All posts tagged: Morning Breath

The High Line Loft Presents: “The Future Is Now” A Group Exhibition (Manhattan, NYC)

The Future is Now

The Future Is Now
Opening Reception: Thursday August 1st, 2013 4-11pm
Friday August 2nd, 2013 10 am-11pm
Saturday August 3rd, 2013 10 am-11pm
Sunday August 4th, 2013 10 am-6pm

The Highline Loft
508 W. 26th Street
New York, NY 10001

We are pleased to present “The Future Is Now” at The Highline Loft, NYC’s renowned gallery located on The Highland Park in Chelsea, NYC.

This unique Invitational brings together a curated selection of prolific street and urban contemporary artists and musicians for a weekend of cutting edge art, music, technology and performance. The Future Is Now serves as the blueprint for the 21st Century’s Multimedia art experience.

Please join us while we make history together.

Roster of Artists:

Jordan Betten, John Breiner, Ross Brodar, Allison Buxton, Garrison Buxton, John Arthur Carr, Cern, Deedee Cheriel, Chip Love, Steve Cogle, Joseph Conrad- Ferm, COPE2, Spencer Keeton Cunningham, Cycle, CYRCLE, Dalek, Adam Dare, Katrina Del Mar, ELLE DEAD SEX, Brian Ermanski, John FeknerEric Foss, Mike Fitzsimmons, Ellis Gallagher, Mike Giant, Maya Hayuk, Hellbent, David Hochbaum, David Hollier, Michael Holman, Ben Horton, Kimyon Huggins, INDIE 184 , Ian Kuali, Dave Kinsey, Koralie, Kool Kid Kreyola, Nick Kuszyk, Greg LaMarche, Craig LaRotonda, Don Leicht, Chip Love, Adam Ludwig, Joe Lurato, Tara McPherson, Alice Mizrachi, Billy Mode, Morning Breath, NDA, NOBODY, OLEK, David Ortiz, William Quigley, Leon Reid, Skewville, Specter , Beau Stanton, Chris Stain, Swoon, Nick Taylor, Thundercut, , Chris Uphues, Michel Bellici, Andrea Von Bujdoss, Kennedy Yanko, Deborah Yoon.

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/459280470833231/

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Mike Giant Inks a Wall in Chinatown

New York has seen its share of giants. For most people, Mike is just another one.

But for fans of cholo-style graffiti and tattoo inspired art, he is a giant among men. That’s why it was cause for a celebration to see this skate boarding, fixie tricking, graffiti painting, grandpa hipster in suspenders hitting up a fresh white wall with some juicy markers last week under the Manhattan Bridge.

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Thermometer-wise, it was one of our worst July days. For a fleeting moment the bespectacled grey buzzcut artist looked like he wasn’t going to take the New York heat while working outside in crushing hot humidity that felt like the inside of a rice cooker here in Chinatown. But the visitor from San Francisco’s Tenderloin rallied, calmed himself, found his personal zen, and focused on his wall with a positive mindset. While a cluster of hosts and fans stood by Giant methodically laid out the kind of precise, sharp lined calligraphic illustration that has distinguished his work and indelibly marked his reputation among the skater-punk-tattooed-graffiti-lowbro West Coast heroes of the last two-plus decades.

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Very covered in full color ink himself, except for black and grey sleeves, the sometimes tattooist routinely updates his personal skin art collection with work by the likes of Greg Rojas and Chris Conn, like the recent additions of the Apple logo and the bars from Black Flag among the skulls and snakes and sassy vixens. Also routinely, his exacting and precise drawings sell out at shops and packed gallery shows across the world as his work is compared to that of such Mexican/cholo art pioneers like Mr. Cartoon, Chaz Bojorquez, and Jack Rudy. The symbols and metaphors popping boldly, they frame each other even as their meanings and origins conflict; reptiles, tigers, garden roses and The Grim Reaper sit comfortably alongside ornately carved crosses, the Virgin of Guadalupe and hot tattooed girls in fishnets giving you the finger.

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For this street installation, Giant’s act of inking the wall affected the assembled fans and observers like the chanting of Spanish monks in those remote and silent monasteries: a slowly creeping utter peace. He approached the task with serenity, at a pace that seemed to conserve time rather than spend it. In complete control of his craft, he can aptly break away when approached for a chat or to sign a deck or black book.

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This gig at Klughaus Gallery was to help promote a group show and launch the 8th issue of Kingbrown magazine and Giant said he was happy to visit the town he once lived in for a year before seeking the quieter pace of San Francisco. Right across from the spot is one of the city’s busiest skateparks and for most of the afternoon his work was accompanied by the unmistakeable sound of some exhibition boards hitting the concrete for friendly competitive trickery. He probably felt at home like this since he’s known to hang at the occasional skatepark or empty swimming pool back on the west coast. And for one day in this unbearable NYC heat, a number of fans were happy to see him knocking out this black and white wall, meditating on the good things that a fine line brings.

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The L.E.S. Coleman Skate Park  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A custom designed and painted ramp by Kevin Lyons was used in the competition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For details to visit the gallery to see Mike Giant’s completed panels in person and to see the rest of the exhibition now open to the general public click here.

Klughaus and Kingbrown produced this event in partnership with Fountain Art fair.

Artists included in the show are Morning Breath, Andy Jenkins, Chris Cycle, Dave Kinsey, “Grotesk” aka Kimou Meyer, Stefan Marx, Kevin Lyons, Mike Giant, Raza Uno aka MAx Vogel, Greg Lamarche, Zach Malfa-Kowalski, Steve Gourlay, Jay Howell, and Ben Horton, Beastman, Phibs, Hiro, Reka, Kyle “Creepy” Hughes-Odgers, Meggs, Sean Morris, Yok, Sheryo, Ross Clugston, Daek, Lister, Numskull, Ian Mutch, Rone/ aka Tyrone Wright.

 

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Fun Friday 07.27.12

Let the Games Begin! (oh no, does that violate an Olympic copyright?) Here’s our Olympian sized Olympic Fun Friday Olympiatastic list, sponsored by nobody.

1. BOB ROSS REMIX (VIDEO)
2. KingBrown Group Show at Klughaus (NYC)
3. Quel Beast Solo Reception at Gallery Bar (NYC)
4. Believe the Hype at Pandemic Saturday (BKLN)
5. REVOK and SABER at Known Gallery (LA)
6. Matthew Silver Goes for the Gold in his Speedo at Union Square (VIDEO)
7. Pura Vida Presents: Entes Y Pesimo A Short Film (English) (VIDEO)

BOB ROSS REMIX (Video)

Bob Ross is back! Updated and autotuned, this visual medley ties together the overriding themes that his long-running show imparted to many people who may have been timid about reopening that creative spirit that we’re all born with. Some kids think they’re too cool and too street for this sh*t but really they like Bob’s message too, because he’s right. Get out your paintbrush and cans!

KingBrown Group Show at Klughaus (NYC)

Mike Giant is in New York and he brought some juicy markers with him. The New Show at Klughaus Gallery in Manhattan’s Chinatown hosted him yesterday with folks from Kingbrown Magazine to mark the release of their issue #8. The group show of small pieces in the gallery is smartly, densely packed with names you’ll like and  is now open to the public after last nights hot and sticky grand opening that ended with Mother nature blowing exhibition skateboarders sideways with sudden summer storm high winds and pounding rain. The show was presented along with the dudes from Fountain Arts Fair.

Mike Giant gate for Kingbrown at Klughaus Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artists include Morning Breath, Andy Jenkins, Chris Cycle, Dave Kinsey, “Grotesk” aka Kimou Meyer, Stefan Marx, Kevin Lyons, Mike Giant, Raza Uno aka MAx Vogel, Greg Lamarche, Zach Malfa-Kowalski, Steve Gourlay, Jay Howell, Ben Horton, Beastman, Phibs, Hiro, Reka, Kyle “Creepy” Hughes-Odgers, Meggs, Sean Morris, Yok, Sheryo, Ross Clugston, Daek, Lister, Numskull, Ian Mutch, Rone/ aka Tyrone Wright.

Mike Giant at work on his wall outside the gallery before the show opened. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Further information regarding this show click here.

Quel Beast Solo Reception at Gallery Bar (NYC)

The Gallery Bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan hosts the opening reception today of Quel Beast’s solo show of portraits full of emotion as he continues in the journey of self-study. In a short career on the street that has depicted everything from anguish to rage to frustration, it is good to report that there is now an occasional smile.

Quel Beast. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Believe the Hype at Pandemic Saturday (BKLN)

PARTY! PARTY! PARTY! @ Pandemic Gallery tomorrow. “Believe The Hype” Is Pandemic’s title for this summer party including: The Yok, Sheryo, UFO 907, Swampy, Royce Bannon, Matt Siren, David Pappaceno, Darkclouds, Keely, Don Pablo Pedro, Cost KRT and Deeker. All the artists will paint the interior of the gallery in one collaborative mural. Go get wet and play. There will be limited prints, T shirts, zines and drawings for sale.

For further information regarding this show click here.

REVOK and SABER at Known Gallery (LA)

Double billing Revok and Saber in one night? You know the crowd will be big and enthusiastic to see these two concurrent solo shows and as Known Gallery hosts  REVOK’s “Gilgamesh” and SABER’s “Beautification” simultaneously Saturday.

REVOK in Miami for Primary Flight (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding REVOK show click here.

SABER on the streets of Los Angeles. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding SABER show click here.

Matthew Silver Goes for the Gold in his Speedo at Union Square (VIDEO)

Miao Jiaxin captures some of the magic moments of this public performer who may be borderline bananas and who knows how to engage people, to help and flip their “I’m Free” switch to the “On” position.

 

Pura Vida Presents: Entes Y Pesimo A Short Film (English) (VIDEO)

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Kingbrown Magazine and Fountain present the launch of Kingbrown 8th Issue at Klughaus Gallery. (Manhattan, NY)

Kingbrown

Mike Giant (photo courtesy of Fountain)

Fitting within Fountain’s penchant for all things street and guerrilla, we are thrilled to partner with Kingbrown to launch their 8th issue, co-curated and designed by Morning Breath, at New York’s Klughaus gallery.  Opening to the public July 26th, 2012 from 7-10pm, Klughaus Gallery: 47 Monroe Street NYC, NY.  Featuring live painting, Skateboard demos and more.

Australia’s “Kingbrown Magazine has collaborated with curators, John Leo (Fountain Co-Founder)  and Melissa McCaig-Welles (McCaig-Welles Gallery) to bring you a dynamic collection of skateboard inspired artwork. The exhibition will showcase some of the world’s most influential artists from members of the infamous Girl/Chocolate Art Dump, pioneers in NYC graffiti, talented illustrators, animators, art stars from Australia, sculptors, and that guy living in the NY green diamond.

Kingbrown is a distinctively designed magazine, sitting somewhere between a book, a magazine and an art zine. As a super limited edition periodical, delivered inside a hand silkscreened brown bag, sewn closed with artist stickers and posters included, Kingbrown remains different from any other publication.

Conceived in 2006 by co-creators Yok and Ian Mutch in Perth, Australia, Kingbrown’s mission was to produce a limited edition work of art, which would reach a wider audience, allowing accessibility to the public and its entirety. Each “magazine” is handcrafted and designed by some of the world’s leading innovators of photography, illustration and urban and skateboard art and design. Produced on museum quality paper, each page is a collectible item, individually sealed and packaged. Now in its 8th edition, Kingbrown has achieved worldwide success and is now launching for the first time in the US.

The term “Kingbrown” is Australian slang for a 40oz, and the magazine’s slogan “wrapped in a brown bag, just like a good 40 should”, is just as original as the artists it represents. This latest 8th edition, co-curated by the renowned collaborative, “Morning Breath”, focuses it’s topic on the visually rich artists who have influenced the world of skateboarding.

The impressive line-up includes Morning Breath, Andy Jenkins, Chris Cycle, Dave Kinsey, “Grotesk” aka Kimou Meyer, Stefan Marx, Kevin Lyons, Mike Giant, Raza Uno aka MAx Vogel, Greg Lamarche, Zach Malfa-Kowalski, Steve Gourlay, Jay Howell, and Ben Horton, all of whom have contributed to this limited 8th edition of Kingbrown Magazine.

Additional works to be included in the exhibition by Australian artists: Beastman, Phibs, Hiro, Reka, Kyle “Creepy” Hughes-Odgers, Meggs, Sean Morris, Yok, Sheryo, Ross Clugston, Daek, Lister, Numskull, Ian Mutch, Rone/ aka Tyrone Wright.

Klughaus Gallery

47 Monroe St.
New York, NY 10002
F to East Broadway / M15 Bus to Catherine St. x Madison St.
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Fun Friday 06.10.11

Fun-Friday

Hey, Where is COST At?

Looks like he’s ready to stage a comeback. Ellis G. shares with us the news that these new prints are H.O.T.   Dang. The big question of course is, how much do these cost?

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Cost-June-2011

http://papermonster.net/artist.php?artist=20 link to papermonster site to view prints.

http://blog.papermonster.net/posts/view/159/cost link to papermonster site to view blog post on COST.

Um, We Need a New Dance Craze

First submission “The SWAG Line”, which is very effective when done by two or more persons simultaneously.  The gymnasium action STARTS AT .49 seconds.

French Street Artist LUDO’s sculpture “The Cacktus”

Now, is that nice? Don’t want to read too much into the possible symbolism here, but LUDO may have some anger issues he’s working out in this new sculpture project.

brooklyn-street-art-ludo-cacktus_sculpture

Says the artist: “Back from Zurich and a lot of works on paper, I wanted to spend more time in the studio to focus on a (almost) new technique for my pieces. 3 years after the first little sculpted Gunflower, I am very happy with this new series of sculptures called “The Cacktus.” ~ LUDO

Learn more at the artist’s site http://www.thisisludo.com/

BAST: It’s What’s For Lunch

Trying to figure out what to pack for your picnic in the hazardous waste industrial park today?  Here’s a delicious option  from the blog of BAST. See brand new stuff he posted on his blog yesterday here http://bastny.blogspot.com/

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Bast-June-2011-armani+3

Yard Work Episode: 7

Deep inside suburban New Jersey, Snow and Joe Iurato rock a back yard.

Street Art Shows Its Softer Side in Canarsie, BK

Yo, we know ya’ll are hard beeaatches because you are STREET, right? Don’t front. And yet, Abe Lincoln Jr. shares this project with the BSA fam that makes everybody think you may not be the ostracized marginalized feral cats you pose as – Curated by the Love Movement, a handful of mostly New York Street Artists got together and painted big pieces to be permanently installed in a high school in the Carnarsie section of Brooklyn. Participating artists who gave of their creative juices freely include Leon Reid, Michael Defeo, Skewville, TooFly, Thundercut, Morning Breath, and Abe Lincoln Jr.

JMR Somewhere in Texas, “Here is Now”

It’s Getting Hot Out Here…. I know it was 97 degrees in NYC yesterday and it’s only June. At least here you literally CAN take off ALL of your clothes if you want.

Yes, Texas. Where they fry eggs on the street for breakfast, it’s so hot. That’s where Street Artist JMR has a show called “Here is Now”. Right now we are here, but congrats to Jim.

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JMR (photo © courtesy of the artist)


brooklyn-street-art-jmr-jim-rizzi-detail

JMR detail (photo © courtesy of the artist)

MCL Grand Gallery is located at 100 N. Charles Street, between Main and Church streets in Lewisville, Texas.



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Fun Friday 06.11.10 on BSA

Fun-Friday

Fundraiser, Print Show, New Gallery Opening in Brooklyn

99percent

Don’t miss the opening and fundraiser tonight of Brooklyn’s newest gallery, called 99%. The silent auction will feature new prints by Swoon (left) and Gaia (right) as well as Bast, Chris Mendoza, Cycle, Dennis McNett, Doze Green, Ellis G, Eric White, Esao Andrews, EZO, Ian Kuali’I, Imminent Disaster, Jeremiah Ketner, Jose Parla, Kenji Hirata, Lady Pink, Martha Cooper, Martin Wittfooth, Maya Hayuk, Mel Kadel, Morning Breath, Nathan Lee Pickett, Orlando Reyes, Rage Johnson, Ricky Powell, Rostarr, Ryan Humphrey, Skewville, Tara McPherson, Tono Radvany, Voodo Fe, Xiaoqing Ding, Yuri Shimojo

See our interview with gallery owners Andrew Michael Ford and Mikal Hameed HERE.

For more info go to http://www.ninetyninegallery.com/

Collabo With Blu and Os Gemeos for Crono festival in Lisboa (Portugal)

see the finished wall here:
http://cargocollective.com/crono
Os Gemeos blog:
http://osgemeos.com.br/
about Blu:
http://blublu.org

Guy Denning and David Walker Show Tomorrow

brooklynite

The Village Voice said it’s good and that’s all that matters. More info about the Guy Denning and David Walker show at Brooklynite here.

GUY DENNING • DAVID WALKER
June 12 – July 10

Musical Guest: DJ REKHA

Happy World Cup!!!! Here is Tsatsulow,the Best Soccer Freestyler in the World

FIGMENT on Governors Island – Interactive Art for Everybody (Free Free Free)

Figment

The Figment Festival on Governor’s Island boasts so many live arts and activities for free this weekend that it is guaranteed to relax and exhaust you simultaneously. A number of street artists are going to be there performing live, as well as a number of interactive installations and performances to challenge and titillate.

Governors island continues to expand and grow, and FIGMENT this year is no exception. Check the ferry schedule (free). There are ferries from Brooklyn again this year. Visitors are encouraged to bring bikes and food.

Figment all Weekend http://figmentproject.org/2010/events/figment-nyc-2010-event-projects-artists/

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How Fast Can You Paint a Portrait?

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Brooklyn’s New “99%” Will Serve Street Art Fans and Many More

Brooklyn’s New “99%” Will Serve Street Art Fans and Many More

99% Perspiration, 1% Inspiration

Brooklyn-Street-Art-99-percent_WEB-Header_copyright_Steven-P-Harrington-L1080701

Anyone in New York will tell you that the adage holds true if you are trying to get your dream to happen in this city– a band, a restaurant, a store, a website, a clothing line.  It could be a genius idea, but you’re going to have to work for it. Gallerist/curator Andrew Michael Ford and artist Mikal Hameed, both in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg since 1999, have put in plenty of perspiration getting separate projects off the ground over the last decade in NYC.  This spring as their shared dream of an art center and gallery in Billyburg gathered momentum, they redoubled their efforts and called every artist and source they knew.  Tomorrow, their dream, called “99%”, will open with a community fundraiser auction of prints by those artists. Ford and Hameed are going to do the necessary perspiring to make it happen.

Common Dreams, Rooted In Respect

Together, the two partners (along with a silent 3rd ) have discussed this gallery and community art space for a year and a half.  Studio talks about formal goals, bar-stool wisdom about esoteric ones, and serious footwork finally secured this location in a Brooklyn neighborhood considered a Street Art destination for artists and fans since the late 90’s.  Formerly an artist enclave, the neighborhood is rapidly changing as rezoning from 2005 allowed gentrification to rapidly bland the bohemian vibe, even as the change was slowed by the speed-bump of a huge recession.  Ironically, as the street art in the neighborhood is gradually disappearing, 99%, a gallery that celebrates it, opens it doors.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-99-percent_WEB-MIKAL_M11X_HAMEED

Mikal (known professionally as M11X), an innovative ingenious creator of art merging furniture and stereos, came from a graff background on the west coast writing as SMUGE with the WCA crew as a youth.

“So I was a writer, then I was an MC, a break dancer, whatever – all 5 elements. I started to gradually change and become well connected with people who are part of the street art scene,” says Mikal as he recounts his path to this place. He recalls how he ran a gallery called Headquarters in San Francisco and Oakland before coming to New York and running MJH’s gallery in Williamsburg.

“This is just part of my whole evolution. It’s been building up inside of me for so long. “

As he speaks about his goals for 99% he talks about the life of an artist. You can tell that he sincerely wants to bring a greater command of the craft to the newer graff and street artists out today – people he refers to often as “The Kids” .

Ford, a gallerist best known for his work as gallery director at both the pivotal Street Art gallery Ad Hoc Gallery in Bushwick and for the Dark Pop and Pop Surrealists at Last Rites Gallery in Chelsea, hopes to merge his affinities for any number of current art movements, most considered “outside” or lo-brow by the established gallery scene.

“Yeah, I think it’s more about ‘the work’, the skill levels, and the imagination.  The artist may also put up work in the street or do comic books for a profession or they are a professional illustrator but they have such a desire to do personal work.  A lot of galleries will look at them as simply an illustrator and not an artist, and I think those kinds of distinctions are ridiculous. An artist is an artist and they want to express themselves creatively and they want to have a place where they can do that. ”

Me and my shadow. Andrew Michael Ford stands by a much loved wall in the studio and a view of his portrait by Street Artist Ellis G. on the door

Me and my shadow. Andrew Michael Ford stands by a much loved wall in the studio and a view of his portrait by Street Artist Ellis G. on the door

Street Art, comic books, illustration, pin-up, animation, new media, graffiti, tattoos, folk art, – these terms pepper-spray through the conversation as Andrew, an enthusiastic conveyor of ideas about the current state of art and the gallery scene, barely keeps up with his own ideas. Clearly he hopes to create a gallery where unsung and marginalized art forms are given the respect he thinks they’ve missed. Street Art may be hot at the moment, but labels are not going to be the determining factor for whether 99% Gallery works with an artist or not.

BSA: Are we going to retire the term “Street Art” at any time in the near future?

Andrew: That obviously is a public debate, and obviously that is something that everyone should be involved with as far as what’s going to happen with these other terms like “low brow”, “pop surrealism”, “street art” and similar terms.

Mikal: They asked the same question about graffiti in the late 80s and I don’t think we were ever able to retire it.

BSA: So is there such a thing as “Street Art: Phase 2”?

Mikal: I think we are at Phase 3 or Phase 4 at this point.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-copyright-Steven-P-Harrington-99-percentL-MIKAL-ANDREW

An Educational Component

But it’s not just going to be a gallery. The guys want to create an art space that serves and educates, along with showing cutting edge art.

Sketching out their plans for the near future, Andrew explains, “We’re not talking about traditional education here – we’re talking about re-examining how the work is presented to people. I would say first phase is about lectures and talks, and we can work our way into workshops and classes down the road.”  The ideas for educational topics run the gamut, but they often touch on the basics that both partners feel have been missed by many of today’s artists.

“Yeah, kids need to learn how to do their own framing, make their own stretchers”, says Mikal, “I wish somebody taught me how to do that.”

Sounding like he is creating a new class on-the-fly, Andrew jumps in, “I do have a traditional art education background, — it was so much conceptual stuff, so much theory. There wasn’t a whole lot of practical stuff.  It was amazing that I could have this degree and yet it was after school that I had to learn a lot of stuff on my own.  It seems like a simple thing but I have this conversation with people all the time; What is the difference between a Giclée print, a hand silkscreened print, and what is a serigraph?”

A grassroots, populist philosophy enters the conversation again and again, and it becomes evident that the focus will be on the person, their approach, and the talent –rather than the formal educational background or pedigree of an artist.

“Yeah we want to create an equal playing field for a lot of artists,” stresses Mikal.

What playing field are they trying to equal out? Mikal responds, “Sometimes it just comes down to skills and imagination. You may not have the proper education but you have your passion and your motivation about this whole movement – you should be recognized as well.  Your sh*t should be up right next to the other stuff because your education could have come from somewhere else beside school.”

How often do you see this? Doze Green and Martha Cooper catching a tag on the wall of the new gallery.

How often do you see this? Doze Green and Martha Cooper catching a tag on the wall of the new gallery.

So the men have a lot in store, and they have what can only be described as a healthy dose of mutual respect.

Andrew praises Mikal’s talents and explains what he brings to the partnership, “One of the most important things is that Mikal is a very vibrant active artist who is doing shows regularly and has a different relationship with people than me because he is a working artist. It is really important to me to have Mikal because we are really good sounding boards for each other. I might be thinking a little more about the business side of things and how we are going to present it and he is thinking more about the specific piece of art and where the artist is coming from. He could say to me, ‘You may want to consider this because this is how the artist is going to feel’. I think it is a really really good match”

For his part, Mikal sounds solid in his dedication, “The people that work with Andrew just have straight up respect for him and they know that he’s the main guy in this business right now but he just needed his own platform to show everybody what’s up.”

Is this place big enough for all their dreams?

“No, but it’s a start. There is no place like that,” says Mikal.

Andrew agrees, “I’m really grateful for the fact that it is a tremendous starting point and an incredible location. I think it is going to benefit everybody that we work with”.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-copyright-Steven-P-Harrington-99-percentL1080682

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images of Andrew Michael Ford and Mikaal Hameed © Steven P. Harrington

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99% Gallery and Art Center

99 North 10th (between Berry and Wythe), Brooklyn, NY 11211

OPENING RECEPTION: JUNE 11TH, 7-11PM

FUNDRAISER PRINT GROUP SHOW SILENT AUCTION to benefit 99% and the artists.

$5 COVER

Participating artists for the print show  include:
Bast,Chris Mendoza,Cycle,Dennis McNett,Doze Green,Ellis G,Eric White,Esao Andrews,EZO,Gaia,Ian Kuali’I,Imminent Disaster,Jeremiah Ketner,Jose Parla,Kenji Hirata,Lady Pink,Martha Cooper,Martin Wittfooth,Maya Hayuk,Mel Kadel,Morning Breath,Nathan Lee Pickett,Orlando Reyes,Rage Johnson,Ricky Powell,Rostarr,Ryan Humphrey,Skewville,Swoon,Tara McPherson,Tono Radvany,Voodo Fe,Xiaoqing Ding,Yuri Shimojo

For more information about the auction

CONTACT:info@ninetyninegallery.com
WEBSITE: www.ninetyninegallery.com

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99% Gallery and Art Center : Debut and Fundraiser

OPENING RECEPTION: JUNE 11TH, 7-11PM

FUNDRAISER PRINT GROUP SHOW SILENT AUCTION for the new…

99%
Gallery and Art Center

99 North 10th (between Berry and Wythe)
Brooklyn, NY  11211

$5 COVER

The first opening will be a print group show fundraiser, to benefit the new space.  All prints will be available for purchase via a silent auction.  First bid MUST be half of the retail price of the print.  Each bid thereafter must increase my increments of $20.  Cover: $5

If you are unable to physically be at the gallery, but would like to bid on prints from the show, e-mail: info@ninetyninegallery.com

Participating artists for the print show so far include:
Chris Mendoza
Cycle
Doze Green
Ellis G
Eric White
Esao Andrews
Gaia
Ian Kuali’i
Jose Parla
Kenji Hirata
Martha Cooper
Mel Kadel
Morning Breath
Nathan Lee Pickett
Orlando Reyes
Rage Johnson
Rostarr
Ryan Humprey
Skewville
Swoon
Tara McPherson
Tono Radvany
Voodo Fe
Xiaoqing Ding
Yuri Shimojo

ABOUT 99%

99% perspiration, 1% inspiration.  This old adage still makes sense in 2010.  We at 99% Art Space produce the 99% perspiration, allowing the artists we work with to focus on the final 1% inspiration.  We want to do the work to create a space which will be conducive to not only art exhibiting, but also to art appreciating, art learning and in the end art creating.  We believe in the artist and the artwork they produce.  This is the reason we, or any other art space for that matter, even exists.  It’s about the artist and the inspiration and enlightenment their final art embodies.

99% is dedicated to doing everything in our power to support the artist and the work they create.  We are also dedicated to art learning, through our upcoming series of lectures, classes, workshops and so much more.  Of course we also are dedicated to working with the artists we want believe in to produce a regular schedule of exhibitions throughout the year.

Lastly, 99% is dedicated to underdogs.  We will exhibit artists who been inspired by the worlds of comic books, animation, new media, graffiti, tattoos, illustration, folk art and many other forms of pop, subversive and outsider imagery.

99% perspiration, 1% inspiration.  We like the way that sounds.  We like the idea of working hard to create an environment for our artists to engage with comfortably, as they change the world one idea at a time!

P.S. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that the number on our building is 99!  😉

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“I think it gives Brooklyn a kind of twist”; Willoughby Windows through the eyes of Brooklyn kids.

The Willoughby Windows Project, curated by Ad Hoc Gallery last summer was a big hit that helped revitalize a downtown block.

A developer who bought the block had made it look ugly by kicking out the mom-n-pop businesses that made their living there, so the street artists made it look super cool by putting art in the windows.

These four talented and insightful Brooklyn students in 4th,5th, and 6th grades made an excellent documentary about the project and it’s impact on the people they met who passed the windows. It is very funny and entertaining. Oh yeah, it’s educational too.

Brooklyn Friends Student Documentary Fall 2009 from Samuel Bathrick

The team really studied the topic and explained why they did the project. Here are some quotes from the documentary, to give you a flavor:

“We decided to make a documentary film about the different stores and that had art in them.”

“We had some questions and we wanted to find out what the general public thought about the art.”

“Personally I think the stores closed because of the economy.”

The documentary includes discussion about the project, how it came about, and interviews with people on the street. Garrison Buxton of Ad Hoc, and one of the featured artists in the project Dennis McNett, are also interviewed. The whole documentary was edited by the class instructor, Sam Bathrick.

Three cheers for after school programs!  Three cheers for teachers!  Three cheers for these amazing students!!

See a previous post on the Willoughby Windows Project

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AD HOC hurtles BKMIA to Miami right on Time!

When your van breaks down and dies en route to Florida from New York, you might get a little cranky and freaked out because you have 40 people’s art in the back and are somewhat behind schedule.

You haven’t met the Buxtons.

Ad Hoc and Eastern District in Miami Thursday Through Sunday
Ad Hoc and Eastern District are in Miami as BKMIA Thursday Through Sunday

Brooklyn gallerists Garrison and Alison from AdHoc found themselves at a U-Haul truck rental agency when it was obvious that fixing their jalopy wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

“Yeah we’re definitely making some tangy lemonade out of the lemons we’ve been collecting,” says he.

With a show to mount and open in 2 days (Today) in Miami, they asked for a 14 foot or 18 foot truck but U-Haul was out of that size. So they upgraded to the 26 foot, which made the whole process of moving art a lot easier, and together they steered the MIGHTY BKMIA SHIP southward.

“We just got another beautiful space today”, says Garrison, now that they’ve arrived with a truck of Brooklyn Street Art in the land of orange groves and mobs of art-hungry models in stilettos.  They are spreading out into their new giant space on 4141 Northeast 2nd Avenue, which is right across the street from their original space. They had a lot of people’s work with them, “Yeah there was no way it all was going to fit in the original space we had”

And the art itself?  One of the first things to be unpacked was this badass sculpture.

UFO and Ryan Doyle at BKMIA
UFO and Ryan Doyle at BKMIA (photo courtesy Ad Hoc)

This is an interactive kinetic piece by Ryan Doyle and UFO of 907 crew.

What'r YOU lookin' at? (courtesy Ad Hoc)
What’r YOU lookin’ at? (courtesy Ad Hoc)

According to the artists, it’s made of found objects and crafted using caveman spaceship technology. Amazingly similar to the squidlike image in the photo below, this sculpture is mechanized with two worm head, gear drive electric wheelchair motors, and is fully operational with a joystick. And yes, Martha, he does look like a writer (check out the fat marker in his tentacle).

Perhaps a sketch? (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

Perhaps a sketch? (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

Ad Hoc is partnering with Brooklyn neighbor Eastern District in a conceptual gallery called AE District to show off some of Brooklyn’s finest street artists, graff writers, and related contemporary artists in a 40+ name show. Names you might know like London Police and Gaia and Morning Breath will be joining talented newbies like NohJColey and Mario Brothers.

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Willoughby Windows Walkby – Street Art on Display in Downtown Brooklyn

It’s a great idea to go window shopping these days —as opposed to actual shopping.

Since 70% of the American economy is fueled by shopping instead of manufacturing, we’re all supposed to be doing our patriotic duty accordingly. But sometimes the wallet is bare, bro.  And sometimes the local dollar doesn’t stay local.

In yet another case of Street Art improving a community, the Willoughby Windows project in downtown Brooklyn officially opened this weekend with 17 artists, babies, scooters, costumed dancers, a sidewalk DJ, and inquisitive mildly bewildered citizenry slowing down to peek through the glass into artists’ clever minds.

Artist Logan Hicks leans into his piece comprised of collaged crowds of New Yorkers on the street. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Artist Logan Hicks leans into his multi-layered screenprint piece depicting crowds of New Yorkers on the street. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

A stupendous 3-D installation of printing expert Dennis McNett (photo Steven P. Harrington)
A stupendous animal centric 3D installation utilizing the full space of the display window by print expert Dennis McNett can only be appreciated fully in person (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Garrison and Allison Buxton, anchors and workhorses in the Brooklyn
Garrison and Allison Buxton; anchors and visionaries, bring Willoughby Windows to Brooklyn  (photo Steven P. Harrington)

In a joint effort with Ad Hoc Gallery and the local BID (Business Improvement District), Garrison Buxton and Allison Buxton and all the Ad Hoc interns have worked tirelessly for a few weeks with artists to install this show behind glass and to revive a moribund block in this sector of retail Brooklyn.

A highly detailed storyline from Cannonball Press (photo Steven P. Harrington)
A detailed storyline from Cannonball Press also features a giant old -style cash register (not pictured) that reminds you there once were real businesses and customers here (photo Steven P. Harrington)

At the very least, it’s not so friggin depressing to pass this block on the way to work.  At most, it can inspire creative impulses and conversations. Friday’s opening featured many children, gawking families, kooky creative types, chalk games on the side walk, even a feeling of “community”.  Huh.

Willoughby Window gazer (photo Jaime Rojo)

Willoughby Window gazer (photo Jaime Rojo)

In a window display that once featured
In a window display case that featured bagels and home-baked goods, the late afternoon shadows slide across photographs of shadow-tracing by street artist Ellis G.  (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Ironically a neighbor to bailout-happy JPMorgan Chase, whose skyscraper casts a shadow over this district of mom and pop businesses displaced by developers, the Willoughby Windows Project gives creative stimulus to the community with a fresh way to think of the shop window.

Chris Stain's stencil invokes imagery from his working-class roots (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Stencil artist Chris Stain invokes the imagery of Brooklyn neighbors (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Josh MacPhee

Josh MacPhee brings his Celebrate People's History poster series to this window, creating a patchwork of text and images (photo Steven P. Harrington)

In the wake of boom-era blustery press conferences and erect Powerpoint bar-graphs that fell limp, this project doesn’t bring back the businesses or feed their families, but it does invite a conversation about what a locally created economy means to the people who live here.  Pedestrian?  Yes, actually. Moribund? No way.

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Willoughby Windows presented by Ad Hoc

Ad Hoc Art presents Willoughby Windows

Friday, July 10th, 2 – 7pm = Ad Hoc Art presents “Willoughby Windows”

An ambitious creative venture featuring 14 storefronts on an entire block of downtown Brooklyn which will highlight installations by 15+ artists. The opening will be a street party on Friday, June 19th, from 2-7pm. Some of New York’s artistic finest will be representing to the fullest.

Confirmed participating artists include:

Cannonball Press (Mike Houston & Martin Mazorra)
Chris Stain
Cycle
Dennis McNett
Ellis G
Gaia
Greg Lamarche
John Ahearn
Josh MacPhee
Lady Pink
Logan Hicks
Carlos Rodriguez {Mare139}
Michael De Feo
Morning Breath
Nathan Lee Pickett
Tom Beale

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