All posts tagged: Altered Beast

Images of the Week 03.09.09

Aiko (photo Jaime Rojo)
Why don’t you come up and see me sometime? (Aiko) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Cake and ShinShin (photo Jaime Rojo)
Cake and ShinShin (photo Jaime Rojo)

Altered Torino (photo Jaime Rojo)
Altered Torino (Altered Beast) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Altered Brokeback (photo Jaime Rojo)
Altered Brokeback (Altered Beast) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Altered Beast (photo Jaime Rojo)
Jon Benet (Altered Beast) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Bishop 203 (photo Jaime Rojo)
Broken Heart. (Bishop 203) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Feral (photo Jaime Rojo)
Head Dress (Feral) (photo Jaime Rojo)

You’re looking good just like a snake in the grass (Hellbent) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Mark Carvalho (photo Jaime Rojo)
Spring is in the Air! (Mark Carvalho) (photo Jaime Rojo)
Pork at the Robot (Noah Sparkes and ? ) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Pork Robot (Noah Sparkes(pattern) and Roa (pig) ) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Priority Celso (photo Jaime Rojo)
Priority Celso (photo Jaime Rojo)

(photo Jaime Rojo)
Supreme Sunshine (photo Jaime Rojo)

Start Early! (photo Jaime Rojo)
Start Early! (photo Jaime Rojo)

Zoso (photo Jaime Rojo)
Never Forget Your Roots (Zoso) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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Year in Images 2008

Year in Images 2008

Paradigm Shifting and Cave Writings

Looking back at the powerful changes in ’08,

it’s not hard to see their reflection on the Brooklyn streets, which may serve as tea leaves revealing the messages swirling around us and in us. Each individual act of creating is of significance, yet it is the cumulative effect of the groundswell of new participants that seems so powerful, so hopeful in it’s desire.

Naturally, at the beginning of this selection of images from 2008, we are featuring the most visible street art piece of the year by Shepard Fairey, which appeared here on the streets of Brooklyn and transcended mediums to reach millions of people. Shepard’s graphic design style and his images of the man who would be president helped many to quickly glimpse the character and message of Barack Obama.

A Winning Campaign (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

A Winning Campaign (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

The image was replicated, adopted, adapted, transformed, re-formed, lampooned even. It became an icon that belonged to everyone who cared to own it, and a symbol of the change the man on the street was looking for. Like street art, Obama’s message was taken directly to the people, and they responded powerfully in a way that brought a historic shift; one that continues to unfold.

Elsewhere on the street we saw themes from topical to fantastical; crazy disjointed cultural mash-ups, celebrity worship or destruction, Big Brother, icons, symbols, death, war, economic stress, protest, dancing, robots and monsters and clowns and angels, and an incredible pathos for humanity and it’s sorry state… with many reminders of those marginalized and disaffected. We never forget the incredible power of the artist to speak to our deepest needs and fears.

The movement of young and middle-aged artists off the isle of pricey mall-ish Manhattan and into Brooklyn is not quite an exodus, but boy, sometimes it feels that way. The air sometimes is thick with it; the creative spirit. The visual dialogue on the street tells you that there is vibrant life behind doors – studios, galleries, practice rooms, loft parties, rooftops.

Even as a debate about street art’s appropriate placement on public/private walls continues, it continues. From pop art to fine art, painterly to projected, one-offs to mass repetition, Brooklyn street art continues to grow beyond our expectations, and our daily lives are largely enriched by it.

This collection is not an exhaustive survey – the archival approach isn’t particularly stimulating and we’re not academics, Madge. The street museum is always by chance, and is always about your two eyes. Here’s a smattering, a highly personal trip through favorites that were caught during the year.

[svgallery name=”Images of Year 2008″]

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Images of the Week 11.30.08

Andy McCain Vs. Barack Basquiat     (photo Jaime Rojo)

Andy McCain Vs. Barack Basquiat (photo Jaime Rojo)

Andy and Jean-Michel Re-Match   (self poor trait)   (photo Jaime Rojo)

Re-Match! (self poor trait) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Beastly Angel Adventure  (Altered Beast, Creepy Head Tank)  (photo Jaime Rojo)

Beastly Angel's Great Adventure (Altered Beast, Creepy Head Tank) (photo Jaime Rojo)

ET replaced by a six-pack of Coke   (Altered Beast)  (photo Jaime Rojo)

ET replaced by a six-pack of Coke (Altered Beast) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Looking askance    (Lister)   (photo Jaime Rojo)

Secretly has a crush (Lister) (photo Jaime Rojo)

What the heck is a nom-de-plume?  Does it have something to do with feathers?   (Moody, Nom de plume)  (photo Jaime Rojo)

Does it have something to do with feathers? (Moody, Nome de plume) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Flying over the poppy fields    (Peru Ana)  (Jaime Rojo)

Baloonaerobics (Peru Ana) (Jaime Rojo)

I always wash it first just in case.    (Eat Fruit and Die)  (photo Jaime Rojo)

I always wash it first just in case. (Eat Fruit and Die) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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