Banksy + 5: October 22nd

Banksy in Queens. Photo (which I've cropped) by carnagenyc.
Banksy in Queens. Photo (which I’ve cropped) by carnagenyc.

Great piece for Better Out Than In today, although as I imagine Banksy expected, the piece is already in the hands of someone else. According to my source who got up close to the piece, Banksy’s Sphinx sculpture is not entirely made of cinderblocks, but the main bust and possibly more of it is made of some sort of foam and then coated with a thin layer of concrete dust.

I was going to write all about how this piece is a fantastic continuation of Banksy fascination with crowd response, and how this piece is really not about how the piece looks, but whether or not people would steal chunks of it or the whole thing, paralleling the history of theft and preservation that plagues real Egyptian monuments. But then Hyperallergic did that really well. So please, do read their article on this piece.

And of course, the piece has already been removed from the site, although it’s unclear who these people are removing it.

Anyway, great piece.

Today’s + 5 includes Aiko, Harlequinade, Paul Richard, Spud and one unknown artist:

Aiko in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Aiko in Berlin. Photo by duncan c.
Harlequinade in San Francisco. Photo by DangerRanger.
Harlequinade in San Francisco. Photo by DangerRanger.
Paul Richard in NYC. Photo by Chris Christian.
Paul Richard in NYC. Photo by Chris Christian.
Spud at 5 Pointz in NYC. Photo by David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott.
Spud at 5 Pointz in NYC. Photo by David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott.
Unknown artist in Toronto. Photo by Mary Crandall.
Unknown artist in Toronto. Photo by Mary Crandall.

Photos by carnagenyc, duncan c, DangerRanger, Chris Christian, “David, Bergin, Emmett and Elliott” and Mary Crandall

Meres and Spudbomb collaborate in Little Italy

P1020335

Last week Meres of 5Pointz and Spudbomb from Toronto collaborated on this piece in Little Italy, on one of The L.I.S.A. Project NYC‘s rotating walls. This was one of co-curator Wayne Rada’s ideas and I really wasn’t sure how this wall was gonna go, but I trust Meres and like that Spud took on Toronto’s mayor as a subject in his work, so I was curious. Seeing the finished product, I think the guys did a really great job. It’s a solid piece with each artist bringing their trademark characters to Little Italy and giving them a slight Italian twist. For me, what’s so fun about working on The L.I.S.A. Project is helping bring pieces like these to life. The work fits in with Little Italy, but it’s still not exactly the kind of mural you would expect to see there.

P1020340

P1020346

P1020344

Photos courtesy of The L.I.S.A. Project NYC

An introduction to Toronto’s street art and graffiti

-17

Toronto is a vibrant, culturally diverse, and immensely creative city, with a strong arts community. Graffiti culture started growing in the 80’s, with the most notable artist being Ren, who is still considered a pioneer in our city and beyond. Since then, Graffiti has been a visible and established part of Toronto. For as long as I can remember, Rush Lane aka Graff Alley has always been comprised of blocks of walls coated in paint, full of new and exciting pieces to find.

-1

Y
Young Jarus and Skam

-14

Continue reading “An introduction to Toronto’s street art and graffiti”