Weston Frizzell

A deft visual remix of New Zealand pop culture and modernist art iconography, Behave is the best known example to date of Weston Frizzell’s slick “commerce meets street art “ (Press 31/7/08) collaborative work.

The design appeared first in 2006 as a series of editioned spray stenciled paintings. The idea was then reworked in May 2008 for silk screen print by Artrite. (Also the printers for Gordon Walters, Michael Smither, Max Gimblett, Judy Millar, Shane Cotton, Dick Frizzell and many others).

The works message is delivered in an this deft visual remix of New Zealand art and pop culture iconographironic fusion of comedy spy-sleuth Austin Power’s catch-cry with a subverted rework of the famous Beehive matches logo.

The weathered road-sign finish nostalgically evokes rural post-colonial New Zealand. The use of stencil font makes a more than passing nod to Ralph Hotere and, when combined with the Gordon Walters influenced koru-barssubverts the original design , anchors the pop overtone of the work in a high brow modernist aesthetic, trecontexctualising the red black and white colour scheme to a nationalistic Mmaori palette.

Combining popular culture signs with high brow artistic symbolism, the resulting visual pun on the name of NZ’s famous parliament buildings The Beehive cleverly subverts the original mutating the logo into a political and bicultural imperative, and created what is shaping up to be a contemporary NZ pop art classic.

Red and black colourways were released in May 2008 . A completely new reworked version was released in April 2011 in two colourways yellow on black stock, and white on white version.

The inverted 22 logo associates this work with the “Dr Tutu” series of works 2004- referencing and some cases produced in collaboration with Tame Iti .

The screen prints are on Artistico Fabriano cotton rag paper 765 x 570mm.

Editions of 180 for each colourway, signed by both artists, numbered, & dated 08 or 11 in pencil.

Image Size: 460 x 460 mm
Paper Size: 760 x 560 mm
Limited edition of: 180

Weston Frizzell is a collaboration between artists Mike Weston and Otis Frizzell. This limited edition screenprint is signed, numbered and dated by the artists.

Weston Frizzell is the collaborative identity of New Zealand artists Mike Weston and Otis Frizzell who have worked together since 1999. The Weston Frizzell branding recognises the collaborative nature of their working process which often involves a gradual refining of ideas and the combined application of their unique skills to produce (often highly satirical) limited edition stencilled and hand-painted works. Weston Frizzell have produced a playful and challenging stream of works, setting and resetting the benchmark in artistic and technical achievement against which the local scene has measured itself.

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