A mural by Chris Stain in Stavanger for Nuart 09 (photo Ian Cox)
There’s been a little rain and some sunny nice days too this week in Stavanger, Norway where the Nuart Festival is celebrating Brooklyn street art. That means the whole town!
Chris Stain has had opportunity to spread the work around this charming place, and people feel lucky to have him. Here are a few beautiful shots from photographers Ian Cox and Logan Hicks of Chris and his work.
Chris Stain rocking out while drawing (photo Ian Cox)
Taking a look from a different angle (photo Logan Hicks)
Wet streets in Stavanger - Chris is to the right (photo Ian Cox)
(photo Ian Cox)
Chris works at night while people have dinner on the corner (photo Ian Cox)
(photo Ian Cox)
"Would you stop taking pictures already?" (photo Logan Hicks)
We had the pleasure of working with Chris about 6 weeks ago on a roof in Brooklyn.
Nuart Main Gallery: It’s peaceful setting and appearance belie the great struggles of humanity inside (photo Logan Hicks)
What is it with that Norwegian air that makes some people so fresh? Or maybe that’s the beer…
One off-handed reference to Empires and before you know it, some closet soldiers start falling into character and spouting military metaphors and going off about seiges and skullduggery.
We aren’t completely positive what our in-the-field reporter is talking about but until they have a live blogging tent at Nuart this is what we can pass along your way, dear reader…. (The apparent rift between Baltimore and Non-Baltimore contingents has been independently verified however)
In the field, Chris Stain breathlessly relates the events as they unfolded;
“Yesterday BK converged in Stavanger at 1200 hours and planned a city-wide assault under the guise of NUART. During the meeting Skewville and Chris Stain were informed by Swoon that Stockholm and Copenhagen were not in Germany. ”
Lessons in geography.
“Swoon and accomplice Ben Wolf formed a plan to conquer the eastern wing of SKUR 2 by setting up an ambush in an adjacent alley.” (photo Chris Stain)
“Infantryman Logan Hicks wasted no time breaking into a full war cry with a new tactical approach on stenciling” (photo Chris Stain)
“…while the diabolical Leon Reid got busy drafting his piece for installation to take out a bank in the city center.” (photo Chris Stain)
“David Choe was meet with resistance when attempting a mission in allied territory.” (Photo Logan Hicks)
Finally, it was brought to the attention of NUART commander-in-chief Martyn Reed that two of the BK artists were originally from Baltimore and subsequently were made to ride in the back of the bus and eat at separate lunch counters to keep from contaminating the rest of the troops.
End apartheid in Stavanger! I’m putting this on my Facebook profile and if you really cared you would too. (Now, Baltimore is in Sweden right?)
“But seriously folks this sh*t is gonna be a classic!” – Private Stain
Okay, not to get carried away – and anyway there are a fair number of anti-empire peeps out there….The next phase of Nuart begins tonight and street artists from New York have started in earnest deep into the Norwegian night to bring the best of Brooklyn to the walls. While Brooklynites are back home celebrating the long Labor Day weekend with backyard, rooftop and sidewalk barbecues, Brooklyn street artists have begun the hard labor of installing brand new works in the main exhibition space for the Nuart Opening Weekend coming next.
Skewville is unpacking the suitcases and rolling out the orange caution fence and milk crates.
Chris Stain lightly sketches the outlines of a working fella.
Unveiling a new piece and style that he’s been working on, first to appear is a stairway by Logan Hicks
Brooklyn favorite Swoon anchors her piece with a figure.
David Choe is already pulling out the stops at 3 a.m.
Thanks to on-the-spot Workhorse Logan Hicks for letting us all take a look behind the scenes.
“Oh, my God! We slept on our own important art movement for all these years.” – Lee Quinones
He was talking broadly about graffiti, but he might as well be talking about Street Art too. New York-based Lee Quinones is one of the most important graffiti artists – with some of his work in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
GRL Arriving at Nuart Festival to Demo the Eyewriter Project
Yesterday the Graffiti Research Labs (GRL) arrived in Stavanger, Norway, in advance of their presentation at the Brooklyn street art celebration called the Nuart Festival.
Rockin the Kan-Eye-tronic GRL Style (image courtesy GRL)
James Powderly and Evan Roth are artists and hackers (the good kind) of technology, always looking for ways to project art without damaging property, but in new and innovative ways. This week at Nuart Festival GRL are showcasing their own works as well as the “EyeWriter” project, which is seeking to enable people who are otherwise disabled to use only the movement of their eyes to create art and communicate.
On hand Nuart special guest will be old school LA graffiti writer Tony Quan, aka Temptone, with whom the “EyeWriter” project has done experiments with the developing technology.
The EyeWriter project at work (image courtesy GRL)
Pedestrians & Sidewalks Urban Art Program – Check out this Open Call for Urban Artists to do a project by the WTC Site
“69 Meters,” by artist Magda Sayeg, on Montague Street in Downtown Brooklyn organized in partnership with the Montague BID (image courtesy Alternaventions)
Call for Proposals
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, in cooperation with NYCDOT invite artists and/or designers to propose conceptual designs for a temporary mural to be installed on the part of the construction fence surrounding the World Trade Center Site, located on Church Street between Liberty and Vesey streets in Lower Manhattan. The deadline is October 1, 2009.
The Urban Art Program is an initiative to invigorate the City’s streetscapes with engaging temporary art installations. As part of the World Class Streets initiative, art will help foster more vibrant and attractive streets and offer the public new ways to experience New York City’s streetscapes.
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Street Art Shrine on Williamsburg Bridge honors DJ Josh Link
This bicyclist lights a candle for Josh Link. He said he didn’t know who the guy was, but wanted to pay tribute anyway. (photo Steven P. Harrington)
A not uncommon sight in New York is the street-side shrine, a public and very personal outpouring of grief for a loved one who lost their life due to an accident on the streets. Currently on the pedestrian walkway of the Williamsburg Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn an impromptu tribute is sprayed on a city plaque, a photo taped to it, flowers laid nearby, and candles are kept alight. While not art for it’s own sake, these displays have a powerful way to symbolize love, grief, and tribute… while the traffic continues to rumble by.
DJ Josh Link (image courtesy Nicky Digital)
On August 24 well known DJ Josh Link was hit by a black car on the Williamsburg Bridge while riding his Vespa, and the accident was fatal. According to news reports, he was knocked from his ride and died as a result.
Sadly and ironically, graffiti had just begun to appear around town paying tribute to another New York DJ saying, “R.I.P. DJ AM”, who died 4 days later, reportedly of a drug overdose.
David Cho is featured Artist on cover of Nuart 09 Publication
GRAFF -> STREET ART -> PUBLIC ART
The first images out of our Sister City Stavanger’s Nuart Festival are starting to come in, and they start off with Part I of Leon Reid IV‘s talk which has just been posted. Artists and historians like to listen to Reid because he takes the time to give full context to his experience as a person and an artist, and he begins to expand the concept of art in the public sphere beyond simply legal and illegal, but how it’s existence is part of a public discourse that continues to evolve.
Stay tooned for behind the scenes fun and official talks with Chris Stain, Logan Hicks, and Brad Downey as part of the Nuart 09 Education Program currently under way.
The Nuart official publication is nearly wrapped and the cover features a piece by inimitable David Choe.
In her latest mural, Faring Purth delivers a powerful reflection on connection, continuity, and the complexity of evolving relationships—a true …Read More »
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
