First, there are the 'East London Street Artists' crews. These guys, (and I say guys, as there really is only one girl in Gold Peg-maybe Miss Van counts but she is pretty-big-time now) are into Graffiti. Massively into it. They rate Seen, they've all been in, or know someone who has been in Banksys film, they go out at night painting by Hackney Canal and insist to anybody who will listen, that they are as 'Wanted' by the police (Whom they refer to as Pigs) as Osama was to Bush. They have studios in the Peanut Factory or elsewhere around Dace Road and Hackney Wick. Some, working with End Of The Line, do set themselves up in basements under galleries in central or even scope out to the community strongholds in vauxhall, where emin owns key to mot n key castle. But mostly, these shape-shifters like anywhere basically, past the Roman Road to Bow and the Nunnery. And they hang-out for a pint at the uniquely East-End-Boozer, the Palm Tree. I once saw that builder bloke from Charlie Dimmocks garden show there- he was/is, a proper 'GEEE-zer'. This batch are fun, but don't say anything about them not being 'Up', or you will be sprayed red. They have ink-stained fingers and use spray-cans like the naughty ADHD children do in those Super-Soaker 3000 tv adverts. They have a seperate career as a Fine Artist, and have even in some cases had items bought by Sargeant Saatchi- who they now refer to as THE DEVIL. They used to show at Black Rat or other urban 'Underground' galleries, but now they have made enough money to open-up their own galleries out in the 'Bush' of the East-End. So they have also now changed their process to include a lot of print-making- these can be sold en masse, quicker and therefore make them more money to buy more paint to blah blah and so on and so forth. They don't really look after themselves though as they are mainly Big Kids. They still wear dungarees and eat Tomato Ketchup on toast for their breakfast in the morning, as the Sugar in the Ketchup gives them energy and the bread sustains their carb-carborettas. Some of them also DJ. Mostly they all LOVE HIP-HOP CULTURE/DA BRONX/SUBWAY TRAINS
As well, and my least favoured shape, are the 'South London Graduates'. These kids have just left Wimbledon, Goldsmiths or Camberwell, and are cutting their aristocratically-fine teeth in the-what I call, 'Keychain-Galleries'. These are, notably rubbish galleries, set-up around back-alleys in East London and run by usually more than one Older, ex-artist-turned gallery owner. A latter-day Barnados for recent graduates. They spend their days writing songs for their post-indie-alt-neu-roche band, inventing new words and doing video installations in their studios - either Woodmill, V22 Biscuit Factory, or the Bow Art Studios in Bermondsey. They have been taught nothing at art school and come-out venting the lack of direction, a free-falling artistic-angst which they then use to turbo-power ultra-shit art. Such as a video talking about why they like art. Or making photographs of dead animals jut so that they can go to the cool Print Space on Kingsland Road to hang about, further emancipating themselves by looking through the 'Edgy' magazines and books laid out on the coffee table whilst they wait for their prints to be developed. They look at websites such as ArtLicks.com and enter their cronies into listings on these 'alternative' sites, but none of their shows are good. They have demure personalities, and perhaps questions daily, what THEIR ART is. Further propping-up their angst. They insist they can see the different tones in black and get quite easily troubled if you don't agree that you can, also, differentiate.
Next, there are the 'North London Gang' who have themselves, carved-out a new upcoming area of Severn Sisters, a place now filling-up with shit-hole-old-warehouses-turned-shit-hole-old-warehouses-with-rubbish-pictures in them. They have found their place on Gumtree and they probably smoke pot, they basically appropriate what the East London crew but in a place where nobody ever goes, and therefore none of their street art is ever seen. A lot of this bunch are foreign, and are relieved that Dalston is but a short cycle-ride away so they feel less left-out-in-the-cold. A mysterious group this lot, I should imagine that a lot of them will be entering their work into the Hackney Wicked Festival and just continue to bat-about in North London, dressing very well, until one of their job-applications comes good and they go off to work as an accountant or someother.
Also not forgetting, 'THE AMERICANS'. These, obviously, are progeny of outside the UK, and come over, flights-paid for and possibly a studio residency offered for them above Stolen Space at DFaces gallery in the Truman Brewery, or put-up in a hotel off Shoreditch High Street. They basically own themselves and have shitloads of swagger. Whether from New York, or from LA, they have a lot of power with their US galleries and often have to be babysat. Here in London they moan about us having 'Loads of street-artists, but NO STREET ART'. Which, I think, I agree with to an extent. They may paste-up a few cut-outs next-to an Eine in a high-profile spot whilst they are here but pretty-much they just do 'Street art' for galleries now, as they are making quite a few buck. They don't really use spray anymore, as you can't mix the colours and they believe their art is now more than its genesis in Graffiti. GRAFFITI IS NOT STREET ART as they heavily insist. These guys never nicked a can of paint from a hardware shop and probably don't know who Martha Cooper is, though they do rate RJ Rushmore, and even deign to be interviewed for VeryNearlyAlmost.com. However their replies to questions about their work is often glib, as 'Darling', they have been asked the same questions SOOOOO many times. They are like the - Rock-Stars' of the art scene today. Many of them used to skateboard and their mates with Sheperd Fairey and Word To Mother. Basically, they have either just met-up with Eine n kids out in LA at a recent Geffrey exhibition, or have just finished an album cover for some inane pop star such as Christina Aguilera. Somewhat incongruous. Artists have to eat. Subway Art Gallery owned by Mr Wim is also a popular haunt for them to hang-out in of an evening, as the gallery is a classic 'Underground' gallery, which is a kind way of saying that it could pass for a car sale showroom.
Lastly for now, as I could go on forever but have to actually do some work...are the 'West London Grade'. These are the RA and Royal College MA graduates. They have solid relationships with the Kensington, Chelsea and Mayfair Galleries. Hauser and Wirth is like a spare room to them. They produce large-scale, hugh-cost works of art. Such as a 30 ft rotating neon light. They may have won a Turner Prize a few years back, and also manage to have studios with a bunch of assistants, probably off Leonard Street, near to Julian Opies print studio. They jet around the world, not really saturating their practise with too much hanging-out with the other London art kids, they may be mates with Jasper Joffee who may write-up a piece of work about them. The ICA is a killer spot for them to be and they often have young families, who have mentally curly hair, long names, and very clean fingernails.
SO, there is a definitive guide, not complete, but therein, as much as it possible- to a few genres of artists about today.
