A piece of street art that’s only executed with modest skill, but is site specific or is placed somewhere special, can be better than a piece that’s absolutely technically flawless but unoriginal in placement or at home on any other wall in any other city. With this piece, ABOVE has practiced absolutely perfect placement and really got me smiling, even the work could probably be replicated with equal impressiveness on walls around the world. Although, ABOVE does say it took him 7 months of searching to find the perfect spot. Check out why he had to be so particular by watching the video…
June was another busy month in Melbourne. My round up for the month includes trains, walls, shows, a rad new publication and some other bits and pieces of goodness.. I’ll start with my favourite train for June. This one ran on June 6th – thanks to The best of Melbourne Graffiti for the pic. This guy has been killing it lately!
RUNZ. Photo courtesy of The Best of Melbourne Graffiti.
Some shots from Burg’s show at the Vic below, more here. Burg’s street characters are some of my faves with twisted and expressive faces appearing all around Melbourne.
BURG. Photo by AllThoseShapes.BURG. Photo by AllThoseShapes.BURG. Photo by AllThoseShapes.
Knock Knock Magazinereleased their latest issue, Issue 4 -The Travel Issue. Knock Knock is an online magazine focusing on talented creative people, this issue features articles on Ben Quilty, Mark Drew, Geoffrey Lillemon, Dave Cragg, Sobekcis, Sheryo & The Yok, Onur Gulfidan, Rosek, Haribow, Maaden, Beatrix Curran, Kate Florence Knowlden, Val Kelmer, Jess Howell, Robyn Aubrey, Arman Nobari, Embassy, Spoonty and DoubleTrouble. A great read and a well put together production. Check out these screen shots from Issue 4:
Screenshot from KnockKnock Issue 4Screenshot from KnockKnock Issue 4Screenshot from KnockKnock Issue 4
I absolutely love seeing expressions by street artists in geographic areas that sometimes are left out from those offers of spontaneity and appropriation of spaces that shape our identities and memories. Recently Ark visited San Bernardo del Viento, a fishing community of families who’ve been victims of displacement due to political violence prevalent in some parts of Colombia.
This mural beautifully narrates a story of a culture that needs to bind themselves to their traditions and seek strenght in the unity that has saved their lives in previous experiences.
I recently came across this video that does a really nice job of touching on a major issue being faced by a lot of mural festivals and mural programs: The potential that murals are rejected by the communities where the festivals take place. In the last year, two murals organized by Living Walls in Atlanta were removed after they proved controversial. While Living Walls‘ mural removals got a lot of press, this is an issue faced by all mural festivals, and definitely one worth thinking some more about. Is it better to go in and paint whatever and see what works and what doesn’t, or should artists work for the communities and paint murals largely based on the desires expressed by the people who will walk by the wall every day?
I’ve followed Saner’s work a bit for years, and posted about him on Vandalog from time to time, but I’ve never been a super huge fan of his work. A fan, sure, but he’s never been in my top-10 list of favorite artists. But this video by Colin M Day for MOCAtv has really convinced me that Saner is more than just another competent muralist. I especially love the animated work that he’s done. I had no idea about that. Definitely watch this video:
Earlier this year, MOMO and Angelo Milano (the man behind FAME Festival and Studiocromie) went to Jamaica and Cuba on a sort of art-making journey / vacation. MOMO posted some photos from the trip last month. This week, Angelo posted a short documentary film about the trip. It’s definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan of FAME Festival or MOMO. Check it out:
Also, MOMO has a solo show that just opened with Studiocromie in Grottaglie, Italy. Juxtapoz has some great photos of that show, which looks absolutely stunning.
Last week you may have seen it reported aroundtheweb that Banksy had been interviewed on video by Adult Swim. Or, at least that he mighthave been interviewed by Adult Swim. While kinda funny (especially the last question), the interview is pretty obviously a fake. That’s fine. I’m not saying we should all go boycott Adult Swim for posting a fake Banksy interview. It’s parody. But just in case people were being fooled by the video, I just wanted to clear up that it’s a parody and not a genuine interview.
First of all, Adult Swim’s Banksy sounds nothing like how Banksy sounds in Exit Through the Gift Shop. Voice modulation can disguise someone’s voice, but in this case it’s pretty clear that it’s two different people’s voices being disguised.
And in Exit, Banksy’s face is properly hidden. I went to Netflix and took a screenshot of Banksy being interviewed in Exit Through the Gift Shop. When I put that image in Preview and turned up the exposure to a ridiculous level, as shown below, everything gets brighter except for Banky’s face. His face was subtly covered with a dark black splotch in the editing room so that people couldn’t try to trick to figure out what Banksy looks like.
Banksy in Exit Through the Gift Shop, with the exposure turned way up
Adult Swim didn’t do that with their interview (thanks to commenter mgk1 on Complex.com for picking up on this). Their Banksy’s face can be seen from time to time even without turning up the exposure. But, just to make it more clear, I’ve brightened a few images from Adult Swim’s video. Here they are:
Okay, you don’t get a great shot of the actor, but his face definitely isn’t completely blacked out. Do you really think that Banksy would give his first interview in at least a year, the first video interview I can ever recall him giving (or did he give one to a British newspaper a while back?) and not properly conceal his identity?
So there you have it. Adult Swim’s interview with Banksy might make you laugh, but it’s not the real deal. Honestly though, Adult Swim’s version isn’t as funny as most Banksy interviews, so maybe that should have been a dead giveaway right there.
Edited stills originally from Exit Through the Gift Shop and Think Talk: Banksy
If you’re in New York City it’s hard to miss the sudden mass presence of CitiBikes. For a city that is known for its careful drivers and self-aware pedestrians, I can only imagine the positive impacts that will come from these bikes. When docked, the bike wheels are still able to spin, so the comedian The Fat Jew decided to utilize them to teach free SoulCycle spin classes for the homeless.
