January 2015

GAIA and #iftheygunnedmedown in Atlanta on MLK Jr. Day

January 19, 2015 Artists

As the U.S. reflects on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today we also acknowledge that his work, and our work, is not done.

This past year has brought more people into the streets to demonstrate across America than in many years, and the signs and slogans can in many cases be interchanged for those used by civil rights marchers half a century earlier.

In multiple cities across the country thousands of citizens have demonstrated on streets, roads, avenues, highways, intersections. They have made signs and chanted and marched multiple days and nights against injustice and many more have tweeted, facebooked, tumbled and texted – originally it was related to police brutality specifically but more largely we have seen an overall critique of a system still corroded and undermined by our history and legacy of racism.

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Brandon English)

From our jails to our boardrooms to our schools and universities to our media outlets to our halls of government, a system of inequality continues, supported by our own ignorance and our failure to learn and heal that legacy of racism. Every day we see a black president thwarted and insulted and disrespected – not for political motivations simply, but so obviously just because of his race. The level of disrespect for the highest office in government has been unprecendented, debasing us all, even though a majority elected and re-elected President Obama.

But just last week the Miami police department was revealed to be using actual photographs of black men for sniper training practice. A blind spot in our own consciousness that is obvious when revealed, but it’s more often a case of a thousand tiny little cuts that keeps a people down, or at least permanently on the defensive. Of course we can do better.

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Brandon English)

When it comes to media depictions of people and races, it’s these subtleties that might not be quickly evident until someone culls together many examples so you can see a pattern. In a recent and effective hashtag project that spurred a website by the same name #iftheygunnedmedown questions and examines the bias of new outlets that convict or exonerate a person by the selective use of images alone. If it’s a white guy, then it’s his high school graduation day pic. If it’s a black guy, the photo is from the drunken crazy party afterward.

Street Artist and contemporary muralist Gaia picked up the thread of that discussion and created this new mural from photos posted by people on social media for #iftheygunnedmedown. Each of the dual natures presented give cues that are picked up on by a viewer and used to interpret physical and character traits and a variety of assumptions about the person. Gaia points to the project’s founder, CJ Lawrence, as the original inspiration for the project and quotes him saying, “… I set out to indict the media for its role in how we, as Black people, are portrayed after we are killed”.

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Brandon English)

The newly completed mural is at the Center for Human Rights in Atlanta and it uses images of Instagrammers whose handles are @bbuckson93 , @cruelyear , @qdotjones and @fullblowndork. As you scan across the handpainted reproductions of personal and family images, obseerve your own perceptions about the person in the frame.

The portraits rise above and are demarcated by symbols and metaphors of the ruins of Persepolis. Of the relevance of the ruins to the project Gaia explains, “The centerpiece is the Cylinder of Cyrus, which is considered by some as the first universal charter on human rights.” The cuneiform inscribed clay cylinder from 6^th century BC may not have the impact that an Instragram re-painting does to the average visitor, but it does ground the message in the realization that the march toward rights for all has been very long and there has been much progress – and that there is a long way to go yet.

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Marcus Lamar)

Young visitors show up to give Gaia props on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Marcus Lamar)

Gaia. Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Gaia)

For more information please follow CJ Lawrence @cj_musick_lawya and Gaia @gaiastreetart

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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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BSA Images Of The Week: 01.18.15

January 18, 2015 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Bifido, Caserta, Dylan Egon, Gaia, Gurld Master, Hunt, Joe Iurato, IMNOPI, Nando Zeve, Rubin 415, and Sean9Lugo.

Top Image >> Oil portraits, botanicals, layers in Photoshop, and thee. Gaia for Savage Habbit. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia for Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nando Zeve (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bifido. Caserta, Italy. January 2015. (photo © Bifido)

“This is my new wall in Caserta,” says Bifido.

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato for Savage Habbit. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato for Savage Habbit. MWAH ha ha ha ha ah ah ha ha haaaaa. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato for Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415. Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sean9Lugo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hunt. Looks like SOMEONE has a bit of a Christ complex. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dylan Egon makes Mickey an easy target. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gurld Master (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Okay, so I just got my hair did. What’s next? How shall I prepare? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Williamsburg Bridge. Brooklyn, NY. December, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Community Murals and the Violent History of Comuna 13 in Medellin

January 17, 2015 Artists

Despite the rise of the so-called Street Art scene of the last couple of decades, the more familiar form of this kind of expression for most people is the community mural. This outward expression of a neighborhood or cities aspirations and history can have an important impact on the residents, fostering a sense of shared culture and values and, in the case of memorial walls, grief. This winter author, street art fan, and occasional BSA contributor Yoav Litvin travelled to Medellin, Colombia, where he toured a neighborhood traumatized by crime and saw how murals by local artists and government-sponsored paint can affect every day life in a community.

by Yoav Litvin

San Javier, aka “Comuna 13”, is considered the most dangerous, crime-ridden district in Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia. It has been plagued by violence at the hands of drug cartels, local gangs, guerillas and paramilitary groups all of whom seek control of its strategic location as a crossroads of illegal goods coming into and out of Medellín, and thus Colombia as a whole. In 2010, the neighborhood saw 162 murders for every 100,000 people, an astonishing 10 percent of all homicides in the city.

Comuna 13. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Traveling through Medellín, I was intrigued to hear from a local art lover of a street art and graffiti project at Comuna 13 aimed at bringing art, education and peace to this embattled community. Using art as an instrument for the promotion of peace has a bloody history in Comuna 13, where 10 hip-hop artists were murdered as they tried to endorse an end to violence.

Determined to see the project for myself, I sought a local guide who would agree to take me there. I was surprised to discover that there was a company that organizes tours of Comuna 13 and the next morning at 10 a.m. I met Juan Manuel, a friendly local resident who is bilingual and co-founder of “Discover Medellín”.

For a couple of hours we walked together through the streets of Comuna 13, taking in all the beautiful art that is part of the “Medellín is painted for life” project. Throughout the tour the very knowledgeable Juan educated me on the local government’s efforts to revitalize the community at San Javier, including the installation of an escalator system aimed at helping residents get to and from work, free house paint for residents in a variety of colors and investment in the construction of nearby libraries that would cater to the communities largely younger population, steering them away from crime. According to Juan, these investments have led to a dramatic reduction in violence and a transformation of Comuna 13.

Chota. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

I had the opportunity to ask Juan Manuel about these changes at Comuna 13 with a focus on the role of street art:

YL: What is the role of art in Comuna 13?
JM: Art serves multiple purposes. It allows local artists to share their passion for art with the local community. It’s a positive influence for younger troubled kids who have limited opportunities in Colombia. Many are discriminated against solely because of the notorious barrio they live in. The public art also serves as a historical record with many of the murals documenting Medellín’s violent past. Recently, several home-owners along the tour have approached me with an invitation to paint a mural on their walls to help improve the reputation of their community.

YL: How has the government promoted the art and artists in Medellín?
JM: The local government has been actively involved in the recruitment of artists to paint murals in Comuna 13 as well as various other locations across the city. The legal walls have been a big hit with local artists who are eager to create and share their passion with the rest of the city. The local government continues to actively search for new areas throughout the city for displaying public art. In addition, the local government has sponsored artists by providing them with the monetary funds to complete various projects throughout the city.

Artist Unknon. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

YL: Do you believe the art has a positive role in affecting crime levels in Medellín? How?
JM: Yes. Walking tours like this would not be possible without the drastic changes in the community. A few years ago, violence was a daily occurrence in the community. But after the local government invested millions of dollars in paint for local residents and allowed local artists to paint murals throughout Comuna 13, safety in the area has greatly improved. These acts have given many long-term residents faith in local politicians who risked political backlash. Locals now see more and more interest in their community from the government, businesses, residents from other parts of Medellín and a few foreigners like you who are eager to explore the transformation of Comuna 13.

YL: What are your plans for the future?
JM: Together with my partner Arthur, we are currently in the process of securing funding for an art project in Comuna 13. The goal is to invite artists from around the world to paint inspirational art projects aimed at promoting the community.

Paola Delfin. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

After our tour I returned to my hostel and told my hostess of my experience. She was horrified to learn that I visited Comuna 13 and told me that the only reason I was left unharmed was because I had the obvious look of a foreigner: “Me and my friends never go there. If you look local or Latino in general, you are stopped, questioned, or worse… They are always suspicious of young men who may be from a rival gang.” she said.

Most of the street art and graffiti in Comuna 13 was made by kids or young people that received graffiti classes in Casa Kolacho or Casa Morada, by social entities which work with young people in some parts of this big infamously violent community.

Senor OK . Grena Cru. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

REK. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Bomba . Kone. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

El Pole. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

DEXS. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Javid Jah. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Kone . AXND. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Our thanks to Yoav for his contribution and for sharing his trip and observations with BSA readers.

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BSA Film Friday: 01.16.15

January 16, 2015 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. Paulo Ito and a Neighborhood Mural in Brazil
2. Sesame Street X Hot Tea
3. Sten & Lex: Shanghai 2014
4. The London Police: Miami Art Basel 2014
5. Pow Wow! Hawaii – Martha Cooper

BSA Special Feature: Paulo Ito and a Neighborhood Mural in Brazil

“It’s about the early sexualization of children in the culture today,” says muralist Paulo Ito as he tells you about his new mural on this small neighborhood wall. Sampa Graffiti helps to lay the groundwork for this artist to tell his story, and we get to accompany him on this very personal mission. It is the simple storytelling that allows you to understand the evolution of an artists practice from youth to middle age, the moment when you find your style and are no longer in doubt about where your voice is.

From an art-making perspective, we learn so much from watching his method of illustration with the cans, how he handles the caps, how he renders in a style and technique that one may quickly associate with a Brazilian aesthetic. Make sure you watch the version with the translation!

Sesame Street X Hot Tea

Well, you knew it was going to happen sooner or later didn’t you?

Don’t be so bitter – that’s your homeboy Grover helping out with the yarnbomb! And Hot Tea gives him a hug when he gets all tied up.

SUUUUUUUNNY DAYS! Everythings AAAAAAYYY OOOOOKAAAY!

Sten & Lex: Shanghai 2014

And just to get that sweetness out of your mouth….and just to perplex you further but in the opposite monochromatic psychedelic geometric way, Sten and Lex just went to Shanghai and ripped a new giant wall that will leave you scratching your head. But they like it that way.

The London Police: Miami Art Basel 2014

Here’s a nice commercial gig the LP chaps got in Miami at Villa Bagatelle last month. This one was actually in South Beach, but unlike the description in the video, it wasn’t the first. So crisp, so nice, so fresh nonetheless.

Pow Wow! Hawaii – Martha Cooper

What can we say about Martha besides we love her. This video captures her in her natural state without the hype.

A Preview Of “Mapping The City” at Somerset House (LONDON)

January 15, 2015 Artists

Until you get lost in a city, you really do not know its true nature. And possibly your own.

Only at the moment of realization that you really have lost your way, your bearings, your inner compass, however temporarily, do you get a genuine sense of a place and your place in it. What are these buildings, who are these people, what is that smell, why is that horn honking, is there a bathroom nearby, do I have any money, what do I do? Perhaps even “who am I?”. No, you’re too confident and self assured for that.

MOMO “Tag Manhattan” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

We’ve trekked through New York City thousands of miles by now, worn out many shoes, taken countless wrong turns, and been lost numerous times. It’s part of the adventure really. Especially in the 80s when it was all new to us; cacophonic and crazy and perplexing, unnerving, and seemingly neverending. Now, even with GPS on the phone it is completely possible to get lost. And if you are not lost, you know it is your responsibility to keep your eyes open for someone who is. It’ll happen.

This week we’re excited for London folks who get to look at a map, fifty of them actually. Curated by Rafael Schacter and his collaborative arts organization named A(by)P, Mapping the City is an ingenious little bit of inspiration and conceptualizing of our sense of place.

Augustine Kofie “Overcast Angeles” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Who are these maps created by? Street Artists of course, as well as others from the graffiti art scene.

And these wildcats have taken many liberties with the assignment of “please make a map”. So many in fact that some of these maps would get you lost even further if you were to consult them. But there is plenty to be learned from them nonetheless. These maps may provide valuable insights into the highways and byways of some of these artist’s brains, now that you think of it, you beguiling detective.

The inaugural exhibition opens the New Wing of Somerset House – a wing that has been closed to the public for a century and a half, or roughly the time you have to wait for a cable repair person to come to your apartment. Rafael and his team are busy installing maps right now for the January 22^nd opening, and we will have great “install” images and an interview with him next week for you to enjoy. But for right now, have a look at these examples of cartographic excellence from an international array of established and emerging artists for Mapping the City.

(full list of artists at the end of this posting)

CHU “Buenos Aires” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Will Sweeney “Cabott Square” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Brad Downey. Face (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Caleb Neelon “Pickerville” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Shepard Fairey “Berlin Tower” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Jurne “Covalence” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Mike Ballard “The Ultra Poet” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Goldpeg “London is Burning” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Cleon Peterson “The Return” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Aryz “Map” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

OX “Paris” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

108 (Italy)	Aryz (Spain)
Augustine Kofie (USA)	Boris Tellegen (The Netherlands)
Caleb Neelon (USA)	Cali Thornhill Dewitt (USA)
Chu (Argentina)	Cleon Peterson (USA)
Daniel K. Sparkes (UK)	Egs (Finland)
Ekta [Daniel Götesson] (Sweden)	Eltono (France)
Erosie (The Netherlands)	Filippo Minelli (Italy)
Gold Peg (UK)	Graphic Surgery (The Netherlands)
Herbert Baglione (Brazil)	Honet (France)
Horfee (France)	HuskMitNavn (Denmark)
Ian Strange [Kid Zoom] (Australia)	Interesni Kazki (Ukraine)
Isauro Huizar (Mexico)	Isaac Tin Wei Lin (USA)
James Jarvis (UK)	Jurne (USA)
Ken Sortais [Cony] (France)	Les Frères Ripoulain (France)
Lucas Cantu (Mexico)	Lush (Australia)
Malarko (UK)	Martin Tibabuzo (Argentina)
Mike Ballard (UK)	MOMO (USA)
Nano4814 (Spain)	Nug (Sweden)
OX (France)	Pablo Limon (Spain)
Petro (UK)	Remed (France)
Remio (USA)	Roids (UK)
Ron English (USA)	Russell Maurice (UK
Shantell Martin (UK)	Shepard Fairey (USA)
Sixe Paredes (Spain)	Susumu Mukai (Japan)
Swoon (USA)	Tim Head (UK)
Vova Vorotniov (Ukraine)	Will Sweeney (UK)

Mapping the City
22 January – 15 February 2015
Somerset House, New Wing
Admission: Free

Contemporary cartographic art by international street and graffiti artists to be the first exhibition in Somerset House’s recently opened New Wing

YZ and Her “Amazone” Women Warriors on Senegalese Walls

January 14, 2015 Artists

According to historical accounts of the First Franco-Dahomean War, in the 1890s it was the highly trained military women who were chopping off the heads of the French. Sometimes while they slept.

French Street Artist YZ Yseult has begun her own campaign to pay tribute to the fierce female fighters of the 19^th Century West African country of Dahomey, who are more commonly referred to as Amazons. A startling narrative of female power not often heard today for some, but as YZ is researching her own history as a descendent from slaves, her portraits reflect a personal impetus to tell these stories with a new force. She has named this series of strong warriors on the street “Amazone”.

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YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

Back in her former Senegal now to do research for the project, she says there are many female figures who we may not know of in current times, but who may provide crucial inspiration, possibly bolstering the confidence of women in 2015 to advocate for their positions and opinions. “I want to show warriors from ancient times; revolutionists, anti-colonialists, intellectual women who have written the story of Africa. We need figures to be proud of our roots, to keep fighting for our rights, and to write the story of tomorrow.”

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

Wheat pasted on walls in a few cities on the west coast of Senegal, south of Dakar, these proud figures project images of strength and determination even when placed on the corrugated metal of small humble structures. “Many times these small handmade metal shops are owned by women for selling breakfast or bread,” she says of the hut-like edifices. “While doing research on women in Africa, I have been compiling a photographic archive,” she says.

“I’ve been searching for the places that could come into resonance with the subject. I’m looking for locations that communicate the historic perspective of the project as well as those that may draw a parallel with present issues.”

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

The campaign is only a few months old, but it is a work in progress and YZ is sure to discover more as she continues to research over the next two, possibly three years. She says she is strongly moved by what she has learned about women who emerged as slaves and from slavery and she feels a connection to that history.

“Many women have fought for their rights and the rights of their people, yet few of them have been recognized for their achievements and many stayed unknown,” she says. “To know where we are going we need to know where we have been, and these stories are important to educate the next generation, especially women.”

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

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YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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D Young V and Eddie Colla in Thailand

January 13, 2015 Artists

New images today from Thailand as California artists and frequent collaborators Eddie Colla and D Young V marked the end of ’14.

D Young V creates fearful images of a violent militarized society where people are trapped and distressed, the child-like expressions pinched, the color/bw compositions littered with navigational and directional symbols from software applications, heads swimming in digits, mouths gagged with graphics. Colla’s female figures are rendered perhaps more realistically, but equally spent spiritually, sexually idealized, defiant, and at war.

Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

In the descriptive text accompanying these images about their year-end excursion and touristing, they paint an apocalyptic scene – references to sex and prostitution and corruption and citywide celebrations at temples as they say they spread their large format wheat-pastes across Bangkok, Pattaya and Koh Samet. Here are the images they contributed to the Thai streetscape and various abandoned lots. One can only imagine what the children and workers and families walking in these neighborhoods think when they see these images. For their part, the artists returned to their homes and studios in Oakland and San Francisco to create more work.

Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

Eddie Colla and we think we can spot a Kora Lee in the background. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

D Young V . Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

D Young V. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

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Dustin Yellin Suspends Dance in Glass for New NYC Ballet/Art Series

January 12, 2015 Artists

First it was the Street Art duo Faile. Then the photographer/scene maker JR. This spring it’s back to Brooklyn for ballet inspiration and cross-discipline-generation-pollination as Dustin Yellin will bring his sculptural paintings to the New York City Ballet and its Manhattan winter performances.

We’ve been right behind each one of these choices as a powerful partnership between the D.I.Y. street influenced art scene of New York today and the time honored expression of the ballet art form. This particular pairing isolates a dream most people have when witnessing the power and grace of dance – the ironic desire to suspend the dancers in movement – even if just for a minute – to more fully appreciate them.

With Dustin Yellin you may have that just that sort of opportunity because his detailed imagery and three dimensional collage will be available for anyone to see as he exhibit 15 new works created as part of an ongoing project of large-scale glass and mixed-media sculptures, each weighing more than 3,000 pounds. His multi-dimensional humans, or “psychogeographies”, will map out people in suspended animation.

“I make window sandwiches,” says Yellin as a simple distillation of his creation method and his project, which will eventually grow to 100 works in the next half-decade. To hear him speak of the layers of complexity captured at once, you hear that it is a way to capture many concepts as well – cellular memory, the atomization of our physicality, the human as the sum of all our experiences and history. Yellin would like to give you an opportunity to see through and within these humans, possibly grasping dreams, aspirations, humanity.

Starting January 20 the new works will be unveiled and on view throughout the 2015 Winter Season until March 1 – with special hours open to the public (below). As was the case with Faile and JR, 3 selected performances in February are prices within reach of most students and art fans of a number of income levels – and you get to bring something home with you as well.

Tickets go on sale today, January 12 at noon for the three special art series performances taking place February 12, 19 and 27

Single tickets for the NYCB Art Series performances are priced at $29 and will go on sale at noon on Monday, January 12, at nycballet.com, or by calling 212-496-0600. All audience members attending these three performances will also receive a special limited-edition takeaway created by Dustin Yellin to commemorate the NYCB Art Series collaboration.

NYCB will also host free, open hours for the general public to view the exhibition on the following dates: Thursday, February 12 through Sunday, February 22 – Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon; and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.11.15

January 11, 2015 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Hey Bro and Sis! It’s Sunday! Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Adam Dare, Curly, D. Hollier, Damien Mitchell, El Ray, JVC Quard, Lotits, Noodle Cat, Old Broads, QRST, and Stikman.

Top Image >> QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Old Broads (Philadelphia) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damien Mitchell (photo © Jaime Rojo)

An exotic flower that you would think couldn’t blossom in this winter cold! Lotits (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Ray truckside detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D. Hollier (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Curly (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Noodle Cat (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JVC Quard (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rorof Rose (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Saint Kitty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adam Dare (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Brooklyn, NYC. January 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damon Johnson and Jewels in the Gallery After Years In the Wild

January 10, 2015 Artists

Street Artist Damon Johnson says he loves Dick Tracy and has collected stacks of comic books starring the smart and square-jawed, hard-hitting, fast-shooting, detective who pieces together the clues.

When you find one of Damon’s painted cartoon scenes on a wire fence in an abandoned toxic lot your thoughts may turn to femme fatales, villains, and the gritty and dangerous world of the underground. They are real, and then some. Now all we need is a hero.

Celebrating the opening of his solo show in Chinatown last night, the New Yorker tells us that the themes of anguish and despair recur in his street pieces because he has fought inner demons himself, and naturally there is a little autobiography in every artists work.

Even though his chosen color palette is often bright, he sees the line work and subject matter as more serious and maybe not in parallel to the more cheerful side of Street Art he sees around him today. “I guess they all are happy, and I’m the only one that it isn’t, but I don’t see much happiness in the world today,” he says as he peruses the new pieces at Gallery Sensei. Seen through the visual style and vocabulary of comics, cartoons, and 80’s era graffiti, the complexities of daily urban existence does actually appear somehow simpler and more manageable.

One recurring image is the undulating rose that is illustrated with movement, alive and bright as it is wretched. It was one of the first of his flowers “in the wild” of Gowanus, Brooklyn that we discovered a few years ago in an empty lot, oddly out of place. Raw, possibly poisonous– need we mention thorny – Damon’s rose pushes upward out of the putridity with frank glamour, surrounded by flies and mosquitoes.

“The flowers represent the beauty and fragility of life, I wanted to make something seen as beautiful and turn it into something dangerous, the flowers almost look like weapons with sharp leaves and radiant energy,” he says in the press release for this show. Given the skater culture and tattoo art influence of most of his work, it is no surprise that this rose is also inked onto a friend’s skin. “Paint the rose as if it is germinating up from the gritty sidewalks of The Bronx,” were the directions he followed.

Damon will freely tell you that his art is a personal therapy and his work on the street has possibly saved his life in one way or another. Reading into the various domestic and romantic scenes depicted with comic book drama, or even poking around the rose leaves, you may see the artist has found hope amid the wreckage. Possibly “Radiant Jewels” is a physical manifestation of that hope.

“Radiant Jewels’ Is open for the general public at Gallery Sensei. Click HERE for further information and details.

BSA Film Friday: 01.09.15

January 9, 2015 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. ROME in the Street and the Gallery by Dioniso Punk
2. Hendrik Beikirch (ECB): East Harbor in the Netherlands
3. Michael Beerens – “Master”
4. “Art As A Weapon” Trailer

BSA Special Feature: ROME in the Street and the Gallery by Dioniso Punk

The punk rock connection to graffiti is as strong as any subculture’s – or of any people who feel marginalized in effect or practice by the dominant culture preventing their voice. The narrative that graffiti belongs exclusively to Hip Hop has been posited and disproved over time; as Jesus said, “Graffitti belongs to everyone.” *

Modern French academics and intellectuals have celebrated graffiti and Street Art by way of political protest at least since the late 1960s and early 70s, first with the Situationists and later with the aesthetics and artistry of people like Ernest Pignon-Ernest and Gérard Zlotykamien.

In “Street & Gallery” we see that the need for expression, illegal and otherwise, is as urgent as ever in the Street Art scene in Rome today and for many it is a means to express opinions and philosophies that they hope will in turn push greater society forward in some way. For others it is simply to fight the stagnation.

Billed as an “unofficial video” by Dioniso Punk, the short documentary takes you into the kitchen and studio and gallery and street as a variety of artists, academics, vegetable vendors and philosophers narrate the pragmatic and the existential. Call it activism, call it a yearning for freedom, call it being generally pissed off at institutional inertia – the spirit of graffiti and it’s multiple urban art corollaries will not die. Either will arena rock and roll, despite early punk’s best wishes.

Interesting to note that the globalization of capital has not globalized all banks accounts and has thrust the xenophobia of the Italian middle class into a harsh light here, as it has elsewhere in so-called developed countries. Here we see a modern Italy struggling with ideological self-beliefs about justice and equality and wondering how they apply to a new immigrant class who has no interest in their cogitations. Moving from the educated class studio environment, the trained artist suddenly finds a social/political role, and for the first time perhaps contemplates it. Meanwhile, many in the street have never seen the inside of a studio and have a slightly different take on the state of things. Let the conversation continue.

Support was also provided by Maam – Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove di Metropoliz, Dorothy Circus Gallery, M.U.Ro. – Museo Urban di Roma, Sacripante Gallery, SMAC – Segni Mutanti.

A nod to the artists whose work is shown in the video, including Nicola “Nic” Alessandrini, Jim Avignon, Gary Baseman, Mister Thoms, Eduardo Kobra, David “Diavù” Vecchiato, Veronica Montanino, Stefania Fabrizi, Danilo Bucchi, Mauro Maugliani, Ron English, Beau Stanton, Mr. Klevra, Finbarr “Fin” DAC, Omino71, David Pompili, Ray Caesar, Afarin Sajedi, Kathie Olivas, Pablo Mesa Capella e Gonzalo Orquìn, Massimo Attardi, Gian Maria Tosatti, Malo Farfan, Franco Losvizzero, Davide Dormino, Alessandro Ferraro, Mauro Cuppone, Leonardo “Leo” Morichetti, Mauro Sgarbi, Gio Pistone, Zelda Bomba, Micaela Lattanzio, HOPNN, Massimo Iezzi, Sabrina Dan, Jago, Giovanna Ranaldi, Santino Drago, Alessandro Sardella, Fabio Mariani, Marco Casolino, Veks Van Hillik, Hogre, Dilkabear, Lucamaleonte, Diamond, Alice Pasquini, Paolo Petrangeli.

Hendrik Beikirch: East Harbor in the Netherlands

Hendrik Beikirch traveled to Heerlen in the Netherlands to paint a new mural over three and a half days. Organized by Heerlen Murals, the wizened, troubled subject adds to the series of images ECB has been creating across many walls in the last handful of years.

Michael Beerens – “Master”

Last summer the Frenchman Beerens took a trip out into the mountains and created a piece on a a small abandoned building. Ah, summer, come thou near…

“Art As A Weapon” Trailer

From Breadtruck Films, the new documentary focuses on a school in Myanmar (Burma) that teaches street art as a form of non-violent struggle. Street Artists Shepard Fairey and JR figure into the story, as does the military, art as a weapon, and art as a tool for revolution.

* Quote from Jesus Cordero, aerosol sales associate at Near Miss Hardware store in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

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Street Art Sancocho : “ArteSano Project” Brings Dominican Flavor (VIDEO)

January 8, 2015 Artists

New Year, new mural festival!

Truthfully, the appearance of new mural festivals today is faster than annual – it’s more like quarterly – but this one in the Dominican Republic was inaugurated three weeks ago and brings a certain hand crafted authenticity that holds promise for its future.

“ArteSano Project” gives you an indication of the personal nature of the art you are likely to see from the 25 local and international artists invited to Rio San Juan from December 11-22. It could be the name influencing our perception, but in one way or another it looks like these artists are chosen for their down-to-earth hand hewn approach. Sometimes decorative, sometimes storytelling, there are familiar themes and motifs that play well to their local audience as well as the virtual gawker.

Even with two dozen artists, it isn’t bloated: no logos or product tie-ins or DJs or high flying scissor lifts scaling massive multi-story walls with abstract surrealism, hyper photo-realism or dark pop human/animal/robot hybrids here – yet. Well, we take that back on the surrealism score; Pixel Pancho is here with a brood of chickens bobbing their industrial mesh necks atop fired tile bodices, hunting and pecking their way toward the beach, and Miami artist duo 2alas & Hox created a portrait of a boy with a partial mask overlay that calls to mind cyborgs (and Sten & Lex). But here in the loungey bare-foot tropical DR coastal area, even Pixel Pancho mutes the hues toward sun-bleached pastels, more easily complimenting their surroundings.

Free-running fowl overtook a few artists thematically, including another international artist who usually paints hybrid forms with dimension and almost mythic metaphor, but who this time tried his hand at something much more folkloric. “Importacion Cultural”, the flatly bright piece by Buenos Aires born Franco “Jaz” Fasoli, presents an entire wall with hand cut and paper collage, adding to the general feeling of approachability, and introducing a form of craft-inspired art-making more common to DIY Street Art of the 2000s than recent aerosol-infused mural festivals.

“The community was transformed during those days and over two weeks they began to see these great artists’ work and create specific pieces in different places around the town,” says Mario E. Ramirez, a Puerto Rican artist who has been documenting and capturing the burgeoning graffiti/Street Art scene in his country and places like DR with his partners at Tost Films. He says that an event like this that connects with a community yields a greater dialogue than some of the more commercial Street Art and graffiti enterprises, because the artists get to interact with neighbors closely. “At the completion of the ArteSano each artist felt like a distinguished guest of Rio San Juan. They made us feel at home, it was one of the best experiences of 2014.”

One of the organizers, Dominican born artist Evoca1, has experience working as a Street Artist as well as bringing actual physical sustenance and support to a community. For about four years the Miami based artist has delivered many meals to folks living on the street with his wife and friends through an organization he began called “Sketches For Mankind.”

With Evoca1 hosting the ArteSano project it became another form of community outreach and the curatorial responsibilities for the public art initiative was offered by the folks at the Vienna based INOPERAbLE Gallery, who have represented a mix of urban artists work including some in this show and others that are range into pop, dark pop, graphic irony, and more “traditional” contemporary Street Art.

Organizers say they hope that ArteSano gains traction and that people get to know the Dominican Republic as a good place for urban arts and muralism. There is not much transgressive here; With its mix of mainly latin name-brand and local homegrown talent, it looks like ArteSano makes a respectable entry into the international mural festival mileu with what may be the emerging alchemy of the decorative and the pleasing – peppered with some more challenging themes and muted socio-political messages.

Overall no one will argue that Rio San Juan is a great location for a painter or street artist from the northern hemisphere in December. Among the invited artists were BIKISMO, JADE, 2ALAS, HOXXOH, PASTEL, JAZ, EVER, ELIAN, LEO, VERO RIVERA, MODAFOCA, ENTES, FAITH47, AXEL VOID, PIXEL PANCHO, FILIO, ANGURRIA, 3TAMAROOTS, GABZ, POTELECHE, BAD6, SHAK, RUBEN, JOHANN,SEBAS, and PAOLA.

Fili . 2alas . Hox. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Pixel Pancho. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Pastel . Pixel Pancho. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Axel . Faith47. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Thank you to Mario E Ramirez for his invaluable help to make this article possible for BSA readers.

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Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Brandon English)

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Brandon English)

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Brandon English)

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Marcus Lamar)

Gaia at work on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Marcus Lamar)

Young visitors show up to give Gaia props on his new mural for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Marcus Lamar)

Gaia. Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Gaia)

Gaia. Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Gaia)

Gaia. Center for Civil and Human Rights. Atlanta, Georgia. (photo © Gaia)

Top Image >> Oil portraits, botanicals, layers in Photoshop, and thee. Gaia for Savage Habbit. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia for Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia for Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia for Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nando Zeve (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bifido. Caserta, Italy. January 2015. (photo © Bifido)

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato for Savage Habbit. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato for Savage Habbit. MWAH ha ha ha ha ah ah ha ha haaaaa. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato for Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 and Joe Iurato for Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415. Savage Habbit. Detail. Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sean9Lugo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sean9Lugo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hunt. Looks like SOMEONE has a bit of a Christ complex. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dylan Egon makes Mickey an easy target. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gurld Master (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Okay, so I just got my hair did. What’s next? How shall I prepare? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Williamsburg Bridge. Brooklyn, NY. December, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Comuna 13. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Chota. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

I had the opportunity to ask Juan Manuel about these changes at Comuna 13 with a focus on the role of street art:

Artist Unknon. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

YL: What are your plans for the future? JM: Together with my partner Arthur, we are currently in the process of securing funding for an art project in Comuna 13. The goal is to invite artists from around the world to paint inspirational art projects aimed at promoting the community.

Paola Delfin. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Most of the street art and graffiti in Comuna 13 was made by kids or young people that received graffiti classes in Casa Kolacho or Casa Morada, by social entities which work with young people in some parts of this big infamously violent community.

Senor OK . Grena Cru. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

REK. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Bomba . Kone. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

El Pole. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

DEXS. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Javid Jah. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Kone . AXND. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

BSA Special Feature: Paulo Ito and a Neighborhood Mural in Brazil

Sesame Street X Hot Tea

Sten & Lex: Shanghai 2014

The London Police: Miami Art Basel 2014

Pow Wow! Hawaii – Martha Cooper

Augustine Kofie “Overcast Angeles” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

CHU “Buenos Aires” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Will Sweeney “Cabott Square” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Brad Downey. Face (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Caleb Neelon “Pickerville” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Shepard Fairey “Berlin Tower” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Jurne “Covalence” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Mike Ballard “The Ultra Poet” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Goldpeg “London is Burning” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Cleon Peterson “The Return” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

Aryz “Map” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

OX “Paris” (photo © courtesy of A(by)P)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

YZ “Amazone” Senegal. West Africa (photo © YZ)

Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

Eddie Colla and we think we can spot a Kora Lee in the background. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

D Young V . Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

D Young V . Eddie Colla. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

D Young V. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

D Young V. Thailand. 2014. (photo © Eddie Colla)

YL: What are your plans for the future?
JM: Together with my partner Arthur, we are currently in the process of securing funding for an art project in Comuna 13. The goal is to invite artists from around the world to paint inspirational art projects aimed at promoting the community.