BSA Film Friday

BSA Film Friday: 03.24.23

March 24, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. BR1 & GEC – Fieno e Asfalto (Hay and Asphalt)

2. Ai Weiwei – Studio Visit – Via Design Boom

3. Amy: Beyond the Stage Mural – Via The Design Museum

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BSA Special Feature: BR1 & GEC – Fieno e Asfalto (Hay and Asphalt)

Ready to witness an unauthorized intervention like you probably haven’t seen before? Italian artists BR1 & GEC take on the streets of the “Barriera di Milano” area of Torino with a bale of hay and dodge pedestrians and cars along the way. This action-packed adventure culminates in the final occupation of a parking spot, leaving people bothered and perplexed.

This performance isn’t just about having fun; there are layers of meaning, too- the paradox of the presence of a vital material necessary for city folks’ food production is comical in this context. However, the harsh response from people driving cars in the city is not quite as endearing. From exploring the relationship between natural and artificial landscapes to the rampant consumption of resources in urban centers, these artists touch on various current issues. At the very least, you think of the different uses of public space we take for granted and the rediscover activity that would be perfectly acceptable in rural areas. You may also say it is a form of resistance toward the modern world.

As you watch the calm and grounded progression of the wheel through city streets, you may consider the relationship between the artwork and the public space. The two artists often make ephemeral interventions in the urban context, and this is one more way to act spontaneously and without permission. With one simple, if not easy, performance, the viewer may consider the various symbolisms uprooted in the collective consciousness.

BR1 & GEC – Fieno e Asfalto (Hay and Asphalt)

Ai Weiwei – Studio Visit – Via Design Boom

“I choose things that I am not familiar with, which I can learn from, and which present me with a challenge.”

Amy: Beyond the Stage Mural – Via The Design Museum

To celebrate the anniversary of Amy’s birthday and the launch of the exhibition Amy: Beyond the Stage, a large-scale mural was hand painted on Camden High Street.

BSA Film Friday: 03.17.23

March 17, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. Sofles “Gold Fat Cap”

2. Thomas Medicus -Best Before.

3. Edward Hopper’s New York: First Impressions via The Whitney Museum

BSA Special Feature: Sofles “Gold Fat Cap“

Fresh paint from Sofles, a night session from a beyond-writer at the height of his powers and using a single gold fat cap. To the sounds of breezes, traffic, and the muffled strains of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Chuck Berry. Followed in the sunlight by birds chirping. Isn’t life rich?

Thomas Medicus -Best Before

His sculptural works are usually more involved than this. Still, it is entertaining to watch the active destruction of this piece using at least some of the vocabulary of deconstruction and urban decay.

Unpacking Hopper’s New York: First Impressions via The Whitney Museum

“Edward Hopper’s first impressions of New York with exhibition organizers Kim Conaty, Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawings and Prints, and Melinda Lang, Senior Curatorial Assistant. In 1899 when he was seventeen, Hopper began commuting to New York from Nyack by train and ferry to study art. In 1906, he entered the commercial art field and worked as a freelancer for several New York advertising agencies and magazines. Starting in 1913, Hopper lived and worked at 3 Washington Square North and, with his wife Jo, he remained until his death in 1967.”

BSA Film Friday: 03.10.23

March 10, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. Thomas Medicus / Human Animal Binary (2 Parts)

2. Tuco Wallach Pacifico / Lapinou Project by Cartie, Pouah & Tuco.

3. Project MUM Upcycles Ocean Plastics Into Fishing Gear

BSA Special Feature: Thomas Medicus / Human Animal Binary

Part Damian Hirst, Jerry Andrus, and Bordallo II, this public work by Thomas Medicus takes different forms according to your position. Clearly, it’s a wild world.

It looks like Easter came early this year in Nendaz, Switzerland. Street artist Tuco Wallach appears to be having fun with this new bunny, stickers, origami, and skiing. For Tuco, the street art practice is often a family affair, and you can guess what the next generation is beginning to do. It starts with a series of lapinou (rabbits). With this kind of role model, you shouldn’t be surprised.

Lapinou Project, by Cartie, Pouah & Tuco.

Project MUM Upcycles Ocean Plastics Into Fishing Gear

Industrial waste is poisoning our air, water, food supply; in a capitalists mind its the transaction that is primary in the mind, not the repercussions on the natural world or their human counterparts. But to elevate the conversation, it is always good to find people using their ingenuity to reuse, upcycle, and give back to us all, rather than detract.

BSA Film Friday: 03.03.23

March 3, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. BANKSY – A Quick Look Back – Exit Through the Gift Shop (August 2011)

2. Revenge of Nature – Orakle And Atmo

3. 5 Minutes With: IKARUS in Berlin. Via I Love Graffiti

4. De La Soul – A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday

BSA Special Feature: BANKSY – A Quick Look Back – Exit Through the Gift Shop

Because retrospectively assessing hype can be illuminating, and you can see how it has aged, and because we are always attracted to this contorted phone booth sculpture that undeniably emanates the style of Banksy, here’s a snippet from “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” A Dozen years on, what are your impressions?

REVENGE OF NATURE – Orakle And Atmo. Via Spray Daily.

Damn, that is serious rappelling! This is anonymously rappelling a dam for serious impact.

Styled as a nihilist dark pair of dual painting eco-activists, these Berlin-based Pixacao performance artists Orakle and Atmo want you to think about the “Revenge of Nature” that is currently underway. Selling the earth to the highest bidding abuser drives us down, and O&A are casting the case in dramatic thriller-movie terms to blow up their message.

5 MINUTES WITH: IKARUS in BERLIN. Via I Love Graffiti

BYY Laura subtly shadows pixacao-writing, train-surfing Icarus as he hops over third rails and climbs out onto the street from an underground tunnel with master-of-fact aplomb. Great shots and integration. For the record, train surfing kills people. Don’t do it. Beware Icarus; you will very likely regret the fall.

“Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight, For the greatest tragedy of them all, Is never to feel the burning light.”
Attributed to Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright, 1854-1900

De La Soul – A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday

Celebrating Trugoy and De La Soul today and Every Day. Wanna go skating this weekend?

BSA Film Friday: 02.24.23

February 24, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. A History Of The World According to Getty Images

2. Cypress Hill: INSANE IN THE BRAIN

3. Earth to COP

BSA Special Feature: A World History – In Moving Pictures

History is written by the victors: That is, those who dictate and control the dominant culture and hold the reins to industry, property ownership, etc. Not a lot of history is written by slaves, or marginalized populations, or those disempowered by the systems in which they just barely keep their heads above water. So, when we saw this “History of the World”, we were happy to see the “A” in front of it.

In a similar, related vein, FIPADOC releases this film about the moving image in the public domain and reveals that regardless of the original filmmaker’s intent, these can become privatized. Similarly, the narrator poses questions regarding the implied power dynamic between the shooter and subject and comes away with some very enlightening realizations about the form. Who owns access, who controls it, and what stories are told, or hidden?

A History Of The World According to Getty Images

Cypress Hill: INSANE IN THE BRAIN / Trailer

Estevan Oriol gives you a deep dive and thoughtful discourse on Cypress Hill as they germinated, grew, and took over – telling “the story of a brotherhood that has withstood the test of time to create a truly original, everlasting legacy.”

EARTH TO COP

The Earth is already speaking to us, and while this video offers astounding views of destruction, let’s take a step back and find out who caused, and is causing, the damage – and if large meetings like COP are holding them responsible, and accountable. Many today point to corporations that are taking on climate change as a virtue signal, a marketing lever, and a way to push other agendas under a green flag.

BSA Film Friday: 02.17.23

February 17, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. MOMO “Final Call” Via Studio Cromie

2. 5 Minutes with: Rosy One (Schweiz)via ILoveGraffiti.de

3. PichiAvo “Used to Be” at Underdogs gallery in Lisbon

4. ARAI sings “Little Stupid Boy”

BSA Special Feature: MOMO “Final Call”

MOMO and that dude from Studio Cromie have an in-depth conversation about a new series of non-representational artworks by MOMO, as represented by that dude from Studio Cromie.

Buon appetito!

MOMO Final Call. Via Studio Cromie

First entranced by hip-hop culture in the late 80s and writing graffiti in the early 90s in Switzerland, Rosy One moved on to train bombing and was hooked for life. Rosy One says she doesn’t see herself accommodating herself into conventional society; she favors working alone although she’s been in crews, and describes her style as having a “sweet and tough” aesthetic, clearly influenced by the New York, Paris, and Berlin scenes.

Turn on the subtitles – they work!

5 MINUTES WITH: ROSY ONE (SCHWEIZ) VIA I LOVE GRAFFITI DE

“What first draws their attention is the mixture of graffiti with classical art. We try to convey our roots and that this is what we know.” PichiAvo have always traveled and spoken to you in the myths and the margins. The nexus of the two is the genius that can be found amidst the ruins, at the margins of society. Exposed to the elements, these generations are called to the fore, equally at home inside or outside.

“Our work is in the studio, and our work is in the street, and we aim for there to be a balance between both worlds.”

Keep your eyes open for a collaborative canvas with Vhils. Another diamond in the rough.

PichiAvo “Used to Be” at Underdogs gallery in Lisbon

ARAI sings “Little Stupid Boy”

BSA Film Friday: 02.10.23

February 10, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. 1UP – ONE WEEK WITH 1UP – THE SHORT FILM

2. 5 MINUTES WITH: MADC in the Maldives

3. Liberation for Black Trans Women / CANS Can’t Stant / The New Yorker

BSA Special Feature: 1UP – ONE WEEK WITH 1UP – THE SHORT FILM

Global brand 1UP continues to build their mountain of exploits and is smart enough to engage the premiere film director Selina Miles to tell the story. “I loved seeing so many people rushing into action all at once,” says veteran graffiti documentarian Martha Cooper as she relates the adrenalin rush of highly planned aerosol operations on the U-Bahn that she and Ninja K captured for this book/short film entitled “One Week With1UP”.

The risks are measured in the duration of rapid heart rates, multiplied by the long slow burn of anticipation and divided by the dull hours of strategizing, discussion, and planning. Cooper says she’s fascinated by the persistence of the graffiti practice over 50 years, and she should know because she’s shot the evolution of this youth-centered practice since she was a cub photographer for the New York Post in the 1970s. Miles captures the prevalent sensations of the cat-and-mouse adventurism running through this hormone-fueled grey cloud that floats somewhere between art, self-expression, pranksterism, and straight-up vandalism. By leaving the area grey, the viewer is pushed to draw their line about privilege, propriety, and its additive/subtractive relationship with the cityscape.

“It takes community and camaraderie, and skills and experience, and preplanning and all of that,” says Martha.

Big up to Spray Daily and Ilovegraffiti.de for sharing this.

5 MINUTES WITH: MADC in the Maldives

“Painting in these surroundings is unbelievable,” says graff writer MadC as she marvels at the natural beauty she is working in tandem with in the Maldives. “You are right there on the water, there are eagle rays right under you, fish everywhere, flying foxes coming…,” she explains. “I don’t think while I’m painting. It’s on an emotional level.”

Liberation for Black Trans Women / CANS Can’t Stant / The New Yorker

While there is greater support for trans people today, in the end its usually trans people and their closest allies who still do all the work of creating a safe, just world. In this film by Matt Nadel and Megan Plotkawe, we gain a greater understanding of the insidious nature of transphobia as we see a group of Black trans women fighting to repeal a law used to target queer locals.

BSA Film Friday: 02.03.23 – Layer Cake VERSUS 3

February 3, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. Highlights of Layer Cake Opening “Versus III” at Museum of Graffiti, Miami

BSA Special Feature: Highlights of Layer Cake Opening “Versus III” at Museum of Graffiti, Miami

“Versus III” opened last night to a lively crowd of graffiti and street art, and contemporary art enthusiasts who roamed the museum freely, taking in the new 10-piece exhibition as well as the permanent installations throughout. The contrast between the very educational, historical exhibition and the days-old one just installed by the Munich-based artist duo called Layer Cake was not as pronounced as you may think due to the conscious attention in the museum’s wall text descriptions that recognized the fluid nature of urban arts evolution throughout the last 5+ decades.

Today we have a collection of video outtakes featuring Christian Hundertmark and Patrick Hartl giving verbal descriptions of their process on specific canvasses, selected outtakes from the panel discussion with the museum director, writer, historian, and graffiti encyclopedia Alan Ket and Urban Nation Museums’ Steven P. Harrington before invited guests and 360-degree views of the incredible actual layer cake just before it was cut and served by the artists.

Our special thanks to Alan Ket and co-founder Allison Freidin as our excellent hosts at the Museum of Graffiti and the whole MOG team who were so professional and helpful to us, including but not limited to Alexi, Caroline, David, Caleb, and Jamie. Thank you to all.

Versus Project 3 – Miami Museum of Graffiti

Layer Cake – The Versus Project 3. Miami, Florida. Opens today for the general public. Click HERE for more details, schedules, tickets, etc.

BSA Film Friday: 01.27.23

January 27, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria: EPISODE 1: TERRITORY
2. Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria: EPISODE 2: MEMORY
3. Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria: EPISODE 3: RESISTANCE

BSA Special Feature: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria

Whitney Museum of American Art. “no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria” is organized to coincide with the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria—a high-end Category 4 storm that hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017.

The exhibition explores how artists have responded to the transformative years since that event by bringing together more than fifty artworks made over the last five years by an intergenerational group of more than fifteen artists from Puerto Rico and the diaspora.

The following films, organized into three episodes, explore the art and the artists in the exhibition “no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria”.

EPISODE 1: TERRITORY

EPISODE 2: MEMORY.

EPISODE 3: RESISTANCE

“no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria” On view now – April 23, 2023. Whitney Museum of American Art. Click HERE for more details, schedules, tickets, etc.

BSA Film Friday: 01.20.23

January 20, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. Marina Capdevila. Los Pajaritos. Granada, Spain
2. Marina Capdevila. Shine Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida
3. Marina Capdevila. Curitiba, Brazil
4. Marina Capdevila. The Raw Project. Art Basel Miami 2019

BSA Special Feature: Marina Capdevila

Like many of her peers in the street art world, the Spanish muralist now likes to be considered a contemporary painter – it has so much more cachet. She traveled a lot this year in Spain, according to a year-end newsletter we received- Valencia, Granada, and Barcelona for example. She also was in Florida and Manhattan for her projects, which included murals, prints, and commercial gigs with brands. We’ve always appreciated her artistry, sociological approach to her characters and figures, and her sense of humor. May she never lose it.

This week we feature a handful of more recent projects by Marina Capdevila.

Marina Capdevila. Los Pajaritos. Granada, Spain.

Marina Capdevila. Shine Festival. St. Petersburg, Florida

Marina Capdevila. Curitiba, Brazil.

Marina Capdevila. The Raw Project. Art Basel Miami 2019

BSA Film Friday: 01.13.23

January 13, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. Nick Cave: Forothemore via Guggenheim Museum
2. Reckoning with Grief at the Water Park / Black Slide / A short animated film by Uri Lotan
3. BEATLES, AUTOMATA by Daniel Bennan

BSA Special Feature: Nick Cave: Forothemore via Guggenheim Museum

Home of HOUSE; young, queer, black folks made the nights come alive and stay pumping all night long in Chicago when Nick Cave was coming up. Style was everything, performance, and happenings with all the trappings – a place to let it all blast outward in search of form. Whatever is holding us down on this earth, Nick Cave provides a portal into how we may supercede it all.

Nick Cave: Forothemore via Guggenheim Museum

Reckoning with Grief at the Water Park / Black Slide / A short animated film by Uri Lotan via The New Yorker.

Grief hits you in the strangest places, including in water parks. When it does, you better just go with the flow, baby.

BEATLES, AUTOMATA by Daniel Bennan

Eventually everything becomes folk art, no matter how revolutionary you initially perceived it to be. Here artist Daniel Bennan carves these mop headed earthshakers into a Beatrola.

BSA Film Friday: 01.06.23

January 6, 2023 Artists, BSA Film Friday

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

Now screening:
1. The Laughing Heart – by Bradley Bell, Charles Bukowski, Tom Waits, and Grizzly Bear
2. METAL LOVERS via Spray Daily
3. HELLO FROM BERLIN – AGAIN – CTM.IOC CREWS via I Love Graffiti

BSA Special Feature: The Laughing Heart – Bradley Bell, Charles Bukowski, Tom Waits, and Grizzly Bear

It makes us very happy to share this animated short film by Bradley Bell, “The Laughing Heart”, based on a poem by Charles Bukowski, as we publish the first edition of BSA Film Friday for 2023. We believe that your life and the choices you make determine what makes you unique and who you are. Stay honest and authentic with yourself; the mistakes that you will make will be as valuable as the victories you will celebrate.

METAL LOVERS via Spray Daily

From whole cars to whole trains, the Metal Lovers Crew staked their claim in ’21 and ’22. The choice of dramatic music here makes it extra impressive.

HELLO FROM BERLIN – AGAIN – CTM.IOC CREWS via I Love Graffiti

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