All posts tagged: May Day

Happy New Year! BSA Highlights of 2010

Year-in-review-2010-header

As we start a new year, we say thank you for the last one.

And Thank You to the artists who shared their 11 Wishes for 2011 with Brooklyn Street Art; Conor Harrington, Eli Cook, Indigo, Gilf, Todd Mazer, Vasco Mucci, Kimberly Brooks, Rusty Rehl, Tip Toe, Samson, and Ludo. You each contributed a very cool gift to the BSA family, and we’re grateful.

We looked over the last year to take in all the great projects we were in and fascinating people we had the pleasure to work with. It was a helluva year, and please take a look at the highlights to get an idea what a rich cultural explosion we are all a part of at this moment.

The new year already has some amazing new opportunities to celebrate Street Art and artists. We are looking forward to meeting you and playing with you and working with you in 2011.

Specter does “Gentrification Series” © Jaime Rojo
NohJ Coley and Gaia © Jaime Rojo
Jef Aerosol’s tribute to Basquiat © Jaime Rojo
***

January

Imminent Disaster © Steven P. Harrington
Fauxreel (photo courtesy the artist)
Chris Stain at Brooklyn Bowl © Jaime Rojo

February

Various & Gould © Jaime Rojo
Anthony Lister on the street © Jaime Rojo
Trusto Corp was lovin it.

March

Martha Cooper, Shepard Fairey © Jaime Rojo
BSA’s Auction for Free Arts NYC
Crotched objects began appearing on the street this year. © Jaime Rojo

April

BSA gets some walls for ROA © Jaime Rojo
Dolk at Brooklynite © Steven P. Harrington
BSA gets Ludo some action “Pretty Malevolence” © Jaime Rojo

May

The Crest Hardware Art Show © Jaime Rojo
NohJ Coley © Jaime Rojo
The Phun Phactory Reboot in Williamsburg © Steven P. Harrington

June

Sarah Palin by Billi Kid
Nick Walker with BSA in Brooklyn © Jaime Rojo
Judith Supine at “Shred” © Jaime Rojo

July

Interview with legend Futura © Jaime Rojo
Os Gemeos and Martha Cooper © Jaime Rojo
Skewville at Electric Windows © Jaime Rojo

August

Specter Spot-Jocks Shepard Fairey © Jaime Rojo
“Bienvenidos” campaign
Faile studio visit © Jaime Rojo

September

BSA participates and sponsors New York’s first “Nuit Blanche” © Jaime Rojo
JC2 © Jaime Rojo
How, Nosm, R. Robots © Jaime Rojo

October

Faile “Bedtime Stories” © Jaime Rojo
Judith Supine © Jaime Rojo
Photo © Roswitha Guillemin courtesy Galerie Itinerrance

November

H. Veng Smith © Jaime Rojo
Sure. Photo courtesy Faust
Kid Zoom © Jaime Rojo

December

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MAYHEM! Crowds Jam the Streets for Shepard Fairey’s show at Deitch Projects

Well, it happened. May Day Arrived.

The immigration reform marches
in major cities across the U.S.?

The day that the British Petroleum oil spill
started lapping up on gulf shores?

The occasion of a mis-fired car bomb in Times Square?

No, silly, the END OF AN ERA – Deitch Projects Final show featuring America’s Top Street Artist – Shepard Fairey.

Part of the MayDay Mural piece - replicated on the Houston Street (photo © Reana Kovalcik)
Part of the MayDay Mural piece displayed – a mirror image of the mural on Houston Street nearby. (photo © Reana Kovalcik)

The crowds bloated the streets outside, possibly dwarfing the crowd inside. Some old-timers said attendance may have also dwarfed the famed Haring and Hirst shows of years past and there was plenty of visual stimulation on the pavement, including a motorcycle gang and a fair amount of actual street art to gander, so even those hapless who were penned outside the formal show didn’t seem hopeless.

The artist signing work for his fans (photo © Reana Kovalcik)

The artist signing work for his fans (photo © Reana Kovalcik)

The artist and the gallerist were in attendance, which is always nice, and minions of fans and insiders mixed with assorted downtown celebrities and catty journalists.  Mr. Fairey, in an interview with BSA earlier in the week , told us that HYPE is everywhere today, and one could say that the air felt kind of warm and summery thick with it.

(photo © Reana Kovalcik)

(photo © Reana Kovalcik)

And fun!  Did I mention Fun?

A wall of framed rubyliths (photo © Reana Kovalcik)
A wall of framed rubyliths (photo © Reana Kovalcik)

John and Yoko in the foreground (photo © Reana Kovalcik)
John and Yoko in the foreground (photo © Reana Kovalcik)

Looks like Brooklyn style made it to the show too. (photo © Reana Kovalcik)
A little Brooklyn style was in the house. (photo © Reana Kovalcik)

See more photos by Reana Kovalcik HERE

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OBEY MARTHA: Shepard Fairey Pays a Large Tribute to Martha Cooper and “Defiant Youth” in New York

OBEY MARTHA: Shepard Fairey Pays a Large Tribute to Martha Cooper and “Defiant Youth” in New York

Sidewalk Philosopher Fairey Talks about New York, LA, Hype, May Day and this country of immigrants while pasting a building-sized ovation to a photographer and her work.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey and Team begin placement of large new piece in Soho.

Street artist Shepard Fairey was out on the streets of New York again yesterday in advance of his Saturday opening at Deitch Projects.  This time it was to put up a large portrait based on a black and white photograph by Martha Cooper called “Defiant Youth”.

"Defiant Youth", by Martha Cooper (©)

“Defiant Youth”, by Martha Cooper (©)

While the original photo presented a group of young boys aligned in a semi-militaristic configuration, the Fairey version slightly altered the number and postures to achieve his graphic sense of balance.  Cooper’s images have served as inspiration for many artists over the years and also have been re-interpreted. Read our interview with her about the subject HERE.

Martha Cooper (foreground) Shepard and Tanley from Arrested Motion (background)

Martha Cooper (foreground) with Shepard and Tanley Wong from Arrested Motion (background) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ms. Cooper, an ethnographer, was also on hand to capture the moment yesterday, snapping many photos and happily reflecting on what it was like to be a female on the scene running around with graffiti writers in the 70’s.  While she could see how some female photographers might have run into sexism in a predominantly male enterprise, Martha said that most of the writers thought little of her gender. They were taking photos of their work anyway and were happy to have a photographer around capturing their stuff before it disappeared.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey holding one of the roses soon to be stuffed in the end of a gun (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey  (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

During a break from the job, Mr. Fairey talked to BSA for a couple of minutes:

Brooklyn Street Art: What’s the difference between putting work up in LA and putting up in New  York

Shepard Fairey: Well, in LA you have to do everything big because everybody’s in a car. In New York there is a lot of foot traffic so even the smallest sticker is going to get seen by people walking around. I think also in New York  you want to integrate your stuff into the landscape in a way that makes sense with all the other art and architecture. LA is more sort of a wasteland – you know it’s built on top of a desert and there are a lot of flat spaces and a lot more open spaces.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

I think New York has got more character and you can really put your work up in a way that makes sense with the other structures and the other art.  LA is more of a free-for-all; You’ve got billboards and walls and fences and boarded up things that are always changing.  Other than that it’s just the scale. For years I didn’t put anything up in New York. I just put up stickers and stencils on the lamp bases, which were a perfect canvas. And then later on I started to go a little big bigger with posters and then even bigger so I could do roof tops because getting yourself higher up where it’s harder to get to makes it run longer.  I just enjoy walking in New York – and you’ve gotta do everything driving in LA.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: How about the reception from the public? Do you think there’s more hype in LA? Are people warmer in the way they relate to your work – or do you see any difference?

Shepard Fairey: I think people are more aggressive and caustic in New York in general. It’s more dense. There’s more of an old-school sort of proprietary nature to all of culture and sub-culture in New York: whether it’s an old landlord or an old graffiti writer, people are sort of full of piss and vinegar in New York. But I think the challenge of doing things in New York against all these elements is one of the great things about it.  It’s a little more laid-back in LA.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As far as hype – there is hype everywhere.  In LA I think, recently street art became more of a popular thing so all sorts of young actors and people like that who don’t know that much about the culture latch onto it so it trends in a way that’s a little bit different but…. You know, there is hype everywhere.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey at work against a clear NYC sky. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard with his assistants

Shepard with his team at the end of the job (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn Street Art: As May Day approaches, people have been talking about the current anti-immigration laws in this country, specifically in Arizona, which are very draconian and harsh. Are you going to do a campaign in response to it, or how do you feel about the topic?

Shepard Fairey: You haven’t been looking at my website. My immigration reform posters that I actually created last year for May 1st are back up.  I’ve printed up a new batch and collaborated with my friend Ernesto, who I worked on stuff last year with also.  I’m working with some different organizations.

From the Obeygiant.com website, "The continual persecution and exploitation of immigrants continues to grow in the United States of America. Anti-immigrant laws like Arizona’s SB1070 and national initiatives like Secure Communities and the 287(g) program have set this country back 60 years to a civil rights crisis. Hate crimes and racial hate groups are on the rise targeting latinos and immigrants, blaming these communities for the ales of society. On May 1st 2010 the voices of this community will be heard once again throughout this country denouncing the anti-immigrant sentiments. The purpose of these images and prints are to gain awareness and action to help change and improve immigration policy and perceptions. All the proceeds from these prints will go towards community based projects. "

From the Obeygiant.com website, “The continual persecution and exploitation of immigrants continues to grow in the United States of America. Anti-immigrant laws like Arizona’s SB1070 and national initiatives like Secure Communities and the 287(g) program have set this country back 60 years to a civil rights crisis. Hate crimes and racial hate groups are on the rise targeting latinos and immigrants, blaming these communities for the ails of society. On May 1st 2010 the voices of this community will be heard once again throughout this country denouncing the anti-immigrant sentiments. The purpose of these images and prints are to gain awareness and action to help change and improve immigration policy and perceptions. All the proceeds from these prints will go towards community based projects. “

Yeah, I’m an immigrant.  My family is originally from Europe. Everybody in this country other than the Native Americans are immigrants so to me it’s really ridiculous to not treat people like human beings just because they are not citizens.  It’s a country that’s really founded on the idea of pursuing a better life and so it seems very ridiculous to not respect that ambition today but respect it from a hundred or two hundred years ago.  It’s a complex issue because populations are growing and we are running out of space and resources but I think the way it’s being handled – it’s not aligned with the ideas about human rights that I think this country was founded on so I’d like to see it done a little differently.

Obey!

Obey! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Martha Cooper’s Influence: Inspiration, Imitation, and Flattery

Martha Cooper on 12 oz. Prophet

Obey Giant Website

New York May 1 Coalition

May Day Shepard Fairey Exhibition

Arrested Motion Website

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