September 2014

“West Side is the Best Side”, Vogue & BAM In Oakland

September 18, 2014 Artists

Today we have the honor of photographer, author and lecturer Mr. James Prigoff sharing with BSA readers his images and observations about a new 8,000 square foot mural that went up in Oakland last month paying tribute to graffiti’s love of locomotives, Oakland’s history as a port town and ship builder, and a line out of Tupac Shakur’s “California Love”. A neighborhood project that aims to educate and beautify, two old school writers from The O named Vogue and BAM (Norman Chuck and Mike Tyau) gathered together some friends and interns to knock this mammoth one out. But enough from us, we’ll let Mr. Prigoff paint the scene for you.

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE (photo © Jim Prigoff)

By James Prigoff

I have been documenting Norman Vogue and Mike “BAM” Tyau’s Spraycan painting for thirty years. It was evident in the early days of West Coast “writing” that the two of them and their crews had very special talent.

Following their work over the years brought me to the Wrist Ship Supply building in West Oakland yesterday.

Modern Graffiti Art started on the East Coast with simple tags and evolved over the years until it became the most significant art form of the last forty years. In the evolution, part of the art form became Street Art and today is entitled Urban Art. The variety of imagery would fill endless books, light years away from what once were known as Graffiti Masterpieces.

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

The mural that these artists have created, “West Side is the Best Side”, is historically important for many reasons and I think it has an significant place among the art form’s historical images for these reasons;

It is technically very proficient as an example of how sophisticated the use of the spray can has become.
It pays tribute to a few of the most important writers to develop on the West Coast, particularly an iconic young R.I.P who wrote DREAM.
It is a classic in that it goes back to the roots of name writing and characters.
It celebrates the train writing that brightened the drab railroad cars and became a vehicle to send the “writer’s” name to distant cities.

Put it all together and they have created a very special piece of art, far more so than the average eye would perceive.

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Sage coordinated the deal at first and got all the scissor/boom lifts for the artists to use and coordinated daily operations early on. Jase, King157, Sear & Done/TDK all painted their pieces within one day. Vogue painted his & Dream’s throwies all within one day also. The “Schmoe” piece was painted by Done on the caboose in memory of him since he passed away in a car accident back in July and he was a part of the TDK crew.

I’ve told Sage to help us file this at the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest train mural.

(Continued credits continue at the end of posting)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

In addition to Bryan “DERP,” three other interns who worked on the mural include Thavin Rajanakhan, Thitiwat Phromratanapongse, and Dominic Cheng

“We would not have been able to complete the first half of this mural without these guys,” say Vogue and Bam, who wish to express their gratitude to everyone and especially to the interns.

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Sweden Starts “No Limit” Mural Festival in Borås

September 17, 2014 Artists

It isn’t just Nuart any more.

Scandinavia is taking their mural festivals seriously thanks to buoyant economies, arts programming support, and a growing global appreciation for art in the streets in general. Included in the list of recent festivals are Denmark’s Galore (Copenhagen) and We Aart (Aalborg) and Sweden’s Artscape (Malmö) as well as the more graffiti-inflected Örebro, Helsinki’s Arabia and of course the one-kilometer long graffiti/Street Art slaughter that accompanies the mammoth music festival Roskilde.

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ECB. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

This month humbly began No Limit in the small city of Borås, Sweden, and artist / curator Shai Dahan hopes to enliven the daily views for this population of 66,000 with his curated collection of international artists from street / graffiti / fine art backgrounds.

An artist and entrepreneur who moved here from New York three and a half years ago, Dahan has been rallying local building owners and government institutions to aid in his idea of mounting a show on walls in the city that emulates the success of such festivals elsewhere.

Isaac Cordal. The small scale installations by the Spanish artist provide a welcome answer to the ever more massive tendencies of wall installations in mural programs. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

“I’ve been on quite a journey and accomplishing this project has been something I have been working on personally for over a year,” he says. With participation and funding from the city of Borås, No Limit this month invited and hosted artists from countries such as The Netherlands, Brasil, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden and included artists like Natalia Rak, ETAM Cru, Peeta, ECB, The London Police, Kobra, Ollio, Ekta, Carolina Falkholt, Issac Cordal and one of the earliest Street Art stencilists, Blek le Rat.

Isaac Cordal. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

“And best of all, we had no bad weather. The day Natalia landed (she was the first to arrive) the sun came out, and it stayed out until the very last day,” says Dahan of the festival that he deemed “phenomenal” and included guided tours for over 200 people at a time.

“After everyone left, it began raining, ” he smiles.

For countries that have a so-called “zero tolerance” for illegal art or any kind like Sweden, mural festivals like these effectively circumvent the rigid approval process that typically characterizes public art projects and many make inroads into engaging public space with art in a new way that is emblematic of a vibrant global movement. It may be a tenuous line to walk, but more cities seem willing to embrace this swing of the pendulum with art in the streets.

The Brazillian Street Artist named Kobra created a portrait of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist, engineer, industrialist, and inventor of dynamite. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Kobra. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The London Police began stripping because of the hot sun and of course, Jane Fonda. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The London Police. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Natalia Rak. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Natalia Rak. Detail. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The graffiti writing artist from Venice named Peeta basically killed his wall with a signature three dimensional tag that floats off of the wall. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Simple. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Simple)

Ollio. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Carolina Falkholt. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Ekta. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Etam Cru. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Click HERE to learn more about No Limit Borås.

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Mae Jean & Mary Reese Grace The Arizona Desert with Jetsonorama

September 16, 2014 Artists

Jetsonorama. Mae Jean & Mary Reese. The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Mata Ruda and LNY are on their way out to The Painted Desert Project with Chip Thomas (Jetsonorama) and will be painting the back of the old gymnasium in Kaibeto this week. Argentina’s Jaz is already in town and talking with Ms. Hall about what he’ll be painting on the wall she is donating. Yesterday he and Chip took the day to tour the region and get a good look at the land and the life here.

“There was much driving between Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon,” says Chip. And we hear that Hyuro from Spain is coming soon. All the artists will be continuing this most unconventional mural project that is now in its third full iteration.

Jetsonorama. Mae Jean & Mary Reese. The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

While waiting for the Jaz and the Jersey Boys to pull in Jetsonorama himself just completed this large scale tribute to a two local women of two generations on the exterior of a storage barn at milepost 358 on Arizona’s Highway 160.

“The woman on the left having trouble with her flip phone is Mae Jean Begay,” says the photographer who has been placing large images of local folks on buildings on the reservation for a number of years. The woman waiting patiently for Mae Jean is her mother, Mary Reese, who you may typically find herding sheep on any given day. Ladies and gentlemen we re present Mae Jean and her mom, Mary.

Jetsonorama. Mae Jean & Mary Reese. The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Beneath The Streets, New York’s Century Old Underground in Photos and Aerosol

September 15, 2014 Artists

New York’s train system carries an estimated five million per day, is a little over a hundred years old, and for most is limited to the ride. Urban explorers, graffiti writers, artists, photographers and homeless people have often found it to be a destination they are drawn into for myriad additional reasons. You will most likely pass through the tunnels of course while encapsulated in a train car perhaps multiple times in a day, but few will ever venture off the end of the platform or through a hole in a fence to explore the hidden world beneath the streets of New York.

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

And that is good, says Matthew Litwick, who along with JURNE released Beneath the Streets (Gingko Press) this summer, because along with the thrill of exploring the forbidden tunnels and abandoned stations beneath the feet of millions, a certain deadly threat of the third rail exists as well. During a recent presentation of images and stories from the new hardcover Litwick stressed a number of times the instant electrocution that can result from accidentally touching it, a point underscored by the death this July of graffiti writer Jason Wulf, a titan of the New York scene.

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

So with that in mind, your fascination will be either sated or encouraged by the eerily vast and sometimes wondrously lit tunnels in some of these photos as well as the more everyday snapshots culled from many collections that illustrate the book. Punctuated throughout with descriptions that lean toward the educational, you also find personal experiences and viewpoints from well known graffiti writers and explorers about their time underground that helps put scenes in context.

Included among the piles of rotting trash, debris, crash walls, bumpers, taggers, throwies, and REVS diary pages is at least one completely legal installation, the Masstransiscsope by artist Bill Brand in collaboration with Creative Time, a 228 panel display from 1980 visible from passing trains that creates the illusion of an animation.

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steering carefully away from depicting the abandoned stations and hidden spots as simply a bombers wet dream, the authors notably give a solid appreciation to understanding the trains and the system itself, including scholarly passages and photographs about the history of the planning, building, and maintaining of the tunnels and tracks, as well as the conditions that workers endured during its creation.

“Until now, graffiti writers, subway enthusiasts, and transit workers have been some of the only people to take notice of these environments,” say Litwick and Jurne in their forward. “This book intends to provide an up-close and introspective look at a world that a handful … have been able to experience and observe outside of the confines of a speeding train.”

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

See examples of the photos in the book by following their INSTAGRAM @beneaththestreetsnyc

BSA Images Of The Week: 09.14.14

September 14, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

The street appears in the living room when you visit some artists homes or those of hard core collectors. “Brooklyn is in da house!” suddenly takes on additional meaning. So imagine rolling through a heavily graffitied section of Bushwick this week to find someone’s living room is on display on the street. It’s like a set for a TV show, or a theater stage; The couch, the coffee table, a lamp, paneling, even a hard wood floor comprised of, well, not really hard wood. A hunter’s lodge maybe? A cabin in the Adirondacks? Without a back story, this looked like a stage had been built but you couldn’t be sure what for. Just as our intrepid photographer raised his camera to his eye, the woody indoor scene became exactly that – a stage.

“As I was taking the above photo a fast and furious dude came like a flash out of nowhere on his bike, stopped abruptly, and threw his bike on the floor,” says Jaime. “I didn’t know what to expect and watched him fish a spray can from a plastic shopping bag and step up on the sofa and write his tag upon the living room wall. The actor muttered something I couldn’t hear as he sprayed over another’s tag and then stepped down, leaving just as quickly as he has appeared. It was as if the fourth wall really did exist and he didn’t see me, the audience. I did want to ask him about the tag and about his very fashionable French chignon. But really, I wasn’t even visible.”

See him in action in the photo below.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring C215, Dain, Damon, Dope, Dotmasters, Jamie Paul Scanlon (JPS), Marilyn Minter, NRG US Crew, Pøbel, Richard Best, Stefan Ways, Wolfe Work, You Go Girl!, and Østrem.

Top Image >> The living room set in the street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A stage set in the street with an impromptu live tagging performance. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pøbel and Østrem in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Wolfe Work (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

C215. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

You Go Girl (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jamie Paul Scanlon AKA JPS. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

NRG US Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Dotmasters. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Damon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A fox by an artist from Chile. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

DOPE (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stefan Ways in front of his Warner Mural in Baltimore. Detail. (photo © David Muse)

Richard Best. Warner Mural in Baltimore (photo © David Muse)

Untitled. I took this photo from a Marilyn Minter video commissioned by the Brooklyn Museum for the current exhibition “Killer Heels” curated by Lisa Small. Brooklyn, NYC 2104. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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It’s All the Rage, Street Artists Filing Lawsuits Left and Right

September 13, 2014 Artists

In what could be charitably described as a sign that Street Art has entered a new phase of cultural acceptance and appropriation, some creators of art in the public sphere are attempting to lay legal claim to the profit-making that they didn’t necessarily sign on to. In just the last few months a handful of artists from New York, Los Angeles, and Buenos Aires have discovered their murals have been used in fashion, music, and cinema to great effect, but sadly, they say, without their knowledge or permission.

Of course this sort of inspiration/appropriation has been going on for years – if you want to meet models on the sidewalk just move to Bushwick, Brooklyn and you’ll probably accidentally end up in a fashion spread yourself. Here is where countless fashion shoots, video shoots, movie scenes all happen continuously and money is exchanging hands to make it happen – just not for the artists. Usually they are essentially unpaid, uncredited backdrop artists for the edgy “street” fantasies of stylists.

The courts ultimately will have to decide the relevance of these recent claims but the topic does raise fascinating questions about public space, intellectual property, copyright, and the reasonable expectations of the artists once their work is set free into the streets. In these cases the artists had permission and encouragement to create their works and perhaps thousands of images of the works are in existence since the work is made public. The concern here is raised once those images are privatized or pass into the purely commercial world of selling product.

More interesting will be to see if these lawsuits will extend in the future to include the unsanctioned, un-permissioned, acts of vandalism that appear on private property as well. Will artists seek protection from a legal system they actively transgressed? Can the pieces of art placed illegally be re-claimed by the artist when the work is found printed on a lycra bodysuit or embossed on a wallet? If so, how will the artist claim ownership?

Here are just three recent examples of lawsuits reportedly being filed by artists laying claim to the benefits of their work.

Maya Hayuk

Street Artist and fine artist Maya Hiyuk is reportedly suing pop star Sara Bareilles, Sony, and Coach for using her Houston Street wall in New York as a back drop to sell their products.

Hayuk on the left, the wall used in a campaign on the right (Screenshot from New York Post, Page Six)

A detail from the Houston street wall by Maya Hayuk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Revok, Reyes and Steel

MSK crew members Revok, Reyes and Steel have filed a claim saying that designer Roberto Cavalli was a little more than just inspired by their collaborative mural in San Francisco when designing a line for his “Graffiti Girls” collection sold through the website. A quick Google search shows that the line extends to clothing, accessories, sneakers, even a phone case and is sold at stores like Nordstom, Neiman Marcus, and online giant Amazon.

Worse, says the claim, “Sometimes, Cavalli added what appears to be a signature, creating the false impression that Roberto Cavalli himself was the artist.”

An view of the original wall by Revok, Reyes and Steel (image © MSK) and a screenshot of one of the dresses for sale at Cavalli’s website.

See more about this at Mass Appeal.

Jaz, Ever, and Other (aka Troy Lovegates)

Street Artists and muralists Jaz, Ever, and Other are suing for copyright infringement because the newest Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys, Brazil) film The Zero Theorem allegedly featured a mural that looks startlingly similar to one they painted together in Buenos Aires about four years ago.

You can actually still see a number of stills from it it on The Zero Theorem Facebook page right now if you like.

See a pdf of the lawsuit here.

From Other’s Flickr page, the original mural in progress (image © Other)

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BSA Film Friday: 09.12.14

September 12, 2014 Artists

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

1. Skewville and Two Dead Rats on Wire
2. Farewell: Velibre
3. Park Rituals” with HOT TEA
4. Project M/5 in Berlin with VNA

BSA Special Feature:
Skewville and Two Dead Rats on Wire

Produced by Dscreet, DUBL Vermin shows one of Brooklyn’s finest and one half of Skewville, Mr. Ad Deville being his usual charming bad-role-model self with a little extra disgustingness thrown in for flava. Just released, this video looks like it was shot about 3-4 years ago, we’re guessing. But after you see the major attraction/s here, you will agree that this is just a timeless piece of art. Sponsored by Heineweiser.

Farewell: Velibre

Farewell is back with a new experiment on the street entitled “Velibre” which may re-calibrate your expectations for transportation.

PARK RITUALS WITH HOTTEA

A more commercial video but yet insightful into the work of Hot Tea and the enthusiastic renaissance man from Montreal, Fred Caron.

Project M/5 in Berlin with VNA

The latest installment of the nascent UN museum Project M is curated by Roland Henry for VNA magazine a great crew of artists. You may also enjoy the community element on display here as Yasha Young and team find an opportunity to give back.

“Pintemos Mexico” with Specter, OverUnder, Shente and Libre in Ensanada

September 11, 2014 Artists

Irish Catholics like Specter always get romantic when they see the Virgin Mary being worked into a mural. The Brooklyn based Street Artist just got back from the heavily catholic country of Mexico (Ensenada) where the virgin Guadalupe is the local version that people revere and he says he was inspired by the “Tree of Life”. The metaphorical árbol in this case is the ceramic sculpture displayed at the Museo de Arte Popular in México City.

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Gabriel Specter. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

Joined by Street Artist OverUnder from Reno and Shente and Libre from the HEM crew out of Tijuana one of the oldest graffiti crews in Mexico, Specter worked on his mural for an art project called “Pintemos Mexico”. Each artist chose a more modern and public approach to popular icons and religious figures and storytelling, says Specter, and he liked finding a way to relate his own heritage to the folklore and religious fervor of Mexican culture. With many of the neighborhood kids pitching in to help, these are murals for a community that hopefully reflect the people back to themselves.

Sculpture by Oscar Soteno on display at Museo de Arte Popular in México City (image courtesy Wikipedia).

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Gabriel Specter. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

OverUnder. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

OverUnder. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © OverUnder)

Libre. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

Shente. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

“Pintemos Mexico” is made possible by Infonavit and the Fundacion Hogares, with Mamutt as one of the collaborators.

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NUART 2014 Roundup : Activism, Muralism, Graffiti and Aesthetics

September 10, 2014 Artists

The Norwegian mural festival named Nuart took place last week with a marked tilt toward the conceptual and the interventionist, a direct debate about the relevance of activism amidst a rising tide of sanctioned murals, and Tilt leading us down a path toward traditional graffiti.

Ironically graffiti seemed a rather tame topic for once.

TILT. “Panic Room” Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

“Urban interventionism is about not only making social commentary through artistic expression, but actually intervening in a public and social space in a poetic, unexpected or provocative way,” said architect and organizer Nicola Markhus when speaking to the local Stavangernews. Markhus may have been thinking about the Portuguese artist ±Maismenos±, who constructed a miniature oil tanker platform from found objects and installed it temporarily atop a sculpture honoring canning workers in Lervig Courtyard, by way of contrasting the past with the present.

±MaisMenos± NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Or maybe she was thinking about the Madrid-based SpY, who painted a massive red-lettered “ERROR” on two sides of a brutal block long building in decay down by the waterside, an ironic judgment on the eyesores of unfortunate urban decay. Among the contextual social commentary as well were the oil-dripping sentiments of geologist/artist Andreco, who regaled the façade of a classic Norwegian building with his geometric interpretation of rocks found poking up from the soil, and the three dimensional mural of homeless people by Brooklyn-based Iranian brothers Icy & Sot only three blocks from an outdoor encampment of homeless travelers whom some locals call gypsies.

SpY. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Such is one of the traditions of Street Art: social and political commentary that some call activism because of its advocacy, or at least its stubborn acknowledgement of imperfections in the human condition. This year’s Nuart fosters the spirit and intellectual pursuit associated with academic examination and in doing so again separates itself from the growing number of Street Art festivals who implicitly or explicitly censor the choices of the invited due to commercial or political pressures. Even during the painting this year there were conversations among artists about a high profile festival underway elsewhere that had just dis-invited certain Street Artists because of their “political” work in the past.

John Fekner. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

As if to drive the point home, New York street and multimedia artist John Fekner, who created hundreds of environmental, social, political and conceptual works consisting of stenciled words in NYC beginning in the 1970s that highlighted failed urban planning and public policy, was invited to reprise his classic text based “False Promises” stencil here. The choice of Fekner was perhaps atypical and one that could be overlooked if Nuart founder Martyn Reed didn’t decide to champion the artists work in his mini-retrospective indoors.

And need we mention that his indoor installation space for Saturday’s gallery opening was shared by Fra.Biancoshock’s instantly controversial merging of the nazi flag with the Facebook logo? Moments after we posted an early image of the installation in progress, cheers and condemnation populated our social media feeds – a happy discord that Nuart isn’t traditionally spooked by.

Fra.Biancoshok. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“This is a representation of two different iconic movements; the Nazis and the Facebook age,” says the Milan based Fra.Biancoshock who specializes in street interventions, not Street Art, per se. “I wanted to unite the two concepts in a unique logo as a way of describing two different ways to have control of the masses in two different ages. It is a provocative representation that is meant to say, ‘Imagine if these two things had met in the same period,’ ” he explains of the illuminated wheel of instantly recognizable letter f’s popping from a four alarm red background at the temporary gallery show in “tunnels” at Tou Scene.

“Obviously the story of the Nazis is very dramatic and heavy and Facebook is only social media but for me if it is not used in the right way it could result in some serious damage; in the areas of privacy, in having control (of people). So I wanted to make this interpretation of our contemporary situation of a certain totalitarianism in our communications today.”

DOT DOT DOT. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Comparatively the graffiti writer on display this year is a relative lightweight! Toulous-based Tilt actually created one of the more visually compelling installations (and an instant hit) at the indoor gallery of Tou Scene entitled “Panic Bathroom”, which consists of a tiled men’s restroom evenly split between YMCA and CBGB. The untouched half is pristine and gleaming white while its brother across the line is slaughtered floor to ceiling by pugilistic color, swollen bubbles and drippy tags; all just out of reach of the velvet rope that holds guests back.

±MaisMenos± NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

For the Norwegian born Street Artist named Strøk, Nuart this year is as much about aesthetics and the beauty of the moment as it is the intellectualizing that was on display here during the pub debate and two days of presentations for Nuart PLUS, organized by Eirik Sjåholm Knudsen. He shows us his rendering of figures casting long shadows across the wall on his glossy tablet and he talks about composition, negative space, and the serendipity of catching figures in motion.

Strøk. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“I like watching people running around and seeing these movements, these frozen moments when they are heading somewhere but you don’t know exactly where – like a moment when time has frozen,” he says. “It’s a snapshot and you just happened to be there.”

Fortunately for many Nuart still knows how to produce a memorable shot of art in the public sphere, and we have some here for you to enjoy.

±MaisMenos± created Norway/No Way as a commentary about joining the European Union. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

±MaisMenos± Detail. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

±MaisMenos± Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

TILT. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco. Deatil. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco. Detail of his installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

SPY. Installation at TOU Scene enabled you to see the “error” part of the word only when the black light revealed it. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Martin Whatson. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Martin Whatson. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Martin Whatson completed this new mural at the airport – after being stranded on top of the cherry picker for a few hours the first day because the balance was off. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Strøk’s new mural on the right and a large ground installation on the left by ±MaisMenos±. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Anders Gjennestad)

Levalet was one of many of the artists this year who made direct or indirect reference to the oil industry – the one that powers the economy in this town and much of the country. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Levalet. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot created this mammoth 3-D installation with wooden cut-out stencils rising above the edge of the the building. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot. Installation at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Not an official guest this year Hama Woods was one of a number of artists who autonomously brought work to put up during NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Borondo. By scratching paint from the front of the glass and painting diagrams or symbols on the back, Borondo created a full illustration with shadow on the wall when illuminated correctly. Detail of the installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Mathieu Tremblin created an interactive piece that guests could participate in by photographing themselves before a bluescreen wall and sending the image to him. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Due to torrential rains Borondo couldn’t complete this wall before we left for NYC. Here is a composite image of the wall in progress. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

BSA would like to extend special thanks to photographers Butterfly and Henrik Haven for sharing their work with BSA readers.

Our sincere thanks to Nuart director Martyn Reed and the entire staff of Nuart and Nuart PLUS, including all of the volunteers and organizers.

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NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

ETAM CRU AND NUART 2014 X BSA

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 3

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 4

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 5

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 6

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This article is also published in The Huffington Post

Skount and his “Inner Universe Projections” in Amsterdam

September 9, 2014 Artists

Skount sent us a some images of a commercial gig he got with a small club and aspiring center of culture in Amsterdam and we thought you would enjoy seeing how his work on the street translates to indoor mural-ish work. Entitled “Inner Universe Projections”, Skount says it is inspired by a scaler field in quantum field theory. Clearly this triptych is an interweaving of traditional folk art with space exploring dimensions.

brooklyn-street-art-skount-radion-amsterdam-08-14-web-3

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NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 6

September 8, 2014 Artists

Now back in Nueva York but what a blast! Nuart 2014 and Nuart Plus and Numusic wound down to a screeching halt on Sunday as revelers from the opening at the scene the night before held their heads and spoke in gentle quiet tones while squinting through the misty grey day.

Actually Krystel Talv and her husband seemed surprisingly fresh under orange umbrellas as they led a small army of 200+ people on a tour through the streets to see the new walls, so apparently some people know the meaning of moderation. Also photographers Henrik Haven and Butterfly were pleasingly perched high in the bucket atop an extended cherry picker snapping the new Tilt grenade wall while academic/author Peter Bengtsen was crouched in his rain slicker, camera in hand, before the 3-D Icy & Sot wall.

As punctuation to a full week of murals, Street Art, lectures, movies, panels, pub debates, pizza, art and aerosol fumes, Dotmasters spontaneously brought a fresh stencil out to spray outside the Nuart temporary HQ (see below) bringing a stunning week to a perfect ending. Stay tuned for a Nuart roundup!

Icy & Sot working late into the night drilling wood stencil silhouettes of homeless folks into their wall for NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot managed to do a cool workshop with local Stavanger youth on Saturday in addition to their installations at Tou Scene and around town. Here is the result – a group photo of the students transformed into a large stencil. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

TILT working on his installation “Panic Bathroom” Friday night with assistant Vince at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

New York’s John Fekner. Detail of his installation in progress at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

The French Street Artist Levalet along the main tunnel wall at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

We caught Dotmasters putting up a stencil in the backyard just before grabbing a taxi to the airport on the last day in Stavanger. Dude had been tirelessly directing all the installation at Tou Scene all week, including the logistics and the stunning lighting. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

David Choe making a sandwich with Swoon from a previous edition of NUART. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

ETAM CRU AND NUART 2014 X BSA

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 3

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 4

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 5

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BSA Images Of The Week: 09.07.14

September 7, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Crummy Gummy, Dan Witz, Dasic, Dot Dot Dot, Flood, Hama Woods, Jaye Moon, Jerk Face, LMNOPI, Mr. Toll, Ostream, Pobel, QRST, Robert Janz, The Department of Well Being, Tilt, and Todo Es Mentira.

Top Image >> Tilt. Stavanger, Norway. September, 2014. Tilt embellishes his throwie with the flag of the countries he visits. Norway it is this time, next to an encampment of people living on the street. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

We caught a rare glimpse of Robert Janz taking a photo of his just installed art on the streets of NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

These new pieces by QRST recently appeared with his ever more sophisticated technique of sculptural painting, now popping the forms forward into the street. The symbology is known to him only, combining religious iconography with street, science and mythological metaphor to tell a story, sometimes to write a diary entry. We found out that these are 3 of 4 new pieces that are about loss and death, relating different aspects of the the same experience, “different personifications of the same dark thing,” according to the artist.

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Johannes Mundinger: “La Bella Confusione”
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BSA Hits The North! – See You Soon in Belfast, Northern Ireland
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We are excited to announce that BSA will be part of the exhilarating ‘Hit the North’ 2024 festival in Belfast! …Read More »
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Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! “It’s the only time of the year when New York City smells good,” …Read More »
Barcelona Tributes for The Amazing SKE
April 18, 2024
Today, we pay tribute to an iconic figure from the Puerto Rican graffiti scene, Eliezer “SKE” Pagán Torres. Born on …Read More »
Elfo Declares “I’m a Figurative Painter”… and I’m the Queen of England!
April 16, 2024
Elfo, the ever-witty Italian street artist, strikes again with his latest work scrawled across an abandoned building in Italy. Known …Read More »
BSA Images Of The Week: 04.14.24 / “Return2Burn” in Hunts Point, Bronx
April 14, 2024
Welcome to BSA’s Images of the Week. We decided to dedicate this weekly survey to the artists of “Return 2 …Read More »
Martha Cooper and Seth in Kibera. Kenya: Part 2 / “We Are One”
April 11, 2024
Nestled within the bustling city of Nairobi, Kenya, Kibera is a testament to its inhabitants’ challenges and its collective indomitable …Read More »

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

Vogue/Bam collaboration with help from Derp, Jase, King157, Goser, Sear & Done/TDK, Robz & Colour. West Oakland, CA. (photo © Jim Prigoff)

ECB. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Isaac Cordal. The small scale installations by the Spanish artist provide a welcome answer to the ever more massive tendencies of wall installations in mural programs. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Isaac Cordal. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The Brazillian Street Artist named Kobra created a portrait of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist, engineer, industrialist, and inventor of dynamite. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Kobra. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The London Police began stripping because of the hot sun and of course, Jane Fonda. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The London Police. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Natalia Rak. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Natalia Rak. Detail. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

The graffiti writing artist from Venice named Peeta basically killed his wall with a signature three dimensional tag that floats off of the wall. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Simple. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Simple)

Ollio. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Carolina Falkholt. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Ekta. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Etam Cru. No Limit Borås, Sweden. September 2014. (photo © Anders Kihl)

Jetsonorama. Mae Jean & Mary Reese. The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Mae Jean & Mary Reese. The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Mae Jean & Mary Reese. The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Mae Jean & Mary Reese. The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Beneath The Streets” Matthew Litwack and JURNE. Gingko Press, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Top Image >> The living room set in the street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A stage set in the street with an impromptu live tagging performance. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pøbel and Østrem in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Artist Unknown. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Wolfe Work (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

C215. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

You Go Girl (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jamie Paul Scanlon AKA JPS. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

NRG US Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Dotmasters. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Damon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A fox by an artist from Chile. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

DOPE (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stefan Ways in front of his Warner Mural in Baltimore. Detail. (photo © David Muse)

Richard Best. Warner Mural in Baltimore (photo © David Muse)

Untitled. I took this photo from a Marilyn Minter video commissioned by the Brooklyn Museum for the current exhibition “Killer Heels” curated by Lisa Small. Brooklyn, NYC 2104. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maya Hayuk

Hayuk on the left, the wall used in a campaign on the right (Screenshot from New York Post, Page Six)

A detail from the Houston street wall by Maya Hayuk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Revok, Reyes and Steel

Jaz, Ever, and Other (aka Troy Lovegates)

From Other’s Flickr page, the original mural in progress (image © Other)

BSA Special Feature: Skewville and Two Dead Rats on Wire

Farewell: Velibre

PARK RITUALS WITH HOTTEA

Project M/5 in Berlin with VNA

Gabriel Specter. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

Sculpture by Oscar Soteno on display at Museo de Arte Popular in México City (image courtesy Wikipedia).

Gabriel Specter. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

Gabriel Specter. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

OverUnder. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

OverUnder. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © OverUnder)

Libre. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

Libre. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

Shente. “Pintemos Mexico” Ensenada, BC. Mexico (photo © Gabriel Specter)

TILT. “Panic Room” Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

±MaisMenos± NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

SpY. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

BSA Special Feature:
Skewville and Two Dead Rats on Wire