Author: Stephanie Keller

Stephanie is a recent graduate of the George Washington University where she studied journalism and communication and the Sotheby's Institute of Art in London where she earned her Master's Degree in Contemporary Arts. Hailing from the Jersey shore (unfortunately), Stephanie became introduced to street art while studying abroad in London in late 2009. Abandoning her career path in music pr and management, she began to delve into the world of urban art and began reading as many contemporary art books she could get her hands on before graduation. When she does manage to pull her nose out of art books, Stephanie likes to bike, watch old Hitchcock films, and cook a mean mushroom risotto. Some of her favorite artists include Miss Van, Keith Haring, Luke Chueh, Yoshitomo Nara and David LaChapelle.
Posted on

KAWS X Bape

The latest KAWS toy is available today at 1pm Eastern time. This three colored edition figure is nowhere near some of the artist’s best figurative and the whole idea reeks of shameless self-promotion, but it’s still a cute addition to any toy collection. It reminds of the Hello Kitty Dunny’s or a surprisingly well done McDonald’s toy. I would much rather this than a Scooby-Doo kaleidoscope.

MILO can only be purchased at http://www.kawsone.com. Well, at least until it goes on Ebay tomorrow.

 

Photos by KAWS One

Posted on

Street Art View

I came across Street Art View only the other day, which is pretty pathetic considering the number of Facebook and Twitter posts on it. Right now I am teetering on how I feel about it. Powered by Red Bull (who seem to have their hands in street art related activities a lot recently) and Google Maps, the site allows people to virtually “tag” graff and street art as depicted on the Street View. Thing is though, isn’t most of the work already covered/altered/buffed/etc.? Just an initial look, there is work from JR and Banksy that are no longer on the streets. For historical purposes, I guess this is a good idea because you can find exact locations or learn where they used to be. But in the present, works change so much, that tagging something on the map misleads people looking to see works. Also, since the Street View is already created, won’t new works not be able to be seen at all? This is like a “Where is Waldo” of street art from a certain time period. I personally enjoyed finding the wizard more enjoyable.

This map is a lot like Marxism to me- sounds good in theory, but shit in practice.

I also hear there is an Iphone app in the making (already created?) that you can take a photo of a piece and it recognizes the artist when people upload the same work and tag it as an artist? I read this somewhere a few weeks ago, but don’t remember where. I bet the cops will have a field day with that application.

http://streetartview.com/

Posted on

Printmaking Today at Black Rat Projects

Last night hosted a packed opening at Black Rat Projects entitled Printmaking Today. Normally print shows tend to be a bit tedious, since they are usually reproduced images of originals or have been so before upon their initial releases. But Black Rat hosted a refreshingly eclectic display of prints by artists ranging from Damien Hirst, Banksy, Matt Small, D*Face, Shepard Fairey and more. As much shit as I got for a previous post of mine about street artists becoming accepted into the art canon, this show only adds further evidence to my point. While many high end fine art establishments look down on street art and find it a passing trend in galleries, this show saw Hirst’s work next to D*Face and Bridget Riley (whose work is in the Tate) close to a Shepard Fairey, without any work looking out of place. My friends and I were discussing how not only does street art borrow from fine art, but fine artists are definitely borrowing from the work of street and outsider artists. The lines are quickly blurring between low brow and fine art, so it is finally nice to see the two in such a show, and not just in an auction.

The show also boasted an incredible pop-up project space by ROA. Each angle showed a new image, and I swear you could walk around it ten time and would still see something different. The works may not be new, quite similar to the LA and NY shows, but the concept is so much more complex and is worth checking out just for that reason.

My favorite of the night had to be Pure Evil‘s “Dripping Liza” work that culminated with a puddle of teal paint down on the floor near the canvas. Andy Warhol may be done to death, but Pure Evil still manages to put a new spin on an over-saturated piece of art that needs to be seen in person to attain the full effect.

Pictures by butterfly. View the whole set here

Posted on

VNA Issue 14 Launch Party

Always a pleasure to party with the guys at VNA. Celebrating the launch of Issue 14, featuring Sickboy as their cover artist, the festivities included booze, beards, and brilliant art. I loved the special edition of the Sickboy cover (pictured above) and cannot believe the growth of such an amazing endeavor. Congrats to everyone at VNA for creating, yet another, fantastic zine this month.

Below is a teaser video that VNA put together to promote the latest issue. It might make you a bit nauseous, so put down your tea.

VNA issue 14 from Make Some Tea on Vimeo.

To order Issue 14, click here

Pictures by the lovely butterfly. Click here to view the full set.

Posted on

The History of American Graffiti

Before people start rolling their eyes about yet another graffti book, I have to say that this one looks pretty good. Not only did the infamous Roger Gastman (who is a Washington DC legend in my book; I have to rep that), but it really does attempt to trace the distinctiveness of the evolution of American graff in the past 40 years.

The book contains interviews with over 500 artists, and over 1000 photographs (seriously, this thing could break an Ikea shelf I bet) and of course, the one and only TAKI 183 writes the book’s foreword.

The book will be released in the beginning of April, but can be pre-ordered on Amazon

Posted on

Milo Project

Here are some new works by French street artist Milo Project. Reminding me a lot of Mark Jenkins, Milo Project places realistic mannequins in the fetal position all over France. Below is a video of people’s reactions that is pretty funny even if you don’t speak French.

All photos by Milo Project

Posted on

Hours: Photography by the Clock

This may not be “street art” per say, but I am taking creative license and writing about it because it they are “artistic pictures of the street.” Plus, one of the editors is a street artist, so I’m allowing it.

In the latest craze of “bring back the physical written word,” people are looking for any excuse to print some type of zine. I tend to look past 99% of them and stick to online ventures (what can I say, I’m biased and maybe a pseudo-environmentalist). Albeit, a new zine recently grabbed my attention as fast as a guy in skinny jeans and Buddy Holly glasses would. Hours is a monthly zine that documents one person’s 24 hour use of a disposable camera. All of the pictures are unedited and printed as they come out. Below are images from the first issue:

The editors, Molly Rourke and Matthew Shearer, sent me this bit to expand upon the magazine’s mission:

One artist/photographer/creative thinker is chosen each month and have 24 hours to fill the camera they are given, and the photos are then turned into a publication.  The person chosen is done so at random (literally pulled out of a hat), with anyone able to submit, from anywhere, each month.

In an age where digital photography is king, and photos can be uploaded to Facebook instantly, Hours invites the camera holder to take a journey, to take a risk, to feel excited about seeing photographs again, and being unable to delete, to edit or discard any – to savor and consider each and every frame.  Even the photographer of each issue will not see their own photographs until the zine is launched.


The official launch party of the zine was last night in Cardiff, but contact the guys on their Tumblr and you can subscribe for 1 pound an issue.

Posted on

New DAIN in NYC

Dain has been quite busy in NYC lately. I am loving the new works found on BSA yesterday, not just because they are colorful collage and I wish I could walk by them every day, but the images are so rich in art history that it boggles my mind. Maybe it is jsut because I am sitting in Sotheby’s being lectured at about Documenta X and seeing slide after slide of artists, but DAIN’s work (as well as Judith Supine) really remind me of Hannah Hoch, a German collage artist known best for her feminist and political works in the DADA movement in the early 1900’s. Understanding that street artists come from so many backgrounds, I find it fascinating that the ones that don’t have any art history background are actually repeating pieces from the art canon and putting their own modern spin on it without even knowing it. Possible dissertation piece maybe?

I could be completely wrong, and maybe the striking similarities are not just purely coincidental, but influenced by Hoch and John Heartfield, and other participants from around the world (not just Berlin). We all know that artists are influenced by others in order to find their voice, and some are blatant copycats, but the inclusion of established art history in street, whether intentional or not, furthers the notion that street art does have a place alongside fine artists.

All Photos by Jaime Rojo for Brooklyn Street Art