Mass Appeal: Ravi Zupa’s Typewriter-as-Weapon Sculptures

Mass Appeal: Ravi Zupa’s Typewriter-as-Weapon Sculptures

Ravi Zupa Mightier Than Typewriter Gun

An excerpt from my interview with Mass Appeal:

In Ravi Zupa’s hands, the oxymoron of a thinking man’s gun becomes a reality. His is an artillery of words and knowledge. For the last several years, the self-taught, multidisciplinary artist has been transforming the levers, keys, and ribbon spools of typewriters into weapons. His Mightier Than series of repurposed sculptures do not destroy, rip flesh from bone, or take away. Rather, they aim to contribute and inject. Even the ammunition Zupa crafts—“pen bullets,” used machine gun cartridges filled with pens and pencils—flip the old adage of “the pen is mightier than the sword” right on its head. The sculptures register at gut level first, equal parts meditation and raw counterattack.

On the occasion of his participation in a new group show, A Primitive Future at Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles, Zupa recently shared his time and insight with us regarding the evocative sculptures.

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"It Will Be A Hard Day" Print Release

It Will Be A Hard Day Print Release

Much has been written about the feminist themes that run through “Mad Max Fury Road.” It’s worth giving some attention to some of the others too.

At one point a character named the “People eater” opens his ledger where he has carefully recorded the heavy expenditures of this short war. “We’re down 30,000 units of gasoline, 19 canisters of nitro, 12 assault bikes, 7 pursuit vehicles. And now, sir, you have us stuck in a quagmire.” This he says while the wheels of their vehicles are stuck in an actual quagmire.

Soon after, a character named “The Bullet Farmer” who wears a bandoleer of 50 caliber bullets draped on his head like a judge’s powdered wig is sent to safely retrieve the “assets” (the women that are the entire reason for this expensive war) and after loosing his vision he fires two identical machine guns at them with indiscriminate abandon. “I am the scales of Justice. Conductor of the choir of death.” This he shouts while wearing the same blindfold that Lady Justice wears.

To me the most compelling and carefully hidden theme is that of non-violence. More specifically, a forceful and powerful form of non-violence. When Splendid is handed a weapon and urgently ordered to reload it, she looks down at the gun resting on her pregnant belly and hesitates, saying that she can’t. The moment passes quickly and another woman impatiently takes over, making Splendid seem inept or overwhelmed. She is neither of these, however (evidenced moments later when she uses her own body and the life of her fetus as a shield to protect her companions). Rather, she is taking a profound ethical stance—a refusal to carry out violence at any level, even the justifiable act of loading a gun that will be fired by someone else. A refusal that a pregnant woman might very well be entitled to.

This film has, like other great pieces, transcended the confines of genre fiction and earned a seat as a fine art masterpiece. Not unlike 2001: A Space Odyssey and Kurt Vonnegut‘s Slaughterhouse 5 (the book only).

“It Will Be A Hard Day” is my way of giving a shout out to such an accomplishment. It describes yet another theme in the film. I’ve used the overly dramatic poses and the line sensibilities of German Renaissance print artists like Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein.

I hope you enjoy it.

ravi

“It Will Be A Hard Day” (2015)
3-Color Screen Print
Edition of 200
18 x 24 Inches
$50 each

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Mightier Than Typewriter Guns | Ravi Zupa

Denver Post: Ravi Zupa’s Guns Have High-Profile Fans

Denver Post: Ravi Zupa’s Beautiful, Dangerous Guns Have High-Profile Fans

An excerpt from my interview with Denver Post:

Ravi Zupa makes weapons for a war of words. His mock machine guns and semi-automatic rifles are recycled from parts of pre-electric typewriters that he collects, dismantles and welds back together. His bullets are concocted from pencil stubs and the pointy nibs of fountain pens.

His objects are intimidating and toy-like at the same time. They don”t actually fire — they”re art pieces. meant to evoke guns and their multiple implications — but they have chambers and barrels and triggers and, when you hold one, you sense the weight and sturdiness of an instrument built to kill.

And they look real enough to warrant recent attention from the Englewood Police Department. When Zupa”s dealers were packing up a crate of them last week to ship to an art fair in Miami, neighbors took notice and alerted authorities, who hurried to the scene.

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"A Primitive Future" Group Show at Subliminal Projects

A Primitive Future Group Show at Subliminal Projects

ABOUT THE SHOW

(via Subliminal Projects:)

“A Primitive Future” focuses on the cultural, social, economic, and guiding principles of past versus future belief systems and practices. How do we determine right and wrong or acceptable and unacceptable in both the aesthetics of art and in societal behavior? How will colonialism take shape in the future? How has craft morphed with the everyday and become timeless? Has society in general become more “civilized” or are we the same just in different form? What can the future look like?

The selected artists touch on some of the above questions through form, subject matter, or both. More importantly, they question the conventional idea of what the (conflicted) term primitive means or is associated with.

The late 19th century deemed ‘primitive art’ as simplistic in form and color and lacking in linear perspective and depth. This style was eventually adopted by well-known French and German artists and embraced for its honesty, spontaneity and emotional charge.

In the visual arts, it stood for a rejection of the corrupt values of the West, perpetuated by the effects of industrialization and the Great War.

However, the term “primitive,” when used in an anthropological context, applied to ‘early’ cultures but was often interpreted as meaning savage or inferior. Today, that interpretation is highly criticized as narrow minded, inconsistent, and indicative of people’s inability to self-reflect.

Depending on your interpretation, future generations might do better if there was a return to ‘primitivism’ through aesthetics and experiences as opposed to the unemotional engagement tied to an increasingly digital, remote-controlled world.

The exhibition is not meant to answer any of these questions, or to satisfy one particular interpretation or association. It instead highlights the confusion and the possibility surrounding the present, the past, and the future and invites the viewer to take a trip into the minds of six artistic visions that weave them all together.

ABOUT MY WORK IN THIS SHOW

My work references the above-mentioned concept through subject matter, turning the adage coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton that the “pen is mightier than the sword” on its head. This statement advocated that communication or advocacy of an independent press is a more effective tool than direct violence. For “A Primitive Future,” I have created weapons out of typewriter parts. Typewriters are a tool meant to celebrate communication, thought, and ideas. But I have repurposed them into weapons, the same type of weapons that have ironically been used to quiet and subdue free speech in recent terrorist attacks.

A Primitive Future | Ravi Zupa

A PRIMITIVE FUTURE
Presented by Subliminal Projects
Featuring new work by AJ Fosik, Ben Venom, Frohawk Two Feathers, Haroshi, Lucien Shapiro, and Ravi Zupa

1331 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Public Reception December 5, 2015
Exhibition Runs December 5, 2015 – January 6, 2016

PREVIEW THE SHOW

A Chaotic Moment by Ravi Zupa

Exhibit at Context Art Miami: “What Have We Learned So Far?”

Exhibit at Context Art Miami: What Have We Learned So Far?

A Chaotic Moment by Ravi Zupa

BLACK BOOK GALLERY RETURNS TO CONTEXT ART MIAMI

Black Book Gallery is exhibiting at Context Art Miami 2015. This is the gallery’s third year exhibiting in Miami during Art Basel week and first time exhibiting at Context Art Miami. The gallery will present a mini solo exhibition of new works from myself alongside a handful of very talented artists from around the world including Martin Whatson (Norway), Ben Eine (UK/US), Snik (UK), Alexis Diaz (Puerto Rico), Hari & Deepti (India) and Sergio Garcia (US).

My year began with a sold out show at Black Book Gallery where some of my work was acquired by several prominent private collections. I also participated in several group exhibitions throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, including two museum exhibitions.

For my exhibit at Context Art Miami entitled “What Have We Learned So Far?” I have created nine new paintings and seven new “Mightier Than” sculptures. As always, the imagery within each painting is richly varied with references to multiple movements throughout art history—all of which are entirely created by my own hands.

INSPIRATION FOR “WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SO FAR?”

As each movement in art develops, new artists (as well as viewers) tend to have a strange unconscious idea that this new development represents the most sophisticated and best version of art. Just like young school children who look at fashion from generations prior and laugh. It seems to them that earlier societies had somehow gotten fashion wrong. And that we in this era have figured out the right answer to the question “What should people wear?”

But each of these different aesthetics, processes and traditions were valuable in ways that others are not. A crude ancient Aztec codec for example can produce an effect inside the body and mind of a viewer wholly different from that of a photo realistic portrait from the 19th Century. And yet both are wonderful and valuable. I seek to integrate some of these different methods of depiction and ask the question, “What have we learned so far?”

It has also been a goal of mine for many years to take my controlled detailed work (inspired by classical painters, printmakers, thangka tapestries and so on) and find graceful ways of integrating that control with the chaotic expressiveness of abstraction (inspired by artists like Twombly, Basquiat and Rauschenberg). In the last year, I have made great advances in this endeavor. Again, I look back and ask, “What have I learned so far?”

Race by Ravi Zupa

A CONTINUATION OF THE “MIGHTIER THAN” SERIES

In combination with the paintings, I have created a new group of “Mightier Than” typewriter machine guns. Black Book Gallery unveiled a handful of these sculptures at last year’s Scope Miami Fair and the response from viewers and collectors was overwhelming.

Because the “firearms” look so convincing some people ask if they actually fire (which they do not). Their appearance is also so striking that they recently garnered the attention of law enforcement. While crating the new “Mightier Than” works for shipment to Miami, Black Book was approached by police officers responding to a call by a neighbor concerned about potential “gun running”.

Each piece is constructed, primarily from disassembled antique typewriters. There are also stapler components and some scrap metal. Everything is held together with welds, bolts and rivets. The stocks and wooden handles are all shaped from salvaged oak. The ammunition is comprised of Speedball pen nibs and used bullet cartridges of various sizes. The pen nib points of the 223 and smaller are pressure fit into the neck of the cartridge and the nibs of the larger caliber casings are pressure fit and held into place with a section of a standard number 2 pencil. Each cartridge is laser etched with the artist’s signature, plow and scythe symbol.

Typewriter Gun by Ravi Zupa

BLACK BOOK GALLERY

Booth CTX33
The CONTEXT | Art Miami Pavilion
Midtown | Wynwood Arts District
2901 NE 1st Avenue
Miami, FL 33137

Contact Black Book Gallery for information on available artwork.