To introduce readers to some of the Street Artists in the upcoming show “Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories”, BSA asked a number of the artists to take part in “Back Talk” with one of our most trusted and underground and sweet sources for modern art, Juxtapoz.
Today we hear from Chris Stain.
Something you want the world to know about you: “Baltimore born. Mixed breed. House broken. Got two kids I love. Get along with punks and skins, b-boys and b-girls. Like to cut stencils. Spray paint. Write my name on sh*t. Member of justseeds.org, Out to Live, and In the Dream. Been vegetarian for 22 years goin’ on 23. Wish I could still skateboard like it was ’87.”
To introduce readers to some of the Street Artists in the upcoming show “Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories”, BSA asked a number of the artists to take part in “Back Talk” with one of our most trusted and underground and sweet sources for modern art, Juxtapoz.
Today we hear from Nick Walker.
A few words that sum up your philosophy on life: “Treat people how you would like to be treated – what goes around comes around.”
To introduce readers to some of the Street Artists in the upcoming show “Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories”, BSA asked a number of the artists to take part in “Back Talk” with one of our most trusted and underground and sweet sources for modern art, Juxtapoz.
Today we hear from Dan Witz.
Something you want the world to know about you: “Originally, back in the late 70’s, when I first started painting on the street, even though I was dead serious about it, I thought of street art as a sort of hobby, as something enjoyable I did for myself on the weekends. This is the real reason why I kept at it for all those years before street art became fashionable: not because I thought of myself as some kind of pioneer or anything, but because I was having so much fun.”
1. Multicolored Disappearing Horizon on Williamsburg Bridge
2. CAKE on Juxtapoz : New “Back Talk” Conversation
3. Street Artist TES One Gets Down with Ice Cube for a Print
Multicolored Disappearing Horizon on Williamsburg Bridge
It’s summer and people are taking to the streets with their art. If you have taken a stroll or skateboard ride across the Williamsburg Bridge recently, you’ve seen a public art installation entitled “Baji Lives!”.
(VIDEO STILLS)
In this short film by Danielle Barbiari, five friends show how a collaborative project can also come alive with very modest resources and some elbow grease.
“During the wee hours of a warm summer night, several friends conspired to bring color to the Williamsburg Bridge. Inspired by the unique vantage point offered by this public space, Baji Lives! responded with a site-specific composition that accentuates the spatial dynamics of the pedestrian pathway. This piece is an offering to those who use the bridge”
CAKE on Juxtapoz : New “Back Talk” Conversation
To introduce readers to some of the Street Artists in the upcoming show “Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories”, BSA asked a number of the artists to take part in “Back Talk” with one of our most trusted and underground and sweet sources for modern art, Juxtapoz.
Street Artist TES One Gets Down with Ice Cube for a Print
Tes One has done a new print with Ice Cube to raise awareness and funds for The Minority AIDS Project.The proceeds from the limited edition artwork will benefit the project.
Tes One Signing his print of Ice Cube (copyright Tes One and Rareink)
RareInk and ICE CUBE partner to deliver music fans original, authentic autographed works of art from their favorite recording artists created in conjunction with a collective of fine artists from around the world.
“Expanding the interaction with fans of my music by offering limited edition, signed artwork that they are able to share and enjoy with their friends and family is something I feel my fans deserve,” said Ice Cube, who in addition to being the RareInk’s first artist will serve as the company’s strategic advisor.
Click on RareInk’s site for more information regarding the sale of the prints and how to purchase the art.
To introduce readers to some of the Street Artists in the upcoming show “Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories”, BSA asked a number of the artists to take part in “Back Talk” with one of our most trusted and underground and sweet sources for modern art, Juxtapoz.
Today we hear from C215.
A few words that sum up your philosophy on life: “Trying to turn ugly sh*t into art when possible.”
To introduce readers to some of the Street Artists in the upcoming show “Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories”, BSA asked a number of the artists to take part in “Back Talk” with one of our most trusted and underground and sweet sources for modern art, Juxtapoz.
Today we hear from How & Nosm.
One reason you make art: “When we started out as Graffiti writers in 1988 it kept us busy and productive instead of just getting into trouble and being street kids. Then eventually we did it for the fame and to become one of the best in our little city in Düsseldorf, Germany. Over the years this has changed and now it is an everyday thing that is part of our lives. We make art because it gives us an inner calmness and relaxes us when we paint and see the outcome of each created piece of art, yet another reason might be the urge to have to do it. At the same time it is the habit after so many years that gives us the constant drive to evolve our art work.”
To introduce readers to some of the Street Artists in the upcoming show “Street Art Saved My Life: 39 New York Stories”, BSA asked a number of the artists to take part in “Back Talk” with one of our most trusted and underground and sweet sources for modern art, Juxtapoz.
Today we hear from Anthony Lister.
Artists you admire: “The ones that do it for love and discovery.”
Brooklyn Street Art Presents Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories in collaboration with ThinkSpace Gallery, an art show to exhibit at C.A.V.E. Gallery in Venice (LA), California on Friday, August 12, 2011.
Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories heralds the new highly individual character of stories being told on the streets of New York by brand new and established Street Artists from all over the world. Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, founders of BrooklynStreetArt.com focus on this flashpoint in modern Street Art evolution by curating a strongly eclectic story-driven gallery show with 39 of the best storytellers hitting the streets of New York.
Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories, the gallery show, accompanied by an LA street wall series by selected artists and a public panel lecture and discussion, intends to stake out the New Guard in street art while recognizing some powerful near-legendary forerunners.
The mainly New York lineup exhibits talent from other parts of the US and internationally (Australia, France, UK, Canada, Israel, Germany) and it is as steely, idiosyncratic and storied as the New York scene itself, including Anthony Lister, Adam Void, Broken Crow, C215, Cake, Chris Stain, Clown Soldier, Creepy, Dan Witz, El Sol 25, Ema, Faile, Futura, Gaia, Gilf!, Hargo, Hellbent, How & Nosm, Imminent Disaster, Indigo, Judith Supine, Kid Acne, Know Hope, Ludo, Mark Carvalho, Miss Bugs, Nick Walker, NohJColey, Over Under, Radical!, Rene Gagnon, Skewville, Specter, Sweet Toof, Swoon, Tip Toe, Troy Lovegates AKA Other, Various & Gould, and White Cocoa.
The staunch individualists in Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories give voice to the evolution of the Graffiti, Mash-Up, and D.I.Y. movements that birthed them; creating an eccentric, highly individual, and raucous visual experience on the street. With widely varied backgrounds, techniques, and materials at play, “The Story” is the story. With truths as diverse and difficult as the city itself, each one of these artists is a part of a fierce, raw, new storytelling tradition that is evolving daily before our eyes.
Show Name: Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories
Location: C.A.V.E. Gallery, 1108 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, California 90291
Date: Opening reception Friday August 12, 2011
Duration: August 12 – September 4, 2011.
Online Press Release: http://mim.io/692a11
Contact: Info@BrooklynStreetArt.com
Presented by Brooklyn Street Art in collaboration with ThinkSpace and C.A.V.E
Curated by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo of BrooklynStreetArt.com
Brooklyn Street Art is proud to collaborate with ThinkSpace Gallery and C.A.V.E. Gallery.Please note that the show will be at C.A.V.E. Gallery. Thank you.
Thinkspace Art Gallerywww.thinkspacegallery.com
6009 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232 (310) 558-3375
Wed – Fri 1PM-6PM Sat 1PM-8PM contact@thinkspacegallery.com
C.A.V.E. Gallery (location of the show) www.cavegallery.net
1108 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice CA 90291, (310) 450-6560
Wed – Sun 12PM-6PM or by appointment info@cavegallery.net
Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo are founders of BrooklynStreetArt.com and co-authors of Brooklyn Street Art and Street Art New York, both by Prestel Publishing (Random House). Harrington and Rojo are also contributing writers on street art for The Huffington Post.
Veng and Chris from RWK gathered their paint tools and called a couple of their friends over to hang out and paint on their spot in Bushwick, BK. The results have been like chocolate and peanut butter together – you are not sure how it works, but it does. Overunder, ECB, Peeta and Never collaborated on this brand new wall, still in progress.
The Australian Street Artist Does a New Wall in Brooklyn (Video)
He calls it narrative-driven character-based folk art, and Street Artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers AKA Creepy has been taking his skinny armed and legged people to walls around the world since he started doing work on the street in 2005. Not uncommon for artists who work on the street, Creepy didn’t initially have any idea how to get his stuff into a gallery so his real audience began when he started hitting walls. Now New Yorkers are getting a chance to see the tightly droll and clean Creepy aesthetic.
Comfortable with tiny canvasses and massive walls installations, the startlingly sane Creepy had a pretty banner year in 2010 with his first solo show at Turner Galleries in his home town of Perth, including over 100 pieces on wood and 8 large works on canvas. He also painted for weeks on a commission for Murdock University’s art collection; a 7 piece project of large panels totalling 150 ft in length (45 meters) when finished. As the year ended he had some fun in Sydney with the Lo-Fi Collective on a show called “Microcosm” with Beastman, Max Berry, and Phibs.
Now he’s in New York for a visit to really get the rhythm of the street, meet cool peeps and hit up walls (and a van) while doing some sight seeing with his lady. Brooklyn Street Art had the opportunity to watch Creepy work with cans last week on a new piece in the BK that speaks of his signature brand of whimsy, and his affinity for textural patterns, symbols, and shapes. Peculiar and blithe, his illustrated characters go solo or hang out in pairs usually, contemplating ennui or maybe heavier thoughts, but somehow you can’t feel too dark looking at the playful juxtapositions and color palettes.
Brooklyn Street Art:Kind of cold up on the roof, no? Were you expecting it to be so cold? Creepy: Freezing! I couldn’t bend my fingers at the end of the day.
Brooklyn Street Art:What is the inspiration for this piece? Creepy: Currently my new works are based on ideas of burden, memory and nostalgia. I was trying to show a sinking feeling of lost time or of being somewhere else in your head apart from the immediate reality. I’m thinking of great moments of the past that you could never replicate – that kind of thing.
Brooklyn Street Art:Your sense of color, proportion, and geometry are excellent. Would you describe your style as being illustrative? Creepy: I’m not sure – color and balance are really important to me. I came from a drawing background but I would rather paint these days. A lot of illustrators seem like painters to me. I don’t know what the different rules are that make you an illustrator or a painter.
Brooklyn Street Art:You like using patterns, and you sometimes you go back replace the pattern on part of the piece with something new. What are you evoking with the mix of shapes and colors? Creepy: I like the idea that many smaller details (patterns) in life exist individually but make up a much larger picture or story, and each tiny detail is just as important as the next. They need each other to make up the bigger idea – like a city or a personality. Sometimes I replace the pattern while painting if I feel like the color balance is not quite right.
Brooklyn Street Art:We’ve seen a lot of monsters and women in your figurative pieces. Are they favorite topics? Creepy: I just try to tell stories in my work from ideas and events I have experienced in life. Sometimes those stories need creatures, women and men.
Brooklyn Street Art:Thematically, where do you draw your inspiration? Creepy: From dreams, memory and the harsh and humorous everyday.
Brooklyn Street Art:How has your visit to New York been? Have you seen any interesting art? Creepy: It’s been such a great trip and really interesting. Scope/Volta/Armory week was on when I first arrived and I got tickets to those events (thanks to you guys!) which was a rocket launch into the NYC art world. I have seen a lot of inspiring works in galleries and on the street. My friend Sean Morris was in NYC for his show at Bold Hype in Chelsea, so it was great to be able to go to his exhibition as well.
Brooklyn Street Art: You have done tiny little 2 inch square pieces and massive building size mural installations. What size do you prefer to work in? Creepy: I like working on all scales. It’s nice to get outside and paint massive works and then switch it up and head into the studio and do a small painting with tiny brushes.
Brooklyn Street Art:What are you going to try to do before you leave? Creepy: Hopefully a couple more paints. I went to a Knicks game the other night so that pretty much made my year – even though they lost.
Thanks to everybody for the shout-outs about Fun Friday. We love you too.
Style Curator Natalie Kates Went to the “Street Art New York” Auction with her Video Camera
I saw her at the party/auction/fundraiser on April 24th at Factory Fresh but I didn’t know she was shooting a video! So cool because she captured the fun crowd and the funnier DJ mixologists Sifunk and Garmunkle, who really rocked our already over stimulated brains with a rhythmic cut-copy-paste blend of funkiness. (get Paul’s New Mix FREE here) Anyway, thanks Natalie!
Free Arts NYC
And on that note, thank you to all of the street artists who generously donated their time and work and creativity to the auction, which raised $16,000 for the programs at Free Arts NYC. Thank you also to the staff and many volunteers who helped make that show work – BSA recommends these people and these programs that provide valuable services to our neighbors and to NYC kids. A number of Street Artist already know about their programs and have volunteered as Big Brother/Sister mentors and worked with kids and families in the programs. Here, Cynthia and Alexis talk about their experience:
This year again, Free Arts NYC has committed to serving an additional 1,000 children to meet the high demand in New York for their programs. We hope you will consider donating today by clicking here to help them reach this important milestone and close the remaining $25,000 gap needed to expand their programs.
“UR New York” Shows You How They Do It
UR New York, true born and raised New Yorkers, not transplants like most of us, are taking their street art game another step forward in a positive way. You see their cool canvasses, but do you have any idea how many steps are involved in making a print?
Here’s a studio stop-action video that shows how the New York Duo 2Easae and Ski just churned out their first print called “Arsenic” with Art Asylum Boston. They only made 10, but it looks like a lot of effort. Using cans and brushes, these brothers are combining the best of their experience into their work.
Ron English Hits the Welling Court Walls Early
UR New York, Street Artist Ron English has put up a bunch of new wheat paste posters on theWelling Court Mural Project in Queens, NY. The festival starts tomorrow and already the stuff that is up is worth the trip for this community event. English is taking the opportunity to lambaste Consumerism, Greed, Militarism, Religious Hypocrisy, Romanticizing Guns, and Advertising Hammerlocks on your Head — you know, all the lite topics – with a variety of graphic lampoons a la Mad Magazine in the 70’s.ee
Ron English's new work at Welling Court Mural Project this weekend (image courtesy Ron English)
You may have missed this, and I’m so happy with it – so that’s two really good reasons to post this new NEW YORKY video we made with ROA this week. Have a great weekend!
Artists that were part of the “Street Art New York” Auction Benefit for Free Arts NYC were Abe Lincoln Jr., Alex Diamond, Anera, Avoid Pi, Billi Kid, Bishop 203, Blanco, BortusK Leer, Broken Crow, C Damage, C215, Cake, Celso, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Creepy, Dain, Damon Ginandes, Dan Witz, Dark Clouds, Dennis McNett, Elbow Toe, EllisG, FKDL, Gaia, General Howe, GoreB, Hargo, Hellbent, Imminent Disaster, Infinity, Jef Aerosol, Jim Avignon, JMR, Joe Iurato, Jon Burgerman, Keely, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mark Carvalho, Matt Siren, Mint and Serf, Miss Bugs, NohJColey, Nomadé, Peru Ana Ana Peru, PMP/Peripheral Media Projects, Poster Boy, Pufferella, Rene Gagnon, Roa, Royce Bannon, Skewville, Specter, Stikman, Swoon, The Dude Company, Tristan Eaton, UR New York (2esae & Ski), Veng RWK
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
