2010

Red Propeller Gallery Presents: Guy Denning: “Behemoth” (London, UK)

Guy Denning

Guy Denning "Behemoth"

Guy Denning "Behemoth"

GUY DENNING ‘BEHEMOTH’ SHOW HOTTING UP

Serious momentum is building in anticipation of the long awaited Guy Denning ‘Behemoth’ show at The Gallery in The Crypt , St Martin in The Fields in Trafalgar Square, London, opening 3rd September.

With an interview in ‘The Independent’ last week – Click here to read Guy Denning interview in ‘The Independent’ it looks like Guy Denning is getting the recognition that he truly deserves – a great affirmation that Red Propeller and all who sail on her know great talent when they see it!

A beautiful new TRXTR print is on site this week ‘War Rugs Don’t Fly’ check it out now Click here to see new TRXTR print

Keep an eye on our blog for future developments and breaking news – get insight into and the true story behind TRXTR’s print this week and see Angel 41 as never seen before!
VISIT OUR BLOG

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Fun Friday 08.20.10

Fun-Friday

Skateistan Fundraiser Tonight

Skateistan: 50 Original skateboard decks personalized by artists, including the one from Brooklyn street artist Quel Beast below are going up for auction – All proceeds go to Skateistan, Afghanistan’s first co-educational skateboarding school. The school engages growing numbers of urban and internally-displaced youth in Afghanistan through skateboarding, and provides them with new opportunities in education, access to healthcare and cross-cultural interaction. Check out the decks!

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Skateistan-Quel-Beast

Skateistan is the only organization which provides girls in Afghanistan with the opportunity to play sports. Skateistan has engaged with the children’s families, schools, and communities to build a grassroots movement to improve their quality of life and Afghan communities. In a country where 50% of the population is under the age of 16, Skateistan’s programs have an important impact on the daily lives of the children of Kabul.

Skateistan brings children together, equipping young men and women with the skills to lead their communities toward positive social change and development.

Living Walls, GAIA, and ATL BBQ, Baby

Doperiffic fast overview of the Living Walls experience this past weekend through the eyes of GAIA and friends. – “An overview of the legal, gallery and street work produced by Gaia leading up to the Living Walls Conference which was organized by Monica Compana and Black Migliozzi with the tremendous help of the Dodekapus Art Collective.”

Primary Flight New Video

Books and Typoe and friends in Miami’s Wynwood District actually have made it a scene there each December, blending the graff with the street art and in the process building a welcoming community for artists.  Sure they pose like they’re all bad*ss N sh*t, but that is jus stylin’ boyeee.

Some of BSA’s coverage from Primary Flight ’09:

Tristan Eaton at Primary Flight

Fairey, English, EWOK at Primary Flight

Primary Flight Update: BASK, Adam 5100, Ron English, Tes One, Lee Quinones, More

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Ripo and Remed: “Poem Rider” Living Walls Update 08.19.10

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Living-Walls-Update2by Jayne McGinn
images by Jenna Duffy

Ripo and Remed finished their mural for Living Walls on Dekalb Ave Tuesday night.

brooklyn-street-art-web-ripo-remed-jenna-duffy-living-walls--web-898

© Jenna Duffy

Working sunburned through the unforgiving Georgia heat and rain, the two international artists unified the wall by using the same vibrant colors; Ripo and Remed hand painted alternating letters in the two artists’ styles to spell out “Poem Rider,” an anagram of their two names.

brooklyn-street-art-web-ripo-remed-jenna-duffy-living-walls--web-892

© Jenna Duffy

It was amazing to watch them work, how they could eyeball off sections of the wall to make the letters even and create a wall with so much movement and depth by hand; they are both have amazing attention to detail and were able to see things that I was blind to. The artists utilized the entire wall, even manipulating an expired White Brothers Auto Parts sign for their signature. Ripo and Remed then continued to flow their artwork on to the adjacent wall, completely transforming the neglected area.

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FERAL CHILD: Living Walls Update 08.19.10

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Living-Walls-Update2

by Jayne McGinn
images by Jenna Duffy

When I arrived at Feral Child’s mural for The Living Walls Conference on the side of Homegrown, a local Atlanta restaurant, the last rays of the Georgia sun were pounding down on him. Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Feral-Child-copyright-Jenna-Duffy_MG_1201-1

photo © Jenna Duffy

Unable to access the wall directly, Feral was hidden behind a barbwire fence, surrounded by a cluster of damaged cars in the parking lot of an adjacent body shop.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Beware-Dog-Copyright-Jenna-Duffy-MG_1152photo © Jenna Duffy

I heard I wouldn’t be able to get back there unless I wanted to be the lunch of a “junkyard” dog. I felt like I was in a Jim Croce song in this strange setting for Feral Child, whose first impression is so peaceful.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Feral-Child-copyright-Jenna-Duffy____MG_0680

The dog wasn’t the only hurdle that Feral had to jump; the Georgia heat cooks like a convection oven, the blistering heat comes from all sides. After half a day outside baking, Feral’s cans were too hot to touch and risked explosion. He was forced to bring them indoors and chill them in a refrigerator before taking them back to his wall in a cooler.Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Feral-Child-copyright-Jenna-Duffy___MG_0581

photo © Jenna Duffy

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Feral-Child-copyright-Jenna-Duffy_____MG_0849

photo © Jenna Duffy


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Interview With Pedro Alonzo, Street Art and Gen Net go to the Museum

Interview With Pedro Alonzo, Street Art and Gen Net go to the Museum

As art institutions gear themselves continually to remain (or become) relevant to Gen Net patrons, all manner of incarnations will likely continue to parade before you. Yes, Picasso still draws a crowd but in the last decade, as Boomers began retiring and their media-drenched progeny grew more distracted by one million apps of eye candy, even blue chip and gray ladies of the art world started hosting DJ’s, indie bands, and endless jazz cocktails to get the booties in the house and the eyeballs off the little blue screens, if only for a second.

The size and span of the opening night crowd at Viva La Revolucion at MOCASD was a clear indicator of a much wider interest in Street Art as contemporary art than has been seen in US. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

The size of the opening night crowd as well as it’s relative youth at Viva La Revolución at MCASD was a clear indicator of a much wider interest in Street Art as contemporary art than has been seen before in the US. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

One way to make sure you are grabbing the attention of Millenials is to embrace that which they have already identified as culturally important and begin to make sense of it as it evolves.  Pedro Alonzo, guest curator of Viva La Revolución at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (running until January 2) understands that a wide embrace of an evolving movement is important right now until the field winnows itself. More importantly, he recognizes that “high-minded” culturally no longer requires the confines of a museum and, along with associate curator Lucía Sanromán, he leaves the door ajar to acknowledge the continuum between street and museum in this largest exhibition of the modern global Street Art movement yet in the US.

Curator Pedro Alonzo show's Jeffrey Dietch the indoor exhibition of the newly opened show. (© Geoff Hargadon)

Curator Pedro Alonzo shows Jeffrey Deitch the indoor exhibition of the newly opened show. (© Geoff Hargadon)

The truth is that buck-wild artists have been making the streets a gallery in earnest for a little while now, preferring to take the more direct route to admirers and detractors alike. Billed as “a Dialogue With the Urban Landscape”, Viva goes beyond the initial infatuation with graffiti and so-called “Urban” art that institutional interests expressed in 1980s and 1990s. For some reason that new-found love eventually turned tepid and measured in the embrace.  Maybe that’s why nervous nellies in academia shuddered when the New York impresario, art dealer and gallerist Jeffrey Deitch, a champion of selected Street Artists among other vocations, was named director of Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art this year. Indeed a revolution of some sort is afoot.

Art collective Date Farmers followed the newly typical route to the gallery and museum by collectively showing and hosting their own shows until someone recognized the work. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Mexican-American artists Date Farmers combine pop, folk, and political in this charged raw screed. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Admittedly museums must be followers as well as leaders (Guggenheim/YouTube anyone?) and the grassroots nature of this new surge of Street Artists circumvents the structures and curatorial practices of the established gallery and museum world. It also cuts across race, class and socioeconomic lines and maybe that’s part of the slow uptake. But like so many aspects of our current era, the foundations are melting before our eyes.  When you consider the democratizing force of internet/social networking communications and the fact that many of these artists come with a built-in fanbase as a result, it is a no-brainer that major and minor institutions are taking a fresh look at the new Street Art scene.

French Street Artist JR and his assistan Youssef doing a bit of Skyping before the show (© Geoff Hargadon)

French Street Artist JR and his assistant Youssef doing a bit of Skyping before the show (© Geoff Hargadon)

That said, Viva La Revolución is a bold undertaking that presents some of the biggest names on the scene right now and a variety of them. Under Mr. Alonzo’s guidance and audacity, it also thoroughly involves the street in the exhibition, making the city of San Diego quite literally part of the show. To pull this off and keep the respect of the artists intact is an accomplishment itself. By all accounts, he has. Having curated shows successfully including iconic street artists like Faile and last year’s Supply and Demand show by Shepard Fairey at ICA in Boston, Alonzo has easily established a rapport with a scene that is rapidly evolving.

Brooklyn Street Art: How has the response since the show opened?
Pedro Alonzo:
The response has been great. The museum has had tons of calls about the exhibit and many visitors. The age of the average visitor also appears to have dropped. We are getting a younger crowd.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Dudes-copyright-Geoff-Hargadon-D3S_9631

Spencer Elden, (with Shepard Fairey’s crew and famous for a nude photo in your CD collection) and Ben Logan, a volunteer who flew out from Boston to help set up the show. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

BSA: You have a number of installations all around the city.  Was it easier to work with private owners rather than the city to secure building walls?
Pedro Alonzo:
Although there have been people who work for the city who have been very supportive and instrumental in securing walls, all of the walls we used are privately owned. It was way too complicated and bureaucratic to secure city or state owned walls.

Brazillian twins Os Gemeos in front of two of their pieces (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Brazillian Street Artists Os Gemeos in front of two of their pieces (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

BSA: Can you talk about the name “Viva la Revolución” and it’s significance to you historically?
Pedro Alonzo: The title of the exhibition is significant on many levels, from the fact that this year marks the 100th anniversary of Mexico’s revolution to the street in Tijuana, “Avenida Revolucion” where many under age southern Californians, like myself back in high school, spent the weekends drinking and dancing. The title also refers to street art’s defiant posture towards the arts establishment in being an art that is populist, intended to be understood by most people, not just the art world elites, as well as being a form of expression that references popular and/or urban culture. This show is about an artistic revolution, art that appeals to a wider audience.

Dzine (© Geoff Hargadon)

Calma on the ladder doing last minute touch ups. (© Geoff Hargadon)

BSA: Experts, particularly the jaded ones, have been forecasting the death of Street Art periodically for years, yet we feel like New York has an ongoing explosion of it. Do you feel like street art is experiencing a revolution?
Pedro Alonzo:
There are those who have stated that painting is dead and they were wrong. From my perspective, street art is finally being looked at by the art world. If anything the hoards of people who want to see street art are a clear indication of the vibrancy of the genre.Shepard Fairey entertaining the guests at the opening (© Geoff Hargadon)

Shepard Fairey entertaining the guests at the opening (© Geoff Hargadon)

BSA: Can you talk about the street artist you have from Mexico?  Is there a Street Art movement south of the border?
Pedro Alonzo:
There is definitely street art in Mexico. Stenciling and graffiti are visible in many cities. The most vibrant examples I have seen are in Oaxaca, where the art often responds to social and political issues.

Mexican tattoo and street artist Dr. Lakra is a blur (© Geoff Hargadon)

Mexican tattoo and street artist Dr. Lakra is a blur (© Geoff Hargadon)

BSA: What has been the most surprising part of this experience for you?
Pedro Alonzo: More than surprised, I am amazed at how quickly these artists work and adapt to the environment. Both inside the museum and on the street, the artists created amazing works for the exhibition in a very short period of time. Some of them even had time to go to the beach. We had a lot of fun. I am very proud and grateful to all of the artists for their hard work and stunning achievements. The city is responding accordingly.

In fact, the biggest surprise about the show was the response from many San Diegans of sincere gratitude at having this type of exhibition in their city. Some loved the fact that they did not have to drive to LA or fly to NYC to see it. Others felt that their interest in art was finally being acknowledged. It is a wonderful experience to have this kind of feedback in my home town.

Pedro Alonzo and Lucía Sanromán at the opening (© Geoff Hargadon)

Lucía Sanromán and Pedro Alonzo at the opening of Viva (© Geoff Hargadon)

Learn more about the exhibition HERE.

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Gaia in Atlanta For Living Walls As Captured By Jenna And Jayne

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Living-Walls-Update

Jenna and Jayne spent the whole weekend working their phones, chasing after artists, getting soaked in the rain, dancing and taking in the Hotlanta air – which was filled with laughter, art, spray fumes and joy. They couldn’t resist the charms and the energy of New York native street artist Gaia. Here Jayne explains, in her own words how she was inspired by watching Gaia enjoy the festivities and by seeing him busy at work.  Jenna captured with her lens the product of all that creativity.

Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)

Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)

When I first met Gaia he was tearing the dance floor a new one. With all the charisma and energy of the three Beastie Boys wrapped into one, Gaia is a force of nature. He is a  captivating story teller and has my vote for “best person to get locked up with”.


Equally as brilliant, but on the other side of the spectrum, is Gaia’s artwork. Where he is a lightning bolt of spontaneity, his artwork is thoughtful and serious. His mural for Living Walls is a beautiful homage to Atlanta and the people who once lived here and to the Indian land this once was. Jayne McGinn

Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)
Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)

The Crowd at Living Walls (© Jenna Duffy)

The Crowd at Living Walls (© Jenna Duffy)

Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)

Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)

To see more of Jenna Duffy’s work go HERE:

The Living Walls Blog

To learn more about Living Walls go HERE:

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PaperGirl-NY: Free Art on The Street NOW!

If you are walking through NYC today and a stranger offers you a rolled tube of paper, you might normally wrestle them to the ground, sit on them and call Officer McKlusky. No you wouldn’t, but some people who live in a permanent state of Orange Alert would.

PaperGirl is bringing a new way to experience Street Art to New York this month. Originally debuted in Berlin five years ago the project also offers you something to take home, if you are lucky.

Don’t call the police, take the art! The concept behind this project is very simple: Instead of experiencing street art as traditional wheat paste on a wall you will be able to take the art being handed to you on the street for free. No Gimmicks. No Bull. No Games. Just ART for those who love ART.

The pieces to be distributed have been collected from artists around the world who support the project and the concept behind the project. The art has been documented and after a brief gallery show the art is rolled up and bound with an information band on the project and handed over to strangers on the streets.

Please take a minute to read the full press release on the project after this beautiful video.


We are very excited to debut PaperGirl-NY to New York City! PaperGirl-Albany was a good practice run for the amazing event that will take place at the Dumbo Art Center from August 24-25 and at The Armory from August 27-29. The show will also be in Albany at the Marketplace Gallery from September 3-6 as a part of a show that will also include Chris Stain, Billy Mode, and Scout in addition to other artists. A short film on PaperGirl-Albany has been freshly released. The link is at the bottom of the page.

PaperGirl-NY (PaperGirl-Albany combined with the newly formed PaperGirl-NYC) 2010 will include at least 90 artists from 11 countries. The art will be exhibited for 8 days in 3 galleries and will be distributed in the 2 cities of Albany and New York. The work from all the artists who contributed will be shown in all three galleries, and after the last show the art is rolled up (each roll has a little bit of variety of artists and mediums), and the rolls of art are distributed at random to the streets of New York and Albany. Nothing is asked for in return, and this art cannot be bought.

We are incredibly excited for this year’s PaperGirl-NY, and we are already planning a bigger and better show for next year.
I will keep you informed about our progession, and I will send you next year’s film as well.
Thank you for support the most creative kinds of art. This has been the most exciting thing that I’ve ever been involved with.

∆∆ Sina B. Hickey ∆∆
∆∆ PaperGirl-NYState ∆∆
Founder and Lead Organizer
518.379.7642
, PaperGirl.Albany@gmail.com
Bringing Art from the Gallery to the Street
www.PaperGirl-NY.com
Facebook

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Swoon: From Haiti With Love

Brooklyn based Street Artist Swoon has been in Haiti for the last few weeks helping re-build the community and bring in alternative ways of constructing housing and shelter. The project involves the residents of the village of Barriere Jeudy in the process.

To get the work done Swoon is there with a small team of friends and like minded individuals; Tod Seelie, KT Tierny, and Ben Wolf.

Photo © Tod Seelie

Photo © Tod Seelie

In a brief dispatch she just sent, Swoon talks about the project:

I’m writing from Haiti. I’m here with Tod Seelie, KT Tierny, and Ben
Wolf. For the last three weeks we have been building a community
center/hurricane shelter with the participation of the village of
Barriere Jeudy.

This first structure is being created to give a meeting place to the
mango growers, and other local residents, as well as to introduce some
alternative building styles as Haiti rebuilds itself after the
earthquake.

So far, we’ve been able to provide temporary jobs for about 60 people,
as well as train three teams of builders in the earthbag technique. If
all goes well, we’ll be finishing within a week or two, and returning
to build some houses in the fall.

If you have interest in the project and would like to learn more about it and MAKE A DONATION please go here:

http://blog.konbitshelter.org

Photo © Tod Seelie

Photo © Tod Seelie

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Images Of The Week 08.15.10 on BSA

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

Our weekly interview with the Streets: This week featuring Os Gemeos, Futura, Feral, MOMO, Overunder, Peat Wollaeger, URNewYork, $howta, White Cocoa, QRST, Michael Williams, Yote, and Tip Toe

Os Gemeos, Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos, Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

See our interviews with Futura and Os Gemeos

Feral (© Jaime Rojo)

Feral (© Jaime Rojo)

Momo (© Jaime Rojo)

MOMO (© Jaime Rojo)

Overunder (© Jaime Rojo)

OverUnder (© Jaime Rojo)

Peat Wollaeger and URNewYork (© Jaime Rojo)

Peat Wollaeger and URNewYork (© Jaime Rojo)

$hota (© Jaime Rojo)

$howta (© Jaime Rojo)

White Cocoa (photo © Jaime Rojo)
White Cocoa (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Feral (© Jaime Rojo)

Feral (© Jaime Rojo)

QRST (© Jaime Rojo)

QRST (© Jaime Rojo)

Michael Williams (© Jaime Rojo)

Michael Williams (© Jaime Rojo)

Yote Mail Bunny. (© Jaime Rojo)

Sumbunny’s waiting for a letter. Yote. (© Jaime Rojo)

© Jaime Rojo

© Jaime Rojo

Tip Toe (© Jaime Rojo)

Tip Toe (© Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos, Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos, Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

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Futura Talks: Completion of the “Kid” at PS11 with Os Gemeos

Futura Talks: Completion of the “Kid” at PS11 with Os Gemeos

Os Gemeos and Futura (© Jaime rojo)

Os Gemeos and Futura’ finished “Kid” at PS11 (© Jaime Rojo)

A great big painted kid with one shoe was given this week to New York by a hometown hero and some imported world class talent. Public space artfully used is a true gift and all week neighbors, teachers, students, and fans have stopped by to watch, snap pictures, and talk with Futura and Os Gemeos. The mural’s completion was cause for celebration on a sunny Friday afternoon in the school yard.

The Brazillian twins began their infatuation with graffiti and street art as boys in the mid 80s, pouring over and imitating art in books from New York like “Subway Art” by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper.  By that time the homegrown Futura had already parlayed his graffiti on NYC trains into becoming an international art star and a touring painter, writer/rapper with The Clash. The genial and wizened Futura took this colorful Os Gemeos gig with pleasure, gratitude and some trepidation, possibly due to the logistics of painting an 80 ft. mural above the raucous schoolyard games below.

In a generous interview with Brooklyn Street Art, Futura talks about his four decade career, the birth of graffiti in NYC, his uncomfortable transition to fine art, working and playing with The Clash, and his greatest reward in life – his two grown kids.

Brooklyn Street Art: You began your career in NYC in the 70’s.
Futura:
1970, exactly 1970, forty years ago.

BSA: You’ve created work on the subways, streets, gallery, and even on stage. Can you talk about your personal journey and the transitions from graffiti to street art in New York?
Futura:
Yeah well I mean at that time there was really no point of reference because everything was sort of being developed at that time. There was very little what we would actually call street art in the sense of what we know today. No stenciling, none of what we know today, no grand murals, no Os Gemeos, nothing. So it was very limited and the art form,if you will, itself was very primitive

I grew up in Manhattan, I’m a New Yorker, a native. I’ve been here my entire life so I grew up in the 60’s with graffiti around me. Most people they don’t really want to talk about it but the social conditions in New York at that time, more specifically what was happening with the city of New York, the money, the finances, the mayor. We were broke, okay? We were in a bad war that nobody was happy about. King was killed, the man on the moon, all these kinds of crazy things were happening and there was also a need for change at this time- A radical need. We were spurred on by the anti-war demonstrations in the early 70’s and people were going to the streets to make messages.

Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Futura-subways-giftSome of the above-ground things that were graffiti; Graffito in the classic sense of the word; cave drawings, scribbling – were anti-war messages, religious promises. It was a moment of people trying to make a message and maybe some possible enlightenment, where there was something positive coming from it.

As the subway movement grew, we saw the subway as an incredible vehicle to transport your name around the city. You write your name on a train in the Bronx and then it goes through Manhattan and then it goes through Brooklyn. It’s was a great medium. And so the galleries for us were the subway. With the City it was a question of financing. How was graffiti able to go for four or five years? They were not cleaning, they had no control, and the kids were running crazy. Finally they got the money together to start to stop this act. They built fences for the train yards, had machines to clean the trains, and by 1980 I think it was the official beginning of the end and thus the transition to the next form: Gallery.

Keith (Haring), Jean Michel (Basquiat), Kenny Scharf, Dondi, Zephyr, all of the names of the young artists from the 80s in New York, were my contemporaries. Keith went to school, Jean Michel was very clever and I’m sure he went to libraries and read about fine art. They had an education about art. But not all of us. When we made the transition to do the galleries it was very difficult because we didn’t have any education. We didn’t have any references. We didn’t know. When I started being reviewed, they said “oh you are a Kandisky, a Klee, a Malevich.” People were naming artists I’d never heard of. “You are influenced by this, you’ve stolen from that.” At 25 I was still a kid in my mind about art but clever as a man. I’d been in the military already and I was experienced. However I was also ignorant. This is nothing you can fake. You know you can’t pretend to know about art when you never heard of painters from this movement, that movement. So yeah it was very difficult.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Futura-books-gift

At that time I became a follower of other young artists who did know, who did go to school, who told me, “Oh yeah Malevich is a Russian constructivist”, and so then I began my own education, somewhat to try to do research. In the process I developed what people defined as an abstract style and in 1980, which was like a kind of a “mega period”, I did a very beautiful train. Very abstract, it was kind of a color field and it was very popular. Even if it was misunderstood people liked it. It wasn’t typical and that was fine with me because I was trying to find my own area. You know the competition in New York is very difficult and everyone defines something, a certain style, a technical ability. There’s a look to people’s work and unfortunately many works look similar.

 

Os Gemeos and Futura. Detail (© Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos and Futura. Detail (© Jaime Rojo)

The styles developed in New York in the 70s and in the 80s are the architectural foundation of what kids all around the planet are doing right now because the books have been made and the books are the modern Bibles for this culture so they know Dondi, they know Futura they know ……..they know T-Kid, they know Zepher….. they know all of the New York guys and from those names they grab some elements of this guys’ technique.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Futura-Quote-I-got-two

I was represented by a gallery in SOHO – Tony Shafrazi. – Selling paintings for like 20,000 dollars. I got half and then after the half I was getting less than a half because of the expenses and then at the end I’m like, “Really? We sold twenty and I got two?” But I’m happy with my two! Okay? I’m f*cking very happy with my two.

Though then I’m like, “Okay… Wait wait.  Am I being exploited?” And that’s when you know –“Okay, basta. Stop. F*ck the 80’s, f*ck the art world – I have a baby, Timothy.” He was born in 1984.

So for me the priority was to support my wife and my child and the art world and the fickle nature of this movement were not dependable, so I became a bike messenger. I used to make like $150 a day. We were like independent contractors. So you know me, I hustle. It’s always going to be legal. You know I’m never going to sell drugs. I will not do something illegal because I respect my freedom, I appreciate my freedom and I don’t want to be involved with the authorities. I was never arrested during all of my years. Not that I’m clever – but I’m careful. You know I’m not going to do something obviously to jeopardize a situation. I try to do it cool. So the messenger thing was amazing for me. I was making a pretty good living working around the streets of New York with a beeper and a walkie-talkie.

Os Gemeos and Futura. Detail (© Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos and Futura. Detail (© Jaime Rojo)

BSA: Can we go back to ’81? You did live painting with The Clash – while you were painting on the stage were you collaborating with them? Were you being influenced by the music or were your paintings influencing the music – or were you autonomous?
Futura: We were just doing our own thing. When I met The Clash here at that time they kind of fell in love with New York again. I mean when they came here in ’81 the Hip Hop thing really began to happen here in New York with different groups from uptown…of course Grand Master Flash but also Cold Crush Brothers, Double Trouble – many rap acts were beginning to emerge. When The Clash did their shows on Broadway they opened with hip hop performers for their show. I’d been asked to paint a banner that said “The Clash” and when they arrived and they saw it they asked, “Who did the banner? That’s amazing. We wanna meet those guys.” That’s when they invited me to go Europe with them and asked me if I wanted to paint on the stage while they were playing.  I mean when I first met them I wasn’t into punk music.

BSA: What music were you listening at the time?
Futura: I was listening to Hip Hop and…I mean I’m traditionally more like R&B, Motown, you know I’m an old-school guy for that, so The Clash sound was new and I was learning about the music and I liked the music. But it wasn’t like “Paint for the music”. They were like, “Yo, just do what you do and we are going to play”, and that that’s how it kind of was. Then I did some graphics for them for the record and I actually went on the stage with them in Los Angeles when they released their next album, “Combat Rock”.…..I sing on the record with them….”Overpowered by Funk” then there is a part where I rap.

This is a message from Futura

Don’t prophesize the future
I liven up the culture
Because I’m deadly as a vulture
I paint on civilization
It’s environmentally wack
So presenting my attack
I’ll brighten up your shack
I’m down by law and that’s a fact

Just give me a wall. Any building dull or tall
I spray clandestine night subway
I cover red purple on top of grey Hey,
no slashing cuz it ain’t the way
The T.A. blew 40 mil they say
We threw down by night
They scrubbed it off by day

OK tourists.

Picture frame, tickets here
For the graffiti train
People at home show you care
Don’t try and fry me in your shockin chair
Funk Power, Over and Out

From “Overpowered by Funk”, by The Clash and performed by Futura

In the concert in Los Angeles I was painting and they started playing the song and Joe was like “Futura, Futura” and I came on stage…So I actually painted for The Clash and sang on the stage with The Clash and that all happened that year in 1981. That experience blew my mind of course because of all I got exposed to – they took me to Europe, to Vienna, Paris, London, Scotland. It was supposed to be two weeks and it became two months. So I had a great opportunity with them that year. And when I came back my popularity as an artist grew as a result because even if I didn’t know who The Clash there were a lot of people who knew who The Clash were. So it was a great opportunity for my career at that time even though by ’85 I felt the gallery experience wasn’t a good deal.

Os Gemeos and Futura. Detail (© Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos and Futura. Detail (© Jaime Rojo)

BSA: It has been very often the case where American artists would have to go to Europe to get popular and in the 80s graffiti here was considered more like a crime and you were vandals and criminals while in Europe graffiti was being accepted as an art form. Has that changed? Do you see things differently now?
Futura: Yeah, you know your sh*t, dude, that is exactly the story. Yeah things are different now – let’s just say for example, 1980. We’re 30 years after that now, okay? So if I’m talking to a 30 year-old man, woman, at this moment they know. They know already. Back then – people didn’t know and they were threatened by it. The actions were “in their face” at the time and people were taking the trains and it was always aggressive. We were vandalists to them but I think enough time has passed and they understand and they appreciate it, perhaps more than they did. Although what we were doing all was illegal, mildly criminal, we were never hurting anybody okay? And our messages were always positive and we were trying to embellish and to beautify and to present something visually attractive.

BSA: Can you talk about this project with Os Gemeos and how it has been for you:
Futura: I want to say that the beauty of this project for me is the sense of collaboration that normally doesn’t totally exist among artists. I won’t say it’s the first time I’ve done collaboration, but it’s the most amazing collaboration I’ve done. I mean in the past I’ve worked with other artists on walls but not with the same respect as I have with the twins.  I mean artists around the world look at their work. And you say “I’d love to work with them, it is like a dream.”

I’ve known the guys for more than ten years and I’ve seen them around the world. I love their work. We always have a great relationship and in Miami at Art Basel last year they were talking about, “Hey we should do something together you know”. They had this idea and of course I’m open and I’m also, “Wow, really?”  You know, for me, they come to my city and asked me to work with them out of a kind of a respect for the historical reference and you know I’m still relevant – I’m not like a dinosaur, like a fossil.  So for me it’s almost indescribable really how it makes me feel as an artist, as a person – actually not even as an artist but as a person, as a human being. You know the humanity of it right? So this is what’s genius and priceless and it is not about money, not about sales. Who cares? You know what I mean. It’s about a real artistic collabo – you know a gift to the neighborhood, a gift to the school, a gift to the city, and possibly some project like this can open some doors.

The Twins and Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

The Twins and Futura (© Jaime Rojo)

BSA: How about the experience of going up in a hydraulic lift to paint?
Futura:
I’m very happy with the results because technically they are able to make it work and I trust them because I know they are “the masters” you know. First of all just getting up on these walls on those machines, normally I’d have been like, “No, it’s okay.”  I mean when I was in the military I was jumping out of airplanes so it’s not a height thing – also I was 18 at that time kind of stupid in the head. Today I’m thinking more like, really? Are you sure? And it’s quite a sensation painting up there like that. If it wasn’t them I would have not done this project. I would’ve not done it. The second night I almost couldn’t sleep thinking about it. It really bothered me, physically. The first day I was like “let me just touch the sky and let me get the feeling”. But this is uncomfortable what can I say? But you know what? This is these guys so for them I’d say “f*ck it, I’d do it”.  But when yesterday was done and they were like “we are done” I was very very happy.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Futura-Quote-gift

BSA: Your web site is amazing and you’ve maintain a pretty current internet presence….
Futura:
My son designed my website. You can archive it back for three years. I’ve been on line since 1996. Flickr is the new application that I like. Every artist seems to be promoting themself and what I learned as a graffiti writer is we are in the business of self promotion, that’s what we do. I have been doing it for so long that it is boring to me now to do that. I am not interested in that. I mean I love it, I love this experience, it’s indescribable but I mean I’m not there to promote me.  My life does not revolve around me and who I am – I’m getting more joy among other things. Now I’m traveling. I’m trying to see the world on my terms and not be like a puppet. But the web site my son designed. I have a daily photo and basically everyday there’s a new image. There is a kind of a curation there. Some of the pictures kind of go together – there’s a lot of personal things there with me and my girl. I like to play with the public also.

Closer Look. (© Jaime Rojo)

Futura between Os Gemeos. (© Jaime Rojo)

BSA: What do you wish for your children to have in this modern age?
Futura: I love my children Timothy and Tabitha. They already have what I want for them. What I want for them I have put into motion; the ability to think for yourself, to take care of things. They are independent and great. My wife is French – I met her in Paris in 1982. Now we are separated, but we are wonderful together and I love her enormously for the gift she gave me of the children and we appreciate that they are grown up and who they are becoming and we love them for who they are. We are like, “Hey, good job!” to each other because we respect the labor that we both did.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Futura Quote Parent

But everything is going well because they have a good foundation which I didn’t really have and I was an only child and have no brothers and sisters, so this whole opportunity for me to be a parent has been more rewarding for me than me being an artist for sure. And I’m so grateful that I have that because my art is more rich because of that and vice-versa. If it was only one or the other, something would be  missing. If I had a regular job I wouldn’t be a good father.  I try to keep myself stress free.  I know what I’m good at and I don’t do what I’m not good at. I try not to waste my time if possible.

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Read our previous posting on this event:

Interview: Os Gemeos, Futura & Martha Cooper At PS 11 In NYC: Day 3

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=13213

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This project is made possible with the vision and elbow grease of AKANYC and 12ozProphet and the engaged involvement of PS11 and the community.

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Living Walls are Alive! : BSA Update from Atlanta

Living Walls are Alive! : BSA Update from Atlanta

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Living-Walls-Update
Living Walls
Jenna Duffy and Jayne McGinn have been chasing Street Art in Atlanta and taking in the whole carnival of art that is The Living Walls Conference.  Jenna is an experienced fashion photographer and she has been capturing the amazing vibe with her camera while Jayne tell us in her own words what’s the mood for Saturday nights’ Eyedrum Opening. Here is their first dispatch exclusively for BSA:

Currently, Eyedrum, home of the Living Wall’s Gallery Show, and the adjacent loft where the artists are staying, has transformed into what one artist called “a summer camp meets a wedding, meets a reality show”. Street artists from around the world blew up air mattresses and slept slumber party style, painting, working, and hanging out into dawn with a collective of volunteers.

 

Eyedrum Hallway (© Jenna Duffy)

Eyedrum Hallway (© Jenna Duffy)

The long white hallway in Eyedrum became the artists’ free-for-all, each given pick and creative freedom to stake claim on any spot not taken. The enormity of Living Walls is evident here; once an eyesore, it is now almost completely covered with pieces large and small. Gaia, Greg Mike, Chris Bakay, Marcos Sueno, Never, Nasdaq, Hugh Leeman and other artists have thrown up murals and wheat pastes. The ultimate goal to cover the hallway is awe-inducing, but when executed the collage of local and international street artists will be an ocular feast.

Gaia in Action (© Jenna Duffy)

Gaia in Action (© Jenna Duffy)

Eyedrum Hallway (© Jenna Duffy)

Eyedrum Hallway (© Jenna Duffy)

A BP Reference (© Jaime Rojo)

Fresh+I+Am takes a smack at environmental polluters at the head of the hallway (© Jenna Duffy)

Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)

Gaia (© Jenna Duffy)

To see more of Jenna Duffy’s work go HERE:

The Living Walls Blog

To learn more about Living Walls go HERE:

 

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New NohJ Coley Piece Killed in It’s Infancy

Rapid Death of a Baby Farmer

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-BANNER_NohJ-Coley_Aug2010-Infanticide

Infanticide

A shocking true story from two centuries past provides the latest muse for Street Artist NohJ Coley, whose wheat-pasted intercedence on the behalf of infant victims lasts only one moon before it was washed away.

Amelia Dyer put a thinly veiled ad for “adoption” in the Thames Valley paper telling unwed mothers in the 1890’s that they could safely bring their illegitimate baby to her farm and know that the child would be raised and their reputations could stay intact.  In fact, once back in her house, Mrs. Dyer tied a string around the neck of the  child and choked it; a fate that awaited her in the Summer of  ’96 when she was convicted of killing 6 such infants. It is believed that she actually murdered 50.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-NohJ_Coley-Quote1-Aug2010
The blurry photo above is all that remains of the linotype cutout NohJ Coley affixed to a wall recently behind barbed wire.  A fleeting Blair Witch of a moment, intended by a passing street art photographer to mark the spot for a shot in the sunshine at dawn.  But when he returned at sunrise the piece was washed and scraped off, the damaged evidence floating in a puddle at the base of the wall, much like the babies Amelia Dyer placed in paper sacks and dumped into the Thames River.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-NohJ_Coley-Quote2-Aug2010

While the brand new street art piece may have been in an approved location, the subject matter was not quite palatable. Says Coley, “My theory as to why the piece was removed is the subject matter. I don’t think the owner of the property could sit well with a women screaming while pulling out her hair and two infants pulling rope out of the back of her throat. If the images on the wall were less harsh and more alluring I believe that the work would still be on the wall today.”

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-NohJ-Coley_Aug2010-Infanticide1

To complete this sordid snuffing story, we offer you these exclusive in-studio photos  of the piece in studio during the preparation. The artist intended the piece to be a damning indictment, and a figurative repayment by the tender sucklings who were snuffed.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-NohJ-Coley_Aug2010-Infanticide_detail1Says Coley, “Basically I am allowing these infants that were brutally murdered to have some sort of revenge for their untimely deaths.” Ironically the piece was rubbed out before it could run.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-WEB-Animation-BANNER_NohJ-Coley_Aug2010-Infanticide

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  1. Dr. John Brendon Curgenven, op. cit., p.3.
  2. James Greewood, The Seven Curses of London, Chapter III.
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