The first part of Kent as “The Northernmost”, includes the arrival in Norway, the first impressions of the nature up there and some fishing adventures. Enjoy:

“During the weeks before the trip I got pretty excited and couldn’t wait to go, because I knew this would be a new experience to me since I have never been in a polar region before.  Arriving in Oslo i could tell it’s most definitely winter up here. From Oslo i was supposed to fly to Alta, a small town in northern Norway. I was circling around Alta quite some time when they said i would have to fly over to Tromsø since Alta Airport was closed due to heavy snow. Arriving in Tromsø i was not really knowing what’s gonna happen next, because the airline didn’t really pass any information how things would proceed. After some time it was clear that i had to stay in Tromsø overnight and that the airline would provide a hotel and food for all the passengers. Tromsø is a beautiful little town and i got really comfortable with the cozy winterfeeling that started to grow in myselve.

The next morning the hotel forgot about the wakeup call, so that i almost missed the plane over to Alta. This time the airport of Alta wasn’t closed so I finally landed at my first destination during midday. Alta felt even a little colder than Tromsø. I rented a car, bought some food and drinks and started the 250km drive to the  final destination: the small village of Gjesvær. In that area it’s polar wintertime which means that the sun never really rises. There is some light before midday but after 2:00 pm it is getting completely dark. Iwas fascinated by the snow wrapped landscape and the color perception you’ve got there. Driving over the country there were hardly any cars on the road and the thermometer could tell it is getting colder and colder. By 3:00 pm I stopped in the mountains. It was unbelievable, moonshine in between the clouds in total darkness, nobody around and not the slightest sound except for the blowing wind and snowfall. It was simply beautiful. I passed icy roads, Reindeer areas(but couldn’t see any) and finally the north cape tunnel (8,2 km long), a subsea road connecting the Norwegian mainland to the island of Magerøya, the place i wanted to go to. Magerøya is an island with around 2300 inhabitants, 6km away from the mainland featuring a bleak, barren tundra-landscape devoid of any trees, with steep cliff faces on the coast and dramatic mountainscapes inside the island.
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“In that area it’s polar wintertime which means that the sun never really rises. There is some light before midday but after 2:00 pm it is getting completely dark.” – Kent
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I stopped in the beautiful little town of Honningsvåg (the main town on the south east of the island) to buy some more food for the night and to quickly check out the fish-factory of the company Hordafor, one of the locations that we have chosen to let one of our possible painting actions take place. In the meantime Bjørn messaged me and told me the road to Gjesvær was closed and that I would have to wait at a road gate for the snow truck to pick me up. Soon after he messaged again to tell us that the road had been cleared in the meantime. Back to the car I drove the last 30km through the beautiful, but almost unreal landscape of the island arriving in Gjesvær. It wasn’t hard to find Bjørn‘s house and my cabin since the village only has a few dozen houses holding only around 130 inhabitants. Meeting Bjørn and Helene was just awesome: Friendly, open minded people with a great sense of humor. We talked and laughed a lot and all of us seemed really happy that we finally made it up there. The cabin was simple, but cute and comfortable, just the way I would have expected. The view outside its main window was breathtaking: Looking straight down to the landing stage into the fjord. There we were: Happy and pretty tired after a exhausting road trip.

Waking up next day meant to slowly getting used to the fact that there is not a real day, as we from the southern hemisphere are familiar with. The day in Gjesværstarts into shady twilight with the brightest time around 11:00 am and then rapidly turning back to darkness until 2:00 pm. I really enjoyed the view outside of our cabin and a feeling of great peace was growing inside of me. Bjørn, Ruedi and me sat together with coffee discussing our options and planning the week. We thought at first we should check out all the walls that might suit our plans. But Bjørn had an even better idea for the start of the day. He said we should use the morning light and invited us to go out fishing with his boat. He gave us special suits that withstand the sea conditions and the humidity. As soon as we took off the boat landing Snowfall started along with a cold breeze. Going out fishing was great. We got us some haddock for dinner and were impressed by the numerous fjords and cliffs that we were passing. Ruedi even liked it so much he got seasick and had to “feed the crabs” as Bjørn would have said. Ruedi asked him how they would normally kill a fish once they have caught it and Bjørn just said that they would bite him in the head. I didn’t hesitate to kill the fish I had in my hand that way and we all started laughing and didn’t probably end until the end of the boat trip. I was glad Ruedi brought a bottle of Vodka to the boat, so that I was able to clean that fishy taste I had in my mouth. Back at the house it already started to get dark again. Now it was time to drive around and check out our potential painting spots. One of our favorites was a natural stone wall on the road 2km outside of Gjesvær, that Bjørn got us permission for. It was a solid straight rock cliff with lots of snow in front of it and a beautiful surrounding: All that you had to do is turn around to look down into the fjord and see the moon mirrored on the water. The wall was perfect and we chose it as to be our second action a few days later. Right then the extravaganza really started: We experienced our first polar lights up in the clear star spangled sky.
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“This area was amazing: Untouched slightly rotten walls in a very industrial looking environment covered in snow.” – Kent
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We took off to Honningsvåg and visited a garbage burning facility that we had pictures of and that we thought was an option. As soon as we got there we had to realize that the wall wasn’t what it was supposed to be and that there was way too much snow around it. Our third option was the fish factory of the company Hordafor. A few weeks back I got to speak to their manager Nina and she was pretty open to our project and furthermore liked the idea of having some artwork on either one of the old buildings or on some of their fishtanks. We met Nina and she showed us the facility. At first she thought we would do a painting similar to what the team had done in Dubai a few years back and I had to explain her that something like that size is not possible within a day and that we would love to do a total different concept. One section of the company’s location was an old and rotten part that she explained would be getting demolished in the next one or two years. This area was amazing: Untouched slightly rotten walls in a very industrial looking environment covered in snow. If you stood at a specific location outside the area you had a stunning panoramic view to the facility. This was the spot so we chose it as our first action for the upcoming day. Back to Gjesvær through the fantastic moonlike landscape across the island we had some tasty filets of haddock waiting for us...”

Watch out for the second part!

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see more | click the image to start the slideshow:
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see the next part: Kent is “The Northernmost” pt2. click on the image

Photos by ruedione.com

From Montana Cans

California Bomb Squad (CBS Crew)

The California Bomb Squad (CBS Crew)
Celebrating 26 Years Of Working Class Art!

Saturday March 27

6p-10p

Featuring:
Anger
Atlas
Axis
Circus
Craola
Dytch
Fever
Haste
Hex
Kasl
Krash
Mers
Nace
Natoe
News
Plek
Rob One
SK8
Sloke
Sram
Supher
Tyer
Xpres & More…

Mid-City Arts Gallery
5113 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles
Ca. 90019
(310) 694-3460
midcityarts@gmail.com

@mid-city arts

mtn promo from viejas del mercado on Vimeo.

33third & Mid City Arts have 3 large walls in the back yard of the gallery/ graffiti supply shop. Every event they host, artists are painting in the back. On this day was the daytime reception for Retna and The Mac’s show. I along with Codak & Kopie painted live for the event along with the guests of honor. Im pretty good with the live art painting thing, but this was a very busy day, add to that the 90º weather made me a bit uncomfortable. The character was an old one I pulled from my files, a suit and a helmet. A lot of the paint I used were scraps & discontinued cans i’ve been trying to unload.

For More On Kofie: http://keepdrafting.com/

Mid City Arts Backwall: Live art time lapse from Augustine Kofie on Vimeo.

Mid-City Arts Anniversary Show – Sponsored by Montana Cans f. CHAKA, RETNA, SABER, DUSTER from 33third Los Angeles on Vimeo.

Featuring Artists:

SHOK-1 (UK)
Michael Carpenter (TN)
Joe Shea (OR)
TASK (Louisiana)
DMISE (TX)
JIM MAHFOOD (Missouri)
ERATIK (OK)
QUISP (Missouri)
Ilias Panayiotou (Hong Kong)
ENKS (TX)
JEVA (Louisiana)
Ben Moss (TN)
GRAIL (Louisiana)
SIXXX (OR)
WillDixon (TN)

when:  Saturday September 5, 2009
time: 7-10 PM
where: Mid-City Arts –  5113 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019

Purchase Street Art Supplies online @ 33third.com

Purchase Graffiti Supplies – Montana Paint –  Ironlak Paint @ 33third.com

RETNA & THE MAC at Mid-City Arts Opening Teaser from 33third Los Angeles on Vimeo.

What: RETNA & The MAC  Gallery Show Opening and Live Painting

Where: Mid-City Arts –  5111 West Pico Blvd.  Los Angeles, CA 90019

When: Sunday June 7, 2009 12-6 PM –  ALL AGES

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http://www.juxtapoz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6145&Itemid=50

We love Retna ( Juxtapoz #78) and Mac for their larger than life collaborations, so we’re more than hyped on a live painting event and exhibit opening featuring two of Los Angeles’ most respected graffiti artists: Retna and The Mac. The opening event takes place Sunday June 7th 12pm – 6pm at 33Third in LA. The art exhibit will be on display in the adjoining Mid-City Arts gallery.

The new exhibit from Retna and The Mac will featured a large-scale indoor mural installation in addition to smaller pieces. Retna says that the show “will be representative of the remembrance of growing up as a youth.” They will aim to re-enact “the trials & triumphs of pursuing an art form that you have all this passion for, but yet angers all these people. Just kind of showing the 2 different sides to it.”

This is a topic near and dear to the artists’ hearts, echoing sentiments shared by many of today’s successful artists who have transitioned from graffiti to legitimate street art. “This is where we came from. We came from being these street kids. We wanted to show that you can keep going,” explains Retna. “It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of a culture like this that has spread throughout the world and this would be our way of giving back to an area, a city, a community that was the beginning of my career (Mid-City Area of Los Angeles). Those blocks and corners were where I was given the opportunity to do my art and was shown a lot of support by the community. Communities like these are where we come from and it feels good to give something back to the future generation of kids doing this.”

About The Artists:

Since first creating a name for himself in the early 1990s, Retna has become an “eternal broadcaster” of sorts, shining a light to the kinetic urban soul of Los Angeles. His work merges photography with graffiti style and paint, time with color, couture with street culture, the spiritual with the sensual, and fluidity with grit. Retna traverses between the galleries and streets with ease. In addition to being aligned with the Art Work Rebels and Mad Society Kings Art Groups, he is a member of the internationally exclusive art collective, The Seventh Letter, whose influence on contemporary street art encompasses the globe.

The Mac began painting graffiti in the mid 90s and since then he has been commissioned to produce murals around the world, exhibited in museums, and his work has graced the cover of numerous publications. Mac has gained increasing notoriety for his almost photorealistic depictions of both ordinary people and ethereal women, in a style that is uniquely his own. Mac’s intricate brushwork styles have also gained attention, while some of his murals have become mini-landmarks. Elements, themes and techniques of classic art are often incorporated into a modern context in Mac’s artwork, usually with an emphasis on the human face and figure.