Bunnies, Birds, Sexuality and VINZ Feel Free’s “Innocence” in Brooklyn

November 4, 2017 Artists, Interview

It’s been a typical New York autumn week for Vinz Feel Free, the wild-life street surrealist from Valencia.

Vinz Feel Free contributes his phone booth ad takeover for the growing and influential #resistanceisfemale campaign (photo © Jaime Rojo)

His freshly painted birds-on-a-wire on the gallery door and legal wheat pastes on the street are contiguous with the 20 piece collection of photo-painting collaged works inside The Marcy Project in Williamsburg.

The gallery itself doubles as a community center for locals who like to play on three ping-pong tables and listen to music and share a story or a joke, but excitement builds today as the fresh crisp sunny fall air has been sweeping through the cavernous space to prepare for tonight’s’ solo Brooklyn debut.

Vinz Feel Free. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Well-read and politically astute about local and world affairs, the genial and curious artist quickly shares with you his firm observations regarding incursions on freedom by state actors and private corporations and the myriad hypocrisies of the self-ordained pious.

His own libertine escapades in the studio environment have brought arresting images to the street since 2011 that combine intimate nude metaphorical relationships topped by hand painted heads of the furry or plumed animal world – themselves representing an increasingly complex series of assigned roles and meanings.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Birds are associated with freedom, fish remind him of mindless consumerism, and frogs convey authority. He reserves reptiles for soulless soldiers of capital and authoritarian types. And the sudden preponderance of rabbits? Why sexuality and innocence of course.

“Innocence” is the name of the exhibition here curated by BSA and DK Johnston, and Vinz Feel Free has been preparing these works for many months. A project that has included his study of innocence, the show is meant to demarcate such shadings of the concept as to appear only subtly different from one another. To wit:

1. The quality or state of being innocent; freedom from sin or moral wrong.
2. Freedom from legal or specific wrong; guiltlessness.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“The birds were my first character and they represent freedom and this is why I chose naked people with birds heads. It’s not just the freedom but also the fragility and the tenderness.”

He often points to activism and public displays of protest when describing inspiration for his models poses, including his inspiration from the activists FEMEN, who disrobe at inopportune times for the powerful in public while the cameras are rolling. For this show he combines their handwritten slogans across bare chests and cloaks their rabbit heads with the knitted masks, or balaclavas, that the Russian musicians/activists Pussy Riot use in their surprise public demonstrations.

“When I began the Feel Free project in 2011 they were a lot of people in Valencia going into the streets fighting for rights for anyone to choose any kind of sexuality and against all the cuts in education and the repression that we are subject to,” he recalls, and you can begin to see that his fascinations for public activism, individual freedom, and the display of sexuality are intertwined.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“After the birds I started every year to introduce a new character into my own imaginary worlds and the latest one is the rabbit,” he explains, “that represents the sexuality and also the curiosity. It’s like they are taking the relay race baton from earlier demonstrations. The rabbits are not always naked sometimes they are dressed and sometimes they’re half naked and they are fighting for new things.”

The baton in this case is the move from one or two kinds of sexuality to a gender fluid approach. Although the preponderance of relationships he depicts is between females, a wall in the exhibition of photo-collaged scenarios mixes genders and relationships.

“I think of nudity and naked people as something that happens between friends and lovers. Here we are taking a little step beyond with curiosity between girls and girls, and girls and boys, and boys and boys; bisexuals, pansexuals, transsexuals.”

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

But this is the so-called western world, and these are art-gallery pieces. When it comes to other locations and illegal or quasi-legal street art, the artworks in public may be reconsidered… or abandoned altogether. With shows, fairs and street in New York, Los Miami, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, London, Milan, he discovered different responses to nudity and sexuality in African and Asia.

“I was in Malaysia in 2015 and in Bangkok but people told me that at that moment it was a military government in control and the punishment for doing graffiti or interventions in the city was 15 years in prison,” he says with utter seriousness.

“And they told me that if I plan to do nudity on the street the prison sentence would most likely be longer. So I came back home to Valencia and said, ‘forget about it’.”

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

What about putting up his double height wheat-pasted hybrids in his home city of Valencia, we wondered. How long do they remain untouched?

“It’s really difficult to say – it can be two or three weeks,” he says. “They remove the genitals – the vagina and penises are the first things to be removed. Later the nipples. There are some of them that partially remain after five years but usually the lifespan is less than one month depending on where they are. It really depends on the area and the neighborhood and the kind of people who live there – if they feel empathy with the work and if they like it.”

It’s interesting that he speaks of empathy, perhaps evidence of his own desire for connection with the audience. Ultimately his interest is the conversation as a Street Artist acting in the ever-bubbling rhythm of an active city, a call waiting for your response to his paper and paint entreaty.

“For me it is not a problem if it does not last – it is not my wall. I am not the owner. I don’t mind if another artist comes and paints over it because that means the city is alive. I have the old romantic idea about ephemeral art. If something remains forever that means the city becomes old and you want it to be alive, it must change.”

In New York and Brooklyn anyway, there is little doubt of that likelihood. Vinz Feel Free now momentarily changes it a little bit, before it carries on its sometimes innocent way.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free “Innocence” Opens today at The Marcy Project. Click HERE for details.

We wish to extend our deep gratitude to Kathy and Erwin of Bed-Stuy Art Residence (BedStuyartresidency.org) for their support and generosity, always.

BSA Film Friday: 11.03.17

November 3, 2017 Artists

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

Now screening :
1.“Collective Heartbreak” KNOW HOPE at Nuart 2017
2. Igor Ponosov “Too Far, Too Close”
3. UNIQA Art Łódź project in Łódź, Poland
4. Agostino Iaurci for Parees Fest.

BSA Special Feature: “Collective Heartbreak” KNOW HOPE at Nuart 2017

Loquacious street poet Know Hope usually has a lot to say and the Isreali Street Artist’s somewhat cryptic text interludes often accompany imagery on walls and his indoor studio works. Custom made verses, sometimes heart rendering, contemplate isolation, unresolved miscommunications, aspiration, gnawing fears; interstitial vagaries that channel political as personal emotional drama, a suspended state of limbo.

For his interactive installations at Nuart this year Addam Yekutieli aka Know Hope spent time listening. He collected stories from Stavanger locals about their experiences of heartbreak and hand painted fragments from those stories in austere urban . For the outdoor part of the project, Addam extracted fragments of words from their stories and placed them around the city, drawing a common story that he hopes strikes universal truths.

IGOR PONOSOV “Too Far, Too Close”

“ ‘Too far, Too Close’ is a project by the Russian artist Igor Ponosov which sees a typical Stavanger sailing boat transformed into an abstract mural for Nuart Festival 2017.

The project is meant to symbolizes the distance or disconnect between the public and the vast majority of state-sanctioned public art. The piece was supplemented by Ponosov’s second outdoor art work, titled ‘No signal’, which critiques the growing use of projectors in street art mural production.”

UNIQA Art Łódź project in Łódź, Poland.

Regular readers of BSA will recognize almost every one of these sculptures from Łódź, Poland as we have published stories on them previously. Here is a quick round-up of the last couple of years’ worth of public sculptures featured in the UNIQA project, exploring another in-between strata of semi-autonomous Street Art/Public Art involvement that requires permissions (usually) and yet is not choked to death by bureaucratic committee.

Agostino Iacurci for Parees Fest. Oviedo, Asturias. Spain. Video Titi Muñoz

A process video of the creation of a new mural by Italian Street Artist/Muralist Agostino Iacurci done last month in Spain for the Parees Fest. Aside from the impressive result, it is notable to see that he has an ongoing daily audience sitting comfortably before the enormous wall, sipping a coffee.

Robbbb and Spidey Question Idealized Heroes in Beijing

November 2, 2017 Artists

A few new painted wheat-pastes in the urban rubble from Street Artist ROBBBB in Beijing, China today, including this thoughtful, reflective and paunchy Spiderman who may not be able to scale walls quite as readily as he has in the past.

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

It almost looks like these superheroes are having various existential dillemas, ready to fly into a rage of frustration or simply break into hot firey tears. The whole infallibility thing is overrated anyway Spidey, we get what you are saying.

I’m trying to discuss the contradiction between the ideal and the reality from the point of view of human nature,” says ROBBBB, and that is a worthwhile pursuit. It may make you wonder why we need heroes in the first place and examine what need they are filling.

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

Street Artist OLEK and Volunteers Create NINA SIMONE Tribute in Raleigh, NC

November 1, 2017 Artists

Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Nina Simone; Three of the women whom Street Artist Olek would like us to remember from U.S. history, and who have been recently featured in public crochet portraits. Her most recent portrait done with help from the community brings art made by the public to the public in a country-wide project called “Love Across the USA”.

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Sparked a year ago leading up to the US national election where a woman was on the ballot, Olek says that despite the negativity that followed, “it inspired me to create a project that would celebrate the accomplishments of women, many of whom had been forgotten throughout U.S. history.”

Today we go to Raleigh, NC to see the most recent banner of Nina Simone crocheted by Olek and a small army of volunteers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone, the American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and activist in the Civil Rights Movement.

We spoke with Olek about this selection of Ms. Simone, who coincidentally has been nominated this year in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

BSA: Nina Simon fought hard battles, she lost some and won many. She won her right to be recognized as an artist in the USA after having to prove herself in European capitals first. With this portrait you elected to highlight the bright side of her and her art. Is it because you also want to be optimistic about our future even during these dark times we are all experiencing?
Olek: Why, with Nina Simone, do we always have to think about the battles she lost? I prefer to think about the positive things she accomplished both as an artist and an activist. I remember when I was in elementary school I was given one of her tapes. I had no idea who she was and didn’t understand a word, but I loved the music.

Later, when I learned her name and more about her story, I hated how the media tended to focus on the negatives. As a black woman living in that time, fighting for what she believed in, she was exhausted and had little help. Her husband, who was also her manager, exploited her and gave her drugs instead of helping her. Despite everything, she positively influenced so many people around the world.

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

BSA: What kind of inspiration did you learn from Nina Simone and her feminist take with her music especially with her song “Four Women” which is considered by many to be a very influential song with the black feminist movement in the 60’s?
Olek: The song “Here Comes the Sun” has accompanied me through many difficult installations. I played the song on loop while in Rochester, NY working on the Susan B. Anthony mural for Love Across the USA. We worried the installation would be delayed because of bad weather, but after listening to the song all morning, we arrived at the site and the sun was shining.

Nina Simone has been so well known in Europe and is finally starting to gain the recognition she deserves in the U.S. with her nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We had no idea about the nomination when we first began working on the piece, but when we found out a couple weeks ago, we hoped that this mural would help her to earn the votes needed to be inducted.

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

To learn more about Love Across The USA click HERE

Boston’s “Underground Mural Project” Opens With 11 Artists

October 31, 2017 Artists

“I love transforming a raw space for everyone to discover. It’s the best feeling to see people enjoying themselves in front of my art,” says artist Cey Adams in Boston as he finishes his “LOVE” mural in a letter style recalling the funky late 70s.

Cey Adams. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

At the start of September Adams and 10 other artists joined the Underground Mural Project to transform 150,000 square feet of walls and pavement in a park here, curated by Street Theory Gallery, a creative studio founded by Liza and Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez. The 8-acre public underpass located between Boston’s South End and South Boston neighborhoods has been leased to a privately owned company that has turned it into “an active urban park, cultural attraction and parking amenity”, now named Underground Ink Block.

Ewok-MSK. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Our thanks to photographer Todd Mazer who shares some of his images with BSA readers today from the event. Todd also conducted an interview with painter, muralist and graffiti artist Rob “Problak” Gibbs, a native of Roxbury, a neighborhood in the southern part of Boston. As participant in the project, community arts advocate, and a lifetime Boston citizen who believes strongly in the power of public art, graffiti, and HipHop culture, Poblak offers a unique perspective to the Underground Mural Project.

Todd Mazer: In your origins as a writer you have spoken about the importance of outdoor classrooms like Peters Park what are your hopes that a place like the Underground at Ink Block can be a catalyst for?
Problak: I hope that the Underground at Ink Block can be a catalyst for the next generation of graffiti writers, muralist and landscape artist to be inspired to take what we contributed to the space and add on to the practice. If our times are documented the stories can be told better through a variety of disciplines artist come to the table with.

When a place like the Underground exists, up and coming artist can work on creative ways to contribute towards a venue that exhibits community art for the people of greater Boston at a world wide scale. The Underground can be a bridge that takes anyone (young or old) on an adventure through the creative process of an artist that may have work in that space.

VyalOne. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Todd Mazer: As an artist, activist and architect/educator how have you discovered the importance to expand your skill set in order to create opportunity for your own and others artistic endeavors?
Problak: I discovered how important it is have to have a variety of ways to tell your story. Pose2 always told us “your only as good as your last piece” and Kem5 added “ and the people you place yourself around” When that whole phrase is combined positioned my mind in a place to have my skill set be in a good position to always grow.

“Walking the talk” confidently comes from paying dues. Dues that range from humble beginnings to bad experiences that I learned the greatest lessons from. Expanding my skill set opened up new doors to meet and build a variety of relationships with other artist who too are skilled and tackle tasks through creative problem solving. The more skill you have the less you’ll find yourself saying NO to a majority of the challenges you’ll get approached with.

HOXXOH. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Todd Mazer: As a follow up more specifically could you offer some insight from 91 til infinity… in other words how has your involvement in AFH (Artists For Humanities) shaped your actions and given you perspective on the importance of this new space?
Problak: LOL from 91 til………..

My involvement with AFH is very instrumental to what I do because the creed we practice in our studio has become the DNA to my life’s work. I grew up around a small nit of artist who are gifted and who challenged me along our journey. That small crew grew into the organizations leadership. The ethos has evolved and revolved off of our actions. We took responsibility for our own learning and shared that practice with a large amount of youth for the past 25 years.

Don Rimx . Problak . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

The importance of this new space is that concept of giving space and opportunity for a genre that is powered by energy in this city that is untapped. An energy that has the interest of the youth and the ability to challenge them to think, digest, seek their own truth and hopefully contribute. Sometimes you have to be exposed to or shown the examples to develop your voice. This space could serve as a megaphone to help project it. The examples are the trailblazers who show everyone in the space what’s possible.

Todd Mazer: Why is it so important to artistically reclaim overlooked spaces?
Problak: It’s important to “Add to” vs. reclaim because with all due respect to the city’s architecture, I view these spaces as a series of blank canvases embedded inside of what I would compare to the city’s respiratory system. The work we do would breathe life into these spaces so that the city would not have to hold its breath and encourage others to do the same. These spaces can be landmarks and spark the next mind to be great or be that picture worth a 1000 words that would speak to the generations to come.

The participating artists include: Vyal One, Imagine, Cey Adams, Don Rimx, Marka 27, Problak, Ewok MSK, Thy Doan, Upendo, Percy Fortini-Wright and Hoxxoh. Our thanks to Todd Mazer for sharing his photos and interview with BSA readers.

Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Ewok-MSK . Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Perci Fortini-Wright. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Imagine876. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Upendo. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Problak . Vyal . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Having fun at the block party. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Underground at Ink Block from National Development on Vimeo.

12 Finalist Artists Announced for Contorno Urbano Mural in Barcelona

October 30, 2017 Artists

Almost 300 artists and collectives from around the world (42 countries) have entered the 2018 Contorno Urbano competition for this wall/residency/7000€ prize in Barcelona! It is astounding how many high caliber artists are at work today in cities everywhere, bringing innovative new techniques and unique perspectives to public space like never before.

After reviewing all applications and submitted materials during a process begun this summer, today we are excited to announce that this list has been narrowed to just 12 finalists. Next month their names will go to the final stage of selection in Barcelona with esteemed co-jurors from organizers and creators in the areas of art academia, mural art, public art, and Street Art to narrow the list to one.

The 12 premiere finalists for the Mural de la Salut in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Barcelona, Spain) are:

Axel Void
Borondo
Colectivo Licuado
David de la Mano
Escif
Guido Van Helten
Hyuro
Innerfields
Millo
Otecki
Sabotaje al Montaje
San

Congratulations to each artist! It wasn’t an easy task for the pre-selection committee to decide the best from 300, but your work rose to the top 4% of the applications according to the selection criteria.

#MuralSalut: Finalistas – Finalists from Contorno Urbano on Vimeo.

Among the considerations for selection were academic studies, experience and history creating murals in public space, previous internships or residencies, and suitability of artwork style to the central purpose of this 400 square meter mural.

Each of the 12 finalists will be asked to submit a sketch and a written proposal.

The final stage of the selection will be on November 15^th and 16^th, with the following professionals travelling to Sant Feliu de Llobregat:

Monica Campana (Cofounder of Living Walls and project manager for the urban art exhibition Open Source),
Fernando Figueroa (PHD in History of Art and independent researcher specialized in graffiti and urban art),
Esteban Marin (President of Contorno Urbano and mural artist),
Jaime Rojo (co-founder of Brooklyn Street Art and curator), and
Veronica Werckmeister (painter and muralist, curator).

The mural will commemorate the neighborhood’s fight 30 years ago to have this public square created for the neighbors instead of building a gas station. After meeting with the Association La Salut and the neighbors who live in the area, members of the jury will review previous artworks and experience of the 12 finalists to help them to select the artist who is best suited for painting the mural.

The winner will receive an artistic residence beginning in Spring 2018 and will receive a 7000€ prize. The wall will be painted after an artistic residency in order for the artist to become acquainted with the historic context of the project and the city itself.

The project is a collaboration between the municipality (Ajuntament) of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Fundacion Contorno Urbano and Kaligrafics.

Kaligrafics: Founded in 1999, it’s the oldest non-profit organization dedicated to graffiti and street art in Cataluña, and a significant record of experience in Spain.

Contorno Urbano: The first Foundation in Spain to be fully dedicated to street art and graffiti. The team has over 10 years’ experience organizing murals and urban art dissemination locally and internationally.

Following in no particular order are the 12 finalists:

Guido Van Helten / United Kingdom

Guido Van Helten for Nashville Walls Project. Nashville, TN. June 2017. (photo © Eric E Johnson)

Borondo / Spain

Borondo for Urban Nation this spring (UN) in the Tegel section of Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif / Spain

Escif. Living Walls Atlanta. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daniel “SAN” Muñoz / Spain

Daniel Muñoz. The curtain ( 983 followers). The Highlands, Scotland. (photo © courtesy of the artist)

Axel Void / USA

Axel Void. Los Muros Hablan. El Barrio/Spanish Harlem. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hyuro / Spain

Hyuro. What In The World PM/12. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Berlin, May 19, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Colectivo Licuado / Uruguay

Colectivo Licuado. Lisbon, Portugal. (photo © courtesy of Colectivo Licuado)

Millo / Italy

Millo in Kiev for Mural Social Club Festival/NGO Sky Art Foundation. (photo © Maksim Belousov)

Innerfields / Germany

Innerfields for ArtUnitedUs in Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © @dronarium)

David De La Mano / Spain

David De La Mano. Urban Nation Musuem For Urban Contemporary Art. Berlin. September 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sabotaje Al Montaje / Spain

Sabotaje Al Montaje. Los Alcazares. Murcia, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Otecki / Poland

Otecki. Urban Forms. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Courtesy Urban Forms)

BSA Images Of The Week: 10.29.17

October 29, 2017 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Halloween this year is on a Tuesday so its hard for people to know when exactly to celebrate it – we had 20 or so Trick-or-Treaters Saturday night so that tells you the kids vote in this part of Brooklyn.

Of course with the folks we have running the White House, every day feels like Halloween. “Here, I’ll trick you with this POPULIST costume, and my treat will be to take whats left of your middle class chocolate.”

Trick or Trick!

It doesn’t help that Tabloid TV loves the “Zombies on Parade” – they are like sugar addicts dancing for eyeballs and advertising dollars.

But from a Street Art and public performance perspective, New York is a thrill, a regular monster mash! The East Village parade 2017 on Tuesday will have puppets, 53 bands performing different types of music, dancers, artists, and thousands of New Yorkers in costume. Be safe out here ya’ll.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Karl Addison, Bifido, City Kitty, Denis Ouch, Don Rimx, Elliott Routledge, Julien de Casabianca, Julieta, Lungebox, Nevercrew, Outings Project, Revok, Sipros, Strayones, and TurtleCaps.

Top image: Elliott Routledge (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Revok – MSK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Denis Ouch (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Portraits of a clown king. Denis Ouch (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Strayones brings out Cat In The Hat. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sculptural Street Artist Strayones tells us that the story represented here is a critique of “how business people and wealthy men are making us step over the edge into the abyss”.

Nevercrew. “Dimensional recipe”. Los Angeles. Part 1 (photo © Nevercrew)

“Dimensional recipe” is a series of three interconnected mural paintings realized in Los Angeles (USA), curated by AnneLaure Lemaitre (FatCap), 2017.

About the work:

This is a work about mankind’s relation with creation, about the mutual influences between creativity and reality and the anthropological loop
that originates from this continuous correlation. It is about the feeling of being part of a system, of being a participant and being able to view it from a certain point of view, for what it is and for what it could be.”

Nevercrew. “Dimensional recipe”. Los Angeles. Part 2 (photo © Nevercrew)

Nevercrew. “Diposing Machine”. Melano, Switzerland. Part 1 (photo © Nevercrew)

“Disposing Machine” is the new mural from Nevercrew in Melano, Switzerland for Artrust. Their statement:

“Habits, attitudes, principles and awareness are conditioned by reality, and reality is conditioned by the perception everyone has of it. The position of humankind in its environment, in its World, is at the same
time part of its nature and a point of view from which to perceive it.

Systems are then interpretations, a way to give human shape to
something that’s not necessarily made for it, as well as a way to decide
which shapes to give and how to read them. As reality could be built and
altered by systems, so nature could then risk to be detached from
human sensing; an human reconstruction of something that exists
outside this given shape but that still is directly subjected to each action
that’s made on it.”

This image of Dreamers reminds us of our grandfathers and grandmothers and the stories of refugees all over the world overcoming obstacles to make a better life. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dom Rimx (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Collaboration between Bifido and Julieta in Lecce, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

The Italian Street Artist Bifido and Spanish artists Juelieta completed this fantastical work in Lecce, Italy this week for the 167 Art Project. Bifido tells us that the title is “First Fire” and it “talks about the possibility to love each other in a fantastic way, and it focuses on the importance of play in our lives.”

Collaboration between Bifido and Julieta in Lecce, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

Turtlecaps . City Kitty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

An atmospheric Addison Karl . “Okchamali Nebulae”. Washington, DC. (photo © Addison Karl)

Lungebox (photo © Jaime Rojo)

One question: what is a furring channel? Sipros for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Outings Project in Paris. (photo © Julien de Casabianca)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Brooklyn, NY. October 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Selections From “SHINE” Mural Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.

October 28, 2017 Artists

Here are new images from St Petersburg, Florida, where The SHINE mural festival was thrown in September for the 3^rd year in a row.

Kryptk. Shine Mural Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2017. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

“Shine is a good example of a mural project when the community is involved,” says an organizer Iryna Kanishcheva, who has had a great deal of experience working with Street Artists in the last few years, including a very successful program in Kiev.

Regarding this Floridian community she says, “They started in 2015 with many local artists and family-friendly public activities. The event received good support from the community, so much so in fact that produced more murals next year.”

Mikael B. Shine Mural Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2017. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

Included this year are names you’ll find familiar like Cryptic, Hueman, Joram Roukes, Lauren YS and Yok & Sheryo. You’ll also find a fair share of local talents at SHINE because the festival makes a point to keep the mix local and international.

“They try to keep the ratio 5:10 local artists versus traveling artists, thanks to curator Chris Parks,” says Kanishcheva.

Axel Void . L. E. O. Shine Mural Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2017. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

So what stood out in 2017?

“The difference in this year’s edition is an exhibition, a group show called “Outside In” with large-scale installations by The Yok and Sheryo, James Oleson, The Artwork of Ricky Watts, Vitale Bros., Sentrock and artwork by many more,” says Kanishcheva. “I’d like to acknowledge Axel Void’s piece, which is based on a series called ‘Nobody.’”

“A few years ago Axel painted a mural in Atlanta and he used a portrait of a boy – a random image from the Internet. Months later he received an email from a man in the original photo – his sister had alerted him to it after spotting it in a magazine. Axel Void kept in touch with him and even developed an idea for the film, show and canvas series. One of them is here in the ‘Inside In’ collection.”

See the original Axel Void wall shot by Jaime Rojo at “Living Walls” in Atlanta that year here; Living Walls 2013 ALIVE in Atlanta

Hueman. Shine Mural Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2017. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

Jose Mertz. Shine Mural Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2017. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

Jujmo. Shine Mural Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2017. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

Joram Roukes. Shine Mural Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida. October 2017. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

2017 SHINE artists:

Axel Void & L.E.O.,Cryptic, Daniel “R5” Barojas, Herbert Scott Davis, Hueman, James Oleson, Joram Roukes, Jose Mertz, Jujmo, Lauren YS, Mikael B, Ricky Watts, Sentrock, Sam Young, Stephen Palladino, Suarezart, Thirst & Zulu Painter, Vitale Bros., Yok & Sheryo.

We wish to thank Iryna Kanishcheva for sharing her observations and photos with our BSA readers. Please visit http://kanishcheva.com/ to learn more about Ms. Kanishcheva projects.

BSA Film Friday: 10.27.17

October 27, 2017 Artists

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

Now screening :
1. Joe Caslin: “We will let no life be worth less”
2. VERMIBUS – IN ABSENTIA
3. Fernando Leon / 12 + 1 Contorno Urbano
4. Graffolution. By Carl Friedrich

BSA Special Feature: Joe Caslin: “We will let no life be worth less”

Street artist Joe Caslin, known for his large-scale black and white drawings, has released a compelling and emotive short film entitled ‘The Volunteers – We will let no life be worth less’. The film follows his installation of a four story drawing on House Two in Trinity College’s Front Square. The film focuses on drug addiction, mental health, and our collective response to both and showcases the efforts of 20 people in Ireland working toward re-framing the conversation around de-criminalization and rehabilitation.

VERMIBUS – IN ABSENTIA

BSA has brought you Vermibus since he started messing with glamour, testing the limits of passersby ability to ignore his melted models. A protest against the classist beauty brands that insult us in our public space, Vermibus’ posters re-frame the conversation, jolting you into a grotesque brutalism, sometimes ornate, sometimes darkly disturbing. Here his latest solvent-based poster campaign appears on the metro in Paris, neatly framed and waiting to catch you eye. He calls it “In Absentia”.

Fernando Leon / 12 + 1 Contorno Urbano

The latest video from Contorno Urbano with Fernando Leon.

Graffolution. By Carl Friedrich

A post-modern meditation on mark-making. A soul-stirring piano score accompanies this layered montage of graffiti writing and abstract painting. Here there is destruction. And deconstruction. And recollecting of playful errant thoughts and passionate impulses and suite soliloquies, machine gunned and splashed like hot massage oil across the surface like so many erudite dialogues you pined for. Masterful? Maybe. Poignant. Positively. Transcendent! You decide.

Also, it’s an ad for a book duo called Graffolution and Dead and Afterlife of Graffiti, both which we hope to read one day. Until then, this video puts us in a great state of mind.

Spogo for Parees Fest 2017 in North of Spain

October 26, 2017 Artists

“Spogo is one of the most reknowned abstract street artists in Spain,” says photographer Fernando Alcalá of the Barcelona based geometrist who has installed a balanced composition that anchored at the base of an elevated freeway here in Oviedo, Asturias in the North of Spain.

The festival is called Parees, a slang derivation of paredes (walls), and this one is meant specificially for Noche Blanca.

Currently having an exhibition at GKO Gallery in Guipúzcoa, Spogo has also had a busy year painting outside in Madrid, Barcelona, Cantabria, Gante, Oviedo, Badalona and Tolosa, says Alcalá. Enjoy the video directed by Titi Muñoz, and image here from Mr. Alcalá.

Spogo: La Noche Blanca. Oviedo, Asturias. Spain.

Location: Ramón Prieto Bances esquina con Rafael Sarandeces
Video Director: Titi Muñoz
Music: “Pli”, by Jumo

Don Rimx in El Barrio with Revered Poet Jesús “Tato” Laviera

October 25, 2017 Artists, Interview

The revered Nuyorican poet Jesús “Tato” Laviera will be honored this weekend with a new mural by artist Don Rimx in Spanish Harlem/El Barrio in addition to the re-naming of 123^rd Street after him. Wearing his signature suit and fedora, Laviera gazes skyward below Rimx’s depiction of plants and architectural elements of New York and Puerto Rico painted with an exalted glow, recalling the stained glass of church windows.

The Puerto Rican poet and playwright, whose acclaimed work addressed language, cultural identity and race, passed away in 2013 and is very much missed by the community, many of whom take comfort in the writings he left behind. The artist and man became Don Rimx’s focus this summer and fall, immersing himself into the life of the individual – even staying in his former home at the invitation of Laviera’s family.

We spoke with Don Rimx about the painting and the project:

Brooklyn Street Art: What is the importance of Tato Laviera in New York City and specifically here in El Barrio?
Don Rimx: Tato Laviera was an important and influential writer who left a mark as one of the founders of a movement in the Puerto Rican community in NYC. He set the standard to follow and we learn from his work, his spirit and his integrity as he worked with the community here in NYC but also in Puerto Rico and other states in the union.

BSA: Can you talk about his contributions to the Nuyorican movement?
Don Rimx: Tato Laviera is one of the founders of the Nuyorican movement. He promoted what we now know as “spanglish”. One can read in his work the combination of the two languages and the sense of identity in a group of people who live between two geographically distinct places but who share the same feelings of patriotism and community.

BSA: Can you describe your experience working on this mural and the reaction of the community?
Don Rimx: Here what touched my heart was the memory of Tato in the minds of the people. The more I hear them talk about him the better an image of him I have in my mind. Their anecdotes about him were so powerful that without personally meeting him I was able to understand his greatness as an artist as well his persona.

BSA: We understand that you were actually given his rooms to stay in while you were working on this mural. Is it true? What sort of experience did you have while sleeping on his bed and looking at his possessions?
Don Rimx: Being able to live for a few days in his apartment was part of the search and research on him. I immersed myself in the intimacy of his writing. His books, his photographs are still there. So as I was able to experience the trust and the open arms in which his family received me I was able to share my responsibility for his legacy with through my work. I was able to honor his legacy with respect and with my work I continue to promote the legacy, which he left behind for all of us.

BSA: Can you tell us your favorite poem from Tato’s work?
Don Rimx: AmeRícan

AmeRícan

By Tato Laviera

we gave birth to a new generation,

AmeRícan, broader than lost gold

never touched, hidden inside the

puerto rican mountains.

we gave birth to a new generation

AmeRícan, it includes everything

imaginable you-name-it-we-got-it

society.

we gave birth to a new generation,

AmeRícan salutes all folklores,

european, indian, black, spanish

and anything else compatible:

AmeRícan, singing to composer pedro flores’ palm

trees up high in the universal sky!

AmeRícan, sweet soft spanish danzas gypsies

moving lyrics la española cascabelling

presence always singing at our side!

AmeRícan, beating jíbaro modern troubadours

crying guitars romantic continental

bolero love songs!

AmeRícan, across forth and across back

back across and forth back

forth across and back and forth

our trips are walking bridges!

it all dissolved into itself, an attempt

was truly made, the attempt was truly

absorbed, digested, we spit out

the poison, we spit out in malice,

we stand, affirmative in action,

to reproduce a broader answer to the

marginality that gobbled us up abruptly!

AmeRícan, walking plena-rhythms in new york,

strutting beautifully alert, alive

many turning eyes wondering,

admiring!

AmeRícan, defining myself my own way any way many

many ways Am e Rícan, with the big R and the

accent on the í!

AmeRícan, like the soul gliding talk of gospel

boogie music!

AmeRícan, speaking new words in spanglish tenements,

fast tongue moving street corner “que

corta” talk being invented at the insistence

of a smile!

AmeRícan, abounding inside so many ethnic english

people, and out of humanity, we blend

and mix all that is good!

AmeRícan, integrating in new york and defining our

own destino, our own way of life,

AmeRícan, defining the new america, humane america,

admired america, loved america, harmonious

america, the world in peace, our energies

collectively invested to find other civili-

zations, to touch God, further and further,

to dwell in the spirit of divinity!

AmeRícan, yes, for now, for i love this, my second

land, and i dream to take the accent from

the altercation, and be proud to call

myself american, in the u.s. sense of the

word, AmeRícan, America!

Fintan Magee and “Follow the Leader” in South of Paris

October 24, 2017 Artists

Back to the south of Paris today to see a trio of children on the new wall done in late September by Sydney based muralist Fintan Magee.

“He asked 3 young people to come with winter clothes and he took photos,” says Gautier Jourdain, who organized the wall for his Wall Street Art festival, as well as the solo art show for Fintan at his Galerie Mathgoth.

“Follow the Leader” appears to be a commentary on the current obsessive behavior of humans toward their phones, even the little ones. Placed on a wall in the center of the city very near the railway station, the 22 x 18 meter mural in Savigny-le-Temple is sure to capture the attention of commuters…if they look up from their phones long enough.

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Vinz Feel Free contributes his phone booth ad takeover for the growing and influential #resistanceisfemale campaign (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Special Feature: “Collective Heartbreak” KNOW HOPE at Nuart 2017

IGOR PONOSOV “Too Far, Too Close”

UNIQA Art Łódź project in Łódź, Poland.

Agostino Iacurci for Parees Fest. Oviedo, Asturias. Spain. Video Titi Muñoz

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

Robbbb. Beijing, China. October 2017. (photo © Robbbb)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Olek. Nina Simone “Here Comes The Sun” Love Across The USA. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 2017. (photo © courtesy Olek)

Cey Adams. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Ewok-MSK. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

VyalOne. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

HOXXOH. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Don Rimx . Problak . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Ewok-MSK . Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Perci Fortini-Wright. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Perci Fortini-Wright. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Imagine876. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Upendo. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Problak . Vyal . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Having fun at the block party. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Having fun at the block party. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Guido Van Helten / United Kingdom

Guido Van Helten for Nashville Walls Project. Nashville, TN. June 2017. (photo © Eric E Johnson)

Borondo / Spain

Borondo for Urban Nation this spring (UN) in the Tegel section of Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif / Spain

Escif. Living Walls Atlanta. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daniel “SAN” Muñoz / Spain

Daniel Muñoz. The curtain ( 983 followers). The Highlands, Scotland. (photo © courtesy of the artist)

Axel Void / USA

Axel Void. Los Muros Hablan. El Barrio/Spanish Harlem. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hyuro / Spain

Hyuro. What In The World PM/12. Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. Berlin, May 19, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Colectivo Licuado / Uruguay

Colectivo Licuado. Lisbon, Portugal. (photo © courtesy of Colectivo Licuado)

Millo / Italy

Millo in Kiev for Mural Social Club Festival/NGO Sky Art Foundation. (photo © Maksim Belousov)

Innerfields / Germany

Innerfields for ArtUnitedUs in Kiev, Ukraine. (photo © @dronarium)

David De La Mano / Spain

David De La Mano. Urban Nation Musuem For Urban Contemporary Art. Berlin. September 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sabotaje Al Montaje / Spain

Sabotaje Al Montaje. Los Alcazares. Murcia, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Otecki / Poland

Otecki. Urban Forms. Lodz, Poland. (photo © Courtesy Urban Forms)

Top image: Elliott Routledge (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Revok – MSK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Denis Ouch (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Portraits of a clown king. Denis Ouch (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Strayones brings out Cat In The Hat. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nevercrew. “Dimensional recipe”. Los Angeles. Part 1 (photo © Nevercrew)

“Dimensional recipe” is a series of three interconnected mural paintings realized in Los Angeles (USA), curated by Anne­Laure Lemaitre (FatCap), 2017.

About the work:

Nevercrew. “Dimensional recipe”. Los Angeles. Part 2 (photo © Nevercrew)

“Dimensional recipe” is a series of three interconnected mural paintings realized in Los Angeles (USA), curated by AnneLaure Lemaitre (FatCap), 2017.

Location: Ramón Prieto Bances esquina con Rafael Sarandeces
Video Director: Titi Muñoz
Music: “Pli”, by Jumo