All posts tagged: Dark Clouds

Street Artists Give to NYC KIDS: A gift of Art and Self-Confidence

April 27, 2010

With 60 artists, 73 artworks, over 500 guests, and a happy vibe created by the mad-scientists Sifunk & Garmunkle at music mission control, the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit for Free Arts NYC was a huge success. At the end of the night most of the walls were bare, and most of the pieces remaining had been purchased by absentee bidders. With animated conversations, excited bidding, and occasionally rambunctious dancing (Andrew), the night was really an excellent example of how the street art community is alive and well, and how the work of street artists is in demand.

Thank you to Ali and Ad at Factory Fresh for co-hosting the event, thank you to all the volunteers from Free Arts NYC who helped to hang it, pack it, and execute the auction, and special thanks to all the artists who so generously donated their pieces to the event.  Also special thanks to all the blog friends (so many!) who wrote about this event and all the people who Tweeted it continuously, as well as the print publications who helped get the word out.  We hope to thank you all personally some time, if not via email. Because of your help, the gallery and back yard were jammed with more people than anyone could remember.

Thank you to Reid Harris Cooper for sending us these pictures he took at the crowded party (we threw in a couple crowd shots from the cellphone). Reid actually scored the Blanco piece in the auction.  If anyone else has pics from that night we would love to see them.

[flagallery gid=2 name=”Gallery”]

For more images by Reid Harris Cooper see his Flickr page HERE

See images and details of the pieces at our Flickr – which will be updated by the end of the day

Participating artists 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

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STREET ART NEW YORK BENEFIT AT FACTORY FRESH FOR FREE ARTS NYC

March 27, 2010

Street Art New York at Factory Fresh
SANY-BENEFIT-Header-PR

“Street Art New York” Silent Auction Benefit for Free Arts NYC

For more information please contact:
Email: info@StreetArtNewYork.com; Web: www.StreetArtNewYork.com

“Street Art New York” Silent Auction Benefit for Free Arts NYC
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Event Time: 7-11 pm

Auction Time: Promptly 7 pm to 9:30 pm EST
Absentee bidders please register with Bernadette DeAngelis at bernadette@freeartsnyc.org or call 212.974.9092.

Location: Factory Fresh Gallery
1053 Flushing Avenue
Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York 11237
between Morgan and Knickerbocker, off the L train Morgan Stop

SILENT AUCTION BENEFIT BY STREET ARTISTS FOR “FREE ARTS NYC” AND A PARTY TO MARK THE RELEASE OF NEW BOOK
“STREET ART NEW YORK”.

To celebrate the release of the new book “Street Art New York” and to benefit the programs of Free Arts NYC, original artworks by a stellar array of today’s Street Artists from New York and beyond will be featured in a silent auction to take place on April 24, 2010, from 7 pm to 9:30 pm at Factory Fresh Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

The Benefit and the Artists

The Benefit, to be held at one of New York’s epicenters for the thriving new Street Art scene, Factory Fresh Gallery, will feature an incredibly strong selection of today’s Street Artists joining together for one night as a community to benefit NYC kids from disadvantaged backgrounds as the numbers of poor and low-income children in New York continues to rise. Representing a renaissance in modern urban art at the dawn of a new decade, this artists will very likely be the largest collection of 2010’s street artists in one location.

With exciting new work by 60 of today’s Street Artists

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

About the Book

Street Art New York, by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, with a foreword by Carolina A. Miranda, published in April 2010 by Prestel Publishing (Random House).

The authors of the successful Brooklyn Street Art book (and founders of BrooklynStreetArt.com) expand their scope and take readers on a fast-paced run through the streets of New York, along the waterways, on the rooftops, and up the walls of today’s ever-morphing vibrant Street Art scene as only NYC can tell it.

With an introduction by noted cultural journalist Carolina A. Miranda (C-Monster.net) putting Street Art in the context of the personal experience of a New Yorker, readers will be taken aback by this compelling portrait of the state of urban art featuring work on the streets of New York from 102 artists from around the world. With a collection of aproximately 200 images by exciting new comers as well as beloved “old masters” such as New Yorkers Swoon, Judith Supine, Dan Witz, Faile, Skewville, WK Interact, LA’s Sphepard Fairey, Brazil’s Os Gemeos, Ethos, Denmark’s Armsrock, France’s Space Invader, C215, Mr. Brainwash, Germany’s Herakut, Belgium’s ROA, London’s Nick Walker, Connor Harrington, and the infamous Banksy.

About the Publisher, Prestel Publishing (Random House):

With its impressive list of titles in English and German, Prestel Publishing is one of the world’s leading publishers in the fields of art, architecture, photography, design, cultural history, and ethnography. The company, founded in 1924, has its headquarters in Munich, offices in New York and London, and an international sales network.

The Silent Auction

Commencing at 7 p.m. and ending at 9:30 p.m., the silent auction will be administered by Free Arts NYC, and all proceeds from the auction go directly to the non-profit. Highest bidder wins!

SANY-BENEFIT-Footer-PR

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AD HOC hurtles BKMIA to Miami right on Time!

December 3, 2009

When your van breaks down and dies en route to Florida from New York, you might get a little cranky and freaked out because you have 40 people’s art in the back and are somewhat behind schedule.

You haven’t met the Buxtons.

Ad Hoc and Eastern District in Miami Thursday Through Sunday
Ad Hoc and Eastern District are in Miami as BKMIA Thursday Through Sunday

Brooklyn gallerists Garrison and Alison from AdHoc found themselves at a U-Haul truck rental agency when it was obvious that fixing their jalopy wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

“Yeah we’re definitely making some tangy lemonade out of the lemons we’ve been collecting,” says he.

With a show to mount and open in 2 days (Today) in Miami, they asked for a 14 foot or 18 foot truck but U-Haul was out of that size. So they upgraded to the 26 foot, which made the whole process of moving art a lot easier, and together they steered the MIGHTY BKMIA SHIP southward.

“We just got another beautiful space today”, says Garrison, now that they’ve arrived with a truck of Brooklyn Street Art in the land of orange groves and mobs of art-hungry models in stilettos.  They are spreading out into their new giant space on 4141 Northeast 2nd Avenue, which is right across the street from their original space. They had a lot of people’s work with them, “Yeah there was no way it all was going to fit in the original space we had”

And the art itself?  One of the first things to be unpacked was this badass sculpture.

UFO and Ryan Doyle at BKMIA
UFO and Ryan Doyle at BKMIA (photo courtesy Ad Hoc)

This is an interactive kinetic piece by Ryan Doyle and UFO of 907 crew.

What'r YOU lookin' at? (courtesy Ad Hoc)
What’r YOU lookin’ at? (courtesy Ad Hoc)

According to the artists, it’s made of found objects and crafted using caveman spaceship technology. Amazingly similar to the squidlike image in the photo below, this sculpture is mechanized with two worm head, gear drive electric wheelchair motors, and is fully operational with a joystick. And yes, Martha, he does look like a writer (check out the fat marker in his tentacle).

Perhaps a sketch? (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

Perhaps a sketch? (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

Ad Hoc is partnering with Brooklyn neighbor Eastern District in a conceptual gallery called AE District to show off some of Brooklyn’s finest street artists, graff writers, and related contemporary artists in a 40+ name show. Names you might know like London Police and Gaia and Morning Breath will be joining talented newbies like NohJColey and Mario Brothers.

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Images of the Week 09.27.09

Images of the Week 09.27.09

September 27, 2009 , , , ,

Our Weekly Interview with the Street

Caper (Caper) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Celso
A sale on melons at Met Supermaket this week? (Celso) (photo Jaime Rojo)

dark clouds
A melange of soot, chain links, and dark clouds (Dark Clouds) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe
Elbow Toe (photo Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe
“That’s funny, we’ve had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. We’ve been canning them, freezing them, Arlene even made chutney!  Maybe you should have the soil tested,” offered Farmer Bob at the Union Square green market. (Elbow Toe) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Skewville and Elbow Toe
Skewville lending words of support to Elbow Toe (photo Jaime Rojo)

Gaia
Going through life as a lone wolf may not be as romantic as it sounds. (Yote) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Gaia
I’m a male 9 year old adventurous intuitive Libra, medium-sized with brown eyes and no ear-tufts. I like squirrels and woodrats and occasional truffles. I’m looking for a lady soulmate who likes flying across the park on sunny days and enjoys long stretches of sitting on a branch just observing and talking about the mysteries of life. (Yote) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Infirm Society
The healthcare debate is inspiration for commentary on the streets these days (Infirm Society) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Keely
Keely and the bridge (photo Jaime Rojo)

Michael Defeo Smart Crew
Michael Defeo, Smart Crew, and a tall glass building jutting through space (photo Jaime Rojo)

QRST
You two are just a couple of lovebirds, anybody every tell you that? (QRST) (photo Jaime Rojo)

SHIN SHIN
Looking forward to that applebee honey! (Shin Shin) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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Open Studios and the Street

June 12, 2009 , , , , ,

Graff started on the street, I think.  Street art started in the studio.

Main difference. That was easy, right?

Now graff keeps going into the studio, the gallery, the museum.  And now we are watching as fine art, or some approximation of it, is continuallly leaving the home studio (kitchen table), gallery, collective, etc. and flooding the streets.  The explosion of street art is having it’s effect and the opinions it produces are as varied as, um, people.  The point is that the veil has been punctured, and the creative spirit is not willingly being confined today. Everything and everyone is becoming a hybrid.

Last weekend in a neighborhood in Brooklyn that’s home to a lot of variety at the moment – Bushwick –  a three day Bushwick Open Studios event took place, featuring over 200 open studios, live music, parties, workshops, panels, student art shows, puppet shows, the whole enchilada.  Don’t worry, it’s not all high-minded, or necessarily thought provoking. It’s just an indication of where we are moving. It’s impossible to see everything so you just have to pick and choose a few of your favorites and see which way the slimey wind leads you.

Started off at “2012” the new show at Factory Fresh featuring the work of graff/street art youth – the place was pretty young and sweaty and full of excitement, and parts of the inside looked like it could have been outside – plywood, tags, partial messages, and organized chaos.  Sorry for the crappy pics from the phone, but you get the idea.

A wall of 9"x9" wood pieces with work by Faro, Bloke and Avoid.

A wall of 9"x9" pieces by Faro, Bloke, and Avoid. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Faro, UFO, others that you may know at "2012" at Factory Fresh (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Faro, UFO, others that you may know at "2012" at Factory Fresh (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Bad Kids, Krink markers (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Bad Kids, Erotic Kids, Charles Barkley, Krink markers (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Apple, Aiko, Anarchist, Arriviste, Artist, Avoid

A is for Apple, Abbreviation, Aiko, Anarchist, Arriviste, Artist? In this case, probably it's for Avoid (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Then Kings County Bar also hosted a show that night for ELC and their new collaborations, which were kind of hard to see because it was, uh, a dark bar.  Also there were other gyrating distractions that may have taken patron’s focus off their art show.  Included in the show were Royce Bannon, Anera, Infinity, Celso, Abe Lincoln Jr., Ad Deville, Dark Clouds, and Matt Siren.

A quick way to cut through a crowded bar

A quick way to cut through a crowded bar is to tiptoe across the top of it. (photo (cc) Hrag Vartanian)

Following a rainy Friday, the rest of weekend was nice. In fact, a new Bishop 203 appeared out of nowhere on this abandoned building, like an urban flower.

Bishop 203

Bishop 203 with a black heart (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Pocket Utopia had it’s last show this weekend, featuring a 16 foot tall fiberglass monster that dispensed beer in the back yard, a performance by artist/musician/dynamo Andrew Hurst in the basement that was viewable through a hole drilled in the floor, and this large scary portrait by Kevin Regan. You might recognize the revolutionary jowls. It’s not street art, per se, but certainly we’ve seen this king of photographic mutation on the street in the work of MBW, Judith Supine, Dain, Bast, and others.

Kevin Regan (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Kevin Regan at Pocket Utopia (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Speaking of Judith Supine, English Kills was showing a large piece by said street artist called “God of Mars”  Chris Harding, visionary owner of the space, explained that this is the biggest canvas Supine has ever done, and that numerology figured into it’s actual dimensions to bring good luck to the piece.

Chris points out a detail on the Judith Supine piece (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Chris points out a detail on the Judith Supine piece (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Large new canvass by Judith Supine "God of Mars" (courtesy English Kills)

Large new canvas by Judith Supine (courtesy English Kills)

Later, after too many beers, we stumbled into a salon of 20-something Illinois settlers (Illinois in the House!), a true sign of the everchanging makeup of the music and art scene. An appreciate audience of 50+ people were spread out over salvaged furniture (and one in a bathtub) to listen to old timey folk inspired singers and bands.

Rockin the autoharp, which is slightly older than wearing trucker caps

Rockin the autoharp, which is slightly older than wearing trucker caps (photo Steven P. Harrington)

While thumping house music from down the block and the occasional police siren wafted in the cracked 4th floor factory windows, singer-songwriters plucked on autoharp, glockenspiel, electric guitar, and a variety of hand held percussion instruments.  The really remarkable part was the lack of manic cell-phone snapping, texting, or Twittering among such an assembled group of youthful beauty during the performances. They appeared to be paying attention.  Is that even POSSIBLE?  Maybe this was a movie set. Or maybe Illinois artist-peeps are just more respectful.  I was going to try to get through this paragraph without mentioning Sufjan Stevens, but there, I’ve said it.  Baahhhhhhhhhh!

The tunes were folky, but she did say "f*ck" quite a few times in one song.

The tunes were folky and relationship-centric, but she did say "f*ck" a few times in one song, so that's what gives it the edge. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

So there you have it, one shard of a giant shattered crystal mirror that is Bushwick.  The torch is passed again to a new generation of weirdos and misfits to develop beauty.  Since most of the real estate developers are trying to hatch their stalled projects in Billyburg and lure in more “consumers”, maybe the recession has bought some time and the multi-feathered flock of “creatives” will continue to fly here for a while.  That way the nests will stay affordable, and the space aplenty.

The art on the street, naturally, has plenty to say on these and other matters…

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“Cheap Shots” show by ELC at Kings County

May 28, 2009 , ,

The street art collective known as ELC (Endless Love Crew) and other
street art stars will be hitting Kings County Bar for an art show of
extreme proportions. This show will open in conjunction with the Arts
In Bushwick’s yearly “Bushwick Open Studios” event which is sure to
rock Brooklyn!

Participating artists include:
royce bannon
anera
infinity
celso
abe lincoln jr
ad deville
dark clouds

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Don’t Call it a Comeback

March 28, 2009 , , ,

Thursday night it was a true gathering of the tribes –

Old Skool, Art Skool, Graff Crews, Street Art, Hipsters, Hip-Hop, Electro, Blue-haired, Blue themes, Critics, Kids, Collabo’s, Lolitas, Lotharios, Murals, Markers, Canvasses, Cans, Wheatpaste, Stickers, Sculpture, and Script. This might just be what community looks like. Every where you turned, the senses were flooded, and cellphones and electronic gadgetry were revealed for what they lack in the competition for connectedness and D.I.Y. inspiration.

Surpassing many of the street art group shows of the past few years, this one was obviously very organic and full of love, rather than hype.

When Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force finally picked up their mikes and Martha Cooper broke off from signing books with Henry Chalfant to expertly weave with her camera, the crowds’ momentum was already in full swing. No one can doubt that this scene, whatever label you care to give it, is on fire right now and the creative spirit is at work in the belly of the people.

Good luck tracking it’s trajectories.

Thanks to the Combine and the talented Jazz Beaulieu for the images below:

[svgallery name=”Work To Do Jazz Belieu”]

Other shots from the show……

Royce Bannon

Super K8

Sabeth718

Luna Park

Becki Fuller

“Work To Do” is at 112 Greene Street in Soho, NYC, and runs through April 16.

More info – Endless Love Crew

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“Work to Do” is on Schedule for March 26 at The Combine

March 12, 2009 , ,

Collaboration is the Piece
Collaboration makes the total Piece (collage and design Anna Robie, photos Jazzmine Beaulieu)

Royce Bannon and the Endless Love Crew

have been working hard and probably playing a little too, and the group show they have engineered is a quick primer on what street art is looking like at the moment in Brooklyn, and elsewhere. The show inaugurates a hallowed creative space for artists in Soho and christens it with a new name, The Combine, at 112 Greene Street in Soho.

The theme of the show, “Work to Do” pays a tribute to words and works of the new president in this land, and Afrika Bambaataa has written a new song with the same name, which he’ll be performing when he reunites with the Soulsonic Force at the opening.

See more about the show and our interview with Royce here.

“We have to work like our future depends on it, because it does” – Barack Obama

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“Work to Do” show at 112 Greene Street

February 8, 2009 , , ,

Royce Bannon and a diverse team of talented street artist/graff writers are taking the challenge seriously: Revive the artists’ space in Soho that boasts a proud history and restore it to the constructive, collaborative, democratic roots of a real artists’ community; one that will have a mission of giving back, as well as re-establishing a laboratory for discovery.

These are times for bold actions of hope, and all hands are on deck for a show opening this month called “Work to Do” at 112 Greene Street in Soho, a place that first flourished in the years before the Reagan Revolution.

Read the Brooklyn Street Art Post for this event here

A Monstrous Welcome to a New Era for 112 Greene Street (Royce Bannon)

A Monstrous Welcome to a New Era for 112 Greene Street (Royce Bannon)

Endless Love Crew

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Two Andrews talk about “From the Streets of Brooklyn”

January 6, 2009

An unprecedented show of Brooklyn street art starts off 2009 at ThinkSpace gallery.

Bam! The year has barely started and the momentum from the previous giant year for street art blows clear into January with a new show of 50 artists from the streets of Brooklyn.

ThinkSpace Gallery, a warm-hearted community space and home of rockin’ shows in L.A. since 2005, plays host to it’s brothers and sisters across the continent with a salon-style show of street artists, graff writers, a hot photographer, and live on-the-street work by the chalk artist from BK.

In the middle of the installation craziness, the curator of the show, Andrew Michael Ford (gallery director at Ad Hoc), and Andrew Hosner (co-founder of ThinkSpace), talked with Brooklyn Street Art about the show:

BSA: So how did AdHoc and ThinkSpace hook up to do this show?

Andrew Hosner: Andrew and I have been friends for a while, and met while he was still doing some curating before hooking up with the Ad Hoc crew. One day we were just shooting the s**t about some show ideas and I tossed out the idea of bringing Brooklyn to Los Angeles…

Andrew Michael Ford: I’ve followed what ThinkSpace shows for quite some time and I was always very impressed with the work. I also have always felt that the folks who run ThinkSpace and myself have very similar tastes as far as curating art goes. Something like this has been talked about or at least thought about for quite some time and when Thinkspace approached us about doing it I felt like it was the right place and right time.

BSA: Is it a kind of East-West cultural exchange?

Andrew Michael Ford: The show is about bringing a large group of Brooklyn street artists and graf writers to Los Angeles. We haven’t discussed bringing LA artists to Brooklyn but I would be open to talking about something like that for the future.

Thundercut (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

Thundercut (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

BSA: Brooklyn’s streetscape is pretty dense and is largely accessible by foot. Do you think the L.A. scene is more spread out? How do the two differ, in broad strokes.

Andrew Michael Ford: I have never been to LA but I heard you need a car to get anywhere out there so I assume it’s gotta be pretty spread out.

Andrew Hosner: I think you nailed it on the head, Brooklyn is much more condensed and has more of a community vibe to it I feel, whereas LA is the true meaning of urban sprawl, being one of the most spread out and varied big cities out there. There’s no real community vibe, save for lil’ pockets here and there, but the breadth of the city kind of goes against the notion of all that.

Dan Witz "Scott" from show "From the Streets of Brooklyn" (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

Dan Witz "Scott" from show "From the Streets of Brooklyn" (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

BSA: Maybe this is impossible to put your finger on, but what would be a couple of characteristics that distinguish Brooklyn street art from other cities in the world?

Andrew Michael Ford: For me it started in NYC. I mean, graf started in Philly but really came into it’s own in NYC. I just don’t see that kind of history anywhere else. I see the lineage of graf into street art and that is why so many graf writers have been invited to this show. It’s not just about who is doing a lot of street art. It’s about who is getting up and staying in the streets of Brooklyn regardless of tools being used. I don’t like it when street artists from other cities look at graf here in NYC as some kind of background for their work. It’s a massive slap in the face to all graf writers. Brooklyn street artists have a lot more respect for graf than street artists I have met from other cities, especially from Europe. Maybe that’s the thing that distinguishes what’s going on in the streets of Brooklyn from other places.

Imminent Disaster (earlier work) (courtesy ThinkSpace and Ad Hoc)

Imminent Disaster (earlier work) (courtesy ThinkSpace and Ad Hoc)

BSA: You are showing a LOT of artists…did you have enough (Think) Space?

Andrew Hosner: Hahaha… it will be a very packed show hung salon style, going off of color palette and style. Should look amazing, but it is going to be a visual overload for sure. Patrons will be overwhelmed by Gaia and Rachel Lowing’s thought provoking install immediately upon entering the gallery, then passing through the entry area will be met by a tidal wave of artwork, coming at them from all directions, floor to ceiling… before turning the corner into our project room in the back where Disaster’s massive undertaking will greet them.

BSA: A bit like herding cats?

Andrew Michael Ford: Not really. Honestly, everyone involved believes in this show so much and have been very supportive and helpful in putting it all together.

Matt Siren (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

Matt Siren (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

BSA: Will you have time to give Mr. Ford a tour of the sickest sites while he’s there?

Andrew Hosner: It’s hard to say since the focus will be our show, but hopefully on Saturday after the show has passed we will get out to see some of the hotter spots about LA to enjoy works outside. With so many coming to town for the opening, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to watch some of Brooklyn’s finest… cool thing is, all will be able to watch Ellis G. on opening night doing his thing on our block, and I can’t wait for that.

Andrew Michael Ford: I would love to see some stuff by Saber if possible. But really anything good being done would be great to check out.

Ellis G. (courtesy Ad Hoc and ThinkSpace)

Ellis G. (courtesy Ad Hoc and ThinkSpace)

BSA: The Brooklyn scene keeps evolving rapidly; what is one trend that you are seeing that is telling you about the future?

I see more and more people throwing up wheatpastes in the streets that I don’t feel are well executed or well placed. I mean, there is room for everything and I love to see what people feel they need to put up but it does worry me sometimes when I see tons of poorly crafted wheatpastes thrown all over the place with no thought to where it is being placed or the quality of the imagery they are producing. I would just like to see people take a little more time in the creation of their art and in the selection of the spots they decide to hit.

Elbow-Toe (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

Elbow-Toe (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

BSA: Whose work is exciting to you right now, and what does it say to you?

Andrew Hosner: I love the work of Elbow-Toe, whose work is really a statement on the state of things in our society right now. His every man piece is by far one of the most powerful and extremely well executed works of this past year. You can look at that work 20 years from now and know that it was referencing the economic struggles were going through currently, while also hinting at the 1st great depression. Powerful work.

Also very inspired by the works of Imminent Disaster, due to her strength in so many different creative outlets… Chris Stain also is someone who should be looked up to. Thought provoking work and just a great overall cat.

Stikman (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

Stikman (courtesy ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

Andrew Michael Ford: I think that street art needs to interact with the space where it is placed (good placement is key) and it needs to engage the viewer. Working big can sometimes do this but sometimes it can be a big massive nothing. It’s tough to point to a specific artist but if I had to pick one I can say I’m really intrigued by what the artist Stikman does, as he uses a wide variety of mediums and techniques and always catches you off guard with the placement of his work. Very smart work.

Anera (image by Luna Park) (courtesy Luna Park, ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

Anera (image by Luna Park) (courtesy Luna Park, ThinkSpace and AdHoc)

BSA: What impression do you think the gallery-goer in L.A. is going to come away with about the Brooklyn street art scene?

Andrew Michael Ford: That’s a great question but sadly one that I have no answer to. I haven’t got a clue what kind of reception we will get when we arrive. I am hoping this can be a positive experience for everyone involved.

Andrew Hosner: I hope they come away feeling inspired and filled with the desire to visit the streets of Brooklyn in person, so they can experience these works as they were originally meant to be, and also feel compelled to explore the works of each in the show further, hopefully coming away with a new favorite that they will watch in the years that lay ahead.

I think many will also be surprised at the sheer breadth and quality of work on view – it is definitely an eye opener type of exhibit. Hopefully this will help to open their eyes to the beauty that is all around them in Los Angeles and abroad. So many walk through their city with blinders on, and it really is a revelation when you start to take in and appreciate the work of urban artists.

ThinkSpace Gallery

AdHoc Art

From the Streets of Brooklyn

More stuff on ThinkSpace and Andrew Hosner from the art collector blog

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Year in Images 2008

Year in Images 2008

January 1, 2009 , , ,

Paradigm Shifting and Cave Writings

Looking back at the powerful changes in ’08,

it’s not hard to see their reflection on the Brooklyn streets, which may serve as tea leaves revealing the messages swirling around us and in us. Each individual act of creating is of significance, yet it is the cumulative effect of the groundswell of new participants that seems so powerful, so hopeful in it’s desire.

Naturally, at the beginning of this selection of images from 2008, we are featuring the most visible street art piece of the year by Shepard Fairey, which appeared here on the streets of Brooklyn and transcended mediums to reach millions of people. Shepard’s graphic design style and his images of the man who would be president helped many to quickly glimpse the character and message of Barack Obama.

A Winning Campaign (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

A Winning Campaign (Shepard Fairey) (photo Jaime Rojo)

The image was replicated, adopted, adapted, transformed, re-formed, lampooned even. It became an icon that belonged to everyone who cared to own it, and a symbol of the change the man on the street was looking for. Like street art, Obama’s message was taken directly to the people, and they responded powerfully in a way that brought a historic shift; one that continues to unfold.

Elsewhere on the street we saw themes from topical to fantastical; crazy disjointed cultural mash-ups, celebrity worship or destruction, Big Brother, icons, symbols, death, war, economic stress, protest, dancing, robots and monsters and clowns and angels, and an incredible pathos for humanity and it’s sorry state… with many reminders of those marginalized and disaffected. We never forget the incredible power of the artist to speak to our deepest needs and fears.

The movement of young and middle-aged artists off the isle of pricey mall-ish Manhattan and into Brooklyn is not quite an exodus, but boy, sometimes it feels that way. The air sometimes is thick with it; the creative spirit. The visual dialogue on the street tells you that there is vibrant life behind doors – studios, galleries, practice rooms, loft parties, rooftops.

Even as a debate about street art’s appropriate placement on public/private walls continues, it continues. From pop art to fine art, painterly to projected, one-offs to mass repetition, Brooklyn street art continues to grow beyond our expectations, and our daily lives are largely enriched by it.

This collection is not an exhaustive survey – the archival approach isn’t particularly stimulating and we’re not academics, Madge. The street museum is always by chance, and is always about your two eyes. Here’s a smattering, a highly personal trip through favorites that were caught during the year.

[svgallery name=”Images of Year 2008″]

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