Here are new pieces on street walls from the Street Artist named #Tag in Israel, who is interpreting art-world and TV icons through the lense of the current Covid-19 crises. With new pieces on the street in Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, and Jaffa, these three are as international as they are local.
Brooklyn Street Art: Has it been difficult to do work on the street, or has it been easier? #Tag: I will describe it more like weird. I pasted all the three works at the beginning of the Coronavirus in Israel. I think after the Breaking Bad work, a few days after, the quarantine started. In general, it was kind of the same, but a weird feeling in general, like literally the virus was in the air.
Brooklyn Street Art: What do you hope people will experience when they discover your work? #Tag: In general all my messages are meant with a sense of humor. I believe that art should deliver positive messages but not necessarily in an obvious way. I saw that that’s exactly what happened with my works, from things people have said on social media, and I am very happy about that. During these days we need to stay positive, and after almost a full quarantine I started to create digital works and use Facebook / Instagram as my digital wall 🙂
Happy Holidays to all of you charming and sparkling BSA readers!
It’s been a raucous sleigh ride with you and we thank everyone most sincerely for your support and participation this year. A sort of tradition for us at the end of this December we are marking the year with “14 from 2014”. We asked photographers and curators from various perspectives of street culture to share a gem with all of us that means something to them. Join us as we collectively say goodbye and thank you to ’14.
Curator Natalie Kates has organized and presented site specific art exhibitions as well as represented Street Artists and collected their work as well. She also has a great sense of style and some incredible shoes. Ms. Kates’ familiarity with the street art and contemporary art scene is only superceded by her unbowed enthusiasm for the work she presents and her commitment to a sense of community and collaboration. For the last day of 2014, Natalie shows us an image she shot on its very first.
“I have been all over the world documenting, producing and collecting art. For a holiday gift my husband took me to Israel.
To my surprise Tel Aviv has a thriving street art community, with artists creating beautiful works in all forms from wheat-pasting to stencils. This photo was taken on New Year’s Day 2014 as I was making my way to breakfast in the charming Neve Tzedek neighborhood and saw this street cat having his breakfast too, with the stencil work by DeDe as a perfect backdrop!”
“Site-specific” is a term employed by some Street Art conceptualists often today, but the relevance of location to the piece on the street may not be as clear to the viewer as the artist would have intended even when it is the product of a high-minded process for selection. This is not the case in Tel Aviv where Street Artist Dede is taking “site-specific” quite seriously in a new series of pieces where a stenciled view of a city scene appears precisely where this view can also be observed with the bare eye. By producing this visual double-take, the location and stencil placement instantly invoke a closer examination and consideration of just what is being called into view, and perhaps to ask why.
It could be a scene you otherwise would have overlooked, but somehow now it is elevated by the fact that the artist has taken the effort to cut and spray a stencil here and probably did so with purpose. It’s a highly effective method of sharpening our focus and we’re glad that it has brought Yoav Litvin to BSA today to share his recent interview with Dede about the series as well as to discuss his views on life in Israel during this time of intensified conflict with Palestine. Yoav also shares his photos from these new site-specific installations as well as other examples of the artists’ stylistically eclectic offerings.
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Belonging, Territoriality and Healing in Israel: An interview with Dede
by Yoav Litvin
Whenever I visit a city, I try to dedicate time to venturing on the streets in search of art as a way of assessing the local and current creative vibe. By chance, I was in Israel when the most recent violent conflict erupted between the Israeli army (the IDF) and Hamas in the Gaza strip. During my two-week long visit there, I spent countless hours arguing against violence and for peace and reconciliation; against the powerful interest groups and for the people.
Together with Dede, a local street artist, I walked through various neighborhoods in Tel Aviv in search of art. Seeing the beautiful and at times chaotically colorful walls, I once again felt the positive and potentially healing power of art, even more so in this dire context of war. I have always believed street art can represent a creative, non-violent form of rebellion. It can serve to challenge the powerful, the violent and the selfish and offer an unfiltered, free and raw voice- from the people to the people! As composer and playwright Jonathan Larson epitomized in his famous quote: “The opposite of war is not peace… it’s creation!”
Here I talk with Dede about his current series of site-specific stencils, and how these may reflect some of the realities in this troubled town and part of the world. Additionally we see his most recent large-scale murals, which revolve around relevant issues of belonging, displacement and escape.
Yoav Litvin: What’s your thought process behind these site-specific installations? Dede: I began this ongoing site-specific series of stencils at the end of 2013. It stems from many thoughts/ideas on technique and the ways in which we are exposed to street art today. Importantly, I was very much influenced by a text written by the cultural critic Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction and its ramifications on our modern way of life.
Yoav Litvin: Why did you choose the locations you did? Dede: Every location has its own reasons, each attempting to focus attention on an important issue within our modern urban reality. These include the housing crisis in Israel, urban development and restoration of historical landmarks/buildings.
Yoav Litvin: There is a long-standing conflict surrounding territory in Israel. Do your site-specific installations address it? How? Dede: There is always conflict on territory/resources, perhaps everywhere in the world but I see it clearly here in Tel Aviv. Just like in any capitalist society, real estate here is bought and sold in accordance with personal interests and therefore can be controversial in a community. For example- see my stencil of the tower that was built in Neve Tzedek in Tel Aviv (below). The rest of the neighborhood is only two stories high and many residents were against the construction of such a tall building- there were petitions and protests but eventually those with money won out. Land is expensive and Tel Aviv is prime real estate in Israel. There is a constant increase in housing prices and this is making Tel Aviv a city exclusively for the wealthy.
Yoav Litvin: I had a lot of fun shooting these stencil installations, trying to capture the art together with its subject. Are you trying to create a dialog between artist and documenter? How do you view street art documenters within the scene, especially with the central role of the Internet, social media and photo sharing? Dede: Documentation is extremely important for street art, because of this art form’s inherently ephemeral nature. However, seeing a photograph can never replace the feeling of standing in front of a piece and personally experiencing it. Documentation conveys the idea as best as possible without experiencing it first hand. In this series of stencils, documentation is a central theme.
Stencils are regularly cut based on photographs, and this series was sprayed at the location the pictures were taken. Thus, the photographer has a central role in capturing both subject and the art it conveys. My notion was to challenge the documenter and in turn, the viewer of the photo. This work was intended for an audience that relies on social networks for its street art consumption.
Yoav Litvin: How has your art evolved since last we spoke? Is it becoming more personal or do you feel you are reaching out to the public with relevant issues to the community? Dede: This is a question I ask myself all the time. Honestly, I cannot really say what has changed in my art. I let my art lead me, and do not try to lead it. I feel I am trying to evolve in both realms you mention, focusing on my personal style, but also my interaction with the community, both locally and globally.
Yoav Litvin:I find street art to be an excellent device for an artist to communicate with the surrounding communities. Do you try to appeal to a strictly Israeli audience in Tel Aviv? How do you engage the Palestinian population, for example in neighboring Jaffa? Dede: Street art engages everyone everywhere, especially today in the age of the internet. As an artist in Tel Aviv, Israel, I am aware that my art reaches Palestinians as well as Israelis. In fact, I often correspond with Palestinian artists, and am pleased when they enjoy, interested and/or are emotionally touched by my work. I feel my work is a personal reflection that appeals to people everywhere, not just Israelis, Palestinians or any other category of people.
Yoav Litvin:One cannot discuss Israel today without addressing the current violence. Has it affected your art? How so? Dede: The situation here is very complicated and disturbing. It is a conflict that has been going on for years. This conflict has affected my art and inspired me to create in many ways. I love Tel Aviv, but during wars it is a difficult place to live in. One of the central themes in my works is the need to escape to a safer place, whether in the physical or emotional realm. This stems from different motivations; mental, social and political. I do not believe any citizen should live in a state of fear anywhere, and my art conveys these notions.
Interview written, edited and translated by Yoav Litvin. Mr. Litvin is the author and photographer of the recently published book Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Gingko Press.
For more information regarding Yoav Litvin click HERE. For more information regarding Dede, click HERE
BAZEL GALLERY presents ALICE MIZRACHI
in her solo exhibition,
“WINDOWS OF LOVE”
“Windows of Love,” presented by Bazel Gallery, features select works by artist Alice Mizrachi that explore and celebrate the many facets of love.
Alice paints the simple exchanges of love she glimpses while people-watching and depicts them in her paintings as snapshots, to share that fleeting moment of connection we feel when we are witnesses to love. Whether it’s the love of a father and child, friends, lovers, love for animals, nature, home or the love of self, Alice encourages us to notice that love, in all its multidimensional facets, is often felt as recognition.
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open hearted vision of people who embrace life.” – John Lennon
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 11, 2013 from 20:00-22:00
Closing Date: Sunday, August 4, 2013
Bazel Gallery
1 Hashlah Street, Tel Aviv, Israel
A quick taste of their new walls, stylishly cut with some product integrations.
Stinkfish in Bogata, Columbia
Presented by Offprojekt, flourescent volts of energy jump of this portrait by Stinkfish while a curly haired cherub named Beta smacks up the hand prints next to him and street dogs meander on the sidewalk looking for scraps. Carlos Perez Ocampo wields the camera.
Goons World in Chicago
Neo primativist Street Artists Goons are introducing lucky guests to their world tonight in their hometown of Chicago. Check it son.
As more cities join the world Street Art scene, thanks largely to an enthusiastic youth culture sharing images across the Internet and handheld devices, you see new artists popping up on the street almost daily. While there certainly is a developing global visual vocabulary on walls that is influenced by high profile international stars, you will still hear the local voice steering the Street Art conversation as well.
For Tel Aviv, known by many as a vibrant party city that never sleeps, the interest in Street Art has been high and there has been a blooming scene in the last five years that mimics some of those international styles even as it clearly is developing it’s own local aesthetic.
Today we feature new images from local artists in Tel Aviv by a photographer and scientist from New York who lived for a while in this city on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline. An urban wanderer who pokes through fences, over walls, and along small streets on the hunt for what’s new, Yoav Litvin says he “views the urban environment as the perfect melting pot between humanity and nature, history and modernity, life and death.” We talked to him about his recent explorations in the city and asked him to talk about his observations in this snapshot of a growing scene.
Brookyn Street Art:What captured your attention about the Street Art scene in Tel Aviv? Yoav Litvin: It’s in your face! While walking in Tel Aviv, especially the city’s southern parts, it was impossible to ignore; very diverse and colorful Street Art and graffiti are everywhere.
Brookyn Street Art:Many of these shots are in abandoned buildings. For some photographers it is like an adventure discovering these sorts of spaces covered with art. What is it like for you? Yoav Litvin: There’s a lot of character in abandoned buildings; the crumbling walls, the colors, the decay, the piles of rubble, the scattered tools or buckets of paint, the puddles of water, the beautiful imperfections. Every new space one discovers is surprising. You can sense a life history of an abandoned building, now turned bare skeleton. It’s cozy in that sense, it is accepting, non judgmental and unpretentious. On the other hand, it keeps you on your toes with its broken stairs, sharp edges, crumbling floors, stinking trash, used needles and even an occasional inhabitant who surprises you. I find that art works beautifully in such settings, blending and mutually complementing the cracking paint and occasional crevice.
As a photographer I find that abandoned buildings are fun spaces to play with light and composition. Most of these buildings have broken windows and doors, if any, letting in light that breaks, angles and reflects in a symphony of colors, lights and shadows.
Brookyn Street Art:Most large cities have a certain amount of work on the street from international artists with a higher profile. What made you concentrate on just the locals? Yoav Litvin: I love seeing work produced by internationally well-known artists. But I find that when I walk the streets of any town, I particularly enjoy seeking art that is new and fresh to my eyes, art produced by local artists that are not as well known, many of them incredible talents that have just not had their international breakthrough. As a past inhabitant of Tel Aviv, I especially wanted to pay tribute to the local scene, artists who by nature integrate their city into their art, and their art into their city.
Brookyn Street Art:Street Art can be a good barometer of public tastes and a reflection of the culture that it is part of. Is there anything distinctly Israeli about the work you see represented, whether thematically or stylistically? Yoav Litvin: From my recent short visit to Tel Aviv, I noticed great diversity in both styles and mediums used. I also noticed graff and street art ranging from simple tags any kid can do, to beautiful murals and elaborate pastes. As far as distinct content, I did notice some politically oriented street art that directly addressed internal Israeli corruption, the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories and some social issues.
Other than that, I can’t say I noticed something distinctly Israeli as far as style, but I do blame that on the shortness of my visit- With more time actually spent there, maybe I would be able to pick that up. It’s clear though that just like any urban artists in today’s interconnected world, both their local scene and other artists worldwide influence Tel Aviv-based artists.
Brookyn Street Art:What is your favorite kind of shot as a photographer and when do you know you captured it? Yoav Litvin: My favorite shot is when I spot something beautiful in good light, and can frame it perfectly so that it somehow relates to its environment in an interesting way. If it includes an opportunity to capture a particularly beautiful instant in time, that’s especially rewarding. When I snap such a shot, I usually just know it.
Today on BSA we have a special guest contributor, Yoav Litvin, who is an avid photographer of Street Art and someone who has a true interest in the artists, their stories, and how they create their work for the street. Today Yoav brings us to Tel Aviv, Israel to meet a local artist on the scene there whose style continues to evolve across walls of the city. In the interview Dede tells us about the vibe of Tel Aviv, his journey as an artist, his process, how he sees his work critically in the public sphere and how Street Art can intersect with the political and personal.
Yoav Litvin: What is the significance of art in the streets?
Dede: For me, street art began as simply a form that was just there. Over time, it gained more and more significance and has become the central and primary form in which I work. Street art is challenging, surprising, dynamic, honest, exposed and always interesting.
Within the urban space I get the most inspiration and drive to create and produce a dialogue with the surroundings and the passersby. On the walls of Tel Aviv, I can initiate democratic and free debates and express my opinions without the meddling or intervention of a curator or gallery. Above all it is a place that enables me to declare my being in the present, and allows me to take part in creating the dynamic urban texture.
Yoav Litvin: How are the current forms of street art a sign of our time?
Dede: In the reality in which we live, street art has new life. In the past, pedestrians would walk the streets and be exposed, via the urban bustle, to information and art. Today people spend more time sitting in front of the computer than walking the streets. With the current culture of sharing and social networks, we can feel as though we are wandering the streets without really leaving home; one can be exposed to street art that is currently produced on the other side of the planet!
This opens up new possibilities, spaces, concepts and statements, making the street art medium even more relevant than before. The statements that emerge from the street reflect the status of the population, its pain, suffering, happiness, etcetera. This enables a dialogue with and between the public in the city and the world; artwork that tackles an issue or problem existing in a certain place can raise awareness around the world.
Yoav Litvin:How did you become a street artist?
Dede: I have never been able to call myself a street artist. Though my inspiration and energy definitely come from the streets and returns to them, I believe that regarding the artist, the viewer has to decide for him or herself. Art is a concept that is difficult to grasp, almost abstract. It can be described or reviewed in all sorts of ways and everyone has different opinions about it. I create from a place of internal motivation and that makes it hard to explain; I produce regardless of what “art” is.
Yoav Litvin:Do you do studio work as well? What is the difference for you?
Dede:I also work in my studio, mostly preparing for work in the street. In the studio I work on sketches, models and tests that I later develop. Sometimes I accumulate work for a series of works to present in a slightly different manner than I would in the street with a different target audience in mind.
Yoav Litvin:What is important for you to highlight in your work as a street artist?
Dede: I guess what’s important for me to highlight in my street art is that there is always an alternative; if there is a pressing issue, whether personal or social, you are allowed to stand up and say what you think about it and in so doing bring the issue to the awareness of the public. Laws should not be complacently accepted, but rigorously reexamined. It is important to be thoughtful, critical and form an educated opinion about them.
Yoav Litvin: What does street art in Tel Aviv reflect about the city’s urban life and about its urban civil society? Which is your favorite neighborhood?
Dede: Something about Tel Aviv made me instantaneously feel connected; I love this city and never get tired of it. It offers infinite walls and workspaces, a fast-paced vibe and a lively young crowd that is very admiring, appreciative and supportive. It is a city that does not represent the rest of Israel, but it has become a place characterized by diverse opinions that interact with and affect the rest of the country. Each neighborhood has its own uniqueness; together the neighborhoods produce a varied and interesting city at any time of day, culturally and in many other respects.
Yoav Litvin: Recount a memorable experience that has happened to you while working on a piece in the street.
Dede: Almost every time I go to work in the street I come back with exciting experiences and stories. One day during a quiet morning when I painted in an open parking lot in the Florentine neighborhood, I was on a ladder and a mom and her little boy approached me from behind. The boy asked his mother what I was doing and his mom responded: “What he’s doing is illegal, but this is his way of expressing himself.” This was a very simple statement and made me realize something unique about my way of life.
Yoav Litvin: How do you envision the future of street art in general and in Tel Aviv in particular?
Dede: In my opinion it is not possible to predict the future. This art movement plays with and between so many boundaries and stays fresh and always interesting, though, and perhaps because there are many attempts to institutionalize and formalize it or to simply exclude it. Along with its exposure and rapid development, street art is introduced into different parts of the “mainstream”. Some are even commercial even though street art is often illegal and directed against the system. It seems to me that it will take time for the interest in the street art scene to wane.
In my opinion this is just the beginning; street art arrived here in Tel Aviv relatively late, caught on very quickly and is still in its infancy. There are a lot of directions in which it could develop and many artists seek to develop their own styles. Like in any other field we Israelis look at what is happening in the rest of the world and try to bring the unique Israeli context into the mix.
Yoav Litvin: Please describe the artistic techniques and materials you favor and why.
Dede: Being a curious person and not very rational, I utilize a variety of techniques. I start thinking of what I want to say or do and where I want to say it and then only how to make it. I work with stencils, pastes, free hand, installations, site-specifics and more. I use paint, spray paint, paper and various industrial materials.
I hope that what eventually echoes out of my work is a path that shows my way of thinking and reasoning with statements that are probably still not completely clear, but will be revealed gradually to both myself and viewer.
It’s the BSA Reader Video Request edition of Fun Friday for all us peeps who are not shopping today. We asked our Facebook friends and fans for their favorite street art related video flicks and give them to you here- in no particular order. Peace out and have a great Black Friday everybody.
1. Vhils in Germany
2. Wild Style Part 1
3. Open Air
4. In Bed with Invader
5. En Masse in Miami
6. Berlin Street Art as Lyrics (Emus Primus)
7. Shai Dahan new Ted Talk “Beyond Borders”
8. TEJN LOCK ON STREET ART – Street Art Sculpture by Tejn
9. Burn – Episode 3
10. Graffiti Verite Part 1
11. Japanese Stencil
12. BLU – BIG BANG BIG BOOM
14. Hanoi Lantern Bearers – Vietnam with The Yok
15. Bomb It
Vhils in Germany
The Portuguese Street Artist at work, produced by Euromaxx, recommended by Crist Graphicart (German language)
“In 2006, we created this short for the University of Southern California’s Public Arts Studies Program.
This documentary explored the studios and methods of six of the top street artists in America: Faile, Skewville, Mike De Feo, Dan Witz, Espo and Tiki Jay One.” Recommended by Lou J Auguste
“At the end of November (2011), the En Masse Art Initiative flew down to Miami to take part of the Miami Art Basel events. With the help of Sodec Quebec and Galerie Pangée, EM teamed up with Scope Art Fair, Fountain Art Fair, Safewalls, Primary Flight and the Found store to create multiple work of art. During 10 days, the team grew exponentially, adding members from all around the globe; Tel-Aviv, Montreal, Brooklyn, Woodstock, Staten Island, San Fransico, San Diego, Miami etc.” – recommended by Beth Tully
Berlin Street Art as Lyrics (Emus Primus)
Emus Primus and photography of Berlin Street art, set to music. As recommended by Da Andal
Shai Dahan new Ted Talk “Beyond Borders”
The keynote is about my travel into Palestine. Considering what is going on there – Being that everyone is talking about the violence, this video can reflect a bit of light on how there are some ways to find peace. It may not find the sort of wide peace we hope to all gain there, but through the message in the keynote, I hope people can see that Israel and Palestine can share a common beauty: Street-art.” Shai Dahan
TEJN LOCK ON STREET ART – Street Art Sculpture by Tejn
“The third episode of BURN graffiti video series. Best episode so far! Featuring rolling freight, live painting and more! As recommended by Beyond The Rail Photography
Graffiti Verite Part 1
“Part 1 of the 1995 Los Angeles graffiti documentary directed by Bob Bryan. Featured artists include Duke, Skept, Tempt, Prime, Mear, Relic, Cre8, and Design9.”
Japanese Stencil
A stencil artist creates a piece as a tribute to Japan in the wake of the destruction it suffered last year. – As recommended by Crist Graphicart
BLU – BIG BANG BIG BOOM
“an unscientific point of view on the beginning and evolution of life … and how it could probably end. direction and animation by BLU.” This one recommended by Martha Becker
The full documentary – “Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on 5 continents, BOMB IT tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70’s and 80’s, then follows the flames as they paint the globe.” Recommended by Orson Horchler
It’s a BSA Fun Friday and we’re gonna tell you all about some stoopendous Street Art shows this weekend from Brooklyn to Chicago to Paris to Vienna but first….Everybody get up and do some FF dancing like my homeboy PSY in Korea.
This sh*t is Gangnsta, bro.
SEOUL, YOU THINK YOU GOT TALENT…
1. VIDEO “Gangnam Style” Dance Frenzy from Korea
2. Bäst Sells Olive Oil and Opens New Show at Opera Gallery (NYC)
3. “Just Your Type” at Low Brow Artique (BKLN)
4. LUDO “Metal Miltia” at Galerie Itinerrance (PARIS)
5. “All Write You Scumbags” with Reyes and Steel at Klughaus (Chinatown, NYC)
6. “Dominant Species” by ROA at 941 Geary (San Francisco)
7. GAIA, MOMO AND MICHAEL OWEN in “Zim Zum” (Baltimore)
8. Don’t Fret in “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Chardonnay”(Chicago)
9. Tel Aviv: Israeli Street Artist and poet Know Hope “Others’ Truths”
10. The Black River Festival in Vienna, Austria
11. Stephen Powers AKA ESPO “A Love Letter for You”
12. “Permanence at Space 27 Gallery in Montreal, Canada
13. eL Seed in Tunisia (VIDEO)
14. When Lucent Met Herakut (VIDEO)
15. Voice Of Art “Graffiti Against The System” Presents GATS (VIDEO)
Bäst Sells Olive Oil and Opens New Show at Opera Gallery (NYC)
Street Artist Bäst has always mixed a savory chopped image salad. With his dicing, cutting, collaging and stencilling work on the street over the last decade, a lot of his recent stencils are twisted Bodega style signs advertising basic staples for the pantry. But of all the collaborative advertising that Street Artists have been getting into, we never could have predicted this; Olive oil. You can actually go to snooty classist foodery Dean and Deluca and buy a bottle of Bast style olive oil right now. Only 500 were made in this limited edition and the oil smells better than the petroleum-spilled brownfields in industrial Bushwick where you usually see his work, so why not?
This Brooklyn native artist has been amusing, hijacking, and inspiring with his work on the streets of New York for well over a decade and it’s also cool to see his gallery work at his solo show “Germs Tropicana” opened last night at Opera in Manhattan. If the pieces are too pricey, Dean and Deluca is just a couple of blocks away!
For further information regarding this show click here.
“Just Your Type” at Low Brow Artique (BKLN)
Outside is the brand new wall piece by ND’A and Dirty Bandits. Inside this art store/gallery they are joined QRST and Gilf! in this new small show called “Just Your Type”, opening tonight.
For further information regarding this show click here.
LUDO “Metal Miltia” at Galerie Itinerrance (PARIS)
Parisian Street Artist LUDO was in multiple shows around the world and blanketed the Paris Metro and bus shelters with his subvertisements for two years before a gallery in his native city invited him inside. Tonight Galerie Itinerrance will have LUDO’s first solo show entitled “Metal Militia”.
With a truly unique approach to social critique that serves as a cunning indictment of the advertising industry and the military industrial complex, you won’t find anything like the pretty disgust than the work of LUDO.
For further information regarding this show click here.
“All Write You Scumbags” with Reyes and Steel at Klughaus (Chinatown, NYC)
Ever the ballsy wiseguy, the Klaughaus Gallery in Manhattan continues to produce and present quality shows that challenge your possibly prejudicial pre-formed perceptions of propriety and pugnacity. This time they invited West Coast natives Reyes and Steel to exhibit at their space with a show titled “All Write You Scumbags”.
From the press release, “The New York debut for both artists and showcases a distinct chemistry cultivated over years working together as friends, creative partners and members of MSK, one of the highest regarded graffiti artist collectives in the world.” To find out what this means go to their show opening tonight.
For further information regarding this show click here.
“Dominant Species” by ROA at 941 Geary (San Francisco)
Street Artist ROA concludes his US Summer Tour 2012 in San Francisco at his own victorious opening Saturday at 941 Geary Gallery. The show is aptly called “Dominant Species” and will feature many of the cast of creatures you have grown to expect.
For further information regarding this show click here.
To read BSA’s feature on ROA this week and to see beautiful images of his work in Mexico, Africa and Cambodia earlier this year click here.
GAIA, MOMO AND MICHAEL OWEN in “Zim Zum” (Baltimore)
GAIA, MOMO AND MICHAEL OWEN are transforming the space at the Creative Alliance Gallery in Baltimore with a collaboration that promises to spill over the street and beyond. If you want to see what the trio is up to put the gameboy down and head out to the gallery for their opening tomorrow night with an exhibition titled Zim Zum.
Don’t Fret in “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Chardonnay”(Chicago)
Chicago based Street Artist Don’t Fret has a new solo show, “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Chardonnay” opening Saturday night at the Bizzare Gallery in Chicago. So if you are planning to arrive naked, BYOB and put your wallet under your armpit. Lo-fi comic book doodling that make most people look like family day at the tractor pull, Don’t Fret drawings are people you know and often dang hilarious.
For further information regarding this show click here.
Also happening this Weekend:
If you are in Tel Aviv: Israeli Street Artist and poet Know Hope is releasing a new zine titled “Others’ Truths” and he’s mounted a small exhibition of the drawings that illustrate it. This exhibition will remain open all day today until 4:00 pm. Click here for more details on this show.
The 2012 Edition of The Black River Festival in Vienna, Austria is now open. The festival has an important selection of Street Artists putting up works throughout an entire week of programs. Roster includes Blu, Evan Roth, Florian Riviere, Isaac Cordal, Mark Jenkins, and ZukClub. Click here for more details on this festival.
The film screening by Stephen Powers AKA ESPO “A Love Letter for You” is being hosted by the Joshua Liner Gallery in conjunction with their current show by the artist “A Word is Worth A Thousand Pictures”. The screening will take place tomorrow at The Tribeca Grand Hotel. The artist will be in attendance along with the director and a Q & A will follow the film. Click here for more details on this event.
“Permanence” is the title of the new group show at Space 27 Gallery in Montreal, Canada. With an ambitious line up international and Canadian artists this show aims to juxtapose the “ephemeral nature of street art with the permanence of collectible art.” From their press release. Click here for more details regarding this show.
In the spirit of Unity, we present Street Artist eL Seed in Tunisia (VIDEO)
This week there has been much news of sadness, discord, and suffering in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen. Street Artist and painter eL Seed gives us a moment to pull back and reflect on the beauty and poignancy that a religious belief system can contribute to the lives of some.
Here he creates ‘Madinati’ Calligraffiti on Jara Mosque in Gabes.
When Lucent Met Herakut by The One Point Eight (VIDEO)
“A short documentary which presents the show involving graffiti duo Herakut and the Lucent Dossier group, detailing both the rehearsal process and the final performance in a unique and different way.”
Voice Of Art “Graffiti Against The System” Presents GATS (VIDEO)
The zine will be released in a special event that will take place on Thursday, September 13th at 20:00
(the exhibition will remain open Friday, September 15th, 12:00-16:00)
at “Studio”, 2 Harakevet St., Tel Aviv
“Others’ Truths”, Know Hopes tenth and newest zine is comprised of a series of drawings, texts and observations collected during the past year.
While working on the zine, Know Hope focused on the idea of ‘truisms’, which are often adopted without questioning; by the use of the image of the flag in his work, Know Hope attempts to research the concepts of patriotism and nationalism, not necessarily from a directly political stance, but from a viewing point of the personal or private human condition in relation to the more general and collective.
“Others’ Truths” is in a way a continuation of Know Hopes research, attempting to understand the current situation that we find ourselves in, being born into a charged reality structured on the foundations of past and outdated morals and values.
The original drawings that were used as pages in the zine will be exhibited during the event. The drawings are composed of Know Hopes repetitive iconography, that are an insight to the human condition, as well as the motif of ‘the flag’ and the relationship between the two.
The zine will be available during the event, and at www.thisislimbo.bigcartel.com and selected stores from Friday, September 14th.
“Others’ Truths” is independently published in an edition of 1000. The zines are soft cover and have 64 b/w pages.
In addition to the zines, sticker packs created specially for the event will be available.
Welling Court, in Queens, NYC is a city block where three-family homes intermingle with small family owned business — a nice old-fashioned model with today’s 1st and 2nd generation immigrants taking a crack at an American dream. The art-minded Buxtons, Allison and Garrison, never seem to tire of providing a safe, roomy space to artists to create within and for the third year they have hosted “Welling Court” here in this neighborhood. But it’s more than a bunch of mismatched weirdo art kids getting up on walls with their own vision and isolated from their surroundings. Allison and Garrison want all the kids to play together nicely and that’s why yesterday there were also bicycle races down the main block with a chalk finish line, a section of wall reserved for all ages to try their can skillz, and that’s why moms and dads brought out food in metal trays and set up barbecues and used a truck as a mobile dj booth to blast cumbias and reggae inflected dance/hip-hop/two-step/classic rock all up and down the block.
As we celebrate Father’s Day today we gotta hand it to the ones who stay involved and engaged in their kids lives, and to the stand-in Dads who give guidance and encouragement to all of us when the real ones aren’t to be found. We also salute the Buxtons’ experiment in building art and community here, where aerosol fumes mix with barbecue smoke and an international bevy of Street Artists come to let their guard down and get their game on. It’s not commercial, often exceeds expectations, and always engenders feelings and behaviors of “family”. And doesn’t everybody benefit from that?
We begin this Sunday’s Images of the Week with a small selection of some of the completed murals from yesterday. We’ll bring you the full account later in the week. The second part of today’s images show BSA readers some exclusive images of new Street Art sent to us from around the world. Artists include, Brett Armory, Cekis, Dan Witz, Hellbent, Michael Aaron Williams, Olek, R. Robots, Rene Gagnon, Skewville, Skount, Stormie Mills, and Yote.
Let’s start off with this little bundle of joy from New York Street Artist and fine artist Dan Witz, who may have based this portrait on someone he knows quite well.
Street Artist Yote sends this tribute to an artist and teacher. “Frederick Brown recently passed away and I wanted to dedicate this mural to him. It is entitled “Flowers for Frederick.” He was best known for his portraits of jazz singers and musicians. I talked to him on the phone this spring in hopes to get advice on how to loosen up my style and not be such a perfectionist from a real expressionist. He was too sick to talk for long but I do know he used to instruct students to complete two dozen paintings in a week and things like that to get them out of their head and into painting”~ Yote
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
