All posts tagged: MCL Library

Books In The MCL: Mehdi Ben Cheikh. Djerbahood: Open Air Museum of Street Art

Books In The MCL: Mehdi Ben Cheikh. Djerbahood: Open Air Museum of Street Art

Djerbahood: Open Air Museum of Street Art. Mehdi Ben Cheikh. 2015

Reprinted from the original review.

If Tour Paris 13 was the demolition swan song of an era, Djerbahood may feel like an expansive sunrise on the other side of the world. Conceived by gallerist and curator Mehdi Ben Cheikh and realized in the whitewashed village of Erriadh on the island of Djerba, Tunisia, this project gathered more than one hundred artists from thirty countries to create what Ben Cheikh calls a “museum à ciel ouvert”—an open-air museum under the North African sun. The resulting book, published by Albin Michel, offers a monumental visual record of this transformation: 500 photographs across 272 pages, documenting walls, artists, and villagers in a rare moment of collective creation.

In these images, the desert light hits walls like paper. Works by eL Seed, ROA, Pantonio, Phlegm, Jaz, Fintan Magee, Curiot, Inti, and Sebas Velasco coexist with local architecture—white domes, low arches, latticed shadows—turning the town into a living gallery. As Brooklyn Street Art observed in its review, Djerbahood “absorbs your mind and imagination, giving you a sense of the place and the people who live there.” It’s true: the book’s pacing—half atlas, half photo-essay—lets readers wander through alleys as if following the scent of plaster and sea air.

Text Steven P. Harrington & Jaime Rojo     Fotos Eveline Wilson

Title: Djerbahood: Open Air Museum of Street Art
Published: Published by Albin Michael / Galerie Itinerrance, Paris, 2015
Author: Mehdi Ben Cheikh
Language: English

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Books In The MCL: Vladimir Manzhos. WAONE: Worlds of Phantasmagoria, Vol. 1

Books In The MCL: Vladimir Manzhos. WAONE: Worlds of Phantasmagoria, Vol. 1

WAONE: Worlds of Phantasmagoria, Vol. 1. Vladimir Manzhos. 2020

Reprinted from the original review.

Worlds of Phantasmagoria, Vol. 1 is a comprehensive exploration of the monochromatic works of Ukrainian artist Vladimir Manzhos, known as WAONE. Spanning the years 2013 to 2020, this 208-page hardcover book provides a chronological view of his artistic evolution. It highlights his transition from large-scale, colorful murals in public spaces to intricate black-and-white compositions created in the studio.

The book features a range of works, including murals, ink drawings, etchings, and lithographs, each accompanied by detailed narratives from the artist. These descriptions provide insight into WAONE’s creative process and the philosophical themes that underpin his work. Drawing inspiration from mythology, folklore, science, and personal introspection, his pieces weave together surreal imagery with symbolic depth.

With the aesthetics of a musty and mythical library, the illustrations open the preconceptions of psychology, offering myriad views through recombining familiar elements into unusual associations. In the process, you travel with Waone as he dedicates himself to this uncolorful view, which is nonetheless rich, if not tinged with a bit of antiseptic horror.

Text Steven P. Harrington & Jaime Rojo     Fotos Eveline Wilson

Title: WAONE: Worlds of Phantasmagoria, Vol. 1
Published: WAWE 2020
Author: Vladimir Manzhos (WAONE)
Language: English

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Martha Cooper Library / MCL PRESENTS #4: Political Graffiti

Martha Cooper Library / MCL PRESENTS #4: Political Graffiti

For the 4th installment of the Martha Cooper Library at Urban Nation Berlin’s series MCL Presents, the theme for discussion will be Graffiti and politics. Many people have argued that all art is political, and, graffiti wouldn’t be an exception. From the American writer Toni Morrison who famously declared “All good art is political! There is none that isn’t. And the ones that try hard not to be political are political by saying, ‘We love the Status quo.’ To the American performing artist Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote in an article for The Atlantic “All art is political. In tense, fractious times—like our current moment—all art is political. But even during those times when politics and the future of our country itself are not the source of constant worry and anxiety, art is still political.” The MCL Librarian Mrs. Eveline Wilson will lead the talk with hosts René Kästner, Sven Niemann, and a mystery surprise host.

Talk with René Kästner, Sven Niemann, and a special guest from a street art crew

February 29, 2024, 6.00 to 7.30 pm
URBAN NATION Museum | Bülowstr. 7, 10783 Berlin

Vandalism or message? Sprayers reach for the can when they want to convey a political message to a broad audience in highly visible and public places. The volume “Political Graffiti” was recently published in the Guernica Society’s “Art and Politics” series. René Kästner and Sven Niemann discuss graffiti as a tool of political agency with an artist from an internationally renowned street art crew.

For more details and information about the guests and related exhibitions at the museum click HERE

René Kästner (photo courtesy of Martha Cooper Library. Urban Nation Berlin)
Sven Niemann (photo courtesy of Martha Cooper Library. Urban Nation Berlin)
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