All posts tagged: Andrew Hem

UPEA Finland 2018, A Cross Country Installation of Quality Murals

October 23, 2018 Artists

UPEART 2018 in Finland took place during the month of September including 20 international and local artists in 12 different cities across the country.

Case Maclaim. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Espoo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Today we give you a recap of some favorite scenes from the festival across many cities of Finland thanks to the vision and organizing of Jorgos Fanaris and his team who collectively direct the festival from their headquarters in a post-industrial neighborhood of Helsinki. While there is a proud graff scene and history here, and the city has areas like the Pasila Street Art District, the capital is usually known as a sparkling international city of islands and a peninsula by the Gulf of Finland facing Tallinn, Estonia across the bay.

Proudly humble, elegant and rationally romantic, the city is flanked on all sides by arts and culture, low and high, with historical art institutions like the National Museum as well as the more contemporary Kiasma and cross disciplinary Kunsthalle Helsinki. A deeper rooted cultural history is also apparent in the traditional wooden architecture, the influence of its neighbors Sweden and Russia, and its ability even today to evolve with the most modern of global design practice.

Case Maclaim. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Espoo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For urban explorers like ourselves who wander the margins and explore the forgotten, neglected parts of the metropolis, it was a bit of a shock to see 8 charming Finnish cities and towns in only a few days – interspersed with millions of birch tree forests and sweeping vistas of farmland, with Russia visible at one point just across a canal.

We drove from uncongested towns surrounded by woodlands like Joensuu and Hyvinkää to midsized cities like Tampere and Espoo, using a stick shift Volkswagen and minding the speed cameras on a smooth and well maintained system of roads and highways. Usually we’re looking out for rats and broken glass and homeless drug users, not slow-moving farming tractors and wily-eyed moose who may cross your path.

Case Maclaim. UPEArt Finland 2018. Espoo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

But the murals! Choosing from among some of the most accomplished painters and planners of design in the current international scene, Fanaris relies on his own history with graffiti, hip hop, and perhaps the Finnish National Opera when selecting participants to invite.

The quality is high in many instances throughout the mural program and municipalities are gifted with some works may prove timeless – until they fade. Perhaps more decorative than transgressive as a whole, these are public works made in collaboration with local tastes. Some meanings are buried beneath layers, others more obvious and on the surface. An unrealized irony of many “legit” mural programs like this one is many of these artists used to do the illegal stuff too.

As UPEART travels and evolves it will be interesting to see how it changes. Fanaris tells us that the future will include installations, sculpture, even performance as the festival becomes more integrated with communities. With a solid foundation of curation on a massive country-wide scale in these first three years, we look forward to see where UPEART moves next.

Mantra. UPEArt Finland 2018. Hyvinkää, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“When I was a child I was not curious about painting,” Mantra says, “I was more curious about what I could find in the garden so that’s why I spent a lot of time studying these insects and these animals.” Later he shows us images of butterflies and other winged creatures rendered in high fidelity inside decaying factory rooms, including a large dead bird lying on its side. “I painted this because I had seen a dead bird in the garden only a week before.”

Mantra. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Hyvinkää, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Mantra)

Mantra. UPEArt Finland 2018. Hyvinkää, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Mantra)

Sainer. UPEArt Finland 2018. Helsinki, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“I think my work is changing recently,” he says. “I have liked to do plainer paintings – like small landscapes . I’m not really into the characters that much in the same way that I was. When I do paint characters they are in the shadow. I like the idea of making portraits where the portrait is not the most important part of the painting.”

BSA: That’s so anti-intuitive – because normally that would be the center focal point, right?

Sainer: Yes – even here the portrait is central but I am trying to play all around it just to hide it. It’s just one of the ideas that I am trying to work with these days.

Read more from our interview with Sainer here.

Sainer. UPEArt Finland 2018. Helsinki, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Waone. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Kotka, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ukrainian artist Waone, of Interesni Kazki titled his mural “Spirit of Antique Book”.

“Reading the real book in the age of technology and internet may look rare and a kind of old fashioned, but not for me,” he says. “This mural ‘Spirit of Antique Book’ I dedicated to all book lovers. It represents the wonderful way to escape from ordinary life to extraordinary worlds, and depicts that magic moment when you read the book and lose yourself between the pages.”

BSA: Does it concern you that school children today are becoming unfamiliar with reading traditional books on paper?

Waone: Hmm I didn’t think about books in schools, in Ukraine we still use “normal” books… But I’m sure normal books will become more and more rare. I don’t judge it and I’m not saying that’s good or bad. I just love the book esthetic, a strong symbol of knowledge.”

Waone. UPEArt Finland 2018. Kotka, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Natalia Rak. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Joensuu, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Natalia Rak. UPEArt Finland 2018. Joensuu, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sepe. UPEArt Finland 2018. Jyväskylä, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

David De La Mano. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Jyväskylä, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

David De La Mano. UPEArt Finland 2018. Jyväskylä, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

David De La Mano. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Jyväskylä, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Helen Bur. UPEArt Finland 2018. Kotka, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Eero Lampinen. Work in progress. UPEArt Finland 2018. Helsinki, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Of his own work, he says, “It’s like a mix of fantasy with contemporary and realistic elements – kind of magic realism. I like to play around with fashion different types of characters.”

The characters are here in the evolving mural – three figures who are working the runways of the street in distinctly different styles.

“There is a night demon, a rubber-outfit person, and then an older character,” he says, “They are all walking separate ways in the streets – and it plays around with this street.”

Read more with Eero Lampinen here.

Eero Lampinen. UPEArt Finland 2018. Helsinki, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Eero Lampinen)

Pertti Jarla. UPEArt Finland 2018. Tampere, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fabio Petani. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Salo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fabio Petani. UPEArt Finland 2018. Salo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Lisalmi, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm. UPEArt Finland 2018. Lisalmi, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leon Keer. UPEArt Finland 2018. Salo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Robert Proch. Detail. UPEArt Finland 2018. Joensuu, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Robert Proch. UPEArt Finland 2018. Joensuu, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Isaac Cordal. UPEArt Finland 2018. Espoo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Isaac Cordal made a number of interesting installations in Karakallio in Espoo, including a haunting series of small buildings attached on trees throughout the forest.

Isaac Cordal. UPEArt Finland 2018. Espoo, Finland. September 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NOTE: No trees were damaged by installing the birdhouse sculptures on them.

All the participating artists on UPEArt 2018 are: Andrew Hem, Case Maclaim, David De La Mano, Eero Lampinen, Fabio Petani, Gummy Gue, Helen Bur, How & Nosm, Isaac Cordal, Jussi Twoseven, Kenor, Leon Keer, Mantra, Natalia Rak, Pertti Jarla, Robert Proch, Sainer, Sepe, Silja Selonen and Waone.

BSA + UPEA in Finland

September 20, 2018 Artists

BSA is excited to bringing you new works from Finland next week as we explore Helsinki and nearby cities that are part of the UPEA 2018 Festival. A unique model of mural festival that invites international and local artists to paint across the entire country, UPEART has quietly entered the global Street Art and graffiti stage without entering the fray: providing top caliber artists with uncommon opportunities to create works in cities for a handful of years now.

Waone Interesni Kazki at UPEART (image © the artist)

The full line up for this year’s stellar UPEART edition is:

Andrew Hem, Case Maclaim, David de la Mano, Eero Lampinen, Fabio Petani, Gummy Gue, Helen Bur, How & Nosm, Isaac Cordal, Jussi TwoSeven, Kenor, Leon Keer, Mantra, Natalia Rak, Pertti Jarla, Robert Proch, Sainer, Sepeusz, Silja Selonen and Waone Interesni Kazki, who poses here yesterday with the mural he’s been working on for 10 days

To keep on top of the action on the ground and up on the lifts click on UPEA’s FB link below:

https://www.facebook.com/upeart/

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.09.2017

July 9, 2017 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Culture Vultures, yo. Those folks and corporations and brands who don’t originate, but they sure know how to take. They’ve been around for millenia, but are always a surprise anyway. This week the graffiti comedian Klops leads the way on Images of the Week. He’s always cracking us up with his social/political commentary – like Mother Mary and others at the foot of the cross taking a selfie with Jesus, or his bubble tagged slogans like “Yuck. Poor People,” “USA, Why You Always Lyin’?” and “War Money War Problems.” This week his culture vultures took us by surprise. Recognize anyone?

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Andrew Hem, BK Foxx, Camo Lords, Dede, Drinkala, Eelco Virus, Golden 305, Influx Residence, Key Detail, Klops, London Kaye, ONO, QRST, and Sipros.

Top image: Klops takes aim at Culture Vultures, those folks you just love. One of them is Mr. Brainwash, but who’s the other? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Key Detail for JMZ Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Camo Lords (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Eelco Virus (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dede (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andrew Hem. “Misty Blue” for INOPERAbLE Gallery and INFLUX Mural Residency. Providence, RI. June 2017. (photo © Damian Meneghini)

Drinkala for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BKFoxx doe JMZ Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sipros rendering of Dali as a dummy. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ONO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This actual wall appeared in a painting we covered in an interview we did with Laura Schecter last week. Below is her painting. Various artists hit up this magnet wall in Brooklyn regularly – and here it is viewed from the J train. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Laura Schecter in studio (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Golden305 for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Summer 2017. Manhattan, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Finland’s Formidable Multi-City “UPEA” Mural Festival

December 6, 2016 Artists

Finland joined the mural festival fray with some astounding and complex murals for UPEA this autumn. Created simultaneously in different cities, the festival soars with a large scale and with big international talents.

Guido Van Helten from Australia painting in Helsinki. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Wisely, they included Finnish artists who are prominent on the local Street Art scene as well and carefully curated the murals to have longevity.

For being their first edition, UPEA16 already claims that it is the biggest street art event in Finland. Of course, they mean “mural event” as true Street Art does not seek permission and is not commissioned, rather it is done illegally. But we know what they meant.

Guido Van Helten from Australia. Helsinki. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

UPEA16 artists and cities featured are Italian Tellas (in Helsinki), Swedish duo Graffitisthlm (in Helsinki), Australian artist Guido van Helten (in Helsinki), Bulgarian duo Arsek & Erase (in Turku), Swedish artist Ola Kalnins (in Riihimäki), Indonesian artist WD (in Kemi), U.S. artist Andrew Hem (in Vaasa) and Finnish artists Kim Somervuori and Teemu Mäenpää (in Hyvinkää and Hämeenlinna).

Learn more about UPEA by clicking here.

Wild Drawing from Indonesia painting in Kemi. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Wild Drawing from Indonesia in Kemi. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Tellas from Italy painting in Helsinki. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Tellas from Italy in Helsinki. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Arsek & Erase from Bulgaria painting in Turku. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Teemu Maenpaa & Kim Somervuori from Finland painting in Hyvinkää and Hämeenlinna. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Teemu Maenpaa & Kim Somervuori from Finland in Hyvinkää and Hämeenlinna. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Graffitisthlm a duo from Sweden painting in Helsinki. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Graffitisthlm a duo from Sweden in Helsinki. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Andrew Hem from USA painting in Vaasa. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Andrew Hem from USA in Vaasa. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

Ola Kalnins from Sweden painting in Riihimäki. UPEA Festival 2016. Finland. (photo © courtesy of UPEA)

BSA /Urban Nation Berlin “Picks for Miami Art Basel 2016”

November 26, 2016 Artists

It’s the annual peregrination from Brooklyn to Miami after the Thanksgiving holiday to see the sand, the surf, the aerosol masterpieces. For readers who have witnessed the growing spectacle of the Street Art scene in this city and are worried about the full-scale absorption of Street Art and graffiti culture into the larger Urban Contemporary Art rubric, this place is a tidal wave of evidence that the sub-culture/counter-culture is simply loved and adored by too many people.

Of course, tastes vary and not everyone is into the same aesthetic, message, style, technique, and there are still plenty of ruffians trying to stir sh*t up, thank God. But it’s probably psychologically healthy for artists and fans from the origins of this scene on the street to take some pride in the fact that this grassroots arts movement is producing some of the most compelling shows, exhibitions, and events – many rivaling what is happening inside the ART BASEL fair that all these events are associated with.

All week starting this Monday we’ll be there on the ground hustling from the formal to the informal, sponsored to the D.I.Y. – to at least capture some of that energy and insight to bring to you. In partnership with UN – the Urban Nation Museum of Urban Contemporary Art in Berlin, BSA will bring you action and excitement on the streets – here are some highlight to help you with your planning:

WYNWOOD WALLS MIAMI ART WEEK

An ongoing festival of murals begun in the late 2000s, Wynwood Walls’ theme for this year is “Fear Less” and the 12 new murals will for the double meaning of the expression. From the words of Jessica Goldman Srebnick, CEO of Goldman Properties, who are folks behind Wynwood Walls:

“Every year we choose a unifying theme and ask our artists to somehow address this in their work with the goal of pushing the narrative. This year, with everything going on in the world I felt it appropriate to advocate a message of courage, in the hopes that we can all embody courage in our everyday lives. Street artists by vocation are some of the most fearless people I’ve met — and here in Wynwood, we’ve grown from a marginal area that many feared to explore – into one of the most desirable art-filled locations in the world. My father (Tony Goldman) always said, ‘Don’t give in to fear,’ and this year we’re honoring that sentiment.”

Fear Less will showcase the work of a varied mix of outstanding artists – some household names in the street art world, others up and coming. In addition to Hiratsuka, artists include AVAF (Brazil), Beau Stanton (CA, USA), Case (Germany) Dasic Fernandez (Chile) David Choe (CA, USA), Faith47 (South Africa), Felipe Pantone (Spain), Findac (UK) , Okuda (Spain), Pixel Pancho (Italy,) Risk (CA, USA), Tatiana Suarez (FL, USA) . Artist Audrey Kawasak (USA) will be painting a mural at Goldman Properties’ The Hotel on South Beach. In addition to the murals artist Ken Hiratsuka will carve boulders in the style of his intricate carvings he did on the NYC streets during the 1980’s.

Artist Talk: Thursday December 1st. 6:30 PM at the Goldman Global Arts Gallery at Wynwood Walls. A panel discussion moderated by our own Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief Steven P. Harrington with participating artists: Martha Cooper, Faith 47, Crash, Tristan Eaton and Pixel Pancho. This event is free and open to the public.

Goldman Global Arts Gallery Exhibition:

Featuring original works by the artists of the Wynwood Walls. Open Thursday December 1^st, 2016 thru December 4^th 2016 from 10AM-10PM and then 11AM-8PM thru February 2017, when the exhibit ends.
Wynwood Walls, Open to the Public during Art Basel Miami Art Week, Wynwood Walls is free and open to the public daily from 10 AM to Midnight.

Wynwood Walls is located at 2520 NW 2^nd Avenue between 25^th and 26^th Streets.

MANA URBAN ART PROJECTS X JUXTAPOZ MAGAZINE

This is an epic intersection that you’ve been waiting for – hi brow/low brow, East Coast raw with West Coast surreally pop, old skool graff with hyperreal, graphic, optic and pop-gold muralistas .

All of these people in bed together is going to make a lot of sweet love people – and babies, and possibly some communicable diseases. Can you imagine the mass of the swarming of creative bodies from Juxtapoz, Thinkspace, 1XRun, Mana Contemporary, Bushwick Collective, Jonathan Levine, and many unannounced guests? It’s a first date for many of these awkward actors but we are not missing this gorgeous clusterduck!

Details are still being ironed out in many cases – check Juxtapoz for Updates:

Juxtapoz Clubhouse: 2400 NW 5th Entrance

Juxtapoz bookstore 1xRun

Installations by:

David Ellis / Swoon/ Fintan Magee / Zio Ziegler / OLEK / Laurence Vallieres / Cey Adams / Velia De Iuliis / Ever Seipre / Franco Fasoli / Waeone Interesni Kazki / Chris Lux

MILK presents Scott Campbell: WHOLE GLORY.

Juxtapoz Clubhouse: 537 NW 24th Street Entrance

Along with Milk Studios , Juxtapoz is teaming up for this special two-day tattoo exhibition/interactive art installation/tattoo emporium. “Lucky recipients will be selected via a lottery on an hourly basis”

Juxtapoz Cafe/Cody Hudson

Dennis McNett installation

Jonathan LeVine Gallery “A Conversation Between Friends”

Jamie Adams / Brett Amory / James Bullough / Tristan Eaton / Dylan Egon / AJ Fosik / Ian Francis / Jeremy Geddes / Alex Gross / Handiedan / Haroshi / Andrew Hem / Hush / Erik Jones / Kehoe / Ludo / Eloy Morales / Tara McPherson / Dennis McNett / Joel Real / Shag / Ben Tolman / Adam Wallacavage / Martin Wittfooth Rostarr.

Juxtapoz Clubhouse Alley: 537 NW 24th Street Entrance

BASE 12 COLLECTIVE

BUSHWICK COLLECTIVE BLOCKPARTY

MANA X JUXTAPOZ NW 2nd and NW 22nd, Lane Mana Convention Center

Andrew Schoultz INFINITY PLAZA

Juxtapoz X 1XRUN NW 2nd and NW 22nd Lane Mana Convention Center

1xRun Mobile Print Shop

Installation mural by Shepard Fairey and OBEY

SCOPE MIAMI 2016 801 Ocean Drive Miami Beach

Just to help you navigate, here are some of the exhibitors who will be showcasing Urban Artists and whom we intend to check out:

Castle Fitzjohns Gallery – NYC
FIFTY24MX / Art Gallery – Mexico City
Graffik Gallery – London
Inner State Gallery – Detroit
NextStreet Gallery – Paris
Samuel Owens Gallery – Greenwich, CT.
Struck Contemporary – Toronto, CA
Think Space Gallery – Los Angeles
Macaya Gallery

X CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR Nobu Hotel, Miami Beach.

JONAS SUN 7 / Catherine Ahnell Gallery

SWOON – HELIOTROPE PRINTS MIAMI 2016

Swoon and The Heliotrope Foundation are pleased to present a launch reception for the Miami 2016 Heliotrope Prints release, featuring Aidan Koch, Rashaad Newsome, Ebony G. Patterson, Emilio Perez, Kenny Scharf, and Anne Spalter.

Thursday, December 1, Downtown Miami

6 – 9 p.m. at The Dog (1306 North Miami Avenue)Heliotrope Prints are $50 limited-edition fine art prints with 100% of proceeds benefitting the Heliotrope Foundation, a 501(c)(3) founded by Swoon in order to streamline her three art-based community building initiatives in Haiti, New Orleans, and the Rust Belt town of Braddock, Pennsylvania.Learn more: www.heliotropefoundation.org

Buy prints: www.heliotropeprints.org

RSVP to reception: www.molly.nyc/miami2016

ABOUT THE HOST VENUE:
Curated by Christopher “Jillionaire” Leacock of Major Lazer, The Dog is a weeklong popup in Downtown Miami that will bring together a group of friends—comprised of acclaimed musicians and artists—to form a hub for inspired expression across the creative disciplines. The Dog is bar, dancehall, and art gallery rolled into one; a site-specific and immersive experience that bridges the gap between contemporary art, culture, and music. www.molly.nyc/thedog

MORE SWOON NEWS:

Swoon’s Pearly’s Beauty Shop with Chandran Gallery, Saturday, December 3, 2016. 7pm-late

Art Creates Water (Dec 1-4)

Millerntor Gallery goes ART BASEL – MIAMI BEACH

Art with a social-environmental mission: ALL FOR WATER – WATER FOR ALL!

Artist Collective of LOW BROS, RAMBA ZAMBA, BOBBIE SERRANO und SEBASTIAN BIENIEK.

Mobile gallery shows works by BARBARA., BJÖRN HOLZWEG, BOBBIE SERRANO, FABIAN WOLF, FLYING FÖRTRESS, FROST, GUAPO SAPO, HEIKO MÜLLER, IT’S THE VIBE, JIM AVIGNON, JOBRAY WRITER, KLEBEBANDE, LOW BROS, MAXIMILIAN MAGNUS, NICO SAWATZKI, NILS KASISKE, PAPA SHABANI, PUSH, QUINTESSENZ, RAMBA ZAMBA, REBELZER, ROCKET & WINK, SADHUX, SASAN, SUTOSUTO, TASEK, TESE, ULI PFORR, WE ARE BÜRO BÜRO.

Millerntor Gallery goes Art Basel Miami Beach is supported by Hamburg Marketing GmbH.

ABOUT US

The Millerntor Gallery is a social business by and for Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli. Our mantra is ”art creates water” – we use art as a universal language to inspire people and involve them in collective creative engagement. Revenues from art sales and donations are being transformed into clean water. The Millerntor Gallery came to life in 2011 as an art festival inside the stadium of the legendary football club FC Sankt Pauli. Growing rapidly it has already become a global cultural movement that blends individual creative energies into one collective force to change the world for the better. More than 1000 artists have contributed their talents, crafts and works for countless Millerntor Gallery art projects in many different countries.

vivaconagua.org facebook.com/vivaconagua

“Coachella Walls”: Date Farmers Raise Profile of “Anonymous Worker”

May 14, 2014 Artists

Seriously, like Coachella is NOT even like in Coachella. It’s like in Indio. True story.

The annual concert festival that brings legions of middle class to somewhat affluent feathered fringed bikini babes and awesome face-painted dudes dropping acid while texting and buying merch? – and which apparently features big-name indie music at some point over two weekends in April? That’s not here. That town is called Indio.

brooklyn-street-art-medvin_sobio-Coachella-Walls-web

Here in Coachella, the “City of Eternal Sunshine,” no one shoots YouTube videos about “How to Survive Coachella” with hints about SPF 55 sunscreen sticks and personal sized hand sanitizer. Here you will find a mostly rural, agricultural, family oriented community which struggles with poverty regularly. They also pick a lot of your food.

That’s why Armando Lerma and Carlos Ramirez, artistically joined as The Date Farmers, began an “arts-driven community revitalization project” on March 31st, recognized in California as Cesar Chavez Day.

Inviting solidly remarkable street art and mural-painting talents to show some camaraderie with the working men and women in this community, the first annual Coachella Walls has now made its mark in the Historic Pueblo Viejo District of downtown. Here also is the recently opened Date Farmers Art Studios, which they hope will serve as the city’s first art gallery and artist residency.

Thematically joined to honor Chavez and the Anonymous Farm Worker, the festival invited a group of muralists and contemporary artists with Latin American cultural influences in their work, including artists like El Mac (Arizona), Nunca (Brazil), Saner (Mexico), Andrew Hem (Cambodia), Liqen (Spain), Albert Reyes (Los Angeles), Vyal Reyes (Los Angeles), Sego (Mexico), The Phantom (Los Angeles), Jim Darling (Texas), and more.

According to the organizers, “Despite supplying the region with close to half a million dollars a year in vegetable crops, many of the farm workers in the Eastern Coachella Valley continue to live in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.” With murals, luck and a whole burlap sack of talent like this, Coachella Walls aims to bring awareness to these issues and others related to the life of the worker here.

brooklyn-street-art-date-farmers-medvin_sobio-Coachella-Walls-web-2

Medvin Sobio was contacted by the Date Farmers to help produce and curate the public art project, and he shows us some of the images that came out of this very first annual event. Coachella Walls is funded by the city of Coachella’s public arts fund and is curated by Sobio, the director of The Academy of Street Art in Los Angeles. Our thanks to Medvin and the Date Farmers for sharing these images with us.

Says El Mac about this painting on his blog, “It’s not intended to represent any one specific person, but rather many people, especially the “anonymous farm worker”. Farm workers in this country have been marginalized despite producing the very food we all need for survival. The Coachella valley is an important region for farming, and has been the setting for many of the struggles by the UFW to to improve workers’ rights since the 60s..and you can feel this history there.”

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Fun Friday 04.27.12

April 27, 2012 Artists

1. Urban Legends Auction (LA)
2. “Ordinary People” in Brooklyn
3. Group GRAFF at Dorian Gray (NY)
4. Katowice Street Art Festival (VIDEO)
5. “HYPNOGOGIA” – ROA (VIDEO)
6.”Obey The Giant” Movie Kickstarter

Urban Legends Auction (LA)

Friday night >> URBAN LEGENDS: Celebrating 45 Years of Public Art Around the World is an art exhibition and an auction taking place at the LA Mart and Design Center. Works consist of large scale murals; collages; rare, limited edition photographs; and more.

Artists include ABCNT, Chor Boogie, Codak, Cryptik, Kofie, Mear One, Pablo Cristi, Shark Toof, TEWSR, Warren Heard, BAM, Brett Cook, Can Love, Cern, Ckaweeks, Doves, Erin Yoshi, Estria, Jher Judy Baca, Katch, Kent Twitchell, Level, Mare 139, Martha Cooper, Meres, Sand, Vogue, Vyal, Woier, Alexander DC Smith & Hans Haveron, Aly Kouroma, EKLA, Evan Mendleson, Freddy Sam, Graffiti of War Project, Herakut, FOODONE, John Park & Christina Angelina, KIDGHE, LIBRE, Max Neutra, SANER, Yusef Davis, Van Saro, Estevan Oriol, Eriberto Oriol, Chaz Bojorquez, RETNA, Andrew Hem

For further information regarding this event click here.

“Ordinary People” in Brooklyn

“Ordinary People” is a group show opening Saturday at the Trumbull Studios in Brooklyn with Doug Aldrich, Shane Donahue, Austin Ansbro, and Zach Meyer.

For further information regarding this show click here.

Group GRAFF at Dorian Gray (NY)

Stop by the Dorian Gray Gallery in Manhattan for a reception for their group exhibition of artists spanning 30 years of art in public spaces. Featured works include such iconic New York names as Keith Haring, LA 2, Futura, Richard Hambleton, COPE 2, & CRASH. International artists such as Bansky and DOLK are paired with some newer names XAM, SeeOne, Penn & AVone.

For further information regarding this show click here.

See a preview of an upcoming Street Art video and XAM’s recent visit to Mexico City.

Katowice Street Art Festival (VIDEO)

A fun video about the 2012 festival in Katowice, Poland:

For more information regarding this festival click here.

“HYPNOGOGIA” – ROA (VIDEO)

ROA’s new show “Hypnagogia” is currently on view at the StolenSpace Gallery in London.

Below is a video that shows the artist at work:

“Obey The Giant” Movie Kickstarter

“Obey The Giant” coming soon to a theater near you?…Yes if you help the auteurs, by donating to their kickstarter campaign. But before you go and donate take a moment to see the trailer for the yet to be completed film.

From the creators Julian Marshall and Alex Jablonski:

“Based on the true story of Shepard Fairey’s first act of street art, OBEY THE GIANT tells the story of a young skate punk challenging a big-city mayor and the powers-that-be at art school. Frustrated by his inability to gain respect within the confines of art school Shepard sets out to gain notoriety and acclaim by targeting the most powerful man in Providence, former Mayor Buddy Cianci. Risking expulsion and jail time Shepard plasters Andre the Giant’s face over the image of Cianci on a campaign billboard. As word of Shepard’s prank gets out, Shepard learns that art is a weapon and attention is both a blessing and a curse”.

Click here to donate on their Kickstarter and to see the trailer for the movie.

L.A. Art Machine Presents: “Vox Humana” A Large Scale Live-Art Installation (Los Angeles, CA)

January 17, 2011 Artists, California, Events, Gallery, L.A., Los Angeles, Opening

LA ART Machine

The L.A. ART MACHINE is proud to present VOX HUMANA, a large-scale, live art installation by celebrated international artists Edward Walton Wilcox, Andrew Hem, Shark Toof,and Chor Boogie at the 2011 L.A. Art Show, January 19-23, 2011. Taking place over five days and covering more than 500 square feet of canvas, this unique art happening invites visitors into the esoteric world of the artistic creative process. You are cordially invited to join us for this special art happening.

Schedule:
January 19: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM (VIP Opening)
January 20-22: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
January 23: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Completion ceremony January 23, 2:00 PM Location:
Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall
1201 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, California 90015
map it

Presented in partnership with:

LeBasse Projects, FIND Art Magazine, Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Sister Cities Los Angeles, and Castelli Framing

for more information contact: voxhumana@laartmachine.com or 323.702.3594

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