When you look after what is happening in the street art field, I realize that much of the news revolves around the one who became an indisputable yet often contested star: Banksy. How surprised I was today when I realized that I had not given any “Stencil Of The Week” to the king of stencil art! Everyone talks about Banksy everywhere, both on the street, in museums, in auction houses or cinemas… all over the world. The phenomenon continues to be fascinating and for a good reason: genius.
Let’s look closely at one of his latest pieces in New York. We talk about British humor in general when we think Banksy, Monty Python and so forth.. but consider for a moment that Banksy could be one of the foremost theoreticians of street art to date? Making use of metaphor, he has already addressed many issues related to street art, such as branding through the rental of advertising space walls, the ongoing conflict between stencil/street art on one side and graffiti on the other, the concept of mimetic art. I can see how Banksy can be analytical at this point in his career. With his U.S. tour these past few weeks he has been able to show us that his analytical skills are sharp. Each piece is thought of in terms of its geographical location, Detroit differing from LA, etc.
Here in New York City : a doctor, his satchel in hand, is listening with his stethoscope placed in the heart of the famous logo created by Milton Glazer examining the love existing for the city of New York. This city, famous for its intellectuals, its writers, artists, filmmakers, is considered by some to be the European capital of the United States. Banksy plays with ambiguity; is the heart of the city of NYC sick or is the love we have for her wilting? In any case, Banksy reminds us how much the city continues to be a central concern of street artists.
Los Angeles Spends 3.7 million Dollars to Remove Largest Graffiti Tag in America
NO, this was not a story lifted from The Onion, although it sounds like it. I don’t think the total amount is for that one tag, but rather the whole L.A. River.
Brooklyn is on the opposite coast of the US, so we don’t really know what it’s like to see the graff on the concrete of that river.
But California, the world’s 8th largest economy, is on the brink of financial calamity, school classes are ballooning to 45 students, and the rising price of fish tacos on the beach is negatively affecting the surfers. Is today UPSIDE DOWN DAY?
As reported by Ed Fuentes in BlogDowntown.com, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers hired contractors to spray over the giant tag and made a big show of it, complete with a press conference.
“At 2,000 feet long by 60 feet tall, the MTA tag near the 4th street bridge was said to be one of the largest graffiti tags in the United States.
On Thursday it proved plenty large enough for a press conference that included the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, a pair of City Councilmembers and the L.A. Sheriff’s department.” More here…
NYC Mayoral Race ’09 HEATS UP with Bloomberg, Thompson, and Mr. Burns
Why limit the race for mayor to only ONE BILLIONAIRE? Spending like a drunken sailor during Fleet Week, Mike Bloomberg, the richest man in the state, has reportedly spent $16 for every $1 that his opponent Bill Thompson has. Not so fast, Mike! Here comes Mr. Burns, a real leader of the people and believer in democracy.
photo David Hershkovits in Papermag.com
In a press conference Mr. Burns attacked the end-run Bloomberg did around election laws to get himself on the ballot for a third term. “The man shows no guts, he should have simply declared himself king over these slack-jawed troglodytes, I mean good citizens. But that’s democracy for you”
Recently these campaign posters for Mr. Burns have been appearing all over New York, indicating that he is taking the race very seriously.
Gallery Tour Stops in Philadelphia Friday at Space 1026
Smile and the World Smiles With You (McMutt) (photo Jaime Rojo)
According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2009 is the Year of the Ox, which said that I would be winning the lotto around mid-year. Maybe I should have read the “Year of the Wolfbat” instead. Dennis McNett seems to be having a rocking good time.
The wild animals that Dennis “McMutt” McNett brings to the streets are ferocious and savage and sometimes byzantine in carved detail. When you turn the corner and see one of them plastered or, in the case of recent sculpture, pacing behind a chain-link fence, you are excited by it’s raw rage; a black and white wheatpaste lino print of a snarling snow leopard with jagged pointy incisers ready to rip chunks of flesh. Rarrrrhhh! McMutt is on a tear!
Here kitty kitty! (photo Helen Michelson)
The “Year of the Wolfbat” tour began in New York in June and has flapped it’s webbed wings across the US, swooping in for exhibitions, artist talks and workshops along the way. The migratory flight of the Wolfbats has included shows at Fecal Face Dot Gallery in San Francisco and Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles.
The swarming mass of wolfbats will next fly to the city of Wolfbrotherly love, Philadelphia Space 1026 in Philadelphia (Thursday Oct. 2) with an installation of print-derived sculpture and mural, accompanied by unique and editioned works both large and small.
Dennis McNett’s installation Willoughby Windows Project in downtown Brooklyn this summer (photo Helen Michelson)
A longtime head-bashing punk and metal music fan, Dennis is also a professor at Pratt here in Brooklyn, sharing his thousands of hours of experience and mastery of craftsmanship with aspiring artists of the new generation. An artist and street artist, you’ll find his wild animal kingdom wheatpastes in Brooklyn on the facade of KCDC skate shop in Williamsburg, and in the ongoing Willoughby Windows exhibit downtown.
Vans by Dennis McNett
You can also find his designs on sneakers, t-shirts, and skateboards.
Brooklyn Street Art:How many hours does it take to carve one of those giant 4’x8′ linotype blocks? Dennis McNett: If I have no distractions and lots of coffee it usually goes very quickly once I have my drawing on the block.
Dennis’s show at Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles this August. Says owner Andrew Hosner, “Dennis rocked our spot. One of the best installs we’ve had to date.” (photo Helen Michelson)
Brooklyn Street Art:Is it possible to develop Carvel-Tunnel Syndrome? Dennis McNett: You mean Carvel like the ice cream?….. I’m sure if you scoop too much you could.
Come quick Hilda! There is something in my eye! (Dennis McNett at Thinkspace) (photo Helen Michelson)
Brooklyn Street Art: There was recently a sighting of a prowling mountain cat in Bushwick. Have you seen this ferocious feline behind a fence? Dennis McNett: I have seen it but I think it was a snow leopard and just like the illusive and mystical cat it is now nowhere to be found.
So I’m a snow leopard, eh? Watch me chew a hole through this fence. (photo Helen Michelson)
Brooklyn Street Art: Who are the five best heavy metal artists of all time? Dennis McNett: Black Sabbath is timeless to me. Gwar is underrated for the amount of creative energy put into their theatrics, longevity, and mastery of the mediums of story telling, costume making, set design, character development, album cover art, comics, metal music, etc… whether you like their aesthetic or not. Slayer!!! Motorhead!!! Death!!! This list may change from day to day…. there are too many.
Gwar getting ready to go to the supermarket (photo Kerosene Photography)
photo credit: Kerosene Photography Brooklyn Street Art:Now that we are in the fourth quarter, how has the “Year of the Wolfbat” been? Dennis McNett: It was awesome to travel around and show work. I met a ton of really amazing people and was able to invoke their wolfbat. The folks at Fecal Face and Thinkspace were really generous and hospitable with their time and space. The Badlands were intense. Good times.
Some not-so-casual fans of Dennis McNett (photo Helen Michelson)
Brooklyn Street Art:You have referred to the Wolfbat as a spirit. Would you say that you are a spiritual man? Dennis McNett: Wolfbats are spirits… they are kin to the great wolf Fenris who was wrongfully bond by the gods …. I started a sort of mythology of my own by resurrecting Fenris. He was killed during Ragnarok (the battle of the Gods and Giants) by Oden’s son Vitar. I rewrote the ending where his sister Hel resurrects Fenris and raises a new army. Wolfbats wake the sleeping spirit of people who need to be woken. That is their reason for coming into our dimension and world.
” “Odin and Fenris” by Dorothy Hardy, published in 1909 in Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas.
Brooklyn Street Art: Your creatures are violent and rageful. Should people be afraid of you? Dennis McNett: Absolutely not. I don’t see my work as violent or rageful. I just see these characters as very alive and expressive in their gesture. I usually choose animals with some mythology behind them or that are mystical, misunderstood, or pack/family oriented.
A Wolfbat on Sunset Boulevard (photo Helen Michelson)
From the 1026 Space gallery:
“You can expect to see a loud psychedelic woodcut landscape covering several walls of the gallery in which nature’s bass has been cranked up to 11. Duck your head walking in and make way for an entire flock of hotheaded Wolfbats swooping overhead, not to mention the supercharged eagles diving out of their path to let them through.”
Dennis in studio working on a new piece to be shown Friday.
…as well as new wood carved pieces, relief cut prints, masks, oversize tapestries, leopards with serpent tails, goat heads wrapped in snakes, angry beasts, eagles fighting snakes, bats, and of course, Wolfbats.
Wolfbat and Goat: detail of new work by Dennis McNett to be shown at Space 1026
“Year of the Wolfbat”
An installation by Dennis McNett
Show dates: October 2nd –October 31st
Opening Reception: Friday October 2nd 7-10pm
Where: Space 1026, 1026 Arch St. Philadelphia, PA
Street Signals -News Off the Wires from Brooklyn Street Art
Beauty and the Beast – Chor Boogie and Cope2
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is opening in LA tonight at Mid-City Arts Gallery. And while everyone acknowledges that Chor Boogie is cute, do we have to break it all down to appearance? Maybe it’s the fact that Disney fair well killed our cognitive association with a relatively harmless children’s tale by saturating Broadway for years with their tripe.
Anyway, it’s a clever packaging of a duo – one old-school Bronx bomber throwie king VS. one expansive spiritualistic color wizard whose forms sprout and undulate across the wall. Put these two together and LET THE HILARITY ENSUE! Heck Cope2 has his own special appeal, right ladies?
Cope2! Bro! Get out of Cali before they make you start doing yoga and sh*t. Look what they did to Chor!
West Philadelphian and beautiful loser street artist Stephen Powers (AKA Espo) has harnessed the powers of love to mastermind a huge public art event in the city called “Love Letters”. A huge fan and faithful reproducer of that old-time sign painting aesthetic that was once the hottest thing since sliced baloney for outdoor advertising, Mr. Powers is combining efforts with a number of “writers” to be visible to travellers along a grand tour of a Market Street in Philly.
Mo money, mo love letters. (courtesy www.aloveletterforyou.com)
The new “Love Letter” campaign will be visible along the Market-Frankford Elevated Line
Download a PDF of the Map and additional information HERE
In her latest mural, Faring Purth delivers a powerful reflection on connection, continuity, and the complexity of evolving relationships—a true …Read More »
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
