To BSA’s Muslim brothers and sisters, we hope your Ramadan has been fulfilling as it draws to a close this Tuesday. Amid the spiritual calm, Friday’s earthquake and its aftershocks have certainly rattled us in New York and across the Northeast—a rare tremor that would barely raise an eyebrow in LA, given their familiarity with the earth’s whims. But for us, a 4.8 is no small shake! Adding to our week of natural spectacles, Monday brings an eclipse, inviting us all to don those dope glasses and gaze skyward as a celestial dance sweeps across the continent. It’s been quite a lineup: an earthquake to kick off the weekend, a celestial blackout to start the week. What’s next on the cosmic agenda? A swarm of locusts? Let’s hope the universe has checked off its list of surprises for now.
We start this week’s collection with a new text piece of unknown origin but one that strikes at the heart of life here in 2024 for many. Could this be an advertisement for the new album by Future and Metro Boomin? A spectrum of emotions and styles, the new collection is from two guys whose collaborative efforts have been making significant waves in the music industry for a half decade. Debuting at number 1, as an album “We Don’t Trust You” has been described as a monumental success, showcasing the synergy between Future’s distinctive rap style and Metro Boomin’s innovative production. The out of context graffiti message, “We Don’t Trust You,” captures a poignant irony: while distrust might seem like a safeguard, history shows that a society where trust is deeply eroded becomes fertile ground for manipulation by autocrats and tyrants.
And now, here are images from our ongoing conversation with the street, this week, including: Praxis, Homesick, Lexi Bella, Modomatic, Danielle Mastrion, Mort Art, Claw Money, Jorit, Isabelle Ewing, Paolo Tolentino, JG, Marthalicia Matarrita, Gia, and 1RL.
Happy Easter to all the Christians today, and we hope all the kids get a chocolate bunny in their basket and go on an egg hunt in this new green grass Mother Nature has brought to the park for everyone to enjoy. It has been such an entertaining and rewarding hunt this week looking for new works popping up like daffodils on the street in NYC. We hope you enjoy some of these new works, a boon to the creative spirit that is running the streets in all five boroughs, no matter the season.
And now, here are images from our ongoing conversation with the street, this week, including: Praxis, Sara Lynne Leo, UFO 907, Aneko, Sluto, Viler, QUAZAR, Bones, Luch, Deluxe, WaliC, Suka, Ring, and TCONE.
Spring officially arrived this week, along with torrential rains and sometimes flooding. Happy Nowruz to all our Persian friends, and Happy Purim to the youngsters in costumes going to parties this weekend. The city’s walls reflect a new blossoming of talents joining with those more established in the visual arts, a usual mismatch of styles, coded messages, and obvious imagery. If you love New York, it is with the ongoing expectation of eclecticism mixed with the expected, and as it pertains to graffiti and street art, its a crowded party of all sorts of guests all speaking at once, each hoping to be heard in the din.
And now, here are images from our ongoing conversation with the street, this week, including: Turtle Caps, She Posse, Kosuke James, IAC, Ratrockster, Solo, Merg, Erat, SenOne Original, COSA.V, and Sen1.
Happy St. Patricks Day to all our Irish brethren and sisteren (?) — unless you are unlucky to be a gaylesbitrans Irish resident of Staten Island: their official Saint Patty parade bans all of those other types. Our 5th borough always complains that it doesn’t get enough attention because Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens hog the spotlight. So bigotry, because why not? But Manhattan shouldn’t bray too loudly; we’re old enough to remember the LGBT bans by The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) at the beery 5th Avenue parades for decades.
And now images from our ongoing conversation Specter, Cern, Homesick, Peter Phobia, Dzel, REW, Folk, Appear 37, BRK. Nover NYC, GUS, Hand of Tess, 1krlOs, Pirdb!, Kool Hand, Croke, Regae, Nova44, and Spyee.
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! Set your clocks forward an hour!
Guess you can’t bite a graffiti artist and expect to make bank – without getting bitten. This new Nekst campaign on the Manhattan streets appears to have Claudia Schiffer and Anna Nicole Smith putting their best face forward, aside from the streams of wrinkles caused by the wet wheat paste. Time is a cruel mistress, even as our nostalgic memories of the 90s are suddenly aflame when seeing these large-scale posters and images on the catwalk named New York.
This takes the fashion labels’ accused theft of Nekst’s tag to a new level – and back to the street, where the best fashion houses traditionally find creative inspiration. The deceased graffiti writer was bold in his command of high-profile spots, and his output was profligate, giving him a reputation that current writers still pay homage to a decade after his passing. With the fashion label Guess, Inc. publicly traded, one wonders if this restyling of their brand in a fashion capital will hit them in the ticker, especially when it appears they directly ripped their style from a self-made artist/vandal and took it to the cash register.
This act highlights the ongoing debate about the street’s raw, authentic creativity and the fashion industry’s appropriation tactics. The situation questions the consequences for a major brand like Guess, primarily when the originality in question stems from the underground art world.
As Daniel Cassady from ARTNEWS and Deborah Belgum from WWD illuminate, the recent uproar in the street art/graffiti community is not merely about the misuse of street credibility but a deeper infringement on street artists’ intellectual and cultural property. Cassady discusses the blatant replication of Nekst’s signature by Guess, bringing to the forefront the fashion industry’s recurrent pilferage from street art’s raw, unfiltered energy without due homage or consent. Meanwhile, Belgum adds a familial and emotional layer, highlighting the distress caused to Nekst’s family by the unauthorized commercialization of his legacy, an act they describe as “horrifying.”
In a city where the lines of art, fashion, and identity blur, these incidents prompt us to question the ethics of inspiration versus theft. As we showcase these charged visuals, we invite our readers to ponder the fine line between tribute and exploitation in the ever-evolving narrative of street art. This is not merely about images on a wall or polished cotton; it’s a testament to the indelible impact of artists like Nekst on the fabric of urban culture and the complexities of their posthumous relationships with the commercial world.
Here is our weekly conversation with the street, this week including Dan Witz, Okek, Ian Mutch, ATOMS, Lover, Senk, Greks Steffi, ZAPS, Solito, and Bley.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul wants to classify some graffiti as a hate crime. The arts and culture press has been writing alarming headlines about this new proposal by the Gov, but the burden lies on the lawyers who need to prove that the intention of the graffiti writer was to target a protected class of people with a hateful screed. Wonder if they will hand out tickets for poor handstyles, too.
New York neighbors and peers of the orange man tried years ago to warn the country against him – and yet he was elected. Now Trump has to pay fines for “ill-gotten” gains totaling $453 million. He really hit the jackpot when the judge barred him and his two sons Friday from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation. Leading the country, presumably, is still fine.
A day after the verdict, he was hawking golden Trump sneakers. Let’s see, $453 million divided by $399.00…
Here is our weekly conversation with the street, this week including Stikman, Homesick, BK Foxx, Calicho Art, Werds, Goog, LA2, TBanbox, ICU463, Propa, NAY183, Bukse, Joser, Vicer, Faire, Shicks, Angel Ortiz, Mr. Doodle, and Albie.
New Yorkers are having a grand celebration this weekend as the Year of the Dragon begins, and traditional lion and dragon dances wend their way through Chinatowns in Manhattan and Queens. You’ll be seeing lots of red, hopefully getting some money in red envelopes (hongbao), and eating dumplings (symbolizing wealth), fish (representing surplus and abundance), and sticky rice cakes. To all our neighbors celebrating, “恭喜发财” (Gōngxǐ fācái), which means “Wishing you wealth and prosperity.”
Later this week, we’ll all profess love for one another on Valentine’s Day. Looks like red is the color for New York this week.
Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Homesick, Toxicomano, ERRE, CP Won, Qzar, Hektad, Jappy Agoncillo, ToastOro, Senk, Stesi, CASH RFC Crew, OSK OSK, NAY, and Kosuke James.
Is it even possible to take a personal inventory when it looks like the world around you is going off kilter? It’s worth a try. It may be the thing you depend on most in the future.
Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Pork, Sara Lynne Leo, Homesick, Clint Mario, Pear, Girlty, Georgia Violett, and Max Grax.
“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.”
– Bertolt Brecht
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!
Our current reality appears quite bent, and maybe art has the power to straighten it out, but you won’t see a lot of political stuff on the streets right now ironically. Here and there, yes, but as the US stirs the embers of resentment into a third world war in the Middle East that will possibly metastasize with other warring regions, it appears that we collectively look again at our belly buttons.
Brooklyn is booming with some fresh work this week, with a winter snowstorm that left us with a white blanket to augment the freshest street art and graffiti. This week, Barcelona’s KRAM shows up in BK with their eclectic styles interplaying. Sice is nice, QUAZAR climbs up, and Toney crosses, and Parisian/Londoner/Brooklyn-based Oscar Nett is hyperrealistic and geometrically dramatic, giving us some Li-Hill vibes, no?
Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Obey, Cost, Jason Naylor, Degrupo, Optimo NYC, Kram, Hek Tad, Muebon, Slomo, Oscar Lett, Konozco, Toney, Mishka Bobisha, Rack, Klash, QUAZAR, Trip, Sice.
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
– Cesar A. Cruz
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!
The fog of war obscures our vision, confuses our thoughts, and stirs fear and anger within us. Yet, we must not yield to despair as we navigate these unpredictable times. Within each of us lies a creative spirit eager to emerge. Around us are those who yearn for love and aid. Street artists, with their unusual practice of blending of persuasion and provocation, offer entertainment, encouragement, and discomfort. In such times, the artist’s voice becomes crucial, including your voice.
Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Jeremy Fish, Angurria, Mike King, Spaint, Tom Bob NYC, Jay Kaes, Whitney Holbourn, Dream Weavin, Art of Slim, Keru De Kolorz, Menas 24711, Memi Martinez, Face, and Brian Wooden.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
