All posts tagged: Infinity

Live Performances at Chashama: “Spool” from infinity

Live Performances at Chashama: “Spool” from infinity

August 18, 2009 , , ,

A series of live installations

Street artist Infinity is curating a live “in window” series with a spool of ribbon, staples and scissors.  The show is consisting of five timed movements each day  that take the spool from the floor to the walls and into 3D space.”Spool” features collaborations with Celso, AVOID pi, and Royce Bannon.
It’s a unique concept that will be interesting to see as it progresses from your vantagepoint of the street while the artist challenges the materials to behave in  new ways. Already some of the installations have created patterning and echoes of graffiti, but maybe we are reading too much into it, and probably way too simplistic.

Hearing it directly from the artist- it’s better than “The Making of Thriller”!

Infinity took a break tonight after Day 4 of the installation – Elated, excited, and full of descriptive scientific-philosophical gnostic imaginings. If you catch this dude on a good day, he’ll take you to a magical world of banging hammers and exploding synapses and voltaic currents of life-force.

“Basically this activity (Performance? Sculpture? Installation? Game composition?) is an abstraction, simplification, mutation, of the definition of “drawing,” reducing it to it’s elemental nature, the “line,” and representing it with string so that one can draw in a three dimensional space, crisscrossing and looping through the space like telephone cables, electric wire, like veins, like waves.

“For instance, the first movement is called “Pollock” because we basically are playing with the string on the floor which is reminiscent of Pollock’s drip techniques. The fourth movement, which is about tieing together all the crisscrossing string, is named after Celso because of his interest in knots and an installation he did his summer with fabric woven into a fence. He’ll be doing a duo with me on Friday

“The fifth movemennt is named after David Ellis of the Barnstormers, not Ellis G, who most people seem to think of. Getting to do all these days at the Chashama Space has really been helpful to see what works best.”

“Aside: Transmissions are streaming through us everywhere at all times!!!! You are surrounded and infiltrated!!!!! The tools are no longer pencil and paper but stapler and walls. The five movements are based on the order of actions that one must take to make an interesting i.e. successful “drawing in space”, which actually is the goal, like any other drawing. So since each movement is comprised of a certain set of actions, I named each one after an artist whose signature work is similar to that set, ” says infinity.

These photos below are from end of day today, which was a two day solo piece.

End of today August 18, by infinity

End of today August 18, by infinity

A wild scene in the window at end of today August 18, by infinity

A wild scene in the window at end of today August 18, by infinity

Oh Yeah, don’t forget the schedule

Each daily performance is split between 5 phases

“Spool” Drawings in Space
by infinity

266 W.37th St. NY, NY
Show performances August 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, and 21
Guest “duo” participation 19th: AVOID pi, 20th: Royce Bannon, 22nd: Celso
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James, Karla and Billi Kid talk about Mom & Popism: Open to Public Saturday

James, Karla and Billi Kid talk about Mom & Popism: Open to Public Saturday

August 14, 2009 ,

Manhattan is turning into a Mall. There I’ve said it.

In the 80’s when I first got to NYC my best friend guided me through the canyons of Manhattan lamenting the pace of change, the cultural cornerstones gone, the new soul-lessness that was going up in new buildings and neighborhoods. I said, “Get over it, are you kidding? This place is amazing!”

Making a call while Billi Kid looks on (photo Jaime Rojo)

Hi De Hi, Hi Di Ho! Making a call while Billi Kid looks on (photo Jaime Rojo)

 

Now the pace of “progress” that has turned every small and mid-sized city in America into an interchangeable power strip of Olive Gardens, Radio Shacks, and OfficeMaxes has gradually infiltrated the culturally vibrant and wacky island. But it isn’t only Manhattan, it’s true in almost every neighborhood in the city – In fact, the chains are shackling most of our culture to a homogenized dullness that preys on low-paid workers elsewhere and creates low-paid workers here.  How many Mom-and-Pop stores have been wiped out by the undercutting prices and special tax considerations that Big Box stores have?

Ask James and Karla Murray.

They started taking pictures of New York’s Mom-and-Pop stores a decade ago when they were out shooting graffiti. By definition, a Mom-and-Pop is a family-owned and usually family-run business with roots in it’s community, providing needed goods or services and jobs and wealth to it’s small ecosystem. The Murrays noticed that they were disappearing, rapidly.  It alarmed them and they published a book featuring those businesses call “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”, featuring 250 images of these Mom and Pops.

Buildmore, Morgan Thomas, and Blanco (photo Jaime Rojo)

Buildmore, Morgan Thomas, and Blanco love pasta! (photo Jaime Rojo)

 

A new show, open to the public this Saturday, features images from that book blown up almost to their original size in a “streetscape” and installed on a gorgeous rooftop. The twist with this show of storefronts is it also includes the work of 28 artists all over it, thanks to the curating skills of Billi Kid, street artist and entrepreneur.  We went to the opening of the event (read here) and then we had the pleasure of interviewing the authors and the curator of the show to get more of the backstory:

Brooklyn Street Art: How did the opening party go?

Karla Murray: The opening party was a huge success. We have to thank Liz and Genevieve at Gawker Artists for helping launch such a great event as well as Billi Kid for planning and curating the event. We have never seen our Store Front photos so big before, let alone be decorated by many talented graffiti and street artists. Lots of media and artists were there to celebrate the unveiling of the exhibit. We also want to thank Bear Flag wines who donated the wine.

Ticky/Underwater Pirates, and Celso with guests (photo Jaime Rojo)

Ticky/Underwater Pirates, and Celso with guests (photo Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: How did you come up with this unusual idea and then convince Jim and Karla to help make it happen?

Billi Kid: Jim and Karla’s book had been sitting on my coffee table for quite a while and of course, triggered the original idea. MOM & POPism was my fourth collaboration with J&K, our second in which other artists work over their images, so it came down to a matter of trust and love for the concept. To be honest, they jumped right in. No arm twisting on my part. If anything, we three held our breath while waiting for Gawker Artists, who presented the exhibition, to decide whether they wanted to commit their time and resources to the event. Liz Dimmit, our champion and curator of Gawker Artists, fought our battle hard and flipped the POWERS THAT BE over to the dark side.

Royce Bannon monster takes a bite (photo Jaime Rojo)

Royce Bannon monster takes a bite (photo Jaime Rojo)

Birds on a ledge by Cern (photo Jaime Rojo)

Birds on a ledge by Cern (photo Jaime Rojo)

David Cooper and Ralph's (photo Jaime Rojo)

David Cooper and Ralph’s (photo Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Can you describe the process and materials you used to print these large scale repicas of storefronts?

James Murray: The process began by Billi Kid selecting the photos from our “STORE FRONT” book that he thought would have enough “negative” space for artists to paint directly on top of the photo but still maintain the integrity of the store. After Billi Kid told us his initial selection of images, we worked with him making the final selection. We based this decision on the actual image size because we wanted to use photos that we knew would be able to be blown up to that large size and remain clear. We then gave all the image files to Billi Kid so that he could do the math on every one of them and figure out how large the image would print. He also figured out what spaces the artist would paint on and assigned every artist a particular area to paint on. Billi Kid then printed out our photos in segments of 4 feet wide by 9 feet high on matte photo paper rolls using his wide-format printer. If it wasn’t for Billi Kid owning such a large printer, this project would never have gotten off the ground because it would have been too expensive to print at a local lab.

 

Ideal Dinettes, in business from 1953-2008 Brooklyn, 2004, by James and Karla Murray from “STORE FRONT- The Disappearing Face of New York”

 

Brooklyn Street Art: Were you ever afraid it wasn’t going to work out?

Billi Kid: Only in so far as the weather was concerned. When we kicked off the planning phase of MOM & POPism, the last thing we figured was a rainy July/August season. Who knew? We had considered the tremendous amount of work involved in getting this to look just right. I mean, Liz Dimmit actually committed to building 9 walls on the roof of Gawker Media HQ so that we could cover them with James and Karla’s beautiful photography. On top of that, we had to figure out the blown-up dimensions of each image and how to layer them up as wallpaper slices. It was definitely touch and go for most of the process, but the stars finally aligned in our favor.

Lady Pink (photo Jaime Rojo)

Lady Pink (photo Jaime Rojo)

 

Brooklyn Street Art: Isn’t Billi Kid rude and difficult to work with?

Karla Murray: Billi Kid is one of the nicest and most generous guys as well as a talented artist. This is the 3rd time we have collaborated with him on an exhibition. The first was a graffiti/street art/photography hotel room installation at the Carlton Arms Hotel in Manhattan and the second was an exhibition called Underground/Overground at the Artbreak Gallery in Williamsburg. We also selected him to be part of an exhibition we are curating during Art Basel Miami called GRAFFITI GONE GLOBAL presented by SushiSamba Restaurants. His work, including the panel he painted as part of MOM and POPism, will be shipped down to Miami and included in the show that takes place from Dec 3-6, 2009.

Brooklyn Street Art: How important is community in a project like this?

Billi Kid: As curator, my first concern for MOM & POPism was to bridge the gap between graffiti/street art and how it is exhibited in a gallery environment. I wanted the public to experience it in it’s pure form, exactly how I see it when I walk the city streets. Secondly, I wanted to continue James and Karla’s “Store Front” conversation along with the sadness felt by all as we watch the disappearing face of New York along with the economic and artistic implications involved. And last, it was all about community. Bringing all of these talented artists to this roof was a dream come true. When working together, the community can go a lot further in spreading the love as far as I’m concerned.

Shiro and her buddy by her piece (photo Jaime Rojo)

Shiro and her buddy by her piece (photo Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: What conversation do you hope to spark about the significance of these businesses, and their disappearance?

James Murray: We hope to open people’s eyes to the disappearance of these mom-and-pop businesses and encourage people to shop in them and support them. Since we began the project of documenting these stores over 10 years ago, over half of the images which appear in the book have now closed. With the economy doing poorly even more businesses are threatened. These mom-and-pop stores are what makes each neighborhood in the 5 boroughs unique. They are the backbone of the community and when they close a little piece of history is lost.

Brooklyn Street Art: Do you think people are beginning to make the connection between corporate power, globalism, big box stores, and the killing off of Mom-and-Pop’s?

Karla Murray: We hope that people do make the connection between corporate power and big box retailers and the killing off of Mom-and-Pops. People often have the misconception that shopping at a big box is cheaper then going to a local store but it’s not true! Many store owners have told us that their prices are actually lower and the quality of their goods are better. These mom and pop store owners take pride in what they sell and stand behind their product whether its food or clothing or whatever. Many of these businesses have been handed down from generation to generation and the owners are proud to have their name attached to their store.

Brooklyn Street Art: Sometimes when you stretch your mind to combine art and artists in a new way, you can reach a new audience. Maybe you are letting more people know about these artists…
Billi Kid: Whenever I have a willing ear, I’m always talking about preaching beyond the choir. The work deserves and demands a wider audience. It’s beautiful to see and read how people outside of the graffiti and street art world reacted to MOM & POPism. Hallelujah!

Zoltron took the signs to a new street (photo Jaime Rojo)

Zoltron took the signs to a new street (photo Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Now that the family owned stores are gone, do you see any hopeful signs in the development of the cityscape?
James Murray: Many family-owned businesses are still in existence so we remain hopeful that the cityscape will not change too drastically.

Infinity says he liked the garbage bags piled there

Infinity says he liked the garbage bags piled there because it looks more realistic (photo Jaime Rojo)

 

Brooklyn Street Art: What was the biggest surprise of the whole installation?
Karla Murray: The biggest surprise was all the rain we got while doing the installation. We knew going into this that the weather was not something we could control but we really were subjected to extremes. The boards were even blown over by a heavy wind/rain storm and had to be secured more tightly. When the artists were painting on the photos we had to erect “tents” out of tarps to keep them covered from the heavy rain storms. We even had to change the date of the opening party under threat of rain. Despite all this, everything worked out well and the photos and artwork held up remarkably well to the elements.

David Cooper signing a copy of Jim and Karla's book (photo Jaime Rojo) 

David Cooper signing a copy of Jim and Karla’s book (photo Jaime Rojo)

 

Brooklyn Street Art: Work and logistics aside, it looks like you had fun putting this one together!
Billi Kid: OK, scratch everything I said so far! Hell yeah!!! It was all about having fun! Seeing how much pleasure each artist had working and looking over each other’s shoulder was my finest moment in bringing MOM & POPism to life. At the end of the day, we ALL have to enjoy what we do, because it shows.

Here’s a piece by videographer Greg DeLiso:

MOM & POPism include Blanco,  Buildmore, Cake,  Celso, Cern, Chris  (RWK), Crome, Cycle, David Cooper, Destroy & Rebuild, Enamel Kingdom, Goldenstash, Infinity, Kngee, Lady Pink, Matt Siren, Morgan Thomas, Peru Ana Ana Peru, Plasma Slugs, Royce  Bannon, Shai R. Dahan, Shiro, The Dude Company, Tikcy, Under Water Pirates, Veng (RWK), Zoltron and Billi Kid.

MOM & POPism will be open to public on Saturday, August 15th from noon to 4 p.m. Additional exhibition viewings are available by appointment throughout August.

MOM & POPism Public Viewing Invite.jpg

Previous projects that combined the talents of James and Karla and Billi:

An article James and Karla wrote about Billi in Peel Magazine

The room Billi did at Artbreak Hotel with James and Karla

Underground Overground with Billi, James and Karla and Cern


Great Photos at the opening of Mom&Popism from talented photographer Joe Russo at our friends Arrested Motion

See an exhibition of photos from the book at the Clic Gallery now through September 27, 2009

Billi Kid

James and Karla Murray

Gawker Artists

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Mom and Popism Brings the Street to the Roof

August 6, 2009 , , ,

Lady Pink
Just like the street used to be; Lady Pink’s pink lady in a provocative pose at “Mom and Popism”. (photo Jaime Rojo)

Tuesday night the summer air was heavy and thick, after an “ozone alert” day in New York drove most sensible people inside corner delis to slide open the icecream case and stare at popsicles for a few minutes, cooling off in the process.  Thankfully there is always the roof!

Billi Kid led a cadre of 28 street and graffiti artists up the stairs above Gawker’s plush and well-appointed offices to host an unusual show called “Mom and Popism”. It was officially a press preview but there were about 150 people, cocktails, fancy snacks, a DJ, and even a few high-class prostitutes, but they came in with us.

Billi
Taking a call next to Billi Kid (photo Jaime Rojo)

Aside from the impressive list of participants, what makes this show remarkable is the use of Jim and Karla Murray’s photographs of New York “mom and pop” storefronts, blown up to nearly their original size, then carefully appointed with work of the artists in such an integrated way that it’s as if they brought the sidewalk up to the 4th floor.

Royce
Pedestrians on the street with Penny in the background (Royce Bannon) (photo Jaime Rojo)

One of the street artists, Royce Bannon, was on hand at the preview to talk about his experience;

BSA: How was it putting your piece up on a photograph of a storefront?
Royce: Uh, it was interesting. It was alright, it was fun, it was cool. I was in and out really fast.

BSA: Where you concerned that it wouldn’t really look like the street?
Royce: Actually I was concerned about what material they were going to use because I didn’t know what kind of paint to bring. I like Jim and Karla’s photography anyway so I would have done whatever they wanted.

BSA: Does this particular monster have a name?
Royce: Penny, because she’s got penny eyes. Like remember on PeeWee Herman, remember the Penny?

Shiro
Posing for a picture next to Shiro’s piece on a rolldown (photo Jaime Rojo)

The night breeze was a relief, Jim and Karla were gamely signing copies of their book “Storefront: The Disappearing Face of New York”, artists were signing and creating pieces in each other’s copy of the book, and there was a fair amount of posing.  The guests standing in front the storefronts created more than one or two double-takes because you could easily be transported to the streetscape without realizing they were photographs.

There will be a public showing of the installation on the 15th and we’ll be talking to Jim and Karla and Billi the Kid in upcoming posts, but first here’s a quick slideshow of behind-the-scenes makeing of the show from Mr. Kidd.

Artists featured are: Blanco, Buildmore, Cake, Celso, Cern, Chris (RWK), Crome, Cycle, David Cooper, Destroy & Rebuild, Enamel Kingdom, Goldenstash, Infinity, Kngee, Lady Pink, Matt Siren, Moran Thomas, Peru Ana Ana Peru, Plasma Slugs, Royce Bannon, Shai R. Dahan, Shiro, The Dude Company, Tikcy, Under Water Pirates, Veng (RWK), Zoltron, Billi Kid

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Mom and Popism, Curated by Billi Kid, Street Artists and Graffiti Artists collaborate with James and Karla Murray

July 20, 2009 , , ,

MOM & POPism, an exhibition curated by Billi Kid reinterpreting James and Karla Murray’s latest book

Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York,

in unique collaboration with many of today’s hottest graffiti and street artists.

August 15, 2009

12 noon to 4 pm

210 Elizabeth Street, 4th Floor
Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York is a breathtaking visual guide to New York City’s cultural heritage, with special emphasis on the historic streets and ethnic shops that have defined its many neighborhoods. Meticulously photographed, its powerful images of time-worn institutions will be printed at close to life-size scale and installed on the Gawker Media roof, becoming canvases on which select graffiti and street artists are invited to leave their indelible marks. The result will be a unique impression of a New York City that seems to be fading with each passing day. Our cultural and economic landscape will be called into question, the role of art, particularly graffiti and street art, will be subject to reinterpretation.

Curated by Billi Kid, MOM & POPism brings together graffiti and street artists to create new artworks on top of the Murray’s photographs. The collaborating graffiti and street artists represent some of the most notable artists in the street art community and the media at large.  These include Blanco,  Buildmore, Cake,  Celso, Cern, Chris  (RWK), Crome, Cycle, David Cooper, Destroy & Rebuild, Enamel Kingdom, Goldenstash, Infinity, Kngee, Lady Pink, Matt Siren, Morgan Thomas, Peru Ana Ana Peru, Plasma Slugs, Royce  Bannon, Shai R. Dahan, Shiro, The Dude Company, Tikcy, Under Water Pirates, Veng (RWK), Zoltron and Billi Kid.

MOM & POPism will be open to public on Saturday, August 15th from noon to 4 p.m. Additional exhibition viewings are available by appointment throughout August.

MOM & POPism Public Viewing Invite.jpg

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Images of Week 07.19.09

Images of Week 07.19.09

July 19, 2009 , , , ,

Our weekly interview with the streets

Follow the Money
Uhh, uh-huh, yeah
Its all about the benjamins baby
Uhh, uh-huh, yeah
Its all about the benjamins baby (photo Jaime Rojo)

Rose

A Rose on a bridge beam (photo Jaime Rojo)

Space Invader

Space Invader (photo Jaime Rojo)

Specter
Does this remind you of those cheap home-office printers you go through because they make them to last about a week and a half now?  (Specter) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Connor Harrington

(Connor Harrington) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Stop or I shot! Connor Harrington

Stop or I shoot! (Connor Harrington) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Dissed Nine

Do you love KH1? (Nine) (photo Jaime Rojo)

MBW Tian HomeTown HiFI
MBW, Tian, HomeTown HiFI (photo Jaime Rojo)

MBW
Who knew he would turn out to be a cross-dresser? (MBW) (photo Jaime Rojo)

MBW
Oops, you may want to wax that. (MBW) (photo Jaime Rojo)

MBW

Door to door salesman (MBW) (photo Jaime Rojo)

NINE

(NINE) (photo Jaime Rojo)

NINE

Shin Shin Stickman
Shin Shin, infinity, Stickman (photo Jaime Rojo)

Shin Shin
Bees near the entrance of the hive. (Shin Shin) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Sweet-Toof-Mobile eyeballing the girls in their summer shorts (Sweet Toof) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Sweet-Toof-Mobile eyeballing the girls in their summer shorts (Sweet Toof) (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Space Invader
You, that’s the bomb! (Space Invader) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Stickman
“The true artist helps the world by revealing mystic truths”, so sayeth the Stikman (Stikman) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Tian MBW
Everybody knows that Einstein dude is just a total hippie. (Tian, MBW, DickChicken) (photo Jaime Rojo)

)Elbow Toe "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"
Perfectly balanced. (Elbow Toe) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe "Kin"
These three homeys are spreading the good word. (Elbow Toe) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Elbow Toe
Under the ever-watchful and wise eye (Elbow Toe) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Revs
Revs on the East River with Mad-hatten in the back (photo Jaime Rojo)

WK Motion Picture
WK Interactive motion portrait (photo Jaime Rojo)

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Open Studios and the Street

June 12, 2009 , , , , ,

Graff started on the street, I think.  Street art started in the studio.

Main difference. That was easy, right?

Now graff keeps going into the studio, the gallery, the museum.  And now we are watching as fine art, or some approximation of it, is continuallly leaving the home studio (kitchen table), gallery, collective, etc. and flooding the streets.  The explosion of street art is having it’s effect and the opinions it produces are as varied as, um, people.  The point is that the veil has been punctured, and the creative spirit is not willingly being confined today. Everything and everyone is becoming a hybrid.

Last weekend in a neighborhood in Brooklyn that’s home to a lot of variety at the moment – Bushwick –  a three day Bushwick Open Studios event took place, featuring over 200 open studios, live music, parties, workshops, panels, student art shows, puppet shows, the whole enchilada.  Don’t worry, it’s not all high-minded, or necessarily thought provoking. It’s just an indication of where we are moving. It’s impossible to see everything so you just have to pick and choose a few of your favorites and see which way the slimey wind leads you.

Started off at “2012” the new show at Factory Fresh featuring the work of graff/street art youth – the place was pretty young and sweaty and full of excitement, and parts of the inside looked like it could have been outside – plywood, tags, partial messages, and organized chaos.  Sorry for the crappy pics from the phone, but you get the idea.

A wall of 9"x9" wood pieces with work by Faro, Bloke and Avoid.

A wall of 9"x9" pieces by Faro, Bloke, and Avoid. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Faro, UFO, others that you may know at "2012" at Factory Fresh (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Faro, UFO, others that you may know at "2012" at Factory Fresh (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Bad Kids, Krink markers (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Bad Kids, Erotic Kids, Charles Barkley, Krink markers (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Apple, Aiko, Anarchist, Arriviste, Artist, Avoid

A is for Apple, Abbreviation, Aiko, Anarchist, Arriviste, Artist? In this case, probably it's for Avoid (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Then Kings County Bar also hosted a show that night for ELC and their new collaborations, which were kind of hard to see because it was, uh, a dark bar.  Also there were other gyrating distractions that may have taken patron’s focus off their art show.  Included in the show were Royce Bannon, Anera, Infinity, Celso, Abe Lincoln Jr., Ad Deville, Dark Clouds, and Matt Siren.

A quick way to cut through a crowded bar

A quick way to cut through a crowded bar is to tiptoe across the top of it. (photo (cc) Hrag Vartanian)

Following a rainy Friday, the rest of weekend was nice. In fact, a new Bishop 203 appeared out of nowhere on this abandoned building, like an urban flower.

Bishop 203

Bishop 203 with a black heart (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Pocket Utopia had it’s last show this weekend, featuring a 16 foot tall fiberglass monster that dispensed beer in the back yard, a performance by artist/musician/dynamo Andrew Hurst in the basement that was viewable through a hole drilled in the floor, and this large scary portrait by Kevin Regan. You might recognize the revolutionary jowls. It’s not street art, per se, but certainly we’ve seen this king of photographic mutation on the street in the work of MBW, Judith Supine, Dain, Bast, and others.

Kevin Regan (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Kevin Regan at Pocket Utopia (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Speaking of Judith Supine, English Kills was showing a large piece by said street artist called “God of Mars”  Chris Harding, visionary owner of the space, explained that this is the biggest canvas Supine has ever done, and that numerology figured into it’s actual dimensions to bring good luck to the piece.

Chris points out a detail on the Judith Supine piece (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Chris points out a detail on the Judith Supine piece (photo Steven P. Harrington)

Large new canvass by Judith Supine "God of Mars" (courtesy English Kills)

Large new canvas by Judith Supine (courtesy English Kills)

Later, after too many beers, we stumbled into a salon of 20-something Illinois settlers (Illinois in the House!), a true sign of the everchanging makeup of the music and art scene. An appreciate audience of 50+ people were spread out over salvaged furniture (and one in a bathtub) to listen to old timey folk inspired singers and bands.

Rockin the autoharp, which is slightly older than wearing trucker caps

Rockin the autoharp, which is slightly older than wearing trucker caps (photo Steven P. Harrington)

While thumping house music from down the block and the occasional police siren wafted in the cracked 4th floor factory windows, singer-songwriters plucked on autoharp, glockenspiel, electric guitar, and a variety of hand held percussion instruments.  The really remarkable part was the lack of manic cell-phone snapping, texting, or Twittering among such an assembled group of youthful beauty during the performances. They appeared to be paying attention.  Is that even POSSIBLE?  Maybe this was a movie set. Or maybe Illinois artist-peeps are just more respectful.  I was going to try to get through this paragraph without mentioning Sufjan Stevens, but there, I’ve said it.  Baahhhhhhhhhh!

The tunes were folky, but she did say "f*ck" quite a few times in one song.

The tunes were folky and relationship-centric, but she did say "f*ck" a few times in one song, so that's what gives it the edge. (photo Steven P. Harrington)

So there you have it, one shard of a giant shattered crystal mirror that is Bushwick.  The torch is passed again to a new generation of weirdos and misfits to develop beauty.  Since most of the real estate developers are trying to hatch their stalled projects in Billyburg and lure in more “consumers”, maybe the recession has bought some time and the multi-feathered flock of “creatives” will continue to fly here for a while.  That way the nests will stay affordable, and the space aplenty.

The art on the street, naturally, has plenty to say on these and other matters…

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“Cheap Shots” Endless Love Crew at a bar in Bushwick

“Cheap Shots” Endless Love Crew at a bar in Bushwick

June 4, 2009 , ,

Who you calling Cheap?

No, that’s the name of the show, silly.

Bushwick Open Studios is this weekend, and of course that means that in between scattered studio visits and avant garde performances you will have to go to bars in the ‘hood to soak up that local D.I.Y. flavor.  Conveniently, there will be art there too.

Not to be confused with the Kings County Bar Association, the name of the bar is Kings County (so is the county by the way) and the ever morphing roster for this round of ELC mayhem is: RoyceBannon, Anera, infinity, Celso, Abe Lincoln Jr., Ad Deville, Matt Siren, and Dark Clouds.

Brooklyn Street Art: What themes have you been working with?
Royce Bannon: The theme is ELC on a smaller scale, collabos, transmissions, hot chicks, and monsters

Brooklyn Street Art: Who has more fun? Monsters or voluptuous babes?
Royce Bannon: I think that when you combine monsters and voluptuous babes the only outcome is fun… its been proven.

Brooklyn Street Art: Will you be serving cheap shots?
Royce Bannon: Shots are cheap.

New piece by Matt Siren and Royce Bannon (photo courtesy ELC)

New piece by Matt Siren and Royce Bannon (photo courtesy ELC)

More about Cheap Shots on our Calendar here.

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“Cheap Shots” show by ELC at Kings County

May 28, 2009 , ,

The street art collective known as ELC (Endless Love Crew) and other
street art stars will be hitting Kings County Bar for an art show of
extreme proportions. This show will open in conjunction with the Arts
In Bushwick’s yearly “Bushwick Open Studios” event which is sure to
rock Brooklyn!

Participating artists include:
royce bannon
anera
infinity
celso
abe lincoln jr
ad deville
dark clouds

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“The Great OutDoors” with Luna Park at ArtBreak Gallery

“The Great OutDoors” with Luna Park at ArtBreak Gallery

April 28, 2009 , , ,

A true street art Opening in Brooklyn, with shutters open wide and many doorways to contemplate.

A collection of 30 artists on the street art scene are contributing to the vision of the adoorable Luna Park and her co-curator Billi Kid.  Ms. Park, a well-travelled street art photographer who calls Brooklyn home, is among a very select group of intrepid souls cris-crossing the borough by any means possible to get the right shot.

Well regarded and always smartly outfitted, Ms. Park and Mr. Kid have added a bit of poetry to the street art oeuvre by decorating the departure, edifying the entrance, festooning the frontage, and gilding the gateway!

Image by Luna Park featuring a Celso in the doorway.

Image by Luna Park featuring a Celso in the doorway.

Brooklyn Street Art: How did you and Billi Kid conjure a show using doors as canvas?

Luna Park: Last year, Billi Kid, Jim and Karla Murray, Cern and Elisha Cook Jr. decorated a room at the Carlton Arms Hotel, which is known for it’s fabulous, one-of-a-kind, artist-decorated rooms. I highly recommend it as an affordable place to send your arty guests. To capitalize on the network of artists they’d built through the hotel, in March 2008 the owners opened Artbreak Gallery in Williamsburg. When Billi Kid contacted them about the possibility of doing a doors-themed street art show, they were immediately on board. I agreed to participate last December and the rest, as they say, was a matter of logistics, logistics, logistics.

Brooklyn Street Art: As you march across the city looking for great shots, have you found that some artists gravitate to doorways?

Luna Park: Definitely! I’d even go so far as to say not only SOME, but MANY. Your average urban door is the perfect gateway to graffiti – pardon the pun – it provides a smooth, even surface, accessible to all and, most importantly, visible to all. Although I don’t subscribe to the so-called “broken windows” theory of graffiti leading to crime, I do think it holds true for doors in the sense that graffiti on doors DOES attract more graffiti. It generally starts with a lone tag and – provided that tag isn’t buffed – the tags soon multiply. Before you know it, stickers get in on the action, the odd wheatpaste sticks around and, voila, suddenly you have a proper door!

Brooklyn Street Art: Why would a doorway be better than, say, a wall?

Luna Park: I’m not saying doors are better than walls, but as a surface on which to write or stick, a doorway offers a certain degree of protection from prying eyes. No one looks twice at someone who is ostensibly fumbling for keys in front of a doorway, but that same person loitering by a wall…

Cake

Cake from “The Great Outdoors” (photo Luna Park)

Brooklyn Street Art: Where did all of these come from? Have you been dumpster diving?

Luna Park: Well, I’m certainly not one to condone any kind of illegal activity, ahem, so I’m assuming the doors were all acquired legally, perhaps through a fine, neighborhood purveyor of sundry household items.

I personally salvaged two doors from the curb down the street from my house. Billi Kid acquired his door and several others at a farmhouse sale in rural Connecticut.  A few people must have visited demolition sites, as there are a number of extraordinarily heavy fire doors as well. The doors really run the gamut of everything from vintage to factory fresh.

Brooklyn Street Art: Are most of the pieces in this show made specifically for “The Great Outdoors?”

Luna Park: Yep, with one notable exception, all of the pieces for this show are brand spanking new!

“Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” – Johnny Cash

The Dude Company

The Dude Company for “The Great Outdoors” (photo Luna Park)

Brooklyn Street Art: Every door has two sides; has anybody addressed both for the show?

Luna Park: We asked the artists to decorate only one side of the door – to make hanging them all the easier – but Celso and LA2 collaborated on one side of a door that already had a piece on the other side. I’d mention who, but that would spoil the surprise.

Brooklyn Street Art: It’s not the same as painting ox blood over the doorway, but do you think there is any symbolism to the act of decorating a door?

Street art and graffiti covered doors aside, I think the decorated door functions as a marker, defining the threshold between the private and the public spheres. There are certainly any number of cultures around the world that place markings on doors to celebrate rites of passage: in the part of northern Germany from which my mother comes from, it is not uncommon to see important family dates chalked onto doors, presumably in conjunction with some kind of religious blessing.

“we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

Feral for "The Great Outdoors" (photo Luna Park)

Feral for “The Great Outdoors” (photo Luna Park)

Brooklyn Street Art: On a grander scale, this show could be a commentary about the times we’re in, with many doors slamming shut, while others that we scarcely imagined only two years ago are opening wide.  Do you care to philosophize?

Luna Park: I’m an optimist at heart and a pragmatist by nature, as such, I believe very much in silver linings and unforeseen occurrences. Especially in times of crisis, one has to embrace change, because only by accepting change can one move forward. When Billi Kid approached me with the opportunity to co-curate this show, you better believe I opened that door, despite initial misgivings about never having organized anything of this magnitude before.

I can only speak for myself, but having this show – something I’ve come to see as an incredibly positive force in my life – to occupy me and to look forward to has made the struggles I endure at work all the more bearable. I am slowly realizing that this show has opened doors for others, and that has made this experience all the more meaningful to me. By the same token, the outpouring of support from the street art community – BSA included – has been enormous and for that I am very grateful.

Brooklyn Street Art: Given their past locations and your personal experience shooting the streets, what does it feel like to see these doors lined up in a spare white box gallery space?

Luna Park: There is often critique of street art and graffiti work in galleries, in many cases justified in that some work simply does not translate well onto canvas. But in this case, we’re literally bringing doors in off the street and taking them to the next level (the gallery’s on the 2nd floor). Because the doors are relatively large and heavily decorated, being surrounded by a clean, white gallery wall gives each piece space to breathe. Above and beyond that, it’s nice to see the humble door elevated to a place of honor.

“Listen; there’s a hell of a good universe next door: let’s go.” – e.e. cummings

His holiness Blanco for "The Great Outdoors" (photo Luna Park)

 

Brooklyn Street Art: What door surprised you the most?

Luna Park: Without a doubt, Blanco! I’ve been following his stencils since he first started putting them out, seeing his progression with each, more intricate piece. When we invited him to be part of the show, I had high hopes, but he’s really exceeded all expectations and then some! Bravo, J!

That having been said, I’m very pleased by the quality of ALL the work and am super proud of everyone’s efforts. My sincerest thanks to everyone that helped make this show possible.

Brooklyn Street Art: What time do doors open on Saturday?

Luna Park: Doors open at 6pm. I for one can’t wait to find out if it’s Bachelor #1, #2 or #3 behind my favorite door! ;p

“Ten men waiting for me at the door? Send one of them home, I’m tired.” – Brooklyn’s own Mae West

THE GREAT OUT DOORS
MAY 2 – 29, 2009

Art Break Gallery
195 Grand Street, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Thursday through Sunday, 1-7 pm.

Opening Reception Saturday May 2, 6-10 pm

At the opening Saturday you’ll also get to see a projection show of Luna Park’s photography, specifically images of doors on Brooklyn streets and elsewhere.

Billi Kid

Luna Park

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Don’t Call it a Comeback

March 28, 2009 , , ,

Thursday night it was a true gathering of the tribes –

Old Skool, Art Skool, Graff Crews, Street Art, Hipsters, Hip-Hop, Electro, Blue-haired, Blue themes, Critics, Kids, Collabo’s, Lolitas, Lotharios, Murals, Markers, Canvasses, Cans, Wheatpaste, Stickers, Sculpture, and Script. This might just be what community looks like. Every where you turned, the senses were flooded, and cellphones and electronic gadgetry were revealed for what they lack in the competition for connectedness and D.I.Y. inspiration.

Surpassing many of the street art group shows of the past few years, this one was obviously very organic and full of love, rather than hype.

When Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force finally picked up their mikes and Martha Cooper broke off from signing books with Henry Chalfant to expertly weave with her camera, the crowds’ momentum was already in full swing. No one can doubt that this scene, whatever label you care to give it, is on fire right now and the creative spirit is at work in the belly of the people.

Good luck tracking it’s trajectories.

Thanks to the Combine and the talented Jazz Beaulieu for the images below:

[svgallery name=”Work To Do Jazz Belieu”]

Other shots from the show……

Royce Bannon

Super K8

Sabeth718

Luna Park

Becki Fuller

“Work To Do” is at 112 Greene Street in Soho, NYC, and runs through April 16.

More info – Endless Love Crew

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Week in Images 03.16.09

March 25, 2009

The Streets are coming alive again after a long bitter winter.  Also here are some sneak peeks at the “Work to Do” show opening on Thursday.

MBW

"Are you sure it isn't time for a 'colourful metaphor'?", asked Spock Monroe (MBW) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Foreshadowing of Souplines (Exyzt)(photo Jaime Rojo)

Foreshadowing of soup lines (Exyzt)(photo Jaime Rojo)

You fly the dirigible, I'll look out for the authorities.(Hotel Venado, Nick Walker) (photo Jaime Rojo)

You fly the dirigible, I'll keep an eye out for the authorities (Venado, Nick Walker) (photo Jaime Rojo)

NohJ works in Color at "Work to Do" (NohJ Coley) (photo Jaime Rojo)

NohJ works in Color at "Work to Do" (NohJ Coley) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Which way? (Chris from Robots Will Kill)(photo Jaime Rojo)

Time's Up! - from "Work to Do" (Chris from Robots Will Kill) (photo Jaime Rojo)

C.Damage gets Up at "Work to Do" (photo Jaime Rojo)

C.Damage gets Up at "Work to Do" (C.Damage) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Deeks and Celso and Infinity from (photo Jaime Rojo)

Deeks and Celso and Infinity from "Work to Do" (photo Jaime Rojo)

Picasso What? from "Work to Do" (photo Jaime Rojo)

Picasso What? installation from "Work to Do" (photo Jaime Rojo)

Royce Seems to be Fine from "Work to Do"(Royce Bannon)(photo Jaime Rojo)

Royce Seems to be handling it well, don't you agree? From "Work to Do" (Royce Bannon) (photo Jaime Rojo)

(Veng from Robots Will Kill) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Wait, I'm still thinking. From "Work to Do" (Veng from Robots Will Kill) (photo Jaime Rojo)

Stikman at "Work to Do" (photo Jaime Rojo)

Stikman at "Work to Do" (photo Jaime Rojo)

I know what YOU are thinking. You men are all the same.(Za) (photo Jaime Rojo)

I know what YOU are thinking. You men are all the same.(Za) (photo Jaime Rojo)

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