Events

With new murals outside and an array of artworks inside, Be Electric Studios on 1298 Willoughby Avenue is the site of a new exhibit featuring over 20 street muralists.  Here are a few images captured hours before it opened last night.

Chris & Veng RWK and Nicole Salgar & Chuck Berrett

robots-will-kill-nichole-salgar-chuck-berret-street-art-murals-NYC

Nicholai Khan at work, FumeroRaquel EchaniqueChris & Veng RWK and Nicole Salgar & Chuck Berrett

 "street Murals"

Magda Love at work

"Magda Love"

Sonni

Sonni

Joseph Meloy

"Joseph Meloy"

Cernesto

Cernesto

And Esteban del Valle adding some finishing touches to his indoor mural

Esteban-del-valle

Curated by Kevin Michael, the exhibit continues through Monday, 12 – 11pm.

Photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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"WK Interact"

A pop-up exhibit — celebrating the release of WK‘s fourth book WK/ACT4 (DRAGO) and the launch of his partnership with KLINIK — opened on Tuesday evening at The Garage in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.  A huge range of work — from mixed-media installations to huge murals — is featured. Here’s a sampling:

WK-Installations

"WK Interact"

Close-up from huge mural featuring locations and images of WK‘s works in NYC public spaces

"WK Interact"

And the book

"WK Interact book"

"WK Interact"

The exhibit continues until Wednesday at 22 Little West 12th Street.  It remains open from 12 – 6pm.

Photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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This past Saturday, the LISA Project celebrated its second anniversary party with a spirited Secret Walls battle in the now-famous parking lot on Little Italy’s Mulberry Street. Team Lowbrow’s Bishop 203MastroZimad, and Steiner competed against Team Supreme’s Lamour SupremeJeremyville, Boy Kong, and Nick Gazin. Here are a few images:

Bishop 203 and Zimad (R)

Zimad-and-bishop203-street-art-and-graffiti-NYC

Mastro

Mastro

Lamour Supreme at work

supreme-team-Secret-walls

Jeremyville‘s draft 

Jeremyville

The illustrious judges: Sean Corcoran, Martha Cooper, Terror 161 and Carlo McCormick

Sean-corcoran-&-Martha-Cooper-&-Terror161-and-Carlo-McCormick-LISA-Project-Secret-Walls

The winning Team LowBrow members with LISA Project founder and director Wayne Rada

"Team LowBrow"

And the beloved “Taggers Delight” wall with NYC-based illustrator Sashalyn leaving her mark — to the left of Stikki Peaches

Sashalyn

Photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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The-Bronx-Graffiti-Art-Gallery

The Bronx Graffiti Art Gallery, a new outdoor public art space located in the courtyard of Gustiamo at 1715 West Farms Road, officially opens tomorrow, Saturday, October 18, 1-5pm.  Committed to preserving and celebrating the culture of graffiti in NYC, its first exhibit features works by such Bronx legends as Ces, Kingbee, and Tats Cru, along with artwork by its curators, Lady K Fever and Scratch.

Here’s a sampling of what’s been going down:

Tats Cru‘s Bio, BG 183 and Nicer

bio-bg183-nicer-tatscru-graffiti-Bronx-NYC

Ces

CES

Kingbee

Kingbee

Lady K Fever

lady-k-fever-graffiti-nyc

BG 183 and Scratch

scratch-bg183-graffiti-street-art-Bronx-NYC

Hush Tours will provide free transportation from Manhattan to tomorrow’s event. For further information, contact Hush Tours at 212-714-3527.

All photos courtesy Scratch.

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Crisp-John-Paul-Praxis-street-art-Grove-Alley-NYC

The Grove Alley Paint Nite, produced by the Gowanus Nite Market — in coordination with the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership — took place last month, once again transforming Grove Alley into a intriguing open-air gallery.  John Paul O’Grodnick, JC, Sole Rebel and Stencil1 were among the local artists joined by Bogota-based Praxis and Crisp for this year’s event in Downtown Brooklyn, off Fulton Mall. Here are some more photos captured soon after the event that had attracted close to 2,000 people:

Praxis

Praxis-Grove-Alley-street-art-NYC

Crisp and John Paul O’Grodnick

Crisp-JPO-street-art-Grove-Alley-Brooklyn-NYC

JC and Sole Rebel

JC-and Sols-street-art-Grove-Alley-Brooklyn-NYC

JC, close-up

JC-street-art-grove-alley

Stencil1

Stencil1

 And still there from last year’s event —  See One and Rimx

See-One-Rimx-graffiti-street-art-Brooklyn-Grove-Alley-NYC

Photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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"Eric Orr"

Legendary for his collaborative artwork with Keith Haring on the NYC subways, Bronx-based artist and designer Eric Orr also produced the first-ever hip-hop comic book.  I recently had the opportunity to find out more about this multi-faceted artist who will be participating tomorrow – Friday – evening at the New York Comic Con panel discussion Hip-Hop and Comics: Cultures Combining, presented by Depth of Field.

You were one of the first graff artists to develop a distinct icon. Your “robot head” has since appeared on a wide range of surfaces – from T-shirts to record labels to international fine art exhibits. It has even made its way into Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses and catalogues. Can you tell us something about it?

It was inspired by the space age and the robotics era. I grew up in the age of Star Wars, Space Odyssey and the Robot Dance. And as tagging on walls and traditional graff didn’t do that much for me, my robot actually made it to the streets of the South Bronx where I grew up.

Orr-meets-Keith-Haring-NYC-subway-graffiti-character

You may well be best-known for your collabs with Keith Haring that surfaced on the 6 Pelham Bay and the 4 and 5 NYC subways lines 30 years ago. You are, in fact, the only artist who ever collaborated with Keith in the subway system. How did you two first meet up?

Keith, it seems, had been eyeing my work for a while.  But we actually met, by chance, one day at a Swatch watch completion. I was wearing my hand-painted robot head shirt when Keith Haring approached me and invited me to collaborate with him on a series of artworks on the black panel spaces of the NYC subway system.

And these became a legendary part of NYC’s subway history! You also played a huge role in the hip-hop scene back in the day, producing work for Afrika Bambaataa and such hip-hop artists as Jazzy Jay, along with the brand logo for the Strong City Record label.  Can you tell us something about that? What exactly was the relationship between graffiti and hip-hop?  And was there one?

Yes! The same energy from the streets of the South Bronx that created the graffiti there in the late 70’s created hip-hop. Writers would go straight from getting up in the streets to hanging out at park jams and clubs. And it was largely the graffiti artists who designed the flyers for the hip-hop events.

"Eric Orr"

What about the relationship between hip-hop and comics? You produced the first-ever hip-hop comic and will be speaking about the two cultures at the  tomorrow – Friday.

From the beginning graffiti artists, MC’s and break-dancers adapted elements from the comic book culture. Just about everything — from our names to our fantastical identities to the flyers we designed — had comic elements in it. But only someone from the inside could have produced an authentic hip-hop comic.  My original “Maxwell Robot” strip ran in Rap Masters magazine.

Do you have a formal art education?

I studied art at the School of Visual Arts and the Art Students League.

Was it worthwhile?

Yes, it inspired me to take my work to a commercial level.

"Eric Orr"

How do you feel about the interplay between graffiti/street art and the commercial world?

I have mixed feelings. It’s great for me and others to get paid to do the things we love. But it’s also easy for artists to be exploited — if their art is used to market a product and they are not getting paid for their artwork or sharing in the company’s profits.

You’ve done workshops with kids in New Zealand – to which you originally traveled to create a design for Serato — and recently here up in the Bronx. Can you tell us something about that?

Having grown up in the South Bronx, I understand just how important it is for kids to have positive experiences that nurture their creativity in productive ways. My most recent venture was with Sienide, working with youth to design a mural on 172nd Street and Southern Boulevard for the Children’s Aid Society’s.

erik-Orr-robot-for-childrens-aid-society

What’s ahead?

Cornell University recently approached me about purchasing the original source material for Rappin’ Max Robot for its hip-hop collection of rare books and manuscripts. I am currently working on an a piece for an upcoming train show at Grand Central, scheduled to open on November 22. And tomorrow evening, I will be participating in the New York Comic Con panel discussion Hip-Hop and Comics: Cultures Combining.

Congratulations! It all sounds great! 

Interview conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky; all images courtesy of Eric Orr; final photo by Lois Stavsky

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Mr-prvt-street-art_edited-1

It’s been busy at the Bushwick Collective with new murals surfacing by local, regional and international artists. Here’s a small sampling of what’s been going down:

Mr. Prvrt — pictured above — with his new mural, and as seen, below, in Sunday’s sun

Mr. Prvrt

Bishop 203 to the left of Danielle Mastrion’s long-running Biggie mural

Bishop203

Thievin’ Stephen — at work on Jefferson off Saint Nicholas

"Thievin-Stephen"

And  tomorrow — Wednesday evening — at 5pm, Tyson, a dear friend of the Bushwick Collective, is opening his doors to his new restaurant, Arrogant Swine, at 173 Morgan Avenue.

Vers

Bushwick Collective founder and curator Joe Ficalora invites the Bushwick Collective fam to head over there. Expect to dine and wine with DJ’s, fire breathers, free tattoos and more surprises, along with a newly completed mural by Sexer.

Final image by Vers; all photos by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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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

Dumbo-Arts-Festival-Chalk-wall-in-DUMBO

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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stikki-peaches-hot-mess

For the past few days, we New Yorkers have been treated to a Hot Mess, the wildly expressive aesthetic of Montreal-based Stikki Peaches. Brought to us by Station 16, a Hot Mess, Stikki Peaches‘s first international exhibit, found a transitory home here at 345 Broome Street. Here are a few more images:  

Stikki-Peaches-NYC

stikki-peaches-portrait

One of many skulls

stikki-peaches-skull

stikki-peaches-skulls

And a somewhat wider view of the transformed Broome Street space

Stikki-Peaches-art-work

For some insight into it all, you can check out Yoav Litvin‘s interview with Stikki Peaches here.

Photos of artworks by Dani Reyes Mozeson

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"Harrison Love at Scholastic"

Celebrating the launch of the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Scholastic is hosting a pop-up art studio, titled Art.Write.Now.POP-UP!, in its Scholastic Headquarters Window at 557 Broadway in SoHo. Harrison Love, an award-winning artist, is creating live art daily from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. through Friday. We stopped by yesterday afternoon and had the opportunity to pose a few questions to Harrison.

How did you team up with Scholastic?

In 2004, when I was a senior in high school in Connecticut, some artwork that I had created was submitted to a contest sponsored by Scholastic. I then received an invitation to a Scholastic event where I received five awards.

"Harrison Love artwork"

What was that like?

It was amazing! It gave me the encouragement I needed to continue to be creative and to establish a career as a visual artist. Scholastic also continues to give me a sense of community. And as so many of us artists tend to be loners, this is something that we need.

What is it like for you — 10 years later — to be painting in such a public space as a window in SoHo on a street as busy as Broadway?

It is very interesting. I like it! It gives me an opportunity to communicate with people without talking!

"Harrison Love"

Have you ever painted in public before?

Not quite like this! But I’ve done live painting in a few cities including San Francisco.

What inspired you to create these particular pieces that you are working on now?

They are prints for an upcoming book that is based on my travels to the Peruvian Amazon.

"Harison Love public art"

What’s ahead? 

One of my artworks was recently acquired by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).  I’m looking forward to getting my art out in many more settings both here and in my travels abroad.

Note: Triangle mirrors, prisms, mylar and glass structures fabricated by Colin Bowring, the Art Science Wizard.

Interview conducted by City-as-School intern Tyler Dean Flores; photos 1 and 3 by Tyler Dean Flores, 2 and 4 courtesy of the artist. Educators and students interested in the 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards can register here.

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