All posts tagged: ASVP

BSA Film Friday: 10.22.21

BSA Film Friday: 10.22.21

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Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening:
1. Ocean Cleanup: “That’s A Big A** Catch”
2. PichiAvo: Venus de Mil in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
3. ASVP in NYC via Tost Films

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BSA Special Feature: Ocean Cleanup: “That’s A Big A** Catch”

Are you looking for career fulfillment? To do work that actually matters? Here’s a path you may look into. Just look at the reactions and the faces of the people involved.

“The crew offshore in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch achieved our largest ocean plastic catch to date in a single extraction with System 002 on September 22nd, 2021. This load amounts to 3.8 tons and concludes the last short test of the campaign.”

Ocean Cleanup: “That’s A Big A** Catch”

PichiAvo: Venus de Mil in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A fresh new wall from the dynamic duo PichiAvo in Largo da Batata square in São Paulo. One of their strongest works to date, for the Nalato Festival.

ASVP in NYC via Tost Films

Filmmaker Mario of Tost Films captures a brand new abstract wall by Brooklyn’s own ASVP.

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BSA Images Of The Week: 08.25.19

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.25.19

The Amazon Forest – which furnishes 6% of our oxygen is being burned – an unthinkable event in human history. Evidence points to arson – incidences are up 80% over last year. Darkness now falls hours before the sun sets in São Paulo, and G7 leaders are set to hold emergency talks over the wildfires crisis. Events like these threaten to push us into a domino effect of environmental disaster.

In related news, New Yorker David Koch died, a billionaire by inheritance, a key funder of climate change denial who used millions to sway the laws and to set the world on fire while usurping your voice. The Kochs were just on Hasan Minaj 5 days ago! – go to 10:20 on this video

Thankfully, NYC is still gorgeous and hot and steamy and sticky this week – and so is a lot of the Street Art.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Adrian Wilson, Antennae, ASVP, Dee Dee, Giulio Vesprini, Jazz Guetta, Kyro, Maria Qamar, Muebon, NDA, Never Satisfied, Nevs, Nitzan Mintz, OverUnder, Sonny Sundancer, Subway Doodle, UFO 907, and Vexx

Sonny Sundancer (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vexx for The Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)
V Ballentine for JMZ Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dee Dee (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulio Vesprini (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulio Vesprini (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Adrian Wilson. This was originally painted last Thanksgiving to protest Black Friday consumerism and Amazon’s draconian labor practices. Still resonates today. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Antennae (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“The dream fills the room and there isn’t enough oxygen for both of us. I try not to move and not to breath.” Dude, get out. Nitzan Mintz (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Never Satified (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A tribute to writer Kyro by DG and NOA (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Maria Qamar (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Muebon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Subway Doodle (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vintage Overunder and ND’A in NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jazz Guetta (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ASVP (photo © Jaime Rojo)
UFO 907 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Summer 2019. NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Moniker Art Fair: Scenes From Behind The Scenes

Moniker Art Fair: Scenes From Behind The Scenes

“I try to make sure I’m presenting work from artists not necessarily because they’re popular,” Tina Ziegler told us a few weeks ago, “but because they are or have been influential and/or fundamental to urban & contemporary art’s growth.”

Herakut. Detail. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

That may explain why D*Face was nearly sprinting to his wall in Greenpoint yesterday while Egle Zvirblyte was mounting the brightly sexified animals  around the bar and the Skewville twins were sweating the details on their installation on a roll-down gate. Of course, since they are actual Brooklyn Street Artists the bros appeared as cool as the elevated JMZ train with the windows open.

For that matter, the action inside the exhibition spaces was also jamming, including Jasmine from Herakut, who was painting a passage in her distinctive handstyle across a booth here in this former merchant marine factory warehouse.

Hera of Herakut at work. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

It’s the first Moniker International Art Fair in Brooklyn for the next four days with 27 exhibitors, a number of “artist residencies”, live mural painting, music performances by Princess Nokia, a “Street Heroines” talk with documentary director Alexandra Henry and a 5 Pointz history presentation with Meres One.

As the preparations for Moniker’s debut in NYC got underway we visited the location and found an energetic team busy at work helping the many artists and the galleries who represent them transfixed with the task of setting up shop, build the installations and paint the walls outside. Here’s a peek for you.

Jose Mendez at work. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jose Mendez. Detail. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face at work for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

D*Face at work for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The amazing team at Swoon’s Heliotrope Foundation setting up. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. Detail. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ASVP setting up. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brusk. Detail. Jonathan LeVine Projects booth. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Derek Gores setting up. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MeresOne. Detail. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bom.K Detail. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Egle Zvirblyte. Detail. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Egle Zvirblyte. Detail. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Le Gran Jeu. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tina Ziegler. Chief instigator. Fair engine. Founder. Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Princess Nokia Putting Everybody in the Mood for Spring and Summer in Brooklyn


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Moniker BK 2018 Catalogue Introduction Text by BSA

Moniker BK 2018 Catalogue Introduction Text by BSA

For the past few days we’ve been highlighting some of the artists whose brand new works will be debuted this week at Moniker International Art Fair this week. We are pleased that our editor in chief, Steven P. Harrington, was asked to write the Moniker catalogue introduction and today we share with you his original text to give you an idea of his perspective on having this art fair in BK.


From the seedy to the sublime, Brooklyn’s underground and street culture always bubbles up to the surface like hot gritty pavement tar when you least expect it – maybe because it’s character is so diverse and scrappy; a perpetual underdog, a fighter who never tires. Likewise Moniker has blazed many dark streets during its first nine years in search of new unusual inspiration and authentic voices. For its New York debut Moniker again short-circuits expectations and takes up a seriously innovative residence in the street culture epicenter of BKLN.

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In the modern Urban Art story Brooklyn is known for giving birth to epic 1970s train writers like Dondi, 80s train/canvas artists like Daze, crossover iconoclast graffiti/Street Artists like REVS in the 90s, and Street Art innovators like Bäst, Faile, Judith Supine, Skewville and Swoon in the 00s. Currently it claims the thickest density of international murals by urban aerosol wizards anywhere in the city – with the Bushwick Collective proliferating an epic scene of styles in the 2010s that brings a river of fans and tours out on the L train on any given sunny Saturday.

An earlier Bast in Brooklyn (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

Curated, experiential, and immersive, Moniker again goes right to the source of this Street Art scene that has jolted many international collectors out of their comfort zones and sparked life into Contemporary Art in a way that nobody foresaw.

With an awesome shot of Gotham across the river and just adjacent to Williamsburg this site is where 4,000 workers in factories manufactured nautical rope for the Merchant Marine in the previous century, later becoming a marginalized and abandoned industrial neighborhood that was like a powerful magnet to Street Artists and graffiti writers until only recently.

Specter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Right here only a decade ago my partner and I threw a Street Art burlesque show for 300 avant-art fans behind a graffiti supply store; acrobats, fire tagging and drunken DJs included. Months later, with abandoned buildings and empty lots at our disposal, we projected Street Art images meta-style on walls around the neighborhood along with 20 or so projection artists for BK’s own version of a renegade Nuit Blanche.

ASVP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Only a block or two from where Moniker is sited graffiti throwups and bubble letters were scattered everywhere, squatters started fires to keep warm and scare off rats, skater kids regularly rode the underground paradise called “Autumn Bowl” by sneaking through a hole in the wall, and Banksy did one of his famous New York residency pieces here in 2013, “This site contains blocked messages.” The hardcore and anonymous REVS himself used a blowtorch to weld a dozen or so sculptures around this neighborhood during the 00s and ‘10s. There is at least one remaining.

FaithXLVII (photo © Jaime Rojo)

And now Moniker 2018 beams out a new international signal to you from here, channeling that explosive Brooklyn DIY creative spirit up to the soaring ceilings of the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse, effectively recreating the kind of immersive street carnival atmosphere that proved the ideal laboratory for Street Artists in BK like like Skewville, Dan Witz, Aiko, Mark Jenkins and countless others.

Now Moniker is introducing you to a dynamic crop of work by street practitioners on Brooklyn streets like Icy & Sot, Specter, and ASVP as well as the international high-profilers who have put work on the street here like Faith XLVII, FinDAC and Vermibus.

Vermibus (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As Urban Contemporary takes a solid hold in art world parlance it’s only right that a unique event like this challenges the rules for installations. All original new work from a handpicked highly curated group of 27 exhibitors, you will not have seen these installations and pieces previously. Judging by the hefty buzz leading up to Moniker 2018 in Brooklyn, you might not see them again.

Reminds me of Street Art.

FinDAC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

 

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ASVP x Moniker x BSA

ASVP x Moniker x BSA

In advance of Moniker in Brooklyn this May, we are interviewing some of the artists who are influenced both by street practice and fine art as the contemporary urban art category continues to evolve. Today, BSA is talking to ASVP.

Bushwick, Brooklyn-based locals ASVP are a collaboration between Simon Grendene and Victor Anselmi, whose influences on the street in the print lab are drawn from advertising, pop/comic book culture, even Street Art.

Working since 2008 to develop a unique hand drawn style, they have done a number of murals on the street and special projects for corporate clients, including a mural for the recently completed William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg and a 70’ long mural commissioned by the city of Basel. Taking inspiration from many sources its the combination of painting and quality print making that remains central to their process and aesthetic.

ASVP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: How would you describe your work to someone who is seeing it for the first time?
ASVP: If you’re seeing our work for the first time, we’re probably not there.

If we were, we wouldn’t tell them what to think or feel.

BSA: What is your intersection with Brooklyn and it’s history of Street Art and graffiti?
ASVP: Bushwick is an artistic community and that’s exactly what brought us here.

Another artist heard we were looking for a space, reached out and invited us to see the building where his studio was. We’ve been here ever since.

ASVP (photo © the artists)

BSA: What’s most important to you?
ASVP: Probably never having to stop making the work we do, before wanted to.

BSA: Are graffiti and Street Art allowed to change, or should there be a strict definitions they adhere to?
ASVP: Punk isn’t something that sounds like something, it’s the act of rebellion. Graffiti and Street Art are the same.

We hope the forms and styles always change. If it’s installed, pasted or painted with permission, it may be art, but it’s not something we would call Street Art or Graffiti.

ASVP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: Moniker says your work has been influential and/or fundamental to urban & contemporary art’s growth. Can you see their point?
ASVP: Sure. The creative atmosphere of Urban & Contemporary Art is oxygen that everyone is breathing. We’re happy to be a part of what is inspiring others. We’re equally happy to be on the receiving end of this, through the friends, artists who continually influence us and the work we make.

BSA: Name one artist whose work you admire today.
ASVP: Dave Chappelle


For more information please go to Moniker Art Fair HERE.

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BSA Images Of The Week: 06.18.17 / Selections From Welling Court 2017

BSA Images Of The Week: 06.18.17 / Selections From Welling Court 2017


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“All’s Well That Ends in Impeachment #ShakespeareInTheTrump

“The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.”

“Twelfth Bankruptcy #ShakespeareintheTrump

New York’s jewel of free theater in Central Park is actually trending on Twitter, believe it or not. The production of Julius Ceasar features a Trumpian-looking lead character and it has inflamed people who haven’t heard of Shakespeare – which means a large swath of pretty/handsome bobble heads on US TV. The cautionary story actually has referenced modern leaders in productions historically in theaters in recent years and as a rule. There is even a story about Orsen Wells directing a version with actors in Nazi uniforms in the 20s or 30s.

More recent productions have included an Obama lookalike (“Caesar is cast as a tall, lanky black man” ) and a Hillaryesque woman in a white pantsuit, so why people are scandalized we don’t know. Two protesters actually stormed the stage Friday night during the performance, and lily-livered brands like Delta Airlines and Bank of Russia have pulled their financial support of the production. This is what happens when the Arts are cut out of a generation of schools, sisters and brothers.

And in other polarized news, the planned protest (and performance piece) in front of the Houston-Bowery wall is still scheduled for this afternoon. Artists and organizers have been reaching out to tell us about the protest along with possible other demonstrations which have been kick-started by the controversial choice of artist David Choe by Goldman Arts to paint the wall. Rape, Rape Culture, the normalization of sexual abuse, predatory behavior and attitudes toward women, and related issues will be in the discussion due to Choe’s own involvement in a possible rape scenario by his own account and his subsequent muddy explanations about it. Choe’s public apology yesterday via Instagram may have altered the calculus slightly but the bigger issues still prevail and many opinions on social media still question Goldman’s silence on the topic. Meanwhile, the wall has pretty much been dissed completely.

Finally, the drama of the Welling Court mural festival, which we actually do not know any drama about and which brought all sorts of community murals to this Queens working class neighborhood for the 8th year last weekend. We got out there to shoot a number of the walls without the crowds for you this week, and here’s a selection below.

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring A Visual Bliss, ASVP, Below Key, Cey Adams, Crash, Daze, Dek 2 DX, Dennis McNett, Dirt Cobain, Eelco Virus, Eyez, EZO, Ghost Beard, I am Eelco, John Fekner, Jonny Bluze, LMNOPI, NYC Hooker, Patch Whisky, Queen Andrea, Ramiro Davaro-Comas, Rob Sharp, Sean 9 Lugo, and Toofly.

Top image: Dennis McNett. Detail. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dennis McNett. Detail. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rob Sharp. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

John Fekner. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Visual Bliss collab with Sean9Lugo. Detail. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Visual Bliss . Sean9Lugo. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

I Am Eelco. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Queen Andrea. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cey Adams. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

John Fekner. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

#dek2dx. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

EZO. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NYC Hooker. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daze . Crash. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TooFly. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dan Witz. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ASVP. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ramiro Davaro-Comas. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Below Key. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Patch Whisky . Ghost Beard. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Johnny Bluze. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

EYEZ. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dirt Cobain. Welling Court Art Project 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Astoria, Queens. June 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 01.03.16

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.03.16

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Welcome to our first BSA Images of the Week for the new year. We thought we’d start out with a small unassuming businessman – perhaps he is from the World Bank. Wonder what he’s thinking, and planning. We just completed New York’s warmest December – averaging 51 degrees, or 13 degrees above normal. That’s why you’ll see no snow in these wintery images.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring ASVP, Classic, Dart, Dasic Fernandez, ENX, Foxx Face, Isaac Cordal, Jim Power, Jorit Agoch, KEO, Leticia Mandragora, Norm Kirby, One Eye Mickey, and She Wolf.

Top Image: Isaac Cordal (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jim Power (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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She Wolf (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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One Eye Mickey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Leticia Mandragora (top) Jorit Agoch (bottom) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ASVP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Classic . Dart. Foxx Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dasic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Too Expensive (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Norm Kirby (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ENX (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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KEO – X-Men (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. China Town, Manhattan. December, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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LoMan Part II: A Brain Tree, A Mutant Insect and “Make Your Own Luck”

LoMan Part II: A Brain Tree, A Mutant Insect and “Make Your Own Luck”

The hits just keep on coming in Lower Manhattan (despite the closing of LIT Lounge) as Beau Stanton, Ludo, and ASVP finished their murals in a tie-breaker this week for the LoMan Arts Festival. Somewhere in the village there is a very large Os Gemeos wall going up as well and we’re thinking of having a drink in Little Italy today after strolling on the High Line – Suddenly Manhattan feels sort of HOT.

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Beau Stanton at work on his mural. LoManArt Fest 2015. NYC August 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Beau Stanton

Aaaand, it’s done! “My largest mural to date and first done with aerosol,” says Beau Stanton of this mind-splitting mural, as he encourages us to allow our thoughts and positive cogitations to continue to grow by the day.

In thanking his hosts he also gives a shout out to the guys at Project Renewal Men’s Shelter on his Facebook page. This part of town has been a refuge for folks down on their luck historically, although these places are disappearing quickly.

 

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Beau Stanton. LoManArt Fest 2015. NYC August 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ludo

The French Street Artist Ludo also has buzzed the LES with “Anatomy of a Bee”, a characteristically frankenhybrid of nature and military technology. In town for a print release with Castor Gallery, Ludo’s been doing stuff with BSA in Brooklyn for years, but he says excitedly, “This is biggest piece I’ve done so far in New York!”

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Ludo. Detail. LoManArt Fest 2015. NYC August 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ludo. LoManArt Fest 2015. NYC August 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ASVP

The collective ASVP is known primarily for their prints, so it was a new development to see them hand painting a mural. Surely to be a print their selling, this one is called “Make Your Own Luck,” a quintessential NYC sentiment that is at play AT ALL TIMES.

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ASVP at work on their mural. LoManArt Fest 2015. NYC August 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ASVP. LoManArt Fest 2015. NYC August 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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LoMan Art Festival Launches Its First Blast in NYC

LoMan Art Festival Launches Its First Blast in NYC

In a Street Art story rich with irony, Lower Manhattan has just hosted its first official mural festival.

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Space Invader (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

It’s not that the island has been bereft of murals of late – the Los Muros Hablan festival in Harlem has been through a couple of iterations way uptown, Brooklyn has the Bushwick Collective, and Queens has been hosting the Welling Court Project.

The irony lies in the fact that this Lower Manhattan Arts Festival (LoMan) is really the first codified effort to highlight the work of graffiti and Street Art creators in a section of NYC known from the 1970s-90s for the free-range street stylings of artists like Jean Michel Basquiat, Al Diaz, Keith Haring, Dan Witz, Jenny Holzer, Richard Hambleton, John Fekner, WK Interact, REVS/Cost, and artist collectives like AVANT, among many others.

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A major coup of sorts, LoMan exhibited the sculpture of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden that mysteriously showed up in a New York park this spring by Andrew Tider and Jeff Greenspan (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

In other words, on this baked concrete slab of downtown New York that was once a creative cesspool and Petri dish for on-the-street experimentation calling upon all manner of art making, today’s newly arriving young artists have no dream of moving in. In fact, most have fled in search of affordable rent.

Now the entrepreneurial spirit of a couple of guys, Wayne Rada and Rey Rosa, is luring artists back into Lower Manhattan, if only to paint a mural and help the tourist trade in Little Italy. That is how the L.I.S.A. Project (Little Italy Street Art) began three years ago, bringing in about 40 artists – a list that includes big names and small with varying degrees of influence on the current scene.

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Dain and Stikki Peaches (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Despite the historically inhospitable demeanor of hard-bitten and often bureaucratic old New York greeting him at many junctures, Rada has had some measured and great successes along the way, convincing local wall owners to give a  mural a try and raising funding from local businesses and art fans to help artists go larger.

So LoMan Fest’s first edition has finished this year, and along with a few volunteers, a smattering of helpful partners, and nearly continuous negotiations with local building owners, art supply companies, cherry picker rentals, and a collection of local and international artists, Rada and Rosa have pulled off a new event. Impressively it included large murals, smaller street installations, a couple of panel discussions, some live music performances, outdoor film screenings, a sticker battle, a live painting battle, live podcasts, a graffiti zine table, and a sculpture garden in an emptied parking lot on Mulberry Street.

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Damien Mitchell (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Struggle would be a good word. But like anything else when you are starting something for the first time you are spending a lot of time putting systems in place,” says Rada of the process. “There have been interesting challenges with the building owners and with the artists but when it is all said and done it has been all worth it.”

For a scene that was initiated by autonomous un-permissioned art-making on private property, the process of organizing graffiti and Street Artists to do approved pieces on legal walls may try the patience of the rebels who look on mural festivals as lacking ‘street cred’. But Rada sees it differently.

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh expands on her campaign with brand new portraits for “Stop Telling Women to Smile.” (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

“You know there are people in this world that don’t appreciate this and I just want people to enjoy the pieces as long as they can. Isn’t the fun part of street art that moment when you turn the corner and discover it? That’s really what we are trying to do here. For me it’s a collaborative process of trying to find them a spot – which is also normally something bigger where they can take their time and really think it out. In turn, when that work is complete their existing fans enjoy it, and also it helps them get new fans.”

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

A final irony is that LoMan is joining a long list of Street Art-inspired mural festivals worldwide that you might have thought New York would have been near the front of.

Brooklyn Street Art: I imagine you’ve seen the rise of Street Art festivals and you’ve seen the character perhaps of specific festivals in different parts of the world. Do you think there is something specific about New York’s current Street Art scene that has a personality or specific voice?
Wayne Rada: First of all I studied every single festival out there from Pow! Wow! to Nuart, every single one. I’ve also had conversations with people who coordinate those festivals so that I could do a better job with this. I just feel like New York is, and this is grandiose to say, the nexus of the universe for the art world. It just seemed there was something missing and it made sense to have something here.”

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Tatyana Fazlalizadeh (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Given the history and the populations of NYC, maybe the strength is the diversity of styles and international artists who are drawn to this particular city to drop a piece throughout the year on rooftops, under bridges, on abandoned lots and doorways. After a minute, Rada decides that this may be what makes a festival like this distinctly New York.

“So in the art world there are so many artists and there are so many Street Artists – and Lower Manhattan especially is represented by something like 126 different cultures and many different races and languages that make up downtown,” he says, “so it makes sense to try to be as diverse as possible and have as many of those voices represented as we could – men and women, all ages, and all walks of life.”

Here’s your first look at LoMan, but it won’t be your last. Rada and Rosa tell us they already have 2016 all planned.

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Art Is Trash typically uses actual trash found on the street to create impromptu dioramas (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Art Is Trash (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ron English added a pink “Temper Tot” shortly before LoMan commenced. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nicolas Holiber uses found wood to create a new “Venus” (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nicolas Holiber. “Mars” (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hanksy (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sonni (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The DRiF pimping a statue of David. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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As in “The Lower East Side” by Russell Murphy (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Faith47 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Buff Monster (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Buff Monster (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BD White and JP Art (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Gilf! (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ori Carino (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A new sculpture by Leon Reid IV (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Tats Cru in monochrome (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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J Morello (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

At press time the works of ASVP, Beau Stanton, Crash, Solus and Ludo were either not completed or had just begun. We’ll bring you these pieces on a later article.

To learn more about the LoManArt Fest click HERE

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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Happy New Year 2015 – BSA Readers Choice Top 10

Happy New Year 2015 – BSA Readers Choice Top 10

Happy New Year to All! Thank you for inspiring us to do our best and to those of you who continue to support our personal art project / cultural examination, we extend our gratitude more than ever.

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Begun as an enthusiastic discovery of what was happening in a few neighborhoods in New York, we continued to expand our view into more cities around the world last year and into the history and future of the scene. We also aimed to provide you with a critical platform for examination of the street art/ graffiti / public art/ contemporary art continuum with interviews with artists, curators, collectors, organizers, observers and thinkers in the street, studio, gallery, and museum – trouble makers and taste makers alike.

In the end, it’s your observations and the conversations on the street that are most important. As we begin the year with over 300K fans, friends, and followers on social media platforms and 225 articles on the Huffington Post (thanks HuffPost team!), we feel like we get a valuable good survey of current opinions heading our way daily.

With in-depth interviews, investigative articles, opinion infused examinations, plain celebratory reverie, occasionally silly non-sequitors, and public appearances where we get to meet you, we get a good analytical look at an ever-evolving movement, glittery polish and warts and all.

As the new year begins we take a look back at the top stories chosen by BSA Readers in the last 12 months. Among them are two takeover pop-up shows in soon-to-be demolished buildings, a story about commercial abuse of artist copyrights and the effort to fight back, a street art community’s response to the sudden death of an activist street artist, a Street Art tourist trip, and a few inspirational women, men, and Mexican muralists.  Even though we published at least once a day for the last 365 days, these are the most popular pieces, as chosen by you, Dear BSA Reader.

10. Exploring Lisbon as a Street Art Tourist

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Os Gemeos / Blu (photo © Stephen Kelley)

9. Kara Walker and Her Sugar Sphinx at the Old Domino Factory

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Kara Walker. The artist portrait in profile with her sugary sphinx in the background. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

8. Women Rock Wynwood Walls at Miami Art Basel 2013

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Fafi (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

7. A Sudden Secret Street Art House Party in Manhattan

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Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

6. Niels Shoe Meulman Balancing “Unearthly” Paintings

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Niels “Shoe” Meulman. Process shot. (photo © Adele Renault)

5. It’s All the Rage, Street Artists Filing Lawsuits Left and Right

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4. Shok-1 Street Art X-Rays Reveal a Unique Hand at the Can

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Shok-1 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

3. 12 Mexican Street Artists Stray Far from Muralism Tradition In NYC

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Sego (photo © Jaime Rojo)

2. Army Of One, Inspiration To Many : Jef Campion

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Army Of One AKA JC2 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

1. Graffiti and Street Art Lock Up “21st Precinct” in New York

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Pixote in action. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
 
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Graffiti and Street Art Lock Up “21st Precinct” in New York

Graffiti and Street Art Lock Up “21st Precinct” in New York

This weekend the NYPD police precinct is hosting a graffiti and street art show, and the public is welcome to see every floor completely swimming in aerosol and plastered in wheat-paste.

Admit it, it is not often you receive an invite like that.

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Pesu (center), Pixote (left) and Bill Claps Morse code writing the history of the building on the walls. (right) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“When this precinct was built it was a very bad, very poor neighborhood. When the cops came in there was a lot of brutality and there was a lot of corruption,” says curator Robert Aloia of this building architected for the NYPD in 1863 and closed down fifty years later. A quick search on the web shows a history of thuggery born of Dickens. Records at the time of closure indicated there were 9,500 arrests annually and this tiny slice of Manhattan alone had 37 brothels.

So why not have a graffiti show here before tearing it down, right?.

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Savior, El Mundo, Ben Angotti, Depoe, Esteban Del Valle and Chris Soria. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: So you literally could hit every wall here and it wouldn’t matter because it is coming down at the end of the month?
Robert Aloia: Yeah the inside walls. The outside walls they don’t want us to touch.

In a twist of events pulled from a satire, one of the artists on display this weekend was arrested this month in Brooklyn and spent the night in jail before seeing a judge. The following day he came to this precinct and hit up some walls with impunity.

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Savior, El Mundo, Ben Angotti, Depoe, Esteban Del Valle and Chris Soria. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“It’s just amazing that these artists can put their time, their money, and their talent into something that is just coming down,” says Aloia while touring us through rooms and stairways during one of the four visits we made for these exclusive first images, “ and it is only going to be seen for a certain amount of time.”

Hellbent has his own room. So does Rambo. Cash4 and Matt Siren are sharing one together, as are Sheryo and the Yok. Elle spent an entire night in hers watching her black wax sculpture melting away with the candles she planted in it. An unconfirmed story says it is a sculpture cast of the elusive Judith Supine.

“She painted it black, melted it and filmed it,” says Aloia.

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Faust (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Have you thought of the irony behind the fact that this is a former police precinct and many of the artists would have been running away from this place instead of trying to get into it?
Robert Aloia: That is true, I didn’t think of that aspect of it really, but the gallery area was the actual holding cell.

Brooklyn Street Art: So how did you draw these people together?
Robert Aloia: Every show I’ve done I start with my friends, and then it’s friends of friends, and that’s it. It’s just about one degree of separation.

In the last three years the New York native has curated a number of shows heavily weighted with graffiti artists and Street Artists, primarily on Manhattan’s Lower East Side at bars, event spaces, and venues with downtown history like Fuse, White Box, and La Mama.

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Vexta (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A bartender and DJ who has mixed with a lot of New York nightlife and street life without becoming hardened, Aloia and co-curators like Erik Foss and Ricky Powell have been doing sometimes star-studded yet unassuming one-off shows the past few years with Street Art names like Bast, Supine, and Aiko and some of the newer kids like N’DA and Icy & Sot.

“I am from New York and I always knew a lot of graffiti artists, that’s how I ended up getting into it. I was just lucky enough to have access to some venues to do stuff.”

Brooklyn born, Aloia’s been on the LES since the 80s, which explains his devotion to the memory of “outlaw parties” where people would set up an illegal bar and a pumping sound system in improvised celebrations at unsanctioned locations. Outlaw parties and pop-up speakeasies still exist of course, but more often they are in Brooklyn now as Manhattan is shoving artists out by the truckload.

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Vexta (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For “21st Precinct” he’s called in nearly 50 artists from as far away as Japan, Australia, California, and nearby New Jersey. The mix of artists is eclectic and sometimes quite powerful like the tribute to SAMO (Basquiat) in the gallery by his co-conspirator Al Diaz, and the dark room built by Swedish photographer Jesper Haynes which features images from the downtown New York in the Reagan era.

“I definitely always have a mix with fine art, photography, installation, but you know I always have old-school graffiti artists and street artists,” he says as he looks over the four floors of thickly gritty splendor by renowned and unknown.

For those lucky enough to see the show in this venue this weekend or next, “21st Precinct” is a quintessential New York minute, a steamy grimy melting pot of authentic attitude that begs to differ and perhaps stick a finger in your chest just before the wrecking ball hits. Thank Aloia while you’re there. Not surprisingly, the new building that replaces this one will be for…..wait for it…. luxury residences.

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Jesper Haynes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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KET (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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N Carlos J (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Li-Hill (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Li-Hill (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Rambo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Rambo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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URNew Yrok (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Rae (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Shiro (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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ASVP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Chris RWK (center) URNew York (left) ASVP (right). (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NEPO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mr. Toll (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Never (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Matt Siren . Cash4 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Al Diaz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Amanda Marie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nick Tengri (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Joseph Meloy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hellbent (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Bishop203 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The Yok and Sheryo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Iena Cruz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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X-O (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Pixote in action. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Justin Carty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Curb Your Ego (photo © Jaime Rojo)

************************

OUTLAW ARTS Presents: “The 21st Precinct”
Curated by Robert Aloia & VNA Mag

The show will be in the old 21st Precinct located on 327 East 22nd Street. More information HERE.

Contributing Artists:

Adam Dare, Al Diaz, Amanda Marie, ASVP, Bad Pedestrian, Ben Angotti , Bill Claps, Bishop203, Bunny M., Cash4, Chris RWK, Chris Soria, Coby Kennedy, Curtis Kulig, D. Gaja, Danielle Mastrion, Dasic, Dizmology, Duel, ELLE, Erasmo, Esteban del Valle, Faust, Ghost, GIZ, Hellbent, Hue, Icy & Sot, Iena Cruz, Jesper Haynes, Justin Carty, Ket, Lexi Bella, Li-Hall, Lorenzo Masnah, Matt Siren, Mr. Toll, N. Carlos Jay, Nepo, Nick Tengri, Pesu, Phil, Pixote, RAE, Rambo, Ricardo Cabret, SAE, Savior Elmundo, Shery-o & The Yok, Shiro, Tone Tank, URNY, Vexta, X-O.

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
 
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“Outdoor Gallery” Surveys Current Street Art Scene in NYC

“Outdoor Gallery” Surveys Current Street Art Scene in NYC

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin

The outdoor gallery is the one we visit most and NYC is always front and center in our heart even as we branched out to about 100 other cities and towns last year.  Outdoor Gallery – New York City is also the name of the brand new book by photographer and writer Yoav Litvin, who has spent the last couple of years shooting New York streets and meeting many of the artists who make the painting and wheat pasting that characterizes the class of 2014.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Chris Stain.

Published by Ginko Press, the large 235 page hardcover features nearly 50 street artists / graffiti artists whose work you see here regularly (with the exception of two or three) along with comments and observations from the artists about their practice, their experiences, and the current Street Art scene primarily in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

When Yoav told us of his hope to publish a book last year we offered whatever advice we could – but primarily we advised him to stick to his vision and not to let anyone discourage him. A true fan of the scene, he has worked tirelessly to do just that and now he can share with you a personal survey and record of many of the artists who are getting up today in New York.

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Outdoor Gallery. New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Joe Iurato.

Outdoor Gallery – New York City grew organically to embody my process of exploration and discovery on the streets of New York City. It is a creation that was born out of love for New York City streets and their people, and focuses on artists as leaders with a unique and necessary role in a society that aspires for freedom and change,” says Litvin in his introduction, and throughout the book you can sense the respect he has for the art and the dedication he has put into this project.

Careful to let the artists speak for themselves, he presents their work without commentary and with ample space given for expression. Using primarily his own photos, it is carefully edited and presented as an uncluttered and measured overview of each artists work.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Jilly Ballistic.

For us it is a proud moment to see someone’s dream realized after so much effort and dogged determination – especially in a scene whose challenges we are well familiar with.  No one knows how hard it is to make something happen unless they do it themselves. So congratulations to Yoav for sticking to his vision and having the fortitude to finish this and thanks to him on the behalf of the artists whom he is helping to receive recognition for their work as well.

To that end, you are invited to the big launch party this Saturday at 17 Frost in Williamsburg. We’ll be there and we hope you can make it out for a great New York Street Art family reunion. You can’t miss the entrance, it’s been newly smashed by El Sol 25, Bishop 203, Royce and some other people we can’t remember right now but who will remind us as soon as this goes up ; ) .

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Gilf!

You can find out more about it on the Facebook Event Page, but we understand there will be a newly debuted video from Dega Films, a special tribute to Army of One, and a full show of new works from many of the artists in the book, including;

Adam Dare, Alice Mizrachi, Army of One / JC2, Astrodub, ASVP, Billy Mode, Bisho203, Bunny M, Cern, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Cope2, Dain, Dirty Bandits, El Sol 25, Elle Deadsex, Enzo and Nio, Free5, Fumero, Gaia, Gilf!, Hellbent, Icy and Sot, Indie 184, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, Kram, Lillian Lorraine, LNY (Lunar New Year), Miyok, ND’A, OCMC, OverUnder, Phetus88, QRST, Russell King, Shin Shin, Shiro, Sofia Maldonaldo, The Yok, Toofly, and Veng RWK.

 

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Icy & Sot.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Hellbent.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by QRST.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Front and back cover art by Bishop203, LNY, Alice Mizrachi, QRST, Gilf!, Cern and Icy & Sot.

Below is a look at behind-the-scenes of the making of the mural for the cover of the book.

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Bishop 203. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

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Icy & Sot balancing a stencil. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

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Taking a step back to assess the progress. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

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The final piece. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Outdoor Gallery – New York City will be launched in conjunction with an art exhibition this Saturday, February 22nd at 17 Frost Art Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Click HERE for more details.

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!
 
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