Shepard Fairey and Mike Giant recently put up this collaborative wall in LA. Turned out pretty well I think. And don’t miss the great series of Skullphone posters at the top of the wall.
Photo by jadafiend
Blu hits Berlin (and other news)
Blu has been busy recently. Here are two huge walls he painted in Berlin. I’m not so sure what the meaning of this first one is though. Something about the Berlin Wall and the Euro. I am woefully unprepared to hazard any guesses about European politics.
On the other hand, this piece is a bit easier to understand:
And that global warming mural is painted right next to a classic Blu (and around the corner from an Os Gemeos):
And so long as we’re on the topic of Blu, it’s worth mentioning two more things: A. This wall in Warsaw and B. Blu will be at Nuart in Stavanger later this year along with Roa, M-City, Evol, Ericailcane and others.
Photos by Just
Relationships at Gallery Christoffer Egelund
So I know I have not been writing for a little while, but I have been terribly busy getting ready to move to England. So I apologize, but you do have Aaron and RJ to keep you company and I am pretty sure they know more than I do. Anyways, so Mr. Vandalog himself brought to my attention a gallery show happening currently entitled, “Relationships.” Taking place at Christoffer Egelund in Copenhagen, the show features an array of sculptures, mixed media, prints, and paintings by artists including Victor Castillo, Miss Van, Mike Swaney, and Tim Biskup. As a huge Miss Van fan, I am obsessed with the “S.A.L.M. 2” print. I saw pictures of the original at her show at Stolenspace in the fall, but the prints look just as amazing.
For more information visit Gallery Christoffer Egelund
Picture Courtesy of Gallery Christoffer Egelund
Everyone’s talking about Phlegm
I’m a bit slow posting about these pieces by Phlegm, a Sheffield-based artist whom I had not heard of until about a day ago. One day shouldn’t be too long of a delay, but Phlegm’s work is spreading through the internet with lightening speed.
RomanyWG, one of the UK’s top street art and graffiti photographers, has only just posted a few pictures on his flickr of Phlegm’s murals. Of course, because Phlegm is a talented artist that not many people have heard of, Unurth was the first blog to post RomanyWG’s photos. Unurth always seem to be ahead of the curve when it comes finding talented and relatively unknown artists from around the world. Not long after that, Jake posted about Phlegm over at Streetsy.
And now it’s my turn. So, if you haven’t already, have a look at this guy. Phlegm is, at the very least, pretty technically talented, and you can be sure that if he were based in New York or London, this wouldn’t be the first time you’d have seen his paintings.
Photos by RomanyWG
New Issue of The Art Street Journal Out!
Seth and I just printed the newest edition of The Art Street Journal! It’s our longest issue yet and with the move to better paper stock and four color pages inside, it’s a big step toward where we’re hoping to take things in the future.
A lot of really great people helped out with this issue, including Vandalog’s Aaron and Steph! I’ve included previews of their pages (well, one of Aaron’s, at least – his article has the double page spread in the middle of the journal).
One thing I’m particularly happy about is that our Unurth page has now doubled in size to a two page spread. It’s still not enough to fit all the great images Sebastian finds, but I packed in as much as I could this time around. Sebastian also did a great interview with Escif about the differences between his indoor and outdoor work. You can read an older conversation between these two here to get some context to it.
Other street artist-related articles in this issue include those on EuroTrash with Conor Harrington, Vhils, JR and Antony Micallef in LA, Herbert Baglione in Barcelona, Dan Witz in New York (although the article is actually on his last show of oil paintings), 108 in Grottaglie, Basquiat in Basel, Nina Pandolfo in Sao Paulo, M-City in LA and Ericailcane in Ancona.
Street Art New York, Dan Witz: In Plain View and Poster Boy: The War of Art all feature on the bookshelf page. I recommend you buy all three if you can and haven’t yet. I’m a bit biased, I guess, because all the authors are friends of mine, but I genuinely think they are great books and I know everyone involved worked really hard to get them out there.
If you’re not getting tasj in the mail yet and would like to, you can sign up at www.theartstreetjournal.com. It’s free, no matter where in the world you live.
If you’re in LA, we are having a release party for this new issue here at Carmichael Gallery on Saturday, August 7th. Come by for a drink, pick up a copy, see our Boogie/M-City shows (it’s the last day they’ll be up!), then head out to the other openings in Culver City – there are some fun things going on that night. Hope to see you there and spread the word if you can! Thanks!
– Elisa
Labrona in Brooklyn and LA
Stop the Hate
“July 28, 2010:
Protesters in Phoenix, Arizona scaled a downtown crane to display their message, “Stop hate, no 287g, no 1070,” linking the local racial profiling law with the federal policy of criminalization. The banner was unfurled at approximately 6:00pm and remained on display for over an hour. The climbers released a statement that read, “Stopping the hate means not just stopping SB 1070 and Sheriff Arpaio in Arizona but stopping all the Arpaios that the President’s ice access program is creating all across the country.””
Via anitasarkeesian
The Broken Casket: Faro’s first zine
New York’s Faro has just put out his first zine. It’s a 24 page overview of Faro’s drawings and graffiti in black and white. Faro is one of New York’s up and coming graffiti/street artists, so who knows, maybe this zine will be a collectible one day like Neckface’s book Satan’s Bride. But more importantly, it looks like it’s full of fun content and plenty of Faro’s trademark mummies. I may get one just to rip it apart so that I can stick individual pages to the walls of my room.
Here’s some of what’s inside:
But where can you find The Broken Casket? Just get in touch with Faro on flickr to get your copy.
Photos by Faro
Mint & Serf – Special Graffiti Unit
This is definitely one to check out. Here’s the press release:
Mint&Serf SGU (Special Graffiti Unit) is an exhibition at Lyons Wier Gallery, curated by Derrick B. Harden, featuring new work by New York visual artists Mint&Serf. By adapting the visual styling of “Law & Order” as a point of departure, the exhibition pays homage to the longest running television program filmed entirely in New York City. Mint&Serf SGU is a multi-disciplinary exhibition incorporating painting, photography and video that is an interpretation of theartists’ personal encounters with the law in New York City and within their community.
Mint&Serf SGU (Special Graffiti Unit) cleverly captures Mint&Serf and company in their habitat by placing them in their own adapted version of Law & Order. By appropriating this iconic television drama, Mint&Serf: SGU turns photographed moments of vandalism, street-art and nightlife into a series of silk-screened vignettes captured on canvas. In Mint&Serf: SGU, the two artists portray themselves as part of the “Special Graffiti Unit,” an elite graffiti squad.
Most recently, Mint&Serf created and curated original artwork for the Ace Hotel in New York City. However, for the past ten years, Mint&Serf have been collaboratively producing artwork generating a vast range of large-scale murals, paintings, photographs, sculpture and street art throughout New York City and around the world.
Vandalog Interviews – Elbow-Toe/Brian Adam Douglas (Part 2)
Earlier this week we gave you the first installment of our two part interview with world renowned street artist Elbow-Toe/Brian Adam Douglas. You can read Part 1 here. You’ll be pleased to know that the wait is finally over folks, so without further ado here is Part 2! Enjoy!
In my opinion your art work best suites the dirty brick walls and cracking pavements, simply because they seem to breathe life into the otherwise deteriorating side streets. How have you found the experience of putting your art work into modern galleries etc. Do you think your art work creates the same effect that it has out on the streets?
I believe it is a different effect entirely, and I wholly embrace it. I like being able to really play the game of making an interesting composition and crafting a piece of artwork that is intended to stand the test of time. I am really excited about my solo shows this year because I feel very strongly that my gallery work has achieved a very unique voice.
I am quite certain that it does not create the same effect it has on the streets, because it is operating in a very controlled environment. What I like about splitting my processes is that each process is enriched by it’s difference.
What does the term “Street Art” mean to you?
It means big public works. It means small intimate stickers. It means tags, sculptures, marks. It means an attack against corporate identity by making yourself into a corporate identity. It means a very public, interactive art form that has really come of age at the dawn of social networking. It means visual artists elevated to rock god status. It means community. But mostly to me it means a way to change my environment if even only briefly.
Do you find being able to produce work in the comfort of your own studio as a welcome break from the risks you take putting work up on the street, or do you prefer the adrenaline that street work provides?
I am not sure I would say it is a welcome break. As I am preparing for my show, instead of the short-lived adrenaline rush, I must deal with the months-long stress of postulating whether I can achieve all that I want in the pieces I am working on. I find myself often waking up at 5 in the morning, having gotten to bed at 1am or 2am, thinking about all I need to do.
I definitely have moments where I wish I had the free time to make street works right now. But I am just filling up sketchbooks with ideas of things to execute once my schedule opens up.
What is the key to keeping your work fresh and not getting mentally/physically burnt out by what you do?
I do my best to keep the ideas I am working with at arms length, so that I let my unconscious have as much free reign with the imagery as it can. Once I am in the process of executing the work, actually applying charcoal to surface, it becomes my job to infuse as much life into every object that I include in my pieces. Since I only use my photo reference as reference, as opposed to making “photo realistic work”, I am constantly solving problems visually and it really keeps me on my toes. In general, my favorite moments on any of the works of art, are the moment that I start the process and the moments leading up to the finish. Everything in between is work.
In terms of keeping from burning out physically, I exercise quite a bit. I also meditate and work with an Alexander specialist, to prevent any repetitive stress disorders.
And finally, what does the future hold for Elbow-Toe? In regards to your work, new projects and any other personal aspirations you have in life. Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?
I would very much like to be able to make more time – at this point any time – to introduce a steady street art practice back into my schedule. I am very vested in the collage work, and now that I am making quasi-narrative images, I feel like I have quite a bit of artistic space I would like to explore. Fortunately I have a great opportunity to explore that right now with a solo show at The Warrington Museum of Art in December and a solo show at Black Rat Projects in March.
On other fronts I am extremely excited to be in the early phases of a book to be published by Drago, which will be coming out down the road.
I have a horrible addiction to plants so I am constantly building up my garden, and I am hoping to become a beekeeper next year with a hive on my roof, if the tests come back negative in allergies to bees.
Lastly I would love to give a shout out to my wife of going on 10 years, the wonderful folks at Black Rat Projects for their endless support and encouragement, and all the usual suspects in the New York Street Art Scene.
Be sure to check out more from Elbow-Toe by visiting his official website here
Photos by Elbow-toe, Luna Park and Sabeth718