Tuesday 9 April 2013

Creative Collectives: Dear Mike...





Dear Mike,

Leading on from the Irish photo in the previous post, here’s a blog-post-card for you... a photo that combines three of your favourite things: art, nightlife and cats!

This mural’s photographed in San Telmo, an area with a reputation for a lively night-life. Daniela and I went for a beer in a very Parisian-styled cafe there, La Poesía,  whose photo-laden walls had me thinking of William Boroughs and the Beat poets (and so is now making me think of Ginga – send him my love please Mikey Mike!)

You’d love it here in Buenos Aires, there are volumes of culture and energy and movement in the city – in many ways it reminds me of London.   I feel very relaxed and at home here, I could easily imagine living here.  And even more so because in contrast to London, the art world here seems very open, welcoming and accessible... at least at ground level with collectives.  It seems very easy to find opportunities to collaborate.

Just last night Camilla, Dani and I were walking through the port area la Boca and passed by the workshop of the cardboard-book collective Eloisa Cartonera where we’d me Alejandro and Toro a few days before.  This time Toro took us to have a look at his sculptures and wow, Mike, you would have been well impressed.  He makes huge metal creatures from scrap metal that folk bring him, including loads of bike bits that had my velo-fetish eyes smiling. :-)

 

The studio was actually his mate’s, Diego, and other artist who was welding when we turned up and who also sculpts with scrap metal, making huge skeletons, one protesting against the oil company Shell.  The minute I walked in was reminded of the UK based collective Mutoid Waste and that exhibition they put on a couple of years ago in Shoreditch... remember it?

The brilliance of the encounter was that by the time we were leaving we’d all been invited to join in and collaborate with a festival the neighbourhood was hosting the following day.  I had to take the bus to Brazil that day, so couldn’t make it, but Camilla and Dani both did! Yay!  (No news yet of what they got up to). What a simple and open invitation, no portfolios presentations needed, just trust and confidence, brilliant.

I hope all your work is going well.   Have you got any new paintings?  I’d love to see what you’ve been up to if you have time to send through any photos.  In the meantime, wishing you a happy start to April and sending a big hug from Argentina.

Big love,
Kim
:-) 

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