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Skipress - TWSSF Special Edition 2008 - Index

ARTS
Artist: Jesse Reno
Artist: The Dark
20 THE TWSSF ISSUE 2008
Snowboard topsheet art
on display at Brave Art ‘07
Skiing woke up and realized
that the snowboard industry was
creating better looking products…
Russ Pope painting live in 2007.
Photo: Jordan Junck
Photos: Courtesy of TWSSF
Artist: Camilla d’Errico
OFF
THE STREET
A CANDID INTERVIEW WITH DARRIN POLISCHUK,
CO-DIRECTOR OF THIS YEAR’S BRAVE ART — BY LORI KNOWLES
SP: What is BRAVE Art?
With BRAVE Art we’re striving to connect people
with art. In Whistler we do it away from intimida
ting gallery spaces and the world’s great
art cities.
SP: What else makes it different?
We pay attention to the atmosphere. We throw
in some great lighting, ambience, a few cocktails
and DJ sets. On our opening nights and locals’
night we have artists painting
live. It’s a chance to see work
being created. It gives the audi-
ence opportunity to talk to the
artists and experience the vitality,
energy and atmosphere that surround
the creative experience.
SP: Who are your artists?
They come from divergent
backgrounds — from streetbased
graffiti to skate and snowboard
graphics, cartoonists, young artists, old artists,
male, female…
SP: Tell us a bit about whom you’ve selected.
The BRAVE Art shows in Whistler and Vancouver
are lining up nicely. We are working on some nice
surprises from NYC… let’s just say they are the
top names in this genre. But we are really excited
about our confi rmation of Lady Pink. Traditional
street art is male dominated, but Lady Pink is a
female graffi ti legend. If we can get her excited
about snowboard lessons, she may fly up for
some live painting.
BRAVE ART
is on display April 11-20,
2008 at the Whistler
Conference Centre, and
May 9-June 8 at the El Cartel
and Ayden galleries
in Vancouver. FoMoInfo:
braveartshow.com
SP: And others?
Whistler’s Australians will be frothing over the
work of Demote… he is one of their top street
artists. And some well-established artists who
three years ago were just starting out are now in
high demand. Artists like The Dark from
Vancouver does these dramatic stencils and
classic images and portraits. Crazy Jesse Reno
from Portland is getting tons of hype. He’ll be
painting live — he puts on a great show. According
to art critics, a Jesse Reno original one day
may buy you a down payment on a house. And
we’re also excited about working with Camilla
d’Errico, another artist emerging with great style
and a loyal following.
SP: How do you choose who’s going to show?
Wow, that’s a tough one. There are always more
artists who want to be part of BRAVE Art than we
can accommodate. What we’re looking for in an
artist varies because we bring in a mix of wellestablished
rock stars and emerging talent, plus
some locals. In the end we do our best to
represent different styles, tastes and budgets.
SP: The selection process is important… how
controversial is it?
Yes, we argue over some artists’ involvement. But
this is the essence of what we do...really it is the
biggest job we have. The Internet has made
selection easier — potential participants represent
themselves online. But we also visit as many
shows as possible and keep an eye out for artists
on the move.