All posts tagged: Jappy Agoncillo

BSA Images Of The Week: 04.21.24

BSA Images Of The Week: 04.21.24

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

“It’s the only time of the year when New York City smells good,” says your cranky Uncle Jaime about the flowers and blossoms everywhere as he stretches on the couch with his second cup of coffee and gazes out the window at the sky. Outside, there is a battle between the diverse vocal repertoires and mimicry of mockingbirds singing from branches, utility poles, and wires – and the little league fans squealing, exhorting, and shouting with joy from the bleachers every time a smartly uniformed child whacks a ball with the wooden bat and trundles up the path to first base.

We are constantly amazed by the new street art that is popping up in the boroughs – on construction fencing around empty lots, on doorways in industrial zones, on chain-link fences under bridges, on old telephone booths, lamp posts, crumbling brick facades, and the backs of street signs. With the New York spring, there are tulips popping up from the grassy patches everywhere – even those random 3-foot-long rectangles surrounded by concrete and piled with dog poop.

There are blooms on the trees – the Kwanzan and Yoshino cherry trees are in bloom at the Brooklyn and Bronx Botanical Gardens, in Central Park in Manhattan, in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, in the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden at Snug Harbor in Staten Island. Spring also brings us a new crop of fresh aerosol missives, wheat-pasted characters, stenciled witticisms, radical opinions, and secret yearnings. Together with the weathered and the worn street art from previous seasons, it’s an ongoing visual cacophony.

In New York news, a two-sided painting by the eclectic painter and collector Martin Wong and graffiti writers Sharp and Delta2 is featured in MoMA show “In the Shadow of the American Dream”, a man set himself on fire publicly near the Trump hush-money trial this week, similar to the US soldier who self-immolated to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza and US support for it a few weeks ago, former Mayor Guliani’s son appears to follow in his father’s footsteps, Passover is in full effect with convoys on streets in Brooklyn, Pro-Palestine marchers vow more action on campuses following this week’s demonstrations at Columbia, and a guy was arrested for writing ‘ceasefire/free Palestine’ with a Sharpie on a subway.

And now, here are images from our ongoing conversation with the street, this week, including: Captain Eyeliner, Tats Cru, Stikki Peaches, Eternal Possessions, Jappy Agoncillo, One Rad Latina, Tom Bob NYC, Travis, BBW.BUND.COP, Lunar YCP, NAY 381, and Kristian Boyum (visiting from Norway).

Tom Bob NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kristian Boyum (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NAY 381 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captian Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captin Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stikki Peaches (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tats Cru (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lunar YCP (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kristian Boyum (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TRAVIS (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Eternal Possessions (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sucki (photo © Jaime Rojo)
One Rad Latina (photo © Jaime Rojo)
BBW.BUND.COP (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Spring 2024. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 03.10.24

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.10.24

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! Set your clocks forward an hour!

Guess you can’t bite a graffiti artist and expect to make bank – without getting bitten. This new Nekst campaign on the Manhattan streets appears to have Claudia Schiffer and Anna Nicole Smith putting their best face forward, aside from the streams of wrinkles caused by the wet wheat paste. Time is a cruel mistress, even as our nostalgic memories of the 90s are suddenly aflame when seeing these large-scale posters and images on the catwalk named New York.

This takes the fashion labels’ accused theft of Nekst’s tag to a new level – and back to the street, where the best fashion houses traditionally find creative inspiration. The deceased graffiti writer was bold in his command of high-profile spots, and his output was profligate, giving him a reputation that current writers still pay homage to a decade after his passing. With the fashion label Guess, Inc. publicly traded, one wonders if this restyling of their brand in a fashion capital will hit them in the ticker, especially when it appears they directly ripped their style from a self-made artist/vandal and took it to the cash register.

This act highlights the ongoing debate about the street’s raw, authentic creativity and the fashion industry’s appropriation tactics. The situation questions the consequences for a major brand like Guess, primarily when the originality in question stems from the underground art world.

As Daniel Cassady from ARTNEWS and Deborah Belgum from WWD illuminate, the recent uproar in the street art/graffiti community is not merely about the misuse of street credibility but a deeper infringement on street artists’ intellectual and cultural property. Cassady discusses the blatant replication of Nekst’s signature by Guess, bringing to the forefront the fashion industry’s recurrent pilferage from street art’s raw, unfiltered energy without due homage or consent. Meanwhile, Belgum adds a familial and emotional layer, highlighting the distress caused to Nekst’s family by the unauthorized commercialization of his legacy, an act they describe as “horrifying.”

In a city where the lines of art, fashion, and identity blur, these incidents prompt us to question the ethics of inspiration versus theft. As we showcase these charged visuals, we invite our readers to ponder the fine line between tribute and exploitation in the ever-evolving narrative of street art. This is not merely about images on a wall or polished cotton; it’s a testament to the indelible impact of artists like Nekst on the fabric of urban culture and the complexities of their posthumous relationships with the commercial world.

Read more about this fight by clicking these links:
ArtNews, WWD, Hyperallergic

And please enjoy images from our ongoing conversation with the street, this week featuring Stikman, Captain Eyeliner, Bunny M, Homesick, Solus, Nekst, Muebon, Dirt Cobain, Jappy Agoncillo, Outer Source, Samo©, Isabelle Ewing, Lady JDay, John Draw Volta, Toy, Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, Butterfly Mush, and Ash Saint.

NEKST (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NEKST (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NEKST (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A Guess t-shirt featuring what appear to be tags by graffiti writer Nekst for sale on www.iqueens.com (©iqueens)
Ash Saint (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ash Saint (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JhonDrawVolta rocks the street with boundless imagination. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stikman (photo © Jaime Rojo)
bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)
bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)
bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Solus (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Isabelle Ewing. Girls Just Wanna Have Funds. Butterfly Mush. Lady Jday. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HOMESICK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Samo© (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captain Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Captain Eyeliner (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dirt Cobain. Outer Source. Muebon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TOY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. SOHO, NYC. March 2024. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 02.11.24

BSA Images Of The Week: 02.11.24

Happy Lunar New Year! Happy Chinese New Year!

And welcome to BSA Images of the Week.

New Yorkers are having a grand celebration this weekend as the Year of the Dragon begins, and traditional lion and dragon dances wend their way through Chinatowns in Manhattan and Queens. You’ll be seeing lots of red, hopefully getting some money in red envelopes (hongbao), and eating dumplings (symbolizing wealth), fish (representing surplus and abundance), and sticky rice cakes. To all our neighbors celebrating, “恭喜发财” (Gōngxǐ fācái), which means “Wishing you wealth and prosperity.”

Later this week, we’ll all profess love for one another on Valentine’s Day. Looks like red is the color for New York this week.

Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Homesick, Toxicomano, ERRE, CP Won, Qzar, Hektad, Jappy Agoncillo, ToastOro, Senk, Stesi, CASH RFC Crew, OSK OSK, NAY, and Kosuke James.

OSK OSK in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Homesick (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CASH RFC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
NAY (photo © Jaime Rojo)
STESI (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Senk (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HekTad (photo © Jaime Rojo)
QZAR (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CP WON in collaboration with East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kosuke James (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Toastoro (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Toastoro (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Toxicomano in collaboration with East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ERRE in collaboration with East Village Walls. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
#ceasefire (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Red Love (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 11.26.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.26.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

How are feeling? Did you have a good Thanksgiving day, and did you see the crowds and balloons and marching bands along the parade route and the still intact orange and yellow leaves on the trees on Central Park West? Did you see Dolly Parton dressed as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader singing at the halftime game, and did you see your girl Ava from up the block with her vintage vest and platform boots when grandma sent you out for a can of whipped cream for the pumpkin pies?

“Have you kept pace with the latest revelation in the art world? A remarkable BBC interview with Banksy, dating back two decades, has recently surfaced, sparking renewed excitement. These are indeed vibrant times for art enthusiasts and creators alike. Take, for instance, the Brooklyn Museum’s current showcase. It features an engaging Spike Lee exhibition alongside the innovative ‘Copy Machine Manifesto.’ This zine exhibition is a deep dive into five or six decades of subcultural and counter-cultural movements. It highlights a diverse range of self-published works, including gossip magazines, graffiti newspapers (a nod to David Schmidlapp and Phase 2), and expressions from queercore to hardcore. The exhibit is an eclectic mix of self-aware conceptual art, original fashion, explorations of sexual desire and confusion, comix, handmade collage, and expressions of nihilism, ennui, satire, humor, and lamentation. It’s a vivid reflection of art and expression – and inspirational to any artist who wants to have a voice.

We’re going back for a second helping.

Here is our weekly interview with the street: this week featuring Stikman, Cosbe, Below Key, No Sleep, Huetek, Optimo NYC, Jay Shells, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, OH!, Muebon, Humble, Jappy Agoncillo, Jeff Roseking, Hu, Manual Alejando, Deter, Jason Shelowitz, and KIR.

Jappy Agoncillo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Optimo NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stikman. Detail from the exhibition at Skewville Presents. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cosbe (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Muebon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Below Key and Muebon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Below Key and Muebon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Below Key and Muebon. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Below Key (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jeff Roseking (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Any job is possible if you have the right kicks. KIR (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Old dogs like those old stogies. Manuel Alejandro (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Humble (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Poems (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Deter (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Huetek (photo © Jaime Rojo)
OH! (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Shelowitz AKA Jay Shells at “Spike Lee: Creative Sources” exhibition currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A painting of his father, Bill Lee, by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh at “Spike Lee: Creative Sources” exhibition is currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Detail. At “Spike Lee: Creative Sources” exhibition currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Street Color on the sidewalks of NYC. Fall 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 07.16.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.16.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! And how beautiful this city is, even when the heat is on. The amount of talent on our streets is so overwhelming, thank you New York.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Homesick, Mort Art, Optimo NYC, Savior El Mundo, Neckface, Lungebox, DEK2DX, Hektad, Paolo Tolentino, Jappy Agoncillo, SMURFO, Mike King, Mat Lakas, Lasak Art, Snith Node, Big808, Talia Lempert, Individual Activist.

Optimo NYC continues the organic and self-curated takeover of the Houston Wall. We’re not sure what The End refers to, but as we appear to be on the precipice of so many things as a society and as a nation, you can choose. Based on the sunny yellow, we prefer to think of it positively, like a high school graduation. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Here it is again! It seems that Sticker Maul took to heart Optimo’s THE END message above. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
But if this unidentified artist’s message proves correct, the end will be sooner than we’d like. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mort Art adds to the conversation, especially after the dangerous air quality of the last few weeks due to the wildfires in Canada. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
This news makes me HOMESICK. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A bit of love from HekTad proves to be restorative. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mat Lakas (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Savior El Mundo tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat on the facade of his old studio which was owned by Andy Warhol but leased to JMB. During a very busy week news-wise, it was announced that Angelina Jolie signed an eight-year lease to run a sustainable atelier from the building. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Queensbridge represent! Nas by Paolo Tolentino (photo © Jaime Rojo)
2DX (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Talia Lempert. Individual Activist. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Looks like we are going to have to do a lot more of this. Mike King (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Smurfo/Big808 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sinth Node (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo does a great tribute to Mac Miller(photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
A message from Neckface. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lasak Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Summer 2023. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 06.25.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 06.25.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

Be it ever so! The long summer days, the walls awash with fresh paint, the overspray and splatter a Greek chorus to cheer our hero/shero. Oh!

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Jason Naylor, Lexi Bella, Homesick, David Puck, Calicho Art, Atom, Hops Art, Caty Wooley, DLove, Stem and Thorn, Minvske, Jappy Agoncillo, KMS Crew, Vargas, Nicky Doll, Kanoy Muse, Bipolar, Nataniel Marreo, Voice, Mista, Carli Tops, and Pamela Rosenkranz.

Lexi Bella (photo © Jaime Rojo)
David Puck (photo © Jaime Rojo)
David Puck (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Calicho Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vargas for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor (photo © Jaime Rojo)
DLove (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Homesick (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Atom (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Minvske for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Bipolar (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stem & Thorn for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Stem & Thorn for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Caty Wooley (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Nataniel Marrero for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Nataniel Marrero for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
VOICE (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art 1 for The Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art 1 for The Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art 1 for The Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KMS Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)
MISTA for The Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Carli Tops for The Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pamela Rosenkranz for The High Line Park. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Summer 2023. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more
BSA Images Of The Week: 03.26.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.26.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! New York is coming alive as spring approaches – and there is a lot of new graffiti and street art suddenly. We are also awash in news that keeps everyone jumping! The international-soon-to-be-national-bank crisis that is underway, the possible (likely) imposition of CBDC’s in its wake, the BRICs alliances building and de-dollarization of the world economy, the US funding of war in Ukraine, the attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid by the same actors, the pending candidacy and/or arrest of NYC native Donald Trump, the non-transitory inflation rate that is outpacing our wages, creeping facial recognition software and cameras into every part of our culture without our permission, the total capture of our news outlets… .

On the good news side, our crime rate has been dropping a lot – even though dunderheads like Mike Mother Pence says we’re having a “crime wave.” Ya’ll just better educate yourselves – New Yorkers are a pain in the arse and are quick to argue about stupid things, but we also like credit for our crime rate dropping, please. Also, we like our new tulips and daffodils and pretty birds singing in the trees. Thank you.

And now, onto our new selections of fabulous graffiti and street art for your pleasure.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Louis Masai, Praxis VGZ, Degrupo, Jorit, Phetus88, Hektad, Qzar, Hugo Gyrl, Jim Tozzi, Toe Flop, Jappy Agoncillo, Tukios Art, BlackStar, Rocking Bones, and Dana van Vueren.

Degrupo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Degrupo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dana van Vueren (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Burt, I barely knew thee. Jim Tozzi in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hugo Gyrl (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hugo Gyrl (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hugo Gyrl with previous work by Amanda Wong. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Rocking Bones (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorit in collaboration with Tukios Art pay tribute to BlackStar. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorit in collaboration with Tukios Art pay tribute to Muhammad Ali. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorit pays tribute to Lauryn Hill. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorit pays tribute to Bayard Rustin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Phetus88 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jappy Agoncillo pays tribute to Michelle Yeoh, who just won the Best Actress Academy Award this week for her role in the movie that won Best Movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once”. The despair, disorientation, and absolute clarity of this movie make it a fitting emblem for our times. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Louis Masai lectures everyone about their behavior. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Louis Masai (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Praxis (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Toe Flop (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidentified collaboration (photo © Jaime Rojo)
HEKTAD hanging from hearts (photo © Jaime Rojo)
QZAR (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Manhattan, NYC. March 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Read more