All posts tagged: HOXXOH

BSA Images of the Week: 12.08.24 / Miami X NYC

December 8, 2024 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

In New York and Miami and across the U.S., stories of legitimate struggles with the healthcare system are a constant backdrop to everyday life. Someone you met can’t afford insurance. Someone else is battling their insurer to approve a critical procedure. Surprise medical bills arrive for your girlfriend without warning. Your coworker avoids the doctor altogether because the costs are prohibitive. Teachers face medical bankruptcy, parents delay surgeries, and families turn to GoFundMe campaigns to defray crippling medical costs not covered. Meanwhile, seniors ration medication, cutting pills in half to make them last. It’s a system where multi-billion-dollar corporations, shielded by their (paid) influence over government, operate with impunity, leaving the sick ill-equipped to challenge them.

This backdrop of frustration likely fueled the sharp sarcasm and bitterness that erupted in conversations on social media and on the street after the UnitedHealthcare CEO was shot and killed on a Manhattan sidewalk this week. A young man in a hoodie fled the scene on a bicycle. Hundreds, no, thousands of responses on platforms like Twitter included jabs such as, “My empathy is out of network” and “Thoughts and prior authorizations.” UnitedHealthcare’s Facebook page was inundated with thousands of comments mocking the company’s public statement of sorrow. Many appeared to post pictures of family members or rejection notices they received from United Healthcare, their addresses blacked out.

To be clear, ‘denial of care’ is not just a business or policy practice; it is a systematic design rooted in contempt for people. These practices profoundly impact millions of people, possibly you and your family.

Now, five days later, the FBI joined the NYPD search for the suspect, who is believed to have left New York. Yet in laundromats, bars, and online forums, some people quietly invoke phrases like “snitches get stitches,” a colloquialism from hip-hop culture discouraging cooperation with law enforcement.

Critics in the media have rightly denounced the ethics of vigilante justice. At its core, vigilantism threatens to unravel societal order. Yet, so does a society that lets a profit-driven industry determine which sick lives are worth saving. The bitter truth is that for many, the system already feels unraveled.

Miami, we love you. This week was great at Wynwood Walls and Museum of Graffiti, and in the streets of Wynwood. The new STRAAT Catalogue is shipping on Christmas – and our Editor in Chief is one of the authors along with great folks like Carlo McCormick, Christian Omodeo, and Charlotte Pyatt. Most importantly, we cannot tell you how much we enjoyed meeting BSA readers and receiving your feedback and support. There are so many talented, creative, brilliant minds on this trip, and we like meeting each and every one. Don’t be shy! Thank you sincerely.

Shout out to our hosts at MOG Alan Ket and Allison Frieden, to David Roos from STRAAT, and to artists Nina Falkhoff, and HOXXOH.

Here’s our weekly conversation with the street, this week in New York and Miami, featuring: Retna, Adele Renault, Inkie, Werds, Pez, Astro, HOXXOH, Zimer, Kern, 1457 Wave, Juju the Frog, Trek86, Ishmael Book Art, Shey Lunatic, KTAN086, Code-E, and Z. Veiz.

ASTRO in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

KTANO86 in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shev Lunatic in Manhattan, NY. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ZIMERNYC in Manhattan, NY. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Trek86 & Ishmael Book Art in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Juju The Frog in Manhattan, NY. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

1457Wave in Wynwood, Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

INKIE in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Z.VEIZ in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WERD and friends in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adele Renault in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

HOXXOH in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

KERN in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

CODE-E possibly painted Jay-Z’s imitation of Basquiat in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

PEZ in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This is an advertising campaign for the soon-to-be-released Bob Dylan’s biopic “A Complete Unknown” starring Timothée Chalamet. They could have asked French street artist Jef Aerosol, who has stencilled Dylan on city walls for years.(photo © Jaime Rojo)

This is an advertising campaign for the soon-to-be-released Bob Dylan’s biopic “A Complete Unknown” starring Timothée Chalamet. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

RETNA in Wynwood, Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

It’s “Not So Black And White” Outside Scope with STRAAT

January 16, 2024 Artists

NOT SO BLACK AND WHITE

SCOPE WALLS 2023

A decade ago, spotting a fire extinguisher tag at a high-profile art fair was as rare as stumbling upon a unicorn. These tags, a raw expression borrowed from the rebellious part of street culture, remain one of the few graffiti forms embodying untamed, voluminous fury. Their wild, nearly uncontrollable nature often sends extinguisher tags sprawling chaotically across walls, typically in a burst of illegal exhilaration and complete disregard. Yet, at Scope, something has changed. Here, under the discerning eye of the STRAAT Museum from Amsterdam, New York’s Elle adds it to her graphic vocabulary, confined in a grid. The extinguisher phrase is sweetly an affair of the heart, neatly encapsulated within the structured lines of a painted grid on an outdoor display wall.

Valfre. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In this world (the West, East, North, and South), increasingly sliced by polarized political fault lines, the once rigid boundaries between art and vandalism blur into intriguing shades of gray. Consider hand styles like those of Bisco Smith at this venue – once underground, now they fold into the stylized lexicon of ‘calligraffiti,’ accessible to all. It’s a testament to the evolving nature of art, shattering the dichotomy of rules once as clear-cut as the commandments brought down by Moses.

HOXXOH. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Take Anthony Garcia Sr., for instance. His story is a narrative of contrasts. Born in Denver, that bastion of Boomer wealth now gasping in the throes of late-stage capitalism, Garcia’s roots are in Globeville, a less privileged neighborhood. He gets street cred for starting as a graffiti writer, then joins a DIY art collective – a move perhaps uncharacteristic for traditional graffiti artists. Garcia’s journey exemplifies the fading of stark black-and-white distinctions.

This year’s walls outside the Scope Fair in Miami vividly showcase this eclectic con/fusion. We see graffiti writers rubbing shoulders with art school graduates, graphic designers, and street artists. It’s a diverse panorama condensed into a concise exhibit. Curated by Hyland Mather and David Roos, STRAAT’s exhibition “Not So Black & White” celebrates this new, complex artistic landscape – where the lines between defiance and conformity, street and gallery, blend into a new, undefined horizon.

Artists include The London Police Hoxxoh, Pref ID, Bisco Smith, Mando Marie, Elle, Valfre, and Anthony Garcia Sr. .

ELLE. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bisco Smith. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bisco Smith. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mando Marie. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mando Marie. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Garcia Sr. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pref ID. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The London Police. The Lost Object (text). Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project in collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The London Police. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Not So Black & White Wall Mural Project. Detail. In collaboration with STRAAT Museum Amsterdam and Scope. Miami Art Week December 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR PEACE IN ANY FACE, AND FIND THE LOVE IN ANY PLACE” Hyland Mather AKA The Lost Object.

BSA Images Of The Week: 04.09.23

April 9, 2023 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Merry Arrestmas!

This is an excellent time to be in New York because everything is in bloom, and for a moment, there is love in the air everywhere you look. Or is that just the legal weed they sell from the truck in front of your apartment the way they used to sell falafel?

This is s beautiful time

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Louis Masai, Jason Naylor, Voxx Romana, HOXXOH, Voxx, Optimo NYC, Vers, Jesus, Lasak, D.Z.L.T., Envio, MENY X, Krave, and Abuse.

Optimo NYC. DeGrupo. Ollyn. SAY NO WARS. Houston/Bowery Wall takeover. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This is not going all too well Donald, is it? Unidentified artist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Enivo for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

HOXXOH for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

KRAVE for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ABUSE for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Louis Masai for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Magnolia. Spring 2023. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.10.19

November 10, 2019 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week, baked fresh daily for you from New York, infused naturally with a gritty melange of international flavors. In this city, global IS local.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Adam Fu, Aine, Cekis, Cole Ridge, HOACS, HOXXOH, Jeremy Novy, Lik Mi, Low Bros, Phetus88, Soten, Such, Tito Ferrars, and Trace.

Top banner Tito Ferrera (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tito Ferrara for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Brooklyn, NY. November 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Images Of The Week: 02.03.19

February 3, 2019 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week, Graffiti, Mural Art, Street Art, Urban Art

“Man, what’s with this cough that never goes away?” you ask your boy Tre, who’s laying on the moss green living room rug by the radiator drawing in his black book with an extra fine tip paint pen, listening to Wu Tang. “Could be January,” he offers. “Or maybe its asbestos from that work they’re doing in the elevator shaft.”

Right. “Never mind, lets watch some Beer Bowl!”

Meanwhile on the streets the ideas never stop. We were pretty excited to get up to 167th Street station to see the new mosaics by Brooklyn artist Rico Gatson, who does painting, video, sculpture and installation. These portraits of important contributors to the culture make us all proud. Here are just a handful but there are more and you should go and see them yourself.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Atomik, Captain Eyeliner, Deih XLF, finDAC, Go Vegan, Hoxxoh, Kai, Kevin Ledo, Lefty Out There, Mastrocola, My Dog Sighs, Pez, Rico Gaston, The Revolution Artists, Uninhibited, and What is Adam.

Supreme Justice Sonia Sotomayor immortalized by Rico Gatson in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Poet Laureate Maya Angelou immortalized by Rico Gatson in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Singer Celia Cruz immortalized by Rico Gatson in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lefty Out There in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Atomik and friends in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

What Is Adam in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Collaboration between FinDAC and Kevin Ledo in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Uninhibited in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Revolution Artists in Miami. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A collaboration among different artists in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mastrocola in Miami (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Wynwood, Miami. December 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.25.18

March 25, 2018 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Sharp tongued and defiant, that’s the way we like our young people, and Gen Z has a lot of loud mouthed articulate and savvy ones who are not going to be fooled out of gun control, if yesterdays marches in NYC and hundreds of cities are any indication. As Spring officially arrived in New York on Thursday, we are expecting even more action in the streets from artists and activists each passing day now.

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets (and elsewhere), this week featuring Adam Fujita, Anthony Lister, Balu, Banksy, Baron Von Fancy, Bifido, Dain, Dede, Gane, GlossBlack, Hoxxoh, JerkFace, Kuma, Lacky, Nitzan Mintz, Paper Skaters, Pussy Power Posse, Ratanic, RESP, Shock, and Texas.

Top Image: GlossBlack in collaboration with Klughaus (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gane . Texas (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adam Fujita (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Baron Von Fancy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Lister (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Balu (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lacky. Built to Mob (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dede . Nitzan Mintz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Resp . Shock . Kuma (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy no more… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

08AM (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We can’t read the signature on this massive wall. Help please. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pussy Power Posse (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ratanic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jerkface (photo © Jaime Rojo)

HOXXOH (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bifido “We Are Only Guests” in Volos, Greece. (photo © Bifido)

Paper Skaters (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. New York City. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Boston’s “Underground Mural Project” Opens With 11 Artists

October 31, 2017 Artists

“I love transforming a raw space for everyone to discover. It’s the best feeling to see people enjoying themselves in front of my art,” says artist Cey Adams in Boston as he finishes his “LOVE” mural in a letter style recalling the funky late 70s.

Cey Adams. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

At the start of September Adams and 10 other artists joined the Underground Mural Project to transform 150,000 square feet of walls and pavement in a park here, curated by Street Theory Gallery, a creative studio founded by Liza and Victor ‘Marka27’ Quiñonez. The 8-acre public underpass located between Boston’s South End and South Boston neighborhoods has been leased to a privately owned company that has turned it into “an active urban park, cultural attraction and parking amenity”, now named Underground Ink Block.

Ewok-MSK. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Our thanks to photographer Todd Mazer who shares some of his images with BSA readers today from the event. Todd also conducted an interview with painter, muralist and graffiti artist Rob “Problak” Gibbs, a native of Roxbury, a neighborhood in the southern part of Boston. As participant in the project, community arts advocate, and a lifetime Boston citizen who believes strongly in the power of public art, graffiti, and HipHop culture, Poblak offers a unique perspective to the Underground Mural Project.

Todd Mazer: In your origins as a writer you have spoken about the importance of outdoor classrooms like Peters Park what are your hopes that a place like the Underground at Ink Block can be a catalyst for?
Problak: I hope that the Underground at Ink Block can be a catalyst for the next generation of graffiti writers, muralist and landscape artist to be inspired to take what we contributed to the space and add on to the practice. If our times are documented the stories can be told better through a variety of disciplines artist come to the table with.

When a place like the Underground exists, up and coming artist can work on creative ways to contribute towards a venue that exhibits community art for the people of greater Boston at a world wide scale. The Underground can be a bridge that takes anyone (young or old) on an adventure through the creative process of an artist that may have work in that space.

VyalOne. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Todd Mazer: As an artist, activist and architect/educator how have you discovered the importance to expand your skill set in order to create opportunity for your own and others artistic endeavors?
Problak: I discovered how important it is have to have a variety of ways to tell your story. Pose2 always told us “your only as good as your last piece” and Kem5 added “ and the people you place yourself around” When that whole phrase is combined positioned my mind in a place to have my skill set be in a good position to always grow.

“Walking the talk” confidently comes from paying dues. Dues that range from humble beginnings to bad experiences that I learned the greatest lessons from. Expanding my skill set opened up new doors to meet and build a variety of relationships with other artist who too are skilled and tackle tasks through creative problem solving. The more skill you have the less you’ll find yourself saying NO to a majority of the challenges you’ll get approached with.

HOXXOH. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Todd Mazer: As a follow up more specifically could you offer some insight from 91 til infinity… in other words how has your involvement in AFH (Artists For Humanities) shaped your actions and given you perspective on the importance of this new space?
Problak: LOL from 91 til………..

My involvement with AFH is very instrumental to what I do because the creed we practice in our studio has become the DNA to my life’s work. I grew up around a small nit of artist who are gifted and who challenged me along our journey. That small crew grew into the organizations leadership. The ethos has evolved and revolved off of our actions. We took responsibility for our own learning and shared that practice with a large amount of youth for the past 25 years.

Don Rimx . Problak . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

The importance of this new space is that concept of giving space and opportunity for a genre that is powered by energy in this city that is untapped. An energy that has the interest of the youth and the ability to challenge them to think, digest, seek their own truth and hopefully contribute. Sometimes you have to be exposed to or shown the examples to develop your voice. This space could serve as a megaphone to help project it. The examples are the trailblazers who show everyone in the space what’s possible.

Todd Mazer: Why is it so important to artistically reclaim overlooked spaces?
Problak: It’s important to “Add to” vs. reclaim because with all due respect to the city’s architecture, I view these spaces as a series of blank canvases embedded inside of what I would compare to the city’s respiratory system. The work we do would breathe life into these spaces so that the city would not have to hold its breath and encourage others to do the same. These spaces can be landmarks and spark the next mind to be great or be that picture worth a 1000 words that would speak to the generations to come.

The participating artists include: Vyal One, Imagine, Cey Adams, Don Rimx, Marka 27, Problak, Ewok MSK, Thy Doan, Upendo, Percy Fortini-Wright and Hoxxoh. Our thanks to Todd Mazer for sharing his photos and interview with BSA readers.

Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Ewok-MSK . Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Perci Fortini-Wright. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Imagine876. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Upendo. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Problak . Vyal . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Having fun at the block party. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Underground at Ink Block from National Development on Vimeo.

BSA Images Of The Week: 01.08.17

January 8, 2017 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Over the holidays we made a quick stop in West Palm Beach, Florida to take a look at the murals from the CANVAS program, adjacent to the neighborhood of the Trump resort where he spent New Year’s Eve where he charged guests a minimum of $525 per person to attend his party. Scrubbed clean of any actual graffiti or organic Street Art, the downtown West Palm Beach shopping neighborhood adds these murals to a sleepy commercial area to pick up the glitter of a current fascination with Street Art.

With the highly contentious and disputed Trump right next door at his Mar-a-Lago estate, one wonders if any political messaging will be visible in the future, or will the neighborhood expressions of art in the streets be comprised of these decidedly apolitical and attractive murals created in advance of his presidency.

So here’s our first weekly interview with the streets for the year, this week featuring Anthony Hernandez, Astro, Bikismo, Case Ma’Claim, EMC, Grafftoyz, Greg Mike, Herakut, Hoxxoh, Kobra, Lonac, Michael Dweck, Pastel, PHD Graphitti, Pichi & Avo, Pipsqueakwashere, Sipros, Tristan Eaton, and WRDSMTH.

First image above: Lonac for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kobra for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tristan Eaton in West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pichi & Avo. Side A. Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pichi & Avo Side B. Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Herakut for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Hernandez. West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Case Maclaim for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Collaboration between Grafftoyz, EMC and PHD Graphitti in West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sipros for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

To learn more about CANVAS WPB click HERE

ONO’U Festival 2016 as Captured by Martha Cooper in Tahiti

October 13, 2016 Artists

Lucky Us! Our senior reporter on the ground in Tahiti for this years’ ONO’U Festival is the quick-witted eagle-eyed Martha Cooper, who shares with BSA readers her fresh shots of the action in paradise.

Personable and outgoing, Cooper covers a lot of ground quickly, introducing herself and asking questions and snapping pictures. Of course people often know her before she knows them, especially in the Street Art/ Graffiti game – but frankly she just wants to see artists work and learn about their process. So get working!

We’re thankful that Martha is taking the time to share with us all her images and some details of the surrounding action, which we elaborate on here for you.

“Charles is painting an Omamao bird endemic of Tahiti,” says Martha, “and it is listed as a critically endangered species.” Why do you hear this same story in whatever part of the world you are in today? More importantly, are you doing anything about it?

After the mural was finished, Martha says there was a blessing of the mural. Above you can see the minister in the photo above performing the blessing.

Bordalo shows us the original sketch for his new piece made with recycled trash.

Adnate at work on his mural. Martha tells us that his muse for the mural was a woman whom both he and Martha had photographed in the market. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Returning mural champion Seth made good use of “an odd shaped wall, turning it into the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship which led a flotilla of yachts protesting again French nuclear testing in French Polynesia,” Martha tells us. According to Wikipedia, “Fernando Pereira was a freelance Dutch photographer, of Portuguese origin, who drowned when French intelligence detonated a bomb and sank the Rainbow Warrior, owned by the environmental organization Greenpeace on 10 July 1985.”

Martha notes that Pereira also was a photographer and he was trying to save his equipment at the time that the ship went down. “The mural shows Polynesian girl in her fragile canoe pulling alongside the ship.”

“This guy says he can paint any animal he’s seen out of his head—very impressive!” says Ms. Cooper about NIKO, whose mural shows animals arriving in Tahiti from around the world from the harbor close to where the wall was. “The USA is represented by an alligator with a Miami Dolphins hat on,” she says.

MAST was channeling Brooklyn hard in Tahiti, with this shout out to the honeys back home, the subway at Franklin Avenue, and he reconfigured the train lines to reflect the letters of his crew – The Great Escape (TGE).

The anomorphic master Leon Keer is pictured here with his wife assisting. Martha says that these figures are “Painting of robots arriving from the harbor.” As usual, Mr. Keers work rather blows your mind when it is completed and you are standing in just the right location.

“Tribal Pursuit” is the name of this wall by Tahitians Jobs and Abuzz, named so after the board game called Trivial Pursuit. “The black lines are the Maquesa’s cross,” Martha says, and “the designs are the contradictions of old and modern traditions from Polynesia such as the ‘head breaker’ a traditional weapon and tiki, the sea animal because they are surrounded by water.” The skull, of course, “represents the atomic tests.”

Charles and Askew partake on traditional dance with a local troupe of female dancers. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Street Art Sancocho : “ArteSano Project” Brings Dominican Flavor (VIDEO)

January 8, 2015 Artists

New Year, new mural festival!

Truthfully, the appearance of new mural festivals today is faster than annual – it’s more like quarterly – but this one in the Dominican Republic was inaugurated three weeks ago and brings a certain hand crafted authenticity that holds promise for its future.

“ArteSano Project” gives you an indication of the personal nature of the art you are likely to see from the 25 local and international artists invited to Rio San Juan from December 11-22. It could be the name influencing our perception, but in one way or another it looks like these artists are chosen for their down-to-earth hand hewn approach. Sometimes decorative, sometimes storytelling, there are familiar themes and motifs that play well to their local audience as well as the virtual gawker.

Even with two dozen artists, it isn’t bloated: no logos or product tie-ins or DJs or high flying scissor lifts scaling massive multi-story walls with abstract surrealism, hyper photo-realism or dark pop human/animal/robot hybrids here – yet. Well, we take that back on the surrealism score; Pixel Pancho is here with a brood of chickens bobbing their industrial mesh necks atop fired tile bodices, hunting and pecking their way toward the beach, and Miami artist duo 2alas & Hox created a portrait of a boy with a partial mask overlay that calls to mind cyborgs (and Sten & Lex). But here in the loungey bare-foot tropical DR coastal area, even Pixel Pancho mutes the hues toward sun-bleached pastels, more easily complimenting their surroundings.

Free-running fowl overtook a few artists thematically, including another international artist who usually paints hybrid forms with dimension and almost mythic metaphor, but who this time tried his hand at something much more folkloric. “Importacion Cultural”, the flatly bright piece by Buenos Aires born Franco “Jaz” Fasoli, presents an entire wall with hand cut and paper collage, adding to the general feeling of approachability, and introducing a form of craft-inspired art-making more common to DIY Street Art of the 2000s than recent aerosol-infused mural festivals.

“The community was transformed during those days and over two weeks they began to see these great artists’ work and create specific pieces in different places around the town,” says Mario E. Ramirez, a Puerto Rican artist who has been documenting and capturing the burgeoning graffiti/Street Art scene in his country and places like DR with his partners at Tost Films. He says that an event like this that connects with a community yields a greater dialogue than some of the more commercial Street Art and graffiti enterprises, because the artists get to interact with neighbors closely. “At the completion of the ArteSano each artist felt like a distinguished guest of Rio San Juan. They made us feel at home, it was one of the best experiences of 2014.”

One of the organizers, Dominican born artist Evoca1, has experience working as a Street Artist as well as bringing actual physical sustenance and support to a community. For about four years the Miami based artist has delivered many meals to folks living on the street with his wife and friends through an organization he began called “Sketches For Mankind.”

With Evoca1 hosting the ArteSano project it became another form of community outreach and the curatorial responsibilities for the public art initiative was offered by the folks at the Vienna based INOPERAbLE Gallery, who have represented a mix of urban artists work including some in this show and others that are range into pop, dark pop, graphic irony, and more “traditional” contemporary Street Art.

Organizers say they hope that ArteSano gains traction and that people get to know the Dominican Republic as a good place for urban arts and muralism. There is not much transgressive here; With its mix of mainly latin name-brand and local homegrown talent, it looks like ArteSano makes a respectable entry into the international mural festival mileu with what may be the emerging alchemy of the decorative and the pleasing – peppered with some more challenging themes and muted socio-political messages.

Overall no one will argue that Rio San Juan is a great location for a painter or street artist from the northern hemisphere in December. Among the invited artists were BIKISMO, JADE, 2ALAS, HOXXOH, PASTEL, JAZ, EVER, ELIAN, LEO, VERO RIVERA, MODAFOCA, ENTES, FAITH47, AXEL VOID, PIXEL PANCHO, FILIO, ANGURRIA, 3TAMAROOTS, GABZ, POTELECHE, BAD6, SHAK, RUBEN, JOHANN,SEBAS, and PAOLA.

Fili . 2alas . Hox. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Pixel Pancho. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Pastel . Pixel Pancho. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Axel . Faith47. ArteSano Project. Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. December, 2014. (photo © Mario E Ramirez/TostFilms.com)

Thank you to Mario E Ramirez for his invaluable help to make this article possible for BSA readers.

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Top Image: GlossBlack in collaboration with Klughaus (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gane . Texas (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Adam Fujita (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Baron Von Fancy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Lister (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Balu (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Balu (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Balu (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Balu (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Lacky. Built to Mob (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dede . Nitzan Mintz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Resp . Shock . Kuma (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy no more… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

08AM (photo © Jaime Rojo)

We can’t read the signature on this massive wall. Help please. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Dain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pussy Power Posse (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ratanic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jerkface (photo © Jaime Rojo)

HOXXOH (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bifido “We Are Only Guests” in Volos, Greece. (photo © Bifido)

Paper Skaters (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. New York City. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cey Adams. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Ewok-MSK. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

VyalOne. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

HOXXOH. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Don Rimx . Problak . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Ewok-MSK . Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Thy Doan. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Perci Fortini-Wright. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Perci Fortini-Wright. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Imagine876. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Upendo. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Problak . Vyal . Marka27. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Having fun at the block party. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

Having fun at the block party. Urban Art Park. Beantown, Boston. September 2017. (photo © Todd Mazer)

First image above: Lonac for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kobra for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kobra for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tristan Eaton in West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pichi & Avo. Side A. Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pichi & Avo Side B. Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Herakut for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anthony Hernandez. West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Case Maclaim for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Case Maclaim for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Collaboration between Grafftoyz, EMC and PHD Graphitti in West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Collaboration between Grafftoyz, EMC and PHD Graphitti in West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Collaboration between Grafftoyz, EMC and PHD Graphitti in West Palm Beach, Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sipros for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

ASTRO for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pastel for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Michael Dweck for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bikismo for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hoxxoh for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hoxxoh for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WRDSMTH for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pipsqueakwashere for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Geg Mike for Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Greg Mike. Side A. Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Greg Mike side B. Canvas West Palm Beach. Florida. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Landing. New York City. January 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Phat1 AKA Charles at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Phat1 AKA Charles at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Phat1 AKA Charles with help from Lady Diva AKA Jeanine Williams. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Bordalo’s sketch for his installation. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Bordalo II at work. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Bordalo II. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Adnate at work on his mural. Martha tells us that his muse for the mural was a woman whom both he and Martha had photographed in the market. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Adnate. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Adnate & Askew. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Seth at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Seth at work on his mural. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Seth. ONO’U Festival 2016. Tahiti. (photo © Martha Cooper)