Artist of the week: Dark Writing 7: David J. Rodger (Part One)

David J. Rodger

David was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne on August 30, 1970. He started writing at the age of 19. He is a British author and game designer, best known for his novels set in a near-future world of corporate and political intrigue. His novels include God Seed, Dante‘s Fool, Iron Man Project, Edge, and soon to come Living in Flames. He has also written multiple short stories. He has also published Yellow Dawn, a role playing game set in the same world as his novels, ten years after it has been ravaged by a horrible mutagen. Dog Eat Dog is the first to be set in the post-virus era of his future world.

Rodger’s novels often combine high-tech intrigue and political/corporate machinations with elements of the Cthulhu Mythos, as created by H.P. Lovecraft. Rodger’s contributions to the Mythos include the creation of a new Great Old One in Edge, and use of the Outer God Nyarlathotep in God Speed. In Yellow Dawn Rodger’s interpretation of the Mythos, particularly the Great Old One Hastur, is a major part of the background material. He has published Shadows of the Quantinex, a large scale campaign expansion for Yellow Dawn.

He has also written a children’s story, Cloudy Head, illustrated by Kenn-Ole Moen. Also a murder mystery game, Murder at Sharkty Point. Rodger spent 8 years working for the Environment Agency (non-departmental government agency), developing a virtual communications service within the IT Division, before moving into commercial project management for a major UK publisher. Rodger’s presence on the Internet got him a place in the BBC documentary Through The Eyes of the Young, directed by Chris Terrill in 2000.

He now lives in Bristol, England, with his longtime girlfriend, She is also his editor.

Novels

God Seed (1996)
Dante’s Fool (1999)
Iron Man Project (2005)
Edge (2008)
Dog Eat Dog (2010)

Games

Yellow Dawn 1st Edition (2006)
Murder at Sharky Point (2007)
Yellow Dawn 2nd Edition (2008)
Shadows of the Quantinex (2009)

Children’s Stories

Cloudy Head (Illustrated, 2007)

Scripts

Salo IV (2007)

Short Stories

Angel Police
Arnos Vale
Blue Boy
Cloudy Head
Corrupt Moon
Cypher
Demi Bhagwan
Devil’s Spring
Dilemma
Eden
Flinch
House of Heavenly Light
Killing Candy
Masters of Chaos
Merchant of Oropas
My Bloody Valentine
Oracle
Psycho Rave
Pain
The Tainted Moor

Links

http://www.davidjrodger.com/

http://www.sfx.co.uk/2009/11/18/interview_with_self_published_writer_david_j_rodger

Part two of this post will be a short story by Rodger, and then Part three a Q&A With Rodger.

Artist of the day 2/25/12: graffiti 5: Banksy

Banksy

Banksy has his hands in many artistic treasures as a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter. His artistic works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world.

According to the author and graphic designer Tristan Manco and the book Home Sweet Home, Banksy “was born 1974 and raised in Bristol, England. The son of a photocopier technician, he trained as a butcher but became involved in graffiti during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s.”

Banksy is known for his contempt for the government in labeling graffiti as vandalism, as such he displays his art on public surfaces such as walls and even going so far as to build physical prop pieces.

Banksy does not sell photos of his street graffiti directly himself. However, art auctioneers have been known to attempt to sell his street art on location and leave the problem of its removal in the hands of the winning bidder.

Banksy’s first film Exit through the gift shop, billed as “The world’s first street art disaster movie” made its debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in the UK on march 5, 2010. In January 2011, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary for the film. Now who said “The world’s first street art disaster movie”? I think its safe to say they where wrong.
From Banksy’s page http://www.banksy.co.uk/ :

Frequently asked questions

Is it cheating to use stencils?
Stencils are good for two reasons;
One – they’re quick ; two – they annoy idiots.

Why are you such a sell out?
I wish I had a pound for every time someone asked me that.

Is Banksy just a big brand these days? Do you even paint your own pictures?
It’s not supposed to be a brand, which is why people in advertising think it’s such a good one. I paint it all myself unless its illegal, in which case I’ve never seen any of it before, your honour.

Is Exit Through the Gift Shop real?
Yes.

Are you still friends with Mr. Brainwash?
I like to think so. When I asked him what he thought about the film he said “This is a cult movie, this is a classic movie, this movie stands alone – like The Godfather.”

Did you paint over Robbo’s piece and have him beaten up?
His piece in Camden had been dogged for more than five years by the time I painted that spot. It’s a real shame about his accident and I hope he fully recovers. I would never deliberately cuss Robbo – he’s a graffiti legend.
And he’s bigger than me. Click Here

Did you rip off Blek le Rat?
No, I copied 3D from Massive Attack. He can actually draw.

Do you need an intern?
No thanks.

Why are you so annoying?
It’s not all my fault, sometimes they make it up – I’ve never vandalized a war memorial, painted Kate Moss’s kitchen or visited the Playboy club with Ashley Cole wearing a skull mask.

What artists do you rate?
Käthe Kollwitz is my favourite. Partly because her drawing style is so beautiful, and partly because she thought being an artist was self-indulgent crap and became a doctor in an orphanage instead.

Can you donate a picture for my charity auction?
What are you? Blind? In which case maybe. I mostly support projects working to restore sight and prevent eye disease. Or as I like to call it ‘expanding the market’.

faq@banksy

Please don’t follow me on facebook or twitter because I’m not on there.

Some of His work

I love this one

A lot of Banksy’s fans have gotten tattoos of his work

link to an article about this photo go check it out, its a good one. About people petitioning to keep his work up in a town where graffiti has been outlawed http://www.westendextra.com/news/2011/may/westminster-council-remove-banksy-art

Artist of the day 2/24/12: Graffiti 4: Xenz

Graeme Brusby AKA Xenz

Brusby was born in 1974. He became a graffiti artist at the age of 14, inspired by films and books documenting the sub culture of New York. He developed the tag “sense” which evolved into what he does today – Xenz (pronounced “zenz”)

Brusby practiced graffiti art for 20 years, developing a unique approach to the well known art form.

If I may say so. He has beautiful work with true depth, color, and invoking feeling. He is now one of my favorite graffiti artist I have seen.

(origin of quote unknown) He has said and I must agree “I paint stuff that floats and stuff that flies, on a mission to capture the ethereal vision behind my eyes”

His early paintings where inside the derelict warehouses of Hull in Yorkshire England. This encouraged a very experimental approach to graffiti, to the point that the simple word graffiti no longer sufficiently describes what he does.

His imagination shows through in the landscapes he paints, using a spray can to capture fragments of memory and ever changing subjects, often drawn from the natural world and enhanced in his eye.

He lived in Bristol where he painted many pieces alongside one of the UK’s longest standing and most respected graffiti crews TCF( twentieth century frescos), He was one of three in the group, and artists such as Banksy, Inkie and Massive Attack’s 3D.

Quote from his web site (about TCF) “I painted with two friends called Eko and Paris, we were known as “The TCF Crew”( twentieth century frescos). If we had a vision we painted it, we did the wackiest stuff possible and really tried to be unique. We expanded our influences and started exploring different styles of painting even sculpture and printing, we always pushed each other’s ideas as far as possible being critical and particular about ideas and aesthetics sat in a small bedroom in the cold North Eastern part of England in a city called Hull.”

Xenz has been shown in exhibitions and art fairs in the UK, Miami, New York, Basel, Ibiza and Sydney. He has had sell-out London solo shows, and his limited edition prints are in huge demand. His work is in private and corporate collections worldwide. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art. He lives and works in London.

Solo Exhibitions

2011 – “Cloud Cuckoo Land” , December 1- 4, 2011, Blackall Studios, 73 Leonard Street, Shoreditch, London, England

2011 – “Pecking Disorder” , Lazarides, Outsiders, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

2010 – “Birds Butterflies and spraycans” , Wk exp, New Delhi, India

2010 – “These flowers grow wild” , La Hora Azul, Santa Gertudis, Ibiza, Spain

2010 – “Wonderlust” , Bicker gallery, Sydney, Australia Sidney Morning Herald

2009 – “Unforscenery” , Forster Gallery, London

2007 – “The Law Of Attraction” , Forster Gallery, London

2007 – “For The Love”, Workshop Gallery, Bristol

2006 – “Big City of Dreams”, This way up gallery, London

2002 – E Shed, Bristol, Uk

1999 – Avant Graff, Chicane, Bristol

Group Exhibitions and events

2011
Urban in Ibiza – Atzaro Ibiza
Ghosts of gone birds – Liverpool school of art and design

2010
Rise of the non conformists, Whitecross street, London

2009
Flying Eyeball, Gallery 24 Mayfair London
Friend & co Bristol
Bristollisboa gallery, Lisbon,
Tunnel 228, Waterloo, London
Meeting of styles, London

2008
Visual Street Performance, Barrio Alto, Lisbon
Artists 11, Truman Brewery, London
Big Chill, Festival
Glastonbury, Festival

2007
The Bad Note, Dragon Bar, London
One in ten, Forster Gallery, London.
Lattitude Festival
Write for Gold, London

2006
One the Seventh Day, Pimp Magazine, London

2005
Natural Selection, British Graffiti Alsopp Contemporary, London
Meeting of styles, Padova ,Italy

2004
Meeting of styles, wintertur ,switzerland

2003
Meeting of styles, Pori , Finland

2002
Attitude festival, Montpellier France,

1999
What’s in a Name, Retrospective of Hull’s Graffiti Scene, Quay Art, Hull
Walls on Fire, Bristol

1996
By Any Means, Wasps Gallery, Edinburgh
His web page http://www.xenz.org/site/ is a must see if you find his work as butiful and inspiering as I do!

Some of Xenz’s Work