Chris Parks, better known as ‘Palehorse’ has been producing personal and commercial art for nearly two decades with a level of output that is almost unbelievable. He has designed imagery for some of the biggest bands and corporations in the world, while conversely maintaining a deep intimacy in his personal work that reflects his individuality and spirituality on so many levels it’s hard to count. Parks’s work really began to solidify a number of years ago when his new found interest in psychedelics and meditation began to redefine his focus and intention in his art and life in general. Now singularly focused on spirituality and meditation Parks has combined his art practice with his quest for higher consciousness. Through his ‘Seekers of the Eternal’ podcast and guided meditations that he leads out of his Florida studio, combined with his ongoing and impressive output of paintings, installations, NFTs and murals, Parks has built a community of devoted followers and collectors. Together with his brother Matt who joined Palehorse a few years ago, the Parks brothers are blurring the lines between art, technology, spirituality and what it means to be a mindful seeker in todays society. 

Aside from his brilliance as a designer, Ben Johnston’s real talent lies in his ability to offer a creative, sometimes alternative meaning to a word or phrase simply based on it’s presentation on a page, canvas, or wall. The way he bends and twists letters and words gives life and story to the forms far beyond the meaning of the words themselves. Raised in Cape Town, Johnston left South Africa after a short stint at university studying industrial design for a new life in Toronto Canada as an independent artist straddling the worlds of commercial design and fine art. These days Johnston focuses his energies on public work and murals as well as paintings and sculptures destined for galleries and private collectors. 

VantagePoint was lucky enough to share billing with Johnston at the Shine Mural Festival in St. Petersburg Florida where we sat down with him and and heard all about it straight from the man himself.

VantagePoint listeners first met Reginald O’Neal back in 2014 on episode 023 with artists Axel Void. At the time, Reginald (known then as L.E.O.) was as apprentice to Axel and traveling through Europe with his mentor. What may seem as a typical relationship throughout art history is undoubtedly unusual by today’s standards and what unfolded throughout the one hour interview was, and remains to be, one of the most touching and inspirational artist relationships we’ve come across over a decade of doing VantagePoint. Imagine our joy then, when 8 years later Reginald O’Neal is booked to the same mural festival as us and we have the opportunity to check back in with him as he now navigates through the contemporary art world as an independent artist making big moves and bringing his unique voice and point of view to walls, galleries, and art fares across the globe.

Few could have predicted the enormous global ripple effects that the meeting of two young artists in the early 90’s would have on the world of graffiti, design, and branding, but 30 years later we should all be thankful that the world works in such mysterious ways. French husband and wife duo Klor and Scien formed 123Klan in 1992 as a way to focus their group of friends around their common interests in art and technology. Over the ensuing decades they established themselves as one of the most authentic voices bridging the gap between their hard-earned graffiti roots and aesthetics with the budding industries of web design, streetwear, branding, and video game design. Their greatest asset, aside from their impeccable taste and eye for design, could well be their ability to work not as a duo but as one unified artist, motivating and inspiring each other and always moving towards one common goal. In 2007 after developing countless designs for leading streetwear brands 123Klan launched their own label ‘Bandit1$m’ with huge success. Whether painting murals, graffiti, or canvas… or working on any one of their numerous digital outlets, Klor and Scien have built a career off of a simple philosophy that we should all try to follow, ‘Only do work that you dig and always have fun doing it’.

In it’s 8th year of operation, the Shine Mural Festival in St. Petersburg Florida continues to be one of the leaders in the pack of well respected, heavy hitting mural festivals around the globe. The roster of big name international and national artists that Shine has hosted over the past 8 years implies a huge organization with a massive backing. The reality however, is that with just a handful of intensely dedicated people and the support of a local arts counsel, Shine has managed to become a globally recognized powerhouse project while maintaining the small town intimate vibe that builds a sense of family among everyone involved, including artist (local and international), organizers, volunteers, and community members. A feat that most other mural festivals attempt to model themselves after with varying degrees of success.

Organizers Michelle Tannu and Jenee Priebe explain what it takes to start up a mural festival and keep it running for all these years with the continued support of the community while upholding a responsibility to represent a diversity of styles and backgrounds, both artistic and personal, of its participants and community members. They outline the qualities they look for in the artists they offer invitations to each year and we discuss the challenges a project of this kind faces to become and remain relevant in such a competitive landscape of mural festivals popping up in every city across the country.

Georgia Hill’s background in graphic design is immediately obvious by her ability to communicate felling and tone so powerfully with a rather minimal amount of artistic elements. Mostly black and white and aggressively flat dimensionally, Hill’s work would seem stark if it weren’t for her captivating use of pulsating repetition, clever optical illusions, ominous and suggestive incorporation of text and the sheer size and scale at which her work is often presented. Based in Sydney Australia, Hill has spent the past decade traveling the globe painting murals, often times from one project to the next with breaks in between just long enough to produce enough studio work for a solo show before hitting the road again. A lifestyle that seems an odd choice for the self-proclaimed introvert, but her tireless efforts and work ethic have landed her as one of the most identifiable artists on the scene in Australia and abroad.

Iranian artist Nafir creates work that combines traditional hand crafts from around the world with modern street art painting techniques to create works that are both beautiful and subversive at the same time. Tying cultural traditions of the past to modern techniques and aesthetics allows Nafir to layer multiple meanings and interpretations into his work, simultaneously paying respect to and commenting on ideas and traditions from past generations. Living in Tehran, Iran presents challenges that most other artists around the globe do not deal with but this hasn’t stopped Nafir from traveling and exhibiting his work across Europe and beyond in addition to the streets and galleries of his native Iran.

Goldie needs no introduction… that is to say, it is nearly impossible to give a proper introduction to such a prolific and successful cultural shapeshifter as Goldie. From his early days in the 80s as a b-boy and graffiti writer in England and New York (where he first joined forces with the legendary Tats Crew), to the mid 90s when he founded one of the most influential record labels in Britain (Metalheadz) and become an international musical icon and eventually becoming a household name globally through acting in tv and films such as Snatch and James Bond, you’d be hard-pressed to come across anyone who hasn’t been touched by Goldie in one way or another. In 2020 Goldie embarked on his newest endeavor with the launching of Aurum Art Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand showcasing his own paintings and sculptures alongside some of the most sought after street and urban artists from around the globe. We sat down with Goldie in Berlin after a long and late night DJ gig to discuss the enormity of his life so far and how creating art seems to be the golden thread tying all of his varied interests and successes together.