Presenting AFUERA, an uplifting mural project from Peru

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The remains of Pisco (Peru) after the devastating earthquake of 2007. Photo courtesy of AFUERA.

Last year, Marco Sueño launched the inspiring and hopeful public art project AFUERA. This initiative arose from the need to uplift the souls of communities utilizing art as a means to connect and recuperate spaces that, because of a wide array of reasons, are found abandoned and unattended. In 2012, AFUERA was launched in Cerro de Pasco, a community that is radically affected by industrial scale mining.

This year, AFUERA directed its attention towards Pisco, a city once known for its beautiful colonial architecture and coastal culture, is now facing the biggest urban decay it has ever experienced due to an earthquake that occurred in 2007. Not only have many architectural patrimonies disappeared, but also the city’s identity is at risk, affecting people and their sense of belonging and importance in a national scale. Many projects have been proposed and approved by the central government, but the results of said projects are yet to be seen.

This is where artists, community organizers and the public connect to re-engage with a city whose identity is rapidly disintegrating. I invite you all to visualize the scale of help and need that exists in Pisco and become part of the change that this city so desperately needs. Here is AFUERA’s Indiegogo campaign, I encourage you all to donate and share it to help make this project a reality.

Sam3’s “Sailing the constellations”

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Sam3 doesn’t say on his website exactly where this wall is, but hints, “This wall is facing the sea, where it is imagined that one day was Ulysses.” I’m not so well versed in Greek mythology, so I’m just gonna go with the wall being somewhere in Greece…? UPDATE: The wall is in Italy.

Wherever it is, I’m a fan. Sam3 is really a master of playing with space, both the space of the wall itself and the positive and negative spaces he creates in black and white.

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Photos by Sam3

And now I am convinced of Saner’s awesomeness

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I’ve followed Saner’s work a bit for years, and posted about him on Vandalog from time to time, but I’ve never been a super huge fan of his work. A fan, sure, but he’s never been in my top-10 list of favorite artists. But this video by Colin M Day for MOCAtv has really convinced me that Saner is more than just another competent muralist. I especially love the animated work that he’s done. I had no idea about that. Definitely watch this video:

Photo by nid2graff.fr

Street Art in Montréal, Canada, Summer

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Garbage Beauty

Here we are, in the middle of an hot, sweat and incredible summer in Montreal. The perfect place to walk in the back alleys and abandoned areas, looking for fresh air and street art. “The perfect day to be outside” for a street art photographer ! Street art works by Garbage Beauty, Chris Dyer, QBNYC, Produkt, Waxhead, Cryote, GawdLabrona, Troy lovegates aka Other, Mathieu Connery aka 500M, Lilyluciole, Mathieu Bories, WIA.

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Chris Dyer and QBNYC
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Produkt
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Cryote and Waxhead

Continue reading “Street Art in Montréal, Canada, Summer”

Weekend link-o-rama

Nemo in London
Nemo in London

Happy weekend. Are you on the east coast of the USA? If so, are you melting?

Photo by Unusualimage

Pose and Revok in NYC: on the Bowery, at Jonathan LeVine and in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Pose and Revok on the famed Bowery and Houston wall
Pose and Revok on the famed Bowery and Houston wall

With their vigorous, brightly-hued fusion of pop imagery, comic art and graffiti elements, Pose and Revok, along with support from other MSK crew members, have fashioned — perhaps — the most dynamic mural to ever grace the famed Bowery and Houston wall. Along with their current exhibit, Uphill Both Ways at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, their artwork is a testament to graffiti’s ongoing evolution and vitality.

Pose, Fin 2, acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel
Pose, Fin 2, acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel
Pose, Dude2, acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel
Pose, Dude 2, acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel
Revok, 3652 Canfield, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel
Revok, 3652 Canfield, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel
Revok, 301 Petoskey, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel
Revok, 301 Petoskey, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel

And in their tribute to the legendary Nekst and to the true spirit of graffiti, the two have, also, left their mark on the streets of Bushwick, Brooklyn:

Revok tribute to Nekst
Revok tribute to Nekst
Pose tribute to Nekst
Pose tribute to Nekst

Photos by Dani Mozeson, Tara Murray and Lois Stavsky

ND’A paints a door in Little Italy

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ND’A painted the latest piece at The L.I.S.A. Project NYC (co-curated by Wayne Rada and I) this week in NYC’s Little Italy. He painted on a door that was last painted by Bishop203 earlier this year. I probably shouldn’t write this, but this is honestly my second favorite piece I’ve helped to organize in Little Italy so far. The first is of course Ron English’s massive Temper Tot, but I think ND’A really outdid himself here. I hope everyone walking down Mulberry Street this summer is as big a fan of ND’A’s work as I am.

Also, we just started a Facebook page for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC.

More photos after the jump… Continue reading “ND’A paints a door in Little Italy”

MOMO and Angelo visit Jamaica and Cuba

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Earlier this year, MOMO and Angelo Milano (the man behind FAME Festival and Studiocromie) went to Jamaica and Cuba on a sort of art-making journey / vacation. MOMO posted some photos from the trip last month. This week, Angelo posted a short documentary film about the trip. It’s definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan of FAME Festival or MOMO. Check it out:

Also, MOMO has a solo show that just opened with Studiocromie in Grottaglie, Italy. Juxtapoz has some great photos of that show, which looks absolutely stunning.

Photo courtesy of MOMO

Vhils in Philadelphia

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Photo by Steve Weinik

This summer I’ve been interning at The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. The program is a city-run organization that has installed thousands of murals in Philadelphia over the last 30 years. Most of the artists they work with are traditional muralists, but they have also worked with Kenny Scharf, Steve Powers and others from the street art and graffiti scenes. Last week, Vhils came to town and installed a wheatpasted mural similar to the piece he did outside of the Leake Street Tunnel a few years ago in London. Rather than starting with a layer of old advertisements like he usually does, Vhils began the mural with a layer of collaged historic photographs of Philadelphia and covered that with a layer of white paper. The mural is on Drury Street in Center City, around the corner from the murals by Kenny Scharf, Gaia, and How&Nosm on 13th Street.

An art class from Mural Arts visits Vhils on site
An art class from Mural Arts visits Vhils on site. Photo by Steve Weinik.
The first layer of the mural. Photo by RJ Rushmore.
The first layer of the mural. Photo by RJ Rushmore.
Vhils and his crew projecting on the wall. Photo by Lisa Murch.
Vhils and his crew projecting on the wall. Photo by Lisa Murch.
Photo by Steve Weinik
Photo by Steve Weinik
Click to view large. Photo by Steve Weinik.
Click to view large. Photo by Steve Weinik.

Photos by RJ Rushmore, Lisa Murch and Steve Weinik