All posts tagged: South Africa

Sonny: “Corridors Of Hope” In South Africa

Sonny: “Corridors Of Hope” In South Africa

How can we answer the needs of today without compromising the world our future generations will inherit?

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)
Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

South African fine artist and muralist Sonny has been a champion of the beautiful wild beasts that populate its native land and beyond throughout his career. Lions, elephants, tigers, jaguars, leopards, whales, bears, eagles, and the occasional human. He brings all these creatures to life on walls worldwide with precise and impressive realism, executed to the finest detail. The artist makes it his mission to raise awareness of the plight that many of these animals are confronting to survive in increasingly inhospitable habitats. Humans have been encroaching on their natural territories at an alarming rate – forcing wildlife to subsist in smaller areas at a huge risk to their ability to thrive and survive.

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

For the Baz-Art International Public Art Festival in Cape Town, Sonny painted a Cape Leopard in response to the festival theme of “100 Sustainable.”

Says Sonny, “For me, this Cape leopard is a symbol of hope, as people are waking up to new ways of approaching conservation that are less about fencing off wildlife in nature reserves, and more about adapting our world to allow animals and humans to safely and peacefully co-exist. We humans are not above nature, we are part of it.”

This year the festival poses a question: How can we answer today’s needs without compromising the world our future generations will inherit?

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

Sonny. “Corridors of Hope”. Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival 2021. Cape Town, South Africa. (photo © Tess Cunliffe)

Click HERE to learn more about Baz-Art / International Public Art Festival

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Saype in Cape Town, South Africa with “Beyond Walls”

Saype in Cape Town, South Africa with “Beyond Walls”

Three frescoes in Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa are the latest installments of hands and arms joined with one another for the French large-scale land artist Saype.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the artist at work on the land-art fresco at the Philippi township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

The pieces are created in Sea Point (6000 m²), the Philippi township (800 m²) and the Langa township (800 m²) and together represent the 9th stop on his worldwide “Beyond Walls” project.

Given the crises that the world is experiencing with the Covid-19 pandemic and the historic divisions in South Africa, Saype says he chose to present a fraternal vision in these three neighborhoods of Cape Town.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. The artist at work on the land-art fresco at the Philippi township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

Project organizers say “The current crisis reinforces Saype’s optimistic will to present these universal frescos of benevolence and togetherness,” even though he knows that it may represent, “a modest contribution to reunite a city whose historic scars have not yet healed.” Recognizing that the society is still striving to recover from the dark time of apartheid, here is an artist who is using his talents to help heal wounds.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at the Philippi township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)

Just finished on January 21, organizers say that the three frescoes were created using approximately 1000 liters of biodegradable pigments made out of charcoal, chalk, water and milk proteins.

This project is carried out in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in South Africa, the International Public Art Festival, Baz-Art and the City of Cape Town.

Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. The artist at work on the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. The artist at work on the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the artist at work on the land-art fresco at the Langa township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at the Langa township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
Saype. “Beyond Walls” 9th Stop. Aerial view of the land-art fresco at the Langa township in Cape Town, South Africa. January 2021. (photo © Valentin Flauraud for Saype)
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BSA Film Friday: 10.25.19

BSA Film Friday: 10.25.19

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

Now screening :
1. “Transitional Architexture” by Conform
2. “Transitional Architexture” by Paul Senyol
3.”Workshop, Wheel, Point” by Mook Lion
4. “Back To The Future” by Resoborg

BSA Special Feature: On Point With The Southapedia Mural Festival in Durban South Africa

We’re a long way from graffiti, and even unsanctioned Street Art now. Mural festivals that were grassroots are quickly splintering into 10s of different distributaries, some you recognize as purely related to the original scene, some you would find much harder to ID. This week we feature videos from a mural festival begun by two graphic designer/muralists who have been inspired by the worldwide phenomenon toward public mural programs and who created one in their hometown of Durban, South Africa.

The third largest city in the country, it is short on capital for the arts but this mural program, as is common, is equally envisioned as a tourism builder as it is an opportunity for local artists to get an opportunity to be paid to create professional murals. The opinions expressed by the artists in these personal reflections give you a sense of how far we are from the original graffiti writers and illegal Street Artists en route to officially approved mural programs that make neighborhoods “attractive”. One view shared here says the artist chose what he’s calling Street Art as a “niche” to exploit professionally because the field of digital art is oversaturated, while another lays out the blueprint for murals as a tool for gentrification of a borderline neighborhood – in a positive light. Thematically the murals are meant to reference local history and culture, but not in a confrontational way whatsoever.

At the same time, no other artists in the area have taken the initiative to improve the daily aesthetics for people who live in this area, and the structural, cultural, and economic realities can be quite harsh with a person who has a dream. This is not easy work to convince, to fundraise, to manage, to troubleshoot, and to promote at the same time. The failures of a government and its leaders to provide for taxpayers – possibly because the boot of international finance is on its neck – has little to do with the fact that everyday people have a history, have a present, and they enjoy looking at something newly painted in their neighborhood that inspires them or gives them a sense of pride in their community.

Here’s to the Southapedia Mural Festival and its originators, Dustin Scott and Wesley Van Eeden (artist name Resoborg) and the festivals’ many volunteers, for having the vision to make this happen.

“Transitional Architexture” by Conform

“Transitional Architexture” by Paul Senyol

“Workshop, Wheel,Point” by Mook Lion

“Back To The Future” by Resoborg

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r1 Replicates/Repeats Street Sign Chevron in Johannesburg Installation

r1 Replicates/Repeats Street Sign Chevron in Johannesburg Installation

The chevron is a common symbol on the streets of Johannesburg and South African Street Artist r1 recently completed a new public art piece made entirely of them. Using 180 chevron plates from street-signs he drilled 400 holes into the 11 x 16 meter wall here, evoking the patterning of traditional African craftwork design and the modern digital aesthetic of repetitive replication concurrently.

By incorporating the visual language of the street with actual signage and reflective vinyl r1 enjoys the full effect when nighttime traffic lights hit the piece and the pattern nearly vibrates, electrifying the immediate streetscape.

 

r1. Johannesburg, South Africa. (photo © r1)

r1. Johannesburg, South Africa. (photo © r1)

r1. Johannesburg, South Africa. (photo © r1)

r1. Johannesburg, South Africa. (photo © r1)

r1. Johannesburg, South Africa. (photo © r1)

 

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BSA Film Friday: 11.18.16

BSA Film Friday: 11.18.16

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

Now screening :
1. Labrona Unveiled
2.  Opiemme: Lodz Of Eggs
3. Resoborg “Love Imvelo” in South Africa
4. Brad Eastman AKA Beastman in Sydney


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BSA Special Feature: Labrona Unveiled

Not exactly overlooked but perhaps under-sung, the work of freight train-writer/figurative painter Labrona has appeared on BSA since our beginning and for the first time you have an opportunity to see the artist and hear his voice. Up until now he has preferred to be remain somewhat anonymous individually but is pulling back the curtain in his unassuming way.

See and hear him describe his sort of organic progression from the illegal walls on street to the to legal murals and gallery canvasses. You do not get the sense that Labrona has been in it for fame, rather the love of art and his own studies of art history.

Opiemme: Lodz Of Eggs

The Italian artist Opiemme realized a site specific project for Urban Forms Foundation recently in Lodz with a collective performance involving community members throwing paint filled eggs.

It is rather difficult to understand what it all means, or how it is related to the astrological sign Taurus, or even if the participants had a clear idea what the bigger story was. But it looks like a fun interactive event for people to engage with art.

 

Resoborg “Love Imvelo” in South Africa

Wesley van Eeden aka Resoborg was in South Africa recently painting a mural for a lifestyle brand of clothing. He says that “Love Imvelo” is influenced by the Zulu word for the environment and he was to encourage our love for it.

Brad Eastman AKA Beastman in Sydney

Brad Eastman talks about his wall for a real estate firm in downtown Sydney.

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ABOVE Goes Below for His Largest Mural Ever

ABOVE Goes Below for His Largest Mural Ever

To see ABOVE you will have to go way down below. Like near the bottom tip of Africa. South. Africa.

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Above for the City Of Gold Urban Arts Festival.  Johannesburg, South Africa. October 2015. (photo © Cale Waddacor)

That’s where street artist ABOVE just completed this new upward pointing mural for the City of Gold Festival in Jeppestown. It is entitled “Incognito” much like the California man himself, featuring a layered geometry of the symbol he has called his own since on the streets around the world for this century.

ABOVE tells us it is his largest mural to date, at 33 meters by 17 meters. “I think I used over twenty different colors and it took me six full days to paint it.” You may see some guy hanging around the mural in dark sunglasses trying to looking cool – but don’t bother to look for Mr. Incognito himself. He’s already on to his next adventure somewhere in Israel.

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Above for the City Of Gold Urban Arts Festival.  Johannesburg, South Africa. October 2015. (photo © Cale Waddacor)

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Above for the City Of Gold Urban Arts Festival.  Johannesburg, South Africa. October 2015. (photo © Cale Waddacor)

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Above for the City Of Gold Urban Arts Festival.  Johannesburg, South Africa. October 2015. (photo © Cale Waddacor)

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Above for the City Of Gold Urban Arts Festival.  Johannesburg, South Africa. October 2015. (photo © Cale Waddacor)

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Above for the City Of Gold Urban Arts Festival.  Johannesburg, South Africa. October 2015. (photo © Cale Waddacor)

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Above for the City Of Gold Urban Arts Festival.  Johannesburg, South Africa. October 2015. (photo © Cale Waddacor)

Click the link below for more on City Of Gold:

http://www.cityofgoldfestival.co.za/

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BSA Images Of The Week: 05.25.14

BSA Images Of The Week: 05.25.14

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We start this weeks collection of images from the street with a new piece in Bushwick by Joe Iurato, a New Jersey based Street Artist who also, as we learned via press release this week, has been selected to co-curate the newly announced Mana Museum of Urban Arts in Jersey City with another stencillist on the  street, Logan Hicks. Billed as the first museum of its kind, Director Eugene Lemay says it will be comprehensive and interactive and programming will begin as early as this September.

Mr. Lemay and co-founder Yigal Ozeri have expressed and demonstrated a sincere affinity and enthusiasm for the creative spirit since Mana Contemporary opened here in ’11 and this 100,000 square foot space represents just the audacity of hope that is demanded when building a stage for urban/street/graffiti art and its multitude of tributaries. New York and this entire scene is about 5-10 years overdue for this kind of bold development and we say, nevermind the armchair critics, let’s get going!

Here our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Art is Trash, Bast, Bio Tats Cru, Bishop203, Charlie Chaplin, Crash, Damien Mitchell, Dan Witz, Forest Ghost, Freddy Sam, Hiss, Hot Tea, Joe Iurato, King, Li-Hil, LMNOPI, Nick Walker, Olek, Paper Skaters, Shepard Fairey, Skount, Stinkfish, Tripel, and Zola.

Top Image >> Joe Iurato at The Bushwick Collective (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Stinkfish (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Paper Skaters (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Li Hill (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Zola (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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LMNOPI gives a shout out to Occupy Wall Street in this liberty lady (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Freddy Sam. in South Africa  (photo © Rorry Allen)

“Recently South Africa celebrated the 20th anniversary of freedom day commemorating the first post-apartheid elections held on that day in 1994.They were the first national elections in South Africa in which the franchise did not depend upon race.

My mural is of a photograph taken on this day in 1994.With a flock of birds flying through the middle representing freedom.Showing that to be free we need to work together, we need to live together.

Freedom is to be human. And to be human is to be connected.

My mural is not celebrating Freedom day but rather looking at what freedom really means and how far we really have come and how free we really are within South Africa and within a global context” ~ Freddy Sam

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Damien Mitchell for The Bushwick Collective  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hot Tea. Well, actually, just the T. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Forest Ghost (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Hiss (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Tripel (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dan Witz and Olek just unveiled a new collaboration. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Dan Witz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Barcelona’s Francisco de Pajaro is a resourceful performance street artist who goes by the name of “Art is Trash” or “El Arte es Basura”. He recently did a number of on the street installations with the Dusty Rebel in tow. Check out his excellent photos of the experience here. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Bishop203 bursts out of the wall in this new one with The Bushwick Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Bast is going over himself;, updating his original comment from Oh Snap! a few weeks ago to Oh Crap!.  Oh, word? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Skount did this new piece in Leiden, The Netherlands. (photo © Skount)

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A new signpost piece by KING (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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John CRASH Matos, BIO Tats Cru and Nick Walker on their second collaborative wall in the LES with an existing Shepard Fairey in the upper right corner. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. China Town, NYC. May 2014. (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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Kliptown & Soweto in South Africa: Falko, Rasty and Martha Cooper

Kliptown & Soweto in South Africa: Falko, Rasty and Martha Cooper

Today we take you to Kliptown and Soweto in South Africa where we find artists Falko and Rasty collaborating and ethnographer/photographer Martha Cooper capturing the action of the painters, as well as the games and color of the streets.

“Kliptown seems to be stuck in time,” say Pybus of the historic town that retains much of it character but could use help with its infrastructure. “It is situated opposite a historical square and an upmarket hotel in Soweto in the city of Johannesburg. In the 1950’s Kliptown became famous as it is where the Freedom Charter was written, the document that formed the basis of the our current constitution. Now in 2014, it is a somewhat forgotten place across the tracks, filled with families trying to makes ends meet, 100 year old homes and crumbling businesses, but there are splashes of color, street games, youth centers and galleries emerging.”

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Falko at work. (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

“Falko and Rasty have lost count of the walls they have painted together, and exchange very few words while they worked.  They both are technical masters of their styles, but don’t get closed off to their environment while painting, always finding a way to befriend the curious passerbys who stop to look,” says Pybus.

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Falko and Rasty collaboration. (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

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Martha Cooper on the foreground with Falko and Rasty on the background. (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

“I witnessed Martha engage with people with so much respect while she searched for the similarities between Sowebo, in Baltimore – her hometown, and Soweto for her latest project Soweto/Sowebo. She shared some of the work she has captured thus far with me while I was visiting her in New York a few weeks ago. It was calming and honest, sensitive and humorous, and revealed that these two places that are worlds apart that are perceived to be so different, are more similar than one realizes – and her anthropological eye is trained to capture the common threads of humanity that intwine us,” Pybus tells us.

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Falko (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

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Kliptown, Soweto. (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

“On my last day in Soweto as the sun set, the trains started to fill up, so much so that people start riding the front of the cars. South Africa has developed so much in the last 20 years, but while standing in Kliptown one would be forgiven for thinking not much in the way of improvement has been done since its first brick was laid,” says Rowan.

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Someone playing in front of a piece by Lady Aiko (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

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A boy walks on the streets of Kliptown wearing a Madiba memorial shirt. The recently passed Nelson Mandela was present here in 1955 at the Kliptown Congress of the People “where the Freedom Charter was adopted as the document which outlined the aims and principles of the anti-Apartheid struggle coalition formed by the Freedom Charter’s authors and signatories.” (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

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Two “sunny-side up” from Falko (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

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Portrait of Falko covering his face. (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

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Neighbors enjoying a popular board game called LUDO. (photo © Rowan Pybus @makhulu_)

As part of a 10 day Social Innovator workshop, a group of artists were invited to Soweto including photographer Martha Cooper(USA), artists Falko (RSA), Rasty(RSA) and Mundano (Brazil).

Thank you to Rowan Pybus @makhulu_ for sharing his images and words  with BSA readers.

 

 

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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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13 from 2013 : Martha Cooper “A Train Runs Through Mandela’s Kliptown”

13 from 2013 : Martha Cooper “A Train Runs Through Mandela’s Kliptown”

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Happy Holidays to all you stupendous and talented and charming BSA readers! We thank you from the bottom of our socks for your support this year. The best way we can think of to celebrate and commemorate the year as we finish it is to bring you 13 FROM 2013 – Just one favorite image from a Street Art or graffiti photographer that brings a story, a remembrance, an insight or a bit of inspiration to the person who took it. For the last 13 days they will share a gem with all of us as we collectively say goodbye and thank you to ’13.

December-22

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No matter how far she strays in the world photographer Martha Cooper is never far from the work that made her famous in the graffiti and Street Art world. An avid globetrotter, Ms. Cooper is always observing and shooting in new cities.  In recent years she has been pursuing a project entirely unrelated to her “Subway Art” days, an ethnographic study and cultural photographic comparison of two similarly named spots half a world away from one another: Sowebo (in Baltimore, MD) and Soweto in South Africa. This fall while shooting for her Sowebo/Soweto project, Cooper’s past suddenly came rumbling across the tracks above her, and she new she had one of her favorite shots of 2013.

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Kliptown. Soweto, South Africa 2013. (photo © Martha Cooper)

A Train Runs Through Mandela’s Kliptown

I took this photo in September in Kliptown, an historic district in Soweto, South Africa. Although pursuing a project that had nothing to do with street art, I couldn’t take my eyes off the commuter trains with graffiti passing through. One evening I waited in the heart of Kliptown hoping to catch a shot of a painted train. This was exactly how I had photographed subway graffiti in the early ’80s in the Bronx. Back then I could never have imagined that 30 years later I would be attempting a similar shot on the other side of the globe.

By great good fortune a train passed by with graffiti in colors complimentary to my pre-selected foreground. The tiny child at the door of the typical corrugated iron Soweto shack was a poignant touch I could not have anticipated.

Kliptown is famous for its Freedom Charter signed in 1955 in an early protest against apartheid. Graffiti represents a different kind of freedom. Here’s to freedoms of all kinds, to the memory of Nelson Mandela who lived in Soweto and to a better life for the children of Kliptown and beyond.

~ Martha Cooper

Location: Kliptown, Soweto, South Africa, 2013.

 

 

#13from2013

Check out our Brooklyn Street Art 2013 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo 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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Images Of The Week: 09.01.13

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September is the perfect time of the year for Street Art in NYC – and shout out to the NYTimes who ran a double spread and video this week with images of Street Art and graffiti you can see here every week – including the great MOMO piece in Dumbo that was commissioned by Two Trees, and walls from the Bushwick Collective, 5 Pointz, Welling Court, Hunts Point, Coney Island and more. Seeing the collection made us think about how much BSA really covers throughout New York and the world every month and that made us happy as Bill DiBlasio, the apparent next mayor of NYC.

Also it was cool this week to step back and see everybody at the “Wild Style” 30th Anniversary free show in the park by the East River – to see so many people including Lee Quinones, both Ahearn brothers, Cold Crush brothers, Lady Pink, Fab Five Freddy, Futura, Mare 139, Jane Dickson, Lisa Lee, Patti Astor, Joe Conzo, Martha Cooper, among others – and Busy B, who reminded us that the early days of hip-hop were about “peace, love, unity, and having fun”. Yeah, we’re on board for more of that.

Stay tuned this month for exclusive BSA coverage of Nuart ’13 in Stavanger, Urban Forms in Lodz, Faile at the Dallas Contemporary, a number of new gallery shows with the new crop of artists on display, and even a chance for BSA to meet you in Bushwick at a special event on the 19th, wink wink.

So here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week including Amanda Wong, Bunny M, Case Maclaim, Dede, Droid 907, Freddie 111 Street, Gilf!, Josh McCutchen, Judith Supine, Meer sau, Phetus, Phlegm, PRVRT, r1, Reme821, SARZTKG, and Vexta.

Top image is by Judith Supine (photo © Jaime Rojo).

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Judith Supine. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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PRVRT (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Vexta, Gilf! and the Boyz. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Phlegm (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Phlegm. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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r1. Johannesburg, South Africa.  (photo © r1.)

“The piece is made of reclaimed plastic bottles that were assembled in a large wire mesh,” says South African installation artist r1, who created this piece in a way that reminded us of the El Anatsui show this year at the Brooklyn Museum and on the Highline.  “Community and street art seems to work well together,” r1 says when recalling the spontaneously posing kids who arrived to get in the picture.

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r1. Johannesburg, South Africa.  (photo © r1.)

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Phetus . Reme821  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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DEDE  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Artist Unknown  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Meer Sau. Translation: “Damn, looking good today!” Salzburg, Austria. (photo © Meer Sau)

Meer Sau shares these smiles with BSA readers this week, where a crosswalk is emblazoned with some words of encouragement. He did the installation and then stood around waiting to see what expressions he could capture. “Everybody wants compliments,” Sau explains.

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Josh McCutchen (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Freddie 111 Street.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Case Maclaim (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Droid907, Amanda Wong and SARZ TKG in Atlanta. (photo © SARZ TKG)

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Magnet Wall in Chelsea with some regulars and new additions.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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bunny M (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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

 

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Nard in Capetown, South Africa. A Concrete Flower.

New Video Illuminates an Articulate Student of Graffiti and Street Art

As our thoughts turn to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the revolutionary leader of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize winner who turns 95 this month and who remains seriously ill under the watchful eye of everyone, we send good vibrations and wishes to him and his family.

On a hopeful note we are glad to bring you this story about a young Street Artist from Capetown who is creating a legacy of her own with aerosol cans.  An articulate student of graffiti, Nard is now pursuing a colorfully geometric, often character based street art route on walls around her city and has also begun to travel internationally – recently even to Brooklyn, where she posed for BSA in this photo for Jaime Rojo.

Nard in Brooklyn late winter 2013 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“Graffiti here started in Apartheid when people were writing “Free Mandela” and political messages,” Nard relates in this brand new mini-documentary by Ry George. “They didn’t even know about graffiti as a pop element so they just used to paint those things until they got exposed to hip-hop,” she explains as she describes the stories she has learned about how early graffiti writers actually learned about style through mailing letters, sketches, and photos back and forth with other graffiti writers elsewhere in the world.

Now she is a part of “the biggest art movement in the world,” she says of the global Street Art scene. “That’s because of the freedom that comes with it.”

Screenshot from “Concrete Flower” ( © Nard and Ry George)

Screenshot from “Concrete Flower” ( © Nard and Ry George)

Screenshot from “Concrete Flower” ( © Nard and Ry George)

Screenshot from “Concrete Flower” ( © Nard and Ry George)

“I think when people speak about graffiti they usually mean how it started with letterforms and tags.  When they speak about Street Art it is anything else besides letters. Like the traditional sense of graffiti isn’t exactly how it is because everybody is sticking to that rule of ‘a tag and a throwup and a piece and bombing and ‘getting up’  – the same thing that people did back in the 70s or 80s, and sometimes letters can be Street Art.” – Nard from “Concrete Flower”.

A neighbor steps up to get a close look at Nard’s work. Screenshot from “Concrete Flower” ( © Nard and Ry George)

Screenshot from “Concrete Flower” ( © Nard and Ry George)

‘Concrete Flower” was shot and edited by Ryan George @ry_george, featuring interviews with local graffiti artist FERS @fersyndicate and street art photographer Klaus Warschkow @klauswarschkow. Thanks also to Jamie Litt.

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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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