For all the flooding of our street art consciousness by the mural movement during the last handful of years, we’re still impressed by the completely organic personality of New York’s scene. New York has the ability to absorb countless graffiti and street artists from around the world and still retain its own particular attitude regardless. Prickly, preening, pensive, or ready to throw a punch, you are never quite sure what you will end up with the art on the streets here. However, you are guaranteed to see something unique — and you’ll never have time to be bored.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Al Diaz, Alex Ferror, ATOMS, Billy Barnacles, Brooklsey Dark, Carlitos Skills, Don Rimx, Drecks, Duel1, Gane, Hiss, Jowl, Little Ricky, London Kaye, Lucky Rabbit, Praxis VGZ, Skewville, Smells, and UFO907 .
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! – we are smack in the middle of it today.
Colloquially thought of as the first weekend of summer in the US, it is also the first weekend when there are lifeguards at the beach. Since New Yorkers love to head to the Jersey Shore (no offense Coney Island) we thought we’d regale you with some fresh shots this week of cool murals on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Most of these are part of the “Wooden Walls” a program created by Jenn Hampton, co-director of Parlor Gallery, who tells us that it was inspired by the destruction of a hurricane here that pulled up so much of the wooden boardwalk that is iconic to the shore experience here.
“I started doing it after Hurricane Sandy because they were all these boards up from the devastation,” she explains. “It kind of reminded me of when you go into an artists’ studio and there are little excerpts of paintings that the artist is working on. Some may feel sad because they see unfinished paintings – but for people who are creative it creates excitement because it is about ‘what’s to come.’”
She’s always trying to bring art
to the public space, so this devastation prompted her to write proposals to
start the program and it worked. “It’s weird that it took a natural disaster
for me to get funding for an art project!” she laughs. Five years of steadily
growing the list of artists, the project now includes local, national, and
internationally recognized street artists.
Wooden Walls producer Angie
Sugrim says that this project is as personal as it is public. “Jenn
and I both feel a deep sense of stewardship in our community and this project
and all it entails are our way of giving back and helping to grow what we love
about our town. We both are eternal believers in the power of art and seeing it
help to transform Asbury Park.”
“I try to curate it from
the eyes of a six-year-old and a 20-year-old and a 80 year-old – because we get
such a diverse crowd on the boardwalk,” says Hampton. “I just want to make sure
that there is art in that spirit of creation next to the ocean. I think that
there is something really poetic about.”
Time and the elements have begun
to fade and weather the walls, but she thinks it just adds character.
“I think people get too
attached to public art,” she says. “The impermanence of it makes it really
special and you have to see it and engage with it – Mother Nature will take it
back when it wants!”
So here’s our weekly interview with the street (or boardwalk), this time featuring Ann Lewis, Art of Pau, Beau Stanton, Dee Dee, Fanakapan, Haculla, Hellbent, Indie 184, James Vance, Jessy Nite, Joe Iurato, Lauren Napolitano, Lauren YS, Logan Hicks, London Kaye, Porkchop, RC Hagans, Rubin 415, and Shepard Fairey.
Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring 1UP Crew, Amanda Browder, Antennae, City Kitty, Dirt Worship, Dragon76, Jason Naylor, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Makatron, Sheyro, The Yok, and Trap.
We really dig these new collaged political cartoons that are on the street as quickly as the weeks news – each depicting one of the many rich white men who are impacting our minds and our bank accounts and our health and sense of security right now. Are we watching the White House or Good Fellas? The backstabbing, front stabbing, chicanery, and ongoing systemic tomfoolery makes you wonder who’s actually running things.
The news cycle is hourly it seems, with tweets and personnel changes and threats happening so fast that people are developing PTSD that is triggered by news alerts on the phone. We have to admire any Street Artist who tries to keep up with the developments and get their commentary on a wall.
Many young and old New Yorkers are wincing from high rent, high debts, crumbling infrastructure, and everyone is working longer hours, if they are lucky enough to work. Some just give up. Meanwhile the one plausible healthcare option that many have gained over the last handful of years? – the servants of the rich have been trying to stab it to death – but they couldn’t muster it this week. Even now – Trump says he’ll stand by and watch it die rather than improve it in any way. Have we ever had a leader who is so cynical?
Even Senator McCain – in our top image above – fresh off his tax-payer funded brain cancer surgery, waivered this week before providing the pivotal vote that saved healthcare for 20 million or so. Most GOP Senators ignored the majority of the US citizens who implored them to fix Obamacare not nix it. But their bank accounts proved far more important than our health. The rich and their corporations are flooding our entire political system and only after we get their money out would we be able to call the USA a democracy. Otherwise we are just fooling ourselves.
So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Bifido, El Sol 25, Jarus, London Kaye, Luna Park, Miss17, MSK, Myth, Otto Schade, Rime, SikaOne, Solus, Sonni, Spy33, and Wonderpuss Octopus.
“In this area the government is building a gas pipeline and to do it they are cutting many olive trees. Part of the local economy is based on olive oil production, so people are fighting for preserve their lands and trees. I wanted to address this situation with my artwork.” -Bifido
“This mural depicts a woman sitting at the window sill and reaching outwards. Turning the wall into a window is a metaphor for opening your mind and heart towards new ideas and concepts. The woman is in a red dress because I felt it would compositionally fit into the area of the wall and surrounding buildings.”-Jarus
So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Alexis Diaz, Below Key, Bia Does NYC, Blox, Ceas, City Kitty, Donut, Drsc0, El Sol 25, Kimyon333, LDLR, Lego To The Party, Loa Jib Lazee, London Kaye, Lunge Box, Mr. Fijodor, Myth, Pat69, Pixote, Willow and Witch Christ.
Culture Vultures, yo. Those folks and corporations and brands who don’t originate, but they sure know how to take. They’ve been around for millenia, but are always a surprise anyway. This week the graffiti comedian Klops leads the way on Images of the Week. He’s always cracking us up with his social/political commentary – like Mother Mary and others at the foot of the cross taking a selfie with Jesus, or his bubble tagged slogans like “Yuck. Poor People,” “USA, Why You Always Lyin’?” and “War Money War Problems.” This week his culture vultures took us by surprise. Recognize anyone?
So here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Andrew Hem, BK Foxx, Camo Lords, Dede, Drinkala, Eelco Virus, Golden 305, Influx Residence, Key Detail, Klops, London Kaye, ONO, QRST, and Sipros.
Of the thousands of images he took this year in places like New York, Berlin, Dresden, Moscow, Marrakesh, Detroit and Miami, photographer Jaime Rojo found that the figurative image still stands prominently in the Street Art scene – along with text-based, abstract and animal world themes.
Surprisingly the scene does not appear to be addressing the troubled and contentious matters of the political and social realms in a large way, but the D.I.Y. scene keeps alive and defies the forces of homogeneity with one-of-a-kind small wheat-pastes, stencils, sculptures, and aerosol sprayed pieces alongside the enormous and detailed paintings that take days to complete.
Every Sunday on BrooklynStreetArt.com, we present “Images Of The Week”, our regular interview with the street. Primarily New York based, BSA interviewed, shot, and displayed images from Street Artists from more than 100 cities over the last year, making the site a truly global resource for artists, fans, collectors, gallerists, museums, curators, academics, and others in the creative ecosystem. We are proud of the help we have given and thankful to the community for what you give back to us and we hope you enjoy this collection – some of the best from 2016.
Brooklyn Street Art 2016 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo includes the following artists;
1Up, Above, Adele Renault, Alaniz, Amy Smalls, George Vidas, GEN2, Apexer, BordaloII, Buff Monster, C215, Collin Van Der Sluijs, Super A, David Choe, D*Face, Duke Riley, El Sol 25, Sean 9 Lugo, EQC, Faile, Faith47, Faust, Shantell Martin, Felipe Pantone, Hueman, Droid907, Icy & Sot, InDecline, Invader, JJ Veronis, Jilly Ballistic, John Ahearn, JR, London Kaye, Louis Masai, MadC, Marshal Arts, Mongolz, MSK, Rime, Myth, Nina Chanel, Optic Ninja, Otto Osch Schade, Panmela Castro, Plastic Jesus, QRST, Reed b More, Remi Rough, REVS, Self Made, Sharon Dela Cruz, Maripussy, Specter, Stikman, Strok, Swoon, Ted Pim, Thievin’ Stephen, Farin Purth, Thomas Allen, Tobo, Uriginal, Vermibus, Vhils, Wing, Yes Two, Zola.
The artist featured on the main graphic is D*Face as shot by Jaime Rojo in New York.
Heading into the 4th of July we reflect upon patriotism, our declaration of independence from England, and Britain’s new declaration of independence from the EU. Are there similarities?
Now, we’re all off the park for a barbecue! Where is the frisbee? Where are those hotdog buns?
And here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Agostino Iacurci, Alaniz, Aron Belka, Buttsup, Float Art, Gilf!, King, London Kaye, Pixel Pancho, QRST, Reed B More, Sipros, and WK Interact.
The annual Welling Court Community Festival in L.I.C. in Queens took place yesterday. BSA was there on Friday to photograph the completed walls while a bevy of enthusiastic artists were busy at work on their walls and getting ready for yesterday’s block party. We wanted to bring you Part I of our coverage of this year’s festival on this Sunday’s edition of BSA Images Of The Week. Sit tight, Part II will come later next week as we wait for a few artists to complete their walls.
The 7th year for this eclectic homegrown collecting of graffiti and Street Artists for communal mural-making has not diverged much from its original character. You are still entirely welcomed. There are no corporate sponsors or sales of T-Shirts or silly app-designer types striking poses or stroking beards or like, privileged like, verbally challenged, like, young professionals looking for like brunch? nearby? Er whatever.
Wellington Court still feels like real people, and hard working families, with plenty of kids and community and homemade foods. At least for now. Thanks to organizers Garrison and Alison Buxton for pulling this off once again.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Billy Mode, Cern, Chris Stain, Depoe, Drsc0, FKDL, Icy & Sot, John Fekner, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Myth, OX, REPO, Skewville, Stikman, Vlady, and Voxx.
Street Artist LMNOPI lends her voice to the growing calls for stores to boycott the world’s largest supplier of berries until they treat their employees fairly after being accused of abuses, among them child labor. Learn more about the worldwide boycott of Driscoll’s here.
The Street Art world was shaken this week by the announcement and group action by BLU and friends in Bologna buffing/chipping away his street pieces in reaction to the opening of a new show there Friday night that contained BLU works done on a derelict building owned by someone else.
The ironies are rampant when a city chases down vandals, sponsors graffiti/street art clean-up programs, and then heralds the exact same works in a formal museum show with good lighting, cocktails, elegant suits, a press conference, and invited guests. Aside from the various contingencies trying to hi-jack these events to put forth other agendas or establish their opinion as sacrosanct, the psychological and philosophical rifts have been self-evident long before this show and this astounding act of self-destruction.
We’re all wondering what is an amenable solution to interests that are by nature in conflict yet are so intertwined as to appear fused, and the list of questions to consider continues to grow. See our questions from a posting earlier in the week HERE. Normally the press ignores these stories which we talk about regularly, but BLU mastered the PR game this week (and you know that serious money is involved) so it was in Le Monde, The Guardian, and ArtNet, among others. See some images from the opening and press conference are here.
Meanwhile the street can’t stop, won’t stop.
Here’s our our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Adam Fu, ATOMS, Butt Sup, El Sol 25, Fish With Braids, KEO Xmen, Knon, London Kaye, Nipper, Persue, Reed B More, Sean9Lugo, Scott Marsh, Self-Indulgence, SGNL, Skewville, Tara McPherson, The Yok & Sheryo and Zola.
Speaking of celebrity culture, Sydney based muralist Scott Marsh often depicts recognizable music personas like James Brown and Biggie Smalls in his figurative works. This week he completed this intense love scene parody on the street. But this is evidently more than romance, it’s carnal.
“No one can love Kanye quite like Kanye,” says Marsh of the new piece on Zigi’s Wine & Cheese Bar in Teggs Lane, Chippendale. Wonder what music they are listening to?
“I’m a big Kanye fan,” says Marsh. “He’s an incredible artist and a character and I like that. I was contacted by Lush’s manager to help find him a wall in Sydney. He painted a giant Kim Kardashian at the other end. It’s probably the least effort I have put into any mural – I painted it in four hours as a bit of a laugh. The response has been hilarious.”
This simple lollipop paste-up reminds us this week that it may appear to be sweet, but sometimes it is poison. Guess that truism should be obvious to you kids, but it doesn’t hurt to remind each other.
Here’s our our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring ECB, Escif, JPS, Kai, London Kaye, Lunge Box, Mogul, Nick Walker, Omen, Tref.no, The J0n, and Shai Dahan.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Air3, Bie MOG, City Kitty, Gabriel Specter, Jordan Seiler, London Kaye, Naomirag, Raul Ayala, and Traz.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
