All posts tagged: Billy Mode

Happy New Year! BSA Highlights of 2010

Year-in-review-2010-header

As we start a new year, we say thank you for the last one.

And Thank You to the artists who shared their 11 Wishes for 2011 with Brooklyn Street Art; Conor Harrington, Eli Cook, Indigo, Gilf, Todd Mazer, Vasco Mucci, Kimberly Brooks, Rusty Rehl, Tip Toe, Samson, and Ludo. You each contributed a very cool gift to the BSA family, and we’re grateful.

We looked over the last year to take in all the great projects we were in and fascinating people we had the pleasure to work with. It was a helluva year, and please take a look at the highlights to get an idea what a rich cultural explosion we are all a part of at this moment.

The new year already has some amazing new opportunities to celebrate Street Art and artists. We are looking forward to meeting you and playing with you and working with you in 2011.

Specter does “Gentrification Series” © Jaime Rojo
NohJ Coley and Gaia © Jaime Rojo
Jef Aerosol’s tribute to Basquiat © Jaime Rojo
***

January

Imminent Disaster © Steven P. Harrington
Fauxreel (photo courtesy the artist)
Chris Stain at Brooklyn Bowl © Jaime Rojo

February

Various & Gould © Jaime Rojo
Anthony Lister on the street © Jaime Rojo
Trusto Corp was lovin it.

March

Martha Cooper, Shepard Fairey © Jaime Rojo
BSA’s Auction for Free Arts NYC
Crotched objects began appearing on the street this year. © Jaime Rojo

April

BSA gets some walls for ROA © Jaime Rojo
Dolk at Brooklynite © Steven P. Harrington
BSA gets Ludo some action “Pretty Malevolence” © Jaime Rojo

May

The Crest Hardware Art Show © Jaime Rojo
NohJ Coley © Jaime Rojo
The Phun Phactory Reboot in Williamsburg © Steven P. Harrington

June

Sarah Palin by Billi Kid
Nick Walker with BSA in Brooklyn © Jaime Rojo
Judith Supine at “Shred” © Jaime Rojo

July

Interview with legend Futura © Jaime Rojo
Os Gemeos and Martha Cooper © Jaime Rojo
Skewville at Electric Windows © Jaime Rojo

August

Specter Spot-Jocks Shepard Fairey © Jaime Rojo
“Bienvenidos” campaign
Faile studio visit © Jaime Rojo

September

BSA participates and sponsors New York’s first “Nuit Blanche” © Jaime Rojo
JC2 © Jaime Rojo
How, Nosm, R. Robots © Jaime Rojo

October

Faile “Bedtime Stories” © Jaime Rojo
Judith Supine © Jaime Rojo
Photo © Roswitha Guillemin courtesy Galerie Itinerrance

November

H. Veng Smith © Jaime Rojo
Sure. Photo courtesy Faust
Kid Zoom © Jaime Rojo

December

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Chris Stain and Billy Mode: Danger, Poverty, Friendship

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Chris-Stain-Title-Graphic

Did you see all the kids going to school today?  It was LOUD on my bus as everybody was cramming in, some holding hands of their mom or dad or grandparent. Little backpacks, new shoes, excitedly talking about what classes are going to be like this year and what they did over the summer.

Times like this give us a bit of hope in a period when so much for so many seems uncertain. Two years into an economic kick to the stomach and many of us are still reeling, trying to hang on, and some are falling off. For the first time, many are understanding the dangers of poverty and it’s dehumanizing cyclical nature.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Chris-Stain-Stain-and-mode

Naturally, some artists are there to help us see us – canaries in the coalmine, they dare to go there and talk about the dangers ahead and the dangers present.  Armsrock, Swoon, Chris Stain, Specter, even new artists like Indigo and Joe Iurato – all explore sides of the human experience that are difficult for us to talk about sometimes but all the more necessary.

Taking advantage of really temperate and long summer days recently, Chris Stain and Billy Mode have been working in the beauty that is upstate New York on a few murals – some of which contemplate the realities of a system that can push people into the margins and leave them there. Incorporating some of Chris’s recent imagery of the boy along with his signature atmosphere urban signposts, the two created a graff-style sign across the front spelling the word that is associated with poverty.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Chris-Stain-danger

Says Stain, “The mural says ‘Danger’ and it’s a tribute to our friend VOKE. One of his early tags was DANGER. He was the most creative person that Bill and I knew, always pushing the boundary of what graffiti was about and what it could become. With this piece we tried to do just that by incorporating graffiti style lettering and stencils. ”

A 20 year old picture of a piece by Voke, courtesy Chris Stain
“Voo Doo”, A 20 year old picture of a piece by Voke, courtesy Chris Stain

To Stain and Mode, Voke was doing stuff with his graffiti in 1990 that later would become more familiar as “Street Art”. Chris explains how the graffiti artist was moving in the new direction even then, “He was introducing elements that were unusual in graffiti lettering at the time. Like the pinwheel in place of the ‘O’ for example. The ‘V’ is made up of two nail like spikes.”
Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Chris-Stain-abolish-poverty
For the two Street Artists, who easily switch back and forth between brushes, cans, stencils, and freehand, working collaboratively is always freestyle. “Bill and I have been painting together for over 20 years. We have developed a certain rhythm and trust that allows us the freedom to create without inhibitions. I think it comes from a mutual respect. We usually develop a loose plan and let each other add our own ingredients,” says Chris.

BSA >>>  ><<<>>><  <<> <  BSA <<>   > < >BSA >>>  ><<<>>><  <<> <  BSA <<>   > < >
images courtesy and copyright of the artist
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Year In Images 2009 from Jaime Rojo

Street Art photographer Jaime Rojo captured a few thousand images in 2009 to help document the wildly growing Street Art scene in New York.

A veteran of 10 years shooting the streets of New York, Rojo has amassed a collection of images that capture the scene with the appreciation of an artist. To celebrate the creative spirit that is alive and well on the streets of New York, this slide video gives a taste of what happened in ‘09, without pretending to present the whole scene or all the artists, known and anonymous, who add to the ongoing conversation.

Included in this collection of images (in no particular order) are pieces by Skewville, Specter, The Dude Company, Judith Supine, C215, WK Interact, Anthony Lister, Miss Bugs, Bast, Chris from Robots Will Kill (RWK), Os Gemeos, Cake, Celso, Imminent Disaster, Mark Cavalho, NohJ Coley, Elbow Toe, Feral, Poster Boy, Bishop203, Jon Burgerman, Royce Bannon, Damon Ginandes, Conor Harrington, Gaia, JC2, Logan Hicks, Chris Stain, Armsrock, Veng from Robots Will Kill (RWK), Noah Sparkes, Robots Will Kill, Heracut, Billy Mode, Revs, Skullphone, Spazmat, Mint and Serf, Roa, Aakash Nihilani, Broken Crow, Peru Ana Ana Peru, & Cern

All images © Jaime Rojo

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Images of the Week 08.23.09

Images of the Week 08.23.09

Our Weekly Interview with the Street

Double Bast
Double Mickey Bast (photo Jaime Rojo)

Cake
Pondering beneath the ivy (Cake) (photo Jaime Rojo)

 Celso

Then she gave me a blank stare over her bare shoulder, and I knew the afternoon escapade was on. (Celso) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Hot Red and Sexy Celso
Red Hot and Sexy (Celso) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Celso and Matt Siren
Celso and Matt Siren Freakshow  (photo Jaime Rojo)

Imminent Disaster
Fresh new Imminent Disaster (photo Jaime Rojo)

A Galaxy of Stars Chris Stain Bill Mode VengRWK
A Galaxy of Stars (Chris Stain, Billy Mode, VengRWK) (photo Jaime Rojo)

More Stars Flying Fortress Veng Chris RWK Know Hope  Flying Fortress, Veng(RWK), Chris(RWK), Know Hope (photo Jaime Rojo)

Watch your Step Matt Siren!
Matt Siren and the ghost girl watch your step (photo Jaime Rojo)

Matt Siren
Escape from New York!  Or Don’t! (Matt Siren) (photo Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey
Portrait of Dash Snow (NohJColey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey
“Crabs in a Bucket” self portrait (NohJColey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Revs Sese
Revs, Sese (photo Jaime Rojo)

Veng Serenades a cranky monster Royce Bannon VengRWK
The musician serenades a couple of cranky monsters (Royce Bannon, VengRWK)

Shepard Fairey
Insert clever caption here. (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

The Dude Company
Dude working in front of The Dude Company (photo Jaime Rojo)

Veng RWK
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum (VengRWK)  (photo Jaime Rojo)

VengRWK Royce Bannon Abby Goodman Werds
VengRWK, Royce Bannon, Abby Goodman, Werds (photo Jaime Rojo)

Zork Chop
Really, it’s $500? Yikes! (Zork Chop) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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Chris Stain and Billy Mode have “Esperanza” in BK

Chris Stain and Billy Mode have “Esperanza” in BK

Little bit of inspiration on a whole lotta wall;

This just In, a new giant piece by people’s champion Chris Stain and mild mannered Billy Mode on a sanctioned space in Bushwick called “Esperanza”, which means “I love mac-n-cheese” in Polish, I think. Longtime collaborators and buddies originally from back home in Baltimore, the two knocked out this mural over the Memorial Day weekend.

“Esperanza” by Chris and Billy (photo Jaime Rojo)

 

Brooklyn Street Art: What was the inspiration for the piece?

Chris Stain: My friend Kevin speaks Spanish and I asked him what’s the word for “hope” in Spanish and he said “esperanza”. Since the neighborhood is heavily Latino, Bill and I wanted to do something the people could relate to.

Detail of the mural featuring good homies (photo Jaime Rojo)

Detail of the mural featuring good homies (photo Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Are you seeing “hope” out on the streets these days?
Chris Stain: At times. The idea with this piece is to inspire hope. Just like Whitney Houston said, the children are the future.

Man in photo is actual size (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Man in photo is actual size (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Brooklyn Street Art: Those are some dope letters, like they were carved out of blocks….

Chris Stain: Bill is a pretty sharp cat. He devised a template that would help speed up productivity as well as accuracy. The wall is 52 feet wide by 10 feet high. The rectangular shape he drew up and cut out of cardboard was made the width of a single letter (about 5 feet), which made it easier for us to center the piece and for bill to sketch out each letter. Letters are made up of shapes like everything else so he broke this particular letter form down to its most basic shape and we worked from there.

Man + Memorial Day Weekend = Lawncare (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Human Male + Memorial Day Weekend = Lawncare (photo courtesy Chris Stain)

Chris Stain Website

Billy Mode photostream

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