Tag: monica canilao

Posted on

Artists in a State of Resistance

Donald Trump is president, and things have gone south even more quickly than most people imagined. Now what? Since the election, I’ve heard from so many artists who are reevaluating their work in this new context. I’ve also heard from or come across artists are already taking action. I thought I’d bring together a few of my favorite public projects so far, in the hopes that they might spark a bit of hope, inspiration, and action in others.

First off, this piece didn’t last long, but I came across the above urinal while I was out in Haverford, PA for the opening of ALL BIG LETTERS. Just glad that I was able to snap a photo (and make use of the work) while it lasted.

On a similar note, whoever is putting up these PLEASE PEE ON ME stickers around NYC deserves a medal.

For more anti-Trump street art (some old, some new), The Huffington Post has a nice listicle.

Protest signs are another way artists can help. Everyone needs a good protest sign. One of the highlights of my week was seeing this post on the British graffiti blog Hurt You Bad. Shepard Fairey has once again been designing some iconic protest posters. And the Amplifier Foundation made sure that plenty of beautiful and powerful posters were on hand for the Women’s March in DC. Hopefully we see more great projects coming from them in the coming months and years. Really though, Hyperallergic nailed it with this post of the best signs from the Women’s March locations across the country.

And signs aren’t just for protests and anger. Organizers in Philadelphia and Atlanta sprang into action for Signs of Solidarity, a project where artists made dozens of handmade signs to hang all over various private buildings throughout Philly and Atlanta during inauguration weekend. It’s amazing to see how quickly and smoothly that project came together. Of Signs of Solidarity is any indication, the art world is poised to mount a serious resistance, but that only happens if we keep taking action.

Of course, being anti-Trump is important, but we also need some acknowledgement of the specific harms that he is inflicting (and the Women’s March touched on that). Just one example from this week (and yes, I know this feels like 25 news cycles ago, but that’s just how bad shit is right now): Trump made moves to restart the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. So now, once again, we need artists who can take on that issue and arm the opposition with strong visuals. This week’s installation for Art in Ad Places, a poster designed by Monica Canilao and Eric Loundy, is one example. Spencer Keeton Cunningham’s new mural in Brooklyn, the latest in a series of murals he’s painted in support of Standing Rock, is another. And okay, maybe Standing Rock isn’t what pulls at your heartstrings. What about immigration? Healthcare? Voter suppression? Take your pick, but do make a choice to be active.

Resist.

Photos by RJ Rushmore

Posted on

Weekend link-o-rama

ND'A in Bushwick

This week I’ve got a rather major correction to make. A few days ago, I wrote about a piece by Jeice2 where it looked like he went over a bunch of tags with with a poster. Turns out, the poster was just taped on for the purpose of a photograph, and so the graffiti was not covered.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been looking at this week:

Photo by Mike Pearce

Posted on

Weekend link-o-rama

Ludo in Paris

It’s officially spring break, which meant the last week for me has primarily consisted of sitting at my desk where I read and type furiously until my eyes are tearing up and my fingers are sore. It also means I could only blog when procrastinating and that the next few days should be a chance to write some longer posts that I’ve been sitting on. In the mean time, here’s what I’ve been finding around the web this week:

  • The man who came up with the Broken Windows Theory died this week.
  • Great piece by You Go Girl on a bus.
  • If you like graffiti writers moving beyond text and generally pushing graffiti’s boundaries, make sure to check out this video of Askew.
  • Todd James has a new print out at Pictures on Walls.
  • Great group show coming up in London with Matt Small, MyMo, Sickboy, Fefe, Monica Canilao, Remi, Best Ever and more.
  • Stinkfish‘s work is on the cover of Diplomat Magazine this month thanks to Jeannine Saba. Here’s the cover.
  • David de la Mano did a fantastic job brightening up this spot in Uruguay.
  • Interesting article about street art that definitely makes a real difference in the world.
  • Plaztik Mag’s latest video features work by Skewville, Roa and Bast and is creepy/awesome.
  • The Living Walls Conference has two great announcements this week: 1. They are now a 501(c)(3), aka an official non-profit organization. 2. In addition to the annual conference, there will be 6 “Living Walls Concepts” mini-events throughout the year, starting in March.
  • Craig Ward wrote a letter critiquing Banksy’s critique of advertisers. Given: Banksy is one of the world’s best marketers himself. Beyond that, the letter is a bit of a mess and Ward points out that he has worked in advertising himself. Clearly, it’s written from the perspective of someone who has lost his perspective and seems to boil down to “There’s worse stuff in the world, so umm, please leave advertisers alone.” No doubt that there are greater evils in the world than the public advertising that seems to be the primary target of Banksy’s critique of advertising, but that sure as hell doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Additionally, one of Ward’s points as to why traditional advertising isn’t as bad as Banksy’s advertising is that traditional advertisers pays for the locations they use. With that argument, Ward completely disregards both the negative externalities of massive ad campaigns that occur regardless of how much the advertiser pays (compared to the documented positive externalities of Banksy’s street art) and the illegal nature of many advertising campaigns which do not pay the government for the space that they use. By his standard, hiring an assassin to kill someone might be better than doing it yourself, because at least there’s money involved and somebody is getting paid for their time.

Photo by Ludo

Posted on

Good Folks – Two years of Show & Tell Gallery

Derek Mehaffey aka Troy Lovegates aka Other

The latest exhibit at Show & Tell Gallery is Good Folk, a group show celebrating the gallery’s 2nd anniversary. Here’s the line up: Swoon, Monica Canilao, Jeremiah Maddock, Derek Mehaffey aka Troy Lovegates aka Other, Labrona and Troy Dugas. It’s an impressive line up of folk-art influenced art. Good Folks opened this week and runs through March 27th. Here’s a sample of what is in the show:

Monica Canilao
What looks to be a new image from Swoon (someone please correct me if I'm wrong)

Photos courtesy of Show & Tell Gallery

Posted on

Weekend link-o-rama

Galo and Pixelpancho in Miami (click to view large)

Well, I was expecting to see my family today, but snow in London have half of them stuck there. Luckily, snow where I am in Colorado is keeping me busy. Too busy to post very much unfortunately. Here’s what I’ve been missing:

Posted on

Female artists at Subliminal Projects + ARTnews

Subliminal Projects‘ upcoming group show, SUBject/subJECT, is an all-female artist show and will benefit LA Downtown Women’s Shelter. Out of the 13 artists involved in this show, Swoon is definitely the best-known, but I’m also very much looking forward to seeing what Monica Canilao will be showing.

Press release:

Subliminal Projects is pleased to present SUBject/subJECT, a group exhibition opening April 10, featuring works from over a dozen female artists handpicked by the gallery and co-curator Deedee Cheriel.

SUBject/subJECT examines women’s use of public platforms in mass media, inviting both artists and viewers into a dialogue about role models, self-image and the messages women project in both the mainstream and alternative media. Says Cheriel, “Now that women have ‘equal rights,’ what are we trying to say? What’s our subject? Since female artists remain underrepresented in galleries and museums, we created this show as a platform for emerging women artists to represent!”

Among the show’s artists are Swoon, whose gritty yet delicate paper cutout portraits and large-scale flotillas of otherworldly art boats have landed her on the cover of this month’s ARTnews; Elizabeth McGrath, who breathes beauty and life into the macabre through her creature sculptures and theater-of-the-mind dioramas; and Jen Stark, whose colorful paper sculptures, drawings and animations have been described by Wired as “coldly mathematical yet exuberantly organic.” Other artists include Cheriel, Monica Canilao, Kime Buzzelli, Mona Superhero, Meryl Smith, Mel Kadel, Jessica Hess, Marissa Textor, Jesse Spears and Nikki McClure.

Ten percent of proceeds from all SUBject/subJECT art sales will go to the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center, dedicated to providing permanent, supportive housing and a safe and healthy community for homeless women.

And speaking of Swoon on the cover of ARTnews, that article can be read online. It’s a very complimentary article, and it’s nice to see Swoon being compared to serious n0n-street artists. At once point in the article, Swoon is called a “young artist.” Sometimes I forget that Callie is still so early in her career. No doubt she’ll continue to innovate and mature artistically for many more years.