City life Journal Entries

10 creative works found

• Everything
• Images
• T-Shirts
• Calendars
• Writing
• Journals

• SO WAKE UP!!!
  by Redtempa

  Everywhere I look I see zombies…

  Everywhere I look I see zombies, eyes half open, minds closed to reality…trudging through a routine, until they are told they can stop. Knocking shoulders as they pass but not stopping to acknowledge each other, not even noticing each other. For they are living a dream, a dream so disconnected it bares no resemblance to the real world. A concrete dream, a dream filled with beeps and alarms, signals and sirens, a dream bombarding them with so many messages their senses are numb. / In this dream there is no need to wake in the morning, just get out of bed, plug yourself in, do your job and play the game…that is all you need to know. Food appears, waste disappears…how is not important. The cycles of life are just hindrances, getting in the way of your job… stockpiling goods, paying debts… stockpiling goods, paying debts… They keep dreaming, they keep walking… until one day, something happens that causes them to wake. Their eyes open revealing the glorious light of the world. They leave the noise behind and suddenly they can hear again. They open their minds and suddenly they can think again. But it’s too late, it has been too long… and the shock ...kills them

• Urban Décor Pt 1... How to get your voice heard
  by Redtempa

  The UK has been a bastion of free speech for many years now and it is something I am very proud of. Our recent heritage is full of grea…

  The UK has been a bastion of free speech for many years now and it is something I am very proud of. Our recent heritage is full of great bands, writers, artists and film makers that have thrived in tolerant society that has welcomed free expression. The UK’s artists are known the world over for pushing boundaries and mixing together genres of art to create sub-genres and in some cases completely new genres! However I sometimes wonder what this tolerant, free society is going to make of the latest trend to hit the streets of the city, political urban art. Of course I realise Its not a new phenomenon , look at the scrawl on the old Berlin Wall or on the walls in Northern Ireland and you would find political graffiti slogans left in protest and to provoke thought. You can even find the ancient paintings of any native race anywhere in the world on rock faces or cave walls, whether they were made as decorative pieces or with some social impact in mind, who knows? Even in its most recent form as scrawl with spray can on a wall it has been alive in this country for years. The point is it is becoming very evident to me that this is becoming something of an epidemic here in London. When I say becoming, well I travel the streets searching this stuff out and I can tell you it is on the rise in quite a dramatic fashion here! Kids, young men and professional artists are getting more and more confident and ballsy about making bigger and more controversial statements on the walls of our city. The obvious answer is Banksy has created a precedent for the flood gates to open… although he was not the first to create this form of political graffiti in London, he is just the most well known and the first to achieve worldwide fame and fortune. But I feel to blame him or to even praise him for this would be wrong because to me he is only responding to the problems in society not creating them. Almost like blaming Hip Hop for the problems in Harlem, it’s short sited and completely missing the point. These artists are responding to the way the people are feeling right now and trying to get their voices heard the only way they can. For me this rise in political graffiti stems from the feeling that the noise society is creating is so loud and inconsequential the important points are not reaching the people. For example, a messed up singer will get front page headlines of our major newspapers while continued atrocities are being committed the world over by that do not even get a mention! How can a footballers affair be more important to the people than 2 million refugees going without food, water and medicine in Dafur. We are being drowned in a sea of pointless messages, with the substance floating past unnoticed. Whether you think it’s a problem with society or a government ploy to control us it’s clear that that to get the message across artists are resorting to more drastic measures. These measure are to take to the streets and to paint them on our walls for all to see… and in that respect I support what many of them are trying to do. Now I’m not saying all of this is political, some is just a beautiful piece of artwork designed to brighten up a… well Urban sh1thole! As well as this much of it is blatant vandalism that causes distress to its victims and actually ruins a perfectly beautiful building. Whatever the point is I have been documenting these images in my own way for years now. I don’t want to just show the images, I want to show them in context, this means including a bit about their surroundings and even the people that pass them on a day to day basis. The rest is up to you as to what you consider art, political messages, vandalism or even all three put together! So I am making it my mission to bring these images to you in what will be called my URBAN DÉCOR Journal, this is part 1 Ben AKA Redtempa

• Urban Décor Pt 2... Artist vs Criminal
  by Redtempa

  After publishing Urban Décor part 1 on M…

  After publishing Urban Décor part 1 on Monday I was interested to see the reaction from the Redbubble community on the subject of urban art. To be honest I was expecting a mixed reaction because this form of art has many guises, some of which have a habit of pissing people off… tagging being one of them. This side of graffiti is the hardest to justify, something even I would struggle to do… not that I would want to anyway! Personally I am not even going to get involved in the debate because I can see both sides of the story and both are as valid as each other… in reality your opinions will probably be individual and varied and will be based on your personal experiences, good or bad. My own experiences have been both negative and positive and I’m pretty open minded on the subject, so I can understand the mixed reactions that some of the images I produce may cause. Some people will say tagging causes distress and is just blatant vandalism created by bored jobless youths with no respect for the property of others. Others will say it has been around for as long as the human race has been able to express itself through painting and (in some cases) can even brighten up the ugliest of human creations. Whatever your opinion in a free society such as the UK’s it is not going to disappear anytime soon. This is because to truly stop it we would need to take drastic measures that would not sit comfortably in our so called ‘free society’. However, as a photographer I like to document a street scene that I’ve found and I see beauty in. As I primarily photograph natural street scenes in urban areas urban art/vandalism is often a major feature of my work. This is because to me it is such and intriguing and powerful form of artist expression completely without censure that can reach and effect anybody or any age. I am intrigued as to the thought processes that go into designing tags and what they tell you about the artist/criminal that has created it. My intention with these is not to express my personal opinion, instead just to document a scene I think is beautiful and to show it in context with its surroundings. The fact these scenes are dynamic and constantly changing as more graffiti/urban art/tags gives me confidence that recording them is an important thing to do. In fact many of the scenes I have shot in my portfolio have been whitewash or replaced, something that makes me feel justified in spending the many days trawling the streets looking for them. Peace Ben AKA Redtempa

• Urban Décor Pt 3... Guerrilla marketing, a cheep and effective alternative
  by Redtempa

  You may not realise but the dark s…

  You may not realise but the dark streets of London are littered with some of the worlds most cutting edge and ingenious marketing campaigns. Stencils, billposters and general scrawl are being used to sell products or raise a public profile, in some cases very effectively. You only have to look at the money behind some of the brands turning up on street corners and street signs to realise this is no longer only the work of kids with too much time on their hands. These are big businesses that have recognised the impact guerrilla marketing can have on creating brand awareness. The most recent example to be seen on the streets of the East End of London are stencils of a Zepplin with the word ‘Mothership’ emblazoned across it. To those that know this is advertising the new album from Led Zepplin, and to those that don’t this creates a certain intrigue and awareness that Atlantic Records hope will boost sales amongst a younger generation of music fans. My point is this is not a small back street company that has employed these techniques and Led Zepplin are not a bunch of ‘wannabe’s’, these are big names utilising urban art as part of a high profile campaign. Some, of course are not big businesses and do not have a capitalist agenda. They just want to spread a message or an ethos and are utilising the best cost effective methods available that can reach the widest possible audience. Some of these are even global movements expanding their cause (quite strategically) by using guerrilla marketing techniques. / Artwork by Obey Obey is a great example of this. Obey is the brainchild of Shepard Fairy and is a regular feature on the streets of some of the worlds major cities. He explains his work as “an experiment in Phenomenology” with one of the aims being to “awaken ones sense of wonder about their surroundings“. He says of his work; “The Obey campaign attempts to stimulate curiosity and bring people to question both the campaign and their relationship with their surroundings. Because people are not used to seeing advertisements or propaganda for which the motive is not obvious, frequent and novel encounters with Obey propaganda provokes thought and possible frustration, nevertheless revitalizing the viewers perception and attention to detail”. / Artwork by Obey Whether or not you agree with the point the is trying to make or the methods he is employing you have to admire the sheer scale of his work. Much of it is also very attractive and really does brighten up some of the dingiest London streets. I have taken many shots of Obey’s and other guerrilla media campaigns, some of which I have posted here and on my portfolio. To be honest some of them I love, some I hate, some I understand and some, well, I have no idea what their rhyme or reason is! They come in many forms with many points to make on many levels from the blatantly obvious to the completely surreal, the commercial to anti-capitalistic, the humorous to political. I’ll let you make up your own minds! Please feel free to comment, I’d like to hear your opinions on the subject Peace Ben

• Thank you and au revoir
  by Freda Surgenor

  This is my last entry for a while, we are going to our daughter’s wedding in Las Vegas and doing a bit of travelling around after that. / ...

  This is my last entry for a while, we are going to our daughter’s wedding in Las Vegas and doing a bit of travelling around after that. / We leave on Friday. / See you all in November and I might update this journal while we are away with some of our travels. / So, thank you all heartily for your faves and watches and lovely comments. / Hugs Freda

• HELL - End??
  by clarkey

  What can I say – days have blurred into weeks, weeks have blurred into months. I haven’t killed him yet, nor have I divorced him; I have…

  What can I say – days have blurred into weeks, weeks have blurred into months. I haven’t killed him yet, nor have I divorced him; I haven’t even harmed him, except to give him an occasional fright!!! It has been the second longest 6 months of my life, though, and I don’t think I have ever been so tired for so long! I’ve travelled all over the city, seen all sorts of houses and building, met all sorts of people, including (unfortunately) one very Dumb Blonde – she was one of the nicest ladies I met during this time, but, she most definitely wasn’t one of the smartest. She made great cups of coffee though, and she’s a treasure just for that! I’ve taken photos of some beautiful flowers in gardens, seen lovely scenery and vistas, talked to some fascinating people, cursed other drivers and some roads, and seen astonishlingly bad driving. Has it cured me of my love of driving? I don’t know yet, only time will tell, but, it has confirmed my loathing of driving in peak hour traffic, particularly morning peak. Some of the most fabulous things to photgraph, of course, have been while I was driving or couldn’t pull up to take a pic because it was either unsafe or we didn’t have time to stop. And, now, the end is visible. He has to go to the Magistrates Court tomorrow, Monday, 01.09.2008, to apply for the re-instatement of his licence. Unless the Magistrate is having a bad day or a difficult one, there seems to be no reason for him not to get it back. There is no set time for his appearance, you just turn up at the start of the day, and, I would guess, you are dealt with according to your place on the list of confirmed attendees. If there was a confirmed time, I’d be counting the hours. So, tomorrow morning, I’ll take him into Dandenong, drop him off at the Court, come home and wait for his ‘phone call to say, “I got it!” I’ll go pick him up and take him to the RTA Office to get his license re-issued . . . AND THEN, my life is my own again, I can resume my might-owlish habits and get stuck into snapping away and Photoshopping again – I have to do the business paperwork first, though. Oh well, that’s the price we pay for our indulgences! Patience is NOT one of my Virtues!

• I added a description to "Crystal City"
  by Dean Warwick

  I added a description to “Crystal City” if anyone cares to view it again. A brief description of how I got the shot. (My tongue is still …

  I added a description to “Crystal City” if anyone cares to view it again. A brief description of how I got the shot. (My tongue is still stuck in my cheek! lol) / Crystal City

• Ireland - Photographic/Art - Group
  by Carl Gaynor

  I have looked on with interest at the development of Ireland as a photographic/art group – time has not allowed me to engage more with th…

  I have looked on with interest at the development of Ireland as a photographic/art group – time has not allowed me to engage more with the group, apart from uploading some of my photographs. / Have these photographs been my best work? / Can I truly be the judge of that question? A question I ask myself every time I look and examine one of my images. I have hundreds if not thousands of photographs in all different states of form and development. At this moment in time I am working on three different photographic projects, that will change and develop with time. / There is a constant development in the way I see my photographs, this consists of continually editing of images. This editing is embraced with continued research into past and present image making – this enables me not only see my own work in a different perspective but also other peoples. / So Martin, you have a difficult job in maintaining this group, but I do feel what has been said, has been a little harsh. / A lot of photographic work and I include my own, deals with the past and present in relation to the land into visual landscape. I study paintings from 18 century to the present day, always trying to keep an open mind. This is then endorsed by writings and poetry covering the same time span. If the guidelines of this or for that matter any group, are to constrain you could run the risk of having so many images that look the same. / The contemporary photographic art of Anthony Haughey would not be accepted, his photographic work dealing with borders and conflict is very dead pan – not aesthetic at all, but sill very strong profound images. The great Australian photographer Frank Hurley, who in the last years of his long established career photographed Australia. Hurley’s landscapes were wonderful, outstanding photographs of Australia and classed as some of the best propaganda photographs ever made! / We all have a romantic view of Ireland, but if we can, let us not let that romantic view stop photographers and artists that use other forms of expression ask questions. Ask questions about how we visualize the land and its changing population.

• DAY AND NIGHT (a poem about me)
  by Stephen Jackson

  It’s night, when one needs love like blood, / And a city is an iceberg of lights, / The air throbs, roars like a distant bear. / The finger …

  It’s night, when one needs love like blood, / And a city is an iceberg of lights, / The air throbs, roars like a distant bear. / The finger of one’s mind, in indolence, / Retraces the schema of old streets / Their excess of purpose – redundant as / Antique newsprint. I like to sense this imprint of / Bustling, forgotten hands: the surfeit of detail in a frosted / Frieze, or else a silent mausoleum in its zone; / With dolls’ house windows that will not surrender / My own reflection. I like it all. As a child, I wore my life like a nettle / I looked out with blistery eyes / As if a scourge (as if one scourged) / Not wanting to be found. / Of late, I’m more resilient. / I watch this house of mine fall dark: / I draw it round me. / Outside, perhaps, the crumbs of friendships / Of issues grown pale – or rather, simply remote. / / I remember now. It happened one afternoon. / There’d been a downpour. Briefly, the clouds parted, / And in the blaze, the city shone as if pearl / For a moment, as if cleansed – as if life itself had been / Cleansed – all purged, all forgiven. For a moment, I felt / Glad to share what was soundless, timeless: / Proud to be there. It is my shame to be different / But I don’t know how to live in bad faith. / I wish I could walk among the rest, be one of the rest / Find my solace in a seamless absurdity, but rather, / Those shackles have slipped away. For me, you see, / There is a dissonance in one’s heart, if one has purpose: / A tension, or a null that must be fed: / One needs to have some private absurd – / Some folly dimly grasped, giving one the appetite to carry on; / There’s nothing left, once vision and apathy melt together, resigning one, / In lean despotic light, to be an outsider at life’s busy midnight feast. / Spare me the sun, this glazed horizon, this eternal present. / How frivolous is life, if shorn of meaning / How short a life, how long a day. Stephen Jackson January 2005

• New Arrival
  by gotmiller

  I have finished moving in to my new place in Downtown Denver. Loving every turn. I was riding my bike yesterday and it felt great to b…

  I have finished moving in to my new place in Downtown Denver. Loving every turn. I was riding my bike yesterday and it felt great to bob and weave through the metropolis. / Recently looking through some urban photographs online I have encountered a new motivator. Though the shots may be hard to come by. It the age and weather of an individual that gives him that visual character. The skin the says on its own “i have seen things others have not”. This is what i am looking for. As for most of us, it will be realized at the moment. Never know what you have found or are looking for, until is right in front of you. Smiles all around.