Depuis, c’est quasi comme dans la chanson : le monde est une vraie porcherie, sauf que les porcs se comportent comme des hommes, de l’élevage en batterie à des milliers de tonnes de morts !
Thomas BERNARD / Fluide Glacial
Si j’écris aujourd’hui, c’est que je ne peux plus fermer ma gueule. Mais comme nul ne prête l’oreille à un bougre qui couine, je préfère étaler ma douleur sur ce papier, qu’au moins mes parents me lisent et me viennent en aide… Pa’, Ma’, me voilà victime d’une terrible malédiction ; je vois des gros cochons à tous les groins de rue ! Tout ça parce que j’ai ânonné trois fois ce nom damné devant un pot de rillettes… Bathori ! Bathori ! Bathori ! Depuis, c’est quasi comme dans la chanson : le monde est une vraie porcherie, sauf que les porcs se comportent comme des hommes, de l’élevage en batterie à des milliers de tonnes de morts !
Si on ne lui fait pas d’offrandes via paypal ou si on ne l’adjure pas sur facebook, inutile d’interviewer Martes Bathori ; ce scélérat répond aux questions uniquement par des bobards. Mieux vaut alors compulser son vieux wikipedia pour connaître l’effroyable vérité : bien que d’apparence séduisante et d’un maintien plein de dignité, il serait l’esprit le plus dissolu et crapuleux que la France n’est jamais connu. Descendant d’une célèbre comtesse sanglante, Martes serait le premier de sa lignée a avoir troqué sa manivelle intestinale et sa poire d’étouffement pour des instruments de tortures bien plus vicieux : la peinture, la sculpture, la céramique et bien-sûr, la bande-dessinée !
La légende raconte que, alors minot, révulsé par la visite scolaire d’un élevage intensif de gorets, il jura de venger le monde animal de la tyrannie prédatrice de l’Homme. Dès lors, son génie machiavélique se mît au service d’une satire anti-spéciste où la chair à saucisse prend le pouvoir et dont le nihilisme rigolard confirme l’adage : « Si tout est bon dans le cochon et bien dans l’humanité, tout est à jeter ! »
Bathori 2020
Comme pour réussir une terrine, Bathori mixe dans son art les meilleurs morceaux de la pop culture; science fiction vintage (La Ferme des Animaux, La Planète des Singes, L’Île du Dr Moreau), l’érotisme sadique de l’Ero Guro et l’expressionnisme teuton d’un Otto Dix boosté aux ecstas. Ses doigts fourchus maîtrisent toutes les techniques que le démon Halouf met à sa disposition et ses synapses irriguées par la sauce gribiche font de lui le pape du récit en jus de boudin.
Ce n’est pas pour rien si un culte lui est rendu dans les milieux interlopes de l’underground international ; tous les amoureux de l’art le vénèrent. Mais, ses fidèles, trop flemmards pour lui bâtir un autel, préfèrent encore lui acheter un de ses livres 100 % very bad tripes (Les Requins Marteaux, The Hoochie Coochie) ou une œuvre licencieuse dans une galerie de basse extractions.
Since then, it’s been almost like the song says: the world is a pigsty, except that pigs behave like humans, from battery farming to thousands of tons of death!
Thomas BERNARD / Fluide Glacial
If I’m writing today, it’s because I can’t keep my mouth shut. But as no one lends an ear to a squealing bugger, I prefer to spread my pain on this paper, so that at least my parents will read me and come to my aid… Pa’, Ma’, here I am, the victim of a terrible curse; I see fat pigs at every street corner! All because I muttered that damned name three times in front of a jar of rillettes… Bathori! Bathori! Bathori! Since then, it’s been almost like the song says: the world is a pigsty, except that pigs behave like humans, from battery farming to thousands of tons of death!
If you don’t make offerings to him via paypal or adjure him on facebook, there’s no point in interviewing Martes Bathori; this scoundrel only answers questions with lies. It’s best to consult his old wikipedia to find out the dreadful truth: despite his attractive appearance and dignified bearing, he’s the most dissolute and villainous mind France has ever known. A descendant of a famous bloody countess, Martes is said to be the first in his line to have traded in his intestinal crank and choking bulb for far more vicious instruments of torture: painting, sculpture, ceramics and, of course, comics!
Legend has it that when he was a young boy, disgusted by a school visit to an intensive pig farm, he swore to avenge the animal world from the predatory tyranny of Man. From then on, his Machiavellian genius was at the service of an anti-speciesist satire in which sausage meat takes power, and whose laughing nihilism confirms the adage: “If everything is good in the pig and good in humanity, everything is to be thrown away!”
Revivez l’échange avec Martes Bathori, auteur de BD. 2021
As if he were making a successful terrine, Bathori’s art mixes the best bits of pop culture; vintage science fiction (Animal Farm, Planet of the Apes, Island of Dr Moreau), the sadistic eroticism of Ero Guro and the Teutonic expressionism of an ecstasy-boosted Otto Dix. His forked fingers master all the techniques that the demon Halouf puts at his disposal, and his synapses irrigated by gribiche sauce make him the pope of storytelling in juice.
It’s not for nothing that he’s worshipped in international underground circles; he’s revered by all art lovers. But his followers, too lazy to build him an altar, still prefer to buy one of his 100% very bad tripe books (Les Requins Marteaux, The Hoochie Coochie) or a licentious work in a low-grade gallery.
La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille (Machine sérigraphique)
« Oui, graphzines et fanzines, il s’agit de deux mondes différents, même si, de près, ils se ressemblent, et même s’il y a eu quelques convergences, des graphistes illustrant dans des zines de musique (Hello Happy Taxpayers, au hasard) par exemple. Mais ce ne sont pas les mêmes acteurs ni les mêmes centres d’intérêt. » -Peltex
“Le graphzine n’est pas un genre de fanzine, c’est autre chose.” -Xavier-Gilles Néret
Voir par exemple Teal Triggs, Fanzines, La révolution du DIY, Pyramyd, 2010. Il est significatif que cet ouvrage consacré aux fanzines n’évoque à aucun moment la notion de graphzine, pas plus que les principaux artistes et collectifs liés à ce mouvement – à l’exception de Gary Panter, réduit cependant au statut de « dessinateur humoristique » ayant participé à des fanzines punks. Si Teal Triggs utilise parfois le terme d’artzine, c’est seulement au sens d’un simple genre de fanzine parmi d’autres (musiczines, comiczines, modzines, queerzines, perzines, e-zines, etc.) : « les artzines se sont développés au Royaume-Uni avec l’essor des YBA (Young British Artists) et analysent la scène artistique expérimentale tout en offrant une vitrine à des oeuvres DIY », écrit-elle avant de citer une poignée d’exemples issus pour la plupart des années 2000. L’un des enjeux du présent essai est de soutenir que la notion de graphzine telle qu’elle s’est explicitement formulée en France dès les années 1980 est bien plus riche que celle d’artzine, entendu comme fanzine portant sur telle ou telle scène artistique. Ainsi que le souligne Dominique Leblanc (Peltex), qui chroniqua une multitude de graphzines et de fanzines dans La Langouste en 1987-1989 : « Oui, graphzines et fanzines, il s’agit de deux mondes différents, même si, de près, ils se ressemblent, et même s’il y a eu quelques convergences, des graphistes illustrant dans des zines de musique (Hello Happy Taxpayers, au hasard) par exemple. Mais ce ne sont pas les mêmes acteurs ni les mêmes centres d’intérêt. » Le graphzine n’est pas un genre de fanzine, c’est autre chose.
« La différence est majeure – affirme par exemple Blex Bolex. Le fanzine s’inscrit dans une logique d’amateurisme éclairé d’un genre, le graphzine dans celui d’une maîtrise technique, en plus de prétendre être un événement (éditorial au moins) en soi. D’une certaine façon, le graphzine prétend (même si ce n’est qu’une prétention parfois peu avérée) être unique, même si et même grâce au fait qu’il existe en plusieurs exemplaires. […] Le graphzine est de l’ordre de la performance déclarée dans sa production, autant que le fanzine peut l’être dans la qualité (discutable ou non) de son propos. Le graphzine peut se passer de tout propos, le fanzine, non. Le fanzine est “fan” de quelque chose, le graphzine est “fan” de lui-même avant toute chose – théoriquement du moins. Le graphzine est un genre : on peut imaginer des fanzines qui parlent de graphzines (et il en existe), l’inverse n’existe pas. » (Chemin Papier, L’illustration et ses marges, Le Signe Éditions, 2018, sous la direction de Vincent Tuset-Anrès.) Ainsi, La Langouste, déjà évoquée, et Le Retour des Zôzos (18 numéros entre 1989 et 1996, édités par Franck Garcia) sont des fanzines qui traitent de fanzines et de graphzines.
Marie Bourgoin est documentaliste à la Fanzinothèque depuis sa création en 1989.
“Graphzine isn’t a kind of fanzine, it’s something else.”
GRAPHZINE IS UNCLASSIFIABLE
See, for example, Teal Triggs, Fanzines, La révolution du DIY, Pyramyd, 2010. Significantly, this book on fanzines never mentions the notion of graphzine, nor the main artists and collectives associated with this movement – with the exception of Gary Panter, who is reduced to the status of a “cartoonist” who participated in punk fanzines. If Teal Triggs sometimes uses the term artzine, it’s only in the sense of a simple fanzine genre among others (musiczines, comiczines, modzines, queerzines, perzines, e-zines, etc.). ): “artzines developed in the UK with the rise of the YBAs (Young British Artists), analyzing the experimental art scene while providing a showcase for DIY works”, she writes, before citing a handful of examples, mostly from the 2000s. One of the challenges of this essay is to argue that the notion of graphzine, as it was explicitly formulated in France in the 1980s, is far richer than that of artzine, understood as a fanzine focusing on a particular art scene. As Dominique Leblanc (Peltex), who reviewed a multitude of graphzines and fanzines in La Langouste in 1987-1989, points out: “Yes, graphzines and fanzines are two different worlds, even if they look very similar up close, and even if there have been a few convergences, with graphic designers illustrating music zines (Hello Happy Taxpayers, by chance), for example. But they’re not the same players, nor do they have the same interests.” Graphzine isn’t a kind of fanzine, it’s something else.
“Boo-Hooray is dedicated to the organization, stabilization, and preservation of 20th and 21st century cultural movements, specializing in ephemera, photography, and book arts.”
“There’s a major difference – says Blex Bolex, for example. The fanzine is part of a logic of enlightened amateurism of a genre, the graphzine of technical mastery, in addition to claiming to be an event (editorial at least) in itself. In a certain way, the graphzine claims (even if it’s only a claim that’s sometimes unproven) to be unique, even if and even thanks to the fact that it exists in several copies. […] The graphzine is of the order of a declared performance in its production, as much as the fanzine can be in the quality (debatable or not) of its content. The graphzine can dispense with any purpose, the fanzine cannot. The fanzine is a “fan” of something, the graphzine is a “fan” of itself above all else – theoretically, at least. The graphzine is a genre: you can imagine fanzines that talk about graphzines (and there are some), but the opposite doesn’t exist.” (Chemin Papier, L’illustration et ses marges, Le Signe Éditions, 2018, p. 61, edited by Vincent Tuset-Anrès.) Thus, La Langouste, already mentioned, and Le Retour des Zôzos (18 issues between 1989 and 1996, edited by Franck Garcia) are fanzines that deal with fanzines and graphzines.
catalogue Rumeur d’Images, Berlin, 1986…
LE GRAPHZINE EST INASSIGNABLE
« Les vieux fanzines étaient laids, grisous, mal fichus. Grâce aux nouvelles photocopieuses les graphzines sont noirs, durs et élégants. / Les années 80 se veulent vidéo, clips et électroniques, et pourtant les journaux envahissent les librairies spécialisées. […] Une boulimie de papier s’est emparée des jeunes graphistes. Objets luxueux ou petites feuilles anthracite, les graphzines sont beaux et peaufinés. Fini les fanzines militants chiants tirés sur une ronéo pourrie. Fini la bonne parole. Place à l’expression, vive les images sales. »
C’est ainsi qu’André Igwal introduisit en 1984 dans l’éphémère magazine Zoulou ce terme alors inédit dans les médias de masse, graphzine – ou grafzine, gravezine, selon les différentes orthographes de l’époque –, pour rendre compte avec enthousiasme de ce qu’il appelait la nouvelle vague graphzine et contribuer à sa diffusion.
Qu’est-ce qu’un graphzine ? Que désigne ce mot-valise, contraction de graphisme et de magazine, qui a commencé à être employé en France dans les années 1980 pour qualifier des objets hétéroclites apparus lors de la décennie précédente, et qui a fini par s’imposer non seulement chez ceux qui les font ou les collectionnent, mais aussi à un niveau institutionnel ? Lise Fauchereau, de la Bibliothèque nationale de France, institution qui tâche de les collecter depuis 1995 dans son département des Estampes et de la photographie et en conserve à ce jour près d’un millier, en propose la définition suivante : « Le graphzine est un livre graphique sans texte, réalisé le plus souvent en photocopie, en sérigraphie ou en offset. Il est façonné à la main, en atelier, dans le salon ou sur la table de cuisine, ce qui explique souvent son faible tirage et son prix peu élevé. » Étant de surcroît rarement paginé, régulièrement dépourvu de mention d’auteur et d’édition, et n’ayant en général pas d’ISBN, le graphzine se soustrait à l’obligation de dépôt légal et se révèle particulièrement atypique pour les bibliothécaires soucieux des nomenclatures permettant de cataloguer et de conserver les ouvrages.
Il est en réalité difficile de parler de graphzine au singulier, tant ce phénomène, du fait de sa vitalité, est polymorphe et échappe ainsi à toute tentative de définition stricte en vue d’une classification institutionnelle. Celle proposée par Lise Fauchereau a le mérite de la clarté et de la généralité, mais c’est aussi sa limite : trop générale, elle ne permet pas de penser la variété de la chose en question, et encore moins ses enjeux. Elle est en outre fort discutable, un graphzine n’étant pas nécessairement un livre graphique sans texte, sauf à vouloir en exclure, par exemple, la plupart des numéros d’Elles Sont De Sortie (ESDS), d’Amtramdram ou les premières livraisons d’Hôpital Brut, au Dernier Cri, et, en définitive, une multitude d’ouvrages aux expérimentations graphiques singulières, ce qui appauvrirait beaucoup cette notion et en diminuerait l’intérêt.
Le graphzine diffère du fanzine, zine de fan informant le lecteur sur un domaine de prédilection : la science-fiction – dès les années 1930 aux États-Unis –, la bande dessinée, le polar, un groupe de rock, le cinéma de genre, quelque cause que ce soit, etc. Comme son nom le laisse entendre, le graphzine est, quant à lui, principalement graphique. Raison pour laquelle il peut être sans texte, et il l’est souvent. Mais ce n’est qu’une possibilité, parce qu’un texte n’est pas seulement un instrument de communication de messages ou d’informations. Comme le savent bien les poètes, Stéphane Mallarmé en tête, un texte a une dimension sonore et visuelle. Dans un graphzine digne de ce nom, les textes éventuels, de différentes longueurs, sont graphiquement intégrés aux images, ou interagissent avec elles, au point de faire eux-mêmes image, par leur dimension calli/typographique. Il n’y a pas de règles préétablies en ce domaine. Chaque artiste peut inventer, à condition qu’il en ait la puissance, ses propres formes.
Lulu Larsen, Kiki et Loulou Picasso, Bernard Vidal
L’étrange rendez-vous: Jacques Noël, Un regard moderne (Documentary)
Parce que les graphzines échappent, par leur vitalité et leur caractère polymorphe, à toute classification institutionnelle, et plus généralement à toute tentative d’assignation à quelque place que ce soit, seule une caractérisation elle-même polymorphe peut en rendre compte avec pertinence. L’une des plus belles et suggestives est peut-être à cet égard celle que proposait Toffe dès 1986 dans un texte du catalogue Rumeur d’Images, Avant-gardes graphiques en France, publié à l’occasion d’une exposition collective à Berlin-Est. Ce texte, dû à un praticien historique du graphzine, co-éditeur à l’époque avec Philippe Gerbaud d’Au sec ! Suprême d’images, formule avec humour et dans une typographie déjantée qui fleure bon les années 1980 une caractérisation ouverte du graphzine (dont le texte n’est pas a priori exclu, puisqu’il écrit « Texte Peu »).
Avec le recul du temps, cette page, parodiant les manifestes des premières avant-gardes, en particulier Dada, sonne on ne peut plus juste. Par son ouverture d’esprit, elle est pertinente pour caractériser des publications très diverses, allant de celles de Bazooka et d’ESDS, dès la seconde moitié des années 1970, à celles de Nazi Knife, créé en 2006, en passant par une ribambelle d’ouvrages, comme ceux de l’APAAR ou du Dernier Cri.
Xavier-Gilles Néret ‘Graphzine-Graphzone’ 2019
Ce texte est un court extrait du livre de Xavier-Gilles Néret : Graphzine Graphzone, coédité par Le Dernier Cri et les Éditions du Sandre en 2019. Ce livre, achevé pour l’essentiel en janvier 2016, était dédié à Jacques Noël (1946-2016), qui en fut le premier lecteur.
Infection Graphique fondée par par Pakito Bolino en 1993, Le Dernier Cri est une institution de l’édition underground marseillaise. LDC vomit des livres sérigraphiés, spécialisé dans l’image, le graphisme, la bande dessinée, ainsi que des films, des périodiques, des expositions, et divers tirés-à-part de luxe.
Fredox, Mondo Dernier Cri Une Internationale sérigrafike, affiche exposition Friche La Belle De Mai, 2019
S’il s’agit pour les terroristes graphiques du Dernier Cri de détruire le monde- ou, précise Bolino, de le « nettoyer » -, c’est bien pour en inventer un autre, selon la règle d’écart absolu énoncée par Charles Fourier, et faire exister les êtres et les choses dans un nouvel horizon.
Xavier-Gilles Néret
(LE MONDE LIBERTAIRE N° 1819 – ÉTÉ 2020)
Le Musée international des arts modestes, à Sète, présente, du 8 février au 20 septembre 2020, une foisonnante exposition des œuvres du Dernier Cri et de sérigraphes internationaux avec lesquels il constitue un véritable réseau de résistance à l’ordre graphique dominant. Bonne occasion de présenter cette aventure exemplaire.
Le Dernier Cri, créé par Caroline Sury et Pakito Bolino, se consacre depuis 1993 à la production et à la diffusion de travaux imprimés d’artistes du milieu underground français et international. Grâce à la réalisation frénétique d’un nombre considérable de livres d’artistes sérigraphiés, d’affiches, de recueils collectifs, de films d’animation et de disques, il perpétue depuis près de trente ans, en la renouvelant, la « nouvelle vague graphzine » initiée dans la seconde moitié des années 1970 par les groupes Bazooka et Elles sont de sortie.
Pakito Bolino nous parle de l’exposition du Dernier Cri à la librairie & galerie HumuS, “Vomir des yeux”
“I’m not an artist, I’m a terrorist…”
Since 1993, Le Dernier Cri, founded by Pakito Bolino, has been dedicated to the production and distribution of printed works by artists from the French and international underground. Thanks to the frenetic production of a considerable number of screen-printed artists’ books, posters, collective collections, animated films and records, it has been perpetuating and renewing the “new graphzine wave” initiated in the second half of the 1970s by the groups Bazooka and Elles sont de sortie.
Fredox, Mondo Dernier Cri Une Internationale sérigrafike, affiche exposition MI AM, 2020
Un lieu de liberté pour la création
De prestigieuses institutions, la Bibliothèque nationale de France en tête, commencent à se rendre compte qu’une telle aventure éditoriale undergraphique, comme aime à dire Bolino, est littéralement extraordinaire, alors même que Le Dernier Cri constitue une alternative à l’art et à l’édition institutionnels. « Moi, affirme Bolino, je ne suis pas un artiste, je suis un terroriste, ça n’a rien à voir !… » Il exprime ainsi sa défiance radicale vis-à-vis de l’art institutionnel, dont il juge les instances de validation arbitraires, et responsables d’une déplorable domestication de l’art. Il peut donc, avec son humour mordant, comparer Le Dernier Cri à un « bunker, d’où tout part de tous les endroits pour entraîner les terroristes graphiques à détruire le monde ! … »
C’est en découvrant durant l’hiver 1991-1992 le lieu où vivait et travaillait Henriette Valium à Montréal, à la fois atelier de sérigraphie et studio d’enregistrement, que Bolino a commencé à former son dessein de créer en France une telle base permettant d’œuvrer en toute indépendance, ce qu’il fit d’abord dans un squat en région parisienne, au CAES (Centre autonome d’expérimentation sociale) de Ris-Orangis, de 1993 à 1995, puis à Marseille, à la Friche la Belle de Mai, où est installé son atelier depuis fin 1995. « Je me suis rendu compte, explique-t-il, que ce qui était important, c’ était d’avoir un lieu, un espace de liberté pour la création. Quand tu as ça, tu sais que tu peux dire à quelqu’un, qu’il soit japonais, canadien, danois, mexicain ou français : viens, on fait un disque, on fait un livre, on fait quelque chose. On n’est pas là à monter des dossiers pour avoir des subventions ou je ne sais pas quoi. Tu fais les choses au moment où tu as envie de les faire, avec qui tu veux. C’est ça, pour moi, faire de l’art. Dès que tu es enfoncé dans les institutions, il y a l’autocensure, si tu ne veux pas te griller, parce qu’il y a toujours des petits chefs partout. Moi je ne veux pas de petits chefs ! … » En bon libertaire, il n’aime pas le mot « directeur », et préfère, sourire aux lèvres, se dire « dictateur » artistique du Dernier Cri, avant d’ajouter : « être son propre esclave, c’est quand même mieux que d’être l’esclave d’autres personnes ! … »
“Le dernier cri”, c’est à la fois un mouvement pictural alternatif et une maison d’édition qui a publié plus de 400 livres
‘A bunker, from which everything leaves to train graphic terrorists to destroy the world!’
Prestigious institutions, led by the Bibliothèque nationale de France, are beginning to realize that such an undergraphic publishing adventure, as Bolino likes to say, is literally extraordinary, even though Le Dernier Cri represents an alternative to institutional art and publishing. I’m not an artist,” says Bolino, “I’m a terrorist, and that’s got nothing to do with it! He thus expresses his radical defiance of institutional art, whose validation bodies he deems arbitrary, and responsible for a deplorable domestication of art. With his biting sense of humor, he compares Le Dernier Cri to a “bunker, from which everything leaves from all directions, to train graphic terrorists to destroy the world!
In the winter of 1991-1992, Bolino discovered Henriette Valium’s home in Montreal, a silk-screen workshop and recording studio, and began to form the idea of creating a similar independent base in France, This he did first in a squat near Paris, at the CAES (Centre autonome d’expérimentation sociale) in Ris-Orangis, from 1993 to 1995, then in Marseille, at the Friche la Belle de Mai, where his studio has been located since late 1995. I realized,” he explains, “that what was important was to have a place, a space of freedom for creation. When you have that, you know you can say to someone, whether they’re Japanese, Canadian, Danish, Mexican or French: come on, we’re making a record, we’re making a book, we’re making something. We’re not here to put together applications for grants or whatever. You do things when you want to do them, with whoever you want. For me, that’s what making art is all about. As soon as you’re embedded in institutions, there’s self-censorship, if you don’t want to get burnt out, because there are always little bosses everywhere. I don’t want to be bossed around! A good libertarian, he doesn’t like the word “director”, and prefers, with a smile on his lips, to call himself the artistic “dictator” of Dernier Cri, before adding: “being your own slave is better than being the slave of others!
Animation paréidolique par Mattt Konture et Janko pour le film Mondo DC / production Le Dernier Cri
S’il s’agit pour les terroristes graphiques du Dernier Cri de détruire le monde- ou, précise Bolino, de le « nettoyer » -, c’est bien pour en inventer un autre, selon la règle d’écart absolu énoncée par Charles Fourier, et faire exister les êtres et les choses dans un nouvel horizon.
La haine de toutes les formes de censure constitue le dénominateur commun des artistes publiés par Bolino. Fredox, « Président » de l’ association du Dernier Cri depuis 2000, et auteur, entre autres, des Dossiers noirs de l’histoire (2005), ne cesse de le répéter : « En ce moment on est en plein dans l’autocensure et il n’y a rien de pire. Ne pas jouer le jeu de l’autocensure et faire du forcing un peu exprès, c’est une façon de dire :il ne faut pas rentrer là-dedans … » L’exceptionnelle audace du Dernier Cri est d’éditer, sans concessions pour la moraline ambiante et ses suffocantes pesanteurs, des artistes moralement et esthétiquement « impubliables », en raison de dessins trop « bruts » ou trop « sales » selon les normes du « bon goût », hantés de surcroît par Éros et Thanatos. Reconnaissance éternelle au Dernier Cri d’avoir publié – s’il ne fallait prendre qu’un exemple emblématique – le génial Stu Mead, dernier grand nympholepte de la peinture, après Bellmer, Balthus et Darger.
Stu Mead ‘Krampussy’ 2008
If the graphic terrorists of Dernier Cri are intent on destroying the world – or, as Bolino puts it, “cleaning it up” – they are doing so in order to invent a new one, in accordance with Charles Fourier’s rule of absolute distance, and bring beings and things into existence on a new horizon.
Hatred of all forms of censorship is the common denominator of the artists published by Bolino. Fredox, “President” of the Dernier Cri association since 2000, and author of, among other works, Dossiers noirs de l’histoire (2005), keeps repeating: “Right now, we’re in the middle of self-censorship, and there’s nothing worse. Not playing the game of self-censorship and forcing the issue on purpose is a way of saying: don’t go into that…”. Dernier Cri’s exceptional audacity is to publish artists who are morally and aesthetically “unpublishable”, because their drawings are too “raw” or too “dirty” according to the standards of “good taste”, and who are haunted by Eros and Thanatos. Dernier Cri is eternally grateful for having published – if only one emblematic example had to be taken – the brilliant Stu Mead, painting’s last great nymphologist, after Bellmer, Balthus and Darger.
La Friche, c’est un lieu infini, les gens s’y croisent, les projets s’entremêlent, les idées éclosent, les évènements foisonnent…
Synthèse du DIY punk et des Arts & Crafts
Plutôt que d’attendre ou solliciter la reconnaissance du monde de l’art, Bolino a choisi de « faire par lui-même », sans en demander l’autorisation. C’est aussi pourquoi il ne s’est pas inscrit dans une « logique de valorisation de l’ original ». Car l’original, à ses yeux, c’est d’abord le multiple, l’imprimé : les livres et les affiches, en vue desquels les dessins originels ne sont que de simples moyens. Pour qui cherche à produire et à diffuser son travail sans passer par les instances dominantes (galeries, musées, éditeurs et leurs « petits chefs »), l’imprimé autoproduit constitue une manière efficace et rapide de « faire exister les choses quand elles se font ». Tel est l’un des principaux enjeux du graphzine, dont Bolino fit l’expérience, dès la seconde moitié des années 1980, avec l’APAAR et l’Atelier, où il se forma aux différentes techniques de sérigraphie avec Frédéric de Broutelles. Désormais, avec Le Dernier Cri, il « continue à défoncer le clou », selon ses propres mots, en accueillant à son tour des stagiaires auxquels il transmet ses savoir-faire, tel un maître-artisan des guildes du Moyen Âge. L’atelier de la Friche opère une singulière synthèse entre le DIY punk et l’esprit des Arts & Crafts pratiqués par William Morris au XIXe siècle : pour Bolino comme pour Morris, la finalité de l’art est le plaisir suscité par la mise en œuvre créatrice des facultés humaines, tant chez le producteur que chez le récepteur.
Dans le cadre d’une culture de l’autonomie, le choix de la sérigraphie est d’abord stratégique. Ce procédé permet de produire soi-même un ouvrage en petite série, de sa conception à sa distribution en passant par toutes les étapes de sa réalisation, et de décider d’un prix de vente accessible à un large public, suffisant pour financer la matière première – papiers et encres – des livres suivants. L’art, selon Bolino, ne saurait être réservé à une minorité bourgeoise de collectionneurs – même si le destin commercial d’un livre épuisé échappe à son producteur, par son inscription dans un second marché, de plus en plus spéculatif au fil des années, phénomène qui agace Bolino, a fortiori lorsqu’un marchand, par ignoranœ ou cynisme, spécule sur un livre alors qu’il est encore disponible au Dernier Cri…
Mais le choix de la sérigraphie n’est pas que stratégique : il s’agit aussi d’un intérêt artistique pour le médium. « J’adore la sérigraphie, dit Bolino, parce que les couleurs sont belles, ce qui souvent n’est pas le cas en offset, et encore moins en impression numérique, ce qui est juste le cas quand tu fais de la couleur en vrai sur le papier. » Art subtil de la superposition des couches de couleur, la sérigraphie permet l’expérimentation et l’invention d’un style. Il suffit de manipuler un ouvrage du Dernier Cri pour constater sa « patte » unique perceptible au premier regard, inséparable du toucher, de l’odeur et du son de l’objet-livre, dont la matérialité du papier offre l’occasion d’une véritable expérience sensuelle.
“Le dernier cri”, c’est à la fois un mouvement pictural alternatif et une maison d’édition qui a publié plus de 400 livres.
The synthesis of DIY punk and Arts & Crafts
Rather than wait for or seek recognition from the art world, Bolino chose to “do it himself”, without asking for authorization. This is also why he did not follow a “logic of valorizing the original”. For him, the original is first and foremost the multiple, the printed: books and posters, for which the original drawings are mere means. For those seeking to produce and distribute their work without going through the dominant bodies (galleries, museums, publishers and their “little bosses”), self-produced print is an efficient and rapid way of “making things exist as they happen”. This is one of the main challenges of the graphzine, which Bolino experienced in the second half of the 1980s with APAAR and l’Atelier, where he trained in various silkscreen techniques with Frédéric de Broutelles. Now, with Le Dernier Cri, he “continues to hammer the nail in”, in his own words, taking on trainees to whom he passes on his skills, like a master craftsman of the guilds of the Middle Ages. L’atelier de la Friche achieves a singular synthesis between DIY punk and the spirit of the Arts & Crafts practiced by William Morris in the 19th century: for Bolino, as for Morris, the purpose of art is the pleasure aroused by the creative application of human faculties, both in the producer and the receiver.
As part of a culture of autonomy, the choice of screen printing is first and foremost a strategic one. This process enables us to produce a small series of books ourselves, from design to distribution, including all stages of production, and to set a selling price accessible to a wide audience, sufficient to finance the raw materials – paper and inks – for subsequent books. According to Bolino, art should not be reserved for a bourgeois minority of collectors – even if the commercial destiny of an out-of-print book eludes its producer, as it becomes part of a second market, increasingly speculative as the years go by, a phenomenon that irritates Bolino, all the more so when a dealer, out of ignorance or cynicism, speculates on a book while it is still available at Dernier Cri…
But the choice of silkscreen is not just strategic: it’s also about an artistic interest in the medium. “I love screen printing,” says Bolino, “because the colors are beautiful, which often isn’t the case in offset, and even less so in digital printing, which is just the case when you’re doing color for real on paper.” A subtle art of superimposing layers of color, silkscreen allows for experimentation and the invention of a style. You only have to handle a Dernier Cri book to notice his unique “touch”, perceptible at first glance, inseparable from the feel, smell and sound of the book-object, whose paper materiality offers the opportunity for a truly sensual experience.
Présentation de l’exposition par Aurélie Carnac.
Rencontres, amitié et art de vivre
Le Dernier Cri publie aussi des livres aux techniques mixtes, en étroite collaboration avec La Platine, la dernière imprimerie de Marseile labellisée artisanat d’art, dont les anciennes machines offset mono-couleur permettent d’imprimer en tons directs, en bichromie et en trichromie, selon un principe proche de l’impression sérigraphique. À rebours des tendances néolibérales dominantes depuis les années 1980, jamais il n’a été question pour Le Dernier Cri d’imprimer au moindre coût des fichiers numériques envoyés d’un simple clic par leurs auteurs, en délocalisant la production dans de lointains pays où la main d’œuvre est sous-payée. « Il est important, dit Bolino, que ça coûte le plus cher possible dans l’investissement humain » : faire les choses ensemble dans l’atelier, « travailler vraiment avec le médium », produire des images et des livres «en fonction du procédé d’impression ». L’art du Dernier Cri, réalisé avec le plus grand soin, n’est pourtant pas une fin en soi : ce qui compte avant tout, c’est le processus même de production et les rencontres qu’il occasionne. Micro-phalanstère à la philosophie punk, Le Dernier Cri donne lieu à un véritable art de vivre, centré sur l’attraction passionnée, l’amitié et la fidélité, en vue d’uneaugmentation partagée du plaisir d’exister. Littéralement et dans tous les sens, Le Dernier Cri, c’est pour la vie !… Dans la lignée ouverte par Dada, son art anti-art, indépendant de l’institution art, est inséparable de la vie elle-même et rend celle-ci plus intéressante que l’art.
C’est pourquoi aussi l’engagement résolu, tenace et fidèle dans une production locale n’est pas incompatible avec un internationalisme sans limites : la vie et l’art s’ouvrent aux dimensions de l’univers, comme l’avaient bien compris les dadaïstes et les avant-gardes ultérieures qui en ont prolongé l’esprit émancipateur, jusqu’à l’Internationale situationniste, à laquelle le titre de l’exposition du MIAM – « Mondo Dernier Cri, une Internationale sérigrafike » – rend un hommage parodique et complice. S’il s’exprime principalement par ses images, Bolino n’en a pas moins une grande intelligence stratégique, manifeste dans ses actions menées à travers le monde. Souvent en voyage à l’étranger, pour faire des expositions, des concerts et projeter ses films, il prend plaisir à y nouer de nouvelles rencontres, tout comme il aime accueillir des artistes venus du monde entier dans son atelier pour réaliser, avec eux, des ouvrages inédits.
L’Internationale sérigrafike dont Le Dernier Cri est un point clé constitue un réseau de résistance graphique underground, terme que Bolino assume à condition de lui redonner son sens véritable. « Le mot “underground”, dans ce monde occidental dans lequel on vit, dit-il, est complètement galvaudé, il devient un slogan publicitaire et n’a alors plus aucun sens. Cependant, cela ne me dérange pas qu’on dise que mon travail est “underground”, parce que pour moi cette notion renvoie à quelque chose qui est fait sous la terre, dans la marge, dans le caca. Le Dernier Cri en ce sens est underground, même si nous faisons des expositions, par exemple, au MlAM ou à la Friche la Belle de Mai, parce que la manière dont nous le faisons est underground: faire ses livres soi-même, trouver ses solutions soi-même, hors du système dominant. Contrairement à ça, par exemple, des gens qui sortent des Beaux-Arts et qui se retrouvent catapultés dans le monde de “l’art contemporain” ne sont pas underground pour moi et ne l’ont jamais été, alors même qu’ils le revendiquent parfois comme une image faussement subversive pour en réalité mieux se vendre. L’underground, ça veut dire: ramer dans son caca, et savoir ne pas se noyer !… Ce qui est important, c’est de rester un artiste, de faire ce que tu veux sans être vendu à un marché, ne pas avoir un galeriste qui te dise : “fais ci, fais ça”. Donc le caca, c’est l’underground, et on ne dira plus “underground” mais “undercaca”, ou “cacaground”, ou “KKKground” ! … »
Pakito Bolino ‘El Ultimo Grito’ 2016
Vidéo/Performance du Stand du” Dernier Cri” situé dans la Cathédrale durant le Crack Festival à Rome 2017
Dark Magic Rıtual at LDC Studios: Jurictus X Tetsunori Tawaraya, 2015
Le Dernier Cri is for Life!
Le Dernier Cri also publishes mixed-technique books, in close collaboration with La Platine, Marseilles’ last remaining arts and crafts print shop, whose ancient single-color offset presses enable us to print in direct, two- and three-color tones, based on a principle similar to silkscreen printing. Contrary to the neoliberal trends that have prevailed since the 1980s, Le Dernier Cri has never considered printing digital files at the lowest possible cost, sent by their authors at the click of a button, by relocating production to faraway countries where labor is underpaid. It’s important,” says Bolino, “that it costs as much as possible in human investment”: doing things together in the studio, “really working with the medium”, producing images and books “according to the printing process”. Le Dernier Cri’s meticulously crafted art is not an end in itself, however: what counts above all is the production process itself, and the encounters it brings about. A micro-phalanstère with a punk philosophy, Le Dernier Cri is a veritable art of living, centered on passionate attraction, friendship and loyalty, with a view to a shared increase in the pleasure of existence. Literally and in every sense, Le Dernier Cri is for life!… Following in the footsteps of Dada, its anti-art, independent of the art institution, is inseparable from life itself…
This is also why a resolute, tenacious and faithful commitment to local production is not incompatible with boundless internationalism: life and art open up to the dimensions of the universe, as the Dadaists and the later avant-gardes who extended their emancipatory spirit understood so well, right up to the Situationist International, to whom the title of MIAM’s exhibition – “Mondo Dernier Cri, une Internationale sérigrafike” – pays a parodic and complicit tribute. Although he expresses himself primarily through his images, Bolino’s strategic intelligence is evident in his actions around the world. He often travels abroad for exhibitions, concerts and film screenings, where he takes pleasure in making new acquaintances, just as he enjoys welcoming artists from all over the world to his studio to create original works with them.
The Internationale sérigrafike, of which Le Dernier Cri is a key element, is a network of underground graphic resistance, a term Bolino accepts, provided he gives it back its true meaning. “The word ‘underground’, in this Western world in which we live,” he says, “is completely overused, becoming an advertising slogan and therefore meaningless. However, I don’t mind people saying that my work is ‘underground’, because for me this notion refers to something done underground, in the margins, in the poo. Le Dernier Cri in this sense is underground, even if we do exhibitions, for example, at MlAM or Friche la Belle de Mai, because the way we do it is underground: making our own books, finding our own solutions, outside the dominant system. Contrary to this, for example, people who come out of the Beaux-Arts and find themselves catapulted into the world of “contemporary art” are not underground for me and never have been, even though they sometimes claim it as a falsely subversive image to actually sell themselves better. Underground means rowing in your own poo and not drowning in it! What’s important is to remain an artist, to do what you want without being sold to a market, not to have a gallery owner tell you: “do this, do that”. So caca is the underground, and we won’t say “underground” any more, but “undercaca”, or “cacaground”, or “KKKground”…
LDC Meeting: Julien Gardon, Julien ‘Jurictus’ Raboteau, Usines Stronx, Sam Rictus, Diego Lazzarin, Johanna Peresito, Benjamin Monti, Piet Ducongo… 2018 / Place: Undetected
In the United States, the term “underground” was used to designate the French resistance to the Nazi occupiers during the Second World War. To use the term as an advertising slogan would be an understatement.
This double dialectic – of the local and the international, of art and life – has been at the heart of Dernier Cri since its inception, and helps us understand its profusion of styles and the diversity of its influences from the historical avant-gardes: Dada, Expressionism and “degenerate” art in all its forms – singular, raw, punk, heta-uma, refined, sophisticated, etc.., all with their own unique style and a great sense of humor that challenges certainties and hierarchies of all kinds.
In reaction to all the images we’re fed by the media,” says Bolino, “the humans in Dernier Cri redraw, triturate and revomit them. This then becomes interesting, either by getting to the heart of the matter and sublimating the thing, or by making it disappear in a burst of laughter. Hence our slogan: vomit with your eyes. Because after vomiting, you’re cleansed, purified, you feel better, you’ve got rid of things that are toxic to your body.”
And so the joy of living intensifies once again.
ARE YOU TALKIN’ TO PAK!?
Est significative l’expérience calamiteuse du Dernier Cri avec la DRAC(Direction régionale des affaires culturelles) de la région de Marseille : « J’ai eu, rapporte Bolino, deux rendez-vous en vingt ans avec le chargé du livre de la DRAC. Au premier rendez-vous, j’arrive dans son bureau avec un carton de livres, je les sors, et pour la première fois de ma vie j’ai vu quelqu’un qui avait peur physiquement des livres !… Il commence à voir les livres avec toutes ces couleurs, et il me dit : “non, mais nous, on aide seulement des livres de textes, il n’y a pas de textes dans vos livres”… Et moi je réponds : “mais si, regardez, dans Hôpital Brut, il y a des textes, des interviews”… Des années après, je retente ma chance. C’était un nouveau chargé du livre, mais il ne connaissait pas lui non plus Le Dernier Cri. Je lui explique ce que c’est, et il me dit : “d’abord, on n’a pas d’argent, mais surtout, si vous voulez vendre vos livres, je vous donne un conseil : vous n’avez qu’à les mettre en vente sur Amazon”… Et c’est le chargé du livre de la DRAC qui te dit ça !… »
Cette double dialectique – du local et de l’internationalisme, de l’art et de la vie – au cœur du Dernier Cri depuis son origine, permet de comprendre sa profusion de styles et la diversité de ses influences émanant des avant-gardes historiques : Dada, l’expressionnisme et l’art « dégénéré » sous toutes ses formes – singulier, brut, punk, heta-uma, raffiné, sophistiqué, etc., avec pour point commun sa « patte » unique et un grand humour sans dérision qui remet en cause certitudes et hiérarchies en tous genres.
« En réaction à toutes les images dont nous abreuvent les médias, dit Bolino, les humains du Dernier Cri les redessinent, les triturent et les revomissent. Cela devient alors intéressant, soit en allant à l’essentiel et en sublimant la chose, soit en la faisant disparaître dans un éclat de rire. D’où notre slogan : vomir des yeux. Parce qu’après avoir vomi, on est nettoyé, purifié, on se sent mieux, on s’est débarrassé des choses toxiques pour l’organisme. »
Ainsi s’intensifie à nouveau la joie de vivre.
Xavier-Gilles Néret est l’auteur du texte du catalogue de l’exposition Mondo Dernier Cri, Une Internationale sérigrafike, publié au MIAM en 2020. L’article ci-dessus en constitue une version abrégée, initialement parue la même année dans Le Monde Libertaire (N° 1819).
Pol Edouard ‘Super Bagarre de Rue 2 Turbo’ 80x50cm, mixed media on paper, 2020
« Lorsque je pense à un monde post-apocalyptique, je m’inspire de l’Antiquité, car l’état d’esprit des gens de l’époque est très proche du nôtre »
La fin des temps est devenue un thème récurrent dans le paysage médiatique, qu’il s’agisse de l’angoisse climatique ou de l’agitation sociopolitique. La notion d’apocalypse (et les êtres qui vivent pour y survivre) n’est pas nouvelle, bien sûr. En fait, la prophétie de tels événements fait l’objet de discours depuis des millénaires. « Lorsque je pense à un monde post-apocalyptique, je m’inspire de l’Antiquité, car l’état d’esprit des gens de l’époque est très proche du nôtre », explique l’artiste français Pol-Edouard.
Illustrer L’apocalypse dans une Gloire Rétro Ultra-saturée
Basé à Paris, les scènes dystopiques de Pol mettent souvent en scène des personnages tels que Blade, Terminator et Xena dans un affrontement pour la survie. Réalisé en grande partie au marqueur sur papier, son travail se rapproche des originaux – à savoir cette ambiance glitchy et rétro-futuriste qui est devenue si emblématique des années 80 et 90 – mais d’une manière hypnotique, vertigineuse, humoristique et carrément apocalyptique. « Tout comme les peintres d’autrefois représentaient la mythologie et la Bible, parce qu’il s’agissait de thèmes communs,» explique Pol, « le cinéma construit aujourd’hui notre univers commun. »
Pol Edouard ‘Gangs of Paris’ 2023
“When I think of a post-apocalyptic world, I draw inspiration from antiquity because the mindset of people then is very close to our own,”
The end times have become a recurrent theme within the media landscape — from climate angst to socio-political unrest. The notion of the apocalypse (and the beings who live to survive it) is nothing new, of course. In fact, the prophesying of such events has been the topic of discourse going back millennia. “When I think of a post-apocalyptic world, I draw inspiration from antiquity because the mindset of people then is very close to our own,” tells French artist Pol-Edouard.
Illustrating the Apocalypse in Ultra-saturated Retro Glory
Based in Paris, Pol’s dystopian scenes often pit characters like Blade, Terminator and Xena in an ass-kicking showdown for survival. Largely made using marker on paper, there is a quality about his work that lends itself to the originals — namely that glitchy, retro-futuristic vibe that has become so emblematic of the ‘80s and ‘90s — but done so in a way that feels hypnotic, dizzying, humorous and downright apocalyptic. “Just as painters in the past depicted mythology and the Bible, because those were common themes,” Pol tells, “today, cinema constructs our shared universe.”
On top of his own toys and print releases, Pol has had his hand in a number of collaborations over the years, including a Terminator 2 capsule with Brain Dead. His work, much like the LA-based lifestyle label, is amusing but contains dense undertones ties to a number of sub-cultural communities, such as retro action films to apocalyptic video games, such as Final Fantasy VII, which will see the second part of its remake drop next month.
Le mauvais oeil #69: ITW avec Pol-Edouard et encore une bonne dizaine pour voir son exposition dans les ateliers du Dernier cri.
« Lorsque je pense à un monde post-apocalyptique, je m’inspire de l’Antiquité, car l’état d’esprit des gens de l’époque est très proche du nôtre »
Pouvez-vous décrire votre dernière exposition, TRIPLE IMPAKT, et le livre correspondant que vous allez inaugurer cette semaine à Marseille ?
TRIPLE IMPAKT est une exposition au studio du Dernier Cri. Elle rassemble une grande partie de mes dessins de ces dernières années. Il y a beaucoup de dessins au feutre et de dessins où je mélange le feutre et l’aérographe. Les thèmes abordés dans le livre et l’exposition sont ceux que j’affectionne toujours particulièrement, comme les cyborgs, les femmes armées, etc.
Y a-t-il une histoire derrière cette série particulière et en quoi votre dernière exposition diffère-t-elle de vos travaux antérieurs ?
Ce qui est intéressant, c’est que, parallèlement aux dessins originaux exposés, j’ai réalisé des dessins pour la sérigraphie. Ceux-ci ne sont pas affichables car ils ne sont pas sur une seule feuille mais séparés par couleur (une couleur par feuille). Ensuite, grâce à la sérigraphie, les couches peuvent être superposées pour révéler le dessin final. C’est un projet qui s’étend sur deux ans, et tous ces dessins sont inclus dans le livre qui porte le même nom que l’exposition. Je juxtapose mon travail sur les dessins originaux avec les dessins sérigraphiés du livre, créés simultanément.
Pol-Edouard, Exposition d’estampes et d’originaux Sortie officielle du livre aux éditions du dernier cri
Can you describe your latest exhibition, TRIPLE IMPAKT, and the corresponding book you’re going to open this week in Marseille?
TRIPLE IMPAKT is an exhibition at the Dernier Cri studio. It brings together a large part of my drawings from recent years. There are many marker drawings and drawings where I mix felt-tip pen and airbrush. The themes addressed in the book and the exhibition are those I always particularly enjoy, such as cyborgs, armed women, etc.
Is there a story behind this particular series and how does your latest exhibition differ from your past work?
What’s interesting is that, parallel to the original drawings exhibited, I produced drawings for screen printing. These are not displayable as they are not on a single sheet but separated by color (one color per sheet). Then, through screen printing, layers can be superimposed to reveal the final drawing. It’s a project spanning over two years, and all these drawings are included in the book with the same name as the exhibition. I am juxtaposing my work on the original drawings with the screen-printed drawings from the book, created simultaneously. (Resource: Hypeart)
Pol Edouard ‘Triple Impakt’ LDC Edition, 2023
TRIPLE IMPAKT!
Pol-Edouard (Detail)
C’est la guerre des amazones, désirent-elles vraiment tuer tous les hommes de ce monde ou juste leur faire peur ?
Pol-Edouard, né en 1984 à Paris, a suivi des études d’art et d’illustration. Le directeur de la section lui transmet sa passion pour la renaissance lors d’un voyage en Italie. Il prend des cours de modèle vivant qui vont l’influencer à placer le corps humain au centre de ses recherches. Interné en hôpital psychiatrique à plusieurs reprises, son état se stabilise en 2017. Depuis, il développe sa pratique à travers divers médiums comme la peinture, la sérigraphie, la gravure et l’édition de fanzines.
Il dessine des motos, des gros flingues et des meufs baraquées. S’inspirant du cinéma hollywoodien des années 80, il peint des scènes d’action. Il réintroduit dans ses illustrations les thèmes et les éclairages multicolores en référence à ses films cultes. Dans la lignée de l’art brut, son style trash interfère. C’est la guerre des amazones, désirent-elles vraiment tuer tous les hommes de ce monde ou juste leur faire peur ?
1900’ler, modern yaşamın vaat ettiği uçarı zevklere özlemle bakan, taşranın boğucu atmosferinden kurtulmaya çalışan unutulmaz kadın karakterlerin hîkâyelerini içeren romanlarla hafızalarda yer etti. “Madame Bovary” ve “Anna Karenina” bu tür romanların en bilinenleri arasındaydı. Geleneklerin ve yavaş yavaş gelişmekte olan tüketim kültürünün arasında arafta kalmış, sıkışmış ve sıkılmış, rotasını belirlemekte zorlanan, unutulmaz kadın karakterler bu dönemde yaratıldı.
21. yüzyıl ise -özellikle Batı toplumlarında- dijital kültürün, kafa emeğinin ve esnek çalışma normlarının egemen olmasıyla birlikte erkek kimliğine dair her şey aşındı, erkek olmanın eskiden sahip olduğu anlam ve değer kayboldu. Bu durum edebiyat dünyasına da yansıdı, tabii ki. Chuck Palahniuk, Irvine Welsh, Nick Hornby, Tibor Fischer başta olmak üzere, pek çok yazar postmodern iklimde çaresizlikten kıvranan erkeklerin hikâyelerini romanlarına aktardılar, onları kurguladılar.
Onun için günümüz edebiyatının unutulmayan, etkileyici bütün karakterleri erkeklerden oluşuyor. Yani has edebiyat, tedavülden düşen, yükselen değer olma vasıflarını yitirmiş, bunalımlı kesimlere yöneldiğinde işlevini yerine getirebiliyor. Dolayısıyla zamanın ruhunun sembolü artık Emma Bovary değil Tyler Durden’dır.
“The most important aspect for me is to create something with my hands, for the dopamine rush I get when I can see and feel the result.”
Erdreich is an independent art studio run by Resa Macourek, a multidisciplinary artist from Vienna, Austria, who creates unusual drawings and accessories, and so now it’s time to get to know this talented woman.
Hello Resa, would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself for readers who don’t know you? In addition to being an illustrator, you also do very interesting gothic designs, how long have you been doing this, what kind of work have you done as Erdreich so far, what kind of path have you followed.
I’m an artist from Lower Austria but based in Vienna for the last ten years. Beside a whole bunch of other creative projects, “ERDREICH” is one of the most consistent ones. I started it in 2017 while I was in jewelry college. First it was just jewelry, mostly pins and necklaces, now it is a wider range of jewelry and also prints and some other stuff.
VAMPYR III necklace (small). newsilver, hand-etched with acid.
A piece of jewelry should be made to be worn or it loses a little bit of meaning.
Do you have an academic education or are you a self-taught artist?
After I finished my fashion design studies, I knew it wasn’t the right thing for me. So I attended a college that offered a field of studies that combined jewelry design and fine arts and got my arts diploma there. During my time at the college I fabricated more experimental and unwearable art jewelry. Some of these pieces were shown at multiple exhibitions. One is actually starting this month in Seoul at the Museum of Art Craft. Creating such pieces was fun but my approach is that a piece of jewelry should be made to be worn or it loses a little bit of meaning.
In every other discipline I am working in I am self-taught. Since I can remember I was crafting with every imaginable material and till today I am still trying to do new stuff all the time. Most recently I started to learn embroidery.
When we look at your work, we encounter a designer, even a fashion-designer rather than an illustrator. How do you position yourself in terms of your work?
With so many projects going on it is hard to put a name on it. I would consider myself more of a craftsperson. The actual designing takes the smallest part in my working process. The most important aspect for me is to create something with my hands, for the dopamine rush I get when I can see and feel the result.
When we look at your illustrative works, design products and presentations, we see that you create a very different, gothic world of your own. Do you have a brand or a dream project that you are trying to create with this in mind?
Not really, the most things that I draw or how I present my work in photos happen spontaneously and intuitively without a vision in my mind. The classical gothic aesthetic bores me slightly out so there must always be a little bit of weirdness and humor beside the dark elements.
Häexenmilch Tattoo Atelier – Vienna
Creepy & Funny Sketches by Erdreich
Erdreich Jewelry
“I would consider my jewelry as genderless. I have female, male and non-binary customers. The types of products I’m creating are all sizeless so there are no limitations regarding body shapes.”
In which direction is your current working principle more?
I have been practicing automatic drawing almost every day for the last couple of years. I just let my hands do their thing without knowing what the result will be. It is very relaxing for the mind. First I was a little afraid to show these drawings because they are far from perfection and unfiltered from my subconsciousness. But people seemed to like them and also wanted to get them tattooed. So that led me to do more tattoos recently. I started with hand poked tattoos some years ago for fun and mostly on myself or friends. You can find them under the name “häexenmilch” on Instagram. I am excited and happy every time someone decides to wear my permanent jewelry on their body.
On one side there is also an economic aspect I have to keep in mind. People are willing to spend a lot more money on tattoos than on jewelry. And on the other side it is a much more social thing to tattoo someone than sitting alone in my crafting dungeon.
Another passion of mine is lino printing. I print on paper as well as fabric so the prints can be worn as patches. I also feel the importance of wearability there too.
Artist at Work !!
Most of my designs are drawn by myself, it’s mostly animals, monsters, bones or jackalopes. Sometimes I also use motifs from ancient woodcuts or etchings that I love.
As Erdreich, what kind of materials do you work with in your design products, would you like to talk a little bit about the technical aspects of your work and the content of the creations you create?
When I used to do crazy art jewelry I used all kinds of unusual materials like my own teeth, animal or human bones, insects and parts of Barbies I found in the trash. In the last couple of years I almost exclusively worked with non-precious metals like copper, brass or new silver. The technique I’m using is chemical etching which is originally used for decorating armors and weapons and later for intaglio printing.
It is a long and labor-intensive process. I start with a sheet of metal which is covered in an acid-resistant ground, then the motif is carved in reverse by hand with an etching-needle. After the acid bath, the sheet is cleaned and the piece is cut out, filed, soldered and polished.
With all the modern technical possibilities like laser cutting/printing, cnc milling etc. I could easily produce pieces much faster and in an easier way but as I said I love working with my hands. It’s much more satisfying than letting a machine do the work. So every piece is unique and not just a soulless industrially produced piece of metal. In comparison to precious metals the ones I’m using are recycled and much more environmentally friendly and affordable.
Most of my designs are drawn by myself, it’s mostly animals, monsters, bones or jackalopes. Sometimes I also use motifs from ancient woodcuts or etchings that I love.
Artist at Work !!
Erdreich Productions !!
“So every piece is unique and not just a soulless industrially produced piece of metal. In comparison to precious metals the ones I’m using are recycled and much more environmentally friendly and affordable.”
I guess you are designing something for men as well as women’s accessories, what awaits us in the upcoming period.
I would consider my jewelry as genderless. I have female, male and non-binary customers. The types of products I’m creating are all sizeless so there are no limitations regarding body shapes.
At the moment I rarely create new pieces if so, then mostly for myself, on demand or for markets. Jewelry wise I’m waiting for the muse to visit me. But I like my stuff too much myself to give up making jewelry completely.
Vampire in her sleep
Exciting moments from the workshop…
“Mixing things together that seem to be opponents is not the most easy thing to do but it creates irritating and interesting outcomes.”
Between Life and Death: Erdreich Jewelry
Beware! Erdreich Jewelry
Erdreich Jewelry
Erdreich 2024 Collection
Erdreich Jewelry
Let’s talk about your aesthetic world! You have a dark and gothic style, but I don’t know how you manage to transform it into a modern form by blending it with interesting colors and a creepy sense of humor; what inspires you, are you really a melancholic and gothic woman or is it just an attitude you use in your art?
It is a 100% expression of my personality. Like I said I do the things that I do out of intuition and authenticity is very much important to me. I am in a constant cycle of change and that deflects on my art. So there is the more funny, colorful, cute and silly part of me existing next to the dark, depressive, creepy, more extreme or even repulsive part. Sometimes they are equally coexisting, sometimes one of the parts is more dominant. Mixing things together that seem to be opponents is not the most easy thing to do but it creates irritating and interesting outcomes. Which I prefer over nice or pretty things.
My biggest inspirations are nature and decay. Always been fascinated with death since I was a child. While other kids played with dolls or something I dug out some bones from the ground. A visit to the local graveyards is a mandatory thing to do when I visit a new place. I also feel very blessed to live in a city with one of the biggest and most beautiful graveyards in Europe. A lot of my jewelry photos were taken at the Vienna Central Cemetery.
Also I am a huge fan of folk horror which is the perfect combination of the two things.
“I do feel the importance of leaving the planet as unscathed as possible with what I am doing.”
Erdreich while resting in her coffin… : )
How are you with fashion, are there any brands you follow?
After I finished fashion school I completely lost interest in producing or keeping up with fashion. I couldn’t ignore the fact that this branch is extremely unsustainable and superficial. For the most part I am wearing vintage or second hand clothes and of course band shirts.
Do you think that small-scale ateliers and arts & crafts culture provide an alternative to big brands?
That would be a beautiful thought but I don’t think so. They are important for the big brands to copy from. But with something made on a smaller scale, by hand, often by one-person businesses comes a certain price, which is absolutely fair to ask for, but sadly not affordable for most of the people. But I love being in a DIY scene which gives me the opportunity to trade art with other awesome artists.
Erdreich Jewelry
Erdreich Jewelry
So, you say that the real creative potential lies in these amateur souls?
I would say that a lot of artistic potential cannot be fully reached because many people simply do not have the resources and do not come from affluent backgrounds. The most creative and talented people I know don’t know how to do something with their gift or can hardly navigate in this capitalistic system.
But real art (the same with music) has to come from a place of suffering in some form, in my opinion.
Can we talk about labor exploitation or a class struggle here?
I come from a lower-middle-class family, which has been financially unstable for most of the time, yet I have had the privilege of always receiving support from my parents, even though they probably would have preferred a path with less struggle. Others have much higher systemic barriers that prevent them from equitable access to artistic careers. To afford my creative pursuits, I have also always had to do lousy low-wage work. But I’d rather work in a shitty job and do my craft in my freetime than let my creativity be exploited by a company.
Isn’t there anything that bothers you about big brands getting rich from youth trends?
My opinion on this is ambivalent. On one hand, I think it’s good that larger brands are now engaging with diversity, which can definitely help marginalized groups by making them visible. On the other hand, there is, of course, the problem that many companies simply appropriate without giving recognition or credit, and they excessively profit financially from it. But I do not know anything about youth trends at the moment to be honest.
From your presentation photos, I think you are a nature friendly person, do you have a worldview that influences your designs and art?
I grew up in the countryside so nature plays a big part in my life. The translation of “ERDREICH” is “soil” or “ground”. I do feel the importance of leaving the planet as unscathed as possible with what I am doing.
Isn’t there a chance we can reverse the perspective in favor of DIY Culture?
My view on this is rather pessimistic, so in general I would say no. I think it’s too late. But DIY culture provides an important safe space for those who are searching for refuge. Even in a culturally rich city like Vienna, not much value is placed on the less commercial part of the cultural scene or a low-threshold access to institutions or education.
Erdreich Jewelry at Punk Market, 2022
As Erdreich, where and at what kind of events do you mostly offer your products for sale, and what should those who want to reach you do?
On a few occasions a year I am selling my jewelry and prints at some art or DIY markets in Vienna. Besides that I am taking requests on Instagram or doing story sales from time to time.
Erdreich Jewelry
That Barbarella pose with one of the Hirnplatzt t-shirts is really cool, your friends I guess? I know them from the comics they publish and I was surprised to see you. How are you with music, what do you listen to?
Thanks! I actually don’t know Hirnplatzt personally just through instagram. Music and especially live music is the most important thing to me. I listen to a broad spectrum of genres, mostly extreme stuff like metal, punk, hardcore, noise but I also love folk, blues, German rap and some of the most obscure stuff imaginable. I am always digging for new artists and styles.
Are you into occultism or black metal? If you have any (old or new) bands from the Austrian Black Metal scene that you would recommend to us, we would love to hear about them.
I’m drawn to occult stuff but rather regarding the aesthetical then the spiritual aspect. I wouldn’t consider myself a spiritual person. Black metal has been a huge thing for me since I was a kid. I still remember the life changing day on which I bought my first Darkthrone record almost 20 years ago. That genre had and still has a big influence on me. I always gravitated towards extreme art.
I’m really glad that we have a small but vital underground scene in Austria. There are many good bands, especially those who are rooted in the punk scene. Hagzissa is one of my favorites, they have such a strong musical and aesthetic concept. It’s always a joy to see them performing on a stage. Some other good ones that come to my mind are Kringa, Peace Vaults, Parasite Dreams, Ara, Weathered Crest, Circle of Shadows or Witch Ghetto.
and the vampire retreats to her coffin…
Thank you very much for participating in the interview, it’s exciting to get to know you and your art works, we also thank you for sharing your knowledge and vision with us.
Toute l’oeuvre de Blanquet est une ode à la vie organique, dans ses délices comme dans ses supplices, pour l’amour à mort du corps et de la vie à perte de vulves ! Comme quoi, même la chair torturée reste à jamais savoureuse, surtout quand elle est rissolée au beurre de cavité.
Thomas BERNARD / Fluide Glacial 2020
L’art de Stéphane Blanquet agrippe les paupières et plonge les châsses trop chastes dans l’abîme gluante des désirs inavouables, ceux qui, refoulés tout au fond depuis l’enfance, dégénèrent en créatures perverses accros à une trop concupiscente cruauté. Moi même, j’ai bien galéré pour remonter à la surface et témoigner aux lecteurs de Fluide de cette odieuse odyssée du vice qui se déroule à la Halle Saint Pierre en toute impunité.
Depuis des lustres, les bas fond de notre cervelle servent de barbotière à Stéphane Blanquet. Faut dire qu’en bon céphalopode à roulettes, nul besoin pour lui de divan ou de scaphandre chimique pour patauger dans les limbes ; ses multiples tentacules lui suffisent amplement. Grâce à elles, il peut traquer l’inspiration au crépuscule, terré dans les trous et les anfractuosités de nos âmes.
Chacun de ces appendices est indépendant et lui permet de bâtir un univers aussi exubérant que glauque sans jamais s’engluer les ventouses dans le pathos. BD suintantes, photos et illustrations macabres, publications touffues, films d’animations en soins intensifs, tapisseries de baveux,, céramiques moites et peintures licencieuses à toucher du bout de la langue… Toute cette charpie fumante s’agglutine dans sa tanière en attendant une mauvaise occasion pour nous sauter au visage!
Le moindre centimètre carré de ses oeuvres grouille de détails crus. Les couleurs vibrent au rythme d’un débit de carnes et les noirs sont si profonds qu’ils vous aspirent l’oeil comme des boyaux sans fin. Les scènes représentées semblent tirées de comptines fredonnées par des enfants fous autour de charniers … Au premier coup de narine, ça schlingue le désespoir !
Blanquet (Détail de l’étude) Hologramme – Anaglyphe
« Dans les têtes de Blanquet », une exposition-choc à la Halle Saint Pierre
Blanquet (Détail de l’étude) Hologramme – Anaglyphe
‘Les leçons d’anatomies chimériques’ Une création de Stéphane Blanquet et de Angélique Friant sur une musique de Uriel Barthélémi. De la Marionnettes à Charleville Mézieres, 2023
Blanquet (Détail de l’étude)
Les cris sous la peau, dans Professeur Cyclope, 2014
“Si ça ne coule pas, que ça ne dégouline pas, ça ne m’intéresse pas”
Pourtant sous ce magma de charogne libidineuse palpite bien plus que la verge des asticots. De ces paysages en viscères écarlates, suinte une cascade inépuisable dont le plus sec des gosiers sait qu’il ne touchera jamais le fond de la cyprine. Toute l’oeuvre de Blanquet est une ode à la vie organique, dans ses délices comme dans ses supplices, pour l’amour à mort du corps et de la vie à perte de vulves ! Comme quoi, même la chair torturée reste à jamais savoureuse, surtout quand elle est rissolée au beurre de cavité.
Stéphane Blanquet’s art grips the eyelids and plunges the overly chaste into the slimy abyss of unavowable desires, those that, repressed deep down since childhood, degenerate into perverse creatures addicted to an overly concupiscent cruelty. I myself had a hard time coming to the surface to tell the readers of Fluide about this odious odyssey of vice that takes place at the Halle Saint Pierre with total impunity.
Stéphane Blanquet has been wading in the depths of our brains for ages. As a cephalopod on wheels, he doesn’t need a couch or a chemical suit to wade through limbo; his multiple tentacles are more than enough. Thanks to them, he can track down inspiration at dusk, burrowing into the holes and crevices of our souls.
Each of these appendages stands on its own, allowing him to build a universe that is as exuberant as it is creepy, without ever getting stuck in pathos. Oozing comics, macabre photos and illustrations, thick publications, animated films in intensive care, slobbery tapestries, sweaty ceramics and licentious paintings to touch with the tip of your tongue… All this steaming lint clumps together in his lair, waiting for the wrong opportunity to blow up in our faces!
Every square centimetre of his work is teeming with raw detail. The colours vibrate to the rhythm of a carne flow and the blacks are so deep that they suck your eye in like endless guts. The scenes depicted seem to be taken from nursery rhymes hummed by crazed children around mass graves… At the first nostril stroke, it stinks of despair!
Meeting: Gary Panter & Stéphane Blanquet / Directed by Ludovic Cantais, Galerie Martel, April 2011
“If it doesn’t drip, I’m not interested.” -Blanquet
Yet beneath this magma of libidinous carrion pulses much more than the maggots’ rod. From these landscapes of scarlet viscera oozes an inexhaustible waterfall that the driest of gullets knows will never touch the bottom of the cyprine. Blanquet’s entire oeuvre is an ode to organic life, in all its delights and torments, for the love of the body and life to the point of death! As if to prove that even tortured flesh remains forever tasty, especially when browned in cavity butter.
magasin de proximité
Buy it at the Halle Saint Pierre, in all the good bookstores or on blanquet.com
– you can also subscribe for the whole collection !! –
l’ensemble de la collection est disponible (pour un prix réduit) lors de la souscription
D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist is a low-budget documentary film released by Music Video Distributors in 2002. The film is a “celebration of the underdog” and deals with why artists do what they do, regardless of the lack of a continuous paycheck.
The film features some artists that define the DIY ethic and speaks to the overall DIY culture. It features interviews with Lydia Lunch, Ian MacKaye, J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Jim Rose, J. G. Thirlwell of Foetus, Mike Watt, Eric McFadden, Richard Kern (filmmaker), Ron Asheton of The Stooges, Madigan Shive of Bonfire Madigan, Lynn Breedlove of Tribe 8 and Dave Brockie of Gwar, among others. The 60-minute film explores the methods and motivations of independent American artists working in different genres and mediums. “DIY or Die” profiles a fascinating group of icons and unknowns working in various media including print, film, graphic art, performance art and music.
D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive as an Independent Artist, 2002
Alicia Dattner appears in the credit sequence as a punk street artist stapling DIY flyers. Original artwork for the credits drawn by Attaboy, co-founder of Hi-Fructose Contemporary Art Magazine.
The DVD was released (under the title “D.I.Y. or Die: Burn This DVD”) with no region restrictions or copy protection. Director Michael W. Dean allowed and even encouraged people to make copies for non-commercial use. In an industry where filmmakers continue to play by the same tired rules, it’s always refreshing to see someone come along and mix things up like Michael W. Dean has done, making his documentary fully available to watch on YouTube and, consequentially, here as well. In a similar move to recording artists like Radiohead or Saul Williams, you can watch Michael’s documentary for free, and always purchase a DVD if you so feel like doing so. Either way, you will get to see it.
I think you have a musical background before Trilmob; can you sum up the process for us please?
Music has been in our family for three generations, hence the name “Trilogy Mafia”. We (Don Trilo & Mic E.D.) formed the group in the summer of 2007. Before we joined forces, we had our separate groups. Trilo had Trilogy Mafia, and Mic had Viceversa. We began to collaborate more often and decided to expand Trilogy Mafia by adding Viceversa and Fox River Boys to the roster. Eventually the groups went their separate ways but Trilo and Mic continued to collab and form what is now known as Trilmob.
You are running a music label named Trilogy Mafia Records. What cause you to work like this?
We believe in having our own creative control and making our own decisions without influence or pressure from a major label. We have the resources to create our own music, merchandise, and everything else. There are a lot of independent hip-hop labels striving right now, such as Strange Music, and Funk Volume.
Do you think that we are living in a age of consuming something quickly (and forgetting easily)? Or you think, thats on our hands to use internet in a positive way?
We have released hard copies of our music in the states, but we see more and more people downloading our music in the states and in other regions. I think the internet is a positive change for music, overall, and especially independent labels. As long as the artists are putting out quality music, then there will always be a demand for it.
For booking inquiries, contact Noel_rivera@icloud.com/ miceducation3@gmail.com
Our music is all about the energy, and every time we get on stage we put on the best show possible. Often times, our live show is what separates us from other rap groups.
What keep Rap music industry afloat? Rap music came out from the streets, is it still on the street? Or money and being famous is standing in the forefront nowadays?
Rap music now is split into sub-cultures, many of which overlap. In mainstream rap, you mainly see the money and fame. But there are many underground artists who are keeping the raw, uncut rap alive. With so many different styles of rap available, it is no longer strictly for the streets, but can appeal to many different type of people.
What would you say if we want from you to sum up your style and “Midwest sound”?
There are many pioneers of this style in the Midwest, including Tech N9ne, Twista, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. We call it “Double-Time” or “Chopping”. Our area is well known for this style, but there are artists from allover the world who use the style now. (As heard on Tech N9ne’s “WorldWide Choppers”)
At the end of 90s and beginnings of 2000 Eminem was very famous, he did bring up Rap music. According to you what did make Eminem so special like this?
Rap music was huge in the USA before Eminem was around. Legends in the rap game such as Dr.Dre helped his popularity grow. He is a very talented rapper, and the mainstream embraced him and he eventually became a household name in many countries.
Trilogy Mafia Records & Thirsty Mob of Aurora, IL collab on “Lyrical Narcotic” Produced by SwizZz.
Rap absolutely has no limits. It is all about expression and style. It can be performed in any language as long as the passion is behind the music.
What are you working on lately?
We have been working on “Rap Riot” which is Trilmob’s first release. Featuring collaborations with Snow tha Product, Stevie Stone, Peign, HaZe, LivFree, and more with original production by Trilogy Mafia’s Don Trilo.
Thanks so much for joining to interview, if you want to say something, please just go on!
Please follow us on Twitter and Instagram @DonTrilo x @MicED and find more about us by searching #TRILMOB! Check out new video “Lyrical Narcotic” on YouTube and look out for the “Rap Riot” project coming soon!
Thanks for the interview, we look forward to many more interactions with you guys. Hopefully one day we can perform out there for Istanbul!
Malt liquor Mission now streaming on all platforms.
“The more you know, the more you realize you know nothing. But what I do know is how to rise above hate. I know that you know that I know the jealous will always envy. And I know real family and real love is all that matters.”
Knowing does not make an individual wise. Although knowing is a close relative to knowledge, wisdom is its correct use, which will lead to enlightenment when you truly know thyself. With that said, New Jersey’s Wes Nihil has been around the block enough times to know nothing is promised. While on tour in California, Wes felt compelled to bring the cameras out and capture some epic visuals for his newest offering “I Know You Know”, an ode to staying true to yourself and your loved ones. The spellbinding backdrop is a collaborative whirlwind created by Wes Nihil and Grammy Award-winning producer Don Cheegro, which perfectly collides with Wes’s in-your-face lyrical slaughter and addictive chorus that will remain trapped in listeners’ heads for days.
Street poetry shot on location in the heart of Newark NJ by JOHN L.
“If I know anything at all. I know tomorrow is never promised. I know it is time to stop overthinking. It is time for action.”
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NJ Urban Art Festival / August 17 2024
This will be the only east coast show of Wes Nihil will be doing this year on the East coast aside from a pop up show or two, so be sure to come out and catch his set; he will have all the new summer merch etc on deck, see you there, all the details are on the flyer !
“Never forget where you came from or you will get to where you are going. South st Newark NJ brick city hardcore till the casket drops im apart of the block. Mind Body and soul love light and blessings.”
The anthem’s visuals, shot guerilla-style in Los Angeles, offer a glimpse into what life is like on tour, the importance of honoring family and the value of loyalty.
When speaking of “I Know You Know”, Wes reiterated, “If I know anything at all. I know tomorrow is never promised. I know it is time to stop overthinking. It is time for action”.
Wes Nihil’s “I Know You Know” music video is OUT NOW and is dedicated to fallen family Big Rich and OG Tank.
Wes Nihil / RazorBlade HandGrenade
ALL PRECIOUS GEMS ARE EVENTUALLY DISCOVERED
I have personally only heard of Wes Nihil. Hearing his music I can see why he’s had a successful musical career in a few genres’s. Shout out to Galactic Push for connecting 1 World Magazine with this opportunity and interview.
I was born and raised in New Jersey- more specifically I bounced around Union, Irvington, and Newark.
What type of music did you grow up hearing?
I grew up listening to a lot of classic Hip Hop. Punk Rock, and Hardcore. MTV in the 90s subjected me to different artists and I’ve always been drawn to a mix of genres.
Officially how much work you put out (albums, EPs Singles etc)
I front a Punk/Hardcore band called Razorblade Handgrenade which has 3 full-length albums. I put out one full length album as Wes Nihil “Real Music For Real People.” and 3 EP’s, “The Crimson Twins” produced by A-$harp “The Wes Side Story” produced by Bersurke. and “Wicked Life of Crime” produced by Stu Bangas. It’s hard to keep track, but there’s definitely other singles and features with other artists out there.
Your name “Wes Nihil” sounds like West Nile, any connection?
Hah, no, I get that a lot. Nihil is short for Nihilistic, since Nihilistics were a punk band that inspired me when I was young.
“Wicked Life Of Crime” w/ Stu Bangas, how’d this happen? What you think bout Stu?
About a year and a half ago, Stu produced “Catch a Body” and it did really well. I really enjoyed working with him and when I began writing “Wicked Life of Crime” he was the first person I thought of. Stu is a great guy, I don’t have one bad thing to say about the homie. He’s on-point when it comes to his work and is responsive and easy to work with.
WES NIHIL “Wicked Life Of Crime” Casette
“When you live in a place like that you have to find ways of surviving and I know that Punk and Hip Hop helped prevent me from going down a different path. “Wicked Life of Crime” represents who I am and where I came from.”
Why “Wicked Life Of Crime” as title and subjects?
“Life of Crime” is a documentary on HBO based off the block I came up on (South St., Newark, NJ) It follows people from my hood from 1982 to 2018 showing how easy it was to fall in a cycle of drug use and crime. The environment in this film was exactly what I was surrounded by. It really hit home for me because I know how difficult it is to come up in that environment. I felt inspired to run with that name and concept since it played a big role in shaping who I am. When you live in a place like that you have to find ways of surviving and I know that Punk and Hip Hop helped prevent me from going down a different path. “Wicked Life of Crime” represents who I am and where I came from.
Whats next for Wes Nihil?
Right now, I have 2 new singles and 2 new music videos dropping in the next few months They’re produced by Krohme and these songs are somewhat of a cross-over of Hardcore and Hip Hop. I’m really focusing on putting out content that represents who I am. I’ve got some legendary features on there which I’m excited about. I’m currently writing and recording another album- hopefully we’ll have it out within the next year. I’m always putting out new merchandise and I have a winter line dropping very soon.
Wes Nihil, Circa / Simpler times, 2014
“Being an artist can be really rewarding, but it can also be exhausting and disappointing at times.”
Any message for the intelligent reader?
The music I make is based off a lifestyle I really live. I do this because I love it first and foremost- that’s the bottom line. I’m really not concerned with all the money, fame, or success. It’s part of the journey, but it’s not what I do this for. Anyone out there that wants to do music or has begun the process, do it because you love it. Being an artist can be really rewarding, but it can also be exhausting and disappointing at times. If you love it, then no matter what happens in the process you will remain happy because you’re doing it for the right reasons. I know it sounds corny, but follow your dreams and don’t listen to people In regards of what they have to say about your creativity. I can’t tell you how many times people have shot down my ideas or called me crazy just to have those ideas receive the most attention and success.
Wes Nihil and Danny Diablo team up with Krohme to create”Forever darkness.” 2022
“Hip Hop and Hardcore have always crossed paths. Both genres gave people some sort of escape from their struggles and released pent-up anger/frustration in a positive way.”
How has your Hardcore band experience helped with your Hip Hop career?
From the early days, Razorblade Handgrenade shows were packed with friends and fans who knew the lyrics and repped our merch. Throughout the years, these people have remained a sort of community that is quick to back anything we do. They’ve always been very supportive since the early days of my Hip Hop career. RBHG is Hardcore Punk, but definitely has Hip Hop elements to it, so it makes sense that our fan base would be down with my music. Hip Hop and Hardcore have always crossed paths. Both genres gave people some sort of escape from their struggles and released pent-up anger/frustration in a positive way.
Very well said. What’s next for Wes Nihil & Bersurke?
Bersurke is putting out a medieval-themed beat tape called “Cynical Sorcerer.” I’m featured on it along with Daddio Smoov (of III Supreme) on the only song with vocals called “Gauntlet.” The album will be out in November, 2022. As for future work, we plan to produce more songs together including a full-length album.
What’s your worst touring story?
Oh man, that’s a loaded question. Honestly a lot of tours have been a blur. There’s definitely been a lot of chaos, especially when I was on tour in Europe with Danny Diablo. But I think the worst was from when I was on a West-Coast tour and broke my knee 2 days before I had to perform at a festival in California. I was at another show and somehow moved wrong in the mosh pit and was suddenly in excruciating pain. My friend thought I was exaggerating and he pulled a chair out from underneath me and I couldn’t even get up. The next day someone got me crutches and I ended up performing at the festival mostly in a chair. I flew home and four days after the injury. I went to the emergency room. My doctor asked “Do you believe God?” She was com-pletely shocked by the timeline of things and explain. I could have easily threw a clot and died, especially on the plane. I don’t remember the specifics, but the doctors said it was a really bad series ol fractures and I needed surgery. I got 12 screws and a plate put in and ha one hell of a scar.
Wes Nihil is back again with yet another hardcore/hip hop mash-up to kick off !!
Hit the link in bio and go drop a like and a comment on you tube and share it with everyone you know and tell them to do the same ! Ty
LÖPÇÜK 