Andreas von Chrzanowski / case is not only part of Ma’Claim, one of the world’s greatest crews – his fine art is some of the best being created today. Andreas has a show coming up at Signal Gallery (in conjunction with Campbarbossa) on February 18th called Never odd or eveN. Here’s a quick preview of what has gone on behind-the-scenes to create each immaculately spray painted artwork.
I must have a thousand amazing photos so will post more soon! If you’re in London next month, make sure to head on over to Signal to see it all in person.
As previouslydiscussed here, Banksy and Robbo have been having a bit of a fight lately. Now, Robbo has gone over a 2nd new Banksy piece and promises to hit even more. Here’s Robbo’s latest dis:
Photo by nolionsinengland
I could get into the details of this whole thing, but whatever I write about this story will be 2nd to what nolionsinengland has already posted over at Graffoto. It’s a must read post for Banksy fans or anyone interested in the the battle between graffiti and street art.
First thing first, I think I need to note that this post is actually way cooler and less cheesy than it will seem at first, it just takes some time for the awesomeness to sink in.
For years, people have loved the projects that Graffiti Research Labs and F.A.T. have done. GRL’s is probably best known their Laser Tagging device:
All interesting experiments, but not really anything that could be used by the average person. Well know that’s changed with Graffiti Markup Language (GML). GML is a file type that can store information about graffiti tags. And now you can create your own applications using GML files and GRL and F.A.T. have already released a number of applications to the public.
GML files are stored on 000000book.com, where you can see hundreds of digital tags. Those tags can be created on the iPhone with two applications, Fat Tag: Katsu Edition and Graffiti Analysis (a slightly simplified version of the Graffiti Analysis application which is now available for download for your computer). I’ve tried out both apps, and they are pretty cool, but essentially it’s just a fun way to draw on your iPhone.
I realize this probably isn’t the clearest explanation of GML or the applications you can use it with, but that’s in part because the possibilities are pretty endless. As silly as the whole thing sounds, just try out some of the applications and play around on 000000book.com before you rush to judgment (as I originally did, almost laughing the whole thing off).
Babelgum just released a short video shot by Radar Twenty-One about Aakash Nihalani. I like to watch videos in which artists step back and talk about their work and as much of this footage, which follows Aakash through New York and films him at work on the street, is interspersed with his thoughtful commentary, I enjoyed this one.
Aakash is in LA right now prepping for his upcoming show here at Carmichael Gallery – it’s going to be a fun week leading up to the opening!
UPDATE: Jerry Saltz reports on his facebook account that “LA MoCA just announced that Jeffrey Deitch is their new Director. He begins June 1. He will soon close his gallery.” So I guess that answers that question. No more Deitch Projects.
As anticipated, The LA Times reports that Jeffrey Deitch has been named as the new director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA. The nomination is a controversial one primarily because Deitch’s background is as a commercial art dealer, while traditionally the post would be filled by somebody who has worked in museums for most of their career. Also, there is the question of what will happen to Deitch’s gallery, Deitch Projects, and what role he will play in the gallery’s future.
I for one am ecstatic about this news. Deitch has been associated with many great street artists like Shepard Fairey, Keith Haring and Barry McGee, so perhaps this new position will allow Deitch to bring some of those artists into MOCA’s collection.
So, congratulations to Jeffrey Deitch on this new job. I hope that he is able to breath a new life into MOCA and bring it back from the edge of bankruptcy (okay, to be fair it was in 2008 that the museum was almost bankrupt, but it certainly isn’t in a strong position today).
We talk about Unurth a lot here on Vandalog and highly recommend it to all our readers for Sebastian’s great curation of street art and public interventions by our favorite artists. Now, in addition to visiting the site, you can receive daily email updates in your inbox. All you need to do is hit “subscribe by email” on the Unurth homepage! I was very excited when I got my first email this morning (it featured Bumblebee and Saber). I suggest you go do it now so you never miss out on the latest posts (which sometimes happens to me when I’m traveling or super busy). And remember, you can see highlights from Unurth every month in The Art Street Journal.
A Cry For Help runs from January 8 – February 5 at Thinkspace in LA. Not only does it feature a long list of great local and international artists, the show supports animal rights and protection so there will be adoptions throughout the opening weekend and the opportunity to donate food, toys and blankets to local shelters. If you love art and care about animals, this is the show for you! We also previewed it in the January issue of The Art Street Journal.
Above are pieces by Bumblebee (who also did a big install in the gallery window, plus a cool street piece nearby: see below) and Gaia, but as there is a lot of great work to be found in the show, I recommend you go check it all out for yourself here.
What to do with an abandoned old tower built in the middle of Berlin… I know! Paint it! Flying Fortress, Craig “KR” Costello, Honet and Sozyone are doing just that in a few months. From April 1st to May 15th, those four artists will be painting The Bierpinsel tower in Berlin, which stands 46 meters (151 feet) high. I don’t know much about the project, but I’ve got a feeling that it could be something really special. This could become an iconic part of Berlin, or at least, something really cool for the locals. And Just will be there to take photos, so you know that the entire process will be well documented. Check out more on the event’s website.
The first issue of The Art Street Journal 2010 is out! Inside, amongst other things, you’ll find reviews on some of the best shows from December (like Grifters at Lazarides) and previews of some of the ones we’re most excited about in January (like A Cry For Help at Thinkspace). There are a lot of interviews in this issue, too – Martha Cooper, Mark Jenkins (who’s showing here at Carmichael Gallery with Aakash Nihalani in January) Stephan Doitschinoff and Zezao.
This month’s Unurth page is very cool (I love that this page enables us to fit so many different artists into the paper – it really is hard to include everything you want to cover in sixteen pages and Sebastian does a fantastic job of highlighting the best on the street), plus we’ve finally started the tasj bookshelf page. Each month, this page will feature a selection of the best publications out there (RJ’s The Thousands: Painting Outside, Breaking In makes it in first time, of course, as does Issue 10 of Very Nearly Almost).
As always, tasj is free and we’ll deliver it anywhere in the world. You can get it here.
