I always love a good Martha Cooper interview, and all the better that this one was done by Very Nearly Almost:
VNA x Martha Cooper at MOCA from Charlie Inman on Vimeo.
Martha Cooper gets remixed at Carmichael Gallery
Carmichael Gallery in LA has a pretty crazy show on right now. Martha Cooper: Remix has street and graffiti artists giving their takes on classic photographs by Martha Cooper, one of the photographers behind the classic Subway Art book. Here’s a bit of the show, but check out Arrested Motion for many more photos. Remix runs through May 7th.
Photos courtesy of Arrested Motion
Kosbe on the Streets of NYC and the Walls of the Carmichael Gallery
I’ve always loved Kosbe’s zany characters and somewhat esoteric messages. Mostly on stickers, they occasionally make their way onto wheatpastes, as this recent addition to NYC’s East Village.
Yesterday, Kosbe shared with me — via his iPhone — a photo of his piece currently on exhibit in Martha Cooper’s “Remix” at the Carmichael Gallery in Culver City, CA. A recreation of Cooper’s iconic 1980 photo of Dondi sketching in his room with friends in East New York, Brooklyn, it uncovers another side of Kosbe’s flair.
Dreweatts Urban Contemporary Sale
Dreweatts is holding their next Urban Contemporary sale on Wednesday, April 6. Whilst I continue to struggle to understand why works by artists such as Lucien Freud, Russell Young and Damien Hirst are included in a sale with the aforementioned title, there are certainly a few lots that are both worth taking a look at and actually fit the sale’s theme. These include eight Banksy prints and one of his Family Target canvases from 2003 (est. 30-50k GBP), a cool Martha Cooper photograph of Shy 147 precariously balanced between two train cars as he paints (est. 1200-1800 GBP), a haunting Guy Denning canvas (est. 3-5k GBP), a Jonathan Yeo Leaf Study (est. 4-6k GBP) and a really beautiful Adam Neate Self Portrait on cardboard (est. 8-12k GBP). The Neate is probably the highlight of the auction, at least in my opinion. It’s my birthday on Friday if a Vandalog reader out there is feeling generous. I’ll take you out for a drink next time you’re in LA to show my gratitude.
One of the more interesting aspects of this sale, however, is the final group of works, which will be auctioned in aid of Haven House Children’s Hospice. The twenty-five lots that comprise this section were curated by 15 year old, London-based Liam Patel. I don’t normally reprint press releases, but the text below sums up Liam’s endeavors fairly well so I recommend reading it. Stand-out works include those by Mantis, Herakut (pictured above), Remi/Rough and Matt Small.
Liam Patel has been collecting Urban Art since he was 12; now at the ripe old age of 15 he has brought together an extraordinary group of 25 cutting-edge lots to be sold at Dreweatts’ Urban Contemporary sale on Wednesday 6th April, to raise money for the Haven House Children’s Hospice.
Unable to do physical charity work for his Duke of Edinburgh Award because he had a broken arm and shoulder, Liam decided to ask some of his favourite artists to donate their work to raise £10,000 for the Children’s Hospice, which offers vital support to children with life-limiting conditions and their parents. Liam then approached Dreweatts to host the sale in their central London branch at 24 Maddox Street W1 and they were only too happy to help by offering the venue, and any extra expertise.
‘I came up with the idea to curate an Urban Art charity auction as the Haven House Children’s Hospice needs to raise around £2m each year to provide fantastic support for children and their families. Even though I won’t be able to raise that amount, every little helps.’ Each piece comes with a certificate of authenticity from the artist and estimates range from £100 to £1,200. The group to be sold for the charity includes works by the likes of Matt Small, Schoony, Handiedan, Mantis, Nick Gentry, Herakut and Arkiv Vilmansa all of whom were delighted to be able to help by donating the proceeds of their pictures.
– Elisa
Image via Dreweatts‘ Urban Contemporary catalogue.
Remix: Martha Cooper and friends at Carmichael Gallery
Martha Cooper is one of graffiti’s most influential photographers, particularly for being half of the duo (the other half being Henry Chalfant) who photographed and wrote Subway Art back in the 1980’s. For many street artists and graffiti writers, Martha is a large part of how they got started not just painting outside, but with art in general. Martha Cooper: Remix is the next show at Carmichael Gallery, and I just love the idea – Some of street art and graffiti’s greats from the 1980’s through today have reinterpreted Martha’s photographs in their own style and Remix will show the original photos alongside these reinterpretations. Remix opens April 9th and runs through May 7th, so it is timed to coincide with MOCA’s Art in the Streets show, which Martha Cooper is also included in.
Artists in Remix include Aeon, John Ahearn, Aiko, Bio, Nicer & B-Gee, Blade, Blanco, Mark Bode, Burning Candy, Victor Castillo, Cey, Cekis, Claw, Cosbe, Crash, Dabs & Myla, Anton van Dalen, Daze, Dearraindrop, Jane Dickson, Dr. Revolt, Shepard Fairey, Faust, Flying Fortress, Freedom, Fumakaka, Futura, Gaia, Grotesk, Logan Hicks, How & Nosm, LA II, Lady Pink, Anthony Lister, The London Police, Mare 139, Barry McGee, Nazza Stencil, Nunca, José Parlá, Quik, Lee Quinones, Kenny Scharf, Sharp, Skewville, Chris Stain, Subway Art History, Swoon, T-Kid, and Terror161. So yeah, this should be interesting.
With most other photographers, I might quickly right this idea off as gimmicky and I think artists might half-ass it, but there is so much respect for Martha Cooper, the line up is so strong (and varied) and the photos are so interesting that I think this has to be a success.
All the LA galleries are really pulling out all the stops for this April and Carmichael Gallery is no exception.
Photo courtesy of Carmichael Gallery
Wreck the Walls at Subliminal Projects
I have to say that I really appreciate galleries that continue to do shows during the Holiday season. While most just shut down because “everyone else does” I find it admirable when a curator puts together a show, and a decent group show at that.
Opening December 11 at Subliminal Projects is Wreck the Walls, a group exhibition of over 30 artists combining rebellious urban artists, street pioneers and young emerging fine artists.
The show includes the likes of some heavy hitters like McGinnes and Cooper and some of my favorite new names like Greg LeMarche and Kelly Berg. The full list includes: Alan Shaffer, Alejandro Gehry, Andy Moses, Bertil Petersson, Billy Al Bengston, Blek Le Rat, Craig Stecyk, Curtis Kulig, David Ellis, David Yow, Ed Moses, Ellwood T. Risk, Erik Foss, Eric Schwartz, Eric White, Evan Hecox, Greg Lamarche, Jason Alper, John Van Hamersveld, Laddie John Dill, Larry Bell, Martha Cooper, Monica Canilao, Retna, Robbie Conal, Ryan McGinness, Ryan Travis Christian, Skullphone, Swoon, Tim Biskup, Vanessa Prager, Kelly Berg.
Photo by Martha Cooper via Subliminal Projects
Shepard Fairey and Ron English in Miami
Ron English just finished a mural and sculpture garden sort of installation in Miami as part of Wynwood Walls. I’m not a huge fan of pop surrealism myself (although I really respect what Ron and other artists in that genre do), but damn those Ron English fans must be going crazy right now looking at this thing. It’s a mural that then extends off the walls and includes some of his camo-dear sculptures (which I love). Hi Fructose has more images.
And Shepard Fairey has finished his installation at Wynwood Kitchen & Bar, as mentioned the other day. The restaurant isn’t open yet, but it should be ready for Basel Miami week at the start of December.
Also, some good news from Martha Cooper. According to her blog…
The City of Miami has taken a giant step forward by recognizing the value of street art and officially designating the Wynwood Arts District as the “Wynwood Mural Museum”. Under the auspices of Primary Flight, artists will be descending en masse during Art Basel 2010 to paint an unprecedented number of walls.
Also on Martha Cooper’s blog, you can find some more photos from what’s going on now at Wynwood Walls.
Photos by Martha Cooper
Booked – Group Exhibition and Book Day at Carmichael Gallery
It’s been a long time since Seth and I have had a group show this big at Carmichael Gallery – there will be over 35 artists represented on the walls when we open “Booked” on Saturday, June 5th! Some of the artists we’ve worked with for several years and others we’ll be showing for the first time. We’re also going to have lots of great art books and magazines from publishers like Drago, Gingko, Studiocromie (I really enjoyed opening up the box of Blu and Sam3 books!) and VNA. Books and art are two of the best things in the world, in my opinion, so it should be a fun event! We will be open from 12-8pm on Saturday for Culver City Art Walk (make sure to visit all the other galleries on the block if you come by; there will be lots of cool things to see) and the reception itself is from 6-8pm.
Here are some of the pieces in the show.
Martha Cooper
Escif
SpY
Anthony Lister
Lucas Price (aka Cyclops)
Bumblebee
Brad Downey
Here’s the full line up of artists and publishers:
Aiko, Banksy, Beejoir, Blek le Rat, Boxi, Bumblebee, C215, Henry Chalfant, Martha Cooper, D*Face, Brad Downey, Eine, Ericailcane, Escif, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Stelios Faitakis, Gaia, Hush, Mark Jenkins, Dave Kinsey, Know Hope, Labrona, Anthony Lister, Lucy McLauchlan, Aakash Nihalani, Walter Nomura (a.k.a. Tinho), Other, Steve Powers (a.k.a. ESPO), Lucas Price (a.k.a. Cyclops), Retna, Saber, Sam3, Sixeart, Slinkachu, SpY, Judith Supine, Titi Freak, Nick Walker, Dan Witz and WK Interact
Drago, Gingko Press, Murphy Design, Prestel, Rojo, SCB Distributors, Studiocromie, Very Nearly Almost, Zupi
The show runs from June 5 – July 3. Drop in to say hi if you’re in LA!
– Elisa
New Martha Cooper book: Name Tagging
Name Tagging, Martha Cooper’s latest book, launches on Saturday at the OBEY pop-up store in New York. This book is the result of nearly a decade of Cooper photographing tags on stickers around the world. I’ll definitely be getting a copy of Name Tagging. And the OBEY store closes for good on Sunday, so that’s another reason to stop by.
Two-part video interview with Martha Cooper
Adidas has done a two-part video interview with the legendary Martha Cooper. Part one is great because she talks all about her love of stickers (including how to take them off the street safely). Part two is more about some Adidas shoes that Lee gave her.
Part 1:
Part 2: