Black Lives Matter is rolling forward, quickly and unevenly, causing revelation, elevation, discomfort, and hopefully eventually liberty and freedom and equality.
Until then, big wheels keep on turning. Berliner’s Various and Gould are the duo behind these new vintage clip-art wonders that may recall the permutations of yesterday’s kaleidoscopes, although the images may be new. That’s the paradox baked in to the truisms that these perennial mixologists offer. Just think of these new powerful and ironic artworks as a mirror on events of this moment, with a through-line to the past.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening : 1. FULL COLOR: An Irish Street Art Story. 2. Kermit and Fozzy are the scenario, dawg. Tribe Called Quest Goes to Sesame Street
BSA Special Feature: FULL COLOR: An Irish Street Art Story by Harry Moylan
A look at Dublin and Belfast through the work and words of 12 street artists and muralists. The crisply delivered and insightful documentary asks the fundamentals about origin, genesis, motivation of the artists and studies the subcultures that swirl about and within this particular subculture. It also has the added dimension of examining the political sentiments that run through mural art historically and specifically how “The Troubles” – the three-decade conflict between nationalists and unionists are clearly brought to bear on the collections of mural artworks created for public display.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te2urQTZr-k
Kermit and Fozzy are the scenario, dawg. Tribe Called Quest Goes to Sesame Street
Norwegian Street Artist Pøbel is offering artists proofs of
his “The Lovers” print to raise funds for Covid-19 efforts in the Amazon. Today
you have an opportunity to get an original and unique piece that has been
featured on many publications since he first put this image of a couple in
embrace on the streets.
Pøbel “Tne Lovers” Detail. (photo courtesy of Pøbel)
He tells us that he’s travelled many times to South America
and has made friends with folks in indigenous communities. “Many of these are
now suffering due to the pandemic, and we hear little about this in our part of
the world. Hospitals have been collapsed for months, some are dying in the
streets, the government restrictions and economic fall make it impossible for
many people who live day-by-day to get what they need.”
Pøbel “Tne Lovers” Detail. (photo courtesy of Pøbel)
100 % of this sale is going to a goo friend of his who has studied with and
lived with different indigenous families for a decade, he says. “The indigenous
people are strong and their ancestors have survived similar things in the past
on their own, but this time I, like many others, would like to reach out a
helping hand to try to do some good.”
Pøbel “Tne Lovers” Detail. (photo courtesy of Pøbel)
The Lovers AP
Dirty test print
1/1 Unique
88 x 62 cm
34,6 x 24,4 In
Conqueror Connoisseur
300 gsm paper
Hand-printed
5% art tax included
Signed and numbered
DON’T FORGET TO CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT AND TO PLACE YOUR BID:
For Hip Hop philatelists, and there are a few, the US Postal Service is issuing a new set of stamps on July 1 commemorating Hip Hop’s contributions to the culture. Arguably the most impactful cultural export of the last 50 years, it has also revolutionized our home scene integrally.
It is kind of shocking to see the USPS paying homage to MC-ing (Rap), DJ-ing, B-Boying and Graffiti, but it just goes to show that you can make the road by walking.
Find out more at USPS. https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/hip-hop-S_476504#moreinfofooter
Today we’re lending a hand to Street Artist and fine artist AKUT, who is using his name and privilege to organize a new video project that he hopes will continue the momentum against racism that is currently marching through many of the world’s streets.
Let’s ask all the questions about how a racists system is formed and if our actions or inactions and attitudes contribute to it knowingly or unknowingly. In the end, we’re all responsible.
“Use the power of your voice, show your face to be an ally in this movement against racism,” says AKUT in his new appeal for participants for his next video project.
“Be an amplifier for those who haven’t been heard for too long or have been shut down by officials and politics every time this ugly ball of violence gets another disturbing kick and rolls even faster.”
“I aim to use my abilities to participate in this worldwide movement, to stand in for humanity, equality, and to keep this fight a VISIBLE one as long as it takes. Again, the time for change is NOW!”
A Message from AKUT
I need you to help me creating another strong sign of solidarity with the whole act against racism. If you want to participate in a new video project, please send an email to:
BLM@AKUT1.COM SUBJECT: BLM IN *YOUR CITY/COUNTRY* UNTIL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH.
All you need is a black and white printer, a camera (smartphone is sufficient), and the confidence to eventually make this change happen, step by step, together.
Thank you a lot in advance!
As a side note to all denier and conspiracy myths sympathetic, to the people, who have never been affected by racism, but keep on pointing out that all lives matter or saying this is not their problem:
I don’t say ONLY black lives matter. I was lucky so far to never have been under pressure because of anything that defines me by nature. I don’t take this for granted. You shouldn’t either. It should be everybody’s duty to make this world a worth one, to live in, with equality, freedom, and solidarity as a common basement.
It’s ridiculous and frustrating that one has to explicitly say that every life matters in order to not be attacked when standing up for others. There shouldn’t be any doubt about the value of lives, no matter the color of skin, gender, religion, social-economic or geographical background. In times when a specific group of human beings needs as much support as possible to be seen and heard, it should be a no-brainer to everyone, that this particular group needs to be underlined specifically in the public debate. Don’t mix this up or compare it to any other issue this world is facing. There’re for sure too many things not right on this planet, but we cannot act on all issues at the same time. This movement is against every act of alleged superiority over presumed minorities, against group-related misanthropy. This is against racism. – AKUT
It’s great to see that artists on the streets are actually reaching out to help passersby with enthralling words of encouragement these days – the signs and messages we’re seeing are sentiments such as “We will persevere!” and “No Fear. Keep Going!”
Perhaps it is the vacuum of support that has been created by the Divider in Chief – as well as the acquiescent one-party corporate Demoblicans who all haven’t the slightest desire to lead or actually support you in these times of crisis for millions.
And to this we add our voice; Hang in there people! You got this! We are going to pull through this stronger and more united, despite the disinformation war that is arrayed before us. Today people are once again taking to the streets around the world in a populist fervor not seen since the ’60s when Baby Boomers hadn’t abandoned their principles yet. What a pendulum we swing on!
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Buff Monster, Dan Witz, Gianni Lee, Mtitya Pisliak, Praxi, Skewville, and Techno Deco.
Under the initiative of Barcelona based street artist, Xupet Negre, around 15 artists responded to an invitation to participate in the project #theblackwallmovement at Parc De 3 Xemeneies in Barcelona.
Police brutality is not a foreign concept in Barcelona and the images coming out from the United States have hit a nerve within the creative community of this Catalan Metropolis, we are told, and the artists here decided to show their support for the protest against racism in Barcelona by painting these walls.
Photographer and frequent BSA contributor Lluis Olive shared his photos of the project with us.
The anonymous artist(s) who painted the mural above, titled “Here the police also kill” decided to paint the names of a number of the immigrants killed by the police in Barcelona since the ’90s. An individual who happened to be on the scene where the mural was painted and wishes to remain anonymous related the what unfolded once the police got wind of the mural:
“Here the police also kill…and censor!
Yesterday I visited Parc De 3 Xemeneies in Barcelona to support #theblackwallsmovement event organized by Xupete Negre. I wasn’t there as an artist, but rather in support of my fellow artists who were participating and painting in the event.
What caught my attention was a mural where a crew of anonymous artists decided that rather than paint images on the wall they wrote a list of the names of immigrants assassinated by the police in Barcelona from the ’90s to the present time. Shortly after the mural was completed a police squad arrived. The officers wanted to know the name of the artist(s) who painted the mural so they could charge the artist(s) of defamation and demanded that the mural be painted over.
The artists who were present at the time refused to name names and refused to paint over the mural. The following day the portion of the mural that reads: “Here the police also kills” was painted over. I find it abhorrent that crimes that took place are being censured and that the collective memory of said crimes is being erased.
Never mind that the event in question was to fight racism and police brutality and to denounce the murder of George Floyd in The United States.
“This is the end of pretty pictures,” wrote the artists at the end of the mural. “-by anonymous.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening : 1. Steven Siegel, Like a Buoy, Like a Barrel 2. Mural Intervention by Ana Barriga in Nau Bostik 3. The Revolution Starts in The Earth w/ the Self. Jess X Snow & Gavriel Cutipa-Zorn
BSA Special Feature: Steven Siegel, Like a Buoy, Like a Barrel
We’ve seen public works made with recycled materials in the street art scene for a few years – Bordalo II and Icy & Sot come to mind. American environmental artist Steven Siegel has been pulling apart and reassembling in public space for forty years or so, amassing a body of work that examines and reveals the geologic sedimentation of earth, bodies, memory, emotion.
A recent work, Like a Buoy, Like a Barrel in Providence, Rhode Island presents our collective waste in a container, front and center for all to look into, marvel at, perhaps be dismayed by.
“Piling a bunch of, for lack of a better word, ‘trash,’ is not going to move anybody. Whereas if you can articulate it into a form that is beautiful and surprising, they’re going to say ‘that’s beautiful and surprising. What does it mean?”
Mural Intervention by Ana Barriga in Nau Bostik
On the occasion of the closing of the TÀPIA exhibition, B.murals invited Ana Barriga to paint on the walls of Espai 30 La Sagrera, inspired by her tireless searches for inspiration in markets such as “El Rastro” in Madrid. Using a found item she enlarges it and takes comfort in the simple depiction of mutual affinity.
Project Highlight: Like buoy, like a barrel by Steven Siegel
The Revolution Starts in The Earth w/ the Self. Jess X Snow & Gavriel Cutipa-Zorn
Taking a decade long view of your creative life can be astoundingly instructional if you are brave enough; perusing over the body of work that you have taken with eyes focused and blurred may reveal broad outlines and finer features of a creative life-path – a psychological mapping of the inner world and its outer expression with all its impulses, longings, expressions of received truths and newly discovered wisdom.
Publico. Privado. Jaz Franco Fasoli. 09-2019
Franco Fasoli aka JAZ has looked over his last decade (2009-2019) of work as a street artist and fine artist and offers you the opportunity to examine his public and private side as well in this new two-volume compendium. Painting on the streets since the mid-nineties and his mid-teens in his hometown of Buenos Aires, the visual artist knew his path would be a creative one. His family and role models, comprised of well-schooled artists and educators, had provided a foundation of critique and appreciation for him to build upon from the earliest years.
Now with many miles of travel on his personal odometer and introduction
to greater opportunities and institutions his visual output is here codified,
examined, and assessed in printed and bound form, to be respected and valued.
As observed in an essay by his street painting compatriot Elian, “Today it is
no longer about what physical space we select for each of these terms and their
respective experiences, it is about extremely sensitive decisions on what we
decide to transport from mental territories to others.”
Extremely sensitive is an appropriate descriptor. These massive and fragile and indestructible works all respond to weighty matters of history, struggle, nationalism, mythology, archetypical roles; now mingled uncomfortably with the ethereal nature of modern living that collapses, compresses, cheapens aesthetic values and relationships. Here is adolescence clamoring for maturity, idealism melting with monsters of the imagination, truth abutting uncomfortable irony.
In “Publico: Privado” JAZ has invited you to go on the trip with him. Artist,
teacher, and curator Diana Aisenberg writes in her essay, “I imagine the work
as a ship, a means of transport, as close to teleportation. It is the one that
moves and finds its place, there where it is necessary.”
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.
“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.”
When a socio-political-economic nexus is forged with such historically contentious factors, it only takes a spark. If you are wondering who will win, merely look at history, as past is prologue. Sorry, we won’t be spoilers.
Historically sky-high unemployment in an economy headed for depression, a somnolent political-corporate class standing listlessly by to watch as you are lowered deep into the well, an unprecedented heist of the US cupboard in broad daylight, the flames of social inequity fanned by a muscular and shiny fascism. What’s not to like?
In one irony (among many) New York City is opening tomorrow. Except for the curfew at 8pm. It’s also boarding up. Just as graffiti and street art were effectively scrubbed from Manhattan, the city offers artists and poets thousands and thousands of brand new plywood canvasses. It’s a jubilee!
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Captain Eyeliner, Niko Alexander, Cadex Herrera, Greta McLain, Xena Goldman, Pablo Helm Hernandez, Dusty Rebel, No Sleep, Pajtim Osmanaj, Russian Doll NYC, and Soul Thundre.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening : 1. BCN Rise & Fall. Documentary History of Street Art in Barcelona
BSA Special Feature: BCN Rise & Fall, Documentary History of Street Art in Barcelona
The
permissive nature of the city created a golden age of art in the streets, unencumbered
by the police or the city itself, an
exciting destination for artists like Banksy, Space Invader, Os Gemeos, Aryz,
BTOY, Kenor, Mark Bode, and Obey – but really it was an aerosol family reunion with
relatives arriving from around the world.
Today we feature a well-researched and presented re-telling of the golden age of muralism born here in the first few years of the 2000s, spawning careers of many and attracting culture watchers of all kinds. As is the case with gentrifying spaces, the next phase after artists make everything pop with energy and new ideas, the vultures moved in to capitalize on it, and kill it.
Strict laws, strict penalties, and putting on a nice commercial face for the corporations and shoppers. Later, the creative spirit seems quashed – and the city that gave birth to a stunning spectacle seems completely unaware of how they shot themselves in the foot – until they have to pay to see the stuff in a museum exhibition later.
Now years
later we have a clearer view of what transpired and why thanks directors Aleix Gordo Hostau and Gustavo López Lacalle, who painstakingly
construct and deconstruct the story through colorful stories and an ocean of
imagery. Political and sometimes divisive? Sure. A form of speech, undoubtedly.
Pity it is manipulated sometimes to fit an agenda, even when the artist hadn’t
intended it to be.
BCN Rise & Fall. Documentary History of Street Art in Barcelona
Street art welcomes all manner of materials and methods, typically deployed without permission and without apology. This hand-formed wire piece …Read More »
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
