Ben Jay Crossman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 21 July 1979 |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, director |
Ben Jay Crossman is a British-born South-African-raised graffiti-style street artist, concept artist, illustrator, photographer, film producer, and director, known for his collaborations with Roger Ballen and Die Antwoord. [1] [2]
Between 2010 and 2015, Crossman painted his graffiti-style street art under the moniker ‘a boy named Veronika’. [3]
A short film about ‘a boy named Veronika’, directed by Crossman, created for the 48 Hour Film Project Johannesburg 2012, achieved second place overall as well as awards for editing, special effects, and sound design. [4]
Between 2010 and 2012, Crossman filmed and released ‘The Streets of Fietas’.
The three part short series follows the lives of those who contribute to and are affected by the vicious cycle of poverty, crime, and drug use in Fietas, one of Johannesburg’s poorest suburbs. [5]
In 2013 Crossman filmed and directed music videos for Van Coke Kartel, ‘Sweef’ featuring ‘Odd Art’, and ‘Chaos’ featuring Jack Parow. [6] [7]
Working in collaboration with Roger Ballen on his multi-year art project in the slums of South Africa, Crossman directed, filmed and edited Roger Ballen's Asylum of the Birds (2014) and Roger Ballen's Outland (2015). [8]
Between 2009 and 2016, Crossman worked with and toured with Die Antwoord as art curator, photographer and videographer. [9] [10] [11]
Bryanston is an affluent residential suburb of Sandton, Gauteng, South Africa to the north of Johannesburg. First named as an area in 1949, it was established in 1969 as a suburb of Sandton and provided with tarred roads and municipal services, but after municipal boundaries were revised following the end of Apartheid, Sandton was merged with Johannesburg to form part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The multi-lane N1 freeway forms its northern boundary with access at the R511/M81 off-ramp. It is located in Region E of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.
Zef is a South African counter-culture movement. Kyle Hans Brockmann has compared zef counter-culture to many similar anarchic sub-cultures in the northern hemisphere.
Roger Ballen is an American artist living in Johannesburg, South Africa, and working in its surrounds since the 1970s. His oeuvre, which spans five decades, began with the documentary photography field but evolved into the creation of distinctive fictionalized realms that also integrate the mediums of film, installation, theatre, sculpture, painting and drawing. Marginalized people, animals, found objects, wires and childlike drawings inhabit the unlocatable worlds presented in Ballen's artworks. Ballen describes his works as existential psychodramas that touch the subconscious mind and evoke the underbelly of the human condition. They aim to break through the repressed thoughts and feelings by engaging him in themes of chaos and order, madness or unruly states of being, the human relationship to the animal world, life and death, universal archetypes of the psyche and experiences of otherness.
Straatligkinders is an Afrikaans rock band from Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Zebra & Giraffe is an alternative rock band from South Africa. The band's debut album, Collected Memories, was released on 5 May 2008.
Die Heuwels Fantasties is an Afrikaans rock band from Bellville, South Africa. The group is made up of Hunter Kennedy, Pierre Greeff (Lukraaketaar), Fred den Hartog (Thieve), and Sheldon Yoko. As of 2022, they have released eight studio albums and four EPs, all on their own record label, Supra Familias.
Die Antwoord is a South African alternative hip hop group formed in Cape Town in 2008. The group consists of rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser, a male/female duo, and producers HITEK5000 and Lil2Hood. Their image revolves around the South African counterculture movement known as zef and has incorporated work by other artists associated with the movement, such as photographer Roger Ballen.
Watkin Tudor Jones, better known by his stage names Ninja and Max Normal, is a South African rapper, songwriter, singer, record producer, performance artist, and director. Tudor Jones found international success as a member of Die Antwoord, with Yolandi Visser. He was formerly a member of Max Normal and The Constructus Corporation.
Zander Tyler, better known under his stage name Jack Parow, is a South African rapper who has collaborated with other South African artists such as Die Heuwels Fantasties, Die Antwoord,and Francois Van Coke.
Johan Thom, is a visual artist who works across video, installation, performance and sculpture. He has been described as one of South Africa's foremost performance artists.
Nontsikelelo "Lolo" Veleko is a South African photographer most noted for her depiction of black identity, urbanisation and fashion in post-apartheid South Africa.
Chappie is a 2015 American dystopian science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp and written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell. It stars Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Ninja, Yolandi Visser, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Sigourney Weaver. The film, set and shot in Johannesburg, is about an artificial general intelligence law enforcement robot captured and taught by gangsters, who nickname it Chappie.
Bittereinder is a South African rap/electro band from Pretoria who perform in Afrikaans. Jaco van der Merwe, Peach van Pletzen, and Louis Minnaar founded the three-man band in 2009, and have since performed at major South African festivals such as Oppikoppi, across southern Africa, and the Netherlands. They are known for their high-energy performances.
Westdene is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Westdene lies between the historic suburb of Sophiatown and Melville with the Melville Koppies nature reserve to the north of the suburb. Westdene derives its name from its location, literally meaning west-valley. 'West' since it is located west from the city centre and with 'dene' derived from the Old English denu, meaning valley.
David T. Schubert was an American graffiti artist and professional photographer recognized for his photographs of skateboarding and graffiti.
Stefan Smit, is a contemporary South African fine artist.