All posts tagged: Kashink

Sandra Hoj Spots Kashink in Paris : 14 from 2014

December 22, 2014 Artists

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Happy Holidays to all of you charming and sparkling BSA readers!
It’s been a raucous sleigh ride with you and we thank everyone most sincerely for your support and participation this year. A sort of tradition for us at the end of this December we are marking the year with “14 from 2014”. We asked photographers and curators from various perspectives of street culture to share a gem with all of us that means something to them. Join us as we collectively say goodbye and thank you to ’14.

Copenhagen blogger, writer, and photographer Sandra Hoj is the right person to give you a healthy overview of a city, and an eye for detail. A natural preservationist, Hoj feels protective of sculptures and edifices and fights to keep trees in the cityscape – and loves to visit and re-visit her favorite Street Art pieces. All tolled she estimates that she has over 40,000 images of Street Art and architectural details archived. Today she shares with BSA readers one her favorite shots of Street Art from a trip to Paris in 2014.

“This was a big moment in Paris: my first Kashink spotting. She blew my mind, that one.”

~ Sandra Hoj

Kashink and Izo. Paris, France. (Photo © Sandra Hoj)

See Sandra’s piece on Brooklyn Street Art from April 2014 Finding Peace In Copenhagen with Sculpting Street Artist Tejn

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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The 2014 BSA Year in Images (VIDEO)

December 17, 2014 Artists

Here it is! Our 2014 wrap up featuring favorite images of the year by Brooklyn Street Art’s Jaime Rojo.

Before our video roundup below here is the Street Art photographer’s favorite of the year: Ask Jaime Rojo, our illustrious editor of photography at BrooklynStreetArt.com , who takes thousands of photographs each year, to respond to a simple question: What was your favorite photo of the year?

For 2014 he has swift response: “The Kara Walker.” Not the art, but the artist posed before her art.

It was an impromptu portrait that he took with his iPhone when the artist unveiled her enormous sculpture at a small gathering of neighborhood locals and former workers of the Domino Sugar Factory, informal enough that Rojo didn’t even have his professional camera with him. Aside from aesthetics for him it was the fact that the artist herself was so approachable and agreed to pose for him briefly, even allowing him to direct her just a bit to get the shot, that made an imprint on his mind and heart.

Of course the sculpture is gone and so is the building that was housing it for that matter – the large-scale public project presented by Creative Time was occupying this space as the last act before its destruction. The artist herself has probably moved on to her next kick-ass project after thousands of people stood in long lines along Kent Avenue in Brooklyn to see her astounding indictment-tribute-bereavement-celebration in a hulking warehouse through May and June.

But the photo remains.

And Rojo feels very lucky to have been able to seize that quintessential New York moment: the artist in silhouette before her own image, her own work, her own outward expression of an inner world.

Jaime’s personal favorite of 2014; The site specific Kara Walker in front of her site specific installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in May of this year in Brooklyn. Artist Kara Walker. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

Now, for the Video

And our holiday gift to you for five years running, here is the brand new video of favorite images of graffiti and Street Art by Brooklyn Street Art’s editor of photography, Jaime Rojo.

Of a few thousand these 129 shots fly smoothly by as a visual survey; a cross section of graffiti, street art, and the resurgence of mural art that continues to take hold. As usual, all manner of art-making is on display as you wander your city’s streets. Also as usual, we prefer the autonomous free-range unsolicited, unsanctioned type of Street Art because that’s what got us hooked as artists, and ultimately, it is the only truly uncensored stuff that has a free spirit and can hold a mirror up to us. But you have to hand it to the muralists – whether “permissioned” or outright commissioned, some people are challenging themselves creatively and still taking risks.

Once again these artists gave us impetus to continue doing what we are doing and above all made us love this city even more and the art and the artists who produce it. We hope you dig it too.

Brooklyn Street Art 2014 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo includes the following artists;

2Face, Aakash Nihalani, Adam Fujita, Adnate, Amanda Marie, Andreco, Anthony Lister, Arnaud Montagard, Art is Trash, Ben Eine, Bikismo, Blek Le Rat, Bly, Cake, Caratoes, Case Maclaim, Chris Stain, Cleon Peterson, Clet, Clint Mario, Col Wallnuts, Conor Harrington, Cost, Crummy Gummy, Dain, Dal East, Damien Mitchell, Damon, Dan Witz, Dasic, Don’t Fret, Dot Dot Dot, Eelco Virus, EKG, El Sol 25, Elbow Toe, Etam Cru, Ewok, Faring Purth, Gilf!, Hama Woods, Hellbent, Hiss, Hitnes, HOTTEA, Icy & Sot, Jana & JS, Jason Coatney, Jef Aerosol, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, JR, Judith Supine, Kaff Eine, Kashink, Krakenkhan, Kuma, Li Hill, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Mais Menos, Mark Samsonovich, Martha Cooper, Maya Hayuk, Miss Me, Mover, Mr. Prvrt, Mr. Toll, Myth, Nenao, Nick Walker, Olek, Paper Skaters, Patty Smith, Pixel Pancho, Poster Boy, Pyramid Oracle, QRST, Rubin 415, Sampsa, Sean 9 Lugo, Sebs, Sego, Seher One, Sexer, Skewville, SmitheOne, Sober, Sonni, Specter, SpY, Square, Stay Fly, Stik, Stikki Peaches, Stikman, Swil, Swoon, Texas, Tilt, Tracy168, Trashbird, Vexta, Vinz, Willow, Wolfe Works, Wolftits, X-O, Zed1.

Read more about Kara Walker in our posting “Kara Walker And Her Sugar Sphinx At The Old Domino Factory”.

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

Kashink Uses Hairy Four-Eyed Men to Examine Gender Assumptions

July 30, 2014 Artists, Interview

The international Street Art scene boasts a small percentage of women artists and KASHINK may perplex even that statistic with her mustache. It’s the same mustache you’ll see on many of her big hairy four-eyed men that she paints in Europe and North America that look like “badass yet sensitive gangsters,” as she describes them. Similarly, her own mustache is drawn on with a marker or paint brush. It’s the absurdity of gender role-play that she likes to examine in her colorful comical way and the Paris-based KASHINK says she considers her street art to be an expression of activism that questions it.

Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With the same vivid colors and absurdly intelligent wit that Gilbert and George might use to make fun, KASHINK takes her paintings into a folkloric milieu and adds superhero flatness, depicting her (mostly) men as probably well-meaning dolts, if also conflicted and sensitive. As with most comedy there may be a critique as well.

As an activist the artist has lent her art and her support in a very big and public way to the cause of Marriage Equality in France, where hundreds of thousands of angry anti-gay marchers thronged through the streets to stop its passage. With characteristic wittiness (and fortitude) KASHINK created nearly 200 murals depicting many a gay couple gazing dreamily at one another over a big ornate wedding cake; a series she humorously named “50 Cakes of Gay”.

Kashink. ActUp. Paris, France. (photo © Kashink)

Recently in New York, a number of her men showed up on walls on the street, and we had the opportunity ask her some questions about optimism, gender conventions, the French love for old skool graffiti and hip-hop, and those two black marker lines above her lip.

Brooklyn Street Art: Your characters have similarities to illustrations found in comic books from the thick lines and bold colors to multiple eyes and the comedic sense they have. Even your name “KASHINK” has a comic book sound. Did you hide in the attic with a stack of comic books when you were a child?
KASHINK: KASHINK is definitely onomatopoeic; I’ve always been fond of comic books. In France there is was always a really big scene and as a teenager I was also into American superheroes as well.

I still buy comics and illustrations and I have a lot of comic book artist friends. I recently painted a wall with JANO, an old school artist who was very famous in France the 80’s; I loved his work when I was a kid. It was pretty cool to teach him how to spray-paint!

I guess I got inspired a lot by all these, but I also get inspired by traditional crafts from around the world. These thick lines and bright colors are quite similar in many different countries.

Kashink. Paris, France 2011. (photo © Kashink)

Brooklyn Street Art: Speaking of gender, most (all?) of the characters you create are male, and many have a mustache like yours. Societies have experimented with the fluidity of gender and roles over history. Are you continuing that experimentation?
KASHINK: When I started painting walls, I quickly decided not to paint women. It seemed really complicated to me to paint a female character free from any kind of aesthetic codes. I also noticed that there was a strong tradition of female street artists painting really sexy female characters, and I didn’t relate to that trend, I wanted to do something more personal somehow.

I’ve always been interested in the absurdity of gender representation. Since I was a kid I always felt like a tomboy but I also loved to get dolled up and look nice, in my own style.

I’m very interested in the amazing diversity of humanity, and how easy it is to break the codes in a fun way. The characters I paint are mostly male, preferably fat and hairy. Even though they look quite manly I like to put them in unexpected situations where they would express their feelings. They fall in love, they call their mom on the phone, they are sad or scared. It’s just a funnier and more meaningful experimentation than another representation of a tough female.

Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: There are some references to queer culture in your art. Would you describe any of your work as “activist” in nature? Or are you just depicting life/imagination?
KASHINK: I’m an activist, not only as an artist but also as a person. This moustache I wear every day is the best example I guess. I think it’s fun to underline the absurdity of traditional female make up. Two black symmetrical lines as eyebrows or eyeliner are perfectly accepted, but the same lines 4 inches lower on the same face are not. I also like the idea of playing with this very old school typically male ornamentation code.

My personal life and my tendency to paint sensitive big hairy guys also led me to paint gay men in obvious situations. In 2011 I even had a solo show I called GAYFFITI. Then I worked with Act Up for a little bit and started painting walls related to gay marriage and equal rights. In December 2012, the first protests started in Paris. It was very shocking to see all this aggressiveness and all the energy some people were ready to put in order for other people not to have rights, especially in France.

I thought it was interesting to start using a strong symbol that anybody could understand and relate to positive memories. Everybody loves cake. So I started my project “50 Cakes of Gay”. At first I thought I’d paint only 50 in total but I’ve been painting more than 200 now in 9 different countries, and there are more to come!

Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Where did the text come from that appears on the new series of hand painted posters you put up in Brooklyn recently? News headlines? Songs? Stories?
KASHINK: I’ve been adding text to my characters for a while. Especially on these paste-ups I call “The Johns”. I like the idea of starting a story and encouraging people’s imagination. These phrases could be interpreted in many ways; they could all be part of very different stories, like a part of a comic book. Sometimes they also are lyrics of my favorite songs, depending on my inspiration.

I’ve been wheat pasting those for a little while, and when I visit a different country I write the text in the local language. I did some in French of course, but also some in Polish, Greek, Arabic and Basque for example.

Kashink with Lister hovering. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Why is it valuable to put art in public spaces?
KASHINK: Well I guess we need to keep in mind it’s not valuable for everybody. Some people are not that interested in art and don’t really see the point. As an artist, I like the idea of sharing my stuff and make it visible, it’s a good way for me to share my ideas as well; in that way it seems valuable to me at least.

Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Your drawings appear very optimistic and full of color. Would you describe yourself as generally optimistic?
KASHINK: I’m definitely an optimistic person. I realized recently that since I was born I’ve constantly heard about deforestation, pollution, ozone holes, economic crisis, unemployment, and all kinds of disasters.

I think that nowadays we’re at the crossroads of our history, many things changed drastically in the past 50 years and it’s going faster and faster. I’m very curious about the coming next 10 or 20 years, and I don’t want to be pessimistic. Of course we’re all going to die, but I want to believe things can also evolve in a good way somehow.

I see more and more people who want a better quality of life, who quit a job they hate for something else, where they might get less money but a better environment.

There are more and more people of our generation who are not interested in consumerism, who don’t want a TV, who try to think for themselves. It’s pretty interesting.

Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Many French art fans are very loyal and enthusiastic followers of the original 70s/80s New York graffiti artists and hip hop scene. Growing up in Paris, did graffiti culture interest you as well?
KASHINK: I guess that the French hip-hop scene has probably been the biggest in Europe. I grew up in what they call “la banlieue”, and I would take the train to go to Paris. The tracks were covered in throw ups, and in the city there always was a lot of tagging. I was attracted to graffiti and to the music as well, I remember when the Wu Tang started being known in France, I also liked Onyx and A Tribe Called Quest a lot. But I was a metal head, and back then it was weird to like both in France.

When the original soundtrack of “Judgment Night” came out, I was thrilled to see that my favorite metal bands and rappers could collaborate. It was awesome !!! Then Ice T came out with “Body Count,” which was very exciting too.

But I guess I was already more attracted to characters than styles back then. I remember seeing some pieces from Honet when I would go to Paris as a teenager; they were very different from what I was used to, in a way I got inspired by his style.

Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Last year we did an extensive article on Wynwood and its first all-female artists edition. How was your experience in Miami painting along such an internationally known group of intelligent, talented, opinionated and fun-loving women?
KASHINK: Being in that show was an amazing opportunity, it was also very cool for me to get to meet all these great artists. I was actually very curious to ask them about how it feels to be in that game for a longer period of time. Most of them are older than me and some got tired of painting walls after a while, some others still paint but not necessarily only their own stuff. I spent a few hours smoking spliffs with Lady Pink on the roof of our hotel and asking her about all this, it was really interesting.

Kashink collaboration with Foxx Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kashink with CB23 trying to pass unnoticed on the bottom. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post.

“MURAL” Roundup, Montreal Arts Festival Keeps The Quality for Year 2

June 19, 2014 Artists

Montreal has shown up again on our radar this summer because of the second annual MURAL festival, a large gathering of art fans, performances and live painting. The quality of the work is high and appropriately placed center stage, and the caliber of the event draws a good cross section of modern public art fans who are there to see the art and meet the artists rather than rush past it on the way to the next music performance, beer tent, or drug deal.

Kashink. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

A majority of the 20+ artists made their mark initially by doing graffiti/street art, about a third of them are Canadian, and all of them were stunted by heavy rains the first two days of the four-day event. By the weekend the sun had cleared the way for block parties, DJs, live painting, tours, and commercial vending along the Saint-Laurent and the golden age of murals was in full effect once again.

Bryan Beyung. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Impossible to place into one stylistic category, many of the massive pieces this year are singular portraits, or at least figurative, appealing on the whole, and with a handful of abstract and surreal tableaus. Transgressive themes, as in many street festivals around the world, are almost disappeared or nearly imperceptible — an irony of sorts considering the rebellious street culture that many of these artists evolved from. Ultimately, it is the quality of the endowment that gives it staying power and many of these new pieces will endure into the future in Montreal.

Seth. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Artists for the MURAL festival include:

123 Klan, Bezt from the Etam Cru, Zilon, Alex Scaner, Inti, Vilx, Cyrcle, Zema, Alex Diaz, Seth, Fred Caron, 2501, Zoltan, Kashink, Kevin Ledo, Bryan Beyung, Miss Me, Stikki Peaches, Mathieu Connery, Alex Produkt, and Le Diamantaire.

Rone. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

RR & DB. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

INTI. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Cyrcle. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Zoltan. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Bizt/Etam Cru. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Vilx. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Fred Caron. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Zilon. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Zema. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Kevin Ledo. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

2501. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

MURAL Montreal Festival: Day 1 and 2

Mural Montreal Festival: Day 3

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Mural Montreal Festival: Day 4

June 17, 2014 Artists

Our final posting from Montreal’s MURAL festival gives you a sense of the the size, variety, and quality of the expanse of works on display over four days. With any luck, most of these will be up much longer.

If you are ever planning one of these ginormous parties of painting here’s a little advice: don’t plan to shoot photos of all of them during the actual festival because little things like rainstorms, supply shortages, surprising technical challenges, and artists fatigue will undoubtedly slow the progress.

Kevin Ledo. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Also raging parties and sudden love interests pull many a wayward heart away from the work to be done, and sometimes a parade of looky-loo new fans will ask 1,001 questions while craning their eyes up to you on the scissor lift. One or more of these eventualities always happens, nothing to be done about it.

“Some walls aren’t finished so I’ll try and get them tomorrow,” says photographer Daniel Esteban Rojas, who has been sharing these great images with BSA readers. Don’t sweat it Daniel, we understand, and these images are worth the wait!

Kevin Ledo’s mural reflection on sunglasses. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Zema. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

2501. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Alex Scaner. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Opire. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Cyrcle. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Inti. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Alexis Diaz. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Zoitan. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Kashink. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Wzrds. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

MURAL Montreal Festival: Day 1 and 2

Mural Montreal Festival: Day 3

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Mural Montreal Festival: Day 3

June 16, 2014 Artists

Montreals’ MURAL festival wound up with a great weekend of public murals, music, food, and culture after a slow start this year. Over the next couple of days we will bring you exclusive images of the murals completed in this well organized and executed showcase for outside are. Here are some detail shots, progress shots and action shots specially made for BSA readers.

Rone. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Fred Caron. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

RR & DB. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Bizt/Etam Cru. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Vilx. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Cyrcle. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

2501. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Alex Scanner. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Seth. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Miss Me. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Matheiu Connery. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Laurence Valliers. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Kashink. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

MURAL Montreal Festival: Day 1 and 2

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MURAL Montreal Festival: Day 1 and 2

June 14, 2014 Artists

BSA is pleased to partner again with the MURAL Festival in Montreal to bring you images as the events unfold. Daniel Esteban Rojas tells us it has been a slower than usual commencement this year, due to Mother Nature, “We’ve had a huge rain storm and most artists couldn’t start.”

On the plus side, no one got a sunburn, they have four days to finish the 20 or so planned murals. The artists of course couldn’t wait to get busy on these huge, fresh walls – all calling their names like a siren song, and they got a lot accomplished despite the weather, and the DJs kept playing. Today the skies looks good for the all day block party.

Here we have some detail shots, progress shots and action shots and as the festival progresses we’ll bring you the completed walls for your viewing pleasure…

Seth. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

An indoor/outdoor silhouette shot of Jeremy Shantz at work. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Bezt/Etam Cru. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Bryan Beyung. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Kashink. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Cyrcle. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

En Masse. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Inti. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Alex Scaner. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

123 Klan. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Alexis Diaz. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Peter Shmittson. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Vilx. Mural Festival 2014. Montreal, Canada. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

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Women Rock Wynwood Walls at Miami Art Basel 2013

December 7, 2013 Artists, Interview

An international team of heavy hitting women in Street Art are the centerpiece of the Wynwood District this weekend as Jeffrey Deitch returns to Miami to co-curate Women on the Walls. Reprising a more central role for Wynwood Walls that he played when Tony Goldman first established this outdoor mural playground, Deitch says he is reserving center stage exclusively for the women this year as a way of highlighting their history and growing importance in the graffiti/street art scenes around the world.

“It’s to correct the historical imbalance,” says Deitch as he talks about the new wall murals painted this week and the accompanying gallery exhibition showcase that celebrates the contributions of outstanding women artists in a scene that, with a few notable exceptions, has been primarily run by the guys.

Miss Van at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

“After this historical imbalance there was something that needed to be addressed about the misperception that graffiti is just a boys club,” says the enthusiastic bespectacled curator who shares the role for this show with the team of Janet Goldman, Jessica Goldman Srebnick, Meghan Coleman, and Ethel Seno.

As with the Living Walls Atlanta festival on the streets in 2012, this show gives full voice to women in a holistic and powerful way that rather redefines the context of a graffiti/street art/tattoo/skater scene which sometimes veers too close to being overtly sexist, if not outright misogynist in it’s depiction of women and their roles.

Miss Van at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Maybe it’s the scene itself – much of the graff / Street Art scene has always had partially skewed perceptions about the gals because they were traditionally populated almost exclusively by males. Since work on the streets is a mirror that reflects society back to itself, it makes sense that we’re looking at a funhouse on the walls sometimes. But you don’t have to accept the narrative entirely and shows like this argue for greater authorship of the visual dialogue. Right now in civic life you’ll see strong positive images as more women are assuming more history-making leadership roles than ever, but there are also a lot messages in media and pop culture that portray women as little more than one dimensional giggly jiggly sex toys.

For Parisian artist Fafi, a show with this theme could not be more timely.

“The atmosphere about women these days is really fucked up, especially towards younger ones,” says the street artist as she relates the sentiment of conversations at a late dinner she recently had with co-participants Miss Van and Maya Hayuk.

Miss Van (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

“There’s something in the air that’s telling us we absolutely need to talk about empowering women in our female artist life,” she explains as she describes the condescending and denigrating attitudes she still encounters from some men even after she has been painting on the streets and in studio for more than two decades.

Fafi says that there are still some who tell her and her female peers that what they do is cool “for a woman”, and more worryingly, “it’s something that comes up more and more often nowadays.”

Maya Hayuk at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

“It seems like in 2013 it is almost a passé sort of gesture that a bunch of women would have to get together to make a statement when we’ve all been doing this for so long,” says Maya Hayuk, whose bright geometric patterns were on the forefront of a current Street Art fascination with the abstract. “Hopefully in the future we don’t have to do ‘all women’ or ‘all men’ or ‘all anything’ shows,” she says sort of wistfully, “We can do shows on ‘all awesome’.”

Maya Hayuk (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

So perhaps Deitch and Co. are rebalancing much more than they realize by creating this environment that values the contributions of artists who also happen to be women. Whether it was their original intention or not, the experience this week for many participants has been about empowerment – and networking. The complexity of the list itself speaks to the varied and unique stylistic influences that are now brought to the street by women and a certain validation of these voices is reflected in the fact that many here have had commercial success on their own terms.

“I think it’s a great privilege to be here with these women artists, to be in a show with them, and to create this work in a public space,” says the Polish born Brooklynite Olek, who has made a singular name for herself on the street in the last handful of years by covering bicycles, shopping carts, public sculptures, even people with her hand-crocheted pink and purple camouflage. We have called her the Christo/Jeanne Claude of the streets, which gives an apt sense of the skin-like quality of her wrapping as well as the interventionist instinct she follows, but it doesn’t quite tap the personal level of involvement Olek has with her pieces.

Olek at work on her installation. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

For Wynwood she has been hand-crocheting covers for the large heavy boulders that dot the inner grounds of the complex in a blunt and rugged manner. “Of course I love these rocks because I like to highlight things in the existing environment and to give them a new life, a new beginning,” she says while sitting on the grass joining the pieces of her new coverings by hand.

Olek at work on her installation. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Does she think the energy and atmosphere here is positive? “All the girls are really wonderful and I love working with them – we are all just working here, eating, talking, and I think we have made some friendships that will last a very long time.”

Olek at work on her installation. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

So why does Deitch think it is important to create a show that specifically draws attention to women artists at this time?

“It’s a very simple thing,” he says, “The first reason is that some of the major talents in Street Art are women.” He then speaks about the individual contributions and talents of some of the participants this week before he comes to Lady Pink, the NYC graffiti artist who painted trains in the 70s and who went on to serve as an active role model to girls and young women around the world, giving them confidence to assert and explore their creative talents. “We wanted to celebrate Lady Pink, whose work is better than ever.”

Lady Pink at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Lady Pink. Her sketch for her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Speaking of the 70s, the other woman in the show whose work extends back to those times is photographer Martha Cooper, who shares her work here for this article and whose images of the new walls will be projected in the gallery show tonight. Deitch can not be more pleased with the results of the work from this new collection of artists, and traffic on the streets from fans has been thick and exuberant, whether it is for South Africa’s Faith 47 or London’s Lakwena.

“These walls by Maya Hayuk, Miss Van and Sheryo are outstanding and as fresh as ones that many male street artists are doing now,” he says as he talks about the new collection of work this year.

Singapore’s Sheryo, who also spends much of her time in Brooklyn, says that her walls actually reflect the extended two year aerosol “spraycation” around the world that she’s been on with her male cohort The Yok (her assistant this week). “We have been chasing summer weather, we love warm weather!” she says as she looks up at her wall. “My characters are seen painting, surfing, drinking rum coconuts and chilling out around palm trees and lush forest environments, which is what we usually do on our vacations.”

Sheryo at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

As with many of the women in Women on Walls Sheryo has been in a number of these Street Art festival type of events as well as numerous ad hoc painting sessions on roofs, climbing fences, hitting walls, all primarily with men. How does the environment change when all this female energy hits the streets? Not to trash the guys, but Sheryo’s response is very similar to women we spoke with here and at Atlanta’s Living Walls last year.

Sheryo at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

“It is a whole lot of fun! Girls are way more caring and there are a lot more hugs going down, which I love.” To be fair, boys probably give good hugs too.

Sheryo at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

For Fafi, the motivation is also simple for her and many of the solid talents involved in this show, “We felt it’s the time now more than ever for more “Girl Power”. The goal of all this is to inspire younger girls to do the best they can, to search for new ideas, and to come up with something new and different as soon as it gets too easy and comfortable. I want them to be inspired.”

Fafi at work on her installation. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Fafi at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Fafi (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Aiko at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Aiko (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Kashink at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Kashink (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Lakwena at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Faith 47 at work on her wall. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Some male alumni of previous Wynwood Walls shows gather with many of the Women on the Walls crew for a group shot here by Martha Cooper. Front row from left to right: Kashink, Janet Goldman, Lady Pink, Miss Van, Aiko and Maya Hayuk,. Second row from left to right: Shepard Fairey, Olek, Jessica Goldman, Sheryo, Lakwena, Jeffrey Deitch, Faith 47 and Dal East. Back row from left to right: Ron English, Fafi, Myla and Kenny Scharff. Wynwood Walls. Miami, Florida. December 2013. (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Women on the Walls is on display in the Wynwood District of Miami. For more on Wynwood Walls click here.

Artists included are Aiko, Claw Money, Fafi, Faith 47, Jess & Katie, Kashink, Lady Pink, Lakwena, Martha Cooper, Maya Hayuk, Miss Van, Myla, Olek, Shamsia Hassan, Sheryo, Swoon, and Too Fly.

With Special Thanks to Ethel Seno.

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Street Art in Vitry-sur-Seine (France) : Spencer Elzey in Europe

November 18, 2013 Artists

BSA is lucky to be a clearinghouse for many people who participate in and celebrate the Street Art scene – artists, curators, designers, collectors, galleries, museums, researchers, academics, historians and fans. Because we have never taken advertising readers tend to trust our platform and people in the community give us great behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn and share freely with others about the creative process and the culture on the street. It also gives us the freedom to do whatever we want when planning editorial or content.

Claire Pinatel (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Recently we had this idea about giving our site out to artists or art-lovers a week at a time so they could also fully share their personal experiences of the Street Art/public art/graffiti/ scene. So this week before Thanksgiving we’re giving the whole week to one person as a “residency”, our way of sharing this valuable platform and inviting you to have a greater voice in this conversation.

Spencer Elzey loves art in general and is an avid Street Art fan in particular and he likes to take trips that include shooting images on the street in whatever city he visits. He also supports artists by buying their art, regularly attending art exhibitions, reading and studying about them and following their evolution. Over the last couple of years we have seen that he is also a dedicated Street Art hunter with camera in hand on the streets of New York City when he isn’t at his regular job – and he loves to share what he finds with others on social media and as an occasional contributor to BSA.

When we heard that Spencer was planning a trip to Europe this fall we proposed to him the idea of him keeping a photo journal to be shared exclusively with BSA readers and we offered to help connect him with some friendly guides on his trip so he could get some splendid and exclusive photos. He enthusiastically accepted the offer and here is the first day of Spencer’s one-week residency on BSA, an edited treasure trove of images and insights from the guy himself. We know you’re going to dig it.

STeW (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Here’s this weeks schedule:

Monday is Vitry-sur-Seine Street Art.
Tuesday will be Paris Street Art.
Wednesday will be a special collection of the installations from the Le Tour Paris 13 project.
Thursday will be his adventures in Berlin.
BSA Film Friday will feature a selection of videos reflecting the cities he toured.
Saturday will be Spencer’s London showcase.

ROA (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Of all four cities Spencer visited over a two week trip, this one seemed to really embrace the value of street art to the culture, he says. “In terms of which city was the most welcoming of street art I’d have to say Vitry-sur-Seine was because this is really a grassroots campaign kickstarted by C215,” he says of this city of 83,000 that is called a commune and lies on the outskirts of Paris.

It’s not hard to believe that the scene is attributed in large part to the influence of the well-regarded stencil artist C215 as this is a guy who considers his work to be community service and who regularly features people from the city he is in as subjects of his portraits. That’s why he was the perfect guide for Spencer, who says he learned a huge amount of information in a short time.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“I have to say that C215 is one of the more interesting, opinionated and knowledgeable artists that I have come across. We started the morning at his local café with a coffee. I explored around a little by myself while he was attending to some prior engagements with his gallery and then he caught up with me out on the streets. We eventually had lunch and then went back to his house. Topics ranged from his opinion on the scene in general, on other artists, on galleries and it even touched on street art websites and documenters.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“I hadn’t realized that he has only been doing stenciling for seven years but it was easy to see how far his pieces have come from the few monochrome stencils that still remain around Williamsburg (Brooklyn) from around 2008,” remarks Elzey.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“What C215 has done in Vitry-sur-Seine is much bigger than I expected it to be, both in terms of quantity of work in the area as well as the impact on the community. The first piece that he put up there was about five year ago and within that time there have appeared at least 150 different pieces from him and other artists throughout the area,” says Spencer.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Naturally, Elzey was shooting whatever odd or curious or thrilling piece he found on his travels through this city that celebrates artists, in addition to the work done by his host. “I was definitely surprised with how much Street Art there was in Vitry-sur-Seine. I took around 200 pictures of different pieces while there and I’m still seeing pictures on Instagram of things that I had missed,” he says.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

One piece in particular by C215 impressed him a lot – because of it’s impact visually and its perfectly contextual placement. Additionally, Elzey felt that it illustrated the regard that the residents have for the artists work and the fact that people didn’t appear to think of it as illegal or vandalism, per se. “While I was exploring and taking pictures, various residents pointed with excitement about pieces just around the corner that I should go look at,” he says.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“There was one older gentleman, probably in his 70s, who just simply said “La porte” and smiled while pointing in a certain direction. I rounded the corner to see a stencil of the Virgin Mary on the back door of the main church,” he says of one of the few religious themed pieces that the artist has created. “C215 had indicated that this was one of his favorite pieces in the area and it was nice to see that residents appreciated it as well. Had it not been for this project there really would be no other reason for me to have travelled down to Vitry-sur-Seine but it was definitely worth it.”

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Jorge Rodriguez Gerarda (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Yuri Romagnoli (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Finabarr DAC to the left with Guy Denning to the right. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

We hope you enjoy this one week residency on Brooklyn Street Art and we congratulate Spencer for his dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm.

Our sincere thanks also go to those who offered their hospitality and agreed to give Spencer a tour on our behalf; to the stencil artist C215, who graciously took him around Vitry and who shared with him a history and background on the scene there, to Maroune and Mehdi at Itinerrance Gallery for providing Spencer with special solo access to Le Tour Paris 13 while hundreds were queing outside, and to the dynamic German duo Various & Gould who welcomed him into their studio and showed Spencer some really cool spots around Berlin. This open and generous community spirit really makes the work that we do feel so inspiring to us, and we thank each of you for playing host to Spencer and for sharing your knowledge with the BSA family.

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I Love Paris In The Winter… New Street Art Dans la Rue

January 24, 2013 Artists

La neige! C’est romantique!

It is snowing in many city Street Art spots this time of year – transforming the evolving visual conversation on the street to something more. It may make you walk faster past it on your way to school or office or apartment, but for Demian Smith, editor at Alternative Paris, it is a source of inspiration, even romance. Today he shares these latest snowy Parisian Street Art scenes exclusively with BSA readers along with his ruminations.

The cradle of the French revolutions, a steep and hilly area in north-east Paris known as Belleville, was covered in snow just a day or so ago, and my first thought was to withdraw from this beautiful, dangerous spectacle.

Why expose myself voluntarily to the heart-rending and often precarious trials of seeking out artwork displayed in the streets without censure? Was I going to see an old masterwork? —No.*

However, after reflection, I overcame my repugnance. I had, in my excursions, noticed, among the multifarious artistic creations, so many heterogeneous elements; that is to say, dozens of artists and respondents of all social positions and of so many nationalities, that I began to think it would perhaps be useful to my compatriots at Brooklyn Street Art to view photographs by and by a sincere recital, photographed with a Canon 350D, of the events that are ever more frequently taking place in this part of Western Europe.

All photos were all taken in Belleville in north-east Paris, currently the most active zone for street art and graffiti anywhere in France.

* Text is adapted from a passage in the 1871 publication, ‘The Insurrection in Paris, by an Englishman: An eye witness account of that frightful war and of the terrible evils which accompanied it’ (1871), on the author’s impressions of Belleville. -Demian Smith

Demian Smith is editor at Alternative Paris, which reports on Paris’ street art, graffiti and fringe culture. Our special thanks to him for sharing this with BSA readers.

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Images of the Week 09.23.12

September 23, 2012 Artists

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets (and sometimes inside), this week featuring new shots of Barry McGee, Buttless Supreme, Dain, Elle, Etnik, Ive One, Jose Parla, Kashink, Klepto, Matt Siren, ND”A, Overunder, Pork, Swil, This Is Awkward and Zor.

Looks like Elle and Matt Siren tried their hand at a fire extinguisher tag and they both make a splash in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Klepto collab with This Is Awkward. “I Tried to be Good”. It has been years since the last time we saw a piece by these artists on the streets of NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Barry McGee massive wall going up on the Mark Morris Dance Company building in Brooklyn. Stay tuned for final shots coming soon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Remember when you first started wearing glasses to school an people started to call you “four eyes” ? Kashink (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Had to give you some shots of this amazing José Parlá mural in the lobby of the new Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Fisher Building. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“See No Evil” in Bristol Brings Thousands to the Streets

August 29, 2012 Artists, Bristol, Events, Features, On the Street, Street Art Festival, U.K.

Basking in the warm glow of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the “See No Evil” festival unabashedly celebrated Street Art in Bristol with thousands of fans thronging through the street while London was scurrying to deal with the threat of the unofficial Street Art of the Olympic kind.

In its second year, the one-week festival invited about 40 Street Artists from around the globe to hit up the walls of one long street while visitors traveled great distances to watch. In yet another sign of the full emergence of this first global art form, people witnessed live painting day and night, took photos, visited pop up galleries, attended graffiti workshops, danced to live music on six stages, and ate huge mountains of food at what organizers called a “New York Style” block party.

On the map for the Street Art scene since the early 1980s, Bristol was known for its own style then, eventually giving rise to some of todays’ better known names. With this expansive celebration initiated by locally raised graffiti star Inkie, many styles from the worldwide scenes of graffiti and Street Art exist alongside one another in this grand thoroughfare. Notably only 3 of last years 72 or so works survived into this year (by Nick Walker, Aryz and El Mac), suggesting a very slim chance that many of these new pieces will last for long, but few seemed to mind this month.

The 2012 crop includes painters from Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Poland, Austria, and across the UK who used an estimated 3,500 cans of aerosol to collectively create a massive gallery of public art. With roots in what was once strictly illegal, it’s mind-bending to imagine how occasionally even a police officer or mayor has been photographed proudly adding to the artworks at festivals like these. Within the space of one small decade or so, the appreciation for this form of expression has skyrocketed and in fact this month thousands in Bristol are seeing no evil in it.

Our special thanks to the talent of photographer Ian Cox, who shares these images with BSA readers. Also thanks to Ben Merrington for his photo of the ROA piece.

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Martha Cooper and Seth in Kibera. Kenya: Part 2 / “We Are One”
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Nestled within the bustling city of Nairobi, Kenya, Kibera is a testament to its inhabitants’ challenges and its collective indomitable …Read More »