FASHIONOFFICE INSIGHT
by publisher Karin Sawetz
August 2009

Unbelieveable, but although art is in our times big business, there exists still art that can survive only because the artists stay anonymous. Let's go in front of the door!

The anonymity of street art

Street art is the leading theme of this month's Fashionoffice Insight.

It is a fact that people nowadays can be characterized as 'mobile society'. The 'mobile style' finds young as well as old followers because it offers for the different needs various useful contents and applications.

The musician is composing on a computer while sitting on a parkbank, the football fan has stopped the truck to watch the game on the phone, the lady has chosen the virtual shopping guide and finds the next boutique with the mobile navigation, the student writes in the café on a laptop, the young mother is in contact with her friends while taking a walk with the baby in the buggy. In this context, the art on the streets becomes a subject of interest for Fashionoffice.

The content from the internet gets mobile and can be received in special prepared layouts on the display of phones - such as the Fashionoffice version for mobile phones on www.fashion.at/mobile, and the 'Short Message Service' finds its way back to online-publications like it is represented by the gadget on the cover of www.fashionoffice.org. Here you can enter your (for other fashionistas and art lovers useful) messages. Announce interesting exhibitions, extraordinary shows, unusual projects!

Street art in fashion

'Short Message'
Nokia has invited Street-Style-Blogger like Yvan Rodic, Gunnar Hämmerle or Katja Hentschel to capture what people are wearing on the streets of Berlin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Düsseldorf… with the Nokia N97. The results of the work will be published from 25 July on at fashionlab.de.

'Short Message'
Street Art in Graz: the Kunsthaus invites to a collective mobile phone street art game to ‚pixel’ its façade. The game is developed by the German video artist John Dekron and sponsored by A1 – mobilkom austria with a cost-free telephone number! The BIX-façade becomes interactive on 30 July 2009 at 21:00 (to 30 Aug) kunsthausgraz.at.

'Short Message'
The exhibition and blog ‘The Vienna Fashion Observatory’ focuses on fashion in the city of Vienna. The exhibition opens on 18 July at the quartier21/MuseumsQuartier, the blog address is theviennafashionobservatory.com.

Articles about street art:

Let's have a look back to the 70ies through the eyes of the fashion photographer F.C. Gundlach to check how German voters manipulated election posters on the streets in their favor - or as revenge - in former times... fcgundlach7-2009.php.

The first 'behind the scenes images' from the Campari Calendar 2010 shooting are published, showing Bond-girl Olga Kurylenko in front of the camera of photographer Simone Nervi on the fashionable streets of Milan... campari7-2009.php.

The Fondation Cartier in Paris exhibits the art of graffiti from the 60ies/70ies through photographs, unseen interviews with graffiti pioneers, numerous films and art works by pioneers. Contemporary graffiti artists have created especially...graffiti7-2009.php.

The photographer Alexander James and producer Elizabeth Cocco present new images from their 'Particle Parkour' series. The works show athletes moving powerful through an urban scenery of graffiti and street art... distilennui7-2009.php.

The Austrian label 'Heartblood' has presented the glamorous men's and women's streetwear collection SS2010 under the title 'heartbeat' at the Premium International Fashion Trade Show in Berlin. Designer Sabine Haun is inspired by historic themes, music, religion... heartblood7-2009.php.

Streetwear re-interpreted by the 'enfant terrible de la couture'. French couturier Jean Paul Gaultier has selected iconic denim-pieces like the Levi's 501 and jacket and... levis7-2009.php.

Music-tip for 'street art is going glossy': 'So Human' by Lady Sovereign from the new album 'Jigsaw' (Apr 2009); the UK rapper recovers the song 'Close to me' by The Cure www.mtv.com/videos/lady-sovereign/356766/so-human.jhtml.

Watch the video youtube.com/watch?v=sCA0_bNXAao: 'Two Silver Trees' from the album 'Carried To Dust' (Sept 2008) by the Tucson, Arizona (US) band Calexico. The music of Calexico has a Gypsy, Mariachi touch from the Cal- (California) and (Mexico) -exico region of the American Southwest.

"There are code breakers with lines well tapped
Traces sweeping out across the static night..."
From the lyrics 'Two Silver Trees'

On the band's website, drummer John Convertino says, "... Calexico’s influences have traditionally come from sources as diverse as Portuguese Fado, 50’s jazz, Gypsy or Romany music and its offshoots, 60’s surf and twang – from Link Wray to Duane Eddy – to the spaghetti western epics of Ennio Morricone..." www.casadecalexico.com.

On 18 July they have played at the Poolbar Festival in Austria (the festival runs until 16 Aug www.poolbar.at; by the way: the festival has an own t-shirt design line). Calexico is on tour 7 Aug UK, 8 Aug FR, 9 Aug CH, 11 Aug DE, 12 Aug HU, followed by Sweden, Israel, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, California... www.casadecalexico.com/tours.

Fig. on the online page fashionoffice.org/survey/2009/karinsawetz8-2009.htm: Street art in Vienna, Austria, July 2009. I have taken this picture with the Cybershot camera of my mobile phone. You can see a pretty dolly with balloons. Both are in a vintage style which is rare to see in entertainment parks nowadays where everything has to be ultra-modern. I like the 'Wiener Wurstelprater' most for the old equipment such as the around 100 years old wooden helter-skelter 'Toboggan'; right on the image. On the balloons you can see a pantaloon what means 'Wurstel' in German language, and the year 1766; the pantaloon is the symbol for the 'Wurstelprater' and in 1766 the Emperor Joseph II declared this part of the Prater to be free for public amusement.

Karin Sawetz is journalist, media researcher and fashion scientist (Mag. Dr. phil.). > sawetz.com

FASHIONOFFICE INSIGHT:
Sept 2009
Aug 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
Apr 2009
Mar 2009
Feb 2009
Jan 2009
Dec 2008
Nov 2008
Oct 2008
Sept 2008
Aug 2008

Source: Original article with images and video on fashionoffice.org/survey/2009/karinsawetz8-2009.htm.


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