All posts tagged: Dede

BSA Film Friday: 04.26.13

April 26, 2013

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening: “The Cracks” in Jaffa (Tel Aviv), Sixe/Okuda/Radio in Lima, Stinkfish in Bogata, and Goons World in Chicago.

BSA Special Feature:
“The Cracks” in Jaffa (Tel Aviv)

A rocking psychedelic treatment of the archetypical abandoned graffiti building, here with fresh faces from the Tel Aviv Street Art scene as curated by Daniel Wechsler. You may have seen BSA’s piece with Yoav Litvin on the scene this week Here and Here: – now check out the group in da house live featuring 11 artists : Wonky Monky, Untay, Slamer, Signor Gi, Ross Plazma, Nitzan Mintz, Natalie Mandel, Latzi, Kipi, Dioz and Dede. (image above screenshot of Roz Plazma © Daniel Wechsler)

Sixe/Okuda/Radio in Lima, Peru

A quick taste of their new walls, stylishly cut with some product integrations.

 

Stinkfish in Bogata, Columbia

Presented by Offprojekt, flourescent volts of energy jump of this portrait by Stinkfish while a curly haired cherub named Beta smacks up the hand prints next to him and street dogs meander on the sidewalk looking for scraps. Carlos Perez Ocampo wields the camera.

Goons World in Chicago

Neo primativist Street Artists Goons are introducing lucky guests to their world tonight in their hometown of Chicago. Check it son.

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The New Face of Tel Aviv Street Art

The New Face of Tel Aviv Street Art

April 24, 2013 ,

As more cities join the world Street Art scene, thanks largely to an enthusiastic youth culture sharing images across the Internet and handheld devices, you see new artists popping up on the street almost daily. While there certainly is a developing global visual vocabulary on walls that is influenced by high profile international stars, you will still hear the local voice steering the Street Art conversation as well.

For Tel Aviv, known by many as a vibrant party city that never sleeps, the interest in Street Art has been high and there has been a blooming scene in the last five years that mimics some of those international styles even as it clearly is developing it’s own local aesthetic.

Klone . Latzi (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Today we feature new images from local artists in Tel Aviv by a photographer and scientist from New York who lived for a while in this city on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline. An urban wanderer who pokes through fences, over walls, and along small  streets on the hunt for what’s new, Yoav Litvin says he “views the urban environment as the perfect melting pot between humanity and nature, history and modernity, life and death.” We talked to him about his recent explorations in the city and asked him to talk about his observations in this snapshot of a growing scene.

Brookyn Street Art: What captured your attention about the Street Art scene in Tel Aviv?
Yoav Litvin: It’s in your face! While walking in Tel Aviv, especially the city’s southern parts, it was impossible to ignore; very diverse and colorful Street Art and graffiti are everywhere.

035 Crew (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Brookyn Street Art: Many of these shots are in abandoned buildings. For some photographers it is like an adventure discovering these sorts of spaces covered with art. What is it like for you?
Yoav Litvin: There’s a lot of character in abandoned buildings; the crumbling walls, the colors, the decay, the piles of rubble, the scattered tools or buckets of paint, the puddles of water, the beautiful imperfections. Every new space one discovers is surprising. You can sense a life history of an abandoned building, now turned bare skeleton. It’s cozy in that sense, it is accepting, non judgmental and unpretentious. On the other hand, it keeps you on your toes with its broken stairs, sharp edges, crumbling floors, stinking trash, used needles and even an occasional inhabitant who surprises you. I find that art works beautifully in such settings, blending and mutually complementing the cracking paint and occasional crevice.

As a photographer I find that abandoned buildings are fun spaces to play with light and composition. Most of these buildings have broken windows and doors, if any, letting in light that breaks, angles and reflects in a symphony of colors, lights and shadows.

Sboy . Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Brookyn Street Art: Most large cities have a certain amount of work on the street from international artists with a higher profile. What made you concentrate on just the locals?
Yoav Litvin: I love seeing work produced by internationally well-known artists. But I find that when I walk the streets of any town, I particularly enjoy seeking art that is new and fresh to my eyes, art produced by local artists that are not as well known, many of them incredible talents that have just not had their international breakthrough. As a past inhabitant of Tel Aviv, I especially wanted to pay tribute to the local scene, artists who by nature integrate their city into their art, and their art into their city.

Wonky Monky (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Brookyn Street Art: Street Art can be a good barometer of public tastes and a reflection of the culture that it is part of. Is there anything distinctly Israeli about the work you see represented, whether thematically or stylistically?
Yoav Litvin: From my recent short visit to Tel Aviv, I noticed great diversity in both styles and mediums used. I also noticed graff and street art ranging from simple tags any kid can do, to beautiful murals and elaborate pastes. As far as distinct content, I did notice some politically oriented street art that directly addressed internal Israeli corruption, the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories and some social issues.

Other than that, I can’t say I noticed something distinctly Israeli as far as style, but I do blame that on the shortness of my visit- With more time actually spent there, maybe I would be able to pick that up. It’s clear though that just like any urban artists in today’s interconnected world, both their local scene and other artists worldwide influence Tel Aviv-based artists.

Brookyn Street Art: What is your favorite kind of shot as a photographer and when do you know you captured it?
Yoav Litvin: My favorite shot is when I spot something beautiful in good light, and can frame it perfectly so that it somehow relates to its environment in an interesting way. If it includes an opportunity to capture a particularly beautiful instant in time, that’s especially rewarding. When I snap such a shot, I usually just know it.

Raez (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Know Hope . Korse (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Klone . 035 Crew (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Gidi (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede . Dioz . Ros Plazma (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede . Latzi (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dioz . Untay (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dioz . Wonky Monky (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Ros Plazma (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Ros Plazma (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Ros Plazma (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Ros Plazma (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Klone (photo © Yoav Litvin)

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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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This article also appears on The Huffington Post

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Tel Aviv Street Artist Dede Talks About His City and His Work

April 18, 2013
Today on BSA we have a special guest contributor, Yoav Litvin, who is an avid photographer of Street Art and someone who has a true interest in the artists, their stories, and how they create their work for the street. Today Yoav brings us to Tel Aviv, Israel to meet a local artist on the scene there whose style continues to evolve across walls of the city. In the interview Dede tells us about the vibe of Tel Aviv, his journey as an artist, his process, how he sees his work critically in the public sphere and how Street Art can intersect with the political and personal.
 

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Interview with Dede

Conducted, translated and edited by Yoav Litvin

Yoav Litvin: What is the significance of art in the streets?
Dede: For me, street art began as simply a form that was just there. Over time, it gained more and more significance and has become the central and primary form in which I work. Street art is challenging, surprising, dynamic, honest, exposed and always interesting.

Within the urban space I get the most inspiration and drive to create and produce a dialogue with the surroundings and the passersby. On the walls of Tel Aviv, I can initiate democratic and free debates and express my opinions without the meddling or intervention of a curator or gallery. Above all it is a place that enables me to declare my being in the present, and allows me to take part in creating the dynamic urban texture.

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Yoav Litvin: How are the current forms of street art a sign of our time?
Dede: In the reality in which we live, street art has new life. In the past, pedestrians would walk the streets and be exposed, via the urban bustle, to information and art. Today people spend more time sitting in front of the computer than walking the streets. With the current culture of sharing and social networks, we can feel as though we are wandering the streets without really leaving home; one can be exposed to street art that is currently produced on the other side of the planet!

This opens up new possibilities, spaces, concepts and statements, making the street art medium even more relevant than before. The statements that emerge from the street reflect the status of the population, its pain, suffering, happiness, etcetera. This enables a dialogue with and between the public in the city and the world; artwork that tackles an issue or problem existing in a certain place can raise awareness around the world.

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Yoav Litvin: How did you become a street artist?
Dede: I have never been able to call myself a street artist. Though my inspiration and energy definitely come from the streets and returns to them, I believe that regarding the artist, the viewer has to decide for him or herself. Art is a concept that is difficult to grasp, almost abstract. It can be described or reviewed in all sorts of ways and everyone has different opinions about it. I create from a place of internal motivation and that makes it hard to explain; I produce regardless of what “art” is.

Yoav Litvin: Do you do studio work as well? What is the difference for you?
Dede: I also work in my studio, mostly preparing for work in the street. In the studio I work on sketches, models and tests that I later develop. Sometimes I accumulate work for a series of works to present in a slightly different manner than I would in the street with a different target audience in mind.

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Yoav Litvin: What is important for you to highlight in your work as a street artist?
Dede: I guess what’s important for me to highlight in my street art is that there is always an alternative; if there is a pressing issue, whether personal or social, you are allowed to stand up and say what you think about it and in so doing bring the issue to the awareness of the public. Laws should not be complacently accepted, but rigorously reexamined. It is important to be thoughtful, critical and form an educated opinion about them.

 

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Yoav Litvin: What does street art in Tel Aviv reflect about the city’s urban life and about its urban civil society? Which is your favorite neighborhood?
Dede: Something about Tel Aviv made me instantaneously feel connected; I love this city and never get tired of it. It offers infinite walls and workspaces, a fast-paced vibe and a lively young crowd that is very admiring, appreciative and supportive. It is a city that does not represent the rest of Israel, but it has become a place characterized by diverse opinions that interact with and affect the rest of the country. Each neighborhood has its own uniqueness; together the neighborhoods produce a varied and interesting city at any time of day, culturally and in many other respects.

Yoav Litvin: Recount a memorable experience that has happened to you while working on a piece in the street.
Dede: Almost every time I go to work in the street I come back with exciting experiences and stories. One day during a quiet morning when I painted in an open parking lot in the Florentine neighborhood, I was on a ladder and a mom and her little boy approached me from behind. The boy asked his mother what I was doing and his mom responded: “What he’s doing is illegal, but this is his way of expressing himself.” This was a very simple statement and made me realize something unique about my way of life.

 

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Yoav Litvin: How do you envision the future of street art in general and in Tel Aviv in particular?
Dede: In my opinion it is not possible to predict the future. This art movement plays with and between so many boundaries and stays fresh and always interesting, though, and perhaps because there are many attempts to institutionalize and formalize it or to simply exclude it. Along with its exposure and rapid development, street art is introduced into different parts of the “mainstream”. Some are even commercial even though street art is often illegal and directed against the system. It seems to me that it will take time for the interest in the street art scene to wane.

In my opinion this is just the beginning; street art arrived here in Tel Aviv relatively late, caught on very quickly and is still in its infancy. There are a lot of directions in which it could develop and many artists seek to develop their own styles. Like in any other field we Israelis look at what is happening in the rest of the world and try to bring the unique Israeli context into the mix.

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Yoav Litvin: Please describe the artistic techniques and materials you favor and why.
Dede: Being a curious person and not very rational, I utilize a variety of techniques. I start thinking of what I want to say or do and where I want to say it and then only how to make it. I work with stencils, pastes, free hand, installations, site-specifics and more. I use paint, spray paint, paper and various industrial materials.

I hope that what eventually echoes out of my work is a path that shows my way of thinking and reasoning with statements that are probably still not completely clear, but will be revealed gradually to both myself and viewer.

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede. Sket . Task (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Dede’s Info

Website: http://imdede.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/im.dede

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dedeconfidential/

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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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What’s Up in Berlin: New Shots from Gilf!

January 15, 2013

The walls of Berlin are so slammed with graffiti and Street Art that artists and writers have no choice but to go over each other. While Germany (and France for that matter) have foresworn the laissez-faire approach of unregulated economics that led to the financial collapse, Berlin’s approach to graffiti and Street Art here is still relaxed.

Roa, Alec, Blec, Buve. (photo © Gilf!)

Since the fall of the wall nearly a quarter century ago, the sense of liberation is still exploding on a cellular level throughout Berlin’s creative scene; a pent-up energy of free expression that has given the city a truly magnetic quality which draws artists from around the globe. Each visitor seems energized by their experience here where artists continue to seed, germinate and grow a dynamic scene that continues to take surprising shape. As of yet, it hasn’t been capitalized on entirely, but you can be sure that it will be one day very soon, if the pattern of other artist-led movements in cities of the Western world are indicators.

Victorash Astronaut (photo © Gilf!)

“The walls of Berlin are heavy with an exclusive cultural history. A city once divided, now converges into a thriving epicenter of artistic expression,” says New York Street Artist Gilf!, who just got back from this place of relative artistic freedom.  Even as she toured the blanketed walls she says she knows that it is a temporary condition, and wonders if the “the rattle of spray cans” will fall silent one day. Today on BSA we have exclusive insights and photos of the scene from her perspective as a New Yorker in the early twenty-teens.

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

“Layers upon layers of spray paint, wheatpastes, murals, and installations make this metropolis a street art mecca. The energy is contagious, inspiring, and thought provoking. When discussing art, often times people compare modern day Berlin to New York in the nineteen eighties: expressive, prolific, and all-encompassing.” – Gilf!

Evol miniature bombed building. (photo © Gilf!)

“The extreme censorship of decades past, contrasting with the current overwhelming display of personal expression on the walls of Mitte, Kruezberg and many other neighborhoods became my internal obsession as I walked the streets.  As this art form becomes more and more censored in US cities like New York and Chicago, I can’t help but draw a reverse parallel with Berlin.” – Gilf!

Gilf! “Malala” (photo © Gilf!)

“The above piece in reference to Malala Yousufzai, the 15 year old girl in Pakistan who was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting women/girls education. She was transferred to a hospital in the UK, where she was recently released. The QR code next to her sends the viewer to a BBC news page that explains her ordeal”

“I am trying to educate people with this piece. It’s funny how the Arabic really scares people, like it’s some sort of terrorist threat. Even with the translation “knowledge is the deadliest weapon” written in English on her body- it’s not enough to keep this piece up in certain places. People fascinate me. It’s almost subconscious, that choice of ignorant disregard for other cultures, hate is a strong word, but it feels like that sometimes.”-Gilf

Bananensprayer (photo © Gilf!)

Os Gemeos (photo © Gilf!)

Sheep 2 (photo © Gilf!)

Stik (photo © Gilf!)

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

Cake, El Bocho, Dscreet (photo © Gilf!)

Cake (photo © Gilf!)

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

Plotbot (Ken) at Tacheles. (photo © Gilf!)

DOLK (photo © Gilf!)

INTER . TANK! (photo © Gilf!)

BLO (photo © Gilf!)

Dede (photo © Gilf!)

Artist Unknown (photo © Gilf!)

Magnet Alley (photo © Gilf!)

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