The small but very expensive (if you are not a resident) and oil rich Coastal town of Stavenger in Norway must be feeling a bit blue right now. Nuart 2010 artists cleaned up, packed up their tools and left after two weeks of painting monumental murals for the town’s folk to enjoy during the long, dark winter months ahead. This years’ Street Artists included Dotmasters, Dolk, EVOL, Sten & Lex, Vhils, and ROA, among others. As in the past 5 years under this curator, the ’10 group is a stellar selection of talent that is helping define what direction Street Art is heading.
The offerings this year were super sized and in many cases bold in color. All of the participants this year were painters, masters at their craft and supremely independent. Martyn Reed, curator and visionary engine behind this elaborate but accessible street art festival doesn’t limit himself to one large festival – instead he marries it with a prestigious electronic-based music festival he created as a result of his years as a DJ. This years’ NuMusic festival featured performances by luminaries like Krautrock grandaddies Neu! and American hip-hop cornerstone Grandmaster Flash.
The affable bad boy Reed took a moment this week to look at his route to success so far and tell BSA about what the Nuart festival is and why it is important to him.
Brooklyn Street Art:Putting on a festival of this magnitude must be a big task. How do you do it?
Martyn Reed: Actually, this year, though the largest in scale, was a much easier production than we’ve been used to. We’ve learned so much from previous events that this year things ran incredibly smoothly. The biggest challenge was the weather in the second week. A good 90% of the walls required cherry pickers, these are obviously booked well in advance, set up, artists arrives and yeah.. we’re on. The walls that required scaffold are rigged by professionals and we made sure that all of this years artists were painters. So once set up, people were pretty autonomous. It helped that we spread out the production period to cover two weeks and also that we had Marte, a Nuart regular, on an internship for a month during the planning phase.
Brooklyn Street Art:What has been the town folks’ main reaction when they see all the big creatures on the walls of their city?
Martyn Reed: It’s incredible, there’s nothing but love for Nuart in this city, and it’s spread across a really broad demographic, from toddlers to grandparents, and from bakers to the city mayor.
It’s interesting because in a city this size anything new, any new developments in culture for example, are judged on their intrinsic merits and not due to media hype or “trends”. The city has a population of 120,000 and though a few will be aware of Banksy, Dolk etc..that will it. The art isn’t really tied to a “culture”, to Juxtapoz or hipsters or the gallery set or limited edition sneakers and vinyl toys and all the other commercial detritus that’s blossomed around the scene. It’s simply art on the street, big bold beautiful artworks that noticeably improve the surroundings. It’s astonishing to me that more city councils around the world haven’t yet embraced and recognized the value of Street Art.
Brooklyn Street Art: You have combined music with the plastic arts. Is there a cross-over between the two? Does one influence the other when curating the festival?
Martyn Reed: Interesting question, but the short answer is no, not anymore. Interesting in that Nuart was established to explore the questions you raise.
The Numusic festival, like many other European electronic music festivals, was born from an involvement in early rave and club culture. Arts graduates social life’s began to merge with their studies and aspects of academic pursuits began to influence club culture, especially with Vj’s, the early web, digital arts and new media. This proved an especially fertile and creative arena for subversives and artistic outsiders who naturally gravitate to these still lawless new frontiers. Nuart was initially set up as a sister festival to Numusic back in 2001 to provide a platform for “cutting edge” digital arts and new media, which of course had parallels with Numusic which at the time was billed as “Scandinavia’s leading festival of Electronic music”. New Media quickly became the baby of Arts Councils and funding bodies around the globe with new departments established to support and fund the medium. Art and New Technology grants were everywhere and as a Techno Dj and promoter with a degree in fine art, I was ideally placed to take advantage of the situation. I wrote the applications and we hired in various freelance curators between 2001 and 2005 and opened up the galleries during the club nights mixing up the art and the music.
I’d had an interest in Street Art through Banksy having Dj’d at Cargo in London where he had his first UK show, 2001 I think. It hadn’t occurred to me until 2005 when I took over curating Nuart, that Street Art was occupying the same ground as these early digital pioneers had previously, with a similar message, greater coverage, mass appeal and for the price of a craft knife and Internet connection. Suddenly new media looked like the bloated expensive state sanctioned art-form it was, obsessed with the technology of production when the real technological revolution was in its ability to distribute. I’d already worked with C6/Dotmasters on a new media show which led to Graffiti Research Lab etc so in 2005 I made an application to the arts council with a view to pushing things into a more street art orientated direction. And of course it was rejected outright..We thought ‘fuck it’, took out a private bank loan and did it anyway.. that was the start of Nuart in it’s current form. I guess the only similarities with movements in music is how the form is distributed, though it’s interesting to note a few artists, Faile in particular, messing with “remix” culture.
Brooklyn Street Art: You have to deal with painters and musicians. How do you see their differences as artists and do you approach them differently?
Martyn Reed: We treat people as people, no heirs and graces and pretty plain talking. We’re an easy going bunch and I think most artists and musicians feel comfortable around the crew, obviously we have to adapt to certain peoples quirks of character, but for the most, peoples social antenna’s are tuned to the same channel. Our main goal is to ensure that the production and service we provide ensures that the artists have nothing to worry about other than their own performance or piece.
Brooklyn Street Art: Did you grow up in a family where the arts and music were a big part of growing up? If not when did you realize that music and art were your calling?
Martyn Reed: Ha Ha, no no, quite the opposite, lower working class council estate upbringing, trailer trash in your parlance, didn’t know universities existed until I was maybe 17 or so, left home and school at 16 and just tried to get on..
During all these centuries of the celebration of high art, of its life-affirming philosophies, the glorification, elevation and idolization, it’s monuments to human artistic achievement and even more monumental museums celebrating its history, you’d think, somewhere down the line..an attempt would have been made to bring this to my council estate. To our lives. Because I know for a fact, art is not only capable of “improving” lives, but of saving them also. Literally.
But for all the grandstanding, the “high” arts don’t run that deep, which is why I’m a massive supporter and promoter of street art.
As for realizing, not sure, to be honest, from a very early age I always felt like I was on the outside looking in, and the “in” seemed to be missing a few things. I guess Nuart is my attempt to provide the community and the artists (and my 4 year old kid), with the thing that I missed.
M-City used to be a video game designer obsessed with sciences.
One day in the early 90s he has been caught by the street art.
He went to conquer the continents, with some stencils in his
pocket and a concept: the imagination is the only limit of
representation. By the way of pixel art, his work unfolds as
infinite landscapes, black and white, standing at the dawn of the
Industrial Revolution. With paintings ranging up to 85 meters
long, this young Polish man delights in gigantism. M-City’s
renown is now undeniable, both on the street that gallery. He is
proposing today to come and share his dream both wildly poetic
and mathematics for the first time in Paris.
Exhibition September, 24 to October, 30, 2010 at Galerie Itinerrance
Opening on Friday, September, 24 from 6 pm
Carmichael Gallery
5795 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
June 5 – July 3, 2010
July 10 – August 7, 2010
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 10, 2010, 7-9pm
For Immediate Release:
Carmichael Gallery is pleased to present THE UNCOVERING, a powerful cross section of new photography by Serbian native Boogie. The exhibition comprises a series of limited edition silver gelatin, chromogenic and archival pigment prints whose thematic material considers the space, sensation and narrative depth between endings and new beginnings.
There will be an opening reception for THE UNCOVERING on Saturday, July 10 from 7 to 9pm with the artist in attendance. The exhibition will run through August 7.
Born and raised in the city of Belgrade, Boogie emerged as a documenter of Yugoslavia’s civil
war of the 1990s, capturing through his lens the realities of the violent rebellion that ransacked the nation around him. These early experiences shaped his intensely sober artistic voice and dark perspective of human existence. Upon moving to New York City in 1998, this attraction to hardship and chaos transitioned to a visual exploration of the streets and homes of Brooklyn, presenting gang members, prostitutes and junkies in an astonishingly honest, familiar manner.
Subsequent journeys have taken him to cities such as Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Istanbul, Cuba, and
Mexico.
THE UNCOVERING is both an extension and a departure from Boogie’s previous bodies of
work, reflecting a new phase in his personal life and professional evolution. Having recently
returned home to Belgrade for the birth of his son, his experimentation with new color palettes in several of his works engenders a potent sense of renewal. The vibrancy of these photographs enhances the dialogue initiated by the breathtaking black and white portraits for which he is more widely recognized.
Boogie’s reach in THE UNCOVERING is broad, but cohesive – images of vandalized property, storm clouds, public housing, youth and the elderly both stand alone and chronicle a more extensive, multi-layered story. As a photographer, Boogie is singular in his ability to remove his presence as the mediator between the subjects of his work and those viewing them from without.
His illumination of the complexity of the human condition without the imposition of his
own ego or ideologies presents a more compelling foundation for the contemplation of his
weighty subject matter and the socio-economic, philosophical and emotional currents that press from beneath.
Boogie currently lives and works between Brooklyn and Belgrade. He has published five
monographs: IT’S ALL GOOD (powerHouse Books, 2006), BOOGIE (powerHouse Books,
2007), SAO PAULO (Upper Playground, 2008), ISTANBUL (Upper Playground, 2008) and
BELGRADE BELONGS TO ME (powerHouse Books, 2008). He has shot for many high profile clients and has been published in world renowned publications, including Time Magazine, The New York Times, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Flaunt, Vibe, Source, Maxim and PDN.
Prior solo exhibitions have taken place in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Istanbul, however Boogie claims that his biggest achievement to date is being a father to Maya and Aleksandar, the two most photographed children in the world.
The exhibition is open to the public through August 7 2010
About Carmichael Gallery:
Carmichael Gallery exhibits works by some of the world’s most exciting emerging contemporary artists, with a focus on narrative and figurative painting, mixed media and sculpture. This is the gallery’s first solo exhibition of photography.
Welling Court Mural Project Opens Over the Weekend in a Queens Community; Many Street Artists Contribute
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.
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.
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.
It’s the month of May and this weekend you couldn’t bear to be on the streets of NYC –
Even though we managed to see new stuff INDOORS by Swoon, Matt Siren, Royce Bannon, Michael DeFeo, Stikman, Celso, DarkCloud, LAII, Deekers, M-City, and Dolk – The cold, high winds made street walking quite uninviting and threatened to blow the top off of Swoons’ Konbit shelter installation along the East River while she signed copies of her new book inside Urban Arts Projects.
Along Williamsburgs’ fabled Bedford Ave. yesterday you would have expected hipsters and the college kids who emulate them to be slavishly completing their brunches and slumpingly parading to a stylized dodgeball game at McCarren Park. There they would be chugging from giant styrofoam cups of beer purchased from The Turkey’s Nest and texting friends about their TOTES crazy life.
Instead all that could be found were hearty Polish ladies with corsages pinned on their heavy woolen coats from the Mother’s Day Services at church, a few of the regular lumpy neighborhood drunks slouched and drooping off the park benches, and some miserable young families forced out of their apartments by sheer child-driven insanity.
That’s why this newly discovered sign by TrustoCorp almost seemed like a cheery promise of warm weather, asymmetric haircuts, neckbeards, and hand-rolled cigarettes just around the corner.
Break out the Prada sunglasses kids, the ever-clever and fun folks at Brooklynite Gallery have produced a show with two European Artists: DOLK and M-City, entitled “Eurotrash”
A new toaster design from MCity! – a “graphic brand of stencil artillery” Indeed, and wide enough for bagels!
But these artists are far from trash, although they are pretty Euro. Rae just liked that term because it is funny and because some correspondents in some neighborhoods are reporting that they are immersed in a sloshing sea of it. Pure hyperbole, I’m sure.
Dolk goes old school with this stencil subject and deliberately mucks it up for effect.
And now, back to me. “Eurotrash” makes me think of the 1980’s, when the term first stuck and wealthy young Europeans living in New York were chronicled in a column titled “Eurotrash” by Taki Theodoracopulos in the now defunct The East Side Express. Ahhhh, visions of Lacroix pouf skirts and slick men in ponytails with big long thick cigars swell to mind.
A KNOCKOUT! Excellent placement for this gigantic DOLK piece in BK!
And NOW, back to me. And then came TECHNO and TRANCE and it was all over the big Euro-club, exalting Eurotrash to an international lifestyle embraced by a sh*tload of people. What do you need to make a good ET dance song, you ask?
1. Powerful synth riffs that create the hook of the song, and hi-energeee massive arena-style walls of sound, 2. Rapping in a military and/or ganga fashion, preferably by a strapping black German with a gap between his front teeth, 3. A soaring wailing female vocal about sexual availability, preferably with a German accent or in a Nordic language emitting electronically from a distant chilly erotica planet 4. A galloping baseline and some sirens and a solid two minutes of intro and outro beats for mixing purposes.
M-CITY, despite the heavy monocromatic industrial quality of his stencils, is a funny guy. Here the Manchurian Helena II plowing through a sea of beach umbrellas. I think.
To bone up on whom we speak you can read all about the society scum characters in Irvine Welsh’s short story “Eurotrash” included in his book “The Acid House”
Here’s hoping for another steaming bull market! M-CITY
Zeromancer have a song called “Eurotrash” where they sing: We are nothing but Eurotrash,
We take Plastic we take Cash! Get the ringtone here!
"The Boxer" - a pretty stunning canvas by DOLK tomorrow at Brooklynite.
Tell you what. Why not hop on the L train headed toward Brooklyn and ride just a few stops past Bedford Ave and go to BedStuy and see the show for yourself? It’s not as good as Mr. Brainwash of course but there will be cameras to capture your look – even a live video feed! Sorry no bottle service.
Special thanks to Jaime Rojo for background research on this important topic.
“EUROTRASH”
DOLK • M-CITY
OPENING RECEPTION:
Saturday, May 8, 7-10PM
Special Musical Guest: DJ EVIL DEE (Da Beatminerz)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Can’t make it to the show? Check out our
STREAMING LIVE COVERAGE of the opening
on our website: BrooklyniteGallery.com
Brooklynite Gallery is located at 334 Malcolm X Blvd., Brooklyn, New York 11233
The country is in the grip of a COLD SNAP! Forecasters are predicting a wind chill of -50 degrees in the Dakotas tonight.
Good thing M-City has his orange pants!
Those insulated winterized dungarees kept M-City warm in December when he was doing a one-man factory-cityscape with Ad Hoc in Queens, and right now as he finishes a collaboration with Gaia in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. Here’s some pictures and comments from both installations and both Street Artists.
This panorama shot shows the whole installation like it hasn’t been seen before. (courtesy the artist)
Brooklyn Street Art: How did you get involved with this project?
M-City: I’m on holidays in NYC. I love to travel and paint in different places, so it’s good to be here and leave my work on the streets of NYC. I asked before my trip some friend about how to get some walls to paint. They found me this space via Ad Hoc Gallery. It took me three and a half days to do this wall with snow and really bad weather.
A view of M-City’s installation under a bright December sky.
In this thrilling animation, see the cog-wheel bull spouting steam through his exhaust-pipe horns!
Brooklyn Street Art: What is the inspiration behind the piece?
M-City: It’s a story about the industrial city jungle. There are some factories that look like an animal. I chose bulls and elephants. They are very strong like engines in factories. In the background it’s a city landscape and leaves. Of course as always in all my works everything is black and white.
Cogs, wheels, factories, stencils and a ladder.
Brooklyn Street Art: Is it hard to do this work in cold weather conditions?
M-City: Not really, of course summer is much better to paint. In my country at this time is the same weather. If you use stencils, it’s only one problem … wind. If you use one it’s easy, but I use sometimes 100-200 stencils for one piece. And if the wind is coming you must have a lots hand to catch them all.
A school bus on the sidewalk so the kids can get a closer look at the M-City mural.
Brooklyn Street Art: What is your wish for 2010?
M-City: Nothing special, keep all good waves from 2009, and create more good waves in the new year…
In an echo of New York’s industrial past – and 14th Street present – smoke stacks churning out pollution into the air in M-City’s mural.
Last night in Brooklyn M-City and Gaia worked together on a collaboration, a city scape of hundreds of buildings with two large screaming starling heads emerging from the clutter – a wall scored by Brooklynite Gallery just for the installation.
During the roughly 6 hours in 25 degree weather, many people walking by stopped to say hello and ask questions about what the art was, how it was created, and if it had anything to do with the Martin Scorcese film that is happening a couple blocks away. Two spritely teen-age girls wanted to know if we were shooting a video, because, if so, they would like to be in it. One woman inquired about how she could get her work up on the wall sometime. Two school boys asked about 30 questions in quick succession. The questions kept everyone entertained and distracted from the cold, which caused toes and brains to freeze. Unfortunately, the source of electricity (a beauty shop) had to go home after their last hair-do, and the artists will have to finish the mural soon.
Brooklyn Street Art: How many stencils did you use this time? M-City: For this piece I used 3 sizes of buildings. About 50 of the small size, the medium size about 50, and the large size maybe 10 or 12. I don’t know how many stencils I have, I never count. I probably have about 200 today.
Brooklyn Street Art: Are you very cold?
M-City: No. For me, no. In Poland now it’s winter. It’s more cold than here. It’s not a perfect time, but it’s okay. This is better for stencils because if it is too hot, the paint is sticky. And it is not windy, so I don’t need 20 hands to keep hold of all my stencils.
While M-City took a break to warm his hands on the projector light-bulb and block Gaia’s view, we asked Gaia a couple of questions:
Brooklyn Street Art: Tell me about this bird you are doing.
Gaia: I made this starling for a show in L.A. that’s opening this Friday. It’s about endangered species. So I decided it would be an interesting perspective to take a species that is, in fact, endangering other species. The starling is an invasive animal that ravages crops and out-competes. So this is a screaming starling head. I’m going to do two.
Brooklyn Street Art: When they scream, what does that signify?
Gaia: It’s more just a frightening gesture. Especially when I put two of them together it forms a tarantula, kind of scary, kind of tough. People have told me that my most successful work is stuff that’s not effeminate. And this spot is interesting to paint because it’s totally dilapidated but with the projector, no matter how textured or dis-assembled the surface is… it works. It’s a pretty sh*tty looking building so once you cover it over with art work it looks better.
Brooklyn Street Art: Well, there was a local minister that just stopped by who’s building a new church in the neighborhood, and stopped by to say “Thank you” and how happy he was that this art was going up. Gaia: Yeah that is super dope, that is so awesome. He seemed like a very nice guy.
Brooklyn Street Art: This hot chocolate is not very good – they just dumped that Swiss Miss mix into this cup – it’s supposed to have half this much water.
Gaia: It’s hot, that’s all that matters. You know it’s probably all at the bottom, you have to swirl it around. (swings the cup around) Oh, yeah, that totally made a difference. Actually, not that much of a difference.
With Punk Rock Chords banging in his ears, the “workhorse” slams together two of his favorite things – Rock and Street Art – with a careful eye.
Headbanger Hicks created portraits for the happy lads of Green Day; Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dimt, and Tre Cool (images courtesy Logan Hicks
He likes the dirt and the grit and diversity of New York, where he’s based today, as well as the thoughtfully applied paint of a well-placed stencil. You’ll see it in his work, painstakingly detailed and applied to faces, sidewalks, subways, tunnels, building facades, and the mighty canyons of Manhattan. Logan Hicks captures the haunted cityscape with his mammoth and marble-heavy photorealism, shocked with stinging hot colors, glowing in the sky like Armageddon looming.
That’s why he’s the perfect force to shepherd street artists to make custom pieces for “21st Century Breakdown”, the new Green Day album. The 90’s punk band’s 9th album has inspired a roving art gallery to be shown off as they roll their tour around the world, and they asked Hicks to assemble an impressive list including Ron English, Chris Stain, The London Police, C215, and Broken Crow.
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says, “Punk Rock is ground zero for us. It’s been my education”. His schooling continues in the visual world with help from Hick’s curatorial skills. “Seeing the pieces that our new album has inspired is very exciting. Many of the artists Logan has chosen show their work on the street, and we feel a strong connection to that type of creative expression, ” says Armstrong.
Just back from installing a 6,300 foot mural on the street course of the ESPN X-Games in LA with his crew of Jeremiah Garcia (n10z), Surge MDR, and Meow MDR, you would think Hicks is a little winded. Nahhh, the burly family man isn’t called ‘workhorse’ for nothing.
Getting his X-game on with live stencilling before a crowd in L.A..
In addition to painting the street course, Hicks painted a mural celebrating the 15th anniversary of the X-Games, featuring an LA skyline and portraits of winners over the last decade and a half (photo courtesy the artist)
We asked Mr. Hicks if he could take a break and talk about the traveling show he curated,
Logan Hicks latest stencil is on view at Jonathan Levine Gallery until August 22nd.
and after he submitted his newest stencil to the “Beach Blanket Bingo” show at Jonathan Levine Gallery, he crowd-surfed over for an inteview…
Brooklyn Street Art: What moved you to take on this responsibility; to curate a roster of this caliber street artists to interpret the entire new album by Green Day? Logan Hicks: The manager for Green Day is also my manager. We were talking one day and I had told him that Art is the new Rock and Roll. Back when I was in high school, I was always on the look out for the new band, or song that paralleled my own feelings or ideas. Once I found it, I would play that sh*t every day. Back then it was punk rock, so I was on a Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Agent Orange, or MDC kick.
Ron English
Adam 5100
Now I find kids rocking Shepard Fairey stickers the same way I would play music. It is an expression that shows others what you are into. The conversation morphed into the idea of literally drawing a line between the music and the art as a form of expression. From there, I went through tons of artists and worked with Billie Joe Armstrong to pick the ones that we thought would work best for this project. From there the project was born.
Jeremiah Garcia
Brooklyn Street Art: Are these one-of-a-kind originals? And are they for sale or is it more of a traveling gallery? Logan Hicks: They are one of-a-kinds. The execution of the show is still in talks, so we may do prints, or a catalog, but at this point the only concrete plan is that we will travel the show to as many stops as we can, and display the originals in a gallery like setting. I’d like to see this travel, and be as approachable to as many people as possible.
C215
Meggs
Eelus
Brooklyn Street Art: Each of these pieces is responsive to a specific track on their new release. Did you give the artists any other guidelines for their work, like turn the volume up to 10 and bang your head on a cinder block?
Logan Hicks: Actually the only guideline that I gave them was that I requested they make their piece without listening to the music. I wanted the piece to be a response to the lyrics, not the music. So the majority of the artists got the lyrics before the album was even released. That way they only had the words to go on. I just feel that sometimes the music can skew the perception of the song. Especially with Green Day, their lyrics can be a bit acidic but the melodies are a bit poppy. I wanted them to focus on the content, not the presentation so it was a truer interpretation of the song.
Sixten
Component
Sadhuy
Brooklyn Street Art: Surprisingly to some youth, before there were the 90’s there were the 80’s and 70’s punk rock scenes. What bands were you slam dancing to for inspiration at that time?
Logan Hicks: Tons. A very brief list would be: Minor Threat, Cro-mags, Bad Brains, Butthole Surfers, The Pixies, Rudimentary Peni, 9353, Agent Orange, Circle Jerks, Descendants, Government Issue, TSOL, Joy Division, X, Crass, Exploited, Fear, Agnostic Front, The Cure, SNFU, The Addicts, Unsane, Dead Kennedys, GBH, UK Subs, DI, Sex Pistols, Cock Sparrer, Motorhead, 7 Seconds, Reagan Youth, and Black Flag. There were literally hundreds of bands that I would play on a weekly basis. I was a huge punk rock kid.
Broken Crow
Chris Stain
Peat Wollaeger
Brooklyn Street Art: A lot of the street-artists on this project work with themes of social injustice. Was that why you thought they would be able to interpret Green Day?
Logan Hicks: Yes, partially. Artists like Chris Stain are perfect for a band like green day because both are talking about the inequality, or finding your place in the world. Others like Ron English point out the absurdity and injustice in the world. Other artists were chosen because I thought their style was raw, or particularly suited for the project.
Lucamonte
Myla/Adam 5100
“Well maybe I’m the faggot America, I’m not a part of the red-neck agenda..”
Brooklyn Street Art: American Idiot” was a blunt instrument that smacked some sleepy heads. Do you like art that attempts to wake people up?
Logan Hicks: I crave diversity, so yes, I like blunt work, but I also think that work like Lucamaleonte is great too. His work is subtle, and a bit somber. I have never been the kind of guy who is into just one kind of style. I like the full array of style. Back when I was listening to punk rock, I would also put on Run DMC or Public Enemy. Even Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys would find their way into my play list. I just like art that is well thought out, purposeful, and well executed.
M City
Will Barras
Pisa 73
Brooklyn Street Art: Among the international group of fine artists you called upon to submit work, who handed their work in on time, who was late, and who told you the dog ate it?
Logan Hicks: Ha-ha. Most were good. When you deal with a large group of artists, you have to expect that some will drag their feet. I did have one rather well known stencil artist who waited 3 months to read the contract, then one week before things were due told me ‘ this is not a good project for me’. That was rather disappointing. Rather than say who was bad, I will say who was good. Ron English was extremely prompt and had his shit in more than month ahead of schedule. Total pro, and great guy to work with. There is no one in the group that I wouldn’t work with again though.
Brooklyn Street Art: Bonus Question: Which one is your favorite? Why?
Logan Hicks: Mine. Why? Cause I totally rock.
In her latest mural, Faring Purth delivers a powerful reflection on connection, continuity, and the complexity of evolving relationships—a true …Read More »
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