All posts tagged: Brooklyn Street Art

Banksy Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Currently Playing In Moscow

August 25, 2018 Artists

They could have called it “Smoke & Mirrors”. Now you see him, now you don’t.

Instead the name of the new exhibition about the British Street Artist Banksy here in Moscow is posed by the organizers as a question – “Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You!”

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Absent of a substantial collection of original pieces of art, the exhibition relies heavily on print editions (some of the editions higher numbers), blown up oversized photographs and a multi screened multi-media video montage in a darkened spooky area that may impart a sense of Street Art’s original transgressive nature to visitors. There don’t appear to be any masterpieces, but its hard to say.

In order to fill the enormous entire second floor of the venue, Central House Of Artists located in Gorky Park in Central Moscow, the organizers printed large photos taken of the actual original works placed on the streets of England, The USA and Palestine. There isn’t a problem with the photographic material, and many of them are of good quality but the show isn’t advertised as an exhibition of street art photography.

The naming of the show and its description implies that this is a solo exhibition of Banksy, actually, and not only is a large percentage of space taken for documentation of the work, the Instagram account attributed to the anonymous artist has recently announced that Banksy has no involvement in it whatsoever. In reality these are finer distinctions that the majority of visitors will care little about.

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Spare yourself the incredulity; this is a marketing exercise and entertainment show meant to draw a general audience to view the works of Banksy, his greater ideas, his wit, and his politics. In the process the show acquaints them with the general practice of Street Art, and very possibly strengthens the value of his works on the market and in private collections. Truthfully, we are no more assured of Banksy’s or his teams’ involvement / disinvolvement in this show than we are of his hands performing the spraying of stencils on walls or animating stuffed animals in the back of a truck. In this way anonymity has a slew of benefits, and the veracity of any public statements attributed to him must necessarily also be viewed with at least a little suspicion.

If successful, and by unofficial count “Genius or Vandal?” has drawn between a third to a half million visitors, it will probably be packaged as a mobile exhibition and go on the road like the one by his former Manager Steve Lazarides “The Art of Banksy”, which is currently in Toronto, after being shown in Melbourne, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv and Auckland. If this indeed has drawn half a million visitors, that would mean roughly 1 in 26 of Moscow’s 13.2 million inhabitants have seen the show.

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

And this is as much a show (or more) as it is an exhibition. To augment the slim collection of original works the organizers created a video montage that is splashy and attractive; a sort of a retrospective in 20 minutes that is lengthened because every slide or animation with text has to be shown twice, in English and in Russian. The designers of the exhibition create a series of environments or installations meant to be evocative of the margins of metropolis – cargo pallets, metal drums, street cones and a recreation of what we imagine is the artists’ studio as featured in the movie “Exit Through The Gift Shop”. It’s an edgy theme park feeling for everyday folks as well, meant to imbue the show with an aura of authenticity and street cred.

Along the way visitors can also learn about his political opinions and forays into Israel/Palestine/Bethlehem, his sorrowful Dismaland theme park, his general upending of pleasant conventions and his deeper commitment to social justice. Cheesy as it might be, this show isn’t a bad introduction to Banksy the person and Banksy the brand, and if he has no involvement with this it can be argued that it is still beneficial in some ways.

Yes there’s a gift shop as well, naturally, as you exit the show.

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information please visit http://banksyexhibition.com/

BSA Film Friday: 08.24.18

August 24, 2018 Artists

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

Now screening :
1. Scenes from the Banksy Exhibition in Moscow
2. Obey Giant – Shepard Fairey

BSA Special Feature: Scenes from the Banksy Exhibition in Moscow

“But the fact that a personal exhibition of a living artist is being held, and he has nothing to do with this – that’s strange.” – Olga Proskurnina and Elizaveta Podkolzina write in a recent article for “The Village”.

“Hm, not sure I’m the best person to complain about people putting up pictures without getting permission,” says a text bubble attributed to the anonymous Street Artist on his Instagram account.

It’s a highly unusual exhibition of the British Street Artist Banksy’s work in Moscow, one that the artist himself says he has nothing to do with. Yes there are original works of his and many highlights of his public career are covered, but the unofficial traffic number of 300,000 attendees since it opened in June are largely going to remember the impressively animated multi-media montages that splash across the multiple screens for the exhibition of 2000 square meters.

Approved or not, this is about Street Art, a practice in public space that frequently is transgressive and flaunts the conventions that we once accepted as a given. It’s difficult to anticipate or measure the repercussions of any given creation once it is up, a fact that Street Artists everywhere know and appreciate.

Below is a version of the video montage that greets visitors to the exhibition. The montage has been edited for brevity and includes only selected scenes from the massive projection inside the Central House of Artists as the works of Banksy once again create a stir, this time in Moscow.

Obey Giant – Shepard Fairey

And Speaking of global masters on the Street Art scene, here’s a full movie documentary on Shepard Fairey and his work to bring us up to speed. The American Fairey will be in the cosmopolitan Russian capital September 19th to debut his new exhibition at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, called “Force Majeure”. Organized with RUArts Foundation, curated by MMOMA and Wunderkammern Gallery the exhibition will be with the collaboration of the 3rd Artmosphere Biennale, which opens August 30th.

C215 and Two Fine Ladies In Moscow

August 23, 2018 Artists

BSA is in Moscow as curators of 50+ international artists in the Artmossphere Biennale 2018 for its 3^rd edition called Street Art Wave. Till the end of the month we’ll working with a stellar cross section of people involved with Urban Art/Street Art/Graffiti at curious and fascinating intersections. We’re meeting with Street Artists, academics, collectors, gallerists, museum curators, organizers, and thoughtful pontificators of all sorts in studio, on the street, behind the scenes, and on display. Come with us!

Finding Street Art is sort of like a treasure hunt – one that you become addicted to and can never fully peel away from your psychological experience of the city.

Today we found by chance an eight year old stencil piece in Moscow that we had imprinted in our minds probably ever since French Street Artist C215 first posted it on his Flickr page in 2010. Of course his stencil style is his alone, but the style of these two figures is also impeccable – if fading from its original grandeur. If we find more information regarding their identity, we’ll update this post. In the meantime we’ll enjoy the serendipity of meeting old friends for the first time on the streets of Moscow.

C215. Moscow. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A shot by the artist when he first painted this in 2010 (© C215)

Tristan Eaton Pops The Cosmonaut Theme In Moscow

August 22, 2018 Artists

Ask most Street Artists looking for fame and they’ll tell you it is a bonifide space race out there – looking for the right wall that gets the best exposure to peers and fans is key to winning. Tristan Eaton is launching his murals around the world this summer – including New York’s famed Houston/Bowery wall and this cosmonaut themed installation that has landed in a heavily trafficked section of Moscow’s inner ring.

It’s part of a project called The Artrium that has been inviting high profile international and Russian Street Artists to paint this summer. We hear news that more Americans will touchdown before cold weather arrives, including Futura and Shepard Fairey in September.

Tristan Eaton. Moscow, Russia. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

WK Interact Leaping From Rooftops In Moscow

August 21, 2018 Artists

Last week we featured several photographs from Martha Cooper of WK Interact while they were both participating at the 20x21EUG Mural Project in Eugene, Oregon. So naturally we were surprised to see him jumping from rooftops here in Moscow – or more appropriately maybe he was para-troopering down from the sky, having been dropped by a plane. As he does.

No surprise here, Martha is on her way to Moscow as well!

WK Interact. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ben Eine Welcomes You to Moscow

August 20, 2018 Artists

BSA has just arrived in the home of the Kremlin and while waiting 5 hours for a hotel room to become available after the 10 hour plane trip we hit the streets to capture whatever we could find – hopefully without walking directly into traffic because of the deliriously heavy jet lag.

None of the Artmossphere artists who will be creating and installing have arrived yet here, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing fun to see on the Street Art scene in the capital and most populous city of Russia (13.2 million).

Earlier in the year we spent some time with Ben Eine in Colombia so imagine our surprise when turning a corner we saw this welcoming sign in his signature letters looming high and bright – reaffirming to us that YES we are indeed in the right place at the right time here in Moscow.

Ben Eine. Moscow, Russia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.19.18

August 19, 2018 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Aretha Franklin’s voice was on many radios and car stereos in Brooklyn yesterday. You could hear her riding on the Freeway of Love from a passing delivery van on Flushing Avenue, rocking steady at a barbecue in Marcy Projects, saying a little prayer for you out through someones’ open window in leafy Fort Greene.

There was other music on the street to be heard, sure, – it was a sunny summer day in BK, ya’ll. But Aretha kept appearing, and reappearing, taking us to church, and sometimes bringing us to tears. Her impact on the streets was felt because of her indomitable, soaring and searing voice giving voice to women of color and because of her respected work in civil rights dating back to Martin Luther King Jr. – at times when being proud to be black was a radical act all by itself.

May Aretha’s voice never leave our streets because even though many changes did come, many of us still believe real change is still gonna come. The Queen of Soul is gone, but her soul lives on!

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Alien Mail, Captain Eyeliner, El Cekis, Ghost Beard, LMNOPI, MenaceTwo, Mr. Dis-Satisfied, Osiris Rain, Patch Whisky, Reza Piece, Sipros, Stray Ones, and Trap.

Our top image: Aretha Franklin RESPECT 1942 – 2018 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MenaceTwo – Reza Piece (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alien Mail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TRAP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Cekis in collab with Grasosobremargo for The Bushwick Collective. Detail of a work in progress. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stray Ones (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sipros for The Buschiwck Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Osiris Rain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Patch Whisky . Ghost Beard for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Captian Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Dis-Satisfied (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Subway buskers. NYC. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aïda Gómez Choreographs Live “Stop” and “Go” in Portugal

August 18, 2018 Artists

Aïda Gómez is using urban space as her stage and her laboratory with her recently directed public performance in Porto, Portugal. A matter of daily city life and self-governance, our reliance upon the presumably reliable mechanized interchanging of the illuminated figure symbol is unquestioned.

Here he/she is telling us to go and to stop; our obeyance is so ingrained in us as a patterned behavior that it doesn’t reach the upper region of consciousness most days.

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

A simple personification of the figures here on a crosswalk jolts people out of their pattern, and the minimalistic approach is without reproach. Here is this red mime in sneakers gesturing with a full range of body signals delivered in the spirit of mimicry, cautiously enacting hesitation, a suspense of action, pensive waiting.

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

The red figure is suddenly replaced by the green one; drolly sauntering, strolling, skipping, rolling across the walkway – a fully formed figurative performance of the various expectable and acceptable mechanics involved for propelling a human forward through space.

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

A curiosity? Yes. Mesmerizing? Maybe. An opportunity to draw attention to a few lines from the civic code of our programmed public behavior? Definitely.

See a video of the performance at the end of this post.

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aidagomezinfo

instagram: @aidagomz

twitter: @aida_gomez_

BSA Film Friday 08.17.18

August 17, 2018 Artists

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

Now screening :
1. El Mac goes to US/Mexico border to paint “Abuelita of Presidio”
2. “Extrapolate” by Johan Rijpma
3. Francesco Pinzon and Sofia Castellanos in Mexico City

BSA Special Feature: El Mac goes to US/Mexico border to paint “Abuelita of Presidio”

This spring Street Artist El Mac painted an image of Linda Luján, 62, a cleaning lady in Presidio, Texas, on the side of a 10 story tower that faces Mexico. The image has gotten her a lot of attention from people in town and reportedly others have mistaken the image as being their own grandmother, or at least a strong, sweet grandmother they have known. He calls it “Abuelita of Presidio” (grandmother of Presidio)

“El Mac isn’t surprised that the mural has a familial feel to locals,” says reporter Bayla Metzger of Marfa Public Radio, who spent some time speaking to the artist and people in town. “El Mac said that when its done, the painting won’t really be of Linda Luján in Presidio, but a composite of abuelas that he’s met all around the world. When he leaves Presidio, he’ll take the faces of the people he’s met here with him.”

Extrapolate by Johan Rijpma

An exercise for your mind through art and mathematics, this animation thrills. A line is extrapolated through a grid, surpassing its boundaries and stretching limits. A project created with support from the animation program in the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan.

Francesco Pinzon and Sofia Castellanosin Mexico City

Here is the process video of the mural that Francesco Pinzon and Sofia Castellanos made for CENTRAL DE MUROS in Mexico City.

Simone de Beauvoir: “La Clausura Del Infierno” (The Closing Of Hell)

August 16, 2018 Artists

“It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our reasons for living.”

French existentialist, feminist, and intellectual Simone de Beauvoir saw the hell created by us and held us accountable to be performative agents in actively transcending the facts of our existence. Since April three artists have been depicting that hell on the exterior wall of Torrent de les Bruixes Institute in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, and they give Ms. De Beauvoir heroic role, triumphal; rising untouched and ebullient above the pit of vipers, monsters, dragons and fantastical embodiments of evils.

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

They call it “La Clausura Del Infierno”, roughly translated as “The Closing of Hell”. Perhaps it could be called “The Opening of Hell” as well.

Because we know you love to see the process as well as the final piece, here is a prime example of how the artists conceive the beginning of a mural by codifying colors. It is impressive how artists Sebastien Waknine, Simón Vázquez, and Juanjo Surace decided to sketch the forms and composition on the wall, using colors and shapes as code.

Our special thanks to photographer Lluís Olivé Bulbena, who shares these images with BSA readers.

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Social: @IES Torrent de les Bruixes @Sebastien Waknine @Simon Vazquez @Juanjo Surace @Gloria Ortiz @Arnau Art

Scenes from Eugene: Murals of the 20x21EUG Festival in Oregon

August 15, 2018 Artists, Interview

The city of Eugene in Oregon is preparing for the 2021 IAAF World Athletics Championships and like many cities these days it is transforming itself with murals.

With a goal of 20 new murals by ’21 (20x21EUG), the city began in 2016 to invite a slew of international Street Artists, some locally known ones, and a famous graffiti/Street Art photographer to participate in their ongoing visual festival.

A lively city that is bustling with the newly blooming marijuana industry and finding an endless array of ways to celebrate it, Eugene has been so welcoming that many artists will report that feeling quite at home painting in this permissively bohemian and chill atmosphere.

With a goal of global diversity a selection artists have included a variety of Street Art names from around the world including Blek le Rat, AIKO, Dan Witz, HUSH, Martha Cooper, WK Interact, Hyuro, Jaz, Alexis Diaz, Telmo Miel, Hua Tunan, Beau Stanton, Matt Small and local talents like Bayne Gardner and Ila Rose. With some luck organizers say they hope this year to also include artists H11235 from Nepal and Shamsia Hassani from Afghanistan.

Today you can see a lot of the painting action thanks to 2018 “20x21EUG” participant and famed photographer Martha Cooper, who had an opportunity to meet the artists this year and catch up on some of the work from previous years. We’re proud to be able to show these new images with BSA readers and we thank Ms. Cooper for sharing them.

We spoke with two important pillars of 20x21EUG, Debbie Williamson-Smith, Director of Communications and Paul Godin, Director of Artist Relations, to get a little background on the festival and to see what makes it unique.

BSA: Can you speak about the genesis of 20x21EUG? Why did you decide to start an Urban Art Festival?
Debbie Williamson-Smith: The concept of a large-scale public art project such came from Isaac Marquez, Cultural Services Director for the City of Eugene, and is rooted in Eugene’s rich history of public art, dating back to the Oregon International Sculpture Symposium in 1974. Mr. Marquez gathered a committee of arts organizations and community members passionate about the project and street art to bring the concept to fruition.

Paul Godin: We wanted to invite the very best street artists from around the country and around the globe, to create a living outdoor art gallery in Eugene for the world to see when they came. We have curated a mix of street art legends, rising stars and local heroes, all with very different artistic styles and strong voices. Street art is a global movement, of increasingly high profile, and it was a shared passion that united our committee members.

If you want to take it way back, the origin may well have been a trip to the east end of London ten years ago, on a failed quest in search of a Banksy that led instead to the discovery of the wonders of Brick Lane.

BSA: How is a project of such quality as this funded?
Debbie Williamson-Smith: Funding for the project comes from the City of Eugene Cultural Services transient room tax revenue, sponsorship with City of Eugene Parking Services and contributions from wall owners and local businesses through donations of goods and services. We have had over 50 businesses support this project since it started and volunteers have donated hundreds of hours of time. It takes a village to make a mural and a full list of partners can be found on our website.

BSA: Is it difficult to get landlords’ permission to paint on their properties in Eugene?
Paul Godin: Heck no. We have found many landlords very open to the idea of putting street art murals on their walls. Civic pride in our project, and the high quality of the work here has made it very easy to sell more wall owners on involvement. Now they are coming to us. Our biggest problem in Eugene with walls is that we do not have as many big blank walls as larger cities do. Our kingdom for a blank 12 story wall!

Eugenians are generally thrilled by the transformation that 20x21EUG has wrought. Just last week, a city police officer brought a woman to her favorite piece, a group of elderly women were seen admiring Matt Small’s piece and chatting.

Debbie Williamson-Smith: It is so electric that we have coined the phrase “mural magic”. This project has ignited the civic pride in our community and has already inspired another mural project, Urban Canvas. This initiative of the City of Eugene’s Cultural Services department matches local walls with local artists and three murals have been added to the cultural landscape since it launched in 2018. People are making mural watching a regular activity, taking children to watch artists in action and bringing visitors to see the murals.

BSA: What are you personal observations regarding the experience as a whole? What would you do different for next year?
Paul Godin: One thing that became clear about our festival this year is that we have created a family, uniting our committee, our volunteers, our artists in a unique and inspiring way. We have bonded through our shared experience, the long nights, the controlled chaos days, the communal dinners, and the stains of primer on all of our clothes.

Debbie Williamson-Smith: This has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. As an arts advocate, I am so inspired by the changes art is making in my community and this is one of the reasons why public art and street art are so important. It gives immediate access to art for the public. We are also in a time of political upheaval and for some people, including myself, this has been a difficult time for our country. To welcome people to my part of the world is my form of resistance. We can unite each other through art and as anyone who has studied art history knows, the arts have gotten us through some dark times.

If I could do anything differently, it would be to make certain all the artists travel here at the same time. When we had Dan Witz here last summer, he talked about what he called artist equity, meaning that festivals for him provide an opportunity to work with artists that he has not worked together before and that always influences his decision to attend. One of my highlights from last summer was watching him and Blek le Rat work on separate installations on the same building.

I was almost as giddy as Dan was. Almost.

Martha Cooper standing with windows full of her images at the Rising Moon makers store. 20x21EUG Mural Project / 2018 Edition. Eugene, Oregon.

Stefan Ways was in Eugene assisting Aiko with her mural this year. He wasn’t in the official line-up of artists but didn’t stop him from getting up. (photo © Martha Cooper)

For more information about 20x21EUG in Eugene, Oregon, please CLICK HERE.

New Show Celebrates A Decade of “Beautiful Losers”

August 14, 2018 Artists

We’ve had the privilege of introducing ‘Beautiful Losers’ to theater audiences and to give away copies of it for a holiday event and even getting to meet a few of the Losers, so to speak. That’s why we’re excited about a new exhibition coming up in ten days in Manhattan at The Hole gallery to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of this classic documentary that debuted at the IFC in August 2008.

Directed by Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard, it brings back a little of the magic of New York in the 90s – specifically the last years when Manhattan felt somewhat lawless and full of creative possibilities on the streets. The community of artists profiled had something that reflected the time and it was good to celebrate the ethos that ‘Beautiful Losers’ so warmly conveyed.

Hope you can make it to the show, or at least to see the movie. It’s always an inspiration for anyone looking to recover the creative spirit.

“DIY / ‘outsider’ art and its acceleration to the cultural forefront will be revisited with the ‘NOW & THEN: A DECADE OF BEAUTIFUL LOSERS’ exhibition. On site will be both artworks and collaborative RVCA merchandise from artists including but not limited to: Aaron Rose, Andre Razo, Ari Marcopoulos, Barry McGee, Cheryl Dunn, Chris Johanson, David Aron, Deanna Templeton, Ed Templeton, Geoff McFetridge, Ivory Serra, Jo Jackson, Margaret Kilgallen, Mark Gonzales, Mike Mills, Rita Ackermann, Shepard Fairey, Stephen Powers, Susan Cianciolo, Thomas Campbell, Tobin Yelland, and Tom Sachs.”

The Trailer: Beautiful Losers

Featuring Ed Templeton, Barry McGee, Mareraret Kilgallen, Jo Jackson, Chris Johanson, Thomas Campbell, Geoff McFetridge, Mike Mills, Stephen Powers, Harmony Korine and Shepard Fairey. A film by Aaron Rose with music by Money Mark.

An exhibition to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of “Beautiful Losers” will open at The Hole Gallery on Thursday, August 23rd. Click on the title of the exhibition next for more details: “NOW & THEN: A DECADE OF BEAUTIFUL LOSERS”

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.11.26
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Buff or Delete Elfo? The Last One For ’25, the First One For ’26
January 6, 2026
Elfo isn’t wrong, as they like to say these days. This photograph shows the phrase “You can remove graffiti with …Read More »
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Street art doesn’t only regale walls, it often reflects us, cracks and all. Call it protest or simply commentary, this …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 2
January 3, 2026
Street art welcomes all manner of materials and methods, typically deployed without permission and without apology. This hand-formed wire piece …Read More »
Photos of BSA 2025 # 3
January 2, 2026
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Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy. Genius Or Vandal? It’s Up To You! Central House of Artists. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Special Feature: Scenes from the Banksy Exhibition in Moscow

“But the fact that a personal exhibition of a living artist is being held, and he has nothing to do with this – that’s strange.” – Olga Proskurnina and Elizaveta Podkolzina write in a recent article for “The Village”.

Obey Giant – Shepard Fairey

A shot by the artist when he first painted this in 2010 (© C215)

A shot by the artist when he first painted this in 2010 (© C215)

Tristan Eaton. Moscow, Russia. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

WK Interact. Moscow, Russia. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ben Eine. Moscow, Russia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ben Eine. Moscow, Russia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Our top image: Aretha Franklin RESPECT 1942 – 2018 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MenaceTwo – Reza Piece (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alien Mail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TRAP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Cekis in collab with Grasosobremargo for The Bushwick Collective. Detail of a work in progress. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stray Ones (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sipros for The Buschiwck Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Osiris Rain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Patch Whisky . Ghost Beard for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Captian Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Dis-Satisfied (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Subway buskers. NYC. August 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aïda Gómez is using urban space as her stage and her laboratory with her recently directed public performance in Porto, Portugal. A matter of daily city life and self-governance, our reliance upon the presumably reliable mechanized interchanging of the illuminated figure symbol is unquestioned.

Here he/she is telling us to go and to stop; our obeyance is so ingrained in us as a patterned behavior that it doesn’t reach the upper region of consciousness most days.

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

Aïda Gómez. Mr. Red & Mr. Green. Portugal. (photo © Aïda Gómez)

BSA Special Feature: El Mac goes to US/Mexico border to paint “Abuelita of Presidio”

Extrapolate by Johan Rijpma

Francesco Pinzon and Sofia Castellanosin Mexico City

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Sebastien Waknine . Simón Vázquez . Juanjo Surace: “La Clausura Del Infierno”. Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Spain. 2018 (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

WK Interact. 20x21EUG Mural Project / 2018 Edition. Eugene, Oregon. (photo © Martha Cooper)

WK Interact. 20x21EUG Mural Project / 2018 Edition. Eugene, Oregon. (photo © Martha Cooper)

WK Interact. 20x21EUG Mural Project / 2018 Edition. Eugene, Oregon. (photo © Martha Cooper)

WK Interact. 20x21EUG Mural Project / 2018 Edition. Eugene, Oregon. (photo © Martha Cooper)

WK Interact. 20x21EUG Mural Project / 2018 Edition. Eugene, Oregon. (photo © Martha Cooper)