All posts tagged: Berlin

Unbridled Berlin Street Art : Spencer Elzey in Europe

Unbridled Berlin Street Art : Spencer Elzey in Europe

Brooklyn-Street-Art-2-Spencer-Elzey-Residency-Banner-Nov-2013

Brooklyn-Street-Art-BERLIN-Spencer-Elzey-Residency-Banner-Nov-2013

Berliners are hard to crack, they say, but probably not for New Yorkers. We “get” them because of their no-nonsense frankness, sometimes sharp tongues, and because their “creative types” are unhinged in a way that New Yorkers have been historically.

When it comes to the volume and variety of art that is being loosed in Berlin these days, they are setting some standards that many are still catching up with. Right now when you look at the freewheeling expression that bolted out from a broken wall more than 20 years ago and never looked back, you realize that Street Artists in Berlin are not hard to crack, they may simply be a little bit cracked.

brooklyn-street-art-various-gould-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-2

Various & Gould (photo © Spencer Elzey)

In the third city of our series this week for Spencer Elzey’s residency on BSA, we visit Berlin, which some argue is the preeminent scene for urban art right now. It does appear to have a perfect mix for vibrant arts growth – a creatively permissive atmosphere and affordable lifestyle prevails in this city of design. And while uncommissioned public art is not legal, it is also not verboten.

The kids may come for the music and the art collectives and the dance parties, but they stay for the aerosol and the expressive faces and figures that accompany you while you walk. So far, people seem happy to let this arts scene continue to evolve and not surprisingly, tourists are magnetically drawn to it.

brooklyn-street-art-victor-ash-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Victor Ash (photo © Spencer Elzey)

As you walk through certain neighborhoods you may prepare to have your pre-conventions subverted and inverted. Awash with a decade plus of unbridled art, the scale, style, influences, and techniques of pop, illustration, and graffiti are all truly playing with each other.

Where a large spate of legal mural work has monopolized creative energies of many Street Artists in New York recently, some players have commented that the content is being tamed and neutered and the resulting scene is less risk-oriented stylistically. As you look at the work Elzey found in Berlin, you are reminded what it looks like when art laborers don’t have to self-censor or look over their shoulder. Also, it is still affordable for artists. Oh, wait, did we already mention that?

brooklyn-street-art-robi-the-dog-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Robi The Dog (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Out of the cities I visited the one that contrasted the most with NY was Berlin. It felt like a beautiful lawlessness with graffiti and rollers everywhere,” says Elzey as he tries to put his finger on the attitude of exploration and discovery that floods large areas of the city.

“Berlin by far had the most graffiti and Street Art in its most raw and authentic form, which is how I think it should really be experienced. It felt more free and genuine. Besides RAW and Urban Spree, which are commissioned areas, Berlin felt like a giant playground. There was graffiti and rollers everywhere and lots of abandoned factories to explore and have fun in.”

brooklyn-street-art-blu-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-1

Blu (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Berlin has been an international draw for artists and arts institutions for the last decade at least and many of the Street Art world make sure to head here at least once, sometimes staying months and couch surfing and partying an staying out all night.  Since the graffiti scene and the Street Art scene are not so polarized in the minds of people here there is also a freedom to experiment without fear of upsetting your peer group.

Luckily for BSA, local Street Artists Various & Gould were very hospitable and more than helpful and willing to tour Spencer around some of the hot spots and to give him some background on the Berlin streets. “Meeting someone you admire, be it an artist, musician, or actor, is always a special experience,” he says about being with V&G, “It feels a little different when that person is a Street Artist, or at least it does to me. The fact that part of their job means that they do illegal things, being trusted enough to be welcomed into their inner circle has deeper meaning.”

 

brooklyn-street-art-blu-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-6

Blu. Detail. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

So he was in good hands with these two who have deep roots with the artist community and who frequently challenge themselves to look at their own work with new eyes – and to find new ways to engage with passersby with their art and a bit of theater. “In the case of Various & Gould in Berlin and C215 in Vitry I was able to meet these artists on their own turf. They showed me some of their new work in their studios and then toured me around the neighborhoods that they know best,” he recalls with some delight.

“While seeing art on the streets is one thing, getting the first hand history behind it makes it more meaningful,” he says. “You get more history and depth that way.”

brooklyn-street-art-blu-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-4

Blu (photo © Spencer Elzey)

How long Berlin will continue to be a petrie dish for experimentation and discovery? Forever. Just kidding. But for the moment this ephemeral art movement is fiercely alive and more independent than many cities. Artists have always made life a bit of a moveable feast. Today its Berlin, tomorrow it could be Mexico City, or Lima, who knows?

“I think I would recommend it if you were a younger artist who was trying to break into the game and establish a name for yourself,” says Elzey.

brooklyn-street-art-blu-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-5

Blu (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-blu-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-3

Blu (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-blu-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-2

Blu (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-alaniz-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Alaniz (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-herakut-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Herakut (photo © Spencer Elzey)

 

brooklyn-street-art-various-gould-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-1

Various & Gould (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-various-gould-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-3

Various & Gould (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-os-gemeos-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Os Gemeos (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-nunca-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Nunca (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-jr-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

JR (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-cooked-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Cooked (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-vhils-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Vhils (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-mto-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-2

MTO (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-mto-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-1

MTO (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-mto-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web-3

MTO gives Alias a shout out. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-klone-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Klone (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-neurotitan-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Neurotitan (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-vidan-the-weird-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Vidan The Weird (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-tafe-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Tafe (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-reaktor-paulito-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Reaktor and Paulo Ito (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-g-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

G (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-inti-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Inti (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-ema-jones-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Ema Jones (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-klub7-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Klub 7 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-broken-fingaz-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Broken Fingaz (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-blek-le-rat-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Blek le Rat (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-bio-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

BLO (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-maclaim-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Maclaim (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-roa-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

ROA (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-otto-schade-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Otto Schade (photo © Spencer Elzey)

brooklyn-street-art-nychos-spencer-elzey-berlin-10-13-web

Nychos (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Our sincere thanks to Various & Gould for their hospitality and time.

 

<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA
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!
<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA

 

Read more
BSA Film Friday 10.25.13

BSA Film Friday 10.25.13

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Nils-Westergard-Screenshot-2013-Painted-Desert

 

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

Now screening:
1. Debut: Nils Westergard x Nanook in the Navaho Nation
2. MTO in Berlin
3. Vhils Talks About His Work
4. Sajjad Abbas In Iraq
5. Duality by MATEO

BSA Special Feature: DEBUT
Nils Westergard x Nanook in the Navaho Nation

The debut of a video seen here for the first time, this timelapse of the experience that two Street Artists had while in “The Painted Desert” project sponsored and cultivated in and around the Navaho Nation by Jetsonorama for the last couple of years.

Here we see Nanook and Nils Westergard create works influenced by the people they got to know while there, a cultural exchange that helps expand the knowledge of all the participants.  In the video you see Nils create two portraits; one of King Fowler, “who was a Navajo Codetalker during WWII,” says Nils, and who died not too long ago.  The other is a kid named Calvin, who lives on the reservation and who you can see in the red flannel shirt actually watching Nils put his face on a wall.

In a community where people know everyone else’s family and friends, Nils says it felt like a real honor to paint these people and “it was especially interesting to talk to kids around my age, and see how Navajo culture adapts to the 21st century.” Lots of conversations and even participating in a sweat lodge, Nils felt his mind being reorganized.

He smiles when he mentions the speed that paint dries in the desert, and the ingenuity he used to keep the mural going. “I didn’t have enough buckets, so almost all of my paint was held in broken 40 oz. beer bottles while I worked,” he says. “They got a kick out of that.”

MTO in Berlin

Frenchman MTO appears in this new video that is more music video and sleek hipster ode to the moment than Street Art film. Using art, artifice, nightlife and poetic romantic interludes woven with signifiers of power and light debauchery, it’s a sexy romp.  We don’t know what we just said either.

brooklyn-street-art-mto-berlin-10-13

“Je me suis embarqué vers les tristes rivages de cette “île” du bonheur fictif.”

Vhils Talks About His Work

A quick primer on the work of Vhils from the man himself. “I started to see stencil as not something you paint over, but as a window you see through.”

Sajjad Abbas In Iraq

We don’t often see videos of Street Art in Iraq, but this one gives some insight into how they do it – and there are similarities to everywhere else, as it turns out.

Done under cover of night the subject matter points to the topic of militarization and the stencil itself reveals an international Street Art style that has emerged since the Internet connected us all.

 

Duality by MATEO

And ending on a happy note this week, here’s Mateo flipping and bouncing down a wall in a balanced performance. Also, corn on the cob.

 

Read more

Images of The Week: 08.25.13

brooklyn-street-art-denis-mcnett-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-2

Summer has been pretty stellar for those passersby on Brooklyn streets and here we have a great selection of installations including a couple from Dennis McNett, who posed a nine foot guy perched over traffic on Flushing Ave. Also notable is a new installation on the Williamsburg Bridge by Hot Tea using hundreds, maybe thousands of colored yarn strands washing over the pedestrian walkway in waves of color – not to mention the axonometric tags on fences that require you to stare and turn your head to finally see them. Finally you might want to check out the first really large scale piece that took N’DA days to complete in Bushwick, all by hand and on to top of a ladder. Cool lion, although those cherries really just look like big balls, right?

So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week including Blanco, Buff Monster, Dain, Dennis McNett, Hot Tea, Judith Supine, Lamour Supreme, Misery, ND’A, Nychos, Pyramid Oracle, ROA, Rusty Rehl, Sheryo, Stikman, Tristan Eaton, and YOK.

Top image is by Dennis McNett (photo © Jaime Rojo).

brooklyn-street-art-dennis-mcnett-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-1

Dennis McNett (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-stikman-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-hot-tea-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-1

Hot Tea. West view. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-hot-tea-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-2

Hot Tea. East view. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-hot-tea-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-4

Hot Tea (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-hot-tea-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-3

Hot Tea (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-artist-unknown-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-3

Pyramid Oracle (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-sheryo-misery-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Sheryo . Misery (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-judith-supine-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-1

Judith Supine (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-judith-supine-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-2

Judith Supine. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-tristan-eaton-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Tristan Eaton (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dain-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-rusty-rehl-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Rusty Rehl in Boise, ID (photo © Rusty Rehl)

brooklyn-street-art-artist-unknown-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-2

Pyramid Oracle (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-roa-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-2

ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-roa-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-1

ROA. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-buff-monster-sheryo-yok-tristan-eaton-nychos-lamoursupreme-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Buff Monster. Tristan Eaton. Nychos. YOK. Sheryo. L’amour Supreme (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-buff-monster-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-artist-unknown-blanco-berlin-08-25-13-web

An unknown artist in Berlin from New York artist Blanco. (photo © Blanco)

brooklyn-street-art-nda-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

ND’A (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web

Untitled. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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

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!

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

Read more

Various, Gould and CHULA Pay Homage to Magic Johnson in Berlin

Various and Gould have been hitting up billboards in Berlin this summer purely out of the love of the sport. Today take a look at the homage they are doing to a basketball legend – with a V&G twist of course.

“We are aware that Johnson is wearing the wrong team colors,” says Various while recounting the magic of their second collaboration with CHULA this season. Their inquisitive natural discovery method means they have a general idea how it might come together, and like playing with Earvin Johnson, hands can go anywhere but you just better keep your eye on the ball.

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

Various & Gould with CHULA in Berlin. (photo © Various & Gould)

 

 

 

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

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!

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

Read more

Open Walls Gallery Presents: Various & Gould “The Pressure of Printing” (Berlin, Germany)

Various & Gould

VARIOUS & GOULD | THE PRESSURE OF PRINTING

OPEN WALLS Gallery cordially invites to VARIOUS & GOULD‘s upcoming show, opening on June 8th from 20:00 onwards, in our showroom in Stattbad.

For VARIOUS & GOULD the collage technique is a principle of creating common ground. Testing and experimenting with methods of collaborative printing, was the aim for their residency at the Frans Masereel Centrum, in Belgium, at the beginning of this year.

As an introduction into our program, VARIOUS & GOULD will present the “Belgian Houses” series. This particular body of work is build up from many little bits and pieces, such as patchwork figures, body parts, objects & patterns combined and reassembled together. There are alternately printed by the two artists, in an impressive manner, on paper-sheets. The artists reversed their workflow and implemented the method of collaging directly into the printing process, revisiting previous templates and thus composing new pieces. The result is a series of twelve “collage-prints”.

http://openwallsgallery.tumblr.com/

Read more

BC Gallery Presents: Inaugural Group Exhibition (Berlin, Germany)

Grand Opening

Bumblebee
Interesni Kazki
Inti
Jaz
M-City
Moneyless
Sixeart
Sowat
Stinkfish

Grand Opening 26/Apr/13, 18H

Located in the center of Berlin’s culture magnet Friedrichshain, BC Gallery has its headquarters in a brand new top-of-the-line gallery space at Libauer Strasse and a breathtaking off-location on the famed RAW strip .
The grand inaugural gallery show will feature works by Bumblebee, Interesni Kazki, Inti, Jaz, M-City, Moneyless, Sixeart, Stinkfish and the calligraphy French master Sowat, who just finished an impressive work on the gallery floor.
BC Gallery: Libauer Str. 14, 10245 Berlin . Friday April 26th at 6pm

http://bcgallery.de/?cat=3

Read more

The Urban Art Clash Presents: A Large Scale Exhibition of Contemporary Urban Art (Berlin, Germany)

The URBAN ART CLASH presents a large-scale exhibition featuring current positions of Contemporary Urban Art & Photography curated by Alesh One / Dissizit!

About 50 Artists from several countries have been invited to this art show and 6-weeks open-studio session in Berlin.

Applied Street Art techniques such as Urban Art / Graffiti / Stencils / Painting / Photography / Collage / Paste Up / Screen Print / Sculptures / Aerosol Art / Tattoo Ink Art / Drawing / Sketches and Graphic Design will be transferred to the exhibition rooms and all over Berlin City…

URBAN ART CLASH 2013

Read more

Open Walls Gallery Presents: “Dissidents” A Group Exhibition. (Berlin, Germany)

The ongoing economic crisis and the rise of all kinds of populism in Europe demonstrate a dangerous backlash in 21st century history; meanwhile extreme industrialization, mass production & over consumption has led global warming to break all records. Quarrels over diminishing but vital natural resources and shrinking living space may well be the cause of future conflicts. However fucked up the situation our world is facing right now, there is still hope. To keep faith, we need to remember people’s abilities to protest and to resist. Protest is when I say this does not please me. Resistance is when I ensure what does not please me occurs no more. From the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement, the eastern and western worlds have both lately shown the capability to fight against establishment. Protest always starts in the streets, and so often does art. The street is a mixture of languages and a hotchpotch of voices, where the pictograms of road signs and the surreal messages written by street artists live side by side, and where the simple commercial communication runs up against the political. To the careful observer the street makes visible the underlying noise of our society.

Works by:

BR1, JUST, ALIAS, EMESS, VERMIBUS, GIACOMO SPAZIO, NEGATIVE VIBES

http://openwallsgallery.tumblr.com/

Read more

YZ Brings Classical Beauties to Streets of Berlin

Early celluloid startlets dripping with liquid opulence meet classical greek heroines draped in clinging peplos with these quietly elegant wheat-pasted pieces by French Street Artist YZ in Berlin. Bringing her vintage view of high culture to sometimes very decayed and mottled walls of neglect, the contrast creates a vibrational effect for the passerby, who might wonder how they got there. The black ink on silk paper creations are hers, but the images are archetypes from the popular imagination about women and their perceived role in society as decorative objects.

“The images are meant to be of alternately fatal, dreamy or provocative women that challenge our stereotypes,” says YZ, “Women are beautiful, strong, and confident. They are capable of changing the world, as they proved during the last century.”

YZ (photo © Yseult – YZ)

YZ (photo © Yseult – YZ)

YZ (photo © Yseult – YZ)

Special thanks to Guillaume Trotin of Open Walls and the artist for sharing these exclusive images with BSA readers.

 

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

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!

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

Read more

What’s Up in Berlin: New Shots from Gilf!

The walls of Berlin are so slammed with graffiti and Street Art that artists and writers have no choice but to go over each other. While Germany (and France for that matter) have foresworn the laissez-faire approach of unregulated economics that led to the financial collapse, Berlin’s approach to graffiti and Street Art here is still relaxed.

Roa, Alec, Blec, Buve. (photo © Gilf!)

Since the fall of the wall nearly a quarter century ago, the sense of liberation is still exploding on a cellular level throughout Berlin’s creative scene; a pent-up energy of free expression that has given the city a truly magnetic quality which draws artists from around the globe. Each visitor seems energized by their experience here where artists continue to seed, germinate and grow a dynamic scene that continues to take surprising shape. As of yet, it hasn’t been capitalized on entirely, but you can be sure that it will be one day very soon, if the pattern of other artist-led movements in cities of the Western world are indicators.

Victorash Astronaut (photo © Gilf!)

“The walls of Berlin are heavy with an exclusive cultural history. A city once divided, now converges into a thriving epicenter of artistic expression,” says New York Street Artist Gilf!, who just got back from this place of relative artistic freedom.  Even as she toured the blanketed walls she says she knows that it is a temporary condition, and wonders if the “the rattle of spray cans” will fall silent one day. Today on BSA we have exclusive insights and photos of the scene from her perspective as a New Yorker in the early twenty-teens.

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

“Layers upon layers of spray paint, wheatpastes, murals, and installations make this metropolis a street art mecca. The energy is contagious, inspiring, and thought provoking. When discussing art, often times people compare modern day Berlin to New York in the nineteen eighties: expressive, prolific, and all-encompassing.” – Gilf!

Evol miniature bombed building. (photo © Gilf!)

“The extreme censorship of decades past, contrasting with the current overwhelming display of personal expression on the walls of Mitte, Kruezberg and many other neighborhoods became my internal obsession as I walked the streets.  As this art form becomes more and more censored in US cities like New York and Chicago, I can’t help but draw a reverse parallel with Berlin.” – Gilf!

Gilf! “Malala” (photo © Gilf!)

“The above piece in reference to Malala Yousufzai, the 15 year old girl in Pakistan who was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting women/girls education. She was transferred to a hospital in the UK, where she was recently released. The QR code next to her sends the viewer to a BBC news page that explains her ordeal”

“I am trying to educate people with this piece. It’s funny how the Arabic really scares people, like it’s some sort of terrorist threat. Even with the translation “knowledge is the deadliest weapon” written in English on her body- it’s not enough to keep this piece up in certain places. People fascinate me. It’s almost subconscious, that choice of ignorant disregard for other cultures, hate is a strong word, but it feels like that sometimes.”-Gilf

Bananensprayer (photo © Gilf!)

Os Gemeos (photo © Gilf!)

Sheep 2 (photo © Gilf!)

Stik (photo © Gilf!)

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

Cake, El Bocho, Dscreet (photo © Gilf!)

Cake (photo © Gilf!)

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

Plotbot (Ken) at Tacheles. (photo © Gilf!)

DOLK (photo © Gilf!)

INTER . TANK! (photo © Gilf!)

BLO (photo © Gilf!)

Dede (photo © Gilf!)

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

Magnet Alley (photo © Gilf!)

Read more

BSA Covers the Globe, Top Stories with HuffPost in ’12

BSA is not just Brooklyn, you know. Last year we brought you new Street Art from Atlanta, Arizona, Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Bronx, Brooklyn, Brisbane, Bristol, Costa Rica, Chicago, China, Dominican Republic, The Gambia, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Istanbul, Italy, Jamaica, Johannesburg, Kenya, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Norway, NYC, Palestine, Panama, Paris, Perth, Queens, Reno, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, and Trinidad. And that is a partial, incomplete list. Remember that the next time someone says we cover just Brooklyn and New York. Not quite.

Also while we were surveying what we did in 2012, we were curious to see which were the top stories we covered for the Huffington Post, measured by hits, social sharing, and emails sent to us. Here are the top stories you liked the most of the 44 we cross-published with Huffington Post Arts & Culture in 2012. (A complete list at the end of the posting)

Baltimore Opens Its Walls To Street Art

 

MOMO. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Atlanta Hosts First All Female Street Art Conference 

Neuzz (photo © Wil Hughes)

OS Gemeos And “The Giant Of Boston” 

Os Gemeos “The Giant of Boston” at the Rose Kennedy Greenway at Dewey Square, Boston. This side of the van was with Graffiti Artist Rize. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

(VIDEO) 2012 Street Art Images of the Year from BSA 

Slideshow cover image of Vinz on the streets of Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mexico City: High Art in Thin Air

Escif (photo © courtesy of All City Canvas)

UFO Crashes at Brooklyn Academy of Music

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

‘See No Evil’ in Bristol Brings Thousands to the Streets 

El Mac. (photo © Ian Cox 2012)

What’s New in Bushwick: A Quick Street Art Survey 

QRST in the wild. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sex In The City: Street Art That is NSFW

Anthony Lister in NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NUART 2012: International Street Art Catalysts in Norway 

Ben Eine (photo © Ian Cox)

Springtime in Paris : Une Petite Revue of New Street Art

David Shillinglaw and Ben Slow (photo © Sandra Hoj)

Pulling Strings in Berlin; “Heinrich” The Public Marionette

Various & Gould “Heinrich” (photo © Lucky Cat)

“Poorhouse for the Rich” Revitalized by the Arts

Adam Parker Smith. “I Lost Of My Money In The Great Depression And All I Got Was This Room”, 2012. Installation in progress in collaboration with Wave Hill. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Here is the complete list of BSA / Huffington Post pieces for 2012

 

Read more