All posts tagged: Geoff Hargadon

London Dispatch: Street Art at Moniker Art Fair

This weekend in London is the Moniker Art Fair, which features the work of a number of Street Artists, as well as the artists themselves installing, performing, drinking. Part commerce and spectacle, the atmosphere at an art fair always has an expectant air of interactive theater; directors, actors, and prop masters all milling around fervently and working to create a dramatic scene. Ready or not, the doors fly open and in rushes the calico crowd of collectors, fans, and looky-loos to belly up to the stage, discover who has a new idea, and who is recycling old ones. This years Moniker includes work by Aiko, Banksy, Ben Eine, Best Ever, Cash For Your Warhol, D*Face, Dabs & Myla, Greg Miller, Herakut, Jaae, Matt Small, Nate Frizzell, Peeta, Marco ‘Pho’ Grassi, Pure Evil, ROA, Rero, Russell Young, The London Police, and Word to Mother.

Just flown into Shoreditch for an engagement all week, (don’t forget to ask your waitress for the House Specials), here’s your photographer/artist/collector  Geoff Hargadon in the thick of it all with a photo essay of some highlights of the the action.

brooklyn-street-art-geoff-hargadon-moniker-london-2011-Jealous- Gallery-webJealous Gallery is seen here churning out free “Cash For Your Warhol” prints for the first 30 visitors to the fair Friday. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Australian/Los Angeleno Street Art couple Dabs & Myla at work on their installation before the curtain goes up. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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A D*Face mural defaced – actually looks pretty good. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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D*Face, unfazed, continues on with his installation. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Remi Rough strikes a bit of a dance stance while getting up on a Moniker wall. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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An artist from the Canary Island Urban Culture Booth. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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“Cash for your Warhol” at The Garage (left). In the center is Amanda Marie and Aiko on the right for Andenken. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Watch your back, installers coming through with a D*Face can. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Installers assembling a ROA puzzle, piece by piece. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Street Artist Beejoir’s new sculpture,  “A Pill A Day” (Singapore/UK) (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

…..makes us think of “Mother’s Little Helper,” by the Rolling Stones

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Boston Street Art, and Swoon’s “Anthropocene” at ICA

Her name is unpronounceable, so people just call her Mrs. Bennett. One of the last aboriginal people in Australia, she sits atop a rolling line of four-eyed Tibetan demons with human faces who are sucking species into their mouths on this wall installation at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA). Traditionally these demons would be protective, but “Swoon really sees these as a representation of humanity’s need to devour, and in excess, to destroy“ explains Pedro Alonzo, curator of the show, as he gives guests a tour of “Anthropocene”, the two part installation by the Brooklyn Street Artist. The shows’ name refers to the current era, and according to Wikipedia, “The Anthropocene is a recent and informal geologic chronological term that serves to mark the evidence and extent of human activities that have had a significant global impact on the Earth’s ecosystems.”

brooklyn-street-art-swoon-ICA-boston-jaime-rojo-09-11-web-8Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Part two of the installation at this modern museum overlooking the Boston waterfront is the mini temple suspended from the ceiling in the entry hall to the galleries, best viewed from the glass central elevator that carries you from floor to floor. With joints hand-tied in a manner Swoon learned from Chinese scaffolding architecture, the 400 pound structure is made of bamboo, copper, and multiples of hand cut paper animals, species endangered or soon to be in this era of human destruction on Earth. “She built the structure in four parts, we assembled it and installed it (over 6 days), and she draped it with these materials, ” said Alonzo.

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Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

During the installation the main hall was reserved for work tables and a temporary print shop, where many assistants spent hours hand cutting the animals and shapes that adorn the works and the parade that swings from the ceiling connecting the two areas. Seahorses, frogs, beetles, and butterfies all create the chain of life in this intuitive biologic story of connective species and collective endangerment. Disappearing before they can become fossils, the animal world is memorialized in this most ephemeral of materials, an exhibition that will similarly be destroyed when the wall is sanded and painted. In this impermanent way, it best mimics the installations Swoon does on the street.

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Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Then out to the streets of Boston we went, hitting a number of spots with the guidance of photographer, artist, and Street Art expert Geoff Hargadon, who began one of the city’s only organic walls for Street Art and graffiti art in 2007. A natural magnet for painters and wheat-pasters, the ever-changing dialogue of “The Wall” on display is periodically wiped clean for a new group installation. The outdoor gallery has provided an outlet for hundreds of local and visiting artists as well as a providing a backdrop to photo shoots, video, and television programs. On the day we were there, a dancer was set to perform her moves under bright lights in the alleyway. Below are images from that days tour.

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Swoon on the streets of Boston (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swoon on the streets of Boston (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swoon on The Wall at Central Square in Cambridge (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Alphonse (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Darkcloud, Mise. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Obey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Syms (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The Wall at Central Square (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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The Wall at Central Square (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Brian Butler. The Upperhandart on The Wall at Central Square (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Darkcloud on The Wall at Central Square (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mancini and friends on The Wall at Central Square (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mark Carvalho on The Wall at Central Square (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mer One on The Wall at Central Square (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With special thanks to Swoon, Pedro Alonzo, the ICA, and sincere gratitude to Geoff Hargadon.

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The Institute Of Contemporary Art, Boston Presents: Swoon “Anthropocene Extinction” (Boston, Mass)

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brooklyn-street-art-swoon-geoff-hargadon-ica-boston-2-webSwoon at work installing  “Anthropocene Extinction”  (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

There’s a good chance you’ve encountered Swoon’s work before: her intricately cut, life-sized portraits have covered abandoned buildings and warehouses in cities around the world. Often found in beautiful states of decay, her wheat-pasted installations are populated by realistically rendered people going about everyday activities in a cityscape of her own invention.

In both her art and her own life, Swoon is deeply engaged with social and humanitarian projects. During the 2009 Venice Biennale, she and a crew of 30 other artists and friends sailed SWOON boats made of reclaimed materials through the canals of Venice—creating new purpose out of what was cast aside. Her latest endeavor, the Konbit Shelter Project, is a sustainable building project assisting Haitians who lost their homes in the devastating 2010 earthquake. Working alone or in collaboration, Swoon’s work is often about forming a community in order to practice what she refers to as a “real world” engagement.

For the ICA’s fifth installation of the Sandra and Gerald Fineberg Art Wall, Swoon’s installation will extend from the elevator atrium to the lobby, soaring 40 feet up to the ceiling—the largest installation to occupy the Fineberg Art Wall. The work, titled Anthropocene Extinction, is composed of streams of intricately cut paper which connect key sculptural elements within the installation, including a 400-pound, suspended bamboo sculpture. The exhibition is accompanied by an ICA-produced video featuring installation footage and an interview with the artist.

To find out more about this exhibit, location, time, dates and directions visit ICA site at:

http://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/swoon/

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Peek at Swoon’s “Anthropocene Extinction” Opening at Boston’s ICA

brooklyn-street-art-swoon-geoff-hargadon-ica-boston-2-webSwoon (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Opening tonight at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, is an exhibition of new work by Brooklyn Street Artist SWOON, called Anthropocene Extinction.

“The title addresses humanity’s impact on the environment,” says Pedro Alonzo, the Adjunct Curator of the show and the guy who brought the very successful Street Art exhibition “Viva La Revolucion” to San Diego last year.

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Swoon (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Kind hearted and focused powerhouse SWOON continues her efforts to engage viewers at ICA with her hand cut wheat pasted installations of real people and mythical ones, symbolically telling a tale that brings responsibility for the environment directly to our feet. Wholistic in many respects, we find familiar recurring themes in the subject matter, the construction techniques, even the manner of fruition of the installations; The localized environment in which Swoon’s work evolves mirrors the collaborative vision and processes that will be necessary to address the very real issue of sustainability and disaster more populations are facing.

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Swoon (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

For the politically charged time we’re in, a show like this could open itself to charges of smug liberal self satisfaction if the artists’ body of work and projects to create shelter from the storm were not so consistent and authentic. A person entirely engaged in every process, Swoon facilitates others’ stories and incorporates them along with more material considerations, like the 400-pound bamboo temple structure hanging from the ceiling here that uses traditional Chinese construction methods the artist has been studying (It’s excellent when viewed while riding the elevator). Balancing the durability of reinforced joints with the fragility of cut paper species floating through air, the exhibit calls to mind the range of responses we will need to employ if the march toward planetary destruction is to reverse, and if SWOON’s characters are going to survive.

Our thanks to photographer and BSA contributor Geoff Hargadon, who has been documenting Swoon’s installation for the show and who shares images with you here.

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Swoon and assistant Alyssa Dennis work on a linocut print (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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An assistant helps Swoon with final touches on this wall. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Swoon (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Swoon (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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An assistant helps Swoon with this portion of the installation. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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An assistant helps Swoon with final touches on this wall. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Support for the Swoon installation is provided by Fotene Demoulas and Tom Coté, Geoff Hargadon and Patricia La Valley, Tim Phillips, and Connie Coburn and James Houghton.

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Learn more about the exhibition Anthropocene Extinction at the ICA website HERE:

Read BSA’s interview with Pedro Alonzo here about his curatorial experiences on Viva La Revolución at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego last year.

Listen to an interview with Swoon and Pedro Alonzo on Boston’s WBUR.

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Images of the Week 05.22.11

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Our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Enzo and Nio, El Mac, Hargo, L.E.T., Paul Richard, Poster Boy, QRST, Retna, Skewville, Nice-One and Sweet Toof.

With photography by Carlos Gonzalez, Geoff Hargadon, and Jaime Rojo.

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Sweet Toof at Factory Fresh. Today is the last day for you to see this show. If you miss it you’d be upset for the rest of your life. No kidding! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-poster-boy-sweet-toof-jaime-rojo-05-11-webPoster Boy and Sweet Toof. One of the more effective Poster Boy interventions recently spotted. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Annie get your gun. Enzo and Nio (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Mac and Retna collaboration in LA (photo © Carlos Gonzalez)

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Cash for Your Warhol in LA (photo © Hargo)

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Cash for Your Warhol in LA (photo © Hargo)

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Cash for Your Warhol in LA (photo © Hargo)

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Paul Richard and L.E.T. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Paul Richard has been placing ironic placards in very funny places. Also here is a piece by L.E.T. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Skewville in Bushwick (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Nice-One does this wheatpaste that looks like it has some Os Gemeos influences. Thanks Stephanie for the tip! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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QRST sets the birds free (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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QRST (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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OBEY Hits SXSW in Austin and Releases Print for Japan

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Shepard Fairey OBEY (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

SXSW, the annual music/culture/technology festival winds down the circus-like atmosphere of new bands and big-name performers and ideas cramming venues with one show and roundtable after another, sometimes resulting in chaos. A regular Street Art contributor to this scene, Shepard Fairey hit up some walls as part of the Local to Global Outdoor Gallery Project.

In response to the tragedies created by the tsunami in Japan Shepard Fairey is releasing a new variation on the Dark Wave print. Profits from Dark Wave/Rising Sun will go to relief efforts in Japan.

Release Date: 3/24/2011 at a random time at ObeyGiant.com

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Thanks to photographer Geoff Hargadon, who took these Austin images of Obey’s brand new work using a monochromatic palette that looks pretty fresh!

brooklyn-street-art-geoff-hargadon-obey-austin-5-webShepard Fairey OBEY (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Shepard Fairey OBEY (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Shepard Fairey OBEY (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Shepard Fairey OBEY (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Happy New Year! BSA Highlights of 2010

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As we start a new year, we say thank you for the last one.

And Thank You to the artists who shared their 11 Wishes for 2011 with Brooklyn Street Art; Conor Harrington, Eli Cook, Indigo, Gilf, Todd Mazer, Vasco Mucci, Kimberly Brooks, Rusty Rehl, Tip Toe, Samson, and Ludo. You each contributed a very cool gift to the BSA family, and we’re grateful.

We looked over the last year to take in all the great projects we were in and fascinating people we had the pleasure to work with. It was a helluva year, and please take a look at the highlights to get an idea what a rich cultural explosion we are all a part of at this moment.

The new year already has some amazing new opportunities to celebrate Street Art and artists. We are looking forward to meeting you and playing with you and working with you in 2011.

Specter does “Gentrification Series” © Jaime Rojo
NohJ Coley and Gaia © Jaime Rojo
Jef Aerosol’s tribute to Basquiat © Jaime Rojo
***

January

Imminent Disaster © Steven P. Harrington
Fauxreel (photo courtesy the artist)
Chris Stain at Brooklyn Bowl © Jaime Rojo

February

Various & Gould © Jaime Rojo
Anthony Lister on the street © Jaime Rojo
Trusto Corp was lovin it.

March

Martha Cooper, Shepard Fairey © Jaime Rojo
BSA’s Auction for Free Arts NYC
Crotched objects began appearing on the street this year. © Jaime Rojo

April

BSA gets some walls for ROA © Jaime Rojo
Dolk at Brooklynite © Steven P. Harrington
BSA gets Ludo some action “Pretty Malevolence” © Jaime Rojo

May

The Crest Hardware Art Show © Jaime Rojo
NohJ Coley © Jaime Rojo
The Phun Phactory Reboot in Williamsburg © Steven P. Harrington

June

Sarah Palin by Billi Kid
Nick Walker with BSA in Brooklyn © Jaime Rojo
Judith Supine at “Shred” © Jaime Rojo

July

Interview with legend Futura © Jaime Rojo
Os Gemeos and Martha Cooper © Jaime Rojo
Skewville at Electric Windows © Jaime Rojo

August

Specter Spot-Jocks Shepard Fairey © Jaime Rojo
“Bienvenidos” campaign
Faile studio visit © Jaime Rojo

September

BSA participates and sponsors New York’s first “Nuit Blanche” © Jaime Rojo
JC2 © Jaime Rojo
How, Nosm, R. Robots © Jaime Rojo

October

Faile “Bedtime Stories” © Jaime Rojo
Judith Supine © Jaime Rojo
Photo © Roswitha Guillemin courtesy Galerie Itinerrance

November

H. Veng Smith © Jaime Rojo
Sure. Photo courtesy Faust
Kid Zoom © Jaime Rojo

December

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Miami 2010: Tales of the Streets

Welcome to Miami!  Now go home.

– It’s a paraphrase of the Christmas crabby New Yorker who relies on the tourists who pump money into Broadway and Times Square restaurants and FAO and who actually eat those hot dogs and pretzels on the street.  In the case of Miami, Art Basel 2010 draws to a close now and one billion dollars are estimated to have been transacted. When you pair that figure with the estimated 2-3000 artists participating, it looks like the artists must have made out rather well, right?

Certainly there were more Street Artists than ever attending the events and transforming walls everywhere with their work and creativity – at least in the unofficially sanctioned areas. At the moment Miami is “The only city in the US where graffiti appreciates property value,” ironically says Mint and Serf, a Street Art collective visiting the tropical city from frigid New York.  In an odd twist on the “broken window theory” and urban blight, artists who are normally looking over their shoulder can actually wave to and talk with police who are driving by in some run-down areas where they are given free reign over large swaths of walls. At this sunny moment in time various agendas are intertwined and one wonders how long this golden age lasts.

Street Art photographer and observer Geoff Hargadon took in the breadth of the week on the street and attended a number of the events over the past weeks’ art orgies.  He captured many jewels and quick moments with his camera and his 6th sense, which are below. As various larger pieces are unfinished right now, we’ll be going back in a few weeks for a year-end overview.

In addition to an intuitive eye about the art trends happening that impact the scene, Geoff gives a commentary about what else he’s thinking about: “Here is the other thing that’s a trend: property owners have their hands over all these walls for artists to takeover, and then suddenly they are leased out to restaurants, coffee shops, and other businesses. It’s hard to know who’s playing whom here – maybe it’s a happy co-existence – but when does the property owner step up to support these guys in other ways? (Unless, of course, it’s already happening.) Either way, artists are playing a big role in the development of these neighborhoods, and whether they know it or not, as the area gets more developed and gentrified, they will eventually run themselves out of town. Whether they are getting paid or not, they are creating their own extinction in Miami.”

brooklyn-street-art-aiko-miami-2010-webAiko (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

brooklyn-street-art-amaze-miami-2010-webAmaze (photo and clever Photoshop © Geoff Hargadon)

brooklyn-street-art-coco-miami-2010-webCoco (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

brooklyn-street-art-gaia-hands-miami-2010-webGaia’s Hands (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

brooklyn-street-art-down-on-the-demon-miami-2010-webBurning Candy Crew Members Tek33 and Dscreet at work on Dawn Of The Demon.(photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Cash for your Warhol  (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

brooklyn-street-art-gaia-invider-miami-2010-webInvader (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

brooklyn-street-art-lister-miami-2010-webLister in progress (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Gaia (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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The London Police in progress (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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The London Police close up (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Shepard Fairey (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Invader (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Remed in progress (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Invader and friends (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Obey Overunder! (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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PopUp Lister (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Ron English color explosion (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Obey shop! (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Ryan McGuinness (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Skewville gets his wings and soars (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

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Mint and Serf (photo © Mint and Serf)

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Mint and Serf (photo © Mint and Serf)

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Light Graffiti photo © Vicki Da Silva

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Geoff Hargadon on the Scene (and behind it) for la Revolución

Unprecedented Access to an Unprecedented Street Art Show

The Street Art photographer gives us a personal look with some of his favorite shots in a photo essay on “Viva La Revolucion”

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Shepard Fairey in action on Kettner Street not far from the museum (© Geoff Hargadon)

It’s very exciting to be a part of a growing and ever-evolving art movement comprised of so many diverse artists and talents.  Among them of course are the photographers who enable us to see what is happening without leaving our computers. Sometimes they are simply documenting pieces so you have the opportunity to see what the street artist created.  Other times a photographer will open other doors of understanding, write a bit of poetry with the moment.

We are so impressed with Geoff Hargadon and his deft positioning of the frame and his storytelling ability.  During the installation of the city-wide street art show “Viva la Revolución” that is running right now in San Diego, Hargadon was given unprecedented access to the artists as they immersed themselves in their work. We asked Geoff to tell us a story with his images of that exceptional experience.

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Two team members of French large-scale Street Artist JR helping with his installation on 5th-Ave (© Geoff Hargadon)

Geoff explains:

” ‘Viva la Revolución,’ curated by my good friend, Pedro Alonzo, opened last week at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Pedro and I got to know each other well during Shepard Fairey’s museum show in Boston at the Institute of Contemporary Art, which he also curated, and through that show he became acquainted with the photography I had done on Shepard’s work in Boston and Miami. When I heard he was putting this show together, with 20 of the best artists in the world, I urged him to document the outdoor work well, and offered to spend 10 days following the artists around.

My proposal was to be everywhere at once, and to get as close to them as possible without getting in the way. Without exception, the artists were gracious and welcoming. The result was 45GB of photographs, from which the museum will select a bunch for inclusion in the show’s catalog, media coverage, and potentially some commemorative prints. Here I have selected, with some difficulty, a handful that attempt to capture the diversity of the work, the varied processes the artists used, the wide range of locations in San Diego, and the spirit of street art itself.”

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Brazilian brothers Os Gemeos piece on a parking garage (© Geoff Hargadon)

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French tile wizard Invader did a number of well placed pieces in the city (© Geoff Hargadon)

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The preparation of a piece by Stephan Doitschinoff, also known as Calma (© Geoff Hargadon)
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The finished Calma piece (© Geoff Hargadon) Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Geoff-Hargadon-Os-Gemeos-creating-one-of-their-museum-pieces-D3S_7988

Os Gemeos in the studio space (© Geoff Hargadon)
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Brooklyn  Street Artist Swoon’s piece being installed with help by her team. (© Geoff Hargadon) Brooklyn-Street-Art-copyright-Geoff-Hargadon-JR-installation-at-the-museum-DSC_8313
A JR installation in progress with the help of an intern at the museum.”It’s the left wall of a mini theatre in which he shows
one of his recent video works – a brilliant and moving piece.”(© Geoff Hargadon)
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Mexican tattoo artist Dr. Lakra installed a mural in a lot next to this low rider, which continued to beckon him during his work.  (© Geoff Hargadon)

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San Diego’s Streets Alive as “Viva la Revolución” Opens at MCASD

Opening night at MCASD's first Street Art Exhibition - a crushing crowd in two lines which formed an hour before the doors opened. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)
Opening night at MCASD’s first Street Art exhibition this weekend – a crushing crowd in two lines which formed an hour before the doors opened. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

“Never Trust Your Own Eyes. Believe What You Are Told,” says the ironic slogan in the freshly wheat-pasted graphic piece by street artist Shepard Fairey on the side of a clothing store in San Diego, the town that chased him out for doing street art. One may believe Fairey’s politics to be Orwellian reference. Just as easily it could be applied to the academics, historians and would-be art critics struggling daily to describe with any authority what street art is and how it should be regarded. Luckily, we have been able to trust our eyes to make this analysis so far.

Read more (and leave your comments) on The Huffington Post

Invader and friends in San Diego (image © Geoff Hargadon)
Invader and friends in San Diego (image © Geoff Hargadon)

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