Armsrock
Armsrock
“Registreringer”
Opening 26th of may, 21.30.
26th of May – 12th of June 2010.
21.30 – 06.00 each day.
Sjaeloer Station.
2500 Valby.
Copenhagen, DK.
For additional information please go to:
For examples of earlier light installations please go to:
Many artists are finding it a smart move these days to create short runs of prints. Sometimes they are quite affordable and sometimes quite remarkable in their splendor. Here are a few that are recently released in case you have some extra cash.
Imminent Disaster
Ms. Disaster has just released a new limited run silkscreen edition. It’s a detail from the recent installation “Refuge” at ThinkSpace gallery in Los Angeles in March.
Check out and interview with Imminent Disaster and Armsrock in Juxtapoz here.
Crossing the River
Edition of 4 APs
Black and tan ink on cloth
28″ x 37″
Find out more about the piece here.
BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….
David Choe
In the midst of a show at Lazarides called “Nothing to Declare” in fabulous Beverly Hills, Mr. Choe has released this dramatic beauty.
UR New York
Combining graff, silkscreen, and paintbrushes, the Street Art collective UR New York has released their very first print series.
Charming Baker
English painter Charming Baker is in New York for his first solo show “Stupid Has A New Hero”. These edition prints were printed at Modern Multiples and published by Carmichael Gallery.
“Half Pint NYC”
Four colour CYMK screenprint410 gsm Somerset Tub paper
Size: 76 X1 02cm
Learn more about the print HERE
“Stupid Has A New Hero – New Paintings by Charming Baker” takes place at the NY Studio Gallery, 154 Stanton St in New York. The show runs until May 30th.
BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….BSA…………….
Gaia
Senior Gaia, a NYC-Baltimore street artist is hunting and pecking and scratching around the industrial farmyard with this animal-human hybrid. This print release from last month references a story of betrayal from the Bible.
“Deny Me Three Times”, by Gaia
92 x 126 cm
hand-burnished lino cut
lennox paper
Edition of 25, numbered and signed
Andrew Hosner at Thinkspace Gallery could have gotten a little nervous when he saw pics of the new 3-dimensional back skirt that Imminent Disaster was making in Brooklyn for the show that opens tomorrow in L.A.
In fact, even Miss D. wasn’t sure how she was going to ship it when we saw her making it in the studio.
A protective blanket guards the hem during installation (photo courtesy ThinkSpace)
But, new pictures reveal that the cut-paper sculpture made it and today’s progress looks like the show will open tomorrow night with no hitches or stitches.
Armsrock and Imminent D. have been taking over the gallery with their theme of refuge, referring to the millions of people on earth who are pushed from their homes by political persecution or war or environmental disaster.
Looking at some of the first images, one cannot help think of the temporary housing that we have seen set up for victims of recent earthquakes.
Of the transformation of the gallery, Hosner says, “Man, they are going to town. The space looks epic.”
See Imminent Disaster’s preparation in the studio HERE
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Thinkspace Gallery
4210 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
#323.913.3375
Thur-Sun 1-6PM or by appointment
Brooklyn based Imminent Disaster has been preparing for a show with Armsrock called “Refuge” at ThinkSpace Gallery in Los Angeles on March 12.
Here are some shots of preparations in the studio last month.
Balancing on a ladder or on bended knees on the factory building wooden floor for hours, Disaster is surrounded by piles of shredded black and white paper, dulled blades, and a quiver of spanky new sharp ones.
The new figure regards you over her shoulder and down the full length of her abundant petti-coated bustle, which jutts out from the wall 3.5 feet at it’s hem.
View the newly completed piece on Imminent Disaster’s Flickr
Thinkspace is moving to Culver City but they are always online HERE.
New ARMSROCK Video of his recent “Passage/Works” projection project
A veteran of 10 years shooting the streets of New York, Rojo has amassed a collection of images that capture the scene with the appreciation of an artist. To celebrate the creative spirit that is alive and well on the streets of New York, this slide video gives a taste of what happened in ‘09, without pretending to present the whole scene or all the artists, known and anonymous, who add to the ongoing conversation.
Included in this collection of images (in no particular order) are pieces by Skewville, Specter, The Dude Company, Judith Supine, C215, WK Interact, Anthony Lister, Miss Bugs, Bast, Chris from Robots Will Kill (RWK), Os Gemeos, Cake, Celso, Imminent Disaster, Mark Cavalho, NohJ Coley, Elbow Toe, Feral, Poster Boy, Bishop203, Jon Burgerman, Royce Bannon, Damon Ginandes, Conor Harrington, Gaia, JC2, Logan Hicks, Chris Stain, Armsrock, Veng from Robots Will Kill (RWK), Noah Sparkes, Robots Will Kill, Heracut, Billy Mode, Revs, Skullphone, Spazmat, Mint and Serf, Roa, Aakash Nihilani, Broken Crow, Peru Ana Ana Peru, & Cern
All images © Jaime Rojo
After spending most of 2009 in preparation, Michael “RJ” Rushmore is one week from the opening of “The Thousands”, a retrospective survey covering artists of the last few decades that led to what we’re calling “Street Art” today.
Nick Walker for The Thousands (courtesy Michael “RJ” Rushmore)
As editor and author of the popular blog Vandalog, RJ has been taking readers on a tour of the Street Art scene from his unique perspective. Encouraged by his father, an avid and prodigious collector of street art, the recent high school graduate has labored for much of the last 5 months to pull together this show – reaching out to artists, collectors, authors, publishers, you name it.
When RJ first told us about his idea for a “pop-up” show in London, we thought it would be a small affair with perhaps one or three of the larger names and examples of work in an inflatable shop on cobblestone streets. But like so many young people energized by the excitement garnered in an exploding new movement, RJ has worked feverishly to grow this show into what he hopes will set a standard.
More inside looks at this Swoon Box below (courtesy Michael “RJ” Rushmore)
A tribute to his dedication and sincere regard for the work and the artists, “The Thousands” will feature many of the antecedent contributors (or pioneers) to the scene (Jenny Holzer, Blek le Rat, Futura 2000) as well as the better known artists that have come to symbolize the current explosion that began in the first half of this decade (Swoon, Banksy, Shepard Fairey) and many others of equal interest.
As if throwing a show of this scope was not enough RJ also created a book to accompany the show, published by Drago, one of the few small presses that have seriously and knowledgeably documented the growth of the graffiti-to-street art scene. With dedication, focus, and maturity, RJ navigates the back alleys and side-streets to bring this show in the heart of London to fruition.
Skewville from “The Thousands” (courtesy Drago press)
Brooklyn Street Art: What sparked your interest in curating this show of Street Art? How did the whole process start?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: I think it was an idea that I’d had brewing in the back of my mind for a while, but I wasn’t taking it seriously until last January when I met with another street art blogger who proposed a similar idea about a having a street art retrospective. Eventually, we went our separate ways and I continued to develop the exhibition further. This is the show that a major museum should put on, but so far nobody has, and I hope that The Thousands helps to change that.
Brooklyn Street Art: “The Thousands” – is this a reference to the rise in this new wave of street art since 2000?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: While probably 95% of the show is work from the last ten years, that isn’t where I got the name. It’s probably a more succinct explanation though.
The show’s title comes from a short story by Daniel Alarcón called “The Thousands”. The story is about this community that is built by society’s outcasts and dreamers and they build their city out of the discarded and disused materials of the city they used to live in. So that reminded me of street art and the street art community.
Veng from Robots Will Kill featured in “The Thousands” from his piece at the Mark Batty Urban Arts Fest in Brooklyn last month (courtesy Drago)
Brooklyn Street Art: Are most of the pieces in the show privately owned?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: Yes. More than 2/3rds of the artwork comes from private collections. I wanted this to be as much like a museum show as possible, almost a pop-up museum, and the way to do that is fill the show with amazing pieces from private collections.
The process of finding work has at some times been a challenge because I don’t know every street art collector in England, but it’s also been a unique opportunity to view some truly spectacular collections.
Chris Stain will be represented in “The Thousands” (photo Jaime Rojo)
Brooklyn Street Art: What piece surprised the hell out of you?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: I’m saving pictures of this particular piece until after opening night, because I want people to come into the gallery not knowing exactly what to expect, but Roa’s piece is very cool and different. When Roa was in London recently, we spoke about his piece for The Thousands. He told me to wait and to trust him, that it was something special, so I did. Then he sent me the jpegs and I was definitely surprised. All I will say for now is that the piece is on venetian blinds.
Brooklyn street artists Faile will be in “The Thousands” (courtesy Drago)
Brooklyn Street Art: The show also has a handsome book to accompany it. What was the experience of putting it together?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: Everybody at Drago, my publisher, has been extremely supportive of the show and the book. I would even say that Paulo, Drago’s founder and head guy, was the first person to actually believe that The Thousands was going to happen and not be a complete train wreck. So working with them has been good fun. But the process of putting together a book in such a short amount of time was very stressful and even led to a few days of working 12 hours straight on the layout and design.
The best part about the reading book was also my favorite thing about putting it together. The book is split into sections, and most sections cover one artist. Since everything was already organized by artist, I was able to get a number of other artists and art world personalities to write about their friends and favorite artists. For example, Know Hope has written about Chris Stain and Elbow-toe has written a piece on Veng.
A hand-made box by Brooklyn street artist Swoon that will be in “The Thousands” (courtesy Michael “RJ” Rushmore)
Brooklyn Street Art: The Swoon Box for “The Thousands”; Did she construct the box herself or was it a found box that she then later decorated?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: I’ve never asked Swoon, but I would guess that she constructed the chest. It looks like the wood is salvaged from a bunch of different sources, and the hinges are so mismatched that the lid can’t sit parallel to the walls of the box.
Swoon lock box (top detail)
Brooklyn Street Art: It could be a time capsule, or a lock box of mementos and inspiring objects. What do you think?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: Right now, I think of it more like a lock box, but 15, 20, 30 years from now… the meaning will probably change with time as street art and Swoon become more or less important. Maybe one day Swoon will be written about in art history books and the box will be seen in an entirely different light. But at its core, and for my family, it will always see it box as a lock box.
There is this old deerskin chest in my house that my family calls The Treasure Box. It’s been in my dad’s family for generations and dates back to some time in the 1800’s. It’s full of old letters and locks of hair and things like that going all back though more than 100 years of Rushmore family history. My family and I see The Swoon Box as very similar to our Treasure Box, so we will always see The Swoon Box as full of mementos and not just a piece of art history.
Inside the Swoon lock box. (courtesy Michael “RJ” Rushmore)
Brooklyn Street Art: What’s your favorite object in the box and can you describe it for us?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: I usually like to get a behind the scenes view of things, so my favorite pieces in the box are the sketches for pieces that eventually became familiar Swoon images. In particular, I think the drawing for Zahra is a favorite. The sketch is beautiful, the end result is one of my all time favorite images by Swoon and I happened to meet Zahra earlier this year as well as her child.
Swoon’s “Zahara” (courtesy of Black Rat Press)
The Zahra sketch is pretty abstract, you can tell that there is a woman, but it’s really rough and seems to be more about the colors than any details about Zahra’s features. Without the image of a rising sun that is in both the sketch and the end result, you wouldn’t even connect the two pieces.
Swoon box has an original sketch for “Bethlehem Boys” (courtesy Michael “RJ” Rushmore)
Swoon’s “Bethlehem Boys” as seen on the streets of Bushwick, Brooklyn. (photo Jaime Rojo)
Brooklyn Street Art: If you have a show in ten years called “The Teens”, what do you think we might see in it?
Michael “RJ” Rushmore: What really interests me right now and what I’ve been noticing lately is the continuing fusion of graffiti and street art. In most cities that have graffiti and street art, somebody is trying to merge the two cultures. In London some of those artists are Part2ism, Sickboy, the Burning Candy crew, Kid Acne, ATG crew, Elate and Word To Mother. Maybe that’s just my particular interest, but I’ve heard Pure Evil say that he is seeing something similar.
So if my taste is anything to go by, a decade from now I would like to see a show with classically trained painters showing off their lettering style and hard-core train bombing kings painting with a brush and telling everybody why Lee Quinones is their hero, except we won’t even notice the supposed role reversal I’ve just described.
And of course, since I’ll be nearing 30 years old, I’d want to include some artwork by actual teenagers to help support the next generation of street art/graffiti/whatever we’ll be calling this in ten years time.
What are you looking at? (Swoon courtesy Michael “RJ” Rushmore)
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“The Thousands” features artists Adam Neate, Aiko, Anthony Lister, Armsrock, Banksy, Barry McGee, Bast, Blek le Rat, Burning Candy, Chris Stain, David Ellis, Elbow-toe, Faile, Futura 2000, Gaia, Herakut, Jenny Holzer, José Parlá, Judith Supine, Kaws, Know Hope, Nick Walker, Os Gêmeos, Roa, Sam3, Shepard Fairey, Skewville, Swoon, WK Interact
November 18 “The Thousands” opens
For the silly folks who consider themselves ordained to be critics, the prodigious street art scene in New York just bubbles with possibilities.
One of the favorite criticisms of a street artists’ piece today is its’ lack of originality, whether because it closely resembles the style of anothers’ work already on the street, or because it seems like an outright appropriation. Imitation is not always interpreted as flattery.
It’s a fine line to tread for any creative person – dancer, singer, fashion designer, or stencil artist – when they decide to “pay homage” to the work of another, or merely to love it so much that is serves as an “influence”. One recent discovery on the street by New York street art photographer Jaime Rojo included this wheat-paste of a pretty famous image from the New York photographer, Diane Arbus, smacked onto a bed of tropical flowers by Shin Shin:
A quick search of the Arbus image reveals that it has served as inspiration for other street artists here, and here, and here, and here, and even in Spokane! Diane Arbus passed away in 1971 and this is one of her images that has passed through the years into the popular conscience. A case could be made that the image somehow belongs to the people to do with it as they wish, invoking new meanings or recall old ones. Maybe. Ask Che Guevara.
Martha Cooper has been taking pictures for more than fifty years. Yes, you read it right. With a continuously curious mind and sharp eye, Martha Cooper takes photos wherever she goes (including Japan, Afghanistan, Guatemala and Surinam, to name a few), and it is a rare day you will see her without her camera draped around her neck.
Well known in the New York City graffiti and Street Art scene, she’s seen her images in National Geographic, Smithsonian and Natural History Magazines as well as several dozen books and journals. Her photographs of New York’s streets and people are also burned into the minds of thousands; particularly the minds of young artists worldwide who examined their own creative skills after laying their eyes on “Subway Art”, the book she and Henry Chalfant published a quarter century ago. Many have since used Martha’s work as inspiration for their own.
Ms. Cooper is no diva, but she is direct. Well traveled and warm, she smiles and laughs easily when talking with most people, and when the subject is photography, she easily shares her knowledge and opinion with you. In the past few years, a number of artists have been inspired by her work, and while humble, she is proud of the ongoing influence it has had.
Brooklyn Street Art: How do you feel when your work is appropriated and re-purposed by another artist?
Martha Cooper: I’m flattered the artists are actually looking at my work and liking it well enough to create something new based on it.
Street artist Chris Stain credits the photography of Ms. Cooper for shaping his own view of art and culture, and her impact can not be overestimated in his view. He has poured over the pages of her books for years and internalized the imagery as well as the messages they convey about urban culture, the hip hop movement, and people.
“Martha’s influence on my work began back in 1984 when I first stole a copy of ‘Subway Art’. Graffiti hadn’t been documented so intimately (except by writers) in my opinion up until this point. I sat for hours day after day studying the photos, turning the book sideways and upside down trying to come up with my own styles.
Had it not been for her initial documentation I don’t think graffiti or hip hop would be the world wide phenomenon it is today. With the release of ‘Hip Hop Files’ a few years ago I got more of an insight into her photo journalistic work; Once again she was capturing the essence of the birth of a movement.
When I look at those photos today at 37 I feel like I’m 11 years old again. I am met with the same excitement as when I first witnessed them. But more importantly I have the same hope that people can build their dreams out of seemingly nothing.
I came across ‘Street Play’ and immediately connected with the photographs of kids playing in their neighborhoods. This time I contacted Martha and asked permission to work from some of the pictures. She kindly obliged. Since then I have worked from a number of her photographs.
Her work speaks to me directly not only because she is from Baltimore but because she goes to the “heart” of the matter. Whether its Dondi hanging on and painting in-between subway cars, Ken Swift floor rockin’ at Common Ground, or a child holding his pigeon to the sky on a rooftop, Martha’s work is undeniably not only the most prolific but some of the most important documentation of organic cultures and city life to have grown out of New York and America as a whole.” – Chris Stain
Brooklyn Street Art: Did you think that eventually your work would be influential to a generation of artists and photographers?
Martha Cooper: Not at all. I would say that my work is pretty much unknown to artists and photographers of my own generation so it’s especially gratifying to connect with younger artists and photogs.
see a video of the mural above being created here
Brooklyn Street Art: What’s your impression of the current state of street art in New York?
Martha Cooper: Well I’m definitely not an expert or any kind of art historian so I can’t give you a definitive evaluation. However I love walking around and being surprised by all the fresh stuff going up all over the place. If it weren’t for street art, NYC would be turning into a bland and boring city.
Brooklyn Street Art: Why aren’t there more female street artists?
Martha Cooper: I have no idea. I wish there were more. I’m working on another little sticker book, this one about the smaller name badges. I couldn’t find even one active “Hello My Name Is” female stickerer. Do you know any?
Brooklyn Street Art: When you hit the street, camera in hand, do you consider yourself more of a photo-journalist, or an artist?
Martha Cooper: Neither–an ethnographer.
Brooklyn Street Art: Do you have a word of advice to a street art photographer starting today in New York?
Martha Cooper: Back-up!
– Good advice from a person who has catalogued perhaps hundreds of thousands of images of graffiti and street art over the last 30 years. We continued our dialogue about the use of Martha’s images over the years, and she added this clarification, “I’m pretty much a purist when it comes to my own photography. I absolutely hate when designers want to mess with my photos. I want my photos to be used as I took them. However, when an artist wants to take one of my photos and turn it into a completely different piece of art, I don’t mind at all.“
To paraphrase Martha and the critics, the guidance one would offer to a street artist (and any artist) is “Be original”.
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Special thanks to Jazi Rock, who at 12 years old “was infected by the graffiti bug when he saw Martha Cooper’s infamous book circulate around his neighborhood” of Baltimore. See more at his website.
Photo of Martha above by JaziRock – his website JaziRock.com is HERE
See Martha Cooper this weekend with her newest book “Going Postal”
Martha Cooper will be at the MBP Urban Arts Festival this Saturday October 3rd in Bushwick Brooklyn. A multitude of street artists, musical acts, skaters, vendors, and live painting events will be there. You can learn more about the festival HERE.
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The day before that on October 2nd, Martha Cooper will be at The New York Art Book Fair. Stop by the SCB booth (Z-01).
Friday, Oct 2nd
2pm – 4pm: Daze, Ghost and Papermonster (with dirtypilot.com online gallery)
4pm-6pm: Martha Cooper (photojournalist/NY graffiti scene documentarian), author of Tag Town, Hip Hop Files, and Street Play
Saturday, Oct 3rd
11am – 1pm: Alain “KET” Maridueña (hip hop artist/activist)
2pm – 4pm: Ron English (contemporary pop artist)
You can learn more about the Book Fair HERE.
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Read Martha Cooper’s Blog on Juxtapoz
COINCIDENCE? I think not.
After lots of pre-planning, conversations, scores of back and forth emails, one big overnight mural, and 10 days of installation in this much respected gallery, Chris Stain knows that the show will mean different things to different people,
“It’s always subjective how people take things, when they see them. If they hear a song, it’s going to mean something to one person and mean something different to somebody else. I kind of think that’s the way it is with the artwork. I don’t really have any expectations or want anybody to get anything out of it more than “Here’s two people that give a sh*t about what’s going on around them in the world.”
Before you can get to the title of the show, there had to be discussions about a more basic question, says Armsrock; questions like,
” ‘What is love?’ And it’s not addressed so directly here but it’s sort of like everything that goes in here is somehow this “note” that comes out of this process work before the show and all the contemplations that we had and the conversations we had.
“I think we have very different opinions on it, but somehow it’s come together inside this space and whether or not people actually are able to decipher it is another question, but I think there is enough information so there is some kind of discourse that is thrown up in the air regarding themes such as ‘hope’ , which is very much at the core.”
“Yeah, basically, the gallery told us that in order for me to use spray paint to do the installation I needed to contact the tenant who lives above the gallery because the fumes will rise up to their apartment. I thought that would slow me down and I remembered that last year when Armsrock and I worked together that he was using these oil pastels, crayons. And I tried that out last year when I was in Norway and I liked it. I didn’t really explore it like I wanted to so I figured, “What the hell”, I’ll do it for this show because it will tie-in more with what he is doing with charcoal and watercolor. Spray paint can be rather bold and striking, whereas his work is more softer looking. So I think it worked out well and I liked it. I like the softness of it. It’s more hands-on drawing… you’re in direct contact with the wall . ”
“Basically because it is more fun and it makes it a little easier going. We’re not often drawing on each other’s things but there’s constantly this talk going back and forth.”, Armsrock
Armsrock (photo Jaime Rojo)
The crying, the screaming, the knashing of teeth
– the gates of inquisitorial mayhem have opened into the gallery here where in just mere days you will see the fearful state of the fatally flawed race called human.
But Mr. Stain says the progress of the installation at Ad Hoc’s last big shindig is going swimmingly:
“I feel really good about it. I think it all just came together very naturally. Armsrock and I have worked together in the past and that was kind of a pre-cursor for what’s happening right now. We’re familiar with each others’ work, each others’ style. We have similar themes. We work in different mediums but I think it’s all come together based on the friendship we’ve already established.”
Armsrock heralds the way they employed in the planning stages of the show:
“I’m feeling very very good about the progress. Chris said something interesting the other day. We were standing and looking at the show… only halfway finished. He’s a very dry man, and he has a very dry way of saying things. And he was like, “I knew it was going to look like this”. Somehow I think that he was right because I knew how the process working with him would be and it was a project that I took on for ‘the process’. ”
Armsrock still has some work to do on this one (photo Jaime Rojo)
A new classic by Chris Stain (photo Jaime Rojo)
And a lot of it is flowing toward these two artists, no doubt, who have always shown love for the dispossessed, working class, out-of-work, marginalized “everyman” and “everywoman” with their human depictions. In these times when we are shedding jobs and waiting to see how far down the bottom is, maybe that’s why this show (one week from now) is striking a deep chord already. Instead of emailing pics to all the fans, we’re posting them here.
(photo Jaime Rojo)
(photo Jaime Rojo)
(photo Jaime Rojo)
(photo Jaime Rojo)
Chris Stain and Armsrock studiously working into the night to produce their first collaborative work for the new show they have at Ad Hoc Gallery next Friday, August 7.
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BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
(photo Jaime Rojo)
