July 2017

Graffiti Writer “Miedo 12” for Contorno Urbano Project 12 + 1 in Barcelona

July 19, 2017 Artists

“Just like a drop of water is the origin of everything, here the spray is the one that, with its effluvium, originates the clouds of inspiration,” says MIEDO 12, the graffiti writer about his lettering coming into view amidst a forest of aerosol ideas. A member of the 21 year old Italian crew called BN, this Valencian began his writing career almost as long ago in 1998.

Miedo 12. Nothingness more than infinite. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Clara Antón)

Since then MIEDO 12 has travelled and participated in exhibitions and competitions like the 1st Spanish graffiti contest in Móstoles, True Skills (Milan), Mos México, Wall Talks, and Roskilde (Denmark), among others, and his artworks have appeared in graffiti magazines like Innercity (France), Blazing (France), Graphotism (England), Bong-now (Italy), Pointless (Italy), Arcano (Italy), and Balcans (Russia).

“Nothingness More than Infinite” is the name of his new mural for the 12 + 1 project in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona, España) and you can see the wild affinity MIEDO 12 has for the letterform – and where it comes from. “ It embodies the learning, the experiences, the life of the creator,” he says, “and all of this is necessary to generate the whisper of the clouds that originate the letters.”

Miedo 12. Nothingness more than infinite. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Clara Antón)

Miedo 12. Nothingness more than infinite. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Clara Antón)

Miedo 12. Nothingness more than infinite. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Clara Antón)

Miedo 12. Nothingness more than infinite. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Clara Antón)

Fabio Petani and the Golden Light in Kiev for Art United Us

July 18, 2017 Artists

The bright light of truth reveals things you may not have seen previously and Fabio Petani, the 30 year old Turin-based muralist is talking about it in Ukraine. The mural combines two elements often seen in his works – botanicals and geometric shapes. What is new is his use of bright colors by way of drawing attention to a specific element of this Malva plant which is typical to the region.

Fabio Petani “Fluorine (флуор) & Malva sylvestris” for Art United Us 2017. Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © Fabio Petani)

Daylight savings time was discovered in 1886, says Petani, and so was fluorine. (F) on the Periodic Table this element is the lightest halogen and it exists as a highly toxic pale yellow diatomic gas. “The translation of fluorine is флуор is from latin and means flow (flow of light),” the artist tells us. Now we understand better the flow of golden yellow light into this composition of the Malva plant.

Fabio Petani “Fluorine (флуор) & Malva sylvestris” for Art United Us 2017. Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

“The composition runs around the central circle part where I also put the malva flower,” says Petani. “You can see a mix of layers that moves all the composition like a travel in other dimensions. All is inverted: the plant is black and each element creates a small world where the plant changes form.”

He says it is the first time he has used bright colors and he was encouraged by the bright golden color from the Ukrainian flag that indicates the bread basket of agriculture and the golden grains harvested. It was important to him to do something that the community would enjoy and he says he does as well. “And I love this wall,” he says.

Fabio Petani “Fluorine (флуор) & Malva sylvestris” for Art United Us 2017. Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

Fabio Petani “Fluorine (флуор) & Malva sylvestris” for Art United Us 2017. Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © Fabio Petani)

Fabio Petani “Fluorine (флуор) & Malva sylvestris” for Art United Us 2017. Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

The mural is a part of the public mural program Art United Us, curated by Geo Leros and Iryna Kanishcheva.

Never Crew “Propagating Machine” in Mannheim

July 17, 2017 Artists

A new mural this month from Switzerland based duo Nevercrew in Mannheim. Germany for Stadt.Wand, Kunst, 2017. The duo gridded out the massive reflective mass that looks like an uncut jewel, or a plastic bag full of refuse, or a chunk of melting ice.

Never Crew “Propagating machine” for Stadt.Wand.Kunsts, 2017. Manheimm, Germany. (photo © Alexander Krziwanie)

Beneath it is a line of colored penguins stencil on top of an engine of progress no doubt. The guys are calling it “Propagating Machine” and, as many of the works they do appear to address, they say this one is about the man/nature balance and our perception of them.

A bit opaque sometimes, these artists statements can be difficult to decode as the work itself, but because of the technical ability, the large scale, and the ongoing dedication of the artists – you’re willing to trust they know what they speak of.

“It is about immediate effects and long term consequences that may seem not tangible, so it is about the importance of single acts or global attitudes towards the environment in which everyone live.”

Never Crew “Propagating machine” for Stadt.Wand.Kunsts, 2017. Manheimm, Germany. (photo © Never Crew)

NEVERCREW

(Christian Rebecchi & Pablo Togni)

Stadt.Wand.Kunst:

http://www.stadt-wand-kunst.de

BSA Images Of The Week:07.16.17

July 16, 2017 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

A great collection of stuff this week during the height of summer in New York. From block parties where the street gets closed and cousin Eddie grills some meat and kids jump in bouncy houses or run through the water spraying from a fire hydrant, to going to concerts in the park and sitting on a blanket with grapes and cheese and food from the deli, to spending the afternoon with a few hundred other close friends at McCarren pool or thousands on the sand at Coney Island, everybody wants to go out and play.

We’re all trying to forget our troubles and because – Hey! It’s only summer for a short time. Let’s go ride bikes! Let’s sit on a stoop and watch the pretty girls and boys go by. Let’s hike up the railroad tracks and see new graffiti and Street Art.

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Damien Mitchell, El Sol 25, Jerkface, Marina Zumi, Molly Crabapple, Naveen Shakil, Nick Waler, Plasma Slug, RAD, and Sonny Sundancer.

Top image: Sonny Sundancer. Detail.The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonny Sundancer. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jerface (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC in Little Italy, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Molly Crabapple’s dark, frightening and humorous illustration about the mult-headed monsters steering the ship of state. She calls it “Trumpbeast”(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Marina Zumi for East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Plasma Slug (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damien Mitchell for JMZ Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RAD (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Naveen Shakil (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Brooklyn, NYC. July 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elle + Klone. Up North Fest X BSA: Røst, Norway. Dispatch 5

July 15, 2017 Artists

This is the third year for Northern Norway’s UPN Festival and this year it’s on an Island called Røst and includes a collection of artists eager to do site-specific and environmental works – one evolutionary development in the mural festivals that blossom throughout the world right now. This week BSA is proud to bring you images and interviews along with Urban Nation this year at UpNorth, where the seagulls never stop calling and the sun never goes down this time of year.

We wind up the week on the island of Røst with almost a mystical sense, perhaps because of the inspirational messages we continued to see within the statements of this year’s artists. Today we see the metaphorical storytelling of Elle at war on the seas and the striking installation by Klone Yourself (or Klone) called “The Songs of the Vikings”
______________

A surrealist illustrator experimenting with different styles and mediums on Street Art pieces and murals in cities, Klone’s works on walls often feature simplified and distorted forms, figures, and creatures occupying a space that is seemingly suspended in air. An uprooted Ukrainian immigrant now from Tel Aviv, the mid-30s artist is looking at existential matters today in the way you do when you have had to adjust to a radically new environment.

Klone. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

One examines fundamentals and pillars of a culture, its history, norms and language – and then struggles to find a place within it. For his installation in Norway, the artist studied the location and the history of the region, combined that study with his own history, and constructed “Viking” swords for a site specific piece that takes on many shadings of significance.

“The texts on the swords are coming from various sources: Viking poetry and songs, contemporary references like music and literature we grow up on, and personal remarks and thoughts on life and daily struggles,” says Klone about his striking installation by the sea. “In a way this is a series of protective runes, planted in the ground, like after a big battle, some of the text disappearing, some still exposed. Some of the truth is always gone, and it’s all relative.

Klone. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: Can you talk about this striking and meaningful installation you did by the sea for UpNorth?
Klone: My main goal for the UpNorth festival was to complete my installation that was planned specifically for it. The installation consists of wooden swords, cut out by me from found wood (mostly wood that was used for building houses on the island), with text written on the swords.

Later those swords got stuck into a hill structure on the island. This installation has and can have so many meanings, to both me and the random viewer, so I’ll explain some of my intention – and anyone else can take it somewhere else, as people already did while I was installing my piece and directly after it was completed.

The sword is a symbol of power through thousands of years. A wooden sword is a toy, meant to play with. In a way it is to prepare us for one day holding a real sword, real power, or at least real representation of it, no matter how prepared or not we are.

On a personal note – my name is Igor, and this is the name my mother gave me when I was born and later explained to me that she gave me a Viking name so I could grow to be a strong man. In a way I hope I did become kind of a Viking. A free man, at least as much as I’d like to think so, somewhat a pirate, and always on the move with deep respect for history and traditions as well as a love for innovation. For me this was a kind of a closure, to bring this installation to a place that felt like it’s meant to be.

Klone. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: How would you describe the environment working in Røst?
Klone Yourself: The Røst environment is insane. It feels like another planet over there and with the 24/7 daylight, its easy to feel so.

I think it’s amazing to experience a place so old and yet so wholesome and not destroyed by modern civilizations. Yes they have machines, Internet and restaurants, but it seems like the people just want to live their lives and are not really bothered by what’s happening around them.

BSA: How are you challenging yourself as an artist right now?
Klone Yourself: I’m challenging myself as an artist on a daily basis. My practice is always on a few levels of perception, depending on the time and the place of course. As I work in drawing, painting, installation, video and mural painting, the limits are far to be seen, and there’s so much to try and learn yet.

The most appropriate personal title for the piece is – “Song of the Viking” , as a tribute to songs written by Vikings to their gods, and as a tribute to this land now and then.

Klone. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

The American experimentalist Elle tries anything once – including fire extinguishers, rollers, aerosol, wheatpastes, silkscreens and bus stop takeovers – legal and illegal. Her illustrative style often centers around a fantastical avatar, a heroic and sensual woman who is exploring new psychological landscapes.

Here in Røst the heroine of a shipwreck casts a wide eye at you as she climbs through a tumultuous and harrowing sea storm. The metaphors are many and so is the range of Elles ever-increasing skills.

ELLE. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Our thanks to our partner Urban Nation (UN) and to photographer Tor Ståle Moen for his talents.

See our Up North roundup piece on The Huffington Post

BSA Film Friday: 07.14.17

July 14, 2017 Artists

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

Now screening :
1. Various & Gould: City Skins – Marx und Engels.
2. The Brutalism Appreciation Society/Gesellschaft zur Wertschätzung des Brutalismus
3. ESPO at Bien Urbain 2017
4. Faith47 in Johannesburg
5. Creative collaborators AXE in Barcelona for 12 + 1

BSA Special Feature: Various & Gould: City Skins – Marx und Engels.

Conceptual Street Artists often perform interventions without explanation, satisfied with their own observations of the outcome. For Berlians Various & Gould the process has more often included the participation of the public – a way for more to take ownership and inspire dialogue. Sometimes many dialogues.

You may have seen our piece on their most recent public project called “City Skins”: Marx and Engels Statues Re-Skinned & Re-Located : Various & Gould. Here is a mini-documentary that shows you the artists, the process, and the thinking behind the process.

The Brutalism Appreciation Society/Gesellschaft zur Wertschätzung des Brutalismus

“21 artists whose works all deal with the post-war architectural style of Brutalism,” says Dr. Inke Arns, curator and director for “The Brutalism Appreciation Society” in the HMKV (Hartware MedienKunstVerein) in Dortmund U. Metal, stone, brick, exposed concrete – all a heavy shell against the rigorous torment of the world. Now steel and glass is slowly pushing out the blunt force of this mountainous movement, so it is a relief to see that architecture historians and, hopefully, city planners, are rallying to preserve these monuments.

2 Notes: Graffiti has had a meaningful dialogue with this evolution. Also, make sure you hang out till the end of this video for full effect.

Bien Urbain 2017 – ESPO

Stephen Powers aka ESPO participated in the 7th Bien Urbain festival in Besançon this spring and brought his wordplay and affinity for the language of advertising signage to a wall there.

Faith47 in Johannesburg

The inimitable Faith47 powerhouse has been creating some massive murals of late and while they capture the natural world epically, these pieces also manage to feel personal, intimate.

Creative collaborators AXE in Barcelona for 12 + 1

Friends since childhood and painting graffiti and murals together since 1999 in Barcelona, Adrià (Smaug) and Oriol (Gúma) together call themselves AXE Colours. Read more from our earlier posting ; AXE Colours – Two Graffiti Friends, Now Creative Partners

Pastel + Lora Zombie. Up North Fest X BSA: Røst, Norway. Dispatch 4

July 13, 2017 Artists

“If you do this in London this would just be one wall out of many,” says UpNorth festival founder Gøran Moya,

“But on this island the artists can really make an impact. They can be part of changing history for this community. The festival is also all about doing this together. Because it’s such a small place the artists, crew and locals have a special opportunity to interact with each other. This makes the whole project more personal I think.”

Pastel. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

We had asked him to contrast the nature of what we call “Street Art” in its original environment versus the experience of creating and seeing it here at UPN.

“I think this will have a greater impact. For the artists coming to such a remote place where there is no history of urban art, but also for the community of the island. Most people don’t know anything of this artistic expression and can be very sceptical in the beginning. But they have always ended up loving it. They also take a pride in this.”

“We’re just trying to have new work that brings a contrast – Like getting Pastel to paint his colorful expression on a island without almost any vegetation.”

Pastel. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

An Argentinian architect and painter, Pastel routinely brings the natural world to the manmade irregular spaces in the built environments of modern cities. Not a stranger to the city, he’s equally engaged in the country – taking particular care to educate himself about the sliding matrix of environments that one walks through when visiting a place – social, historical, geological…

So it makes sense that his work here draws directly from the eating habits of sea and air in this land where both are the principal actors. His interesting twist is how flora becomes symbolic for social issues in Pastels projects – a catalyst for dialogue about the nature of nature and the nature of us.

Pastel. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: Can you describe that shell/flower arrangement, how it is related to the local vegetation, what you learned about the geography/agriculture/topography on Røst?
Pastel: The painting is based on the local flora that grow during the artic summer (24hs sunny) and the marine imagery. The seagulls jump into the water and catch sea urchin, then they drop them in the ground to crack the shell and eat it.

You can find all over the island these empty shells covering the ground. Because of changing climate conditions and the noticeable jump from to a subpolar oceanic climate to a cold-summer Mediterranean climate, the flora has become endemic and unique to the region itself.

Pastel. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: Can you talk about the greater significance of the work as it relates to environmental or social issues?
Pastel: In my painting I’m focusing on the flora as a way to talk about the local issues of each place I’m going to paint in. The issues may reference architecture and urban mistakes, socio-economical and historical problems. I think of my painting as a dynamic way to make architecture in public spaces (a kind of “urban acupuncture”), as a performance, hopefully improving the local identity of each place.

When I work on studio paintings I translate those meanings using poisonous plants instead of the local flora.

Pastel. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA:What are some of the challenges for you as an artist right now?
Pastel: I guess one ongoing challenge for me is to improve my painting techniques. My biggest challenge may be that I am a difficult critic with myself. Also when I think of the concept of painting on public areas, I feel a great responsibility about the work I create in public space.

Pastel sharing what inspired him to paint this wall. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Pastel. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Pastel. He thought he had completed his piece but then he had a change of heart and decided to switch the background color completely. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Pastel. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Lora Zombie begins. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Known more as a fine art illustrator than urban artist, Russian born Lora Zombie brought her fantastical sensibility to this very grey area, injecting her self-taught style of art-making into the familiar environment.

Her world-wide collectors will probably not make it up here, but then again much of her success as an artist can be directly traced to her presence on the Internet – and of course bouyant personality and the ubiquitous shocking blue hair.

Lora Zombie. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

“Lalala!” Lora says when we ask her to answer a few questions about her image of a girl getting a ride on the back of a bird at UpNorth.

BSA: Can you tell us about the piece that you did for UpNorth?
Lora Zombie: So my piece is more about just good bright harmony and joyful vibe! I wanted to spread some bright and flying feeling for Røst island!

Lora Zombie. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: How would you describe the environment working in Røst?
Lora Zombie: The Environment was wonderful. It felt like artist camping – fun and childish.

BSA:How are you challenging yourself as an artist right now?
Lora Zombie: Animation is my challenge at the moment. Conceptual animated video clips.

Lora Zombie. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Our thanks to our partner Urban Nation (UN) and to photographer Tor Ståle Moen for his talents.

See our Up North roundup piece on The Huffington Post

Spider Tag + NesPoon. Up North Fest X BSA: Røst, Norway. UPN Dispatch 3

July 12, 2017 Artists, Interview

This year we tried to focus more on installations/sculptures than earlier years,” says Gøran Moya of UpNorth Festival, pointing to a discipline within the organic Street Art milieu that is sometimes overlooked but is elemental to the spirit of free expression that one often discovers in abandoned places. “Spidertag did his light installations in a time where there is 24 hours of daylight, but everything turned out amazing!”

Spidertag. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

He’s speaking of the glowing geometric shapes inside of an old barn structure by the sea which Spanish Street Artist Spidertag has focused on as an enclosed dilapidated stage for this installation.

He began his string art about a decade ago and BSA may have been one of the first to publish it actually, transforming and framing spaces in abandoned or neglected venues, bringing a workman’s toolbox and an alchemists zeal for new astral formations in places where most had given up.

Spidertag. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Now he has been toying with this glowing string perhaps in the hopes that in six months when this place is purely nocturnal there will be a radiant reminder of the summer in Røst.

BSA: Can you tell us about the piece that you did for UpNorth?
Spidertag: I did 5 pieces in total; 4 interior and 1 outdoor. The challenge for me is that in summer in the north of Norway, there is no darkness, no night time. So, for my light installations it was a difficult…but I made it! And the wall will be turning on in a few month…

Spidertag. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: How would you describe the environment working in Røst?
Spidertag: Amazing location. The old and abandoned houses made of wood were perfect for my nails and also to contrast styles. Was a nice experience!

BSA: How are you challenging yourself as an artist right now
Spidertag: I continue to keep on developing; growing up and experimenting with my wires.

Spidertag. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Spidertag)

NesPoon. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Poland’s NesPoon is bringing the decorative element of lace to this Norwegian island, an historical patterning that one may associate with hearth, home, and the finer practices of handicraft.

It is an unusual element in Street Art, though not limited to NesPoon (New York’s Hellbent comes to mind), bringing a sweetness to the urban landscape that befits a feminine character, rather than the hardcore testosterone infused hooliganism that the scene may like to portray about itself.

NesPoon. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

We met NesPoon in Moscow at the Artmossphere Biennale last year when she was doing an installation focusing on the so-called “Precariot”, the current worldwide worker class that is made to be insecure about their jobs, healthcare, shelter, food, future. So don’t think this stencil work is purely about decoration – more likely it is about asserting the feminine into public space and claiming the right to steer the dialogue and set the agenda.

NesPoon. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Our thanks to our partner Urban Nation (UN) and to photographer Tor Ståle Moen for his talents.

See our Up North roundup piece on The Huffington Post

JAZ + Dzia at Up North Fest X BSA: Røst, Norway. UPN Dispatch 2

July 11, 2017 Artists, Interview

This is the third year for Northern Norway’s UPN Festival and this year it’s on an Island called Røst and includes a collection of artists eager to do site-specific and environmental works – one evolutionary development in the mural festivals that blossom throughout the world right now. BSA is proud to bring you images and interviews along with Urban Nation this year at UpNorth, where the seagulls never stop calling and the sun never goes down this time of year.

“We try to show a big spectrum of styles and have as much variation as possible,” says Gøran Moya.

Moya runs the UpNorth art festival with about 5 other people, he says. “Without these people this would not be possible.” This year Urban Nation from Berlin, including director Yasha Young, joined with the UpNorth team and co-curated the selections of artists as well.

BSA: How did this Street Art festival begin?
Gøran Moya: It began with getting Phlegm to paint a big mural in Bodø in 2013. The positive response to this made me think that it could be possible to extend this into something bigger. We have some great locations up here. Something different. So in 2015 the first UpNorth Festival was arranged in Sulitjelma, the second in 2016 was in Bodø, and this year in Røst.

JAZ. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: How did you chose these artists this year for the festival?
Gøran Moya: This year´s festival is curated together with Urban Nation Berlin. We are just trying to get artists that we think fit the surroundings, but not in an easy way; Something that brings a contrast.

More from Mr. Moya tomorrow but now lets look at the two interventions from artists JAZ and Dzia.

JAZ. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

Franco Fasoli, or JAZ, has travelled to many cities over the last decade painting murals that often involve historical archtypes at war or readying for battle. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the early 80s, he says his studies in ceramic art have also been taking form in his mind and he will be doing more sculpture.

We have actually seen two of his sculptures in person over the last year: the emerging lower half of a military horse coming up through the floor at the Artmossphere Biennale in Moscow last September and again earlier in Berlin for his anamorphic multi-limbed wresters in the PM/10 show at Urban Nation with Instagrafite last June.

For UPN here in Røst we find JAZ painting a new stately equine image as well, and you can see his affinity for the depth and volume of form even in his wall murals.

JAZ. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

BSA: This is an unique place for a mural festival – both because it is away from a major urban center and because the days are 24 hours long this time of year. How would you describe painting on this island this time of year?
JAZ: The environment in Røst is great and it is like a surreal dream to paint there- such an amazing place to paint. The contact with the locals is kind of limited, but there was a lot of super good energy .

BSA: You have been doing murals for many festivals and towns for a while. How is your practice evolving today?
JAZ: Right now I’m concentrating more on sculpture than before and I am working with new kinds of materials, new languages, pushing me away from the profile of only a muralist. I am interested in new views of my work, getting involved with institutions and using my background as a public artist to generate bridges between different art perspectives. The role of the “street artist” or “contemporary artist” is something that I don’t want to be too concerned with – I’m trying to not get fixed in either of them .

Another world traveller, artist Dzia didn’t have to fly too far from his native Antwerp to bring his geometrically influenced feathered friends to this Norwegian wall. With a masters in fine art from the Royal Academy, Dzia only joined the mural game half a decade ago and his active animal kingdom has brought him opportunities to work with big brands thanks to a commercially appealing technique.

Here in Røst the wood façade of this one-story barn building is a natural analogue to the aviary scene he adds, even with such porous material soaking up the pigments of his paint. Nearer the chopping waves of the sea, his illustrative COD fish forms adds color to a plainly white waterfront building.

He says he loved all the time spent here and the other artists and his hosts. “6 nights on the amazing island Røst, 115km above the pole circle and 100km from the city Bodø, Norway, all 24h daylight and a magic midnight sun!”

Our thanks to our partner Urban Nation (UN) and to photographer Tor Ståle Moen for his talents.

See our Up North roundup piece on The Huffington Post

Isaac Cordal + INO. Up North Fest X BSA: Røst, Norway. UPN Dispatch 1

July 10, 2017 Artists, Interview

Today we look at new work by Isaac Cordal from Spain and INO from Greece, with each artist telling us about their street practice up north.

“I think it was very interesting as Upnorth subtly left its footprint without overturning the aesthetics of the Island,” says Isaac Cordal about his experience at the UPN festival. You may be familiar with the miniature sculptural interventions by Isaac Cordal, whose corporate businessmen have sold their souls and are looking down at the traffic of the city from a ledge, contemplating their existence, dread, and guilt. Partly social critique, partly comedic play, partly redefining public space and scale, Cordal’s figures are reliably surprising. You can see that at UpNorth this year some of them are evolving as well.

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you tell us about the new figures that you did for UpNorth?
Isaac Cordal: In a way they are part of the same series called “Isolated in the modern outdoors”. They are covered by a blanket with the colors of the houses of Røst. They are isolated in the middle of the sea with no possibilities of returning, without a house, like a kind of shipwreck. Unfortunately blankets have become the street fashion for many homeless people. Blankets remind us of other times, of the devastation, of the migratory crises and of the human being succumbing to the hostilities of the outside.

Brooklyn Street Art: We notice that they look quite different from the little businessmen that many have become familiar with. What inspired you to change them?
Isaac Cordal: As I said before perhaps the idea is a little dense. In modernity itself we have intense reflections of the Middle Ages, there are still different speeds outside exponential progress, too many contrasts between rich and poor, the so-called globalization leaves a trail of images of people delocalized, confused in space and lost in time.

Brooklyn Street Art: How would you describe the environment working in Røst?
Isaac Cordal: Working in Røst was an interesting experience since you had to adapt to the peculiar nature of it; there were not many buildings to intervene so that gave me the opportunity to experiment with its geography. With its 24 hours of light its landscape became something completely hypnotic at certain times. The hours of sleep are altered and the perception of time changes in a certain way.

Brooklyn Street Art: How are you challenging yourself as an artist right now?
Isaac Cordal: I’m going to try to work more in the studio after an intense year from one side of the world to the other. Perhaps I will decrease a little more – until disappearing.

Muralist INO uses a monochrome palette and a splash of color with most of his photorealist/surrealist figurative metaphors to talk about society. Not exactly critique, often the commentary comes across as straightforward observation, openly stated.

An aerosol bomber in his teens in Athens, his hard work in his early thirties has brought his murals to many international cities and he says UPN was a great opportunity to address a favorite issue of late, our lack of privacy. The new piece is called “Photobombing”.

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you tell us about the piece that you did for UpNorth?
INO: The invasion of privacy in our societies is constantly increasing with the pretext that our lives are improving. This exposure may not concern some, but maybe they should think again about it.

Brooklyn Street Art: How would you describe the environment working in Røst?
INO: It was interesting working on an island that has only one policeman and 24 hours daylight.

Brooklyn Street Art: How are you challenging yourself as an artist right now?
INO: The production of images that will remain on people’s mind in this era of over-information could be a challenge.

INO. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

INO. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

INO. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

INO. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © Tor Ståle Moen)

INO. Up North Fest 2017. Røst, Norway. (photo © INO)

Our thanks to our partner Urban Nation (UN) and to photographer Tor Ståle Moen for his talents.

See our Up North roundup piece on The Huffington Post

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.09.2017

July 9, 2017 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Culture Vultures, yo. Those folks and corporations and brands who don’t originate, but they sure know how to take. They’ve been around for millenia, but are always a surprise anyway. This week the graffiti comedian Klops leads the way on Images of the Week. He’s always cracking us up with his social/political commentary – like Mother Mary and others at the foot of the cross taking a selfie with Jesus, or his bubble tagged slogans like “Yuck. Poor People,” “USA, Why You Always Lyin’?” and “War Money War Problems.” This week his culture vultures took us by surprise. Recognize anyone?

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Andrew Hem, BK Foxx, Camo Lords, Dede, Drinkala, Eelco Virus, Golden 305, Influx Residence, Key Detail, Klops, London Kaye, ONO, QRST, and Sipros.

Top image: Klops takes aim at Culture Vultures, those folks you just love. One of them is Mr. Brainwash, but who’s the other? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andrew Hem. “Misty Blue” for INOPERAbLE Gallery and INFLUX Mural Residency. Providence, RI. June 2017. (photo © Damian Meneghini)

This actual wall appeared in a painting we covered in an interview we did with Laura Schecter last week. Below is her painting. Various artists hit up this magnet wall in Brooklyn regularly – and here it is viewed from the J train. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Largest Mural in The World in Vyksa, Russia, Says Artist Misha Most & Artmossphere

July 8, 2017 Artists

Organizers at Artmossphere are calling this new mural in Russia the largest mural in the world. They say that representatives of the Guinness World Records are considering its inclusion in the collection of world records.

Celebrating the 260^th anniversary of the metallurgical plant in Vyksa and the 25^th anniversary of the United Metallurgical Company (OMK), the Moscow based painter, street artist and a graffiti-writer Misha Most and five assistants took 35 days to paint this 10,800 square meter mural this spring. Presented to the public as part of the urban art festival ArtOvrag in Vyksa, Russia.

Thematically, Mr. Most says he looked to stories in science fiction a half century ago – many about our current time. It includes elements related to scientists, chemistry, psychology, robotics, androids – basically stuff you see today going to the shopping mall, ad agency, or factory floor.

“I included into the scheme six stories taken from the past and present of the Vyksa smelter,” says the artist. “I think the workers can easily recognize them. If you look at the wall from left to right, you can grasp the development of the plot: from small – to greater, from research – to creation, from idea to result.”

Organized by the Artmossphere Studio creative association, who continuously are pushing the boundaries of street culture, high culture, and community engagement, the winning mural was chosen from 260 applications from 34 countries to the “Vyksa 10000” open competition and juried by artists, designers and architects.

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