Claudio Ethos sent over these photos of a few new walls in Amsterdam and São Paulo. Loving them as usual. Ethos also has a new blog where he’ll be posting photos of his latest artwork.
Photos by Ethos
Three new walls by Ethos
Weekend link-o-rama
This week is spring break, so I’ve been enjoying some relaxation and watching too many films on Netflix, but in the mean time, there were of course some stories that slipped by me. Here are some of them:
- Some of my favorite photographers in the UK have put together a graffiti zine.
- So apparently, the name Banksy written on a piece of cardboard automatically adds exactly $68,500 of value to said piece of cardboard.
- Speaking of Banksy, this post raises some questions about what really separates Banksy from the crowd.
- Todd James, Steve Powers and Barry McGee, the three artists behind the legendary Street Market show are reuniting at LA MOCA’s Art In The Streets exhibit next month.
- Mark Dean Veca is going to be doing a live painting event in New York for most of next week.
- Stik’s show in London is at possibly the coolest indoor gallery venue imaginable.
- Becca has some new work up.
- This piece by Snyder has fantastic placement.
- That cool-looking film about the guys who illegally buff graffiti, Vigilante Vigilante, is almost done but needs a bit more money for editing, so they’ve got a Kickstarter campaign started.
- Looks like The Leonard Street Gallery saga from a few years ago isn’t quite over.
Photo by Overunder
When street art and advertisment collide
Yesterday RJ and I got sent this video of a a mural being put up in Sydney sponsored by Lipton Iced Tea. Despite tagging over some work already put there, the mural isn’t half bad. Apparently this is part of an ongoing series sponsored by the brand to create urban art projects in Australia while showcasing their partnered artists talents.
It’s no secret that art and advertising have been hand in hand ever since graffiti style became popular in the early 1980’s. But where is the line drawn between advertising art and art for advertising? And as such, can the work stand on its own as an entity to be appreciated or is it less appealing because it has brand association?
The video led us to further question other examples of this practice in the past and how audiences reacted to the works. I can think of several just near my flat alone- Tron Legacy painted ad on Great Eastern Street and the large scale Converse painted ad that went over the Eine piece on the Village Underground. Last week Vandalog posted about the annual Supreme paste ups depicting a celebrity photographed by everyone’s favorite “alleged” model molester, Terry Richardson. This year it was Lady Gaga who graced the streets of cities and my Tumblr dashboard as the photograph went viral. An annual event though, these flyers usually get bombed on their own by artists. In their own right, these photographs are artworks and can stand next to any Rankin or Chapelle portrait. But does the added connotation of being associated with Supreme lessen its artistic value? And what about artists like Faile and Poster Boy and Aakash Nihalani who amended the Lou Reed Supreme ads? Are those also further removed from the brand because the artist chose to alter the ads of their own volition?
I just wanted to put this idea out there and would love to hear what you guys think.
Photo by Steven P. Harrington for Brooklyn Street Art
Elbow Toe in London
Elbow Toe aka Brian Adam Douglas is/was in London this week for the launch of his new book, Paper Cuts, and the opening of his show Due Date at Black Rat Projects. While in town, Elbow Toe put up a few street peices. Most of Due Date was recently at the Warrington Museum (photos here), but there is one major addition the version now on at Black Rat: A massive 5×7 foot collage called The Memory Of You Is Never Lost Upon Me.
Due Date is open at Black Rat Projects now, but I’m not sure when it closes.
Here’s Elbow Toe’s latest image for the street, which looks like it is up along the canal in Hackney:
Photos by HowAboutNo!, Elbow Toe and Hookedblog
Dede Confidential in Tel Aviv
I met Dede Confidential this past fall in Tel Aviv. His whimsical stencils, drawings and stickers could be found throughout Tel Aviv’s edgier neighborhoods. He since tells me that the municipality has been buffing the walls in an all-out war against street artists. This has not stopped Dede from using his city’s walls as his principal canvas. He says he’s only more determined to engage the public. Luckily, he’s been documenting his pieces before they disappear.
Photos: Dede Confidential
Sueme x Joker x Remi x Kofie
This crazy wall at Moda Hotel in Vancouver is a collaboration between Scott Sueme, Joker, Remi/Rough and Augustine Kofie for the Unintended Calculation show, which opened last week.
Photo by S.Vegas/Aaron R T Smedley
Elfo’s smoking building
Best of Philly sticker art: Part two
Following up on last week’s post about the sticker art in Philadelphia, here’s part two of Vandalog’s series on some of the top sticker artists in Philadelphia. Thanks again to El Toro for his input in developing this list. Here are the artists (in no particular order):
1. Roger
2. Radius
3. Gonz
4. WTF and Dash
5. Two artists I’m liking whose names I don’t know (but let me know if you do)…
Photos by RJ Rushmore, Damonabnormal and Roger
Best of Philly sticker art: Part one
Although I’ve been living outside of Philadelphia for about 6 months, it’s only recently that I’ve begun to get a handle on the street art in Philadelphia. The overwhelming trend here is stickering, particularly by artists who draw logos instead of names. Given that my favorite art book of last year was probably a book about stickers
3. Bad Dog
4. El Toro
5. Ticky
Photos by damonabnormal and RJ Rushmore
Some posters by Blackmath
I don’t remember exactly how I came across Blackmath‘s art, but I came across his flickr the other day and have been enjoying his block print posters.
Okay this last one is too Swoon-y, but I still like it:
Photos by Blackmath