Brooklyn Bodega presents “Under The Influence,” the first curated art event to be held in conjunction with the 2011 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. Opening Tuesday, July 12th as part of the Festival’s week-long programming at The powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY; the exhibit will celebrate the influence Hip-Hop has had for multiple generations within the artistic community.
“The idea is to pay tribute to the culture and bring together artists who have something special in common – an influence, a back-story, a motivation. Hip-Hop wouldn’t have become the same movement without the influence of the graffiti writers who created an aesthetic for a new generation. The artists in this show prove that the influence of the golden era keeps its roots and continues to inspire new creations. The influence is powerful and this show brings together both the pioneers and a new wave of artistic progression.”- Corrie Zaccaria, Event Captain, The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival
Artwork on view during “Under The Influence” has been curated by Royce Bannon and Alex Emmart of Mighty Tanaka Gallery. We are also excited to announce Gawker Artists as media partners of “Under The Influence.” The opening night festivities include a public reception with refreshments provided by Brooklyn Brewery and music from a special guest DJ. A live music performance and more featured artists will be announced soon!
Featured inthe Show:
Photographs from Back in the Days Remix: 10thAnniversary Edition – Book Signing Upon its first publication in 2001, Back In The Days by Jamel Shabazz became an instant classic. This seminal and iconic title has been inspiring a decade-long, international revival in old-school Hip-Hop style, music and culture. Appearing alongside photographs from the book, Shabazz will be on-hand to sign copies of the limited-printing, tenth-anniversary edition of Back in the Days Remix. It includes a new edit with over 30 never-before-published photographs, a new essay, an interview with Shabazz and deluxe cloth binding.
Contributing Artists – Second Floor Gallery 212 Magazine, 907 Crew (UFO, SADU, DROID, Tony Bones, OZE 108 and GEN II), Ader, Ak5, Alice Mizrachi, Avoid, Cash4, Darkclouds, Destroy & Rebuild, Don Morris, Endless Love Crew (Royce Bannon,Matt Siren, Celso, Infinity, Abe Lincoln Jr), Ellis G, Eric Jordan, Jesus Saves, Joe Conzo, John Brenner, KA, Keely, Kosbe, Martha Cooper, Miguel Ovalle, Mike Screiber, Moody, Pesu, Robots Will Kill, Rodeo, The Me Nobody Knows, Toofly, Tuxedo, URNewYork and Vanessa Chew + more TBA.
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What: “Under The Influence” Art Event When: Opening BHF ’11 Reception: Tuesday, July 12, 6:00 – 10:00PM
Exhibit Dates: Wednesday, July 13 – Sunday, August 7, 2011 Where: The powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY Who: Photographs from Back in the Days Remix: 10th Anniversary Edition. Gallery showing of influential artists.
In a few weeks the former Donnell Library on 53rd Street across from MoMA will be host to a grassroots funded and curated historical view of New York’s art from the streets. That phrase is specifically chosen by the show’s curators, Joyce Manalo and Daniel Feral, as an inclusive term for all manner of public art on the streets here since the 70s including graffiti and Street Art. A show visible through the giant windows from the street, Pantheon will feature live performance as well as installation, printed materials for you to read about history, guerilla librarians, and incognito street docents – a sparkling job description that sounds like a naughty librarian fantasy involving Julie Andrews.
We recently spoke with one of the exhibiting artists of Pantheon who goes by the name Adam Void (or AVOID pi) and who plumbs the murky depths between fine art, graffiti, and Street Art with no apparent desire to align himself with any one of them. An experimenter and explorer, a lot of his early stuff looks clearly like a small survey of graffiti’s modern vocabulary. Sometimes raw gestural markings with perhaps cryptic meaning, his love for symbolism, data, abstraction, wordplay, and a recently begun formal art education all are a swirl inside his head. Where it all settles will be a surprise to everyone, including him. This search also seems emblematic of the moment.
A wisenheimer of the highest order, he describes himself this way; “AVOID likes to take long walks on the beach, riding freight trains, and destroying the dominant paradigm.” We’ll just say that he’s a rebel inquisitively looking for a cause, making art along the way.
Mr. Void spoke with Brooklyn Street Art about labeling art movements and the current state of a very fluid story of art on the streets and in the galleries.
Brooklyn Street Art:As you look at the evolution of graffiti and street art some people have observed that there appears to be an erosion of once distinct practices. Where do you see these two going at the moment? AVOID: The distinctions between the two genres are disappearing. Graffiti Artists are becoming multi-media with the inclusion of zines, posters, stickers, rollers and blasters into the already full table of tags, throws and pieces. Street Artists are experimenting with the use and importance of signatures as well as expanding into sculpture and video. Both groups have a dialogue on the streets and in their personal lives. Recently Graffiti and Street Artists have shown their fine art together with many big name art world’ers at big name galleries. This is an exciting time for the intermixing of worlds.
Brooklyn Street Art:Is it crucial to the understanding or appreciation of someone’s work to describe it as Graffiti or Street Art or Fine Art?
AVOID: Often times the artist’s intentions are misunderstood. I personally enjoy the ability to make a painting either in the street or in a gallery and not have to explain the meaning, to have it remain an enigma. A word or phrase can be interpreted a million different ways by a million different viewers. Am I a Graffiti Writer, a Street Artist, a Fine Artist, a Musician, a Writer, a Filmmaker, or am I just an artist? This is decided by the context the work is seen and the viewer’s interpretation.
Brooklyn Street Art:What role does Street Art play in New York today?
AVOID: Well, if anything, Street Art has allowed for the illumination of the giants of my personal history. Through shows like PANTHEON as well as 112 Greene St. and many others, the once unsung heroes of graffiti’s past are coming to light, thankfully while many of the writers are still alive to see it happen.
Brooklyn Street Art:How has your artwork changed in the last year? AVOID: The literal “street” art of Brooklyn and NYC has been replaced by spotwork on Baltimore’s abandoned spaces, freight trains and track sides. I get more time to experiment as well as a chance to hang out and soak up some mental space. I am continuing to not categorize my work. I’m just making what I want, when I want, where I want.
Please help Daniel and Joyce, the curators of “Pantheon” by donating to the Kickstarter Campaign. They are very close to reach their goal and you can make this happen. With only less than three days left on the Kickstarter timer your involvement is crucial. Click on the link below and please give:
An unusual breed of pop art with two oddities that are well jump-suited for each other. Expect the unexpected, including a special appearance by His Doodleness Jon Burgerman.
Speedy Wonderland
Factory Fresh Gallery Presents: Roman Klonek & Jim Avignon “Speedy Wonderland” (Brooklyn, NY)Opening Reception FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 7-10pm
ART to be Sold Off the Walls at “12×12”
Hopefully no one will be trampled for the holidays just getting in the door tonight, but you are bound to see something dope here, including a number of street artists you are familiar with at this group show. Wonder how big the pieces are?
Opening Reception, Friday, December 10th, 6pm – 9pm!Mighty Tanaka presents: 12×12 -A Group Show for the Holidays
FEATURED ARTISTS
Abe Lincoln Jr., Adam Miller, Alexandra Pacula, Alexis Trice, Anthony Sneed, AVOID, Briar Elyse, Bruno Perillo, Bryan Raughton, Buxtonia, CAM, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Dark Clouds, Destroy and Rebuild, DOIT, Don Pablo Pedro, DROID, Ed Shawn Herrera, Ellen Stagg, Ellis G, Eric DeFrancesco, Fedele Spadafora, Gary Carlson, Gigi Chen, Gigi Spratley, Hannah Rose Fierman, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, Infinity, Jac Atkinson, Japa, Jason Grunwald, JMR, John Breiner, John McGarity, John Sunderland, Julia Colavita, Julian Duran, Justin Rymer, Katie Decker, Keely, KOSBE, Lauren Asta, Lee Trice, Lionel Guzman, Mari Keeler, Matt Siren, Max Greis, Melissa Carroll, Mike Schrieber, Nathan Pickett, Nathan Vincent, Nick Chatfield-Taylor, QRST, Quel Beast, Reginald Pean, Rick Midler, Robbie Busch, Royce Bannon, SADU, Skewville, Soosan Joon Silanee, Steven Schreiber, Thomas Cecchi, Tony Bones, Tony DePew, Toofly, UFO, URnewyork, Veng RWK
New Video from Sten & Lex
Street Artist Cake: A Collection of Drawings
Brewer’s Mansion is happy to present A Collection of Drawings, a show by Brooklyn street artist Cake, opening Saturday the 12th at this little known place where artists hang out.
From the artist, “I use anatomy to describe the intricate relationship structures humans have with themselves and others. I frequently take from the pool of human suffering for subject matter and inspiration. When people disconnect from themselves in any way, it will somehow show up in their faces, bodies and gestures. I prefer to make drawings describing those results.”
Brewer’s Mansion
Cake Opening December 11, 6-9
55 Waterbury between Scholes and Meserole in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Kid Zoom Pop-Up Saturday
“Kid Zoom, Rembrandt with a Spray Can, represents the future of this movement.” – RON ENGLISH
With a Street Art celebrity endorsement like that, you know he’s going to wear a clean shirt to the show, right? But wait, this is Lo-Brow so maybe just a freshly stained t-shirt. See our studio visit Here.
OPENING PARTY – SAT 11th DECEMBER – 7PM till Late – MEATPACKING – NYC
Come out and join us for this Holiday event! Artwork to be sold directly off the walls! Pieces by both established and emerging artists alike! Opening Reception, Friday, December 10th, 6pm – 9pm!
Mighty Tanaka presents: 12×12 A Group Show for the Holidays
The holidays’ are upon us once again and now is the time to start thinking about the perfect gift for that special somebody in your life! Celebrating our one-year anniversary at our current location, Mighty Tanaka is very proud to bring you our latest show entitled 12×12. We invite you to come out and join us for this exciting event!
12×12 features both successful, established artists as well as some of the hottest up and coming emerging artists from NYC and beyond. Exhibiting artwork from a wide range of disciplines, this show has a little bit of everything, from the raw to the refined. The displayed work represents the voice of our generation and exemplifies our interpretations of the world.
This large group show features over 70 artists and all the work was completed on small 12”x12” canvases. We will be selling the artwork directly off the walls for you to add to your private collection or to give away as a holiday gift. With various price points and an array of techniques and styles, there is surely a piece of art that will fit nearly every lifestyle.
Featuring the artwork of:
Abe Lincoln Jr., Adam Miller, Alexandra Pacula, Alexis Trice, Anthony Sneed, AVOID, Briar Elyse, Bruno Perillo, Bryan Raughton, Buxtonia, CAM, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Dark Clouds, Destroy and Rebuild, DOIT, Don Pablo Pedro, DROID, Ed Shawn Herrera, Ellen Stagg, Ellis G, Eric DeFrancesco, Fedele Spadafora, Gary Carlson, Gigi Chen, Gigi Spratley, Hannah Rose Fierman, Hellbent, Hiroshi Kumagai, Infinity, Jac Atkinson, Japa, Jason Grunwald, JMR, John Breiner, John McGarity, John Sunderland, Julia Colavita, Julian Duran, Justin Rymer, Katie Decker, Keely, KOSBE, Lauren Asta, Lee Trice, Lionel Guzman, Mari Keeler, Matt Siren, Max Greis, Melissa Carroll, Mike Schrieber, Nathan Pickett, Nathan Vincent, Nick Chatfield-Taylor, QRST, Quel Beast, Reginald Pean, Rick Midler, Robbie Busch, Royce Bannon, SADU, Skewville, Soosan Joon Silanee, Steven Schreiber, Thomas Cecchi, Tony Bones, Tony DePew, Toofly, UFO, URnewyork, Veng RWK & MORE!
OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, December 10th, 2010
6:00PM – 10:00PM
(Show closes January 7, 2010)
Mighty Tanaka
68 Jay St., Suite 416 (F Train to York St.)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Hours: M-F 12:30PM to 7PM, weekends by appointment
Office: 718.596.8781
Email: alex@mightytanaka.com
Web: http://www.mightytanaka.com
A visit to the studio with street artists “infinity” and Avoid Pi is much like a trip to a darkened pre-historic cave in the foothills of the Pyrenees with writings and symbols scratched into the wall. Main differences in this case are A. there was carpeting, and B. no archaeologists were there to help me decipher the markings on the walls, moldings, ceilings, tables, shelves, and art work.
Screening the new prints, the second series from Mighty Tanaka featuring a collaborative duo. 20 of the prints will be available. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
But I know a silkscreening when I see it, and one was in progress for the bi-color print created by both artists for their show opening tomorrow. The excited art scientists/ laboratory technicians/ secular shamans pulled art out of large zip-locked bags, pointed to pieces in progress on the wall, and hung new screen prints on a makeshift clothesline, – all while talking in great depth about their new collaborative show, and how much they have enjoyed preparing for it.
Hanging the prints to dry after the first color is screened on. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
You will be hard pressed to find a more organized and intellectually charged approach to art-making in the street art milieu; the signs and exegesis and calendars – all handwritten – are helpfully displayed everywhere in the studio. If these methodic mad artfessors are not completely ready at showtime with a beaker of martini in hand, I’ll eat my pad of graph-paper.
The two artists took time to answer some questions for Brooklyn Street Art below:
The finished collabo print ready to fly out the window (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art:Is this your first collaboration in a show? AVOID pi : In 2009, we both painted the ceiling for the “Work To Do” group show at 112 Greene St . infinity: Later in the year, Avoid collaborated on a duo performance of my day-long composition, SPOOL: DRAWING IN SPACE .
An controlled explosion of collaborative inspiration from infinity and Avoid Pi (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: Who had the idea that your styles would compliment one another? infinity: The first time i saw AVOID’s pi symbol in 2007, I posted a picture to Flickr with the title “Kindred Spirits.” Eventually we met, hit it off due to a surprising amount of shared interests, started including each other in group shows, and painting together. Specifically though, AVOID hooked up this exhibition last fall with Alex Emmart from The Mighty Tanaka Gallery. Alex used to work at AdHoc and has now started his own gallery in DUMBO.
Curtains from a Fung Wa Chinatown bus – I am not kidding. Avoid Pi sewed them together for this canvass and stretched it. DONE! Smells like cigarettes and Moo Goo Gai Pan. Kidding! (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: Can you talk about the significance of symbols to you as an artist? AVOID pi : Symbols simplify complex concepts into easily and quickly understood images. The single or two-word street tag name can be isolated into a series of symbols or letters to allow for abstraction and reinterpretation while remaining in the graffiti tradition. Bronze and Peyote ADHD are currently leading the streets in symbolic tag innovation.
infinity: Culture is a semiotic haze of signs stratified and codified in the systems they inhabit, becoming an aura enshrouding, circumscribing, and permeating everything with a cerebral vibration, an osmotic transmission, signals mediating our interpretation of reality. From the tangible transmissions of fashion to the ethereal wraiths of language, symbols not only contain the consciously constructed messages of the sender, but also their cultural biases influence our comprehension of the world. The mentally-rendered shapes of symbols, these shadows of meaning, are ephemeral containers, historically maleable forms, constantly changing and evolving for many reasons, including the indefatigable imagination of the human spirit, the capitalist system’s need to feed its novelty engine, and for the anti-status quo’s mission to challenge and break down prevailing systems. Once a symbol is emitted as street art or graffiti into our culture, it becomes imbued with a subversive power that may irrupt into and infiltrate the dominant system through it’s demiurge circuitry, hopefully creating aspirational sparks that resonate on an immanent level, a DNA depth charge, uplifting and inspiring a positive trajectory for human kind’s next level mutation.
Avoid’s series of re “These were just secondary products made from the creative process. They are highly inspired by DarkClouds stickerboard pieces from his show with GoreB and Armer, where he used the leftover results from the sticker making process – and the incidental marks created. “Incidental Abstractions”. In layman’s terms, the canvasses are clothing that Avoid Pi wore making art. It’s kind of like when Elvis used to mop his brow with a towel onstage and throw it into the audience. Avoid Pi does not have sideburns however. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: When you think about the art you both have done on the street, it appears to be a form of communication but the messages are not necessarily obvious. How would you like people to be affected by your work? AVOID pi : Whether it’s white out tags, scratchies, drip tags, spraypaint, stickers, wheatpaste, rollers, blasters, zines, videos, music or fine art; ALL MY SONGS ARE PROTEST SONGS. All of my artistic techniques and methods are DIY: accessible & reproducable by the public at large. I want the viewer to feel empowered to interact and participate in the public discussion.
infinity: Unlike many street artists, I am not a populist. More like a pure research scientist. The best form for visual or textual communication is not always the simplest and clearest presentation. In order to express some subjects or challenge prevailing forms, a new alien language may need to develop. Epiphany can’t always be expressed or understood through archaic or prosaic aesthetics. As time passes, new ideas become slogans and singular expressions become cultural cliches. Rallying the masses is one thing; Enlightenment is another. Mystification as cerebral provocation. Babel code.
A canvas too tall for the studio is merely accordion-folded up the wall onto the ceiling for “infinity”. Infinity, “Yeah, I like the way this started turning out, once I figured out how the materials worked. I got here because I enjoyed DeKooning so much and I like the way he tends to put a lot of lines down and then erase and like the palimpsest creates a lot of layers. I think the mistakes that you leave or the parts that maybe look unfinished create a certain tension that is more interesting than a piece that looks so completed and perfect” BSA: “There looks like a lot of nesting of your lines that create a tension.” Infinity: “Right. And also the grid between the more organic shapes. There is a lot of ‘going back-and-forth’. I end up erasing and re-drawing more than actually laying down the first lines. Some of my other pieces are totally improvised, which I like also. It’s very exciting, very primal.”
Brooklyn Street Art: When you think of public art or street art, is the dialogue between artists only, or is it meant to create a dialogue with the public? I ask this because frequently the graffiti tradition was more about dialogue between writers as peers. This seems to have been dismantled with the opening up of “street art”.
AVOID pi: All public mark-making from modern graffiti, to advertisments and memorials functions simultainously on both the industry and layperson perspectives. Advertising insiders think about campaigns in a different way than their prospective customers. The average pedestrian sees public art differently than the artists themselves. Street Art has opened the dialogue between the artist and the viewer through placing the artists in the context of the gallery and museum; the understood cultural signifiers of artistic value.
infinity: I’m not intentionally out to create dialogue with anyone in particular. it’s more about the idea of a subtle influence, a homeopathic injection, an osmotic transmission of the sign through the walls of our buildings, our culture, our cell walls, our DNA.
Brooklyn Street Art: After the challenge of creating pieces collaboratively, how do you think your individual work will change, if at all? AVOID pi: infinity has enhanced my abillity to see culture as multiple layers of systems and symbols that constantly mutate, combine and divide. This helps me understand how multiple contradiciting theories and practices can co-exist.
infinity: Collaboration is essential for me because of the challenge and inspiration of exploring someone else’s aesthetic vocabulary in relation to my own. Burroughs and Gysin’s THIRD MIND is an interesting theory about the phenomenon of a “third mind” being created when artists collaborate. Our collaborative pieces were an experiment in this kind of supportive, complementary, and recombinant atmosphere. AVOID and I probably differ most in terms of composition. He tends towards a calmer, spacious feel, whereas I always want to fill every spot on the page with marks, creating a busy, frenetic space. So it was interesting attempting to leave the negative spaces alone or guide them into taking on a graphic quality. Also, more specifically, I bought a wood burning pen and carving set which I used in our collaborations, and plan to use more in the future.
Brooklyn Street Art: Can you talk about the cool zine you’ve made for the show? infinity: the zine is a collage of images and texts by current compatriots (Factory Fresh, ELC, ADHD, Pandemic, etc), historical aesthetic influences (McGee, Panter, Revs, Doury, etc), quotes from revolutionary readings of street art and graffiti (Baudrillard, Mailer, etc), and images of the art from BABEL CODE. Kind of a catalog in the format of a zine. It was inspired by AVOID’s zine series called PERMANENT INK*****************)(&)(^)*%*&_)(*_)*)(^(*%$(^(&**_)*(_)&)(^(^&$&^#!^$#*%* Avoid pi and infinity would like to give thanks to Skewville for preparing the silkscreens to print the cover, Royce Bannon for PR and marketing, Devon Groomes for PR and silkscreening, and Kat Amchentseva for photographing the art and the opening. And of course Alex Emmart at Mighty Tanaka Gallery, Brooklyn Street Art and Chashama, the arts organization.………….BSA………….BSA………….BSA………….BSA………….BSA………….BSA………….BSA………….BSA
Babel Code : osmotic transmissions, Art from the minds of AVOID & Infinity – details
Location: Mighty Tanaka Studio in D.U.M.B.O Duration: May 21st – Jun 11th, 2010 Cost: FREE Contact: Mighty Tanaka , alex@mightytanaka.com MIGHYTANAKA.com
– don’t know why I say it that way but it seems that the streets had a few more historical references and sudden intricate storylines when Gore B. was around. His new “drawing” show opening at Pandemic Gallery in South Williamsburg tomorrow features densely layered elements in black white and silver – all of his favorites: painted portraits from early photos, symbols from science, religious and maybe astronomy textbooks, ornate filigranic linework, and an ongoing fascination with type styles and letter faces.
But Gore B. will not be alone at Pandemic by any means on Friday – “Stokenphobia”, a show about two geometric shapes, will feature the work of around 40 street artists and friends in a show of community love for signage.
For the non-eggheads reading this – stokenphobia is fear of circles – so Pandemic has provided small rectangular shaped metal signs to a number of people to create a piece on.
Says Robbie D. of Pandemic, “It’s kind of sporadic. There was no real theme except ‘Just do whatever you feel on the objects we give you.’ We provided the metal signs and basically everybody is allowed to do what they want. So there’s no real theme to the artwork – it’s just about the shapes.”
Speaking about the makeup of the group who was invited to participate in the show, Robbie D say, “Mainly they are street artists but there are a lot of friends and artists who don’t work on the street but work in a studio. So it’s really just acquaintances and other street art people we respect and have known for a while now – kind of a close group of people that we know.”
Graff started on the street, I think. Street art started in the studio.
Main difference. That was easy, right?
Now graff keeps going into the studio, the gallery, the museum. And now we are watching as fine art, or some approximation of it, is continuallly leaving the home studio (kitchen table), gallery, collective, etc. and flooding the streets. The explosion of street art is having it’s effect and the opinions it produces are as varied as, um, people. The point is that the veil has been punctured, and the creative spirit is not willingly being confined today. Everything and everyone is becoming a hybrid.
Last weekend in a neighborhood in Brooklyn that’s home to a lot of variety at the moment – Bushwick – a three day Bushwick Open Studios event took place, featuring over 200 open studios, live music, parties, workshops, panels, student art shows, puppet shows, the whole enchilada. Don’t worry, it’s not all high-minded, or necessarily thought provoking. It’s just an indication of where we are moving. It’s impossible to see everything so you just have to pick and choose a few of your favorites and see which way the slimey wind leads you.
Started off at “2012” the new show at Factory Fresh featuring the work of graff/street art youth – the place was pretty young and sweaty and full of excitement, and parts of the inside looked like it could have been outside – plywood, tags, partial messages, and organized chaos. Sorry for the crappy pics from the phone, but you get the idea.
A wall of 9"x9" pieces by Faro, Bloke, and Avoid. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Faro, UFO, others that you may know at "2012" at Factory Fresh (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Bad Kids, Erotic Kids, Charles Barkley, Krink markers (photo Steven P. Harrington)
A is for Apple, Abbreviation, Aiko, Anarchist, Arriviste, Artist? In this case, probably it's for Avoid (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Then Kings County Bar also hosted a show that night for ELC and their new collaborations, which were kind of hard to see because it was, uh, a dark bar. Also there were other gyrating distractions that may have taken patron’s focus off their art show. Included in the show were Royce Bannon, Anera, Infinity, Celso, Abe Lincoln Jr., Ad Deville, Dark Clouds, and Matt Siren.
A quick way to cut through a crowded bar is to tiptoe across the top of it. (photo (cc) Hrag Vartanian)
Following a rainy Friday, the rest of weekend was nice. In fact, a new Bishop 203 appeared out of nowhere on this abandoned building, like an urban flower.
Bishop 203 with a black heart (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Pocket Utopia had it’s last show this weekend, featuring a 16 foot tall fiberglass monster that dispensed beer in the back yard, a performance by artist/musician/dynamo Andrew Hurst in the basement that was viewable through a hole drilled in the floor, and this large scary portrait by Kevin Regan. You might recognize the revolutionary jowls. It’s not street art, per se, but certainly we’ve seen this king of photographic mutation on the street in the work of MBW, Judith Supine, Dain, Bast, and others.
Kevin Regan at Pocket Utopia (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Speaking of Judith Supine, English Kills was showing a large piece by said street artist called “God of Mars” Chris Harding, visionary owner of the space, explained that this is the biggest canvas Supine has ever done, and that numerology figured into it’s actual dimensions to bring good luck to the piece.
Chris points out a detail on the Judith Supine piece (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Large new canvas by Judith Supine (courtesy English Kills)
Later, after too many beers, we stumbled into a salon of 20-something Illinois settlers (Illinois in the House!), a true sign of the everchanging makeup of the music and art scene. An appreciate audience of 50+ people were spread out over salvaged furniture (and one in a bathtub) to listen to old timey folk inspired singers and bands.
Rockin the autoharp, which is slightly older than wearing trucker caps (photo Steven P. Harrington)
While thumping house music from down the block and the occasional police siren wafted in the cracked 4th floor factory windows, singer-songwriters plucked on autoharp, glockenspiel, electric guitar, and a variety of hand held percussion instruments. The really remarkable part was the lack of manic cell-phone snapping, texting, or Twittering among such an assembled group of youthful beauty during the performances. They appeared to be paying attention. Is that even POSSIBLE? Maybe this was a movie set. Or maybe Illinois artist-peeps are just more respectful. I was going to try to get through this paragraph without mentioning Sufjan Stevens, but there, I’ve said it. Baahhhhhhhhhh!
The tunes were folky and relationship-centric, but she did say "f*ck" a few times in one song, so that's what gives it the edge. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
So there you have it, one shard of a giant shattered crystal mirror that is Bushwick. The torch is passed again to a new generation of weirdos and misfits to develop beauty. Since most of the real estate developers are trying to hatch their stalled projects in Billyburg and lure in more “consumers”, maybe the recession has bought some time and the multi-feathered flock of “creatives” will continue to fly here for a while. That way the nests will stay affordable, and the space aplenty.
The art on the street, naturally, has plenty to say on these and other matters…
Oh, it’s all good fun! Piles of tires on fire, people running in the streets, acts of desperation, pestilence, unending video surveillance; This is one vision of 2012 we hear these days.
Avoid, Bloke, and Faro have been holed up inside Factory Fresh building a destroyed urban scene in the front room for about three weeks to warn us of the impending cavalcade of calamity headed our way in only 3 short years.
And they haven’t been doing it alone. Ask the Factory Fresh interns, the woodworking engineer Garrett, or the curator and producer of the show Alex Emmert, “We are all working together on this. We are all learning from each other at all times.” In short, to create an end-of-times societal and environmental meltdown, you need everyone to collaborate.
Start placing your bets, neighbors, because you know it is definitely coming – the end of civilization as we know it. The end of civilization has been of course predicted for most of human civilization – Everyone from the Montanists to Nostradamus, Hippolytus to Pope Innocent III, to Jim and Tammy Baker, Jimmy Swaggart, and Jerry Falwell; they have all claimed to have the inside special knowledge revealed only to a select few.
The year 2012 is being gazed upon by prophets and prognosticators as the next possible sunset to civilization and/or spiritual awakening. At your fingertips on the WWW is a swirling bubbling caldron of relevant indicators and evidence of this ominous date where a few of the worlds major religious belief systems and the Mayan Calendar neatly dovetail.
It’s not really clear whether Avoid, Bloke and Faro really believe that there will be a calamity that marks the end of civilization in 2012, or if they are just reacting to the ever-increasing pressures of economic insecurity, loss of personal liberties, and the threats of war and strife that exist in the modern world. If you are in the right audience and living under the right conditions, you may be convinced that it is very near the end of the world, and who could blame you?
“On the Eve of Armageddon : an Account of the Scriptural Teaching Relating to the War Among the Nations Which Will Engulf Civilization, and Immediately Precede the Universal and Eternal Kingdom of Peace.”, Haynes, Carlyle Boynton. Washington: Review and Herald Pub. Association, 1946.
Yo, What’s Good?
I clearly remember sitting on a hardwood church pew while a tall bearded Charismatic Pentacostal dude stood in front of an audience of 300 and revealed to the hushed and horrified crowd that the seven year “Tribulation” would begin in 1981 (as per messages from God that had been revealed to him and other elders of the church). Across the congregation, people’s knees weakened and stomachs grew nauseous with fear and hands jolted into the air, and voices raised in exultation and praise. At that moment, you could have convinced that crowd to impale live babies with spears or eat at Olive Garden or even vote for a B-list Hollywood actor to dismantle the middle class, so strong was the power of prophecy and fear. Thankfully, those days are safely behind us and people don’t use fear to manipulate crowds anymore.
Oh sure, NOW you tell us!! New Hampshire Street Art! (Mark at Nozell.com)
But here we are and “2012” is nearly upon us. As you walk into the main gallery space you will be greeted by a burning city of plywood. Although it may be hard to be too frightened when the ominous clouds are in fact fluffy, and the licking fire that engulfs the cityscape reminds you of PeeWee Herman playtimes. Even the surveillance cameras are swervy and playful. “Yeah, we wanted it to be kind of ‘Adult Swim’, kind of absurd”, explains Faro.
Alex holds the clouds, that’s how powerful he is. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Signs are painted brightly with a loose hand, and are covered with mixed symbols from scientific, religious, and graff influence. Avoid springs avidly over to the corner booth where a video will be visible through a rectangular viewer, and describes that visitors will see scenes of, “chaos, car crashes, people jumping off bridges”. As they happily describe the scene of urban apocalypse you could get the idea that “evil” might actually sport a tail and some pointy horns.
Letter and Symbols for the future (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Alex Emmert explains the concept of the room, “My background is in exhibition design, I have a Masters degree in Museum Studies and I focus on exhibition design. So I’ve been wanting to have the freedom to put together an art show that uses some of the things I’ve learned as well as the ideas of the artists so that we can all kind of work together. It’s better than just having me be the curator.”
Avoid agrees that Alex is a real teammate, “You can do some things a lot better than we can. Otherwise, this show would just be some cardboard!”
“I think if Alex wasn’t willing to do this then none of this would have turned out,” says Faro
The scene in the gallery last weekend. A lot of building yet to do. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Beyond the opening stage-setting scene room is a gallery where the three artists, variously from graffiti and street art backgrounds, display a series of smallish (9” square) wooden canvasses that spell out their tentative entry into the hallowed halls of fine art.
Hovercrafting into the future (Bloke) (photo by Steven P. Harrington)
Bloke presents a series of variations on his submarine-dirigibles in whimsical line-drawn variations. Each one is afloat, and looks like it could crash were it not for powerful propulsion mechanisms at work.
Avoid being recorded in front of his wall (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Stopping mid-circle to show his stuff, Avoid quickly shuffles through hand-painted Superman 3-D text-based gold leaf slogans; ringing ironic bells of recognition or standing quizzically on your tongue. Faro, with an illustrator’s hand, renders symbols and patterns with precision and lyric.
Each artist takes a crack at a larger scale canvas (40”x 60”), and that’s when their differences break out and the personal voice gets stronger. The backyard cinder block walls make their individual focuses even clearer. Collectively, it’s a multi-headed monster with many messages and developing storylines.
A pile of tentacles waiting to be installed (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: Has Alex been directing you guys?
Faro: Yeah, I mean, he just got it.
Alex: Then we also brought in this guy named Garrett Wohnrade who is one of my business partner Caleb’s old friends, who is a wood worker and he just has been knocking sh*t out. Garrett has really embraced this project and it has given him the opportunity to show what he’s up to.
Avoid: His knowledge structurally of how things work is great … I mean this is a large structure we are building.
Faro: Yeah, actually I learned that some people can do certain things like sawing wood, that I cannot do. I’ve learned to stick to what I do, do what I do good. I paint and I draw.
Studio inspiration; Hawthorn & Black Angels on vinyl, Egyptian Art History for symbols and history of Alexandria for architecture (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Alex: This show gives us a chance to provide something that is real, something that is authentic. It’s not “street art”. It’s not grafitti. It’s fine art from artists otherwise known as a grafitti artist or street artist. That’s what makes it so special, you know, it’s like this is the fine art aspect of that rebellious side.
Brooklyn Street Art: So you are presenting both graff and street art in the show as part of a continuum…
Avoid: In some ways we are presenting neither as well, because it’s not on the street, it’s not grafitti. It’s the fine arts presentation of artists that also do graffiti and if you want to call it street art you can. “Street Art” is a label, I think, that was made to sell a product. And that is fine, if you want to do that.
Brooklyn Street Art: It’s probably worthwhile to try to differentiate between one type of expression so that people can understand what you are speaking about in a conversation. If you say “graff” then something specific pops into your mind. You say “street art” and you think “that could be a number of different things”.
Faro: That’s true.
Alex: I don’t know, I just feel like New York City has been in some ways years behind the rest of the world in terms of “Street Art” and graffiti. Because it seems like everybody else has just been meshing the two cultures. – You’ve got that in Barcelona, Tokyo, in Brazil. But New York City has this traditional graffiti culture and we can pay respect where respect is due, and that’s awesome. But something needs to happen to bring NYC on par with the whole resurgence and renaissance that is going on in the rest of the world. And that is what this show represents, it’s the culmination of street art and graffiti, regardless of what they mean externally to many people. We want to expand together.
Vision of Avoid (detail) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Avoid: You approach each letter separately and you also approach the way that they relate to the next letter, and the balance of the overall piece, like in traditional graffiti. But also, each day I wake up and I feel different so I come up and take a different approach.
Brooklyn Street Art: Faro, do you feel different every day when you wake up to make stuff?
Detail of Faro’s big piece (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Faro: It’s phases for me. The way I look at my stuff is that it should somehow all make sense. And that’s how I draw and how I do everything. Somehow it has to all make sense, for me at least.
I do not care what you think of my artwork. You can call it graffiti, street art, call it whatever the hell you want. I’m just doing for myself and I just love it, I enjoy it, I like it, it’s just like my hobby, it’s what I do. What else am I going to do? Go steal something? Rob people, be a gangsta? No. I don’t want to be a gangster. I’d rather just sit and draw and stuff. And ride my bike. And I also meet a lot of people through it.
Wizardry with Symbols, shy Faro (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: What about the collaborative process you’ve experienced with these guys?
Faro: Beautiful. It opens my eyes to a lot more things, you know what I mean? I wasn’t really into abstract until I started seeing Avoid’s artwork, more and more. And I just understood it now for the first time.
Thanks to the “2012” team for taking a minute out of the preparations for this show, an undertaking they are taking quite seriously. These may be the “end days” and that is one of the themes expressed in this show. But from the excitement and industry, the volley of ideas and the spirit of collaboration surrounding this beehive at Factory Fresh, you may also see that these are the beginning days, days of promise and discovery when you can witness these artists finding new ways to express the creative spirit, even as they build a scene of destruction.
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BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
