Guilty of ART!

Weston Frizzell /  by JoFF Rae

After many years of working together, Otis Frizzell and Mike Weston's creative partnership evolved from that of a celebrity artist (Otis Frizzell) and his art dealer, producer and manager, (Mike Weston) into a full blown art collaboration.

Their Warhol influenced production line approach and entertainment industry influenced promotion and management has taken them from the street art  and pop culture melting pot of Auckland's K road into the fine art world. Their output draws heavily on appropriated imagery, style and content. Presented with satiric and often ironic subtext, it challenges notions of authorship and originality.
 

About Mike Weston 

Mike Weston (1963-) is the proprietor of The Area, an independent music studio and art gallery on Karangahape Road in Auckland. During his twenty-year career he has worked as a recording engineer, DJ, music producer, event promoter, clothing designer, visual artist and artist manager. He has created original music under the names Black Girls Machine, Theta State and Field. As a music producer he has worked with Anigma, The Warners, Reptiles@Dawn, the Dakoda's, The Lils, Christine White, Mechanism, ICU, Field, OB1, Miss DJ, The Nairobi's, Fruit, and Shima, among others. In 1994 he started the techno record label Pulse. Between 1994 and 2002 he coordinated New Zealand tours for international artists such as Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Juan Atkins, Stacey Pullen, Freddie Fresh, Dave Angel, Mark Dynamix, Sandra Collins, Chris Lee and Shaheen. From 1998 to 2002 he produced mix albums and managed dance club events and tours for club LOVELY and Renegade with DJ OB1. With graffiti artist Askew (Disruptiv), Weston produced a series of graffiti art events including Fresh Fresh Fresh, Disrupt the System 2000, Damage Control and Contents Under Pressure, seeding careers for Askew, Misery (Illicit), Otis Frizzell and the late Martin Emond (Illicit), among others.

About Otis Frizzell 
Otis Frizzell (1971-) is a television celebrity, hip hop performer, radio personality, tattooist, graphic designer and chauffeur to the stars. If there are any barriers to where Otis Frizzell's diverse, irrepressible talent and colourful personality will take him, he has yet to be stopped by them. Otis entered public life in his late teens as half of popular hip hop duo MC OJ and Rhythm Slave. He has performed as Joint Force and Stylee Crew. His partnership with Mark "Slave" Williams carried the duo into a long-running Wednesday drive-time radio slot on BFM called "Slave and Otis," now the morning drive show on Base FM. The duo's radio celebrity transferred to television with the award winning "The Mo' Show." Otis has more than 15 years of public graffiti art experience, and since 1998 has retained his position as New Zealand's highest profile graffiti artist. His work is on walls in Saatchi and Saatchi, IE Music (Robbie Williams' London management office), in celebrity collections, on KFC packaging, breast cancer T shirts, Playstation Ads, TV2 promos and the record sleeves of Che Fu and Concord Dawn.

 

Ngātahi - Know The Links/ Te Kupu /  by JoFF Rae

 

Director/producer/camera/editor - Dean Hapeta aka Te Kupu

Thursday 7 June 2012 - Adam Auditorium, City Gallery Wellington / 18:00 until 21:00

Ngātahi - Know The Links is a six part rapumentary on street arts and activism amongst native and marginalised people in twenty-two countries.

Creator Dean Hapeta aka Te Kupu presents the latest and final part in this series and will be in attendance to answer questions about his work.

Part six features interviews and footage from Budapest (Hungary), Belgrade (Serbia), Beijing (China), Rio De Janeiro and São Paulo (Brazil). Giving viewers access to expressions, sights and sounds not usually experienced outside of progressive discourse and conscious Hiphop circles.

In production since 2000 and filmed in 22 countries the complete series is over nine hours duration packaged in a six DVD box set (single episodes are also available).

Official selection at Sundance Film Festival 2004 (Festival Cut), part five screened on Māori Television in 2009.

Solidarity, a 23 minute music documentary on Upper Hutt Posse’s visit to the USA as guests of the Nation of Islam in 1990, will also be screened. 

Koha / Gold Coin entry

00:00:00 - OPENING TITLES
DJ KLJAY (Brazil)
From the poorest to the richest everyone wants to have power, to control something or someone / And that’s why the world lives in conflict, in wars, lives with inequalities / Love is left as the 2nd, 3rd or 4th plan

MIA LEE (China)
So it’s very controlled what you can do here, and it’s very controlled what kind of information you can get

OSTALINDA (Hungary)
So we do not actually know how many attacks or how many violent incidents there might be.

YOUNG KIN (China)
I think actions are louder than words

OSTALINDA
They have been informed that this is happening and they choose not to do anything about it, then we can sue the government 

YOUNG KIN (China)
In the end of the day if you’re not really helping the community and if you’re not really helping you know like kids in the society you ain’t doing shit

CESAR – (Brazil)
A verdade é mais poderosa do que o eu
Truth is more powerful than self

YOUNG KIN (China)
When some people are starving they’re like man I don’t give a fuck, I’ll kill you for some food, how about that

FUNK BUIA (Brazil)
Hiphop in Brazil gets stronger mainly because it’s social

CESAR
Fala bonito, mas não me iludo
You’re a sweet talker but I’m not fooled
Ganha propina e tira onda como deluvio
You get illegal money and think you’re cool
Nao pega nada.. 
You don’t get anything
O ritmo é de festa 
The rhythm (is) like a party
Goza o ano inteiro o decimo quarto 
Enjoy the 14th wage the whole year
É o que interessa – o que nao presta..
It’s all that matters, (that) what doesn’t matter
É o que me resta? Sobrou pra gente
It’s what is left for me, left for us
Imposto pra caralho, pro salario do presidente 
A fucken load of tax for the presidents salary