“Leave the rationality of your brain and listen to your heart, what you feel, what vibrates,” recommends ASU, the muralist painting the Contorno Urbano wall in Barcelona this month.
Since he was a kid the Franco-Spanish philosopher-artist says he has been inspired by sacred art and in particular the great pyramids of Egypt. As an artist he also looks at his work for a sense of balance, and you can see that here as he fills the forms with an evenly weighted layering of gold and silver calligraphy; yin and yang.
He says that he enjoys the public interaction when painting and he had plenty of it during the four grueling days he dedicated earlier in the month here.
“I like to paint on the street. People talk to you, try to understand, bring you some snacks, something to drink. It’s very nice to receive this kind of generosity, kindness,” he says in his posting on Facebook.
Now we are intermingling the spiritual and mystical with snacks. We propose that to get your mind in the right place while looking at this new calligraffitied sprinkled circle, you may wish to think of donuts.
As you know the influence of the Memphis design movement is again fully present as the spirit of the 1980s Milanese architect and designer Ettore Sottass has captured the imagination of many young creatives who have tired of mid-century modern.
French illustrator, graphic designer and mural artist Perrine Honoré fills her days with drawing figures, flora, and scenes of domestic simplicity with the same panache of those early Memphis designers who valued form over function, played with proportion, and stacked striped, dotted, saturated pop colored geometric shapes adjacent to and on top of one another.
The style and world view is a frank form of communicating the complexities of life and relationships without the guile or intrigue, and certain audiences are responding positively to a sort of naïve optimism amidst the chaotic, often negative, news cycle that dominates discourse at the moment.
During August at the open-air art gallery called 12 + 1 in Barcelona, Honoré paints her cheerful vision in “El Barrio” (Torrassa). “Between abstraction and illustration, the idea is to leave the public free to interpret the work as they wish,” she says in a typical show of spontaneity.
With formal training in Sweden, Paris, and Barcelona in Fashion Design, graphic design, and illustration, her lines are confident and precisely curvilinear, with a degree of playful insouciance.
Guess it is time to relax, right? – most of Europe is on holiday right now anyway.
Collectives of artists frequently form based on common styles, interests, and philosophies. In Barcelona an all female group of artists coalesced to form The Hate Lovers a few years ago to promote the empowerment of women in creative fields.
Founded by Spanish graffiti/Street Artists Malicia and Vegan Bunnies, The Hate Lovers participate in group shows and aerosol jams in Spain to advocate for feminism and greater recognition of female artists in street and contemporary art.
With backgrounds in painting, illustration, photography, and tattoo, the troupe creates a variety of murals and frescoes, including this new character-based, cartoon-style imagery that excites kids and engages adults in Sant Feliu de Llobregat.
They tell us that they’re focused on our collective misuse of the planet’s resources, creating “a mural full of details that denounce our lack of commitment to the environment.”
It is all part of a broad outreach of styles and practices that Contorno Urbano has facilitated on Barcelona streets to give artists a platform to show their work and to give city folk new art to think about and react to.
When Street Artists and graffiti vandals are looking for a spot in public space they sometimes claim a wall as their own – even if someone else owns it. It’s a bit of hubris, but it helps with the street credibility among peers. In the case of this neighborhood in Barcelona, the whole neighborhood owns the wall – and Street Artist Escif knows it.
Winner of a competition among 300 international and national Street Artists last summer/fall on which BSA was part of the jury, the Spanish Street Artist has now completed his new mural in Sant Feliu de Llobregat entitled “La pared es nuestra” (The Wall is Ours). The wall borders the central square of outdoor civic life in a community of working people who coalesced and actively fought government neglect and resisted private capital brutality in the 1970s to create streets, services, and public space for themselves here.
To commemorate that victory and the struggle that led to it, this true community mural was conceived and realized last month in a grand opening ceremony and celebration that invited a few generations of its proud inhabitants.
Known for his study and critiques of social, political and environmental undercurrents that form the framework of modern society, Escif worked with local leaders and the projects’ sponsors Contorno Urbano and Kaligrafics to conceive of and produce the result. The wall features a non-linear representation of historical events and popular/civic engagement that were necessary to transform the neighborhood. Referencing photos from the elders from the earliest days of struggle, the warmly flat characters and graphic elements are open and frank, focused the the central elements of democratic processes and the chaotic forms that can ultimately yield the right to self determination .
The greater message can provide inspiration to groups of individuals who are knocked back on their heels and yet find common cause, reminding us all about the power of the people.
In a statement about his perspective for conception and execution of the piece, the artist says that a galvanizing event on this very square provided him with greatest inspiration and many in attendance at the opening celebration would agree that his vision is perfectly realized.
“In May 1977 [during Franco’s dictatorship], the residents of the Sant Feliu neighborhood called La Salud managed to halt the construction of a gas station. Neighbors say that it was during the night, while the city was still sleeping, when some brave women and men decided to push a concrete mixer into the construction hole where the foundations were going to be established.
They covered the hole with soil and then they planted a tree. Legend has it that if a tree is planted on an occupied plot of land, nobody will ever be able to remove it. That was exactly the genesis of that square, a square that still belongs to the neighbors, the residents of Sant Feliu.
“ ‘La Pared es Nuestra’ [The Wall is Ours] is a retaining wall that rescues the voices of those who are gone, that keeps the voice of those who remain, and that suggests the voice of those who are yet to come. An inclusive wall made by and for the neighbors, it is a wall that can be heard, that contains the sounds of the neighborhood, of its history, and of its inhabitants. This is a wall that can be read, and that has as many readings as visitors who come to contemplate it.”
Winner of the Sotheby’s Scholarship Medal given by the Miró Foundation and participant in a number of artists residencies and gallery exhibitions since the start of his artist career a little over a decade ago, Cabrer can be seen as being from a certain generation that became romantically involved with the early years of our digital aesthetics formed from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s.
Those simplistic blocked screen renderings of the world were friendly, alien, and reductive; instantly futuristic in our imaginations. At first graphic, now more painterly, his works now freely associate with the bio-scientific – static representations of flickering life and ecosystem.
Here for his new mural created for Contorno Urbano’s 12+1 project in Barcelona, Cabrer toys with the “glitch” factor that roughly distorts, then returns us to a normality within our altered virtual reality. What point does digital mixed so often and so thoroughly that we can’t imagine the real with the virtual?
“In this series that I’ve been working on the technological references abound. They shows how the digital mutation interacts with references that belong to the organic world,” he says. “The nature observed from a scientific point of view is mixed with digital aesthetics.”
Community murals give opportunities to young and old to try their hand at self expression and go big on a wall. Here in this municipality in Catalonia, the duo called Pouvelle say, “We like to think of art as a way of expression that brings out the child we carry inside, letting ourselves be guided by the pleasure of applying shapes and colors and feeling its materiality.”
With professional skills that include art direction, graphic design, illustration, the two use a back and forth sharing of the creation, with each completing what the other has begun. “Our way to form the composition is similar to the assembling of a puzzle, in this way each one continues the forms that the other begins,” they say, “superimposing and introducing new ones until a balance is found.”
A painter. On the street. Capturing the figure with brush in hand, obligating the gaze, summoning the flesh and texture from the public space, making it personal and private.
Naturally, it is called “Llum y color” (Light and color) as these are the elusive qualities to capture by Udane in her urban practice, much like her studio practice. Beginning as an art student in Bilbao and Paris, she brings her interest in the urban flora and fauna to the large public wall – a reverse route of many a graffiti and Street Art practitioner perhaps.
Here in Barcelona for the 12 + 1 Project Udane is reflecting the movement of a character in this fleeting moment with an urban portrait in a loose stroke – an unknown guy on a sunny street, elusive and unlikely to be seen again.
In an ironic repositioning of an otherwise purposeful phrase, artist TAYONE creates a large “Wet Paint” sign on the ever changing community mural project called 12+1 in Barcelona.
A fan of decontextualization in perhaps a similar manner to conceptual Street Artists +MaisMenos- or Biancoshock, TAYONE says that his ironic use of the mural space is a play on the messaging in public space and the temporary qualities of sufaces that get buffed, readied for the next intervention.
“Starting from this premise,” he says, “as well as the phenomenon of graffiti erasure that entails a very powerful but sometimes involuntary plastic change, my intervention proposes to decontextualize the newly painted phrase, elevating it to artistic intervention as a rupture and continuity of the cycle.”
Yes, it’s funny. It’s also a way to reconsider the common signage and directives that can become invisible in daily life.
“I was a library rat. Libraries are the mainstays of democracy. The first thing dictators do when taking over a country is close all the libraries, because libraries are full of ideas and differences of opinion, all the things we say we want in a free and open society.”
Spanish graffiti writer and tattoo artist Xav gives his own literal interpretation of the saying ‘library rat’ here in his new mural for Project 12+1 in Barcelona. Beginning with graffiti as a teen in Asturias (northern Spain) in the mid 2000s Xav has since honed a photorealist style on walls that has given him many commercial opportunities and taken him to participate in Street Art and graffiti festivals.
But that doesn’t mean Xav doesn’t appreciate the folks who hang out in libraries and the value they have to everyone – he actually studied and taught himself most of what he knows about his craft. He also gives respect to the graffiti tradition and to his peers; if you look closely you may see the name of the recently passed graffiti writer Treze hidden in the mural, along with a shout out to his hometown of Asturias.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening :
1. The Man Who Stole Banksy: Debuting Tonight at Tribeca Film Festival
2. Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones (The Bourbons Are Thieves) (Spain) 3. Kazzius and Elara Elvira at the 12 + 1 Project, Barcelona
4. Morgan Winter – The Brooklyn Burrow
BSA Special Feature: The Man Who Stole Banksy: Debuting Tonight at Tribeca Film Festival
Narrated by the gravel voiced Iggy Pop, this retelling of the story you haven’t heard manages to peel back layers of insight and intrigue while remaining judiciously opaque. Inside a walled and nearly completely closed-off city of Palestine a high profile European Street Artist (and his team) blasts pointed political messages that target audiences thousands of miles away.
Like so many of his street pieces, one of them is stolen. Because of the circumstances involved this Banksy heist takes on ramifications we haven’t thought of until now, and this film mines as many perspectives as it can. Written by Marco Proserpio and Christian Omodeo, this is a sleeper hit that reveals many many stories in the course of chasing one.
Los Borbones Son Unos Ladrones (The Bourbons Are Thieves)
“A new sharply political campaign championing the freedom of expression has caught fire in Spain in the last few weeks under the hashtag #NoCallaremos, and Street Artists are now adding their talents to the protest. Rather shockingly for a modern European nation, a rapper’s prison sentence for offensive lyrics was upheld in Spanish Supreme Court in February (Billboard) and that decision along with other recent events has sparked a number of creative protests across the art world in cities across the country,” we wrote last week when debuting images of artists creating murals inside a former prison.
Obviously tapping into a popular sentiment defending the right to free expression, the music video has garnered 2.1 million views in 12 days. Today we have new images showing some behind-the-scenes shots while the forceful protest video was being filmed, courtesy photographer Fer Alcalá.
Performers include: Elphomega | Machete en Boca | Frank T | Homes i Dones Llúdriga | La Raíz | Ira | Los Chikos del Maíz | Tribade | Def Con Dos | Noult | ZOO | Rapsusklei | Sara Hebe
Breakers and BBoying BGirling: Misty-k | Guille Vidal-Ribas | Movie One | Raza | Sofi Bpanther | Farky The Sunshine | Javi | Naza | Buba | Akness
DJ: DJ Enzo
“In this video (below), Delabrave documented the artistic interventions by Franco Fasoli, Twee Muizen, Joan Tarragó, Txemi, Enric Sant, Reskat, MilVietnams, Javier de Riba and Werens and Fullet in the patio of one of Barcelona’s most historic prisons.”
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening :
1. Street Atelier – Rocco and his Brothers
2. Sam3 and His Troupe of Dancing Statues Pump Up the Jam
3. Valiente Creations – 12 + 1
4. Sue 975 – 12 +1
BSA Special Feature: Street Atelier – Rocco and his Brothers
It’s an Italian movie directed by Luchino Visconti in 1960, yes. It is also the name of a crew of Berlin graffiti/installation artists whose satirical interventions play on issues propriety and property – and on social experiments that dupe the media, the public, and banks.
Did they really set up an apartment inside the subway? Is that really the tracks and wall of a metro inside a gallery? Is that Wagner playing in the mobile war arcade set up in the Christmas market? Are those hand grenades being lobbed by children? Is the bank facade blinking red every 20 seconds?
Rocco und seine Brüder (Rocco and His Brothers) have you engaged. Now you have to answer the questions.
A new sharply political campaign championing the freedom of expression has caught fire in Spain in the last few weeks under the hashtag #NoCallaremos, and Street Artists are now adding their talents to the protest. Rather shockingly for a modern European nation, a rapper’s prison sentence for offensive lyrics was upheld in Spanish Supreme Court in February (Billboard) and that decision along with other recent events has sparked a number of creative protests across the art world in cities across the country. Today BSA contributing Street Art photographer Fer Alcalá shares his opinions and new images of the murals in progress with BSA readers.
THE NO CALLAREM PLATFORM
~ by Fer Alcalá
…or how some of Spanish top artists react against censorship and repression of the freedom of speech from the central government…
It’s now known worldwide: the Spanish government is imprisoning hip hop artists like Valtonyc and Pablo Hasel because of their sharp and truthful lyrics as well as sentencing people like you and me because of their critical posts on social media.
As a reaction to these acts against the freedom of speech that are more in tune with a well established dictatorship than with 40 years of democracy, some projects like the No Callarem (we won’t shut up) platform have raised their voices.
One of the direct actions organized by the platform for fighting against Partido Popular’s civil rights oppression was to film a video clip featuring some of the most renowned lyricists on the scene as Frank T, Elphomega, Los Chikos del Maíz, La Ira, Rapsusklei, and César Strawberry, among others, at the old La Modelo prison. The location is an accurate metaphorical scenario when you are seeing that your liberty is being cut off thanks to laws like ‘Ley Mordaza’.
The song ‘Los Borbones son unos ladrones’, which alludes directly to the Spanish monarchy, includes some excerpts from some of the songs created by rappers serving a prison sentence. The video clip for the song, which you can watch at the end of this article, has become viral and almost all media outlets in the country are speaking about this big shout-out in the name of freedom.
I was invited to witness the filming and painting session by local artist Javier de Riba, from Reskate Studio, who invited some fellow artists to paint at La Modelo walls as a part of the whole process. Franco Fasoli JAZ, Twee Muizen, Txemy, Joan Tarragò, Enric Sant, Milvietnams, Werens and Fullet gave a new voice to the walls surrounding that backyard, providing 2D images that perfectly matched the spirit behind the beats and the rhymes.
This is what Javi has to say about his collaboration with the project:
“Our involvement with No Callarem happened thanks to the Catalan rap artist Pau Llonch. He lit the spark for recording a clip against the Valtonyc and Hasel sentences. They wanted to do it at La Modelo no matter what and the No Callarem platform supported the action. We helped to spread the word for putting together a team with different languages together to visually enhance the video clip.
At the beginning, was what meant to be an ‘atrezzo action’ turned into a bunch of pieces that can be visited in the backyard of Gallery 4. In fact that backyard is not open to the public, but you can see it from the watch guard pit. We think that, from a conceptual point of view, it’s very powerful to keep those pieces locked – especially when thinking about how things are going in Spain regarding freedom of speech.”
Additionally it’s worth mentioning Reskate’s initiative about shouting against the suffocating atmosphere that we are experiencing here for some time: ‘Our idea is that every artist post one piece / illustration / painting / picture (old or new) supporting our initiative promoting freedom of speech in order to criticize the lack of democracy within the Spanish government.
Some of the hashtags that we will use are #NoCallarem #EzGaraIsilduko #NonCalaremos #NunVamosCallar #NonCararam,#NoCallaremos being the main one.
Visual artists from Madrid, Zaragoza, Almería, Oviedo, Valencia, Vila-real, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valladolid, Tenerife…are supporting this initiative. Some of them are: Malakkai, Escif, Paula Bonet, Aryz, Ricardo Cavolo, Enric Sant, Twee Muizen, Franco Fasoli, Hyuro, Javier Jaén, Boa Mistura, Conrad Roset, Jordi Borràs, Danjer, Cinta Vidal, David de las Heras, Juan Díaz-Faes, Chamo San, and Marina Capdevila, among others.
La Semana por la Libertad de Expresión (Freedom of Speech Week) is happening now, with different activities taking place all over the country. The funds raised from these activities will go to a resistance fund for the platform in order to defend all those people chased and brought to justice because of censorship and repression. You can check the whole program of the week HERE.
So, yes: we have a fight going on. Comedians, actors and actresses, musicians, journalists, visual artists, the guy / girl next door who is active in social media… It’s kind of a Russian Roulette game where, if you are critical with the established system and you are using 3rd grade humor as a weapon, you can end in jail. And all of it is happening in a country whose government is accused of being the most corrupt on the whole continent.
I have a very well informed friend who has been kind of disappointed with the absence of critical vision and combative behaviors from most of the big names in the local street art / graffiti scene. Thanks to initiatives such as No Callarem and the impulse of people like Javi de Riba, she is reconciling herself with this small, but powerful little world whose images have the strength for making important things happen.
Finally, I’d like to recommend that you check the publications under the hashtag #nocallaremos that are out, as there will be some fine and unique art being produced for the occasion in the upcoming days.
As it’s being said in Los Borbones son unos Ladrones:
– rap music is not a crime
– we need scratches, we need paintings
– I don’t dream about Versace, I dream about barricades
– …because of the poetry that still sleeps in the ditches…
Big props to Javi de Riba, Xavier Urbano and all the artists behind the No Callarem movement.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
