Features

London Street Art Part II: Shoreditch Dispatch

When you hit the street in search of street art, it helps if you keep you eyes AND mind open. On his trip to London for the Moniker Art Fair last month, photographer Geoff Hargadon had time to trek the East London neighborhood of Shoreditch and was usually surprised by what he caught. Old stuff like Fauxreel’s father on a ladder, and fresh new work going up before his eyes by Dabs and Myla next to Word to Mother.

A wide faced Anthony Lister stands at the gate (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Here he captures what he liked and what moved him regardless of how old or new it was. This is what Street Art is all about anyway – an ongoing conversation on the street that tells you as much about the artist as contemporary society. In a city that values it’s oldest architecture and its revered historical legacy, there is still plenty of room for the newest voices in the public sphere; even if officially unsanctioned, it is still permitted to ride a while.  Sometimes, it is even invited.

The tagging conversation here is colorfully chaotic, a continuous piling up and covering of messaging with new messages and signatory statements. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

C215 placed behind bars. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Canary Flavour with txemy. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Swoon, Bast. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Word To Mother and Dabs & Myla sharing a wall for Moniker. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

The D*Face wall for Moniker. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

A splash of colour on Turville Street incorporates the natural elements of the urban environment into the scene . (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

And the first prize goes to Prize. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

By Don. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Elvis serenades, “I can’t help falling in love with you.” Juany. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

FauxReel, ACE, Bortusk Leer, and a beautiful pile of tires. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Faile, Specter. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Night Market. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

See Geoffs pics from last week in London’s Bricklane : A Few Shots of Street Art at the Moment

 

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Monster Island in Williamsburg; 2004-2011

By now it has been very well documented that Monster Island in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has closed its doors after seven years of art exploration and experimentation with murals, art shows and music concerts. The building is set for demolition and it is rumored that it will be replaced by a Whole Foods Store.

During these years we’ve watched the exterior of Monster Island with great interest as it was an every-changing heaven for emerging artists to show their stuff to the public. The environment engendered creativity; With non for profit art galleries and performance spaces, an underground music venue, a surf shop, a screen-print studio, a recording studio, several artists studios and a family of lovely street cats, Monster Island was a symbol of what Williamsburg was all about; artists and community struggling to make cool stuff for each other and sometimes a big audience. Since the early 1990s, ad-hoc love-driven venues like this have opened and closed, along with art parties, loft performances, artist collectives, and a loose association of art galleries. The settlement of writers, dancers, bands, performers, and all sorts of artists helped give the area a decided edge, even if you couldn’t convince your Manhattan friends to come visit the neighborhood at night.

Kid Acne (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Now “The Edge” of course is the name of a corporate looking glass tower on the waterfront and the moderate frightened masses began their march to Williamsburg after the developers re-zoned 30+ blocks in North Brooklyn in 2005, transforming it quickly to a New York suburb with quirky, kooky shopping opportunities. It’s an old story, but we have to tell it; Now the rents are too high and the culture is increasingly inhospitable to artists and the Monster Island landlord has a different plan for the lot and the lease wasn’t renewed.  Williamsburg is going upscale just like Manhattan and the rest of the city and for struggling artists and the venues that give them shelter and nurture them this is another reason why we are watching people move to other neighborhoods or out of New York altogether. In a way, this is what NYC is all about; Re-invention and greed.

We have been photographing the ever-changing facade of this building that was offered as a canvas for local and visiting artists all over the world to put their art up. Today we pay homage and say farewell to this iconic institution and to the people that endeavored to make it unique with a photo essay of the numerous murals that went up there since 2004. We have made an effort to identify most of the artists. Please let us know if you know the names of the artists we have tagged as unknown or if we erroneously credited a piece of art.

Armsrock (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Armsrock (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maya Hayuk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ripo and Maya Hayuk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 “This Wall Could Be Your Life” was a 7-year project conceived, curated and solely funded by Maya Hayuk. “For the following seven years artists were invited from all over the world, given paint, space and freedom to create” Maya Hayuk. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This spring the Lilac bush outside the building was majestic. Punto and Blok’s mural on the background. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wolfy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Noah Sparkes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA pulls a rabbit out of a hog. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MOMO and Zosen  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MOMO and Zosen working on a makeover. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Waldo with a hook looks on as an artist works on a makeover. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Troy Lovegates AKA Other, Deuce 7 and Pork. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

YOTE (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent and Hellcat (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cat with Punto’s mural in the background. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

I just finished my installation. Time to take a cat nap. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Spring 2011 model. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kyle Ranson and Oliver Halsman Rosenberg. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Julia Langhof (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maya Hayuk. As a final collective event, a paint pour and block party was organized in September. Multiple artists went up to the roof and poured paint down the walls, a colorful blessing on the home that gave so many opportunities to artists and built community.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maya Hayuk. Paint Pour (photo © Jaime Rojo)

An unknown artist painted this figure while the building awaits demolition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chris Uphues gives the building a heart while it awaits demolition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Gregory Siff Across a Wall in Echo Park

Brooklyn born artist and actor Gregory Siff continues in a casually deliberate way to be everywhere he can to garner your eyeballs.  This weekend Carlos Gonzalez and his camera captured him stretching across a wall in LA as he prepares for his first solo show Friday at La Founderie, a huge raw warehouse in Echo Park with The Site UnScene.  Attracted to primary colors and basic geometry, the sometimes Street Artist here explodes the grid, breathing a lot of space into his hand patterned designs. Looks like it was a beautiful sunny California day and thanks to Carlos for letting BSA readers have a look.

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Instagram it! Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Gregory Siff (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Click on the link below to learn about Gregory Siff’s solo show on 11.11.11:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/2011/11/07/the-site-unscene-presents-g-gregory-siff-solo-show-los-angeles-ca/

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“Outpost: Art From The Streets” Sydney’s Own Mega Street Art Festival

The Outpost Project begins in two days on a former military outpost, Cockatoo Island, the largest island in Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This city really knows the value of the Street Art scene and celebrates the contributions of artists to the cultural wealth of the people who live there.

The entire island is basically porn for Street Artists, and right now about 150 are readying work their magic ways on the industrial spaces. Artists like ROA, Ethos, KidZoom, Anthony Lister, Everfresh Collective, Os Gemeos, Swoon, Faile, and Banksy are on the bill and a number of other projects will be taking place simultaneously, including a Pro/Am skateboarding exhibition, a region art gallery, DJs, artist battles, and pop-up bars.  The island becomes a canvas, and there is no admission. Um, are you coming?

Kid Zoom will be dominating the Turbine Shed with his project Kid Zoom: “Home”. Right now his home is split between Brooklyn and Perth, so he’s kind of a hometown boy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)


Another Brooklyn/Australia native, Anthony Lister will pepper the island with his signature characters  grinning larger than life transposed on enormous balloons. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

DMOTE will be involved in multiple projects but primarily on his own panel installation demonstrating new leaps and techniques he’s implementing in his ever-evolving style. (photo © Andrius Lippa)

Ben Frost is curating “Pastemodernism 3″ where every inch of surface area will be covered in wheatpasted posters from a slew of hand-picked artists. Probably the most populated exhibition of OUTPOST, “Pastemodernism 3” will include over 250 artists, both local and International. (photo © Andrius Lippa)

REKA. EVERFRESH STUDIO. The crew whose stellar lineup includes Phibs, Meggs, Rone, Reka, Sync, Prizm, Wonderlust, Stabs and Makatron will be tackling the East Apron Cliff Face with a tongue-in-cheek statement of the anti-graffiti rhetoric of yesteryear. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist Creepy: Project Ugly will sit gazing over the harbour displaying 20 panels from interstate street artists, including an onsite live painting on an industrial scale by Sydney figure Sprinkles and as well, Brisbane based Shida. Amongst the pre-created collection will be Above (San Francisco), Creepy and Daek (Last Chance Studios, Perth) and Drypnz (NZ). (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Yok. Artery, located in the Dog Leg Tunnel will greet patrons upon first landing – being a sample of the creative tone to come including Meggs, Haha, Rone, Yok and Drewfunk amongst other featured Outpost Artists. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Also included will be the Oi You! Collection featuring the largest private collection of Banksy’s, amongst works by David Choe and Herakut. As well, live painting by Sao Paulo artist Ethos and Belgian monotone muralist Roa.

Banksy is going to participate, but how? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ETHOS. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Herakut. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA. (photo © Jaime Rojo)


From the press release:

“The crown jewel of Sydney harbour, Cockatoo Island, a former military outcrop and penal colony will be transformed this November. In conjunction with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, witness the island wide invasion as aMBUSH Gallery launches a curatorial take-over – transforming the industrial monument into a battlefield of street-art. The Outpost Project will be the Southern-hemisphere’s largest Street Art Festival to date, with a projected 90, 000 visitors over the course of 5 weeks. Amongst a myriad of forums, educational programs, aMBUSH will bring to the table the nexus of content featured on the island.”

For further information and a complete list of participating artists, events and schedule please visit the sites below:

http://outpost.cockatooisland.gov.au/

http://www.ambushgallery.com/

 

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Stencils: Simple, Small, Effective

One trend these days in the world of Street Art is to go lavishly large, big with a bang, gargantuan with gusto!  Copius expanses of epic walls, scissor lifts, cases of cans and buckets of wheat-paste, an assortment of assistants, photographers, a public press release, and a panting play-by-play on social media as the Street Artist progresses across the cinder blocks. The desire to think big is a historical human inclination, from the pyramids to the Great Wall of China to Burj Khalifa to the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude , we love gigantic work.

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Due to its completely democratic nature, the Street Art practice also includes the simplest, least showy, and anonymous pieces. Often we find little one-layer stencils, sprayed in ten seconds, to be just as interesting, and sometimes more powerful than the largest mural. Hidden, tucked away on the bottom of a doorway or a lamppost, the stencil is a fast way for an artist to get up and run, as fast as a sticker slap and just as effective. This collection of stencils recently collected in a few cities reminds us of those days when a lot of Street Art was not conspicuously installed and the works were small.  The artists here are unknown to us but maybe you have seen them.

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Don’t crack your knuckle! They’ll grow as big as the Ritz-Carlton. Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Could be hallucinating but does this fly have a lion face? Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Even pugilists take a break. Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Señor Conejo has an announcement. Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“The Minotaur” in London’s Nether Regions

Lazarides Gallery in London has a penchant for spectacular pop-ups in cavernous quarters, effecting a theatrical aura for the work of artists to take center stage. This month, Lazarides dives beneath the City of London, where there lies a complex system of tunnels and activities, including reportedly a military citadel – a bunker called Pindar. The Old Vic Theater, built in 1818, is located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London and just above an almost mythic installation by the gallerist this month. The tunnels and subterranean chambers housing “The Minotaur”, a collection of work by fine artists and Street Artists, add a clandestine mystery for the visitors who venture below. Combined with a program that can include dining and theatre, the mythic theme of the Minotaur is interpreted by the stable of artists to sometimes stunning effect.

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Doug Foster (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Photographer and BSA collaborator Geoff Hargadon visited the exhibition and sends these exclusive images to BSA. The 16 international artists in the show, David Falconer, Sage Vaughn, Vhils, ATMA, Zak Ove, Doug Foster, 3D, Antony Micallef, Boxi, Conor Harrington, David Choe, Ian Francis, Jonathan Yeo, Lucy McLauchlan, Michael Najjar, Ron English, Stanley Donwood and Zevs.

If you have missed this, hurry because The Minotaur closes on October 25.

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Zak Ove (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Zak Ove (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Zak Ove (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Zak Ove (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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ATMA (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Murdoch with friends. Vhils (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Murdoch with no friends. Vhils (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Sage Vaughn (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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David Falconer (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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David Falconer (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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The Dining Chamber (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

http://theminotaur.co.uk/exhibition/

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New Street Art from Nuart 2011 in Norway

Nuart 2011, the annual Street Art festival in Stavanger Norway, just wrapped with a small tight roster of international artists putting new murals and installations around this waterfront city of 120,000. An inventive late “Summer Camp” that has brought worldwide attention and fame to the city in the last decade, Nuart continues to creatively stretch and challenge it’s participants while putting them on the street, in the gallery, and in front of the classroom.

brooklyn-street-art-lucy-mclauchlan-mookie-mooks-nuart-11-webLucy McLauchlan (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Mookie Mooks)

It could be the electronic music festival, the wicked history of goth and black metal spawned here, or the nearly thousand year old cathedral downtown, but something smart skews the outlaw impulses of artists toward exploration here. Perhaps it’s just the contrast of this sharp manicured capital of culture playing host to an art movement associated with urban decay that feeds the uncanny tension in some of the work. Whatever it is, each year there is something of high caliber that helps keep Nuart fresh and relevant.

For Nuart 2011 eleven artists from seven countries worked to create installations, including an indoor exhibition in a complex of buildings that formerly housed a brewery. Participating artists were Dan Witz (US), David Choe & DVS1 (US), Vhils (PO), Herbert Baglione (BR), Dolk (NO), Lucy McCluchlan (UK), Herakut (DE), Tellas (IT), Escif (ES), HYURO (ES), and Phlegm (UK)

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Lucy McLauchlan (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Escif (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Escif, Hyuro (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © John Rodger)

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Hyuro (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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David Choe, DVS1 (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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David Choe, DVS1 (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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David Choe, DVS1 (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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David Choe, DVS1 (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © John Rodger)

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Phlegm (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Dan Witz (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © John Rodger)

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Dan Witz conducted the first ever Workshop for Children at Nuart with great success! (photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © John Rodger)

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Herakut (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Akut)

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Herakut (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Hera of Herakut (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Mookie Mooks)

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Herakut (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © John Rodger)

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Dolk (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Vhils (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Vhils (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Tellas (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © John Rodger)

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Tellas (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Tellas (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Tellas (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Herbert Baglione (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © CFSalicath)

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Herbert Baglione (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Mookie Mooks)

With special thanks to the talented photographers: CFSalicath, John Rodger, Mookie Mooks and Akut.

To learn more about Nuart visit their site at:

http://www.nuartfestival.no

This article also appears on The Huffington Post



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Nuart Presents: An Invitation to the launch of “Eloquent Vandals” (Stanvanger, Norway)

Eloquent Vandals
brooklyn-street-art-eloquent-vandals-jaime-rojo-steven-p-harrington-Carlo McCormick-Tristan-Manco-Martyn Reed-Marte Jølbo

INVITATION
ELOQUENT VANDALS – A HISTORY OF NUART NORWAY
————————————————————————————————————————–

WELCOME TO THE LAUNCH OF THE MUCH ANTICIPATED HISTORY OF NUART BOOK
TOU SCENE, ØLHALLENE
FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER – 19.00

GUEST DJ’S, GIVE-AWAYS, OPEN BAR

ELOQUENT VANDALS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON THE NIGHT

Eloquent Vandals: A History of Nuart Norway [Hardcover]

Marte Jølbo (Editor), Martyn Reed (Editor)
Eloquent Vandals tells the story of how the Nuart festival has grown from a small underground festival to an Internationally acclaimed street art event. Without the usual restraints of corporate sponsorship or sales to consider, Nuart consistently brings out the best from some of the worlds leading Street Artists. This book offers an opportunity to look back over previous years and shows why Nuart is regarded as an important figure in the 21st century’s most dynamic and vital art movement. The book also tells the story of a movement that instead of fulfilling the criteria for modern art, created new arenas for art in the streets and on the Internet. The relationship between Street Art and the net is one of the things Steven Harrington and Jaime Rojo write about in ”Freed from the Wall, Street Art Travels the World”. This is one of three essays that have been written for the occasion by some of the most important and influential people in the field. Together with texts by Carlo McCormick, Tristan Manco, Martyn Reed, Logan Hicks and The Dotmasters we hope that this book can offer new reflections and perspectives on an art form that has been underestimated and under theorized for over a decade.
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Anthony Lister Talks to BSA : Analysis and Constant Consideration

“I’m like a hairdresser I guess.”

Painter Anthony Lister is also a Street Artist. His surreal pop and celebrity culture-infused abstractions are candy encrusted apples which may have something sharp inside. Many are figurative studies and wire frames bending wildly into characters who cavort and mock with blunt swipes of color, overlaid by costumed sexual role play… or is that a personal projection?  Did I mention elegance, defiance, wit? Wait, there is so much here!  Truth is, his work can be a cock-eyed psychological tempest, jarring to the head, strangely sweet.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A decade of discovery under his superhero belt, Mr. Lister continues to analyze and build his creative practice and it always includes work inside the gallery and outside on the street. He’s currently preparing for his solo show in Sydney called  “Bogan Paradise” at Gallery A.S. At the same time he’s part of a group show with a gaggle of his Aussie expats on view at 941 Geary in San Francisco for “Young and Free”, including Kid Zoom, Dabs & Myla, Dmote, New2, Ben Frost, Meggs, Ha-Ha, Reka, Rone, Sofles and Vexta.  Not to mention his participation in our show last month in Los Angeles at C.A.V.E. with Thinkspace, “Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories“.

The artist took some time recently to talk to Brooklyn Street Art about his practice;

Brooklyn Street Art: How much of one of your painted portraits is autobiographical? In other words, what portion of Mr. Lister is super hero, super model, furtive schoolboy, or Homer Simpson?
Anthony Lister: I don’t really think about myself when I paint. My figurative works are more like reflections of characteristics I absorb from real life day to day.

Brooklyn Street Art: If you were to wear colored glasses, which color do you think you would most likely screen the world through?
Anthony Lister: Pink, like John Lennon.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Francis Bacon said, “The creative process is a cocktail of instinct, skill, culture and a highly creative feverishness.” Would you drink that cocktail?
Anthony Lister: Nice words. I agree.

Brooklyn Street Art: What role does analysis play in your creative process when bringing a painting to fruition?
Anthony Lister: Analysis is the outcome of considered processing. Constant consideration is crucial.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: A big piece you did on Metropolitan in Brooklyn – you reworked that face a couple of times over a period of months, producing what appeared as a slowly morphing image. Were you covering up tags, or were you unhappy with the original, or maybe combating the effects of age with a little nip and tuck?
Anthony Lister: When I re-work street paintings I think of it like I am a hairdresser. When something is in the public it has a different existence to something living privately in a residence. I’m like a hairdresser I guess.

Brooklyn Street Art: You have spoken about your work as reality, or a reaction to realities. What realities are you depicting these days?
Anthony Lister: I just finished a body of work for a solo show in Sydney. This next body of work is about contemporary Australian culture. The exhibition is titled “Bogan Paradise.”

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: When you consider the Street Art scene that evolved around Melbourne, how would you characterize its nature in a way that differentiates it from the work in other cities around the world?
Anthony Lister: No different. This whole street art thing has sprung up post the turn of the digital revolution so it is on the Internet quick and the artists who inspire others and the ones who are easily inspired are constantly swimming in the same aesthetic pools of consciousness. Not to mention that most of the prominent artists travel lots so it is easy to see work of the same artist in multiple cities around the world at the same time.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: The titles you give your gallery pieces are entertaining, instructive, illustrative. Do you ever want to place a placard near a piece you’ve done on the street – just to make sure the message gets across?
Anthony Lister: No. My street practice is less thoughtful and therefore needs less commentary.

Brooklyn Street Art: When is a painting complete?
Anthony Lister: When it tells me so.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Manhattan (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Miami for Primary Flight. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Los Angeles. LA FreeWalls (photo © Todd Mazer)

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Anthony Lister in Los Angeles LA FreeWalls (photo © Todd Mazer)

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Cry me a rainbow, Anthony Lister in Los Angeles. LA FreeWalls (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Venice Beach CA. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in San Francisco for Young and Free at 941 Geary (photo © Andrius Lypia)

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Want to see more work? Just “Lister” it.

www.anthonylister.com

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Clown Soldier, Wing, Shin Shin, NohJColey, N’DA at “Living Walls : Albany”

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A Special Report

Words by KC Orcutt
Photos by Bob Anderson

With Marketplace Gallery transformed into what is best classified as a sleep away art camp — complete with scattered sleeping arrangements, wheat pastes hung up on the gallery walls ready to greet the outside world, in progress portraits of some of the participating artists by White Cocoa and a healthy buzz of street art-fueled conversations late into the night — the past couple of days and nights have blurred together leading up to the debut of the Living Walls project in Albany, officially launching this weekend.

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Clown Soldier (photo © Bob Anderson)

Away from the hustle and creation taking place both in the street, at the gallery and St. Joseph’s church, a conductor of sorts sits under a bridge in Rensselaer at the Art Park, overlooking Albany. The piece, as created by Clown Soldier, puts a figure in command of the happenings of the city from a detached control station. One can’t help but picture the happenings in Albany in relation to the Living Walls as beneath the futuristic bubble Clown Soldier created. The tag line that organically manifested surrounding the Living Walls in Albany — “This Is Happening In Your City” — is setting in.

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Clown Soldier (photo © Bob Anderson)

Kitty corner to the Clown Soldier piece is another Living Wall where Shin Shin and Wing collaborated under the massive support of the bridge in Rensselaer. The pair got to work using a bright palate environmentally fitting for the open industrial space, creating a natural and whimsical balance on the surface of the bridge’s support.

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Wing and Shin Shin Collaboration (photo © Bob Anderson)

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Wing and Shin Shin collaboration (photo © Bob Anderson)

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Wing and Shin Shin collaboration (photo © Bob Anderson)

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Wing and Shin Shin collaboration (photo © Bob Anderson)

NohJColey, Depoe and N’DA also got down in Rensselaer, working over the course of several days on large-scale pieces, bordering existing (and aging) public murals, while also bouncing in between St. Joe’s church, where Living Walls installations are coming into form from a multitude of artists, local and beyond.

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N’DA (photo © Bob Anderson)

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NohJColey and N’DA work in progress (photo © Bob Anderson)

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N’DA and NohJColey lend a hand to Shin Shin with the installation of one of her Golden Trees at St. Joe’s Church (photo © Bob Anderson)

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N’DA and NohJColey (photo © Bob Anderson)

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N’DA (photo © Bob Anderson)

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Cake at Living Walls: Albany

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Street Artist Cake brought her hand painted people to Albany yesterday, with these portraits of a “wondrous traveler”named Saige. A fine artist who makes one of a kind wheate-pasted pieces as a means of therapy and tribute, Cake has a unique style that is at once melodic and medical, enabling the viewer to have x-ray vision. Recently Cake has been introducing metallic, as in these two new pieces using silver leaf.

Learn more about Cake and see Jaime Rojo’s photos of her work in our recent interview with her on Juxtapoz.

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Knock knock, Cake is at the door. (photo © Cake)

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Cake (photo © Cake)

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Cake (photo © Cake)

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ROA in Los Angeles and Chicago

When Street Artist ROA hits your town with his aerosoled animal world, large swatches of walls, even blocks, become alive and are instant gathering places for new and old fans alike.  The one man monochrome machine from Belgium depicts a curious mix of overlooked animals, sometimes in states of death and decay by way of commenting on human’s impact on the natural world.

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Whether in rural Mexico or urban New York, his work is reliably riveting and a favorite for neighbors and Internet surfers alike.  After catching the eye of LA MOCA this spring, his last minute addition to the “Art in the Streets” exhibit brought the collection up to the minute and cemented his place in the graff and Street Art continuum. BSA captured these images of ROA’s work this year on the streets of Los Angeles and Chicago this summer and we’re looking forward to his next stop at “Living Walls: Albany”.

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ROA in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ROA in Los Angeles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA’s work in Chicago was done in collaboration with Pawn Works Gallery. Thank you to Nick and Brocke for their hospitality.

ROA’s work in Los Angeles was produced with Daniel Lahoda for LA Freewalls Project in The Arts District of downtown LA. Thank you to Daniel for his passion and his time with BSA. We wish Daniel a speedy recovery from a recent accident.

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