2010

Ad Hoc Art And Chashama Present: “Unified Love Moment” (Manhattan, NY)

Ad Hoc Art
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

On October 29th, 2010 from 6-8pm, Garrison and Alison Buxton invite you to come celebrate the unveiling of their Unified Love Movement installation across from the MoMA at 20 West 53rd St. The Buxtons are honored to manifest their latest vision on Halloween weekend via chashama’s “Windows at Donnell” program. The exhibition runs October 29th – November 28th, 2010 and is viewable 24/7. This visual fruit is timely and ripe for viewing.
ABOUT THE INSTALLATION:

As our modern world goes totally bananas, Unified Love Movement is all about increasing unity, positivity, acceptance, growth, and, yes, love. For this installation, the Buxtons invited two of NYC’s artistic gems on board to help blow the doors off the outdated religious school bus. Leo Villareal, brilliant blinkity-blink LED maverick, and Scott Draves, creator of the mesmerizing Electric Sheep entities, lend their brilliance to the mix.

Unified Love Movement portrays four figures from four of the world’s faiths – Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Each is transmitting their love, energy, and prayer to their respective godheads. Though superficial differences do exist, these religions share profound similarities at their cores, including messages of tolerance, sharing, compassion, forgiveness, and infinite love. To depict the infinite openness of the divine without overusing conventional religious references, the Buxtons chose to represent Metatron, the celestial scribe and messenger of the divine, in its sacred geometric form. Emanating from the center of the exhibit, the geometric LED array of Villareal subtly pulses cool white light while Draves’ vivid, bleeding-edge Electric Sheep projections undulate infinitely colored waves over all who choose to engage.

Unified Love Movement is the Buxtons’ foremost project to date, inviting the viewer to participate and contribute to its spiritual expansiveness by realizing the innate commonality of our human experience and then caring enough to do something about it. Perhaps we can then put our minds and hearts together to create a better world.

Garrison and Alison extend a special, huge thank you to chashama and MMT for their very generous support of this project, which would not have happened without them. The contributions of many keep the world lively.
{http://chashama.org / http://mmt.com}

An injustice to anyone is an injustice to everyone. As above, so below. Love eternal.

Many thanks and our best to you.

The Buxtons

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Wide Open Walls Ends: The Stories Begin

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Gambia-Diaries-Wow-Oct22010Wide Open Walls officially ends today, and the artists are on their way home. “All the UK artists fly back tomorrow, we all expect a heroes welcome, keys to the country and an open top bus parade,” Says Eelus on his Twitter account.

It has been a trip they won’t forget, and we are hearing bits and pieces about the experience as they return. – Large Insects, lots of DEET, optimistic kids, incredibly lush beauty, crushing heat, and enthusiastic fans watching you while you paint; all of these things reoccur in the retelling of the stories. Eelus hurt his heel just at the end of the journey and is looking forward to resting up and sorting through pictures. Logan Hicks is back in Brooklyn and will be showing us some of his pics, along with a video he’s working on.

Here are some shots from Ian Cox and some observations of the experience.

Broken Crow at work (Photo © Ian Cox)
Broken Crow at work (Photo © Ian Cox)

“The aim of the game is to paint as much as you can before 1pm, trying to do anything after that is a sweaty struggle in this ridiculous heat and humidity.” ~ Eelus

Mysterious Al Tag. (Photo ©  Ian Cox)
Mysterious Al Tag. (Photo © Ian Cox)

Mysterious Al caught a few tags and a few mosquito bites too, and contends that DEET soaked mosquito spray repellent actually removes tattoos.

“Rashes, welts, bites and hives. My body is 90% covered in them. Why would I get bitten on the elbow? I don’t know, but it’s happened. I’ve also crushed a snail the size of a tennis-ball, seen spiders the size of dinner plates (almost) and encountered all manner of vile insects that are straight out of the ravine scene in that King Kong remake.” ~ Mysterious Al from the WOW blog.

Logan Hicks Stencils (Photo © Ian Cox)
Logan Hicks Stencils (Photo © Ian Cox)

“If the apocalypse comes, I don’t think the fat f*ckers that are sitting around in their lazy-boy recliners with a beer in one hand and the remote in the other are going to be the ones that survive. It’s going to be the Gambians” ~ the eloquent Logan Hicks

Xenz at work (Photo © Ian Cox)
Xenz at work (Photo © Ian Cox)

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Nomadé Assumes Throne In Burning Los Angeles

LA Freewalls is an ongoing project of legal walls for street artists in Los Angeles that began about a year ago. This is the second time that the LA-based street art collective known as Nomadé participates in LA Freewalls with one of their Roman odes.

Produced by Jetset Graffiti and Lahoda Fine Arts on 50,000 sf of the downtown walls, Nomadé joins other artists who have participated this year including Shepard Fairey, Saber, D*Face, Dabs and Myla, Atlas, Asylm and Andy Rios.

Nomade "The Throne" (Photo © BSA)

Nomadé

“The Throne” (Photo © BSA

With installations that are at once swaggering, metaphorical, and self-deprecatory, the collective is precision minded in their attention to each detail of their dense productions.  This installation honors the oft-admonished directive of seasoned street artists to have good placement – just check out the crumbling facade incorporated into the piece, and the echoing of the cornice detail. This soldier is sitting astride a deteriorating Rome, defending it even as it falls.

Says one the the Nomadé of the Freewalls experience,”It is a great project! We feel privileged to be among so many talented artists. We love seeing our fans, meeting people, passing out posters and stickers. Great fun.”

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Images Of The Week 10.24.10

Brooklyn-Street-Art-IMAGES-OF-THE-WEEK_05-2010

Our weekly interview with the street; this week featuring Bast, Fleur, Gable, Hellbent, Kuma, NohJColey, Paper Twins, Rate, and Sea Seeks

Rate. Kuma. Garle (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

This is gigantic. Rate. Kuma. Gable (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bast (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Is that Santa already? Wait till Halloween is over Mr. Claus, we’ll be there soon enough. Bast (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Paper Twins (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Paper Twins have landed in Greenpoint (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Paper Twins (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Paper Twins (Detail) (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sea Seeks (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Like my new hat? Sea Seeks (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
NohJColey will have to explain this one. Is she eating this cat, or just giving it a smooch? (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
NohJColey. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
NohJColey. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
NohJColey. Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fleur (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fleur (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent’s back with a new king of the jungle (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Still Life with cut out ghost, skulls and butterflies. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Still Life with cut out ghost, skulls and butterflies. (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)
Detail (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Stencil Top Five 10.23.10

Stencil-Top-5

As chosen by Samantha Longhi of Stencil History X

Bansky in London (Photo © Pau Nine O)
Bansky in London (Photo © Pau Nine O)

The Dude Company. Soirée Plastic, Brasseries de Bellevue, Bruxelles. (Photo © The Dude Company)

The Dude Company carries his love for Brooklyn show all over the world, including here in Brussels. “Soirée Plastic”, Brasseries de Bellevue, Bruxelles. (Photo © The Dude Company)

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Xooox at The International Moniker Art Fair in London (Photo © Stencil History X)

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A collaborative piece by C215 & Orticanoodles. (Photo © C215)

To see more photos of Paul Nine O click here:

To see more The Dude Company work click here:

To see more Xooox work click here:

To see more C215 work click here:

To see more Orticanoodles work click here:

Go to Stencil History X for more stencil art:

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Fun Friday 10.22.10

Fun-Friday

Brooklyn-Street-Art-JR-Ted-PrizWEBCongratulations JR !

There is an idea worth spreading! JR, Street Artist, is the 2011 recipient of the TED prize:

“JR creates what might be called “pervasive art.” Working with a team of volunteers in various urban environments, he mounts enormous black-and-white photo canvases that spread on the buildings of the slums around Paris, on the walls in the Middle East, on broken bridges in Africa, and across the favelas of Brazil. These images become part of the local landscape and capture people’s attention and imagination around the world.”

Read more on the TED site and watch this gorgeous and moving video testifying to gutsy proactive engagement with the world and the power of the creative spirit that transcends silly art school armchair criticism.

Chris Stain for No Longer Empty

Chris Stain (with help from his buddy Burt Reynolds) transforms an 84 foot wall in Brooklyn with a tribute to the working class that built this city, specifically those who worked in Dumbo and the Navy Yard.

“30 Days in Brooklyn”

Rusty Ralston wants to bring his photo essay out to the streets of New York in December. He needs your help too!

Click here for his Kickstarter campaign

Brooklyn Artist Tara McPherson Prepares for Show at Jonathan Levine

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Tara-McPherson

To know her is to love her. Hell, we don’t even know her but still love her from afar… as her reputation as an artist and a fine person percolates around here in Brooklyn. Also, what a great role model for girls and young women who want to make their life their art and their art their life.  Check out preview pics over at Arrested Motion.

Beautiful Losers

Recently released in it’s entirety, this influential and beautiful film is now available to you here for free. It’s the story of a group of artist kids on Manhattan’s Lower East Side who encouraged each other to continue to experiment and grow – in only the germinating way that NYC can do it. We know how important community is for artists, and thankfully New York is still a fertile soil for discovery and innovation.

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Street Art Fights Censorship: Titi From Paris

After fighting off conservative censorship, a 26-illustrator show opens in a new location four months late; “For Adults Only”

A French Street Artist who goes by the name of Titi From Paris has just completed a new plastering of texts and flying pigs to protest a feeling of encroaching censorship in Amiens, a northern French city of 160,000.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-titifromparisA

Liberté d’expression

Censorship is sometimes traced back to the Enlightenment, but really the term ‘censor’ goes back to much older Rome, where a censor was a certain high ranking magistrate who was responsible for supervising public morality. Awarding that kind of role to someone is always a bit tricky. Our holy buddies in the Roman Catholic Church didn’t make such a bright call during the Enlightenment with Galileo, who was famously censored for his absurd and true theories concerning the movements of the Earth.

Today, during our time of Endarkenment and of yelling television, we are more often dissuaded from unpalatable truths by clever cluttering, cantankerous clouding and confusing clatter.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-titifromparis1

But when we talk about sins of the flesh, censorship will always have its emphatic fans. So-called Erotic Art, with it’s frank and fantastic depictions of everyone’s favorite topic, electrifies the third rail for self-appointed guardians of our probity, drawing a colorful and firey debate.

As reported in Le Monde and L’Observatoire de la censure, cultural conservative Christian Manable, President of the General Council of the Somme, vetoed the show (“Pour Adultes Seulement”) two weeks before it’s debut in May because he found certain of the pieces to be degrading to women and therefore a misuse of public funds. The show of sixty drawings, paintings, and prints by twenty-six international artists, including Tomi Ungerer, André François, Jean Claverie, and Nicole Claveloux was effectively closed by the outcry. Luckily, the curator Janine Kotwica fought for the show to be re-presented and it has just opened October 14th after a large public and legal fight over whether some of the pieces were degrading, misogynist, or otherwise unsuitable for public funding.

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Street Artist Titi From Paris has just installed a large piece addressing the topic of censorship in general and a perception that this sort of thing is happening too often for comfort. Depicting clown-like men with whitewash brushes, winged pigs and similarly snouted animals flying over long texts decrying the idiocy of censorship, you get the idea that the censors have been subject of rather acidic critique recently. This street piece itself has stood untouched so the passing public appears to be in agreement in the assessment.

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“Quel stupide!”

The richest irony of course is that the show is drawing so many new eyeballs than it ever could have without the benefit of an additional 4 months of publicity. On top of it, admission is free and is open to the public until November 5.

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All images © Titi From Paris

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Upper Playground And Good Smile Co. Present: David Choe and James Jean “LA Secret Studio” (Tokyo, Japan)

David Choe
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Good Smile Co. and Upper Playground Present:
“LA SECRET STUDIO”
Works by David Choe and James Jean

Tokyo, Japan [10/17/10] — Good Smile Co. with support from Upper Playground are pleased to present the work of two of contemporary art’s finest talents, David Choe and James Jean in Tokyo, Japan. The show gets the name ‘LA Secret Studio’ from the large warehouse studio set up in Los Angeles by David Choe, James Jean and Good Smile Co. – under the idea that the artists would be able to create in the large studio without the constraints of space and distractions of the public. The show will feature a display of some of David and James’ most famous works, clips from a documentary film, limited edition prints of their work, and a display of new pieces created in the LA Secret Studio which have never been publicly seen before.

The respective careers and backgrounds of David Choe and James Jean mirror the differences and similarities between their artist styles with an uncanny ability. Where David dropped out of art school at early age and fueled his artwork by the experiences he picked up as nomadic traveller, James worked diligently at the theory behind his craft to become known for his exquisite illustrations and won a multitude of awards for his commercial work. Artistically, Jean takes deliberate and almost ornate strokes in his work and creates with a refined intricacy, where Choe paints with violently wild lines of vivid colors which portray immediate emotions. But both paths and styles have led to very similar success with each of them becoming staples in the fine art world – and although each artist possesses a unique and immediately recognizable style, the undeniable genius behind both of their work has become inherently similar.

The exhibition will occur at Parco Factory (Shibuya Parco, Part 1, 6th Floor) in Tokyo, Japan on October 29th, 2010 and runs daily until November 14th, 2010.

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Stolen Space Gallery Presents: Will Barras “Bad Reception” (London, UK)

Will Barras
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Bad Reception’
By Will Barras
29.10.10 – 14.11.10
“When I used to phone up Duncan (Mr Jago) he would have to go and stand on a chair in his kitchen to get reception, so I painted ‘Bad Reception’, the first painting I made for this body of work and the title of the show. You can see a character standing on the ledge outside his flat on the 25th floor. Does he have to stand on the ledge to get phone reception, has he just been given terrible news and he is about to jump, is he spying on the penthouse opposite, or does he just like standing on the ledge?”

Bad Reception will show case never before exhibited works, painted over the course of the past two years, by Will Barras. Featuring stunning paintings in acrylic, spraypaint, oil and ink on canvas and linen as well as a brand new limited edition hand pulled screen print by the artist.

“Mr Benn was a cartoon character who would leave his house everyday in a suit. I think he probably intended to go to work, but on his journey he walked past a costume shop which he could never resist going inside. Inside he would be given a costume and a fantastic adventure would begin… He would become a spaceman, a caveman, a chef, a knight of the realm, a wizard, a clown, a hunter… the list goes on…The brush strokes tell their own story. The shapes and colours gain momentum and begin to take you on a journey. I want to maintain the natural flow and energy, the tension between abstract and figurative, while developing and elaborating on a narrative. To generate a multiple choice of possibilities of what could be happening Ideas usually develop from the everyday mundane, broken phone converations and awkward situations … and the way we all, in some small way, do what Mr Benn does. And with this in mind its not just whats happening within the paintings…I imagined what kind of person would have made these paintings, who would have painted these pictures. I like the idea that they weren’t painted by me, but found buried underground, or discovered in a monestry, or they’ve been hanging in the quarters of a shipwreck…..” (Will Barras)

Will Barras’ composition and fluid lines provide poignant detail in liquid abstraction. The subject matter is readily familiar, but captured in a manner that seems to jar time and space with psychedelic abstraction. It is his way of expressing the emotional movements of this labour. It is therapy and pleasure and necessity.

STOLENSPACE GALLERY
Dray Walk, The Old Truman Brewery
91 Brick Lane
London E1 6QL
United Kingdom
P: +44 (0) 207 247 2684
info@stolenspace.com

Nearest tube:
Liverpool Street or Aldgate East

OPENING TIMES
Tuesday – Sunday
11:00am – 7:00pm

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Street Artist John J. Mahyo Takes on the Mafia

When was the last time you saw Street Art addressing organized crime? No, not posters for Uggs, silly, the Godfather/Tony Soprano kind of thing…

Take a look at these photos by artist John J. Mahyo, who traveled to an abandoned stone quarry in southern Italy for a representational retelling of stories related to the reported crime family, Camorra. Influenced by the book, “Gomorrah” by Roberto Saviano that reportedly unmasked a modern day crime family, thus meriting 24-hour police protection for the author, Mahyo worked with photographer and artist Elp Supra to create this homage to the victims of organized crime. In his words, “It’s a simple guerrilla action against Mafia and a support to the civic engagement of Roberto.

John J. Mahyo. Caserta, Italy. (Photo © Elp Supra)

John J. Mahyo. Caserta, Italy. (Photo © Elp Supra)

Mahyo, who speaks oddly in the third person about himself, answered a few questions about the work.

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you expand a bit on the use of death (skeletons) and the “business men” in the large mural?
John J. Mahyo: Certainly… The skeletons represent the Mafia’s victims ready to relive and get revenge against their nemesis, represented by a mobster and his killers and assistants.

John J. Mahyo "Ginevra Risman" (Photo © Elp Supra)

John J. Mahyo “Ginevra Risman” (Photo © Elp Supra)

Brooklyn Street Art: The portrait of the lady sits on a bed of arms. Could you expand on those symbols and their juxtaposition?
John J. Mahyo: The lady is Ginevra Risman (anagram of a notorious Italian actress); she looks like an “Avenging Angel” just emerging from a pool of blood, AK-47, Thompson and Beretta guns

John J. Mahyo. "Ginevra Risman" (Photo © Elp Supra)

John J. Mahyo. “Ginevra Risman” (Photo © Elp Supra)

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you tell us a little bit more about you and about Roberto? Who is John J. Mahyo?
John J. Mahyo:
Well, he was born as a graffiti artist in 1997 and at the sunrise of the 3rd Millennium he began to also create Street Art (the evolution of “writing”). Mahyo doesn’t consider himself an artist but a communicator; he asserts that art is a genuine communication that can be used as a weapon to win lost causes. Just like Roberto Saviano, who wrote “Gomorrah”, the best-selling book translated in 51 countries, where he describes the clandestine particulars of the Camorra business.

More info at:
http://johnjmahyo.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/fighting-mafia/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Saviano

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Specter “Undereducated”

WE’RE NO. 25!

Education continues to be hotly discussed and chronically underfunded, much to the detriment of current and future workers in the US.  Despite the rhetoric of the last ten years, many children have been left behind. For some reason we can save banks but not schools. As elsewhere in the social strata, the gap widens between those with access and those who don’t stand a chance.

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A recent show in Manhattan featured Street Artists and others to raise funds and re-kindle the education discussion about how the collective “we” is in danger in the US when it comes to preparedness in science and technology among other areas.  Street Artist Specter participated in the Re:Form School show and is now thinking about how to translate that experience into his work on the street.

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Explains Specter, “My new series, ‘Undereducated,’ continues the discussion of the RE:FORM SCHOOL art show and the release of Waiting for Superman. A text-book sculpture was placed at the entrance of P.S. 277 in the South Bronx’s 7th District. Old text books are renewed to inspire students, bring art to their streets and force attention to disastrous cuts in arts education. By placing art around schools we can expose students to different ideas and present art where it has been cut out.”

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Perry Rubenstein Gallery Presents: Faile “Bed Time Stories” (Manhattan, NY)

Faile
brooklym-street-art-faile-Bedtime-Stories

FAILE
BEDTIME STORIES
November 4 – December 23, 2010

Perry Rubenstein Gallery
527 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
T 212.627.8000
F 212.627.6336
info@perryrubenstein.com
www.perryrubenstein.com

November 4 – December 23, 2010
Opening Reception, November 4, 2010, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

New York, October 18, 2010 – Perry Rubenstein Gallery presents Brooklyn-based multimedia artists FAILE. The artist collaborative returns on November 4th with Bedtime Stories, an exhibition of new works that feature imagery mined from FAILE’s singular visual archive and that emphasize the painterly dimensions of their frenetic visual tapestries.

Following on the heels of two major projects—the interactive arcade of Deluxx Fluxx and the haunting, allegorical suite, Lost in Glimmering Shadows—Bedtime Stories is a return to fundamentals that pushes questions of form and process to the forefront. Each of the twelve works’ compositions are assembled from numerous painted wooden blocks and they emerge as unified paintings. They reveal FAILE’s relentless assimilation and refinement of the vast visual vocabularies of both the urban environment and their own decade-long practice. The grids of these paintings are at once modular and fixed, tactile and graphic. On their surfaces, iconoclastic characters fluidly intermingle with adroit deconstructions of commodity culture. The re-combinations of carefully constructed texts and images provide a glimpse into FAILE’s rigorous and organic process, and draw attention to painting’s inherent materiality.

Works such as Addicted & Alone and Faile Launch reshape painterly traditions of pointillism and the affichistes, while simultaneously suggesting newer media that draws on the pixelation of digital technology and the improvisational roots of collage and street art. Bedtime Stories presents works of a neo-baroque ilk yet they are aggressively beautiful while underscoring FAILE’s continued exploration of formal and aesthetic inquiry and evolution.

Perry Rubenstein Gallery
527 West 23 Street
New York, NY 10011
T 212.627.8000
F 212.627.6336
E info@perryrubenstein.com
W www.perryrubenstein.com
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

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