March 2012

BSA Goes To The Fairs

March 13, 2012 , , ,

So you had to work over the weekend, and then catch up on laundry? No prob!  Check out some of the eye candy we caught at Scope and Fountain. We also walked by Amory but decided against it and checked out the crocuses in the park since it was a warm and sunny day and too much art is too much! No terrific insights except to say that there is a lot of derivative work out there, amongst the rock hard gems, and the chocolately delicious. It’s all subjective of course.

You are all winners, don’t you ever forget that. The Kenton Parker Mirrored Trophy Room for Primary Flight Projects at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miru Kim at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Zevs at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dad, what’s a douchbag? Gilf! at Fountain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Keith Haring photo from 1985 by Tseng Kwong Chi at Scope. Don’t forget the Keith Haring exhibit opening at the Brooklyn Museum Friday. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon at Fountain for Kesting/Ray Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A vintage photo of Richard Hambleton at Scope. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shin Shin and Wing did this photo-collage and then installed on top of it at Fountain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Reko Rennie at Scope. Would you guess that he’s a street artist from Australia? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Peter Gronquist at Scope for Shooting Gallery. Get it? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blek le Rat at Scope for White Walls Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Olek welcomes the baby-making set to Fountain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker at Scope for Corey Helford. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Crucified by corporations; D*Face’s carved and ebonized cross at Scope for Corey Helford. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A pretty overwhelming photo collage fantasy C-print by Jean-Francoise Rauzier at Scope. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

En Masse paints a van at Fountain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Performance Art at Fountain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

Every 1’s a Winner by Hot Chocolate

 

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MOMO with Piet Dieleman at Incubate in Tilburg, The Netherlands

March 12, 2012 , ,

New Video with MOMO and Piet Dieleman

Still from video © MOMO

Brooklyn’s Son and international artist MOMO spent some time in Tilburg, The Netherlands making art and collaborating with local artists and The Incubate Art Festival. Below is a video of the large mural he worked on while in Tilburg.

“It was amazing to work with Piet and see the sorts of decisions he was making with the paint and sprayer, things I would never think to do. And it was great talking with him. Hearing about the first punk scene in Rotterdam, his conception of concrete painting’s ethos, and time’s strange effects on these.” MOMO

To see still images of the mural click on MOMO’s site here

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Jetsonorama & Yote Laying Plans for “The Painted Desert”

March 12, 2012 , ,

Arizona based Street Artists Jetsonorama and Yote are embarking on a new project they’re calling “The Painted Desert” with a growing roster of Street Artists you know.

The project is reaching out to an array of Street Artists to put their stuff up on roadside structures in western agency of the Navajo nation.  As part of a wheat-pasting project Jetsonorama began in 2009, the plans include holding mural making workshops and information sessions for youth who live on the reservation.

 

Jetsonorama (photo © Jetsonorama)

It looks like the project is picking up steam with commitments from Street Artists including Gaia, Chris Stain, Overunder, Doodles, Breeze, and Yote, who are all planning to get up over the next year. Also we hear that Swoon has some special plans, so that will be a point of interest too, and Henry Chalfant is also lending his support.

Says the organizers, “The project seeks to boost the economy by having the art be a destination for those who get it and to share the knowledge that we have as artists with local youth.” Sounds like Street Artists are poised to help the community again.

Learn more about “Painted Desert Project” is on Facebook and you can make a donation to the effort if you like.

 

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Images of the Week: D*Face Drama in NYC With 3 Murals in 1 Week

March 11, 2012 , , , , , , ,

It’s true that the art fairs descended on New York this week. Equally true is that the multiple fairs don’t just bring rivers of collectors and dealers and Looky-Loos, these teeming steaming orgiastic fuster-clucks with names like Poke, Stroke and Fountain also can bring in a wave of the Street Artists! Look at the seven days alone with BSA posts on LA’s Retna, Tel Aviv’s Know Hope and todays’ very special edition King of Images of the Week, D*Face!

D*Face “Love Lost”. The first and largest mural to go up. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face, one of Street Art’s original British invaders, hit up New York with three new murals this week (two in Williamsburg, one in SOHO) employing sharply graphic pop lines and a humorously tart tongue to create works of high drama. With themes of lust, treachery and broken promises, the D*Face miniseries was streamed live on the street with no cover charge or icy art matron scanning through her iPad list for your name.

D*Face “Love Lost”. The first and largest mural to go up. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face “Love Her, Hate Him”. The second mural in SOHO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face “Love Her, Hate Him”. The second mural in SOHO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face “Love Her, Hate Him”. The second mural in SOHO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The final mural D*Face did was on Friday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. While nicely sunny, the wind whipped through often enough to keep his fingers cold and his collar up. But on days like this New York can feel like a small town and the icy weather didn’t prevent a small group from hanging out, helping the artist and entertaining one another. Producer Stephen Thompson, photographer Jason Lewis and videographer Cliff Cristofarah took turns making observations, cracking jokes, fiddling with the music, and checking out the local parade as it scurried by.

For an additional feeling of street art community, Futura sauntered by to say hello and to offer entertaining stories and even go on a run for refreshments; water, coffees, and Mexican Coca Cola (with real sugar!).  With Rob and Cliff taking turns at their MP3 players and the speakers blasting a bit of a 70s arena rock tribute (The Who, Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath), a couple of bike dudes came by to practice their tricks with a dog in the backpack.

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: How would you describe these new pieces in New York?
D*Face: All the pieces surround the notion of ‘Love’, ‘Loss’ and ‘Longing’, all drawn from recent personal experiences, everything I create is pulled from experience personal to me, hopefully people will also connect to them too.  I have three new pieces so I wanted to get three good spots with as much visibility as possible, the larger the better.

Brooklyn Street Art: Will you get a chance to skateboard while you’re here?
D*Face: Unfortunately not. I love this city for skateboarding, but I wont get to do much other than paint walls and hopefully cut loose and party a bit.

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you talk about where your work is going thematically now?
D*Face: Thematically my work always draws upon personal experiences, whether thats the saturation of media in our lives, our fascination with celebrity and stardom or more singular experiences such as the loss of loved ones, searching your heart for love or holding people close when you should be letting them go.

I mostly rework old imagery that I’ve discovered, chopping bits of one or several images with another to create a new image that I feel is more relevant to today’s society and certainly the message I want to get across. So thematically its a continuation, it just has several veins that it runs off into.

Brooklyn Street Art: It feels like the Occupy Wall Street movement may have taken up some of the same punk aesthetics and energy that you were first drawn to.  Is your work changed or affected at all by OWS?
D*Face: Haha! No not at all, but there’s always someone more punk than you, punk!

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Reworking the vocabulary of advertising and the practice of culture jamming can be very effective as education. Do you think of your work as message-driven?
D*Face: Yes, first and foremost my work has to have a concept, an idea, a message, it’s that which drives my work. Conceptually I’m always trying to push my ideas, push myself, keep myself excited and interested. I don’t want to stand still and see the growth of my work as a flik book, by that I mean small evolutions over time, what I want are solid chapters, which carry a thread of thought linking them all together.

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What role does humor play in your stuff?
D*Face: Oh its massively important, life is pretty heavy at the best of times, so even serious messages or thoughts don’t have to be heavy in execution, even the dark thoughts or concepts in my work I hope are executed in a poppy way, I want to draw people in first, get them to appreciate the aesthetic, then hopefully they start to question the image, its content, its meaning. If they don’t and appreciate it only on its surface value then thats fine. I don’t want to ram messages, political, religious, consumerist or otherwise down peoples throats in a way that burdens life’s load.

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg reflected on the side window of a vintage Ford Falcon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg. Stephen Thompson his producer and assistant showing some back handed technique and snaazy foot wear.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: You’ve had some serious success in galleries. Why is it still important to you to hit the street today?
D*Face: I’m privileged to have the gallery success I do. I thank everyone that has supported me and my work over the years, to live as an artist, support my family, employ artists to help me, is an amazing opportunity and something I wake up thankful of everyday.

Whilst I love gallery shows and the opportunity to work in a gallery, it brings with it the ability to create different works, execute concepts and play with space in a different way, but you have to want to see ‘art’ or know about the artist or the gallery to see that work, galleries can be intimidating places, I don’t want that, I want my work to be inclusive, not exclusive, so putting work in the streets is the most effective way of doing this.

You can’t beat the feeling of painting in the street, interacting with people, hearing their views, thoughts and ideas on what it is your painting… you know you get to bring the unsuspecting public in, people that may have no interest in art, never walked in a gallery, suddenly when faced with a painting in the street have a different take, a different perspective… it’s really, really interesting, that interaction, even if they don’t like it, you’ve still changed their day, opened their eyes, hopefully you might get them to LOOK at their surroundings and not just see.

D*Face. Doing a bit of mixiology.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Stephen takes D*Face and Futura’s portrait.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Futura tagging a dollar bill for D*Face. (He did one for Word To Mother as well).  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Two local kids and a puppy.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cliff gets the law of the land.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Painting the three dimensional part of the mural in the studio.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Third mural in Williamsburg.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With special thanks to the Corey Helford Gallery for helping coordinate these murals  and to Rob at Thunderdog Studios for hosting us on the Williamsburg sidewalk.

 

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Street Poet Know Hope is “Stampeded” In The East Village

March 10, 2012 , , ,

“All the limbs were fully outreached,

in spite of them being humbled; each

in different and specific ways” *

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Poet of the street Know Hope is in New York this week contemplating walls and occupying space. He spent some time in the East Village creating a new wall called “Stampeded” with Keith Schweitzer of MaNY Projects.  The Israel based Street Artist uses his figures, with their bending poses and tormented hearts, to enact the stories of the world. Confident and deliberate, Know Hope traces an internal dialogue known mostly to the painter, but also to you if you care to observe.

 

“And it’s through this tainted anthem

and its two-timing confessions that we’re

hinted that with all these walls

all we could really use is a mirror.

 

And the mirror reflects and reflects and it’s

because of it’s reflection and of its fainted

hymn that we realize how tired we all

are.” *

 

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The angular and contorted limbs of the figures are not dissimilar to those of the artist, and the poetic storylines are not unlike the battles of those who walk by. Quietly, this is a poet with a brush and a pot of paint.

We asked him if he writes the poem first then paints it. He said that sometimes the words come to him as he paints, but he does not consider himself to be a poet – not in the strict meaning of the word. But we disagree, of course.

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope “Stampeded” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Time Lapse Video of Know Hope, “Stampeded” By MaNY Projects:

 

The project was produced by Keith Schweitzer of MaNY Projects in conjunction with Fourth Arts Block (FAB).

* poetry by Know Hope, from “Bound by the Ties: Side-seen Moments” by Know Hope and Coin Bleus

To learn more about MaNY Projects click here.

To learn more about Fourth Arts Block click here.

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Fun Friday 03.09.12 Armory Week BSA Picks

March 9, 2012 , , , , ,

Hells yes, it’s the invasion of the art fairs in New York – and all the associated events around them, including Bushwicks Beat Night and Williamsburg’s Arts Not Fair in the People’s Republic of Brooklyn and many galleries have special programming planned for the weekend around the city. The big fish is the Armory, which is apparently taming itself down a bit if last nights opening was any indication, and their door is a hefty $30 – boutique indeed.  But the hardy street art fan never pays anyway, from what we’ve seen.

Also this weekend are Fountain, PooL Art, Scope New York, Volta , Art Now, and Theorize which are more affordable or free and can be a lot more interesting frankly. Or, just hang out on the street with your bagged container and check out the street art on selected streets and abandoned lots in neighborhoods like the L.E.S, Bowery, Chelsea, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Red Hook, Long Island City, Dumbo. It’s cheap and you might get invited inside for a party if you bring a couple cans of beer. As you know, it doesn’t cost money to access the creative spirit.

1. Armory Arts Week
2. Fountain
3. Volta
4. Scope
5. Lisa Enxing at Le Salon d’ Art
6. Ambush Gallery, “Project 5, Volume 4”
7. “Beat Nite”
8. “Hyper/Hypo” at Secret Project Robot
9. OBLVN “100 Paintings at Klughaus Gallery
10. Jef Aerosol “Hot Spots” @ Galerie Austral
11. Street Artist Ives.One (Video)

For further information regarding Armory Arts Week click here

Fountain

(Images © Steven P. Harrington)

This year Fountain has provided a 200 foot long wall for a slew of Street Artists, including Chris Stain, Know Hope, GILF, Imminent Disaster, Joe Iurato, LMNOP, Elle, ShinShin, LNY, Cake, En Masse, Sophia Maldonado, Hellbent, Radical! and Wing. See some behind the scenes photos posted yesterday here.

Joe Iurato at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LNY will be at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fountain include a great line up of galleries that promote, support and represent Street Artists including:  Kestin/Ray Gallery, Mighty Tanaka Gallery, The Market Place Gallery and Marianne Nems Gallery.

XAM will be exhibiting at Fountain with Marianne Nems Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Brooklyn gallery Mighty Tanaka will be having a greatest hits collection of work by almost everyone in their stable of untamed horses. One of the best walls is the dual red white and blue side by side 3-D sculptural wall installations by Skewville and Miguel Ovalle – including swords on the bottom of the Ovalle piece for the kids.

Featured at Might Tanaka are Abe Lincoln Jr. Adam Leech, Adam Void, Alexandra Pacula, Alice Mizrachi, Andrew H. Shirley, Burn 353, Cake, CAM, Celso, ChrisRWK, Conrad Carlson, Criminy Johnson, Curtis Readel, Don Pablo Pedro, Drew Tyndell, ELLE, Ellen Stagg, EVOKER, Flying Fortress, Gigi Bio, Gigi Chen, Greg Henderson, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, infinity, JMR, Joe Iurato, John Breiner, Katie Deker, Lamour Supreme, Masahiro Ito, Matt Siren, Max Greis, Mike Schreiber, Nathan Pickett, Nathan Vincent, NEVER, Peat Wollaeger, Robbie Bush, See One, Sofia Maldonado, TooFly, UFO, Vahge, VengRWK, VIK with exclusive murals by Miguel Ovalle & Skewville.

For further information regarding Fountain Art Fair click here

Volta

Carmichael Gallery from Culver City, CA will be exhibiting new works by Aakash Nihalani.

Aakash Nihalani (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding Volta Art Fair click here

Scope

The Corey Helford Gallery from Culver City, CA will be exhibiting works by D*Face, Ron English and Risk at Scope.

D*Face in Los Angeles for LAFreeWalls Project (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ron English in Miami for Wynwood Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)

White Walls Gallery from San Francisco will be exhibiting works by Blek le Rat at Scope.

Blek le Rat in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding Scope Art Fair click here

Also happening this Weekend:

Lisa Enxing at Le Salon d’ Art For more information about this show click here

Ambush Gallery in Sydney, Australia presents “Project 5, Volume 4”. For more information about this show click here

Don’t miss “Beat Nite” happening this Saturday in dirty Bushwick and presented by Norte Maar. For more information about this event click here

“Hyper/Hypo” group show at Secret Project Robot opens this Saturday. For more information about this show click here

OBLVN solo show “100 Paintings” opens this Saturday at the Klughaus Gallery. For more information about this show click here

Jef Aerosol new solo show “Hot Spots” opens this Saturday at Galerie Austral in Saint-Denis, France. For more information about this show click here

 

Amsterdam based Street Artist Ives.One

A nice stop motion piece made with Arden de Raaij:

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Fountain 2012 Lands in a Grand Old Location

March 8, 2012 , , , , ,

Armory Week is back in town and Fountain Art Fair is nailing it. At the moment – literally. Walls are going up as you are reading this. 200 feet of walls are dedicated to Street Artists – Enough said. Fountain has moved inland this year from the floating, sometimes harrowing, gallery and submarine Murder Lounge on the Hudson waterfront, and in many ways the new Fountain also feels more grounded. Don’t worry, not too much.

Joe Iurato (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Apart from being in an actual Armory building, a 106 year old institution that lends a certain New York Beau-Arts grandness to it all, Fountain is still anybody’s guess in terms of content and execution; which in our minds is precisely the point of going. The chaotic nature of the creative spirit as wielded by many of these youngish artists means that they are better thought of as corralled, rather than curated, into this grand sweeping space that has plenty of headroom.  Part punk D.I.Y. art party and part Occupy Art Fair, the promise of Fountain lies in the work and your own sense of exploration, rather than the prepackaged pomp of slick-talking retailers.

Naturally there are a slew of Street Artists in Fountain this year, including Chris Stain, Know Hope, GILF, Imminent Disaster, Joe Iurato, LMNOP, Elle, ShinShin, LNY, Cake, En Masse, Sophia Maldonado, Hellbent, Radical! and Wing.  BSA caught some of them working in the last couple of weeks as they completed pieces and we give you some sneak peeks here.

Joe Iurato (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Joe Iurato (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LNY working on his piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LNY, one of the newer Street Artists of New York at the moment, talked to us as he prepared his Fountain piece deep in Bushwick. His careful illustrative style has an unassuming quality, a sort of hand rendered fantasy he is channeling, and discovering, mixing and remixing symbols and imagination.

Brooklyn Street Art: How did you arrive at your current hybrid style of human/animals? Your depictions keep the humans remaining wholly human and the animals remaining wholly animals. They just seem to be attached to each other?
LNY: Animals are very interesting on their own but at the same time they have been used symbolically so much everywhere. For instance I noticed that many countries use the eagle as a national symbol: Egypt, USA and Mexico all have eagles in their national symbols. When I have an inclination to draw I often find myself drawing animals.

Brooklyn Street Art: On this piece you are working on for Fountain you have NYPD Mounted Police with wings on them?
LNY: Usually my ideas just sort of pile up and then they get to something else. For instance the wings are going to be fire actually. I will add a couple more riders and they could be an apocalyptic kind of scene. The fun thing about symbols is that you can read whatever you want into them. I like the ambiguity of symbols a lot.

Brooklyn Street Art: How do you find the process of painting?
LNY: I really don’t paint anymore. I used to paint. What I used to do with painting doesn’t work anymore because I lost faith in the idea of painting – so I have to find something else.

LNY working on his piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LNY working on his piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent working on his piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent working on his piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mockup for Hellbent’s piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Finished! A semi-blurry cellphone pic of it from last night. (photo © Hellbent)

I lo-lo-lala-lo-love you. Radical! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Click here to learn more about Fountain Art Fair 2012

 

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Leaping Underground : Graff and Performance Art for New York’s Explorers

March 7, 2012 , ,

Andrew H. Shirley Throws a Party for Leap Year

There would be no above ground scene in New York without the abiding underground scene. Furtive, secretive, accessible by invitation or last minute word of mouth, art parties and performance have always supplied a forum for expression, inspiration, and a release of raw energy. Without idealizing too much, these are frequently places where the petri dishes for future movements are mixed, or at least experimented with. Not exactly galleries or performance venues, these spaces converted for one-night-only can be a great place to party, see something new, and let your mind loose with friends.

Artist and party planner Andrew H. Shirley threw a sort of impromptu bash a week ago to celebrate the occasion of February 29th, and he invited some artists/graff heads to hit up the space like Smells, Cash4, UFO, Gen2, R2, and Fade. The abandoned warehouse feeling was juxtaposed by some rather ornate furniture, and eventually everything got tagged – since the scheduled installations included a surprise visit from Net, Krt and Serch. “Kind of a random perfect line up,” reports Shirley of the artists, “It ended up being really proper.”

Cash4 sets the scene, and Fade offers a seat.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

Once the visual aesthetics were laid the performances were clear to go for the small enthusiastic collection of fans that braved the cold night and they were rewarded with an eclectic mix of energetic shows by Beef, Jogyo, Fake Hooker, Japanther, and Ninjasonik. Shirley was really happy with the turnout –  “A great crowd of heads braved the sh*ttiest night of the winter to be part of the Leap Year Party,” he says.

BSA: What was the party all about?
Andrew H. Shirley: I’ve had a telepathic calling to throwing a leap year party for a few years, and one day while hanging with Robbie from Fake Hooker, we talked about leap year, and how we couldn’t remember anything fun ever happening on that day .I took it upon myself to try and make a holiday out of this. Evolving out of the ideas we came up with, Beef and Fake Hooker planned a tour which began at Death by Audio in brooklyn and ended on leap year at the El Dorado.

BSA: Who did you hook up the venue and the painting part of the show?
Andrew H. Shirley: Party professional SPAM was stoked that February had an extra day to party this year and pointed our idea in the direction of the El Dorado space. The el dorado is an amazing space; it’s totally reminiscent of the type of space you’d find in the Lower East Side, like the Lounge on 11th and Avenue A circa 1995.  It’s totally grilled out in scrawls and tags, really grimey, old New York. It’s a free for all. The dude who runs El Dorado is actually not into graffiti at all – he hates it. Because the place was pretty grilled, I asked if I could have some heads come and do some walls and he was cool with it.

In addition to the artists and performers, shout outs go to Laura Kaplan for Japanther’s costumes and Devi Mambouka for Jogyo’s makeup and costumes. The Superior Bugout did promotion and thanks to photographer Tod Seelie for sharing his images.

JOGYO imparting knowledge. Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

Smells, Cash4, UFO, Gen2, R2, 907 Crew, Fade, Net, Krt and Serch.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

 

For all you underground Marie Antoinettes, a regally appointed couch adorned by UFO 907 with a wall piece by Smells.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

Hitting the high notes! (photo © Tod Seelie)

A sideways blastoff from UFO and the 907 crew.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

Fashion Week isn’t just for Paris you know! 11 Years in the underground and standard bearers for an ever changing Brooklyn scene, Japanther modeled organic fashions by Laura Kaplan for their performance. (photo © Tod Seelie)

Fade feels nostalgic for a 1980 sex party.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

Duo Ninjasonik reliably rocked mics with their nasty and funny rhymes, bringing an electrifying performance in the midst of the party. (© Tod Seelie)

A welcoming and cozy seating arrangement. Principal decor supplied by Gen2 of the 907 Crew. Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

I have an announcement before I blast your eardrums! (photo © Tod Seelie)

Smells, Cash4, UFO, Gen2, R2, 907 Crew, Fade, Net, Krt and Serch.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

Ninjasonic taking it home.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

Smells, Cash4, UFO, Gen2, R2, 907 Crew, Fade, Net, Krt and Serch.  Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

 Leap Party 2012 at El Dorado (photo © Tod Seelie)

 

 

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RETNA At The Houston Wall in NYC

March 6, 2012 , , ,

The weather is turning friendly, and RETNA is encouraging the conversation

We have been having a very mild winter in New York, even scarily warm. The daffodils are almost in bloom and you can already see the faint shades of pink on the buds of the cherry and apple trees. “Wait!”, we want to yell at them, “Wait! – there might be a frost yet.”  But when it is sunny and warm out, everybody wants to come out and play.

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For example Los Angeles based Street Artist and fine artist RETNA, who took Saturday through Monday to complete the Houston Wall with his brightly secretive musings, messages, and tributes painted in his now famous alphabet.  Maybe it was the holy day, or the holy hangover, but watching this piece appearing on Sunday was like seeing the wall turn into a soaring stained glass cathedral of gestural markings in crimson and blue, a private prayer out in the open.

Watching an artist at work is always a pleasure and it is a gift to see the unfolding magic of a community coming alive on the street, bonded by the humanizing experience of art in progress.  RETNA can be playful, serious, contemplative, relieved, pleased, and you will see it all.

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Houston Street is not one of those quiet hidden romantic streets where an artist can just zone out, no matter the hermetic fit of headphones; this rumbling thoroughfare splits Manhattan loudly and boisterously, dividing Soho from Noho, both ever more expensive and increasingly mall-like these days. Whatever the composition of foot traffic, the sense of community comes alive in this sacred presence of the creative spirit; Passersby, complete strangers, well-wishers and friends stop to say hello, to ask a question, dare a request, or just silently and introspectively observe the process.

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A very young painting fan gets an expert lesson on photography from his daddy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

And he was a very good student of the new RETNA wall. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA obliged a fan with a request of a personalized tag. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA…on the back of what he claimed was a one of a kind Georgio Armani jacket. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA. Cigarette break. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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MOSH Gallery Presents: Asbjørn Skou (Armsrock) & Sif Iton a Westerberg “Stedfortrædere” (Copenhagen, Denmark)

March 5, 2012 , , , , ,

“Stedfortrædere”

Stedfortrædere

MOHS Exhibit.

16.03.12 – 21.04.12

Opening march 16th. 16 – 21

Sønder boulevard 98
1720 Copenhagen V

The exhibition investigates how social realities are mediated though things. How objects turn into vessels for ideas and meanings. Through installations, drawings and photographs, we investigate how our collections and use of objects, serve as the foundation of social and historical constructions of power, and how these can be negotiated.

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Gallery Nosco Presents: ALEXANDROS VASMOULAKIS “It Felt Like a Kiss” (London, UK)

March 5, 2012

It Felt Like a Kiss

What is it that thou wouldst have in a silver charger, O sweet and fair Salomé, thou that art fairer than all the daughters of Judaea? What wouldst thou have them bring thee in a silver charger? Tell me. Whatsoever it may be, thou shalt receive it. My treasures belong to thee. What is it that thou wouldst have, Salomé? 1

Salome. The voluptuous young princess who performed the seductive dance of the seven veils inflaming King Herod to the point that he would bring John Baptiste’s head in a silver charger. Judith. The beautiful widow who allured the enemy general Holofernes and managed to decapitate him to save her city of Bethulia from the Assyrians. Delilah. The woman who became the object of Samson’s desire and was able to deceive him by making him unveil his deepest secret concerning his immanent great strength.

Ferocious attractive women that cunningly exploit men are drawn out from the cosmos of Jeudo, Christian and ancient Greek mythology and become the central subject matter in Alexandros Vasmoulakis’ new work. Moving from his previous depiction of vigorous and dynamic reclining nudes that sarcastically gaze at the male viewer, the artist once again unleashes the forces that control the conflicting relationship between men and women and enhances the infamous personality of a femme fatale.

Through a colorful mixture of oil, ink and acrylic, Vasmoulakis’ female protagonists are rendered as supernatural creatures. Deities that deviate from images of mere objectification. The artist’s rough brush strokes and abrupt lines intensify their Dionysiac nature, which is playful and humorous, as well as liberating. According to Vasmoulakis, the patterns of a patriarchal society throughout history have been established due to men’s lustful desire and simultaneous fear of women. An issue that reverberates to the mythical association of Eros and Thanatos with the disquieting charm of female beauty.

However, the artist distorts their features, suggesting their physical attractiveness without representing it. He portrays the castrated man, who, disarmed and powerless, witnessed Death and Desire, confessing that this revelation “felt like a kiss”. Once more Vasmoulakis figures become strange amalgams of the past and present that can never be captured and solidified, but somehow perfectly trigger a stream of consciousness of the eternal game between the two sexes.
Elli Paxinou

1 Herode, from Salomé: A Tragedy in One Act by Oscar Wilde

Gallery Nosco presents:
“IT FELT LIKE A KISS”
A Solo Show with
ALEXANDROS VASMOULAKIS

Private View: 12th April – 18.00 – 21.00
Exhibition Runs: 13th April – 28th April 2012
Print Release: 21st April 12pm
Artist Talk: 21st April 3pm

50 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP London

 

RSVP: lila.benini@gallerynosco.com by the 10th April to be included on the guestlist

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Judith Supine Hits the Runway in Paris

March 5, 2012

Street Art goes high-fashion for ’13 with Street Artist Judith Supine

One image of a mysterious acid-green faced woman with pink flowers in her hair on a black brick wall reappears across a Ready-To-Wear line during Fashion Week by India based designer Manish Arora.

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

Street Artist Judith Supine shook slim hips on the runway last week with new stuff for Autumn/Winter 2012-13 as Arora collaborated with Supine for this new line of poke-out-your-eye moda. Manish must have seen the cover of the 2010 compendium “Street Art New York” for some inspiration, as the same image that graces the book appears here on blouses, and many of Supines’ signature acid green skinned ladies, smokers, and Brooklyn doyennes are splattered along with blossoms and moss across bolero jackets, pencil skirts, and 50s inspired ensembles.

The photo of a piece on the street by Judith Supine – and the cover of “Street Art New York” by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Supine’s high wire antics on the streets (and bridges) of Brooklyn are well known in New York, and his collage-based surrealist figures have stopped people dead in their tracks since the current scene exploded here in the last decade. Indicative of the fine art and figurative influences that plowed new paths for all manner of expression on the street, Supines’ work has eventually moved to badass galleries and adventurous private collections.

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

Supine’s manager Naheed Simjee was in Paris for the fashion show and spoke to Manish Arora afterwards, who told her that in the process of designing this collection, the design team all became big fans of Judith Supine’s artwork. Arora pulled what spoke to him from the body of artwork and hoped he did the artwork justice.

Judith Supine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“I was really amazed,” says Simjee. “Using detailed embroidering and taking elements like cigarettes in lips (which were hand embroidered on some of the pieces), exactly matching the color palette and the use of bright fuchsia flowers to decorate dresses and tops – all signature imagery in Judith Supine paintings, made the artwork really came alive on the models.”

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

For the fashion line, Supine, who regularly pours through magazines for his inspiration, tells us he didn’t try to get too involved. He said he just liked the idea of the collaboration and allowed designer Arora to interpret his work in whatever way he liked. The official press release says that Agora (is) “very attracted to street art, it deserves a lot more attention than it gets.”  For Supine’s part, he’s pretty happy with the outcome too, and is looking forward to wearing one of the dresses.

Judith Supine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

Judith Supine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

Judith Supine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

Judith Supine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

Judith Supine at his “Ladyboy” show in Los Angeles last year at New Image Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Autumn/Winter 2012-13 by Manish Arora at Paris Fashion Week (photo © courtesy Manish Arora)

Judith Supine at his “Ladyboy” show in Los Angeles last year at New Image Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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See British Vogue for images from the full show here.

See SIMJEETEXTOR for more information about Judith Supine here.

This posting is also published on The Huffington Post

 

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