Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Beyond Walls Tour 2022 – Holyoke, Colorado. Via Tost Films 2. Beyond Walls Tour 2022 – Fall River, MA 3. Spray Daily: Fisheye Storys VOL. 1
BSA Special Feature: Beyond Walls Tour 2022 – Fall River, MA and Holyoke, Colorado
A public mural campaign franchise of sorts, the Beyond Walls Tour. Nearly a cottage industry by now, mural festivals are streamlined into mural programs across towns and cities to draw interest in and perhaps spur a local financial boom while delivering cultural impact. Here today is a look at Holyoke, Colorado, and Fall River, Massachusetts as part of Beyond Walls. In the case of the 6-year campaign in Fall River, Beyond Walls appears as part of a revitalization effort that partners with public and private funds and brings in educational components and community engagement – all aligning with a goal to strengthen and build a ”Cultural Economy Plan”. Of course, none of this is possible without the artists.
Tost Films gives you a sense of the environment on the streets as artists this summer brought solid skills and vision to their work here.
Beyond Walls Tour 2022 – Holyoke, Colorado. Via Tost Films
Beyond Walls Tour 2022 – Fall River, MA. Via Tost Films
Spray Daily: Fisheye Storys VOL. 1
Returning to the roots of this democratic people’s art movement that is largely free of commercial interests, we check with some graffiti writers making their own contribution to public space.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Yoko Ono / Imagine Peace 2. Ogryz in Poland: Graffiti TV 3. Bikismo From Tost Films
BSA Special Feature: Yoko Ono / Imagine Peace Digital Billboard Campaign
You wouldn’t know it by the continuous bombing that the US has been doing over the last 20 years or that Russia has been doing in Ukraine for the last 20 days or so, but it doesn’t have to be this way. We refer to a January article about it in Salon that says the US drops an average of 46 bombs a day, and they are not the only ones who are talking about this. They refer to the “December 2021 New York Times exposé of the consequences of U.S. airstrikes, the result of a five-year investigation, was stunning not only for the high civilian casualties and military lies it exposed, but also because it revealed just how little investigative reporting the U.S. media have done on these two decades of war.” Why don’t most of us know about this?
Let’s disincentivise war and make it completely unappealing for those who profit from it. And as Yoko has been saying for decades, Imagine Peace. Her new campaign of digital billboard messages are in London, New York, Melbourne, Seoul, West Hollywood, Berlin, Milan… As you listen to the atmospheric sounds on this video of her billboard in Piccadilly Circus in London, it’s surprise the number of American accents you hear, and the traffic sounds don’t sync at all with the action on the street. Obviously it is not meant to be a documentary, rather an aspirational idea.
Yoko Ono / Imagine Peace
Graffiti TV 097 Presents: Ogryz
Despite the chilly winter weather graffiti writer Ogryz from Białystok, Poland dedicates his time and skills to a fresh new wall, here captured by Graffiti TV.
Bikismo From Tost Films
Tost Films perseveres in the genre of graffiti/street art/mural video documentary making – taking their cues from the talent. In this video featuring the wildly talented Bikismo, a more comedic fun-loving aspect of the creative process is on display.
“The jewel of the Caribbean, representing wherever you are.”
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Banksy – A t-shirt sold to help the Colston 4 in Bristol. 2. Don Rimx en Dorado Puerto Rico via Tost Films 3. Murals For The Movement DUMBO 4. Open Arms x Montana Colors
BSA Special Feature: Banksy – A t-shirt sold to help the Colston 4 in Bristol.
“Who the hell was Edward Colston?”
“Edward Colston was a slave trader from Bristol who supervised the kidnap of over 80,000 people. Up to 20,000 of them died in transit and were thrown overboard. This isn’t about erasing history — it’s about confronting it.”
Banksy – A t-shirt sold to help the Colston 4 in Bristol.
Don Rimx en Dorado Puerto Rico via Tost Films
Beautiful brother and street artist/muralist Don Rimx shares his newest mural celebrating Homenaje a Jose “Chico” Lind, a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball second baseman, and former manager of the Atlantic League’s Bridgeport Bluefish. The new piece is regaled with celebration and song in Dorado, Puerto Rico.
Murals For The Movement DUMBO via Tost Films
Curated by Liza Quiñonez of Street Theory Gallery, artists Cey Adams, Sophia Dawson, and Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, celebrate African American and Latinx heritages in a city and a social climate that is always on the move. Nationally and internationally renowned Brooklyn artists with histories and talents for miles, the three painted new works in DUMBO that combine elements of fine art, hip hop, and pop culture – with a background of deeply needed conversations about racial and social justice in this city, and this country.
Open Arms x Montana Colors
“Open Arms protects the lives of the most vulnerable people in international waters,” says Laura Lannuza, communications director for the group, “where adminstrations are allowing people to die.” The paint company Montana has created a program raising awareness about the activities of this group and the greater problem of refugees chased from their homes due to economic, geographic reasons as well as those in the international war industry that profits from human suffering.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. Ocean Cleanup: “That’s A Big A** Catch” 2. PichiAvo: Venus de Mil in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 3. ASVP in NYC via Tost Films
BSA Special Feature: Ocean Cleanup: “That’s A Big A** Catch”
Are you looking for career fulfillment? To do work that actually matters? Here’s a path you may look into. Just look at the reactions and the faces of the people involved.
“The crew offshore in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch achieved our largest ocean plastic catch to date in a single extraction with System 002 on September 22nd, 2021. This load amounts to 3.8 tons and concludes the last short test of the campaign.”
Ocean Cleanup: “That’s A Big A** Catch”
PichiAvo: Venus de Mil in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
A fresh new wall from the dynamic duo PichiAvo in Largo da Batata square in São Paulo. One of their strongest works to date, for the Nalato Festival.
ASVP in NYC via Tost Films
Filmmaker Mario of Tost Films captures a brand new abstract wall by Brooklyn’s own ASVP.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. HEREDITAS – Gonzalo Borondo 2. HOTTEA “Aaron.” Wooden Walls Project. Asbury Park, NJ. 3. DRAGON76 “COEXIST” Video by Tost Films
BSA Special Feature: HEREDITAS – Gonzalo Borondo
A companion video to his exhibition project Hereditas at The Esteban Vicente Museum of Contemporary Art artist Gonzalo Borondo reveals the complexity of his intervention here.
“Its aim is to question the past on the basis of present presuppositions, in particular, to recognize the museum as a place to preserve our cultural heritage for future generations and to show art’s amazing capacity to bring back to life objects that have lost their original purpose. In addition, it pays tribute to nature as the foundation of culture and inspiration of art and religious symbols.”
HOTTEA “Aaron”. Wooden Walls Project. Asbury Park, NJ.
Back with his second installation in this historic and tourist town of Asbury, HOTTEA dances with the breezes of the sea.
DRAGON76 “COEXIST” Video by Tost Films
A fresh piece in Jersey City by Dragon76, the folks at Tost Films offer an up close view of the work in progress.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. “FAME”, the Italian Street Art Festival Documentary 2. Jersey City Artists at Work Painting for the first Mural Festival Here 3. “UNSATISFYING” Looks at Frustration with Smart Whimsy
BSA Special Feature: “FAME”, the Italian Street Art Festival Documentary, Not the American Teen Drama Film
Everyone likes to declare that they were the first in graffiti and street art, before it was cool, when it was cool, before there was even a name for it, when things were pure, and pure genius. Everyone and everything after them and then are just shit. And gurrrrll, you better claim that legacy.
For FAME, launched during the late 2000s in Grattaglie, Puglia, Angelo Milano was always the center of a scene he created, enticing international street artists with promises of collaborations, big walls, big opportunities, big plates of delicious local cuisine. With his festival, he formed a club of exclusivity, and once successful, he slammed the door shut on the legacy, never again repeated. Later he became a gallery owner who sells artworks of most of them plus a new crop.
Lusciously self-aggrandized as an “evil genius” in this documentary, co-produced with Giacomo Abbruzzese, the swanning and sexy comic Milano brings himself into the middle of it all – and it all goes with him.
Jose Mertz at Jersey City Mural Festival 2021. Via Tost Films
A quick behind the scenes view of artist Jose Mertz last week in Jersey City, shot and edited by Tost Films. Most impressive perhaps is the techniques he uses to wash with color, gradually and subtly building mass and form of wild creature indeed.
“UNSATISFYING” Looks at Frustration with Smart Whimsy
Parallel Studio produces this short animated film that brilliantly captures those situations when we experience the frustration of failing at performing small tasks. It’s annoyingly adorable, and everyone can relate.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. “Bubble Tea” with Sofles 2. Doug Gillem Discusses Stereotypes in Street Art 3. Vero Rivera in Columbia, SC. Via Tost Films
BSA Special Feature: “Bubble Tea” with Sofles
Sofles gives us such beautiful Fridays – with a jump in his step and a flair in the sweep of his arm. It’s bubble time!
Our Expectations of Street Art’s Role in Projecting and Reflecting Values
It is not a surprise that street art reflects the culture back to itself, including elements that some will find objectionable or disgusting – this has always been true. As the so-called “culture” of street art becomes professionalized and monetized and regarded as legitimate by institutions and commercial interests like brands, we continue to hear that it is now being, to some extent, more closely examined. Doug Gillen of FifthWall TV explores criticisms of one artist’s work – FinDac – in regard to Asian tropes and stereotypes.
People have mentioned FinDac’s work for the last half-decade at least, so it is interesting that a current heated awareness regarding identity politics is pushing the conversation further. Truthfully, stereotypes about blacks, gays, the police, media, the military, women, men, religious institutions, politicians, sex roles, gender roles, political parties, geopolitics… have always been on display in myriad forms in street art and graffiti. It can be a worthwhile exercise when we begin to examine them in greater detail.
Vero Rivera in Columbia, SC. Via Tost Films
A commission for a suburban coffee shop mural, this hand painted work by Vero Rivera is a few steps removed from the street art and graffiti scene that first sparked out interest decades ago. The dynamics are different, but the spirit of creativity is the same.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. “We Run NYC” and the Return of Wholecar Graffiti Pieces 2. MADC1 in Abu Dhabi via Tost Films 3. El Mac in Wynwood, Miami
BSA Special Feature: “We Run NYC” and the Return of Wholecar Graffiti Pieces
NYC yards, layups, top-to-bottoms, wholecars. Is this 2021 or 1981?
The second volume of the mysterious project titled We Run NYC dropped this March 15th. on the System Boys Platform which reports on daily graffiti news since 2012. The project whose apparent goal is to bring back the golden years of subway art during the 70’s by painting whole subway cars in NYC is a mystery to most people. The writers themselves use different aliases when painting on the cars to evade the law.
We Run NYC / Vol. 01/10. For some reason Volume 1 from December 2019 has restrictions but you can watch it by clicking on WATCH ON YOUTUBE.
MADC1 in Abu Dhabi via Tost Films
See? I told you she’s mad!
In Abu Dhabi last year for @forabudhabi, German graffiti writer and mural artist Mad C (Claudia Walde) did her largest mural to date with a team that she says “from 7 different countries.” The 56 meter (184′) high piece is stunning in its warping geometry, full of action high above Al Ruwaysi Street.
El Mac in Wynwood
“With this piece, as with most of my pieces, my focus is on creating something with timelessness.” He succeeded in that pursuit because this large mural by El Mac in the Wynwood District of Miam has been there a couple of years already and still looks as fresh and immediate as the day he finished it.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening: 1. DREAMER: Jahmal Williams Life n Art and Skateboarding. 2. CASCADES: X L’Atlas x Emmaus x Art Azoi 3. CELSO via Tost Films
BSA Special Feature: DREAMER: Jahmal Williams Life n Art and Skateboarding
Improvisational, his work is like jazz that way. As a skater, he’s a musician. As an artist, he’s a composer.
DREAMER: Jahmal Williams Life n Art and Skateboarding.
CASCADES: X L’Atlas x Emmaus x Art Azoi
Completed half a dozen years ago, this kinetic work by L’ATLAS is emblematic of the lasting and ephemeral pictorial interventions that Art Azoï programs and produces. A twenty-storey building in rue de Ménilmontant becomes the vibrating geometric jam that shakes the neighborhood, thanks to the sharp and organic patterning L’ATLAS lays down the wall.
CELSO via Tost Films
Life breaks you into many pieces. It’s up to you to mortar them all back together to make a fine mosaic. Let Celso show you the way.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening participants at Festival Asalto 2020: 1. “BY VIRTUE OF” a collaboration project between Faith XLVII and Zane Mayer 2. Five Minutes with: 1UP Crew in Berlin – Via I LOVE GRAFFITI.DE 3. MadC1 Via Tost Films 4. Tiacuilos: A film by Federico Peixoto.
BSA Special Feature: “BY VIRTUE OF” a collaboration project between Faith XLVII and Zane Mayer
These hands first appeared projected on a 10 story building in Jacksonville, Florida. A compilation of hands filmed during interviews with America’s homeless, the collaborative video piece by Zane Meyer and Faith XLVII is instructive, expansive, colorful, genuine. Say the artists about the focus of this work, “Like books, the hands tell stories of what they have been through. Slow movements, delicate gestures, and subconscious motions make up the scenes of the film – a match is lit, stones are organized, tattoos are shown, sand is filtered. Clenched hands narrate stories of power, or anger, while open hands suggest an offering or a search for an embrace.”
“BY VIRTUE OF” a collaboration project between Faith XLVII and Zane Mayer
Five Minutes with: 1UP Crew in Berlin – Via I LOVE GRAFFITI.DE
Looks like 1UP Crew are up to no good, as usual. On a large scale, as usual. Impressive, as usual.
MadC1 Via Tost Films
A small taste of the stunning MadC painting her highest mural to date – 56 meters (184 feet) high – in Abu Dhabi for @forabudhabi – with a team from 7 different countries.
Tiacuilos: A film by Federico Peixoto.
As we have always done; here is an excellent opportunity to broaden the conversation about this world-wide people’s art movement that goes by many names. Tlacuilos: “The definitive film chronicle of Graffiti and Hip Hop in Central America”. A film by Federico Peixoto.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening :
1. Kashink in Miami and her OUTSIDE / INSIDE project
2. Hold On, Just Going to Post This Letter – Почта России
3. Nuart 2014 via Hypebeast TV
4. Tost Films: Emigrantes en Yola
5. ROA teaser for Jonathan LeVine Gallery “Metazoa”
Kashink in Miami and her OUTSIDE / INSIDE project
Experimenter and Street Artist hailing from France, Kashink observes the absurd and reports what she has found. A brainy badass, Ms. Kashink uses vivid color, cartoon, and calculated critique to a scene, whether scripted or organic. Part painter/ part matinee idol, Kashink helps us to question the paradox of our art and creativity classification systems.
Hold On, Just Going to Post This Letter – Почта России
A social experiment with Russian post office boxes, here is a simple way to discourage the remaining 5 people who still mail letters.
Nuart 2014 via Hypebeast TV
A nice recap of the events at Nuart via HypeBeast.
Tost Films: Emigrantes en Yola
ROA teaser for Jonathan LeVine Gallery “Metazoa”
“ROA views the beaver, the state animal of New York, as a metaphor for the idea that nature has the ability to reclaim itself. The recovery of the beaver in New York City after it was previously thought extinct is exemplary of how humans and animals affect each other and reflects the artist’s interest in how animals evolve within urban landscapes.”
Elfo is a graffiti writer and social commentator whose work intentionally sidesteps traditional notions of style or technical lettering. This …Read More »
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
