Bleepsgr (or Bleeps) is the pseudonym used by Vlassios (M.) Kakouris, who is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

artist. He creates political

street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant gr ...

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s and installations;Helena Celdrán (7 July 2011)
"Aquiles también sale a protestar a las calles de Grecia"
20minutos.es. he is associated with the

artivism Artivism is a portmanteau word combining "art" and "activism", and is sometimes also referred to as "social artivism". History The term artivism in US English has its roots in a 1997 gathering of Chicano artists from East Los Angeles and t ...

movement. Much of his street art is in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, but his paintings are also to be found in other parts of Greece, and more widely in Europe.

History

Bleeps was born in

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a city and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 133,630 inhabitants (2021 census), ...

district, which is located in the West Bank of

circa 1980 and he grew up in a low - mid class environment. Vlassios Kakouris aka Bleepsgr studied

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

in the University of

, having succeeded in the entry exams in 1996. Bleeps started creating street art while he was in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, UK, between 2003 and 2005, where he studied painting in

City of Bristol College City of Bristol College is a further education and higher education college in Bristol, England. It provides courses for young people and adults aged 16 and above in areas such as: A Levels, Animal Care, Floristry, Horticulture, Applied Forensic ...

, simultaneously becoming familiar with the local underground scene.

Style and themes

Most of Bleeps' street art projects derive elements from conceptual art,

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

and various past art movements, while the protagonists depicted are associated with Bleeps' interpretation of social life. His stated goal is to examine systemic figures such as religion, politics, monetary system and

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

Financial crisis

Since the beginning of the Greek financial crisis in 2008, Bleeps has been creating a series of works related to the crisis' impact on ordinary people and the lower middle class, globally and in his country, in the form of critical discourse.

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

Selected Media Publications

* International Herald Tribune, (The Global Edition of the New York Times), p. 1 (Cover Photo), p. 3 (Interview), 15–16 October 2011. * Financial Times DEUTSCHLAND, p. 28, 22 November 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleeps Pseudonymous artists Anti-consumerists Culture jamming 21st-century Greek artists Conceptual art Greek graffiti artists Greek political artists Artists from Athens