Category: Featured Posts

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Banksy artwork removed in Detroit

Photo by bealebo

Marc Schiller from Wooster Collective said something interesting on Twitter the other day. He said, “Fascinating how each city on Banksy’s road trip (LA, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, NYC, San Fran) reacted completely differently to the art.” He then clarified by tweeting “LA: Indifference San Fran: Appreciation Chicago: Unaware Detroit: Biz Opportunity Toronto: Validation Boston: Confusion NY: Jealousy”

What did he mean by “Biz Opportunity” in Detroit? Well at least two of the pieces that Banksy painted in Detroit were removed by people from the spots where they were painted.

Here’s what happened to Diamond Girl according to The Process Theory:

this is truth, I’ve been holding out on posting this, but i think its time. Famed Banksy artist took aim at Detroit, and like many people who knew it would be short lived, a cohort and i began removing the piece. In the wee hours of the morning. We worked diligently till about six am. Carving out the bricks ever so carefully. I promise, you have never seen a sledge hammer flow ever so softly into brick. as if the girl herself was trapped. When staring a modern legend, and if not the greatest street artist of the last 15 years.  a chance to feel, touch, see, and own a legend. for money? for preservation? who knows. some gallery would have beat us to it. i know they would, the other piece was already being removed by some gallery who we know is going to make the quick buck.  This was a guerrilla movement. an attempt in the night. much in an adverse way of Banksy hitting the wall himself. My accomplice hands bloodied and blistered. let it be known, to who ever took that piece… you didn’t deserve it. you didn’t work for it. but it should be documented. We are not an entity, we are not a gallery. We were two fans, trying to do the right thing before the hounds of a desolate city, hurting for money. Take what you will, i know we will catch a lot of heat for it. Rebels? Saviors? assholes? Dedicated fans? it depends on how you view it….

And you can see pictures of that piece on The Process Theory’s website. For now though, nobody really knows what’s happened to Diamond Girl.

On the other hand, the case of where I Remember (photo above) has gone is very public. On May 11th, Detroitfunk reported that the artwork had been removed by 555 Nonprofit Gallery and Studios. As expected when a Banksy is removed or defaced, there was a strong reaction from the public. Some people thought that 555 Arts were preserving the artwork, others that 555 Arts had essentially “stolen” Banksy’s art from the public trust, potentially in order to tell it for a massive profit. With no word from 555 Arts about the situation, the public was left waiting to hear what would happen. Finally, on May 15th, the Detroit Free Press picked up the story and fill in the missing details. It turns out that the folks from 555 Arts intend to not sell the work and to keep it on public display.

While I’m not sure that 555 Arts did the right thing by removing that wall, I think that in the long run future generations are going to be glad they did it. I’m not saying that every Banksy should be removed or protected, and I’m sure that most of the time these pieces are removed and protected purely so that the owners can profit from the artwork, but in the long run, it might be worth preserving a few of these outdoor pieces by Banksy.

Photo by bealebo

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Photos of Os Gêmeos’ show in Lisbon

This week marks the opening of Os Gêmeos‘ latest museum show, Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá at Museu Berardo in Lisbon. Lucky for all of us not in Lisbon, Target was there to take plenty of photos.

While I was still very happy to see the work they had at their recent show in Milan, a lot of people I spoke with subsequently said they were disappointed with the work there. Now I see why. Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá is really what a proper Os Gêmeos show looks like. In short, it looks amazing. It’s not at huge as Vertigem, but it’s the next best thing. I already know people planning holidays around this show after seeing these photos. I wish I could do that too. If you’re in Lisbon between now and September, this is something that cannot be missed.

Don’t ask me why Os Gêmeos’ artwork is so good, I don’t know. Just have a look and hopefully agree.

All photos by Target, who has plenty more images from the show on his blog

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The “Free Poster Boy” group on Facebook

Poster Boy, more accurately Henry Matyjewicz who is one of the artists involved with the Poster Boy movement, was recently sentenced to 11-months in prison for a just few hundred dollars worth of “damages” (depending on your point of view) to ads on the New York subway system. Mark Batty Publisher, the publisher of Poster Boy’s upcoming book (can’t wait to get this in my hands), has started a Facebook group in support of Poster Boy. There are just a few hundred members of the group so far, but I’ve joined and I hope you will too.

This whole thing is absurd. Henry should not be in prison for making the world a less ad-filled cesspool, and even if he did damage a few ads and the advertisers think he needs to pay for that, 11-months is a vindictive and cruel sentence.

What really upsets me is that Poster Boy has clearly been targeted and is being made an example of solely because he modifies advertising. Poster Boy has done a great job of trying to stay anonymous, but the police crashed an art opening last year just to find him. And yet, much more public street artists like Mr. Brainwash and Swoon seem to avoid arrest without much difficulty. I’m not saying that they should be arrested, just that it’s clear that police specifically targeted Poster Boy. Maybe this is a stupid argument to be making. I dunno. At the very least, I think it’s fair to say that disbanding NYPD’s Vandal Squad and reassigning those police to investigating drug dealers would be a better use of taxpayer dollars. Anyway, that’s my rant about a crappy justice system.

Here’s a good quote from Poster Boy’s flickr:

“I don’t care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting.”
-Che Guevara

Free Henry!
-Poster Boy

Once again, please join this Facebook group in support of Poster Boy and Henry.

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Os Gêmeos in Lisbon

Os Gêmeos (who by the way recently launched a website) have an exhibition at Museu Colecção Berardo in Lisbon opening on Monday May 17th. I’m sure it will be mindblowingly fantastic. Target posted this short video teaser for the show on his blog:

Target really has been the one with all the info about this show, so I’m sure he’ll also be the first with photos on Tuesday. Keep an eye on his blog for those updates.

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MOMO’s public art in private spaces

MOMO‘s latest project, Public Art in Private Spaces, looks awesome. MOMO is one of those artists that I like some times and other times I’m completely indifferent too. But he’s also one of the artists most-loved by the people whose tastes I trust. So I’m probably wrong about sometimes being indifferent to MOMO. It’s entirely possible that he’s a genius and I just don’t always see it. This project is one of my favorite this that he’s done though. MOMO went to Key West and painted murals inside people’s homes for free.

MOMO describes Public Art in Private Spaces like this:

An experiment to take “Public Art” deeper; right into peoples homes and intimate spaces.

I was curious to try creating artwork for a sampling of “the public” for free and with no obligations, like I’d do in the street, but more directly.  I really don’t know the public I’m working for when I make things anonymously, and often the idea of public becomes mythic and hazy.  This seemed like a way to learn what different people thought of my work, and to experience some pressure from the close contact.

Urban/Street/Outdoor/Public Art not urban street or outdoors, just very public.

And he made this video documenting the project (so far):

Public Art in Private Spaces from MOMO on Vimeo.

Photo from MOMO

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Poster Boy in Jail

Seth and I were really sad to hear this morning that our good friend Poster Boy has been sentenced to 11 months in jail. Things weren’t looking good for him, but it’s just awful to hear that they have come to have this.

Animal New York reported the news here and also commented on the fact that PB missed his court date on May 6th. It seems that if he had been present that day, all of this could have been avoided. I couldn’t think why he wouldn’t have gone so I talked to a mutual friend and the truth is that Poster Boy simply got the date wrong; he thought he was supposed to come in the next day. Unfortunately, now he’s really paying for his simple mistake. As Animal goes on to note, he came in on May 7th to apologize, but it was too late:

Although PB did miss his May 6th court date, he did come in the following day around 2PM on May 7th to apologize, however the court wasn’t hearing any of that and he was taken into custody. He spent the weekend at Rikers and it was this morning that he was sentenced to the 11 months. “It was unwarranted,” says Gotlib, who promised to absolutely appeal the “shocking decision.” He was expected to get 3 years probation, not jail time.

On April 30th, sensing the urgency of his case,  PB sent an email out asking for support from the greater art community.

Here’s an extract:

“A graduate of NYU, Henry is a working artist and activist based in Brooklyn. His most recent participation with the Poster Boy street art movement resulted in legal trouble. Initially, Henry was hit with misdemeanor charges and community service as a result of these activities. However, the district attorney has since tried to pursue Felony Class charges based partially on the false testimony of a transit officer. It is important to note that this is Mr. Matyjewicz’s first offense. Despite these facts, the District Attorney is unwilling to view this case reasonably.

At one point during these proceedings the DA asked for bail to be set at an unprecedented $20,000. This extremely high amount is more in line with bail requests for violent felons accused of dealing drugs or for cases involving weapons.

Perhaps more telling, the DA is attempting to send Mr. Matyjewicz to prison for a year. All of this for the alleged defacement of a few ad posters, a victimless crime, and clearly not a felony.

Fortunately we have recently gained the support of prominent Civil Rights Activist and Best Selling author, David Mixner. David is best known for his important work in anti-war activities and gay rights advocacy. In light of these recent developments, Mr. Matyjewicz has decided to take his case to court and fight these outlandish charges.

Regardless of whether you agree with the views of Mr. Matyjewicz or the Poster Boy movement, we should all be able to agree that this is an assault on the art & culture community.

We respectfully ask for your signature to show your support of Henry and to help keep New York City safe for artists and independent thinkers. Many thanks for your support.”

When I last saw Poster Boy, which was when I was last in New York barely a month ago, he was really excited about the release of his upcoming book and was talking about some of the fun ideas he had to promote it when it came out. The book is mostly composed of work that has never been made public, so if you’re a fan, you’re in for a nice surprise.

The fact that he is in now jail for his art just disgusts me. Think of all the people out there who commit real crimes, yet live their lives unpunished, and compare them to the actions of an artist who was only making the streets and subways look a bit more interesting. This world is really messed up.

We need to do something about this and help get Poster Boy out of here.

–      Elisa

Image via Poster Boy’s flickr.

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Eames Foundation In Urban Art Hot Seat

Elbow Toe

20 of today’s most celebrated street artists recently teamed up with the prolific Eames Foundation to create their very own personalized and re-imagined designs on the seat of the iconic and timeless Eames Molded Plywood Dining Chair. Artists such as Aakash Nihalani, Elbow-Toe, Skewville, Darkcloud, Cake and Peru Ana Ana Peru are a few of the names who were able to add their own urban aesthetic to what is often referred to as “the cornerstone of modern furniture design” by utilizing the chair as their canvas. But what exactly is all this for I hear you ask? Well, the creation of these one of a kind chairs is all part of an online charity auction in aid of Operation Design. Whilst these chairs do look very tempting they are definitely pieces not to be sat on! So get off your ass and take a look at a few of our favorite creations below!

Dark Cloud
Matt Siren
Skewville

See more at Operation Design

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May Day!

May 1st was the opening of what may surpass Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop as the street art event of the year so far: Shepard Fairey’s May Day show at Deitch Projects. Because the opening evening was open the public instead of simply a guest-list-only affair, it got a bit mad. I’ve heard that lines were 7 blocks long just to get in. And a friend tells me that the after-party was one of the best parties of the year. It’s taken a few days, but some photos of the artwork have finally come online.

The largest piece in the show (pictured above) is a 4-part series of canvases similar to the mural that Shepard has at Houston and Bowery. No doubt it will end up in a museum. The question is, which one? Perhaps more importantly, should it end up in a museum? It is really Shepard’s strongest work to date, or just his largest?

Capitalizing on the popularity of the Obama HOPE poster, Shepard has almost definitely made more than his usual number of portraits for this May Day, so that’s too bad.

Shepard’s flag is probably the most visually arresting and art historically significant newish image in May Day. Shepard no doubt owes a lot to Jasper Johns, particularly Johns’ use of newspaper and other materials collaged together as a base for his paintings, so it’s interesting to see Shepard’s take on the American flag (I should probably remind people that no, I don’t study art history or whatever, this is just my take on things, so no need to get all pissy – though I wouldn’t mind hearing if I’m totally wrong). Probably my favorite pieces in the show.

Two of my favorite classic Shepard Fairey images in the photo below: The OBEY printing press and Never Trust Your Own Eyes.

And of course, plenty of smaller stencils and rubyliths.

Is there a lot of not-so-amazing stuff in May Day? Of course. Is there some amazing artwork too? Of course. Shepard has always produced so much that it’s all a bit hit or miss, but those hits are more than worth wading through the misses. I wish I could see May Day in person. Looks like the must-see art event in New York right now. May Day runs through May 29th and then Deitch Projects closes down for good as Jeffrey Deitch takes up his new job as director of The MOCALA.

Photos by Incase, who have a flickr set with more photos from the show

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Faile/Bast Deluxx Fluxx Arcade comes to NYC

Faile and Bast have once again teamed up to put on their Deluxx Fluxx Arcade show/experience. Last time, it was in Lazarides’ Greek Street location in London. Now, the arcade has been built in New York City. The arcade opened this weekend and will be open at 158 Allen Street through May 27th. If you’re in town (and especially if you didn’t see this arcade while it was in London), I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s quite an experience.

Arrested Motion has pictures from the arcade’s setup and Gothamist has an interview with Faile.

Photo from Arrested Motion