Optimism Straight Outta NYC
BSA doesn’t spotlight too much graffiti because we’re not very smart about it, and there are a lot of geniuses on graff out there. Plus the S-A part of our name precludes much BS on the graff tip. But some artists straddle the edge of graff and Street Art, and one artist who keeps catching our eye because of his placement and the light-hearted comedic quality of his character is Optimo, sometimes referred to as Werds (depending where you are surfing).
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Short for Optimo Primo (best cousin), the graffiti artist Optimo grew up as a boy in Chelsea in the 1980s excited and ignited by the colorful graffiti he saw on trucks and trains around him. As a true original New Yorker, he names some of his stylistic influences as 1990s graffiti writers including Wolf1, Revs & Cost, Seen, Reas, and Sabe. His signature character has been on the streets since 2006, the American flag bandana as a symbol of free expression and the First Amendment, and the showman top hat something the artist likes to wear as well.
Now a full time artist selling his stuff on the streets of Soho, Optimo has showed his work in a gallery setting with a 40-piece show at Revolution Studios in Chelsea last summer and in a group show at Brooklyn Fire Proof in Bushwick as well as Culture Fix on the LES in the fall. His soft spot is box trucks, which he says he’s painted over 100 of, according to his bio on Tumblr, and he aspires to retain his signature style of “optimism”. Here is a BSA collection of images of work in New York and Miami by Optimo NYC.
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo. Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a staple in herbal medicine and has been since ancient times. Egyptians used stinging nettle to treat arthritis and lower back pain, while Roman troops rubbed it on...
In advance of Moniker in Brooklyn this May, we are interviewing some of the artists who are influenced both by street practice and fine art as the contemporary urban art category continues to evolve...
Last week we brought you the first annual Jersey City Mural Festival with generously scaled murals and unbridled color. Muralism isn't new but mural festivals are now a dominant vehicle or platfo...
The previous NYC record for frigid cold on January 7th was 6 degrees (F). Tuesday broke that record at 4 degrees. Olek decided we needed a blanket. Olek for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC (photo © Jaim...
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening:1. Chile Estyle, from Pablo Aravena2. ARCHIFONT 3. Tartu Street Art Comes to Berlin - Hello Miste...