Been in NYC for the last few days. Besides being busy, it seems like the hotel I was at still hadn’t quite figured out the concept of wifi extending to all rooms in the hotel… So now I’ve got a lot of stories to post about. Here’s what I missed while I was away, though you may have read about it elsewhere:
I’ve actually been meaning to post about this for a while. Ken Harman from Arrested Motion and the Hi-Fructose Blog, just curated one of the better group shows I’ve seen. Some artists of particular note would be Emory Douglas (a major influence on Shepard Fairey and important propaganda-maker in his own right), Dabs, Myla, Mike Shine and Monica Canilao. A Decade With No Name is open on Saturdays and Sundays through September 12th at 54 Washington St. Oakland, CA. My Love For You Is A Stampede of Horses has photos of Monica’s installation, and Spoke has photos of everything else and is where you can purchase the artwork.
Papergirl NY is bringing Germany’s Papergirl concept to the USA. Basically, artists get together to distribute a bunch of free art to members of the public by riding around on bikes. Their YouTube video shows what happens in a bit more detail. Papergirl NY events are taking place in New York City this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday they will be at the DUMBO Arts Center, and then Papergirl will move to The Armory where you can find them Friday through Sunday.
Mobstr hasn’t been around forever, but his humor can already rival Banksy.
Blu and Ericailcane are in Stavanger for Nuart, and their wall is one of Blu’s boldest political statements yet (after all, Stavanger is an oil-funded city, and oil money from taxes pretty much funds Nuart). Nice stuff.
Last month, I met up with TrustoCorp at their headquarters. While there, I got to see some of their customized Trusto products and of course some signs. The highlight of the visit was something unexpected though. Just as it started pouring rain, we went to the roof of TrustoCorp’s building and played a game of TrustoShootout. We didn’t have the fancy setup from their solo show, but we did have a pellet gun and some posters.
In the past, I’ve been critical of TrustoCorp working indoors. Their signs work so well because they show up unexpectedly and in the perfect environment and a show full of signs would be kind of boring, but I think this game might be exactly the sort of thing that TrustoCorp can do to liven up gallery shows and consequently make their signs more interesting indoors. Like their signs, it’s fun. Unlike the signs, they environment isn’t so essential. If anything, the perfect environment for shooting illustrations of “arrogant rappers” is at a gallery opening after a couple of beers!
Now if only they could design a “pretentious blogger” target…
Once again, Swoon has been using her art to help those in need. Swoon and the rest of the team with The Konbit Shelter Project (including Ben Wolf and Tod Seelie) are busy working in Haiti right now. They are building super-adobe structures in the village of Barrier Jeudi in an effort to help rebuild after January’s devastating earthquake. These super-adobe buildings are extremely cost-effective, stronger than the standard homes in Haiti and are built with locally sourced materials. Their website will certainly explain the details better than my paraphrasing, so check that out.
Photographer Tod Seelie is there documenting the project and the crew’s time in Haiti. Here are some of his photos:
The best way to keep up to date with The Konbit Shelter Project is their blog, where Tod has been posting updates as the building process progresses.
The print is a 2-color screenprint on fabric measuring 19×26 inches. It’s an edition of 60 and is available for $350. What does PBS give you for a $350 donation? A tote bag and an umbrella? I’d take this print any day of the week.
“July 28, 2010:
Protesters in Phoenix, Arizona scaled a downtown crane to display their message, “Stop hate, no 287g, no 1070,” linking the local racial profiling law with the federal policy of criminalization. The banner was unfurled at approximately 6:00pm and remained on display for over an hour. The climbers released a statement that read, “Stopping the hate means not just stopping SB 1070 and Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona but stopping all the Arpaios that the President’s ice access program is creating all across the country.”” Via anitasarkeesian
The shutters at London’s Cordy House are probably best known for Roa‘s hare (see above, or my post last year), which he painted there last year. It’s probably become Roa’s best-known work. What most people outside of London don’t realize is that Roa wasn’t the first artist to make a “lenticular” at Cordy House, and now he isn’t the last either.
As early as January 2009, and I think before that as well, Dr. D had used the Cordy House shutters in a similar way:
Dr. D. Photo by cluttergeoff
Dr. D. Photo by cluttergeoff
And earlier this month, Ludo made something great for the same spot:
Ludo. Photo by Hooked
Ludo. Photo by Hooked
While Roa’s piece on this wall is probably my favorite (so far), it’s worth remembering that he hasn’t been the only one to do something cool on the Cordy House shutters.
Since the end of May until a few days ago, I’d been more or less cut off from the street art world. I was driving around Europe with my friends. That’s not particularly important, though I would like to thank Logan Hicks, Ripo, Paulo, C215, Nunca and (especially) Angelo for spending time with us.
Here’s some of the things that I missed while I was away…
Some local residents completely misinterpreted the meaning behind some Shepard Fairey murals and painted them over. Actually a really interesting story. I suppose that when it is a reality of everyday life, people don’t like to be reminded that the police will “kick your ass and get away with it.”
Daily Mail reports that Banksy has painted some pub in Primrose Hill. Reality: It’s a PR stunt by the pub’s owner, but at least now they have some artwork on their walls.
Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman, former gallery directors at Deitch Projects, have started up their own gallery in NYC called Hole. I’m not exactly sure how much street art or graffiti you’ll be able to find at the Hole when it opens later this month, but they sent me a press release, so presumably they haven’t ditched street art entirely. The Wall Street Journal has more.
Hrag Vartanian has started an interesting discussion on Hyperallergic about a new piece by Mark Jenkins which could easily be mistaken for trash. And by the way, if you don’t already read Hyperallergic, you should start. It’s perhaps my favorite art blog at the moment.
Armsrock has a solo show on right now at Signal Gallery. I’m going to check it out tomorrow, but based on the photos on Arrested Motion, I couldn’t be more excited. Armsrock is massively talented and just keeps getting better.
This needed to happen, so I’m glad that someone has finally done it. All City is an iPhone app that maps out street art and graffiti for users based on their current location. Wandering through an unfamiliar city or part of town and want to check out the art? Just pull up All City on your phone and see what’s nearby. And of course, you can add to the global map yourself via your iPhone. I tried it out recently and I’m really impressed. So far, there aren’t many pieces that have been tagged in London, but it’s just a matter of time before All City becomes super-useful. In the mean time, it’s fun to upload images and contribute to the growing community.
The press release:
All City is your hand-held guide to street art from around the world. Easily tag and upload street art spots you find and discover new ones you haven’t seen yet. Check out artist bios and share your favorite artwork with friends. Quickly locate nearby galleries for inspiration and find art supplies for when it strikes. Put your scene on the map with All City for the iPhone.
Marcus White and Kayce Thompson-Russ started this project a year ago, backed by a passion for street art and a desire to connect street art communities across the world. Living in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the lively outer-borough mecca for street artists, inspiration for their project comes daily. More often than not, street art is something stumbled upon by chance and its presence, while exciting and visceral, is temporary. All City makes the best of these chance encounters and offers a simple, well-designed experience that allows every user to be a contributor, letting people locate and share street art from anywhere in the world. The wiki-based platform allows users to identify unknown artists, share, rate and comment on pieces and send alerts if a piece has been buffed. Whether you want to see art within a few blocks of your house or check out the newest, top-rated street art abroad, All City gives you instantaneous electronic and physical access to our constantly-updated, ever-evolving database. All City puts eyes on every street and generates the freshest selection of street art available.
Totally honored and excited to be apart of this fantastic event that Ad Hoc Art has organized for the Welling Court community. Hope everyone in the area can make it out for the cook out.
Opening is Saturday, May 22nd, 4-10pm.
* The community is hosting an authentic NYC street party for the event. If you plan on joining the celebration, feel free to bring your favorite food, beverage, or street party fixins to share.
There’s never too much of a good thing…
Welling Court Artists include: Alice Mizrachi, Beast, Chris Mendoza, Chris Stain, Celso, Cern, Cey Adams, CR, Cycle, Dan Witz, Darkclouds, Daryll Peirce, Don Leicht, Ellis G, Free5, Gaia, Garrison & Alison Buxton, Greg Lamarche, JMR, John Fekner, Lady Pink, Leon Reid, Matt Siren, M-City, Michael De Feo, Mr. Kiji, Pablo Power, Peripheral Media Projects, R. Nicholas Kuszyk, Remi/Rough, Ron English, Royce Bannon, Sofia Maldonado, Stormie Mills, Sweet Toof, Swoon, TooFly, Tristan Eaton, and Veng RWK.
The address is 11-98 Welling Court, Queens, NY 11102
* Directions: Take the N or W train to 30th Ave & walk 10 blocks towards the East River or take the Q18 bus down 30th Ave to 12th St.
Flood Tide is an upcoming film that was made during Swoon’s Swimming Cities of the Switchback Sea. It stars members of the bands Dark, Dark, Dark and Fall Harbor. Flood Tide isn’t a documentary, but rather a fictional story that just happens to have been filmed during the Swimming Cities project. The film is almost done, but they need another $10,000 to finish the editing and start distribution. That’s why they’ve started a page on Kickstarter asking people to pledge enough money to get the film made. If they can raise $10,000 in donations by July 20th, the film will get finished, and if not, all the pledged money will be returned. Of course, there are also some rewards for those who help out. I pledged $30, so I’ll get access to a members-only website, tickets to some film screenings in NYC and a digital download of the film when it is finished. Go to Flood Tide‘s Kickstarter page to learn more.
California based graffiti artist Saber was recently inspired to make a new short documentary entitled Peppers World about a homeless man who embraces the culture of street art. Pepper is a true street artist in the purist sense. He’s known to some by his altar ego; the Mayor of Skid Row, and he’s proud to proclaim that he’s the last homeless person on the forefront of downtown LAs gentrification.
“Pepper has a habit of decorating his immediate surroundings, wherever that might be, with multi-colored paint splats, piled on discarded toys, and other purposefully arranged found objects.” says Saber “You can frequently catch him running around the city with his red shopping cart full of freshly discarded trinkets. The print Peppers World, and the mural I painted on 7th and Mateo that it inspired, is in homage to his existence. I have enormous respect for those who can survive in such extreme conditions yet still be able to express themselves creatively”.
Pretty cool how David Choe just turns up in this video out of nowhere!
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