All posts tagged: Doodles

Painting the Desert : Urban Artists in the Navajo Nation

October 15, 2014 Artists

It’s an unusual pairing: Street Artists who are accustomed to the grit and grime of deteriorating neighborhoods in the city translating their skills to the desert where the environment is outstandingly more natural than built.

In the third year of his experiment inviting artists to paint and wheat-paste in the Navajo Nation, organizer Chip Thomas, whose own street persona is Jetsonorama, appears to have hit a community service vein. “The relationship with the community became deeper,” he says as he relates the integration of some of the artists work relating directly to the history and the stories people tell in this sunbaked part of Arizona. More residency than festival, “The Painted Desert Project” began as a retreat offered to artists Thomas had met through his own association with Street Art festivals like Open Walls in Baltimore.

Troy Love Gates AKA OTHER. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Invited to come for an extended stay, compared to the 4 or 5 days of a typical Street Art festival, these artists are encouraged to study their new environment and to fully immerse themselves before conjuring a new work. Not only does the technique avoid the often levelled charge of cultural imperialism that is associated with the big festivals around the globe, it produces work that has impact and relevance to the community who will be looking at it year round.

Even though there can be a disconnect between the art and the community occasionally, as in the case of one work by the artist Troy Lovegates that was interpreted as being out of sync with some tastes, the majority of works are so closely related to people and the life here that a sense of ownership takes hold quickly. Any cultural worker associated with larger mural projects and programs in cities will tell you corollary stories about how the public responds to the voice of the artist, and one measure of success is the level of engagement by the community. “The project has always focused on creating art that is culturally sensitive,” says Thomas of his approach to the artists and the community, and he says that this year, “I feel like the project moved to the next level.”

Here are fresh images from the third installment of “The Painted Desert Project” that took place this spring and summer, along with some details about the works and their relationship to the people and places that hosted the artists.

Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Street Artists Troy Lovegates and Labrona stayed for a few weeks in the Navajo nation and focused most of their work on a water tank in Rocky Ridge. While Lovegates initial mural was buffed when it “was found to be offensive by members of the community,” says Thomas, their new pieces on the tank were greatly embraced. “We were hosted in Rocky Ridge by the family of Louise Shepherd where we spent the night in a traditional hogan and ate food fresh from Louise’s garden.”

Labrona and Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER Detail. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER and Labrona. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Troy Lovegates AKA OTHER. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona. Detail. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

“In Beauty it is finished” by HYURO. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Street Artist Hyuro was created only her second mural in the US here this summer; significant because her first one in Atlanta for Living Walls last year featured nudity that set fire to the passions of religious sensitivities in the neighborhood that were further fanned by showboaters.

For “Painted Desert” the native of Valencia, Spain looked closely at the customs of the community when conceiving her depiction of a prayer ritual, which when viewed in this simple animation, reflects the connection native people have to their agricultural customs and history. “Moved by the simplicity and beauty of the traditional Navajo morning prayer Hyuro positioned her female figure facing the rising sun,” says Thomas, “and she illustrated the movements of this prayer that is performed with white corn pollen.”

HYURO. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

HYURO. Local resident Sharston Woody is a storm rider on this vehicle people call a “4 track”. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jaz and Mata Ruda. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kaibeto, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

JAZ. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kaibeto, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

New to the project this year were Street Artists Jaz, LNY, and Mata Ruda, each known for their large scale murals that are interpretive of history and in the case of the latter two, advocacy of social and political causes. This building “was part of the old Bureau of Indian Affairs school system from the 1950s to the 70s, after which it fell into disuse.” Shortly after the revival of the walls, says Thomas, the community began talking about making new plans to convert it into a youth center.

“Local food during the time Jaz, LNY, and Mata Ruda were here was catered by Mrs. Woody and her family,” says Thomas.

Mata Ruda. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kaibeto, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jaz . Mata Ruda. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kaibeto, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

JAZ. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kayenta, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Near Monument Valley in Kayenta, Arizona, the Argentinian Street Artist Jaz painted a mural inspired by the plight of wild horses that are starving due to overgrazed pastures, says Thomas. In the image the horses are running to escape capture, he says.

LNY. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kaibeto, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

LNY at work. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kaibeto, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

LNY. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Kaibeto, Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

This vast view of Machu Picchu at the top is a cultural gift from the artist LNY to the community. “He wanted to bridge indigenous cultures of his home in Equador with that of the Navajo nation,” says Chip Thomas, the organizer of “The Painted Desert Project”.

Doodles . Avant Gardener. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

In this mural the artists Doodles and Avant Gardener including important animals that are symbolic to the Navajo like the eagle and hawk, among traditional rug pattern designs, a mountain range, and a rainbow. LNY incorporated a small circle painting in black and white of a woman holding a lamb.

Monica Canilao prepping an installation. The Painted Desert Project 2014. Arizona. Navajo Nation. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Artists Doodles and Monica Canilao “turned my backyard into a fabrication shop, running chop saws and table saws late into the night,” says Thomas of their work to rebuild a roadside food stand that had burned to the ground. Having made friends with the proprietor, Mrs. Woody, during a previous edition of “Painted Desert,” the two constructed the sides of the food stand and painted them behind his home. As evidence of the bond created between residents and program participants, the artists spent 10 days doing this work, according to Thomas. The family of Mrs Woody came to the house often during the construction and painting to assist and to bring home made food to the artists. Since the artists departed at the end of the summer they have kept in contact with the Woodys via Facebook and Instagram.

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Jetsonorama extends his most heartfelt gratitude to all the people who came together and help with donations of all kind to make this project possible, including to all the donors at http://www.gofundme.com/painted-desert-project

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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 is also published on The Huffington Post

Labrona and Troy Lovegates Join Season 3 of “Painted Desert Project”

August 25, 2014 Artists

We’re in the Arizona desert today where the third season of Street Artist Jetsonorama’s “Painted Desert Project” has been gently and purposefully been rolling out this summer. The wholistic blend of the political, social, and personal in these works completed in the Navajo Nation is a natural alchemy; the idea of separating them is a non-starter for this doctor/artist/organizer/activist otherwise known as Chip Thomas.

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Labrona and Troy Love Gates AKA OTHER for The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. Arizona. (photo © Labrona)

With the project and his own work Chip says he aims to amplify the voices of the people on the reservation. The invited artists roll in at different intervals through the year, giving them time to absorb the life and the environment and to respond to it in a way that is perhaps more integrated than other projects with Street Artists.

Labrona and Troy Love Gates AKA OTHER for The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. Arizona. Detail. (photo © Labrona)

“Photogenic country, eh?” says the Canadian Street Artist named Labrona, who shows us today some of the works he left with his buddy Troy Love Gates AKA OTHER, who he doesn’t get to see too much of these days since OTHER moved to California. “It was a great trip and I got to spend time with Other.”

Included artists over the course of this years “Painted Desert Project” are Monica Canilao and Doodles (Nick Mann), LNY, Jaz, Hyuro, and next year Nicolas Lampert of Justseeds is already on board. Chip and Monica also have completed a collaboration that is also being used as a poster in coordination with Justseeds to promote the “People’s Climate March” in New York next month. See a copy of the poster at the end of this posting.

Labrona and Troy Love Gates AKA OTHER for The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. Arizona. Detail. (photo © Labrona)

Troy Lovegates aka OTHER for The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. Arizona. (photo © Labrona)

Labrona and Chip Thomas The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. Arizona. (photo © Labrona)

Labrona and Chip Thomas for The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. Arizona. (photo © Labrona)

Troy Love Gates AKA OTHER for The Painted Desert Project. Navajo Nation. Arizona. (photo © Labrona)

A collaborative image created by Jetsonorama and Monica Canilao for JustSeeeds and the promotion of the People’s Climate March in New York September 21.

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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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The Painted Desert, Part II

July 10, 2012 Arizona, Artists

The sheltering sky is huge in Navajo country, and city slicker Street Artists have room to expand their minds and their imaginations when they get out to see the landscape dotted by occasional man-made structures. Jetsonorama and Yote invited a handful of them to come out and meet some local artists and the folks who live here.

By meeting the business owners and community members who invited them to create work on their buildings, the artists learned a little about local customs, their histories, and relationships. According to Jetsonorama, the guys appreciated that this project wasn’t about big walls with lots of exposure and were interested in connecting with people and the land to inspire their work. The resulting collection has a character and context very specific to the culture and the qualities of life here.

Overunder. White and yellow corn are symbols that play into the creation story for many native people. Overunder incorporated those symbols with the power lines that punctuate the sky here. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Overunder. White Corn, Yellow Corn. Detail. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Overunder added a rainbow to encourage rain. Shortly after he finished it, the sky obliged. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Overunder (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia at Labrona’s Wall (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona. Detail. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona (photo © Jetsonorama)

Labrona and Gaia collaboration. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia. The Bluebird Diner. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Gaia (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doodles (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doodles and Labrona collaboration. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doodles takes in the universe at White Mesa Arch. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Ben Water is Life. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. King of the Store. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama and Breeze Collaboration. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Breeze (photo © Jetsonorama)

Tom Greyeyes (photo © Jetsonorama)

Doing pullups on a fence. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Click HERE to see Part I of The Painted Desert Project

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Jetsonorama & Yote Start “The Painted Desert Project” In The Navajo

June 16, 2012 Artists

We’re beginning to see an ever growing mural/wheat-paste/stencil circuit, a clan-like constellation of firing synapses across the globe, the informally formal collecting together of Street Artists in one town or area to smash some walls and exchange tips, learn new skills, make connections. Sometimes there’s a budget, sometimes there’s just beer.

But it’s cool to see this generation of Street Artists reaching out to each other and hosting in their town, even cultivating an exchange that is personal and cultural. Having just returned back to the Navajo reservation from his trip out east to Baltimore to participate in the Open Walls project, Street Artist Jetsonorama is readying his own version with his buddy, a Street Artist you know well from these pages named Yote.

They’re calling it “The Painted Desert Project”.

Jetsonorama. Step in Cedar Ridge. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Together they imagined inviting some of their favorite Street Artists to the Navajo nation to paint. Jetsonorama gives Yote the credit for thinking up the archtypical roadside stand as a recurring mural location. “He first voiced the idea,” says Jetsonorama, “but as soon as he said it, I was already drawing up my dream list because I’d been entertaining this idea too.”

So there you have it. A project can happen if you dare speak the words, and these two guys are bringing some of their dream list, plus a couple of surprises, back to their stomping grounds to make art. The list includes Gaia, Doodles, Chris Stain, OverUnder, Labrona, and local talents like Thomas “Breeze” Marcus from the Tohono O’odham and Salt River Native communities. To set the stage, here are a number of pieces by Jetsonorama to whet your desert appetite.

Jetsonorama. Step in JR’s House. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Cavalene’s Right Eye. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Cavalene. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. King Fowler on Shed. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. King Fowler in Front of The Store. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Ben. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. Ben on Hugo’s Stand. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Jetsonorama. John Begishie. (photo © Jetsonorama)

Baltimore Opens Its Walls To Street Art

May 30, 2012 Artists, Baltimore, On the Street, Street Art Festival

Abstract geometrist and Street Artist MOMO is still sweeping across a massive brick wall in his cherry picker as he leads Open Walls Baltimore across the finish line with more than twenty artists and murals spread across these blocks straight off “The Wire” TV series.

MOMO. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. Stay tuned for process shots of MOMO’s wall on BSA tomorrow. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Oh, man, he’s really getting it down over there,” says local pigeon trainer Tony Divers, who is looking out his back door past the bird’s coop at the new 5-story MOMO piece coming alive in the empty lot next door. Mr. Tony, whose pigeons have also had a starring role in the series, himself became the subject of a massive building-sized portrait by Jetsonorama two blocks up the street.

VHILS. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Welcome to Open Walls Baltimore.

New York Street Artist Gaia had been racing his fixie around this town since he started studying at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) a few years ago. In between trips back home he began hitting walls with his large scale paste-ups on sides of some of the abandoned buildings that comprise entire blocks in this city. Somewhere along the way he gradually fell in love with the neighborhood and it’s lively conversations on the stoop, secret speakeasies on the weekend, and eclectic shows with Dan Deacon and the Wham City Arts Collective.

Freshly graduated, the talkative 23 year old artist with a natural knack for organizing decided to stay in B’more and plot a Street Art revitalization of sorts. With Ben Stone and Rebecca Chan of Station North Arts & Entertainment as partners, the trio secured monetary backing and city support for 20 artists to come and paint murals this spring. When asked if the grand outlay of almost a hundred thousand dollars is a civic/private program, Gaia is quick to answer, “Totally private. I guess you could call it civic because they’re non-profit.”

Gaia. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Armed with a budget and Gaia’s knowledge of Street Artists on the scene, the team was able to garner a wide collection of artists to create murals. When Baltimore native and famous graffiti/hip-hop photographer Martha Cooper agreed to shoot it all, Gaia knew OWB was going to be a hit. Large walls were pretty easily secured with help from the City of Baltimore and sponsors helped with paint and services. From March to May the neighborhoods of Station North and Greenmount West have played host to internationally known Street Art names of the moment like Vhils, Sten and Lex, Swoon, Jaz, MOMO, and Interesni Kazki getting up on walls alongside a list of local and regional talents.

Chris Stain and Billy Mode. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The reviews and interactions between the organizers, artists and local residents have generally been positive in this part of town where the drug trade has filled the vacuum since all the factories died and communities were destroyed. With “art as a gentrifying force” being a huge discussion, these hippy kids have formed community in bombed out factory buildings here over the last decade and a burgeoning artists community has somehow sustained itself tenuously through the rigors of a ruthless recession. Programmatically OWB is not entirely new as a cultural stimulus but this sort of “jump-start” approach to engendering a creative renaissance by public/private development may be watched carefully by other cities as a possible formula to imitate.

Sten & Lex. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For the upbeat organizer/curator of the project, it’s been extremely gratifying and an eye opener to be accountable to such a range of interests, “I learned that murals can be a little threatening to people and bring out their latent fears and that the parties you think who are going to be most afraid generally might not be,” Gaia explains, “and the ones you think might be the most into it – provide the most criticism.”

“For example the artists community turned out to be the one that was most afraid of being a gentrifying force and was most critical of the project. And all the legacy residents were generally not bringing that up, even if I asked them,” he says.

Sculptor John Ahearn performs a live casting of a couple. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Two young art fans watch in wonderment as Mr. Ahearn applies the liquid rubber to cast the mold. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mr. Ahearn’s street installation of previous casts. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Street Artist Nanook, also a student at nearby MICA and a logistical lynchpin for OWB, created his own mural that strikes at the historic manufacturing base that once provided a livelihood for the people who lived in many of these abandoned buildings. For him, the artist’s role is to connect the lines between past and present, “And so it’s just about bringing back these signifiers to the neighborhood. Especially for this housing area that was built to house the people who were working at these factories. It has been interesting to meet the people who are old enough to have worked at these factories – they actually worked at the coat factory and the rudder factory and the bottling factory down the street.”

As he smokes and points to the gears and the large hand on his mural, Nanook also talks about the former coat factory two blocks away that is now being renovated to be a magnet art school, and the possibility that work by creatives can create help neighborhoods re-imagine a future, “I think most artists are intermediaries for the communities they reside in.”

Swoon. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As we tour around the streets with Ms. Cooper, we make sure to hit the hot graffiti spot in town, an alley she’s known for more than 50 years and one that has provided uninterrupted opportunity for exploration with an aerosol can for many artists who start out here. “Usually there are people painting back here and there’s often somebody doing a fashion shoot back here,” she remarks while snapping images of tags and colorful pieces. “There was a “Wild Style” reunion here a few years ago with Charlie (Ahearn), and they painted all kinds of stuff. It’s fun and they all come to this – because there really aren’t too many locations to do this”

While we watch a handful of 20-year-olds pulling cans from backpacks and arranging them on the cracked concrete in front of a wall, we talk to Jeremy, a local Baltimore artist who also makes puppetry and masks. He says he likes the effect that OWB has been having on the neighborhood. “It’s an interesting project. It’s nice to see a kind of subtle but effective change. Baltimore is kind of rough. But because (OWB) is there it invokes something different and the space actually is transformed.”

On a Friday evening at a block party celebrating the completion of the final wall, Gaia is happy with how it has turned out, and pleased with the multiple conversations he’s been able to have with people in the community about murals, walls, pigeons, paint, and wheat-paste. “My only curatorial process was matching the artists with walls and sites that I thought would be pertinent and I thought would really work with the artists’ process – that was my biggest goal and it succeeded.”

Interesni Kazki. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ever. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JAZ. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Freddy Sam. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Specter. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Maya Hayuk. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Josh Van Horn. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder created a new facade within the facade of this building and a tribute to a local resident, Dennis Livingston. Says Gaia, “OverUnder is remarkably improvisational and really works well with children and people and is super engaging.” Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder.Dennis Livinston. Detail. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mata Ruda. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jetsonorama’s portrait of Mr. Tony as he watches his pigeons in the sky. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Jetsonorama and Nanook collaboration from a Martha Cooper photograph. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nanook’s wall in progress. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Open Walls Baltimore includes the following artists: Gaia (Baltimore), Momo (New Orleans), Doodles (Port Townsend, WA), Maya Hayuk (New York City), Ever (Buenos Aires, Argentina, Overunder (Reno, NV), John Ahearn (New York City)
Specter (Montreal), Mata Ruda (Baltimore), Josh Van Horn (Baltimore) , Caitlin Cunningham (Baltimore) , Jessie Unterhalter & Katey Truhn (Baltimore), Freddy Sam (Capetown, South Africa), Intersni Kazki (Kiev, Ukraine),
Gary Kachadourian (Baltimore), Chris Stain (New York City, Baltimore), Billy Mode (Baltimore), Jetsonorama (Arizona), Swoon (New York City), Sten and Lex (Italy), Nanook (Baltimore), Jaz (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and Vhils (Portugal)

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Young New York: Silent Art Auction and Fundraiser at White Box Gallery (Manhattan, NYC)

May 23, 2012 Artists, Auction, Events, Fundraising, Gallery, Manhattan, NYC

Young New York

YOUNG NEW YORK At Risk Youth Being Seen, Heard, and Known | youngnewyorkers.org

SILENT ART AUCTION & FUNDRAISER

We are pleased to announce Young New York: A Silent Art Auction & Fundraiser, Tuesday May 29, 2012 at White Box in the Lower East Side. This one night event will benefit Young New York (YNY), an art focused social justice program working with 16 and 17 year olds who, legally classified as adults, have been thrown into New York State’s adult criminal justice system.

The funds from the silent auction will help build the first stage of the program – a series of cutting edge creative workshops with fifteen young New Yorkers. The young New Yorkers will work closely with a team of successful artists, designers, teachers and social workers to responsibly and creatively develop their message around their own experiences with, and hopes for, the treatment of youth in New York State’s criminal justice system.

The evening will feature the works of Steven Holl and Steve Powers ESPO along with many other established and emerging international artists whose work touches on the realm of the social in urban space, thereby creating a dialogue with the work being developed in the YNY workshops.

The space for the event has been provided by White Box, food provided by Maimonide of Brooklyn, and drinks provided by Bomb Lager. Additional support has also been provided by Loci Architecture and gopro.

Young New York is supported by the Goodman Fellowship at Columbia University and Brooklyn Defender Services.

For more information visit http://youngnewyorkers.org/

YNY SILENT ART AUCTION & FUNDRAISER

Featuring Artists: Steven Holl, Steve Powers ESPO, NohjColey, Joe Iurato, Miguel Ovalle, Overunder, Gaia, Rodolfo Diaz, Marissa Paternoster, Ian Kuali’i, LNY, Blackmath, Doodles, Feral Child, Cake,ND’A, QRST, Sean 9 Lugo, Radical!, C215 from the Vandalog collection, Gilf, Beau Stanton, Rachel Hays, SUE works, Clown Soldier, Jill Cohen, Yulia Pinkusevich, Alyse Dunn, NEVER, Shane Nash, Jesse Hazelip, Sheryo,the YOK, ASVP, Labrona,Then One,Tom Smith, Day Le, Danielle Riechers, Jon Burgerman, Darnell Scott, Nathan Pickett, Joseph Grazi, John Breiner, Anne Grauso, SMURFO, Beau Stanton, Jamie Bruno, Luna Park, Sam Dylan Gordon, Fay Ku, Michael Bilsborough, NANOOK, Felipe Baeza, Sam Fleichner and more!

Curated by Natalie Trainor & LNY

Auction & Reception: Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 6-10 PM

Auction called at 9 PM

At White Box, 329 Broome Street NY, NY

Supporter Tickets: $50.00

General Admission: $25.00

Purchase Tickets here: youngnewyork.eventbrite.com/

Jetsonorama & Yote Laying Plans for “The Painted Desert”

March 12, 2012 Arizona, Artists, On the Street

Arizona based Street Artists Jetsonorama and Yote are embarking on a new project they’re calling “The Painted Desert” with a growing roster of Street Artists you know.

The project is reaching out to an array of Street Artists to put their stuff up on roadside structures in western agency of the Navajo nation. As part of a wheat-pasting project Jetsonorama began in 2009, the plans include holding mural making workshops and information sessions for youth who live on the reservation.

Jetsonorama (photo © Jetsonorama)

It looks like the project is picking up steam with commitments from Street Artists including Gaia, Chris Stain, Overunder, Doodles, Breeze, and Yote, who are all planning to get up over the next year. Also we hear that Swoon has some special plans, so that will be a point of interest too, and Henry Chalfant is also lending his support.

Says the organizers, “The project seeks to boost the economy by having the art be a destination for those who get it and to share the knowledge that we have as artists with local youth.” Sounds like Street Artists are poised to help the community again.

Learn more about “Painted Desert Project” is on Facebook and you can make a donation to the effort if you like.

Doodles for Living Walls : Albany

October 11, 2011 Albany, Art Fair, Artists, new york, On the Street

Finished Piece Frees Itself From Fear

That dude Doodles completed his piece at “Living Walls : Albany” in this hidden alley of the state capitol after all the camera-packing explorers and six-packing parties ran out of town. Out behind of storehouse Doodles had a lot of time to himself and he created this ode to shaking off the burdens of life with a progressive story across a cinder-blocked wall. The Street Artist explained to us that in one interpretation the figure represents an average modern person accumulating possessions in a materialistic world. But the metaphor he likes best is about shaking off the mounting burden of fear. The final frame, inspired by the artist’s recent trip to the wilds of the Adirondacks in upstate New York, shows the figure freeing himself from those fear and making a break for the woods. Off the grid! Here we go!

Thanks to Samson Contompasis for photos of the finished piece.

Doodles (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles (photo © Samson Contompasis)

Living Walls : Albany Roundup

September 19, 2011 Albany, Artists, new york, On the Street

RECAP – BSA and Living Walls : Albany

This weekend in Albany very important Street Art presentations were made at the New York State Museum during “Living Walls: Albany”, including one from Street Art duo Broken Crow, pictured here in custom made aluminum foil head gear that reflected light rays all around the Clark Auditorium.

Mike has the remote for the Powerpoint show in his right antenna. Broken Crow at the New York State Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

There were so many moving parts in this large and easy going cultural festival this weekend, and we were really happy to meet so many people in the street, at the Marketplace encampment, in St. Joseph’s Church, at the tile factory, and during our keynote lecture at the New York State Museum Saturday. Thanks to Samson Contompasis for asking BSA to partner with him for LWAlbany and a quick shout out to other local partners James Shultis at Grand Street Community Arts, Sivan Shimoni, the staff at NYS Museum, and local blogger KC Orcutt at KeepAlbanyBoring.com along with photographers Andrew Franciosa, Bob Anderson, MC3, Frank Whitney, and Ken Jacobie. Also big ups to Monica Compana, who c0-spearheaded Living Walls Atlanta, which we covered a lot when it began last year. For all the locals mentioned, they are just the tip of the iceberg of a large committed creative and professional community in the Upstate New York region who helped to pull this thing off with almost zero dollars and tons of planning and hustling. For the first year, it is/was a major achievement.

Broken Crow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Of course our main focus is always the Street Artists and the creative spirit that is alive and well on the streets so it was a total honor to see the artists and see brand new stuff going up, like the last one before catching a train last night – Broken Crow’s ram under a bridge. There are still some pieces being finished by NohJColey, Clown Soldier, Doodles, and one we missed from Michael DeFeo. Also coming up should be Hellbent and possibly some other artists this fall, so we’ll get back to you on that. Not all these pics are from Living Walls : Albany by the way — when you are combing the streets you find all kinds of stuff you didn’t expect.

Check out all BSA coverage on the archive page here.

Broken Crow (photo © Jaime Rojo)

White Cocoa (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles at work on his wall. He explained to BSA that it will eventually contain 5 frames of a figure gradually being crushed under a backpack, which he will shake himself from and run into the wild. It’s meant to symbolize the fears and problems that can accumulate in life and our need to shake the “baggage” if possible. — and some more esoteric descriptors that we can tell you about if you want to know. Stay tuned for the finished piece. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles at work on his wall (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Doodles wall in progress (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NohJColey at work on his wall (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cake, Infinity (photo © Jaime Rojo)

(photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder next to an old Radical! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Overunder (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Veng RWK (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Clown Soldier (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Michael DeFeo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Radical (photo © Jaime Rojo)

N’DA (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Take your own tour this fall with the Living Walls : Albany MAP

Heist Gallery Presents: “Till Death Do Us Apart” One Year Anniversary Group Show (San Francisco, CA)

November 8, 2010 Artists, California, Events, Gallery, Opening, San Francisco

Heist Gallery

TILL DEATH DO US PART

Gallery Heist One Year Anniversary Group Exhibition

GALLERY HEIST / SAN FRANCISCO (USA)

NOVEMBER 13 – NOVEMBER 27, 2010

Opening Reception – Saturday November 13, 2010 7-11PM

Gallery Heist is pleased to announce the opening for its One Year Anniversary

Show, “Till Death Do Us Part” a group exhibition celebrating a year of work

since the gallery’s inception. The opening will be held on Saturday, November

13, 2010 from 7-11pm. The exhibition will be located at the Gallery Heist Annex

at 1036 Hyde Street.

A new venue specific to the anniversary show.

The anniversary show will present the work of emerging and established contemporary figures from the Bay Area, as well as artists hailing from New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Melbourne. Along with paintings, photographs, mixed media works, and video, the show will include an installation by Ryan de la Hoz and a performance piece by Adam Rozan (of the Oakland Museum), as well as musical performances by Mark Aubert and TM.

Guest curators Allison and Garrison Buxton, of AdHoc gallery in NYC, will be co-curating and co-hosting the exhibition.

Featured artists include; Brett Amory, Adam Caldwell, Seth Armstrong, Mario Wagner, David Choong Lee, Oliver Vernon, Sean Desmond, Mike Giant, Mike Kershner, Gaia, Adam Flores, Justin Lavato, Ryan De La Hoz, Henry Gunderson, Mario Ayala, Roman Koval, Adam Rozan, Maja Ruznic, Ludo, Doodles, Helen Bayly, Miso, Daryll Peirce, Deborah Yoon, Allison Buxton, Garrison Buxton, Ezra Li Eismont, Shawn Whisenant and Bunnie Reise. These artists have come to represent what is and will continue to be the ethos of Gallery Heist.

The main location of Gallery Heist, at 679 Geary Street will feature an installation that will provide an opportunity for viewers to observe the obscured process of curating and running an art gallery.

Included in the installation will be various pieces of ephemera from the first stages of opening the gallery through the thought processes behind every show; photos, videos, notes, business cards, correspondence between the curators and artists, writers, editors, and figures within the art community will be displayed.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the artists will have access to several walls around the city to use as their canvases and to promote the show while contributing to the burgeoning local art movements. This process will be documented and displayed during the exhibition.

The exhibition will be on view at 1036 Hyde Street from Saturday November 13 – November 27, 2010. Viewing hours will be Tuesday – Saturday 4-8PM and by appointment. Gallery Heist is located at 679 Geary Street San Francisco, CA 94102.

For further information please visit www.galleryheist.com or contact Julianne Yates. info@galleryheist.com 415.563.1708

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Art is an extension of our culture and communities, serving as a vessel for the visual definition of our times. Art is not a luxury; it is a necessity.

Our mission is to foster innovative artistic expression and provide a sanctuary for the creative process and its importance and role in the redefinition of contemporary culture. Gallery Heist is a place for artists to gain exposure and develop their careers.

We encourage freedom of expression and experimentation within their work and artistic ideas. The walls of Heist will continue to house work that is representative of the contemporary generation, offering a venue for artists who challenge and analyze our social and cultural responsibility, traditions, and behaviors; specifically those who are leading the front of a conscious art movement.

Gallery Heist was opened in November of 2009 by twenty three year old Julianne Yates and has since become a destination for urban & new contemporary art in San Francisco. Located blocks away from the commercial galleries of downtown San Francisco’s Union Square, the gallery lies near the historical Tenderloin, which sees a demographical mix that serves as a microcosm for the whole of San Francisco.

Fun Friday the 13th! 08.13.10

August 13, 2010 Artists, Atlanta, U.K., Washington DC

Fun-Friday

Fun Friday 08.13.10

Atlanta Goes to HellBent

The long awaited Living Walls event in Atlanta officially begins today, even though 30 street artists have arrived over the last week and begun work in earnest. We’ve been hearing some amazing stories – and of course they’re ALL TRUE. Stay toooooned for special reporting from peeps on the ground and on the walls. Check out the Hellbent below from somebody’s blurry Iphone. HELL YEAH! Not a bad pic actually.

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Hellbent-Atlanta-Aug10

Excellent article on Monica and Blacky – the two person charming MACHINE behind this event – in one of their local papers.

Artists included in Living Walls:


Swampy
Miso
Chris Stain
The $tatus Faction
Know Hope
Gaia
Faber
Feral Child
The DotMasters
OX
Xomatok
Indigo
Drone
Ever
Nadie
Sakristan
Olivia
Dr. Case
Jerm IX
The Paper Twins
Doodles
Tereza De Quinta
Urka
Loaf
yoyoBruno
Shaun Thurston
Jason Kofke
Flix
Weak Hand
Michi Meko
Clown Soldier
Mad One
Yema
cin4ski
FKDL

EINE: Hoodlum to Heralded

It can be a harrowing and a strange trip that some graff/street artists take, and here’s a new video that gives an intimate inside look at some of Eine’s journey from tagging trains to making what might be described as fine art. Just last month a piece by the British Street Artist was given to President Obama by the Prime Minister on a visit to Washington. “So it’s been a weird day today,” says a July 20th posting on Ben Eine’s website. “David Cameron has given one of my paintings to President Obama.”

In The Guardian article by Jon Henley, Eine was quoted last month reflecting on the two heads of state, “Cameron seems quite a positive kind of guy and Obama’s a dude”. Wonder if it’s in the Oval Office?

Not Safe For Work! Naked White Man Can Jump!

A stop motion video comprised of 2,600 photos of 20 year old Morgan Tespsic doing public performance art that otherwise may be called exhibitionism, if the locations weren’t so bucolic and unpopulated.

Living Walls The City Speaks Atlanta

August 6, 2010 Artists, Atlanta, Events

Living Walls Atlanta

A GRASS ROOTS COLLOQUIUM

An exhibition and conference focused on street art and its role in engaging public space.

We are bringing in the works of an international selection of artists who typically make use of the streets to showcase their work. We have also sought artists that re-appropriate the public realm, attempting to take charge of their media space.

Artists will be asked, along with submitting artwork, to present some form of documentation of their other works as well as their process in order to illustrate via pictures, video, sketches, words, etc, the scale and context in which the artist typically works in public space.

LW4x6_Front

http://livingwallsconference.com

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