To commemorate the third anniversary of the collapse of a 210 meter section of the Ponte Morandi on August 14, 2018, today we share Dourone’s newest mural in Genoa, Italy. The bridge collapsed during a torrential rainstorm, crossing the Polcevera river and an industrial area of Sampierdarena. The bridge was gradually replaced, but for many in the city, the events of that day are still very fresh.
“The mural is an homage to the 43 victims of the tragedy,” the mural duo says, “which is why we have used 43 colors for these portraits.”
Dourone. Morandi Bridge. Genoa, Italy. (photo courtesy of Dourone)Dourone. Morandi Bridge. Genoa, Italy. (photo courtesy of Dourone)Dourone. Morandi Bridge. Genoa, Italy. (photo courtesy of Dourone)
It’s impossible to imagine the contemporary built environment without considering the impact of street art and graffiti has had on not only city dwellers but our city’s designers and architects. While previous generations may have dismissed incorporating painting techniques beyond traditional frescoes or murals, the new generation considers it their birthright to bring modern art movement influences, including Optical Art, Kinetic Art, and straight-up tape art often used on the street.
Motorefisico/Lorenzo Pagliara and Gianmaria Zonfrillo. “The Slash”. Premio Antonio Giordano. Santa Croce di Magliano, Italy. (photo courresy of Premio Antonio Giordano)
Rome-based architect/designers Lorenzo Pagliara and Gianmaria Zonfrillo consider themselves a street art duo as well – creating under the moniker Motorefisico. Working on city walls for them is simply an extension of their interior/exterior design interests along with video art and installation art as well. In their recent façade-painting project in Santa Croce di Magliano, Italy, Motoresfisico says they employed stencil techniques sometimes used by street artists to create exacting lines and illusionist effects to enhance the architectural feature of this building with two facades.
Motorefisico/Lorenzo Pagliara and Gianmaria Zonfrillo. “The Slash”. Premio Antonio Giordano. Santa Croce di Magliano, Italy. (photo courresy of Premio Antonio Giordano)
“We developed our geometric composition directly on the surface by creating a huge stencil with tape,” they say, “This allowed us to create shapes perfectly adapted.” Monochromatic and modernist, the composition pops with a kinetic three-dimensional effect. Suddenly a white box boasts a pedestrian-stopping display of intelligent design, something that is not always apparent on city streets and even less often has it been achieved with simple stencil technique.
Naming their architectural installation “The Slash”, the artistic duo completed it in conjunction with the 8th edition of the Antonio Giordano urban art award (Premio Antonio Giordano).
Giulio Vesprini is expanding his niche from flat planes of basketball to take on the multi-surface skate park here in Civitanova Marche, Italy. The opportunities for expression in such a dynamic space are rather endless and he says for him it is “a meeting point between culture, sport and nature.” With a big skating community here in this city on the Adriatic sea, you can imagine that Vesprini is headed toward skatepark design stardom. For him, it is just another opportunity to put his work in public space, and then watch people interact with it.
The first is to investigate buildings that are being reclaimed by nature and develop site-specific installations that work in harmony with the history of the relationship between architecture and nature. The second, of which we have an example for you today, is a mural installation on active buildings within cities, perhaps invoking a more integrated ecology of symbols and natural systems around it. These two lines of inquiry comprise his project “HABITAT”, a sincere stream of research that lies on the border between anthropic space and natural space
Here in Milan, the school façade will now display Gola’s dedication to life and its movements – called “Convective Motions”. While the mural composition begins from a central element of cosmic energy, a solar force that unravels centrifugally outward, he also has plans to do plantings around the mural and the property in September to extend the reach of the painted portion of his installation.
“Leaves are painted as if they were part of a fire explosion, following and growing the movement,” he tells us, “generates new ones – involving celestial bodies upon contiguous facades, symbolically returning toward the central sun in a perpetual cyclical movement.”
When completed and grown, Mr. Hundun says the entire composition will include endemic plants grass, bushes, hornbeam trees, dogwood trees, hazel trees, hawthorns, and an English oak placed on an axis with the tree painted on the wall.
“The idea is to create a simulacrum of the wood that is used to dress this municipality of Vimodrone – all spread before the building,” he says. “The tree of life here is the same kind you’ll find monotheistic or pagan religions. The two trees will be set in two movements: the painted one will be crystallized, whereas the real tree will grow inexorably.”
This project is organized by industri scenica – INNESCHI festival in partnership with VIMODRONE City Hall sustained by Fondazione di Comunità Milano Onlus Consultancy about nests by LIPU MILANO Pics iranacredi
Elfo’s furtive and artful wanderings can veer off into the neo-Dadaist fields at times, sometimes wittily so, and textually. The Italian graffiti writer and street artist uses the simplest of devices to capture attention, a reductive and deliberate strategy born of careful consideration girded by impulses to broadcast his view, to be seen and heard.
Here in Turin (Torino) the artist diagrams the messages in a butcherly way – a triangulation of views on class structures, the street-to-gallery continuum, and the tensions separating carnivores and herbivores. Oink!
He says it is “a new ironic artwork” and pays tribute to the late Italian artist and art collector G.A. Cavellini.
20 students took part in painting at the 2nd edition of Poli Urban Colors last month in Milan, which is appropriate since its mounted hand in hand with a university. The rich diversity of styles combined with a few big names illustrates the wisdom of involving local talents and the community in a street art festival.
Curated by Luca Mayr with the support of Politecnico of Milan, the self-described urban design festival invited 45 Urban Artists in all, each following their individual style and technique, whether formally or self-trained. As many students of Politecnico have gone on to pursue careers as designers, engineers, architects, and illustrators, you get a real sense of the level of appreciation here for the work of the artists on the street.
Among the works most talked about, perhaps, was the mural of the graffiti writer from Veneto named Peeta, who disobeyed laws of perception once again with the artist’s command of spray can and brushes; effectively removing the wall and creating a new sculptural construction entirely. At a university of two campuses dedicated separately to design and industrial engineering, it is easy to see how Peeta nailed the top spot with his intervention. Known for his brain-fooling paintings, the Italian wizard with a solid foundation in graffiti is able to play with dimensions and hold them on a leash.
Poli Urban Colors 21 organizers say they wanted to present viewers with a healthy survey of the Italian and worldwide Graffiti Writing movement – and they did. With the range of talents and styles on display, they gave the nod to the roots of modern graffiti history here as well as a strong representation of where it continues to take us in public space.
Italian street artist Etnik has created a new “Botanica Resistente” in Rome to commemorate “Liberation Day” in Italy, which marks April 25th as the end of the Nazi’s occupation and the liberation from Fascism.
He calls the colorful and abstractly organic 4-story work “Botanica Resistente”, which he says may have multiple readings. Mostly, it is “A direct reference to the toponymy that characterizes the whole district of Centocelle – with its streets named after plants, trees, and flowers.”
As a story of overcoming great obstacles and thriving in adversity, he also posits that “in the mural concrete blocks, asphalt and artificial works succumb to natural elements, giving life to a slow but gradual reconquest of spaces taken from nature.”
“The work is representative of familiar urban corners, on the border, where between asphalt and concrete, spontaneous plants are in a constant struggle for survival.”
Completed in conjunction with the help and guidance of Mirko Pierri, curator of urban art for the a.DNA association, Etnik took about 5 days to transform this facade of the Liceo Scientifico Statale Francesco D’Assisi, between via Castore Durante e Viale Palmiro Togliatti.
Angelo Milano, the founder of Studiocromie and FAME Festival, has been courting Brooklyn artist duo Faile for more than a decade, and they finally created a series of ceramics together for his studio art business in Grottaglie under the tutelage and traditional expertise of the centuries-old Ceramiche Nicola Fasano’s workshop.
Faile. Large Vases. Stenciled and Glazed Terracotta. (photo courtesy of Faile)
The model of hosting artists for a variable length of time and offering them cooperation with local artisans to create commercial products was part of the original concept of FAME, in addition to the well-curated placement of stunning murals on walls by artists including Erica Il Cane, Vhils, Interesni Kazki, Conor Harrington, Cyop & Kaf, Momo, Lucy McLauchlan, Bastardilla, and Ted Moneyless. Since the mural festivals’ dissolution by Milano a half dozen years ago, he’s hosted a growing list of talents mirroring his eclectic fine eye for quality, and devil-may-care philosophical stance – the solo show and rap album with the Italian trio Canemorto both come to mind, for example.
“Exploring a mix of our stencil processes and combining it with a variety of their methodologies,” says Faile (Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller), “we created a small collection of unique ceramic plates and vases.”
Faile. Multilayered Large Plate Collection. Stenciled and Glazed Terracotta Plate. (photo courtesy of Faile)
The pieces incorporate the familiar pop and pulp imagery and visual vocabulary of canvasses, collaged media, wheat-pasted posters, and street art stencils on a plate. Now you can enjoy your Friselle bread and tomato salad with your favorite stenciled skateboard girl in pink while looking at a vase that may recall prayer wheels.
Faile. Small Plate Collection in Blue.Stenciled and Glazed Terracotta Plate. ( Photo courtesy of Faile)
Faile. Small Plate Collection in Red. Stenciled and Glazed Terracotta Plate. ( Photo courtesy of Faile)
Collection available now via the StudioCromie Shop. Click HERE to see more.
We are seeing more municipalities and institutions settle upon aspirational messages about the Earth and environmental issues every month now – a very common theme with murals in cities worldwide.
Mrfijodor and Corn79.Turin, Italy. January 2021 (photo courtesy of the artists)
This new collaboration combines the skills of two former graffiti artists, Mrfijodor and Corn79, in Turin, Italy. The two murals interplay Mrfijodors illustration-inspired figurative elements and Corn79’s elegant language of abstraction to adorn the façade of the Museum A Come Ambiente (MAcA).
“The focus is on the balance between man and nature,” says Mrfijodor, “a balance that needs to be re-established.”
Mrfijodor and Corn79.Turin, Italy. January 2021 (photo courtesy of the artists)Mrfijodor and Corn79.Turin, Italy. January 2021 (photo courtesy of the artists)Mrfijodor and Corn79.Turin, Italy. January 2021 (photo courtesy of the artists)Mrfijodor and Corn79.Turin, Italy. January 2021 (photo courtesy of the artists)Mrfijodor and Corn79.Turin, Italy. January 2021 (photo courtesy of the artists)
The project is possible thanks to the contribution of the City of Turin, Area Giovani e Pari Opportunità – Torino Creativa, and the Museum A come Ambiente – MAcA.
A new secular icon today from Naples, and while this fresco is not quite Vesuvian, its sovereign purple and sunkissed golden tones and draped fabrics make it quite at home here in this historic city of classical antiquity.
INTI. “Polvera Di Stelle”. Naples, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Chilean street muralist INTI bespoke this vision in the Barra neighborhood, which its Wiki page says “has suffered much the same fate of urban decay as the rest of the eastern periphery of Naples, a fate that includes drugs and entrenched organized crime.”
And yet here rises the Polvera di Stelle (Stardust), a nurturing, protective maternal figure – though perhaps more Greta Thunberg than Sophia Loren – surrounded by mysticism and ancient-future symbolism.
INTI. “Polvera Di Stelle”. Naples, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
“Look with the naked eye,
without placebos or metaphysical aspirins.” INTI tells BSA. “Look without
dogma, without wanting to rest on great truths. Look without easy answers that
calm doubts, prevents us from seeing poetry in the uncertain and in the
minuteness of our place in nature.”
The new mural is in collaboration with the Campania region and Jorit Foundation, says the artist.
INTI. “Polvera Di Stelle”. Naples, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)INTI. “Polvera Di Stelle”. Naples, Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
It took him “5 months of brain-stress to invent it,” but Italian street artist Biancoshock can rest assured that he will be puzzling many brains in the Quartiere Darsena neighborhood of this Ravenna with his biggest ever painted wall.
Binacoshock. “Untold” Subsidenze Festival 2020, in Ravenna – Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Imagine
sitting by your window wondering for days what #7 verticali is when Biancoshock
tells you it is “Professional designation for Enrolled Agents.” That’s likely
one of the easier clues.
“I created a real crossword puzzle with definitions in 29 different languages,” he explains, “and as you can see, the black boxes of the crossword create the word UNTOLD.” You see! You know one of the words already!
Binacoshock. “Untold” Subsidenze Festival 2020, in Ravenna – Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
“This word evokes all the untold stories of those who traveled and struggled to get here and live in that popular neighborhood,” he says. This is Biancoshocks’ contribution to the Subsidenze Festival 2020 and the conceptual street artist says people can download the crossword with its definition and fill it in at home.
See below for a link.
Binacoshock. “Untold” Subsidenze Festival 2020, in Ravenna – Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)Binacoshock. “Untold” Subsidenze Festival 2020, in Ravenna – Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)Binacoshock. “Untold” Subsidenze Festival 2020, in Ravenna – Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)Binacoshock. “Untold” Subsidenze Festival 2020, in Ravenna – Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)Binacoshock. “Untold” Subsidenze Festival 2020, in Ravenna – Italy. (photo courtesy of the artist)
ORIZZONTALI
VERTICALI
1 Măsure de caracter legislativ sau administrativ emanate de un organ cu putere executivă. 8 E kunderta e fjales prapa. 13 जुगाड़ 18 The standard time which is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 21 To bring people into equal participation in a social group or institution. 23 Combattimento individuale per aggiudicarsi un territorio o un bene, anche affettivo. 25 Designazione ad una carica sulla base di una votazione pubblica. 26 Tá an fhoirm shintéiseach de tair níos coitianta. 27 Sigla del país europeo que está construyendo los mures anti-migración más altos del mundo. 28 Er rauði þráðurinn í Gmail. 29 За которое следует – 47, Это самое продаваемое оружие в мире. 30 Acronym of not available. 32 El antónimo de noche. 33 Mãe sem consoante em português. 35 Journal d’information diffusé à la télévision qui peut être animé par un présentateur ou commenté en voix off. 36 L’unica persona per la quale varrebbe la pena combattere una guerra. 40 Ausencia de guerra o de hostilidades. 43 Sigla del Paese Europeo conosciuto in tutto il mondo per la sua Arte, spesso mal valorizzata. 44 Struttura che deve garantire l’assistenza sanitaria del cittadino. 45 Tutte le strade, e le buche, portano a questa città. 46 The intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security. 48 L’extra-terrestre più famoso. 50 Corregimiento ubicado en el distrito de Pedasí en la provincia panameña de Los Santos. 51 Μία από τις σημαντικότερες θεότητες της αρχαίας ΕΛΛΆΔΑΣ. 52 Abbreviation of department. 53 Followed by “ocondria”, it represents the illness of today’s society. 54 Voce onomatopeica che riproduce il suono di un colpo. 56 Dapat kang sumunod. 57 Groep mensen met een eenvoudige samenlevingsvorm. 58 E ndjekur nga fjala “dua”, eshte deklarata me e bukur. 59 To take something suddenly or to catch a criminal. 61 Sinonim za ker. 63 Byl to tenisový turnaj mužů, který hraje na krytých tenisových kurtech v Ostravě. 64 Short word of a person who cures ill people. 67 One of the young poets who called themselves “the mavericks”. 69 E ndjekur nga shkronjat atik, eshte deti ku jane fundosur gomone me emigranta shqiptare. 70 La terra lasciata in cerca di una nuova vita, non lo è mai. 72 Ci finiscono molti giovani, a volte per curarli, a volte per distruggerli. 73 The starting grid for a migrant boat. 76 Molto spesso, purtroppo, guidano le scelte dei politici. 79 Quella del vicino è sempre più verde della tua. 80 är en svensk samhällsinstitution som innebär mellanmänskligt umgänge i kombination med intagande av exempelvis kaffe och kaka. 81 Quelli veri sono illegali. 83 Riferito a leggi, regolamenti e tutto ciò che viene imposto. 84 Sono sistemi su cui si basa la nostra società. 87 Synonym of summary. 88 The modern slave. 90 Precedido por “s”, es la compañera de viaje de tu vida. 91 Quelli urbani, sono spazi di verde comunale la cui gestione è affidata per un periodo di tempo definito ai cittadini. 93 Hate without vowels. 94 Ci finisci quando sei polvere. 95 Synonymer till kritiskt läge. 97 A támadás szinonimája. 100 Terni, in sigla. 101 Deutsche Eislauf-Union, der Sportverband für Eiskunstlauf und Eistanz in Deutschland. 102 A very rare language spoken in New Guinea, similar to Gogodala. 105 The final part of the “society”. 106 Alla fine della traversata si sentono tali, ma spesso non è così. 110 In lettere romane, è il primo a non salire sul podio. 111 Eesti pealinn, ilma N-ta. 113 The only ones who can really change the world and its rules. 115 In linguaggio farmacologico, indica il rilascio prolungato. 117 Una forma di abitazione tradizionale marocchina. 118 Sigla della città culla del Rinascimento. 119 Piccola apertura da cui fuoriesce aria, liquidi o gas. 121 Aromatic beverage loved by the Queen. 123 Preceduto da ER indica una figura sempre più in via di estinzione. 124 Det går forud for de ni. 125 Acronym of I totally agree. 126 It’s used to relieve spasms in the stomach caused by terrible travels. 127 To follow the trail of someone, in order to find him. 129 Ente pubblico preposto alla protezione del diritto di autore in Italia. 130 Abbreviation used to mark time with the same meaning as B.C. 131 Anche quello che stai leggendo qui, a modo suo, lo è. 132 The postal code used to make mail travels more efficient and quicker. 134 Yirmi dokuzdan sonra. 136 In pharmacology, it’s a unit of measurement for the amount of a substance. 137 Por donde mire. 138 They are used in animal testing. 139 Abbrevation of Map Hack. 140 In latino significa: “dopo la scritta”. 143 It’s a language used for lexical knowledge representation. 145 La police fait ça quand il y a un criminel. 148 Espediente grafico per mettere in risalto un annuncio. 149 Without it, you will never be a number one. 150 可以解释景象或观念的图形象征 151 Pour celui qui n’a rien, ce n’est pas une fête mais un cauchemar. 152 It was the most important Irish community for adoption and provider of mental health services.
1 Es lo único que nunca se debe perder en la vida. 2 Preposición de lugar. 3 Currency Transaction Tax. 4 The most difficult thing to do when you migrate. 5 Une personne qui ne s’intéresse pas aux problèmes des autres. 6 It’s a coming together of parties to a dispute to present information in a tribunal. 7 Professional designation for Enrolled Agents. 8 El problema de las nuevas generaciones. 9 Abbreviation of editor. 10 Jesus blev født den dag 11 हिन्दु महिलाहरुलाई मनाउन पार्टी 12 Ristretto sottogruppo a cui viene attribuita una superiorità spesso non giustificata. 13 Nuk është po. 14 Mit den Zähnen zerkleinert. 15 First name of the italo-immigrant ‘Scarface’. 16 Abbreviation for Account Executive. 17 In medical terms, it’s the abbreviation of disease. 18 Quand elle est saine, elle t’aide à améliorer. 19 Nome commerciale del Delorazepam, aiuta a trattare l’ansia e gli squilibri ambientali. 20 Colui da cui dipende il tuo destino. 22 Inclined to weep. 24 Sigla della Lituania. 29 Mann, dem ein Körperteil entfernt wurde. 31 Preposition of place. 34 Togli la ‘ruota’ dalla parola auto. 37 Drošības vienskaitļa akuzatīvā forma. 38 Guarito dal gioco, dai debiti, ristabilito. 39 Seguito da “ipso”, in gergo giuridico, significa di per sé. 41 koji dolazi iz Arabije. 42 Especie de toronja. 47 Un gesto che può essere tranquillamente evitato. 49 US postal abbreviation of Texas. 53 A tajték szinonimája. 55 È debole. 60 Lo desideri quando il primo non ti basta. 62 Det modsatte af nej. 65 Abbreviated form of mediocre. 66 He instructs players in the fundamentals of a sport. 67 Associazioni Temporanee di Impresa. 68 It has always questioned religious theories. 69 Items from or related to the continent of Asia. 71 Culturally Relevant and Responsive Education. 74 Caku kohor kur duhet të fillojë a të mbarojë diçka. 75 Förkortning för Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland 77 In Internet jargon it means Never Mind. 78 Sigla per indicare l’Istituto di Certificazione Etica e Ambientale nel settore bio-cosmetico. 80 Lo erano i boschi prima degli incendi dolosi. 81 El color de la tristeza y de la apatía. 82 Il dio della guerra della mitologia norrena. 85 Come solo il crimine sa essere. 86 Indica la posizione intermedia tra persone, oggetti o tra limiti di luogo e di tempo. 89 Comment la société aimerait le citoyen. 90 Verbo che descrive il canto del lupo. 92 Lo si usa per rimanere in contatto con i propri cari, soprattutto se lontani. 96 Atto illecito che determina un danno grave altrui. 98 Nero, scuro, cupo. 99 What you hide behind on Social Networks. 103 Abbreviation for Initial Public Offering. 104 Dzisiaj + pewnego dnia. 107 Figuras geométricas. 108 A volte rovinano i rapporti. 109 Sono cibo per il cervello umano. 111 When associated to the word “girl”, it easily becomes a form of discrimination. 112 “Andare” in latino. 114 A thing made or used for sitting on. 116 الرقم الذي يسبق رقم واحد 120 Venir au monde. 122 În acest moment. 128 Қазақстанның аббревиатурасы. 131 Acronym of average. 133 Il servizio che si occupa della Prevenzione e Sicurezza negli Ambienti di Lavoro. 135 La migliore medicina naturale e gratuita. 138 The abbreviation of the code that identifies a financial institution on a check or transfer. 139 Un o’r rhieni. 140 L’acqua pura ha un valore di 7. 141 Devi guardare lì per puntare in alto. 142 Stai leggendo questa domanda? 143 Il “giorno” più corto. 144 The punctuation symbol now typically used in e-mail addresses. 146 In pochi decenni ha rivoluzionato la storia del genere umano. 147 Europe, shortly. 148 Acronym of the international fellowship of people who have had a drinking problem.
The crossword puzzle with definitions is available on the artist’s website, where you can download it and fill it in.
Saturday projects around the house or
apartment as the seasons change? Why not paint your steps?
Nico Skolp. Antonio Giordano Urban Art Award. 7th Edition. Santa Croce di Magliano, Italy. (photo courtesy of Antonio Giordano Urban Art Award)
Italian designer, muralist, and graffiti writer since the 1990s, Nico Lò (Skolp) shows us his style on the elevated art of painting a public stair in Santa Croce di Magliano (Italy). The color blocking is more intentional and scientific than you may think, however, and the artist tells us that he used a software tool to determine the composition in collaboration with a San Franciscan machine learning expert named Piero Molino.
Nico Skolp. Antonio Giordano Urban Art Award. 7th Edition. Santa Croce di Magliano, Italy. (photo courtesy of Antonio Giordano Urban Art Award)
“Much attention has been given to
the use and perception of colour,” says Nico. “The observer perceives two
coexisting paths on the staircase: the one with softer colours makes it easier
the upward path; the other one, with more saturated and bright colours, marks
the easier downward path.”
Since being a graffiti writer, Nico
has gone through many personal and professional stages in development of his
art – including starting a design firm with two friends in 2008 specializing in
visual communication and graphic design. Now he’s more attracted to something many
are calling “Post Graffiti”, a deconstruction of the letter-based vocabulary in
a way that tumbles into abstraction and geometric movements of many directions.
Nico Skolp. Antonio Giordano Urban Art Award. 7th Edition. Santa Croce di Magliano, Italy. (photo courtesy of Antonio Giordano Urban Art Award)
“For years he focused on the study
of the letter in all of its forms,” says a publicist. “Until overcoming the
concept of “tag” and taking the path of a new approach called
post-graffiti. His artistic language is characterized by geometric shapes,
grids and shades, an abacus of elements and compositional rules that refer to
the concept of generative design.”
Elfo is a graffiti writer and social commentator whose work intentionally sidesteps traditional notions of style or technical lettering. This …Read More »
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BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
