ALL ABOUT TAPE ART

insights / artists / projects

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TAPE OVER CREW is looking for creative coworkers

TAPE OVER, which is the biggest Tape Art Crew established in Berlin, found a new home...and they aqre looking for some creative coworkers.

They found an historical dancing hall, which they transform into an cretaive workspace, where people from all creative fields are welcome.

This looks like an awesome space...definitely worth to check out.

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Experiments of ITAPEDIT

Dan Cunningham from Canada is a fan of conjugation.

Artist Name: Dan Cunningham / ITAPEDIT *1984 Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada When did I start: It started as a group activity when I had some friends over for drinks one night. I often work in film and television production and happened to have a stringer of coloured cloth tape from work at home with me. Eventually the idea to add strips to the wall and create patterns and designs was obvious! This was about 2013. Why tape: I’ve never been very good at visual art, especially drawing and painting, so I really didn’t experiment with any other materials because of that. After discovering the unique way tape can look and be manipulated on the wall, I started making smaller pieces on canvas or wood panel. I love the fact that you can create textures and patterns that can easily be rearranged and that tape isn’t strictly for flat surfaces, allowing me to create 3-dimentional art as well! Now I have about 75 rolls of tape of various materials! Inspiration: I’m inspired by my own photographs and experiences. I will often take a quick snapshot of something and then arrange it in a more abstract way for taping. In the end, the piece probably won’t resemble its original source material, but that doesn’t matter! I’ve also blindly sat and taped abstract pieces and really like the fragmented, strained glass look, but swapping into taping more realistic items or scenes is also a fun challenge. I love seeing other tape artists and their work on Instagram. Their demonstration of what is possible with tape keeps me on my toes and motivates me to start another one as soon as I finish something! Synonym for art: CONJUGATION – art creates links between people and the world around us Profession: I am not a full-time artist. I work as a freelancer in the arts, primarily in production and operations. From films, commercials and live music to festivals and theatre tours. I have really only been focussing on my art seriously for just over a year now. I am glad to be free to dedicate as much or as little time to it as I want! Quote: “There is no such thing as a weird human being. It's just that some people require more understanding than others” – Tom Robbins

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Dutch Tape from Egbert.EGD

(dutch translation below) Artist name: Egbert.EGD .EGD stands for “Egberts Grafische Decoraties”   I put it as an extension behind everything I offer, for example #TapeArt.EGD

*1982 Instagram: egbertegd Where are you born / Where did you grow up?  In the beautiful city of Deventer, in the Netherlands

Where do you live now? Still in Deventer, a very nice city with the most beautiful skyline in the world.

When did you start doing Tape Art? I’ve been working already for 17.5 years with graffiti and stencil art. Furthermore I am working as a full-time entrepreneur making paintings, murals and giving workshops for 7.5 years. In 2017 I had the goal to familiarize myself with other street art techniques, after some testings, Tape Art suits me the most.

In july 2017 I had a big job for a “Kunstfiets route” (a bike route with a lot of art), in which tape seemed cool to me to work with. I taped a huge line pattern on the road with a width of about 100 meters including a 2-days tape art workshop for kids.

Since then I have been able to provide a good number of tape art projects and workshops. Live Tape art at events, on wood and window displays. I was allowed to do Tape Art on 3 large walls in a pop stage with the new house style, with 100% Tape Art!

Why Tape (Art)? It is very close to what I have done with stencil art for years, only without the spray cans. I like cutting, clean lines, patterns and nice colors. Tape Art is all that!

Who / what does inspire you? Social media is full of inspiration and sources. I follow all kinds of street artists that I encounter. But I also love to buy a nice street art book, or to look around when I walk through cities where street art can be seen.

Please, tell me a synonym for art: Love... do what you love, and what makes you happy.

What is your profession? Are you a full-time artist? Full time Creative entrepreneur / artist for 7.5 years now. I have my own atelier in the Havenkwartier in Deventer where I’m employing one person and multiple trainees.

An inspiring quote for / or you: "What you see is what you get!"

Artist name: Egbert.EGD (.EGD = Egberts Grafische Decoraties en zet ik achter alles wat ik doe bijvoorbeeld #TapeArt.EGD)

Instagram: egbertegd

*1982

Where are you born /Where did you grow up? In de mooie stad Deventer, Nederland

Where do you live now? Deventer, Nederland Stad met de mooiste skyline van de wereld.

When did you start doing Tape Art? Ik werk in middels 17,5 jaar met graffiti en stencil art. Ik verzorg daarmee nu 7,5 jaar als full time artist, schilderijen, muurschilderingen en workshops. In 2017 had ik  als doel gesteld ook andere street art technieken mij eigen te maken, na wat testen, past tape art het beste bij me.

In 2017 had ik in juli een grote klus voor een kunstfietsroute, waarbij Tape mij gaaf leek om me te werken. Ik heb toen een mega groot lijnen patroon op de weg getaped met een breedte van ongeveer 100 meter. Mocht na die klus ook 2 dagen tape art workshops verzorgen.

Sinds dien heb een een flink aantal tape art project en workshop mogen doen. Live Taping op evenementen, op hout en etalage ruiten. En heb ik 3 grote muren in een Poppodium mogen voorzien van de nieuwe huisstijl met 100% tape art!

Why Tape (Art)? Het ligt heel dicht bij wat ik al jaren met stencil art doe, alleen dan zonder de spuitbussen. Ik hou van snijden strakke lijnen, patronen en lekker kleuren. Tape art is dat allemaal!

Who / what does inspire you? Social media zit vol met inspiratie en inspiratiebronnen. Ik volg allerlei tape artisten die ik tegenkom. Maar hou er ook erg van een mooi street art boek te kopen, of om me heen te kijken als ik door steden loop wat er aan street art te zien is.

Please, tell me a synonym for art: Liefde… doen waar je van houd, en waar je blij van wordt.

What is your profession? Are you a full-time artist? Full time Creatief ondernemer / Artist voor 7,5 jaar nu. Heb mijn eigen Atelier in het Havenkwartier in Deventer. Waar ik 1 iemand in dienst heb en meerder stagiaires heb rond lopen.

An inspiring quote for/of you: “What you see is wat you get!”

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Flying high...TAPE OVER

TAPE OVER created this huge 10x4m mural with a tape art piece inspired by “swarm intelligence”.

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Art makes time passing by with more sweetness – KIU

Tape Art from Montreal, Canada.

Artist Name : KIU Instagram: quentin.lbrt 

*29 May 1990

Where are you born / Where did you grow up ? I was born in Paris and I grew up in Alençon, a small town in Normandy (France).

Where do you live now ? I now live in Montreal (Quebec, Canada)

When did you start doing tape art ? I started doing tape art 4 years ago, when I settled in Montreal.

Why tape art ? When I was a kid I wasn't good in maths however geometry really appealed to me. I have an unexplained interest for shapes, lines and angles. Later in my life, I started drawing and without much surprises all my drawings were very geometric (mainly mandalas). It was only a few years later, after seeing a documentary on Tape Art that I swapped papers and pencils for walls and tape.

I also like the fact that tape can be short-lived. Indeed, it can disapear as quickly as it appeared, without damaging the area it's been applied on.

Who / what does inspire you : When I started, my creations were rather abstract small pieces largely inspired by ethnic patterns. When I refined my technique and got more confident in my work, I tried bigger pieces, mainly inspired by mandalas. I like the paradoxical idea of creating rounded designs with squares, triangles or rectangles. Today I'm also inspired by many of my art fellows around the world. It's them, not knowing it, that inspires me and push me to try new things and create new designs. Possibilities are limitless with Tape Art.

Please, tell me a synonyme for art : "Revitalization". Rapidly, Tape Art proved to be more than a passion, but also a real therapy. It requires a lot of concentration, patience and meticulousness. Some people practise yoga, others meditation... I do Tape Art. 🙂

What is you profession ? Are you a full time artist ? I'm not (yet?) a full time artist. I studied social work and that's what make me live today. I work in a shelter for men with their children. Art tape has allowed me to find the right balance between these two differents worlds which both mean a lot to me.

An inspiring quote for/of you ? Art makes time pass by with more sweetness.

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Jullyanderson Carvalho’s Tape  Art

Jullyanderson Carvalho *24/02/1989

Instagram: @jullyanderson.art

Onde você nasceu / Onde você cresceu? Nasci em Uruaçu, Goiás! Morei lá até meus 19 anos, depois me mudei para Goiânia, capital. 

Onde você mora agora? Continuo morando em Goiânia.

Quando você começou a fazer Tape Art? Em 2013, comecei a ficar incomodado com a cor da parede da minha sala. Estava muito branca, então resolvi então mudar! 

Por que fita (arte)? Desenho desde criança, porém eu via que nunca me encaixava nas modalidades de arte, pintura e etc. vivia rabiscando, fiz gibis, desenhava para  amigos. quando vi a Tape art e comecei a criar, percebi ali uma forma de expressar minha arte, vi que tinha jeito pra coisa. Desde então minha vida está toda enrolada em fitas isolantes! 

Quem / o que o inspira? Me inspiro em vocês, Buff Diss também! Na realidade tudo me inspira, quero levar a Tape art de uma forma diferente, dar muito mais movimento a arte, as linhas. Desenhar o impossível. Para deixar as pessoas sempre na dúvida,  é fita mesmo? 

Por favor, me diga um sinônimo de arte: Desenho a lápis e depois venho com detalhes usando fita e estilete. Cada movimento é minucioso para finalização da arte. 

Qual é a sua profissão? Você é artista de tempo integral?   Sou artista 24 horas por dia! Larguei tudo pra mergulhar na Tape art. decoro, mudo, viro do avesso ambientes! 

Uma cita inspiradora para você: “A arte com fita isolante vai além de fitas coladas, através da arte expressamos sentimentos, mudamos o ambiente que nos cerca.”

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Dimensions & Layers of Darel Carey

Darel Carey is leading the viewer off a perceptual cliff.

Artist: Darel Carey *1981

Where are you born /Where did you grow up? I was born in Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island, but I'm half Filipino, half Irish. My grandparents were missionary doctors, and settled in Curaçao, where my mom went to them to have me, on my grandfather's 50th birthday.

I grew up in Colton, California, a small city about an hour east of Los Angeles.

Where do you live, now? I was in the Air Force for 11 years, living in Texas, Maryland, and California. In 2012 after the Air Force, I moved to Los Angeles to go to art school (Otis College of Art and Design) and pursue an art career.

When did you start doing Tape Art? I started doing tape art in 2015. During my senior year at Otis College, our studio of 8 students had a group show in the Bolsky Gallery, and we decided to grid up the entire space and then incorporate our individual art works/ installations. We used black tape on the walls and the floor to grid up the room. I ended up doing most of the taping, and I enjoyed it, and started getting ideas of using the tape for my artwork itself. For that show I used different colored tape on top of the grid tape to create an optical illusion of a cubic formation in the corner of the gallery. After that I started using tape more and more, and integrated that medium with my line work.

Why Tape (Art)? I've always been drawn to lines. As a kid I used to doodle on all my homework with lines. My primary interest is in using lines to affect visual perception. I like using tape to do this because of its versatility. A tape installation is usually temporary, but I have the option of making them more permanent. I appreciate the ephemerality of a tape art installation, and with tape I can go to the floor and to the ceiling (as long as the surfaces are tape-friendly), where I might not be able to with paint.

Who / what does inspire you? Who:  I've always been a fan of M.C. Escher's tessellations and geometric, illusory work. I'm also inspired by the line work of Sol LeWitt and Carl Krull. What:  I am interested in perception: how we see things and the limits of our abilities to perceive things. I'm inspired by natural patterns in the universe, and interested in the psychology of humans in seeking patterns where they do not exist. With my art, I attempt to lead the viewer off of a perceptual cliff, into an imaginary abyss where space bends and time wrinkles.

Please, tell me a synonym for art: Aesthetic expression

What is your profession? Are you a full-time artist? I am a jack of several trades. I am an artist, a photographer, and a graphic designer.

An inspiring quote for/of you: "Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought."

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Jaguar’s E-Pace Premiere with TAPE OVER and Tape Mapping at IAA

Frankfurt is hosting the biggest Automobil Fair for mobility IAA worldwide every september. Jaguar presented their new City Car at the Palais Frankfurt. They choosed an interesting picture of analog and digital art.

Tape Art by TAPE OVER CREW and 3D Video Mapping by french artist Jacques-André Dupont. Together they created  a dynamic skyline consisting of european landmarks, tape and moving visuals for the presentation of Jaguar’s brand new E-Pace. The dynamic shape of the City Car inspired TAPE OVER to this artistic stage design. The vehicle’s character traits fit to the urban collage and vivid motions. –Enjoy watching!

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Tape Evolution

‘Laetoli Lines’ by LaMia TAPE OVER connects tape with human history. The captivating display “Origins“ in the Museum of Tübingen University.

How does a fusion of Tape Art and human history look? In their 20th anniversary show the Museum of Castle Höhentübingen are currently exhibiting historical artifacts combined with tape art. TAPE OVER founder Lamia translated sources of humanity with tape installations. 3.6 million years ago the Australopithecus Afarensis was the first erect posture of man. The exhibition begins with the installation ‘Laetoli Lines’, which is in dialogue with an cast of the famous Laetoli-footprint. LED-active Tape spellbindingly illuminates the footprint.

The origin of font is attributed to the so-called cuneiform writing. The exhibited artwork ‘Flow Of Script’, a primeval fish, is dedicated to this cuneiform artifact.

The ‘Industrial Revolution’ is intriguingly depicted by a tape art video projected onto a meshed cog.

Big issue: Which paths of evolution are going to reveal in human history in our future? The interactive Installation by TAPE OVERS colleague MR GALLE is demanding this question and visitors are welcome to answer.

The game and riddle stations visualize the uniqueness of human species: the dynamic development of new knowledge, persuasions and techniques. The display was already visited by 20.000 attender.

Personal words of artist Lamia about the exposition, being in the flow and her own origins you can find here.

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Performance Artist Ramsauer In Conversation

She acts as a presenter and visual translator of the everyday. Using tape and turning the “unconscious” participants into a beautiful piece of installation art.

Birgit Ramsauer * 1962 Nürnberg I was born in Germany in 1962. Since 1992 I have been based in Berlin while travelling extensively to show my work, lecture and teach at various art schools and universities both in Europe and the USA.

I work with various media (installation, video, photography) but I see myself primarily as a performance artist, who not only aligns her own body and personality with different social environments, but also deliberately leaves behind visible traces. In the tradition of American and German Performance Art, I interfere with external contexts and mark the random remnants that other people unknowingly leave behind.

During my performances I act as a presenter and visual translator of the everyday, rather unimpressive human actions that can take place all over the world, and I often look for the active participation of the audience. As a detective would do in a crime scene, I collect evidences that allow me to initiate an analysis of the sociological and cultural context in which my actions are taking place.  

I view the act of someone dropping carelessly a piece of paper onto the street as an “unconscious” performance piece (see: ART : HOME – LESS Project New York, Marseille, Moscow, Berlin). I mark this “uneventful” event and record it as a past gesture, like an archaeologist would do.  Through my performances I want to bring awareness to certain characteristics that define the inner texture of a specific social environment. By highlighting behaviours and attitudes that people may not pay attention to and take for granted, such as standing in line, entering an elevator, or sleeping, my goal is to make people conscious of their actions, and of the consequences that these may have on other people or on the environment that surrounds them, without ever criticizing them.

In the performance Walk the Wall, I temporarily marked the location where the Berlin Wall used to stand with heavy white stones. I kept moving the stones ahead so that the contour of the wall would keep shifting forward.  Soon people started to help me moving the stones, participating actively in the work.  It felt like bringing the ghost of the Wall back amongst us and reliving history: the Wall went from being a symbol of the Cold War, with the political load that came with it, to an icon of freedom of a new-era, to an invisible ghost that is still searched for by foreign tourists and Germans alike. I feel that somehow, with this performance, I helped to materialize that ghost again, if only for the duration of the performance.  

In Moving Standpoint I the three elevators of the Allianz building, in which I intervened with fluorescent tape, became the temporary venues for my performance.  For the visitors, entering these elevators meant crossing a border, unwillingly interacting with the transformed environment and with others inhabiting it.  It was interesting to analyze the response of people to this forced interaction: some loved it or were simply amused by it, some looked at the three elevators choosing the one that they liked the most before riding in it, some people seemed distressed by the new look and others probably hated it.  Some ignored it while others chose to be involved in the creative process by adding their own design with coloured tape I provided, therefore becoming part of my action and of the artwork that came out as a result.

Paris, Baskirzev Grave is a slightly different work in which the performative aspect is combined with painting a photography.  Following the story narrated by the author, I visited the various locations around Paris described in her stories where she spent time and took Polaroids of all of them.

Where do You live now? Berlin, New York

When did You start with tape art? I started to work with tape art in my  ART : HOME – LESS Projekt in New York in 1998. 1. During my social work within a city program for reintegration of homeless people I learned more about the creative power of homeless people to define their privacy within public arena. Teiur way to work with found objects. They enlarge, length, they newly combine those into wonderful installations of a non permanent separation and protetion of their privacy. They as well work with tape!! 2. The tape borderline of movie people to create a outcut oft he public arena ist he second inspiration for my artistic work. Those tape marks create a world within the city. The tape line is a very thin mark between reality and imagination…. You step over You are in a different world….. Those two completely participants in daily life of of the city of New York  inspired me to since 1998  find my artistic language with tape. Firstly in public space of metropoles, later in museums, private spaces etc. 3. My first large project, which became famouse in USA, Europe and Russia very soon (as well as in Japan) is my project ART : HOME – LESS (NYC, Moskau, Marseille, Berlin). With the help of several scholarschips (DAAD, Kolodzei Foundation USA, Triangle France, ifa, Treptowers, Kunstfabrik Berlin) I realised each metropole in ist specific „loudness“ in terms of light and color: which created the color oft he gafferstape

• NYC : red fluorescent gafferstape, the city is very vivid and loud, so it needed the color red to defend the artistic work

• Moscow: yellow fluorescent gafferstape, the city was in 1998 still without neon advertisement. The lights were in yellowish.

• Marseille (the so called „New York of France“): pink fluorescent gafferstape, the city is fancy and strange in colors. The light is bright in this southern hemisphere.

• Berlin: green fluorescent gafferstape, the city is the most green metropole. In 1999, when I realized my project there was a plan to keep the area of the former wall as a green park.  So one bike all around the city within a green area. More Projects: Videos Interview Rezensionen

Why tape art? 1. With tape one creates a fast and exact line. Acurate handling and acting is accepted within chaos and diversity of public space. It than stands out as something made, defined, fabricated and ment ot be there. That for it defends itself agains immediate destruction. And tape is not permanent, when needed.   2. Tape with special qualities withint he guerrilla actions in public space: - it is not permanent - it does not destroy surfaces - is allows fast constructions - accurate work - it follows surface structures and contures. Thatfore it highlights and makes them visible. - gafferstape sticks to the ground Who and what inspires you? Who: John Cage, Lawrence Weiner, Caroleen Schneemann, Allan Kaprow, Enrico Baj, Vito Acconci, Bruce Nauman, Valie Export, Philipp Glass, Alison Knowles, Merce Cunningham, Michel Foucault, J.S. Bach, Schostakowitsch, Marina Abramovic, Picasso, Christoph Wodiczko, Sten Nadolny, Günther Eich, Was: Kirchenbauten als Gesamtkunstwerk, die Oper als Gesamtkunstwerk, die Arbeit an Bühnenbildern, die Surrealisten, Dada, das Radio A synonym for art:  „Art is life, and life is art„ „Art is mirroring society, - art is a sensor for the future of society the artist is the one to tell truth, because he is outside of normal structure of society.” Inspiring Quotes: „How can aesthetic practice make existing symbolic structures respond to contemporary events?“ Christoph Wodiczko, NYC More Projects: „DroP“: installation nexus art center Atlanta 2001: Klebeband mit anderen Materialien in einer Installation und als Performance „Yellow Square“: Moskau, öffentlicher Raum, Gallery Spider und Mouse, Guelmann Gallery, Maly Manege 2004

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Rainbow Tape Art by Cheryl Sorg

Artist name: Cheryl Sorg *1967 Instagram: @cherylsorg 

Where are you born /Where did you grow up? Where do you live, now?   I was born in Ohio, lived much of my life - as a kid and as an adult - in Massachusetts (Boston and Cape Cod), and for the last 14 years I’ve lived in a little surf town called Encinitas, just north of San Diego, California.

When did you start doing Tape Art? For years I was making lines of text from book pages into a type of tape by applying an adhesive backing and doing large drawings and installations with the strips I cut from the pages. I made my first piece with actual tape about a year and a half ago, and I am completely obsessed with it.

Why Tape (Art)? I got to a point in my work where I felt the need for COLOR, instead of the black-and-white of the book/text work I was doing. I needed it as an antidote to all the ills of the world, an ever-growing awareness of how awful people can be - especially those in power. (Our new president, for example...)  Working with tape has been the perfect way to incorporate color (lots of color) and a bit of cheer (and hope?) into what I do. There are so many types of tape and so many color choices, as well as different shine and color-change qualities and I love experimenting with various combinations. Using tape as my medium has injected an element of play and fun into my work that was much needed. Additionally, tape’s durability and ability to weather the outdoors allowed me to begin on my street art project, something I’d wanted to do for a long time.

Who / what does inspire you? SO many things (and people) inspire me. I am a voracious reader and I get a lot of inspiration from stories - fiction, memoir, essays, all types of narratives. I love Instagram for visual inspiration, and the happiness that comes from seeing people pursuing their creative passions (I follow countless writers and artists of all types). Some people and things that I am loving / obsessing over right now: Philippe Petit, Aziz Ansari, Issa Rae, 3M dichroic film, hoop tape, rainbows & clouds, trees and tree rings, Bryan Stevenson, Kamala Harris, the band FUN, the podcast Radiolab, a long, long list of writers and visual artists….. And finally Lin-Manuel Miranda and ALL things Hamilton, all the brilliant folks involved in making and performing that show….listening to the music and seeing the show has given me so much joy and inspiration, I cannot even begin to express how much.

Please, tell me a synonym for art: MEDITATION. I have a brain that has a tendency towards negativity and swirling, chaotic thinking, and therefore I am a person who really should meditate. I’ve tried, can’t do it.  But, the meticulous process of working on a project constructed from thousands of tiny pieces of tape that I cut and lay down one at a time for hours on end is a meditation, one that keeps me (relatively) sane. And of course viewing great art that really speaks to me is a meditation as well, one that clears my mind momentarily of other things and draws me fully into its world.

What is your profession? Are you a full-time artist? I am a full-time artist and I work in a Studio Shed studio in my back yard, which I dreamed of having for such a long time and which we just got early this year. It is a dream space. I am very lucky to be married to someone - my husband, Xavier, who is a scientist - who is so supportive of what I do and who has a job that allows me to be a mom, and to spend all of my work day making art. (I make a lot of art, but perhaps not a lot of money.)

An inspiring quote for/of you: Lately I can’t stop thinking about (and a lot of my work right now is inspired by) this quote from the gorgeous Netflix series The OA:

“The biggest mistake I made was believing if I cast a beautiful net I’d catch only beautiful things.”

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BEAUTIFIC BREAK installation from TAPE OVER

Creating a BEAUTIFIC BREAK with some message! That’s what berlin based TAPE OVER CREW performed in Graz/ Austria. For the Designmonat Graz they taped an interactive installation in a 200qm hall. Dealing a very acute problem: Overfishing of the seas.

Weiterlesen

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It all started with Architectural Tape

Artist name: Joe Ryckebosch * October 5, 1971

Where are you born /Where did you grow up? I grew up in the United Sates, in a city called​ Lancaster, California – a desert community Northeast of Los Angeles. Where do you live, now? I currently live in Marietta, Ohio. When did you start doing Tape Art? I starting working with tape in 2003. I was living in the San Francisco bay area, and a good friend of mine came across a box of used architectural tape - stuff like Chartpak and Formaline graphic tape. It was this amazing box filled with all sorts of tape in different colors and sizes. My friend knew that I was into art, and working with unusual mediums (collage, assemblage, found items, etc...) he figured I would be able to use some of the tape in my work. He had no idea how far I was going to take it at that time, neither did I! Why Tape (Art)? I love how easy and non-messy it is to work with. It is versatile and can be used in so many different ways. When I first started using the tape I was really only just creating patterns and designs on blank or painted wood panels. Abstract and heavily geometric type patterns - lots of angles, squares and triangular lines. Very much inspired by the likes of Piet Mondrian, Rothko, and Jackson Pollak. I didn't know what I was doing, I just went for it. I have no formal training. I am no professional artist. I still don't know what I am doing. I just need to make things, that's really the impetus for making art in my opinion. The desire to continually come up with new ideas, while expanding on old ones. Who / what does inspire you? The past, the future - the weird balance in between the two. The shape of things. The way the landscape ebbs and flows. The horizon - the way the earth meets the sky. Telephone wires criss-crossed and floating in front of a blue sky. The mountains. Wildlife. Memory and past days recalled. Creating something based on what you think should be there. The way the world is seen with some sort of weird grid pattern placed upon it. Contrast in everything. Longing for the 1970s. Please, tell me a synonym for art: Memory What is your profession? I am not a full time, professional artist - I wish! I do sell pieces on occasion, but not enough to exist upon. I have a regular, full time office type job. An inspiring quote for/of you: Recall your past and put it here and now. Fix it a little if you can or need to, and add future elements to it. Past trip a lot, and do not let anyone ever keep you from doing what inspires you. Create something interesting every week, and show people what you have done. It is so easy to do these days. Do it!

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R1.′s Transforming Elements

R1. is a street artist who works in the transit areas of Johannesburg, South Africa. He explores the outside environment and uses found objects, materials and locations.

Artist Name: r1. Where do I live now?  I’m a street artist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. I’ve also lived in England, and during those years I did extensive traveling throughout Europe. The European arts and culture made a big impact on me and had a large influence on my creative output. When I returned to South Africa my art transformed into multi-dimensional facets: one of which is tape.

When did you start tape art? In 2013 I started playing around with barrier (hazard) tape. I used the tape to transform my city environment, and by doing so, creating a new meaning for what the tape signifies. The tape opened a whole new dialogue with how I experience the city around me.

Why barrier tape art? South Africa brings together a diversity of cultures and languages as a melting pot of colourful people and lifestyles. But in such rich diverse climate there are still vast differences. Uneven distribution creates divisions and segregated areas between us. Boundaries are shaped between different people occupying different city spaces, and for some of us, particular areas are considered as ‘no-go’ zones. This general outlook creates the idea of ‘danger’ and ‘safety-mania’. We live in a society with high levels security around us, with high walls, electric fences, and security gates so much that we don’t see them anymore. Hence, most city spaces remain ‘unknown’ for many and the streets become remote transit areas with little interaction for people to connect. I believe these features have an enormous psychological effect on how we experience ourselves and others within our external environment.             I am a street artist and I work in these transit areas of a city. I explore my outside environment and I use objects, found materials, site specific locations and combine these elements to transform city spaces. One familiar medium I like to use is barrier tape, also known as hazard, construction, or warning tape. The purpose of barrier tape is to demarcate ‘no-go’ areas. Barrier tapes of different colours are used for specific purposes; for instance when entering a designated dangerous zone. The general response to a barricaded area is to conform without questioning to the boundaries that are closed off. This mind-set resonates in our own cities; and the concept of ‘danger’ represented by barrier tape plays an interesting role in a city that is fenced-in by ‘invisible barriers’ and confines. As a street artist, I transform the conventional use and function of barrier tape in the urban space. The tape-interventions are not used to barricade areas. Instead, the colourful lines and patterns are assembled together becoming singular-formed murals, acquiring a new life of its own. The barrier tape in such form plays joyfully with established perceptions of the city and reveals unfamiliar spaces that are taken for granted.

What inspires you? My city surroundings, music and artist’s I admire. I believe creative thought is never based on a fixed idea, it is fluid, unexpected and one needs to be open to receive new profound ideas that motivate you.

Tell me a synonym for art? Each person goes through his/her own journey and it is important to have an intimate relationship with that journey. Especially in art is about not following somebody else’s handbook. It is about going out there and doing it yourself! Write your own handbook.

How do you make a living? With difficulty. It’s not easy being an artist and specifically doing what I do. But it makes ’making a living’ a whole lot more interesting!

Inspiring quote from you as a street artist? The ‘nature’ of the street is never to retract; the streets only expand.

[tapeartblog]

Strong words & tape art from Brice Maré

BRICE MARÉ *15 OCTOBER 1986

Where are you born /Where did you grow up? I was born in Paris. Where do you live, now? I live in Thorigny sur marne, near of Paris. I grew up around paris, in the suburbs.

When did you start doing Tape Art? I used the adhesive the first time in Germany in June 2015 in Bochum in the adhoc gallery.(Picture)

Why Tape (Art)? When I started painting at age 16, I used to do a lot of stencils, I worked a lot by negative. Then I replaced the stencil with the adhesive to mask the surfaces when I was painting. And it was in June 2015 that I realized a work with adhesive as a creative tool. The adhesive has become the feature; the line of my drawings, like an ink.

Who / what does inspire you? As I regularly work by contour the adhesive was adequate. What I appreciate in this tool, it can be manipulated, tear, peel, superimpose the adhesive on the walls without degrading the surface. We can marry the reliefs on which we intervene. What also nice is that I get an immediate result.

Please, tell me a synonym for art: I take a lot of inspiration from the ornament on buildings, medieval and military architecture. What interests me is the evolution of a form over time in buildings.

I see art as a quest, I feel more researcher than artist. As a scientist who seeks a formula.

What is your profession? Are you a full-time artist? I work in several museums in Paris part-time, and I set up exhibitions in arts centers to support my needs.

[tapeartblog]

Talented MOTOREFISICO

We met the very fly guys from Rome in personal for an interview. 

MOTOREFISICO * born in 2015 (motorefisico) / 1990 (us)

Where are you born /Where did you grow up? Lorenzo Pagliara is from Torino, Gianmaria Zonfrillo from Roma.

Where do you live, now? Both of us live in Roma at the moment, both studying architecture and working.

When did you start doing Tape Art? We started two years ago under a Roman bridge that was in very bad conditions, no one used to go there at the time because it was very dirty and there was nothing beautiful to look at. We did three or four drawings there and had to use tape rather than tape because we needed to be very fast in drawing lines. We are very proud to say that the bridge is now a highly frequented skate park.

Why Tape (Art)? We use tape in all of our drawing, but often we use it to create a stencil for paint and then remove the tape from the wall, however when we find a customer that prefers to leave the tape on the wall rather than using paint we are always very happy. On a merely practical point of view tape is the perfect media to realize our drawing as we mostly draw compositions of lines.  

Who / what does inspire you? Our profession surelly plays an important role, we use to argue a lot on the composition process of our drawing because we think that art don't need to be gestual, or intuitive, but must be the result of logic thinking: we look for the best way of entering a given space with our drawings.

Please, tell me a synonym for art: Composition.

What is your profession? Are you a full-time artist? None of us can afford to be a full time artist! We both work in the design and architectural field.

An inspiring quote for/of you: You know how when you are an artist everyone wants you to work for free because this will improve your reputation? Well we always say:

"You can't buy cigarettes with visibility"

[tapeartblog]

Pop Art Tapes By Lance Delao

Lance Delao *December 18,1986 www.instagram.com/artbydelao

Where are you born /Where did you grow up? Born in Saint Paul, Mn. moved to southern california when I was 7. Raised in the Southern California lifestyle till my mom decided it was time for me to learn how to be a man so when I was 16 she sent me to live with my Dad.

Where do you live, now? Currently living in hotels in Mn. the past month because I'm looking for a new place to live.

When did you start doing Tape Art? Why Tape (Art)? I started making tape art back about two years ago. Ive always been one to stray away from the conventional methods of producing art. Ive always wanted to set myself apart from the rest. I kept seeing the same old paints, drawings, sculptures. I had noticed that things out of the norm attracted my eyes the most. Things that are so intriguing that you find yourself asking how they could have created it. I wanted to give that same feeling when people viewed my work. So the thought occurred to me while passing the duct tape isle in the store. I hadn't realized that they had so many different colors of duct tape so one day I decided to buy a few rolls of duct tape and just gave it a try. The first piece I made out of Duct tape was a portrait of Kanye West. I had been watching interviews of Kanye and just getting a bunch of motivation from watching him. So I wanted to show my appreciation to him. With that piece I opened pandoras box and a flood of new ideas came and from there the rest is history.

Who / what does inspire you? Great Artist, creative thinkers, people who break the mold. Those are the ones that inspire me. Some major influences in much of my work consist of Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Salvidor Dali, Georgia O'Keffe, Some of my contemporary influences are Yayoi Kusama, Ai Wei Wei, Jeff Koons, KAWS, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, Barbara Kruger, The list of contemporary / modern artists could go on forvever there are so many I take influence from. I also am very much so inspired by my Dad. He's always pushed me to work toward being the best at whatever I pursue. Other influences in my work include social media, pop culture, music, and just life itself.

Please, tell me a synonym for art: A synonym for art for me would have to be LIFE. All around us are different forms of art. Whether its how the birds build their nests, to how a spider spins its web. They are all a form of art its just some people appreciate certain things more than others.

What is your profession? Are you a full-time artist? Im a full-time artist. Two years ago I was feed up with my side job (Hardscapes) and decided I wasn't going to help build someone else dreams anymore while my dreams lay dormant on a back burner because I had to make a living. So I quit my job and decided that I was gonna go full fledge into the arts. It was that whole fight or flight thing. I decided at that moment that succeeding in the art world was gonna have to be just as important to me as breathing was. I decided that my will to breath was just as important as my will to succeed in my goals and dreams and haven't looked back since. Of course there are some weeks or months when Im somewhat struggling to gain a sale and other times I might have to turn opportunities down because my schedules so packed but all in all I'm doing what I love and thats all that really matters.

An inspiring quote for/of you: Believe and you CAN ACHIEVE!!