JMR Stars Again This Week In Dallas (not JR, he got shot, remember?)

January 19, 2012 , , ,

YEEE HAAAAWWWW!  Brooklyn Street Artist JMR has been exploring the dusty detritus of Dallas for a spell and has found that some of the BIG D’s outlying areas remind him of the wildness of abandoned spots in Brooklyn that provided succor and inspiration to artists and performers and poets and wise guys at the turn of the century. But he has no illusions about the future for a lively hipster art scene here. For one thing, there are no redheads from Portland with 36 stringed home-made musical instruments connected to a projector here yet. Naturally while exploring, JMR brought some paint with him. Here’s what he’s been seeing…

JMR (photo © Jim Rizzi)

“The wall was offered to me in collaboration with a Dallas graff legend named Ozone. The building is a live-work space for two local guys starting a longboard company/music studio. They also repair motorcycles while watching documentaries in their make-shift living room; it’s a very early 90s Williamsburg ‘Frontier Land’ vibe, sans the imminent real estate surge. That’s never coming here and it’s refreshing. In the midst of this industrial lower class neighborhood at night you can light a fire and sit around it and talk about politics or whatever, while drinking beer and smoking.

There’s a bunch of hardcore graff writers out here as well, who I met through this painting.  Although the city is oddly devoid of any tags, throw-ups, or fill-ins, there is a major freight yard where trains lay up for days and people are getting busy. The trains are bombed well and it’s inspiring to watch them pass, and frustrating to try and snag flix with my iPhone, fumbling to keep up with the motion.”

JMR (photo © Jim Rizzi)

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Opera Gallery Presents: “Making Faces” A Group Show (Manhattan, NY)

January 18, 2012 , , , , ,

MPaking Faces

Paul Insect (image © courtesy of the gallery)

Eric Allouche and the Opera Gallery team are pleased to present Making Faces, a group survey show bringing together a global collection of artists from a variety of time periods and styles to interpret the theme of portraiture. A once and still great exploratory genre, portraiture is the tool in which the artist can tell a thousand stories about their subject, whether real or imaginary, with one brushstroke or one drop of ink. Through these artists, Making Faces demonstrates how the aesthetics of portraiture is one of the best vehicles for artistic creativity and expression, technical mastery and the evocation of emotional strength.

Each artist participating in Making Faces has the ability to widely manipulate and interpret their portrait through their own specific and unique artistic abilities encompassing a wide variety of mediums including oil on canvas, matchsticks and photography. Artists such as Yasmina Alaoui and Marco Guerra have the ability to evoke serene emotions through their photographs while contemporary Chinese artist Yan Pei Ming invites the viewer into his dark portrait through his use of rough charcoal strokes. Realistic master portraitists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Bernard Buffet share wall space with abstract and fantastical contemporary artists such as BÄST and B.

Additional Making Faces artists include Gerard Rancinan, Karel Appel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Bengt Lindstrom, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Simon Birch, Lita Cabellut, Sas Christian, Paul Insect, Dinorah Delfin, Lori Earley, John John Jesse, Kid Zoom, Ron English, Philippe Pasqua, Rostarr, Judith Supine, Xiao Gang Zhang, Tianbing Li, Alexandros Vasmoulakis, Maura Corda and David Mach.

Making Faces
January 27- February 19
Free admission: 11:00 – 7:00 daily
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Chris Stain Describes His New Pieces for Cave

January 18, 2012

New York Street Artist Chris Stain is making some new pieces for his upcoming show at CAVE Gallery in LA with Street Artist Veng and Taka Sudo on February 11. The signature portraits, mounted on wood, of the everyday people Stain is known for depicting, are joined here by a new one one of the noted and celebrated American poet who passed in 2011, Gil Scott Heron.

Often you catch a piece by someone on the street or in a gallery, and you wish you knew the story behind it. Sometimes there isn’t much of a story – it’s more of an aesthetic exercise.  In the case of Chris Stain, the work is frequently drawn directly from his ongoing study and observations of socio-economic conditions in American society. With his portraits he examines how people are deeply impacted by a system that they feel affected by but frequently unable to affect in a meaningful way. Other times they are simply meditations on being alive.

Each piece is made from a hand-cut rubylith film that he burned onto a screen and then printed on wood and colored in by hand. Here are some detail photos, along with Chris’s words to describe them.

Gil Scott Heron by Chris Stain

Gil Scott Heron

For many years now I have gained inspiration from the music and writing of Gil Scott Heron. After his passing I thought it seemed fitting to create a piece in homage to the man and his achievements. If you know of Gil’s work and life you know that he struggled at times from addiction and the curve-balls that life threw at him. What I appreciate about him most is his ability to express his experiences in such a heartfelt way through music and writing.

“Skin Head Girl” by Chris Stain

Skinhead Girl

When I was younger, in the mid 80’s, I was an avid disciple of hip hop culture. When I hit adolescents I was turned onto punk rock and skinhead culture. Obviously not the white power skins here people. There’s a good little video here explaining the history of Skinhead and where it came from.This piece is a throw back to those days and how it meant something to be a part of an alternative lifestyle.

“A Small Something”  by Chris Stain

A Small Something

This piece looks back on the feeling of first riding off on a bike on your own. The first time you leave your neighborhood and explore; freedom, in a sense. As you get older it’s not such a big deal to adventure out alone. With this piece I further explore the use of handwritten text in the layout to see how it interacts with the image. However with any of the above pieces people will read into them whatever they want which is okay with me.

“What Holds Today” by Chris Stain

What Holds Today

The title is a play on words for what today holds. It’s about trying to make it through the day no matter what’s in store. Some days are easier than others and some days you just feel like giving up on everything. So What Holds Today means whats going to keep this day together when the shit hits the fan.

“Willem” by Chris Stain

Willem

Willem was a student I had in one of my printmaking classes last year. I photograph the kids as part of our self portrait project. When Willem stepped up in front of the camera with this pose I thought that there was no way I wasn’t using this picture for a piece of my own! I have painted this outside twice in NYC and once in Miami but this is the first time I made it as a finished piece for a gallery.

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Find out more about CAVE Gallery Here:

 

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The Power of Pun : Steve “ESPO” Powers’ Signs in Brooklyn

January 17, 2012 , , ,

Philadephia born New York Street Artist Stephen Powers AKA ESPO has been covering walls in Brooklyn since last summer with puns, phrases, and messages that hide in plain sight. Borrowing from a visual vocabulary of mid 20th century commercial signage and injecting his low-brow sarcasm and a knack for wordplay, the former graffiti writer perfected this kind of lettering more than a decade ago doing non-commissioned street art work in broad daylight on storefront grates in dilapidated New York neighborhoods.

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Like his barking carney signage for famous Coney Island, the work has all the subtlety of a cannonball. But you may be bamboozled. The sharply sweet uptown fonts and punchy retro palette could look like he’s giving you the straight dope, but a second glance reveals the winking eye of a court jester.  With an advertisers  sensibility, his recent expansive public art installations  – “Love Letters” to Philadelphia, Syracuse, and now Brooklyn – have a tough-as-nails enamel gloss while the soft center swirls a sentiment more gooey, even maudlin.

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Using phrases snatched directly from Brooklyn folks conversations on the street as well as his penchant for the parlance of snake oil salesmen, Powers yells boldly these non-sequitur and illusory missives across a parking garage, regularly looking back to see if “yah heard?”.  It’s what emotional signage this size demands and gets, if only for a second.

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Steve ESPO Powers (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anonymous Gallery Presents: “Casa de Empeño” A Group Show (Mexico City, MX)

January 16, 2012 , , , , ,

Casa de Empeño

Casa de Empeño

February 2 – March 31

Opening reception: February 9, 8 – 10 pm

———— Casa de Empeño is a group exhibition based conceptually on the function a pawnshop and serves to re-examine current systems of economy, currency and exchange.

This April 9 in Mexico City Anonymous Gallery is opening a group exhibition based conceptually on the function of a pawnshop and serves to examine current systems of economy, currency and exchange. The entire 3,000 sqft of Anonymous Gallery (D.F.) will be re-designed to replicate a pawnshop environment. Based on the value of the artwork, the gallery will provide unique opportunities for collectors to own distinctive works of art through sale, loan or even trade.

At any given time, pawnshops might have an inventory that includes jewelry, gold, coins, computers, digital cameras, radios, tools, musical instruments, DVD movies, cell phones, dj equipment, bikes, books, paintings, prints, weapons, clothes, furniture, and more. Casa de empeño will feature a compelling and diverse array of artists from all over the world who create relatable objects through painting, film, photography, sculpture, drawing, print, editions and merchandise:

Paintings by artists such as Kadar Brock and Matt Jones, sculpture that includes plush gold jewelry by Megan Whitmash and luxury accessories like Birkin Bags by Shelter Serra, jewelry by Orly Genger designed by Jacklyn Mayer jaclynmayer.com. Electronics and monitors showing films from Kasper Sonne and David Ellis. Editions from Clayton Brothers, Todd James, Evan Gruzis, photographs from Tim Barber and Richard Kern, and furniture design from Chic by Accident. The exhibition will also feature a library of artist developed books, zines, magazines, posters, and museum catalogues for sale from institutions including MUAC and Carillo Hill.

In a typical pawnshop customers pledge property as collateral, and in return, pawnbrokers lend them money. When customers pay back the loan, their merchandise is returned to them. Anonymous Gallery however, will be providing several opportunities for its customers:

1) Purchase
a. customers can purchase available inventory at the available retail price.

2) Trade
a. Customers can offer a provided service of equal or greater value in exchange for selected artwork.
b. Customers can offer another item of equal or greater value in exchange for valuable artwork.

3) Loan
a. Throughout the duration of the exhibition customers can loan and consign works of art to the gallery for sale at an agreed retail price.
b. Customers can borrow or rent artworks for a specified duration of time based on a fee established by the gallery and selected artist.

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Fourth Wall Project Presents: “Street Wall” A Group Show (Boston, MA)

January 16, 2012 , , ,

Street Wall

 

Opening Reception February 4th, 2012. 7pm-9pm

Street Wall is an exhibition dedicated to artists who work on city walls to create public art.  The artists highlighted in the exhibition are creating an installation directly on the gallery walls.  Each artist is given a 2 to 4 panel section of wall space on the interior of the gallery for them to wheat paste work in the gallery resulting in pristine versions of their public work as well as initiating a collaboration in close quarters.  Curated by William Stitt at Fourth Wall Project in Boston. The show runs from Feb. 4 – Feb. 23

The Artists

LNY, Radical!, Tiptoe, Nanook, The Phantom, Geoff Hargadon, Zatara and Blackmath.  LA artist, The Phantom, has been working as a street artist internationally for over twenty years.  He has directed videos for Rage Against the Machine and has also done their cover album art for “The Battle of LA.”  Local Boston based artists Zatara and Blackmath have been working primarily in the area but have travelled all over to bring their unique work to the streets. Zatara uses collected screen printed images that combines visually overstimulating scenarios of apocalyptic visions of society.  Blackmath employs large woodcut prints in his wheat paste work.  Intricate and beautiful it plays on emotions that are both whimsical and dark.  Geoff Hargadon’s “Cash For Your Warhols” signs can be seen all over cities internationally. His collection of signs are part social experiment, making the viewer question its reality in our capitalist heavy landscape. New Jersey artist LNY’s work is both visually stimulating and carries an energy of offbeat images. New York based artists Tiptoe and Radical! have been populating the streets with their images. Tiptoe uses mythological imagery in his savage and beautiful images that cause the commonplace walls in which they are pasted to become something more ethereal. Radical! Works both on the streets and off employing scenes of darkly comedic characters. Nanook, from Baltimore, uses humans and animals in his animated line work wheat pastes. The style of his works moves perfectly on the walls of abandoned Baltimore buildings as well as in the gallery. Live screen printing by Antidesigns.

Fourth Wall Project

Founded in 2009, by the Bodega Crew with a goal of creating more places for punks to loiter, artists to flourish, and more voices to be heard.

The idea was to turn dormant commercial spaces into pop up gallery spaces reclaiming urban space for public art projects and progressive exhibitions.  We keep it independent/free form and curate cultural artifacts for the neighborhood. We settled into our current location at 132 Brookline Ave. Boston MA 02215 a wonderful 3,000 square foot gallery with many possibilities.

 

 

 

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Martin Luther King Jr. – Street Art from NY and Mongolia

January 16, 2012

Today we honor a great man, Martin Luther King Jr., whose words remind us to dig deep and find our better selves and to work toward economic justice, social justice, and equality and dignity for each person. His words and actions inspire people around the world as we celebrate his birthday; Here are two recent portraits of Dr. King – one in New York, and one from Mongolia.

Martin Luther King Jr.  (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Blanco sticker in Mongolia, where it warms up to about -20 during the day right now. Happy MLK Day! (© Blanco)

 

“All we say to America is, “Be true to what you said on paper.” If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn’t committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren’t going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren’t going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.

We need all of you.”

~ Martin Luther King Speech – “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”
at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee, April 3, 1968

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Images of the Week 01.15.12

January 15, 2012 , , , , ,

So, what have you been up to so far this year? Watching Sh*t Cats Say? We’ve been learning cool stuff like Specter and friends Russell and Peter getting up in the JCC center , imagining who on earth might create a Street Art piece lionizing Ron Paul, seeing the spanky new Aiko and Bast reunited wall, and reading impressive 2 page email press releases for Street Artists who apparently get up in NYC but we never actually see and no one talks about.  It’s a weird fun life and we’re totally okay with it.

Meanwhile, here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week including Aiko, Anthony Lister, TMNK, Bast, C215, Dain, ECB, Gaia, Gilf!, Gold Dust, Gufo, How & Nosm, Cope, Juango, KCA, Oiler, Palladino, Shin Shin, Snort, and Xavier.

Cope. Xavior (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How and Nosm in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ECB (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A colorful and powerful Snort and Report tribute to Oiler (RIP) in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TMNK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aiko and Bast (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aiko and Bast. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aiko and Bast. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Palladino in Miami  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shin Shin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Lister for Wynwood Walls Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gufo over Gilf! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Duplex, Gilf!, Gold Dust (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Juango and Michael in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia, C215, KCA in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Gaia and Nanook New Baltimore PasteUps with Martha Cooper

January 14, 2012

Last weekend Street Artists Gaia and Nanook had some fun touring around with photographer Martha Cooper in her neighborhood of South West Baltimore. Gaia’s ongoing “Legacy” series of big ol’ heads of white men – we should say portraits – who have contributed to the history of urban environments and conditions continues here too.

Photo © Martha Cooper

We’ve been seeing Gaia continue this theme recently in cities like New York, Albany, Atlanta, Miami and even his studio piece in our “Street Art Saved My Life” show last summer in LA – and it’s strangely rewarding and even entertaining…site specific postings of people like NYC’s master builder and corporate beneficiary Robert Moses from mid-20th century may look strange posted in the wilds of decayed New York, yet his big mug is probably more related to the state of our local economy than most people who are running things today. Where Moses’ critics accused him of destroying much of New York’s culture and life through building, Baltimore’s ill-famed developer is accused of killing parts of the city through active neglect. Gaia’s new big head is that of Baltimore billionaire Harry Weinberg, who bought clusters of buildings and abandoned them, effectively bringing blight to part of the city for decades, including today, according to Gaia’s position paper on the topic.

Gaia frequently assists passersby with helpful background information to help explain and contextualize his work like this one-pager above. (copyright Gaia)

“ First we installed a site generated piece of Weinberg’s portrait across the street from his formerly decrepit, now demolished, real estate holdings,” explains Gaia about his travels with the well-known street life photographer. Afterward they all  toured with Martha through her hood, hearing her perspective and insights on urban decay and sociological aspects of the neighborhood now better known as the site for the TV show “The Wire” – a tour which is a genuine treat BSA has also enjoyed.

Photo © Martha Cooper

Eventually it was time to put up a Gaia piece created from a Martha photograph of HE3 from the 1970s. Says, Gaia, “The piece is situated in an alley where a lot of the neighbors congregate and is right now the street from the active stables and pigeon coops.”

Nanook at work (photo © Martha Cooper)

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See more images by Martha Cooper and read her posting on the events of the day with the guys on 12 oz. Prophet here.

Here is a link to the finished pieces on Gaia’s Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaiastreetart/6662613139/in/photostream

Here is Nanook’s Flickr http://www.flickr.com/people/nanookart/

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