Brooklyn Bodega presents “Under The Influence,” the first curated art event to be held in conjunction with the 2011 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. Opening Tuesday, July 12th as part of the Festival’s week-long programming at The powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY; the exhibit will celebrate the influence Hip-Hop has had for multiple generations within the artistic community.
“The idea is to pay tribute to the culture and bring together artists who have something special in common – an influence, a back-story, a motivation. Hip-Hop wouldn’t have become the same movement without the influence of the graffiti writers who created an aesthetic for a new generation. The artists in this show prove that the influence of the golden era keeps its roots and continues to inspire new creations. The influence is powerful and this show brings together both the pioneers and a new wave of artistic progression.”- Corrie Zaccaria, Event Captain, The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival
Artwork on view during “Under The Influence” has been curated by Royce Bannon and Alex Emmart of Mighty Tanaka Gallery. We are also excited to announce Gawker Artists as media partners of “Under The Influence.” The opening night festivities include a public reception with refreshments provided by Brooklyn Brewery and music from a special guest DJ. A live music performance and more featured artists will be announced soon!
Featured inthe Show:
Photographs from Back in the Days Remix: 10thAnniversary Edition – Book Signing Upon its first publication in 2001, Back In The Days by Jamel Shabazz became an instant classic. This seminal and iconic title has been inspiring a decade-long, international revival in old-school Hip-Hop style, music and culture. Appearing alongside photographs from the book, Shabazz will be on-hand to sign copies of the limited-printing, tenth-anniversary edition of Back in the Days Remix. It includes a new edit with over 30 never-before-published photographs, a new essay, an interview with Shabazz and deluxe cloth binding.
Contributing Artists – Second Floor Gallery 212 Magazine, 907 Crew (UFO, SADU, DROID, Tony Bones, OZE 108 and GEN II), Ader, Ak5, Alice Mizrachi, Avoid, Cash4, Darkclouds, Destroy & Rebuild, Don Morris, Endless Love Crew (Royce Bannon,Matt Siren, Celso, Infinity, Abe Lincoln Jr), Ellis G, Eric Jordan, Jesus Saves, Joe Conzo, John Brenner, KA, Keely, Kosbe, Martha Cooper, Miguel Ovalle, Mike Screiber, Moody, Pesu, Robots Will Kill, Rodeo, The Me Nobody Knows, Toofly, Tuxedo, URNewYork and Vanessa Chew + more TBA.
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What: “Under The Influence” Art Event When: Opening BHF ’11 Reception: Tuesday, July 12, 6:00 – 10:00PM
Exhibit Dates: Wednesday, July 13 – Sunday, August 7, 2011 Where: The powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY Who: Photographs from Back in the Days Remix: 10th Anniversary Edition. Gallery showing of influential artists.
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.
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.
A Monstrous Welcome to a New Era for 112 Greene Street (Royce Bannon)
Long before Soho became a jewel encrusted haven for high-end couture, over-priced “foodie” groceries, hi-jacking delis, and exclusive password private clubs, the wild-eyed artists were the only people interested in the abandoned buildings south of Houston, and north of Canal. In the decade of the 1970’s, during a financial crisis when a Republican president told our bankrupt city to “drop dead”, that he would veto any bailout for a cash-strapped NYC economy, Soho was a largely abandoned carcass of warehouses and lifeless factories. As is so often the case, it was the perfect playground for the innovative talents of artists and art students needing cheap raw space to create and coalesce and eventually re-start the engine of cultural growth. Like the Williamsburg/Greenpoint/Bushwick neighborhoods in Brooklyn today, Soho in Manhattan was a pounding heart in a hurting city that was drained by an energy crisis, sapped by a costly possibly illegal war on foreign soil, and duped by the ponzi-schemes of corporate titan opportunists at home.
112 Greene Street in Soho was the original home of 112 Workshop, a raw space open between 1970 and 1980, offering exhibition space for installation and performance for the new generation of conceptual artists who emerged from the radicalized minds and cultural upheavals of the previous decade.
With artists having complete control to curate their shows, the space put on challenging and inspirational work of hundreds of people. During the life of this laboratory it produced a list of influential performers and artists that helped shape the cultural cityscape over next 30 years, including names like Vito Acconci, Laurie Anderson, Joseph Beuys, Louis Bourgois, Chuck Close, Spalding Gray, Phillip Glass, Fran Lebowitz, Jeffrey Lew (co-founder), Gordon Matta Clarke (co-founder), Richard Mock, Richard Serra, William Wegman.
A spirit of collaboration and lively exploration returns to this space on March 26 when street artists well known in North Brooklyn today clear out the moribund basement space at 112 Greene and electrify the walls with a new era of youthful big ideas – and with thanks to those who came before in this hallowed space.
Royce Bannon, core member of the collective ELC (Endless Love Crew), is curating an audacious and boundless graphic cavalcade of street art styles to christen the historic space that honors the creative spirit. While ELC has a rotating roster that sometimes totals as many as 9 artists with a variety of styles, the currently active members of the ELC for this project will be Abe Lincoln Jr., Anera, El Celso, infinity, and Royce Bannon. With everyone working collaboratively, the “Work to Do” show pays homage to the new president and embraces a new reality that artists and creatives in the city are feeling right now.
The 112 Greene Street space is christened The Combine with this inaugural show. Steve Loeb and John Robie are creating The Combine to provide a new environment for the exhibition of art; an alternative to the traditional gallery opening and exhibition, transforming static work into multi-media, performance oriented events.
Detail from Kosbe at “Work to Do” (photo Steven P. Harrington)
On a recent sunny Saturday, with Soho sidewalks anxiously trampled with tourists dragging shopping bags out of Prada, Dean & Deluca, and the Apple store, Royce and Chris from Robots Will Kill are laboring below street level on work for the new show. Descending the stairway you hear the blasting remixed hip-hop jams, see the spray-painted names along the walls claiming space for pieces; Ad Deville of Skewville and U.L.M. have staked their real estate, as has Cake and the Smart Crew. Others have already created pieces on their wall allotment; a 7 foot tall Mochni from Veng on the landing, a chaotic collage from Kosbe as you hit the floor, a manic back wall collaboration with Deekers, infinity, and Celso.
A complete history of 112 Workshop
Royce sits at his makeshift table of plywood and saw-horses, pouring over a large book about 112 Workshop, marking its’ pages with post-its, and eyeballing every available inch of the entire basement space, thinking about how to fill it, and with whom. His phone keeps ringing, but he’s concentrating on the long rectangular room. He’s loving this moment, and proud of the work his friends have put into the space. Chris from RWK climbs a ladder to lay-in the first wash of color that will build the backing of… perhaps a robot?
Did you hear the new one about Octomom? (Royce Bannon, Dain, and AVOID Pi) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
The mottled concrete floor is marked with blue tape where a stage will be built for Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force on opening night, and the backdrop wall is already claimed by an undulating AVOID Pi tentacle, some Dain wheatpasted portraits that well up with fluorescent tears, and some smart-aleck monsters from Mr. Bannon himself, and a space remains for Abe Lincoln Jr.. Walk past a stack of plywood into a makeshift rectangular “gallery” room where many 3’ x 8’ foamcore canvasses lean – soon to showcase Deekers, infinity, Celso, and Royce pieces and hung in the windows of a music store further north of here.
Brooklyn Street Art: So who decided to put on this show? Royce Bannon: Steven Loeb (composer, arranger, producer) and John Robie (composer, musician and record producer). They both have really extensive resumes in the music industry that go back to the 70’s – have worked with so many great musicians and artists that have impacted most of us – Kurtis Blow, Public Enemy, James Brown, LL Cool J… and a lot more. This is their space, and they’ve given me full control to make this show rock.
This is how we do it (Chris from Robots Will Kill) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: How did you get involved? Royce Bannon: They hit me up on MySpace about a year ago, I guess. They knew about ELC and liked our work. About November or December they asked me if we could throw an ELC show and I was like “Sure!” We got together and had lunch and they showed me the space. It was a mess when I saw it. It was full of a bunch of wood, tables, broken furniture, junk… it was basically used for storage, hadn’t been used for anything I guess for years.
Brooklyn Street Art: Are they planning to use the space after the show? Royce Bannon: Yeah, they are turning it into an event center, mainly for charitable events. They want to make money, but they want to give back as well. This will be the first kind of event that is following that approach.
Brooklyn Street Art: So they first contacted you to do an ELC show, but you actually know a lot more people who can do work in a space like this. Royce Bannon: Yeah exactly, they were like “we like ELC” and I said, “This is a lot of room to fill for just ELC, so why not invite people who I admire, and some of their friends and we can just crush this whole place up?”
Waiting for the Smart Crew (Cake) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: Have you had to tell people “no” since this roster started filling up? Royce Bannon: Yes, (laughs) I’ve been telling people “no” a lot, and that’s really hard. What I’ve been telling them is to hold on, and once everybody paints, there will be other smaller or tight spots where they can do “fill-ins’, cause some people like those smaller spots too.
Brooklyn Street Art: Looking at this giant space, you are giving people a lot of real estate; these spaces look like 8’ by 8’ chunks of wall. That’s pretty generous. Royce Bannon: Yeah definitely, why not? The spaces are claimed, and we’ve got lots more space to do, and about a third of it is done already.
Brooklyn Street Art: Are people excited to be in the show? Royce Bannon: Yeah, very excited, I think it’s gonna be like a madhouse in here. It’s about 4,000 square feet floorspace.
This place is Smokin’ ! (detail from Kosbe) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Brooklyn Street Art: You have been working long hours to accommodate all these artists? Royce Bannon: Yeah, since mid-January I’ve been here like 12 hour days, sometimes late at night. First we had to clean up the space, figure out what materials we wanted to keep. We’re using everything they had left here and re-purposing it, cause “why not”. Better than throwing it away. Like my monsters are cut out of some bookshelves (laughs). They’ve been supplying us with whatever tools we need, gave us a bunch of paint. So with extras, like ladders and tools, I just go to them and we can get to work. They are really supportive of us, plus they’re collectors.
Brooklyn Street Art: So some of the artwork is going to be on sale? Royce Bannon: Yes, I think some of the people are going to actually put their artwork on top of their pieces. We’re going to make a little gallery (gesturing to a 10’x 14’ room) – I think some people are going to put their stuff in there. We’re going to cover the floor, I think, in fake grass… brighten the space up a little bit. But we still got a lot of work to do.
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In planning for the new show, Royce and all of the artists have been inspired by the words of the 44th president:
“In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. It has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up.“
So far the lineup for the show includes: Endless Love Crew, Moody AA, Cabahzm, Cake, 2Easae, Avone, Chris RWK, Veng RWK, Brando * Nev1 * Sinatra Smart Crew, AVOID pi, infinity, Deeker, Keeley, El Celso, Dain, Pufferella, Skewville, Royce Bannon, AnerA, Abe Lincoln Jr., Ellis Gallagher AKA Ellis G., Matt Siren, Overconsumer, Kosbe, Aiko, Abby Goodman, Alone art, Bast, Ben Jackson, Bobby Hill, Buildmore, C. Damage, Chris Brennan, Christopher Gordon, Dark Clouds, Deeker, Destroy and Rebuild, Erica Faulke, Keely, Pufferella, OHM, Smells, Stikman, U.L.M.
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.
Danny Licul, infinity, & Tefsukaz . Photo by Celso.
POST NO BILLS @Gallerie Pulaski
curated by Celso & Infinity
Just north of the People’s Republic of Brooklyn, across the Pulaski Bridge, lies a nice patch of pavement called Long Island City, Queens. Art fans always make sure to hit the Sculpture Center, PS1, and 5 Pointz – which is famous to taggers and street artists alike; a protected haven and prized pantheon of the creative spirit. If you were to throw a molotov cocktail from 5 Pointz and PS1 had the wind at your back you might smash into a marriage of both right now: an outside street gallery show called POST NO BILLS, featuring the work of about 25 intrepid explorers installed thoughtfully on a block long stretch of construction site walls.
Inga Huld Tryggvadottir. Photo by Celso.
Royce Bannon. Photo by Celso.
Abe Lincoln Jr.(with Infinity). Photo by Celso.
One of the curators of this show, Celso, put down his hammer and nails for a minute to talk about his latest project, as well as his own recent solo and collaborative work:
BrooklynStreetArt: So you and your co-curator Infinity have put together a sizeable outdoor show called POST NO BILLS. Even with two people, it looks like it was a lot of work.
Celso: It wasn’t too bad. infinity and I have been working together for some time, so we can get things done quickly and easily. We both tend to be in agreement on what works and what doesn’t and that makes things easier. Plus, we both love the color orange.
BSA: How long have you two been working together?
Celso: It’s been three to four years, mostly through Endless Love Crew shenanigans, but in the last year or so, the two of us have done a lot of collaborative pieces (paintings, smaller murals, etc.), and now we’re also working together at a more massive level. infinity has lots of evil plans brewing…
Bushwick Brooklyn Mural with Celso, Infinity, and Deeker collaboration. Photo by Celso.
BSA: Is Infinity trustworthy and reliable?
Celso: Not with money or women.
BSA: What was the main challenge getting the stuff up?
Celso: Some of the Post No Bills artists had never put work on the street before like James Willis and Inga Huld Tryggvadottir. James is an established gallery artist and he works in charcoal. This means that his works are incredibly easy to smudge. Now, add wheatpaste to the mix and it can get pretty ugly.
Likewise, Inga is an incredible cutter. She makes these fantastic works that are made out of layers upon layers of paper. This may work in a gallery, but on the street, it was a challenge to secure it to a wall. We used a ton of wood glue as well as a few screws to keep everything up. Despite the challenges of installation, the pieces really rock on the street.
BSA:So, really, it is a gallery. Damn, I missed the opening! Were there white wine and cheese cubes? Celso: This Friday June 27th is the opening. We’ll have a cooler and a cheese tray. Maybe some showgirls too.
BSA:How did you hook up that space? I notice you have ceilings to conveniently shield your gallery visitors from the sun and rain. Celso: I got the space through chashama, an arts organization based here in the city. They’re a non-profit that provides artists with subsidized studio and gallery spaces. They hooked me up with this spot. And yeah, what attracted me to it was the second level roof. It allowed us to put up two floors worth of art which are open 24/7. Next time we’ll try and add a penthouse….
BSA:Whose idea was it to take the gallery approach to the street? Celso: This is something I’ve been thinking about for some time. I’ve curated a number of shows in galleries and I’ve worked on the street. And this seemed like a logical extension of both: an art exhibit on the street. When I saw the spot, I knew it would work. Plus, you can’t beat the traffic. It’s right next to the Pulaski Bridge and the Midtown tunnel.
BSA:In a way, the huge mural you did recently (very close to this one) was an outdoor gallery too. But this one seems more formalized, with a gallery/museum presentation. Celso: Yeah, I would say that “Standing at the Crossroads” (which we did with Deeker and Royce Bannon) is a more traditional mural. It’s so bright and over the top that it needed an unobstructed wall to work.
“Standing at the Crossroads” Mural with Infinity, Royce Bannon, Deeker. Photo by Luna Park.
Celso: When I first saw the site where the Galerie Pulaski is installed, it looked pretty crappy. The construction walls were battered and painted blue and the area was surrounded in scaffolding. I knew that if we painted it gallery-white, the art would really pop. Now, people who’ve never set foot in a gallery or museum are forced to do it as they run out to catch a bus or train. Force feeding art every once in a while is a good thing.
BSA:Have you seen the gallery that was posted on a worksite in Williamsburg on S.5th and Berry this spring? Think that one was sponsored by an energy drink. Celso: No, I missed it.
BSA:While you have a lot of singular pieces all over the city, I notice that a lot of your work has been collaborative – Endless Love Crew is built on that model. What appeals to you about collaborative shows? Celso: It’s fun to work as a crew. There’s the partying and jams, but I also feel as if you learn a lot just hanging out with other artists. It’s art school without the blowhards and can be really energizing. _
But I do like to do a mix of solo and group stuff. I’ve worked on a lot of ELC stuff, but I’ve also done my own projects. I’ve worked a lot independently here in New York, doing posters, firebox shrines and the painted Plexiglas pieces, and I did a series of painted political signs in L.A. and in upstate New York. __The reason my independent work may not always be easy to find is because each piece I lay out on the street is an original. No Kinko’s bulls**t. Nothing is mass. Every piece is a hand-drawn and hand-painted. It’s a lot more work, but it keeps things more interesting. Plus, there’s something to be said for keeping pieces special.
SHRINES by Celso
“Our Lady of Monsey Trails”, by Celso. Photo by Celso.
Detail of “Nuestra Señora de Arte Calle, Patrona de los Grafiteros”, by Celso. Photo by Celso.
PLEXI by Celso
Supah-stah plexiglas installation. Photo by C-Monster
Celso Plexi overlay of Frank Gehry in LA. Photo by C-Monster
BSA: There are a huge number of construction sites in Brooklyn right now. Do you think you’ll do another gallery show soon? Celso: Yeah, I’m already working on another one but the location is secret for now 😉
POST NO BILLS
curated by Celso & Infinity
with Abe Lincoln Jr., Celso, Ceito, Creeper, Darkcloud, DAVe, Elbow-Toe, Endless Love Crew, F.Trainer, Gaia, Gore-B, Jenny Holzer, infinity, Danny Licul, Evelyn Metzger, Milquetoast, Momo, Dean Radinovsky, Abigail Rothberg, Royce Bannon, Tefsukaz, Inga Huld Tryggvadottir, James Willis and friends
Gallerie Pulaski
48-15 11th St. @ Jackson Avenue
By Subway
Take the G to 21st Street Station
Take the 7 to Vernon Blvd – Jackson Ave Station
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
