Here’s our weekly interview with the streets, this week featuring Don John, Enki, General Howe, James Nardone, Never, Rae, Sheryo, Stikman, The Yok, and Willow.
1. Play a New Holiday Video Game from Chris Uphues – “Holiday Jingle Rocket”
2. “Rezolution”, a group show at Hive Gallery Tonight (Phoenix, AZ)
3. “Paranormal Hallucinations” at Pandemic (Brooklyn, Yo!) (Saturday)
4. David Choe and DVS1 for Nuart 11 (VIDEO)
5. “Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (Video)
6. VINZ FEEL FREE. Don’t be afraid. Feel Free (VIDEO)
Play a New Holiday Video Game from Chris Uphues – “Holiday Jingle Rocket”
Street Artist Chris Uphues uses his signature characters to create this very entertaining game for you to play with while chugging eggnog and rum today as you drink and drive at your keyboard. Try to keep your sled flying over the houses without being hit by giant blobs of snow! It’s a winter blast!
Make sure to click on the link below to play the game:
“Rezolution”, a group show at Hive Gallery Tonight (Phoenix, AZ)
Chip Thomas AKA Jetsonorama and a number of other artists open today in a group show that is getting a lot of pre-buzz here and on Twitter and FB. It should be a great scene tonight at The Hive.
A very fun group show to end out the season before everybody goes into the holiday haze, featuring some unsung gems in the Street Art and graffiti scene, as well as others, including CHARLIE MARKS R.I.P, LLEW payote, Deuce Seven, Egyptian jason, Matt CRABE, Josh and Amy Shandick, Mikey Big Breakfast, Conrad Carlson, G II, Ryan C. Doyle, Mikey I.T., Tamara Santibanez, Othello Gervacio, Mike. P, and Swampy (above).
For further information regarding this show click here
“Images of the Year 2011” From Brooklyn Street Art (Video)
It’s been an excellent year for Street Art all over the world and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing a lot of great stuff from big names to the anonymous. Eye popping, brain-teasing, challenging, entertaining, aspirational and inspirational – it’s all happening at once. We’ve been walking the streets, meeting the artists, going to shows, curating shows, speaking to audiences, providing walls, and asking questions. It ebbs and flows but never stays the same. With the rise of the Occupy movement this autumn, we’re already seeing an uptick in the number of people taking their messages to the street with a renewed intensity.
VINZ FEEL FREE. Don’t be afraid. Feel Free (VIDEO)
It’s been an excellent year for Street Art all over the world and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing a lot of great stuff from big names to the anonymous. Eye popping, brain-teasing, challenging, entertaining, aspirational and inspirational – it’s all happening at once. We’ve been walking the streets, meeting the artists, going to shows, curating shows, speaking to audiences, providing walls, and asking questions. It ebbs and flows but never stays the same. With the rise of the Occupy movement this autumn, we’re already seeing an uptick in the number of people taking their messages to the street with a renewed intensity.
Let’s take a look at some of our favorite shots, whether from a rooftop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a block-long wall in Miami, or the “Art in the Streets” show at LA MoCA. As you sample this eye-candy platter, dig the staccato soundtrack made of sounds culled from Brooklyn’s streets by electro duo Javelin, who spent a day in the Red Hook neighborhood collecting sounds and then mixed them in the back of their car. This is the kind of D.I.Y. ingenuity that is fueling the fire in artists neighborhoods all over the world, with people taking their stories and skills directly to the streets. With Javelin as the perfect auditory partner here’s 90 shots by photographer Jaime Rojo from 2011.
The scenes and scenester included here: 5 Pointz, 907Crew, Sadue, Gen2, Oze108, Droid, Goya, UFO, Aakash Nihalini, No Touching Ground, Aiko, Martha Cooper, Anthony Lister, Boom, INSA, Miami, Primary Flight, LA Freewalls, Los Angeles, Kim West, Kopye, L.E.T., Purth, Lisa Enxing, Baltimore, Banksy, LA MoCA, Barry McGee, Blek le Rat, Broken Crow, Albany Living Walls, Chris Stain, Billy Mode, AD HOC Arts, Chris Uphues, Monster Island, Wynwood Walls, Creepy, Brooklyn Street Art, Jaime Rojo, Steven P. Harrington, Dabs & Myla, How & Nosm, Vhils, Dain, D*Face, ECB, El Sol 25, Elbow Toe, EMA, The London Police, Kid Acne, Will Barras, Enzo & Nio, Faile, Bast, Faith 47, Gaia Clown Soldier, General Howe, Hellbent, Herakut, Invader, JA JA, Jaz, Cern, Joe Iurato, Welling Court, John Baldessari, JR, Kenny Scharf, Knitta Please!, LMA Cru, LUDO, Mosstika, ND’A, IRGH, Labrona, Overunder, Nick Walker, NohjColey, Nomade, Occupy Wall Street, Os Gemeos, Veng, Chris, RWK, QRST, Radical!, Rambo, Retna, Gifted, Demon Slayers, Read, Booker, Read More Books, ROA, Shepard Fairey, Shin Shin, Wing, Skewville, Specter, Swampy, Sweet Toof, Swoon, Toofly, Various & Gould, VHILS, XAM, YOK, Pantheon Projects
Our sincere thanks to BSA reader and New Yorker Spencer Elzey, who took a trip to Sydney at the beginning of the month and had the opportunity to check out the Outpost Project Street Art festival. Here’s his report.
Cockatoo Island is the Governor’s Island of Sydney. The ferry leaves Circular Quay, motors beside the shimmering tiles of the Sydney Opera House, sweeps underneath the arching Harbor Bridge and the tourist who pay $200 for a chance to climb the upper deck above. Twenty minutes later, a large “No Trespassing” sign begins to become in focus. We have arrived at the Outpost Project.
The island, who’s past includes an old Imperial prison and one of Australia’s largest shipyards, welcomes each street art enthusiast with a detailed information brochure. The inner cover contains a fairly easy to follow map of what lies ahead. Right away three large inflatables (imagine a small grounded hot air balloon) greet you adorned with Anthony Lister’s iconic caricatures. The info packet says it best when describing the images; the “superheroes are never indomitable conquerors or unequivocal villains.” Straddled by two of these is a large piece by Belgium artist, and frequent Brooklyn talent, ROA.
Follow the art around the corner through a mural-lined alley between two buildings and some familiar styles present themselves including the stick-figure arms by Perth Street Artist Creepy.
The second floor of one of these buildings is the current home to a large private collection of work by Banksy. The OI YOU! Collection had an interesting start, but where it currently stands is 22 pieces by Banksy. Intermixed are items by Faile, Swoon and others. The husband and wife team collecting behind OI YOU!, George Shaw and his wife Shannon Webster, sold both of their cars and re-directed a home improvement loan to feed their need for owning more street art.
Inside the main building, known as the Industrial Precinct, MOX (Mark Cawood) is hard at work. After over 120 hours of intricate stencil cutting, his diligence is well on its way toward a completed final product. At the end of the hall, behind the small traffic jam of mangled cars, is a life size recreation of the childhood home of Street Artist and fine artist Kid Zoom.
Located deeper within the hall of the Industrial Precinct are two other impressive arrays; NEXT by T-World and Pastemodernism 3. Both of these installations, while serious in their scope, were whimsical at heart. The NEXT collection, overseen by “Melbourne-born T-shirt messiah Eddie Zammit,” asks 20 artists to assemble over 1,500 T-shirts to display. Local shout-outs included Barcade in Williamsburg and Katz’s Deli on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Pastemodernism 3, now in it’s third year at OUTPOST, is the self-proclaimed “largest celebration of ‘paste-ups’ in Australia.” Over 100 artists had a part in this collaboration.
Traversing the Artery, a limestone lined subterranean tunnel, one passes by a “rogue gallery of 30 hand picked Australian street artists” including HA HA, Ghostpatrol, Numskull, Dmote and Yok, just to name a few.
Upon exiting, you end up back at the beginning, next to the “No Trespassing” sign and amongst a collection by Will Coles. His concrete cast items, usually adorned with a word or two, are lifelike enough even the Seagulls seemed a bit confused.
The Outpost Project begins in two days on a former military outpost, Cockatoo Island, the largest island in Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This city really knows the value of the Street Art scene and celebrates the contributions of artists to the cultural wealth of the people who live there.
The entire island is basically porn for Street Artists, and right now about 150 are readying work their magic ways on the industrial spaces. Artists like ROA, Ethos, KidZoom, Anthony Lister, Everfresh Collective, Os Gemeos, Swoon, Faile, and Banksy are on the bill and a number of other projects will be taking place simultaneously, including a Pro/Am skateboarding exhibition, a region art gallery, DJs, artist battles, and pop-up bars. The island becomes a canvas, and there is no admission. Um, are you coming?
Also included will be the Oi You! Collection featuring the largest private collection of Banksy’s, amongst works by David Choe and Herakut. As well, live painting by Sao Paulo artist Ethos and Belgian monotone muralist Roa.
“The crown jewel of Sydney harbour, Cockatoo Island, a former military outcrop and penal colony will be transformed this November. In conjunction with the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, witness the island wide invasion as aMBUSH Gallery launches a curatorial take-over – transforming the industrial monument into a battlefield of street-art. The Outpost Project will be the Southern-hemisphere’s largest Street Art Festival to date, with a projected 90, 000 visitors over the course of 5 weeks. Amongst a myriad of forums, educational programs, aMBUSH will bring to the table the nexus of content featured on the island.”
For further information and a complete list of participating artists, events and schedule please visit the sites below:
More artists stopped by to put up pieces for “The Grassy Lot” show, an impromptu little get-together of 15 artists in a little bit of heaven on the Lower East Side. Jaime Rojo gives us some more shots of the lot.
Joe Franquinha, life long New Yorker, told us how he assisted Street Artist QRST with his decision of subject matter for this installation: “I told QRST – Rats have lived in this lot for years so rats should be represented here. Because we have the best f*cking rats and no one is going to take that away from us.”
We’re proud to announce the “Grassy Lot Show” coming this Thursday presented by Crest Arts at the Timeshare Backyard. It’s been a little whirlwind of activity with 15 artists putting up brand new work on the walls of this oasis on the Lower East Side for you to come visit. With Keith Schwietzer and us helping Crest out here and there, and of course with Franklin doing lawn roomba duties, it is a bit of a community event. All it is missing is you! What are you doing Thursday?
Crest Arts invites you to the TimeShare Backyard for “The Grassy Lot Show”
Thursday August 25, from 6-8 pm
145 Ludlow Street between Stanton and Rivington
Admission is free.
Take off your shoes and walk in the grass and do a cartwheel while looking at brand new outside work on the walls by Bishop 203, Creepy, Gaia, General Howe, Jake Klotz, Laura Meyers, Nanook, Over Under, QRST, Quel Beast, Shandor Hassan, Travis Simon, Veng, XAM, and Yok.
We’re proud to announce the “Grassy Lot Show” coming this Thursday presented by Crest Arts at the Timeshare Backyard. It’s been a little whirlwind of activity with 15 artists putting up brand new work on the walls of this oasis on the Lower East Side for you to come visit. With Keith Schwietzer and us helping Crest out here and there, and of course with Franklin doing lawn roomba duties, it is a bit of a community event. All it is missing is you! What are you doing Thursday?
Crest Arts invites you to the TimeShare Backyard for “The Grassy Lot Show”
Thursday August 25, from 6-8 pm
145 Ludlow Street between Stanton and Rivington
Admission is free.
Take off your shoes and walk in the grass and do a cartwheel while looking at brand new outside work on the walls by Bishop 203, Creepy, Gaia, General Howe, Jake Klotz, Laura Meyers, Nanook, Over Under, QRST, Quel Beast, Shandor Hassan, Travis Simon, Veng, XAM, and Yok.
Joe Franquinha and his executive personal manager Liza brought their pet pig Franklin to check out the abandoned lot on Ludlow Street on Manhattan’s Lower East side. Franklin surveyed the new sod while Yok put up a new piece.
Invited by a couple of entrepreneurs who have rented the open space for two months to make the outdoor location a little more welcoming, Joe looked at the ground, then up at the walls. Decaying, unfinished, rough, full of New York character, the walls immediately brought his mind to the many Street Artists busy in the city right now.
With help from Keith Schweitzer, Joe has mobilized a handful of Street Art talent to convert the lot into an impromptu outdoor gallery installation – calling it Timeshare Backyard. With an NYC theme honoring his favorite city, the artists have been getting up here for a week. In Gotham, no story surprises you, so it’s unclear what the fate of this lot will be; New York is always knocking down and building up, the cycle of destruction and renewal never stops. By next spring this could be a new glass and steel condo, who knows. In this brief interlude in this grassy lot, why not mount a momentary show, a commentary on life here right now?
As the owner of Crest Hardware in Brooklyn with his dad, stylishly moustachioed Joe celebrates the local community of artists that has boomed in BK and he’s known for opening the doors to any number of creative types – providing materials, suggestions, conversation, and great opportunities like these to show their stuff. As summer’s long days melt into the firey New York autumn these (mainly) street artists relished the opportunity to paste or paint just one more wall, at their leisure, while Joe and Liza put down giant garden plants and a wood-chip perimeter. If you get invited to some barbecue or bar or fashion show or something on the LES in the next 60 days, keep your eyes up above the gate to see these pieces peeking at you.
“You have many ways to look at New York back here – love, anger, faith in the city,” remarks Joe while looking at the wheatpastes in the back of the lot.
This is a very unusual wheatpaste by Street Artist General Howe, who is making some important decisions in life. “General Howe is physically coming up on a crossroads, and looking at this kid who may be a younger him,” says Joe.
Joe explains, “Laura Myers said she started sketching it and she started seeing the sacred heart, like the picture her grandmother used to have in her house. I love it! I love the way the heart is the apple, with the city coming out. “
Veng and Chris from RWK gathered their paint tools and called a couple of their friends over to hang out and paint on their spot in Bushwick, BK. The results have been like chocolate and peanut butter together – you are not sure how it works, but it does. Overunder, ECB, Peeta and Never collaborated on this brand new wall, still in progress.
“Space Invaders” at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra is open for one more month as it presents a survey of the vigorous homegrown and international street art movement that has developed over the past ten years in the Pacific Rim. Home to well known and upcoming street artists like Anthony Lister, MISO, Kid Zoom and Creepy, Australia contributes a distinctive voice to a developing school and vocabulary.
With this show the National Gallery joined the ever expanding list of major art institutions recognizing and meditating on the importance and influence of Street Art as an art form and art movement. Once again the public is involved in the conversation about what Street Art is and where is it going- through the protected confines and altering prism of a formal art institution.
Below an excerpt from the Gallery’s web site:
“Drawn entirely from the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, the first Australian institution to have collected this type of work, Space invaders: Australian . street . stencils . posters . paste-ups . zines . stickers surveys the past 10 years of Australian street art. Featuring 150 works by over 40 Australian artists, this exhibition celebrates the energy of street-based creativity and recognises street stencils, posters, paste-ups, zines and stickers as comprising a recent chapter in the development of Australian prints and drawings..
Space invaders looks at artists and their iconic street-based works at the point of their transition from the ephemeral to the collectable and from the street to the gallery”
HaHa “Ned’s Head Triptych” (detail) (courtesy National Gallery of Australia)
The current show name borrows from the French street artist, who borrowed from the video game.
Lister “Mr. Sinister” 2010 (detail) (courtesy National Gallery of Australia)
Jumbo “X-Ray Man-machine” (detail) (courtesy National Gallery of Australia)
National Gallery of Australia
GPO Box 1150
Canberra ACT 2601
AUSTRALIA
Space Invaders features stencils, posters, paste-ups, zines and stickers and will run until February 27 2011. If you are in the area and would like to visit the Gallery below is a list of upcoming events related to the show and the participating artists:
This Thursday (Jan 27) there is an artist talk with Mini Graff as she talks about her work featured in the exhibition.
This Saturday (Jan 29) there is a vinyl sticker printing workshop for teens
Print your own vinyl stickers with Sydney street artist Mini Graff. Translate your ideas onto vinyl stickers using screenprinting techniques. Please note that this program is at Megalo Print Studio + Gallery in Watson.
Sunday (Feb 6) there will be a screening of BOMB IT (DVD, 2007, not rated, 93 mins)
An explosive documentary about graffiti, the controversial art form shaping international youth culture today. By award-winning director Jon Reiss.
Participating artists for “Space Invaders” include: