Saturday was a magnificent day for creativity and Street Art in North Brooklyn – The Northside Music Festival and Northside Open Studios and Crest Fest all conspired to bring thousands of music and art fans to trounce and march and maraud through the streets and parks and abandoned lots to discover why the axis of culture has been shifting away from Manhattan these last few years. For many important and evident reasons, it is immensely easier to make stuff happen in Brooklyn for artists and the people who love them to aid and abet them in the creative spirit. We were immensely fortunate to be around to assist talents like near legendary Street Artists Skewville and Championship Doodler Jon Burgerman to make cool work this week and we’re happy as hell about it.

Skewville. And on the Seventh Day the other half shows up (for a photo op) (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville.  (photo © Jaime Rojo)

The foot traffic was heavy beneath the scissor lift as Street Art duo Skewville was finishing up a weeklong engagement with a wall across from the Brooklyn Brewery – a Grand Finale of a cityscape called “Last Exit to Skewville” that evolved over the 7 days to become a sweeping playland of sharp abstract shapes and poppy color. In many ways it is the culmination of a direction Skewville has been taking further away from representational and closer to abstract, less text heavy and literal – more implied.

Yeah, like a regular movie star or something. Ad Deville poses with Jeremy and friend. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

The steady stream of inquisitors on this street and the unsolicited advice and comments brought a smile to Ads’ face and a wisecrack to his lips often. In particular he liked the observation that a guy had about the two crossed boxes he tagged in the yellow patch of color in the corner. “I like the eyes you put in the sun,” he told the artist. Others just stopped to take pictures or even get their picture taken with Skewville. At one point it was a family affair as Ad and Droo and his young son were all spraying with the aerosol – as the youngster tried his luck first on a dropcloth with the pros giving advice, and then he hit the wall with two hands clasped around the can. Good to see Father’s Day weekend in full effect and the skillz being passed down to the next generation.

Skewville. The mark of the twins. Their legs are apparently insured for millions by Lloyds of Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. The new generation of Skewville in training (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. The new generation of Skewville in training (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Future Painters of America meeting in progress. Skewville. Dad and Uncle cheer on the talented boy. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. After his little practice on the drop cloth he is ready for the wall. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville: The Next Generation. And on the lift, can in hand. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

A sweeping Skewville vista. The completed piece looking West. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Skewville. The completed piece looking East. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

For his part, artist Jon Burgerman shuffled from his apartment in his bathrobe and slippers up the block to deface a perfectly nice car with his doodling.  An artist who avoids labels, today he was a Street Artist, and as you can see by the photos, a vandal. When not doodling he was busy flashing crowds as a steady stream of CrestFest attendees filed past him on the sidewalk taking pictures and striking up conversation while the international man of markers dutifully created characters and patterns and contemplated feelings of ennui and jetlag.

Jon Burgerman mucks things up while his friend looks on with pure unbridled excitement. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

One perfectly normal looking but frisky senior found his bathrobe rather compelling and she demanded to know what he was wearing underneath it. For the benefit of all humankind we got a shot of his ensemble too. You’ll notice it’s always the shy reserved ones who have the racy boxers.

If this drawing thing doesn’t work out he can always try out for the Rockettes. Jon Burgerman. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jon Burgerman. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Jon Burgerman. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Then, like mixing peanut butter and chocolate, some sort of perfection was achieved when we hopped in the Burgermobile and went to visit Skewville and friends and park right in front of “Last Exit to Skewville”. Each artist feigned interest and admiration for the others work and gave back-handed compliments freely before we headed to a rooftop in Greenpoint for a beer at the NOS Launch party and to watch the sunset and revel in the creative fog that slowly enveloped North Brooklyn.

Jon Burgerman signed the back bumper before we drove through Williamsburg honking the horn and trying “draw” attention to ourselves. Draw. Get it? (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Here’s the two BSA presented artists coagulating together on the sidewalk comparing their works. (photo © Steven P. Harrington)

Special thanks once again to Crest Hardware and Montana Colors for their generous paint support. Zipcar was a sponsor of Crest Fest, and provided the car and posca markers for Jon Burgerman.

Thank you also to Joe Franquinha and Liza Shields from Crest for being such swell partners and stellar people and to Jennifer Galatioto, Joann Kim, and Leia-lee Doran and all the volunteers and artists and performers from Northside Open Studios Festival who helped us have a fun night at the launch party at “The End”.

On that note;

The End.

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