All posts tagged: Solus

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.10.24

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.10.24

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.

Read more about this fight by clicking these links:
ArtNews, WWD, Hyperallergic

And please enjoy images from our ongoing conversation with the street, this week featuring Stikman, Captain Eyeliner, Bunny M, Homesick, Solus, Nekst, Muebon, Dirt Cobain, Jappy Agoncillo, Outer Source, Samo©, Isabelle Ewing, Lady JDay, John Draw Volta, Toy, Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, Butterfly Mush, and Ash Saint.

NEKST (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NEKST (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NEKST (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A Guess t-shirt featuring what appear to be tags by graffiti writer Nekst for sale on www.iqueens.com (©iqueens)
Ash Saint (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ash Saint (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JhonDrawVolta rocks the street with boundless imagination. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)
bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)
bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)
bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Solus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Isabelle Ewing. Girls Just Wanna Have Funds. Butterfly Mush. Lady Jday. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HOMESICK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Samo© (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captain Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captain Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dirt Cobain. Outer Source. Muebon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TOY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. SOHO, NYC. March 2024. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 10.29.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 10.29.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

New York is gripped with anxiety and demonstrations because of the Israeli attacks on Gaza that appear to violate International Law. No one is happy, and accusations fly in this most polarizing of international conflicts that threatens to spread – who knows where next. Friday night, a colossal demonstration overtook Grand Central Station and the streets around it by mostly Jews calling for a ceasefire, followed by an equally thunderous one across the Brooklyn Bridge. No one wants to talk about it, yet everyone is talking about it. May cooler heads prevail, and may children be spared our foolish wars.

The morning glories are still beaming blue and pink over fences on abandoned lots here, even as their tumbled vines and leaves turn yellow. The East Village Halloween Parade takes off at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and people are already in costumes on the subway, in the bar, at the pumpkin stand. Street artists have naturally gravitated toward our cultural icons, real and fantasy, and they continue to bring them to walls and doorways and the occasional box truck or subway car. Hearts were warmed this week when a subway rat was caught on video in the tracks dragging a glazed donut a distance to share with his (girl?)friend. You see, even our rats are generous in spirit.

We reflect on Western society’s preoccupation with youth and what a dead end it is, as we spotted a quote this week from British author Donna Ashwork on social media. It makes sense when you look at the Rolling Stones, who played at Racket NYC with special guest Lady Gaga this week. Also we caught the Ed Ruscha show at MOMA this week. These artists are in their 70s and 80s, as are so many of the icons of the Boomer Generation. Somehow, they can be just as compelling as in their heyday sometimes, and its not because of their physical appearance. Anyway, enjoy this poem/quote:

Don’t prioritise your looks, my friend,
they won’t last the journey.
Your sense of humour though, will only get better.
Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.
Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.
Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.
And your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants.
Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall.
Don’t prioritise your looks my friend,
they will change forevermore,
that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment.
Prioritise the uniqueness that makes you you,

and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit.
These are the things which will only get better.

Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Queen Andrea, Solus, Degrupo, Jerkface, Mike Makatron, Miki Mu, Home Sick, TomBoyNYC, Dirk Hiekel, Keon IVGN, Robles 147, Mistake Project, and Carlo Beley.

TomBoy NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JerkFace updated his Mickey Mouse again. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Solus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Degrupo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Miki Mu evoking the spirit of Madonna (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Homesick (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Queen Andrea (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Robles147 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mistake Project (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Carlo Beley (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Urban Art Project (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Urban Art Project (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Urban Art Project (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mike Makatron (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mike Makatron (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dirk Hiekel (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Keon Ivgn does a portrait of Ms. Rosa Parks (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Fall 2023. Brooklyn, NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 09.24.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 09.24.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

It’s no joke, this feeling of connectedness across cities and time zones that the street art and graffiti scene encourages – and often, it all overlaps in NYC, yo! This week, we have Martin Whatson and Hama Woods from Norway on the wall in New York, and it was a pleasure to see them both. It’s another honor to see Niels “Shoe” Meulman in the hood for only a minute, but long enough to see his new wall in Bushwick go up! We’ve been very lucky over these last 15 years to meet so many great people and talents worldwide, making streets in new cities seem like home because we see the work of friends and acquaintances wherever we are exploring. This week we have shots of New York and LA mixed together – enjoy the show!

Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Adam Fujita, Martin Whatson, Adam Fu, Niels ‘Shoe’ Meulman, Solus, Danielle Mastrion, Optimo NYC, Hama Woods, Cody James, BK Sckler, Toe Flop, Hiero Veiga, Hydrane, Notice, Jayo V, Alexali Gonzales, TBanbox, and Fenji93.

Hama Woods (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hama Woods (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Niels Shoe Meulman with The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Niels Shoe Meulman with The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Martin Whatson (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cody James NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Adam Fujita (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentifed artist in Los Angeles. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hiero Veiga references a decade since the release of The Weekend album that may have changed his trajectory. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hiero Veiga. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo makes his takeovers attractive and balanced compositionally, encouraging participants to fall in line. Optimo NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Voluminized Hydrane (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Yes, I did. Notice (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist in Los Angeles. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Toe Flop (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Solus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jayo V (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ah, the diamond life. Alexali Gonzalez tributes singer Sade in Los Angeles. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TBanbox (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KIR (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BK Ackler (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A long distance romance perhaps? Fenji93 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The Beastie Boys have their newly minted square in NYC and Daniele Mastrion was on hand to paint a tribute mural to the famed band – with a conversion of the garbage receptacle adding a third dimension to their sound system. The wall references Paul’s Boutique as well. Stay tuned next month for a massive new Beastie Boys tribute on a NYC wall by a name you know very well! (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Beastie Boys Square, and the all-seeing cameras gradually introduced across New York with very little comment, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Memorial to BLVCK DA DON in The Lower East Side. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 06.09.19

BSA Images Of The Week: 06.09.19

Jeez, that only took 50 years. Stonewall Riot Apology: Police Actions Were ‘Wrong,’ Commissioner Admits”, cooed the New York Times this week. Of course the NYT headline at the time focused on how the helmeted, armed police were affected, rather than the couple of hundred citizens who they harrassed, intimidated and beat up for being many shades of LGBTQ – “Four Policeman Hurt in Village Raid”. Thankfully Macy’s and HSBC bank and all the corporations ran to the rescue of those folks in 1969 and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, 90s, right?

Aside from the multiple lessons we all continue to learn in the fights for people’s equality across society and in our institutions, one lesson comes through loudly and clearly: real, meaningful change almost never comes from the top down. Social, political, and economic justice comes from the grassroots, rank-and-file, everyday people fighting day after day, year after year.

That’s why we keep our eyes on graffiti, Street Art and all manner of expression on the street – its proven to be a reliable source for the vox populi.

So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring CANO, Carl Paoli, Dain, David Puck, El Ergo, FKDL, Infynite, Isabelle Ewing, Justin T. Russo, Little Ricky, Meres One, Ramiro Davaro-Comas, Sara Lynne Leo, Screwtape, SeeTF, Skewville, Solus, and Stray Ones.

seeTF portrait of Taylor & Lauren with Meres One’s heart shaped rainbow. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Homo Riot (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Justin T Russo. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)
David Puck. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
FKDL (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Solus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Little Ricky (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Little Ricky (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ramiro Davaro-Comas (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Skewville (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stray Ones (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stray Ones (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Isabelle Ewing (photo © Jaime Rojo)
El Ergo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sara Lynne Leo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Infynite (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Carl Paoli (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist Justin T Russo. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)(photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cano (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. The Last Picture. East River, NYC. June 2019 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA “Images Of The Year” For 2018 Video

BSA “Images Of The Year” For 2018 Video

Here it is! Photographer Jaime Rojo of BSA selects a handful of his favorite images from his travels through 9 countries and around New York this year to present our 2018 BSA Images of the Year.

Seeing the vast expressions of aesthetics and anti-aesthetic behavior has been a unique experience for us. We’re thankful to all of the artists and co-conspirators for their boundless ideas and energy, perspectives and personas.

Once you accept that much of the world is in a semi-permanent chaos you can embrace it, find order in the disorder, love inside the anger, a rhythm to every street.

And yes, beauty. Hope you enjoy BSA Images of the Year 2018.


Here’s a list of the artists featured in the video. Help us out if we missed someone, or if we misspelled someones nom de plume.

1Up Crew, Abe Lincoln Jr., Adam Fujita, Adele Renault, Adrian Wilson, Alex Sena, Arkane, Banksy, Ben Eine, BKFoxx, Bond Truluv, Bordalo II, Bravin Lee, C215, Cane Morto, Charles Williams, Cranio, Crash, Dee Dee, D*Face, Disordered, Egle Zvirblyte, Ernest Zacharevic, Erre, Faith LXVII, Faust, Geronimo, Gloss Black, Guillermo S. Quintana, Ichibantei, InDecline, Indie 184, Invader, Isaac Cordal, Jayson Naylor JR, Kaos, KNS, Lena McCarthy, Caleb Neelon, LET, Anthony Lister, Naomi Rag, Okuda, Os Gemeos, Owen Dippie, Pejac, Pixel Pancho, Pork, Raf Urban, Resistance is Female, Sainer, Senor Schnu, Skewville, Slinkachu, Solus, Squid Licker, Stinkfish, Strayones, Subway Doodle, The Rus Crew, Tristan Eaton, Vegan Flava, Vhils, Viktor Freso, Vinie, Waone, Winston Tseng, Zola

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BSA Images Of The Week: 11.25.18

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.25.18

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You made it! Thanksgiving is over and you did not explode from eating too much pumpkin pie. Right?

A number of subverting artists and activists took over billboards in cities around the world this Thanksgiving holiday to celebrate “NO AD DAY” – an aesthetic effort to reclaim public space from advertisers who have slowly but surely crept into everything, producing an ever-present artificial and continuous knawing in the stomach that you are not handsome or pretty enough, rich enough, or somehow incomplete in a thousand ways.

Check out folks like Brandalism to learn more about a growing grassroots movement that began perhaps in the 60s with folks like the Billboard Liberation Front but has picked up speed and technique in the last decade. Of course artists like Abe Lincoln Jr. don’t need a special day to take over a phone booth – any day is fine.

So here is our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Abe Lincoln Jr. Adam Fu, Bortusk Leer, Kenny Scharf, Lucky Rabbit, Maia Lorian, Mastro, Norm Magnusson, Tito Ferrara, Rawraffe, Solus, and Uncle Susan.

Top Image: Solus for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The hi-jacking of civically minded historical markers is done very well here in the suburbs by Norm Magnusson “Jane King” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Norm Magnusson “Jane King” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

Tito Ferrara for East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist Abe Lincoln Jr.  and artist Maia Lorian created a series of phone booth ad take overs in NYC that spoof and critique advertising, the barren vapidness of consumer culture, Trump, hypocrisy in general. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Abe Lincoln Jr. & Maia Lorian phone booth ad take over. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Abe Lincoln Jr. & Maia Lorian phone booth ad take over. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rawraffe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Uncle Susan (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bortusk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

#mtamuseum Some space take over on the NYC Subway platforms. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

#mtamuseum Some space take over on the NYC Subway platforms. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kenny Scharf for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kenny Scharf for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adam Fu art work on his message of given thanks. We published the completed on Thursday for BSA Happy Thanksgiving. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Detail of Lucky Rabbit mural on Houston Street. We wrote a little article on this mural on Tuesday on BSA. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mastro (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Beacon, NY. Fall 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 06.17.18: The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018

BSA Images Of The Week: 06.17.18: The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018

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Bushwick is in the mix this week as the new murals made to augment the collection for this years Bushwick Collective Block Party brought more persons and personality to the streets here. As murals are ruling this moment in the Street Art scene, today for your edification, this is how its looking out here.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Bert, BK Foxx, Cabaio Spirito, Franck Duval, Golden 305, Hops1, Jeff Henriquez, Li-Hill, Loomit, Michel Velt, Mr. Hydee, Mr. June, Niels Shoe Meulman, Reme821, Ruben Ubiera, Sipros, Skewville, and Solus.

Top image: A new Biggie by Sipros for The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sipros. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Niels Shoe Meulman. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BK Foxx. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Li-Hill. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ruben Ubiera. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Reme821. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cabaio Spirito. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cabaio Spirito. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Solus. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jeff Henriquez. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jeff Henriquez. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Golden 305 (with the work of Celso “Work” on top from a previous edition). The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Michel Velt. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hops1. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hops1. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hops1. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Loomit . Bert. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Loomit . Bert. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Franck Duval. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Hydee. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. June. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. June. The Bushwick Collective Edition 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.30.17

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.30.17

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We really dig these new collaged political cartoons that are on the street as quickly as the weeks news – each depicting one of the many rich white men who are impacting our minds and our bank accounts and our health and sense of security right now. Are we watching the White House or Good Fellas? The backstabbing, front stabbing, chicanery, and ongoing systemic tomfoolery makes you wonder who’s actually running things.

The news cycle is hourly it seems, with tweets and personnel changes and threats happening so fast that people are developing PTSD that is triggered by news alerts on the phone. We have to admire any Street Artist who tries to keep up with the developments and get their commentary on a wall.

Many young and old New Yorkers are wincing from high rent, high debts, crumbling infrastructure, and everyone is working longer hours, if they are lucky enough to work. Some just give up. Meanwhile the one plausible healthcare option that many have gained over the last handful of years? – the servants of the rich have been trying to stab it to death – but they couldn’t muster it this week. Even now – Trump says he’ll stand by and watch it die rather than improve it in any way. Have we ever had a leader who is so cynical?

Even Senator McCain – in our top image above – fresh off his tax-payer funded brain cancer surgery, waivered this week before providing the pivotal vote that saved healthcare for 20 million or so. Most GOP Senators ignored the majority of the US citizens who implored them to fix Obamacare not nix it. But their bank accounts proved far more important than our health. The rich and their corporations are flooding our entire political system and only after we get their money out would we be able to call the USA a democracy. Otherwise we are just fooling ourselves.

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Bifido, El Sol 25, Jarus, London Kaye, Luna Park, Miss17, MSK, Myth, Otto Schade, Rime, SikaOne, Solus, Sonni, Spy33, and Wonderpuss Octopus.

Top image: Unidentified artist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonni (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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

Sidka One (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Otto OSCH Schade “Taurus” in Shoreditch, London. (photo © Otto Osch Shade)

Otto OSCH Schade “Taurus” in Shoreditch, London. (photo © Otto Osch Shade)

Otto OSCH Schade paints a small Snoopy and Woodstock on a sunsent in Shoreditch, London. (photo © Otto Osch Shade)

London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miss 17 with unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rime . MSK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bifido for Oltremare Festival in San Cataldo, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

“In this area the government is building a gas pipeline and to do it they are cutting many olive trees. Part of the local economy is based on olive oil production, so people are fighting for preserve their lands and trees. I wanted to address this situation with my artwork.” -Bifido

Bifido for Oltremare Festival in San Cataldo, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

Bifido for Oltremare Festival in San Cataldo, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

Luna Park for #resistanceisfemale (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Myth (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. We want to attribute this to Mr. Toll but we don’t think this is his work. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jarus for Art Untied Us in Kiev. Ukraine. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

“This mural depicts a woman sitting at the window sill and reaching outwards. Turning the wall into a window is a metaphor for opening your mind and heart towards new ideas and concepts. The woman is in a red dress because I felt it would compositionally fit into the area of the wall and surrounding buildings.”-Jarus

Jarus for Art Untied Us in Kiev. Ukraine. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

El sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Spy33 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wonderpuss Octopus (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. Looks a lot like JMR work but we don’t think it is his. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Boots on the NYC Subway. March, 2017. Manhattan, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 04.10.16

BSA Images Of The Week: 04.10.16

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Our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring 3rd World Pirate, A Pill NYC, Anglo, Augustine Kofie, Balu, CB23, City Kitty, Icy & Sot, Jerk Face, Jetski, LX One, Solus, Swiz, and WK Interact

Our top image: A warring door by WK Interact. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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WK Interact (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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This dude lived in Williamsburg before all this happened. Balú (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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And this dude lived in Williamsburg only two summers ago. The wifi still has his name on it. Balú (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown. Subway ad take over. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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That’s one way to shine his buttons. 3rd World Pirate (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Augustine Kofie in Marrakech, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Solus looking up for guidance. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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LX ONE in Marrakech, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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CB23 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swiz in Marrakech, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swiz in Marrakech, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swiz in Marrakech, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swiz in Marrakech, Morocco. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Icy & Sot offers some words of comfort to Stikman. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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City Kitty and friends. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anglo . Jetski (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Pill NYC is just frothing at the mouth to see the consumers move in. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jerk Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. SOHO, NYC. April 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 11.01.15

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.01.15

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A stunning panoply of events all at once this Halloween weekend in New York – The Mets are in the “World Series” playing here and everybody is a fan, the New York City Marathon is today (oldest participant is nearly 95), and everybody’s clocks get set back an hour. More than your average number of freaks and weirdos have been on the subway and street and in bars and in your hallway, some asking for candy, and a lot of people decorated their haunted castles. Check out our Halloween Street Art posting from yesterday, Boo!

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Bifido, Binho, Cdre, City Kitty, Crash, Crummy Gummy, Curve, Hunt, London Kaye, Oldy, Rae, Ron English, Solus, Specter, Tony DePew, and Zafuto.

Top image above >>> Crummy Gummy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Oldy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Twunny Twunny Twunny four hours a day…Crash and Solus’ tribute to Joey Ramone – across the street from the ghost of CBGBs. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Observe . Listen . Reveal. Pillars of the fourth estate. Ron English re-interprets the three wise monkeys for #NotACrimeCampaign (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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City Kitty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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An all too familiar scene- not sure what to think of this one. Check out the cat in the lower corner. Bifido in Athens, Greece. (photo © Bifido)

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Tony Depew (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The tags on the cab are a great balance to the CURVE (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Binho (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Zafuto. Not sure if the tag was added later. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Cdre takes on Chuck Berry. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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RAE sitting on a wall like Humpty Dumpty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Specter billboard take over nearly levitates futuristically. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Could this be Tuco Wallach? This piece is very similar to his Manimal series. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hunt (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Brooklyn, NYC. October 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 09.20.15

BSA Images Of The Week: 09.20.15

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Great weather for hiking, tossing a football, checking out stoop sales, spray painting, and if you are an orthodox Jew in New York, building a sukkah. On the Street Art tip Shepard Fairey’s new show opened and you can read his interview with RJ at Vandalog here, Lithuanian Ernest Zacharevic began his series of projects to come with Martha Cooper , two frenchmen named Boijeot Renauld have arrived to build furniture and sleep on it across sidewalks of NYC, BSA is hosting FAILE at the Brooklyn Museum this Thursday for a talk (you’re invited), and Pope Francis is scheduled to hit Central Park on Friday. Otherwise, just another ho-hum week in dirty old New York.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring A Pill NYC, Andres Flores, Art is Trash, Dale Grimshaw, Emilio Florentine, Ernest Zacharevic, Martha Cooper, Frump, IAC, Kid Fly, Norman Kirby, Love is Telepathic, Muckrock, Ramen, Solus, WhisBe, and You Go Girl!

Top image above >>> Ernest Zacharevic in collaboration with Martha Cooper. Ernest updates a photo taken by Martha in 1984 of B-Boy Andres Flores aka Kid Fly. The collaboration between the two will continue for a few weeks. We’ll bring the art to you when we find it on the streets of NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown in Boras, Sweden. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A warm welcome to Brooklyn from WhisBe. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Muckrock (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Norman Kirby (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Emilio Florentine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Solus (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Pill NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dale Grimshaw in London, UK. September 2015. (photo © Dale Grimshaw)

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You Go Girl (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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RAMEN (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Frump (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown in Boras, Sweden. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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IAC in Boras, Sweden. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Art Is Trash (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Art Is Trash. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. SOHO, NYC. September, 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
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LoMan Art Festival Launches Its First Blast in NYC

LoMan Art Festival Launches Its First Blast in NYC

In a Street Art story rich with irony, Lower Manhattan has just hosted its first official mural festival.

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Space Invader (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

It’s not that the island has been bereft of murals of late – the Los Muros Hablan festival in Harlem has been through a couple of iterations way uptown, Brooklyn has the Bushwick Collective, and Queens has been hosting the Welling Court Project.

The irony lies in the fact that this Lower Manhattan Arts Festival (LoMan) is really the first codified effort to highlight the work of graffiti and Street Art creators in a section of NYC known from the 1970s-90s for the free-range street stylings of artists like Jean Michel Basquiat, Al Diaz, Keith Haring, Dan Witz, Jenny Holzer, Richard Hambleton, John Fekner, WK Interact, REVS/Cost, and artist collectives like AVANT, among many others.

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A major coup of sorts, LoMan exhibited the sculpture of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden that mysteriously showed up in a New York park this spring by Andrew Tider and Jeff Greenspan (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

In other words, on this baked concrete slab of downtown New York that was once a creative cesspool and Petri dish for on-the-street experimentation calling upon all manner of art making, today’s newly arriving young artists have no dream of moving in. In fact, most have fled in search of affordable rent.

Now the entrepreneurial spirit of a couple of guys, Wayne Rada and Rey Rosa, is luring artists back into Lower Manhattan, if only to paint a mural and help the tourist trade in Little Italy. That is how the L.I.S.A. Project (Little Italy Street Art) began three years ago, bringing in about 40 artists – a list that includes big names and small with varying degrees of influence on the current scene.

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Dain and Stikki Peaches (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Despite the historically inhospitable demeanor of hard-bitten and often bureaucratic old New York greeting him at many junctures, Rada has had some measured and great successes along the way, convincing local wall owners to give a  mural a try and raising funding from local businesses and art fans to help artists go larger.

So LoMan Fest’s first edition has finished this year, and along with a few volunteers, a smattering of helpful partners, and nearly continuous negotiations with local building owners, art supply companies, cherry picker rentals, and a collection of local and international artists, Rada and Rosa have pulled off a new event. Impressively it included large murals, smaller street installations, a couple of panel discussions, some live music performances, outdoor film screenings, a sticker battle, a live painting battle, live podcasts, a graffiti zine table, and a sculpture garden in an emptied parking lot on Mulberry Street.

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Damien Mitchell (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Struggle would be a good word. But like anything else when you are starting something for the first time you are spending a lot of time putting systems in place,” says Rada of the process. “There have been interesting challenges with the building owners and with the artists but when it is all said and done it has been all worth it.”

For a scene that was initiated by autonomous un-permissioned art-making on private property, the process of organizing graffiti and Street Artists to do approved pieces on legal walls may try the patience of the rebels who look on mural festivals as lacking ‘street cred’. But Rada sees it differently.

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh expands on her campaign with brand new portraits for “Stop Telling Women to Smile.” (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

“You know there are people in this world that don’t appreciate this and I just want people to enjoy the pieces as long as they can. Isn’t the fun part of street art that moment when you turn the corner and discover it? That’s really what we are trying to do here. For me it’s a collaborative process of trying to find them a spot – which is also normally something bigger where they can take their time and really think it out. In turn, when that work is complete their existing fans enjoy it, and also it helps them get new fans.”

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

A final irony is that LoMan is joining a long list of Street Art-inspired mural festivals worldwide that you might have thought New York would have been near the front of.

Brooklyn Street Art: I imagine you’ve seen the rise of Street Art festivals and you’ve seen the character perhaps of specific festivals in different parts of the world. Do you think there is something specific about New York’s current Street Art scene that has a personality or specific voice?
Wayne Rada: First of all I studied every single festival out there from Pow! Wow! to Nuart, every single one. I’ve also had conversations with people who coordinate those festivals so that I could do a better job with this. I just feel like New York is, and this is grandiose to say, the nexus of the universe for the art world. It just seemed there was something missing and it made sense to have something here.”

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Given the history and the populations of NYC, maybe the strength is the diversity of styles and international artists who are drawn to this particular city to drop a piece throughout the year on rooftops, under bridges, on abandoned lots and doorways. After a minute, Rada decides that this may be what makes a festival like this distinctly New York.

“So in the art world there are so many artists and there are so many Street Artists – and Lower Manhattan especially is represented by something like 126 different cultures and many different races and languages that make up downtown,” he says, “so it makes sense to try to be as diverse as possible and have as many of those voices represented as we could – men and women, all ages, and all walks of life.”

Here’s your first look at LoMan, but it won’t be your last. Rada and Rosa tell us they already have 2016 all planned.

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Art Is Trash typically uses actual trash found on the street to create impromptu dioramas (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Art Is Trash (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ron English added a pink “Temper Tot” shortly before LoMan commenced. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nicolas Holiber uses found wood to create a new “Venus” (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nicolas Holiber. “Mars” (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hanksy (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sonni (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The DRiF pimping a statue of David. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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As in “The Lower East Side” by Russell Murphy (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Faith47 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Buff Monster (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Buff Monster (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BD White and JP Art (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Gilf! (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ori Carino (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A new sculpture by Leon Reid IV (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Tats Cru in monochrome (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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J Morello (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

At press time the works of ASVP, Beau Stanton, Crash, Solus and Ludo were either not completed or had just begun. We’ll bring you these pieces on a later article.

To learn more about the LoManArt Fest click HERE

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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