September 2019

Alessio Bolognesi and a Whale Swimming in Garbage

Alessio Bolognesi and a Whale Swimming in Garbage

“I chose whales because despite of their size, so many are found on our beaches with the stomach full of plastic,” says Alessio Bolognesi about this new mural for the ST.ART festival in Italy. “It’s a symbol, in my mind, of how even the huge animals are so powerless.”

Alessio Bolognesi. “Whales in the waste“. ST.ART. Vicenza, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)

The image of large seafaring creatures washing up on shore starved of nutrition and bloated with plastic is becoming more common as we continue to poison ourselves and the world. Not surprisingly, similar images are also popping up in Street Art in other locations.

Alessio Bolognesi. “Whales in the waste“. ST.ART. Vicenza, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)

Originally from Ferrara in the north of Italy, the 3D graphic designer also once belonged to a graffiti crew as a kid, and he now balances professional design work with an increasing number of mural painting opportunities. Here in Provincia di Vicenza (Veneto region), he says he chose a whale drowning in plastic for this secondary school façade. But he didn’t want to be completely didactic, preferring to let the viewer make the connections themselves.

“I like to paint murals with a ‘multi-layer’ reading approach,” he explains. “You can look to the mural and just see the obvious image or you can try to go deeper and capture some more meaningful detail.”

Alessio Bolognesi. “Whales in the waste“. ST.ART. Vicenza, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Alessio Bolognesi. “Whales in the waste“. ST.ART. Vicenza, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Alessio Bolognesi. “Whales in the waste“. ST.ART. Vicenza, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
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“Nostalgia” Brings Floriculture to the Tram Stop in Łódź, Poland.

“Nostalgia” Brings Floriculture to the Tram Stop in Łódź, Poland.

Last night we listened to artist Futura speak with Timothy Anne Burnside at the “Beyond the Streets” about his initial impetus for hitting the streets as a teenage graffiti writer in the late 1960s in New York – an urban environment he described aptly as “the city was on fire”.

“I wanted to express myself,” he said. “That’s all anyone wants to do, no matter how they do it.”

Dominika Cebula. “Nostalgia”. Lodzkie Centrum Wydarzen. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Michał Bieżyński)

As we move further from graffiti and mark-making in public art-making, is it a revelation that the desire to be seen, to have your voice heard, is the common denominator again, regardless of the form of expression.

In this case, a tram shelter in Poland preserves the natural world in resin, transparently.

Like a mix master, the artist here samples someone else’s handiwork and remixes it, adding a filter, chopping it up and repeating it.  

Dominika Cebula. “Nostalgia”. Lodzkie Centrum Wydarzen. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Michał Bieżyński)

Dominika Cebula, a student at the Academy of Fine Arts In Łódź, has created this street work for you to glance at and stare through while waiting for the bus, whatever the weather – rain, snow, morning sun.

She’s calling it “Nostalgia”, and you can see how those minutes of waiting could be affected; your memories triggered to remember birthdays, weddings, funerals, walks by yourself along a train track or beside the river. Hundreds of dried flowers are embedded in the resin, including cornflowers, forget-me-nots, roses, narcissus, freesias, daisies, fern leaves, muscaris, eustomas, alstroemerias, pansies, clover, daffodils, orchids.

Dominika Cebula. “Nostalgia”. Lodzkie Centrum Wydarzen. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Michał Bieżyński)

Curated by Michał Bieżyński, “Nostalgia” is an unusual horticultural intervention that adds one more point of visual interest in a city that has enjoyed an alluvial visual invasion of murals and sculptural works in the last decade.

Dominika Cebula. “Nostalgia”. Lodzkie Centrum Wydarzen. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Michał Bieżyński)
Dominika Cebula. “Nostalgia”. Lodzkie Centrum Wydarzen. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Michał Bieżyński)
Dominika Cebula. “Nostalgia”. Lodzkie Centrum Wydarzen. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Michał Bieżyński)
Dominika Cebula. “Nostalgia”. Lodzkie Centrum Wydarzen. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Michał Bieżyński)
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Dave Il is a Jolting Joker In Barcelona

Dave Il is a Jolting Joker In Barcelona

Dude you crack me up. You are such a joker.

Dave Il (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena

Dave II is an aptly comedic illustrationist with the paint can, and it is hard to believe that such potent jocularity in the hidden spots of this abandoned building wouldn’t scare you on a dark night with a flashlight in hand.

Dave Il (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena

All freshly painted this year, this bounty of boffo brutes and beasts are available for you to discover lurking around the corners of this undisclosed location in the area of Barcelona, Spain, thanks to the effort exploration and documentation of frequent BSA collaborator Lluis Olive Bulbena.

Dave Il (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena
Dave Il (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena
Dave Il (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena
Dave Il (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena
Dave Il (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena
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BSA Images Of The Week: 09.15.19

BSA Images Of The Week: 09.15.19

Did you see that micro-moon on Friday the 13th? We were up on the roof with artists and friends and weirdos celebrating “mid autumn moon” and looking at the New York skyline and that beautiful moon, which didn’t seem 14% smaller, did it? Seemed like your run-of-the-mill gorgeous Harvest Moon, right? Also, a dope opportunity to say “apogee“, which you just don’t get to say very much. No those are not those tassels that exotic dancers put on their nipples.

So here’s our harvest of Street Art and graffiti for you! The city has been producing amazing crops all year, to tell the truth.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Almost Over Keep Smiling, Crappytalism, Jason Naylor, Jocelyn Tsajh, Li-Hill, Peoples Power Assembly, Plannedalism, Pure Genius, Rider, Subway Doodle, Surface of Beauty, The Joker, Thomas Allen, and Will Kurtz.

Jason Naylor and Surface Of Beauty collab for ST.ART NOW. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor and Surface Of Beauty collab for ST.ART NOW. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Plannedalism commentary on the polarization of our society. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Li’ Hill commentary on Climate Crisis. According to the text accompanying his art work the artists writes that the World Bank estimates that as many as 145 million people could become Climate Refugees in the near future. Global warming is causing temperatures to rise at alarming levels rendering vasts swats of the earth as inhospitable for its inhabitants. High-level heat and humidity are one of the main killers of humans by heat strokes. Humans are abandoning their lands and homes in search of a cooler environment. This exodus is causing logistical problems for the countries receiving the refugees as many lack the resources to provide and care for them. Wars, famines, and diseases are no longer the only reasons for people to abandon their homes. Global Warming has been added to the list, yet countries are reluctant to declare extreme heat waves as natural disasters. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Li-Hill. A Perilous Journey In A Changing World. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jocelyn Tsajh (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Unfortunately the only word we could read on the signature is Lily. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Collaboration between Subway Doodle and Thomas Allen. We had published a portion of this piece. It sits on a construction material business that insists on placing merchandise on the sidewalk thus the piece is almost fully blocked most of the time. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
As opposed to where? Crappytalism (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pure Genius (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Almost Over Keep Smiling (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unless it is. Peoples Power Assembly (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
This is an ad. The piece is not signed but it’s branded. It’s hand-painted and the artist is rendering a scene from the movie The Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Will Kurts sculpture made with plastic shopping bags and tape. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Rider (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Lower Manhattan. Summer 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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El Niño de las pinturas, Xolaka and Niño de Cobre; Dispatch from Benicarló, Spain.

El Niño de las pinturas, Xolaka and Niño de Cobre; Dispatch from Benicarló, Spain.

A few new marine-themed murals today from Benicarló in Valencia.


The realistic romantic stylings of many a muralist is a staple of current Urban Art Festivals right now, including a new one painted by the artist named El Niño de las pinturas, who mines fantasy and history, borrowing from memories, archetypes.

Niño De cobre. Benicarlo, Valencia. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Completed in July during the annual patron saint festival, this year including the third edition of the urban art initiative Camden Bló, El Nino (from Granada) was joined by Xolaka, from Alcúdia (Valencia), the Argentinian Andrés Cobre, and illustrator César Cataldo.

It’s good to see the variety of styles being favored for local festivals and great to see artists getting opportunities to paint in the public sphere – even endorsed by the ministry of culture in this small town of 26,000 along the Mediterranean coast. Special thanks to photographer Lluis Olive Bulbena, who shares his photos with BSA readers.

Niño De cobre. Benicarlo, Valencia. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Xolaka. Benicarlo, Valencia. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Xolaka. Benicarlo, Valencia. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
El Nino de las Pinturas. Benicarlo, Valencia. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
El Nino de las Pinturas. Benicarlo, Valencia. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
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BSA Film Friday: 09.13.19

BSA Film Friday: 09.13.19

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

Now screening :
1. “Word on the Street” Debut
2. INO – “Freedom For Sale” in Athens
3. Two in a Row from Alex Prager: “La Grande Sortie” & “Despair”


BSA Special Feature: “Word on the Street” Debuts

“Fuck the old days. Graffiti is now!”

The last five years have been explosive for Street Art worldwide, and with “Word On The Street” you have a good indicator that the graff writing game is alive and well in New York as well – and tenaciously prolific.

Anonymous filmmakers infused the doc with vibrating audio and visual distortion and a sense of ever-present surveillance, or the implication of it cloaked in darkness. Interviews, late night runs, frozen wire fences, loose footing, bloody scrapes, and the sweet smell of aerosol lightly purring from cans across a shadowed wall. The labor of love for the filmmakers is the only thing that pushes a project like this to fruition. And fumes of course.

It’s first public screening is coming up September 29 in Brooklyn. Click HERE for more information.

It’s first public screening is coming up September 29 in Brooklyn. Click HERE for more information.

Featuring 143, AJES, BIO, BRAT, CASH4, CARL WESTON, CLAW, CHRIS RWK, DEK 2DX, DIVA, DSR, EDO, EL7, FAES, FLASH, JAKEE, JESUS SAVES, KLOPS, LEX, LOOSE, MERK, MRS, MUTZ, NEG, NOXER, PANIC, PLASMA SLUG, POE, SCAE, SEO, SILON, SMURFO, SPRAY, STOR, STU, and VEW.

INO – “Freedom For Sale” in Athens

Constantino Mass adds just the right amount of slickly pounding wipes and cuts to this installation by INO in Athens. We published photos from this a few days ago so have a look and enjoy the video.

Two in a Row from Alex Prager

Alex Prager debuted a new short film at Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York this month, and it has piqued the interest of many in her work of disconnected, reconnected narratives. Impeccably styled, humorously shot, it’s a staged invoking of old Hollywood and street scenes, enveloped in drama and frequently suspense. Often the LA born director provides just the deconstructed portion of the scene you have seen, and keeps reworking it in surprising ways. Go to the gallery to see the new “Play the Wind”. Below are two of her short films from five and nine years ago respectively.

“La Grande Sortie” by Alex Prager

“Despair” by Alex Prager

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GOLA in Genoa, Italy: May the Circle be Unbroken

GOLA in Genoa, Italy: May the Circle be Unbroken

“THE ANCIENT WAY OF THE NEW CIRCLE”

New from Genoa comes this circular system from Gola Hundun, called “The Ancient Way of the New Circle.” 

It is reassuring to consider the systems of our lives and our world as we regard the passing seasons of the year; revisiting, reliving, remeasuring our progress and regress and aspirations.

Gola Hundun. “The Ancient Way Of The New Circle” Genoa, Italy. (photo © Matteo Fontana & Luca Briganti)

Part of a 10 mural program here in the Certosa district, the artist tells us that his painting is meant to “invite people to go back to a circular system.”

“The main character of the wall is Cernunnos,” Gola tells us, “- a mythological creature belonging to the Celtic culture, a symbol of fertility, abundance, manhood and wild nature – painted in the lower part of the wall, highly visible by pedestrians.”

Gola Hundun. “The Ancient Way Of The New Circle” Genoa, Italy. (photo © Matteo Fontana & Luca Briganti)

Gazing upon the natural elements of the composition that include a balance of phytomorphic elements, a tree of life, and a mountain, you can believe that the artist also likes to write poetry when he is in the right mood.

The color scheme may also speak to you as a powerful representation of the natural world, with blue and green being predominant – here surrounded by the harsher city palette of reds, yellows, oranges. Perhaps what hits you the most is a sense of balance that this mural achieves, even if you don’t know why exactly.

Gola Hundun. “The Ancient Way Of The New Circle” Genoa, Italy. (photo © Matteo Fontana & Luca Briganti)
Gola Hundun. “The Ancient Way Of The New Circle” Genoa, Italy. (photo © Matteo Fontana & Luca Briganti)
Gola Hundun. “The Ancient Way Of The New Circle” Genoa, Italy. (photo © Matteo Fontana & Luca Briganti)
Gola Hundun. “The Ancient Way Of The New Circle” Genoa, Italy. (photo © Matteo Fontana & Luca Briganti)
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Bloop Festival 2019/Ibiza Dispatch 1: Vlady Plays “Hopscotch” in the Sea

Bloop Festival 2019/Ibiza Dispatch 1: Vlady Plays “Hopscotch” in the Sea

“Whenever, everywhere, anyway” “Hopscotch”

Ibiza is that place where you appreciate beauty and youth and hedonistic forays into western values of free will and free love. Or at least that’s what we’ve heard.

VLADY. “Whenever, everywhere, anyway” / “Hopscotch“. BLOOP International Proactive Art Festival. Edition 2019. Ibiza, Spain. (photo courtesy of BLOOP)

While Street Art was probably not initially part of the brief of this island when it transformed its reputation as a destination for fog-machine laser glow-stick dancing and poolside debauchery, initiatives like the BLOOP International Proactive Art Festival have extended the creative range of expression that is celebrated for almost a decade now. With the theme of “Art is for Everybody”, BLOOP has welcomed more than 60 murals and installations so far – about 30 of which are currently on view throughout the year on the isle known as an adult playground.

VLADY. “Whenever, everywhere, anyway” / “Hopscotch“. BLOOP International Proactive Art Festival. Edition 2019. Ibiza, Spain. (photo courtesy of BLOOP)

Today we look as a more conceptual/situational installation in the Balearic Sea that surrounds the Spanish islands, a la Brad Downey or Fra. Biancoshock. Here laying on the bottom of the quivering, wiggling and enticing blue sea you are invited by VLADY to play hopscotch. As if to channel the mindset of many a party animal, he is labeling the installation “Whenever, Everywhere, Anyway”.

Dive in and play!

VLADY. “Whenever, everywhere, anyway” / “Hopscotch“. BLOOP International Proactive Art Festival. Edition 2019. Ibiza, Spain. (photo courtesy of BLOOP)
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SEBS is “Headvertising” in the Suburbs of Lisbon

SEBS is “Headvertising” in the Suburbs of Lisbon

An argument today from SEBS for the power of politically charged Street Art in the suburbs of Lisbon. He shares with us his new adaptation of a previous project on child labor called “Slaves ‘R’ Us.” This one is a consciousness raising campaign he’s calling “Headvertising”

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

The mindless obeyance required by consumer advertising messages and PR firms that push disinformation has left the suburban landscape a disjointed, deactivated communities. We would argue it is about an eroding sense of responsibility toward preserving local culture, the pod-based life of traveling from location to location in automobiles, the lack of communal public spaces, and the seductive power of electronic media that demands us to sit passively and be entertained to death.

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

In our cities, the vox populi is alive and well on the streets, and our Street Art reflects it with textural and visual critiques of politics, policy and culture. But SEBS (Mauro Carmelino) says that he’s creating and advertising for fictional products to encourage us to “use our heads” and think about the great problems of modern societies, such as consumerism, pollution or the misinformation. He talks about these humorous hand-painted pieces he’s been putting up to help people re-connect, and he tells us about the disconnection between the suburbs and the city and how he feels about populations whom he wants to reach.

“The geographical gap between the city and the suburbs is accentuated in the degree of information and even in education, particularly in older age groups and in the most economically fragile communities. This remoteness has a negative impact on the ability of suburban populations to be part of discussions that can lead to the decisions that alter the social fabric, which, like in a vicious cycle, aggravates their remoteness – turning it into a kind of endemic exclusion.” To tell the truth, this isolation happens everywhere.

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

Today’s images come from the neighborhood of Reboleira, Damaia and 6 de Maio in Amadora city in the northwest of the Lisbon metropolitan area.

“These works are meant to be of satirical or subversive nature,” SEBS says, “with a light and sometimes even humorous approach. Advertising that usually sells products, brands and dreams of consumption is used to sell us structural social problems. I want the audience to turn from a passive consumption of reality to develop the critical thinking the world so badly needs to change.”

Here his message is conveyed through mass culture vernacular influenced by cartoons – the medium is brush and aerosol.

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

SEBS. Headvertising. Lisbon. (photo © SEBS)

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BustArt Pounds Pavement With Pop Crosswalk in Greensboro, NC

BustArt Pounds Pavement With Pop Crosswalk in Greensboro, NC

“As a European without a driver’s license it can be a task to get around in America.”


BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)

Walkable Neighborhoods? D. That’s one grade above F (Fail) – it’s the grade the United States gets on its own report card on walking safely in our towns and cities. Actually, that’s one of the better grades in the report, where in most categories the United States is failing, especially in comparison to the rest of the developed world.

We simply don’t make it easy, safe, or friendly for people to walk here.

BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)

Blame it on the oil, automobile, and highway industry, all of whom lobbied congress with overwhelming force after World War II to create a pro-business Interstate Highway system, actively discouraging public transportation and passenger trains – making us dependent on cars to do everything.  And its still happening now: oil and oligarchs like the Koch brothers have been using their money to shut down public transit plans all across the country in the last decade, according to The New York Times.

“As a European without a driver’s license it can be a task to get around in America,” says Street Artist BustArt, who shares with us his new colorful crosswalk in Greensboro, North Carolina. “Once you leave downtown the sidewalk becomes smaller and narrower, to the point where it is nonexistent. Same for the crosswalk, you get roughly19 seconds to make it over a massive stretch, while cars still pass over it due to the green light.”

Dude, here’s your report card from The 2017 Uhttp://physicalactivityplan.org/projects/walking/Walking-report-card-FINAL.pdfnited States Report Card on Walking and Walkable Communities

Invited by commercial real estate developer and brewery owner Marty Kotis to add to the 85 murals he has organized in the city over the past few years as part of a program called Kotis Street Art, BustArt says that he decided to paint something on the ground as a departure.

“After I arrived in Greensboro we looked at a few spots where a crossing would work,” he says. “Sadly there was not enough time to get the city onboard so the crossing had to be on private property.”

BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)

Even though it wasn’t painted across a city walkway, his crosswalk project of colorful pop/advertising inspired pavement was harder than he thought, he tells us. First, he painted at night when there was less traffic. Secondly, a heavy rainstorm damaged 40% of the work. “At 5am we were finished and extremely happy about the outcome . . . until two minutes later it started to rain heavily for a short yet frustrating 15 minutes.”

After another nine hours of painting, the project was finished – and BustArt says he wanted to make sure it actually could be used to safely protect walkers. “We added a non-slip varnish to roughen up the surface and make it safer for pedestrians.”

BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)
BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)
BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)
BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)
BustArt. Kotis Street Art. Greensboro, North Carolina. (photo © Peggy Butcher)

Bustart says he would like to thank: Keif for his knowledge, Skatin for his hard work and motivation, Kotis Street Art for making it possible, and photographer Peggy Butcher who provided the great images and documentation.

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BSA Images Of The Week: 09.08.19

BSA Images Of The Week: 09.08.19

Surreally yours! The art on the streets this week appears to reflect the times. It’s going to take all this creativity and force to turn the tides!

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring 1Up, AJ LaVilla, Android Oi, Cern, Dark Clouds, Dirty Cobain, Early Riser, Invader, Jason Naylor, Little Ricky, Lubaina Himid, Lucas Blalock, Oscar Lett, Robson, SacSix, Subway Doodle, Zimer .

Subway Doodle vs Brooklyn Rats for Under Hill Walls. You can see here there are some subtle differences between Brooklyn rats and regular ones. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Subway Doodle vs Regular rats (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lucas Blalock (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Robson (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Android Oi for Under Hill Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lubaina Himid (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Little Ricky (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Little Ricky (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dirty Cobain for Under Hill Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ceci n’est pas une Invader (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Early Riser (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dark Clouds (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP in good company… (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SacSix for Under Hill Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Oscar Lett for Under Hill Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
AJ Lavilla for Under Hill Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zimer for Under Hill Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cern. Detail. Arts Org Murals. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cern. Detail. Arts Org Murals. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cern. Detail. Arts Org Murals. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cern. Detail. Arts Org Murals. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Shadows. Brooklyn, NY. September 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Martha Shoots Adele, Fintan, a Pigeon Fancier and More at Eugene 20X21 – Edition 2019

Martha Shoots Adele, Fintan, a Pigeon Fancier and More at Eugene 20X21 – Edition 2019

Photographer Martha Cooper again rules the roost at BSA with her new photos of the 20×21 EUG Festival in Eugene, Oregon. Organized and funded by the City of Eugene’s Cultural Services Public Art Program, the citizenry is invited to be a part of events and symposia – an intimate affair with this years select list of invited artists.

Adele Renault (photo © Martha Cooper)

“This year 20×21 organized ‘viewing parties’ at the walls to give the community an official chance to meet and socialize the artists at their walls,” says Ms. Cooper about the 10 day series of events. You could meet Fintan Magee at his wall, or talk to Sidney Waerts aka SIT at Well Balanced (center for integrative care), consort with local muralist Kari Johnson at Lane County’s Dining Room, or see a new show of incredibly framed artworks at Coffee Plant Roaster with painter Adele Renault and photographer Ms. Cooper.

Adele Renault (photo © Martha Cooper)

Blending small family owned businesses, the chamber of commerce and cultural organizations together with the artists and artworks is a finely balanced effort, and according to people we spoke with Eugene is careful to get the balance right. For example the combination of Adele’s mural and Ms. Coopers photo installation was in a coffee shop owned by Irv Weiner, who is a pigeon flyer/fancier originally from New York.

Adele Renault (photo © Martha Cooper)

“His coop is on top of the building with the pigeon mural and the coffee shop is inside,” says Martha of the interconnectedness of programming. Now Mr. Weiner has added to his list a cannabis growing supplies business; a rather normal development in this city that has become known for its marijuana-related economy during the last decade.

Adele Renault. Pigeon Fancier & coop owner, Irv Weiner holding Eugenie. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Here are exclusive images of the artists at work, as well as some additional interesting details and local color about this mural-centric cultural event in Eugene.

Adele Renault. Irv is captured on camera as he releases Eugenie. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Adele Renault (photo © Martha Cooper)
Adele Renault (photo © Martha Cooper)
Martha Cooper and Adele Renault exhibition. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Adele Renault (photo © Martha Cooper)
Fintan Magee (photo © Martha Cooper)
Fintan Magee (photo © Martha Cooper)
Fintan Magee (photo © Martha Cooper)
Fintan Magee (photo © Martha Cooper)
Fintan Magee (photo © Martha Cooper)
Fintan Magee (photo © Martha Cooper)
Sydney Waerts (photo © Martha Cooper)
Sydney Waerts (photo © Martha Cooper)
Sydney Waerts with fellow muralist, Eugene resident and festival assistant, Bayne Gardner. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Sydney Waerts (photo © Martha Cooper)
Kari Johnson (photo © Martha Cooper)
Kari Johnson (photo © Martha Cooper)

Eugene was first recognized as good mural festival location perhaps because of the work done here by activist, performer, storyteller, and public artist Kari Johnson. Her dedication to her work as social mission and communication inspires her peers and is emblematic of what Eugene is.

In a 2016 bio by the artist for the Regional Arts & Culture Council, Kari Johnson shared her history and outlook:

“Both of my grandmothers were painters named Ida. They managed to paint landscapes and still lifes in spare moments while raising big families during the Great Depression and WWII. Continuing where they left off I began painting when I was 14 and completed my first mural 10 years later. Other than learning how to make prints with potatoes at a summer fair, I am self-taught.

I feel the most inspired when I’m making public art. Being a public artist is like being an architect of mood, stirring feelings and inspiring connection, helping to anchor and identify a place. In my art I particularly care about promoting social justice, harmony between humans and our plant and animal relations. I want my art to invite individuals to belong to the place, join community, and help shape our human story.”

Kari Johnson (photo © Justin Bauer)
Kari Johnson (photo © Justin Bauer)
Kari Johnson (photo © Justin Bauer)
Artist Shamsia from Afghanistan was invited to paint at last year’s edition of 20x21EUG. Travel issues delayed here arrival and Ms. Cooper was not there to document her work so we include here it her mural from 2018. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Kiran from Nepal had similar travel issues as Shamsia and here is his mural from last year. (photo © Martha Cooper)
And a smaller piece by Kiran from last year as well. (photo © Martha Cooper)
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