Hosted by James Top, Joey TDS and Poke IBM, the 38th Annual Graffiti Hall of Fame took place this past weekend in East Harlem. Pictured above is the work of Vase One and KingBee (standing to the left of Shiro on the ladder). Several more photos of images captured yesterday follow:
Shiro tags subway map
Delta 2 at work
And you can find more images from the historical two-day event on the StreetArtNYC Instagram.
Photos by Lois Stavsky
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Continuing through this weekend at Red Bull Arts New York is RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder, the historic solo exhibition focusing on the extraordinary, idiosyncratic talents of the late multi-media artist, graff writer, hip-hop pioneer and Gothic Futurist theoretician RAMMΣLLZΣΣ. A diverse selection of the artist’s visual works, music and writings, along with rare archival documentation and ephemera, presents an intimate portrait of the visionary New York cult icon. The mixed-media image above features one of the artist’s wildly imaginative Garbage Gods. Several more images from the remarkable RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder follow:
Letter Races, Mixed media
Monster models, Mixed media
Letter M Explosion, Mixed media
Luxturnomere Hammer Bar Hammerclef Force Field One, Spray paint on cardboard
Jams, Spray paint and acrylic on canvas
The man, himself
The exhibit continues through Sunday at 220 West 18th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan. Red Bull Arts New York is open from 12-7pm.
Photo credits: 1, 4-7 Lois Stavsky; 2-3 Karin du Maire
Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.
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Twenty years ago, Bay Area photojournalist, artist and graffiti/street aficionado Iqvinder Singh published his first zine — and the first graffiti zine to emerge from Oakland. Earlier this year, Iqvinder aptly dedicated an entire issue of his ongoing zine, Suitable 4 Framin’, to Oakland, dividing it into eight distinct sections from East Oakland and the Oakland Museum of Art to the Oakland Terminal Art Gallery and Tags and Throws. What follows is a small sampling of images in a range of media that made their way into Suitable 4 Framin’, Issue #12:
Mark Bode on denim at the Oakland Terminal Gallery
Barry McGee at the Oakland Museum of California
Broke sticker
This All Oakland Issue of Suitable 4 Framing’ is dedicated to the late Oakland graff legend Mike Francisco aka Dream. You can purchase it, along with a few selected back issues of other zines, here. And each zine comes with a varied assortment of stickers and random goodies!
All images courtesy of Iqvinder Singh
Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.
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The annual Jersey Fresh Jam, Trenton’s premier urban arts festival, was held last Saturday, August 11. Arts educator and photographer Rachel Fawn Alban was there to capture the action as local and regional artists converged — despite intermittent bouts of rain — to bring their talents to the walls of Terracycle INC. What emerged was a wonderful fusion of graffiti and mural art representing a range of sensibilities, styles and themes. Pictured above — from left to right — are Damien Mitchell, Puppet Master Icky and Colombian artist Joems. Several more photos captured by Rachel follow:
Damien Mitchell at work
SoulsNYC with spray can and cell phone in hand
Kes1 at work — in collaboration with Seoz
Ras at work
Ron with multiple spray cans in hand
Photos by Rachel Fawn Alban
Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.
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Ever on a mission, East London-based artist Annie Nicholson aka Fandangoe Kid has been busy here in New York City. Last week, I had the opportunity to meet up with her in Red Hook, Brooklyn at the site of her De-Construkt residency.
When did you first become interested in sharing your messages in public spaces?
Back in 2005 — when I was studying film and visual arts in Paris — I began leaving text messages on friends’ doorsteps. My artwork has always been narrative-driven.
Your current projects generally reference your family members. Can you tell us something about that?
In 2011, my mother and sister were killed in a crash. Their bodies landed in the East River. Nothing has been the same since. For several years I was totally derailed. Sharing my thoughts in the public sphere and working with young people have kept me alive. My public messages are, also, my means to remove the stigma that exists around loss and mental health.
How have folks responded to seeing your text messages reflecting your very private — often deeply painful — reflections on your losses?
Many have approached me and shared with me stories of their own losses and vulnerabilities. It is part of their healing process, as well as mine.
And working with youth is wonderfully therapeutic — as I know! How did you connect with the young people with whom you work?
I’ve actually worked in art education for over 10 years — from the Tate Modern to the British Film Institute. And then four years ago, I began working with traumatised young people in a program I’d launched at the Hackney New School using the arts as a means to understand and share their stories more effectively.
Are there any particular artists who inspired or influenced your particular text-driven aesthetic?
Steve Powers — certainly! He is one of my favorite artists working in this genre and a huge inspiration. Others include: Jenny Holzer, Barbara Krueger and Camille Walala.
What brought you here to New York City?
For six years — since the loss of of my sister and mother here in New York City — this city has been hanging over me. I felt the need to spend some time here. And Laura Arena, who offers residencies in Red Hook to artists from all over the world, has given me the opportunity to do so.
Why the streets? Why do you primarily utilize the streets to transmit your messages?
I like the visibility that the streets offer. My messages are easily accessed on the streets, especially by young people.
What’s ahead?
I will be returning to NYC in the fall with plans to install large-scale works in more permanent public sites to create a platform for dialog.
Good luck with it all!
Photo credits: 1, 3 & 6 courtesy of the artist; 2, 4 & 5 Lois Stavsky; interview conducted and edited by Lois Stavsky
Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.
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Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to meet up with Poornima Sukumar. A muralist and community artist based in India, she is the founder and director of the Aravani Art Project, a collective that creates spaces for people from the transgender community to connect with other communities and cultures in their local neighborhoods. In July 2016, Poornima was invited to present the Aravani Art Project at the Global Youth Forum, and she was hosted by the World Bank as a panellist for the LGBTQIA+ discussion in Washington DC. She is also a TEDx speaker.
What is the mission of the Aravani Art Project? Can you tell us a bit about it?
It aims to create a collective space for people from the transgender community by engaging them in public art and other interventions. We are interested in providing opportunities for members of the transgender community to collaborate with artists, photographers, filmmakers and general members of society to voice issues and engage in dialogues. We want to help society see people from the transgender community in a new light. We also make an effort to become invested in their personal lives. We look out for them just as we would look out for our own friends. The projects are completely built on trust and friendship, and friends always look out for each other! We are intent, in fact, on providing members of the transgender community with access to health care, as well as the skills they need to procure jobs.
When was it started? And why?
It began in January, 2016. After 3 ½ years of working on a film about the transgender community in India and making close friends among members of that community, I wanted to remain involved. I was concerned about the violence and the prejudice that so many of them encounter. I felt the need to bridge the gap between members of the their community and society, at large.
Who are some of the other folks who have worked with you in implementing your mission?
Among them are: Sadhna Prasad, who serves as the project’s art director; trans leaders Shanthi Sonu and Priyanka Divaakar and trans artists Chandri and Purushi.
About how many people has the Aravani Art Project engaged so far?
Since the project began in 2016, we’ve engaged over 1,000 folks in 25 projects.
How have you made these opportunities for collaboration and exchange happen? That’s quite an impressive number of projects.
As a muralist and illustrator, I know many artists. We’ve also received commisions. This past year, Facebook, in fact, invited us to their office in San Francisco.
How has the general community responded to the Aravani Art Project?
Very beautifully – folks open up to us slowly, and, organically, folks want to connect.
And what about the name Aravani? What is its significance?
The term Aravani means a person who worships Lord Aravan, the patron God of the transgenders.
What’s ahead?
We are looking to forge more collaborations internationally and reach out to more communities whose voices remain unheard. We are planning two projects abroad and five in India. We are always seeking visibility.
How can folks become engaged in your projects?
We are eager to engage all folks — straight, gay, transgender — in implementing our projects. And if you are interested in becoming involved, you can write to us here.
That sounds great! And we look forward to seeing you back in NYC with the Aravani Art Project!
Interview by Lois Stavsky with Bonnie Astor; all photos courtesy the Aravani Art Project
Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.
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A huge sticker fan, I first discovered iwillnot‘s stickers almost a decade ago while combing the streets of DC in search of striking street art. Soon afterwards, I met him and was struck by not only his outstanding aesthetic sensibility, but his huge passion for stickers and its wonderfully democratic collective culture.
In his recently released and hugely popular book, Smashed: The Art of the Sticker Combo, iwillnot shares not only his story, but provides us with tremendous insights into the entire sticker culture.
Intent on trading his stickers with other sticker artists, iwillnot had early on established a network of artists to exchange sticker packs. He was soon installing sticker combos in cities throughout the East Coast. And in 2011, he began to envision “smashing an art gallery in a major city with thousands and thousands of stickers.” Smashed: The Art of the Sticker Combo documents the realization of this dream.
With the support of street art enthusiast and Fridge Gallery founder and curator Alex Goldstein, iwillnot curated a 12.5 feet tall by 20 feet wide 10,000 sticker installation in 2013. By 2016, the entire gallery was smashed with hundreds of thousands of stickers, representing over 500 artists from 15 countries. The 2016 DC Street Sticker Expo reached over three million people.
With dozens of photographs documenting it all, Smashed: The Art of the Sticker Combo is certain to appeal to all of us sticker art fans and street art aficionados. The book can be purchased through Amazon or directly from the author here. And if you would like to participate in this year’s DC Street Sticker Expo, you still can!
All images courtesy iwillnot; the third image features — Foes, Mr Say, Skam, Sore Infest (top) RX Skulls, Obit, Who, and Ride (bottom); book reviewed by Lois Stavsky
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This past Saturday, Green Villain and Writer’s Bench hosted a buoyant block party at the site of the former 2015 landmark Demolition Exhibition. The hundreds of folks who attended the massive celebration were treated to live painting and music, along with food provided by local vendors. Pictured above is Newark-based Mr. Mustart. What follows are several more images captured Saturday by David Sharabani aka Lord K2.
The legendary Bronx native Skeme aka 3 Yard King at work
On the scene with Skeme aka 3 Yard King’s work in progress
Philly-based Mecro at work
Jersey City-based 4Saken painting with Molly posing
Blackbook signing
NYC-based classic writer Mone TFP
NYC-based graffiti pioneer Curve at work
Young artist takes a break
Photos by David Sharabani aka Lord K2.
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Brilliantly countering any claims that feminism is dead and that the Hip-Hop culture “is detrimental to women and girls,” Jessica Nydia Pabón-Colón has written an impeccably researched study of the grrls who have paved their way into the predominantly male graffiti culture, claiming their own space.
Based on interviews conducted with over 100 graffiti grrls across the globe over the span of 15 years, the author, now an Assistant Professor of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at SUNY New Paltz, provides us with a window into the minds, practices and experiences of a wide range of female writers crossing cultures and generations.
Among the many assumptions and false claims female writers often have to contend with are that they are writing graffiti to get noticed by guys or doing it to make their boyfriends happy. Or that they aren’t writing at all; it’s their boyfriends who are doing it for them. Rumors, too, regarding their sexual promiscuity are rife.
And yet, for various reasons, many are reluctant to identify as “feminists,” a term too often associated with man-haters. Pabón-Colón relates how when she first asked the famed bomber, Miss 17, if she was a feminist, her immediate response was a brusque, “No.” Five years later – in 2009 – Miss 17 had tempered her views, largely due to the friendships that she had developed with the likes of Claw Money and the author, herself.
Throughout Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora, the author convincingly advances both feminism and graffiti as positive and vital social and political forces. Australian artist Ivey, for example, recounts the pride she feels on seeing her tag up and credits the graffiti culture with helping her get through difficult times and motivating her to pursue her education after graduating from high school.
Whether of not graffiti grrls identify themselves as feminists or perceive themselves as political, Pabon-Colon compellingly affirms that their “performances of feminist masculinity” merge the fundamental social, cultural and aesthetic aspects of Hip-Hop culture with the feminist movement
Published by New York University Press, Graffiti Grrlz is the first academic study on women’s participation within the graffiti subculture. Appended with examples of black book pages, comprehensive notes and an extensive bibliography. Pabón-Colón’s work is a rich tribute to the grrls whose voices are too often silenced and a gift to all of us who love graffiti, perhaps the most significant art movement of our time.
You can order the book directly from the author with a special discount here. And follow news of her readings and signings here.
Note: The third image features NYC native Abby and the final one features London-based Chock painting in the Bronx.
Images courtesy of the author; book review by Lois Stavsky
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Opening this Wednesday evening. July 25, from 6-9pm at GR Gallery at 250 Bowery is “Super Matter,” a solo exhibition featuring new works fashioned collaboratively by Simon Grendene and Victor Anselmi, known to us street art aficionados as ASVP. Segments of recognizable icons, reimagined as shapes of expressive energy, mesmerize the viewer with their dynamic strokes and bold contours. The tantalizing image featured above was fashioned on wood. A small sampling of additional works from the upcoming exhibit follow:
On canvas
On wood panel
And on a similar vein to their mural art that surfaced a few months back on the Lower East Side
Images courtesy GR Gallery
Note: Hailed in a range of media from WideWalls to the Huffington Post to the New York Times, our Street Art NYC App is now available for Android devices here.
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