All posts tagged: Sonni

Young New Yorkers – A Preview of the Auction Benefitting NYC Youth

March 31, 2015 Artists

Don’t miss this cool auction of work by many of today’s Street Artists on the New York scene, and some other folks you might have heard of! Young New Yorkers works with 16 and 17 year-old kids who have been caught in the criminal justice system, giving them a second chance. This is your opportunity to support this non-profit organization that is doing good work for your neighbors and our neighborhoods and to add art to your collection.

Here are some brand new shots of pieces that will be available. For a full listing and to bid on the auction progress online, click here on Paddle8.

Olek (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We had the opportunity to speak with Rachel Barnard, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Young New Yorkers about the event and their programs. We asked her to explain how the programs work.

“Art exercises in our programs are collapsed with restorative justice exercises and they give our participants a way of exploring the impact of their choices while empowering them to make wiser ones in the future. We work with photography, video, collage and illustration. More importantly, in the second half of the program art allows our participant’s to step into their own leadership and self expression,” she explains.

As the participants explore their creativity, they also examine it through a greater lens. “They explore a social issue that is important to them and develop a public art project around that. This is then presented at the final exhibition – one which the criminal court judges, acting district attorneys, social workers and other members of the criminal justice system, attend. It’s a way for everyone to re-meet our extraordinary participants as more than just their rap sheets. So in this way we use art to meet our main goal; which is to empower our young New Yorkers to transform the criminal justice system through their own creative voices.”

Here are some of the pieces that will be up for auction on April 1st.

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Obey . LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mata Ruda (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miss Van (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gaia, LNY and Mata Ruda collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faring Purth (photo © Jaime Rojo)

CB23 . Sonni (photo © Jaime Rojo)

COST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Case Ma’Claim (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gilf! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Young New Yorkers provides arts-based programming to court-involved young people. The criminal court gives eligible defendants—all of whom are 16- and 17-year-olds and who in New York are tried as adults—the option to participate in Young New Yorkers rather than do jail time, community service, and have a lifelong criminal record. With the ultimate goal of empowering participants to transform the criminal justice system through their own creative voices, all of YNY’s programs culminate with a public exhibition where members of the Criminal Justice System are invited to re-meet the graduates as creative and empowered individuals. In most cases, upon successful completion of the program, the participants’ cases are sealed; so far, 100% of participants have graduated from YNY’s programs.

We look forward to seeing you at Joseph Gross Gallery on April 1 for the Silent Art Auction. Get your advance tickets for only $35 here.

Happy New Year 2015 – BSA Readers Choice Top 10

January 1, 2015 Artists

Happy New Year to All! Thank you for inspiring us to do our best and to those of you who continue to support our personal art project / cultural examination, we extend our gratitude more than ever.

Begun as an enthusiastic discovery of what was happening in a few neighborhoods in New York, we continued to expand our view into more cities around the world last year and into the history and future of the scene. We also aimed to provide you with a critical platform for examination of the street art/ graffiti / public art/ contemporary art continuum with interviews with artists, curators, collectors, organizers, observers and thinkers in the street, studio, gallery, and museum – trouble makers and taste makers alike.

In the end, it’s your observations and the conversations on the street that are most important. As we begin the year with over 300K fans, friends, and followers on social media platforms and 225 articles on the Huffington Post (thanks HuffPost team!), we feel like we get a valuable good survey of current opinions heading our way daily.

With in-depth interviews, investigative articles, opinion infused examinations, plain celebratory reverie, occasionally silly non-sequitors, and public appearances where we get to meet you, we get a good analytical look at an ever-evolving movement, glittery polish and warts and all.

As the new year begins we take a look back at the top stories chosen by BSA Readers in the last 12 months. Among them are two takeover pop-up shows in soon-to-be demolished buildings, a story about commercial abuse of artist copyrights and the effort to fight back, a street art community’s response to the sudden death of an activist street artist, a Street Art tourist trip, and a few inspirational women, men, and Mexican muralists. Even though we published at least once a day for the last 365 days, these are the most popular pieces, as chosen by you, Dear BSA Reader.

10. Exploring Lisbon as a Street Art Tourist

Os Gemeos / Blu (photo © Stephen Kelley)

9. Kara Walker and Her Sugar Sphinx at the Old Domino Factory

Kara Walker. The artist portrait in profile with her sugary sphinx in the background. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

8. Women Rock Wynwood Walls at Miami Art Basel 2013

Fafi (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

7. A Sudden Secret Street Art House Party in Manhattan

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

6. Niels Shoe Meulman Balancing “Unearthly” Paintings

Niels “Shoe” Meulman. Process shot. (photo © Adele Renault)

5. It’s All the Rage, Street Artists Filing Lawsuits Left and Right

4. Shok-1 Street Art X-Rays Reveal a Unique Hand at the Can

Shok-1 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

3. 12 Mexican Street Artists Stray Far from Muralism Tradition In NYC

Sego (photo © Jaime Rojo)

2. Army Of One, Inspiration To Many : Jef Campion

Army Of One AKA JC2 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

1. Graffiti and Street Art Lock Up “21st Precinct” in New York

Pixote in action. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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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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The 2014 BSA Year in Images (VIDEO)

December 17, 2014 Artists

Here it is! Our 2014 wrap up featuring favorite images of the year by Brooklyn Street Art’s Jaime Rojo.

Before our video roundup below here is the Street Art photographer’s favorite of the year: Ask Jaime Rojo, our illustrious editor of photography at BrooklynStreetArt.com , who takes thousands of photographs each year, to respond to a simple question: What was your favorite photo of the year?

For 2014 he has swift response: “The Kara Walker.” Not the art, but the artist posed before her art.

It was an impromptu portrait that he took with his iPhone when the artist unveiled her enormous sculpture at a small gathering of neighborhood locals and former workers of the Domino Sugar Factory, informal enough that Rojo didn’t even have his professional camera with him. Aside from aesthetics for him it was the fact that the artist herself was so approachable and agreed to pose for him briefly, even allowing him to direct her just a bit to get the shot, that made an imprint on his mind and heart.

Of course the sculpture is gone and so is the building that was housing it for that matter – the large-scale public project presented by Creative Time was occupying this space as the last act before its destruction. The artist herself has probably moved on to her next kick-ass project after thousands of people stood in long lines along Kent Avenue in Brooklyn to see her astounding indictment-tribute-bereavement-celebration in a hulking warehouse through May and June.

But the photo remains.

And Rojo feels very lucky to have been able to seize that quintessential New York moment: the artist in silhouette before her own image, her own work, her own outward expression of an inner world.

Jaime’s personal favorite of 2014; The site specific Kara Walker in front of her site specific installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in May of this year in Brooklyn. Artist Kara Walker. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

Now, for the Video

And our holiday gift to you for five years running, here is the brand new video of favorite images of graffiti and Street Art by Brooklyn Street Art’s editor of photography, Jaime Rojo.

Of a few thousand these 129 shots fly smoothly by as a visual survey; a cross section of graffiti, street art, and the resurgence of mural art that continues to take hold. As usual, all manner of art-making is on display as you wander your city’s streets. Also as usual, we prefer the autonomous free-range unsolicited, unsanctioned type of Street Art because that’s what got us hooked as artists, and ultimately, it is the only truly uncensored stuff that has a free spirit and can hold a mirror up to us. But you have to hand it to the muralists – whether “permissioned” or outright commissioned, some people are challenging themselves creatively and still taking risks.

Once again these artists gave us impetus to continue doing what we are doing and above all made us love this city even more and the art and the artists who produce it. We hope you dig it too.

Brooklyn Street Art 2014 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo includes the following artists;

2Face, Aakash Nihalani, Adam Fujita, Adnate, Amanda Marie, Andreco, Anthony Lister, Arnaud Montagard, Art is Trash, Ben Eine, Bikismo, Blek Le Rat, Bly, Cake, Caratoes, Case Maclaim, Chris Stain, Cleon Peterson, Clet, Clint Mario, Col Wallnuts, Conor Harrington, Cost, Crummy Gummy, Dain, Dal East, Damien Mitchell, Damon, Dan Witz, Dasic, Don’t Fret, Dot Dot Dot, Eelco Virus, EKG, El Sol 25, Elbow Toe, Etam Cru, Ewok, Faring Purth, Gilf!, Hama Woods, Hellbent, Hiss, Hitnes, HOTTEA, Icy & Sot, Jana & JS, Jason Coatney, Jef Aerosol, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, JR, Judith Supine, Kaff Eine, Kashink, Krakenkhan, Kuma, Li Hill, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Mais Menos, Mark Samsonovich, Martha Cooper, Maya Hayuk, Miss Me, Mover, Mr. Prvrt, Mr. Toll, Myth, Nenao, Nick Walker, Olek, Paper Skaters, Patty Smith, Pixel Pancho, Poster Boy, Pyramid Oracle, QRST, Rubin 415, Sampsa, Sean 9 Lugo, Sebs, Sego, Seher One, Sexer, Skewville, SmitheOne, Sober, Sonni, Specter, SpY, Square, Stay Fly, Stik, Stikki Peaches, Stikman, Swil, Swoon, Texas, Tilt, Tracy168, Trashbird, Vexta, Vinz, Willow, Wolfe Works, Wolftits, X-O, Zed1.

Read more about Kara Walker in our posting “Kara Walker And Her Sugar Sphinx At The Old Domino Factory”.

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

BSA Film Friday: 11.28.14

November 28, 2014 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. Ziggy and Sonni and the Spiders from Mars

BSA Special Feature: Street Artist Sonni Animates Into a Rock God

His mural work on the street is unflappably sunny, so it makes sense that this animated version of a glammed up character has the same Sonni disposition that he displays throughout his work. Extra points to his team (especially Matias Fernandez) who help to turn this simple Brooklyn studio visit into a suddenly surprising and funny one. Well made!

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And for you Bowie fans who memorized the album years ago, you know what comes next.

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.20.14

July 20, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring 907 Crew, Ainac, Aero, Afrodoti Galazios, Blanco, Bleeps, Cash4, Daek, Dasic, Elbow-Toe, Fecks, Icy & Sot, IDT Crew, Mike Makatron, Miss 17, Mr. Penfold, Overunder, Seth, Sheryo, Smells, Sonni, Sweet Toof, The Yok, Tripel, UFO 907, Wolftits, and You Go Girl!.

Top Image >> IDT Crew. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

IDT Crew. IDT is a Chinese Crew. It reads on the background “5ive” to celebrate their 5th anniversary piece. Miss 17 on top was a later addition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

You Go Girl (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sweet Toof. Smells. Cash4. UFO907. Please help ID the rest of the tags. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Makatron with an assistant at work on his recent mural in Williamsburg. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mike Makatron (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe. The stencils below are by Ainac and Tripel. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (we think) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bleeps new piece in Athens, Greece. (photo © Afroditi Galazios)

Blanco new piece in Saratoga Springs, NY. (photo © Blanco)

Blanco. Detail from the piece above. (photo © Blanco)

The Yok, Sheryo, Daek and Fecks for Zoetic Walls in Cleveland, Ohio. (photo © Pawn Works)

DAEK for Pawn Works/NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sheryo with Sonni on the background for Pawn Works/NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonni for Pawn Works/NY. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Penfold for Pawn Works/NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aero for Pawn Works/NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dasic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wolftits is even more Art Brut than ever. 907 Crew. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rarf! Seth in Baton Rouge for The Museum Of Public Art. (photo © Overunder)

Untitled. Gowanus Canal. NYC. July 2014 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tehran To NYC / NYC To Tehran, Curated by Icy & Sot

June 26, 2014 Artists, Interview

Iranian Brothers Generate Cultural Exchange Between Two Homes

Icy & Sot, the Iranian Street Artists who have been making their mark on the New York scene for just two years are again making news by curating a gallery show that introduces Iran and the US to one another through the visual vernacular of Street Art.

With two shows running concurrently in Tehran and Brooklyn, the stencil loving spray painters have successfully exposed fans of this genre to the artists in another country with actual examples of art in a gallery setting rather than simply through the Internet. During the South Williamsburg opening on June 13^th guests at the TBA temporary space were treated to works by 10 Iranian artists as well as a video projection on the wall of their counterparts viewing the US artists show at Seyhoun Art gallery, which was recorded only hours earlier.

Iran’s CK1 in “Tehran to New York” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Without diplomatic relations between the two countries, it is a wonder that this exchange could be cultivated, let alone executed. Given the restrictions imposed upon music, film, literature, and art since the revolution of 35 years ago, it added a layer of incredulity for gallery goers to measure the implications while viewing the works by a youth culture that has as its DNA a certain strain of rebellion.

New York sent the work of 35 artists, an impressively sized roster of participants who were each given size restrictions to keep shipping simpler and costs lower. While the brothers were clearly elated to bring new work to both cities, one might have surmised that the more excited feelings were directed toward their recently departed home where about 55% of the population is estimated to be under 30 years old and a youthful cultural evolution is said to be happening in the artist underground.

Iran’s CK1 in “Tehran to New York” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Work from the Iranians reveals an accurately studious affinity for the pop of Warhol and irony of Banksy alongside polished versions of wildstyle and more modern graffiti lettering and loose splattering. The larger cross section of New Yorkers sampled from that pot as well as the myriad influences on the streets today including illustration, photography, geometric patterning, cartoon, and collage.

BSA spoke with the brothers as they were installing the New York show:

Brooklyn Street Art: So would you say this is primarily about cultural exchange?
Sot: Yeah, I mean the fact that there hasn’t been any relationship between Iran and the US, but this is totally about the relationship between the artists.

Iran’s Ill in “Tehran to New York” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What do you think that a viewer at the New York show is going to realize when seeing these works?
Icy: First of all they are going to get to know the artists because they are not familiar with their work and haven’t had a chance to know them before. Also they will realize the fact that there are people in Iran doing this kind of art. It is underground, it is just a small scene, but still.
Sot: It’s a good chance for these artists to show their work.

Brooklyn Street Art: Would you say that these artists are taking real risks by showing their work like this?
Icy: I mean, for the street artists there everything is risky, putting works in the street… like having the show is stressful but luckily the people there have gotten their permits and stuff.

Iran’s Cave 2 in “Tehran to New York” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Who did they have to ask for permission and what did they need to see?
Sot: It’s hard to translate the name but it’s an official organization
Icy: They have to check out the work and see it and they have to approve it.
Sot: Yes they have to do that for everything – for music performance or for art exhibits or anything, they have to go through this – but for this show it is at one of the oldest galleries in Iran so.

The guys related some of the exigencies of putting a show like this together and Sot talks about one of the artists who is an old classmate of his who doesn’t use the tools of communication that so many of his peers in the west would. “He doesn’t have a website for his art and he’s not on Facebook,” says Sot, “so I was like Facebook messaging another friend to ask him to call this guy for me and ask him to be in the show, and then to ask him for the status of shipping of his piece or information about the piece.”

Iran’s Hoshvar in “Tehran to New York”(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: So with the Superman and the Warholian Marilyn, I like this idea where there is a mixing of the two cultures together quite literally.
Sot: Yeah, for these shows there wasn’t really a theme but some artists, because they knew where they were going to be displayed made specific choices to communicate something. Like Gilf! wanted to write something in farsi so she picked the words “I am You” in farsi.
Icy: And El Sol 25 did the words “Iran So Far Away”, which is inspired by the song. (by Flock of Seagulls)

Iran’s MAD in “Tehran to New York” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What is one of your favorite pieces here, or rather, which one would you like to talk about?
Icy: I like them when they talk about social issues.
Sot: Like this one with CK1 – it has all these pictures from newspaper with the Shah

Brooklyn Street Art: They look like they may have been around ’81 or ’82…
Icy: Yeah, then the hijab came after the revolution and then the women had to wear the hijab.
Brooklyn Street Art: So before then they didn’t have to wear it?
Sot: No, before that they could choose.
Icy: Then they had no choice.
Sot: And this one with Superman and on his chest it says “love” in farsi and there is Tehran in the background and there is the freedom tower in the background?

Brooklyn Street Art: Is that called “Freedom Tower”?
Sot: Yeah, or Liberty Tower, it’s like the symbol of Tehran. It’s like you have the Statue of Liberty here and that’s the freedom tower in Iran.

Iran’s CK1 in “Tehran to New York” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Iran’s FRZ in “Tehran to New York” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A more traditional piece by sh’b varies from the Street Art theme and displays the artistic influence of distinctly Persian origins. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“NYC TO TEHRAN”

Tony De Pew, Sonni, Hellbent and Bishop203 (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

Gilf! on the wall with Joe Iurato on the pedestal. (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

A screened piece by Chris Stain based on a Martha Cooper photo. (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

Buttless Supreme and El Sol 25 on the bottom. (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

QRST, Cruz, Phetus (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

Enzo and Nio, Russell King and Gilf! (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

Cern and Contemporary Adult Music (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

The mood in Tehran (photo © Rana Ahmadi)

The Exhibition NYC to Tehran is currently on view at Seyhoun Art Gallery in Tehran, Iran. Click HERE for more details. The sister exhibition from Tehran to NYC is now closed.

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Images Of The Week: 06.15.14

June 15, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Hello friend! Don’t forget that Welling Court is happening this weekend in Queens. The 5th annual neighborhood event has over 120 murals going up, and it is truly grassroots. Icy & Sot had their very successful cultural exchange this Friday as well, with 30 New York artists showing in Tehran, and 10 Iranian artists showing in Brooklyn – so hats off to them and the organizers for pulling that off. Olek has been at the Honolulu Museum of Art to celebrate World Oceans Day with a huge installation, and Swoon brought the New York premiere of “Flood Tide” and musical performances to The Brooklyn Museum this week for Submerged Collaborations. This week you don’t want to miss seeing four important NYC graffiti photographers at the same time in person at the Museum of the City of New York.

And we cannot believe the stunning amount of new stuff on the street: here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Blanco, Bradley Theodore, Damien Mitchell, Damon, Dan Witz, Dennis McNett, Dr. NO, Flood, Fra Biancoshock, Icy & Sot, JR, Myth, Olek, Sean 9 Lugo, Simek, Snow White, Sonni, TV with Cheese, and Winston the Whale.

Top Image >> An Icy & Sot collaboration with Sonni for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sean 9 Lugo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

TV With Cheese (photo © Jaime Rojo)

An image sent by Fra Biancoshock of new piece in Milan, Italy. Do you think it has been photoshopped? (photo © Fra)

Adam Fujita (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Be a voice, not an echo”, a quote from Albert Einstein in Olek’s new piece in Honolulu, Hawaii. (photo © Olek)

An Olek and Dan Witz collaboration in New York. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Winston The Whale, “The Lost Cause” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A strongly graphic abstraction by Simek in Athens, Greece. (photo © Dimitris Vasiliou)

Damon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dennis McNett (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This looks like a very tiny JR. Perhaps a fragment from a larger installation “accidentally” found its way on this wall? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damien Mitchell (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Myth (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bradley Theodore (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dr. NO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Flood (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blanco’s new piece in Albany, NY (photo © Blanco)

Street Artist Blanco shares his new piece this week in Albany and in his description of it below you may draw a connection between recreation of old stories and myths and the recreation of our cities through gentrification as well – although he doesn’t specifically address the latter.

” This work was kind of inspired by my interest in the common roots of divergent cultures. An example is the eytemology of Dyaus Pitra (Sky Father, Hindu) = Zeus Pater(Father of Gods, Greek) = Ju Piter (God of the Sky, Roman). I am interested in the way that cultures evolve, split off and borrow from one another and how its all mixed back together. The way some Mongolian friends of mine revere Buddhist monasteries, consult shamans and consider themselves Christians or The way the Aztec mother goddess Tonantzin was transformed into the Catholic ‘Our Lady Of Guadalupe’. We are sometimes led to believe its all black and white but its not usually so simple. Cross cultural heritage and mixing have always interested me but Joseph Campbell wrote about this aspect of religion and story telling in a very interesting way.

In some ways modern cities bear some resemblance to this cross pollination as neighborhoods and buildings are transformed, converted and reclaimed.

Specifically for this piece I was interested in the Proto-Indo-European Mother Goddess and the way she was changed, destroyed, recycled and recreated as the Hindu goddess Kali. She is associated with the ability and powers for both creation and destruction.” ~ Blanco

Untitled. A tempest approaching Brooklyn. June 2014 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Industrial Makeover: East Williamsburg Breaks Out the Cans

June 12, 2014 Artists

As the Borough of Brooklyn continues a rolling cultural renaissance the spotlight shifts from one neighborhood to the next as investors and cultural workers leapfrog one another in search of opportunity. Naturally, “capitalizing” on that opportunity can be interpreted in a variety of ways, and is.

Gabriel Gimenez AKA GG (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Williamsburg Industrial Park, sometimes referred to as East Williamsburg, has been known for light manufacturing industry such as food processing, furniture making, packing/shipping of dry goods, warehousing – and of course it has played host to a growing number of artists studios in the mix. Of course it has been impacted by the ballooning interest in Bushwick and Williamsburg and all-things-Brooklyn in general but for some reason this still feels fresh and unjaded. Because you don’t have to worry too much about nervous neighborhoody types it has also been a welcoming environment for musicians to rehearse and artists to experiment.

Sonni for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The doors of cafes, live music venues, scattered galleries and performance spaces have opened in the last couple of years and a growing number of legal murals alongside an occasionally lively graffiti / Street Art scene has been cropping up and out. As is the case with new bohemia and a heady mix of hormones/entrepreneurship/euphoria/good weed, some of these dreams will take off and grow while others will fade into the lore of an experimenting NY scene that proudly cuts a notch with a pen knife into the cultural timeline. The best idea is always to jump in and be a part of it right now and enjoy it to its fullest. But that’s just us.

A music and mural art festival called “Juicy Art” saw its first edition this past weekend and the transformation continues with entire blocks getting smashed by a mix of independently produced work, unsanctioned guerilla pieces, and naturally, murals. Take a look at this survey of a popping scene captured by photographer Jaime Rojo in the last couple of weeks.

Sonni for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cruz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ramiro Davaro-Comas for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kremen (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never for The Juicy Art Festival. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Don Rimx, Ricardo Cabret and Son for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Matthew Reid (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ever for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ever in collaboration with Zio Ziegler for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NM Salgar and Chuck Berrett (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nepo for The Juicy Art Festival. Piece in progress. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tony Washington and Ramiro Davaro-Comas for The Juicy Art Festival. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Denton Burrows (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Sudden Secret Street Art House Party in Manhattan

January 15, 2014 Artists

It’s a House Party Y’all!

With studio apartments in Manhattan now hitting nearly 3K a month the closest thing most Milennials will ever get to a house party in Gotham will be snagging a VCR tape of the Kid ‘n Play danceoff movie at their parents stoop sale. Last week during the “polar vortex” cold freeze some lucky invitees did get access to a secret house party in a dilapidated building on the Lower East Side for 2 hours however. There wasn’t much heat, no DJ, and your flask of Jack Daniels substituted as the bar, but if you made it in you scored a free condensed Street Artist show that is as rare as a New Jack Swing hit these days.

A little more than 40 (mostly) Street Artists brought the four floor former tenement building to life one last time before it will be destroyed – and they did it almost entirely in secret over the course of a week. Just how secret this event was is debatable considering the multitude of blog posts and photos of it that appeared in the days following but in the Internet age, news about stuff like this goes viral no matter what.

All tolled, the varied collection of participants was a cross-section; a blurry screenshot of Street Artists on the New York scene along with a few graff writers, taggers, sticker slappers, painters, illustrators, aerosol experts, installationists, art school students, and visitors to the big city who happened to be around at the right time. Also, a couple of pyros.

While this sort of artist takeover of an abandoned house or building is increasingly occurring in bankrupt cities and neighborhoods in America and Europe where no one wants to live except the creative types, you don’t find this unruly and freewheeling expression much in the increasingly scrubbed and mall-like playground for the rich in Manhattan.

Similarly, producers of large Street Art/Urban Art events in global cities can deliver murals that make you salivate and on a scale that dwarfs this “event” thanks to corporate underwriters and shills for sneakers/sodas/urban-themed tampons these days, but few can truthfully rival the unpolished impromptu spirit of a semi-secret House Party jam session. For one week during installations and on opening night it was like the ghost of New York’s downtown 1970s-80s Bohemia was coming back to the island in all it’s imperfectness to remind everyone of Manhattan’s former greatness as a petri dish for experimentation and discovery.

Considering the huge increase in sanctioned walls over the last two years in New York, this work looks surprisingly alive, and is just the sort of balm needed for the raw nerves of anarchists everywhere who have bemoaned the polished soul-deadening mural painting of late. Even if some of this looks sort of slap-dash and ragged in spots, and it does, it also gives off an air of being authentic and in-the-moment.

Notably, the ratio of penis, breast, and defacation-related themes was higher than your average art show but as you know, there is an audience for every artist, even the ones gravitating to bathroom humor as creative wellspring. Judging by the few hundred images floating around on Flickr and elsewhere, this pop-up was a hit for the people.

Given the growing number of artists communities that have blossomed outside of Manhattan, this could have been one of its last jams for Street Art. Yo! That’s my jam!

And now please step aside as we build another luxury condo.

This show, “Surplus Candy” was organized by Hanksy, and is now closed.

A near complete artist list includes:

Alice Mizrachi/AM, ASVP, BD White, Bishop203, CB23, Cernesto, Col Wallnuts, Cosbe, Dee Dee, Dick Mama, Drippings, Edapt, EKG, El Sol 25, Elizabeth Glaessner, Elle, Enzo and Nio, Foxxface, GILF!, Hanksy, Icy and Sot, Left Handed Wave, Lunar New Year, Magda Love, Martha Cooper, Mata Ruda, Moustache Man, Mr. Toll, Mr. Two Three, Mrs. Big Stuff, NDA, Never, Nicolas Holiber, Royce Bannon, Russell King, Sonni, Tako, Tone Tank, Tony Depew, Trap, UR New York, Vulpes Vulpes, Wizard Skull, and Wretched Beast.

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Graffitimundo Presents: “The Talking Walls Of Buenos Aires” (Washington, DC)

July 4, 2013 Afghanistan

Graffitimundo
Graffitimundo presents the group exhibition “The Talking Walls of Buenos Aires”. Opening Saturday, July 13^th at The Fridge in Washington DC. This will be the first time Argentina’s unique urban art culture has been presented in the US.

Urban art in Buenos Aires reflects the city’s turbulent history and rich cultural heritage. Throughout the last century the city walls have been extensively painted by artists, activists, political groups and the public and have become an established and dynamic channel for expression.

During the last two decades several different artistic styles have developed. The devastating Argentine economic crisis of 2001 created a generation of young artists determined to take to the streets and reclaim their city. As they collaborated in a spirit of solidarity a new and distinctive visual language began to emerge.

“The Talking Walls of Buenos Aires” features mural art and original artworks from leading Argentine artists and art collectives, as well as video works and historical and contemporary photography portraying the urban landscape of Buenos Aires and seminal moments in the country’s history.

The exhibition celebrates a form of expression rooted in activism and a desire to transform public space, and in the process challenges conventional views on what graffiti is, what street art represents, who creates it, and why.

Artists

Buenos Aires Stencil / Cabaio / Chu / Defi / DobleG / Ever / Fede Minuchin / Gualicho / Jaz / Malatesta / Mart / Pastel / Pedro Perelman / Poeta / Prensa La Libertad / Pum Pum / Roma / Sam / Stencil Land / Sonni / Tec / Tester

Event information

The “Talking Walls of Buenos Aires” will open at 6pm on July 13^th 2013 at The Fridge, 516 1/2 8th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003

http://graffitimundo.com/events/the-talking-walls-buenos-aires-fridge/

Images of the Week: 05.26.13

May 26, 2013 Artists

Here’s our weekly interview of the street, this week featuring Beau Stanton, Brett Flanigan, Cannon Dil, Cosbe, Creepy, Deeker, Facter, Gats, Icy & Sot, Invurt, Jaz, Keely, Nunca, Rubin, Sexer, Solus, Sonni, Zimad.

The paint is still wet on this one by Brett Flanigan and Cannon Dill in Brooklyn. They are on a cross-country tour put these two on BSA earlier in the week when they hit Chicago. To follow them as they rampage with cans in hand, check out #lqvmuraltour2013 on Twitter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonni at Bushwick Collective. This portion of the wall is part of the above piece but cars parked in front of it. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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(VIDEO) 2012 Street Art Images of the Year from BSA

December 19, 2012 Artists

Of the 10,000 images he snapped of Street Art this year, photographer Jaime Rojo gives us 110 that represent some of the most compelling, interesting, perplexing, thrilling in 2012.

Together the collection gives you an idea of the range of mediums, techniques, styles, and sentiments that appear on the street today as the scene continues to evolve worldwide. Every seven days on BrooklynStreetArt.com, we present “Images Of The Week”, our weekly interview with the street.

We hope you enjoy this collection – some of our best Images of The Year from 2012.

Artists include 2501, 4Burners, 907, Above, Aiko, AM7, Anarkia, Anthony Lister, Anthony Sneed, Bare, Barry McGee, Bast, Billi Kid, Cake, Cash For Your Warhol, Con, Curtis, D*Face, Dabs & Myla, Daek One, DAL East, Dan Witz, Dark Clouds, Dasic, David Ellis, David Pappaceno, Dceve, Deth Kult, ECB, Eine, El Sol 25, Elle, Entes y Pesimo, Enzo & Nio, Esma, Ever, Faile, Faith47, Fila, FKDL, Gable, Gaia, Gilf!, Graffiti Iconz, Hef, HellbentHert, Hot Tea, How & Nosm, Icy & Sot, Interesni Kazki, Jason Woodside, Javs, Jaye Moon, Jaz, Jean Seestadt, Jetsonorama, Jim Avignon, Joe Iurato, JR, Judith Supine, Ka, Kem5, Know Hope, Kuma, Labrona, Liqen, LNY, Love Me, Lush, Matt Siren, Mike Giant, Miyok, MOMO, Mr. Sauce, Mr. Toll, ND’A, Nick Walker, Nosego, Nychos, Occupy Wall Street, Okuda, OLEK, OverUnder, Phlegm, Pixel Pancho, Rambo, Read Books!, Reka, Retna, Reyes, Rime, Risk, ROA, Robots Will Kill, Rone, Sacer, Saner, See One, Sego, sevens errline, Sheyro, Skewville, Sonni, Stick, Stikman, Stormie Mills, Square, Swoon, Tati, The Yok, Toper, TVEE, UFO, VHILS, Willow, Wing, XAM, Yes One, and Zed1 .

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