From the guerrilla world ofstreet graffiti, three Ottawa ... · From the guerrilla world ofstreet graffiti, three Ottawa artists are going on to sho'v theirwork in Europe~writes PaulGessell.

Pat Thompson (a.lt.a. Evo!{e), left, and Juan Carlos Noria (a.lt.a. Dixon), well known in Ottawa's underground graffiti a!r~ scene,are off to show their work in London and Paris, thanks to the efforts of Hull art dealer and curator Guy Berube. Another,Ottawa artist known as Rurick (a.!(.a. Aleximder Padols!(y) is also included in the exhibitions.

From the guerrillaworld ofstreetgraffiti, three

Ottawa artists aregoing on to sho'v

theirwork inEurope~ writesPaul Gessell.

It was a century ago ­well, back in the 1980s,anyway - when KeithHaring mesmerized theart world with his graffi­

ti in the New York City sub­way. The scribblings of an an­gry young man suddenly be­came the flavour of the monthand, today, Haring's guerrillaoutbursts of creativity tourthe world like so many Rem­brandts and Picassos.

This is all to say that high­brow graffiti art is not new.But good graffiti art, high­brow or otherwise, is still rev­olutionary. It must, by defini­tion, rattle the status quo.

But there is also an inherenttragedy in graffiti art. The bet­ter the artist, the more likelyhe or she is to start applyingpaint to canvas, rather than tosidewalks and fences. Theartist starts becoming part ofthe world once protested and,inevitably, ends up like Har­ing, the subject of scholarlyessays and exhibitions in chi­chi galleries.

Three Ottawa artists withroots in the world of graffitihave embarked on such a path.Pat Thompson (a.k.a. Evoke),Juan Carlos Noria (a.k.a.Dixon) and a very elusive manbest known as Rurick (a.k.a.Alexander Padolsky) are fa­miliar figures in Ottawa's un­derground graffiti art scene.For better or for \\'orse. theyare moving up in the art \\'Orld.

Thompson, for example,had a very successful solo

.- snow atliftguise, ag1.IisylitLle ­Bank Street gallery, last sum­mer. And now the works of allthree are off to London andParis, thanks to the entrepre­neurial skills of independentHull art dealer and curator

- Guy Berube, whose large per- .sonal collection of contempo­rary, cutting edge art is farmore intoxicating than anyexhibition to be found in anypublic or commercial galleryin this region.

Berube has a great eye. Andhis eye currently rests on thisOttawa threesome, who openan exhibition of about 20

works Feb. 20 in the Londonrestaurant and gallery, TheVictoria, and then move April7 to the Paris restaurant, AuP'tit Bouchon.

OK, so it's not the Louvre orthe Tate. But it is a begilming.

And it's also an inspiration toother young artists who have,so far, confined themselves tosneal< aerosol attacks on pub­lic buildings.

Thompson and Noria wererecently interviewed atBerube's home, where they

displayed some of their Lon­don-bound works. Rurickcould not be found that day, anot uncommon phenomenon,his friends claimed.

Noria appropriates very po­litical images from newspa­pers and magazines -injured

Palestinian youths, post-911scenes - to reveal his dis­comfort with the way theworld works. Thompson'sstyle is more reminiscent oftraditional graffiti murals:Watch him deconstruct life inKanata. Rurick is, well, Rurick,

\

all loud, messy juxtapositionsofviolence, sex and power.

Despite their clandestineartistic origins, the three seemfrightfully average whenasked to name their heroes.

See ARTISTS> on page B4

Artists: Forbidden artContinued from page BI

They cite names like thelate Beatle, George Harrison,environmentalist DavidSuzuki and the late Ottawaartist Mark Marsters. Not ex­actly lords of the under­ground. Thompson describestrue graffiti art as "paintingunder pressure." It is, ofcourse, done on the sly, withone eye on a borrowed walland another looking for un­friendly cops. Despite thisart-by-stealth, Thompson'soutdoor art causes are down­right homey: A need formore parks and maybe a bas­ketball court.

The paintings on canvas

Thompson and friends nowcreate are not done on therun so they are deemed to begraffiti-inspired and not truegraffiti art. But the air ofspontaneity, anger and pro­test remain. There is still thesense this is forbidden art.

The artists' graffiti rootsare definitely showing. Butfor how much longer?

Haring's fame and re­spectability eventually ledhim to become a parody ofhimself. A revolutionary be­came a counter-revolution­ary. True graffiti is, after all,scribblings on a subway wall.Sometimes, those scrib­blings are most profoundwhen left on that wall.