June 2009

W.K. Interact: Artist Talk

BOOK SIGNING and ARTIST TALK with Q&A

W.K. Interact will be in attendance for this special speaking engagement with an exclusive presentation about his new exhibition of work. WK will be available for Q&A and will also sign copies of his newly released book, published by DRAGO.

The publishing house and trend bureau known as Drago is a portal into the international mindset that is fueled by the ideas and values of the current generation. The worldwide creative evolution that Drago has sparked is based on the thoughts and actions of these avant-garde thinkers. It acts as the gatekeeper of a new youth movement that Drago has coined, “S.I.C: System of Independent Culture” in contrast to the “System of Official Culture.” As a cultural symposium, Drago creates and presents forums for exchange by remixing pop culture and undiscovered trends. It is from these creative platforms the that the lifestyle revolution that began on the street and over the internet will continue to expand and evolve. Drago represents the mainstream of minorities, where under is over and over is under.

Drago’s current project is the 36 Chambers Series. Within the next three years Drago is to produce thirty-six books that are dedicated to the work of thirty-six artists. The title of the project is inspired by the martial arts classic Enter the 36 Chambers of Shaolin. Like the 36 Chambers of Shaolin’s monastery, each of the thirty-six books represents a room for each artist to exhibit his or her artistic strength. The artists are confined to the use of only black, white, and a single color of their choice, yet this limited palette also serves as tool for creative liberation. The images that result are a pure impression, a powerful image without distraction, that mixes tradition and innovation.

The first twelve books have already been published and together they are known as the Bronze Series, including artists like Ivory Serra, Mike Giant, Pax Paloscia, and TV Boy. The thirteenth book 2.5 New York Street Life is the first of the Silver Series and is dedicated to the work of WK Interact. Other artists from the second collection include Logan Hicks and Nick Walker and an upcoming edition for the New York and Paris based artists JonOne and his wife and photographer Mai Lucas.

Drago is working in association with the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York who will inaugurate an exhibition of WK Interact in June 2009. Jonathan LeVine opened his gallery in Chelsea in 2005 after four years of operating as the Tin Man Alley Gallery in Philadelphia and New Hope, Pennsylvania. Jonathan LeVine acts as proprietor and curator of the gallery and focuses on a genre of work that is influenced by illustration, graffiti art, and pop culture images and exhibits a variety of celebrated, controversial, and unknown artists.

WK Interact is a French born artist who now lives and works in New York City. He made his first trip to the United States when he was eighteen and was instantly struck with an affinity for New York. Within only a few short years WK made the decision to leave his Provencal village and return to the City at the age of twenty-one. From there he began to grace New York’s urban landscape with his ferociously innovative, hand-painted, black and white figures.

WK’s creation of the figure in motion serves as a synonym to the haste and frenzied pace of the New Yorker lifestyle. His images are as forceful and energetic as a tornado and just like a force majeure these figures leave a lasting impression on anyone who have happened across their paths. The subjects are vigorous and unyielding in their action, yet despite their powerful motion and strength of presence there remains something eerie, an ephemeral quality, that is almost ghost-like.

WK demonstrates the ability to capture the most pertinent moment of the figures’ gesture and it is that specific aptitude which translates for the viewer what logically is a transient moment into an interminable memory.

WK  interact
Creative Commons License photo credit: unusualimage

WK Interact Graffiti on a wall in New York
Creative Commons License photo credit: Aaron_M

The “canvas” for each image is carefully chosen with the intention to optimize the synergy between the location, the artwork, and the passersby. Each figure is life size or larger, not only to interact with its viewers, but to engage the given location, generate a response, and make an impact. These flash moments in time are from the perspective of someone who sees life from 360 degrees at all time and now WK has given New Yorkers the opportunity to see more, from more angles, even if we can’t slow down.

WK’s figures have their own stories to tell, but nuances of the narratives are added, subtracted, and transformed by the tales told by the streets and walls on which they now live. Each space has been molded by those who have walked down those streets and touched those walls. Each location contributes another level of vitality to the subject and just as the space’s history redefines the image, the image in turn redefines the space.

WK Interact has shown extensively in galleries and his work can be seen on the streets of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. While he has received great public renown and worked with some of today’s greatest street artists, he continues to place public pieces that are socially provoking and visually magnificent.

Location:

Jonathan LeVine Gallery
Street:
529 West 20th street, 9th fl
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There is Know Hope in Chelsea

Cool dude Know Hope from Tel Aviv is in town and was was out last night at an approved spot by the Chelsea Hotel and the “Empty No Longer” gallery putting up a new piece. Thanks to Chris Stain for catching a couple pics for us.

The preliminary blocking
The preliminary blocking by Know Hope (photo Chris Stain)

His character, showing up in singles and multiples throughout his work is always going through different stages, stumbling around, observing, breaking, healing, peering inward.

Know Hope (photo Chris Stain)
Know Hope reaching into his heart as time goes by. (photo Chris Stain)

Tall, thin, and uncomfortable, the gangly character interacts with his world awkwardly, looking for answers we’re not sure he’s found yet. Sometimes a copy of him helps him to heal or props up and supports him as he stumbles and limps through scenes of sadness and even horror.

In almost every case, the character’s heart figures prominently as something to be referenced, to be taken care of.

Someone else fills in the empty space (Know Hope) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Someone else fills in the empty space (Know Hope) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

3-Dimensional figure knitting a sweater of tears (photo Steven P. Harrington)
3-Dimensional figure knitting a sweater of tears at Ad Hoc Gallery (Know Hope) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

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Skewville and Plaztik Mag at Putting Lot

Skewville and Plaztik Mag at Putting Lot

PLAZTIK MAG & SKEWVILLE INVITE YOU TO A DAY OF FUN & GAMES IN THE SUN AT THE PUTTING LOT

Win a Pair of Skewville Sneakers!

Win a Pair of Skewville Sneakers!

ALL DAY DISCOUNT MINIATURE GOLF

ENTER TO WIN THE SKEWVILLE GOLF CLASSIC PUTTING CHAMPIONCHIP


OR COMPETE IN THE MORGAN SHEASBY NATIONAL SAIL CAR REGATTA.

BRING YOUR OWN SAIL CAR OR ASSEMBLE ONE ON SITE WITH RECYCLED MATERIALS.

LIVE PAINTING, CUSTOM SCREENPRINT TEES WHILE YOU WAIT, VISIT THE BAD ADVICE BOOTH AND STAY FOR THE WATER BALLOON FIGHT!!!

MUSIC, BROWNIES, LEMONADE, ART AND BAD ADVICE.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 2009
2PM – 6PM

The Putting Lot
12 Wyckoff Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11237
(Take the L train to Jefferson Street)

WWW.PLAZTIKMAG.COM

SEE THE BSA INTERVIEW WITH THE PUTTING LOT HERE

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Images of Week 06.28.09

Images of Week 06.28.09

Dain Cahbasm
Always on my mind. (Dain, Cahbasm) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Dick Chicken
Dick Chicken (photo Jaime Rojo)

Ellis G
Another untimely and senseless bicycle murder (Ellis G) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Momo
Great color matching! (Momo) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Momo
Momo (photo Jaime Rojo)

Momo
Isocoles below sea level (Momo) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Peru Ana Peru
Fiddler on the Door. (Peru Ana Peru and ?) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Pink Flamingo W Fish
(Pink Flamingo w Fish) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Ellis G
Ellis G And Dr. Wundt (photo Jaime Rojo)

Momo
Momo (photo Jaime Rojo)

Alien Nation
Illegal? (Alien Nation) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain
Chris Stain (photo Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain
Chris Stain (photo Jaime Rojo)

Kosbe
A lot of problems (Kosbe) (photo Jaime Rojo)

QRST
Conferring friends (QRST) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Skeville
Don’t believe it (Skewville) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Judith Supine. Who left the cage open?
Who left the cage open? (Judith Supine) (photo Jaime Rojo)

SweetToofmobile
And the winner is… the SweetToofmobile (Sweet Toof) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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ModArt – A Celebration of 20 Issues at ThinkSpace (LA)

Thinkspace is proud to present:

ModArt – A Celebration of 20 Issues & All That Lay Ahead

August 14th – September 4th

Opening Reception: Fri, August 14th, 7-11PM

(Los Angeles, CA) Thinkspace is proud to present a very special group show which is being curated by the good folks from ModArt magazine out of Europe. The show helps to celebrate the release of ModArt’s 20th issue and a switch to a new quarterly book-based format. This is going to be one visually arresting show featuring a vast array of artists from around the globe.

UK based Mr. Jago will be the featured artist alongside a group show featuring works from an international lineup consisting of Ado Jahic, Bo130, Brooke Reidt, Chris Bourke, Christopher Lambert, Dave The Chimp, El Gato Chimney, Faith 47, Galo, Guillaume Desmarets, Jon Bugerman, KuKula, Laundry and Limbo, Microbo, Morcky, SheOne, Stefan Strumbel, Stephen Smith (aka Neasden Control Centre), Tim Biskup, Vincent Skoglund, Will Barras, & more

The folks from ModArt will be in town, so please plan to come through and help us properly welcome them to Los Angeles and offer them congratulations on fighting the good fight for the new contemporary movement over in Europe and beyond.

Mr. Jago (featured artist):

Bristol Based Mr. Jago, pioneer of the doodle, is a founding member of the Scrawl Collective and a veteran in the street art movement and much respected among his peers.

Growing up in a small town, Jago’s interests lie in art and design with influences ranging from classic Marvel comics to graffiti and hip-hop culture. These influences have helped to forge his unique freehand style and distinct color palette.

His work has shown the world over, including such established galleries as Stolen Space (UK), The Don Gallery (Italy), Gallery 1988 (Los Angeles), Space Junk (France), Opus Underground (UK), Compound Gallery (Portland), Scion Installation LA (Los Angeles), Nelly Duff (UK), Lazy Dog (France), and has taken part in such high profile events as Brave Art (Canada) and Artists 11 @ Bonhams (UK) plus numerous live painting events and exhibitions the world over as part of the Scrawl Collective.

Artist website: www.mrjago.com

Scrawl Collective website: http://www.scrawlcollective.co.uk/index.php

Artist websites for those in the group show portion of the exhibit:

Ado Jahichttp://www.nonewenemies.net/nne_version1/page16/page29/page29.html

Bo130http://www.bo130.org/

Brooke Reidthttp://www.brookereidt.com/

Chris Bourkehttp://chrisbourkeart.com/

Christophe Lamberthttp://www.nonewenemies.net/nne_version2/page16/page31/page31.html

Dave The Chimphttp://www.davethechimp.co.uk/home.php

El Gato Chimneyhttp://www.steambiz.com/

Faith 47http://www.faith47.com/

Galohttp://galoart.net/

Guillaume Desmaretshttp://www.nonewenemies.net/nne_version2/page16/page42/page42.html

Jon Burgermanhttp://www.jonburgerman.com/

KuKulahttp://www.kukulaland.com/

Laundry and Limbo

Microbohttp://www.microbo.com/

Morckyhttp://www.morcky.com/asusual.html

SheOnehttp://www.blackatelier.com/

Stefan Strumbelhttp://deine-heimat.blogspot.com/

Stephen Smith (aka Neasden Control Centre)http://www.neasdencontrolcentre.com/

Tim Biskupwww.timbiskup.com

Vincent Skoglundhttp://www.vincentskoglund.com/

Will Barrashttp://willbarras.com/

PLUS some surprise guests TBA

ModArt Magazine – http://web.modarteurope.com/

No New Enemies – http://www.nonewenemies.net/nne_version2/index.html

‘Sneak Peek’ of works from Mr. Jago and others featured this August:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkspace/sets/72157618025058584/

thinkspace

4210 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90029 Tel: 323.913.3375

www.thinkspacegallery.com

Hours:

Thursday thru Sunday

1 p.m. – 6 p.m. (or by appointment)

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Michael Jackson : The Streets Loved our brother

© Eliacin

© Eliacin

© shineyourhead

© shineyourhead

BMBFKTRY

© BMBFKTRY

Nick Moles

Nick Moles

http://www.globalgraphica.com/sneakers/michael-jackson-3.jpg
© www.globalgraphica.com
http://www.newyorkshitty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/michaeljackson.jpg

© www.newyorkshitty.com

Cfye.com

© Cfye.com

ruminatrix

© ruminatrix

Tim Grant

© Tim Grant

Gil Creque

© Gil Creque

chipped teeth

© chipped teeth

©

© estúdio diálogo

norman preis

© norman preis

_cheryl

© cheryl

Runs With Scissors

© Runs With Scissors

MTO-Graff

© MTO-Graff

Surlygrrrl

© Surlygrrrl

©

© garbnzgh

©

© worsebrains

garbnzgh

© Herschell Hershey

Orin Optiglot

© Orin Optiglot

openhammer

© openhammer

Tomb Land

© Tomb Land

Nobody fucks with Mission bartenders!
Creative Commons License photo credit: rick

best wicked camper ever
Creative Commons License photo credit: robstephaustralia

BR3ITN3R

© BR3ITN3R

Jessiqua

© Jessiqua

Ulibrsrkr

© Ulibrsrkr

black charlie pho

© black charlie pho

bixentro

© bixentro

©

© ©athrine

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Know Hope in “No Soul for Sale” at X Initiative in Chelsea

A Brooklyn Street Artist (via Israel)

After a very successful show at Carmichael on the Left Coast Know Hope is participating in No Soul for Sale – A Festival of Independents X Initiative in New York. This exciting event, which brings 40 independent arts organizations from around the world together under one roof, includes art, music, performances, and publications.

no-soul-fixedpreview

For more on Know Hope see SlamxHype.com

Read the review of X-Initiative at New York Magazine

Video from the show at Carmichael Gallery

July08 305
Creative Commons License both photos credit: Lord Jim

June08 294

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Sneaking a Peek at Imminent Disaster and Gaia at Ad Hoc

Sneaking a Peek at Imminent Disaster and Gaia at Ad Hoc

Okay Street Art fans!

It’s a winning artist combination that you look forward to, and that Ad Hoc is getting nearly famous for – a new show featuring two of the strongest allegorical voices in street art together in one space this Friday, Imminent Disaster and Gaia.

The two use a similar palette (black and white), have an ardent respect for the hand drawn, and both make reference to mythology and symbolism.  They even labored for this show in the same studio in industrial Bushwick/Ridgewood. That said, these two wheat-pasters have styles quite distinct from one another.

First glances will draw comparisons to the work of some of their peers on the scene, Swoon, Elbowtoe and Dennis McNett come to mind.  After a moment you can also see two distinct styles that are clarifying and evolving and, in the case of the piece-de-resistance by Imminent Disaster, breath-taking.  For his part, Gaia has his hands in the bushes.

*********************

Brooklyn Street Art visited the gallery a few days before the show while both street artists were preparing for the opening. Ms. Disaster was on her knees, literally, cutting long curving slices into a black swath of backdrop paper mounted on a muslin canvas, partially hanging from an overhead pipe. The central figures, Persephone and Hades; sinewy, sexual, and heroically strong, share the boldly ornamental ironwork with a spread-winged eagle, stallions, flying bats, and what might be an arched church window, all afloat in a foaming undulating sea. It is not clear at once what the scene depicts, but I.D. is not bothered by the idea that you may not understand immediately. This is a long path she has almost completed, and she is pleased.

Brooklyn Street Art: So how long did it take to do this giant piece?

Imminent Disaster: Like 400 hours. The first part, with the main figures, was about 200 hours, or 3 solid weeks.  Then it was spread out over time. Total time was about 6 weeks.

The first three weeks it was February, it was really cold. I was mostly alone except for my studio mates. I find it hard to work when people are around, at least really work. Like all the cutting, I really need to be in my space for. The finishing work, like some of the sewing (tacking the piece to canvas) was much more social with my friends because we would chat while doing it.  It was more of the “repetitive motion” work that didn’t require as much careful thought so it was easier to do with friends.

Brooklyn Street Art: You were also cutting 4 layers, which can more difficult and tedious.

Imminent Disaster: Yeah, it’s thicker but with a really sharp blade…. I probably went through a thousand open tips.

Rounding the final corners. Disaster at work. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Rounding the final corners. Disaster at work. (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: Do you work also on a smaller scale?

Imminent Disaster: Occasionally, but I don’t enjoy it as much. Like I don’t think any of my “real work” is the small stuff. The stuff that I’ve been doing small lately has been the photo collages, but it is a totally different process. There’s very little drawing involved.

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you describe your process a little? You’ve said that these days you are not pre-thinking the work as much as just “letting it happen and develop”.

Imminent Disaster: Right. I think some people call it  “the muse” – like you are channeling “the muse”.  I don’t at this point have a fixed idea or intention of what I’m doing before I make it.  Like a lot of times I can’t explain why things are in it.  It’s just that I knew it was the right thing to be there and that it doesn’t have a narrative or a purpose or a thing that is trying to communicate.  It just happens.

An epic installation (photo Steven P. Harrington)

An epic Disaster installation (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: Is it important to you that someone understands a piece in any particular way?

Imminent Disaster: No. I think that most people aren’t taught how to understand art anyway.  They are used to art that does communicate a message succinctly like Banksy, who uses that as a huge element in his art.  I think that is a kind of idea of art that is dangerously close to advertising and what society has reduced art to, something immediately communicable.  If people don’t want to spend time with the piece or really look at it and get more out of it then what I have to say doesn’t matter to them anyway – if they don’t want to try.  I spent 400 hours trying to make it, and if they don’t want to spend an hour trying to think about what I made, then they are not invested in what I have to say.

Brooklyn Street Art: If we were to apply those same values you just described to your human relationships outside of the artist-viewer relationships, I would imagine you also feel that way about who is a friend and who isn’t.

Imminent Disaster: I’d say that yes, that’s also true.  I don’t have many close friends, but the ones that I have are actually paying attention to what I’m saying. They actually care about it and we have conversations about emotions, so it goes a little bit deeper than just hanging out at a bar.

Herstorical Persephone (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Herstorical Persephone (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: Are there a lot of women doing street art today?

Imminent Disaster: Street Art, like a lot of things, is definitely male dominated but there is a solid handful.

I know a lot of the “New York” crowd personally, but internationally, not so much. But I do know from other friends that have traveled internationally that once you get kind of “tapped in” to the street art community internationally you get taken to places like Italy or Brazil or Chile and you meet other street artists and they’ll take you around to all the cool spots and give you a place to stay.  Internationally, the community is tremendously welcoming and there is a lot of helping one another.  But I haven’t really traveled a whole lot since I’ve been doing this.  I’ve kind of been staying in the hood – it’s all about Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Street Art: You’ve talked before about feminism and the role that it plays in your work previously. In what way is feminism involved here?

Imminent Disaster: I think women in general are not expected to do work that is as time consuming, large, or ambitious as this.  Female artists are always working with textiles, or kind of “cute” things  – that’s a pretty broad stereotype and it not true… for example women like Kara Walker do huge ambitious things, and good work, that disproves the stereotype.  I think there is something in working at such a large scale and dedicating so much time to my work that is empowering to me.

Detail from Imminent Disaster at Ad Hoc (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Detail from Imminent Disaster at Ad Hoc (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: Do you tire of the subjects after working on it for so many hours?

Imminent Disaster: You have to be really, really dedicated to an idea in order to spend so long on it. There were definitely points during making this that I was like, “Why am I doing this, what and why am I doing this. Why did I just spend two months doing this?”  But you have to have the confidence in yourself that it is worth it, or will be worth it and know that and it has to keep you going.

Brooklyn Street Art: When you talk about working by yourself a lot, how important is personal independence to you as opposed to working collaboratively for coming to decisions?

Imminent Disaster: When I do work collaboratively I kind of have an understanding that the project is a different “thing” – like it’s more of a social reason to be doing it.  But the work I do by myself is my best work and it’s because a lot of times when I’m working I can’t communicate why or what I’m doing.  Any kind of interference would ruin the whole process.  Like this big piece – I would never, ever even consider having another person telling me or trying to participate in it.

Detail from Imminent Disaster (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Detail from Imminent Disaster (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: You have done some collaborative pieces on the street, is that right?

Imminent Disaster: Yes, I’ve done some murals collaboratively but that was just like “fun”, you know. It was fun to hang out with my friends and do something I would not otherwise do.  For the most part, I think that work is far less developed.  I’m not a painter! I have horrible “can control”.

Brooklyn Street Art: So for those people who care about these labels, you would never call what you do “graffiti”?

Imminent Disaster: No, I mean, I’m definitely not a graffiti artists.  If you talk to a real vandal, they are really into being a vandal — they just want to f*ck some sh*t up and destroy some property.  I’m glad they are doing that, but that’s not my intention, I just want to put up beautiful things on the street because they are beautiful.   (laughing) So I guess that is kind of the opposite reason.

*********************

To catch up with wildly talented Gaia, BSA had the pleasure to go with him and a friend out to the freight train rails and help with the harvest of “weeds” to complete his installation in the gallery.  Foraging in the overgrowth that blooms among urine-filled water bottles (don’t ask), we snapped dead weeds (someone thought they were wild asparagus) and piled them on the tracks for pick up on the way home to Ad Hoc.  In between swatting flies under punishing sun and yelling over roaring airplanes, Gaia talked about his work as a street artist and this show:

Brooklyn Street Art: So why are we out here anyway?

Gaia: We’re collecting weeds for the show at Ad Hoc.

Weeds on the rails (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Weeds on the rails (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Brooklyn Street Art: What are the weeds going to be used for?

Gaia: Hopefully they are going to be used to establish a nature-like feel in the gallery.  Logistically they are just going to be used for framing the pieces.

The subjects of the pieces are these strange mythological creatures that marry human and animal form.  I thought it would provide a nice setting for them.

Brooklyn Street Art: Aren’t you afraid of getting poison ivy?
Gaia: No.

Please, somebunny help me! New work by Gaia (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Please, somebunny help me! New work by Gaia (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: The figures that are part human, part animal amalgams, what are they about?

Gaia: They have a primary stake in the body of work on the street. They are becoming these figures that convey an open narrative.  It’s like encountering a piece on the street.  You see this piece and it is about this moment of discovery.

Brooklyn Street Art: Does that mean you know what they are, and no one else does?  Or are you discovering it too?

Gaia: I have this sort of romantic feeling about these things… like there was once a point where animals and man had a deeper connection but I feel like there is a sort of contemporary drive to romanticize what it means to be connecting with nature.

For me the human (in the gallery pieces) becomes the emotive symbol for the animals, they signal toward the thing that is being expressed by the animal.

The animal carries it’s cultural significance and the hands sort of direct it toward something.  Hopefully the hands are pretty clear.

Just look at those hands (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Just look at those hands (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: How do you choose a location to put up your work?

Gaia: Usually just by biking around, looking for a spot.  Obviously I look for that aesthetic of neglected space; It’s something that attracts me.  I look for that space that has been forgotten and can be re-activated.

Also, sometimes it’s just a spot that gets a lot of traffic; like in a place like Williamsburg that everybody goes to.  Also sometimes I look for something that is specific to that place, like where the composition mirrors that of a shadow that appears at a certain time, or like a doorway that is adjacent to it, and sometimes it’s just a perfect rooftop spot.  It does seem like, for the most part, site-specific work that works in tandem with the location is something that is more appreciated. I appreciate it too. I also think there is a lot of interest in finding new locations…  It’s a lot of different strategies.

Mythical owl in the weeds by Gaia (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Mythical owl in the weeds by Gaia (photo Steven P. Harrington) (courtesy Ad Hoc Gallery)

Brooklyn Street Art: What do you learn from other peoples reaction to your work?

Gaia: Listening to people’s reactions allows me to understand my strategies and the paths I’ve lead someone on; which ones lead to a dead end and don’t necessarily open more doors and which ones continue to reference things in peoples lives and allow them to connect.  So I do understand that connectivity to other peoples’ references and other peoples’ capacity to understand the work allows me to take it back to the studio, so in that way it is a refining process, definitely.

Brooklyn Street Art: Have you ever happened upon someone looking at your work and listened to what they said?

Gaia: Yes, definitely.

The Goat Illuminati Knight! - Gaia (courtesy the artist)

The Goat Illuminati Knight! – Gaia (courtesy the artist)

Brooklyn Street Art: Do they tell stories that you never intended?

Gaia:
Yeah, that goat guy with the triangle that I put up once, this man told me that it was all about the Illuminati.  He told me about this story about King Joseph and how King Joseph had some kind of connection with the goat and that it was a symbol of the Knights Templar.  I couldn’t disagree because it was close to a Mason meeting place.  He was positive that he was right.

See more Imminent Disaster HERE

See more Gaia HERE

See them both at Ad Hoc this Friday, June 26, 2009 from 7-10.

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Closing Party for Zonenkinder Collective at McCaig Welles

Closing Party for Zonenkinder Collective

Bambule, a gallery wide installation and exhibition of artworks by the Zonenkinder Collective – two German graff-artists. The term “bambule“ derives from the German argot and is traditionally used to describe a form of protest practiced by prison inmates – drumming with different objects, like spoons, inside jail cells to articulate resistance…. Sounds like the lunchroom in my junior high school.

The Zonenkinder Collective describes their work as “meant as a confusing but positive counterbalance and alternative vision of living and as a creative statement against the status quo of greed, jealousy, arrogance, ignorance, self-righteousness, lack of liability and lack of respect the dignity of men”.

Zonen Kinder Collective

Zonenkinder Collective

Through murals, paintings and installations, the Zonenkinder Collective transforms the gallery into a visual epic meant to transport the viewer in to the peculiarity of their world and into the radicalism of their worldview.

courtesy McCaig-Welles

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

Zonenkinders "Bambule" @ McCaig Welles, New York City, 2009 by ZONENKINDER Collective.

Leather Daddy and friends at the show. (Courtesy Zonenkinder)

paint for fun

An example of Zonenkinder's work outside.

Creative Commons License photo credit: PixLjUicE23

McCaig Welles Gallery

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Deutschland im Haus! A few more days to enjoy Bambule.

It’s been up for a couple of weeks, but you can still hit the closing party Friday at McCaig Welles of

Bambule, a gallery wide installation and exhibition of artworks by the Zonenkinder Collective – two German graff-artists. The term “bambule“ derives from the German argot and is traditionally used to describe a form of protest practiced by prison inmates – drumming with different objects, like spoons, inside jail cells to articulate resistance…. Sounds like the lunchroom in my junior high school.

The Zonenkinder Collective describes their work as “meant as a confusing but positive counterbalance and alternative vision of living and as a creative statement against the status quo of greed, jealousy, arrogance, ignorance, self-righteousness, lack of liability and lack of respect the dignity of men”.

Zonen Kinder Collective

Zonenkinder Collective

Through murals, paintings and installations, the Zonenkinder Collective transforms the gallery into a visual epic meant to transport the viewer in to the peculiarity of their world and into the radicalism of their worldview.

courtesy McCaig-Welles

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

(courtesy McCaig Welles)

Zonenkinders "Bambule" @ McCaig Welles, New York City, 2009 by ZONENKINDER Collective.

Leather Daddy and friends at the show. (Courtesy Zonenkinder)

paint for fun

An example of Zonenkinder's work outside.

Creative Commons License photo credit: PixLjUicE23

McCaig Welles Gallery

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LORO VERZ, APOLO TORRES & MUNDANO at Factory Fresh

Lichen
Straight from São Paulo Factory Fresh presents

LORO VERZ, APOLO TORRES & MUNDANO

Opening Reception Friday, July 10th 7-10pm

On July 10th, São Paulo will invade Factory Fresh, as LORO VERZ, MUNDANO and APOLO TORRES arrive with a varied collection of their freshest individual and collective works. During their setup for the gallery they will paint the walls of the Factory Fresh courtyard with their large scale mural work.

The three artists come from different backgrounds and aspects
of the life however all located in São Paulo, Brazil, conveying their interpretations to a strong organism of many environments, the Lichen. The Lichen is the result of the symbiotic association of fungus with a photosynthetic partner, such as algae or cyanobacterium, and they live as a single culture. Although it’s severely affected by pollution, it’s very resistant to the absence of water and nutrients, being able to survive even in deserts and places taken by a huge cemented, grey area, like São Paulo and other conurbations around the globe.

Pixel show 2007
Creative Commons License photo credit: Stella Dauer

For a long time describing his paintings as an urban parasite, MUNDANO has paintings all over the city, even in the carts of many “Carroceiros”, people that work collecting cardboards, aluminum and other material from the trash to sell to recycling companies. The painted carts run through the city traffic disseminating his messages against the marginalization of this honest and necessary work. On the city’s walls, his messages directly question the corruption of the government, social issues, the pallor and the city traffic. In a way, his characters filled up with eyes are the voice of a silent people.

LORO VERZ decodes the hectic and busy city life style and transforms it into critical, satirical, subversive images. His work is a direct response to the urban and almost schizophrenic state of mind of people living in massive cities as Sao Paulo, where simultaneity and synchronicity are always present. The artist explores different painting surfaces and mediums from oil to spray cans. His style is a fusion of influences that goes from Hyeronimous Bosch to graffiti, from Robert Crumb to Michelangelo. Besides being an artist, Loro is also an illustrator and cartoonist for the Sao Paulo edition of the Metro Newspaper. For this present show, the Lichen’s shapes and colors are the structure for his work.

APOLO TORRES work is the most figurative one, but there is a strong relationship between the figure and the surface it’s painted on. There is a lot of work on the canvas surface, trying to capture the colors and textures found on the city’s walls, and also other living interventions such as Lichen, moss, and human painting. Working on the depth and perspective, but at the same time leaving the elements scattered in the environment, Apolo have been trying to find a way to indicate that all the roots, the ground on which
are built our morals and customs, values, beliefs, and even the possession of the space we share with other living beings can change or disappear at any time. Due to the constant transformation of things, the art of Apolo Torres is a visual record of what he has witnessed and felt.

APOLO TORRES, LORO.VERZ and MUNDANO have been highlighted together in the recent years, and their individual work is well known in São Paulo and was exhibited at cities like London, Milan, Paris and Tel-Aviv. This is their first time in New York, this show promises to be unique and focused on their hometown roots.

Show runs till July 26th, 2009

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Visual Slang 2009: The Modern Urban Imagination at Abrons Arts Center

Visual Slang 2009: The Modern Urban Imagination
Thursday June 25, 2009 at 6:00pm

Abrons Arts Center

466 Grand St.
New York, New York 10002 Get Directions

The third in a series of cutting-edge global urban art exhibits, VISUAL SLANG 2009 features an eclectic range of characters and creatures representing a broad spectrum of cultural heritages. Featured artists include: A1one, Ame72, Bastardilla, Bishop, C215, Cekis, Charm, Cern, Chris Cortes, Klone, Mefisto, Kenji Nakayama, Sien, Stinkfish, Whisper and Zero Cents.

Place: Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, NYC 10002; Dates: June 25th – August 14th;
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 25th, 6-8pm. Contact: Lois Stavsky, 917.562.8468.

A recent piece by Charm (photo Steven P. Harrington)

A recent piece by Charm (photo Steven P. Harrington)

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