E L E C T R I C    A R K

document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='http://picuous.github.com/tumblrbox/tumblrbox.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));

[electricark-blog]

SUN PATZER With great pride, Electric Ark presents to you our newest artist: Sun Patzer. Sun Patzer is one of the biggest mysteries the internet currently holds. At the moment, this thorougly funked up hiphop producer holds the world record in closed down pop-up websites, leaving a trail that no single person has been able to follow.

If you want, you can follow Sun Patzer's adventures even more closely by checking out his latest pop-up-website: http://sunpatzer.tumblr.com.

[electricark-blog]

GASTONE TESTA One of the most promising young artists in the world, Testa's popularity is based on the enormous, continuing appeal of his works and the somewhat exaggerated perception of him as a mysterious extrovert. His almost religious submission to the exploration of the tension between control and powerlessness, is a recurring theme in Testa's growing body of work. The Sicilian-Belgian Testa was born in West-Flanders in 1977, but grew up on different continents, almost spaceshifting between several places in the United States, most notably New York, but also European cities like London, Brussels, Rotterdam and Florence. He went on to study German and Black literature at the University of California, Berkeley and later at the University of California, Santa Barbara between 1992 and 1995. He then studied fine art at the prestigious Keizer Academy between 1995 and 1999. While on the that side of the globe, he helped support himself by working in several mining camps which was to have a strong influence on his later work. Gastone Testa is best known for blurring the line, or bridging the gap, between conceptual art and contemporary painting. Many of his paintings are reminiscent of both, like 'coincidences (I)', which is shown above. Here, Testa uses folded cardboard to guide his trail of paint. Testa's virtuosity as an artist was apparent by the time he produced 'fear funerals', a series of 8 works conceived as a contemporary and subjective version of Willie Dixon's visual narrative. Testa's growing body of work in itself assured him an important place in contemporary art, and in series inspired by literary sources such as 'celan', 'nolens grey', and 'baraka baraka', he did much to revive the tradition of the livre d'artiste.

[illustration: coincidences (I) / 2010 / acrylic on cardboard / 140 x 100 cm]

[electricark-blog]

THE SAUK FOX SUNFUNK ENSEMBLE What started as an all-star jam session eighteen and a half years ago on a Tuesday night at the Suave Sound Bar on Kilimanjaro Lane has blossomed into one of the continents most successful and laurelled sunfunk bands.  A few years ago, the Tuesday night residency moved to the Arkaid Lounge, where it has continued to this day. Without the help of a record label or distribution deal, the group has sold an impressive 300 million combined copies of their four albums. Over the years, the band has accumulated a huge fan base, despite their apparent lack of live shows, of which only three were ever planned, and none actually took place. Poppa Push-R-Man's all-star lineup features the finest musicians in the sunfunk genre, all of whom have deep roots in the music they all love.  Anchored around the sleazy Cakwalenya grooves of band leader Awan Bodaway (Sunuhkukkau Swing Collective) is internationally renowned Taimo Megedagik (Thunder Killer) on guitar, T.E. Whakiza (Smilin’ Slim Face) on bass, Pat Powwaww (Galactic) on saxophone and Motega "Fish" Patamon, who replaced Elan Dyami Jr. in 1994, on drums. Influenced by Dr. Oyster, the Nelson Awendela's and the Swwagh Brothers, The Sauk Fox Sunfunk Ensemble are the guardians of sunfunk. The Sauk Fox Sunfunk Ensemble continually stretches the bounds of the traditional sunfunk music, turning ears and shaking hips wherever they are heard.