All posts tagged: CFYW

Geoff Hargadon & “Cash For Your Warhol” Store/ Exhibition/ Performance in Boston

March 28, 2016 Artists

Pedro Alonzo is a Boston-based independent curator and art advisor who has charted an important trajectory on the Street Art-Contemporary Art continuum as it pertains to institutions, public/private organizations and emerging and recognized artists of related genres since the 1990s. We’re very pleased today that Pedro brings BSA readers insights from a unique one month performance/exhibition space just mounted in the Boston area by the fascinating pop-social satirist Geoff Hargadon, creator of CFYW (Cash For Your Warhol).

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A brick and mortar staged “store” offers Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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~by Pedro Alonzo

The artist Geoff Hargadon is responsible for the street art campaign Cash for Your Warhol (CFYW). As part of CFYW Geoff opened a pop up store for 7 weeks in Inman Square in Cambridge, MA. The store was open from Wednesday through Sunday where Geoff could be found surrounded by props and Warhol paraphernalia that created the setting for the pseudo business. Fake checks made out to local collectors and institutions adorned the walls, empty crates sat on the floor. I went to visit him on the last day of business. Throughout the interview friends, fans and strangers visited the store, interacting with Geoff. Some people brought booze, others just wanted to chat with the artist.

A folded vinyl billboard sign at the back of the store. Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Pedro Alonzo: What led you to do the pop-up store?
Geoff Hargadon: I wanted to do a physical store that would look like a pawnshop but would only buy and sell Warhols. I went by this space and it looked perfect because you don’t have to go inside to see everything that’s going on. It’s almost like a gigantic vitrine. However, it’s better to go inside and see the details. Like the “cease and desist” order, the crates, the note that came with the flowers from David Zwirner…..

Pedro Alonzo: What? David Zwirner sent you flowers? I didn’t know he sent you flowers. How did that happen?
Geoff Hargadon: No, I just sent myself flowers and had the note signed from David Zwirner.

Pedro Alonzo: Do people see that?
Geoff Hargadon: Very few, but I’m okay with that. I don’t think there’s a single person who’s seen everything that’s going on in the store. Which is okay. Most people come in and they want to know if the checks are real or ask, “Can I have a sign?” “How much are the signs?”

Pedro Alonzo: Are you selling anything?
Geoff Hargadon: That wasn’t the original intent but people have come in and bought a couple signs.

A posted sign in the window describes the hottest pieces sought by Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Pedro Alonzo: What about the Shwag?
Geoff Hargadon: The reason schwag makes sense is that if we are pretending to be a real company, we have to have schwag to give away. It makes fun of the industry that makes things for companies that are trying to promote their product. That amuses me. I have a lot of stickers from the Cash for your Warhol campaign, pencils, and stress balls.

Pedro Alonzo: How do you get started with Cash for Your Warhol?
Geoff Hargadon: It started with signs in early 2009, during the peak of the financial crisis. I noticed that signs kept popping up “cash for your house”, “cash for your this and that” it made me think, this crisis is affecting everyone, so where are the signs for the 1%? Actually, that is probably not what I said because that was before the term 1% was used. The phrase, “Cash for your Warhol” popped into my head, it sounded funny.

I decided to make signs and put them up to see what would happen. However, I did it in a rush and I put my cell phone number on the first 100 signs. That was a mistake because even though I thought everyone would be in on the joke, that wasn’t the case. People were calling at all hours. I solved that problem by getting a Google voice number.

Pedro Alonzo: How many calls do you get on average?
Geoff Hargadon: I get a call every day but most of them hang up. I think the reason for that is that people want to know if this is real. When they hear the voice on the answering machine they hang up. Some people leave messages, a few people actually call because they have Warhol’s to sell.

Artworks for shipping and receiving at the Cash For Your Warhol storefront. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Pedro Alonzo: Have you had legitimate offers?
Geoff Hargadon: I’ve been shown about 30 Warhols. It’s all done through the Internet, I have not met anyone in person. People send pictures, certificates of authenticity, proof of purchase, close-ups of the signature, etc. Some of the Warhol’s have been the real deal. I was shown a painting that was estimated at around $6 million. It seems kind of silly that someone would show me a $6 million Warhol. I’ve also been shown stuff that Andy Warhol supposedly autographed; programs, pictures, a napkin, a dress. The problem is that people who have Warhol’s seem to think that because it’s a Warhol it is worth 1 million bucks. I get a lot of bogus offers from people who are fishing around – which I’m okay with.

Pedro Alonzo: Is your intention to start a dialogue?
Geoff Hargadon: It’s a commentary on the art world that sees art as commodity. It’s part street art, it’s part performance art. Being here is kind of a performance. I’m performing as if this were a real store.

At that moment a group of young women walk by and read out loud, “Cash for you Warhol. This is supposed to be an art project or something.”

Geoff Hargadon: This project is a parody of the enterprises that are financial predators. They prey on people who get into difficult situations and are forced to sell their house to somebody who put a phone number on a telephone pole. This seems kind of crazy but people must do it or we wouldn’t see so many signs.

Examples of huge payouts are posted for your perusal at the Cash For Your Warhol business. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Pedro Alonzo: Are there any influences?
Geoff Hargadon: A big influence was Banksy’s pet shop in New York. That was pretty epic. As well as Faile’s arcade, which I saw in Miami and in the lower East side. They are good examples. In many cases, pop-ups are about selling prints. Faile and Banksy’s pop ups were really about a concept.

Pedro Alonzo: You’re spending a lot of time here. What has been the pleasure of doing this?

Geoff Hargadon: The pleasure has come from a number of different sources. Friends and artists have been dropping by. Several artists have come to trade art works. Which is really great, I love to trade. I’ve also had a couple of people come in who want to wire money through Western Union. That was a little awkward because we have a Western Union sign but we are not set up to send wires.

I have also enjoyed the quiet of the store. Sitting in here reading, catching up on emails. Minding my own business, when out of the corner of my eye I see somebody walk by, pause and look completely confused. They will look at the store for a few seconds and then keep on walking. To me that really indicates the success of the design of the store. Because it looks real enough to possibly be a store were people might buy your Warhol. I like the fact that most people walk by and think it’s just a pawnshop and are not interested in coming in. Many people come in and say, “I’ve been following your project for years, this is so great, nice to see you.” Then they take some stickers and hang around. It’s kind of a lovefest. I have really enjoyed it.

Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Ben: Sorry to interrupt. I have been a big fan of this.
Hargadon: Thanks. I’m Geoff.
Ben: I’m Ben. I have an Andy Warhol story to tell you. I was an usher at Radio City Music Hall in the 80’s. During the intermission of a Johnny Mathis concert I was sent to stand in front of the orchestra with my back to the stage facing the audience. 10 rows up on the isle was Andy Warhol slumped down in his chair with his hair sticking up. I noticed he was looking at me and we basically started playing peekaboo. Andy Warhol who would hide behind his program. That was so cool. I think what you’re doing is nuts and kind of funny and I’ve even bought some your signs.
Hargadon: Really? That is awesome.
Ben: Yeah, I’m one of those guys that buys your signs.
Hargadon: Do you want to take a sign?
Ben: My wife won’t let me put it up but I will take it.

Pedro Alonzo: Why did you pick this location?
Geoff Hargadon: I live about a mile down the road but I haven’t really explored Inman Square. It’s an interesting collection of people, that’s what makes Cambridge and Somerville so great. It is important that the pop up take place outside of an arts district. This needs to be a destination. It would not work if it had been next to a Gallery. It has to be ambiguous.

Geoff Hargadon: Did you hear that? That guys was explaining to his girlfriend that this is an art installation. I love that.

Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Hargadon: Hey Man. How’s it going?
Keith: I brought a celebratory beverage, a final day thing.
Geoff Hargadon: Jesus! Wow, champagne.
Keith: You want to throw some down?
Geoff Hargadon: I tried to convince Pedro to have some beer earlier but champagne is actually better.

Keith was followed by a rush of more friends, fans and admirers. Some of whom brought beer and wine turning the Cash for Warhol store into an impromptu party. Once the booze was finished everyone went home and we continued the interview.

Pedro Alonzo: Watching today unfold with all of these people coming to see you and experience your store makes me think how insipid just looking at art inside a white box can be.
Geoff Hargadon: A museum has many advantages over the store but the advantage here is that people can engage with the store in many different ways. Like the guy who was just here, he’s not going to go to a museum with a bottle of wine. Even the people who came in to wire money, they weren’t pushed away. I tried to be as accommodating as possible even though I couldn’t send their wire.

Pedro Alonzo: It seems that your intention was to encourage gathering, socializing, and an exchange of ideas around your art.
Geoff Hargadon: It is an art project that poses as a business but actually has no commercial intent – which is kind of weird when you think of it. I’m not really here to sell stuff and I like that ambiguity about it. I opened this temporary store and whatever happens, happens. This project is subversive to the art establishment in that it raises the issue of art as commodity. Museums are some of my favorite places in the world, and they play a very valuable role. But I also feel that Street Art plays a very valuable role by working outside of the world.

Pedro Alonzo: What does your wife think about all of this?
Geoff Hargadon: She likes it but she will be happy when it’s over.

Pedro Alonzo: My wife just texted me. I gotta get home to dinner.
Geoff Hargadon: Yeah, me too.

Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Pedro Alonzo is an independent curator whose unique understanding and appreciation for the Street Art scene has made him a strong and trusted advocate for artists such as Os Gêmeos, Shepard Fairey, Dr. Lakra, Faile, MOMO, and Swoon, among many others. His curatorial vision has brought new audiences a greater appreciation for these artists in solo and group shows at places like ICA/Boston, Dallas Contemporary, Pinchuk Arte Centre in Kiev, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Most recently he curated a citywide exhibition titled Open Source: Engaging Audiences in Public Space for the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

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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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Cash For Your Warhol (CFYW) Says “No Questions Asked” in Philadelphia

April 9, 2015 Artists, Interview

“No Questions Asked” says Hargo of this slyly-named collection of Cash For Your Warhol pieces opening this week at a small gallery in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood. But you may want to ask a few questions of your own.

The large CFYW billboard outside Penn Station in Philadelphia is more than an appeal, and less. Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

That’s the typical response that most viewers have when they see his printed plastic signs on telephone poles in desperate parts of town from Boston to New York to Miami to Los Angeles and many points in between. For six years the foxy Street Artist has been happily perplexing inquisitive and inquiring minds with evolving iterations of the sign he first placed on the lawn of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachussets at the height of the financial crisis.

“So it was in March of 2009, it was the bottom. It was also the time when the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis was having tremendous financial difficulty and they had announced that they were going to be selling their art collection.”

He says these are the sorts of signs that appear in the more desperate parts of town. Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“It is one of the best university art collections in the country, and people went nuts,” Hargo explains in a lumberjacked-cuffed-denim-bearded-flannel-plaid-drip-coffee shop a couple of blocks away from the newly installed show.

“So the first sign that I installed was actually on their lawn,” he says with a certain glint in his eye. “That sign got taken down and it is currently in the Rose Museum in the employee lunchroom I’m told. ”

Image © Hargo

He knows his signs are collected directly off the street by all types of people – including a board member of the Warhol Foundation. Once the message catches the eye, certain people also feel compelled to call the number, which he eventually changed and connected to an answering machine. Listen to the messages on the phone installed at “No Questions Asked” and you’ll hear a randomized collection of the hundreds he’s collected so far. Sometimes they are simply confused, other times irate, or self aggrandizing. They warn him about vandalism or insult him for a variety of reasons.

Sometimes they inquire about selling art.

Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“I think the Cash For Your Warhol thing is funny, and I think it’s okay for art to be funny. Sometimes people think that it has to be all serious and intellectual,” he says as he discusses the more surface emotional aspects of turning the low cost sales medium on its head – a continuous source of entertainment and education for the artist and those who follow his work. He doesn’t mind if people don’t get it or if they literally take the signs for themselves. He has amassed a collection of similar signs himself, and some of their designs are mashed together in a handful of one-of-a-kind pieces in the show as well.

BSA: What kind of signs do you collect and how many do you have?
Hargo: I have a couple hundred – I only want the ones that are plastic signs that are printed – and only those that have a phone number.

Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: So even with those narrow parameters, it comes out to be 200 signs. That’s crazy.
Hargo: So wherever I travel – like I was in Florida and I collected a dozen of them. Before I go home I go to a UPS store and I mail them to myself. So I have “Cash for Your House’, “Cash for Your Junk Car”, um, but also “Tattoo Removal” is prominent. I have “Divorce $299”, “Insurance For Diabetics”, signs for Karate lessons, sports camps, dancing lessons.

BSA: Do the dancing lessons signs have a silhouette of a couple in a romantic embrace?
Hargo: Yeah, they’re like doing the tango or something.

BSA: So it is good that you are using these different signs to mash together in your own work.
Hargo: Yeah I think the last thing the people who made these signs expected was that someone would take this sign deliberately and blend it into one of these works.

Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Part conceptual, part culture jamming, sociology and anthropology, many iterations of his signage is on display in this brief but tightly packed overview of the entire short career of CFYW – including the special new one in Spanish that features green and red ink referencing the Mexican flag.

“It’s sort of the full collection,” he says, “and I made the new Spanish sign, which is larger format than previously but two sided. Each side is slightly different because when you pull the screens the ink is slightly different.”

Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“I think a lot of people in Philly are not familiar with his work but they are getting excited about this show,” says LMNL Gallery curator RJ Rushmore, who tells about a further irony where a deli in Fishtown saw one his signs on the street and sent out a tweet about it. Hargo saw the tweet and sent them a sign as a gift – which they promptly put in the front window.

“I just find it so surreal,” says Rushmore, “that an actual store is displaying it in their window display – an artwork that is an advertisement for an art show about a guy looking to buy art.”

Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The longer he continues with the CFYW project, the greater the layers of irony and commentary, and the more fulsome is the tribute to the projects namesake Warhol, who became famous by appropriating and elevating the mundane for consideration as art.

“There are numerous ways in which the viewer could relate to CFYW,” he explains, “and I don’t want my views to narrow or shift that experience. It’s part prank, yes, but also part outsider art, part art as commodity, part commentary on the 1%, part performance, part interaction with the viewer, part parody, and, as you pointed out, part Warhol homage. It can be light and funny, or complex and serious – take your pick. I want the viewer’s experience to be open-ended.

“It’s a street art project in the literal sense, because it often goes on the street, but I deliberately don’t abide by traditional street art ‘rules’ because some of those are kinda silly, and I don’t feel I need to follow them in order for the project to succeed. Ideas around permission, fabrication, acceptable media, a gallery presence, hanging off a building with a roller – I feel that sorta stuff doesn’t apply to me because I’m not actually trying to be a street artist.”

Okay, if you say so. No questions asked.

Cash For Your Warhol. Philadelphia, PA. April, 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cash For Your Warhol AKA CFYW “No Questions Asked” will open on April 10 at the LMNL Gallery in Philadelphia. Click HERE for further details.

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Paris Street Art Update : “Je Suis Charlie” and “Pochoirs à Vendre”

February 19, 2015 Artists

Cash For Your Warhol. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Street Artist Combo says he was beaten for his street art advocating religious tolerance and naturally there has been a series of Je Suis Charlie variants appearing in the streets of Paris since we last checked in with this hot spot on the Street Art scene, so you know that many newly appearing works are charged with socio-political relevance. In these new images you will also see some fresh ideas from new names as well as long-term players, so those are encouraging signs of a vibrant scene as well.

You may also note an increase in the professional/commercial quality of some of these pieces and murals and begin to question how long a free-wheeling organic Street Art scene can last before low level opportunists cash in on it and turn it into a sad strip mall selling tchotchkes or derivative works by anonymous artists like a machine. Ah, capitalism, of thee we all sing.

The London scene has elements of this, so do New York and Melbourne, but we didn’t see it so obviously until photographer Geoff Hargadon returned from Paris with these excellent photos for BSA readers and gave us his account of a store he wandered into. Enjoy his account further along in this posting.

In the mean time, long live Paris and it’s many players on the street!

Love or money? Mygalo (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Philippe Herard (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Kashink . Bault (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Philippe Vignal (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Don’t slip! Not a Clet banana peel, but it easily could be. Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Ender (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

VHILS (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Jerome Mesnager (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Combo (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Invader (It is a fake Invader we heard) . Mega Matt (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Invader (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Una Vida (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Graffity…sans graffiti (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Bault (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Bault . Artist At Ome AKA Atom (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Fred le Chevalier (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Alaniz . Sebr (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

C215 (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Berns . FKDL (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Michael Beerens (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

We couldn’t ID this artist. It bears a certain resemblance to ALIAS but we can’t say for sure. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Tragic Optimist . Gzup . Le Diamantaire . Mega Matt . Monsieur BMX (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Tragic Optimist (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Suriani (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Sebr (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Sara Conti (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Nemo (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Madame Moustache (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Michael Kershnar (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Monkey Bird . Le Diamanataire (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Hopare (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Geoff’s account of his discovery in a heavily trafficked area known for Street Art in Paris recently. “Rue Déyonez is an active street for street art, with de facto legal walls on each side showing work from the most prolific Parisian artists. So I was walking up Rue Déyonez and this door was half open. I would not say it was exactly inviting but somehow I wiggled my way in. This guy named Pedro was in there with a friend, drinking tea.”

A quick scan reveals Warhol, Hendrix, Obama, Woody Allen at the clarinet, Freud, and of course Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks? Pedro’s Gallery (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

“I looked around and saw that the room was completely filled with stenciled paintings of (mostly) American figures such as Warhol, Obama, Hendrix, Marilyn Monroe, and lots of Jimi Hendrix. The smell of aerosol was intense, and I quickly concluded my host had never worn a protective mask in his working life. Pedro probably set up camp to capitalize on the flow of visitors to this concentrated display of street art. I didn’t quite catch where he was from originally and I don’t think it was France. He was certainly cordial. I poked around his rooms full of literally hundreds of stencils while he allowed me to ignore the PAS DE PHOTOS sign on the pole. I left with a (overpriced) stencil on a Paris map.”

Pedro’s Gallery (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Our sincere thanks to Geoff Hargadon for his contributions and for sharing with BSA readers his unique perspective and talent.

For more Street Art from Paris:

Paris Street Art : Spencer Elzey in Europe

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

Paris: A Mid-Summer Mural Art Dispatch

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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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Snapping Street Spirit at Miami Art Basel 2013

December 9, 2013 Artists

Miami was sunny and warm all weekend! New York had two snow-related car pileups overnight and a two-hour snow/sleet delay for schools this morning.

Thus we explain the attraction of an annual art circus that swims through the balmy Miami streets and fairs and beaches in early December called Art Basel. Each year it is better and worse than the year before, depending on who you got to dance with, or how much money you made, or how many walls you painted.

For Street Art there is now a bit more glam and glitz than in the past as the circling investors/collectors/brands are poised to ponder and plunder the possibilities presented – and there are the looky loos with cell cameras clicking, posing with friends and sometimes the artist if you are lucky. And there is still the basic pleasure of hitting up a wall and hanging out with your friends regardless of who sees it or not.

But hopefully somebody sees it.

CFYW/Cash For Your Warhol (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

For photographer Geoff Hargadon the pilgrimage is one more art fair, and one more opportunity to get off the beaten path to see what’s going on in the margins. An observer of behavior and communications and anthropological behaviors, Geoff captures some of the art on the walls, sure, but he also is looking at the trappings and the detritus and associated meanings.

“I don’t see any sense in taking pictures of all the stuff that had already been shot by the rest of the world,” says Hargadon of these fresh shots from Miami that he shares with BSA readers today. “I was trying to capture the spirit and the chaos of the street scene in a different way while being true to the art, the artists and their work.”

CFYW/Cash For Your Warhol. Above that is another artist called Warning Bad Dog. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Ino. Detail. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Dekae Style (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Faile and Bast Deluxx Fluxx Arcade Miami 2013. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

The pristine state of Faile and Basts’ Deluxx Fluxx Arcade Miami 2013. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Patrick shines through the lights at the Faile and Bast Deluxx Fluxx Arcade Miami 2013. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Repent! (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Invader under a transit train car enveloped in advertising. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Jaz (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Amanda Marie at work on her wall. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Rime and Dceve (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

The London Police. Detail. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

The London Police at work on their wall. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Joram Roukes at work on his wall. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Haas & Hanh of Favela Painting. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Obey with Russel King, Matt Siren and Herakut in the background. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

RYCA’ s Han Solo as multiples of double Elvis wheat pasted on top of Anthony Lister. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Buff Monster (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Spencer Keeton (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

A Miami ride. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Images of the Week: 08.11.13

August 11, 2013 Artists

Boy did you smell the rotting hot winds blowing hard through Brooklyn this week? Makes you want to wash the ick off doesn’t it? Ballooning above the fetid stench of decaying garbage in dumpsters and drunken late-night urination, a distinctly bloated snorting powdery heat rose from Duane Reade Island and came across the East River, bringing with it a rather Coney Island-style circus of crusty hot air mixed with a whiff of braying pomposity. Luckily, it was a brief blast of the gaseous odor, dissipating quickly back into irrelevance and the now clean cool air has returned. At least as clean as the BK can muster.

As we do every week, here are a selection of new work that has arrived as we celebrate the true spirit of creativity and the community that has always buoyed us, no matter the weather. As usual, we’re happy to be right here with you on the stoop, hopefully staying cool.

This weeks interview with the street features Bisco, Bo130, Buff Monster, Case Ma’Claim, Cash For Your Warhol, El Tono, Galo, Microbo, Nychos, Shepard Fairey, Smithe, and The London Police.

Top image is by Case MaClaim. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cash For Your Warhol in Somerville, MA (photo © CFYW)

NYCHOS (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NYCHOS. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bisco (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Buff Monster, Galo, The London Police, Microbo, bo130. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Buff Monster, Galo, The London Police, Microbo, bo130. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smithe (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smithe. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey with his crew in DUMBO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey at work in DUMBO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Obey Giant (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smithe and Nychos collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smithe and Nychos collaboration. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Tono at work in DUMBO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Tono in DUMBO. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Tono in DUMBO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Brooklyn, NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Images of the Week: 01.20.13

January 20, 2013 Artists

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Amanda Marie, Blaqk, Brian Scott, Cash For Your Warhol, Elbowtoe, Elmer, Ismael, Joe Iurato, Lamarid, Rae, Specter, Veng RWK, and Willow.

Top image > Brian Scott interprets Hamlet. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Joe Iurato at Bushwick 5 Points. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A new version of Cash For Your Warhol in Russian! Also the colors of the Russian flag are the same as the American flag. Coincidence? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

American Street Artist Amanda Marie just completed this series of stencilled flying children across a wall in San Francisco. (photo © courtesy of 941 Geary Gallery)

Amanda Marie in San Francisco. (photo © courtesy of 941 Geary Gallery)

Amanda Marie is included in the group exhibition “While We Were Away”. Click here for more information.

Willow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elbowtoe, Veng RWK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Specter in Mexico City renders a traditional folk dress. (photo © Specter)

Rae (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lamarid and Ismael at 5 Pointz in Queens. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Elmer at 5 Pointz in Queens. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Blaqk. Athens, Greece. (photo © Blaqk)

Blaqk uses a script-like pattern to selectively fill a wall, creating an effect of modern ruins in Athens, Greece. Detail. (photo © Blaqk)

Untitled. Williamsburg, December 2012 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Miami Recap ’12 : Brand New Art in the Streets

December 10, 2012 Art Fair, Artists, Florida, Miami, On the Street

Shots from the weekend here by photographer, artist and frequent BSA contributor Geoff Hargadon. He caught a lot of new pieces as they were being installed, as well as some newly fresh ones.

Heads were rolling as soon as Anthony Lister hit the ground in Miami. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

These tires on the back of large vehicle looked like they were going to burst loose, which alarmed some and thrilled others. Rob “Bear” Fogle. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Obey was there to meet people at the dead end of the tracks. Shepard Fairey (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Obey . Shepard Fairey (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

People took a break on the grass in front of the wall-sized Tony Goldman tribute at Wynwood Walls by hepard Fairey (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Artists are often asked to give their work for free. You don’t typically see signs like this for accountants or plumbers. ISO… (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Invader (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Cash For Your Warhol has something new in Miami this year. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

CFYW (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

The ever more conceptual Cash For Your Warhol takes it to a abstract level here, purposely obscuring his own message while placing the real thing in relief. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Action shot of one of Paris’ early stencil artists, Speedy Graphito, at the Art Miami fair. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Melbourne’s REKA on tour and in town. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Os Gemeos. Detail. The Brazilian Twins were represented by their Brazilian Gallery at the Main Fair: Art Basel this year. From the Street to the Glitz. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

A Nathan Vincent and Alex Emmart collab exhorts you to behave at Fountain via Mighty Tanaka Gallery. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Asif’s Guns. A pop-up with cardboard replicas of the machines that kill. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Asif’s Guns (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Banksy. Is the guard there to protect or to reclaim stolen goods? (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

While there was some mindlessly pompous chatter surrounding the heralded display of actual walls by Banksy at the Context fair, the sometimes vandal’s work was surprisingly unremarkable to most attendees, who glanced at it and kept walking. If anything, the security guards helped garner a little interest. It is illuminating to find that outside of the hyper-excited Street Art fandom bubble that we are often in, an actual Banksy work doesn’t have as much magnetism that you might expect.

The walls (or pieces of walls) that were on display are said to have been stolen and the artist is said to be angered about it, but no arrests have been made and no property seized. Since the majority of graffiti or Street Artists are not wont to ask for permission to do their thing, most understand that no “rules” are typically invoked to protect their work on the street, or off it. Now that Banksy’s work is so high profile and sells at auctions and is in museums, it’s like putting a luxury watch or crystal vase on a wall out in the public – its market value is just too tempting for certain individuals. While this is an unsavory outcome to some, it’s not likely to change much.

“I am not a fan of what Bankrobber did, but, presuming it’s not some elaborate collaboration, I’m amused by the fact that Banksy doesn’t control it, and how his work is being displayed: among people who apparently don’t care about it nor did they come to see it… where Banksy is not necessarily the center of attention,” says Hargadon, remarking that one piece is shown behind a velvet rope.

La Pandilla returns to Miami again. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Chanoir and El Xupet Negre (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Occupy All The Streets…with parties. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

En Masse collective took over a wall in their monochromatic way(photo © Geoff Hargadon)

The Bask Truck was giving out free stickers from a leggy art lover (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

DWOT . All Nation Team from Vancouver was doing some night work in the Miami heat. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

DWOT . All Nation Team. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Dabs & Myla collab with Craola and Witnes. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Images of the Week 11.04.12

November 4, 2012 Artists

This was a tough week for New York and we’re still struggling to recover from the Hurricane whose name we’re tired of saying. We have every reason to believe New Yorkers will continue to pull together, as we always do. Go Brooklyn! Go Staten Island! Go Manhattan! Go Queens! Go Bronx! Go Long Island! Go New Jersey! Go Connecticut! New York, you are beautiful and we love you.

As ever, photographer Jaime Rojo was on the streets shooting a lot of stuff, and of course there was new Street Art to discover too. So here’s our weekly interview with the street, including 2501, Bast, Cash for Your Warhol, Classic, Cynthia von Buhler, FKDL, Gilf!, Hanksy, JR, Nick Walker, Pixel Pancho, Rene Gagnon, Ron English, and You Are Beautiful.

These new Cash For Your Warhol signs are suddenly appearing again, and offering valuable authentication services also. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nick Walker (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FKDL has a complimentary and cozy relationship with Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

FKDL (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Parisian FKDL left new stuff that appeared on the streets of Brooklyn recently, his collages now evolving to include more detailed figurework in a 1950s illustration style. Using clippings from vintage newspapers and magazines in the compositions, these wheat pastes/collages are hand colored and one of a kind, left for the few who catch sight of them before the weather destroys them. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Many boarded up and empty lots were uncovered by the fury of hurricane Sandy this week. Many plywood fences blew up and away, exposing the hidden walls. This is an old JR piece that we have documented before but we have not been able to get inside this fenced lot until now. Naturally, it now has been transformed a bit by the contributions of tags on it, sort of emulating the stripe painted across this native American’s face. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cynthia von Buhler “Speakeasy Dollhouse” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Here’s a Ron English installation in progress in Little Italy for The New York Comedy Central in association with Vandalog: “The Art of Comedy”. There will be an art walk to celebrate this installations. More details to follow on the BSA Calendar and Upcoming Events. Some local guys stopped to pose for this one. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gilf! says Lady Liberty is still drinking the KoolAid in this installation in Little Italy for The New York Comedy Central in association with Vandalog: “The Art of Comedy”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gilf! styles Barack Obama as a marionette in this installation in Little Italy for The New York Comedy Central in association with Vandalog: “The Art of Comedy”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hanksy installation in Little Italy for The New York Comedy Central in association with Vandalog: “The Art of Comedy”. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Thanks darlin’ so are you. Your Are Beautiful (photo © Jaime Rojo)

One of the most unhinged and kinetic Bast tags we’ve seen in a while (photo © Jaime Rojo)

2501 is in town and pulling out the optic trickery at Bushwick Five Points (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pixel Pancho brings in the robotic Dandy aesthetic at Bushwick Five Points. Also makes you think of a very young Colonel Sanders, right? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pixel Pancho at Bushwick Five Points. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rene Gagnon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Classic. Looks like Charlie Browns having a bummer. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Hurricane Sandy caused NYC to go partially dark this week and even days after the storm there are still 2 million people without electricity. In this photo the Williamsburg Bridge is half illuminated on the Brooklyn side, half dark on the Manhattan side – a visual representation of the sense of loss the city is feeling right now. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Fourth Wall Project Presents: “Street Wall” A Group Show (Boston, MA)

January 16, 2012 Artists, Boston, Gallery, Opening

Street Wall

Opening Reception February 4th, 2012. 7pm-9pm

Street Wall is an exhibition dedicated to artists who work on city walls to create public art. The artists highlighted in the exhibition are creating an installation directly on the gallery walls. Each artist is given a 2 to 4 panel section of wall space on the interior of the gallery for them to wheat paste work in the gallery resulting in pristine versions of their public work as well as initiating a collaboration in close quarters. Curated by William Stitt at Fourth Wall Project in Boston. The show runs from Feb. 4 – Feb. 23

The Artists

LNY, Radical!, Tiptoe, Nanook, The Phantom, Geoff Hargadon, Zatara and Blackmath. LA artist, The Phantom, has been working as a street artist internationally for over twenty years. He has directed videos for Rage Against the Machine and has also done their cover album art for “The Battle of LA.” Local Boston based artists Zatara and Blackmath have been working primarily in the area but have travelled all over to bring their unique work to the streets. Zatara uses collected screen printed images that combines visually overstimulating scenarios of apocalyptic visions of society. Blackmath employs large woodcut prints in his wheat paste work. Intricate and beautiful it plays on emotions that are both whimsical and dark. Geoff Hargadon’s “Cash For Your Warhols” signs can be seen all over cities internationally. His collection of signs are part social experiment, making the viewer question its reality in our capitalist heavy landscape. New Jersey artist LNY’s work is both visually stimulating and carries an energy of offbeat images. New York based artists Tiptoe and Radical! have been populating the streets with their images. Tiptoe uses mythological imagery in his savage and beautiful images that cause the commonplace walls in which they are pasted to become something more ethereal. Radical! Works both on the streets and off employing scenes of darkly comedic characters. Nanook, from Baltimore, uses humans and animals in his animated line work wheat pastes. The style of his works moves perfectly on the walls of abandoned Baltimore buildings as well as in the gallery. Live screen printing by Antidesigns.

Fourth Wall Project

Founded in 2009, by the Bodega Crew with a goal of creating more places for punks to loiter, artists to flourish, and more voices to be heard.

The idea was to turn dormant commercial spaces into pop up gallery spaces reclaiming urban space for public art projects and progressive exhibitions. We keep it independent/free form and curate cultural artifacts for the neighborhood. We settled into our current location at 132 Brookline Ave. Boston MA 02215 a wonderful 3,000 square foot gallery with many possibilities.

Images of the Week 01.02.12: Miami Special Part I

January 2, 2012 Art Fair, Artists, Florida, On the Street

Ding Ding Ding! The New Year has been rung in and your head has stopped ringing, so it’s back to work – and back to Images of the Week, our weekly interview with the street. This week we’re bringing you incredible new work from Miami. In fact there is so much there since Art Basel hit a month ago that we’re gonna split it over 2 (or 3!) episodes of Images of the Weeks. With all this art on the streets surrounding you, it feels like a prosperous way to start 2012.

So here’s our first part interview with the Streets of Miami, today featuring 2501, Above, Adjust, Aiko, Anthony Lister, B., Ben Eine, CFYW, Chu, Cope, Dabs & Myla, Dan Witz, Date Farmers, Faile, Fila, Hargo, How & Nosm, Interesni Kazki, Jaz, Jeff Soto, JR, Kenny Sharf, Kenton Parker, Know Hope, La Pandilla, Liqen, Logan Hicks, LRG, MDR, MPR, Pez, Pixel Pancho, Retna, REVOK, ROA, Robots, Rone, Saner, Sego, Shark Toof, Shepard Fairey, Spencer Keeton, Tati, and Vhils.

With special thanks to all the people who helped us out, showed us around and provided insight and background, especially the folks from Primary Projects and Wynwood Walls.

Kenny Scharf did an installation for Wynwood Doors/Walls similar to his installation earlier in the year at LA MOCA. Trailer Interior (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Images of the Week 12.11.11

December 11, 2011 Artists, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Florida, Manhattan, Miami, NYC, On the Street

Thank you for all the excellent and splendid and wacky and warm submissions to the BSA Holiday Giveaway this week. BSA just has the smartest, knowledgeable, talented and most badass readers! Our panel of judges will be casting their votes for the five winners soon and we’ll be revealing the winners during “12 Wishes for ’12” at the end of the month. A sincere “Thank You” to everybody (from everywhere!) who took the time and made the effort to share their personal wish and image. We value each and every one.

The bachanal of Street Art known as Art Basel washed like a typhoon over walls of Miami last weekend and more Street Artists than ever put up work before heading home to locations around the globe. By all accounts it was an overwhelming experience for many and artists, fans, photographers, and promoters are taking a little time to consider the experience and think about the ramifications for Street Arts’ direction. You may have seen a couple of postings we had as the work was going up last weekend here and here.

This week we show you a handful of somewhat reflective shots from the streets of Miami (and some from New York too). With time for consideration and after letting the aerosol settle, BSA will give you a huge overview of the whole Miami Street Art scene as it stands on January 2nd.

For now, here is our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Dain, Gaia, Hargo, Love Me, Need You, Pez, La Pandilla, Rone, and Spencer Keeton Cunningham. Photographs by Jaime Rojo and Geoff Hargadon.

Artist Unknown. This collage was made out of two different wheat pastes by two different artists at two different times. A side bust. The B&W photos were superimposed on the original wheat paste (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Here are Geoff Hargadon’s images for BSA from his adventures in Miami for Art Basel 2011.

Rone. This is a fine example of the spontaneous and unsanctioned art that takes place on the streets of Miami during the four days of Art Basel. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Geoff caught this cru from Atlanta working in the middle of the night. The painting is a tribute to a friend of theirs who passed away not long ago. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Fun Friday 12.09.11

December 9, 2011 Artists, Events, Gallery, Opening

1. Last Day to Enter “BSA Holiday Giveaway”
2. “Tokyo Tattoo 1970” Martha Cooper and Aiko in Brooklyn
3. Robots Will Kill & Friends Tonight in Brooklyn
4. Photographer Birdman Show tonight in Los Angeles
5. C215 at Shooting Gallery (SF)
6. Geoff Hargadon “Dealers Protected” (Boston)
7. GAIA Saturday @ Irvine Contemporary (DC)
8. “Home For The Holidays” group show at Klughaus Gallery
9. DD$ show “Everything Popular is Wrong” at Lab Art
10. Nick Walker’s Large Mural, “See No Evil”, in Bristol (VIDEO)
11. The Installation of David Byrne’s Giant Globe under the High Line in NYC (VIDEO)

Last Day to Enter “BSA Holiday Giveaway”

Folks today is the last day we are accepting submissions for our Holiday Giveaway Contest “12 Wishes for 2012”. Hurry! The prizes are great plus you can be featured on BSA along some great artists working today on the streets.

“Tokyo Tattoo 1970” Martha Cooper and Aiko in Brooklyn

Tonight at Urban Folk Art Gallery/Brooklyn Tattoo, a dual show of photographer and artist and friends.

Urban Folk Art© Gallery is pleased to present the the art installation and book release celebration for Martha Cooper’s latest book ‘Tokyo Tattoo 1970’ by Dokument Press.

Martha Cooper will be exhibiting photos from her book, and Aiko, internationally renowned stencil artist will be displaying work inspired by Martha’s work directly related to the book.

For Further information regarding this show click here

Robots Will Kill & Friends Tonight in Brooklyn

Mighty Tanaka ‘s new show “ROBOTS WILL KILL & FRIENDS” brings together an eclectic group of artist from different disciplines. The gallery is also celebrating 2 years.