Ferrara-based Alessio Bolognesi (Bolo) is a part of the Vida Krei Collective with two other Italian artists, Psiko and Rash. Here in Molinella last fall for the ARTU festival, BOLO went solo to paint his “Folaga Partigiana”, or “Partisan Coot.”
The huge event invites many artists to paint – one creative activity that isn’t really constricted during the pandemic – and one that draws an appreciative audience.
BOLO. “Partisan Coot”. ARTU Fest. Molinella, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Bolo’s mural focuses on a Coot – the medium-sized water that are members of the rail family, Rallidae – and who figure into regional history. He places and old water mill on the bird’s back, and since Molinella comes from the Italian word for mill, Molino, you can see where he is taking you. He places a red handkerchief around its neck in solidarity with the partisan struggles in this area, he says.
BOLO. “Partisan Coot”. ARTU Fest. Molinella, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
“I wanted to create a work that can be read at different levels” – Bolo explains – “the first impact is certainly due to the contrast between the bunch of colors in the background and the black of the coot which, I hope, is positive for those arriving in the village since the wall of the railway station on which I painted the mural is located right on one of the main access roads to the town. However, if you want to read beyond the aesthetic aspect, then you can stop and reflect on the references to the territory and history I wanted to include in the project “
BOLO. “Partisan Coot”. ARTU Fest. Molinella, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Artists who participated in the festival included Kiki Skipi, Mi Chiamo Zeta, Vesod, Fabio Petani, Paolo Psiko, Alessio Bolognesi, Ermes Bichi, Alessio Anthony, Pasa, Burla, Turbo Kidd, Luca Lorenzoni, Edo 9000, Gloria Goderecci, Adamo Morky, Luca Falesiedi, Inch the Kid, Marco Gallini, Brome 732, Rash, Mr S and Jato.
BOLO. “Partisan Coot”. ARTU Fest. Molinella, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
We have a departure for Chilean muralist INTI today – no figurative mystic signaling secret truths to you from under a hood. This is “El Tamarugo”, a colorful depiction of the native tree of Chile that thrives in arid climates, like the Atacama desert. The artist chose the piece not only to marvel at its abilities but to talk about the “devastation of resources caused by mega-mining in these lands,” he says.
INTI. “El Tamarugo” Nomad Desert/Iquique En Color Es. Iquique, Chile. (photo courtesy of the artist)
INTI. “El Tamarugo” Nomad Desert/Iquique En Color Es. Iquique, Chile. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Using pattern and palette from the indigenous cultures of his country, INTI pays tribute to the tree and the fortitude of people who resist the greedy who damage the lands and drain them of life. The Tamarugo as a symbol speaks to “The ability of this species to survive,” he says. “It has been vital to the communities that inhabit these places since ancient times, and a symbol of life and resistance.”
INTI. “El Tamarugo” Nomad Desert/Iquique En Color Es. Iquique, Chile. (photo courtesy of the artist)INTI. “El Tamarugo” Nomad Desert/Iquique En Color Es. Iquique, Chile. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Project Name: “Iquique En Color Es” Organized by @nomadesert
No More Normal is a semi-regular newsletter written by Jeff Stoneon his substack. He recently interviewed us on the topic of activist street art and we’d like to share his article here.
In May 2020, Todd Lawrence and Heather Shirey were taking pictures of graffiti focused on the coronavirus in Minneapolis when a police officer killed George Floyd just a few blocks away.
The two cultural historians from the University of St. Thomas had recently started taking pictures of the murals, graffiti, stickers and tags throughout the Twin Cities in an effort to preserve that work during a once-in-a-century pandemic. Their archiving, though, took on a new level of urgency when a police officer murdered Floyd and footage of the killing went viral, sparking anti-racist demonstrations in Minneapolis and throughout the world.
The movement had sparked the greatest proliferation of street art in recent memory, Lawrence says now, even if much of it was ephemeral, controversial and quick to be erased. At a time when the coronavirus was decimating communities of color, though, and with renewed attention on police brutality, street art represented a kind of live communication between neighbors.
“Street art, advertising and political propaganda have merged into a kind of collective funhouse mirror, instantly revealing indications about how a culture sees itself, as well as telling you about the tenor of discourse at any given time,”
“This was all happening a few blocks from my house and, when I went out in the mornings, there was art everywhere, tags everywhere and graffiti everywhere,” Lawrence told me during a recent call. “People had started to write on the boards that were up over broken windows. We realized right off the bat that this was the most art we’ve seen overnight, like instantaneously.”
An archive of all that conversation, the logic goes, will help activists, students and researchers more fully understand what it was like to live through a historic moment, particularly as many of the museums, concert halls and other hubs of shared cultural experience remained closed.
“Street art, advertising and political propaganda have merged into a kind of collective funhouse mirror, instantly revealing indications about how a culture sees itself, as well as telling you about the tenor of discourse at any given time,” Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, co-founders of Brooklyn Street Art, a New York collective told me in an email.
“Literally, the art had to leave the museum and come out into the street, as art in public spaces is the only art on display during these strange times,” says photographer Nika Kramer about this new program at the Stadtmuseum Oldenburg here in northern Germany.
We concur of course because we have seen that the exhibitions mounted on the streets of cities everywhere since last March have superseded the impact of most formal openings.
And that is the main point of “Neue Konturen” (New Contours), a temporary outside installation during January and February by the artist collective “The Hidden Art Project” and the muralists “die Jungs”. As a public interaction that is meant to engage people in the public sphere, a total of twelve artists and cultural workers will present seven artworks – including installations, performances, and video installations – all of which deal with the Corona pandemic.
“Corona and its effects are perceived differently by people. Our works address and interpret the experiences,” says Sven Müller, founder of The Hidden Art Project. “In this way, we hold up a mirror to the viewers and invite them to reflect on themselves and their own actions.”
Most museums have been struggling to get their doors open after many government restrictions closed them. Oldenburg City Museum will be closed when this exhibition closes for new construction as well as the renovation of the historic villas. But this has been a welcome program to say goodbye to the old and look forward to a new, positive future.
Dr. Steffen Wiegmann, director of the Oldenburg, says: “With the ‘New Contours’ program, we are bidding a temporary farewell to our location and offering artists the opportunity to use the museum building as a place and space for their art.”
We thank the artists for their dedication during the many challenges that are brought to creative endeavors these days. We also thank Ms. Kramer for sharing her shots of their work and preparations here with BSA readers.
“I’d like to give a shout-out to the Stadtmuseum for giving those young artists a platform to play,” says Nika.
“And props go to everybody working on this great project out in the very challenging cold weather and for being so flexible and making it happen – even though you completely had to change your concepts! Congrats! You rock! And thanks for having me! I had a blast.”
A few weeks ago we saw a populist uprising invade one of this culture’s most sacrosanct public institutions out of anger and disillusionment, among other factors; generally a repudiation of what was perceived as a corrupt cabal who ignores the will of the people. Within days the news was full of stories of the State tracking down and cracking down on the dangerous insurgents and tracing their words and actions. Alliances were suddenly severed, fingers were wildly pointed, threats were issued, straw men swiftly collapsed. An historic quake, the tremulous ground is still shifting.
This week we witnessed another social-media-fueled populist uprising that is shaking the opaquely vexing market of stock trading. Again we hear that this is an unwelcome ambush – one that is fanning the class rift between self-styled ivy-league “elites” and everyday workers (or out-of-workers) who radically barge into a space they are not welcomed in. With access to the wheel, seemingly moments later, Robin Hood puts on the brakes for traders, stemming a hemorrhage for the wealthy. Wall Street warriors are at once calling for regulations on an industry they have steadily de-regulated for decades. The financial and rhetorical upheavals apply great strain to the very foundations again. Everyone is incredulous.
We’re don’t intend to oversimplify here, but you have to admit there appear to be parallels in these stories.
In the end, we see the ripples through street art. Actually, sometimes we see the antecedents to events like these as well – but we may not recognize them as such until later. One cryptic prophet and cultural critic from the street art world, Don Leicht, passed away this week after a very trying illness. His original use of the digitalized Invader predates the high profile street artist of the same name; his comic/cutting assessments of modern hypocrisy echoed across walls of New York as early as the inception of the video game itself. A long time trusted friend and creative collaborator with street artist John Fekner, Leicht was quickly memorialized with this new installation on the street (below).
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring 1UP Crew, Bastard Bot, Below Key, CRKSHNK, De Grupo, Don Leicht, Duke A. Barnstable, Ethan Minsker, Freedom, John Fekner, Maks Art World, Nick Walker, No Sleep, and Young Samo.
“Don Leicht (October 12th, 1946-January 22nd, 2021)Don was my fierce older Libra brother, colleague and collaborator throughout almost fifty years of friendship. Don was a passionate and devout painter who played by his own Bronx cool rules; whether as a teacher in the public school system in the South Bronx, or in his hand-written personal writings or hand-cut metal, plastic or cardboard sculptural works, all visually charged with a deep meaning and social purpose. His imagery could spark a laugh or a smile; but were intended to cause a reaction within a viewer’s heart, mind and soul.
Don was a steadfast bridge to carry me through my sometimes unwieldy behavior. He would provide answers with care, understanding and positivity; whether it was in person or through a 10-minute or hour phone call. Within our conversation (and with many of his friends), he would always repeat the message as to be sure that you ‘got the message’ and would act accordingly. Don always had a simple soothing solution: ‘Get one thing done by the end of the day.’
Don was preceded in death by his wife Annie; and he will be deeply missed by his two sons, Anthony and Nicky, who helped their father throughout his overwhelming health issues, especially in this past year.
Walk on dear friend. We celebrate your life work!”
Sometimes art in the streets can be like that – a reflection of your intellectual musings and your heart’s leanings. Because he has often taken a path less traveled, photographer / doctor / activist / organizer / producer / teacher Chip Thomas (aka Jetsonorama) seamlessly slips into and out of all of his roles. In this way, he may also appear as poet.
“Believe” by Esther Belin
As every one of us has had to travel to the well again and again to find reason and inspiration to deal with the impact of the pandemic and economic depression, each of us is transformed; our muted characteristics heightened, our definitions re-examined, our priorities re-configured. Time and again it is gratifying to see how the community of artists can translate these phenomenon into art in the public sphere.
“Believe” by Esther Belin carved in steel.
Chip Thomas tells us, “In October I was invited by Kirk Strawn of Phoenix, AZ to install a collaboration piece with poet Esther Belin titled “Believe” which is found in chapter 4. The poem anticipates our post pandemic future.”
To create the book called Pandemic Chronicles, Volume 1, Chip Thomas danced with his many disciplines – sometimes producing art in the public sphere with a partner, other times collaborating on the print project, or working with patients and the medical community. Over time the number of expressions captured collect into a holistic appraisal of the moment we are in.
“I spent April to August 2020 collaborating with poets Esther Belin (Navajo), Ursual Rucker, Olmeca, Jess X Snow, Mahogany L. Browne and visual artists Titus Brooks Heagins and André Leon Gray,” he says of the resulting project. Today we feature some of the words and images that came from those collaborations. We also allow Mr. Thomas to narrate the work as he finds most appropriate.
To get your own copy of Pandemic Chronicles, Volume 1 you can go to Just Seeds https://justseeds.org/product/pandemic-chronicles-volume-1/, publisher for the hard copy. As a free online book you can also go to The Art Journal http://artjournal.collegeart.org/?p=14294)The book focuses on the early part of the pandemic and is divided into 4 chapters: 1. Response, 2. Life Goes On, 3. Loss, and 4. Hope, Redemption and Empowerment.
“The building used for the installation of ‘Believe’ was originally constructed in 1951 and was the home of Canyon Records. Besides being one of the oldest independent record labels in the music industry the label focuses on Native American music. The building at one time also housed a tv studio which produced a popular cooking show.”
“In December 2020 I was invited also by the Heard Museum to install another collaboration with Esther. This poem is titled ‘Sonnet of Lament’ which comes from chapter 3, ‘Loss’.”
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening participants at Festival Asalto 2020: 1. SOFLES MIXTAPE Vol 1. 2. SOFLES / FAST FORWARD 3. Reisha Perlmutter / RBG 4. BKFOXX / Don’t Tell Me How To Be A Girl
BSA Special Feature: Sofles Mixtape!
Two in a row from SOFLES! First, the Mixtape – graffiti, canvas, and commissions from ’15 to ’20.
SOFLES MIXTAPE Vol 1.
SOFLES / FAST FORWARD
Reisha Perlmutter / RBG
“It reminds me of so many things I believe in,” says this fine artist who made one the best ones on the streets of Brooklyn in 2020 – a half portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a recessed doorway.
“The paintings born in studio giving birth to raw paintings on the streets,” she wrote on her Instagram. “Humbled to honor this woman, and the pursuit to speak in all forms, whether through paint, or through words.”
BKFOXX / Don’t Tell Me How To Be A Girl
This mural is from a couple of summers ago, but we still dig it’s message. BKFoxx says, “This is a Public Service Announcement from BKFOXX”
Three frescoes in Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa are the latest installments of hands and arms joined with one another for the French large-scale land artist Saype.
The pieces are created in Sea Point (6000 m²), the Philippi township (800 m²) and the Langa township (800 m²) and together represent the 9th stop on his worldwide “Beyond Walls” project.
Given the crises that the world is experiencing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the historic divisions in South Africa, Saype says he chose to present a fraternal vision in these three neighborhoods of Cape Town.
Project organizers say “The current crisis reinforces Saype’s optimistic will to present these universal frescos of benevolence and togetherness,” even though he knows that it may represent, “a modest contribution to reunite a city whose historic scars have not yet healed.” Recognizing that the society is still striving to recover from the dark time of apartheid, here is an artist who is using his talents to help heal wounds.
Just finished on January 21, organizers say that the three frescoes were created using approximately 1000 liters of biodegradable pigments made out of charcoal, chalk, water and milk proteins.
This project is carried out in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in South Africa, the International Public Art Festival, Baz-Art and the City of Cape Town.
We’re honored to be interviewed by Miss Rosen in the photography magazine Blind. Here is the introduction of her article with a link to the full story.
By Miss Rosen for Blind Magazine.
“If graffiti changed anything, it would be illegal,” street artist Banksy said. Jaime Rojo and Steven Harrington of Brooklyn Street Art reflect on the relationship between street art, activism, and photography.
Though we are surrounded by omens portending the future before it occurs, many refuse to read “the writing on the wall.” The confluence of graffiti and political action dates back to the Biblical story of Belshazzar’s feast when a disembodied hand scrawled words on the palace wall in a language no one could understand. According to the Book of Daniel, the young hero deciphered the message and warned the king the great empire of Babylon was going to fall.
The parable, contained within the larger story of apocalypse, is uncannily timely given the resurgence of graffiti and street art, two of the most vital, viral forms of contemporary art. Long intertwined with photography and activism, today’s “writing on the wall” has become the medium of the proletariat in the fight against the oppressive power structures dominating everyday life around the globe.
Though we are surrounded by omens portending the future before it occurs, many refuse to read “the writing on the wall.”
Miss Rosen
Throughout history artists have taken to the streets to draw attention to the issues at stake in the hopes of radicalizing the populace. From the use of wheat-pasted posters in the 1910 Mexican Revolution and John Heartfield’s anti-Nazi and anti-Stalinist crusades of the 1930s to 1968 student uprisings in Paris and Mexico City, artists have long taken to the streets to expose the corruption of political institutions. Although their works are local and temporal, photography has played an integral role in preserving and distributing their messages far and wide.
“Humans have always had the urgency to leave their mark behind. Walls and rocks have been their canvases for millennia,” say photographer Jaime Rojo and editor Steven P. Harrington of Brooklyn Street Art. “By the 1980s, graffiti writers like Lee Quiñones routinely addressed social and political topics when using New York City subway trains as canvases. Likewise, street art in 2020 has referenced police brutality, structural racism, feelings of alienation, disgust with politicians and a vast economic chasm that is shredding the fabric of society.”
Click HERE to continue reading the full article in Blind Magazine…
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer focusing on art, photography, and culture. Her work has been published in magazines and websites including Time, Vogue, Artsy, Aperture, Dazed, and Vice, as well as books by Janette Beckman, Joe Conzo, Jane Dickson, Arlene Gottfried, and Allan Tannenbaum. As publisher of Miss Rosen Editions, she has produced books including the legendary hip-hop epic Wild Style: The Sampler by Charlie Ahearn (2007), Do Not Give Way to Evil: Photographs of the South Bronx, 1979–1987 by Lisa Kahane (2008), and New York State of Mind by Martha Cooper (2007).
Blind is a magazine that invites you to take the time to see, read and understand the language of photographers. Photography reveals not just what our senses perceive, but also how our sensibility acts: what moves us, touches us, and binds us.
Street Art Rebellion & Extinction Rebellion have created a participative poster campaign called #loveplanet. Artworks available to everyone for FREE and for many ecological fights around the world.
As we continue to explore the art of rebellion around the world and the artivists who are using their communal talents around the world to turn the tides of environmental disaster, we bring you the French organization called Street Art Rebellion, who along with the global environmental activists called Extinction Rebellion have conjured a participatory action for you. It is a participative poster campaign called #loveplanet and organizers say they would like to think that the action takes the form of a collective collage campaign in France and abroad.
Yseult YZ Digan. Street Art Rebellion #loveplanet (photo courtesy of Street Art Rebellion)
Like Extinction Rebellion each of these 48 artists believe that we have a moral responsibility to take personal action, whatever our personal politics about other issues are.
“Life on Earth is in crisis,” says the group on their website. “Our climate is changing faster than scientists predicted and the stakes are high. Biodiversity loss. Crop failure. Social and ecological collapse. Mass extinction. We are running out of time, and our governments have failed to act. Extinction Rebellion was formed to fix this.” The two groups say it is a participative poster campaign called #loveplanet, and artworks available to all and for all ecological fights around the world. The campaign is documented on the groups Facebook page since it began in September and they hope they will spread the news and inspire more artists to join in.
SETH. Street Art Rebellion #loveplanet (photo courtesy of Street Art Rebellion)
“We encourage society as a whole to continue and expand the movement.”
Today you can join in by downloading artworks donated by these artists as posters and put them up around your neighborhood, your area, your street.
Many people in New York and around the world breathed a collective sigh of relief this week when our native son from Queens got on that helicopter with his immigrant wife and A. left the White House and, B. flew to Florida.
But for this week anyway, the streets are saying let’s give Biden and Harris and this new administration the congratulations and the honeymoon they deserve. We wish them (and us) the best!
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Anna is a toy, Bastard Bot, CRKSHNK, Elfo, Jason Naylor, Lunge Box, Praxis VGZ, and Queen Andrea.
The winter city streets are frozen and foreboding right now.
It’s late January and, like many people in the Northern Hemisphere, you are venturing outside only out of necessity, or boredom with your Covid lock-down walls. With leafless trees, closed businesses, barren social calendars, and endless grey cold concrete to greet you – one wonders how nature can be so cruel.
In the face of these realities, Jennifer Rizzo at New York’s Hashimoto gallery decided to festoon the interior space with flowers and plants, curating nearly three dozen artists to create something LUSH.
Andy Decola “Temptation”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
It may seem odd to become fixated on this most traditional of subjects in the modern skew of our worldview. Somehow we cannot imagine art collectors beguiled by the natural world. But these times are crying out for new solutions, or at the very least, a salve for our psychic wounds. Hashimoto may be onto something indeed.
Aldrin Valdes “Sunny days indoor with Ingres. A neon bougie fantasy”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
We asked Jennifer Rizzo about the new show, how she conjured it, and how her garden grows.
BSA:How many flowers do you have blooming in the gallery right now?
JR: So many! Thirty-three artists came together for this show, many of them incorporating multiple flowering plants and species into their works. Then there’s the actual flowering plants in the space. I think I’d need a field guide and a few hours to take an official count of all the lovely varieties blooming in the space.
Hola Lou “Jungla de noche”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
BSA:Certainly there is a history of people collecting nature-inspired art, including landscapes and botanicals – but it hasn’t exactly been in “fashion” for some time. Is this show a reaction in some way to the current climate politically, socially, economic?
JR: In some ways it is a personal response to what we have collectively been living through this past year. We are all spending more time at home than ever, many gravitated to cooking, baking, picking up new hobbies such as musical instruments or gardening. For most urban dwellers, gardening happens on a windowsill. In times of uncertainly, I know I look for things that are comforting and in a way, familiar. Things that feel nurturing. What can be more beautiful, accessible, timeless than nature in art?
Jeff Canham “Plants Clusted”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
BSA:How do some of these works represent “modern” reworkings of this traditional theme? Can you give a couple of examples?
JR: I wanted the exhibition to present a survey of the scene, and see how contemporary artists are interpreting the subject matter, going beyond the traditional still life of a vase full of flowers, although works of that nature can be quite beautiful as well.
A few examples of artists who pushed well beyond the expected are;
Aldrin Valez’s small scale mixed media works, with figures dressed in fashion’s inspired by the prickly spikes of a cactus or the rounded petals of a flower. I love the concept of wearable art, and Aldrin’s high fashion interpretation of “make a piece inspired by the flowering species.”
Hola Lou’s abstract painting, titled Jungla de Noche. The artist’s boldly simple lines and minimal approach really pushed the concept, yet captured the rumbling energy of a jungle alive at night.
Jeff Canham’s whimsical cacti, housed in actual terra cotta planters. They are super playful, and have a flattened two dimensional quality even though they are three dimensional sculptures.
MC Marquis hand painted typography on vintage floral plates. The artist has been working on her plate series for a few years now, merging the traditional vintage plates with phrases that are topical and relatable.
MC Marquis “Where is my mind”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)Bianca Nemelx “Couldn’t find the forest, so I grew onw of my own”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)Jeremiah Jenkins “Blooms”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)Karen Lederer “Watermelon Tulips”. Lush/Hashimoto Contemporary. (photo courtesy of the gallery)
LUSH Hashimoto Contemporary, New York curated by Jennifer Rizzo January 16th – February 6th, 2021
For the exhibition, the gallery has teamed up with garden design company Primrose Designs NYC, led by Kris & Elena Nuzzi, who created the botanical installation within the gallery space.
The exhibition will be on view from Saturday, January 16th to Saturday, February 6th. The gallery will be open by appointment only.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
