Since I started doing live art events in 2011 it has become a priority for me to keep the audience guessing what I’ll do next. In the beginning I would do simpler versions of my studio pieces which is typical but having weekly art and music gigs, I felt that doing the same style of art eventually took away from the overall “live art” experience, making it repetitive and monotonous. Mixing things up, I started doing small impressionist style paintings of the band or DJ and crowd to capture what was going on at the event, limited stencil prints of the posters I’d make for my gigs, big paper posters, matched the theme of the painting to the venue, etc. which made it more fun for both me and those watching me work. Wanting to make live art more interactive and involve the crowd so that they are part of the process and not just spectators, I threw some ideas around and what resulted was VS MODE.
Primarily an art battle, VS MODE because of its random nature is somewhat of a throwback to the games the surrealists used to play a 54 rue du Chateau. Part improv - part board game with a drinking game feel. Guests provide the evenings painting theme and subjects by writing down whatever comes to mind on small pieces of paper and place them into a box or hat. When the artists are ready to begin, two words are drawn and read out loud, artist have 5 minutes to conceptualize their piece and the timer is set. Every 10 minutes a new piece of paper is drawn and read aloud and artists need to incorporate it into their paintings. Buying 2 shots allows a guest to change the game for 5 minutes by making up a new rule for one or both artists to follow. Once the paintings are done, guests cast their votes to decide who wins the evening’s art battle. Paintings made at VS MODE may be purchased directly from the artist.