Thor told us a few months ago "Most Art Collectives last around two years." I'd like to say that Upset isn't going anywhere, but many of the crew are busy working on individual projects and as of now, Upset is being put on temporary hiatus until further notice.
Yeah, I know. Bummer. But we will still be updating the blog randomly while still continuing to build our website. Who knows, this time next year we'll be back bigger, better and stronger. The last few years have been awesome. We put together several successful art shows as well as published the first issue of our mag, built a huge audience, and worked with literally hundreds of amazing underground talented artists. We are really looking forward to continuing to build this relationship and further utilize the amount of artists we have networked with in the last few years. We've also built our crew with some hardworking fresh new blood, and we are excited about them keeping our name alive in the street.
In the mean time, here's a rundown of how you can stay on top of what the individual members of Upset will be up to:
Nicky Dieter is always working hard helping others with his amazing design skills, and all without working internet at his home. You can still catch random updates of his awesome photos on his Flickr, and peep his blog GETVIBED for further updates from him throughout the summer. Also keep an eye out for random spottings of our "Romeo" drunkingly harassing people at you're next art show!
Oscar Arriola AKA Fotoflow, the eternal man on the scene and the eye to prove it, his blog fotoflow.blogspot.com has turned into a full fledged tour de force of art events going on in the Chicago area. His incredible photographs are still being posted on his flickr, further evidence of his dedication to documenting the art and music scene in Chicago and he shows no sign of slowing down. Each photo is well worth the wait. We are incredibly lucky to have someone like him as the cultural staple of Upset.
Heather S.
One of the hardest working members of Upset, Heather, our lovely editor of both the magazine and blog, has been the literal backbone to our little collective forever correcting our bad grammar skillz. Not to be overlooked Heather has stuck with us through thick and thin, and continues to be an innovative asset to our group. She founded the blog you read now, edited our first video on Vimeo, and has pulled in impressive publicity for the Upset including placement in Juxtapoz magazine and TimeOut Chicago. She's currently working on writing a children's book about a homeless kitty in Brooklyn, working on her own blog, and plans to make frequent trips to Brighton beach this summer in short shorts to eat pierogis.
Ghetto P
Our distinctive reporter and photographer is our literal man on the street. An every day man's man, Ghetto P is currently in a undisclosed location on the far southside of Chicago toiling on his upcoming new graf mag, Grime Time, and a possible upcoming book, How To Make Sweet Stanky-Like Love cowritten with Mr. R Kelly. You can peep his photos of the Chicago Graf scene here. And possibly spot some of his further writing in the column "Ask A Whino" in the latest issue of Wassup Magazine.
Ricky J.
Rick, nothing is more valuable in a group then the man who just gets shit done, and this was our man. Whether it was driving to other states in the rain to pick up artwork, helping put lights up, painting walls for a upcoming show, or working security at one of our events, Ricky was our main go-to-guy and we can't thank him enough for being such a hardworking core member of Upset. Watch out for a possible mini-webisode series from us in the future called "That's Our Rick!" possibly coming to a screen near you!
Anna Simonovic
Anna is an incredible asset to us and has been on hand at every single one of our events. Incredibly down and a fully dedicated individual she has truly shown her love for the Chicago art scene and pushing for the recognition of overlooked art. She's most likely going to be on a boat this summer while you're on land being a sucka.
Pete Nawara
Welcome our newest designer Pete Nawara. Pete has also been one of our artists that have shown with us for the past couple of years, and his skills go way beyond his paintings as he is helping us to design a better Upset website hopefully to come sometime soon. He'll probably be riding his bike, hanging out in Chicago when he's in town and taking it easy this summer. petenawara.com
Thor
The almighty THOR has become one of our most touted artist we have worked with in the last few years, and with well deserved reason. He's an incredibly understated artist and furtive in pushing our collective to be bigger, badder, and more. He's the essence of determination and hard work in human form, and you must pay the big man his respect. We are incredibly lucky to have him. You can stay up to date with him on his website: Thundercircus.com
Emenfuckos
This Fucko, Emen was one of the photographers to answer our call for new contributors for our blog. His unbiased look at the Chicago graf scene along with the unexpected willingness to design for and write posts for our blog has helped tremendously within the last few busy months. He has been a more then welcomed addition, and we hope you continue to stay up to date on his weekly photos on his blog: emenfuckos.blogspot.com
Miss Squirrley Gee!
What can we say about Squirrley? Super supportive, endeavoured, and a real-deal mover and shaker in the Chicago street art scene well before we came along. Her vibes are beautiful and she's got the looks to match. She keeps us happy and we all know she'll continue to keep the Chicago art scene motivated. If you haven't visited her latest art show project don't miss out. If you don't know, now you do. Yeah!
DJ Marlo and DJ Select Inverse
These two have kept your booties shaking and the music vibing at our last few events, and with their friend's and family's support they've brought a wonderful family feeling to the group which has helped us out exponentially. The two best DJs in Chicago as far we we are concerned. Keep an ear out for them playing at a club near you!
myspace.com/marloca~myspace.com/selectinverse
Olga, not afraid to just jump into a overwhelming project, she and Justin pretty much hung our last show by themselves. She's just a bad-ass and that's what we like about her. You can most likely catch her running the mic at The Hidden Cove Karaoke Bar on Lincoln Ave.
Andrew Combe
Andrew, our last addition to the blogging team, does an excellent job at regaling us with tails of the modern day bicycle build-up and let's us know what's going in his neck of the woods, in his own words, "the cultural epicenter of America, Phoenix!" A newly born beautiful baby girl just arrived into his world, and he's doing a wonderful job of raising the little one while also keeping us up to date on his latest bike building experiments. We think he is really, really close to building that Tron bike this summer! Look for continued posts from him.
Gerson Morales
Gerson, the baby of the crew, an amazing graphics designer, and all around good guy he produced our banner and we thank him for all his help! This summer you can probably find G-Money pounding down your block listening to Too Short.
And finally Frank S.
The bad apple of the bunch, this guy doesn't do anything. He's paranoid and most likely high from smoking hash or something. Last we heard he picked up and moved to Tigerton, Wisconsin. He's currently stockading for what he wouldn't go into detail about except for mumbling something about a zombie harem and lemonade stands worth millions. Keep up to date on his summertime ramblings and interviews on his blog: Makingdealszine.blogspot.com
We'd also like to thank everyone who has worked with or helped us in the last two years!
Thank You!
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The Dudes Are Killing It...
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Some graf for your face.