I know a guy who built his own house out of a shed in his backyard. He also makes site specific art. And sews sweet video game quilts. And does screen prints with skateboards. And has a photo blog. And designed a bicycle. And created a frame shop and on and on infinity! It’s my buddy Wes (above) and to say he’s an artist is a disservice. Wes is what I call a “creative force”. He just “makes” and he does so without reservation.
As a contemporary artist let me be the first to say that in a competitive art market like New York City, it’s inspiring to step outside for a minute, take a deep breath and just MAKE. It actually refreshes and reminds you why you got into making and expressing and thinking about art in the first place.
I met Wes a few years ago. He’s part of a big posse of creative folks here in Brooklyn. Fashion designers, film makers, artists, models and even an underground boxing organizer! Wes also is one of the designers at the awesome Drive By Press which is run by another cool cat, Greg Nanney (below).
Together they, along with a slew of other designers, make all hand-made T-shirts, skateboards, prints and basically anything that’s cool and can house an image. They do so by carving first into wood and then running it through a giant press. The thing is enormous, could crush your hand, weighs a million tons and is called “Hank the Tank”. I loved it immediately. I was lucky enough to visit their studio in the top part of the Bronx this summer and I watched in awe as they made the GLOBALL T-shirts, which are now available at IndieGoGo. The shirts are great btw and as Wes pointed out: they are sharper than any pixel because they don’t use them!
The guys just use their hands and MAKE! Look for them at college campuses, events in NYC and probably driving to a stop near you.
