Esao Andrews: Circa Survive

Blue Sky Noise 2010(Oil on Wood 26x24)

On Letting Go 2007 (Oil on Wood 16x24)

Oil on Wood 24x18 2009

Circa Survive: Esao Andrews

       Circa Survive is an alternative band created by front man Anthony Green. Circa Survive is one of the most original bands in the music scene as far as their vocals go. Coming from the Philadelphia music scene, they were almost an instant success.
       Their albums include Juturna, On Letting Go, and Blue Sky Noise. Anthony Green's smooth voice and the band's instrumentals lead to smooth riffs and catchy choruses provide an unreal experience to new listeners. It is somewhat an squired taste, but it truly grows on you.
       Each of the album covers features art from a San Francisco based artist named Esao Andrews, who does surreal and vivid oil paintings on wood. His style is vivid colors perfectly reflect the music that the album cover portrays. They way the the colors blend and smudge idealize the melding of melodies and the soul of the music itself.
       Album covers are a strange thing, you are taught "not to judge a book by it's cover" but everything in the world demands your attention. The quality of the music has nothing to do with the picture on it's face. it's just one of those things that doesn't matter, but when I saw these paintings plastered on the front of one of my favorite bands it really struck me. Music is a sound, and my music was now given a name and a face.
        An album cover isn't a ruse, but sometimes it makes a connection with the music. Circa Survive is a perfect example of this. Esao Andrews is one of my favorite artists, each is indepentant from each other and is amazing in it's own right. The combination of both has an astonishing effect on me and is a unique experience that I have not replicated thus far.

In Politics and War

       No, this isn't a clever title. This one is really about politics and war. Governments use propaganda in order to gain the support and the hearts of their people. The most popular example of this is Uncle Sam, who is a fatherly looking figure that is meant to recruit you into the military. He is a drawn out figure, a drawn out picture or a cartoon more easily attracts the attention of young adults and children.
       Commercials these days reference popular video games. Culture influences propaganda in that manner and propaganda finds its way into everyday culture as well.
        Comic books are a supremely good example of this. The origins of the comic book are World War II, and the Cold War. Their primary goal is to boost moral in children who may have lost a loved one in the war. A sense of hope for children is the most powerful form of propaganda. The ideals of an all powerful being coming to save the day, and fighting bad guys from other places can easily be transfered into faith in the government.
        The effects of military and political propaganda from days of old can still be recognised in today's world.

Hold Up

When was the last time you looked at something through the eyes of a child? When was the last time you looked at something and really thought about what it meant, how it got there, and why it's there in the first place?
         Don't think you have to change your life to appreciate art, but just slow things down. Every billboard has a thought process and meaning behind it, every tag and every ad was put there to draw your eye.
         Socrates once said "the unexamined life is not worth living" and I hold that true in my daily life. That quote has stuck with me since I heard it. Its a good ideal to live your life by. It applies to art in daily life in a sense as well. Art doesn't have to be beautiful, but a majority of the time it is. Art isn't what you typically imagine as a piece of canvass in a golden frame these days. Art is dirty and in your face, you just don't see it that way. You just don't pay attention to it.

This isn't about me...

I'm not the best, or the worst, or the last or the first but... Here is some of my personal art. It's only relevant because I'm an angsty teenager. 

As a member of society

       As a member of society we are exposed to art on a daily basis. From the tags down the street to the front of grocery stores, to the clothing we wear the creative industry has been implemented into our lives.
       As a young adult I am coming to age, as a young adult everything tries to shape you. School teaches that there is only one solution, creativity is somewhat stifled. Everything, you see and everything you hear and do starts to become a part of who you are. I'm not saying I know everything, I'm saying I'm learning.
       Teenagers are at times, the target of this spew of sensory information for the fact that they are open to new trends. Every subculture and every facet of the rebellious group stems from either an artistic movement or a political one. This blog will mostly focus on skateboarding and street art, as well as things such as creative advertisement and out of the box mentalities. Anything against the grain is approved and noted.
       In simple terms, what I'm trying to say is that art is all around us, as cliche as it sounds, it's true. And in this fast paced world it's easy to lose sight of that. In fact we are exposed to so much art and chances to be creative that, we fail to see or even appreciate it.
       Okay, so here's the deal. This blog is a wake up call, a little artistic jolt to consciousness. Wake up.

For Starters

I don't think I can do this because this is my school blog and my teacher hasn't let us start yet but... I think this calls for a proper introduction.