Vandalog is proud to announce the latest product in The Vandalog Shop and our second product in the shop by a Vandalog contributing writer. Tag Happy, Rx Uppers is an edition of sculptures by Caroline Caldwell. These relabeled spray cans include veiled references to key people and places in the history of graffiti. How many can you spot?

Tag Happy, Rx Uppers comes in black or pink versions, each an edition of 10 which are signed and numbered on the underside of the sculpture. When shipped within the continental United States, Tag Happy, Rx Uppers will arrive as a full can of real spray paint. For all other orders, the cans will be emptied and a small hole will be put in the bottom of the piece. Tag Happy, Rx Uppers are available now at $22 for one black or pink sculpture, or $40 for a matching set of black and pink pieces. Each sculpture also comes with a set of handwritten instructions.

I’ve had an early version of the Tag Happy, Rx Uppers sitting on my shelf for the last year alongside sculptures by artists including Faile, Sweet Toof, and Skewville, and it more than holds its own against those classics. Caroline’s sense of style is perfectly encapsulated in these pieces, and they’re a friendly reminder for the vandal in all of us.

Starting today, you can find Tag Happy, Rx Uppers in The Vandalog Shop.

Photos by Caroline Caldwell

Yesterday MOCAtv (MOCA Los Angeles’ YouTube channel) announced an open call for content for the channel. Jeffrey Deitch, Carlo McCormick, Martha Cooper, Ethel Seno, and I will be reviewing content on YouTube with “#MOCATVUPLOAD” in the video title and then selecting the best of those films for inclusion on MOCAtv. Read more about the project here.

I can’t wait to see what gets submitted.

MOMO in Baltimore for Open Walls Baltimore

Earlier this month, I wrote about my 25 favorite murals of the year over at Complex.com. Check out the list and let me know what you think. One caveat: I submitted the list to Complex before Miami, so nothing from Miami this year was considered for it.

Photo by Geoff Hargadon

I know it’s not Cyber Monday yet, but today we’ve got a special Black Friday announcement: Vandalog has teamed up with Lush on The Vandalog Shop‘s first poster release.

Lush’s poster was inspired by the United States Postal Services’ Label 228 Priority Mail postal label that so many sticker artists swipe from post offices around the USA by the hundreds, and Lush has blown up that label nearly to nearly 30x its standard size. In addition to the posters, each buyer will receive a special bonus item of original work by Lush, from an actual tagged postal label 228 to a tagged poster. The posters are available now for $15 plus shipping and handling through The Vandalog Shop. Pick one up by clicking here.

Even toys like me can enjoy Lush’s poster

When I first saw Lush’s work, I wasn’t sure what to think of it. In fact, I’m still not sure. Lush is either the great jester of graffiti or the absurd conclusion of graffiti culture. He is either the most important or least important graffiti artist working today. Is he offensive for the sake of being offensive, or for the sake of art? It’s impossible to say. All that I’m sure of is that he won’t appreciate me calling what he does “art.” I approached Lush about working with us because The Vandalog Shop is a serious project, but it’s never safe to take yourself too seriously. I just want something on my wall to make me smile, and Lush has delivered on that front with this poster.

We have a handful of these to pop into the tubes as a special bonus when you order a poster. Every purchase will include a bonus item of either a tagged poster or a handmade sticker by Lush.

Some of the handmade stickers set to go out with posters

Two of our artists for The Art of Comedy were interviewed in some pretty major media outlets today. Hanksy has a Q&A with Time Out New York and Artinfo spoke with gilf! about her political, but non-partisan, street art. Both great reads.

And of course, the above photo of one of gilf!’s pieces for The Art of Comedy is from Brooklyn Street Art’s Images of the Week post.

Photo by Jaime Rojo

Photo by Wayne Rada

As Hurricane Sandy made its way towards New York City, Ron English and his assistant Beau Stanton worked feverishly to paint Ron’s first mural in Manhattan in about 25 years as part of The New York Comedy Festival and Vandalog’s The Art of Comedy. The Temper Tot is a character that Ron’s fans will be familiar with from past paintings, murals and an upcoming toy.

If you want to go see the mural for yourself, it’s on Mulberry Street between Canal and Hester in New York’s Little Italy. Or, stop by on Saturday at noon for The Art of Comedy‘s art crawl and we’ll be walking by all of the murals that Ron, Hanksy and gilf! have painted in Little Italy.

PS, thanks to Montana Cans for all the paint that made this wall possible.

Photo by Wayne Rada

Photo by Lois Stavsky. Click to view large.

Photo by Wayne Rada

Photo by Wayne Rada

Photos by Wayne Rada and Lois Stavksy

Hanksy’s piece on Mulberry Street inspired by Jim Gaffigan

Since The New York Comedy Festival is behind The Art of Comedy, the series of indoor and outdoor art installations that Wayne Rada and have been organizing recently in NYC with Hanksy, gilf!, and Ron English, Vandalog has three pairs of tickets to give away to New York Comedy Festival shows.

We have two pairs of tickets to see Marlon and Shawn Wayans at Carolines on Broadway on Thursday November 8th, Friday November 9th or Sunday November 10th. On Thursday and Sunday, they have shows at 7:30pm and 10:00pm. On Friday they have shows at 8:00pm and 10:30pm. The Wayans Brothers have starred in a number of films including Scary Movie, White Chicks, and Little Man.

We also have one pair of tickets to see Jim Gaffigan at The Apollo Theater on Saturday November 10th at 10:15pm. In case you don’t know Gaffigan’s stand up, here’s a great sample.

To enter our contest to win any one of these pairs of tickets, just leave a comment on this post or tweet @vandalog with the reason that you should win tickets to one of these shows. The winners will be my favorite three responses out of those received before midnight on the east coat on Wednesday November 7th and I’ll get in touch with the winners soon after that to sort out the details.

Hanksy’s piece on Mulberry Street inspired by Jim Gaffigan

Photos by Rhiannon Platt

Ron English’s mural on Mulberry Street

Last week we announced The Art of Comedy, a series of art installations and murals with The New York Comedy Festival that Wayne Rada and I curated. The Art of Comedy also coincided with solo shows by all three of the artists involved: Ron English, gilf!, and Hanksy. Due to Hurricane Sandy, both the official unveiling of the murals that these artists have painted in Little Italy and their solo show openings have been delayed by a week. So, here’s what the calendar looks like now for The Art of Comedy and those gallery shows:

• November 7th-11th: The Art of Comedy installations by Ron English, Hanksy, and gilf! are up in lounge inside of the comedy club Carolines on Broadway.
• November 8th 5-9pm: gilf!’s show at Galerie Swanström (136 Sullivan Street, 3rd Floor) will have an opening.
• November 8th 6-9pm: Ron English’s show, Crucial Fiction, opens at Opera Gallery NYC (115 Spring St).
• November 8th 6-9pm: Hanksy’s show, Young Puns 2 – Now With More Pun, opens at Krause Gallery (149 Orchard Street).
• November 10th at noon: The Art of Comedy Art Crawl starts at Caffe Roma on Mulberry and Broome streets and continues down Mulberry towards Canal Street as we check out Little Italy’s latest murals.

Also, in the past week, we’ve had interviews by Rhiannon Platt with gilf! and Hanksy, and Rhiannon also took some photos of Hanksy working on two of his three murals.

Photo by Wayne Rada

Early Saturday morning, Rhiannon Platt joined Hanksy as he worked on two of his walls for The New York Comedy Festival‘s The Art of Comedy, which was curated by myself and Wayne Rada and also supported by Montana Cans and Little Italy. The walls feature Jim Gaffigan and Aziz Ansari, who are both performing at the New York Comedy Festival.

Photo by Rhiannon Platt

From left to right: Hanksy, Ron English and Gilf!

UPDATE: THE ART CRAWL / MURAL TOUR WILL TAKE PLACE ON NOVEMBER 10TH AT NOON RATHER THAN NOVEMBER 3RD.

The New York Comedy Festival, in association with Vandalog, Little Italy and Montana Cans, are bringing street art into this year’s New York Comedy Festival with The Art of Comedy. The Art of Comedy is a series of indoor and outdoor installations around Manhattan by some of New York’s funniest street artists: Ron English, Hanksy, and Gilf!. The installations include murals in Little Italy on Mulberry Street between Canal and Broome, and work inside of the historic comedy club Carolines on Broadway. I’m very excited to be a co-curator on this project alongside Wayne Rada. Caroline Hirsch, of Carolines on Broadway and creator of the New York Comedy Festival, says,”We’re always looking for new and creative ways in which humor is represented in art. These talented artists add a really unique element to this year’s festival, literally taking comedy to the streets.”

The installations inside of Carolines on Broadway by all three artists will be up from November 7th-11th, so if you’re going to check out The Wayans Brothers or maybe one of the other New York Comedy Festival shows at Carolines, be sure to have a look around the Carolines Lounge before you get seated for the show.

Over on Mulberry, the artists will be painting a mix of temporary and permanent murals. Ron’s mural is of particular note since it will be the first mural he has painted in Manhattan (excluding billboard takeovers) since 1987, and this one is going to be big enough that it may just be worth the wait. I’m also looking forward to seeing the election-themed work that Gifl! will put up and work by Hanksy starring some of the performers in this year’s New York Comedy Festival.

I hope you’ll join us on Saturday, November 3rd November 10th at noon on a short tour of the completed murals. We’ll be meeting at Caffe Roma (385 Broome Street).

The Art of Comedy and The New York Comedy Festival also line up nicely with solo shows from all three artists opening on November 1st November 10th. Ron’s show, Crucial Fiction, opens from 6-9pm at Opera Gallery NYC (115 Spring St) and runs through November 29th. Gilf! will be showing at Galerie Swanström (136 Sullivan Street, 3rd Floor) opening from 5-9pm. Hanksy’s show, Young Puns 2 – Now With More Pun, opens at Krause Gallery (149 Orchard Street) from 6-9pm and runs through November 28th.

As for the main events at the New York Comedy Festival, this year has some amazing headliners performing all over the city including Aziz Ansari, Bill Maher, Robin Williams and more. Personally, Caroline and I are going to try to catch Jim Gaffigan. The full schedule can be found here.

Photos courtesy of the artists