Shepard Fairey. Printed Matters: Raise The Level. Straat Museum Amsterdam.
“Raise the Level” is what street artist/fine artist Shepard Fairey has always done regarding the level of political, social, and environmental discourse in any given room. At the STRAAT Museum in Amsterdam, where the shipping trade resides in the annals of history, you may also find yourself contemplating the ebb and flow of ocean levels. The question of how high future waters will lap at the doors of this establishment, nestled within a former maritime warehouse, has surely crossed the minds of those who tread its epic halls.
In town for his first serious exhibition here, which opens this weekend and runs through the first of October, the sharply satirical stalwart of activism and stunning graphic design on the street is surrounded by a cadre of fans and photographers gathering on the sidewalk as he floats with his crew on the lift above.
With deft choreography, he and his adept crew maneuver a lift to forge a new mural, seamlessly fusing his signature elements: symbols, incisive political commentary, and an embodiment of feminine resilience – somehow all of it converging in her unwavering gaze.
As ever, Fairey hopes to shake you from your apathy, if possible. The Californian voyager of street/punk/graphic aesthetics says the themes he follows in the new exhibition are “aimed at improving the ‘health’ of our planet but also addresses other urgent matters, such as nationalism, xenophobia, war, fake news, and threats to democracy.” There will be no doubt that he will do so convincingly.
Across the bottom of this new wall, which we’re proud to be able to share, are two collaborators styled rather wildly and in a complementary color palette. One is the OG USA crew captain and calligraffiti artist Niels “Shoe” Meulman. To his left is writing legend Yalt, who kills it. Integrated more directed into Shepard’s composition are the stylized letters of Shoe, perhaps reminding us that in matters of the planet and each other, it’s a good idea to “Handle With Care”.
“Printed Matters: Raise the Level” opens at Straat Museum Saturday, August 13th.
Urban Revolution. On view from July 21 / December 03. Lisbon, Portugal.
“Urban[R]Evolution: A Journey from Graffiti to Contemporary Art” is a large exhibition that marks the rise and popularity of urban art and features original installations by 18 renowned Portuguese and international artists. Curated by Pauline Foessel and Pedro Alonzo, this showcase takes place at Cordoaria Nacional in Lisbon, running from June 21st to December 3rd.
The historic and iconic building that once served as the National Rope Factory during the late 18th century, catering to the needs of the Portuguese Navy by producing ropes for naval purposes, is situated near the scenic Tagus River. With its imposing neoclassical and industrial design, the building stands as a testament to the city’s cultural heritage and is now a versatile venue for hosting events after its meticulous restoration. With free-standing booths carefully built not to endanger the historic structure, the flow of the exhibition offers a pod-like adventure to visitors to experience individual artists’ work and visions. Some utilize the spaces fully with installations, while others choose the homey quality of an artist’s studio with work in progress.
The exhibition brings together a lineup of artists whose work was featured in early graffiti images by photographer Martha Cooper, second-wave western street artists who have burnished their names in the commercial urban contemporary art milieu, and a collection of names more locally known – each with profound ties to the graffiti and street art scene. Among them are esteemed names such as Barry McGee, Futura, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Vhils, and Obey SKTR, to name a few. The curators thoughtfully selected these artists to narrate the fascinating development of urban art, tracing its origins from early tags, graffiti, and subway pieces to its current expression as street art and mural art.
Many of the artists are associated with previous projects of the curators and with one of Lisbon’s anchors of the street art scene, the artist and businessman Vhils. Aside from these connections and the common roots of early graffiti culture, it may be difficult for ticketed visitors to the show to discern the commonalities of the works on display. The connective tissue between the booths will be the many iconic photographs of North American photographer Martha Cooper, whose lens has captured the human experience in urban areas for about 50 years, immortalizing the origins and evolution of graffiti, street art, and urban art – when the scene was viewable directly on the train cars and streets of major cities like New York.
Another nerve center for the show is the installation by conceptual street artist ±MaisMenos± , known for his thought-provoking art pieces and street activations that sublimely challenge social norms and provoke critical thinking. Within this kinetic electronic display, a phalanx of screens emulates a bustling stock trading floor, listing street artists and graffiti artists and their market line charts bumping up and down alongside various commercial, academic, institutional, and cultural influencers and influences that have coalesced to foster their success.
In this exhibition’s composition of artistic expressions, each artist has the opportunity to tell their unique story through their installations and accompanying texts, reflecting on their journey from the streets to the contemporary art world. “Urban[R]Evolution” is a testament to the significance of Lisbon as a vital city for urban art, with the show embracing a dynamic mix of international pioneers and established/emerging talents from Portugal.
This major exhibition, presented by Everything is New and Underdogs Gallery, invites visitors on a dreamlike, poetic, and moving journey, oscillating between light and shadow, the humor and rancor of the street, expressing the heart of urban art’s evolution. It is an immersive experience into urban art’s origins and possible future, exemplifying a sample of the boundless creativity and diverse voices that have emerged from the graffiti and street art scene.
Our sincere thanks to exhibition participant and famed photographer Martha Cooper for sharing here her photos exclusively with Brooklyn Street Art, and to Vasco Vilhena, one of the exhibition’s official photographers.
The artist presented a video installation addressing the “market” for graffiti and street art, the intersection with art and commerce in a brilliant display.
“This took me to what is my thesis subject, where my work is the centerpiece of an eventual (or questionable) dichotomy between street art and the art market, the evolution from illegal, interventive and subversive work into a continuous institutionalization, mercantilization and commoditization, normalized with the (before pursued) but now consecrated and valuated (street) artists.
All of this materialized in an art industry (or market) of artist-companies, studios, galleries, festivals, fairs, museums, curators, collectors, political and media attention, touristic tours, financialization, etc, as so it is with the art world as a whole. Being this specific show, for its size, importance, where it is, its public, a realization of this “evolution”, or this stage of the urban arts. So I thought of an installation as a self-critique and self-awareness of this stage and present context of urban art (one of which myself and my work makes part), how capitalism kidnaps, agglutinates and transforms its (possible) critique and counter-culture, commodifying, massifying and selling it.”
Cato knows that immigrants (documented and undocumented) greatly benefit the country economically because they base their exhaustive study on data collected by the US Government, which also annually makes meticulous studies of the benefits of having immigrant labor to keep an economy alive and growing. But it is not only think tanks and governments who keep this meticulously detailed data proving the net financial benefits of keeping workers employed who are not granted equal pay, rights, or protections; so do all the banks and corporations across the globe.
Shepard Fairey Workers’ Rights Canvas : Mixed Media Painting Mixed Media 44 inches by 60 inches 2016
Imagine how you would benefit if you could hire workers in your business who live in fear of getting arrested or being separated from family members. You could pay them lower wages and offer no sick days, vacation days, pensions, insurance, medical care, or even safe working conditions. These business owners know that these lowered costs and repressed wages make them more significant profit. It has always been true and, for many, a temptation too great to resist.
So why don’t we see this on the news or hear it from the political class? We rarely, if ever, do.
Today on International Workers Day, celebrated in much of the world, we’ll be regaled instead by stories of frightful “illegals” at the border and the Biden administration’s plans to lift Title 42 restrictions, and how we’ll soon be flooded by arriving Mexicans, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. If the past is prologue, and it usually is, the US and its captains of industry will continue to profit from the labor of new arrivals as it has for centuries, despite any heated rhetoric from your TV news host of choice.
Shepard Fairey. Immigration Reform Now! Offset Print 24 x 35 inches Edition of Open
Street artist and fine artist Shepard Fairey has kept our collective eye on socio-political matters through his posters, advocacy, and donations of work and time to causes of the worker over the last three decades or so, and today we feature some of his work to celebrate May 1st. He also offers a few words to BSA readers as we think about the contributions of immigrants to the economic and cultural wealth of the US and how all workers deserve fundamental basic rights no matter who they are.
I’m an immigrant rights activist because I believe in the promise of opportunity this country was founded on. The U.S. is a country built on immigration by people leaving their homes to build a better life. That concept should not be something only open to white Europeans from decades and centuries past, but for all those seeking work and asylum. Only a short while ago whites were the immigrants to this land seeking a better life, so let’s not allow short memory and racism to diminish our compassion for those who want to work hard for a good life in the U.S. now!”
Behind the scenes at “Beyond the Streets London” is a hive of activity, with artists deeply focused on installing their work and seeking assistance with tools and equipment. Curators, organizers, and lighting professionals are bustling up and down the stairs, carrying props, or ladders, and communicating with vendors and artists via text message. Salespeople are diligently crafting wall texts to accompany the art pieces. It’s a few hours before showtime, yet everything is somehow accomplished just as the first guests arrive for the preview.
Photographer Martha Cooper is electrified by the activity at Saatchi Gallery. The event preserves the rich history of graffiti, street art, and commerce while pushing forward with new trends and directions. Cooper, who has documented this scene since the 1970s, has attended and exhibited in “Beyond the Streets” exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles – and we anticipate the next stop could be Shanghai. This particular iteration showcases an evolving mix of archetypes and invention, drawing on diverse influences from the US, UK, and EU.
Cooper observed many surprising music references at the show. Rock icon Eric Clapton was at the opening admiring a photograph of text declaring him to be God while filmmaker, musician, and BBC radio host Don Letts had a personal collection of his memorabilia/ephemera on display. Ron West, designer of the “Duck Rock” boombox, also made a sudden appearance at the opening, allowing guests to pose with his creation. Among the standout pieces was a Bob Gruen photo of Malcolm McLaren holding that boombox in front of Keith Haring’s Houston Street wall, a masterpiece of intersectionality, if you will.
Overall, “Beyond the Streets London” offers a smorgasbord of colors, flavors, and influences that are difficult to encapsulate in one show. However, Gastman, the visionary, gives it a good try, with a respectful nod to the many artists who have shaped this worldwide people’s art movement. Enjoy these behind-the-scenes shots from Ms. Cooper.
Welcome to BSA Images of the Week! Optimo NYC on the Houston wall yo! Born and bred, a true New Yorker, and deserving of this wall after paying dues for years. Why does this wall sometimes look better when curated by the street? The holy chaos that reigns here is the pure DNA of the city, unbossed and unbought.
This week the street art is fresh! Never mind the proxy wars, the exploding trains, the 30% YOY drop in 401Ks, the transitory inflation that wasn’t, the Chinese spy balloons that weren’t, the Nordstream 2, the effort to privatize Social Security, the polarization that is encouraged by the media, and the increasing difficulty of New Yorkers to pay the bills… we still have a lot of extraordinary artists, and they are profligate! Also, we have Flaco, the Central Park owl fugitive, and his adorable ear tufts.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Shepard Fairey, Sticker Maul, Modomatic, Bad Brains, NYC Kush Co, Optimo NYC, Pest AC, Valentin Vewer, Holly Sims, Eternal Possessions, Cloudy is Here, and Gosup.
“A splash of color” is how many local news programs nationally brightened people’s day at the end of an episode with a local art segment in the last decade. More often than not, they were talking about new murals going up around town, or more specifically, in a moribund business district that needed some foot traffic. The camera pans to catch massive murals of bright posies and a closeup of a paint-splattered ponytailed Picasso in overalls perched high atop a cherry picker.
Here in Wynwood Walls the crowds were coursing in the midst of the splash between Christmas and New Years Day, an outdoor art gallery exhibit that allows a family to enjoy the mural movement with confined fences and personal tour guides. Free of politics essentially and pumped full of visual stimulation, the side-by-side murals from an international roster prove excellent backdrops for selfies and safe enjoyment by everyone from the stroller set to blue-haired family royalty. This is more than just a splash of color; this is a specifically focused kaleidoscope of images that give one view of the current scene away from the wild untamed streets, created for guests to have an entertaining afternoon and possibly see a street art hero.
While you are here, check out the current exhibit in the gallery with Hebru Brantley, or a collection of unrelated canvasses in the Goldman Global Arts store. Naturally, you’ll want to exit through the gift shop.
New York has seen its share of people jumping into and out of the Street Art scene over the last couple of decades, and only a few have had the staying power of the non-profit org L.I.S.A. Project. Run by two guys who live on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Wayne Rada and Rey Rosa, L.I.S.A. has brought several international street artists to private walls in Little Italy, Chinatown, and their environs.
Big fans and collectors of street art themselves, the guys have hustled to get walls, lifts, and paint for artists they are fans of and some of the newcomers on the scene. Call it a private/public initiative that has steadily given artists opportunities and the locals one more reason to chuckle at the selfie-taking tourists who make this town tick.
Tonight to make the 10th anniversary and their new print program, L.I.S.A. Project joins with urban art clearinghouse West Chelsea Contemporary to host a panel featuring artists Crash, Daze, curator and graffiti expert Sean Corcoran, moderated by culture critic and curator Carlo McCormick. The doors are open at 6, and the talk begins promptly at 6:30.
Participating artists within the first series include Ron English, Indie184, John “CRASH” Matos x Chris “DAZE” Ellis, and Shepard Fairey.
West Chelsea Contemporary 231 10th Avenue New York, NY 10011
Shepard Fairey, Ron English, John “CRASH” Matos x Chris “DAZE” Ellis and Indie184. (Image courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project N.Y.C.)Ron English. “Temper Tot Tramples Guernica”” (image courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project N.Y.C.)
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Shepard Fairey – The Intersection of Art and Music 2. La Fuite – Pantonio. Via Street Art Fest Grenoble – Alpes 2022 3. Iran’s anti-Hijab protests enter 5th Week
BSA Special Feature: Shepard Fairey – The Intersection of Art and Music
It’s an advertisement for something but Shepard’s recollections of making the connection between art and music, specifically between the punk era and its effect on his creatively formative years, go a long way to illustrate his recurring themes and aesthetic. Interesting that the title is part of a Sound and Vision series, the same theme that is currently running through Faile’s work at their new club downtown, Deluxx Fluxx; “an immersive visual and audial art space and arcade”.
Shepard Fairey – The Intersection of Art and Music – Via Syng
La Fuite – Pantonio. Via Street Art Fest Grenoble – Alpes 2022
A gentle flickering flyby of “The Flight” by Pantonio for the Street Art Fest Grenoble in the Alps.
“Escape or think about the moment a single gesture changed direction,” says Pantonio.”When resistance collaborates in the opposite direction. Each one with his poetry or his determination”
Directed by Olivier Ruggiu Video Assistant: Yannis Lefrançois Drone by Olivier Ruggiu, Images by Oliver Ruggiu.
Iran’s anti-Hijab protests enter 5th Week
In the category of art in the streets, free speech, and protest; We focus on the fifth week of widespread anti-Hijab protests that continue to rock Iran amid the rising calls for the country’s leadership to step down. Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei has now issued a warning to the protesters- as he speaks to largely audiences of men, while the protesters are, in the majority, women.
Visionary Fam, a team of local artists from Gainesville, Florida, have completed a new mural by street artist Shepard Fairey, thanks to an initiative by local street art curator Irina Kanishcheva. The native of Lviv, Ukraine, has been looking for an opportunity to express solidarity with Ukrainians during the current war with Russia. With Fairey’s imprimatur, the team recreated one of his recent classic designs, now interpreted with the yellow and blue Ukrainian national colors.
It’s a straight-forward project; create art that shows solidarity on a wall donated by local business owner Scott Shillington of The Top, and keep the conversation going. They even raised three thousand dollars to send to folks there, thanks to Irina’s homemade borscht and vodka drinks. It’s good to see small groups come together to make a change – that’s the best way to circumvent the powerful interests who sometimes are making a profit off the fire, in fact who may be the arsonists.
The political caricature is a treasured form of public discourse that still holds as much power as it did when we relied on the printing press. Able to express sentiment and opinion without uttering a syllable, the artist can sway the direction of conversation with skill, insight, and humor. Artist Robbie Conal has built a career from visually roasting the most sebaceous of our various leaders in the last few decades, often bringing his posters to the street and installing them in advertisers’ wildposting manner.
With the briefest of texts, slogans, or twisted nicknames, he reveals the underbelly as a face, dropping expectations into the sewer. If it were as simple as a political party, one might try to dismiss his work as only partisan. But Conal’s work functions more as an ex-ray, and frequently the resulting scan finds cancer.
In this newer book by author G. James Daichendt, EdD, who has written previously about Kenny Scharf and Shepard Fairey and in The Urban Canvas: Street Art Around the World (Weldon Owen, 2017), Conal is thoroughly recorded, examined, and explained. A street artist, among many other things, Daichendt calls Conal an “LA fixture and someone who is universally respected for the passion and vitality that he has brought to his work as an artist and teacher for several decades.”
Chapters of Conal’s interests and opinions are thoughtfully compiled and laid out, the artist seemingly never out of a fresh supply of political figures to skewer. As an object lesson, his practice is what draws him near and dear to the part of the street art community who uses the streets to communicate, advocate, and rebuke the hypocrisies in culture and politics
“I vividly remember the first time I saw Robbie Conal’s art because it felt like the exact thing I was meant to see but didn’t realize it until I experienced it,” says Shepard Fairey in his foreword. In his description, one can see that this artist has influenced Fairey, among others, but particularly.
“From that moment of discovering Robbie’s work forward, I had a clearer vision of what art could be… A poster on a corner utility box caught my eye … it was an image of Ronald Reagan on a bright yellow background with bold type that said CONTRA above and DICTION below. Then, a block later, I spotted another one. Now I was on the lookout, and the Contra-Diction posters seemed to be on every corner,” Fairey says. “This Contra-Diction poster spoke to me as a communiqué from a truthful voice of the people.”
High praise indeed.
ROBBIE CONAL / STREETWISE. 35 YEARS OF POLITICALLY CHARGED GUERRILLA ART. By G. James Daichendt. With a foreword by Shepard Fairey. Published by Schiffer Publishing LTD. Atglen, PA
We have brought you many images and artists from here since The Djerbahood Project began a decade or so ago – with the French Galerie Itinerrance organizers inviting street artists of various styles and influences to this Mediterranean island to transform the public environment, and of course to stoke interest in their artwork. Erriadh is literally an open air gallery, with over a hundred works filling this two-thousand year old village. Today we bring you new installations of works by Shepard Fairey, whose graphic geometries and pop colorways contrast sharply with the sun-drenched walls and small streets.
Sometimes it is a talisman who is having adventures on the behalf of an artist, a part of him/herself who stays behind and watches the area.
At other times it is a character seen through a mirror, an alter-ego who represents a fictional part of their inner world who has been set free onto the street to interact. It may be a branding element, a logo, or signature that lays claim to the artwork it is attached to. By itself it is often a form of marking territory; a practice begun by graffiti writers decades ago.
Whether it is a symbol or a figure, it is undoubtedly a personification of some part of the artists id, one that is so individual that you can spot it from a distance and if you are a fan, you’ll smile in recognition.
Many street artists have a discernable style, that is true; a hand-style, a recurrent motif, color palette, a topic that reappears, a technique of application, even a likely location in the urban landscape where they are most likely to appear.
Of that number, fewer have developed a character or a motif so well defined in our minds that it can stand alone, but we have found a few over the decades. Each is imbued with memory, with place, with personality, with character.
For a decade, SaveArtSpace has transformed New York’s streets into open-air galleries, reclaiming advertising spaces as canvases for public expression. …Read More »
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