RAE recently installed the above piece in a New York City subway station where there had previously been a random blank spot in the wall. Maybe a sign that had been removed and never replaced? Well now he spot has been filled with some great art. I love how this piece looks like an official installation, but really RAE just saw something wrong and fixed it.
Photos by Michael Fales
Sven Davis, probably best-known for being Arrested Motion‘s UK Director, has curated a show that will be taking place next month in Portland, Oregon. SPACE//FORM is a massive group show involving over 100 artists who were each given a 10×10 inch panel on which to work. The results are looking good. Plus, the show will include installations by Mark Dean Veca and Michael Murphy. Here’s the full list of artists:
Aakash Nihalani, Adam Normandin, Adam Wallacavage, Alex Lukas, Alicia Dubnyckyj, Amy Casey, Anthony Zinonos, Augustine Kofie, Ben Eine, Bill McRight, Blaine Fontana, Brendan Monroe, Brett Amory, Carl Cashman, Carl Riddle. Cheryl Molnar, Chloe Early, Chris Ballantyne, Chris Scarborough, Christian Mendoza, Christopher Derek Bruno, Clayton Brothers, Cleon Peterson, Dabs Myla, Dana Brown, Dave Kinsey, David Kassan, David O’Brien, Deedee Cheriel, Doze Green, Drew Tyndall, Eric Shaw, Eric White, Erik Mark Sandberg, Francesco Igory Deiana, Frank Gonzales, Gary Taxali, Geoff McFetridge, Ghostpatrol, Greg Eason, Greg Lamarche, Hamishi, Henry Gunderson, Ian Francis, Jacob Magraw Mickelson, James Marshall (Dalek), Jason Thielke, Jeff Depner, Jeff Soto, Jim Houser, Jordin Isip, Josh Keyes, Joshua Krause, Judith Supine, Kai & Sunny, Karin Krommes, Karl de Vroomen, Katrin Fridriks, Kenji Hirata, Kevin Cyr, Kevin Earl Taylor, Kevin Peterson, Kid Acne, Kozyndan, Kris Lewis, Kristen Schiele, Lex Thomas, Logan Hicks, Lola Dupré, Louis Reith, Lucas Price, LX One, Mario Wagner, Marissa Textor, Mark Dean Veca, Mark Schoening, Mark Warren Jacques, Mark Whalen, Mars-1, Martin Wittfooth, Mary Iverson, Matt Leines, Maya Hayuk, Michael Murphy, Mike Stilkey, Moneyless, Nick Walker, Pakayla Biehn, Paul Insect, Pete Watts, Reginald S. Aloysius, Remi Rough, Rich Jacobs, Richard Colman, Ricky Allman, Rostarr, Russell Leng, Ryan Shaffer, Ryan Stewart Nault, Sage Vaughn, Saner, Seonna Hong, She One, Sidney Pink, Sinc, Slinkachu, Stephanie Buer, Sweet Toof, Teresa Duck, Tim Biskup, Tom French, Tristram Lansdowne, Wayne White, Will Barras, Winston Smith
SPACE//FORM opens September 6th from 6-10pm at Breeze Block Gallery in Portland and runs through September 29th.
After the jump, check out a preview of some of the work in the show, including pieces by Lucas Price, Paul Insect and others… Continue reading “SPACE//FORM: a show curated by Sven Davis”
First of all, the frustrations in this post are pretty much the same that Caroline voiced in a post earlier this year about the All City Canvas festival. This year’s edition of the major Bristol mural festival See No Evil finished up recently, and I’m thinking that some great walls were painted. But how the hell can I tell? Other than Nychos’ wall, all the walls I’ve seen are in photos that have been filtered to hell because (I guess) that makes them more bloggable or tumblrable or whatever. Too often now, it seems like street art is more about the photo that will be sent to sites like this than the actual mural which should be meant to be appreciated by thousands of people every day. Photos are important, but rarely should the photo be more important than the actual work. I don’t think that the internet has to be the death of street art, but it damn sure could be when walls get painted for the purpose of taking filtered-to-hell photos of the finished product.
There were some talented artists painting at See No Evil, and the photos looks great if you think of them as photos untied to an actual mural that should be documented, but I’d like someone in Bristol to tell me how the murals actually turned out in-the-flesh. Here are some more photos that I was given from the event:
I’m sorry to pick on See No Evil about this issue. It’s not something that they started and it’s not something unique to them. They seem like a cool festival, but this is an issue which they are contributing to.
Photos courtesy of See No Evil and by Ian Cox
You may have a partner with whom you get along very well. You and your partner may love each other as much as any two people have ever loved each other before. You and your partner may work together on projects all the time. But you are not Dabs and Myla. This is how perfectly in sync Dabs and Myla are as a couple and as artistic collaborators:
Photo by sabeth718
Via VNA
Barry McGee’s retrospective at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive opened a couple of days ago, and damn am I jealous of pretty much anyone on the west coast right now. The show is open now through December 9th. Thanks so much to Gareth Gooch for all these photos of the show, which I’m just going to post without much further commentary, because they really seem to be enough. You either get it or not.
More after the jump… Continue reading “The Barry McGee retrospective in Berkeley, CA”
Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of great work that loosely falls under a category of graffiti which is abstract but focused on geometry, and maybe a bit minimalist (Editor, Bino, Homer, ABCDEF). Well, it’s important to remember that of lot of these guys seem to be influenced by the great MOMO, who recently returned to Italy’s Fame Festival to paint there. Here are a few pieces from that visit.
Photos courtesy of MOMO
Well, the big story this week was of course Hyuro’s wall under threat in Atlanta, but a lot more has been happening elsewhere on the web, plus I missed a week of link-o-rama when I was in Atlanta myself, so here’s what I’ve got to share:
Photo by Sam3
French artist eL Seed recently painted this beautiful mural on the tallest minaret in Tunisia, in the city of Gabès on the Jara Mosque. On the whole, I’m a bit tired of all the giant murals going up over the last year or two, but this one really works. The piece reads, “Oh humankind, we have created you from a male and a female and made people and tribes so you may know each other.” The mural was funded by the Barjeel Art Foundation.
Photos courtesy of eL Seed
Update: It looks like the latest news, as of August 27th, is that this mural is going to be removed.
My personal favorite mural at this year’s Living Walls Conference (which took place in Atlanta last week and we’ll be covering more from there soon) has to by Hyuro‘s mural in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood. It’s also proved to be the most controversial mural of the conference to date, with some people worried that the mural is too lewd for having in a public space, particular a space nearby a church, a mosque, a lot of street prostitution and a federal prison. Personally, I think the mural brightens up an otherwise drab wall and parking area.
Hyuro painted a frame-by-frame animation (of 30-some frames) which can be seen by walking down the length of the mural. The animation is of a women growing fur and then shedding that fur, which turns into a wolf and walks away from her. It’s based on an animation she made last year using drawings:
The way I read the mural, it was empowering to women, urging them to be strong and go out into the world with the strength of a wolf. The way I’ve heard Hyuro explain it, the mural is about shedding one’s animal instincts for higher planes of thought. Either way, a great message.
But not every mural is for everyone, and any mural that everyone likes is almost sure to be a boring one. In a thread on the website i-Neighbors, some Lakewood Heights residents have complained that they find the mural offensive, with some even saying that they will now change their usual routes to work or school in order to avoid them or their children seeing it. I had a quick read through of the i-Neighbors posts, and while there are certainly some people who want the mural removed, most of the posts expressing in opinion one way or the other are from people who are okay with the mural or who love it. According to Alex Parrish, Living Walls’ Director of Communications, the response to the mural over social media has been overwhelmingly positive.
Unfortunately, the local news seems to be over-hyping a friendly discussion amongst neighbors into a full-blown controversy and now Hyuro’s mural truly is at risk of being removed. Eeven though Hyuro had the permission from the owner of the wall to paint there, the city of Atlanta does still have some control over what goes there. The initial plans that were submitted to the city included a sketch by Hyuro, but upon showing up at the wall, the artist changed her mind about sample work by Hyuro, and upon showing up at the wall, she decided what to paint given the shape of the wall and how her animation could fit there perfectly, as well as provide an uplifting message for the neighborhood. As a result, the mural was not really approved by the city. On Wednesday, Living Walls resubmitted plans to the city based on the finished mural. The final decision is still pending.
If you want to voice your opinion on the mural, you can email Camille Russell Love, director of Atlanta’s Director Office Of Cultural Affairs. Her email is CRLove -at- atlantaga.gov. Living Walls (and I) would really appreciate your support of this beautiful artwork. As I understand it, many of the people upset with the mural have contacted Love and other city officials, and so it’s extremely important that those who are in favor of keeping the mural make their voices heard as well.
Photos by Dustin Chambers and RJ Rushmore
There are a lot of shows coming up soon worth checking out. Here are some of I wish I could check out in person…
Photo courtesy of Joshua Liner Gallery
