All posts tagged: New York City

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerarda Enormous Mural in Queens, NYC; “Somos La Luz” / Dispatch From Isolation # 73

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerarda Enormous Mural in Queens, NYC; “Somos La Luz” / Dispatch From Isolation # 73

Hispanic and African American communities have suffered disproportionately due do entrenched social and economic disparities in American society during the COVID-10 pandemic. Not only are larger proportions of each community affected by the illness, they are also heavily represented as caretakers and front-line workers.

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

While the systemic inequalities are also fueling the current demonstrations and abuses of people and press in 10s of cities across the country in ways that shock the conscience, we turn briefly here to honor the work of those who have helped our families and our friends with the virus outbreak.

Cuban-American land artist and contemporary artist Jorge Rodriguez Gerada and his team have been in Queens the past few days painting this enormous mural to celebrate the heroism of our front line workers. The most diverse population in the US, Queens is truly a symbol for the harmonious possibilities of people living and working together that defies any right wing ideologue – with an estimated 800 languages being spoken in this fair borough.

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

So its undeniably appropriate that Gerada chose this location in the heart of Queens entitled ‘Somos La Luz,’ (We are the Light), which memorializes the late Dr. Decoo, a Latino physician who lost his life after battling this pandemic in NYC. A striking portrait to be seen from the sky, it is a broad gesture of gratitude from all New Yorkers to those who truly have our collective and individual best interests at heart every day.

Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © @just_a_spectator)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada. “Somos La Luz” in collaboration with Somos Care. Flushing Meadows-Corona Queens Park. NYC. (photo © @just_a_spectator)

This project was curated by @henryrmunozlll, sponsored by @SOMOSCare and with production assistance by @GreenPointInnovations / @GreenPoint.EARTH. Mr. Gerada says he is proud to partner with the @queensmuseum, @elmuseo del Barrio @maketheroadny and @NYCParks on this incredible project.

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Pejac: An Illusionary Tree Grows from the Bricks In Brooklyn

Pejac: An Illusionary Tree Grows from the Bricks In Brooklyn

The Spanish Street Art illusionist Pejac is in Brooklyn for a hot minute and he has been knocking back bricks to create a reversed relief that catches the attention of people passing by. The wall is a brick façade typical of many Brooklyn neighborhoods, but this one appears to have grown a tree this week.

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Perhaps he chose this symbol because the promise of spring has inspired him, or because this Bushwick neighborhood remains industrial and would benefit from some more of nature’s influence. For us it’s all about context so it is good to see that a tree grows in Brooklyn.

 

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pejac. The Bushwick Collective. Brooklyn, NYC. March 2018. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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BSA Images Of The Week: 04.09.17

BSA Images Of The Week: 04.09.17


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Hooray! Spring is here in New York again. That means daffodils and crocuses are sprouting up among the soda cans and candybar wrappers and cigarette butts in the park’s gardens, and new proud or furtive aerosol missives are being sprayed on crumbling walls and phone booths are getting hi-jacked with posters by artists and galleries are again overflowing onto sidewalks for openings.

Our thanks to everyone who came out for the Heliotrope fundraiser this Thursday, to Swoon for being Swoon, and to her for asking us to curate the new line of prints, and to the six artists who gave their best to us all and to the Heliotrope projects in Haiti specifically:  Case Maclaim, Faith XLVII, Icy And Sot, Li-Hill, Miss Van, and Tavar Zawacki (Above). Thank you also to all of Swoon’s team for helping us mount the show.

Also saw the press preview of the new documentary about NYC Street Artist Richard Hambleton called “Shadowman” this week, which was thrilling, frightening, sickening, and beautiful. People in the room were all feeling a bit nauseous when the lights came up – but for various reasons; the commercial art world seems to suck the beauty out of things, artists can be finicky like cats, and the worship of drug culture is dreadfully overglamorized and it killed off lots of cool people and cancer (from smoking) is actively killing the artist right in front of your eyes, which he freely admits to. Also, his work is amazing.

Accurately capturing the ragged, wooly, wildly creative downtown scene in which Hambleton first came up, Director Oren Jacoby premieres “Shadowman” at The Tribeca Film Festival in NYC on April 21, 2017.

On a totally related note, we were sad to learn Friday afternoon of the death of Glenn O’Brien, influential part of the NYC “Downtown” art and cultural scene in the 1970s, 80s and much much more. We had last seen him doing an interview with Lee Quinones in Chinatown for Lee’s show two years ago.

This week we’ll be seeing you at Nuart Aberdeen! It’s Nuarts’ first foray into another city and really it’s just a stone’s throw across The North Sea to Stavanger, the original home of Nuart in Norway. The kids are on spring vacation in Aberdeen all week so we know we’ll see a lot of swag youth traipsing around to see new artworks going up by artists and thoughtful academic types attending conference lectures. Drunken types will be attending the Friday night fight at a local bar. BSA will be at Belmont theater presenting BSA Film Friday LIVE and introducing “Saving Banksy” and “Beautiful Losers” over the weekend. Come on over; can’t wait to meet you!

Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring: Bifido, Chip Thomas, Chzz, Faust, Hydeon, Janz, Mdom, Nick McManus, Pyramid Oracle, Rubin 415, SacSix, Sheryo, Sonni, Swoon, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, and The Yok.

Top image: Pyramid Oracle (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hydeon at The Centrifuge Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Yok & Sheryo (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Janz. Ransom notes and collage. The main collaged figure in the center reminds us of the work of Richard Hambleton and the Studio 54 fixture Grace Jones. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Janz. Ransom notes and collage. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Janz. Ransom notes and collage. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh for Art in Ad Places. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chip Thomas’ portraits of Rose and Paul at The Reservation. “Rose and Paul who have been together living, loving and experiencing lives challenges + joys together for the past 65 years” -CT (photo © Chip Thomas)

Chip Thomas portraits of Rose and Paul at Antilope Hills. “Rose and Paul who have been together living, loving and experiencing lives challenges + joys together for the past 65 years” -CT (photo © Chip Thomas)

Faust (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Indeed. And shameful. MDOM (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bifido. Mommy. “This is in a squat place. Some people occupied this space and they use it to give  Italian language courses for new migrants, to present concerts, mount exhibitions, build a study room and generally create others things for people in the district. I made this work here to support activity and the guys who every day spend their time helping other people.” Bifido (photo © Bifido)

Sonni (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Woody is riding the wrecking ball by SacSix (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A bejeweled storm trooper from SacSix (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chzz experiments with robots in Ukraine. (photo © Chzz)

The prints of the six artists for Helitrope Prints that BSA had the honor to curate for Swoon. Form left to right: Tavar Zawacki (Above), Icy & Sot, Miss Van, Fiath XLVII, Swoon, Case Maclaim and Li-Hill. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The photographer and, in our humble opinion, performance artist Nick McManus perilously stands atop a foot stool to snap the perfect Polaroid group shot at The Heliotrope Foundation’s Pop-Up on Thursday with Swoon’s new hand drawn sketches to his right. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. SOHO, NYC. April 2017. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

 

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Snow In Day in NYC : Let’s Head to the Park

Snow In Day in NYC : Let’s Head to the Park

Art in the Streets! Art in the park!

Okay, a really loose interpretation here, but who can deny that the hand of nature often looks like it belongs to an artist?

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

This week New York was clobbered in a frosty white powdery art material that masked out so much, drawing attention to what remained visible. It also suddenly had new sculptural qualities, full of volume, motion, sloping curves, density, texture.

All of it was interactive. Beckoning for your participation.

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Our own Jaime Rojo took off to Central Park to see and capture the myriad ways that people and animals played in, around, on top of, and underneath the snow.

Hope you’ll find some creative inspiration and enjoy this walk in the park.

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Central Park. February 2017. NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Stik : His First Collected Volume of Work

Stik : His First Collected Volume of Work

An unusual little tall man, this Stik man.

Deceptively simple, he expresses profound truths that are anything but. Since the turn of this century in his hometown of Hackney, the formerly homeless Stik has been bringing his unassuming line drawn character out to the streets of northeast London, often Shoreditch. With few details and is as uncluttered as a logo, Stik towers above on the side of a housing behemoth, or a water tower, or a doorway.

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Now comes a handsome tome in red canvas that tells more about this artist who has been staying mum for so long. Like the unflashy Stik man, Stik is not malicious but thoughtfully quietly present, giving modest and monumental witness to the street – as well as social issues common to the street. While he does many authorized projects for human rights, social equality, and issues addressing immigration, homelessness, and family, Stik is largely and quietly advocating for an equitable view where each one is treated fairly.

Simple enough, right?

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STIK. Published by Penguin Books – Random House. New York City. 2016

 

Photos of the book plates by © Jaime Rojo

 

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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.20.14

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.20.14

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Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring 907 Crew, Ainac, Aero, Afrodoti Galazios, Blanco, Bleeps, Cash4, Daek, Dasic, Elbow-Toe, Fecks, Icy & Sot, IDT Crew, Mike Makatron, Miss 17, Mr. Penfold, Overunder, Seth, Sheryo, Smells, Sonni, Sweet Toof, The Yok, Tripel, UFO 907, Wolftits, and You Go Girl!.

Top Image >> IDT Crew. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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IDT Crew. IDT is a Chinese Crew. It reads on the background “5ive” to celebrate their 5th anniversary piece. Miss 17 on top was a later addition. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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You Go Girl (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sweet Toof. Smells. Cash4. UFO907. Please help ID the rest of the tags. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mike Makatron with an assistant at work on his recent mural in Williamsburg. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mike Makatron  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Elbow Toe. The stencils below are by Ainac and Tripel. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Icy & Sot (we think) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Bleeps new piece in Athens, Greece. (photo © Afroditi Galazios)

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Blanco new piece in Saratoga Springs, NY. (photo © Blanco)

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Blanco. Detail from the piece above. (photo © Blanco)

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The Yok, Sheryo, Daek and Fecks for Zoetic Walls in Cleveland, Ohio. (photo © Pawn Works)

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DAEK for Pawn Works/NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sheryo with Sonni on the background for Pawn Works/NY  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Sonni for Pawn Works/NY. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Mr. Penfold for Pawn Works/NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Aero for Pawn Works/NY (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dasic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Wolftits is even more Art Brut than ever. 907 Crew. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Rarf! Seth in Baton Rouge for The Museum Of Public Art. (photo © Overunder)

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Untitled. Gowanus Canal. NYC. July 2014 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Jaime Rojo and His Glimmering Series “The Last Picture”

Jaime Rojo and His Glimmering Series “The Last Picture”

The fog rolls in and your city gently disappears into it.

A young man tenderly clings to his lover under a bridge, or is he strangling her?

You are studying the secret and slow language of moving construction cranes traversing and bobbing backward and forward when suddenly a passenger plane cuts silently across the geometry in motion.

These are moments to witness, here and now gone.

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Untitled. Williamsburg Bridge and the stately Empire. Brooklyn, NY. January, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Capricious.
Magical.
Flowing.

Jaime Rojo describes his photography in the city with those adjectives that evoke movement and something more ethereal than concrete, steel, and glass.

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Untitled. Midtown, Manhattan from the L Train on the Williamsburg Bridge. Brooklyn, NY. January, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Known for his images of art in the streets, his photos of Street Art appear once a week in a parade on BSA called ‘Images of the Week’. But he always tacks one more at the end – one last picture.

It is always something unrelated to street art. That is, unless you think the city itself is art.

“NYC is compelling whether you are approaching from an airplane or driving in from the outer boroughs or on the train crossing a bridge. It’s just amazing how much industry, how much invention and design has gone into building this city,” explains Rojo about an environment continuously in flux.

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Untitled. Manhattan, NYC. February 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“At the same time it is surrounded by water that provides it with an amazing atmosphere that keeps evolving, depending on the climate. Even though the buildings don’t move it feels like the buildings are constantly changing because of the light, the season, or even the intense fog – it’s like a dream sequence in a movie because you know the buildings aren’t moving but it seems like they are,” he says.

Siting photographers like Wolfgang Tillmans and Richard Avedon as artists whose work inspires him, Rojo hopes to capture a singular poignant moment in a moving scene. “New York is very dense – It’s kind of magical for me to be able to capture an individual in the middle of the street in a city that is so crowded that invariably we are smelling the breath of each other at some juncture. So when I see the opportunity of an individual who is standing or doing something by himself or herself, I have to capture it as one New York minute.”

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Untitled. Times Square, NYC. February, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“This is a busy intersection in Times Square. People are always going by. It is a cold night. People are hyped up with the Super Bowl. They are wearing, for the most part, monochromatic dark colors. And there is this guy who is trying to make a dollar playing Spiderman. And no one is paying attention to him. He’s doing every single thing possible to get attention and no one cares. I have a series of frames of this but this is the one I wanted to capture. There he is in the middle of this crowd in the intersection with that bright outfit and no one is paying attention.”

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Untitled. SOHO, NYC. February, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Manhattan, NYC. January, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Lower East Side, NYC. October, 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Union Square, NYC. July, 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. DUMBO, Brooklyn. August, 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Greenpoint, Brooklyn. October, 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Houston Street, NYC. July, 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn. March, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. East River from Brooklyn, NYC. March, 2014. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Manhattan sky landscape. January, 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. February, 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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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 on The Huffington Post.

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“Outdoor Gallery” Surveys Current Street Art Scene in NYC

“Outdoor Gallery” Surveys Current Street Art Scene in NYC

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin

The outdoor gallery is the one we visit most and NYC is always front and center in our heart even as we branched out to about 100 other cities and towns last year.  Outdoor Gallery – New York City is also the name of the brand new book by photographer and writer Yoav Litvin, who has spent the last couple of years shooting New York streets and meeting many of the artists who make the painting and wheat pasting that characterizes the class of 2014.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Chris Stain.

Published by Ginko Press, the large 235 page hardcover features nearly 50 street artists / graffiti artists whose work you see here regularly (with the exception of two or three) along with comments and observations from the artists about their practice, their experiences, and the current Street Art scene primarily in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

When Yoav told us of his hope to publish a book last year we offered whatever advice we could – but primarily we advised him to stick to his vision and not to let anyone discourage him. A true fan of the scene, he has worked tirelessly to do just that and now he can share with you a personal survey and record of many of the artists who are getting up today in New York.

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Outdoor Gallery. New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Joe Iurato.

Outdoor Gallery – New York City grew organically to embody my process of exploration and discovery on the streets of New York City. It is a creation that was born out of love for New York City streets and their people, and focuses on artists as leaders with a unique and necessary role in a society that aspires for freedom and change,” says Litvin in his introduction, and throughout the book you can sense the respect he has for the art and the dedication he has put into this project.

Careful to let the artists speak for themselves, he presents their work without commentary and with ample space given for expression. Using primarily his own photos, it is carefully edited and presented as an uncluttered and measured overview of each artists work.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Jilly Ballistic.

For us it is a proud moment to see someone’s dream realized after so much effort and dogged determination – especially in a scene whose challenges we are well familiar with.  No one knows how hard it is to make something happen unless they do it themselves. So congratulations to Yoav for sticking to his vision and having the fortitude to finish this and thanks to him on the behalf of the artists whom he is helping to receive recognition for their work as well.

To that end, you are invited to the big launch party this Saturday at 17 Frost in Williamsburg. We’ll be there and we hope you can make it out for a great New York Street Art family reunion. You can’t miss the entrance, it’s been newly smashed by El Sol 25, Bishop 203, Royce and some other people we can’t remember right now but who will remind us as soon as this goes up ; ) .

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Gilf!

You can find out more about it on the Facebook Event Page, but we understand there will be a newly debuted video from Dega Films, a special tribute to Army of One, and a full show of new works from many of the artists in the book, including;

Adam Dare, Alice Mizrachi, Army of One / JC2, Astrodub, ASVP, Billy Mode, Bisho203, Bunny M, Cern, Chris RWK, Chris Stain, Cope2, Dain, Dirty Bandits, El Sol 25, Elle Deadsex, Enzo and Nio, Free5, Fumero, Gaia, Gilf!, Hellbent, Icy and Sot, Indie 184, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, Kram, Lillian Lorraine, LNY (Lunar New Year), Miyok, ND’A, OCMC, OverUnder, Phetus88, QRST, Russell King, Shin Shin, Shiro, Sofia Maldonaldo, The Yok, Toofly, and Veng RWK.

 

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Icy & Sot.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by Hellbent.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Art by QRST.

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Outdoor Gallery – New York City by Yoav Litvin. Front and back cover art by Bishop203, LNY, Alice Mizrachi, QRST, Gilf!, Cern and Icy & Sot.

Below is a look at behind-the-scenes of the making of the mural for the cover of the book.

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Bishop 203. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

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Icy & Sot balancing a stencil. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

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Taking a step back to assess the progress. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

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The final piece. (photo © Yoav Litvin)

Outdoor Gallery – New York City will be launched in conjunction with an art exhibition this Saturday, February 22nd at 17 Frost Art Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Click HERE for more details.

 

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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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Holiday Window Shows : A Floating City of The Future at Barneys

Holiday Window Shows : A Floating City of The Future at Barneys

New York is one of the few pedestrian cities that has an active street culture almost everywhere you walk and the tradition of the revered holiday window display is one that endures even though many people shop digitally. Even if times are tough with the personal home budget, you can still have a blast walking up 5th Avenue looking in windows on the way to checking out the tree. While the window show themes have moved away from explicitly Christmas-related as the population has diversified, you will still catch a fair number of moralizing perpetually cheerful animatronic ear-muff wearing carolers and dancing reindeer, elves, and nutcrackers.

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

One window display you will dig this year in New York skips Santa’s workshop and heads to a projected future city that morphs before your eyes and you never have to step foot inside.  A collaboration with Brooklyn rapper JAY Z, the Barneys window is encased in a gold metal structure installed on the sidewalk and from one side of the structure you can step into a dark “room” to experience a floating city as it morphs before your eyes. It could be Manhattan emerging from the Ice Age to the Enlightenment as light projection technology gives the public a view of the city changing from icy, cold colors to warm, bright and glittery golds. It could also represent how Manhattan is becoming an island encrusted with diamonds and platinum and gold.

Price for this show on the street: Free. Step inside the store and you can get the leather “Brooklyn” baseball cap for $875.00.

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-shwan-jayz-carter-joanie-lemercier-jaime-rojo-barneys-nyc-web-11

“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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“A New York Holiday” A Barneys Holiday collaboration with Jay Z. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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Images of the Week: 05.26.13

Here’s our weekly interview of the street, this week featuring Beau Stanton, Brett Flanigan, Cannon Dil, Cosbe, Creepy, Deeker, Facter, Gats, Icy & Sot, Invurt, Jaz, Keely, Nunca, Rubin, Sexer, Solus, Sonni, Zimad.

Top image > Brett Flanigan and Cannon Dill at Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The paint is still wet on this one by Brett Flanigan and Cannon Dill in Brooklyn. They are on a cross-country tour put these two on BSA earlier in the week when they hit Chicago. To follow them as they rampage with cans in hand, check out #lqvmuraltour2013 on Twitter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

GATS has a fresh water tower at Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A new one from NUNCA  in Chichester, UK (photo © NUNCA)

Zimad at Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Zimad at Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaz at work on is new wall in Vienna. (photo © Inoperable Gallery)

JAZ in Vienna (photo © Inoperable Gallery)

Sexer at Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cosbe at 121 Knickerbocker (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonni at Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sonni at Bushwick Collective. This portion of the wall is part of the above piece but cars parked in front of it. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Solus at Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A Deeker and Keely really hit it with this collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Beau Stanton at Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Facter at Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Creepy is in town at Bushwick Collective. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Brooklyn, May 2013. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

 

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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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Masters & Pelavin Present: “Legend Tripping” A Group Exhibition (Manhattan, NYC)

Masters & Pelavin is proud to announce a group exhibition, titled Legend Tripping, which will be on view from April 18 through June 1, 2013. A variety of media will be shown—installation, mixed-media, painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, collage—and a number of international artists represented, including: Karl Klingbiel, Timothy Paul Myers, Cecilia Vissers, Peter Buechler, Steven Katzman, Vincent Valdez, Jeremy Harris, Jon Rappleye, Julia Randall, Ruth Hardinger, RAE and others. An opening Reception will be held on Thursday April 18 from 6-8pm — this event is free and open to the public.

Opening Reception for Legend Tripping

  • Masters & Pelavin (map)
  • 13 Jay Street
  • New york, NY 10013

http://masterspelavin.com/041813/

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El Anatsui Shows Both “Gravity and Grace” in New York

Post industrial African urban pointillist El Anatsui is outside at The High Line in Manhattan and inside the Brooklyn Museum right now to offer “Gravity and Grace”, two characteristics one may associate with the man himself.

Using aluminum bottle caps and similar mass consumer materials from his home country of Nigeria, the Ghana-born Anatsui paints temporary organic facades, glittering curtains, crumpled moonscapes that bend clumsily and undulate gracefully.  So familiar has he become with his materials over his four decade career, Anatsui can create translucent scrims to peer through and reptilian skinned impressionist coats of armor, each bending and folding of the metal fabric in service of a multitude of imaginations.

El Anatsui. “Peak”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“I have a desire to manipulate the material to get something else out of it,” he said during his recent talk with African art expert Susan Vogel and Kevin Dumouchelle, Associate Curator of Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands at the museum before a capacity auditorium audience this month.

While speaking about his own approach to his practice, Anatsui showed a refreshingly straight forward investigative approach to his own process of discovery, perhaps explaining how such rigid materials are transformed by his hand into something flexible, malleable, free. “I have a feeling that artwork is a parallel of life, it is life itself. It is not something static. We are about changing, forever in a state of flux.  If that is the case then the artwork should be in a state of flux.”

El Anatsui. “Peak”, 2010. “Earth’s Skin” 2007 on the left. “Gravity and Grace”, 2010 on the right. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As he offers observations of his own culture and the effects of consumerism and globalism on it, he encourages you to take a hands-on approach to art making. A scholar and professor, El Anatsui’s practice has been rooted in the same D.I.Y. ethos that propelled many a street artist in the current global scene that emerged in the 2000s and 2010s.  Mining the diamonds in his backyard, El Anatsui models a personal mission that encourages artists to look at everyday consumer products and see their potential as high art, as vehicles for expression that go beyond craft making or green initiatives.

In an invitation to collaboration, El Anatsui appears to have a remarkably un-Diva-like disposition when it comes to how his work should be exhibited, inviting others to determine how to best display it according to their site-specific considerations. Speaking of his retrospective that ran from September through the end of 2012 at the Denver Art Museum, the artist expresses a gleeful sense of surprise at how curators there displayed his work. “I saw that they were able to mount some of the works very interestingly and they were able to give them shapes that I would not have thought about myself. “

El Anatsui. “Earth Skin”, 20o7. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Brooklyn’s curator Dumouchelle used that same freedom to formulate exhibition decisions as he mounted work in the varied spaces for this show – to great effect. Describing the rationale for some of his curatorial choices, Dumouchelle talked about it this way to the artist, “We were very inspired by your admonition to collectors and curators to take your work and use it to respond to the space and that’s really what happened with ‘Gli’,” one of the larger works in the show.

“We had this incredible 72-foot rotunda that is very rarely used for art, ” says Dumouchelle, “Very rarely do we have art of the scale that will actually fill that space, so we wanted to think about how best to make use of that space. ‘Gli’ is designed as this sort of architectural environment where you find yourself as a visitor immersed and sort of surrounded by these works and so we wanted to make full use of the drama of that space.”

El Anatsui. “Gravity and Grace”, 2010. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The work of El Anatsui is equally charged and effective inside the formal exhibition and outside on the street, and New Yorkers are treated for free to the latter through the summer with “Broken Bridge II”, a huge work suspended along a passage of The High Line in Manhattan. With threadbare and broken pieces disrupting the glistening grid-like patterning, there are striking similarities to the work he hung outside the Palazzo Fortuny during his famed splash at the 2007 Venice Biennial. A patchwork effect that he associates with frugality and poverty, free hanging portions of “Broken Bridge II” are fluttering and gently knocking in the East River breezes on The High Line. Similarly, you are reminded of “Ozone Layer”, an aluminum and copper wire piece hanging in the museum with some sections loosely fluttering and banging against one another in the small breezes created by fans mounted into the wall.

In a video for the exhibition El Anatsui appears to dismiss formal art training and relies upon his own conviction, “All the things I was taught about in art school – I set about subverting them,” he appears to say with aplomb.  With “Gravity and Grace”, viewers will experience some sense of awe and unexpected appreciation for ingenuity and revealed beauty; a confirmation that El Anatsui’s steadfast dedication to his own exploration and instincts has expanded the options for artists who will follow.

El Anatsui. “Earth Skin”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Peak”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “GLI (Wall)”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “GLI (Wall)”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Ink Splash”, 2010. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Drifting Continents”, 2009. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Drifting Continents”, 2009. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Drifting Continents”, 2009. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Ozone Layer”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Red Block”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Amemo”, 2010. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Broken Bridge II”, 2012. Detail. Currently on view at the High Line Park in NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Anatsui. “Broken Bridge II”, 2012. Detail. Currently at view on the High Line Park in NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For more information regarding the Exhibition “Gravity and Grace” at the Brooklyn Museum click here.

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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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