I discovered (and instantly fell in love with) Word To Mother when I was in London this past fall. I’m looking forward to Mallick Williams & Co.‘s upcoming Spectrum, a group show opening this Thursday, April 21, and continuing through June 3rd, 2011. Along with Word To Mother, featured artists include: Kiji McCafferty, Chor Boogie, Erik Otto, Kate Pane and Lu Gold. The gallery — that recently featured the amazing Hueless exhibit — is located at 150 11th Avenue in Chelsea.
As I mentioned yesterday, the LAPD and LA residents are getting their feathers all ruffled because street artists and graffiti writers have been getting up in LA a lot over the last week or so, particularly in the Little Tokyo neighborhood where MOCA’s Art in the Streets show is located. When asked about this activity, museum director Jeffrey Deitch told Culture Monster that it could be attributed to, “some of the young taggers who are anarchic…. It’s a language of youth culture, and we can’t stop it. It goes with the territory.” Well, as I also pointed out yesterday, those young taggers include some of the most established artists in Art in the Streets (including Barry McGee and Shepard Fairey). Well now it looks like two artists (most likely Invader and an assistant) have been arrested(correction: detained but not arrested) for putting up some work in Little Tokyo. The two suspected vandals have French passports, and they “were each carrying plastic buckets and inside there was glue or grout, plastering equipment and tiles.” That sounds like Invader to me, whose art is part of Art in the Streets (see photo above), but nobody has confirmed that it was Invader so this is just speculation on my part. If Invader and a friend do get arrested, I wonder if MOCA will bail them out…
Sure, Deitch is trying to be diplomatic by calling street artists anarchic taggers, but I find it a bit insulting. Yes, a museum exhibit of street art and graffiti is going to lead to an increase in street art and graffiti near the museum, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I just wish Deitch could try to put a positive spin on the new street art in Little Tokyo. As it is, he sounds a bit absurd celebrating street artist who have moved their art indoors and dissing street art when it appears outdoors, its rightful location.
Anyway, good luck to Invader, or whichever Frenchmen were arrested(correction: detained) for suspected vandalism.
In reference to the Art in the Streets show on now at MOCA in LA, the Black Socks movement sent out the above image with the following statement:
1_ Art in the streets isn’t domestication of artists
…it’s freedom for artists.
2_ Art in the streets isn’t people manipulation…
…it’s an approach to people.
3_ Art in the streets isn’t city decoration…
..it’s a reflection about cities.
4_ Art in the streets isn’t governments advertising…
…it’s a criticism about how governments are doing.
5_Art in the streets isn’t market speculation…
…it’s free, for all the people!
6_Art in the streets isn’t art on museums, nor art on galleries, nor Street Art…
…it’s just art in the streets.
It’s false that Street Art has turned street into a museum…
Street Art has turned street into an amusement park!
Sugar free cities!
Certainly an idealistic view of street art, but there’s definitely something to be said for being an idealist. It’s certainly more fun that being a realist!
Why haven’t hotels figured out that they should have strong free wifi in all rooms? And, if they make you pay for wifi, the signal and speed had better be amazing? Starbucks has it figured out, and I don’t have to pay a boatload of money to hang out in a Starbucks for a couple of hours (unless I’m drinking their coffee while I’m there). And yet, hotels haven’t seemed to get the message. So that problem, and the general busyness of the last few days in LA, is why I am woefully late covering the opening of Art in the Streets at MOCA in LA, probably the biggest indoor event this year relating to street art or graffiti. And I’m still going to be woefully late with coverage today. Expect a full review in a couple of days, but in the mean time, here’s some of the best reviews and coverage from around the web:
The LA Times reports on an increase in graffiti throughout LA because of the show. A. Umm… duh. B. MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch attributed this increase to “some of the young taggers who are anarchic,” but neglected to mention that some artists in Art in the Streets are involved too. Barry McGee, Amaze, ESPO and friends painted somegraffiti. I saw some McGee stickers around the museum. And Shepard Fairey’s crew has been hitting up electric boxes right out in front of MOCA without permission.
A couple of days ago, I got an email from someone selling Banksy‘s Crayon Foreclosure piece (photo above), painted earlier this year in LA. The seller describes the piece as and 12 x 8 feet and “mixed media on concrete.” Of course, the piece would never come with official Pest Control certification (standard for legitimate Banksy artwork), as Pest Control does not authenticate Banksy’s street pieces, but the piece does appear on Banksy’s website. No word yet on the price that is being asked.
Here is a video following the artists who participated in the group show Unintended Calculations recently in Vancouver, BC. Featured are Augustine Kofie, Jerry Inscoe, Remi/Rough and Scott Sueme.
A reader sent these photos in of artist Ted Mikulski‘s work. Based in Connecticut, Mikulski mixes text, street and concept art that makes for cheeky pieces that create a dialogue with the audience and their environment. These works specifically use Twitter as the source of conversation, but put it in it’s correct context by connecting each “tweet” with the situation they are referring.
