Beautiful Losers in Milan
“We are not allowed to be here”: This is how Aaron Rose starts his new documentary about Beautiful Losers. The here is the white neutral space of a gallery where the about first and only exhibition about contemporary art and street culture is going to be shown. A space where these artists would have never imagined to be posible to ocupy if it wasn’t for this man (one one the 2 curators of the show, along with Christian Strike). I’m at the Triennale di Milan (Italy) and I’m glad that they came to this point, so I can see it, share it and live it as well. 10:30h in the morning, Sunday, I came just for this. I enter and I know that this is not going to be a quick visit.
Mike Mills
Os Gemeos
The space of the Triennale couldn’t be better. Two corridors divide the exhibition in three parts in a way that it’s posible to walk through it easily. The “influences” part has a starting point that introduces the less ilustrated in the ways of the american underground that, since the 60’s, is full of different youth subcultures. Be aware, you won’t find just one way for the world of “Beautiful Losers”. It is full of different directions, pasts and stories and it only exists from the encounter of all these conditions. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t considered a movement on it’s own. Even “The Disobidients” drunk from the best wines, better said, from the best beers! (Note: “The Disobidients” is a term coined by Tokion magazine -in May 2002- to describe a movement of artists who use the aesthetics and distribution tactics of Street art but cross breed them with a strange brew of Pop culture, illustration, commercial toy production, critical intelligence and artistic integrity.) All the glorious past of Dogtown can be seen in the black and white photos of Craig R. Stecyk (Note: Dogtown is a nickname for the beach area at the Santa Monica/Venice border in California, famed for its skateboarding and surfing culture and known for the documentary and book “Dogtown and Z-Boys“) and helped by Tommy Guerrero’s music instalation we go through (Henry) Chalfant’s New York Graffiti, (Raymond) Pettibon’s Surf, Larry Clark’s sex and by the time we get to see the Ari Marcopoulos photos we are already one of the skaters. We are now prepared to begin to see the real exhibition.
Beautiful Losers, much more than a group or even a movement, is the work of an entire family, of a group of people who use such a close language that you can almost see them by your side, doing their pieces and just having fun. In an art that is rebel with a cause you find an unexpected sweetness and peace in the moment of expresing their way of thinking. Don’t fool yourselves though, this is not a hippie kind of art, this is a often illegal art that still fights the power and at the same time demands the right to party. But when they get to do it, all you can see is colour and suddenly everything turns easy. You don’t have to think, you just have to feel and let the beauty of these “losers” lead you and make you want to be one of them. Claire E. Rojas impressed me, Geoff McFetridge amused me and Brian Donnelly followed me to the second part of the show.
Claire E. Rojas
Claire E. Rojas
With a big smile on my face I sit in front of a screen where something was about to begin, this is the surprise gift of this exhibition: the documentary about Beautiful Losers, how it started, where, when, who and why in only 40 minutes. When it’s over you can always see it again because it’s incredible or you can jump to the seat next to you and watc and remember the golden years of “Style Wars” or just watch a good Habitat (skateboards) video. Skate is everywhere: magazines, zines and an entire wall dedicated to show an endless number of skateboards, pro-models of known skateboarders of today and yesterday painted by all these artists. Here is where the low art gets to have its 15 minutes of fame. All kind of magazines talk about them, every gallery just has to have them, and suddendly limited-editions are being made with their work. The underground turns commercial and I found myself in a room full of giant bears ( 1000% Be@rbricks) hanging from the ceiling each bearing the familiar sign of a known “loser”.
By the time I get to the third part of the exhibition I see that the best was left for the last part. My camera is giving signs of dead batteries, not that I’m allowed to take photos anyways. And while the first two security guys look the other way a third man isn’t gonna make it easy for me. But my mission has to be acomplished so I head full gas and enter the worlds of Phil Frost, Ryan McGinness, pass through (Ed) Templeton’s photos and Spike Jonze’s video and stop totally amazed to find the genius that is Harmony Korine; “Above the Below” is unbelievably beautiful. Reaching the final stage I meet Margaret Kilgallen and I understand it all. Sometimes one look is but enough to know that you found your place. Barry McGee (aka Twist) salutes us at the beggining and says goodbye at the end of the exhibition with two of his mythical instalations o animated mannequins painting on the wall. A Graffiti artist painting in a musem wall is always fine with me.
Barry McGee
Barry McGee
I get out of the Triennale happy and sure of one thing: Spain deserves this exhibition to see if once and for all the people of this country start to understand that Street art is not vandalism but the other way around. Everything depends on how you do things and how you really want to listen to what you are being told. While I get myself in the plane to get back to Barcelona and just sleep of exhaustation and I think of these “losers”, of these nobodies that turned into somebodies. In the end they will always turn out to be losers again and for me that’s beauty of this exhibition.
Text & pictures: Ana Neto
Links:
http://www.iconoclastusa.com/projects/current.html
http://www.beautifullosers.it/
Note: This show is on exhibit at Le Tri Postale, Avenue Willy Brandt, Lille (France) from 13th April until 2nd July 2006 from 1:00 pm until 8:00pm Tuesdays through Sundays (closed on Mondays).
According to a recent conversation with Aaron Rose the “Beautiful Losers” documentary should be released on DVD some time along 2007
April 8th, 2006 08:31pm Administrador
