All posts tagged: Mantra

Mantra – An “End Of Spring” Diary

Mantra – An “End Of Spring” Diary

“Spring marks longer days, nature in full bloom, and the wrapping up of my European tour. With exciting things in the works, more explorations, new studios in Switzerland and Mexico, and plenty of projects lined up, I would like to take this time to share some of this season’s journey. Sit back, relax, and enjoy these moments!” – Mantra

Mantra. Oskarshamn Street Art Festival. Oskarshamn, Sweden. (photo © courtesy of Youri Cansell)

Look who just happened to fly by – It’s French street artist and naturalist Mantra with a diary of what projects he has been involved in this spring. Now that we are officially in summer for one day, we thought you would like to see the recap of this prolific and quick painting scientist. Yes, Mantra’s artworks transcend aesthetics by delving into the realm of scientific exploration. He meticulously incorporates biology, ecology, and zoology elements into his pieces, demonstrating a profound understanding of the natural world.

Mantra. Fimon, Italy. (photo © courtesy of Youri Cansell)

Mantra’s attention to scientific detail is probably unparalleled in today’s street art/mural scene, as he painstakingly replicates the textures, patterns, and colors of various organisms, mainly insects and marine life. His artworks often feature magnified views of creatures in realistic fashion, revealing the intricate beauty hidden within their microscopic worlds. And we’re pleased to bring to BSA readers Mantra’s personal musings about his experiences this spring.



~ by Mantra

I was very honored to return for the fourth edition of the Oskarshamn Street Art Festival. This freehand mural, entitled The Oskarhamn Collection, illustrates butterflies like the Clouded Yellow (Colias Croceus) or the Large Blue (Phengaris Arion), which are only found in this part of the country on the southeast side of the Baltic Sea. This collection brings harmony that balances with the natural architecture of this building and strengthens the ambiance with a soft color palette.”

Mantra. Fimon, Italy. (photo © courtesy of Youri Cansell)

In the midst of spring, during my time in Fimon, Italy, I had the incredible opportunity to witness the breathtaking countryside of Arcugnano in full bloom. I was able to closely observe most of the specimens I selected for my project right in front of the wall. This mural serves as a captivating reflection of the Veneto region’s rich and diverse ecosystem, inviting us to appreciate the intricate details of each unique species on a grand scale.

Mantra. Braedstrup, Denmark. (photo © courtesy of Youri Cansell)

Returning to Denmark was another great experience, this time to visit Braedstrup alongside Kunstbureauet Kolossal. In this latest piece, entitled A Poplar Admiral Journey,  I immersed myself in the natural habitat of butterflies within this region. By surrounding them with the lush flora that constitutes their world, I aimed to appreciate their ecosystem and imagine what life could be like in their captivating microcosm. I hope that this mural brings harmony to the town and initiates curiosity about these fascinating insects, inspiring a deeper respect for the natural world around us.

Mantra. Braedstrup, Denmark. (photo © courtesy of Youri Cansell)
Mantra. Metz, France. Work in progress. (photo © courtesy of Youri Cansell)

This mural, in my hometown of Metz, France, is composed of photographs I took of flowers, insects, and other aspects of nature that inspired me while visiting the Metz botanic garden and the lush countryside. The woman in this mural, Leeloo Clasen, was born and raised in Metz and is a ballet dancer at the conservatory. Immersed in a tranquil moment of reading, Leelo is surrounded by plants and butterflies, a tribute to the green city where I grew up.

Mantra. Metz, France. Work in progress. (photo © courtesy of Youri Cansell)

To learn more about Mantra, his trips, projects, and his thoughts click HERE and follow him on https://www.instagram.com/mantrarea/

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Mantra, Martha, Monarchs in Mexico: Part II

Mantra, Martha, Monarchs in Mexico: Part II


As Part II of our coverage of street artist Mantra painting Monarch butterflies in an astounding natural biosphere located in Mexico, we speak today with the artist about his original investigation into the region, his interactions with the local scientific community and the people who live in these areas, and his experience with documentarian photographer Martha Cooper and her travel companion and cousin, Sally.

See Part I HERE.

Mantra. Zitacuaro, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Mantra)

“We had a really good time,” says Mantra. “It was quite perfect weather for what we wanted to see and we had a few happy surprises, including this celebration that was taking place in one village I painted in.”

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you tell us why you were in this part of Mexico at this time of the year?

Mantra: As you know, from my entire life path and professional path, I always have been mesmerized and attracted and curious of the living – especially insects and butterflies. However, I have never had the opportunity to create a body of work that speaks about monarch butterflies.

Last year after my solo show in Miami, I really felt that it was the moment to start to study and investigate this beautiful insect.

In January 2022 when I was in Mexico City, I decided to travel to the area where the main migration of monarch butterflies in the world settle for the winter.

Mantra. Martha Cooper and Cousin Sally. Zitacuaro, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Mantra)

So I went there via Mexico City to the nearby region in Michoacán to try to understand all the smaller details and mysteries about this migration – and it mesmerized me. Not only did I go with a scientific state of mind and this kind of spirit, but I was also interested in assuming an anthropologic approach to learn what was happening in this territory.

During different journeys in 2022, I met with so many different communities that are part of a patchwork of communities living in this lens. And I made these connections with the great help of an NGO named Alternare, and its director Ismael Venegasa at their headquarters in Zitacuaro.

They connected me with the ongoing main investigation on Monarch butterflies in Mexico happening at the University of Morelia. I learned with students from the university

I had the opportunity to investigate in a restricted area that must be approached carefully because of sensitivity to their protection. I have talked with Martha many times about her coming to see this, and this year we just turned this old wish into a reality.

Mantra. Zitacuaro, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Mantra)

Brooklyn Street Art: You had the opportunity to paint murals in a few locations. How did you decide which butterflies were appropriate for the walls?

Mantra: It’s an NGO that builds bridges between communities and institutions to try to assist the community and its relationship with the institutions, which means not only focusing on the scientific and biological aspects but also recognizing and respecting the social patterns that we can find.

My intention was to provide Martha and Sally the greatest experience I could, girded by the knowledge I gained last year from all my visits on-site with the different communities and inside the different monarch colonies. Martha is always saying she and Sally like to see how people are living. So with all of us animated by this same spirit, like really an anthropologic point of view, we were happy to make this journey together.

Mantra. School “Lazaro Cardenas del Rio” in Cerro Prieto, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Mantra)

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you describe the local culture and the environment for painting that you experienced?

Mantra: Well, honestly, in each location, I painted a monarch butterfly; a male and another female – from my collection of photos.

We spent one afternoon with Martha and Sally in front of a small wall of a beautiful family house that I just walked to and knocked on the door and asked permission to paint on their wall. They accepted my request, and it turned into a really beautiful and sweet afternoon for the girls and for me. For this family of five people (plus a dog), I just wanted to paint monarch butterflies because it’s the main butterfly, and it is really emblematic of the city and the region.

The second location was inside a village and really high in the mountain at nearly 10,000 feet in elevation. Because of the height, the village of one of the communities that earn the right to visit the second main butterfly colony, which is Sierra Chincua (on Cerro Prieto community territory).

Mantra’s photo of Martha and Sally en route to the Reserva de la Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca – RBMM. Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Mantra)

I would say that my experience in this environment with the local culture that people are really warm, open, kind, and humble. They welcome you as part of their community as long they understand your vision – and that you are coming in peace and in a friendly way.

They teach you about the community they are living in, they bring you food, and they invite you to be part of their traditional celebrations. It’s amazing to see how they feel you part of their community once you share a vision with them. 

This journey with Martha and Sally was for me the second year there, and I kept some of the friendships and I hope to keep those friendships naturally growing. I can’t wait to come back next year when the Monarch is back.


Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Reserva de la Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca – RBMM)
Main city : Zitacurato
State: Michoacán
Name of the sanctuary they visited :
– El Rosario (on El Rosario community territory)
– Sierra Chincua (on Cerro Prieto community territory)

The first mural was painted in Zitacuaro downtown.
The second mural was painted on the wall of the 2nd school, “Lazaro Cardenas del Rio” in Cerro Prieto.

Read our first part of Mantra’s murals in the Monarch Butterfly Reserve HERE

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Catching Monarchs in Mexico with Mantra, Martha Cooper, and Cousin Sally

Catching Monarchs in Mexico with Mantra, Martha Cooper, and Cousin Sally

Gorgeous natural beauty today from a part of the world known for hosting millions of butterflies during their annual migration to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, where millions of monarchs gather each year to overwinter in the oyamel fir forests, primarily in the state of Michoacán. Street artist, muralist, biologist, and entomologist, Mantra has traveled to this region several times to study the butterflies, and this year he invited photographer Martha Cooper to witness this annual event and to see him paint in local towns like Zitabcuaro, Cerro Prieto, El Rosario, and Sierra Chincua.

Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)

The monarch butterfly migration usually begins in late August and lasts until early November, bringing butterflies from Canada and the United States. The purpose of the sanctuary is to protect the monarch’s habitat and promote conservation efforts to ensure their survival. The Mexican government and local communities manage the sanctuary, which reports as many as 200,000 human visitors annually.

Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Various local, regional, and federal authorities work together to protect the forest and educate visitors about preserving the monarch butterfly. Towns and farmers, even religious organizations, have embraced the monarch butterfly as a symbol of hope and renewal, and they have incorporated it into their art, music, and festivals.

We are thankful to Mantra, Martha, and cousin Sally for taking this trip to see these scenes just days before they began their migration northward again in March to places like the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, where the butterflies will stop to refuel and reproduce, as well as parts of the southern United States and Mexico where they breed and lay eggs before continuing their journey northward.

Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Dancers celebrating the Bio-Cultural Festival for the Monarch Butterfly. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)

In the Ejido Cierro Prieto community, located in the state of Michoacán, the Bio-Cultural Festival of the Monarch Butterfly brings together community, conservation organizations, and visitors from everywhere to celebrate. Martha and Sally caught the “Danza de los Tecuanes,” or the Dance of the Jaguars. This dance is performed in many indigenous communities in Mexico and involves dancers wearing elaborate costumes and masks depicting jaguars and other animals.

Dancers celebrating the Bio-Cultural Festival for the Monarch Butterfly. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)

The dance is accompanied by live music played on traditional instruments, such as drums and rattles, and it incorporates elements of storytelling and ritual. The sword clashes are said to represent the jaguars’ fierce and robust nature, as well as their role as protectors of the forest and its inhabitants. The dance symbolizes the community’s connection to the natural world and its commitment to preserving the monarch butterfly’s habitat and other vital ecosystems.

Dancers celebrating the Bio-Cultural Festival for the Monarch Butterfly. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Members of the dance troupe posing in front of Mantra’s mural. Ejido Cierro Prieto, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, Sierra Chincua, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, Sierra Chincua, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, Sierra Chincua, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, Sierra Chincua, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra’s reference for his painting. Zitacuaro, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Watching the action with Mantra. Zitacuaro, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra. Zitacuaro, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mantra. Zitacuaro, Michoacan. Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Cousin Sally. Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Cousin Sally. Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, El Rosario, Michoacan, Mexico. (photo © Martha Cooper)
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Mantra Flying in Wynwood, Part Deux

Mantra Flying in Wynwood, Part Deux

Rising above the sticky spray-painted chaos on the first story level of nearly everything else here in Wynwood, you’ll walk by and gaze upward at the newly finished panels of scientifically accurate butterflies by the French street artist Mantra. This is part two of a gig he got with a real estate firm that we caught the first part of just before the New Year. (Mantra Flies High in Wynwood, Miami)

Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We’ll be sharing some of the street’s visual cacophony with you in future postings, but for today let’s calm our minds to recover from the harsh conflicting messages of raw commerce crashing into the enormous income gaps and class ruptures everywhere else. These butterflies are expertly rendered, preserved for posterity, floating up from the fray – a stolen moment of tranquility that silences the jackhammers and beeping cash registers.

Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Artify Jacó Welcomes Marty and Nika

Artify Jacó Welcomes Marty and Nika

Famed graffiti and street art photographers Martha Cooper and Nika Kramer took to Jacó, Costa Rica, during the winter holidays in December, proving that they knew where to go when the weather up North is turning inclement and wintry. Naturally, they located some great walls to shoot as well.

Mantra. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)

A tourist destination since at least the 1920s, Jacó really took off in the 1970s when the first hotel opened here and, during the remainder of the century, transformed into a destination for vacation-residential development like the renowned Punta Leona just north.

Mantra. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Upscale accommodations, bachelor parties, party boats, and ex-pats in high supply, the town still retains connections to local culture thanks to its overwhelming natural beauty, hiking, surfing, and the mural program called Artify Jacó. Launched in 2016, its co-creator, Steward Invierno, also has owned a gallery/gift shop for the last decade that offers more traditional art-making workshops and sells canvasses by local and international artists.

Gravitating to broad themes relating to nature, love, community, and hope, the annual festival has been transforming the city with art and in some cases, has been likened to the neighborhood of Wynwood in Miami. Having spent a lot of time in that town as well during Art Basel, both Martha and Nika felt quite at home shooting the murals here at Artify Jacó.

Axonn22. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Axonn22. Detail. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Diego Roa Castillo. Detail. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Dulk. Mantra. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
Dulk. Mantra. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
DourOne Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Farid Rueda. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Vueltas. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
Jade Rivera. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
Floe Swoer. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Pulun Perez. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
Pulun Perez. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
SAD. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
GATS. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
Dulk. Artify Jaco. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
Warning! Dangerous Crocodiles. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Masks. Jaco, Costa Rica. (photo © Nika Kramer)
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Mantra Flies High in Wynwood, Miami

Mantra Flies High in Wynwood, Miami

A bit of sérendipité, really, to be tooling around Wynwood in a holiday mindset and a rental car at the end of the year, and to look up to see Mantra on a cherry picker. We had just seen him in Brooklyn the month before and here he was again, painting freehand, as he does, with such precision and commitment, which he also does.

Mantra. Plate I. Detail. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The painting is thoughtful, as you may expect, with each of the collection a butterfly that can be found in Miami, he tells us. Next month he will be in Mexico in the middle of millions of – you know what. Keep going strong, Mantra.

Binomial name, from left to right, top to bottom :

1A Eurema d. daira ♂
1B Eunica Tatila ♀
1C Zerene Cesonia ♀
1D Phoebis Philea ♀
1E Limenitis arthemis astyanax ♀
2A Papilio P. Palames ♂
2B Hypolimnas Misippus ♂
2C Siproeta Stelenes ♂
3A Eurema d. daira ♀
3B Eunica Tatila ♂
3C Zerene Cesonia ♂
3D Phoebis Sennae ♀
3E Eumaeus Atala ♂

Mantra. Plate I. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Plate II. Detail of a work in progress. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jaime, Mantra, and Steve. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Mantra and the Big-Talking Ruby Crested Kinglet in Williamsburg

Mantra and the Big-Talking Ruby Crested Kinglet in Williamsburg

Under the clattering rumble of the J Train, as it passes above from Manhattan into Brooklyn, this Ruby Crowned Kinglet hangs onto a small branch. An overcaffeinated and twitchy bird of very diminutive size, its birdsong is non-the-less one of the loudest – and quite musical. It looks like Mantra has chosen a perfect New York bird for this wall in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In collaboration with the Audubon Society and Flora Fauna Funga (FEE), the French naturist, muralist, and former graffiti writer brought this natural scene into a boisterous babble of lateral glass and steel hubris. An artists’ neighborhood at the turn of the century, most of those colorful characters have been chased out by high rents, higher anxiety, and the startling, stultifying cultural homogeneity found in any suburb. It’s nice to see a little color back here.

“I had heard about this Audoban project on the street here,” Mantra explains, “and Martha said, ‘Why don’t you take the subway up to Harlem to see the new walls that feature birds and introduce yourself to the organizers.” He is referring to photographer and friend Martha Cooper whose cat Melia he once painted on a wall in Helsingborg, Sweden.

Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In the end, it was the Audobon Society in Paris who gave him the first opportunity, and now he is in the sister city of New York to paint this one for them. “We realized that it would be a good idea to have a mural in Paris and another one in New York City anyway,” he says.

Looking for a metaphor he says, “We are not even building a bridge but maybe as birds we migrated from Paris to New York.” New York has of course a public art connection with France at least since the 1880s when the Statue of Liberty opened – designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi , with its metal framework built by Gustave Eiffel.

“So basically,” Mantra says, “ I decided to design this mural so we could appreciate this bird above us. The ruby-crowned kinglet arrived and landed on the branch. Maybe he is as curious as we are.”

And what about the new mushrooms that have seeming popped up here overnight?

“There is a fungi foundation that is linked and is sort of a parallel foundation that is also a partner for this project,” he says. “From what I understand, there is a struggle to break into the scientific fields and establish a third order. It would be flora, fauna, and fungi.”

Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. October 2022. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Kansas Flies Into the Mural Scene: Boom!

Kansas Flies Into the Mural Scene: Boom!

Not the first place you think of for a mural festival: Salina, Kansas. But there are new mural festivals in downtowns across the globe right now, and their longevity, among other barometers for success, varies greatly. In addition to having a distinct point of view, we have observed that towns and cities that are beginning public art projects must have a serious budget and an excellent sense of organization. “Boom!” appears to have both.

Members of the Women in Aviation K-State Chapter pose in front of a new mural by Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)

The pacing has been good too – with the Australian Guido van Helten starting the momentum by painting a sweet scene in 2021 of local children here on the ‘canvas’ that has become a signature for him, a cluster of grain elevator silos. His realistic renderings, fully contextual, are romantic without becoming sentimental and outpace many with his painterly can-control and technical ability. Somehow the Brisbane native may have lit this fuse.

Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Following that Salina Kanvas project (there are a few initiatives on the boards) comes the first organized festival with a solid mix of talents from the international scene crossing murals, street art, and graffiti roots – not easy to accomplish with such a short roster. Like van Helten, the talent is self-assured, and some of it goes deep in self-knowledge and in the culture that fuels today’s scene. Thanks to private donations, corporate sponsors, and the Chamber of Commerce, initiatives like this community-building public art project are well-backed.

Add to this mix the world-renowned photographer Martha Cooper, who captured the scene that birthed this one about 45 years ago in neighborhoods where it started, and balance it with the high-flying image of Kansas’ most famous pilot Amelia Earhart, who pioneered aviation and capitalized well off her self-made brand. This year’s curation may well have put Salina on the mural-fest map in one fell swoop.

Martha shares some of her shots with us today – with a few from the organizers as well.

Tony Sjoman. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)

Not that the town of 45,000 of wheat, Wesleyans, and women in aviation doesn’t have an organic graffiti scene; It’s here. You can find examples of Salina’s fight against it, including advice on discouraging it with, well, murals. It’s good to recognize that most, or not all, of the participants in Boom! also sharpened their skills by painting graffiti illegally on the street.

Ms. Cooper tells us that “I would have liked to have time to shoot more freights,” a historical method for transporting unsanctioned art and writing across the country on the sides of freight trains that is peculiar to American history as it braids with archetypes of rebels, hobos and cowboy mythology. “The train tracks run through Salina,” Cooper remarks with some relish, and she notes smaller details that a documentary photographer would catch. “The main street had lovely plantings of prairie grasses evoking what we outsiders think of as typically Kansas.”

Here is a sampling of the works and artists from this inaugural “Boom!”. We hear the second one will make some noise as well.

Boom! Salina is an annual mural festival in downtown Salina, KS. Boom! Salina is backed by the Salina Kanvas Project.

Tony Sjoman. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)
Tony Sjoman. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)
Tony Sjoman. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Joe Iurato. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Joe Iurato. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mona Caron. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mona Caron. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Mona Caron. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)
Mantra. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)
Mantra. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)
Mantra. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)
Mantra. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Tanner Colvin / Salina Kanvas Project)
Telmo Miel. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Telmo Miel. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Telmo Miel. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Telmo Miel. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Group shot of the talented artists. Boom Festival / Salina Kanvas Project. Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
Behind the shot. Martha Cooper poses with the K-state women in aviation.
A bonus shot of a freight train with graffiti passing through Salina, Kansas. October 2022. (photo © Martha Cooper)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 12.05.21 / Wynwood Walls Special

BSA Images Of The Week: 12.05.21 / Wynwood Walls Special

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week – this week from Wynwood Walls in Miami, which each year Goldman Global Arts invites a slate of artists to artistically collaborate by providing them with the opportunity to paint on the walls of the compound. The artists created new pieces in the weeks leading up to Miami Art Basel and debuted them this week. Many of the artists were in attendance during the events and attended the celebration dinner given by the Goldman family as well. Martha Cooper and Nika Kramer were invited to provide the documentation of the process and the completed works.

So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Add Fuel, Aiko, Bordalo II, David Flores, Ernesto Maranje, Farid Rueda, Greg Mike, Hiero Veiga, Joe Iurato, Kai, Kayla Mahaffey, Mantra, Quake, and Scott Froschauer.

Joe Iurato. Detail. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Joe Iurato. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Joe Iurato. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bordalo II. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bordalo II. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kai. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Add Fuel. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Add Fuel. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Add Fuel. Detail. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
David Flores. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ernesto Maranje. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Farid Rueda. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kayla Mahaffey. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Aiko. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Quake & Hiero. Detail. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Quake & Hiero. Detail. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Greg Mike. Detail. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Greg Mike. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Scott Froschauer. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Class of 2021. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Current, and previous artists, hosts, producers, collaborators, photographers, and documentarians. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Nika Kramer)
Jessica Goldman Srebnick & Janet Goldman. Wynwood Walls/Art Basel 2021. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Faile at GGA with BSA – Miami Art Week Marches On

Faile at GGA with BSA – Miami Art Week Marches On

Get in, get out, no one gets hurt. Our few days in Miami were full of adventure on the street and at parties and receptions for artists. The party rages on tonight and this weekend at the fairs and in the galleries and bars and streets of course, but our last events were interviewing Faile onstage at Wynwood Walls last night, going to the Museum of Graffiti 2nd Anniversary party/opening for FUZI, and, well there was this thing with Shepard Fairey and Major Lazer and a guy proposing marriage to his girl before the crowd…

Faile. Artists Panel. Wynwood Walls/Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. December 1, 2021. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

But really, where else but Wynwood do you see Blade and his lovely wife Portia on the street, or sit with Ron English and his son Mars on folding chairs directly on the street in front of his new pop-up, or have a hug with ever-sunny Elle in front of her lift, or hide in the shade with seven 1UP dudes across the street from their massive new space piece, or talk with Ket in the back yard with “Style Wars” playing on a large screen behind him and the DJ while a florescent colored Okuda marches by, or chase Lamour Supreme while he tries a one-wheel skateboard around a parking lot, nearly crashing into Crash who is in his cherry picker with Abstrk painting a wall? The dinner at Goldman Properties Monday night? Dude.

Faile. Artists Panel. Wynwood Walls/Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. December 1, 2021. (screengrab courtesy of Wynwood Walls)

We’re not really name-droppers, you know that, but honestly it was like a family reunion dinner with perfectly punctilious attention to detail over at Wynwood Walls this week – after two years of Covid fears killing everyone’s buzz. We saw Daze, Shoe, PichiAvo, Bordalo II, Jonone, Shepard Fairey, 1Up, Add Fuel, Case MacClaim, Nychos, Faile, Martha Cooper, Nika Kramer, Mantra, Ken Hiratsuka just to name a few – cavorting with collectors, cultural workers, fanboys, journalists, bloggers, academics, critics, bankers, gallerists, curators, museum people, real estate folks, photographers, dancers, silk climbing aerialists and hustlers of many flavors – and all the class of ’21 artists whom Jessica Goldman invited to paint this year. A Miami mélange, we’ll call it.

Faile. Artists Panel. Wynwood Walls/Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. December 1, 2021. (screengrab courtesy of Charlotte Pyatt)

We were even having dinner with Martha when a local stencilist named Gregg Rivero sat in an empty chair at the table with us to offer an array of small stencil works featuring graphically pornographic scenes – to choose from as a memento of Miami indubitably. Naturally, we carefully perused his entire collection of 20 or so spread-eagles, doggie-styles, Shanghai-swans, Mississippi-missionaries, Dutch-doors, bobbing-for-sausages, and lord-knows-what-else. After careful consideration and we each selected a favorite stencil and he autographed it. Just not sure what room to hang it in…

Faile. Artists Panel. Wynwood Walls/Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. December 1, 2021. (screengrab courtesy of Wynwood Walls)

Our treasured part of the Miami art vortex ’21 was meeting some BSA fans and Faile fans mixed together at the artist talk hosted by Peter Tunney at GGA Gallery last night. An action-packed hour of pictures covering their 35 year friendship was on offer for the assembled – focused mainly of course on their 22 year professional career. What an amazing career of image-making it is too – and even though we were prepared, there are always surprises with such dynamic dudes who have parlayed an illegal street art career into a well-respected and pretty high profile career with intense collectors and fans of their simplest silk screens and works on paper to their wood puzzle boxes, wood paintings, toys, ripped paintings, and their very new, completely radical approach that breaks their own mold for this “Endless” exhibition. And need we say it, Faile have already released a number of NFTs of course – which some in the audience didn’t know that Faile had – but could have guessed since Faile pioneered interactive digital games that accompanied their analog works as early as 2010 when most people still didn’t even have a smart phone.

But we digress. Back in New York now and it’s grey and cold and unwelcoming, and of course we love it. Thanks Miami! See you soon.

Faile. Artists Panel. Wynwood Walls/Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. December 1, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The image below was taken in Wynwood, Miami. At the panel, with Faile, they talked about the process of making their art and one of the subjects was about ripping up posters from the street…. – and how their original name was Alife. Two blocks away we found these ripped posters advertising Alife.

Faile. Endless. Wynwood Walls/Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile. Endless. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile. Endless. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile. Endless. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile. Endless. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Faile. Endless. Goldman Global Arts. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FAILE: ENDLESS is currently on view at Goldman Global Arts Gallery at Wynwood Walls. Wynwood, Miami.

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BSA Film Friday: 10.15.21

BSA Film Friday: 10.15.21

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Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening:
1. MANTRA in the Wynwood Jungle

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BSA Special Feature: MANTRA in the Wynwood Jungle

For this installment of BSA Film Friday week we offer you our own home-made video observing French street artist and naturalist Youri Cansell AKA MANTRA as he painted in situ among the plants and animals in Miami. Tuesday night’s conversation with our editor in chief Steve Harrington and the artist on the grounds of Wynwood Walls revealed the exacting nature of the artist’s contemplative study of the very pillars of our Earth-anchored existence.

More clinical than didactic in his descriptions, his study of this species and their endangered circumstances is nonetheless passionate. Speaking against a video backdrop of Mantra painting enormous murals around the world, his sharp eye is surpassed only by his reverent appreciation for beauty, executed in precision and warmth.

Here in the temporarily verdant environment created in the gallery by curator and artist Peter Tunney, MANTRA appears to be painting in the forest preserve, surrounded by the lush and the leafy, anchored by a full-wall photo by friend Ryan Lynch of an Equadorian reserve.

A graffiti writer as a teen, an ardent and self-professed amateur entomologist and preservationist in his thirties, Mantra took it as a near-mystical sign when he spotted an actual caterpillar eating leaves on a plant next to him. He has been painting in near solitude while visitors quietly mill around behind him and he looked down to see the unique markings of this visitor, identifying it as a Monarch butterfly en route. Now the artist says that he is ever-clearer of his future projects – as we are of his future successes.

Mantra. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra with Steven P. Harrington. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Peter Tunney with Steven P. Harrington. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © World Red Eye)
Mantra with Steven P. Harrington. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © World Red Eye)
Mantra with Steven P. Harrington. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © World Red Eye)
Mantra with Steven P. Harrington. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © World Red Eye)

Mantra “Metamorphōsis” is open to the general public at Goldman Global Arts Gallery. Wynwood, Miami.

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Mantra in Miami to Open “Metamorphōsis” at GGA

Mantra in Miami to Open “Metamorphōsis” at GGA

Half biologist, half street artist, all gentleman. The French painter Youri Cansell AKA Mantra opens his very first US solo show tonight at Goldman Global Arts (GGA) in Miami. In preparation for “Metamorphōsis,” the artist has been painting non-stop all summer at a temporary studio in Cancun.

Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The 15 or so canvasses are gathered comfortably against a fresh seafoam green interior, nestled among large leafy installations by curator Peter Tunney, who finds a fine balance in his quest for creating a complementary environmental context in the space. Anchored at one end of the gallery by a full-wall spread photographic print (by Ryan Lynch), guests gain some sense of scale for the places Mantra has traveled in search of this species – in this case, an Ecuadorian forest preserve that the artist has traveled many times to in search of the blue morpho butterfly.

He found one and he has the pictures and paintings to prove it – two as the pristine collector’s presentation in shadow boxes, one in his new direction of presenting the Lepidopteran world – in their natural habitats of wood and leaves.

The precisely detailed, hued, textured, and shimmering beauties are evocative of autumn art-show glamour – all clad in satin and furs and bubbling golden champagne. Fashion may clearly not be Mantra’s intent here, but how can you not see these gorgeous beauties this way – a soiree of international stunners arriving single and with crew in tow; against this wall is his Costa Rican Collection – hanging directly across the room from his Mexican Ensemble.

Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Precursors to the butterfly, three moths are repping as well and in stunning detail. One’s massive wing-span is as large as yours – fingertip to fingertip – its textures and patterning subtle and luxurious tone-on-tone beige. Precise and accurate, any entomologist who sees this show will approve of Mantra’s depictions, and most likely they’ll marvel as well.

A departure from the pop-inspired, graphical, or wild-styled, Mantra’s studious realism is a far cry from what street art fans may associate with ‘the scene’. However, his teenage escapades on French city streets with aerosol-can-in-hand under cover of the night are exactly what brought him to this point. His professional ‘tag’ is to bear witness to realities of the natural world, and that can earn you just as much street cred in some circles as all species are increasingly under temporary and permanent threat.

We plan to ask him more tonight when BSA interviews Mantra here live for his official US debut.

Hope you can fly in.

Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mantra. Detail. “Metamorphōsis”. GGA. Wynwood, Miami. October 12, 2021. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mantra: “Metamorphōsis”. Open to the public at Goldman Global Arts Gallery. Wynwood, Miami. Click HERE for details.

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