Images of the Week 08-26-12

August 26, 2012 ,

Once you’ve stumbled up and whizzed through the same streets in your neighborhood a hundred times it’s a great temptation to explore, especially in the summer. Jump off the gravel and wander along the stones and up the railroad bed and through the high grass and go single file on the dirt path, teetering astride a slimy inlet and shimmy through a hole in the fence that rips your shirt. What the hell – it’s all in service of discovery just off the beaten path.

And probably it’s no stunning surprise to you to find out that there is this lively conversation happening on the walls. Wouldn’t call it “party talk”, per se, but a lot of the guests seem to know each other, and many are very opinionated.  So we find a lot of graff here, and mixed in with the tags and pieces are other artists we might call Street Artists. As your eyes acclimate to the new surroundings, you realize that this busted back lot and former crackhouse are not so abandoned. In fact, some times these buildings are more alive than any busy street, with a lot of activity in and around them. And sometimes you know that you’re are definitely not alone.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week including Anthony Lister, Blanco, Bored One, Celso, Dan Witz, Elbow-Toe, False, KSM, Kuma, LNY, LUSH, Michael DeFeo, ND’A, Nether, Nick Walker, Sorta, Tense, and Whisbe.

KUMA . FALSE (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

KUMA . Elbow Toe. It is common to find artists collaborating on the streets, or in the back lot full of overgrown weeds in this case. Some times they get together and jam all day on a wall playing off each others ideas. Other times these collaborations are forced, unintended. This one falls on the latter description with Kuma smacking over Elbow Toe’s cat, but we find that surprisingly, it works very well and KUMA’s placement of his tag was done artfully. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

KUMA . Elbow Toe. Detail. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

KSM and Anthony Lister appear to have a sparkling interaction (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Lister has a message for you, and a bit of a scowl to wash it down with. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker looks like he’s done the crest for a men’s accessory designer here. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

ND’A and Nick Walker at Bushwick 5 Points. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dan Witz, frighten as usual, in Bushwick 5 Points. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Celso goes in a bold new direction at Bushwick 5 Points. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

LNY at Buwshwick 5 Points. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tense (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bored One (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Whisbe (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lu$h is Flu$h (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blanco was briefly in town from his two years of service with the AmeriCorps in Mongolia. He left something for us to remember him. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sorta in Baltimore (Photo © Nether)

Michael DeFeo (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled (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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Trailerpark Festival 2012 (Copenhagen, Denmark)

August 25, 2012 , , , , , ,

Trailerpark Festival

Soten (image courtesy of Trailerpark Festival)

Trailerpark Festival is  next week once again ready to take Copenhagen by storm. Trailerpark Festival focus on music and art from many subcultures. ArtRebels and Montana (mtn-world.com) are proud to announce this year’s street artists and graffiti crews, who will be playing a big part in the design and decoration of this year’s festival area. We have invited local as well as international world-class artists, who will be creating their works live within the festival area on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We are repeating last year’s success by putting up a 50 meter graffiti wall that will be available for our chosen artists during all three festival days. We want to give the audience a unique insight into how the very best graffiti artists work. The audience have a chance to follow the creation of a piece of work from start to finish, from sketch to the last outline.

This year, it is with great honour that we are able to present Letterbenders, Furious Styles, Big City Brains, Soten, Chifumi and Ogre.

August 31 – September 2, 2012  @ CPH SKATEPARK, Enghavevej 80-82, 2450 Copenhagen SV, Denmark

http://trailerparkfestival.com/

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Gamma Proforma Presents: Futurism 2.0. Group Exhibition and Book Launch. (London, UK)

August 25, 2012 , , , , ,

Futurism 2.0

Futurism 2.0 is an exhibition, film and book examining parallels between 20th Century Futurism and 21st Century abstract urban art.  In the film and book we talk to historians, critics, cultural figures and the artists at work. Discussing creative revolutions, our world and today’s 24/7 creative society. Uncovering this truly international movement, which connects via silicon and copper across the globe, where each development is transmitted digitally and consumed organically.

The exhibition takes place in London from 27th September – 3rd October. The launch party/private viewing is on the 27th September 6pm – Late – RSVP events@gammaproforma.com

Artists include: Augustine Kofie, Phil Ashcroft, Boris Tellegen (Delta), James Choules (sheOne), Matt W. Moore, Mark Lyken, Sat One, Christopher Derek Bruno, Moneyless, Mr Jago, Nawer, O. Two, Morten Andersen, Keith Hopewell(Part2ism), Jaybo Monk, Poesia, Derm, Jerry Inscoe (Joker), Remi/Rough, Clemens Behr and more…

Find out more about the project and the artists at www.futurism2-0.com, you can pre-order the book here.

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NUART is Getting Ready for 2012

August 25, 2012

The NUART team in Stavanger, Norway are busy working on and organizing the last details of their ambitious NUART 2012 program for this Fall.

Still from video of ROA at Nuart (© Nuart)

Below is a promo video to get you ready to get ready to think about it and book your air tickets and accommodations and camera, black book, aerosol cans, markers, mints, condoms, and your most rockinest kicks.

So far the lineup for the opening on September 29 includes

RON ENGLISH (US), SABER (US), DOLK (NO), AAKASH NIHALANI (US), NIELS SHOW MEULMAN (NL), MOBSTR (UK), JORDAN SEILER//PUBLIC AD CAMPAIGN (US), EINE (UK), SICKBOY (UK), HOWNOSM (US), THE WA (FR).

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Cruz in Cholula, Mexico and Okata, Spain.

August 25, 2012 ,

Italian born now Brooklyn-based Street Artist Cruz took the show on the road to Spanish speaking localities this summer to share these humor inflected symbol portraits. One wall is in Cholula, Puebla in Mexico and the other one in Okata, Spain near Barcelona.

CRUZ. Cholula, Puebla. (photo © CRUZ)

CRUZ. Okata, Spain. (photo © CRUZ)

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Fun Friday 08.24.12

August 24, 2012

DUUUUUUUDE, it’s Fun Friday! We changed the sign today. Looks fresh right?

1. ICY & SOT “Made in Iran” (NYC)
2. Barry McGee at Berkeley (CA)
3. BORF Solo in Newcastle (UK)
4. “Klimpt Illustrated” at Lazarides (London)
5. Lush Does “Shitty Drawings in New York City”
6. Shepard Fairey Does “Americana” (LA)
7. Dabs & Myla: Artists Driven (VIDEO)
8. CYRCLE “Beautiful Disaster” (VIDEO)
9. ALL STYLES Dance Battle at Postmasters Gallery in NYC (VIDEO)

ICY & SOT “Made in Iran” (NYC)

Two Street Art brothers, Icy & Sot, born in Iran and encouraged by their parents to pursue their dreams and aspirations have ventured outside their country and landed in New York, their first foreign trip, their first international city, their first art show in which they were able to attend. “Made in Iran” is now open to the everybody at the Open House Gallery in Manhattan.

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Barry McGee at Berkeley (CA)

The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) mid-career survey of San Francisco based artist Barry McGee.  From the press release: “Using a visual vocabulary that borrows elements from comics, hobo art, sign painting, and other sources, McGee’s work addresses a range of issues, from individual survival and social malaise to alternative forms of community”. This exhibition is now open to the general public.

Junior, what up with the car? Barry McGee in Miami for Primary Flight 2009 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this exhibition click here.

BORF Solo in Newcastle (UK)

Detroit native BORF has traveled to England for his solo show “Walls Are Two-Sided” at The Outsiders Newcastle. With this new body of work, Borf illustrates the derelict aspect of Detroit and elevates the decay to art by zeroing in on a detail of the building’s peeling and corroding facade and transporting that vision on to the canvas. The result in the words of the press release is: “Rothko talked about wrestling with opposing and competing elements to eventually discover an equilibrium, what he called a pocket of silence” says BORF. “For this show I was fighting through layers of ambivalence and opposites: graffiti as youth expression and Rothko as adult expression; the art market and property rights; education and improvisation, youth and adulthood.” This show is now open.

Borf on the streets of Brooklyn C. 2007 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

“Klimpt Illustrated” at Lazarides (London)

Gustav Klimt the famous Austrian painter is turning 150 years old and The Vienna Tourist Board has teamed with The Lazarides Gallery in London to give Klimt street creed in the hopes that younger audiences will start following him on Twitter to gain knowledge on the secrets of his longevity and hopefully on his craft as well. To this effect curator Sydney Ogidan tapped nine international artists to take inspiration from some of the master’s most iconic masterpieces and create their own paintings. The opening reception for this show “Klimt Illustrated” is tonight at Lazarides Gallery in SOHO.

For further information regarding this show click here.

Lush Does “Shitty Drawings in New York City”

We thought we noticed a change in the air when the Australian storm called LUSH landed on these shores. Well here he is, likely to offend a few uptight prone-to-nose-bleeds stiffs and even more likely to amuse a lot more of us loose New Yorkers. LUSH has been madly working on a series of drawings/illustrations for his show “Shitty Drawings In New York City” opening Saturday night at the Klughaus Gallery in Manhattan. Half political cartoons/ half comic book with a blunt appreciation of the mechanics of the male and female reproductive organs, LUSH’s commentary on social, political and popular culture can be right on the spot. Dimwits need not apply.

LUSH (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Shepard Fairey Does “Americana” (LA)

Shepard Fairey needs no introductions at this point in his career or this point in our dang blog. One can always be certain to find him busy at work and getting involved in as many projects as he can humanly fit in his schedule. Mr. Fairey is constantly looking for inspiration and finding it often in popular culture that is around and accessible to all of us. For his new show “Americana” opening tomorrow at the Perry Rubestein Gallery in Los Angeles the artist has created a new body of work inspired by the songs of the great artist-musician Neil Young.  Shepard has found material for his canvases in the songs of Mr. Young new album “Crazy Horse”.

Shepard Fairey in Miami for Wynwood Walls 2009. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Dabs & Myla: Artists Driven (VIDEO)

CYRCLE “Beautiful Disaster” (VIDEO)

ALL STYLES Dance Battle at Postmasters Gallery in NYC (VIDEO)

You gotta give it up peoples! These are some of the best kids doing their thing right now. BSA Love to all of y’all.

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Aryz in Copenhagen at Galore Urban Art Festival

August 23, 2012 , , , ,

Galore Urban Art Festival bills itself as “a gathering point for Copenhagen’s underground where artists can meet, exhibit and share art. We facilitate the raw, the unestablished and the alternative and take the role as an alternative to conventional art exhibitions”.  Street Artist Aryz has just completed this striking piece on the exposed brick side of a huge building here and we’re pleased that photographer Henrik Haven has joined us as a BSA collaborator to share some exclusive photos.

Can’t really tell what is happening in the scene though. Any ideas? Is she choking him, or comforting him?

The Galore festival took place this August from 16th to the 18th and please stay tuned for more images from the rest of the participating artists including: Above, Dems, Gary, GR170, KCIS, POS, Semor, Sobek, Sofles, The Nom Nom Collective, Sozy, Storm, Vizie and Zoer.

Aryz  (photo © Henrik Haven)

This is a great shot from inside the building next to Aryz  (photo © Henrik Haven)

Aryz  (photo © Henrik Haven)

Aryz  (photo © Henrik Haven)

Aryz  (photo © Henrik Haven)

Click here to learn more about Galore

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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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Lazarides Gallery Presents: “Klimt Illustrated” (London, UK)

August 23, 2012 , , , , ,

Klimt Illustrated

Nine internationally-renowned street artists will produce Klimt-inspired masterpieces in front of a live audience in London’s Grosvenor Gardens, on Tuesday 21st August.

Situated upon plinths, the artists will create new works resonant with the influence of Klimt in the square format,as part of the Vienna Tourist Board’s campaign to celebrate the 150th birthday of the famous Viennese artist. Inspired by Vienna’s rich cultural diversity, the unique celebration aims to showcase the city’s modern art scene and imperial heritage.

The completed works work will be displayed in the famous Lazarides Gallery in Soho as a public exhibition, ‘Klimt Illustrated’.

The exhibition at the Lazarides Gallery will be free and open to the general public from 24th August to 1st September, Tuesday to Saturday 11am – 7pm.

The Vienna Tourist Board has worked with the Lazarides Gallery and curator, Sydney Ogidan of BLK River, to secure the nine artists, who are: Mode 2 www.mode2.org; Lucy McLauchlan www.beat13.co.uk; Vhils www.alexandrefarto.com; Ron English www.popaganda.com; Christian Eisenberger www.van.at/see/eisen; Bastardilla www.bastardilla.org; Know Hope www.thisislimbo.com; Marlene Hausegger www.mmhhh.com; Work will also be on display from Shepard Fairey www.obeygiant.com, the famous American contemporary street artist and illustrator.

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“Made in Iran” and a Studio Visit with Icy and Sot

“Made in Iran” and a Studio Visit with Icy and Sot

August 22, 2012 ,

Iranian Street Artists Step Into New Territory as they prepare for US Debut

Born in the 1980s and early 1990s, Iranian Street Artists Icy & Sot are equally fans and loyal students of all the stencil techniques that have characterized the western scene in the last decade. What’s fascinating in this story is that, despite creating work on the street since 2005, neither brother has been able to attend their own gallery show in person outside of Iran until this week in New York.

With a new sense of freedom and some new works for “Made in Iran”, the self taught Tabriz-based artists are riding the momentum that will take this show to Amsterdam, Berlin and Milan. The gallery work on display is similar to the variety of styles they have experimented with in streets of cities like Tehran, Paris, Turin, Istanbul, and even the rural Mazichal forest in Northern Iran. Thematically they wrestle between oppression, celebrity, freedom, war, and daring to dream.

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hitting the well promoted New York opening will be an eager audience of curious fans who have been waiting to see in person the svelte guys who have become a bit of an Internet sensation because of their origin, and because being caught painting in Tehran is more severe than most illegal street artists in the west would care to imagine. “The worst thing in Iran is that when you get caught they will stick so many labels to you that are not even related to it, such as Satanism, for example, and you can be accused of political activities,” described Icy in a recent interview with BSA.

And that sort of harsh official penalty probably explains at least part of the reason why they are happy to be in New York, where they are doing many legal walls in this city that has given birth to a new generation of Street Artists in the last decade or so. Visiting with the brothers this week in the studio as they prepared new work for the show, their excitement to be here is evident.

Brooklyn Street Art: New York has a very large Street Art and graffiti scene with many participants. What is it like to be part of a large scene, compared to cities like Tehran?
Sot: It is perfect to be in such a large Street Art scene. There isn’t much going on in the street art ”scene” in Iran, really. It’s an underground movement mostly in Tehran and Tabriz.

Brooklyn Street Art: Would you characterize your work on the street to be political, social, or primarily artistic?
Icy: In our opinion Street Art itself is a kind of political art, because it says something directly to the people.
Sot: Yes, we are communicating our visions to the people with walls.

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Often your subjects have their vision obstructed or blinded entirely. What blindness are you referring to, and whose?
Icy: Most of them are about what’s happening to us and around us. For example, the last time we got arrested they just covered our faces with a red cover, which is similar to a piece we have done in the past called “Blindness”.

Brooklyn Street Art: Looking at your work, one can see similarities stylistically and thematically to many of Street Art’s well known stencilists like Banksy, Nick Walker, Jef Aerosol, Blek Le Rat, Chris Stain, C215 and others. How does a Street Artist differentiate their work from what has come before them?
Icy: Everyone borrows from the past. Banksy, for example, based his technique and style on Blek Le Rat, who is considered the godfather of Parisian graffiti art. Blek really  pioneered both stenciling and the image of the rat that Banksy later emulated. The important thing is that you are creating your own ideas.
Sot: We have tried different styles of stencil but our works right now are mostly black and white and come from our own ideas. Stencils are our way to communicate our visions to the people.

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Capitalism, the war machine, freedom of the press, the police state, distribution of wealth – are these the kind of themes that are now universal?
Sot: Yes they are universal now, even in Iran, probably because of access to information. Because of the lack of entertainment available, Iranian youth spend a lot of time on the Internet, although there’s lot of cyber censorship.

Brooklyn Street Art: Why put your work on the street? Why not stay in the gallery?
Icy: Because the streets are for everyone but the galleries are limited and all we want is to communicate our visions to the people.

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“This upcoming exhibition is gonna be our first foreign exhibit that we are going to attend ourselves. We are so exited about it.”

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot and John Lennon’s shadow. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot’s first solo show in the US titled “Made in Iran” opens Thursday August 23 at the Open House Gallery in Manhattan. Click here for details on this exhibition.

 

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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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Perry Rubenstein Gallery Presents: Shepard Fairey “Americana” (Los Angeles, CA)

August 21, 2012 , , , , , ,

Shepard Fairey

AMERICANA
New Paintings by Shepard Fairey

RECEPTION: Saturday, August 25th
7pm – 10pm

Perry Rubenstein Gallery (LA) presents a special project by Shepard Fairey and Neil Young in celebration of the recent release of Young’s new album with Crazy Horse, “Americana,” which features reinterpreted classic, American, folk songs. Fairey has created eleven new paintings, each one inspired by the songs, such as Oh Susannah, This Land Is Your Land and Clementine. The new Shepard Fairey paintings will be on view to the public at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Los Angeles starting August 25th. In addition, Shepard will have a limited quantity release of the Americana Print Edition Box Set at the opening on August 25th at Perry Rubenstein Gallery. The Box Set will include a collection of screen print versions of all the new paintings, more info and official release date on the prints to come shortly, so STAY TUNED!

The “Americana” project developed as a result of Shepard Fairey’s relationship with Neil Young and his long-time manager Elliot Roberts. Fairey created a portrait of Young for the artist’s May Day show in 2010, based on his view of the musician as a social commentator philosophically aligned with people like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Joe Strummer. Young and Roberts then asked Fairey to design the art, CD and DVD packaging for the 25th anniversary of Young’s Bridge School charity. Fairey states, “Neil really liked the art and I was thrilled he asked me to collaborate by making paintings inspired by the songs on his “Americana” album. I’m a huge fan of Neil’s music in general, but when I heard the album I realized how much the subject matter of several songs reflected the aspirations and tragedies of those pursuing the American dream tied into issues relevant to the 99% movement which I have been supporting.”

Fairey says he listened to the music and lyrics to come up with concepts for visual representations of the songs. Then for each song, Fairey presented Young with ideas about a visual image that would best capture the meaning and/or protagonist/s in each song. The artist enjoyed hearing how Neil interpreted aspects of the songs that moved him the most musically and lyrically. Fairey states, “I showed Neil sketches, and then we discussed the ideas and refined them. He was very open to my ideas and encouraged me to go with what inspired me the most. Latitude for interpretation is something that Neil utilizes and seems to value as an important way for the listener/viewer to personalize their interaction with art and music. I also was excited about this project because the concept of re-interpreting pre-existing songs filtered through Neil’s unique sensibility parallels what I have often tried to do as a visual artist by building upon iconic images that are an accessible part of the cultural dialogue.”

Each of the new Fairey paintings resonate powerful messages presented in the songs, some depicting a hopeful outlook on the pursuit of a better tomorrow, while others reflect the hardships that come in trying to achieve that dream. One painting related to Clementine, which captures the words of a mourning lover whose “darling,” the daughter of a California Gold Rush miner, drowned. Here she is represented by the levitating body of a young woman draped in white, with the text “And Gone.” Another painting is related to the 1848 minstrel song Oh Susannah that features a dungaree-wearing banjo player with the text “DON’T YOU CRY FOR ME.” Other works feature a wanted poster (Travel On); an iconic image of Queen Elizabeth embroidering an American flag (God Save the Queen); and, a lonely tree, stripped bare of its leaves, in a desolate landscape (Tom Dula).

For Young and Crazy Horse’s rendition of the famous 1940 Woody Guthrie song known to every school-aged child in America, This Land Is Your Land, written in response to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America, Fairey has depicted the hopeful face of a youth, set against a dramatic Western Landscape. Three rows of sharp, barbed wire cross the boy’s path with the text “NO TRESSPASSING / THIS LAND IS MY LAND.” The text is derived from a variant verse Guthrie added as a social commentary during a 1944 recording session. Fairey’s paintings are mixed media on canvas, including techniques such as stenciling, collage, and screen-printing. All of the paintings measure closely to the 30 x 44 inch dimension, which is one of Fairey’s standard choices of size. “Americana” is Neil Young with Crazy Horse’s first album together in nine years and is being released on June 5 on Reprise Records.

Perry Rubenstein Gallery
1215 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038
T (310) 395-1001 / F (310) 395-1019
http://www.perryrubenstein.com

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Klughaus Gallery Presents: LUSH “Shitty Drawings in New York City” (Manhattan, NYC)

August 21, 2012 , , , , ,

LUSH

 

 

LUSH
Shitty Drawings in New York City
Curated by Michael Hunt

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 25 from 6-10pm
Location: 47 Monroe Street New York, NY 10002
RSVP: rsvp@klughaus.net
The Australian so-called “graffiti artist” LUSH is having his debut New York solo exhibition at Klughaus Gallery on Saturday, August 25, 2012. Following successful shows in Australia and London, LUSH is going to be bringing his “Shitty Art” to the Big Apple! Love him or hate him, be sure to swing by to show your support (or disapproval.) For his upcoming show, LUSH will be showcasing a bunch of witty illustrations that mainly “take the piss out” of his graffiti roots. There will be limited copies of a new zine by LUSH released at the opening. As always, I’m sure the show will be full of surprises!

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Chris Stain Gets Ready for the DNC in Charlotte

Chris Stain Gets Ready for the DNC in Charlotte

August 21, 2012 , ,

Street Artist Chris Stain is in Charlotte, North Carolina as the city prepares for the Democratic National Convention coming here on September 3rd.  Art on the streets historically has employed political themes and motivations, explicitly or implicitly, and this new installation by Stain again draws attention to the plight of the everyday person barely afloat on a teetering raft in an economic storm.

When you look at the work on the street, you find that Street Artists continue to address issues that affect the poor and Chris Stain has always kept these people front and center in his work. The street is actually one of the few places today where you will find these people represented so prominently because mysteriously, during a time of incredible need and insecurity, poor people are almost invisible on the glossy high-production “political” TV shows and websites and they are absent from most policy talk today – on the right or left.

Chris Stain with Josh Macphee. Charlotte, NC (photo © Chris Stain)

In town with other artists who have worked in the street, Imminent Disaster, Greg Haberny, and Ben Wolf, Stain is taking part in “America Now”, a show and residency hosted by the McColl Center for Visual Art. With fellow artist Josh Macphee alongside him, Chris was able to knock this piece out in a few nights. He says he can see that Charlotte has been improving its downtown area quite a bit and he just hopes they don’t forget about the rest of the city’s residents who aren’t quite as well-to-do.

Brooklyn Street Art: Why did you pick this location?
Chris Stain: The wall location was offered to me by the McColl Center for Visual Art. The building is affiliated with their facility. There has been a lot new construction and renovation in Uptown Charlotte over the past 10 years. However there are outlying neighborhoods still in need of assistance.

Chris Stain with Josh Macphee. Charlotte, NC. Detail. (photo © Chris Stain)

Brooklyn Street Art: Does Charlotte have a lot going for it right now?
Chris Stain: Charlotte is preparing for the Democratic National Convention this September. According to the Miami Herald the federal government gave the police force $50 million dollars to update their technology and arsenal for crowd control. Charlotte is a financial hub of the south and has much to protect in the way of banking and business. Surprisingly their seems to be strong support though for Arts and Humanities throughout downtown for the privileged with major museums and performance spaces.

 

Chris Stain with Josh Macphee. Charlotte, NC. Detail. (photo © Chris Stain)

Brooklyn Street Art: Your subjects are often regular people who are working and just getting by. Did you see many people like that in the streets of Charlotte?
Chris Stain: From what I experienced and picked up on after the work week some shops close up due to lack of commerce. That’s when one store owner told me “The Homeless come out.” Most of my interactions were with people who didn’t live directly downtown. People would stop and comment, “Nice Job! That’s reality!”. I was there for a week before I started the mural but it didn’t take long to recognize the familiar vibe of separation and uneasiness of the new downtown that had dropped in on the old neighborhood. As an outsider I can’t give an exact account of all the politics but going off my first impression and gut instinct I chose the images I did to create the mural. Their is more to NC than just the Panthers (football team) and I that’s who I was rooting for.

Chris Stain with Josh Macphee. Charlotte, NC. Detail. (photo © Chris Stain)

Brooklyn Street Art: Birds fly high in so many of your works. Is that an aesthetic decision entirely – a way to use the space? Or do you think they somehow are symbolic of something more?
Chris Stain: Yes the birds are symbolic and also they are an aesthetic choice. The birds are a great way to activate the negative space in the composition. On a personal level they represent hope; the concept of ideas taking flight. Once those ideas take flight they have the potential to be life changing. Creativity is a protest against complacency.

Brooklyn Street Art: What are people on the street saying about the pending arrival of the Democratic National Convention?
Chris Stain: Saturday we had an open studio visit at the McColl Center for Visual Art. Myself and 3 other NYC artists were asked to make work in conjunction with the upcoming DNC. My work dealt with the protest angle. The people that I talked with that day, for the most part, seemed nervous about the influx of others and the potential mayhem it will bring to this easy-going small city.

Chris Stain with Josh Macphee. Charlotte, NC. Detail. (photo © Chris Stain)

Chris Stain with Josh Macphee. Charlotte, NC. Detail. (photo © Chris Stain)

Chris Stain and Josh Macphee from their indoor installation at the McColl Center for Visual Art. Charlotte, NC. (photo © Ben Premeaux)

Chris Stain at the McColl Center for Visual Art. Charlotte, NC. (photo © Chris Stain)

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