Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. Photographer Jaime Rojo hit the ground running upon getting back to dirty old Brooklyn this week from a Berlin/Prague tour. Lots to report from there on the walls, in the gallery, and in the museum spaces – and more to come for you to enjoy. In the meantime, here’s what he found on the streets of NYC; a mash-up of handstyles, graphics, pop cues, fine-art chops, humor, sarcasm, reverence, and straight-up rebellion — cultures colliding and talking back.
We begin the show with a new portrait of the much-loved graffiti and street art photographer Martha Cooper, based on a photo by Corey Nickols and painted by Swed Oner (Mathieu Taupenas) in Bushwick with Joe Ficalora and the Bushwick Collective by his side. Born in the south of France in the 80s, a graffiti writer in the late 90s, Swed Oner is now known for his hyper-realistic, monochrome portraits of people transformed into religious icons – featuring a “halo” motif for framing.
Featuring Dzel, EAZV, EXR, Gloom, Homesick, IMK, ISB, Jodi Da Real, KAMZ, Mike King, Notice, RIP Money, Shwan McArt, Silent, Smaer, Two Five, VENG, Warios, Werds, and ZOZS.
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. As Fall arrives the leaves turn, the lattes spice up, and Washington does its ghoul impression by shutting down the government, shuttering what’s public while pretending it’s principled. This great pumpkin is being hollowed out, and some appear to be waiting for it to collapse. Ah, but we’ve had these tricksters at our door before, their masks artfully placed.
Happily, street art runs the gamut, and not all of it is scary, despite the times. The first piece in this week’s collection seeks to be reassuring by quoting Bob Marley’s song Three Little Birds, when he sings, “Don’t worry about a thing because every little thing is gonna be alright”. (see the video at the end of today’s posting)
Let’s see what the street art tea leaves are saying. Here is our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Barbara Galiniska, Below Key, Gane, Hope, Jason Naylor, Merk, Mike King, Miki Mu, Modomatic, Pin, Steph Costello, and Tover.
The George Floyd mural at Elgin and Ennis in Houston’s Third Ward has been quietly demolished — a move that caught many off guard, especially as the fifth anniversary of his death approached. More than a painting on a wall in the margins of the city, it was a community’s act of remembrance, a public reckoning, and a visual anchor for a moment when the country seemed to shift. To awaken.
And yet, here we are. Five years later, and it’s hard to say what lasting change took root. In some camps, being ‘woke’ is a pejorative, and going back to sleep is encouraged. The arc of justice bends, but it bends slowly. Or maybe it bends into circles.
Meanwhile in New York, a Banksy mural on a six-ton wall hit the auction block and… nothing. Not a single bid. Cue speculation: are we finally past the Banksy-buoyed street art boom that’s defined the last two decades? Or was the opening price just too steep? Maybe the rollout was sloppy. Maybe it was the economy. Whatever the reason, the silence in the salesroom is rare — and could signal a shift in the so-called urban contemporary art market.
And yet, the Banksy machine rolls on. At this point, there may be more Banksy museums than Starbucks — none sanctioned by the artist, of course, but still packing in the crowds. There’s The Banksy Museum in NYC, The World of Banksy in Paris, Museu Banksy in Barcelona and Madrid, and the touring Art of Banksy show, rolling through Jakarta, Melbourne, and Vancouver. It’s a brand now — maybe not quite as big as Mickey Mouse, but it’s definitely what cultural tourists reach for when they want a little edge with their museum day. What this says about the artist, the audience, or the architecture of commodified rebellion… you draw your own conclusions.
So here’s some of this week’s visual conversation from the street, including works from Shin, Crash One, GO, Ham, Hasp, Homesick, IMK, Jeff Henriquez, Mike King, Nela, Piggie the Pig, Queen Andrea, Stesi, Wetiko, Wild West, and Zimer.
We were looking at the description and lineup of this new Punk exhibit and thinking about how it extends to the early and current mural/street art scene at play today… Opine, as one may, about the roots of this scene and our rigorous academic attempts at qualitative mastery, but the average street artists cares nary a whit what you think, for the most part. It isn’t just our anti-intellectual age; it may simply be antithetical to what street art was ever intended to be. There are those who construct gates to enclose a favored few to make pronouncements about what street art is or isn’t, but the artists who produce work on the streets may not bother climbing the fence to get in their club.
It’s the ironic, rebellious, spirit of D.I.Y. that makes street art and graffiti most attractive for us —not its ability to make money for some nor burnish the reputation of another but to draw us together. The open access to self-expression is so alluring, and it is a testament to how truly innovative artists know how to seize a moment, transform a space, begin a dialogue, or weigh in on one. Create camps? Attempt to consolidate power? It is a folly. Why reject a corrupted and unfair pecking order only to reconstruct one? As we see more anniversary shows heralding punk and its origins, we recall that it was the liberty promised that was so appealing and the destruction of corrupt institutions that was most needed. The aesthetics may have become commodified. It’s spirit, never.
Here is our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Alice Pasquini, Homesick, Judith Supine, Mike King, WERC, Pussy Power, Kane, Kone, Chris Haven, 6147, SLASH FTR, Geraluz, Coes Sneakers, AIC, and Skribblz.
It’s Memorial Day Weekend in New York and there are many commemorations, celebrations and family picnics in the parks. In Brooklyn the Memorial Day Parade kicks off in Bay Ridge at 11 am on Monday, from 78th Street and Third Avenue. The springtime fresh weather continues as we enter the unofficial first weekend of Summer, with lifeguards on our beaches and Fleet Week bringing 2,300 U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard members to New York to see, hear, and taste all that the city has to offer. Also in Brooklyn, you can listen to a concert by high-school musicians of the ISO Symphonic Band at Third Street near Greenwood Cemetary. The musical selections commemorate those who served in the armed forces, and will feature music by some of Green-Wood’s permanent residents, including James Weldon Johnson, Fred Ebb, and Leonard Bernstein. And, of course, there is new Street Art and graffiti to bring commentary and character to many neighborhoods.
Here is our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Modomatic, Mike Makatron, Muebon, Mike King, Frank Ape, Naito Oru. COSA V, Sen1, Cram, Senkoe, Kreau, No Snitch, Ali Baba, GLAD, Merk 26, Snik, and Ron Muralist.
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
– Cesar A. Cruz
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!
The fog of war obscures our vision, confuses our thoughts, and stirs fear and anger within us. Yet, we must not yield to despair as we navigate these unpredictable times. Within each of us lies a creative spirit eager to emerge. Around us are those who yearn for love and aid. Street artists, with their unusual practice of blending of persuasion and provocation, offer entertainment, encouragement, and discomfort. In such times, the artist’s voice becomes crucial, including your voice.
Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Jeremy Fish, Angurria, Mike King, Spaint, Tom Bob NYC, Jay Kaes, Whitney Holbourn, Dream Weavin, Art of Slim, Keru De Kolorz, Menas 24711, Memi Martinez, Face, and Brian Wooden.
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! And how beautiful this city is, even when the heat is on. The amount of talent on our streets is so overwhelming, thank you New York.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Homesick, Mort Art, Optimo NYC, Savior El Mundo, Neckface, Lungebox, DEK2DX, Hektad, Paolo Tolentino, Jappy Agoncillo, SMURFO, Mike King, Mat Lakas, Lasak Art, Snith Node, Big808, Talia Lempert, Individual Activist.
These are topics/themes that street artists are addressing this week in New York – pretty much wherever you go. It looks like an uptick in activism, often with a sense of humor. Can we make a song with these words? Somebody please tie these topics together and make a tidy summary. Thank you.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Raddington Falls, Hek Tad, Degrupo, CP Won, Albertus Joeph, Madame Restell, Mike King, Jason Ackerman, Trippin Ape Tribe, Eternal Possessions, and Lask Art.
Born outside Sydney and based in Glasgow, Sam Bates—SMUG—began the way many graffiti writers do: skateboards, hip-hop, and late-night missions …Read More »
Join the BSA Newsletter!
Subscribe to our newsletter for occasional updates, special announcements, and exclusive content.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
