– It’s a paraphrase of the Christmas crabby New Yorker who relies on the tourists who pump money into Broadway and Times Square restaurants and FAO and who actually eat those hot dogs and pretzels on the street. In the case of Miami, Art Basel 2010 draws to a close now and one billion dollars are estimated to have been transacted. When you pair that figure with the estimated 2-3000 artists participating, it looks like the artists must have made out rather well, right?
Certainly there were more Street Artists than ever attending the events and transforming walls everywhere with their work and creativity – at least in the unofficially sanctioned areas. At the moment Miami is “The only city in the US where graffiti appreciates property value,” ironically says Mint and Serf, a Street Art collective visiting the tropical city from frigid New York. In an odd twist on the “broken window theory” and urban blight, artists who are normally looking over their shoulder can actually wave to and talk with police who are driving by in some run-down areas where they are given free reign over large swaths of walls. At this sunny moment in time various agendas are intertwined and one wonders how long this golden age lasts.
Street Art photographer and observer Geoff Hargadon took in the breadth of the week on the street and attended a number of the events over the past weeks’ art orgies. He captured many jewels and quick moments with his camera and his 6th sense, which are below. As various larger pieces are unfinished right now, we’ll be going back in a few weeks for a year-end overview.
In addition to an intuitive eye about the art trends happening that impact the scene, Geoff gives a commentary about what else he’s thinking about: “Here is the other thing that’s a trend: property owners have their hands over all these walls for artists to takeover, and then suddenly they are leased out to restaurants, coffee shops, and other businesses. It’s hard to know who’s playing whom here – maybe it’s a happy co-existence – but when does the property owner step up to support these guys in other ways? (Unless, of course, it’s already happening.) Either way, artists are playing a big role in the development of these neighborhoods, and whether they know it or not, as the area gets more developed and gentrified, they will eventually run themselves out of town. Whether they are getting paid or not, they are creating their own extinction in Miami.”
Over the past few days BSA has been bringing you the hot spots to experience the happenings in Miami 2010. Our focus has been to showcase the Street and Urban art satellite art fairs in the Wynwood and Design Districts in downtown Miami. Our friends over at The Huffington Post have their picks and we’d like to share them with you:
“As you read this, there is a giant pulsating orb known as Miami Basel alluring a defenseless international audience of art lovers, collectors and artists to encircle its captivating glow. Amazingly, the main fair called “Art Basel | Miami Beach” started only nine years ago as the sister fair to “Art Basel | Switzerland” and has since mushroomed into an extravaganza with over 20 satellite fairs and numerous parties to go along with it”
Edging closer to advertising slickness, this method of subtle perception jamming that certain street artists have been employing takes another step in this campaign by Amnesty International to draw attention to the American death row inmate Troy Davis. In this collaboration with the Berlin-based, three-person photographic street art collective Mentalgassi , the man’s visage is clear for just a half step as you pass. An apt description of this project, “Making the Invisible Visible”, the installation is an adaptation of Street Art that merits praise.
Yes, Gaia is in Miami (above) along with a buttload of other untanned northerners, and actually Brooklyn has announced that it has closed for the weekend. Just kidding but, if you are looking for walls, you won’t have much competition in the BK this weekend, now that you think about it. There is a lot happening in Miami this weekend and even if you don’t go to any receptions or openings or velvet rope parties you can still have a blast seeing lots of art on the street. Here are some things that might get you hot and sweaty if the temperature hasn’t done that for you yet:
GGG’s Fresh Produce will feature a rocking roster of international artists, including: The London Police, REVOK, Erik Otto, Skewville, Pepa Prieto, Augustine Kofie, Alëxone, Kenton Parker, Tes One, BASK, Dolla, Jim Darling, Dabs & Myla, Stormie Mills, Michael De Feo, Andrew Holder, Jack Hudson, Tristan Eaton, Tatiana Suarez, Surge, Jersey Joe, REMeD, Parskid, Logan Hicks, Escif, Depoe, Remi/Rough, Ryan Bubnis, Mike Perry, Reyes and from the Family Baglione: Flip, Sesper, Thais Beltrame and Herbert Baglione.
Artists’ Reception : 12 | 3 | 10 : 7 – 10pm
70 NW 25th Street, Miami, FL 33127
Between NW 2nd Ave. & N. Miami Ave
in the Wynwood Arts District
Tonight is the opening for this photography show accompanied by new works. Hotness prevails. As we said earlier in the week, just look at the names on this list and you know what you’re getting. Or, maybe you don’t.
297 NW 23rd ST
MIAMI, FL 33127
OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2010
7 – 10PM
“Now I Remember” photo installation featuring:
NECK FACE / JERRY HSU / TODD JORDAN/ CURTIS BUCHANAN / JEN REYNOLDS/ TINO RAZO / KEVIN “SPANKY” LONG
and new works by:
OSGEMEOS / JUDITH SUPINE / CLEON PETERSON/ BAST / SKULLPHONE / ALBERT REYES
Hours: Weds. Dec.1 – Sat. Dec.4 : 11am – 8pm
Sun. Dec. 5: 12pm – 4pm
Free and Open to the Public with Free Shuttle Service
New York street artist Dan Witz at the MIA | MI CIELO 2010 Fine Art Exposition. Dan will feature a retrospective selection of street art works, sign copies of his limited edition book “In Plain View: 30 Years of Artworks Illegal and Otherwise”. Signed copies of Witz’s 2011 “Hummingbirds” accordion calendar will be given out to the first 100 guests at the book signing event.
MIA | MI CIELO and NADA Art Fair
Cielo on the Bay
7935 East Drive
Harbor Island
North Bay Village, FL 33141
Primary Flight “Please Stand By”
Primary Flight Closing Party “PLEASE STAND BY” from their own words: “RSVP to guestlist@primaryflight.com or regret it for the rest of your stupid life” Saturday December 4th from 11:00 pm until really, really late – like 29 o’clock in the morning.
Free and Open to the Public with Free Shuttle Service
NEW YORK, November 30, 2010 – Culture Shock Marketing (CSM) is proud to present acclaimed New York street artist Dan Witz at the MIA | MI CIELO 2010 Fine Art Exposition in concurrence with Art Basel | Miami Beach. Dan will feature a retrospective selection of street art works, sign copies of his limited edition book “In Plain View: 30 Years of Artworks Illegal and Otherwise” and carry out some of his clandestine artistic illegality on the highways and byways of Miami. Signed copies of Witz’s 2011 “Hummingbirds” accordion calendar will be given out to the first 100 guests at the book signing event.
Admission is free and open to the public. Cocktails for the Friday evening book signing reception will be provided by 42BELOW Vodka. A Shuttle service will be provided by the City of North Bay Village with looping stops connecting the Wynwood Arts District, Design District, MIA | MI CIELO and NADA Art Fair throughout the four day expo.
More than just a documentation of Witz’s public artworks, “In Plain View” is a diary of three decades of thoughtful and emotional engagement with the ever evolving surfaces of New York City. Embracing a meticulously disciplined aesthetic inspired by the old masters, Witz has spent the last decades making easel paintings as well as street art, leaving various love letters in plain view on the doorstep of his beloved New York City. Dan Witz is in conversation with both the conventional and street worlds of art. His work is inclusive. It is obsessive. It is acknowledged as an original voice, an inspiration and a catalyst.
Besides obvious craftsmanship, the artwork of Dan Witz evinces a rigorous conceptual framework. This framework not only opens up a dialogue with graffiti and street art which dominate the urban environment but also allows for the retention of clear and open lines with the canon of art history.
About Dan Witz
Since receiving his BFA from Cooper Union, Dan Witz has received a grant from the NEA and two fellowships from the New York Foundation of the Arts. His first book, “The Birds of Manhattan,” was published by Skinny Books in 1983. Solo exhibitions include Semaphore Gallery NY (1985,1986), Clementine Gallery (1996), Stolen Space, London (2007); DFN Gallery NY (2003-5, 6, 7, 8, 10) and Carmichael Gallery, LA (2009). Group exhibitions include: Buying Time: Nourishing Excellence, Sotheby’s NY(2001); and Fifteen, NYFA Fellows at Deutsche Bank, NY (1999). Today Dan lives and works in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
More on Dan Witz and his work can be found at his website.
Parking: Cielo on the Bay has generously offered available parking spaces for guest of MIA | MI CIELO with limited spaces. Free street parking is provided by the City of North Bay Village on East Drive just South of the Cileo & Eloquence on the Bay. Additional parking spaces available at Eloquence, the development across from MIA | MI CIELO, for a discounted price.
MIA | MI CIELO will be presented on the 4th floor of the Cielo on the Bay luxury condominium, a high-end residential building. Located on Harbor Island just north of the Art Deco District and the Miami Beach Convention Center, MIA | MI CIELO will transform the Cielo into a destination for contemporary art, performances and events and allow the public, art collectors and enthusiasts visiting Miami to view the increasingly influential contemporary art scene up-close and personal.
For further information on MIA | MI CIELO exhibiting artists and programming please visit www.miamicielo.com.
About CSM
Culture Shock Marketing (CSM) is a New York City-based 21st century media consultancy, focused on serving creative communities. CSM is a valuable strategic partner, energetic and in tune with the innovative markets where art and technology interact. CSM is recognized for strategic and creative approaches to marketing, brand development and positioning in local, digital and global markets. For further information, please visit www.cultureshockmarketing.com.
Contraprojects
ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF CONTRA PROJECTS
We are very proud to be involved in this new project from Tristan’s long time pal Thomas Thewes (amazing artist and owner of Detroit’s Cpop Gallery). To help Tom launch Contra Projects, Tristan and the Thunderdog team curated an exclusive group of artists and designed the Contra brand. There are many exciting projects lined up for 2011 with Contra – but first, they are making their debut at Primary Flight during Art Basel Miami 2010! Check out the info below…
Announcing the launch of CONTRA PROJECTS.
This year during Art Basel Miami 2010, Detroit artist Thomas Thewes Jr. of CPOP Gallery fame is launching a new art project featuring some of Street Art’s heavy weights from around the globe. The initiative titled ‘Contra Projects’ will launch at the 5 day Primary Flight mural project in the Wynwood District of Miami and features Ron English, Bask, James Marshall (Dalek), Tristan Eaton, Tes One, D*Face, Mr Jago, TrustoCorp and Thomas Thewes himself.
Contra Projects’ Primary Flight initiative will feature a variety of projects around Wynwood as listed below. Activities will take place from Thursday Dec. 2nd through Sunday Dec. 5th, from 12pm – 7pm
1. The Contra Tent – In the Courtyard of 297 NW 23rd. St. (Between NW 2nd Ave. & NW 5th Ave.) Wynwood.
The Contra Tent will be a lounge style tent with free refreshments (including limited edition Brisk Iced Tea cans designed by Tristan Eaton) as well as information on Contra Projects and their artists. The center piece of the tent will be a custom, fully functional, lowrider shopping cart by street art collective TrustoCorp.
2. Contra Mural – Wynwood in the center of Primary Flight
The Contra Projects mural will feature Ron English, Mr Jago, Thomas Thewes, Bask, Tes One and Tristan Eaton. Most Contra artists also have solo walls throughout Primary Flight, please check in at the Contra Projects tent for more information.
3. TrustoLand – In the Courtyard of 297 NW 23rd. St. (Between NW 2nd Ave. & NW 5th Ave.) Wynwood.
Trouble making street art group TrustoCorp takes it’s humorous slant on American Culture to new levels at Primary Flight Miami this year with the debut of ‘TRUSTOLAND’, a Coney Island style, outdoor installation of interactive, hand made and painted carnival games. Each game takes on American culture for better or worse with typical TrustoCorp sarcasm and satire. How participants play the games determine what prizes they win – yet just like Wall Street, even the losers win big. Highlights include ‘The TrustoCorp Immigration Office’ where contestants play for citizenship, the high-striker style ‘The Peace Keeper’ and ‘Drive-Thru Safari’ where players use an AK-47 BB Gun to shoot innocent burgers and hot dogs on the run. Prizes include limited edition, signed posters, badges and plush cheeseburgers!
The annual peregrination from all corners of the art world has begun to balmy Miami. Artists and the collectors who love them have converged in this friendly city to promote, sell, admire and make art during The Art Basel Art Fair.
Art Basel (Nov 30-Dec 5) is one of the most important art shows in the USA with about 250 art galleries showing more than 2000 artists from all over the world. Very impressive! Equally impressive are the satellite art fairs and events that orbit around. We’d like to point your attention to the art fairs and events that will include Urban and Street Art in their shows and to the organizations whose main focus is to celebrate and promote the work of Street Artists.
Check BSA out over the next few days for updates on who’s getting up in Miami.
PRIMARY FLIGHT
A favorite of BSA because of it’s accessibility to everyone, for the past three years Primary Flight has produced murals by hundreds of renowned artists and relative unknowns, easily gliding between Street Art and Graffiti culture and covering a ton of walls for the public to see. You may try to see it all in one day of zig-zagging the streets, but pack some energy bars.
Culminating in the largest curated street mural project in the world, the collective is now expanding beyond their Wynwood origins to launch their first-ever headquarters in the Design District.
“This year is about growth: Miami is set in motion, and Primary Flight paved the way,” says Books IIII Bischof, principal of Primary Flight. “Since our involvement, Wynwood has become a street art Mecca with legs of its own.”
From their web site and press release:
“Primary Flight is Miami’s original open air museum and street level mural installation that takes place annually throughout the Wynwood Arts District and the Miami Design District. Primary Flight is arguably the world’s largest event of its kind, having featured over 250 world class artists from around the globe since its inception, the majority of whom travel to Miami during Art Basel. Artists from all walks of contemporary art headline our annual event, collaborating on high profile walls throughout Miami’s urban landscape. Maps outlining the installation are circulated, providing patrons with an opportunity to view the works in progress.”
Make sure to check out the RETNA SOLO EXHIBIT
Outdoor murals and installations this year by Tristan Eaton, Charles Craft, Shepard Fairey, Typoe, Michael Vasquez and Tatiana Suarez.
A creation of Billi Kid, NYC street artist, curator, life-long doodler, art enthusiast and design junkie, this show takes basketball backboards and repurposes them as art via skillz of a number of Street Artists whose work is regularly on BSA. The show is curated by Jim and Karla Murray.
Text below from their press release:
LEADING STREET AND GRAFFITI ARTISTS
Public Works Department, announces its collaboration with the NBA to produce and curate 36 original street and graffiti artworks entitled the “Art of Basketball”. This extraordinary exhibition and event will open to the public on December 2nd and continue thru December 5th 2010, concurrent with Art Basel Miami, the leading art and cultural happening in North America. The exhibition and special events will take place in a dedicated venue located at 2048 NW Miami Court, in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami. A portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the artworks will benefit NBA Cares.
Cutting edge contemporary is the moniker, and it is possible that the 10th year of SCOPE Art Show will turn out some exceptional surprises.
Cementing its future with an 80,000 square foot pavilion across the street from Art Miami, SCOPE Miami’s high-profile venue is centrally located in the heart of the Wynwood Gallery Arts District. Running concurrently with Art Basel Miami, SCOPE’s Midtown Miami home is just steps from The Rubell family collection, Margulies Collection at the Warehouse and Goldman Collection. The fair opens to Press and VIPs on Tuesday, November 30 with the FirstView benefit.
Location Wynwood Gallery Arts District | 3055 North Miami Avenue | Miami, Florida 33127
A New York favorite, Fountain is the one we always check out for punk, funk, and unvarnished bolts of creativity. With a number of Brooklyn galleries, artists, and undercover rebels getting into this mix, you never know what you are getting, but there will be something mind blowing.
Fountain Miami 2010 exhibitors include Christina Ray, Front Room, Steven Gagnon, Leo Kesting , McCaig-Welles, Bego Art Project, Causey Contemporary, Jeanine Taylor Art Gallery, Cherie Dacko, Evo Love, Allison Berkoy, Greg Haberny, Phillip Simmons, We-Are-Familia, The Murder Lounge, Thaddeus Kwiat Projects, Wet Heat Project, Alice Chilton Gallery, Tinca Art, Francesca Arcilesi Fine Art, Susan Radau, Lindsey Brooke Wilner, and highly anticipated immersive video art projects presented by DCKT Contemporary. As logistical partners to the art fair, international art handlers Hedley’s Inc. will assist galleries in producing their large-scale installations.
Grace Exhibition Space, in conjunction with the Alice Chilton Gallery, will have 10 artists from around the world performing during the weekend’s evening events. Caveman robots and the full scale destruction of a car will be primary artist performances. Artists will include Adina and Ariel Bier, Erik Hokanson, Jason Bell and the Estonian Art Group Non Grata, Sarah Trouche, Quinn Dukes Marni Kotak, Kikuko Tanaka and Hiroshi Shafer.
Visitors entering the front lawn of the Fountain Art Fair space will be blown away with a 125 foot long street art installation by Chris Stain, Dick Chicken, Gaia and Know Hope.
About Fountain Art Fair
Fountain is an exhibition of avant garde artwork in New York during Armory week and Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach.
In this photography show accompanied by new works, this West Hollywood gallery will be boasting some of the non-reverential rough-riding boldface talents that give a slicing edge to the current Street Art scene. Just look at the names and you know what you’re getting. Or, maybe you don’t.
297 NW 23rd ST
MIAMI, FL 33127
OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY, 3 DECEMBER 2010
7 – 10PM
“Now I Remember” photo installation featuring:
NECK FACE / JERRY HSU / TODD JORDAN/ CURTIS BUCHANAN / JEN REYNOLDS/ TINO RAZO / KEVIN “SPANKY” LONG
and new works by:
OSGEMEOS / JUDITH SUPINE / CLEON PETERSON/ BAST / SKULLPHONE / ALBERT REYES
Hours: Weds. Dec.1 – Sat. Dec.4 : 11am – 8pm
Sun. Dec. 5: 12pm – 4pm New Image Gallery
Boogie, Boxi, Guy Denning, Gregor Gaida, Mark Jenkins
Aakash Nihalani, Slinkachu, Dan Witz
3055 North Miami Avenue
Miami, Florida 33127
November 30 – December 5, 2010
FirstView
Tuesday | November 30 | 3pm-9pm
Free for VIPs
PressView
Tuesday | November 30 | 3pm-9pm
Free for all press
Book Signing with Dan Witz
Thursday | December 2 | 3:30-4:30pm
Dan Witz will be at booth F04 signing limited edition,
hand painted copies of his new book In Plain View from Gingko Press
General Admission Fair Hours
Wednesday | December 1 | 11am-6pm
Thursday-Saturday | December 2-4 | 11am-7pm
Sunday | December 5 | 11am-6pm
Transportation
Shuttle buses run every fifteen minutes from Miami Beach to the SCOPE and ART ASIA pavilions, November 30 – December 5. Take the North Loop Shuttle in front of the Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater on the NW corner of Washington Avenue and 17th Street, one block from the Miami Beach Convention Center.
About Carmichael Gallery:
Founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Seth and Elisa Carmichael, Carmichael Gallery focuses on a select group of artists breaking ground in painting, mixed media, photography and sculpture. Their annual program consists of a series of solo and group exhibitions that document the progress of these artists.
Our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Chris Stain, Imminent Disaster, Labrona, Lister, Oculo, Shepard Fairey, Shin Shin, Trice, White Cocoa, and a big piece of freshly baked CAKE.
The guys of Primary Flight, Books and Typoe are hosting street artist Cake while in Miami at The Fountainhead Residency in conjunction with Primary Flight.
As you may know the Poster Boy book, The War of Art, came out this year. The release of this book has given a few of us the opportunity do something much more significant. At The War of Art book launch on Saturday, Aug. 28th, we will officially kick off a legal defense fund for artists.
Kids Are Rallying Against The Empire (K.A.R.A.T.E.) is a grass roots effort we hope to eventually turn into a non-profit organization. Sadly, when dealing with the legal system most artists don’t know, understand, or are intimidated into forgoing their rights. Artists are often poorly represented in court and do not have financial access to proper counsel. K.A.R.A.T.E. is committed to helping artists defend themselves in court for art-related crimes conceived in public space.
Even at its infancy K.A.R.A.T.E. has managed to get Henry Matyjewicz, a Poster Boy participant, out of prison on appeal only two weeks after being sentenced to 11months by a superior court in New York. Mr. Matyjewicz is now being represented by world class civil rights lawyer, Ron Kuby. Because of K.A.R.A.T.E. Mr. Matyjewicz now stands a fighting chance in court.
I’m officially inviting you to The War of Art book release party. Whether you come to support Poster Boy or K.A.R.A.T.E. I’m hoping to see you there. Personally, I think supporting a legal defense fund is an obligation for those who say they’re supporters of graf and street art, besides the fact that it’s long overdue.
Signed copies of the book along with special edition prints are available through nycposterboy@gmail.com. A portion of the sales will go to the K.A.R.A.T.E fund.
We start 2010 with a bag of sea-shells and this bounty of inspiring Street Art images from warm sunny Miami – which was a break from the bitter coldness of BK for a bit. Heartfelt gratitude to Typoe for showing us what’s up and who, together with a dude named Books, has built the one-of-a-kind Primary Flight show on the streets of Miami’s Wynwood District over the past three years during Art Basel.
With a vision that speaks to the next decade of public art, these guys have coordinated with local businesses, galleries, graff/street artists, and the City of Miami to clear the way for what is turning into a global gallery on the street. Without self-aggrandizing rhetoric, these peeps are developing a model for building an art scene while keeping the edge and encouraging experimentation. So far the “collection” doesn’t risk the blanding that can happen when bureaucrats, committees, or self-appointed art critics insert themselves, or when corporate sponsors commodify the spirit.
It’s worth mentioning that this is just one more case of artists revitalizing abandoned blighted areas of the urban landscape, of their own volition, with grit, determination, and vision.
During a whirlwind tour last week of Primary Flight sites (and many others who have jumped into the game) we witnessed a diverse, energetic mix of graff, old-school, art school, graphic design, sculpture, illustration, surrealism… all part of the developing Street Art vocabulary that we’re witnessing in Brooklyn and NYC at large. Thanks to Typoe and Giovana for their kind hospitality and insight.
We hope you enjoy the Dade County Bounty: a past and present explosion of art on the streets of Miami.
After partially white-washing the image, Tristan retraces and pulls the subject forward.
Tristan Eaton of New York’s Thunderdog Studios was working last week in Miami during the Primary Flight exhibition with many of his peers and yet-to-meet friends. The show was an opportunity for people to show their skills, gain appreciation from a new audience, and enjoy the pleasures of a sanctioned wall.
“The background was wheat pasted, then white washed, then hand painted with enamel, brushes, markers and mop tops, ” says Tristan.
Brooklyn Street Art:How did you get this wall in Miami? Tristan Eaton: I got it from my pal Books who organized all the artists and walls for Primary Flight. It was on Easy Street Gallery which was founded by Crome of MSG.
A Wild Beauty, Indeed! (Tristan Eaton)
Brooklyn Street Art: Can you talk about the inspiration behind the project? Tristan Eaton: It’s gonna sound really corny, but I was inspired by something my Mother said about ‘Wild Beauty’. Before painting, I had no pictures or layouts of the wall, so I couldn’t really plan what to do in advance. I had to make it all up on the spot over the course of 3 days and hope for the best.
Tristan Eaton
Brooklyn Street Art:What kind of preliminary work did you have to do before getting there? Tristan Eaton: I normally get my giant photocopies (for background) made here in the city then cut them out by hand at my studio in LIC. We prepared about 1,000 square feet of wheat paste graphics for this mural and general bombing and stuff.
Ron English stops by to talk and pose for a pic.
Brooklyn Street Art:Did you get hit by the rain or have other distractions? Tristan Eaton: Yes! We had torrential rain on and off over 2 days. We kept having to stop and wait it out. Luckily it only rains for about an hour in Miami! On top of that you have legends like Futura and Ron English are just walking around town all week at Art Basel, so we’d stop to BS every once in a while when someone came to visit our wall.
Brooklyn is always in the mix. (Tristan Eaton)
Brooklyn Street Art:Are you satisfied with your final project? Tristan Eaton: I think so. Working on that scale in that time frame, little things always go wrong. It’s not supposed to be perfect I guess, so I’m okay with a certain amount of messy mistakes. I’m most satisfied with the response from locals so far. Even if I could of done better, they love it!
Friends stop by for immoral support. Pictured are Phetus and KaNo in front, Alex of Easy Street, Tris, Den & Sket in back (photo courtesy T. Eaton)