Brooklyn Street Art | …loves you more every day.

MOCA Presents: “Art In The Streets” (Los Angeles, CA)

March 8, 2011 Artists, California, Events, L.A., Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, Museum, On the Street, Opening

JR “The Wrinkles in the City 2011” Photo Courtesy © MOCA

Street artist JR has installed a new piece on the Alameda street side of our Geffen Contemporary building in Little Tokyo. The work is part of a 20 artwork project called The Wrinkles of The City that is currently being unveiled at locations around Los Angeles. It’s also part of MOCA’s upcoming exhibition Art in the Streets, the first major U.S. museum survey of graffiti and street art.

MOCA Press Release:

APRIL 17–AUGUST 8, 2011 / THE GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY AT MOCA

The Museum of Contemporary Art presents Art in the Streets, the first major U.S. museum exhibition of the history of graffiti and street art. The exhibition will trace the development of graffiti and street art from the 1970s to the global movement it has become today, concentrating on key cities where a unique visual language or attitude has evolved. Following MOCA’s presentation, the exhibition will travel to the Brooklyn Museum, where it will be on view March 30–July 8, 2012.

Art in the Streets will showcase installations by 50 of the most dynamic artists from the graffiti and street art community, including Fab 5 Freddy (New York), Lee Quiñones (New York), Futura (New York), Margaret Kilgallen (San Francisco), Swoon (New York), Shepard Fairey (Los Angeles), Os Gemeos (São Paulo), and JR (Paris). MOCA’s exhibition will emphasize Los Angeles’s role in the evolution of graffiti and street art, with special sections dedicated to cholo graffiti and Dogtown skateboard culture. The exhibition will feature projects by influential local artists such as Craig R. Stecyk III, Chaz Bojórquez, Mister Cartoon, RETNA, SABER, REVOK, and RISK.

A special emphasis will be placed on photographers and filmmakers who documented graffiti and street art culture including Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, James Prigoff, Steve Grody, Gusmano Cesaretti, Estevan Oriol, Ed Templeton, Larry Clark, Terry Richardson, and Spike Jonze. A comprehensive timeline illustrated with artwork, photography, video, and ephemera will provide further historical context for the exhibition.

Art in the Streets will feature several shows within the show. There will be a special section dedicated to the Fun Gallery, which connected New York graffiti artists with the downtown art community in the early 1980s. Co-curated by gallery founder Patti Astor, the Fun Gallery installation will feature the work of Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the graffiti artists who shaped the gallery’s history. A section dedicated to the seminal film Wild Style (1983), co-curated by the film’s director Charlie Ahearn, will document its influence on the global dissemination of graffiti and hip-hop culture. The exhibition will also feature a memorial presentation of Battle Station, a rarely seen work by legendary artist and theorist RAMMELLZEE, and a display of graffiti black books and other historic works from the Martin Wong Collection presented in collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York. A highlight of the exhibition will be a Los Angeles version of Street Market, a re-creation of an urban street complete with overturned trucks by Todd James, Barry McGee, and Steve Powers.

The exhibition will open with a skate ramp designed by pro-skater Lance Mountain and artist Geoff McFetridge. Skate demonstrations by the Nike SB skate team will be held onsite for the duration of the exhibition.

“Art in the Streets will be the first exhibition to position the work of the most influential artists to emerge from street culture in the context of contemporary art history,” said MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch.

“This quintessentially urban and dynamic partnership between the Brooklyn Museum and MOCA began with the 2005 Brooklyn-organized exhibition of the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, the consummate American street artist of his generation; continued with the MOCA-organized ©MURAKAMI in 2007, defining critical elements of worldwide street art; and now culminates with a groundbreaking exhibition devoted entirely to street art and graffiti,” said Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold L. Lehman. “The partnership has, in itself, provided a major record of public art over the past half century.”

Art in the Streets is organized by Jeffrey Deitch and associate curators Roger Gastman and Aaron Rose. Gastman is the author of The History of American Graffiti, which will be released in April 2011, and was a consulting producer on the film Exit Through The Gift Shop. Rose curated the exhibition Beautiful Losers and directed the related documentary film. Ethel Seno, editor of Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art, is the curatorial coordinator of the exhibition. The Brooklyn Museum’s presentation will be organized by Managing Curator of Exhibitions Sharon Matt Atkins.

ART IN THE STREETS CATALOGUE
A comprehensive catalogue on the history of graffiti and street art published by Skira Rizzoli and edited by Nikki Columbus, former associate editor of Artforum, will accompany the exhibition. The book traces the birth and dissemination of styles through the stories of graffiti writers and street artists all over the world. It features a foreword by Deitch and essays by Carlo McCormick, Greg Tate, and Diedrich Diederichsen. It also features interviews and discussions with influential street artists about wild style, cholo graffiti, and the art that emerged from skate and punk subcultures. Additional contributors include Fab 5 Freddy, KET, Caleb Neelon, Lydia Yee, Kathy Grayson, Cheech Marin, Bill Daniel, and Hiroshi Fujiwara. The book was designed by Conny Purtill, whose previous projects include Barry McGee: The Buddy System and Beautiful Losers.

RELATED EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH
An extensive program of educational and community workshops will complement the exhibition. As part of its exhibition sponsorship and ongoing community collaboration initiative, Levi’s® will host the Levi’s® Film Workshop at MOCA, offering a diverse schedule of programming that celebrates the craft of filmmaking and explores the exhibition’s subject matter. Access to the Levi’s® Film Workshop’s resources is open to all and free of charge.

Special versions of Associate Curator Aaron Rose’s Make Something!! educational project will also be presented at Culver City High School and at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in conjunction with Nike SB. Art in the Streets will include a graffiti and street art film festival presented in collaboration with the Cinefamily, and music and dance programs featuring some of the originators of hip-hop and break dancing.

Art in the Streets is made possible by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Sydney Irmas Exhibition Endowment.

Major support is provided by Levi’s®. Additional support is provided by Mandy and Cliff Einstein, Nike SB, MOCA Contemporaries, MOCA Partners, and Montana Colors.

In-kind media support is provided by Ovation, Los Angeles magazine, and KCRW 89.9 FM.

Saturday in the Streets is presented by Ovation.

MEMBERS’ OPENING
Saturday, April 16, 7–10pm
The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

Join us for another legendary opening party at MOCA as we premier Art in the Streets, featuring performances by the stars of the classic hip-hop film, Wild Style—Busy Bee, Cold Crush Brothers with Grandmaster Caz—and the award-winning B-Boy crew from Los Angeles, Killafornia. Cash bar.
INFO 213/621-1794 or membership1@moca.org
FREE for MOCA members, $25 for additional guests

Street Artist QRST Goes to New Orleans to Give BP and us a “Thwack”

March 8, 2011 Artists, On the Street

With people actually advocating off-shore drilling as an option to pull down recently inflated gas prices at the pump, this timely reminder from Street Artist QRST talks about April showers nobody looks forward to. On a recent visit to New Orleans, whose gulf coast shore and fragile ecosystem were converted into the Big Greasy last year, he brought along some of his familiar animals. This time he wheat pasted some of them, wearing some familiar symbols, along the Bay water neighborhood, a place that he thinks was a good place contextually for his characters.

QRST “Right Tool for the Job” (photo © QRST)

According to QRST, he doesn’t want to point fingers just at the oil company that created the largest off shore environmental disaster in US history. With the piece called “Complicit”, he thinks everyone involved in an oil-driven economy should consider their role, and it’s effect on animals and the environment.

QRST “Complicit” (photo © QRST)

“This is about my part in everything that happens in the world,” he says. The title is ‘complicit’, the bird is hung with my name, it’s a casualty of my lifestyle. I’m claiming him and I, much like everyone else that wails and gnashes teeth about the state of the world, but whom continue to do essentially nothing. I flew in an airplane to New Orleans where I climbed into my friend’s car and we drove it to this spot so I could paste his elegy to the wall”.

José Parlá Writes His Diary on the Wall

March 7, 2011 Artists, Events, Gallery, Manhattan, NYC, Opening

For his current show at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in Chelsea, José Parlá’s new paintings make you feel as if you were standing on a cold windy elevated Brooklyn subway platform waiting for a hulking rusted behemoth to scrape and scream around the curvature of the tracks toward you.

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Concentrate solely on the canvases in front of you and you might even hear the heroes of the railyards approaching. Like Ginsberg with no rhyme but a lot of reason Mr. Parlá’s poetic abstractions gently draw the viewer in for a close inspection.

“The whole blear world of smoke and twisted steel around my head in a railroad car, and my mind wandering past the rust into futurity: I saw the sun go down in a carnal and primeval world, leaving darkness to cover my railroad train because the other side of the world was waiting for dawn.”
— Allen Ginsberg

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Using a color palette of red, ochre, black and gray he mashes the colors with bold textures and exquisite, sinuous lines. Eroded, tattered surfaces and found objects are canvas to markers, aerosol, even charcoal. The gestural markings and strokes recall a hip-hop romance now abstract and calligraphic: some layers evoking a dark Mexican Baroque wooden altar, carved and gold leafed.

José Parlá. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Parlá trained in the 1980s on the streets as a graffiti artist – and all of these elements exist elsewhere in the urban jungle, but Parlá has developed his own language to tell his story with these tools. Born in rebellion, the energy of his movement across the canvas is just as badass as any tunnel writer but with a timbre and depth that age and self-study can render.

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá. Close up of the painted hall wall. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

At the show opening last Thursday an ad hoc duo of drummers set up shop outside the gallery and an air of raucous carnival and merriment permeated the night. A demanding New Yorker stopped to inquire just how long they would continue. The musicians gently answered her questions and banged away. Walking away from the spot their beats disappeared into the cold night.

Photo © Jaime Rojo

“Wall Diaries and Paintings”, José Parlá

Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery from March 3rd to April 16th

Mad One Presents: “Sticker Phiends IV: A celebration of adhesive art” (Tempe, Arizona)

March 6, 2011 Arizona, Artists, Events, Opening

Mad One
Here is the run down of “Sticker Phiends” IV presented by” Mad One and some fliers to post if you all could do that would be greatly appreciated!! Send them out in your newsletters, blogs, sites etc..

Sticker Phiends 4
“A celebration of adhesive art”
Presented by: “Mad One”

April 8th 2011 Opening Reception
Featuring art by today’s top street artists, graphic designer’s and sticker makers & others!

Art By:
Abcnt
Age
Cryptik
Dolla
DumperFoo
123 Klan
Griffin One
Clown Soldier
Mad One
Matt Curran
20 MG
Obey
Pez One
Sike’
U.W.P.
Seizer One
& MANY OTHERS!!

Funky beats by:
-Sweaty Hot Junk
-Sick Duppy
-One Son
-Awb

FREE HANDOUTS provided by our sponsors
ALL ART for $ale!
Limited Merch for $ale!
Drinks with ID – 21+

Opens at 8pm April 8th!
Cartel Coffee Lab
25 w. University Dr.
Tempe, AZ.
480-225-3899

Know Hope “Bound By The Ties” Art Installation and Book Release (Tel Aviv, Israel)

March 6, 2011 Artists, Events, Gallery, Israel, Opening, Tel Aviv

Know Hope

From the radio silence and the stirring tides, I am sincerely excited to let you know that I will be releasing my second book titled ‘Bound By The Ties’ next week.

The book is composed of a collection of drawings, writings, photographs and other side-seen moments, some from the recent past, and some from very close to the present.

I sewed, folded and mended, retrieved and recited; tried to understand how we got to where we are now (sunken/sunken/sunken)

This is a book that contains a narrative that speaks of being born into debt, being overwhelmed in a heartbroken world and finding and recognizing eachother in these complexities.

It attempts to document our rituals-how and why they were created. It is a folk tale of some sort, collective memories compiled like a time-capsule, or fireworks in a jar.

So, here are the details:

-The book is independently published in an edition of 1000 and is comprised of 160 full-color pages.

-There is a limited edition of the book that have handmade covers; meaning that they bear hand-sewn drawings, photographs and collages, making no two books the same.

This edition is signed and numbered and is an edition of 75.

-The prices of the books are $35 and $120, respectively.

-The book will be released at an event taking place here in Tel Aviv on March 10th.

The event will include an installation of all the original drawings, photographs and texts used in the book allowing an organic and tactile experience of the books content.

-The book will be available at the event, and on at www.thisislimbo.bigcartel.com the very day after.

Daniel Feral and Joyce Manalo Curate: “Pantheon: A History of Art From The Streets of New York City” (Manhattan, NY)

March 6, 2011 Artists, Events, Manhattan, NYC, Opening

Pantheon

PANTHEON:
A history of art from the streets of New York City

OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, April 2, 5-7PM
Press preview with curators: 4-5PM
Exhibition runs April 2-17, 2011

LOCATION
chashama/Donnell Library Building
20 West 53rd Street, b/w 5th & 6th Avenue
New York, NY 10019 (across from MoMA)

ARTISTS

Abe Lincoln, Jr., John Ahearn with Rigorberto Torres, Adam VOID, Cahil Muraghu, Cake, Darkclouds, Droid, El Celso, Ellis Gallagher, Faro, John Fekner, Freedom, Gen2, Abby Goodman, Goya, Groser, Richard Hambleton, infinity, Ket, Don Leicht, LSD-Om, Matt Siren, NohJColey, OverUnder, Oze 108, Quel Beast, Royce Bannon, Sadue, Jordan Seiler, Skewville, Stikman, Toofly, UFO, and Vudu.

CLICK HERE FOR PRINT VERSION OF PRESS RELEASE (2 of 4)

NEW YORK – On Saturday, April 2, 2011, 35 graffiti writers and street artists will unite to reclaim the former Donnell Library as a repository of visual information on the growing world-wide phenomenon of street art. This exhibition will present an art historical timeline that is a part of New York City’s unique legacy. The artistic contribution of these cultural catalysts and preservationists from the 70’s to the new millennium will address the ever-changing urban landscape and alternative modes of producing art in the streets.

Graffiti and street art are at the crossroads of historicism.

In the last five years, museums have organized exhibitions that present graffiti and street art in a broader scope; Brooklyn Museum’s, Graffiti in 2006; the Museum of Modern Art’s laser-tagging demonstration by Graffiti Research Lab in 2008; the Bronx Museum’s, Street Life Street Art in 2008; and the Tate Modern’s, Street Art in 2008, to name a few. Although these exhibitions have legitimized graffiti and street art as an art form, this genre has not been fully resolved by the art world. At present, this contemporary art zeitgeist signals a symptomatic dystopia created between the institutionalization of this art form and its anti-institutional tenets.

PANTHEON aims to maintain the aesthetic diversity of the genre.

The forthcoming exhibition at MoCA Geffen Contemporary, Art in the Streets, will be a worldwide survey of graffiti and street art and Los Angeles’ role in the movement’s evolution. Despite its focus on Los Angeles, New York City’s graffiti and street art cognoscenti partake in their exuberance. Outside the institutional framework of museums, PANTHEON is situated within the DIY fundamentals of alternative art spaces. It is important to call attention to this space as the convergence of public and private spaces, because it informs an innovation of contemporary graffiti and street art in terms of medium, content and style.

Artists such as John Ahearn with Rigoberto Torres, John Fekner, Freedom, and Richard Hambleton independently paved the way for Skewville, Stikman, Ellis Gallagher and the various crews, ADHD, ELC, and the Grunts, to name a few

The axiom of this movement is its ubiquity in the streets of New York City. During its nascency, John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres’ casts of everyday people adorned buildings, John Fekner’s simple large-scale text stencils politically charged brick walls, Freedom’s representational art graced tunnel cathedrals, Richard Hambleton’s silhouette paintings emotionally moved sidewalks and alleys, and Ket’s prolific tags saturated NYC’s subway cars. These artists established the tone for style, medium and content in this genre. The radical style, guerilla approach and ephemeral aesthetic of this subculture have been challenged since the 80’s and today’s artists are exploring
new ways to respond.

10 DAYS LEFT FOR PANTHEON KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN!!!
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chashama is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Anita Durst in 1995. The organization’s mission is to support creativity in New York City by repurposing vacant properties enabling artists a space to create. PANTHEON: A history of art from the streets of New York City was awarded the former Donnell Library as an exhibition space, which is part of chashama’s Windows Program. PANTHEON is Co-Curated by Daniel Feral and Joyce Manalo along with Debra Anderson and Royce Bannon of the Advisory Committee and the collaboration of dedicated and talented individuals, most notably, Abe Lincoln, Jr., Francesco Alessandra, Maura Barry, Jennifer Diamond, Valentin Farkasch, Karla Henrick, Ebi Kagbala, Luna Park, Ashlene Nand, Dan Nguyen and Mariette Papic. Thank you to Brooklyn Street Art (media partner); Gothamist, Hyperallergic, The Street Spot, Streetsy (media sponsors); Cresent Artists (exhibition sponsor); and WM Dorvillier & Company, Inc. (structural design consultation). Image credits courtesy of the artists. Special thanks to the Woodward Gallery, NYC for the loan of Richard Hambleton’s Fountain of Youth, 1982.
For more information, please visit pantheonnyc.com or chashama.org.

For further exhibition details, media relations, Kickstarter campaign, sponsorships, and partnerships please email info@pantheonnyc.com or visit www.pantheonnyc.com. For more information about the Windows Program, please visit www.chashama.org.

Robert Berman Gallery C2 Present: “REVOLUTIONS: THE ALBUM COVER ART OF SHEPARD FAIREY” (Santa Monica, CA)

March 6, 2011 Artists, California, Events, Gallery, Opening, Santa Monica

Shepard Fairey

REVOLUTIONS: THE ALBUM COVER ART OF SHEPARD FAIREY

OPENING RECEPTION:

MARCH 12TH, 2011, 8-11PM

EXHIBITION DATES:

3/12 – 4/23/11

ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY C2

2525 MICHIGAN AVE

SANTA MONICA, CA 90404

OBEY GIANT ART X SUBLIMINAL PROJECTS X ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY ARE PROUD TO PRESENT REVOLUTIONS, A PROJECT FEATURING THE ALBUM COVER ART OF SHEPARD FAIREY. ON EXHIBITION FROM MARCH 12TH THRU APRIL 23RD AT ROBERT BERMAN’S C2 GALLERY, WILL BE OVER 80 PIECES OF PUNK, ROCK, NEW WAVE, JAZZ, AND HIP-HOP INSPIRED ARTWORK BASED ON THE 12″ RECORD COVER FORMAT. TO MARK THIS OCCASION, TWO SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION ALBUM COVER PRINT BOX SETS WILL BE RELEASED FOR THE EXHIBITION. PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE OPENING CELEBRATION ON SATURDAY, MARCH 12TH, 8-11PM.

“LONG BEFORE I KNEW ABOUT ART GALLERIES OR EVEN STREET ART, I WAS EXCITED ABOUT ALBUM COVER ART, IF ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS THE VISUAL COUNTERPART TO THE MUSIC ON THE RECORDS I LOVED. ALBUM COVERS CONJURED A EUPHORIC ASSOCIATION WITH THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE. MOST OF MY EARLIEST HOME-MADE TEE SHIRTS WERE STENCILS BASED ON PUNK ALBUM COVERS. I’VE HAD SOME VERY MOVING ENCOUNTERS WITH ART IN MY LIFE, ESPECIALLY IN THE STREET, BUT ALMOST NOTHING CAN COMPARE WITH THE FIRST TIME I HEARD THE BOOTS MARCHING AND FIRST CHORD OF THE SEX PISTOLS’ HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN, OR THE AIR RAID SIRENS LEADING INTO “TOO BLACK, TOO STRONG” ON THE INTRO TO PUBLIC ENEMY’S IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK, OR THE OPENING GUITAR SCREAM OF BLACK FLAG’SRISE ABOVE. THOSE SONGS DID, AND STILL DO, MAKE MY ARM HAIRS STAND UP. MUSIC IS VISCERAL AND ACCESSIBLE, BUT ALSO HAS THE ADDITIONAL POWERFUL LAYERS OF THE LYRICS, WITH THEIR CONTENT AND POLITICS, AND THE STYLE, POLITICS, AND PERSONALITIES OF THE MUSICIANS THEMSELVES. NO MATTER HOW MUCH I LOVE ART, OR TRY TO CONVINCE MYSELF OF ITS RELEVANCE IN SOCIETY, THE FACT REMAINS THAT MUSIC IS A LOT COOLER AND WAY MORE ABLE TO REACH PEOPLE’S HEARTS AND MINDS’ BUT I’M A POPULIST AND I LOOK AT THIS WAY: I MAY NOT PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, BUT I’M GONNA ROCK IT HARD AS NAILS ANYWAY. WITH MY ART I TRY TO CAPTURE THE SAME ENERGY AND SPIRIT THAT MAKES MUSIC SO POWERFUL AND DEMOCRATIC. REVOLUTIONS IS A CELEBRATION OF ALL THE GREAT MUSIC AND ACCOMPANYING ART THAT HAS INSPIRED ME OVER THE YEARS.”

– SHEPARD

Images of the Week 03.06.11

March 6, 2011 Artists, Brooklyn, BSA Images Of The Week, Gallery, Manhattan, NYC, On the Street, Week in Images

Our weekly interview with the streets also wanders into a few Art Fairs this week as many Street Artists were in town showing studio work and getting up on walls. It was great to meet so many people who are on fire about this grassroots, interactive, DIY, in-your-eyeballs world of street art and to talk about where it is going. While there were a slew of Street Artists banging a luan wall at Fountain, we also got to see some peeps at Scope and Volta.

So here we go with shots of Andy Piedilato, Dalek, DFace, How Nosm, Mark Jenkins, Ron English, Tes One, Tristan Eaton, TrustoCorp, and Typoe.

How & Nosm finish wall in Brooklyn for Contra Projects (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask at work on his wall in Brooklyn for Contra Projects (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask at work on his wall in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TES ONE at work on his wall in Brooklyn for Contra Projects (photo © Jaime Rojo). Meanwhile Sharktoof did a brand new piece in Bushwick, which we’ll show you next week.

TES ONE in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

James Marshall (Dalek). Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ron English. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TES ONE. Detail. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tristan Eaton has not shown such a fully realized piece on the streets and he unveiled this one after working for close to a year on it. He also told BSA that his brother Matthew has some serious art chops. Bring it on, Matt! Contra Projects at Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Now with 8 essential vitamins and religions! TrustoCorp. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm. Detail. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw. Detail. Artists Wanted at Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Galerie Gabriel & Gabriel Presents: “Artiste Ouvrier. Nostalgie du Temps Present” (Paris, France)

March 6, 2011 Artists, Events, France, Gallery, Opening, Paris

Gabriel&Gabriel

Black Rat Projects Presents: Brian Adam Douglas AKA Elbow-Toe “Due Date” (London, UK)

March 5, 2011 Artists, Events, Gallery, London, Opening, U.K.

Elbow Toe

Never seen in public before, Brian Adams Douglas’ new massive (5 x 7) and three months in the making painting “Memory of You” will be the central focus of his new solo show.

Elbow-Toe

Brian Adam Douglas – Due Date
March 10 – April 8, 2011

Black Rat Projects
Through Cargo Garden
Arch 461, 83 Rivington Street
London EC2A 3AY
http://www.blackratprojects.com/

Black Rat Projects is pleased to present our next project with Brian Adam Douglas. Due Date, his first solo show in the UK, will be on view from March 10 – April 8, 2011. The opening will coincide with the launch of a book about his work, Paper Cuts, published by DRAGO.

Under the name Elbow Toe, Brooklyn based artist Brian Adam Douglas has been pasting his distinctive woodcuts, stencil work, large-scale charcoal drawings and collages onto the walls of cities all around the world throughout the past decade. His diverse practice is anchored by an interest in the human gesture as a powerful form of communication, one charged with unspoken narratives and he continually transforms public space into a stage for these private moments. The scenes in his most recent body of work focus on the bewildering act of parenthood. Just as he builds a finished image through the meticulous layering of tiny individual bits of coloured paper, so the meaning of the image is woven through layers of references to historically and culturally established narratives. This kind of intertextuality has become the foundation for the development of his distinctive style. The result is a sophisticated visual language where personal metaphors begin to communicate universal truths.

In Douglas’ work family life is a staged performance, animals are manifestations of human emotion, intense pattern breaks the jagged surface and functions like an ancient Epic storm: as his characters fight to find their balance the viewer holds their breath.

Artist’s Statement:

“For my first solo show in the UK, Due Date, I am exploring my preconceived notions of parenthood and the opportunities for growth that come through that process. I am presenting a series of narratives that flirt the line between fact and fiction; they are moments of autobiography that have been extrapolated to become allegories. As an artist in the process of trying to become a parent and living in one of the most parent-centric sections of NYC, I am keenly aware of the mania that strikes at the heart of parents young and old. In these paintings I am addressing fears (loss of individuation as well as of the proverbial unknown), the strengthening of bonds in times of crisis, the issues of trying to become a parent later in life and the wisdom gained through the process of parenting.

The work is divided into two groups: a set of images on panels, and a set of images on paper. In the more fully realized works on panel, all the actions are taking place in staged environments. The elements surrounding the figures are merely cardboard props, strictly for the purpose of giving the action of the figures a point of reference. The action of the figures is the reality of the image, everything else is just window dressing. The paint drips and splashes act as abstract gestures clearing things away yet never managing to obscure the events occurring on the stage. In the works on paper, the events being described are contained in a sea of white. By the very nature of the presentation the gestures and relationships are isolated and distilled.

The current body of work builds upon a process of art making that I have been refining for several years. I refer to the work as paper paintings rather than as collage. I see each piece of paper as a brushstroke rather than as a juxtaposed idea. Each brushstroke is selected for it’s color, value and texture, rather than it’s imagery”. Brian Adams Douglas

To read BSA interview and studio visit with Elbow-Toe click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=16421

Stick Out Your Tongue : Street Art So Close You Can Lick it at Fountain

March 5, 2011 Art Fair, Artists, Manhattan, NYC

Our preferred punk rock lopsided Anti-Fair, Fountain, is in full effect right now and this year is showing Street Artists like none of the stuffy one’s could bear; Just one step removed from the street. Some of New York’s current players hit up a 100 foot long wall with whatever they wanted. The eclectic result is a bit more “finished” than raw, but it’s a cross-section of chaotic influences that feels authentic. Here are a few shots of the art from the wall, followed by pieces inside the main exhibition. Fountain is running right now and has a musical show planned tonight with Ninjasonik and NSR and a Lomography Picture Party featuring thousands of blinding flashbulbs.

Inside the tent several galleries are offering the works of other Street Artists from around the country.

Gilf takes on polarizing Sarah Palin with this on-target crosshair pattern that doubles as a religious icon halo. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

PLAYING TONIGHT AT FOUNTAIN – Ninjasonik

Broken Crow : A Mexican Travelog

March 4, 2011 Mexico, Minneapolis

Minneapolis Street Art duo Broken Crow are in Mexico City for the first time to install a number of new pieces with Street Artists SupaKitch and Koralie. Guests of El Museo del Juguete Antiguo México (The Antique Toy Museum) in collaboration with MAMUTT Arte, John and Mike invite the BSA family to tag along with these impromptu snaps as they discover inspiration on the streets of D.F. So far they are pretty blown away by the stuff they’ve seen in the museum and in the streets. It will be exciting to see how it affects their output on walls.

With special thanks to Roberto Shimizu of MUJAM and Gonzalo Alvarez of Mamutt Arte

John calls this “Your Morning Inspiration”

A look inside a closet at the Antique Toy Museum

“El Enmascarado de Plata” (The Silver Masked Luchador)

Roberto and Mike mugging for the camera. What’s the Spanish translation for “mind on the money and money on the mind”?

A little blurry but it’s a cool detail from a larger piece Mike found in the museum.

Here’s the view down from the scaffolding as Broken Crow was scoping out the new gigante piece they started today. We’ll show you the progress on the next Mexican Travelog!

BSA>>>>><><><>><>>>BSA>>>>><><><>><>>>BSA>>>>><><><>><>>>BSA>>>>><><><>><>>>

All images copyright of and courtesy of Broken Crow

www.toymuseummexico.com

www.koralie.net
http://www.supakitch.com/
http://www.brokencrow.com/

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Happy New Year 2026 From BSA
January 1, 2026
Okay let's do this! The future is unwritten. Get out your marker.Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 4
December 31, 2025
We’re celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next by thanking BSA Readers, Friends, and Family …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 5
December 30, 2025
We’re celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next by thanking BSA Readers, Friends, and Family …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 6
December 29, 2025
It's not all doom and gloom, but sometimes you may get that impression. In New York—like everywhere else—economic stress, global …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 7
December 28, 2025
Somewhere along the King’s Road, punk hardened into a classic ‘look’ - or dictionary of ‘looks’. Stripped of its insurgent …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 8
December 27, 2025
“When I watch people holding their smartphones, I often ask myself: are they holding their phones because they want to, …Read More »

JR “The Wrinkles in the City 2011” Photo Courtesy © MOCA

QRST “Right Tool for the Job” (photo © QRST)

QRST “Complicit” (photo © QRST)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá. Close up of the painted hall wall. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

José Parlá (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Photo © Jaime Rojo

How & Nosm finish wall in Brooklyn for Contra Projects (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask at work on his wall in Brooklyn for Contra Projects (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask at work on his wall in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TES ONE at work on his wall in Brooklyn for Contra Projects (photo © Jaime Rojo). Meanwhile Sharktoof did a brand new piece in Bushwick, which we’ll show you next week.

TES ONE in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

James Marshall (Dalek). Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ron English. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TES ONE. Detail. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tristan Eaton has not shown such a fully realized piece on the streets and he unveiled this one after working for close to a year on it. He also told BSA that his brother Matthew has some serious art chops. Bring it on, Matt! Contra Projects at Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bask. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Now with 8 essential vitamins and religions! TrustoCorp. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm. Detail. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm. Detail. Contra Projects. Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw. Detail. Artists Wanted at Scope Art Fair (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andy Piedilato. Detail. Scope Art Fair. English Kills Gallery (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Typoe. Detail. Scope Art Fair. Spinello Gallery (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Jenkins at Volta Art Fair. Carmichael Gallery (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Jenkins at Volta Art Fair. Carmichael Gallery (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never seen in public before, Brian Adams Douglas’ new massive (5 x 7) and three months in the making painting “Memory of You” will be the central focus of his new solo show.

Shark Toof. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shark Toof. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Joe Iurato (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Clown Soldier (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elle (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faro. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ellis G. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gilf takes on polarizing Sarah Palin with this on-target crosshair pattern that doubles as a religious icon halo. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gilf grabs a logo and puts it in pumps (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist JMR at Mighty Tanaka’s booth (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist Radical! shows at Marketplace Gallery’s space (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist Samson as part of Marketplace’s selections (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The sky landscape above Pier 66 on The Hudson River. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

John calls this “Your Morning Inspiration”

A look inside a closet at the Antique Toy Museum

“El Enmascarado de Plata” (The Silver Masked Luchador)

Roberto and Mike mugging for the camera. What’s the Spanish translation for “mind on the money and money on the mind”?

A little blurry but it’s a cool detail from a larger piece Mike found in the museum.

Here’s the view down from the scaffolding as Broken Crow was scoping out the new gigante piece they started today. We’ll show you the progress on the next Mexican Travelog!

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