To make art is to sing with the human voice.
— David Bayles and Ted Orland
Art & Fear
Organized by L.A. Art Machine and curated by Bryson Strauss, VOX HUMANA is program of carefully selected live art happenings and mural installations the U.S. and abroad by legendary street artists.
What originated in the U.S. as the "tag" has evolved into one of the most sophisticated and challenging forms of contemporary art. VOX HUMANA recognizes the talents of these artists while also celebrating the historic journey and enduring nature of graffiti art, from the caves of Lascaux to the spas of Pompeii and from the streets of Los Angeles to the walls of galleries and museums around the world.
CALENDAR of VOX HUMANA HAPPENINGS
SEPTEMBER 21 - 25, 2010 - MA'CLAIM (AKUT, TASSO, CASE) with Guests Retna & Tom Kummer
The GOETHE-INSTITUT, LOS ANGELES, in collaboration with LA ART MACHINE and supported by the GERMAN FOREIGN OFFICE, is proud to present VOX HUMANA with German graffiti legends MA'Claim (AKUT, TASSO, and CASE).
This historic art happening is a two-fold event. Arriving on Sept. 20, MA'Claim will begin a large-scale mural installation on the side of Boombang, a cutting edge, boutique design firm on the corner of Motor and Palms Ave,in Los Angeles. They will continue the mural through September 24. map it!
Then, on Sept. 25, a live art installation will take place at the Goethe Institut followed by a panel discussion with, MA'Claim, L.A. street artist RETNA, and infamous Swiss journalist and rabble-rouser, Tom Kummer.
VOX HUMANA
September 20 through 24
3459 Motor Ave.
L.A., CA 90034
Wall Commissioned by the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles and sponsored by Montana Paints, and Boombang.
JULY 13-21, 2010 - MEAR ONE - ALPHONE MUCHA MURAL - 6th & La Brea, Los Angeles
This incredible VOX HUMANA mural of Alphonse Mucha by MEAR ONE was a true collaboration. Thanks to Liz from Liz's Loft Gallery, the L.A. ART MACHINE, The Miracle Mile Art Walk, 33third.com, Shawni D., and Roger Griffith. Watch Roger Griffith's stop motion video of the entire creation here:
Alphonse Mucha “Commissions” MEAR ONE;
Cosmic Synchronicity at its Finest.
Written By: Shawni D
On July 14, 1939, Alphonse Mucha, the most famous artist of the Art Nouveau period,
drew his last breath in Prague. On July 14, 2010, prolific L.A. street artist MEAR ONE, power washed a 2 story wall off of 6th Street and La Brea Avenue, preparing it for a major live art installation of a mural he was about to embark upon, honoring the neighborhood of his youth, and two of his most treasured inspirations...read more.
JUNE 16 - 20, 2010 - VOLTA 6, BASEL, SWITZERLAND - Retna, Kofie, Mear One, and El Mac
The L.A. Art Machine in collaboration with Rivera & Rivera Gallery is proud to announce, VOX HUMANA at VOLTA 6, Basel Switzerland during ART BASEL June 16 - 20, 2010. For more information about this event, please contact bryson@laartmachine.com
Featured artists Mear One, Kofie, Retna & El Mac.
SEE THE PIX FROM VOLTA 6, SWITZERLAND with Rivera & Rivera Gallery!!
MAY 23 - 26, 2010 - AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS - ANNUAL CONFERENCE -Mear One, Retna, and Axis
The American Association of Museum’s Annual Conference is an important professional conference for the most prestigious museums and cultural instructions in the U.S., including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney, The Guggenheim, MOCA, LACMA, The Getty, and The Autry to name a only a few.
The L.A. Art Machine is honored to curate the “Wall of Ideas” project, which is a giant interactive painting wall set up at the entrance to the conference. Curator Bryson Strauss with legendary L.A.Street Artists Mear One, Retna and Axis will be on hand to paint with conference visitors and to discuss pressing social, cultural, economic, and artistic challenges facing the country's leading cultural institutions.
APRIL 16 - 18, 2010 - COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL - Mear One, Hans Haveron, and John Park
In collaboration with the DoLab, The L.A. Art Machine is proud to announce, VOX HUMANA – Coachella April 16, 17, & 18 at the Coachella Music Festival, California. With the greatest musical talent performing in the background and more than 100,000 in attendance, three of L.A.’s top street artists Mear One and Hans Haveron and John Park will paint live on giant canvases provide by world-famous Lucius Hudson Canvases throughout the run of the show.
JANUARY 20 - 24, 2010 - L.A. ART SHOW 2010 - Mear One, Kofie, Retna and El Mac
VOX HUMANA is a live art performance by legendary Los Angeles street artists Mear One, Kofie, Retna, and El Mac that will take place during the L.A. Art Show, January 20 - 24, 2010.
Using large-scale canvases, the artists will begin their work on January 20 and will paint live each day from noon to 6 PM. Using acrylic and aerosol paints, Retna and El Mac will collaborate on a canvas that is 12 x 24 feet, while Kofie and Mear One will work independently on 12 x 12 foot canvases. Los Angeles Art Show attendees are invited to witness the completion of the works on Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 2 PM, and participate in a closing celebration.
While much attention has recently been given to street artists in the fine art world with the rise in celebrity of Shepard Fairey, Banksy, and Gajin Fujita, VOX HUMANA marks the first time that a top-tier art fair has recognized, and celebrated the evolution, power, and artistic integrity of street artists in such a bold and public manner. The L.A. Art Show is making history.
Mear One, born 1971 as Kalen Ockerman in Santa Cruz, California, is a Los Angeles-based fine artist, famously known for his often-political street graffiti art. Commonly referred to as the 'Michelangelo' of Graffiti, Mear One is often associated with CBS (Can't Be Stopped -- City Bomb Squad) and WCA (West Coast Artist) crews. As a graphic designer, Mear One has designed apparel for Conart, Kaotic, as well as his own Reform brand.....more
Augustine Kofie is a long-time Los Angeles street artist, graphic designer, clothing designer and fine artist recognized for his unique architectural, geometric, mixed-media style that he refers to as "Vintage Futurism." This brand of artwork has appeared throughout the streets of LA as well as on fine furniture, CDs, and clothing. Kofie has exhibited widely and has been .....more
Retna was born in Los Angeles, California in 1979. Since first creating a name for himself in the early 1990s, Retna has become an "eternal broadcaster" of sorts, shining a light to the kinetic urban soul of Los Angeles. The name RETNA itself evokes the timeless power, movement and visual vibrancy behind the artist's acclaimed work. His work merges photography with graffiti style and paint, time with color, couture with street culture, the spiritual with the sensual, and fluidity with grit. Whether his paintings hang in a gallery or wall on the streets of Los Angeles, they serve as a retina through which we view the urban journal of contemporary art.
At an early age, Retna was introduced to L.A.'s mural culture.....more
Born in Los Angeles in 1980 to an engineer and an artist, Mac has been creating and studying art independently since childhood. Drawing inspiration from the surrounding Mexican & Chicano culture of the American Southwest, religious art, pin-up art, graffiti, and a wide range of classic artists including Caravaggio, Mucha, and Vermeer, he began painting with acrylics as well as painting graffiti in the early '90s. He has since worked consistently towards mastering his signature portrait style. Around 1998 he also began to paint technicolor aerosol interpretations.....more
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