All posts tagged: Vinz

Bunnies, Birds, Sexuality and VINZ Feel Free’s “Innocence” in Brooklyn

November 4, 2017 Artists, Interview

It’s been a typical New York autumn week for Vinz Feel Free, the wild-life street surrealist from Valencia.

Vinz Feel Free contributes his phone booth ad takeover for the growing and influential #resistanceisfemale campaign (photo © Jaime Rojo)

His freshly painted birds-on-a-wire on the gallery door and legal wheat pastes on the street are contiguous with the 20 piece collection of photo-painting collaged works inside The Marcy Project in Williamsburg.

The gallery itself doubles as a community center for locals who like to play on three ping-pong tables and listen to music and share a story or a joke, but excitement builds today as the fresh crisp sunny fall air has been sweeping through the cavernous space to prepare for tonight’s’ solo Brooklyn debut.

Vinz Feel Free. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Well-read and politically astute about local and world affairs, the genial and curious artist quickly shares with you his firm observations regarding incursions on freedom by state actors and private corporations and the myriad hypocrisies of the self-ordained pious.

His own libertine escapades in the studio environment have brought arresting images to the street since 2011 that combine intimate nude metaphorical relationships topped by hand painted heads of the furry or plumed animal world – themselves representing an increasingly complex series of assigned roles and meanings.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Birds are associated with freedom, fish remind him of mindless consumerism, and frogs convey authority. He reserves reptiles for soulless soldiers of capital and authoritarian types. And the sudden preponderance of rabbits? Why sexuality and innocence of course.

“Innocence” is the name of the exhibition here curated by BSA and DK Johnston, and Vinz Feel Free has been preparing these works for many months. A project that has included his study of innocence, the show is meant to demarcate such shadings of the concept as to appear only subtly different from one another. To wit:

1. The quality or state of being innocent; freedom from sin or moral wrong.
2. Freedom from legal or specific wrong; guiltlessness.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“The birds were my first character and they represent freedom and this is why I chose naked people with birds heads. It’s not just the freedom but also the fragility and the tenderness.”

He often points to activism and public displays of protest when describing inspiration for his models poses, including his inspiration from the activists FEMEN, who disrobe at inopportune times for the powerful in public while the cameras are rolling. For this show he combines their handwritten slogans across bare chests and cloaks their rabbit heads with the knitted masks, or balaclavas, that the Russian musicians/activists Pussy Riot use in their surprise public demonstrations.

“When I began the Feel Free project in 2011 they were a lot of people in Valencia going into the streets fighting for rights for anyone to choose any kind of sexuality and against all the cuts in education and the repression that we are subject to,” he recalls, and you can begin to see that his fascinations for public activism, individual freedom, and the display of sexuality are intertwined.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“After the birds I started every year to introduce a new character into my own imaginary worlds and the latest one is the rabbit,” he explains, “that represents the sexuality and also the curiosity. It’s like they are taking the relay race baton from earlier demonstrations. The rabbits are not always naked sometimes they are dressed and sometimes they’re half naked and they are fighting for new things.”

The baton in this case is the move from one or two kinds of sexuality to a gender fluid approach. Although the preponderance of relationships he depicts is between females, a wall in the exhibition of photo-collaged scenarios mixes genders and relationships.

“I think of nudity and naked people as something that happens between friends and lovers. Here we are taking a little step beyond with curiosity between girls and girls, and girls and boys, and boys and boys; bisexuals, pansexuals, transsexuals.”

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

But this is the so-called western world, and these are art-gallery pieces. When it comes to other locations and illegal or quasi-legal street art, the artworks in public may be reconsidered… or abandoned altogether. With shows, fairs and street in New York, Los Miami, Munich, Berlin, Vienna, London, Milan, he discovered different responses to nudity and sexuality in African and Asia.

“I was in Malaysia in 2015 and in Bangkok but people told me that at that moment it was a military government in control and the punishment for doing graffiti or interventions in the city was 15 years in prison,” he says with utter seriousness.

“And they told me that if I plan to do nudity on the street the prison sentence would most likely be longer. So I came back home to Valencia and said, ‘forget about it’.”

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

What about putting up his double height wheat-pasted hybrids in his home city of Valencia, we wondered. How long do they remain untouched?

“It’s really difficult to say – it can be two or three weeks,” he says. “They remove the genitals – the vagina and penises are the first things to be removed. Later the nipples. There are some of them that partially remain after five years but usually the lifespan is less than one month depending on where they are. It really depends on the area and the neighborhood and the kind of people who live there – if they feel empathy with the work and if they like it.”

It’s interesting that he speaks of empathy, perhaps evidence of his own desire for connection with the audience. Ultimately his interest is the conversation as a Street Artist acting in the ever-bubbling rhythm of an active city, a call waiting for your response to his paper and paint entreaty.

“For me it is not a problem if it does not last – it is not my wall. I am not the owner. I don’t mind if another artist comes and paints over it because that means the city is alive. I have the old romantic idea about ephemeral art. If something remains forever that means the city becomes old and you want it to be alive, it must change.”

In New York and Brooklyn anyway, there is little doubt of that likelihood. Vinz Feel Free now momentarily changes it a little bit, before it carries on its sometimes innocent way.

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free “Innocence” Opens today at The Marcy Project. Click HERE for details.

We wish to extend our deep gratitude to Kathy and Erwin of Bed-Stuy Art Residence (BedStuyartresidency.org) for their support and generosity, always.

BSA Film Friday: 04.24.15

April 24, 2015 Artists

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

Now screening :

1. C215 and Caravaggio
2. East London Quick Tour of Street Art of : BUSH
3. Vinz: Feel Free Project (NSFW)
4. Woozy in Athens: Moving Shadows

BSA Special Feature: C215 In the Footsteps of His Favorite Painter: Caravaggio.

Here is a new short documentary that follows the unique pathway of Caravaggio, as told by one of his biggest fans, the street artist and master stencillist C215 visiting Palermo. He says he is sure Caravaggio would be a street artist if he were alive today. Who would argue?

Quick Tour of Street Art of East London: BUSH

We get many video submissions every week and this one really caught our eye because it features two fellows whom you are convinced are going to be singing the lyrics to the soundtrack at any moment — but in fact they never do anything of the sort.

Perhaps they are just telecommunicating the lyrics to us. Possibly they are here to adorn the street art and graffiti, or provide a measuring guage for us to more accurately estimate the various sizes of aerosol pieces. Expressionless and unfazed, they could be modeling their handsome fashions. Perhaps they are protecting the cameraman from thugs who could sneak up on him unannounced. You just don’t know.

“My work is low-fi and I work on no budget and work with unsigned musicians and reaching out to the wider creative community only for this video as I feel there hasn’t been one like this created out there about London,” says Eric, who made the piece. That last bit is probably true. Eric, thank you for sharing. Regards to the actors, and thanks for the tour.

Vinz: Feel Free Project (NSFW)

“The naked people with birds heads represent freedom. They are naked because they have nothing to hide.” explains the street artist Vinz, who was adopted by the gallery system nearly seconds after these bare breasted birds first began appearing on public walls. This is a good opportunity to hear the artist speak for himself and to understand the various visual codes present in his work and their corresponding meanings.

Woozy in Athens: Moving Shadows

This car burning during protests against the Greek government takes on a second meaning as street artist Woozy walks up to the burned metal and plastic carcass and begins painting upon it. The shock of the reality leaves you stunned, even as he begins to transform the charred car with art.

A Brief Look at NY Art Fairs : Spring/Break & Scope

March 16, 2015 Artists

Did you have a chance to hit some of the shows during New York’s Amory Week? Part blessing and curse, New York has this pre-Spring ritual of organized galleries tucked into little booths in far-flung neo-convention center architectural spaces that offer an onslaught of fascinating new ideas and artists who inspire you and give you a glimpse of the future. Alternately the works on display can sadden you with much derivative mediocrity scattered around and small chartreuse plumes of resentful dealers who clearly are not “people” people alternately ignoring or staring at you.

Before we headed to Berlin for a show we had time to made a mad dash through Scope and The Spring Break Art Show. Here are a few things that caught our eye.

“A Door Within a Door” – Grace Villamil curated by Coming Soon and Katya Braxton. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The Spring/Break Art Show, now in its 4^th year, is perhaps a current favorite because it creates space for exploring and considering. A 40 curator-driven art fair that featured 150+ artists on display in the re-purposed Moynihan Station (the enormous and grand old main post office), the panoply of concepts tweaked and piqued electrodes in the brain with plays on perception – one of the best outcomes you can hope for with contemporary art. Perhaps because the space is free for the curator, the ideas are similarly liberated.

Bazaar Teens curated by Dustin Yellin. 10K of donated cash was shredded to make paintings. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

And everyone is welcomed – collectors, artists, galleries, critics, scene junkies. TRANSACTION was the theme in the Skylight wing that looked like it hadn’t been used for about 20 years. There was a faint fear of Asbestos swirling around our heads while we appreciated the institutional decay of the interiors, laying a background for the fairs multiple installations. Somehow the possibilities for the curators to transform the space were endless, and one wasn’t completely sure when the decay of the interior was intentional or residual…but that was part of the fun.

What separates this fair from the rest of the pack is that the art here is not presented as an unattainable commodity, rather for the most part it is an installation/performance art show where you roam through custom fashioned rooms on both sides of long hallways of deadened fluorescent lights and ceiling leaks. Maybe its because we see a lot of urban art in detritus and abandoned buildings, but this was fun. And yes some of the art was amazing. Good to see artists are still experimenting and taking risks and can make site-specific installations that are alive and provocative.

Bazaar Teens curated by Dustin Yellin. 10K of donated cash was shredded to make paintings. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bazaar Teens curated by Dustin Yellin. 10K of donated cash was shredded to make paintings. Shredded money taken from the donations box. Some prankster put some of the brochures in there for color we suppose… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rita Ikonen curated by Yulia Topchiy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Margaret Bowland curated by Tess Sol Schwab. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Christine Sciulli video projection on fog was curated by Ambre. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cate Giordano curated by Eve Sussman and Simon Lee. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anne Nowak curated by Cassandra M Johnson. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Grace Villamil curated by Coming Soon and Katya Braxton. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fall On Your Sword Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Samsonovich (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Samsonovich and friends in the wild on the streets of NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Over at Scope the story was much different. In their press release and on their site they were heralding a “progressive format” in a new location. The latter was true. It was a new location. The former didn’t materialize and we were hard pressed to find what was progressive or new about it. There were still the temporary partitions and rented booths and while some of the spaces did run into each other it wasn’t with any particular goal for a collaborative spirit or some such idealist notion. If anything, Scope was chaotic with visitors and exhibitors remarking about not having enough time to set up when the doors open at 2:00 pm for the VIP and press, giving a frustrated aura of discord that may have influenced our perception.

Many galleries were still hanging works and adding price and information tags on the walls when we were there. But we know how it is when your dinner party guest arrives at 7 on the dot and you haven’t gotten dressed- you may want them to go out for a cocktail and then return.

Additionally, and unfortunately, Scope more than any of the other show seems to incorporate more derivative and secondary market works than their competitors. Street Art/Urban Art is increasingly hot so it appeared at many more galleries this year but without much curatorial consideration. The fair also including works we have already seen elsewhere, so it was hard to get too excited about that. But there were definitely some gems in there as well. Here are some shots of things we saw:

Isaac Cordal (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miss Van (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nathan Vincent (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swampy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Michael Mut. Click HERE to learn more about this artist and Still Counting Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WK Interact (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stikki Peaches (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Li-Hill (photo © Jaime Rojo)

XO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaybo Monk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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BSA 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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The 2014 BSA Year in Images (VIDEO)

December 17, 2014 Artists

Here it is! Our 2014 wrap up featuring favorite images of the year by Brooklyn Street Art’s Jaime Rojo.

Before our video roundup below here is the Street Art photographer’s favorite of the year: Ask Jaime Rojo, our illustrious editor of photography at BrooklynStreetArt.com , who takes thousands of photographs each year, to respond to a simple question: What was your favorite photo of the year?

For 2014 he has swift response: “The Kara Walker.” Not the art, but the artist posed before her art.

It was an impromptu portrait that he took with his iPhone when the artist unveiled her enormous sculpture at a small gathering of neighborhood locals and former workers of the Domino Sugar Factory, informal enough that Rojo didn’t even have his professional camera with him. Aside from aesthetics for him it was the fact that the artist herself was so approachable and agreed to pose for him briefly, even allowing him to direct her just a bit to get the shot, that made an imprint on his mind and heart.

Of course the sculpture is gone and so is the building that was housing it for that matter – the large-scale public project presented by Creative Time was occupying this space as the last act before its destruction. The artist herself has probably moved on to her next kick-ass project after thousands of people stood in long lines along Kent Avenue in Brooklyn to see her astounding indictment-tribute-bereavement-celebration in a hulking warehouse through May and June.

But the photo remains.

And Rojo feels very lucky to have been able to seize that quintessential New York moment: the artist in silhouette before her own image, her own work, her own outward expression of an inner world.

Jaime’s personal favorite of 2014; The site specific Kara Walker in front of her site specific installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in May of this year in Brooklyn. Artist Kara Walker. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

Now, for the Video

And our holiday gift to you for five years running, here is the brand new video of favorite images of graffiti and Street Art by Brooklyn Street Art’s editor of photography, Jaime Rojo.

Of a few thousand these 129 shots fly smoothly by as a visual survey; a cross section of graffiti, street art, and the resurgence of mural art that continues to take hold. As usual, all manner of art-making is on display as you wander your city’s streets. Also as usual, we prefer the autonomous free-range unsolicited, unsanctioned type of Street Art because that’s what got us hooked as artists, and ultimately, it is the only truly uncensored stuff that has a free spirit and can hold a mirror up to us. But you have to hand it to the muralists – whether “permissioned” or outright commissioned, some people are challenging themselves creatively and still taking risks.

Once again these artists gave us impetus to continue doing what we are doing and above all made us love this city even more and the art and the artists who produce it. We hope you dig it too.

Brooklyn Street Art 2014 Images of the Year by Jaime Rojo includes the following artists;

2Face, Aakash Nihalani, Adam Fujita, Adnate, Amanda Marie, Andreco, Anthony Lister, Arnaud Montagard, Art is Trash, Ben Eine, Bikismo, Blek Le Rat, Bly, Cake, Caratoes, Case Maclaim, Chris Stain, Cleon Peterson, Clet, Clint Mario, Col Wallnuts, Conor Harrington, Cost, Crummy Gummy, Dain, Dal East, Damien Mitchell, Damon, Dan Witz, Dasic, Don’t Fret, Dot Dot Dot, Eelco Virus, EKG, El Sol 25, Elbow Toe, Etam Cru, Ewok, Faring Purth, Gilf!, Hama Woods, Hellbent, Hiss, Hitnes, HOTTEA, Icy & Sot, Jana & JS, Jason Coatney, Jef Aerosol, Jilly Ballistic, Joe Iurato, JR, Judith Supine, Kaff Eine, Kashink, Krakenkhan, Kuma, Li Hill, LMNOPI, London Kaye, Mais Menos, Mark Samsonovich, Martha Cooper, Maya Hayuk, Miss Me, Mover, Mr. Prvrt, Mr. Toll, Myth, Nenao, Nick Walker, Olek, Paper Skaters, Patty Smith, Pixel Pancho, Poster Boy, Pyramid Oracle, QRST, Rubin 415, Sampsa, Sean 9 Lugo, Sebs, Sego, Seher One, Sexer, Skewville, SmitheOne, Sober, Sonni, Specter, SpY, Square, Stay Fly, Stik, Stikki Peaches, Stikman, Swil, Swoon, Texas, Tilt, Tracy168, Trashbird, Vexta, Vinz, Willow, Wolfe Works, Wolftits, X-O, Zed1.

Read more about Kara Walker in our posting “Kara Walker And Her Sugar Sphinx At The Old Domino Factory”.

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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 published on The Huffington Post

Vinz in New York Draws Attention to Fracking and Italian Sculpture

March 17, 2014 Artists

VINZ was in town recently and left a few of his amazing labor intensive paintings that highlight the world of natural beauty and hybrids. Remember when George Bush warned us about this in his State of the Union address? Yes, he did.

In the case of Vinz, these new wheatpastes dripping with oil are direct nods to famous sculptures you would have learned about during that History of Art class in college.

“I’ve used famous sculptures adapted to my characters, to denounce the danger of gas fracking on the coasts of Ibiza and Valencia (Spain),” he says of the new pieces that are direct rebuilds of pieces by Michelangelo Buonarroti, Auguste Rodin or Antonio Canova.

Thankfully fracking would never happen here. Right?

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Vinz. “Cupid and Psyche in oil” inspired by Antonio Canova. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz. “Cupid and Psyche in oil”. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz. “The Thinker in oil”. Inspired by Auguste Rodan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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New High-Water Mark for Street Art at Fairs for Armory Week

March 8, 2014 Artists

This year represents a high-water mark for current Street Artists being represented at the New York fairs if what we have just seen over the last couple of days is any indication. For those who have been following the trajectory of the new kids we’ve been talking about for the last decade, the room is rather getting a lot more crowded. Only a handful of years ago names that produced blank stares at your forehead and a little sniff of dismissal are garnering an extra lingering moment near the canvas and snap of the cellphone pic, complimentary champagne flute in hand.

Hellbent at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

With the gusts of wind provided by a couple of recent auctions, optimism about an up-turning economy, and even the Banksy one-month residency, it is not hard to imagine that we have some “overnight” stars in the midst of this constellation, but it is really anyone’s guess.

While we are certainly aware of it, we don’t dedicate too much ink to the commercial aspect of the Street Art scene, preferring to learn the lingua franca of these artists who have developed their narrative and visual style before our eyes, to celebrate experimentation, the creative spirit, and to give a pedestrian view of the street without being pedestrian.

But just as neighborhoods like Bushwick in Brooklyn, El Raval in Barcelona, LA’s downtown Arts District, and parts of London, Berlin, and Paris have been transforming by gentrification, we would be remiss if we didn’t note the more frequent raising of commercial eyebrows all around us when the topic turns to Street Art. It’s not a fever pitch, but can it be far off? There is already a solid first tier that everyone can name – and the stratification is taking shape below it.

Herb Smith (previously Veng RWK) at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Buffeted by blossoming sales of works by early 2000s Street Artists and the burgeoning of lifestyle companies now appropriating this cultural wealth and transforming it into “content” that helpfully couriers all manner of merch from spirits to soda, sneakers, and electronic smoking devices, we are looking for our seat belts as there a major shift in popular acceptance and critical embracing of 21^st century Street Artists up ahead.

As for the streets, the flood is going to continue. Street Art is Dead? Yes, we’ve been hearing this since 2002…

Here’s a brief non-specific and uneven survey of only some work showing this weekend by current or former Street Artists and graffiti writers – perhaps a third of what you can see in the New York fairs and satellite galleries.

Rubin at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fumero at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gilf! and Icy & Sot at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

EKG and Lamour Supreme at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alice Mizrachi and Jon Burgerman at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain and Rubin at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

See One and Chuck Berrett/Nicole Salgar of Cargo Collective at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JMR and Cake at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vicki DaSilva at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pose at Volta (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tip Toe at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Mac at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cope at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aakash Nihalini at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy and friends at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Film Friday: 05.31.13

May 31, 2013 Artists

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

Now screening: Las Calles Hablan : Street Art in Barcelona, RONZO Goes pre-historic with Skatersaurus, SAMO© by Aaron Rose and Thomas McMahan.

BSA Special Feature:
Las Calles Hablan : Street Art in Barcelona

“Las Calles Hablan is a story about discovering a hidden world, an extraordinary subculture and the struggle between an artistic community painting for freedom of expression and an increasingly restrictive dogmatic government,” says Justin Donlon as he speaks about this hour long documentary he made with Silvia Vidal Muratori and Katrine Knauer.

An educational and unpretentious study of the spectrum of Street Artists and techniques currently at play in Barcelona, the team traces the scene through personal observations and their network of local and international artists, local gallerists, and their connections globally via the Internet.

The film traces the trajectory from the Street Art/graffiti’s emergence at the end of the 70s following the Franco dictatorship and the rise of international hip-hop culture through the 90s into a sort of freewheeling golden era in the early 2000s. It also explains the current unease with the city, the professionalizing of the artists through a growing gallery practice, and the collaborative initiatives of some community leaders with artists.

Taking a straightforward documentary approach, the motivations and inspirations of current artists on the scene are presented without much of the exaggerated myth-making that more commercial hype vehicles often contain. Included in the examination are how community and local citizens and authorities have taken a constructive role in facilitating space and opportunities for some artists here and elsewhere, while the definition and appetite for illegal work ebbs and flows.

Featured artists:Zosen, Mina Hamada, Kenor, Kram, El Xupet Negre, Debens, Fert, Dase, SM172, Ogoch, Kafre, Aleix Gordo, Meibol, Eledu, C215, H101, Miss Van, Btoy, El Arte Es Basura, Konair, Gola, Vinz.

(Image above a screenshot of Vinz © Las Calles Hablan)

RONZO Goes pre-historic with Skatersaurus

A quickie with RONZO, who quickly demos how his latest charactor, the Skatersaurus, is created and installed.

SAMO© – Jean-Michel Basquiat
By Aaron Rose and Thomas McMahan

An electric train switch clicking and collaged short of distressed city clips paying homage to the free floating and cryptic phraseology of Basquiat as his street writing alter ego SAMO© . This new video directed by Aaron Rose and Thomas McMahan is a thrill cut to a New York graffiti era ever more cast in amber, a choppy popping scratching archival image soaked indictment/celebration of conformist chaotic consumerist culture and the struggle to pay the bills, backed by a mechanical nihlist beat you can pop and lock to while name-dropping like Fab Five Freddy. Don’t push me cause I’m close to the Vogue.

Music by N.A.S.A. featuring Kool Kojak, Money Mark and Fab Five Freddy
Animations by Maya Erdelyi and Alexis Ross

BSA Covers the Globe, Top Stories with HuffPost in ’12

January 3, 2013 Artists

BSA is not just Brooklyn, you know. Last year we brought you new Street Art from Atlanta, Arizona, Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Bronx, Brooklyn, Brisbane, Bristol, Costa Rica, Chicago, China, Dominican Republic, The Gambia, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Istanbul, Italy, Jamaica, Johannesburg, Kenya, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Norway, NYC, Palestine, Panama, Paris, Perth, Queens, Reno, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, and Trinidad. And that is a partial, incomplete list. Remember that the next time someone says we cover just Brooklyn and New York. Not quite.

Also while we were surveying what we did in 2012, we were curious to see which were the top stories we covered for the Huffington Post, measured by hits, social sharing, and emails sent to us. Here are the top stories you liked the most of the 44 we cross-published with Huffington Post Arts & Culture in 2012. (A complete list at the end of the posting)

Baltimore Opens Its Walls To Street Art

MOMO. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Atlanta Hosts First All Female Street Art Conference

Neuzz (photo © Wil Hughes)

OS Gemeos And “The Giant Of Boston”

Os Gemeos “The Giant of Boston” at the Rose Kennedy Greenway at Dewey Square, Boston. This side of the van was with Graffiti Artist Rize. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

(VIDEO) 2012 Street Art Images of the Year from BSA

Slideshow cover image of Vinz on the streets of Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mexico City: High Art in Thin Air

Escif (photo © courtesy of All City Canvas)

UFO Crashes at Brooklyn Academy of Music

UFO 907 and William Thomas Porter (photo © Jaime Rojo)

‘See No Evil’ in Bristol Brings Thousands to the Streets

El Mac. (photo © Ian Cox 2012)

What’s New in Bushwick: A Quick Street Art Survey

QRST in the wild. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sex In The City: Street Art That is NSFW

Anthony Lister in NYC (photo © Jaime Rojo)

NUART 2012: International Street Art Catalysts in Norway

Ben Eine (photo © Ian Cox)

Springtime in Paris : Une Petite Revue of New Street Art

David Shillinglaw and Ben Slow (photo © Sandra Hoj)

Pulling Strings in Berlin; “Heinrich” The Public Marionette

Various & Gould “Heinrich” (photo © Lucky Cat)

“Poorhouse for the Rich” Revitalized by the Arts

Adam Parker Smith. “I Lost Of My Money In The Great Depression And All I Got Was This Room”, 2012. Installation in progress in collaboration with Wave Hill. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Here is the complete list of BSA / Huffington Post pieces for 2012

Fun Friday 11.30.12

November 30, 2012 Artists

It’s Friday yo! Tomorrow starts December but the tree is already up at Rockefeller Center and the city is flushed with wide-eyed tourists bumping into each other and we are busy touring graffiti covered abandoned buildings smashed with paint balls. It’s all good. Here’s some ideas for dope stuff to check out this weekend.

1. “Out of Chaos” Paul Insect (NYC)
2. “Organized Chaos” CYRCLE (LA)
3. The RAMMELLZEE Galaxseum (NYC)
4. VINZ “Batalla” (Chelsea)
5. DALeast “Powder of Light”
6. ROA by Makhulu (VIDEO)
7. “Dominant Species” by ROA (VIDEO)
8. IBUg Festival of Urban Art and Culture (VIDEO)
9. “Eyez Open” with Peat Wollaeger (VIDEO)

Paul Insect “Out of Chaos” (NYC)

London based Paul Insect has his “Out of Chaos” solo show at Opera Gallery in Manhattan.

Paul Insect. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

While Paul Insect is advancing the idea of a world out of chaos …

CYRCLE is all about “Organized Chaos” (LA)

Street art collective CYRCLE opens their solo show tonight in Los Angeles, CA.

“Order and Chaos is a huge cornerstone concept we work with, and it’s one of our favorite examples of duality in life. It’s also a huge part of the way we work together.”

CYRCLE (photo © theonepointeight)

For further information regarding this show click here.

To read our piece on a CYRCLE studio visit click here.

The RAMMELLZEE Galaxseum (NYC)

The Childrens Museum of the Arts is a good place to go to see the innerworkings of the visionary graffiti writer who turned his imagination into a galaxy. This kind of art-making gives inspiration to adults and kids because he fashioned toys and warships and costumes from everyday objects that were not expensive, and his output of mythic Gothic Futurism gods, heros, villains and storylines over three decades lays bare your excuse for not being creative.

It’s about the same price as a movie but the comprehensive collection of the artists work and the self-esteem mission of the museum is priceless. The Rammellzee Galaxseum is a great place to visit for an afternoon with the kids in your tribe and explore free expression – inside where it’s warm and your imagination can fly.

VINZ “Batalla” (Chelsea)

The VINZ solo show “Batalla” opens Saturday night at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Manhattan. This Spanish Street Artist plays with the realities of humans, using his own photographs of nude models and animals to construct hybrids by playfully merging their bodies with striking results.

VINZ (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

DALeast “Powder of Light”

Chinese Street Artist DALeast is also at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery tomorrow with his own solo show titled “Powder of Light”.

DALeast (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For further information regarding this show click here.

ROA by Makhulu (VIDEO)

“Dominant Species” by ROA (VIDEO)

From Art in The Streets – MOCAtv

IBUg Festival of Urban Art and Culture (VIDEO)

From 2012 in Glauchau, Germany.

“Eyez Open” with Peat Wollaeger (VIDEO)

Jonathan LeVine Gallery Presents: VINZ “Batalla” Solo Exhibition. (Manhattan, NYC)

November 28, 2012 Afghanistan, Artists, Events, Gallery, Manhattan, NYC, Opening

VINZ

Vinz
Batalla
Solo Exhibition

December 1—29, 2012
Book Release: Friday, November 30, 7—9pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 1, 7—9pm

Jonathan LeVine Gallery in association with Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective are pleased to present Batalla, a series of new works by Valencia-based artist Vinz, in what will be his debut solo exhibition in the United States. In conjunction with the exhibition, Vinz Feel Free, a new book published by Wooster Collectivewill be released at the gallery on Friday, November 30 from 7—9pm, followed by an opening reception on Saturday, December 1 from 7—9pm.  Batalla features a series of mixed media collage works, paintings and sculptures. The central theme is a rebellion against governmental, corporate or religious impositions placed upon society to establish social order at the expense of personal freedom.

Vinz uses a multi-step process to create his unique imagery. He first photographs nude models, either isolated or orchestrated in small groups. He then paints animal heads onto large-scale prints of the human figures, creating hybrid subjects with a system of symbols attached to various species—birds signify freedom and fish represent consumerism while frogs and lizards convey authority.

In 2011, the artist began applying this series of work—the Feel Free project—to the walls of his native Valencia and other European cities using wheatpaste. Taking a more delicate approach to his studio work, Vinz collages paper ephemera into a background texture, as a base to print the figures onto, before painting details in enamel or gouache.

  “Tapping into the question ‘What is Freedom?’ with arresting images in mixed media, Vinz is one of the most important emerging artists from Europe today.” — Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective

ABOUT THE ARTIST Vinz was born in 1979 in Valencia, Spain, where he is currently based. He received a BFA in 2003 from Universidad Politécnica in Valencia. In January of 2012, his work was included in Hybrid Thinking, a group exhibition curated by Sara & Marc Schiller of Wooster Collective at Jonathan LeVine Gallery. Vinz was recently invited by esteemed fashion photographer Mario Testino to collaborate on two images which were published as spreads in the December 2012 issue of VOGUE Spain, for which he was guest curator.

Jonathan LeVine Gallery is located at 529 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.

Sex In The City: Street Art That is NSFW

October 24, 2012 Artists

This art is Not Safe for Work or School, even though it’s on public streets.

It sounds strange to say it but these images of Street Art are erotic, sometimes violent, and might even be considered prurient or pornographic by some viewers – yet they are part of today’s free-wheeling ever expanding visual feast on the streets that any random passerby may see. In New York, many of these pieces ride for a long time fully on display for hundreds or thousands before someone crosses them out or otherwise damages them.

With flesh increasingly paraded across all manner of screen and print publications, it is no wonder that large public billboards in cities throughout the western world have grown increasingly blunt in their depiction of sexual themes and innuendo; with near-coital poses, barely covered breasts, and bulbous packages thrust into the public eye while we drive, walk, and sip a pumpkin frappuccino. As long as the image is in pursuit of the sale of a product, it’s hardly mentioned today.

Street Art today falls into that nether region of art too, where certain liberties for free expression and the depiction of the human body are protected from criticism because they can be classified as artful and part of our right to freedom of speech. As we continue to scan the streets for clues about ourselves and the direction that Street Art is taking, here are more than a handful of scintillating beauties that are beckoning for the attention of, well, everyone.

We think this might be an ad campaign for the I’ll Be Your Mirror Festival but we like the inclusion of the famous collaboration between The Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol. Andy would have approved we think. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Fun Friday 07.13.12

July 13, 2012 Artists

HERE’s OUR TOP 13 LIST for Friday the 13th!

1. Dscreet is on “The Other Side Show” (London)
2. Neck Face is “Simply The Worst” Tonight in LA
3. Stormie Mills “Dark Lights” Friday (Perth, AU)
4. “Welcome to the Neighborhood” Low Brow Artique Grand Opening Saturday (Bushwick, BK)
5. MEGGS at White Walls (San Francisco)
6. VINZ Solo in 3 Places Saturday (Netherlands)
7. Cassius Fouler Now Open in Brooklyn
8. “Summer Selections” Group Show at Woodward (LES)
9. Morley “I Don’t Make Sense Without You”at Outsiders Gallery in Newcastle, UK
10. David Ellis and Kris Kuksi “Go West” to LA
11. Jeremy Fish at Fifty24SF Gallery in San Francisco
12. BASK One Stand in Detroit (VIDEO)
13. Snyder in Los Angeles (VIDEO)

Dscreet is on “The Other Side Show” (London)

“It will be my first solo show in four years and centers around the theme of duality – light and dark and black and white,” says Dscreet, the London based Street Artist of Burning Candy fame and infamy as he returns to the gallery with a solo show titled “The Other Side Show” at the Roktic Gallery in London. This show is now open.

For further information regarding this show click here.

Neck Face is “Simply The Worst” Tonight in LA

Neck Face returns to New Image Art Gallery in West Hollywood, CA to state why he is “Simply The Worst”. This show opens today and you are encouraged to wear something that it is not you.

For further information regarding this show click here.

Stormie Mills “Dark Lights” Friday (Perth, AU)

The Greenhill Galleries in Perth, Australia invite you to attend today’s opening of Stormie Mills’ solo show “Dark Lights”.

For further information regarding this show click here.

“Welcome to the Neighborhood” Low Brow Artique Grand Opening Saturday (Bushwick, BK)

Uh-Oh, there goes the neighborhood. Tomorrow Street Artist Bishop 203 invites you to the grand opening of his gallery and art shop Low Brow Artique in Bushwick.

The opening will be celebrated with a group exhibition of Brooklyn based Street Artists including Cern, Clown Soldier, Elle, ENX, See One, Sheryo, Willow and Yok. Come wish this impresario good luck. An art supply spot in the front and a gallery in the back, “Low Brow” hopes to raise some eyebrows tomorrow night.

For further information regarding this show click here.

MEGGS at White Walls (San Francisco)

“Mythology tells the stories of gods, heroes, humans and supernatural beings as the personification of natural phenomena and more importantly the human condition… ” Saturday Meggs delves deeper into the subject of fantasy in San Francisco for his new solo show “Truth in Myth” opening tomorrow at the White Walls Gallery.

Meggs Red Skull. Detail. (image courtesy of the gallery)

For further information regarding this show click here.

VINZ Solo in 3 Places Saturday (Netherlands)

Spanish Street Artist VINZ has invaded Amsterdam with “Rules of Etiquette” his first solo show in The Netherlands opening tomorrow on three different locations: The Garage, Andenken Gallery and Battalion.

For further information regarding this show click here.

Cassius Fouler Now Open in Brooklyn

Opened last night at Weldon Arts Gallery, “Four Borough” is a cool collection from Cassius as he continues to merge symbols and irony and inside jokes with a deceptively simple and friendly hand delivery.

Cassius Fouler from his show “Four Borough”.

Click here for more details on this show.

“Summer Selections” Group Show at Woodward (LES)

Woodward Gallery has put together “Summer Selections” an eclectic show of dead and alive artists, with some modern and contemporary masters mixed in with a select group of Street Artists that might or might not be the masters of tomorrow. Come in, cool off and judge for yourself.

Artists included are : Jean Michel Basquiat • Rick Begneaud • Susan Breen • Thomas Buildmore • Alexander Calder • Celso • Deborah Claxton • Darkcloud • Paul Gauguin • Sybil Gibson • Richard Hambleton • Curt Hoppe • Infinity • Jasper Johns • Russell King • Kosbe • LAII • Moody • Margaret Morrison • Mel Ramos • Robert Rauschenberg • Matt Siren • stikman • Jeremy Szopinski • Francesco Tumbiolo • Jo Ellen Van Ouwerkerk • Andy Warhol.

This show is now open to the general public. Click here for more details on this show.

Also happening this weekend:

The Outsiders Gallery in Newcastle, UK new show featuring Morley and entitled “I Don’t Make Sense Without You” is now open to the general public. Click here for more details on this show.

The Joshua Liner Gallery new show in Los Angeles at the Mark Moore Gallery pairs David Ellis and Kris Kuksi for “Go West”. This show is opens tomorrow in Culver City, CA. Click here for more details on this show.

Jeremy Fish is at the Fifty24SF Gallery in San Francisco with the opening tomorrow of his new show “Where Hearts Get Left”. Click here for more details about this show.

BASK One Stand in Detroit (VIDEO)

A quick look at how BASK did his recent piece in Detroit.

Snyder in Los Angeles (VIDEO)

For Street Art that verges on handmade crafting and display work, here’s a homey installation from Snyder.

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Vinz Feel Free contributes his phone booth ad takeover for the growing and influential #resistanceisfemale campaign (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz Feel Free. Detail. “Innocence” The Marcy Project. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. November 4th. 2017 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Special Feature: C215 In the Footsteps of His Favorite Painter: Caravaggio.

Quick Tour of Street Art of East London: BUSH

Vinz: Feel Free Project (NSFW)

Woozy in Athens: Moving Shadows

Bazaar Teens curated by Dustin Yellin. 10K of donated cash was shredded to make paintings. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bazaar Teens curated by Dustin Yellin. 10K of donated cash was shredded to make paintings. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Bazaar Teens curated by Dustin Yellin. 10K of donated cash was shredded to make paintings. Shredded money taken from the donations box. Some prankster put some of the brochures in there for color we suppose… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rita Ikonen curated by Yulia Topchiy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Margaret Bowland curated by Tess Sol Schwab. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Christine Sciulli video projection on fog was curated by Ambre. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cate Giordano curated by Eve Sussman and Simon Lee. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Anne Nowak curated by Cassandra M Johnson. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Grace Villamil curated by Coming Soon and Katya Braxton. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Grace Villamil curated by Coming Soon and Katya Braxton. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fall On Your Sword Collective. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Samsonovich (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Samsonovich (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Samsonovich and friends in the wild on the streets of NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Isaac Cordal (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Isaac Cordal (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Miss Van (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Nathan Vincent (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swampy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Swoon (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Michael Mut. Click HERE to learn more about this artist and Still Counting Project. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WK Interact (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Stikki Peaches (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Li-Hill (photo © Jaime Rojo)

XO (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaybo Monk (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaime’s personal favorite of 2014; The site specific Kara Walker in front of her site specific installation at the Domino Sugar Factory in May of this year in Brooklyn. Artist Kara Walker. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz. “Cupid and Psyche in oil” inspired by Antonio Canova. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz. “Cupid and Psyche in oil”. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz. “The Thinker in oil”. Inspired by Auguste Rodan. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hellbent at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Herb Smith (previously Veng RWK) at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Fumero at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gilf! and Icy & Sot at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

EKG and Lamour Supreme at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Alice Mizrachi and Jon Burgerman at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Chris Stain and Rubin at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

See One and Chuck Berrett/Nicole Salgar of Cargo Collective at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JMR and Cake at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vicki DaSilva at Fountain (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pose at Volta (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Vinz at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Tip Toe at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

El Mac at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Know Hope at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Cope at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Aakash Nihalini at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Banksy and friends at Scope (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA Special Feature: Las Calles Hablan : Street Art in Barcelona

(Image above a screenshot of Vinz © Las Calles Hablan)

RONZO Goes pre-historic with Skatersaurus

SAMO© – Jean-Michel Basquiat By Aaron Rose and Thomas McMahan

MOMO. Open Walls Baltimore 2012. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Neuzz (photo © Wil Hughes)

Os Gemeos “The Giant of Boston” at the Rose Kennedy Greenway at Dewey Square, Boston. This side of the van was with Graffiti Artist Rize. (photo © Geoff Hargadon)

Escif (photo © courtesy of All City Canvas)

BSA Special Feature:
Las Calles Hablan : Street Art in Barcelona

SAMO© – Jean-Michel Basquiat
By Aaron Rose and Thomas McMahan