Poet and street artist who goes by the name of Angry Dan has built up a strong following for his colourful limerick-based artwork which graces public walls in London. Through a licensing deal with Woodmansterne, Angry Dan’s colourful temporary art is now being given more permanence with a dedicated greeting card range, which launches at PG Live next week under its Cardmix brand.
The collaboration stemmed from Emma Grant, one of Woodmansterne’s senior designers discovering Angry Dan on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/angrydan/)
in the same week that the company’s head of marketing, Kate Leach saw coverage of the talented chap in the press.
“We got in touch from there and the rest is history. He’s a lovely guy and definitely a rising star,” assures Kate.
The More Drama Than A Banana range, named after one of Angry Dan’s murals that is in Shoreditch’s Great Eastern Street, features nine of the artists’ creations. Creating the originals takes hours of spray, brush and pen work. Explaining how he took his artistry to the wall, Angry Dan said: “I’ve been writing limericks for ages but only started drawing them a couple of years ago. I hadn’t really drawn since primary school, which is why they look they way they do. I met Lee Bofkin from Global Street Art, on Brick Lane, and he said I should have a go at painting one.”
Angry Dan’s uplifting wall art can be seen in the flesh only a couple of miles from the Business Design Centre where PG Live takes place, with Secret London, the popular online culture site, detailing a tour of his murals in nearby Camden and Shoreditch. (https://secretldn.com/angry-dan-limericks/)
Angry Dan is coming to PG Live himself on Tuesday (June 4) and will be on the Woodmansterne/Cardmix stand (317) at 10.30am.
PG Buzz put Angry Dan on the spot about art and greeting cards:
Greeting cards are all about the tangible, street art is about the moment – what wins in the race?
“Painting on the street has been a revelation for my work. I love doing it, and so many great things have happened as a result, including this range. If greeting cards can give me a fraction of that, I’ll be over the moon.”
Are you a card sender?
“I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t sent a greeting card in as long as I can remember, although lately I’ve been giving it some thought, and I’m becoming increasingly fond of the idea.”
Who would you most want to receive a card from?
“Picasso, please.”
What was it that attracted you to the licensing deal with Woodmansterne/Cardmix?
“I want my work to be seen by as many people as possible. Woodmansterne has an incredible roster of artists, so I’m delighted to become a part of that through its Cardmix imprint.”
If you had to pick a favourite design, which would you choose and why?
“I’d say ‘Honeydew think I’m cute?’ It was one of the first limericks that I drew, and it became a stylistic reference for everything that followed.”
Who or what inspires you?
“Food, art, literature, science, partying, downright naughtiness, sadness, unrequited love, and absolutely anything and everything else that interests me. I write on paper and stick them to my studio wall, and when I don’t have anything else to do, I look up and pick whichever I fancy drawing.”
So we now have Simon Armitage as the new poet laureate – how do you feel about being the greeting card street art laureate?
“Oh, there’s quite a way to go before I can start entertaining those sorts of accolades. But thank you, and yes, I’m very happy to have made the leap from the sidewalk to the supermarket.”
Top: Limerick-writing street artist, Angry Dan, has created a card range for Cardmix. (photo by Jasmina Vulic).
