July 2018

One Night in NYC with 1UP, Martha Cooper, Ninja K : Book Release and Movie Screening

One Night in NYC with 1UP, Martha Cooper, Ninja K : Book Release and Movie Screening

July 19, 2018

Berlin’s notorious 1UP Crew hits Ridgewood Saturday night along with graffiti/Street Art patron saint Martha Cooper to celebrate the first city in their US tour for their new book with co-shooter Ninja K.

Martha Cooper & Ninja K. One Week With 1UP. (photo courtesy of the team)

A hot summer night pop-up is available only one night at Superchief and we’ll be there with you to eyeball the new book, get it signed, and screen the new 1UP movie. Bring your juice box kiddies!

We reported HERE on the launch of this book in Berlin at Urban Spree back in May. New York peeps have an opportunity to see a Pop-Up exhibition and book signing at Superchief Gallery in Ridgewood, NY this Saturday, July 21st. Click HERE for all the details…

Martha Cooper & Ninja K. One Week With 1UP. (photo courtesy of the team)

Martha Cooper & Ninja K. One Week With 1UP. (photo courtesy of the team)

Martha Cooper & Ninja K. One Week With 1UP. (photo courtesy of the team)

Martha Cooper & Ninja K. One Week With 1UP. (photo courtesy of the team)

Martha Cooper & Ninja K. One Week With 1UP. (photo courtesy of the team)

 

Martha Cooper & Ninja K: One Week With 1UP opens this Saturday at Superchief Gallery in Ridgewood, NYC. Click HERE for all the details.

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Street Artists At Munich Museum Present the Portrait, “IMAGO” Curated by Elisabetta Pajer

Street Artists At Munich Museum Present the Portrait, “IMAGO” Curated by Elisabetta Pajer

July 18, 2018

From cave carvings in Angoulême in western France 27,000 years ago to your daily, perhaps hourly selfie on a cell phone today, our desire to depict the figure is as much a reflection of the artist and their times as it’s sitter.

A new show at MUCA Munich (Museum of Urban Contemporary Art) opening today invites 30 primarily Street Artists to choose a significant reference portrait of any historical time, country of origin, or artistic movement and interpret their inspirations into a portrait.

Whether drawing influences from Vermeer, Courbet, or Lucien Freud, each artist ultimately represents their own life experiences in their choice of subject and the technique of portrayal. Perhaps that is why curator Elisabetta Pajer has asked each of the artists to give us a statement with their work to help put it into context. Pajer tells us that she looks at the collection of works and the statements create a ‘harmonic mosaic’ of these figurative and written testimonies.

“These artists have sought out inspiration from many mediums that portraiture finds itself interpreted within,” says Pajer. “Taking their themes and inspiration from classical paintings, sculpture, film, theater, photographer, interactions, culture, religion, and science. Exhibiting a great understanding of the complexity of self-reflection with art as the catalyst.”

We’re pleased to be able to present some of the artists and their own words here.

Andreas Englund

Andreas Englund. Tripping. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

TRIPPING
Media: Oil on canvas
Size: 116 x 90 cm
 
-Statement
“I chose to tribute my artwork to the ‘‘Portrait of a smoking man’’ by Anders Zorn 1860-1920 – Swedens most internationally acclaimed artist. Born in my home region and very inspirational when it comes to his sketchy technique. By doing my own version of this masterpiece with my superhero, I have learned more about ‘‘the great Zorn’’ and his technique.”

Martha Cooper

Martha Cooper. Futura 1983. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

FUTURA 1983
Media: Archival pigment print
Size: 50,8 x 76,20 cm
 
-Statement
“This is a 1983 photo of Futura, a legendary New York City graffiti writer, with a classic can of Krylon spray paint. Thirty-five years later, Futura is still spray painting and I am still taking photos of graffiti writers.”

Icy + Sot

Icy & Sot. Under The Water Light. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artists)

UNDER THE WATER LIGHT
Media: Stencil spray paint on canvas
Size: 91,5 x 123 cm
 
-Statement
“This portrait is part a series we created reflecting on the relationship between human and nature. Nature plays a big role in human lifespan, but nowadays people have distanced from nature. With this work, we want to show humans closer to nature and pay a tribute to it.”

Swoon

Swoon. Thalassa. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

THALASSA
Media: Screenprint on paper with coffee stain and hand painting with collage mounted on board
Size: 123 × 138 cm
 
-Statement
“The name Thalassa is Greek word for ‘‘ocean’’, a primordial incarnation of the sea that is not often personified. Thalassa is said to have given birth to all tribes of fish in the sea. She is the pull of the sea that comes from inside the salt water in our blood. ‘Thalassa was originally created for New Orleans. It was the months after the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf in 2010, and this body of water that I’d loved since I was a child was in peril. As I drew Thalassa surging up from the water I felt her rising like a wake up call, one reminds us of our inseparability from the sea. When I stand in front of the ocean, the word that always appears first in my mind is “mother”. For me there is no mistaking the sense that the sea is our first mother.’ ”

Borondo

Gonzalo Borondo & Diego Lopez Bueno. Selfie Elvis II. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo © Blind Eye Factory)

GONZALO BORONDO & DIEGO LOPEZ BUENO
SELFIE ELVIS II
Media: Acrylic and plaster on wood – Plasma TV 50’’- Video on loop – 16:9 Digital – Color
Size: 7 panels each – 120 x 70 x 1 cm + 1 TV
 
-Statement
“Inspired by several passport photos found within the Marseilles “Marché aux Puches” (FR), Borondo and Lopez Bueno have designed an installation project with the title “Selfie Elvis II”. Imagination is the basis of the multimedia work with self-portraits of a man recalling the contemporary “selfie”. There are dozens of frames describing human aspects and obsessions. They have been digitally elaborated and assembled in a video by López Bueno. Borondo portrayed Elvis with acrylic on wood and applying gypsum, then scratched with sharp instruments. Faces appeared by subtraction, the absence tells about an ancestral and intangible dimension, wondering about its existence. Is Elvis looking at himself or us in that picture? And what about our images, do they look like us or they are just our dreams? Elvis is not there, Elvis is still there.”

Addison Karl

Addison Karl. Kamassa. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

KAMASSA
Media: Bronze, edition 1 of 10
Size: 30,48 x 20,32 x 15,24 cm
 
 
-Statement
“Portraiture in context to sculpture and form – referencing the masterpieces from both European Classical and Neoclassical time periods. From a culture l mirror of taking inspiration from Gods and Goddess of the ancient world, my sculpture’s subject is focused on a contemporary Chickasaw Elder. Using portraiture as a means of Cultural Preservation but equally re-appropriating classic sensibilities of art history to a Native Cultural narrative. “

 

Various & Gould

Various & Gould. Trigger (Rokhaya Diallo). IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artists)

TRIGGER (ROKHAYA DIALLO)
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 200 x 140 cm
-Statement
“Our portrait of Rokhaya Diallo refers to an iconic work by Nikide Saint Phalle: The artistically revised film still “Daddy” shows the artist pointing a gun directly at the viewer. Even almost 50 years later, her eye and the muzzle of her rifle leave no doubt that she is serious about it. Anyone who sees the work feels immediately like coming into the firing line.
In our painting, the French journalist and film maker Rokhaya Diallo takes the place and – freely recreated – also the pose of Niki de Saint Phalle. Thus, an early feministic, vigorous artist of the twentieth century is followed by a modern, committed internet feminist with no less strong verve than her predecessor. Both women are even the same age at the time of the illustration. Only instead of the rifle, Rokhaya Diallo relies on her very own “weapon”, the hashtag. At first glance, it may seem more harmless than a rifle, but in times of #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo it can be an even more powerful tool.”

 

Fintan Magee

Fintan Magee The Removalist. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

THE REMOVALIST
Media: Canvas and acrylic on wall installation
 
-Statement
“The portrait has been ripped off the canvas and dragged across the ground and projected onto the wall. The artist has destroyed the canvas and made the portrait ephemeral, rendering it worthless and unsellable. The work comments on the commodification of artwork and the uneasy and paradoxical relationship between artist and the financier of his artworks. With street art becoming increasingly commoditized and contributing to gentrification this work doesn’t aim to make any grand statements on how art should or shouldn’t be produced, only highlight the illusionary, absurdist and contradictory image the art industry presents of itself.”

VHILS

VHILS. Matta. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

MATTA
Media: Bas-relief carving on plasterboard mounted on metal structure
Size: 181 x 120,5 x 34 cm
 
-Statement

“Resorting to a bas-relief carving technique, applied here to a free-standing structure of plasterboard, this piece is a homage to the work of Gordon Matta-Clark, which became a major influence on me after I first saw it at an exhibition in Portugal, in 2002. Matta-Clark was one of the first artists to look at the urban space as a space of creation and reflection on the human condition in the contemporary times we live in. Those are the considerations I try to translate in my own work too, reflecting about the human condition in the contemporary times we live in.”

Andrea Wan

Andrea Wan. Being Of Light. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

BEING OF LIGHT
Media: Ink on paper
Size: 50 x 70 cm
 
-Statement

“Fascinated by the lively and dynamic landscape in the paintings of native Canadian Artist Emily Carr, I chose one of her most renown works, Indian Church (1929) as the subject of reinterpretation. Seemingly more accurate than a realistic approach, Carr’s abstraction of nature elements not only communicated to me that nature is vast and subliminal but also ever-changing in form and expression. The white church which stands calmly in the midst of the mystical environment inspired me to personify the subject as a being who is in tune with all that’s around her.”

DALeast

DALeast. FIII. IMAGO. MUCA Munich. (photo courtesy of the artist)

FIII
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 100 x 80 cm
 
-Statement
“A still moment of Fiii standing in the windy land, which is existing inside the transitory gathering of the particles of the magical net.”

IMAGO: A History of Portraits opens today at MUCA Museum of Urban And Contemporary Art. Munich. Curated by Elisabetta Pajer the show runs until November 2018.

IMAGO is a show dedicated to the history of portrait: over 30 artists from five different continents are invited to pay homage and interpret a portrait in their medium of their choice. IMAGO aims to lead visitors through different artistic eras, helping discover the international history and evolution of the portrait.

Artists include:

Jef Aerosol
ASKEW ONE
Borondo
Vesod Brero
Martha Cooper
DALeast
Paola Delfin
Anna Piera Di Silvestre
Andreas Englund
Evoca 1
Ricky Lee Gordon
Hubertus Hamm
Handiedan
Icy&Sot
Addison Karl
Know Hope
Klone Yourself
Fintan Magee
Mario Mankey
Marco Mazzoni
Antony Micallef
Miss Van
Nychos
Sepe
David Shillinglaw
Søren Solkær
Sten Lex
SWOON
TelmoMiel
TWOONE

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Swoon Experiments with Letterpress, Fairytale, and Myth

Swoon Experiments with Letterpress, Fairytale, and Myth

July 17, 2018

The communication methods of public advertising has always been aided by the repetition of the message by way of the printing press. Whether selling soap, snake oil, or announcing a public hanging, the multiples put your message in many hands quickly. When artist Jenny Holzer created her Inflammatory Essays as posters in the 1970s, her “hot, flaming, nasty things,” as she called them, needed the immediacy afforded by the format for spreading the word on New York Streets.

Swoon. Owls. (photo courtesy of Swoon Studio)

Similarly New York graff duo REVS/COST relied on the multiples of photocopies that could be quickly wheatpasted to spread their tags and cryptic messages on phone booths and street lamp poles in 90s. The practice quickly morphed with wild posting in the early 2000s when wheatpasters like Faile and Bast found that their more graphic screen prints and copyshop replications could easily be slapped up in seconds on construction sites.

With the hand carved and inked linotype prints Swoon began sharing her family of characters and their metaphors on city walls as well – a way to share the same story with many on the street and in the gallery.

Swoon. Red Riding Hood. (photo courtesy of Swoon Studio)

Today Swoon introduces a new method to her print practice by replicating the organic Rorschach imagery you’ve seen on her wall coverings in exhibitions. Evocative of early book illustrations and diagrams melting with psychologists’ tools of analysis, she tells us that these new prints are “drawn from fairytale, childhood imagery, and myth.”

Swoon. “The Canyon”  Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati. (photo © Tod Seelie)

It’s an interesting overlapping of practices that bring us to this point – as “each of these works is adapted from cutouts that Swoon created to be the basis for the repeat patterned wallpaper that covered the walls of her recent retrospective, titled ‘The Canyon’ at the Contemporary Arts Center,” says Kristine Virsis, manager of her studio. Working with Haven Press to investigate new letterpress print methods, they say these new editions are coming out tomorrow. It will be interesting to see where this new direction in printing leads Swoon, and if any of it will make it to the street.

To learn more about the new letterpress print set release please visit SwoonStudio.org

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Faith XLVII Flies Her Flags “Unbound” in San Francisco

Faith XLVII Flies Her Flags “Unbound” in San Francisco

July 16, 2018

As an artist you can sometimes address, even resolve, emotional and intellectual conflicts with your creative practice, at least that it how it appears in this new “Unbound” campaign begun by Faith XLVII in San Francisco. A lifelong observer and analyst of socio-politico events and their greater implications, the South African graffiti/Street Artist tells us that today the state of many things cause her feelings of frustration.

Faith XLVII . Unbound. San Francisco, CA. July 2018. (photo courtesy of 2:32 AM Projects)

“Watching the disharmony, the dismantling of human rights and the continuous struggle for equality is exhausting,” she says.
“The only way I can keep going is if I can transform some of this into my work.”

Each flag here at the corner of Golden Gate Ave and Hyde Street in downtown San Francisco speaks to the root of many societal ills, a coded reference to a poem/manifest by Dion Fortune named “The Cosmic Doctrine.”

Faith XLVII . Unbound. San Francisco, CA. July 2018. (photo courtesy of 2:32 AM Projects)

Here in the heart of the Tenderloin district where the fallout of emotional and physical pain and abuse is played out on the streets openly by those seeking to dull the torment with drugs, the winsome and lithe artist talks about the power of the manifesto for her.

“It is not that I believe in an idealistic future, on the contrary I am at times overwhelmed with cynicism. But despite this, I do think that we have to push for the betterment of the future, for the sheer love of the planet and for each other.”

Faith XLVII . Unbound. San Francisco, CA. July 2018. (photo courtesy of 2:32 AM Projects)

And the flowing golden umber fabric at the tips of these poles? I spent time researching the symbolism of the white flag as well as the history of the Peace Manifesto,” she says, and talks about them taking many forms, “with voices spanning from the scientist who is protesting the use of the atom bomb, to Greenpeace and worker parties to Woman’s Rights associations.”

“The words speak of an existential search, for essentially, this is the root of our suffering and confusion.”

Avalon of the Heart
The Building of The Atom
The Beginnings of Consciousness
The Beginnings of Mind
The Creation of a Universe
Evolution Upon the Cosmic Planes
Influences Upon Humanity
The Natural Laws
The Law of Polarity
Influences Acting on Human Evolution
The Law of Action and Reaction
The Evolution of Form and Mind
The Evolution of Consciousness
The Evolution of a Solar System
Developing the Power to Communicate Thoughts
The Manifested Universe

Faith XLVII . Unbound. San Francisco, CA. July 2018. (photo courtesy of 2:32 AM Projects)

Faith XLVII . Unbound. San Francisco, CA. July 2018. (photo courtesy of 2:32 AM Projects)

Faith XLVII . Unbound. San Francisco, CA. July 2018. (photo courtesy of 2:32 AM Projects)

 

The “Unbound” Mural Project is for UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, California.

 

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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.15.18

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.15.18

July 15, 2018 ,

BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

New York, New York, in the thick of summer. The heat is heavy with humidity, smells of hotdogs, marijuana, perfume, piss. The flat screen sunglasses now on every sweet face hide the glances and stares of the voracious, the vacuous, the visionary, the vexed, and those voluntarily enraptured by romance.  Again we take refuge under a tree, on a bench, in the grass with our dog, in the frozen food section with our kids, on the sunbaked and garbage strewn sand in Coney Island, on the fire escape with our swollen-lipped and rosy cheeked lover. And everywhere is art and architecture and stoop sales and thumping music and jackhammers and the swooping yell of “gooooooooaaaaaaaalllll!” from a nearby sports bar during this month of the World Cup.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Alex Proba, Arkane, Blanco, City Kitty, David Hollier, Invader, Irak, Jason Naylor, LMNOPI, Mowcka, Phoebe New York, Renee Caoulette, Rubin 415, Staino, and Stikman.

Top image: The surrealist view from Renee Caoulette (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jason Naylor (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Phoebe New York (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blanco (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Arkane (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin 415 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin 415 (photo © Jaime Rojo

Alex Proba (photo © Jaime Rojo)

David Hollier (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Invader (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A new advertising campaign uses images of local people to humanize itself. Citizens Of The Bowery (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Irak (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)

City Kitty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Please help us to ID this artist(s) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mowcka and her friend are having a good hair day… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Be Who You Are…amen… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Staino (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With the inauguration of the very successful Domino Park in Williamsburg and some of the scaffolding now down some hidden parts of the East River are coming to view again…  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Grand Central Station. Manhattan, NYC. July 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ASTRO Brings a New “Perpetual Illusion” to Epinal

ASTRO Brings a New “Perpetual Illusion” to Epinal

July 14, 2018

French Artist Creates Illusory View in a Town Famous for It’s Prints of Another Century

ASTRO. Epinal, France. June 2018. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)

Known for its humorist take on daily norms of societal behavior, historical events, fantasy adventures in the imagined world, and European man’s manifest destiny to conquer, the famous Imagerie d’Epinal flourished here in the 19th Century with thousands of prints and products exported far afield to other continents.

Today you can tour this illusory world in its namesake Epinal in the museum and workshops.

ASTRO. Epinal, France. June 2018. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)

Additionally in this small city of 45,000 you can see its newest “Perpetual Illusion”, a four story mural by French graffiti/Street Artist Astro.

His unique techniques of optical illusion takes you back in space, often leading you to a place that looks like it would be sleekly modern and full of even, calming, light. The city itself has quite a few murals around and is well poised to receive this new art in the streets, facilitated by the Jourdains of Mathgoth Gallery in Paris.

ASTRO. Epinal, France. June 2018. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)

ASTRO. Epinal, France. June 2018. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)

ASTRO. Epinal, France. June 2018. (photo © Galerie Mathgoth)

For more about Imagerie d’Epinal;

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BSA Film Friday: 07.13.18

BSA Film Friday: 07.13.18

July 13, 2018

bsa-film-friday-JAN-2015

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

Now screening :
1. Lek & Sowat and the Towers of La Rochelle
2. ASTRO’s New Fresco in South of Paris
3. Jef Aérosol for Wall Street Festival in Evry
4. Art Meets Milk – Bonzai . Kenz / First & Second Edition

bsa-film-friday-special-feature

BSA Special Feature: Lek & Sowat and the Towers of La Rochelle

The range and creative output of Street Artists and graffiti writers astounds many who would narrowly define these artists capabilities to the basic stereotypes. Often we find that people who began their art practice on the streets have a far greater depth of knowledge and interests.

Here we see two guys previously known primarily for being vandals educating us about the history of graffiti as a practice. In this case the Tour Saint-Nicolas, one of the three towers of the waterfront of La Rochelle,  contains evidence of serious mark-making that may date back to the time of its origin in the mid-late 1300s.

For this installation Lek & Sowat tell us about the history of the structure from an architectural point of view and describe how they planned their new sculpture  “in situ” using the bridge as inspiration architecturally, merging those aesthetics with their own history of graffiti.

ASTRO’s New Fresco in South of Paris

Parisian Street Artist and graffiti artist Astro (Odv/Cbs)is equally comfortable doing a sharply wild burner as he is with an optically magic trip to another dimension. His abstractions grew out of a passionate dedication to calligraphy, curvilinear finess, and attraction to dynamic forms. For this project last month in the south of the city with Galerie Mathgoth the artist created a multistory illusion that characterizes his unique style and soars above the street.

 

Jef Aérosol for Wall Street Festival in Evry

You may have seen our piece this week on this wall as well : Jef Aérosol Creates Huge Fresco in Paris Sud for Wall Street Art Festival

“He wanted to highlight youth, its beauty and diversity,” says Gautier Jordain about French stencil master Jef Aérosol for this new public mural he just completed in Evry, in the south of Paris.

 

 

Art Meets Milk – Bonzai . Kenz / First Edition

Since publishing a video a few weeks ago about this project the artists have alerted us to two more graffiti videos that promote cows and milk – an unusual combination of family farming and graffiti style from the urban center.

Art Meet Milk – BustArt . Homre . Kenz / Second Edition

 

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Bifido Takes Off Mask in Bonito, Italy

Bifido Takes Off Mask in Bonito, Italy

July 12, 2018

The inner world of kids.

Bifido. “Basil Hallward”. Collettivo Boca. Bonito, Italy. June 2018. (photo © Bifido)

Bifido is frequently using his photography and wheatpastes to conjure a realistic vision of the plays and odysseys that children imagine, balancing as they do along the margins of reality and fantasy. In this new piece he just finished for Collettivo Boca he looks at the practice of putting on a mask figuratively, knowing very well that many of us use masks as adults as well.

He names the new piece after the painter of Dorian Gray in the Oscar Wilde novel about youth and its loss – and appearances. “Basil Hallward” joins other walls made for the festival by artists such as Bosoletti, Millo, Alex Senna, Nemo’s, an Milu Correch in this town called Bonito in the south of Italy.

Bifido. “Basil Hallward”. Collettivo Boca. Bonito, Italy. June 2018. (photo © Bifido)

Bifido. “Basil Hallward”. Collettivo Boca. Bonito, Italy. June 2018. (photo © Bifido)

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The Painted Buses of Raiatea and Bora Bora – French Polynesia

The Painted Buses of Raiatea and Bora Bora – French Polynesia

July 11, 2018

Box trucks are a favorite canvas for many graffiti writers in big cities and have become a right of passage for new artists who want the experience of painting on a smooth rectangular surface that becomes a rolling billboard through the streets advertising your name, making you truly “All City”.

Charles and Janine Williams. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

When in French Polynesia a few weeks ago with the ONO’U festival, a number of artists were given the significant gift of a large truck or school/commuter bus on which to create a mural, a message, a bubble tag.

Together on the islands of Raiatea and Bora Bora there were about 10 of these long and low autobuses that became sudden celebrities in the sparsely travelled streets, debuted as some of them were in Raitea, when painted live at an all night party for the public.

Charles and Janine Williams. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With a similar sized surface to paint, the comparing and contrasting between styles and techniques among the artists was suddenly on full display. In contrast to the cities that many of these artists began in, you could not have found a more appreciate audience of people for these artists and their talents. The best part is that these buses are currently rolling through the streets even though the festival is over.

Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cranio. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Soten. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Soten. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Raiatea, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cola. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Okuda. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Okuda. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Okuda. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Tahiti 2018. Bora Bora, French Polynesia. June 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jef Aérosol Creates Huge Fresco in Paris Sud for Wall Street Art Festival

Jef Aérosol Creates Huge Fresco in Paris Sud for Wall Street Art Festival

July 10, 2018

“He wanted to highlight youth, its beauty and diversity,” says Gautier Jordain about French stencil master Jef Aérosol for this new public mural he just completed in Evry, in the south of Paris.

Jef Aérosol. Wall Street Art Festival of Grand Paris Sud. Evry, France. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery)

One of his biggest frescoes to date, the rocker/Street Artist doesn’t usually include this much red in his compositions, aside from his signature red arrows placed alongside the figures in his portraits. The striking graphic nature of these bands of color pops a new wave into his work, creating a fresh look that somehow feels quite modern.

Part of this year’s Wall Street Art festival curated by Mathgoth Gallery in Paris, this new monumental work dedicates itself to the diverse nature of many of the city’s newest immigrant communities, something that many European nations have been faced with in recent years with new arrivals fleeing war-torn countries.

Jef Aérosol. Wall Street Art Festival of Grand Paris Sud. Evry, France. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery)

For some reason, we humans are tribal in our behaviors sometimes and we can have a hard time accepting new members of our tribes. As is a historical practice, we depend on the intuitive knowledge and talents of artists to help us make the transition to being more accepting of others and to possibly help us find the innate great qualities in each other.

Jef Aérosol. Wall Street Art Festival of Grand Paris Sud. Evry, France. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery)

“He portrayed children who are happy to live and to share with you,” Gautier, who curated the project with his partner Mathilde, “without question of skin color, origin or religion.”

“Un enfant, Ça écoute le merle Qui dépose ses perles Sur la portée du vent*,” a lyric from singer Jacques Brel provided the inspiration, Jef says, and he spent some days with local kids and families in the neighborhood to make sure that they know this mural is for them.

Jef Aérosol. Wall Street Art Festival of Grand Paris Sud. Evry, France. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery)

Jef Aérosol. Wall Street Art Festival of Grand Paris Sud. Evry, France. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery)

Jef Aérosol. Wall Street Art Festival of Grand Paris Sud. Evry, France. (photo © Mathgoth Gallery)

* “A child, he takes your dream and turns it into a song.” (approximate translation)

 

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The Hate Lovers. “SAVE THE PLANET!” in Barcelona

The Hate Lovers. “SAVE THE PLANET!” in Barcelona

July 9, 2018

Collectives of artists frequently form based on common styles, interests, and philosophies. In Barcelona an all female group of artists coalesced to form The Hate Lovers a few years ago to promote the empowerment of women in creative fields.

The Hate Lovers. “Save The Planet“. Contorno Urbano Foundation. Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. San Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

Founded by Spanish graffiti/Street Artists Malicia and Vegan Bunnies, The Hate Lovers participate in group shows and aerosol jams in Spain to advocate for feminism and greater recognition of female artists in street and contemporary art.

With backgrounds in painting, illustration, photography, and tattoo, the troupe creates a variety of murals and frescoes, including this new character-based, cartoon-style imagery that excites kids and engages adults in Sant Feliu de Llobregat.

The Hate Lovers. “Save The Planet“. Contorno Urbano Foundation. Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. San Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

They tell us that they’re focused on our collective misuse of the planet’s resources, creating “a mural full of details that denounce our lack of commitment to the environment.”

It is all part of a broad outreach of styles and practices that Contorno Urbano has facilitated on Barcelona streets to give artists a platform  to show their work and to give city folk new art to think about and react to.

The Hate Lovers. “Save The Planet“. Contorno Urbano Foundation. Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. San Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

The Hate Lovers. “Save The Planet“. Contorno Urbano Foundation. Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. San Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.08.18 Selections From Welling Court 2018

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.08.18 Selections From Welling Court 2018

July 8, 2018

BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

“Anxiety is normal in an unjust society” says the new piece by Disordered in Welling Court, Queens, a working class neighborhood of New York where the latest Ad Hoc mural party was held a couple of weekends ago under the direction of Garrison Buxton. He started this festival with his former partner Alison Buxton nine years ago to create community here with a number of artists from across the graffiti/Street Art spectrum, and it has always been a great day to see families and kids interacting with artists on the street.

Anxiety rings true when the giveaways to business interests for nearly four decades under both dominant parties have gradually placed folks like these in this neighborhood constantly in fear of missing the rent, the grocery bill, the car payment, the cost of providing for their kids.

Some companies adore this dynamic exactly the way it is because when you are always feeling anxiety about losing your job and worried about paying the bills you won’t speak up to notify anyone when your boss is dumping poison in the river or placing his hand upon your seat. Imagine working so hard and getting paid so little that you are still relying on public assistance, as Walmart is known for now. Anxiety is normal for many today, and it is reflected in the art on the streets as well.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Cern, Caleb Neelon, Col Wallnuts, Damien Mitchell, Daze, Disordered, FKDL, Hellbent, JCBK, Joe Iurato, John Fekner, Lena McCarthy, LMNOPI, Maria Wore, Michel Velt, Never, NYC Hooker, Praxis, Queen Andrea, Robots Will Kill, Rubin415, Seeone, and Toofly.

Top image: Joe Iurato . Rubin 415. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

John Fekner. Don Leicht.  Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Disordered. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Michel Velt. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Queen Andrea. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lena McCarthy . Caleb Neelon. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daze . Crash. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JCBK. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Praxis. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Col Wallnuts . WaneOne . EpicUno. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hooker. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

SeeOne. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Toofly. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Robots Will Kill. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cern. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FKDL. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damien Mitchell. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maria Wore. Welling Court 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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