Bleepsgr (or Bleeps) is the pseudonym used by V.(M.) Kakouris, who is a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
artist. He creates political
street art
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...
,
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
s and
installations;
[Helena Celdrán (7 July 2011)]
"Aquiles también sale a protestar a las calles de Grecia"
20minutos.es. he is associated with the
artivism Artivism is a portmanteau word combining ''art'' and ''activism'', and is sometimes also referred to as ''Social Artivism''.
The term artivism in US English takes roots, or branches, off of a 1997 gathering between Chicano artists from East Los An ...
movement.
Much of his street art is in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, but his paintings are also to be found in other parts of Greece, and more widely in Europe.
History
Bleeps was born in
Peristeri
Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipali ...
district, which is located in the West Bank of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
circa 1980
and he grew up in a low - mid class environment.
Bleeps started creating street art while he was in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
UK, between 2003 and 2005,
where he became familiar with the local underground scene.
Style and themes
Most of Bleeps' street art projects derive elements from
conceptual art
Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...
,
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...
and various past art movements, while the protagonists depicted are associated with Bleeps' interpretation of social life.
His stated goal is to examine systemic figures such as religion, politics, monetary system and
consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
.
Financial crisis
Since the beginning of the
Greek financial crisis
Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis (Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that le ...
in 2008, Bleeps has been creating a series of works related to the crisis' impact on ordinary people
and the lower middle class, globally and in his country, in the form of critical discourse.
Bibliography
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Selected Media Publications
* International Herald Tribune, (The Global Edition of the New York Times), p. 1 (Cover Photo), p. 3 (Interview), 15–16 October 2011.
* Financial Times DEUTSCHLAND, p. 28, 22 November 2011.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleeps
Pseudonymous artists
Anti-consumerists
Culture jamming
Greek artists
Conceptual art
Street artists
Greek graffiti artists
Political artists
Artists from Athens