Skio and Théo Lopez at Square Henri-Karcher in Paris for Art Azoï

March 16, 2016 Artists

Paris, like many cosmopolitan cities around the world is mostly a pedestrian city – with about 60% of journeys are by foot rather than by car. With this in mind the city’s urban planners have been focusing on making the streets much friendlier to pedestrians by creating shared spaces, making the sidewalks free of clutter and more safe for people who walk, jog or ride bikes.

With the implementation of the Pedestrian Paris Initiative walking in Paris has become a whole lot easier and enjoyable in the last few years. Walking is the best way to get to know a city. It will be then fair to say that finding and experiencing Street Art is one of the many rewards from walking.

Here we see the newly commissioned mural by Skio and Théo Lopez for the Parisian organization ArtAzoï at the Square Herni-Karcher. Organizers say they are gifting the community with a mural that pays an homage to them, offering them to have a first hand, personal interaction with the art.

Skio and Théo Lopez. Work in progress. (photo © Michel Jean-Théodore)

“The latest installment of the mural at Square Henri-Karcher in the 20^th arrondissement in Paris features the artistic collaboration of Skio and Théo Lopez.

Skio is an artist of many talents, spanning from illustration to art direction, who has been painting graffiti across France since 1995. Active maker and shaker in the Parisian street art scene since 2005, he fluidly transforms his technical knowledge through one medium to the next. His work translates his loves and fears, and these nostalgic tendencies offer dynamic, detailed images that search for the sentimental.

Théo Lopez is a trained graphic designer and active member of the Parisian artist collective, “9ème Concept,” who has explored different artistic approaches since a young age. Originally attracted to tribal motifs and spiritual symbolism, his work has since evolved to a more abstract approach. Lopez’s abstraction creates works loaded with patterns and optical effects, offering a poetic union of the linear and material. His process rejects a pre-defined path; rather, he prefers to paint, cut, conceal and reveal in real time. This way he can allow each layer to prompt a dialogue, amongst contrasting colors and lines, that brings depth to each of his works.

After Art Azoï extended the invitation to Skio to paint the 40 meter-long wall at Square Henri-Karcher, he saw the opportunity to ask his friend and fellow artist, Théo Lopez, to collaborate on a mural that would combine their respective styles.

Skio chose to represent a jogger, who takes a break to daydream, as a nod to all the Parisian joggers who run past the mural every day. It’s this sort of consideration that is sensible to the interaction with passerby’s that makes a mural stimulating, and in this case, Skio’s work invites the viewer to be lost in reverie.

In his collaboration, Théo Lopez combines abstraction with different textures afforded by the acrylic paint to integrate Skio’s jogger into a futurist universe.

The mural was hardly an easy feat, given the endless rain, hail and snow that marked the five days of production. Yet these constraints offered their own perks at the end, allowing for both Skio and Lopez to experiment and create interesting textures from some areas where the paint washed away.

Both Skio and Théo Lopez plan to collaborate in the future, and to further explore the mélange of the figurative with the abstract to create it’s own universe”.

– Alex Parrish at Art Azoï

Skio and Théo Lopez. Work in progress. (photo © Michel Jean-Théodore)

Skio and Théo Lopez. Detail. (photo © Alex Parrish)

Skio and Théo Lopez. (photo © Alex Parrish)

Skio and Théo Lopez. Detail. (photo © Alex Parrish)

Skio and Théo Lopez. Panorama. (photo © Nicolas Scauri)

Skio and Théo Lopez. Panorama. CLICK on image to enlarge (photo © Nicolas Scauri)

Alex Parrish is part of the ArtAzoï team and a frequent BSA Contributor.

Click HERE to learn more about ArtAzoï

A BLU Buffer Talks About the Grey Action in Bologna

March 15, 2016 Artists

Reality TV is usually completely devoid of reality. That isn’t the exact comparison Andreco said on his Facebook page but we thought it was a fitting analogy. Street Art in a museum or gallery can sometimes feel like taxidermy.

Andreco actually said “Deciding which wall to paint or not paint has always been one of our free choice. This operation, to uncork the walls and move them elsewhere, oversteps this freedom.” Fair enough.

Of course that is not the primary reason why activists and Street Artists joined in to help BLU paint over the many murals that he completed on Bologna city walls over the last two decades or so. In an English titled press release on the Italian website Wumingfoundation the artist lays out a multi-layered justification for destroying his own murals, many of which have become beloved landmarks around the city and which have helped make him an art star in some circles.

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BLU action in Bologna. (photo © Andreco)

The galvanizing event is a 250 piece museum show opening in a few days that is entitled “Street Art: Banksy & Co” at Palazzo Pepoli – Museo della Storia di Bologna in which Blu says his work is slated to be displayed without his authorization as taken directly from the streets. This practice of high-profile (read: high potential market price) works being removed and showing up at auction, gallery, or museum or elsewhere for sale has embroiled debates in the last decade about artists rights, property owners rights, intellectual property, societal/cultural impact.

BLU, for those who do not know, is a prominent and respected name in Street Art and mural art whose work and thousands of photos of it on websites and blogs has made him globally known. His stop-action videos of his installations were ground breaking and are the stuff of legend. Thanks to all of his hard work and international exposure his fine art work commands a very nice price and many look to see what he does next.

Since Banksy’s walls started to be taken in whole and resold, the conversations about the phenomena has shaken the street art and contemporary art world. Closely discussed are the philosophical true intentions of artists and the rightful expectations of “the scene” as interpreted by myriad artists, fans, curators, academics, and random passersby; Does the artist hold all rights to the use of the physical and aesthetic work in perpetuity, even when done illegally or in violation of ordinances without consent of a property owner or community?

Further, if it is determined to be an act of vandalism does the artists forfeit their right to determine its ultimate use, or do they retain any say in the matter? If the wall owner had no contract with the artist, verbal or written, are they entitled to do with it as they wish? Can it be sold or destroyed by someone else or only the artist? Can a piece of art that is signed, hashtagged, or URL’d be considered advertising and not regarded purely for artistic merit? Can a city, neighborhood or culture lay claim to an artwork that has withstood the passage of time in public space where people become familiar with it and actually fall in love with it? Is it a cultural icon owned by many, part of a greater heritage? Should any act of restoration be taken, or does that violate the purity of its intent? And which holy book of street art scriptures contains the guidelines and rules that will be universally accepted?

The statement attributed to BLU also says he is angry that a wealthy banking concern which has fought against free speech historically is sponsoring the show, that it appears the show is capitalizing on a form of expression that does not rightfully belong in a museum environment, that promoters are leveraging his name and reputation to legitimate their show, and that the city has demonized artists in the past for doing the very same activity that is now being lauded – revealing a fundamental hypocrisy.

BLU action in Bologna. (photo © Andreco)

BLU has destroyed his own work in protest as recently as December of 2014 when he decried the gentrification of certain neighborhoods of Berlin. He wanted to deny real estate interests the opportunity to use his work to sell buildings or apartments. It’s an irony faced by many an artist in the street today – knowing that the changing of a neighborhood may be at least partially traceable to the desireability of the area thanks to attractive murals.

On his own website, Blu published this statement:

“a bologna non c’è più blu
e non ci sarà più finchè i magnati magneranno
per ringraziamenti o lamentele sapete a chi rivolgervi”, says the artist.

Our ability to translate is not great, but generally he is saying something like, “Today in Bologna there is not any more BLU and there won’t be any. For thanks or complaints go to the Magneranno magnates.”

One very large portion of the exhibit for example previously was shown at the Museum of the City of New York under the guidance of the same curator, Sean Corcoran, who brings this New York art to Italy. With historic 1970s and 80s trainwriter names like Lee Quinones, Futura, Daze, Lady Pink, and photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant on the roster, it is from the collection of artist Martin Wong who was a personal friend to almost all of these artists and a collector himself.

The collection is owned by the museum (Mr. Wong died of AIDS related illness in 1999) and, having seen the full show from which this emanated from, and knowing personally many of the artists represented here, we know that there is little, if any, art taken from the streets. We also feel assured that most, if not all, of the artists on display from the Martin Wong Collection were proud that this work was preserved and displayed in a museum, since so much from those decades simply doesn’t exist anymore. These are paintings, studio work, photographs, sketch books, and drawings of fine artists who also had practices on the streets (or trains); true pieces of NY history.

However we do not know about the other two collections and cannot make any reliable observations about them.

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Here is a short bit of video from the scene as published by Radio Città del Capo

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Editors Note: A previous version of this posting included quotes from a person with whom we had an email discussion. Because of possible miscommunication we did not realize that the person did not wish to be quoted. Those references have been removed and the current posting reflects this.

Also on BSA: BLU Allies: A Counter Exhibition to ‘Banksy & Co.’ Launched In Bologna

NUART Upate: Ella & Pitr & Giant Return for a “Melt Down”

March 14, 2016 Artists

Taking their inventive humor from St Etienne back up north to Norway this month, the French duo Ella & Pitr found that the weather was not quite as warm and agreeable as last August when they completed the largest outdoor mural to celebrate Nuart’s 15^th.

During this visit they made a trip to the beach in Sola to wheatpaste a few illustrations on massive weathered German bunkers from WWII. The pieces give a sense of the enormity of the space, as well as the humorous child-like imaginations of the adventurous couple as they continue marching across the globe.

Ella & Pitr. NUART. Sola Beach, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Later when they returned back to Stavanger and during a two-day snow storm the intrepid duo squished one of their overfed giants uncomfortably into what would otherwise be regarded as a large canvas – a 4 story building. He appears to be hurt as well, not sure what happened. It could have been a tumble down the stairs. They call this piece “La fonte des glaces” (Melt down), and clearly he’s having one.

A local talented photographer Tor Ståle Moen spent a lot of time touring around with Ella & Pitr and he tells us that they are planning to return again in the summer. Our very special thanks to him for sharing these images with BSA readers.

Ella & Pitr. NUART. Sola Beach, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Detail. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Detail. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Detail. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Detail. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. Hand tinted wheatpaste. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. “La fonte des glaces”. Work in progress. NUART. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Ella & Pitr. “La fonte des glaces”. NUART. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © @toris64)

Our sincere thanks to Tor Ståle Moen for sharing these exclusive photos with BSA. Please follow Tor’s Instagram adventures @toris64

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.13.16

March 13, 2016 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Seeing these new El Sol 25 collaged figures and Stephen Powers’ new ironically worded signs posted around the grounds of the Brooklyn Museum may have given us a sense of irrational optimism this week. It also could have been the 75 degree Wednesday afternoon, the birds singing through open apartment windows in the morning or the two-for-one bagels at Hamid’s deli.

Whatever it was, lets keep this springy buzz going a minute. Can we please skip the presidential race for a couple of days please?

Here’s our our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Chagall, City Kitty, Dismist, El Sol 25, Faust, Ivanorama, Jeff Koons, Joseph Meloy, Leaf, Lunge Box, Menace, Mint & Serf, Muse in Me, Nick Walker, Reading Ninja, Reka One, and Skount.

Our top image: El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RekaOne (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skount’s new work in Amsterdam inspired by his recent travels. (photo © Skount)

Faust (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mint & Serf (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TOY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

HATER (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ivanorama (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker. “Brooklyn Morning After”. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker. “Brooklyn Morning After”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Guess that beats Chanel #5, doesn’t it? Muse In Me (photo © Jaime Rojo)

City Kitty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The cow jumped over the moon. Reading Ninja pays tribute to Chagall…maybe. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leaf (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Joseph Meloy has some creepy company. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dismist. A collaged history of violence…(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Menace (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Groundswell mural in progress with the help of Jeff Koons…yes THAT Jeff Koons. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Groundswell in collaboration with Jeff Koons in Chinatown. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. SOHO, NYC. March 11, 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street from Schacter & Co

March 12, 2016 Artists

Utopia, as you know, is unattainable.

Neither should one think that we are devolving into a Dystopian nightmare. Not just yet.

A new show at London’s Somerset House is examining the acts and results of so-called urban artists and their relationship to discussions about this imagined polarity.

We ask ourselves if graffiti and it’s variant unsanctioned public art cousins simply are a medium of messaging that runs outside of accepted pathways of delivery? Yes, and so much more.

Lucas Dillon. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

One one hand some public servants, civic minders, and private real estate owners have their “hair on fire” moments when these actions/interventions/disruptions of the cityscape are portrayed as signs of the utter ruin of civilization. Concurrently, libertarians, anarchists and sundry romantics may present them as a form of self expression, even self empowerment; an act of claiming a voice in the public dialogue heretofore closed to certain members of society.

In the descriptive text for Somerset’s current series providing a full year of space for Utopian thinking, we learn that co-producers Somerset House, King’s College London and the Courtauld Institute of Art are marking the 500^th anniversary of Utopia’s formal birth as a concept in writings by Thomas More. The reasoning presented says that because of his texts we are all equipped to imagine that a better world is possible and, thus knowing, “we are empowered to create it.”

Lucas Dillon. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Raphael Schacter and the arts organization A(by)P are presenting a portion of this discussion with their exhibit Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street, just opened. Commissioning seventeen street artists for one’s show is in itself so rare and splendid as to be only in the realm of one’s imagination today. But here they are; new pieces and performances from a healthy spectrum of practitioners on the graffiti/Street Art scene like Shepard Fairey, Swoon, REVOK, Brad Downey, Horfée, and Eltono.

Schacter and company are “arguing against the traditionally-held belief of graffiti as a dystopian movement or ‘glorified vandalism’.” With installation works, in-house residencies, and a wide-ranging program of events that include workshops, talks, films, music and performances, no stone will be un-thrown in this wo/man-made island of inquiry and imagination.

Petro. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Say A(by)P, “Above all, graffiti and street art act as an alternative voice, whether it is loud and brazen or more subtle and difficult to decipher, which strive to challenge the well-worn systems of society – something which Thomas More’s seminal text also set out. All of the artists will uniquely interpret their ideas on these utopian foundations of graffiti.”

Here are a small series of images from the organizers from Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street.

Petro. Detail. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Russell Maurice. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Filippo Minnelli. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Les Freres Ripoulain. Detail. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

El Tono. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Antwan Horféé. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Misha Hollenbach. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Sixe Paredes. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Saleo & Rizote. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Shepard Fairey. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Nano. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Revok, Russell Maurice, Nano and Filippo Minelli. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street

3 March – 2 May 2016
Daily 10.00-18.00 (last entry 17.15)
Terrace Rooms, South Wing
Free admission

BSA Film Friday: 03.11.16

March 11, 2016 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. BSA Special Feature: Sofles / Wayfarer by Selina Miles
2. Loving Vincent: Trailer
3.“The Coward – Adieu” from the Julien Brothers

BSA Special Feature: Sofles / Wayfarer by Selina Miles

Selina Miles has just directed an epic excursion through the pleasant looking Collingwood and Fitroy areas of Melbourne and the graffiti culture there. The prolific and talented writer Sofles rides and runs center screen on this guided tour of his aerosol stomping ground and this (nearly) one continuous shot drone film is a revelation. Again Miles pushes the documentation category forward, going beyond merely recording toward capturing, creating a sense of drama, certainly poetry.

Omar Musa grabs you with his words before you even know where you are and holds your heart tethered to a string and pulling you along these streets and alleys and back lots. Many times this piece is soaring in its singularity and its sense of collaboration.

Loving Vincent: Trailer

Can you imagine your favorite Van Gogh’s coming to life? They are calling this the first fully painted feature film in the world. (and the producers are still looking for talent: http://join.lovingvincent.com/)

Nicolas Jullien and his brother Jean animation for International Women’s Day.

A simple captivating animation counting through the clock of life that wordlessly communicates greater truths than you are expecting.

Biancoshock Switches Colors of Graff Pieces: Conceptual Project on Others Work

March 10, 2016 Artists

In his latest theoretical and conceptual performance project with the graffiti tags of others, Biancoshock (formerly Fra. Biancoshock) switches the color palettes of two pieces that are located near one another to “demonstrate that interchanging the colors doesn’t change the result.

Over the last two years the artist has done 3 of these “actions”, as he refers to them. “I’ve interchanged the colors of the graffiti without modifying the outline of the pieces,” he says, explaining that he took special pains to research and find “the exact color tone in order to substitute the color of each piece.”

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Joke and Kream original work. Italy. (photo © Biancoshock)

Biancoshock “Commutative” intervention on the original pieces. (photo © Biancoshock)

In Biancoshock’s view the resulting pieces are the equivalent of a provocation to the original writers. “The act is minimal but very strong because in the graffiti world this could be perceived as an act of blasphemy; almost like writing “TOY” on someone else’s graffiti. Possibly it’s even worse because is like a sacrilege to alter a graffiti done by another.”

But he says that evoking the ire of various writers by making these color switches without permission is not the aim of the project. “I’ve done this to demonstrate that even if the order of the colors is changed, the result doesn’t change. Biancoshock sites his own interpretation of the commutative property in arithmetic.

Biancoshock at work on Joke and Kream works. (photo © Biancoshock)

And truthfully, we could agree with him until he made that statement, then the argument falls apart for us. “Graffiti are graffiti- they have a presence in the urban context, they have a story, a message, are signs of a passage – all independently of their more technical aspects, such as coloring or style,” he says,

“I believe that if I showed to the author of these graffiti pieces after many years these ‘modified’ pieces, they probably would not remember the color, but they certainly remember to have done that piece, because graffiti are for writers a little piece of their life, of personal history.”

Spid and Fish original work. Italy. (photo © Biancoshock)

Biancoshock “Commutative” intervention on the original pieces. (photo © Biancoshock)

It is an interesting project and it would be interesting to hear what the original author of these changed works would think.

But with all due respect, to say that the results are the same is to be color blind and insensitive to the characteristics which cultures and traditions have historically assigned to colors. Red may infer urgent danger to one person, but good luck to another. White calls to mind a funeral in some cultures, a wedding in others. For years baby showers featured a predominance of pink items for a new girl and blue clothes and toys for boys.

Also, need we mention that many artists have favorite colors or palettes, and it is doubtful that colors here are completely arbitrary and lacking in meaning to their original creators. He mentions piece are a little piece of the writers life and personal history, which is precisely the reason why colors will be important to them ultimately.

Biancoshock at work on Spid and Fish works. (photo © Biancoshock)

In math a binary operation is commutative if changing the order of the operands does not change the result, but in this case the result has changed as well. We are not sure we can agree with the artist that the outcome is the same using different colors.

But congratulations to Biancoshock for this visually and intellectually stimulating project and our sincere thanks for sharing these exclusive images with BSA readers. Biancoshock also asked if we would post his statement as follows: “I apologize to Fish, Spid, Kream, Joke, Draco and Pant for this action, I hope they understand my purpose.”

Draco and Pant original work. Italy. (photo © Biancoshock)

Biancoshock “Commutative” intervention on the original pieces. (photo © Biancoshock)

Biancoshock at work on Draco and Pant works. (photo © Biancoshock)

Got the “Missing Berlin Blues” : Urban and Contemporary

March 9, 2016 Artists

Exactly a year ago we were in Berlin as invited guest curators by Urban Nation Museum’s Director Yasha Young to curate the 7th Edition of Project M. Our exhibition, “Persons Of Interest” was aesthetically rich and culturally relevant in the windows and on the facade of the under-renovation UN haus, and the positive feedback we received lasted a number of months. Each artist had dug deep in their research and were inspired to bring a Brooklyn-Berlin historical and contemporary story to the street in a meaningful way.

The indoor exhibition at the museum’s headquarters overflowed onto the streets on opening night as well; with artists, fans, curators, honored cultural muses, and officials from Berlin’s formal arts infrastructure all abuzz with the exchange happening in Kreuzberg.

Blu. Detail. This piece of Blu has been probably been shared thousands of times on line and on social media. It is still a powerful image in photos as well as in person. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As Ms. Young and her teams continue to build the cultural foundation of UN with a dizzying array of programs, initiatives, and artists this year leading to the official opening next spring, we remark on her singular vision as a cornerstone of the museum.

With a finger on the pulse of many movements within the current Urban/Contemporary scene Young has made some bold and sharp choices to get an institution like this underway. With a clear sense of the potential that this global scene has always shown, Young has harnessed goodwill and top talents in the urban arts community and is gradually attracting the eye of more formal institutions. Undoubtedly in many ways UN has already made history.

Blu (photo © Jaime Rojo)

So to mark a year since our first show with UN we’re looking at a treasure trove of photos of works on the streets that we didn’t publish at that time. This city is singular in it’s permissiveness to graffiti and street art – a tacit but undeniable appreciation for its eclectic contribution to contemporary art, the life of the culture. Berlin also somehow understands the intrinsic value of supporting artist communities. A laboratory on the streets, Berlin continues to afford art space to take shape before your eyes.

Berlin Kidz are well known for vertical tagging thanks to rappelling down from the roof. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alo for Urban Nation Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kera . Sokar Uno (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kurar for Urban Nation Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Findac for Urban Nation Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cranio for Urban Nation Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

M.City for Urban Nation Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Above for Urban Nation Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder Searching for Gold in Northern Nevada

March 8, 2016 Artists

“It’s refreshing to work in a very un-urban environment especially when making what is commonly called Street Art,” says OverUnder as he gazes across the gruff and patchy terrain here in northern Nevada. The heterogeneous topography includes plateaus, mountain ranges, and dry basins – and many mines that produce about 80% of the gold in the US annually.

In big cities you could expect an aerosol bubble tag on one of these neglected shacks or industrial artifacts. OverUnder wheat-pastes his surreal illustrated portraits instead – at once out of place and still solidly present. He says he likes the contrast of putting his temporary art in this environment where it will undoubtedly fade with the sun and fierce winds.

“The palette here is bleached white and bone dry but it is interspersed with lots of subtle color varieties,” he says as his feet crunch through the sand and gravel. “It’s very dreamy in a way here; It may seem empty but it’s brimming with its own type of life.”

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Fabio Petani: Painting The Periodic Table, One Wall at a Time

March 7, 2016 Artists

113, 115, 117 and 118.

Those numbers sounds like the weights of Miss Universe and her three runner ups.

They are also the four newest additions to the Periodic Table of Elements announced in January. They are so new that only two of them have been tentatively given names – ununseptium and ununtrium.

For now Italian Street Artist Fabio Petani is staying with the elements that all high school chemistry students have grown to know and love (i.e. memorize and forget) in a series of geometric murals he has been doing recently. Oxygen, Sulphur, and Caesium all get their turn on a rustic, distressed, or neglected wall that is being decayed by the natural elements.

Favoring symbolism and abstraction, Petani arranges a handful of recognizable shape, lines, pristine text, and patches of ruddy color into a disordered harmony to create an illustration of one element at a time. The interaction of the components – some in more than one dimension, are understood only to him. Although you might guess what color he used for Cobalt.

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.06.16

March 6, 2016 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Armory Week : The art fairs are happening in NYC and folks are finding new, original and purely derivative ideas from the commercial shows that swarm with fans and lookyloos. The few folks we spoke with say that sales have been average to slow with guests carefully considering before purchasing, with the occasional big splurger. It could be that the market has been in an unspoken soft period for the last year or so due to a weak economy or the tumultuous political landscape in this election year. Nonetheless, there is nothing like the hivelike high you can get swimming through rivers of art fans at a New York fair, periodically bumping into a peer or a tanned celebrity.

Meanwhile, we have some dope street stuff for you from Jersey City to Morocco to Italy and Switzerland. Here’s our our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Atomiko, Bifido, C215, Dmote, Bradley Theodore, Dylan Egon, El Anatsui, Fintan Magee, MSK, Obey, Otto “Osch” Schade, PK, Post, Rime, Sean9Lugo, Sharon Lee De La Cruz, Space Invader, and Toner.

Our top image: C215 at The Medina, Djama El Fna Central Square in Marrakech. (photo © Jaime Rojo) In the prolific work of French master stencilist C215 cats appear with some regularity. It is very fitting then to have found this kitty in the wild in a city where hundreds of cats roam the streets without a particular home to go to. While not officially kept as pets the cats are being fed next to doorways. Many of them struggle for food and are visibly in need of some medical care but you will see very some happy felines comfortably bathing under the warm Moroccan sun.

Atomiko in Jersey City for Mana Urban Arts Project. The ENX wolves were painted at an earlier time and featured on BSA already. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ruby Bridges stencil in Hunts Point by Sharon Lee De La Cruz AKA Maripussy inspired by the iconic Norman Rockwell painting depicting a seminal event in the USA during the civil rights movement. Ruby Nell Bridges Hall is an American activist known for being the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana during the 20th century. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A monumental tapestry by El Anatsui at the Palais El Badii for the Marrakech Biennale 6 in Marrakech, Morocco. It is made entirely of metal bottle caps. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui’s monumental tapestry at the Palais El Badii for the Marrakech Biennale 6 in Marrakech, Morocco. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“RUN” on the Shores of Morocco With “Les Rives” Addresses Migration

March 5, 2016 Artists, Interview

Now appearing an eight-hour car ride south from the Strait of Gibraltar along Morocco’s coast is North Africa’s largest new mural. Given its proximity to the eight mile Africa/Europe divide, the new painting by the London-based Italian Street Artist named RUN addresses the multiple immigration crises that are unfolding before our eyes.

“You could identify one figure as European and one as African but I like to think of it in a more universal perspective because migration is an issue worldwide,” says the artist Giacomo Bufarini (aka RUN) of his enormous metaphorical piece in Essaouira just a few hundred meters from The Atlantic.

“First of all I could not avoid thinking about Europe and North Africa and all the stuff that is going on with immigration and all the refugees. So I created two continents divided by the sea, or a channel. But those two continents could easily be Mexico and America, they could be China and Mongolia – they can be across with any border.

Realized in conjunction with the MB6 Street Art project that runs parallel with the 6th Marrakech Biennale this year, this 6,400 square meter public art piece features two figures communicating with music as the intermediary.

Video by Gastone Clementi

RUN says the regional Gnaoua World Music Festival held in this city for almost two decades provided the inspiration for his theme – not least because this square is one of the multiple sites where hundreds of thousands of fans annually enjoy the often-hypnotic music produced by the pizzicato sounding 3 string bass called Guembri (الكمبري) or sintir (سنتير‎), a camel-skin covered wood instrument that is closely associated with the culture of the Gnawa people.

“So the person in the south is playing and the person in the north is listening,” says RUN. “He is communicating with the instrument. Also the instrument is placed from one continent to the other so it makes a kind of bridge across the sea. It’s kind of subtle but there is a symbolism there.”

In the new video that documents the project, RUN features two musicians who appeared on the square during the 7 day installation, which required 280 liters of paint and 4 assistants, including one speaking to him on a walkie-talkie from a balcony above the square, verbally directing RUN’s brushwork.

Accustomed to doing almost all of his painting himself and moving fast, RUN divulges that the scope of and the concomitant complications of this week-long “performance” tested his maturity as a person and, somewhat surprisingly, he says that he discovered that he can be very patient.

“I discovered all of my patience with humanity. I am so fucking patient, and I love it,” he says, laughing, and explains that he treaures the personal interaction with passersby.

“Actually I get really stressed when I am in London and I paint and nobody stops to look, and here many people stop. I mean how many people do you see up on a ladder painting? When they don’t stop it’s frustrating to me. I mean, come on! Stop! I’m doing something special. I’m not wheat pasting an advertisement on the wall. I don’t know, just stop. Why not? The performance is important.”

Speaking of logistics, he notes that he could not consult the camera work of an overhead aerial drone, a tool that many artists have recently adopted to assess the progress of their large scale public works

“I never was able to do it because the only day that I had a drone was just before I left the city so by then everything was already done.” Since this was his largest mural ever and difficult to gauge, he was hoping that his work was in proportion. “I was crossing my fingers to hope that when the drone went up and we were looking at this little monitor to see what we were doing, I would be happy.”

He thinks the next time he tries a project like this he will do something geometric. Using reliable measuring devices literally on the ground, RUN says that mathematics will be 90 percent of the next piece, with only a little bit of improvisation, and no need for a drone or someone standing on a veranda above him describing what they see.

“In this case mathematics was important but I had to improvise a lot. There was no other way. I was trying to imagine my eye over top of it and to see what I was doing,” he says. “It was hard – it was really tricky. I think after the 6th or 7th day I was feeling like, ‘Oh my god the painting is winning!’ ”

Brooklyn Street Art: Well as a Street Artist you are always making adjustments; according to the scale of the wall, or the audience, or the weather or the materials…
RUN: Exactly, this it the nature of art in the street. You have the control over what you are doing only to a certain degree. Then the weather, the social situation, the place…anything can alter it.

Brooklyn Street Art: With all the labor you have put into this mural – your preconception, your philosophy, and the actual execution – does it bother you that it is being destroyed as well?
RUN: No, that was the deal from the beginning. I am precious about pieces that I do on the street, obviously. But I also know that I do not have control over it from the moment that I start.

Brooklyn Street Art: So that sense of perspective comes from your personal history and the work you have done in graffiti and street art over time.
RUN: Of course, I think that each artist who works on the street wants to have a piece that stays on the street for 50 or 100 years. And maybe that will happen with some of my pieces on the street that are somehow protected by the laws of nature and the randomness of the city. I’m not talking about the scenario where people will try to put a piece of plexi-glass over it. I don’t care about that. This piece was meant to be destroyed. This is the nature of this piece. It has to go. I think that the performance is more important.

Our coverage of MB6 Street Art at the Marrakech Biennale is BSA in Partnership with Urban Nation (UN)

#urbannationberlin #allnationsunderoneroof #unblog #Marrakesh @mb6streetart #mb6streetart #MarrakeshBiennale #painting #mural #streetart #bkstreetart @bkstreetart

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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