An Interview With Our New Roving Reporter…

Hi Ben, so how old you are and where are you from?

I’m 16, I live in Durham but the nearest city good for art is Newcastle.

Which artists do you particularly admire?

My favoutite artists include Eelus, Guy Denning, Prefab 77 and D*Face. Other Red Propeller artists I like include Trxtr, James Baker and Ian Francis.

What attracted you to the urban art scene?

The urban art scene is completely different to any other art scene, most urban artists began their career painting/sticking etc just for their personal satisfaction; most didn’t go to art school or had anyone teaching them how to paint etc. Many exhibited work illegally in an urban environment and got a ‘rush’ from doing so. This means I can see their art on the street and is the main way I became interested in urban art. The urban artists who have risen to fame and now make a living out of art have only managed to do that because their work is more amusing, controversial or thought provoking than other urban artists. Urban artists are generally normal people with a passion for what they do, one of the reasons why I love the urban art scene is that I can relate to this passion that both artists and collectors possess which makes them all interesting people who are great to talk to.
 

What initially inspired you to start visiting galleries?

The first artist I heard of was Invader, I’d previously seen Invader’s work on the streets of Newcastle, I distinctly remember seeing a ‘donkey kong’ mosaic on the Tyne Bridge; it made me smile and i wondered how it got there. In the process of studying GCSE art I came across The book ‘Outsiders’ by Steve Lazarides, I saw Invaders tiles in that and realised it was an artist who put them up. The first urban art gallery I ever visited was the Newcastle Lazarides in April 2010 because of this book. I loved what I saw and it carried on from there. The first print I bought was ‘Invader 6 cubes’ from Lazarides in late April.
 

So can you name some of the galleries and areas that you’ve visited so far?

I think Red Propeller’s the gallery I travelled farthest just to visit, when I thought about visiting Red Propeller I didn’t anticipate a 30 mile bus journey and a 3 mile walk! It was definitely worth it though! The three main places I’ve visited are Newcastle, London and Bristol to just to go to galleries and see street art but the list is growing all the time.
 

What shows are you hopefully going to be reporting on for our blog in the near future?

I’ll be reporting on any shows going on in Newcastle; there should be a new Lazarides show in the near future as the previous one ended on October the 30th. I’m very excited about the cardboard shelter show in Newcastle, there are loads of bargains to be had, check it out if you haven’t heard of it. Zero Cool are planning on having a Newcastle show in the near future as well so I’ll be attending that too. I’m also planning a London trip in mid-December too and I’ll report on any shows going on at that time.

More from Ben coming very soon….