September 2012

Images of the Week 09.30.12

This week seemed busy on the streets of New York after LA graff writer Saber started us off on Sunday with a sky-writing campaign that was politically charged arts advocacy and a social media-soaked smackdown of the right wing in the US. From culture-jamming to political commentary to social advocacy, it looks like some Street Artists are getting back their voice in many pieces that are espousing a message.  Not all of them of course.

So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Bast, Billi Kid, Creepy, Classic, Espo, Home Sick, JB Rock, Jeice 2, Meer Sau, ND’A, Olek, OverUnder, PM AM, Reader, and Ugo Rondinone. Locations include New York, Istanbul, London, Portugal, Sicily, and the Pilbara desert in the Northwest of Australia.

Sevin’s Errline. This ad-bust wins the week. In this case the artist(s) attached his/her /their decomposing, surrealist airplane to a huge vinyl banner that is shilling luxury condos in Manhattan. It’s a prime example of how un-commissioned and illegal Street Art can create and lead conversations on the street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Home Sick (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Reader says “Call Your Mom” in this year old piece on a condemned building. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mixed media artist Ugo Rondinone still believes in love on this grey day. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

OLEK. This is a brand new piece on the walls of the Village Underground in Shoreditch, London. Explains Olek, “It is in conjunction with a campaign with street artists for an anti-slavery event that is happening this week.” ESPO’s words are across the top. (photo © OLEK)

Billi Kid smacked up this new piece skewering Mittens Romney called, “Shoot First, Aim Later” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jeice 2 in Istanbul combines his realistic animal rendering with an abstract poppy piece. (photo © Jeice 2)

Overunder (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Meer Sau. “Austrians on holiday in Portugal” (photo © Meer Sau)

ND’A and OverUnder collabo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

J (photo © Jaime Rojo)

And now I vil play a leetle classic piece on my bass for all you jazzy cats. Classic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mimicking grocery store signs, Street Artist Bast actually went over himself here. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JB Rock “Tutto Torna” The Emergence Festival. First Edition in Giardini Naxos, Sicily.  (photo © JB Rock)

As he paints the giant 8-shaped snake biting it’s tail, the Italian Street Artist JB Rock explains his new piece this way, “This is a portrait of our modern society and especially of my beautiful but very counterproductive country. For this work I’ve been inspired by the UROBORUS concept, remixed with the Infinity symbol”.

JB Rock “Tutto Torna”. Detail. (photo © JB Rock)

PM AM (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Creepy in the Pilbara desert adorns the carcass of a double decker bus. (photo © Kyle Hughes-Odgers)

“I traveled up to Port Hedland which is an industry Port in the North West of Australia and painted some walls and found objects in the desert as part of a residency with FORM gallery,” says the Perth-based Creepy.

Creepy in the Pilbara desert on the back of an old pickup. (photo © Kyle Hughes-Odgers)

Yes, this was shot in Brooklyn, in case you were wondering. Untitled (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Los Brujos: Gola, Kenor and H101 Nude Before The Third Eye in Italy

Gola Hundun, Kenor and H101 otherwise known as the Art Collective Los Brujos, recently participated in the Sub Urb Art 2 in Torino, Italy with a patchwork hand-painted re-creation of the mystic Eye inside a large open warehouse space.

Los Brujos: Kenor, Gola and H101. (photo © Garu-Garu)

Call it The Eye of Glory, The All Seeing Eye, The Eye of The World, The Eye of Providence or the Eye of Horus, the human eye has been imbued with supernatural powers, omnipresence, and intuitive abilities for centuries by various cultures and belief systems worldwide. Three members of Los Brujos pose carefully here with the new piece by way of drawing our focus back to it’s various meanings.

Los Brujos: Gola, Kenor and H101. (photo © Garu-Garu)

As they draw your attention to the third eye looming behind them, Los Brujos appear in various costume while positioning themselves symbolically in front of the work, adding a decidedly pagan connotation to the work. The juxtaposition reminds you that dimension, abstraction, and geometry have roots in folk art, religion and mysticism – far predating the modern age fascination with geometry and minimalism. While these guys and many in the alt-art party circuit are sometimes thought of as avant-garde, you can also see them as revivalists of our clan-based past.

Los Brujos: Gola, Kenor and H101. (photo © Garu-Garu)

Los Brujos: Gola, Kenor and H101. (photo © Garu-Garu)

Los Brujos:  Kenor, Gola, and H101. (photo © Garu-Garu)

 

 

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Fun Friday 09.28.30

BROOKLYN! Jay-Z opens the new stadium in Brooklyn tonight with a lot of fanfare – and if you don’t have tickets just have a blast in the hundreds of studio spaces and gallery shows and “in the street” installations and performances starting tonight at the Dumbo Arts Festival that brings thousands coursing through the neighborhood over the next three days.

Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Quincy Jones. (VIDEO)

Here’s a clean way to see writing on Brooklyn walls and to practice your lyrical skillz.

1. Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Quincy Jones. (VIDEO)
2. Nuart 2012 Begins in Norway
3. NY ART BOOK FAIR at PS1 (LIC, Queens)
4. DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL 2012 (Brooklyn)
5. Futurism 2.0 at Blackall Studios (London)
6. JAZ “Metodologias del Discurso” (Argentina)
7. Narcelio Grud “Paraphernalia” (VIDEO)
8. Daytime Bombing with HNR (VIDEO)

Nuart 2012 Begins in Norway

Named the Cultural Capital of Europe a few years back, Stavanger has remarkably open minds and has embraced a select slice of the Street Art scene that is displayed this time of year via large mural installations, indoor shows, and speakers. NUART was born here and it set the standards for many Street Art Festivals that have followed since NUiART first opened its walls to visiting international Street Artists in the early 2000s. NUART 2012 opened Thursday with a full day of activities related to NUART PLUS and it will continue thorughout the weekend with the opening of Tout Scene on Saturday. The list of participating artists this year include: AAKASH NIHALANI (US), DOLK (NO), EINE (UK), RON ENGLISH (US), SABER (US), HOWNOSM (US), MOBSTR (UK) NIELS SHOW MEULMAN (NL), JORDAN SEILER (US), THE WA (FR), SICKBOY (UK).

How & Nosm. Detail. (photo © Ian Cox)

For more information on all activities and schedules regarding NUART PLUS click here.

For more information regarding Saturday’s Opening of Tout Scene click here.

NY ART BOOK FAIR at PS1 (LIC, Queens)

People who are designing and creating independent zines and books are a really important part of the Street Art and graffiti D.I.Y. culture and PS1 in Long Island City is a vast feast of cool printed matter this weekend.  Starting today and running through Sunday, the Fair is presented by the esteemed establishment Printed Matter and if you don’t find stuff that engages you and blows your mind, it will be a surprise. One of the groups we highly recommend that you go and visit is the Pantheon Projects table (#12) where you’d find delicious hand crafted zines by Avoid, Droid, R2 and Carnage.

Illegal Trouble II by Droid and R2. B & W photos, poems, recipes and interviews with Fade AA and Skuzz. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

These little art books capture stuff on the street in a way that helps you organize and appreciate it – with wit and a street poet approach. They also can give advice occasionally, like the recipe we found for juicing cucumbers/pineapple and something else to  produce “donut water”. Feast your eyes on the dope  images and take in the authors’ notes and observations as they rack up serious road miles for the love of art and discovery. Here is a selection of images from spreads of these zines to give you an idea of what we’re talking about.

Illegal Trouble II by Droid and R2. B & W photos, poems, recipes and interviews with Fade AA and Skuzz. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Live The Dream Learn to Die II by Droid 907 and Avoid. A Road Trip with B & W photos, maps, inserts, guides and journals.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Live The Dream Learn to Die II by Droid 907 and Avoid. A Road Trip with B & W photos, maps, inserts, guides and journals.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Carnage. The stickers issue.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Carnage. The stickers issue.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Carnage. The doors issue.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Carnage. The stickers issue.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information, schedules and transportation regarding this Art Fair click here.

DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL 2012 (Brooklyn)

This weekend Brooklyn is the the cultural STAR of New York City once again. The DUMBO Arts Festival opens today with more than 500 artists participating from all over the world. There will be open studios for you to visit, outdoor installations for you to explorer and huge video projections for you to be in awe of. Hop on the F train and get off at Jay Street and take in the breathtaking and majestic views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges with the city’s skyline as a background.

XAM installation from DUMBO Arts FEst 2011 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leo Kuelbs projection from Dumbo Arts Fest 2011. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For full schedule of events click here.

Futurism 2.0 at Blackall Studios (London)

The Future is in London tonight with FUTURISM 2.0 a group exhibition at the Blackall Studios presented by Gamma Proforma is now opens today to the general public with a reception starting at 6:00 pm.

Augustine Kofie, fresh from his participation in our GEOMETRICKS show show, turns his attention to London to showcase his beautiful paintings alongside other artists who collectively are illustrating the same direction of abstract geometry on the streets right now, including Phil Ashcroft, Boris Tellegen (Delta), James Choules (sheOne), Matt W. Moore, Mark Lyken, Sat One, Christopher Derek Bruno, Moneyless, Mr Jago, Nawer, O. Two, Morten Andersen, Keith Hopewell(Part2ism), Jaybo Monk, Poesia, Derm, Jerry Inscoe (Joker), Remi/Rough, Divine Styler and Clemens Behr.

Augustine Kofie. Detail. GEOMETRICKS (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

JAZ “Metodologias del Discurso” (Argentina)

JAZ’s new solo show is now open at the Kosovo Gallery in Cordoba, Argentina. Known for his representational exploration of beasts and men this artists likess to work big with over scaled representations of his subjects. Internationally known, you’ll see his stuff at Street Art Festivals around the world, and in some back alleys and empty lots too.

JAZ at Open Walls in Baltimore this Spring. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Narcelio Grud “Paraphernalia” (VIDEO)

Daytime Bombing with HNR (VIDEO)

From Tags and Throws.com

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NUART 2012 Countdown Begins

How Nosm (photo © Ian Cox)

 This spring we were invited to attend and speak at this years Nuart festival and although we can’t be there personally we’ve still have some great talents on the Stavanger front who will be providing you with stunning and scintillating BSA exclusive action over the next few weeks. So two days before the official opening, here are a few shots of Street Artists in preparation for this non-commercial festival/symposium/party/debauched art camp that has taken place in Norway for the last decade or so.

How Nosm (photo © Ian Cox)

All the artists arrived a week ago and they have been getting busy on their designated outdoors walls and indoors tunnels. Martyn Reed invites participants inside this complex of buildings that once housed a brewery with interconnecting tunnels – a fitting atmosphere for the hooligans who are accustomed to exploring the urban environment. The official date for the public to see the completed walls is this Saturday with the opening night of Tout Scene.

This year’s talent lineup again represents a wide swath of mostly European and American Street Artists including Aakash Nihalani (US), Dolk (NO), Eine (UK), Ron English (US), Saber (US), How Nosm (US), Mobstr (UK), Niels Show Meulman (NL), Jordan Seiler (US), The Wa (FR), Sickboy (UK).

With our sincere thanks to the talented photographer and occasional BSA contributor Ian Cox who is also in NUART snapping away as the artists work on their installations. Our thanks also to partners Martyn, Marte and Victoria for helping us bring Nuart to BSA.

How Nosm (photo © Ian Cox)

How Nosm (photo © Ian Cox)

Jordan Seiler (photo © Ian Cox)

Jordan Seiler (photo © Ian Cox)

A small army of volunteers help make NUART a success every year. (photo © Ian Cox)

One of the tunnels (photo © Ian Cox)

Click here for a the full schedule and information on Tout Scene

 

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Dumbo Arts Festival 2012 (Brooklyn, NYC)

DUMBO ARTS FEST 2012

Codex Dynamic. Curated by Leo Kuelbs and John Ensor Parker. Video artworks by Gary Hill, Yi Zhou, and Marina Zurkow. (photo courtesy of The Festival)

16th ANNUAL DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL TRANSFORMS LAND, WATER, AND SKY INTO

MASSIVE ARTS PLAYGROUND WITH WORKS BY MORE THAN 500 ARTISTS
 
 Over 225,000 people expected for three-day free arts extravaganza in DUMBO
 
From huge projections across historic buildings and the Manhattan Bridge to interactive performances in Brooklyn Bridge Park to whimsical art floating on the East River, the 16th Annual Dumbo Arts Festival will offer a free feast for the senses from September 28-30, 2012, organizers announced today.
This year’s schedule, which was unveiled by organizers today, cements the Dumbo Arts Festival as one of the city’s largest and most ambitious arts events. Over three days, an expected 225,000 art-lovers will experience extraordinary art by more than 500 artists from around the world.
Set amid the backdrop of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline in one of the city’s most tech-friendly and culturally rich hubs, the Festival will showcase installations in stores, lobbies, scaffolding, and alleyways, performances and exhibits on more than 50 stages, and tours of 100 open artist studios.
“The 16th Annual Dumbo Arts Festival will bring the entire neighborhood to life, transforming its streets, parks, bridges, buildings, waterfront, and even sky into canvasses, stages, exhibition spaces,” said Lisa Kim, Festival Director. “Best of all, it is completely free, enabling everyone to experience extraordinary local, national, and international art at a price that can’t be beat.”
What:   The 16th Annual Dumbo Arts Festival
When: Friday, September 28th to Sunday, September 30th
Time:   Friday, September 28th – 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, September 29th – 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday, September 30th – 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
All outdoor projections are open from 6 p.m. to midnight all three nights.
Cost:    Free
Where: Spans the neighborhood of DUMBO, Brooklyn, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, including the waterfront.
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Mad One and Cartel Coffee Lab Present: “Sticker Phiends”. (Tempe, Arizona)

Sticker Phiends

Presented by: Mike “Mad One” Neely II
Location: The Cartel Lab
225 W. University Dr. Tempe,AZ. 85281
Date: October 13th 2012
Time: 8pm-12
Artists:
BigFoot1
Bisk
Codak
Cope 2
Chris/RWK
CopyRight
Dain
DumperFoo
Evoker 1
Hmph/Kento
Jaber
London Police
Mad One
Mr. Brainwash
Nate Luna
Peeta
Pez
Phresha
Seizer
Sike’
Slick/Dissizit
Shepard Fairey/Obey
Voxx Romana
Street/Gallery artist “Mad One” will present and team up with Cartel Coffee Lab to host the fifth annual one of a kind “Sticker Phiends”, a showcase of local and international sticker artists, graphic designers, graffiti artists and many others for a fifth year in a row. The show will feature stickers and other forms of urban/gallery art. Plenty of sticker giveaways,handouts throughout the night donated by our sponsors like clothes, magazines, dvds and limited edition screen prints/stickers produced by showcasing artists and much more….Also did we mention 100% of the art is for Sale! There are even a few secrets we do not want to mention; you will just have to show up to see for yourself…
There have been several Graffiti/Urban art themed shows throughout the valley the last few years. This is one of a kind for sure; its name explains itself “Sticker Phiends” an array of street/gallery artists and designers throughout the world coming together to show case under one roof. “Mad One”, a former Arizona based, now residing in Portland,Oregon street/gallery artist, had the opportunity to lock down many local and international artists for the show making it five years in a row, and this years expectations are growing still by the day. We have artists ranging from New York to California, theU.K. and beyond”. “Sticker Phiends” is about the sticker/urban art movement and bringing awareness of stickers and adhesives and how they have gone from the streets to modern forms of art being displayed in today’s galleries and museums. “Mad One”, a street art advocate, has taken on the duty of curating this one of a kind show and many others throughout the counrty.

Stickers and sticker art isn’t just for skateboarders and bands/DJ’s anymore, it has become a new way of expressing yourself and getting your name and or images out to the public eyes. Letting the general public analyze your images and getting up where ever you can, you can find stickers on the back of street signs, electric boxes, and magazine kiosks. Most importantly putting them up where no one has before. Some people just collect stickers, some simply just represent themselves. But either way you look at it stickers have been accepted and will be displayed as a new wave art form. Some of the artists on the bill will be coming into Phoenix for the show. I could mention a few names, but you will have to attend or stay tuned to find out who’s who and from where.

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Signal Gallery Presents: Guy Denning “Paradiso” (London, UK)

Guy Denning

We are delighted to announce that we are showing the work of the much loved and respected Bristol artist, Guy Denning in his first London solo show for two years. It’s the final part of his trilogy of exhibitions interpreting Dante’s The Divine Comedy; PARADISO. Inferno and Purgatorio, which were shown in Bologna and New York, were a tremendous success and we think that the final part of the cycle will be equally so.

In PARADISO Denning has created a series of works that use highly individual visual imagery to depict the ecstatic route to a place of resolution and rest (for Dante the route to heaven). He is intrigued by how the moral ambiguities of the world we live in; with it’s emphasis on glorifying the here and now, finds resonances with the unshakeable medieval belief in the existence of life after death. Like Dante, Denning draws on contemporary political concerns to illustrate his vision.

Part of the exhibition is inspired by Beatrice, Dante’s long dead love, who is the central figure in the poem and who symbolises feminine purity and vulnerability. To represent this aspect of PARADISO Denning has painted a series of delicate portraits of famous women from the recent past, who died young and who have found immortality in their enduring youth.

Denning has been an artist all his adult life and in 2007, he moved from Bristol to rural Brittany to concentrate fulltime on his painting. The artistic freedom this move has given him has contributed greatly to the intense and consistently beautiful work that he has produced in this period; quite simply it has raised his art to a whole new level.

His belief in the importance of drawing skills is the foundation of all his work. He uses traditional painting methods of building up work from underlying sketches, mostly from life and often using his friends as models. Guy’s painting, mainly oil on canvas, is approached with an intellectual rigour, which is always directed towards a truthful interpretation of the world as he sees it.  He is a unique artist in his technique, manner and choice of subject matter and this is at its best in his modern representation of Dante’s 14th century world.

The private view is on the 4th October and the show runs until the 27th October. Please let us know if you need any further information or images. Here is a link to a preview video that we think captures the very essence of PARADISO

Signal Gallery · 32 Paul Street · London, Eng EC2A 4LB

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Maxwell Colette Gallery Presents: Goons “Welcome To Goonswood” (Chicago, IL)

Goons

Maxwell Colette Gallery Presents:
Welcome To Goonswood
October 5, 2012 – November 9, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, October 5th from 6pm to 10pm
 Maxwell Colette Gallery is pleased to announce
Welcome To Goonswood, a solo show of new work from Goons. Known for their
signature big lips, Goons’ characters are as unmistakable as they are engaging. The
exhibition will be on view from October 5 to November 9, 2012 with an opening
reception on Friday, October 5th from 6pm to 10pm.
“Goonswood is a secret city just beyond the sight of eyes. It is a place where anything is
possible. All the colors are brighter, all the shapes are richer and everything is bigger.
Welcome to Goonswood where all dreams come true.” -GOONS
About Goons:
Goons is a native of Chicago who currently resides in Vermont. In July 2012 he was the
judge’s choice winner of the Red Bull Curates Competition in Chicago and in December
2012 will be going to Art Basel in Miami to exhibit work with them. His ‘Clean It Up’
video for Orbit Gum is an viral sensation with over a million views on You Tube.
Maxwell Colette Gallery
908 N. Ashland Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
Twitter: @maxwellcolette
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New York Interiors and Urban Exploring

“Urban Exploring” is often thought of as some kind of elite super ninja activity; tinged with adventure, a sense of danger, and definitely some flying nunchucks. For city folk with a sense of wanderlust and a need for exercise, the act of checking out an abandoned old building can be just as satisfying and dangerous as going for a bracing hike or rock climbing in the mountains, but it’s much closer to a deli.

New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Like most large cities in the US, New York has always had its share of run-down decrepit buildings that virtually welcome your exploration. It’s a surprise to find that even with improved city parks on the rise in NYC, when you duck through a hole in the fence to explore an old house or factory you may find other people doing the same thing. In fact sometimes you’ll find people living in them, riding skateboards in them, having sex in them, doing drugs in them, and of course spraying aerosol in them.

Javs. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

You can’t see all this action from the street but sometimes there are awesome interiors in cavernous spaces that continually evolve and metamorphose – an urban art gallery that has a regularly updated exhibition. The perspective will depends on your personal tastes of course.

This particular spot made us think of high-end magazines with shots of socialites posing and air-kissing and banging their hats into each other at charity fundraisers. Something about its grandness feels like a ballroom, even though it looks like it was a power station for the MTA in the early 1900s and the neighborhood itself is probably a SuperFund site, thanks to decades of industrial dumping.

After this rotting and colorful corpse is cleaned up in a few decades, it will probably be razed for some deeeeeeluxe cookie-cutter condos selling for a million each. But for now, you can just squat and take pictures of the golden light streaming through the dirty cracked windows and gaping crevices. Here is your non-ticketed opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous mosaic of graffiti art that waits: rich with color, pattern and coded messages. It can be a brain tease to try to guess what this stuff says. Also, you can practice with your nunchucks.

New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

You Go Girl. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Booker/ReadMore . Reskew. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

KUMA. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

KUMA. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vein. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Booker. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bat Fiends. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swampy. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stae 2. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A mobile made primarily of bike tires. Call it Calder for the graffiti set. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Enoc. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Heart. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JESP. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Moose. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

IAL Crew. New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

New York Interiors (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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Various & Gould Mask a Living Tree with Death

“What becomes of Berlin, if the various subcultures won’t find enough central places to develop anymore?”

That’s a question from Street Artists Various and Gould about their city, but of course it’s relevant in many.

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Just)

The artists who bring the creative tree of life to a dead neighborhood are often victims of the people whose primary interest is to capitalize on it; the money handlers and opportunists effectively killing the very thing that attracted life in the first place. By way of metaphor, Various and Gould mounted their personal installation on a tree in Görlitzer Park, Berlin to raise the question and continue the conversation that cultural observers have about the role of subcultures in greater society. Is there a social contract that exists which supports the subculture and values it’s contribution – and if we value it, should we make any effort to sustain it?

“Trees are symbols of vitality and growth. They supply oxygen and give shape to their surroundings. With our installation “DualiTree” we’d like to bring up the inseparable bond of life and death,” said Various as the two commented on the installation.  The pretty simple public project uses sailcloth, flexible tent poles, cardboard, loops, rope, and acrylic paint to project the face of death onto a living tree. The installation is in reaction to the various hotspots for subculture in Berlin that are now closing as more commercial interests have driven the prices of rent up in areas of the city where the average person would not have walked at night before these scenes evolved.

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Just)

Two days before their installation Berlin artist’s squat Tacheles was cleared after 22 years, which many say was THE symbol for the creative potential of Berlin (and a top tourist attraction. Similarly spaces like the community-garden project Prinzessinnengarten  (German for princesses-garden) is at risk and started a petition, and the 300 square foot Neurotitan art space is on a very insecure rental ground – even though it has hosted up to 12 shows a year and given opportunities to Street Artists like the young Brooklyn Street Art collective Faile in 2003  and the Just Seeds collective in 2012.  It is without question that vital spaces like these, which provide fertile soil for alternative culture –  urban art, comic art, illustration, painting, performances, book presentations, small concerts, and collaborations, are crucial engines to the greater creative economy.

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Just)

As they look at the new Duali tree today, still standing after two weeks, Gould re-iterates, “The alternative scene is an essential part of what makes Berlin so special and brings it’s veins to pulse.”

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Just)

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Just)

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Just)

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Just)

Various & Gould. “Duali Tree” (photo © Various & Gould)

Noting the collaborative nature of this particular creative venture, V&G thanks the people who helped in their installation: Just, Frank, Lars, Robert, Julien, Stev, and Jonas.

To see more JUST photographs click here.

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UPDATE: SABER Tags Sky Over New York to Defend Arts and Bash Romney

UPDATE: BSA exclusive new footage courtesy of video artist Chris Jordan plus new images from Jaime Leo, Eszter Klajman and Chris Jordan.

New York’s skies got majorly tagged today. And Mitt Romney got called out in front of 8 million people as a #GOPFail

New Yorkers who looked up from stoop sales, soccer games, and strolls across the Brooklyn Bridge saw graffiti artist and fine artist Saber flying five planes in formation across sunny Sunday skies with messages castigating the presidential candidate for his plans to kill funding for cornerstone arts programs like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Public Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).


“#DefendtheArts” was sky written by artist Saber over lower Manhattan at 2 pm today. NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As the planes spelled out #DefendTheArts over Manhattan, Saber explained to BSA in a phone interview, “Basically I’m calling out Mitt and any other politicians who are cutting arts funding because they are actually cutting jobs that are an engine to our economy. Not to mention the effect these programs have on creativity and inspiration.” One dot-matrix style message said “Protect NPR PBS NEA from cuts” while another offered the Twitter hashtag simply entitled “#MittRomneyHatesArt”.

“Protect” – which was followed by words like “actors, writers, poets, designers..” The ARTS. NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As one of a handful of high profile graffiti/street artists in the US who have taken the national stage with their social and political commentary, Saber has “gone big” before, but never on this scale and never over New York City in an hour and a half display that he estimated could be seen over a 20 mile radius. “NYC is the art center of the world,” Saber says, “It is quite a good feeling to be able to spread this public message.”

BSA Exclusive Raw footage by Video Artist Chris Jordan shows artist Saber spraying the sky over Manhattan (VIDEO)

The extremely wealthy Republican candidate Romney told Fortune last month that in addition to scrapping the new national health program that is offering medical care to millions, he intends to cut funding to major arts programs if he is elected, saying of the arts programs, “I very much appreciate and like what they do in many cases, but I just think they have to stand on their own.”

Rather than relying simply on the generosity of patronage, Saber thinks that the government and society at large benefit from investing in artists in an increasingly “creative economy” – many of whom he called out in the sky today, including artists, writers, poets, designers, actors.

Saber. Protect The ARTS. NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Taking his campaign to social media with the #DefendTheArts hashtag this time, Saber very visibly entered the national fray during the healthcare reform debate of 2009, saying that the existing for-profit system cut out people like himself, uninsurable because of his epilepsy.  Today grassroots activism that emanated from downtown NYC has expanded the conversation and he acknowledges those voices who have focused attention on Romney and the so-called 1%. “We’re making sure to fly directly over Zucotti Park with a big ‘Occupy Wall Street’ message, because that’s what New York is too.”

Amid the political messages skywritten by Saber are shout outs to friends and graffiti artists who have passed; a nod to the roll-call community memorial walls that graffiti and street artists have done in cities for decades. This new way of “getting up” also has Saber waxing poetic as he sees the effect his fresh tags have at 34,000 feet as they melt into the blue canvas over most of NYC. “It’s almost like I’m painting in the sky – it has a really beautiful effect when a fresh one lays over the one that is fading away.”

As the planes made long oval trips over Manhattan, the East River, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and back, the normally tough stuff graff guy couldn’t really mask his enthusiasm, “I’m really excited about it!”

Telling you to Tweet “@Saber” from his #defendthearts campaign over NYC 2012 (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“Actors Poets”, Saber in the sky over NYC 2012 NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Poets Patrons”, Saber in the sky over NYC 2012 NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Poets”, Saber in the sky over NYC 2012 NYC 2012 (photo © Jamie Leo)

“Artists”, Saber in the sky over NYC 2012 NYC 2012 (photo © Eszter Klajman)

“#OccupyWallStreet”, Saber in the sky directly over Wall Street and Zucotti Park. 2012 NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“#OccupyWallStreet”, Saber in the sky directly over Wall Street and Zucotti Park. 2012 NYC 2012 (photo © Chris Jordan)

“Artists Designers”, Saber in the sky over NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Protect NPR PBS NEA” (upside down from here), Saber in the sky over NYC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Protect NPR No Cuts” , Saber in the sky over NYC 2012 (photo © Eszter Klajman)

Saber included shout outs to #graffiti, #streetart, and some graffiti artists and crews- here is one photo made from two cell phone photos (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

While he was 34,000 feet up over NYC, Saber had to do a few shout-outs to friends back home in LA; AWR and MSK, and even a misspelling of artist RETNA’s name. Other tributes included New York street artist Keith Haring (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

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