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Weekend link-o-rama

D*face sticker

Happy new year! Between snow in NYC and the general slowness around this time of year, not much going on this week. Here’s a bit of what I’ve been enjoying though:

Photo by Delete08

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Best of: John Fekner

One of my favorite artists, and maybe the most under-appreciated artist from the first wave of street art, is John Fekner. These 10 artworks are some of favorites from Fekner and his collaborator Don Leicht. They were made between 1980 and 1993.

Fekner is probably best-known for the the text he stencils outdoors in New York City:

Leicht and Fekner always seem to be making art far ahead of their time. Here are a few examples:

Fekner was reusing found paintings in the 1980's

Reminds me of a certain Banksy from earlier this year in Detroit, except much better
John Fekner and Don Leicht in 1982. Photo © Peter Bellamy 1982
Fekner and Leicht made this in 1993

And finally, Fekner has also made video art and music. Here a video from 1981 called Toxic Wastes From A To Z:

Photos courtesy of John Fekner

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Opening Friday: Urban Osmosis from Spoke Art

Spoke Art‘s next show opens this Friday with a New Years Eve Party at the Lopo and Space galleries in SF. For me, the highlight of this show undoubtedly looks to be the room curated by Endless Canvas. As I wrote just a few days ago, I think GATS is awesome, and if Endless Canvas’ blog is anything to go by, those guys have a great eye and will put together a unique room that is definitely worth checking out. It’s not on the flier, but Feral Child will also have work in Endless Canvas’ room, which is awesome. And even though I think his May solo show was very very very heavily influenced by Faile, I want to see what Shark Toof does this time around.

Not sure about the rest of the artists, but if you’re on the fence about checking it out, I’d give Spoke Art the benefit of the doubt. They haven’t been around long, but they’ve put together a few great shows.

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Baltimore Open City

Now that the tumblr has developed, I would like to bring attention to the Baltimore Open City Exhibition and blog which I am writing for. As a sort of extension of the parallels series I have been continuing on Vandalog, the BOC site will be regularly updated with projects from the Exhibition along with pertinent essays and past shows that serve as precedence.

A brief explanation of BOC: An open city is a place where everyone feels welcome, regardless of such things as wealth, race, age, or religion. In every neighborhood of an open city, one feels like he or she belongs. In Baltimore, however, issues like housing discrimination, inadequate public transportation, and the privatization of public space have resulted in an exclusionary environment for many people. The restriction of access to the basic things anyone would want, such as a good education, a decent job, stable property values, and cheap, healthy food, are conditions of a closed city.

For the exhibition Baltimore: Open City, students of Maryland Institute College of Art’s Exhibition Development Seminar have invited scholars, activists, community-based organizations, local artists, and visiting artist Damon Rich to investigate the ways in which Baltimore is and is not an open city. Through a series of installations, workshops, and other public programs, we explore the impact of Baltimore’s history on the current politics of the city’s built environment. We welcome our neighbors to join us in exploring what a more open city might look and feel like.


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Zezão detained for painting in Brazil

Zezão, one of my favorite Brazilian street artists and one of the artists who I think best embodies the ethos of street art, was detained on Tuesday by police for painting in São Paulo. He was painting a spot that he has painted multiple times before, but he did not have permission. There isn’t much info about what happened so far, but this news article has some info. Also, Lost Art seems to be the most reliable source of news on the detainment with updates on their Twitter. According to Lost Art, Zezão “was detained while painting in a crack infested area.” Lost Art also says that “he was charged with vandalism & may face legal costs.”

Let’s hope that the police get their heads on straight and realize what a mistake they have made. Zezão not a criminal but an artist trying to brighten up the world and draw attention to the things that many of us in society would rather avoid thinking about.

Photo by Jullezs

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Urban Succession in the Tenderloin


This last week I had the immense, delightful pleasure of finally getting to know the city of San Francisco much better than on my last trip which was a whirlwind weekend of installation at Gallery Heist and street work. This time around I got to settle down and paint a legal wall on Polk and Eddy with the great people over at WallSpace. The piece was completed with spray paint, and rollers to cap off the ears, throughout three days of cool sun showers. The Lion/Rabbit hybrid is a seemingly innocuous image but represents the subversion of the Urban Planner. Le Corbusier, one of the strongest identities in modernist architecture, took a paternalist approach to planning with the notion that the lion is the architect, the master, and the masses are the rabbits. Rarely does the contemporary urban landscape develop organically but is instead defined by the clamor of contending agendas and legislation. This image and its dissemination throughout neighborhoods all over the world is the embodiment of the resolutions and failures of planners to control the incredible mess and natural logic that is the city. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallspace/)

From the folks at WS: Wall Space was started to provide artists from all over the world a stage to express their ideas and abilities.  As we all know most street artists must use illegal means to get their idea across to the public. WS wants to allow these artists the time to perfect their art in a legal manner on the most advantageous public viewing areas.  By enabling the artists the time and freedom of expression WS hopes that the communities where these murals are made will be enriched with color and thought provoking imagery.


A HUGE thanks to Jerry Deal for providing the wall, Sam Flax for providing the paint, and Wall Space for orchestrating the project!!

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The great GATS

Photo by Keoki Seu

I’ve been admiring the street art/graffiti that GATS has been painting in California for a while now, but somehow his work has managed to more or less escape mention on Vandalog. From stickers to roller and everything in between, GATS seems to be killing it on the street. He’s also got a cool screenprint available online for cheap. Here are some of my favorites from GATS…

Photo by funkandjazz
Photo by funkandjazz
Photo by funkandjazz

Thanks to Endless Canvas for introducing me to GATS’ work.

Photos by Keoki Seu and funkandjazz