2012

What will 2012 bring?

Well, There are a lot of things happening in Europe and they are giving shape to things that will determine the next 10 years. There are always big changes in these times of crisis. Maybe, if I find the right way to express it, I'll try to create something to show my thoughts about these problems and solutions. Don't think to heavy of it, I'll will always try to blend in a visually low barrier style.

The beginning of 2012 I want to focus on more time intensive sculptures and more visual experiments, besides making more pictures. I will have an exhibition in January in Kendal in the Dickie Doodle life music bar. I am also busy to get something in Liverpool, Lancaster, London and another one in Manchester.

If you know places where my style would fit, let me know! Victor [AT} imsobo.com

Sometimes the slightly weird places are the most interesting.

Thanks for following me in 2011 and have a great 2012!

Back to the background

The last 8 months I have been focussing on developing my style in sculpture, paint style and the materials I use. Now it is time again, just in time before christmas, to mention my background message. This message isn't directly clear when looking at my sculptures. This will probably remain for most new work. This is probably my work that is the most straightforward to express what I want to say:

Hom Rottey: shopping trolley x Hot rod x mouth




So I decided to rewrite my 'about' page on my website to make it more clear why I make these specific creatures. http://www.imsobo.com/about.html

I will use my blog a bit more to add ideas to this theme.

Eye lid

Just a small vertabrate sculpture, but one of the first where I added junk. Why? I use these small sculptures to make pictures in the street where nature takes over the city. So I thought it would make more sense to also mix those two in the sculpture.

I have got another one 'Eye on the prize', which I finished a few months ago. This one is called 'Eye lid'. The eyes were lids from drink bottles I found in alongside the country roads. The nose is the bottom part of one of these bottles.

Something very different: Euro crisis

Something that really irritates me is the acceptance of these credit rating agencies. They have been wrong for years. They gave banks and insurance agencies top ratings weeks before the went bankrupt. We know that the top players in the banking industry all know each other. It is very likely that these players dine with people from those credit rating agencies.

If you check the figures from different countries there is another strange thing going on. An important measure, which in 2001 used to be important for countries to be accepted in the Euro, is the percentage of total debt in one country against their GDP of one year. We all know the USA has a lot of debt. This is 15 trillion dollars, their GDP is almost equal. Bad. The EU, is a bit better and has 14 trillion debt with a higher GDP.

While the EU leaders struggle leading, American credit rating agencies are downgrading countries in Europe more than they have downgraded the USA. The USA has triple AAA status by 2 of the 3 main rating agencies. Iceland has an almost 'junk' status. Funny enough, Iceland has the same proportion of debt as the USA.
Even after these strange ratings and failures in the beginning of the crisis, the financial world still trust them and raise interest levels for countries that have been downgraded.

So, because in this financial world nothing is done without somebody being influenced by others having a particulair interest, what is there gain? Well, perhaps they are getting fancy cars from USA bankers who are giving loans to these countries? It gives them a 'legitimate' reason to raise the prices, interest, on their loans and earn money in the future when Germany has to bail those countries out. Is is an attempt explaining this. Big chance I am wrong, but there is something strange going on and I bet a lot of banks, ...uuhhhh CEO's, will eventually earn on this crisis.

Inverse mindmap of The Fellracer

Made this today:

The story of the Fellracer

So I have created my so called 'Fellracer'. I always wanted to make a sports freak, because I love sports! My main focus was to create a freak like the onse I made half a year ago, mix it with bones, give it hint of Pop-art, make it low barrier and adding a decorative paintstyle based on Delft blue.

I created a moving, slightly struggling figure where the legs are most important, because in running and mountainbiking these do most of the work. The legs are not identical to express a history of training injuries. The shapes of the clay have to add the 'Transformers look', adding the less obvious Pop-art style into it. You could argue with this, but I think a 'Transformers look' also adds a bit of the Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan into the sculpture. The decorative paint style I used to add the Olympic theme.

The last photo actually shows the dead sheep where the skull I used came from.

Banksy

I have never really mentioned Banksy on my blog before. Not very useful because most people who are interested in street art know him already. Even people outside the street art scene know him. He makes so called 'stencil art' and makes the message en theme visible in quite a clever way. People seem to have spotted a new one:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=279472808764500&set=a.279471242097990.69639.154988824546233&type=1&theater

WIP: Fellracer just before priming

Yes, almost there! I had some bad luck with this one, so I am finishing it a couple of weeks later than planned. Here is a picture of the fase where I have finished all the sculpting. I am priming it at the moment. The paint style will be quite familiar!

...and I am also finishing this first test case:

Artist: Willy Chyr

Sculptures made from balloons? Yes, this guy does it! There are some really cool structures on his site, check it out!

http://willychyr.com/

Mr. X Stitch

Turning a boring craft into something more contemporary; embroidery. Really cool to see a contrast in technique and the urban expression formed by it.

http://www.mrxstitch.com/

Financial crisis

I am getting a bit annoyed about the financial crisis. I think this leaves a too negative feeling about our future. Perhaps it's time for me to make a sculpture to express this!

Street pictures with small sculptures

After some shots in nature, now finally some urban pictures with my little vertabrate friends. I like places where nature takes over the city or where the city expresses it's insanity.

Yes, that's really a seringe!

Artist: AJ Fosik

Check this link:
http://arrestedmotion.com/2011/10/openings-aj-fosik-time-kills-all-gods-jonathan-levine-gallery/

Love the colours and fantasy about it and his theme!

Update Fellracer

The Fellracer is getting there. It still consists loose parts; legs, arms and body&head. These seperate parts are almost finished. I also decided how to approach the painting, but have to remove a sculpted part very carefully! This is what you sometimes have; you have an idea which is not 100% complete and during the process filling the gap to 100% makes you adjust something you have made previously. The problem is, that some parts are already fragile and I have to use quite some force. We will see.

Sorry, no pictures, maybe next week!

WIP: The fellracer

My fourth attempt to make something bigger than normal. Perhaps I already mentioned this, but may not have posted some pictures of the work in progress. So far so good. First two pictures are of the legs, third of head and body.

It is again all about creating a contrast between the bones/skull and added clay parts.

Another nature vs mechanics: Mike Libby

These works I found a while ago. Really amazing work! Especially because of the size. They are real insect size works and he uses the components of a watch to create these cyborg insects.

http://www.insectlabstudio.com/?

Eduard Martinet

Found this guy's paintings on the internet. Like the combination of life and robotics/mechanics. Something I occasionally use in a more cartoonistic way.
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/eduard-martinet

The use of rubbish as material isn't new anymore, but he does it very well!

Coming months

I am slowing down the production line of new sculptures. I want to spend more time thinking and experimenting on where to go with the form and the materials I use. This should work together with the paint style I have been working on. There will still be some small work or paintings coming up occasionally.

One sculpture I am working on is a first step in the right direction, but still don't know what the next step would be. I posted some pictures of this work in progress on my facebook fanpage. By liking this post you'll be able to follow what I put on my fanpage. These will be short updates and work in progress pictures.

I am also entering a, sort of, competition for which I want to make a sport themed sculpture in my own style.

1.000 + visits

I have started this blog quite a while ago and wasn't really working on it a lot, but since last week This blog has had over 1.000 visits and even more pageviews! About 80% is all from the last 12 months.

Just been in Manchester to The Lass O' Gowrie pub where some of my sculptures are standing and/or hanging. http://www.thelass.co.uk/index.php

Photo of the standing sculptures behind the bar. The Skulls will be hanging in The Lass O' Gowrie pub from about Saturday.

Developing

Yes, I have been working on a new paint style the last couple of weeks and I am pleased with the result. Many people have already seen the pictures of the canvas work and the last skull sculpture I made. All have that paint style.

Now I am looking for a way to sculpture a form on which I can easily put this style on. The above sculpture is nice, but would be hard to repeat without doing the same thing. I don't like to repeat myself a lot. So I will be experimenting with sculptures that must consist the following elements:
- a relatively big surface for the paint style to work;
- an interesting shape, either robot like or cartoon like;
- have bones or stones incorporated.


This one will take a while....

Urban Art Movement

I have visited London a week ago to meet with the people from the Urban Art Movement. This is still a very new initiative but already growing rapidly. It amazed me hearing that there wasn't a creative urban art hub anywhere in London, while there is so much going on.

So what do they do? Picked from Facebook page:

1. To keep you up to date with the urban art scene. New work, events and reviews.
2. To join together all artists, designers & creatives. We do this by having events where new artists can showcase their work and ideas. The events are pop up, so keep an eye out for the next one....

How this is given shape depends on what it's people make of it. In my case, what I would add to the group. The main two things for me that could be interesting, are the exhibits and the joining of people. This could have a positive effect on the group's creativity. In one word; interesting.

Check out the Facebook page, blog and website:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/urbanartmovement
http://uam-uk.tumblr.com/
http://www.urbanartmovement.co.uk/

Zevs French grafitti artist

Cool video about Zevs, a French grafitti artist:

http://vimeo.com/21443694

I especially like his use of the natural elements by using the shadows. It gives something extra to even use something that isn't there all the time. Really cool idea!
I try to use the natural elements too, by letting the colour or shape of the natural ingredient support the sculpture. But, I am jealous about Zevs using shadows, good stuff!

New display in Manchester

I have been in Manchester to drop some of my sculptures of at The Lass O' Gowrie http://www.thelass.co.uk/index.php. Here you can see some of my sculptures in real life. The skulls that will be hanging there, will come up soon.

While I was there, I looked a bit around and saw the wall Subism made about the recent looting:

It's massive! I couldn't get a good picture because there is a container blocking the view.

New canvas: 'Monoculture'

I have been working on a new canvas. Bigger than the other two: 23 cm x 30 cm.

This is about people and companies being bigger than countries. I was wondering what that might bring us in the future, considering the influence of banks and oil companies on our lives. For example: Goldman Sachs and their role in keeping the bad finances of the Greek government in secrecy.

I was triggered by one of the many articles about high or low tax related to getting in wealthy people of big companies. There seems te be a market developing for the habitat of the wealthy. It's like we are all creating a nice monoculture for them. No low tax? We'll just move to another country! Not as if they are that flexible, but people are suggesting it. But where lies the loyalty of the wealthy?

WIP: new base sculpture

Quick pictures of a new base for future sculptures. It is bigger than all the other casted bases. The first cast is never brilliant, but I have other plans for this one anyway:

Trying out new stuff: fabric

Yes, I have been persuaded to paint some canvasses. I have messed about with two very small ones, picture size ones. Shortly I will try and paint on a slightly bigger canvas. This gave me the right surface to experiment with paint styles to use on my sculptures. One of my finished sculptures has already a similar paint style; a Dutch ceramics paint style mixed with comic book symbols painted mostly in blue and white.



I am also working on some designs for T-shirts. On the right, a bit below, on this site you can find a link to my shirtcity shop. The prices are without profit for me, so they are the cheapest I can make them to be. Shirtcity still has to approve some designs.

Nature doing its thing; not for the squeamish!

I thought it would be a good thing to show the process behind the skulls... I mean the stuff about death. It does fascinate me. I just have to stop to see that dead animal and look a bit closer. I happen to know some dead sheep that are in de process of getting clean and white. A cheer for all those small insects and microorganisms!

So today, during a run up and down a hill, I have taken some pictures and collected 1.5 skull.

Eyespresso Comic

This week I finished a new Eyespresso, called; Eyespresso Comic. I wanted to create a comic book hero by painting the process of espresso making on the sculpture. The sculpture is now the comic book hero AND the comic book.

On the back of the sculpture I have painted coffee beans that are being roasted, going into hot boiling water, steam and ..... you know what.

I will be experimenting with this style and the Dutch ceramics paint style the coming month and I think it will look great! I have started painting a skull in the Dutch ceramics paint style which will be the first step to it.

Work this week

Because I just can't finish a new Eyespresso to show you all, I have to stick with some work in progress pictures.

I am working on two very different sheep skulls and two moulds. The first sheep skull is something a bit the same as the blue white and silver skull made months ago, but this one will have a more playful paintstyle based on the Dutch ceramics paintstyle. The other skull is different from any other, because I added very different objects to make it really weird.

Further, I am working on two moulds. One is the new base I have sculpted which you will see more often at the end of the year. The other mould is that of a GoGo fossil. After the first GoGo fossil I made, I decided to make another one and clone it. Hope it works, because the clone will be very thin and the master is likely to brake when getting it out of the mould.

Some random fun!

What would you do?

Paintstyle and finishing

Last week I have been busy finishing sculptures which were laying around for some time. I still have two sheep skulls lined up and some experimenting with sheep vertebrates. A few more pictures on my Facebook page.

The first picture is of a shell fossil and the second, but harder to see in this picture, is a shell fossil where this character pulls out it's right arm.

I have also been busy experimenting with paintstyles, I think I have come up with some interesting ones. I will use one on an Eyespresso.

Replete

I like the work of this guy a lot:
http://www.repletes.net/walls.htm

He now has made some cling film sculptures, which I think is a brilliant idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK1wyrheKto

No precision bombing

I went outdoors yesterday and brought some of my skulptures. Some of those pictures kan be seen on my fanpage and for nog I'll share this one:

I have got this non-precision bombing skulpture made from a vertabrate. It resembles the non discriminating way bombs can work although often presented otherwise. Yesterday I found a sign which goes with it perfectly...

GoGo becomes reality!

Some already have seen these pictures, but I'll post it over here and explain the sculptures. The first is a GoGo fossil and the second is a GoGo skull made out of a real sheep skull.

My aim is to make sculptures with which I can prove that My GoGo creation is real and has been living among us for a long time. When people get the same message over and over again, they start to believe it. For example; the economical façade we have been living in the past 10 years was just a big balloon.
But off course I want to prove the existence of the GoGo through sculptures. Perhaps I’ll do the same thing for other characters or ideas.

While I was enjoying the weather outdoors...

......... I added a nice face to this limestone rock at Twistleton scar. All made out of natural materials, so it won't be there for long. It's quite small, about five by five centimeters.

Igor Ivor

I finished a new sheep skull. It is called Igor Ivor. This was a male sheep, a ram, and apparently the saw af the horns of rams. Thinking about it as if this could be the precious ivor.... As the story goes, Igor got his precious horns sawn off and needed some plastic surgery to feel confident again. So he wanted a third eye made out of ivor. Artificial ivor in this case and a biljart ball to be precise. I am wondering what would happen with all the unnatural stuff that a lot of women put in their bodies when they die and get buried. Well, in Igor's case; it's still there. Nature couldn't deal with it.

WIP: new base sculpture

I have started a new base sculpture, something I can use like the Cungo, but a bit more abstract to have a lot of freedom in customizing it. It will consist of three seperate pieces that can be connected in slighty different ways. See pictures.

I am also working on some new skulls: