art work

» Newmarket Primary School Mural

For World Architecture Week some co-workers of mine (Christina, Vatra & Febi) joined with some of the staff (Eileen) & kids from the Newmarket Primary School to redesign the school's playground. I was asked to paint a mural along the playground as part of the project. When I arrived to paint, I knew the kids were going to watch but I wasn't really sure all that it involved. Upon entering the school I was guided to some chairs in the library and the kids started to file in and sit in front of me for a little Q & A. It threw me off guard but I got to teach all these kids about spray paint. When I told them about my passion and the time I've dedicated to the art, they were stoked.

After the preso we headed outside to the wall and I started to paint while the kids got to ask questions and watch. Within minutes the rest of the school started to pour out of their class rooms. Having people watch me paint is pretty usual but having hundreds of kids watch is another situation. I had prepared by envisioning how to tackle the whole wall, about 50x8 feet in total, but I had to rework my method several times in order to make sure the kids got to be involved in the experience. During their recess, cones were set around me to keep the audience at bay. I let the kids vote on a hammerhead or a great white shark. As expected they chose the great white. I let one of the girls choose the colours for the dolphins, which maui dolphins were also chosen by the kids. Before I could even start on one wall the kids were asking me to paint other walls.

In total it was 10 hours over two days of painting. Two of the best days I've had all year.

13 & 16 November 2008

» Tone Art Exhibit

Thursday August 21st 2008 @ Liberty Stange Auckland in Auckland

A unique artist from Utah, U.S.A., Jacob Edward Shirley is a genre all his own. He audaciously and skillfully combines delicate traits of fine art with the taboo practice of spray painting. The urban graffiti style is generally known for being cartoon-like and sometimes playful, but Jake moves the mode towards the fine arts while still appreciating the contribution of the typical street culture to the world of art. The aesthetic appeal of his pieces result from his fixation with spray-paint technology and his desire to challenge and improve his skills.

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» theory 08

Recently I painted a board for a backdrop of an art film. The producers of the film work with me and the board eventually was dumped at the office, than eventually tacked onto the wall behind my desk by a third party. Ironically the painting is typical formulated overproduces graffiti basics which I'd rather not represent myself with. I have however received a surprisingly amount of compliments from co-workers including directors, not so much because of the quality of the painting, but its the only colorful thing that anyone sees as they look across the office. You'd think a design office would have more to look at.

For me the enjoyment is in the creation, not the result. People shouldn't be in art galleries, they should be in art studios because that is really where the art is.

» peep show 08

"Our interactions with those who live around us is often limited to furtive glimpses through windows or open doors. Peep Show gives passer-bys the chance to steal glimpses of the lives of others through apartment windows at night (via faux apartment activity)"

The peep show was a brilliant installation of my peers, in which I was fortunate to play a small role in.

• Producers: Dave Little & Susan Hunter
• Director: Fiona Buchanon
• Actors: Jacob Edward Shirley, Jeni Elise Shirley, Blair, Production Crew
• Support: Chow:Hill, Specialised Lighting Concepts & Auckland City
• Camera & Editing: Liam

» theory 07

I was a horrible art student. Most classes bore me and the teachers seemed uninterested in my work. I was a stubborn student. One assignment was to draw, with graphite, a head on an 11x17 piece of paper. The teacher was less than impressed when I came back with an 18x24 inch sprayed acrylic painting. Maybe I'll be just another artist whose work never sparks interest out of the circle of a few people. The important thing however is that I got my hands dirty.

» renegade 06

The Delta Center Stadium in Salt Lake City had converted to Energy Solutions as their primary sponsor. Energy Solutions takes the radio active waste from other states and brings it into ours for disposal, turning Utah into America's garbage bin. I didn't think I'd be able to find barrels for this installation. How many people actually have old barrels laying around? When mentioning the idea to my brother in law, he had an oil barrel for me within half an hour.

» theory 06

During a skate deck design competition I decided to find the new 'f' word. Youth culture has knocked the 'f' word off the pedestal as the most evil word in the language. Now it's white noise. Unfortunately I couldn't find a work that offended most people. There really was no word available that sends shivers down the back of the general public's neck. Trust me, what ever you are thinking as an offensive word right now polled as inoffensive. So instead, one skate deck, I wrote 'Hamburger' which is Japanese slang for a fat American. I sold a few of my boards but this one still hangs in my hallway.

» theory 05

Sometimes you have to do something to get people to turn their head. Or maybe I'm just desperate for attention.