As we move closer to the exhibition date, things get a bit more tense and tedious. What was clearly a joy in the beginning is still a joy, but more attention to detail, must be paid. Curating the Art Rangers exhibition at the Grafton Hotel is starting to take on mammoth underpinnings. I have found a new respect for those working in museum's and with art in general. They're task is really a bit stressful and everything is so exacting that if you were a stupid person it's not something that you would ever really want to get involved with. Then there are thee artists. Those tender, sensitive, brutal artist. Some can be downright tyrannical, sometimes. Especially if you don't meet those very exacting standards of theirs. We're talking about any artist, really. Be they painter, sculptor, singer or musician, they all have their own little unique idiosyncrasies, that some where as a badge of honor. The Art Ranger is no different. However, on closer and deeper study, the layers begin to peel and what is revealed is a sensitive, caring, deeply moved individual with a flare for the melodramatic. Probably the whole country country of Norway knows this better than anyone else, after viewing Ingar Aasen's truly astounding "stunts", like driving through town in a high profile, monstrous, awe-inspiring, Russian megalith that ways 9 & 1/2 tons and treads water like it's a little tug boat. If you see this thing, trolling through your town, you would swear the Armageddon was upon us. Not that any reasonably sane person would risk the chagrin of local authorities much less the weaponry they possess to make a political statement. Few would argue that the "Art Ranger" hadn't lost his (bleeping) mind. This, no matter how odd it seems, is the existence of this eclectic, genius. Now, though, he has created something that will stand the test of time. He has created his version of the epitome of one of the most maligned art forms to every come along. He has created a unique brand of world-class Hip Hop Art. Will wonders never cease!

Art Ranger World

Art Ranger World explodes on to the scene in the boisterous manner known to be Hip Hop. Art begets life, begets creation, begets a new beginning and so the story unfolds... Creative force and genius, eclectic renown artists, Ingar Aasen has birthed truly innovative and spine tingling art works that are fast becoming "must have" pieces for anyone who is a lover or fascinating about the Hip Hop culture. How this "madman" has managed to reach deep into the crevices of the profound, artistic experiences that are Hip Hop, one never knows but, he has and in such a poignant, awe inspiring way. If only I could afford a piece of his masterful craftsmanship. With this art he has given the "purveyors" of Hip Hop their own tool to tell the true story of the craft as the iconoclastic, mind bending, world/spirit changing vehicle it has become. Tracing the road back to Hip Hop's true roots (slavery), the music's original creators were never afforded the opportunities to tell their story so colorfully, so vividly, as they are now. "We have finally arrived", at a place where the art will be respected as an intricate part of world culture and not just the bastion of a tribe of renegade despots bent on being a misogynist, smoking "weed" and "pimpin' all the ho's out".

Kenny Beck