All posts tagged: Steven P. Harrington

NUART 2014 Roundup : Activism, Muralism, Graffiti and Aesthetics

September 10, 2014 Artists

The Norwegian mural festival named Nuart took place last week with a marked tilt toward the conceptual and the interventionist, a direct debate about the relevance of activism amidst a rising tide of sanctioned murals, and Tilt leading us down a path toward traditional graffiti.

Ironically graffiti seemed a rather tame topic for once.

TILT. “Panic Room” Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

“Urban interventionism is about not only making social commentary through artistic expression, but actually intervening in a public and social space in a poetic, unexpected or provocative way,” said architect and organizer Nicola Markhus when speaking to the local Stavangernews. Markhus may have been thinking about the Portuguese artist ±Maismenos±, who constructed a miniature oil tanker platform from found objects and installed it temporarily atop a sculpture honoring canning workers in Lervig Courtyard, by way of contrasting the past with the present.

±MaisMenos± NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Or maybe she was thinking about the Madrid-based SpY, who painted a massive red-lettered “ERROR” on two sides of a brutal block long building in decay down by the waterside, an ironic judgment on the eyesores of unfortunate urban decay. Among the contextual social commentary as well were the oil-dripping sentiments of geologist/artist Andreco, who regaled the façade of a classic Norwegian building with his geometric interpretation of rocks found poking up from the soil, and the three dimensional mural of homeless people by Brooklyn-based Iranian brothers Icy & Sot only three blocks from an outdoor encampment of homeless travelers whom some locals call gypsies.

SpY. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Such is one of the traditions of Street Art: social and political commentary that some call activism because of its advocacy, or at least its stubborn acknowledgement of imperfections in the human condition. This year’s Nuart fosters the spirit and intellectual pursuit associated with academic examination and in doing so again separates itself from the growing number of Street Art festivals who implicitly or explicitly censor the choices of the invited due to commercial or political pressures. Even during the painting this year there were conversations among artists about a high profile festival underway elsewhere that had just dis-invited certain Street Artists because of their “political” work in the past.

John Fekner. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

As if to drive the point home, New York street and multimedia artist John Fekner, who created hundreds of environmental, social, political and conceptual works consisting of stenciled words in NYC beginning in the 1970s that highlighted failed urban planning and public policy, was invited to reprise his classic text based “False Promises” stencil here. The choice of Fekner was perhaps atypical and one that could be overlooked if Nuart founder Martyn Reed didn’t decide to champion the artists work in his mini-retrospective indoors.

And need we mention that his indoor installation space for Saturday’s gallery opening was shared by Fra.Biancoshock’s instantly controversial merging of the nazi flag with the Facebook logo? Moments after we posted an early image of the installation in progress, cheers and condemnation populated our social media feeds – a happy discord that Nuart isn’t traditionally spooked by.

Fra.Biancoshok. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“This is a representation of two different iconic movements; the Nazis and the Facebook age,” says the Milan based Fra.Biancoshock who specializes in street interventions, not Street Art, per se. “I wanted to unite the two concepts in a unique logo as a way of describing two different ways to have control of the masses in two different ages. It is a provocative representation that is meant to say, ‘Imagine if these two things had met in the same period,’ ” he explains of the illuminated wheel of instantly recognizable letter f’s popping from a four alarm red background at the temporary gallery show in “tunnels” at Tou Scene.

“Obviously the story of the Nazis is very dramatic and heavy and Facebook is only social media but for me if it is not used in the right way it could result in some serious damage; in the areas of privacy, in having control (of people). So I wanted to make this interpretation of our contemporary situation of a certain totalitarianism in our communications today.”

DOT DOT DOT. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Comparatively the graffiti writer on display this year is a relative lightweight! Toulous-based Tilt actually created one of the more visually compelling installations (and an instant hit) at the indoor gallery of Tou Scene entitled “Panic Bathroom”, which consists of a tiled men’s restroom evenly split between YMCA and CBGB. The untouched half is pristine and gleaming white while its brother across the line is slaughtered floor to ceiling by pugilistic color, swollen bubbles and drippy tags; all just out of reach of the velvet rope that holds guests back.

±MaisMenos± NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

For the Norwegian born Street Artist named Strøk, Nuart this year is as much about aesthetics and the beauty of the moment as it is the intellectualizing that was on display here during the pub debate and two days of presentations for Nuart PLUS, organized by Eirik Sjåholm Knudsen. He shows us his rendering of figures casting long shadows across the wall on his glossy tablet and he talks about composition, negative space, and the serendipity of catching figures in motion.

Strøk. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

“I like watching people running around and seeing these movements, these frozen moments when they are heading somewhere but you don’t know exactly where – like a moment when time has frozen,” he says. “It’s a snapshot and you just happened to be there.”

Fortunately for many Nuart still knows how to produce a memorable shot of art in the public sphere, and we have some here for you to enjoy.

±MaisMenos± created Norway/No Way as a commentary about joining the European Union. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

±MaisMenos± Detail. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

±MaisMenos± Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

TILT. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco. Deatil. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco. Detail of his installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

SPY. Installation at TOU Scene enabled you to see the “error” part of the word only when the black light revealed it. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Martin Whatson. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Martin Whatson. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Martin Whatson completed this new mural at the airport – after being stranded on top of the cherry picker for a few hours the first day because the balance was off. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Strøk’s new mural on the right and a large ground installation on the left by ±MaisMenos±. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Anders Gjennestad)

Levalet was one of many of the artists this year who made direct or indirect reference to the oil industry – the one that powers the economy in this town and much of the country. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Levalet. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot created this mammoth 3-D installation with wooden cut-out stencils rising above the edge of the the building. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot. Installation at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Not an official guest this year Hama Woods was one of a number of artists who autonomously brought work to put up during NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Etam Cru. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

M-City. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Borondo. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Borondo. By scratching paint from the front of the glass and painting diagrams or symbols on the back, Borondo created a full illustration with shadow on the wall when illuminated correctly. Detail of the installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Levalet’s outside installations. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Levalet. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Mathieu Tremblin created an interactive piece that guests could participate in by photographing themselves before a bluescreen wall and sending the image to him. Installation at TOU Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Due to torrential rains Borondo couldn’t complete this wall before we left for NYC. Here is a composite image of the wall in progress. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

BSA would like to extend special thanks to photographers Butterfly and Henrik Haven for sharing their work with BSA readers.

Our sincere thanks to Nuart director Martyn Reed and the entire staff of Nuart and Nuart PLUS, including all of the volunteers and organizers.

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NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

ETAM CRU AND NUART 2014 X BSA

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 3

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 4

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 5

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 6

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

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This article is also published in The Huffington Post

Skount and his “Inner Universe Projections” in Amsterdam

September 9, 2014 Artists

Skount sent us a some images of a commercial gig he got with a small club and aspiring center of culture in Amsterdam and we thought you would enjoy seeing how his work on the street translates to indoor mural-ish work. Entitled “Inner Universe Projections”, Skount says it is inspired by a scaler field in quantum field theory. Clearly this triptych is an interweaving of traditional folk art with space exploring dimensions.

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Skount. “Inner Universe Projections” Amsterdam. August 2014. (photo © Skount)

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NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 6

September 8, 2014 Artists

Now back in Nueva York but what a blast! Nuart 2014 and Nuart Plus and Numusic wound down to a screeching halt on Sunday as revelers from the opening at the scene the night before held their heads and spoke in gentle quiet tones while squinting through the misty grey day.

Actually Krystel Talv and her husband seemed surprisingly fresh under orange umbrellas as they led a small army of 200+ people on a tour through the streets to see the new walls, so apparently some people know the meaning of moderation. Also photographers Henrik Haven and Butterfly were pleasingly perched high in the bucket atop an extended cherry picker snapping the new Tilt grenade wall while academic/author Peter Bengtsen was crouched in his rain slicker, camera in hand, before the 3-D Icy & Sot wall.

As punctuation to a full week of murals, Street Art, lectures, movies, panels, pub debates, pizza, art and aerosol fumes, Dotmasters spontaneously brought a fresh stencil out to spray outside the Nuart temporary HQ (see below) bringing a stunning week to a perfect ending. Stay tuned for a Nuart roundup!

Coke adds life! Icy & Sot. Ad Take Over. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Have a Coke and a smile! Icy & Sot. Ad take over. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Icy & Sot)

Icy & Sot working late into the night drilling wood stencil silhouettes of homeless folks into their wall for NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot managed to do a cool workshop with local Stavanger youth on Saturday in addition to their installations at Tou Scene and around town. Here is the result – a group photo of the students transformed into a large stencil. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Borondo at work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

Strøk at work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Haven)

±MaisMenos± Detail of his installation at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

TILT working on his installation “Panic Bathroom” Friday night with assistant Vince at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

TILT at work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Heaven)

TILT up in a bucket while Vince teeters on the ladder. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Henrik Heaven)

TILT at work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Butterfly)

TILT caught a couple bubbles while in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Butterfly)

New York’s John Fekner. Detail of his installation in progress at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

The French Street Artist Levalet along the main tunnel wall at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Levalet. Detail of his installation at Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

We caught Dotmasters putting up a stencil in the backyard just before grabbing a taxi to the airport on the last day in Stavanger. Dude had been tirelessly directing all the installation at Tou Scene all week, including the logistics and the stunning lighting. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

David Choe making a sandwich with Swoon from a previous edition of NUART. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

ETAM CRU AND NUART 2014 X BSA

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 3

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 4

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 5

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BSA Images Of The Week: 09.07.14

September 7, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Crummy Gummy, Dan Witz, Dasic, Dot Dot Dot, Flood, Hama Woods, Jaye Moon, Jerk Face, LMNOPI, Mr. Toll, Ostream, Pobel, QRST, Robert Janz, The Department of Well Being, Tilt, and Todo Es Mentira.

Top Image >> Tilt. Stavanger, Norway. September, 2014. Tilt embellishes his throwie with the flag of the countries he visits. Norway it is this time, next to an encampment of people living on the street. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

LMNOPI. Portrait of Nasir Kidbreak Malave. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dan Witz for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Crummy Gummy. Albuquerque, NM. (photo © Crummy Gummy)

We caught a rare glimpse of Robert Janz taking a photo of his just installed art on the streets of NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hama Woods. Stavanger, Norway. September 2014 (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Dasic for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

From The Department of Well Being. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaye Moon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

QRST. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

QRST. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

These new pieces by QRST recently appeared with his ever more sophisticated technique of sculptural painting, now popping the forms forward into the street. The symbology is known to him only, combining religious iconography with street, science and mythological metaphor to tell a story, sometimes to write a diary entry. We found out that these are 3 of 4 new pieces that are about loss and death, relating different aspects of the the same experience, “different personifications of the same dark thing,” according to the artist.

QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

QRST. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jerk Face for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dot Dot Dot in Stavanger, Norway for a previous edition of NUART. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Todo Es Mentira (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Flood (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pøbel and Østrem collaboration in Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Mr. Toll (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. New York City. September, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NUART 2014 x BSA Update 5 : Tou Scene Opens Tonight

September 6, 2014 Artists

Beautiful weather here in Stavanger this week – perfect for riding bike all over to find artists walls and check out some hidden spots under bridges and abandoned lots. On a side note, this hotel has a gymnasium so you can keep in shape during your visit – which seems rather superfluous considering right behind the hotel the houses are built on a hill at a 70 degree angle! Just getting around town on this bicycle you will lose 7 pounds in a week. Then the Norwegian beer will add it back on.

Tou Scene, the former beer factory now music and art venue officially opens tonight for the public to hear your favorite electronic music performer like Juan Maclean or Tôg or Hubbabubbaklubb and to of course see the installations by many of the artists invited to Nuart 2014. The morning edition of the Stavanger Aftenblad has arrived and they like the Brooklyn based Street Art brothers Icy and Sot piece for the cover of the Lokal & Kultur section understandably – but you know that the FraBiancoshok Facebook flag piece is going to raise eyebrows across social media with its references to, well, you take a look here below. We are fortunate to have interviewed the artist as he was setting this up so look forward to those comments in a coming post. Okay, gotta run and get ready for Day 2 of Nuart Plus and Icy and Sot teaching local youth how to cut stencils!

Fra.Biancoshock has completed his installation for the opening of Nuart’s Tou Scene tonight. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

SPY. Detail of his installation in progress. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

SPY team pulling the strings. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

SPY. “ERROR” Detail of his installation in progress. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Martin Whatson at work on his wall. A young photographer wants to get close to the action. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Martin Whatson. Detail. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P.

±MaisMenos± cut a stencil out f the NUART Porgram. Contextual Baby. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Strøk begins work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Strøk. Sketch of his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Strøk begins work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot at work on their wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot. Detail of their installation faor Tou Scene. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Borondo works on a piece for his Tou Scene installation. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Borondo sketching ideas for his outdoor wall at the NUART Studio. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Click HERE for NUART 2014 full schedule of events and details.

NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

ETAM CRU AND NUART 2014 X BSA

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 3

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BSA Film Friday 09.05.14 – Tonight LIVE at NUART 2014

September 5, 2014 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. Swoon and Submerged Motherlands
2. Nuart PLUS features BSA FILM FRIDAY LIVE
3. John Fekner: NUART 2014 Teaser Video
4. ETAM CRU: NUART 2014 Teaser Video
5. DOT DOT DOT: NUART 2014 Teaser Video
6. ENTES Y PESIMO in Mexico City

BSA Special Feature: Swoon and Submerged Motherlands

This summer ended with the closing of Swoon’s “Submerged Motherlands” at the Brooklyn Museum; a nine month process that began for us by Jaime visiting her in studio during the cold January days when she began building much of the work that would be installed for the April opening. It has been a genuine pleasure to be associated with this show in some small way, including interviewing Swoon on stage at the museum, writing about the show as it opened, and documenting it. An integrated approach to life, biography, and the conversation on the street, Swoon’s work continues to inspire many others, including us, and we were pleased to see this thoughtful look some of the background of this artist and her work by the folks at The New York Times.

Tonight at Nuart 2014 – Nuart PLUS features BSA FILM FRIDAY LIVE

For all the Norwegian fans of BSA Film Friday and Street Art in general, join us tonight in a theater in downtown Stavanger to see about 18 of our favorites short video pieces from the last year. Explorers, Experimenters, and Anti-Heroes – today’s global Street Art scene is visually rich and full of life! Can’t wait to meet you!

John Fekner: NUART 2014 Teaser Video

ETAM CRU: NUART 2014 Teaser Video

DOT DOT DOT: NUART 2014 Teaser Video

ENTES Y PESIMO IN MEXICO CITY

NUART 2014 x BSA Update 4 : Andreco, Icy & Sot, Martin Whatson, Tilt

September 4, 2014 Artists

Stavanger is fully in action today with Borondo, Fra.Biancoshok, Mathieu Tremblin, Evan Pricco, Henrik Haven, and others newly arriving and taking their respective places in the Nuart festival. Sophie at Nuart headquarters got BSA a bicycle yesterday and it was easy to discover that all these hills are much more easy to trek!

Creative Director Martyn Reed is eagerly unpacking classic stencils and ephemera from John Fekner to help with the rather retrospective installation he is creating of the artists’ presageous public work for the Tou Scene opening, and Leon from Dotmasters is giving a punchlist tour of work to be done by the lighting and electric crew that will give artists work in the best stage for Saturday.

Very close to finishing their rather elaborate indoor installation, Iran-via-Brooklyn brother duo Icy & Sot have begun to spray their 80 piece hand-cut stencilled piece on a wall outside now that the Kristel Tav has shown them how to use the lift, and in only two days Andreco has clearly changed the city-scape of Stavanger already with his oil-dripping rock placed primely on the ocean-facing exterior of a quintessential example of Norwegian architecture.

Andreco at work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

For inspiration, the geologist, artist, and researcher only had to look down and dig through the soil of the city to decide what he would paint. “I found these rocks here in the soil,” he says, “I always look at the rocks where I am and I take reference from the shape and the material.”

The masking tape has been peeled from the intersections of planes in this stylized version of a rock that reminds you of 3-D digital renderings, but the dripping oil he is planning to add will make the connection more down to earth.

With a PhD in environmental engineering, this Street Artist takes the work quite seriously and with a surprisingly light disposition considering the weighty matters he works with. “This piece of work for me is a symbol of the environment and of the earth. Basically I took inspiration from rocks that I found around here and I created a shape to mimic the shape and the architecture of the buildings here. I decided to make the color template range from blues, greens and black. These are the colors of the rocks originally and when they are covered with oil,” he says.

Masking tape that has been peeling tor reveal sharp geometric shapes as Andreco and assistants work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco at work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco is a geologist and his new work for Nuart 2014 is influenced and inspired directly by rocks he has collected here. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Andreco at work on his wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot installation at Tou Scene in progress. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot prepare to tackle their wall outdoors. They came prepared with about 80 hand-cut stencils. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot at work on their wall. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Sot gives us a sneak peek of their compositional sketch that will feature a collection of images of people who are homeless. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot. As we said, they came prepared. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

A new collaboration: Icy & Sot’s lil’ friend walks by a DOT DOT DOT stencil from a previous Nuart edition. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Martin Whatson’s installation in progress at the bottom of a steep street. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Team Tilt busily tiling for his installation at Tou Scene in progress. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Click HERE for NUART 2014 full schedule of events and details.

NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

ETAM CRU AND NUART 2014 X BSA

NUART 2014 X BSA UPDATE 3

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NUART 2014 x BSA Update 3

September 3, 2014 Artists

On this third day at NUART we’d like to bring you a bit of the good humored craze that’s happening right now as some of the artists are finding their spots. We also wanted to give a sense of the existing Street Art scene flavor – with individual ad hoc pieces in hidden little spots along with some Nuart pieces still riding from previous years. The neighborhood is a quiet one (at least with New York ears), with cleanly rational homes built on steep angles going up hills of this former town of fishermen famous for their sardines and herring factories.

But you can feel the excitement rippling; Nuart and Numusic are concurrent festivals that bring a certain electricity and anticipatory activation to the streets here as summer turns to fall. Wandering on foot up and down hills with artists to see them preparing walls and having Thai takeout on a green picnic table or watching someone spraying their new stenciled piece in a window at Tou Scene, you will run into folks who have seen this activity before and would like to know the schedule of events.

The posters and banners are hung, the printed programs, postcard, the many stickers are all around town, artists are arriving, paint is allotted, and Kristal is ferrying guests swiftly in her car from one location to the next – offering history of the town, the festival, apple juice, and maybe piece of Norwegian chocolate if you like. Also Martin Whatson got stuck for an hour and a half fully extended up on a lift at the airport yesterday.

±MaisMenos± new word stencil at Tou Scene. Nuart 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

In this new piece ±MaisMenos± employs the double meaning that he typically uses in his communication on the street. A form of activism sometimes, but more accurately he considers it an initiation or continuance of a conversation on the street as well as his acknowledgement of the duality of most situations in life. In his new piece here ±MaisMenos± makes reference to the famous phrase from Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, where one longs for something. He offers hope, and at the same time he wonders about what are the resulting machinations in the act of offering hope – something not tangible

“I like people to have a double feeling about stuff. I do that a lot in my work. When there is a direct message you can always see another point of view. There are always two sides of a coin, another perspective,” says ±MaisMenos±, who will be giving a presentation on his work at the Activism Seminar Day Saturday for Nuart Plus.

Strøk has been invited back t0 Nuart 2014. This is an old piece from last year. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot. Nuart 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Icy & Sot working on their installation for Tou Scene. Nuart 2104. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Dotmasters did a much larger version of this on a entire building side for a previous edition of Nuart. This one is a tiny hidden version with the bear about the size of a hand-span. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Volunteers leaving Nuart Studio and an old but hugely dramatic Dotmasters stencil from a previous edition of Nuart hangs on the right. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

A poster advertising an upcoming event and a piece by Ernest Sacharevic from last year’s editon of Nuart. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Posters advertising Reed Projects, NUART and NUMUSIC events are all over this part of town. NUART 2014. Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

**A wall with a cluster of previous NUART alumni: C215, HUSH, Word To Mother and D*face. NUART 2014.** Stavanger, Norway. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Click HERE for NUART 2014 full schedule of events and details.

NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

ETAM CRU AND NUART 2014 X BSA

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ETAM CRU and NUART 2014 x BSA

September 2, 2014 Artists

Great shots here of Etam Cru at work for “First Day at School” a wall they completed for Nuart 2014 just before BSA arrived in Stavanger. The student appears to have already eaten his apple. Wasn’t that supposed to be for the teacher?

In this recasting of a tale, you may need to do some sleuthing by looking a the book in the chaps’ backpack.

Stay tuned for many new surprises this week at Nuart.

Click HERE for NUART 2014 full schedule of events and details.

NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

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NUART 2014 Begins with “Broken Promises”

September 1, 2014 Artists

For our 6th consecutive year of covering Nuart for you BSA is actually here in Stavanger this time. The plane touched down at 2 pm with Icy and Sot on board as well from Brooklyn and we all were whisked away by waiting cars. BSA got to ride in the schmancy new Nuart branded Tesla – that has a screen on the dashboard big enough to serve an entire pizza on – and get an amazing tour by street art photographer Tor of all the previous walls that are still riding in this Norwegian port town. – Stuff we’ve posted for ya’ll but have never seen in person by ROA, C215, Nick Walker, Dot Dot Dot, Swoon, Dan Witz, Evol, DALeast, Vhils and more!

And of course the large phallic M-City out the plane window at the airport – can’t forget that.

The freshest new addition on the Nuart first tour came from veteran Street Artist and socio-political commentator John Fekner, who has reprised one of his famous text based “Word-Signs” from the bad old days of 1970s New York urban neglect. It was a shock to see this iconic placard on a Stavanger wall and a cool way to make the New York – Nuart connection.

Mr. Fekner is on the official artist roster for this years’ festival, but you can count on seeing him at Nuart Plus along with special speakers including yours truly. Some interesting conversations and exchanging of information and opinion will buttress the brand new works outside by the guests artists, with presentations, discussion, film screenings, and plenty of herring. Just checking to see if you were still reading.

John Fekner Broken Promises Falsas Promesas South Bronx NY 1980

Click HERE for NUART 2014 full schedule of events and details.

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BSA Images Of The Week: 08.31.14

August 31, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nether and New Community Murals This Summer In Baltimore

August 30, 2014 Artists

A colorful harvest of local folk on walls here as we bring you images Nether has been painting this summer in his native Baltimore by himself and with friends. A mix of community projects and independently initiated walls painted on Baltimore’s surplus quantity of abandoned buildings, the style brings to mind community murals of the past, but it also has a genuinely new spirit. Nether and others like Gaia, LNY, and Mata Ruda are among some who are influencing and ushering in what BSA is calling “the new muralism”.

The new muralism has evolved in the last five years from clusters of Street Artists who were originally interested in getting their name out and to advocate in some cases for their sociopolitical viewpoints but who also are often responding to calls from communities for intermediaries who can help them tell their stories. Taking root in this city and others like Newark, Jersey City, Atlanta, Bushwick (Brooklyn), and others, artists take into account local roots and are creating themes and portraits of everyday heroes and heroines and telling their stories. These are US eastern seaboard names but we have seen and heard these sentiments from cities as far as Honolulu, Berlin, and Delhi. This is what happens when people talk to each other.

In cities where “Street Art” or “Urban Art” festivals have been hosted, artists and producers have heard criticism that the international circuit of visiting artists are not always sensitive to the culture and the history of the locality. Their point is enhanced by a certain homogeneity of styles recurring on walls in many cities that is somehow separate from the culture, like a chain store or restaurant. Many organizers have responded by being more inclusive of the locals and today we are seeing a mural making tributary of Street Art that is maturing with an altruistic, intention-driven interest in empowering neighborhoods and their various populations that is reflective of the local in addition to the global.

Nether paraphrased this quote near this portrait;

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

– Maya Angelou

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