Friend of Artfinder, Shae Morris, went along to the Moniker Art Fair 2011 to check out what was on offer. This is her personal account of the show.
Underground Representation
Cedar Lewisohn asked the daunting question on the Moniker Art Fair 2011 iPad app: ‘Can art make a difference?’
The aim of the Moniker Art Fair is to present urban, street, surrealist and spatial arts, whether they are by refined and respected artists, or the new up-and-coming voices aiming to be heard. By allowing the space to be utilised in a mixed up fashion, the viewers are given everything they want in one setting. The Moniker Art Fair was held on 13-16 October at the Village Underground in Shoreditch.
THE ART
Moniker delivered such refined pieces – spacial structures, art, photography, discussion and more. I was left feeling refreshed and stimulated after visiting on the second day of the Fair. Some favourites were the Canary Islands Urban Culture, specifically Sergio Villalba Morlae’s work. His outstanding capture of the subjects, whilst framing them amongst angles and structures, was simply breathtaking — this special awareness allows him to capture the graphic in shot, so eloquently and tastefully. The Stolen Space presentations were fierce and on fine form for delivering some Ben Eine favourites.
Marco “Pho” Grassi had an intriguing couple of pieces, showcased towards the entrance, to which I felt immediately drawn. I had noticed his work on the Moniker app, but was touched to find the images on the iPad were, while magnificent, simply nothing to the live version!
Whilst you will all have a favourite in mind after exploring the Fair, the beauty and success of Moniker is that the overall experience outweighs the favourites. You end up appreciating the whole being of the artists and understand the beauty of the raw talent on offer globally.
The App
[Artfinder recently launched the official Moniker Art Fair App].
As for the iPad app, this is a clear case of a complementary relationship – the information contained in the application enhances your experience of the Fair! I’m not sure I would have had the same motivation to go (shameful for an artist like myself to say so) if I had not been enticed and intrigued by what I’d read and learnt from the App beforehand. It gave me context walking into the Village Underground, and I understood what I wanted to see beforehand and what I wanted to get out of it.
The App had introduced me to the art, rather than the typical friend dragging you to a gallery. An intelligent snippet had offered me an openness in viewing art pieces I was previously skeptical of. By seeing the artworks live, the soul is felt and the critical judgment you thought you had dissipates into a fierce admiration, BECAUSE it’s alive. This is the beauty of the Moniker Art Fair – the offering of more than one genre, and more than one talent. Things look quite different up close and in the raw than they did on the App.
I commend the Moniker team for the copious amounts of time and work that must have gone on behind the scenes in order to present such an extraordinary display of artwork. They are a voice representing fine work and talent! Whilst society may never fully answer Lewisohn’s presenting question, the simplicity of the individuals answer will always be – most definitely, Art can and does make a difference. I was alert and seeing new sights the day after, and for that I say roll on Moniker 2012!
You can find out more about the app on Artfinder.com or download it free from iTunes.
By Shae Morris
I went and I thought it was very boring myself, but there you go!