All posts tagged: Atomik

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.24.24

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.24.24

Aunt Marge is on the phone to see if your mom can locate the recipe for the cranberry relish dish that she made last year – the one with the grapefruit and fresh ginger. While you’re talking to her she reports that your quirky cousin Kinnisha has just announced that she is a vegan so she won’t be eating any animal products at Thanksgiving this Thursday. Not a big surprise.

We’re making sweet potatoes with marshmallows melted on top; what are you bringing? Don’t forget that dinner is at 12 noon this year because Juan and Erica and their new baby have to go to his parents for a second Thanksgiving dinner at 4 pm – and that’s all the way in Jersey.

Speaking of food, the jokes write themselves sometimes in the headlines this week – Just as the President-Elect says that he’ll announce a state of emergency to boot out illegal immigrants, bottom-line-conscious Americans who are already stretched too thin financially are learning how this action may impact prices at the store and across the economy.

Need a job? Some industries are bracing for impact of having fewer or no workers  – all of which undoubtedly will make prices rise again for the average person.

Some folks are concerned that raising tariffs will cause companies to cancel Christmas bonuses because they need to buy up supplies before tariffs hit – which doesn’t sound very Christmassy. Nor does Walmart’s announcement this week that they may need to raise prices if those tariffs happen in the new year.

Aren’t you supposed to wait until your candidate has been sworn into office before having buyer’s remorse?

Also, according to conversations on Twitter this week, many folks didn’t realize that the evil Obamacare is the same thing as their prized ACA health insurance. Huh. Who knew?

Meanwhile in New York we are excitedly looking for newly financed housing thanks to the Mayor, and the NYC Documentary Festival had great screenings this week: One that examines our city’s 1970s chaotic bankruptcy and corruption called Drop Dead City (spoiler; the city had no accounting books), and one called Slumlord Millionaire. New York is always a love/hate romance, no?

Meanwhile, the current president is giving ‘permission’ to Ukraine to use long-range weapons deep into Russian territory. Great way to kick off a legacy before you leave office! What could go wrong?

This week, we’ll ignore all that when we line the streets for the Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade through Manhattan. Hope its not too windy for those massive balloons and that Santa shows up at the end of the show! Also, keep your eyes open for hot, blushing babes in ribbed turtlenecks and Santa hats on streets, subways, Knicks games at the Garden, on the skating rinks in Central Park, Bryant Park, and Rockefeller Center. Something about the holidays melts hearts, even though it’s freezing outside. Wishing you all the best – stay safe and warm, say hi to Aunt Marge for us, and keep your eyes open for stupendous street art and graffiti.  

Here’s our weekly conversation with the street, this week featuring: John Ahearn, Atomik, Cody James, Great Boxers, Carnivorous Flora, Alex Face, Felipe Umbral, LeCrue Eyebrows, Zimer NYC, Julia Cocuzza, JKE, Fern El Pepe, and Katya Gotseva.

Cody James (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Ahearn. Daleesha, 1991. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Ahearn. Corey, 1991. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Ahearn. Corey, 1991. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Ahearn. Raymond and Toby, 1991. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Ahearn. Raymond and Toby, 1991. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Great Boxers (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Carnivorous Flora (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomik (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomik (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Julia Cocuzza (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Fern El Pepi (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zimer NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Katya Gotseva (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Katya Gotseva (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Felipe Umbral (photo © Jaime Rojo)
WSJ (photo © Jaime Rojo)
WSJ (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JKE Jake (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Alex Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lecrue Eyebrows (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 09.22.24

BSA Images Of The Week: 09.22.24

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week and to fall—officially here as of this morning in New York and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. The leaves are starting to pop with yellows, people are breaking out the wool turtlenecks and corduroy way too early, and somewhere under the bleachers at football games, a few sneaky kisses are being stolen. Meanwhile, students are finally settling into the grind of the school year. But flip it for the folks south of the Equator, where spring’s about to bloom. In both hemispheres, whether it’s fall or spring, artists and vandals will continue to tag the overlooked corners and forgotten walls, staking their claim in public space.

This week in the BSA book review department, we’re diving into a new scholastic tome from one of the few brilliant graffiti scholars out there—Rafael Schacter. You might remember him from his global street art compendium, his curated show ‘Mapping the City’ at Somerset House in London (yes, the one that included people like Brad Downey, Swoon, and Eltono), or even his early work at the Tate back in ’08 with artists on the façade of the museum like Faile, Blu, and Os Gemeos. His latest book, Monumental Graffiti: Tracing Public Art and Resistance in the City (MIT Press), just landed on our doorstep. We’re eyeing it with both curiosity and caution as he’s making some bold connections between monuments and graffiti—connections that are peculiar on their face. He’s digging into a secondary or even third-tier definition of ‘monument,’ so who knows, it might all come together in the end. But this is the same guy who gave us ‘intramural’ graffiti about a decade ago… and, that term hasn’t hit the streets, as it were.

Re: intramural – In his curatorial work Schacter sometimes argues that street art occupies a unique space that is neither fully embraced by institutional frameworks (like museums and galleries, the “inside”) nor entirely outside them (like illegal, unsanctioned art in public spaces, the “outside”). Intramural, extramural. Makes total sense. But aside with the confusion caused by the word ‘mural’ buried inside it, there is perhaps a ‘branding’ problem with the word here in the US. It sounds too much like ‘intramural sports,’ which were always introduced at grade school for both boys and girls to play together to foster team-building skills – right around the age when girls typically think boys are ‘gross,’ and boys think girls are ‘weird.’  So it feels awkward and frightful! I feel like my voice is cracking and I’m growing a very light mustache when I hear it. Let’s see how this graffiti/monument thing works out. If anyone can do it, Rafael can!

And here we go boldly into the streets of New York and Berlin this week with new extramural stuff from: Judith Supine, Crash, 1UP Crew, Homesick, Nespoon, Hera, Phetus, Atomik, Qzar, Wild West, Drew Kane, and Seileise.

Phetus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
First semester! Phetus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CRASH (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CRASH (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CRASH (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1UP CREW. Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
QZAR is going hard in NYC these days. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
QUASAR (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Seileise. Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HERA. Detail. Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HERA. Detail. Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HOMESICK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HOMESICK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
WILD WEST (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JUDITH (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NesPoon. Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Drew Kane (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomik (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Berlin. September, 2024. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Box Trucks – Some of the Best Graffiti On Wheels

Box Trucks – Some of the Best Graffiti On Wheels

Jaime Rojo has built an impressive collection of photographs of these, capturing the essence of New York’s streets through his lens with an array of box trucks that weave and jolt their way through traffic, often seen opening their gates to load and unload amidst the noise of city life. These trucks, adorned with cryptic and crazily painted graffiti, have become pivotal platforms for urban expression, succeeding subway cars as the canvas of choice after the MTA’s crackdown on trains. Rojo’s vast archive features hundreds, perhaps thousands, of these nomadic art pieces, transforming ordinary vehicles into a main showcase for artists’ narratives and tributes to urban royalty, with eclectic themes and styles that span all five boroughs.

VERS (photo © Jaime Rojo)

These mobile galleries, nestled on private property and often commissioned by the owners, navigate a legal grey zone, untouched by state or city regulations. They offer a transient exhibition space, constantly in flux, moving across bridges, navigating the FDR, or idly sitting in traffic, right beside you. Each truck is a fleeting installation, a snapshot of the city’s dynamic art scene that you may know or not.

ATOMIK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Back in the wild days of 2014, we published a small survey of the ubiquitous box trucks roaring through the streets of NYC. Most commonly used by movers helping residents move in or out of their homes, these trucks obviously serve a more lofty purpose. You can see HERE our article from 2014.

As we present a new installation of this collection once more, we delve into the latest series of box truck artworks that continue to serenade New York’s streets. This ever-evolving display captures the spirit of the city, revealing stories and visions that are as mobile as they are momentary, reflecting the vibrant, shifting nature of urban life through the eyes of famed photographer Jaime Rojo. Step outside and enjoy a moving art fest on the street just for you.

BELOW KEY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BELOW KEY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HOMESICK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CURVE MEMORIAL TO KYRO (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TRACE (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HOACS (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SUCH (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SLOSHER (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SLOSHER (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SKEAMONE (photo © Jaime Rojo)
UNIDENTIFIED WRITER (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ONES (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 03.19.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.19.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Binho, Patch Whisky, Atomik, Mr. Blob, Ouch, Ghost Beard, Habibi, Mona Dash, John Pierre, WHKBT, Giulio Rosk, Weerdo, and Chica Dania.

OUCH. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Chica Dania. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Binho. Weerdo Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomik. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Habibi. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulo Rosk. Mr. Blob. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulo Rosk. Mr. Blob. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulo Rosk. Mr. Blob. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Giulo Rosk. Mr. Blob. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
WH KBT. Mr. Blob. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
John Pierre. Mr. Blob. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Patch Whisky. Ghost Beard. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Patch Whisky. Ghost Beard. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mona Dash. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mona Dash. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mona Dash. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mona Dash. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Queens, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 10.10.21 / Wynwood Teaser

BSA Images Of The Week: 10.10.21 / Wynwood Teaser

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“Gurl, I Just Came For the Sunburn” is the cleverly worded T-shirt design we just conjured, but didn’t see in any of the many stores selling “Miami”-emblazoned memorabilia this weekend. New Yorkers are from a colder climate where sexy college girls are already wearing tight turtleneck sweaters and leggings and handsome boys are sporting corduroy and blazers. Not here in Miami Beach or Wynwood, where less is more, and naked is a matter of opinion.

It’s Carnivale weekend so the streets and hotels are bursting with Brazilian and Trinidadian and otherwise Caribbean influences, including phenomenal costumes, dancing, trap music, and raucous peels of laughter. After some time on Miami Beach surrounded by bathing beauties and dodging freelance vendors selling Pina Coladas, margaritas, marijuana edibles, and other drugs from their backpacks, we caught an energetic and sexy floor show featuring earth-shaking amounts of bouncing beauty and a lip-synching rendition of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Girls in the Hood” that served so much twerking abandon that the fishnet stockings industry ran out of inventory by 3 am Sunday.

Here on the streets this quick sample of shots gives you an idea of the messages and palettes now greeting visitors all over this neighborhood of Wynwood– with some faces lifted from posters so you see how you’re supposed to be stylin’. Call it a survey of local color to ease you into the Miamian week BSA will be sharing with our readers. Bienvenidos!

Our interview with the street today includes Askew One, Atomik, Binho, Claudia La Bianca, Krayzie Bone, Guillermo Zanches, Irene Lopez Leon, Marina Capdevilla, Milu Correch, MSG Crew, Osorno, Pixel Pancho, and Rodo.

Pixel Pancho. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pixel Pancho. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pixel Pancho. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Flyer on the sidewalk for Carnivale. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Milu Correch. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
AskewOne Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Claudia La Bianca. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Poster image. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
RODO. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Binho. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Poster image. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Irene Lopez Leon. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Osorno. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Marina Capdevilla. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Waiting for the valet outside brunch in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
MSG. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Poster image. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
MSG. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomiko. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Poster image. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
Krayzie Bone. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Carnevale participants all dressed and ready to go. Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 01.26.20

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.26.20

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The city is in mid-winter “blah” mode. We suffered a fire at the New York City’s Museum of Chinese in America this week, and the Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams used his Martin Luther King Day speech to tell recent arrivals to ‘Go back to Iowa,’ Things can be tough out here people.

In Street Art and graffiti news, New York has had some “whole car” pieces on the subway line recently, including one that looked like a whole train! Old timers were rubbing their eyes. According to a local media outlet, legendary graffiti artist Chris “Freedom” Pape gave his assessment; “..based on the artist’s philosophy, he gives it an “A” but based on the quality of the graffiti on old subways, he gives it a “C”. Also a new film about New York octogenarian Street Artist Robert Janz opened this week at the Anthology Film Archives. Janz in the Moment is the passion project of Filmmaker Joanna Kiernan that features many corners and crazy details of New York’s streets that are familiar to us – and probably to you.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week from Miami, and this time featuring Add Fuel, Atomik, Bisco Smith, CRKSHNK, Dal East, Feik, Hysterical Men, Jilly Ballistic, Kai, Mr. June, Pure Genius, Rick Azevedo, WCKT, What Will You Leave Behind, Will Power, and Winston Tseng.

London Kaye gives a shout out to the Australian’s wildlife, and of course to the people as well. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
London Kaye gives a shout out to the Australian’s wildlife, and of course to the people as well. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Feik. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Will Power (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Will Power (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jilly Ballistic (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CRKSHNK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bisco Smith. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Add Fuel. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomik. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hysterical Men (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Winston Tseng (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kai. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pure Genius (photo © Jaime Rojo)
What Will You Leave Behind (photo © Jaime Rojo)
WCKT (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. June. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ric Azevedo. Wynwood. Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. NYC Subway. January 2020. Manhattan, NY.(photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 02.03.19

BSA Images Of The Week: 02.03.19

“Man, what’s with this cough that never goes away?” you ask your boy Tre, who’s laying on the moss green living room rug by the radiator drawing in his black book with an extra fine tip paint pen, listening to Wu Tang. “Could be January,” he offers. “Or maybe its asbestos from that work they’re doing in the elevator shaft.”

Right. “Never mind, lets watch some Beer Bowl!”

Meanwhile on the streets the ideas never stop. We were pretty excited to get up to 167th Street station to see the new mosaics by Brooklyn artist Rico Gatson, who does painting, video, sculpture and installation. These portraits of important contributors to the culture make us all proud. Here are just a handful but there are more and you should go and see them yourself.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Atomik, Captain Eyeliner, Deih XLF, finDAC, Go Vegan, Hoxxoh, Kai, Kevin Ledo, Lefty Out There, Mastrocola, My Dog Sighs, Pez, Rico Gaston, The Revolution Artists, Uninhibited, and What is Adam.

Kai (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captain Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Supreme Justice Sonia Sotomayor immortalized by Rico Gatson in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Poet Laureate Maya Angelou immortalized by Rico Gatson in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Singer Celia Cruz immortalized by Rico Gatson in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lefty Out There in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Go Vegan (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atomik and friends in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
What Is Adam in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pez in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Collaboration between FinDAC and Kevin Ledo in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Uninhibited in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The Revolution Artists in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A collaboration among different artists in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A collaboration among different artists in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A collaboration among different artists in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)
My Dog Sighs (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mastrocola in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Wynwood, Miami. December 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week:02.18.18

BSA Images Of The Week:02.18.18

BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

Welcome to Images of the Week! Great stuff this week from Portugal, Spain and good old NYC to flip your Aunt Betty’s wig.

The big news this week of course was that the 5 Points graffiti compound case was awarded to the 21 plaintiffs. But its not just local: it may have national implications when building owners will be insisting on contracts with anyone who paints their property. It may also confuse and scare off many opportunities for artists, where building owners will simply say no to the proposal.

The settlement, which we covered in Tell It to The Judge ; Graffiti Artists Win in 5 Pointz Case, has infuriated many and thrilled others expressing their opinion on social media. One of our 5 Ptz postings on Facebook this week garnered 1,300 comments, a nest of misunderstanding mediated by the occasional level head, offset by congratulations and victory laps. Naturally, folks from other parts of the country insulted us New Yorkers. Welcome to the world of graffiti and Street Art!

The Black Panther movie has many New Yorkers enthralled as it premiered on Tuesday night at the Museum of Modern Art. Theaters drew entire families and school groups many standing in line in costume as they waited to see powerful and positive black super-heroes and heroines. The Times Magazine says it is a defining moment for black America .

Nationally we are all still trying to grapple with another school shooting, producing more Thoughts and Prayers, and another round of Mueller indictments that continue to encircle the White House.

Finally, Brooklyn’s Kehinde Wiley pulled the curtain down with Barack Obama at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to reveal his official portrait  – HERE.  Just kidding, here are Barack and Michelle’s official portraits.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Atomik,  Bigod, City Kitty, Daniel Eime, Desla, Exit.Enter.K, Fatal Fake, Free the Nipple, Gane, Gebraël, Kram, Little Ricky, Obey, Texas, We’kup, and Zest B.

Top Image: Daniel Eime in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Going out on a limb here to say you may see MOMO, Vhils, and James Bullough similarities merged here. Nonetheless, its a solid mural by Daniel Eime here in Bairro Padre Cruz, Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bigod. Bairro Padre Cruz. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (we couldn’t decipher the signature) Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

City Kitty (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Atomik. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gane . Texas (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Free Boobies. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Triple Nipple. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Free The Nipple. Yeah! Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Little Ricky (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We’kup . Exit. Enter. K. Obey. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Desla (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Zest B. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gebraël. Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smile. Bairro Padre Cruz, Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fatal Fake . Kram. Barcelona, Spain.  (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Fatal Fake . Kram. Barcelona, Spain.  (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Fatal Fake . Kram. Barcelona, Spain.  (photo © Lluís Olivé Bulbena)

Bill S. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Yawn. Brooklyn, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 01.28.18

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.28.18

BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

Stumbling and slipping and dancing through January here in New York requires dexterity and a tolerance for dry skin and flattened hat-hair and the occasional sore throat.  Thankfully there are great indoor activities sometimes like the huge trippy balloon installations by suave art dynamo Jihan Zencirli at her opening exhibition inside the NYC Ballet atrium Friday night. Hundreds of thousands of balloons, free bourbon, and a DJ after a surprisingly post-post-modern program of envelope pushing dancing on the mainstage by amazing pros! Gurl, that ballet is ballin’.

Elsewhere in art news the Guggenheim’s Nancy Specter offered a gold-plated toilet to the White House after turning down their request to borrow a VanGogh, people lined up to see “One Basquiat” at the Brooklyn Museum this week while they streamed by many Basquiats on New York Streets without looking in the 80s, and New York magazine announced a “public art” campaign with 50 artists (Yoko Ono, Barbara Krueger, Marilyn Minter) this year that sounds a lot like it is borrowing heavily from Street Art techniques “throughout the five boroughs and in a variety of formats, such as on street lamps or “wild postings” on walls around the city.” Wild postings?

One more indoor exhibit totally worth your time is Ann Lewis’s installations at a no-name popup in Manhattatan.  The conceptual Street/gallery activist artist continues to push her own boundaries, and many of ours, with her work addressing difficult social and political issues like police brutality, institutional bias against women, racism, the Resistance. At a time when we need women’s voices to rise, she collaborates with StudioSpaceNYC at a pop-up at 149 West 14th Street (shots from the installation below).

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Ann Lewis, Atomik, Jihan Zencirli, Obey, Pet-de-None, Shepard Fairey, Studio Space NYC and Tona.

Top Image: TONA in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

OBEY in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ann Lewis and Studio Space NYC  exhibition/collaboration “Unspoken”. Stay tuned for more on this exhibition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ann Lewis and Studio Space NYC  exhibition/collaboration “Unspoken”. Stay tuned for more on this exhibition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pet-de-None in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cinza in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Atomik in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hasta la vista B2B in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

DON’T EAT ME in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We couldn’t read this tag…help anyone? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jihan Zencirli AKA Geronimo at the NYC Ballet installation. Detail. More to come shortly… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jihan Zencirli AKA Geronimo at the NYC Ballet installation. Detail. More to come shortly… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist in Lisbon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Manhattan and the East River from the Williamsburg Bridge. January 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mong Kok: Hong Kong and a Graffiti Hall Of Fame

Mong Kok: Hong Kong and a Graffiti Hall Of Fame

There is a lot you can do in Mong Kok, one of the most commercial and bustling neighborhoods in the Kowloon section of Hong Kong. There’s the Ladies’ Market with more than 100 vendors offering bargains on clothing and accessories, Sneakers Street, which will have you swimming in pumped up kicks, and don’t forget the Bird market – where you find old guys “walking” their birds in cages and see someone feeding live crickets to others.

Kwiz. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Surprisingly left out of most tourist guides however is this hidden patch of organic graffiti that just grows wild in a relatively quiet haven that is actually within this chaotic neighborhood.

Wild Style. Tags. Throwups. Bubble tags. Burners. The occasional burnout.

Wais. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

All is here today gone tomorrow, regularly replenished, some seriously styled. Local names are here, but so are a lot of international names so you know its a go-to spot for traveling vandals. Hidden from the main hustle of the streets and underneath a major viaduct lies a secret alley bursting with color…and trash…and homeless people and art. Some furtive lovers come here to steal a kiss or two.

On the day we went the sweet smell of weed hung in the air as if being blown from some secret pipe to keep the residents of this monstrous city chilled…Some tags we recognize, many other we don’t or simply can’t read.

Wais. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ares. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hadrian. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Graffiti Joiners, MATY. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maty. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miami’s Atomik hosted by XEME. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

CWD. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Julien de Casabianca/Outings Project. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Julien de Casabianca/Outings Project. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ryck. Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mongkok: Hong Kong Graffiti Hall of Fame. March, 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA Images Of The Week: 11.06.16

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.06.16

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Today is Marathon Day in New York City and the leaves on the trees have turned to oranges and reds and yellows to welcome the 26,000 people running through all five boroughs.  In two days right here in New York City both Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton will wait at their campaign headquarters to see the results of the longest and slimiest presidential campaigns most of us can remember, with many of us reporting that it made us sick.

There is plenty of blame to go around, and hopefully these are simply the fitful growing pains of a fighting, evolving society and not the stabbing spasms of a dissolute, dying republic.

So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Amanda Wong, Atomik, Boa Mistura, BK Foxx, Cash4, Giver, Kobra, Lexi Bella, Moter, Olek, Rambo, Reverend, Rocko, Ruben Sanchez, Sheryo, Sokar Uno, Wolftits, and You Go Girl.

Our top image: Kobra’s new monumental mural of David Bowie in Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Kobra at work  on his mural of David Bowie. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lexi Bella portrait of Frida Kahlo for JMZ Murals. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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OLEK on the roof of the Ice Factory in Jersey City, NJ in collaboration with Mana Urban Arts Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We asked Olek about this brand new crocheted billboard she and a small team installed this week in New Jersey. We publish her reflections and statement here for BSA readers.

“This crocheted billboard is my uncommissioned letter to Hillary Clinton, a letter from a woman, an artist, and a naturalized US citizen.

This election has been fueled by hate and negativity. Initially, I did not want to make overtly political art. But then I realized I must, as too much is at stake. I could either make a negative statement about the other candidate or a positive one about Hillary.  When a piece of art has 1000 hours of hand labor invested in it, I’d rather it be a positive statement.

Hillary might not be cool, but she is qualified, experienced and competent. I don’t want to hang out with her. I don’t want to drink beer with her. I don’t want to go dancing all night with her. I want her to be our president. I want her to run this country!

This is history happening in front of you, incredible and groundbreaking. The first African-American president will pass the most important job in the USA to the first woman president. No one would have imagined this just 50 years ago. So yes, these are amazing times.

Look at what is happening in Europe. Countries are returning to a conservative stance and people’s rights are being trampled and revoked. Few believed Brexit could take place, but indeed it did. We should learn from this mistake. Hate crimes are escalating. Immigrants, and especially Polish citizens, are being beaten and even killed. We cannot let this happen here in USA.  We cannot go down this path of destruction in The United States of America.

I involved people across the USA to help me with this project. It was about a community working together and making a statement. We had two main groups crocheting – one in Virginia Beach and one in NYC. The excitement was tangible as we worked together to realize this vision. Each day we gathered in my tiny studio, those outside of NYC would join via Skype, as we all crocheted around the clock, talking to each other about our commitment to this piece and to Hillary Clinton, listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks.  Everyone involved jumped on this project because they believed in it.

We are happy that we have achieved it.

I am an artist.  I am a woman.  As both I must make a statement.  I cannot remain neutral or silent.  I wish more people would find a way make positive statements.  Unfortunately, negativity sells much better these days.

It is imperative for the future of our country that we succeed in electing Hillary Clinton as President of The United States of America this November 8th.” – OLEK

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Sokar Uno (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BK Foxx for JMZ Murals. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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An Amanda Wong Love Letter to her man in Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Boa Mistura spreadin’ some love. It’s the Brooklyn way. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Boa Mistura (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Atomik in Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sheryo in Detroit Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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REVEREND at Lincoln Park in Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Reverend . You Go Girl . Giver and a couple of tags we can’t ID in Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Wolf Tits in Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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RAMBO in Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Class War…Cash4 in Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Moter…train spotin’ (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Rocko (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Ruben Sanchez in Jersey City, NJ for Mana Urban Arts Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. The Little Red Lighthouse on the Hudson River. NYC. October 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The Bushwick Collective Turns 5

The Bushwick Collective Turns 5

BSA has been promoting and supporting The Bushwick Collective and the artists who paint there from the very beginning.

Before The New York Times. Before Time Out. Before The Daily News and many other news or culture outlets. Before there were any videos of Joe Ficalora telling his story. Before Social Media turned every private act into an object for mass consumption. Before the street art tours. Before Street Art was a cottage industry in our borough.

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Case MaClaim (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As we celebrate five years of Bushwick Collective we have a question for you: Do you remember it’s original name before he changed it to Bushwick Collective? Joe contacted us out of the blue one day to ask us to curate some walls with him and to help him contact some artists and we immediately sensed a determination in Mr. Ficalora that was stellar. However, we never could have envisioned the huge daily festival it has become or how many people would celebrate or malign it.

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Case MaClaim (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bushwick Open Studios was already in full effect by that time – another artists’ effort we were among the first to support – and Manhattan art fans were beginning to make the trek a little further out on the L train to Bushwick now that Williamsburg had been clobbered by consumers by the late 2000s.

The first Bushwick Collective party had a DJ and 10 muralists. Jim Avignon, KLUB 7, and Gabriel Spector among them. Unofficially included was the huge “return” of COST, who slammed an entire defunct garage shop with posters and paint – a site that he often returned to in the months that followed to revise and expand.

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Case MaClaim (photo © Jaime Rojo)

It’s been a rollicking and sometimes rocky ride with the Collective, with mostly the voices of fans and few detractors, including silly art-school gentrifiers who bemoaned the gentrification that these murals brought to the neighborhood. Also local graff writers felt disrespected or overlooked by what they perceived as an invasion, and you can’t blame them for feeling that way.

Mostly, it has been a celebration of the creative spirit in these twenty-teens in Brooklyn and we all know that this too is a temporary era, as New York is continually reinventing itself. Enjoy these murals smacked cheek-by-jowl for block after block by an international train of talents running through Bushwick today, because they are here for you to enjoy in this moment. Like David Bowie wisely told us, “These are the golden years.”

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Nychos. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nychos (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Joe Iurato and Logan Hicks collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Li-Hill (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Celso (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Don Rimx (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sipros. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sipros (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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D*Face (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Damien Mitchell (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Atomik (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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FKDL (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dasic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BG183 . Tats Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NICER . DAZE . BIO . Tats Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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CRUSH . Tats Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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JMR (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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KLOPS (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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NEPO . CORO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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