Classic Material Exhibition at City Arts and Music Project (December 2011 - January 2012)
We interupt our somewhat eratic series of chronological blog posts to give you some information on the exhibition we currently have in residence at the City Arts and Music Project (70-74 City Road, London). Marking the end of our 14 month series of club night events, the exhibition curated by Chris Read and Nick Armitage displays the work of Classic Material designer John Brotherhood alongside a collection of 80s and 90s hip hop photography from UK street style icon Normski and the irreverant hip hop inspired design work of Mr Krum.
All work on display is for sale and priced at between £20 and £100 including limited edition prints and one offs. More information on the artists:
NORMSKI:
Normski exploded onto the public stage in the early 90s as presenter of BBC2’s groundbreaking Def 2 and Dance Energy shows, broadcasting the under-represented elements of the UK’s dance music culture and black music as whole to a new audience.
For many years prior Normski had been documenting the rise of hip hop culture in the UK and UK club culture through photography. As a key figure on the UK’s early hip hop scene, Normski enjoyed unparalled access to rising stars of the home grown scene and touring acts from the US who appear in his own particular brand of portrait photography. Well known subjects appearing in Normski’s work include the likes of Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie and Public Enemy. In recent years, Normski’s photographic works have experienced a renaissance with high profile exhibitions at venues across the UK.
Normski will be exhibiting a selection of his photographs dating from the late 80s and early 90s displayed on a variety of media alongside a collection of 5 limited edition prints.
JOHN BROTHERHOOD:
As a member of the WeLikeOurJob team, John Brotherhood is the man behind the majority of design work for Chris Read’s Music of Substance club night, website and mixtapes. With a shared passion for the design elements of hip hop’s history, John was a natural choice as Classic Material’s in house designer. Currently responsible for the runnings of London’s Foot Patrol sneaker emporium, John continues to be active as a deisgner.
John will be exhibiting a collection of 14 designs produced for the Classic Material series, each comprising a logo associated with a popular underground record label active during a year or era covered by one of the Classic Material events.
MR KRUM:
Vinyl Veteran Mr Krum combines an in depth knowledge of music history with a passion for vinyl and the skills of seasoned designer to produce original works which draw influence from a variety of sources. Having recently applied his skills to record sleeve cover art for artists including DJ Format, The Simonsound and Soundsci, his work is currently in demand: Forthcoming releases for which Mr Krum has been enlisted to provide artwork include numerous members of New York’s hip hop underground royalty, amongst them the likes of Grap Luva, DJ Spinna feat Oxygen and Lord Finesse.
Mr Krum will exhibiting a collection of four 12″ x 12″ prints which combine a vinyl cover art aesthetic, obscure musical references and an irreverent sense of humour.