All posts tagged: C215

BSA Film Friday 08.15.14

August 15, 2014 Artists

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

Sea Walls – Murals For Oceans. Isla Mujers, Mexic
HERR BÜTTNER for Whale Rights in Penang, Malaysia
“90 Percent” from Save Our Seas Foundation

BSA Special Feature: Sea Walls – Murals For Oceans

Isla Mujers in Mexico provides a gorgeous venue for these street artists to come and paint. If you didn’t get to go on vacation this year, now is your chance, if only vicariously, to be on spraycation with this talented crew.

“Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans is a ground-breaking street art project created by PangeaSeed to bring the beauty and the plight of the world’s oceans into streets around the globe. By collaborating with internationally renowned artists, we create large-scale murals that focus attention on pressing environmental issues the oceans are facing.”

Street Artist HERR BÜTTNER in Penang, Malaysia

It doesn’t get more D.I.Y. than this home made video showing the process of making and wheat-pasting various oceanic life onto the streets in Penang. Roberto Blanco posts this video on Vimeo of HERR BUETTNER, who calls himself an “offshore warrior for fish and whale rights all over the world.”

As a side note, the drawings upon which he makes his sea creatures are notices of death from a Chinese newspaper, drawing a direct connection to the death of sealife.

“90 Percent” from Save Our Seas Foundation

Life began in the ocean. Now 90 percent of the big fish, including sharks and rays, are gone. Find out more about the threats facing our oceans and what you can do to help at saveourseas.com

Directed by Stefan Kubicki (stefankubicki.com)

Liliwenn on Island in Tunisia For Djerbahood with C215, El Seed, ROA

August 4, 2014 Artists

The Djerbahood project is midway through its stated goal of having one hundred artists from 30 countries come to paint in this North African island in Tunisia called Djerba. Organized by the same folks who brought you Tour Paris 13, this sun-bleached town features a culture distinct from the mainland and many white-washed domed homes.

El Seed working on his piece for The Djerbahood Project. Tunisia. July 2014. (photo screenshot from video below)

Here we have new exclusive photos of Liliwenn doing her installation and some screen shots of El Seed, Roa, and C215 from the teaser video attached below. The multi-cultural exchange will beautify a large number of walls in the small village and bring many artists to this island town of many traditions, fresh grilled fish, couscous and fricassee.

Liliwenn at work while kids play nearby. The Djerbahood Project. Tunisia. July 2014. (photo © courtesy of Liliwenn)

Liliwenn. Detail. The Djerbahood Project. Tunisia. July 2014. (photo © courtesy of Liliwenn)

Liliwenn. Djerbahood Project. Tunisia. July 2014. (photo © courtesy of Liliwenn)

Liliwenn. The Djerbahood Project. Tunisia. July 2014. (photo © courtesy of Liliwenn)

C215’s finished piece for The Djerbahood Project. Tunisia. July 2014. (photo screenshot from video below)

One of ROA’s many pieces for The Djerbahood Project. Tunisia. July 2014. (photo screenshot from video below)

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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Exploring Lisbon as a Street Art Tourist

July 23, 2014 Artists

“Street Art Tourism” Is Capturing More Attention

Eco-tourism is so popular for vacation travelers right now. You know, treading light and your carbon footprint and all that. Then there is Plastic Surgery Tourism for those whose nose is slightly twisted or who otherwise feel your personal epidermal brand could use a “refresh”. For half the price of back home why not travel to a fashionable cosmetic surgery destination and you won’t have to worry about someone seeing you buying brie at Balducci’s with a bandaged beak.

Liposucation anyone?

Erica Il Cane (photo © Stephen Kelley)

In the wake of the global growth of interest in art in the streets, one form of tourism that may soon be blowing up could be graffiti excursions, street art sightseeing, or even mural journeying. New York has been a magnet for years for aerosol artists calling us to help them hit up walls while they are on “spraycation”, but this is just the opposite.

You may wish to plan your trip abroad hunting the elusive wheat-pastes, stencils, fill-ins, hoping to capture an exotic local throwie. And why not take a few selfies with your favorite works by Street Artists that you only previously saw on Instagram?

Street Art photographer Stephen Kelley went on his own art safari last month in Lisbon, Portugal with his fiancé and he checked out a lot of the work that has been organized during the past couple of years by the internationally known local VHILS and some of his friends in a project entitled Underdogs.

Os Gemeos . Blu (photo © Stephen Kelley)

“Underdogs is an international working platform based in Lisbon, Portugal that aims at creating space within the contemporary art scene for artists connected with the new languages of urban visual culture,” say the organizers, and they have curated a program of some large-scale pieces around the city in an intelligently grand and contextual manner that makes them seem like the installations have been there for decades, not a handful of years. Urban or contemporary, it has serious fans.

Os Gemeos . Blu. Detail. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Today Mr. Kelley shares with BSA some of the shots he got during a relatively short trip to Lisbon, along with some of his experiences and observations.

“In preparing for the trip we used the Underdogs project as one of the references for the map,” he says. “I was able to convince my travelling partner and fiancé to rent an apartment in the Bairro Alto area. This was a good central point for the spots I wanted to hit. We were only in town for 3 days so I had to balance your standard tourist locations with my off-the-beaten-path art spots. She appreciates the work and is incredibly patient but I can only get away with dragging her into so many back alleys and train tracks.”

Os Gemeos . Blu (photo © Stephen Kelley)

“Immediately after leaving the airport the taxi unintentionally drove us by a block-long Os Gemeos, Blu, Sam3, Ericailane, and Lucy Mclauchlan mural. We told the taxi driver that I was in town to shoot art in the streets and in buildings. He mentioned I should check out this street where a group of artists painted a series of murals about the local government administration. I put that on the list,” says Kelley.

Lucy McLauchlan . M-Chat (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Sam3 (photo © Stephen Kelley)

“We decided to take a taxi to the area where I had located some C215 work. The taxi driver asked why we were going to that location/area,” says Kelley. “Once we arrived at the location I brought him with us to show him the art. He was incredibly impressed with the C215 mural I showed him and said he’d bring driving in town for 25 years and had never been on that street or never seen the artwork.”

C215 (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Skran01 . Tape (photo © Stephen Kelley)

“One evening in town we took a ferry over to Almada with a great view of the 25 de Abril Bridge (the same architect who designed the Golden Gate Bridge),” says Stephen. ” You can walk up the coast toward the bridge and there are two quaint eateries that make for a perfect sunset meal or drink. The waterfront is covered with graffiti and is a good representation of the art in the area.”

PISD (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Artist Unknown (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Yesh (photo © Stephen Kelley)

As with any vacation, planning your means of transportation is key – and Kelley and his girl realized Lisbon is not quite as pedestrian friendly as other cities, mainly because of the topography. “One of the first spots we hit was the harbor area for the Pixel Pancho and Vhils collaborations. After that, with intentions to continue to explore, we had our first encounter with the hills of Portugal,” he says. “The taxi driver had reminded us that Portugal is the city of seven hills. He was not kidding, walking the streets of Lisbon is no joke and a workout and a half. We quickly realized public transit or taxi was the best way to see Lisbon.”

Vhils and Pixel Pancho masterful collaboration. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Vhils and Pixel Pancho (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Vhils and Pixel Pancho. Detail. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Vhils and Pixel Pancho (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Pixel Pancho (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Like most tourists on vacation, the events that make the most impact may be the unplanned surprises, like actually seeing work in progress. Stephen explains, “One day we started to head toward the Belem Tower and a How Nosm mural. On the way we ran into Vhil’s in progress working on a water tower outside the World Photo Press exhibition at the Museu da Electricidade. I tried to wait for more action shots but he was taking a break and I couldn’t wait.”

Vhils work in progress. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Vhils work in progress. Detail. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Vhils and Crono collaboration. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Vhils and Crono. Detail. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

How & Nosm (photo © Stephen Kelley)

How & Nosm. Detail. (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Gregos (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Copy Art © (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Artist Unknown (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Artist Uknown (photo © Stephen Kelley)

“I also recommend taking a trip up to the castles in Sintra. It’s a 30-minute train ride from the center of Lisbon. The castles are breathtaking and shouldn’t be missed. Sintra was one of the highlights of the entire stay. The train ride also gave me an opportunity to see all the trackside graffiti that is quite common in Europe. The highway and train graffiti are very common, which was much different than what I am accustomed to in the US,” says Kelley.

Dope (photo © Stephen Kelley)

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

Towering Gallery Full of Art to Be Demolished : “La Tour Paris 13”

November 20, 2013 Artists

The numbers are astounding; 105 artists, 9 floors, 36 apartments, 30,000 visitors.

One hour.

That is how much time Street Art enthusiast Spencer Elzey had to himself inside the largest gallery of Street Artists and graffiti artists ever assembled specifically to transform a building for a public show. As he looked out a window to see the snaking lines of Parisians and tourists restlessly waiting to get in, he couldn’t believe his luck to be able to walk through the exhibit by himself and get off some clear shots before the throng hit.

El Seed. La Tour Paris 13. Exterior of the tower. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“The La Tour Paris 13 experience was something that I’ll never forget,” Elzey recounts as he thinks of himself nearly running from apartment to apartment with camera in hand, each room a new discovery, many of them inspiring awe.

“I was on an adrenaline rush while I was inside since I only had an hour by myself before it opened to the public. It wasn’t until later in the morning when I looked back at all of my pictures that I was able to fully understand exactly how much art I just witnessed,” he says.

Kan. La Tour Paris 13. Come in. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Mehdi Ben Cheikh from Galerie Itinerrance, who curated the project La Tour Paris 13 gave permission to Elzey to get these shots for BSA before the crowds arrived and now he was snapping as many as possible.

Over the course of the year artists have devised specific paintings, sculptures, and installations inside the housing tower knowing that it would be exhibited for a month before being demolished. “The number of artists and the amount of space dedicated to this one exhibit is something that I don’t think will ever again be replicated,” he says.

a1ONE. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

While touring former living rooms, bathrooms, and kitchens Elzey quickly discovered that aerosol and markers were not the only materials used by this global pool of street/graffiti/urban artists who came from far places like Brazil, Iran, US, Tunisia, and even Saudi Arabia in addition to many European countries.

a1ONE. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Some artists had staged new perspectives and environments by combining sculptural elements that married into their wall pieces, others like C215 cut into the floorboards to create a relief, still others worked in and around the decaying, partially destroyed infrastructure to create venues that slid into the fantasies of subconscious. “It was a free-for-all in a sense that once inside the apartment the artist had free reign to transform it however they wanted,” he says.

“What isn’t apparent in the pictures is how dark a lot of the rooms were. There were at least three rooms that were essentially dark with the exception of a little black light, while others were dimly lit by a solo lamp or fluorescent bulb. Sometimes you had to walk through holes in the walls to access further rooms.”

Seth. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

In his images here you can see the variety of styles and influences that the artists brought to the game, each accepting that it was a one-time-only installation. Maybe this group wasn’t so hard to convince, since the very nature of art on the streets is ephemeral.

“Street Art on the street has an expiration date, but the exact amount of time in which it will stay up isn’t known,” says Elzey, “It can either be covered up by graffiti or another wheat-paste, it can be removed by the building owner, or it can just wither away from being exposed to the elements.”

La Tour Paris 13 brings to mind the multitude of urban explorers who regularly trek into abandoned and neglected places all over the world and leave their mark, activating previously moribund spaces with art, but no one has ever launched a show like this with such genuine quality or with this scope.

Uriginal. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“The closest thing that I can compare it to is 5 Pointz,” Elzey says of the grouping of buildings in New Yorks’ Long Island City that provided what was perhaps the original group show venue for urban art from the 1990s until yesterday. In an ironic mirroring of events, 5 Pointz and its multitude of external paintings underwent “the buff” the night before last after running an every-changing show for about three decades.

The 5 Pointz factory buildings themselves are also slated for demolition and will make way for new condos. “We all knew that its days were extremely numbered,” he says sadly of what had become a New York cultural heritage icon to some and a holy place for graffiti writers and Street Artists and fans from around the world.

Tellas. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

The true impact from the La Tour Paris 13 project and 5 Pointz may happen in the mind and heart of the artist and the art fan; perhaps the beauty of this exercise, however short lived, is that the public is being encouraged to re-imagine old buildings for new uses, to consider what else we can do with private and public space.

When that conversation takes place we often realize how the limits of creativity are determined in no small part by imagination.

Sambre. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

While we keep tracking the routes and machinations of this first global people’s art movement that has evolved into Street Art, we fully expect that we will continue to be surprised and inspired by the creative spirit and by artists.

For Spencer, this Tour was a lot more personal. “Having experienced something like this on such an immense scale and with a definitive end date made me feel like I was part of something special.”

Stew. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Shoof. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

David Walker. Detail. Jimmy C in the background room. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Guy Denning. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Katre. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Rea1. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Pantonio. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Jaz. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

C215. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Belem. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Add Fuel. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Dado. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Bom K . Liliwenn. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Agostino Iacurci. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Entes. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Inti. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Dan 23. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Maz. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Hopnn. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

JB Rock. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

el Seed. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Cekis. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Nebay. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Ethos. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Mar. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Loiola. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Mosko. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Cope and Indi 184. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Ludo on the exterior with a view of the line to get in. Detail. La Tour Paris 13. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Visit La Tour Paris 13 site for a full set of photographs, details and a full experience of the project.

This article is also published on The Huffington Post.

Artists participating include: 108 ( Italy) – 2mil (Brazil) – Add Fuel ( Portugal) – AGL ( France ) – Lacurci Agostino (Italy) – Alexone ( France ) – A1one (Iran) – Amin ( France ) – Aous (Saudi Arabia) – awer (Italy) – Azooz (Saudi Arabia) – Belem (Portugal) – BOM.K ( France ) – Btoy (Spain) – C215 ( France ) – Celeste Java ( France ) – Cope2 (USA) – Corleone (Portugal ) – Dabro (Tunisia) – Dado (Italy) – Dan23 ( France ) – David Walker (UK) – Eime (Portugal) – eL Seed ( Tunisia) – Ethos (Brazil) – Etnik (Italy) – Fenx ( France ) – Flip (Brazil) – Gael ( France ) – Gilbert ( France ) – Guy Denning (UK) – Herbert Baglione (Brazil) – Hogre (Italy) – Hopnn (Italy) – Indie 184 (USA) – Inti Ansa ( France ) – Inti Castro (Chile) – Jaz (Argentina) – JB Rock ( Italy) – Jimmy C ( Australia) – Samina Joao (Portugal) – Jonone (USA) – Joys (Italy) – Julien Colombier ( France ) – Kan ( France ) – Katre ( France ) – Kruella (Portugal) – Legz ( France ) – Lek ( France ) – Liliwenn ( France ) – Loyola (Brazil) – Ludo ( France ) – Mrs. Sanbor ( France ) – March (Portugal) – Marko93 ( France ) , Mario Belem (Portugal) – Maryam (Saudi Arabia) – Mateo Garcia Leon ( France ) – Maz (Saudi Arabia) – moneyless (Italy) – Mosko ( France ) – Mp5 (Italy) – Myra ( France ) – Nano (Chile) – Nebay ( France ) – Nemi Uhu ( France ) – Nilko ( France ) – Orticanoodles (Italy) – PANTONIO (Portugal) – Paulo Arraiano (Portugal) – Peeta (Italy) – Philippe Baudelocque ( France ) – Rapto (Brazil) – Rea 1 ( France ) – Rodolphe Cintorino ( France ) – Roti ( France ) – Sambre ( France ) – Sean Hart ( France ) – Sebastien Preschoux ( France ) – Senso (Italy) – Seth ( France ) – Shaka ( France ) – Shoof (Tunisia) – Shuck2 ( France ) – Sowat ( France ) – Spazm ( France ) – Speto (Brazil) – Stew ( France ) – Stinkfish (Mexico) – Sumo (Luxembourg) – Tellas (Italy) – Tinho (Brazil) – Tore ( France ) -Uno ( France ) – Uriginal (Spain) – Vexta (Australia) – Vhils (Portugal) – / Maismenos (Portugal).

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Paris Street Art : Spencer Elzey in Europe

November 19, 2013 Artists

As we continue our one week residency on BSA for Street Art fan Spencey Elzey, he takes you to Paris to see what is happening on the street there right now. If you were to try to characterize the nature of the work, you may say that it favors illustration, a clean defined line, and a purposeful classical aesthetic.

For years we have associated the romantic city and it’s historical culture and architecture with Street Artists like the stencil pioneers Blek Le Rat and Jef Aerosol, along with Miss Tic, Invader, FKDL, Fred Chevaliar, C215, and Alice Pasquini, to name just a few. Spencer finds some of those artists’ work and and he shares some others here with you too. Naturally, because we don’t cover this city regularly, locals will surely tell you that some of these pieces are a couple of years old, but for an American tourist in Paris, it all looks new from here!

Jana & Js. Detail. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“It did feel like there was some form of respect for the older architecture, especially in Paris,” says Spencer when comparing his observations of Paris, Berlin, and London. “While all three cities are old (especially compared to NYC), Paris feels the oldest and there seems to be certain buildings or doors that remained untouched.” Maybe that’s why we always think Paris is romantic. Also, Edith Piaf.

Speaking of romance we begin the image survey with two current giants on the Paris scene Jana und JS, who are a collaborating Street Art couple who basically bonded over their mutual love for shooting images. Advocates of photography on the street, you will find they’ve also an affinity for spray paint and stencils and their subject often is themselves. It’s rather a marriage made for the street. You can read a full interview with them here on Street Art Paris.

Jana & Js. Detail. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“Walking around Paris I also found myself looking up a lot more as compared to other cities; while this was mostly due to the fact that I was looking out for the 100’s of Space Invader pieces, there were lots of other pieces stuck to the walls up high. I thought it was also notable that the walls within the metro tunnels between stations were covered with graffiti in Paris.”

“Paris has street art defined to a few areas specifically,” explains Elzey, “including some of the murals in the 13^th arrondissement that were put together by Galerie Itinerrance, a few areas up around Belleville, and areas throughout Le Marais, which includes sections of the 3^rd and 4^th arrondissements.”

Jana & Js. Detail. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Jana & Js. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Finabarr DAC (photo © Spencer Elzey)

ETHOS (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Ella & Pitr. Detail. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Clet Abraham (photo © Spencer Elzey)

A large wall by the Chilean Street Artist Inti (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Shadeek (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Alexis Diaz (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Spencer Elzey)

RERO (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Invader (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Not Invader. Megamatt. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Daco (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Bristolian Nick Walker has a heart (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Tona and Alias (photo © Spencer Elzey)

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Street Art in Vitry-sur-Seine (France) : Spencer Elzey in Europe

November 18, 2013 Artists

BSA is lucky to be a clearinghouse for many people who participate in and celebrate the Street Art scene – artists, curators, designers, collectors, galleries, museums, researchers, academics, historians and fans. Because we have never taken advertising readers tend to trust our platform and people in the community give us great behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn and share freely with others about the creative process and the culture on the street. It also gives us the freedom to do whatever we want when planning editorial or content.

Claire Pinatel (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Recently we had this idea about giving our site out to artists or art-lovers a week at a time so they could also fully share their personal experiences of the Street Art/public art/graffiti/ scene. So this week before Thanksgiving we’re giving the whole week to one person as a “residency”, our way of sharing this valuable platform and inviting you to have a greater voice in this conversation.

Spencer Elzey loves art in general and is an avid Street Art fan in particular and he likes to take trips that include shooting images on the street in whatever city he visits. He also supports artists by buying their art, regularly attending art exhibitions, reading and studying about them and following their evolution. Over the last couple of years we have seen that he is also a dedicated Street Art hunter with camera in hand on the streets of New York City when he isn’t at his regular job – and he loves to share what he finds with others on social media and as an occasional contributor to BSA.

When we heard that Spencer was planning a trip to Europe this fall we proposed to him the idea of him keeping a photo journal to be shared exclusively with BSA readers and we offered to help connect him with some friendly guides on his trip so he could get some splendid and exclusive photos. He enthusiastically accepted the offer and here is the first day of Spencer’s one-week residency on BSA, an edited treasure trove of images and insights from the guy himself. We know you’re going to dig it.

STeW (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Here’s this weeks schedule:

Monday is Vitry-sur-Seine Street Art.
Tuesday will be Paris Street Art.
Wednesday will be a special collection of the installations from the Le Tour Paris 13 project.
Thursday will be his adventures in Berlin.
BSA Film Friday will feature a selection of videos reflecting the cities he toured.
Saturday will be Spencer’s London showcase.

ROA (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Of all four cities Spencer visited over a two week trip, this one seemed to really embrace the value of street art to the culture, he says. “In terms of which city was the most welcoming of street art I’d have to say Vitry-sur-Seine was because this is really a grassroots campaign kickstarted by C215,” he says of this city of 83,000 that is called a commune and lies on the outskirts of Paris.

It’s not hard to believe that the scene is attributed in large part to the influence of the well-regarded stencil artist C215 as this is a guy who considers his work to be community service and who regularly features people from the city he is in as subjects of his portraits. That’s why he was the perfect guide for Spencer, who says he learned a huge amount of information in a short time.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“I have to say that C215 is one of the more interesting, opinionated and knowledgeable artists that I have come across. We started the morning at his local café with a coffee. I explored around a little by myself while he was attending to some prior engagements with his gallery and then he caught up with me out on the streets. We eventually had lunch and then went back to his house. Topics ranged from his opinion on the scene in general, on other artists, on galleries and it even touched on street art websites and documenters.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“I hadn’t realized that he has only been doing stenciling for seven years but it was easy to see how far his pieces have come from the few monochrome stencils that still remain around Williamsburg (Brooklyn) from around 2008,” remarks Elzey.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“What C215 has done in Vitry-sur-Seine is much bigger than I expected it to be, both in terms of quantity of work in the area as well as the impact on the community. The first piece that he put up there was about five year ago and within that time there have appeared at least 150 different pieces from him and other artists throughout the area,” says Spencer.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Naturally, Elzey was shooting whatever odd or curious or thrilling piece he found on his travels through this city that celebrates artists, in addition to the work done by his host. “I was definitely surprised with how much Street Art there was in Vitry-sur-Seine. I took around 200 pictures of different pieces while there and I’m still seeing pictures on Instagram of things that I had missed,” he says.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

One piece in particular by C215 impressed him a lot – because of it’s impact visually and its perfectly contextual placement. Additionally, Elzey felt that it illustrated the regard that the residents have for the artists work and the fact that people didn’t appear to think of it as illegal or vandalism, per se. “While I was exploring and taking pictures, various residents pointed with excitement about pieces just around the corner that I should go look at,” he says.

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

“There was one older gentleman, probably in his 70s, who just simply said “La porte” and smiled while pointing in a certain direction. I rounded the corner to see a stencil of the Virgin Mary on the back door of the main church,” he says of one of the few religious themed pieces that the artist has created. “C215 had indicated that this was one of his favorite pieces in the area and it was nice to see that residents appreciated it as well. Had it not been for this project there really would be no other reason for me to have travelled down to Vitry-sur-Seine but it was definitely worth it.”

C215 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Jorge Rodriguez Gerarda (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Yuri Romagnoli (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Finabarr DAC to the left with Guy Denning to the right. (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Finabarr DAC (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Ripo (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Nychos (photo © Spencer Elzey)

EmileOne (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Amour (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Cristian Sonda (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Kashink (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Cope (photo © Spencer Elzey)

MP5 (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Nunca (photo © Spencer Elzey)

David Walker (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Etnik (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Indigo (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Gaia (photo © Spencer Elzey)

Alice Pasquini (photo © Spencer Elzey)

We hope you enjoy this one week residency on Brooklyn Street Art and we congratulate Spencer for his dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm.

Our sincere thanks also go to those who offered their hospitality and agreed to give Spencer a tour on our behalf; to the stencil artist C215, who graciously took him around Vitry and who shared with him a history and background on the scene there, to Maroune and Mehdi at Itinerrance Gallery for providing Spencer with special solo access to Le Tour Paris 13 while hundreds were queing outside, and to the dynamic German duo Various & Gould who welcomed him into their studio and showed Spencer some really cool spots around Berlin. This open and generous community spirit really makes the work that we do feel so inspiring to us, and we thank each of you for playing host to Spencer and for sharing your knowledge with the BSA family.

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BSA Film Friday: 09.20.13

September 20, 2013 Artists

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening: La Catedral Futumétrica with EC13 + El Niño De Las Pinturas + Spidertag, Meggs and FareShare in Australia, and Five More Minutes with C215.

BSA Special Feature: La Catedral Futumétrica
with EC13 + El Niño De Las Pinturas + Spidertag

This week you get to take part in the exploration and re-creation that will inspire you to take another look around the very environment you are sitting in right now. Graffiti/Street Art/fine artists EC13, El Niño de las Pinturas and Spidertag bring you with them, with Spidertag as director Maldito Dwarfi behind the camera, into a sacred space. The Spanish relic of a building is now christened a cathedral, and they backpack into the space to lay out their art materials onto the mottled concrete floor, arranging and rearranging before choosing their locations in this holy place, a gallery for modern abstraction and do it yourself set design.

With nails, tiles, caulking, aerosol, thick yarn, and tape, the two set about occupying space, defining space, tracing and framing and revealing invisible lines and physical relationships – even evoking spirits and memories, if not memorials. Breezes and sunlight wander by, as do flies, nesting birds, and a couple of goat kids. When they are finished, you are invited in for a drink and a melody and meditation. Loosely enclosed by these walls made by hands that resolutely stand while windows and doors and roof go missing, the work of the artists may cause you to re-see and re-define every line you observe as you return to your world.

Australian Artist Meggs teams up with FareShare

Five More Minutes with C215

A portrait of the street portraitist by Estelle Beauvais.

Splashes of Color in the Norwegian Rain: NUART 2013

September 11, 2013 Artists

The pale wan institutional hues of the Stavanger International Airport now are punctuated by the brilliant blues and stencil patterning wrapping around the control tower.

Small multi-layered stencil portraits pop from post-boxes, primary color-clad children hang off of stoop stairs and balance on stacked chairs and a graffiti slathered Michaelango stands on the corner next to the eye doctors office. Turn up another street and an aerosoled sultry geisha rises, wrapped in boisterous brocade on a typically white wall in this rather monochromatic sea town.

With these new wall works by M-City, C215, Ernest Zacharevic, Martin Whatson, and Hush (respectively) and a number of others, Nuart 2013 brought a lot of color to the streets this year as it celebrated what founder Martyn Reed called “one of, if not thee, finest Nuart events yet”.

Ernest Zacharevic (photo © Martha Cooper)

“Best Wishes from cold and rainy Stavanger!” says Ernest’s friend Gabija in her note to us as she talks about the cool grey storms that held up many of the visiting artists waiting to paint. It didn’t delay the pieces going up on tunnel walls of the venue where the opening party crowds teamed Saturday night. The special installations by C215, David Choe, and Aiko among others also included a 1,300 slide show at the end of one tunnel that showed 50 years of graffiti, Street Art, and street life photography by Martha Cooper, who was invited as an artist.

Even the minister of culture stopped by for a tour on Thursday, which shows how far graffiti and Street Art have grown, or strayed, in the years since public service commercials equated aerosol art with illicit drug use, truancy, terror, and illegal firearms. Today we give tours in the streets to appreciative people who snap photos and pose with friends in front of the spray painted walls.

Of course this is an international mural festival, and much of the work is done by more accomplished artists who may have once (or still do) sprayed their stuff illegally. The themes may need to pass some review process, but the opportunities that come from taking your time are appreciable also. One of the newest talents showing this year was the Lithuanian twenty-something Ernest Zacharevic, who photographs and paints kids interacting and playing on a variety of wheeled machines, usually the self propelled kind.

Ably steering clear of cute, Zacharevic uses props with his wall paintings to “tap into the original instincts of adult viewers who may have lost their ability to access their playful nature,” or so we said in our interview with him. He also merges 2D with 3D quite seemlessly. For his tunnel installation on opening night, Zacharevic sawed a car in half so his kids could dance on the roof, cram inside, and push it from the back like it was out of gas. More than likely it was the missing wheels that kept the car stationary. But no harm in playing.

But of the 16 artists invited this year, each can say they brought life and their A-game to this jewel of an outdoor art show in Norway. Nuart 2013 included MARTHA COOPER (US), DAL EAST (CN), ROA (BE), M-CITY (PL), FAITH47 (ZA), HUSH (UK), VHILS (PT), ERNEST ZACHAREVIC (LT), C215 (FR), DOT DOT DOT (NO), DOTMASTER (UK), STRØK (NO), MARTIN WHATSON (NO), DAVID CHOE (US) AIKO (JP).

With very special thanks to photographer Martha Cooper for sharing these images with BSA readers.

AIKO and Martha Cooper’s collaborative tunnel, with Aiko’s stencils on both sides and a slide show at the end. This slide is of New York graffiti writer and fine artist Futura as a young buck at the tunnels’ end. (photo © Martha Cooper)

HUSH in a stunning shot by Ms. Cooper, who caught a woman in a hijab walking past at just the right moment. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Founder of NUART Festival Martyn Reed, standing in front of David Choe’s piece while giving a tour of the art to Norway’s Minister of Culture Hadia Tajik. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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NUART UPDATE: Talk with Ernest Zacharevic and Images of C215, Hush, STROK

September 9, 2013 Artists, Interview

Nuart 2013 continues to engage and converse with people in Stavanger Norway as the big formal opening Saturday night was packed with guests and tours have begun around town with Gt Aamdal and Kristel Talv, who yesterday had a group of a hundred people following them around as they helped explain the new works that have been appearing and the artists who have been creating them.

Today we bring you some recent photos of works in progress shot by Gabija Grusaite and a brief interview with one of the artists this year at Nuart, Ernest Zacharevic from Lithuania, who has a pretty large following of ardent fans who dig his technique of interplay with mural and sculpture for an integrated third dimensional experience. By focusing on the spontaneity of children’s play, Zacharevic can tap into the original instincts of adult viewers who may have lost their ability to access their playful nature. His street work is unpretentious and sometimes ingenious, while steadily staying away from being cloying or overly sentimental.

Ernest took a few moments during a break from this weekends preparations to talk to BSA about his work.

Brooklyn Street Art: Many of your pieces include play and more specifically, children at play. How important is that theme for you and what attracts you to it?
Ernest Zacharevic: Most of my work is photography based and site-specific, so I photograph my subjects and later choose angles for painting. Working with children allows more anonymity, I don’t consider my artworks to be portraits of a specific person, rather a universal experience. It is also easier to work with children – they are not self-concious and are not afraid to look stupid or ugly. So we play together and I take pictures that later translate into my artwork. I really like this unrestricted energy.

Brooklyn Street Art: You have been traveling a lot in the last year – where have you gone and can you talk about one of your favorite experiences on the street with your work?
Ernest Zacharevic: I do travel a lot. Japan, Italy, Norway, Lithuania, Malaysia – to name few places I’ve been this year. At the moment I am based in Penang, Malaysia, but originally I come from Vilnius, Lithuania and I graduated from Middlesex University, London where I lived for 5 years. My artwork is heavily influenced by all these layers of geographical backgrounds.

Probably the most memorable project I’ve done so far is Mirrors George Town murals that I created for George Town Festival in 2012. The murals became so popular that they started having a life of it’s own – there are people lining up to take pictures with it and Malaysian Government recognized them as valuable tourist objects. Crazy! It was even copied by one Chinese town near Shanghai. It is really nice for an artist to realize that his piece of work means so much to other people.

Brooklyn Street Art: Many of your characters have mischief in their eyes and their actions. Are you getting into trouble in Stavanger?
Ernest Zacharevic: I wish, but the weather is taking it’s toll. Stavanger is great! Everywhere you go there are traces of street art and amazing murals round the corner, places you would never expect to see it. It really inspires me to do a few smaller pieces if the Norwegian summer will be kind to me tomorrow.

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you talk about using wheeled forms of transportation in your vignettes – bicycles, shopping carts, rickshaws… do you use them to create a sense of movement?
Ernest Zacharevic; Yes! It’s a part of play, but also a wider narrative about the continuous desire by human beings to travel, push forward, explore unknown horizons. Cars and bicycles and tricycles were invented because just walking is too slow to most of our imagination. That is way my main installation for Nuart 2013 will feature a car – half sliced – continuing the theme of my previous work.

Brooklyn Street Art: Sometimes you integrate something that is already on the street or the wall into your piece. Do you find yourself doing this mentally as you walk through the streets?
Ernest Zacharevic: I find everyday objects to be fascinating. Signs that look like animals, doors that smile, little holes in the wall that look like part of a Tom & Jerry cartoon. It’s fun and I love to reveal this to other people just to make them smile.

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NUART 2013 Update – David Choe, C215, Aiko, Vhils, Ernest Zacharevic, Dot Dot Dot, Hush, and M-City

September 7, 2013 Artists

“We’ve had terrible weather–rained most of the day today–so artists have been slow getting their walls done,” said Martha Cooper about the scene in Stavanger for Nuart 2013 on Friday. Today is looking much better, she reports, almost good enough for a boat ride.

Each of the artists have been commenting on the sometimes heavy rains, which can sort of kill your aerosol buzz, but no one really minds because the festival buzz is building toward tonight’s big events. We think the folks at Nuart had it planned this way because there is work that needs to be done underground in the tunnel gallery spaces for the Saturday night opening.

Ernest Zacharevic uses the attitude of childs play in his Street Art installations around the world, often incorporating a third dimensional installation element to complete it. Look for an interview with him on BSA shortly. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Here under cover from the storms C215 is hard at work on a very large and color drenched portrait, Hush is on a ladder glossing the lips of a modern geisha, and Aiko is stenciling a signature sexy pop-inspired theme that covers two thirds of the front of one tunnel – leaving the remaining space for Ms. Cooper to project some 1300 of her photos for the expected crowd this evening.

DalEast and Faith47 have been slowed down a bit too. “Raining now,,, waiting for it to stop,” she taps out on her keyboard in a brief cadence as if sending a guarded cable in Morse code across the Atlantic. Meanwhile, there are some other diversions to be inspected, and other artists to meet. Everyone has been talking about taking a local fjord boat ride up Stavanger Peninsula so they may accompany Martha on the voyage to see the natural beauty of the Norwegian coastline while things are drying out today.

Founder of NUART Festival Martyn Reed, standing in front of David Choe’s piece while giving a tour of the art to Norway’s Minister of Culture Hadia Tajik. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Luckily a fair share of work has been completed, and the Minister of Culture has already stopped by to tour and pose for a photo in front of the David Choe piece, and the scaffolding on the airport control tower came down to reveal the new large stenciled mural wrapping it by M-City, who has since moved on with ROA to Lodz, Poland for the Urban Forms festival.

“We’ll all be here through the weekkend so that’s when the bigger walls may get finished,” says Martha. Martin Whatson is just about finished and Ernest Zacarevic completed his outside installation with a stack of chairs for his stencil to balance upon. He also rather conspiratorially reveals this teaser to BSA, “my main installation for Nuart 2013 will feature a car, half sliced.” He says it will continue a theme in his previous work.

More from Nuart soon, but in the mean time, here are some progress shots for BSA readers including work by David Choe, C215, Aiko, Vhils, Ernest Zacharevic, Dot Dot Dot, Hush, and M-City.

Martha captures the mimicry of Martin Whatson’s body language with the fellow working in his piece. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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BSA Film Friday: 08.30.13

August 30, 2013 Artists

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening: Augustine Kofie in Paris with TRBDSGN, C215 is “Dreaming In The Back of The Classroom”, Ben Slow with Jim McElvaney and Best Ever in London, and Know Hope prepares for “The Abstract And The Very Real”.

BSA Special Feature: Augustine Kofie
in Paris with TRBDSGN

Kofie, Hobz and Honda address the wall schematically and with precision; an integrated and collaborative conversation with cans, tape, diffusers, an improvised protracter, and cell phones of course. It’s an unassuming record of a dedicated trio working together while kids fly by on transportation methods that are similarly time-tested as well as improvised.

C215 is Dreaming In The Back of The Classroom

For his recent TED Talk Christian Guémy reveals his philosophical approach to his creativity on the street, the impact of his personal relationships and his life path on his work. It is instructive to see the profound effect of a persons’ biography on the selection of work and even how it is expressed on the street.

(Turn the CAPTIONS button on lower right corner for subtitles)

Ben Slow, Jim McElvaney and Best Ever in London

Four guys on Old Street in London take on the challenge of a huge wall together at The White Collar Factory by Fifth Wall.

Know Hope prepares for “The Abstract And The Very Real”

The weight of the world, patriotism, and his place in the street. Living in Israel, Street Artist/fine artist Know Hope understands well the personal, the political, the historical – and how a continuously charged environment affects the art he creates. For his new gallery show at Lazarides, the artist reflects on his poetic approach to abstract realities. While examining walls, borders, and fences Know Hope pursues avenues to show how the bonds between emotional perceptions and political ones are inseparable.

BSA Film Friday 06.28.13

June 28, 2013 Artists

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening: “Faces of Bowie” Show at Opera London, Revolutionary Egyptian Street Art, Leandro Erlich’s House in London, and FAITH47 at Memorie Urbane.

BSA Special Feature:
Faces of Bowie

Whether it’s zombies, punk, The Rolling Stones, or Martin Scorcese, pop-culture theme shows have been gaining popularity of late. Right now the Opera Gallery location in London is featuring a show that pays homage to David Bowie with portraits by a number of Street Artists among others. It also happens to tie in neatly to a larger retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum entitled “David Bowie Is”.

Curated by gallery director Jean-David Malat, the show includes works by Lita Cabellut, David Mach, Joe Black, C215, The London Police, Mac1, Jimmy C, Kid Zoom, Mr. Brainwash, Kan (Da Mental Vaporz), Juan Barletta, Hisham Echafaki, Jef Aérosol, D*Face, Marco Lodola, André Monet, Nick Gentry, Zoobs, Eduardo Guelfenbein, Paul Alexis, Jean-Paul Donadini, and Richard Young.

Egyptian Street Art – More Than Aesthetics

“It’s not possible to have a revolution without art”, says SIKO, an Egyptian Street Artist in this video that gives a sense of the power that art in the streets can have for transforming a dialogue. While we do not know the origins of the makers of this video and are somewhat unfamiliar with the politics involved, it nonetheless conveys what we have always known about graffiti and Street Art – it is a reflection of society back to itself. With the advocacy of opinions and viewpoints sprayed and wheatpasted across the public sphere, it can be a catalyst for change and at the very least, a vehicle for speech.

Living on the Ceiling – A House by Leandro Erlich in London

An installation by the Argentine artist, this new house is on the street – flatly. Passersby are encouraged to scale the walls and contemplate perceptions about reality, and gravity.

FAITH47 at the Memorie Urbane Street Art Festival

Produced by Blind Eye Factory, this short video watches Faith 47 as she creates her piece for the Italian festival this spring.

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