All posts tagged: Adnate

BSA Film Friday: 05.15.20 / Dispatch From Isolation # 54

BSA Film Friday: 05.15.20 / Dispatch From Isolation # 54

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

Now screening :
1. AKUT: “Isolated”

BSA Special Feature: AKUT (plus 37) “ISOLATED”

A thrilling and educational flight through the private studio spaces of artists at home in isolation – what’s not to like? Guess which of your favorite artists studios are included?

“I worked on this film the past three weeks together with 37 artists from all over the globe,” says Street Artist AKUT. The call for response during his own family’s isolation resulted in an astounding 37 artists answering from all over the world.

AKUT, otherwise known as the urban contemporary artist and photographer Falk Lehmann – and founder of the legendary German graffiti collective Ma’Claim and half of the artistic duo Herakut – was suffering from isolation. Usually he’s out with the rest of the big name Street Artists going to exhibitions, festivals, working on commission.

Suddenly in March, stop us if you’ve heard this story, it all went “THUD”.

A social animal, AKUT says he loves the time home with his wife and three kids, but he felt locked out and detached from the adventures of painting that he had become so energized by.

“Those nice little (business) trips to locations at the end of the world, not for money, but for the place you would otherwise never have the chance to travel to, sound really awesome, don’t they?” he asks. “Even if the lift turns out to be a soul catcher, if the material arrives three days later and there was no giant tree in front of the wall on the photos you received beforehand and planed your project with. You start to appreciate the freedom to travel, to go far away from your daily duties at home… You meet colleagues and role models, old and new friends, who you share unforgettable experiences with.”

ISOLATED (part I), an infinite loop to despair

Here’s the idea with the 37 artists who joined in – please take a time laps shot through your studio, that is not longer than 4 seconds – but still challenging, because they had to move really slow and avoid vivid movements. Some artists took recording after recording and it still wasn’t optimal. However, in the end and after some long hours of editing and learnings the finished short film came out as a proof for the principle of mentalism. Sliding through the contrasting and inspiring studios as lively spaces in constant use by the respective artists felt refreshing and very comforting. It symbolizes the connection of all individuals being part of an universal infinite, living mind, in which you don’t necessarily need to check in physically. It’s always out there.

WE ARE ONE INFINITE, LIVING MIND (ISOLATED part II)

Credits

WE ARE ONE INFINITE, LIVING MIND (ISOLATED part II)

short film by AKUT, 2020

Idea and Editing: 

AKUT https://instagram.com/akut_herakut

Camera (participating artists):

@Adnate Melbourne, Australia

@Akut_herakut Berlin, Germany

@AndreasEnglundArt Falun, Sweden

@apolotorres São Paulo, Brazil

@23base Berlin, Germany

@bezt_etam & @nataliarakart Turek, Poland

@cantwo Wuppertal, Germany

@cristianblanxer Barcelona, Spain

@conorsaysboom London, UK

@craola Torrance, California

@daniel_man_codeak Munich, Germany

@spurcus_am Erfurt, Germany

@douglas_greed Berlin, Germany

@drewmerritt Saint Vrain, New Mexico

@hueman_ Oakland, California

@james_bullough Berlin, Germany

@kameahadar Hawai
@kevinledo Montreal, Canada

@kkade_schwarzmaler Bern, Switzerland

@louismasai Margate, UK

@low_bros Hamburg, Germany

@mad_c1 Halle, Germany

@marc_jung_ Erfurt, Germany

@ztm_oruam San Antonio, Texas

@telmomiel Amsterdam & Rotterdam, Netherlands

@mikedargas Los Angeles, California

@natepaints Los Angeles, California

@nunoviegas.pt Quarteira, Portugal

@onurpainting Berlin, Germany

@paola_delfin & @mateusbailon Itajaí, Brazil

@heypatyeah Detroit, Michigan

@rickyleegordon Sri Lanka

@suiko1 Hiroshima, Japan

@wes21_schwarzmaler Bern, Switzerland

@waone_interesnikazki Kiev, Ukraine

@markus_wow123_genesius Bremen, Germany

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BSA Film Friday: 03.23.18

BSA Film Friday: 03.23.18

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

Now screening :
1.The Subconcious Art of Graffiti Removal
2. Bushwick Collective Block Party 2017
3. Street Art Berlin 2018 – Yasha’s Friends
4. Adnate: Indigenous Recognition in Sheep Hills – Silo Art Documentary
5. Alva Moca 12 + 1 Contorno Urbano

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BSA Special Feature: The Subconcious Art of Graffiti Removal

“The artists creating it are unconscious of their artistic achievements”

Today an excerpt from an intellectually stimulating cogitation on the buff as art by Matt McCormick at the turn of the century. Looking glass perspective, scholarly rigorous investigation, humorous satire, art-speak laden skewering of pomposity – they all seem possible

“With roots in minimalism, abstract expressionism, and Russian constructivism graffiti removal is both a continuation of these movements and an important step in the future of modern art.”


“Hats off to Matt McCormick’s “Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal,” an award-winning 16-minute film that wryly documents the antigraffiti campaigns in several northwest cities. Painting over graffiti yields public abstract painting that looks peculiarly modernist and brings to mind Rothko, Motherwell and even Malevich.”
Roberta Smith, The New York Times

Bushwick Collective Block Party 2017

Because we have just endured 4 snowstorms in March, let’s think about the Bushwick Collective Block Party and Film Festival last summer. Yaaaaaaaaaas.

 

Street Art Berlin 2018 – Yasha’s Friends

 

Adnate: Indigenous Recognition in Sheep Hills – Silo Art Documentary

“It’s not about feeling guilty, it’s about recognition.”

“In the remote country town of Sheep Hills, Australia, world renowned street artist Adnate brings the indigenous history of the region, and the country as a whole, back into the forefront of peoples minds. This short form documentary follows Adnate as he paints a huge disused grain silo, celebrating the lands first inhabitants and discussing the importance of recognition.”

 

Alva Moca 12 + 1 Contorno Urbano

“Organic patterning that verges on Op Art tumbled with flatly folk outsider aesthetics, commercial diagrammatics and Picasso cut-outs, Spanish artist Alva Moca has a lot going on in his head,” sayest we a few weeks ago when writing about this new mural. Today we see a video about it.

 

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BSA Images Of The Week: 08.20.17

BSA Images Of The Week: 08.20.17

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Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Adnate, Ben Angotti, Cekis, Cesism, Damien Mitchell, Danielle Mastrion, Dirt Cobain, Evan Paul English, Gongkan, Li-Hill, MeresOne, UFO 907, Vince Ballentine, and You Go Girl!

Top image: Li-Hill. Detail. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adnate. Detail. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adnate and Li-Hill at work. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Li-Hill at work. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Li-Hill at work. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Li-Hill at work. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Li-Hill at work. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adnate at work. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adnate at work. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adnate and Li-Hill collaboration for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adnate. The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Danielle Mastrion with MeresOne for Stuyvesant Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

MeresOne for Stuyvesant Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dirt Cobain for Stuyvesant Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damien Mitchell for Stuyvesant Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ben Angotti for Stuyvesant Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vince Ballentine for Stuyvesant Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

UFO907 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

You Go Girl (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Evan Paul English for Centrefuge Public Art Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cekis and Cesism for Centrefuge Public Art Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gongkan for Centrefuge Public Art Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gongkan for Centrefuge Public Art Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. East Village, NYC. August 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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ONO’U Festival 2016 as Captured by Martha Cooper in Tahiti

ONO’U Festival 2016 as Captured by Martha Cooper in Tahiti

Lucky Us! Our senior reporter on the ground in Tahiti for this years’ ONO’U Festival is the quick-witted eagle-eyed Martha Cooper, who shares with BSA readers her fresh shots of the action in paradise.

Personable and outgoing, Cooper covers a lot of ground quickly, introducing herself and asking questions and snapping pictures. Of course people often know her before she knows them, especially in the Street Art/ Graffiti game – but frankly she just wants to see artists work and learn about their process.  So get working!

We’re thankful that Martha is taking the time to share with us all her images and some details of the surrounding action, which we elaborate on here for you.

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Phat1 AKA Charles at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Charles is painting an Omamao bird endemic of Tahiti,” says Martha, “and it is listed as a critically endangered species.” Why do you hear this same story in whatever part of the world you are in today? More importantly, are you doing anything about it?

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Phat1 AKA Charles at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Phat1 AKA Charles with help from Lady Diva AKA Jeanine Williams. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

After the mural was finished, Martha says there was a blessing of the mural. Above you can see the minister in the photo above performing the blessing.

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Bordalo’s sketch for his installation. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Bordalo shows us the original sketch for his new piece made with recycled trash.

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Bordalo II at work. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Bordalo II. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Bordalo II. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Adnate at work on his mural. Martha tells us that his muse for the mural was a woman whom both he and Martha had photographed in the market.  ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Adnate. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Adnate & Askew. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Seth at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Returning mural champion Seth made good use of “an odd shaped wall, turning it into the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship which led a flotilla of yachts protesting again French nuclear testing in French Polynesia,” Martha tells us. According to Wikipedia, “Fernando Pereira was a freelance Dutch photographer, of Portuguese origin, who drowned when French intelligence detonated a bomb and sank the Rainbow Warrior, owned by the environmental organization Greenpeace on 10 July 1985.”

Martha notes that Pereira also was a photographer and he was trying to save his equipment at the time that the ship went down.  “The mural shows Polynesian girl in her fragile canoe pulling alongside the ship.”

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Seth at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Seth. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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NIKO at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“This guy says he can paint any animal he’s seen out of his head—very impressive!” says Ms. Cooper about NIKO, whose mural shows animals arriving in Tahiti from around the world from the harbor close to where the wall was. “The USA is represented by an alligator with a Miami Dolphins hat on,” she says.

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Okuda taking a break. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Okuda at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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MAST at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Mast sketch for his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

MAST was channeling Brooklyn hard in Tahiti, with this shout out to the honeys back home, the subway at Franklin Avenue, and he reconfigured the train lines to reflect the letters of his crew – The Great Escape (TGE).

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Mast. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Cranio. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Leon Keer. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

The anomorphic master Leon Keer is pictured here with his wife assisting. Martha says that these figures are “Painting of robots arriving from the harbor.” As usual, Mr. Keers work rather blows your mind when it is completed and you are standing in just the right location.

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Leon Keer. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Leon Keer. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Inkie at work on his wall. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Kalouf at work on his wall. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Kalouf left with Marko on the right. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Peeta. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Hoxxoh. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Jobs & Abuzz. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Tribal Pursuit” is the name of this wall by Tahitians Jobs and Abuzz, named so after the board game called Trivial Pursuit. “The black lines are the Maquesa’s cross,” Martha says, and “the designs are the contradictions of old and modern traditions from Polynesia such as  the ‘head breaker’ a traditional weapon and tiki, the sea animal because they are surrounded by water.” The skull, of course, “represents the atomic tests.”

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Charles and Askew partake on  traditional dance with a local troupe of female dancers. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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BSA Film Friday 05.01.15

BSA Film Friday 05.01.15

Brooklyn-Street-Art-740-screenhot-Copyright-RVA-Richmond-Wes21-ONUR-Screenshot

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

Now screening :

1. Richmond Mural Program 2014
2. Black ANZAC: Time Lapse of WW1 Soldier Wall
3. Adnate, Askew, Guido Van Helton, Mayo, Rone in Melbourne
4. Cane Morto & Borondo Combo In Lisbon

bsa-film-friday-special-feature

BSA Special Feature: Richmond Recap 2014

A community/business improvement initiative for the city of Richmond, Virginia, the past few years have featured a diverse roster of talents who dig the vibe and paint the town. This feel-good recap of the 2014 mural program gives an idea how initiatives like this can invigorate a local scene and how connections are made as a result.

Black ANZAC: Time Lapse of WW1 Soldier Wall

A wheat-pasted mural by Hego in Meningie, South Australia to honor soldiers fighting in World War 1.

Adnate, Askew, Guido Van Helton, Mayo, Rone in Melbourne

A monochromatic wall can help tie together different styles of painting and writing. In this ad for a mural painting service, these street artists give a great demo of collaborative work on a hundred meter wall in Collingwood, Melbourne.

Cane Morto & Borondo Combo In Lisbon

You can never tell how much of this wild-man flailing of the arms and manic yelping at the sky and alleged illicit portrait painting is genuine with Cane Morto – but surely you can tell that there is a screw loose somewhere when looking at this teaser for their upcoming movie.

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*Top image screenshot of Wes21 and ONUR at Richmond Mural Program

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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The 2014 BSA Year in Images (VIDEO)

The 2014 BSA Year in Images (VIDEO)

Here it is! Our 2014 wrap up featuring favorite images of the year by Brooklyn Street Art’s Jaime Rojo.

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Before our video roundup below here is the Street Art photographer’s favorite of the year: Ask Jaime Rojo, our illustrious editor of photography at BrooklynStreetArt.com , who takes thousands of photographs each year, to respond to a simple question: What was your favorite photo of the year?

For 2014 he has swift response: “The Kara Walker.” Not the art, but the artist posed before her art.

It was an impromptu portrait that he took with his iPhone when the artist unveiled her enormous sculpture at a small gathering of neighborhood locals and former workers of the Domino Sugar Factory, informal enough that Rojo didn’t even have his professional camera with him. Aside from aesthetics for him it was the fact that the artist herself was so approachable and agreed to pose for him briefly, even allowing him to direct her just a bit to get the shot, that made an imprint on his mind and heart.

Of course the sculpture is gone and so is the building that was housing it for that matter – the large-scale public project presented by Creative Time was occupying this space as the last act before its destruction. The artist herself has probably moved on to her next kick-ass project after thousands of people stood in long lines along Kent Avenue in Brooklyn to see her astounding indictment-tribute-bereavement-celebration in a hulking warehouse through May and June.

But the photo remains.

And Rojo feels very lucky to have been able to seize that quintessential New York moment: the artist in silhouette before her own image, her own work, her own outward expression of an inner world. 

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Jaime’s personal favorite of 2014; The site specific Kara Walker in front of her site specific installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in May of this year in Brooklyn. Artist Kara Walker. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

Now, for the Video

And our holiday gift to you for five years running, here is the brand new video of favorite images of graffiti and Street Art by Brooklyn Street Art’s editor of photography, Jaime Rojo.

Of a few thousand these 129 shots fly smoothly by as a visual survey; a cross section of graffiti, street art, and the resurgence of mural art that continues to take hold. As usual, all manner of art-making is on display as you wander your city’s streets. Also as usual, we prefer the autonomous free-range unsolicited, unsanctioned type of Street Art because that’s what got us hooked as artists, and ultimately, it is the only truly uncensored stuff that has a free spirit and can hold a mirror up to us. But you have to hand it to the muralists – whether “permissioned” or outright commissioned, some people are challenging themselves creatively and still taking risks.

Once again these artists gave us impetus to continue doing what we are doing and above all made us love this city even more and the art and the artists who produce it. We hope you dig it too.

 

Brooklyn Street Art 2014 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo includes the following artists;

2Face, Aakash Nihalani, Adam Fujita, Adnate, Amanda Marie, Andreco, Anthony Lister, Arnaud Montagard, Art is Trash, Ben Eine, Bikismo, Blek Le Rat, Bly, Cake, Caratoes, Case Maclaim, Chris Stain, Cleon Peterson, Clet, Clint Mario, Col Wallnuts, Conor Harrington, Cost, Crummy Gummy, Dain, Dal East, Damien Mitchell, Damon, Dan Witz, Dasic, Don’t Fret, Dot Dot Dot, Eelco Virus, EKG, El Sol 25, Elbow Toe, Etam Cru, Ewok, Faring Purth, Gilf!, Hama Woods, Hellbent, Hiss, Hitnes, HOTTEA, Icy & Sot, Jana & JS, Jason Coatney, Jef Aerosol, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, JR, Judith Supine, Kaff Eine, Kashink, Krakenkhan, Kuma, Li Hill, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Mais Menos, Mark Samsonovich, Martha Cooper, Maya Hayuk, Miss Me, Mover, Mr. Prvrt, Mr. Toll, Myth, Nenao, Nick Walker, Olek, Paper Skaters, Patty Smith, Pixel Pancho, Poster Boy, Pyramid Oracle, QRST, Rubin 415, Sampsa, Sean 9 Lugo, Sebs, Sego, Seher One, Sexer, Skewville, SmitheOne, Sober, Sonni, Specter, SpY, Square, Stay Fly, Stik, Stikki Peaches, Stikman, Swil, Swoon, Texas, Tilt, Tracy168, Trashbird, Vexta, Vinz, Willow, Wolfe Works, Wolftits, X-O, Zed1.

Read more about Kara Walker in our posting “Kara Walker And Her Sugar Sphinx At The Old Domino Factory”.

 

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

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15 Murals and a Submarine: Amsterdam’s Urban Art Scene Now

15 Murals and a Submarine: Amsterdam’s Urban Art Scene Now

We’re very pleased today to take BSA readers to Amsterdam, where the graff/Street Art continuum reaches back more than three decades and where the vibrant scene still remains fresh and relevant right now. We’re very thankful to Ed Little and Alex Pope for taking the initiative to present the scene here for us and to give us valuable context about Amsterdam’s Urban Art Scene. If you don’t know, now you know.

By Ed Little and Alex Pope

Amsterdam has always been progressive in welcoming Urban Art. This March, artwork by Banksy was projected on the Dutch National Museum (the Rijksmuseum), in support of Syrian refugees. More than thirty years earlier, New York graffiti artists such as Seen, Dondi, Blade, Quik, Rammellzee and Futura 2000 were given their first taste of success in the high brow art world by Amsterdam gallery owner Yaki Kornblit. In 1986, Keith Haring did a commissioned mural for the Museum depot. Even before the arrival of the Americans, Amsterdam had a uniquely homegrown punk graffiti scene.

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Fefe Talavera (photo © Ed Little)

By being exposed to the New York artists so early on, Amsterdam graffiti ignited and burned on well into the nineties. Amsterdam writers like Shoe and Delta, along with foreign partners Bando and Mode 2, spread the Crime Time style throughout Europe. In 1992, the city temporarily stopped cleaning subways because of toxic chemicals in the cleaning material. The writers completely took over the subways, creating a scene reminiscent of 1970s New York, as Amsterdam bathed in graffiti euphoria.

Today’s street art and graffiti scene is relatively small, and not pushing the envelope as much as it once was. That is not the say Amsterdam doesn ́t get down anymore. Feast your eyes on a selection of commissioned murals, illegal burners and creative get ups that Amsterdam has to offer.

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Fefe Talavera (photo © Ed Little)

Here is a double header by Brazilian female artist Fefe Talavera, painted as part of the 2012 RUA Festival. The RUA Festival aims to show urban and contemporary Brazilian art next to institutionalized art of museums and galleries. According to the artist, the two heads represent two Indians wearing animal masks. The vibrant tribal color scheme really stands out against the dull grey backdrop, and is a good reminder of what a little bit of paint can do for a building.

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Zed1 (photo © Ed Little)

This is a mural by Italian artist Zed1 at creative hotspot café Roest, home of Max Zorn ́s Stick Together festival. Awesome incorporation of the building window into the depicted scene, which reads as a critique of the current cost of living.

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ETHOS (photo © Ed Little)

Here is another Brazilian mural in Amsterdam, painted by Ethos for the 2011 edition of the RUA Festival. Once again, masks are a big part of the artwork, which fits well with Ethos’ surrealist style. The mural itself functions as an awesome mask for an otherwise pretty shabby looking squat.

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Adnate x Andersen (photo © Ed Little)

Here is Australian artist Adnate along with Morten Andersen from Denmark. Nice clash of Adnate ́s photorealist style of characters and Andersen ́s abstract geometrics. Painted for the Kosmopolite Art Tour, next to an insane burner by Dems UB which unfortunately is no longer there to be seen.

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Vrankrijk (photo © Ed Little)

The legal squat Vrankrijk is one of the focal points of Amsterdam ́s squat scene. The Lichtenstein type BOOM! is a clear representation of Pop Art, which was also used as a vehicle by Fab 5 Freddy to push graffiti into the American higher art sphere in the late seventies.

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Inkie (photo © Ed Little)

Here is a commissioned work by Englishman Inkie from 2012. Painted on what was once an always tagged up parking entrance. The wall on the right was painted later on, as the original was reclaimed by street bombers, who tagged it again within no time, even crossing out the artist ́s website with the word ́toy ́. The Inkie was left untouched, probably out of respect.

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Niels “SHOE” Mulman and Adele Renault (photo © Ed Little)

A good example of calligraffiti here by Amsterdam graffiti legend Shoe. Brushstroked fill in, outlined by black spraypaint. Though Shoe ́s calligraffiti style is so uniquely his, it reminds us of that Amsterdam ́s 1970s punk graffiti feel. Pigeon portrait by Adele Renault, who went on to have a pigeon inspired exhibit at Shoe ́s Unruly Gallery.

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Rammellzee Memorial Wall (photo © Ed Little)

Above is a Rammellzee memorial wall by Shoe and friends from 2010, paying homage to the evo griller. Rammellzee was one of the twelve New York graffiti artists who each had a one month solo exhibit at Yaki Kornblit ́s gallery in the early 1980s and who would inspire Shoe and eventually many other writers worldwide to pursue a career in the streets and the fine arts world.

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The London Police (photo © Ed Little)

Here’s a large London Police commissioned mural on the Prinsengracht canal. Adopted Amsterdammers The London Police paid for their first stay in Amsterdam with t-shirts and art, and have made a comfortable living off their art ever since. The mural is located next to the street oriented Go Gallery, which has an original London Police mural from their earlier Amsterdam days.

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C215 (photo © Ed Little)

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C215 shown here with Kid Acne (photo © Ed Little)

Above are two subtle works by regular French visitor C215. The first one was painted with permission from the same Dutch family that first gave the London Police a roof over their heads. The second one is located near Amsterdam’s NDSM werf hall of fame. C215’s romantic works seem to make icons out of regular folks, which is probably why they are at their best when they are visible in the streets for everyone to see.

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Jorit. Vincent Van Gogh (photo © Ed Little)

Italian-Dutch artist Jorit did this Vincent Van Gogh portrait. The technically very impressive photorealist depiction of Van Gogh didn’t fair well with everybody, as someone gave his 2 cents by writing “Vincent wouldn ́t approve” in the bottom corner. While Jorit’s photorealistic Van Gogh may be very opposite to the subject’s impressionist style, we wanna say that we do approve. Please note that Van Gogh ́s eyeliner was also added by a third party.

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Delta (photo © Ed Little)

Here is an illegal burner by Amsterdam graffiti legend Delta from 2006. When Delta returned to graffiti in the 90s, he blew up big with his 3-D styles, which lead to a very successful career in the arts. Staying true to his roots, he remains active in his hometown streets while killing it in the galleries and even the architectural world.

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ROA (photo © Ed Little)

An early work by international superstar ROA from the mid 2000s; While it is undeniably a ROA, it is awesome to see how his style and eye for detail have developed. It is part of an original mural that also featured Bue the Warrior and Chase. The wall was mostly repainted, but the ROA has been left untouched.

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Leno, Twice and Gear (photo © Ed Little)

Above is some illegal wildstyle graffiti by the most prolific Amsterdam duo of the new millennium, Twice and Gear, along with colorful blockbuster letters by subway and trackside killer Leno on an old submarine nearby the NDSM hall of fame. Bastardilla and Stinkfish are on the bottom as well.

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NEKST tribute. (photo © Ed Little)

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Nekst Tribute (photo © Ed Little)

From Banksy projections to illegal wildstyle graffiti, all of the different aspects of today ́s modern urban art landscape are still a part of Amsterdam ́s creative daily routine. But for a city known for its liberal feel, it would be nice to see Amsterdam embrace urban art even more and reclaim its previous position as ahead of the worldwide pack.  In order to do so, we will always keep an eye on the streets.

 

We thank Alex and Ed for this sharing this good work with BSA readers.

© Text Alex Pope © Photos Ed Little

To see more Amsterdam Street Art and read interviews with the artists click Keep It Hush

 

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Ambush Gallery Presents: “Living in a Glass House” A Group Exhibition. (Sydney, Australia)

Living in a Glass House

What: Living in a Glass House
Where: Glasshouse, 150 Pitt Street Mall (Cnr of King St), Sydney – Exhibition spans across 3 levels
When: 3 October to 2 November 2012 (during centre hours)
They say that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, but what about those on the outside looking in? Living in a Glass House, the latest free public art initiative of aMBUSH Gallery, shows that a better policy is that no one should throw stones, regardless of their accommodation, and simply look under them instead. You never know what you might find.
Presented by Sydney’s GLASSHOUSE and aMBUSH Gallery, Living in a Glass House comprises the work of fifty contemporary street, graffiti and urban artists from almost all the major cities in Australia. Located across the three levels of the GLASSHOUSE, the pop-up exhibition brings the most prominent figures in Australian art together in an ambitious and dynamic display of home-grown talent.
Produced and curated by aMBUSH Gallery, Living in a Glass House will exhibit new and original works by Brisbane artists Benjamin Reeve and Gimiks Born; Adnate, Itch, Lucy Lucy and Slicer, four of Melbourne’s indomitable AWOL crew; Gary Seaman from Adelaide; and Sydney’s own Brett Chan, Jodee Knowles, Deb, Bei Bad Girl, Bridge Stehli, Jumbo, Ben Brown and Ears, plus 36 more artists, hailing from across the nation.
On Wednesday October 3, to mark the launch of this exciting new project, Deb and Bei Bad Girl will bring their bombshell attitudes and signature femininity to GLASSHOUSE with a live painting display from 11am to 2pm.
All works from Living in a Glass House will be for sale, and aMBUSH Gallery will release an online catalogue on October 3 that audiences can browse and from which purchases can be made. The catalogue will be available at www.livinginaglasshouse.com and 100% of sales go to the artists themselves.
Dedicated to the uncovering and dazzling display of new and exciting artists and their works, aMBUSH Gallery and GLASSHOUSE are proud to present Living in a Glass House, a vibrant addition to Sydney’s burgeoning public art space and a testament to the talent beholden by Australia’s shores.
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