Street Artist, teacher, and cultural emissary Specter just returned from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan where he was working with local artists in a project called Global Art Lab to try their hand at painting walls, including these inside a crumbling theater building. The under-utilized Tashkent space is spare and open and analogous to the abandoned and neglected places that many Street Artists and graffiti writers are attracted to around the world, not to mention its storied past that adds to the somewhat haunting quality of the roughened interior.
Specter (photo © Specter)
The top two floors of the Ilkhom Theater (Ильхом Театр Марка Вайля) were destroyed in a fire two decades ago and its founder Mark Weil was murdered at its entrance the day before a performance in 2007. Today performances and rehearsals take place in the spaces that remain usable – but the roof still gives them problems.
Working through the organization CEC ArtsLink, the Brooklyn artist feels like his teaching style was perfect for the environment and was happy to have bright minds engaged to activate the walls here. “The artists were extremely talented,” he says. “They worked hard and I think we created a really special exhibition.” The organization also has featured others from the street art/public arts scene including Mark Jenkins and Evan Roth of Graffiti Research Lab.
Included in the largely monochromatic program are three large walls he painted himself that he says were inspired by local traditional patterns. Here are his new walls and many of the walls created by the students, many who pose here with their work at a reception that was held at the end of the project.
Specter (photo © Specter)
Specter (photo © Specter)
A piece by a local artist who participated in the exhibition. (photo © Specter)
A local artist working on his piece that appears to form the logo for Facebook. (photo © Specter)
A local artist posing in front of her piece. (photo © Specter)
Selective plugging of holes in this serrated concrete facade creates a digitized piece by a local artist who participated in the exhibition. (photo © Specter)
A local artist walking in front of his piece. (photo © Specter)
A painter at work. (photo © Specter)
Apple as religious iconography. A piece by a local artist who participated in the exhibition. (photo © Specter)
Birds on a wire in this piece by an artist in the program. (photo © Specter)
Two participants pose in front of their piece. (photo © Specter)
A local artist working on portrait of musician Jimi Hendrix. (photo © Specter)
A local artist posing in front of her piece, a collection of cassette tapes and a player. (photo © Specter)
A local artist working on her piece. (photo © Specter)
A group shot of all the participating artists, mentors and organizers. (photo © Specter)
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
For graffiti artists today, deconstructing the letterform is more popular than you may imagine, and in our experience, leads to even greater things. SODA (photo © Andor Ivan) After 20+ years or s...
The three-dimensional figures cavort with the thickened and filigreed waves of memory and emotion. They emerge from the wall, flicker across the screen, mesmerizing. Swoon. "Cicada" Deitch Gallery...
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. The first day of February brought New York a blizzard - a foot and a half of snow, complete with winds and drifts and buried cars. It drives everyone outside to...
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated ...
Dude/Dudette, it's Mermaid Parade Day - part of Coney's modern pop-carney cultural heritage. Rolling up Surf Avenue, turning right and coming back down the boardwalk, the three decade old event is bot...