Vandalog – A Street Art Blog

May 26, 2012

Improvise Combustion with Chris Mendoza and the Con Artist collective

While walking down Suffolk Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side yesterday, I chanced upon two spaces brimming with vibrant, playful, infectious images. Exuding a raw, yet almost mystical charm, these collaborative improvisations – I soon discovered — are the work of a group of artists whose works I’ve seen and loved in a variety of other settings. Opening this evening, Saturday May 26, from 6-10pm at 154 Suffolk Street, Improvise Combustion, organized by Chris Mendoza, features collaborations and new work by Michael Miyahira aka Mike Ming, Kenji Hirata, Pablo Power and Naomi Kazama, members of the collective Con Artist. Pablo tells me that the group will be working on an outdoor mural this week. I’m certainly looking forward to that!

Pablo Power of the Con Artist Collective

Photos by Lois Stavsky

May 26, 2012November 29, 2013

Baltimore besides Open Walls Baltimore

While Caroline and I visited Baltimore with the goal of seeing Open Walls Baltimore, but we also got a bit of a taste for the larger street art and graffiti scene there, including a lot of work that has been done without permission. We even went out with a few local writers (Avoid, Fisho and Mountain) to watch them paint. Here are some of my favorite pieces that we came across in Baltimore that are not murals, including a few of photos have been posted on Vandalog previously.

More after the jump… Continue reading “Baltimore besides Open Walls Baltimore”

May 25, 2012May 21, 2012

New from Escif

I almost wrote “this new wall by Escif is his best so far this year.” Then I went back to check and was reminded that Escif has been doing consistently great walls all year, so it would be unwise to say that this is his best. But still, it’s at least another interesting mural by Escif. This one is in Melilla, Spain/Morocco.

Photos by Escif

May 24, 2012May 21, 2012

ATG in NYC

London’s ATG crew is headed to New York City for a show this week at Klughaus Gallery. Silverlink brings together 4 members of ATG, including Vandalog-favorite Jack Murray aka Panik and photographer Will Robson-Scott, and should be an interesting test to see if ATG’s success in London will carry over to the NYC without as strong of a reputation locally. The show opens on Friday and runs through June 17th.

May 24, 2012May 24, 2012

Saner and Aryz together in Mexico City

7179631348_305bea6e6d_z — Saner on the Left. Aryz on the right.

Saner and Aryz painted this really beautiful wall together in Mexico City. While Aryz was in town for the All City Canvas festival, this wall was organized separately from the festival.

Photo by _JSRF

May 24, 2012

On the Streets of Toronto: from Dream-Like Murals to Wildstyle Graffiti

The streets of Toronto are singing with a range of street art from mesmerizing murals to first-rate graffiti. Here are a few images recently shared with me:

Identifying info provided when known.

Photos by MKP

May 23, 2012August 25, 2012

Wild Style Wednesday!

They say actions are louder than words and a picture says a thousand words… Graffiti is the action of painting a picture of a word, thus making it an ultimate means of communication for mankind. -Szr (via 12ozProphet)

Photos by Big Bozo, HowAboutNo!, Morac19, thesaltr, Spam Crew, VitoStreet, Wojofoto

May 23, 2012May 23, 2012

The Re-Jects at (the new space) Reed Projects

Martyn Reed, the man behind Nuart, is finally opening up a gallery space. Reed Projects, like Nuart, will be based in Stavanger, Norway and draw in contemporary artists from the world of street art and beyond. The Re-Jects will be the first show at Reed Project and it features a sampling of artists from past editions of Nuart: Vhils, Dolk, Escif, Evol, Brad Downey, Dan Witz and Roa. Nuart has never come across to me as something done half-assed, so I’m sure Reed Projects will be no different and I can’t wait to see how it develops. The Re-Jects opens this Thursday (7-10pm) and runs through June 22nd.

Photo by Tod Seelie

May 22, 2012May 22, 2012

Katowice Street Art Festival – part 2

In continuation of Katowice Street Art Festival – part 1, this post concludes the two-part series on the Katowice Street Art Festival, which took place last month from April 20th to the 29th.

Toward the end of last month the Katowice Street Art Festival came to a close. Held in southern Poland, the festival featured a reputable lineup of street artists from around the world including Roa, Ganzeer, Escif, Hyuro, Ludo, M-City, Olek, Mentaglassi, and more. The energy surrounding these artists provided the opportunity for a few local artists to exhibit some work on the streets as well (though not affiliated with the festival). Here are some more of the completed murals, and an interesting collaboration between Mark Jenkins and Moneyless; the only two artists involved whose outdoor work primarily consist of sculptures.

Mark Jenkins and Moneyless collaboration

Photos by Kalevkevad

May 22, 2012January 22, 2013

Would-be street artist detained without bail for supposed bomb threat

Takeshi Miyakawa tried to hang a series of lit plastic bags, like the one shown above, around Greenpoint, Brooklyn recently. Now he is being held without bail; essentially because these bags were perceived to be a bomb threat. A judge had determined that he should be detained for 30 days for a mental heath evaluation. As Jillian Steinhauer wrote at Hyperallergic, “Sure, hanging a plastic bag with wires coming out of it in a city as terrorism-obsessed as ours may not be the best idea — but no bail and a mental health evaluation? Really?” Hyperallergic has more on the ridiculous, scary and unfortunate story.

Photo courtesy of Takeshi Miyakawa Design