All posts tagged: Ricardo Cavolo

No Callarem: Street Artists Paint As Protest in La Modelo Prison, Barcelona

No Callarem: Street Artists Paint As Protest in La Modelo Prison, Barcelona

A new sharply political campaign championing the freedom of expression has caught fire in Spain in the last few weeks under the hashtag #NoCallaremos, and Street Artists are now adding their talents to the protest. Rather shockingly for a modern European nation, a rapper’s prison sentence for offensive lyrics was upheld in Spanish Supreme Court in February (Billboard) and that decision along with other recent events has sparked a number of creative protests across the art world in cities across the country. Today BSA contributing Street Art photographer Fer Alcalá shares his opinions and new images of the murals in progress with BSA readers.


THE NO CALLAREM PLATFORM

~ by Fer Alcalá

…or how some of Spanish top artists react against censorship and repression of the freedom of speech from the central government…

Enric Sant at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

It’s now known worldwide: the Spanish government is imprisoning hip hop artists like Valtonyc and Pablo Hasel because of their sharp and truthful lyrics as well as sentencing people like you and me because of their critical posts on social media.

As a reaction to these acts against the freedom of speech that are more in tune with a well established dictatorship than with 40 years of democracy, some projects like the No Callarem (we won’t shut up) platform have raised their voices.

Reskate . Enric Sant . Txemy. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

One of the direct actions organized by the platform for fighting against Partido Popular’s civil rights oppression was to film a video clip featuring some of the most renowned lyricists on the scene as Frank T, Elphomega, Los Chikos del Maíz, La Ira, Rapsusklei, and César Strawberry, among others, at the old La Modelo prison. The location is an accurate metaphorical scenario when you are seeing that your liberty is being cut off thanks to laws like ‘Ley Mordaza’.

The song ‘Los Borbones son unos ladrones’, which alludes directly to the Spanish monarchy, includes some excerpts from some of the songs created by rappers serving a prison sentence. The video clip for the song, which you can watch at the end of this article, has become viral and almost all media outlets in the country are speaking about this big shout-out in the name of freedom.

The patio with Enric Sant in the background at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

I was invited to witness the filming  and painting session by local artist Javier de Riba, from Reskate Studio, who invited some fellow artists to paint at La Modelo walls as a part of the whole process. Franco Fasoli JAZ, Twee Muizen, Txemy, Joan Tarragò, Enric Sant, Milvietnams, Werens and Fullet gave a new voice to the walls surrounding that backyard, providing 2D images that perfectly matched the spirit behind the beats and the rhymes.

Javier De Riba at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

This is what Javi has to say about his collaboration with the project:

“Our involvement with No Callarem happened thanks to the Catalan rap artist Pau Llonch. He lit the spark for recording a clip against the Valtonyc and Hasel sentences. They wanted to do it at La Modelo no matter what and the No Callarem platform supported the action. We helped to spread the word for putting together a team with different languages together to visually enhance the video clip.

At the beginning, was what meant to be an ‘atrezzo action’ turned into a bunch of pieces that can be visited in the backyard of Gallery 4. In fact that backyard is not open to the public, but you can see it from the watch guard pit. We think that, from a conceptual point of view, it’s very powerful to keep those pieces locked – especially when thinking about how things are going in Spain regarding freedom of speech.”

Javier De Riba at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Additionally it’s worth mentioning Reskate’s initiative about shouting against the suffocating atmosphere that we are experiencing here for some time: ‘Our idea is that every artist post one piece / illustration / painting / picture (old or new) supporting our initiative promoting freedom of speech in order to criticize the lack of democracy within the Spanish government.

Some of the hashtags that we will use are #NoCallarem #EzGaraIsilduko #NonCalaremos #NunVamosCallar #NonCararam,#NoCallaremos being the main one.

Visual artists from Madrid, Zaragoza, Almería, Oviedo, Valencia, Vila-real, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valladolid, Tenerife…are supporting this initiative. Some of them are: Malakkai, Escif, Paula Bonet, Aryz, Ricardo Cavolo, Enric Sant, Twee Muizen, Franco Fasoli, Hyuro, Javier Jaén, Boa Mistura, Conrad Roset, Jordi Borràs, Danjer, Cinta Vidal, David de las Heras, Juan Díaz-Faes, Chamo San, and Marina Capdevila, among others.

Fullet at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

La Semana por la Libertad de Expresión (Freedom of Speech Week) is happening now, with different activities taking place all over the country. The funds raised from these activities will go to a resistance fund for the platform in order to defend all those people chased and brought to justice because of censorship and repression. You can check the whole program of the week HERE.

So, yes: we have a fight going on. Comedians, actors and actresses, musicians, journalists, visual artists, the guy / girl next door who is active in social media… It’s kind of a Russian Roulette game where, if you are critical with the established system and you are using 3rd grade humor as a weapon, you can end in jail. And all of it is happening in a country whose government is accused of being the most corrupt on the whole continent.

Werens at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

I have a very well informed friend who has been kind of disappointed with the absence of critical vision and combative behaviors from most of the big names in the local street art / graffiti scene. Thanks to initiatives such as No Callarem and the impulse of people like Javi de Riba, she is reconciling herself with this small, but powerful little world whose images have the strength for making important things happen.

Finally, I’d like to recommend that you check the publications under the hashtag #nocallaremos that are out, as there will be some fine and unique art being produced for the occasion in the upcoming days.

As it’s being said in Los Borbones son unos Ladrones:

– rap music is not a crime
– we need scratches, we need paintings
– I don’t dream about Versace, I dream about barricades
– …because of the poetry that still sleeps in the ditches…

Big props to Javi de Riba, Xavier Urbano and all the artists behind the No Callarem movement.

#nocallarem

Fullet, Werens and Javier De Riba at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Milvietnams at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Franco Fasoli AKA JAZ at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Franco Fasoli AKA JAZ at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Twee Muizen at work. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Enric Sant. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Reskate . Enric Sant . Txemy. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Reskate. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Txemy . Joan Tarragó . Twee Muizen . Franco Fasoli AKA Jaz. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Joan Tarragó. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Twee Muizen. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Franco Fasoli AKA JAZ. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Fullet . Werens . Javier De Riba . Milvietnams . Reskate. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Fullet . Werens. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Javier De Riba. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Overview. La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

La Modelo, Barcelona. (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones. feat, FrankT, Sara Hebe, Elphomega, Rapsusklei…


The guys behind Delabrave @delabrave have filmed a parallel clip about the creative process of these pieces.

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BSA Film Friday: 10.04.13

BSA Film Friday: 10.04.13

brooklyn-street-art-hot-tea-jaime-rojo-08-25-13-web-2

 

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

Now screening: Hot Tea “Rituals”, Gabriel Specter: “Structures” in Rome, Faith47, Omen, Ricardo Cavolo and Jasper Wong in Montreal, TOUR 13 in Paris, and Then One “Yard Work”.

BSA Special Feature: Hot Tea “Rituals”

In his second attempt at installing on the walkway leading up the Williamsburg Bridge, Street Artist Hot Tea and a few dedicated friends installed a high impact piece that redrew the public space. If you happened upon it, you were surprised by its simplicity and effectiveness. If you examined it, you realized the time and effort it took. This new video helps to appreciate the latter.

(Top image above © Jaime Rojo)

Specter Goes Geometric in Rome

Gabriel Specter just finished this monochromatic geometric piece under an overpass in Rome – working with the Blind Eye Factory. Where is that chalk snap line doohickey?  I just had it here. I hope I didn’t throw it away with my lunch bag and half eaten sandwich….

brooklyn-street-art-Specter_Roma-09-13-web

Specter. Rome 2013. (photo © Lorenzo Gallitto – Blind Eye Factory)

 

Faith47, Omen, Ricardo Cavolo and Jasper Wong in Montreal

In a promotional program for a luxury real estate complex of penthouses and townhouses, Street Artists Faith 47, Omen, Ricardo Cavolo and Jasper Wong each did murals in downtown Montreal recently.

TOUR 13 in Paris

You will be hearing a lot more about this project that has just opened in Paris. Graffiti and Street Artists and just plain artists have been taking over abandoned or soon to be destroyed real estate for decades, and this is the newest example of a semi-curated show within one. It is great to see the range of talent and new directions that a project like this can take, and to see a centralized location for fans to visit – before it is all destroyed.


Tour Paris 13 by tourparis13

Then One “Yard Work”

A nicely paced piece by Then One is captured here and edited By SERRINGE. Watching this intimate relationship of the artist to the wall and thinking about fall – not too hot, air a little crisp; You might expect to see Then One collapse into a pile of leaves.

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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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MURAL Festival in Montreal Stakes a Claim for Street Art North

The MURAL Festival in Montreal took over Saint-Laurent Boulevard over the weekend with the work of more than 25 local, national and international Street Artists working separately and in concert across large walls for this first ever event, and many have taken notice. Nevermind the gossip on the street about mayoral corruption and an ongoing rancorous debate here about a perceived graffiti problem in the city, MURAL and its supporters clearly are staking a claim on a growing world Street Art stage with a strong show that can legitimately brag about a solid mix of talent and styles.

Judging from the attendance, the hashtag enthusiasm, and the cameras hoisted into the air, there should be no debate about how much the kids actually love this stuff – and how many non-kids are also fueling the current explosion of art in the public sphere. “From 5 to 80 years old, the crowd discovered amazing talents and learned to appreciate a public art form that had been cast aside and misidentified as vandalism for the past 20 years,” says Fred Caron, one of the organizers and a cultural worker in the public art milieu. “The cultural values and power of murals is finally back in the North thanks to a crazy bunch of young Canucks.”

ROA (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas). Another view of this wall with the artists’ description appears below.

For an expansive event like this to succeed right out of the gate, it doesn’t hurt that Montreal is a relatively homogenous city with a very strong tax base, an engaged business sector, and a vibrant arts culture chock full of ideas, performances, and participatory aspirations. With an appreciative audience thronging into the four day festival for fun and culture, the numerous large mural walls in multiple locations were accompanied by body painting, a paint battle, painting with your feet, block parties, live music, djs, a photo booth, tours on foot and bike, skateboard lessons, kite making, urban “street” inspired dance troupes, night time projections, and naturally, beer.

“What captivated me most about this trip was the level of community, cross pollination and camaraderie shared between the different artists groups, institutions and organizations in the city,” enthuses LNY, a New Jersey based Street Artist who has been part of a few of these city-centric festivals over the last couple of years. Rather than cheaply plugging a downtown area with a momentary hype, a sort of “Ghetto Olympics” that fades quickly, leaving no real value to a community, LNY notes that the main organizers of MURAL continued to be engaged with the needs of the artists and were involved with the various satellite organizations to make sure they were thriving.

“This to me is the perfect gauge for healthy communities and for worthwhile festivals that can transcend their original novelty and spectacle to really give something back,” he remarks.

Reka One. Detail. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

For Street Art photographer Daniel Estaban Rojas, whose work here displays most of the finished pieces at press time, MURAL was an inspiring opportunity to meet many new artists and to be proud of the city. “The face of Montreal has changed with this festival and I think that Street Art will be a lot more accepted in this city. Most people that I spoke to while shooting on the streets had one thing in common to say, and that was ‘thank you’,” he reports with some relief and pride. “Knowing that people were so grateful and being surrounded by such positive vibes made it all the better.”

Included in the MURAL Festival lineup (though not all represented here) were A Squid Called Sebastion, A’Shop, Chris Dyer, Christina Angelina, En Masse, Escif, Fin and Christina, Gaia, Jason Botkin, Labrona, Le Bonnard, LNY, Omen, Other, Other (aka Troy Lovegates), Paria Crew, Phlegm, Pixel Pancho, Reka One, Ricardo Cavolo, ROA, Shantz Brothers, Stare, Stikki Peaches, Troy Lovegates, and Wzrds GNG, among others.

Reka One (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

A Squid Called Sebastian (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Phlegm. Detail. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Phlegm (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

For his first visit to Montreal, the Belgian Street Artist named ROA says that he had a great time creating this “still life” with a bison and a bear. When talking about his inspiration, ROA says that he was impressed with the history of the so-called American bison, which was incredibly abundant in the early 19th century, numbering more than 40 million. After being hunted almost into extinction with a population of 200 a century later, the bison slowly have reestablished their numbers in Canada to 700,000. He decided to add a bear laying on top because it tells a similar story of a native mammal in the region.

ROA (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas).

A’Shop (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

 “I decided to speak about the Americas and the aspects that unite us though history and conflict,” explains Street Artist LNY about his portrait of his cousin Leslie.  He chose her because he considers her, “a person who represents the unification of north and south in an individual; a sort of cultural hybridism.” She is handling maiz, or corn, “as a metaphor for PanAmerican unity; as a crop that has sustained the continents since ancient times and that is now a shell of it’s former self after being thoroughly genetically modified for gain and profit.”

LNY (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

OMEN (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

En Masse (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Escif (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

 

Pixel Pancho (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Pixel Pancho (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Chris Dyer (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Paria Crew (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Ricardo Cavolo (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

For his participation in the MURAL Festival, it was primarily about coming home for the Canadian artist named Other (AKA Troy Lovegates). “All my spare moments were playing frisbee and catching up with old friends,” he says as he describes the events.

But what about the fellows he painted for the wall? Actually, they are two representations of one man, a troubled sort of guy he met recently.

“The painting I did is of a man I met in Ottawa a few days before the festival who was lost and homeless and wanted to return home to Montreal. But he was scattered, laying in a parking lot talking nonsense. He seemed very gentle and I hope I brought back a part of him to Montreal.”

Other (AKA Troy Lovegates) (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Gaia (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Jason Botkin (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Wzrds GNG (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

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Mural Festival in Montreal, Day 2

DAY 2 at #MuralFestival

The Mural Festival is well underway and the Saint-Laurent Boulevard route is getting festooned by A’Shop, Chris Dyer, En Masse, Escif, Gaia, Jason Botkin, Le Bonnard, LNY, Other (AKA Troy Lovegates), Omen, Paria Crew, Phlegm, Ricardo Cavolo, ROA, and Wzrds GNG, among others.

Here are exclusive on the scene photos for BSA readers from Daniel Esteban Rojas, who has a special eye for composition all his own.

Chris Dyer. Detail. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

OTHER. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Jason Botkin. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Escif. Detail of work in progress while he cleans his glasses. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Gaia rocks the pink socks on a yellow letter while the buffalo roam. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Gaia. Detail of work in progress with a portrait in hand of Rene Leveseque who is floating over a copy of a John Kane painting of British Colombia. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Ricardo Cavolo. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Le Bonnard. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Wzrds GNG. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Phlegm. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

OMEN (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

LNY. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

En Masse. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Labrona. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Paria Crew. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

ROA. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

ROA. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

ROA. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

A’ Shop. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

A shout out to the always very important volunteers! (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

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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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Montreal Has The Spotlight: MURAL Festival, Day 1

DAY 1 at #MuralFestival

Starting today in Montreal is MURAL, a four day open-air market on Saint-Laurent Boulevard that turns into a Street Art party. Running June 13-16, the 2 km street will be clobbered by about 20 Street Artists during the day, and dancing and cavorting at night.

BSA is proud to bring you exclusive shots of the action you can only find here as these walls go up for the full four days.  ROA, GAIA, Labrona and others have already started killin’ their spots and folks are already wandering through the closed streets to get a free show of art-in-progress. As is happening more often, Street Artists are getting their own walls and not hitting up the big collaborative cacaphonic multi-piece walls that we used to associate with festivals like these. Unless you count En Masse, who specialize in just that, but only in black and white.

ROA. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

So dial up MURAL on your Instagram machine here http://instagram.com/muralfestival# for quick flix of whatever is happening and check back at BSA every day because we’ll be bringing you a dope mix of shots from some of these artists who are making the MURAL scene; Jason Botkin, Omen, Escif, Labrona, ROA, Pixel Pancho, Other, A’Shop, Le Bonnard, Paria Crew, Phlegm, Reka One, Ricardo Cavolo, LNY,WZRDS GNG, Chris Dyer, Christina Angelina, Squid Called Sebastian, Stare, GAIA, and of course, local heroic collaboratists En Masse.

In the meantime enjoy these beauties just for BSA readers by talented photographer Daniel Esteban Rojas.

ROA (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Labrona. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Labrona. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

GAIA. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

le Bonnard. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Paria Crew. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Paria Crew. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

A’Shop. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Wzrds GNG. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Wzrds GNG. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Stare. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Chris Dyer. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

Chris Dyer. Detail of work in progress. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

The helping hand of volunteer Nathan Balaga. (photo © Daniel Esteban Rojas)

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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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LNDMRK Presents: Muralistes / Mural Street Art Festival (Montreal, Canada)

Mural Festival

MURAL réunira plus de 35 artistes locaux et internationaux sur 2 km de marché à ciel ouvert sur le Boulevard St-Laurent, fermé à la circulation pour l’occasion. Le festival présentera la création de près de 20 murales uniques qui redéfinieront l’image de la Main pour la prochaine année, en plus de présenter un évènement spécial chaque soir qui permettra aux festivaliers de se réunir en un lieu différent afin de poursuivre la fête créative.

Festival international d’art public déterminé à célébrer la créativité et démocratiser l’art urbain, MURAL transformera l’espace d’une semaine le boulevard Saint-Laurent en véritable musée à ciel ouvert où s’unissent créativement les talents d’artistes locaux et internationaux.

Rendez-vous unique dans le nord-est américain, l’événement annuel rassemble l’avant-garde en arts visuels afin de concrétiser Montréal comme pôle artistique incontournable en Amérique du nord.

Participating Artists: Jason Botkin, Omen, Escif, Pixel Pancho, ROA, Labrona, Le Bonnard, A’Shop, Other, Reka One, Paria Crew, Phlegm, Wzrd GNG, Ricardo Cavolo, LNY.
http://muralfestival.com/
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