherwise known as the Verhaeghe de Naeyer knot.

These last two poor slobs normally fell under my jurisdiction, yes me, King workerslut. Your Narrator, King Workerslut, a message to all you pretenders, one day I will come back and occupy my rightful place on the throne of all workersluts! Got that?

No seriously, without their support, good humor and willingness to even do the most menial of tasks the project would have been much more difficult. At 4am during a 16 hour workday it's good to have as many smiling faces and as many bottles of Golden Harvest Imperial Quality Beer around as possible.

Island 6 as an institution shouldered the production costs which I am sure was no small amount as well as my palatial housing set up pictured below.

The Suite of Blissful yet Short Dreams at Chez Charveriat, not to be confused with the Beware All Ye of Feminine Persuasion who Enter Here Suite or the Funny Noises In the Morning Suite. Note the ever present bottle of Golden Harvest Imperial Quality Beer in the lower left hand corner. This precious elixir has the magical powers of endowing one with eternal sobriety.

Also we had a variety of other folks that pitched in too many to mention all of them but the ones below stuck out.

Da Boyz

These are the resident handymen of the gallery. These guys are brillant, I rolled with them to the museum for the installation as you see pictured here. These fellas know how to work hard.

Jack
A buddy of Scott's that came in a few evenings with a bright disposition and eager to help. A ceramicist by trade.

The Computer Controlled Router
The unsung hero of the whole affair, how i miss the howling whir of her voice for hours on end. Can anyone say calibrate?

The Works

New versions of F2T and Light Activated Faces (here to forward referred to as LAF) were in order, out with the old and in with the new.

I had brought some of the previously exisiting technology for the projects with me in my suitcase. Some of the elements Thomas had already had realized before my arrival such as new boxes for the light activated faces, each image would have it's own box now where as before we had larger boxes of nine panels each.

Okay as you can imagine I was more than a bit nervous taking this thing through customs. Does it look like art to you?

The process leading up to the exhibit was one of accelerated investigation. We actually did the two projects in a very short period of time. The shortage of time caused us to work with a very short narrow margin of error which can be a very bad thing when working with electronics. The first week was consumed with epic journeys to Bejing Do Lu, which is the hardware district of Shanghai. If your into tools and stuff as I am this was pretty exciting, actually that's an understatement it's like going to tool mecca only you can negotiate the price. These days we literally spent between 4 and 6 hours scouring shops for screws, springs, electronic components , guides, countersinks, solenoids, motors etc. etc. etc.

couldn't begin to explain the variety of shops we saw during that week but at the end I'll tell you I was ready for a break. Thomas has an incredible ability to maintain the appearance that he is absolutely fascinated in the pursuit of just the right screw or the guide with just the right amount of resistance for hours and hours.

Eons after my patience had run out he still had the eyes of a child in a toy store egging me on to go back to the shop where we saw that one component.

To Dibond or not to Dibond

LAF was in this particular instance not as complicated as F2T. With F2T we had made the decision to use a material called Dibond which is composed of two thin sheets of aluminium that sandwich a layer of green plastic. Working with the computer controlled router (CCR), we could engrave the material which would leave the dark plastic exposed and with the aluminium create a very attractive contrast. We did a couple test trials. Alas not enough. Two nights before the load in of the exhibition we did the final cut of one of the pices, previously we had only done outlines. Without the surface being reinforced by the aluminium the whole thing began to bow up in a manner that would make it impossible to work with.
This presented us with quite a dilemna with only 48 hours before load in. Hence on the fly Thomas suggested using the same material that we were using as a support for the whole project which was 3cm thick transparent plexiglass. So we would have one sheet(about 12cm x 180cm)as a support then the other pieces (arms, head/torso and legs) mounted on top with a system of guides, solenoids, washer bearings and pulleys to control the movement. The drawings of the respective figures would be engraved into the surface of the Plexi which then turns a milky white presenting the viewer with ghost like apparitions.

We had three panels, the central figure of the rapper shown on the left, the choir which was composed of three female figures in a somewhat blurry image on the right, and the boom box during the mounting process below.

Installing the day of the show. Documentation by Warehouse Studio

Whilst we were busy downstairs Lucas Gurdijan was upstairs in the room we had for the LAF Installation.

In this particular version we had changed all the sounds and images from the previous versions. Below you have the panels we used. Photo Documentation: Olivier Verhaeghe

In the end this is how the piece looked installed, LAF is a wonderfully accessible piece that brings out people's creative sides and normally a smile to there face.

Photo Documentation: Olivier Verhaeghe

Fabrica, Piacere: Fun in Shanghai

2007-03-19T11:07:00.000+01:00

Recently one evening, I was in Shanghai preparing for the show "Remote Control" in the MOCA Shanghai. I was working with Sebastian Hanssens an intern at Island 6 Arts Center and great all around partner in crime. We were waiting for certain materials to arrive and decided to take a walk around and peruse the other works on exhibition. That's when we discvered "Fabrica, Piacere", A great interactive art work by Andy Cameron and Oriol Ferrer Mesià of Fabrica the creative think tank based in Italy. We spent the better part of the next half hour commandeering props and getting others involved in our antics. This piece was one of the hits of the show i feel. It's accessible, open and fun which is not so common in the overly subjective art world of today.

Thanks to Andy and Oriol.

Favela, One more time...

2006-12-18T15:18:00.000+01:00

Favela IV, 250cm x 150cm, Steel, 2006

OK, I thought I was done with the favelas as a theme but I was wrong. About three months ago I was approached by Anna Sallares who for a long time had been interested in buying a piece of mine. At the time I was busy with the favelas and it was a them e that she was interested in. When researching the favelas I inquired about a tecnique called laser cutting which is exactly that, a machine that cuts through steel using a laser. The work in the studio in progress

The original drawing I did of the favela seemed to complicated for me to do by hand so I got a couple of quotes to have it realized by this what was a new technique for me. I should say I tried, I tried a shop here in Spain, one in the states and another in China and they all said that they weren't interested, to much work for them and their technicians. At that stage I had kinda given up on making one by hand and realized them in various other manners, see.... Along comes Anna, she says she likes the idea and I think it's the perfect excuse for me to do something that I have to say at first intimidated the hell out of me. Here you have the result, thanks to Anna for enticing me into this project.

Some details of the work in progress

People and our Morbid Curiosities

2006-10-28T19:24:00.000+02:00

I like people. I also like observing people. I also like narratives! And Directing! So it was just a matter of time before I started working with a variety of these things in my work. In the past I have done some stuff like this, the first time being the piece that I did with Thomas Charveriat called Passage, which is a about sharing common spaces, for a show at Cold Creation Gallery called Transhallucinogenic. For Passage I made small figures in steel bar and mixed them with photography not unlike some of the steel/photo combo work I had done in the past except this time adding a small video monitor. There was something about these small figures that fascinated and intrigued me which led to the work "WH(Y)" which you can see on this page under the entry of the same name. "WH(Y)" is a bit chaotic so I decided to see if I couldn't do something a bit less fantastic and capture the dynamic of any given moment, which is what led me to begin "The Accident".

Perplexed, hmmmm.... shops are closed and very little in the fridge, what shall we do?

Small Figure with Fridge, Steel, 40cm, 2006
(Photo= Original Material)

First thing I also did after "WH(Y)" was create some free standing figures which I'm still not exactly sure what to do with but it will come to me then I will pass it on to you. The principal idea of these figures was to capture everyday moments like the one above which captures Jona Borrut, my principal muse of the last years, in that predicament that faces us all at some point in time or another perched in front of the refridgerator wondering what to eat. The great thing about working in this way with digital photography and then reproducing the figures is the ability to capture the body language.

"The Accident" otherwise known as "Tradgedy Strikes" in the studio before being installed.

I don't know when it hit me to recreate the scene of an accident, but i do know that it was in part inspired by Auguste Rodin's The Burghers of Calais, pictured below. I 'm fascinated by the tension present in the work. It tells the story of the elders of Calais as they had been given an ultimatum by English forces that had surrounded the city during the 100 years war. The English demanded that the burghers forfeit their lives in exchange for English leniency concerning the future of the city and it's population. As you can see it was a rough conversation and conveyed in a way that only Rodin was capable of.

Auguste Rodin's The Burghers of Calais
1884-86 (30 Kb); Bronze, 82 1/2 x 95 x 78 in; Rodin Museum, Philadelphia
Aernout Mik, Refraction (2005).
Photographs: Florian Braun, Berlin

Also hats off to Aernout Mik for this doozie of a video installation depicting a bus accident which I find really inspiring. There's something about analyzing the scene of an accident and all the dynamics that are present and Mik captures that perfectly in this piece. It's also something I strove for in "The Accident".

Or maybe it just started with her, my poor beseiged model. Yes Jona Borrut once again the protagonist of one of my pieces.

Walking you through the process of making the figure of a student of mine named Jannah Ledesma, she's from Manila and is a blossoming artist as well as interior designer. Sorry about the fluctuating white balance in the photos....

Some of the other original poses

"The Accident", Steel plate and bar, 260 x 210cm, 2006

One of the things I like most about this piece is playing with the point of focus which is the body in the center of the work. The fact that everyone in the piece is staring intently at the prostrate body at the center of the composition draws the viewers attention to it as well hence creating somewhat of a visual drainage point. It also creates the feeling that the viewer has stumbled upon the scene as have the other figures in the work which I hope achieves a level of integration of the viewer in the piece as opposed to passive observer. Above you have the piece in it's current home in Barcelona. The bar is called Sant Pau 68 and happens to be conveniently located at calle Sant Pau 68 in the lovely bohemian bunker of Raval.

Potty Art No.1/ Visual Darwinism

2006-08-23T09:30:00.000+02:00

Awkward Moment no.1

Awkward Moment no.1, "Intimate Moments with Tom and Frank", Cold Creation Gallery, Barcelona, Spain, 2002

Awkward Moment #1 is the first work in a series by the artists Frank Plant and Thomas Charveriat. The series deals interactively with the issue of moments that are normally not meant for sharing. The artists put the viewer in the role of intruder in hopes of generating the feeling of invasiveness that normally accompanies such delicate moments. Awkward Moment #1 is a composition of steel and photography showing a man seated on a toilet reading a newspaper.
When the viewer pulls the handle attached to the left side of the steel structure, the newspaper lowers and the upper part of the scowling face of the man is exposed and shouts angrily: "Do you mind?!?!". This is the moment that almost everyone has experienced, the moment that an individual walks in on someone unexpectedly and the immediate sense of surprise, shame and vulnerability created from it. The dynamic of the piece is to force the spectator to back away from the work with a sense of invasive shame and guilt.

Work created in collaboration with Thomas Charveriat
Sound Design by Denis Menard
Voice by Richard Felix

R&D in the studio

Okay That's the official version, now a bit more about working with humor in art in general. I like humor and I also believe that it is a very strong tool with which to communicate to people. If you can get them to laugh I think you are going a long way in opening the door for deeper communication. Nobody's going to argue that we live in a visually saturated world and anybody that's involved in the struggle of creating provacative and engaging images is going to tell you that making a lasting impression on today's viewer is extremely challenging.

This Factoid is from

Gullible.Info

which is a pretty cool site, here's the link

• Every minute, the human brain processes about 17GB of visual input, 5GB of audio input 20MB of tactile input, 350kB of olfactory input, and 100 kB of gustatory input.

Meaning there is a hell of alot competition for our attention, especially if you put yourself in an environment where you are specifically seeking visual stimulation, i.e. Museums, Galleries, etc.... Now I won't go into the deteriorating state of western man's attention span or his capacity for concentration but needless to say it's gone downhill with the advent of the remote control (among other things).

preliminary pulley system in the studio

In my struggle with what could be called "Visual Darwinism" (remember you heard it here first), I find that humor as well as irony are great tools for creating a more lasting experience in today's saturated and jaded viewer. Also the advent of post-modernism unleashed a tsunami of hyper subjective hog wash on the poor unsuspecting viewer which I believe led to a general marginalization of the spectator. Don't get me wrong, I believe that post-modernism marshalled in some well needed changes, I also don't feel that it's the artist's responsibility to cater to current trends and dumb down content to reach a wider audience if that's not there objective. Before I get to far down the dark alleys of some discourse on modern art just let me say that I think a bit of humor can help (as can many things well applied I suppose) an image or idea stick a bit more in the mind of the viewer.

Mounting the Fotos which had adhesive on the back

Having said that do I think that everyone should rush forth and add a dash of sophmoric humor to their work? Most certainly not, but if the predilection is there it is well worth the research. The Awkward Moment pieces for me use humor as an entrance to the edgier feelings of intrusiveness, vulnerability and SHAME! Yes Shame on you!

Awkward Moment no.1 video

The final pully structure

Awkward Moment no.1, "Intimate Moments with Tom and Frank", Cold Creation Gallery, Barcelona, Spain, 2002

Is Nothing Sacred? The Chilies/Liebeskind and Favelas

2006-08-04T18:55:00.000+02:00

"The Chilies", Steel bar and plate, 98x97cm, 2006 (First three images), no not a Red Hot Chilly Peppers cover band but what started off as a simple purchase at the local Asian food importers and put through the filter of my brain. I was attracted to this image because as you'll see in a lot of my work I like to work with compositions that a certain amount of repetition as well as chaos, I think the technical word for it is entropy, or structured chaos.

I was first attracted to these images from the then experimental architect Daniel Liebeskind who did a series of drawings called "Macromegas" that were published in a poncey art journal I once saw. Although there is not a lot of repetition in these works I was very interested in their dynamism and volatility.

This amount of visual information, detail and a splash of chaos is sometimes what I look for in subjects that I like to portray, the difference is that I normally like to find the information in nature whether it be or man made environments as you see in the favela series that I do or in the Fingerprint series etc....

The Chillies in their new home in Amsterdam

Above you have a detail of one of Liebeskind's "Macromegas" this one titled " Vertical Horizons", I changed the orientation for presentation's sake. Below you have a drawing I did of a favela from a detail of a photo I tracked down on the Internet. and the following the original material.

Well when I see images of favelas, shantie towns, townships and or certain urban environments, I start to get a bit excited. The magnitude of some of them, whether creeping up mountainsides or stretched out in valleys, i find truly amazing. Not only from just the sheer quantity visual information available but obviously what it represents as well. Humankind as an organism, in this case with very little resources, sprawling out to accomadate itself in any way possible and using every material at hand to create some sort of lodging or shelter for themselves. So far I have or have had created three different versions of the favela drawing I've made .

In the studio, Favela III, Mixed Media, 100x80, 2006

The first one started but not the first one finished, is Favela no.3, Mixed Media on MDF support, 126.5x76.5cm, 2006. is made completely out of recycled material in a collage/relief form. I think the manner that it's created is appropriate to the subject matter and I'm quite happy with the result.
Below you have three details of the same work...

Favela III, Mixed Media, 100x80, 2006 (Details)

Favela II, Engraved Stainless Steel, 100x80, 2006

The first and second were realized in Shanghai, China with the help of Thomas Charveriat of Island Six Arts Center and exhibited in the show "Invisible Layers, Electric Cities" Curated by Margherita Salmosa and Allard van Hoorn. The one in the picture with one of my loyal chinese followers in front of it is creatively titled "Favelas II" is an engraved plate of stainless steel which is then hand painted by highly skilled chinese craftsmen. Island Six is a very interesting new initiative which I'll cover more of later

Island6 Arts Center

Island 6 Arts Center, brainchild of one Thomas Charveriat, international Playboy and artistic mover and shaker.....

Sheilas Nos. 1 and 2 (Don't report me read the text first!)

2006-08-04T18:35:00.000+02:00

Sheila no.2 (Kneeling), Steel, 100cm x 126cm, 2005

While working on “WH(Y)” I came into contact with Sheila. Sheila is an inflatable sex doll. In case your curious she came with the name and her chosen line of work is law enforcement, she packs a gun. I bought Sheila because I couldn’t really do a piece on the male state without involving sex but I didn’t want to incorporate graphically intimate images. Sheila was the solution, she represents the act of sex as one of desperation. Flesh and blood substituted by plastic and air, reality by fantasy. In “WH(Y)” she figures no fewer than six times and she is a patient and flexible model. In the process of having her around the studio the reactions, male and female, that people had to her were quite curious and strong. People reacted with intrigue and curiosity to what could be considered a symbol of our darker, more instinctual and desperate side. Hence Sheila no.1 (reclining) 192cm x 42cm and Sheila no.2 (Kneeling), 100cm x 126cm. Pieces that at once are provocative in the male objectification and idealization of the female form and miserably sad as measures of the levels of deprivation that human desire can bring.

Sheila no.1 (reclining), Steel, 192cm x 42cm, 2005

WH(Y)?

2006-08-04T17:52:00.002+02:00

WH(Y)?, Painted Steel, 218cm x 125cm, 2006

“WH(Y)” is a sardonic reflection on the male condition, the name is taken from the chromosome that determines male sexuality shortly after conception. The piece’s focus is on certain male tendencies such as violence, imperialism, our love of motor vehicles, vagrancy, evangelism, sex with inflatable inanimate objects, voyeurism, etc…. it’s a humorous take on some of our less attractive habits. The composition consists of about forty small figures, average size 40cm, that are mostly portraits of people that have visited the studio recently and graciously posed in any number of compromising positions. The remainder of the shots I took outside of the studio. The figures are made out of welded steel bar and plate steel cut accordingly and the whole piece measures 218cm x 125cm. I improvised a lot with the composition and feel I came up with a fairly dynamic solution. I’m very content with the orientation towards detail and look forward to investigating it more in the future.

Peter Brueghel, The Triumph of Death, 1562

I would be remiss in not citing at least two influences that I had in working with this type of composition. Besides having a natural predilection for the busy and dynamic, I do find alot of inspiration in the works of Peter Brueghel and Hieronymous Bosch. Both of their attention to detail and imagination I find staggering. Bosch was as and continues to be as provacative as Dali but four hundred years earlier.

Hieronymous Bosch, Death and the Miser, c.1490

Both of these fellas were out there, just drumming out the most macabre stuff from the deepest recesses of their imaginations. I find it absolutely awe-inspiring.

My Good Friend Ari was an exuberant model, here he is in action with Sheila.

And here is the reproduction in steel that forms a part of the piece.

Another detail of WH(Y)?

The Lab MG10

2005-10-17T20:44:00.000+02:00

The Lab MG10 is where it all happens, or the vast majority of it anyway there are mini-labs for other specific purposes on a couple sites in other parts of the city. The Lab MG10 though is found on an ordinary street near an ordinary placa, and is and has been home to many social, political and cultural deviants, misfits and creators for the past seven years. The Lab MG10 is on the map in good ways and bad. The good are that it has been shelter and haven for my many artistic projects as well as place of encounter for many people that pass through Barcelona. A place where locals and foreigners alike come to enjoy an open coziness and perhaps lift a glass of wine. The majority of the contents on the web pages www.frankplant.com and www.m5project.com that I have been involved with were created at least in part here. Two floors and a huuuuuge terrace serve as ample space for all my endeavors.
The bad part is we are also on the map of the local government and they are aching to build a new road through the Lab MG10. We hope that they spend their money elsewhere for a good many years to come and that the community here can continue to flourish. First Photo is the street entrance

The Studio, Taller... whatever you wanna call it.

The studio, Taller whatever you wanna call it converted into it's freakish alter ego... My restaurant.

Franksgiving 2006

Franksgiving 2007

The Artist, hard at work or hardly working?

Artist or self promoting PR ding dong, the trials and tribulations of the artist today

2005-09-06T20:13:00.002+02:00

Ok part blog entry and part rant, we'll start with the blog entry part. I have a new somewhat comprehensive catalogue that gives a good idea of the work that I've been doing since around 1998. It is creatively titled, Frank Plant, Selected Works 1998-2005, and goes through all of the what more or less could be called creative periods or spells that I've passed through since then. First basic drawings in steel, more complex ones, Interactivity etc.... I have to say I feel like a new father except that this child had a gestation period of 12 months instead of nine.
Start rant. Now publicity is a tricky subject for the modern artist, we love it and can't get enough of it for obvious reasons. Without publicity, and this comes in many forms whether it be openings, newspaper/magazine articles, catalogues, interviews, word of mouth and or web site/blog type thingys, we are relegated to a very small public which usually includes a couple friends, a neighbor or two, spouse/ boyfriend/ girlfriend type person and a blind aunt that has always been supportive. This unfortunately, if you ever want to give up the day job, is not good enough, so the challenge is to get the word out without that part of the endeavor taking over your life.

The cover of the new catalogue, for those of you in the know with metal work you'll realize that this is a grinding disc which you put on a grinder to clean metal after it's been welded. It is a fundamental part of my everyday existence in the studio. For those of you not in the know you can now escape from the questions in your head of "Why does he have a CD/DVD on the cover of his catalogue?", "What on earth do disc brakes have to do with sculpture?". Mystery solved, it's a grinding disc.

Various pages of the new catalogue

Uber Israeli design goddess Ifat Zvirin, without whose generosity and patience this book would not exist.

As of maybe 6 or 7 years ago I began to realize the increasing amount of time that organization and production work were taking out of my everyday schedule. Emails and info to galleries, festivals, the occasional blind aunt, interested buyers, and basically anybody that would listen. Also designing things, some people might think that designers and artists are one in the same or at least reasonably similar, I tend to disagree as it seems that I would have a difficult time designing my way out of a wet paper bag. Designing publicity and or a web page for example on anything other than a very basic level for me would probably be a mistake as people tend to take this image of you, rightly or wrongly, as a representation/reflection of your level of professionalism or quality. So you gotta be a bit careful.
Also once you have something attractive how do you get it out there? Well I'll be the first to admit that artists today have it ten million times easier than say even 15 years ago because of the advent of the internet. I hung my web page and eventually it got picked up by internet bots that do us the service of organizing the web a bit for us. the following are a couple examples.

DMOZ Open Directory Project Metals Sculptors page

Google's Arts Directory Metals Sculptors page

The list goes on especially if you like to spend hours in front of the computer. Will you ever sell something through these pages? I'm sure it's happened, I on the other hand I have not but I do get alot of people to my sight through them.

I also have a free service called Statcounter that is pretty efficient at keeping me up to date on who is visiting my site and when, what you do with the info is up to you. I'm pretty much limited to marvelling at the fact that someone from Fiji viewed my site yesterday at 5:48 PM. It's still a pretty cool site.

Stat Counter, for all you number crunchers fascinated by stats

My favorite form of press has to be magazine spreads though, guaranteed circulation, you can put in weblinks and contact info and people can view it at there leisure.

Trendy Culture mags will do if your not ready for Artforum or if they're not interested. Usually comes with a small interview and some photos.

Design Mags are also great because alot of designers and architects, at least in my mind, use them as source material.

Also I hate to say it but normally the glossier the better, I think there must be a mathematical equation somewhere that explains the relationship between gloss in magazines and the tax bracket of their readership.

Now maybe one day you arrive at the wonderful and priviledged stage of having some agent or gallerist to take care of all these woeful duties for you but until that day it's good to get as used to as possible the ever increasing role that getting the message out will play in the life of the emerging artist. Whether that means getting your head around photoshop and freehand or just becoming the consummate press whore the reality is that (and this is nothing new) increasingly the art world is becoming commercialized and to compete in the absence of subsidies or blinding success the media can be very helpful.

Time Out Barcelona, May 2008

May 2008

November 2009 issue of Mango Magazine published in the Phillipines

The Last Supper or Liberty's Consumption

2004-11-12T14:18:00.000+01:00

Last Supper

The idea of icons is one that particularly interests me. For a long time I wanted to work with the Statue of Liberty because it's such a provacative image, meaning there is for a lot of people a very large gap in what it supposedly represents and and the evolving nature of America in the eyes of the world.
“The Last Supper” is a contemporary take on the age old Christian iconic image of the last supper of Jesus-Christ involving the controversial icon of the Statue of Liberty. This version though takes more of it’s inspiration from Buñuel’s 1961 film “Viridiana”. The dinner in this case joins an unlikely cast of characters invited primarily for their roles in the erosion of civil liberties, whether it be through outright political or military demagoguery, or cultural, or economic imperialism. The five people involved in the project will be filmed as the twelve guests and shown gorging on what is already the body in repose of Miss Liberty. This installation is a reflection of the precarious state of post-September 11 civil liberties and how world wide events have created an environment where increasingly conservative governments place more restrictions on their civilian populations.

To See A delightful Video of the project made by Fabrice Amzel go to this Link:

The Last Supper, 23 December 2003 AD, Galeria La Santa

Or...

Work created in collaboration with Thomas Charveriat
Sound Design by Denis Menard
Costume Design by Eric Obino
Video Realization and Edition by Fabrice Amzel

F2T ? Free to Talk ? Mobile hip hopping madness...

2004-07-03T15:00:00.000+02:00

CCCB (Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona), "Los Miedos", BAC IV - 12/2003

Ok F2T is probably the most ambitious artistic project I've ever been involved in. What started out as a "What if..." conversation, you know the ones, they begin "What if we could go to the moon?", "What if we could rebuild the Eiffel Tower with toilet paper rolls?", you know the ones. F2T is the answer to the question "What if we could build an interactive hip hop installation that worked with your mobile telephone?"

F2T

In January 2003, Forrester Consultants, calculated that about 25 billion SMS messages were sent around the world in 2002. New technologies impose their language. Now, a flood of letters and signs, a hieroglyphic argot at the middle of the road between telegram and stenography dominates the virtual world. The “ :`-( “ (“I am crying and I am sad” ), “atb” (“All the best”), “cu @” (“see you around”), “thx” (“Thanks”) arrive with power. F2T, a creation by artists Thomas Charveriat(France) and Frank Plant(United States), combines sculpture, robotics, hip hop, and SMS messaging to explore the ways technology shapes the development of language, particularly new forms of slang. Viewers interact directly with the artwork by sending it a short text message from their mobile. Once received, the SMS is scanned for frequently used words and, when a match is found, the four elements are activated. The main piece, "Rapper" begins to twist and wave his hand while mouthing a rap based on the message sent, the new lyrics culled from more than 150 different hip hop phrases written by Amsterdam-based lyricist and composer Jim Barnard. The rest of the piece is simultaneously set into motion: "Boom Box" starts flashing and blasting out the song while "Joy Ride" a bouncing low-rider, and "Shake Ass" (looks like it sounds) begins to move, triggered by ambient sound sensors. When the song is finished, a thermal printer spits out a souvenir with the original SMS and the words of the "Rapper".

Well that's it in a nutshell but if your interested in the story behind the story hang around, if you would like to go directly to a video created by Fabrice Amzel about F2T? click the below link.

F2T?, The Movie

Or you can youtube it right here!

Get Poor or die tryin': The story behind F2T?

At first F2T? existed solely as a central figure that we figured we would hook up to a portable stereo or soundsystem. We started out fooling around and I took or had taken rather a couple images of me in full on MC mode. The image to the far left served to banish any doubts anyone had about my childhood in the ghetto. These other images though thank god never made it out of the box and now I just use them to blackmail their subjects.

DJ Whitebread AKA Dennis Menard, the sound designer, for F2T

Thomas "Tommy Gun" Charveriat, reigning technophile and co-author of the project. This guy just oozes hood...

The principal image of the rapper/MC initially was just a trial but somehow it stuck, minus my face that is which we replaced with the first rapper/vocalist that we enlisted to record the database of hip hop phrases that we used in the project.Yes we did tend to focus on the bling side of things which doesn't necessarily mean we were tipping our hat to that part of the community, it just boils down to the fact I fuckin' love the song and video "Country Grammar" sung by Nelly and directed by Marc Klasfeld.

Low Rider

Now the idea of F2T came before I saw the video but the video did serve to embellish the project quite a bit. Cars and women figure prominently in the video and my mind started to wander a bit. Thomas and I agreed that perhaps it would be better to add a couple elements, flesh out the project a bit. The first thing that we thought of was to create one of those muscle cars on hydraulic pistons which seemed easy enough. We just had to figure out a way to animate the thing so it jumped up and down.

The solution lay in electro-magnetic pistons which was a new discovery for me but not for Thomas. When an electrical current is applied the magnet creates a force which pulls the piston into the socket. With the late night help of Jan van Ommen, official problem solver and go to guy on this project as well as many others, we developed four springs that we could hook up to an ambient sound sensor (we also hooked up led's in the resin headlights) so that the car would bounce depending on the quantity of ambient sound the sensor received.

Shake Ass

The next element required quite a bit of research on the Internet. Let me tell you what a wonderful tool the internet is, I had to find images of a fairly large ass to make a dynamic piece of sculpture that actually shook her ass in the way that is so popular in rap videos today. There is no shortage of images of all types and sizes of asses on the internet and I spent one of the more pleasant periods of the development of F2T? doing this research. Alas sometimes what your looking for happens to be right under your nose and in this instance it happened to be the case. My lovely girlfriend happened to be willing to compromise herself in the name of art and I came up with this image.
Now for a lot of people this derrier would be considered quite remarkable, but sadly this is the type of ass where they laugh you off the set at the video shoot. So what was left for me to do but to savagely attack it in Photoshop and while I was at touch up those thighs a bit as well. The lengths we will go to acheive reality. The results you see below.

The sculpture actually has two asses, one mounted on top of the other. The top one is connected to a motor by a pin that passes through the bottom at more or less the position of the base of the spine. It is also hooked up to an ambient sound sensor and reacts by shaking her ass to the sounds that happen to be in the surrounding area. The sensitivity can also be regulated, just like in real life!

F2T, The Music

Whilst we are busy in Barcelona developing the project up in cold Amsterdam Jim Barnard, our recruit to take care of the heavy heavy job of composing and writing rap phrases that correspond to the words that we have in our database is hard at work. Our database consists of the 150 most popular words used in sms's. This it turns out is a shitload of work, much, much, more than any one anticipated... Later these will be loaded onto a chip that through techno wizardry ala' Thomas Charveriat will be triggered by incoming sms's.

Our man in the 'dam, Strawberry Ize AKA Jim Barnard, One bad Mudda

Jim is busy at it, with a list in alphabetical order that looks something like this, here you have an excerpt from the r's and s's that he wrote:

Read - Catch my flow, bro, if you need to understand
it, helps to read, this how I planned it.

Real - Fuck keepin' it real, my deal is to fake it,
make it up, I'll give it you take it.

Record - Put the needle on the record, come on over get
nekid, grab a pill and fuckin' neck it.

Room - Take

Safe - It's safe to see me, it ain't safe to be me, my
style is to rock for you, to short sharp shock for you.

Sea - Nice an' slow coastin', fry roastin', try
toastin' like a raggamuffin, chuffin' on a sticky stink
ting.

In the end due to time pressures we start to do some of the recording in Barcelona with a fella named Tairo Nimaga that you see here in the studio at Placeta Montcada 5. In the end I think we used maybe five different vocalists with both Jim and Dennis pitching in hours upon hours of fine tuning to make sure we were up to spice.

Other Things.....

One of the cooler things that we did with this project that Thomas came up with all on his own was to put a thermal printer into a tube of pvc and program it to spit out a receipt that gave the number of the person that sent the message, the message they sent, the reply given and artists credits. This was a great foresight and a really important part of the piece. The public would send their messages but the raps would go by so quickly that in the absence of the printer they would have no way of ascertaining which reponse was directed at them and what the hell they were saying anyway. In any event it was also a great souvenir for our adoring public.

We also had a small light box with more or less instructions on how the project worked and of course the number that you had to send the sms to, as well as artists credits. We discovered you can never give yourself enough credit.

Last but certainly not least is the bangin' boom box with a car stereo, a 150 watt amplifier and four car speakers installed in it that we used to broadcast the whole proceedings. Also installed are LED's beneath the "buttons" that are filled with resin. These are also hooked up to an ambient sound sensor and blink according to the volume and frequencies that they receive.

F2T? inaugurated in the CCCB (Centro de Cultura Contemporanea de Barcelona) for the first time in November of 2003 and has since been exhibited in Observatori 2004, Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain, Customize04, Covento de Sant Agusti, Barcelona, Spain and the Ram Foundation, Rotterdam, Den Hague

Article in El Pais

Potty Art No.2

2004-06-05T18:02:00.000+02:00

There comes a time in the development of every artist that he or she has to come to terms with certain aspects of their heritage. This point came to me when collaborating with the French artist/Gallerist and all round poof Thomas Charveriat. We were pondering over a juried show that we were thinking of submitting a piece to where the theme was Water. Water somehow had to be addressed in the works for this show. So we sat and thought and after much discussion decided that we were both ready to try and add our names to the pantheon of great artists that had dared to go against convention and create some potty art. Potty art is by definition a work of art that somehow addresses the human functions of urinating and or defecating, that's peeing and pooping to all you phillistines. Thomas had suggested we do a crucifix with blood pouring out of the scars, which would've addressed the water criteria, but then we both decided no, now was the time to become apart of that illustrious movement, Potty art.

First we needed an assistant, or co-conspirator rather, well ok a victim and it came in the form of the beautiful Danish national who also has the misfortune of being my girlfriend, Jona Borrut. I remember it like it was yesterday, a beautiful sunday morning and I role over and say to Jona, "Honey... I have an idea.". She should've ran then, but she didn't and hence she has become the muse of all muses in Potty art. We went up to the studio and I explained in a calm soothing voice eeerrrrmmm..... uuuughhh... exactly what was necessary. Which was basically for her to pose as if she was taking a leak on the sidewalk in some urban environment, she took it like a champ and we had our source material for the next great step in Potty art.

This photo was censored for all the sad perves that kept googling it for kicks, use your imagination.

The next step was to take that material and transform it into a two dimensional drawing in steel where every place that skin was exposed you had a plate of PVC cut to the exact dimensions of said exposed skin and mounted on to the scaffolding that is formed by the drawing in steel.

We then mounted two servi motors and a speaker on to the back of the head. The speaker carries the uncertain voice of Ms. Borrut who beseeches the viewer to inform her the moment anyone comes into view. The motors control the eyes, which dart furtively back and forth and the mouth or lower jaw rather which is synchronized to move in tandem with the recording to give the impression that the statue is actually speaking. Downstairs, the supposed genitalia, we hooked up the windshield wiper pump from my 1982 Volkswagen Golf which on command releases a very realistic stream of water with a touch of yellow dye added.

The base is a large wooden box that is covered by asphalt to give the impression of being on the street, in the middle of the box we have installed a drain, a proper drain that one might find on any street corner. When the statue urinates the water falls into the drain and goes into a reservoir that we have parked in the base and then the water is pumped back up a small transparent tube which is wired to the backside of the leg of the statue.

When a button on the front right corner of the box is pushed it sets into motion a sequence that lasts about 45 seconds which involves the lovely Ms. Borrut's beseeching voice, darting eyes, wagging jaw and and the windshield wiper pumping yellow water all working in unison to give the impression of a lovely young woman caught in the somewhat vulnerable act of having through desperation to urinate on the street. In the Background we have created a lightbox one meter eighty high and one meter thirty five across with a duratrans image of a street scene illuminated from behind to further the idea. A very entertaining video of this project can be seen here.

Awkward Moment No.2

It was filmed by Fabrice Amzel who did a lot of work with Thomas and I and we will forever be indebted to him.

Or you can view it on youtube.

A lovely little box created by young doctor Thomas "Frankenstein" Charveriat that orchestrates and controls the movements and sound of "Awkward Moment No.2"

Professed rabid supporters, the wife of former president of the Generalitat Jordi Pujol and the former Minister of Culture of Catalunya

A technical rider of the piece.

Fingerprints! Who are we?? What's going on here?

2004-03-04T21:50:00.000+01:00

I couldn't have put it better myself...
"His most recent work, "Fingerprints", is a series of large intricate steel reproductions of individual's fingerprints. This series invites the viewer to appreciate the wonderfully complex nature of the fingerprint's organic form which is all too easily lost in its everyday meaning as the quintessential representation of individuality."
Zack Booth Simpson writing about the fingerprints in steel of Frank Plant, Austin, Texas, 2001

I kinda remember when it hit me, vaguely... I had already been working with the drawings in steel for a couple of years and was mostly concerned with the replication of everyday objects, coffe cups, corkscrews and the like. I was definitely in Barcelona in the studio. I went downstairs and began to look up fingerprints on google. In some dark alley of the internet I stumbled across a reasonably good image of a scan of an arrest record of Malcolm X with his fingerprints, I downloaded it and I still rue the day.

Back in the day before I went completely techno I would print out a copy of the fingerprint do a graph over the top and then transfer that times ten in chalk onto the floor of my studio, very laborious. Now I just print the whole thing out on A4's and cut and tape them together. Equally laborious but perhaps a smidge less tedious. I was on to something...

Wow, organic forms, beautiful I really liked the result and not only that I got great responses from the posse that would normally come around the studio and gawk, drink beers and generally get up to things disreputable.
I continued to ruminate on the subject and it took me to all sorts of strange places, a little bit like a labyrinth.... Yes a labyrinth! And yes a portrait, a hyper realistic portrait. Just a bit of a twisted angle on the age old idea of portraiture. Like always I like the graphic quality of the bars of steel and with the fingerprint they meld together to make a very bold portrait. the vast majority of these that i did are about one meter to one meter twenty wide and one meter fifty to one meter sixty high.

Big suckers using twelve millimeter round steel bar. Up until this point these were the first works that I did that I really had problems to get around the studio, they weigh a ton. After the first couple though you realize the creative work is done and it's really just about fabrication and a lot of fabrication at that. Cutting, bending, grinding, cutting, bending, grinding.... and on and on forever and ever.
The figerprints have treated me well and I have exhibited them far and wide across the land and I even branched out into what I consider the collective fingerprint of human communities, maps. The photo below was taken at Sala Can Felipa from a juried show called "Dades Essencials" from the 9th of December 2003 until the 10th of January 2004.

The map shown here is that of Paris. I have always liked maps and with creating this one I wanted to try and strip it of it's normal meaning as a tool for orientation and navigation and give people an oppurtunity to look at it as only a complex formation found in nature, not unlike the fingerprints. Maps as design, as semi calculated evolving grids and networks with their own inherent aesthetics.

Chuck Taylor's (Converse All Stars)... And Other Icons

2004-01-05T15:54:00.000+01:00

In early 2003 I was contacted by Paul Collier, an American architect based in Paris who had seen some of my work through a mutual contact. He asked permission to maybe use some of my work in proposals he did for clients. Personally I prefer architects to gallerists so I readily agreed. About six months later he got in contact again and said that he had spoken with a client about a yet to be developed piece of mine for the entrance of an office building that they had recently rennovated. So we began to throw some ideas back and forth. He mentioned that the building was home to various design businesses and photographers if I remember correctly. The space it needed to fill was about three meters fifty by about two and a half meters of usable space high. I also remember him saying that something with a sense of humor would be good.

"Chuck Taylors", Steel, 356x98cm, 2004

Hence after about five or six ideas that fell by the wayside we settled on a drawing of a photo I had taken of... yep you guessed it, my Converse All Star sneakers. Or Chuck Taylor's or just simply and affectionately "Chucks".

"Chuck Taylors" (Detail), Steel, 2004

Now I've been wearing these shoes, not this particular pair mind you, for the better part of twenty five years. I remember my first pair and how I proudly strode into the YMCA thinking that they were actually going to make me a better basketball player, they didn't.... But it was like being introduced to a club of people in the know. I wore black chucks all through high school and college where they became billboards for my favorite political staements and musical tastes and even now I have a beat up pair lying around, yea the ones in the picture up top.

Sending the chucks off to Paris

Also working with images that are in some ways icons or have some sort of social weight is something that I'm interested in. Taking images that first and foremost attract me compositionally with the added weight of whatever social or cultural imagery they represent. such as the images below

Brain, Steel, 140x140, 2001
The consummate image for intelligence and or human awareness (or stupidity for that matter).

Boombox, Steel, 150x118, 2002

Cultural icon of black america c.1975, revisited and embraced by white middle class suburban america early 1990's until present. This piece got sucked into a larger Installation called F2T? or Free to Talk?

Pistol, Steel, 202x152, 1999

I got very strong reactions to the pistol, I don't know if something can be quietly violent but if it can it's this image. The pistol obviously is a fairly good icon for violence, for me I'm really attracted to the composition as well. It has to be said that a gun is a tool, whether for shooting beer cans in your backyard or more nefarious uses. I also like most things that represent the evolution of a design and hence could be considered the sum of our knowledge at the point of their fabrication, in a form follows function sense. Regardless it's a potent image and now lives in Brussels.

Heart (Various), Steel, 160x120, 1999

Human Compassion, Love, Life... etc....

Headphones, Steel, 128x117, 2001

Image for everything DJ, electronic culture, and so on.... as is the below image

Tone Arm, Steel, 157x58, 2004

One Man's Garbage....

2002-10-06T17:59:00.000+02:00

Barcelona and Spain in general are going through a period of prosperity and growth, and the construction industry is one of the driving forces behind the unsustainable economy. I am truly amazed at the amount of growth, a reflection of that growth is the amount and variety of containers that you see sprinkled on the streets to handle the refuse that spills out of these sites. The most common of these is the construction sack which is ubiquitous on the streets of Barcelona. This is basically a very strong bag of maybe 1.2 square meters that you buy at the local hardware store. Included in the price of purchase is that once the bag is full you call up a number normally printed on the side of the bag and magically within a day or so a truck appears and lifts it in to the back of the truck and whisks it away to construction sack heaven.

The sack, more common on the streets of Barcelona than pay phones and mailboxes put together.

At some point in time I began to look at these objects with different eyes, they are ever present yet somehow they blend into the urban landscape to the point that you don't even register them. They come, they fill, they overflow, they disappear leaving a residue as the only testament to their existence. Like some wierd temporary organic installation. Anyway they caught my interest and I began to plot out a way of making some sort of creative registration of them.

Now it's 2002 and I have recently acquired my very first digital camera, which is going to change my life. No more trips to the camera store to develop a roll of film that will probably yield 4 interesting photos out of 30 at the low cost of 20€ or something. No digital photography liberated me from all that. Now I could click to my hearts delight or at least until my memory card was full and delete all the garbage (no pun intended), in the privacy of my own computer.

Previously if I wanted to use photographic material I would have to develop the photos and scan them, now I just download them directly onto the hardrive and into photoshop or whichever program I happen to using. also This would be my first excursion into actually incorporating original photographic material in the finished work. The manner in which I am working in steel has it's limitations as far as the amount of detail you can recreate.

So the idea was to recreate some of the information in steel and then have photos blown up to the according size and glued onto pvc plates that I cut to the exact dimensions of the photos then mount them on the drawing in steel

Basuralona Saco I, Steel, PVC, Photo, 95x74, 2002

It wasn't long before I began to look at not just the construction sacks but trash containers of every shape and size, domestic dumpsters, recycling bins everything. These objects play a role in the everyday existence of the city dweller and by recreating them in steel and photo I wanted to people to focus and think about this small detail of their daily experience. I proposed the series for an exhibition of BAC! ( Barcelona Arte Contemporanea ) Organized by La Santa and it inaugurated in November of 2002.

Basuralona I, Steel, PVC, Photo, 172x83, 2002

Basuralona II (Man), Steel, PVC, Photo, 118x85, 2002

Technical description of construction