Happy New Year to All! Thank you for inspiring us to do our best and to those of you who continue to support our personal art project / cultural examination, we extend our gratitude more than ever.
Begun as an enthusiastic discovery of what was happening in a few neighborhoods in New York, we continued to expand our view into more cities around the world last year and into the history and future of the scene. We also aimed to provide you with a critical platform for examination of the street art/ graffiti / public art/ contemporary art continuum with interviews with artists, curators, collectors, organizers, observers and thinkers in the street, studio, gallery, and museum – trouble makers and taste makers alike.
In the end, it’s your observations and the conversations on the street that are most important. As we begin the year with over 300K fans, friends, and followers on social media platforms and 225 articles on the Huffington Post (thanks HuffPost team!), we feel like we get a valuable good survey of current opinions heading our way daily.
With in-depth interviews, investigative articles, opinion infused examinations, plain celebratory reverie, occasionally silly non-sequitors, and public appearances where we get to meet you, we get a good analytical look at an ever-evolving movement, glittery polish and warts and all.
As the new year begins we take a look back at the top stories chosen by BSA Readers in the last 12 months. Among them are two takeover pop-up shows in soon-to-be demolished buildings, a story about commercial abuse of artist copyrights and the effort to fight back, a street art community’s response to the sudden death of an activist street artist, a Street Art tourist trip, and a few inspirational women, men, and Mexican muralists. Even though we published at least once a day for the last 365 days, these are the most popular pieces, as chosen by you, Dear BSA Reader.
As a followup to yesterday’s posting regarding the passing of Jef Campion, known as the street artist Army of One/ JC2, it is perhaps no surprise that nearly immediately there are a couple of tributes to him on the street – at least in LA.
Street Artist Free Humanity sent us these new photos of a new stencil piece by Teach_Art_One featuring Jef looking over his shoulder at you and placing his name on the wall. According to Free Humanity these new works are on the spots that Jef had hit when visiting Melrose and Fairfax in Los Angeles.
“I was blessed to call him a brother,” says Free Humanity of Army of One. FH feels that the new stencils appeared as a way to keep him on the streets. Awash in the grief of the moment FH wanted to say “the only way to have someone live forever is to never stop loving them.”
Apart from the high emotions of this time, we wanted to remark that this act of the tribute wall is analogous to the myriad walls that have been going up for decades in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York – usually in the community mural style – to mark the passing of someone. Sometimes it is a community leader not related to art but of great standing to the people who live in the locality. Other times a tribute will commemorate a person in the context of an historical event that they were pivotal to.
Graffiti crews have been paying tributes to their fallen for many years on memorial walls. Over the last year for example we have covered a large number of walls made by the crew and friends of graffiti writer Nekst. Needless to say the act of crossing out, going over, or dissing works like those would be considered to be as close to sacrilege as the streets can imagine.
These new stencils honoring Army of One carry on this tradition and it is additionally visually remarkable because the newly sprayed stencil is a street art piece depicting a street artist who is putting up street art – It is akin to looking at a mirror’s reflection in a mirror.
Photographer Thrashbird’s Instagram is @thrashBird13
New York’s Street Art and graffiti scene learned this weekend of the passing of one of its artists, Jef Campion, who went by the name of Army of One/ JC2. Jef died at his home in Yonkers Friday night at the age of 52 and for those who knew him for his physically and personally powerful presence, the news came as a complete surprise.
A New Yorker through and through, Jef was known as a firefighter and first responder to Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks who spent more than a month in that recovery effort, as a volunteer who gave a great deal of time and energy to working with charity organizations for children who were very ill, and for being a fine artist, a street artist, and an anti-war activist.
Speaking with many who knew him closely over the last few days, we learned that his days were not always light and he sometimes suffered from PTSD and related issues, but that he considered himself an overcomer and gave support and encouragement to his peers in the art world. We always saw him as a person who was determined to use his art and his creativity as a force for good in the world. He also knew how to walk the talk.
As a Street Artist he was perhaps best known for adapting a photograph by Diane Arbus entitled Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City (1962), and converting it into a sharply graphic anti-war message that he reproduced numerous times in many sizes and mediums to put onto the street. “Army of One” was usually scrawled like a shouting slogan alongside the wheatpaste of the silhouetted image. Sometimes the text was in black and other times it was in a red that matched the dripping red grenade in the boys hand. A startling sight to encounter in a doorway or on a signpost, it was at once a protest and a warning that war is not child’s play.
For Jef it was an effective way to remind us that war invariably damages those who have nothing to do with the fight, some of our most vulnerable and treasured people who suffer from our unspeakable callousness and disregard for life.
When Jef put this work out on the street it wasn’t to get personal fame as much as it was to change minds and hearts. Jef hoped his art could give voice to the voiceless. In recent years his own red-painted hand became as important a symbol of the insanity and brutality of war as any of his work created for the street.
Our condolences and thoughts and prayers go out to Jef’s family and friends today on Martin Luther King day and in the difficult days ahead. We also send our hopes that they can take comfort in knowing how much of a positive influence he was on many artists and peers, as well as complete strangers and passersby. Following we share with BSA readers remembrances from five people, but we easily could have presented many more.
GILF! Street Artist and social, political, cultural advocate.
I met Jef during Art Basel Miami in 2011 at Fountain Art Fair. I had been familiar with his street work but was ultimately introduced to him by Samson Contompasis. He immediately went out of his way to include and befriend me, and with a megawatt smile on his face.
Jef reached out to me for a project about a year ago via email. We met up in person and had a lengthy discussion about war, the children at risk, and our ability to facilitate change for these young lives. He was always so focused on how he could help others. You could tell how passionate he was about the destruction of war with his work through his words and through his actions.
He never gave up, was always trying to do more to help, and feared no one. He did all of that while constantly supporting his friends and lending a hand whenever needed. His smiles and laughs were infectious and you couldn’t help but be happy around him. I will be forever grateful to have known such a righteous and honorable soul. His rebel spirit will continue to inspire me as I find ways of coping with this loss.
Sinxero (SX) Fine Grafstract artist, designer and gallery/mural curator based in The Bronx
I first met Jef, aka: “Army of One” at the “Street Artists Unite” exhibit at Dorian Grey Gallery where Jef was showing his art, a body of work and presence that commanded your attention. Jef and I shared a vision where artists could make a difference as “Comrades In Art”. Combining our artistic and business related goals, Jef and I formed “The Army Grows,” (TAG), with him as a resident activist. We expanded our mission to encourage both street & graffiti artists to work together and now TAG is also known as “The Art of Grafstract”.
Jef’s plethora of knowledge was priceless. His street & fine art grind was hard and direct, undiluted.
Why was Jef important to me and the Street Art / Graffiti scene? One day I remember showing up early to one of his many exhibits. Upon arriving Jef said, “let’s take a walk, its still early.” As we walked down Orchard Street, Jef took notice of a pair of gentlemen’s boots in a window display and walked in to ask the salesperson for his size. As we sat and waited for the gentleman to come back Jef and I discussed curating murals, owning your moniker and how to reach out to sponsors in order to build your name up. He told me that sometimes it is better to slow down and take notice of all that’s around you and address things one at a time – a better approach than it’s complete opposite.
I am grateful for having met Jef and having been given the opportunity to see life through his eyes. If anyone could walk a mile in Jef’s boots in the way he gave, embraced and loved as a friend, artist and compassionate human being they would be king for a day.
Jef, you were truly an “Army of One.” In your name, “The Army Grows.”
I first noticed Army of One back in 2009 with his use of the Diane Arbus’ photo, ‘Grenade Boy’ and another graphic that followed, ‘The Bride of War’. As I walked the city streets after midnight, I always ‘ran into’ Jef (AoO) everywhere I went. I appreciated the image. It caught my attention because it had a gritty, NYC quality about it.
As a street artist, you usually meet others through their work first and later you actually wind up meeting the artist in person. I met Jef during the summer of 2010 at an upstate New York street art event. The moment we exchanged stickers, we already had a good sense of what the person was about. His message emphasized ‘peace’ and mine was about ‘family’.
Soon after that we met again to put some art after dark up in lower Manhattan and from that point on we became friends. In the years that followed we both participated in the same events here in NY and at Art Basel, Miami. Our greatest collaboration was for the XCIA’s Street Art Project book.
Army of One’s social commentary about needless wars that produce needless bloodshed was the central idea behind his message. I respected that notion and also that this message was everywhere. I admired his passion to spread his art and the enjoyment he received from it. Jef was a serious artist and if you knew him you understood why he was compelled to promote his idea to the public. His left a profound statement for us to never forget that each and every one of us has the freedom to be who and what we want to be and to live life accordingly and although we have different colors of our skin we are all ‘red’ inside and that makes us all the same; human.
I’m thankful to express my words about my friend. He will be missed. He was a force to be reckoned with, he was truly an army of one.
OCMC (Oh Captain My Captain) Street artist and fine artist.
Jef was an important figure to me personally in the scene, as he was the first street artist I ever met. I had been doing it a while and saw his work everywhere. By a fluke the first art show I appeared in was a benefit show he was also in and we met there. It was exciting to meet someone who did what I did, and even more so because Jef was incredibly gracious and encouraging. It wound up we were from the same neighborhood so we shared a bond over that. From then on we were friends.
For the scene itself, I feel Jef was a very important voice. There is naturally a lot of ego in street art and graffiti. Jef’s art was about the meaning, not the advertising. He felt deeply for his cause and it was loud and clear in his artwork. Loud like that grenade of his.
Many of the posts I have seen since his passing describe him as a “great guy”, and how kind he was… And it’s very much the truth. Jef was a truly great man. His job involved saving peoples lives, his spare time involved helping kids with cancer, and his art involved his deep belief that war is never the answer. He wasn’t just a great voice out in the streets, his was a great voice for the world.
There’s a show coming we were both going to be in, and I am going to miss the way he would light up when he’d see me with an “OCMC!” and the hug that would follow… It always felt great to stand in the light Jef shined on you. But I am hardly unique there, because he made everyone feel like that light. That’s what I’ll remember most.
Samson Contompasis Former gallery owner and artist
I worked with Jef at a few different points to help his studio work reach more people. I found Jef the same way many other people did, by his relentless coverage of the streets. When I met him for the first time the scope of this man expanded exponentially. Upon inviting me to his studio it was apparent that this street artist was much more then that; he was a fine artist of extraordinary measure. Whether it was his handwritten accounts of his life scrawled on vellum, his giant assemblages of nails, raw wood, and pieces of the city strewn about them, or his neon accompanied statements of original sin on charred wood that he tore out of a fire with his bare hands, I felt that his studio was a doorway into his soul and everything was brimming with emotion from the life he led.
One of the most important parts of Jef’s street work was that he had a message. He wasn’t just writing his name on a wall for himself or a crew…he was writing it for a greater purpose. To spread a message of peace. His intention was for that of a better world . There was a moment during a show where a woman was offended by a piece of his…. and I remember that at one point he simply stated, “Walk a mile in my shoes” We can never pretend to know the weight of someone’s soul….but if I was a betting man he would be giving the sun a run for its money.
He spoke to us with full lungs and a determined spirit in everything he did. He did not have the easiest life, having dealt with hard addictions growing up and PTSD later in life but it never kept this man from smiling. He was one of the only people that could effectively hug me back.
Jef, my sorrow is deep, but I know you’ve already been through hell and you will be shaking Gods hand with red paint. You will be always there and forever missed.
Samson also shares with us a poem that Jef wrote, from an installation named “Sanctuary”.
Atrophy
I’m awake now
I believe in fate
I believe suicide would not have been the answer.
I believe the drugs were not a deterrent but a lesson
a task
a journey
I believe Central Park in late May
Sitting on the bench in East Hampton and watching the ocean
Solitude
Chet Baker on a rainy Sunday afternoon
Beat cultures
Bohemian lifestyles
I believe Miles Davis
And Coltrane
Tom Waits will never die
The human form Vine charcoal and a large canvas
Jose Guadalupe Posada Francis Bacon
Brie
The Hudson River right outside Irvington NY
Baja Mexico Ice cold beer, In the shade of a palm tree
Laguna Beach at 11am Venice beach at 6pm New York City 24/7
Rene’s trust
Mimma’s eyes
Joanne’s soul
My grandparents who without I never survive this mess
I believe in a partner who can love you with every cell in their body.
Self inflicted pain is not the answer my friend
You’re going to suffer You’re going to bleed You’re going to fall
Sacred Gallery
We wanted to let everyone know that Sacred Gallery NYC is pleased to announce “Who’z got game!”, August 10th (8-11pm), at Sacred Gallery NYC.
This group gallery exhibition, curated by KIDLEW, showcases some of the best names in the NYC street graffiti scene. Starting with artists from the late
60’s and working up to modern day, Kidlew personally went after the best names in the game to bring you a true NYC graffiti Subway map show.
The gallery will be auctioning off a true 4’x5′ NYC subway map that exhibiting artists will collaborate the night of the gallery opening. 100% of the proceeds from the won auction will
go to The Coalition For The Homeless (http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/). The auction will be on display and available for bidding all month, and will close on the 31st.
BAMA
LAVA 1 2
TON
JAMES TOP
BOM5
COPE2
INDIE
DIL
PYTHON
SIEN IDE
SEE TF
ZIMAD
SEXER
MERES
HALOZ
SINXERO
RAVE
RWK
ARMY OF ONE
JESUS SAVES
SHIRO
KIDLEW
ANGEL “LA2” ORTIZ
Miss Bugs, Other, Paul Insect, Sheryo, The Yok, Zero Cents and more
On view through August 15th
As street art gains in popularity among the contemporary art world, the unique relationship between the artists’ public and print work is often overlooked. In an attempt to reclaim public space, street artists apply repetition with a multiplicity of familiar aesthetics and imagery—allowing the anonymous artists to create an easily recognizable identity for themselves. Printmaking’s potential for reproduction and circulation offers an alternative vehicle to make their work accessible for the public. (Re)Print celebrates the connection found between these salient aspects of both street art and printmaking.
In conjunction with this event, Hendershot Gallery has invited a select group of artists to create new site-specific installations as part of (Re)Print’s growing underground street art project. Murals by the artists will be open to the public for the duration of the summer, however, the exact location will remain undisclosed—attempting to preserve the excitement experienced when one unexpectedly discovers a work of street art.
The US officially remembers service members who died in wars today. War touches every aspect of our daily lives whether through loss or gain, impacting our individual and group psyche, economy, memory, liberty, history. Street Artists sometimes grapple with war and related themes in their work for everyone who passes to see. Here are a few examples.
Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers and our best wishes to you all on this special day.
Cool stuff on the street right now, and not what you’re always expecting. Here’s our weekly interview with the Street this week including Andrzej Urbanski, Armo, Army of One, Cake, El, Hot Tea, Indigo, Klub7, LNY, Miyok, Olek, Skullphone, Tazz, Vote Honky, and Yoko Ono.
Miami is basically “South Brooklyn” starting right about now, minus the bagels, the B62 bus, and the compulsive habit of cutting you off mid-sentence. Artists, galleries, fans, party girls and boys, djs, – they all head south the first few days of December for the big fair and all the little ones.
It already seems a little quieter here because Fountain took the weirdos, Wynwood Walls took the Soho softshoes, and The Underbelly collected the hardcore characters just long enough to sign a book and scarf some pizza before looking for a tunnel somewhere. Art Basel is a feast and the draw of Street Art and graffiti continues apace this year, with entrants from all the strata looking for a wall, and maybe a party, and a honey to go skinny dip with.
We picked a few Street Art related gems here that you might want to hit, but even if you show up in Miami this week with no plans, you’ll easily find some trouble to get into, we trust. Do your best.
After a full year underground, The Underbelly Project is coming to Miami during Art Basel. A pop up gallery, the show will feature original artwork from many of the 103 international artists who participated in the hidden subway project in New York. The exhibition will feature a video piece of multiple installations happening simultaneously, as well as new pieces by many of the artists. Additionally a book signing of the first volume to come out about the project, published by Rizzoli, will take place on December 2nd. Artists participating in the signing include: Dabs & Myla, Rone, Gaia, Lister, Eric Haze, Joe Iurato, Adam Feibleman, Know Hope, Jeff Stark, Jason Eppink, Jim and Tina Darling, The London Police, Dan Witz, Specter, Surge and other surprise artists.
Included in the show are street, graffiti and fine artists alike. The full line-up includes: Faile, Dabs & Myla, TrustoCorp, Aiko, Rone, Revok, Ron English, Jeff Soto, Mark Jenkins, Anthony Lister, Logan Hicks, Lucy McLauchlan, M-City, Kid Zoom, Eric Haze, Saber, Meggs, Jim & Tina Darling, The London Police, Sheone, Skewville, Jeff Stark, Jordan Seiler, Jason Eppink and I AM, Dan Witz, Specter, Ripo, MoMo, Remi/Rough, Stormie Mills, Swoon, Know Hope, Skullphone, L’Atlas, Roa, Surge, Gaia, Michael De Feo, Joe Iurato, Love Me, Adam 5100, and Chris Stain.
THE UNDERBELLY SHOW 29 November – Press Preview 5pm/ Private View 7pm 30 November – Collector’s Preview 7pm 1 December – Secret Wars US vs. UK 6pm 2 December – General Opening 5pm and Artist Book Signing 6pm
The show will take place in the heart of Wynwood at 78NW 25th Street
SCOPE
Jonathan Levine Gallery At Scope with WK Interact, Aakash Nihilani, Olek, and Jason DeCaires Taylor
“Placing a focus on public art for this program, the gallery will present a series of works that highlight a diverse range of distinct styles, cultural perspectives and unconventional mediums. Each of the four artists selected represent fresh directions in creating work in public space through their innovative vision and inventive use of materials. Photography documenting their interventional imagery, sculpture, and performances convey the transformative effect their work has on its surrounding
White Walls will be hosting four booths at SCOPE, situated in the center of Miami’s Wynwood Gallery Arts District, featuring a MTN Colors Group show with APEX, Neon, Estria, Vogue, Blek le Rat, HUSH, Kofie and Chor Boogie, a White Walls Group show with Casey Gray, Ben Eine and Greg Gossel, and solo shows for both ABOVE and ROA. APEX, Eine, Kofie, ABOVE, ROA and Chor Boogie will also be painting at the Kohn compound on 24th street.
For a full listing of exhibitors and events click here SCOPE
Wynwood Walls
Wynwood Walls is premiering 7 new Street Art murals and 16 new pieces at Wynwood Doors and walls outside.
Debuting in tandem with the new murals and installations during Art Basel this year on Tuesday, November 29, 2011, the “Shop at the Walls” the first Wynwood Walls Pop Up gallery space that will offer artworks and the new Wynwood Walls book.The book has interview with Street Artists and photography by Martha Cooper.
Artists include Retna, The Date Farmers, How and Nosm, Gaia (USA), Saner and Sego (Mexico), Liqen (Spain), Neuzz (Mexico), Nunca (Brazil), Vhils (Portugal), Interesni Kazki (Ukraine), Faile (USA) and b. (Greece). Kenny Scharf is expected to augment his existing wall, and remaining work from the last two years from Nunca, Shepard Fairey, Aiko, Ryan McGinness, Stelios Faitakis and avaf will be on display.
Walls Outside the Wynwood Walls, encompassing key locations outside of the actual art park itself and in the surrounding neighborhood, will be created by Friends With You (USA), avaf (Brazil and France), Nunca, and Interesni Kazki (Ukraine); joining works previously completed by Swoon and Barry McGee.
Location:
Wynwood Walls and the Pop Up Shop are located at NW Second Avenue – between Joey’s Italian Café on 25th Street and the art-filled Wynwood Kitchen & Bar on 26th Street – and are open to the public free of charge.
HERE COMES THE NEIGHBORHOOD: WYNWOOD (Video)
Fountain Art Fair
“Our preferred punk rock lopsided Anti-Fair.” —Brooklyn Street Art
This year Fountain Miami’s signature on-site street art installation is curated by Samson Contompasis, director of Albany’s The Marketplace, and will feature over 150 feet of work Street Artists including Sharktoof, Chris Stain, Olek, Hugh Leeman, Chor Boogie, OverUnder, White Cocoa, Army of One, Clown Soldier, Joe Iurato, CAKE, Tip-Toe, Elle, Ian Ross, Know Hope, Depoe, and Zero Cents.
Brooklyn’s own Mighty Tanaka Gallery is showing at Fountain Participating artists include: Adam Void, Alexandra Pacula, Alice Mizrachi, ChrisRWK, Ellen Stagg, Gigi Chen, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, JMR, John Breiner, Max Greis, Mike Schreiber, Robbie Busch, Skewville, TooFly, URnewyork, VengRWK & Miguel Ovalle
December 1–4, 2011 2505 North Miami Avenue (at the corner of 25th St) | Miami, FL 33137 General Hours: 12pm–7pm daily Tickets: $10 daily / $15 weekend pass. All tickets sold at door.
Primary Projects
A new exhibit debuting during Art Basel Miami Beach 2011
Thursday, December 1
Opening Reception
7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
RETNA, Jessy NITE, Stormie MILLS, Evan ROBARTS, Lena SCHMIDT, Luis PINTO, Andrew SCHOULTZ, Karen STAROSTA-GILINSKI, Kenton PARKER, TM SISTERS, Samantha SALZINGER, Emmette MOORE, Anthony LISTER, Charles KRAFFT, Tatiana SUAREZ, Edouard NARDON, Andrew NIGON, Johnny ROBLES and Lawrence GIPE.
Primary Projects
4141 NE Second Avenue
Suite 104
Miami, FL 33137
Living Walls is working with with Primary Flight, one of the original graffiti and Street Art mural projects, to create 3 new murals in the Wynwood District.
Wooooo Hoooooooo! It’s Friday in Brooklyn! Great news in the mailbox from the postman this morning about a big Keith Haring exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum this April “Keith Haring: 1978-1982”. Guess it was meant to coincide with the big “Art in the Streets” exhibit that was moving from LA MOCA to Brooklyn in 2012 but was cancelled recently. That’s okay, we still get Keith, a patron saint of Street Art. And we are completely convinced that “Art in the Streets” will be coming to New York, so don’t be surprised.
Living Walls : Albany This Friday Saturday Sunday in New York’s Capital City
BSA has been partnering with Living Walls : Albany to bring you the new Street Art and other stuff and today is the official kick off day, coinciding with a big Fall festival Albany has every year. Props go to Samson Contompasis for his unwavering commitment to artists and the creative spirit.
Yo, check the archive to see all the BSA coverage http://mim.io/5e3391 . Also follow the Twitter Feed at @LivingWallsALB . The list of participating Street Artists includes How & Nosm , Chris Stain ,Gaia, Cake ,Michael DeFeo, Broken Crow, Over/Under, Nanook, Jon Burgerman ,Veng, Depoe, Radical!, White Cocoa ,Evereman Scott, Michael Ackerman, Uneek, Clown Soldier, Marcus Anderson, Joe Iurato ,Papertwins, Jacqueline Brickman ,VRNO , Hellbent, ROA ,Gregory Maxwell, Dunn II, YARK, Army of One, Deacon Czar
Saturday, September 17th Located in the Clark Auditorium of the New York State Museum
3:30-4:45PM KEYNOTE LECTURE
“Street Art Stories: A New Direction on the Street”
Presented by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, founders of Brooklyn Street Art
In Street Arts’ latest chapter, the storytellers are hitting up walls with all manner of influences and methods. More than ever before, formally trained and self taught fine artists are skipping the gallery route and taking their work directly to the public, creating cultural mash-ups and highly personal stories of their own, altering the character of this scene once again. Eclectic, individual, and as D.I.Y. as you can imagine, these Street Artists may have knowledge of who came before them or not, but they are determined to be a part of one art scene that is perceived as authentic, relevant, and alive.
Join Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, authors (“Brooklyn Street Art”, and “Street Art New York”, published by Prestel/Random House) and founders of Brooklyn Street Art (BrooklynStreetArt.com) and contributing Street Art writers for The Huffington Post ARTS, as they show and compare examples of work from New York’s streets today. Then join a lively discussion in a Q&A session to help explore this storytelling practice and discuss how it may be evolving what we have been calling “Street Art” for the last decade.
Hosted by “Living Walls : Albany”, Samson Contompasis, Director, and Grand Street Community Arts, James Shultis, Executive Director.
Mexican Street Artist KRAKEN at Hold Up Gallery (LA)
KRAKEN’s solo show “Fantasmas” this on Saturday:
For more information regarding this show please click on the link below:
Isn’t that nice? Neckface and his fine feathered friend “Fuck Life” have a dainty little show at New Image Art this weekend in West Hollywood. Bring your Barbies!
For more information regarding this show click on the link below:
Over the next few weeks, New York State’s capital city, Albany, will be the site of a large scale Street Art show with many artists whom you are familiar with and a number of new ones on walls in desolate areas, historic districts, and even a church.
When local artist and visionary Samson Contompasis asked BSA to be partners with Living Walls last winter, we already knew about his reputation as a stalwart proponent of the creative spirit who opens doors for artists of many stripes. If Samson is in love with something, it’s going to happen.
Now “Living Walls: Albany” has grown to encompass not only multiple walls for Street Artists from around the world but the involvement of civic leaders, building owners, arts institutions, historical ombudspeople, electronic and print media, artists, musicians, galleries, a museum, and arts programming for kids and families. That was one sentence.
For our involvement BSA will help keep you up on all the walls with people we’ve worked with before and new ones too, bringing you regular updates from now until the big weekend of the 16-18th, which will have live art, music, symposia, and a keynote by your buddies here. Today we’d like to introduce two talents on the Albany scene who will be leading the way in our coverage, writer KC Orcutt, and photographer Andrew Franciosa as they were on the scene when Gaia and Nanook first started their new piece.
A new livelihood is radiating around the colossal work of Gaia and Nanook, which debuted the Living Walls: Albany last week. Their vibrant piece adorns the side of a vacant, unroofed building currently aging on N. Pearl and Livingston.
Ten minutes into my third visit, a handful of neighborhood children flocked in front of the massive brick before me to point out what they liked about the Street Art as two passer-bys curiously paused. The figure of a man pushing a contemporary piece of art (currently housed in the Rockefeller Empire Plaza Concourse) towards the face of Nelson Rockefeller is inexplicably alluring. The collective work is as perplexing as it is simple.
The merging of Albany landmarks in a notion of “pushing forward” is an attentively constructed kick off to the project this fall. One of the energetic neighborhood children, unaware of his metaphorical wisdom, looked at me and said, “I guess it’s a new day.”
Our longest post ever – scarily long. First we start off with a bunch of cool Street Art that is evocative of Halloween.
Then we hear a special Halloween/Election message from Christine O’Donnell, a look at tonights’ events including Unified Love Movement’s installation across from MOMA, Erik Burke’s Closing Party, and Crest Hardware’s Pumpkin Carving Party (tonight). Also, video of Dan Witz’s disturbing WTF Street Art, and the most popular person to dress up as.
Unified Love Movement – Alison and Garrison Buxton in Manhattan Tonight
Garrison and Alison Buxton invite you to come celebrate the unveiling of their Unified Love Movement installation across from the MoMA at 20 West 53rd St. The Buxtons are honored to manifest their latest vision on Halloween weekend via chashama’s “Windows at Donnell” program. The exhibition runs October 29th – November 28th, 2010 and is viewable 24/7. This visual fruit is timely and ripe for viewing. MORE HERE
Bring Your Carved Pumpkins To Crest Tonight
FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO THE WEBSITE. FOR THE OFFICIAL RULES LOOK UNDER THE HALLOWEEN TAB ON THE MENU BAR http://cresthardwareartshow.com
“This Land is My Land” Closing Party Tonight at 17 Frost
Lady GaGa Costumes Are All the Rage This Year. You can blow 50 bucks on one of these, or just visit your local hardware store and glue-gun stuff to your swimsuit.
Elfo is a graffiti writer and social commentator whose work intentionally sidesteps traditional notions of style or technical lettering. This …Read More »
In her latest mural, Faring Purth delivers a powerful reflection on connection, continuity, and the complexity of evolving relationships—a true …Read More »
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
