All posts tagged: Werds

Images of The Week: 06.23.13

June 23, 2013 Artists

Here’s our weekly interview of the street, this week featuring Creepy, Chris RWK, David Smith, Enzo & Nio, How & Nosm, JR, Pennygaff, Shai Dahan, This is Awkward, Veng RWK, and Werds.

Top image > Enzo & Nio are now property managers? This is confusing. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JR (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pennygaff did this tribute as gravestone on the last remaining chunk of Monster Island, a very lively and engaging artists performance space/ gallery / hangout in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – now demolished to make way for glass and steel highrises. Median rental cost of a 1 bedroom apartment in Williamsburg is $3,150, compared to about $1,500 10 years ago. That’s progress. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

David Smith hit up Williamsburg and Greenpoint with about 100 of these animals this week. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

David Smith (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Veng and Chris from RWK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)

How & Nosm did a gig with a clothing brand and it debuted in Times Square this week. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This Is Awkward (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shai Dahan in Blackpool, England. (photo © Rakin Rahman)

Shai Dahan in Blackpool, England. (photo © Shai Dahan)

Shai Dahan in London, Engalnd. (photo © Shai Dahan)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Creepy at work. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Creepy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Riverside Park, NYC. 2013 (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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Images Of The Week: 06.02.13

June 2, 2013 Artists

Stoop sales, hula hoops, fire hydrants, ladders and paint. Get me one of those ices from that guy with the cart on the corner, will ya?

Here’s our weekly interview of the street, this week featuring A1one, Chris Stain, Creepy, Elbow Toe, Essen, Foxx Face, Icy & Sot, LMNOP, Maya Hayuk, Mr. Toll, Rubin, Sexer, Werds, You Are Beautiful, and Zimad.

Top image > Sexer and Zimad at work on the brand new mural for Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Foxx Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn’s Maya Hayuk just completed this new work in Cologne, Germany (photo © Maya Hayuk)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot. What could they have been playing with? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Creepy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain completed his second mural at Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A1one at work on his new mural on Essen, Germany. (photo © A1one)

A writer who has used Arabic lettering since 2003, A1one just completed this new piece and translates it for us. “The word is Love (Ishq). In all the Middle East they can understand the meaning of this word… It refers to the divine or clean kind of love,” says A1one.

A1one (photo © A1one)

You Are Beautiful abbreviates the sentiment this time. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin at work on his wall for Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Toll (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Werds (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Manhattan, NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Images of the Week 11.11.12

November 11, 2012 Artists

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, today featuring AVOID, Dart, EKG, FKDL, Hellbent, How & Nosm, Ian McGillivray, ICH, Phlegm, Pop Mortem, See One, Veng from Robots Will Kill, Werds, Willow, and You Go Girl!

One note as we mark Veterans Day today in the US and this week had the re-election of a President, nothing can be more patriotic than helping out your neighbor in a time of need – and many of our neighbors here in New York still need your help. Please do what you can, whether it’s to donate food or supplies, offer a hand, or send money. Thanks.

You Go Girl (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Willow at Bushwick Five Points (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ICH (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Avoid (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Phlegm did this gate when he was in NYC in the Summer. Sandy forced the gate to come down and we were able to finally flick it. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dart (photo © Jaime Rojo)

EKG and Veng RWK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FKDL at Bushwick Five Points (photo © Jaime Rojo)

See One and Hellbent. Detail of their collaboration at Bushwick Five Points. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ian “Pop Mortem” McGillivray (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nec Spec Nec Met #1 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

See One (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Werds on the back of the box truck. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This mystery man with a bright happy yellow head was caught walking by the new How & Nosm Houston Wall. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Images of The Week 09.09.12

September 9, 2012 Artists

Our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Adeline, Cost, El Sol 25, JM, Joseph Meloy, Keely, LMNOP, Mr. Toll, No Sleep, NohJColey, Sanpaku, Sheryo, Smells, ICY & SOT, Shie Moreno,The Cretin, The Yok, and Werds.

Shie Moreno (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shie Moreno. Detail (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shie Moreno in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 hangs out with LMNOP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Yok and Sheryo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Beautiful and awesome Adeline performs to celebrate NohJColey’s birthday at his opening last night. Better than Marilyn at the MSG for Jack. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Cretin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sanpaku (photo © Jaime Rojo)

From Wikipedia:

Sanpaku gan (三白眼) or Sanpaku (三白) is a Japanese term that means “three whites” and is generally referred to in English as “Sanpaku eyes”. The term refers to the iris being rather small, so that it only covers about two-thirds or less of the vertical axis of the eye; e.g. delineate an eye into four portions; the iris would only occupy one portion of the divided four sections; thus leaving the other three in white, hence “three whites”.

When the bottom of the white part of the eye, known as the sclera, is visible it is referred to as ‘Yin Sanpaku’ in Chinese lore. According to the myth, it represents physical imbalance in the body and is claimed to be present in alcoholics, drug addicts and people who over consume sugar or grain. Conversely when the upper sclera is visible this is called ‘Yang Sanpaku’. This is said to be an indication of mental imbalance in people such as psychotics, murderers, and anyone rageful. Stress and fatigue may also be a cause.^[1]

In August 1963, macrobiotic pioneer George Ohsawa predicted that President John F. Kennedy would experience great danger because of his sanpaku condition. This was reported by Tom Wolfe in the New York Herald Tribune.^[2]

People with sanpaku eyes may also be feared to be prone to violent or disordered behaviors.^{[citation needed]} There is no evidence for this belief, however.

John Lennon mentioned sanpaku in his song “Aisumasen (I’m Sorry)” from the 1973 Mind Games album. It is also briefly referenced in William Gibson’s Neuromancer, as well as in Michael Franks‘ 1979 song “Sanpaku”, and in The Firesign Theatre‘s piece “Temporarily Humboldt County”.

Joseph Meloy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

No Sleep (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A message for William Wegman from a disaffected unknown feller. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Toll (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cost, Smells and Keely welcoming mat. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy and Sot. Special shout out to Joe’s buddy at Bushwick 5 Points for giving me a lift so I could get the right angle. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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A Roof With a View : Looking at Art Up Above

July 25, 2012 Artists, On the Street

Climbing up on a roof during the sultry city summer can be liberating, and it turns out to be a prime place for painting too. Away from the cacophony of the sweaty streets, the breeze up here is a little cooler and stronger and aside from the occasional potted tomato plant or sun-tanning waitress, you are on your own. You may not own any personal real estate, but right now this is all yours, this sweeping urban vista of grand, glassy, grimy, gawdy, and gutted.

For years graffiti writers and Street Artists have sought these undiscovered spots as a kind of refuge, an urban backyard for hanging out and going big, often collaboratively. You could say that rooftop spots even have a certain lore, a place to tell stories about and revel in. In a hard-knock nasty city that sometimes seems to swallow people whole, on this rooftop with a view you can do a huge piece and feel like you are holding it all down. Not to mention the bragging rights you can claim for hitting a high profile location that grabs eyeballs and raises the stakes. As for the city dweller, the work, as ever, is subjectively reviled, ignored, or celebrated. No one can truthfully deny its affect on the character of the cityscape.

Here are some choice roof shots by photographer Jaime Rojo across New York, LA, Chicago, and Boston to give you a birds eye view of some art from on high.

Rime, Dceve, and Toper in Chinatown, Manhattan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ROA on the water tower and Chris Stain and Billy Mode on the wall. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

News in DUMBO, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JR in Hunts Point, The Bronx as part of Inside Out – A Global Art Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bare, Hert, Gable, Deth Kult, TVEE in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rodeo, ILS, Bare, Hert, Gable, Deth Kult, TVEE in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon. The Central Street Roof in Cambridge, MA. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anarkia Boladona in Hunts Point, The Bronx. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sweet Toof in Bushwick, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Optimo : Hometown Primo in a Top Hat

February 1, 2012 Artists, Brooklyn, Florida, Manhattan, Miami, NYC, On the Street

Optimism Straight Outta NYC

BSA doesn’t spotlight too much graffiti because we’re not very smart about it, and there are a lot of geniuses on graff out there. Plus the S-A part of our name precludes much BS on the graff tip. But some artists straddle the edge of graff and Street Art, and one artist who keeps catching our eye because of his placement and the light-hearted comedic quality of his character is Optimo, sometimes referred to as Werds (depending where you are surfing).

Short for Optimo Primo (best cousin), the graffiti artist Optimo grew up as a boy in Chelsea in the 1980s excited and ignited by the colorful graffiti he saw on trucks and trains around him. As a true original New Yorker, he names some of his stylistic influences as 1990s graffiti writers including Wolf1, Revs & Cost, Seen, Reas, and Sabe. His signature character has been on the streets since 2006, the American flag bandana as a symbol of free expression and the First Amendment, and the showman top hat something the artist likes to wear as well.

Now a full time artist selling his stuff on the streets of Soho, Optimo has showed his work in a gallery setting with a 40-piece show at Revolution Studios in Chelsea last summer and in a group show at Brooklyn Fire Proof in Bushwick as well as Culture Fix on the LES in the fall. His soft spot is box trucks, which he says he’s painted over 100 of, according to his bio on Tumblr, and he aspires to retain his signature style of “optimism”. Here is a BSA collection of images of work in New York and Miami by Optimo NYC.

Images of the Week 08.23.09

August 23, 2009 Artists, Brooklyn, BSA Images Of The Week, NYC

Our Weekly Interview with the Street

Double Mickey Bast (photo Jaime Rojo)

Pondering beneath the ivy (Cake) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Then she gave me a blank stare over her bare shoulder, and I knew the afternoon escapade was on. (Celso) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Red Hot and Sexy (Celso) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Celso and Matt Siren Freakshow (photo Jaime Rojo)

Fresh new Imminent Disaster (photo Jaime Rojo)

A Galaxy of Stars (Chris Stain, Billy Mode, VengRWK) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Flying Fortress, Veng(RWK), Chris(RWK), Know Hope (photo Jaime Rojo)

Matt Siren and the ghost girl watch your step (photo Jaime Rojo)

Escape from New York! Or Don’t! (Matt Siren) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Portrait of Dash Snow (NohJColey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

“Crabs in a Bucket” self portrait (NohJColey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Revs, Sese (photo Jaime Rojo)

The musician serenades a couple of cranky monsters (Royce Bannon, VengRWK)

Insert clever caption here. (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Dude working in front of The Dude Company (photo Jaime Rojo)

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (VengRWK) (photo Jaime Rojo)

VengRWK, Royce Bannon, Abby Goodman, Werds (photo Jaime Rojo)

Really, it’s $500? Yikes! (Zork Chop) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Martha and AIko Collaboration for Urban Nation Museum in Berlin
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Bifido on the Futility of Meaningless Work in Northern Italy
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Suffer from migraines? Troubled love life? Unhappy with how your children turned out? Bifido understands. The Italian street artist has …Read More »
BSA Film Friday: 10.22.21
October 22, 2021
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities. Now screening:1. Ocean Cleanup: “That’s …Read More »
MEXPANIA II Unveils in Penelles, Spain
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A few weeks after the completion of Mexapania Phase I in Queretaro, Mexico (MARUM Presents “MEXPANIA” and Miscegenation in Querétaro) …Read More »