All posts tagged: Change

Wall \Therapy : Street Art Final Shots From Rochester

July 31, 2013

Diagnosis One: America’s deflated rustbelt cities can expect a deteriorated dust bowl demeanor until bankruptcy, followed by tumbleweeds.

Diagnosis Two: Street Art and graffiti are inextricably entwined with and contributing factors for broken windows, societal disarray, economic and moral decay of the aforementioned cities.

Both are failed and need to be re-examined.

Francey. Detail A. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

For the record, Rochester tops lists in terms of liveability, investment in new technology sectors, and has 91% of it’s citizens covered by health insurance – before Obamacare even kicks in. It has lost jobs and population due to stumbling giants like Xerox and Eastman Kodak and recent annual budgets have had significant shortfalls, but Rochester is putting up a good fight in the healthcare sector.

Dr. Ian Wilson should know. Which brings us to the second diagnosis. Ask the former Brooklyn graff writer now radiologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center if Street Art is synonymous with crime and disorder, and he’ll tell you all about the healing power of Wall\Therapy and murals.

The just-concluded community art project he spearheaded landed local and international graffiti/urban/street artists in Rochester for 10 days of painting – bringing certain parts of the city alive with curious locals hanging out in empty lots and hanging out of slow moving car windows, watching artists with cans as they bob up and down on cherry pickers.

Francey. Detail B. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

 

Co-curated this year with lead organizer Erich Lehman, Wilson has pulled off a stylistically wide-ranging collection of nearly 30 walls this year that go from aesthetically sweet to academically rooted. An apt balance, if you think of Ian.

It’s also been a balancing act to please all constituencies and manage to pull off something fresh; he’s dealt with a handful of outspoken critics who question every turn he’s made, yet the festival has been buoyed by a curious and enthusiastic under-30 youth culture whose minds explode with excitement at the thought of the global Street Art scene hitting their own city.

Lady Pink. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

“Mural art can enhance the life experience – an arguable effect of the arts in general,” the doctor says only a little didactically. All week during Wall\Therapy locals and visitors were taking tours on the El Camino Trail, watching walls going up in the South Wedge, and discussing art and the ideas that the artists are working with – whether it’s a portrait of Trayvon Martin in a piece by New Jersey’s LNY, a gentlemen’s fist fight by Ireland’s Conor Harrington, or a tribute to the influence of Xerox on the city by Baltimore’s Gaia.

Add the local talents, a cadre of volunteers and photographers and some serious old-skool big graffiti names from NYC rocking styles that started it all, this year there was more action than a Saturday night ER.

Lady Pink. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Finally, Wall\Therapy is Wilson’s balancing act of bringing art to the people, and medical care to communities in need. Working with a group of colleagues, he has also embarked on a fundraising program to bring diagnostic equipment to people in the developing world who lack access – and he is now talking about cloud-based diagnoses by a pool of volunteer doctors around the world who can interpret the teleradiology scans remotely.

Can he get all the funding and the equipment and the artists and the walls all together at once? “Realistically, this will have to be done in stages or phases, like some of the procedures that I perform,” he says. If you’ve witnessed this years committed volunteers and organizers at Wall\Therapy, it is a fair assumption that these dual goals of art and healing will happen on a growing scale.

“There is no hope without inspiration. The two travel simultaneously, sharing the same bandwidth,” explains Wilson.

ROA. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

ROA. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Jessie and Katey. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

FreddySam. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Gaia. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Faith47. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Mr. Prvrt. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Mr. Prvrt. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Mr. Prvrt. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Freedom. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Matt De Turck)

Freedom. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Matt De Turck)

Wise2. Detail. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Smith. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Range. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

 

Thievin Stephen. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Thievin Stephen. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Daze. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

DALeast. Detail A. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

DALeast. Detail B. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Conor Harrington. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Conor Harrington. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Binho. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Binho. Detail A. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Binho. Detail B. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

 

Change. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Chris Stain. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Chris Stain)

Pose2. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

 

BSA gives a shout out for the valuable contributions to the Wall\Therapy over the last ten days by the artists, organizers, volunteers, and talented photographers. Special thanks to John Magnus Champlin, Erich Lehman, Ian Wilson, Matt DeTurck, Jason Wilder, Alex Stuart, Mark Deff, Lisa Barker, Mark Deff, and Josh Saunders. Shout out to Instagrammers @WallTherapyNY , @heliosunphoto , and @shotbywilder .

Check out excellent Wall\Therapy coverage by Rebecca Rafferty on the Rochester City Newspaper

Check out our previous posts on WALL\THERAPY:

WALL\THERAPY 2013 Starts With FREEDOM in a Tunnel

WALL\THERAPY 2013 Daily Checkup and Scan of Founder Ian Wilson

Wall\Therapy 2013 Tuesday Update 7.22.13

Sarah C. Rutherford Flies High at Wall\Therapy

Wall \ Therapy 2013 Friday Update 07.26.13

To learn more please visit:

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Brooklyn Street Art is proud to be the Media Partner of Wall Therapy 2013

<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA

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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Wall\Therapy 2013 Wednesday Update 7.24.13

July 24, 2013

POWWWWW!

Conor Harrington’s right hook is emblematic of the impact that the huge number of artists are having on Rochester right now for WALL\THERAPY. “It’s been a very well organized event and painting side by side with this line up of artists has been a blast,” says NYC graffiti veteran and globetrotter DAZE as he improvises his piece.

Meanwhile Martha Cooper is watching/shooting “Mike Ming about to attack his super colorful wall”, Lady Pink is talking to some neighborhood youth about her work, and EVER from Argentina is showing off his international collection of paint brushes to Deb Vanwert while Jason is snapping photos of him. And the weather is great since these are the two weeks a year when Rochester gets above 60 degrees. We’re up north yo! Just kidding.

Our update today contains fresh stuff from Mike Ming, Cern, Faith47, Gaia, EVER, Pose2, St. Monci, WiseTwo, Siloette, LNY, Binho, Change, Conor Harrington, DAZE, FreddySam, Lady Pink, and Range.

Special thanks to photographers Jason Wilder, Alex Stuart, Josh Saunders, Lisa Barker, and Mark Deff, for sharing these great process images with BSA readers.

Image above of Conor Harrington in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Conor Harrington. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

St. Monci. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Binho. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Siloette. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Josh Saunders)

Range. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Cern. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

LNY gets some helpful input. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Lisa Baker)

EVER. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Mike Ming. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Gaia. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Lisa Baker)

Gaia. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Pose2. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Pose2. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Change. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Faith47. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

South Africa’s FreddySam in the zone. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Daze. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

” The painting I’m working on is a bit improvisational in that even though I had made many provisional sketches for it before hand all that changed once I was in front of the wall. At least part of my inspiration for the painting is coming from my experience here in Rochester – The center of the wall features the Rochester skyline as seen from Hyland park. Everything in the painting is drawn to this center,” explains Daze.

Lady Pink takes a moment out to speak with local youth about her work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

 

Take your phone and hit the road! Shoot your own pics and tag them @WallTherapyNY and @BKStreetArt – we’ll send them round the world! Click image above or HERE for the updated Google map.

Check out our previous posts on WALL\THERAPY:

WALL\THERAPY 2013 Starts With FREEDOM in a Tunnel

WALL\THERAPY 2013 Daily Checkup and Scan of Founder Ian Wilson

Wall\Therapy 2013 Tuesday Update 7.22.13

To learn more please visit:

<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA

 
Brooklyn Street Art is proud to be the Media Partner of Wall Therapy 2013

<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA

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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WALL\THERAPY 2013 Daily Checkup and Scan of Founder Ian Wilson

July 22, 2013

WALL\THERAPY began in earnest this weekend with a Friday kickoff party that welcomed arriving artists and the local community together and then jumped directly into the making of art with many murals going up on walls around town in Rochester simultaneously Saturday and Sunday. The dual pronged focus of WALL\THERAPY is a mural festival that draws Street Artists and graffiti artists from around the world to work alongside local artists and to raise awareness of people’s access to medical technology.

Daze. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Street Art and medicine; You may wonder how the two are related, and the answer is that these are two of Ian Wilson’s greatest passions. A Brooklyn born graff writer who went on to pursue a career in teleradiology, Ian works long doctors hours at his regular gig in a local hospital and puts this WALL\THERAPY event together with partners, volunteers, and community members. Finally, he is working to bring imaging and diagnostic equipment to communities around the world who don’t have this basic tool to treat disease.

Daze. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Since BSA supports people who actually give back, we are very happy to be the Media Partner for WALL\THERAPY and are proud of the artists who are lending their talents to this initiative in this northwestern town of New York State.

This year the roster has expanded to include an eclectic mix of a few serious old skool NYC graffiti names spanning 4 decades, a healthy handful of international and nationally known Street Artists that are defining the scene today, and some important local talents.

Daze. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

As a group they represent a solid lineup and are a reflection of the inclusive approach that WALL\THERAPY is taking, while skewing toward high quality. The list includes Bile, Binho, Case, Cern, Change, DalEast, Daze, Ever, Faith47, Adam Francey, Freedom, Freddy Sam, Jessie & Katey, Labrona, Lady Pink and Smith, Lea Rizzo, LNY, Mike Ming, Mr. Prvrt, Faring Purth, Pose2 and Range, ROA, Sarah C. Rutherford, and St Monci among others.

All week we will bring you exclusive new images of the creative progress and some insights into the personal stories of some of the artists as they create their works in this unique combining of art, science, and community inspiration.

Thanks today to photographers Jason Wilder, Alex Stuart, and Mark Deff for sharing these images with BSA readers.

Mr. Prvrt. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Mr. Prvrt. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Freddy Sam. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Bile. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Bile. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Lady Pink. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Adam Francey. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Adam Francey. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Alex Stuart)

Connor Harrington. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Mark Deff)

Smith. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Smith. Work in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Wise Two,  Lady Pink, Smith . Works in progress. WALL\THERAPY. Rochester, NY. July 2013. (photo © Jason Wilder)

Here’s a video from a previous edition of WALL\THERAPY that lays out the inspiration that lead to and the community feeling that comes about from the event.

To learn more please visit:

<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA

 
Brooklyn Street Art is proud to be the Media Partner of Wall Therapy 2013

<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA

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!

<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA<<>>><><<>BSA<<>>><<<>><><BSA

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