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Living Walls : Albany Roundup

September 19, 2011 Albany, Artists, new york, On the Street

RECAP – BSA and Living Walls : Albany

This weekend in Albany very important Street Art presentations were made at the New York State Museum during “Living Walls: Albany”, including one from Street Art duo Broken Crow, pictured here in custom made aluminum foil head gear that reflected light rays all around the Clark Auditorium.

Mike has the remote for the Powerpoint show in his right antenna. Broken Crow at the New York State Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

There were so many moving parts in this large and easy going cultural festival this weekend, and we were really happy to meet so many people in the street, at the Marketplace encampment, in St. Joseph’s Church, at the tile factory, and during our keynote lecture at the New York State Museum Saturday. Thanks to Samson Contompasis for asking BSA to partner with him for LWAlbany and a quick shout out to other local partners James Shultis at Grand Street Community Arts, Sivan Shimoni, the staff at NYS Museum, and local blogger KC Orcutt at KeepAlbanyBoring.com along with photographers Andrew Franciosa, Bob Anderson, MC3, Frank Whitney, and Ken Jacobie. Also big ups to Monica Compana, who c0-spearheaded Living Walls Atlanta, which we covered a lot when it began last year. For all the locals mentioned, they are just the tip of the iceberg of a large committed creative and professional community in the Upstate New York region who helped to pull this thing off with almost zero dollars and tons of planning and hustling. For the first year, it is/was a major achievement.

Broken Crow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Of course our main focus is always the Street Artists and the creative spirit that is alive and well on the streets so it was a total honor to see the artists and see brand new stuff going up, like the last one before catching a train last night – Broken Crow’s ram under a bridge. There are still some pieces being finished by NohJColey, Clown Soldier, Doodles, and one we missed from Michael DeFeo. Also coming up should be Hellbent and possibly some other artists this fall, so we’ll get back to you on that. Not all these pics are from Living Walls : Albany by the way — when you are combing the streets you find all kinds of stuff you didn’t expect.

Check out all BSA coverage on the archive page here.

Broken Crow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

White Cocoa (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles at work on his wall. He explained to BSA that it will eventually contain 5 frames of a figure gradually being crushed under a backpack, which he will shake himself from and run into the wild. It’s meant to symbolize the fears and problems that can accumulate in life and our need to shake the “baggage” if possible. — and some more esoteric descriptors that we can tell you about if you want to know. Stay tuned for the finished piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles at work on his wall (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles wall in progress (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey at work on his wall (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cake, Infinity (photo © Jaime Rojo)

(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder next to an old Radical! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Veng RWK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Clown Soldier (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Michael DeFeo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Radical (photo © Jaime Rojo)

N’DA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Take your own tour this fall with the Living Walls : Albany MAP

Overunder and Broken Crow at “Living Walls : Albany”

September 16, 2011 Artists

Words by KC Orcutt

Images by Andrew Franciosa and MC3

Overunder is a firecracker. From my initial participation in witnessing the Living Walls unfold in Albany, he has been nothing but a friendly and tireless ball of creative energy (in the best way possible) showing me parts of the city I grew up in that I didn’t even know existed on Google maps of places he’s been exploring. As a first time visitor adapting to the town, we joked about him about being able to give directions better than I, myself, could as a local.

Overunder (photo © Andrew Franciosa)

Overunder has work installed currently at the Marketplace Gallery and his pieces have been sprinkled throughout Albany, such as one gem tucked away in the South End sharing a building with Broken Crow. His portraits are as engaging as the quirky characteristics of each building or wall themselves, picking up on elements of the city (such as painting people that he’s met during his stay here) and his attention to detail in his work brings out new characteristic aspects of walls that otherwise would have continued to blend in unnoticed with the city’s surroundings.

Overunder’s pieces are as conversational as the artist himself and his work has breathed fresh air into these community spaces. Just judging off of our several conversations over the past week, I’d say it’s a safe bet to make that he has more tricks up his sleeve and more work will surface as the weekend draws closer.

Overunder (photo © Andrew Franciosa)

Overunder (photo © MC3)

Broken Crow (photo © Andrew Franciosa)

Broken Crow (photo © Bob Anderson)

Chris Stain in Church, Museum : 9/11 Mural With “Living Walls: Albany”

September 8, 2011 Albany, Artists, Museum, new york

The Street Artist Creates 40 Foot Mural Marking 10th Anniversary

Living Walls with Chris Stain

Words by KC Orcutt

with photos from Andrew Franciosa, Frank Whitney, and Ken Jacobie

Working in the monumental landmark of St. Joseph’s church, the focal point marking Albany’s Ten Broeck Historical District, everything echoed. The shake of the spray paint can, Chris Stain’s soft but direct voice, friends casually eating out of take-out containers and the sliding of a huge ladder against the wooden floor echoed against the high, detailed ceilings of the church, breaking the silence in what felt like both a privileged and private setting to be working in.

This portion of the “Living Walls: Albany” project directly faced the challenge all artists face: make something out of nothing. For the organizer, Samson Contompasis, that challenge was making a 40 by 16 foot wall out of 20 wooden pieces for Chris Stain to create his contribution to the project. Challenge met. Next.

As Chris Stain humored me in talking about Albany, the culture of zines and independent art books, doing his art homework on the train up here and how the quietness of the church was peaceful, he worked very swiftly. With one can of spray paint on deck in his back pocket and one in his hand, he got to work on his installation piece, depicting a scene of firefighters, an American flag and slanted city buildings, working with the ‘perfect’ red and an assortment of spray paint cans aligned like soldiers ready to go.

The finished piece alongside the ornate details of the church allowed for a natural moment of silence, soaking in what Stain sprayed before us, ready to be taken apart and installed in the setting of the New York State Museum the next day as a part of the new exhibit, “Reflecting on September 11, 2001.”

“Reflecting on September 11, 2001” opens at the New York State Museum Friday 10.9.11. Please click here for more information.

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