All posts tagged: Buff Monster

BSA HOT LIST 2022: Books For Your Gift Giving

BSA HOT LIST 2022: Books For Your Gift Giving

It’s that time of the year again! Our 12th “Hot List” of books – a best-of collection that is highly personal and unscientific and sure to provide you with ideas.

Our interests and network continued to spread far afield this year, and we chose a cross-section of books that are well worth your time – whether it’s the stories they tell or the quality of the stock or the revelation of seeing images previously unseen except by a handful of people. We have political, personal, and professional takes on this beautiful street art scene, as well as a careful instruction book on how to make your own

So here is a short list from 2022 that you may enjoy as well – just in case you would like to give them as gifts to family, friends, or even to yourself.

STRAAT: Quote from the Streets. Lannoo Publishers.

From BSA:

In a space massive enough for a Dutch sea vessel, the Street Art Museum of Amsterdam (STRAAT) has one of the largest collections of today’s mural stars anywhere. During its official maiden voyage, curious street art/graffiti/contemporary art fans look to see if this ship is seaworthy. The brainchild of former graffiti writer, curator, and publisher Peter Ernst Coolen in the early 2010s, the D.N.A. of the museum is rooted in his forward vision as much as the ideal waterfront warehouse that showcases close to 200 international artists.

STRAAT Museum of Amsterdam Sails with Maiden Exhibition Catalogue

Fabio Petani: SPAGYRIA URBANA

From BSA:

The human-built city has at times been called a jungle, but the concrete and steel environment flatters itself if it really thinks so. The intelligence and beauty present in the natural plant world far outstrips our modern cityscape, centuries after its origination. At least a few artists have been bringing it back to us in murals over the last few years, introducing a calm, lyrical serenity that dives way beneath the conscious, touching our roots.

The young Italian painter Fabio Petani has been reintroducing a natural agenda to cities across Europe for less than a decade – in a way that only a scientist, botanist, and naturalist with a design sensibility could. What is genuinely original is his subtle re-interpretation of the formal conventions of botany, introducing them to a modern urban audience without lecturing – and rising far beyond purely

Fabio Petani “Spagyria Urbana”. Torino, Italy. 2021. Texts by Alessandra Loale. Layout by Livio Ninni with translation by Mauro Italianodecorative presentations.

Fabio Petani Presents “Spagyria Urbana”

Buff Monster: Stay Melty

From BSA:

An updated version of his initial “Stay Melty” collection a half dozen years ago, street artist Buff Monster expands and shares with you more of his studio production, paintings, sculptures, murals, and ever-growing industry of collectibles in this photo book, a candy-coated volume of eccentricities that capture this moment in an artist’s evolution.

Carlo McCormick’s original text perseveres here as well, most possibly because it still captures so much of the dedicated madness that is Buff, afloat upon the detritus that demarcates our late capitalism era in dirty old New York. McCormick sagely comments on Buff’s take on “a realm of magical thinking in a contemporary visual culture where a few rare artists like Buff Monster can invoke alternate realities as palpably believable and emotionally transformative.”

Buff Monster. “Stay Melty”. Ginko Press.

Buff Monster is Staying Melty

Kurt Boone: Jersey City Mural Festival

From BSA:

Poet, urban author, photographer, and longtime NYC messenger Kurt Boone was there too, camera in hand and ready to record the action of the artists getting up on walls and meeting the public. Kurt throws himself into the scene and knows how to navigate while people are enjoying the atmosphere of creativity all around. With his knowledge of the street capturing graffiti, urban cycling, street photography, skateboarding, and busking, you know that his shots are on point.

Instead of uploading everything to a social media platform, Boone asked his friend Anthony Firetto to help lay out his photos to create a book. This is a genuine work of the heart – a self-published hefty book that captures a moment in time, the various players and styles, and a flashpoint in the development of Jersey City as it continues to change.

Jersey City Mural Festival. Photography by Kurt Boone. © Copyright Kurt Boone

Kurt Boone Shares the Jersey City Mural Festival in Print

Robbie Conal: STREETWISE

From BSA:

The political caricature is a treasured form of public discourse that still holds as much power as it did when we relied on the printing press. Able to express sentiment and opinion without uttering a syllable, the artist can sway the direction of conversation with skill, insight, and humor. Artist Robbie Conal has built a career from visually roasting the most sebaceous of our various leaders in the last few decades, often bringing his posters to the street and installing them in advertisers’ wildposting manner.

With the briefest of texts, slogans, or twisted nicknames, he reveals the underbelly as a face, dropping expectations into the sewer. If it were as simple as a political party, one might try to dismiss his work as only partisan. But Conal’s work functions more as an ex-ray, and frequently the resulting scan finds cancer.

ROBBIE CONAL / STREETWISE. 35 YEARS OF POLITICALLY CHARGED GUERRILLA ART. By G. James Daichendt. With a foreword by Shepard Fairey. Published by Schiffer Publishing LTD. Atglen, PA

Robbie Conal: Politics & Blasphemy, Streetwise Caricatures for 3+ Decades

Martha Cooper: SPRAY NATION / Signed Limited Edition Box Set.

Spray Nation”: Unseen 1980’s NYC Graffiti by Cooper and Gastman

Martha Cooper: Spray Nation. German/Prestel Edition

From BSA:

Page after page of golden NYC hits from the Martha Cooper archive; this new hardcover tome expands the galaxy for fans and academics of that amber-soaked period when it seemed like New York was leading a Spray Nation of graffiti for cities across the country. Known for her ability to capture graffiti writers’ work in its original urban context, Ms. Cooper once again proves that her reputation as the documentarian of an underground/overground aesthetics scene is no joke.

With an academics’ respect for the work, the practice, and the practitioners, Cooper recorded volumes of images methodically for history – and your appreciation. With the vibrant and sometimes vicious city framing their pieces, an uncounted legion of aerosol-wielding street players raced city-wide at top speed, ducking cops and cavorting with a confident abandon in the rusted and screeching steel cityscape. By capturing these scenes without unnecessary editorializing, Cooper gives you access to the organically chaotic graffiti subculture on the move at that moment – directly through her unflinching eyes.

Martha Cooper: Spray Nation. Signed Limited Edtion Box Set is published by Beyond The Streets. With a foreword by Roger Gastman and essays by Steven P. Harrington, Miss Rosen, Jayson Edlin, and Brian Wallis.

Martha Cooper and Roger Gastman Release “Spray Nation”: “Subway Art” on Steroids

From BSA:

One of the exciting book releases this fall drops today in stores across the country – which is appropriate with a name like Spray Nation.

The centerpiece of the complete boxed set released this spring, this thick brick of graffiti tricks will end up on as many shelves as Subway Art; the book of Genesis that prepared everyone for the global scene of graffiti and street art that would unveil itself for decades afterward. See our review from earlier in the year, and sample some of the stunning spreads here, along with quotes by the book’s essay writers, Roger Gastman, Steven P. Harrington, Miss Rosen, Jayson Edlin, and Brian Wallis.

Martha Cooper. SPRAY NATION 1980s Graffiti Photographs. Edited by Roger Gastman. Prestel. Germany, 2022.

Robert Proch: Sketches 2003-2018

From BSA:

“ROBERT PROCH – SKETCHES” : a collection of all the preserved drawings and sketches created by the artist in the years 2003-2018.

We had the opportunity to hang around with artist Robert Proch in 2015 at the No Limit festival in Boras, Sweden. Unassuming and bright, the artist was creating a painting on a massive wall that seemed to us to be insurmountable. He excitedly and with great ease jumped on the cherry picker and dove into the explosion he had sketched – pouring color and gesture into his futurist composition, bending and twisting the axis, capturing the flying energy and elements that appeared to jump off toward the viewer.

Later at dinner in a private home, it was a pleasure to speak with him. A warm, polite, and thoughtful guy – you would not necessarily know that his internal art view was so expansive, except to see his darting eyes perhaps, which didn’t appear to miss anything.

Robert Proch. “Sketches 2003-2018”. Robert Proch Foundation

Robert Proch Sketches from ’03 to ’18 Released by Family and Friends

MadC: STREET TO CANVAS

From BSA:

You hope for it, but nothing is guaranteed. Transitioning from being an artist with a respected, lauded practice of graffiti/street art to a booming professional career on canvas is not a clearly defined route. Although many have tried, are trying right now.

What does it take, you ask? A potent mix of talent, luck, fortitude, applied effort, guts, and a willingness to change one’s approach if necessary, as necessary. In our experience, the last item proves to be the most challenging.

Yo, but Mad C is mad talented.

She’s made it a dedication to studying and learning the craft, fine-tuning the skills, practicing, perfecting, and persevering. All of those qualities will give you a great measure of personal satisfaction even when it doesn’t land you a big bank balance. In the case of MadC, internalizing the practices and codes of graffiti that originated with the 1960s/70s graffiti writers was core – imprinted her creative DNA forever – even though her first attempt to write was not until 1995 in Germany.

MadC – Street To Canvas. Heni Publishing, London.

MadC: Solemn Codes of Graffiti Transformed from “Street To Canvas”

Scott Albrecht: IN TIME

From BSA:

Color-blocked basketball courts appreciated from a plane, cheerful abstract murals for restaurants, hotels, and cafes, and massive wood collages comprised of assembled pieces that are each finished before joining. What do these expressions of artist Scott Albrecht have to do with one another? If you study the patterns, in time, you will see.

A handsome cloth-covered hardcopy of works by the Gowanus, Brooklyn-based public/studio artist presents a selection of works from 2017-21 that have a rational color theory, smoothly dynamic geometries, and a soothing certitude in their complexity. Spotlighting public art projects, studio processes, exhibitions in New York and LA, and his residency at Hyland Mather’s place in Portugal, the collection is refined yet human.

Pattern Recognition: Scott Albrecht “In Time”

C215: THE STENCIL GRAFFITI MANUAL

From BSA:

The Paris-based stencil artist C215 learned his skills in the street and in the studio beginning in the mid-2000s after being influenced by the burgeoning practice in the street art scene of Barcelona and recognizing the practitioners in his home in Paris. Within a few short years, he was watching the evolution of all his peers – and even curating their work into shows. You can see many styles and techniques by surveying the field, and you’ll decide whose work is a cut above.

“The book that you are holding in your hands is, therefore, a manual, an inventory of techniques to be appropriated in order to get yourself started in the art or to help you develop stenciling’s potential. Stencils have no limits and can be adapted to all styles,” says the author in his introduction.

C215 – The Stencil Graffiti Manual. Schiffer Publishing 2022

C215 Gives You “The Stencil Graffiti Manual”

Bartek Swiatecki / Pener: SELECTED WORKS 15 – 21

From BSA:

A new book here features six years of selected works from a Polish graffiti writer, muralist, and professor of art and painting at a secondary school in his hometown of Olsztyn, Poland. He reckons that his life is one of ‘Planned Freestyle,’ meaning that having structure imposed upon him is very helpful in focusing his creative mind. You may quickly appreciate this characterization if you know any artists.

The collection of selected works here by Bartek Swiatecki is as luminous and optically rewarding to the viewer as they are opaque to the mind and stirring to the heart. With prolific and gently evolving abstractions in movement, you can see an artist at work, at play, and at his personal best – topping his previous work. The grandson of another painter and professor (of philology), Miroslaw Swiatecki, and the nephew of a famous painter and animator, Marek Swiatecki, perhaps it was only a matter of time before this 90s graffiti writer moved into more formal practices on canvas and walls.

Bartek Swiatecki / Pener. Selected Works 15 – 21. Printed in Poland © Bartek Swiatecki

Bartek Swiatecki / Pener: Selected Works 15-21

Swoon: THE RED SKEIN

From BSA:

As we prepare to celebrate 15 years of daily publishing stories and insights about street artists from around the world here on BSA, you’ll know that there are some whose work has merited hours of writing and photography much more than others – perhaps because we first knew her work here in our neighborhood of Brooklyn long before we began this site. Following her through almost every iteration and project, we’ve interviewed her on many stages and in her studio as she continues to unfold, self-examine, recognize the damage, heal herself, give to others, and create on the street, in the studio, gallery, museum, and now on screen.

For her second bound monogram, Caledonia Curry, AKA Swoon, reviews her path as a collection of psychological and emotional journeys, or perhaps one all-encompassing voyage with concurrents and tributaries running alongside and underneath. Whether she is showing you her early work on the streets here or in Italy at a festival called FAME, her Konbit Shelter days, her Braddock Project with the church in Pennsylvania, her Perly’s Beauty Shop, her epic installations at Jeffrey Deitch, LA MOCA in Los Angeles, ICA in Boston, the Brooklyn Museum, or DIA in Detroit, we’ve reported to you on them all – so you have an idea where this new book The Red Skein will take you. It is great to see the memories and the people all pulled together here cohesively and to understand the skeins that all weave together loosely and tightly.

SWOON: The Red Skein. DRAGO Publisher. Rome, Italy. 2022

SWOON Weaves “The Red Skein”

Read more
Buff Monster is Staying Melty

Buff Monster is Staying Melty

An updated version of his initial “Stay Melty” collection a half dozen years ago, street artist Buff Monster expands and shares with you more of his studio production, paintings, sculptures, murals and ever growing industry of collectibles in this photo book, a candy-coated volume of eccentricities that capture this moment in an artists’ evolution.

Carlo McCormick’s original text perseveres here as well, most possibly because it still captures so much of the dedicated madness that is Buff, afloat upon the detritus that demarcates our late capitalism era in dirty old New York. McCormick sagely comments on Buff’s take on “a realm of magical thinking in contemporary visual culture where a very few rare artists like Buff Monster can invoke alternate realities as palpably believable and emotionally transformative.”

You can see it in his American roots; Hawaii, Los Angeles, NYC – somehow you think he may be in Japan someday as well. For those who look upon this sweetened world full of comedic episodes as perhaps smooth sailing, the author shares a hint of the scene from behind the curtain.

“All the long and tiring days in the studio are worth it when I see the imagery resonate with a growing number of supporters. I’m fully committed to my work, often sacrificing other areas of my life in pursuit of creating the best expressions of these ideas. In spite of all the frustrations and setbacks, I’m still the same optimistic guy from Hawaii, driven to make colorful, honest and uplifting work and share it with the world.”

Buff Monster. “Stay Melty”. Ginko Press.

Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 01.16.22

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.16.22

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is BSA-Animated-Banner_Images-Week-Jan-2021-V2.gif

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week.

This week we see the rubber band of our normal expectations is stretching and contracting in the city, whether you are referring to the insistant Omicron wave, the students who walked out of classes this week, the new graffiti show at Phillips, uneffective politicians, a stagflated economy, spiking gas prices, a volcano, post-war hangover, and drums of war with Russia. It’s like all the chaos of the 1970s but without blacklight posters, waterbeds or Patty Hearst. And now you can get weed legally, man. Speaking of the 70s, here’s how to Dress Like Alana Haim in Licorice Pizza.

At the moment in New York most of us are staying off the street because it is bitterly cold outside. We just had a wind chill of -1 degrees fahrenheit (-18 celcius). Not a lot of graffiti and street art goes up during this weather.

But that doesn’t stop us from going out to shoot it.

So here’s our weekly interview with the street (in New York and Miami), this week featuring 2OX Crew, Arson, ATOMS, Boy Kong, Buff Monster, Ivan Roque, Jason Naylor, Jimenez, Kern Myrtle, MrKas, Patrick Kane McGregor, and Pleks.

Jimenez. Take it! (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kern Myrtle in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atoms (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
MrKas in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ivan Roque in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Patrick Kane McGregor in Little Haiti, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Arson (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pleks (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Boy Kong in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
2OX Crew NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
For the stencil, unidentified artist. Life imitates art on the streets of NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Brooklyn, NY. January 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 12.12.21

BSA Images Of The Week: 12.12.21

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is BSA-Animated-Banner_Images-Week-Jan-2021-V2.gif

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. The weather is tropical this weekend, like we’re expecting a hurricane – ominous and windy. Maybe its our ongoing fear of runaway inflation, which Fed Chair Jerome Powell is trying to make us forget he called ‘transitory’. That should be the word of 2021. Transitory. Like fanny packs worn diagonally across the chest, or Dua Lipa.

Any great Christmas classics running through your head this year? Christmas in Hollis from Run DMC? Mele Kalikimaka? Mariah Carey? Sorry, we’re in the mood and all these lights and little wonderland displays in the windows of people’s apartments throughout Brooklyn are making us feel romantic for the season, even though most people we know are scaling back this year.

The city’s vaccination rate is 78, and the mayor is requiring more vaccine and mask mandates in private companies and schools. Let’s hope it works, brothers and sisters.

So here’s our regular interview with the street, this week including 4SomeCrew, Buff Monster, Calicho, DAK 907, DOT DOT DOT, Drecks, ERRE, MIDABI, Not Banksy, Paper Monster, Paul Richard, Praxis VGZ, Roachi, Swrve, Urban Ruben, and Zexor.

Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Calicho (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Erre (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Erre (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Praxis. Erre. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dot Dot Dot (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dot Dot Dot (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Urban Ruben in Miami for The Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)
MIDABI (photo © Jaime Rojo)
After Banksy. Unidentifed artist in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Today, December 12th is the feast of Our Lady Of Guadalupe, Patron saint of Mexico (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Today, December 12th is the feast of Our Lady Of Guadalupe, Patron saint of Mexico (photo © Jaime Rojo)
This might be an unfinished piece not singed yet. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zexor (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hot Tea. ‘PERHAPS” (photo © Jaime Rojo)
DAK907 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
4S (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ROACHI 4S (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SWRVE 4S (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Paul Richard (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Drecks (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Paper Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)
MP (photo © Jaime Rojo)
In Bitcon We Trust (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Winter 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
Wynwood Diary in Post-Covid Cautious Optimism

Wynwood Diary in Post-Covid Cautious Optimism

The street art can double as advertisements, the advertisements can double as street art, and all of it has been supplanted by fevered talk about NFTs, as if the speaker whom you’ve been accosted by invented them. For a scene that likes to consider itself to be on the bleeding edge, this is all a bit disappointingly 2017 to hear, but there you have it.

Yet we are still pleased to see that the neighborhood is popping with more fresh new creativity than last year and you again feel like new things are to be discovered around almost every corner. Oh sure, there are many cultural looters here, but that’s always been the case. It’s good to see that some new transgressive pieces, eye-opening missives, and dripping wet tags are scattered here among the permission-based walls and ghosts from December past. No one knows what the socio-economic future holds, but for now, Wynwood’s holding steady.

Here are a few shots from Jaime Rojo as he made a few laps among the streets.

Ron English. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ron English. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ron English. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sipros. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sipros. Kool Drip. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kool Drip. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lamour Supreme. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lamour Supreme. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Elle takes a moment from work to talk to her fans. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Boy Kong. Work in progress. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Apitatan from 2017. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jacaranda en flor. Wynwood, Miami 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 11.08.20

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.08.20

Did you get Covid this year? Lose your job? Get evicted?

Look in the mirror. You may be Donald Trump.

The difference is that you may be poor – but Donald Trump never was, and won’t ever be.

New York’s least favorite son has embarrassed New York, himself, his family, and the entire country on the world stage so many times in the last 4, 10, 25 years that it seems hardly worth mentioning one more time. That he was evicted this week on such a low margin is our shame. That fifty-seven percent of Americans don’t have enough cash to cover a $500 unexpected expense, 54 million people in America face food insecurity, and 30 million have no healthcare insurance at all, — these are all our national shame.

And this stuff didn’t just start in 2017. Regardless which millionaire is in or has been in the White House or which millionaires are in the presidents cabinet or which millionaire is telling you what the news is on CNBCFOXMSABCBS, your neighbors’ collective standard of living has been going down for decades and even life expectancy is going backward.

Identity politics will not put food in the cupboard or give you healthcare.

We badly need reconciliation with each other. If we keep fighting each other we are more easily divided, and conquered. And the next demagogue will be far more competent. Now with a new president-elect, America has a lot of work as we head into the Greater Depression.

When it comes to street art New York’s streets always tell us what time it is.

Here is our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Baston714, BKFoxx, Buff Monster, Consume Art, Dylan Egon, Go Paint the World, Indecline, NNR, Peachee Blue, Pure Genius, Matt Siren, Tony DePew, and Timothy Goodman.

Timothy Goodman (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Matt Siren and Tony DePew new collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Baston714 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NNR (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Consume Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BK Foxx (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Indecline – Pure Genius (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Go Paint The World (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Peachee Blue (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dylan Egon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified Artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Harry on the front porch of his home. Manhattan, NYC. November 2020. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 06.14.20

BSA Images Of The Week: 06.14.20

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week.

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.

A Brooklyn Gen Z hippie invokes grandpa’s favorite band, the Grateful Dead, to suggest that the way to solve racism is to get racists high. blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
blacklivesmatter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
No Justice. No Peace. Defund the Police. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sara Erenthal (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“Stop Gaslighting” J Kos (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Somehow, through every civic or societal chapter, Marilyn Monroe reappears in New York. Artist is called Almost Over Keep Smiling (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Even skeletons wear masks for safety. Gianni Lee (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Gianni Lee (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“No Fear. Keep Going” Mitya Pisliak (photo © Jaime Rojo)
“We will persevere!” Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Praxis (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Witz (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Techno Deco (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Skewville still kicking around. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Astoria, Queens. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 01.05.20- Wynwood Walls/Miami

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.05.20- Wynwood Walls/Miami

Welcome to Wynwood! – A little piece of chaotic urban paradise and real estate development that has blossomed into a mini-holy city for fans of murals.

The convergence of three events during the 2010’s – cheap digital camera phones, social media, and mural festivals – have created this intense and colorful tourist neighborhood in Miami during the same time. The sheer number of happy extended families, groups of friends, and couples in love all were converging on the evolving neighborhood to see art in the streets. They also take pictures with it, pose in front of it, buy refrigerator magnets of it, and listen to tour guides speak about it.

During a recent day in the Wynwood Walls compound, which is surrounded on neighboring streets with a plethora of other murals, unsanctioned Street Art, and graffiti, we saw a number of newly painted murals that have replaced others there. We also saw that a few of the old favorites have been reinvigorated. Here is just a handful of images of the action.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week from Miami, and this time featuring Dasic Fernandez, Ernesto Maranje, Faile, Michael Vasquez, Buff Monster, Futura, Dan Kitchener, and Tats Cru.

Dasic Fernandez. Detail. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dasic Fernandez. Detail. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dasic Fernandez. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ernesto Maranje. Detail. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ernesto Maranje. Detail. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ernesto Maranje. Detail. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Michael Vasquez. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Futura updated his previous mural on the same spot. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dan Kitchener. This is only a detail of his large wall. It was practically impossible to shoot this wall due to a large number of visitors in front of it. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tats Cru. Wynwood Walls 2019. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: A Collection Of PRIDE

BSA Images Of The Week: A Collection Of PRIDE

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Inn uprising in the West Village in Manhattan, we are giving the spotlight this Sunday to the many artworks that have been created by dozens of artists from all over the world in the city over the past weeks. Some of them are commissioned works and others are illegally placed on the streets, regardless of who made them or under whose sponsorship they were created or if they were placed illegally the important thing is to realize that the struggle for recognition, acceptance, and justice didn’t just happen because somebody was willing to give that to us.

It happened because a lot of people before us dared to challenged the establishment and fought to change the cultural norms, the laws in the books and ultimately the perception from the society at large. People suffered unspeakable evil and pain at the hands of unmoved gatekeepers and power brokers. People died rather than living a lie. People took to the streets to point fingers at those who stood silent when many others were dying and were deemed untouchable.

People marched to vociferate and yelled the truth and were arrested and marked undesirable. Many brothers and sisters who were much more courageous than we’ll ever be, defied a system that was designed to fail them and condemn them. Restless souls confronted our political, business, media and religious leaders right in their front yards with the truth and never backed down.

So we must pay homage to them. We have what we have because of them. We owe it to them and we need to understand that it was because of their vision, intelligence and fearless actions that the majority began to understand that without them and their help we would never get equal treatment. Equal rights. Equal opportunities.

So yes let’s celebrate, dance and sing together but let’s feel the pain of those who can’t join in on the celebrations because today still they are on the margins, hiding in the shadows, being cast out from their families and communities and even killed and tortured. Let’s remember that the job isn’t done, indeed far from it. Many countries still have in their laws harsh punishment for those that don’t conform to their established norms. Let’s keep the fight on, the light on, the courage on, the voices loud and the minds open. Happy Pride.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street (or boardwalk), this time featuring Aloha, Buff Monster, David Puck, Divine, Fox Fisher, Homo Riot, IronClad, Jason Naylor, Joe Caslin, JPO, Meres One, Nomad Clan, Ori Carino, Royce Bannon, Sam Kirk, SAMO, SeeTf, and Tatyana Fazlalizadeh.

seeTF portrait of Taylor & Lauren with Meres One’s heart shaped rainbow. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Homoriot (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Joe Caslin. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The Dusty Rebel. Hope Will Never Be Silent. In collaboration with #KeepFighting (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Aloha for Art In Ad Places in collaboration with The Dusty Rebel. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
David Puck. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Royce Bannon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jeremy Novy (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JPO. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jeremy Novy (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jess X Snow for Art In Ad Places in collaboration with The Dusty Rebel. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Homo Riot & Suriani. “Pay It No Mind”. Mural restored. The image on the center is of Marsha P. Johnson 1945 -1992. She was a founding member of Gay
Liberation Front. She was an AIDS activist with ACT UP and co-fonder
of S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries). Miss Johnson was in the forefront during the Stonewall Inn Riots fighting for gay rights when gays didn’t have any rights and they weren’t fashionable and “scrubbed clean” for their prime time on T.V. Suriani used Mr. Richard Shupper’s portrait of Ms. Johnson (pictured below) as an inspiration for his art. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Iron Clad (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Nomad Clan. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

From Tatyana about this piece: “Some of Us Did Not Die. We’re Still Here. – June Jordan, Black, bi-sexual, activist, poet and writer. .

Last fall I met with members of @griotcircle, a community of LGBTQ+ Black and brown elders for my residency with @nycchr. I got to speak with them about their lives and some things that came up were the challenges of being Black and gay in New York years ago, like having to travel in groups because queer folks would be attacked for walking alone. Or not being served at restaurants because they were also black. “

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SAMO. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sam Kirk. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ori Carino. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Meres One. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Fox Fisher for Art In Ad Places in collaboration with The Dusty Rebel. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
Buff Monster Pride : New Melty Mural in Manhattan

Buff Monster Pride : New Melty Mural in Manhattan

Just in time New York’s Pride Month events, Street Artist Buff Monster unveils a wash of color and melty characters in lower Manhattan to commemorate the 50 anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village.

Over the next month a number of artists will be painting murals across the city as part of World Pride and we hope that in some way this campaign will reach those across the world who still long to be free but who are restricted by laws, even threatened, persecuted, and killed for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, or otherwise queer.

Buff Monster. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We talked to Buff to see what he was thinking when he was painting this mural over 6 days.

“It’s nice to see that NYC is getting involved in what looks to be the biggest pride celebration ever, but there still so many places around the US that are super conservative and unwilling to be inclusive after all these years,” he tells us. “It’s a shame that equality for all is still an issue in 2019, when we have so many other serious issues in the world that need to be addressed. It seems like there are news articles every day about this administrations’ efforts to undermine the progress we’ve made; so there is no better time to paint this mural.”

Buff Monster. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: What are the thematic elements that correspond to Pride and the rights of LGBTQ people?

Buff Monster: The characters have a bunch of mixed emotions, which mirrors the long journey for equality of the LGBTQ community. Putting together a diverse set of my cartoony ice cream characters, filled with the iconic rainbow, seemed like a good way to bring a bit of levity to a very serious issue.

All in all though, I think the colors and the characters create a positive and optimistic image, in line with this year’s Pride celebration and the future of equality. I’m really happy with how it turned out and I think it’s a really nice addition to the neighborhood.

Buff Monster. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster. WorldPride Mural Project Initiative. The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. Manhattan, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With our thanks to Wayne and Rey at The LISA Project for organizing the artists for this event.

This installation is part of the World Pride Mural Project Initiative. For more information please click here.

For More about Buff Monster and his World Pride Mural please click here.


Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 02.10.19

BSA Images Of The Week: 02.10.19

BK Foxx celebrates the Chinese New Year and The Year Of The Pig in NYC Chinatown in collaboration with East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Congratulations to everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year this week – It’s Year of the Pig! Ready to stuff yourself with dumplings? Check out BK Foxx’s new mural in Chinatown heralding its arrival. Although truthfully when you look at everyone lining up to the public trough it seems like we’ve had a few consecutive years of the Pig at least. To add insult to insult, you’re probably getting a higher tax bill this year thanks to Trump n Co, because that’s how grifting works kids.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Buff Monster, Case Ma’Claim, Crash, HAKS 180, Invader, Loomit, Madsteez, Space Invader, and Speedy Graphito.

BK Foxx. how do you know what’s real anymore? East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Woody comes to play with Crash and The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Woody comes to play with Crash and The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Madsteez makes waves in the LES with ST.ART Now. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Madsteez makes waves in the LES with ST.ART Now. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Madsteez makes waves in the LES with ST.ART Now. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Case Maclaim in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ninja Invader. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Buff Monster (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Loomit for East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Treez (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HAKS 180 in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Speedy Graphito in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Chinatown, NYC. February 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 05.13.18

BSA Images Of The Week: 05.13.18


BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

A lot of action in Brooklyn these last few weeks thanks to a number of artists swinging through town for the Moniker Art Fair in Greenpoint, as well as the annual peregrination of artists who are arriving in the city that begins in earnest after the last danger of frost has passed.

If you are in NYC you may like to swing by the Quin Hotel to see the “In Bloom”group show in the lobby that opened Thursday co-curated by DK Johnston and Lori Zimmer and the “Chimera” 3-artist show at GR gallery with 1010, Ron Agam, and Nelio. We def recommend the Rammellzee show at Red Bull Arts  – many praises to Carlo McCormick and Max Wolf and team for pulling that one off. In case you missed our interview with Carlo, here it is: Rammellzee, Racing For Thunder, and Interview with Carlo McCormick

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Brusk, Buff Monster, False, finDAC, King Amsterdam, Knox, Lady Courage, Low Key Steezo666, Lunge Box, Sonny Sundancer, Swoon, and Wellnoo.

Top Image: Sunny Sundancer finishes his final mural for his #totheboneproject , a grizzly titled “Standing Tall” looking out over Greenwich Village, done in conjunction with The L.I.S.A Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville for Moniker Art Fair. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. TRAP on top. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville taking a break to gossip. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FinDac for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FinDac for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Buff Monster for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brusk for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brusk for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brusk for Moniker Art Fair in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Low Key Steezo666 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lady Courage (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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

Welinoo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

King Amsterdam (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Knoz . False (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Read more