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

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

Nick waving that hanky

Skepticism

New series, Kinda speaks for itself....

Relief.....

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...

Living with Ghosts

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

Detail

Stay on Message

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....

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...

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

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...

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

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

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....

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

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

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

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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....

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

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

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.