All posts tagged: Jaime Rojo

Fun Friday 12.16.11

 

1. Play a New Holiday Video Game from Chris Uphues – “Holiday Jingle Rocket”
2. “Rezolution”, a group show at Hive Gallery Tonight (Phoenix, AZ)
3. “Paranormal Hallucinations” at Pandemic (Brooklyn, Yo!) (Saturday)
4. David Choe and DVS1 for Nuart 11 (VIDEO)
5. “Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (Video)
6. VINZ FEEL FREE. Don’t be afraid. Feel Free (VIDEO)

Play a New Holiday Video Game from Chris Uphues – “Holiday Jingle Rocket”

Street Artist Chris Uphues uses his signature characters to create this very entertaining game for you to play with while chugging eggnog and rum today as you drink and drive at your keyboard. Try to keep your sled flying over the houses without being hit by giant blobs of snow! It’s a winter blast!

Make sure to click on the link below to play the game:

http://www.megadoug.com/xmasgame/

“Rezolution”, a group show at Hive Gallery Tonight (Phoenix, AZ)

Chip Thomas AKA Jetsonorama and a number of other artists open today in a group show that is getting a lot of pre-buzz here and on Twitter and FB. It should be a great scene tonight at The Hive.

Chip Thomas and Breeze. (photo © Chip Thomas)

For further information regarding this show click here

“Paranormal Hallucinations” at Pandemic (Brooklyn, Yo!) (Saturday)

Pandemic Gallery has a new show “Paranormal Hallucinations” opening Saturday. including, among others, Deuce 7, Swampy and Egyptian Jason.

Swampy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A very fun group show to end out the season before everybody goes into the holiday haze, featuring some unsung gems in the Street Art and graffiti scene, as well as others, including CHARLIE MARKS  R.I.P, LLEW  payote, Deuce Seven, Egyptian jason, Matt CRABE, Josh and Amy Shandick, Mikey Big Breakfast, Conrad Carlson, G II, Ryan C. Doyle, Mikey I.T., Tamara Santibanez, Othello Gervacio, Mike. P, and Swampy (above).

For further information regarding this show click here

David Choe and DVS1 for Nuart 11 (VIDEO)

David Choe and DVS1 (Photo Courtesy of Nuart11 © Mookie Mooks)

 

“Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (Video)

It’s been an excellent year for Street Art all over the world and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing a lot of great stuff from big names to the anonymous. Eye popping, brain-teasing, challenging, entertaining, aspirational and inspirational – it’s all happening at once.  We’ve been walking the streets, meeting the artists, going to shows, curating shows, speaking to audiences, providing walls, and asking questions. It ebbs and flows but never stays the same. With the rise of the Occupy movement this autumn, we’re already seeing an uptick in the number of people taking their messages to the street with a renewed intensity.

VINZ FEEL FREE. Don’t be afraid. Feel Free (VIDEO)

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Shepard Fairey: “The Protester”

The Huffington Post ARTS interviews El Angelino Shepard Fairey on “The Protester”, his cover image for TIME Magazine’s issue Person of the Year.

“Time Magazine released its annual ‘Person of the Year’ issue, with ‘The Protestor’ earning the coveted title as well as the magazine cover.

The glory of the win is shared amongst protestors worldwide, including those involved in the Arab Spring, Russian election rallies and, of course, Occupy Wall Street. Activist street artist Shepard Fairey, of Obama’s HOPE poster fame, designed the cover image. HuffPost Arts asked Fairey some questions about the challenge of creating the emblem…” Click on the link below to read the full interview on Huffington Post ARTS:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/14/shepard-fairey-designs-ti_n_1149680.html?ref=arts

 

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Purth in Minneapolis, “What Kind of Woman Are You?”

Street Artist Purth relies on her intuition when scouting walls to spread out on, favoring wide open spaces and sweeping vistas, in basically unknown or forgotten locations.  Deeply connected to her pieces, her imaginative backstories for them, and the process of creating, Purth confidently claims space on a wall without necessarily covering every inch. In this way, the work is as much about location and history as it is about the new work.

Purth in North Minneapolis, Minnesota (photo © Greg Carideo)

While in Minnesota last week Purth completed a 12 foot by 60 foot wall on the border of North Minneapolis with a piece she calls “What Kind of Woman Are You?”.  The large distorted figure lies on her side with a small constellation of thoughts and dreams and energy bursts dragging along behind her. Purth already had a story in mind for the figure, but only after she had started the piece did she learn that this location was the site of a huge number of homicides, and her figure faced an old gas station with and ignominious past.

Purth (photo © Greg Carideo)

Purth gives BSA more background to these somewhat haunting photographs here:

“Minneapolis has always been an important location for me. Its creative voice has influenced me greatly over the years. Many little details fell into place last month and I was able to complete this work on the fly with the help of a close friend and the support of a few locals.

The piece was an idea I had a while back that developed into much more once I had found the location. That’s usually how it goes … the work takes on its own form based on where it makes its home.

This wall was amazing too. I learned a day or two after I had begun painting that it sits directly across from “The Old Colony” gas station, this strange spot bordering North Minneapolis. It has an enormous glowing bee hive in front of it and the reputation of being the site for the most homicides in the area.

She faces it directly and I think knowing that made the work, or my presence there, feel more severe. Feels as though she growing into her own now, like she’ll bear witness to more than I can even imagine … or hopefully earn her wings (filthy, soot covered wings, but wings none the less). I guess there is something haunting and mysterious about this one, even to me.”

Purth (photo © Greg Carideo)

Purth (photo © Purth)

Purth (photo © Purth)

Purth (photo © Greg Carideo)

The Minneapolis sky with the obscured Purth wall to the left. (photo © Greg Carideo)

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“Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (VIDEO)

It’s been an excellent year for Street Art all over the world and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing a lot of great stuff from big names to the anonymous. Eye popping, brain-teasing, challenging, entertaining, aspirational and inspirational – it’s all happening at once.  We’ve been walking the streets, meeting the artists, going to shows, curating shows, speaking to audiences, providing walls, and asking questions. It ebbs and flows but never stays the same. With the rise of the Occupy movement this autumn, we’re already seeing an uptick in the number of people taking their messages to the street with a renewed intensity.

Left to Right: Shepard Fairey in Manhattan, D*Face in LA, Ludo in Chicago, JR in the Bronx, Barry McGee at LAMoCA, Mosstika in Brooklyn. All photos © Jaime Rojo

Let’s take a look at some of our favorite shots, whether from a rooftop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a block-long wall in Miami, or the “Art in the Streets” show at LA MoCA. As you sample this eye-candy platter, dig the staccato soundtrack made of sounds culled from Brooklyn’s streets by electro duo Javelin, who spent a day in the Red Hook neighborhood collecting sounds and then mixed them in the back of their car. This is the kind of D.I.Y. ingenuity that is fueling the fire in artists neighborhoods all over the world, with people taking their stories and skills directly to the streets. With Javelin as the perfect auditory partner here’s 90 shots by photographer Jaime Rojo from 2011.

The scenes and scenester included here: 5 Pointz, 907Crew, Sadue, Gen2, Oze108, Droid, Goya, UFO, Aakash Nihalini, No Touching Ground, Aiko, Martha Cooper, Anthony Lister, Boom, INSA, Miami, Primary Flight, LA Freewalls, Los Angeles, Kim West, Kopye, L.E.T., Purth, Lisa Enxing, Baltimore, Banksy, LA MoCA, Barry McGee, Blek le Rat, Broken Crow, Albany Living Walls, Chris Stain, Billy Mode, AD HOC Arts, Chris Uphues, Monster Island, Wynwood Walls, Creepy, Brooklyn Street Art, Jaime Rojo, Steven P. Harrington, Dabs & Myla, How & Nosm, Vhils, Dain, D*Face, ECB, El Sol 25, Elbow Toe, EMA, The London Police, Kid Acne, Will Barras, Enzo & Nio, Faile, Bast, Faith 47, Gaia Clown Soldier, General Howe, Hellbent, Herakut, Invader, JA JA, Jaz, Cern, Joe Iurato, Welling Court, John Baldessari, JR, Kenny Scharf, Knitta Please!, LMA Cru, LUDO, Mosstika, ND’A, IRGH, Labrona, Overunder, Nick Walker, NohjColey, Nomade, Occupy Wall Street, Os Gemeos, Veng, Chris, RWK, QRST, Radical!, Rambo, Retna, Gifted, Demon Slayers, Read, Booker, Read More Books, ROA, Shepard Fairey, Shin Shin, Wing, Skewville, Specter, Swampy, Sweet Toof, Swoon, Toofly, Various & Gould, VHILS, XAM, YOK, Pantheon Projects

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Fintan Switzer and “Silver Inheritance” in Ireland

Fine artist Fintan Switzer has been leaving his studio and going outside recently to experience the fresh air and to explore what it’s like to paint walls. From Michaelangelo to the erotic wall painting of Pompei to the great Latin American muralists of the the last century like social realist David Alfaro Siqueiros and the firebrand Diego Riveira, we have been addressing issues of class and social station with paintings on walls for a very long time. With this in mind, Switzer has been creating his social themed realist oil portraits that appear to break free from the walls of Killarney in the south of Ireland.

Fintan Switzer (photo © Fintan Switzer)

Mr. Switzer talked briefly to BSA and explained his interest in “Silver Inheritance,” his most recent foray into the outdoors.

“Indoors you are confined to the dimensions of your canvas and your studio. Painting outdoors offers you the freedom to use the surroundings and merge your piece with the setting.

The title ‘Silver Inheritance’ is a play on the expression ‘born with a silver spoon’, I don’t know if the expression is used much in the States but it means to be born into a wealthy family. The character in the painting is working class, a labourer condemned to a life of hard work and low wages, living on the margins of society. His inheritance is his family’s social class, lifestyle and a future of unrelenting marginal existence”

Fintan Switzer (photo © Fintan Switzer)

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Anthony Lister Goes Ape Crazy on the Barracuda Wall

Yo, Whassup Chimp?

Under cover of night Street Artist Anthony Lister just monkeyed around with some cans on a wall in LA to do his own interpretation of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. The wall on Melrose is on the building “De La Barracuda”, “a well known wall that gets a lot of Street Artists on it,” remarks photographer Birdman.  Mr. Lister says he likes the job because it gives him a challenge. As you can see, he’s an excellent choice by wall producer Roger Gastman to interpret this modern jungle scene; a story with enough psychological layers and undertones to make any social scientist go apesh*t.

Five stars to photographer Birdman for showing these cool shots for BSA readers.

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Anthony Lister (photo © Birdman)

Gastman and Lister cross Melrose to get a good look. (photo © Birdman)

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Images of the Week 12.11.11

Thank you for all the excellent and splendid and wacky and warm submissions to the BSA Holiday Giveaway this week. BSA just has the smartest, knowledgeable, talented  and most badass readers! Our panel of judges will be casting their votes for the five winners soon and we’ll be revealing the winners during “12 Wishes for ’12” at the end of the month. A sincere “Thank You” to everybody (from everywhere!) who took the time and made the effort to share their personal wish and image. We value each and every one.

The bachanal of Street Art known as Art Basel washed like a typhoon over walls of Miami last weekend and more Street Artists than ever put up work before heading home to locations around the globe. By all accounts it was an overwhelming experience for many and artists, fans, photographers, and promoters are taking a little time to consider the experience and think about the ramifications for Street Arts’ direction. You may have seen a couple of postings we had as the work was going up last weekend here and here.

This week we show you a handful of somewhat reflective shots from the streets of Miami (and some from New York too). With time for consideration and after letting the aerosol settle, BSA will give you a huge overview of the whole Miami Street Art scene as it stands on January 2nd.

For now, here is our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Dain, Gaia, Hargo, Love Me, Need You, Pez, La Pandilla, Rone, and Spencer Keeton Cunningham. Photographs by Jaime Rojo and Geoff Hargadon.

Love Me (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Need You (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. This collage was made out of two different wheat pastes by two different artists at two different times. A side bust. The B&W photos were superimposed on the original wheat paste (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

Here are Geoff Hargadon’s images for BSA from his adventures in Miami for Art Basel 2011.

Rone. This is a fine example of the spontaneous and unsanctioned art that takes place on the streets of Miami during the four days of Art Basel.  (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Gaia for Wynwood Walls  (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Spencer Keeton Cunningham paints next to Ben Eine.  (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

CFYW (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Pez (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

La Pandilla (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Geoff caught this cru from Atlanta working in the middle of the night. The painting is a tribute to a friend of theirs who passed away not long ago. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Fun Friday 12.09.11

1. Last Day to Enter “BSA Holiday Giveaway”
2. “Tokyo Tattoo 1970” Martha Cooper and Aiko in Brooklyn
3.  Robots Will Kill & Friends Tonight in Brooklyn
4.  Photographer Birdman Show tonight in Los Angeles
5.  C215 at Shooting Gallery (SF)
6.  Geoff Hargadon “Dealers Protected” (Boston)
7. GAIA Saturday @ Irvine Contemporary (DC)
8. “Home For The Holidays”  group show at Klughaus Gallery
9. DD$ show “Everything Popular is Wrong” at Lab Art
10. Nick Walker’s Large Mural, “See No Evil”, in Bristol (VIDEO)
11. The Installation of David Byrne’s Giant Globe under the High Line in NYC (VIDEO)

Last Day to Enter “BSA Holiday Giveaway”

Folks today is the last day we are accepting submissions for our Holiday Giveaway Contest “12 Wishes for 2012”. Hurry! The prizes are great plus you can be featured on BSA along some great artists working today on the streets.

“Tokyo Tattoo 1970” Martha Cooper and Aiko in Brooklyn

Tonight at Urban Folk Art Gallery/Brooklyn Tattoo, a dual show of photographer and artist and friends.

Urban Folk Art© Gallery is pleased to present the the art installation and book release celebration for Martha Cooper’s latest book ‘Tokyo Tattoo 1970’ by Dokument Press.

Martha Cooper will be exhibiting photos from her book, and Aiko, internationally renowned stencil artist will be displaying work inspired by Martha’s work directly related to the book.

For Further information regarding this show click here

Robots Will Kill & Friends Tonight in Brooklyn

Mighty Tanaka ‘s new show “ROBOTS WILL KILL & FRIENDS” brings together an eclectic group of artist from different disciplines. The gallery is also celebrating 2 years.

Veng, Chris of RWK shown here with Overunder, (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here

Photographer Birdman Show tonight in Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, esteemed photographer and BSA collaborator Bryan Mier AKA Birdman’s show “Wish You Were Here” opens today at Novel Cafe. Wish we were there!

Dabs and Myla in LA (photo © Birdman)

Birdman’s exhibition, “Wish You Were Here,” will feature his adventures in the art world. Including shots on roof tops, night sessions and rare images of artists up close working on murals.

For further information regarding this show click here

C215 at Shooting Gallery (SF)

French Artist C215 new solo show “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” opens on Saturday at the Shooting Gallery in San Francisco.

C215 at his studio (photo © C215)

Christian Guémy, also known as C215, is a Parisian street artist known for his intensely emotive stencil portraits. C215 began painting six years ago, and has since brought his work all over the world, from New Dehli to Istanbul.

For further information regarding this show click here

Geoff Hargadon “Dealers Protected” (Boston)

Geoff Hargadon invites you to the reception of his solo show “Dealers Protected” on Saturday at the Gallery Kayafas in Boston.

 

Geoff Hargadon. CFYW Miami 2010 (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

For further information regarding this show click here

GAIA Saturday @ Irvine Contemporary (DC)

Gaia’s “Urban Interventions” solo show with the Irvine Contemporary Gallery in Washington, DC opens on December 10.

Gaia (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here

Also Happening this weekend:

“Home For The Holidays” A group show that includes works by Faust, Moody and Katsu among other artists at the Klughaus Gallery in Manhattan. Click here for more details.

DD$ show “Everything Popular is Wrong” at Lab Art in Los Angeles. Click here for more details.

Nick Walker’s Large Mural, “See No Evil”, in Bristol (VIDEO)

 

The Installation of David Byrne’s Giant Globe under the High Line in NYC (VIDEO)

 

Mc Fitti – Strap on Traumschiff (VIDEO)

Have no idea what he is rapping about but there are some sick tricks here.

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The City of Angels AND Murals Considers a New Approach

“Original Art Murals comprise a unique medium of expression that serves the public interest.”

Shocking as that may sound, it is just one of the statements contained in a proposed new mural ordinance in Los Angeles.  We don’t usually dip our toes into policy discussions regarding public art, preferring to concentrate on the art and the artist and where we’re headed from that perspective. But it has been a bit of high theater to see the machinations at work in a city prized for it’s history of public murals as official policy has wiped out perfectly legal community approved artworks and secured the rights of corporations to blight neighborhoods with billboard messages to buy goods and services.

​”For months, the L.A. Department of City Planning has been teasing street artists with announcements of a new ordinance that would lift the current ban on all pre-approved murals on private property in Los Angeles,” says the LA Weekly Blog yesterday, as they take the council of the celebrated local graffiti artist Saber and his community arts activist buddy Daniel Lahoda, among others, to pound out an agreement that puts public art back in peoples hands.  Without talking about vandalism, the current laws on the books actually prevent a property owner from commissioning artwork on their own buildings. The new policy will re-classify murals as “original works of art”  as long as they are not shilling for a business. Also, puppies are cute.  And boys like girls in short skirts. And the Pope is Catholic.

Below a selection of images from the murals in the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles as part of the LA Freewalls Project spearheaded by Daniel Lahoda.

JR (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Lister (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Saber and Augustine Kofie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Well Heeled Street Artist ELV : Shoes OOOOO  La La

Well Heeled Street Artist ELV : Shoes OOOOO La La

Then I met an Englishman.
“Oh,” he said.
“Won’t you walk up and down my spine,
It makes me feel strangely alive.”
I said ‘In these shoes?’
I doubt you’d survive.”

In these Shoes ~ Kirsty MacColl

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Olalalamode”, a project by Street Artist ELV, consists of a closet full of hand painted wheat pastes glorifying the most psychologically laden ladies accessory, the shoe.  These eclectic shoes started to appear on Bushwick streets late summer, so we know they must be for Spring 2012. Garish, oddly elongated, and elevated beyond sense, this catch-me collection might not attract the eye of Imelda Marcos but Lady Gaga could certainly give them a lick. In a bold simple cartoon sketch style, the vividly rendered pumps in bright colors are marching and preening in better alleyways and empty lots everywhere.

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fancy shoes are not usual for the Street Art scene but many a man has been transfixed by a woman in some hot high heels, hoping to have them scattered across his living room floor, or elsewhere in his apartment. Mickey Rooney didn’t have that kind of fortune. “I buy women shoes and they use them to walk away from me.”

Certain women love them more – if for different reasons. That whinneying clothes horse Carrie Bradshaw once supposedly blew 40K on shoes, but no one ever believed the characters on that show actually existed. Madame Marcos, who did exist, lustily defended herself against Philipinos clamoring for her well-coiffed head by exclaiming, “I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty”. And don’t forget Condi Rice, the Secretary of State and accomplished pianist who strutted up 5th Avenue shoe shopping and later catching a Broadway show while Hurricane Katrina ravaged the south. Clearly, the list of people who are driven crazy by shoes is endless. ELV is here for you.

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ELV (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Night Walk : The High Line Park in New York City

Every day you are rushing to jobs or gigs or interviews for jobs or gigs, negotiating the path through the rough loud place you love, New York. It’s tempting to stay inside your apartment or a bar at night – especially when the sun goes down so early, but you can actually have a great time for free if you take a walk along one of Manhattans newest thoroughfares. The High Line Park has been open since 2009 and after many visits we’ve decided that this vast path of urban infrastructure is one of the most successful of the city’s public works. It is a work of art, if you can excuse a bit of gushing. And it’s work of art you can sit inside – or stroll, or jog, or dance, or steal a kiss. Not hog-kissing, don’t get carried away you kids!

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Viewed from the High Line at night, the city is close enough to touch but still out of reach, the winding path of the former shipping rail guides you through canyons of warehouses that loom to both sides and allow you a look inside. Distant buildings form mountain peaks in fluorescent reds and greens and blues jutting behind the buildings in your foreground, holding up the sky with triumphal color and illuminating a diorama of the city before you while the Hudson River glistens alongside. You have a front seat to see architectural design of many schools and gaze down upon the creeks and streams of lights below without worrying about dodging traffic or crossing a street – or paying the high rent this island demands now.

In summer months the landscaping is tamed-wild lushness, with a wide variety of plants, tree, flowers, and tall waving grasses.  Even in the off-season, the burnished hues and rusty textures bouncing in the cold breeze make sure the natural element takes a central role in a city which celebrates the man-made. The welcoming handsome furniture is integrated along the walkway to accompany, support, and even to facilitate lounging. What is amazing is how you can be firmly in the middle of an urban footprint and yet experience a sense of being in a serene environment.

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

On a recent evening there were few people walking and sitting in the hidden niches while we strolled up the High Line. People talk, gaze, and of course, take photos. In a semi enclosed underside of a warehouse a lone cello player filled the air with an achingly rich timber that reverberated directly through us like waves of amber.  Just one guy playing his instrument. Where are we, on top of the world? Yes, it’s New York again.

John Baldessari “The First $100,000 I Ever Made”. (photo © Jaime Rojo).

From the High Line Web Site : “High Line Art, presented by Friends of the High Line, today unveiled The First $100,000 I Ever Made, a new work created by legendary artist John Baldessari for the 25-by-75 foot billboard next to the High Line on 10th Avenue at West 18th Street. This is the first of three works to be presented as part of a new series called HIGH LINE BILLBOARD, thanks to the generous support of Edison Properties, the owner of the property on which the billboard stands. The First $100,000 I Ever Made will remain on view until Friday, December 30, 2011.”

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No Sleep AKA Werds. The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The High Line Park (photo © Jaime Rojo)

To read BSA feature on the High Line Park at day time click here

To learn more about the High Line Park and how to help click here

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Cryptik “Sacred Syllables” at Hold Up Art

BSA contributor Carlos Gonzalez recently checked out the golden hued installations by Street Artist Cryptik at Hold Up Art in LA. Here he shares with us his observations and photos.

Street Artist Cryptik just opened with a new solo show, “Sacred Syllables” at Hold Up Art Gallery, located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Little Tokyo. The enigmatic, L.A.-based artist has been hitting the streets of for some time with his signature style which includes references to Eastern, Buddhist and Hindu religions. Unlike other street artists, Cryptik’s art holds a spiritual tone that is rarely seen in a city like Los Angeles. Without being overtly religious, the work speaks to those who are looking for more than the flashy, bright palette you might normally associate with Street Art.

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

This exhibit is an perfect example of this mindset. As soon as you enter the gallery space, you feel like you are entering an alley somewhere in India or a market in a distant part of Asia. Still, Cryptik’s artwork is the main attraction. Utilizing a variety of materials ranging from candles to wood, the collection of work gracefully walks a thin line between street art and spiritual text. The style incorporates a precise use of Sanskrit lettering which he has perfected through out the years, and his lines seem flawless as letters create circular patterns inside the confines of a wooden frame. Without jumping at you, screaming for attention, Cryptik’s work rewards a careful observer.

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

Cryptik (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

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See more images by Carlos Gonzalez on his Flickr.

 

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