NYC
Free Art on the Street! PaperGirl Surprises NYC With Original Idea
331 rolls of art, 9 bikes, 3 boroughs, 3 bridges, 6 hours of insane fun, 1 sunny day.
Yesterday BSA participated in the first annual PaperGirl NYC where pieces of original art were handed out for free to incredulous recipients in Bushwick, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, The Lower East Side, Union Square, The Meat Packing District, The West End Highway, The Upper West Side, Central Park, The Upper East Side and Long Island City.
NewYorkers can be suspicious when it comes to free stuff on the street from strangers. Curious like cats, they love schwaaaaaag, and they’ll grab shiny packaged free gum, energy drinks or diet nut bars from corporate vans and pickup trucks wrapped in splashy advertisements. Sometimes they’ll even wait, flirt and be nice to you to get a free sample of whatever food or drink it is that you are presenting to them.
But if you are pushing free original one of a kind pieces of free art – the responses can range from just flat out “no thank you”, to just “no” or a shake of their head. And that’s when they are being nice. In many cases they will just ignore you or give you nasty looks. Other times they’ll give you a hug and pose for pictures. You just never know.
Manhattanites are a tough crowd indeed. The number of people that rejected the free art in Manhattan was very surprising to many of us. The crowds in Union Square Park, for example, had little interest in free art and the same pretty much goes for the rest of the island. Williamsburg, Bushwick, Greenpoint and Long Island City residents were far more receptive and nice to our overtures and when they heard “It’s free art” you would see their faces light up and take the art with a big smile.
The people waiting in line to enter the studios TV show The Colbert Report were definitely not interested. When one standee timidly reached out to grab the art being handed to him on the sidewalk, a studio security guard promptly snatched the art from his hands and proceeded to lecture us about the dangers of handing down anything to them.
“These people, waiting in line, they belong to The Colbert Report,” he intoned with a straight face.
Of course when we challenged that ridiculous assertion of a public street somehow containing people who were enslaved and controlled by a television show, he became a bit more conciliatory. He explained that it was a matter of courtesy not to give free art to these people. The Colbert Report fans can’t enter the show with rolls of paper that might offend the host or gasp! the audiences back at home. Got it.
A pleased recipient with her rolled up piece. Photo © Jaime Rojo
PaperGirl NY is a collective of artists and art lovers that put out a call to artists to create art and to participate on this adventure. Artists from 12 countries responded and the art was shown briefly in New York City and in Albany before it was rolled up and given away. It was street art indeed. The concept is different from what you normally consider street art to be but the art was on the streets and this time some lucky people got to take it home.
PaperGirl – NYC takes a moment to rest and regroup. Photo © Jaime Rojo
The notion that someone would reject free art, or anything free for that matter seemed alien. The enthusiasm and glee in which those that accepted the art were contagious and pure joy to watch. That made the day an unforgettable one… and the weather was perfect.
Yo, check it out. Free Art! Photo © Jaime Rojo
To learn more about PaperGir-NY please visit the site below:
∆∆ 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
“Relish” A Silver Car And Great Hamburgers. The Kitchen Is Now Closed.
So OK. This is not Street Art. We know that. But it’s Brooklyn, and it’s always changing. Today we’re saying goodbye and thanks to a local diner that we relished.
When we first moved to Williamsburg in 1999 it was all crack vials and condoms and burning cars. And that was just our studio! Nobody wanted to come visit us from Manhattan – they couldn’t be convinced that there was a lively artist bohemia pulsating in this abandoned industrial neighborhood.
Billyburg had few places to go out at night or to eat at, so most socializing and parties were in studios or on roofs. But what it lacked in quantity it pretty much made it up with quality: The converted mechanics garage Galapagos had $4 beers and a fire-eating bartender, eclectic DJ’s, assorted local artists and artisans in scruffy clothes, and the sunken floor that created a reflecting pool. “Diner”, still there today (although a lot more expensive than it used to be) was a reliable dive to walk in, have a legendary pork chop and beer, and watch the bartender goad someone into dancing on the counter. The pint sized Planet Thailand on Bedford Ave had only four or six tables but the kitchen was fast and you could order your food ahead of time and take it home. And on the North Side there was, and still is, Thank God, Pete’s Candy Store – a bar made in a converted you-know-what that had beat up old furniture and Bingo on Sunday’s and local singer-songwriters on the stool in the backroom. Thanks to Tammy Faye’s son, now it has church on Sunday.
Until last month there was also Relish on Wythe Ave. across from the burly motorcycle repairman with the German Shepard who made you cross the street with his barking. For most of it’s existence we loved Relish for their great not too expensive brunch offerings and their amazing $8 dollar hamburgers; the best antidote for hangovers. The owner was always hanging out and chatting with the customers. The wait staff was friendly with the rare exception of the occasional starlet-to-be with an icy stare and no patience. The garden was open for you to come in and sun bathe if you’d wish with a small statue of the Virgin Mary there, perched in her half shell and keeping an eye on the grounds and making sure patrons and movie shoots didn’t get out of control.
After the image you can read the farewell letter that the owner typed old fashion style on a typewriter and posted on one of the doors. Then you can see Kelis’ video shot there a few years ago.
Factory Fresh Gallery Presents: “Seenoevilseenoevilsee evil” A group Show. Jeremiah Maddock, Daniel Trocchio and Amanda Wong (Bushwick, NYC)
seenoevilseenoevilsee evil
Jeremiah Maddock, Daniel Trocchio & Amanda Wong
Opening Reception Friday, September 24th from 7pm-10pm
On September 24th, Factory Fresh enters a dreamlike state hosting the unusual art of Jeremiah Maddock, Daniel Trocchio and Amanda Wong.
Brooklyn-based artist Jeremiah Maddock specializes in the hypnotic. His lack of traditional practices, both in his artistic process and his choice of canvas, makes for an intriguing body of work. Devoid of any subscribed intention, Maddock’s art is a trip into the subconscious, where the doodles and absent-minded patterns come alive to form diverse work. His drawings range from sketchy pieces to claustrophobic works that hum with repeated figures against their tarnished frames. Maddock’s inclination towards working on dilapidated materials like stained wood and burnt paper creates a haze of antiquity within which the fruits of his imagination play. His subjects- robots, white faced strangers, and unidentifiable animals- are entrancing but never definable, ringing with an eerie note of nostalgia but skirting any fully formed identity.
Maddock’s work will be complimented by Daniel Trocchio, whose curious and vibrant pieces will not rouse you from this show’s enigmatic dream, and Amanda Wong, who will be creating an installation in collaboration with Maddock featuring video, sound scapes and paintings. All these artists share a desire for a concept to reveal itself through the process of making. Perhaps only to reveal the characters lurking in the basements of our minds.
Join us at Factory Fresh on September 24th for an examination of the unknown.
seenoevilseenoevilsee evil is on view September 24th – October 24th
English Kills Gallery Presents: Jim Herbert. New Paintings (Bushwick, NYC)
English Kills Gallery
Kick off the season in Bushwick Friday night with a bunch of openings: Jim Herbert at English Kills, Austin Thomas at Storefront, and Alvin Baltrop at Famous Accountants. In addition, Andrew Ohanesian’s latest installation, “Mandies”, will be opening at 18 Wykoff Ave.. More info below.
Pandemic Gallery Presents: Vilaykorn Sayaphet Solo Show “Split Personality” (Brooklyn, NY)
Split Personality
Vilaykorn Sayaphet was born in Laos and emigrated to the United States in 1982. He grew up where his family settled, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was quickly and heavily influenced by American culture, but at home was taught very traditional Laotian values; as a result, Vil was conflicted, leading two separate lives. He developed a kind of split in his personality, a way to accommodate his parents and yet to also adapt to the new culture around him. His experiences from those early years gave way to his artistic visions. Art was a way to reflect on his past while looking into the future. Vil pursued the formal study of art at High Point University, where he received a BFA, and later obtained an MFA at UNC Greesnboro. He continues to be influenced by all aspects of art, from the street to conceptual and fine art.
For his first solo exhibition, “Split Personality,” Vilaykorn embraces a painterly vision, while also showing his more playful and illustrative side. In this split series, one half draws towards the abstract/ impressionist influence. These pieces, painted with feeling and emotion, are his more serious and steadfast works. In the other half of the series, he draws from life as an observer, working his day job and finding some artistic escape whenever he can. The combination of the two styles provides a unique look into the mind of an artist as he makes his way through life…
Images Of The Week 09.12.10
This week BSA found an entire zoo of odd animals loosed on the streets in New York – and we’re not just talking about Fashion’s Night Out. Mother Nature’s voice thunders again this week on the walls with foxes, whales, sharks, octopuses, panthers, aliens and of course men in drag. Included along the way are a declaration of love and other gems.
DoTank:Brooklyn Presents: “Bring To Light” Nuit Blanche New York (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
What is Bring to Light?
Bring to Light is New York City’s first-ever Nuit Blanche festival. A Nuit Blanche is an all night arts festival of installations and performances celebrating the magic and luminance of light. Nuit Blanche events enliven cities all around the globe, but there has never been one in New York.
BRING TO LIGHT NYC will be held in Greenpoint, Brooklyn primarily on Oak Street between Franklin St. and the East River waterfront in Fall 2010, beginning at sundown. This unique block will play host to local and international artists, performers, galleries, and musicians as they Bring to Light the street itself as well as its unique assets including metal, set design and textile workshops, residential facades, an indoor gymnastics park, and much more.
The experience will be thrilling, original, mesmerizing, ceremonial, contemplative and illuminating. This is a one-night event to remember, but also the start of something intended to grow into an annual, world-class event. Artists will create works that inhabit street corners, galleries, shops, rooftops, vacant lots and buildings. These spaces will act as sites for light, sound and unexpected installations, performances, projections, works of art with natural and artificial LIGHT.
As and official sponsor and participant BSA would love to see you there!
Date
7pm – 7am
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
Specter Spot-Jocks Shepard Fairey in New York City
Ice-T is still stylin’ like an American Che Guevara, but he’s officially joined the force 19 years after “Cop Killer”.
As part of a string of strikingly personalized spot-jocking intended to send shivers through the New York Street Art scene, artist Specter is brazenly re-crafting other artists pieces, including high profile names like Swoon, Faile, Skewville, and Shepard Fairey.
This discovery side-busted our heads when we saw the radically altered Shepard Fairey piece – a myriad of nested ironies that takes “homage” to a new level. Or is that a “diss”?
The Fairy piece he’s messing with is a 2010 version of his Nubian Signs that appeared on walls during the run-up to his May Day gallery show this spring at the now closed Deitch Projects in Soho. Since that time, the wheat-pasted piece has weathered and faded. As part of Specters reworking of the piece, the portrait of Ice-T, itself criticized for incorporating the iconic image of Che, is now backed up by his fictional TV partner Detective John Munch from Law and Order: SVU. Ice-T has a new posse. Aside from that quizzical pairing that has left Street Art watchers dumbfounded, it’s even more confusing that Fairey’s original was restored before Specter smacked his own piece on top.
photo © Jaime Rojo“It was totally defaced, you could not make out what was going on anymore,” said Specter this week when reached for comment.
Dissing doesn’t usually include restoration.
Explaining the choice of adding Ice-T’s fictional police partner to the existing Fairey piece, Specter talks about the duality of a celebrity’s image that can produce a cognitive asymmetry.
“Ice-T plays a detective on a very popular crime show that everyone likes so much. (My piece) is kind of poking at these popular figures – who maybe were seen as a visionary. This was a rebellious figure, who is now on prime time television playing a police detective, who he previously was talking about shooting.” According to the show’s website, the rapper-turned-actor “formed the thrash metal band Body Count”, whose “1991 self-titled debut contained the controversial single ‘Cop Killer.’”
In an additional homage to Fairey, Specter appears to have used a copyrighted promotional photo off the internet to interpret Detective Munch – calling to mind the current lawsuit Fairey is defending himself against that accuses him of incorporating copyrighted material to create his famed Obama poster of two years ago.
In each of the cases where Specter is hitting the street art of somebody else, the style and technique closely mimics that of the original artist, creating a counterfeit that so closely resembles their own body of work that it could be confused theirs. This alone opens up a discussion about high-jacking a message, misleading a passerby, or even damaging a reputation.
This new crop of “side-busts” may get him in hot water, but Specter is giddily unapologetic to the other street artists whose work he’s jocking. In an extensive interview he talked about the nature of impermanence implicit in the Street Art scene, his own weariness with attempts at codification of rules that some have endeavored to create for the street, and the fact that many of these pieces already have run for a long time – so they’re fair game according to his rules. For Specter, it is evident that this project is a social experiment as much as an expression of creativity and an attempt to shake open a can of conversation.
For a series of posters by Brooklyn Street Artists Skewville, who have done their own block-letter wisecracking spot-jocking in the past with street pieces by Fairey, Elbow Toe, and Gaia, Specter shoots close to the bone. (photos of Skewville and Specter above © Jaime Rojo)Poking the Monkey
Is Specter sort of poking the monkey to see what will happen? Surely he knows that someone is going to see it as a sign of disrespect.
The cheerful Specter replies, “Yes, of course. I also thought it was also kind of good to push the button. It might piss them off, or they might love it or they might hate it. The point is I can do it regardless because of the nature of the work.”
In the Street Art world, as in the graffiti world before it, the unwritten “rule book” (existing mainly in the heads of the participants) pretty clearly marks ones territory. Putting up your piece too close to someone else’s, let alone over part or all of it, can occasion vendettas, retaliation, or at least some trash talk. Never mind that this claim to real estate sometimes refers to a building actually owned by somebody else entirely – a bothersome contradiction that falls to the wayside when street rules are in effect.
“I was talking to another Street Artist who was saying that people were angry with him for spot-jocking and I said that’s what these pieces are about: the ridiculousness of these kinds of ideas. It all harkens back to these ‘rules’ of this anarchistic form of art. Street Art can be this unauthorized kind of art form and people are like, ‘Oh you shouldn’t come within 12 feet of me’. This project talks about that too and it’s supposed to bring up this dialogue. I really think that these issues need to be discussed because people take it very seriously”
Fun Friday 09.10.10
Fun Friday
Group Show at Mighty Tanaka in Dumbo
The Fall Season Begins in New York! Feeling a bit anonymous in the big sea of fish that is New York? Go to DUMBO Brooklyn for a quick little blast of the hometown crowd and check out Iconography tonight on your way to the loft party/roof party/dance party/fashion show you are surely going to. Showing new stuff tonight will be Matt Siren, Royce Bannon, Veng & Chris from RWK, 2Esae & SKI From URNewyork and Peat Wollaeger (stenSoul)
OS GEMEOS SNIPPET FROM AN UPCOMING Project
See Subway Trains Before They’re Dropped in the Ocean
As part of Williamsburg’s Every 2nd gallery openings tonight, The Front Room is showing the amazing NYC subway train photographs Stephen Mallon shot in “Next Stop Atlantic,” an exhibition of photographs by Stephen Mallon. The stunning series captures the retirement of hundreds of New York City Subway cars to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
HAPPY ROSH HASHANAH – Street Shots
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CELEBRATES THE ARRIVAL OF YEAR 5771.
School started this week and just as the last fast of Ramadan is breaking here in Brooklyn for our Muslim brothers and sisters, the Brooklyn Jewish community is celebrating the arrival of year 5771 which marks the creation of earth and heaven by God.
BSA would like to celebrate and honor freedom of religion in NYC and invite you to enjoy these images that mark the start of the celebrations taken at dusk last night by Jaime Rojo.
The Beat of New York
Visitor Thomas Noesner was in New York a couple of weeks ago for a media project and took some time off to hit the streets and subway with his video camera – always rich trolling no matter the time of day or night. Combined with a drum sequence and soundtrack from sound designer Toussaint, they produced a rather slick video montage of NYC in the summer. It’s a fitting tribute to the spirit of the city.
QRST Magic Kindom: Thinking Critters on the Street
QRST is a New York based street and fine artist. We began noticing his whimsical creatures on the streets of Brooklyn a little more than two years ago. Since then he has not stopped getting up it seems.
Walk around Williamsburg and you’ll see his hand colored drawings, wheat-pasted on walls. Each is deliberately placed and calls to you – or maybe makes a wisecrack about you after you walk by. The color palette ranges from exquisitely muted tones only seen on the eggs of the Araucana Hens to the colorful greens, yellows and reds commonly used on the illustrations of the fairy tale books of your childhood.
Pausing to take in his work one wonders about this world of fantasy. If you can hang out a bit more and take a closer look at the paintings you’ll discover wit and an acute commentary on world affairs that is personal, social, political, even philosophical.
Take a look at some of the recent history of QRST. We begin here between two views with the most recent find, a woman emerging from a mass of antlers. Above is a night time shot, below a daytime detail.
Opera Gallery NY Presents: Ron English “Status Factory”
Opera Gallery NYC
Ron English and Opera Gallery present “Status Factory,” a surreal assemblage of the artist’s most well-known character motifs alive in their natural habitat, a camo-arcadian warholian times square circus sideshow mash-up barely contained by the silver walls of 382 West Broadway. English draws the curtain back to reveal the process and inspiration behind his most outrageous work, with sculpture, installation and street art shown for the first time in context beside a new body of monumental masterworks. This highly interactive exhibition traces the arc of English’s most ambitious themes across mediums like a cartoon colored tightrope: dangerous and fun.
One of the most prolific and recognizable artists alive today, Ron English has bombed the global landscape with unforgettable images, on the street, in museums, in movies, books, television, and album covers. English coined the term POPaganda to describe his signature mash-up of high and low cultural touchstones, from superhero mythology to totems of art history, populated with his vast and constantly growing arsenal of original characters, including MC Supersized, the obese fast-food mascot featured in the hit movie “Supersize Me,” and Abraham Obama, the explosive fusion of America’s 16th and 44th Presidents. Ron English’s art, whether in paintings, billboards, murals, or sculpture, blends stunning visuals with the bitingly humorous undertones of America’s Premier Pop Iconoclast.
Born in Dallas, Texas in 1966, Ron English paints, infiltrates, reinvents and satirizes modern culture and its mainstream visual iconography on canvas, in song, and directly onto hundreds of pirated billboards. English exists spiritually somewhere between a cartoon Abbie Hoffman and a grown-up, real-life Bart Simpson, delivering a steady stream of customized imagery laden with strong sociopolitical undertones, adolescent boy humor, subversive media savvy, and Dali-meets-Disney technique. Dedicated to finding the sublime in the everyday and breaking the momentum of the didactic approach to art and life, English offers up an alternative universe where nothing is sacred, everything is subverted, and there is always room for a little good-natured fun.