All posts tagged: Asbestos

Images Of The Week: 05.19.24

Images Of The Week: 05.19.24

Welcome to BSA’s Images of the Week.

And welcome to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where history and modernity converge in its mural narratives and lively streets, telling stories of resilience, an evolving culture, and a pensive optimism. As street art observers, our journey through Belfast’s neighborhoods has been eye-opening. The murals here are not just art; they reflect the city’s tumultuous past, vibrant present, and hopeful future. Belfast’s predominantly Victorian architecture is a testament to the city’s industrious heritage, particularly its shipbuilding legacy linked to the RMS Titanic. Still, some of the kids are rocking new attitudes, and a sizeable multi-disciplinary artist community is making new spaces for exploration.

The punk movement, which provided a rebellious soundtrack during the Troubles, has left a lasting mark on the city’s sonic legacy. Today, local musicians, DJs, and electronic artists draw inspiration from traditional instrumentation and this era of lucid experimentation, performing live in clubs and bars. There is an unmistakable convivial, welcoming atmosphere in Belfast’s pubs and a raucous laughter that shakes your ribs in many a cluster of revelers out for the night. We also noticed a gentle generosity – from its bakeries and cheesemongers to checkout clerks and museum provosts and park bench poets.

For an old shipbuilding city wracked by civil strife, this feels like a young city, eager to move forward while honoring the sacrifices made during the Troubles. Some of the murals here encapsulate perhaps a different spirit, blending poignant tributes, more muted political statements, and a willful optimism amidst the general confusion that is now plaguing most of the Western world.

So here’s this week’s interview with the street, featuring ROA, Conor Harrington, BustArt, MTO, Asbestos, Dan Kitchener, Kitsune Jolene, Aches, Evoke, KFIVEMFU, Studio Giftig, and Annatomix.

ROA for Hit The North Festival 2023 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BustArt (left), 2022 Edition. Annatomix (right) 2023 Edition. Hit The North Festival. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BustArt. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Asbestos for Hit The North Festival 2023 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ACHES for Hit The North Festival 2020 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ACHES for Hit The North Festival 2022 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ACHES for Hit The North Festival 2022 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
MTO for Hit The North Festival 2016 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Studio Giftig for Hit The North Festival 2023 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Studio Giftig for Hit The North Festival 2023 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kitsune for Hit The North Festival 2022 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
EVOKE. Hit The North Festival 2023 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Conor Harrington. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Conor Harrington. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Conor Harrington Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener is the Artist, as you can see. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener for Hit The North Festival 2017 Edition. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KFIVEMFU. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Spring 2024. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Asbestos Paints a Roof Over His Head in Cork, Ireland

Asbestos Paints a Roof Over His Head in Cork, Ireland

Here in Cork, as in an increasing portion of the western world, housing is gradually turning into a privilege, instead of a right. For the Ardu Street Art Festival in this city of 190,000, the second largest in Ireland, street artist Asbestos posed himself with a box on his head to symbolize our need for a roof.

Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)

“As a country we are currently in an existential crisis over housing,” he tells us. “There’s a fear and uncertainly about finding a safe space, and the system seems to be stacked in favor of the landlords.”

A short roster of artists are here this year for the festival – and hometown talent Conor Harrington is currently working on his first mural for the city. The other participants this year include Friz and Shane O’Malley. Of course, being in your hometown doesn’t mean much if you don’t actually have a home.

Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Dave O’Sullivan)

“Home isn’t simply about where you were born, it’s where you feel you belong, where you feel safe, where you’re welcomed, where you can come back to and feel accepted, loved and part of a community,” says Asbestos as he discusses rents and mortgages. He tells us that it took over a week to paint this new mural, and during that time he had many conversations with people on the street who feel the economic anxiety and insecurity that is pushing more people closer to the door – here and elsewhere.

“It was wonderful to speak to so many curious Corkonians about the mural. The support has been amazing from the public and my friends and family here, Cork definitely felt like my home for a week.”

Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Dave O’Sullivan)
Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Shane O’Driscoll)
Asbestos. Ardu Street Art Festival 2021. Cork, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)
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Asbestos’ Soul and Transitioning Between Levels of Existence in Dublin

Asbestos’ Soul and Transitioning Between Levels of Existence in Dublin

“I drew inspiration from Joseph Beuys’ visit to Ireland where he spoke in the gallery about the soul and its transition between different levels of existence.” Street artist Asbestos is talking about the near ritualist manner of creation he used for this new mural he’s painted in Dublin.

By uttering an incantation after completing each extinguished match stick, the artist may have held the hand of a dearly departed individual as they passed from this life to the next.

Asbestos. “Pass Freely” in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Sean Curtis)

Each of the nearly five thousand people who passed away during the pandemic in Ireland is intimated here – a searing tribute that he completed over ten days. “Each match represents the life of a person… each extinguished at a different stage of existence,” he tells us. “Each life cut short, along with their hopes, ambitions, and the memories.” 

Asbestos. “Pass Freely” in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Sean Curtis)

Part of a new initiative for the Hugh Lane Gallery, and the new exhibition ‘From Secret Block to ROSC’ by Joseph Beuys, Asbestos tells us about the anonymous figure made of figures just completed.

“When you stand back and view the work from a distance, it forms a profile of me standing and looking up, with my hands raised to the sky,” he says. “This symbol unites the many intertwined matches to form a single representation of hope. United, we are stronger.” 

Asbestos. “Pass Freely” in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Sean Curtis)
Asbestos. “Pass Freely” in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Sean Curtis)
Asbestos. “Pass Freely” in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Sean Curtis)
Asbestos. “Pass Freely” in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Sean Curtis)
Asbestos. “Pass Freely” in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Sean Curtis)

Credits:

Artist: Asbestos – @artofasbestos

Hugh Lane Gallery @thehughlane

Film and Photography Sean Curtis @designmaketake

Mural Assisted by Colm Weakliam @withoutmatter

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COVID-19 365 Days Later; Art in the Streets That Narrated a Pandemic

COVID-19 365 Days Later; Art in the Streets That Narrated a Pandemic

What the hell just happened? Has it been a year? Or has it been 10 years? Or just one long nightmare/daymare? Or has it been 10 years? Did we already ask that?

In March 2020 we awoke to a world that was transforming before all of our eyes, yet we felt so cut-off from it and each other. The first days seem so long ago as we mark the first anniversary of the pandemic. Still, the initial shock of those days resonates in our chests so strongly that we confidently talk about a collective global trauma that has indelibly marked a generation.

Pobel. Stavanger, Norway. March 14, 2020. (photo © Tore Stale Moen)

From Stockholm to Mexico City to Barcelona to Bethlehem to New York to LA, BSA brought you street art that was responding with fear, derision, critique, hope, and humor to the never-static, always evolving barrage of Covid news. Stuck inside and afraid to expose ourselves to each other, we New Yorkers became accustomed to experiencing the outdoors only through our windows, connecting with neighbors we’ve never met who were also banging pots and pans or clapping and waving and yelling.

We listened to ambulances screaming past our windows every half hour or so during those first weeks, imagining the torn families, the terrified fellow New Yorkers now being rushed to the hospital and separated from their loved ones without a goodbye, gasping for air. We wondered if we would be next.

Jilly Ballistic and Sack Six. Manhattan, NYC. March 23, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

When we did go to the streets, they were empty – or nearly. In New York this was unheard of. In this bustling, noisy metropolis, we experienced a daily disconcerting quiet. That is, until the killing of George Floyd by cops finally pushed the anger/anxiety into the streets all summer.

The deadly hotspot of New York quelled, but the fires of Covid spread west, grabbing communities who thought they would avoid impact. At the same time, local, state, and national leaders fumbled and argued or famously callously ignored the desperation of citizens, occasionally admirably filling the shoes they were elected to occupy, often misstepping through no fault of their own.

Pure Genius. Manhattan, NYC. March 23, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We have no particular wisdom to offer you today beyond the obvious; this pandemic laid bare inequity, social and racial and class fault-lines, the shredded social net, the effect of institutional negligence, the ravages of 40 years of corporate privatization, and the power of community rising to the occasion to be in service to one another in ways that made us all more than proud.

Here are some of our favorite Covid-themed street art pieces from over the last year, a mere sampling of the artistic responses. Interspersed we paste screenshots of the daily events (via Wikipedia) in 2020 that shaped our lives, and our society.

We mourn the losses of family and friends and the broken hearts and minds in all of our communities. And we still believe in the power of art to heal and the power of love to balance our asymmetries.

Trusto Corp. Los Angeles, CA. March 26, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Lapiz. Hamburg, Germany. March 30th, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Tag Street Art. Tel-Aviv, Israel. March 31, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Phlegm. April 6, 2020. London, UK. (photo courtesy of the artist) Phlegm created a visual diary of his experience with the Pandemic. We published his diary HERE
Don Langrend for USA Today Network. On April 13, 2020, we published a compilation of political cartoons with views on the Pandemic. Click HERE to see the whole collection.
Alessio-B. Padua, Italy. April 15, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Banksy. London, UK. April 19, 2020. (photo Instagram)
Shepard Fairey. Los Angeles, CA. April 20, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Banksy “The Girl with a Pierced Eardrum” Bristol, UK. April 23, 2020. (photo © Reuters/Rebecca Naden)
Cake Stencils. Bethlehem, Israel. May 10, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Almost Over Keep Smiling. Manhattan, NY. May 15, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captain Eyeliner. Manhattan, NY. May 15, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SacSix. Manhattan, NY. May 15, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Oliver Rios. May 15, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Teo Vazquez. Barcelona, Spain. May 25, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Adam Fujita. Brooklyn, NYC. May 25, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. Queens, NYC. June 2nd. 2020. (photo © Just A Spectator)
Russian Doll NY. Manhattan, NYC. June 6, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gianni Lee. Manhattan, NYC. June 13, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Various & Gould. Berlin, Germany. June 19, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artists)
Sara Lynne-Leo. Manhatttan, NYC. June 27, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stikman. Manhatttan, NYC. June 27, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentifed artist. Brooklyn, NYC. July 18, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
De Grupo. Manhattan, NYC. August 1, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sticker Maul. Manhatttan, NYC. August 6, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Fintan Magee. Queensland, Australia. August 16, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Persak. San Miguel De Allende, Mexico. August 23, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Novy. Manhatttan, NYC. August 29, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Asbestos. Cork, Ireland. September 8, 2020. (photo courtesy of the artist)
1111 Army. Brooklyn, NYC. September 12, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Brooklyn, NYC. September 12, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Raddington Falls. Manhattan, NYC. September 26, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faust. Manhattan, NYC. September 26, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pure Genius. Manhattan, NYC. October 31, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
I Heart Graffiti. Manhattan, NYC. November 14, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
UFO 907 in collab with MUK 123. Manhattan, NYC. December 15, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The Creator. Manhattan, NYC. December 28, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
City Kitty. Manhattan, NYC. December 28, 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Karma. Barcelona, Spain. January 4, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Pobel. Stavanger, Norway. February 11, 2021. (photo © Tore Stale Moen)
Aya Brown. Brooklyn, NYC. February 27, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Manhattan, NYC. March 06, 2021 (photo @ Jaime Rojo)
Paolo Tolentino. Manhattan, NYC. March 07, 2021 (photo @ Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Manhattan, NYC. March 07, 2021 (photo @ Jaime Rojo)

As NYC went on complete lock-down and New Yorkers were ordered to remain in their homes in complete isolation the city’s residents organically joined together in a collective 7:00 pm ritual in support to the first responders. To the nurses, doctors, paramedics, trash collectors, public transportation, police, fire fighters, supermarkets workers etc…with their services and sacrifices we, the residents of this megalopolis were able to keep out hopes for brighter days to come.

Video of four former presidents urging people to “roll up your sleeve and do your part” and get the vaccine.

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Asbestos is on High Alert With a Masked Man in Cork.

Asbestos is on High Alert With a Masked Man in Cork.

Sometimes the eyes tell you a lot. In the case of masked people, its all you can rely on aside from posture and body language.  Here in Cork, Ireland, the artist who calls himself Asbestos keeps the faces hidden and the eyes alert – very alert.

Asbestos in Cork, Ireland for Cork Graffiti Jam. (photo © Asbestos)

“The piece is another in a series of mask murals I’m doing,” he tells us. “This mask has drawings on it by my childhood subconscious, an imaginary version of myself called Left Hand. He exists as an innocent and naive version of myself, who doodles thoughts of the past and snippets of the life he sees through my eyes.”

Asbestos in Cork, Ireland for Cork Graffiti Jam. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos in Cork, Ireland for Cork Graffiti Jam. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos in Cork, Ireland for Cork Graffiti Jam. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos in Cork, Ireland for Cork Graffiti Jam. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos in Cork, Ireland for Cork Graffiti Jam. (photo © Asbestos)

The mural was part of this years Cork Graffiti Jam was organized by @mistertrixy. Asbestos would like to thank him for the chance to paint this and the wonderful hospitality.

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Asbestos is “Fragile” Right Now / Dispatch From Dublin

Asbestos is “Fragile” Right Now / Dispatch From Dublin

Irish street artist Asbestos likes peeking out, just his inquisitive orbs taking you in from a safe space. “We all wear masks every second of the day.” Naturally that’s not hard to do since much of the world has been in quarantine a lot lately.

But all these world events have left him feeling fragile to tell the truth.

Asbestos. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)

“I am fragile,” he says. “And I can feel how fragile we all are right now.”

This new mural in Dublin speaks to health, communities, our very lives, he says. It also speaks about masks that people wear to hide how they’re really feeling right now in a time of great social, political, and financial upheaval that you know is irreversible but you cannot predict where it goes.

“We deny how fragile we are. I wear these masks to hide the irrelevant parts of my identity, and this mural let’s my eyes speak, if not shout out how fragile I am. It’s empowering to admit that I’m fragile.”

Asbestos. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)
Asbestos. Dublin, Ireland. (photo © Asbestos)
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Asbestos Behind a Mask in Cork, Ireland

Asbestos Behind a Mask in Cork, Ireland

The symbolism of the “L” repeated many times, the expression in the eyes peering nervously  through them, the appearance of this piece in Cork – it’s all a coded secret for the typical passerby here in Ireland. This is not unusual for Street Art or graffiti because much of it can be so woven into the personal history of the artist that it may require and extensive conversation with them to understand it- or a look at their diary.

Asbestos. Left Hand. Cork, Ireland. July 2019. (photo © Asbestos)

Asbestos is from Dublin but he make this new mural as part of a graffiti jam organized by Crack. He says it is a critique of his own hand skills when he is surrounded by Masters of the aerosol can. In fact he feels like he is all left hands – thus the “L” symbol creating a mask for him to hide behind.

“I like to explore an innocent and naive version of my own character called ‘Left Hand’ that sees the world in a different way to me,” he tells us. “Here he’s giving me learner ‘L’ signs because I’m a street artist painting with a bunch of graff artists. His honesty exposes my own frailties and insecurities and my fear that I’d mess the mural up in front of artists I respect.”

Asbestos. Left Hand. Cork, Ireland. July 2019. (photo © Asbestos)

When we get to know an artist better it is not a surprise to find how much of their personal history and psychology enters into their practice. The Dublin-based Asbestos is quite literal in explorations of self on the street; splitting himself into a ‘live’ version and a ‘dead’ version.

He said he’s been working on “a series of mask portraits that explore my identity. Each mask portrays two versions of myself, one alive and one dead. The dead version is a fictional character that represents me, if I’d been killed in a car bomb,” he reveals. The ‘bomb’ he refers to was a real one, he sayd. “It went off in Dublin 46 days before I was born, 5 minutes after my mother walked past it,” he says.

“I’ve always been fascinated about the fact that I may never have existed.”

Asbestos. Left Hand. Cork, Ireland. July 2019. (photo © Asbestos)
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“Magic City” in Dresden : Exhibition of Street Artists and City as Muse

“Magic City” in Dresden : Exhibition of Street Artists and City as Muse

An unusual amalgam of the interactivity of the street combined with the formality of a gallery environment, Magic City opened this fall in a converted factory in Dresden, Germany with an eclectic selection of 40+ artists spanning the current and past practices of art in the street.

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Skewville. Children enjoying Skewville’s “tete-a-tete” shopping cart. Ernest Zacharevic’s mobile in the background. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With revered culture critic and curator Carlo McCormick at the helm alongside curator Ethel Seno, the richly marbled show runs a gamut from 70’s subway train writers and photographers like Americans Daze, Henry Chalfant, and Martha Cooper to the Egyptian activist Ganzeer, Italian interventionist Biancoshock, popagandist Ron English, and the eye-tricking anamorphic artist from the Netherlands, Leon Keer.

Veering from the hedonistic to the satiric to head-scratching illusions, the collection allows you to go as deep into your education about this multifaceted practice of intervening public space as you like, including just staying on the surface.

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Ernest Zacharevic mobile with a “listening station” on the left. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

It’s not an easy balance to strike – some of these artists have heavy hearts and withering critiques of human behaviors and institutional hypocrisies ranging from 1st World treatment of refugees to celebrity culture to encroaching surveillance on individual rights, government oppression, and urban blight.

Magic City doesn’t try to shield you from the difficult topics, but the exhibition also contains enough mystery, fanboy cheer, eye candy and child-like delight that the kids still have plenty of fun discoveries to take selfies with. We also saw a few kissing couples, so apparently there is room for some romance as well.

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 A visitor to Magic City enjoys a “listening station”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“We believe that even the typical city is uncommon, and that the idiosyncrasies that make each city unique are collectively something they all have in common,” says McCormick in his text describing the exhibition. “This is then a celebration of the universal character of cities as well as a love letter to their infinite diversity. The special magic that comes from our cities is germinated in the mad sum of their improbable juxtapositions and impossible contradictions.”

Of particular note is the sound design throughout the exhibition by Sebastian Purfürst and Hendrick Neumerkel of LEM Studios that frequently evokes an experiential atmosphere of incidental city sounds like sirens, rumbling trains, snatches of conversations and musical interludes. Played at varying volumes, locations, and textures throughout the exhibition, the evocative city soundscape all adds to a feeling of unexpected possibilities and an increased probability for new discovery.

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Olek’s carousel from above. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Obviously this Magic City cannot be all things to all people, and some will criticize the crisp presentation of a notably gritty series of subcultures, or perhaps the omission of one genre or technique or important artist. It’s not meant to be encyclopedic, rather a series of insights into a grassroots art and activism practice that continues to evolve in cities before our eyes.

For full disclosure, we curated the accompanying BSA Film Program for Magic City by 12 artists and collectives which runs at one end of the vast hall – and Mr. Rojo is on the artist roster with 15 photographs of his throughout the exhibition, so our view of this show is somewhat skewed.

Here we share photographs from the exhibition taken recently inside the exhibition for you to have a look for yourself.

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Olek (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ron English (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A MadC installation made with thousands of spray can caps. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Belgian urban naturalist ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Skewville . ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Skewville (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Daze (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Martha Cooper at the gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Henry Chalfant at the gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Bordalo II (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Andy K. detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dan Witz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dan Witz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Isaac Cordal. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Isaac Cordal (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anders Gjennestad AKA Strok (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Icy & Sot with Asbestos on the left. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Replete (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Truly (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Leon Keer (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jaime Rojo. A young visitor enjoying the Kids Trail through a peephole with Jaime’s photos inside an “electrical box”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jaime Rojo. The Kids Trail wasn’t only for kids it seems. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Tristan Eaton on the right. Olek on the left. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Aiko at the Red Light District. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The Yok & Sheryo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Herakut. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Herakut (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

Full list of participating artists:

Aiko, AKRylonumérik, Andy K, Asbestos, Benus, Jens Besser, Biancoshock, Mark Bode, Bordalo II, Ori Carino & Benjamin Armas, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, Isaac Cordal, Daze, Brad Downey, Tristan Eaton, Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Fino’91, Ganzeer, Anders Gjennestad, Ben Heine, Herakut, Icy & Sot, Leon Keer, Loomit, MadC, OakOak, Odeith, Olek, Qi Xinghua, Replete, Roa, Jaime Rojo, Skewville, SpY, Truly, Juandres Vera, WENU, Dan Witz, Yok & Sheryo, Ernest Zacharevic.

 

Visit MAGIC CITY DRESDEN for more details, news, videos and the blog.

 


This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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“Magic City” Premieres in Dresden : Seno and McCormick as Alchemists

“Magic City” Premieres in Dresden : Seno and McCormick as Alchemists

40 Artists Up Along Main Street, 12 More in the BSA Film Program

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Curators Ethel Seno and Carlo McCormick in front of a new mural by German duo Herakut announcing the premiere of Magic City in Dresden. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)


 

“Nature is a petrified magic city.” – Novalis

Curator Carlo McCormick quotes Novalis by way of describing this new exhibit of an eclectic blend of terrific troublemakers, pop-culture hijackers, and show-stopping crowd pleasers drawn from cities all around the Street Art/ graffiti /urban art scene today – and forty years ago. This is a welcoming walk of unexpected intersections that only McCormick and co-curator Ethel Seno could imagine – and pull together as a panoply of street wizardry that acknowledges activism, artistry, anarchy, and aesthetics with a sincere respect for all. It will be interesting to see how this show is viewed by people who follow the chaotic street scene today in the context of its evolution and how they read the street signs in this city.

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Curator Ethel Seno with Managing Director Dieter Semmelmann and exhibition Designer Tobias Kunz cutting the ribbon at the premiere of Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

McCormick, in his customary self-effacing humor, expects there to be some shit flying – as anyone who is involved in this scene expects from the hard-scrabble rebellious margins and subcultures that this art-making interventionist practice rises from. There also are a growing and coalescing mini-legion of scholars and academics who are currently grappling with the nature and characteristics of this self-directed art-making practice rooted often in discontent – now organized inside an exhibition that is ticketed and sold as a family friendly show.

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Street Artist and pop mashup painter Tristan Eaton in front of his new mural wall at the premiere of Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

In his descriptions of the public sphere, the writer, historian, author, and cultural critic McCormick often refers to graffiti and street artists messing with “contested space”. It’s an apt description whether we are talking about the public space in high-density gleaming metropolises or the bombed-out grid-less and polluted quagmires of human fallibility and urban un-planning that dot our globe; all public space its nature is contested.

Here is a place used by many artists to protest, agitate, advocate, or deliver critique – and many of the artists in this exhibition have done exactly this in their street practice, often pushing limits and defining new ones. Dig a little into many of the individual story lines at play here and you’ll see that the vibrant roots of social revolution are pushing up from the streets through the clouds of propaganda and advertising, often mocking them and revealing them in the process.

Ultimately, this Magic City experience is an elixir for contemplating the lifelong romance we have with our cities and with these artists who cavort with us within them. “Our Magic City is a place and a non-place,” McCormick says in a position statement on the exhibit. “It is not the physical city of brick and mortar but rather the urban space of internalized meanings. It is the city as subject and canvas, neither theme park nor stage set, but an exhibition showcasing some of the most original and celebrated artists working on and in the city today.”

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Mixed media Street Artist Asbestos from Dublin, graffiti master/ painter Chris “Daze” Ellis from NYC, and Tristan Eaton from Los Angeles at the premiere of Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

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Curator Carlo McCormick with New York billboard/culture jammer and artist Ron English in front of his new wall mural at premiere of Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

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Dutch anamorphic art master Leon Keer with Polish crochet transformer/Street Artist Olek at the premiere of Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

BSA curated the film program for Magic City with a dynamic array of some of the best Street Art related films today presented together in a relaxed environment. In this video hosted by Andreas Schanzenbach you get a taste of the works that are showing that we draw from our weekly surveys on BSA Film Friday. Over the last few years we have had the honor of presenting live in-person to students and scholars and fans an ever-evolving collection of videos that speak to the spirit experimentation, discovery and culture-jamming outrageousness of urban interventions, graffiti and Street Art.  The BSA Film Program at Magic City presents a survey of some of the very best that we have seen recently.

Magic City artists include:
Akrylonumerik, Andy K, Asbestos, Ben Heine, Benuz, Biancoshock, Bordalo II, Brad, Downey, Dan Witz, Daze, Ernest Zacharevic, Ganzeer, Henry Chalfant, HERAKUT, Icy & Sot, Isaac Cordal, Jaime Rojo, Jens Besser, Juandres Vera, Lady Aiko, Leon Keer, Loomit, MAD C, Mark Bode, Martha Cooper, Oakoak, Odeith, Olek, Ori Carin / Benjamin Armas, Qi Xinghua, Replete, ROA, Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Skewville, SpY, Tristan Eaton, Truly, WENU Crew, Yok & Sheryo

The BSA Film Program for Magic City includes the following artists:
Borondo, Brad Downey & Akay, Ella + Pitr, Faile, Farewell, Maxwell Rushton, Narcelio Grud, Plotbot Ken, Sofles, Vegan Flava, Vermibus

Some behind the scenes shots days before the Premiere

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Popagandist Ron English preparing his Temper Tot at Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

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Popagandist Ron English preparing his Temper Tot at Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

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DAZE reviewing his work at Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

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Urban naturalist ROA at Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

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Sheryo strikes a pose while the guys build the installation she did with The Yok at Magic City in Dresden, Germany. (photo © Rainer Christian Kurzeder)

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