Master Class With Street Artist Fauxreel

Street artist Dan Bergeron-better known as Fauxreel- talks about aesthetics and purpose in his work.We've mentionedthe rise of global street art in the State of the Planet issue. Now we get a chance to sit down with one of it's foremost practitioners. GOOD took a moment to talk with Fauxreel.G:Of all the projects you've done, which has been most satisfying?F: Tough question. I can easily tell you what project was the least satisfying. I was very dismayed by the reaction that fellow Torontonian's had for The Unaddressed series I did focusing on issues about homelessness. The pieces got torn down, scribbled on with nasty comments and generally disrespected. Although this really got me down at first, I later realized that the work provoked a reaction and really showed what a lot of Torontonian's think about those who are homeless.Back to your question though, I would have to say it's a tie between The Regent Park Portrait Project and A City Renewal Project, but for very different reasons. The Regent Park portrait series was rewarding because I got to meet a bunch of the great people that live in Regent Park, I got to help them create a more positive image for the community and I got to go as big as I wanted. In the end, the community was pleased with the outcome, the individuals were proud to have their images displayed and it was a really enjoyable and warm experience all around. On the other hand A City Renewal Project allowed me to work with my good friend Gabriel Reese, aka Specter, creating a world all our own with basically no limits. We had free space to create the installation, plenty of time to sink our teeth into the project, the opportunity to be imaginative in large-scale, a great idea to work with, the chance to stick it to the man, marvelous support from our friends, families and sponsors and no one telling us what to do. We were like those 2 kids let loose in the candy store that you sometimes hear about. Plus we managed to appropriate a bus shelter for our own devices in broad daylight.From the 'Vespa Squareheads' seriesG: You asked the questions as part of your "Vespa Squareheads" series:

• Does (street) art lose its credibility if it has a commercial connection?
• Can-an-artist-work-commercially-and-with-a-conscience-at-the-same-time?

I'm really interested in those questions too; having done that project, did you come to any answers? Where do you think the line should be drawn? What distinguishes street art from street advertising?F: I definitely think artists can work commercially and with a conscience, however, I think that if you are going to do this you should be aware of the differing motivations and you should try to make the commercial project provoking to the public in some respect. Because I like blurring the lines and playing with the public's perceptions in some of the work I create, I immediately realized that the difficulties surrounding an illegal street campaign completed by a commercial interest would be a perfect fit for me. So I approached the Vespa Squarehead project with the goal of raising questions about the role of advertising in public space, examining the grey area between street art, graffiti and advertising and attempting to make connections between products and people's identities. If I can complete a series of work that will pose and examine these types of questions and it will allow me to make some money at the same time, there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion.Will working on a project like that endear you to the public? Probably not, and for me that's okay. I think the notion a great deal of the public holds, is that street artists should all fall under the same political leftist umbrella and they should all be anti-capitalism. This is certainly untrue (think about Banksy or Shepard Fairey as businessmen and Princess Hijab as a right wing street artist) and it would be boring if it were. Although the simple act of placing up illegal artwork can be said to have political connotations, if the work in question is a stencil of Talib Kweli or a paste up of fried chicken, the work is then purely aesthetically based and not political at all.In terms of drawing a line between street art and street advertising and deciding what distinguishes the two, I am not the one to be judging that. I am far more interested in the overlapping areas in between and engaging with audiences who appreciate work that challenges the political status quo associated with street art, or art in general, as well as talking to fellow artists who understand these nuances and who utilize them within their work and their approach to developing their practice and essentially their brand.G: You've taught high school students about photography outside of its usual environment (e.g. in street art); what were some of the themes you taught, and how did the students react?F: I've lead a bunch of workshops for various groups of teenagers focused on working as an artist in public space combined with using photography outside the boundaries of its traditional frame, because that is what I know best. Once I get past showing them examples of my work and the work of other artists who I think they will find interesting, I then introduce them to the idea that public space is owned by everyone, but that most of the time ownership is not granted to all. The discussion then usually shifts to advertising and ideas surrounding paying for the use of public space, what types of people are represented in popular media and advertising and issues concerning the visual representation of woman in media. In terms of photography specific themes, I like to spend time talking about how photography can be used as a tool of empowerment and how uncommissioned images put up in public space run counter to the primary outdoor visual culture of advertising. This can be tricky because I don't want to basically tell a bunch of teenagers that it's okay to vandalize, but I do want to encourage them to feel that they have the right to express themselves. By letting them know that there is value in creating work that speaks to people about issues that are relevant, especially in ways that are creative and site-sensitive, hopefully the kids begin to understand that there is the possibility that you can work as an artist outside the gallery system.G: Your new "Face of The City" project fuses the physical fabric of a city with its people (marks on walls become lines and character on faces); how do you think this series might evolve? How do you choose which faces to use?F: As I mentioned in a previous question, I was disappointed with the reaction that The Unaddressed project received. Which in a way was great, because it made me step back and rethink some of my motivations, especially aesthetically, in making art for the outdoors. I spent a lot of time this last summer thinking about creating a somewhat (and I say somewhat because almost everything has been done before) original photo-based language that I could explore and experiment with for years to come. I wanted to create a body of work rather than just a series or work. What I like about what I have decided to do with the Face of the City project is that the possibilities seem endless. There are close to seven billion faces in the world and enough distressed surfaces that I never have to worry about finding a new canvas. I think what will happen is that I will start to create my own marred surfaces, or alter existing ones, which I already have, to suit my precise needs. I also want to make the pieces three-dimensional and add materials to the wall that you wouldn't normally expect. In terms of who I am going to choose, so far everyone has been close to me. Newer pieces will focus on people visible in neighborhoods, the ones holding down corners, the ones who have been touched as my grandmother used to say.G: Do you subscribe to the view that 'street art' should be more than just 'art in streets', by incorporating something of the street environment into the art?F: In my opinion the best street art attempts to comment on current social, political or cultural subject matter or it tries to become a part of the landscape of the city by either commenting on public space or using the space as part of the work. When public art is executed with this approach, it creates a dialogue amongst the viewers and hopefully persuades them to think about new ideas, view public spaces around them in stimulating ways and perhaps even gets them to consider the opinions of those who they would not normally listen to. To use elements of the street environment within the work adds layers of texture to the work and gives the viewer more to chew on and digest.[vimeo][/vimeo]G: What are your main influences-art and otherwise?F: My creative influences and those who inspire me include Richard Avedon, Gregory Crewdson, John Baldessari, David Ellis, Blu, John Coltrane, Swoon, Anish Kapoor and Ahmad Jamal to name a few. Other influences include skateboarding which taught me to look at my surroundings in inventive and out of the ordinary ways, my father who taught me to work hard and believe in myself, my friends who keep me chuckling and my girlfriend Tara who challenges me to be more thoughtful and sensitive to others, makes me feel warm and brings my life a happy balance.From the Regents Park Portrait projectG: If you could buy any three pieces of art, what would they be?F: I would love to own a bronze of Jacob Epstein's Rock Drill, one of about five beautiful pieces that I can think of by Swoon and a smaller version of Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor, because if I owned the original it would be stealing it from the people of Chicago.G: What's next for you?F: I'm working on an outdoor installation project with the John Hansard Gallery in Southampton, England and an installation at the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art here in Toronto, both this coming summer. I am also going to have my first solo exhibition based on the Face of the City body of work at Show & Tell Gallery in Toronto this coming September. Other than that, just working on smaller series' of uncommissioned works for the streets and trying to expand my visual language beyond the use of photography as much as possible.G: What everyone should know is...F: That jerk chicken is best barbequed after a two day marination, the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s will probably be the best hockey team ever assembled and working hard often produces the best results.Check out Fauxreel's site, and his new very limited print released through Show & Tell gallery. Sebastian Buck is head of corporate and product strategy for GOOD, and runs the blog Unurth, where a version of this story also appeared.