Vandalog – A Street Art Blog

July 20, 2013July 19, 2013

Weekend link-o-rama

Happy weekend. Are you on the east coast of the USA? If so, are you melting?

Vandalog blogger Rhiannon Platt will be speaking today in NYC at All City Canvas’ event. ACC also has a series of online discussions coming up.
Good for a laugh: 14 street art terms defined and illustrated.
Alexis Diaz painted a mural just off of Brick Lane in London.
Vhils was hard at work this week in Portugal.
Nice One shows street artists that you can still do a great character without permission from the property owner (I assume given the other tags and half-finished scribbles on the wall).
Known Gallery will be showing both Cept and Remio later this month. I’m not sold on Remio’s indoor work, but his graffiti is definitely up there, and I’ve been a huge fan of Cept for year. I’m glad to see Cept getting some real recognition in the USA.
Isaac Cordal’s latest show looks intense.
I’ve always thought that if I knew how to drive and own a car, I would have an artist paint it. Well, Kenny Scharf has been painting cars for fans lately and posting the pics on Instagram. I love the retro-looking results.
Plenty of photos of EKG’s ubiquitous tag along with an essay by the mysterious artist.
Herbert Baglione paints an abandoned hospital.
Before this, I would have been content to never see a new flag painting by Saber. He’s an amazingly skillful painter, but I was a bit tired of the theme. And then he made wooden pieces and I changed my mind.
I love Alleg’s style.
And also Fuzi’s style.

Photo by Unusualimage

July 19, 2013

Pose and Revok in NYC: on the Bowery, at Jonathan LeVine and in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Pose and Revok on the famed Bowery and Houston wall

With their vigorous, brightly-hued fusion of pop imagery, comic art and graffiti elements, Pose and Revok, along with support from other MSK crew members, have fashioned — perhaps — the most dynamic mural to ever grace the famed Bowery and Houston wall. Along with their current exhibit, Uphill Both Ways at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, their artwork is a testament to graffiti’s ongoing evolution and vitality.

Pose, Fin 2, acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel — Pose, *Fin 2,* acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel

Pose, Dude2, acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel — Pose, *Dude 2*, acrylic and spray paint on clayboard panel

Revok, 3652 Canfield, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel — Revok, *3652 Canfield*, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel

Revok, 301 Petoskey, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel — Revok, *301 Petoskey*, acrylic, enamel and found objects on panel

And in their tribute to the legendary Nekst and to the true spirit of graffiti, the two have, also, left their mark on the streets of Bushwick, Brooklyn:

Photos by Dani Mozeson, Tara Murray and Lois Stavsky

July 19, 2013December 13, 2013

ND’A paints a door in Little Italy

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ND’A painted the latest piece at The L.I.S.A. Project NYC (co-curated by Wayne Rada and I) this week in NYC’s Little Italy. He painted on a door that was last painted by Bishop203 earlier this year. I probably shouldn’t write this, but this is honestly my second favorite piece I’ve helped to organize in Little Italy so far. The first is of course Ron English’s massive Temper Tot, but I think ND’A really outdid himself here. I hope everyone walking down Mulberry Street this summer is as big a fan of ND’A’s work as I am.

Also, we just started a Facebook page for The L.I.S.A. Project NYC.

More photos after the jump… Continue reading “ND’A paints a door in Little Italy”

July 18, 2013July 17, 2013

MOMO and Angelo visit Jamaica and Cuba

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Earlier this year, MOMO and Angelo Milano (the man behind FAME Festival and Studiocromie) went to Jamaica and Cuba on a sort of art-making journey / vacation. MOMO posted some photos from the trip last month. This week, Angelo posted a short documentary film about the trip. It’s definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan of FAME Festival or MOMO. Check it out:

Also, MOMO has a solo show that just opened with Studiocromie in Grottaglie, Italy. Juxtapoz has some great photos of that show, which looks absolutely stunning.

Photo courtesy of MOMO

July 17, 2013July 16, 2013

Vhils in Philadelphia

This summer I’ve been interning at The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. The program is a city-run organization that has installed thousands of murals in Philadelphia over the last 30 years. Most of the artists they work with are traditional muralists, but they have also worked with Kenny Scharf, Steve Powers and others from the street art and graffiti scenes. Last week, Vhils came to town and installed a wheatpasted mural similar to the piece he did outside of the Leake Street Tunnel a few years ago in London. Rather than starting with a layer of old advertisements like he usually does, Vhils began the mural with a layer of collaged historic photographs of Philadelphia and covered that with a layer of white paper. The mural is on Drury Street in Center City, around the corner from the murals by Kenny Scharf, Gaia, and How&Nosm on 13th Street.

An art class from Mural Arts visits Vhils on site. Photo by Steve Weinik.

The first layer of the mural. Photo by RJ Rushmore.

Vhils and his crew projecting on the wall. Photo by Lisa Murch.

Click to view large. Photo by Steve Weinik.

Photos by RJ Rushmore, Lisa Murch and Steve Weinik

July 16, 2013July 15, 2013

Updates from Spaik (Mexico)

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Spaik has been working on big and small scale, legal and illegal murals throughout the past few months. His experimentation with themes of cultural relevance such as: intimacy, nature, education, social mobility continue to be apparent in his two latest works.

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"The Flight" in Queretaro, Mexico. — “The Flight” in Queretaro, Mexico.

Photos courtesy of Spaik

July 16, 2013July 15, 2013

The surpisingly rare street art featuring Edward Snowden

Portrait by (I think) Thierry Ehrmann at the Abode of Chaos. Photo by Thierry Ehrmann.

There’s been surprisingly little street art or graffiti about Edward Snowden, the patriot who leaked information to the press about the NSA’s massive internet spying programs. I would think that street artists would jump at the chance to make art in solidarity with Snowden, but so far that hasn’t been the case. The two pieces here by Thierry Ehrmann aren’t even on the street in the sense of being placed in truly public view, they are in his outdoor museum Abode of Chaos. I also found work by PosterBoy, Bamn and Eclair Acuda Bandersnatch. There was also this projection in Berlin, but I guess I’m looking more specifically for street artists who are taking up the cause.

Eclair Acuda Bandersnatch. Photo by Steve Rhodes.

This is what I’ve been able to find so far. If you know of more Snowden-related street art or graffiti, please let me know in the comments section of this post.

Photos by Steve Rhodes, Jamie NYC, Thierry Ehrmann and PosterBoy

July 15, 2013July 15, 2013

Saga Uno in Bogota

Since moving back to Bogota, I’ve found a true pleasure in looking for a character that pops up in the most unexpected spots; he is everywhere and I take my hats off to Saga Uno and his efforts to conquer the city, cause he knows damn well how to do it. So this is my very quick introduction to Saga Uno and the ever evolving and traveling Salsaman.

Bogotá Mambo from Al Loro on Vimeo.

Photos and video courtesy of Saga Uno

July 15, 2013July 13, 2013

It’s twilight in America

Jetsonorama sent over this photograph along with an interesting explanation:

after reading your piece about shep’s displeasure with the obama administration, i too am bummed.

i pasted an image of a kid from my community on a roadside stand in april. when i shot the image the kid (owen), was playing with matches while his mom was watching a video close by. hoping he wouldn’t notice him, he’d peer over his shoulder from time to time to see if she was looking. the look on his face is one of guilt + slyness, hoping he doesn’t get caught with his hand in the cookie jar so to speak.

a visitor to the little colorado river gorge where the image is pasted recently shot this image which in my mind is a subtle commentary on our current state of politics with the obama administration getting caught with it’s hand in the cookie jar – increasing the use of drone missles, spying on it’s citizens + allies and not persecuting those responsible for the predatory lending that resulted in the housing crisis.

it’s twilight in america.

Photo by James Patrick Kelly

July 14, 2013July 14, 2013

Banksy interviewed by Adult Swim, well actually no

Last week you may have seen it reported around the web that Banksy had been interviewed on video by Adult Swim. Or, at least that he might have been interviewed by Adult Swim. While kinda funny (especially the last question), the interview is pretty obviously a fake. That’s fine. I’m not saying we should all go boycott Adult Swim for posting a fake Banksy interview. It’s parody. But just in case people were being fooled by the video, I just wanted to clear up that it’s a parody and not a genuine interview.

First of all, Adult Swim’s Banksy sounds nothing like how Banksy sounds in Exit Through the Gift Shop. Voice modulation can disguise someone’s voice, but in this case it’s pretty clear that it’s two different people’s voices being disguised.

And in Exit, Banksy’s face is properly hidden. I went to Netflix and took a screenshot of Banksy being interviewed in Exit Through the Gift Shop. When I put that image in Preview and turned up the exposure to a ridiculous level, as shown below, everything gets brighter except for Banky’s face. His face was subtly covered with a dark black splotch in the editing room so that people couldn’t try to trick to figure out what Banksy looks like.

Banksy in Exit Through the Gift Shop, with the exposure turned way up

Adult Swim didn’t do that with their interview (thanks to commenter mgk1 on Complex.com for picking up on this). Their Banksy’s face can be seen from time to time even without turning up the exposure. But, just to make it more clear, I’ve brightened a few images from Adult Swim’s video. Here they are:

adult 1

adult 2

adult 3

Okay, you don’t get a great shot of the actor, but his face definitely isn’t completely blacked out. Do you really think that Banksy would give his first interview in at least a year, the first video interview I can ever recall him giving (or did he give one to a British newspaper a while back?) and not properly conceal his identity?

So there you have it. Adult Swim’s interview with Banksy might make you laugh, but it’s not the real deal. Honestly though, Adult Swim’s version isn’t as funny as most Banksy interviews, so maybe that should have been a dead giveaway right there.

Edited stills originally from Exit Through the Gift Shop and Think Talk: Banksy