All posts tagged: X-O

Amsterdam Dances with Graffuturism and Stencil Masters

October 29, 2015 Artists

Amsterdam rocked the decks this month to celebrate urban contemporary art and street art in the Netherlands with visual and music based events giving artists many platforms to shine.

BustArt and Fake for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Graffuturism, a term and movement coined a handful of years ago to describe an intersection of graffiti, street art, and abstract geometry continues to stake out new territory and here were gallery and street exhibitions proffering some of the current practitioners whose work could be described as such.

The 5^th Urban Art Festival Amsterdam featured their own collection of Graffuturists from Europe, the United States, and South America including Poesia, the unofficial founder of Graffuturism in a show of works on canvas, prints, drawings on paper, murals and site-specific abstract installations.

BustArt for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Running concurrently was a Stencil Masters show featuring some of the top knife-wielding artists known on the street today along with a few senior early proponents. The diverse program of gallery, street installations and DJs courtesy of the ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event) helped further contextualize the art forms for a wider audience of fans.

Fake for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Stencil Masters exhibition
ABOVE (usa) – BTOY (es) – BUSTART (ch) – C215 (fr) – CANVAZ (irl) – CZARNOBYL (de) – E.L.K. (au) – FAKE (nl) – HUGO KAAGMAN (nl) – IVES.ONE (nl) – JANA & JS (de) – JAUNE (be) – LIJNE (nl) – MANDO MARIE (usa) – NAFIR (iran) – ORTICANOODLES (it) – OTTO SCHADE (uk) – PIPSQUEAK WAS HERE (nl) – STF (fr) – TANKPETROL (uk) – TERA ONE (de)

Graffuturism exhibition
BLAQK BLAQK (gr) – CORN79 (it) – GRAPHIC SURGERY (nl) – KENOR (es) – LABUENA YLAMALA (es) – MICK LA ROCK (nl) – OKUDA (es) – OVNI (es) – POESIA (usa) – POETA (ar) – SKOUNT & GWION / TVBdesign (es) – VESOD (it) – WOW123 (de) – X-O / THE LOST OBJECT (nl / usa)

Fake for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

XO for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Skount for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Markus Gnusius for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

C215 for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Jana & JS for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

LABUENA YLAMALA for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Lijne and TerraOne for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

To learn more please go to www.urbanartfestival.com

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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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BSA Images Of The Week: 04.05.15

April 5, 2015 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

ECB was back on the streets in Bushwick this week doing his portrait of a Moroccan street barber from his series of portraits in Morocco of traders whose trade is in danger of extinction. That is what BSA Images of the Week starts off with.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Caroatoes, ECB, Hendrick Beikirch, Icy & Sot, Jaye Moon, London Kaye, ROA, Scott Lickstein, SOBR, Ten Hundred, Trice, Wing, and X-O.

Top Image >> Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Scott Lickstein (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O (photo © Jaime Rojo)

SOBR in Berlin. It’s Time To Dance! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaye Moon may have gone to see the On Kawarwa exhibition at the Guggenheim before hitting the street with this date. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

If I’ve asked you once I’ve asked you Trice. Quit clowning around. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ten Hundred (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sketches from ROA’s cabinet of curiosities as he prepared this week for his new show at Jonathan Levine Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Caratoes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Watcha looking at? Apple Store. SOHO, NYC. March 2015. (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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Happy New Year 2015 – BSA Readers Choice Top 10

January 1, 2015 Artists

Happy New Year to All! Thank you for inspiring us to do our best and to those of you who continue to support our personal art project / cultural examination, we extend our gratitude more than ever.

Begun as an enthusiastic discovery of what was happening in a few neighborhoods in New York, we continued to expand our view into more cities around the world last year and into the history and future of the scene. We also aimed to provide you with a critical platform for examination of the street art/ graffiti / public art/ contemporary art continuum with interviews with artists, curators, collectors, organizers, observers and thinkers in the street, studio, gallery, and museum – trouble makers and taste makers alike.

In the end, it’s your observations and the conversations on the street that are most important. As we begin the year with over 300K fans, friends, and followers on social media platforms and 225 articles on the Huffington Post (thanks HuffPost team!), we feel like we get a valuable good survey of current opinions heading our way daily.

With in-depth interviews, investigative articles, opinion infused examinations, plain celebratory reverie, occasionally silly non-sequitors, and public appearances where we get to meet you, we get a good analytical look at an ever-evolving movement, glittery polish and warts and all.

As the new year begins we take a look back at the top stories chosen by BSA Readers in the last 12 months. Among them are two takeover pop-up shows in soon-to-be demolished buildings, a story about commercial abuse of artist copyrights and the effort to fight back, a street art community’s response to the sudden death of an activist street artist, a Street Art tourist trip, and a few inspirational women, men, and Mexican muralists. Even though we published at least once a day for the last 365 days, these are the most popular pieces, as chosen by you, Dear BSA Reader.

10. Exploring Lisbon as a Street Art Tourist

Os Gemeos / Blu (photo © Stephen Kelley)

9. Kara Walker and Her Sugar Sphinx at the Old Domino Factory

Kara Walker. The artist portrait in profile with her sugary sphinx in the background. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

8. Women Rock Wynwood Walls at Miami Art Basel 2013

Fafi (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

7. A Sudden Secret Street Art House Party in Manhattan

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

6. Niels Shoe Meulman Balancing “Unearthly” Paintings

Niels “Shoe” Meulman. Process shot. (photo © Adele Renault)

5. It’s All the Rage, Street Artists Filing Lawsuits Left and Right

4. Shok-1 Street Art X-Rays Reveal a Unique Hand at the Can

Shok-1 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

3. 12 Mexican Street Artists Stray Far from Muralism Tradition In NYC

Sego (photo © Jaime Rojo)

2. Army Of One, Inspiration To Many : Jef Campion

Army Of One AKA JC2 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

1. Graffiti and Street Art Lock Up “21st Precinct” in New York

Pixote in action. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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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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This article is also published on The Huffington Post

BSA Picks 19 Things to See at DUMBO ARTS FEST 2014

September 27, 2014 Artists

New York Clobbers Fall again and one of the finest examples of art in the public sphere has again returned to swing the aesthetic bat straight at your head with the DUMBO ARTS FESTIVAL.

With it comes the electrifying Brooklyn energy that transforms the street into a place you actually want to be in, linger in, discover in. Smack between two iconic Bridges (Brooklyn and Manhattan) DUMBO boasts a world class art festival that has grown both organically and with great purpose, often commanding your attention.

You can make a plan to hit a few installations, performances, galleries… — or you can just show up and grab a map.

Above image is of artist CHIKA’s large scale interactive LED sculpture in the archway under the Manhattan Bridge. More on her SEI: Stella Octangula HERE.

Following are some BSA picks that we think are worth highlighting:

1. FOLIOLEAF GALLERY. “Bad Vibes” Rubin415 and David Head.

A solid mix of new contemporary work that leans toward popular tastes, Folioleaf is making a strong showing with a growing stable that includes a number of current Street Artist like DAIN, Gilf! (image above), Hellbent, and others that are tangentially related. Street Art culture is a wide world and gallery owner Todd Masters is stretching his arms to embrace it.

111 Front Street, Suite 226.

http://folioleaf.com/

2. SIDE HUSTLE NYC: “By Day, By Night” Karoleen Decastro, Alyssa Gruen, Patrick Ramos, Jon Chen.

What is your sidehustle? In the ever more expensive NYC game, almost every creative we know has one – Check out this installation and on Sunday they will have another photo shoot.

Plymouth Street Park Perimeter Fence.

http://sidehustlenyc.com/

3. Dumbo Underfoot”. Karen Mainenti

Mainenti draws your attention to the actual street in this installation highlighting those rail tracks cutting through the neighborhood that were used by Brooklyn industries and trades like coffee, soap bubbles, sugar, shoes and Brillo steel wool pads.

See MORE here.

Plymouth Street (between Main and Washington Streets)

http://www.karenmainenti.com

DUMBO WALLS – All over the place

Two Trees and Lisa Kim have humanized the experience year long for people working/living/passing through DUMBO by curating some large mural installations by some great Street Artists over the past couple of years. Below are a few to keep your eyes open for on the streets.

4. DUMBO WALLS: Faith 47

Pearl Street Underpass, BQE,

http://www.faith47.com

Brooklyn-Street-Art-Daleast-740-by-day-by-night-collage

5. DUMBO WALLS: dalEAST

Pearl Street Underpass, BQE

http://www.daleast.com/

Brooklyn-Street-Art-EL-TONO-740-by-day-by-night-collage

6. DUMBO WALLS: El Tono

Corner of Prospect and Jay Streets

http://www.eltono.com

Brooklyn-Street-Art-CAM-740-by-day-by-night-collage

7. DUMBO WALLS: CAM

York Street (between Adams and Pearl Streets)

http://www.craiganthonymiller.com

Brooklyn-Street-Art-MOMO-740-by-day-by-night-collage

8. DUMBO WALLS: MOMO

York Street (between Washington and Adams Streets)

http://www.momoshowpalace.com

9. DUMBO WALLS: Shepard Fairey

Corner of York and Jay Streets

http://www.obeygiant.com

10. DUMBO WALLS: Stefan Sagmeister & Yuko Shimizu

Jay Street Underpass, BQE

http://www.sagmeisterwalsh.com

http://www.yukoart.com

Brooklyn-Street-Art-A-la-cart-smackmellon-740-by-day-by-night-collage

11. SMACK MELLON:

Á la Cart with Kristyna and Marek Milde

“If we are what we eat, who are we if we don’t know the origin and the context of the production of our food?”

Originally created for Smack Mellon’s exhibition FOODShed: Art and Agriculture in Action –

6 shopping carts filled with soil parked at Old Fulton Plaza.

Smack Mellon Gallery
92 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn
http://www.smackmellon.org
http://www.estebandelvalle.com

12. Global Virtual Drawing Party: DADA featuring EN MASSE

At the Festival, creators from around the world will be encouraged to draw on DADA, while artists on site will respond using their iPads. The results will be projected live.

1 Main Street, Festival Lounge

http://enmasse.info

http://www.dada.am

13. MIGHTY TANAKA: “Here and There”. Chris Otley, Herb Smith

Which one are you?

Together, they explore the impact between native and invasive species within both of their local communities.

111 Front Street, Suite 224, Brooklyn

http://www.mightytanaka.com

14. “I ____ a Dollar” . Jody Servon

Main Street (between Plymouth and Water Streets)

http://www.jodyservon.com

15. BE MIGHTY! SPACE: LA2/LA ROC

“LA2, aka LA ROC, collaborated with Keith Haring to create iconic NYC street art in the ’80s. LA2 is part of the original street art movement, and a godfather of the scene. His work is highly sought after for its iconic nature and history. This exhibit will showcase some of the classic styles that LA2 is known for, along with his new work that pushes the style into a more contemporary realm. On display will be works on canvas, wood, and an assortment of objects.”

80 John Street

http://www.la2graffitiartist.com

https://www.dynomighty.com

16. MASTERS PROJECTS: “Lost Corcosa” . Various Artists

The largerer and higher ender version of FolioLeaf , this the MASTERS PROJECTS. oof!

Peter Buechler, DAIN, Dee Dee, ELLE, Amze Emmons, Dima Gavrysh, gilf!, Nicolas Holiber, Steven Katzman, Karl Klingbiel, Amanda Marie, Timothy Paul Myers, QRST, RAE, Jon Rappley, Joram Roukes, Shin-Shin, Cris Uphues, Nathan Vincent, Charles Wilkin, X-O.

111 Front Street, Suite 212

http://www.maste.rs

17. REFLECTION / KOLONIHAVEHUS . Tom Fruin and CoreAct

“The colorful glass house is inhabited by two performers, who portray everyday dilemmas and lifestyle paradoxes in a subtle manner. They have lost the ability to meaningfully discriminate, and are trapped in a long chain of procrastination, mirroring our current social patterns. As an audience you can wonder in and out of the performance as you like. “

Empire Fulton Ferry Deck

http://www.tomfruin.com

http://www.coreact.dk

18. “TRUST YOUR VISION” . Gilf!

Front Street (between Adams and Pearl Streets)

http://www.gilfnyc.com

This installation on BSA

19 . MPH-BENCH . Lee Mandell, XAM

MPH-BENCH is an indoor and/or outdoor furniture piece created using the idea of adaptive reuse. We like the fact that this hydroponic bentch can be whe bench can be wheeled around to fit into various aesthetic environments – Mobile agriculture!

1 Main Street, Festival Lounge
http://www.xambuilt.com
http://www.boswyckfarms.org

BONUS!*** TRUFFULA LORAXIA . Lee Mandell, XAM

Truffula Loraxia is a hydroponic sculpture project created by Lee Mandell and XAM. It combines growing technologies with design. Truffula Loraxia’s basic structure is a tree, which extends from a dodecahedron shaped base.

Main Street Park

http://www.xambuilt.com

http://www.boswyckfarms.org

For a complete schedule of events, maps and other details click HERE

“Beautiful Times” hits Brooklyn, Beacon and Back to Colorado

August 28, 2014 Artists

The “Beautiful Times” tour by Amanda Marie and X-0 has brought them back to Denver Colorado where it began. We shared with you images and a semi-travelogue for their earlier installations along this summer tour in Denver and Philadelphia. In this final installment of their easy-going art-making project we find them in Brooklyn and the upstate small town of Beacon, New York, where many New Yorkers went to settle in the 2000s, creating a kinship that continues to today.

An now a quick look at their respective public works in Brooklyn, most of it in the DUMBO neighborhood. “We got our paint for this leg of the journey at a place called Park Delicatessen,” X-O says as he lists the items on offer there – and would you care to guess which ones he likes most? “Here is what they sold there…skateboards, flowers, spray paint, and smart sexy porn zines,” he relates. “Are you freaking joking? This is the most perfect shop ever.”

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie cutting stencils at a makeshift studio in DUMBO. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O. DUMBO, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Heading north up the Hudson River, the two found that, “After being fully infatuated with the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn, it was an unseen and uber appreciated change of pace to have our next stop in Beacon,” says X-0.

They liked to small town sophisticated vibe and couldn’t believe how nice the people were. “Amanda painted an amazing ‘campground’ scene alongside the Beacon Natural Market,” he says, and he made a new ‘lost object piece’ in the same spot that a Ron English piece had run on for a while. “I also made one small #emogarden called ‘real sweet noise’ while waiting for Mando to get done with her big wall.”

brooklyn-street-art-Amanda-marie-alan-goldsmith-beacon-ny-web-1

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Alan Goldsmith)

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © X-O)

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Alan Goldsmith)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Ethan Harrison)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © X-O)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Ethan Harrison)

Going back to Colorado after being pretty much city struck for the last few weeks was a welcome return.

“Immediately I escaped to the Rocky Mountains and made some ‘string stretches’ in the woods. One of the most successful was a gravity piece I’ve called ‘Gravity Log 1’. I left the cotton twine…Is that littering? Hmmm.”

brooklyn-street-art-azatlan_skatepark_amanda_marie-xo-web

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Aztlan Skate Park. F. Collins, Colorado (photo © courtesy of X-O)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Launch. Colorado. (photo © X-O)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Rocky Mountains, Colorado. (photo © X-O)

Amanda Marie and X-O would like to thank Todd Masters from Masters Projects in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

They would also like to thank Dan and Kalene from Thundercut/OpenSpace in Beacon, as well as a number of neighborly photographers who were generous with their time and talents in Beacon.

They would also like to thank Andy Weiss in Colorado.

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Amanda Marie and X-O “Beautiful Times” in Denver, CO

Amanda Marie and X-O “Beautiful Times” in Philadelphia

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BSA Images Of The Week: 08.24.14

August 24, 2014 Artists, BSA Images Of The Week

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Angelina Christina, Azores, City Kitty, Colettivo FX, Damon, EaseOne, Fidel Evora, F.S., Gone Postal, HDL Corporation, JR, Kraken, Love is Telepathic, Mark Samsonovich, Mesa, Never, Pixote, Rubin415, Seher, Smithe, Specter, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Wrdsmth, and X-O.

Top Image >> Smithe, Seher and Kraken new mural for Savage Habbit in Union City, New Jersey. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smithe, Seher and Kraken new mural for Savage Habbit in Union City, New Jersey. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Smithe for Savage Habbit in Union City, New Jersey. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Specter for the Walk and Talk Art Festival in Azores, Portugal. August 2014. (photo @ Specter)

Specter and Mesa in Cadiz, Spain. August 2014. (photo @ Specter)

Fidel Evora for the Walk and Talk Art Festival in Azores, Portugal. August 2014. (photo @ Specter)

Specter Ad-Takeover (photo © Jaime Rojo)

WRDSMTH clearly knows his audience. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Damon is caught in a lip-lock. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

City Kitty has the four panel street exhibit for Woodward Project Space. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

HDL Corporation in Detroit. August 2014 (photo © HDL Corporation)

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh clarifying things in case you were not sure. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Rubin415. Detail of both ends of his large new mural in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Mark Samsonovich in Jersey City, New Jersey. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Collettivo FX. Portrait of Abidi. Reggio Emilia, Italy. August 2014. (photo © Collettivo FX)

Collettivo FX explains the portrait above:

“In our city of Reggio Emilia in Italy there is a very big factory named Officine Reggiane that is completely abandoned. It was famous in Italy for its metal work production (they made the Orient Express train, the crane used for the Costa Concordia, and then there was the longest occupation of a factory in the history of Italy here).

Now this is a major venue for graffiti and a refuge for homeless people. We began going to the factory more that two years ago and some of the people living there became our friends; in particular a man named Abidi, who we named “the boss of the Officine Reggiane”.

So a few weeks ago Abidi announced to us that he is leaving the factory to go back to Tunisia: he had found a wife! So, we thought about a gift we could give him. We are poor, very poor, we just had the paint, so one night we went in the factory (usually we go during the day) and we painted a big portrait of Abidi in the principal part of the place. It’s a gift for Abidi but also for us and for our memories of the Officine Reggiane.”

Pixote (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Gone Postal (photo © Jaime Rojo)

F.S. We are intrigued by this bubble tag. Was the stencil work done by a different artist? Is this the original piece as first installed by the artist? (photo © Jaime Rojo)

JR (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Angelina Christina, EaseOne and Never collaboration for Savage Habbit in Jersey City, New Jersey. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Manhattan, NYC. August 2014. It looks like Spiderman has found a formidable adversary. Last time he saw him battling this monster hanging from wire cables in Williamsburg. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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X-O and Amanda Marie Go To Philadelphia

August 19, 2014 Artists

‘Beautiful Times – Philly Stop’

As we follow the “Beautiful Times” summer tour of X-O and Amanda Marie we find them in the city of brotherly love laying down layers of stencils and building out abandoned places with found object constructions. All tolled, the number of completed projects in this city made it the most prodigious of the tour so far.

brooklyn-street-art-amanda-marie-paradigm-hyland-mather-philadelphia-08-14-web-2

Amanda Marie at a Community Garden. Beautiful Times. Philadelphia. August 2014 (photo © courtesy Amanda Maire and X-O)

First off they took a nice tour of Steve Powers ‘Love Letters’ murals that he did a couple of years ago with the Philadelphia Mural Project, and worked with that program to create their own project – something X-O refers to as an #emogarden called ‘High 5 Times’. Most likely that is about walking on stilts, we’re guessing.

As another project Amanda made some time to create a ‘camping’ scene in one of the many community gardens that dot the city of Philly, thanks to friends at HAHA x Paradigm, a magazine and gallery respectively. “Painting in the community garden was a good match for the ‘Beautiful Times’ vibe,” says X-O.

Amanda Marie at a Community Garden. Detail. Beautiful Times. Philadelphia. August 2014 (photo © courtesy Amanda Maire and X-O)

On their next investigation the two went on the hunt for more destitute architectural decay and hit the jackpot when X-O “found a beautiful demolition / construction site that had a super good sunken window temporarily covered in plywood,” he says excitedly. Did anyone mind that he created a new piece with various pieces of wood in the framed ventana? “The owners were happy to get a ‘lost object’ piece for the space,” he says, “and the neighbors are happy to have something more interesting than blank plywood to look at.”

X-O at a Community Garden for Mural Arts. Beautiful Times. Philadelphia. August 2014 (photo © courtesy Amanda Maire and X-O)

Moving along, the two found “Tattooed Mom,” and they thought they were in a celestial graff palace. “If the paint store equals the candy store, then ‘Tattooed Mom’ equals the playground,” he exclaims the legendary graff writer / Street Artist hangout on South Street. “The whole upstairs is completely smashed with tags and pieces and a constantly shifting smorgasbord of aerosol madness,” says X-O.

Here Amanda Marie made some more urban ‘camping’ vignettes while X-O gave a Hanksy piece of his namesake actor some gender-reassignment surgery. “I dropped in a field of flowers behind him and updated his substantial forehead with the slogan ‘I Like Your Girlfriend’.”

Amanda Marie at work on the street. Beautiful Times. Philadelphia. August 2014 (photo © courtesy Amanda Maire and X-O)

“The last thing that got done before we split town was a big beautiful total street move from Amanda where she painted a few of her ‘Pretty Baby’ images on 5th street just a half block off of South Street … a really nice match of image with the hodge podge coloring of the empty building behind it,” X-O says.

“For both Amanda and me, one of the most impressive things about Philly were all of the walls that have been left exposed when adjacent buildings are torn down,” he says. It looks like the great experience with the mural program and these more organic adventures have gotten their wheels turning on even larger ideas for Philadelphia in the future.

X-O gives Hanksy a make over at Tattooed Mom. Beautiful Times. Philadelphia. August 2014 (photo © courtesy Amanda Maire and X-O)

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Graffiti and Street Art Lock Up “21st Precinct” in New York

August 14, 2014 Artists, Interview

This weekend the NYPD police precinct is hosting a graffiti and street art show, and the public is welcome to see every floor completely swimming in aerosol and plastered in wheat-paste.

Admit it, it is not often you receive an invite like that.

Pesu (center), Pixote (left) and Bill Claps Morse code writing the history of the building on the walls. (right) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“When this precinct was built it was a very bad, very poor neighborhood. When the cops came in there was a lot of brutality and there was a lot of corruption,” says curator Robert Aloia of this building architected for the NYPD in 1863 and closed down fifty years later. A quick search on the web shows a history of thuggery born of Dickens. Records at the time of closure indicated there were 9,500 arrests annually and this tiny slice of Manhattan alone had 37 brothels.

So why not have a graffiti show here before tearing it down, right?.

Brooklyn Street Art: So you literally could hit every wall here and it wouldn’t matter because it is coming down at the end of the month?
Robert Aloia: Yeah the inside walls. The outside walls they don’t want us to touch.

In a twist of events pulled from a satire, one of the artists on display this weekend was arrested this month in Brooklyn and spent the night in jail before seeing a judge. The following day he came to this precinct and hit up some walls with impunity.

“It’s just amazing that these artists can put their time, their money, and their talent into something that is just coming down,” says Aloia while touring us through rooms and stairways during one of the four visits we made for these exclusive first images, “ and it is only going to be seen for a certain amount of time.”

Hellbent has his own room. So does Rambo. Cash4 and Matt Siren are sharing one together, as are Sheryo and the Yok. Elle spent an entire night in hers watching her black wax sculpture melting away with the candles she planted in it. An unconfirmed story says it is a sculpture cast of the elusive Judith Supine.

“She painted it black, melted it and filmed it,” says Aloia.

Brooklyn Street Art: Have you thought of the irony behind the fact that this is a former police precinct and many of the artists would have been running away from this place instead of trying to get into it?
Robert Aloia: That is true, I didn’t think of that aspect of it really, but the gallery area was the actual holding cell.

Brooklyn Street Art: So how did you draw these people together?
Robert Aloia: Every show I’ve done I start with my friends, and then it’s friends of friends, and that’s it. It’s just about one degree of separation.

In the last three years the New York native has curated a number of shows heavily weighted with graffiti artists and Street Artists, primarily on Manhattan’s Lower East Side at bars, event spaces, and venues with downtown history like Fuse, White Box, and La Mama.

A bartender and DJ who has mixed with a lot of New York nightlife and street life without becoming hardened, Aloia and co-curators like Erik Foss and Ricky Powell have been doing sometimes star-studded yet unassuming one-off shows the past few years with Street Art names like Bast, Supine, and Aiko and some of the newer kids like N’DA and Icy & Sot.

“I am from New York and I always knew a lot of graffiti artists, that’s how I ended up getting into it. I was just lucky enough to have access to some venues to do stuff.”

Brooklyn born, Aloia’s been on the LES since the 80s, which explains his devotion to the memory of “outlaw parties” where people would set up an illegal bar and a pumping sound system in improvised celebrations at unsanctioned locations. Outlaw parties and pop-up speakeasies still exist of course, but more often they are in Brooklyn now as Manhattan is shoving artists out by the truckload.

For “21st Precinct” he’s called in nearly 50 artists from as far away as Japan, Australia, California, and nearby New Jersey. The mix of artists is eclectic and sometimes quite powerful like the tribute to SAMO (Basquiat) in the gallery by his co-conspirator Al Diaz, and the dark room built by Swedish photographer Jesper Haynes which features images from the downtown New York in the Reagan era.

“I definitely always have a mix with fine art, photography, installation, but you know I always have old-school graffiti artists and street artists,” he says as he looks over the four floors of thickly gritty splendor by renowned and unknown.

For those lucky enough to see the show in this venue this weekend or next, “21st Precinct” is a quintessential New York minute, a steamy grimy melting pot of authentic attitude that begs to differ and perhaps stick a finger in your chest just before the wrecking ball hits. Thank Aloia while you’re there. Not surprisingly, the new building that replaces this one will be for…..wait for it…. luxury residences.

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OUTLAW ARTS Presents: “The 21st Precinct”
Curated by Robert Aloia & VNA Mag

The show will be in the old 21st Precinct located on 327 East 22nd Street. More information HERE.

Contributing Artists:

Adam Dare, Al Diaz, Amanda Marie, ASVP, Bad Pedestrian, Ben Angotti , Bill Claps, Bishop203, Bunny M., Cash4, Chris RWK, Chris Soria, Coby Kennedy, Curtis Kulig, D. Gaja, Danielle Mastrion, Dasic, Dizmology, Duel, ELLE, Erasmo, Esteban del Valle, Faust, Ghost, GIZ, Hellbent, Hue, Icy & Sot, Iena Cruz, Jesper Haynes, Justin Carty, Ket, Lexi Bella, Li-Hall, Lorenzo Masnah, Matt Siren, Mr. Toll, N. Carlos Jay, Nepo, Nick Tengri, Pesu, Phil, Pixote, RAE, Rambo, Ricardo Cabret, SAE, Savior Elmundo, Shery-o & The Yok, Shiro, Tone Tank, URNY, Vexta, X-O.

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Amanda Marie and X-O: “Beautiful Times” in Denver

July 31, 2014 Artists

Amanda Marie and X-O have begun a road trip across the US – a summer spraycation for two artists who approach public space from different perspectives yet are complimentary somehow. It is not completely unheard of to trek across country painting – just ask any number of freight riders. It is probably kind of rare to name the campaign like and raise money for charity.

brooklyn-street-art-amanda-marie-Joe-Lee-Parker-greeley-colorado-07-14-web-3

It would be cool if they had some kind tour t-shirt with all the cities on the back:

“Beautiful Times” Summer 2014 Tour

Denver

Boulder

Philadelphia

Beacon

NYC

They didn’t do that unfortunately but they make a Kickstarter for it, which is equally smart. So if you are inspired by the work here, go over and drop a dolla in their cup.

So, “Beautiful Times” is underway in Denver, and they already had a small venue change. Amanda Marie found a wall in nearby Greeley, and she began what X-O described as “quickly smashing a wall with one of her dreamy dream scopes.” While she was busy doing that, X-O was scoping for random wood to build his piece, or what he calls doing “recon”.

“I was busy doing recon to collect the wood and other random materials necessary for building my ‘Lost Object’ piece in the garden of Futuristic Films in Denver. Whilst grabbing my coffee at the local caffeine haven, Crema Coffee, owner Noah Price offered a tour of a space across the street where they are starting a large bar and food truck renovation… looks amazing… and had pretty much everything X-O might ever dream of for materials … recon successful,” he reports.

So here you can see Amanda at work on her dreamy dream scope and X-O on his “Lost Object” piece. Looks like beautiful times indeed.

Amanda Marie. Mural in progress. Night shot. “Beautiful Times” Futuristic Films. Denver, Colorado. (photo © Brandon Carter)

“Beautiful Times” is a collaborative project between artists Amanda Marie and X-O. Their goal is to raise awareness about the world we live in and to protect our children and wild flowers. To learn more about “Beautiful Times” Click HERE. To donate HERE.

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BustArt and Fake for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

BustArt for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Fake for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Fake for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

XO for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Skount for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Markus Gnusius for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

C215 for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Jana & JS for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

LABUENA YLAMALA for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Lijne and TerraOne for Urban Art Festival Amsterdam. (photo © courtesy of UAFA)

Top Image >> Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Hendrik Beikirch AKA ECB (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Scott Lickstein (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

London Kaye (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Wing (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O (photo © Jaime Rojo)

SOBR in Berlin. It’s Time To Dance! (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jaye Moon may have gone to see the On Kawarwa exhibition at the Guggenheim before hitting the street with this date. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

If I’ve asked you once I’ve asked you Trice. Quit clowning around. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Ten Hundred (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sketches from ROA’s cabinet of curiosities as he prepared this week for his new show at Jonathan Levine Gallery. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Artist Unknown (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Caratoes (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Untitled. Watcha looking at? Apple Store. SOHO, NYC. March 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Os Gemeos / Blu (photo © Stephen Kelley)

Kara Walker. The artist portrait in profile with her sugary sphinx in the background. (photo via iPhone © Jaime Rojo)

Fafi (photo © Martha Cooper for Wynwood Walls)

Icy & Sot (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Niels “Shoe” Meulman. Process shot. (photo © Adele Renault)

Shok-1 (Photo © Jaime Rojo)

Sego (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Army Of One AKA JC2 (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Pixote in action. (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)

1. FOLIOLEAF GALLERY. “Bad Vibes” Rubin415 and David Head.

111 Front Street, Suite 226. http://folioleaf.com/

2. SIDE HUSTLE NYC: “By Day, By Night” Karoleen Decastro, Alyssa Gruen, Patrick Ramos, Jon Chen.

What is your sidehustle? In the ever more expensive NYC game, almost every creative we know has one – Check out this installation and on Sunday they will have another photo shoot. Plymouth Street Park Perimeter Fence. http://sidehustlenyc.com/

3. Dumbo Underfoot”. Karen Mainenti

Plymouth Street (between Main and Washington Streets) http://www.karenmainenti.com

DUMBO WALLS – All over the place

Two Trees and Lisa Kim have humanized the experience year long for people working/living/passing through DUMBO by curating some large mural installations by some great Street Artists over the past couple of years. Below are a few to keep your eyes open for on the streets.

4. DUMBO WALLS: Faith 47

5. DUMBO WALLS: dalEAST

6. DUMBO WALLS: El Tono

7. DUMBO WALLS: CAM

8. DUMBO WALLS: MOMO

9. DUMBO WALLS: Shepard Fairey

10. DUMBO WALLS: Stefan Sagmeister & Yuko Shimizu

11. SMACK MELLON:

12. Global Virtual Drawing Party: DADA featuring EN MASSE

At the Festival, creators from around the world will be encouraged to draw on DADA, while artists on site will respond using their iPads. The results will be projected live.

13. MIGHTY TANAKA: “Here and There”. Chris Otley, Herb Smith

14. “I ____ a Dollar” . Jody Servon

15. BE MIGHTY! SPACE: LA2/LA ROC

16. MASTERS PROJECTS: “Lost Corcosa” . Various Artists

Peter Buechler, DAIN, Dee Dee, ELLE, Amze Emmons, Dima Gavrysh, gilf!, Nicolas Holiber, Steven Katzman, Karl Klingbiel, Amanda Marie, Timothy Paul Myers, QRST, RAE, Jon Rappley, Joram Roukes, Shin-Shin, Cris Uphues, Nathan Vincent, Charles Wilkin, X-O.

17. REFLECTION / KOLONIHAVEHUS . Tom Fruin and CoreAct

18. “TRUST YOUR VISION” . Gilf!

19 . MPH-BENCH . Lee Mandell, XAM

BONUS!*** TRUFFULA LORAXIA . Lee Mandell, XAM

Truffula Loraxia is a hydroponic sculpture project created by Lee Mandell and XAM. It combines growing technologies with design. Truffula Loraxia’s basic structure is a tree, which extends from a dodecahedron shaped base.

Main Street Park http://www.xambuilt.com http://www.boswyckfarms.org

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie cutting stencils at a makeshift studio in DUMBO. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Brooklyn (photo © Jaime Rojo)

X-O. DUMBO, Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Alan Goldsmith)

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © X-O)

Amanda Marie. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Alan Goldsmith)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Ethan Harrison)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © X-O)

X-O. Beautiful Times. Beacon, NY. (photo © Ethan Harrison)

111 Front Street, Suite 226.

http://folioleaf.com/

What is your sidehustle? In the ever more expensive NYC game, almost every creative we know has one – Check out this installation and on Sunday they will have another photo shoot.

Plymouth Street Park Perimeter Fence.

http://sidehustlenyc.com/

Plymouth Street (between Main and Washington Streets)

http://www.karenmainenti.com

Main Street Park

http://www.xambuilt.com

http://www.boswyckfarms.org

They would also like to thank Andy Weiss in Colorado.

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