Category: Photos

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Weekend link-o-rama

"Órbita" by David de la Mano and Pablo S. Herrero. Click to view the full piece.
“Órbita” by David de la Mano and Pablo S. Herrero. Click to view the full piece.

Slow week, but that doesn’t mean nothing good happened. Here’s some of it…

  • Love this drawing by Pixote.
  • It seems that Hrag Vartanian was not a big fan of Les Ballets De Faile, Faile’s project with the New York City Ballet. Personally, I really liked to the project. Yes, Hrag is right in pointing out that people were expecting more (like Faile having involvement with set design and costumes), but what Faile did do was, I think, a major success. Nine artists out of ten would have seriously messed up this sort of collaboration by not striking the right balance between completely ignoring the setting and embracing it too much. Ignore the setting, and the work could just have been shown anywhere and would have looked out of place. Go too far in trying to bend the work to the situation, and the artists’ essence is lost and the whole thing comes off as a cheesy joke. Faile struck just the right balance. There was a lot of classic Faile, mixed in with some new ballet-inspired imagery, but the ballet-inspired imagery didn’t look out of place at all. Faile’s work has always had a mix of grit and classical beauty, that ballet with their spin fit perfectly into that. I’ve got to disagree with Hrag on another point and say that I thought the work looked like it fit in just as well as anything else in the theater, particularly the massive “Tower of Faile” piece.
  • Thoughts on Crummy Gummy? I’m not sure what I think. Another Mr. Brainwash-inspired derivative artist who never needs to be mentioned again, or actually kinda funny?
  • Zoer has a new print out.
  • Kid Acne made some scarves that are now for sale with his “art fag” character on them.
  • The British Zeus had a solo show open this week at London’s Graffik Gallery. It’s open through the 21st.
  • Ever wanted to design a t-shirt using D*face’s logo? Now you can, and you can win $500 and a print for your efforts.
  • Great new piece by Seacreative.
  • It’s exciting to see strong murals going up in South Delhi, India.

Photo courtesy of David de la Mano and Pablo S. Herrero

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Over on Complex.com… 10 artists using the internet like the street

Art and photo by Lush
Lush

Occasionally I write pieces for Complex.com. This week, they published piece of mine called 10 artists using the internet like the street. List posts can be entertaining, but I wouldn’t normally say that I’m proud of my list posts. This particular piece is different though. It’s a list of visionary artists doing game-changing work that blurs or even completely ignores any lines that exist between the street and the internet. These are the artists I’m writing about right now in the book that I’ve mentioned here from time to time. So consider this post a little teaser of what I’ve been thinking about lately, and what I’ll be writing about in great detailing in the future.

Please check out the post, because I think these artists are doing really important work, and I’d love to get your thoughts on what they are doing. Maybe I’m onto something here, or maybe you think I’m on the completely wrong path. Either way, I’d like your input. So, go check out 10 artists using the internet like the street and let me know what you think by leaving a comment on this post or over at Complex.com, emailing me, or tweeting me.

Thanks.

Photo by Lush

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“The Story” by Mobstr (and an anonymous collaborator)

PART 1

Mobstr has done it again, dancing a little dance with the buffman for our entertainment. The Story involves essentially the same dance as his search for acceptable shade of grey, except that this time he makes it quite clear what the consequences of his work being buffed will be. The first fame of The Story is above. Enjoy the rest after the jump… Continue reading ““The Story” by Mobstr (and an anonymous collaborator)”

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el Decertor in Huachipa, Peru

dct-1

Last week, el Decertor began working on a small township called Huachipa near Lima, Peru. I spoke to him about the context of his pieces and asked for a bit of background about the environment he works in.

dct-2

decertor:

I chose this mural because it has a direct view from the hills, it is titled “Porvenir” (“To Come”) because of the elements I used: the brick symbolizes the future of a town that is emergent, the boy is the heir to this dream and apparent progress. There is also a plant growing from the brick, which is a repetitive element in my work that I generally associate with resistance, strength, and faith.

dct-5

decertor:

This area is home to some brick enterprises and factories, the land has a clay-like texture, which is the key material for the manufacturing of bricks. It is a very positive activity for the families in the areas, whom mostly make a living from that industry. This area is rapidly growing in its population, therefore families living there have to organize and mobilize their rights effectively, so that they have property over their homes. Frequently, they are kicked out by “land owners” or “companies” who don’t care about the community that is being built, nor the amount of time and effort families dedicate to this area.

dct-7

decertor:

In addition to the brick companies, there’s also a large area where grass is grown to sell for profit by square meters. I did this intervention at a high point in a hill where you can see in the landscape the brick and grass companies. In the Andean world, hummingbirds are a good luck charm and if a person runs into one it signifies something good is to come.

dct-6

Photos courtesy of el Decertor 

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ETAM Crew

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“All You Can Eat” Halle, Germany, 2012

Polish duo ETAM Cru consists of Bezt and Sainer who paint with an imaginative, quirky and illustrative style. The talent these two use to create these surrealistic murals is phenomenal, and even a bit reminiscent of Aryz or Ericilcane. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the last 2 years.

"Traphouse" Urban Forms Gallery, Lodz, Poland 2012
“Traphouse” at Urban Forms Gallery, Lodz, Poland 2012
"Mind Trip" Vienna, Austria, 2012
“Mind Trip” in Vienna, Austria, 2012
"Praying sinner" Katowice street art festival, Poland, 2010.
“Praying sinner” at Katowice street art festival, Poland, 2010.
ETAM with Pener Tone in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland, 2010.
ETAM with Pener Tone in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland, 2010.

Photos by ETAM Cru

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KRSN is lovin’ it

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Here’s  new piece by KRSN in France. I suppose that “Marx Do!” is a reference to McDonald’s, judging by the quote bubble with the McDonald’s slogan. The only other clue I have is that the photographer of the piece mentioned the French socialist politician Marx Dormoy. Does anyone have a guess?

Photos by Chrixcel

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One Vision (of Barcelona)

Blu-by-Miss-Kaliansky_Barcelona-2013
Blu

We get emailed the latest-and-greatest of many different street artists, but it is unusual to get sent photographs of old and worn down pieces unless they are historically significant. Miss Kaliansky may not have a website, but what she does have is an eye for beauty. She sent us these photos taken in Barcelona in January 2013, saying “Nothing new, but beautiful…”

Aryz-by-Miss-Kaliansky_Barcelona-2013
Aryz
Miss Van
Miss Van
Pez-by-Miss-Kaliansky_Barcelona-2013
El Pez
Ripo
Ripo
Suso33
Suso33
TVboy
TVboy
Xupet Negre
Xupet Negre

Photos by Miss Kaliansky

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Weekend link-o-rama

Overunder
Overunder

Sorry I missed the link-o-rama last week. Was having a fantastic birthday in NYC. Thanks to everyone who came out to say hello.

  • I just picked up the recent Troy Lovegates book (now sold out), and I wish I could pick up this print as well. Absolutely beautiful stuff.
  • Nice little Pink Floyd-themed stencil by Plastic Jesus.
  • Interesting JR-esque posters in UK mines.
  • Philippe Baudelocque in Paris.
  • Judith Supine on being bored with street art.
  • Leon Reid IV’s latest sculpture addresses the crushing personal debt of so many Americans.
  • Tova Lobatz curated a show at 941 Geary with Vhils, How and Nosm, Sten and Lex, and others.
  • Shepard Fairey released some prints using diamond dust, which is quite interesting. As the press release says, “Perhaps most famously used by Andy Warhol, who understood perfectly how to convey a message, Diamond Dust was used to add glamour, transforming ordinary images into coveted objects. The material aligns with Shepard’s work and interest in the seduction of advertising and consumerism. Diamond Dust, literally and metaphorically is superficial, applied to the surface of the print, the luminous effect is both beautiful and alluring.” But it’s one of those things that just gets me thinking about how the art world, much like capitalism, seems so good at absorbing critique and spitting at back out as product. People love the meaningless OBEY icon, so Shepard sells it. Shepard needs to make more product to continue selling to this market he has created, so he takes an old design (or a slight variant, I’m not positive), and adds meaningless diamond dust to it and sells it as something new. The best critiques participate in the system which they critique, but that’s a risky game to play. Of course, I say all this with a print by Shepard hanging on my wall.
  • OldWalls is a project where the photographer took photos of graffiti in the early 1990’s and recently returned to those spots to take the exact same shots, and then each matching photo is displayed next to its counterpart.
  • Artnet’s latest street art and graffiti auction has a handful of interesting pieces (Artnet is a sponsor of Vandalog btw). Here are my favorites:

Photos by Luna Park

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“Second Cities” a new zine by Gaia

gaia

Over the last two years, Gaia has traveled the world, from Europe to Asia, South America to Africa, and all across the United States, not to mention he also brought in artists from across the globe to Baltimore for his mural festival Open Walls Baltimore. Gaia’s effort to connect his street art with the historical context of its location has resulted in homages to architects, images representative of carefully researched histories, and murals that have meaning to the people who will interact with them everyday.

Recently, Gaia published a zine entitled “Second Cities” that speaks to the street art experience; both of the artist and of the audience. He addresses the dialogue that is created by street art in its physical context. With that context, readers follow Gaia with a personal anecdote on how he disguised himself as a construction worker and attempted to put up a large wheatpaste on a failed housing project in Chicago as cops watched.

Gaia illustrates the importance of cities’ infrastructure and the frequently interesting yet ill-regarded histories of the places he tries to beautify.

The best part of all is that the zine is available and free for download here.

Image courtesy of Gaia