Surreally yours! The art on the streets this week appears to reflect the times. It’s going to take all this creativity and force to turn the tides!
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring 1Up, AJ LaVilla, Android Oi, Cern, Dark Clouds, Dirty Cobain, Early Riser, Invader, Jason Naylor, Little Ricky, Lubaina Himid, Lucas Blalock, Oscar Lett, Robson, SacSix, Subway Doodle, Zimer .
On the topic of illegal, we’ll state it again for the many persons who have an incorrect impression – Street Art, by definition, is illegal. If it is not illegal, please do not call it Street Art. That work you are looking at is probably a mural.
Good to see “Hysterical Men” here in New York, after admiring the campaign from Philly. The artwork reminds us of Robbie Conal as well, who is reliably skewering public officials with his wilting depictions of them on posters on the street. This week we also were reminded of Chicago’s Dont Fret when we saw the work of Matt Starr, with his textual witticisms. Don’t get us wrong, its not a criticism to have similar work – it’s just an observation.
Finally, considering the treatment of immigrants, the mounting fascism, racism, misogyny, and rageful ignorance being modelled and engendered from the highest offices in the land, we’re shocked that, with a few notable exceptions, Street Artists are not taking those messages to the streets. So much for its reputation for being activist. Not so much.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Benjamin’s Brother, Bones, Cammix Vx, Captain Eyeliner, Diva Dolga, Domingo Zapata, Dr. Nothing, Hysterical Men, Invisible Essence, Little Ricky, Matt Siren, Matt Starr, Mattew Wythe, Mr. Djoul, Obey, Praxis, Raddington Falls, Rammellzee, Sara Lynne Leo, Sinclair, Sunflower Soulz, The Postman Art, and You Go Girl!
Jeez, that only took 50 years. “Stonewall Riot Apology: Police Actions Were ‘Wrong,’ Commissioner Admits”, cooed the New York Times this week. Of course the NYT headline at the time focused on how the helmeted, armed police were affected, rather than the couple of hundred citizens who they harrassed, intimidated and beat up for being many shades of LGBTQ – “Four Policeman Hurt in Village Raid”. Thankfully Macy’s and HSBC bank and all the corporations ran to the rescue of those folks in 1969 and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, 90s, right?
Aside from the multiple lessons we all continue to learn in the fights for people’s equality across society and in our institutions, one lesson comes through loudly and clearly: real, meaningful change almost never comes from the top down. Social, political, and economic justice comes from the grassroots, rank-and-file, everyday people fighting day after day, year after year.
That’s why we keep our eyes on graffiti, Street Art and all manner of expression on the street – its proven to be a reliable source for the vox populi.
So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring CANO, Carl Paoli, Dain, David Puck, El Ergo, FKDL, Infynite, Isabelle Ewing, Justin T. Russo, Little Ricky, Meres One, Ramiro Davaro-Comas, Sara Lynne Leo, Screwtape, SeeTF, Skewville, Solus, and Stray Ones.
The eyes have it.
Have you noticed the number of faces and eyes that are pasted, painted, drawn on the Streets right now? Maybe they are an indicator that many more of us are truly paying attention and that we see how close the danger is, even if we don’t know exactly what to do.
The first step of course, is to pay attention. Turning off the corporate controlled media helps.
What do you see?
So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this time featuring Arkane, CP Won, Dylan Egon, Eyebrows, Greta Thunberg, Himbad, Hiss, Little Rickey, LMNOPI, Lungebox, SacSix, Sara Lynne Leo, Soten, The Postman Art, and Who is Dirk.
Top image: Little Ricky imagines three icons through the eyes of a ewe – Madonna, George Washington, and John Lennon (photo © Jaime Rojo)
We made it! But it was a rough few days just finished with storms and rain and snow and high winds and flooding and downed trees around New York and its environs. Similarly, as one surveys the chaos reigning in Washington, one must not be blinded by the sound and fury and has to measure what foundations are being broken and what soil is being eroded during this deliberate and man-made storm. Also Tax Payers, You’ve Been Scammed.
In other news Street Artist JR and New Wave cinema pioneer Agnès Varda are well positioned for an Oscar tonight, Nuart continues a 2nd year in the beautification of Aberdeen, Street Artist Haifa Subay is painting murals to help ensure that victims of Yemen’s grueling three-year civil war are not forgotten, conservative Street Artist Sabo took over three billboards to attack Hollywood about hidden pedophilia, a Florida billboard calls NRA a ‘terrorist organization’ , INDECLINE did a billboard takeover protesting gun violence and criticizing the ease of gun access, and NY street collage artist PhoebeNewYork says her background in fashion is the driving influence in her work on the streets.
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Below Key, Bond TruLuv, Bunny M, Combo, Crash, Eleonora Arosio, Faith XVVII, Free the Bunny, Imraan Christian, Jaeraymie, Lamkat, Little Ricky, Manyoly, Olek, Ollio, PAM, Paper Skaters, RAD, SK, Specter, and UFO907.
Welcome to Images of the Week! Great stuff this week from Portugal, Spain and good old NYC to flip your Aunt Betty’s wig.
The big news this week of course was that the 5 Points graffiti compound case was awarded to the 21 plaintiffs. But its not just local: it may have national implications when building owners will be insisting on contracts with anyone who paints their property. It may also confuse and scare off many opportunities for artists, where building owners will simply say no to the proposal.
The settlement, which we covered in Tell It to The Judge ; Graffiti Artists Win in 5 Pointz Case, has infuriated many and thrilled others expressing their opinion on social media. One of our 5 Ptz postings on Facebook this week garnered 1,300 comments, a nest of misunderstanding mediated by the occasional level head, offset by congratulations and victory laps. Naturally, folks from other parts of the country insulted us New Yorkers. Welcome to the world of graffiti and Street Art!
The Black Panther movie has many New Yorkers enthralled as it premiered on Tuesday night at the Museum of Modern Art. Theaters drew entire families and school groups many standing in line in costume as they waited to see powerful and positive black super-heroes and heroines. The Times Magazine says it is a defining moment for black America .
Nationally we are all still trying to grapple with another school shooting, producing more Thoughts and Prayers, and another round of Mueller indictments that continue to encircle the White House.
Finally, Brooklyn’s Kehinde Wiley pulled the curtain down with Barack Obama at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to reveal his official portrait – HERE. Just kidding, here are Barack and Michelle’s official portraits.
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Atomik, Bigod, City Kitty, Daniel Eime, Desla, Exit.Enter.K, Fatal Fake, Free the Nipple, Gane, Gebraël, Kram, Little Ricky, Obey, Texas, We’kup, and Zest B.
Got anything lined up for Valentines Day? No pressure bro. Just be yourself sis! All that baloney about wine and dine and flowers – oh HELL NO! We’re all on a budget up in here! In fact we did some research for you and here’s 8 Cheap Valentine’s Day Dates in NYC thanks to writer Melanie Gardiner.
And for the rest of you non-attached and gorgeous BSA Readers may we recommend the delightful new cinematic pleasure from Urban Spree and the Berlin Kidz called “F**k the System” now available for the price of a movie house soda on Vimeo. Each time you think they won’t do it, they totally do it. Including riding bikes on top of the train. That part is NOT recommended.
In other news, the people in Washington are playing with fire and it looks like a large percent of them probably want to burn the whole government down. A second shutdown in one month? We have pyromaniacs bent on destroying basic stuff that the people built and need. Now that the taxes for the rich have been lowered so that social programs will go on a feeding tube, how many minutes will it take before they say, “we simply can’t afford to pay for Medicare and Social Security’? Tick Tick Tick.
Corporate taxes are now the lowest that they have been since 1939. Because that is the standard of living you want right? The 1930s. Ask your grandma and great grandma what life was like in the 1930s before they hiked the tax rate on the rich. MAGA, baby.
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Avocado, Baston, City Kitty, Dede, Duke A. Barnstable, Irak, James Goldcrown, Joe Iurato, Little Ricky, Nora Breen Project, Pear, Smiler, Tez, The Joe Miller, Token 3784.
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BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
