Loving lamps, lints and Loki tonight in a love triangle

It's not as bad as it sounds.



Lampsy - the genius behind the I love lamp stickers around Dublin - was in touch to let me know about the new exhibition featuring themself, LadYLoKibeE and Lints in the All City Gallery - downstairs at All City Records on Crow Street in Temple Bar, Dublin - opening tonight.

The exhibition runs from March 21 to 28 from 12 to 6pm each day and you'll find them at the directions below:

Go to Dublin's Temple Bar Area. Over the Square, past Urban Outfitters, round the corner is Crow St. Walk up to Foggy Dew / Dame St end. Alternatively turn off Dame St and walk down - we're on the right hand side.

Harry's lost his lost kitten poster

Harry seems to be getting around the city... This was on George's Street on Wednesday:



If you can't make it out, it reads: Have lost my *lost kitten* poster. It was stuck to this pole about a week ago. Have you seen it? It it exactly the same size as A4 paper, is made of white paper and has a picture of a kitten and the words *lost kitten* on it. If you have my poster, meet me here on Sunday at 5.30pm. No photocopies. I can offer you a lift on my bike wherever you want to go after you've given me the poster. - Harry

The red lemonade girls have been poster spotting too. Jack and Marian, eh?

My favourite letterbox in Dublin

Do you know where Palace Street in Dublin is? Walk down George's Street towards Dame Street. Take a left at The George. You're on Palace "Street", though it's hardly a street, is it? More of a continuation of Dame Lane, but who are we to argue with Google?

Go down there about half way towards the gates of Dublin Castle and have a look on the wall. There, on the right hand side, amid the street art and graffiti, you'll see a letterbox. This is my favourite letterbox in Dublin.





It's not often you'll get the opportunity to post a letter to God, a letter to the past or the future but here's a box that invites you to share a memory, thoughts or ideas that mean something to you. When I first noticed it in May , it was inviting letters to God - "your chance to give the big man a piece of your mind" - but it's since gone on to invite submissions on a variety of themes.

Dublin rarely disappoints. The submissions, though few (possibly owing to location) are quality reading, an insight into the person who stopped and stared, who fumbled in pockets for card, paper and pen and who thought about what they'd say.



"I just met someone like me who I'll never see again" reads one, while another to God reads "Where have you been all my life?" One of my personal favourites, as below, is "My eyes are CDs and my mind is the player." Another reads "Why did you make lemmings only to run them off cliffs?"



The MySpace page that the address on the box leads to gives more details. It's part of an interactive street art project where the letters will be used as inspiration for the work of the owner as an artist. Some letters of the series are also published in the Baby BEEF fanzine, a zine for art, creativity and freedom of expression, which was, apparently :

born part out of frustration against the 'stook up its own ass' art world and out of the urge to just create something fun and give everybody a chance to get their work out there.

You can check out the albums for the letterbox on their MySpace here. Below are the ones that I really like:

Obama ran, so we could fly

Loving this piece of street art shared by @LanceArmstrong on Twitter earlier today.



It reads:

Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk.

Martin Luther King walked so Barack Obama could run.

Barack Obama ran, so we could fly.

There was an old lady...

Get it yet?



Just some of the amazing graffiti up around Christchurch and Wood Quay in Dublin at the weekend. More to follow :)

Boards, bikes, balls and beats this weekend

Skateboarders, trick bike riders, jugglers, drummers, graffiti artists, breakdancers, bmxers, DJs, generally groovy people and more. It's all happening in Dublin this weekend.

I'm looking forward to volunteering for the first time at the Kings of Concrete Festival, which is happening on Wood Quay in Dublin Saturday and Sunday. And yes, it's free.



Put together by the lovely people at Micromedia and a lot of talented people devoting their time, this is a festival celebrating all things great about street art, culture and sports, something I admire but know very little about!



They're taking over the space at the Dublin City Council offices (just down from Christchurch) from 11am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. The set up looks amazing - skate ramps, workshop areas, food markets, free running and a chill out zone. If the weather holds it could be a lot of fun! Here's a map of the place:


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In a city with such a strong and alternative youth culture, brimming with amazing art, unique styles, creativity and a hunger to try new things, it's great to see space and time for this side of things being committed. From the official MySpace page:

"For a variety of reasons this faction of youth culture has remained largely unsupported and underdeveloped in Ireland. For too long we have had to find street spots off our own bat just to participate in the sports we are most passionate about. These spots typically have been unofficial and illegal. All too often security have removed skaters abruptly calling to a halt an otherwise perfect day.



Kings of concrete is a celebration of this recent transformation. We hope to help build and sustain a platform to promote the wonderful variety of activities available for youth culture in Ireland today such as skating, inline blading, BMX, break dancing and graffiti amongst others."

You can view the full timetable below, or check out their official MySpace or Bebo pages. It's going to be fun!


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Get there early to sign up for workshops and so on. Hope to see you there. I'll be the old man looking for stabilisers for the skateboard.

3D street lighting: interview with I Love Lamp

Remember me talking about I Love Lamp? Will Knott mentioned it as well, and now Dublin Streets have just blogged about the new 3D versions.





I sent the artist (Lampsy?) a few questions for this blog via Bebo and this is what (s)he came back with:

Do you have a "formal" background in art: (IADT, Ballyfermot or similar)?

No, but I attended computer classes for the elderly.

Why the interest in street art?

Street Art is free, fun and for everyone to see. You dont have to go to a gallery to see it, just walk to the shops or whatever. It's all around you.

What was the inspiration to do stickers in the first place?

The stickers came after the posters.

How did you get them printed and how much did they cost?

Cost is irrelevant. Just brightening up people's day is important.

Where was the first I love Lamp sticker put up?

Cannot for the life of me remember. I remember the first poster was put up late August 2007, maybe the 25th, somewhere in Dublin 8.

Is the I love lamp scene your favourite scene in Anchorman?

I've seen it - it's a good scene but the whole film is hilarious. It's only the starting point.

I just thought it was a fun idea, putting pictures of lamps in boarded up windows. Making something ugly looking beautiful. And now it's gotten slightly out of hand.

How many helpers (if any) do you have for sticking up the stickers?

My Lampettes cannot be counted. They are a mysterious force that keeps growing stronger every day.

What's your favourite Lamp Sticker photo you've seen or had submitted?

I love them all.

What's the most unusual place you've seen one of the stickers?

They are all in unusual places, because they are all in places where they shouldn't be.

Are you going to do a website or a blog?

I'm unsure about a website - I'm happy with the power of Bebo and MySpace at the moment. Maybe in the future.

Are their new ideas in store for your fans?

The style has evolved, there will be new photos posted soon. Madscone82 has some great shots on Flickr, as does Lints who has been very helpful.

How could people help you if they wanted to?

Just keep sharing the love cause I like making people happy.

Finally, have you any suggestions for young people who may have an idea for a cool project?

Just do it. Simple as that!

You can see more of "Lampsy's" work on the Bebo page. Cheers for the interview :)



What do you think? Art or graffiti? Do you love lamp?