Colorado Public Radio: Gun Sculptures Draw Shock & Awe
Colorado Public Radio: Gun Sculptures Draw Shock & Awe
An excerpt from my interview with Colorado Public Radio:
Ravi Zupa’s typewriter sculptures have come a long way since his first in 2007. They started as pieces of larger installations and props in videos. He says he didn’t realize their poetic potential until later.
In 2013, renowned street artist Shepard Fairey displayed Zupa’s work in his Los Angeles gallery. That included a big sculpture resembling the Hindu god Shiva. It had six arms, and one held a gun sculpture.
“That particular show was sort of an awakening that it could be its own thing and it could stand alone,” Zupa said.
Zupa’s early guns used parts from cars, vacuums and sewing machines. But with typewriters, he can convey a stronger message and play off his love for words, he said.
Zupa doesn’t take a side when it comes to the gun control debate. But he does want to spark conversation around this complex issue.
“I do like to argue and get at the heart of ideas,” Zupa said.
"Strike Everywhere" Solo Show at Black Book Gallery
Strike Everywhere Solo Show at Black Book Gallery
I am excited to announce my upcoming solo show at Black Book Gallery titled “Strike Everywhere”. The title of the exhibit is a reference to a new series of work, as well as my overall creative process.
In this exhibit, my entire range of abilities will be incorporated into several cohesive series.
The “Mightier Than” series of firearms constructed from disassembled antique typewriters, continues to gain recognition and attention from people around the world. In this series, I have created a visual and mental stimulant to illicit a wide range of responses from viewers. While on display during Art Basel Miami last December, they attracted the attention of art collectors, gun enthusiasts, scholars, musicians and many critiques both positive and negative. I believe that pushing people to reconsider a weapon born into violence as a piece of art carrying a positive influence is very relevant across the entire world.
Another body of work I continue to develop is the “Opposable Thumbs” series featuring animals portrayed engaging in human activities that specifically involve weapons, hunting, exploration and sport. However, the only human characteristic of these figures is the five digit human hand. In a time when animal and human interaction is at its highest, we experience a wide range of outcomes. Now more than ever, animals and their intellectual abilities are being considered in regards to their similarities in humans. The characters in this ongoing series are perfect examples of these interactions and relations. Althought I have created many pieces in this series, the ones displayed in this exhibit are in a larger format which allows for even more intricate detail. There will also be a limited edition large format print featuring one of the new works.
I’ll also be introducing two new bodies of work for this exhibition.
“Strike Everywhere” is a collaboration with Arna Miller inspired by the art that decorated early match boxes. These old boxes featured all manner of odd subject matter. I have employed the iconic skeleton style of Mexico’s Jose Posada to depict scenes of current social and political importance: police violence, the justice system, income inequality, abuses by the finical sector and so on. The images are relief prints carved from ordinary, orange traffic cones and printed on an antique printing press. The text was then added with screen printing.
“Age Of Enlightenment” is a new series which features original drawings in the style of religious and alchemical arts from the middle ages and renaissance. I chose to to emulate artists with a range of techniques both sophisticated and crude, and the subject matter reflects a similar range of ideas and themes. Sometimes unsettling, sometimes light, often mysterious—they depict odd scenes combining characters from the ancient world, mythological creatures and ordinary objects of our modern life.
STRIKE EVERYWHERE
Black Book Gallery
304 Elati St
Denver, CO 80223
March 19th – April 9th
Opening Reception:
Saturday, March 19, 2016
6-10 PM
Artist in attendance
Free & Open to the public
Contact Black Book Gallery for a preview of available artwork.
Pearl Jam Artist Edition Concert Poster Print Release
Pearl Jam Santiago, Chile 2015 Concert Poster - Artist Edition Print Release
18″ x 24″
3-Color Screen Print
Edition of 80
Signed & Numbered
Limit One Per Person/Family
$85.00
Available in person at Black Book Gallery on February 19, 2015 from 5 – 6 PM.
Limited quantity available online February 20, 2015 at 11 AM.
"Mary Kali" Print Release
Mary Kali Print Release
MARY KALI
18″ x 24″
Six-Color Silkscreen on French 100% Cotton Archival Paper
Edition of 100
Signed, Numbered and Embossed
Exclusive to Poster Child Prints, Validated by Certificate of Authenticity
Mass Appeal: Ravi Zupa’s Typewriter-as-Weapon Sculptures
Mass Appeal: Ravi Zupa’s Typewriter-as-Weapon Sculptures
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.