Verlag fur moderne Kunst Nurnberg

Paper is arguably the most influential material in human civilization, and in today's world designing with paper continues to be a trend. This book provides a comprehensive documentation of the creative potential that can be realized with the traits of what was once our primary material for communicating information.

In cities, where does public space stop and privacy begin? Which experiences are purely personal and which ones are driven by commercially motivated impulses? Can we see the city and ourselves for what they actually are amidst the vast array of signs and images clamoring for our attention? The American artist Brad Downey tackles these and other structural, social, and political questions in his work. With the element of surprise firmly on his side, he creates powerful interventions that disrupt the routine of our visual perception. A shopping cart becomes a sculpture, a telephone booth is filled with balloons, and a stop sign is turned upside down. Using elements from film, sculpture, painting, and drawing, Downey creates remarkable work ra nging from the spectacular and headline-making to the small, delicate, and almost hidden. Downey s interventions in the cityscape can be spontaneous, subtle, and fleeting it is precisely the way they interact with their surroundings that make them so effective. Some exist for barely half an hour before they are corrected again; others integrate themselves into the urban landscape and become a permanent work of art in the process. Downey s art discourages quick glances and celebrates the double t ake. It encourages the viewer to take a hard look and refreshes the powers of discrimination that so often become jaded in the visual Babylon of our times. For exclusive previews inside and excerpts from this book, go to www.gestalten.com

The street as a stage or site of creative action has acquired its own special role in art history: think of Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose work stemmed directly from street culture, or Mark Jenkins irritating pedestrians with his subtle infiltration of human-like sculptures, or the participatory installations of Kader Attia. Each of the 30 artists contributing to this volume has found ways to weave art strategies into the fabric of street culture. Street and Studio focuses on the street as a zone of creativity, and as a source of inspiration to young artists whose lives and art are marked by an urban and mobile lifestyle.