All posts tagged: Sant Feliú de Llobregat

Nulo Conjures “Supernatural” in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain

Nulo Conjures “Supernatural” in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain

“In this artwork, nature and its forces are represented,” says the artist of the newest “12+1” project.

NULO. “Sobrenatural”. Contorno Urbano Foundation/12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró)

A recent act of extreme weather in Italy inspired this new mural in Sant Feliu de Llobregat by Lucia Pintos (aka Nulo) from Montevideo, Uruguay. A huge storm had devastated an entire forest, destroying thousands of trees, scattered like toothpicks across the mountains and land.

Nulo says that she thinks of nature as a balance of two forces: dynamic and static. Despite the power of the wind to mold mountains and transform landscapes, she also concentrates on the static force of the trees roots, which hold them in place until they snap.

NULO. “Sobrenatural”. Contorno Urbano Foundation/12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró)

In the face of such a torrent of power, she admires the countervailing power of resistance. Of the trees and mountains and stones, she says, “They don’t give up, they don’t fall, they don’t let the wind win.”

You can see these forces at play in this abstraction that may also remind you of earth science diagrams, but this one does capture the energy Nulo is going for, capturing “Two equal forces that, at the same time, are completely different,” she says.

NULO. “Sobrenatural”. Contorno Urbano Foundation/12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró)

NULO. “Sobrenatural”. Contorno Urbano Foundation/12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró)


Contorno Urbano Foundation – 12 + 1 Project

As FUNDACIÓ CONTORNO URBANO ends another year of their project called “12 + 1”, the community-based organization expands from one wall to four. Collectively they give opportunities to artists to paint in public and to the people on the street to appreciate the processes, techniques, and motivations that artists employ in the creation. The model for engagement is similar to many yet entirely separate from previous notions of public art: an engaged responsible program that is accountable to community yet still gives wide berth to the individual styles of the artists and their need to express ideas or experiment with new approaches.

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ESCIF “La Pared Es Nuestra”. Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona

ESCIF “La Pared Es Nuestra”. Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona

When Street Artists and graffiti vandals are looking for a spot in public space they sometimes claim a wall as their own – even if someone else owns it. It’s a bit of hubris, but it helps with the street credibility among peers. In the case of this neighborhood in Barcelona, the whole neighborhood owns the wall – and Street Artist Escif knows it.

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

Winner of a competition among 300 international and national Street Artists last summer/fall on which BSA was part of the jury, the Spanish Street Artist has now completed his new mural in Sant Feliu de Llobregat entitled “La pared es nuestra” (The Wall is Ours). The wall borders the central square of outdoor civic life in a community of working people who coalesced and actively fought government neglect and resisted private capital brutality in the 1970s to create streets, services, and public space for themselves here.

To commemorate that victory and the struggle that led to it, this true community mural was conceived and realized last month in a grand opening ceremony and celebration that invited a few generations of its proud inhabitants.

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

Known for his study and critiques of social, political and environmental undercurrents that form the framework of modern society, Escif worked with local leaders and the projects’ sponsors Contorno Urbano and Kaligrafics to conceive of and produce the result. The wall features a non-linear representation of historical events and popular/civic engagement that were necessary to transform the neighborhood. Referencing photos from the elders from the earliest days of struggle, the warmly flat characters and graphic elements are open and frank, focused the the central elements of democratic processes and the chaotic forms that can ultimately yield the right to self determination .

The greater message can provide inspiration to groups of individuals who are knocked back on their heels and yet find common cause, reminding us all about the power of the people.

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

In a statement about his perspective for conception and execution of the piece, the artist says that a galvanizing event on this very square provided him with greatest inspiration and many in attendance at the opening celebration would agree that his vision is perfectly realized.

“In May 1977 [during Franco’s dictatorship], the residents of the Sant Feliu neighborhood called La Salud managed to halt the construction of a gas station. Neighbors say that it was during the night, while the city was still sleeping, when some brave women and men decided to push a concrete mixer into the construction hole where the foundations were going to be established.
They covered the hole with soil and then they planted a tree. Legend has it that if a tree is planted on an occupied plot of land, nobody will ever be able to remove it. That was exactly the genesis of that square, a square that still belongs to the neighbors, the residents of Sant Feliu.

“ ‘La Pared es Nuestra’ [The Wall is Ours] is a retaining wall that rescues the voices of those who are gone, that keeps the voice of those who remain, and that suggests the voice of those who are yet to come. An inclusive wall made by and for the neighbors, it is a wall that can be heard, that contains the sounds of the neighborhood, of its history, and of its inhabitants. This is a wall that can be read, and that has as many readings as visitors who come to contemplate it.”

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

 

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

Escif. “La Pared es Nuestra”. A project between Contorno Urbano Foundation, Kaligrafics and The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat. (photo © Clara Antón)

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BSA Film Friday: 04.20.18

BSA Film Friday: 04.20.18

bsa-film-friday-JAN-2015

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

Now screening :
1. The Man Who Stole Banksy: Debuting Tonight at Tribeca Film Festival
2. Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones (The Bourbons Are Thieves) (Spain)
3. Kazzius and Elara Elvira at the 12 + 1 Project, Barcelona
4. Morgan Winter – The Brooklyn Burrow

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BSA Special Feature: The Man Who Stole Banksy: Debuting Tonight at Tribeca Film Festival

Narrated by the gravel voiced Iggy Pop, this retelling of the story you haven’t heard manages to peel back layers of insight and intrigue while remaining judiciously opaque. Inside a walled and nearly completely closed-off city of Palestine a high profile European Street Artist (and his team) blasts pointed political messages that target audiences thousands of miles away.

Like so many of his street pieces, one of them is stolen. Because of the circumstances involved this Banksy heist takes on ramifications we haven’t thought of until now, and this film mines as many perspectives as it can. Written by Marco Proserpio and Christian Omodeo, this is a sleeper hit that reveals many many stories in the course of chasing one.

 

 

Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones (The Bourbons Are Thieves)

“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,” we wrote last week when debuting images of artists creating murals inside a former prison.

Obviously tapping into a popular sentiment defending the right to free expression, the music video has garnered 2.1 million views in 12 days. Today we have new images showing some behind-the-scenes shots while the forceful protest video was being filmed, courtesy photographer Fer Alcalá.

Performers include: Elphomega | Machete en Boca | Frank T | Homes i Dones Llúdriga | La Raíz | Ira | Los Chikos del Maíz | Tribade | Def Con Dos | Noult | ZOO | Rapsusklei | Sara Hebe
Breakers and BBoying BGirling: Misty-k | Guille Vidal-Ribas | Movie One | Raza | Sofi Bpanther | Farky The Sunshine | Javi | Naza | Buba | Akness
DJ: DJ Enzo

DefConDos “Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones” #nocallarem (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones” #nocallarem (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones” #nocallarem (photo © Fer Alcalá)

Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones” #nocallarem (photo © Fer Alcalá)

“In this video (below), Delabrave documented the artistic interventions by Franco Fasoli, Twee Muizen, Joan Tarragó, Txemi, Enric Sant, Reskat, MilVietnams, Javier de Riba and Werens and Fullet in the patio of one of Barcelona’s most historic prisons.”

“NO CALLAREMOS”, STREET ARTISTS FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH from Montana Colors on Vimeo.

The latest videos from Contorno Urbano featuring a new murals from Kazzius and Elara Elvira.

Kazzius at the 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu, Barcelona.

 

Elara Elvira. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu, Barcelona.

Morgan Winter – The Brooklyn Burrow

The second episode of this new series that is looking at Brooklyn artists that intersect in some way with the Street Art scene.

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BSA Film Friday 04.13.18

BSA Film Friday 04.13.18

bsa-film-friday-JAN-2015

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

Now screening :
1. Street Atelier – Rocco and his Brothers
2. Sam3 and His Troupe of Dancing Statues Pump Up the Jam
3. Valiente Creations – 12 + 1
4. Sue 975 – 12 +1

bsa-film-friday-special-feature

BSA Special Feature: Street Atelier – Rocco and his Brothers

It’s an Italian movie directed by Luchino Visconti in 1960, yes. It is also the name of a crew of Berlin graffiti/installation artists whose satirical interventions play on issues propriety and property – and on social experiments that dupe the media, the public, and banks.

Did they really set up an apartment inside the subway? Is that really the tracks and wall of a metro inside a gallery? Is that Wagner playing in the mobile war arcade set up in the Christmas market? Are those hand grenades being lobbed by children? Is the bank facade blinking red every 20 seconds?

Rocco und seine Brüder (Rocco and His Brothers) have you engaged. Now you have to answer the questions.

Shout out to Red Tower Films for the great storytelling.

Sam3 and His Troupe of Dancing Statues Pump Up the Jam

It’s Friday after all. Get up and dance! Aren’t they marbleous?

Two in a Row from the 12 + 1 Project in Barcelona

1. Valiente Creations – 12 + 1 Sant Feliu. Barcelona. Contorno Urbano Foundation

 

2 . Sue975. Contorno Urbano Foundation. 12 + 1 Project. Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona

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Elara Elvira Community Mural for Contorno Urbano 12 + 1 in Barcelona

Elara Elvira Community Mural for Contorno Urbano 12 + 1 in Barcelona

Illustrator, muralist, stop-motion animator, and co-founder of FURRR Studio in Barcelona, Elara Elvira gives us “No title” for her new piece for the community mural program Project 12+1.

Elara Elvira “No Title” Fundacion Contorno Urbano/Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró Blay)

Organic shapes and patterns found in nature create the abstract composition, perhaps owing to her spare line-drawn aesthetic in her lo-fi illustration work. A native of this city who studied fine art at the university, Elvira has lived in Berlin and Nantes while participating in residencies, exhibitions, and interventions.

At the moment she’s just completed a rock-n-roll themed stop animation with her team at FURR – a teaser for the song “Motosaurio” from Gigatrin – which we post at the end of this post for your entertainment.

Elara Elvira “No Title” Fundacion Contorno Urbano/Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró Blay)

Elara Elvira “No Title” Fundacion Contorno Urbano/Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró Blay)

Elara Elvira “No Title” Fundacion Contorno Urbano/Kaligrafics. 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Alex Miró Blay)

 


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Kazzius “In Search of the Movement” : High Speed Geometry in Spain

Kazzius “In Search of the Movement” : High Speed Geometry in Spain

Graffuturism in Barcelona today as KAZZIUS speaks geometry and abstraction on a wall for Contorno Urbano. Rapid fire planes of aqua, marine, and yellow all shoot along an invisible line, pile, collide, sub divide, reform, and continue forward in a split second. He calls this “In Search of the Movement”, but it looks like the dude found it.

Kazzius. Fundación Contorno Urbano/Kaligrafics. 12 +1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (photo Alex Miró)

Writing graff since ’93 his interest in architecture eventually formed this fine-artist’s vector-sharp vocabulary, breaking apart letters and forms and elevating the simplest geometric shapes to center stage. Movement, depth, and the spaces in between all interplay in KAZZIUS’ balanced compositions, an insight into the jolt of energy and spontaneous practice that drives this painter.

Kazzius. Fundación Contorno Urbano/Kaligrafics. 12 +1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (photo Alex Miró)

Kazzius. Fundación Contorno Urbano/Kaligrafics. 12 +1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. (photo Alex Miró)


KAZZIUS “In Search of the Movement” is part of Proyect 12+1 an Urban Art initiative created by Contorno Urbano in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.

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Irene Valiente at Contorno Urbano 12 + 1 in Sant Feliu de Llobregat

Irene Valiente at Contorno Urbano 12 + 1 in Sant Feliu de Llobregat

VALIENTE CREATIONS launches the 12+1 project in Sant Feliu – Proyect 12+1, urban art in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

A teacher of drawing from Barcelona, Irene Valiente loves organic forms, especially those of an aquatic nature. So it makes sense that she dove right in to her mural for the 2018 premier of the 12+1 Project here in Sant Feliu this month.

Irene Valiente. Fundación Contorno Urbano. 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona. 01.18 (photo © Clara Antón)

Here are just a couple of new photos from her wall that interprets the amorphous shapes of the nearby swimming pool at the Sant Feliu Swimming Club. The formal painter is normally working on canvasses for exhibition in the gallery when not creating new murals on her city’s streets and she calls this one “Nare”, owing the Latin derivation of fleet.

Check out more of her work HERE.

Irene Valiente. Fundación Contorno Urbano. 12 + 1 Project. Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona. 01.18 (photo © Clara Antón)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 12.03.17

BSA Images Of The Week: 12.03.17


BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

While You Were Sleeping is a Korean TV series about a woman who can see the future in her dreams, and a prosecutor who fights to stop these future events from happening. The title also makes us think about the scam of a Tax bill passed while you were sleeping in the middle of the night between Friday and Saturday.

The servants of the rich, these wolves, are facilitating the largest transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class up to their masters for well into the future, and it appears that few are awake to see it. It also pulls health insurance out from underneath 13 million sleeping people. The majority of the country was against this but the servants pushed it through anyway when you weren’t stirring. Good night!

When the US had its largest growing middle class and economic expansion in the 1950s the top tax rate was more than 90%. Did you know that? Reagan lowered it to 39%. This bill lowers the top rate to 20%. Since as a group, hundreds of corporations paid an effective federal income tax rate of just 21.2 percent over a recent eight-year period because they’re working the system, that means many won’t pay any taxes soon, joining GE, Priceline.com, PG&E – who already pay absolutely nothing. Just you will pay the taxes. Congratulations!

Street Art better be dope ya’ll, because that’s where many of us will be living soon – the street.

But we are wide awake for sex scandals, by golly. Powerful men are being accused by past alleged victims from every sector in society right now. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Santa Claus can stay above the fray!

Meanwhile, the tree got lit this week in Rockefeller Center, a lot of people are going to get lit this month at their office holiday party, many NYC art denizens are heading to the Miami Basel Circus this week, and apparently there is supposed to be some Street Art thing happening there too.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring BD White, Daek, Elbi Elem, Elisa Capdevila, Faile, Jason Woodside, Jerkface, Kai, Killjoy, Magda Love, Mazatl, Mr. Toll, Ola Kalnins, Praxis, Timothy Goodman, and Sonni.

Our top image : Timothy Goodman (photo © Jaime Rojo)

B.D. White for The L.I.S.A. Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

B.D. White for The L.I.S.A. Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Toll. Vanity Project. This piece is visible from the street level in front of Crest Hardware in Williamsburg. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elisa Capdevila for Contorno Urbano in Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elbi Elem for Contorno Urbano in Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jerkface (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Magda Love and Sonni (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Praxis (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Praxis. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Praxis. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kai (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ola Kalnins (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jason Woodside (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faile (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faile (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Killjoy collabo with Mazatl in Cholula Puebla for La Linea Street Art. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daek (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Lower East Side of Manhattan, NYC. December 02, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 11.19.17 : Barcelona Special

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.19.17 : Barcelona Special

BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

Barcelona this week was a tale of many opinions, passionately expressed, even hammered home. Geographically at the epicenter of a fight for/against the secession of Catalonia this fall, the conversations about everything from futbol to Guaudi to tourists can take on great enthusiasm.  Although, no one argues about tapas. Tapas are just always good.

The organic Street Art scene in the city that was famous during the early 2000s has been calmed as a result of a crackdown on illegal works, but some still exists in pockets of stencils and stickers and one-off paintings. The legal stuff, or ‘permissioned’ murals, are more likely what you will find in the central city, with a little more illegal stuff as you move away from the center to Sant Feliu de Llobregat or L’Hospitalet de Llobregat,

In general the Barcelona scene feels alive, vibrant, varied; and the quality of execution can be quite high. There is also an elusive feeling of magic and history infused within the integrated street scene and a healthy amount of socio-political critique – a swirling mix of illegal murals, commissioned murals, and controlled chaos in the artist compounds. Our sincere thanks to our hosts on the streets this week, especially Fernando and Esteban.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring 1Up, Axe Colours, Escif, Hosh, Kenor1, Kwets1, Mina Hamada, Pantonio, Rice, and Zosen.

Miss Van at La Escocesa from 2012. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miss Van at La Escocesa from 2012. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miss Van at La Escocesa from 2012. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif at La Escocesa. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Axe Colours. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pantonio at The Hangar. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pantonio at The Hangar. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rice. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rice. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rice. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Zosen and Mina Hamada. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hosh. Contorno Urbano.12 + 1. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kenor1. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

1UP Crew. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bombers. Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kwets1 . Kaligrafics. Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kwets1. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist and muralist Kwets1 spent three months working on two monumental murals on two tunnel walls right across from each other in the immigrants friendly, working class town of Hospitalet de Llobregat in Barcelona. The obvious theme of the mural is nature, conservation and climate change. The underpass is located right next to a river that attracts a plethora of exotic birds that use as a sanctuary and a rest stop as they migrate south during the winter season. We were actually witness to several large parrots flying from tree to tree while we were there.

The artist says that he took his inspiration directly from the nature story, and the human one of immigration here as well.

The other source was the human immigrant stories in this town. In the late 60’s and 70’s the immigration to the town was from several regions of rural Spain, with agrarian families who left farmlands and came to Barcelona seeking job opportunities in the large manufacturing companies that had established themselves in Barcelona. Many of those original immigrants eventually left the town to retire within Spain or to other European countries – leaving room for a new wave of immigration coming from several parts of Africa and Central and South America.

Presently Hospitalet is a vibrant community of old and new residents, and these murals capture the feeling of colorful, tumultuous, exiting and difficult change.

Kwets1. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kwets1. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kwets1. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kwets1. Hospitalet de Llobregat. Barcelona. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Mine is bigger than yours. Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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And The Winner Is… ESCIF !  (Barcelona Dispatch 2)

And The Winner Is… ESCIF ! (Barcelona Dispatch 2)

This week BSA is in Barcelona to participate in the Contorno Urbano competition to select an artist for a new community mural and residency in the municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat – and of course to see the famed Barcelona Street Art scene as it continues to evolve.


Street Artist ESCIF is Chosen as Contorno Urbano Winner.

From 300 to 12 to 1, we have a winner.

The final phase of the judging process was the meeting of the citizens who have a stake in the outcome that far outstrips the considered analysis of experts in the Street Art/ Public Art world. Four veteran members of the Sant Feliu De Llobregat Neighborhood Association generously shared their personal oral history recounting the struggles of this neighborhood that coincided with the passing of Franco in the 1970s.

Theirs is a story of people’s struggle; a coalescing neighborhood’s movement to fight for self determination, democracy, education, health, women’s rights, union rights, human rights, and yes, the right to public space in battles against the dictatorship and powerful private interests. Hearing these people talk was illuminating, educational, and inspiring – as was our visit to the Plaza De La Salut (La Salut Square), itself a result of the neighbors fight for public space against moneyed interests who wanted to build a huge gas station there in 1977.

After reading through close to 300 submissions and asking 12 to submit specific proposals, a thoughtful deliberation and strict voting process took place among an assembled panel of Mónica Campana, Verónica Werckmesiter, Fernando Figueroa, Esteban MarÍn and Jaime Rojo.

The chosen proposal was submitted by Escif, a Spanish artist who lives in Catalonia.

“Any public intervention is political as it modifies the daily life of people in the cities. This modification can be directed in two possible directions: bringing people closer to their reality or away from it,” he says on his website today.

“Even if my work is inevitably within the parameters of spectacle, I try to find a way to bring painting closer to reality. I try to erase (or at least blur) boundaries between life and spectacle, between presentation and representation, between contemplation and experience, between landscape and territory, between the power of institutions and the power of the people.”

More details will follow about his winning submission later, but here’s a loose collection of some examples of Escif’s previous work.

Learn more about Escif at Street Against.

Escif. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Escif. (photo © lluis Olive Bulbena)

Escif. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Escif. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Escif. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

BREATH – TEMPO DI RICARICIA

 

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BSA in Barcelona for Fundacion Contorno Urbano “Mural Salut”

BSA in Barcelona for Fundacion Contorno Urbano “Mural Salut”

BSA is in Barcelona right now and we are honored to collaborate with Fundacion Contorno Urbano and their project Mural Salut.

Working in conjunction with the municipality of Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Kaligrafics, Contorno Urbano put out an international call to all artists to enter a mural contest. With close to 300 applications submitted 12 finalists were chosen. Among the 12 finalists only one of the proposals will be selected to paint their project on the historic wall in the old city center in Sant Feliu.

Five jurors, including our own Jaime Rojo will have the difficult task to choose the winning proposal to be announced this Thursday, November 16th.

After the winner is announced all members of the jury will participate in a panel discussion to talk about the relevance of commissioned artworks within the context of Urban Art and the cities, the relevance of murals in today’s Urban Art environment and the different ways in which cities, artists and curators approach these commissions in Europe and in the United States.

In conjunction with the panel discussion urban artists Elisa Capdevila and Elbi Elem will be on hand to paint live in front of the guests.

We hope to see you at the panel discussion. All information is below.


Congratulations to the 12 premiere finalists for the Mural de la Salut in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Barcelona, Spain) are:

Axel Void
Borondo
Colectivo Licuado
David de la Mano
Escif
Guido Van Helten
Hyuro
Innerfields
Millo
Otecki
Sabotaje al Montaje
San

For more information about the panel discussion click HERE

 

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“ONCE” Deconstructs and Reconstructs His Tag for 12 + 1 Project In Barcelona

“ONCE” Deconstructs and Reconstructs His Tag for 12 + 1 Project In Barcelona

Abstraction is something we spoke recently with French graffiti writer Jeroen Erosie about in Berlin, and here in Barcelona we find that ONCE is interested in deconstruction of the revered letter form as well. Even hardcore lovers of letters like to blow them up, explode them, inflate them, deflate them, stream line and distill them to an essence.

ONCE. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

Influenced by Bauhaus and Russian propaganda posters during the revolution, Catalonia born ONCE says he doesn’t really think that he is using abstract methods of manipulating his text into something unrecognizable. “Although for the general public,” he says, “these are only geometric shapes and they are more likely to think that I am painting with abstraction.” His control of aspects of fine art lettercraft reflects some of that heralded industrial society that was lauded a hundred years ago and it is somehow quite modern as well.

For his wall with the 12 + 1 project in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, we can see his fearless dedication to form, to classical graffiti and his dexterity for incorporating them into the evolving contemporary mural.

ONCE. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

ONCE. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

ONCE. Contorno Urbano “12 x 1” 2017. Barcelona. (photo © Alex Miró)

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