installation art

Maya Gelfman & Roie Avidan have been working in public spaces, museums and galleries for more than a decade. Maya’s works have been featured in international art books in Germany and France, and in 2015 Paper Magazine named Maya among the top ten street artists in Israel. Roie has produced documentaries and music videos and published photographs in dozens of newspapers and magazines, print and online. Their collaborative worldwide public-art project Mind the Heart! is entering its tenth year. This past fall, their project brought them to New York City, where I had a chance to meet up with the inspiring, talented couple.

Can you tell us a bit about your backgrounds?

Maya: I’ve always been doing art. I graduated from the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in 2006. My main mediums are installation, painting and street art.

Roie: I am self-taught. I’ve been engaged with visual art for the past 14 years, and nine years ago, I began doing art on the streets. Our work is collaborative, as I generally choose the materials, the concept and the location.

What about your current project Mind the Heart!? What is its mission?

Its principal aim is to promote mindfulness – to ourselves, to our surroundings and to the moment. Many of us – especially those of us who live in the same place for a long time — no longer see the beauty and tend to ignore the ugliness. Too often we become disconnected from one another and miss out on the present.

A little red heart has been surfacing in cities you’ve visited. What does it represent?

This tangled red heart – crooked and messy with dripping ends — is the core of our project. We began by using it on the streets of Tel Aviv to mark the beauty in decay and neglect, the order in chaos, the magic in the ordinary, the soul in things. We’ve since handed out thousands of red yarn hearts along with a simple mission: to go and put it out there, to mark your own spots of significance and share them with the world.

Why did you both choose to use the streets as your principal gallery?

We had both shown in galleries, and we wanted to exhibit in a different way. In 2009, we printed hundreds of posters and placed them on the streets. Within 12 hours, everything was gone. We immediately fell in love with the connection we made with those who viewed our art. We love that street art is completely free.

You are now visiting cities throughout the US. Which cities have you previously visited to share your artwork and to engage people in your project?

We’ve visited various cities throughout Israel. Among the 40 cities we’ve collaborated in are: Florence, London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Bangkok. We were also invited to orphanages in Kenya and Uganda.

What is the riskiest thing you’ve ever done in the course of executing your project? And why were you willing to take that risk?

Standing on a wobbly 15 foot ladder at a hotel in Florence. The ladder could have fallen at any moment. There was no sense of security. Why did we do it? We just didn’t think about it. It was something that we had to do…something that we needed to do at this time and place.

Are there any particular cultures that have influenced your aesthetic, particularly this project?

The culture of the American Beat Generation; the notion of “the open road,” and its sense of freedom; Japanese motifs; texts inspired by Taoism; major Russian literature; rock & roll; Kurt Cobain and Leonard Cohen.

What inspires you these days?

Anything and everything!

Have you ever been arrested for your public work?

When we are caught in the act, it becomes a conversation.

What is the attitude of your families and friends towards what you are doing?

They are supportive.

What percentage of your time is devoted to art?

100%

In addition to your tangled red heart, what other media do you use in Mind the Heart!

We use yarn, shoe-box lids, duct-tape and foam.

Are you generally satisfied with your finished product?

The vast majority of the time.

What do you see as the role of the artist in society?

To evoke an emotion…to make someone feel something…to invite people to reflect…to make them mindful.

And how can folks become involved in your project?

They can contact us with ideas for places, people, collaborations, events, murals, and any creative or serendipitous idea they may have.

Locations of  featured images:

1 Bushwick, Brooklyn

2 East Village, Manhattan

3 & 4 Decatur, Georgia

5 Tel Aviv, Israel

6 Jekyll Island, Georgia

7 Easton, Pennsylvania 

Interview conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky.

Photo credits: 1 Lois Stavsky; 2-7 courtesy Maya Gelfman & Roie Avidan.

Note: You can follow the Mind the Heart! project here and on its Instagram account here; you can, also, support the project here.

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the-newstand-installation-MoMA-NYC

The Newsstand, the underground zine and visual art space that ran inside the Lorimer L/G subway station from 2013 to 2014, has been recreated for MoMA‘s exhibit, Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015,  And it is certain to delight not only fans of photography and zines, but graffiti and street art aficionados, as well! Here are a few images we captured on our visit:

Back in the day

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With fire extinguisher in hand

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Along the tracks

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The Domino Sugar Factory and more

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Lele Saveri‘s photos of commuters, tags on bills and more

the-newsstand-bills-photos and more

 Close-up

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Produced in collaboration with Alldayeveryday, the installation remains on view through March 20th. Lele Saveri and other artists from The Newsstand and 8-Ball communities will present two free zine workshops for NYC high school students next month. You can check out the details here.

Photo credits: 1 Lois Stavsky; 2 – 7 Dani Reyes Mozeson

Note: Our highly acclaimed Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.

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Deborah-Fisher-Paul-Ramirez-Jones

Almost 40 years ago the historic Old Bronx Courthouse building closed its doors. This past Thursday evening, the landmark structure reopened to host When You Cut Into the Present the Future Leaks Out, a thoroughly engaging multi-media exhibit, curated by Regine Basha for No Longer Empty Featuring over two dozen artists on three levels, its title references the remix suggested by William S. Boroughs. Here are a few more images captured on Thursday:

Teresa DiehlL-Alber-Into, Video and sound installation

Teresa-Diehl

 Another view of  Teresa Diehl‘s ever-transforming hallucinatory musical installation

Diehl

Shellyne RodriguezPrototype For Belphegor’s Eye, 168 flesh-tint dyed mousetraps, rhinestones, gold chains, copper wire, plywood

Shellyne

Shellyne RodriguezGeperudeta, Ceramic

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David Scanavino, Untitled, Linoleum tile

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Ellen HarveyAlien Souvenir Stand (close-up), Oil on aluminum, watercolor on gesso board, propane tanks, plywood, aluminum siding and poles, aluminum diamond plate, magnets

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Lady K FeverAll Rise (close-up), Mylar on façade of  building

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The exhibit continues through July 19, along with a variety of programs ranging from fashion shows to presentations by such Bronx-based artists as Eric Orr, Per One and Joe Conzo. The old Bronx Courthouse is located at 878 Brook Avenue at East 161 Street and Third Avenue in the South Bronx. 

Note: First photo features Deborah Fisher and Paul Ramirez Jonas, Something for Nothing, Mixed media, Custom designed neon sign

Research for this post by City-As-School student Diana Davidova; photos 1, 5, and 7 Diana Davidova; 2-4, 6 and 8 Lois Stavsky

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"Tom Fruin"

Particularly impressive about this year’s DUMBO Arts Festival was not only the extraordinary array of art just about everywhere, but the wide extent of community engagement and expression in public space. Here’s a small sampling:

"The World We Want"

"Dumbo Arts Festival"

Leaving a brief personal statement

"DUMBO Arts Festival"

 And reading those left by others

"Dumbo Arts Festival"

Creating artwork with others

"Dumbo Arts Festival"

Or alone

"Dumbo Arts Festival"

Signing a Giant Get-Well Card for Humanity

"Dumbo Arts Festival"

Or just leaving your mark

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Sponsored by Two Trees Management Company, this year’s DUMBO Arts Festival serves as a model of community engagement with art in public space.

First image is of art installation, Reflection/Kolonihavehus, forged by Tom Fruin from recycled materials.  

All photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson.

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