The KUNSTBLOCK Years: Some songs released on MySpace

More vintage KUNSTBLOCK work is getting some long overdue exposure on a MySpace music account under www.myspace.com/kunstblock.

KUNSTBLOCKs approach was very independent and motivated by the Do It Yourself (DIY) attitude best known from the punk and hardcore scene which also led the band to name their musical style DEHC - Digital Electronic Hardcore.
Even though musical recording technology has evolved somewhat during the past 15 years this material, recorded in the early 1990s on analog equipment, stands on its own and is a good way to document where I was at during that period of time.

Potted Plant #8 (St. Anger)

2008 | 30 x 40 cm

pen, markers and ink on paper

The KUNSTBLOCK Years

During the early 90s I was involved in a few music projects and the EBM / digital electronic hardcore band KUNSTBLOCK was one of them. After roughly three years the project disbanded leaving a stack of unreleased demo songs that never saw the light of day.

The way things were then this would have been the end of it. However, through the emergence of both MP3 and Youtube these songs get a late and previously unexpected chance for release at last.

Potted Plant #5

2008 | 30 x 40 cm
pen, markers and ink on paper

Potted Plant #4

2008 | 30 x 40 cm

pen, markers and ink on paper

Pensa!

2008 | 30 x 40 cm collage / mixed media on paper

 

Free Tibet. End the opression NOW.

Back at the funny farm

2008 | 100 x 70 cm

acrylics on screen printing board

...stay calm, don't be alarmed,

it's just a holiday,_back at the funny farm ...

Press Coverage

© Lydia Keck, Kölnische Rundschau, 19.02.2008.
Published with permission.

This nice and favourable review (click on picture to enlarge) was published in Cologne. It is encouraging to see that someone understands and appreciates what we are doing.

Konglomerat in Cologne

Konglomerat in Cologne
Group Show
2008
Alte Feuerwache, Cologne

photos

Mother (Danzig 1988)

... Mother, tell your children not walk my way,

    mother, tell your children not to hear my words,

    what they mean, what they say ...

2008 | 70 x 50 cm

acrylics on canvas

From Here To There: The Process

This post is an attempt at showing the creative process which led in this case to I Can See For Miles (Keith Moon). Not all paintings are done this way but some are. It is a modern version on the old traditional process that takes an original idea through various stages of sketches and studies to the final painting.

The original image in this case is a series of snapshots of Keith Moons drumkit printed out on an old b/w laserprinter (picture 1).

Stage two are pencil sketches which are all done freehand without tracing or technical or optical aides (picture 2).

Next in line are colored sketches on paper using acrylics, water colors, paint markers and whatever else is at hand (picture 3). This part, like almost everything else, is very free and unrestricted, its main purpose is to develop the form, the colors are irrelevant at this point.

The final step is the painting itself (picture 4) done on screen printing board in oil or acrylics.

This whole process is very lose and flexible. The form is now the framework upon which the colors and additional shapes are given room to evolve, comparable to blues based rock'n'roll played by the likes of The Cream, Black Sabbath and, yes, The Who where a rather simple recurring rhythm is used as the base upon which the various instruments improvise thus spontaneously creating something that is totally unplanned and unexpected.

New exhibition Feb 2008 in Cologne

A new show is being organised in Cologne featuring around a dozen interesting artists from the KONGLOMERAT / Stuckist scene.

A detailed list of people taking part (including yours truly) and some more information can be found here.