Brooklyn Street Art | …loves you more every day.

QRST Flowers and Ephemerality of Life and Death

October 14, 2014 Artists

We see a lot of ugly and pretty things on the street – that’s just the range you will run into in the glorious public sphere. Hell I saw a guy almost get killed by a double decker NYC tour bus on Friday at dusk on 15^th Street and 5^th Avenue, no lie. Dude just decided he should jay-walk-jog across the street and ended up realizing his unwitting mistake and running away at top speed in front of the bus for about 15 feet while it was jamming on its brakes and throwing those camera-gripping tourists forward in their seats.

No one flew off the top deck though. And I didn’t see any cameras or fanny packs land on the pavement. The 22 year old chubby collegiate fresh-faced apple-cheeked white boy who caused it all kept running until he could get between cars to his left and cut to the sidewalk.

That would have been ugly. Preppie road pizza.

QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

On the other hand, Street Artist QRST has had a very pretty turn recently – painting flowers. Yes. Also framing them and posting them on wooden utility poles. They have been appearing in different locations around Brooklyn recently and we contacted him to see if he was feeling okay. He said yes but he’s been thinking about death a lot lately. And flowers.

“I realize that placing small, quiet pieces out in a world of screaming traffic, crowded sidewalks and enormous murals is like being silent in a room full of yelling people,” he says of the new campaign that features fresh sunflowers and lilies and that will be followed by more dying ones soon – a way of acknowledging the normal cycle of life and death. “We can all watch them decay together,” he explains of the existential Street Art bouquet,”to wilt and slough off into nothing, just like a flower should.”

QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Of using flowers as a subject for art on the street QRST says, “They’re beautiful and weird looking, complicated and easy and trite all at the same time. They’re a strange, very temporary currency. They’re for happiness and sadness and ends and beginnings and apologies and rememberings.”

For those of you tempted to pick these to create an arrangement of your own, beware; they will probably die in the process. “The pieces are designed to self-destruct if someone tries to remove them,” he warns, “that’s part of the point.” So enjoy them for the moment. Then the moment will be gone.

“You can’t own a flower, not really,” says QRST. “Even uncut the best you can do is watch it run its course, a tiny encapsulated version of everything you’ve ever set your mind to, everyone you’ve ever known, every person that is here right now.” Meanwhile, please stay on the sidewalk and cross when the when the sign has that little white walking figure illuminated.

QRST (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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“Bluebird” : BIFIDO In Italian Jail Teaching Art Methods to Youth

October 13, 2014 Artists

Part of the lore surrounding graffiti and Street Art is that you are at some point playing cat and mouse with the police and probably doing illegal work and will possibly land in jail because of it. Opposite that stereotypical lore is the story where the Street Artist goes into jail specifically to paint, or to teach about art making.

It happens all the time.

Olek went to jail in Poland, both JR and Eine went to New York’s Rikers Island, and organizations like Young New Yorkers and the Philadelphia Mural Arts Restorative Justice program routinely benefit from the volunteerism of Street Artists who give their talents and time to people caught up in the criminal justice system. So much for the simplicity of stereotyping.

Today we have a fresh new piece from Street Artist Bifido, who just created this work in the Istituto Penitenziario Minorile di Airola, a prison for youth in Airola, Italy. Entitled “Bluebird” it contains metaphors about freedom that one could easily read into. “My work speaks of hope and a desire for rebirth that a person in prison can have and of the possibility for them to reinvent their life,” says the artist.

“In the prison I explained to the young people there about what street art is and taught them some techniques about creating art,” he says of the experience. “I talked with them about how an artist feels painting or making something on the street. They assisted me during the work and we worked together.”

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Bifido. Ariola, Italy. 2014 (photo © Bifido)

BSA Images Of The Week: 10.12.14

October 12, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Bishop203, Blek le Rat, Caratoes, Cone SP, Cost, Dasic, Eelco “Virus” van den Berg, ENX, Enzo Sarto, Jerk Face, Nemo’s, Ripo, and Trash Bird.

Top Image >>Eelco “Virus” van den Berg (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wanna taste of this? NemO’s new site specific installation in Sicily, Italy. (photo © NemO’s)

COST. ENX (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Veteran New York Street Art/graffiti artist COST was in the news this week after being nabbed for putting up illegal work, and as you might expect, is instantly a hero to some because of it. Literally the same day as the police press release about the arrest we noticed a fellow artist mask taping some letters on a buffed portion of this legal wall where COST and his fellow artist ENX have been riding for a while. We returned a day later to find the message below.

COST . ENX (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dasic new wall for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dasic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Trash Bird shows how the evolution of man has been affected by cellphones. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blek le Rat in collaboration with Low Brow Artique. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blek le Rat in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Enzo Sarto (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Caratoes for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cone SP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RIPO for The L.I.S.A. Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jerk Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bishop203 for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Afternoon Prayer. SOHO, NYC. August 2014 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Decolonizing Street Art” Gives Voice to More than the Usual

October 11, 2014 Artists

Politically themed Street Art or murals have a long tradition – as long as people have had something to advocate for or against. The modern Street Art movement may trace its roots to political postering that came with the printing press or 20^th century Mexican muralism or the 1968 student demonstrations around the world, especially in Paris – but artists have used and been used to communicate ideas and opinions in the public sphere much longer than this.

Decolonize History. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Zola)

Today, whether it is the Arab Spring or the Occupy movement or simply a personal campaign to combat harassment by cat-callers or the economic violence of local gentrification, politically charged speech of one sort or another takes place on the street when artists give it voice.

“Decolonizing Street Art”, a festival an project that took place in August in Canada, convened with the idea that carrying issues directly to the public can affect opinions and possibly produce positive change for people whom the organizers would like to give voice to.

Since the high profile and increasingly moneyed version of the current Street Art festival scene is populated worldwide primarily by men with characteristics of the dominant culture, the organizers and participants of “Decolonizing Street Art” may also be commenting on that backdrop as well. Whatever the motivation, these are voices that not many hear or see.

Decolonize History. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ ThiênViệt)

Hosted in and programmed “on unceded territory, in so-called Montreal”, this handful of artists speak of the indigenous people of the planet and the history of colonialism, the Arab/Israeli conflict, the poisoning of the environment and its effect on humans and animals, and the rights of many marginalized categories of people.

With a concentrated effort this first entry into a still-forming circuit of Street Art festivals and programs worldwide, Decolonizing Street Art makes a formal statement about making space for more radical views comparatively than one typically sees. Whether it is native communities or disenfranchised poor or disappeared women, this effort aims to bring more voices to the street to speak their truth.

Zola. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Zola)

LMNOPI. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

LMNOPI . Red Bandit . Swarm. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

Red Bandit. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

Swarm. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

Pyramid Oracle. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

Jessica Sabogal. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

David Rotten. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

Chris Bose. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Võ Thiên Việt)

Chris Bose. Decolonizing Street Art festival. Montreal, Canada. August 2014. (photo © Zola)

To learn more about Decolonizing Street Art click HERE.

See videos from five of the participating artists on BSA Film Friday 10.10.14.

BSA FIlm Friday: 10.10.14

October 10, 2014 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. LMNOPI: Decolonizing Street Art
2. Mitra Fakhrashrafi: Decolonize History
3. Jessica Sabogal: Decolonizing Street Art
4. SWARM: Decolonizing Street Art
5. Chris Bose: Decolonizing Street Art

BSA Special Feature: Decolonizing Street Art : Five Videos, Five Artists

“All of my work is dealing with recognizing the presence of people who are often ignored,” says Street Artist LMNOPI in this video. In fact each of the five artists this week on BSA Film Friday are addressing the unaddressed.

A simple yet powerful individual voice on the street can amplify the story of another person, or in these cases, many other people. Here laid bare is one of many junctures where it is possible to fall in love with the Street Art scene all over again, as it continues to evolve and reinvent itself.

The recently completed “Decolonizing Street Art” project in Canada this August quietly and loudly gave voice to personal and political, local and international issues as broad as patriarchy and genocide, and as personal as queer identity and being an immigrant.

Told through the voices of people who put their art in the street, the messages are simple, poignant, and meaningful. Tomorrow we’ll give you photos but today you can enjoy this collection of five artists speaking about their work.

LMNOPI: Decolonizing Street Art

Mitra Fakhrashrafi: Decolonize History

Jessica Sabogal: Decolonizing Street Art

SWARM: Decolonizing Street Art

Chris Bose: Decolonizing Street Art

A Miami Waterfront Stadium Slaughtered by Street Artists to Save It

October 9, 2014 Artists

Just over 50 years ago Cuban architect Hilario Candela designed the Miami Marine Stadium using modernist design to create a great open air theater along the water to watch powerboat racing. In the thirty or so years between its construction and Hurricane Andrew, the 6,566 seat stadium on Miami’s Virginia Key provided natural shade and entertainment including the races, orchestral music, popular music, political events, prize fights – all in a very original and unusual setting. And who can forget it was in “Clambake” with Elvis on skis!

Ron English. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Because of damage sustained during the 1992 hurricane storm, subsequent inspections have left it condemned by the city engineers and a six-year-old restoration and preservation project has been drawing attention to the site and raising money with the hopes of funding its return. While the restoration organization has received support from the original architect, local dignitaries, celebrities and even some corporate funds, the $30 million dollar renovation is still some distance away.

Recently a group of Street Artists and graffiti artists were invited to continue the visual adornment begun by many uninvited writers over the years. “Graffiti artists have been drawn to the stadium and its architecture,” says Street Artist/ fine artist Logan Hicks who participated in and helped organize many of the artists to check out the mid-century modern structure.

“While the city forgot about the stadium, artists continued to embrace it, illegally painting while the city left it to decay,” he says. In fact it is an irony to consider that one city demonizes the same behavior that another invites, but this isn’t the first time that a subculture is recognized for its contribution. Naturally, we know that the work of these artists will most likely be obliterated in the final design.

Ron English. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Now a part of an official campaign to draw attention to the restoration effort, artists from around the country and world have been traveling to the stadium to add their visual signature to the interesting venue. Today we share with BSA readers recent shots by photographer Martha Cooper, who spent some time with Logan and some of the artists for a few days this summer as they explored and hit up some spots in the stadium.

Artists invited to the site include Stinkfish, Axel Void, HoxxoH, Tatiana Suarez, Abstrk, Pixel Pancho, Logan Hicks, Joe Iurato, Rone, Elbow Toe, Risk, Doze Green, Evoca1, Ian Kuali’i, Luis Berros, Dabs Myla, Ron English, Tristan Eaton, The London Police, Crash, Johnny Robles, Reinier Gamboa, Jose Mertz, and Lucy McLauchlan.

Ron English. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Logan Hicks. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

A view from the stadium when it was doing live shows floating in the water offshore from the Miami Herald website (thus the watermark). To look at original photos the paper has for sale click on the photo or HERE.

Reinier Gamboa. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

CRASH. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Luis Berros. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Luis Berros and Crash. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

The London Police. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

The London Police, Crash and Luis Berros. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

The London Police and Crash. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

The London Police and Hoxxochs. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Tristan Eaton getting aerosol satisfaction. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Tristan Eaton. Miami Marine Stadium Mural Project. Miami, FL 2014 (photo © Martha Cooper)

Monet Rising: Spanish Street Artist Pejac Impressionist Tribute on Ship

October 8, 2014 Artists, Interview

The clusters of barnacles on the corroded hull of the old ship form the rocky shoreline in this impressionistic tribute to Monet by the Spanish street artist Pejac. Here on the shores of Canabria in northern Spain, he bobs in the low tide while recreating a scene from a hundred forty or so years earlier over the harbor of Le Havre, France.

Pejac. “Impression (Sunset)” Santander, Spain. Summer 2014. (photo © Maximiliano Ruiz)

He says the tide alternately hides and reveals the work to passing vessels depending on the day. The original Monet work, ‘Impression, Sunrise” was the inspiration for the very term Impressionism that was eventually applied to an entire movement of French painters who eschewed the rigidity of realism in favor of intuitional readings of light and movement in the material world.

Pejac. “Impression (Sunset)” Santander, Spain. Summer 2014. (photo © Maximiliano Ruiz)

‘Impression Sunrise’ is an image that has always amazed me,” says the artist as he describes how he worked with the mottled surface to produce additional effects of movement and light in Santander. “The first time I saw the Monet painting I was surprised by the title as I thought it was actually a sunset.”

According to historians, many viewers thought so at the time as well, and for a while, a debate raged about the time of day Monet painted it. Interestingly, the exact time of this sunrise was announced just over a month ago by Physicist Donald Olson of Texas State University, who has calculated the painting to have originated Nov. 13, 1872, right around 7:35 a.m. local time.

Pejac. “Impression (Sunset)” Santander, Spain. Summer 2014. (photo © Maximiliano Ruiz)

But it’s the site specificity of this sea-vessel wall that makes this tribute so meaningful to Pejac. “I think that the rusted metallic hull of this semi-sunk ship gives life to the image. With the daily sea tides of the Cantabric ocean the work is constantly above and below water,” he says, and because of it “The sea acts as a theater curtain.”

In his studio work Pejac tenders illustration style scenes of slightly askew possibility: clever visual metaphors that repurpose everyday events and objects and venture into the fantastic and possibly treacherous world of the imagination populated with aspiration, adventure, fears and other subterraneal musings. As a street artist Pejac looks for the rips and tears in the physical world and fuses those musings with a weathered wall or a storm drain, for example, and re-imagines them as passages or windows into other imagined scenarios. Here in the sea, his impressionist tribute takes on characteristics he can’t claim authorship of, but he relishes them nonetheless.

Pejac. “Impression (Sunset)” Santander, Spain. Summer 2014. (photo © Maximiliano Ruiz)

BSA had an opportunity to speak with Pejac and ask him about his practice on the street and how context factors into the process.

Brooklyn Street Art: How long have you been painting on the street?
Pejac: I started working in the streets in 2000 while I was living in Milan, Italy. But after leaving that great city this urge for public transgression kind of disappeared until about five years ago.

Brooklyn Street Art: Would you consider yourself a street artist, muralist, or a fine artist?
Pejac: A mix of all three actually. I just do not see that much of a difference; It’s just a matter of where you paint. Never the less I am very moved by working in the public space as it is the ultimate form of giving art to people who might have never stepped into a museum or gallery. Sometimes art is seen as something only meant and understood by elite society. By making street art in certain kinds of neighborhoods you are aiming to break up this dumb preconception.

Pejac. “Impression (Sunset)” Santander, Spain. Summer 2014. (photo © Maximiliano Ruiz)

Brooklyn Street Art: Most of your outdoor installations are designed within the context of what already exists and by adopting the existing environments and merging them with your art one can say that your installations are site specific. Do you enjoy altering the viewer’s perception with these installations?
Pejac: When doing a street work I always adapt to the very colors, textures and dimensions of the wall or whatever surface I’m working on. But as important as this is, it is also the visual and social context. Despite the fact that we live in a globalized and shrinking world where the artistic language breaks a lot of barriers.. there are still a huge variety of points of view from which to see our lives. Hence one work can have very different readings depending on the context and each work functions according to its location.

Brooklyn Street Art: Which is more difficult? Making a simple presentation, or a complex one?
Pejac: Making a work look simple is quite complex.

Brooklyn Street Art: Whose work on the street do you admire today?
Pejac: There are a few, but for example the work of the French artist Dran always makes me smile. I also find the work of the Spanish artist Aryz very different and stimulating.

‘Impression, Sunrise” (Impression, soleil levant), 1872, Oil on canvas, Musée Marmottan, Paris, Monet, Claude-Oscar | 1840-1926

Brooklyn Street Art: Are these illusionary pieces simply to entertain, or do you sometimes have a larger philosophical meaning?
Pejac: I definitely do not see my work as simply entertaining. I’m interested in making people’s brains turn, to think! It’s like I would like my work to produce the same result as when you whisper into someone’s ear. Gentle and discrete – but right into the brain… a whisper in the form of a question.

Brooklyn Street Art: What is the most challenging part of creating pieces on the street?
Pejac: First: Having the freedom of choosing where, how and when to do it. Second: Having a straight-forward communication with the public. Third: Contrary to the work done in studio, this one will never be for sale.

Pejac. “Impression (Sunset)” Santander, Spain. Summer 2014. (photo © Maximiliano Ruiz)

To see more of Pejac’s work click HERE

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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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This article was also published on The Huffington Post

Andreco Explores Italian Coast and Leads a “PARADE FOR THE LANDSCAPE”

October 7, 2014 Artists

Geologist, public artist, visual artist, earth activist, political activist, anthropologist, researcher, costume designer, environmental engineer PhD. Andrecco is all of these. Add performance artist to the list.

Andreco. “PARADE FOR THE LANDSCAPE” Leuca, Italy. June, 2014. (photo © Yacine Benseddik)

Leading his troupe of volunteers along the easternmost coast of Italy between Santa Maria di Leuca and Otranto, the Rome-born Andrecco says he worked with residents, particularly musicians, to form this merry earth spectacle along a three mile route.

“We are sort of an imaginary tribe ready to march in defense of the environment and in the name of the local geology,” he explains as you watch them carrying fluttering flags representing cliff rocks across the city of Santa Maria di Leuca. “The parade is a reflection on Leuca’s landscape and its natural environment,” he says, “on the meaning of natural boundaries, of political borders, and of public space in Leuca.”

Andreco. “PARADE FOR THE LANDSCAPE” Leuca, Italy. June, 2014. (photo © Yacine Benseddik)

Talking with him you realize that his work is a an admirable integration of his many interests, which if looked upon separately would never have the psychological and emotional impact that this weaving together produces. Add the element of weather, theater and performance – and thinking about rocks has never been quite so sexy. Collective action as advocacy gains relevancy in a way that it had not before.

“The project is possible with the participation of many persons from the local community,” he says of his public artwork called “Parade for the Landscape”. Inspired by the work of geographer Élisée Reclus, he would like this collective action by a group of citizens to help people reevaluate boundaries of landscape. “I aim to reflect on the meaning of limits, finding contradiction and differences between the idea of a natural boundaries (represented by the rocks of the cliffs that plunge into the sea) and political borders.”

Andreco. “PARADE FOR THE LANDSCAPE” Leuca, Italy. June, 2014. (photo © Yacine Benseddik)

It is not clear that an uniformed passerby who is just taking his kids to the cinema or the store will understand the fuller implications of Andreco’s plan or performance as the parade passes by, but the spectacle may yet spark an inquiry.

All you can hope for as your parade winds through critical zones of the city – abandoned areas, treacherous cliffs, challenging terrain – is that you have stimulated thoughts by merging local traditions and imaginative symbolism from the landscape. It can begin a conversation – or at the very least, proffer a question.

Andreco. “PARADE FOR THE LANDSCAPE” Leuca, Italy. June, 2014. (photo © Yacine Benseddik)

Andreco presents drawings of formations that inspire him. (photo © Andreco)

Learn more about Andreco HERE.

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Kobra Gets Pugilistic with Warhol and Basquiat in Brooklyn

October 6, 2014 Artists

Expert colorist KOBRA rocked a New York theme in Williamsburg last week with his own tesla patterned faces of Andy Warhol and Jean Michel Basquiat. Not exactly the scale you usually see him doing – like this one in Sao Paulo he painted last year, the iconic Times Square scene he did near New York’s Highline, or even the portrait of Alfred Nobel he did in Sweden last month.

But the relevance of the subject matter to the Street Art scene here could not be more on point as these two loom large over many artists today. 29 years ago this month the poster and photo shoot that inspired this painting was devised by gallerist Tony Shafrazi to promote an unprecedented dual show in Soho.

Stay tuned to see if we can get our Brazilian bros a bigger wall in BK this week. Who knows?

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BSA Images Of The Week: 10.05.14

October 5, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

School’s back in session, the Jews just celebrated a new year, Kobra painted new portraits of Warhol and Basquiat in Williamsburg, and if you were at Brooklyn Museum last night you got to see Street Artist and muralist Don Rimx and us live – and us with markers in our hands looking completely lost.

But that’s not nearly all the action this week; Gaia was in the Rockaways, Dain showed up in BK, the old Os Gemeos was “unveiled” on Houston Street, Nychos was in Hamburg, Nick Walker was in Yonkers, Ludo was readying his big solo show in London, we marked a year since Banksy hit NYC, students were in the streets in Hong Kong, ebola showed up in Texas, banks are being cracked open by cyber hacks, the US has begun another war, the new SNL is almost unwatchable, and you better start thinking about your Halloween costume.

Other than that, not much is happening.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring $howta, Apples on Pictures, Conor Harrington, Dain, EKG, Funky13, Jack the Beard, Jeff Huntington, Jesse James, Matthew Reid, Mr. Prvrt, Os Gemeos, Pyramid Oracle, Ramiro Davaros-Coma, Sam3, Square, Stikman, and What Is Adam.

Brazilian twins Os Gemeos are back on the Houston Wall after a long hibernation under a constructed cover that hosted Shepard Fairey, Faile, and a petite litany of others. So if you missed this the first time around and you are in NYC go and take a look before the wall comes down. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A portrait of Maya Angelou; a collaboration between Jesse James and Jeff Huntington for Annapolis, Maryland’s first Street Art Festival. (photo © Jesse James)

““I think that the courage to confront evil and turn it by dint of will into something applicable to the development of our evolution, individually and collectively, is exciting, honorable.” ~ Maya Angelou ~

Facing Evil With Maya Angelou (Full Show)

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Dreaming While Inter-Viewing: Stormie Mills book “DWI YMA”

October 4, 2014 Artists

It is a stormy day outside the window today in Brooklyn – rain is coming down in sheets and the sky is a silvery grey and the leaves are holding on to the trees for dear life, not ready to fall. Feels like a good day to hang out with a book with Stormie.

Stormie Mills DWI YMA Magenta Group Pty Ltd. (photo of layout by Jaime Rojo)

A native of Perth in western Australia the street artist and illustrator Stormie Mills has been painting for three decades and his monochromatic palette has taken him to the streets and galleries of cities like London, New York, Tokyo, and Miami along with Sydney and Melbourne. He calls his work an exploration of the human condition but you won’t find humans here, strictly.

The black/white/grey/silver characters are confronting the exigencies of life singularly, exhibiting feelings of ennui and consternation as each situation arises, often with a bit of costumery to help with perspective. The mood can be dark and without escape but their shape, proportion, and turn of the wrist lighten the room – a humorous stance that keeps the dramas in proportion. Mills work keeps you in a dreamlike state just below consciousness and while you flip through this book you may stay there quite a while.

Stormie Mills DWI YMA Magenta Group Pty Ltd. (photo of layout by Jaime Rojo)

Stormie Mills DWI YMA Magenta Group Pty Ltd. Australia 2013

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BSA Film Friday: 10.03.14

October 3, 2014 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. PREMIERE of 3D Grátis Frutas / Free Fruit – Narcelio Grud
2. Vero Rivera and a Small Gold Leaf Brush in Santurce, PR
3. NYCHOS, a Spider, and Judas Priest Soar in Germany
4. IBUg 2014 – Der Film
5. Mica Still in Auckland, NZ

BSA Special Feature: PREMIERE of 3D Grátis Frutas / Free Fruit

We have no hesitation declaring Narcelio Grud as one of our favorite experimenters on the street. Part installation, part performance, part interactive sociology experiment, Grud often invites passersby to participate in the process.

In his brand new video premiering here on BSA Film Friday, Narcelio wonders what would happen if he were to give fresh fruit away on the street. Find out now.

Vero Rivera and a Small Gold Leaf Brush in Santurce, PR

Celebrating their first year of making videos, Tost Films brings this gold filigreed doorway to life after six days of painting in Santure, Puerto Rico. Vero Rivera is unassuming and allows this portrait to trace her steps: Thoughtful, intimate, alive, and fresh. Her painstaking process and careful brushwork carries a swirl of intoxication and a welling of celebration. Also like to see her dog hanging out to keep her company.

NYCHOS, a Spider, and Judas Priest Soar in Germany

Just in time for the Urban Art Festival in Hamburg this weekend, Nychos splits an enormous spider in half and allows you to see its colorful dripping guts, set to a delightful soundtrack of “Halls of Valhalla”, the 2014 version of Judas Priest. Heroic and soaring, what more can we say?

IBUg 2014 – Der Film

Celebrating its 9th edition IBUg 2014 took place at the end of August in Crimmitschau, Germany with about 100 artists from 10 or so countries. A cultural festival that runs the gamut with graffti, murals, video projection, and performance the weeklong program also features movies, talks, lectures and tours. Primarily in German, this video gives you an idea what the event is like.

Mica Still in Auckland, NZ

Produced by a small creative agency in Auckland last week and finished a couple of days ago, this stop action shows artist Mica Still as she creates a mural.

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Photos of BSA 2025 # 4
December 31, 2025
We’re celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next by thanking BSA Readers, Friends, and Family …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 5
December 30, 2025
We’re celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next by thanking BSA Readers, Friends, and Family …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 6
December 29, 2025
It's not all doom and gloom, but sometimes you may get that impression. In New York—like everywhere else—economic stress, global …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 7
December 28, 2025
Somewhere along the King’s Road, punk hardened into a classic ‘look’ - or dictionary of ‘looks’. Stripped of its insurgent …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 8
December 27, 2025
“When I watch people holding their smartphones, I often ask myself: are they holding their phones because they want to, …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 9
December 26, 2025
This was the year that rappelling from high places tipped the balance in New York graffiti. No matter the style …Read More »