All posts tagged: Manhattan

Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Boston; Another Sort of Art in the Street

It’s been a few weeks since BSA first showed images of the protesting marchers of Occupy Wall Street and the number of everyday people from many walks of life in the streets has only bolstered what the kids have been saying. Now it looks like the marches have spread to hundreds of other cities in the country and around the world. All this in less than a month? It’s like it was waiting to happen.

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In the intervening days the rapidly blossoming movement has been endorsed and reviled by many a political figure and well-known media personality. While some shiny happy telecasters seem bewildered by the discontent – the majority of people you talk to on the street or whom you stand behind at the grocery store or bank aren’t particularly mystified by the marchers or their myriad messages. It’s the same stuff people have been talking about at their kitchen table for years now – and now they’re talking together in the public square. Oops.

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Occupy Wall Street. American Economist Rick Wolff speaks to Occupy Wall Street Open Forum on  October 4. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aside from the populist uprising aspect of it all, the art in the street during these Occupy marches has been pretty good. So have been the slogans, the witty turns of phrase, the clever costumes and dramatic street theater. Is there any question that Street Art will be reflecting what is happening in the streets? In many ways, it already has been – our recent talks at LA MOCA and the New York State Museum concentrated on the tea leaves of the street telling us for the last few years about homelessness, the effects of war, the struggles of the working class, and the housing crises. For many Street Artists this stuff is personal and they’ve been telling their stories with their art.

Here are some of the scenes we caught of the Occupy Boston and Occupy Wall Street marches recently; it will be very interesting to see how art and popular culture are influenced by what is now on display in the Streets. When you call yourself the 99%, you’ve cast a pretty wide net.

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street. “Rent Is Too Damn High” party founder and political activist Jimmy McMillan talks to the assembled on October 4th. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street. “Rent Is Too Damn High” party founder and political activist Jimmy McMillan talks to the assembled on October 4th. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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What cha knitting? Occupy Wall Street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Wall Street. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Occupy Boston. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Joshua Liner Gallery Presents: “Art For Tibet” A Silent Auction (Manhattan, NY)

Art For Tibet
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ARTISTS UNITE TO SUPPORT TIBETAN FREEDOM AT 3rd ANNUAL NEW YORK CITY ART SHOW & SILENT AUCTION FUNDRAISER
Contemporary US and International Artists Joined by Tibetan Peers

What:     Art for Tibet III     (www.artfortibet.com / Facebook: http://ow.ly/6IxHq)
Where:     Joshua Liner Gallery, 548 West 28th Street, 3rd Floor NY, NY 10001 http://joshualinergallery.com
When:     October 14, 2011: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

New York – More than 50 acclaimed artists will exhibit art works together in support of the Tibetan freedom struggle on October 14th at the Joshua Liner Gallery in Chelsea, New York City. The third-annual Art for Tibet show will feature top contemporary Tibetan and international artists, including Shepard Fairey, Pema Rinzin, Richard Gere, Ryan McGinness, Tenzing Rigdol, Swoon, Gonkar Gyatso, The Sucklord (star of Bravo Network’s “Work of Art” Season 2) and many more.

All artwork in the show will be sold via a silent auction on the evening of October 14th.  The evening event will feature a live-painting demonstration, DJ sets by Spirit Bear, and a silent auction that will offer excellent works with low opening bids. Drinks will be generously provided by Beerlao.  Pre-bidding will be available online at www.artfortibet.com beginning October 7th.

“Art for Tibet aims to expose the persecution Tibetan artists and intellectuals face under China’s occupation. At the same time, it is a celebration of their defiance and commitment to free expression in spite of the Chinese government’s severe repression and censorship,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Executive Director of the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet (SFT).

This event is made possible by the support of Honorary Committee members Shepard Fairey, Richard Gere and Professor Robert A.F. Thurman, as well as Benefit and Curatorial Committee members Simeon Lipman (The Art Hustle), Joshua Liner, Pema Rinzin, Tenzing Rigdol, Bruno Levy, Joseph Ian Henrikson (Anonymous Gallery), John Peet (Union Gallery), Andrew Lockhart (prō jekt′ : nyc), Jonathan Hulland, Makiko Onda, Lisa Shimamura (Colab Projects), Kurt Langer (Colab Projects), Zahra Sherzad, Stefanie Rogers and Tenzin Dorjee. Auction and event information and a full list of participating artists are available at www.artfortibet.com.

BACKGROUND ON TIBET: Since Chinese troops invaded Tibet in 1949, China has denied Tibetans their rights and freedom while systematically attempting to wipe out Tibetan culture and identity. In March 2008, just months before the Beijing Olympics, protests against Chinese rule swept across the Tibetan plateau. Chinese authorities responded with brutal force in a crackdown that continues to this day and has left thousands of Tibetans in prison, dead or disappeared.

In defiance of this repression, Tibetan artists, writers and intellectuals in Tibet and in exile are engaged in a Tibetan cultural renaissance, using new technology and mediums to create and share their work. In response, the Chinese government has escalated the crackdown on writers, artists and intellectuals. Dozens of Tibetan artists and writers have been arrested, tortured and imprisoned since 2008.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Students for a Free Tibet, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with international headquarters in New York. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, SFT campaigns for the Tibetan people’s fundamental right to freedom and independence: www.studentsforafreetibet.org.

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Images of the Week 10.02.11

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Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring: Elbow Toe, David Byrne, Hellbent, Jaye Moon, Colum Cunningham, Dain, David L, Left Handed Wave, Swoon, Samuel Mark, Know Hope, and Hanksy.

brooklyn-street-art-elbow-toe-jaime-rojo-10-11-web-1In time for the harvest, Elbow Toe appears in Soho. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Elbow Toe. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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David Byrne blows everybody away with this depiction of the world in a “Tight Spot” Under the High Line Park. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hellbent and Buxtonia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hellbent and Buxtonia. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jaye Moon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jaye Moon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jaye Moon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jaye Moon. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Colum Cunningham. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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David L. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Left Handed Wave. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Left Handed Wave. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Left Handed Wave. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Swoon currently on view at Opera Gallery as part of their exploration on Abstract art. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Samuel Mark. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Know Hope. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hanksy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Harvey S. Zucker on his spot in SOHO. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister Talks to BSA : Analysis and Constant Consideration

“I’m like a hairdresser I guess.”

Painter Anthony Lister is also a Street Artist. His surreal pop and celebrity culture-infused abstractions are candy encrusted apples which may have something sharp inside. Many are figurative studies and wire frames bending wildly into characters who cavort and mock with blunt swipes of color, overlaid by costumed sexual role play… or is that a personal projection?  Did I mention elegance, defiance, wit? Wait, there is so much here!  Truth is, his work can be a cock-eyed psychological tempest, jarring to the head, strangely sweet.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A decade of discovery under his superhero belt, Mr. Lister continues to analyze and build his creative practice and it always includes work inside the gallery and outside on the street. He’s currently preparing for his solo show in Sydney called  “Bogan Paradise” at Gallery A.S. At the same time he’s part of a group show with a gaggle of his Aussie expats on view at 941 Geary in San Francisco for “Young and Free”, including Kid Zoom, Dabs & Myla, Dmote, New2, Ben Frost, Meggs, Ha-Ha, Reka, Rone, Sofles and Vexta.  Not to mention his participation in our show last month in Los Angeles at C.A.V.E. with Thinkspace, “Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories“.

The artist took some time recently to talk to Brooklyn Street Art about his practice;

Brooklyn Street Art: How much of one of your painted portraits is autobiographical? In other words, what portion of Mr. Lister is super hero, super model, furtive schoolboy, or Homer Simpson?
Anthony Lister: I don’t really think about myself when I paint. My figurative works are more like reflections of characteristics I absorb from real life day to day.

Brooklyn Street Art: If you were to wear colored glasses, which color do you think you would most likely screen the world through?
Anthony Lister: Pink, like John Lennon.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: Francis Bacon said, “The creative process is a cocktail of instinct, skill, culture and a highly creative feverishness.” Would you drink that cocktail?
Anthony Lister: Nice words. I agree.

Brooklyn Street Art: What role does analysis play in your creative process when bringing a painting to fruition?
Anthony Lister: Analysis is the outcome of considered processing. Constant consideration is crucial.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: A big piece you did on Metropolitan in Brooklyn – you reworked that face a couple of times over a period of months, producing what appeared as a slowly morphing image. Were you covering up tags, or were you unhappy with the original, or maybe combating the effects of age with a little nip and tuck?
Anthony Lister: When I re-work street paintings I think of it like I am a hairdresser. When something is in the public it has a different existence to something living privately in a residence. I’m like a hairdresser I guess.

Brooklyn Street Art: You have spoken about your work as reality, or a reaction to realities. What realities are you depicting these days?
Anthony Lister: I just finished a body of work for a solo show in Sydney. This next body of work is about contemporary Australian culture. The exhibition is titled “Bogan Paradise.”

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: When you consider the Street Art scene that evolved around Melbourne, how would you characterize its nature in a way that differentiates it from the work in other cities around the world?
Anthony Lister: No different. This whole street art thing has sprung up post the turn of the digital revolution so it is on the Internet quick and the artists who inspire others and the ones who are easily inspired are constantly swimming in the same aesthetic pools of consciousness. Not to mention that most of the prominent artists travel lots so it is easy to see work of the same artist in multiple cities around the world at the same time.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: The titles you give your gallery pieces are entertaining, instructive, illustrative. Do you ever want to place a placard near a piece you’ve done on the street – just to make sure the message gets across?
Anthony Lister: No. My street practice is less thoughtful and therefore needs less commentary.

Brooklyn Street Art: When is a painting complete?
Anthony Lister: When it tells me so.

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Anthony Lister in Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Manhattan (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Miami for Primary Flight. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Los Angeles. LA FreeWalls (photo © Todd Mazer)

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Anthony Lister in Los Angeles LA FreeWalls (photo © Todd Mazer)

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Cry me a rainbow, Anthony Lister in Los Angeles. LA FreeWalls (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in Venice Beach CA. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Anthony Lister in San Francisco for Young and Free at 941 Geary (photo © Andrius Lypia)

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Want to see more work? Just “Lister” it.

www.anthonylister.com

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Fun Friday 09.23.11

Fun-FridayWelcome to Fun Friday

1. Abstract Art on the Street
2. “Abstractions” open at Opera Gallery
3. “Contemporary Abstractions” at Mighty Tanaka
4. “Abstract Graffiti” – The Book
5. Art Show and Charity Auction at FUTURE TENSE (Dallas)
6. Please Support “Electric Projected” TODAY
7.MISSED the SHOW? See “Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories” in VIDEO
8. VIDEO -Street and fine Artist Peat Wollaeger
9. VIDEO Mr.Klevra Vs Omino71 – The Secret Spot 2011
10 VIDEO STEN & LEX at the ATTACK FESTIVAL 2011

“The more frightening the world becomes, the more art becomes abstract”~ Wassily Kandinsky

The street provides a forum from all dialogue and Street Artists can be sometimes divided into categories after you survey the expanse of expression. We’ve been tracking the geometry of  abstraction for the last decade as an aesthetic counterbalance to the more free form gestural markings that are it’s more prevalent neighbors.  The abstract direction continues to garner  attention and you can get a good look at it’s past and present at two New York shows opening today, and learn more about it’s global movement in a recently published book by Cedar Lewisohn.

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“Black and Violet”, Kandinsky, 1923

“Abstractions” open at Opera Gallery

The Opera Gallery new show in Manhattan titled “Abstractions” opens today to the general public. This show will examine the abstract movement from the 1940s through present day with artists that range from Miro and Matta to Bast and Saber.

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Image of Saber courtesy Opera Gallery

Abstractions will be open to the public starting on September 23 at 11:00 am
September 23 – October 16
Free admission: 11:00 – 7:00 daily

Opera Gallery
212.966.6675
Further information on this show please click on the link below:

“Contemporary Abstractions” at Mighty Tanaka

Mighty Tanaka Gallery in Brooklyn continues the theme with some names familiar to BSA readers and a couple of new talents at their show “Contemporary Abstractions” tonight, with the opening reception at their temporary location in  the Power House Arena in DUMBO starting at 6:00 pm.

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JMR image © Jaime Rojo

For more information regarding this show please click on the link below:

“Abstract Graffiti” – The Book

We’ve really been enjoying the schooling and the photography from Cedar Lewisohn in this new book “Abstract Graffiti” and can recommend it wholeheartedly. You’ll recognize a number of these artists from being on BSA, including MOMO on the back cover.

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Art Show and Charity Auction at FUTURE TENSE (Dallas)

Saturday September 24 in Dallas, TX the Future Tense has curated and impressive line up of artists for a worthy cause. An Art Show and Charity Auction to benefit The MTV Staying Alive Foundation. Opening reception and live auction at the Goss-Michael Foundation starts at 7:00 PM.

brooklyn-street-art-mtv-redefine-future-tenseLee Baker, Shepard Fairey, Harland Miller, Adam Ball, Katrin Fridriks, Polly Morgan, Peter Blake, Christopher Gascoigne, Gerard Rancinan, Billy Childish, Pam Glew, Rankin, D*Face, Haroshi, Stuart Semple, Brian Adam Douglas, Pieter Henket, Jamel Shabazz, Elizabeth Eamer, Damien Hirst, Benjamin Shine, Ben Eine, Jeremy Kost, Gavin Turk, Tracey Emin, Joseph Loughborough, Dan Witz, Faile, James Marshall and Russell Young.

For more information regarding this event please click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=24739

Please Support “Electric Projected” TODAY

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And our friends at Open Space in Beacon New York are seeking your help to save their project “Electric Projected: Reboot”

Dan and Kalene have been on the Street Art scene for a decade, have opened many doors to and championed Street Artists with their Electric Windows project. Today we are asking you to pledge their “Electric Projected: REBOOT” Kickstarter page. They got seriously rained out last month for this exciting project in Beacon, New York – a huge projection show on the side of a factory building. With your help, they are going to do it right next weekend.

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Jared Deal projects Big Foot (photo still © Courtesy of the gallery)

Dan and Kalene say:

“We still need your help to make Electric Projected REBOOT a reality. Since our last email (only 5 days ago) we have received over $2500 in pledges to our kickstarter campaign. Over 100 people have already contributed to this campaign and we are so grateful for this generosity and support. Not a day goes by without people telling us how excited they are for the REBOOT event on October 1st. We are excited for it too, but here is the reality of the situation. If we do not meet our kickstarter funding goal by Saturday Sept 24th at 6pm  Electric Projected REBOOT will not happen on October 1st.

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Aaron Maurer projects Paper Monster (photo still © Courtesy of the gallery)

Please hurry and pledge. They are almost there for their $16,500 goal and your donation will help them reach the finish line. They only have until tomorrow Saturday September 24 at 6:00 pm.

Please click on the link below to go to their Kickstarter:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pilgrim/electric-projected-reboot

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Jack Myeres projects Elia and Cern (photo still © Courtesy of the gallery)

MISSED the SHOW? See “Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories” in VIDEO

Fabio Cunha shot and edited a video at the opening of “Street Art Saved my Life: 39 New York Stories” in Venice, CA. All those cool LA people milling around … love love

PEAT Makes a VIDEO

Street and fine Artist Peat Wollaeger is out of work – a very modern affliction.

Mr.Klevra Vs Omino71 – The Secret Spot 2011

STEN & LEX at the ATTACK FESTIVAL 2011

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Opera Gallery Presents: “Abstractions” A Retrospective of the Abstract Movement. (Manhattan, NY)

Opera Gallery
Abstractions will be open to the public starting on September 23 at 11:00 am
September 23 – October 16
Free admission: 11:00 – 7:00 daily

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Saber

Succubus Flux

Mixed media on panel

120 x 42 inches

Eric Allouche and the Opera Gallery team are pleased to announce the upcoming show entitled Abstractions. This exhibition will put on display a retrospective of the abstract movement from the 1940s through present day. Twentieth Century Masters such as Soulages, Hartung, Fontana, Miro, Arman, and Matta will share the space with some of the most creative contemporary voices such as Rosstar, Bast, Ron English, Gibby Haynes, Saber, Yasmina Alaoui and many others.

Abstractions aim is to explore the evolution of the movement over time and to showcase the artwork of the most influential and recognized artists of this style. The work of the master artists will be juxtaposed with the work of contemporary artists. Through the use of color and shapes, these artists are departing from the figurative and the depiction of imagery. The results are two types of abstraction, lyrical, as seen in Miro’s work, and geometric, as seen in Rosstar. Both types of abstraction are present within the 20th and 21st centuries. Geometric shapes and more organic strokes can both be seen in this exhibition, where one can experience first hand the ever-expanding concepts and ideas of abstraction.

Opera Gallery
212.966.6675
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Marley’s Angels and F.A.M. Present: New York Comic ConArtists Afterparty (Manhattan, NY)

New York Comic ConArtists
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New York Comic Con-Artists Afterparty & First Annual Artists Fight Club Live Art Battle @ Identity Lounge 511 East 6th Street (btwn A & B) NYC.
October 15, 2011, 8pm-4am. 21+ $5.
featuring: Mike Die, Jos-L, Chris RWK, Intro, El Toro, UWP, Ticky, Choice Royce, Downer, Emi Boz, Burn 353, Tomorrow, Zam, Melodreama, Billi Kid, Josh Taylor, Aya Kakeda, Bishop 203, Joe Lurato, See One, Gus Fink, Aaron Kraten, Steve Talkowski, Dint Wooer Krsna, Crystal Shephard, Nose Go. & DJ’s: Carlos Tera, DJ What, Mark VII, Dee Jay Kava.

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Dan Witz WTC 9/11 Shrines

To mark the 10th Anniversary of the events that took place in NYC on September 11, 2001 we asked Street Artist Dan Witz to share with us his images of a series of shrines that he installed in New York during the summer of 2002. It seems appropriate that Street Art paid tribute and facilitated the public mourning and remembrance of those we lost; All manner of artists took to the streets at that time – and it never really stopped. We are thankful for the time and the effort of the many talents, mostly anonymous, who claimed the streets as their own and who buoyed us during those days. And we are thankful to Dan for sharing with us his work here.

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Dan Witz talks about his “WTC Shrines” –

“Starting at Ground Zero, following sight lines of the World Trade Center drawn in a star pattern on my map, I installed about 40 of these on the bases of light poles. At the time I was thinking a lot about art objects’ possible usefulness in the real world. For me paintings have often functioned as secular shrines—as visual instigators to reverie.

The week before September 11th I was up in the Bronx at a housing project photographing the shrine neighbors left at the doorstep of a murdered 9 year old girl (balloons, flowers, stuffed animals, family photos). I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do exactly, it was just my way of sketching. Then the planes hit and the city parks filled with thousands of candles and flowers and other offerings. Again, I went to take photographs, not knowing what I actually wanted, just on an instinct. At the time I used a large format camera, the old style with the hood and long bellows. Every time I put the hood on and focused the ground glass, I got an unmistakably eerie feeling from all those candles—it was bizarre and chilling, and definitely paranormal. I’ll never forget it”

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Dan Witz. Thompson Street, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn. (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. 23rd Street and 6th Ave. NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

from a publicly posted poem entitled

Don’t Look for Me Anymore
(Alicia Vasquez)

don’t look for me anymore
it’s late and you are tired
your feet ache standing atop the ruins of our twins
day after day searching for a trace of me
your eyes are burning red
your hands cut bleeding sifting through rock
and your back crooked from endless hours of labor…

it’s my turn, I’m worried about you
watching as you sift through the ruins of what was
day after day in the soot and the rain
I ache in knowing you suffer my death

rest in knowing that my blood lies in the cracks and crevices
of these great lands I loved so much…

don’t look for me anymore
hold my children as I would
hold my brothers and sisters for me
since I can’t bring them up with the same
love you gave me
and I’ll rest assured
you’re watching my children

don’t look for me anymore
go home and rest…

Signed A. Vasquez, found on 9/14/01 on the “Wailing Wall” at Grand Central Station

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Dan Witz. Battery Park, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Financial District, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Weehawken, NJ (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Water Street, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Fulton and Broadway, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Grand Street, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Greenwich Ave. NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Ground Zero, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. Jersey City, NJ (photo © Dan Witz)

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Dan Witz. SOHO, NYC (photo © Dan Witz)

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Fun Friday 09.09.11

Fun-Friday

1. Freedia Video Exhortation
2. Guy Denning at Brooklynite Gallery Pop Up
3. LUDO in a Solo Show tonight “Metamorphosis” at High Roller Society (London)
4. YOUNITY is YOU! See the Goddesses Saturday in Yonkers (NYC)
5. Pandemic Says Goodbye to Summer with “Heat Beaten” Group Show
6. Australian Street Artists in San Francisco’s 941 Geary
7. “His Wife & Her Lover” at Primary Projects (Miami)

Okay everybody GET UP! Before we get cookin’ on too many projects today let’s everybody get up and do a dance to Friday and to life and the creative spirit that’s running through every person right now! This ain’t no rehearsal peepul. Miss Freedia gonna show us how to work it.

Guy Denning at Brooklynite Gallery Pop Up

Opening last night in a smoke filled ripped up storefront below Canal and above City Hall was this shrine filled show of meditations on 9/11, and the places we go amidst the memories and the rubble. Rae from Brooklynite spoke about the balance you try to strike when presenting a show like this, and they have probably hit it. Mixing headlines, languages, and the metaphor of purgatory with the anguish, longing, celebration and poetry that somehow coexist, Denning does a tender justice to us all.

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For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23974

LUDO in a Solo Show tonight “Metamorphosis” at High Roller Society (London)

LUDO’s been working in the laboratory, and tonight you are allowed to enter it.

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LUDO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23927

YOUNITY is YOU! See the Goddesses Saturday in Yonkers (NYC)

The YOUNITY Art Collective group show “Goddess Hood” opens on Saturday  at the Yonkers Public Libray and boasts a really impressive line up of contemporary female artists working today in NYC. Some say that the female energy is what is going to lead us through the times ahead, and if so, these artists with rock solid connection to the street have lanterns in hand: Lichiban, Swoon, Sofia Maldonado, Krista Franklin, Marthalicia, Diana McClure, Faith 47, lmnop, Lady Alezia, and Alice Mizrachi

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LMNOP (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=24291

Pandemic Says Goodbye to Summer with “Heat Beaten” Group Show

Williamsburgs Southside hub of authentic street culture and a charming Joie de Smartass brings you another fun event and show – “Heat Beaten”.

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Sofia Maldonado (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23982

Australian Street Artists in San Francisco’s 941 Geary

In San Francisco the Australians have staged an ART invasion both on the streets and with a show at the 941 Geary Gallery. If you were wondering why the Australians are at the forefront of Street Art please turn your electronic gadgets off and get up and go see some hot art with: Anthony Lister, Kid Zoom, Dabs & Myla, DMote, New2, Ben Frost, Meggs, Ha Ha, Reka, Rone, Sofles and Vexta.

brooklyn-street-art-anthony-lister-jaime-rojo-street-art-los-angeles-08-11-webAnthony Lister (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=24112

“His Wife & Her Lover” at Primary Projects (Miami)

In Miami things get heated at Primary Projects group show : “His Wife & Her Lover”.  To find what happens to either the wife, the lover or the husband put your high heeled boots on, comb your hair, spray some cologne on and wish for the best.

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Mark Jenkins (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding this show click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23938

Check out Primary Flight teaser video art directed by Primary Flight c0-founder Chris Oh and shoot by Peter Vahan. “Good Night and Farewell”

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Martha Cooper and Remembering 9/11

This week many New Yorkers are thinking about where they were on 9/11/2001 when the planes hit the World Trade Center Towers and what the city felt like in the days, weeks, and months that followed. There are many questions that never were answered, and there are many consequences that are still to unveil. An incredibly diverse city in so many ways, our unity was automatic and sincere. We already knew each other and we knew we all had been hurt and we were all changed by those events. While others looked at it as an American attack, New Yorkers felt a wound to the place we had made together, our beloved dirty beautiful hard and scrappy city. Today it is painful to go back and contemplate those days and wonder what happened, why, and at what cost.

brooklyn-street-art-martha-cooper-9-11-tenth-anniversary-web-6Martha Cooper: Remembering 9/11. De La Vega. (photo © Martha Cooper)

World renowned graffiti and Street Art photographer Martha Cooper had been documenting New York as a journalist and ethnographer for a quarter century when the streets of the city were flooded by raw sentiments and visual communications expressed with marker, pencil, paint, – whatever was at hand – in the days that followed 9/11.  Those incredibly personal desperate acts of expression were gazed upon and reflected on by neighbors and strangers as we attempted in vain to explain the world to one another. To remember a little of what it was like, she shares with us her photographs from those days.

“9/11 happened to all of us. It was a collective experience that defined the outset of the uneasy, globally interdependent twenty-first century. Nowhere, however, were the raw terror and tragic consequences of 9/11 felt more personally than the metropolitan region of New York City, for which the Twin Towers had functioned as a conspicuous compass setting, hub of work and recreation, and symbol of America’s economic might,” Martha Cooper writes in “Remembering 9/11”

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(photo © Martha Cooper)

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A memorial wall by members of Tats Cru. (photo © Martha Cooper)

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The symbolism in personal depictions like these often said more than thousands of words ever could. (photo © Martha Cooper)

“There are no prescribed rituals for mourning thousands of people. We invented them as we went along,” Martha Cooper

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(photo © Martha Cooper)

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Art work in Union Square (photo © Martha Cooper)

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Memorial Wall for WTC victims by Lower East Side artist, Chico Garcia; Avenue A (photo © Martha Cooper)

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(photo © Martha Cooper)

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(photo © Martha Cooper)

brooklyn-street-art-martha-cooper-9-11-tenth-anniversary-web-5 This wall in Queens, NY was painted by Lady Pink, Smith, Ernie and friends. (photo © Martha Cooper)

Martha Cooper is a featured panelist at today’s panel discussion in Brooklyn called “Return Remember: Ephemeral Memorials in the Legacy of September 11” At Power House Arena. 37 Main Street Dumbo. 6-8 PM.

Martha Cooper will be signing copies of a new slim volume of images “Remembering 9/11” following the panel discussion. For more information about this event please click on the link below:

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/?p=23995

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Images of the Week 09.04.11

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Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Dal East, Dust Love, El Sol 25, Faith 47, Knitta Please!, Le Concept, UFO, and Wing.

brooklyn-street-art-el-sol-25-jaime-rojo-09-11-3-webEl Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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El Sol 25 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Knitta Please! “Plan Ahead” (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-faith-47-dal-east-jaime-rojo-09-11-2-webFaith 47, Dal…East (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Faith 47, Dal…East (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Faith 47, Dal…East (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Wing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Le Concept (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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UFO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dust Love (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled photo © Jaime Rojo

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Brooklynite Gallery and FB Gallery Present: Guy Denning “Purgatorio” (Manhattan, NY)

Purgatorio
brooklyn-street-art-guy-denning-brooklynite-galleryGuy Denning
“Purgatorio”

September 8 – 25
Opening Night: Sept. 8th, 6-9PM
*New York City ‘Pop-Up’ Location*

Brooklynite & FB Gallery
368 Broadway, Tribeca, NYC
BrooklyniteGallery.com
FBGallery.net
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On the heels of his highly successful “Inferno” exhibition in Italy earlier this year, Guy Denning presents the second of his three part series of oil paintings on Dante’s Commedia in New York City for the aptly titled exhibition, “Purgatorio”.

Originally drawing inspiration from Dante’s writings, Guy’s intention has not been to recreate the poem in a visual or literal sense, but instead let it act as a framework for his own personal interpretation. As with the writing of Shakespeare, Guy finds a perpetual relevance in Dante’s work where the specifics of name, situation and place are easily adapted to the modern world; as if time moves on but the problems of humanity remain essentially the same.

The events of September 11th and the emotional toll it took on the American individual is final and critical element to this body of work. Guy suggests that the suffering of America is too often defined by the media in terms of the political rather than the personal, leaving the individual voice of ordinary people sometimes unspoken in the narrative of history. His work sets out to make a small and personal amendment to that omission. Poignantly enough, this exhibition will be held in a NYC ‘Pop-Up’ location just blocks from Ground Zero and on the 10 Year Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The work, though tied to Dante’s writing will also feature elements of images found on the internet, particularly of people in New York City on that terrible day. Significant press images are also used as reference for Guy’s work in hopes that they will be scrutinized that much more intensely than the photos we glance at far too quickly in newsprint. He has also constructed one large landscape painting, in the fashion of the traditional ‘history’ genre, made from connected canvas panels. This oil painting, derived from studying still frame images from amateur video footage, aims to create an assumed and complete narrative of the major elements of the day from a New York perspective.

Guy states that this is a collection of work recognizing the suffering of the American people on September 11th and immediately thereafter – when the United States had the sympathy of the world. He wants it to be viewed as nothing short of respectful to the memories of all those that died and suffered as a result – both in New York and beyond. Guy quotes another English artist William Blake who wrote “Can I see another’s woe, and not be in sorrow, too? Can I see another’s grief, and not seek for kind relief?” Despite the many cultural differences of the peoples of the world we are all essentially united by our humanity; our common desires, hopes and despairs. It is the ordinary people’s common humanity that will take us forward and not politically inspired violence.

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