Vandalog – A Street Art Blog

June 20, 2013June 18, 2013

Tim Hans shoots… Run

I’ve been a fan of Run‘s work for many years, but I’ve never met the man and never really knew much about him. All I knew were his men, creeping around the walls of Hackney and Shoreditch. Earlier this year, Tim Hans met up to Run for the latest in our continuing series of photo-portraits of artists by Tim, and I asked him a few questions over email.

RJ: Who are the people in your paintings? Anyone, or group, in particular?

Run: The people that I paint show an evolution of episodes and experiences. They are ‘nobody’, they are the portrait of ‘nobody’, they are not even a race (some people said that they have black features) but they have not, they are a template to demonstrate actions, feelings and thought. Sometimes they have a totally blank expression, but others are completely awake and aware. I guess that on the deepest level any artist tries to reproduce him or herself; we are just trying to survive and perpetuate ourselves in order to not disappear. Where I cannot go, or where I cannot reach, “the people of my paintings” can.

RJ: What do you look for when choosing a wall to paint?

Run: The urban environment is so diverse and exciting to look at that sometimes it doesn’t need any other information to be added to it. We should carefully consider whether to add a painting, it really is a delicate matter. Graffiti has such a strong and random statement, that for it to appear it doesn’t need to ask permission and it is totally beautiful and spontaneous. If you look at cities like Rome or Madrid, Buenos Aires or San Paulo, graffiti is everywhere and is not inscribed in any closed area. It is the skin of the city that changes constantly like a snake.

What I do is a bit different because it is not horizontal or vertical but expands with the shape of the building, squashing the architecture around the drawing. I can’t always ‘choose’ a wall but I guess that when I can, I go for the wall that gives me the most options for creating what I want. Also I go for a wall that gives me the chance to be organic with the city and with the architecture/habitants/anthropology of the area. Other reasons for choosing a wall are more basic – I look for a smooth, comfortable, high up, wide, visible wall an possibly facing south.

RJ: You do a fair bit of traveling. What have been your favorite places to visit?

Run: Traveling it will never be enough. West Africa has been my latest destination and is probably now on the top of my list of places to go back to. It was a self organised and planned trip and I had the backing of a few amazing people (two above all, WideOpenWalls (Gambia) and Yattal Art (Senegal in Dakar)). I moved through the countries by land (and boats), to have a closer view of the culture and nature. People over there don’t care about ‘street art’ or who you are as an artist, but the person that you are.

The most astonishing places to visit for me were where the nature is virtually untouched and where really there’s nothing to paint.

Other than that I try to concentrate on organising my trips, and luckily I’m getting better at that. Maybe now I feel that every trip is such a special opportunity, nothing should be underestimated or taken for granted.

RJ: What is your goal with your art?

Run: Control my time. Inspire people and get inspired. Keep my rebellion always consciously aware and exercised.

RJ: Can you explain your recent fascination with phones? Seems like a completely different subject matter.

Run: When I was in Africa I wanted so many times to communicate with my friends overseas, but it was almost impossible. Sometimes there was no electricity or water, so imagine the internet or mobile phone networks!

Art is projecting magic into the world, so the phone-box was like a dimensional door, you know, it gave me confidence that someone was on the other side of the line ready to listen to me. It’s magic, it really works!

Yes, it makes more sense in a wild area with broken networks, but it’s funny and I like it, kids like it too and I bet adults do as well.

I remember the first couple of phone-boxes that I painted in villages in Africa, the kids called them ‘mobile’, of course, because they have never seen a public landline phone before. I like to keep this phone old fashioned, but I think that I will only paint phones for this year 2013 and then I will stop.

Photos by Tim Hans

June 19, 2013June 17, 2013

Hyuro’s Copenhagen wall, animated

I know we’ve extensively covered Hyuro‘s recent mural in Copenhagen, but I’ve got one more thing about it to share. Skip to 1 minute and 45 seconds into the above video to see her mural animate as it is shown frame by frame. Such an interesting way to tackle a massive but not particularly tall wall.

June 18, 2013

Nychos in Detroit: A wall, a print, a show and an Indiegogo

Nychos and Persue. Click ti view large. — Nychos and Persue. Click to view large.

Nychos is in Detroit at the moment and he’s making the most of the trip. First, there’s his solo show opening this Friday evening at Inner State Gallery. I’d Like To Meat You! opens on Friday, runs through July 18th, and sounds like it will feature lots of his trademark dissection works on paper, canvas and wood. And today 1xRun released their latest print by Nychos. Longtime Nychos fans will recognize the rabbit in the print as a dissected version of the Rabbit Eye Movement throw-up. The print is almost sold out though. There’s just 7 left out of 100 as I write this. If that print isn’t to your liking or it sells out too quickly, Nychos is currently in the midst of an Indiegogo fundraising campaign to get some money to make a documentary film and there are some great prizes (including prints) for that. Finally, Nychos and Persue just finished the above mural in Detroit.

On a related note, I really want to get out to Detroit sometime soon… So much interesting stuff going on out there.

Photo by Sal Rodriguez courtesy of 1xRun

June 18, 2013June 17, 2013

The ultimate timelapse with Sofles

Honestly, when I see a time lapse video of street art or graffiti, I usually watch about half of it and then skip to the end to see the finished piece. I often then discover that the filmmaker has neglected to include the finished piece at all which is kind of upsetting, and when the finished piece is included, I’d still rather see a photo. Time lapses can be great, but the usually go on for too long. We get it. You use spray paint. What does the end product look like?

Well, this video of Sofles is a time lapse of sorts but it completely blew me away. I don’t think I missed a single frame of the nearly 4-minute piece except to blink. It’s extremely difficult to capture graffiti as the performance that it is, but this video comes close. It may not really capture the performance of graffiti in the purest sense, but it does turn the act of Sofles painting into a performance of sorts. Such an amazing piece. I’ve seen things a bit like this before, but never anything at this level of complexity. Kudos to Ironlak, Sofles and filmmaker Selina Miles for keeping me watching a time lapse video of painting for about 20x longer than I normally would.

June 18, 2013June 17, 2013

Thinking with Peter Drew

peter drew brick lane london

I really dig these new pieces in Shoredtich by Peter Drew. The locations, right along the routes of all the street art walking tours, are a bit played out and blatantly self-promotional, but it’s not like he’s the only one getting up in these spots. Most street artists who spend any time in London are gonna do the same thing. At the end of the day, I think this work is interesting regardless of the location.

Cats n_ stuff peter drew

Photos by Peter Drew

June 17, 2013June 18, 2013

Welling Court Mural Project launches fourth year

Caleb Neelon & Katie Yamasaki, photo by Lois Stavsky — Caleb Neelon & Katie Yamasaki. Photo by Lois Stavsky.

For the fourth consecutive year Ad Hoc Art has brought dozens of artists to the Welling Court community in Astoria, Queens, transforming it into a first-rate open air museum. Here’s a small sampling of what could be seen this weekend:

Queen Andrea, photo Lois Stavsky — Queen Andrea. Photo Lois Stavsky.

Veng at work on collaborative mural with Chris, RWK. Photo by Tara Murray.

Mata Ruda & N'DA. Photo by Lois Stavsky — Mata Ruda & ND’A. Photo by Lois Stavsky.

If you are anywhere near NYC, a visit to Welling Court is a must! The diversity of the works and the responses of the local residents to them are astounding. And if you’d like to help fund this project, check this out.

Photos by Lois Stavsky and Tara Murray

June 17, 2013June 16, 2013

“The Talking Walls of Buenos Aires” a show in DC of some of Argentina’s leading street artists

Tester artwork Talking Walls 'Pintar Rejas' — “Pintar Rejas” by Tester

Latin America seems like a treasure trove of street art and graffiti. I could spend hours on end looking through these works through groups on Flickr. But for people like me who can’t see it in person, that seems to be the only way to tap into that vibrant and energetic scene. In the last 2 years, I’ve come to know and love a few Argentinian street artists (a few of whom will be featured in this show) but I’m aware that there are so many others who I have yet to come across!

The Talking Walls of Buenos Aires is a group show curated by Graffitimundo, which is based around just that – bringing works by a few of Argentina’s leading street artists to a gallery in Washington DC. Opening July 13th at 6pm at The Fridge gallery, you can catch the work of Buenos Aires Stencil, Cabaio Stencil, Chu, Defi, Ever, Fede Minuchin, Gualicho, Jaz, Malatesta, Mart, Pastel, Pedro Perelman, Poeta, Prensa La Libertad, Pum Pum, Roma, Stencil Land, Sonni, Tec and Tester.

Photos courtesy of Graffitimundo

June 16, 2013March 22, 2015

Baltimore Slumlord Watch x public art

One of the most pivotal aspects of street art is the democratization of public space. Whether people choose to engage or not, graffiti and street art are a way of reminding the everyday pedestrian that they have the power to manipulate their environment (sometimes at a price). Many residents of Balitmore have had to accept dilapidated neighborhoods as their everyday quality of life. The structures around them are literally falling apart due to neglect from city government property owners and has resulted in a massive property-vacancy problem. If Broken Window Theory has anything to do with it, that “If the city doesn’t care, why should I?” mentality has fostered one of the highest crime rates for any city in the country.

What does street art have to do with Baltimore’s structural issues and decline in living standards? Over a dozen street artists have taken on the task of bringing attention to these issues in a grassroots effort, through installing large pieces on some of the city’s dilapidated, vacant houses. Nether, Gaia, LNY, Noh J Coely, Mata Ruda, Nanook, Harlequinade and others have joined their forces as a non-profit organization called Wall Hunters have teamed up with Baltimore Slumlord Watch to put up large-scale murals on these eye-sore structures with QR codes alongside which informs viewers of who owns the vacant property. Simultaneously, they are creating a documentary with Nether and Carol Ott at the forefront, showing this massive issue corroding Baltimore and their relatively small effort to combat it. They’ve received a bit of funding to make their project possible but not enough, so they’ve created this Indiegogo campaign to bring it to fruition.

June 15, 2013June 16, 2013

Specter hits Japan and Russia

IMG_1452_1sml — “Bodega Window” in Tokyo’s Harijuku fashion district

Specter is a rare and fascinating thing; his acrylic, hand-painted wheatpastes are detailed enough to emulate the real thing, and subtle enough for passersby to not even notice them. Really, it’s quite a gift and a curse. In the last year, he’s worked on projects around the world and is finally back to his hometown of Brooklyn to share some of his latest installations.

While in Vladivostok, Russia he put up his “Chromatin Structure” in the Sister City Park. In Tokyo, Specter put up his piece “Bodega Window” in the Harijuku fashion district. Before leaving for this trip, he also installed his “Brooklyn Windows” at King and Grove in Williamsburg. “Brooklyn Windows is a documentation of Brooklyn’s changing life examined through windows. Each painted window is a representation of actual windows from various long-standing buildings in the Williamsburg area. The placement and concept of this work comment on the abundance of windows surrounding the space that reflect on each other and on the painting.This reflection of the painted windows is a reflection of the past in the current where each old window represents a new replacement,” says Specter.

"Chromatin Structure" in Sister City Park in Vladivostok, Russia — “Chromatin Structure” in Sister City Park in Vladivostok, Russia

Photos courtesy of Specter

June 15, 2013June 17, 2013

MURAL Festival in Montreal, Canada: Work in progress

DSC_0662_01 — Pixel Pancho – work in progress

For the last few days, the first MURAL Festival edition has taken over more than 20 walls in Montreal, Canada, located around the oldest boulevard of the city called “the main”, namely Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Running from June 13 to 16, MURAL offers to the public the opportunity to see some of the big masters of street art at work. Street artists, graffiti artists and muralists have been bringing all their energy and their incredible talent to refresh the streets. Among amazing international artists are the best Canadian ones. The list is long, but impressive: Pixel Pancho, ROA, Phlegm, Escif, Reka One, Gaia, LNY, Ricardo Cavolo, FinDAC & Angelina Christina, Labrona, Troy Lovegates (aka Other), Omen, Jason Botkin, Chris Dyer, EnMasse, Stare, Squid called Sebastian, Le Bonnard, Paria Crew, A’shop, Wzrds gng.

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