MART in Argentina: “buena onda” in the Streets

MART in Argentina: “buena onda” in the Streets

June 25, 2012 ,

“Graffiti Saved My Life”

Today Brooklyn Street Art has the pleasure to welcome Rosanna Bach as a guest collaborator. A photographer, writer, and Street Art and graffiti fan, Rosanna is exploring her new home of Buenos Aires and documenting whatever attracts her eye. Today she shares with BSA readers images from local Street Artist MART as well as an interview she had with him in his studio. Our great thanks to Rosanna and MART for this great opportunity to learn about his history as a graffiti writer and how it turned into a career as a painter.

MART (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Mart was kind enough to invite me up to his apartment/studio in the barrio of Palermo where he grew up. Palermo is also the barrio where has left his mark, a trail of colorfully spirited murals. Beginning as a graffiti writer, Mart says he has been painting since age eleven. In our interview he shares his artistic and personal evolution over the past fourteen years painting in the street. He also shows us the drawings he’s preparing for an upcoming exhibit.

As I was admiring a compilation of photographs and drawings sporadically hung above the staircase of the entrance, Mart comments to me, “I like photography more than painting.”

Rosanna Bach: Why?
MART: I find meaning in things that I’m not familiar with. I’m familiar with painting. I know how to do draw, although I don’t draw hyperrealism for example but I know how I could do it. But photography is incredible.

Rosanna Bach: For me it’s the opposite.
MART: Because you’re a photographer.

Rosanna Bach: But anyone can take a photo.
MART: Anyone can paint. Do you understand why I like it? Because it’s not mine.  I feel like painting is my world and photography is another, like dance. I love dance. I’d much rather go to a dance recital than an exhibit. Exhibits don’t captivate me in the way that other art forms do; it’s like “Hmmm.. yes, yes, alright got it.” I’m very quickly able to read the person.

Rosanna Bach: You are interested because you want to learn about other worlds?
MART: But it’s not because I like it that I feel the need to do it myself. You respect what you do otherwise it’s like a lack of respect. I prefer seeing other “worlds” because they move me.

Rosanna Bach: So did you start out painting alone or was it something you did with your friends?
MART: I was very young – already in primary school when I started writing “Martin” all over the walls. My sister had a boyfriend (Dano) who was older then me and he exposed me to hip-hop style graffiti. He taught me how to do it – I thought it was so great. So I started writing “Mart”, Mart, Mart, Mart, Mart, Mart…. all over the streets until I got bored of writing my name, until it made no sense anymore.

Rosanna Bach: How long did it take you to tire of that?
MART: A considerable amount of time but I learned a lot of things. I learned how to paint.

 

MART (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Rosanna Bach: And your style? I’m sure it’s evolved a lot over the years.
MART: I started with graffiti but simultaneously started drawing and that’s what led me to this.

Rosanna Bach: And the figures you draw? I find them to have a lot of hope and a little magic…
MART: I think that’s how I live, in a world of magic all the time. I feel like a very fortunate person, and I’m grateful for that. I don’t take it for granted. I’m lucky that I’m well, I’m happy, my family is well..

Rosanna Bach: This is a mentality that many of us are lacking.
MART: That is the exact reason why I paint in the street; For others, not for myself .  Of course it is for me a little as well because I obviously enjoy doing it but mostly it is for others. That’s why I paint what I paint, things with “buena onda” (good vibes). To paint for myself in a frame would be strange. It’s for everyone, that’s what I find interesting about painting in the streets. And I’m not talking about graffiti because it’s made for a closed community. Like, “Dude you have a great outline” — wonderful. It’s for a micro-world and it can only be appreciated by a select few… “my name” is all about my name my name my name.

 

MART (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Rosanna Bach: But you once started like that as well.
MART: And I’m thankful for that because it’s what made me understand in time that I was painting in the streets for a reason and thanks to graffiti I learned to paint large and I learned quickly.

Rosanna Bach: So your figures are your interpretation of your life. Do you take ideas from your dreams sometimes?
MART: I love dreaming I dream a lot. But they’re not interpretations of my dreams. Or perhaps they are — But I don’t believe so.

Rosanna Bach: You could say that they’re your alter-egos?
MART: Its my feelings, my interior. So, yes.

MART (photo © Rosanna Bach)

Rosanna Bach: When did the transition occur when painting became your profession?
MART: There were two elements that paralleled with each other. One of them was a big job for the Cartoon Network that I got asked to do when I was 18 — an ad campaign with graffiti. And the other was that my friends went to prison. We’d always lived in this barrio, and when I was younger my friends and I were delinquents. So I realized that painting was a way to distance my self from that. With painting I can earn a living and not do bad by anyone. So I chose to paint. It wasn’t only an evolution of me as much as it was as a person, an adult, as a man. I chose that path. I chose the good path.

Rosanna Bach: That’s interesting because usually people relate graffiti to delinquency and vice.
MART: For me graffiti saved my life. I have my house and thanks to graffiti.

Rosanna Bach: Are your parents creative at all?
MART: No. But they’ve always been fully supportive. They’re like my angels. They used to drop me off to paint all over the place. They love me very much.

Rosanna Bach: Do you travel a lot?
MART: When I can and I want to I do. I like traveling. But how can I explain it? I like being patient and I like living peacefully. I don’t feel a burning need to travel, I do it when I want to in the time I want to. I want to live for many years and feel like I’m going to live for many years. That’s also why I don’t send photos of my work all over the place — I don’t like excess. Fame isn’t my prime objective. If people know my work it’s because I wanted them to see it in the street and that they understand what it’s about and what I’m about.

Rosanna Bach: I find that mentality to be quite true to a lot of graffiti artists around here, it comes from quite a pure place.
MART: I don’t know, but I paint for my city.

Rosanna Bach: Do you think you could paint for another city one day?
MART: Maybe. I don’t know, perhaps Berlin. I’m going there for three months this summer

Rosanna Bach: In the graffiti community here, most of them are your friends. So your friends are quite a big part of your working life. Have you ever wondered what it would be like without them?
MART: Good question. I’ve never thought about it. It would be very different. Firstly if I hadn’t met Dano I never would’ve started painting in the first place. I wouldn’t exist. And if my friends left I think I’d go and find them.

Rosanna Bach: If you weren’t painting have you ever thought of what else you would do?
MART: I have but it’s not worth wasting my time to be honest. I paint, that’s what I’m already doing. That’s what I do.

 

MART (photo © Rosanna Bach)

MART (photo © Rosanna Bach)

MART. POETA (photo © Rosanna Bach)

MART (photo © Rosanna Bach

Please visit MART at the site below to learn more about his art.

http://flavors.me/airesmart

To view more beautiful photography from Rosanna visit her Tumblr page below:

http://rosannabach.tumblr.com/

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Images of the Week 06.24.12

June 24, 2012 , , , , ,

It’s looking good out here! First Day of Summer hit New York this week and the temperature was 99 degrees in the park, the heat index was 110 degrees on the basketball courts and the Street Art quotient shot off the charts.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week including Chris Stain, Darkclouds, David Pappaceno, Ed Purver, Emmanuel Benoit, Gia, Hanksy, Jaye Moon, Jeice 2, Lambros, Logan Hicks, MOR, Paul/Instigator, Rene Gagnon, Swoon, and Veng (RWK).

It’s getting hot out here, so take off all your clothes. Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ed Purver for BAMart: PUBLIC 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

SWOON. An all time favorite and familiar image fresh in Brooklyn again. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

SWOON on the steps. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Emmanuel Benoit (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia. An old work freshly wheat pasted in Queens (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jeice 2. “Renacimiento” A hand made spoon engraving in Spain. (photo © Jeice 2)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Veng RWK gives this old piece in Greenpoint a fresh update. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hanksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rene Gagnon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Darkcloud and David Pappaceno at Woodard Gallery Project Space. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MOR (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LAMBROS (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Paul/Instigator. Bob Dodd’s Policeman. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaye Moon (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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Ronzo and Fine Feathered Sculpture Friends in London

June 23, 2012

Feels kind of like it’s been street sculpture week on BSA since we dove deep into UFO 907 and the Showpaper show at BAM, but we also wanted to just show you a bit of the London Street Art sculpture activity that seems to happen in earnest in more integrated fashion. If you are looking for examples, check out CityZenKane, Doctor Cream, Christiaan Nagel, Issac Cordal, and Space Invader.

Ronzo on the lookout in London (photo © Ronzo)

And check out Ronzo, an artist/designer/sculptor who has recently been known for putting a certain little bird in selected locations to kind of keep an eye on things. Sometimes with a multi-colored wash, sometimes in a straight concrete hue, these Birdz look like they could take off if you clap your hands. With gold chain, baseball cap and kicks, these B-boy style birdz also join a line of little characters Ronzo developed over the last decade that include a cockroach, a credit card monster, and a little hooded vandal  called “Ed Von Tag”.

Here are some recent images from his site that show the birdz in situ.

Ronzo in London (photo © Ronzo)

Ronzo in London (photo © Ronzo)

Ronzo in London (photo © Ronzo)

Very Nearly Almost (VNA) put together this inside look into the practice of Ronzo, who casts and prepares his figures entirely from beginning to end in his studio and installs them with a bit of humor.

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Fun Friday 06.22.12

June 22, 2012

1. Happy GLBT Pride Weekend New York
2. Remi Rough at Unit 44 Gallery (UK)
3. Moody at Pandemic (BKLYN)
4. VHILS at Galerie Magda Danysz (Paris)
5. BLADE Cuts Through Zurich
6. Shepard Fairey OBEY in Paris by Zeller (VIDEO)
7. Wall Writers by R. Rock Enterprises (VIDEO)
8. Taggin One Liner by GoodandShiddy (VIDEO)

Happy GLBT Pride Weekend New York

Celebrating the first anniversary of legalized marriage equality in the State of New York AND the 6 months since the repeal of the US military’s ban on GLBT officers serving openly, this weekends’ parties, celebrations will be punctuated by a march attended by 1.7 million people in the street. Keith Haring would have been proud.

A work by Street Artist Keith Haring this spring at the Brooklyn Museum courtesy the Keith Haring Foundation (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Remi Rough at Unit 44 Gallery (UK)

Remi Rough has had a big year exploring on the street and with commercial projects they say, but they may just be trying to manipulate you. Check him out for yourself tonight at Unit 44Gallery in Newcastle.

Remi Rough at the Moniker Art Fair in London 2011. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Moody at Pandemic (BKLYN)

Winner of Best Title for a Show Award, which we have right here on an engraved brass panel glued to a handsome wood block! Moody has been a New York graffiti artist under another name for many years, and as a street artist as Moody for more than a decade. Saturday Pandemic mounts “America Runs on Graff”, and you’ll get to see what his newest gig is.

Moody (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

VHILS at Galerie Magda Danysz (Paris)

Portuguese Street Artist VHILS has a a new solo show opening on Saturday at the Galerie Magda Danysz in Paris, France. Go see for yourself why this artist has quickly become one of the most followed and admired Street Artists. His portraits hold their own, revealing themselves as he selectively destroys parts of the wall he’s on.

Vhils for Open Walls Baltimore 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

BLADE Cuts Through Zurich

The ArTicks Gallery in Zürich, Switzerland brings New York City Graffiti royalty BLADE for his solo exhibition aptly tiled “Blade: The KIng of Graffiti” opening on Saturday. The artist will be present so bring your black book you might get lucky to score a tag.

BLADE at MoCA, Los Angeles in 2011 for the exhibition “Arts in the Streets” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

Shepard Fairey OBEY in Paris by Zeller (VIDEO)

Wall Writers by R. Rock Enterprises (VIDEO)

Taggin One Liner by GoodandShiddy (VIDEO)

 

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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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Bob Bar Presents: Pamela Castro AKA Anarkia Boladona “The Myth” A Solo Exhibition (Manhattan, NYC)

June 21, 2012 , , , , ,

Anarkia Boladona

Inspired by the classic existentialist text The Second Sex (Le Deuxième Sexe) by French feminist scholar Simone de Beauvoir, Brazilian graffiti artist Anarkia Boladona’s exhibition The Myth interprets the various stereotypes mythologizing the female “other.” Focusing on the relationship between sexuality and gender, Boladona depicts recognizable religious figures (such as Eve), and then counters, complicates, and compliments them with empowering mythological figures of her own creation.

Panmela Castro is an activist artist whose social policy work, primarily focused on gender equality, provides the core inspiration for the content of her provocative paintings. With her work, Castro challenges patriarchal notions of public space as related to sexism, sexuality, subjectivity, and power relations. She has a BFA from the School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and is currently in the Master of Arts program at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. She has received numerous awards including the Hutúz Prize for Graffiti Artist of the Decade, the 2012 Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Award for Extraordinary Women, and the Vital Voices Global Leadership Human Rights Award. In 2012, Newsweek Magazine nominated Panmela, alongisde Brazilian President Dilma Roussef, as one of the “150 Women Shaking the World.” With years of experience writing graffiti and fighting for women’s rights, Panmela has been invited to paint in cities across the globe, including but not limited to: Berlin, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Paris, Prague, New York, and Toronto. www.panmelacastro.com. Castro is the Founder and President of Rede Nami, a feminist urban arts network in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rede Nami seeks to promote human rights whilst, and by, strengthening the artistic, intellectual, and professional skills of women living in favelas. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Rede Nami’s programming costs. For more information about Rede Nami, please visit: www.redenami.com

bOb Bar

235 Eldridge Street

New York, NY 10002

212-529-1807

www.bobbarnyc.com

 

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HuffPost Arts @ 2 : “most widely read arts blog in the world”

June 21, 2012

And thank you for your unrelenting support of Street Art and Street Artists

This week marks the two year anniversary that Arianna Huffington and Kimberly Brooks and team launched HuffPost Arts and we congratulate them on this achievement. An artist herself, Kimberly has employed that special vision, enthusiasm, and guidance to the venture,  allowing it to grow in an organic way, encouraging many voices to sing and many views to be seen. Like Kimberly says in her piece today, “We embrace the idea that everyone is an artist.”

“Here we are, two years later, after the merger with AOL, our expansion into Europe, Canada and Latin America — the art, writings and comments you see here now constitute the most widely read arts blog in the world,” she says as she surveys the journey.

 

Brooklyn Street Art is proud that we have been contributors to HuffPost Arts since its inception with our in-studio interview with Street Artist Gaia right here in Brooklyn on June 17, 2010.  Since that time we became regular contributors to the page with 63 pieces on Street Art around the world, in studios, and in museums. With Brooks’ avid encouragement and the expert guidance of Arts Editor Kathleen Massara, we have even been able to scoop publications like The LA Times and the New York Times with our reviews of LA MoCA’s “Art in the Streets” and the Brooklyn Museum’s important Keith Haring show this spring.

Kimberly likes to say that bloggers are like the Street Artists of the Internet.  She may be pulling our leg, or she could be right on target. Whatever it is, we’re happy as hell about it!

The full list of our pieces for Huffington Post Arts Page over the last two years:

See Kimberly’s cover story and a full compliment of images from her first two years here.

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“Brooklyn Shelf Life” and the Showpaper Installation at BAM

June 21, 2012 , ,

Paper boxes are an important vehicle for communications on the street , even as the City has tried to consolidate them into elaborate ‘street furniture’ schemes that often leave out independent voices. Showpaper, a free print publication has been churning out issues for five  years to give exposure to events and D.I.Y. culture around New York. It usually dedicates a large portion of print space and ink to an original artwork by an artist, and its listings provide an important exposure for artists and performers who haven’t yet been “discovered” by the larger media outlets.

Yesterday’s interview with UFO907 and W. Thomas Porter showed the amount of work and inspiration that went into their entry in the Showpaper show “Brooklyn Shelf Life” curated by Andrew H. Shirley at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  5 pairs of artists affiliated with the New York street art scene were chosen to created new paper kiosks for the street. BSA was there in the BAM lobby to witness the installation of the sculptural pieces for Tuesday’s reception, and bring you the work of the other artists who prepared these pieces specifically for the show and to be placed on the streets of New York to distribute Showpaper.

The artists include Adam Void & Gaia, Cassius Fouler & Faust, Leon Reid IV & Noah Sparkes, Ryan C. Doyle & Swoon, and UFO 907 & W. Thomas Porter.

Leon Reid IV and Noah Sparkes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leon Reid IV and Noah Sparkes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leon Reid IV and Noah Sparkes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leon Reid IV and Noah Sparkes. A stack of Showpapers in a compartment behind the ear. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cassius Fouler and Faust (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cassius Fouler and Faust (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cassius Fouler and Faust (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cassius Fouler and Faust. A stack of showpapers. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon and Ryan Doyle (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon and Ryan Doyle (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon and Ryan Doyle (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon and Ryan Doyle (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon and Ryan Doyle. A stack of Showpapers inside the beehive. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia and Adam Void (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia and Adam Void (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia and Adam Void (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

General View of the Exhibition (photo © Jaime Rojo)

General View of the Exhibition (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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UFO Crashes at Brooklyn Academy of Music

June 20, 2012

UFO 907 & W. Thomas Porter Unveil Giant Wood / Metal Sculpture With 34 Eyes

“I think this is the kind of art work that people can step up to and they won’t say “Why the f*ck am I looking at this? I could do this – my kid could do this! I wanna blow people’s minds. I want people to be awestruck by it,” W. Thomas Porter exclaims in a burst of unhinged bravado that a master metal worker and inventor can claim after 3 consecutive weeks of custom cutting, bending, molding, and welding a crash-landing space ship, a 3-D realization of the UFO 907 graffiti moniker on it’s head.

 

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With the graffiti guy known on the street as UFO 907 as his master woodworking partner, Porter has crawled like a monkey inside, around, and on top of every inch of this metal-skinned vessel with 34 rotating smooth wooden eyes.  Standing inside a Brooklyn studio staring up at this audacious labor intensive sculptural blast-off of inspiration and technical handy-work, you can’t believe that this is the same UFO who jumped roofs and trains for years spraying a rapid flat version of this ubiquitous alien vessel.

907 Crew fans may also experience a mind-melt when hearing first hand the soaring descriptive narrative UFO lets loose about this brand new street piece, “It’s a symphony between wood and metal. Seeing the wood next to the metals – it’s almost like jewelry work, it’s like it’s growing up out of the earth like a flower. It’s totally looking like this flower that is blooming, this metal is blooming out of all of this wood. It’s fun, man.” A tough NYC street graffiti writer who sometimes get’s dragged into the uncomfortable position of being called a Street Artist?  Nah, UFO is just an artist now, and the usually shy guy is so ripped about this project he frankly doesn’t care about the label. It’s about the work.

 

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Introduced last night at a reception hosted by The Brooklyn Academy of Music, this UFO will house a stash of copies of Showpaper, a free print publication that lists and promotes events and DIY culture all around New York. Commissioned with funding from BAMart: Public, the “Brooklyn Shelf Life Project” is Showpaper’s hand picked selection of Street Art affliated artists collaborating as pairs to create innovative new versions of the traditional street kiosk. Curated by Andrew H Shirley, the eclectic collection of street explorers also includes Adam Void & Gaia, Cassius Fouler & Faust, Leon Reid IV & Noah Sparkes, and Ryan C. Doyle & Swoon.

 

A sketch to the side of this preliminary mockup shows the full scale of the piece by UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A carpenter by trade, UFO 907 has been at it for 16 years but he didn’t try his hand at exploring his own graffiti tag in 3D till a few years ago. “It only made sense – I mean after over a decade drawing that stupid guy on the wall I began to wonder what he looked like in 3 dimensions…now I’m starting to wonder what the dude looks like in 5D!”

Porter says he started his path to metal work as a boy, tearing up old houses and rebuilding them with his father. “I’ve been making sculptures since I was 14, had no idea there was an art world then,” he says. Now that he is newly situated in his own Brooklyn studio, he’ll definitely be making more of his custom bike configurations (see his “F*ck Bike”) among other metal bending discoveries, “I’ve always been into material mashups,” he explains, “I started welding at 16, and metal became a gateway drug to all sorts of new possibilities.”

 

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

While touring through their respective studios, BSA had the opportunity to see the entire process of making the new sculpture for BAM, entitled “The End If the Beginning”. It was also good to talk with UFO 907 and W. Thomas Porter about how they teamed up, who the UFO character symbolizes, and what they’ll think if the sculpture gets vandalized on the street.

Brooklyn Street Art: When people think of UFO 907 on the streets, it’s a quick tag with not much detail. Don’t you think they would be pretty shocked to know how much time you put into a sculptural piece like this?
UFO 907: I guess so. If there’s one thing I’ve learned all these years in the graffiti game is you never know what your going to get when you uncover the man behind the moniker.

I’ve always felt a kind of separation between my vandalism tendencies and my artistic urges. Sure my tags and retarded throwups can look artistic but it’s just a quick elementary thoughtless expression. I’m doing the macho getting up sh*t, pissing like a dog. But with my studio work I slow down to a f*cking snails pace, considering every detail, knowing each line of the brush/pen, each turn of the jigsaw, each stroke with the sander is injecting so much f*cking feeling and energy and power into the piece. So, if ya didn’t know, now ya know.

 

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What part of this new piece are you most proud of?
UFO 907: I’m pretty excited to have the opportunity to work to such a large scale. I also always had a desire to fabricate a larger-than-life UFO piece and just love the idea of using metal. And of course I’m totally stoked to have the opportunity to be collaborating on such an intense piece with an artist and craftsmen I hold in high regard, W.Thomas Porter.

Brooklyn Street Art: The first time we saw a sculptural UFO it was with Ad Hoc Projects for a group show in Miami. The piece was called “Williamsburg Guy”. Was that the first time you did something like that?
UFO 907: No, I have built a few smaller wooden UFO pieces before the “Williamsburg Guy” piece, and over the years I have messed around with some other materials to find the form I’m looking for.

Funny story about the first time we showed “Williamsburg Guy”;

The night we finished the piece I slapped together a crate and Doyle and myself threw the piece underneath the Chinatown bus, and took it down to Richmond Virginia for a group show we were involved in. If you know the size and weight of the piece that’s a pretty impressive feat. But it was free shipping! Go Chinatown Bus!

 

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © UFO)

UFO and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Since this is a vessel of sorts, and you have said your UFO tag is almost a self portrait, do you imagine yourself inside this sculpture looking out windows and swinging your 34 eyes in all directions looking at people?
UFO 907: Not necessarily but I love that idea! At this point it seems less like being inside the sculpture – but more so I continue to see the UFO as an embodiment of my being. I have always seen the UFO as my self portrait, yes, but not in the sense of a photograph or painting of myself. It’s more like a window to my spirit energy and soul. The form, energy and idea behind UFO has continuously been evolving, morphing, and growing over the years. If it wasn’t it would be dead, right?

So, yes, I’m guessing at some point you might just find me sitting inside the mothership staring at ya’ll, plotting my next move. Ha ha HA!

Brooklyn Street Art: When you are making such labor-intensive carefully considered work and putting it out into the street, do you ever worry about it being vandalized?
UFO 907: Naw… that’s what happens to sh*t on the streets! I kind of secretly have a fantasy about a car running up the sidewalk and crashing into the piece. That would be pretty cool, as long as I get a nice photo of the piece pinned between the car and a brick wall!

Brooklyn Street Art: What has working with Thomas brought to your process?
UFO 907: I have been a fan of his work and his great craftsmen ship since I met him. I think I first met him the night me and Doyle were cramming to get “Williamsburg Guy” completed. Dude came through and he quietly handled shit, helping us get the piece done. Aces!

When I first heard that Andrew Shirley was curating this project, I told him I had to be on board and wanted Tom Porter as my partner. Tom has brought amazing metal work, which is not my craft but a material I love all the same, and he is a champ with the kinetics/mechanics helping us both bring our visions to life and adding many levels to the piece. As well Tom Porter is a perfect match with me with his boundless energy, obsessive attention to detail, grand positive visions, eternal positivity directed towards the project at hand. What a dude!!

 

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter. Inside view of the structure. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Yeah, your skills seem really well suited for collaboration.
UFO 907: Yup we both have brought what we do best to the table and all thing immediately fell into place, leading to a seemingly effortless symphony of materials and ideas.

Brooklyn Street Art: Thomas, when you think of the sense of balance this piece has to have, do you rely on lessons learned from building other projects?
W. Thomas Porter : We set out on this project without any concept of limitations. We just decided what we wanted to get out of it and said, “F*ck it, it’s on”. I think that confidence comes from having been a builder and a bizarre mind forever. Everything I’ve done leads me to this moment. We have to come correct.

Brooklyn Street Art: Is it difficult to carry a demanding project like this across the finish line? Do you get tired of the detail work?
W. Thomas Porter: I don’t think it’s easy to get anything actually “finished”. Starting things is easy but getting there can be war. We are up against a tough deadline, a limited budget, working for money, UFO and I both just started new studios…it’s been hectic. As for the details, I’m with the devil. Every detail is an example or the bigger picture; it’s the fabric, and the pattern, the feel and what you see.

Brooklyn Street Art: This is a collaborative piece using the skills of a metal worker and a wood worker. How did you achieve an organic feeling with such rigid and sturdy materials?
W. Thomas Porter: It’s amazing to work with someone like UFO; Half man, half beast and all gusto. We both came to a similar place by working with our hands while our brains are off in the universe. It’s only a matter of time before that all explodes into space! I always loved wood and metal together, flesh and bone. In this case, I had to make steel feel like skin, and without a single straight line anywhere – it’s a challenge. I was blessed to have a dedicated assistant like Dagga to help plow through the process. Out of extremely limited means we came up with something greater than the sum of its parts.

 

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © UFO)

 

UFO 907 in the wild. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 in the wild. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter. The sculpture arrived to BAM in parts. Here is one half. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter. Inside view of the armature. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“The Beginning if the End”, 2012, by UFO 907 and W. Thomas Porter

Materials: Yellow Pine, Walnut, Plywood, Epoxy, Cold Rolled Steel, Hot Rolled Steel, Bearings, Ball Joints, Hardware, Wax
 

Assistants: Dagga Gaines, Kelsey Womack, Jumbo, Diego Guzman, Sadue 907, and Hest One

“Brooklyn Shelf Life” is Presented by SHOWPAPER and curated by Andrew H. Shirley. Newsboxes commissioned by BAM for BAMart: Public.

Go to http://brooklynshelflife.org/ to learn more about this project. Joe Ahearn, Managing Director

Go to BAMart: Public to learn more about this program.

Stay tuned to BSA as tomorrow we’ll feature the rest of the sculptures of “Brooklyn Shelf Life” by Leon Reid IV + Noah Sparkles, Cassius Fouler + Faust, Swoon + Ryan Doyle and Gaia + Adam Void.  Also you can visit the Showpaper Tumblr http://showpaper.tumblr.com/ for more images.

 This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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Shoes on a Wire – A Custom Updated by Street Artists

June 19, 2012

In a world gone wireless it’s worth noting that we still have a number of them strung across city streets in New York, and people like slinging sneakers over them.  They have a magnetic attraction to each other, these wires and old sneakers, like kids and ice cream trucks, politicians and press conferences, teenage boys and porno. And when there is not a telephone or electrical wire available, those kicks like to hang in the branches of trees too.

Urban folklore never quite decides on the reason for this practice – sneakers on a wire could be a marquee for your local crack house, a tribute to a person who passed, or a way to pay back your cousin Ricky for telling your friends that you kissed Marleen Mathewson in the back of the bus.

Whatever the original reason for this practice, Street Artists have been playing with the custom over the last decade and finding new ways to festoon the cityscape with footwear. Yesterday’s appearance of new airborne dogs covered by Olek’s crocheted camouflage on the Lower East Side reminded us of more street photos by Jaime Rojo that play on the same theme.

Olek (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Olek (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Photo © Jaime Rojo

Googly Eye Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville and an Unknown Artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville in Chicago (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Photo © Jaime Rojo

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Greenhill Galleries Present: Stormie Mills “Dark Lights” A Solo Exhibition (Perth, Australia)

June 18, 2012 , , , , ,

Stormie Mills

Greenhill galleries is proud to present dark lights, their first solo exhibition of new works by australian contemporary artist, stormie mills.

Dark Lights continues Stormie’s exploration into the characteristics that define humanity.

By shining a light into the darkness his work seeks to uncover what lies beneath in each of us.

Dark Lights explores the idea that a “villain” in society can still possess a captivating human quality when the light is shined within them.

By contrast a pillar of society exposes their “dark side” as they stand still under the light.

About the Artist

Stormie mills began painting in 1984. the first mark on the world began on a dark wet night that fuelled the relentless all consuming passion to create an image.

More than 25 years later stormie has more than made a mark in the global context as a highly collectable artist that has seen him travel around the world producing large scale commissions and transforming the concrete landscape in barcelona, greece, london, los angeles, miami, melbourne, new york, perth, sydney and tokyo.

Using a combination of acrylic, dirt, spray paint and graffiti remover and working predominately in a palate of black, grey, silver and white. stormie has crossed many boundaries of painting from, 40 metre scaffold facades on buildings, to inside discarded draws, to the tiniest detail on a fallen leaf and to the finest of belgium linen.

In between painting stormie dedicates time to giving back to the community often speaking to students in schools as well as presenting to formal forums. in may, stormie was invited to present at the agideas international design week, one of the largest and most prestigious design festivals in the world.

Stormie’s work reflects a deeply personal expression of emotion motivated by the notion of isolation. each work is a communication of the human condition engaging the viewer to explore beyond the image on the surface. each work stormie creates is compelling and continues to attract collectors for his unique statements on life.

Dark Lights is on display at greenhill galleries from 13th- 26th july 2012.

Greenhill Galleries
6 gugeri street, claremont wa 6010 www.greenhillgalleries.com.au

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ROBBBB : Street Art in Beijing

June 18, 2012 , , ,

From time to time we like to spotlight an artist’s blog. In addition to having a page dedicated solely to Artists Links (hint hint look up) we also like to feature their blogs (if you are a Street Artist and don’t see yourself there, let us know and we’ll add you). Just wanted to let you know because we just added this Chinese Street Artist named ROBBB getting up in Beijing. There is not much Street Art coming out of China so it’s still pretty unusual and we’re glad to share it here.

ROBBBB (photo © ROBBBB)

“Street art is a kind of space art, with its special way of occupying space and even reform the space” ~ ROBBBB

ROBBBB (photo © ROBBBB)

ROBBBB (photo © ROBBBB)

To learn more about ROBBBB and to see more images of his work click on the link below.

http://www.robbbb.com/

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