All posts tagged: NY

$WALL\THERAPY 2015 : Surrealism and The Fantastic$

WALL\THERAPY 2015 : Surrealism and The Fantastic

July 29, 2015 Artists

Surreal is the way the world is portrayed across all of our devices today.

It may be the shrinking staff and budgets of newsrooms who are veering ever closer to the sensational or simply the yellow journalism and the PR-planted hyperbole that is rushing to fill the vacuum, but the presentation of our own world is becoming outlandish.

Orwell could have seen this time when war is described as a peace effort, oligarchy is called democracy, and Reality TV is anything but. Combined with rapid technological developments that produce outcomes previously only imagined, we may feel like our grip on the genuine is definitely loosening somewhat.

So fitting it is that a mid-sized US city hosts a mural festival celebrating the surreal and the fantastic in 2015.

Brittany Williams. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We don’t know for sure if it was our current funhouse mirror atmosphere that drove the Wall\Therapy festival in Rochester, NY to choose this years’ themes. It may simply be a way of organizing artists whose work reflects these notions back to us and to illuminate one specific growing trend in street culture and murals.

Surely Magritte, Dali, and Ernst would be very pleased by the uptick of modern surrealists and practitioners of the bizarre, fantastical, and dream-like in galleries, in the public sphere, and throughout popular culture in recent years.

Brittany Williams. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In partnership and as a cultural exchange with Berlin’s Urban Nation (UN) this year, Wall\Therapy 2015 curated this selection of international and local street artists who bring doorways and mirrors for you to step through.

We were glad to be there in person this year and relieved to see that this largely homespun venture continues to be strong and community-minded despite the very hard work that it requires to pull it off. In the face of a rapidly commercializing Street Art festival scene, not only is the grassroots rather refreshing, it is a bit surreal.

Without doubt it is fantastic.

Brittany Williams. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jeff Soto . Maxx242. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Classic graffiti style from NYC’s Daze has always contained elements of surreality. In his three walls he sampled even more styles.”So I used a lot of influences – photo-realistic, almost cubist, there is some lettering, window panes as metaphor. I was also thinking about fabric and the way it folds, and it turned into water,” he says. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daze. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vexta. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vexta: I’ve been doing a lot of collage as my source material – birds, abstract plant shapes, and the galaxy painted over.
BSA: She’s like an earth mother, or universal mother
Vexta: She is every woman.

Vexta. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund’s mural features his superhero vexed by a stone in his boot. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NeverCrew’s Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni created a whale inside an ice whale. “We usually work with themes about the balance between humans and nature,” says Togni, “In this situation we wanted to do a piece about the balance between the elements.” Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NeverCrew. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Handiedan. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“She is sort of a goddess of East meets West,” says Amsterdam’s Handiedan. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nate Hodge. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Onur . Wes21. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A highly detailed original sketch that is culled from photographs and their own staging of a model in boots, Onur and Wes21 spent many long hours into a few nights to complete their wall.
Onur: It is more of a scene than a classical mural. The wall is perfect for something like this.
BSA: So it is nature taking a bite out of its aggressor
Onur: Yes, kind of. That’s not bad. We have a sign that says beware of beaver crossing. The animals are a metaphor for something else and we are always looking for stuff like this when we are on the streets.

Onur . Wes21. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jason Wilder Courtesy of WallTherapy)

Li-Hill. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Matt Roberts . Joe Guy. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“We knew we had a week and we thought ‘what can we accomplish?’” says Rochester local Matt Roberts on a break from his wall with Joe Guy Allard. “I do monsters all the time and Joe does those robots. It’s a big old fight scene. I mean, who doesn’t want destruction, some mahem? I grew up on Godzilla movies and Ultraman, stuff like that. Just a lot of B-horror. I’m really into it. The new Godzilla movie is like my Crème Brulee.”

Matt Roberts . Joe Guy. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Eder Muniz. Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Eder Muniz. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE) Wall Therapy 2015. Rochester, NY (photo © @MarkDeffPhoto Courtesy of Wall Therapy)

Our deep gratitude to the Wall\Therapy Family; Ian Wilson and Erich Lehman for their invitation to participate at this edition, and to Yasha Young, director of Urban Nation and this year’s co-curator. To the artists for sharing their talent with us in such a public and generous way. To all of the volunteers including Jason Barber and Maureen Malone for their sincere dedication and attention to detail and to the production team for making certain we all had what we needed and for making our job far easier. To the photographers for sharing their work with us throughout the process. To Jonathan Binstock, Director of the Memorial Art Gallery at The University of Rochester for hosting our BSA Film Friday Live event and to Meg Colombo and Mike Besaw at MAG for helping us with everything we asked for and then more. To the city of Rochester.

Click HERE to learn more about WALL THERAPY

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

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.26.15 Rochester Special

July 26, 2015 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

It’s not all about the murals! A sacrilegious thing to say perhaps, especially on a Sunday, especially when we are in town to see fresh new murals at the Wall\Therapy festival in Rochester. But none of the artists will take us to task because everyone knows that the roots of Street Art and graffiti are in the un-permissioned work that happens underground in hidden spots that become revered; magnets for aerosol mark-making, veritable spray can galleries. These crumbling houses of the holy are foundational to the modern Street Art scene. After all, if the good Lord didn’t want teens to get high, have sex, and catch tags he wouldn’t have created urban decay.

Top image above >>> Freedom (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Freedom (photo © Jaime Rojo)

So it was good to get to the dirty stuff with some help from an affable Roc native named Jason who showed us around some of the darker caverns in the city this week where you can get a sense of the conversations that bubble just below the surface. These places of decay feature some old school tags, rollers, characters, bubble letters, rants, political critique – the gamut. Also, homeless people, restless hoodies on BMX bikes, and funny smelling cigarette smoke wafting past you periodically.

Freedom (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We were really honored to speak at the museum Friday and to be introduced by the director Jonathan Binstock and Wall\Therapy founder Dr. Ian Wilson for our talk and show of a series of short films about the evolving Street Art scene globally. Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) is part of the University of Rochester and houses a huge encyclopedic collection of 12,000 works of art representing cultures from around the world and across millennia so to have the opportunity to share contemporary works from across this global grassroots art movement is especially gratifying and many in the audience came up afterward to talk about how inspiring this moment in art history is to them personally.

Typically academia and institutional support has been a few steps removed from this means of expression but the last decade and a half continues to see a shifting of perspectives by some who traditionally resisted the work in the streets. We’re just glad that we can continue to provide a platform for voices high and low, trained and self-taught, polished and in development – and the feedback we continue to get from you is that the work strikes a strong chord and we are grateful. Just to keep it real, here’s a tiny collection of work from Rochester’s organic urban art scene.

So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring AX, Cash4, Eder Muniz, Freedom, FUA Krew, Icy and Sot, Jeff Soto, Mr PRVRT, ND’A, OverUnder, ROA, Smear, and Thievin Stephen.

Freedom (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Eder Muniz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FUA Krew commenting on the bulldozing of a homeless tent city in Rochester days before Christmas in December. Mayor Lovely Warren took a great amount of criticism for her decision in the press, and here in the tunnels. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. PRVRT (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. PRVRT and a partial ROA on top. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. PRVRT and a Cash4 on top. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder . NDA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder . Thievin’ Stephen (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Thievin’ Stephen (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smear (photo © Jaime Rojo)

AX (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Soto (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Rochester, NY. July 2015 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

$Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 6$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 6

July 25, 2015 Artists

These have been a stunning few days here in Rochester with a dedicated crew of volunteers and artists is coming to it’s culmination as murals are finished or in their final stages. Again last night Onur and Wes21 were heading back to their wall right after the big celebratory dinner at The Yards – or as people call it, “The Nest”.

“This structure was designed to create a space for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. It was designed to rest tired minds flying back at the end of the day in the hot sun, on a lift and far from home,” said Yards member Sylvan Hemingway in a speech he gave to the group of 40 or so folks gathered at long tables in the collaborative art space. “The energy in this room is real and I am truly grateful that everyone in this wild family reunion is helping to create a dream-like production.”

Eder Muniz. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This small city in Northwestern New York State is warm and very green and lush in this part of the summer, and neighbors assemble on lawnchairs in the shade of leafy trees to watch the artists going up and down in their cherry pickers or ladders – keeping a respectful distance so they don’t interrupt progress, but sometimes its too irresistible not to ask a question or two or take a picture.

As murals are completed the volunteers help to keep the paint and water supplies replenished and to keep an eye on the situation as many of the painters are here in the States for the first time or are simply not familiar with the environment. Aside from the occasional raving opinionator shaking a finger or asking curiously incomprehensible questions, the average observer is amenable.

Eder Muniz. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Today it is raining and the sky is overcast so there is some sleeping-in late in the morning, but of course if you are still painting, it can be a rather unwelcome occurrence. Let’s see those last horses coming round the final corner to cross the finish line (which officially is Sunday).

Tomorrow we’ll give you a mini-wrap of the week –including our trip into some sketchy underground explorations off the beaten path infused with the sound of water gushing out of pipes and the smell of teen spirit wafting through the dimly tunnels that serve as magnets for restless youth with cans in hand. Have a look at these more sunny scenes from Thursday and Friday in the mean-time.

Eder Muniz hit the ground running in style on Thursday, quickly tracing out the natural/fantastic forms and figures that he later would be adding dimension and character to across a saturated cyan sea wall. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Trading tales and sketches and tags in black books after dinner at The Yards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never Crew. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daze. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Troy Lovegates aka Other from August ’14 when he stopped by to see the Wall Therapy folks. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Matthew Roberts . Joe Guy Allard. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“People of Rochesterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” Sung to the tune of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” by Joe Guy Allard. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vexta acknowledges the people who stop by below with a sign of peace. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vexta. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Local talent Nate Hodge in the zone as he becomes ever-more abstract and gestural working across his wall. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund with reference material in hand. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund’s superheroic figure putting on his boots, or maybe he is shaking a stone out. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For wall locations, schedule of events and further details about Wall Therapy 2015 Rochester click HERE

BSA Film Friday 07.24.15

July 24, 2015 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. Brazilian Street Artist Eder Muniz
2. David Flores’ Nelson Mandela Mural Project
3. New TED Talk from eL Seed
4. BSA LIVE Tonight in Rochester for Wall\Therapy 2015 and Urban Nation (UN)

BSA Special Feature: Brazilian Street Artist Eder Muniz

Eder Muniz joins the Wall\Therapy mural festival this year with his magic infused fantasy forms that have been blanketing his hometown of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. The self-taught artist goes by the name of “Calangos de Rua” (Street Lizard) back home but clearly that must be an endearing term as his sentiments toward humans and nature are anything but reptilian. Here is a profile made of the artist three years ago that gives some good insight into his inspirations and working style.

David Flores Nelson Mandela Mural Project

This week was Nelson Mandela’s birthday and we were reminded of the great mural David Flores did of the man two years ago. Done to commemorate his 95th, we remember him through his own words on his 97th in this video by Banded Arts.

New TED Talk from eL Seed

“Born in France to Tunisian parents, eL Seed delights in juggling multiple cultures, languages and identities. Not least in his artwork, which sets Arabic poetry in a style inspired by street art and graffiti. In this quietly passionate talk, the artist and TED Fellow describes his central ambition: to create art so beautiful it needs no translation.”

BSA LIVE Tonight in Rochester for Wall\Therapy 2015 and Urban Nation (UN)

Join us tonight in person for BSA Film Friday LIVE – at University of Rochester. We’re proud to be working with this grassroots festival and to be your hosts at the revered 100+ year old Memorial Art Gallery in the MAG Auditorium. We’ll be showing 16 of our favorite videos from the past year of BSA Film Friday, pieces that are examples of what’s been on our radar – exploring, experimenting, inspiring, and just plain badass videos that keep this scene fresh. If you are in the area we’s love to see your smiling face in the audience tonight!

Click HERE for further information

$Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 3$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 3

July 22, 2015 Artists

In Rochester the weather has been warm but workable, as evidenced by the progress that all the artists have been making. You don’t have a long summer in this city of Kodak so we happily have images to share from a dedicated crew of photographers who are catching all the action while the sun is still blasting and slowly baking the artists.

You’ll see that the Jeff Soto and Maxx242 is nearing completion, Daze is already making plans for a production wall with FUA crew around the corner and Andreas Englund has a number of inquiries from local passersby while he’s painting his first mural here. We’re thinking it will be something rather superhuman.

Jeff Soto – Maxx242. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © @MarkDeffPhoto/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Jeff Soto. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Li-Hill. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Lisa Barker/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Li-Hill. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Joe Guy Allard . Matt Roberts. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © @MarkDeffPhoto/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Vexta. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Onur . Wes21. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © @MarkDeffPhoto/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Onur . Wes21. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Onur . Wes21. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Lisa Barker/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

NeverCrew. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © @MarkDeffPhoto/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

NeverCrew. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Lisa Barker/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Andeas Englund. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Andreas Englund. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Brittany Williams. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Daze. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Nate Hodge. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Nate Hodge. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo ©Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Nate Hodge. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

For wall locations, schedule of events and further details about Wall Therapy 2015 Rochester click HERE

$Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 2$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 2

July 21, 2015 Artists

A lot of great action at Wall\Therapy yesterday with Daze, Jeff Soto, Maxx Gramajo, Onur, Never Crew, Nate Hodge, Vexta, and Andreas making a lot of progress on their murals in Rochester.

“The artists have settled in and everyone is really enjoying the environment and vibe here in Rochester, especially the warm-welcoming from everyone involved. It’s very much about community, about becoming part of our ‘family’,” says organizer Erich Lehman.

We start with this sculptural installation by Li-Hill.

Li-Hill. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Vexta. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Mark Deff/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Nate Hodge. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Daze. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Mark Deff/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Maxx242. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Onur. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Never Crew. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Jeff Soto. Process shot of a collaborative piece he is doing with Maxx Gramajo . Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Andreas. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Mark Deff/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

For wall locations, schedule of events and further details about Wall Therapy 2015 Rochester click HERE

$Wall\Therapy 2015 Begins in Rochester, NY$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Begins in Rochester, NY

July 20, 2015 Artists

Rochester’s Wall\Therapy mural festival began in earnest this weekend with a fine art show at 1975 Gallery and arriving artists beginning to prime their walls and sketch the outlines of the works they’ll be giving to this city in the northwestern part of New York state.

It’s 4th year as Wall\Therapy, this grassroots funded initiative has the unique role of being an art festival that also raises awareness of a medical aid program: assisting people in developing countries to have access to hi-tech diagnostic imaging and doctors. By raising funds to set up teleradiology services within these communities and working with a network of volunteer radiologists around the world, people can get x-rayed where no previous opportunity existed.

Onur and Wes21. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Begun by Brooklyn native Dr. Ian Wilson, he and associated organizations make a connection between philanthropy for the arts and medical care – with the help of an ardent local core of volunteers who hold fundraisers throughout the year and do community outreach to organize and make this event happen.

Onur and Wes21. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Mark Deff/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

This year partnering with Berlin’s Urban Nation (UN) Director Yasha Young, Wall\Therapy is beginning a cultural exchange program by hosting a selection of international artists specifically selected by her to participate.

BSA will be bringing you regular updates and at the end of the week will be bringing an entertaining LIVE version of BSA Film Friday to the University of Rochester at MAG auditorium. Stay tuned!

Nate Hodge. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Andreas Englund. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Mark Deff/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Joe Guy Allard . Matthew Roberts. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Never Crew. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Mark Deff/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Dinner time at The Yards after a long day’s work. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Mark Deff/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

$Handiedan Sets a Pinup Tone for Wall\Therapy 2015 in Rochester$

Handiedan Sets a Pinup Tone for Wall\Therapy 2015 in Rochester

July 9, 2015 Artists

Rochester, New York is the home of the Wall\Therapy festival and BSA is partnering with the team and Urban Nation (UN) to bring you coverage of the grass-roots mural festival for 2015. It will begin in a few weeks but the Amsterdam-based Handiedan got into town early due to being in New York for her show with Jonathan Levine Gallery.

Handiedan in progress. (photo © Jenn Poggi)

Her curvaceous pin-up girls and orientally adorned femme fatales from noir films and rockabilly imaginations intricately layered with patterns and designs from currency – sometimes it is all about getting that paper.

In this case the paper in use is covering the facade of a beautiful brick building dating back to 1890 that was originally a church and later became a machine shop and home to the Rochester Community Players theater group for a half century or so. After a fire a few years back the building has sat vacant for a while. At least, that is what most people from the area can remember.

Handiedan. Taking in the action from inside the building. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Here Handiedan’s specially treated custom designed paperwork brings added dimension while stunningly emulating the template shape and color palette. In many ways it is bringing the building back to life – perhaps in anticipation of its new use as another playhouse to open at the end of the summer.

Handiedan in progress. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Wall\Therapy 2015 has released its line up of artists curated in collaboration with Yasha Young, director of Urban Nation (UN) Berlin. This years theme of surrealism and the fantastic is off to a rather spectacular start obviously and in addition to bringing you daily updates BSA will be in the house on Friday July 24th for a special live edition of BSA Film Friday at the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester. We are really looking forward to meeting you in person.

Artists included for this years Wall\Therapy include: Andreas Englund, Onur, Wes21, Never Crew, Vexta, Li Hill, Handiedan, Daze, Jeff Soto, Maxx242, Eder Muniz, Brittany Williams, Matthew Roberts and Joe Guy Allard.

Handiedan in progress. (photo © Mark Deff)

Handiedan (photo © Mark Deff)

To learn more about Wall Therapy and more details, schedules, program and dates click HERE

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.31.14

August 31, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

A powerful group of images this week as we do a drive by on Labor Day Weekend in New York. We know it’s the last weekend of Summer but hell no! I’m gonna have another strawberry ice cream out on the stoop.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Alma’s, Anthony Lemer, Arnaud Montagard, Alice Pasquini, Bast, BLY, Cesar Mieses DALeast, Dek, Jerk Face, Paul Insect, Pete Kirill, Ryan McGinness, Sean9Lugo, Seymour Chwast, Solus, Swil, Tripel, Willow, Wing, and You Go Girl!

Top Image >> Summer Time Baby by ALMA’s. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

DALeast (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sean9Lugo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BLY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

You Go Girl needs some heart mending. Time is the only proven method, Girl. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alice Pasquini in Syracuse, Sicily. August 2014 (photo © Alessandra de Grande)

“This is my latest wall, painted in Syracuse, Sicily with the support of the Istinto Naturale cultural association,” says Alice Pasquini of this new tableau.

“Titled ‘The myth of Arethusa and Alpheus’ it was inspired by the spring of Arethusa in Ortygia (Syracuse), a body of fresh water close to the seashore. The legend says that the nereid Arethusa, trying to escape the advances of the river god Alpheus, fled by turning into a stream, eventually breaking ground in Ortygia where Alpheus found her and was able to mingle in her waters.” ~ AP

Let the mingling begin! Although you have to admit that she doesn’t look like she’s quite committed to the idea.

brooklyn-street-art-willow-swil-jaime-rojo-08-31-14-web-2

Willow and Swil (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dek’s installation of Bronx native Seymour Chwast’s posters from 1987. The timeless and timeliness of a 27 year old poster on the streets is remarkable. War Is Madness. (photo @ Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-colossal-jaime-rojo-08-31-14-web

The folks at Colossal are having a laugh with this hand painted rendering poking fun at the deluge of probing glass and steel luxury condos that are springing up around Williamsburg these days. “Insert Yourself Into Exquisite Luxury Surroundings”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Paul Insect (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In this new piece in Wynwood, Miami, Pete Kirill depicts James Bond (Sean Connery) as 1990’s hip-hop artist Vanilla Icee. (photo © Cesar Mieses)

BAST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The only surviving plate from the series Ryan McGiness installed in collaboration with DOT for Summer Streets Series. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Beautiful Times” hits Brooklyn, Beacon and Back to Colorado

August 28, 2014 Artists

The “Beautiful Times” tour by Amanda Marie and X-0 has brought them back to Denver Colorado where it began. We shared with you images and a semi-travelogue for their earlier installations along this summer tour in Denver and Philadelphia. In this final installment of their easy-going art-making project we find them in Brooklyn and the upstate small town of Beacon, New York, where many New Yorkers went to settle in the 2000s, creating a kinship that continues to today.

An now a quick look at their respective public works in Brooklyn, most of it in the DUMBO neighborhood. “We got our paint for this leg of the journey at a place called Park Delicatessen,” X-O says as he lists the items on offer there – and would you care to guess which ones he likes most? “Here is what they sold there…skateboards, flowers, spray paint, and smart sexy porn zines,” he relates. “Are you freaking joking? This is the most perfect shop ever.”

Heading north up the Hudson River, the two found that, “After being fully infatuated with the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn, it was an unseen and uber appreciated change of pace to have our next stop in Beacon,” says X-0.

They liked to small town sophisticated vibe and couldn’t believe how nice the people were. “Amanda painted an amazing ‘campground’ scene alongside the Beacon Natural Market,” he says, and he made a new ‘lost object piece’ in the same spot that a Ron English piece had run on for a while. “I also made one small #emogarden called ‘real sweet noise’ while waiting for Mando to get done with her big wall.”

brooklyn-street-art-Amanda-marie-alan-goldsmith-beacon-ny-web-1

Going back to Colorado after being pretty much city struck for the last few weeks was a welcome return.

“Immediately I escaped to the Rocky Mountains and made some ‘string stretches’ in the woods. One of the most successful was a gravity piece I’ve called ‘Gravity Log 1’. I left the cotton twine…Is that littering? Hmmm.”

brooklyn-street-art-azatlan_skatepark_amanda_marie-xo-web

Amanda Marie and X-O would like to thank Todd Masters from Masters Projects in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

They would also like to thank Dan and Kalene from Thundercut/OpenSpace in Beacon, as well as a number of neighborly photographers who were generous with their time and talents in Beacon.

They would also like to thank Andy Weiss in Colorado.

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Amanda Marie and X-O “Beautiful Times” in Denver, CO

Amanda Marie and X-O “Beautiful Times” in Philadelphia

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

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BSA Images Of The Week: 08.10.14

August 10, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

If you haven’t gone barefoot in the park yet this summer, what are you waiting for? Everybody’s doing it. Not recommended for the sidewalk in Bushwick, Bedstuy, …okay, most of Brooklyn. Limit your barefootness to grassy areas.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring AK, Bifido, Che Man, Clint Mario, Cooper, Crummy Gummy, Damon, Jilly Ballistic, Karl Addison, ME, OverUnder, Pyramid Oracle, Razo, Sean9Lugo, and Skount.

Top Image >> Jilly Ballistic blasts something out of the sky while the modern version of the Keystone Cops blasts an advertisement at unsuspecting citizenry. What’s with all the guns all the time? Jeez.(photo © Jaime Rojo)

“I recently visited Detroit, MI and created some new work while I was there. When I told people I was going to Detroit the typical reaction was “It’s Dangerous” Or “That place is dirty!” or they would just make a face about it like I’m crazy for going. After visiting I felt, yes there are some areas that are not great to hang around at, but I also fell in love with the people there and how they take a lot of pride in their city. So the two works loosely were inspired by people’s reactions to visiting Detroit using references of “crime” and “cleaning up” with my twist of humor put in them” – CG

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Wall Therapy 2014

July 29, 2014 Artists

Wall\Therapy has concluded in Rochester again, this year with a focus on portraits and today we bring you an update from some of the talented photographers on the scene in this north western New York town. Essentially a mural project that is beautifying the city with a very eclectic mix of artists working in styles across the board, Wall/Therapy had a smaller roster this year, and perhaps a more local focus. Here’s a snapshot of some finished walls.

BSA would like to thank the organizers, photographers and volunteers at this year’s edition of Wall\Therapy for sending these exclusive images to us to share with our readers.

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