Revision as of 04:02, 1 September 2010 editΔ (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers35,263 edits Cleanup← Previous edit | Revision as of 03:59, 7 September 2010 edit undoΔ (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers35,263 edits Filling in 14 references using ReflinksNext edit → | ||
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'''ABOVE''' (born circa 1981) has been creating public art since 1995.<ref> |
'''ABOVE''' (born circa 1981) has been creating public art since 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/11/DDGS0QQICT44.DTL |title=SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE June 11, 2007 |publisher=Sfgate.com |date=2007-07-11 |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> Above is an international contemporary street artist who keeps his identity concealed<ref name="TORONTO NEWSPAPER">{{cite web|last=Topping |first=David |url=http://torontoist.com/2007/06/tall_poppy_inte_45.php |title=Toronto Newspaper |publisher=Torontoist.com |date=2007-06-16 |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> and is widely known for his multi-layer/full color social and political stencils, spinning wooden "arrow mobile" installations, and large mural "word play" paintings. Above started traditional graffiti of tagging freight trains in California in 1995.<ref name="ReferenceC">*Vapors #15, Apr/May 2003. ISSN 74470-56677 (United States)</ref> ABOVE moved to Paris at the age of 19 where he started painting his trademark arrow (pointing above) all around the city.<ref>*</ref> Since then Above has been consistently traveling around the world doing many large self-financed "tours" with each tour exploring a new medium or style of artworks. Above has been successful in putting his street artworks in over 60 cities in 45 different countries around the globe. | ||
== Early career == | == Early career == | ||
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== 2003 == | == 2003 == | ||
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After spending almost 2 years living in Paris, Above returned to California in late 2002 to focus on his new idea of what are now known as his "arrow-mobiles."<ref>*</ref> 2003, would mark the beginning of his famous spinning arrow mobiles. "When I started to hang the first edition of arrow mobiles in San Francisco and Los Angeles the response was an immediate success. Every one has seen a pair of shoes hanging from a telephone wire but to see a spinning arrow cut from wood was something totally out of this world."<ref name="Nov 2003"/> 2003 also marked the beginning of a long series of "art-tours" for Above. "2003, was a year full of personal and artistic challenges. Designing the arrow mobiles and the technique to hang them took over 3-months to work out, that's not including cutting and painting the wooden arrows, or driving around the west-coast of the United States hanging them."<ref name="Oct 2004">*Alarm #17, Oct, 2004. (United States)</ref> Above hung his newly designed arrow mobiles in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Reno, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos.<ref name="Oct 2004" />] | After spending almost 2 years living in Paris, Above returned to California in late 2002 to focus on his new idea of what are now known as his "arrow-mobiles."<ref>*</ref> 2003, would mark the beginning of his famous spinning arrow mobiles. "When I started to hang the first edition of arrow mobiles in San Francisco and Los Angeles the response was an immediate success. Every one has seen a pair of shoes hanging from a telephone wire but to see a spinning arrow cut from wood was something totally out of this world."<ref name="Nov 2003"/> 2003 also marked the beginning of a long series of "art-tours" for Above. "2003, was a year full of personal and artistic challenges. Designing the arrow mobiles and the technique to hang them took over 3-months to work out, that's not including cutting and painting the wooden arrows, or driving around the west-coast of the United States hanging them."<ref name="Oct 2004">*Alarm #17, Oct, 2004. (United States)</ref> Above hung his newly designed arrow mobiles in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Reno, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos.<ref name="Oct 2004" /> ] | ||
== 2004 == | == 2004 == | ||
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With the previous years success and innovation of Above's arrow mobile project, the artist went ever farther and more impressive with his works and self titled "U.S.A. Tour" in 2004. "I drove over 5,500 miles across the United states hanging over 300 plus arrow mobiles in 14 major cities (San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, and Detroit to name a few."<ref name="TORONTO NEWSPAPER" /> It was in during Above's "U.S.A. tour" that he introduced his word play of using a word on each side of the spinning arrows to make a dialog. ""The emotions a person could feel from seeing these words used together can range greatly,"<ref name="Pittsburgh Newspaper"> |
With the previous years success and innovation of Above's arrow mobile project, the artist went ever farther and more impressive with his works and self titled "U.S.A. Tour" in 2004. "I drove over 5,500 miles across the United states hanging over 300 plus arrow mobiles in 14 major cities (San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, and Detroit to name a few."<ref name="TORONTO NEWSPAPER" /> It was in during Above's "U.S.A. tour" that he introduced his word play of using a word on each side of the spinning arrows to make a dialog. ""The emotions a person could feel from seeing these words used together can range greatly,"<ref name="Pittsburgh Newspaper">{{cite web|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04227/361671.stm |title=Pittsburgh Newspaper |publisher=Post-gazette.com |date=2004-08-14 |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> Above generated many newspaper interviews from the cities he visited and hung his arrow mobiles. Maybe the most popular question was how Above was able to hang his arrow mobiles so high up, ""I value and respect that we all have imaginations and for me to interfere with what your imagination is creating, or thinking, would be wrong," Above also added ""Each person has their own ideas, and each idea holds its validity. No answer is wrong or absurd. This mentality corresponds and relates directly with the arrows as a whole. The arrows' subtle presence high 'above' a city has much potential to evoke a curiosity as to What? Why? Who? And How?" | ||
== 2005 == | == 2005 == | ||
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with "I struggle to even begin to find the proper words that can do justice to how grateful I am for all the support during the enduring 7 months of travels and 26 countries visited during the Sign Language Tour. Trust and being able to link up with the global art community in foreign countries was not only necessary but critical for the progress of the Sign Language Tour. With the incredible support of artists, and fans alike sending numerous emails with invitations to come to their country to paint, as well as experience their city was what made this tour possible. I want to say THANK YOU to all of you that helped and supported this tour on many different levels."<ref> |
with "I struggle to even begin to find the proper words that can do justice to how grateful I am for all the support during the enduring 7 months of travels and 26 countries visited during the Sign Language Tour. Trust and being able to link up with the global art community in foreign countries was not only necessary but critical for the progress of the Sign Language Tour. With the incredible support of artists, and fans alike sending numerous emails with invitations to come to their country to paint, as well as experience their city was what made this tour possible. I want to say THANK YOU to all of you that helped and supported this tour on many different levels."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.woostercollective.com/2007/11/aboves_sign_language_tour_thank_you.html |title=Above'S Sign Language Tour: Thank You!! |publisher=Wooster Collective |date=2007-11-28 |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> | ||
Above's sign language tour's arrow mobiles were the most sophisticated and prolific to date. "The sign language tour's arrow mobiles were the most evolved and sophisticated I have ever made. Each arrow mobile took 15 plus stages from start to finish. I would cut the wood, glue specific hand picked fabrics and textiles to the wooden arrow. After that I would screen print and stencil the color for the arrow outline. Each arrow had a 4-letter word on each side so I would compose a stack of 4-letter words to be used in conjunction with each other and stencil 1 word to each side of the arrow mobile. Finally I would cut off the excess fabric from the arrow, and drill a hole for the hanging contraption to be inserted", "Not a single arrow mobile I made for the sign language tour had "Above" stenciled on it. I felt like the 4 years previous I had "branded" the upward pointing arrow with my street name "Above" so the sign language tour's goal was to dive deep into the word/play I was interested in."<ref name="ReferenceB">Omagiu #9. June 2007, ISSN 1841-4788 (Bucharest, Romania)</ref> It was fair to say that Above's interest was to communicate with the viewer below who saw his spinning arrows "talk" to them with the word play written on each side of the arrow mobile when it spun. "literally speaking, sign language is a form of communication using movements instead of sound. I found a lot of charm and power knowing that the arrow mobiles when hung are constantly moving around, most of all spinning around and around. It made logical sense to paint 1-word on each face of the arrow so conceptually speaking when the wind would spin the arrow mobile there would be a small "word/play" dialog to anyone who looked at it."<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Indeed Above captured a lot of attention around Europe with his flashy site specific arrow mobiles. "I first cut all of the wooden arrow mobiles in California in the early part of 2006. Once they were cut I boxed them up and sent them to my roommate in Barecelona to keep until I had arrived. Once I was in Barcelona I started to customize the arrows with the fabrics and more importantly the word/play. During the sign language tour I would be in any given city during the night and I would walk around trying to find the perfect site specific match for any given word play."<ref name="ReferenceA" /> "When I was stenciling the word/play on the arrow mobiles I would brainstorm to where I was going and try and think of words that would relate to each city, or country. I made some arrow mobiles in French (J'ai/faim, chez/vous), Spanish (Hace/sol, como/esta) German (uber/alle) and Italian (ciao/ciao) knowing that I was going to those countries where the viewer could relate even more to the arrow. To be even more specific I would think of word/plays that would relate to a certain environment or structure of a city. In Amsterdam I hung (sex/shop , red/lite , burn/weed) in any give city I would have word/plays like (honk/horn) for a busy intersection, or (nice/eyes) for the more intimate experience. working in the 4-letter word/play format was fun and very challenging."<ref name="ReferenceA" /> | Above's sign language tour's arrow mobiles were the most sophisticated and prolific to date. "The sign language tour's arrow mobiles were the most evolved and sophisticated I have ever made. Each arrow mobile took 15 plus stages from start to finish. I would cut the wood, glue specific hand picked fabrics and textiles to the wooden arrow. After that I would screen print and stencil the color for the arrow outline. Each arrow had a 4-letter word on each side so I would compose a stack of 4-letter words to be used in conjunction with each other and stencil 1 word to each side of the arrow mobile. Finally I would cut off the excess fabric from the arrow, and drill a hole for the hanging contraption to be inserted", "Not a single arrow mobile I made for the sign language tour had "Above" stenciled on it. I felt like the 4 years previous I had "branded" the upward pointing arrow with my street name "Above" so the sign language tour's goal was to dive deep into the word/play I was interested in."<ref name="ReferenceB">Omagiu #9. June 2007, ISSN 1841-4788 (Bucharest, Romania)</ref> It was fair to say that Above's interest was to communicate with the viewer below who saw his spinning arrows "talk" to them with the word play written on each side of the arrow mobile when it spun. "literally speaking, sign language is a form of communication using movements instead of sound. I found a lot of charm and power knowing that the arrow mobiles when hung are constantly moving around, most of all spinning around and around. It made logical sense to paint 1-word on each face of the arrow so conceptually speaking when the wind would spin the arrow mobile there would be a small "word/play" dialog to anyone who looked at it."<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Indeed Above captured a lot of attention around Europe with his flashy site specific arrow mobiles. "I first cut all of the wooden arrow mobiles in California in the early part of 2006. Once they were cut I boxed them up and sent them to my roommate in Barecelona to keep until I had arrived. Once I was in Barcelona I started to customize the arrows with the fabrics and more importantly the word/play. During the sign language tour I would be in any given city during the night and I would walk around trying to find the perfect site specific match for any given word play."<ref name="ReferenceA" /> "When I was stenciling the word/play on the arrow mobiles I would brainstorm to where I was going and try and think of words that would relate to each city, or country. I made some arrow mobiles in French (J'ai/faim, chez/vous), Spanish (Hace/sol, como/esta) German (uber/alle) and Italian (ciao/ciao) knowing that I was going to those countries where the viewer could relate even more to the arrow. To be even more specific I would think of word/plays that would relate to a certain environment or structure of a city. In Amsterdam I hung (sex/shop , red/lite , burn/weed) in any give city I would have word/plays like (honk/horn) for a busy intersection, or (nice/eyes) for the more intimate experience. working in the 4-letter word/play format was fun and very challenging."<ref name="ReferenceA" /> | ||
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Above's "south central tour" started in late October, 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and ended 6-months later (April, 2008) in Mexico city, Mexico.<ref name="Sep 2008" /> In early 2008 when Above was in Buenos Aires, Argentina he started to elaborate and extend his word play paintings to using more words with more of an impact "It's funny but true that all of my street works have consistently been a progression and evolution from the previous years works. I'm very happy with how my works continue to grow and evolve into larger painted wordplay with more meaning and site specific feeling behind them."<ref name=autogenerated4 /> The beginning to 2008 was not a pleasant start for Above. He was robbed at gunpoint with fellow traveling artist while both were painting. Above talks about this life threatening experience, "Life is a learning experience and is filled with puzzling situations and outcomes. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise, or just being at the right place, but at the wrong time? The “why” questions perhaps will never be answered but one thing is for sure anger is a strong and nasty emotion to have. When anger is held on to for long periods of time it can and will decay a person and their spirit.It’s been a week now since I was robbed at Gunpoint by 2 thieves and up until these past days the anger was getting the best of me. Time heals as well as a better perspective on life and what is important in it. I have come to terms with this situation and I’m more optimistic about 2008 and all of the great experiences and art that will come out of it! 2008 Full Fucking Speed Ahead!<ref> |
Above's "south central tour" started in late October, 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and ended 6-months later (April, 2008) in Mexico city, Mexico.<ref name="Sep 2008" /> In early 2008 when Above was in Buenos Aires, Argentina he started to elaborate and extend his word play paintings to using more words with more of an impact "It's funny but true that all of my street works have consistently been a progression and evolution from the previous years works. I'm very happy with how my works continue to grow and evolve into larger painted wordplay with more meaning and site specific feeling behind them."<ref name=autogenerated4 /> The beginning to 2008 was not a pleasant start for Above. He was robbed at gunpoint with fellow traveling artist while both were painting. Above talks about this life threatening experience, "Life is a learning experience and is filled with puzzling situations and outcomes. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise, or just being at the right place, but at the wrong time? The “why” questions perhaps will never be answered but one thing is for sure anger is a strong and nasty emotion to have. When anger is held on to for long periods of time it can and will decay a person and their spirit.It’s been a week now since I was robbed at Gunpoint by 2 thieves and up until these past days the anger was getting the best of me. Time heals as well as a better perspective on life and what is important in it. I have come to terms with this situation and I’m more optimistic about 2008 and all of the great experiences and art that will come out of it! 2008 Full Fucking Speed Ahead!<ref>{{cite web|url=http://southcentraltour.wordpress.com/category/buenos-aires-argentina/ |title=Buenos Aires, Argentina « South Central Tour |publisher=Southcentraltour.wordpress.com |date= |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> Above seemed to bounce back from this negative start to 2008 as he continued to travel and paint larger wordplays in Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru), Bogota (Colombia), Panama City (Panama), San Jose (Costa Rica), Guatemala City (Guatemala, and eventually at the final destination of Mexico City (Mexico). | ||
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After the completion of Above's south central tour he went home to California to prepare and turn around only to go Europe to participate in Italy in a group show. In May, Above composed a short 10 minute video called showcasing many of the paintings and experiences he did along his tour. The New york based website who has always been very supportive of Above's artworks and enduring travels, granted Above to post his 4-part video along with short stories for the websites community.<ref> |
After the completion of Above's south central tour he went home to California to prepare and turn around only to go Europe to participate in Italy in a group show. In May, Above composed a short 10 minute video called showcasing many of the paintings and experiences he did along his tour. The New york based website who has always been very supportive of Above's artworks and enduring travels, granted Above to post his 4-part video along with short stories for the websites community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.woostercollective.com/travelogues/ |title=Travelogues Archives |publisher=Wooster Collective |date= |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> | ||
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During the summer of 2008 Above was invited to the 1st annual "FAME FESTIVAL" in the south of Italy. While painting along side other artists such as (BLU, ETHOS, and Connor Harrington) Above seemed to return back to his earlier stencil works from 2003 with full size figurative stencils. It was in Lisbon, Portugal later that summer that Above painted his "Giving to the poor" stencil commenting on social issues of homelessness. Above is quoted on his website "EVERY DAY I WALKED BY THIS SPOT THIS HOMELESS LADY WAS SITTING IN THE SAME PLACE BEGGING FOR MONEY. I FOUND IT SADLY IRONIC THAT JUST 6 FEET TO THE SIDE OF HER THERE WAS A BANK ATM MACHINE WHERE PEOPLE WERE LINING UP TO WITHDRAW MONEY. THE OBVIOUS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CLASH INSPIRED ME TO MAKE THIS PIECE."<ref name=autogenerated1> |
During the summer of 2008 Above was invited to the 1st annual "FAME FESTIVAL" in the south of Italy. While painting along side other artists such as (BLU, ETHOS, and Connor Harrington) Above seemed to return back to his earlier stencil works from 2003 with full size figurative stencils. It was in Lisbon, Portugal later that summer that Above painted his "Giving to the poor" stencil commenting on social issues of homelessness. Above is quoted on his website "EVERY DAY I WALKED BY THIS SPOT THIS HOMELESS LADY WAS SITTING IN THE SAME PLACE BEGGING FOR MONEY. I FOUND IT SADLY IRONIC THAT JUST 6 FEET TO THE SIDE OF HER THERE WAS A BANK ATM MACHINE WHERE PEOPLE WERE LINING UP TO WITHDRAW MONEY. THE OBVIOUS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CLASH INSPIRED ME TO MAKE THIS PIECE."<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://goabove.com/CUT_IT_OUT.html |title=Cut It Out |publisher=Goabove.com |date= |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> Later in December 2008 Above decided to make a giclee non-profit art print where 100% of all the profits were to be donated to 2 homeless shelters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://goabove.com/main/?p=94 |title=“GIVING TO THE POOR” >>>>> (SOLD OUT & Donated to charity) » ABOVE SHOP |publisher=Goabove.com |date=2008-11-30 |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> In October 2008, Above returned to his home in California, USA and continued to evolve with his stencils. During the month of October, 2008 the NYSE stock market took a drastic crash, making many businesses go bankrupt. One US bank in particular called WASHINGTON MUTUAL especially got hit hard and had to file bankruptcy. Above stenciled on the exterior of a WASHINGTON MUTUAL bank a replication of the NYSE "bar graph" with a downward sloping red line that went all the way down into the street gutter, mimicking the same results that occurred just a few days prior on the New York Stock Exchange. Above's artworks from 2008 and furthermore his re-connection with his stencil works seemed to address and comment on more social, political, and time sensitive current affairs. | ||
== 2009 == | == 2009 == | ||
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January 1, 2009 Above was quick to propose the question and concerns of the new 2009 year. Would the new 2009 year be a "bang or bust" year? Considering the recent current affairs of the global stock market crash just 3 months prior, Above stenciled a grown "baby new year" character complete with traditional blue sash, top hat and celebratory bottle of champagne. Above portrayed the grown baby new year figure to be tagging graffiti on the wall that read "bang or bust?" Above was attentive to creating his stencil around the site specific location and characteristics of the wall. There were 2 boarded up windows that the artist portrayed 2 silhouetted people with raised champagne glasses seen from the outside in. Above's attentiveness to his locations and timely current affair questioning with his stencil works was just the beginning of Above's 2009 themed stencils that would follow. Just 1-month later on Valentine's Day, Above stenciled what seems to be one of his more popular stencil works from 2009 titled "FIRST LOVE." This colorful feel good situation depicts a young girl blowing hearts to what can be assumed as her "first love" who is jumping high up in the air trying to grab a hold of the young girl's floating heart(s). Quoting Above from his website "The imagery is something that anyone who has been in love can relate to. Love can take on many different forms and stages and this piece resembles the chase and innocence of trying to grab hold and keep that first love.” <ref> |
January 1, 2009 Above was quick to propose the question and concerns of the new 2009 year. Would the new 2009 year be a "bang or bust" year? Considering the recent current affairs of the global stock market crash just 3 months prior, Above stenciled a grown "baby new year" character complete with traditional blue sash, top hat and celebratory bottle of champagne. Above portrayed the grown baby new year figure to be tagging graffiti on the wall that read "bang or bust?" Above was attentive to creating his stencil around the site specific location and characteristics of the wall. There were 2 boarded up windows that the artist portrayed 2 silhouetted people with raised champagne glasses seen from the outside in. Above's attentiveness to his locations and timely current affair questioning with his stencil works was just the beginning of Above's 2009 themed stencils that would follow. Just 1-month later on Valentine's Day, Above stenciled what seems to be one of his more popular stencil works from 2009 titled "FIRST LOVE." This colorful feel good situation depicts a young girl blowing hearts to what can be assumed as her "first love" who is jumping high up in the air trying to grab a hold of the young girl's floating heart(s). Quoting Above from his website "The imagery is something that anyone who has been in love can relate to. Love can take on many different forms and stages and this piece resembles the chase and innocence of trying to grab hold and keep that first love.” <ref>{{cite web|url=http://goabove.com/main/?p=596/ |title=First Love » Above Shop |publisher=Goabove.com |date=2009-11-24 |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> In April, 2009 Above addressed the issue and then current scandal of the US company A.I.G. and how they took millions of American tax payers money to reward themselves and top company executives for no logical reason. The timing of the A.I.G. scandal and Easter Sunday just 1-week away it seems that Above was able to notice and react in a timely manner to address this situation. Above created an elaborate stencil situation with 4 different children searching for "Easter AIG's" only to find an A.I.G. business man with a large basket full of eggs with his hands out reached as to comment on his greedy and dis regard for the children with no "Easter AIG's" in their baskets. | ||
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In late May, 2009 Above started yet another large tour around Europe for 4-months. That tour doesn't seem to have a title as with most of Above's previous self titled tours, but judging by his artworks he was focused on his political and social stencil works. In June, 2009 Above painted and installed a piece in Copenhagen, Denmark titled "THE NAKED TRUTH" where he observed and built on an unused cage in the street to create a spectacular shower scene complete with overhead shower and curtain. This piece was a brilliant fusion between 3 different elements of Above's artworks (Site specific stencil, an installation element, and a word-play statement) | In late May, 2009 Above started yet another large tour around Europe for 4-months. That tour doesn't seem to have a title as with most of Above's previous self titled tours, but judging by his artworks he was focused on his political and social stencil works. In June, 2009 Above painted and installed a piece in Copenhagen, Denmark titled "THE NAKED TRUTH" where he observed and built on an unused cage in the street to create a spectacular shower scene complete with overhead shower and curtain. This piece was a brilliant fusion between 3 different elements of Above's artworks (Site specific stencil, an installation element, and a word-play statement) | ||
One month later in Berlin, Germany, Above created a social and political stencil piece directly on the Berlin Wall. Quoting Above from his website "THIS YEAR MARKS THE 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BERLIN WALL FALLING ENJOY THE SYMBOLISM, IRONY AND GESTURE OF UNITY FROM THE EXTENDING ARM REACHING THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE WALL OFFER FLOWERS TO THE OTHER SIDE "BRIDGING THE DIVIDE" BETWEEN THE EAST AND WEST SIDES OF BERLIN.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Once again Above created a multi layer/color site specific stencil along with an installation element that added that extra touch and unique visual distinction from other popular stencil artists like ],Dolk,and Logan Hicks. ] | One month later in Berlin, Germany, Above created a social and political stencil piece directly on the Berlin Wall. Quoting Above from his website "THIS YEAR MARKS THE 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BERLIN WALL FALLING ENJOY THE SYMBOLISM, IRONY AND GESTURE OF UNITY FROM THE EXTENDING ARM REACHING THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE WALL OFFER FLOWERS TO THE OTHER SIDE "BRIDGING THE DIVIDE" BETWEEN THE EAST AND WEST SIDES OF BERLIN.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> Once again Above created a multi layer/color site specific stencil along with an installation element that added that extra touch and unique visual distinction from other popular stencil artists like ],Dolk,and Logan Hicks. ] | ||
In August, 2009 Above returned to the United States from his recent 4-month stencil tour around Europe. Above starts a benevolent project involving the homeless population of Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Quoting Above from is website "Immediately after returning from touring around Europe this past summer I decided to move from California to Portland, Oregon. Being that I create and install my artworks in the streets I am constantly searching and observing street situations to build with and incorporate into my artworks. What I noticed upon my arrival to Portland less than 3-months ago was the abnormally large amount of homeless people sleeping on sidewalks and under the many bridges here in Portland. It's impossible to not notice the overwhelming homeless population here in Portland, Oregon. Oregon has the highest proportion of homeless people in the nation, according to a new report on homelessness issued by the U.S> department of housing and urban development. As if this was not enough the un-employment in the state of Oregon is at a 11.5% and ranks 4th worse in the United States. I wanted to address and draw more attention to the homeless crisis here in Portland (and across the nation in general.) I wanted to learn more about this homeless epidemic by listening directly to the homeless community on an individual person to person level. During the month of November, 2009 I rode my bike around Portland wanting to listen to homeless individuals that wanted to share their story and suggestion on what shelters really help out with services as well as where I should donate the money fund raised from this "HOMELESS NOT HOPELESS" print. The majority of the homeless individuals I talked to spoke very highly about T.P.I. (Transition Projects) and how T.P.I. helps them with shelter, hygienic supplies, clothes and supportive programs to help them transition off the streets.<ref name="goabove.com"> |
In August, 2009 Above returned to the United States from his recent 4-month stencil tour around Europe. Above starts a benevolent project involving the homeless population of Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Quoting Above from is website "Immediately after returning from touring around Europe this past summer I decided to move from California to Portland, Oregon. Being that I create and install my artworks in the streets I am constantly searching and observing street situations to build with and incorporate into my artworks. What I noticed upon my arrival to Portland less than 3-months ago was the abnormally large amount of homeless people sleeping on sidewalks and under the many bridges here in Portland. It's impossible to not notice the overwhelming homeless population here in Portland, Oregon. Oregon has the highest proportion of homeless people in the nation, according to a new report on homelessness issued by the U.S> department of housing and urban development. As if this was not enough the un-employment in the state of Oregon is at a 11.5% and ranks 4th worse in the United States. I wanted to address and draw more attention to the homeless crisis here in Portland (and across the nation in general.) I wanted to learn more about this homeless epidemic by listening directly to the homeless community on an individual person to person level. During the month of November, 2009 I rode my bike around Portland wanting to listen to homeless individuals that wanted to share their story and suggestion on what shelters really help out with services as well as where I should donate the money fund raised from this "HOMELESS NOT HOPELESS" print. The majority of the homeless individuals I talked to spoke very highly about T.P.I. (Transition Projects) and how T.P.I. helps them with shelter, hygienic supplies, clothes and supportive programs to help them transition off the streets.<ref name="goabove.com">{{cite web|url=http://goabove.com/Homelessnothopeless.html |title=Home Less, Not Hope Less! |publisher=Goabove.com |date= |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> ] | ||
Above's "Homeless, not hopeless" project was another sold out success (similar to his previous "GIVING TO THE POOR" non-profit print.) Above was able to get directly involved with the homeless and listen, as well as inform the public about many mis-conceptions and stereotypes that the general public has with the homeless. "One of my goals with the Homeless, Not Hopeless project was to ask 5 basic questions to each homeless individual to learn more about them, and what mis-conceptions they think the general public has of someone who is homeless." <ref name="goabove.com"/> Above continues to state "During this project it was not my interest as to why or how each homeless person got into the situation of sleeping on the street. I'm not here to judge anyone. Compassion is crucial and necessary in order to offer true help and assistance to those in need.<ref> |
Above's "Homeless, not hopeless" project was another sold out success (similar to his previous "GIVING TO THE POOR" non-profit print.) Above was able to get directly involved with the homeless and listen, as well as inform the public about many mis-conceptions and stereotypes that the general public has with the homeless. "One of my goals with the Homeless, Not Hopeless project was to ask 5 basic questions to each homeless individual to learn more about them, and what mis-conceptions they think the general public has of someone who is homeless." <ref name="goabove.com"/> Above continues to state "During this project it was not my interest as to why or how each homeless person got into the situation of sleeping on the street. I'm not here to judge anyone. Compassion is crucial and necessary in order to offer true help and assistance to those in need.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://goabove.com/main/?p=674 |title=Homeless, Not Hopeless » Above Shop |publisher=Goabove.com |date=2009-12-08 |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> Read all of Above's interviews with the homeless community in Portland here | ||
== 2010 == | == 2010 == | ||
January, 2010 Above goes to La Havana, Cuba to make a site specific stencil commenting on the recent earthquakes in the neighboring country of Haiti | January, 2010 Above goes to La Havana, Cuba to make a site specific stencil commenting on the recent earthquakes in the neighboring country of Haiti | ||
] Above is quoted saying in the text of his video he made about this piece " Cuba is less than 90 miles away from Haiti making them very close neighbors. The young and courageous neighbor is embarking to Haiti to help out those who have fallen victim. The recent earthquakes in Haiti has taken over 230,000 innocent lives, wounded 300,000 and made 1,200,000 people homeless. " <ref>http://vimeo.com/9452360</ref> | ] Above is quoted saying in the text of his video he made about this piece " Cuba is less than 90 miles away from Haiti making them very close neighbors. The young and courageous neighbor is embarking to Haiti to help out those who have fallen victim. The recent earthquakes in Haiti has taken over 230,000 innocent lives, wounded 300,000 and made 1,200,000 people homeless. " <ref>{{cite web|author=By Above |url=http://vimeo.com/9452360 |title=Help Thy Neighbor On Vimeo |publisher=Vimeo.com |date= |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> | ||
Persuaded by friend and fellow artist, ], Above and Blek le Rat did a duo indoor gallery show together at the in San Francisco on May 1, 2010. This was the first and only time Above has ever worked inside a gallery space. " I was persuaded by my friend Blek le Rat to show with him at White Walls. When Blek and I were in Paris in 2009 at his home he was confused and very surprised that I had never done any indoor gallery show. He asked me why not, and I said that I have had over a dozen offers in the past to show in great galleries, but that my focus and interest was to make artworks in the streets. Since 2003 I have always been traveling 5-9+ months out of the year around the world and when I'm not traveling I'm preparing to travel. Blek le Rat immediately told me that he wanted to show with me and introduce my artworks into the gallery world. I agreed and the rest is history."<ref> |
Persuaded by friend and fellow artist, ], Above and Blek le Rat did a duo indoor gallery show together at the in San Francisco on May 1, 2010. This was the first and only time Above has ever worked inside a gallery space. " I was persuaded by my friend Blek le Rat to show with him at White Walls. When Blek and I were in Paris in 2009 at his home he was confused and very surprised that I had never done any indoor gallery show. He asked me why not, and I said that I have had over a dozen offers in the past to show in great galleries, but that my focus and interest was to make artworks in the streets. Since 2003 I have always been traveling 5-9+ months out of the year around the world and when I'm not traveling I'm preparing to travel. Blek le Rat immediately told me that he wanted to show with me and introduce my artworks into the gallery world. I agreed and the rest is history."<ref>{{cite web|author=Joseph Lumbroso |url=http://www.whitewallssf.com/blog/page/3/ |title=White Walls, SF – Blog |publisher=Whitewallssf.com |date= |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> White Walls wrote this about Above "ABOVE has devoted the past 8 years to creating street art in 45 countries around the world, refusing to take his focus off the streets even for gallery exhibitions. It is only because of Blek le Rat’s strong desire to show alongside him that ABOVE finally conceded to his premier indoor exhibition. Transitions is based on three themes from his outdoor works: sign language arrow mobiles, wordplay murals, and colorful figurative stencils. The overarching sentiment is one of optimism, honor, overcoming struggle, and a desire to rise above." <ref>{{cite web|author=Joseph Lumbroso |url=http://www.whitewallssf.com/blog/2010/04/coming-may-1-2010-blek-le-rat-and-above/ |title=Coming May 1, 2010: Blek le Rat and Above - White Walls, SF – Blog |publisher=Whitewallssf.com |date= |accessdate=2010-09-07}}</ref> | ||
== Further reading == | == Further reading == |
Revision as of 03:59, 7 September 2010
ABOVE | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Known for | Contemporary street-artist |
ABOVE (born circa 1981) has been creating public art since 1995. Above is an international contemporary street artist who keeps his identity concealed and is widely known for his multi-layer/full color social and political stencils, spinning wooden "arrow mobile" installations, and large mural "word play" paintings. Above started traditional graffiti of tagging freight trains in California in 1995. ABOVE moved to Paris at the age of 19 where he started painting his trademark arrow (pointing above) all around the city. Since then Above has been consistently traveling around the world doing many large self-financed "tours" with each tour exploring a new medium or style of artworks. Above has been successful in putting his street artworks in over 60 cities in 45 different countries around the globe.
Early career
Above is quoted as saying "I started making art as soon as I could pick up a crayon." Above grew up in California by both his "hippie" parents. He states that art, and music were practiced and encouraged by both parents at an early age. Years later when Above was 15 he started skateboarding and hanging out with older skaters that were already into graffiti At the age of 15 still living in California, Above started tagging the name "Above" on freight trains. It was only 3 years later that Above grew tired of painting his traditional letter graffiti "I got tired of not being able to read my graffiti when the train picked up speed and pulled out of the station. It was at this moment that I knew I needed to change my artwork to something that could be understood and seen in a fraction of a second. When Above was 19 years old he decided to move from California to Paris, France and introduce his new "Arrow logo" concept to the streets.
2002
Above moved to Paris, France in late 2001 and was introducing his new form of "street-art" to the Parisians. "2-years earlier in California I realized I had to change my artwork to something unique and catchy. I transformed my written name of "A-B-O-V-E" to the upward pointing arrow that represent "Above" or the mentality "rise above" to me but is open to interpretation to others." Europe and especially Paris,France at that time (2002) was going through a big shift with graffiti and the new largely popular "street-art" and Paris was home to Zevs (artist), Invader (artist), Stak, Honet, and Andre to name a few. Above among the other "post-graffiti" artists were making new styles of artworks in the streets that were heavily based on a character or artist "logo" that they would paint illegally in the Parisian streets. Above not only painted his upward pointing arrow "logo" on store fronts and produce trucks but he also cut from wood and installed his arrow logo to elevated walls and areas around Paris."I have put up over 500+ wooden arrows in all of Paris' 20 arrondissements.
" Above's unique arrow logo and wooden arrows in conjunction with his manic personality made his artworks very noticeable and respected in the graffiti and art community in Europe. "When I was focusing on the wooden arrows in Paris I would draw a map of 2 or 3 districts in Paris and stay within those boundaries. I knew I had a "problem" when I would find a great spot but it would be technically out of bounds in another district of Paris."
2003
After spending almost 2 years living in Paris, Above returned to California in late 2002 to focus on his new idea of what are now known as his "arrow-mobiles." 2003, would mark the beginning of his famous spinning arrow mobiles. "When I started to hang the first edition of arrow mobiles in San Francisco and Los Angeles the response was an immediate success. Every one has seen a pair of shoes hanging from a telephone wire but to see a spinning arrow cut from wood was something totally out of this world." 2003 also marked the beginning of a long series of "art-tours" for Above. "2003, was a year full of personal and artistic challenges. Designing the arrow mobiles and the technique to hang them took over 3-months to work out, that's not including cutting and painting the wooden arrows, or driving around the west-coast of the United States hanging them." Above hung his newly designed arrow mobiles in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Reno, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Taos.
2004
With the previous years success and innovation of Above's arrow mobile project, the artist went ever farther and more impressive with his works and self titled "U.S.A. Tour" in 2004. "I drove over 5,500 miles across the United states hanging over 300 plus arrow mobiles in 14 major cities (San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, and Detroit to name a few." It was in during Above's "U.S.A. tour" that he introduced his word play of using a word on each side of the spinning arrows to make a dialog. ""The emotions a person could feel from seeing these words used together can range greatly," Above generated many newspaper interviews from the cities he visited and hung his arrow mobiles. Maybe the most popular question was how Above was able to hang his arrow mobiles so high up, ""I value and respect that we all have imaginations and for me to interfere with what your imagination is creating, or thinking, would be wrong," Above also added ""Each person has their own ideas, and each idea holds its validity. No answer is wrong or absurd. This mentality corresponds and relates directly with the arrows as a whole. The arrows' subtle presence high 'above' a city has much potential to evoke a curiosity as to What? Why? Who? And How?"
2005
Having finished the very prolific "U.S.A. tour" Above now focused taking his artworks back to Europe for his self titled "European tour." Above was asked in an interview why he didn't hang his arrow mobiles in Europe in 2005 after the successful U.S.A. tour? his is quoted saying "In the United States there are an almost infinite amount of overhead telephone wires and street cables. However I was unsure of how the different European countries "overhead" wires and supports were so I decided to evolve the wooden arrow's I made in Paris in 2002 and focus on putting these on elevated walls around Europe while at the same time observing and researching more about the overhead wires in all the countries I visit." Above traveled to 15 countries during his 4-month long European tour and put his now larger wooden fabric arrows in the capital city streets. "I counted over 500+ wooden arrows I brought with me from California to London to start off the European tour. By the end, 4-months later in Reykjavik, Iceland I had only 20 or so wooden arrow left with me." Above says in a later interview about his 2006 "Sign language tour" that "The 2005 European tour was very helpful for me to see first hand how many of the 15 countries I went to had overhead supports for the future "sign language tour." After the completion of Above's European tour he flew back to the United States to eagerly start working on his future tour, the "sign language tour."
2006
Above returned back home to California from Europe after his 4-month long European tour to start his future self titled and financed "Sign language tour." "At the end of the European tour I was naturally tired, but moreover I was very eager and excited to know that many of the countries I visited had an abundant amount of overhead supports for the visions and goals I had with bringing the arrow mobiles to the European streets." Above said in another magazine interview "As soon as I returned home to California I was already cutting wood and gathering supplies for the most challenging and enduring tour I visioned." Above indeed had his aim and expectations very high as he was planning his "sign language tour" a 6-month long tour around 26 countries in Europe! "I noticed the year before with the European tour when I bought my eurail train ticket that the conductors never payed much attention to it or the expiration date. I would show them my American passport and they would sometimes not ever bother with looking at my valid train pass." With fellow friend and traveler "RIPO", Above and Ripo designed a dozen counterfeit fake Eurail passes, each lasting 1 month long. On Above's website in the F.A.Q. section he talks about and shows you how to counterfeit the Eurail pass as he did for the sign language tour. Above and friend Ripo were travel partners while each was focused on their own respective artworks during the 6-months of travels. Above credits much of his success to his friends and "street art" community who took invited him to their country, and homes. Above is quoted at the end of his
Wooster collective travelogue with "I struggle to even begin to find the proper words that can do justice to how grateful I am for all the support during the enduring 7 months of travels and 26 countries visited during the Sign Language Tour. Trust and being able to link up with the global art community in foreign countries was not only necessary but critical for the progress of the Sign Language Tour. With the incredible support of artists, and fans alike sending numerous emails with invitations to come to their country to paint, as well as experience their city was what made this tour possible. I want to say THANK YOU to all of you that helped and supported this tour on many different levels."
Above's sign language tour's arrow mobiles were the most sophisticated and prolific to date. "The sign language tour's arrow mobiles were the most evolved and sophisticated I have ever made. Each arrow mobile took 15 plus stages from start to finish. I would cut the wood, glue specific hand picked fabrics and textiles to the wooden arrow. After that I would screen print and stencil the color for the arrow outline. Each arrow had a 4-letter word on each side so I would compose a stack of 4-letter words to be used in conjunction with each other and stencil 1 word to each side of the arrow mobile. Finally I would cut off the excess fabric from the arrow, and drill a hole for the hanging contraption to be inserted", "Not a single arrow mobile I made for the sign language tour had "Above" stenciled on it. I felt like the 4 years previous I had "branded" the upward pointing arrow with my street name "Above" so the sign language tour's goal was to dive deep into the word/play I was interested in." It was fair to say that Above's interest was to communicate with the viewer below who saw his spinning arrows "talk" to them with the word play written on each side of the arrow mobile when it spun. "literally speaking, sign language is a form of communication using movements instead of sound. I found a lot of charm and power knowing that the arrow mobiles when hung are constantly moving around, most of all spinning around and around. It made logical sense to paint 1-word on each face of the arrow so conceptually speaking when the wind would spin the arrow mobile there would be a small "word/play" dialog to anyone who looked at it." Indeed Above captured a lot of attention around Europe with his flashy site specific arrow mobiles. "I first cut all of the wooden arrow mobiles in California in the early part of 2006. Once they were cut I boxed them up and sent them to my roommate in Barecelona to keep until I had arrived. Once I was in Barcelona I started to customize the arrows with the fabrics and more importantly the word/play. During the sign language tour I would be in any given city during the night and I would walk around trying to find the perfect site specific match for any given word play." "When I was stenciling the word/play on the arrow mobiles I would brainstorm to where I was going and try and think of words that would relate to each city, or country. I made some arrow mobiles in French (J'ai/faim, chez/vous), Spanish (Hace/sol, como/esta) German (uber/alle) and Italian (ciao/ciao) knowing that I was going to those countries where the viewer could relate even more to the arrow. To be even more specific I would think of word/plays that would relate to a certain environment or structure of a city. In Amsterdam I hung (sex/shop , red/lite , burn/weed) in any give city I would have word/plays like (honk/horn) for a busy intersection, or (nice/eyes) for the more intimate experience. working in the 4-letter word/play format was fun and very challenging."
2007
2007 marked an expansion and evolution to Above's smaller word play's he was using on his wooden arrow mobiles during his then sign language tour. During Above's sign language tour he was working specifically with smaller words (maximum of 4-letters each word) in conjunction with each other. "After the intense 26 country sign language tour and hanging so many wordplay arrow's I wanted to evolve and keep making wordplay statements but more elaborated with more words in a sentence form. In addition I wanted to return to painting large scale murals as the medium for these new evolved word plays so my aim was going to a new part of the world (South and Central America) to explore the opportunities of this vision." Above, like many of his past self financed tours was preparing his tour and to travel a long distance for upwards of 5 months long. "I returned to California from Europe in November of 2006 from the sign language tour. I had already known at that point that I still was very interested in using witty and site specific word plays as the body of my work. I just wanted to make them longer with 4-9 words painted in somewhat of a punchline format." Above prepared for his soon self titled "south central tour" in South and Central America's. "I was working as a waiter in a seasonal restaurant up in Alaska to be able to save money and finance the soon, south central tour." I worked and lived in Alaska for 5 months from April to August then went back to California to work on setting up the south central tour's route." Above invited Rodrigo Lopez and fellow artist "Ripo" to join his along the south central tour. While the 2 artists were making their own artworks along this tour Mr Lopez was to focus on the blog and documentation of the journey. Documenter and traveler Mr. Lopez says "The three of us will begin our travels in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and move our way all the way down to Argentina over to Chile and navigate our way up through South and Central America all the way to Mexico City. A total of 18 countries are planned for this trip. No one is quite sure what will happen but we will certainly be able to read it on the walls of the cities and the pages of this blog." SOUTHCENTRAL TOUR" Although Above didn't attain the original goal of 18 countries along his southcentral tour, he was able to travel and paint in 13 countries within a 5000+ mile distance from start to finish.
2008
Above's "south central tour" started in late October, 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and ended 6-months later (April, 2008) in Mexico city, Mexico. In early 2008 when Above was in Buenos Aires, Argentina he started to elaborate and extend his word play paintings to using more words with more of an impact "It's funny but true that all of my street works have consistently been a progression and evolution from the previous years works. I'm very happy with how my works continue to grow and evolve into larger painted wordplay with more meaning and site specific feeling behind them." The beginning to 2008 was not a pleasant start for Above. He was robbed at gunpoint with fellow traveling artist EL TONO while both were painting. Above talks about this life threatening experience, "Life is a learning experience and is filled with puzzling situations and outcomes. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise, or just being at the right place, but at the wrong time? The “why” questions perhaps will never be answered but one thing is for sure anger is a strong and nasty emotion to have. When anger is held on to for long periods of time it can and will decay a person and their spirit.It’s been a week now since I was robbed at Gunpoint by 2 thieves and up until these past days the anger was getting the best of me. Time heals as well as a better perspective on life and what is important in it. I have come to terms with this situation and I’m more optimistic about 2008 and all of the great experiences and art that will come out of it! 2008 Full Fucking Speed Ahead! Above seemed to bounce back from this negative start to 2008 as he continued to travel and paint larger wordplays in Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru), Bogota (Colombia), Panama City (Panama), San Jose (Costa Rica), Guatemala City (Guatemala, and eventually at the final destination of Mexico City (Mexico).
After the completion of Above's south central tour he went home to California to prepare and turn around only to go Europe to participate in Italy in a group show. In May, Above composed a short 10 minute video called THE SOUTH CENTRAL TOUR showcasing many of the paintings and experiences he did along his tour. The New york based website WOOSTER COLLECTIVE who has always been very supportive of Above's artworks and enduring travels, granted Above to post his 4-part video along with short stories for the websites community.
During the summer of 2008 Above was invited to the 1st annual "FAME FESTIVAL" in the south of Italy. While painting along side other artists such as (BLU, ETHOS, and Connor Harrington) Above seemed to return back to his earlier stencil works from 2003 with full size figurative stencils. It was in Lisbon, Portugal later that summer that Above painted his "Giving to the poor" stencil commenting on social issues of homelessness. Above is quoted on his website "EVERY DAY I WALKED BY THIS SPOT THIS HOMELESS LADY WAS SITTING IN THE SAME PLACE BEGGING FOR MONEY. I FOUND IT SADLY IRONIC THAT JUST 6 FEET TO THE SIDE OF HER THERE WAS A BANK ATM MACHINE WHERE PEOPLE WERE LINING UP TO WITHDRAW MONEY. THE OBVIOUS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CLASH INSPIRED ME TO MAKE THIS PIECE." Later in December 2008 Above decided to make a giclee non-profit art print where 100% of all the profits were to be donated to 2 homeless shelters. In October 2008, Above returned to his home in California, USA and continued to evolve with his stencils. During the month of October, 2008 the NYSE stock market took a drastic crash, making many businesses go bankrupt. One US bank in particular called WASHINGTON MUTUAL especially got hit hard and had to file bankruptcy. Above stenciled on the exterior of a WASHINGTON MUTUAL bank a replication of the NYSE "bar graph" with a downward sloping red line that went all the way down into the street gutter, mimicking the same results that occurred just a few days prior on the New York Stock Exchange. Above's artworks from 2008 and furthermore his re-connection with his stencil works seemed to address and comment on more social, political, and time sensitive current affairs.
2009
January 1, 2009 Above was quick to propose the question and concerns of the new 2009 year. Would the new 2009 year be a "bang or bust" year? Considering the recent current affairs of the global stock market crash just 3 months prior, Above stenciled a grown "baby new year" character complete with traditional blue sash, top hat and celebratory bottle of champagne. Above portrayed the grown baby new year figure to be tagging graffiti on the wall that read "bang or bust?" Above was attentive to creating his stencil around the site specific location and characteristics of the wall. There were 2 boarded up windows that the artist portrayed 2 silhouetted people with raised champagne glasses seen from the outside in. Above's attentiveness to his locations and timely current affair questioning with his stencil works was just the beginning of Above's 2009 themed stencils that would follow. BANG OR BUST...2009 video Just 1-month later on Valentine's Day, Above stenciled what seems to be one of his more popular stencil works from 2009 titled "FIRST LOVE." This colorful feel good situation depicts a young girl blowing hearts to what can be assumed as her "first love" who is jumping high up in the air trying to grab a hold of the young girl's floating heart(s). "FIRST LOVE" video Quoting Above from his website "The imagery is something that anyone who has been in love can relate to. Love can take on many different forms and stages and this piece resembles the chase and innocence of trying to grab hold and keep that first love.” In April, 2009 Above addressed the issue and then current scandal of the US company A.I.G. and how they took millions of American tax payers money to reward themselves and top company executives for no logical reason. The timing of the A.I.G. scandal and Easter Sunday just 1-week away it seems that Above was able to notice and react in a timely manner to address this situation. Above created an elaborate stencil situation with 4 different children searching for "Easter AIG's" only to find an A.I.G. business man with a large basket full of eggs with his hands out reached as to comment on his greedy and dis regard for the children with no "Easter AIG's" in their baskets. "EASTER AIG HUNT" video
In late May, 2009 Above started yet another large tour around Europe for 4-months. That tour doesn't seem to have a title as with most of Above's previous self titled tours, but judging by his artworks he was focused on his political and social stencil works. In June, 2009 Above painted and installed a piece in Copenhagen, Denmark titled "THE NAKED TRUTH" "THE NAKED TRUTH" video where he observed and built on an unused cage in the street to create a spectacular shower scene complete with overhead shower and curtain. This piece was a brilliant fusion between 3 different elements of Above's artworks (Site specific stencil, an installation element, and a word-play statement)
One month later in Berlin, Germany, Above created a social and political stencil piece directly on the Berlin Wall. Quoting Above from his website "THIS YEAR MARKS THE 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BERLIN WALL FALLING ENJOY THE SYMBOLISM, IRONY AND GESTURE OF UNITY FROM THE EXTENDING ARM REACHING THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE WALL OFFER FLOWERS TO THE OTHER SIDE "BRIDGING THE DIVIDE" BETWEEN THE EAST AND WEST SIDES OF BERLIN. Once again Above created a multi layer/color site specific stencil along with an installation element that added that extra touch and unique visual distinction from other popular stencil artists like Banksy,Dolk,and Logan Hicks.
In August, 2009 Above returned to the United States from his recent 4-month stencil tour around Europe. Above starts a benevolent project involving the homeless population of Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Quoting Above from is website "Immediately after returning from touring around Europe this past summer I decided to move from California to Portland, Oregon. Being that I create and install my artworks in the streets I am constantly searching and observing street situations to build with and incorporate into my artworks. What I noticed upon my arrival to Portland less than 3-months ago was the abnormally large amount of homeless people sleeping on sidewalks and under the many bridges here in Portland. It's impossible to not notice the overwhelming homeless population here in Portland, Oregon. Oregon has the highest proportion of homeless people in the nation, according to a new report on homelessness issued by the U.S> department of housing and urban development. As if this was not enough the un-employment in the state of Oregon is at a 11.5% and ranks 4th worse in the United States. I wanted to address and draw more attention to the homeless crisis here in Portland (and across the nation in general.) I wanted to learn more about this homeless epidemic by listening directly to the homeless community on an individual person to person level. During the month of November, 2009 I rode my bike around Portland wanting to listen to homeless individuals that wanted to share their story and suggestion on what shelters really help out with services as well as where I should donate the money fund raised from this "HOMELESS NOT HOPELESS" print. The majority of the homeless individuals I talked to spoke very highly about T.P.I. (Transition Projects) and how T.P.I. helps them with shelter, hygienic supplies, clothes and supportive programs to help them transition off the streets.
Above's "Homeless, not hopeless" project was another sold out success (similar to his previous "GIVING TO THE POOR" non-profit print.) Above was able to get directly involved with the homeless and listen, as well as inform the public about many mis-conceptions and stereotypes that the general public has with the homeless. "One of my goals with the Homeless, Not Hopeless project was to ask 5 basic questions to each homeless individual to learn more about them, and what mis-conceptions they think the general public has of someone who is homeless." Above continues to state "During this project it was not my interest as to why or how each homeless person got into the situation of sleeping on the street. I'm not here to judge anyone. Compassion is crucial and necessary in order to offer true help and assistance to those in need. Read all of Above's interviews with the homeless community in Portland here "HOMELESS, NOT HOPELESS" Interviews
2010
January, 2010 Above goes to La Havana, Cuba to make a site specific stencil commenting on the recent earthquakes in the neighboring country of Haiti
Above is quoted saying in the text of his video he made about this piece " Cuba is less than 90 miles away from Haiti making them very close neighbors. The young and courageous neighbor is embarking to Haiti to help out those who have fallen victim. The recent earthquakes in Haiti has taken over 230,000 innocent lives, wounded 300,000 and made 1,200,000 people homeless. " "Help thy neighbor" video
Persuaded by friend and fellow artist, Blek le Rat, Above and Blek le Rat did a duo indoor gallery show together at the White Walls Gallery in San Francisco on May 1, 2010. This was the first and only time Above has ever worked inside a gallery space. " I was persuaded by my friend Blek le Rat to show with him at White Walls. When Blek and I were in Paris in 2009 at his home he was confused and very surprised that I had never done any indoor gallery show. He asked me why not, and I said that I have had over a dozen offers in the past to show in great galleries, but that my focus and interest was to make artworks in the streets. Since 2003 I have always been traveling 5-9+ months out of the year around the world and when I'm not traveling I'm preparing to travel. Blek le Rat immediately told me that he wanted to show with me and introduce my artworks into the gallery world. I agreed and the rest is history." White Walls wrote this about Above "ABOVE has devoted the past 8 years to creating street art in 45 countries around the world, refusing to take his focus off the streets even for gallery exhibitions. It is only because of Blek le Rat’s strong desire to show alongside him that ABOVE finally conceded to his premier indoor exhibition. Transitions is based on three themes from his outdoor works: sign language arrow mobiles, wordplay murals, and colorful figurative stencils. The overarching sentiment is one of optimism, honor, overcoming struggle, and a desire to rise above."
Further reading
- ABOVE's PERSONAL WEBSITE WEBSITE FROM ABOVE
- VIMEO MOVIES ABOVE's video collection from his travels and stencil works.
- 25+ YOU TUBE VIDEOS OF ABOVE's "sign language tour" 2006
- VIDEO DOCUMENTARY (2004) UPPER PLAYGROUND: RUN UP DVD
- ABOVE Facebook Fan club page
- SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE FRONT PAGE
- Arrested Interview. 2009
- travelogues via WOOSTER COLLECTIVE
- Abduzeedo Interview: March 11, 2009
- Ninja interview 2009
- Albotas 2009
- 2009
- Italian Interview via Succo Acido, 2008
- IRANIAN INTERVIEW
- Seattle Newspaper
- TORONTO NEWSPAPER
- Portland Newspaper
- Pittsburgh Newspaper
- Cleveland Newspaper
- ITALIAN INTERVIEW
- GERMAN INTERVIEW
- south-central tour Interview with Above
- OUR ART SITE DOT COM Interview with Above
- Above interview via ekosystem, 2003
- Crown Dozen Interview
- Periodicals from around the world featuring interviews and artworks from Above:
- Xfuns #21, Dec, 2005. ISSN 1683-1678 (Seoul, Korea)
- Lodown #58. Oct/Nov 2007 (Berlin, Germany)
- Bant #31. Feb 2007 (Istanbul, Turkey)
- Computer Arts #12. June, 2007 (London, England)
- Canadian Art: Volume 22 #2, Summer 2005 (Toronto, Canada)
- Art-Magazin #11. Nov, 2007. (Berlin, Germany)
- Fefe #10 February 2010 (Rome, Italy)
- VOX #1 (premier issue), March, 2004. ISSN 1728-2888 (Moscow, Russia)
- Atypica #32, Sep, 2008. ISSN 1851-7188 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Vapors #15, Apr/May 2003. ISSN 74470-56677 (United States)
- Grafik #127, March, 2005. ISSN 771479-753018 (London, England)
- Style #7, Sep, 2007. ISSN 194262-305006 (Berlin, Germany)
- Wild #85, Jan, 2008. ISSN 1023-4756 (Asuncion, Paraguay)
- Etapes #113. Oct, 2004. (Paris, France)
- Brain Damage #12, Apr 2005. ISSN 1509-2135 (Warsaw, Poland)
- Arcano2 #8, Nov 2003. (Ancona, Italy)
- Clark #7, spring 2003. (Paris, France)
- Blag: Vol. 2 #4, Jun, 2005. ISSN 1366-4522 (London, England)
- Pulp #46, Aug/Sep 2005 (Sydney, Australia)
- Slap #145, June 2004. ISSN 1744-0303 (United States)
- Backspin #46, July, 2003 ISSN 1948-2048 (Berlin, Germany)
- Drip #2, Jan 2009. (Shanghai, China)
- Stylefile #13, Nov, 2003. ISSN 1867-4062 (Berlin, Germany)
- Spanish Cosmopolitan, February, 2010 (Madrid, Spain)
- CNBC Business magazine, October, 2009 (London, England)
- Peel #3, Apr 2005. (United States)
- Belio #11, Feb 2004, ISSN 1577-5070 (Madrid, Spain)
- GraffBombs #14, May/Jun 2003 (Paris, France)
- DIF #62, Oct 2008. ISSN 1645-5444 (Lisbon, Portugal)
- Staff #29, Nov/Dec 2006. ISSN 1578-5734 (Madrid, Spain)
- Color #5, Mar/Apr, 2005. (Vancouver, Canada)
- Streetwear Today #15, Jan/Feb/Mar, 2006. ISSN 1860-9996 (Berlin, Germany)
- Faesthetic #4, 2004. (United States)
- Canvas #4, Dec, 2008. ISSN 2007-0039 (Mexico City, Mexico)
- Disrupt #3, April 2003. ISSN 1176-0389 (Auckland, New Zealand)
- Serie B: second edition #3 Jan, 2005 (Madrid, Spain)
- Wonderland #8, Aug/Sep 2007. ISSN 1747-4011 (London, England)
- Serie B: second edition #18 July 2008 (Madrid, Spain)
- Fader: #30, May/Jun 2005. ISSN 1533-5194 (United States)
- Alarm #17, Oct, 2004. (United States)
- Elevated #2, July 2005. (United States)
- Artillery Chapter Three 2005, (Sydney, Australia)
- Sleazenation: volume 4 #29. Aug 2004. (London, England)
- Clout #4, Jun 2004. (United States)
- Time Out: Bucharest. #13 Sep, 2006. ISSN 1841-7710 (Bucharest, Romania)
- La Republica XL #24. Aug, 2007. (Milan, Italy)
- Rojo: Edition "Nami" Jun 2007, ISSN 1696-1696 (Barcelona, Spain)
- Clark #31. Summer 2008 (Paris, France)
- Soma #6 July 2008, (São Paulo, Brasil)
- Modart #18. July, 2008 (Brussels, Belgium)
- Graff It #03. July, 2002 (Paris, France)
- Brain Damage #9. Aug, 2003. (Warsaw, Poland)
- ROJO: edition "Guko" 2004, ISSN 1696-1692 (Barcelona, Spain)
- International Designers Network (IDN) Volume 12 #3. 2005 ISSN 1029-4805 (Shanghai, China)
- Defrag #4 Spring 2003. ISSN 1723-1574 (Rome, Italy)
- Modart #6 Dec/Jan 2006 (Brussels, Belgium)
- Sleazenation: volume 05, #03. Nov, 2003. (London, England)
- Wonka Vision #25. Summer 2004. (United States)
- Garage #3. Summer 2003. (Florence, Italy)
- Under Pressure #9 Summer 2006 ISSN 1496-8118 (Montreal, Canada)
- Overspray # 6. July, 2007. (United States)
- Graphotism #29. Oct, 2002 ISSN 1363-0075 (London, England)
- Omagiu #9. June 2007, ISSN 1841-4788 (Bucharest, Romania)
- Rugged #17. Winter, 2008 (Berlin, Germany)
- BOOKS featuring interview/works from Above:
- Urban Interventions, R. Klanten, M. Huebner, Die Gestalten, 2010 ISBN 978-3-89955-291-1
- Graffiti World, Nicholas Ganz Thames & Hudson, 2004 ISBN 978-0-500-51170-1
- Street Art: The Spray Files, Louis Bou, Harper Collins, 2005 ISBN 978-0-06-083338-1
- Street Logos, Tristan Manco, Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 978-0-500-28469-8
- Without Reason, Ilovewr, Without Reason, 2006, ISBN 978-0-646-46066-6
- Colors Zoo, Maxime Courtin, Colorzoo publishing, 2004, ISBN 978-84-609-0285-0
- Street Logos, Tristan Manco, Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 978-0-500-28469-8
- Izastickup, Bo130, Microbo, TheDon, Drago, 2005, ISBN 978-88-88493-33-6
- The Art Of Rebellion, Christian Hundertmark, Publikat Verlag, 2003, ISBN 978-3-9807478-2-0
- The Art Of Rebellion 2, Christian Hundertmark, Publikat Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-9809909-4-3
- Sticker City, Claudia Walde, Thames & Hudson, 2007, ISBN 978-0-500-28668-5
- Writing: Urban Calligraphy And Beyond, Markus Mai, Die Gestalten Verlag, 2003, ISBN 978-3-89955-003-0
- NYC BCN: Street Art Revolution, Louis Bou, Collins Design, 2006, ISBN 978-0-06-121004-4
- Paris Graffiti, Fabienne Grevy, Editions de la Martiniere, 2008, ISBN 978-2-7324-3731-6
References
This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE June 11, 2007". Sfgate.com. 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ Topping, David (2007-06-16). "Toronto Newspaper". Torontoist.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ *Vapors #15, Apr/May 2003. ISSN 74470-56677 (United States)
- *Above Ekosystem interview, 2003
- ^ *Graphotism #29. Oct, 2002 ISSN 1363-0075 (London, England)
- *Above interview
- ^ *Stylefile #13, Nov, 2003. (Berlin, Germany)
- *Disrupt #3, April 2003. ISSN 1176-0389 (Auckland, New Zealand)
- *Backspin #46, July, 2003 ISSN 1948-2048 (Berlin, Germany)
- *Graff It #03. July, 2002 (Paris, France)
- *Above interview via ekosystem, 2003
- ^ *Alarm #17, Oct, 2004. (United States)
- "Pittsburgh Newspaper". Post-gazette.com. 2004-08-14. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- Pulp #46, Aug/Sep 2005 (Sydney, Australia)
- ^ Bant #31. Feb 2007 (Istanbul, Turkey)
- Clark #31. Summer 2008 (Paris, France)
- ^ Lodown #58. Oct/Nov 2007 (Berlin, Germany)
- "Above'S Sign Language Tour: Thank You!!". Wooster Collective. 2007-11-28. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ Omagiu #9. June 2007, ISSN 1841-4788 (Bucharest, Romania)
- Soma #6 July 2008, (São Paulo, Brasil)
- Serie B: second edition #18 July 2008 (Madrid, Spain)
- ^ Atypica #32, Sep, 2008. ISSN 1851-7188 (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- ^ DIF #62, Oct 2008. ISSN 1645-5444 (Lisbon, Portugal)
- "Buenos Aires, Argentina « South Central Tour". Southcentraltour.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- "Travelogues Archives". Wooster Collective. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Cut It Out". Goabove.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ""GIVING TO THE POOR" >>>>> (SOLD OUT & Donated to charity) » ABOVE SHOP". Goabove.com. 2008-11-30. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- "First Love » Above Shop". Goabove.com. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- ^ "Home Less, Not Hope Less!". Goabove.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- "Homeless, Not Hopeless » Above Shop". Goabove.com. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- By Above. "Help Thy Neighbor On Vimeo". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- Joseph Lumbroso. "White Walls, SF – Blog". Whitewallssf.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
- Joseph Lumbroso. "Coming May 1, 2010: Blek le Rat and Above - White Walls, SF – Blog". Whitewallssf.com. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
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