Following the evolution of The Bushwick Collective and its annual block party in Brooklyn has been a captivating journey akin to an anthropological exploration into the growing embrace of street art and murals within the realms of graffiti and HipHop. Back in the day, as the neighborhood began transforming with the influx of gentrifiers, street art faced outright dismissal or was treated as a rare phenomenon, a curiosity.
Unaware of the previous codes that roughly governed the practices of graffiti writers on the street, art-students-cum-street-art-poets often obtusely stomped their way into public view to circumvent a gallery system and to express their right to self-expression in public; something HipHop culture had been encouraging for years but had perhaps not envisioned this way. The rivalry between graffiti aficionados and street artists/muralists was sometimes palpable, with throwies vandalizing fresh paint, the OGs asserting territorial dominance, and at times, even resorting to threats and insults in person and in online forums.
As the block party, now in its twelfth year, unfolded, its early editions predominantly featured international and some local street artists eagerly seeking out BC’s visionary leader, Joe Ficalora, for an opportunity to leave their mark on his neighborhood walls. Local street art forums found fault with Ficalora, masking a barely hidden contempt for a streetwise guy taking a leadership role and betraying their own classist privileged opinions about the right to curation. That has all melted appreciably; this year’s event evidenced the remarkable shift that has been underway. Graffiti writers took the stage alongside the muralists in prime spots, sometimes seamlessly collaborating to create art transcending boundaries, all while the electrifying sounds of live HipHop performances reverberated through the air and TikTokers danced in front of them.
Let’s raise a bottle to those who always believed in the possibility of this transformative phenomenon, and to those who championed inclusivity over exclusivity. It’s yet another reason why our hearts beat for this extraordinary international art movement, the embodiment of the people’s democratic spirit and the unlimited creative spirit that is in every person. And most importantly, it’s a reminder of why we hold you dear.
The Bushwick Collective’s Block Party 12th edition ended with a bang and big crowds. This year Joe Ficalora, the founder, organizer, and curator, threw a warehouse party as part of the festivities and included a full-size replica of a New York Subway train designed by Danny Cortes and tagged by dozens of graffiti writers from the Metropolitan Area. We gave you a sneak peek of the train last week HERE. Today we bring you complete documentation with details shots of the train. BSA spoke about the project with Mr. Cortes, Edward Rivera, Mike See, and Joe Ficalora.
“So it’s amazing to me that you have taken something massive like a 1980s subway car, shrunk it down at one point to a highly detailed miniature…. and now you’re blowing it back up again!” says a BSA interviewer.
“It feels amazing, to tell the truth,” says artist Danny Cortes while a small team of fabricators and painters working feverishly on the full-scale car for an installation at the Bushwick Collective Block Party.
“Which one’s harder to do? The full-sized version or the smaller one?”
“The miniature,” Danny says with no hesitation. “Because the intricate details are so tiny and difficult to mimic something, you know? But it’s all; it’s so much fun. It’s so much fun.”
Cortes has been having a lot of big success in recent years making his painstaking replicas of New York scenes that make you feel warm and nostalgic for the streets; bodega storefronts, ice storage machines slaughtered with tags, box trucks, blue US mailboxes covered with stickers, the front of CBGB’s club, ice cream trucks, even tiny video VHS tapes of classics like “Wild Style.” And like the best writers in the day, he has been blowing up – scoring exhibitions and sometimes a celebrity client.
“I can show you what I’m working on,” he says, “I can show you, uh, one that I got for Drake for July” he reaches in his pocket to pull out his phone to show you his replica of a subway train pulling in under the tiled sign that says “Atlantic Avenue”. “So Barclays Center commissioned me to make this for Drake for his tour that’s coming in July. I’ll show you on Instagram. So it has almost the same concept.”
Mike See, who has been working long hours for days with Edward Rivera (aka Shutter Ed) and a team of people to fabricate this train, doesn’t even seem fatigued. When he talks about the sophisticated techniques of creating the lights, the windows, the seats, the finishes, and even the strap hangers – you can tell he’s excited to be a part of a crew. He may be more excited to have seen some graff heads who stopped by to tag the train in progress.
“A bunch of legendary graffiti artists came through – they cleared the warehouse for certain people to come in and be secretive. They did what they do, and there are layers of graffiti history from New York City graffiti right here. Is amazing. Outsides, insides, .. it makes you imagine the movie ‘The Warriors.’”
“Legends in the game,” says Cortes of some of the tags they have collected on this tribute train. “These are names that have been doing it for years and used to hit this same style of train for years. So this makes it more authentic. Not only is it like a stamp for me, but it’s also, it’s important to bring realism,” he says as he describes the process of layering, distressing, and applying finishes to the original pieces and tags to make them appear as authentic as possible.
“That’s why I faded out sometimes, right? You know, just to give it that overlay look and the fade distress, the stress look. That’s my style. The gritty, dirty, rusty. Yeah. What’s an eyesore to somebody else’s eye? It’s beauty to me, okay. So I accomplished that on this piece right here with my team.”
This replica of a subway car has been tagged for this special project by GIZ, SAINT, GHOST, THEAM, IR, CES, SPOT, JAKEE, KED, PGISM, ACNE, BERT, AND LANDO, DANNY CORTES, NEP, NOE, CHEO MSG, AND MIKE SEE among other graffiti writers.
Joe Ficalora, the Bushwick Collective founder and curator, invited us to stop by the warehouse where tonight’s Warehouse Party will be held and offered us an exclusive peek at the Subway Art Installation that Artist Danny Cortes, and his team – headed by Mike See and Edward Rivera have been working on. This replica of a subway car has been tagged for this special project by GIZ, SAINT, GHOST, THEAM, IR, CES, SPOT, JAKEE, KED, PGISM, ACNE, BERT, AND LANDO, DANNY CORTES, NEP, NOE, CHEO MSG, AND MIKE SEE among other graffiti writers.
“So, the concept behind Danny’s miniatures fascinates me,” he explains amidst the swirling cloud of sawdust, the cacophony of drills, and the booming voices. “They are incredibly small, which presents a unique opportunity for an exclusive experience, allowing you to truly step ‘inside’ his miniature world.” BSA (Brooklyn Street Art) was fortunate enough to be invited for their own exclusive experience. Here we give you a chance to catch a preview glimpse of the train-in-the-making, set to be unveiled tonight at the grand opening of Ficalora’s annual celebration of street culture, urban art, graffiti, Hip Hop, and sidewalk selfies.
As always, this year’s Bushwick Collective block party sparks numerous collaborations. “The synergies within our circle are remarkable,” Joe affirms. “We rely solely on our resources to create exactly what we need; you know what I mean?”
The level of detail on this train is astonishing. It showcases layers of tags and pieces on the exterior, some acid washed and weathered, while others shimmer with a silver tint. Inside, vibrant tags of New York graffiti heroes from the movement hustle for space, accompanied by door panel pieces, vintage advertising, faded throwies, curved orange seating, and even meticulously crafted 3-D printed straphangers that match the originals in size and shape.
Miniatures of New York scenes are brought to life regularly by Bushwick’s very own Danny Cortes, who faithfully recreates architectural and street-inspired works brimming with nostalgia and imbued with character. In a stroke of curatorial wizardry, Joe Ficalora, the founder of the Bushwick Collective, has decided to commission two enlarged versions of these miniatures, playfully warping perception and conjuring your own memories of New York and its streets.
Over the course of a dozen years, the initiative of bringing hundreds of artists to paint in this Brooklyn neighborhood has undeniably transformed not only the physical landscape but also the scene and spirit of the area. It has become a more welcoming and inclusive environment than one might expect. You will witness fresh combinations, collaborations, and occasional superstar appearances here. However, the essence of the “collective” still remains at the core.
Another one of Joe’s curatorial endeavors for 2023 includes enlarging one of Cortes’ miniature sculptures—an iconic bodega scene—which the artist himself was working on yesterday from a lift. “Zach Curtis from Michigan is also here, and we decided to collaborate once again, this time transforming his miniature model of street life into a mural. The concepts behind the two pieces- the train and the bodega – beautifully align.”
More on this captivating project will be shared here later. Make sure not to miss the grand arrival of the train, scheduled for tonight and set to be showcased throughout the weekend here in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
