Our weekly focus is on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Narcelio Grud. Escultura Sonora Cinetica
2. Faith XLVII – Calgary
3. NEW WAVE BY Pejac
BSA Special Feature: Narcelio Grud. Escultura Sonora Cinetica
This is exactly why your kids have fun things to play with at the park and to challenge their imaginations. Former/current street artist and public kinetic art sculptor Narcelio Grud shares with us how he made this new interactive kinetic and sound sculpture in Casa do Governador Cultural Park, in Vila Velha/ES. The action is powered by you: a conveyor belt triggers three mechanisms and pulling the strings activates the clappers of bells.
Narcelio Grud. Escultura Sonora Cinetica
Faith XLVII – Calgary
In her ongoing search for meaning and answers to existential questions, Faith XLVII shares a spoken-word piece to accompany this stop-action video of a mural she called “Calgary”.
Our weekly focus is on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Joiri Minaya’s Pattern Making. A Film by Alina Rancier
2. My Father’s Secret Ballet Career / Dad Can Dance / Via The New Yorker / A Film by Jamie and David Ross.
3. Tactical Urbanismo / Graphic interventions on the streets of Barcelona / Arauna
BSA Special Feature: Joiri Minaya’s Pattern Making. A Film by Alina Rancier
Joiri Minaya has a varied multidisciplinary practice – one that is appropropriate to what we study here at BSA is The Cloaking (2020) where the artist uses hand painted patterns in spandex to cover monuments of colonizers.
“I’m thinking of a way to re-signify that public space that is used to commemorate, uh, colonial history and instead trying to commemorate the people who resisted colonialism, who don’t have a statue,” she says. “I’m just thinking of public space as this space that’s supposed to be democratic – but then of course there are forces that determine what is more significant and what is left out. So I’m trying to tell the stories that remain untold.”
Joiri Minaya’s Pattern Making. Via Art21. A Film by Alina Rancier
My Father’s Secret Ballet Career / Dad Can Dance / Via The New Yorker / A Film by Jamie and David Ross.
“My dad was a ballet dancer, and for almost 45 years, no one in the world knew that he was.”
A personal mystery with multiple layers, at the heart of which is an artist who chooses a different route, yet never stops being an artist. There are a few stunning observations throughout, including some by a dancer who followed the path. She’s talking about dance, but you could easily substitute any field of art here.
“You’re called,” she says. “You know, there’s a lot of difficult aspects of it, a lot of painful aspects, a lot of criticism. You’re putting yourself out there. You have to deal with a lot of competition. It’s not about making your living that way. It’s about having the opportunity to be able to share that depth inside of yourself with other people.”
Tactical Urbanismo / Graphic interventions on the streets of Barcelona / Arauna
Our weekly focus is on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. The Chronicles of a New York Locksmith / Keys to the City / The New Yorker. By Ian Moubayed
2. 5 MINUTES WITH: MAMBA (BERLIN) via I Love Graffiiti
3. Momo: Darmon 3 via Studio Cromie bald head.”
BSA Special Feature: The Chronicles of a New York Locksmith
Great filmmaking doesn’t happen too often, but when it does, it resonates. Ian Moubayed captures his people and lets them tell their story, their way. This locksmith and his young protégé give parts of themselves to form a story that comes across as authentic, with great respect for all involved.
The Chronicles of a New York Locksmith / Keys to the City / The New Yorker. By Ian Moubayed
5MINUTES WITH: MAMBA (BERLIN) via I Love Graffiti
Can we say that graffiti writing film has become stunning? The inclusion of Christiane F’s “Wunderbar” lends the activities an isolated feeling of disjointed belonging, the rhythm of the city adding its structure to a nighttime escapade of vandalism and creativity. The painting is rigid and artful, the evenings opportunity eclipsed by the harsher elements, an ever-present game of cat and mouse. This is brilliant storytelling, a warm and distinct dance at the margin
Momo: Darmon 3 via Studio Cromie
Longtime friends, creative co-conspiritors, celebrators of the absurd, MOMO and Angelino travel together and bring you along. Again. Revisiting paradise (Maldives) after 10 years, you’ll notice some changes, some subtle, some clarifying. The shock of Sri Lanka brought that Honeymoon to a crash. And yet, as they travel, surrounded by beautiful people, nature, and culture, they rise to the occasion. Again and again.
Our weekly focus is on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Edoardo Tresoldi Studio Visit
2. Homemade Security Patrol Robot by Handy Geng.First-Century. Via Art21
3. Sun Setting Recreated in The Netherlands 3 A: “The sun’s going down like a big bald head.” Courtesy William S. Burroughs
BSA Special Feature: Edoardo Tresoldi Studio Visit
You may have wondered about the mind of the sculptor Edoardo Tresoldi, whose public works have drawn thousands to inspect the wireframe echoes of grand architectural wonders, illuminated to show only their transparent skins. We certainly have.
Homemade Security Patrol Robot by Handy Geng.
Inventors are visionaries; we’ll all agree. They also must be persistent. We admire individuals who can anticipate future needs and create inventions that shape the world, but we adore the ones who face numerous obstacles and setbacks but persevere in their pursuit of their ideas, exhibiting determination, resilience, and a refusal to give up on their inventions. A sense of humor helps.
Sun Setting Recreated in The Netherlands
Ludmila Rodrigues in collaboration with Mike Rijnierse re-create the everyday phenomenon of the sun setting inside the city of Delft in The Netherlands.
“The sun’s going down like a big bald head.” Courtesy William S. Burroughs, Laurie Anderson, and Sharkey’s Night.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Gonzalo Borondo, “Settimo Giorno”
2. Graciela Iturbide in”Investigation” – Art in the Twenty-First-Century. Via Art21
3. INDECLINE – The United States of Apathy
BSA Special Feature: Gonzalo Borondo, “Settimo Giorno”
Borondo’s latest exhibition, titled “Settimo Giorno” (Seventh Day), is an immersive artistic experience that combines visual, poetic, and auditory elements to delve into the themes of creation, transformation, and the delicate balance between chaos and tranquility.
The artist is taking inspiration from the ancient text of the book of Genesis to explore the first six days of creation artistically. The exhibition is well placed here in the Former Church of San Mattia, which adds a unique atmosphere of reflection, tranquility, and silence to the experience.
Borondo incorporates video as the primary medium of expression; over sixty of them, consisting of manipulated cyanotype photograms, are placed in the church’s six chapels and the altar, visually recounting the creation myth’s six days. These videos, created through a combination of analog development techniques and modern 3D technology, bridge the gap between the past and present, both technically and conceptually, between architecture, dialogue, heritage, and contemporary.
Alongside the visual elements, the exhibition incorporates poetic elements. Ángela Segovia, a renowned Spanish poet and winner of the National Poetry Prize in Spain, provides recorded snippets of text that are whispered by herself, creating an immersive experience for the visitors.
SETTIMO GIORNO at the Ex St. Mattia Church – Gonzalo Borondo
Graciela Iturbide in”Investigation” – Art in the Twenty-First-Century. Via Art21
“For Graciela Iturbide, the camera is a pretext for understanding the world. Her principal concern has been the photographic investigation of Mexico—her own cultural environment—through black-and-white images of landscapes and their inhabitants, abstract compositions, and self-portraits. Whether photographing indigenous communities in her native country, cholos in Los Angeles, Frida Kahlo’s house, or the landscape of the American South, her interest, she says, lies in what her heart feels and what her eyes see.”
INDECLINE – The United States of Apathy
In a stabbingly brutal way, street art/conceptual artist collective INDECLINE juxtaposes the photos of people killed by gun violence with smarmy fatuous unaware patriotic lyrics that rise and fall. Fall mostly. It’s a stunning contrast that brings the story home. It’s also a reductivist critique and somehow targets, if you will, victims and the guilty with similar contempt. You get the point, but a viewer may feel strangely like it misses it too. These victims didn’t ask to become spokespeople, and their families grieve them without fail daily.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. “1 Kilo – 3 Euros” by Ani Mrelashvili
2. Shahzia Sikander: Melting Boundaries
3. Heather Benjamin – “Mother All I Did Was Want To Kill But Just Look At What I Broke”
BSA Special Feature: “1 Kilo – 3 Euros” by Ani Mrelashvili
Today’s edition of BSA Film Friday trains the spotlight on three women. Two of them are artists talking about their work and one of them is an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is a woman who wears many hats at once and keeps an immigrant community bonded. Immigration, immigrants, and migration are always on the news. Here in the USA, the big topic is the southern border with Mexico and the influx of immigrants, mostly from Central America, but also from Colombia and Venezuela as well as the regular number of Mexican Nationals who strive for a better future in a foreign land. In the film, Maka runs a parcel shop in Berlin that caters to a tight community of immigrants from Georgia, the country in the Caucasus region in Europe that was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1922 but re-gained independence in 1991 riding in the success of the 1980’s Independence Movement. This film is a reminder of the humanity of immigrants and their love for those they left behind. Maka’s big heart and affable disposition facilitate the bond that all these people have in common.
1 Kilo – 3 Euros by Ani Mrelashvili
Shahzia Sikander: Melting Boundaries / Art21 “Extended Play” by Andrea Chung.
For her exhibition at Bim Bam Gallery in Paris. The exhibition closes tomorrow, Saturday, May 20. Hurry!
Bim Bam Gallery 23 rue Béranger 75003 Paris
Heather Benjamin – “Mother All I Did Was Want To Kill But Just Look At What I Broke”
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Rose B. Simpson in “Everday Icons”
2. Jan Kaláb – Via Designboom
3. ENESS – Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness
BSA Special Feature: Rose B. Simpson in “Everday Icons”
Meet Rose B. Simpson, a fearless badass artist from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. She delves into the intricate history of her homeland and the United States, examining how to empower and stay resilient while honoring past traditions. Rose pioneers innovative approaches using various artistic mediums to bridge the gap between past and present, express her personal experiences and identity, and contemplate the concepts of freedom and strength.
“On a rare snowy day in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, artist Rose B. Simpson assembles a maquette for a new public sculpture. The three small figures are models for the 12 concrete sculptures that stand nearly 11 feet tall at the Field Farm meadow in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Gazing forward with soft expressions and eyes that are hollowed through the back of their heads, the sculptures embody ancestors watching over the landscape. Simpson’s work stems from these moments of observation and connections to the past, emphasizing the processes of making and becoming in which we discover new ways of being and of healing.”
“I’m trying to reveal our deep truth,” says Simpson, “and that deep truth is process.”
Rose B. Simpson in “Everday Icons” – Art in the Twenty-First Century. Via ART21
Jan Kaláb – Via Designboom
ENESS – Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness. Via ENESS
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Da Corte looks at Everyday Icons
2. Vhils – Jose Saramago
3. FUTURA on How To Think About Identity + Brand, and The Power of Collaboration. Via Idea Generation
BSA Special Feature: Alex Da Corte looks at Everyday Icons
“In a darkened gallery, artist Alex Da Corte appears projected on the wall in Slow Graffiti (2017) as Boris Karloff, performing as both the actor himself and his 1931 role as Frankenstein’s monster, blurring the lines between actor and character. In his work, the artist never appears as himself, but rather, embodies the larger-than-life characters who influence or intrigue him: Mr. Rogers, the Wicked Witch of the West, Marcel Duchamp, and the Pink Panther are but a handful. Studying these characters who exist in worlds of fantasy and cartoon and integrating them into his own expansive artistic vision, Da Corte hopes to gain a deeper understanding of them and learn new ways of thinking. Alex Da Corte was born in Camden, New Jersey, in 1980 and lives and works in Philadelphia.
Da Corte creates vibrant and immersive large-scale installations, including wall-based works, sculptures, and videos. Colorful and surreal, his work combines personal narrative, art-historical references, pop-culture characters, and the glossy aesthetics of commercial advertising to reveal the humor, absurdity, and psychological complexity of the images and stories that permeate our culture.”
Alex Da Corte / “Everyday Icons” – Season 11 – “Art in the Twenty-First Century”. Via Art21
Vhils – Jose Saramago
“That is the virtue of maps, they show what can be done with limited space, they foresee that everything can happen therein.” José Saramago, The Stone Raft
FUTURA on How To Think About Identity + Brand, and The Power of Collaboration. Via Idea Generation
“What’s a good idea, what’s a bad idea…you gotta give both a shot”
“Street Art pioneer FUTURA started painting his name on walls as a coping mechanism to deal with his struggle with identity. But as he turned a signature into a brand, he quickly realized that it could also be a business. And that’s where things got interesting. From Lower East Side galleries to t-shirts and toys to collaborations with nearly every blue chip brand you can name, over the last 40 years, FUTURA has redefined what it means to be a pop artist.”
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. GARBAGE FUTURISM POST-WASTE / BAER
2.Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map via Guggenheim Museum
3. TENS Crew – The Molson Project via Spray Daily
BSA Special Feature: GARBAGE FUTURISM POST-WASTE / BAER
Horror, fluorescence, biting parody, and flirting with futuristic horror! What’s not to love?
Bill Dunleavy, writing in Juxtapoz, says, “The exhibition is BAER’s first solo foray to bring his unique style of world building to an exhibition format, as all the amazing work he’s created to date has been free, illegal, and often temporary, as it appears in public spaces. BAER’S genius as a conceptual artist is evident throughout the exhibition, as there are at least five exhibitions worth of concepts packed into this debut showcase. It could be said that the ‘Devil is in the details’ when it comes to GARBAGE FUTURISM, literally. “
GARBAGE FUTURISM POST-WASTE / BAER Via Superchief Gallery, LA
A brilliant and poised presentation of the artist at this moment, this video very quickly introduces the artist, and examines her motivations, history, and aspiration. It also reveals her commitment to her work.
“Being indigenous and making art means that you are looking at the world through the lenses that are curved or changed by your upbringing and by your worldview. As indigenous people we always get together and talk amongst ourselves about how we can change things or make things better and how we can put messages out there; ‘Don’t take more than you need’ should be our motto.
The same thing is true about what I put in the paintings – here I showed the American map I’m putting my Heritage in there.
When I was younger I never could envision this happening at the Whitney, never. I never let myself think that far.
It doesn’t matter what my age is it’s what I’m engaged with in my practice, and I would say I am right now and then take advantage of every opportunity that I can get to demonstrate that time is fleeting and we don’t know where things are going to be 10 years from now so I don’t really concentrate on that I just concentrate on making work that counts for something.
I think I’m a pretty lucky person, a lucky duck I am.”
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map via Guggenheim Museum
You see the name of the video and think, “Oh no, not another corporate brand slathering themselves with anti-social subcultural aerosol edginess”. Thankfully, it’s something else entirely. When you reflect upon the angles and the storytelling, it is about transgressive athleticism and claiming territory and public space, competition among peers, and giving the finger to authority. It is also tapping into a love of letters, type, fonts, and placement. Dude, it’s complex.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Mr. Kriss – In Our Hands
2. You Are The Subject: Richard Serra at Glenstone
3. Indecline: “Ironic, Isn’t It?”
BSA Special Feature: Mr. Kriss – In Our Hands
Kristián Mensa, better know by his stage name Mr. Kriss, is a Czech actor, dancer and illustrator based in London, UK.
“In Our Hands” is an upcoming animated short film by Mr. Kriss.
Camera and Edit – Jan Pivoňka Animation – Petr Šenkýř
You Are The Subject: Richard Serra at Glenstone
“In July of 2021, a 656,000-pound sculpture made of forged steel crossed state lines and bridges on its way to Glenstone. It traveled slowly, winding its way from New Jersey to Maryland. At dusk, it crossed the Susquehanna River. At midnight, it arrived.
You Are The Subject: Richard Serra at Glenstone, a new short film, tells the multi-year story of the installation and opening of Richard Serra’s Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure, 2017.
Produced with Rava Films, You Are The Subject is now available digitally in collaboration with designboom, following a world premiere at the Montreal International Festival of Films on Art on March 17, 2023.”
Indecline: “Ironic, Isn’t It?”
We recently published HERE the subversive and anonymous collective Indecline’s latest billboard takeover protesting mass shootings and the lack of adequate laws to regulate guns in America. With the most recent mass shooting in Louisville, there have been 146 mass shootings in the USA this year alone. According to existing data, the number makes more mass shootings than days in 2023 so far.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Damien Hirst – The Beautiful Paintings
2. SHOE – UNMOVEMENT
3. TCK – STEEL DIVISION – THE VIDEO (BERLIN) Via I Love Graffiti
BSA Special Feature: Damien Hirst – The Beautiful Paintings
Yes, of course, you could make art like this, in fact, it looks like you do the lion’s share of creating this one online and he signs the print – but that is not the point of this video here today. Damien Hirst has a corner on branding and selling that many do not, and he has been commercially successful at it. From our perspective, if an artist wants to live on their creative work, all lessons are welcome!
Damien Hirst – The Beautiful Paintings. Or a master lesson on selling art.
SHOE – UNMOVEMENT
Careful when you slam on the breaks here, SHOE is driving the painting process, and it is terrain yet unmapped. This promotional video for UNMOVEMENT at the Curators Room is a solo exhibition by SHOE featuring his most recent body of work.
As explained by the artist, “The title ‘unmovement’ is inspired by the ever-present dichotomy of movement and stillness. While the painted surface of a work is a still object, the particles of the paint are constantly moving, as well as the material quality of the canvas itself: time consumes, and transforms. The crystallization of an impression is, however, present in the here and now, prompting a question concerning the nature of time and, inevitably, of change.”
SHOE UNMOVEMENT (Curated by Gabriel Rolt for The Curators Room)
7 April – 27 May, 2023
Location: The Curators Room – Art Chapel Amsterdam Prinses Irenestraat 19 AMSTERDAM
TCK – STEEL DIVISION – THE VIDEO (BERLIN) Via I Love Graffiti
This movie by the TCK CREW from Berlin was available by the end of 2022 for a very short time, a limited quantity of 100 pieces, and was sold out as quickly as it came.
Now it’s time to show you the full-length film here:
“From the underground to the top at last. A concentrated 35 minutes of TCK and their partners banging non-stop trains in your face. Mostly footage from 2011-2016 and a few more recent shots. No 4K, no drones, just trains. Berlin only.”
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Minerva Cuevas in “Mexico City” – Season 8 / Art21
2. Nick Cave in “Chicago” – Season 8 / Art21
3. Damián Ortega in “Mexico City” – Season 8 / Art21
BSA Special Feature: Mexico City and Chicago Artists in Their Own Words Via Art 21
Today’s edition of BSA Film Friday presents three short films from ART21/Artists in Their Own Words Series, “Art in the Twenty-First Century.” Two artists from Mexico City, Minerva Cuevas, and Damian Ortega, and one artist from Chicago, Nick Cave, tell us about their work, how they come around to it, how they understand it and execute it. The series illustrates well how artists often find the inspiration to continue doing their craft and to stay true to their philosophy and core principles.
Minerva Cuevas in “Mexico City” – Season 8 / Art21
Minerva Cuevas is a socially conscious artist who uses her work to respond to political events and spark change, in sometimes idiosyncratic ways. Her art includes sculptures and paintings that bring attention to issues like world hunger and the negative impact humans have on animals and the environment. She also creates mini-sabotages, like altering grocery store bar codes and making student IDs, to support her non-profit organization, Better Life Corporation. Through her art and activism, Cuevas is mapping out resistance and promoting a world where all living beings are valued.
Nick Caves in “Chicago” – Season 8 / Art21
Here’s Nick Cave – not the musician, but the artist who creates unique sculptures called “Soundsuits.” These suits began as a response to the Rodney King beatings, but have now become a tool for empowerment in ways beyond what he may have imagined. The suits completely cover the body and are designed to obscure the wearer’s race, gender, and class, allowing people to see the suit without any bias toward the person inside. Nick Cave himself often performs in the suits in front of a live audience – or for the camera. They are more than just costumes – they also become musical instruments and symbols of living art; including assemblages of found objects that project out from the wall, and installations that fill entire rooms.
Damián Ortega in “Mexico City” – Season 8 / Art21
Damián Ortega creates amazing sculptures using objects from his everyday life, including things like Volkswagen Beetle cars, Day of the Dead posters, and locally sourced corn tortillas. Arranging these objects in precise ways, often suspended from the ceiling or part of a mechanical system, Ortega creates sculptures that look like diagrams, solar systems, words, buildings, and even faces. The stories are mythic, in cosmic scale – and told through performance, sculpture, and film.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
