Street Artist JMR has been talking about a new series called “White Man’s Consternation” and here’s a picture of one that is surely from this series. I instantly think of Dick Cheney, especially with the armed vigilante/private security figure by Primo in the doorway. Apparently the series is meant to reflect the troubled image of the white men who still comprise most of the dominant roles in Western society.
JMR (photo © Bryan Raughton)
There can be a bit of grand posturing around the word “community” especially by people (or corporations) who spend more time chasing the Gravy Train than climbing on the Love Train. And swimming in an acid-tongued media landscape that keeps saying we’re are a giant polarized society simply bubbling with animosity, you could be forgiven for not leaving your house, let alone breaking bread with your neighbor who is different.
New York people prove that lie to be wrong every day – we are a hugely diverse lot- our different mother tongues alone could lick a frosting bowl the size of Shea Stadium. And yet mysteriously all of us weird different kinds of people are all getting along with each other day after day – sometimes we even enjoy each other!
Welling Court Murals, a project with Street Artists in a neighborhood in Queens, New York, came to fruition on Saturday and the results were as colorful and eclectic as we are. While the people on the block barbecued and danced and played games, kids chased each other and rode their bikes and took many pictures of Street Artists doing their thing on the walls- spray cans, paint brushes, wheat paste, and markers busy.
Saturday was the “show day” for this project that the folks at Ad Hoc Art, with Alison and Garrison Buxton at the helm, have been “community organizing” for a long time. However, by no means is it the end of the project, as new friendships and alliances were forged and a neighborhood has a new panoply of street art to look at, ponder, and hopefully be inspired by.
The Welling Court Mural Project was one of the most cohesive “community” events we’ve seen in a long time. Street Artists plus an engaged neighborhood of very nice people… delicious home-made foods, music from Latin America and India/Pakistan, adults, kids, painting, asking and answering myriad questions, posing for pictures in front of pieces — all proving again that the arts can bring people together. A sincere “Thank you” to Ad Hoc and Allison and Garrison and all the artists for putting your best out there for others to share.
Welling Court Artists include: Alice Mizrachi, Beast, Chris Mendoza, Chris Stain, Celso, Cern, Cey Adams, CR, Cycle, Dan Witz, Darkclouds, Daryll Peirce, Don Leicht, Ellis G, Free5, Gaia, Garrison & Alison Buxton, Greg Lamarche, JMR, John Fekner, Lady Pink, Leon Reid, Matt Siren, M-City, Michael De Feo, Mr. Kiji, Pablo Power, Peripheral Media Projects, R. Nicholas Kuszyk, Remi/Rough, Ron English, Royce Bannon, Sofia Maldonado, Stormie Mills, Sweet Toof, Swoon, TooFly, Tristan Eaton, and Veng RWK.
Thanks to everybody for the shout-outs about Fun Friday. We love you too.
I saw her at the party/auction/fundraiser on April 24th at Factory Fresh but I didn’t know she was shooting a video! So cool because she captured the fun crowd and the funnier DJ mixologists Sifunk and Garmunkle, who really rocked our already over stimulated brains with a rhythmic cut-copy-paste blend of funkiness. (get Paul’s New Mix FREE here) Anyway, thanks Natalie!
And on that note, thank you to all of the street artists who generously donated their time and work and creativity to the auction, which raised $16,000 for the programs at Free Arts NYC. Thank you also to the staff and many volunteers who helped make that show work – BSA recommends these people and these programs that provide valuable services to our neighbors and to NYC kids. A number of Street Artist already know about their programs and have volunteered as Big Brother/Sister mentors and worked with kids and families in the programs. Here, Cynthia and Alexis talk about their experience:
This year again, Free Arts NYC has committed to serving an additional 1,000 children to meet the high demand in New York for their programs. We hope you will consider donating today by clicking here to help them reach this important milestone and close the remaining $25,000 gap needed to expand their programs.
UR New York, true born and raised New Yorkers, not transplants like most of us, are taking their street art game another step forward in a positive way. You see their cool canvasses, but do you have any idea how many steps are involved in making a print?
Here’s a studio stop-action video that shows how the New York Duo 2Easae and Ski just churned out their first print called “Arsenic” with Art Asylum Boston. They only made 10, but it looks like a lot of effort. Using cans and brushes, these brothers are combining the best of their experience into their work.
UR New York, Street Artist Ron English has put up a bunch of new wheat paste posters on the Welling Court Mural Project in Queens, NY. The festival starts tomorrow and already the stuff that is up is worth the trip for this community event. English is taking the opportunity to lambaste Consumerism, Greed, Militarism, Religious Hypocrisy, Romanticizing Guns, and Advertising Hammerlocks on your Head — you know, all the lite topics – with a variety of graphic lampoons a la Mad Magazine in the 70’s.ee
Ron English's new work at Welling Court Mural Project this weekend (image courtesy Ron English)
See more pictures from Ron English’s online journal at Juxtapose HERE.
You may have missed this, and I’m so happy with it – so that’s two really good reasons to post this new NEW YORKY video we made with ROA this week. Have a great weekend!
BSA…………BSA…………BSA…………BSA…………BSA…………BSA…………BSA…………BSA…………
Artists that were part of the “Street Art New York” Auction Benefit for Free Arts NYC were Abe Lincoln Jr., Alex Diamond, Anera, Avoid Pi, Billi Kid, Bishop 203, Blanco, BortusK Leer, Broken Crow, C Damage, C215, Cake, Celso, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Creepy, Dain, Damon Ginandes, Dan Witz, Dark Clouds, Dennis McNett, Elbow Toe, EllisG, FKDL, Gaia, General Howe, GoreB, Hargo, Hellbent, Imminent Disaster, Infinity, Jef Aerosol, Jim Avignon, JMR, Joe Iurato, Jon Burgerman, Keely, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mark Carvalho, Matt Siren, Mint and Serf, Miss Bugs, NohJColey, Nomadé, Peru Ana Ana Peru, PMP/Peripheral Media Projects, Poster Boy, Pufferella, Rene Gagnon, Roa, Royce Bannon, Skewville, Specter, Stikman, Swoon, The Dude Company, Tristan Eaton, UR New York (2esae & Ski), Veng RWK
No, not Queen Elizabeth, – it’s the borough of Queens this time.
Ad Hoc Art, with the Queen Alison Buxton and her ever-loyal servant Garrison at the helm, are putting together a very fun and expansive show on the walls on Saturday. We know the list, and there are a couple special guests, so don’t miss it. It’s kind of far, but it will be worth it when you get there.
Read more about Welling Court Mural Project HERE
With 60 artists, 73 artworks, over 500 guests, and a happy vibe created by the mad-scientists Sifunk & Garmunkle at music mission control, the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit for Free Arts NYC was a huge success. At the end of the night most of the walls were bare, and most of the pieces remaining had been purchased by absentee bidders. With animated conversations, excited bidding, and occasionally rambunctious dancing (Andrew), the night was really an excellent example of how the street art community is alive and well, and how the work of street artists is in demand.
Thank you to Ali and Ad at Factory Fresh for co-hosting the event, thank you to all the volunteers from Free Arts NYC who helped to hang it, pack it, and execute the auction, and special thanks to all the artists who so generously donated their pieces to the event. Also special thanks to all the blog friends (so many!) who wrote about this event and all the people who Tweeted it continuously, as well as the print publications who helped get the word out. We hope to thank you all personally some time, if not via email. Because of your help, the gallery and back yard were jammed with more people than anyone could remember.
Thank you to Reid Harris Cooper for sending us these pictures he took at the crowded party (we threw in a couple crowd shots from the cellphone). Reid actually scored the Blanco piece in the auction. If anyone else has pics from that night we would love to see them.
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For more images by Reid Harris Cooper see his Flickr page HERE
See images and details of the pieces at our Flickr – which will be updated by the end of the day
Participating artists were: Abe Lincoln Jr., Alex Diamond, Anera, Avoid Pi, Billi Kid, Bishop 203, Blanco, BortusK Leer, Broken Crow, C Damage, C215, Cake, Celso, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Creepy, Dain, Damon Ginandes, Dan Witz, Dark Clouds, Dennis McNett, Elbow Toe, EllisG, FKDL, Gaia, General Howe, GoreB, Hargo, Hellbent, Imminent Disaster, Infinity, Jef Aerosol, Jim Avignon, JMR, Joe Iurato, Jon Burgerman, Keely, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mark Carvalho, Matt Siren, Mint and Serf, Miss Bugs, NohJColey, Nomadé, Peru Ana Ana Peru, PMP/Peripheral Media Projects, Poster Boy, Pufferella, Rene Gagnon, Roa, Royce Bannon, Skewville, Specter, Stikman, Swoon, The Dude Company, Tristan Eaton, UR New York (2esae & Ski), Veng RWK
JMR has arrived back in New York from Dallas, where he’s living these days, for the occasion of his solo show at Mighty Tenaka this Friday and to deliver his contribution to the Street Art New York Silent Auction Benefit.
JMR takes his usual pristine ne0-abstract lines and let’s them run in a new direction here – downward. An experienced muralist who can knock out 40 foot long walls in a couple of days, you can see his work on a building sized mural at the Pod Hotel in Manhattan, as well as a number of commissioned projects in Brooklyn.
JMR
Of Clouds and Something Else exemplifies the deconstruction of JMR’s approach to his process, as he releases the tension of his lines and allows his work greater movement and flow. Balancing his line work and color palate, all parts of his artwork shares distinct and equal importance.
JMR’s steadfast pursuit of a modern styles and organic movements marks a new identity in his lifelong artistic development.
About the Artist
JM Rizzi, or better known as JMR, has adapted a unique mixture of Neo-Abstract Expressionism with hints of Contemporary Pop to create a style all is own. With experience in both the street art as well as the gallery world, JMR’s imagery is has become an icon in both his native New York City and his new home in Dallas, Texas. He looks to demonstrate the scale and motion set forth by early abstract expressionists while reinterpreting it within his own introspective adaptation. Through his hybrid street style, JMR has dedicated himself to expanding his art further into the public arena. Having completed a building sized mural in Manhattan at the Pod Hotel, as well as numerous commissioned projects around Brooklyn, JMR looks to take his art to the next level.
OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, April 16, 2010 – 6:00PM-9:00PM, and closing May 14, 2010
Mighty Tanaka
68 Jay St., Suite 416 (F Train to York St.)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Hours: M-F 12PM to 7PM, weekends by appointment only
Office: 718.596.8781
Street Art New York at Factory Fresh
For more information please contact:
Email: info@StreetArtNewYork.com; Web: www.StreetArtNewYork.com
“Street Art New York” Silent Auction Benefit for Free Arts NYC
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Event Time: 7-11 pm
Auction Time: Promptly 7 pm to 9:30 pm EST
Absentee bidders please register with Bernadette DeAngelis at bernadette@freeartsnyc.org or call 212.974.9092.
Location: Factory Fresh Gallery
1053 Flushing Avenue
Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York 11237
between Morgan and Knickerbocker, off the L train Morgan Stop
To celebrate the release of the new book “Street Art New York” and to benefit the programs of Free Arts NYC, original artworks by a stellar array of today’s Street Artists from New York and beyond will be featured in a silent auction to take place on April 24, 2010, from 7 pm to 9:30 pm at Factory Fresh Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
The Benefit, to be held at one of New York’s epicenters for the thriving new Street Art scene, Factory Fresh Gallery, will feature an incredibly strong selection of today’s Street Artists joining together for one night as a community to benefit NYC kids from disadvantaged backgrounds as the numbers of poor and low-income children in New York continues to rise. Representing a renaissance in modern urban art at the dawn of a new decade, this artists will very likely be the largest collection of 2010’s street artists in one location.
With exciting new work by 60 of today’s Street Artists
Abe Lincoln Jr., Alex Diamond, Anera, Avoid Pi, Billi Kid, Bishop 203, Blanco, BortusK Leer, Broken Crow, C Damage, C215, Cake, Celso, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Creepy, Dain, Damon Ginandes, Dan Witz, Dark Clouds, Dennis McNett, Elbow Toe, EllisG, FKDL, Gaia, General Howe, GoreB, Hargo, Hellbent, Imminent Disaster, Infinity, Jef Aerosol, Jim Avignon, JMR, Joe Iurato, Jon Burgerman, Keely, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mark Carvalho, Matt Siren, Mint and Serf, Miss Bugs, NohJColey, Nomadé, Peru Ana Ana Peru, PMP/Peripheral Media Projects, Poster Boy, Pufferella, Rene Gagnon, Roa, Royce Bannon, Skewville, Specter, Stikman, Swoon, The Dude Company, Tristan Eaton, UR New York (2esae & Ski), Veng RWK
Street Art New York, by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, with a foreword by Carolina A. Miranda, published in April 2010 by Prestel Publishing (Random House).
The authors of the successful Brooklyn Street Art book (and founders of BrooklynStreetArt.com) expand their scope and take readers on a fast-paced run through the streets of New York, along the waterways, on the rooftops, and up the walls of today’s ever-morphing vibrant Street Art scene as only NYC can tell it.
With an introduction by noted cultural journalist Carolina A. Miranda (C-Monster.net) putting Street Art in the context of the personal experience of a New Yorker, readers will be taken aback by this compelling portrait of the state of urban art featuring work on the streets of New York from 102 artists from around the world. With a collection of aproximately 200 images by exciting new comers as well as beloved “old masters” such as New Yorkers Swoon, Judith Supine, Dan Witz, Faile, Skewville, WK Interact, LA’s Sphepard Fairey, Brazil’s Os Gemeos, Ethos, Denmark’s Armsrock, France’s Space Invader, C215, Mr. Brainwash, Germany’s Herakut, Belgium’s ROA, London’s Nick Walker, Connor Harrington, and the infamous Banksy.
With its impressive list of titles in English and German, Prestel Publishing is one of the world’s leading publishers in the fields of art, architecture, photography, design, cultural history, and ethnography. The company, founded in 1924, has its headquarters in Munich, offices in New York and London, and an international sales network.
Commencing at 7 p.m. and ending at 9:30 p.m., the silent auction will be administered by Free Arts NYC, and all proceeds from the auction go directly to the non-profit. Highest bidder wins!
You may have thought that the giant sucking noise you heard was all the street art being pulled down to Miami this week (or Miss California’s video tape turned up to 12).
Partners Alex Emmart and Caleb James are proud to introduce MIGHTY TANAKA, the gallery
Brooklyn’s Street Art Scene is so gargantuan that we can afford to let Half the Borough go to Art Basel this week and we still have enough amazingly clever artists to OPEN A BRAND NEW GALLERY TONIGHT – which will be packed thank you very much.
Mighty Tanaka Gallery, a labor of love turned a reality with the vision of Alex Emmart, who has been toiling behind the scenes for a couple of years to build a rather strong and fairly eclectic collection of art and artists – many of them fresh out the gate.
Alex also confesses to creating this new gallery in the neighborhood of Dumbo partially to force himself to get off his couch and go to work instead of running his nascent biz out of his apartment. He’s been painting a newly built gallery space in the Brooklyn neighborhood by the water between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and nearly all his clothes are covered with white paint and his brain has fried, but tonight’s the opening and he is ready.
Avoid (from the Inflation Project) (courtesy Mighty Tanaka)
The inaugural show “Hybridism” gives a nod to oft-expressed opinion these days that the walls between street art and fine art are continually dissolving – as fine art hits the streets and street art hits the living room over your couch.
Emmart brings to the game an education in museum studies, the experience of curating a handful of shows that explore the street-graff-fine art continuum, and a solid dedication to building relationships based on respect.
This too, may be a glimpse of the future of the art world where gallerists treat people fairly and are respected because of it. Just ask any of the nextgen Millenial artists he is working with.
At this auspicious opening, a statement of hope amidst an economy gone ape-crazy, Emmart takes the moment to share the credit on his Facebook page; “Mighty Tanaka studio is one of the finest and most exciting spaces I know of due to the hard work of committed individuals. A VERY BIG thanks to Garrett Wohnrade, Caleb James, Adri Cowan, Mari Keeler, Heidi Alasuvanto, Insuh Yoon, John Michaels, the Mighty Tanaka featured artists and everyone else who has supported Tanaka during this transition. You all inspire me.”
Reginald Pean “Gentlemen of Leisure” (courtesy Mighty Tanaka)
68 Jay St.
Suite 416
Brooklyn, NY. 11206
Phone #: 718.596.8781
Subway: F train to York St.
Mighty Tanaka Presents: Hybridism: Where Raw Meets Refined
Premier Exhibition in New DUMBO Gallery Space presents an array of mediums, techniques
New York, NY – November 24, 2009 – Mighty Tanaka (http://www.mightytanaka.com) is proud to announce Hybridism, the premier show within its new DUMBO project/gallery space, opening with a reception on December 3, 2009 through January 7, 2010. There’s a growing creative movement that we’ve dubbedHybridism: a blend of both street art and fine art – a hybrid – as the raw meets the refined. It is the juxtaposition of genres, which both compliments and conflicts; the balance between these otherwise artistic opposites. Hybridism, the show, captures a collection of both twisted fine art and underground street art in a span of mediums: vivid photography, collage, and rich oil & acrylic paintings on everything from canvas to found wood.
Alex and Caleb have been working so hard to make this thing happen!
From classic oil paintings of alcohol-blurred nightlife, a squirrel riding a two-headed goat, and a trippy diorama of the industrialization age, to street-style satanic mummies, tribal paintings on book covers, and graffiti-influenced silkscreens on newspapers – Hybridism displays the atypical and the urban within one space.
“I always look to accentuate the idea of hybridism, and of pairing opposites together; this will be common thread in all of my shows, despite their varied themes,” says Mighty Tanaka owner and curator, Alex Emmart. “My goal? To bring this burgeoning and exciting artistic movement to the next level.”
Featured artists include: Adam Miller, Alexandra Pacula, Alexis Trice, AVOID pi, Bruno Perillo, Destroy and Rebuild, Don Pablo Pedro, FARO, Hellbent, Infinity, JMR, John Breiner, Josh McCutchen, Katie Decker, KOSBE, Lionel Guzman, Mari Keeler, Miss Marlo Marquise, Max Greis, Mike Schreiber, Peter Halasz, Reginald Pean, Robbie Busch, Royce Bannon, Skewville, Vinny Cornelli.
Mighty Tanaka’s Hybridism opening reception coincides with DUMBO’s Culture 411 First Thursday Gallery Walk on Thursday, December 3, 2009, from 5:30PM-8:30PM at Mighty Tanaka Studio on 68 Jay Street, Suite 416, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
# # #
About Mighty Tanaka
Mighty Tanaka (http://www.mightytanaka.com) is Alex Emmart and Caleb James: an independent curatorial organization dedicated to the advancement and integrity of the urban arts. Through the utilization of skilled curating and various media techniques, we strive to create a stable foundation for artists operating within the urban environment. Mighty Tanaka is driven by urban inspiration and is clearing the way for this emerging art movement to expand beyond the city walls and into our personal lives. Our mission is to provide a myriad of curated and production services.
Contact
Mighty Tanaka Studio
68 Jay St., Suite 416
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Hours: M-F 12PM to 7PM, weekends by appointment only
Office: 718.596.8781
For questions, info or interviews, please contact Alex Emmart at alex@mightytanaka.com or (718) 596-8781.
Skaters are pounding ramps together and trading tricks, vendors are setting up tables, gallerists are hanging pieces, and street artists are staking claim to swaths of concrete wall.
JMR has been working 4 days on his installation for the “Tree Grows In Brooklyn” wall, based on the book of the same name. Night is falling but he’s just had a beer and a veggie burger and is back on the scissor lift with a kleig light blasting the wall. Aside from a car running over some paint cans that Indigo and Mania were going to use, everything is running copasetic. Now if the rain stays away…
Here are some shots of some of the work that will be on display tomorrow:
Mania lays up a stencil layer (photo Steven P. Harrington)
JMR punctuates in the black on his 100 ft long mural (photo Steven P. Harrington)
ELC Crew already stopped by (Celso, infinity, Royce Bannon…) (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Billi Kid Obama filmstrip on the wall (blurry photo Steven P. Harrington)
Avoid Pi in the Mighty Tanaka gallery (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Martha Cooper has some original Printer’s Proofs from street life in NYC in the 70’s and 80’s (photo Steven P. Harrington)
The softer side of HELLBENT (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Skewville in a conduit frame in the gallery (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Remo Camerota has a gallery full installation of brand new poloroid works – including this stormtrooper (photo Steven P. Harrington)
Billi Kid, Chris RWK, Darkclouds, JMR, Jordan Seiler, Justin Emerson, Veng RWK, Philip Lumbang, Keely, JustinK, Royce Bannon, Shai Dahan, Temple7e
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BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
