All posts tagged: Never Crew

Never Crew “Propagating Machine” in Mannheim

July 17, 2017 Artists

A new mural this month from Switzerland based duo Nevercrew in Mannheim. Germany for Stadt.Wand, Kunst, 2017. The duo gridded out the massive reflective mass that looks like an uncut jewel, or a plastic bag full of refuse, or a chunk of melting ice.

Never Crew “Propagating machine” for Stadt.Wand.Kunsts, 2017. Manheimm, Germany. (photo © Alexander Krziwanie)

Beneath it is a line of colored penguins stencil on top of an engine of progress no doubt. The guys are calling it “Propagating Machine” and, as many of the works they do appear to address, they say this one is about the man/nature balance and our perception of them.

A bit opaque sometimes, these artists statements can be difficult to decode as the work itself, but because of the technical ability, the large scale, and the ongoing dedication of the artists – you’re willing to trust they know what they speak of.

“It is about immediate effects and long term consequences that may seem not tangible, so it is about the importance of single acts or global attitudes towards the environment in which everyone live.”

Never Crew “Propagating machine” for Stadt.Wand.Kunsts, 2017. Manheimm, Germany. (photo © Never Crew)

NEVERCREW

(Christian Rebecchi & Pablo Togni)

Stadt.Wand.Kunst:

http://www.stadt-wand-kunst.de

BSA Images of the Week 10.09.16

October 9, 2016 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Donald Trump didn’t change. Your “News” did.

Any New Yorker on the street can tell you that Donald Trump has always been this way – he hasn’t made a “secret” of it. We just called this stuff “tabloid news”, and tabloids were an exception. Now they nearly rule all public discourse.

Lowest-common-denominator “News” has produced a lowest-common-denominator candidate. He almost clinched the highest elected office. There is a trail of polarized destruction in the wake.

For over a year this profit-driven entertainment media actually created a cancerous candidate who gives them daily “clickable content” while they hold their noses and count the dollars. These people aren’t serving you, or democracy. We are all collectively debased – men and women, black and white, Mexican and Muslim, rich and poor, families, children, teachers, workers, nurses, doctors, cashiers, church people, atheists – as a result.

The GOP’s flirtation with starting and fanning racist bonfires over the past decade or so has finally swallowed it in flames, leaving it in smoking embers, their leaders completely covered with fecal matter, quieted and stunned. The reputation of the US around the world took a battering thanks to this tabloid news candidate as well. Traveling to Street Art events outside the US this year, invariably someone would shake us by the lapels and ask us what the hell was going on with this Trump guy?!.

In recognition of the woman-hating man who came dangerously close to the White House, here are a number of different women and girls by Street Artists creating in the public sphere at the moment, covering a range of styles, backgrounds, techniques and points of view.

So, here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Beast, Danielle Mastrion, Faile, finDAC, Jilly Ballistic, Kevin Lyons, Leticia Mondragora, LMNOPI, Marina Capdevila, Myth, Never Crew, Ouch, Shepard Fairey, Sipros, Slick, Spaik, Stray Ones, Taker, Who’s Dirk, and Zimer.

Our top image: FinDac (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey. Detail. For The L.I.S.A. Project in The East Village. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Shepard Fairey. The L.I.S.A. Project in The East Village. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Zimer (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Danielle Mastrion and Lexi Bella collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Beast (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Faile (photo © Jaime Rojo)

LMNOPI (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Leticia Mandragora (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Marina Capdevilla in Switzerland for Vision Art Festival. (photo © Marina Capdevila)

Myth (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stray Ones (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stray Ones. Catch him if you can! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ouch (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Taker for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never Crew in Luzern, Switzerland for Viva Con Agua. (photo © Never Crew)

Sipros for The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jilly Ballistic. Palimpsest in the NYC Subway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. Sexual predator for USA President. How can you people defend him still? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown. She is not perfect. She is also not crazy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Whos Dirk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Slick. Murals In The Market/1XRun 2016. Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Kevin Lyons. Murals In The Market/1XRun 2016. Detroit, Michigan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Spaik. Sardegna in Italy. (photo © Spaik)

Untitled. Subway dreams. NYC Subway. Manhattan, NYC. October 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never Crew: Ordering Machine – Grenoble 2016

July 4, 2016 Artists

Two whales are suspended from a clothing hanger as if dangling inside “an infinite closet” say Christian and Pablo, the guys who comprise Nevercrew. The glorious intelligent sensitive and graceful beasts of the seas are reduced to mere commodity, just two more options for humans to buy, sell, trade, consume, destroy. Nevercrew are themselves dangling from a basket high atop a cherry picker here in Grenoble for a street art festival in the southeastern French town at the foot of the French Alps.

brooklyn-street-art-NEVERCREW-Grenoble-france-2016-web-6

Never Crew for Grenoble Festival 2016. France. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE (photo © Never Crew)

A sea life animal – a polar bear or whale, for example – is often the central character of the composition for these guys, a majestic free animal that is acted upon instead of in concert with. “This work is called ‘Ordering Machine’ and it focuses on the human attitude regarding the privatizing of natural resources,” Christian says.

“The project was developed around the position of mankind as it is related to nature, where on one side there are our needs and on the other side there are our behavior of consumption and attitude of appropriation.”

Never Crew for Grenoble Festival 2016. France. (photo © Never Crew)

In their surreal conceptualizations and development of a visual language that is understood principally to the two Swiss nationals, the viewer may benefit from suspending the purely rational and instead allowing for an alternate universe that they have been creating over 20 years of painting together.

Here animal life is majestic and awe-inspiring, perhaps representing the potential for so much more, but at the least something to be revered. Often the protagonist is anchored or overseen by a smaller complex engine or circuit board that seems to be of steam-punkian vintage, silly in its self-importance, only hoping to be useful in the shadow of a natural miracle.

Never Crew for Grenoble Festival 2016. France. (photo © Never Crew)

In “Ordering Machine” the clothes hanger and red-striped fabric is the low-tech constriction device, trapping these beasts like a couple of blocks of cheese. “The hanger is also the support of the entire composition,” according to Nevercrew, reminding us about balancing need with greed as well.

“The arrogant use of nature for economic purposes and for the claim of superiority,” says Pablo, “is a view held by those whose same hands could choose to raise a social awareness and to promote environmental good for everyone.”

Never Crew for Grenoble Festival 2016. France. (photo © Never Crew)

Never Crew: “Inhuman Barriers” and Cities Of Hope

June 13, 2016 Artists

Manchester in UK hosted a street art convention in May called “Cities of Hope” and 10 international artists worked on pieces that often addressed issues of social justice. Swiss duo Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni, who comprise Nevercrew, addressed the theme of immigration and there piece gives a sense of the seemingly impossible odds that many people face when attempting to escape war and persecution in search of a refuge.

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Never Crew. Inhuman Barriers. Manchester Cities Of Hope. Manchester, UK. June 2016. (photo © courtesy of Never Crew)

“We are extremely glad to have been part of this project based on social justice issues and so strongly connected to the city and to its people,” the guys say in reference to the experience painting “Inhuman Barriers.” The two worked in support of the local solidarity group WASP (Women Asylum Seekers Together).

Additional participants in Cities of Hope include Axel Void, C215, Case Maclaim, Faith47, Phlegm, Martin Whatson, Pichi&Avo, Hyuro, and Dale Grimshaw.

Never Crew. Inhuman Barriers. Manchester Cities Of Hope. Manchester, UK. June 2016. (photo © courtesy of Never Crew)

BSA “Images of the Year” for 2015 : New Video

December 16, 2015 Artists

Was 2015 the “Year of the Mural”?

A lot of people thought so, and the rise of commercial festivals and commissioned public/private mural programs probably brought more artists to more walls than in recent history. Judging from the In Box, 2016 is going to break more records. Enormous, polished, fully realized and presented, murals can hold a special role in a community and transform a neighborhood, even a city.

But they are not the “organic” Street Art that draws us into the dark in-between places in a city, or at its margins.

We keep our eyes open for the small, one-off, idiosyncratic, uncommissioned, weirdo work as well, as it can carry clues about the culture and reveal a sage or silly solo voice. It also just reinforces the feeling that the street is still home to an autonomous free-for-all of ideas and opinions and wandering passions. For us it is still fascinating to seek out and discover the one-of-a-kind small wheatpastes, stencils, sculptures, ad takeovers, collages, and aerosol sprayed pieces alongside the enormous and detailed paintings that take days to complete.

The main image above is from a vinyl subway advertisement that was high-jacked and we published it in February of this year on our Images of the Week posting. It’s small, personal, and very effective as you can see someone suspiciously similar to Batman is jumping out of the mouth of someone looking awfully similar to Hedwig of “Angry Inch” fame.

Of the 10,000 or so images photographer Jaime Rojo took in 2015, here are a selection 140+ of the best images from his travels through streets looking for unpermissioned and sanctioned art.

Brooklyn Street Art 2015 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo

Brooklyn Street Art 2015 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo includes the following artists;

365xlos43, Amanda Marie, Andreas Englund, Augustine Kofie, Bisser, Boijeot, Renauld, Bordaloli, Brittany, BunnyM, Case Maclaim, Casg, Cash4, CDRE, Clet, Cost, Curve, Dain, Dal East, Dan Budnik, Dan Witz, David Walker, DeeDee, Dennis McNett, Don Rimx, Ricardo Cabret, LNY, Alex Seel, Mata Ruda, Don’t Fret, Dot Dot Dot, ECB, El Mac, El Sol25, Ella & Pitr, Eric Simmons, Enest Zacharevic, Martha Cooper, Martin Whatson, Ever, Faile, Faith47, Findac, Futura, Gaia, Gilf!, Hanksy, Hellbent, Hot Tea, How & Nosm, Icy and Sot, Inti, Invader, Isaac Cordal, James Bullough, Janet Dickson, Jef Aerosol, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, John Fekner, Le Diamantaire, Li Hill, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Low Brow, Marina Capdevilla, Miss Van, Mr. Prvrt, Mr. Toll, Myth, Nafir, Nemos, Never Crew, Nick Walker, Nina Pandolofo, Old Broads, Oldy, Ollio, Os Gemeos, Owen Dippie, Paper Skaters, Pet Bird, Kashink, Smells, Cash4, PichiAvo, Pixel Pancho, QRST, ROA, Ron English, Rubin415, Saner, Sean 9 Lugo, Shai Dahan, Shepard Fairey, Sheryo & The Yok, Sinned, Sipros, Skewville, Slikor, Smells, Sweet Toof, Snowden, Edward Snowden, Andrew Tider, Jeff Greenspan, Specter, Stray Ones, Sweet Toof, Swil, Willow, Swoon, The Outings Project, Toney De Pew, Tristan Eaton, Various & Gould, Vermibus, Wane, Wk Interact

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Please note: All content including images and text are © BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer’s name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks!

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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

Malik and “Note” Bring 17 Street Artists to a Swiss Prison: “4661m2”

November 2, 2015 Artists

It’s the ultimate captive audience for your artwork. That wasn’t the original intention for this Swiss prison mural project called 4661m² but it is one of the outcomes – and one of its myriad ironies.

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Initiated by Aarau-based graffiti/street/fine artist Malik in May of 2012, the project eventually corralled 17 Street Artists, all but one from Switzerland, to enter the confines of the new high security Lenzburg Prison to paint murals on exterior walls, courtyards, hallways, and common areas.

“I was looking for a new challenge and a new and exciting project where I could show my art,” says Malik and while the 18 month project originated with his vision of getting a nice wall for himself, quickly the project grew far beyond his expectations to become an educational, sociological meditation on the penal system, the appropriate role of art within it, and our collective humanity.

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artists featured on this page: Malik, Note, Benjamin Solt. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Malik, Note at work. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

With help from partner artist Claude “Note” Luethi and funding from the “Lenzburg Prison Christmas Fund,” the successful mural program has also led to a short documentary this spring and the brand new release of a handsome tome by the two documenting a cross section of the images and the human experience as told by artists, prisoners, prison employees and even the director.

“The exterior wall is always also an interior wall. How we view it depends on our relative position,” says author and cultural scientist Johannes Binotto, in the forward to 4661m² – Art in Prison. The number is both the name of the project and the the quantity of concrete that the paintings eventually covered. In his examination of crime and punishment and our relationship to it, Binotto brilliantly uses the wall as metaphor from multiple perspectives by way of illuminating the ramifications of being inside or outside of any given wall throughout one’s life.

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Ti Lain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Ti Lain. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

For graffiti writers and Street Artists, the wall has been destination, a vessel of communication, but the historical examples Binotto examines fairly mutate the wall as obstruction, unifier, protector, divider. The theme continues throughout the well-photographed and documented book with artists and organizers reflecting on, reacting to, their experience and their art practice. One every present irony is that many of these street artists undoubtedly risked arrest for painting on various city walls in their earlier days.

Opening the many doors of the prison to an unsolicited offer by Malik, the Director of the prison, Marcel Ruf, says his knowledge of Street Art and artists was admittedly limited, but he knew the place needed some color. “The corridors and work spaces were judged rather negatively by the majority of the over 7,000 visitors that came to the prison open day in May,” he says in an interview, “with most finding the premises dreary and colorless.”

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Mizzo. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The book gives ample space to opinions and experiences of the artists in stunning before/after shots of spaces and pieces that you can only see now if are a prisoner or employee. Even here the experiences express a range of perspectives. Most found the atmosphere constricted, oppressive, depressing. Each artist say that they felt a certain responsibility to the audience that they wouldn’t normally have and adjusted their work accordingly because these pieces will be looked upon, in some cases, for years, or the remainder of life.

Artist Daniel Zeltner says, “I thought long and hard about the mark I would like to leave on a prison, and about who would see it, how they would react and interpret it, how they would feel. It is difficult, because the painting would not only be seen by the prison guards, but also by the prisoners – I also wanted to create something I could be proud of. Therefore, it was important to me that I paint something that’s open and leaves room for interpretation.”

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Lain. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ranging from abstract, figurative, and representational, to collage, illustration, and photo-realistic, the entire collection has something for many tastes, but we learn that the most critical audience was the staff of 180 who not only live with the art but the manage the daily affairs of the people who live in the facility. We learn that staff opinions on certain works are not unanimous but in general the replacement of monotonous grey is regarded as an improvement for the employees – and the new works provide visual signposts for navigating in a sometimes confusing maze of concrete.

One two page spread features the quotes from prisoners who have answered a survey about the project, the art, and the artists. Responses range from dismissive and critical, to suspicious, grateful, and laudatory.

The act of even considering the opinion of convicted criminals is offensive to the more penalizing among us, and this resistance to an art program of any sort is present throughout topics addressed and perhaps those avoided in the contributions here. These prisoners are likely serious offenders given their 23 hour restriction to their cells and opinions about their living conditions are surely contested.

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Never Crew. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Benjamin Solt talks about briefly getting to know some of the prisoners and then questioning the wisdom of that decision. “I often chatted with them and we discussed the paintings. One of them was very open and approachable, and at some point I asked him why he was there. Just a few moments later I regretted asking.”

The austere modern brutalism of the new prison is heightened by its minimalist technological details of sensors, cameras, phone signal blocking, and iris scanning. Often participants reference disembodied voices within the compound comingling with bird songs and cow bells just outside the perimeter of the compound.

With varying degrees of discomfort and a respect for a sense of mission, the artists describe their art and their emotional and psychological responses to working in the compound. Daniel Zeltner, who worked with David Lucco on a collaborative mural in an exercise yard, describes redoing his piece nearly entirely because he was unsatisfied with the somewhat chaotic energy that he had infused it with.

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artists featured on this page: Toast and Shark. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Toast. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

Onur contemplates his expected audience of primarily seniors when creating his mountain range and remarks that he felt troubled by the continuous surveillance, “I often felt watched. The knowledge that there were cameras everywhere was always at the back of my mind and as I usually work by myself in the studio this situation was quite confusing.”

Chromeo was reminded of his own previous stint in jail for doing illegal graffiti. “I found being locked in extremely difficult. Even though I wasn’t locked in this time, I struggled with the same oppressive feelings.”

For one recreation room, Malik and Note combined their painting efforts to create one continuous visual story that ignored the four planes and gives a view from the rooftops of an imaginary city at night that flows into day and subsequently spans a vast valley and stream. But bucolic scenes and sensibilities notwithstanding, their painting experience met one common description; “Intense.”

“We were surrounded by four solid concrete walls and were working in extreme heat, with continuous yakking and jeering from the inmates locked in the cells above us and all of that for four weeks, eight hours a day locked in the same room,” say the pair.

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Mizzo. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Among the descriptions of the exigencies of the prison and project, there are occasional sparks of institutional levity. Bruno Graber, Chief Director, shares his observations of the project and working with the artists and he inadvertently stumbles on a truism. “Seeing the artists at work was exciting. They seem to be night owls, early mornings were not really their thing.”

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Malik. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ultimately this is a group show new works by 17 artists, but you will not be free to see them, even though you are free. The many ironies are summed up in one of Binotto’s recollections.

“The knowledge that the locked spaces within the prison are blocked from our collective gaze challenges our typical differentiation between captivity and freedom. This is like the joke where the mathematician solves the task of fencing in a herd of sheep not by herding the animals together but rather by putting up the small fence around himself and then declaring ‘I define myself to be on the outside.’”

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Daniel Zeltner. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

In fact 4661m² plays with the definitions of internal and external space so well that it throws both into question. You may reassess the role of artists, particularly street artists, in the dialogue they bring to public space as we rush from from one task to another, sometimes just keeping our heads above water.

“I always took a deep breath as I exited through the revolving door,” says Note, “I was free again – at least until what felt like five seconds later, when my iPhone began informing me of all the obligations I’d failed to meet.”

The project 4661m² – Art in Prison was curated by Malik and Claude “Note” Luethi, and involved artists including: Malik, Note, Onur, Chromeo, Shark, Ata Bozaci, Robert Proch, Nevercrew, Mizzo, Daniel Zeltner, David Monllor, Benjamin Solt, Lain, Ti, and Sarah Parsons.

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Onur. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Note. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Note. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Robert Proch. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Robert Proch at work. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: David Monllor. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Sarah Parsons. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Sarah Parsons. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Artist featured on this page: Chromeo. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Malik. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Never Crew. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Never Crew . Mizzo (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Malik, Note at work. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich . Malik. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

4661m² Art In Prison . Malik . Claude Luethi. Niggli Imprint. Zurich. Malik . Note. (photo © courtesy of 4661m²)

www.4661m2.com

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This article is also published in The Huffington Post

$Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 6$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 6

July 25, 2015 Artists

These have been a stunning few days here in Rochester with a dedicated crew of volunteers and artists is coming to it’s culmination as murals are finished or in their final stages. Again last night Onur and Wes21 were heading back to their wall right after the big celebratory dinner at The Yards – or as people call it, “The Nest”.

“This structure was designed to create a space for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. It was designed to rest tired minds flying back at the end of the day in the hot sun, on a lift and far from home,” said Yards member Sylvan Hemingway in a speech he gave to the group of 40 or so folks gathered at long tables in the collaborative art space. “The energy in this room is real and I am truly grateful that everyone in this wild family reunion is helping to create a dream-like production.”

Eder Muniz. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This small city in Northwestern New York State is warm and very green and lush in this part of the summer, and neighbors assemble on lawnchairs in the shade of leafy trees to watch the artists going up and down in their cherry pickers or ladders – keeping a respectful distance so they don’t interrupt progress, but sometimes its too irresistible not to ask a question or two or take a picture.

As murals are completed the volunteers help to keep the paint and water supplies replenished and to keep an eye on the situation as many of the painters are here in the States for the first time or are simply not familiar with the environment. Aside from the occasional raving opinionator shaking a finger or asking curiously incomprehensible questions, the average observer is amenable.

Eder Muniz. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Today it is raining and the sky is overcast so there is some sleeping-in late in the morning, but of course if you are still painting, it can be a rather unwelcome occurrence. Let’s see those last horses coming round the final corner to cross the finish line (which officially is Sunday).

Tomorrow we’ll give you a mini-wrap of the week –including our trip into some sketchy underground explorations off the beaten path infused with the sound of water gushing out of pipes and the smell of teen spirit wafting through the dimly tunnels that serve as magnets for restless youth with cans in hand. Have a look at these more sunny scenes from Thursday and Friday in the mean-time.

Eder Muniz hit the ground running in style on Thursday, quickly tracing out the natural/fantastic forms and figures that he later would be adding dimension and character to across a saturated cyan sea wall. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Trading tales and sketches and tags in black books after dinner at The Yards (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Never Crew. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Daze. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Troy Lovegates aka Other from August ’14 when he stopped by to see the Wall Therapy folks. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Matthew Roberts . Joe Guy Allard. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“People of Rochesterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” Sung to the tune of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” by Joe Guy Allard. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vexta acknowledges the people who stop by below with a sign of peace. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vexta. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Local talent Nate Hodge in the zone as he becomes ever-more abstract and gestural working across his wall. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund with reference material in hand. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund’s superheroic figure putting on his boots, or maybe he is shaking a stone out. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Andreas Englund. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For wall locations, schedule of events and further details about Wall Therapy 2015 Rochester click HERE

$Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 3$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 3

July 22, 2015 Artists

In Rochester the weather has been warm but workable, as evidenced by the progress that all the artists have been making. You don’t have a long summer in this city of Kodak so we happily have images to share from a dedicated crew of photographers who are catching all the action while the sun is still blasting and slowly baking the artists.

You’ll see that the Jeff Soto and Maxx242 is nearing completion, Daze is already making plans for a production wall with FUA crew around the corner and Andreas Englund has a number of inquiries from local passersby while he’s painting his first mural here. We’re thinking it will be something rather superhuman.

Jeff Soto – Maxx242. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © @MarkDeffPhoto/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Jeff Soto. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Li-Hill. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Lisa Barker/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Li-Hill. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jenn Poggi/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

Joe Guy Allard . Matt Roberts. Process shot. Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © @MarkDeffPhoto/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

For wall locations, schedule of events and further details about Wall Therapy 2015 Rochester click HERE

$Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 2$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Day 2

July 21, 2015 Artists

A lot of great action at Wall\Therapy yesterday with Daze, Jeff Soto, Maxx Gramajo, Onur, Never Crew, Nate Hodge, Vexta, and Andreas making a lot of progress on their murals in Rochester.

“The artists have settled in and everyone is really enjoying the environment and vibe here in Rochester, especially the warm-welcoming from everyone involved. It’s very much about community, about becoming part of our ‘family’,” says organizer Erich Lehman.

We start with this sculptural installation by Li-Hill.

Jeff Soto. Process shot of a collaborative piece he is doing with Maxx Gramajo . Wall Therapy 2015. (photo © Jason Wilder/Courtesy Wall Therapy)

For wall locations, schedule of events and further details about Wall Therapy 2015 Rochester click HERE

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$Wall\Therapy 2015 Begins in Rochester, NY$

Wall\Therapy 2015 Begins in Rochester, NY

July 20, 2015 Artists

Rochester’s Wall\Therapy mural festival began in earnest this weekend with a fine art show at 1975 Gallery and arriving artists beginning to prime their walls and sketch the outlines of the works they’ll be giving to this city in the northwestern part of New York state.

It’s 4th year as Wall\Therapy, this grassroots funded initiative has the unique role of being an art festival that also raises awareness of a medical aid program: assisting people in developing countries to have access to hi-tech diagnostic imaging and doctors. By raising funds to set up teleradiology services within these communities and working with a network of volunteer radiologists around the world, people can get x-rayed where no previous opportunity existed.

Begun by Brooklyn native Dr. Ian Wilson, he and associated organizations make a connection between philanthropy for the arts and medical care – with the help of an ardent local core of volunteers who hold fundraisers throughout the year and do community outreach to organize and make this event happen.

This year partnering with Berlin’s Urban Nation (UN) Director Yasha Young, Wall\Therapy is beginning a cultural exchange program by hosting a selection of international artists specifically selected by her to participate.

BSA will be bringing you regular updates and at the end of the week will be bringing an entertaining LIVE version of BSA Film Friday to the University of Rochester at MAG auditorium. Stay tuned!

$Handiedan Sets a Pinup Tone for Wall\Therapy 2015 in Rochester$

Handiedan Sets a Pinup Tone for Wall\Therapy 2015 in Rochester

July 9, 2015 Artists

Rochester, New York is the home of the Wall\Therapy festival and BSA is partnering with the team and Urban Nation (UN) to bring you coverage of the grass-roots mural festival for 2015. It will begin in a few weeks but the Amsterdam-based Handiedan got into town early due to being in New York for her show with Jonathan Levine Gallery.

Her curvaceous pin-up girls and orientally adorned femme fatales from noir films and rockabilly imaginations intricately layered with patterns and designs from currency – sometimes it is all about getting that paper.

In this case the paper in use is covering the facade of a beautiful brick building dating back to 1890 that was originally a church and later became a machine shop and home to the Rochester Community Players theater group for a half century or so. After a fire a few years back the building has sat vacant for a while. At least, that is what most people from the area can remember.

Here Handiedan’s specially treated custom designed paperwork brings added dimension while stunningly emulating the template shape and color palette. In many ways it is bringing the building back to life – perhaps in anticipation of its new use as another playhouse to open at the end of the summer.

Wall\Therapy 2015 has released its line up of artists curated in collaboration with Yasha Young, director of Urban Nation (UN) Berlin. This years theme of surrealism and the fantastic is off to a rather spectacular start obviously and in addition to bringing you daily updates BSA will be in the house on Friday July 24th for a special live edition of BSA Film Friday at the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester. We are really looking forward to meeting you in person.

Artists included for this years Wall\Therapy include: Andreas Englund, Onur, Wes21, Never Crew, Vexta, Li Hill, Handiedan, Daze, Jeff Soto, Maxx242, Eder Muniz, Brittany Williams, Matthew Roberts and Joe Guy Allard.

To learn more about Wall Therapy and more details, schedules, program and dates click HERE

BSA Film Friday 04.03.15 – SPECIAL “Persons of Interest” Videos Debut

April 3, 2015 Artists

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

1. BSA PM/7 “Persons Of Interest” Documentation by Dario Jurilli, Urban Nation, Berlin.

SONG:
“Pipedream“ feat. Tok Tok by PARASITE SINGLE

2. Urban Nation Berlin and BSA: PM/7 “Persons Of Interest” by Talking Projects

Today we debut two videos on BSA Film Friday that have just been released in support of PERSONS OF INTEREST, our curated program for Urban Nation last month in Berlin. The Project M/7 was all about honoring the practice of cultural exchange between the borough of Brooklyn and the City of Berlin.

Artists from both cities have been collaborating and influencing each other for years and we were honored to work with such a talented and varied group of Brooklyn-based artists who each came at the project from very different perspectives. We follow a philosophy that says “honor the creative spirit in each person” first and great amazing things will follow.

While it is challenging the structures that have codified art through centuries, we deeply regard the art that took root on the streets as democratic and idiosyncratic and as something that is given to all of us. This movement doesn’t necessarily require or benefit from gatekeepers and exclusivity to prove its value to a culture – we see it every day.

And speaking of talent, our hats off to the driving forces behind these two videos which tell different stories about the same program. Our partners at Urban Nation augmented the program with ideas of their own and grew the scope of our original ideas further. We admire the point of view taken by the documentary style video that appears first because it captures the message and the atmosphere we had hoped to engender – one of mutual support and respect. PERSONS OF INTEREST honors the artist and the muse. As artists and directors we know that this kind of thinking actually goes a long way – and art can save lives and hearts and minds – we’ve been lucky to see it.

The second video is styled more as a music video, an atmospheric pastiche that plays on the second meaning associated with the words “Persons of Interest” – one where graffiti and Street Art overlap with the darker aspects of a subculture that is transgressive. Carefully not dipping into cliché territory, the stories woven here give a serious nod to the graffiti/skater/tattoo/BMX cultures – which among many other influencers are in the DNA of, have given birth to today’s art in the streets. Its a cool concept and it produces a few surprises.

We hope you dig both of these works.

Our sincerest thanks to the videographers, musicians, stylists, performers, technical experts, participants, administrators, artists, marketers, directors, poets, captains and dreamers who make this stuff happen.

URBAN NATION PROJECT M/7
“Persons of interest” curated by Jaime Rojo & Steven P. Harrington of Brooklyn Street Art

ARTISTS:
DAIN
GAIA
DON RIMX
SWOON
SPECTER
ESTEBAN DEL VALLE
CHRIS STAIN
NOHJCOLEY
CAKE
EL SOL 25
ICY&SOT
ONUR DINC
KKADE
NEVERCREW
DOT DOT DOT
ANDREAS ENGLUND

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