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BSA HOT LIST: Books For Your Gift Giving 2017

BSA HOT LIST: Books For Your Gift Giving 2017

Documenting the Street Art scene has always been important to BSA and we know it is important to many of our readers as well. This year BSA brought you a number of reviews of Street Art related books that we have run across during the year. It’s not an exhaustive list but now that it is Christmas / Hannukah / Kwaanza / Solstice / New Year time we thought you would like our brief roundup of some of the best books of 2017. Enjoy!


“Street Art World”, Alison Young.

From BSA:

Alison Young Examines and Presents the “Street Art World”

Contested space is a term accurately describing the Street Artists’ relationship with the world outside your door; a place where the aesthetics are up for grabs, autonomously determined, willfully exploited.

Drawing upon twenty years of empirical observation, scholarly study, and interviews with artists and experts throughout a constellation of cities where this art-making has flourished, “Street Art World” by Alison Young examines this contested space from every angle to present a balanced assessment for understanding our moment.

A professor of criminology at University of Melbourne, Young delivers her fourth volume on the topic of Street Art with a confidence and unique perspective that few can claim thanks to extensive travel and periodic, repeated and ongoing tracking of an evolving family of practice.

Alison Young Street Art World was published by Reaktion Books Ltd. London, UK. 2016. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Shoe Is My Middle Name”, Niels Shoe Meulman

From BSA:

“Shoe” is His Middle Name: New Book by Niels Shoe Meulman

Carlo McCormick writes in his essay, “We honor Shoe as the great cross-pollinator who came to New York City as a kid to meet the graffiti master Dondi and brought Wild Style back to Europe, but his strength remains just how far he can still can carry this immoderate load.” Based on his path and his evolution, we’ll consider this beautiful monster to be in a mid-career retrospective and some of his most masterful work is yet to come.

Niels Shoe Meulman “Shoe Is My Middle Name” was published by Lebowski Publishers / Overamstel. Amsterdam, 2016. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Time Traveller Artist Man”, Giacomo Bufarini AKA RUN

From BSA:

RUN: “Time Traveller Artist Man” Tells All With His Hands

The founder of analytical psychology would have looked at the hands of RUN and perhaps understood more about his lifelong psychological process than the average intellect, and yet seeing RUN’s carefully formed people on the street captivates your imagination as well.

These are the dreams he creates with his expressive hands, conscious or unconscious features that over time have developed into archetypes to be combined, adorned, alone, and recombined. Not surprisingly, his people often have a grasp, a hold, a flair for the five fingered gesture as well.

RUN Time Traveller Artist Man is published by Unicorn Publishing Group. London, UK. 2016. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Street Art”, Ed Bartlett

From BSA:

“Street Art” by Ed Bartlett: A Quick Primer for the World Traveler

Since the early 70s Lonely Planet publishing has made guidebooks for travelers of the world, enabling people to gain a greater understanding and to appreciate localities, cultures, and histories. Ed Bartlett now adds to this vast compendium of understanding a concise and varied survey of Street Art from his vantage point as an avid bicyclist, traveler, and expert on Street Art.

Ed Bartlett’s “Street Art” Was published by Lonely Planet Publishers. UK, April 2017.  Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Happily Ever After”, Jeremy Fish

From BSA:

Jeremy Fish and “Happily Ever After”

It’s unusual to see his work in New York (or in this case New Jersey) since after leaving Upstate New York nearly two decades ago this fine artist/commercial illustrator has been dancing in the arms of San Francisco. You think we’re being poetic about his West Coast cred, but he literally illustrated 100 drawings in SF City Hall over 100 days, was awarded with his own “Jeremy Fish” day by the city, might have the record for the most shows at Upper Playground Gallery, and has even collaborated with a cannabis company to create a branded oil and vape pen.

Jeremy Fish “Happily Ever After: The Artwork of Jeremy Fish”. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“The Art Of Writing Your Name”, Patrick Hartl & Christian Hundertmark

From BSA:

“The Art Of Writing Your Name” Expands Potential for Both Art & Writing

Born of many late night talks and collaborative painting sessions together, merging Christian’s abstract graphics and collage with Patrick’s calligraphy and tagging, the two slowly discovered a mutual collection of writers and artists whose work they both admired, a book slowly taking form in their minds. “Our late night sessions also implied long conversations about the evolution of Graffiti to Street Art to urban calligraphy,” the authors say in their preface.

The Art Of Writing Your Name: Contemporary Urban Calligraphy and Beyond by Patrick Hartl & Christian Hundertmark. Publikat Verlags – und Handels GmbH & Co. KG. Mainaschaff, Germany, 2017. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Saturday Mornings”, Jerkface

From BSA:

Jerkface: “Saturday Mornings” Deconstructed, Reconstructed, Repeated

A direct link to his childhood and the televised cartoons of Saturday morning, where the majority of cartoons were relegated to appear in the 1970s and 1980s, Street Artist Jerkface recreates and multiplies his associations of happy times full of adventure, mysteries easily solved, crimes categorically punished.

His new book “Saturday Morning” collects the recognizable works of other artists and removes the emotional expressions found in facial features, recombining their other characteristics and playing with their associated resonance.

Jerface “Saturday Morning”. Published by Over The Influence. December 2016. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Street Art In Sicilia”, Mauro Filippi, Marco Mondino & Luisa Tuttolomondo

From BSA:

“Street Art In Sicilia” Tours You Through 31 Cities and 200 Artists

A serious undertaking that documents 31 urban centers that vary widely in distinctive personality, more than two hundred artists are captured and carefully, succinctly described for a wide audience of tourists, Street Art fans, students, even academics. With three authors who collectively have studied architecture, semiotics, sociology and photography, you get a mapping that reveals not only physical location but a describes a cultural one as well.

Street Art in Sicilia – Guida ai luoghi e alle opere
Mauro Filippi, Marco Mondino, Luisa Tuttolomondo
Dario Flaccovio Editore, 2017. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Metamorphosis”, Tavar Zawacki

From BSA:

Tavar Zawacki: Being Fearless and “Metamorphosis” with Urban Spree

“The whole thing is a metaphor,” he says at one point when describing a particular piece, but you realize that the statement applies to the show as well. A metaphor for the evolutions that an artist must go through to keep alive; a recreation, a metamorphosis, however bold or subtle, that can push him or her into a new direction.

He sits on a window sill and pulls back the sleeve of his t-shirt to reveal a tattooed sleeve that moves from densely inked pattern to bare skin. The finespun graduated marking is repeated on the books’ cover, designed by Kelly Jewell.
“I’m really interested in gradients as well because it’s a slow transition – when you can see the tattoo and the cover of the book; it’s like with each circle, if you look at it compared to the neighboring one, you won’t see a big difference. But over time and with effort you can keep going forward, day by day.”

Tavar Zawacki. “Metamorphosis” Published by Urban Spree Gallery. Berlin. September 2017. Click HERE for more about this book.

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“Half A World Passed Me By”, In the Studio with David Walker

“Half A World Passed Me By”, In the Studio with David Walker

Known well as a portrait painter of pensively wistful women across numerous expansive walls in cities around the globe in the last decade, Street Artist/muralist/fine artist David Walker is opening his scope of work to new things. Men for example.

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

“Half a World Passed Me By” represents a turning point for the artist, or a few, says Walker, of the new exhibition opening at Lawrence Alkin Gallery in London this week. Of course he’s still using spray paint, but “I feel that using new approaches and materials has allowed me a fresh dexterity and an opportunity to mature as a painter,” he says.

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

Maybe it was simply the event of turning 40 years old, but Walker tells us that he’s experiencing a new sense of freedom to explore that he didn’t have before and the two-level show includes figurative works, studies and sketches, along with a new series of text-based paintings featuring his own writings.

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

‘Half A World Passed Me By’ refers to a few changes for the artist, including talking about something he says he hasn’t felt comfortable speaking of previously.

“I have been completely blind in my right eye since birth. It’s not common knowledge,” he says, as he didn’t want it to cloud perceptions of his work. Whatever obstacles he’s referring to, the new collection speaks for itself. In the meantime we’re happy to hear him say,”I feel far more fearless as a person and artist and far more comfortable to invite people further into my world.”

Take a look at these new images, including exclusive process shots for BSA readers, thanks to photographer Yuli Gates.

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)


David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

David Walker. Half A World Passed Me By. Lawrence Alkin Gallery. London. (photo © Yuli Gates)

David Walker’s Half A World Passed Me By opens this Thursday, Novemeber 16th. Click HERE for more details.

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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.30.17

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.30.17

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We really dig these new collaged political cartoons that are on the street as quickly as the weeks news – each depicting one of the many rich white men who are impacting our minds and our bank accounts and our health and sense of security right now. Are we watching the White House or Good Fellas? The backstabbing, front stabbing, chicanery, and ongoing systemic tomfoolery makes you wonder who’s actually running things.

The news cycle is hourly it seems, with tweets and personnel changes and threats happening so fast that people are developing PTSD that is triggered by news alerts on the phone. We have to admire any Street Artist who tries to keep up with the developments and get their commentary on a wall.

Many young and old New Yorkers are wincing from high rent, high debts, crumbling infrastructure, and everyone is working longer hours, if they are lucky enough to work. Some just give up. Meanwhile the one plausible healthcare option that many have gained over the last handful of years? – the servants of the rich have been trying to stab it to death – but they couldn’t muster it this week. Even now – Trump says he’ll stand by and watch it die rather than improve it in any way. Have we ever had a leader who is so cynical?

Even Senator McCain – in our top image above – fresh off his tax-payer funded brain cancer surgery, waivered this week before providing the pivotal vote that saved healthcare for 20 million or so. Most GOP Senators ignored the majority of the US citizens who implored them to fix Obamacare not nix it. But their bank accounts proved far more important than our health. The rich and their corporations are flooding our entire political system and only after we get their money out would we be able to call the USA a democracy. Otherwise we are just fooling ourselves.

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Bifido, El Sol 25, Jarus, London Kaye, Luna Park, Miss17, MSK, Myth, Otto Schade, Rime, SikaOne, Solus, Sonni, Spy33, and Wonderpuss Octopus.

Top image: Unidentified artist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonni (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Solus for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sidka One (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Otto OSCH Schade “Taurus” in Shoreditch, London. (photo © Otto Osch Shade)

Otto OSCH Schade “Taurus” in Shoreditch, London. (photo © Otto Osch Shade)

Otto OSCH Schade paints a small Snoopy and Woodstock on a sunsent in Shoreditch, London. (photo © Otto Osch Shade)

London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miss 17 with unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rime . MSK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bifido for Oltremare Festival in San Cataldo, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

“In this area the government is building a gas pipeline and to do it they are cutting many olive trees. Part of the local economy is based on olive oil production, so people are fighting for preserve their lands and trees. I wanted to address this situation with my artwork.” -Bifido

Bifido for Oltremare Festival in San Cataldo, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

Bifido for Oltremare Festival in San Cataldo, Italy. (photo © Bifido)

Luna Park for #resistanceisfemale (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Myth (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. We want to attribute this to Mr. Toll but we don’t think this is his work. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jarus for Art Untied Us in Kiev. Ukraine. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

“This mural depicts a woman sitting at the window sill and reaching outwards. Turning the wall into a window is a metaphor for opening your mind and heart towards new ideas and concepts. The woman is in a red dress because I felt it would compositionally fit into the area of the wall and surrounding buildings.”-Jarus

Jarus for Art Untied Us in Kiev. Ukraine. (photo © Iryna Kanishcheva)

El sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Spy33 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wonderpuss Octopus (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. Looks a lot like JMR work but we don’t think it is his. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Boots on the NYC Subway. March, 2017. Manhattan, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Trump Street Art – Instantly There’s a Global Critique

Trump Street Art – Instantly There’s a Global Critique

Any US president can expect cartoons and visual commentary critiquing their performance and policies and persona and fashion and idiosyncrasies. This one has created a flood of it worldwide.

Teo_Vasquez photo ©Sameworld_project in Barcelona, Spain

The chaos that is the first ten days of this administration has only confirmed some peoples worst projections, yet its been filled with surprises as well – including in the street.

Thanks to the popularity of murals and the multitude of techniques artists use on the street today, critique of political/social matters on public walls has joined those of political cartoons in magazines and newspapers. Of course Trump and his spokespeople would probably call these “fake murals” or something.

Bailer ID in Melbourne, Australia photo© Gavin McLaughlin

The point is, you don’t have to like or agree with all of these expressions from “A Tremendous Roundup Of Street Art Ridiculing Donald Trump” – they range from witty and clever to childish and catty to horribly offensive and uncalled for – but that’s the nature of satire and free speech and it is also some measure of public sentiment.

We find it interesting because the pieces appear to be coming from all manner of people and the topics are spread wide. The one above from Melbourne includes a tag critical of more than Trump – “F*ck Clinton” for example.

Here are a just a few images of 40 from the article posted by Lee Moran of The Huffington Post, who says “from England and Austria to New York and Los Angeles, the writing is on the wall.” See the complete article HERE.

A painted electrical box in London. Photo ©littlewisehen 

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Alison Young Examines and Presents the “Street Art World”

Alison Young Examines and Presents the “Street Art World”

Contested space is a term accurately describing the Street Artists’ relationship with the world outside your door; a place where the aesthetics are up for grabs, autonomously determined, willfully exploited.

Alison Young. Street Art World Reaktion Books Ltd. London, 2016

Drawing upon twenty years of empirical observation, scholarly study, and interviews with artists and experts throughout a constellation of cities where this art-making has flourished, “Street Art World” by Alison Young examines this contested space from every angle to present a balanced assessment for understanding our moment.

A professor of criminology at University of Melbourne, Young delivers her fourth volume on the topic of Street Art with a confidence and unique perspective that few can claim thanks to extensive travel and periodic, repeated and ongoing tracking of an evolving family of practices.

Alison Young. Street Art World Reaktion Books Ltd. London, 2016

With many points of departure, Young makes sure to ground the current movement in enough history and storytelling and informed analysis to allow even the casual reader many entry points for understanding what can at times be an enigmatic populist art subculture.

Alison Young. Street Art World Reaktion Books Ltd. London, 2016

That the movement is awkwardly gaining mainstream acceptance (sometimes against its will) is undisputed, and Young makes sure to examine its role in the gentrification of cities, its difficult relationship with its siblings graffiti and murals, its immigration into fine art and contemporary art, the dance with commercial galleries/interests, and the minx-like tacit embrace of large institutions. She even examines the difficulties that artist have in categorizing their own work and their ambivalence with labels – just one indicator of Young’s adept sensitivity to the finer shadings of a complex “scene”.

In our blurb for the book we wrote, “Alison Young understands the street art world as few people do.” Here’s the evidence.

Alison Young. Street Art World Reaktion Books Ltd. London, 2016

Alison Young. Street Art World Reaktion Books Ltd. London, 2016

Alison Young. Street Art World Reaktion Books Ltd. London, 2016

Alison Young. Street Art World Reaktion Books Ltd. London, 2016

 

Alison Young Street Art World was published by Reaktion Books Ltd. London, UK. 2016

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Emil Walker : Hopes & Wishes for 2017

Emil Walker : Hopes & Wishes for 2017

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As we near the new year we’ve asked a special guest every day to take a moment to reflect on 2016 and to tell us about one photograph that best captures the year for him or her. It’s an assortment of treats for you to enjoy and contemplate as we all reflect on the year that has passed and conjure our hopes and wishes for the new year to come. It’s our way of sharing the sweetness of the season and of saying ‘Thank You’ for inspiring us throughout the year.

London filmmaker Emil Walker just crossed the US twice from Brooklyn to LA to Miami and many points in between with two buddies – artist Louis Masai and his co-filmer Tee. They were capturing and documenting Masai’s “Art of Beeing” tour to raise awareness of endangered species and the era of extinction we are in right now. Emil shares with us one of his favorite shots of 2016 of his friend Tee – and tells us why it resonates for him.


Tee
Brooklyn, New York USA
Date: October 2016
Photograph by Emil Walker

This year has been insanely epic! I’ve met so many people, developed skills and experienced some amazing new places. I took this photo a little over a month ago in Brooklyn, NYC, at the beginning of a project I’m currently working on in North America.

The subject is Tee, one of my oldest friends, a fellow filmmaker and also one my biggest inspirations. His attitude towards taking his own pathway and staying clear of trends or what is ‘cool’ is something that so many people sadly lack but is such a vital component to creating that original work we all strive to make.

I’m looking forward to the new year, continuing to figure out what the hell I’m doing on this planet and hopefully spending some more time out of rainy London!

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BSA Images Of The Week: 11.27.16

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.27.16

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It’s beginning to look a lot like an arms race, every where you turn. At least that is what comes to mind when seeing the silhouetted tree at the center of Otto Schade’s new holiday piece in London above.  In other news – New York hate crimes have spiked as well as across the country (along with hate graffiti), the country is increasingly dismayed over the military-style defense of an oil pipeline  against indigenous people and protestors during Thanksgiving week in the #NoDAPL demonstrations, and there is movement to re-count of general election ballots because of unusual results in key states being questioned by a scientist group. Aside from that everything is going fantastic. Miami is hosting a ton of Street Artists this week for Art Basel – and today is .

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Alanis, Amberellaxo, Aquarela, Axer, BE Zany, Below Key, Cuke, Himbad, Jilly Ballistic, Jorit Agoch, June, Lunge Box, Osch, Otto Schade, Queen Andrea, Ralp, RX Skulls, Thiago Gomez, and V Ballentine.

Otto “Osch” Schade “Peace and Love” fresh new stencil in London. Nov. 2016. (photo © Otto Schade)

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Otto “Osch” Schade “Peace and Love” fresh new stencil in London. Nov. 2016. (photo © Otto Schade)

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Jilly Ballistic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Amberellaxo. Own It…especially if your break it… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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FREE. Axer and Cuke at the Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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June (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Queen Andrea (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Below Key (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Below Key (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Unidentified artist at the Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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V Ballentine for JMZ Walls in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jorit Agoch’s portrait of Questlove. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Aquarela for JMZ Walls in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Unidentified artist at the Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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RX Skulls in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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B Zany (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ralp in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Himbad and Alaniz at Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dave is the name written here on this poster that looks like it is part of the large boycott against the Canada Goose brand for it’s alleged abuse and torture of animals, including coyotes. A protest by PETA and others in Soho at a store last week may have something to do with it as well. The pink stencil is an addition to this poster. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. SOHO, NYC. Fall 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dan Witz’s “Breathing Room” Installs Meditating Figures in 10 London Phone Booths

Dan Witz’s “Breathing Room” Installs Meditating Figures in 10 London Phone Booths

“It was an insane install,” says Dan Witz of his London phone booth, “probably one of the most challenging of my career.”

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

The New York Street Artist who began working anonymously putting art on the streets in the late 1970s is sometimes given to hyperbole, but when you see the map of the ground he covered in the city in search of the right homes for his “Breathing Room” guerilla installations, you think he may be hewing to the truth. He’s also got the timing and delivery of a Catskills comedian when describing his efforts to put up these new people deep inside a spiritual practice.

“All 10 of the pieces are up and scattered nicely around greater London,” he says wide-eyed and nearly out of breath as if he had just finished running an interventionist art marathon. “Greater is the word. That place is huge. Vast. Endless. And it seems like I’ve seen every scruffy inch of it now.”

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

“Take my wife, please!” He didn’t actually say that one. Besides, Dan’s wife Tiffaney is the linchpin who helped him realize this project, putting together the video and Kickstarter page that raised money to bring him from New York to glue these paintings to the iconic red phone booths.

As it turns out, these quietly meditating illusionistic figures were measured and created for a size of booth that has fallen into disuse – a fact that he may have liked to know before painted these in his Brooklyn studio. There are two sizes of phone booths in London, Dan tells us; the K2 and the K6.

“The one that I measured for, the K2, is the older, rare and widely dispersed one. Apparently there are only a couple of hundred of them in use at remote and largely undisclosed locations. But, through the deep research skills of Mark Clack of Wood Street Walls  and my ever intrepid wife Tiffaney, we were able to locate enough K2’s for me to put my paintings on.”

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

Witz’s newest work is meant as a response to the terrorist attacks in many cities that have hurt many people psychologically and stirred an atmosphere of fear – now he hopes to encourage a place for people to create “breathing room” for reflection. He has dealt directly with darker issues before, particularly a well-documented street art campaign a couple of years ago in Frankfurt, Germany, of figures caught just behind dark windows and metal grates. It is a guerrilla style he has honed over years to subtly draw attention and unnerve a passerby, perhaps into action.

For that campaign a nearby QR code could be scanned and followed to the Amnesty International campaign in support of political prisoners. Here he hopes to spark individual acts of hope, with these serene images radiating an optimism and focus on more peaceful matters.

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

Mr. Witz says that the whole experience tracking down and installing in London phonebooths was challenging, and fun and rewarding as well. “Fortunately I had the foresight to rent a motorcycle and I figured out how to mount my phone with Google maps on the handlebars,” he says.

“I’m not sure how I would have done any of this without that. But don’t even get me started on how crazy it was to drive on the left side of the road for the first time in my life,” then adds somewhat conspiratorially, “Don’t tell Tiffaney but there were some close calls.”

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. “Breathing Room” London, July 2016. (photo © Dan Witz)

 

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BSA Images Of The Week: 05.15.16

BSA Images Of The Week: 05.15.16

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Coney Art Walls is back for 2016 and the artists have already begun painting, Duke Riley is on week two of performance with pigeons in The Brooklyn Navy Yard , the #notacrimecampaign is happening in Harlem to support a free press in Iran, Newark has started a huge public mural program called “Gateways to Newark: Portraits”, Urban Nation in Berlin promises a huge announcement this week,  and Vladimir Putin is in a lip-lock with Donald Trump on the street in Lithuania.  There is also a lot of new free-range, unsanctioned art on the streets.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring bunny M, Cdre, Crash, Dain, Dee Dee, Etnik, finDAC, Futura, Icy & Sot, Mister Cartoon, Myth, Pegasus, and Rone.

Our top image: CRASH and the first wall completed for the 2016 edition of Coney Art Walls, courtesy of Jeffrey Deitch and his amazing crew, especially Ethel Seno. BSA will bring you all the details, works in progress and behind-the-scenes juiciness for the entire duration of the project until all the walls are completed. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DAIN (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Etnik for fallOutWalls fest in Torino, Italy. (photo © Etnik)

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Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Pegasus in London interprets The Beckhams from his series “Gods and Monsters”  (photo © Urban Art International)

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An unidentified artist creates “Urban Paleontology” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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RONE in East Harlem for #notacrimecampaign (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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RONE. Detail. East Harlem for #notacrimecampaing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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CDRE (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dee Dee (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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FUTURA does something new and organic for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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FUTURA. Detail. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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FinDac in Berlin for Urban Nation Museum For Urban Contemporary Art. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mister Cartoon’s is pugilistic for Coney Art Walls 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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We are hoping that one of you dear readers will help us ID this artist, whose signature we can’t figure out. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Unidentified Artist  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Unidentified Artist  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Myth says “Sayonara Dana P” and reaches for the Bowie phone. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. The Last Picture. F Train. Brooklyn, NYC. April 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Threatened Species Painted on London Walls for “Endangered 13”

Threatened Species Painted on London Walls for “Endangered 13”

23,250.

That’s how many wild species are listed as threatened worldwide by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A newly curated mural project in London aims to begin raising awareness of our behaviors devastating impact on the animal world and to reverse the trend of killing off these species.

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Jonsey. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

Curlew, Orangutan, Rhino, Blue Whale, Bateleur, Polar Bear, and Grey-Breasted Parakeet are only a handful of animals who are critically endangered or vulnerable according to ecological conservators around the globe and 13 of the UK’s talented artists are creating a campaign about them called “Endangered 13”

“The idea of the project is to raise awareness of species in desperate decline, with many on the brink of extinction,” explains artist Louis Masai, who produced the program along with the environmental art platform Human Nature.

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Jonsey. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

“We believe that the choices made in our market driven, consumer orientated, fossil fuelled society are steering us to ever increasing environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and species extinction,” says the groups’ manifesto, and the new paintings are ironically painted in London’s Tower Hamlets Cemetery as if to strengthen the dire results.

The artists gathered on the freshly grassy bank along the railway arches last weekend to create their missives of tribute and warning, each featuring one species that is currently endangered.

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Jonsey. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

According to Mr. Masai and organizers their goal is to “see these species rise in number and their natural habitats saved in the next ten years.”

Our special thanks to photographer Ian Cox for sharing these brand new exclusive photos of the fresh murals and some of the artists at work for BSA readers.

Participating artists: Andy Council, ATM, Carrie Reichardt, Dr Zadok, Faunagraphic, Fiya One, Jonesy, Jim Vision, Louis Masai, Rocket 01, Vibes, Von Leadfoot and Xenz.

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ATM. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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ATM. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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ATM. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Vibes. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Vibes. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Louis Masai. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Louis Masai. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Louis Masai. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Louis Masai. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Louis Masai. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Fauna Graphic. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Fauna Graphic. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Fauna Graphic. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Jim Vision AKA Probs. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Jim Vision AKA Probs. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Probs. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Xenz. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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FiyaOne. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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FiyaOne. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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FiyaOne. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Panther Boy. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Andy Council. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Andy Council. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Carrie Reichardt. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Carrie Reichardt. Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Endangered 13. The signage above the art is by Von Leadfoot pictured here with words by Tanya Dee. Endangered13.  London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

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Endangered 13. London. April 2016. (photo © Ian Cox)

For more information please see www.humannatureshow.com/endangered13.

 

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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Bifido: “Meanwhile” …on a London Train Platform

Bifido: “Meanwhile” …on a London Train Platform

Hurry up and wait.

Much of modern life is like this. In cities especially where bottlenecks in tunnels, on bridges, on highways and streets can slowly… drive… you… crazy. We have long lines for dance clubs and drivers licenses, sample sales and Shake Shack, airport security and air-headed pop stars. And of course we wait for buses and trains. Time itself appears as a liquid commodity; pooling up and quickly slurping down a drain.

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Bifido. Work in progress. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

Italian photographic collage Street Artist Bifido is giving people who wait for the train on the Forest Gate platform in London something to contemplate that might make the wait entertaining, if not transcendent. Shooting his own photos of people and props in studio for perfect clarity, Bifido plays with proportion and relationships to create an Alice in Wonderland effect with otherwise normal looking images. Here’s a woman nearly falling into a huge cup of tea. There is a tree man is surrounded by swirling leaves that appear as butterflies in someone else’s stomach. A mammoth sized snail speaks to a small woman with an umbrella.

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Bifido. Work in progress. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

Bookended by clocks, this is the space you have between rushing.

Meanwhile, he calls it, and he is doing it as part of a vast urban regeneration program curated by Preznt Project on a MTR Crossrail commission.

Standing on the platform you can free your imagination for a moment and have some creative time, before the next train slides quickly into view.

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Bifido. Work in progress. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Work in progress. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. (photo ©  Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. The Team. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. CLICK on image to enlarge. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Bifido. Detail. London. March 2016. CLICK on image to enlarge. (photo © courtesy of Bifido)

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Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street from Schacter & Co

Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street from Schacter & Co

Utopia, as you know, is unattainable.

Neither should one think that we are devolving into a Dystopian nightmare. Not just yet.

A new show at London’s Somerset House is examining the acts and results of so-called urban artists and their relationship to discussions about this imagined polarity.

We ask ourselves if graffiti and it’s variant unsanctioned public art cousins simply are a medium of messaging that runs outside of accepted pathways of delivery? Yes, and so much more.

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Lucas Dillon. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

One one hand some public servants, civic minders, and private real estate owners have their “hair on fire” moments when these actions/interventions/disruptions of the cityscape are portrayed as signs of the utter ruin of civilization. Concurrently, libertarians, anarchists and sundry romantics may present them as a form of self expression, even self empowerment; an act of claiming a voice in the public dialogue heretofore closed to certain members of society.

In the descriptive text for Somerset’s current series providing a full year of space for Utopian thinking, we learn that co-producers Somerset House, King’s College London and the Courtauld Institute of Art are marking the 500th anniversary of Utopia’s formal birth as a concept in writings by Thomas More. The reasoning presented says that because of his texts we are all equipped to imagine that a better world is possible and, thus knowing, “we are empowered to create it.”

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Lucas Dillon. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Raphael Schacter and the arts organization A(by)P are presenting a portion of this discussion with their exhibit Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street, just opened. Commissioning seventeen street artists for one’s show is in itself so rare and splendid as to be only in the realm of one’s imagination today. But here they are; new pieces and performances from a healthy spectrum of practitioners on the graffiti/Street Art scene like Shepard Fairey, Swoon, REVOK, Brad Downey, Horfée, and Eltono.

Schacter and company are “arguing against the traditionally-held belief of graffiti as a dystopian movement or ‘glorified vandalism’.” With installation works, in-house residencies, and a wide-ranging program of events that include workshops, talks, films, music and performances, no stone will be un-thrown in this wo/man-made island of inquiry and imagination.

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Petro. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

Say A(by)P, “Above all, graffiti and street art act as an alternative voice, whether it is loud and brazen or more subtle and difficult to decipher, which strive to challenge the well-worn systems of society – something which Thomas More’s seminal text also set out. All of the artists will uniquely interpret their ideas on these utopian foundations of graffiti.”

 Here are a small series of images from the organizers from Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street.

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Petro. Detail. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Russell Maurice. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Filippo Minnelli. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Les Freres Ripoulain. Detail. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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El Tono. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Antwan Horféé. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Misha Hollenbach. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Sixe Paredes. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Saleo & Rizote. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Shepard Fairey. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Nano. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

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Revok, Russell Maurice, Nano and Filippo Minelli. Approved By Pablo. Somerset House. London. March 2016. (photo © courtesy of AbyP)

3 March – 2 May 2016
Daily 10.00-18.00 (last entry 17.15)
Terrace Rooms, South Wing
Free admission

 

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