Our Weekly Interview With the Street
Happy Birthday Freddie Mercury September 5th!
Street artist Chris Stain is painting again tonight, since last nights’ job didn’t turn out so well in Stavanger, our sister city. It could be a funny story, but I’m not the one who put 4 hours into it and had to duck somebody spewing chunks of kjøttkaker out the window so I shouldn’t really say that.
Chris explains what happened below, and luckily there were some great pics of the piece before it disappeared. Nice job Ian!
“It was the first night that it hadn’t rained all week so I was eager to get out to paint. After we got everything set up it was well after 9p.m. so I got straight to work. The piece I chose was my “Poor Paddy” piece, named after the Pogues song about a guy who was sick of working for the railroad. The image is of an older worker in a hat with a look of disgust on his face.
As I was painting some sick f*ck across the alley was hanging out the 2nd story window, pukin’ their guts out. I guess the toilet was broke or occupied?
C6 from London showed up with his brand new “Flying Cock” stencil and did a bit of decorating himself. We finished up about 1 a.m. and made our way back to the flat. Today I found out the pieces were buffed although the wall was legal. I didnt get any pictures of my own but Ian Cox was there documenting the whole thing.
Come to find out, there was a mistake and the clean up crew was sent to buff some pro-communist sickle-and-hammer thing that was there so we had a clean slate to work on. Oh well, thats life.”
He was talking broadly about graffiti, but he might as well be talking about Street Art too. New York-based Lee Quinones is one of the most important graffiti artists – with some of his work in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
Here he explains how graffiti has evolved from its early days into “something much more mature, and much more expensive.” Video Interview With Lee Quinones on BBC
Brooklyn Street Art Inteview at the “Whole In The Wall” opening in May
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Yesterday the Graffiti Research Labs (GRL) arrived in Stavanger, Norway, in advance of their presentation at the Brooklyn street art celebration called the Nuart Festival.
James Powderly and Evan Roth are artists and hackers (the good kind) of technology, always looking for ways to project art without damaging property, but in new and innovative ways. This week at Nuart Festival GRL are showcasing their own works as well as the “EyeWriter” project, which is seeking to enable people who are otherwise disabled to use only the movement of their eyes to create art and communicate.
On hand Nuart special guest will be old school LA graffiti writer Tony Quan, aka Temptone, with whom the “EyeWriter” project has done experiments with the developing technology.
“The EyeWriter project is on ongoing collaborative research effort to empower people, who are suffering from ALS, with creative technologies. The project began in Los Angeles, Caifornia in 2009, when members of the GRL, FAT, OF and TEG communities teamed-up with TEMPTONE. Tony was diagnosed with ALS in 2003. The disease has left him almost completely physically paralyzed… except for his eyes.”
Day #03- KanEye Tracking from Evan Roth on Vimeo.
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Go here to learn more and download full RFP.
The Urban Art Program is an initiative to invigorate the City’s streetscapes with engaging temporary art installations. As part of the World Class Streets initiative, art will help foster more vibrant and attractive streets and offer the public new ways to experience New York City’s streetscapes.
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A not uncommon sight in New York is the street-side shrine, a public and very personal outpouring of grief for a loved one who lost their life due to an accident on the streets. Currently on the pedestrian walkway of the Williamsburg Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn an impromptu tribute is sprayed on a city plaque, a photo taped to it, flowers laid nearby, and candles are kept alight. While not art for it’s own sake, these displays have a powerful way to symbolize love, grief, and tribute… while the traffic continues to rumble by.
On August 24 well known DJ Josh Link was hit by a black car on the Williamsburg Bridge while riding his Vespa, and the accident was fatal. According to news reports, he was knocked from his ride and died as a result.
A very poignant observation can be found here by a person who discovered the accident.
Sadly and ironically, graffiti had just begun to appear around town paying tribute to another New York DJ saying, “R.I.P. DJ AM”, who died 4 days later, reportedly of a drug overdose.
A sweet little spot in the Lower East Side of Manhattan is curated by the Woodward Gallery – the home of installations by many street artists over time including Matt Siren, Deekers, Lady Pink, to name a few. The newest entry into these four frames on Eldridge is by Street Artist Royce Bannon, whose been having a banner year so far thanks to fast moving feet and a chilled laid-back stance.
Check them out across the street next week when you are at Woodward for the Keith Haring Show.
And nothing will produce audible cries from artists, art historians, collectors, publishers, fans, and armchair lawyers about copyright infringement and utter lack of creativity than when wholesale appropriation is at hand. Of course sometimes it doesn’t hurt your market value to roil them all at once. Miss Bugs has “the touch” right now.
You’ll remember the Joe Black and Miss Bugs show at Brooklynite this spring, where Ms. Bugs opened the eyes of many with wide swipes of fairly newly minted pop imagery into the poppy pieces.
In promoting the show the term “2 Many Artists” was bandied about as a reference to the snip and clip musical mashup/bootleg pioneers of 2 Many DJ’s, who would be analogous to another hairy white guy named GirlTalk today.
What seems to have gotten street art fans in a froth is that Miss Bugs is not using old campy print advertisements or bits of classic paintings as reference; rather, it is that the work is using very recent and pretty well-known pieces of STREET ART in the STREET ART.
In fact, barring Mr. Brainwash (MBW), Miss Bugs may be the first to appropriate images so historically quickly, so frequently, and so enormously.
But then, that’s exactly what entertains others, “to me Miss Bugs is not so much appropriating, but b**ching up modern art, Hirst, Daffy Duck, Fairey, King Kong, Munch, Koons, DFace, Banksy whatever – it’s graffitin’ graffiti, vandalising vandalism…,” says a poster on a well regarded online forum.
But let’s not all get our wheat-pastes in a wad.
Either you support free expression or you don’t, and frankly, this mixing of High with Low, Touchstones with The Banal, has been a fabulous feature of “the modern” now since Pop became Popular. Perhaps this willful free-association appropriation is simply a harbinger of what’s to come – or what is already happening elsewhere. Every piece of recorded history is now reduced to 1’s and 0’s and used as easily as paint from the tube.
Rae McGrath, owner of Brooklynite, speaking in reference to Miss Bug’s techniques, says, “I think they are remixing things to make them their own, but because the images they are using are current they get more scrutiny. (It’s an) Interesting debate that you can obvious take the side you feel strongly about.”
Street Artist Aiko worked with the Younity Collective to put up a large mural as a gift to the community recently right next to the Williamsburg Bridge. The all-woman collective, started in 2007 by Alice Mizrachi and Maria “Toofly” Castillo, empowers individuals as artists by creating projects together and celebrating the strengths that each one brings to the game. Now nearing 60 artist members, including multiple disciplines and many names in Graff Art and Street Art you might know such as Lady Pink, Swoon, Drexel, Martha Cooper, and Shiro, the Younity Collective offers much needed support to artists through comraderie and community projects.
When asked about her approach to the project, Aiko agrees that it is very personal, “It made me feel happy to keep working on the mural. It’s a nice feeling to create something beautiful for everybody’s everyday life. If I have a talent to encourage people, make them smile and to cheer them up, that’s totally great.”
Brooklyn Street Art: Is it fun to work as part of the Younity collective?
Aiko: It was fun to be part of Younity’s project and I’m glad they called me up. Even though I rarely go bombing with boys, staying away from illegal street activities and focusing on indoor works these days, it brought me all the good energy about working in public space and spending time with other artists again. Plus all girls were very chill, no beef.
Brooklyn Street Art: The stencil is quite large! Do you usually work that big?
Aiko: A big wall is such a great challenge. I love listening people say “Holy Sh*t, Aiko!!!” from behind me while I’m painting. Actually a lot of people who have been following my exhibitions might notice that my works are getting bigger and better. Stencil is my favorite tool to paint with and I’m so good at using the knife. It took me at least a few days to cut such a giant stencil like that. It killed my fingers and the material is really delicate to handle, transport, and place on the wall. Winds and a bumpy surface is enemy for painting. But what a wonderful feeling to see the finally sprayed image on a wall after all this effort. Big stencils are such joy.
Brooklyn Street Art: Your main image is a woman playing a saxophone – is that because
of the jazz club inside?
Aiko: The image of the sexy lady with saxophone was also the request from the owner, who runs the historical live music house, WMC Jazz (Williamsburg Music Center). I love music and dance, and I’m very happy to contribute to the local community in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Street Art: Your colors are very feminine and strong for this piece. How do
you choose your colors?
Aiko: If we can say that paintings are results of an artist’s conversation with themselves and it appears as color and image on the wall, I guess that color is my feeling at this moment. I am in the really feminine, very sexy and super strong phase of my life.
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Lady Aiko embarks this fall on a long trip to participate in shows abroad.
The Younity Collective are: Alice Mizrachi, Maria “Toofly” Castillo, Albeni Garrett, Aiko Nakagawa, Alexandra Casula, Alexia Webster, Jane Dickson, Amanda Lopez, B.I.C., Cece Carpio, Dee Keating, Diana McClure, Diana Schmertz, Diva, Drexel, Erotica, Faith47, Female Sneaker Fiend, GMO$, Heather N. Hayashi, Helene Ruiz, Katrina “RUKUS” Knutson, Kelly Jeanne Lever, Krista Frankln, Lady Pink, Laura Meyers, Lexi Bella, Lichiban, Lisa Case, Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Mad C, Martha Cooper, Meridith McNeal, Muck, Nancy Rodriguez, Nanibah “Nani” Chacon, Naomi Martinez, Niz, Not Bad For a Girl, Kerri O’Connell, Paulina Qunitan Jornet, Petra Moser, Queen Andrea, SHIRO, Sofia Maldonado, Stephanie Land, Swoon, Nanilla Medallions, Andrea Celilia Bernal, Gabriella Davi-Korasanee, M.I.S.S., Nubby Twiglet
EXTRATERRITORIALITY SATORUTANAKA
– in New York Fashion Week featuring Takuya Ishikawa and Destroy&Rebuild –
September 10th-17th,2009
Reception: September 11th, 6-8pm
Live Painting: collaboration of Tokyo fashion & NY street art starts at 7pm!
(Destroy & Rebuild’s artwork will be on view from 9/3 through 9/27.)
Destination Art Space, a gallery within an upscale boutique merging fashion and art, is excited to kick off an art/fashion exhibition, “EXTRATERRITORIALITY SATORUTANAKA”- in New York Fashion Week featuring Takuya Ishikawa and Destroy & Rebuild.” This special exhibition will be held during New York Fashion Week.
EXTRATERRITORIALITY SATORUTANAKA is a recently launched new line by SATORUTANAKA, which is one of the most influential emerging designers from Tokyo, starting to present their AW2009 collection in New York City.
Designer Satoru Tanaka draws design inspiration from military fashion, work wear, fifties style and R&B culture. He has mixed and reconstructed these elements to create, EXTRATERRITORIALITY SATORUTANAKA, an experiment linking Past, Present, and Future.
Photographer Takuya Ishikawa, who has worked around the world with many medias such as magazines, advertisements, music jackets, movies, etc., is now collaborating with Tanaka. Under the theme of bones & flowers, Ishikawa has photographed various bones of monkeys, lions, buffalos, pigs, etc, and then put them on SATORUTANAKA’s t-shirts. There will be 50 different variations of T-shirt designs for this project.
Destroy & Rebuild is a three-man artist collective whose art is a fusion of various media such as graffiti, photography, paints, silk-screen, collage, and more. Each member started doing graffiti on the streets and subways in New York City, illegally. After years of creating work in and around the city, they decided to form Destroy & Rebuild on the premise that members used to destroy the city with their graffiti and now are rebuilding it through urban/industrial art.
At the reception party, these three creators, EXTRATERRITORIALITY SATORUTANAKA, Takuya Ishikawa, and Destroy & Rebuild, will unveil their cultural creativities and form them into one peace of art.
For further information, please contact Hide Tachibana or Hisa Yamamoto at 212.727.2031/destination_ny@hpgrp.com
EXTRATERRITORIALITY SATORUTANAKA
Special reception
Host: |
D’stroy Rebuild, Hisa Yamamoto
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Type: | |
Network: |
Global
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Price: |
Free!
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Date: |
Friday, September 11, 2009
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Time: |
6:00pm – 8:00pm
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Location: |
Destination Art Space
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Street: |
32-36 Little West 12th Street
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City/Town: |
New York, NY
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